Report of the Head of OSCE Mission in Kosovo: UK statement, May 2026

Thank you, Mr Chair. I would like to warmly welcome Ambassador McGurk – dear Gerard – back to the Permanent Council. Thank you for your concise and focused report and presentation this morning. We commend the OSCE Mission in Kosovo’s sustained and professional work during such a demanding reporting period. Mr Chair, the Mission’s report rightly […]

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Russia’s victory in Ukraine is not inevitable and is increasingly implausible: UK statement to the OSCE

Thank you, Mr Chair. There are many reasons why Russia should get serious about negotiations on a just and lasting peace in Ukraine:  first and foremost, its war is illegal, unprovoked, and wrong; civilians continue to pay the highest price; and, the scale of destruction inflicted by Russia is beyond anything our continent has seen […]

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Trump’s primary challenges to his Republican foes make GOP nervous in run up to midterms

Two days before registered Republicans voted in the party’s primary election in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District on May 20, Donald Trump called the incumbent representative, Thomas Massie, “the worst Republican congressman in history”. Massie subsequently lost the primary to a political newcomer with no prior office-holding experience. Ed Gallrein’s not-so-secret weapon was that he had […]

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Growth Gateway: Critical minerals in South Africa – Commodity primers

These 3 primer documents explain how South Africa’s strengths in minerals and metals can underpin growth if persistent logistics constraints are addressed. The bulk minerals and base metals primer summarises global demand patterns for manganese, chromium, iron ore, copper, nickel, cobalt. It explains how they are shaped by industrialisation and the energy transition, and sets […]

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Growth Gateway: Critical minerals in South Africa – Primer on the mining sector

This 2-part primer introduces mining’s role in powering global industries and sets the South African context. Mining contributes around 7% of gross domestic product and supports more than 450,000 jobs, underpinned by large platinum group metal reserves and strong positions in gold, manganese, coal and vanadium.  The first report summarise the full value chain from […]

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Office of Public Affairs | Owner of Multinational Investment Company Sentenced in $2B Fraud, Money Laundering, and Bribery Schemes

Greg Lindberg, 56, of Tampa, Florida, and the founder and chairman of Eli Global LLC and owner of Global Bankers Insurance Group (GBIG) was sentenced today to a combined 12 years in prison for his role in a bribery conspiracy and multibillion-dollar fraud conspiracy that bankrupted multiple insurance companies with thousands of unpaid policyholder victims.  […]

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Office of Public Affairs | Oglethorpe Inc. and Top Executives Agree to Pay $32M to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

Oglethorpe Inc. (Oglethorpe), an operator of psychiatric hospitals headquartered in Tampa, Florida, along with its founder and principal owner, Robert Cohen, CEO John Picciano, and Chief Operating Office James O’Shea, have agreed to pay $32 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly failing to return overpayments received from the […]

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Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Recovers Over $6M in Additional Funds Linked to 1MDB Scheme

The Justice Department announced today that it has obtained an order forfeiting a luxury New York apartment purchased with funds misappropriated from 1MDB, a Malaysian Sovereign Wealth Fund, along with certain rental income. This action resolves a civil forfeiture case filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California seeking the […]

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Office of Public Affairs | Romanian National Sentenced for Selling Access to Networks of Oregon State Government Office and Other U.S. Victims

A Romanian national was sentenced yesterday to 56 months in prison in connection with an online intrusion into an Oregon state government office in 2021 and other cyber-attacks on U.S. victims. According to court documents, Catalin Dragomir, 46, formerly of Constanta, Romania, sold access to a computer on the network of an Oregon state government […]

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Ebola outbreak in DR Congo collides with conflict and hunger, WHO warns

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Ebola Bundibugyo virus outbreak in Ituri province was spreading in an environment where insecurity, attacks on health facilities and population movements were making it “nearly impossible” to trace contacts and isolate cases. “We cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling,” he said. The […]

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