“This is a GREAT four-month start to any year,”exclaimed CNBC’s Rick Santelli as brand new economic indicators show inflation is down, incomes are up, and the trade deficit is narrowing — shattering economists’ expectations once again.
INFLATION IS DOWN: “Inflation rate slipped to 2.1% in April, lower than expected, Fed’s preferred gauge shows,” CNBC reports.
INCOME IS UP: Personal income increased 0.8% in April — “almost TRIPLE the expectations.” “They’re powerful numbers — up 0.6% in January, up 0.7% in February, up 0.5% last month, up 0.8% this month. This is a GREAT four-month start to any year.”
CNBC: “The income numbers, really, for the first four months of year — they’re stellar … Why don’t we give credit where credit is due? Income really shooting up.”
CNBC: “We cut it in HALF!? … This really does underscore how the movement of goods and services has really changed due to a variety of tariff-related issues.”
Chief Executive John Lee today met CPC Central Committee Political Bureau Member and Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi at Government House.
Mr Wang is visiting Hong Kong to attend the signing of the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation.
Mr Lee and Mr Wang had a working lunch together and discussed the work of the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed), and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s international exchanges and co-operation.
Mr Lee expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the central government for its strong support in establishing the IOMed headquarters in Hong Kong.
Emphasising that the IOMed is a high-level international organisation, Mr Lee said the central government had demonstrated its staunch support of the Hong Kong SAR in its development as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region under the National 14th Five-Year Plan.
The process involved setting up an IOMed preparatory office in Hong Kong, completing negotiations, facilitating a consensus on situating the headquarters in the city, and hosting the convention’s signing ceremony today.
Mr Lee said Mr Wang’s presence to witness the historic moment of the signing is a great encouragement to him and the Hong Kong SAR Government, which he added is well-equipped to promote the IOMed.
The Chief Executive stressed that basing the IOMed headquarters in Hong Kong will bring a host of significant benefits to the city.
Firstly, the IOMed will elevate Hong Kong’s international status and role in international mediation. In turn, the city will be able to make important contributions to the IOMed’s work given its status as the only common law jurisdiction in China under the “one country, two systems” principle.
The city also boasts an established legal system, a solid foundation of the rule of law, diverse legal and dispute resolution services, and a wide pool of legal professionals with a global perspective.
Secondly, the IOMed will generate substantial economic benefits. Its service demand will create a large number of job opportunities for mediators, translators, researchers and more.
The IOMed will also attract international organisations, non-governmental organisations and academic institutions to establish a presence in Hong Kong, drawing high-quality conferences and exhibitions to the city and further boosting other sectors such as hospitality, logistics and transportation.
With a status on a par with the International Court of Justice and the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the IOMed will become a pivotal institution for resolving international disputes.
This will facilitate deeper economic co-operation between Hong Kong and overseas economies, including regions participating in the Belt & Road Initiative, thereby creating more business opportunities, Mr Lee added.
Thirdly, the IOMed will further enhance Hong Kong’s ecosystem relating to the rule of law, promote the popularity of mediation and encourage the community to resolve issues through dialogue.
Mr Lee highlighted that the IOMed will help Hong Kong to attract more legal and dispute resolution professionals from around the globe, contributing to the development of the legal framework for dispute resolution, and further consolidating the city’s status as an international legal hub.
He also thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Office of the MFA Commissioner in the Hong Kong SAR, and Chinese diplomatic and consular missions overseas for their continued support in deepening the Hong Kong SAR Government’s international exchanges and co-operation.
Mr Lee added that the Hong Kong SAR Government will continue to enhance Hong Kong people’s understanding of consular work and protection policies, and raise their awareness of security and protection.
Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki, Financial Secretary Paul Chan, Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan, and Director of the Chief Executive’s Office Carol Yip also attended the meeting.
Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 2
News Release Friday, May 30, 2025
NIH-funded project shows that trans-epidermal water loss could indicate if wounds are fully healed. . A research team funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has identified a diagnostic aid that has the potential to accurately predict the recurrence of diabetic foot ulcers that appear to be fully healed. By measuring the skin’s barrier function through a process known as trans-epidermal water loss, or TEWL, scientists were able to determine which wounds were more likely to reopen. TEWL measurements are a major factor in burn care, where deep layers of the skin are often damaged. The findings suggest that full restoration of skin barrier function should be incorporated into existing wound treatment standards to ensure complete wound closure and to better identify patients at risk of wound recurrence. “This study is an important initial step to give clinicians treating diabetic foot ulcers a reliable diagnostic aid for the first time to assess an individual’s risk of ulcer recurrence,” said Teresa Jones, M.D. program director for the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, & Metabolic Diseases at NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). “Foot ulcers are such a confounding issue with diabetes and being able to determine which wounds are at highest risk for recurrence could save many lives and limbs.” Scientists, working together through the NIDDK Diabetic Foot Consortium, evaluated over 400 study participants who had a diabetic foot ulcer that visually appeared to be closed or healed. They measured TEWL at the site of the foot ulcer and found that 35% of participants with high TEWL (more water loss) reported a wound recurrence by 16 weeks, compared to just 17% for those with low TEWL (less water loss). Participants with higher TEWL were 2.7 times more likely to experience a wound recurrence than participants with low TEWL. Diabetic foot ulcers are a major complication of diabetes where a break in the skin of the foot is often unnoticed by a patient due to nerve damage, known as neuropathy. They are the leading cause of non-traumatic lower-limb amputations, and untreated or unhealed ulcers significantly increase the risk of death. Wounds that appear to be healed on the surface may not be fully closed below the superficial surface of the skin, hampering the effectiveness of the skin’s barrier function to keep in water and keep out pathogens, such as bacteria. Study results will publish in Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association. The study was funded by NIH/NIDDK grants (U01DK119099, U24DK122927, U01DK119100, U01DK119083, U01DK119094, U01DK119085 and U01DK119102) and carried out by members of NIH’s Diabetic Foot Consortium. About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov. NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®
Reference High Trans-Epidermal Water Loss at the Site of Wound Closure is Associated with Increased Recurrence of Diabetic Foot Ulcers: The NIDDK Diabetic Foot Consortium TEWL Study. Diabetes Care. 2025. DOI: 10.2337/dc25-0300
MANALAPAN, N.J., May 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Navicore Solutions, a leading nonprofit credit counseling organization, has seen a 12% increase in participation in its financial literacy workshops, so far this year. The significant increase in workshop attendance reflects a growing awareness of the importance of financial literacy for both teens and adults.
“People are increasingly recognizing that financial education is not just about managing money today, but about building a foundation for lifelong financial success,” said Kim Cole, Navicore’s Community Engagement Manager. As of 2025, 32 states now require some form of personal finance education for high school graduation, up from 25 states in 2017. Despite growing interest in financial education, significant knowledge gaps persist, particularly with adults in underserved communities.
Recent research continues to validate the lasting impact of financial education. According to a comprehensive study by Montana State University, high school students who received personal finance education made significantly better financial decisions when entering college. Furthermore, there is an economic benefit of roughly $100,000 per student from completing a one-semester class in personal finance at the high school level, according to a 2024 report by consulting firm Tyton Partners and Next Gen.
Much of the value in basic financial education comes from learning how to avoid revolving credit card balances and leveraging better credit scores to secure preferential borrowing rates for key expenses, such as insurance, auto loans and home mortgages.
“These findings align with what we’re seeing in our adult and community-based education programs,” noted Cole. “Participants who complete our workshops demonstrate improved ability to compare financial products, understand the true cost of different types of debt, and make more informed borrowing decisions.”
“The statistics underscore the critical need for the work we’re doing,” said Cole. “Our workshops specifically address these knowledge gaps by providing practical, hands-on experience with financial concepts like interest rates, debt management, and saving and budgeting.”
“The data is clear – early financial education pays dividends throughout life,” Cole emphasized. “Our goal is to help provide access to the financial knowledge communities need to make sound financial decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and build long-term financial security.”
Navicore Solutions’ achievements demonstrate the viability of adult-focused financial literacy programs as tools for breaking intergenerational poverty cycles. By combining hands-on education with accessible debt management solutions, the organization equips participants to transform their financial trajectories—one informed decision at a time. As consumer debt reaches record highs and economic uncertainty persists, Navicore’s model offers a replicable blueprint for building financially resilient communities.
About Navicore Solutions
Founded in 1991, Navicore Solutions is a national leader in the field of nonprofit financial counseling with a mission to strengthen the well-being of individuals and families through education, guidance, advocacy, and support.
Navicore counselors provide a wide range of services including credit counseling to consumers in need; education programs through workshops, courses and written material; debt management plan to provide relief for applicable consumers; student loan counseling for those struggling with student loan debt; and housing counseling services in the areas of rental, pre-purchase, default and reverse mortgage. The agency is an advocate of financial education helping communities achieve and maintain financial stability.
Contact: Lori Stratford Digital Marketing Manager Navicore Solutions lstratford@navicoresolution
Student nurses, new graduate nurses, and nurses transitioning to a new clinical area rely on clinical nurse preceptors to help them successfully move into their new roles. Clinical nurse preceptors help train and retain nurses by providing one-to-one oversight and guidance; however, they are in short supply and training and support for the ones already in this role is inconsistent and often lacking.
To address this gap, the Connecticut Area Health Education Network (CT AHEC) based at UConn Health, through its affiliation with the New England Nursing Clinical Faculty and Preceptor Academy (Academy), a $4 million Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) project, provided 30 Connecticut nurses with a free one-day conference on clinical nurse precepting skills on May 14.
“The CT AHEC program is grateful for the opportunity to support nursing professionals as a means of addressing health disparities through workforce development. Effective collaboration with key stakeholders is critical for maximizing fiscal resources, expertise, and delivery of continuation for all healthcare disciplines,” said Petra Clark-Dufner, CT AHEC Director.
The Academy’s objective is to develop and support preceptors and clinical faculty to strengthen and grow the nursing workforce at all levels across all settings. Nurse who precept in hospitals, community health, ambulatory care, public health, universities, and corrections were in attendance. UConn Health nurse Deisy Velez, MSN, RN, CMSRN, WCC, participated and said: “On my table we had an LPN, a nurse from Yale whose role was very similar to mine, an in home/ visiting nurse and two APRNs. All from very diverse backgrounds; but sitting together ready to learn the skills to help our peers. The activities given were engaging and allowed us to process and practice the ideas and tools given to us.”
63% of the participants found the content “extremely useful”, and 52% reported that their knowledge regarding roles, responsibilities, and core competencies of clinical nurse precepting increased a “great deal.” UConn Health labor and delivery nurse Diane Fallon, RN, C-HROB, C-EFM, commented that the conference “stocked my toolbox with evidence-based guidelines to use when I want to encompass the many roles of a nurse preceptor.”
The conference presenters included seven nurses from Fairview Hospital (Berkshire, MA) and one nurse from the University of Connecticut. The Fairview Hospital nurses had participated in the Academy’s Teaching of Tomorrow program where they attended two weekend conferences focused on building and refining foundational skills for effective clinical teaching alongside other health professionals. They took their learnings and developed their own nurse-targeted training presentation. Participants earned 6.5 contact hours through the Connecticut Nurses Association.
Minela Jasarevic, LPN, the vaccine coordinator at Charter Oak Health Center (Hartford), commented: “While hands-on experience is key, having a clear framework to follow when precepting is very helpful. A structure system ensures that important teaching steps aren’t missed and that feedback and assessment are consistent. Having tools to guide feedback, track trainee progress, and outline expectation can make the precepting experience smoother and more effective.”
Instructors of the CT AHEC hosted one-day conference on clinical nurse precepting skills.
This activity was jointly provided by The Berkshire Area Health Education Center (AHEC), The Connecticut Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Network, and The UMass Chan Medical School/Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing New England Nursing Clinical Faculty and Preceptor Academy with funding by the Nurse Education, Practice, Quality, and Retention – Clinical Faculty and Preceptor Academies program grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration administered by the UMass Chan Medical School/Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing in Worcester, MA in collaboration with partners across New England and support from the Connecticut Student Loan Repayment Program (CT SLRP), housed at the CT AHEC office at UConn Health.
CT SLRP’s support included current information on federal nurse loans, like the National Health Service Corps, Nurse Corps, as well as local/regional private resources available for refinancing and employer programs, such as CHESLA (Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority) and RISLA (Rhode Island Student Loan Authority).
Krystal Nunziata, RN, from the Cornell Scotte Health Center (New Haven) summed up the value of her day of training by saying: “There is definitely a need to train nurse preceptors. Preceptor training can benefit all nurses by providing them with the tools and confidence to effectively mentor others. It can inspire those who may not have previously felt capable of taking on a leadership or mentorship role and also further develop the skills of those already precepting.”
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
BANGOR, Maine: A Linneus man was sentenced on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Bangor for his role in a northern Maine drug trafficking ring.
U.S. District Judge Stacey D. Neumann sentenced James Valiante, 43, to 36 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. On August 22, 2024, Valiante pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl.
According to court records, between January 2018 and December 2021, Valiante and others trafficked methamphetamine and fentanyl in Penobscot and Aroostook counties and elsewhere. Valiante regularly arranged to obtain quantities of the two drugs from other members of the conspiracy through phone calls and texts using coded language and then distributed those drugs through a network of dealers he supplied in Aroostook County, using the proceeds to purchase more drugs.
Twenty-two defendants have been charged in this and related cases for their part in a widespread northern Maine drug trafficking conspiracy. With Valiante’s sentencing this week, 20 of the defendants have been sentenced while two – Daquan Corbett and Daviston Jackson, who were convicted following a two-week trial in December 2024 – await sentencing.
In addition to the sentence imposed on Valiante today, the Court has imposed the following sentences in related cases:
Sentenced:
Andrew Adams (32, Aroostook County) – 10 years
Matthew Catalano (38, Penobscot County) – 165 months
Christopher Coty (44, Bangor) – 4 years
Jason Cunrod (42, Caribou) – 48 months
Blaine Footman (38, Bangor) – 5 years
Nicole Footman (41, Holden) – 3 years
Dwight Gary, Jr. (54, Medway) – Time served (approx. 5 months)
Carol Gordon (53, Bangor) – Time served (approx. 31 months) plus 6 months of community confinement
Thomas Hammond (26, Charleston) – 84 months
Joshua Jerrell (30, Orrington) – Time served (approx. 36 months)
James King (55, Caribou) – 165 months
Shelby Loring (29, Bangor) – Time served (approx. 32 months)
Danielle McBreairty (34, Glenburn) – 20 years
John Miller (24, Caribou) – 54 months
Aaron Rodgers (43, Bangor) – Time served (approx. 33 months)
Wayne Smith (33, Bangor) – 85 months
Joshua Young (48, Presque Isle) – Time served (approx. 2 months) plus 24 months home detention
Tamara Davis (29, Fall River, MA) – Time Served (approx. 14 months)
Sarah McBreairty (36, Dixmont) – 60 months
Awaiting sentencing:
Daquan Corbett (31, Brockton, MA) – sentencing scheduled for August 11, 2025
Daviston Jackson (28, Boston, MA) – sentencing to be scheduled
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency investigated the case. Assistance was provided by the police departments in Orono, Bangor, Brewer, Caribou, Presque Isle and Houlton. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also recognized the cooperation and coordination provided by the Maine State Attorney General’s Office and the Aroostook County District Attorney’s Office.
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces: This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
URUMQI, May 30 (Xinhua) — The Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Friday announced regulations to promote economic development at border crossings, which will take effect on July 1 this year.
The document noted that people’s governments of counties, cities and prefectures where checkpoints are located should strengthen the construction of a comprehensive transportation network, checkpoint inspection infrastructure, and commodity inspection and control facilities to promote transportation connectivity and ensure efficient customs clearance.
Under the new rules, local border crossings are encouraged to promote the development of multimodal transport and build modern logistics bases and centers that combine functions such as transportation, warehousing, packaging, distribution and delivery.
Local authorities should improve the placement of production facilities within the checkpoint area and promote international cooperation in production chains and supply chains based on their own resource advantages, according to the provisions.
As stated in the document, priority attention in the economic development plan at the checkpoint will be given to such emerging industries of strategic importance as oil and gas production and processing, clean and efficient use of coal and new energy systems, as well as specific advantageous industries including grain, oil and food processing, cotton and textile industry, green livestock products and high-quality fruits and vegetables.
To attract enterprises and projects related to trade, processing, bonded logistics and cross-border e-commerce, it is necessary to utilize open platforms such as the Xinjiang Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Kashgar and Horgos economic development zones, comprehensive bonded zones and cross-border economic cooperation zones.
The provisions also encourage local enterprises to carry out investment cooperation with Belt and Road Initiative countries in areas such as energy resources, new materials, specialty medicine and pharmaceuticals, and agricultural crop cultivation.
The document also emphasizes the need to create an internationalized business environment that operates on the basis of market principles and the rule of law.
The development of these provisions is aimed at stimulating high-quality economic development at Xinjiang checkpoints, promoting the construction of the core zone of the Silk Road Economic Belt and expanding high-level openness, the document noted.
Let us recall that Xinjiang borders eight countries, including Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. There are 21 checkpoints on its territory. -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Moscow, May 30 /Xinhua/ — The Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia has detained six Russian citizens who committed arson as part of criminal cases on terrorist acts, the agency’s press service reported on Friday.
The detainees, including a 15-year-old teenager, from the Novgorod, Leningrad and Tyumen regions, carried out arson attacks on transport infrastructure facilities and decorations installed to celebrate Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War, on orders from the Ukrainian special services.
During interrogations, they explained that they had transferred from 100,000 to 1 million rubles to telephone scammers. After that, they were contacted by “law enforcement officers and special services” who persuaded the Russians to commit arson under the pretext of participating in an inspection of the anti-terrorist security of facilities.
Those arrested face a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison for committing the crimes. –0–
Source: United States of America – Department of State (video statements)
The reorganization plan for the State Department will result in a more agile Department, better equipped to promote America’s interests, and keep Americans safe across the world.
———-
Under the leadership of the President and Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity. On behalf of the American people we promote and demonstrate democratic values and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world.
The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department, which includes the Foreign Service, Civil Service and U.S. Agency for International Development.
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The Government of Canada is investing in federal science to strengthen the safety of air, rail, marine and pipeline transportation systems that Canadians rely on every day. As part of the Laboratories Canada strategy, the government is developing the new Transportation Safety and Technology Science (TSTS) hub, which will transform how federal scientists and investigators work together by bringing them under one roof.
Today, the Honourable Joël Lightbound, Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement, announced that the Government of Canada has awarded a contract to Bird Construction Group Ltd. for construction management services for the new TSTS hub, to be located at the main campus of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) on Montréal Road in Ottawa, Ontario. The contract is expected to be valued at up to $410 million. The initial work package, covering advisory services and site preparation, has been issued at a value of $12.3 million.
This marks a key step in the development of the new facility, which is being delivered through a collaborative approach under the Laboratories Canada strategy. The hub will serve as a shared space for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the NRC to conduct in-depth investigations and advance scientific research in transportation safety.
Engineers and scientists at the facility will work with industry partners to develop cutting-edge safety technologies and reduce risks in the air, marine, rail and pipeline sectors. The facility will combine investigations with the design and testing of next-generation light materials for aerospace, creating new opportunities for collaboration and innovation.
The contract was awarded following an open and transparent procurement process. The full contract could also include over $40 million in economic benefits for Indigenous businesses and communities through subcontracts, training opportunities and employment. These benefits reflect the Government of Canada’s commitment to economic reconciliation through meaningful Indigenous participation in federal infrastructure projects.
This facility is a key component of the Laboratories Canada strategy, which is transforming science infrastructure nationwide through safe, sustainable and flexible spaces that meet the evolving needs of Canada’s federal scientific community, today and into the future. Construction preparation is set to begin in fall 2025, with completion anticipated in 2030.
Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Ron Johnson
Corruption of Science & Federal Health Agencies
On May 21, I held my first hearing as chairman of the powerful U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI). The focus was on how federal health agencies downplayed the risk of myocarditis and other adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination.
The best definition of science is skepticism and that hasn’t been allowed. We haven’t been able to ask the questions, and those who do are vilified. I ran for a third term because no one was advocating for the vaccine injured. It’s well past time for them to be believed and helped.
For four years, the Biden administration tried to undermine access to information. My interim report, Failure to Warn: How Federal Health Agencies Downplayed the Risk of Myocarditis and Other Adverse Events Following COVID-19 Vaccination,does not contain FOIA redactions and finally provides the public with a more complete understanding of the Biden administration’s awareness of the risks of myocarditis following COVID-19 injection.
Here’s a brief timeline:
February 28, 2021: Israeli Ministry of Health notified officials at the CDC of “large reports of myocarditis, particularly in young people, following the Pfizer vaccine.”
April 12, 2021: DOD consultant presented to federal health officials that the vaccine safety surveillance system lacked the ability to detect reports of myocarditis. Consultant questioned colleagues: “If you do not ask, you will not see it, but does that mean it does not exist?”
End of April, 2021: Senator Johnson asks then NIH Director Francis Collins about VAERS reporting 2,926 deaths worldwide within 30 days of injection. Collins responds, “Senator, people die.”
WATCH 5-minute clip: Senator Johnson reveals rest of the timeline in his opening statement or download and read his statement.
WATCH ENTIRE 3-HOUR HEARING: The Corruption of Science and Federal Health Agencies
READ: Witness Testimony
The federal government was well aware of the myocarditis signal following COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in young men, as early as February 2021. Despite months of discussion and apparent acknowledgment of the safety concern, U.S. health officials decided not to issue a warning on the Health Alert Network. Watch this interview with Morning Wire.
X Post (Ben Shapiro clip commenting on report findings calling it “insane and a massive scandal” )
By downplaying and covering up what they knew about COVID-19 injection-induced myocarditis, federal health officials violated the inviolable principle of informed consent with their experimental jab.
A few days later, I appeared on the Ben Shapiro Show and talked about this hearing. As you can watch in this interview, I told Ben this is the tip of the iceberg and there will be more bombshells to come.
Investigating Biden’s Cognitive Decline
In other news from PSI, I announced that letters have been sent to former cabinet members of the Biden Administration requesting they appear before my Subcommittee for an interview about Biden’s cognitive capabilities during his presidency. Will these individuals finally tell the truth, or will they double down on their lies?
The discrepancy between what Cabinet officials were telling the public about the former president’s health and what they were apparently witnessing and saying privately is astonishing, particularly considering that the former president was seeking reelection. After years of being lied to and kept in the dark, the public deserves full and complete transparency about what was known and when concerning President Biden’s health.
READ —> Axios: GOP senator investigating White House handling of Biden’s health
WATCH —> CNN or Fox News
The Tucker Carlson Interview
I traveled to Maine for a wide-ranging interview with Tucker Carlson. The two-hour conversation covers my Senate investigations, why I cannot turn my back on the vaccine injuries, why I’m digging my heels in on the Big Beautiful Bill, and why I’m investigating 9/11.
You can watch the entire show on YouTube or where ever you get your podcasts.
One of the topics getting a lot of attention on social media from this podcast is when I revealed what cured my acid reflux.
In case anyone wants to know, this is what I take.
Around Wisconsin
On May 28, I was invited to the Medical College of Wisconsin for their Public Policy Speaker Series. I appreciate the conversation facilitated by President/CEO Dr. John Raymond and the chance to hear the concerns of the health care and research community.
I always enjoy my visits to the Milwaukee Press Club for their Newsmaker Luncheon series. You can watch the entire event here. I encouraged the journalists to watch President Eisenhower’s Farewell Address to hear his four remarkable prescient warnings for America.
1 / 3Show Caption +Hide Caption –U.S Army Capt. Patrick Benoit, a general surgeon assigned to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, operates on a child during the medical readiness exercise (MEDREX) at the 37th Military Hospital in Accra, Ghana, May 20, 2025. Part of African Lion 2025 (AL25), this MEDREX is planned and executed by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), and prepares U.S. military health professionals for the challenges of providing care outside of traditional clinical settings. By working alongside African partners, U.S. medical professionals refine their ability to deliver rapid, adaptable, and resource efficient medical care, directly increasing medical readiness for large scale combat operations.
AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, will take place from April 14 to May 23, 2025. Led by SETAF-AF, on behalf of U.S. Africa Command with over 10,000 troops from more than 50 nations, including seven NATO allies, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. The exercise aims to bolster military readiness, enhance lethality, and foster stronger partnerships, ultimately improving joint capabilities in complex multi-domain environments to enable participating forces to deploy, fight, and win. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla) (Photo Credit: 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla)
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2 / 3Show Caption +Hide Caption –U.S Army Maj. Kelsey White, an obstetrician assigned to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, performs a cesarean section (C-section) during the medical readiness exercise (MEDREX) at the 37th Military Hospital in Accra, Ghana, May 20, 2025. Part of African Lion 2025 (AL25), this MEDREX is planned and executed by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), and prepares U.S. military health professionals for the challenges of providing care outside of traditional clinical settings. By working alongside African partners, U.S. medical professionals refine their ability to deliver rapid, adaptable, and resource efficient medical care, directly increasing medical readiness for large scale combat operations.
AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, will take place from April 14 to May 23, 2025. Led by SETAF-AF, on behalf of U.S. Africa Command with over 10,000 troops from more than 50 nations, including seven NATO allies, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. The exercise aims to bolster military readiness, enhance lethality, and foster stronger partnerships, ultimately improving joint capabilities in complex multi-domain environments to enable participating forces to deploy, fight, and win. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla) (Photo Credit: 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla)
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3 / 3Show Caption +Hide Caption –U.S. Army Sgt. Farah Hamouda, a respiratory technician assigned to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, listens to a patient’s heartbeat in the intensive care unit during the medical readiness exercise (MEDREX) at the 37th Military Hospital in Accra, Ghana, May 22, 2025. Part of African Lion 2025 (AL25), this MEDREX is planned and executed by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), and prepares U.S. military health professionals for the challenges of providing care outside of traditional clinical settings. By working alongside African partners, U.S. medical professionals refine their ability to deliver rapid, adaptable, and resource efficient medical care, directly increasing medical readiness for large scale combat operations.
AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, will take place from April 14 to May 23, 2025. Led by SETAF-AF, on behalf of U.S. Africa Command with over 10,000 troops from more than 50 nations, including seven NATO allies, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. The exercise aims to bolster military readiness, enhance lethality, and foster stronger partnerships, ultimately improving joint capabilities in complex multi-domain environments to enable participating forces to deploy, fight, and win. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla) (Photo Credit: 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla)
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U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF)
ACCRA, Ghana — Twenty-seven U.S. medical professionals from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LMRC), Dental Health Activity Rheinland-Pfalz, Public Health Command Europe and the North Dakota National Guard concluded a medical readiness exercise (MEDREX) on May 23, 2025 in Accra, Ghana as part of African Lion 2025 (AL25).
From May 5–23, U.S. service members worked alongside Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) personnel at the 37th Military Hospital, the GAF Veterinary Clinic and the Ghana National Dog Academy.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Shameka Williams, left, a certified nurse midwife assigned to the 48th Medical Group, 48th Fighter Wing, U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa, and a Ghanaian midwife pose for a photo while holding a newborn during the medical readiness exercise (MEDREX) at the 37th Military Hospital in Accra, Ghana, May 19, 2025. Part of African Lion 2025 (AL25), this MEDREX is planned and executed by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), and prepares U.S. military health professionals for the challenges of providing care outside of traditional clinical settings. By working alongside African partners, U.S. medical professionals refine their ability to deliver rapid, adaptable, and resource efficient medical care, directly increasing medical readiness for large scale combat operations.
AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, will take place from April 14 to May 23, 2025. Led by SETAF-AF, on behalf of U.S. Africa Command with over 10,000 troops from more than 50 nations, including seven NATO allies, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. The exercise aims to bolster military readiness, enhance lethality, and foster stronger partnerships, ultimately improving joint capabilities in complex multi-domain environments to enable participating forces to deploy, fight, and win. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla) (Photo Credit: 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla)
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Medical services included obstetrics and gynecology, trauma surgery, general surgery, critical and intensive care, anesthesia, emergency medicine, dentistry, and veterinary care.
“MEDREX provides hands-on opportunities to increase medical response capabilities in real-world scenarios, ensuring that we are prepared for both combat and humanitarian operations,” said
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Mary Stuever, trauma medical director at LMRC and trauma surgeon.
This year, MEDREX Ghana was integrated into AL25, the largest annual combined, joint exercise of U.S. Africa Command, led by SETAF-AF, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia.
“I think my colleagues have sharpened their ability to operate in diverse environments,” said
Sgt. 1st Class Albert Nimako, a combat medic assigned to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. “By working alongside African partners, we have refined our ability to deliver rapid, adaptable, and resource-efficient care.”
Nimako returned to Ghana for his second MEDREX, after volunteering for the 2024 Ghana MEDREX last May. Originally from Kumasi, Ghana, he joined the U.S. Army in 2009.
U.S. Army Maj. Bryant Farr, an endodontist assigned to Dental Health Activity Bavaria, examines the mouth of a patient during the medical readiness exercise (MEDREX) at the 37th Military Hospital in Accra, Ghana, May 19, 2025. Part of African Lion 2025 (AL25), this MEDREX is planned and executed by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), and prepares U.S. military health professionals for the challenges of providing care outside of traditional clinical settings. By working alongside African partners, U.S. medical professionals refine their ability to deliver rapid, adaptable, and resource efficient medical care, directly increasing medical readiness for large scale combat operations.
AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, will take place from April 14 to May 23, 2025. Led by SETAF-AF, on behalf of U.S. Africa Command with over 10,000 troops from more than 50 nations, including seven NATO allies, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. The exercise aims to bolster military readiness, enhance lethality, and foster stronger partnerships, ultimately improving joint capabilities in complex multi-domain environments to enable participating forces to deploy, fight, and win. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla) (Photo Credit: 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla)
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“The exercise helps my unit to better prepare to work in austere environments and also work with limited resources,” Nimako said about the 2024 MEDREX. “It brings to our awareness that we will not always have the luxury of working with all the equipment and supplies at our disposal.”
U.S. Army Capt. Kylie Smith, a veterinarian assigned to Public Health Command Europe, and Dr. David Rogers, a veterinarian with Ghana Armed Forces Veterinary Services, perform a cesarean section on a sheep during the medical readiness exercise (MEDREX) at the Ghana Armed Forces Veterinary Services in Accra, Ghana, May 20, 2025. During the MEDREX, Smith had the opportunity to work with animals she had not treated before. Part of African Lion 2025 (AL25), this MEDREX is planned and executed by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), and prepares U.S. military health professionals for the challenges of providing care outside of traditional clinical settings. By working alongside African partners, U.S. medical professionals refine their ability to deliver rapid, adaptable, and resource efficient medical care, directly increasing medical readiness for large scale combat operations.
AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, will take place from April 14 to May 23, 2025. Led by SETAF-AF, on behalf of U.S. Africa Command with over 10,000 troops from more than 50 nations, including seven NATO allies, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. The exercise aims to bolster military readiness, enhance lethality, and foster stronger partnerships, ultimately improving joint capabilities in complex multi-domain environments to enable participating forces to deploy, fight, and win. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla) (Photo Credit: 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla)
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This year’s MEDREX proved highly successful, with participants treating more than 12,000 patients in just three weeks. The mission enabled U.S. personnel to collaborate with other military medical teams and operate in unfamiliar environments—enhancing clinical readiness and adaptability.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Hope Cruse, left, an animal care specialist, and right, U.S. Army Capt. Kylie Smith, a veterinarian, both assigned to Public Health Command Europe, perform a cesarean section (C-section) on a sheep during the medical readiness exercise (MEDREX) at the in Accra, Ghana, May 20, 2025. Cruse and Smith both had the opportunity to work with animals during the MEDREX that they had not treated before. Part of African Lion 2025 (AL25), this MEDREX is planned and executed by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), and prepares U.S. military health professionals for the challenges of providing care outside of traditional clinical settings. By working alongside African partners, U.S. medical professionals refine their ability to deliver rapid, adaptable, and resource efficient medical care, directly increasing medical readiness for large scale combat operations.
AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, will take place from April 14 to May 23, 2025. Led by SETAF-AF, on behalf of U.S. Africa Command with over 10,000 troops from more than 50 nations, including seven NATO allies, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. The exercise aims to bolster military readiness, enhance lethality, and foster stronger partnerships, ultimately improving joint capabilities in complex multi-domain environments to enable participating forces to deploy, fight, and win. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla) (Photo Credit: 1st Lt. Katherine Sibilla)
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MEDREX is planned and executed by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), and prepares U.S. military health professionals for the challenges of providing care outside of traditional clinical settings. By working alongside African partners, U.S. medical professionals refine their ability to deliver rapid, adaptable, and resource efficient medical care, directly increasing medical readiness for large scale combat operations.
About African Lion
AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, brings together over 50 nations, including seven NATO allies and 10,000 troops to conduct realistic, dynamic and collaborative training in an austere environment that intersects multiple geographic and functional combatant commands. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) on behalf of the U.S. Africa Command, AL25 takes place from April 14 to May 23, 2025, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. This large-scale exercise will enhance our ability to work together in complex, multi-domain operations—preparing forces to deploy, fight and win.
About SETAF-AF
U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) prepares Army forces, executes crisis response, enables strategic competition and strengthens partners to achieve U.S. Army Europe and Africa and U.S. Africa Command campaign objectives.
With the summer recreation season just around the corner, RCMP NL is urging all off-road vehicle operators keep safety and preparation front of mind.
Before you depart, consider packing extra clothing, food, a communication device and fire making supplies. Share your intended travel plans, including expected departure and return times with others. These small steps can help you stay safe on the trails if you run into mechanical issues, get lost or face unexpected weather conditions.
Operators of off-road vehicles, including dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), are also required to comply with the Off-Road Vehicles Act and Highway Traffic Act. Failure to do so can result in the seizure of the vehicle and/or violation tickets, with a range of fines.
All operators of off-road vehicles must successfully complete or have an exemption in place for Off-Road Vehicles Safety Training, which is offered free of charge and available through MyGovNL.
You and your passengers must wear helmets and seat belts (where available). Children who are required to use a child seat restraint system, such as a booster seat, under the Highway Traffic Act are required to follow that same legislation as a passenger of an off-road vehicle.
It is illegal to operate an off-road vehicle on a roadway, except to cross from one side to the other, and you must have registration, insurance, a driver’s licence and not less than one hundred and fifty metres of visibility to do so. To access a trail, you may travel on the shoulder of a roadway for a maximum distance of 1 kilometre and at a maximum speed of 20 kilometres an hour, all while yielding to motor vehicle traffic.
Children under the age of 16 must be properly supervised by someone who:
is 18 years of age or older,
has a valid driver’s licence,
has successfully completed the off-road vehicle safety training.
Proper supervision further requires that the supervisor is able to see and be seen by the operator at all times and is in a position to provide immediate direction to the operator. Underage operators without supervision and those who permit underage operation without supervision can be ticketed. The fine imposed on those who permit unsupervised operation ranges from $650.00 – $1,300.00. Ultimately, parents and guardians need to be aware of the dangers associated with unsupervised operation, which include serious injuries and death to the youth and/or others.
Operating an off-road vehicle while impaired is a criminal offence. Impaired operation of any motor vehicle is a choice that unnecessarily places you, your passengers and all others who share the roadway at an increased level of risk of serious injury or death.
Make sure you know the rules of off-road vehicle operation. You can find more information about the Off-Road Vehicles Act and Highway Traffic Act here:
Baltimore, Maryland – Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland unsealed two indictments. The indictments charged a South Carolina man with defrauding Medicare through a laboratory test scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic and with defrauding customers of his private charter jet company.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the indictment with Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Special Agent in Charge Greg Thompson, Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG).
As alleged in the first indictment, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick Britton-Harr, 41, of Charleston, South Carolina, and formerly of Annapolis, Maryland, offered COVID-19 screening tests to nursing home patients across the country. Britton-Harr then allegedly fraudulently billed Medicare, through his company Provista Health, for expensive respiratory pathogen panel (RPP) tests for these patients. The RPP tests were medically unnecessary, never ordered by a treating physician as required, and many were never actually performed, including tests for patients who were already deceased. Through Provista Health, Britton-Harr caused the submission of more than $15 million in fraudulent claims for RPP tests to Medicare. Medicare eventually paid out more than $5 million.
According to the second indictment, Britton-Harr owned and controlled AeroVanti, Inc. and its affiliated entities. Through AeroVanti, a private air club offering members a la carte access to private jets, Britton-Harr encouraged “Top Gun” members to pay $150,000 upfront to secure block flight hours. In return, Britton-Harr promised to use their money to purchase specific aircraft, in which Top Gun members would have a securitized interest.
Britton-Harr recruited nearly 100 Top Gun members, who collectively paid approximately $15 million in upfront payments, to purchase five aircraft. Instead of buying the aircraft, Britton-Harr allegedly misappropriated members’ money for his own personal benefit, including paying for yachts and jewelry, his living expenses, and to rent a property near Tampa, Florida. Then Britton-Harr attempted to conceal his fraud by obtaining a $1.5-million loan to purchase one of the aircraft he already claimed that he purchased with Top Gun funds by withholding material information from the lender to obtain the loan.
“It is unconscionable for someone to defraud the government and others for personal gain, especially as we faced a global health crisis,” Hayes said. “Britton-Harr showed a total disregard for those who depend on our Medicare system for health care services and for the individuals he scammed through his private-jet company. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our federal law-enforcement partners to bring those to justice who break the law and take advantage of others.”
“The defendant allegedly perpetrated two fraud schemes, first exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud Medicare out of millions of dollars and then stealing millions more from customers of his aviation company, all for his personal benefit,” Galeotti said. “These indictments demonstrate the Criminal Division’s commitment to rooting out bad actors who steal from taxpayer-supported health care programs and defraud American consumers.”
“Patrick Britton-Harr’s repeated crimes reveal a man with no moral compass motivated by pure greed. His deceit and scheming resulted in a staggering amount of loss to American taxpayers and the public,” DelBagno said. “He tried to fleece the U.S. government out of millions by taking advantage of a national crisis. After his laboratory testing business failed, Britton-Harr again turned to deception. Time and again, he chose to lie, steal, and deceive. No more. This investigation holds Britton-Harr accountable for his crimes and sends a clear message that the FBI and our partners will not allow such despicable behavior to go unchecked.”
“Individuals who steal from Medicare waste taxpayer dollars and create incisions in the fabric that holds our health care system together. HHS-OIG will continue the pursuit of upholding the integrity, trust, and confidence in federal health care programs, which benefits the people they serve,” Dixon said. “HHS-OIG, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, will continuously investigate alleged attempts to defraud these programs.”
“The scope of the alleged fraud is staggering and underscores the extraordinary lengths to which individuals will go to deceive and exploit others under the guise of legitimate business, including private aviation services,” Thompson said. “The DOT-OIG remains steadfast in its commitment to working in coordination with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to pursue those who engage in egregious schemes designed solely for personal enrichment.”
Britton-Harr is charged with five counts of health care fraud and one count of money laundering in the indictment related to his RPP scheme. Additionally, Britton-Harr is charged with six counts of wire fraud in the indictment connected to the AeroVanti scheme.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count and 10 years in prison for each health care fraud and money laundering count. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI, HHS-OIG, and DOT-OIG for their work in investigating these cases. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ari D. Evans and Matthew P. Phelps and Trial Attorneys David Peters and Chris Wenger, Criminal Division’s Fraud Section who are prosecuting these cases.
The supervisory board of Coop Pank AS (hereinafter the Bank) decided on 21 May 2025 to increase the share capital of the Bank by 457 188,16 euros by way of issuing new ordinary shares. The decision to increase the share capital was adopted to enable the realisation of the options issued within the option programme that was approved with the resolution of the general meeting of the Bank on 8 November 2019, on the conditions indicated in the referred decision. The share capital shall be increased in accordance with clause 3.3.5 of the Bank’s articles of association. 70 current and former employees of the Bank were able to participate in the issue, subscribing altogether for 670 900 shares for the total amount of EUR 841 979,50, making 100% of the issue size. All option holders submitted a subscription application and paid timely for the subscribed shares.
Decisions of the supervisory board:
To increase the Bank’s share capital by 457 188,16 euros, as a result of which the Bank’s share capital will increase from 70 180 497,31 euros to 70 637 685,47 euros.
The share capital will be increased by way of issuing new shares (ISIN: EE3100007857) During the increase of the share capital to issue up to 670 900 new ordinary shares of the Bank, with a book value of 0,681455 euros per share. After the increase of the share capital, the Bank has a total of 103 657 207 shares without nominal value. The increase of the Bank’s share capital will not create any exceptions or special rights in connection with the Bank’s ordinary shares.
According to the resolution adopted under item 6 of the agenda of the general meeting of shareholders of the Bank on 13 April 2022, the pre-emptive right to subscribe for the new shares belongs to the Bank’s employees, to whom the share option programme, approved with the resolution of the Bank’s general meeting of 8 November 2019, extends and with whom the Bank has concluded the respective option contracts (the option holders). According to the resolution of the Bank’s general meeting of 13 April 2022, the pre-emptive right of the existing shareholders to subscribe for the new shares which are issued to the option holders pursuant to clause 3.3.5 of the articles of association for the realisation of the Bank’s share option programme, is precluded.
The term for exercising the pre-emptive right and the time period of subscribing for the new shares is from 22 May to 29 May 2025.
The issue price is 1,255 euros per share, of which 0,681455 euros is the book value of a share and 0,573545 euros is the share premium.
The increase of share capital and payment for the new shares shall be fully carried out by monetary contributions.
The new shares to be issued during the increase of share capital shall grant the right to dividend for the financial year started on 1 January 2025.
The Bank will apply for the listing and the admission to trading of the shares to be issued within the issue on the Nasdaq Tallinn Stock Exchange. The first estimated trading day of the new shares shall be the first day following the day when the Bank has informed Nasdaq Tallinn Stock Exchange of the registration of the increase of share capital in the commercial register and identifying the new shares with the ISIN-code of EE3100007857.
Coop Pank, based on Estonian capital, is one of the five universal banks operating in Estonia. The bank has214,400clients who use everyday banking services. Coop Pank uses the synergy created between retail trade and banking and brings everyday banking solutions closer to people. The majority shareholder of the Bank is a domestic retail chain Coop Eesti, the sales network of which comprises 320 stores.
Invalda INVL had equity of EUR 238.1 million at the end of March this year, or EUR 19.82 per share. Those figures were 30.9% and 30.8% larger, respectively, than a year earlier, including the dividends that have been paid out.
In January-March 2025, Invalda INVL earned an unaudited net profit of EUR 15.9 million, or 3.4 times more than in the same period last year, when the net profit was EUR 4.7 million.
The asset management group recorded EUR 3 million loss for its clients in the first quarter of this year, due to global market corrections. However, the total value of client assets under management grew by 27.9% from a year earlier to more than EUR 1.9 billion at the end of March 2025.
“The main highlight for the start of this year was the successful launch of INVL Private Equity Fund II – a strategically important step for us and currently the largest fund in the Baltics,” says Darius Šulnis, the CEO of Invalda INVL.
Strategic core business: asset management and family office activities
Invalda INVL’s revenue from the management of assets entrusted by clients totalled EUR 3.9 million in the first quarter of 2025, 32.8% more than in January-March 2024.
The profit of the strategic core business, which also includes the company’s own investments in the products the group manages, was EUR 1.2 million, compared with a profit of EUR 1.4 million in the same period last year.
As of 1 April, Andrius Načajus, a finance executive with many years of experience, became the CEO of INVL Asset Management.
“The successful management of entrusted assets, focusing on creating long-term value and delivering appropriate returns to investors is the key priority for our business. Asset divestments are a natural part of this process,” Darius Šulnis notes. “In the first quarter of this year, the INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund completed the sale of InMedica Group, Lithuania’s largest private healthcare network. That investment is a great example of a rational growth strategy and its consistent implementation: a company that is a leader in its field was created, an exceptionally high return was earned, and thus a significant portion of the capital invested in the fund was returned to investors. We continue to actively grow the fund’s portfolio companies and selectively divesting some of them.”
“We’re also intensely seeking suitable targets for investments of the INVL Private Equity Fund II. Some processes are already well advanced, so we expect to complete at least two acquisitions by the end of this year,” Šulnis adds.
The Invalda INVL group also saw other significant events in the first quarter of 2025. The INVL Renewable Energy Fund I, with operations concentrated in Romania and Poland, successfully completed the offering of an EUR 8 million bond issue in February which was oversubscribed 1.7 times. INVL Asset Management launched the INVL Partner Strategic Lending Fund, which will invest in a vehicle managed by 17Capital, a private credit firm active in North America and Europe, that lends to major global private equity managers.
“We’re also pleased with the successful work of the INVL Family Office. It has expanded its client base not only in Lithuania but also in Latvia and Estonia, while increasing their investments,” Invalda INVL’s CEO says.
In February, the INVL Family Office joined an initiative of the Vilnius Lyceum Alumni Endowment fund. The INVL Family Office will help to create and implement the fund’s investment strategy.
Equity investments
Invalda INVL’s other equity investments, aside from the asset management, had a EUR 17.7 million impact on earnings in the first quarter of 2025.
This result was positively influenced by the strong performance of the banks in which the company holds stakes, along with their growth in value. Invalda INVL has investments in Artea Bank and in maib, Moldova’s largest bank. Maib, showing excellent financial results and sustainable growth in all business segments, earned a record net profit of EUR 20.1 million in the first quarter, while Artea earned EUR 17.35 million.
Artea Bank had a positive impact of EUR 15.6 million on Invalda INVL’s pretax profit; maid had a positive impact of EUR 0.5 million.
“The profits generated by the agricultural business group Litagra, along with a favorable market environment, provide an optimistic outlook for the future performance of the group and its value,” Darius Šulnis notes.
Litagra had a positive impact of EUR 1.6 million on Invalda INVL’s result for the first quarter of 2025.
Additional information is provided by Darius Sulnis, CEO of Invalda INVL Darius.Sulnis@invl.com
Today, the Reserve Bank released the web publication ‘Basic Statistical Return on Credit by Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) in India – March 2025’1 on its ‘Database on Indian Economy’ (DBIE) portal2 (https://data.rbi.org.in Homepage > Publications). The publication provides information on various characteristics of bank credit in India, based on data submitted by SCBs {including Regional Rural Banks (RRBs)} under the annual ‘Basic Statistical Return (BSR) – 1’ system, which collects information on type of account, organisation, occupation/activity and category of the borrower, district and population3 group of the place of utilisation of credit, rate of interest, credit limit and amount outstanding.
Highlights:
Bank credit growth (y-o-y) decelerated to 11.1 per cent in March 2025 from 15.3 (net of merger4) per cent in the previous financial year.
The deceleration in credit growth (y-o-y) was observed across all bank groups during FY 2024-25. Private sector banks witnessed the steepest decline to 9.5 per cent in March 2025 after a sustained credit growth above 15 per cent for the preceding three years.
With higher credit growth in rural, semi-urban and urban areas compared to metropolitan area, the share of metropolitan branches in total credit declined to 58.7 per cent in March 2025 from 63.5 per cent five years ago.
The growth in personal loans,5 though moderated sharply to 13.2 per cent, continued to outpace headline credit growth, which has led to an increase in their share to 31.0 per cent (24.1 per cent five years ago).
Share of housing loans bearing interest rate 9 per cent and above came down to 36.8 per cent in March 2025 from 54.5 per cent a year ago which signifies decline in cost of housing loans.
Consumer durables and other personal loans accounted for nearly one third of total personal loans; the share of these loans bearing interest rate 11 per cent and above has declined to 47.4 per cent in March 2025 from 50.3 per cent in the previous year.
Loans to industry accounted for nearly one fourth of total bank credit and increased at a (y-o-y) rate of 9.4 per cent in March 2025, down from 10.4 per cent a year earlier.
The share of Individuals in total credit maintained its increasing momentum and stood at 47.8 per cent in March 2025 as compared to 41.5 per cent in March 2020. Within individuals, the share of female borrowers also gradually rose to 23.8 per cent from 22.0 per cent in the said period.
Ajit Prasad Deputy General Manager (Communications)
The following statement from Christopher Lockyear, MSF Secretary General, outlines why the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s approach to distributing aid in Gaza, Palestine, is dangerous and reckless.
“The disastrous start of the food distribution coordinated by the newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation confirmed that the US-Israel plan to instrumentalise aid is ineffective. On 27 May, the first afternoon of distribution in Rafah, south Gaza, dozens of people were shot and injured as wholly insufficient amounts of basic lifesaving supplies were distributed amid chaos.
“Palestinians – deprived of food, water and medical aid for nearly three months – were penned in by fences as they waited to receive basic necessities for survival. This is a stark reminder of the dehumanising treatment imposed by Israeli authorities for more than 19 months.
“Through this dangerous and reckless approach, food is not being distributed where it’s needed most but is instead directed only to areas where Israeli forces choose to amass civilians. This means the most vulnerable – especially the elderly and people with disabilities – have virtually no chance of accessing the food they desperately need.
“The claim that this unprincipled, failing mechanism is necessary to prevent the diversion of aid is false. Since the start of the war, MSF has directly treated patients when we have been able to bring supplies into Gaza. This initiative seems to be a cynical ploy to feign compliance with International Humanitarian Law. In practice, it uses aid as a tool to forcibly displace people as part of what appears to be a broader strategy to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip – and to justify the continuation of a war waged without limits.
“Meanwhile, the humanitarian system is being strangled by the restrictions imposed upon it. Israeli authorities have allowed a trickle of aid trucks into Gaza, only to obstruct them immediately after they cross the border, preventing life-saving assistance from reaching the people who need it most, including children and pregnant and lactating women.
“Forcing humanitarian organisations to move such inadequate amounts of aid, when the Israeli siege has created a situation of unbearable need and despair, is leading to lootings. This is the consequence of a society being pushed to the brink, its very fabric torn apart by relentless violence and deprivation. The outcome is more preventable deaths and injuries, and the impossibility of delivering aid in a way that respects people’s dignity. This is part of a broader tactic to reinforce a one-sided narrative: the only way to deliver aid is to militarise it.
“Along with displacement orders and bombing campaigns that kill civilians, weaponising aid in this manner may constitute crimes against humanity. Only a lasting ceasefire and the immediate opening of Gaza’s borders for humanitarian aid – including food, medical supplies, fuel and equipment – can ease this man-made catastrophe.”
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Blackdown Tableland National Park is temporarily closed to allow roadworks aimed at improving visitor safety and access to be completed.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) is upgrading and resealing the main access road, as well as undertaking grading and re-gravelling works between Yaddamen Dhina (Horseshoe lookout) and the Munall camping area, including upgrades and repairs to steep, sealed sections of the road.
These improvements will enhance the overall visitor experience.
For safety reasons, the narrow and winding access road cannot accommodate vehicles and visitors during the roadworks.
Blackdown Tableland National Park is scheduled to reopen on 1 August 2025, following completion of roadworks.
QPWS will provide an update when the protected area is safe to reopen.
Visitors are being urged to check Park Alerts for up-to-date information on protected area closures.
The public is urged to obey all signs and directions from Rangers to ensure their safety.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stephen A Murphy, Pratapaditya Pal Senior Lecturer in Curating and Museology of Asian Art, SOAS, University of London
The slick online catalogue entry for “Premium Lot 1, The Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha” on the Sotheby’s Hong Kong website was abruptly replaced on May 7 with a single line notification: “The auction has been postponed.”
Shortly afterwards, the associated webpages went blank. The only evidence remaining on Sotheby’s Hong Kong website was an entry on the Piprahwa gems’ history and a short YouTube promotional clip for the sale (below).
Sotheby’s had first announced its intention to auction the relics on February 6 2025. Discovered in northern India in 1898 and thought to date to the third century BC, it was estimated they would fetch up to HK$100m (£9.7m). The collection was consigned by Chris Peppé on behalf of his family, who had inherited the relics from his great grandfather, William Caxton Peppé – a 19th-century British colonial landowner who owned an estate in India.
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Reaction was muted at first, but as a scholar who researches the early history and archaeology of Buddhism and issues surrounding loot and restitution, I was gravely concerned by this proposed sale. Fortunately, I was not alone, and thanks to detailed research of SOAS colleagues such as Conan Cheong, Ashley Thompson and Thai academic Pipad Krajaejun, as well as protests from Buddhist devotees worldwide, a groundswell of disapproval began to grow.
A letter sent to Sotheby’s by the British Maha Bodhi Society, and shared with me, states:
Millions around the world, whether Buddhist or not, have religious and ethical concerns and believe that the sale of sacred items is morally wrong and offensive … Members of the Buddhist sangha [monkhood], as well as lay followers from all traditions, are appalled that the gems offered in devotional acts by the Buddha’s own clan, have been separated from his corporeal remains and are now being sold to the highest bidder.
This disapproval turned into a tidal wave on May 5, two days before the planned auction, with the intervention of the Indian government – which is now threatening legal action against both Sotheby’s and the Peppé family, demanding that the relics be repatriated to India.
In terms of his rights and those of his relatives to sell the relics, Chris Peppé previously had told the Guardian newspaper: “Legally, the ownership is unchallenged.”
Sotheby’s confirmed to me that it and the Indian government are “currently in discussions regarding the Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha, and are pleased to be working together to find the best possible outcome for all parties”.
How we got here
To understand how we reached this impasse, we must cast our eyes back to 19th-century British colonial India, then forward again to 2018-2023 and a number of high-profile exhibitions at some of the world’s most prestigious museums.
In 1898, the family’s great grandfather, William Caxton Peppé, excavated a Buddhist reliquary monument (known as a stupa) on his estate in Piprahwa, northern India. He uncovered what is now considered by scholars to be the most significant cache of Buddhist relics found in India.
The discovery included five reliquary urns containing gems, ash and bone fragments. An inscription on one suggested the remains could be those of the historical Buddha, who is thought to have been cremated around 200 years prior to their burial.
The Indian Treasure Trove Act of 1878 allowed Peppé to keep a portion referred to as “duplicates” (an art-history term used to justify the dividing up of similar material from a hoard or archaeological site that is very much frowned upon today). The British authorities gifted the bones and ash to King Chulalongkorn of Siam, who enshrined them in Bangkok and distributed portions to other Buddhist nations.
The majority of the 1,800 gems, meanwhile, had been deposited in the Indian Museum in Kolkata. It is a longstanding issue, however, that the bulk of this collection remains locked away in the museum safe, off limits to Buddhists, the wider public and scholars alike. Perhaps the publicity surrounding the Peppé portion of the reliquary contents might prompt that museum to review this policy after 120 years.
About ten years ago, armed with his inherited share of the relics, Chris Peppé began reaching out to museums worldwide, proposing to loan them. This, he recently stated, was to make them accessible to Buddhist devotees and the general public alike. Five museums took him up on the offer and, starting in 2018, duly curated high-profile exhibitions around them or incorporated them into larger shows.
Objects with a history of celebrated exhibitions tend to reach higher prices at auction. Whether the Peppé family intentionally built up the Piprahwa exhibition history with the aim of eventually auctioning the relics is unclear. I contacted Chris Peppé directly and posed this question to him, but he declined to comment.
Tellingly, the Sotheby’s website included a scholarly article from 2023 in Orientations Magazine by John Guy, curator of the Tree and Serpent exhibition. But it was dated to February 2025, which perhaps inadvertently made it appear to have been written as an endorsement of the sale. In fact, the paper had been published to coincide with the exhibition. I contacted Guy about this, and he responded by saying:
I regard the linking of my publication to the Sotheby’s sale as highly inappropriate and this was done without my knowledge or consent. The Met’s lawyers demanded that it be removed immediately, which was done, along with a written apology from Sotheby’s.
When I spoke to Nancy Wong at Sotheby’s, she confirmed this, saying: “We apologised and immediately removed the relevant reference from our website.”
Given the events of the past few weeks, the Peppé family now find themselves in a bind. With the Indian government engaged, and it may not be long before Sotheby’s drops them and the relics altogether. Despite their cultured facades and high-society veneers, auction houses are businesses, designed to make a profit – and any potential buyers may have been thoroughly scared off by recent events.
It is hard, however, for me to have much sympathy for the family who could have prevented this whole affair by donating the relics to a Buddhist community or museum in the first place.
Stephen A Murphy is a Senior Lecturer at SOAS, University of London. Prior to this he was a senior curator at the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, from July 2014-October 2020 where an exhibition displaying the The Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha took place in November 2022-March 2023.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Laura Elin Pigott, Senior Lecturer in Neurosciences and Neurorehabilitation, Course Leader in the College of Health and Life Sciences, London South Bank University
Cryptogenic strokes have no obvious cause, but is increasingly being linked to subtle, hidden risk factors – such as oestrogen.Krakenimages.com/ Shutterstock
For millions of women, combined hormonal contraceptives are a part of their daily life – providing a convenient and effective option for preventing pregnancy and managing their menstrual cycle.
But new findings are sounding the alarm on a serious, and often overlooked, risk: stroke.
According to recent findings presented at the European Stroke Organisation Conference, combined oral hormonal contraceptives (which contains both oestrogen and progestogen) may significantly increase the chance of women experiencing a cryptogenic stroke. This is a sudden and serious type of stroke that occurs with no obvious cause.
Surprisingly, in younger adults – particularly women – cryptogenic strokes make up approximately 40% of all strokes. This suggests there may be sex-specific factors which contribute to this risk – such as hormonal contraception use. These recently-presented findings lend themselves to this theory.
At this year’s conference, researchers presented findings from the Secreto study. This is an international investigation that has been conducted into the causes of unexplained strokes in young people aged 18 to 49. The study enrolled 608 patients with cryptogenic ischaemic stroke from 13 different European countries.
One of their most striking discoveries was that women who used combined oral contraceptives were three times more likely to experience a cryptogenic stroke compared to non-users. These results stood, even after researchers adjusted for other factors which may have contributed to stroke risk (such as obesity and history of migraines).
It’s well-documented that hormonal contraceptives, which contain both oestrogen and progestin, come with a small, increased risk of experiencing serious health events, including stroke – particularly ischaemic stroke, which occurs when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked.
But a study published earlier this year, which tracked over two million women, found that combined hormonal contraceptives – including the pill, intrauterine devices (IUD), patches and vaginal rings, which all contain both synthetic oestrogen and progestogen – were linked to higher risks of both stroke and heart attack. The vaginal ring increased stroke risk by 2.4 times and 3.8 times for heart attack. The contraceptive patch was found to increase stroke risk by nearly 3.5 times.
Interestingly, they also looked at a progestin-only contraceptive (the IUD) and found there was no increased risk for either heart attacks or strokes.
Both of these recent findings suggest oestrogen may be the main driver of stroke risk. While absolute risk is still low – meaning fewer than 40 in every 100,000 women using a combined hormonal contraceptive will experience a stroke – the population-level impact is significant considering the number of women worldwide that use a combined hormonal contraceptive.
Oestrogen and stroke risk
Combined hormonal contraceptives contain synthetic versions of the sex hormones oestrogen (usually ethinylestradiol) and a progestin (the synthetic version of progestogen).
Natural oestrogen in the body plays a role in promoting blood clotting, which is important for helping wounds heal and prevents excessive bleeding.
But the synthetic oestrogen in contraceptives is more potent and delivered in higher, steady doses. It stimulates the liver to produce extra clotting proteins and reduces natural anticoagulants — tipping the balance toward easier clot formation. This effect, while helpful in stopping bleeding, can raise the risk of abnormal blood clots that can lead to conditions such as stroke. This risk may be even greater for people who smoke, experience migraines or have a genetic tendency to clot.
If a clot forms in an artery that supplies the brain or breaks off and travels through the bloodstream to the brain, this can block blood flow – causing what’s known as an ischaemic stroke. This is the most common type of stroke. Clots can also form in deep veins (such as those in the legs or around your organs).
In addition to clotting, oestrogen may also slightly raise blood pressure and affect how blood vessels behave over time, which can further increase stroke risk.
The effects of oestrogen on clotting may partly explain why the recent conference findings showed a link between combined contraceptive use and cryptogenic stroke risk. Cryptogenic stroke has no obvious cause, but is increasingly being linked to subtle, hidden risk factors – such as hormone-driven clotting.
Understanding risk
These numbers can sound alarming at first, but it’s important to keep them in perspective. The absolute risk – meaning the actual number of people affected – is still low.
For instance, researchers estimate that there may be one additional stroke per year for every 4,700 women using the combined pill.
That sounds rare, and for most users, it is. But when you consider that millions of women use these contraceptives globally, even a small increase in risk can translate into a significant number of strokes at the population level. Which is relative to what is seen with the high number of cryptogenic strokes in young women.
Despite the risks associated with combined hormonal contraceptives, many women continue to use them – either because they aren’t fully informed of the risks or because the alternatives are either less effective, less accessible or come with their own burdens.
Part of the reason this trade-off has become so normalised is the persistent under-funding and under-prioritisation of women’s health research. Historically, medical research has focused disproportionately on men – with women either excluded from studies or treated as an afterthought.
This has led to a limited understanding of how hormonal contraceptives affect female physiology beyond fertility control. As a result, the side-effects remain poorly understood, under-communicated and under-addressed.
Women have a right to make informed decisions about their health and body. This starts with having access to accurate information about the real risks and benefits of every contraceptive option. It means understanding, for example, that while combined hormonal contraceptives do carry a small risk of blood clots and stroke, pregnancy and the weeks following childbirth come with an even higher risk of those same complications. This context is vital for making truly informed choices.
No method of contraception is perfect. But when women are given the full picture, they can choose the method that best suits them. We also need more research that reflects the diversity and complexity of women’s bodies – not just to improve safety, but to expand options and empower decisions.
Laura Elin Pigott 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.
Imagine a future where a diagnosis of untreatable male infertility is no longer the end of the road – because science has found a way to produce human sperm from lab-engineered testicular tissue.
This might sound like science fiction, but I’m leading a team of researchers at the University of Limerick (UL) to work on making the production of human sperm from lab-engineered testicular tissue a reality. If successful, this could redefine fertility treatment and bring hope to the millions of people around the world affected by male infertility.
The precise causes of declining male reproductive health are still being debated. While genetics may play a role, no single genetic factor has been shown to affect male fertility at a population level. Instead, much of the focus has turned to the environment, particularly endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
These chemicals, which can interfere with hormone function, are found in common items such as plastics, pesticides, cosmetics and even painkillers. There is growing evidence that exposure to these substances in the womb can increase the risk of testicular cancer, reduce sperm quality, and lead to male infertility later in life.
SSR involves surgically opening the testicles to search for viable sperm for use in assisted reproductive technologies like IVF. However, success is far from guaranteed. In some cases, the chance of finding even a single usable sperm cell is as low as 40%.
In addition to its physical and emotional toll, SSR places the burden of fertility treatment on the female partner’s reproductive system, meaning women’s bodies are often the target of fertility medications and procedures. It does little to address the underlying health risks associated with male infertility, including higher rates of illness and early mortality.
And if SSR fails, the only option left is to use donor sperm – a difficult and emotional decision for many people.
Root of the problem
To address male infertility, scientists need to get to the root of the problem and develop solutions that restore natural fertility.
So, given the ethical and biological limits on experimenting directly with humans, researchers have turned to preclinical models to study the human testes. These include ex vivo tissue (human or animal tissue studied outside the body), in vitro cell cultures (human testicular cells grown on lab plates), and animal models (typically rodents or primates).
However, human sperm production is vastly different – and much less efficient – than in other mammals, making animal models unreliable. To move forward, researchers need preclinical models that closely mimic human testes and their ability to produce sperm.
This remains one of the biggest scientific hurdles in the field. While researchers have successfully produced sperm in the lab from mouse testicular tissue, the same has never been achieved in humans.
Our research is attempting to overcome this challenge by combining biology with mechanical engineering and materials science. We started by analysing human testicular tissue samples from a range of donors, building a detailed understanding of how the tissue functions.
This data was fed into the design of model systems that replicate human testicular tissue – not just biologically, but mechanically and structurally. The ultimate goal is to create a model that can not only mimic testicular function but produce viable human sperm.
Lab-produced sperm could revolutionise fertility care. It might one day offer a solution to men who have undergone failed SSR procedures, childhood cancer survivors whose fertility was damaged by chemotherapy or radiation, and male patients with severe, unexplained infertility who currently have no treatment options.
This isn’t just a scientific experiment. It’s about restoring hope to those for whom existing medical approaches have run out of answers.
Eoghan Cunnane receives funding from the European Research Council, Research Ireland, and the UL Foundation.
Within hours of a driver ramming into a crowd at Liverpool’s Premier League victory parade, injuring 65 people, Merseyside Police shared in a press release that they had arrested a suspect. Unusually, the announcement included the race and nationality of the person arrested – a 53-year-old white British man.
This was a stark contrast to the previous summer, when speculation about the ethnicity of a 17-year-old arrested for the murder of three young girls in Southport led to public disorder and riots around the country.
The question of what police and the public can say about an ongoing legal case and when is governed by contempt of court laws, which cover a wide range of behaviour in the UK. They prevent conduct which may disrupt legal proceedings, such as shouting out in court or otherwise causing a disturbance. They also prohibit publications which create “a substantial risk” that legal proceedings “will be seriously impeded or prejudiced”, and ensure that court orders are followed.
A recent House of Commons report suggested that the laws of contempt are not fit for the social media age. The report came after the public disorder which followed the murders of three girls by Axel Rudakubana in Southport in July 2024.
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It is widely accepted that in the Southport case, misinformation spread via social media – specifically, that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker called Ali-Al-Shakati – helped to fuel the disorder. Merseyside Police’s decision to quickly publish the ethnicity of the man arrested in Liverpool suggests they were acting to prevent a repeat of the August 2024 riots.
The police were restricted in the information they could release after Southport. Separate from the contempt laws, the Children and Young Persons Act prohibits the publication of material that may identify a person under 18 involved in youth court proceedings, and a judge may order anonymity in other criminal proceedings.
Police responded to riots around the country in August 2024 after misinformation spread about the suspect arrested for the murder of three girls in Southport. Ian Hamlett/Shutterstock
The police did try to combat false information about the case in the days following the Southport attack, but it was too late. They shared that the suspect had been born in Cardiff and that the name circulating on social media was incorrect. However, they could have released more information more quickly, even under the current contempt laws, including details such as Rudakubana’s ethnicity.
The Law Commission, an independent statutory body charged with reviewing the law of England and Wales and suggesting reforms, has said it is an “open question” whether the publication of more information could have prevented or mitigated the disorder after Southport.
But the events after Southport are probably why Liverpool was handled differently. Merseyside Police broke from their previous approach of not releasing ethnicity details (except in cases of missing persons or people on the run). Earlier in May, the police inspectorate published a report on the Southport response, saying police forces “need to better appreciate how fast-moving events will require them to counter false narratives online”.
However, simply releasing the race of the man arrested in Liverpool hasn’t fully filled the information void. A man’s photo was circulated on social media, wrongly identifying him as the person arrested.
It also risks setting a precedent for future cases. If police release a suspect’s ethnicity, some people will make assumptions about whether their ethnicity is linked to a motive for an attack, and may spread misinformation that may prejudice a trial or cause disorder. But if they don’t release the ethnicity, some people may still make assumptions about why police have kept it secret. In either case, misinformation is likely to spread.
Fit for the social media age?
Both of these cases raise concerns about whether current laws are fit for purpose, in an age when information spreads quickly – regardless of whether it is true – on social media.
Regardless of what the police make public, the real challenge is that anyone with a smartphone can instantly comment on any event, and may not know they are putting themselves at risk of committing a contempt of court offence.
In 2019, actress Tina Malone received a suspended sentence of eight months for breaching a court order prohibiting the release of information about the murderers of James Bulger. She shared a social media post which claimed to provide the new identity and a picture of Jon Venables. Malone told the court that she was unaware that she was doing anything wrong.
Newspapers have often been the subject of contempt of court cases. But in theory, anyone who shares a post by a publication later found to be in contempt could be implicated too.
Committing contempt can carry a sentence of up to two years’ imprisonment and an unlimited fine. Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, was recently released from prison, where he had been serving a sentence for repeatedly breaching a court order.
The attorney general has launched campaigns to educate the public on the risks, but whether they’ve had any effect is questionable. Even politicians, including those in government, have made social media posts which come very close to being in contempt of court.
The laws of contempt, which have developed piecemeal over centuries, are not well known or understood. But they are an important part of the legal system, and they attempt to strike a balance between freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial, and to ensure that both victims and defendants receive justice. In the current climate, they need to be made much clearer.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The Little Engine That Could wasn’t the most powerful train, but she believed in herself. The story goes that, as she set off to climb a steep mountain, she repeated: “I think I can, I think I can.”
That simple phrase from a children’s story still holds a lesson for today’s business world – especially when it comes to artificial intelligence.
AI is no longer a distant promise out of science fiction. It’s here and already beginning to transform industries. But despite the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on developing AI models and platforms, adoption remains slow for many employees, with a recent Pew Research Center survey finding that 63% of U.S. workers use AI minimally or not at all in their jobs.
The reason? It can often come down to what researchers call technological self-efficacy, or, put simply, a person’s belief in their ability to use technology effectively.
In my research on this topic, I found that many people who avoid using new technology aren’t truly against it – instead, they just don’t feel equipped to use it in their specific jobs. So rather than risk getting it wrong, they choose to keep their distance.
And that’s where many organizations derail. They focus on building the engine, but don’t fully fuel the confidence that workers need to get it moving.
What self-efficacy has to do with AI
Albert Bandura, the psychologist who developed the theory of self-efficacy, noted that skill alone doesn’t determine people’s behavior. What matters more is a person’s belief in their ability to use that skill effectively.
In my study of teachers in 1:1 technology environments – classrooms where each student is equipped with a digital device like a laptop or tablet – this was clear. I found that even teachers with access to powerful digital tools don’t always feel confident using them. And when they lack confidence, they may avoid the technology or use it in limited, superficial ways.
The same holds true in today’s AI-equipped workplace. Leaders may be quick to roll out new tools and want fast results. But employees may hesitate, wondering how it applies to their roles, whether they’ll use it correctly, or if they’ll appear less competent – or even unethical – for relying on it.
Beneath that hesitation may also be the all-too-familiar fear of one day being replaced by technology.
Going back to train analogies, think of John Henry, the 19th-century folk hero. As the story goes, Henry was a railroad worker who was famous for his strength. When a steam-powered machine threatened to replace him, he raced it – and won. But the victory came at a cost: He collapsed and died shortly afterward.
Henry’s story is a lesson in how resisting new technology through sheer willpower can be self-defeating. Rather than leaving some employees feeling like they have to outmuscle or outperform AI, organizations should invest in helping them understand how to work with it – so they don’t feel like they need to work against it.
Relevant and role-specific training
Many organizations do offer training related to using AI. But these programs are often too broad, covering topics like how to log into different programs, what the interfaces look like, or what AI “generally” can do.
In my study, participants consistently said they benefited most from training that was “district-specific,” meaning tailored to the devices, software and situations they faced daily with their specific subject areas and grade levels.
Translation for the corporate world? Training needs to be job-specific and user-centered – not one-size-fits-all.
The generational divide
It’s not exactly shocking: Younger workers tend to feel more confident using technology than older ones. Gen Z and millennials are digital natives – they’ve grown up with digital technologies as part of their daily lives.
Gen X and boomers, on the other hand, often had to adapt to using digital technologies mid-career. As a result, they may feel less capable and be more likely to dismiss AI and its possibilities. And if their few forays into AI are frustrating or lead to mistakes, that first impression is likely to stick.
When generative AI tools were first launched commercially, they were more likely to hallucinate and confidently spit out incorrect information. Remember when Google demoed its Bard AI tool in 2023 and its factual error led to its parent company losing US$100 billion in market value? Or when an attorney made headlines for citing fabricated cases courtesy of ChatGPT?
Moments like those likely reinforced skepticism – especially among workers already unsure about AI’s reliability. But the technology has already come a long way in a relatively short period of time.
The solution to getting those who may be slower to embrace AI isn’t to push them harder, but to coach them and consider their backgrounds.
What effective AI training looks like
Bandura identified four key sources that shape a person’s belief in their ability to succeed:
Mastery experiences, or personal success
Vicarious experiences, or seeing others in similar positions succeed
Verbal persuasion, or positive feedback
Physiological and emotional states, or someone’s mood, energy, anxiety and so forth.
In my research on educators, I saw how these concepts made a difference, and the same approach can apply to AI in the corporate world – or in virtually any environment in which a person needs to build self-efficacy.
In the workplace, this could be accomplished with cohort-based trainings that include feedback loops – regular communication between leaders and employees about growth, improvement and more – along with content that can be customized to employees’ needs and roles. Organizations can also experiment with engaging formats like PricewaterhouseCoopers’ prompting parties, which provide low-stakes opportunities for employees to build confidence and try new AI programs.
In “Pokemon Go!,” it’s possible to level up by stacking lots of small, low-stakes wins and gaining experience points along the way. Workplaces could approach AI training the same way, giving employees frequent, simple opportunities tied to their actual work to steadily build confidence and skill.
The curriculum doesn’t have to be revolutionary. It just needs to follow these principles and not fall victim to death by PowerPoint, or end up being generic training that isn’t applicable to specific roles in the workplace.
As organizations continue to invest heavily in developing and accessing AI technologies, it’s also essential that they invest in the people who will use them. AI might change what the workforce looks like, but there’s still going to be a workforce. And when people are well trained, AI can make both them and the outfits they work for significantly more effective.
Greg Edwards does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Matthew Sturchio, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University; Faculty Afffiliate in Ecology, Colorado State University
Solar panels on grasslands can generate electricity and useful forage or wildlife habitat.Matthew Sturchio, CC BY-ND
Grasses growing in the shade of a solar array were only a little less productive than those growing nearby in open grassland during years of average and above-average rainfall – but in a dry year, the shaded plants grew much better than those growing in full sun. That’s the result of a four-year study we conducted in a semi-arid grassland of northern Colorado.
When choosing a location for generating solar power, consistent sunlight and interconnection to the electric grid are key criteria. In Colorado the combination of new electrical transmission infrastructure, abundant sunlight and short vegetation that is easy to maintain have made grasslands a prime target for solar development.
Grasslands, like those that dominate the eastern plains of Colorado, provide important habitat for wildlife and serve as a critical food source for livestock. Although these grasslands have long been productive despite their normally arid environment, a warmer climate has increased the potential for more frequent and severe drought. For instance, a recent global study found that previous research likely underestimated the threat of extreme drought in grasslands.
Semi-arid grassland near the Colorado-Wyoming border. Matthew Sturchio, CC BY-ND Semi-arid grassland near Cheyenne, Wyo., with close-ups of flowers of some of the plants that grow there. Matthew Sturchio, CC BY-ND
At Colorado State University, biology professor Alan Knapp and I started the ecovoltaics research group to study the effects of solar development in grasslands. Our primary goal is to ensure an ecologically informed solar energy future.
Solar panels create microclimates
Strings of solar panels redirect rain to the edge of panels. Because of this, small rain events can provide biologically relevant amounts of water instead of evaporating quickly.
Simultaneously, solar panels shade plants growing beneath them. Some arrays, including the ones used in our study, move the panels to follow the path of the Sun across the sky.
This results in a combination of sun and shade that is very different from the uninterrupted sunlight beating down on plants in a grassland without solar panels. In turn, patterns of plant stress and water loss also differ in grasses under solar arrays.
A time-lapse video shows how a single-axis tracking solar array at Jack’s Solar Garden modifies patterns of sunlight availability.
How grasses respond to a solar panel canopy
To get a handle on how these different conditions affect grasses, we measured plant physiological response during the early stages of our study. More specifically, we tracked leaf carbon and water exchange throughout daylight hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., over 16 weeks in summer 2022 at Jack’s Solar Garden, a solar array over grassland in Longmont, Colorado.
In general, plants that are adapted to full sun conditions, including most grasses, might not be expected to grow as well in partial shade. But we suspected that growth benefits from reduced water stress could outweigh potential reductions in growth from shading. We call this the “aridity mitigation potential” hypothesis.
Sure enough, we found evidence of aridity mitigation across multiple years, with the most pronounced effect during the driest year.
When water is scarce, increases in grassland productivity are more valuable because there isn’t as much around. Therefore, increasing grassland production in dry years could provide more available food for grazing animals and help offset some of the economic harm of drought in rangelands.
Informing sustainable solar development in grasslands
So far, our research has been limited to a grassland dominated by a cool season grass: smooth brome. Although it is a perennial commonly planted for hay, fields dominated by smooth brome lack the diversity of life found in native grasslands.
Future work in native shortgrass prairies would provide new information about how solar panels affect plant water use, soils and grazing management in an ecosystem with 30% less precipitation than Jack’s Solar Garden. We’re beginning that work now at the shortgrass ecovoltaic research facility near Nunn, Colorado. This facility, which will be fully operational later in 2025, was constructed with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the wider SCAPES project.
Testing the effects of solar panels over grasslands in a native ecosystem with even greater aridity will help us develop a clearer picture of ways solar energy can be developed in concert with grassland health.
Matthew Sturchio works for Cornell University and serves as a Faculty Affiliate at Colorado State University. Funding for this work came from US Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture Sustainable Agricultural Systems project entitled “Sustainably Co-locating Agricultural and Photovoltaic Electricity Systems,” led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Grant Number: 2021-68012-35898, 2021–2025.
About 1 in 4 U.S. children – nearly 19 million – have at least one parent with substance use disorder. This includes parents who misuse alcohol, marijuana, prescription opioids or illegal drugs. Our estimate reflects an increase of over 2 million children since 2020 and an increase of 10 million from an earlier estimate using data from 2009 to 2014.
To arrive at this estimate, our team used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2023, the most recently released year of data. Nearly 57,000 people ages 12 and up responded.
Why it matters
As a researcher who studies substance use in adolescents and young adults, I know these children are at considerable risk for the disorder, and other mental health issues, such as behavioral problems and symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Substance use disorder is a psychiatric condition marked by frequent and heavy substance use. The disorder is characterized by numerous symptoms, including behaviors such as driving while intoxicated and fights with family and friends over substance use.
Despite the new study’s findings, mental health programs for children at risk could be cut.
Of the 19 million children, our study found about 3.5 million live with a parent who has multiple substance use disorders. More than 6 million have a parent with both a substance use disorder and significant symptoms of depression, anxiety or both. Alcohol is by far the most common substance used, with 12.5 million children affected.
Our 19 million estimate is significantly larger than an earlier estimate based on older data. That study, which reviewed data from 2009 to 2014, indicated that 8.7 million U.S. children – or roughly 1 in 8 – lived with a parent, or parents, with substance use disorder. That’s a difference of about 10 million children.
This happened primarily because between the time of the two studies – from 2014 to 2023 – the criteria for diagnosing someone with substance use disorder became broader and more inclusive. That change alone accounted for more than an 80% jump in the estimate of children affected by parental substance use disorder. There was also a further increase of 2 million in the number of affected children since 2020, which reflects the rising number of parents with a substance use disorder.
What’s next
There is a critical need to better identify parents with substance use disorder and the children who are affected by it. In my experience, many pediatric clinicians screen children for substance use, but they are much less likely to screen accompanying parents. So the first step is to make such screenings common and expected for both children and their adult caregivers.
But that is not the case now. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an expert panel that recommends screening and prevention best practices for clinicians, does not yet recommend such a screening for children, although that could help direct those in need to treatment and prevent the worst outcomes from substance use disorder.
Additional intervention, which requires funding, is needed from federal, state and local government. This may seem fanciful in an age of scrutinized government budgets. But the alternative is a bill that comes due later: millions of adults exposed to this disorder at an early age, only to struggle decades later with their own substance use and mental health problems.
The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.
Ty Schepis receives funding from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Any views expressed are those of Dr. Schepis and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIH/NIDA, the FDA, or SAMHSA. These funders had no role in any articles, and there was no editorial direction or censorship from the funders.
Biotech company Colossal Biosciences made headlines in April 2025 after claiming it had “successfully restored … the dire wolf to its rightful place in the ecosystem.” Three wolf pups – Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi – were born through this de-extinction project.
But behind the scenes lies a more complicated reality.
What Colossal actually did was edit a small number of gray wolf genes, aiming to create physical traits that resemble those of the extinct dire wolf. The edited embryos were implanted into surrogate domestic dogs.
Many scientistsand reportersexpressed skepticism about the claim that this amounts to restoring the dire wolf. Experts pointed out that tweaking a handful of genes does not replicate the full biological reality of a long-extinct species. Most of the dire wolf’s genetic makeup remains unknown and unreplicated.
This gap between appearance and biological identity raises a deeper question: What exactly is a species, and how do you decide whether something belongs to one species rather than another?
Biologists call the answer a species concept – a theory about what a species is and how researchers sort organisms into different groups. As a philosopher of science who studies what defines a species, I can say this: Whether de-extinction projects succeed depends on which species concept you think is right – and the truth is, even scientists don’t agree.
How scientists define a species
When scientists talk about biodiversity – the variety of life-forms found in nature – species are the basic building blocks. A species is supposed to reflect a real division between distinct groups of organisms in the natural world, not just a convenient label.
In classifying living things into species, scientists are trying to “carve nature at its joints” to reflect real patterns shaped by evolution. Even so, deciding what counts as a species turns out to be surprisingly difficult and highly controversial. Scientists have proposed dozens of distinct species concepts – some scholars have counted over 32 ways to define a species – and each draws the lines a little differently. These definitions don’t always agree on whether an organism is part of one species rather than another.
Two of the most influential species concepts highlight the challenge. The biological species concept defines a species as a group of organisms that can naturally breed with each other and produce fertile offspring. Under this view, African forest elephants and African savanna elephants were once classified as the same species because they could mate and have young together, even though they lived in different habitats and looked different.
Another approach, the phylogenetic species concept, emphasizes ancestry instead of breeding. A species, in this view, is a group that shares a unique evolutionary history, forming its own distinct branch on the tree of life. By this standard, researchers found that forest and savanna elephants had been genetically evolving separately for millions of years, long enough to be considered different species even if they could still interbreed.
Understanding these different species concepts is crucial for evaluating claims about de-extinction. If Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi could naturally mate with historical dire wolves and produce fertile offspring, then they would be considered true dire wolves under the biological species concept.
But for definitions of species that emphasize evolutionary history, such as the phylogenetic species concept, the lab-created wolves would not qualify as real dire wolves – even if they were indistinguishable from the originals – because they did not descend from historical dire wolves.
Despite differences on how best to define species, there is a surprising degree of consensus among scientists and philosophers on one big idea: What makes something part of a species is not an internal feature, such as a specific set of genes, but a relationship to something else – to its environment, to other organisms, or to a shared evolutionary history.
By this way of thinking – what is often called relationalism – there is no special “lemon gene” that makes a lemon and no hidden genetic marker that automatically makes an animal a dire wolf. Commonly shared across all these theories is the notion that belonging to a particular species depends on connections and context, not on anything inside the organism itself.
But what if that consensus is wrong?
On warblers and mitochondria
At first glance, the standard ways of defining a species seem to work well. But every now and then, nature throws a curveball – and even the most trusted definitions don’t quite fit.
Take the case of the blue-winged and golden-winged warblers. These two songbirds look and sound different. They wear different plumage, sing different songs and prefer different habitats. Birders and organizations such as the American Ornithological Society have always classified them as separate species.
Yet under two of the most common scientific definitions of species, the biological and phylogenetic species concepts, blue-winged and golden-winged warblers are considered the same species. These birds regularly mate and produce young together. They’ve been swapping genes for thousands of years. And when scientists looked at their nuclear DNA – the genetic material tucked inside the nucleus of each cell – they found the two birds are 99.97% identical. This finding suggests that even careful, widely accepted species definitions can miss something important.
The golden-winged warbler, left, and blue-winged warbler are considered two distinct species, but according to many species concepts they would count as the same. Wildreturn, Ken Janes/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA
So what if, instead, the key to being part of a species lies deep inside the organism, in the way its basic systems of life fit together?
Recent work in biology and philosophy suggests another way of thinking about species that focuses on a hidden but vital system inside cells: the partnership between two sets of genetic material. I and my colleague Kyle B. Heineexplore this idea by drawing on research in mitonuclear ecology – the study of how different parts of an organism’s genetic material adapt and work together to produce energy.
Virtually every cell contains two kinds of DNA. One set, stored in the nucleus, acts like an instruction manual that guides most of the cell’s activities. The other, found in structures called mitochondria – the cell’s energy centers – contains its own much smaller set of instructions geared toward supporting its unique role in keeping the cell running.
Producing energy depends on precise teamwork between nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA, like two musicians playing in perfect harmony. Over millions of years, the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA of each species have evolved together to form a unique, finely tuned system.
This insight has led to a new way of thinking about species, called the mitonuclear compatibility species concept. According to this idea, an organism belongs to a species if its two sets of genes – those in the nucleus and those in the mitochondria – are optimized to work together to generate life-sustaining energy. If the cellular partnership between these two genetic systems is mismatched, the organism may struggle to produce the energy it needs to survive, grow and reproduce.
By this standard, different species aren’t just defined by how they look or behave, but by whether their nuclear and mitochondrial genes form a uniquely coadapted team. For example, even though blue-winged and golden-winged warblers are nearly identical in their nuclear DNA, they differ by about 3% in their mitochondrial DNA – a clue that their energy systems are distinct. And that’s exactly what the mitonuclear compatibility species concept predicts: They really are two separate species.
Bringing back a species like the dire wolf isn’t just a matter of getting the fur right or tweaking a few visible traits. According to my preferred species concept, even if a recreated animal looks the part, it won’t truly be a dire wolf unless its inner genetic systems – the ones that power its cells – are finely tuned to work together, just as they were in the original species.
That’s a tall order. And without restoring the full inner machinery of the original species, any lab-grown look-alike would fall short.
Understanding how scientists define species – and how those definitions shape the possibilities of de-extinction – offers more than just a lesson in biological bookkeeping. It shows that classification is not just about names or lineages, but about recognizing the deep biological patterns that sustain life, offering a deeper appreciation of what it really means to bring back the past.
Reviving an extinct species isn’t like assembling a model from spare parts. It means recreating a living, breathing system – one whose parts must work in concert, not just look the part.
And that’s why philosophy and science both matter here: To understand what we’re bringing back, we must first understand what was truly lost.
Elay Shech does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Prime numbers are numbers that are not products of smaller whole numbers.Jeremiah Bartz
A shard of smooth bone etched with irregular marks dating back 20,000 years puzzled archaeologists until they noticed something unique – the etchings, lines like tally marks, may have represented prime numbers. Similarly, a clay tablet from 1800 B.C.E. inscribed with Babylonian numbers describes a number system built on prime numbers.
As the Ishango bone, the Plimpton 322 tablet and other artifacts throughout history display, prime numbers have fascinated and captivated people throughout history. Today, prime numbers and their properties are studied in number theory, a branch of mathematics and active area of research today.
Informally, a positive counting number larger than one is prime if that number of dots can be arranged only into a rectangular array with one column or one row. For example, 11 is a prime number since 11 dots form only rectangular arrays of sizes 1 by 11 and 11 by 1. Conversely, 12 is not prime since you can use 12 dots to make an array of 3 by 4 dots, with multiple rows and multiple columns. Math textbooks define a prime number as a whole number greater than one whose only positive divisors are only 1 and itself.
Math historian Peter S. Rudman suggests that Greek mathematicians were likely the first to understand the concept of prime numbers, around 500 B.C.E.
Around 300 B.C.E., the Greek mathematician and logician Euler proved that there are infinitely many prime numbers. Euler began by assuming that there is a finite number of primes. Then he came up with a prime that was not on the original list to create a contradiction. Since a fundamental principle of mathematics is being logically consistent with no contradictions, Euler then concluded that his original assumption must be false. So, there are infinitely many primes.
The argument established the existence of infinitely many primes, however it was not particularly constructive. Euler had no efficient method to list all the primes in an ascending list.
Prime numbers, when expressed as that number of dots, can be arranged only in a single row or column, rather than a square or rectangle. David Eppstein/Wikimedia Commons
In the middle ages, Arab mathematicians advanced the Greeks’ theory of prime numbers, referred to as hasam numbers during this time. The Persian mathematician Kamal al-Din al-Farisi formulated the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, which states that any positive integer larger than one can be expressed uniquely as a product of primes.
From this view, prime numbers are the basic building blocks for constructing any positive whole number using multiplication – akin to atoms combining to make molecules in chemistry.
Today, primes in this form are called Mersenne primes after the French monk Marin Mersenne. Many of the largest known primes follow this format.
Several early mathematicians believed that a number of the form (2p – 1) is prime whenever p is prime. But in 1536, mathematician Hudalricus Regius noticed that 11 is prime but not (211 – 1), which equals 2047. The number 2047 can be expressed as 11 times 89, disproving the conjecture.
While not always true, number theorists realized that the (2p – 1) shortcut often produces primes and gives a systematic way to search for large primes.
The search for large primes
The number (2p – 1) is much larger relative to the value of p and provides opportunities to identify large primes.
When the number (2p – 1) becomes sufficiently large, it is much harder to check whether (2p – 1) is prime – that is, if (2p – 1) dots can be arranged only into a rectangular array with one column or one row.
Fortunately, Édouard Lucas developed a prime number test in 1878, later proved by Derrick Henry Lehmer in 1930. Their work resulted in an efficient algorithm for evaluating potential Mersenne primes. Using this algorithm with hand computations on paper, Lucas showed in 1876 that the 39-digit number (2127 – 1) equals 170,141,183,460,469,231,731,687,303,715,884,105,727, and that value is prime.
Also known as M127, this number remains the largest prime verified by hand computations. It held the record for largest known prime for 75 years.
Researchers began using computers in the 1950s, and the pace of discovering new large primes increased. In 1952, Raphael M. Robinson identified five new Mersenne primes using a Standard Western Automatic Computer to carry out the Lucas-Lehmer prime number tests.
As computers improved, the list of Mersenne primes grew, especially with the Cray supercomputer’s arrival in 1964. Although there are infinitely many primes, researchers are unsure how many fit the type (2p – 1) and are Mersenne primes.
By the early 1980s, researchers had accumulated enough data to confidently believe that infinitely many Mersenne primes exist. They could even guess how often these prime numbers appear, on average. Mathematicians have not found proof so far, but new data continues to support these guesses.
George Woltman, a computer scientist, founded the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, or GIMPS, in 1996. Through this collaborative program, anyone can download freely available software from the GIMPS website to search for Mersenne prime numbers on their personal computers. The website contains specific instructions on how to participate.
GIMPS has now identified 18 Mersenne primes, primarily on personal computers using Intel chips. The program averages a new discovery about every one to two years.
The largest known prime
Luke Durant, a retired programmer, discovered the current record for the largest known prime, (2136,279,841 – 1), in October 2024.
Referred to as M136279841, this 41,024,320-digit number was the 52nd Mersenne prime identified and was found by running GIMPS on a publicly available cloud-based computing network.
This network used Nvidia chips and ran across 17 countries and 24 data centers. These advanced chips provide faster computing by handling thousands of calculations simultaneously. The result is shorter run times for algorithms such as prime number testing.
New and increasingly powerful computer chips have allowed prime-number hunters to find increasingly larger primes. Fritzchens Fritz/Flickr
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a civil liberty group that offers cash prizes for identifying large primes. It awarded prizes in 2000 and 2009 for the first verified 1 million-digit and 10 million-digit prime numbers.
Large prime number enthusiasts’ next two challenges are to identify the first 100 million-digit and 1 billion-digit primes. EFF prizes of US$150,000 and $250,000, respectively, await the first successful individual or group.
Eight of the 10 largest known prime numbers are Mersenne primes, so GIMPS and cloud computing are poised to play a prominent role in the search for record-breaking large prime numbers.
Large prime numbers have a vital role in many encryption methods in cybersecurity, so every internet user stands to benefit from the search for large prime numbers. These searches help keep digital communications and sensitive information safe.
In April 2025, the UK’s Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers, offering long-awaited clarification on how “sex” should be interpreted under the Equality Act 2010. The court ruled that, for the purposes of this legislation, “woman” refers to biological sex, not gender identity.
The decision sparked intense debate across political, legal, and social spheres. But beyond the controversy, one crucial question remains: what does this mean for employers and employees?
For managers, the implications are significant. Legal obligations must now be understood within a clarified framework that distinguishes between biological sex and gender reassignment.
Employers face legal risks such as unlimited compensation at an employment tribunal. There’s also the potential fallout in terms of their reputation, as well as internal tensions as staff navigate issues of identity, belief and inclusion.
The Supreme Court case centred on whether Scottish legislation could expand the definition of “woman” to include transgender women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC). The court ruled it could not, reaffirming that the Equality Act defines “woman” and “man” by reference to biological sex. While the Act separately protects people with the characteristic of gender reassignment, the two are not interchangeable in law.
This ruling has wide-reaching implications for how single-sex services – such as women-only refuges, sports or changing facilities – can be structured. Under Schedule 3 of the Equality Act, providers may offer single-sex services where it is a “proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”. The judgement affirms that such services must now be assessed strictly through the lens of biological sex.
For employers, this means they are required to navigate a more tightly defined legal landscape. The Equality Act 2010 recognises both sex and gender reassignment as protected characteristics. While single-sex spaces are lawful in limited, justifiable contexts, the legal bar for exclusion remains high.
In practical terms, employers must ensure that provision of single-sex facilities – such as toilets, showers and changing rooms – complies with the Act.
Any such policies must be rooted in demonstrable need, such as privacy, dignity or safety concerns, and must not cause undue harm to trans employees. Providing gender-neutral or private alternatives is increasingly seen as good practice to minimise legal and reputational risk.
There is a real risk of legal claims on either side. Cisgender women may bring claims where their rights to single-sex spaces are perceived to be undermined. Meanwhile, trans individuals may claim indirect discrimination if reasonable adjustments such as updating internal systems (email or ID badges, for example) or offering a uniform to reflect the employee’s identity are not made.
Employers must ensure that decisions on workplace design or service provision are evidence-based, proportionate and reviewed regularly.
What employers should be offering
Navigating this complex issue demands more than legal compliance. At its core, this is about people – and creating a respectful and inclusive workplace culture that values all employees.
Employers should review and reinforce workplace values through:
• clear dignity and respect policies that ensure staff are aware of lawful protections for both sex-based and gender identity rights
• voluntary and inclusive communication practices, such as the optional use of pronouns in email signatures or profiles
• training for managers and staff on both the legal framework and the lived realities of trans and gender-critical perspectives
• robust mechanisms for resolving disputes that treat all complaints sensitively and without bias.
Such steps will not only mitigate legal risk, they can also foster trust, morale and retention in a diverse workforce.
Employee handbooks and HR policies should be checked and updated if necessary so that all staff know what they are entitled to. Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Shutterstock
Employers must review whether their facilities and HR policies comply with the clarified legal interpretation.
In terms of facilities, where single-sex provisions exist, employers should ensure that they serve a clear and proportionate aim. This might be a female-only changing room in a fitness centre or healthcare setting where staff or service users are required to undress. Or it could be a women-only toilet or shower facility in a refuge for survivors of domestic abuse.
At the same time, gender-neutral or private alternatives should be considered to meet the needs of trans and non-binary employees.
And when it comes to HR and equality policies, employee handbooks, inclusion strategies and grievance procedures should be updated in line with the ruling. Employers should carry out impact assessments to determine whether any group is indirectly disadvantaged. They should then clearly document any steps for mitigation.
One of the most sensitive implications of the ruling is how employers manage conflicting beliefs. Some employees may have gender-critical views, while others consider gender identity as central to inclusion.
Following the decision in the Forstater v CGD Europe case, these views – if expressed respectfully – are protected under the Equality Act’s provisions on religion or belief. Employers must walk a careful line: upholding lawful freedom of belief while enforcing respectful conduct.
Best practice includes things like promoting freedom of expression without tolerating harassment or abuse, avoiding compelled speech (for example, forced pronoun use) while encouraging inclusive language, and offering mediation where tensions arise between staff.
The key is balance. It should be possible to protect all employees’ rights while ensuring that no one feels unsafe or undermined. Some gender-critical employees may feel legally vindicated in expressing sex-based views. Others, particularly trans and non-binary staff, may feel their identities are being questioned or their inclusion diminished.
Workplace dignity policies must ensure that everyone is treated respectfully and fairly. As such, employers must carefully manage interpersonal dynamics and provide clear channels for raising concerns.
The Supreme Court ruling does not strip rights – it clarifies the legal terrain. For employers, the priority should be legal clarity, respectful inclusion and thoughtful leadership. This is not a time for reactive or ideological responses. Rather, it calls for policies that are lawful, proportionate and based on the principles of fairness and dignity.
By updating facilities, reviewing policies, training staff and managing conflict with integrity, employers can ensure that their workplaces uphold the law while building a culture of trust and mutual respect. The law has spoken, and now it’s time for employers to lead.
Jonathan Lord 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: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, May 30 (Xinhua) — China’s transport sector saw 22.74 billion inter-regional trips in the first four months of this year, data released by the Ministry of Transport showed Friday.
According to the agency, this figure increased by 3.8 percent compared to the same period in 2024.
In particular, 20.96 billion trips were made on roads, and 76.55 million on waterways, the ministry said in a statement.
The country also recorded an increase in commercial freight traffic between January and April, with the total volume reaching 18.09 billion tons, up 4.7 percent year-on-year.
Fixed asset investment in the country’s transportation sector totaled 950.3 billion yuan (about $132.3 billion) during the period, according to the ministry. -0-
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