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NEW YORK, Dec. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mesoblast Limited (Nasdaq:MESO; ASX:MSB), global leader in allogeneic cellular medicines for inflammatory diseases, today announced the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Ryoncil® (remestemcel-L) as the first mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapy in the United States. RYONCIL is the only MSC therapy approved in the U.S. for any indication, and the only approved therapy for steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease (SR-aGvHD) in children 2 months and older, including adolescents and teenagers. Transplant physician Dr Joanne Kurtzberg, the Jerome Harris Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Pathology, and Director, Marcus Center for Cellular Cures at Duke University Medical Center (DUMC), said:“Steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease is a devastating condition with an extremely poor prognosis. From today we are able to offer RYONCIL, the first FDA-approved treatment which will be life saving for so many children and will have a great impact on their families.” Annually in the United States approximately 10,000 patients undergo an allogeneic bone marrow transplant, 1,500 of whom are children. Approximately 50% develop aGvHD and almost half of those do not respond to steroids, the recognized first-line treatment.1-5 In a single-arm multi-center Phase 3 trial of children with SR-aGvHD, 89% of whom had high severity Grade C or Grade D disease, 70% achieved an overall response by Day 28 of treatment with RYONCIL, a measure that predicts survival in aGVHD. RYONCIL treatment was not discontinued or interrupted in any patient for any laboratory abnormality, and the full course was completed without interruption in more than 85% of patients. The full Phase 3 clinical study results are available in Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation.6 “We are very pleased that the FDA has granted approval of RYONCIL® and are proud of the company's commitment to the GVHD community in bringing this important new treatment to children and families with no other acceptable options,” said Dr. Silviu Itescu, Chief Executive of Mesoblast.“With RYONCIL approval by FDA, Mesoblast has demonstrated the ability to bring the first MSC product to market. We will continue to work closely with FDA to obtain approval of our other late-stage products, including REVASCOR® for cardiovascular diseases and rexlemestrocel-L for inflammatory pain indications, as well as expanding the indications for RYONCIL in both children and adults with inflammatory conditions.” RYONCIL will be available in the United States at transplant centers and other treating hospitals. Please see the full Prescribing Information at . The FDA's approval press release is available here . What is RYONCIL (remestemcel-L) RYONCIL is an allogeneic bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapy indicated for the treatment of steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease (SR-aGvHD) in pediatric patients 2 months of age and older. The recommended dosage of RYONCIL is 2 × 106 MSC /kg body weight per intravenous infusion given twice per week for 4 consecutive weeks. Response is assessed 28 ± 2 days after the first dose and further treatment administered as appropriate. Important Safety Information Contraindications: Known hypersensitivity to dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or porcine and bovine proteins. Adverse reactions: Serious adverse reactions included pyrexia (9%), respiratory failure (9%), pneumatosis intestinalis (7%) and staphylococcal bacteremia infection (By MIKE CATALINI CHATHAM, N.J. (AP) — That buzzing coming out of New Jersey? It’s unclear if it’s drones or something else, but for sure the nighttime sightings are producing tons of talk, a raft of conspiracy theories and craned necks looking skyward. Related Articles National News | Today in History: December 16, the Boston Tea Party National News | Today in History: December 15, Dylann Roof convicted of killing 9 Black church members in South Carolina National News | Paying homage to veterans on Wreaths Across America Day National News | Today in History: December 14, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting National News | Court denies TikTok’s request to halt enforcement of potential US ban until Supreme Court review Cropping up on local news and social media sites around Thanksgiving, the saga of the drones reported over New Jersey has reached incredible heights. This week seems to have begun a new, higher-profile chapter: Lawmakers are demanding (but so far not getting) explanations from federal and state authorities about what’s behind them. Gov. Phil Murphy wrote to President Joe Biden asking for answers. New Jersey’s new senator, Andy Kim, spent Thursday night on a drone hunt in rural northern New Jersey, and posted about it on X. But perhaps the most fantastic development is the dizzying proliferation of conspiracies — none of which has been confirmed or suggested by federal and state officials who say they’re looking into what’s happening. It has become shorthand to refer to the flying machines as drones, but there are questions about whether what people are seeing are unmanned aircraft or something else. Some theorize the drones came from an Iranian mothership. Others think they are the Secret Service making sure President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster property is secure. Others worry about China. The deep state. And on. In the face of uncertainty, people have done what they do in 2024: Create a social media group. The Facebook page, New Jersey Mystery Drones — let’s solve it , has nearly 44,000 members, up from 39,000 late Thursday. People are posting their photo and video sightings, and the online commenters take it from there. One video shows a whitish light flying in a darkened sky, and one commenter concludes it’s otherworldly. “Straight up orbs,” the person says. Others weigh in to say it’s a plane or maybe a satellite. Another group called for hunting the drones literally, shooting them down like turkeys. (Do not shoot at anything in the sky, experts warn.) Trisha Bushey, 48, of Lebanon Township, New Jersey, lives near Round Valley Reservoir where there have been numerous sightings. She said she first posted photos online last month wondering what the objects were and became convinced they were drones when she saw how they moved and when her son showed her on a flight tracking site that no planes were around. Now she’s glued to the Mystery Drones page, she said. “I find myself — instead of Christmas shopping or cleaning my house — checking it,” she said. She doesn’t buy what the governor said, that the drones aren’t a risk to public safety. Murphy told Biden on Friday that residents need answers. The federal Homeland Security Department and FBI also said in a joint statement they have no evidence that the sightings pose “a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.” “How can you say it’s not posing a threat if you don’t know what it is?” she said. “I think that’s why so many people are uneasy.” Then there’s the notion that people could misunderstand what they’re seeing. William Austin is the president of Warren County Community College, which has a drone technology degree program, and is coincidentally located in one of the sighting hotspots. Austin says he has looked at videos of purported drones and that airplanes are being misidentified as drones. He cited an optical effect called parallax, which is the apparent shift of an object when viewed from different perspectives. Austin encouraged people to download flight and drone tracker apps so they can better understand what they’re looking at. Nonetheless, people continue to come up with their own theories. “It represents the United States of America in 2024,” Austin said. “We’ve lost trust in our institutions, and we need it.” Federal officials echo Austin’s view that many of the sightings are piloted aircraft such as planes and helicopters being mistaken for drones, according to lawmakers and Murphy. That’s not really convincing for many, though, who are homing in on the sightings beyond just New Jersey and the East Coast, where others have reported seeing the objects. For Seph Divine, 34, another member of the drone hunting group who lives in Eugene, Oregon, it feels as if it’s up to citizen sleuths to solve the mystery. He said he tries to be a voice of reason, encouraging people to fact check their information, while also asking probing questions. “My main goal is I don’t want people to be caught up in the hysteria and I also want people to not just ignore it at the same time,” he said. “Whether or not it’s foreign military or some secret access program or something otherworldly, whatever it is, all I’m saying is it’s alarming that this is happening so suddenly and so consistently for hours at a time,” he added. Associated Press reporter Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.Days after suggesting that First Lady Jill Biden engaged in “heavy-duty petting” with Donald Trump because of her “fondness for power,” Larry Kudlow broke out his rendition of what’s become known as the “Trump dance” during a live Fox News segment. The Fox Business host, who previously served as Trump’s chief economic adviser , busted a move while gushing over the president-elect’s policy proposals and his selection of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a government efficiency commission, colloquially calling them the “DOGE brothers.” Sitting down with Fox News anchor Sandra Smith on Friday afternoon, Kudlow claimed that the economy has been “rejuvenated” and “people feel liberated” after the election because Trump has promised to cut regulations. “The DOGE brothers, Elon and Vivek, are going to go after the regulatory state,” he declared. “Trump will cut taxes – he will extend the tax cuts and put some new ones up. People can’t wait for that. The stock market is soaring.” Continuing to praise the “DOGE brothers” for being “on the right track” when it comes to slashing federal spending, Kudlow called them “great” before joking that “they don’t dance as well as The Blues Brothers.” After applauding Trump’s recent promise to expedite and waive environmental regulations for investors who spend at least a billion dollars, Kudlow said the “enviros and the lefties will sue him, and it won’t matter” because the lawsuits will be tied up in the courts for years. “He’s a can-do guy, and don’t forget among his many skills, he was a successful businessman,” Kudlow exclaimed. Smith and Kudlow bantered some more about the “optimism” among business leaders about Trump’s return to office. Kudlow insisted that “the DOGE brothers are going to deliver,” sparking Smith to laugh and the former Trump adviser to start gyrating in his chair. “Are you doing the Trump dance, Larry?! Oh, wow, look at you go!” Smith exclaimed, referencing the president-elect’s trademarked bop that he made famous on the campaign trail, typically to The Village People’s “YMCA.” “I save my best stuff for you,” the 77-year-old business host responded. The dance, which the New York Times described as an “ungainly series of hip-swivels and fist-pumps, not unlike the movements of an automaton gaining sentience,” has taken the sports world by storm since Trump’s electoral victory last month. And while it has become all the rage among conservatives as something of a spiking of the football over the election results, Trump’s own family members don’t seem all that impressed with it. Soon-to-be First Lady Melania Trump admitted last week that she’s never done the dance, while Trump’s son Barron appeared embarrassed when his father and Musk shook a leg on Thanksgiving.From Pride employee resource groups to a recurring wave of rainbow logos each June, LGBTQ+-friendly workplaces can feel more like the rule than the exception in 2024. Yet, while corporate leaders pat themselves on the back, many queer employees across Canada are still quietly navigating challenging workplace dynamics tied to their sexual orientations and gender identities. For these employees, true equity and inclusivity goes beyond gender-neutral bathrooms and company-sponsored Pride events. It means addressing deeper, often overlooked issues that remain largely invisible to those outside the LGBTQ+ community. It’s an issue that Nate Shalev, an inclusivity speaker and adviser based in Brooklyn, N.Y., feels strongly about. They posted about some of those barriers in a LinkedIn post, where they are ranked as one of the U.S. and Canada’s Top LGBTQIA+ Voices. “When I was told I would have to travel for work, my immediate reaction would be panic,” they wrote. “I was concerned about booking travel with my legal name and risking my team calling me by a name I no longer use, getting through TSA as a trans person with my dignity intact ... [and] navigating queer and transphobia at hotels or in taxis, or anywhere, in front of my co-workers.” Through their consultancy, Revel Impact, Shalev draws on past experiences with “really bad bosses” to help build more inclusive workplaces, educating companies on the barriers their LGBTQ+ team members may be facing – on top of simply getting their jobs done. Barriers like: “Is the conference you asked me to go to safe? What about that client meeting? The whole team is going for a happy hour, but this bar isn’t LGBTQ-friendly. Should I leave? Would that make me look like I wasn’t a part of the team?” Shalev says these sorts of concerns are routinely dismissed or there’s no clear channel through which to handle them since they don’t rise to a legal level of discrimination, despite having negative affects. While most organizations in North America have anti-discrimination policies in place, Ottawa-based talent and brand specialist Lindsay Moorcroft says that doesn’t necessarily mean those policies are sufficient. “Unless you’re building your programs and policies with the [affected] people in the room, there’s always the possibility for something to be forgotten,” Moorcroft says, reflecting on a previous job at a small startup where she was the only out queer employee. “Pronouns weren’t being asked in meetings. They weren’t shared in e-mail signatures. There was no option to even talk about that. So then it’s like, do I want to be the person who brings it up?” she says. For Kaitlin Geiger-Bardswich, a communications and advocacy director in Ottawa, the risk of speaking up paid off. Although she works for a national non-profit she calls “progressive” and “feminist,” bereavement leave didn’t include pregnancy loss until she advocated for it after experiencing a miscarriage herself. “Even if it’s not a miscarriage, when a fertility treatment doesn’t work, when an embryo transfer doesn’t work, there is that grief,” she says. Fertility issues aren’t specific to the LGBTQ+ community, but “gay couples, by definition, typically need to access fertility treatment of some kind,” as Geiger-Bardswich says. “So it’s more likely that if you have gay employees who are interested in parenting, they’re going to have to navigate this.” According to , more than half of Canadian employers don’t provide fertility benefits, including drugs and treatment costs. And only seven provinces provide public funding to cover partial costs of fertility treatment. In Geiger-Bardswich’s case, she and her wife relied on limited OHIP coverage when trying to conceive, while paying thousands of dollars out-of-pocket for medication and donor sperm. She says she was grateful to have flexibility in her work hours, which made it easier to attend doctor’s appointments throughout the in-vitro fertilization process without fear of repercussions. Flexible work arrangements, including remote work, can also benefit transgender employees who are transitioning or who are repeatedly misgendered at the office, says Shalev. Geiger-Bardswich notes that as anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric increases around the world, it adds another layer of concern for queer Canadians. She points to Italy’s push as an example. “I hope that’s not going to happen in Canada,” she says. “But with how things are happening around the world, there is nervousness around the legal benefits and legal situations for parents like us.” So, what can workplaces do to achieve real, meaningful inclusivity? Shalev says it’s about taking a pro-active, rather than reactive, approach. This could look like ensuring there’s space for preferred names on all applications, forms and other communications. Before international trips, a systematic pretravel questionnaire might allow queer employees to request extra security, a travel companion, a NEXUS membership or a car service to make the experience safer and smoother, Shalev says. “It doesn’t have to feel complicated. Actively create spaces for these conversations to happen. Ask folks what they need,” says Shalev, noting that this has been more difficult in recent years with LGBTQ+ issues growing increasingly politicized. “Because queer issues have been politicized so much, there’s this sense that it’s a taboo topic. That’s a big shift I’ve seen, versus it just being inclusion work and wanting to support colleagues. Trans folks aren’t politics. We’re people.” One organization that appears to be embracing a pro-active approach is Moorcroft’s current employer, ecobee, a home automation company headquartered in Toronto. The company’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offerings include an LGBTQ+ allyship group, a private social channel for LGBTQ+ employees and a policy-focused working group. Most importantly, Moorcroft says, a variety of voices are in these rooms alongside her, including those of senior leadership. “DEI means nothing if the top of the company is not supporting it, and it’s not in their [budget],” she says. Every organization has different needs and resources, which is why Shalev says, “It’s not one-size-fits-all.” Pride at Work Canada and Great Place to Work provide for organizations looking to improve inclusion, with strategies ranging from collecting data on employee demographics to administering queer mentorship programs. While certain measures may seem niche, “LGBTQ+ inclusion benefits us all,” Shalev says. “When I do workshops, of course I know there are other queer folks in the room. But then there are the parents of trans kids, or somebody with a partner who’s trans. Our workplaces are microcosms of our larger society, and if we create better workplaces, we can also create better communities and [and better] worlds.”legit ba ang fortune gems 。

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Clinical Microbiology Market to Exhibit a Remarkable CAGR of 6.65% by 2029, Size, Share, Trends, Key Drivers, Demand, Opportunity Analysis and Competitive Outlook 12-13-2024 10:22 PM CET | Advertising, Media Consulting, Marketing Research Press release from: Data Bridge Market Research Data Bridge Market Research analyses that the clinical microbiology market which was USD 3.9 billion in 2021, would rocket up to USD 6.53 billion by 2029, and is expected to undergo a CAGR of 6.65% during the forecast period 2022 to 2029. Clinical microbiology is an area of medicine that helps detect, prevent, and cure infectious diseases. It focuses on applying several assays to detect the presence of bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic agents as well as determine microorganism susceptibility. Typical testing approaches include direct smears and stains, cultures, molecular analysis, serological testing, and antibiotic susceptibility testing. Clinical microbiology is gaining popularity around the world as a result of improved antibiotic delivery and therapeutic effects. Browse More About This Research Report @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-clinical-microbiology-market Some of the major players operating in the clinical microbiology market report are BioMérieux (France), Danaher (US), BD (US), Abbott (US), F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Switzerland), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (US), QIAGEN (Netherlands), 3M (US), Bio-Rad Laboratories (US), Bruker (US), Hologic Inc. (US), Merck KGaA (Germany), Diagnóstica Longwood SL (Chennai), Agilent Technologies Inc. (U.S), Memmert GmbH + Co.KG (Germany), Hardy Diagnostics (U.S), NEOGEN Corporation (U.S) among others. Competitive Landscape and Clinical Microbiology Market Share Analysis : The clinical microbiology market competitive landscape provides details by competitor. Details included are company overview, company financials, revenue generated, market potential, investment in research and development, new market initiatives, global presence, production sites and facilities, production capacities, company strengths and weaknesses, product launch, product width and breadth, application dominance. The above data points provided are only related to the companies' focus related to clinical microbiology market. Browse Trending Reports: https://dbmr03.blogspot.com/2024/11/poultry-feed-vitamins-and-minerals.html https://dbmr03.blogspot.com/2024/11/nexletol-market-trends-forecast-and.html https://dbmr064rs.blogspot.com/2024/11/plant-based-spreads-market-trends.html https://dbmr064rs.blogspot.com/2024/11/brown-sugar-market-trends-analysis-and.html About Data Bridge Market Research: An absolute way to predict what the future holds is to understand the current trend! Data Bridge Market Research presented itself as an unconventional and neoteric market research and consulting firm with an unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are committed to uncovering the best market opportunities and nurturing effective information for your business to thrive in the marketplace. Data Bridge strives to provide appropriate solutions to complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process. Data Bridge is a set of pure wisdom and experience that was formulated and framed in 2015 in Pune. Contact Us: - Data Bridge Market Research US: +1 614 591 3140 UK: +44 845 154 9652 APAC: +653 1251 1177 Email: - sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com This release was published on openPR.

Golden Knights take on the Utah Hockey Club after Barbashev's 2-goal performanceActivating your credit card? Don’t skip the mobile wallet stepBeirut: Insurgents’ stunning march across Syria gained speed on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) with news that they had reached the suburbs of the capital Damascus and with the government forced to deny rumours that President Bashar al-Assad had fled the country. The lightning rebel advance suggests that Assad’s government could fall within the next week, US and other Western officials said. A giant portrait of Syrian president Bashar Assad sets on a building, as empty streets seen in Damascus, Syria, on Saturday. Credit: AP Since the rebels’ sweep into Aleppo a week ago, government defences have crumbled at a dizzying speed as insurgents seized a string of major cities and rose up in places where the rebellion had long seemed over. The twin threats to the strategically vital city of Homs and the capital, Damascus, now pose an existential danger to the Assad dynasty’s five-decade reign over Syria and the continued influence there of its main regional backer, Iran. The rebels’ moves around Damascus, reported by an opposition war monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of the southern part of the country, leaving more areas, including several provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters. If the insurgents capture Homs, they would cut the link between Damascus, Assad’s seat of power, and the coastal region where the president enjoys wide support. The advances in the past week were among the largest in recent years by opposition factions led by a group that has its origins in al-Qaeda and is considered a terrorist organisation by the US and the United Nations. In their push to overthrow Assad’s government, the insurgents, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have met little resistance from the Syrian army. For the first time in the country’s long-running civil war, the government now has control of only four of 14 provincial capitals: Damascus, Homs, Latakia and Tartus. People arrive at the Jordanian side of the border as others wait in their cars, after a ban on crossings into Syria, on December 7, 2024 in Jaber, Jordan. Credit: Getty Images The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Saturday called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition”. Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, he said the situation in Syria was changing by the minute. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country is Assad’s chief international backer, said he feels “sorry for the Syrian people”. In Damascus, people rushed to stock up on supplies. Thousands went to Syria’s border with Lebanon, trying to leave the country. Many shops in the capital were shuttered, a resident told the Associated Press, and those still open had run out of staples such as sugar. Some were selling items at three times the normal price. “The situation is very strange. We are not used to that,” the resident said, insisting on anonymity, fearing retributions. “People are worried whether there will be a battle [in Damascus] or not.” It was the first time that opposition forces reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018 when Syrian troops recaptured the area following a years-long siege. The UN said it was moving non-critical staff outside the country as a precaution. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: Backed by Russia and Iran – both of which are bogged down in separate conflicts. Credit: Saudi Press Agency/AP Assad rumours Syria’s state media denied social media rumours that President Assad had left the country, saying he was performing his duties in Damascus. Assad has had little, if any, help from his allies. Russia is busy with its war in Ukraine and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad’s forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict with Israel. Iran has seen its proxies across the region degraded by regular Israeli airstrikes. US President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that the US should avoid engaging militarily in Syria. Pedersen said a date for talks in Geneva on the implementation a UN resolution, adopted in 2015, and calling for a Syrian-led political process, would be announced later. The resolution calls for the establishment of a transitional governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with UN-supervised elections. A Syrian opposition fighter holds a rocket launcher in front of the provincial government office. Credit: AP Foreign ministers and senior diplomats from eight key countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran, along with Pederson, gathered on the sidelines of the Doha Summit on Saturday to discuss the situation. No details were immediately available. The insurgents’ march Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya. Opposition fighters were marching toward the Damascus suburb of Harasta, he added. An insurgent commander, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces had begun the “final stage” of their offensive by encircling Damascus. HTS controls much of northwest Syria and in 2017 set up a “salvation government” to run day-to-day affairs in the region. In recent years, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to remake the group’s image, cutting ties with al-Qaeda, ditching hardline officials and vowing to embrace pluralism and religious tolerance. Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani. Credit: Al Jazeera Syria’s military, meanwhile, sent large numbers of reinforcements to defend the key central city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as insurgents approached its outskirts. The shock offensive began on November 27, during which rebel fighters captured the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and the central city of Hama, the country’s fourth-largest city. Opposition activists said insurgents entered Palmyra on Friday, which is home to invaluable archaeological sites, that had been in government hands since being taken from the Islamic State group in 2017. To the south, Syrian troops left much of the province of Quneitra, including the main Baath City, activists said. The Syrian Observatory said government troops had withdrawn from much of the two southern provinces and were sending reinforcements to Homs, where a battle loomed. If the insurgents capture Homs, they would cut the link between Damascus, Assad’s seat of power, and the coastal region where the president enjoys wide support. The Syrian Army said in a statement that it had carried out redeployment and repositioning in Sweida and Daraa after its checkpoints came under attack by “terrorists”. The army said it was setting up a “strong and coherent defensive and security belt in the area”, apparently to defend Damascus from the south. The Syrian government has referred to opposition gunmen as terrorists since conflict broke out in March 2011. Diplomacy in Doha The foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey, meeting in Qatar, called for an end to the hostilities. Turkey is a main backer of the rebels. Qatar’s top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, criticised Assad for failing to take advantage of the lull in fighting in recent years to address the country’s underlying problems. “Assad didn’t seize this opportunity to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people,” he said. Sheikh Mohammed said he was surprised by how quickly the rebels have advanced and said there was a real threat to Syria’s “territorial integrity.” He said the war could “damage and destroy what is left if there is no sense of urgency” to start a political process. AP, Reuters Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter .

SHE is tipped for a starring role on the This Morning sofa having wowed viewers with forthright opinions on misogyny and sex. And former reality star Ashley James has shown how much fans can relate to her — by sharing intimate personal battles to help others. Advertisement 6 Ashley James has been a hit with This Morning viewers for her forthright views Credit: Splash 6 Ashley reveals reveals her first experience of childbirth caused a number of 'mortifying' health issues Credit: Rex Ashley always makes it clear that no subject is off-limits. Now the presenter has bravely revealed she went through eight months of anguish following the birth of her son, Alfie , now three — because she could not make love with her partner, advertising executive Tom Andrews. Ashley, 37, who is also mum to Ada, one, said: “I had this kind of caveman expectation of Tommy. “You know, ‘Man needs sex.’ And six months went by, seven months, eight months, and sometimes I would try, and then he’d be like, ‘Oh my God, are you crying?’. Advertisement READ MORE ON ASHLEY JAMES SHOW SHAKE-UP Ex Made In Chelsea star Ashley James screen testing as host on This Morning ASH'S DASH This Morning's Ashley James reveals 'scary' dash after son suffers seizure “I would say, ‘It just really hurts’. “He was like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t want to hurt you’. “It was the first time it dawned on me that men aren’t just these dudes demanding sex.” With typical frankness, she reveals her first experience of childbirth caused a number of “mortifying” health issues including incontinence and pain. On the Made By Mammas podcast, Ashley explains how her pain was caused by a condition called vaginismus, which affects many women. It was caused by the trauma of childbirth, and she went to see a private pelvic health physio. Advertisement Most read in News TV HUGE SCOOP Scots dad wins £27k on Deal or No Deal as 'mystic' son stops him getting 10p IT'S BACK! Hugely popular Amazon Prime thriller's second series date confirmed DUTY CALLS Line of Duty's Martin Compston stars in new role worlds away from BBC cop drama BOILING POINT Lorraine Kelly fumes 'shut up' during rant about Gregg Wallace live on air She said: “Basically, all your muscles stiffen up and you can’t control it, but it’s so simple to fix. "All she did was a couple of massages and it was like healed.” This Morning star Ashley James’ huge new London home as she asks fans for help after spotting issue ‘I blamed myself’ Ashley’s career is now going from strength to strength, just like her relationship with Tom. Last week we revealed she is screen- testing to be a host on This Morning and has already filmed with several male presenters as producers attempt to turn around a ratings slump. Advertisement The influencer is already a regular commentator on the ITV show. She recently impressed when she took OnlyFans star Bonnie Blue to task for bragging about sleeping with “barely legal, 18-year-olds”. Ashley’s condemnation of the sex worker, 25, for targeting teens and encouraging misogynistic views was applauded by viewers , with one commenting: “I’m so glad Ashley is pulling this woman up.” It also got the programme back into the headlines for the right reasons following the departure of scandal-hit co-hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. Advertisement However, Ashley’s spikey exchange with Blue was clearly not only driven by her desire to win a permanent place on the This Morning sofa. For she revealed on the podcast she had been assaulted by a friend at university — and later wrongly blamed herself. 6 Ashley met partnerTom Andrews on a dating app - but is not planning on getting married Credit: Instagram 6 Ashley is already screen-testing to become a presenter on This Morning Credit: Eroteme Advertisement She said: “I was hypersexualised as a 14-year-old girl, but made to feel like that was my problem. “What that did is, when I was at university, something happened without my consent, which I have never really talked about yet. “I blamed myself because I was like, ‘That was my fault because of my outfit, because I was drunk, because I put myself in that situation’ — and I didn’t tell anyone. “I blamed myself and the worst thing is, because I was such a people pleaser, I even wanted that person to still like me and be my friend. Advertisement "What we now know is, the more you tell young girls, ‘Don’t dress like that, your skirt’s too short’, what we’re doing is saying, ‘It’s up to you that men are going to sexualize your body, so you have to dress accordingly’. “Ultimately, we know that men will murder women, whether they are dressed appropriately or not, whether they take the right journey home or not, whether they get a taxi, whether they walk through the park. There is no difference between a man and a woman’s sexual appetite, apart from the fact that, socially, men are allowed to be sexual beings and women aren’t Ashley James “It doesn’t matter how we dress or what we do or whether we are drunk or not. It doesn’t and shouldn’t matter because actually we should be saying to boys, ‘You shouldn’t sexually objectify women, you shouldn’t be ogling at women’.” Ashley argues that women have the same sexual appetite as men — but historically they just weren’t allowed to express it. Advertisement On the female libido , she said: “Back in the day, there was this idea that because men had testosterone, they were more sexually active than women — and that men can’t help it if they have casual sex or cheat on their wives. “But now we know, because research is more advanced, actually there is no difference between a man and a woman’s sexual appetite, apart from the fact that, socially, men are allowed to be sexual beings and women aren’t. “So what was really interesting is they did all these different studies where they would, in some cases, ask men and women questions about their sex lives and whether they masturbate and all of those things, knowing that other people would find out. Then they did it again, asking people but saying this is completely confidential. “Women were the same, they were as sexual as men are. Advertisement “If you’re constantly telling women, ‘Don’t be a s**t, men don’t like women who do this, be wifey material’, and all of those narratives we are told from a young age, it makes us feel like we are men’s property and we should be pure.” 6 In recent years she Ashley has been best known as a 'mum influencer', although she dislikes the term Credit: instagram/ashleylouisejames ‘Trolling really upset me’ Ashley’s forthright views are proving a breath of fresh air on This Morning and she has a background many viewers can relate to. Despite coming to public attention on the fourth series of Made In Chelsea in 2012 — the E4 show about privileged young Londoners — Ashley was living off her overdraft and putting on a posh accent. Advertisement She was raised in a “small town in the North East” by parents she describes as “very Geordie” and got her first taste of the showbiz industry when she did some work experience at Radio Cumbria aged 16. Ashley appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018 before becoming a DJ with gigs at top clubs such as London’s Ministry of Sound. In recent years she has been best known as a “mum influencer”, although Ashley considers the term “derogatory” and says it has led to online abuse . The trolling got so out of control last year that malicious followers reported her to social services for allegedly neglecting her children. Advertisement The false accusation, which was unfounded and promptly dismissed, was that she had drunk too much at a party. Speaking on the Gentle Start podcast, Ashley said: “I was reported to social services for neglect, and it all came back to this online anonymous gossip website. “It really upset me. Like I said to the social worker, I know how loved my children are and I know that I’m such a good mum. “That’s one thing that I have never doubted.” Advertisement Incredibly, just a few years ago Ashley had no interest in settling down or having children. She had been single for six years and was living her best “Carrie Bradshaw life”, when she reconnected with Tom on a dating app in 2019 having first met him at work a decade earlier. The couple now share a house in London with their two children. Read more on the Scottish Sun FERRY WINDY Ferry stranded amid Storm Darragh as passengers stuck on ship for 12 hours HORROR BLAZE Huge fire erupts at Scots industrial estate as emergency crews race to scene But Ashley is in no hurry to get hitched, explaining: “Long story short, I don’t like marriage. Advertisement “If I choose you every day, I am with you because you make me happy.” 6 Ashley earned fans after she took OnlyFans model Bonnie Blue to task on This Morning Credit: Rex

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Dec. 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Armada Hoffler (NYSE: AHH) announced that its Board of Directors declared the cash dividend of $0.205 per common share. The fourth quarter dividend will be paid in cash on January 2, 2025, to stockholders of record on December 26, 2024. The Board of Directors also declared a cash dividend of $0.421875 per share on its 6.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock payable on January 15, 2025, to stockholders of record on December 31, 2024. About Armada Hoffler Armada Hoffler is a vertically integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") with over four decades of experience developing, building, acquiring, and managing high-quality, institutional-grade office, retail, and multifamily properties located primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. In addition to developing and building properties for its own account, the Company also provides development and general contracting construction services to third-party clients. Founded in 1979 by Daniel A. Hoffler, the Company has elected to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For more information, visit ArmadaHoffler.com . Contact: Chelsea Forrest Armada Hoffler VP of Corp. Comms. and Investor Relations Email: [email protected] Phone: (757) 366-4000Former BBC News journalist Rory Cellan-Jones said the Parkinson’s community “felt absolutely left out in the cold”, after being honoured at Buckingham Palace. The broadcaster’s former technology correspondent, 66, was formally made an OBE by the Princess Royal for his services to journalism on Wednesday. Cellan-Jones announced in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and he has since contributed to a podcast, Movers And Shakers, discussing life with the disease. Discussing the success of the podcast, which also features Jeremy Paxman, Cellan-Jones told the PA news agency: “It’s been an absolute scream. “We’ve had the most extraordinary reaction from the Parkinson’s community. “There is a community which felt absolutely left out in the cold and this award was for services to journalism, but I can’t help but think that maybe that played some part too.” Cellan-Jones said he talked to Anne about fundraising for Parkinson’s and how technology could possibly be used to monitor the disease. The journalist added: “She showed real interest in it. “Mike Tindall, whose father’s got it, is very active in fundraising – so we talked about that.” Cellan-Jones said the OBE was “very unexpected when it came”, adding that he felt “very privileged”. He said his rescue dog from Romania, named Sophie, was “making slow progress” after becoming a social media sensation with thousands of people following her recovery online. Speaking at Buckingham Palace, Cellan-Jones said several courtiers had asked after Sophie, adding: “She’s still incredibly nervous. She’s waiting at home, she wouldn’t have liked it here – a bit too busy. “She’s making slow progress, but she’s wonderful, and she’s been very important to us.” Earlier on Wednesday, broadcaster Alan Yentob, 77, was formally made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the King for services to the arts and media. The retired television executive, who was born in Stepney, London, joined the BBC as a trainee in 1968. Alan Yentob after being made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire at an investiture ceremony (Aaron Chown/PA) Yentob stepped down from the role in the wake of the collapse of the charity Kids Company, where he was chairman. The broadcaster said Charles had been “incredibly supportive” of him. Discussing Charles, Yentob told the PA news agency: “He’s been incredibly supportive, as I said to him, on many fronts, including the fact that I was the chairman of Kids Company, and he was incredibly supportive of that in the most difficult times. “And I think the way he’s come out about his illness, and the way the Princess of Wales has too, has been admirable.” Yentob said it would be “reckless” to not support the BBC, adding “it’s a place which embraces everyone”. The broadcaster added: “If you look at the figures, it’s still doing well, even though a very substantial part of its income has been removed.” Phil Manzanera after being made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace (Aaron Chown/PA) His most well-known band, featuring singer Bryan Ferry, is famed for hits such as Love Is The Drug and More Than This – topping the singles charts once with a cover of John Lennon’s Jealous Guy. Discussing the honour, Manzanera told the PA news agency: “It’s very moving and humbling to be amongst all these people who do absolutely incredible things. “But, obviously, I am very happy to get it for services to music and music production, because I think music helps us all in our lives in terms of improving the fabric of our lives, and it’s a great support for so many people.” The musician said he discussed his upbringing in South America and central America with Anne, having grown up in Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba. Manzanera said Anne told him that her father, Prince Philip, “once flew a Viscount plane to Caracas airport”. He said his upbringing was central to his musicianship, adding: “It’s in my DNA, the rhythms of South America. “And the musicians that we’ve all come to know through the Buena Vista Social Club were the kind of music that I started playing guitar with. “It wasn’t Bert Weedon’s Play in a Day for me, it was the music of Cuba.” Actress Shobna Gulati, 58, was formally made an MBE for services to the cultural industries, Scottish professional golfer Stephen Gallacher, 50, was made an MBE and former Arup deputy chairwoman Dervilla Mitchell, 66, received a damehood for services to engineering.

NoneKevin Prince comments on the farmers' march and inheritance tax

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Michigan elections board smoothly certifies results of 2024 electionSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Most ruling party lawmakers were boycotting a parliamentary vote Saturday to deny a two-thirds majority sought by the opposition to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law , as protests grew nationwide calling for his removal. The likely defeat of the motion is expected to intensify public protests calling for Yoon’s ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment. Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative party, but it is also determined to oppose Yoon's impeachment apparently because it fears losing presidency to liberals. Impeaching Yoon would require support from two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of its 300 members. The opposition parties who brought the impeachment motion have 192 seats, meaning they need at least eight additional votes from Yoon’s People Power Party. The opposition-controlled parliament began a vote earlier Saturday, but only three lawmakers from PPP took part with opposition members. If the number of lawmakers who cast ballots doesn't reach 200, the motion will be scrapped at midnight, according to National Assembly. Opposition parties could submit a new impeachment motion after a new parliamentary session opens next Wednesday. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik urged ruling party members to return to the chamber to participate in the vote, stressing that it was closely watched by the nation and also the world. “Don’t make a shameful judgment and please vote based on your convictions,” Woo said. “I plead to you, for the future of the Republic of Korea.” Earlier Saturday, Yoon issued a public apology over the martial law decree, saying he won’t shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promising not to make another attempt to impose martial law. He said would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country's political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office." “The declaration of this martial law was made out of my desperation. But in the course of its implementation, it caused anxiety and inconveniences to the public. I feel very sorry over that and truly apologize to the people who must have been shocked a lot,” Yoon said. Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and grappled with low approval ratings amid scandals involving himself and his wife. In his martial law announcement on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” bogging down state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.” The turmoil resulting from Yoon’s bizarre and poorly-thought-out stunt has paralyzed South Korean politics and sparked alarm among key diplomatic partners, including neighboring Japan and Seoul’s top ally the United States, as one of the strongest democracies in Asia faces a political crisis that could unseat its leader. Tuesday night saw special forces troops encircling the parliament building and army helicopters hovering over it, but the military withdrew after the National Assembly unanimously voted to overturn the decree, forcing Yoon to lift it before daybreak Wednesday. The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea. Eighteen lawmakers from the ruling party voted to reject Yoon's martial law decree along with opposition lawmakers. The passage of Yoon’s impeachment motion appeared more likely Friday when the chair of Yoon’s party called for his removal on Friday, but the party remained formally opposed to impeachment. On Saturday, tens of thousands of people packed streets near the National Assembly, waving banners, shouting slogans and dancing and singing along to K-pop songs with lyrics changed to call for Yoon’s ouster. A smaller crowd of Yoon’s supporters, which still seemed to be in the thousands, rallied in separate streets in Seoul, decrying the impeachment attempt they saw as unconstitutional. Lawmakers on Saturday first voted on a bill appointing a special prosecutor to investigate stock price manipulation allegations surrounding Yoon’s wife. Some lawmakers from Yoon’s party were seen leaving the hall after that vote, triggering angry shouts from opposition lawmakers. If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. If he is removed, an election to replace him must take place within 60 days. Opposition lawmakers say that Yoon’s attempt at martial law amounted to a self-coup, and drafted the impeachment motion around rebellion charges. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, told reporters that Yoon’s speech was “greatly disappointing” and that the only way forward is his immediate resignation or impeachment. On Friday, PPP chair Han Dong-hun, who criticized Yoon's martial law declaration, said he had received intelligence that during the brief period of martial law Yoon ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians based on accusations of “anti-state activities." Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing Friday that Yoon called after imposing martial law and ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence unit to detain key politicians. The targeted politicians included Han, Lee and Woo, according to Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting. The Defense Ministry said it had suspended the defense counterintelligence commander, Yeo In-hyung, who Han alleged had received orders from Yoon to detain the politicians. The ministry also suspended the commanders of the capital defense command and the special warfare command over their involvement in enforcing martial law. Former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who has been accused of recommending Yoon enforce martial law, has been placed under a travel ban and faces an investigation by prosecutors over rebellion charges. Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho has testified to parliament that it was Kim Yong Hyun who ordered troops to be deployed to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law.

Syrians cheer end of 50 years of Assad rule at first Friday prayers since government fell

While my election-related columns about politics and the economy generated the most reader responses in recent weeks, I found the reaction to my column on direct primary care most interesting. In these arrangements, patients pay doctors directly, like in the old days, rather than through insurance. The topic tapped a vein of nostalgia with readers who remembered what health care was like 50 years ago, before the rise of interlinked networks of care systems and nationwide insurers. For others, the concept — in which patients essentially become members of a doctor’s practice and pay a flat monthly fee of around $70 to $90 — just seems practical. “We only need health insurance for major medical procedures. Health care would be much less expensive without it,” reader Mary O’Connor wrote. She then offered a plan for getting more people to use direct primary care physicians. “I suggest we start with public employees,” she wrote. “Take away their health insurance except for major medical procedures and give them an increase in pay. They can use this for doctor appointments. Doctors will lower their charges if they don’t have to wait for an insurance company to pay them.” Dr. Darrell Krieger, a physician in Crystal, wrote to point out a problem. “What is left unsaid in the article is the issue that primary care physicians are decreasing in number at an alarming rate, with no one to replace them, making access for patients increasingly difficult, particularly as older physicians such as myself retire,” he wrote. “This is a nationwide problem that is recognized within the medical field but gets little attention in the media,” he added. Though I didn’t mention it in the column, I talked with Dr. Laura Slings and her husband Steve, who runs the back office in her practice, about the broader numbers at stake. When she was working at one of the large health systems, Dr. Slings had more than 2,000 patients in her practice. She’s aiming for about 500 at her independent clinic. “If all these doctors leave the system and open direct primary care ... that’s going to contribute to the shortage, right?” Dr. Slings said. “It actually is a potential solution to the primary care crisis because so many primary care docs cannot continue to sustain what’s being asked of them right now. They’re retiring early. They’re burning out.” How, and whether, all this works out will take years, I suspect. My colleague Karen Tolkkinen last week wrote about the most acute shortage of doctors in Minnesota: dentists outside the metro area . Separately, several readers asked about something I left out of my Oct. 16 column on ninja gyms: whether kids are more prone to getting injured in them than a playground or school gym. Kids are kids, of course, and they’re out flinging themselves around in these places. At Ninjas United, the Maple Grove gym I visited, the padding is everywhere and there are coaches and spotters all around. “You’ll see we have some $800 mats called cloud mats and they’re phenomenal,” co-owner Chris Voigt said. His wife, Jen, who runs the gym, said she notices teenagers are more prone to sprains or strains because they need to warm up. “But they still remember being a kid when they didn’t need to warm up,” she said. “So some are a little more relaxed in their warm-ups, when they should be a little more focused during that.” This past week, several readers reacted to my column about the dramatic, ignominious end of Bremer Bank , the longtime St. Paul institution that sold to Indiana-based Old National, by noting that the bank’s beginning was just as dramatic. Before starting the bank and the charitable foundation that owned it, Otto Bremer and his brother Adolf in 1911 took over the Schmidt Brewing Co. from its founder, Jacob Schmidt. They built it into one of the nation’s largest by 1920, when prohibition started. Through the 1920s, Otto started to purchase banks and, as the Depression started, “pledged every asset he owned” to keep them shored up. That included his stocks in “eastern banks,” according to the Star Tribune’s obit of him in 1951. “The eastern stocks were lost by sale when additional margins in a declining market could not be furnished,” the obituary said. Finally, a good news update to a column I wrote at the start of the year urging Minnesota regulators to allow taller buildings with a single staircase. On Oct. 31, the technical advisory group responsible for updating the state’s building code unanimously approved a proposal that will allow single-stair residential buildings up to four stories. “This approval makes Minnesota the first among the new wave of states around the country moving in this direction to actually adopt a code change statewide,” said Cody Fischer, president of Footprint Development in Minneapolis.Save Big on Quality Irons and Get Wrinkle-Free Clothes

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Trump selects Pam Bondi for attorney general after Gaetz withdrawsThe world is losing a winnable battle. UN Secretary-General António Guterres warns that the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are on the verge of becoming “the epitaph for a world that might have been.” Can the patient be resuscitated? Decisions made in the coming days will have a significant bearing on the answer. On December 7, governments will announce their funding pledges for the International Development Association, the branch of the World Bank Group that delivers finance to the world’s poorest countries (with annual per capita incomes below $1,315). IDA replenishment happens every three years, which means that commitments made today span the critical investment period for salvaging the SDGs. Unfortunately, it isn’t looking good, with several key donors failing to pull their weight. The 78 countries covered by the IDA are where the battle for the SDGs will be won or lost. Home to 500mn people surviving on less than $2.15 per day, they account around for 70% of extreme poverty and over 90% of world hunger. Worse, it is children who are on the front lines. In a recent ODI report, my co-authors and I estimate that some 257mn children in IDA-eligible countries are growing up hungry, with devastating consequences for their health and educational prospects. Recent setbacks have compounded already severe challenges, triggering major reversals. After being hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, IDA countries have been buffeted by post-pandemic economic slowdowns, rising food prices, and surging public debt. Over half are falling further behind rich countries as global inequalities widen. Poverty reduction has slowed from an already inadequate pace, and progress against hunger has stalled. Debt service is crowding out vital investment, with repayments now outweighing spending on health and basic education. Against this bleak backdrop, access to affordable development finance has been shrinking. Real (inflation-adjusted) financial transfers to Africa from donors have fallen, and rising real interest rates have priced most IDA countries out of sovereign bond markets (or otherwise subjected them to punitively high borrowing costs). The IDA is the single most powerful multilateral financial weapon in the anti-poverty arsenal. In the last fiscal year, it provided $31bn in support for member countries and was by far the largest source of development finance for Africa, which benefits from zero-interest grants, concessional loans repayable over 30-40 years, or both. Such finance is an SDG lifeline, because it is overwhelmingly directed to areas with demonstrated benefits for the poor, such as social protection, investments in child and maternal health, and education. With a generous replenishment, the IDA could help lift millions out of extreme poverty, extend opportunities for improved health and learning, and support adaptation to climate change. Moreover, for donors seeking value for money, the IDA has a unique advantage: every $1 received can deliver $3.50. The IDA can leverage the World Bank’s AAA credit rating to secure low-interest financing by issuing bonds and lending the proceeds to developing countries. When donors deliver funds through bilateral aid programmes or global health funds, the money that comes out mirrors the money that goes in. But the IDA offers a much bigger bang for the buck. The IDA also mitigates damaging international-aid practices. Currently, only around 8% of poverty-related development assistance is delivered through government budgets. The rest arrives through project funds controlled by donors, leading to fragmentation, weak co-ordination, and high transaction costs for governments. Hence, Ethiopia had to manage 454 aid transactions for agriculture alone in 2021. By contrast, the IDA delivers support through national budgets for nationally owned programmes, which is why governments across Africa strongly support it. The World Bank has rightly made the case for a major IDA increase. Last year, the bank’s president, Ajay Banga, called on donors to provide more than $120 billion, which would make this replenishment “the biggest of all time.” Sadly, that ambition has faded, with current pledges implying a replenishment of less than $105bn – smaller than the previous one, in real terms. While US President Joe Biden’s administration has announced an increased IDA commitment, and several smaller countries and new donors have also stepped up, some major G7 economies have stepped back. Last year, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a summit aimed at creating a new global financial pact to tackle poverty and the climate crisis; but this year, he is set to cut France’s contribution to the IDA. Equally disappointing is the United Kingdom, which was among the largest contributors to the IDA in the decade ending in 2022 – a legacy of former prime minister Gordon Brown’s leadership. The picture changed dramatically in the last IDA replenishment, when the UK contribution was halved as Conservative governments took a wrecking ball to the aid budget. This year’s replenishment gives the new Labour government an opportunity to start rebuilding Britain’s reputation as a “development superpower.” Foreign Secretary David Lammy has promised a new era in which the UK will “use realist means to pursue progressive ends.” Reversing the Conservatives’ cuts with a 54% increase to the UK contribution (representing a commitment of $2.2bn) would certainly meet those criteria. And yet, the Treasury wants to cap any additional contribution at 20-40%. That would be a travesty. While the Treasury is correct to note that it inherited a poisoned chalice of unsustainable public finance from its Conservative predecessors, it is wrong to suggest that the UK cannot afford to send a positive signal in the interest of international co-operation and its own soft power. Making matters worse, the government has effectively shelved long-standing aid commitments by maintaining previous governments’ policy of subjecting them to impractical and implausible fiscal tests, one of which is to achieve a budget surplus (something that has happened only four times since 1971). There is nothing realist or progressive about using implausible goals as a pretext to turn one’s back on the world’s poor. The UK should fully restore the IDA cuts made by the Conservative government. The IDA may not be perfect, but it’s the best tool that we have for restoring the hope that the SDGs once instilled. Governments should use it. — Project Syndicate • Kevin Watkins, a former CEO of Save the Children UK, is a visiting professor at the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa at the London School of Economics. Related Story UDST hosts 'Move Smart' event 'Seabed Cleaning Campaign’ at The Pearl Island