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Category: United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Report by the Director of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR): UK response, March 2025.

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    Speech

    Report by the Director of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR): UK response, March 2025.

    Ambassador Neil Holland reaffirms UK support for the OSCE human dimension and calls on Russia and Belarus to cease human rights violations.

    Thank you,  Mr Chair.  Director Telalian, welcome and thank you for your report.  I hear congratulations are in order,  so congratulations on receiving an honorary degree from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki earlier this week –  showing your expertise is valued outside as well as within this Council.  

    No one country has all the answers to global human rights challenges. That is why – as participating States – we agreed that implementation of OSCE human dimension commitments requires ongoing commitment and attention from all participating States and is not solely a matter of internal policy.         

    The United Kingdom will continue to engage with ODIHR and RFOM in respect of our own approach to human rights, the rule of law and democracy. We see strong synergies between your mandate and our priorities and principles, which include consistency – between domestic policy and what the UK stands for internationally;  partnership – listening to others, working together to achieve shared goals;  and openness – including towards civil society.  

    We commend your work to defend civic space and fundamental freedoms, to uphold the rule of law, to champion equal rights for all and to support effective, accountable and inclusive institutions.    Rest assured of the UK’s continued support, in this Council and elsewhere.   

    I am delighted to be able to confirm today that the UK will continue its practice of providing extrabudgetary support for ODIHR’s work during the next three years. I would add that an agreed 2025 Unified Budget is vital. I urge all participating States to stop politicising the budget process and join consensus on a budget for this year 

    Director, your report leaves no room for doubt.  Human rights and fundamental freedoms face growing challenges across our region. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, the human rights situation in the Temporarily Occupied Territories has deteriorated significantly, with negative impacts of Russian aggression being felt across Ukraine. We welcome ODIHR’s contribution to monitoring and documenting violations of international law, including mistreatment of civilians and prisoners of war.  We continue to support ODIHR’s contribution to international accountability efforts.  

    In Russia, internal repression has enabled external aggression within our region and undermined our collective security. I call on Russia and Belarus to cease internal repression and release all political prisoners now.      

    I regret that a number of participating States have failed to co-operate fully with ODIHR on international election observation. Fulfilling these necessary conditions is part of meeting our shared OSCE principles and commitments.  I call on the countries concerned to provide the necessary conditions for effective and unrestricted operation of future election observation missions and to engage with ODIHR in support of free and fair elections. 

    Civic space continues to be challenged across our region, including in Georgia.  The UK condemns violence against protestors and use of arbitrary detention and physical violence to silence critics of the Georgian Dream government. Individuals responsible for the unlawful use of force must be held accountable.    As a fellow OSCE participating State, we will explore all mechanisms in the OSCE context going forward and encourage Georgia to return to the path of European integration that the vast majority of Georgians desire.   

    Director, Mr Chair.  Thank you very much.

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ILO Governing Body: UK Statement on the occupied Arab territories

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    Speech

    ILO Governing Body: UK Statement on the occupied Arab territories

    POL/5: UK Statement for the Enhanced programme of development cooperation for the occupied Arab territories. Delivered at the 353th ILO Governing Body in Geneva.

    Thank you Chair

    1. At each Governing Body meeting since the 7th of October, the UK has spoken of the horrors experienced by Palestinians and Israelis. The hostages have endured unimaginable suffering at the hands of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. For the people of Gaza who have lost lives, homes or loved ones, this conflict has been a living nightmare. We need all parties to uphold the ceasefire and ensure it leads to a sustainable peace and the reconstruction of Gaza.

    2. We thank the Office for your update to the POL5 document and, as ever, I’d like to commend the ongoing actions of the ILO staff in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the continued roll out and expansion of the ILO’s emergency response programme.

    3. We remain deeply concerned about the continued, profound impact on the economy across the Occupied Palestinian Territories with GDP decreased by 26% in the OPTs and 82% in Gaza. There are significant job losses, but for those in work, conditions have significantly worsened with low wages, poor safety standards, and lack of social protection.

    4. Since 7 October 2023, 200,000 permits for Palestinian workers in Israel have been revoked, further impacting the economy and contributing to rising poverty. We urge the government of Israel to reinstate these permits without delay.

    5. Economic stability is squarely in the interest of both parties. The UK also calls on Israel to fully implement the 1994 Paris Protocol and to reduce barriers to trade, helping the Palestinian private sector to recover.

    6. We also note with concern that the implementation of the Knesset legislation on UNRWA not only risks upending the humanitarian response, but threatens thousands of jobs across the OPT. We urge the government of Israel to work with international partners, including the UN, to ensure continuity of UNRWA’s operations; no other entity or UN Agency currently has the capacity or infrastructure to replace their mandate and experience.

    7. Chair, the UK believes that economic development programmes are the key to enabling Palestinians to preserve their economy, encourage private investment and restart economic growth. So, we encourage the international community to continue to provide this. UK support to date includes agricultural productivity, private sector investment and facilitation between Palestinians and Israelis in water, energy, trade. It included £10m in financial aid and Technical Assistance to strengthen the PA’s ability to deliver services, maintain stability, and deliver reform.

    To conclude, Chair, the UK supports the decision as amended by Oman on behalf of the Arab Group.  

    Thank you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Kent taxi driver jailed after inflating turnover to secure three Covid loans

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Kent taxi driver jailed after inflating turnover to secure three Covid loans

    Jail for taxi driver who abused Covid Bounce Back Loan Scheme

    • Taxi driver Nelson Clark dishonestly secured three Covid Bounce Back Loans worth a combined £130,000 

    • Clark fraudulently overstated his turnover on the applications and failed to use the money for his businesses as he was required to do 

    • The 34-year-old has been jailed following investigations into his applications by the Insolvency Service 

    A Kent taxi driver has been jailed after exploiting a government-backed Covid loan scheme on three separate occasions during the pandemic. 

    Nelson Clark fraudulently applied for three Bounce Back Loans in 2020 by significantly exaggerating his turnover. 

    He then used the funds for personal use, breaking the rules of the scheme again. 

    Clark, 34, of Silver Birch Close, Dartford, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison when he appeared at Croydon Crown Court on Thursday 13 March. 

    David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: 

    Nelson Clark deliberately targeted a scheme which was set up to support genuine small businesses through Covid. 

    Clark made false representations on not just one occasion, but three times within a two-month period. His actions were clearly dishonest and he made matters worse by spending the money he received for his own personal benefit. 

    Five years on from the start of the pandemic, the Insolvency Service remains committed to taking action against the fraudsters who cynically applied for money they were not entitled to during a national emergency.

    Clark first applied to the bank for a £30,000 Bounce Back Loan in May 2020 on behalf of his N Clark Taxis business. 

    In the application, Clark claimed his annual turnover was £120,000. But Insolvency Service analysis revealed this was an over-estimate of around £70,000. 

    Two months later, Clark dishonestly secured a further £100,000 in Bounce Back Loan funds from different banks under the names of Nelson Clark Management and Rosewood Motors. 

    In both applications, Clark obtained £50,000 by falsely claiming his turnover for both businesses was £200,000 each. 

    Significant amounts of the £130,000 Clark fraudulently secured were used for personal purposes, including transfers of £80,000 to a third party. 

    Clark was declared bankrupt in August 2021 and signed a 10-year Bankruptcy Restrictions Undertaking in March 2022, restricting him from being able to borrow more than £500 without disclosing his bankrupt status. 

    The Insolvency Service is seeking to recover the fraudulently obtained funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. 

    Further information 

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Social Work Forum 2025

    Source: Scotland – Highland Council

    Social Workers in The Highland Council in partnership with NHS Highland are hosting a Joint Social Workers’ Forum to celebrate World Social Worker’s Day 2025 on 18 March 2025 at The Barn Church, Inverness.

    This year’s event theme: “Strengthening Intergenerational Solidarity for Enduring Wellbeing” – will see a celebration of the profession. Workers from Justice, Child Health, Adult Services, Children’s Services, and Emergency Social Work Service will come together for a day of inputs and workshops.

    In attendance will be, Iain Ramsay, Professional Social Work Adviser Scottish Government and Karin Herber, Professional Officer SASW (Scottish Association of Social Workers) to Highland.

    Iain Ramsay will deliver a presentation on the role of Social Workers and their value and positive influence in today’s society. Followed by workshops on the Social Work Education and Learning and how to sustain our love for Social Work and keeping ourselves well.

    Also in attendance is Dr Vik Kelly-Teare, Associate Dean of Health Social Care and Life Sciences at UHI who will present her research on Domestic Abuse in Same Sex relationships.

    The Forum will be opened by Fiona Duncan, Chief Social Work Officer (Highland Council), alongside Simon Steer, Director of Adult Social Care (NHS Highland).

    Fiona Duncan commented “As Social Workers, we are looking forward to this annual conference to share practice both locally and nationally, network within Highland and reflect on the positive and invaluable contributions Social Workers make across the Highlands”. 

    14 Mar 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why are suicide rates so high in bipolar disorder, and what can we do about it?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Marcos del Pozo Banos, Senior Research Data Analyst, Swansea University

    Heston Blumenthal, the celebrity chef known for his experimental cuisine, recently shared his experience of being sectioned under the UK’s Mental Health Act, saying it was “the best thing” that could have happened to him. His openness about living with bipolar disorder highlights the little-discussed fact that people with this condition face one of the highest suicide risks of any mental illness.

    Bipolar disorder is a severe mental illness characterised by episodes of mania (high energy, impulsivity) and depression (hopelessness, fatigue). Suicidal thoughts and behaviour are a core feature of the disorder, with fluctuating risk that can persist over long periods.

    Although bipolar disorder affects around 2% of the population, studies suggest that up to 50% of people with the condition attempt suicide at least once, and 15-20% die by suicide – a rate much higher than in the general population. Unlike global suicide rates, suicide deaths in bipolar disorder have not declined.

    Understanding why suicide is so common in people with this disorder is difficult. But one major factor is mood instability. Rapid shifts between emotional highs and lows, as well as mixed states where symptoms of mania (impulsivity) and depression (despair) occur together, can be particularly dangerous.

    Social and economic factors also play a role. Research we conducted at Swansea University shows that the population suffering from bipolar disorder has become poorer over the last two decades. Financial strain, social isolation and poorer access to healthcare all lead to worse outcomes. Beyond suicide, people with the condition die up to 20 years earlier than the general population, often from preventable health problems such as heart disease.

    While bipolar disorder cannot be cured, it can be managed. The most commonly used drug, lithium, has been found to reduce suicide risk significantly in some patients. However, people with the condition struggle to take it regularly.

    The drug’s side-effects can affect the kidneys, thyroid, metabolism, cognition and cardiovascular health. Managing these side-effects requires regular blood tests and continuous monitoring, making long-term treatment difficult.

    Many people stop taking their medication during manic phases, believing they are cured.

    Other treatments, such as antipsychotics, mood stabilisers and electroconvulsive therapy (where electric currents are passed through the brain while the patient is under anaesthesia), can also be effective in some types and phases of bipolar – for example, in states of mixed mania and depression where there is a high risk of suicide – but they come with their own harms and limitations.

    Some psychiatrists now question whether continuous lifelong treatment is necessary for all patients.

    Even when people seek help, healthcare systems often fail to intervene effectively. Suicide risk is highest in the days following discharge from a psychiatric hospital. Many people who later die by suicide have recently visited emergency rooms after hurting themselves, but the help they received was either delayed or not enough to prevent further harm.

    Existing tools to identify and measure suicide risk, such as checklists, questionnaires and structured interviews, are ineffective. Many people with bipolar disorder who die by suicide are assessed as “low risk” shortly beforehand, exposing a crucial gap between doctor and patient perceptions. This is in great part because these tools rely too heavily on past factors such as suicide attempts (which may not be disclosed), rather than dynamic, real-time distress or mood instability.

    Despite the significant effect that bipolar disorder has on individuals, families and society, the development of new drugs has been frustratingly slow. Lithium, first used in the 1940s, remains the go-to treatment, while most other drugs were originally designed to treat schizophrenia. No truly new treatments have emerged in decades.

    Not a single disorder

    One difficulty is that bipolar is not a single disorder but a spectrum of conditions, rendering the one-size-fits-all approach inadequate — lithium is effective in only about one in three patients.

    Drug development for bipolar disorder is particularly challenging. The complexity of bipolar disorder calls for equally complex trials that need to consider patient variability, ethical concerns and strict safety requirements. New treatments also face strict approval hurdles because lithium – despite its limitations – is highly effective for some patients. This results in slow treatment development, leaving patients with limited options.

    Research is also slowed by concerns about whether it’s ethical to involve patients in trials. But it’s important to include people with the disorder who have experienced suicidal thoughts and behaviour, to better understand their mindset and decision-making.

    However, new approaches offer hope. Several research projects, such as Datamind, are developing artificial intelligence platforms to help find new drugs quicker and to personalise treatments based on patients’ genetic and clinical profiles. AI could lead to faster, more effective therapies tailored to individual needs.

    Blumenthal’s story highlights that being sectioned, while traumatic, can save lives and keep people safe. Yet the stigma around psychiatric hospitalisation prevents many from seeking care. There is a widespread belief that hospitalisation should be avoided at all costs – but for some, it can be the difference between life and death.

    However, hospitalisation alone is not enough. The mental health system must do better to ensure that people with bipolar disorder receive long-term care, particularly during high-risk periods like hospital discharge. To prevent suicide, we need to rethink how risk is assessed, improve follow-up care, and reduce barriers to treatment.

    While the statistics on bipolar are alarming, the message should be one of hope. The condition is treatable and suicide is preventable, but only if we commit to improving access to care, reducing stigma and advancing research.

    Marcos del Pozo Banos research is funded by UKRI – Medical Research Council through the DATAMIND Hub (MRC reference: MR/W014386/1), and the Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health (established with support from the Wolfson Foundation).

    Ann John receives funding from Health and Care Research Wales, NIHR, Wolfson Foundation and MRC (DATAMIND).

    Tania Gergel works for Bipolar UK as the Director of Research. She receives research funding from National Institute of Health Research, the Medical Research Council and King’s College London. She is also on the Board of the National Centre for Mental Health in Wales, and is an Honorary Visiting Professor at Cardiff University and Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Division of Psychiatry at University College London.

    – ref. Why are suicide rates so high in bipolar disorder, and what can we do about it? – https://theconversation.com/why-are-suicide-rates-so-high-in-bipolar-disorder-and-what-can-we-do-about-it-251376

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Keir Starmer promises more ‘democratic control’ of the NHS – how do other European countries do it?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nick Fahy, Director of the Health and Care Research Group, RAND Europe

    Sir Keir Starmer, the UK prime minister, announced on March 13 that the government will move to abolish NHS England in the next two years. During this period, the government plans to bring its functions under the UK’s health ministry, with the aim of bringing the health service “into democratic control”. What does this mean, and what difference will it make?

    When the NHS was established in 1948, part of the aim was to make the local health problems of patients across the country the concern of the national government. The plan succeeded. Today, the NHS is politically highly important – it matters enormously to patients and the public, and has one of the largest spending budgets in the UK.

    At the same time, it is technically difficult to manage, with local needs and opportunities and complex organisation that are hard and sometimes inefficient to manage centrally.

    Striking the balance between delivering high-quality patient care and addressing the technical complexity of doing so is a continual challenge for governments. The solution chosen as part of the 2012 health and welfare reforms was to establish NHS England as an organisationally independent government body to provide technical and operational leadership for the NHS – leaving ministers insulated from those day-to-day issues and free to set an overall strategy.

    The government’s decision to abolish NHS England marks a change back to direct ministerial grip on the system. This may reflect high public concern about the NHS and pressure on its services, as well as a desire by the recently elected government to exercise more direct control over the health service.

    How does this compare to other health systems?

    The NHS has long been an unusually centralised system. Although the English NHS covers more than 55 million people, it has historically been run by central government, which this change reinforces.

    In contrast, although Spain has a similar NHS-style system, the Spanish health system is run by the 17 regional governments through their departments of health, with the largest covering 8.6 million people.

    Europe’s other large national health system, in Italy, now also has a decentralised system. The national government sets the overall principles and benefits, but the actual services are under the control of regional governments.

    Italy also has a decentralised health system.
    Massimo Todaro/Shutterstock

    These decentralised systems strike a different balance between political control and operational management, by bringing them together at a more local level.

    If the UK government was to extend its aim of bringing the NHS into democratic control by taking a similar decentralisation approach to other NHS-style systems in Europe, what would this look like?

    The NHS already has 42 integrated care systems at the local level. These already work with upper-tier local authorities, such as county councils, and are mostly aligned with their boundaries, but are under the control of central government.

    Other countries already decentralise their health systems to similar levels. In Sweden, for example, the 21 counties are responsible for financing, purchasing and providing their health services, under the democratic control of the county councillors. While there might be questions about the capacity of local government in England to take on such a role, experience from elsewhere shows that it should be possible.

    Compared with those decentralised systems, the abolition of NHS England is a relatively minor change. It puts ministers more directly in charge of the English NHS, but does not change the basic structure of the service nor its control by central government.

    Examples from other countries suggest that if the ambition is to bring the health service more into democratic control, there are options for much more profound change. This would strike a whole new balance between political control and local management.

    Tom Ling is a member of the Labour party.

    Hampton Toole and Nick Fahy 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.

    – ref. Keir Starmer promises more ‘democratic control’ of the NHS – how do other European countries do it? – https://theconversation.com/keir-starmer-promises-more-democratic-control-of-the-nhs-how-do-other-european-countries-do-it-252313

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Abolishing NHS England could shift power from the centre – but health service overhauls rarely go well

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Judith Smith, Professor of Health Policy and Management, University of Birmingham

    The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, has announced plans to abolish NHS England, the organisation that oversees and manages the NHS in England, employing 19,000 people.

    He declared he was bringing the NHS back under “democratic control” and cutting unnecessary bureaucracy by moving oversight of the NHS back into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). This will reverse plans put in place by the Conservative-led coalition government in 2013 when it tried to “take the politics out of the NHS” by having NHS England as an independent body.

    The NHS is the largest public sector organisation in England, seeing 1.7 million people each day including in patients’ own homes, local GP surgeries, pharmacies and hospitals. It employs 1.7 million people, is funded largely out of general taxation, and has an annual budget of about £190 billion.

    The NHS is, however, one of the most centrally organised health systems in the world. This contrasts with many European and other countries where there is typically a national ministry of health to set strategy, with the detail of how this is implemented being left to regional and local councils, health authorities and hospitals.

    Some analysts have suggested that the NHS has become even more centrally managed in recent years, but the truth is it has always been held very close by its political masters.

    On the face of it, there are advantages to abolishing NHS England, allowing DHSC to focus on clarifying politicians’ priorities for how and on what NHS funding will be spent. These will include reducing waiting lists for operations, making it easier to get an appointment with a GP, and ensuring that emergency departments can deal quickly with patients without resorting to “corridor care”.

    In turn, local NHS organisations such as integrated care boards (who among other things organise GP, dental, pharmacy and optometry services) and NHS trusts (who run hospitals, community, mental health and ambulance services) can concentrate on making sure these policy priorities are put into practice in ways that work best for local communities.

    NHS England has a range of other important roles that will need to be reallocated, whether to an expanded DHSC or elsewhere. These include planning the training of healthcare staff, organising vaccination and screening programmes, purchasing medicines, and collating huge amounts of data about NHS activity and performance.

    The government has also announced plans to halve staffing in the 42 local integrated care boards, so any move of former NHS England roles to this level will probably only happen if these local boards merge, which now seems likely.

    The government appears therefore to have signalled another NHS management “redisorganisation” – something the NHS has suffered on a periodic basis, a consequence of its highly centralised and political nature. Research evidence is clear that management reorganisations struggle to achieve their objectives, causing instead significant distraction away from work to improve services for patients.

    In his major review of the NHS for the new Labour government in September 2024, Lord Ara Darzi – a former Labour health minister – highlighted the urgent need for more skilled and effective managers to support NHS staff in restoring and improving the service after years of economic austerity and the challenges of the pandemic. This seems to run counter to recent announcements about “cutting bureaucracy”.

    With careful planning, there is, however, potential for the abolition of NHS England to lead to a slimmer DHSC (more akin to some of its European counterparts) with a smaller number of well-resourced and managed integrated care boards who could effectively steer, support and monitor local NHS trusts and primary care services.

    In 2002, Alan Milburn, then secretary of state for health in Tony Blair’s government, issued a white paper called Shifting the Balance of Power Within the NHS. Milburn is now a leading figure in the Starmer government’s health team, so it is perhaps not surprising that we have these new plans to slim the policy centre, shift power and decision-making more locally, and enable stronger accountability to politicians and the public.

    What is likely to happen?

    What will matter as much as what is done is how these changes are made. The government has Lord Darzi’s clear and comprehensive diagnosis of the NHS’s problems. It now needs to prioritise what should be done first and what can wait, and has made a good start on this with its recent planning guidance to the NHS.

    What will be much more difficult will be to decide exactly how to reduce and then abolish NHS England – doing this in a way that ensures important roles are moved smoothly to DHSC, integrated care boards and NHS trusts.

    History is not encouraging. There is a big risk that NHS managers will find themselves focusing too much attention on handling a major reorganisation when they (and patients) would rather they concentrate on improving services.

    The government clearly wants to hold on to setting policy direction for the NHS while letting go of the detail of implementation to local level. But ultimately, it will be held to account by a population impatient for improvements to NHS services.

    Judith Smith receives funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research for research and evaluation of health services. She has been funded by the Health Foundation to provide expert primary care policy advice. Judith is Trustee and Chair of Health Services Research UK and Director of Health Services Research with Birmingham Health Partners. She is a Senior Associate of the Nuffield Trust.

    – ref. Abolishing NHS England could shift power from the centre – but health service overhauls rarely go well – https://theconversation.com/abolishing-nhs-england-could-shift-power-from-the-centre-but-health-service-overhauls-rarely-go-well-252240

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Waiting lists, crumbling buildings, staff burnout: five years on, COVID is still hurting the financial health of the NHS

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Catia Nicodemo, Professor of Health Economics, Brunel University of London

    The NHS was hit hard by COVID. And no amount of appreciative clapping or painted rainbows could distract from the vulnerabilities which were exposed by the pandemic – or the challenges it created.

    Some of those challenges – like the staggering backlog in patient care, or the huge mental and physical toll experienced by staff – will take years to overcome.

    And anyone compelled to attend a hospital in the UK at the moment can see the evidence at first hand. Wards are very busy and staff are overstretched.

    This is part of the legacy of a fast-spreading virus which killed 232,112 people in the UK and left an estimated 2 million suffering from the effects of long-COVID. It demanded urgent action from hospitals and health workers and brought immediate and widespread disruption to routine care, with appointments for elective surgery, cancer screenings and chronic disease management all delayed.

    One 2024 study I worked on analysed appointment cancellations for cancer patients during the pandemic, and found that they waited an average of 19 days longer than before for rescheduled appointments. (Mortality rates remained stable though, indicating that the NHS effectively prioritised the most urgent cases.)

    This kind of disruption has left the healthcare system facing a monumental backlog, with treatment waiting lists soaring to record levels. According to the British Medical Association, there are over 7.5 million people now on waiting lists (compared to 4.5 million before the pandemic) – and those waiting times are longer.

    Cutting this waiting list is apparently one of the prime ministers’s priorities. But there is no easy fix.

    The basic infrastructure of the NHS – the buildings, IT equipment, offices – is creaking, with outdated facilities, insufficient beds and a lack of specialised equipment. And one study suggests that capital funding – investment in assets that will be used for more than a year – for NHS trusts in England is down by 21% over the past five years.

    This is primarily because the Department of Health and Social Care has been diverting long-term investment funds to cover day-to-day operational costs such as staff salaries and medicines.

    Since 2019, £500 million of capital investment has been cancelled or postponed. And while overall NHS budgets have been growing, the increased spending has often been absorbed by inflation, rising demand and the need to address immediate pressures. This leaves little for infrastructure upgrades, new equipment or technological advancements.

    The Health Foundation has warned that the lack of a long-term capital funding strategy could further jeopardise patient care in the future. Many NHS facilities no longer meet the needs of a modern health service, with some hospitals requiring complete refurbishment or replacement rather than just repairs.

    And of course, treating patients is not just about equipment and buildings. Nurses and doctors are under extreme pressure, facing unprecedented levels of stress, burnout and trauma. A recent survey revealed that one in three NHS doctors are experiencing extreme tiredness, impairing their ability to treat patients effectively.

    NHS key workers wave from inside Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, May 2020.
    Guy William/Shutterstock

    A similar number said their ability to practice medicine may have been negatively affected by fatigue, with some even reporting cases of patient harm or a near-miss incident.

    Stressed NHS

    And although the NHS workforce has actually grown over the past five years, it has not been sufficient to reduce waiting lists, deal with growing demand, or improve staff morale. Anxiety, stress and depression accounted for for over 624,300 working days lost in one month last year.

    Without a healthy and motivated workforce, the NHS’s recovery efforts will remain severely hampered. Other contributing factors include increased demand for healthcare services, partly due to an ageing population and the growing prevalence of chronic conditions.

    To address these challenges, the NHS needs a modernised approach to patient care. Research suggests that technology including telemedicine (online consultations) and AI-driven diagnostics, could streamline services and reduce waiting times.

    Other possible steps include the expansion of community diagnostic centres, to ease access to tests, and screenings, to improve efficiency.

    Overall, the pandemic has underscored the critical importance of a robust and resilient healthcare system. As the NHS navigates its own path to recovery, it must prioritise both immediate solutions to the backlog crisis and long-term strategies. This will require significant investment, but also a commitment to innovation and the wellbeing of healthcare workers.

    The road ahead for the NHS will be tricky, but with the right measures in place, it could emerge stronger and more resilient than ever. The lessons learned from COVID should serve as a catalyst for transformative change, ensuring that the UK’s healthcare system is better prepared to face whatever the future may hold.

    Catia Nicodemo 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.

    – ref. Waiting lists, crumbling buildings, staff burnout: five years on, COVID is still hurting the financial health of the NHS – https://theconversation.com/waiting-lists-crumbling-buildings-staff-burnout-five-years-on-covid-is-still-hurting-the-financial-health-of-the-nhs-251637

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Remarks by President Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte Before Bilateral Meeting

    Source: The White House

    class=”has-text-align-center”>Oval Office

    12:33 P.M. EDT

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Hello, everybody.  It’s great to be with a friend of mine, who was prime minister of the Netherlands, so I got to know him very well.  We had a great relationship always.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Absolutely.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Mark Rutte.  Now he’s secretary general of NATO and doing a fantastic job.  Everybody — every report I’ve gotten is what a great job he did.  And I’m not at all surprised when I hear it.  We had to support him, and we supported him as soon as I heard the name.  

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Thank you.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  But he was a fantastic prime minister, and he’s doing a fantastic job. An even tougher job.  Which is tougher: being the prime minister of Netherlands or?

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  This job is quite tough.  Yeah.  (Laughter.)

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I would think this is a little tougher.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  But — but Dutch politics is also brutal.  So — (laughter).

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.  But this is pretty tough. 

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  But you’re doing good. 

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Thank you.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  We’re going to be discussing a lot of things.  Obviously, we’ll be discussing what’s happening with respect to Ukraine and Russia. 

    At this moment, we have people talking in Russia.  We have representatives over there — Steve Witkoff and others.  And they’re in very serious discussions.  As you know, Ukraine has agreed, subject to this — what’s happening today — to a complete ceasefire, and we hope Russia will do the same. 

    Thousands of people are being killed — young people, usually, mostly young people.  We were just talking about it.  Thousands of young people are being killed a week, and we want to see that stop.  And they’re not Americans, and they’re not from the Netherlands for the most part.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  No.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  They’re not from — they’re from Russia and they’re from Ukraine, but they’re people.  And I think everybody feels the same way.  We want it to stop.

    It’s also a tremendous cost to the United States and to other countries.  And it’s something that would have never happened if I were president, and it makes me very angry to see that it did happen.  But it happened, and we have to stop it.  

    And Mark has done some really good work over the last week.  We’ve been working together, and he’s done some really good work.  So, I’m very happy about that. 

    We’ll also be talking about trade and various other things, and I think we’ll have a very, very strong day.  We’re going to have lunch afterwards.  That’ll go.  And then we’ll see you all later. 

    But, Mark, would you like to say something?

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah.  First of all, thank you so much, Mr. President, dear Donald, again for hosting me and — but also for taking time in Florida a couple of weeks after you —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right.  That’s right.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  — you were reelected. 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s right.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  And, of course, our phone call a couple of weeks ago.  And I must say, Trump 45 — you basically — you originated the fact that in Europe we are now spending, when you take it to aggregate, $700 billion more on defense —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  — than when you came in office in 2016 — in 2017.

    But that was Trump 45.  But when look at Trump 47 —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Going to be hard to top.  (Laughter.)

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  — what happened the last couple of weeks is really staggering.  The Europeans committing to a package of $800 billion defense spending.  The Germans now —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  — potentially up to half a trillion extra in defense spending.  And then, of course, you have Keir Starmer here, the British prime minister, and others all committing to much higher defense spending.  

    They’re not there.  We need to do more.  But I really want to work together with you in a run-up to The Hague summit to make sure that we will have a NATO which is really reinvigorated under your leadership.  And we are getting there.  

    We also discussed defense production, because we need to produce more weaponry.  We are not doing enough — not in the U.S., not in Europe.  And we are lagging behind when you compare to the Russians and the Chinese.  And you have a huge defense industrial base, Europeans buying mo- — four times more here than the other — the other way around, which is good, because you have a strong defense industry. 

    But we need to do more there to make sure that we ramp up production and kill the red tape.  So, I would love to work with you on that. 

    And finally, Ukraine — you broke the deadlock.  As you said, all the killing, the young people dying, cities getting destroyed.  The fact that you did that, that you started the dialogue with the Russians and the successful talks in Saudi Arabia now with the Ukrainians — I really want to commend you for this.

    So, well, The Hague is my hometown.  I’d love to host you there in the summer and work together to make sure that —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  We’ll do that.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  — that will be a splash, a real success, projecting American power on the world stage. 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  What Mark is saying is: When I first went to NATO, my first meeting, I noticed that very few people were paying.  And if they were, they weren’t paying their fair share.  There were only seven countries that were paying what they were supposed to be paying, which was —

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  It’s even worse, there were three.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  That’s even worse.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  It could be even worse. 

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  But there were just very few countries that were paying.  And even the paying, it was at 2 percent, which is too low.  It should be higher.  It should be quite a bit higher.

    But you had Poland and I remember Poland was actually paying a little bit more than they were supposed to, which I was very impressed with.  And they’ve been actually terrific and some of the others.  But most of them weren’t paying or they were paying very little.  

    And I didn’t think it was appropriate to bring it up there, but I said, “It’s going to be brought up at my next meeting.”  And my next meeting — you know, the first meeting, you want to give them a little break.  The second meeting, it began.

    And I was able to raise —

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  You did.  (Laughs.)

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  — hundreds of billions of dollars.  I just said, “We’re not going to be involved with you if you’re not going to pay.”  And the money started pouring in.  And NATO became much stronger because of my actions and working along with a lot of people, including Mark.

    But they would not pay for other presidents.  I don’t think other presidents even knew that they weren’t paid.  I asked, first question, “Has everybody paid up?”  And literally, I mean, they showed — they told me seven.  You could be right.  It could be three.  But — that makes it even worse — but they just weren’t paying. 

    And I said, “No, I won’t protect if you’re not paying.  If you’re delinquent or if the money isn’t paid, why would we do that?”

    And as soon as I said that, got a little hit from the press, because they said, “Oh, gee, that’s not very nice.”  But if you said the other, nobody would have paid.  And the money started coming in by the billions.  

    And, you know, hundreds of billions of dollars flowed into NATO, and NATO became strong.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And you remember that.  And your predecessor, who I thought was a very good man actually.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Absolutely.  Jens Stoltenberg.  He sends his best greetings.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.  He was terrific.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Stoltenberg, secretary general.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Great man.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And he made the statement that when Trump came in, the money started coming in like we never saw before.  Hundreds of billions — it was actually probably close to $600 billion came in.  And NATO became strong from that standpoint.

    And now, we have to use it wisely.  And we have to get this war over with.  And you’ll be back to a normal — much more normal life. 

    And maybe we’re close.  We’re getting words that things are going okay in Russia, and it doesn’t mean anything until we hear what the final outcome is. 

    But they have very serious discussions going on right now with President Putin and others.  And hopefully, they all want to end this nightmare.  It’s a nightmare.  It’s a horrible thing, when you look.  I get pictures every week.  They give me the pictures of the battlefield, which I almost don’t want to see.  It’s so horrible to see.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  It’s so terrible.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Young people laying — arms and legs and heads laying all over the field.  It’s the most terrible thing that you’ll ever see. 

    And it’s got to stop.  These are young people with mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and friends, and it’s got to stop. 

    So, we hopefully are going to be in a good position sometime today to have a good idea.  We’ll have — we know where we are with Ukraine, and we are getting good signals outside of Russia as to where we are with Russia, and hopefully they’ll do the right thing.  

    It’s a really — humanity — we’re talking about humanity.  We’re not talking about the money.  But then you add the money to it, and, you know, hundreds of billions of dollars is being spent and, really, wasted so unnecessarily.  It should have never happened.  

    So, it’s an honor to have you here.  They picked a great gentleman.  I’ll tell you, that was — I was so happy to hear, because you had somebody — Stoltenberg was really good.  And you have somebody that’s going to do an incredible job.  And I was so much in favor of you, you have no idea. 

    They had another person that I did not like.  (Laughter.)  I was not happy.  And I think I kept him from — you know what I’m talking about.  I said, “This is the right man to do it.”  And he really did.  He was a great prime minister of the Netherlands.  He did a great job.  And that’s what he’s doing right now. 

    So, thank you, everybody, for being here.  And very great honor to have you.  And we even have some of our great energy people here today, right?  We have the governor, and we have Chris.  You know Chris.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah.  Absolutely.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  He’s supposed to be the most talented man in the world of energy, according to the governor.  (Laughter.)  So, I don’t know if he’s right.

    And we have — General, you’ve been fantastic.  Thank you very much. 

    And we have a lot of good people that won’t be so much involved with this, but they wanted to see what was happening.  It’s become a little bit of a show — (laughter) — but they wanted to see what was happening.  And I think a lot of good things are happening.  

    So, with that, if anybody would have a question.

    (Cross-talk.) 

    Q    Mr. President, o- — on Russia. 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Please, go ahead.

    Q    Vlad- —

         Q    Sorry.  Sorry, Mary.  Steve Witkoff’s trip to Moscow, you spoke about it.  What sort of agreement do you hope he comes away from there with?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, we’d like to see a ceasefire from Russia.  And we have, you know, not been working in the dark.  We’ve been discussing with Ukraine land and pieces of land that would be kept and lost and all of the other elements of a final agreement.  

    There’s a power plant involved — you know, a very big power plant involved.  Who’s going to get the power plant and who’s going to get this and that.  And so, you know, it’s not an easy process.

    But phase one is the ceasefire.  A lot of the individual subjects have been discussed, though.  You know, we’ve been discussing concepts of land, because you don’t want to waste time with the ceasefire if it’s not going to mean anything.  So, we’re saying, “Look, this is what you can get.  This is what you can’t get.” 

    They discussed NATO and being in NATO, and everybody knows what the answer to that is.  They’ve known that answer for 40 years, in all fairness. 

    So, a lot of the details of a final agreement have actually been discussed.  Now we’re going to see whether or not Russia is there, and if they’re not, it’ll be a very disappointing moment for the world. 

    Yeah. 

    Q    And Vladimir Putin just said he is open to a ceasefire, but he does still have some concerns.  He suggested that you two should speak directly.  Do you have plans to speak to him soon?  If so, when?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, I would.  Yeah, sure.

    Q    And are you confident you can get this across the finish line?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Sure.  He did say that today.  It was a very promising statement, because other people are saying different things, and you don’t know if they have anything to really — if they have any meaning, or I don’t know.  I think some of them were making statements.  I don’t think they have anything to do with it.

    No, he put out a very promising statement, but it wasn’t complete.  And, yeah, I’d love to meet with him or talk to him, but we have to get it over with fast.  You know, every day people are being killed.  It’s not like — as we sit here, two people will be killed.  Think of it.  Two people are going to be killed during this little period of time. 

         Thousands of people a week are dying, so we really don’t have very much time.  We have to make this fast.  It shouldn’t be very complicated.

    (Cross-talk.) 

    Yes.

    Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  A representative of Canada, the finance minister, are in town and will meet members of your administration during the day. 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Sure.  Yeah.

    Q    Any chances that you will ban on the tariffs on aluminum and — and the — the ones that are planned for April 2nd?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  No.

    Q    You are not going to change your mind? 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  No, I’m not.  Look, we’ve been ripped off for years, and we’re not going to be ripped off anymore.  No, I’m not going to bend at all on aluminum or steel or cars.  We’re not going to bend.  We’ve been ripped off as a country for many, many years.  We’ve been subjected to costs that we shouldn’t be subjected to. 

    In the case of Canada, we’re spending $200 billion a year to subsidize Canada.  I love Canada.  I love the people of Canada. I have many friends in Canada.  “The Great One,” Wayne Gretzky, the great.  Hey, how good is Wayne Gretzky?  He’s the Great One.  

    But we have — I know many people from Canada that are good friends of mine.  But, you know, the United States can’t subsidize a country for $200 billion a year.  We don’t need their cars.  We don’t need their energy.  We don’t need their lumber.  We don’t need anything that they give. 

    We do it because we want to be helpful, but it comes a point when you just can’t do that.  You have to run your own country.  And to be honest with you, Canada only works as a state.  We don’t need anything they have.  As a state, it would be one of the great states anywhere.  

    This would be the most incredible country visually.  If you look at a map, they drew an artificial line right through it — between Canada and the U.S.  Just a straight artificial line.  Somebody did it a long time ago — many, many decades ago — and makes no sense.  

    It’s so perfect as a great and cherished state, keeping “O Canada,” the national anthem.  I love it.  I think it’s great.  Keep it, but it’ll be for the state.  One of our greatest states.  Maybe our greatest state.  

    But why should we subsidize another country for $200 billion?  It costs us $200 billion a year.  And again, we don’t need their lumber.  We don’t need their energy.  We have more than they do.  We don’t need anything.  We don’t need their cars.  I’d much rather make the cars here.  

    And there’s not a thing that we need.  Now, there’ll be a little disruption, but it won’t be very long.  But they need us.  We really don’t need them.  And we have to do this.  I’m sorry, we have to do this.  

    Yes. 

    Q    Mr. President — 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah. 

    Q    — you have made it very clear that NATO needs to step up, although great progress —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.

    Q    — has been made in your first mandate.  How do you envision this new transatlantic —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Are you talking about NATO stepping up?

    Q    Yes.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, NATO is stepping up through this man. This man is a man that only knows how to step up.  And we have the same goal in mind: We want the war ended.  And he’s doing his job.  He only knows how to do a good job.  That’s one thing.  That’s why I fought for him to get that job —

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Thank you so much.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  — because they had some other candidates that I’ll tell you would not have done a very good job.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  I need this part of the — of the movie for my family.  (Laughter.)

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s right.  That’s right.  We’ll get you a clip. 

         SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah.  Exactly.  (Laughs.)

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  We’re going to get him a clip of that — of that little last essay.  But the rest of the statements he doesn’t care about.

    Q    Sir, how does this new transatlantic cooperation — how do you envision it?  What is it going to look like?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, we have — that’s one thing.  I mean, you know, we’re the other side of the ocean, and they’re right there.  And yet, we’re in for $350 billion because of Biden, and they’re in for $100 billion.  So, it’s a big difference, and it’s unfair.  

    And I said, “You have to equalize.”  They should equalize.  They should have — it should have never happened, where Biden just gave his money away. 

    Now, as you know, we have an agreement with Ukraine on the rare earths and other things, and that’ll get us

    something back — a lot back.  It’ll get us our money back.  We’re not doing it for that, though.  We’re doing — I’m just doing this to get the war stopped.  I’m doing it, really, to save lives.

    But, at the same time, we were treated very unfairly, as we always are by every country.  And we’re in for very substantially more than the European nations are in for, and that shouldn’t be.

    You know, they’re much more affected by it than we are, because we do have an ocean in between. 

    But I don’t know.  I think good things are going to happen.  I really do.  I think good things are going to happen. 

    I do say — we were talking before, and Mark was very nice.  He said, “If you wouldn’t get involved, there would be” — you’d just be going on.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  This thing would have gone on for a long time.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Breaking a deadlock.  It was crucial.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah, we broke a deadlock. 

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah. 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  We did break a deadlock.  I hope it’s meaningful. 

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah. 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yes, did you have one?

    Q    Mr. President — 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah, please.

    Q    Yes, sir.  Thank you, Mr. President.  Amanda Head with Just the News.  On the southern border, you’ve got DHS and ICE, who are reporting that there was a little bit of fudging of numbers during the Biden administration —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.

    Q    — on both the catch and the release side with respect to reporting the number of illegals coming into the country who were released.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  They cheated on the numbers.  They were — the numbers were — I love that question.

    Q    Right.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Who are you with?

    Q    Just the News.  Amanda Head.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Very nice.  That’s good.  That’s good.

    Q    Do you know how many of those are criminal illegal aliens? 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Many of them.

    Q    And Biden is out of office —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:   Yeah.

    Q    — Alejandro Mayorkas.  Who gets held accountable?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  No, Biden fudged the numbers.  The numbers were totally fake, and he gave fake numbers.  I knew they were fake.  Everybody knew they were fake, but now it came out.  And terrible what — what they did.  That administration was a horror show for this country.

    Q    Can you hold anyone accountable?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, I don’t know.  They gave phony numbers, and phony numbers are a very bad thing to give.  But I’m not sure about that.  I don’t know how it would play.  We want to get it straightened out.  

    We have — we’re after many, many bad people that were let into our country.  And Kristi Noem and my friend Homan — how good is Tom Homan doing, right?  And they’re after them.  And they — I mean, you see: They’re taking them out in record numbers.  Gang members, gang leaders, drug dealers. 

    This is a problem the Netherlands does not have.  The Netherlands never had this problem.  If you’d like to take —

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  We have a few drug- — drug dealers, I’m afraid.  (Laughter.)

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I could deliver some people.  I could deliver some nice people to the Netherlands if you’d like.  (Laughter.)

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  I’m not sure.  (Laughs.)

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  No, what he did to this country, letting 21 million people flow through an open border — many of those people were hard criminals from prisons and jails, from mental institutions, and I always say “insane asylums,” because they were seriously deranged.  And they’re here from not South America, from all over the world.  From South America, but from all over the world.  And it’s so sad. 

    You’d say, “Why would anybody do this?  Why?”

    Yeah, go ahead.

    Q    And — and one more.  There’s some new internal Democrat polling that doesn’t look great for Democrats, but it also has 54 percent unfavorability for Republicans in swing states and battlegrounds for the midterms.  Do you consider those voters cap- — capturable for — for Republicans?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah, well, we did — you know, I won every swing state, as you know, by a lot, and I won the popular vote by a lot, and we won the counties.  If you look at the counties and district plan, we had 2,725, and they had 501.  That’s a real — that’s why the map is all red.  So, we had a great thing.

    Yeah, I think winning from the Democrats — I saw — if you looked the other night, I made a speech, and I introduced two young ladies who were killed.  Two killed.  Viciously, violently killed.  Young.  Unbelievable.  Both outstanding people.  They were killed by illegal aliens.  And the Democrats wouldn’t get up and applaud.  The mothers were, I mean, inconsolable.  They were crying, and everybody was crying.  The Democrats sat there with stone faces.  They didn’t clap, they didn’t stand, they didn’t do anything.  

    We had a young man with very serious cancer, wanted to — his dream is to be with the police department someday, and he was introduced. 

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  That was very touching.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  They didn’t even clap.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah, I saw it.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I mean, they were disgusting.  Frankly, they were disgusting.  There’s something wrong with them.  They’re deranged.  They’re deranged.  Like Jack Smith, they’re deranged people. 

    And I never saw anything like it.  I’m standing up, and I introduce the mother and the parents of these two young girls that were just recently, essentially, killed.  Violently killed.  And the Democrats are like this.  It’s so sad.  

    And I saw this morning where — one of them is pretty well-known — one is arguing, fighting like crazy over men being able to play in women’s sports.  I said, “Yeah, I thought that was tried.”  I thought that was about a 95 — I think it’s a 95 percent issue.  

    But, in a way, I want them to keep doing it, because I don’t think they can win a race.  I mean — and I tell the Republicans, I said, “Don’t bring that subject up, because there’s no election right now.  But about a week before the election, bring it up, because you can’t lose.”  

    And everything is “transgender this, transgender that.”  You know, they have bad politics. 

    But one thing: They stick together.  You know?

    I wish — and the Republicans stick together, mostly, but we have a couple that are grandstanders.  You know, you always have grandstanders in life.

    But the Democrats, they don’t seem — they have grandstanders, but when it comes to a vote, they do stick together, right?

    VICE PRESIDENT VANCE:  They get in line.  Yes, sir.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  So.

    Q    It seems like they’ll stick together on the shutdown.  Will that hurt Democrats going into midterms?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, if they do a shutdown and, ultimately, that might lead to very, very high taxes, because we’re talking about a shutdown.  We’re talking about getting to work immediately on the greatest tax bill ever passed.  That was the one we did.  It’s a renewal, and it’s an addition to it.  And we’re going to cut people’s taxes. 

    And if we don’t open, the Democrats are stopping all of these good things that we’re providing.  We’re providing the greatest package of benefits that this country has ever provided. 

    The biggest part of that’s going to be tax cuts for the middle class and for businesses, small businesses, employers — people that hire people and jobs. 

    And if it’s shut down, it’s only going to be — if there’s a shutdown, it’s only because of the Democrats, and they would really be taking away a lot from our country and from the people of our country.

    Q    Mr. President, on — on tariffs.  You made clear you’re not backing down from this, but many American small-business owners say they are concerned that these tariffs are going to hurt them.  What’s your message to them?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  They’re going to be so much richer than they are right now.

    And we have many — yesterday, General Motors was in.  They want to invest $60 billion.  The people from Facebook were in yesterday.  They’re going to invest $60 billion by the end of the year.  Other people are talking about numbers.  

    Apple, as you know, a few days ago, announced $500 billion investment.  They’re going to build their plants in the United States, which, as you know, almost all of their plants are in China.  Now they’re building in the United States.

    Look, the reason is two things.  Number one, the election. November 5th.  And the other thing is tariffs.  I think, probably, in that order. 

    But Tim Cook came in and he announced 500 — think of it, $500 billion, not million.  Five hundred million is a lot, when you think about it, right?  But —

    VICE PRESIDENT VANCE:  Yes, sir.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I would have been happy with $500 million.  But it’s $500 billion investment by Apple in the United States, and that’s because of the election result and it’s because of the tariffs and the tax incentives too.  You know, tariffs and tax incentives.  And I’ve never seen anything like it. 

    We have plants going up now in Indiana.  We have plants going up in Michigan.  A lot of plants going to be planned from — I’m trying to steer them to Michigan, because Michigan got so badly beaten by, you know, what happened with Europe.

    You know, if you look at Europe. Take a look at the EU.  We’re not allowed to sell cars there.  It’s prohibitive because of their policies, and also their nonmonetary tariffs.  They put obstacles in your way that you can do nothing about.  

    But if you take a look at what happens — so, we sell no cars to Europe — I mean, virtually no cars — and they sell millions of cars to us.  They don’t take our agriculture.  We take their agriculture. It’s like a one-way street with them.

    The European Union is very, very nasty. 

    They sue our companies.  Apple was forced to pay $16 billion on a case that — very much like my cases that I won.  They shouldn’t have been even cases.  But we felt they had no case, and they ended up having an extremely favorable judge and decision.  

    But they’re suing Google, they’re suing Facebook, they’re suing all of these companies, and they’re taking billions of dollars out of American companies, many more than the ones I just mentioned.  And I guess they’re using it to run Europe or something.  I don’t know what they’re using it for. 

    But they treat us very badly.  China obviously treats this very badly.  Almost everybody does.  And I blame past presidents, to be honest. 

    Because when I was president, I — we received, so far, about $700 billion from China, over the years, on the tariffs that I put in.  No other president got 10 cents from China.  And that was only beginning.  Except for COVID, it would have — I would have been able to finish the process.  But we had to fight the COVID thing, and we did really well with it.  But we had to fight.

    And then we had actually — as you remember, Mark, we actually handed over the stock market.  It was higher than just previous to COVID coming in, which was sort of a miracle, frankly.  We did a good job.

    But the tariffs are very important.  And I think the psychology — there’s great spirit.  When Mark came in, he said, “Congratulations.  There’s a whole new spirit.  There’s a whole new light over this country, and really over the world” —

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  — because you have somebody that — a whole group of people, really, because I talk about this whole group, that we know what we’re doing.  And a lot of great things are happening.

    But I’ve never seen investment like this.  Trillions of dollars is being invested in the United States now that would have never — our country could have failed.  Another four years of this, what happened in the last four years, our country would have been a crime-ridden mess.  

    And I don’t know if you noticed — a little thing, they call it, but it’s not a little thing if you don’t have — if you like eggs and you don’t have a lot of money — eggs have gone down 25 percent in the last couple of weeks.  We inherited that problem: eggs.  

    Groceries have gone down a little bit.  Energy has gone down. 

    Do you want to speak to that for a second, Governor?  Would you just say a couple of words, you and Chris, about energy, what’s happened?

    SECRETARY BURGUM:  Well, happy to, but I think that — Chris and I just came from CERAWeek, which is the largest conference in the world.  So, global leaders, people from the EU, officials from all the energy-producing countries all there.  And all the global nationals, all the U.S.  The — the spirit of that group is through the roof, because now they realize that in the United States, that President Trump’s policies are pro — pro developing more energy, as opposed to we’re trying to shut down energy.  

    And that pro-growth, pro-business, pro- — pro-energy approach is giving people the optimism.  So, then the markets are reacting to that, and energy prices on the futures market are going to go down because people know we’re — we’re not going to be killing off the energy we need for prosperity in all of our countries, but also for peace, because people have used energy to fuel these wars that President Trump is working so hard to end.  And — and we — we know that energy — high energy prices were driving the inflation that he talked about. 

    So, it accomplishes two goals for us — which is prosperity for the world, peace for the world — when we have smart energy policies.  And — and President Trump has brought common sense back to how we think about energy.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And it’s brought down now $65 a barrel,  I saw this morning.  That’s phenomenal news, and that’s going to bring — that’s what brought it up.  The energy went — they took our beautiful energy policies and they just messed them up.  And then they went immediately back to them, because — but by that time, they lost it.  They lost that bronco, as the expression goes.

    Chris, do you have something to say?

    SECRETARY WRIGHT:  I think Doug said it well, but you just can’t overstate how important the return of common sense, the return of knowledge about energy and pro-American consumers, pro investment in our country.  I think, globally, that was welcomed.  It means capital flows.  It means more sobriety and lower energy prices, more economic opportunity for Americans. 

    So, yeah, it was elated atmosphere at a global energy conference. 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, we’re working on one project, and it should be very easy.  It’s a pipeline going through a small section of New York.  New York has held it up for years, actually.  For years they’ve wanted to do it. For years and years.  And it will reduce — 

    The most expensive energy, almost, in the world is in New England, because they have no way of getting it there because it’s been held up by New York.  And the whole of New England and Connecticut and New York — the energy prices are through the roof.  And this one pipeline will save per family, $2,500 just on heating and another $2,500 on everything else.  So, the energy — by just a simple pipeline going through an area that wants it — an area that’s not a rich area; it’s actually a very poor area — would create jobs and everything else.

    And it’s going to be way underground.  Nobody’s going to see it.  Once they fill it up, nobody’s going to see it.  Nobody’s going to know it’s there. 

    And families in New York and Connecticut and New England are going to save $5,000 a family.  Think of that.  Because, right now, they have the highest energy prices maybe in the world, they say.  New England is a disaster.  

    So, we’re working on that.  In fact, the governor is coming in — governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, who’s a very nice woman.  She’s coming in tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock to meet me on that and other things — not only that, but other things.

    So, I hope we don’t have to use the extraordinary powers of the federal government to get it done, but if we have to, we will.  But I don’t think we’ll have to. 

    I can tell you, Connecticut wants it and all of New England wants it.  And who wouldn’t want it?  And it’s also jobs on top of everything else.  So, that’s going to be very exciting.  So, we’re meeting with the governor tomorrow morning. 

    (Cross-talk.)

    Yeah. 

    Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Greenland.  What is your vision for the potential annexation of Greenland and getting them, potentially, to —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.

    Q    — to statehood?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, I think it’ll happen.  And I’m just thinking — I didn’t give it much thought before, but I’m sitting with a man that could be very instrumental.  You know, Mark, we need that for international security — not just security, international.  We have a lot of our favorite players, you know, cruising around the coast, and we have to be careful.  And we’ll be talking to you.

    And it’s a very appropriate — really, a very appropriate question. 

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  It’s an —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you very much.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  — an issue in the high north, so the Arctic.  So, what you did —

    So, when it comes to Greenland, yes or no, joining the U.S., I would leave that outside, for me, this discussion, because I don’t want to drag NATO in that. 

    But when it comes to the high north in the Arctic, you are totally right.  The Chinese and — are using these routes.  We know that the Russians already arming.  We know we have a lack of icebreakers.  So, the fact that the seven — outside of Russia, there are seven Arctic countries — working together on this, under U.S. leadership — it’s very important to make sure that that region, that that a part of the world stays safe.  And — and we know things are changing there, and we have to be there.

    Q    Well, they just had an election there the other day.  I mean, do you see a referendum, a plebiscite where the people of Greenland would be in a position to decide if they want to become part of the United States? 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah, it was a good election for us, as you know.  It was not a referendum.  It wouldn’t be called that.  It was an individual election.  But the person that did the best is a very good person, as far as we’re concerned.  And so, we’ll be talking about it.  And it’s very important. 

    Mark mentioned the word “icebreaker.”  So, we’re in the process of ordering 48 icebreakers, and Canada wants to know if they could use them.  I said, “Well, you know, you got to pay for them.”  Think of it.  Canada.  We pay for their military.  You know, Canada pays very little for their military, because they think we’re going to protect them, but — even with the icebreakers. 

    So, we’re going to order 48, and Canada wants to be part of the deal.  I say, “You got to get your own icebreakers.  I mean, if you’re a state, you can be part of the deal, but if you’re a separate country, you’ve got to get your own icebreakers.”  

    Russia, as you know, has about 40 of them, and we have 1 big icebreaker.  But that whole area is becoming very important and for a lot of reasons.  The routes are, you know, very direct to Asia, to Russia, and you have ships all over the place.  And we have to have protection.  So, we’re going to have to make a deal on that.

    And Denmark is not able to do that.  You know, Denmark is very far away and really has nothing to do. 

    What happens?  A boat landed there 200 years ago or something, and they say they have rights to it.  I don’t know if that’s true.  I’m not — I don’t think it is, actually.

    But we’ve been dealing with Denmark.  We’ve been dealing with Greenland.  And we have to do it.  We really need it for national security.  I think that’s why NATO might have to get involved in a way, because we really need Greenland for national security.  It’s very important.  

    You know, we have a couple of bases on Greenland already, and we have quite a few soldiers that — maybe you’ll see more and more soldiers go there.  I don’t know.

    What do you think about that, Pete? Don’t answer that, Pete.  (Laughter.)  Don’t answer that question.  

    But we have bases, and we have quite a few soldiers on Greenland already. 

    Q    Mr. President, some people question your commitment to NATO.  Will everything — anything change?

    Your com- — your commitment to NATO, will anything change?  Same amount of money?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, I think they made —

    Q    Same number of troops?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  — a great step by putting Mark in charge.  I think, to me, that’s a great step, because he and I have seen eye to eye on everything for a long time.  We’ve been doing this a long time now.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Nine years now.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And so, that’s a great step. 

    You have to keep NATO strong.  You have to keep it relevant. 

    But the biggest thing we have to worry about right now is what’s going on right now.  I think the rest is going to take care of itself. 

    I don’t see this having — this was a fluke.  This was something that if we had a competent president, it would not have happened.  The man was grossly incompetent.  All you have to do is look in — take a look at — he signs by autopen.

    Who was signing all this stuff by autopen?  Who would think you signed important documents by autopen?  You know, these are major documents you’re signing.  You’re proud to sign them.  You have your signature on something — in 300 years, they say, “Oh, look.”  Can you imagine?  Everything was signed by autopen — almost everything.  Nobody has ever heard of such a thing. 

    Q    Do you —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  So —

    Q    Sorry. 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Should have never happened. 

    Q    You’re speaking tomorrow at the Justice Department about law and order.  Could you tell us a little bit about that? 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah, we’re going to be with the Justice Department.  We have a great Justice Department.  Pam Bondi is so fantastic.  And Todd Blanche and Emil — you got to know him a little bit; he was acting for a little while — and some other people are incredible in the Justice Department. 

    And I consider the FBI to be a part of it, in a sense, and Kash is going to be fantastic, and all the people he’s — Dan Bongino, I love that.  I mean, I love that.  I think Dan is great. 

    I think we have unbelievable people.  And all I’m going to do is set out my vision.  It’s going to be their vision, really, but it’s my ideas.  And basically, we don’t want to have crime in the streets.  We don’t want to have people pushed into subways and killed, and then the — the person that did the pushing ends up in a 15-year trial and gets off scot-free.  We want to have justice, and we want to have safety in our cities, as well as our communities. 

    And we’ll be talking about immigration.  We’ll be talking about a lot of things.  Just the complete gamut.  So, I look forward to that.  That will be tomorrow at the Justice Department. 

    Q    Mr. President, you are a man of peace.  You’ve said it several times and made it very clear.  A man of peace dealing with belligerent people. 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.

    Q    And I’m thinking we saw you handled Zelenskyy in this very own room.  What is your leverage on Putin?  Are you thinking sanctions?  What if he refuses to —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, I do have leverage, but I don’t want to talk about leverage now, because right now we’re talking to him.  And based on the statements he made today, they were pretty positive, I think, so I don’t want to talk about that.  

    I hope Russia is going to make the deal too.  And I think once that deal happens, you’re never going to be in a process.  I don’t think they’re going back to shooting again.  I really believe if we get a peace treaty, a ceasefire treaty, I think that leads to peace.  That’s going to really lead to a —

    I don’t think anyone wants to go back.  They’ve been doing this for a long time, and it’s vicious and violent.  And I think if President Putin agrees and does a ceasefire, I think we’re going to be in very good shape to get it done.  We want to get it over with.  That’s why — it was very important what I instructed everybody, including Steve, what we’re looking for: to discuss concepts of land, concepts of —

    MR. WALTZ:  Yes, sir.   

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  — of power plants because it’s complicated.  You know, you have a whole — you’re sort of creating the edge of a country. 

    The sad part is that country, if they didn’t — if this didn’t happen — and it wouldn’t have happened — I don’t know if they would have to give anything back.  I guess Crimea? 

    You know, I said it last time, Crimea was given by Obama, Biden gave them the whole thing, and Bush gave them Georgia.  And Trump didn’t give them anything. 

    I gave them — you know what I gave them?  I gave them Javelins.  And the Javelins were very effective, as you know.  I gave them nothing —

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  2019. 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And then also, if you take a look, I was the one that stopped the pipeline going into Europe.  It was totally stopped: Nord Stream 2.  Nobody ever heard of Nord Stream 2 before I came along.

    But I got along very well with President Putin.  I got along with most of them.  I get along great with President Xi.  I got along great with Kim Jong Un.  I got along great with all of them.  And we had no wars.  We had no problems.  We wiped out ISIS in record time. General “Razin” Kane.  And he wiped them out. 

    And he is going to be our new chief, right?  He’s going to be —

    SECRETARY HEGSETH:  Yes, sir.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  — the head of Joint Chiefs of Staff, and he’s a highly respected man.  He’s going to be great. 

    Pete is going to be fantastic.  I have no doubt about it.  We have a great team.  A really great team. 

    Yeah, please.  Go ahead, please.

    Q    Mr. President, some of our allies have said that they’re worried that they could be the next to be attacked by Russia.  You’ve spoken directly with the Russian president.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.

    Q    Do you think those fears are justified?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  No, I don’t.  I think when this gets done, it’s done.  They’re going to all want to go home and rest.  I don’t see it happening.  Nope, I don’t see that happening.  And we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen.  Not going to happen.  But we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen. 

    Yeah, go ahead, please. 

    Q    Leaders from Russia and Iran are heading to Beijing tomorrow to discuss nuclear programs.  What do you hope to get out of that?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, maybe they’re going to talk about non-nuclear programs.  Maybe they’re going to be talking about the de-escalation of nuclear weapons, because, you know, I was talking about that with President Putin very strongly.  And we could have done something.  Had that election not been rigged, we would have had something.  I think I would have made a deal with Putin on de-escalation, denuclearization, as they say.  But we would have de-escalated nuclear weapons, because the power of nuclear weapons is so great and so devastating. 

    And, right now, Russia and us have by far the most, but China will catch us within five years.  China doesn’t have — but they’re in the process of building.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP: And they build.  And within four or five years, they’ll probably have the same.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  And, by the way, you — this is a Republican tradition.  Ronald Reagan, when he negotiated with Gorbachev —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right. 

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  — in the 1980s —

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s right.

    SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  — about bringing down the number of nuclear weapons is what you have been doing your first term.  And it is important. 

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  It would be a great achievement if we could bring down the number.  We have so many weapons, and the power is so great. 

    And we — number one, you don’t need them to that extent.  And then we’d have to get others, because, as you know, in a smaller way — Kim Jong Un has a lot of nuclear weapons, by the way — a lot — and others do also.  You have India.  You have Pakistan.  You have others that have them, and we’d get them involved. 

    But we started off with Russia and us.  We have, by far — actually, by far, the most.  And we were going to denuclearize, and that was going to happen. 

    And then we were going to China.  And I spoke to China.  I spoke to President Xi about it.  And he really liked the idea.  You know, he’d like not to spend trillions of dollars building weapons that, hopefully, he’s never going to have to use.  And — because they are very expensive also.  So, that would have been great. 

    Okay, one or two more. 

    (Cross-talk.)

    Yeah, go ahead.  

    Q    Thank you.  We are looking at an impending government shutdown Friday at midnight.

    PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah. 

    Q    Democrats, for 30 years straight, have said, if there’s a shutdown, bad things happen.  Do you anticipate direct negotiations yourself with conference leader of the Democrats, Chuck Schumer?

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah, if they need me, I’m there a hundred percent.  It’s — right now, it’s two or three people.  If it shuts down, it’s not the Republicans’ fault.  You know, we passed a bill where we had an incredible Republican vote.  We only had one negative vote, a grandstander.  You know, one grandstander.  There’s always a grandstander in the lot. 

         But it was amazing.  People were amazed that the Republicans were able to vote in unison like that so strongly. 

         If there’s a shutdown, even the Democrats admit it will be their fault.  And I’m hearing a lot of Democrats are going to vote for it, and I hope they do.  This is an extension. 

         But ultimately, we want to vote for one big, beautiful bill where we put the taxes in, we put everything in.  We’re going to have big tax cuts.  We’re going to have tremendous incentives for companies coming into our country and employing lots of people.  

         It’ll be — I called it, in a rare moment, one big, beautiful bill.  That’s what I like.  And it seems to be that’s where they’re heading.  And we’ll have to take care of something to do with Los Angeles. 

         A place called Los Angeles almost burned to the ground.  By the way, I broke into Los Angeles.  Can you believe it?  I had to break in. 

         SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah?

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I invaded Los Angeles.  And we opened up the water, and the water is now flowing down.  They have so much water, they don’t know what to do.  They were sending it out to the Pacific for environmental reasons.  Okay?  Can you believe it?  And in the meantime, they lost 25,000 houses.  They lost — and nobody’s ever seen anything like it. 

         But we have the water.  I’d love to show you a picture.  You’ve seen the picture.  The water is flowing through the half pipes.  You know, we have the big half pipes that go down.  Used to — 25 years ago, they used to have plenty of water, but they turned it off for — again, for environmental reasons.  Well, I turned it on for environmental reasons and also fire reasons. 

         And I’ve been asking them to do that during my first term.  I said, “Do it.”  I didn’t think anything like — could happen like this, but they didn’t have enough water. 

         Now the farmers are going to have water for their land, and the water is in there. 

         But I actually had to break in.  We broke in to do it because we had people that were afraid to give water.

         SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah.

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  They were — in particular, they were trying to protect a certain little fish.  And I say, “How do you protect a fish if you don’t have water?”  They didn’t have any water, so they’re protecting a fish, and that didn’t work out too well, by the way.  

         So, they have a lot of water going down throughout California, all coming out from the Pacific Northwest, even some from Canada. 

         Thank you, Canada, very much.  I appreciate it. 

         Next thing you know, they’ll want to turn the water off.  They’ll want to charge us for the water.

         But it comes up from the Pacific Northwest, and it’s a beautiful thing to see.  I mean, it is brimming with water. 

         Now, if they would have had that done, you wouldn’t have had the damage, because the fire would have been put out.  The fire hydrants would have been loaded.  The sprinklers in people’s living rooms and bedrooms would have been loaded up with the — they had no water.  The government makes them put sprinklers in.  They had no water in the sprinklers because they had no water. 

         So, the water is flowing, and we’re going to have to give a lot of money to Los Angeles to help them, and the Democrats are going to want to do that.  So, that’s the one thing different. 

         And I frankly, I think that makes it a lot easier.  But one of the big thing is we have the big, beautiful bill.  We got to get that done.  And that will put our country in a position like it’s never been in. 

         It’s a reduction of taxes.  It’s tremendous incentives for companies to come from all over the world into our country.  It’s great environmentally, but it’s not this environmental scam that we went through — that we all went through.  It provides for everything.  

         It’s a big, beautiful bill, and I hope we can get it approved.  And that will be next. 

         But in the meantime, we have the continuing resolution, and the Republicans have approved it, and now the Democrats have to approve it.  And I hope they will. 

         And I think a lot of them — I can tell you, they want to.  I’ve spoken to some of them.  They really want to.  Their leadership may not want them to.  And if it closes, it’s purely on the Democrats. 

         All right, one more.

         Q    On Korea, sir.  We’ve seen tension increasing in the Peninsula.  You’ve talked about Kim Jong Un.  Do you have any plans of getting — of reestablishing the relationship you had during the first meeting?

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.  Well, I would.  I had a great relationship with Kim Jong Un, North Korea.  If I wasn’t elected, if Hillary got in, you would have had a nuclear war with North Korea.  He expected it.  He expected it.  And they said, “Oh, thousands of people.”  No, millions of people would have been killed.  

         But I got in.  We went to Singapore.  We met.  We went to — to Vietnam.  We met.  We got along really good.  We had a very good relationship.  And we still do.  We still do.  You don’t have that threat that you had.

         Q    You have talked with — have you talked to him?  

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I mean, look, when I was running the first time, it looked like there was going to be a war with North Korea.  You know that better than anyone.

         SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Tensions were high.  Yes.  Yeah.

         PRESIDENT TRUMP.  Yeah.  And it started off —

         SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  And everybody was — was startled that you —

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.

         SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  — invited him for talks. 

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right.

         SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  But you did, and it —

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  It started out very rough.  

         SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah.  Yeah.

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And he wouldn’t meet with Obama.  Wouldn’t take his calls.  I said, “How many times did you call?” They called a lot.  He wouldn’t take their call.  He told me, “I wouldn’t take his call.” 

         But with me, it did start off rough, if you remember.  Very rough, actually.  Very nasty.  And — 

         SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  That was in Singapore, the first one?

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah, but then — no, before that.  Then it stopped.  The rhetoric was extremely tough.  It was a little bit —

         SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  You had it in your speech at the U.N. I remember.  (Laughs.)

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah, that’s right.  It was a little bit dangerous.  

         And then we met.  They asked for a meeting, and then we met.  And the meeting caused the Olympics, which was in South Korea, to become a tremendous success.  Nobody was buying tickets for the Olympics because they didn’t want to be nuked.  

         And I met, and not only did the Olympics become successful, but North Korea participated in the Olympics.

         SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah.  His sister visited.

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  It was an amazing thing.

         SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE:  Yeah.

         PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And that was something that was an achievement of the Trump administration. Great achievement.  And so, I have a great relationship with Kim Jong Un.  And we’ll see what happens. 

         But certainly, he’s a nuclear power.

         Okay?  Thank you very much, everybody.  Thank you.  Thank you very much.

                                      END            1:20 P.M. EDT

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICE Boston arrests Turkish alien charged with raping Massachusetts resident

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    BURLINGTON, Mass. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an illegal Turkish national charged with raping a Massachusetts resident when officers with ICE Boston apprehended Bilal Karayigit, 26, in Burlington Feb. 19.

    “Bilal Karayigit stands accused of brutally victimizing a resident of our community,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “He represents a significant threat to the members of our Massachusetts neighborhoods that ICE will not tolerate. We will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing illegal alien threats to New England.”

    Karayigit lawfully entered the United States July 12, 2022, at JFK International Airport in New York but later violated the terms of his lawful admission.

    The Brighton District Court in Massachusetts arraigned Karayigit Dec. 5, 2023, for rape and indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years of age. ICE lodged an immigration detainer later that day against Karayigit with the court.

    The Brighton District Court ignored the detainer and released Karayigit from custody April 24, 2024.

    The Suffolk Superior Court in Boston arraigned Karayigit June 11, 2024, for rape, indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years of age, and kidnapping.

    The Boston Police Department arrested Karayigit Sept. 19, 2024, on warrants stemming from his pending charges. ICE lodged an immigration detainer against Karayigit with the Nashua Street Jail in Boston later that day. The jail ignored the immigration detainer and released Karayigit from custody Sept. 26, 2024. 

    ICE served Karayigit with a notice to appear before a Justice Department immigration judge after his arrest and he remains in ICE custody.

    Members of the public can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

    Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in our communities on X: @EROBoston.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Foreign Ministers Statement: Arab Plan For Reconstruction of Gaza

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Foreign Ministers Statement: Arab Plan For Reconstruction of Gaza

    Joint Statement on behalf of the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the UK

    “We, the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom welcome the Arab initiative of a Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza. The plan shows a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and promises – if implemented – swift and sustainable improvement of the catastrophic living conditions for the Palestinians living in Gaza. Recovery and reconstruction efforts must be based upon a solid political and security framework acceptable to both Israelis and Palestinians, which provides long term peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians alike. We are clear that Hamas must neither govern Gaza nor be a threat to Israel any more. We explicitly support the central role for the Palestinian Authority and the implementation of its reform agenda. 

    We commend the serious efforts of all involved stakeholders and appreciate the important signal the Arab states have sent by jointly developing this recovery and reconstruction plan. We are committed to working with the Arab initiative, the Palestinians and Israel to address those issues together, including security and governance. We urge all parties to build on the plan’s merits as a starting point.

    Updates to this page

    Published 8 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: PM call with Prime Minister Albanese of Australia: 8 March 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    PM call with Prime Minister Albanese of Australia: 8 March 2025

    The Prime Minister spoke to the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, this morning.

    The Prime Minister spoke to the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese this morning.

    The Prime Minister began by expressing his support for all Australians affected by the Cyclone and paid tribute to the strength of the partnership between the two countries.

    He welcomed Prime Minister Albanese’s commitment to consider contributing to a Coalition of the Willing for Ukraine and looked forward to the Chiefs of Defence meeting in Paris on Tuesday.

    The Prime Minister also reiterated the UK’s commitment to the AUKUS programme.

    The leaders agreed to stay in touch.

    Updates to this page

    Published 8 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Import ban of cattle, pigs, sheep and deer from Hungary and Slovakia to protect farmers after foot and mouth case

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Import ban of cattle, pigs, sheep and deer from Hungary and Slovakia to protect farmers after foot and mouth case

    Import ban introduced to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease.

    The government has stepped up measures to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease (FMD), following a confirmed case in Hungary. 

    The Government has acted immediately to prevent the commercial import from Hungary and Slovakia of cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and other non- domestic ruminants and porcines such as deer and their untreated products, such as fresh meat and dairy. This will protect farmers and their livestock. 

    The case has been found on a cattle farm in the North West of Hungary, near the border with Slovakia. Observed clinical signs were reported to national authorities who have now formally confirmed infection with FMD following testing.   

    Action is already underway with local authorities and traders to address possible risks from goods on the way to GB. Such goods must be pre-notified and wider border systems in place will prevent consignments entering GB. This is in addition to restrictions already in place for equivalent exports from Germany, following an outbreak in a water buffalo herd in Brandenburg on 10 January 2025.   

    In addition, as of 8 March, travellers will no longer be able to bring meat, meat products, milk and dairy products, certain composite products and animal by products of pigs and ruminants from Hungary and Slovakia to Great Britain.    

    The UK Chief Veterinary Officer is urging livestock keepers to remain vigilant to the clinical signs of FMD following the recent outbreaks in Hungary and Germany. There are no cases in the UK currently.  

    FMD poses no risk to human or food safety, but is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle, sheep, pigs and other cloven-hoofed animals such as deer, llamas and alpacas. Rodents can also be affected. Livestock keepers should therefore be absolutely rigorous about their biosecurity.  

    FMD causes significant economic losses due to production losses in the affected animals as well as loss of access to foreign markets for animals, meat and milk for affected countries.  

    UK Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Christine Middlemiss said:  

    We remain in contact with our Hungarian counterparts to understand the latest situation following their confirmation of a single case of foot and mouth disease, measures are now being taken to contain and eradicate the outbreak.

    I would urge livestock keepers to exercise the upmost vigilance for signs of disease, follow scrupulous biosecurity and report any suspicion of disease immediately to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.  

    Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner said:  

    The government will do whatever it takes to protect our nation’s farmers from the risk posed by foot and mouth disease.  

    That is why restrictions have immediately been brought in on animal products from Hungary and Slovakia to prevent an outbreak. We will not hesitate to add additional countries to the list if the disease spreads. We will continue to keep the situation under review working closely with the Hungarian and Slovakian authorities.

    Action is already underway with local authorities and traders to address possible risks from goods on the way to GB. Such goods must be pre-notified and wider border systems in place will prevent consignments entering GB. This is in addition to restrictions already in place for equivalent exports from Germany, following an outbreak in a water buffalo herd in Brandenburg on 10 January 2025.   

    This comes as the government announced a £200 million investment in the UK’s main research and laboratory testing facilities at Weybridge to bolster protection against animal disease.  

    What you can do  

    If you’re an animal keeper, read about how to spot foot and mouth disease and report it.  

    If you’re an importer or exporter, read about the import restrictions for foot and mouth disease.   

    Clinical signs to be aware of vary depending on the animals, but in cattle the main signs are sores and blisters on the feet, mouth and tongue with potentially a fever, lameness and a reluctance to feed. In sheep and pigs, signs tend to manifest with lameness with potential for blistering.    

    Maintaining good biosecurity is essential to protecting the health and welfare of herds and critical to preventing the spread of diseases such as FMD and preventing an outbreak spreading.  

    Foot and mouth disease is a notifiable disease and must be reported. If you suspect foot and mouth disease in your animals, you must report it immediately by calling:  

    • 03000 200 301 in England   

    • 0300 303 8268 in Wales   

    • your local  Field Services Office in Scotland  

    For more information, visit: Imports, exports and EU trade of animals and animal products: topical issues – GOV.UK

    Updates to this page

    Published 7 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: A message from Christine Jardine on International Women’s Day

    Source: Liberal Democrats UK

    That means pushing our revolutionary parental leave and childcare policies –  helping more mothers return to the workplace should they want to, and fighting against the gender pay gap. Or our plans to end period poverty and ensure that survivors of violence against women and girls are properly supported in the criminal justice system. 

    Women deserve an ambitious vision from political parties of how their lives can be improved. So it’s disappointing that the government seems to have missed opportunities to make this a reality. They removed the target for women’s health hubs in the latest NHS mandate, while their Crime & Policing Bill fails to mention domestic abuse once.

    The fight for equality continues. Liberal Democrats will keep pushing on these issues and others, to deliver the positive future that all women deserve.

    Of course, accelerating action also means supporting the tireless campaigners who are already doing fantastic work. I am especially grateful to the groups within our own party who are pushing for change. Lib Dem Women and the Campaign for Gender for Balance are just some examples, who lead the fight to get more women involved in politics.

    We as a party – and a country – have come so far. If we keep working together, we can go even further.

    Happy International Women’s Day.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: The Council host International Women’s day event

    Source: City of Preston

    On Monday 3 March, the Town Hall opened its doors to host a networking event for International Women’s Day.

    The day saw a panel of local women speak about their experiences in the workplace and how they have implemented change.

    This year’s theme was ‘Accelerate Action’ and community members from across Preston were invited to attend to listen to the key speakers and have the opportunity for networking.

    This showcased the number of strong female role models present within the community and the collective drive towards equality in Preston.

    The speakers were:

    • Mrs Amanda Parker – His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire
    • Superintendent Sally Riley – Lancashire Constabulary, Chair of Inspire – The Women in Policing Network
    • Miss Zaynab Jogi – Self-Defence Trainer and Mountaineer
    • Dr Kailash Parekh – MBE, Community Champion and Educationalist
    • Dr Chinyere Ajayi – Course Lead at the School of Health, Social Work and Sport, UCLan
    • Mrs Sarah Threlfall – Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Community and Wellbeing at Preston City Council

    There were also stalls shining a light on the work carried out in the community by:

    • Lancashire Women
    • Sahara
    • Ashton Food Aid and Penwortham Care and Share representing Preston Food Network

    According to data from the World Economic Forum, at the current rate of progress it will take 133-years to reach full gender parity, which is roughly five generations from now.

    One of the best ways to forge equality is to understand what works and do more of this faster. 

    More than 50 women attended this networking event, and they were catered for by participants of the Lady Boss course – a programme engaging with a group of 10 non-registered, home-based female cooks from minority communities who were interested in gaining a food safety qualification, registering with the local authority for food safety purposes, and incorporating as a business.

    By the end of the programme, all members had achieved a Level 2 Food Safety certification.

    The food was delicious and off the back of this success, they received another booking for an upcoming event in Preston.

    Reflecting on the event, Councillor Nweeda Khan, Preston City Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Social Justice said:

    It was an honour to be part of the International Women’s Day networking event today, and it was inspiring to hear from women from different career paths contributing towards a change in the workplace.

    Preston City Council actively applies and prioritises the principles of Community Wealth Building wherever applicable and appropriate. Community Wealth Building is an approach which aims to ensure the economic system builds wealth and prosperity for everyone.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New Levy Artisan Market set for spring opening

    Source: City of Manchester

    A new monthly artisan day and night market to open in Levenshulme from April 2025.

    Manchester City Council and Independent Street, known for its successful events around the Northwest, have collaborated to bring a new market offering on the former, much loved Levy Market site.

    The new market which will be known as Levy Artisan Market will bring freshly baked produce, independent food stalls, and unique artisan products to the already vibrant area of Levenshulme.

    Levy Artisan Market will launch on Sunday 13th April and will take place the second Sunday of every month. There will also be an exciting night market on the last Friday of every month from 25th April 25.

    Councillor Garry Bridges, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Levy Market has been a long standing and much-loved institution for the local community and it’s traders, imbued a rich heritage and an asset which has set foundations for other markets to thrive.

    “We are really proud to welcome Independent Street’s Artisan Levy Market onto the site, the end product of a collaborative approach to bring a new market offering to the people of Levenshulme.

    “The new market will provide a unique space for small businesses, artisans, and food vendors, allowing them to thrive whilst also contributing to the local economy and offering residents and visitors access to high-quality products, delicious street food, and a welcoming social environment.

    “We hope it will become more than just a market – but rather a hub for creativity, enterprise, and community spirit.”                 

    The monthly Sunday Artisan Markets at Levy will offer family-focused events, from live entertainment and children’s workshops to food tastings and cultural celebrations, ensuring there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

    The monthly Friday Night Markets will offer a newly designed food court area with a large selection of some of the best street food in town, plus live music, good vibes and a large seating area for people to kick back, relax and welcome in the weekend.

    Lisa Cowley, Director of Independent Street, says: ‘’We are thrilled to have been selected to launch this iconic market back onto the Manchester Market scene.

    “We’re incredibly excited to welcome back Levy’s loyal customers and introduce The New Levy Artisan Market to a new generation of visitors. With a focus on community, sustainability, and high-quality, local produce, we hope to make Levy Artisan Market the heart of Manchester for years to come.”

    The Levy Artisan Market is set to showcase Manchester’s rich tapestry of Artisans and creators and also serve as a catalyst for driving footfall into Levenshulme’s established shops, cafes, restaurants and independents. It will once again continue to emphasise supporting small businesses and providing a space for entrepreneurs to thrive.

    Local councillors have collaborated with council officers to revive a market in Levenshulme, which has been deeply missed by both residents and visitors. Beyond its economic impact, the market fosters a strong sense of belonging, encouraging people to shop locally, connect with their neighbours, and celebrate the diversity of Levenshulme.

    To celebrate the launch, Levy Artisan Market will be hosting a grand opening event on Sunday April 13th, featuring live music performances, incredible artisans, a street food area plus a free crafting table and activities for its smallest  visitors. The event will run from 11am and everyone is invited to join in.

    If you are interested in showcasing at the new Levy Artisan Market contact lisa@independentstreet.co.uk.

    Organisers are also on the hunt for local community groups and musicians to join in. Applications to trade can be made through the website independentstreet.co.uk

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why increasing rates of tuberculosis in the UK and US should concern everyone

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tom Wingfield, Deputy Director of the Centre for Tuberculosis Research, Reader in Tuberculosis and Social Medicine, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK; and Honorary Research Associate at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, and, University of Liverpool

    pardi hutabarat/Shutterstock

    With one of the largest tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks in US history, Kansas has more to worry about than its recent Super Bowl defeat. During the past year, 67 people with TB have been detected. This comes on the back of increasing rates of TB in the US year on year since the start of the COVID pandemic.

    Rather than a relic of the Victorian era, TB is the world’s most enduring pandemic, killing more people each year than any other single infection. While more common in low-income countries, TB continues to be found in more deprived communities, cities, prisons, homeless populations, and in black, Asian and Indigenous people, including in wealthy countries such as the US and UK.

    TB outbreaks in wealthy countries act as a canary in a coalmine, reflecting cracks in national public health systems. More broadly, TB outbreaks in any setting have deeper implications for the struggle to end TB globally.

    TB is an airborne infection that doesn’t respect borders. With increasing mass movement, including due to climate change and war, the maxim “TB anywhere is TB everywhere” is more resonant today than ever.

    In the UK, TB rates consistently declined between 2011 and 2020. But, like the US, this decline reversed since COVID emerged in early 2020.

    In 2023, there was a 13% increase in the number of people who became unwell with TB in England, compared with 2022.

    At 9.5 people with TB per 100,000 people per year, England is in jeopardy of losing its “low TB incidence” status (less than ten people with TB per 100,000 people per year).

    Rates of TB in England have a stark social gradient, with the poorest 10% of people having five times higher rates of TB than the richest 10%.

    In the UK, there is a cost of living crisis. Many people, especially the poorest, are struggling to put food on the table. TB is a social disease of poverty that thrives where there is overcrowding, undernutrition and poor working and living conditions.

    But the increase in TB in the UK cannot be put down to greater risk of disease alone. The response of the health and social care system to prevent and cure TB is crucial.

    The BCG vaccine, currently the only TB vaccine, is not nearly as effective as we would like at preventing disease. There is hope on the horizon with several vaccines under development, but their effect may be impeded by vaccine hesitancy driven by misinformation.

    BCG is still the only TB vaccine, but it’s not highly effective.
    TuktaBaby/Shutterstock

    Other barriers to address include lack of TB awareness, continuing TB-related stigma, understaffing of vital TB community nursing teams, and a breach between health and social care sectors to support those vulnerable to TB.

    For countries with lower incidence of TB across Europe and North America, many TB policies are targeted at identifying and treating TB in groups who are most at risk of being exposed to the disease, including people moving from regions of the world where TB is more common.

    Patterns of migration to the UK changed significantly following Brexit. A need to expand the workforce, particularly in health and social care, has led to active recruitment and movement of people from higher TB burden countries. This is relevant because, in England, four in five people with TB were born outside the UK, and rates among this group increased by 15% between 2022 and 2023.

    Screening migrant populations as part of their visa application process pre-entry is effective at identifying people with infectious TB. But prevention is better than cure, and there remains a gap in screening for TB infection or TB disease without symptoms.

    Providing well-tolerated, preventive TB treatment can reduce the risk of developing active TB disease by 85% in the future. Yet the screening programme in the UK is under-resourced, with just 11.5% of eligible migrants screened for TB infection in 2023.

    We should not overlook the fact that rates of TB also increased, although to a lesser extent (3.9%), among people born in the UK – the first time this has happened for many years.

    Among both UK-born and non-UK-born populations, often overlapping social risk factors such as homelessness, asylum seeker status, drug or alcohol misuse, incarceration and mental health disorders continue to drive TB. These factors, which jumped by 27% between 2022 and 2023, not only increase the likelihood of TB disease but are associated with much lower rates of cure.

    Early diagnosis and treatment of TB are crucial to prevent long-term health issues or even death. The sooner someone starts effective treatment, the sooner they stop being infectious, helping to reduce the spread of TB. Improving access to diagnosis and care will lower TB transmission.

    Unacceptable delays in treatment

    Nearly a third of people with TB in the UK experience a delay of four months between the onset of their symptoms (commonly cough, fever, night sweats and weight loss) and taking their first anti-TB medicine. This unacceptable delay is similar to (or even longer than) the treatment delays we have documented in low- and middle-income countries with much higher TB burdens, including Peru, Nepal and Mozambique.

    In the UK, most people are entitled to free NHS care, and TB care and prevention is free to all. However, the NHS is overwhelmed and policies relating to healthcare recovery costs of visitors and migrants can prevent people with TB, wherever they are from, from getting timely care. This situation poses a public health threat to us all.

    Effective TB prevention and care is possible. While current tools are imperfect, albeit with recent progress in diagnostics and treatment, researchers around the world are further advancing science and innovation in the fight against TB. This includes the promise of nutritional supplementation, financial and social support, and a new TB vaccine. Providing timely support to everyone with TB remains fundamental to our response to this illness of poverty.

    To end TB, whether in the US, UK, or globally, we would do well to remember and apply the old medical adage: treat the person, not the disease.

    Tom Wingfield is supported by grants from: the Wellcome Trust, UK (209075/Z/17/Z); the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Wellcome, UK (Joint Global Health Trials, MR/V004832/1); the Medical Research Council (Public Health Intervention Development Award “PHIND”, APP2293); the Medical Research Foundation (Dorothy Temple Cross International Collaboration Research Grant, MRF-131–0006-RG-KHOS-C0942); and UNITAID (2022-50-START-4-ALL). Tom is an honorary research associate at the Department of Global Public Health, Karolinksa Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, and is also an ad hoc consultant for the World Health Organization and the Stop TB Partnership.

    Jessica Potter has previously received research funding from Medical Research Council UK. She chairs a grassroots network called UK Academics and Professionals to end TB and is an advisory member of the Innovations Constituency of the Stop TB Partnership.

    Kerry Millington receives funding from UK aid from the UK government for the research programme that she works on. Views expressed are those of her own and do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies.

    – ref. Why increasing rates of tuberculosis in the UK and US should concern everyone – https://theconversation.com/why-increasing-rates-of-tuberculosis-in-the-uk-and-us-should-concern-everyone-249202

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Does Kneecap’s Bafta win signal changing UK attitudes to British colonialism in Ireland?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Finola Kerrigan, Professor of Marketing, University of Birmingham

    Riotous Irish film Kneecap has attracted much critical and public acclaim since it debuted at Sundance in January 2024 as the festival’s first Irish-language film, winning the prestigious NEXT audience award.

    Its Irish premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh the following July saw it scoop best Irish film, the audience award and the Irish language feature film award. It was selected also as an entry for best international feature film and best original song at this year’s Oscars (but was unsuccessful in securing a nomination). Now Kneecap’s latest film honour comes from Britain, where its writer and director Rich Peppiatt won outstanding debut at the Baftas last month.

    The film, which mixes fantasy with reality, tells the hilarious tale of struggling real-life Irish-language rap group Kneecap (who play themselves in the film) as they become the unlikely face of the civil rights campaign to recognise the Irish language – also known as Gaelic. The bio on the group’s website states theirs “is a voice which comes screaming from the too-often deprived areas of the North of Ireland, speaking in a language which is too-often ignored”.

    The social and political impact of the arts and culture has long been established. Funding is often available for films that support the cultural agenda of nation states, and this plays a significant role in terms of soft power, a concept developed by political scientist Joseph Nye.

    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

    Academic Alan Bradshaw’s review captures the complexity of the themes of the film and its attempt to distance younger people – “the ceasefire generation” – from those of us who lived through the period of civil unrest commonly referred to as the Troubles.

    The Kneecap rappers are focused on advocating for the rights (cearta) of the people of Northern Ireland. Their open criticism of British rule, expressed through their music and film led to objections to them receiving public subsidies from the British taxpayer.

    However, consideration of the funding for the production reflects the central themes of the film. Northern Ireland Screen, the BFI, Screen Ireland, Coimisiún na Meán (Ireland’s independent media regulator) and TG4 (an Irish public service broadcaster providing film and television in Gaelic) collectively funded the film, demonstrating the strong creative collaborations that have developed over the past few years across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the UK.

    While it is not uncommon to see UK-Irish co-productions – ironically, perhaps, the UK and Ireland are largely treated as one territory for film distribution – usually such collaboration is related to the shared use of English. In this case, Irish language is at the centre of the storytelling, highlighting the contentious history behind this shared use of English.

    The Irish language is not just the language in which the story is told, it is at the very heart of the film. In 2020, the Gaelic film Arracht (English title Monster), a story of the Irish famine, was screened in British cinemas and was Ireland’s entry for the 2020 Academy Awards, but it was not nominated for any awards in the UK.

    While Arracht dealt with the famine, illustrating the destructive impact of colonial rule on the Irish people, culture and language, in 2022 An Cailín Ciúin (A Quiet Girl)
    demonstrated the beauty of the Gaelic language and provided many audiences outside of Ireland with their first opportunity to see a film in Irish.

    Kneecap shifts the focus forward to contemporary Northern Ireland and the fight to resuscitate and reinstate the Irish language in the six counties still under British rule. This was eventually recognised in 2022 when the UK parliament passed the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act.

    The film’s Bafta win and Oscar entry follow on from The Quiet Girl, which made it onto the Academy Awards’ shortlist for best international feature film and garnered Bafta nominations for best film not in the English language, and best screenplay (adapted), in 2023.

    Although in terms of pace and energy, Kneecap and The Quiet Girl could not be more different, both films are in the Irish language. The Quiet Girl earned over US$6.5 million (£5 million) globally at the box office – the first film in the Irish language to break the US$1m mark – while Kneecap has earned US$4.5 million so far.

    Kneecap’s Oscar ambitions may have been thwarted, but its success at the Baftas demonstrates the significance of film in terms of reflecting contemporary politics, shining a light on UK-Irish relations and the relevance of Northern Ireland both politically and culturally.

    The 1998 Good Friday agreement, brought an end to the Troubles, and addressed the decades of imbalance in the rights of Northern Irish Catholic citizens in relation to governance, civil and political rights as well as cultural rights.

    The right to use the Irish language was finally acknowledged as a cultural right and was reinstated as an official language of Northern Ireland in 2022 following the repeal of a penal law from 1737 which established English as the only language permissible in courts.

    This fundamental right to your native language is the key theme in Kneecap, focusing on opposing the legacy of British colonial oppression of language and culture. Its success in receiving public funding, delighting UK critics and audiences alike, as well as winning a prestigious British film award is well worth reflecting upon.

    Does this demonstrate that Britain is beginning to recognise the damage of colonialism on the psyche, culture and economics of those who are oppressed and disposed? Is this acceptance of the living legacy of colonialism?

    Giving the Bafta for outstanding debut for Kneecap to Peppiatt – an Englishman living in Belfast – can perhaps be seen as the start of such recognition. But it may be too early for a film opposing colonial British rule to be awarded the award for outstanding British film.

    Finola Kerrigan 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.

    – ref. Does Kneecap’s Bafta win signal changing UK attitudes to British colonialism in Ireland? – https://theconversation.com/does-kneecaps-bafta-win-signal-changing-uk-attitudes-to-british-colonialism-in-ireland-251634

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Joint Statement: Business Secretary and Fujitsu Services Ltd

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Joint Statement: Business Secretary and Fujitsu Services Ltd

    Joint Statement by UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Paul Patterson, Director, Fujitsu Services Ltd, on Horizon redress

    Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds today (Friday 7 March) met chiefs for Fujitsu in Tokyo to begin talks over the cost of redress for victims of the Horizon Scandal.   

    As part of a two-day visit to Japan, the Business Secretary met the company’s Chief Executive Takahito Tokita and Paul Patterson, Director of Fujitsu Services Ltd, and welcomed their commitments on compensation. 

    The meeting comes as new statistics published today show £768 million has been paid to over 5,100 claimants across all redress schemes, representing a more than tripling of the total amount of redress paid to victims by government since the end of June 2024.     

    Speaking after the meeting, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:  

    Today’s meeting with Fujitsu in Tokyo was productive and encouraging. I welcome their agreement to begin talks on compensation ahead of the Williams inquiry’s conclusion, and that they join the UK Government in our commitment to tackling this grave injustice.  

    We must never forget the lives ruined by the Horizon scandal and no amount of redress can take away that pain. But justice can and must be done. This government is determined to hold those responsible to account, and will continue to make rapid progress on compensation and redress.  

    Since we took office, we have more than tripled the total amount of redress paid to victims, and today we took another significant step towards justice.  

    Joint Statement by UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Paul Patterson (Director, Fujitsu Services Ltd): 

    The Rt. Hon. Jonathan Reynolds MP (UK Secretary of State, Business and Trade), Takahito Tokita (CEO, Fujitsu Limited) and Paul Patterson (Director, Fujitsu Services Limited) held a positive and constructive meeting in Japan today.  

    The UK Government welcomes Fujitsu’s repeated commitment to its moral obligation to contribute to the Government’s compensation for the victims of the Post Office scandal. Ahead of the completion of Sir Wyn Williams’ Horizon IT Inquiry, the Secretary of State and Mr Patterson agreed to progress discussions regarding Fujitsu’s contribution, acknowledging many parties are involved.  

    Officials from the Department for Business and Trade will continue to engage with Fujitsu representatives in full. The UK Government will not make a running commentary on these discussions but welcomes them and is grateful for Fujitsu’s engagement with Sir Wyn Williams’ Inquiry and its continued focus on delivering its public services commitments in the UK.

    Updates to this page

    Published 7 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Women always suffer in times of conflict. Yet the arms industry is accused of gender washing war

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rosie Walters, Lecturer in International Relations, Cardiff University

    A displaced Yemeni woman makes food for her children in the camp where they live in the city of Taiz. akramalrasny/Shutterstock

    International Women’s Day, marked each year on March 8, is all about celebrating women and furthering efforts towards gender equality. Companies are keen to join these conversations and shout about their achievements on a day when minds are focused on female empowerment. But this has led to accusations of hypocrisy.

    In 2021, one user on X created the Gender Pay Gap bot. Until 2023,this automated account reposted companies’ supportive messages about International Women’s Day, quoting information about their gender pay gap. The bot’s posts received tens of thousands of views and shares, showing an appetite for calling out misleading corporate claims about women’s empowerment.

    Activists and researchers label these misleading actions “gender washing”. It describes communications and practices that present corporations as taking action on gender inequalities even as they engage in things that may be harmful to women and girls.

    Gender washing takes many forms. It might be, for example, sponsoring girls’ education programmes without addressing known practices of child labour and sexual harassment in supply chains. Or it could be applying for corporate social responsibility awards while facing lawsuits for discrimination against female employees.

    Our research examines global arms manufacturers, including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman. It is estimated that the global arms trade as a whole was worth US$138 billion (£109 billion) in 2022 (the last year for which data are compiled).

    It is hard to say how many people are killed by these weapons, but at a minimum it numbers in the tens of thousands each year. Beyond this, the after-effects of weapons use include displacement, starvation and health emergencies, as has been seen in Yemen.

    Arms manufacturers continue to produce and sell weapons that cause untold suffering (including to women) across the world. But interestingly, arms manufacturers also issue communications celebrating International Women’s Day.

    Careers in science and tech

    Where previous research highlights how gender washing shows corporations or their products in a positive light, our research revealed bigger effects. We found that, through joint communications with governments and militaries, arms manufacturers were engaged in the process of gender washing war itself.

    By posting for International Women’s Day, these companies portray the technologies and corporate operations of warfare as empowering to women and girls. They show women succeeding in science and technology careers, and girls receiving inspirational talks and science education, while saying nothing about what that science is being used for.

    For example, Lockheed Martin Middle East and Africa shared a video on X showing a group of female engineers at the company’s innovation centre in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The post states that the company is “committed to inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers through real-world #STEM education”.

    The video shows a group of women wearing traditional Emirati dress in futuristic labs. They are interacting with touchscreen images of helicopters flying over deserts, examining a drone and sitting next to magnifying glasses. The soundtrack is like something out of a Hollywood action movie.

    But the women do not speak for themselves. We are supposed to assume that, thanks to Lockheed Martin, they are being educated in cutting-edge technology and empowered to pursue careers in science. They get hands-on experience using the very military technologies being deployed in many parts of their region.

    Lockheed Martin’s sale of weapons to warring parties in the Middle East, including arms sold to Saudi Arabia with devastating consequences for Yemeni women, is presented as a learning opportunity, “inspiring” women of the Middle East into science careers.

    For its part, Lockheed Martin said in its 2023 gender pay gap report that it had closed the salary gap by 12.1% since 2017. It also said its investment in STEM activities helped it to focus on a future pipeline of female talent.

    We also found that some corporations attempt to join progressive conversations without actually saying anything at all. We label this “constructive silences”. This is where companies say nothing of substance on gender issues, and do not reveal any efforts to tackle gender inequalities within their own practices. But nonetheless they tap into conversations about International Women’s Day that might enhance their reputations.

    A post on X from Lockheed Martin India uses International Women’s Day hashtags. But there is no clear link to the accompanying text, which does not mention women specifically. Nor is there any connection to initiatives to address gender inequalities. Instead it talks about how “an inclusive environment” helps employees to “develop innovative solutions”.

    This matters because – through social media – arms manufacturers present technologies of war as a force for public good. It is easier to deflect criticism of the harms created by your products when you can point to your efforts supporting women’s empowerment.

    These posts for International Women’s Day, and other gender-washing practices, make it easier for governments to continue subsidising the arms industry, buying and using weaponry, and issuing licenses for the sale of weapons in conflicts across the globe. All the while, they give the impression that the corporations producing those weapons are educating and empowering women and girls.

    This International Women’s Day, take a look for yourself. Think about which companies are professing care for women and what harms might they be obscuring.

    In a statement to The Conversation, a spokesman for Lockheed Martin said: Lockheed Martin’s core business safeguards human rights by advancing cutting-edge technologies that help US and allied defence forces promote deterrence and protect their people. We adhere to strict and ethical business practices guided by US government laws, regulations and policies related to international military sales and the use of products sold to international customers. Our company culture is collaborative and respectful, which allows all of our team members to impactfully contribute to our mission-critical work.

    Raytheon and Northrop Grumman were also approached for comment about the claims made in this article, but did not respond by the time we published.

    Rosie Walters receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Learned Society of Wales.

    Natalie Jester 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.

    – ref. Women always suffer in times of conflict. Yet the arms industry is accused of gender washing war – https://theconversation.com/women-always-suffer-in-times-of-conflict-yet-the-arms-industry-is-accused-of-gender-washing-war-249775

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: A step forward for girls in custody: Reflecting on the review

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    A step forward for girls in custody: Reflecting on the review

    Susannah Hancock, YJB Board member, reflects on her review of girls in custody, which makes several recommendations about how we can better meet their needs.

    YJB Board member, Susannah Hancock

    My independent review into placements for girls in custody was published this week. I was delighted to be asked to undertake the review by Sir Nic Dakin, Minister for Youth Justice, as I have seen first-hand through my work with the YJB that girls are some of the most complex and vulnerable children in the youth justice system. The report considers short-to-medium term placement options for girls in the children’s secure estate and makes a number of recommendations about how we can better meet their needs.  

    I have been especially pleased to see that the government has acted on the first recommendation from my review with immediate effect; to stop placing girls in young offender institutions (YOIs). This is an essential and positive step forward for the treatment and care of girls in custody. It will address a fundamental issue that has long been overlooked; the need for a system that is responsive to the distinct needs of girls. 

    What we know about girls in custody 

    Following the closure of Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre (STC) in 2021, the Youth Custody Service (YCS) began placing some girls temporarily into Wetherby YOI. However, some 3 and a half years later, YOIs have remained a custody option for girls. 

    Currently there are around 10 girls in the custodial system, making up less than 2% of the population, and it’s due to this that placements are often geared around the needs of boys, with girls needs often overlooked. This is a systemic issue, and one I was determined to understand better. 

    An incredibly important factor for girls entering the youth justice system are their experiences of trauma, physical abuse, sexual abuse and victimisation, and most girls in custody have experienced more than one of these adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The YJB’s most recent data also shows that between 75% and 90% have experienced abuse from a family member. This means that too often, when girls arrive in a custodial setting, it serves to retraumatise them.  

    Overall, the figures suggest that a significant number of the girls in custody, particularly those on remand, would not be there if appropriate community provisions were in place. 

    A range of voices, with girls at the heart  

    During the time I spent on the review – alongside my day job – I made it a priority to fully engage with a wide range of voices from across the sector. From frontline staff to think tanks and academics, the breadth of the conversations I had was invaluable. I also had the opportunity to speak directly with girls themselves in the establishments I visited, as well as with two young women who had earlier experience of the children’s secure estate. These conversations, alongside reading wider consultations with girls about their experience in custody, really shaped the direction of the review. I am so grateful to them for their openness and honesty in sharing their voices; it is these voices that are paramount in ensuring that the services we provide are not only effective but tailored to girls’ needs. 

    “The voices of girls were really important in shaping the review, to understand what they thought about different establishments.” 

    Trauma-informed practice 

    As I spoke to professionals across the sector, it became clear that the needs of girls in custody are distinct from those of boys. They require a trauma-informed approach focused not only on containment but about providing appropriate, therapeutic care. While evidence shows that boys are more likely to externalise trauma through violence, girls’ trauma often manifests through self-harm and substance misuse. Girls also often suffer post-traumatic stress disorder which can result in behavioural difficulties. Indeed, my findings were stark: over 50% of self-harm incidents in custodial settings involved girls and their exposure to ACEs is four times higher than their peers in the community.  

    I recognise that there are many vulnerable boys in the secure estate who also present with experiences of trauma and abuse. I am hopeful that much of the learning from the girls’ review can also be applied to them as we move forward with this work.  

    Gender-responsive settings  

    Gender-responsive approaches recognise girls’ experience of gender-based violence, the impact of their trauma and that responses must centre on the abuse, victimisation and systemic inequalities faced by girls. In short, staff working with girls in secure settings must recognise that girls are different and the kind of support they need is different. What came out loud and clear from girls and staff themselves is that high- quality, trauma-informed and gender-responsive training is key to support and deliver the best possible outcomes.

    “Girls are different and their needs are different. Girls need gender-responsive services to support those needs.” 

    What girls want  

    There was a strong level of consensus from the professionals I spoke to, and girls themselves, on a what a model establishment should look like. 

    Girls valued small, homely environments, clear boundaries and a caring and skilled workforce who listen to their views: “If we raise something, it needs to be taken seriously.”  

    Secure settings should be gender-sensitive, offer physical, emotional and mental health services, including psychiatric support and ability to respond to self-harm incidents. As set out in my recommendations, the evidence suggests that secure children’s homes and the secure school are best suited to deliver this, and I look forward to seeing this shift happen over time. 

    A ‘girls consortia’ – the ideal model 

    In the review I recommend developing a ‘girls consortia’ – a collective group of secure children’s homes and the new secure school, which work collaboratively across the secure estate, and with cross-governmental support, to provide placements for all girls in custody. By working together, this model would determine suitable placements for girls based on their own individual experiences, tailored to their specific needs. Further to this, the model could support knowledge sharing and access to shared training to better meet the needs of vulnerable girls.  

    Alongside the consortia model, we equally need to strengthen and develop provision in the community so many of these girls can be kept out of custody altogether. My review makes some clear recommendations for cross-departmental working, alongside local authorities and local partners, including youth justice services, to come together to develop and invest in community alternatives.  

    Conclusions  

    I’m excited to see where the government goes with the recommendations, and I’m hopeful that we will see progress in several areas. The Youth Justice Board has a crucial role to play in supporting girls, and this review presents a real opportunity to collaborate with the sector on the development of a national strategy for girls across the youth justice system. 

    This review has been an important step forward – building on the great work undertaken by many practitioners, academics and research bodies before me. While I am pleased with the immediate action on the YOI recommendation, there is still much to be done. I hope this review, through the clear evidence base, offers a vision of how we could do things differently; to maximise the positive changes we can make for these girls and deliver the best outcomes for them. Everyone has a role to play in this. It is only by working together that we will make the step change needed.

    Read the full review: Delivering the best for girls in custody

    Updates to this page

    Published 7 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Swimming Pool funding secured for Preston Leisure Centres

    Source: City of Preston

    Additional funding from Sport England has been accepted by Preston City Council Cabinet Members (Wednesday 5 March) to support a capital investment to improve energy efficiency at Fulwood Leisure Centre.

    The grant sum of £226,552 will be transferred to Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), the charitable social enterprise that operates Better leisure centres in Preston including Fulwood and Westview, on behalf of Preston City Council.

    Rising energy prices over recent years have significantly increased the costs of keeping the two swimming pools open. Since transferring over the running of the city’s leisure city centre assets to GLL in 2017, GLL has been able to deliver substantial savings to protect the long-term viability of these important community assets.

    Following a successful bid from the Phase 1 Swimming Pool Support Fund (SPSF) in September 2023, the Council has now received funding from the Phase 2 SPSF.

    Due to the national demand on this funding, the government and Sport England is only awarding the funding to one facility per local authority and to fund two interventions at that site.

    A single application was submitted on behalf of all the eligible pools in the area.

    The funding will be used to install solar panels to the roof of Fulwood Leisure Centre which will significantly reduce energy bills by lowering the centre’s reliance on the national grid, while contributing to carbon savings.

    The old boiler will be replaced with a new state-of-the-art heating system which will further improve the energy efficiency of the building. 

    Councillor Zafar Coupland, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing said:

    Swimming pools are such an important part of our communities and are accessed by many as an enjoyable, low impact activity for maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. The additional grant funding is a critical and very welcome boost in helping our leisure centres to stay operational and to carry out ongoing essential repairs.

    One of the aims of the Phase 2 funding agreement is to encourage the leisure sector to transition to a position of environmental and financial sustainability through local strategic plans for leisure and active wellbeing.

    Established in 1993, GLL is the largest UK-based charitable social enterprise delivering leisure, health and community services. Operating under the Better brand, it manages 250 public sport and leisure centres, 113 libraries and 10 children’s centres in partnership with 50 local councils, public agencies and sporting organisations.

    Michael Manley, Preston Partnership Manager at GLL said:

    The move reinforces our commitment to supporting renewable energy, while allowing us to make vital savings on energy costs. These savings will be reinvested so that we can continue our ongoing programme of improvements to enhance the customer experience, offer the best possible leisure facilities and better serve the community of Preston.

    Preston City Council actively applies and prioritises the principles of Community Wealth Building wherever applicable and appropriate. Community Wealth Building is an approach which aims to ensure the economic system builds wealth and prosperity for everyone.

    Sport England 

    Sport England is a public body and invests up to £300 million National Lottery and government money each year in projects and programmes that help people get active and play sport.

    It wants everyone in England, regardless of age, background, or level of ability, to feel able to engage in sport and physical activity. That’s why a lot of its work is specifically focused on helping people who do no, or very little, physical activity and groups who are typically less active – like women, disabled people and people on lower incomes.

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New Café Opening at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens

    Source: City of Sunderland

    Sea Change Community Interest Company (CIC) is launching its second café at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens. The team from Sea Change in South Shields will welcome their first customers to the museum on Saturday 8 March.

    With a successful venue on Ocean Road, South Shields, Sea Change is known for its inclusive menu, offering vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. More than just a café, it is a social enterprise dedicated to empowering neurodiverse adults across the North East. Sea Change provide skills, confidence, and experience for sustainable employment and has already created eight new jobs with an ambition to add ten more within its first year.

    Sarah Farrell-Forster, CEO and founder of Sea Change said: “We are thrilled to announce the opening of our second café, located in the heart of the city at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens!”

    “This exciting expansion not only allows us to bring our delicious offerings to a new audience but also furthers our mission of providing more supported employment for the neurodiverse community in Sunderland. By growing our presence, we can empower even more individuals with meaningful work, skill development, and a supportive environment where they can thrive. We can’t wait to welcome you to our new location and create an even greater positive impact.”

    Since opening in 2019, Sea Change has supported over 100 people from across the neurodiverse community, with 20 people progressing into paid hospitality roles and five securing independent employment through its ‘Sea Change for Employment’ programme.

    Councillor Beth Jones, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Tourism at Sunderland City Council, said: ” Sea Change’s opening at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens is a fantastic addition to our city. Not only does it offer visitors a welcoming space to enjoy the varied food offer in our much loved Museum, but it also champions inclusivity by creating valuable experience and employment opportunities for the neurodiverse community.  We look forward to welcoming Sea Change to Sunderland and working with them over the coming months as we continue to develop our plans for the Museum and Winter Gardens and raise awareness of our newly established Mowbray Park Community Garden”. 

    Sunderland City Council is busy preparing to submit a funding bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the Museum and Winter Gardens. The plans are due to be submitted in May to carry out a range of improvements to the museum’s visitor spaces.

    This bid is alongside a second round of funding from Arts Council England Museum and Estates Fund, secured last month towards improvements to the Winter Gardens. These are positive for the museum, protecting and conserving it for many years to come. As well as ensuring it can continue to create valuable opportunities for people from across our communities and for visitors to the city. 

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Pilot encourages parents to have fun whilst reading to their children

    Source: City of Liverpool

    As part of our World Book Day celebrations, Liverpool City Council has launched an exciting new project to help parents make Storytime even more engaging and enjoyable.

    “Tell Me a Story, Liverpool” is a unique pilot programme delivered in partnership with Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and the Dollywood Foundation, an organisation founded by Dolly Parton to inspire children to achieve educational success.

    This initiative is designed to support parents with practical tips and guidance to become expert storytellers. As part of the programme, participating families will receive free books, generously provided by the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

    Health professionals, including health visitors and family nurses, highlight the many benefits of reading with young children. Storytime helps build self-esteem, supports speech and vocabulary development, sparks imagination, and can even improve sleep patterns.

    Through this initiative, up to 100 families across the city will gain valuable insights into the importance of books and storytelling in their child’s development. Each participating family will receive a book every month for at least the next three years, fostering a lifelong love of reading.

    All families with children aged 0-5 can also benefit from the ‘BookStart’ programme, which encourages shared reading from an early age. Find out more here: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/what-we-do/programmes-and-campaigns/bookstart/?gad_source=1

    Councillor Harry Doyle, Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Culture, said “Reading to your child helps to build a life-long love of reading. I am so pleased that families will have the opportunity to discuss how they can use books and stories to support the development of their child. 

    “A child’s first years are when their brains are developing the most, and this amazing opportunity to promote and provide shared reading opportunities will have a positive impact as we help more children to develop and be ready to start school.”

    Prof Matt Ashton, Director of Public Health, said “ I loved reading to my kids when they were little, and the fact they have taken their love of reading into their teenage years. Any opportunity you have to engage with a child using a picture or story book can open the door to a wonderful world of words, art, and imagination. 

    “Teaching them rhymes, songs and repetition can help them to make sense of the world around them and lay foundation skills that will last a lifetime. It’s not just about reading, but sharing special time together, building bonds, confidence and giving them the best start in life.”

    Cath Creed, Family Nurse Partnership supervisor said “My team have received further training from Book Start to further their understanding of the vast array of benefits looking through a book together can bring for children.

    “It is great that we can enrich our young parents and infants lives through this collaboration with partners from Barnardo’s, Book Start, Dollywood Foundation, Public health commissioners and Health Visiting colleagues.”

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council acts on bus lane proposals feedback

    Source: City of Derby

    Derby City Council has acted on community feedback on proposed bus lanes for Duffield Road and Osmaston Road, reinforcing the importance of public consultations in shaping Council projects.

    With approximately 1500 responses received during the two twelve-week consultations, the proposals did not receive sufficient public support. As a result, the Council will now explore alternative options to improve transport in these areas

    For the Duffield Road route, this includes the installation of bus detection technology at Five Lamps, light segregation of the current marked cycle lanes, potential upgrades of pedestrian crossings, and adding kerbside parking on the A6.

    Along Osmaston Road, future proposals could include a redesign of road markings, updating the signals at Ascot Drive and linking them to the Spider Island signals, and improving walking and cycling provision to the district centre.

    The Council is working to create a better-connected Derby and is taking steps to improve public transport and deliver better bus services, as outlined in the National Bus Strategy.

    Both Osmaston Road and Duffield Road are key strategic corridors, providing vital connections between the city centre and surrounding communities. Along both routes there is a need to consider improvements for all road users, including busses, cyclists, and pedestrians.

    Councillor Carmel Swan, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Transport and Sustainability, said:

    Thank you to everyone who took part in these two consultations. While it is disappointing that there wasn’t more support for the proposals, this process has highlighted the importance of the consultation process, which only works if you, the people of Derby, tell us your views.

    At the heart of these proposals was the desire to make Derby a more sustainable city, championing public transport and active travel as a way to contribute to decarbonisation, air quality, and health improvements.

    We will now investigate options for both routes that can deliver the infrastructure to support our transition to a greener Derby.

    The Council will now investigate these new options and assess the benefits. Any new proposals will still reflect the conditions of the funding from the government’s Bus Service Improvement Plan, which was allocated for the development and implementation of bus priority measures.

    Work to improve bus services sits alongside a larger programme around the city as the Council continues to invest in local transport and build a strong network. This includes upgrades to traffic signalling and active and sustainable travel infrastructure such as cycle lanes and EV charging points.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Prison expanded to create UK’s largest public sector jail and make streets safer

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Prison expanded to create UK’s largest public sector jail and make streets safer

    More dangerous criminals will be taken off the streets thanks to a 700-place expansion which will turn a Suffolk jail into the UK’s largest public sector prison.

    • three new houseblocks to be built at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk by summer 2027
    • key milestone in efforts to deliver 14,000 extra prison places nationwide by 2031
    • part of Government’s Plan for Change to create safer streets

    The three new, four-storey houseblocks at HMP Highpoint will boost its capacity by more than 50 percent– and is the latest step in Government action to create safer streets.  

    The houseblocks will include innovative workshops and teaching facilities to train prisoners with skills to secure a job on release and turn their backs on crime for good. The new cells will be fully operational by summer 2027. 

    The construction is a significant milestone in the Government’s plan to deliver 14,000 more prison places by 2031 to lock up dangerous offenders and keep the public safe.   

    Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, Lord James Timpson said: 

    This government is fixing the broken prison system it inherited – wasting no time in getting shovels in the ground to deliver the spaces needed to protect the public. 

    These new houseblocks have been designed with a laser-focus on cutting crime and are a major step in our plan to deliver 14,000 more prison places by 2031.  

    But we cannot simply build our way out of this crisis, which is why we’re also reviewing sentencing so we can lock up dangerous offenders, cut crime and make our streets safer.

    HMP Highpoint Prison Governor Nigel Smith said: 

    The expansion at Highpoint will provide much-needed prisoner places in our region.

    The new accommodation will provide a safe and secure environment for us to rehabilitate prisoners and get them ready for release.  

    We are pleased that the construction work has officially begun and we look forward to working with our contractors to get things delivered.

    The build will be delivered by Wates Group, a leading family-owned development, building and property maintenance company. Once completed Highpoint will be the largest public sector prison in terms of land size in North-West Europe and the largest in the UK based on prisoner population.

    It will help provide an economic boost to East Anglia with hundreds of jobs created during construction and over 200 permanent jobs at the prison once built. Construction alone will bring investment into local businesses with 30% of materials/subcontractors coming from within a 50-mile radius. 

    Phil Shortman, Regional Managing Director at Wates said:   

    We are proud to be involved in the major programme of delivering much-needed prison spaces.  

    Through the construction of this project, around 2,000 building components have been crafted in prison workshops, providing meaningful employment opportunities, helping develop valuable skills and supporting brighter futures.  

    We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the government delivering additional prison capacity with a focus on rehabilitation, sustainability and social value for the local community.

    The development is part of the government’s 10-year prison capacity strategy published in December. It includes 6,400 places through new houseblocks and 6,500 places via new prisons. One thousand rapid deployment cells will be rolled out across the estate while more than 1,000 existing cells will be refurbished. 

    A 1,500-capacity prison in Yorkshire, HMP Millsike, will be opened in the coming weeks. The government is investing £2.3 billion to deliver these prison builds, while a further £500 million will go towards vital building maintenance across prisons and the probation service.     

    The strategy will work alongside the Independent Sentencing Review to ensure the most serious offenders can always be sent to prison to protect the public.    

    Notes to editors 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: The UK deepens cooperation with France on people smuggling

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    The UK deepens cooperation with France on people smuggling

    The UK and France sign a roadmap to deepen cooperation on people smuggling.

    The UK and France have further deepened their small boats cooperation with the signing of the Upstream Working Group Roadmap yesterday (6 March) at the Ministry of Interior.

    The UK’s Border Security Commander, Martin Hewitt, and France’s Special Representative on Immigration for the Minister of State, Patrick Stefanini, met in Paris to agree stronger measures, focussing on stemming irregular migration flows into both France and the UK. 

    The signing follows the Home Secretary’s visit to the Northern French coast last week where she met with French Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, to agree a series of new, stronger enforcement measures.

    The Franco-British Upstream Working Group marks a significant step in ongoing efforts to combat organised immigration crime. The roadmap has 4 priority issues:

    • disrupting the criminal gangs at the heart of organised immigration crime
    • deterring illegal migrants from taking the dangerous journey to France and the UK
    • ensuring the effective and prompt return of irregular migrants to source and transit countries
    • tackling the root causes of irregular migration

    The 2 co-chairs welcomed British and French joint efforts and set a date for the next Upstream Working Group plenary meeting, due to take place in May 2025. 

    Border Security Commander, Martin Hewitt, said: 

    When I first took on my role as Border Security Commander, one of my key priorities was to strengthen our work with partners across the world to tackle the criminal networks facilitating illegal migration to the UK. 

    In just a few short months, we have fundamentally enhanced our international cooperation, but it is our close cooperation with French partners that remains, as ever, the cornerstone to stopping the gangs and preventing loss of life. 

    Beyond France, the Border Security Command has deepened coordination with law enforcement to smash the criminal people smuggling gangs, securing vital agreements with other international partners including Germany, Western Balkan nations and Iraq.

    Updates to this page

    Published 7 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: We must seize this opportunity to destroy Assad’s chemical weapons programme: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Speech

    We must seize this opportunity to destroy Assad’s chemical weapons programme: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Statement by Fergus Eckersley, UK Minister Counsellor, at the UN Security Council meeting on Syria

    The last time this Council met to discuss chemical weapons in Syria, Bashar al-Assad was still in power.

    Two days later, he fled and his brutal regime was overthrown.

    The fall of Assad marks a new chapter for Syria and presents a golden opportunity to destroy his remaining chemical weapons programme, verified by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

    However, the situation in Syria is fragile and we must make sure we seize this window of opportunity to remove the threat posed by these weapons once and for all.

    The UK is concerned about recent clashes in Syria, which must not be allowed to escalate into wider violence. We urge all parties to refrain from further violence and exercise restraint at this critical time.

    The OPCW Director-General’s visit to Damascus on 8 February was an important step forward. 

    And we are greatly encouraged by the commitments already made by the Syrian interim authorities to fully cooperate with the OPCW and to secure chemical weapons sites.

    The attendance of Syria’s interim Foreign Minister, at the OPCW’s Executive Council this week was a very significant moment. 

    We welcome his renewed commitments on chemical weapons, including to “put an end to this painful legacy and ensure Syria becomes a nation aligned with international norms.”

    The next step is to support Syria to meet its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, including to declare and destroy remaining chemical weapons stockpiles working with the OPCW.

    The OPCW Director-General set out the scale of the challenge ahead to the OPCW’s Executive Council this week.

    And this Council has an important role to play in supporting the OPCW’s work.

    First, we underscore the importance of implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention alongside the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2118.

    Second, the international community must provide the financial and technical assistance to the OPCW that it needs.

    The UK has committed more than $1m to the OPCW Syria Missions since the fall of Assad to support their immediate work.

    Finally, as Syria’s interim authorities seek to bring stability to the country and address security threats, it is vital that Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected.

    This is why we urge Israel to de-escalate their actions in Syria. 

    Such military action risks destabilising an already fragile security situation. 

    We call on all parties to provide the safe conditions for the OPCW to conduct its work.

    Madam President, with political will from the new authorities in Syria and this Council, there is an opportunity to deal with this issue once and for all, and to finally achieve the total elimination of chemical weapons in Syria. 

    We must take that opportunity.

    Updates to this page

    Published 7 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Free Welsh language learning for UK civil servants

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    News story

    Free Welsh language learning for UK civil servants

    Welsh language training now available to all civil servants through the Civil Service Learning website

    Dame Antonia Romeo DCB

    Free Welsh language learning for UK civil servants

    Welsh language training now available to all civil servants through the Civil Service Learning website

    Every civil servant in the UK can now access free Welsh Language training thanks to a new initiative.

    Government Skills has been collaborating with the National Centre for Learning Welsh to offer civil servants easy access to free Welsh Language training—provided by the Welsh Government—via a programme called Work Welsh.

    It is the first time every civil servant in the UK has been given access to free learning on Civil Service Learning, which is specifically focused on helping them learn a new language.

    Promoting the Welsh language

    Dame Antonia Romeo DCB, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice and Permanent Secretary Place Champion for Wales and a Welsh language learner herself, said: 

    “This initiative underpins our commitment to promote the Welsh Language and ensure its presence across all Government departments – supporting the Welsh Government vision to have one million people speaking Welsh by 2050.”

    This opportunity is the result of an initiative led by Professor Kim Ann Williamson MBE, Strategic Advisor to the Wales and the Northern Ireland Head of Place with the great support of Rich Williams (Ministry of Justice), Alison Dods (Department of Work and Pensions), Dave Martin (Government Skills) and our Joint Heads of Place for Wales Ross Maude (DCMS) and Professor Tom Crick MBE (DCMS).

    An important milestone 

    Kim Ann, who herself relocated from London to Wales some 28 years ago, said she believes that learning a new language can be a vital part in staff development.

    “It’s an important milestone to be able to offer civil servants this opportunity and it highlights our determination to support diverse and thriving civil service communities in regions and nations across the UK.

    “Learning Welsh can help foster inclusive teams, particularly where there are Welsh-speaking colleagues. It’s also a wonderful way to forge closer links with the local community and support the Welsh language, heritage and culture.”

    Launch in Cardiff

    The learning is among a range of courses available on the National Centre for Learning Welsh’s website. But, by providing access via Civil Service Learning, Government Skills is ensuring that civil servants get easy access to the free learning. It can also monitor numbers accessing the learning from the Civil Service.

    Representatives from more than 14 government departments attended the launch of the Work Welsh language learning in Cardiff and had the opportunity to hear from Dame Nia Griffith MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales speaking in support of this new learning opportunity.

    Work Welsh is accessible via Civil Service Learning.

    Updates to this page

    Published 7 March 2025

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: British Embassy to observe Honduras’ Primary Elections

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    World news story

    British Embassy to observe Honduras’ Primary Elections

    The British Embassy is participating as observer at the primary elections in Honduras, scheduled for 9 March 2025.

    The British Embassy in Guatemala and concurrent for Honduras will participate as an observer after receiving an invitation to do so from the National Electoral Council (CNE).

    Tasks will include to observe the preparations for the election, the polling, counting and results process, and the overall electoral environment. The observers will determine whether the elections have been conducted according to the standards to which Honduras has committed itself, including domestic law and relevant international recommendations.

    By inviting international observers, we and other participating States demonstrate our commitment to democratic principles and reaffirm the great importance we attach to free, fair, transparent and safe elections in Honduras.

    Updates to this page

    Published 7 March 2025

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