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Scottish parliament staff will no longer be allowed to wear rainbow lanyards or pins and badges at Holyrood that show support for social movements or campaigns.

The announcement follows a review of the code of conduct for Scottish Parliamentary Service (SPS) staff.

The ban will apply to Scottish parliament staff, not MSPs or their workers.

The move was confirmed in the chamber on Thursday by MSP Claire Baker, a member of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB).

Ms Baker said: “Corporate body staff must conduct themselves in an impartial manner.

“As an update, corporate body staff have until recently been allowed to wear personalised lanyards. This was introduced in 2017 as part of diversity inclusion strategy.

“However, a review of the code of conduct has just been completed.

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“A decision has been taken that all staff must wear the parliament-issued purple lanyard – staff who are employed by corporate body.

“This decision will help to minimise the risk of perceived bias and avoid any perception that wearing such items may be influencing our own decision-making.”

MSP Claire Baker, member of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. Pic: Scottish Parliament TV
Image:
MSP Claire Baker, a member of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. Pic: Scottish Parliament TV

An email sent on Wednesday to Scottish parliament staff by Lorna Foreman, group head for people and culture, said the policy change would begin with immediate effect and all group heads are “expected to support this”.

The staff now must wear a parliament-issued purple lanyard and remove any pins or badges showing support for social movements and towards any campaigns or organisations.

Ms Foreman said: “Wearing personalised lanyards and/or pins and badges showing support for social movements and towards campaigns or organisations has led some organisations and individuals to consider that the SPS cannot be impartial when supporting the parliament to debate government policy, proposed new laws and current significant societal issues.

“This decision will help to minimise the risk of perceived bias and avoid any perception that wearing such items may be influencing our own decision-making.”

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Staff, however, can continue to wear a pronoun pin or badge.

Those who wear sunflower lanyards/pins/badges that indicate they have a disability can continue to do so but must also wear a purple lanyard.

Staff can also continue to wear pins such as “first aider” and badges that show they are Gaelic speakers.

Poppy badges in support of Poppy Scotland may be worn, which is in line with the parliament’s charities and fundraising policy.

Staff can also continue to wear pins and badges showing membership of a SPCB-recognised trade union.

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Ms Foreman accepted it will be “difficult for some colleagues” but the parliament remains committed to “creating a culture where all people feel safe, valued, included, and able to be their best at work”.

A Scottish parliament spokesperson said: “This decision will help minimise the risk of perceived bias.

“It will also help avoid any potential misperception over the absolute impartiality of all Scottish parliamentary staff.”

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US DOJ requests 20-year sentence for Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky

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US DOJ requests 20-year sentence for Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky

US DOJ requests 20-year sentence for Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky

Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of the now-defunct cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius, faces a 20-year prison sentence as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking a severe penalty for his fraudulent activity.

The US DOJ on April 28 filed the government’s sentencing memorandum against Mashinsky, recommending a 20-year prison sentence due to his fraudulent actions leading to multibillion-dollar losses by Celsius customers.

The 97-page memo mentioned that Celsius users were unable to access approximately $4.7 billion in crypto assets after the platform halted withdrawals on June 12, 2022.

“The Court should sentence Alexander Mashinsky to twenty years’ imprisonment as just punishment for his years-long campaign of lies and self-dealing that left in its wake billions in losses and thousands of victimized customers,” the DOJ stated.

Mashinsky’s personal benefit was $48 million

In addition to listing massive investor losses resulting from the Celsius fraud, the DOJ mentioned that Mashinsky has personally profited from the fraudulent schemes in his role.

As part of his plea in December 2024, Mashinsky admitted that he was the leader of the criminal activity at Celsius, that his crimes resulted in losses in excess of $550 million, and that he personally benefited more than $48 million, the authority said.

US DOJ requests 20-year sentence for Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky
An excerpt from the government’s sentencing memorandum against Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky. Source: CourtListener

The DOJ emphasized that Mashinsky’s guilty plea showed that his crimes were “not the product of negligence, naivete, or bad luck,” but rather the result of “deliberate, calculated decisions to lie, deceive, and steal in pursuit of personal fortune.”

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Magazine: Bitcoin $100K hopes on ice, SBF’s mysterious prison move: Hodler’s Digest, April 20 – 26

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Russian ruble stablecoin: Exec lists 7 ‘Tether replica’ features

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Russian ruble stablecoin: Exec lists 7 ‘Tether replica’ features

Russian ruble stablecoin: Exec lists 7 ‘Tether replica’ features

The concept of a Russian ruble stablecoin received special attention at a major local crypto event, the Blockchain Forum in Moscow, with key industry executives reflecting on some of the core features a ruble-backed stablecoin might require.

Sergey Mendeleev, founder of the digital settlement exchange Exved and inactive founder of the sanctioned Garantex exchange, put forward seven key criteria for a potential “replica of Tether” in a keynote at the Blockchain Forum on April 23.

Mendeleev said a potential ruble stablecoin must have untraceable transactions and allow transfers without Know Your Customer (KYC) checks.

However, because one of the criteria also requires the stablecoin to comply with Russian regulations, he expressed skepticism that such a product could emerge soon.

The DAI model praised 

Mendeleev proposed that a potential Russian “Tether replica” must be overcollateralized similarly to the Dai (DAI) stablecoin model, a decentralized algorithmic stablecoin that maintains its one-to-one peg with the US dollar using smart contracts.

“So, any person who buys it will understand that the contract is based on the assets that super-securitize it, not somewhere on some unknown accounts, but free to be checked by simple crypto methods,” he said.

Russian ruble stablecoin: Exec lists 7 ‘Tether replica’ features
Source: Cointelegraph

Another must-have feature should be excess liquidity on both centralized and decentralized exchanges, Mendeleev said, adding that users must be able to exchange the stablecoin at any time they need.

According to Mendeleev, a viable ruble-pegged stablecoin also needs to offer non-KYC transactions, so users are not required to pass their data to start using it.

“The Russian ruble stablecoin should have the opportunity where people use it without disclosing their data,” he stated.

Related: Russia’s central bank, finance ministry to launch crypto exchange

In the meantime, users should be able to earn interest on holding the stablecoin, Mendelev continued, adding that offering this feature is available via smart contracts.

Russia opts for centralization

Mendeleev also suggested that a potential Russian version of Tether’s USDt (USDT) would need to feature untraceable and cheap transactions, while its smart contracts should not enable blocks or freezes.

The final criterion is that a potential ruble stablecoin would have to be regulated in accordance with the Russian legislation, which currently doesn’t look promising, according to Mendeleev.

Russia, KYC, Fiat Money, Tether, Stablecoin, Policy
Sergey Mendeleev at the Blockchain Forum in Moscow. Source: Bits.Media

“Once we put these seven points together […] then it would be a real alternative, which would help us at least compete with the solutions that are currently on the market,” he stated at the conference, adding:

“Unfortunately, from the point of view of regulation, we are currently going in the absolutely opposite direction […] We are going in the direction of absolute centralization, not in the direction of liberalization of laws, but consolidation of prohibitions.”

Possible solutions

While the regulatory side is not looking good, a potential Russian version of USDT is technically feasible, Mendeleev told Cointelegraph.

“Except for anonymous transactions, everything is easy to implement and has already been deployed by several projects, but it’s just not unified in one project yet,” he said.

The crypto advocate specifically referred to interesting opportunities by projects like the ruble-pegged A7A5 stablecoin, unblockable contracts at DAI, and others.

Related: Russian crypto exchange Mosca raided amid cash-to-crypto ban talks

Regulation is necessary but not enough, Mendeleev said, adding that the most difficult part is the trust of users who must see the ruble stablecoin as a viable alternative to major alternatives like USDT.

Recent reports suggest that the deputy head of Russia’s Finance Ministry’s financial policy department urged the government to develop ruble stablecoins.

Elsewhere, the Bank of Russia has continued to progress its central bank digital currency project, the digital ruble. According to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, the digital ruble is scheduled to be rolled out for commercial banks in the second half of 2025.

Magazine: Bitcoin $100K hopes on ice, SBF’s mysterious prison move: Hodler’s Digest, April 20 – 26

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Trump or Carney – will Starmer have to choose?

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Trump or Carney – will Starmer have to choose?

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈

The morning political podcast which gives you all need for the day ahead in 20 minutes, usually with Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy.

But, for this episode, Anne is somewhere over the Atlantic travelling back from the US so Sam is joined by Politico’s Tim Ross.

Mark Carney’s Liberal Party has won the Canadian election. It’ll give Keir Starmer a centre-left ally at G7 but how will the PM position himself now in the Trump-Carney standoff?

Elsewhere, with political leaders out and about in Bristol, Scunthorpe, South Cambridgeshire and Wiltshire – there are plenty of clues about the biggest target seats in the last 48 hours before local election voting.

To find lists of candidates in all the local elections, you can search here: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/your-election-information

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