Ukraine fights uphill battle to bring them homeMay 5 2025 4:55 PM7 min readFor illustrative purposes: Dmytro Mosur who lost his wife during an attack on Siverskotonets holds his two-year-old twin daughters as they wait to be evacuated from Lysychansk by Daria ShulzhenkoAround the world abducting a child is a serious crime punishable by years behind bars Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has identified over 19,500 children who have been forcibly deported to Russia, Belarus, or occupied territories only 1,300 of them have been safely brought back the children are placed in Russian families or camps and are subjected to intense propaganda designed to erase their Ukrainian identity Those who have returned report being punished for speaking Ukrainian and told that their homeland no longer wants them That constitutes a “calculated strategy” aimed at “completely severing their connection to Ukraine,” says Daria Zarivna an initiative launched by President Volodymyr Zelensky to coordinate the return of abducted children Zarivna is also an advisor to Zelensky’s chief of staff For Ukraine, returning all these children is a key condition for any future peace agreement with Russia The International Criminal Court (ICC) has also taken up the matter. In March 2023, it issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over their involvement in abductions Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova at the Kremlin in Moscow (Mikhail Klimentyev / Sputnik / AFP via Getty Images)But with no access to the children and little ability to determine their current locations It now largely depends on its international allies to facilitate their return Russia’s military offensive continues — as does its kidnapping of children President Donald Trump returned to office in January support for Ukraine has repeatedly come under question Trump himself has even suggested Ukraine started the war with Russia remains committed to bringing Ukrainian children home On March 11, Ukraine raised the issue in Saudi Arabia during talks with the U.S. The meeting also included discussions of potential "territorial concessions" as part of a peace agreement between Kyiv and Moscow Despite the White House’s push to rapidly end the war Zarivna says the humanitarian component was treated as a “crucial element" in the talks "We all agreed that it should never be excluded [from the agenda]," she told the Kyiv Independent Trump and Zelensky also discussed the abductions during their March 19 phone call. Trump promised "to work closely with both parties to help make sure those children were returned home," the White House said Mike Walz, then the U.S. national security advisor, said in March that returning the children was among several "confidence-building measures" that were under discussion Zarivna emphasizes that the goal is to make the issue "depoliticized," meaning the children should not be exchanged with Ukraine in return for "nuclear power plants or territory." A Ukrainian woman meets her son after he and over a dozen other Ukrainian children were brought back from Russian-held territory to Kyiv (Sergei Chuzavkov / AFP via Getty Images)"Doing so would only incentivize Russia to abduct even more children," she explains "The children must be returned unconditionally in accordance with international humanitarian law." Former Children’s Rights Commissioner Mykola Kuleba echoes her point a charity that rescues children deported to Russia "Children should not be treated as bargaining chips," Kuleba says legal advisor at the Regional Center for Human Rights says this issue “radically changes” how Ukrainians should view peace talks with Russia “How can we believe any promise from Russia if it won't return the children it abducted?” she asked “If Russia can't follow through on obligations it already agreed to long ago including those under the law of Geneva and the Hague why should we trust it with new commitments?" a Ukrainian official familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent that Trump aimed to achieve a “victory” in Ukraine to mark his first 100 days in office It could potentially involve a ceasefire and the return of some civilians and children from Russia Kuleba believes that Trump could play a key role in returning the children That might also help the government uncover crucial details about them and establish a mechanism for their rescue we would establish the full scale of the catastrophe and then we could help them," he suggests Children from a local school's patriotic club examine Kalashnikov rifles and a Makarov pistol near a road sign reading "Volnovakha," stolen from Ukraine The event promoted support for the Russian army fighting in Ukraine (Contributor / Getty Images)The Ukrainian official familiar with the matter says that U.S negotiations with Russia about returning the children were still ongoing What happens next largely hinges on the pressure the U.S Russia has shown no signs of de-escalating its military offensive And it continues to illegally deport Ukrainian children While Ukraine has identified 19,546 abducted children, the actual number may be much higher. Russia claims to have brought over 700,000 children to its territory since Feb Measuring that number has only grown more difficult After the ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova Russia halted all public reporting on the number of deported Ukrainian children Identifying and tracking abducted Ukrainian children is also challenging because Moscow deliberately changes their names and disperses them throughout its vast territory The researchers also found that Russian child placement databases have falsely registered these children as born in Russia One of the most striking cases occurred in 2023 when Russian lawmaker Sergei Mironov and his wife adopted a 10-month-old Ukrainian girl who had been forcibly taken from an orphanage in the then-occupied Kherson According to Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets Marharyta Prokopenko "became Marina Mironova." Rashevska says that the only way to prove the girl's identity is through a DNA test which is impossible while she remains in Russia Abducted children are also regularly subjected to military-style reeducation programs aimed at not only erasing their Ukrainian identity but also preparing them for future service in the Russian military Rashevska says that these militarization efforts extend to both abducted children and the 1.6 million kids living in areas Russia has occupied Russian President Vladimir Putin poses with children of Russian officers involved in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and with participants of youth and student organizations at Red Square in Moscow (Contributor / Getty Images)"This means they are being militarized with Russian citizenship being forced upon them,” she says This group of children must also be (discussed during) negotiations with guarantees that they will be treated as Ukrainians Russia's militarization of children is evident in the expanding reach of Yunarmiya (“Young Army”) a state-funded organization that teaches children military skills and fosters loyalty to the Kremlin which systematically prepares kids for service in the Russian military there was one center in each occupied region except for Zaporizhia Oblast Rashevska expects the number of centers to grow Russia can rapidly achieve its goal of strengthening its mobilization reserve and military potential," she says Kuleba warns that if these children aren't brought back soon they risk becoming part of Russia's war machine in future conflicts against Ukraine and the West "Through militarizing and brainwashing children Russia could easily achieve an army of three million within five years," he says Hi! Daria Shulzhenko here. I wrote this piece for you. Since the first day of Russia's all-out war, I have been working almost non-stop to tell the stories of those affected by Russia’s brutal aggression. By telling all those painful stories, we are helping to keep the world informed about the reality of Russia’s war against Ukraine. By becoming the Kyiv Independent's member you can help us continue telling the world the truth about this war Daria Shulzhenko is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent She has been a lifestyle reporter at the Kyiv Post until November 2021 She graduated from Kyiv International University with a bachelor’s in linguistics specializing in translation from English and German languages She has previously worked as a freelance writer and researcher playCan Man City clinch second from Arsenal in the Premier League (1:40)Don Hutchison questions whether Manchester City can catch second-place Arsenal in the Premier League with only three points separating the teams Transfers homepage | Done deals | Men's January grades | Women's January grades with 18 goals and six assists from 35 appearances Capable of playing on either flank or through the middle Mbeumo could suit Ruben Amorim's 3-4-3 formation nicely and could move to a bigger club as he approaches his 26th birthday in August Rogers has been in impressive form for the Villans this season having scored 14 goals as well as assisting 10 in 51 matches across all competitions ESPN's Alex Kirkland on growing speculation around the future of forward Rodrygo Rodrygo's future at Real Madrid is in doubt -- but for very different reasons the presumption was that Kylian Mbappé's arrival at the Santiago Bernabéu meant a likely departure for the Brazil forward Mbappé would replace Rodrygo in Carlo Ancelotti's front two -- alongside Vinicius Junior -- and the Brazilian would leave Ancelotti insisting on maintaining his "fantastic four" frontline despite the resulting imbalance between attack and defence Rodrygo has made 30 appearances in Madrid's 33 LaLiga games He can't complain about a lack of opportunities -- he just hasn't made the most of them he's scored one goal in the last three months including in Madrid's Champions League elimination to Arsenal and the Copa del Rey final defeat to Barcelona when he was hauled off for Mbappé at half-time has led go a growing feeling that Rodrygo might leave at the end of this season Some journalists who are close to the club although a source close to the player has denied to ESPN that Rodrygo is considering pushing for a move there's a good chance he'd thrive in the right environment it means Mbappé and Vinicius -- who's expected to sign a new deal -- could play as a front two Endrick would be the first-choice alternative in attack with Brahim Diaz as a different kind of option Madrid could use the funds raised by Rodrygo's exit to spend elsewhere in the team where it's badly needed: in midfield and defence play1:38Ogden questions if leaving Liverpool is a good move for Alexander-ArnoldMark Ogden wonders if Trent Alexander-Arnold's best chance of success on the pitch is at Liverpool rather than a likely switch to Real Madrid - Manchester United are confident they can land Atalanta midfielder Ederson in the summer if they win the UEFA Europa League and seal progress to next season's Champions League. (GMS) - Atletico Madrid defender Reinildo has extended his contract until after the Club World Cup. The 31-year-old's terms had ended on June 30, but he's penned a short extension so he can play in the tournament. (Marca) - Flamengo right-back Wesley has Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona on his trail, but the Brazilian club want at least €35m for his transfer. (Caught Offside) - Morgan Gibbs-White is open to leaving Nottingham Forest if they miss out on Champions League qualification, with Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle are all monitoring the situation. But Forest would want a fee of around £100m to let the midfielder go. (Bleacher Report) - Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo has impressed Manchester United and could make a £70m move north. The former Bristol City star has enjoyed a strong season for the Cherries, with nine goals and five assists in the Premier League. (Football Insider) - Paris Saint-Germain could make a move to sign Bournemouth centre-back Ilya Zabarnyi, 22, or Club Brugge's Joel Ordoñez, in the summer. (Sky Sport Switzerland) - Arsenal are interested in bringing Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sané back to the Premier League when his contract expires in the summer. The former Manchester City forward has switched agents amid talks over a new contract, casting doubt over whether new terms will be agreed. (Florian Plettenberg) - Marseille centre-back Leonardo Balerdi, 26, is one of Leeds United's top targets for their return to the Premier League next season. (Sun) - Ipswich striker Liam Delap, 22, has long been linked with a £30m move in the summer but Everton could rival Manchester United for his signature. (TEAMtalk) - Fiorentina are reported to have signed Union Berlin defender Robin Gosens for his clause of €7m. (Nicolo Schira) - Ajax and Feyenoord are among the clubs monitoring Crystal Palace U21 midfielder Hindolo Mustapha for both loan and permanent deals. (Fabrizio Romano) - Atletico Madrid are closing on the €60m signing of Tottenham centre-back Cristian Romero. (Nicolo Schira) - If Madrid do hire Alonso then they might move for Bayer Leverkusen's Piero Hincapié, who has a €60m release clause but Madrid are confident they could land the Ecuador international for around €40m. (Relevo) - Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers are keeping tabs on Villarreal and former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pépé following a recent return to form. (Foot Mercato) - Brentford are leading the race to sign €20m-rated Genoa and Denmark international midfielder Morten Frendrup. AC Milan are also interested, and they are preparing to make a final decision over whether to challenge for his signature. (Calciomercato) - Chelsea remain intent on parting ways with forward Christopher Nkunku in the summer. He was linked with Bayern Munich in January. (Fabrizio Romano) - Talks over a free transfer are set to commence between Marseille and the representatives of Lille midfielder Angel Gomes when his contract expires in June. (L'Equipe) - Flamengo have begun talks over a move to sign on-loan AC Milan forward João Félix when he returns to Chelsea in the summer. (SBT Rio's Vene Casagrande) - Negotiations over a new contract between Lazio and attacking midfielder Pedro are set to continue in the next few days, with the Serie A club looking to sign him to a new one-year contract extension. (Nicolo Schira) - Atletico Madrid are planning to activate the €3m clause to sign defender Santiago Mouriño back from Deportivo Alaves. (Mundo Deportivo) - Defender Lisandro Magallán is set to leave Liga MX side Pumas at the end of the season. (Super Deportivo) Reading’s season fell to a bitter end at home to Barnsley The FOMO I’ve had for the last week in the run-up to this game has been almost tangible I’m travelling a bit of the world and are currently in Bali with my better half I know I’ve probably found the one as she’s been completely fine with me harping on about what I’d do to be in RG2 instead right now That pang of jealousy and want increased tenfold when that news dropped this morning and another couple of percentage points when I first saw the packed-out SCL on my laptop screen As incredible and ridiculous as it would’ve been if it had come to fruition and despite how much we craved it and these players deserved it our playoff hunt has always been a side plot in the ongoing drama series that was Reading Football Club this season That is by no means to take away from how big of an achievement it is to even be in with a shout of nicking a playoff spot on the final day I think it’s the best achievement from any team across any league in the country Given what these staff and players have had thrown at them for them to keep coming out and performing week after week is simply staggering the main story has of course been Dai Yongge’s tenure and making sure it’s ended as quickly as possible I can’t sit here and say anything new about what we’ve endured over the last God knows how long Our former owner deserves no more air time or wasted breath from us We can finally go back to being normal football fans again Supporters who don’t fear that their club won’t exist and who don’t genuinely wonder how many times they'll be able to watch their team again and no set of football fans should ever be in that place the overriding feeling among the fans as we reflect on this season It is hard of course to brush off the disappointment of missing out on the playoffs - of which there absolutely is a substantial amount - particularly in the way it transpired Today had all the ingredients for a truly monumental day - takeover announced As someone whose only chance of seeing Reading again this season was a playoff game I must admit typing that out does sting quite a bit But in a season when so often we’ve tried not to let matters off the pitch negatively impact what’s happened on it Although I very much doubt you all need reminding of that For full transparency I started writing this when we went 2-0 down so hearing Tim Dellor and Brian McDermott (king) describe the remaining Barnsley goals as they go in has made it the aftertaste slightly sourer than it needed to be but I’m sure more than a few of you will go and get yourselves a fresh pint at the Purple Turtle to wash that away This team has taken us on a hell of a ride this season Lewis Wing playing every minute of every game Harvey Knibbs popping up time and time again Savage using the SCL pitch as his marathon route Rolls-Royce Tyler Bindon (we’ll miss you kiddo) Ruben Selles lighting the torch and Noel Hunt picking it up and carrying it valiantly - I could go on We were there when the club was riding its biggest wave and you best believe now that we’ve been there when it’s navigating the seabed of it’s rockiest lows but there are brighter days ahead now - and for a long time we didn’t think that would that be case As my other half has just rightly and beautifully pointed out to me after saying I’m pretty gutted I won’t be able to go back to the SCL until next season at least I know that’s something I definitely get to do now Most mornings since the death of Pope Francis around 180 cardinals have filed into a Vatican City assembly hall sat down in rows of high-backed wooden chairs and bickered over the direction of their 1.4-billion-strong world religion.  red-hatted clerics share banal niceties about the late pontiff concealing deep-seated unease over his controversial 12-year rule but you have to know the situation to know what’s hidden behind the words,” said one person present at the gatherings which are called general congregations and are hotbeds of intense lobbying before the conclave the ancient ritual to select a new pope that kicks off on May 7 “So everyone’s speaking good about Pope Francis but the way they speak good about him shows they don’t like him.” “He was a good pope,” they might say “But we also need to consider the popes before him we need to see the whole tradition.” Much has already been made of the fact that the coming conclave is unfolding under the shadow of U.S.-style culture wars that even the Holy Mother Church can’t escape pitting MAGA-style conservatives against LGBTQ+-tolerant progressives But the divisions among the clergy are also about something rather more concrete: The future of ecclesiastical power in a Church that’s rapidly outgrowing the confines of Rome dramatically changed the geographical balance of the Church by appointing 50 cardinals of voting age almost half the current crop of 133 serving electors from outside of the traditional Western power bases Cardinals were drawn from previously overlooked places like Bridgetown in the small Caribbean island of St Leaders of major dioceses like Los Angeles and San Francisco were snubbed the pope launched a series of major global consultations called synods that dealt with hot-button issues like same-sex blessings and remarriage for divorcées The idea was to more closely involve lay people and women as well as clerics from the far-flung regions of the Church — especially in the fast-growing centers in Africa and Asia — in ecclesiastical decision-making But the consultations also gave more latitude to non-European priests fragmenting the implementation of theology and drawing still more power from the Curia one of Francis’ last moves before his death on April 21 was to extend these deliberations for another three years despite speculation that he was merely using delaying tactics to avoid instituting more radical reforms and its implications for where Church power really lies is now one of the main issues being discussed in pre-conclave lobbying sessions according to three people with knowledge of the discussions is coalescing around one man in particular: the Holy See’s secretary of state and Francis’ longest surviving ally This shrewd diplomat has already been a figure of controversy since the pope first grew ill in February Parolin’s quiet assertion of spiritual leadership during that period in particular his prominent role in a powerful prayer session outside St while attracting suspicion from those who saw him as making a bid But for those wary of the waning influence of Rome The cardinal is seen as having resisted the synodal reforms That has earned him the backing of some of the so-called curial cardinals Vatican officials who work directly for the Holy See in Vatican City Those include cardinals over 80 who won’t be able to vote in the conclave but still wield considerable influence over the lobbying beforehand as well as Italians who might long to see one of their own countrymen on the throne of Peter after 47 years in which the role has gone to non-Italians the push for Parolin has irked the pro-Francis faction which has warned that he would roll back Francis’ radical efforts to make the Church more inclusive Some have consequently sought to discredit Parolin as a closet conservative while pushing the synod’s general secretary “Rome cannot know and cannot understand all the dynamics going on in different continents,” said one of them “They don’t want the Church directed by the Roman Curia.” But that camp is splintered and badly coordinated with few strong candidates to rally around It is also full of fresh-faced clerics plucked from “relatively unimportant” positions who might fall prey to the machinations of “hardened Church politicians like the European and North American cardinals,” said Miles Pattenden a Church historian and lecturer at Oxford University’s history faculty the alt right are attempting a hostile takeover of the group deciding on the next pope A fight for control over a vast chunk of Italy’s debt pile tests Rome’s influence and could reshape the Italian financial system It’s the first time the Kremlin has acknowledged the estimated 11,000 North Korean troops fighting for Moscow in the region The two chatted on the margins of the memorial for Pope Francis in Rome on Saturday The prince has offered Buckingham Palace an olive branch after years of recrimination and lost litigation Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex made the decision to step away from royal duties in September 2020 as tensions mounted between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family over their independence and treatment of the duchess Now after losing a legal challenge over his security arrangements, Harry has opened the door to reconciliation and said that he had forgiven his family for the “many disagreements” Buckingham Palace announced that the Sussexes would not be returning as working members of the royal family and that they had given up their royal patronages An immediate response said at the time that Harry and Meghan were “committed to their duty and service to the UK” But it also read: “We can all live a life of service In a series of stunning revelations during a two-hour hotly anticipated interview with Oprah Winfrey aired in the US and then the UK Meghan claimed that members of the royal family had openly expressed concerns about how dark the skin of her first child that they had gone to extraordinary lengths to deny him a royal title and that they had refused to provide him with security The Duchess of Sussex accused the royal family of fostering an atmosphere of racial hostility so intense that she came close to suicide while pregnant with Archie Harry said the “toxic environment” of royal life and racism was part of the reason they had left the country and moved to Canada and then Los Angeles citing a cut-off in security due to their status change The couple said they had put in place privately funded security after president said the US would not pay for their protection Harry said they were paying for private security through deals they secured with Netflix and Spotify The Duke of Sussex sought legal action against the government to allow him to pay for Metropolitan police security for him and his family when they visit the UK after photographers had chased him when he returned to the UK the previous summer for the unveiling of a statue of his late mother His lawyers later said that the Duke “did not feel safe” in the UK Any hint of a rapprochement between Prince Harry and his brother William was not apparent during the funeral for their grandmother There was no eye contact or acknowledgment between the princes as they walked behind the queen’s coffin and they and their spouses were kept apart In a documentary aired by Netflix Prince Harry said the royal family did not understand that Meghan required protection after racist headlines and stalking from paparazzi persisted when news of the couple’s relationship broke in 2016 He also spoke about what he called the Windsors’ “unconscious bias” in the documentary sometimes you are part of the problem rather than part of the solution There is a huge level of unconscious bias,” he said Harry revealed in his book that he and his brother William had a physical confrontation at his London home in 2019 The Duke of Sussex said William called Meghan “difficult” which Harry called a “parrot[ing of] the press narrative” about his American wife Harry put part of the blame for him wearing a Nazi uniform to a colonials and natives fancy dress party – which caused international outrage in 2005 when he was 20 – on William’s and Kate’s shoulders The Duke of Sussex had a brief reunion with the king after visiting his father after Buckingham Palace’s announcement of the monarch’s cancer diagnosis Harry had last appeared alongside the Windsors during the king’s coronation in May 2023 He remained estranged from his brother William. He later hinted in a US interview that he was open to family reconciliation: “I think any illness In a post on X, the royal family shared a photograph of a smiling Harry to mark his 40th birthday The message said: “Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!” It was the first time the royal family had shared a public birthday greeting to Harry since the Sussexes accused unnamed royals of animosity and racism in the interview with Oprah Winfrey Please check your email and enter your one time pin below:   Open in Gmail Sorry there was an error loading the audio With the Finance Ministry working on what is inevitably being called “Budget 3.0” we are now likely to see an unprecedented process involving politicians from different parties This is likely to lead to some kind of tension between them. At the same time, increasing opposition to the DA within the ANC could put intense pressure on the whole process.advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads Over the past few days it has been confirmed by the DA that at least two of its members are now working with Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to draw up the new Budget Meanwhile, the Sunday Times has reported that many members of the ANC’s caucus in Parliament are again pushing for the party to stop working with the DA They claim its actions in voting against the previous fiscal framework and its various court cases against aspects of government policy Hanging over all of this is our recent history of tension between the DA and the ANC It should not be forgotten that the DA is but one of 10 parties in the current coalition and many of the others have big differences with the ANC if the Patriotic Alliance were to go to court to try to overturn the government’s current policy stance towards Israel would ANC caucus members demand that they be forced out too Which indicates how complicated this situation is But for the moment the key tension in this coalition is what it has always been: the relationship between the ANC and the DA (along with all of its complications, including the fact that it is inextricably intertwined with President Cyril Ramaphosa and the leadership battle within the ANC).advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads This means that Godgonwana’s decision to work with the DA in drawing up the Budget makes political sense It also makes it impossible for the DA to oppose it – it would look foolish for opposing a Budget it helped draw up And the political reality is that because of the numbers of the game (the ANC and the DA together have 60% of the seats in the National Assembly) other parties would just have to go along with it We are aiming at a balanced Budget which will involve cutting some items of expenditure that do not add value.” It means the DA is deliberately trying to avoid any more disputes It also means that if any money is saved through whichever cuts the ANC has also already agreed to the kind of process that could lead to cuts the written text of the speech (which was never delivered) promised a process of spending reform a series of reforms that would lead to spending cuts suggesting it is not politically feasible for his constituency (and the inevitable patronage opportunities that would be lost) the officials in National Treasury who have to manage the actual numbers But now they are going to be stuck in the middle of a very difficult political fight At the same time the importance of this moment should not be forgotten We are now in a situation where politicians from different parties are negotiating over how the government will spend money And the agendas of those two parties are also relatively clear: the DA wants reform the ANC (presumably) wants to keep things as they are But this is only the starting point of a major change that will shake through our politics In the near future it is likely that other parties will be a part of this process It is entirely possible that after the next election there will be three major parties needed to support a coalition In fact, if ANC MPs in the party’s caucus have their way, it would be even sooner, with a large number of parties necessary to vote in favour of a Budget.advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads This will lead to simple patronage politics; parties will demand certain policies or even that their own people be appointed The only people standing in the way of this are the technocrats. And they, technically, work to the national good, but must also obey democratically elected politicians.advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads This is likely to result in some very complicated situations in the future And this moment is vitally important to our future How our society deals with this current situation might well set precedents and conventions as to how we deal with this that the finance minister should be someone who is not a politician that a complete outsider should be asked to do the job This would follow the example of Derek Keys who was appointed to the position by FW de Klerk during the transition to democracy While there may be merit in this (certainly an independent finance minister might well enjoy more legitimacy among all voters than a person from any one party) For a start, while Keys (and Chris Liebenberg, who followed him) were seen to be doing their national duty by helping the transition to democracy, the situation is much more complicated, and politicised, now.advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove ads Someone with a stellar business reputation might well want to avoid politics altogether Would you risk your career by engaging with politics And a party in the coalition that opposes their decisions would probably say so publicly In the short term there are several scenarios that could now play out Godongwana and the DA are probably likely to reach an agreement relatively easily The voices in the ANC calling for the DA to leave the national coalition might well be silenced or simply ignored over the next few months were the ANC to push the DA out of the coalition Ramaphosa would probably be fatally weakened (that in turn would lead to Deputy President Paul Mashatile lobbying to take over early something that would cause intense division in the party) if the voices in the ANC who oppose the DA’s inclusion in the coalition gain in strength that would lead to the end of the coalition The ANC would then be forced to govern with the help of many smaller parties The result of that would be a kind of governance we have seen in metros like Joburg and Tshwane in recent times It has often been said that this first proper coalition in national government was going to be a vital period in the development of our democracy leading up to the publication of the next Budget will be the most important period of this coalition I really wonder why the levels of disdain is so high MK and EFF refuse to join the coalition because Ramaphosa is part of it Same reason why some of the ANC want the DA out of government The ANC effectively ignored the DA despite their repeated warnings To now want to kick them out because they went to court is disingenuous to the extreme so that they can bribe the smaller parties to then allow the ANC traditions to continue their raids on the tax dollars The DA agenda is a major threat – cut waste shrink the bureaucracy and stimulate the economy With so many ANC figures protecting their backsides each has to decide which horse to back – Mbalula the game is on to stay close to the right trough ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " was the ultimate prize as the Allies closed in from east and west on the disintegrating German defenses in the final stage of World War II The final Battle of Berlin in late April and early May 1945 reduced much of what was left of the city to rubble A view taken from a Cub artillery observation plane on July 10 after repeated Anglo-American air raids on the German capital is the heavily damaged building of the German Reichstag with its distinct cupola in the background center are the remains of Lehrter Bahnhof A aeriel view of the area around the Reichstag Building with the glass dome A view of the burned-out ruins of the German Reichstag in Berlin in this photo from August 1945 three months after the Nazis surrendered to the Allied Powers on May 8 People walk in front of the Reichtag Building Wreckage and debris fill Frankfurter Allee near Lasdehner Strasse in a working district in the eastern section of Berlin on July 31 A tourist touches a hole from artillery fire still visible on the facade of a house eighty years after the end of World War II Eighty years after the end of World War II holes from artillery fire are still visible on the facade of a house in the city center of Berlin Tourists stand between the columns on Museum Island with holes from artillery fire from World War II BERLIN (AP) — Central Berlin was in ruins after the Red Army completed the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in an intense fight for the capital in May 1945 After decades of division and its revival as the capital of a reunited blending painstakingly restored buildings with modern architecture But the scars of the past remain visible in many places: facades riddled with holes from bullets and shrapnel or gaps in rows of houses sometimes plugged by new buildings As a metropolis it has simply ceased to exist Every house within miles of the center seems to have had its own bomb.” even the children,” recalled Eva-Maria Kolb of the constant aerial bombing in the last six months of the war “When there was an air raid warning you had to pull something on quickly and then go down to the basement.” The Soviet military attacked from several directions with an enormous concentration of troops who faced a struggle to cross rivers and canals and an intensifying street fight as they moved deeper and deeper into the city “Berlin was a heap of rubble — because of these last 10 days almost everything in the center was ruined,” said Jörg Morré the director of the Museum Berlin-Karlshorst located in the building where Germany’s final surrender was signed But “the infrastructure could be repaired relatively quickly — the sewerage system wasn’t so badly damaged They managed to get the water supply and pipes going again A lot of old Berliners are still familiar with hand pumps .. a great relief in ‘45 that the war was over and Hitler was no longer alive .. She recalled that parts of the city were rubble but she went to a school in the Tempelhof district It no longer had a roof and the second or third floor was missing — but we had lessons Only when it rained were lessons canceled.” Germany was reunited in 1990 and the national government moved to Berlin in 1999 Parliament now meets in the restored Reichstag where the raising of the Soviet Union’s red flag in 1945 was emblematic of the victory over Nazi Germany Graffiti left by Soviet troops at the Reichstag has been preserved at several places in the building Germany’s unconditional capitulation was signed at Allied headquarters in Reims on May 7 and came into effect the following day in the preserved hall where the capitulation was signed in Berlin Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report Mayor of Bucharest has a daunting deficit to bridge with hard-right opponent The only thing standing between hard-right nationalist George Simion and the Romanian presidency is a mathematician who can see the odds aren’t great The numbers whizz is Nicușor Dan, now the independent centrist mayor of Bucharest, who goes into the May 18 second round of the presidential election as the underdog against a self-declared “Trumpist” who wants to cut military aid to Ukraine from the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) secured a comfortable win in Sunday’s first round bagging a provisional 41 percent of the vote The electoral map shows him coming first in an astonishing geographical sweep across Romania He also secured the support of a whopping 61 percent of people voting abroad While Simion was propelled to victory by long-standing frustration with the corruption and ineffectiveness of the old-order parties — the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and National Liberal Party (PNL) — the more urbanite Dan managed to score wins largely in big cities such as Bucharest Dan ultimately only squeaked into the second round with 21 percent support the candidate from the governing coalition The campaign ahead of the second round will to some extent reset the clock as candidates attempt to poach voter support from other first-round candidates Dan is already signaling he will use the next two weeks to cast himself as the sole alternative to a hard-right leader who could destabilize Romania an EU and NATO country of 19 million people Dan said on Monday that the runoff vote will give Romanians the choice “between a democratic stable and respected Romania in Europe — and a dangerous path of isolation populism and defiance of the rule of law.” He asked for the support of “all those who believe in the law in strong partnerships with the free world.” Simion styled himself as the successor of ultranationalist firebrand Călin Georgescu whose shock victory in November led the election to be annulled over allegations of illegal campaigning and potential Russian interference Sunday’s first round showed that strategy was successful Simion not only outperformed Georgescu’s November result but did even better than Georgescu’s November vote share and his own combined Analysts have previously noted that Dan’s support is concentrated among well-educated and well-off people in larger cities Sunday’s election results showed that remains the case His biggest challenge is that many of the more traditional voters who supported Antonescu in the first round could gravitate to Simion rather than to him MEP Siegfried Mureșan from the PNL predicted that Antonescu voters were less likely to switch behind Dan in a second round than to back Simion particularly the voters of the socialist party partly also from the rural areas,” he said of the Antonescu voters that Dan now needs Beating Simion will require the independent Dan who founded the centrist Save Romania Union (USR) to win over not only regular PNL and PSD supporters but also those who voted for the leftist-turned-nationalist former Prime Minister Victor Ponta Dan will also have to rebuild bridges with supporters of the centrist-reformist Elena Lasconi who campaigned hard against Dan after USR party leaders abandoned her in his favor Lasconi resigned as USR president on Monday Establishment candidate Antonescu also conspicuously failed to give his supporters clear guidance to rally behind Dan, telling them only to “consider for themselves which of the candidates the ideas I presented are compatible with” in admitting defeat Sunday night By contrast, Hunor Kelemen, chairman of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, part of the governing coalition, said his party would support Dan over the Romanian nationalist. Then Dan has the problem of Romania’s diaspora. Of the 9.4 million voters in Sunday’s first round, nearly 1 million voted abroad; Simion won 61 percent of those latter votes while Dan came second with 25.4 percent. The bulk of Simion’s foreign support came from northern and western Europe, where a majority of diaspora voters supported the far-right leader. Dan came out on top in most non-European countries, including the U.S. and Canada. Crucially, just 14 percent of diaspora voters didn’t support either of the runoff candidates in the first round. That means there isn’t a big pool of voters abroad for him to play for. To win, Dan has to convince the home crowd. ‘He wasn’t given much of a chance,’ ex-footballer said I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Gary Lineker has opened up about the terrifying moment his son George was diagnosed with myeloid leukaemia and told he had hours to live at just eight weeks old The 64-year-old sports pundit, known for hosting Match of the Day who he married in 1986 and divorced two decades later Lineker was quizzed about his son’s illness on the ITV series, The Assembly neurodivergent and learning disabled people interview celebrities – with no topic off limits When asked how he felt following George’s diagnosis by one of the group the presenter became emotional and replied: “That was really tough “He was only two months old and we got told that he had leukemia Doctors told the former England footballer and his then-wife that babies of George’s age with myeloid leukaemia generally have between a 10 and 20 percent survival rate George beat the cancer and was able to leave Great Ormond Street hospital three months before his first birthday “But we were the lucky ones and there were parents in there that lost their kids so we felt actually quite fortunate in the end He continued: “You deal with things in different ways when you go through something like that I felt I needed to talk about it to deal with it and Michelle – she would bottle things up.” We were lucky.” Cockayne and the former England captain went on to have three more sons: Harry Bux and Lineker announced their separation in 2016 with reports claiming their split revolved around different opinions on starting a family He has not publicly had a relationship since The presenter, who will depart from the BBC after fronting its coverage of the 2026 World Cup, said he has no interest in dating again after he leaves Match of the Day. “I'm so happy on my own. I've got lots of friends I go out with and have dinner and have fun. I'm alright,” he said on The Rest Is Football podcast last month. “I've been married most of my adult life and I'm quite set in my ways and comfortable on my own now.” Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies but the manager is set to have a dilemma to tend to in the summer It was only in December that Pereira arrived to save Wolves’ season, succeeding Gary O’Neil when the Old Gold were 19th in the Premier League table Now 13th and safe from relegation, Pereira has turned Wolves’ campaign around resoundingly getting fans excited ahead of the 2025/26 calendar The summer is set to be a crucial time for the Wolves manager, who must be backed by Fosun; however it’s not only in the transfer window that the Portuguese coach could find the resources to bolster his squad Wolves sent several players out on loan in the summer, one of which being Hugo Bueno who joined Feyenoord to experience the Eredivisie and the Champions League Now coached by Robin van Persie, Bueno has generated a lot of transfer attention due to his impressive form overseas something that Pereira will be desperate to see for himself where the manager will make a decision on the Spaniard’s next steps something that could spark a selection headache That’s the opinion of journalist Nathan Judah, who predicted on the E&S Wolves Podcast that Bueno’s return could induce a ‘battle’ with Rodrigo Gomes “I think it’ll be a battle between Hugo Bueno and Rodrigo Gomes,” Judah said, following on from his opinion that Rayan Ait-Nouri could leave Wolves The Wolves reporter went on to speculate that Bueno would have the ‘edge’ over Gomes at present in the left-back spot but insisted that the summer signing has the means to fight for a starting spot “I think Hugo Bueno would probably be given the edge with his going away a boy and coming back a man scenario but I think Rodrigo Gomes slash Hugo Bueno would be an interesting battle.” While Bueno has been perfecting his craft at Feyenoord, Gomes has won over the hearts of Molineux giving Pereira two sturdy options ahead of next season Judah predicted that the pair could battle it out for a starting spot at wing-back Given what Pereira wants from his wing-backs both players have the ability to excel in the role as seen by their successes in attack and defence There isn’t a lot to separate the duo, as Gomes and Bueno are statistically comparable based on their performances over the 2024/25 calendar Putting the idea of having the two compete with one another aside Pereira could find a solution to playing both full-backs simultaneously as Gomes’ heatmap clearly shows that he’s deployable on either flank Whether the Wolves manager sees the two players as a cause for a selection headache or a celebration for the future of the back five remains to be seen This site has been modified to work in your browser visit in a modern browser to get the full experience You may need to use your home computer or a smartphone if available If you are able to upgrade your browser start here: Browse Happy Email us Ahead of International Nursing Day on 12 May UNISON national officer for nursing Stuart Tuckwood explains how NHS nurses are not being fairly valued for their work UNISON health conference passed a significant motion for the nursing workforce UNISON member and registered nurse Andrea Prince described the impressive skills and advanced clinical expertise of the nursing colleagues she worked with in her hospital many were not banded correctly and are earning far less than they should which sits at the heart of the nursing workforce crisis The Government and NHS have been grappling with it for over a decade The demands on nurses have developed substantially in recent years: patients tend to have more complex clinical needs; other public services are dramatically over-stretched and leaning on the NHS associate healthcare professionals and overseas recruits in teams where they require supervision and teaching All of these issues pre-dated the Covid-19 pandemic, which required nurses to rapidly adapt to the huge challenges they faced. UNISON nurses working in ICU, like Victor Tapah life-saving support and managed more critically ill patients than ever before Yet pay and recognition have not kept pace with these changes Roles should be re-banded to reflect their increased responsibility and complexity But job descriptions for many nurses are inaccurate and out of date 90% of respondents said that their jobs have grown more complex but most don’t believe their job descriptions capture the full responsibilities of their role This is partly because job evaluation in the NHS has not been functioning as it should UNISON has been demanding significant investment so the system works effectively for all staff But it’s also because of the size of the nursing workforce Nurses are the biggest occupational group in the NHS This under-valuing has gone unchecked for too long The pay that nurses receive simply doesn’t reflect the high-pressured and compared to other non-health graduate professions Add in the long hours and huge student debt English nursing students incur and it’s obvious why the numbers of people applying to study nursing have dropped dramatically over the last five years The wider costs to the NHS are enormous. Only Enough is Enough nursing staff don’t believe they have enough staff to deliver safe care longer stays and adverse safety events for patients Employers are subsequently forced to spend huge amounts on agency staff or recruiting overseas because we do not attract and retain sufficient UK nurses UNISON is working with our members and branches to educate nursing staff on job evaluation and how to get their roles re-evaluated Following NHS industrial action in 2022/2023 Government and employer representatives on steps to re-build job evaluation and improve nursing career progression A number of positive steps were recently announced by the Secretary of State at UNISON Health conference including: steps to strengthen job evaluation; the intention to issue national guidance on recognising overseas experience for overseas nurses and clarifying NHS terms and conditions to help nurses make the case for progression to band 6 we have led a thorough review of the national nursing and midwifery job-matching profiles which will be published in June If the NHS and government don’t play ball in valuing our nurses fairly I’m proud of our leaders in UNISON and what we’ve achieved for nurses We’ve identified the challenges we face and done the hard graft to outline the constructive solutions we need: supported progression to band 6 for early career nurses But how can we deliver the necessary change We’ll soon be launching our ‘Right Band for the Job’ campaign, which will help nurses get organised to fight for their full value. If the Government and the NHS are not receptive, it will be all of our jobs to make them listen. Whether we succeed in valuing nursing fairly will be in your hands. UNISON represents the whole nursing family, including nurses, midwives, health visitors and healthcare assistants. UNISON, UNISON Centre, 130 Euston Road, London NW1 2AY. 0800 0 857 857 access content via the FT Edit page on FT.com and receive the FT Edit newsletter Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders Terms & Conditions apply Discover all the plans currently available in your country See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times Due to low lighting, crews left the scene and returned at 6am on Monday with one appliance still in attendance. Crews from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) were called to an open grass fire affecting land on Shore Road in Innellan, south of Dunoon. Firefighters attended around 2.30pm on Sunday and were working to extinguish the fire throughout the evening. However, due to low lighting, crews left the scene and returned at 6am on Monday with one appliance still in attendance. The SFRS urged members of the public not to alert their control room about the fire as they had already received a large number of calls. An SFRS statement read: “We are aware of an open grass fire affecting an area of land on Shore Road in Innellan (south of Dunoon). “We were called to the area at 2.30pm today and crews have been working to extinguish the fire. “Due to low lighting, crews have left the scene and will reattend at 6am tomorrow morning. “Members of the public no longer need to alert our Operations Control room about this fire as we are receiving a large number of calls.” STV News is now on WhatsAppGet all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Follow STV News on WhatsAppScan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country '+scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text+' "+scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title+" "+scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text+" John Niven’s debut play explores rivalry between the two British bands who vied for the No 1 spot in the charts in 1995 It was the great Britpop showdown in the summer of 1995 billed as a contest between cheeky chaps and lairy lads a new play is to revisit the fierce rivalry between Blur and Oasis when both British bands put out a new single in the same week and competed to grab the No 1 spot in the charts but for a few days it was a decision that defined you: whether to spend £2.99 on Oasis’s Roll With It or Blur’s Country House The Battle is the debut stage play of novelist and screenwriter John Niven who said of the era: “Music was so central to the culture that two pop groups could dominate the entire summer the evening news and the front page of every newspaper in the country music has “splintered into a billion different TikTok feeds” now based on streams and downloads as well as CDs and vinyl does not bring the nation together as its Sunday afternoon radio broadcasts once did hilarious and revealing comedy about two of the best bands of all time” and I remember her falling out with friends over which band they loved more this story has been in the back of my mind and I was delighted that John Niven agreed to write it because there is no more qualified or hilarious chronicler of this world we have a fearless team recreating the sweaty mid-90s carnage of the Battle of Britpop” Casting for The Battle has not yet been announced. The play opens at Birmingham Rep in February said: “Our audiences are going to have the time of their lives being taken back to the rivalries the chaos and the big personalities that made it all so unforgettable.” After it finishes in Birmingham the play will go on tour and have a West End run it’s not quite up there with The Mousetrap but Blur emerged triumphant that Sunday in mid-August Country House sold 274,000 copies while Roll With It shifted 216,000 Battle Prose is a diary of Nic's exploits in emergent turn-based tactics game Battle Brothers although Rick Nipples' constant sobbing over his permanently disfigured face was keeping the boys in relatively good cheer As was the promise of our first solid payday in a good while completely forgot who Bodo was or why he mattered and were now heading back west to Kobmanhaven to collect where crows flew overhead like the sky vultures they were where the branches themselves seemed to recoil from the stench of blood and shit and sour porridge that hung over us where Jason Of Stathingham got in a staring match with an inquisitive cow for three hours which was honestly quite quick as far as these things usually go Hakon the councilman wasted no time greeting us with a sack o' coin in each hand and babbling about how we'd stopped the ambushes on the local trade routes Hopefully this meant we could get some nice hats The boys had a thing for a nice hats and I wasn't going to be the one to argue What we couldn't get was any fresh meat for the band The local hirelings were all cocksure petty nobles' sons out looking for some excitement each wildly overestimating their personal usefulness and hiring even one of them would have cleaned us out we paid the local priest to bless Terry's broken nose then bought some dried fruit and a few rounds for the company I also decided Rick Nipples had earned himself a weapon for surviving and also making it all the way back with a maimed foot and a crushed windpipe He can have a permanent weapon when he earns it we were out searching for a nearby castle named 'Necrosavant' Took us a day of wandering around in the complete wrong direction - despite very clear basic instructions - before something found us first I should say: a hooded stranger out of the mist who somehow knew exactly what we were looking for but Wolfgang Silkworm had a thing about massive imposing mortuary-like structures with giant skulls on the exterior being "bad luck" and it was off to track down a fertility idol someone had stolen from the councilman we slipped a handful of coin to a local lad named Reiner to fill out out numbers our standards didn't stretch much further than that and soon found the gang responsible for stealing the fertility idol although not by a number that fit comfortably into any kind of dramatic statement Jason was the first one to spill real blood and Rumjugs managed to get himself stunned by a flail wielder pissing off Jason in the process by taking down the same man whose nose he'd broken a reasonably fortuitous start to what we were all sure would be a quick scrap Too quick for anyone to register consciously slowly enough that Excellent Log's parting scream reaches the entire company before he falls to the floor barely having time to brag about how he'd never get fooled by such an obvious feint even when Terry puts a crossbow bolt straight through the hand that struck down Thilmann Poetic justice can feel like a gift from fate until you remember it can only happen if there's something awful to avenge in the first place What little stock these fickle gods put in mortal life Thilmann is still alive for some reason which sort of undermines the narrative up until this point but it felt real in the moment Did I misread a tooltip in the heat of battle Am I going to rewrite that paragraph to match the apparent reality of the situation based on my screenshots but the morning is air is pregnant with…tragedy we might boot Rick Nipples into a stream on the way back It feels like some ugly cosmic joke that he survived again No part of this website or its content may be reproduced without the copyright owner's permission Rock Paper Shotgun is a registered trademark of Gamer Network Limited Complete digital access to quality analysis and expert insights complemented with our award-winning Weekend Print edition Call of Duty insider "The Ghost of Hope" wrote on X that Activision is looking to "have more seasonal LTMs," but they will be locked behind the battle pass all Call of Duty players have access to these events and modes though people can buy a premium track pass to earn items and skins if they want this report states those premium tracks wouldn't exist starting with Call of Duty 2025 those rewards would be mixed into the battle pass EXCLUSIVE: Activision/Treyarch are currently planning to make changes to the Battle Pass with the release of Black Ops 7 (2025). Black Ops 7 will reportedly have more seasonal LTM’s and some of them would be considered “higher value” with unique rewards and different game… pic.twitter.com/Kw61ia4XMu That would mean the supposed value of a battle pass would increase, but for people who don't pay, their experience would seemingly decrease since they can't play special events. For instance, if this change was implemented, the current High Art event featuring Seth Rogen would be locked behind the battle pass paywall Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com ESCLog in to comment "data-img-src" : imgSrc } = buylink %> />><%= itemTitle %> and deals sent to your inbox Monday to Friday Firefighters returned to a former builder's yard in Telford on Sunday evening after reports of a fire involving car parts and a disused building Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.comand on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Telford firefighters returned once again to the former home of Wrekin Building Supplies off Stafford Road in Oakengates Get the latest headlines delivered straight to your inbox with the Shropshire Star’s free newsletter Shropshire Fire and Rescue received a call reporting a fire in once of the disused buildings at around 8pm on Sunday Two fire appliances were sent to the site from Telford Central Station and reported the scene under control by 8.22pm A spokesperson from the fire service reported West Mercia Police were also at the scene It's at least the fourth time in recent days that firefighters have been mobilised to the former builder's yard On Thursday, April 24, firefighters were called to the yard to tackle a fire that involved several tyres that were "well alight" inside one of the derelict buildings fire crews returned to the scene after reports of a fire within the derelict two-storey property on the site Just two days after that, on Wednesday, April 30, firefighters tackled a pile of burning rubbish which was alight in a vacant steel framed building The police said they were aware of the incidents and had increased the number of patrols in the area A spokesperson from West Mercia Police said: "There have been a number of fires at this location recently and additional police patrols are being carried out "Donnington and Trench Safer Neighbourhood Team are working with design out crime officers and partners including the local council to secure the site.” The vacant site has been subject to two failed planning applications in recent years The first, submitted in January 2023 proposed building 30 apartments on the site but it was withdrawn in March after attracting a number of objections from local residents and Oakengates Town Council parking and the number of proposed apartments The second application, submitted in December 2023, proposed building 25 apartments but was again withdrawn the following January following similar objections Shropshire Fire and Rescue station manager attended last week's fire with two crews from Telford Central Station and was asking residents to report any "suspicious activity" to 101 Some cookies used are essential to providing a service while others help us improve your experience and provide us with insights into how the site is being used For more detailed information about the cookies we use, see our Cookies page Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security You may disable these by changing your browser settings but this may affect how the website functions We'd like to set Google Analytics cookies to help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone For more information on how these cookies work We'd like to allow Social Media cookies to provide a richer experience These cookies will allow us the ability to list Fife Council tweets and Facebook posts audio clips & Videos on some of our pages Our videos use Youtube's privacy-enhanced mode These cookies allow us to show relevant adverts to the content you are viewing They also provide the ability to deliver targeted online advertising across other platforms like Facebook News Centre Teams of learners from The Waid Academy in the East Neuk of Fife have been shortlisted for a National Innovation Competition that could see the winning team go to visit MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in Boston in September of this year The three teams from Fife join a final shortlisted group of ten teams from across the UK The contingent from The Waid Academy are also the only teams to be chosen from Scotland The National Innovation Challenge is a competition which aims to develop innovative solutions to champion sustainability Students were set the task of developing a solution for a current challenge in industry.  They were encouraged to either build on an existing process to improve it or create an entirely new concept.  The students then have the opportunity to improve this on a national or global scale The judges were focussed on four key areas when judging: The teams were judged against these areas and the top 10 proposals across the UK were then shortlisted with the opportunity to gain feedback on their projects and improve them for the final judging panel in June which consists of ten judges from a variety of national STEM ambassadors They will also receive a specific feedback session prior to the final decision in July One team will win the prize of visiting MIT for one week where they will access the cutting-edge facilities and researchers to further develop their technical and personal skills.  While in Boston they will also have time to visit historic sites world class museums and diverse communities.  They will review their idea with industry experts at themed events and campus conferences and experience the real-world technological impact on Climate and Sustainability The three Waid Academy Teams chose a wide variety of topics and areas to present their ideas on Brickteria by Lucas Bain and Murray Allan is a concept where calcifying bacteria is used to create microbial concrete.  It can be used with traditional manufacturing to create sustainable concrete with a reduced environmental impact C.C.O.D.U is a concept by Anneliese Uringa and Arran Ogilvie which stands for 'Cracking Carbon dioxide and Oxygen Dispersion Unit' The concept involves the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turning this into oxygen and carbon which can be turned into graphite and/or synthetic diamonds The ReComposer by Nicky Dimitrov is a recycling machine that would be integrated in most towns and cities.  The ReComposer creates options of alternative products that can be made from the recyclable materials that are inserted Pupils Lucas and Murray from team Brickteria said: “It feels incredible to have made it this far and now a brilliant opportunity is within our reach.” Pupils Anneliese and Arran from team C.C.O.D.U said: “At the start of the competition it was just a nice idea to aim for the top 10 and now we are here it is feels so surreal and its such a great and exciting opportunity” The event was organised by Mrs Amy Neill (Teacher of Biology) said: “I saw an exciting opportunity to get pupils to take part in some real-world STEM thinking and an amazing chance to get to visit MIT The students have worked so hard and all of their ideas have come from them and they have done all the work themselves It was great to see students from different year groups taking part from S3 to S6 Their ideas are so inspiring and it is great to see what they brought forward as innovative solutions to real world issues.” Headteacher Mr Duncan said: “We are unbelievably proud of these young learners They have shown amazing creativity and ingenuity in coming up with their ideas and developing them To be the only school in Scotland competing against other schools from across the UK is a great opportunity and we are proud to represent the country and the massive history that Scotland has in innovation and invention from the telephone to the tv It is a great occasion to show that big ideas can come from anywhere and to see our young people follow in the footsteps of pioneers who changed the world.” Contact us Make a complaint Site map Social Media Accessibility Cookies Policy Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. HUD is retreating from long-established fair-housing protections by closing discrimination complaints Louis man says he was subjected to relentless taunts and misgendering by his apartment building manager highlighting the discrimination faced by transgender individuals a transgender man living in government-subsidized housing told The Associated Press that he endured constant ridicule from the building's manager the manager repeatedly called him "a girl," refused to use his correct name and mocked him with shouts of "You’re not a real man!" "I just felt like I was being terrorized," Webster shared describing the emotional toll of the manager's actions "I felt that I was being judged and mistreated the manager shoved Webster so hard he stumbled backward Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity office the agency tasked with investigating housing discrimination and enforcing the landmark Fair Housing Act that guarantees equal access to housing for all Americans Webster’s harassment allegation was serious enough that it was investigated for more than two years until the office suddenly notified him in February it was dropping his case without a finding The timing of the closure was not a coincidence In the months since President Donald Trump took back the White House and installed a loyalist to lead the federal housing department, HUD Secretary Scott Turner and his team have moved swiftly and strategically to undo uproot and remake the agency’s decades of work and priorities In the crosshairs is an intense focus on transgender people, as HUD retreats from long-established fair-housing protections by closing their discrimination complaints and moving to undo the Obama-era Equal Access Rule that cemented transgender people’s rights to discrimination protection in housing “It’s time to get rid of all the far-left gender ideology and get government out of the way of what the Lord established from the beginning when he created man in his own image — male and female,” Turner said in announcing in February that he was halting enforcement of the Equal Access Rule At issue is the fact that discrimination against LGBTQ+ people wasn’t specifically cited in the Fair Housing Act. But the Equal Access Rule enacted in 2012 under former President Barack Obama further defined sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity The policy was expanded in 2016 to cover transgender people seeking help at federally funded emergency shelters the first Trump administration unsuccessfully moved to relieve shelters of any obligation to serve transgender people advocates fear an emboldened Trump will go further and forbid shelters from accommodating gender identity altogether as his administration announces unspecified revisions to the Equal Access Rule “Our protections can’t be a pingpong ball that changes every four years,” said Seran Gee an attorney for Advocates for Trans Equality After being left with permanent injuries in a car crash was grateful to move in April 2021 into an apartment near the city’s 1,300-acre (526-hectare) Forest Park scene of the 1904 World’s Fair and home to museums and a zoo His rent was initially less than $200 per month That is because Branscome Apartments had a contract with the federal government to provide subsidized housing to people with disabilities and low-income seniors But the HUD money also comes with strings, said Linda Morris, staff attorney for the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project who leads the organization’s housing discrimination work “The Equal Access Rule applies to HUD-funded programs and shelters," said Morris "If an entity is going to accept federal funding they have to comply.” HUD-funded housing and programs must provide equal access to everyone regardless of gender identity Webster found his door kicked in and his belongings trashed he was up to date on his rent and never received an official eviction notice Social Security card and birth certificate Even worse was the loss of the obituary for his mother who had been mostly staying away from the apartment for fear of another run-in with the manager I would go to my friend’s house and spent nights at a time and then come back Court records in an eviction case filed against Webster in April 2022 cited repeated unsuccessful efforts to serve him Last August, Webster filed a lawsuit in Missouri state court alleging he was illegally evicted “There was never a court order allowing them to change the locks allowing them to throw away his belongings,” said attorney KB Doman of Arch City Defenders The suit seeks $25,000 in property damage and for “severe emotional stress and trauma.” The apartment has denied the allegations in court filings declined the AP's requests for comment on the HUD case and said the pending lawsuit “merely alleges that my client did not properly follow the steps for evicting.” “A lot of people that would have some recourse really are just out on their own now,” she said “It’s going to be harder for trans people to find safe the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity has instructed staff to pause investigations of all gender identity discrimination cases according to two HUD attorneys who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of losing their jobs or benefits One said letters were then issued closing the cases for lack of jurisdiction HUD has not disclosed how many cases have been dropped Webster's letter and another provided to the AP cite Trump’s executive order calling for the federal government to define sex as only male or female Morris, of the ACLU said she has never seen an executive order cited in a jurisdictional closure of a complaint who described the closures as “very much consistent with this administration’s broader attacks on trans people and on civil rights more broadly.” Asked about policy changes concerning transgender discrimination HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett said the agency was enforcing the Fair Housing Act while implementing Trump’s executive order “restoring biological truth to the federal government.” she said government policy recognizes two sexes that "are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” Louis domestic violence shelter on a chilly night in November 2021 The family was just settling into a room after filling out paperwork at Bridgeway Behavioral Health Women's Center when Gonzalez was told they had to go because he disclosed he was a transgender man "I wasn’t about to go back into the closet,” the 33-year-old said of his insistence on telling the truth even after it was suggested he keep his trans identity secret for greater security for the children and because he feared for his safety as a trans man in a men’s shelter some of which don't accept children anyway The city had no domestic violence shelters for men but when they arrived they discovered it hadn't been paid for and the organization that sent them there was closed "I had to call a friend who was able to let us stay for the night.” Jackson said Bridgeway received HUD funding and that its policy of barring transgender men was a violation of the Equal Access Rule and “straight up sex discrimination.” Jackson said the message the shelter sent was this: “You’re biologically a girl HUD didn’t address Gonzalez’s or Webster’s complaints when the AP sought comment on their cases HUD investigated Gonzalez's complaint for 2 1/2 years until it suddenly notified him in March the agency was dropping it without a finding did not respond to the AP's requests for comment After 455 days of being shuttled between six shelters in six cities in two states — Missouri and Illinois — Gonzalez ultimately found stable housing where his children live with him part time He sees what happened as part of what he describes as a “nationwide federal push to erase trans identity.” noting high rates of discrimination — and homelessness — among people who are LGBTQ+ Nearly one-third of trans people say they have been homeless at some point in their lives while 70% who stayed in a shelter reported being harassed assaulted or kicked out because of their gender identity according to an Advocates for Trans Equality survey released in 2015 a year before Obama expanded protections for trans people in shelters Teens who come out to families who aren’t accepting are particularly at risk CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness Some shelters that might have served them in the past are becoming less welcoming now amid upheaval with the Equal Access Rule “Folks who are trans just won’t go if they don’t think that they’re going to be treated with respect,” she said adding that is particularly problematic for young people who are "vulnerable to sex traffickers and to other types of abuse.” Further complicating the situation are seemingly contradictory requirements in new HUD contracts with nonprofits that find permanent housing and run shelters for the homeless One section stipulates they can’t promote “gender ideology” while another requires compliance with anti-discrimination law What does that mean?” asked Jeannette Ruffins a nonprofit that runs three permanent housing sites for LGBTQ+ young adults “Does housing LGBTQ young adults promote gender identity?” she asked Ruffins called a board meeting to discuss potential “vulnerabilities” on their website something she said most New York City nonprofits were doing as well Her organization made small changes to their website saying they were LGBTQ+ “affirming and friendly” in a few places rather than LGBTQ+ “serving,” hoping that will make them less of a target In Memphis, Tennessee, a nonprofit that provides emergency shelter for transgender people is looking to increase capacity because of the uncertainty. Kayla Gore, executive director of My Sistah’s House, said it can do that because it doesn’t take federal funding. “People are confused,” Gore said. “They don’t know what to do because they want to protect their bottom line.” Nearly three years after losing his apartment, Webster remains homeless, staying with friends and sometimes sleeping on the floor. He is on a waiting list for subsidized housing because he can’t afford rent otherwise. But he expects the massive federal funding cuts and Trump administration directives banning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives will make the wait even longer. “Let’s be honest. This is the world,” he said. “People, they do hateful things. If you legalize them to hating, then they feel like they have a right.” Tazz Webster, who ultimately wound up homeless after an apartment manager allegedly ridiculed and shoved him because he is transgender, exits through the front door of a community center, April 9, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) govt and politics"},{"score":0.87767,"label":"/society"},{"score":0.817866,"label":"/society/sex"},{"score":0.802445,"label":"/society/gay life"},{"score":0.680574,"label":"/family and parenting/children"},{"score":0.649336,"label":"/real estate/buying and selling homes"},{"score":0.647698,"label":"/real estate/low income housing"},{"score":0.625008,"label":"/law govt and politics/government"},{"score":0.609842,"label":"/law ShareSaveCommentLeadershipEducationThe Battle For The Black Mind: Karida Brown’s Call To Reclaim, Rebuild, And ResistByMarybeth Gasman Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights 12:55pm EDTShareSaveCommentThe Battle for the Black Mind by Karida L In her new book, “The Battle for the Black Mind,” Karida Brown explores who gets to shape Black thought — and why beginning with emancipation through the current day and uncovers how schools and formal education have been both a tool for liberation as well as a method of control Her work is focused on how systems of education have been designed to define The idea for “The Battle for the Black Mind” was “deeply personal” for Brown The book is both a history of Black people in the United States and a personal journey that cuts across Brown’s family They attended the ‘colored school’ in their town of Lynch But they had determined Black teachers who had a vision for their future and a community that poured into them.” She added “ This is the tradition of Black education in the Jim Crow South Black people’s freedom dreams exceeded their circumstances they didn’t just survive—they transformed the nation.” Brown’s parents were part of the “children of integration,” as Brown describes “the generation of Black youth who did the brave and terrifying work of desegregating America’s public schools.” As a result of their efforts “That generation went on to become the ‘first’ Black postmasters They were the first to live in neighborhoods of their choosing and civic life that had been foreclosed for generations.” By being the first these individuals created a pathway for Brown’s generation I have three Ivy League degrees and teach at a university my parents would not have been allowed to enter because of their race That’s why I wrote “The Battle for the Black Mind.” Because school has always been the great equalizer it helped desegregate the rest of American life." Brown sees her book as a story of how a people strived then While Brown grounds “The Battle for the Black Mind” in historical analysis She believes that the threats to intellectual freedom that we are seeing today aren’t new but have evolved “What we’re witnessing right now didn’t come out of nowhere This is the result of a decades-long conservative strategy to take over America’s education system and to roll back the gains of Brown v understanding these threats means looking beyond schools and classrooms She sees the struggle for Black minds in the “pulpits and the very structures that produce and preserve knowledge.” created thousands of Black schools across the South but they were also “safe havens.” Brown shared away from the hyper-surveillance of the white gaze.” These institutions became what we now know as Historically Black Colleges and Universities As Brown explores in “The Battle for the Black Mind,” with time HBCUs became “incubators for Black political organizations and freedom movements – from the NAACP to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).” She urges these institutions to step out in front and to be “bold enough to tell and preserve the truth and loving enough to nurture the next generation of Black brilliance.” One of the aspects of “The Battle For The Black Mind” that I enjoyed the most is that it doesn’t just point to the problems, it includes solutions. In the epilogue, Brown provides ten actions that Black students can employ as well as Black communities overall. She also reminds readers that “The battle is bigger than any one of us. But we are not powerless. History proves that.” with Great Britain's Amy Hunt fourth.","thumbnailUrl":["https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1920x1080/p0l82rzm.jpg","https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1232x1232/p0l82rzm.jpg","https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/688xn/p0l82rzm.jpg","https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/400xn/p0l82rzm.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2025-05-03T12:41:00.659Z","duration":"PT49S"}Ireland's Adeleke takes second as Battle wins 200mThere was an error Ireland's Rhasidat Adeleke takes second place in the 200m at the Diamond League in Keqiao For all the latest athletics news go to the BBC Sport website Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRead descriptionExplore moreIreland's Adeleke takes second as Battle wins 200m 00:00:49Ireland's Adeleke takes second as Battle wins 200m 0:49Up Next Varsho makes 'crazy' behind-the-back catch 00:00:30Varsho makes 'crazy' behind-the-back catch 0:30Harper uses baseball bat to reveal baby gender 00:00:36Harper uses baseball bat to reveal baby gender 0:36Editor's recommendationsMessi 'does stuff that normal humans can't do' Video 00:02:26Messi 'does stuff that normal humans can't do' 2:26Was this the greatest transfer window of all time 00:01:41Was this the greatest transfer window of all time 1:41Watch: Fan catches ball while daughter covers his eyes 00:00:19Watch: Fan catches ball while daughter covers his eyes 0:19'It's hard to watch' - Solskjaer discusses Man Utd woes 00:02:02'It's hard to watch' - Solskjaer discusses Man Utd woes 2:02Moyes & Pickford share favourite Goodison Park memories 00:01:06Moyes & Pickford share favourite Goodison Park memories 1:06Five things to know before Miami Grand Prix 00:01:51Five things to know before Miami Grand Prix 1:51Nobody expected this - Amorim on first-leg win in Bilbao 00:01:34Nobody expected this - Amorim on first-leg win in Bilbao 1:34Maresca praises 16-year-old Chelsea debutant Walsh 00:01:08Maresca praises 16-year-old Chelsea debutant Walsh 1:08Beckham at 50: His first taste of Man Utd 00:01:28Beckham at 50: His first taste of Man Utd 1:28'He's quite fussy!' - meet the craftsman who makes O'Sullivan's cues Video 00:02:09'He's quite fussy!' - meet the craftsman who makes O'Sullivan's cues 2:09Yamal is a genius That’s no moon over the Battle Royale Island — it’s a whole Star Wars Season the celebration is just getting started in LEGO Fortnite Brick Life The fun continues in Rocket League with the new 2v2 Car Wars LTM but don’t worry — these are the updates you’re looking for Let’s dive in with what’s happening across Epic Games starting with Fortnite Battle Royale.  Imperial Star Destroyers exit hyperspace in formation around the Death Star which looms with its superlaser array fixed on the BR map Heroes from across eras are ready to strike back against the assault led by Emperor Palpatine from the shadows and the Island’s fate hangs in the balance Draw your lightsaber and ready your blaster May 2 in Fortnite: Galactic Battle Driving back the Imperial invasion will take every blaster and ship at your disposal and these new locations will help you do just that and Vader Samuari’s Solitude are all primed and ready for exploration (and looting!) An elegant weapon for a more civilized age the use of a lightsaber is the mark of a Jedi though it’s also used by their sworn enemies Lightsabers are exceptionally handy for deflecting blaster bolts and wielding one will allow you to sprint faster though… Or just loot it off another player Train with hologramic followers of both the light and dark sides to unlock their respective lightsaber and Force Ability and Force Saber Throw are the Force Abilities you can learn day one with more becoming learnable later in the Season with the exception of the Thermal Imploder that’ll cause a blast in its own way Looking to dogfight for your next Victory Royale Pilot the Imperial TIE fighter equipped with high-powered blasters or the nimble X-wing and take to the skies Leia and Luke will arrive on the Island alongside renowned smuggler Han Solo to offer you strategic services train with hologram Mace Windu to earn a Purple Lightsaber and be taught Force Pull Pull in just about anything and anyone nearby with this Force Ability Rumor has it that Sith Lord Darth Maul will also appear as a hologram offering Red Lightsabers and teaching Force Throw which allows you to throw nearby objects as projectiles…   Chewbacca arrives and he’s bringing his Wookiee Bowcaster to the loot pool to aid the rebels powerful CA-87 Jawa Scatter Blaster in Chests around the Island and gain further advantage over your opponents with the unvaulted Mandalorian Jetpack!  keep an eye out for signature Mandalorian weapons: the Amban Sniper Rifle and the new dual-wield WESTAR-34 Blaster Pistols.  Be the first to reach the control room of a Star Destroyer which spawns every match Assume control of its turbolaser to lay waste from above Mobilize and take the fight to Emperor Palpatine in a live The Star Wars Battle Pass is full of treasures from across the known galaxy The Star Wars Battle Pass has both free and premium rewards that can be claimed by earning XP in any Fortnite experience Kaleesh cyborg and General of the Separatist droid army General Grievous will be a premium Outfit in the Star Wars Battle Pass later in May Unlock Grievous by completing objectives that’ll come online further in the Season The Pass will be available to progress in from May 2 until the Galactic Battle ends on June 7 Celebrate the most intergalactic time of year in LEGO Fortnite Brick Life’s Star Wars Festival where you can grab a bite in the Durrr Burger Cantina and even acquire your very own Lightsaber Bench This gathering for Star Wars fans everywhere will be going on from May 2 until June 8 LEGO Fortnite Odyssey is launching a public matchmaking test on May 15 called Rapid Survival — an eight-player public world survival experience on the existing Star Wars Island.  Load in with a pre-determined loadout that includes a Lightsaber you can also choose to team up against the Star Wars enemies!  Heads-up: Rapid Survival will be open at specific four-hour windows from May 15 until May 26 Eastern Time.  The ruthless Captain Phasma Outfit is front and center as a premium reward in the First Order LEGO Pass There’s even more precious cargo you can unlock like the premium First Order Base Build The First Order LEGO Pass will be available to progress in until June 8 Eastern Time with free and premium rewards unlockable by earning XP in any Fortnite experience Captain Phasma is automatically unlocked after purchasing the Pass or accessing it through Fortnite Crew Leading the charge in Rocket League is Car Wars a brand new Limited Time Mode that’ll require you to channel your inner TIE pilot for any hope of victory look forward to Star Wars Challenges rewarding imperial items like the Stormtrooper Octane Decal and TIE Fighter Topper Rocket League x Star Wars runs from May 2 at 12 PM ET to May 16 The 2v2 Car Wars takes place at the Force Field Arena a Star Wars-inspired twist on the Arena used for Rocket Labs’ Loophole Target the thermal exhaust ports at each end of the Arena to score and use the lightsaber-fied Spike Rush mutator to hit your mark Debuting in last year’s Mandalorian Mayhem event This is a 3v3 mode that lets you unleash unlimited boost Navigate the arena faster than the Millennium Falcon on the Kessel Run Ten new items are yours to earn by completing Star Wars Challenges Claim  antagonistic accessories like the Stormtrooper Octane Decal Learn more Get quick access to your favorite articles Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers Make your voice heard with article commenting he would have tackled the first two corners of the 2025 Miami Grand Prix differently Norris’s problems began in qualifying, a phase of every weekend in which McLaren’s MCL39 continues to vex both its drivers While undoubtedly the fastest car on the grid over a race distance a fact underlined by McLaren annihilating its rivals in Miami when pushed to the limits over a single lap it can bite – Norris especially has complained that its lack of feedback interrupts his “flow” From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport In order to keep delivering our expert journalism we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker As ChatGPT demolishes the landscape for Google Chris Stokel-Walker gets out his crystal ball News | Tech When OpenAI slipped out ChatGPT in November 2022, the company behind it had little idea how successful it would be. Neither did the rest of the tech world, including Google Both OpenAI and Google would quickly find out. Within two months, ChatGPT had 100 million users. Headlines talked about the changing paradigm of the AI revolution seeing the company’s stock value drop nearly 40 per cent throughout 2022 “Businesswise, the biggest change was Google’s quick switch to developing more and more LLM [large language model] products of their own to compete with OpenAI,” says Aleksandra Urman a University of Zurich social scientist who has studied Google and its search products Urman points out that Google held a “so-called ‘code red’ meeting” upon seeing ChatGPT’s success where they decided to go all-in on developing LLM-based AI Google thought that they might lose all their customer base to ChatGPT so they needed to offer a similar product by themselves,” says Urman which had grown slow and sclerotic thanks to decades of dominance in the tech world started to pick up the pace — and some would say Initial tests of Google’s ChatGPT competitor were not promising The AI engine fumbled factual data about the James Webb Space Telescope in its first public demonstration in February 2023 Still, Google has ploughed on with the AI experimentation with its Gemini model — and has started to regain ground against OpenAI. It has deprioritised the 10 blue links per page that made its reputation as the most trusted search engine, in favour of AI-generated summaries, powered by its own AI models. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has said that this year is a pivotal one where search “will change profoundly in 2025” People are sharing examples of Google AI getting things blatantly wrong Google says that its AI search summaries are the future of search and that users enjoy them and learn from them “There’s this big separation between what Google is telling us about the product over and over and what real users are sharing,” says Lily Ray a New York-based search consultant who has been tracking the degradation of Google searches in the AI era “Obviously we don’t have the data they have as far as how millions of users are using it “And people are sharing examples of it getting things blatantly wrong all around the world.” Part of Ray’s concern is that AI models are designed to answer confidently — even if wrong she asked Google whether tomato soup will freeze at 49 degrees Fahrenheit — well above the freezing point Others have shared examples of Google making up nonsense explanations for made-up phrases often citing Cockney rhyming slang to explain away fictional aphorisms such as “the younger the violin “They’re really just going all guns blazing “I think that their shareholders love these AI developments.” That supposition isn’t wrong From that near-40 per cent year-on-year drop at the end of 2022 with its shares topping $200 in January 2024 before dropping with the beginning of the Trump administration A Google spokesperson said: “We’re excited about our momentum in AI,” adding that “we’ve built brand new AI experiences and brought it into products that billions of people already know and love Super-realistic deepfakes now ‘have a heartbeat’ ...Tech & Science Daily podcast Video of the moment ‘totemic’ Sycamore Gap tree was cut down played in court Tragic new autopsy details reveal what really happened to Gene Hackman’s wife How Give Your Best aims to solve clothing poverty in the UK OpenAI has reportedly approached Samsung about putting its technology on smartphones by default, while also considering the purchase of a start-up firm set up by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, who was behind the original iPhone. Ive’s company, io Products, is designing and developing smartphones and smart home devices. OpenAI did not respond to a request to comment on this story. Google’s time in the dock is continuing, with the Justice Department making its case that it should be broken up. If it were, and OpenAI was successful in snapping up Chrome, that could signal a major change in technology, and the arrival of a new era — overseen by OpenAI, rather than Google. VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Lady Victoria Starmer VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin David Beckham extends olive branch to son Brooklyn amid 'family feud' Pregnant Jesy Nelson reveals plans for future in message from her hospital bed after surgery Pregnant Jesy Nelson reveals plans for future in message from hospital Digital access for organisations. Includes exclusive features and content. See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times. Watch Teams Matches Tickets & Membership Shop St. James' Park Eddie Howe's side currently occupy third place in the English top-flight ahead of facing the Seagulls on Sunday and will be looking to enhance their hopes of Champions League qualification with a first win at the Amex Stadium since February 2017. Serena Taylor was at the Magpies' Training Base in Benton to bring newcastleunited.com this gallery of images. Map Hearts sit eighth in the table but are only five points above the play-off place Hearts are "in trouble" if players do not acknowledge they are in a fight to preserve their Scottish Premiership status The Tynecastle side are five points ahead of Ross County in the play-off spot and travel to meet the Dingwall outfit on Saturday With Neil Critchley sacked following last weekend's home defeat to Dundee Fox has taken temporary charge of the team for the second time this season When asked if Hearts are involved in a relegation battle he replied: "I could sit here and say to you this but the reality is I'm okay with saying that because I think we are in a battle "I'm okay with the players knowing that because that's where we are "I always like to be somebody that tells the truth and doesn't dress things up I don't need to tell the players that and I'm not going to tell the players that If they don't realise that themselves then we're in trouble." Where did it go wrong and is McGlynn next for Hearts Critchley sacked by Hearts after six months A win in Dingwall would go a long way to alleviate any fears of getting sucked into the scrap to avoid the play-off final is confident he can make a difference to a side that has gone four league games without scoring "I've always been somebody that would rather live my life by things that I did than things that I didn't do," the 41-year-old who was in charge for three games prior to Critchley's appointment in October "I believe I can bring some positivity back and win some points for us to take us out of this position that we're in You can feel sorry for yourself or you can roll your sleeves up and you can focus on what we have to do to go up there and hopefully win the game if you're going to risk personal failure or personal glory for any reason I'd risk it for this football club." Visit our Hearts page for all the latest news Get Hearts news notifications in the BBC Sport app Top storiesLive Champions League semi-final updates: Calafiori back for Arsenal; Dembele returns for PSG Stunning stats and 'Ronaldo behaviour' - is Yamal cut out to rival Messi PSG's Dembele fit for second leg against Arsenal A gritty crime saga set in Liverpool starring Sean Bean Stacey Dooley explores Britain’s shoplifting epidemic What is still to be decided as season reaches climax Scotland men's internationals to be shown live on BBC Commonwealth Games: Why is it so special to be part of Team Scotland From titles to tinpottery - rank Scotland's top 10 clubs Who has made Troy's Premier League team of the week Is the risk that Mercedes took with Antonelli paying off Trailblazer Zhao set to take snooker to 'another level' in China 'Calamity keeper' or 'human wall' - which Donnarumma will Arsenal face Zhao beats Williams in historic final - highlights VideoZhao beats Williams in historic final - highlights Alexander-Arnold leaves as modern Liverpool great - but fans will feel hurt 'Scheffler and DeChambeau wins further raise US PGA excitement levels' Match-fixing scandal to Crucible champion - fall and rise of Zhao 'We need to take a look at ourselves' - Arsenal stalling at wrong time Europa League 'papering over cracks' for Man Utd - Rooney VideoEuropa League 'papering over cracks' for Man Utd - Rooney Ask Me Anything the new BBC Sport service designed to serve you Bayern's 'James Bond' - how Kane clinched his first trophy Nine bolters with a shot of making the Lions squad How 'absolutely outstanding' Palmer 'destroyed' Liverpool VideoHow 'absolutely outstanding' Palmer 'destroyed' Liverpool Solskjaer on Besiktas Saints 'punch' favourites Leinster in game for the ages VideoVardy the best £1m ever spent - Shearer Poppy's tears Elton John & Happy Gilmore - McIlroy on Jimmy Fallon show Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Fortnite is devoting an entire season of battle royale to Star Wars the franchise that has been dominating pop culture since well before most Fortnite players were born the Galactic Battle Pass will actually have five The new Star Wars Pass won't be longer than those were--it'll simply have an additional skin unlocked by quests in the back half of the season just like a normal-length battle pass would The skins in the image above are the ones included in the pass The battle royale map has been overhauled with four major new Star Wars locations at each corner of the island, as well as various other Star Wars-themed landmarks scattered around, like a crashed AT-AT walker that's been converted into a restaurant in the mountains above Brutal Boxcars. We've got a deeper look at the changes right here Every single Fortnite-original gun is being vaulted in favor of a loot pool made up entirely of Star Wars guns this season These weapons will be different from normal Fortnite guns There's also one weapon that isn't a gun: the explosive Thermal Imploder grenade But that's not even close to the full list of new Star Wars guns we'll be playing with this season Chewbacca will arrive on the island to unvault the Wookiee Bowcaster and introduce the CA-87 Jawa Scatter Blaster shotgun Mandalorians will arrive and unvault the Mandalorian Jetpack item which was significantly less hellish to deal with than the War Machine one we had last year They've also got some guns to toss into the loot pool: the Amban Sniper Rifle and Jango Fett's dual WESTAR-34 Blaster Pistols There will be flyable TIE Fighters and X-Wings available in battle royale throughout the season As has been the case for the past couple May 4th parties lightsabers will be all over the island during Star Wars season and there are several different ones you can train with to use the accompanying Force powers At the start of the season there will be three lightsabers--train with a hologram of Rey for a blue lightsaber with the Force Push ability train with hologram Palpatine for a red lightsaber with Force Lightning or defeat Darth Vader Samurai for a red lightsaber that you can throw Mace Windu and Darth Maul will join the training party with a purple lightsaber and the Force Pull ability for Mace and a red lightsaber and the Force Throw ability for Maul While you can loot and use lightsabers you find on enemy players you only get the Force abilities if you were the one who trained to get the lightsaber with Darth Vader Samurai hanging out at Vader Samurai's Solitude and Captain Phasma at the First Order Base Vader will drop his throwable red lightsaber and Phasma drops her F-11D Blaster and the Phasma's Blaster medallion which makes it take longer for blaster weapons to overheat while you carry it Just remember that other players will be able to see the general are where you are on the map there will be some kind of effort to defeat Emperor Palpatine so we should expect him to be some sort of map boss that week as well--though it's too soon to say what kind of thing that will be Fortnite will add a very different iteration of its player Godzilla event back in January in which one player per game will be able to take control of a Star Destroyer and use it against other players It's a good thing we'll have X-Wings to fly around in Star Wars is taking over Lego Fortnite as well with a new Lego Pass featuring Captain Phasma and a variety of First Order-themed Lego builds a Star Wars Festival in Lego Fortnite Brick Life and an entirely new competitive way to play Lego Fortnite Odyssey The Lego Pass and the Star Wars Festival begin on Friday with the rest of the May 4th festivities the Rapid Survival mode in Lego Fortnite Odyssey which involves playing from scratch on temporary version of the Star Wars island against seven other players via matchmaking This mode will be available for only 11 days and will go offline on May 26 The Star Wars fun comes to an end on June 7 after which presumably we'll get a more standard summer season of Fortnite battle royale who is currently making headlines for her ongoing legal drama with Justin Baldoni has finally addressed the matter in an interview Lively filed a case against her It Ends With Us director and co-star Baldoni accusing him of sexual harassment and for starting a smear campaign against her the 38-year-old has kept silent and haven’t uttered a word about the matter when she has finally opened and addressed the subject indirectly During her promotional interview for Another Simple Favor at Late Night with Seth Meyers Blake shared about her highs and lows of the year “What I can say without going too much into it is that this year has been full of the highest highs and the lowest lows of my life.” afraid to share their experiences and fear is by design “But I also acknowledge that many people don’t have the opportunity to speak so I do feel fortunate that I’ve been able to.” “And it’s the women who have had the ability to use their voice that’s kept me strong helped me in my belief and my fight for the world to be safer for women and girls.” Lively has reunited with Anna Kendrick for her latest film King Charles delivers final blow to his younger brother Prince Andrew Prince Harry receives upsetting news from Buckingham Palace Khloé Kardashian reveals why it took 10 years to see a therapist on Jay Shetty podcast marks big day just a day after major royal reunion Kim Kardashian Met Gala 2025 appearance unveiled Copyright © 2025. The News International, All Rights Reserved | Contact Us | Authors United and City meet at Old Trafford on Sunday with European qualification on the line they will secure a place in Europe for only the second time and to make it even sweeter would do so at the expense of Manchester City who would be consigned to fourth spot and a season without Women’s Champions League football Throw in that City are the visitors to Old Trafford for Sunday’s midday kick-off and it becomes one of the most pivotal games of this WSL campaign and a decisive one for the clubs’ medium-term trajectories To beat City and celebrate in front of the Stretford End would be a symbolic moment for an improving team is keen to play down the venue as a factor but the reality is I have to take the stadium away and be like: ‘We have to win the game regardless,’” he said Both of us have the goal of winning the game They [City] want to qualify for the Champions League and so do we If it’s at Old Trafford in front of all our fans Skinner’s side also have a chance to do something United’s women have never done: complete a league double over City, having won 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium in January and beat them at Old Trafford for the first time A victory would mark the women’s team’s greatest Old Trafford moment United have won five of their seven WSL matches there but those have been three victories over West Ham and wins against Aston Villa and Everton whereas they have lost both meetings with top-four opponents against Chelsea and Manchester City last term City have lost only two of 10 WSL Manchester derbies and they have been buoyed by the return in last Sunday’s 1-0 win at Leicester of England’s Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood for their first appearances of 2025 said: “It was always the plan to bring them off the bench in that game to give them the best possible chance to be able to return for this game It is nice to get Laura Blindkilde Brown and Aoba Fujino back in training this week The fact they were in training means they are in contention.” Alex Greenwood returned to action last weekend after a long spell out with injury. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PAStill, the odds are against City, who need victories in both remaining league matches and must hope United fail to win at Arsenal on 10 May’s final day if they are to finish in the top three. Free weekly newsletterNo topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women’s football “It’d be huge,” Skinner said on the prospect of United returning to Europe. “We want to go further than we did before but we know we’ve got to qualify first, to get to those knockout rounds. It’d be huge, in your recruitment, because I feel people want to come to Manchester United but maybe we get pipped because we’re not in the Champions League.” At home, United have been defensively resolute this season, conceding three goals in 10 WSL fixtures. They will hope to move into second place ahead of Arsenal, who play at Brighton on Monday, and then go to the Emirates with a chance of claiming the runners-up spot. With the clock nearing the 79-minute mark, James Lowe passed to Josh van der Flier on Leinster’s left wing and the openside was tackled short of the line by Tommy Freeman. When Van der Flier twisted around and attempted to reach out and score, he was tackled and had the ball ripped, illegally, from his hands by Northampton lock Alex Coles. The ball squirmed loose on to the Northampton try line where Ross Byrne reached out to touch the ball down. As Byrne was off his feet, he was not allowed to play the ball, although the officials did not appear to consider that. Listen | 35:17After several reviews in their dialogue, Trainini seems to have asked Brousset if Coles had illegally prevented Van der Flier from grounding the ball. “No, because he was short and he cannot move forward,” said Brousset. “For me, it will be just a penalty. So it will be a yellow card against five [Coles]. Then we’ve got a knock-on and the ball touches the base [of the corner flag] so no try. Happy? I’ve got a decision.” Asked about his view of the incident afterwards, Slimani replied: “I don’t understand the decision because if it’s a penalty and a yellow card, I don’t know why it’s not a try. But that’s the ref’s decision, he has his opinion but it’s hard.” Slimani has had issues with Brousset’s scrummaging interpretations in the past and declined to comment about his compatriot and the scrums. Another fault line in the Leinster performance was that their power game did not yield the same reward as in their previous 62-0 and 52-0 wins over Harlequins and Glasgow. Although their lineout maul did lead directly to one of Van der Flier’s two tries, it struggled for traction from the off. “Yeah, they stacked the front quite well,” admitted Leinster lock Joe McCarthy. “They’re good maul defenders in front and they were just effective getting through seams, and they were right on the edge. “See that they gave away a few penalties but it was probably smart by them, they didn’t concede points and were happy to give away penalties 5m out. It was good by them. “I was sort of in the second line, punching behind, and it was hard to get a good set-up. Like, usually it’s clean going forward and we’re firing on, but they were hitting us back.” McCarthy echoed the view of Slimani that it was one of the most disappointing defeats of his career and also that winning a first trophy in four seasons via the URC was now vital. “I think it’s hugely important. To win a bit of silverware would probably give a bit of confidence to the group, a bit of feel-good, because I think if you go again with no silverware there’s a bit more pressure on, I don’t know, maybe you doubt yourself a bit. We don’t need outside pressure, there’s a lot of pressure on ourselves to try to win a trophy, so we’ll be gunning now for the URC 100 per cent.” The majority of the 42,207 Aviva crowd were given their first viewing of the new shooting star of English rugby in 20-year-old Henry Pollock. Aside from one stunning 50m try when he sliced through the Leinster fringe defence and took Sam Prendergast on the outside, he had a big hand in two other tries, won two turnovers and had the game’s highest tackle count with 22. As free-spirited off the pitch as he is on it, Pollock said: “These are the games you want to play in, these are the games that as a little kid, you look at and watch. Van der Flier and Doris are the best backrowers in the world at the minute and I was just excited and couldn’t wait to get out there. I was buzzing in the changing rooms beforehand, buzzing all week. It is an honour to be able to share a pitch with them. “I would say before the game, you probably look at the team sheet and go, ‘wow, Jordie Barrett is playing’ and it is pretty cool. On the pitch, you don’t really think about it, it is muscle memory and it is your next action is the biggest one and it doesn’t really matter who you are up against. “At the end of the day, it is just the connection between the man inside and out of you and anything you can do for the team to make that positive ... I was just excited to go up against some of the best players in the world.” Gerry Thornley is Rugby Correspondent of The Irish Times Facebook pageTwitter feed© 2025 The Irish Times DAC ‘You’re going to feel like you’re in the seat’ – Kerry Condon on the excitement of the ‘F1’ movie and what’s in store for audiences GALLERY: All the biggest celebrities and artists at the Miami Grand Prix MUST-SEE: Watch as Roddy Ricch takes on a thrilling Hot Lap in Miami POWER RANKINGS: Who shone brightest for our judges during an eventful Sprint weekend at the Miami GP OBITUARY: Remembering the life and career of the ‘tough and popular’ Jochen Mass Lando Norris believes he "paid the price" after going wheel-to-wheel with Max Verstappen during the Miami Grand Prix and that it's "crash or don't pass unless you get it really right" when battling the reigning World Champion Norris lined up alongside polesitter Verstappen for the 57-lap race in Miami and was behind the Red Bull driver into the opening right corner as the Dutchman ran fractionally deep on a surface which was green and free of rubber after earlier heavy showers READ MORE: Piastri wins from Norris and Russell as McLaren seal commanding 1-2 in Miami Grand Prix With better traction Norris was able pull alongside Verstappen into the following left bend but found himself edged towards the run-off area and over the kerb having never got ahead of his rival around the outside The loss of momentum meant Norris dropped back as far as sixth and he was forced to scythe his way back through the pack with the incident noted by the stewards before no further action was taken 2025 Miami Grand Prix: Pole-sitter Verstappen fends off attack from Norris who drops to P6 on the race start people complain," said Norris post-race about the opening lap incident it’s crash or don’t pass unless you get it really right and you put him in the perfect position I paid the price for not doing a good enough job today." RACE START: Verstappen narrowly holds onto the lead in thrilling start to Miami GP While McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri was able to eventually pass Verstappen for the lead at Turn 1 after the Red Bull driver ran deep again Norris had his own problems trying to move into second He tried to go around the outside at Turn 1 on Lap 15 but again was forced off the track before eventually moving ahead at Turn 11 several laps later but having pushed both himself and Verstappen off the track in the process Conceding the position so as not to incur a penalty he repeated the move with greater success a lap later but was now nearly nine seconds behind leader Piastri Norris sits 16 points behind Piastri in the standings Despite reducing that gap to just 4.6s and finishing more than 30s clear of third-place George Russell Norris conceded further ground to Piastri in the standings with the gap now standing at 16 points after the Australian claimed his third win on the bounce "It’s never the best feeling but the team have done an amazing job so I can’t fault them at all – good pit stops "We were up the road so it was a good feeling Max put up a good fight as always and I paid the price but it’s the way it is." Don't miss your chance to experience the picturesque Imola circuit.. MIAMI LOWDOWN: All the key moments as McLaren and Antonelli shine, Ferrari face tensions and LEGO takes over MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: How Leclerc and Hamilton’s opposing Miami strategies culminated in fractious Ferrari radio exchanges HIGHLIGHTS: Piastri leads McLaren 1-2 after thrilling race in Miami Driveable LEGO big builds welcomed to Miami drivers’ parade Cadillac unveil their team logo and brand during dazzling Miami launch event ahead of 2026 entry ‘We took the tough decision’ – Vasseur defends Ferrari team orders situation in Miami as he acknowledges Hamilton’s frustration Albon delighted with fifth in Miami as Sainz admits frustrations over inability to score 'bigger' points for Williams Piastri full of praise for McLaren after ‘unbelievable’ and ‘impressive’ victory in Miami Former F1 and Le Mans racer Jochen Mass passes away aged 78 © 2003-2025 Formula One World Championship Limited a small but powerful group has dominated the debate about Lambeth’s future,” an open letter written to residents has said News | London Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice A group of south Londoners have warned that Lambeth could become “sterile, unaffordable, and soulless” if festivals held in Brockwell Park and other late-night events are blocked insisting the majority of people in the borough enjoy events such as LGBTQ friendly Mighty Hoopla and jazz and funk festival Cross the Tracks Meanwhile, campaign group Protect Brockwell Park has insisted that the festivals are permanently damaging the park, with the Oscar-winning actor Sir Mark Rylance claiming the events have turned the space “into a prison camp”. Protect Brockwell Park has launched a legal challenge against Lambeth Council to protect the beloved park against large-scale private events and has crowdfunded £31,000 to cover legal costs But an open letter addressing “the people of Lambeth” has hit back saying “it’s time for us to rise up and be counted” a small but powerful group has dominated the debate about Lambeth’s future — shouting down new homes and trying to silence our vibrant night-time economy,” the open letter said And now it’s time to make ourselves heard.” The open letter added that Lambeth’s night-time economy is not just about entertainment but jobs and opportunity insisting that spaces such as music venues clubs and late-night cafes are “vital for our communities” and they offer safe spaces for people from all walks of life The open letter also called on south Londoners to say “no to the NIMBYism that blocks the housing young people and families desperately need,” insisting that young people are being pushed out and priced out of the area Drink-drive London council boss given £88,000 ‘golden goodbye’ after crash scandal Brockwell Park festivals 'welcome scrutiny' amid £31k legal challenge Mark Rylance says music festivals have turned Brockwell Park into 'prison camp' Meet the entrepreneur turning plastic waste into something wonderful It went on: “We also need to protect events in our parks. Mighty Hoopla, Wide Awake, Lambeth Country Show and other festivals bring life and give thousands of people access to music Parks are for everyone — and events are part of that shared A petition by a group named SayYesLambeth has also been set up alongside the open letter Protect Brockwell Park sent a pre-action letter to Lambeth Council notifying them of their intent to initiate court proceedings The group aims to challenge the council's decision to grant a certificate of lawful development which would allow commercial events in Brockwell Park to take place without requiring planning permission polluting generators running around the clock and problems with waste and overflowing toilets They argue these activities have led to "permanent damage" to parts of the grassland and are harming trees with heavy equipment impacting root protection zones A spokesperson for the group previously said: “Our beautiful Brockwell Park is a haven for nature and of immense value to the people of Lambeth and Southwark “We are local people fighting a million-pound company whose unsustainable business practices are damaging our trees and fencing off huge areas of the park for weeks at a time “We have repeatedly raised our concerns with Lambeth Council Lambeth has ignored petitions that have garnered thousands of signatures and the adverse ecological impact on the park over the years “The Council has also failed to properly follow correct procedures and properly consult with local residents.” The group first took action last summer by launching a petition calling for an end to the “fencing off and damaging” of the park The petition has since gathered over 3,000 signatures Meanwhile, Brockwell Live, the umbrella group that represents the independent festivals that take place in the park has “welcomed scrutiny”. The festivals have donated over £150,000 to local organisations to date through their community fund and have paid £317,000 to help upkeep the beloved park over the past five years Since 2023, the festival organisers have also co-produced the Lambeth Country Show a free event run by Lambeth Council for 50 years and best known for its vegetable sculpture competition VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day Foreign Affairs has been the leading forum for serious discussion of American foreign policy and global affairs The magazine has featured contributions from many leading international affairs experts Payne Distinguished Lecturer at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation She served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser for Cyber and Emerging Technology on the U.S National Security Council in the Biden administration Anne Neuberger the Chinese telecommunications company had a few thousand dollars in the bank and an eye on reverse-engineering advanced foreign technology the hardware and software that form the basis of modern telecommunications and Ren was taking a meeting with Chinese Communist Party Secretary General Jiang Zemin The Huawei chief executive observed that his company’s product was a matter of “national security” and that a country “that did not have its own switching equipment was like one that lacked its own military.” “Well said,” Jiang replied business and government have been partners in the mission to keep China’s telecommunications secure Meanwhile, in the late 1990s and throughout the first decade of this century, the United States did not think much about its telecommunications dominance Its leadership in the sector was unrivaled and 4G technologies—were widely adopted and securely used around the world But as the United States sat complacently in the top position trusting that the strength of the free market would keep it there China was carefully setting itself up as a challenger Beijing poured resources into Huawei and other Chinese companies positioning them to outcompete foreign firms So successful was this effort that by 2012 Huawei telecom gear had been deployed across rural America This effectively provided the Chinese government with constant surveillance of the United States’ most sensitive capabilities and military operations Huawei may not have been raking in profits from this venture but for Beijing it was an intelligence coup Although the United States began to push back on these efforts and eventually banned Huawei from U.S Huawei’s successes have continued to mount The company is now the world’s largest provider of 5G networks and a dominant player in telecom equipment It is also poised to lead the next generation of networking—6G of achieving this dominance through intellectual property theft helped along by aggressive Chinese subsidies and a closed Chinese market have been driven out of the equipment market; others have been forced to sell or merge with larger firms in order to compete The Canadian company Nortel declared bankruptcy in 2009 only two non-Chinese firms remain capable of competing with Huawei on a global level: the Swedish firm Ericsson and the Finnish Nokia telecommunications rely on the services of both This is not simply about Western firms’ lost market share which the company is obliged under Chinese intelligence laws to provide at the government’s request That access would be valuable to Beijing at any time the data sets that Huawei transports also have another function: training AI models Huawei has deployed its Smart City services—which can include street camera imaging; electricity and water meter data; and social media analysis—in more than 200 cities in 40 countries The data sets this produces could be fed straight into Chinese AI models and made available to China’s military and intelligence agencies making Beijing not just a leader in telecommunications but the dominant player in the use of AI for public safety and national security The recently exposed Salt Typhoon hacking operation also demonstrated China’s determination to gain access to U.S U.S. President Donald Trump in his first term and President Joe Biden after him took steps to slow China’s ascent to this commanding height to address Huawei and other Chinese firms’ cost advantage over their Western counterparts Yet Huawei continues to extend its global reach Beijing will gain an even greater edge in telecommunications if international tensions and trade wars undermine cooperation among Western countries making hard choices about how to allocate the range of invisible waves that carry wireless signals such as radio and working with allies to finance research and development and technology deployments abroad China will extend its lead in 5G into the transition to 6G cementing the country’s authority over worldwide telecommunications—and putting it in a position to compromise the security of the U.S and allied military and intelligence operations that rely on these global networks the government and military treated leading telecommunications firms as national champions powering their rise because their success bolstered Beijing’s strategic aims Huawei alone reportedly received $75 billion in government support between 2008 and 2018 which enabled it to gain market share by pricing products well below cost Western vendors owned nearly 90 percent of the market for telecom gear were down to a combined 40 percent market share Chinese firms account for an additional 40 percent of the global market the United States and Europe—home of both Ericsson and Nokia—are sitting on a shrinking base as China continues to undercut their sales pitches by subsidizing Huawei deployments around the world Although Huawei’s global dominance in 5G has been slowed by U.S.-led sanctions and export controls neither the United States’ innovations nor those of its partners have threatened the competitiveness of its products Given that Huawei’s research and development budget is more than twice the size of its two next-largest Western competitors the company is unlikely to lose its innovation advantage The first Trump administration, recognizing the need for secure telecommunications, banned Huawei and other Chinese products from U.S. networks and took steps to replace the gear that was already present. The United States also began to encourage its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, to remove Huawei gear and work with trusted firms instead. The Biden administration continued this strategy But both parties have known for years that banning Chinese technology would not be enough The United States and its partners would need to develop a cost-effective alternative that could compete with China’s aggressively subsidized products the Biden administration brought in two critical government agencies International Development Finance Corporation directly finance Costa Rica’s move from a Huawei 4G network to a trusted 5G network and to team up with Finland’s investment bank to finance a major deployment of Nokia’s 5G technology in India Washington’s objectives have not changed. It needs to compete with China at scale and encourage wider adoption of trusted systems The way to accomplish this is with incentives for technology innovation and joint financing for countries choosing between Chinese and non-Chinese technologies The Trump administration should begin by making better use of the ten-year $1.5 billion grant program established by the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act Initial grants focused on funding large-scale interoperability testing of technologies that integrate hardware and software from different vendors and foreign firms and universities through this initiative with a further $420 million in grants made available in May 2024 but future funding rounds must move much faster and focus on projects that commercialize new technologies software companies greater incentives to enter the market directing capital to the “cloudification” of network infrastructure—that is subsidizing technology that creates virtual versions of specialized equipment—will pay dividends for U.S AI applications rely on high-speed networking trails far behind China when it comes to setting up the required infrastructure compared with 88 percent of Chinese mobile users China built 600,000 5G base stations in three months It took the United States two years to build 100,000 But where Washington cannot compete with Beijing on deployment at scale By integrating artificial intelligence into telecommunications operations companies could rapidly increase transmission speeds and network capacity The next round of CHIPS grants should be used to drive research and development and pilot projects in this area Another important way to lower costs for U.S Washington can encourage investment in digital infrastructure by allowing accelerated depreciation a financial tool that enables companies to quickly lower the value of new assets and thus reduce their tax burden and free up investment funds The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act included such a provision but it was set up to last for only a limited time and the mechanism is already being phased out Congress should now extend these types of tax incentives to a broad category of digital infrastructure equipment to maximize private-sector investment Even after the United States implements these reforms the cost of non-Chinese technologies will still undermine U.S efforts to persuade other countries to avoid Chinese vendors The alternative on offer must be technologically advanced and competitively priced The United States therefore needs to cooperate with its partners on digital infrastructure financing This model has worked before: under the East Micronesia Cable project and the United States have jointly contributed over $90 million to support secure and resilient telecommunications infrastructure in and between Pacific Islands countries Potential partners that could bring expertise and commercial capabilities to a U.S.-led 5G financing campaign include the EU The two European heavyweights in the field markets but need additional research and development support to be able to compete globally with Huawei Japan and South Korea have smaller companies that could also compete if provided enough backing A deal with Washington that covers R & D and financing for technology adaptation in third countries could help any or all of these partners lessen their companies’ disadvantages relative to Chinese firms China is ramping up its funding for these projects and the United States and its partners must do the same The obvious institution for Washington to turn to is the Export-Import Bank The bank still needs more flexibility to take on risk and offer competitive financing for 5G projects the bank’s board authorized 5G-related transactions in which less than 51 percent of the goods and services involved originate in the United States provided the exporter could present a plan for job expansion in the United States $313 million has been approved to support 5G construction in India under a cofinancing agreement with Finland’s export credit agency Washington can show the world that the United States and its partners are determined to offer compelling alternatives to China’s subsidized vendors Google and the government of Chile announced the launch of Humboldt Cable a subsea cable route connecting Chile to Australia via French Polynesia A concerted effort by the United States and its allies to include private firms in their strategy can incentivize similar investments to keep far-flung parts of the world connected to Western technology rather than reliant on companies that may be controlled by Beijing Washington should reform its spectrum policy which refers to the range of invisible energy waves used to carry information (such as television and WiFi) through the air The Department of Defense is the largest owner of spectrum in the United States and it is not transparent about how much spectrum it requires and when it is used Spectrum is vital for all kinds of data transfers whether streaming movies or using drones to monitor infrastructure—in other words it is not only the government that needs it the public and private sectors do not cooperate on shared goals the government and private firms compete for access technologies relative to their Chinese rivals China’s advantages in this area underpin its ambitions to control global networks and to reap military and strategic benefits from that control Washington will now need to make hard choices to make portions of the Pentagon’s spectrum available for commercial use while ensuring that it preserves critical military and intelligence capabilities companies would be better positioned to develop next-generation mobile technologies companies in other countries will follow suit A hardware and software ecosystem generated by the United States and its allies would then filter across the globe the Defense Department will be unable to free up more spectrum for the private sector The Pentagon should work with commercial firms to scale up the use of new spectrum-sharing technologies and AI-supported software to make networks smarter and more agile This would enable government and commercial users to share spectrum more effectively than is possible today which means the Defense Department could access spectrum when needed for infrequent but important missions A pilot project initiated by the Biden administration has aimed to test these technologies at scale and in partnership with private firms The Trump administration should quickly wrap up this pilot and accelerate the next steps of figuring out how spectrum sharing will be governed and putting rapid dispute-resolution processes in place This will assure the Pentagon and intelligence agencies that spectrum would be available to them during crises and conflicts It will also give the private sector confidence that on-demand spectrum would be sufficiently reliable for commercial purposes That confidence is key to making private-sector investment in digital infrastructure worthwhile much of the digital infrastructure that has undergirded the modern world was invented If the United States were to lose this advantage for good A China that dominates global digital networks would be able to surveil them at will training AI models on data that traverses Chinese companies’ networks and controlling AI applications that rely on high-speed networking administrations have recognized the magnitude of the problem But the steps they have taken to address it have not resolved the core issue: the absence of alternative technologies that can compete with China’s on price national security depends on the United States regaining its lead Although the competition with China will be fierce particularly because of Beijing’s willingness to wield its economic clout to give its companies a crushing competitive advantage and artificial intelligence will only become more important The country that leads the transition to 6G will be at the forefront of advancements in a variety of applications in cooperation with its allies and partners it can regain the technological initiative and protect its intelligence operations and military communications around the world remains available—and becomes the technology of choice—both at home and abroad Subscribe to Foreign Affairs to get unlimited access Already a subscriber? 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