Source: Reserve Bank of India
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Data on lending and deposit rates of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) (excluding regional rural banks and small finance banks) received during the month of October 2024 are set out in Tables 1 to 7. Highlights: Lending Rates:
Deposit Rates:
Ajit Prasad Press Release: 2024-2025/1411 |
Source: Bank for International Settlements
Financial innovation is important because finance is important – it is the bloodstream of the real economy.
Today’s financial system falls short in many dimensions: many financial transactions are too slow; many are too costly; for these reasons, useful transactions don’t take place. And in too many countries, too few people are able to access financial services. Improving the functioning of the financial system could make everyone better off.
It is appropriate for the private sector to take the lead in financial innovation. But the public sector has a role as a catalyst for innovation, for instance, by providing the pipes and rails on which finance runs.
Many public institutions – including central banks – are not natural innovators. They may lack experience, expertise and budgets.
Moreover, many countries face similar challenges.
For this reason, there can be great value in working together.
That is why we at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) established the BIS Innovation Hub as a mechanism for collaboration among central banks to develop technological public goods.
When we first came up with this concept, the idea was to have a small unit of four staff members, based in Basel. It quickly became apparent that the appetite among our member central banks to work together and innovate went far beyond that.
Today we have more than 100 staff working in our seven Innovation Hub centres in eight locations throughout North America, Europe and Asia, as well as a strategic partnership with the Innovation Centre of the New York Federal Reserve.
The Innovation Hub undertakes projects across six broad themes: (i) suptech and regtech, (ii) next generation financial market infrastructures, (iii) open finance, (iv) cyber security, (v) green finance and (vi) central bank digital currency, or CBDC. Our CBDC work accounts for a large part of the Innovation Hub’s project portfolio and certainly accounts for much of the public attention. But we have made important contributions in each theme.
Since establishing the Innovation Hub, we have completed 28 projects, with another 27 currently under way. Central banks, of course, are doing their own innovations, and there are many other initiatives under way by both the public sector and the private sector.
While all of the technological innovation has been important, it would be fair to say that it has had modest real-world impact to date. If you compare the degree of progress in the application of digital technologies in, say, the communications industry to that in the financial industry, I am sure you will agree.
The issue is not the technology itself. As I mentioned, there have been great advances there.
What has been lacking is a vision of how the various initiatives should fit together, and of what the financial system of the future should look like and how it should function.
Together with Nandan Nilekani – Chairman of Infosys and the driving force behind India’s digital public infrastructure initiatives – I wrote a paper earlier this year that laid out such a vision. We call it the “Finternet”. The aim of the Finternet is to use technology to make the financial system much more user-centric and to eliminate many of the frictions that add cost and complexity to today’s financial system. It does not advocate for a specific technology, but instead aims to add some guidance about what we want to achieve.
The Finternet rests on three broad pillars. The first is a robust economic and financial architecture. The second is the application of advanced technology. The third is a sound legal and regulatory basis. Let me address each in turn.
The basic economic and financial architecture would resemble that of today’s financial system. As is the case today, there would be a two-tier banking system. Central bank money would be at the core, with commercial bank money accounting for the bulk of the money used day to day. This money, however, would have a more advanced digital representation. We would have tokenised central bank money, which could exist in wholesale form – the digital equivalent of central bank reserves – or retail form – the equivalent of digital banknotes. And we would have tokenised commercial bank deposits.
But tokenising money is just the first step. To get the real benefits of tokenisation you need to combine money with other financial assets, ideally residing on the same ledger.
Government bonds strike me as a natural starting point. These are incredibly important assets in today’s financial system. They serve as the basis for pricing all other financial assets.
Once you have money and government bonds residing on the same platform, you essentially have the basis of the current financial system. Adding other assets to the platform would naturally follow.
Tokenising financial assets would bring many benefits. In particular, if the assets were on a common ledger, there would be much less need for complex messaging and clearing, which are the source of so much cost and delays in today’s financial system. Tokenised assets can settle atomically, helping to further reduce the time needed for financial transactions. And tokenised assets can be programmed. This could open up a huge array of financial transactions that are not possible today.
Of course, not all assets will be tokenised and not all tokenised assets will reside on the same ledger. So we need some way of moving assets across ledgers and from the tokenised to the non-tokenised world. Technology can also help achieve this.
Other technologies can also help to turn the Finternet into reality. For example, compliance with anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regulations – which I would emphasise is hugely important – can also be extremely costly. Technology should allow us to automate such checks, allowing for greater reliability, lower costs and faster processing speeds. Data governance and privacy would draw on the latest privacy-preserving technology. There are many related topics we explore through our projects. One good example is Project Mandala, which has shown how to embed regulatory compliance in cross-border transaction protocols. Beyond economics and technology, the Finternet will also rest on a sound legal and regulatory basis. At a minimum, this should respect all existing laws and governance measures. Privacy, cyber security and related concerns will also need to be addressed. However, technology should also allow us to achieve greater security in the financial system.
Absolutely. Indeed, we are already taking active steps to turn it into reality, including through our Innovation Hub projects.
Let me give you a concrete example of one such project, called Project Agorá.
This is probably our largest Innovation Hub Project to date. We have teamed up with six central banks and more than 40 private sector institutions, coordinated by the Institute for International Finance. I should mention that Santander is one of the participants.
The specific aim of Project Agorá is to look at whether, using tokenised deposits integrated with tokenised wholesale central bank money, we can streamline cross-border payments.
This is an area ripe with inefficiencies, and where services in some jurisdictions have actually worsened in recent years due to the shrinkage of the correspondent banking system. One important reason is that the system, by and large, rests on legacy systems. This implies long sequences of messages being sent back and forth, across national borders, using systems that do not necessary communicate with each other very well. The various regulatory compliance measures – which are particularly important in cross-border transactions – often require manual processes, which add delays and lead to errors.
In principle, using tokenised assets residing on unified ledgers could ease many of these burdens. Transactions using tokenised assets can settle atomically – that is immediately – with all parts of the transaction settling at once. Compliance with regulatory norms can be embedded programmatically inside the tokens. So they will be adhered to with certainty and without the need for manual intervention.
So this is a big project, with big potential gains.
But even more than the specific application, what really excites me about Project Agorá is that it has central banks and commercial banks working together to craft a structure that could form the basis for a future financial system.
I mentioned before the useful catalytic role for central banks in initiating technological innovation. But central banks cannot do it alone. The two-tier banking system lies at the heart of today’s financial system. The system needs money. But very little money comes from the central bank. Commercial bank money provides the bulk of it.
The two-tier banking system helps deliver two foundational principles. The first is the singleness of money. This ensures that a euro is a euro, whether it is the banknote in my pocket or in my deposit at Santander or any other bank. The second is settlement finality, which comes about through the final settlement of all transactions on the balance sheet of the central bank.
We do not know what the financial system of the future will look like. But it is hard for me to imagine that it will not require a two-tier banking system. This means that as well as tokenised central bank money – particularly in wholesale form – it will require banks to provide their customers with tokenised deposits. Project Agorá provides a powerful use case, and I hope that it will spur further innovation.
In the Innovation Hub we try to be a catalyst for innovation. The way it works is that we talk with the community of central banks, identify their needs and then develop projects. And we do them in partnership with central banks.
MBridge has been a project we have been involved with for four years. We have several central bank partners and many, many observers. I think the project has been a big success. It’s a payment system where through wholesale CBDCs you could facilitate tremendously cross-border transactions.
I would say that the project has been so successful that we can declare that we have graduated out. The BIS is leaving that project, not because it was a failure and not because of political considerations but instead because we have been involved for four years and it is at a level where the partners can carry it on by themselves. That has happened already with other projects.
At the same time, I have to say that mBridge is not mature enough to start operating; it is many years away from that.
With respect to political aspects, the noise out there, mBridge is not the “BRICs bridge” – I have to say that categorically. mBridge was not created to cater to the needs of the BRICs. It was put together to satisfy broad central bank necessities.
We at the BIS – I think this is an opportunity to set record straight – we always try to be good global citizen. And the BIS does not operate with any countries, nor can its products be used by any countries that are subject to sanctions. This will continue to be the case. And all central bank members are in this mindset that we need to be observant of sanctions and whatever products we put together should not be a conduit to violate sanctions.
Source: Fannie Mae
WASHINGTON, DC – Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) today reported its third quarter 2024 financial results and filed its Third Quarter 2024 Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing provides condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. The following documents are now available on Fannie Mae’s website at www.fanniemae.com.
Fannie Mae has scheduled a conference call to discuss the company’s results today at 8:00 a.m., ET. Participants may join the conference call in listen-only mode via the webcast link below.
Listen-only webcast:
https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1691512&tp_key=ce5c202816
Click on the link above to attend the presentation from your laptop, tablet, or mobile device. Audio will stream through your selected device. If you have difficulty accessing the webcast, please click the “Listen by Phone” button on the webcast player and dial the number provided.
Source: United States of America – Department of State (video statements)
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken holds a joint press availability with Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Republic of Korea Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul, and Republic of Korea Minister of Defense Kim Yong-hyun at the Department of State, on October 31, 2024.
———-
Under the leadership of the President and Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity. On behalf of the American people we promote and demonstrate democratic values and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world.
The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department, which includes the Foreign Service, Civil Service and U.S. Agency for International Development.
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Source: US Army (video statements)
About the U.S. Army:
The Army Mission – our purpose – remains constant: To deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars by providing ready, prompt & sustained land dominance by Army forces across the full spectrum of conflict as part of the joint force.
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Visit: spr.ly/6001igl5L
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Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
3rd phase of 136th Canton Fair opens in S China
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, Oct. 31 — The inaugural World Conference on Classics, slated for Nov. 6-8 in Beijing, will welcome participants from across the globe to engage in in-depth discussions on topics related to classical civilizations.
Themed “Classical Civilizations and the Modern World,” the event is co-organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Ministry of Education of China, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, the Ministry of Culture of Greece, and the Academy of Athens, according to the secretariat of the conference.
The event seeks to provide a platform for classical civilization researchers and specialists to trace the origins of human thought, distill wisdom from human history, and explore the traditions of human civilization from the perspective of classical studies.
It aims to lay a solid academic foundation for promoting exchange and mutual learning among civilizations, offer insight into addressing modern global issues, and provide new ideas that will drive human progress, thereby better practicing the Global Civilization Initiative and promoting the building of a human community with a shared future.
Representatives from various countries and international organizations, renowned experts and scholars, cultural figures, media professionals, think-tank experts and youth representatives around the world have been invited to the event.
During the conference, the participants will attend two high-level dialogues and multiple parallel forums.
Prior to the conference, foreign participants will tour the provinces of Shandong, Henan and Sichuan to explore the openness and inclusiveness of Chinese civilization.
Other activities revolving around the conference will include special exhibitions on themes such as archaeology and the origins of Chinese civilization, and on classical studies achievements, as well as classical-studies-themed activities held at colleges and universities.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
HOHHOT, Oct. 31 — A 1,000-kilovolt ultra-high voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) project was officially put into operation on Thursday, connecting clean energy resources in the north of China with economically dynamic regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
The Zhangbei-Shengli 1,000-kilovolt UHV AC project is expected to transmit over 70 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity — an amount sufficient to power 19 million households for a year — annually from Xilin Gol League in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Shandong and Jiangsu provinces, and other regions.
The project applies the UHV technology for the first time to connect a clean energy base in the north of Hebei with wind farms in Xilin Gol League, increasing the proportion of new energy in UHV transmission channels and boosting the consumption of green electricity on the receiving end of the grid, thereby promoting the transition to clean and low-carbon energy.
It also addresses the rising demand for electricity in the receiving regions more effectively.
China is at the technological forefront in new energy power generation, UHV power transmission, flexible direct current transmission and digitization of electricity systems, according to a report issued earlier this year by the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization, a non-profit international organization headquartered in Beijing.
Source: US Bureau of Economic Analysis
Personal income increased $71.6 billion (0.3 percent at a monthly rate) in September. Disposable personal income (DPI)-personal income less personal current taxes-increased $57.4 billion (0.3 percent). Personal outlays-the sum of personal consumption expenditures (PCE), personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments-increased $106.3 billion (0.5 percent) and consumer spending increased $105.8 billion (0.5 percent). Personal saving was $1.00 trillion and the personal saving rate-personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income-was 4.6 percent in September. Full Text
Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 2
Media Advisory
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Adolescents see a greater remission of type 2 diabetes compared to adults.
Young people with severe obesity who underwent weight-loss surgery at age 19 or younger continued to see sustained weight loss and resolution of common obesity-related comorbidities 10 years later, according to results from a large clinical study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Study participants with an average age of 17 underwent gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy weight-loss surgery. After 10 years, participants sustained an average of 20% reduction in body mass index (BMI), 55% reduction of type 2 diabetes, 57% reduction of hypertension, and 54% reduction of abnormal cholesterol. Both gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy had similar results.
The 55% reduction in type 2 diabetes was much higher than the rates observed in adults after weight-loss surgery (18% at seven years and 12.7% at 12 years) in a recently published NIH-funded study.
Type 2 diabetes tends to progress more rapidly when it occurs in young people, and these findings demonstrate the greater health benefits and durability of bariatric surgery in youth than would be expected in similarly treated adults.
The study, known as Teen Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (Teen LABS), was supported by NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) through grants DK072493, DK072493, DK095710 and NIH’s National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program grants TR000077 and TR000114.
Data related to these findings are available for request at the NIDDK Central Repository.
Voula Osganian, M.D., a pediatric clinical obesity program director at NIDDK is available to comment on this research.
Ryder, Justin et al., Ten-year Outcomes Following Adolescent Bariatric Surgery, [2024] New England Journal of Medicine. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc2404054
The NIDDK, part of the NIH, conducts and supports research on diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutrition and obesity; and kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases. Spanning the full spectrum of medicine and afflicting people of all ages and ethnic groups, these diseases encompass some of the most common, severe and disabling conditions affecting Americans. For more information about the NIDDK and its programs, see https://www.niddk.nih.gov.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®
Source: Lufthansa Group
The time has come: in a few days, Lufthansa Allegris First Class, the flagship of the new cabin on long-haul routes, will take off on a scheduled flight for the first time. The first destinations will be Bangalore on November 9 and Mumbai (both in India) a little later, on November 15, which will then be served alternately with the new First Class. Two individual suites and the globally unique Suite Plus in the A350-900 will then take off on a scheduled flight for the first time. After a technical introduction phase, Lufthansa will initially present the new, innovative product to its most loyal guests by invitation. As soon as more aircraft with the new First Class are part of the fleet, targeted upgrades by passengers and later targeted bookings will be possible step by step.
The furnishings in the First Class Suite set new standards: guests can heat or cool their almost one-meter-wide seats in the suite according to their personal needs. The separate suites with ceiling-high walls and lockable door, large table and wide seat, a huge screen and wireless over-ear headphones, set new standards in comfort and individuality in the highest class. A personal wardrobe in the suite provides ample storage space so that travelers can change comfortably and have all their personal items to hand. Individual lamps allow travelers to create their very own feel-good atmosphere. The Suite Plus also combines maximum comfort for individual guests with the unique option of traveling together with a travel partner in a suite.
Lufthansa receives APEX Innovation Award for research into VR headsets in in-flight entertainment
Lufthansa has received the award for the world’s best in-flight entertainment innovation 2024 from the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX). In collaboration with Meta and MSM.Digital, the airline has launched a ground-breaking in-flight entertainment initiative and is currently testing mixed reality technologies for guests. On all flights equipped with Allegris, guests in the Business Class Suite now have the opportunity to use the headsets and give feedback on what they particularly enjoyed. With the latest generation of state-of-the-art VR headsets, Lufthansa is the only airline in the world to exclusively offer content such as captivating cinema-style movies, engaging VR 360-degree travel podcasts, interactive games and soothing relaxation exercises.
Source: United States of America – Department of State (video statements)
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Republic of Korea Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul at the Department of State, on October 31, 2024.
———-
Under the leadership of the President and Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity. On behalf of the American people we promote and demonstrate democratic values and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world.
The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department, which includes the Foreign Service, Civil Service and U.S. Agency for International Development.
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Source: European Asylum Support Office
The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) will begin to offer financial grants for the first time, with initial projects aiming to support some of the Agency’s activities including providing information to asylum seekers and strengthening its Situational Awareness work. In a pilot phase, the Agency will further develop its database of Asylum Case Law, with a call for proposals launching today.
The EUAA has launched its first call for proposals, as part of a pilot phase for a new EUAA grants programme, with an expected value of 2.8 million euros for 2024-2025. The grants programme is a direct result of the Agency’s strengthened mandate. Grants will be awarded in order to help the Agency to implement several activities that are critical to fulfilling its mandate to support Member States’ asylum and reception systems.
Over the next year, the Agency will prepare a series of calls for proposals that will provide funding to eligible organisations that can support it with several activities including:
Under Article 56(2) of the EUAA Regulation, the Agency is newly empowered to offer grants, to help it discharge its responsibilities. The Agency supports Member States in implementing their asylum and receptions systems by implementing the tasks set out in Article 2 of the same Regulation. To that end, the Agency will begin to offer grants, in line with the principles of the EU’s Financial Regulation.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
More than £3 billion has been set aside to mend crumbling wards and bring NHS technology into the 21st century.
New technology and functioning hospitals will be the first priority in the Government’s ambition to modernise the NHS and make it fit for the future.
More than £3 billion has been set aside to mend the crumbling wards and bring healthcare tech into the 21st century – to give patients the right care, in the right location, with the right technology.
It’s only with this new technology and functioning hospitals that the NHS can begin to reform in earnest – and create a health service that can thrive for generations to come.
This is part of the Chancellor’s record-breaking £22.6 billion increase in day-to-day spending and £3.1 billion capital boost for the Department for Health and Social Care from 2023/24 to 2025/26, which will reduce waiting times and rebuild the NHS.
Paired with reforms set out in the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, this overdue injection of capital spending will fix the foundations and make the delivery of healthcare more efficient for generations to come. It will move us from hospital to community, analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.
It comes alongside a commitment to deliver 2% productivity growth to the nation’s healthcare system.
Prime Minister, Rt Hon Keir Starmer, said:
We’re fixing the foundations to deliver change – by fixing the NHS and rebuilding Britain, while ensuring working people don’t face higher taxes in their payslips.
Yesterday’s budget marks a huge step towards that – setting us on the path to make our public services fit for the future.
This new settlement follows a shocking report by Lord Darzi earlier this year, which laid bare the chronic underinvestment in both facilities and technology that has been stunting the NHS.
He concluded the last decade was a “missed opportunity” to prepare the NHS for the future and embrace the technologies that would enable a shift in the model from ‘diagnose and treat’ to ‘predict and prevent’— something he warned about 15 years ago.
Yesterday’s budget puts an end to that – with £2 billion set aside to tilt the NHS towards technology and £1 billion to deal with the bulging backlog of maintenance work that has left hospitals on their knees.
The investment of more than £2 billion will transform the way NHS staff work as the service looks to harness new technologies to free up their time so they can focus on the care and treatment of patients.
The £1 billion will tackle critical repairs and the NHS maintenance backlog which has built up since 2010; something highlighted by Lord Darzi, which has meant the NHS has been left in a ‘critical condition’.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Rachel Reeves, said:
This was a Budget to fix the foundations and deliver change – starting by fixing the NHS.
It’s a service that matters to so many of us and this is us delivering on our promise of change.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:
We’re on a mission to fix our broken NHS by driving fundamental reform, to bring our analogue health service into the digital age. We will put the latest kit in the hands of NHS staff and use modern technology to give patients real control over their own healthcare.
Through our 10-Year Health Plan we will cut waiting lists, reduce waiting times and get the health service delivering for patients and staff once again.
Dr Vin Diwakar, NHS National Director for Transformation, said:
The NHS has already made £2 billion of efficiency savings so far this financial year, and the Chancellor’s confirmation of funding for next year will allow us to continue to roll out technology to improve productivity and switch services from analogue to digital.
Whether it is critical estates maintenance, cyber security or digitising patient records, the NHS is committed to working with the Government in the coming months to fix the foundations of the health service, while also transforming for the future.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
PIF and Hong Kong Monetary Authority sign memorandum of understanding for investment fund at FII8 (with photo)
PIF and Hong Kong Monetary Authority sign memorandum of understanding for investment fund at FII8 (with photo)
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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
Discussions to anchor a joint US$1 billion fund to invest in companies with Hong Kong nexus expanding to Saudi Arabia to drive localisation of key industries, including manufacturing, renewables, fintech and healthcare
Collaboration marks significant milestone aligning with Saudi Vision 2030 and with Hong Kong’s position as one of the world’s leading financial hubs
PIF and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today (October 31) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work towards jointly anchoring a new investment fund, with a target size of US$1 billion. The MoU was signed at the 8th edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh. Under the MoU, the fund would explore investment in manufacturing, renewables, fintech and healthcare, supporting the localisation in Saudi Arabia of companies connected to Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. It would enable the creation of highly skilled local jobs and drive economic growth through fostering regional champions in the target sectors. It would reinforce Hong Kong’s position as one of the world’s leading financial hubs, leveraging its diverse talent pool, efficient financial infrastructure and deep liquidity. The signing of this MoU is a new milestone and underlines the economic ties between two leading institutions – PIF and HKMA. The proposed new fund aligns with PIF’s strategy of economic diversification and sustainability. This partnership has the potential to drive shared prosperity by investing in industries that will shape future economies, combining HKMA’s long-term investment expertise with PIF’s strategy for the target sectors. The new fund would promote foreign direct investments via Hong Kong, providing a platform for companies to internationalise their businesses and have access to attractive investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia.
Ends/Thursday, October 31, 2024Issued at HKT 20:45
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Source: US Global Legal Monitor
The following is a guest post by Mary-Claire Sarafianos, a former intern with the Digital Resources Division of the Law Library of Congress. She is a second-year Ph.D. student in English at the University of Missouri. She studies silence and structure, both as problems in archives and as features of 19th-century American women’s writing.
In the village of Nyack, New York, an 18-room Victorian estate perches on the edge of the road, looming big and blue above the Hudson River. Local legend proclaimed that the house was haunted. Many a ghost story had been told about this home–a Navy lieutenant from the American Revolution lurking around the basement, an invisible force shaking beds, and a spirit floating and rocking in the middle of the living room. The house and the various spectral presences within it were well-known by the local people of Nyack, but these stories have gone beyond local legend–unlike any other house in American history, 1 La Veta Place was declared, as a matter of law, haunted.
But before the house’s ghosts became a matter of legal record, 1 La Veta Place was considered haunted by locals. The house was even “included in a five-home walking tour of Nyack and described in a November 27th newspaper article as ‘a riverfront Victorian (with ghost).’” (Stambovsky v. Ackley, 169 A.D.2d 254, 256 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991.) During her time living at 1 La Veta Place, Helen Ackley not only spoke publicly about the ghosts, she wrote about them on both a local and national level. Ackley wrote a story detailing her house’s various phantasmal residents in a local newspaper in 1982, in addition to an article she wrote for Reader’s Digest in 1977 that described the ghosts and their relationship to the human inhabitants of the home. (Stambovsky at 256.) Apparently, the ghosts at 1 La Veta Place were an odd but friendly group of phantoms, but when the house went up for sale, these ghost stories were confronted with the looming figure of the law, leading to the case of Stambovsky v. Ackley, or what is colloquially known as “The Ghostbuster Ruling.”
When Ackley put the home up for sale, she hired Ellis Realty, who would become her co-defendant in the ensuing legal trouble. Jeffrey Stambovsky, a New York City resident who was unfamiliar with the Nyack folklore and the reputation of the Ackley home, made an offer on the home for $650,000. (Stambovsky at 256.) But some time between making the down payment and closing on the house, Stambovsky discovered the reputation of 1 La Veta Place. According to the majority opinion, when Stambovsky discovered that he was purchasing an allegedly haunted house, he “sought to rescind the $650,000 contract of sale and obtain return of his $32,500 down payment without resort to litigation.” (Stambovsky at 261.) When this did not work, Stambovsky brought his complaint to court and requested not only to cancel the contract to purchase the home but also to request damages for fraudulent misrepresentation by Ackley and her real estate broker, Ellis Realty. (Stambovsky at 256.) And just like that, the house became less of a local legend and more of a legal entanglement.
Stambovsky’s initial complaint was dismissed by the New York County Supreme Court. The court’s decision was influenced by the fact that New York followed the common law doctrine of caveat emptor, meaning “let the buyer beware” in Latin. The doctrine of caveat emptor “places the burden on buyers to reasonably examine property before making a purchase. A buyer who fails to meet this burden is unable to recover for defects in the product that would have been discovered had this burden been met.” Under this doctrine, sellers are not obligated to disclose information to potential buyers and, according to this doctrine, the supposed hauntings of the Ackley home were Stambovsky’s burden to uncover before making an offer on the house. Consequently, the New York County Supreme Court concluded that Stambovsky would neither receive his down payment nor damages, as there was no fraudulent misrepresentation at play. (Stambovsky at 256.) However, Stambovsky persisted and appealed the court’s decision.
The appeals court found that caveat emptor did not apply to Stambovsky’s case. As the majority opinion states, “[a]pplying the strict rule of caveat emptor to a contract involving a house possessed by poltergeists conjures up visions of a psychic or medium routinely accompanying the structural engineer and Terminix man on an inspection of every home subject to a contract of sale.” (Stambovsky at 257.) The appeals court allowed Stambovsky to seek rescission of the contract for sale of the home. (Stambovsky at 260-261.) What the case affirms is not that ghosts exist in a legal sense, but that if the house can be considered haunted enough to merit being a stop on a tour of haunted houses and be the subject of an article in Reader’s Digest, then that spooky reputation must be disclosed to potential buyers.
This verdict presents both sellers and buyers of real estate with complicated questions about the reputations and histories of property and, though not everyone believes in ghosts, houses are often haunted by the crimes, tragedies, and misfortunes that have happened within their walls. Such houses are considered stigmatized properties, which are properties that have been “psychologically impacted by an event which occurred, or was suspected to have occurred, on the property, such an event being one that has no physical impact of any kind.” Whether there is a reputation for ghosts, crime, or misfortune, the public perception of stigmatized property can make it difficult to sell, regardless of the quality of the land or structure. In the case of Stambovsky v. Ackley, the stigmatized nature of the property could actually attract buyers; 1 La Veta Place drew the attention of The Amazing Kreskin, a mentalist who wanted to buy the house, despite its haunted reputation.
The legal responsibilities of both sellers and buyers of stigmatized property vary from state to state. In New York today, deaths, crimes, or stigmatizing features of a property are not required to be disclosed to a seller, but the buyer may inquire as to any of these concerns and the seller may “choose whether or not to respond to the inquiry.” Pennsylvania law has upheld similar requirements, particularly in the case of Milliken v. Jacono, which concluded that “psychological damage to a property cannot be considered a material defect in the property which must be revealed by the seller to the buyer.” (Milliken v. Jacono, 60 A.3d 133, 138 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2012).) While many states follow New York and Pennsylvania, other states require that sellers disclose to buyers whether certain violent crimes were committed on a property. In Alaska, if a licensee knows that a murder or suicide occurred on the property within the last year, they are obligated to disclose this information to the buyer before an offer is made or accepted. In South Dakota, a similar law is in place that requires a property disclosure statement that includes the question: “Since you have owned the property, are you aware of a human death by homicide or suicide occurring on the property?”
Some states have no requirements or laws on the books that indicate whether a property’s tragic or torrid history needs to be disclosed to the buyer, but certainly no other states have put their caveat emptor doctrines to the test against ghosts in the way that New York has. In the interest of ending on a slightly more humorous note, I turn again to the majority opinion of Stambovsky v. Ackley, which brought a level of humor to the conclusions of the case that have earned it the nickname “The Ghostbusters Ruling.” The majority opinion references the movie Ghostbusters by name and uses even more ghostly puns than I have employed throughout this blog post. (Stambovsky at 257.) The humor of the majority opinion even weaves its way into the logic of the case where the judge states that “if the language of the contract is to be construed as broadly as defendant urges to encompass the presence of poltergeists in the house, it cannot be said that she has delivered the premises ‘vacant’ in accordance with her obligation under the provisions of the contract rider.” (Stambovsky at 260.) In keeping with the humor of the court opinion, this case remains a spot of humor in contract law curricula across the country. Stambovsky v. Ackley and cases like it continue to spark conversation and legislation around caveat emptor and stigmatized property.
If you are interested in learning about how English law handles the disclosure of hauntings, see the previous In Custodia Legis post, “
Source: US State of New Jersey
TRENTON – The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) today announced the approval of Triennium 2 (T2) energy efficiency programs proposed by the state’s seven electric and gas utilities. In the process of supporting building decarbonization and energy conservation, these programs will prioritize low-income customers who shoulder disproportionately high energy burdens.
“Today’s approval of the Triennium 2 energy efficiency programs marks a major milestone in our progress toward achieving the goals set out in Governor Murphy’s Energy Master Plan, which is paving the way for a healthier, more sustainable Garden State,” said NJBPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy. “By bolstering New Jersey’s ongoing building decarbonization efforts and the NJBPU’s robust array of energy efficiency initiatives, the T2 programs will further boost long-term cost and energy savings for New Jersey customers.”
“These ambitious programs are the largest single step by New Jersey to achieve Governor Murphy’s ambitious goal in EO 316 to electrify 400,000 residential and 20,000 commercial units by 2030,” said Eric Miller, Executive Director of the Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy. “The steps taken today by the BPU will grow our clean energy workforce, lower bills for participating customers, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Triennium 2 is the second cycle of the State’s multi-year utility-run energy efficiency programs. Established by the Clean Energy Act of 2018, natural gas utilities must achieve energy savings of 0.75% and electric utilities must achieve energy savings of 2% of the average annual usage in the prior three years within five years of implementation of their energy efficiency programs.
To date, it is estimated that Triennium 1 (T1) programs have disbursed $1.25 billion in financial incentives to ratepayers statewide and reduced annual electricity usage by 3 million megawatt hours, annual natural gas usage by 8.5 million MMBtu, and reduced customers’ utility bills by $600 million. T1 resulted in 1.4 million metric tons of annual greenhouse gas emission reductions, which is equivalent to approximately 300,000 cars removed from the road per year.
The T1 portfolio was expanded in T2 to address two important challenges for NJ: building decarbonization and demand response. The building decarbonization start-up programs incentivize adoption of key measures such as electric heat pumps and water heaters to reduce building emissions from fossil fuels. Demand response programs encourage homeowners and businesses to reduce consumption of energy at peak times through smart thermostats, controls, and price signals. Collectively, over $3.75 billion has been budgeted for the programs and will be implemented over a 30-month period from January 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027. This investment will help the State achieve Governor Murphy’s goals outlined in Executive Order 316 and are anticipated to reduce annual electricity usage by 2.3 million megawatt hours, annual natural gas usage by 8.9 million MMBtu, and annual greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5 million metric tons.
To promote energy equity, the Income-Qualified Program will have more capacity compared to T1 to provide comprehensive home energy assessments and offer health and safety, weatherization, HVAC, and other energy efficiency upgrades at no cost to eligible customers. More broadly, programs across the utilities’ portfolios will continue to include enhanced incentives and more favorable financing terms for income-eligible customers.
One notable addition in T2 is the standardization of the Direct Install model, including a Public Sector Direct Install program pathway, which will help support partners in labor in growing a local workforce that represents the diverse fabric of our state. Approximately 37,000 people work in the clean buildings sector, and T2 will strengthen the pathway for diverse workers and businesses to continue to build the clean energy economy.
For more information about State and utility-led efficiency programs, please visit: https://www.njcleanenergy.com/EEP
About New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP)
NJCEP, established on January 22, 2003, in accordance with the Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act (EDECA), provides financial and other incentives to the State’s residential customers, businesses and schools that install high-efficiency or renewable energy technologies, thereby reducing energy usage, lowering customers’ energy bills and reducing environmental impacts. The program is authorized and overseen by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), and its website is www.NJCleanEnergy.com.
About the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU)
NJBPU is a state agency and regulatory authority mandated to ensure safe, adequate and proper utility services at reasonable rates for New Jersey customers. Critical services regulated by NJBPU include natural gas, electricity, water, wastewater, telecommunications and cable television. The Board has general oversight and responsibility for monitoring utility service, responding to consumer complaints, and investigating utility accidents. To find out more about NJBPU, visit our website at www.nj.gov/bpu.
Source: NATO
Wichita Falls, Texas is home to the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program, where aspiring aviators from 14 NATO member countries see if they have what it takes to fly with the Alliance’s best.
Wichita Falls doesn’t seem like a place that should mean anything to a European fighter pilot. But if you were to ask Jade, a lieutenant in the Belgian Air Force, if she’s ever heard of the place, she might give you a knowing smirk.
It’s where she learned to fly.
The sky over Sheppard Air Force Base thundered as sleek jets knifed through the air, breaking left over the runway in preparation for landing. Home of the US Air Force’s 80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard owns the busiest airspace in the United States. Planes are constantly landing, taking off or queueing on the long taxiways. A bumper sticker on the back of one car reads: “I Heart Jet Noise.”
The Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program (ENJJPT) has been turning out NATO fighter pilots since 1981, when seven Allies founded the school at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls. Most joint NATO initiatives are based in Europe (where 30 of the 32 NATO member countries are located), but Sheppard was chosen as the ideal location for ENJJPT because of its existing training facilities, year-round good flying weather and the wide-open Texan skies. Today, more than 40 years later, 14 national flags fly outside the squat, brick building that houses ENJJPT’s headquarters, representing the 14 participating NATO Allies: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Inside, Italian pilots saunter through the maze-like corridors, passing groups of Romanians, Norwegians, Spaniards and Danes. In the gear room, Greek instructors put on their flight vests and G-Suits (trousers lined with inflatable air pockets that keep pilots conscious during high-speed turns) and wait for their students. On their way out, they pass groups of Canadian and Turkish students coming back from training sorties, their hair matted with sweat, their faces flushed with victory: it’s another flight down, another step closer to their wings.
Ask one of the European student aviators how they like living in the Lone Star State, and they’ll twist their mouth into a curious smile and say something like: “I like it.” Which might be a polite way of saying: I’m from a small village in Germany and I’ve never heard someone say “yeehaw” before.
Not that the students get many chances to sample the local culture. From the moment they arrive at Sheppard and drop their suitcases, their schedules are packed. First stop is “ground school”, where students learn the fundamental science of flight. Then students get fitted for helmets, harnesses and G-suits and climb into their first aircraft, the T-6 Texan II.
With the instructors watching from the backseat, this is where the student aviators take the stick for the first time. They learn how to take off, fly in formation and land, keeping the aircraft on speed and on course. It’s a time of firsts, each with its own tradition: a student’s first flight is called a “Dollar Ride” because students are expected to give their instructors a Silver Dollar coin. After a student’s first solo flight, their classmates haul them off to a nearby pool of water for a well-deserved bath.
From here, some students leave Wichita Falls to learn how to fly multi-engine transport aircraft like the C-130 Hercules. Those destined for fighter jets, however, must conquer the T-38 Talon.
The Talon is skinny as a scalpel, with wings so thin they seem to disappear when viewed head-on. Its long snout slopes up to a bubble canopy, which encloses two ejection seats. It looks fast, and it is; with afterburners lit, it can punch through the sound barrier and send a sonic boom smashing across the north Texas Plains. One Dutch Major, callsign “Homer”, compares it to a ’66 Mustang sports car – fitting, he notes, because the Talon first entered service in the 1960s.
The jet will be replaced in the coming years, but in the meantime it’s still a worthy teacher. Its hydraulic flight controls demand that students pay attention, feeling the jet through the stick and continuously “trimming out” to ensure balanced flight. Its stubby wings are built for maximum speed, not maximum stability, and if the inattentive student bleeds too much speed in a turn, it will fall out of the sky – or, as the instructors prosaically put it, “depart controlled flight.”
When Lieutenant Jade first took off in a Talon, she was used to the T-6 Texan II, and she wasn’t ready for the raw power pumped out by the jet’s two turbojet engines. She had to stand on the brakes to keep the aircraft static as she pushed the throttle to “mil” – full military power. She felt the aircraft tremor as the afterburners lit. When she released the brakes, the jet leapt forward.
“For me, that day was like… I knew I was on the right track,” she said.
The Talon curriculum is the hardest part of ENJJPT. When students aren’t flying, they’re studying. When they aren’t studying, they’re in the simulator, practising skills like flying in close formation, or the thrill of high-speed, low-level flight. And when they’re not in the simulator, they’re sleeping.
“Sometimes it’s a bit too fast, and I have to catch up,” Jade said. “That’s the biggest struggle I’ve had so far. That gets me feeling down about it, sometimes. But then it’s even more rewarding when you’re able to step up and strive again.”
The students know that success is not guaranteed. Plenty of their peers buckle under the stress and leave the Program to serve out their military commitments elsewhere in their country’s armed forces. But for most, failure is not an option. Washing out would mean turning their back on something that’s called to them all their life.
“Everyone wishes to have an impact on the world,” Jade said. “That’s how I think I can make the biggest impact.”
If a student proves that they can master the demands of high-speed flight in the Talon, they head towards “Drop Night” – the ceremony where they find out which jet they’re going to fly. For the US Air Force, which operates a variety of fighter, bomber and transport aircraft, the suspense is real. When a student is assigned to their first-pick aircraft, some literally leap with joy and relief.
For Jade, there was little suspense – the Belgian Air Force primarily flies one tactical jet, the F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighter, although Belgium is now replacing its F-16 fleet with F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation stealth fighters – but the glee in having passed a demanding curriculum was undiluted. When she “dropped” the F-16, she leapt into the air, pumping her fists before being carried away by her cheering classmates.
Jade has since left Sheppard to learn how to fly the F-16. Eventually, perhaps, she’ll be deployed to eastern Europe, where NATO Allies have significantly increased the number of fighters on standby to respond to airborne threats, part of the NATO Air Policing mission on the Alliance’s eastern flank. Until then, the next generation of aspiring military aviators has already begun training at Sheppard, joining a decades-long tradition of taking to the skies together.
Source: China State Council Information Office 2
Beijing is set for a period of air pollution from Thursday to Saturday, with the city issuing an alert on Thursday for heavy pollution.
According to the municipal ecology and environment bureau, the polluted weather is due to adverse meteorological conditions, regional transmission and pollution accumulation.
It is expected that on Sunday, the air quality in Beijing will improve due to the strong cold air.
Citizens are advised to stay indoors, wear masks, and promptly clean their face and exposed skin.
Source: Traditional Unionist Voice – Northern Ireland
Statement, following the Budget, by TUV MP Jim Allister:-
“The Labour Government proved, what I suspected, it has no feel or empathy with farmers. Else, it would not have dealt such a brutal blow to the future of family farming through its inheritance tax extinction policy.
“Farmers are asset rich, because of their land, but, often, cash poor, with it being a struggle to meet the constant monthly bills from fluctuating income. The fact they own 50 or 100 acres isn’t something they can draw on for day-to-day needs. Yet, retaining that 50 or 100 acres for farming into the future is key to the generational survival of the farm.
“Hence, the reason and logic for the historic agricultural exemption from inheritance tax.
“Now, alas, this Government is set to raid farming assets by a whacking on inheritance tax upon the death of the current farmer. With limited cash reserves, most family farms, when that point comes, will have no alternative but to sell off land and thereby diminish the viability and productivity of the farm. Food production and security will suffer knock-on effects.
“The threshold of £1m is of little help at today’s land prices. Acreage as low as 50 or 60 will frequently be caught for inheritance tax.
“The farmers in North Antrim, as elsewhere, have devoted their lives to building up their farms with the driving motivation to see the land handed on to the next generation. Now this kick in the teeth from uncaring government has rightly left many angry and betrayed.
“I will, of course, vote against this madness and join vigorously in the campaign to rescue the situation.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3
Safe access zones are now in force around abortion clinics in England and Wales to protect women accessing these services.
Women accessing abortion services will be better protected from harassment or distress as protection zones come into force around abortion clinics, the government has confirmed.
From today, a 150-metre boundary will be in place around all clinics and hospitals offering abortion services known as a ‘safe access zone’.
Within these boundaries it is now a criminal offence to intentionally or recklessly:
Police and prosecutors will consider each case individually based on the evidence. However, this could include:
This could also cover prayer, including:
Anyone found guilty of breaking the new laws will face an unlimited fine.
The Crown Prosecution Service has published guidance today, alongside further information from the College of Policing, setting out how the police and prosecutors should approach enforcing the new offence. While operational decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, this new guidance will ensure there is clarity and consistency across the country.
Crime and Policing Minister, Dame Diana Johnson said:
Access to healthcare is a fundamental right. Access to abortion services is a matter of healthcare. I’m confident that the safeguards we have put in place today will have a genuine impact in helping women feel safer and empowered to access the vital services they need.
Safeguarding Minister, Jess Phillips said:
Getting this measure up and running as soon as possible has been one of our priorities and I am proud of everyone involved in getting us here. The idea that any woman is made to feel unsafe or harassed for accessing health services, including abortion clinics, is sickening. This stops today.
The measure applies to any clinics and private hospitals that are approved under the Abortion Act 1967, and for any NHS hospital that has given notification in the current or previous calendar year that it has carried out abortions.
Safe access zones were introduced through the Public Order Act 2023, following a free vote in Parliament that received cross-party support.
Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
The next meeting of the Polytechnic University Academic Council was marked presentation of the mantle of the Honorary Doctor of SPbPU to the head of the S. M. Kirov Military Medical Academy, Lieutenant General, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Evgeny Kryukov.
In addition, the ceremonial part of the meeting, as usual, included the presentation of certificates of academic titles to university employees and the honoring of the best polytechnicians who have earned awards in science, education, social and cultural life and sports.
Rector of SPbPU Andrey Rudskoy congratulated the director of the Higher School of Sports Pedagogy Vladislav Bakayev and professor of the Higher School of Service and Trade Sergey Barykin on being awarded the title of “professor”. The certificate of assignment of the academic title of associate professor was received by the leading research fellow of the laboratory “Synthesis of New Materials and Structures” Vadim Sufiyarov.
The company “Kodeks” received a commemorative medal and gratitude from the university, represented by its CEO andgraduate of the Physics and Mechanics Department of the Polytechnic University Sergei Tikhomirov. “Kodeks” made a significant contribution to the development of the SPbPU Endowment Fund and the formation of the endowment “Development of scientific, educational, youth and educational projects of PhysMech”. Also, for assistance in the formation of the endowment capital of PhysMech, its graduates, Associate Professor of the Higher School of Mechanics and Control Processes Natalia Ermakova and Professor of the Higher School of Applied Mathematics and Computational Physics, received awards. Maxim Frolov.
The Polytechnic University fruitfully cooperates with the Kalininsky District in many areas. The honorary badge “For services to the Kalininsky District” was awarded to the director of the Higher School of Engineering and Economics Dmitry Rodionov.
From October 14 to 17, the super final of the Open International Student Internet Olympiad in Mathematics was held. In the individual standings, the silver medal was won by PhysMech student Chinh Thi Thu Hoai, and the bronze medal was won by IMMiT student Phan Mau Dat. The Polytechnic team included another PhysMech student, Ilya Grishchenko, and the guys also took bronze in the team standings. The scientific supervisor was Maria Bortkovskaya, associate professor of the Department of Higher Mathematics.
The gold medal of the IV International Construction Championship in the individual nomination “Information Modeling” was won by the student of the Civil Engineering Institute Serafim Zagorodniy. In the team standings, the gold of the championship was won by the students of the ICI: Dmitry Zharkov, Alexandra Kulakova, Ulyana Popova, Mikhail Safoshkin and Alina Doroshenko. The expert of the championship, assistant of the Civil Engineering Institute Alexander Mitin received a letter of gratitude from the Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation Irek Faizullin and the General Director of the ANO “Russia – Country of Opportunities” Alexey Komissarov.
The next series of congratulations concerned the athletes.
The Polytechnic University team won first place in the overall team standings at the student orienteering competitions within the first stage of the IX All-Russian Summer Universiade and third place in the overall team standings of the Universiade. Pavel Ivanov (IEIT) also won the Universiade in the sprint discipline, and together with Alexander Gumennikov (PhysMech) won silver medals in the men’s relay.
The Polytechnic team won 1st place in the student volleyball competitions as part of the first stage of the Universiade. The Academic Council honored players Egor Tretyakov (IMMiT) and Ilya Smirnov (IE). At the Universiade, our Polytechnic team entered the top 10 best student teams in the country.
Ivan Sokolov, a student at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Transport, won first place in the qualifying tournament for the World Championship in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) “Steel Lion JFC” among juniors and became a Master of Sports of Russia in this sport.
Vice-Rector for Educational Activities Lyudmila Pankova spoke on the meeting agenda. She spoke about the results of work in the 2023–2024 academic year and the tasks for the 2024–2025 academic year.
The number of students as of October 1, 2024 was 33,818. Of these, 30,870 are studying in higher education programs (21,810 in bachelor’s programs, 2,124 in specialist programs, 6,936 in master’s programs), and 2,948 in secondary specialized programs. There are 121 people studying in the specialist program at the branch in Sosnovy Bor. There are 156 people in the general education Natural Science Lyceum.
There are 357 main educational programs at the Polytechnic University, including 142 bachelor’s programs, 15 specialist programs, and 200 master’s programs. There are 22 programs at the college.
In the 2023–2024 academic year, 23 new basic educational programs were launched. For 2024–2025, 19 new basic educational programs were developed: two for bachelor’s degrees, one for specialist degrees, and 16 for master’s degrees.
51 basic educational programs are being implemented under network agreements, including 13 with Slavic universities.
A system of individual achievements has been developed and implemented as a pilot project, allowing teachers to create different trajectories for assessing students, taking into account their individual capabilities, and to conduct interim assessments based on the results of ongoing monitoring of academic performance outside of the examination session.
A project-based approach has been introduced into the state final certification, and defenses of final qualification works have been organized in new formats — as a project and as a startup. 48 students successfully defended their collective final works as a project (21 projects were completed), and 52 people (26 startups) successfully defended their final qualification works as a startup.
A policy in the field of formation has been developed and introduced career trajectories for professional development of teachers. Starting from the 2024–2025 academic year, there will be four career paths: research teacher, mentor teacher, practicing teacher, and intern. The transition to them occurs through a competitive selection of faculty members.
A project to support fundamental training in engineering fields has been launched. A program to improve the quality of teaching fundamental disciplines by reducing the teaching load and providing additional payments has been approved. 181 teachers are participating in the project.
Entrance testing of first-year engineering students in mathematics and physics was conducted to organize in-depth fundamental training for gifted children and remedial training for those who are lagging behind. A pilot program for in-depth study of mathematics and physics for talented students was launched at IMMiT and IKNK.
The second issue on the agenda was also related to fundamental disciplines. To ensure advanced training of students in physics and mathematics, taking into account engineering specifics, the Institute of Physics and Mathematics was created at the Polytechnic. Its director Pavel Zakharov spoke about the IFiM development program.
Also at the meeting, members of the Academic Council voted to award further academic titles to Polytechnic employees. SPbPU Academic Secretary Dmitry Karpov reported on monitoring the implementation of the Academic Council’s decisions.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
The Hong Kong-Guangdong Joint Working Group on Cleaner Production held its 11th meeting in Hong Kong today to review the work progress in 2024 and approve the 2025 work plan.
The meeting was co-chaired by Secretary for Environment & Ecology Tse Chin-wan and Guangdong Province Department of Industry & Information Technology Director-General Tu Gaokun.
Governments of both Hong Kong and Guangdong will continuously promote the adoption of cleaner production technologies in energy-intensive industries for saving energy and the development of energy-saving equipment.
They will also support water-intensive industries to apply water-saving technological upgrades to reduce and control wastewater discharge, as well as promote enterprises to adopt relevant technologies to reduce solid waste and emissions, including controlling and reducing volatile organic compounds emissions at source.
In addition, both sides will encourage polluting industries to undertake cleaner production audits and support enterprises to pursue green transformation.
They will also continue to implement various publicity activities to promote the effectiveness of cleaner production to the industry.
An award presentation ceremony for the Hong Kong-Guangdong Cleaner Production Partners Recognition Scheme was held after the meeting to commend the efforts of 215 enterprises in pursuing cleaner production.
Of the enterprises, 42 Hong Kong-owned manufacturing enterprises were commended as Excellent Partners while 149 were commended as Partners.
Other commended enterprises included three sourcing enterprises and 21 environmental technology service providers.
The Environment & Ecology Bureau said cleaner production has brought remarkable benefits in improving environmental quality, adding that the 2024 Policy Address announced that $100 million would be injected to launch a new round of the Cleaner Production Partnership Programme for the application period from April 2025 to June 2027.
Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency
Headline: FEMA Registration Deadline is Approaching Quickly for Hurricane Francine Survivors
FEMA Registration Deadline is Approaching Quickly for Hurricane Francine Survivors
BATON ROUGE, La. –Louisiana residents with damage from Hurricane Francine have just a few weeks remaining to apply for disaster assistance. Nov. 16 is the registration deadline for survivors in Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, Jefferson, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary and Terrebonne parishes.Survivors with a loss or damage should apply with FEMA even if they don’t have repair estimates or insurance settlements yet. To be considered, people in the impacted areas need to register with FEMA to begin the process. FEMA will work with survivors to identify what information is needed to determine eligibility.To apply for FEMA disaster assistance:Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov.Download the FEMA App for mobile devices. Visit one of the Disaster Recovery Centers. To find a location, visit https://egateway.fema.gov/ESF6/DRCLocator.Call toll-free 800-621-3362. The FEMA Helpline is open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. CDT, and help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service such as VRS, captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for that service.To view an accessible video about how to apply, visit: Three Ways to Register for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTube.For the latest information visit fema.gov/disaster/4817. Follow FEMA Region 6 social media at X.com/FEMARegion6 or on Facebook at facebook.com/femaregion6.
alexa.brown
Thu, 10/31/2024 – 12:25
Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
On Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, Grande Prairie RCMP Crime Reduction Unit and the Grande Prairie RCMP conducted a proactive crime reduction initiative resulting in the arrest of six individuals and the recovery of five stolen vehicles.
Video surveillance received from one of the 27 thefts resulted in the identification of a male suspect and his vehicle. A subsequent search warrant was conducted, leading to the arrest of two individuals.
A 32-year-old individual, a 22-year-old individual, a 39-year-old individual, a 48-year-old individual, a 42-year-old individual and a 29-year-old individual have been charged collectively accumulating 18 charges including:
All individuals are scheduled to appear at the Alberta Court of Justice in Grande Prairie.
“The result of this initiative is another example of targeted crime reduction strategies the Grande Prairie Detachment utilizes and the dedicated efforts of all the officers involved. These types of crimes cause personal hardship to the owners of the vehicles and the greater community” said Cpl Steven Jewer from the Crime Reduction Unit.
Members of the public who witness suspicious activity in their community are encouraged to contact their local RCMP detachment. If you have information about this incident or any other illegal activity, please call the Grande Prairie RCMP at 780-830-5700 or call your local police. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.
Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
As a result of a continued investigation into the incident, which led to a public safety alert being issued by RCMP on Sept. 17, 2024, one male suspect surrendered himself to the RCMP with family, and a warrant for arrest for the second male involved has been issued. The investigation remains open; however, it has been determined that the offences committed were targeted, and Mayerthorpe RCMP would like to re-assure the members of the community that there is no imminent risk to the community.
RCMP have charged a 28-year-old individual, a resident of Whitecourt, Alta., with:
Dakota Patterson was taken before a justice of the Peace and remanded into custody.
A warrant of arrest has been issued for a 30-year-old resident of Grande Prairie, Santiago Patterson who has been charged with:
Mayerthorpe RCMP is encouraging anyone who may know the location of Santiago Patterson to call their local police. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-
222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips .com or by using the “P3 Tips” app. To report crime online, or for access to RCMP news and information, download the Alberta RCMP app through Apple or Google Play.
Background:
Sept. 17, 2024
Mayerthorpe RCMP – Dangerous Person Alert – Update #1
On Sept. 17, 2024 at approximately 9 a.m., members of the Mayerthorpe RCMP responded to information that a stolen vehicle from Edmonton may be in the surrounding area. RCMP members quickly responded and were able to locate the vehicle; however, it fled from police and it was soon located abandoned. The occupants were suspected to have fled on foot, and based on information obtained during the investigation, the occupants were also believed to have been armed.
RCMP members from surrounding detachments including members from the RCMP emergency response team, were deployed to the scene and facilitated an exhaustive search. The members of the Mayerthorpe RCMP no longer believe the suspects to be in the immediate area and do not believe there is any imminent risk to the community.
We understand how situations such as this can make a community feel uneasy, but rest assured, your Alberta RCMP are there for you and working to keep our communities safe.
We ask that the public remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity or tips to the Mayerthorpe RCMP or Crime Stoppers.
Background:
Sept. 17, 2024
Mayerthorpe RCMP – Dangerous Person Alert
This alert is in effect for Mayerthorpe, in the area of Hwy 18 and Township Road 572A, between RR 92 and RR 80. Two men armed with guns are on foot after an armed robbery.
If suspects are spotted, do not approach suspects. Report all sightings to 911.
Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
On Sept. 17, 2024 just before 1 a.m., a routine traffic stop initiated by a member of the Grande Prairie RCMP resulted in stopping a significant quantity of dangerous drugs from infiltrating the community.
Upon speaking with the two occupants of the vehicle, the officer noticed drug paraphernalia in plain view. Both occupants were placed under arrest for the possession of a controlled substance, and a subsequent search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of 542 grams of suspected cocaine. Numerous other items including drug related paraphernalia and items associated with drug trafficking were also seized.
A 58-year-old individual, a resident of Grande Prairie and a 17- year-old youth from Edmonton have been charged with one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Both individuals were taken before a justice of the peace and subsequently released with court appearances set for the month of October at the Alberta Court of Justice in Grande Prairie.
Your Alberta RCMP is committed to fighting the importation and creation of drugs within the province and do so through various units and duties.
If anyone has information about illegal activity regarding illicit drugs, please contact your local police. If you wish to remain anonymous you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3TIPS.com or by using the “P3 Tips” available through Apple App or Google Play Store.
Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
In September of 2024, the Blackfalds RCMP General Investigation Section (GIS) with assistance from Sylvan Lake GIS entered into an investigation involving an individual believed to be trafficking drugs in the community. As a result of the investigation, on Oct. 2, 2024, Blackfalds RCMP with assistance from Innisfail RCMP GIS and Red Deer RCMP Police Dog Service executed a search warrant at a home in Blackfalds.
As a result of the search RCMP seized:
RCMP have arrested and charged a 25-year-old individual, a resident of Blackfalds, with:
The individual was taken before a justice of the peace and remanded into custody with a next court date set for Oct. 3, 2024, at the Alberta Court of Justice in Red Deer.
“This investigation saw the effective coordination of different RCMP detachments and sections to quickly and safely remove these drugs and guns from our community,” says Staff Sergeant Andrew Allan.
If you have any information about this investigation or about drug trafficking in the Blackfalds area please contact Blackfalds RCMP at 403-885-3333 or submit an anonymous report through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store. To report crime online, or for access to RCMP news and information, download the Alberta RCMP app through Apple or Google Play.
Source: Microsoft
Headline: Azure at GitHub Universe: New tools to help simplify AI app development
With seamless integration among VS Code, GitHub, and Azure, we provide an AI-powered, end-to-end development platform to transform your apps with AI.
AI has reset our expectations of what technology can achieve. From transforming how we explore the cosmos to enabling doctors to provide personalized care and making business functions operate more intelligently, it all comes down to you—the developer—to turn this potential into reality. As developers, you’re experiencing a dramatic shift in what you build and how you build it. And the tools you use should seamlessly fit into your workflow, solve real problems quickly, and keep you in the flow of development.
As a company of developers who builds for other developers, we’re excited to be part of this change and many of us will be at GitHub Universe to share our experience and learn from others about how AI is reshaping how we work. We’re not coming empty handed. I’m excited to announce new capabilities and tools that further integrate Microsoft Azure AI services directly in your favorite dev tools.
With seamless integration among Visual Studio (VS) Code, GitHub, and Azure, we provide an AI-powered, end-to-end development platform building on strong community support to help you transform your apps with AI. Read on for the details and be sure to catch up on all the GitHub news this week.
By integrating with tools you already use, like GitHub and Visual Studio Code, GitHub Copilot for Azure builds upon the Copilot Chat capabilities in VS Code to help you manage resources and deploy applications. Using “@ azure,” you can get personalized guidance to learn about services and tools without leaving your code. This can accelerate and streamline development by provisioning and deploying Azure resources through Azure Developer CLI (azd) templates. GitHub Copilot for Azure also helps you diagnose issues and answer questions about resources and costs, freeing your time to focus on whatever you prefer while GitHub Copilot for Azure takes care of the rest. Get started today.
AI App Templates accelerate your development by helping you get started faster and simplifying evaluation and the path to production. You can use AI App Templates directly in your preferred development environment such as GitHub Codespaces, VS Code, and Visual Studio. You can even get recommendations for specific templates right from GitHub Copilot for Azure based on your AI use case or scenario. Most importantly, the templates provide flexibility and choice, offering a variety of models, frameworks, programming languages, and solutions from popular AI toolchain vendors such as Arize, LangChain, LlamaIndex, and Pinecone. You can deploy full apps at once or start with app components, provisioning resources across Azure and partner services. The templates also include recommendations for added security, like using Managed Identity and keyless authentication flows. Get started.
To empower you to quickly discover, learn, and experiment with a range of the latest, most advanced AI models, GitHub announced today that GitHub Models is now in preview, bringing you Azure AI’s leading model selection direct to GitHub. Building on that theme, the Azure AI model inference API now enables you to explore and access Azure AI models directly through GitHub Marketplace. Compare model performance, experiment, and mix-and-match a variety of models, including advanced proprietary and open models that support a broad range of tasks, for free (usage limits apply).
Once you’ve selected your model and are ready to customize and deploy, you can seamlessly setup and login to your Azure account to scale from free token usage to paid endpoints with enterprise-level security and monitoring in production. Learn more.
Keeping your Java apps up to date can be a time-consuming task. GitHub Copilot upgrade assistant for Java offers an approach using AI to simplify this process and allowing you to upgrade your Java applications with minimal manual effort. Integrated into popular tools like Visual Studio Code, the GitHub Copilot upgrade assistant for Java generates an upgrade plan and guides you through a step-by-step process to transition from an older Java runtime to a newer version with optional dependencies and frameworks such as Spring Boot and JUnit. During the upgrade, the assistant automatically fixes issues through a dynamic build or fix loop and uses a human-in-the-loop approach for you to address other errors and make fixes if necessary. It ensures transparency by providing access to logs, code changes, outputs, and details at every step, giving you full control while benefiting from enhanced AI automation throughout the process. Once the upgrade is complete, you can easily review the detailed summary, and inspect all code modifications, making the entire upgrade process smooth and efficient, allowing you to focus on innovation instead of manual maintenance.
Given trade-offs between business impact, risk and cost, you need to be able to continuously evaluate your AI applications and run A/B experiments at scale. We are significantly simplifying this process with GitHub Actions that can be integrated seamlessly into existing CI/CD workflows in GitHub. In your CI workflows, you will be able to run automated evaluation after changes are committed leveraging the Azure AI Evaluation SDK to compute metrics such as coherence and fluency. Following successful deployment, A/B experiments are automatically created and analyzed using out of the box AI model metrics and custom metrics as part of CD workflows. Along the way you can also engage with a GitHub Copilot for Azure plugin that assists with experimentation, creates metrics, powers decisions and more. Stay tuned for more details at Microsoft Ignite and sign up for our private preview to learn more!
As you explore new AI capabilities for your organization, the platform you choose matters. Today, 95% of Fortune 500 companies trust their operations on Azure. Our business, including Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Bing, Copilots, etc., also runs on Azure. The same tools and services we use to build and run Microsoft are available for you. Our integration with GitHub and Visual Studio Code simplifies building with AI on Azure. And with more than 60 data center regions globally and a dedicated security team, Azure offers a reliable and secure foundation for your AI projects. All great reasons to build your next AI app with GitHub and Azure.
And, if you’re at GitHub Universe this week, stop by and say hello to the Azure team.
Jessica leads data, AI, and digital application product marketing at Microsoft. Find Jessica’s blog posts here and be sure to follow Jessica on LinkedIn.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Viktoriia Lapa, Lecturer, Institute for European Policymaking, Bocconi University
The mantra “as long as it takes” has become the European Union’s rallying cry in support of Ukraine’s resistance against Russia. Initially, some experts predicted that Ukraine would fall within three days – yet nearly three years have passed, and Ukraine is still standing. This prolonged struggle has come at an immense human cost.
It’s clear that the decision to resist was made by the Ukrainian population, and they are grateful to the EU for its support. However, hopes that Ukraine can repel the invaders are fading, and there is no clear end in sight. “As long as it takes” for the EU translates, for Ukrainian ears, to “as many of your lives as we can afford to sacrifice”. Ukrainians are weary, even as they hold the front line, but the west has not communicated a commitment to fully engage in stopping Russian aggression and deterring future threats. Instead, it seems focused on a policy of “de-escalation management”. This only emboldens Russia and its allies.
What is even more concerning is the absence of a coherent strategy for managing Russia. What would the EU do in the event that the war were to magically end tomorrow? Is there a plan in place, or will EU leaders simply offer Russia a reset?
The EU has excelled in rhetoric when it comes to Ukraine but has fallen short in delivering military support. It remains reluctant to draw firm red lines for Russia as a response to attacks on European soil or to adopt a more assertive stance.
The supply of shells to Ukraine is a case in point. The EU pledged to supply 1 million rounds of ammunition by March 2024, but by January, Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, admitted that the bloc would only deliver half of that on time while committing to send 1.1 million shells by the year’s end. To address this shortfall, Czech president Petr Pavel proposed an initiative at the Munich Security Conference in February, aiming to provide 800,000 shells to Ukraine by the year’s end, sourcing ammunition globally instead of solely from EU manufacturers. By August 2024, the EU had sent Ukraine only 650,000 shells out of the promised 1 million.
Various news outlets have reported that the result is a grim picture on the front line, where for every shell fired by Ukraine, Russian forces are firing ten or more.
Additionally, the EU has been reluctant to take decisive action, even in response to Russian attacks on its territory. Recent incidents, such as a narrowly avoided plane crash in Germany attributed to suspected sabotage, reflect a troubling increase in aggressive behaviour from Russian saboteurs. The only response so far has been a relatively weak sanctions framework to be used on those involved in such attacks.
The EU must adopt a proactive approach to securing peace in Ukraine, recognising that Russia is currently unwilling to negotiate – but would also never negotiate from a position of weakness.
A clear strategy – including security guarantees for Ukraine, preferably through a pathway to Nato membership – could help put pressure on Russia and facilitate negotiations. It’s clear that bringing Ukraine into Nato might take years, but in the meantime, European countries should consider deploying troops to Ukraine as a security guarantee for this interim period.
As the Lithuanian minister of foreign affairs, Gabrielius Landsbergis, rightly said: “At the beginning of the year, Emmanuel Macron hinted at putting boots on the ground. At the end of the year, North Korea had actually done so. We are still on the back foot, reacting to escalation instead of reversing it. Macron’s ideas should now be revisited – better late than never.”
Security agreements do of course exist between Ukraine and its EU and G7 partners, but not a single country has hinted at a possibility of providing, as a guarantee for peace, such a security guarantee as “troops on the ground”. EU countries must consider this seriously.
And with a view to what happens after the Russian aggression in Ukraine, the EU needs at least the beginnings of an idea about what its terms would be for re-engaging with Russia. Otherwise it risks enabling Russia to set its own terms.
The situation on the ground is dire. While the west boasts economic strength, it lacks visionary leadership and political will. It should not allow Russia to take the lead and must adopt a clear strategy for Ukraine’s victory. Otherwise, we are heading toward the scenario described by Timothy Garton Ash in his Financial Times article advocating for Ukraine’s accession to Nato:
Consider the alternative. A defeated, divided, demoralized, depopulated Ukraine, pulsating with anger against the West and – as Zelenskyy hinted last week – probably seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. Moscow triumphant. The rest of the world concluding that the West is a paper tiger. Xi Jinping encouraged to have a go at Taiwan. Biden and Harris going down in history as the leaders who ‘lost Ukraine’.
One could add: the EU faces disintegration, regressing to its pre-union state. Ursula von der Leyen is remembered as the leader whose “as long as it takes” policy resulted in an epic failure to secure a safer future for Europe and Ukraine. Does the west want to see itself in this way?
Viktoriia Lapa is an Affiliated Scholar at the Center for Constitutional Studies and Democratic Development, a research partnership between the School of Law of the University of Bologna and the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy (SAIS Europe).
– ref. Why Europe should consider putting boots on the ground in Ukraine – https://theconversation.com/why-europe-should-consider-putting-boots-on-the-ground-in-ukraine-242279