Source: China State Council Information Office
China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday that China is studying measures to increase tariffs on imported fuel-powered vehicles with large-displacement engines.
A decision will be made prudently after comprehensive consideration of various factors, MOC spokesperson He Yadong told a press conference.
Source: China State Council Information Office
A staff member shows a China Telecom 5G antenna during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 27, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
The added value of China’s patent-intensive industries in 2022 reached 15.32 trillion yuan (about 2.15 trillion U.S. dollars), contributing 12.7 percent to its GDP, according to a report released by the country’s top intellectual property regulator.
The latest data shows that China’s patent-intensive industries exhibit strong innovation capabilities and development potential, supporting the country’s commitment to pursuing new quality productive forces and high-quality development, the China Intellectual Property Administration noted in a recent monitoring report.
The report highlights that from 2018 to 2022, the added value of China’s patent-intensive industries saw an average annual growth rate of 9.36 percent, surpassing the average annual GDP growth rate by 2.37 percentage points during the same period.
The information and communications technology (ICT) service and ICT manufacturing, as representatives of emerging industries, achieved double-digit growth in added value with annual growth rates of 14.86 percent and 10.23 percent, respectively.
Other patent-intensive industries include manufacturing of new equipment and materials, medicine and the medical industry, as well as the environmental protection industry.
High investment in research and development is an important factor driving growth. According to the report, the internal R&D expenditure for patent-intensive industries in China reached 1.14 trillion yuan in 2022, marking an increase of 11.28 percent compared to the previous year and totaling 2.23 times that of non-patent-intensive industries.
In 2022, more than 49 million people were employed in China’s patent-intensive industries, accounting for approximately 6.7 percent of overall employment within the entire society.
However, the report noted a gap between China and Western patent leading countries. It cited the latest report from the United States and Europe, revealing that patent-intensive industries contributed 24 percent to the U.S. GDP, with employment accounting for 13 percent. Additionally, the EU’s figures that year stood at 17.4 percent and 11 percent, respectively, “significantly surpassing China’s levels.”
The patent-intensive industries in China still have immense growth potential, and greater efforts should be made to support the development of these industries, the report said.
China has set a target for patent-intensive industries to contribute 13 percent of GDP by 2025.
Source: China State Council Information Office
Passengers pose for photos with a high-speed electrical multiple unit (EMU) train of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway on the platform of Halim Station in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 17, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR), celebrating its first anniversary on Thursday, has transported 5.79 million passengers, according to PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China (KCIC), a joint venture between Indonesian and Chinese enterprises that built and operates the railway.
Since its commercial launch in October 2023, the HSR has completed over 15,826 train trips, covering more than 2.57 million kilometers. The number of daily train services has increased from 14 at the start of operations to 52, with passenger seats rising from 8,400 to over 31,000. The highest daily ridership reached 24,132, according to KCIC statistics.
The HSR is fully powered by electricity, significantly reducing fuel consumption and emissions. The KCIC said that the green energy initiative saves Indonesia around 3.2 trillion rupiahs (208 million U.S. dollars) annually in fuel costs.
In addition, Indonesian government data indicated that between 2019 and 2023, the project contributed 86.5 trillion rupiahs (about 5.62 billion dollars) to the GDP of Jakarta and West Java.
With a design speed of 350 km per hour, the 142.3-km high-speed railway has cut travel time between Jakarta and Bandung from over three hours to just 46 minutes.
Source: The White House
Today, President Biden announced an additional $4.5 billion in student debt cancellation for over 60,000 borrowers through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, bringing the number of public service workers who have had their student loans cancelled to over 1 million people during the Biden-Harris Administration. Before President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, only 7,000 borrowers had ever received forgiveness through PSLF. Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s significant improvements to the PSLF program, over 1 million teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officials, nurses, servicemembers, and other public service workers who have dedicated their lives to serving their communities are getting the student debt relief they are entitled to under the law. Last week, President Biden met with a kindergarten teacher who has been paying her loans for 12 years and let her know that she is one of the 1 million people approved for PSLF under his Administration, and over $46,000 of her loans are being cancelled. In total, the Biden-Harris Administration has approved $175 billion in student debt relief for nearly 5 million borrowers through various actions.
From Day One of their Administration, President Biden and Vice President Harris vowed to fix the student loan system and make sure higher education is a ticket to the middle class – not a barrier to opportunity. Already, the Biden-Harris Administration has delivered life-changing relief to students and families. While Republican elected officials try every which way to block millions of their own constituents from receiving student debt relief – even proposing to get rid of the PSLF program altogether – President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting to provide borrowers student debt relief and making higher education affordable.
Delivering Life-Changing Relief to Over 1 Million Public Servants
In 2007, Congress enacted bipartisan legislation creating PSLF to recognize the critical role public servants play in our communities and support them in their service. Under PSLF, people who dedicate at least 10 years of their careers to giving back to their communities – like teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officials, nurses, and servicemembers – can get relief on their student loans. However, the program was poorly implemented. Many public servants found out that they had spent years in the wrong student loan repayment plan or did not take out the right type of loan and were therefore ineligible for PSLF and denied forgiveness. Before the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, only 7,000 people had ever received forgiveness through PSLF and the rejection rate, in part due to administrative errors and difficult processes, was as high as 98% in some years. Public servants were also being told that, because they didn’t file the right forms years ago, there was nothing for them to do but keep paying their loans longer than the program requires.
Thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris’ leadership, the Biden-Harris Administration has significantly improved the PSLF program to help more borrowers than ever before. This includes establishing and implementing new regulations to help borrowers earn more credit toward PSLF, simplifying criteria to help borrowers certify employment, creating fairer eligibility criteria, and providing borrowers the opportunity to apply for reconsideration of previous denials. The Biden-Harris Administration launched the Limited PSLF Waiver, providing public service workers affected by the pandemic with the opportunity to get PSLF credit for prior payments on their federal student loans regardless of repayment plan or loan type. To simplify the application process for borrowers, the Biden-Harris Administration made it so borrowers and employers can complete the entire PSLF application and submit required forms online, made it easier for borrowers to find qualifying employers and get necessary signatures verifying employment, and recently, announced new steps to allow borrowers to manage all aspects of their PSLF journey on StudentAid.gov.
Thanks to these improvements, as of today, over 1 million public service workers have been approved for debt cancellation through PSLF. The Department of Education today also released new state-by-state data showing how many borrowers have had their loans approved for cancellation under PSLF in each state under the Biden-Harris Administration.
Economic Benefits of Student Debt Relief for Public Service Workers
Today, the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) published a new analysis underscoring that the Biden-Harris Administration’s student debt policies not only benefit borrowers, but also the entire economy.
The CEA highlights that PSLF has the potential to deliver considerable benefits to those who receive it – including the ability to buy a home, start a business, and improve overall financial health. In addition, the CEA analysis shows how the PSLF program strengthens the public sector by making it more feasible for students with postsecondary debt to pursue and remain in public service careers that are essential to our economy and communities.
Despite these benefits to the U.S. economy and hard-working Americans, Republican elected officials have tried to stop the Biden-Harris Administration every step of the way, and have even attempted to end PSLF altogether, which would block millions of dedicated public servants from receiving the student debt relief they have earned. President Biden and Vice President Harris will not stop fighting for our nation’s dedicated public servants.
Encouraging Public Servants to Take Advantage of the PSLF Program
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is also announcing a series of new steps to encourage public servants across the nation to take advantage of the PSLF program.
A number of public sector unions, including the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Education Association (NEA), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), are amplifying today’s announcement through member-to-member outreach, social media campaigns, and more, and are encouraging people to sign up for PSLF:
These new steps are in addition to previous actions by the Administration including working with over 15 major federal agencies to develop PSLF agency action plans. In implementing these plans, federal agencies have encouraged thousands of additional federal employees to take advantage of the PSLF program through extensive social media campaigns, principal-level engagement, engagement with stakeholder groups, press, and mass email communications.
Building On an Unparalleled Record of Student Debt Relief
Today’s announcement is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s broader set of actions to reduce the burden of student debt and ensure that student loans are not a barrier to educational and economic opportunity for students and families. President Biden and Vice President Harris secured a $900 increase to the maximum Pell Grant award – the largest increase in more than a decade. Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has approved through various actions $175 billion in student debt relief for nearly 5 million Americans, each of whom have been approved for an average of roughly $35,000 in student debt cancellation. These actions have benefitted borrowers in every state, territory, and congressional district in the United States.
This approved relief includes:
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Source: The White House
Today, my Administration is approving another $4.7 billion in student debt cancellation for over 60,000 public service workers – bringing the total number of Americans who have had their debt cancelled under Public Service Loan Forgiveness during my Administration to over 1 million people.
Public service workers – teachers, nurses, firefighters, and more – are the bedrocks of our communities and our country. They dedicate their careers to giving back to others, and were given the promise of student debt forgiveness after 10 years of public service and 10 years of payments under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. But for too long, the government failed to live up to its commitments, and only 7,000 people had ever received forgiveness under Public Service Loan Forgiveness before Vice President Harris and I took office.
We vowed to fix that, and because of actions from our Administration, now over 1 million public service workers have gotten the relief they are entitled to under the law.
Today’s announcement comes on top of the significant progress we’ve made for students and borrowers over the past three years. That includes approving debt cancellation for nearly 5 million Americans across all our various debt relief actions; providing the largest increases to the maximum Pell Grant award in over a decade; fixing Income-Driven Repayment so borrowers get the relief they earned; and holding colleges accountable for taking advantage of students and families.
From day one of my Administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity. I will never stop working to make higher education affordable – no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us.
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Source: City of Norwich
Cabinet have agreed to continue work to explore the future use of City Hall which will include gathering public thoughts and opinions.
Last night (Wednesday, 16 October), they considered a report setting out options to transform the historic, Grade 2* listed, heritage building.
The report recommends that Norwich City Council business and its civic activities remain at City Hall.
The first option would see the building refurbished to provide better public access, fit for purpose council office space, grade A lettable space and event and conference opportunities.
The second option would go a step further by adding an extension to the rear, as intended in the original 1938 plans for the building, that could be used for offices, homes, or a hotel.
This option also proposes a new, publicly accessible, landscaped courtyard to the rear and improvements to the public spaces around City Hall.
Cabinet agreed they would like the next stage of work to be done to develop a business case around these options.
Council Leader, Cllr Mike Stonard, said: “We’re still at an early stage and a significant part of what comes next will be gathering feedback from our residents, businesses, partners, and the voluntary and creative sectors.
“It’s vital that we hear from the people of Norwich on this so we can make the best decisions for the city about how we continue to move forward.
“We’re taking the time to plan this now and expect to be getting underway with these conversations early next year.
“We have a huge opportunity here to create a future for the building that boosts the entire city, with the potential to create up to £102million in economic benefits, depending on the scale of the option eventually taken forward.
“These benefits for Norwich would come from creating improved amenities that attract more use and increase spending in the city over the lifetime of the development.”
The agreement to develop a business case will also now see the council obtain the many architectural, technical, and financial reports needed to prepare for any change to a listed, heritage building like City Hall.
Source: Offshore Energy UK
Headline: OEUK news
Skills passport enabling people to find new jobs in offshore wind goes live in 2025
17 October 2024
A new scheme to help workers across the UK’s energy mix, including oil and gas, to find new roles in offshore wind will be launched in January by RenewableUK and Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), supported by the UK and Scottish Governments.
The Energy Skills Passport enables workers and employers to easily identify which qualifications and training standards, such as health and safety, are needed for specific roles in offshore wind. As part of the Energy Skills Passport, an interactive tool will provide clarity on which qualifications are mutually recognised across the sector to avoid any duplication of training courses, as well as mapping out potential career pathways. It will be managed jointly by OEUK and RenewableUK and will be available to a limited number of testers later this year before it is rolled out in full in the new year. The initial version focuses on the transition to offshore wind and future versions will include other parts of the energy sector.
The UK’s oil and gas sector supports over 200,000 jobs and the UK’s offshore wind industry already employs 32,000 people – that number is expected to rise to over 100,000 by 2030. Research commissioned by OEUK shows that 90% per cent of oil and gas industry workers have skills which can be transferred to future offshore jobs in renewable energy. Roles which may be suitable for workers to transfer into in offshore wind include maintenance technician, commissioning technician, high-voltage senior authorised person and troubleshooting technician.
RenewableUK’s Executive Director of Offshore Wind Jane Cooper said:
“The upsurge in offshore wind jobs over the course of this decade and beyond creates excellent opportunities for highly-skilled oil and gas workers to bring their valuable experience to the clean energy sector. We’re working closely with our colleagues at Offshore Energies UK, and the UK and Scottish Governments, to make that transition as smooth as possible across all parts of the energy industry. The Energy Skills Passport is a great example of what we can achieve together and we’ll continue to look for other potential areas of work that can further support the transition of workers between sectors.”
Offshore Energies UK’s Director of Supply Chain & People, Katy Heidenreich said:
“Collaboration is key to unlocking the full potential of the UK’s offshore energy sector so we are proud to be driving this initiative with RenewableUK. This industry and its people have proven excellence and a broad range of transferable skills from engineering and construction to legal and commercial expertise. This passport can help them succeed right across our diverse energy mix. This is one way the UK can back its workforce to build a homegrown energy transition that leaves no-one behind. It’s part of the toolkit this industry is assembling to partner with government to solve the challenges and seize the opportunities of our energy future.”
The Co-Chair of the Offshore Wind Industry Council Richard Sandford said:
“The Energy Skills Passport is a crucial step forward for workers to embrace opportunities in the offshore wind industry. It simplifies movement between essential offshore energy sectors, enabling workers to apply their knowledge to the energy transition. The milestone highlights effective collaboration between OEUK and RenewableUK, supported by the UK and Scottish Governments.”
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Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Infinera (Nasdaq: INFN) and the U.S. Department of Commerce have signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms for Infinera to receive up to $93 million in direct funding as part of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act. This proposed direct funding, when combined with investment tax credits available under the CHIPS and Science Act, could result in more than $200 million in total federal incentives as well as potential state and local incentives.
This proposed funding would support the expansion and modernization of both Infinera’s semiconductor capabilities in Silicon Valley, California and its advanced test and packaging capabilities in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, increasing the company’s existing domestic manufacturing capacity by an estimated factor of ten. Combined proposed funding for these two projects could create up to 1,700 manufacturing and construction jobs while strengthening America’s supply chain, economic and national security.
“We are grateful for the bipartisan efforts under the CHIPS and Science Act to increase semiconductor fabrication and packaging in the U.S. and protect our national and economic security,” said David Heard, Infinera CEO. “The proposed CHIPS funding will enable us to better secure our supply chain and compete more effectively with foreign adversary nations. Our unique photonic semiconductors address the increased demand for bandwidth from consumers while opening new markets inside the data center driven by the explosive growth in AI workloads.”
Infinera’s award of the proposed CHIPS funding would not have been possible without bipartisan support and partnerships with local, state and federal officials. This support is instrumental to the long-term success of these projects and the growth of advanced manufacturing in the U.S.
Additional Resource:
Biden-Harris Administration Announces Preliminary Terms with Infinera to Support Development of Semiconductor Technology Important for Communications and National Security
Contacts:
Infinera Media:
Anna Vue
Tel. +1 (916) 595-8157
avue@infinera.com
Infinera Investors:
Amitabh Passi, Head of Investor Relations
Tel. +1 (669) 295-1489
apassi@infinera.com
About Infinera
Infinera is a global supplier of innovative open optical networking solutions and advanced optical semiconductors that enable carriers, cloud operators, governments, and enterprises to scale network bandwidth, accelerate service innovation, and automate network operations. Infinera solutions deliver industry-leading economics and performance in long-haul, submarine, data center interconnect, and metro transport applications. To learn more about Infinera, visit http://www.infinera.com, follow us on X and LinkedIn, and subscribe for updates.
Infinera and the Infinera logo are registered trademarks of Infinera Corporation.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements regarding Infinera’s ability to secure CHIPS funding and investment tax credits, and the anticipated benefits of any such funding and tax credits. These statements are not guarantees of results and should not be considered as an indication of future activity or future performance. Actual results may vary materially from these expectations as a result of various risks and uncertainties. Information about risks and uncertainties that affect Infinera’s business is contained in the risk factors section and other sections of Infinera’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Quarter ended June 29, 2024 as filed with the SEC on August 2, 2024, as well as any subsequent reports filed with or furnished to the SEC. These reports are available on Infinera’s website at http://www.infinera.com and the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions, or strategies and can be identified by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “should,” “will,” and “would” or similar words. Infinera assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
SINGAPORE, Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aurora Mobile Limited (Nasdaq: JG), recently showcased its no-code AI Bot development platform, GPTBots, and its global customer engagement platform, EngageLab, at eCommerce Expo Asia, part of Tech Week Singapore on October 9-10, 2024, held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre. The event brought together industry giants such as Shopify, Amazon, Stripe, and TikTok, focusing on the latest trends in e-commerce, AI, and MarTech, with Aurora Mobile’s innovative solutions drawing significant attention from attendees.
As a comprehensive trade show, eCommerce Expo Asia provided a platform for in-depth discussions on the application of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and marketing technology (MarTech) across various industries. GPTBots, Aurora’s no-code AI Bot platform, stood out at the event, engaging a diverse audience keen to explore practical AI applications in their businesses.
During the exhibition, attendees from different industries expressed unprecedented enthusiasm for AI technology, sharing their specific needs and pain points faced during their digital transformation journeys. GPTBots demonstrated its powerful capabilities in natural language processing, contextual understanding, and extensive customization, positioning itself as a valuable tool to solve these challenges.
Interest from Various Industries
Additionally, representatives from industries such as manufacturing, medical e-commerce, and event organizers praised GPTBots’ potential in areas such as automated product quality inspection, intelligent lead screening, platform integration, and inquiry management. Many attendees commented that GPTBots could bring transformative changes to their respective businesses.
Global Adoption and Empowering Enterprises
Since its launch in September 2023, GPTBots has gained widespread recognition. As of July 31, 2024, the platform had over 60,000 registered users, including enterprises and developers, with more than 85% of its user base coming from overseas markets. GPTBots’ users span a wide range of sectors including e-commerce, real estate, finance, IT, healthcare, government, renewable energy, education, and eldercare. This achievement demonstrates the platform’s strong ability to help businesses achieve intelligent transformation.
About Aurora Mobile Limited
Founded in 2011, Aurora Mobile (NASDAQ: JG) is a leading provider of customer engagement and marketing technology services in China. Since its inception, Aurora Mobile has focused on providing stable and efficient messaging services to enterprises and has grown to be a leading mobile messaging service provider with its first-mover advantage. With the increasing demand for customer reach and marketing growth, Aurora Mobile has developed forward-looking solutions such as Cloud Messaging and Cloud Marketing to help enterprises achieve omnichannel customer reach and interaction, as well as artificial intelligence and big data-driven marketing technology solutions to help enterprises’ digital transformation.
For more information, please visit https://ir.jiguang.cn/.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “confident” and similar statements. Among other things, the Business Outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as Aurora Mobile’s strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. Aurora Mobile may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including but not limited to statements about Aurora Mobile’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Aurora Mobile’s strategies; Aurora Mobile’s future business development, financial condition and results of operations; Aurora Mobile’s ability to attract and retain customers; its ability to develop and effectively market data solutions, and penetrate the existing market for developer services; its ability to transition to the new advertising-driven SAAS business model; its ability to maintain or enhance its brand; the competition with current or future competitors; its ability to continue to gain access to mobile data in the future; the laws and regulations relating to data privacy and protection; general economic and business conditions globally and in China and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of the press release, and Aurora Mobile undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police
Detectives from the Met’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit (SCIU) investigating a fatal road traffic collision in Newham have named the victim as they continue to appeal for witnesses and anyone with footage to come forward.
At around 15:40hrs on Tuesday, 15 October, a Nissan Juke mounted the pavement at Barking Road, E16 colliding with 18-year-old Maryam Nabil Shuwey who was from Stratford. Despite the actions of off-duty police officers, members of the public and medics, Maryam sadly died from her injuries at the scene.
Chief Superintendent Dan Card, leading policing in Newham, said: “I know that local people will be feeling shocked and distressed by the tragic loss of a young woman’s life in such horrific circumstances. Please know that we share those feelings, and we are doing everything we can to support our SCIU colleagues as they investigate the full circumstances of the incident.
“The actions of two off-duty officers close to the scene when the collision happened were commendable – despite the chaotic situation, they managed the incident in its early stages and attempted to help the victim until medics arrived. Members of the public also rushed to see if they could help as Newham pulled together to try to save a young life. While the outcome was not what anyone would have wished for, I would like to extend my thanks to those people.
“Local residents and businesses will notice a more visible police presence in the area in the coming days and I urge anyone with concerns to speak with officers as they patrol or contact their local Neighbourhood Policing Team.”
The driver of the Nissan Juke – a 45-year-old man – was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He was taken to hospital for treatment before being taken into police custody. He has since been released on bail pending further enquiries.
The victim’s family were notified and they continue to be supported by specialist officers.
Road closures and cordons were established. These have since been lifted.
Chief Superintendent Thomas Naughton, of the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command, said: “This is a tragic and deeply upsetting incident for everyone concerned. We are doing everything we can to support the victim’s family and we ask that their privacy be respected as they struggle to come to terms with unimaginable loss.
“I am aware of footage of the incident circulating online and ask that consideration be given the victim’s loved ones and that footage not be shared further on social media. Not least because it could prejudice any future criminal proceedings.
“We are working hard to establish the full circumstances surrounding this incident and ask that anyone who has information or footage contact us without delay.”
Anyone who witnessed this incident or has footage should call the Serious Collision Investigation witness line direct on 020 8597 4874, call 101 or post on X @MetCC quoting 4765/15OCT.
Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police
Met detectives have charged a man with murder following the death of a man that was shot in Waltheof Gardens, N17 on Tuesday, 15 October.
Mahmut Sahindal, 56 (20.5.68), of no fixed abode, was charged with murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. He has been remanded to appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court today (Thursday, 17 October).
Sahindal was arrested on Tuesday, 15 October.
An investigation was launched after police were called to reports of a shooting on Tuesday, 15 October, in Waltheof Gardens, N17.
Officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service and found a man with a gunshot injury. Despite the best efforts of emergency services, he died at the scene.
The victim’s family have been informed of this update and will continue to be supported by specialist officers.
Enquiries into the circumstances remain ongoing.
Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
The annual ISO/TC 154 plenary meeting, in conjunction working Groups meeting, have been confirmed to be held from 21 to 25 October 2024 at Seongnam-city, Gyeonggi-do, Korea.
You are herewith invited to the 43rd plenary meeting of ISO/TC 154 Processes, data elements and documents in commerce, industry and administration, on 21, 25 October 2024 at Seongnam-city,
Gyeonggi-do, Korea. The meeting will be held at the following address:
Venue: Telecommunication Technology Association(TTA)
Address: 47, Bundang-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-city, Gyeonggi-do, 13591, Republic of Korea
As usual the Working Group meetings will take place in conjunction on 21-24 October 2024 at the same location
Source: City of Portsmouth
Portsmouth City Council has officially launched its new city centre enterprise centre to support local businesses to start up and grow.
City Buildings Enterprise Centre is located in Commercial Road on the former Job Centre and Playland sites and is now the fourth council owned enterprise centre in the city.
Designed to support local start-ups and small businesses, City Buildings Enterprise Centre offers affordable office space, a co-working area and flexible lease terms with easy access to transport links. .
Cllr Steve Pitt, Leader of Portsmouth City Council with responsibilities for economic development said:
“City Buildings Enterprise Centre is an exciting opportunity for Portsmouth’s city centre. There is a real need from start-up and small businesses for low cost business premises to be located centrally, close to good transport links.
This new enterprise centre is also part of our wider city centre regeneration programme. By creating a vibrant community of entrepreneurs, we can revitalise the area and support our local economy.”
In addition to affordable workspace, the centre offers businesses access to the council’s Portsmouth Business Support Service, providing expert advice on training, funding, mentoring, and networking opportunities.
Portsmouth Enterprise Centres are committed to helping small businesses thrive by providing low-cost rents and a supportive environment.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Gemma Ware, Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were awarded the 2024 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine for their discovery of microRNA, tiny biological molecules that tell the cells in our body what kind of cell to be by turning on and off certain genes.
In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to Ambros about the discovery that led to his Nobel prize and find out what he’s researching now. And we hear about how a deeper understanding of microRNA is opening up new avenues for potential treatment of cancers and other diseases.
Today, Ambros is a professor of molecular medicine and the Silverman Chair in Natural Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in the US. But the research that won him a Nobel prize was published more than 30 years ago in 1993, when he had just established his own research lab at Harvard University.
Ambros was trying to understand the way cells get the right instructions from DNA during their development. To do this, he was studying mutations in an experimental organism: a small worm called C. elegans.
We were studying some mutations and that affected C. elegans’ development in interesting ways – but we were not looking for the involvement of any sort of unexpected kind of molecular mechanisms.
Ambros’s wife, Rosalind Lee, and another member of the lab team, Rhonda Feinbaum, had spent a couple of years trying to understand the genetic process behind the mutation in a labour-intensive search. What they eventually discovered was a microRNA, a new dimension to gene regulation – the process through which genes are turned on and off in certain cells. As Ambros put it:
You can say they’re really the heroes behind this, and our job – mine and Gary’s – is to stand in as representatives of the whole enterprise of science, which is so dependent upon teams, collaborations, brainstorming among multiple people, communications of ideas and crucial data … All this is part of the process that underlies successful science like this.
Thanks to the discoveries of Ambros and Ruvkun back in the 1990s, medical researchers all over the world are looking at how microRNA affects the development of human diseases. One such researcher is Justin Stebbing, a professor of biomedical sciences at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK. He explained:
MicroRNAs, like many processes, can go wrong and they’ve been implicated in diseases as diverse as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to cancer and kidney failure.
Stebbing said that in cancer, microRNA has been found to turn off tumour suppressor genes, effectively allowing cancers to spread. But microRNA can also be useful in understanding cancer, and in potential treatments:
We can work out the right treatments for people based on what we call a microRNA signature. We can understand prognosis, which means how severe people’s cancers are, but we can also try and harness them for treatments to make people better.
To find out more about the discovery of microRNA and what research is being done on it today, listen to the full episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, which includes an introduction from Vivian Lam, associate health and biomedicine editor at The Conversation in the US.
This episode of The Conversation Weekly was produced by Katie Flood, Gemma Ware and Mend Mariwany. Sound design was by Michelle Macklem, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl.
You can find us on Instagram at theconversationdotcom or via email. You can also subscribe to The Conversation’s free daily email here.
Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here.
Victor Ambros’s laboratory’s research has been funded (since 1985) and is currently funded by the US National Institutes of Heath. Justin Stebbing does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Victor Ambros on the team effort behind his Nobel-prize winning discovery of microRNA – podcast – https://theconversation.com/victor-ambros-on-the-team-effort-behind-his-nobel-prize-winning-discovery-of-microrna-podcast-241407
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Adam Smith, Senior Consultant, Universal Impact
The winners of a competition which challenges academics to explain their research in just three minutes have been announced.
A total of 850 researchers from across the UK entered the tenth annual Vitae Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition, which was sponsored by The Conversation through its Universal Impact training and mentoring subsidiary.
These were narrowed down first to 65 competitors and then six finalists, before a judging panel and a public vote determined the winning three.
The overall judges’ award went to Jo Baker from Newcastle University for her presentation on children’s speech difficulties, which was perfectly illustrated through the use of an original cartoon.
Ulster University’s James McMullan captured the public’s imagination with his presentation on whether eating fish could be the secret to healthy ageing, winning the people’s choice award.
Universal Impact also had the chance to pick an editor’s champion. We chose Muhammad Muddasar at University of Limerick for his research looking at whether the heat we waste on a daily basis could be transformed into a new energy source.
The other finalists were Ferdinando Sereno at UCL, Natalie Weir at University of Derby and Charlie Gerlis from the University of the West of England.
Originally developed by the University of Queensland, the competition challenges doctoral researchers to communicate their research to a non-expert audience – in three minutes or less.
As a judge, I was blown away by the overall standard of the entries – this really was a masterclass in research communications.
All of the academics involved spoke passionately about their research, explaining how it could contribute to making the world a better place.
Each of these researchers deserved their place in the final and it took lengthy discussions before the panel was able to pick a winner.
This year’s final was broadcast live online with the winners announced on Friday, October 4.
At Universal Impact, we have been delighted to support this mission by joining the judging panel and mentoring the champions (who also receive a coveted trophy and small grant) to help them build on their success and take their research to an even wider audience.
Vitae, which organised the competition, is a non-profit organisation that supports the professional development of researchers.
Rachel Cox, head of membership and engagement at Vitae, said: “The Vitae Three Minute Thesis is a fantastic competition which provides a unique opportunity for doctoral researchers to think differently about how they communicate work that is meaningful to them to a wider audience.
“It opens minds and opens doors for the individuals involved, as it can be a pathway to a wide variety of future careers, as previous participants have shown.
“At Vitae, we are proud of the impact this competition has had over the past ten years, and we are excited to see what it can do over the next decade.
“We are also delighted that Universal Impact and The Conversation are supporting this year’s event.”
You can find out more about the competition and the work of Vitae here.
– ref. Meet the winners of this year’s Three Minute Thesis competition – https://theconversation.com/meet-the-winners-of-this-years-three-minute-thesis-competition-240740
Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Thursday, 17 October 2024
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – As every year, in view of World Mission Sunday, which this year celebrates its 98th anniversary on Sunday, October 20, 2024, Fides News Agency offers some statistics chosen to give a panorama of the Church in the world.All the data in this dossier, and the subsequent processing of graphs and tables are taken from the latest edition of the «Church’s Book of Statistics» published this year (updated to December 31, 2022) regarding members of the Catholic Church, church structures, healthcare, welfare and education. Finally, the picture of ecclesiastical circumscriptions dependent on the Dicastery for Evangelization, Section for the First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches is reported.Catholic Church in the world: summary of dataTo December 31, 2022 the world population was 7.838.944.000, with an increase of 53.175.000 units compared to the previous year. The positive trend is confirmed for all continents, except Europe.On the same date, December 31, 2022, Catholics in the world numbered 1.389.573.000 units with an overall increase of 13.721.000 Catholics compared to the previous year. Even in this case, the increase affects four of the five continents. Only in Europe there is a decrease in the number of Catholics: – 474.000. As in previous years, increases were registered above all in Africa (+7.271.000) and in America (+5.912.000). Followed by Asia (+889.000) and Oceania (+123.000). The world percentage of Catholics increased slightly (+0,03) compared to the previous year, reaching 17,7%. The Continents register slight variations.The total number of Bishops in the world increased by 13 units compared to the previous year, reaching 5.353. The number of diocesan Bishops increased (+19) and Religious Bishops decreased (-6). Diocesan Bishops number 2.682, while that of Religious Bishops is 2.671.The total number of priests in the world continues to decline, reaching 407.730 (-142 in the last year). Once again, it is Europe that shows a consistent decrease (-2745), followed by America (-164). Like last year, significant increase were registered in Africa (+1.676) and in Asia (+1.160). Oceania, after last year’s increase, registers a decrease (-69). Diocesan priests in the world decreased by 439 units, reaching 279.171. Religious priests have increased in the last year, reaching 128.559 (+297).Permanent deacons in the world continue to increase (+974), reaching 50.159. The increase was registered in Africa (+1), Asia (+15) and Europe (+267). A decrease was registered in America (-308) and in Oceania (-1).The number of non-religious priests decreased by 360 units compared to the previous year, reaching 49.414. A decrease was registered in Africa (-229), in Europe (-382) and in Oceania (-27) while an increase was registered in America (+27) and in Asia (+251). Even this year there is an overall decrease in the number of women religious, reaching 599.228 (-9.730). An increase was registered, once again, in Africa (+1.358) and in Asia (+74), while a decrease was registered in Europe (-7.012), America (-1.358) and Oceania (-225).The number of major seminarians, diocesan and religious decreased this year, they are globally 108.481 (they were 109.895 in the previous year). An increase was registered only in Africa (+726) and Oceania (+12), while a decrease was registered in America (-921), in Asia (-375) and in Europe (-859). The total number of minor seminarians, diocesan and religious decreased by 95.161 (-553). An increase was registered only in Africa (+1.065), while a decrease was registered in all other continents: Asia (-978), America (-475), Europe (-153) Oceania (-12).In the field of education, the Catholic Church runs 74.322 kindergartens with 7.622.480 pupils; 102.189 primary schools with 35.729.911 pupils; 50.851 secondary schools with 20.566.902 pupils. Furthermore, 2.460.993 pupils study in secondary schools and 3,925,393 in university institutes.Charity and healthcare centres run in the world by the Church are 102.409 and include: 5.420 hospitals and 14.205 dispensaries; 525 Care Homes for people with Leprosy; 15.476 Homes for the elderly or the chronically ill or people with a disability; 10.589 creches; 10.500 marriage counselling centers; 3.141 social rehabilitation centers and 33.677 other kinds of institutes.Ecclesiastical circumscriptions (Metropolitan Arcidioceses, Archdioceses, Dioceses, Territorial Abbeys, Apostolic Vicariates, Apostolic Prefectures, Missions sui iuris, Territorial Prelatures, Apostolic Administrations and Military Ordinariates) dependent on the Dicastery for Evangelization are 1.123 (+2). Most of the ecclesiastical circumscriptions entrusted to the Dicastery based in Piazza di Spagna are in Africa (525) and in Asia (481). Followed by America (71) and Oceania (46).Appendix: analysis – variations over 25 years (1998-2022)In view of the upcoming Jubilee 2025, and to help understand the trend of variations in the numerical data related to the presence and mission of the Catholic Church in the world, in addition to the usual dossier, this year Fides Agency also publishes an appendix which summarizes data collected over a period of twenty-five years, those from 1998 to 2022. This includes data on the Catholic population, the number of priests, the number of men and women religious, and the number of baptisms administered worldwide.This appendix also collects and processes data and tables from the «Church’s Book of Statistics» published this year (updated to December 31, 2022). Unlike the classic dossier, the data taken into consideration in the Appendix do not go into detail on each individual continent, but simply illustrate, with figures, the general evolution at the global level in a broader context.From the data collected for the period 1998-2022, it is immediately clear that the number of Catholics worldwide has increased overall over the twenty-five years covered. The data on the percentage of Catholics in the world population is significant: in 1998, 17.4% of the world’s population was Catholic. In the latest available survey, this figure is 17.7%. The latter percentage has remained unchanged since 2015, after reaching a brief peak in 2014 (17.8%).Another important development concerns the number of priests. Overall, the number of priests (secular and religious) worldwide has increased from 404,628 to 407,730 over the twenty-five years covered. While the number of men and women religious has decreased. According to the data, the number of religious brothers has never exceeded 60,000 over the twenty-five years covered. The same downward curve is also evident in the case of women religious, whose number has fallen from 814,779 to 559,228 in twenty-five years.While the Catholic population is growing worldwide, the number of baptisms has declined. It fell from 17,932,891 baptisms worldwide in 1998 to 13,327,037 baptisms in 2022.(Agenzia Fides, 17/10/2024)
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Source: European Banking Authority
On 3 October , the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) – the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) – organised the 11th edition of their annual Consumer Protection Day, in Budapest.
The event followed the theme of “Empowering EU consumers: fair access to the future of financial services” and had three panels covering the topics of artificial intelligence (AI) in financial services, access to consumer centric products and services, and sustainable finance. Speakers and panellists included leaders from consumer organisations, regulatory authorities, EU institutions, academia, and market participants from across the European Union, with 300 participants on-site and more than 600 viewers online.
Speeches were delivered by the three ESAs Chairs – Verena Ross (ESMA and currently Joint Committee Chair), Jose-Manuel Campa (EBA), and Petra Hielkema (EIOPA) – as well as Csaba Kandrács, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Hungary and Agustín Reyna, the Director General of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC). A fire-side chat also took place with Chris Betz, Chief Information Security Officer of Amazon Web services to discuss generative AI.
On Artificial Intelligence, panellists exchanged views about the potential benefits of AI, such as fraud detection and the automation of processes to detect and prevent money laundering, as well as the risks, such as the lack of transparency and explainability. Panellists emphasised the need to better understand the technology to assess how those risks can be mitigated. Some panellists highlighted the importance for the ESAs to facilitate knowledge sharing, ensure regulatory and supervisory convergence and create the conditions for innovation to grow. Some industry players also called on the ESAs to issue ‘guardrails’ or other guidance on how financial institutions should comply with the new EU AI Act.
During the panel on access to consumer centric financial products and services, panellists discussed the need to strengthen financial education, pay greater attention to vulnerable consumers, and enable them to understand and access standard financial services packages (payment account, saving account, home/health insurance). The importance of better understanding consumer needs and preserve consumer trust was also highlighted.
On sustainable finance, panellists remarked that investors still struggle to understand the technicalities of product disclosures and the complex terminology attached to such disclosures. Simplification of the current Sustainable Finance Disclosures Requirements towards a categorisation system that works for retail investors was considered by the panellists to be the main area that regulators should focus on, in addition to enhancing the financial literacy of retail investors.
The ESAs will reflect on the input and suggestions heard from the audience and the panellists, and discuss the actions to be strenghtened or to be taken going forward.
See the EBA webpage and the recording of the event here.
Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE
Headline: OSCE and Hellenic Police equip Bulgarian border officers with advanced skills to combat document forgery and impostors at border crossings
OSCE and Hellenic Police equip Bulgarian border officers with advanced skills to combat document forgery and impostors at border crossings | OSCE
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Source: City of Birmingham
A scheme aimed at reducing congestion and improving public transport and active travel has had its most recent phase completed.
The A457 Dudley Road Improvement Scheme will deliver significant improvements in network capacity and public transport, in addition to upgraded facilities for pedestrians and cyclists along the A457 corridor.
It will also support the city’s growth objectives within the Greater Icknield area.
Phase two has now been completed with a plaque installed next to the new Spring Hill bridge.
Cllr Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for transport and environment, said: “This summer, Birmingham City Council declared a road safety emergency. People have died as a direct result of dangerous driving across our city, and this must end.
“We’re taking action, including working with the police and the mayor to increase the number of average speed cameras across the city, and reducing the speed limit from 40 to 30 miles per hour on our major roads.
“We can’t just police our way out of this though. For too long, our roads have been designed with a driver-first attitude, and in order to make our roads safer, this must change.
“So it is important to highlight the completion of the latest phase of work to make the Dudley Road safer, including the development of dedicated walking and cycling lanes, improved priority for buses, reduced congestion and ultimately safer roads.”
The scheme is funded via central government levelling up money.
West Midlands Chief Constable Craig Guildford said: “Since the summer, I have chaired a gold group around road safety bringing together the local authorities and the combined authority to work collectively for safer roads. We must all work in partnership to bring down the number of collisions that result in fatalities or serious injuries.
“At WMP, we have made the biggest reinvestment in roads policing in a generation. We’ve increased the teams who target the causes of collisions as well as the teams that tackle criminal use of our roads.
“We are more determined than ever to achieve Vision Zero. But we need the help of every road user to achieve it.”
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Cycle lanes and bus lanes, like those on Dudley Road, help reduce traffic and pollution, making our streets cleaner and safer for the community.
“I’m also working closely with the police and councils on a new road safety plan, which will introduce even more ways to make sure people can travel safely across the region.
“Alongside this, we’re expanding key routes like the cross-city bus service from Birmingham to Dudley and growing our network of cycle paths to help even more people get around safely and easily.”
Note to editors about the first two phases –
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Today (17 October 2024), the Charity Commission has published findings of its inquiry into Dar ul Uloom Islamia Rizwia (Bralawai).
The regulator found the trustees were responsible for misconduct and/or mismanagement but following the Commission’s intervention, they have taken positive steps to address failures and weaknesses in how the charity operated.
The charity provides a place of worship, religious teachings, community services and also operates an educational centre for the benefit of the local community of Small Heath, Birmingham.
In 2019, a safeguarding incident occurred at the charity’s education centre, prompting the regulator to open a compliance case. During this period, the trustees temporarily closed the education centre. The Commission found that the charity had no safeguarding policies in place at the time of the incident, constituting a serious breach of duty. As a result, it provided the trustees with detailed regulatory advice and guidance, requiring them to implement safeguarding measures before reopening the centre.
In November 2021, the regulator escalated its engagement to a statutory inquiry after carrying out a monitoring inspection which found the charity had reopened its education centre without implementing appropriate safeguarding measures. The Commission’s regulatory advice had not been sufficiently followed. The charity attempted to reopen again without complying in 2022, which amounted to misconduct and/or mismanagement. In light of the continued failures, the Commission used its powers to appoint an Interim Manager to undertake a governance review.
The inquiry identified several regulatory issues, most of which were the result of a poor practice around implementing and following the charity’s own governance policies. This included policies on social media use, conflicts of interest and safeguarding. Additionally, the charity failed to file its accounts for financial years ending in March 2019 and 2020 – all of which amounted to misconduct and/or mismanagement.
The charity’s failure to use or complete its draft social media policy contributed to the issuing of multiple inappropriate social media posts by trustees and staff which resulted in the charity receiving negative media attention. The Commission considered this as part of its inquiry and determined the trustees’ failure to have oversight or appropriately manage risks amounted to misconduct and/or mismanagement. The posts have since been deleted and an apology was issued at the time.
During the inquiry, the Commission made an Order to direct the trustees to take specified action to address these issues and to improve best practice around governance.
Following this intervention, the trustees closed the education centre again and took steps to address the concerns. They provided evidence that staff Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks had been carried out, that safeguarding practices had been reviewed and implemented, and that safeguarding leads had been appointed.
The trustees have now evidenced their use and adherence to a robust social media policy, drafted in line with regulatory guidance, and the charity’s accounts have since been brought up to date. Further positive steps have been taken by trustees to adopt all recommendations made by the Interim Manager and they have evidenced their use of the regulator’s advice and guidance. In light of this progress, the Commission has now concluded its inquiry.
Our inquiry found a number of regulatory concerns and several instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement but the trustees have taken significant steps to improve how the charity operates.
We are now closing our inquiry with the expectation that the current trustees will continue to make necessary changes to help ensure this charity is providing a safe and trusted environment for all.
This case demonstrates how important it is for all trustees to agree and use their charity’s internal policies. Failing to do so can leave a charity and those it serves at risk.
The inquiry report detailing the Commission’s full findings can be found on gov.uk.
Press office
Email pressenquiries@charitycommission.gov.uk
Out of hours press office contact number: 07785 748787
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
This report was issued in October 2024 and covers the time period 1 September 2024 to 30 September 2024 inclusive.
September saw a higher number of general collision risks than the usual monthly average, the vast majority of which were very low probability. We saw a reduced number of re-entry and space weather events and we expect these re-entry numbers to continue to reduce from the high we saw in August. All NSpOC warning and protection services functioned as expected throughout the period.
This month saw 50 re-entering objects; a reduction in the number of objects re-entering Earth’s atmosphere compared to August, when the numbers were particularly high due to planned re-entry campaigns. Re-entered objects of note included the Polaris Dawn trunk re-entry on 29 September which re-entered over the Atlantic Ocean. This trunk was from the crewed Polaris Dawn mission launched earlier in the month taking 4 astronauts to complete the first private spacewalk.
Chart showing number of re-entries monitored by month. January: 13, February: 24, March: 25, April: 22, May: 56, June: 48, July: 44, August: 89, September: 50
We warned UK-licensed satellite operators of 3,041 potential collision risks in September representing a 42% increase on August. Heightened solar activity and multiple operators in similar orbits might have contributed to the increase in risks. Our warnings allow operators to take critical collision avoidance decisions.
Chart showing number of collision risks to UK-licensed satellites monitored by month. January: 1,690, February: 1,943, March: 1,903, April: 1,899, May: 2,560, June: 1,881, July: 1,795, August: 2,137, September: 3,041
NSpOC has been monitoring the Atlas 5 Centaur rocket body break-up. Objects are still being analysed but we expect the debris count to be over 20 objects.
Below is a summary of the key space weather events during this reporting period.
September – A moderate radiation storm occurred on 9 September where satellites may have experienced a modest increase in single event upsets to electronic systems.
12 September – Two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) arrived on 12 September, leading to a moderate geomagnetic storm with possible impacts to satellites.
14-16 September – A Strong wide-area blackout affected the sunlit side of Earth on 14 September, with the subsequent CME arriving at Earth late on 16 September producing a strong geomagnetic storm and an associated moderate radiation storm. Satellites may have again experienced a modest increase in single event upsets to electronic systems.
30 September – A moderate solar flare occurred which may have slightly impacted satellite communications on the sunlit side.
You can find more information on space weather and NSpOC here.
There was a total increase of 571 registered space objects during September which was slightly lower than in August. Just over 300 of these objects were additional debris pieces catalogued from the LM-6A (CZ-6A) fragmentation which occurred at the beginning of August.
Additionally, SpaceX deployed a further 82 Starlink satellites during September.
Note that numbers in the registered space objects catalogue can fluctuate over time as data is continually verified.
Chart showing number registered space objects by month. January: 28,014, February: 28,172, March: 28,478, April: 28,752, May: 28,850, June: 28,931, July: 28,917, August: 29,297, September: 29,678
The National Space Operations Centre combines and coordinates UK civil and military space domain awareness capabilities to enable operations, promote prosperity and protect UK interests in space and on Earth from space-related threats, risks and hazards.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
SINGAPORE, Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — UXLINK, a pioneer in Web3 social infrastructure, is proud to introduce its advanced Social Growth Layer, an infrastructure solution designed to accelerate Web3 development by offering comprehensive growth tools, including chain abstraction, unified accounts, and rich data integration.
“We built the Social Growth Layer to address the unique challenges faced by Web3 developers,” said Sean, Founder at UXLINK. “With our suite of tools, developers can focus on creating engaging user experiences, while we handle the backend complexities, ensuring rapid application growth and success.”
Empowering Developers to Innovate
The Social Growth Layer provides modular services that cater to different applications, enabling developers to scale their projects without compromising on performance or security. Over 200 partners are already leveraging UXLINK’s infrastructure to build high-quality applications that resonate with users and drive adoption.
UXLINK’s commitment to supporting the developer community is a cornerstone of its strategy to establish itself as the leading Web3 infrastructure provider for social applications.
For partnership inquiries and more information, visit http://www.uxlink.io.
About UXLINK:
UXLINK is the world’s largest Web3 social platform and infrastructure provider, connecting a wide array of ecosystem partners and users through a seamless and interactive digital experience. By leveraging blockchain technology, UXLINK aims to redefine social networking, ensuring a secure, transparent, and rewarding environment for its global community.
Contact Details:
UXLINK: https://www.uxlink.io/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/UXLINKofficial
Telegram: https://t.me/uxlinkofficial, https://t.me/uxlinkofficial2
CMC: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/uxlink/
Contact Information:
UXLINK
admin@uxlink.io
Media Contact:
Rachita Chettri
MediaX Agency
contact@mediax.agency
Disclaimer: This content is provided by UXLINK. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider. The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. Please conduct your own research and invest at your own risk.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ed196b7c-64de-4dcf-a44b-d8bfd739ba68
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
A public rental housing applicant was sentenced to four-week imprisonment (suspended for 12 months) and was fined $32,000 for two false statement offences for not declaring his Hong Kong domestic property ownership in his public rental housing (PRH) application and his application for purchase of a Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flat. In addition, a family member in an HOS White Form application was sentenced to four-week imprisonment (suspended for 12 months) and was fined $20,000 for a false statement offence for not fully declaring his asset.
A spokesman for the Housing Department (HD) today (October 17) reminded PRH and HOS applicants to truthfully declare their assets and domestic property ownership.
Information on the two cases is as follows:
Case 1
A PRH applicant failed to declare during the detailed vetting stage in 2020 his ownership of a domestic property in Sha Tin when applying for PRH and thereby succeeded in applying for a Certificate of Eligibility to Purchase (Green Form) to purchase an HOS flat in Yue Tin Court, Sha Tin. He was prosecuted for making a false statement knowingly and making a statement which he knew to be false or misleading as to a material particular to the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA), contrary to section 26(1)(c) and section 26(2) of the Housing Ordinance respectively. He was convicted in Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on October 14, Given the gravity of the offence, the defendant was sentenced to four-week imprisonment (suspended for 12 months) and was fined $32,000. The HOS flat concerned will be dealt with pending the Court’s directive.
Case 2
A family member of a White Form application for HOS 2022 did not fully disclose his assets in the application and successfully purchased an HOS flat in Yu Nga Court, Tung Chung. After an investigation, it was discovered that the net asset value of the bank deposit, investment products, cash, etc, held by the family member at the material time exceeded the net total household asset limit of the relevant HOS application. The family member was prosecuted for making a statement that he knew to be false or misleading as to a material particular to the HA, contrary to section 26(2) of the Housing Ordinance. He was convicted in Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on October 14. Given the gravity of the offence, the defendant was sentenced to four-week imprisonment (suspended for 12 months) and was fined $20,000. The HOS flat concerned will be dealt with pending the Court’s directive.
The spokesman reminded applicants for PRH and subsidised sale flats (SSF) that any person who makes a false statement knowingly or makes a statement that they know to be false or misleading in their application for PRH or purchase of an SSF would commit offences under section 26(1)(c) or section 26(2) of the Housing Ordinance. If convicted, the maximum penalty is a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months, or a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for one year, respectively.
If the purchased SSF has been occupied, the court, by section 26A/26B of the Housing Ordinance, shall order either (1) that the subject flat be transferred to the HA or such person as the HA may nominate; or (2) that the purchaser forfeits to the HA a sum equivalent to the difference between the purchase price of the flat and its market value at the date of conviction or the date of the order. If the flat concerned has not been occupied yet, the HA shall rescind the Agreement of Sale and Purchase and forfeit the deposit paid by the purchaser.
The spokesman reiterated that, in general, the public recognises the HD’s efforts in combating the abuse of public housing resources. The HD will continue to adopt multipronged and risk-based measures to comprehensively combat the abuse of PRH and subsidised housing.
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
The Government announced today the establishment of the Task Group on New Medical School, which is responsible for devising the direction and parameters for a new medical school.
The task group intends to extend invitation of proposals within this year to local universities interested in establishing the new medical school, so as to select a suitable university for setting up the third medical school.
The Chief Executive stated in the 2024 Policy that the Government supports the establishment of the third medical school by a local university to nurture more talented medical practitioners in support of the local healthcare system with the aim of providing quality service and driving Hong Kong’s development into an international medical training, research and innovation hub.
The Task Group on New Medical School’s terms of reference include liaising with interested local universities, inviting and assessing proposals from them, handling matters including but not limited to funding arrangements, programme accreditation, teaching hospital and research support, and formulating recommendations on the new medical school and related arrangements for decision by the Chief Executive in Council.
The task group’s other terms of references call for liaising with the university selected for the establishment of the new medical school on the implementation plan, and providing facilitation on the interim and long-term arrangements for a designated school campus and teaching hospital in consultation with the relevant government bureaus and departments.
Both the Secretary for Education and Secretary for Health are co-chairmen of the Task Group on New Medical School.
Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau said the establishment of the third medical school is an important project in developing medical education in Hong Kong to drive the pursuit of excellence in medical teaching and research in the city.
“I hope the new medical school could pursue an innovative strategic position complementarity with the two existing ones in areas such as the medical curriculum, sources of students and research projects with a view to promoting diversified development in local medical education and research as well as attracting more local, Mainland and overseas medical talent to take up teaching and research duties.”
Noting that the Government attaches significant importance to the establishment of the new medical school, Prof Lo stressed that it has in particular invited seasoned local, Mainland and overseas academics for medical teaching and university management, professionals, the President of the Academy of Medicine and Chairman of the Medical Council of Hong Kong, together with heads of relevant bureaus and departments to form the task group.
The health chief added that the task group will holistically examine various factors when considering proposals submitted by universities, including the strategic position of the medical school, curriculum design, student recruitment arrangement, demand and supply of teaching and training manpower, facilities and financial resources required.
“I sincerely look forward to working closely with all members of the task group to start a new chapter for medical education in Hong Kong. Our first target is to extend invitation of proposals within this year to local universities interested in setting up the new medical school.”
Source: Deutsche Bundesbank in English
A joint initiative by companies and institutions based in and around Frankfurt’s Bahnhofsviertel – the district surrounding its central railway station – intends to help improve the difficult situation in the area. Known as the BHV corporate initiative (BHV being an acronym for Bahnhofsviertel), it aims to make a positive contribution to the district and support selected social projects through constructive dialogue with the city. Representatives of the participating companies presented the initiative at a joint event today with Frankfurt’s mayor Mike Josef. Speaking at the K9 advice centre, one of the welfare facilities to receive financial support from the BHV corporate initiative, they reaffirmed their commitment to the district and called for further intensive efforts to find solutions to the area’s problems.
Mayor Josef highlighted the following: When I took office one and a half years ago, a particularly important topic was the situation in the station district. And it remains so to this day. The many meetings I have had over the past few months have included conversations with companies, their representatives and employees based in or near the station district. It has become clear that the situation in the district needs to change. He went on to say: I am pleased that many conversations have been very constructive. With the BHV corporate initiative, several companies and institutions have decided to provide financial support to social facilities in the station district. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks for this.
We have joined forces in a cross-sectoral initiative to improve the situation in the station district for people who spend time here for a multitude of different reasons. We want to achieve this by supporting tangible projects, said Stephan Bredt, chief operating officer at the Bundesbank, one of the institutions bringing ideas to the joint initiative. The Bundesbank, which has offices in and around the station district, is happy to contribute to its success by getting involved and providing good ideas. We see ourselves at the beginning of a long-term undertaking and invite other interested parties to join in.
The BHV corporate initiative, which currently comprises eleven companies and institutions with around 26,000 employees in and around the station district, is supporting various aid projects for people in need. Indirectly, these may also help to improve the district’s appearance. In a first step, the initiative will support four facilities in the district with funding of €100,000 each:
The K9 advice centre for projects that help people with drug addiction regain a foothold in labour market;
La Strada drug help centre to extend and renovate its community café and drug consumption rooms and expand its provision of medical care;
The night café on Moselstrasse to provide warm meals for people battling addiction;
Malteser Werke to expand their emergency medical service in the district as part of their proactive social work.
As a gateway to the city, the station district has great economic, cultural and social potential. In order to harness this, the current problems need to be tackled on a lasting basis, said Christian Sewing, CEO of Deutsche Bank, speaking on behalf of the companies involved. We welcome the initiative of the mayor and the municipal administration of Frankfurt to develop and implement forward-looking solutions for the station district. It is important that initial improvements are now quickly followed by further tangible steps. As corporate citizens, we want to exercise our social responsibility and make an active contribution to improving the situation and unlocking the district’s full potential.
The participants of the BHV initiative are making a long-term commitment. In addition to the specific financial support to social facilities provided by the companies involved, the initiative aims to liaise closely with the city on the progress made in the district. Moreover, participants are harnessing the initiative to improve the exchange of information with regard to the challenges and opportunities in the district. Other companies and institutions that would like to get involved are welcome to join at any time.
Current participants
Bank of America
Deutsche Bundesbank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Vermögensberatung
DWS
DZ Bank
Frankfurter Volksbank Rhein-Main
Helaba
Merz Pharma
Momeni Group
Nestlé Deutschland
Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)
With historic funding from the Biden-Harris infrastructure law, we’re delivering a future of world-class rail. We’ve broken ground on new rail projects that address decades of underinvestment and will make passenger rail faster, easier, and more affordable.
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0:00 — Richard Smith
2:00 — Secretary Pete Buttigieg
Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell hosts a press briefing to provide an update on the ongoing federal and local response and recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
*Disclaimer: Audio does drop out at some moments*
Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)
Diana, an 83-year-old leukemia survivor and recently widowed, finds hope through the Inflation Reduction Act’s lower cost prescription drug law – which reduces her Medicare prescription costs allowing her to enjoy her golden years without worrying about medical expenses. Her story underscores the importance of accessible healthcare for seniors and the positive impact of this law on real peoples lives.
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) | http://www.hhs.gov | HHS Privacy Policy | http://www.hhs.gov/Privacy.html
Source: United Nations (Video News)
Press Conference by Ted Chaiban, Deputy Executive Director for Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations of the UN’s Children Fund (UNICEF), and Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the World Food Programme (WFP) on their recent visit to Lebanon.
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Briefing reporters on their recent visit to Lebanon, UNICEF’s Deputy Chief Ted Chaiban and the World Food Program (WFP) Chief Operating Officer Carl Skau today (16 Oct) described the plight of approximately 1.2 million people men, women and children have been displaced by the war.
Chaiban told reporters that this figure “includes approximately 400,000 children,” and “nearly 190,000 of those have been forced from their homes into makeshift shelters and are hoping for a semblance of safety there.”
The UNICEF official highlighted the “profound acts of solidarity” witnessed “across communal, sectarian and religious lines,” but warned that as fighting and displacement continues, this solidarity “will become stretched pretty quickly.”
He noted that “the response so far has focussed significantly on the shelters, which is understandable because a lot of the most vulnerable have gone to shelters,” but stressed the need “to support displaced families living with families or friends or renting a small place.”
Chaiban said, “he school year has started in Beirut for private schools, but the public schools are either inaccessible, largely destroyed or used as shelters. There’s about 15 percent of the public schools that can be used, but the vast majority of them cannot now accommodate students. So, we need to find a way to work on the issue of education to avoid losing a generation.”
Joining virtually from Rome, Skau said many of the displaced “have lost everything because they know that their villages or towns have been completely destroyed,” and described “a real sense of desperation.”
He noted that during their visit “the fighting escalated, and they could see the “packed minibuses heading north, and we could hear the bombing.”
WFP, he said was “ready for this” and had been “preparing for this over the past few weeks and months.”
Skau said “we were able to quickly step up, working hand in hand with other partners like UNICEF and other organisations. We are now delivering daily to some 200,000 people with ready-to-eat food and cash. And we have the capacity to scale up to a million people.”
Source: United Nations (Video News)
Geoguard is an innovative platform from the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs that leverages open-source satellite data to help policymakers and researchers tackle climate, peace, and security challenges.
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