Caroline Elliott, a former leadership candidate for the B.C. Conservative Party, has confirmed she will run in the upcoming provincial election on October 24 in the West Vancouver-Capilano riding. Elliott lost the leadership race to Kerry-Lynne Findlay in a close 51-49 vote on the fourth ballot four months ago, but with Findlay no longer in the picture, she is now on the ballot. Elliott expressed that she is not driven by personal ambition but rather by a desire to influence policy on key issues such as education, criminal justice, and Indigenous rights. She emphasized the importance of having a seat at the table to drive change, stating that writing about issues is not as effective as being part of the legislative process. Elliott also highlighted the need to address the cost of living crisis, healthcare, and education in British Columbia, particularly in the Vancouver area. She noted that the party moved incumbent Lynne Block out of West Vancouver-Capilano to make room for her, and Block has accepted the challenge of running in the neighboring North Vancouver-Seymour riding. Elliott expressed her commitment to her local community, mentioning her desire to involve her children in local events like the Canada Day Parade and pumpkin festivals. She believes that interim leader Lorne Doerkson is the right person to lead the party, praising his authenticity and experience. Elliott's decision to run comes after she realized that being part of the party's caucus is more impactful than commentary alone. She stated that she is comfortable with Doerkson leading the party and that she will continue to pursue her policy interests under his leadership. The article also touches on the party's strategy to position itself as representative of the voters' interests, particularly in light of recent decisions affecting Indigenous rights and land issues. Elliott's focus on practical governance and community engagement reflects a strategic shift for the B.C. Conservatives as they prepare for the election.

This translational science review examines antigen-based cancer vaccines, which help patients develop immunity to the cellular protein expressed by cancer by stimulating the adaptive immune system.

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The Cache County fire board reported a proposed $4,200,000 property tax levy for a newly forming Cache County Fire District. Council members generally expressed conditional support but asked to see the tentative district budget and stressed contract protections for county-owned assets.

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State Librarian George Seaman presented proposed 2026 school library standards that shift emphasis toward inquiry, engagement and civic participation; public commenters asked the board to give clearer guidance and expressed frustration over a multi‑year effort to remove some titles from a shared Sora digital collection.

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The conference theme was: 'Good Together: Building an Agile Cocoa Future '. With traders, grinders, chocolate companies, governments, NGOs and tech companies all in attendance, organisers promised a flexible, forward-looking and fair programme. 💡 Disclaimer: CocoaRadar was the conference’s official media partner. The views expressed here are my own, and this post was written independently. All pumped up with adrenaline, from excitement about the days ahead, and from a lack of sleep due to jet lag, compensated with far too much coffee, I was ready to participate. I love events like this. Seeing familiar faces of people you only ever meet at conferences, and people you have never met but who feel familiar because you follow their journey on social media. The cocoa world is a people business, but I think we all feel we don't meet face to face enough. An event, if done well, is also an industry crash course, with all that knowledge at your fingertips. International events make our industry feel so global, yet so small and familiar at the same time. Call me naïve, but I always start with a positive mindset: everything is still possible, even in gloomy times, if we're open to sharing authentically, willing to collaborate, and ready to invest in a better cocoa future. So, did Singapore deliver on its promise of Good Together? Well, partly. ### The right participants Most of us travel halfway around the world for the network, and CAA absolutely nailed it. CEOs, finance directors, heads of procurement and sourcing and sustainability leaders, all accessible and in one venue. > Pulling together a participant list like this is quite something. The size was right too: large enough to meet new people, small enough to actually find the ones you were looking for. The quality of the participants made the trip worth it. But with so many of them in one place, you need to build in enough moments for conversation, because most good conversations happen during the breaks. Or at the bar. ### Who gets to talk? The programme is where I felt it could have delivered much more. What happens on stage decides what people talk about in the months to come. It shapes articles, policies and debates. It matters! I understand how it works, though. Events like this are made possible by sponsors, a.k.a. large companies who have these kinds of budgets, so it makes sense that they get the good slots. Sponsors send their representatives, fully briefed by the marketing team, to follow the communication guidelines strictly and avoid any 'hot topics'. > And this is where an organising committee has a hugely important role: to be firm and bring the necessary counterweight on stage- independent thinkers, people from origin, voices with a different background or unique angle to challenge the speakers. They bring nuance and often the best new insights, simply because they are freer to say what needs to be said. And with that come excitement, slightly unscripted moments and tension on stage. These 'free' speakers need to be part of the entire programme, not tucked away at the end or in breakout sessions. ### **Missing voices, missing topics** On the first day, three hours passed without a single woman speaking, apart from the organiser. In fact, about 20% of the speakers on the main stage were women. The market sessions on prices and grinding were all men. The panel with mostly women was about sustainability. It is not only gender. Africa and the Americas together grow more than 90% of the world's cocoa. Still, Africa had just one speaker on stage, from Ghana's Cocoa Marketing Company, and no one came from Latin America. With Ecuador now the world's third-largest producer and a huge supplier of cocoa to Asia, that's just a big gap. The panel on whether Asia is ready for the EUDR had no Asian representatives, and the panel on farmers had no single farmer. Chocolate Brands Strip Sustainability Logos as New EU Rules LoomSpecial Report: Lindt & Sprüngli is removing its cocoa programme logo as certifiers tighten claims ahead of new EU anti-greenwashing rules (EmpCo). Industry responses to Cocoaradar raise a bigger question: will consumers get clearer information – or will chocolate brands go quiet?From The Desk of CocoaRadar™Anthony Myers The same goes for the content. The EUDR got a lot of attention, understandably, but the new EU rules on green claims, which came into force this week (see link above), were no more than a footnote, although they will affect brands and chocolate consumption, and, with that, the cocoa trade. > Climate change was on the agenda, but deserved much more room, even a key position in the programme. We are watching El Niño as the next big thing, but what will the climate look like in 10 years, and how will that affect farmers and our industry? How do we help farmers move towards agroforestry, and how do we share the risks and pay prices that make that shift possible? And after all the billions that have gone into sustainability programmes, what I missed was a clear snapshot of where we truly stand today, on child labour, for example. What role Singapore and Southeast Asia will play in that bigger picture, growing more cocoa instead of mainly processing it, was still an open question. To be clear, this is not about ticking boxes to meet a quota. Speakers of different genders, backgrounds and professions, including more women and more farmers, bring nuance and new perspectives to the debates this industry really needs to have. We need to address the elephants in the room. From Dissonance to Cocoa Valley: Vietnam’s Vision for a Farmer-Centred Chocolate FutureCocoa Project founder Gricha Safarian used a musical metaphor to expose what he sees as the contradictions in today’s cocoa economy – and set out an alternative based on flavour, shared value, education and collaborationFrom The Desk of CocoaRadar™Anthony Myers ### Dissonance Strikes a Chord Gricha Safarian, CEO of Puratos Grand-Place Indochina in Vietnam, called it dissonance. He has been pushing for years for ways to source cocoa built on value creation, and his model has been successful in Vietnam. I heard the frustration in his voice when he spoke about the industry investing in technology, reformulation and cocoa-free chocolate when it should be focusing on paying higher prices and supporting farmers to grow higher quality and in a better way. The alternative is consonance: making better chocolate with better flavour, the way the wine industry does, rather than pushing on yield and competing on cost. ### To sum up I felt some dissonance and disappointment too when I left Singapore. Great for networking, yes, but the programme lacked the clarity and answers I was hoping to find. Good Together, the theme of this year's conference, does not mean we all have to agree. It means real, authentic conversations, where everyone in this sector feels represented and where plans become actionable and accountable. A conference can facilitate that, and _that_ is when it moves the sector forward. **Read more from Moving Cocoa:** Moving Cocoa - From The Desk of CocoaRadar™News and exclusive analysis on the cocoa sector and chocolate trends focussing on sustainability, regulation, prices, supply & demandFrom The Desk of CocoaRadar™ **Marika van Santvoort** has been working in cocoa & chocolate since 2014, with a focus on responsible sourcing, innovation and farmer impact. In this monthly column she shares her own perspective on what is really moving in the sector; what is being said, what is not, why it matters and what it means for the industry. LinkedIn · movingcocoa.com ---

Amid heightened concerns about his influence ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, experts caution that Donald Trump’s perceived power is overstated, likening him to "the guy screaming by the freeway exit." This metaphor suggests that while Trump commands attention, his actual ability to manipulate the election process is limited. In a detailed discussion, Justin Levitt, a constitutional law professor and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, expressed skepticism about the former president’s ability to sway the upcoming elections.

After decades at the helm of News Corp, Rupert Murdoch officially stepped aside this week. What does this leadership change mean for the future of a network so deeply tied to and influential within th...