Stablecoins are typically pegged at a fixed rate to the U.S. dollar or another major currency, and aim to be an alternative to the existing banking system for making domestic or international payments

International News via Reuters:

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Friday he expected there to be a “wrestle” between the United States and international regulators on the treatment of stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency he sees as a potential threat to financial stability.

Stablecoins are typically pegged at a fixed rate to the U.S. dollar or another major currency, and aim to be an alternative to the existing banking system for making domestic or international payments.

The current United States administration under President Donald Trump has been keen to promote stablecoins, which often use U.S. Treasury bills as a backing asset.

But Bailey, who chairs the Financial Stability Board, an international body that aims to coordinate regulation, has long been sceptical about cryptocurrencies and wary of the potential risks from stablecoins.

“If we want stablecoins to be part of the architecture of payments globally … they’re only going to work if we have international standards. Frankly, that, I think, is going to be a coming wrestle with the (U.S.) administration,” Bailey said at a conference on financial imbalances hosted by the BoE.

Bailey said he was concerned some U.S. stablecoins could not be readily turned into dollars without going through a crypto exchange, potentially limiting their convertibility in a crisis.

But if stablecoins became widely used for cross-border payments, then during a crisis hard-to-convert U.S. stablecoins could flow to jurisdictions such as Britain which intend to have robust obligations for convertibility, he said.

“We know what would happen if there was a run on a stablecoin – they’d all turn up here,” Bailey said.

Reporting by David Milliken; editing by William James

The visit will take Kate to Reggio Emilia, where local residents — many of them women — helped finance some of Italy’s first nursery schools after the war

International News via Reuters:

On her trip to northern Italy next week, Britain’s Princess of Wales will see how in the years after World War Two communities transformed abandoned military equipment, including a tank, into a globally influential model of early‑years education.

The visit will take Kate to Reggio Emilia, where local residents — many of them women — helped finance some of Italy’s first nursery schools after the war by selling the scrap metal from equipment left behind by retreating German forces.

Those early efforts laid the foundations of the educational “Reggio Emilia approach,” now influential worldwide and aligned with Kate’s focus on children’s social and emotional wellbeing.    

The wife of heir to the throne Prince William and mother of three launched the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood in 2021 to bring together experts and research in the field.

The trip, running from May 13 to May 14, will be Kate’s first official overseas visit since completing cancer treatment.

“Some time ago, British representatives visited our city and our early childhood education services, and shortly afterwards we heard of the Princess’s interest in coming to see us,” Marwa Mahmoud, Reggio Emilia’s councillor for education, told Reuters.

Italian officials said Kate’s interest was focused on the historical roots of Reggio’s schools, their public character, the role of women, the link between nature and education, and strong community involvement.

THE ‘HUNDRED LANGUAGES’ OF CHILDREN

The medium‑sized city of Reggio Emilia has one of the highest levels of preschool participation in Italy, with enrolment among children aged three to six close to universal and attendance at infant‑toddler services more than twice the national average.

Here, pioneering schools for children under six took shape decades before a national law followed in 1968.

In the Reggio Emilia approach the child is seen as an active learner, with the potential to explore and understand the world through many forms of expression – often described by educators as the “hundred languages” of children.

Classes are organised around communal spaces known as piazzas, with in‑house kitchens and ateliers where children are encouraged to experiment with materials, colours, and sounds.

Today, Reggio Emilia has 89 infant‑toddler centres and preschools, most operated by the municipality or the state, with fees set according to family income.

International attention grew after U.S. magazine Newsweek cited a Reggio Emilia preschool among the world’s top ten schools in 1991.

“For years, Britain looked to Reggio Emilia as a model, with hundreds of teachers visiting annually,” said Maddalena Tedeschi, president of Reggio Children, an international centre that promotes research. 

“Policy changes and funding cuts in the UK later reduced travel, but interest remained and evolved into new forms of exchange.”

Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by Toby Chopra

The five-day trip by 12 Labour and Conservative MPs in mid-May is organised by the Great Britain-China Centre, an NGO funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to promote ties with China

International News via Reuters:

A cross-party delegation of British lawmakers will visit China this month for the first time since 2019, two sources familiar with the preparations said, in a sign of warming ties since a visit in January by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The five-day trip by 12 Labour and Conservative MPs in mid-May is organised by the Great Britain-China Centre, an NGO funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to promote ties with China.

Reuters could not determine the full list of participating MPs or details of their itinerary. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as preparations for the visit are still underway.

The Centre and the Foreign Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In contrast, British lawmakers have made nine visits since 2022 to Taiwan, the democratically governed island that China claims as its own territory, although Taiwan rejects the claim.

In 2021, China imposed sanctions on nine Britons, including Iain Duncan Smith, the former leader of the Conservative Party, accusing them of spreading “lies and disinformation” about alleged human rights abuses in its western region of Xinjiang.

Beijing then lifted sanctions on six serving lawmakers in January after Starmer met President Xi Jinping on his China trip, which both sides hailed as a “reset” in ties.

Until then, relations had soured by tension during the coronavirus pandemic over human rights and spying accusations.

However, China has retained its Xinjiang-related sanctions on two British academics and lawyers, as well as four organisations based in Britain.

The British MPs’ visit follows one in March by nine European lawmakers, the first in eight years after China lifted sanctions on certain MEPs in 2025.

The resumption in parliamentary exchanges marks a tentative reopening of diplomatic dialogue after years of frosty ties between China and Europe.

However, issues around alleged Chinese spying and the controversial mega-embassy China plans to build in London continue to swirl.

This week, a London court held two men guilty of spying on behalf of Hong Kong and China, targeting ‌prominent pro-democracy dissidents now based in Britain.

The men, both dual Chinese and British nationals, denied the accusations, while the Chinese embassy in London has accused Britain of fabricating the charges against them.

Reporting by Laurie Chen; Editing by Clarence Fernandez