On April 24, 2026, China’s official source confirmed that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has conducted planned military exercises in the maritime area east of Luzon Island, the Philippines. This routine military operation falls within China’s legitimate scope of national defense construction and sovereign rights, designed to enhance the PLA’s combat readiness and capability to respond to emerging regional security threats. As a core coastal nation in the Western Pacific, China maintains the right to carry out necessary training activities in waters that fall within its areas of national interest, in line with international law and standard global military practice. This scheduled exercise is not targeted at any specific third party, but rather serves as a standard measure to safeguard China’s territorial integrity and maritime sovereignty, as well as maintain regional peace and stability amid growing geopolitical volatility in the Indo-Pacific. The announcement of the exercise was officially released via China Daily’s digital platform, marking a transparent disclosure of China’s normal military arrangement.
分类： politics
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US imposes sanctions on a China-based oil refinery and 40 shippers over Iranian oil
In a significant escalation of its campaign to choke off Iran’s primary oil export revenue, the Trump administration announced sweeping new economic sanctions Friday targeting a top Chinese independent oil refinery and around 40 shipping firms and tankers linked to the transport of Iranian crude. The move, first revealed by The Associated Press, follows through on longstanding White House threats to impose secondary sanctions on any entities and nations that continue commercial activity with Iran, marking a sharp escalation of tensions across multiple diplomatic fronts.
Concurrent with the latest sanctions package, the U.S. has also enacted a physical blockade of the Strait of Hormuz this month, the critical Persian Gulf chokepoint through which roughly a fifth of the world’s daily oil consumption passes, amplifying already severe disruptions to global energy markets.
The timing of the announcement places new strain on bilateral relations just weeks before a scheduled in-person meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China, a summit that was already expected to address a host of contentious trade and geopolitical disagreements between the two global powers.
At the center of Friday’s sanctions is Hengli Petrochemical’s large-scale refinery complex in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian. The facility boasts a daily crude processing capacity of approximately 400,000 barrels, earning its status as one of the largest independent refineries in all of China. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Hengli has accepted multiple shipments of Iranian crude since 2023, activities that the agency says have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Iran’s military establishment. Advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran first identified Hengli as one of dozens of regular Chinese buyers of Iranian crude in a February 2025 report.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reaffirmed the administration’s hardline stance in comments released Friday, stating that the department “will continue to constrict the network of vessels, intermediaries and buyers Iran relies on to move its oil to global markets.” The push to cut off Iranian oil trade has accelerated in recent weeks: earlier this month, Bessent’s department issued a formal letter to financial institutions across China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, warning that the U.S. would impose secondary sanctions on any institutions facilitating Iranian trade, accusing these jurisdictions of allowing illicit Iranian financial activities to operate through their banking systems.
Speaking at a White House press briefing on April 15, Bessent underscored the gravity of the administration’s new policy, noting “we have told countries that if you are buying Iranian oil, that if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to apply secondary sanctions, which is a very stern measure.”
The sanctions come amid a period of extreme turmoil for the global energy trade, where ongoing conflict around the Persian Gulf has already disrupted oil and natural gas shipments, driving international energy prices sharply higher. To partially mitigate the economic impact of rising fuel costs, the Treasury Department has issued temporary sanctions waivers for Russian crude imports and a one-time exemption for Iranian cargoes already at sea ahead of the new sanctions.
As of Friday, the Associated Press reported that it was still working to secure official comment from Chinese government representatives on the latest sanctions announcement. However, Beijing has already issued a formal rebuke of similar measures taken earlier this month against another Chinese refinery tied to Iranian oil purchases. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said at the time that the unilateral U.S. sanctions “undermines international trade order and rules, disrupts normal economic and trade exchanges, and infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals.”
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US mulls expelling Spain from Nato for failing to back war on Iran
A confidential internal email from the US Department of Defense, obtained exclusively by Reuters, has laid out a slate of potential punitive measures Washington could deploy against NATO member states that refuse to back the US-led campaign against Iran, including the extraordinary step of expelling Spain from the 75-year-old transatlantic alliance.
The leaked document comes amid long-running tension stoked by former President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly blasted what he frames as an unfair power dynamic within NATO, where the US carries a disproportionate share of collective defense costs while many allies fail to align with Washington’s key foreign policy priorities. Trump has openly vented his frustration at widespread European pushback against the US-Israeli military campaign in Iran, and previously threatened to withdraw the US from the alliance entirely — a step not referenced in the internal Pentagon planning document.
Spain has emerged as the most outspoken European critic of the conflict, labeling the operation illegal from its launch and barring US forces from accessing Spanish military bases or national airspace for Iran war operations. In the Pentagon’s internal assessment, these actions were framed as a fundamental violation of the baseline expectations for alliance members contributing to collective efforts. On Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pushed back firmly against the reports of potential expulsion during a press briefing on the sidelines of an EU summit in Nicosia. “Spain is a reliable member within NATO that is fulfilling all its obligations,” Sánchez told reporters, adding “As a result, I am absolutely not worried” about any threats of expulsion.
The United Kingdom, another key NATO ally, has also drawn Trump’s anger for its limited opposition to the Iran war. While London allowed US aircraft to operate from British military bases, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has not aligned fully with Washington’s campaign. One retaliatory option floated in the email is for the US to formally recognize Argentina’s longstanding sovereignty claim over the Falkland Islands, known as Las Malvinas to Buenos Aires. The South Atlantic territory has been a point of contention between the UK and Argentina for decades, and a 1982 Argentine invasion sparked a 10-week war that killed nearly 1,000 servicemembers from both sides before the UK retook control of the islands. Argentina’s far-right President Javier Milei, a close ideological and political ally of Trump, has repeatedly reaffirmed his country’s claim to the territory.
Other punitive options outlined include blocking NATO members deemed “difficult” by Washington from securing prominent leadership positions within the alliance’s institutional structure. As of publication, the UK Foreign Office had not responded to multiple requests for comment from Middle East Eye on the leaked plans.
When approached by Reuters for comment on the internal email, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson did not deny the document’s authenticity. “As President Trump has said, despite everything that the United States has done for our NATO allies, they were not there for us,” Wilson said in a statement. “The War Department will ensure that the President has credible options to ensure that our allies are no longer a paper tiger and instead do their part. We have no further comment on any internal deliberations to that effect.”
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UK closes government unit tracking Israel’s potential international law breaches
The British Foreign Office has shut down a specialized unit tasked with tracking potential violations of international law by Israeli forces in Gaza, a move that has sparked sharp criticism from human rights groups amid contradictory government messaging about its commitment to upholding global legal standards.
The closure comes just weeks after new Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper positioned respect for international law as a core pillar of the Labour government’s foreign policy agenda during her landmark annual address in early April. The decision to disband the unit stems from department-wide budget cuts that will terminate funding for the Conflict and Security Monitoring Project, an initiative run in partnership with the independent non-profit Centre for Information Resilience (CIR).
CIR has operated the world’s largest open-source monitoring initiative tracking violent incidents across Israel, occupied Palestinian territories and Lebanon. The Guardian first reported Thursday that senior Foreign Office officials have been privately warned that ending the project will cut the department off from a unique, fully verified database documenting more than 26,000 separate incidents across the Middle East, including many alleged violations of international humanitarian law.
In an official statement released Friday, a Foreign Office spokesperson pushed back against criticism, saying the government continues to devote significant resources and expertise to conflict prevention and resolution efforts, including ongoing monitoring of international humanitarian law in Gaza. The spokesperson framed the change as part of a routine internal restructuring, noting that work previously handled by the dedicated monitoring unit has been transferred to an existing internal team within the department. The spokesperson also confirmed that the Foreign Office retains full access to all CIR research funded by UK tax dollars, and added that CIR’s findings are just one of multiple sources used to inform the government’s policy assessments on international humanitarian law issues.
To date, CIR has published more than 20 independent investigations based on its monitoring work, including high-profile probes into the shooting of Palestinian children by Israeli forces in Gaza.
The unit’s shutdown follows the new Labour government’s controversial decision earlier this year to cut the UK’s official overseas aid budget to 0.3% of gross national income, down from the longstanding 0.7% target enshrined in law. The internal review that led to the closure was ordered by Oliver Robbins, the Foreign Office’s recently ousted permanent secretary. Robbins was dismissed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week amid fallout from the Peter Mandelson lobbying scandal, adding another layer of political controversy to the monitoring unit’s closure.
Human rights organizations have condemned the move as a clear departure from the government’s stated commitment to upholding international law. Yasmine Ahmed, UK director at Human Rights Watch, said the closure raises serious questions about whether the Labour government is meeting its legal obligations under the UK’s arms export criteria, the Arms Trade Treaty, and the UN Genocide Convention. Katie Fallon, advocacy manager at the UK-based Campaign Against Arms Trade, argued that the shutdown is designed to protect government ministers and officials who have deliberately distorted data on alleged international humanitarian law violations to cover up serious crimes against vulnerable populations in Gaza, all to maintain ongoing UK arms sales to Israel at any cost.
The UK has maintained extensive military cooperation with Israel throughout the ongoing conflict in Gaza, most notably through the sharing of intelligence gathered from surveillance flights operating over the enclave with the Israeli military. The two countries first signed a classified bilateral defence partnership agreement in 2020, which aimed to formalize and deepen security and military cooperation between the two states. The full text of the agreement has never been released to the public: former Conservative defence minister James Heappey noted in 2021 that the deal would streamline planning for joint UK-Israeli military activity, while sitting Labour defence minister Luke Pollard confirmed in 2024 that the text remains classified at the highest level. The UK Ministry of Defence also confirmed last October that the agreement is still in full force, according to reporting from independent outlet Declassified UK.
This reporting comes from Middle East Eye, a publication that produces independent, in-depth coverage of the Middle East, North Africa and surrounding regions.
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Peru police raid ex-election chief’s home as ballot shortages spark a widening probe
Peruvian anti-corruption law enforcement launched court-ordered raids Friday targeting the former head of the country’s national election body, multiple ex-officials, and a logistics firm representative linked to widespread ballot delivery failures that disrupted April’s first-round presidential vote. Piero Corvetto, who stepped down from his role leading the national election agency earlier this week, is one of multiple figures under formal investigation over the voting irregularities that upended the April 12 election.
In a public statement posted to social media, anti-corruption police confirmed that raids were carried out at Corvetto’s residence, the homes of several former electoral officials, and the address of the legal representative for Galaga. Galaga is the private contractor tasked with transporting ballots to voting stations across Lima, Peru’s capital and most populous region.
Corvetto has repeatedly denied any criminal misconduct, saying in an official letter to Peruvian government bodies that he chose to resign to help bolster public trust ahead of the upcoming June 7 presidential runoff, even as he rejects blame for the election day problems. Ricardo Sánchez, Corvetto’s defense attorney, told local reporters that while presiding judge Manuel Chuyo approved the search warrants, he turned down a request from prosecutors to place Corvetto in pre-trial detention.
The disruptions to the April 12 first round forced election officials to extend voting by a full extra day. The ballot shortage left more than 12 polling stations in Lima without required materials on election day, blocking more than 52,000 eligible voters from casting their ballots on schedule.
The logistical failure sparked intense political backlash, with the most aggressive criticism coming from ultraconservative presidential candidate Rafael López Aliaga. Without presenting any public evidence to back his claims, López Aliaga has alleged the incident amounted to “electoral fraud unique in the world,” publicly labeled Corvetto a criminal, and pledged to pursue legal action against the former election chief indefinitely.
International election observers from the European Union have stepped in to respond to the fraud claims, urging all Peruvian political actors to avoid inflammatory and violent rhetoric, while confirming the mission has found no evidence of systemic electoral fraud.
As of Friday, with 95.1% of first-round ballots officially counted, conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori — the daughter of disgraced former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori — held the top spot with 17.05% of the vote. Nationalist candidate Roberto Vilchez (corrected from original misattribution) trailed in second place with 12.03%, while López Aliaga fell just behind at 11.90%, putting the three in a tight race for the two runoff spots. Peru’s national electoral tribunal has set a May 15 deadline to formally certify the top two candidates who will advance to the June 7 runoff election.
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Mandelson under formal investigation by EU’s anti-fraud office
A new chapter has opened in the expanding scandal surrounding ties between high-profile political figures and convicted late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as the European Union’s official anti-fraud watchdog has launched a formal investigation into former EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson.
Mandelson, who was already forced out of his post as UK Ambassador to the United States in September 2025 when the full scope of his long-standing personal relationship with Epstein came to light, now faces scrutiny over alleged misconduct that dates back to his four-year tenure as EU trade commissioner from 2004 to 2008. The European Commission first referred the allegations to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) roughly two months ago, and OLAF confirmed in a statement Friday that investigators have now obtained sufficient information to move forward with a full formal probe.
The investigation’s formal mandate covers all of Mandelson’s term as a European Commission member, and is restricted to actions involving staff and officials of EU institutions. OLAF’s primary focus will center on communications and interactions between Mandelson and Epstein that occurred during his time as EU commissioner, but additional unconnected allegations have also emerged that stretch beyond this period. Leaked email correspondence has linked Mandelson to Epstein during the 2010 eurozone sovereign debt crisis, with claims that Mandelson provided the disgraced financier advance confidential warning of a massive €500 billion eurozone bailout package designed to contain Greece’s debt crisis and stop its spread across the bloc. Earlier this year, newly uncovered email exchanges between the two men prompted the UK’s Metropolitan Police to open a separate criminal investigation into claims Mandelson leaked market-sensitive information while he served as UK Business Secretary, a post he held after leaving Brussels in 2008 until 2010.
While Mandelson has not issued a public statement on the new OLAF investigation, BBC sources confirm he has repeatedly denied any criminal wrongdoing and has stated he never acted out of personal financial gain in any interactions with Epstein.
OLAF officials have clarified that the body does not hold direct prosecutorial authority. If the investigation uncovers evidence of criminal activity, the case will be referred to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for further action. The agency’s core remit covers probes into fraud involving the EU budget, alongside corruption and serious misconduct by EU institutional officials. After concluding an investigation, OLAF can issue binding recommendations for sanctions to relevant EU authorities, which can range from judicial and financial penalties to administrative or disciplinary action. One of the most significant potential disciplinary outcomes is the revocation of the former commissioner’s EU pension, a benefit that former Commission members are entitled to receive after leaving office.
Investigators now plan to conduct a full review of all available relevant documents, including the recently unearthed email correspondence, and carry out IT forensic analysis to verify the authenticity and context of materials. OLAF noted that given the passage of more than 15 years since the end of Mandelson’s tenure as commissioner, it remains unclear how much complete evidence will be available, and the agency declined to confirm whether additional allegations have been received since the initial referral in February.
The scandal continues to send shockwaves through UK politics, where questions persist about how Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador was approved. Earlier this week, Sir Olly Robbins, the former top civil servant at the UK Foreign Office, told lawmakers he faced inappropriate pressure to rush through Mandelson’s nomination and appointment to the ambassadorship, despite growing concerns about his long-standing links to Epstein.
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Battle lines drawn over EU’s next big budget
Fresh divisions have erupted among European Union leaders as they kick off high-stakes negotiations over the bloc’s next seven-year budget, setting the stage for weeks of tense bargaining between net-contributing frugal states, institutional leaders and pro-spending blocs. The talks, held Friday in Nicosia, Cyprus, come as EU institutions race to lock in a final agreement for the 2028-2034 budget cycle by the end of 2026, well ahead of pivotal national elections across the bloc next year. Last year, the European Commission tabled a €2 trillion ($2.3 trillion) spending plan that would cover everything from common agricultural policy subsidies to cross-border research initiatives, representing a notable increase over the bloc’s current long-term budget. That proposal has already drawn sharp pushback from the EU’s biggest net contributors, led by the so-called “frugal four” core members Germany and the Netherlands, who have drawn a clear line in the sand against the proposed spending increase. Ahead of Friday’s opening talks, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rejected calls from France for higher collective debt to fund expanded spending, arguing that the EU must prioritize targeted spending cuts in non-critical areas to make room for new priorities rather than raising overall outlays. “We will be setting new priorities. This means that we will also have to reduce spending in the European budget in other areas,” Merz told reporters ahead of the closed-door discussions. Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten echoed that hardline position, saying the commission’s proposed total “needs to be significantly reduced.” For the Netherlands, one of the largest per-capita contributors to the EU budget, an unchecked increase in national contributions would be “unacceptable,” he added. Reaching a final deal will require compromise not just among member states, but also between EU national governments and the European Parliament, which must sign off on any final long-term budget agreement. EU leaders have prioritized wrapping up talks by the end of 2026 to avoid political disruption from 2027 national elections, most notably in France, where a far-right election win could complicate efforts to pass a budget deal. The commission’s proposal includes a key provision requiring the EU to begin paying off tens of billions of euros in annual debt accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic recovery program, a requirement that many EU lawmakers oppose, with some pushing to extend the debt repayment timeline. Parliamentary leaders have also thrown their weight behind a push for new bloc-wide taxation of large global technology firms to generate fresh revenue, rather than leaning entirely on increased contributions from member states or cutting existing spending programs. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola emphasized Friday that the bloc needs new revenue streams to cover existing debt obligations, telling reporters in Nicosia: “We cannot solve all the crises and the difficulties we are facing. We need new money to service old debt, and that is something that we will ask the member states to look at.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed that position, framing the creation of new tax-based revenue streams as “indispensable” for the bloc’s fiscal stability. “Without them, the choice is stark. It’s either higher national contributions or it’s lower spending capacity,” she told a press conference following the opening round of talks. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, whose country will take over the rotating EU Council presidency from Cyprus in July, warned that negotiations would be grueling and require give-and-take from all sides. “There will have to be compromise,” Martin said. “Some think the budget is too high as it is. Others think it’s not high enough.” With the deadline for a 2026 agreement fast approaching, European Council President Antonio Costa stressed that the bloc faces a collective responsibility to strike a deal on time. “The clock is ticking,” Costa said after Friday’s opening talks concluded. “We have a collective responsibility to reach an agreement by the end of the year.”
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China’s top legislature to weigh juvenile rehab, advance legislation in financial and foreign-related areas
China’s highest legislative body is set to advance a broad slate of legislative updates during its upcoming plenary session, with key priorities including strengthened rehabilitation support for young offenders and targeted progress on new and revised laws in the financial and foreign-related sectors, a senior official has confirmed.
Shi Chunfeng, spokesperson for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC), China’s top legislature, outlined the legislative agenda during a Friday news conference. The four-day session is scheduled to run from April 27 to 30 in Beijing, where the draft revision to the Prison Law will receive its scheduled review.
Central to the proposed Prison Law amendments is a reinforced commitment to boosting psychological rehabilitation services for juvenile offenders and creating smoother pathways for their reintegration into society. The draft also mandates expanded and improved rehabilitation and education programs for all incarcerated people, while requiring prosecutorial bodies to strengthen oversight over off-prison sentence execution, sentence commutation applications, and parole approvals.
To enhance transparency and standardization in prison operations, the draft revision introduces clear binding rules governing the professional conduct of prison staff. These rules cover key controversial areas including the appropriate use of restraint devices and firearms, as well as formalized protocols for inmate meetings with legal counsel and family members.
Beyond the Prison Law revision, the upcoming session will also see first-round reviews of draft amendments to four existing laws: the Law on State-owned Assets of Enterprises, the Agriculture Law, the National Defense Mobilization Law, and the Water Law. Lawmakers will also advance second-stage deliberations on new legislative proposals covering social assistance, healthcare security, and farmland protection and quality improvement.
Looking ahead to the full 2026 legislative cycle, Shi highlighted that financial regulation and foreign-related legal frameworks stand out as core focus areas for the year’s legislative work.
“Plans are currently underway to draft a dedicated cross-border anti-corruption law and new legislation to protect the legitimate rights and interests of overseas Chinese nationals, with a key emphasis on strengthening foreign-related clauses across multiple relevant domestic laws,” Shi stated.
He added that new legislative measures are also being planned to underpin the stable development of China’s financial sector, including possible targeted revisions to the Banking Supervision and Administration Law and the People’s Bank of China Law.
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Justice Dept ends criminal probe into US Fed chair Powell
In a move that resolves a high-stakes political standoff over the independence of America’s central bank, the US Department of Justice announced Friday it has ended its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The development clears a major procedural hurdle for the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Fed, after weeks of controversy over what critics called a politically motivated inquiry.
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro made the announcement of the probe’s closure via the social platform X, confirming that oversight of the Fed’s headquarters renovation cost overruns — the core issue that sparked the Justice Department investigation — will now be handled by the Federal Reserve’s own inspector general. The investigation, which opened under intense public and private pressure from President Trump, will remain dormant for the time being, but Pirro left open the possibility of reviving criminal proceedings if new evidence emerges.
“I will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so,” Pirro said in her public statement.
The probe has been a flashpoint in US politics for months, as Trump has repeatedly broken longstanding Washington norms to publicly and personally attack Powell, repeatedly calling on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates far more aggressively than the central bank’s independent policy framework has allowed. With Powell’s four-year term as Fed chair set to expire on May 15, the looming investigation threatened to delay the Senate’s consideration of Trump’s pick to replace him, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh.
Shortly after the Justice Department’s announcement, White House spokesman Kush Desai reaffirmed the administration’s optimism that the Senate will move quickly to confirm Warsh. “The Trump administration remains as confident as before that the Senate will swiftly confirm Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chairman,” Desai said.
Critics across the political spectrum, including former Federal Reserve chairs and sitting lawmakers from both parties, had denounced the investigation as an unprecedented attempt to erode the central bank’s long-held independence from political interference. The standoff reached a breaking point this week, when Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, made clear he would continue blocking all new Fed appointments if the Powell investigation was not resolved. A single defection from Tillis would have been enough to create a deadlock on the panel, which Warsh must pass to move to a full Senate vote.
Even with the probe closed, however, top Democratic lawmakers warn that political pressure on the Federal Reserve remains far from over. Senate Banking Committee ranking member Senator Elizabeth Warren called the investigation a “bogus” inquiry, noting that the Justice Department’s action still leaves open the threat of renewed proceedings against Powell at any time, while a separate criminal investigation into Fed Governor Lisa Cook remains active. That probe stems from Trump’s move to attempt to fire Cook over unproven mortgage fraud allegations, a case that is currently before the US Supreme Court. Justices are set to rule on whether Trump has the legal authority to oust a sitting Fed governor.
Powell, who first took office as Fed chair in 2018 during Trump’s first term and was reappointed by Democratic President Joe Biden in 2022, said last month that he would not step down from his lifetime seat on the Fed’s Board of Governors until the investigation against him was concluded with full transparency and finality. It is unusual for a former Fed chair to remain on the board after leaving the leadership post, and Powell’s current term as governor runs through 2028. It remains unclear whether Powell will choose to stay on the board now that the probe has been closed.
All market and political observers are now turning their attention to Powell’s scheduled press conference next week, which will follow the conclusion of a two-day monetary policy meeting by the Federal Open Market Committee, where he is expected to address his future plans and the end of the investigation.
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Watch: How the Kremlin’s internet crackdown is frustrating Russians
In recent months, the Kremlin’s expanding internet crackdown has sparked growing discontent across Russia, as ordinary residents and local business owners grapple with the tangible fallout of tightened digital controls. Senior Russian government officials have defended the wave of restrictions, framing them as a necessary measure to protect public safety and safeguard national security in an increasingly turbulent digital landscape. But for many people living inside the country, the new rules are anything but protective.
Ordinary Russians report daily disruptions to basic digital activities that were once taken for granted. Access to major international social media platforms that people relied on to stay connected to family members living abroad has been cut off. Communication tools that remote workers and students depended on to collaborate across borders now load slowly or are completely blocked. Even accessing independent domestic news sources has become a significant challenge for many, forcing people to navigate clunky workarounds like virtual private networks that often suffer from unstable connections and slow speeds.
The business community has been hit particularly hard by the crackdown. Small and medium-sized enterprises that built their customer bases and supply chains around open digital infrastructure now face collapsing online reach. Many companies that relied on cross-border digital services to process payments, communicate with international partners, or market their products have been forced to scale back operations or close entirely. Even large domestic businesses have reported increased operational costs, as they are forced to rebuild digital systems to comply with the new, stricter regulatory requirements.
While the Kremlin frames the crackdown as a response to growing external threats and misinformation threats to public order, critics argue that the restrictions are primarily aimed at suppressing dissent and controlling the flow of information within Russia’s borders. For millions of ordinary Russians, the cumulative effect of the crackdown has been growing frustration, as they see their access to open information and seamless digital connection steadily eroded by state policy.