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When JD Vance was still a senator, in January 2024, he lamented on X: “Until recently, Poland had a conservative government. Using a lot of diplomatic and economic pressure, the Biden administration (and many European nations) attacked that government as anti-democracy. … In the name of protecting democracy, they are using your tax dollars to attack a government that was a great ally of ours.” Hi Charlie, here's is why Poland is the sort of international issue I care about as your senator. Until recently, Poland had a conservative government. Using a lot of diplomatic and economic pressure, the Biden administration (and many European nations) attacked that government… — JD Vance (@JDVance) January 11, 2024 One year later, when the new Department of Government Efficiency under the leadership of Elon Musk began auditing the U.S. Agency for International Development in January 2025, the things it exposed sent shockwaves globally. Revelations of millions of dollars in questionable grants—including funds aimed at changing Poland’s government—showed how American taxpayer money was at work in Warsaw. Poland is a key NATO ally and one of the geopolitical hot spots located between Germany and Russia. Internally, it has long been split by a struggle between a post-communist-liberal coalition and conservative, trans-Atlantic forces centered around the PiS (Law and Justice) Party, which was ousted from power in 2023. At that time, we already had indications of possible interference by the Joe Biden administration in Poland’s 2023 elections. Biden’s USAID supported the anti-conservative coalition that assumed power in Fall 2023 under Donald Tusk. According to the Polish website money.pl, at least 27 Polish institutions received USAID money in the last five years, mostly for leftist propaganda and anti-PiS activities. As recently as Wednesday, authors Grzegorz Wierzcholowski and Maciej Kozuszek wrote in Gazeta Polska: “During Joe Biden’s presidency, millions of dollars from American taxpayers were funneled to organizations in Poland.” In December 2023, two Polish authors published the article “How to Dismantle an Illiberal Democracy” in the Journal of Democracy, maintained by the National Endowment for Democracy, a private grantmaking foundation in the United States. The article was intended as a roadmap for the fight against conservative forces and presented Poland as a testing ground for radical solutions against the Right: “Populism, however, thrives today all over the world. If we leave its crimes unchecked and unpunished, people all over the world may become even more jaded by politics. This makes the events in Poland all the more important,” it said. The authors, Karolina Wigura and Jaroslaw Kuisz, are the backbone of the Polish magazine Kultura Liberalna (Liberal Culture), which is funded by USAID. Mike Benz, a former U.S. State Department official highlighted the United States’ interference in Polish politics on the “Joe Rogan Experience,” stating, “This did a great job of altering the election. They create a capacity to do black propaganda, economic sabotage, and demolition. And the American people can’t find out.” Interestingly, the most frequent American author in Kultura Liberalna was Anne Applebaum, wife of Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski and co-author of Tusk’s book “The Choice.” The magazine published 12 interviews with her and promoted her work extensively. Today, both Tusk and Sikorski present themselves as trustworthy political partners for Donald Trump. In actuality, they oppose the ideals, values, and policies the Trump administration holds regarding Poland, NATO, and Europe. During the 2023 parliamentary campaigns, Tusk called Trump a Russian agent while Sikorski wrote on X, “Trump. Putin’s man in the White House.” And Applebaum’s article about the U.S. presidential campaign comparing Trump to Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini, completes the picture. In 2021, Rafal Trzaskowski, Warsaw’s mayor and widely regarded as Poland’s most “woke” politician and now Civic Platform Party’s presidential candidate, launched Campus Polska, an annual event that has become the largest anti-PiS gathering in Poland. The event’s tone was laid bare at its latest edition in August, where a charged-up crowd, animated by current Minister of Sport Slawomir Nitras, shouted, “F**k the PiS!” which became the informal motto of the event. Among the partners of the anti-conservative event were several nongovernmental organizations supported by USAID, including George Soros’ Open Society, the European Democracy Youth Network, Kultura Liberalna, and the Marxist Krytyka Polityczna (Political Critique) magazine. Another example of direct interference in the Polish election campaign was the Latarnik Wyborczy (Election Lighthouse) magazine, which didn’t merely conduct voter education but pushed to skew the process toward liberal left-wing parties. Today, we know that the Election Lighthouse was funded by USAID and the German Marshall Fund. USAID also supported the Election Travel Office website, which encouraged a practice of “election tourism.” The strategy was clever: If the “right” group of voters cast their ballots in districts other than where they were originally registered, it could boost the anti-conservative opposition candidates. This effort got a big push from opposition-friendly media. Additionally, Biden’s U.S. ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzezinski, aligned with the post-communist-liberal coalition, which was seen as endorsing this shift away from the conservative PiS Party, especially as the new left-wing government took authoritarian steps like the illegal takeover of public media. The aftermath of the 2023 Polish elections reveals a grim picture: Conservative voices face legal threats, signaling a post-Soviet governing style over a democratic bloom. A push for “woke” ideologies clashes with Poland’s traditional common sense, eroding its cultural core. And the new government’s ties to Russia and China raise red flags about national security, hinting at a shift from Poland’s historic stance against communism. The intervention in Poland’s election wasn’t about promoting democracy but reshaping Polish society in line with the liberal American establishment. American Democrats benefited greatly: They gained a submissive NATO ally to counter Trump’s influence, they weakened conservative forces across Europe, and they likely facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars in climate and tech contracts in Poland for Democrat-friendly U.S. corporations. While the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act’s $369 billion funds clean energy projects in the U.S., it has spurred U.S. clean tech companies—such as NextEra Energy, General Motors, and Albemarle Corporation, which donated over $4 million to Democrats in 2024—to invest in Poland’s green energy transition, boosting Democratic fundraising and policy agendas ahead of the 2024 U.S. elections. While questions about the legitimacy of the current government in Warsaw remain open, the new American administration should investigate the overthrow of the most pro-American ally in Europe. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post How the Biden Admin Interfered in Poland’s Elections to Shift Our Ally Leftward appeared first on The Daily Signal.

After a topsy-turvy election cycle in which the Conservatives started up 25 points before trade tensions with the United States and a Liberal leadership change, Canadian voters have given the Liberal Party another mandate in Ottawa. This is a big win for Mark Carney, the newly installed Canadian prime minister who had spent a career in high finance, but never as an elected public official before Tuesday. Though a personal triumph, Carney and the Liberals’ election victory heralds more disappointment ahead for Canadians as he leans into a harmful trade war with Washington, maintains green energy pressures, and slow walks an enduring defense reset. On Monday, Canadian voters gave the Liberal Party its fourth government in a row, paving the way for Carney to remain Canadian prime minister. The Liberal Party is set to win 168 seats, an increase of 15 seats from last election, but still four short of the 172-member outright majority. Past practice indicates that the Liberal Party will govern alone in a minority government but rely on support from the progressive New Democratic Party and regionalist Bloc Québécois to pass legislation and survive no confidence votes. Smaller parties in Canada saw sharp declines in their vote share as voters coalesced around the two main parties in search of the best candidate to secure Canada’s interests amid a wave of worry and anti-American sentiment in response to American tariffs and talk of Canada as the 51st state. The Liberal Party ran an effective campaign centering the election on which leader was best placed to successfully defend Canadian interests in negotiations with Donald Trump. Carney convinced Canadian voters his experience fighting the great recession as governor of the Bank of Canada and managing Brexit shifts as governor of the Bank of England were best suited to securing Canada’s interests. Unfortunately, this result heralds trade turmoil with America as Carney described the United States as “a country we can no longer trust” in his acceptance speech last month. Further, adding economic pain on both sides of the border, Carney has taken a hard line towards Trump’s tariffs by imposing counter tariffs on products from orange juice to cars—even though nearly 75% of Canadian exports and around 30% of their imports are to and from the United States. Generations of economic development have tied the two nations together, and communities along their shared border have a deep connections and regular border crossings for personal and professional reasons. Yet even though countries who have sought to negotiate with the White House to reduce trade barriers and thereby remove the tariffs have seen the greatest success, the Liberals seem determined to pursue a more aggressive approach. This pain could be offset by economic growth, but Carney has spent his entire career championing government green energy mandates. With the election of the former UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance, Canadians are likely to see the degradation of their oil and gas resources as the Liberals are unsympathetic to calls to expand pipelines and approve export terminals. This means restricted markets for Canadian energy and less energy made available for Indo-Pacific partners such as India and Japan who are key to balancing against malign Chinese influence. This combination is poised to put a damper on Canadian economic prospects while limiting Ottawa’s global influence and complicating Washington-led efforts to counter China. Speaking of influence on the international stage, Carney’s efforts on defense spending promise to be too little, too late to reverse Canada’s status as a NATO free rider. At 1.37% of GDP in 2024, Canadian defense spending ranked near the bottom of the NATO alliance. Carney deserves credit for the recent purchase of an Australian radar system that will augment Canada’s contribution to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), but generational underinvestment will not be rebalanced by only committing to spend 2% of GDP on defense by 2030. The NATO Summit at the Hague this year is expected to call for annual defense spending levels above 3% of GDP given the global threat environment, so for Canada to shoulder its fair share alongside America, much more rapid hikes in defense spending will be necessary. Thanks to the renewed Liberal mandate in Canada, Americans are likely to remain at odds with their northern neighbors. Carney’s stated intentions on trade, energy, and defense will not only harm Canadians, but will also frustrate Trump’s attempts to update the relationship to benefit both sides and balance costs and opportunities. Hopefully, after this election, Canadian politicians will review the strategic vitality of their relationship with the U.S., and move beyond election rhetoric to negotiate with Washington, but the deck is stacked against it. The post Canada Election Results Suggest More US-Canada Tension Ahead appeared first on The Daily Signal.

2014 09 12 Friday The event started late in the afternoon. We received a rather vague notification that a vessel of interest (VOI) may be heading through our operations area. It figured because we had just lost yet our fourth helicopter to mechanical failure. On the upside, we were supposed to be getting a C-130 sometime in the evening. OPS said there was a 50/50 chance we’d see something. I finished my watch and headed up to the bridge to talk with the ensigns and have a look around. About 30 minutes into my visit, I damn near cut off the top of my right ear with a giant pair of binoculars mounted to the bridge rail. Later, after Doc glued the wound shut, I decided it would be best to lay below and go to bed.  At about 0130, maybe 4 or 5 hours later, the constant and shrill law enforcement/collision alarm sounded throughout the ship. Everyone held their breath, waiting on the announcement as to whether or not they were sounding collision or setting the law enforcement bill. Groggy, we roused ourselves, dressed out, and prepared for what was to come. I made it to CIC (Combat Information Center), also known as “combat,” or “OPCEN”, and plopped myself down in front of the COMDAC/COMARPA/COP workstation. After reading the intel notes, I plotted our position and that of the suspect vessel our C-130 had apparently just spotted. The room was full of people, all four operations specialists, an ensign, the CO, XO, and OPS. It quickly became a scene out of a movie. Three or four radios were going off at once; people were talking over each other: numbers, coordinates, vectors, furious note-taking, and event logging.  A buddy of mine was operating the FLIR (forward-looking infrared) thermal camera next to me. At the same time, I continuously updated our position and changed the VOI to a TOI (target of interest). In this part of the world, most VOIs are referred to as a “panga.” The C-130 overhead had issues with its radar and was reduced to strictly visual observation of us and the panga. They kept requesting to go lower to get a better fix, but that might have let the target know we were on to them. OPS was insistent that they not go to “overt” status. Honestly, the sea state was so rough for any vessel under 100 feet that I doubt the occupants would have even equated the rumble of the aircraft’s engines with a potential threat. The plane would have had to buzz the panga at tree-top height for them to hear and recognize it. OPS, however, had done this much more than I have, and being too aggressive too early can tip your hand.  So, we continued the overly complex game of Battleship with the aircraft calling out positions as we relayed that data to the small boat we’d lowered into the frothing sea. A twenty-four-foot boat does not do well in eight-foot waves, especially in the dark.  Finally, after an hour that felt like an eternity, my friend spotted a shape in the grey-scale haze that was the FLIR image. The panga was so loaded down that her gunnels were maybe a foot out of the water. The shape blended in perfectly with the waves and was damn near impossible to see. This is what it must feel like to hunt foxes. The captain had gotten into it; he was on my left, calling out directions for the small boat. We vectored our hound in on the fox, a bobbing sliver of wood and fiberglass on the water. The panga operators must have finally heard something because they throttled up and started to run. We had them on camera and in range. They weren’t getting away. Part of me itched to go down and rip the cover off the 25mm cannon to bring the chase to an appropriate climax of thunder fire and gore. It is difficult to understand the stress and hardship a small boat operator endures in those conditions. It is absolute darkness. The only light is the dim glow of the compass bulb and radio screens. They cannot see the waves to anticipate the impact of the bow on the water, much less read the wind and ocean to smooth out the ride. With the cutter running dark and three miles behind, they may as well be three hundred miles out and alone. All they know is that there is a panga somewhere out there with them, maybe armed, maybe not. The hound doesn’t know if it is chasing a fox into an empty log or a badger’s den. The only direction they receive is over a patchy radio connection. “20 degrees off your port bow… 90 degrees to starboard, big wave coming, brace! … They’re dead ahead 20 yards! … Circle back. You just missed them….” The coxswain’s (pronounced cock-sun’s) eyes are a pair of boarding team members using night vision, which is like looking at the world through the cardboard tube inside a roll of paper towels. There isn’t enough light to pick out the horizon; even if they could, the waves would blot it out at forty feet. After dozens of near misses and moments when we thought they might jump the next wave and land in the panga, the coxswain sang out. “We’ve got ‘em! Closing distance! They’re DIW (dead in the water), commencing boarding!” He began rattling off numbers, names, and descriptions of the illicit cargo and craft. The adrenaline still hammering through our veins begins to run out. Now it is down to custody, paperwork, offloading the cargo, and ensuring our TACON (tactical control) is fully aware of what’s happening. Making arrests in international waters can be a bureaucratically messy affair. TACON says “Good job,” to file everything in triplicate and to keep them appraised. The sun wasn’t even up yet. Navigation, tactical maneuvering, and apprehension over and done. I was hungry. Time to let the ensigns handle the case package paperwork. After a bit of bacon, eggs, and coffee, I stripped down and crawled back into bed.  _________________________ U.S. sailors assigned to the guided missile frigate USS Underwood (FFG 36) and Coast Guardsmen assigned to Law Enforcement Detachment 107 search for contraband from a rigid hull inflatable boat, Aug. 3, 2012, in the Caribbean Sea during Operation Martillo. The sailors and Coast Guardsmen recovered 49 bales of narcotics dumped from a speed boat into the sea after Underwood sighted and pursued the vessel. Operation Martillo is a joint, interagency and multinational collaborative effort to deny transnational criminal organizations air and maritime access to the littoral regions of the Central American isthmus. Underwood deployed to Central and South America and the Caribbean in support of Southern Seas 2012. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Frank J. Pikul) This first appeared in The Havok Journal on February 16, 2023. K.C. Aud has made a career of being lucky and has managed to find something positive in nearly every poor decision he’s ever made, even if it was only a new perspective on how not to do something. Enlisting in the U.S. Coast Guard in 2010 he became an Operations Specialist (radio and navigation) and did his first tour in Georgia guarding submarines from drunk fishermen. In 2014, tired of the heat and the bugs he transferred to a 210-foot medium endurance cutter in Washington state. The cutter then regularly deployed to the hot and buggy west coast of Central America to hunt down drug runners. Aboard USCGC Active he traveled 94,194 miles and personally handled enough cocaine to keep a small country high for a decade. Somewhere in there, he learned to write, if not spell.   Three years later, daunted by the prospect of spending the rest of his career in a windowless command center, he separated from active duty. After 13 different jobs ranging from beer brewer to dairy farmhand, to machinist, to Navy civilian contractor, he reenlisted in 2020 as a Coast Guard reservist, changing rates to Maritime Law Enforcement Specialist. When not helping the Navy assets in the Puget Sound troubleshoot radios, he’s on drill in Seattle doing water cop stuff and or flailing away at his keyboard. Though married and now a father, he misses the mission.  As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.

Last week, BU academic Dr. Pramod Regmi delivered a plenary talk on the struggles faced by Nepalese migrant workers from departure to return at the 22nd Britain-Nepal Academic Council (BNAC) Conference, held on 24–25 April in Liverpool. The session included two other panelists, including Prof. Padam Simkhada from the University of Huddersfield, he is also a BU Visiting Professor. Dr. Regmi’s talk highlighted the health burden experienced by Nepali migrants throughout their migration journey. Labour migration from Nepal poses significant risks at all stages. Many aspiring migrants lack access to accurate information and support, while those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds face high documentation costs and illegal recruitment fees, affecting their mental health and placing strain on their families. Abroad, migrants often suffer exploitation, unsafe working conditions, overcrowded and unsanitary housing, limited access to healthcare, and high medical expenses. Female migrants face additional risks such as sexual violence, unintended pregnancy, exploitation, and unemployment. Upon return, especially for those who experienced abuse or trafficking, reintegration is hindered by social stigma and a lack of support services. Nepal’s weak economy further limits their ability to utilise skills gained abroad. This presentation was informed by a long history of BU research into the health and well-being of Nepalese migrant workers, led by Dr. Regmi, Dr. Nirmal Aryal, Dr. Orlanda Harvey, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, and current PhD students Yagya Adhikari and Anjana Regmi Paudyal in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences. A round table discussion after the session focused on four questions: How can we better inform migrants during the pre-migration stage? How can we reduce the health vulnerabilities of Nepali labour migrant workers abroad? What are the barriers to, and opportunities for, reintegration when migrants return? How can we facilitate increased research collaboration in destination countries engaging local academic institutions? Bournemouth University also contributed to two other presentations related to a project studying the impact of federalisation on Nepal’s health system. This study was funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative to examine the consequences of Nepal’s transition from a centralised political system to a federal structure in 2015. These two papers were presented by BU collaborators Prof. Julie Balen (Canterbury Christ Church University) and Ms. Amshu Dhakal (Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal). BU’s Dr. Regmi, Prof Edwin van Teijlingen and Dr Nirmal collectively have over 40 publications on Nepalese migrants’ health and well-being issues. Their recent publications on the topic include studies on modern slavery [1], kidney disease [2–4], pre-departure training of aspiring migrant workers in Nepal [5], moral panic and societal fears around migrant workers and COVID-19 [6–7], Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia [8–9], left-behind families of migrant workers [10], migrant workers and the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup [11–12], Nepalese migrants in the UK [13], as well as a comprehensive literature review [14]. They are also a founder members of Health Research Network for Migrant Workers in Asia: www.hearmigrants.org   References: Paudyal, A. R., Harvey, O., Teijlingen, E. van, Regmi, P. R., Sharma, C. (2024). Returning Home to Nepal after Modern Slavery: Opportunities for Health Promotion. Journal of Health Promotion, 12(1), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v12i1.72713 Aryal, N., Sedhain, A., Regmi, P.R., KC, R. K., van Teijlingen, E. (2021). Risk of kidney health among returnee Nepali migrant workers: A survey of nephrologists. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences, 12(12), 126–132. https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v12i12.39027 Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Sedhain, A., KC, R.K., Martinez Faller, E., Rijal, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2021) Kidney health risk of migrant workers: An issue we can no longer overlook. Health Prospect 20(1):15-7 Regmi, P., Aryal, N., Bhattarai, S., Sedhain, A., KC, R.K. and van Teijlingen, E. (2024) Exploring lifestyles, work environment and health care experience of Nepalese returnee labour migrants diagnosed with kidney-related problems, PLoS One 19(8): e0309203. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309203 Regmi, P., Aryal, N., van Teijlingen, E., KC, R.K., Gautam, M. and Maharjan, S. (2024). A Qualitative Insight into Pre-Departure Orientation Training for Aspiring Nepalese Migrant Workers. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 9 (7). Aryal, N., Regmi, P., Adhikari Dhakal, S., Sharma, S. and van Teijlingen, E. (2024). Moral panic, fear, stigma, and discrimination against returnee migrants and Muslim populations in Nepal: analyses of COVID-19 media content. Journal of Media Studies, 38 (2), 71-98. Regmi, P., Dhakal Adhikari, S., Aryal, N., Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Fear, Stigma and Othering: The Impact of COVID-19 Rumours on Returnee Migrants and Muslim Populations of Nepal, International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health 19(15), 8986; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19158986 Chaudhary, M.N., Lim, V.C., Faller, E.M., Regmi, P., Aryal, N., Zain, S.N.M., Azman, A.S. and Sahimin, N. (2024). Assessing the basic knowledge and awareness of dengue fever prevention among migrant workers in Klang Valley, Malaysia. PLoS ONE, 19 (2). Chaudhary, M.N., Lim, V.C., Sahimin, N., Faller, E.M., Regmi, P., Aryal, N. and Azman, A.S. (2023). Assessing the knowledge of, attitudes towards, and practices in, food safety among migrant workers in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 54. Adhikari, Y., Regmi, P., Devkota, B. and van Teijlingen, E. (2023). Forgotten health and social care needs of left-behind families of Nepali migrant workers. Journal of Health Promotion, 10, 1-4. Regmi, P., Simkhada, P., Aryal, N., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Excessive mortalities among migrant workers: the case of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences, 4:31-32. https://doi.org/10.46405/ejms.v4i0.455 Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. and Regmi, P. (2022). Migrant Workers in Qatar: Not just an important topic during the FIFA World Cup 2022. Health Prospect: Journal of Public Health, 21 (3), 1-2. Simkhada, B., Sah, R.K., Mercel-Sanca, A., van Teijlingen, E., Bhurtyal, Y.M. and Regmi, P. (2021). Perceptions and Experiences of Health and Social Care Utilisation of the UK-Nepali Population. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 23 (2), 298-307. Mahato, P., Bhusal, S., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2024). Health and Wellbeing Among Nepali Migrants: A Scoping Review. Journal of Health Promotion, 12(1): 79–90. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v12i1.72699  

* Campaign will raise awareness of visa scam tactics in Punjab, helping protect people from exploitation, financial loss, and emotional distress * It encourages those traveling to the UK to check facts and stay safe. Visa application guidance is freely available on gov.uk and via a new WhatsApp support line The UK has launched the ‘Visa Fraud Ton Bacho’ campaign to help protect Indian citizens from the physical, financial, and emotional risks of visa fraud and irregular migration. The campaign was launched at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in the presence of Founder Chancellor of LPU and Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Dr. Ashok Kumar Mittal, Ms. Christina Scott, British Deputy High Commissioner to India, Ms. Caroline Rowett, Deputy High Commissioner, Chandigarh, Col. Dr. Rashmi Mittal, Pro-Chancellor of LPU, Dr. Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor of LPU, Mr. Ben Pugsley, First Secretary of Justice and Home Affairs, and Amandeep Grewal, Deputy Head of Mission at Chandigarh. The campaign includes a dedicated WhatsApp support line (+91 70652 51380) available in both English and Punjabi. The line helps identify common visa scam tactics and provides access to official guidance for those seeking legal routes to travel to the UK. Alongside the WhatsApp line, the campaign will highlight the warning signs of visa scams. People will be advised to watch out for common false claims such as promises of jobs in the UK, no requirement for English-language tests (IELTS), and inflated fees. Visa fraud leads to unacceptable and unnecessary levels of debt and puts individuals at risk of physical harm and exploitation. Anyone found committing visa fraud could face a 10-year ban on travel to the UK. Under the Mobility and Migration Partnership Agreement, the UK and India are committed to addressing irregular migration. The campaign represents a further element of joint efforts to step up the fight against irregular migration and visa fraud. Christina Scott, British Deputy High Commissioner to India, stated: “The opportunity to visit, study, and work in the UK has never been greater, and Indian nationals continue to receive the largest share of UK visit and work visas. However, the dreams of many young people are being exploited, with too many falling victim to visa fraud. That’s why we are launching the Visa Fraud Ton Bacho campaign. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the risks and help people check the facts about safe and legal routes to the UK.” Dr. Ashok Kumar Mittal, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Founder Chancellor of LPU, commended the UK’s “Visa Fraud Ton Bacho” initiative for addressing the growing issue of visa fraud in Punjab and India. Dr. Mittal said, “LPU fully supports this noble cause and is committed to partnering with NGOs and student organizations to run an awareness campaign aimed at educating the nation, particularly rural villages, with limited access to information. The goal is to empower individuals with the knowledge to identify fraudulent practices and promote legal, transparent migration pathways. Through workshops and interactive sessions, this initiative will guide students towards global opportunities in an ethical and safe manner.” Caroline Rowett, British Deputy High Commissioner in Chandigarh, added: “Punjab is known for its hardworking and ambitious people, who have made significant contributions both in the UK and globally. We want to ensure that these dreams are fulfilled safely and legally. We urge people to spread the ‘Visa Fraud Ton Bacho’ message and help protect individuals from falling victim to fraudulent agents.” The post UK Launches VISA Fraud Awareness Campaign ‘VISA FRAUD TON BACHO’ appeared first on Happenings@LPU.