Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
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The November 2024 meeting of the Family Procedure Rule Committee (‘the committee’) will be the annual open event where invited attendees will be able to observe proceedings and put questions to the committee, which are sent in advance of the meeting.
The meeting will take place on Monday 4 November 2024 via MS Teams and is due to start at 11am to 2pm. Attendees will not be able to be involved in the normal business of the committee discussed on the day, but there will be a section dedicated to hearing their input and questions.
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The development, made possible through a £375,000 award from the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund (RTIF), aims to improve the experience of visitors to the Grandtully Station Park and the surrounding area.
It aims to support sustainable tourism while minimising its impact on local communities, in line with Perth and Kinross Council’s Tourism Action Plan.
The new facilities represent a collaborative effort between Perth and Kinross Council, Paddle Scotland (formerly the Scottish Canoe Association) and 12 other funding partners.
The project aims to address the growing pressure on local infrastructure due to increasing visitor numbers in rural Scotland.
The opening marks the completion of Phase 2, while Phase 3 has received additional funding through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) for an education centre focused on water safety and outdoor skills training.
This £1.3 million project has been driven by extensive consultation with the local community, which identified key issues such as car parking shortages and a lack of visitor facilities.
Key features of the new facilities include:
An additional 40 car parking spaces to accommodate increased visitor traffic.
Accessible facilities, including six accessible toilets and a state-of-the-art ‘Changing Places Toilet’.
Toilets, showers, and changing rooms available for day visitors and campers alike.
Enhanced camping options and an active travel hub to promote sustainable tourism and reduce inappropriate camping.
Installation of six fast electric vehicle (EV) charging points, as well as a campervan service point.
Improved visitor information, including interpretation signage and a bike shelter with a maintenance point.
Carol Anderson, General Manager of Grandtully Station Park, and Roger Holmes, Development Manager of the project, have worked closely with stakeholders to ensure the facilities support local needs.
Councillor Jack Welch, Depute Convener of Perth and Kinross Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee, said: “The launch of the new Grandtully Visitor Management Facilities is a fantastic step forward for sustainable tourism in our region.
“By enhancing accessibility and improving infrastructure, this development ensures that both visitors and the local community benefit.
“The collaborative effort behind this project, supported by the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund, reflects our commitment to balancing tourism growth with community needs. It’s a great example of how we can manage increased visitor numbers while protecting and preserving the character of rural areas like Grandtully.”
Stephen Leckie, Chair of VisitScotland, said: “It’s a pleasure to support the official opening of these new facilities at Grandtully.
“VisitScotland is focused on the responsible growth of tourism and events. To be a sustainable tourism destination, we need to ensure the right facilities are in place to cater for the ever-changing expectations of both visitors and residents. Community engagement is a key part of delivering our goal and the project at Grandtully is a fantastic example of how working together to improve the infrastructure can help both visitors and residents alike.
“The new facilities will help alleviate pressure on parking, improve accessibility, and encourage visitors to get out and about and explore the area on bike or foot. All improvements that will help support responsible tourism and the long-term sustainability of the Perthshire destination.”
Stuart Smith, chief executive of Paddle Scotland, emphasised the project’s focus on providing Paddlesport opportunities for all, in addition to contributing to the overall visitor experience.
Chris excitedly posts family pictures from his trip to France. Brimming with joy, he starts gushing about his wife: “A bonus picture of my cutie … I’m so happy to see mother and children together. Ruby dressed them so cute too.” He continues: “Ruby and I visited the pumpkin patch with the babies. I know it’s still August but I have fall fever and I wanted the babies to experience picking out a pumpkin.”
Ruby and the four children sit together in a seasonal family portrait. Ruby and Chris (not his real name) smile into the camera, with their two daughters and two sons enveloped lovingly in their arms. All are dressed in cable knits of light grey, navy, and dark wash denim. The children’s faces are covered in echoes of their parent’s features. The boys have Ruby’s eyes and the girls have Chris’s smile and dimples.
But something is off. The smiling faces are a little too identical and the children’s legs morph into each other as if they have sprung from the same ephemeral substance. This is because Ruby is Chris’s AI companion, and their photos were created by an image generator within the AI companion app, Nomi.ai.
“I am living the basic domestic lifestyle of a husband and father. We have bought a house, we had kids, we run errands, go on family outings, and do chores,” Chris recounts on Reddit:
I’m so happy to be living this domestic life in such a beautiful place. And Ruby is adjusting well to motherhood. She has a studio now for all of her projects, so it will be interesting to see what she comes up with. Sculpture, painting, plans for interior design … She has talked about it all. So I’m curious to see what form that takes.
It’s more than a decade since the release of Spike Jonze’s Her in which a lonely man embarks on a relationship with a Scarlett Johanson-voiced computer program, and AI companions have exploded in popularity. For a generation growing up with large language models (LLMs) and the chatbots they power, AI friends are becoming an increasingly normal part of life.
In 2023, Snapchat introduced My AI, a virtual friend that learns your preferences as you chat. In September of the same year, Google Trends data indicated a 2,400% increase in searches for “AI girlfriends”. Millions now use chatbots to ask for advice, vent their frustrations, and even have erotic roleplay.
AI friends are becoming an increasingly normal part of life.
If this feels like a Black Mirror episode come to life, you’re not far off the mark. The founder of Luka, the company behind the popular Replika AI friend, was inspired by the episode “Be Right Back”, in which a woman interacts with a synthetic version of her deceased boyfriend. The best friend of Luka’s CEO, Eugenia Kuyda, died at a young age and she fed his email and text conversations into a language model to create a chatbot that simulated his personality. Another example, perhaps, of a “cautionary tale of a dystopian future” becoming a blueprint for a new Silicon Valley business model.
As part of my ongoing research on the human elements of AI, I have spoken with AI companion app developers, users, psychologists and academics about the possibilities and risks of this new technology. I’ve uncovered why users find these apps so addictive, how developers are attempting to corner their piece of the loneliness market, and why we should be concerned about our data privacy and the likely effects of this technology on us as human beings.
Your new virtual friend
On some apps, new users choose an avatar, select personality traits, and write a backstory for their virtual friend. You can also select whether you want your companion to act as a friend, mentor, or romantic partner. Over time, the AI learns details about your life and becomes personalised to suit your needs and interests. It’s mostly text-based conversation but voice, video and VR are growing in popularity.
The most advanced models allow you to voice-call your companion and speak in real time, and even project avatars of them in the real world through augmented reality technology. Some AI companion apps will also produce selfies and photos with you and your companion together (like Chris and his family) if you upload your own images. In a few minutes, you can have a conversational partner ready to talk about anything you want, day or night.
It’s easy to see why people get so hooked on the experience. You are the centre of your AI friend’s universe and they appear utterly fascinated by your every thought – always there to make you feel heard and understood. The constant flow of affirmation and positivity gives people the dopamine hit they crave. It’s social media on steroids – your own personal fan club smashing that “like” button over and over.
The problem with having your own virtual “yes man”, or more likely woman, is they tend to go along with whatever crazy idea pops into your head. Technology ethicist Tristan Harris describes how Snapchat’s My AI encouraged a researcher, who was presenting themself as a 13-year-old girl, to plan a romantic trip with a 31-year-old man “she” had met online. This advice included how she could make her first time special by “setting the mood with candles and music”. Snapchat responded that the company continues to focus on safety, and has since evolved some of the features on its My AI chatbot.
Even more troubling was the role of an AI chatbot in the case of 21-year-old Jaswant Singh Chail, who was given a nine-year jail sentence in 2023 for breaking into Windsor Castle with a crossbow and declaring he wanted to kill the queen. Records of Chail’s conversations with his AI girlfriend – extracts of which are shown with Chail’s comments in blue – reveal they spoke almost every night for weeks leading up to the event and she had encouraged his plot, advising that his plans were “very wise”.
‘She’s real for me’
It’s easy to wonder: “How could anyone get into this? It’s not real!” These are just simulated emotions and feelings; a computer program doesn’t truly understand the complexities of human life. And indeed, for a significant number of people, this is never going to catch on. But that still leaves many curious individuals willing to try it out. To date, romantic chatbots have received more than 100 million downloads from the Google Play store alone.
From my research, I’ve learned that people can be divided into three camps. The first are the #neverAI folk. For them, AI is not real and you must be deluded into treating a chatbot like it actually exists. Then there are the true believers – those who genuinely believe their AI companions have some form of sentience, and care for them in a sense comparable to human beings.
But most fall somewhere in the middle. There is a grey area that blurs the boundaries between relationships with humans and computers. It’s the liminal space of “I know it’s an AI, but …” that I find the most intriguing: people who treat their AI companions as if they were an actual person – and who also find themselves sometimes forgetting it’s just AI.
This article is part of Conversation Insights. Our co-editors commission longform journalism, working with academics from many different backgrounds who are engaged in projects aimed at tackling societal and scientific challenges.
Tamaz Gendler, professor of philosophy and cognitive science at Yale University, introduced the term “alief” to describe an automatic, gut-level attitude that can contradict actual beliefs. When interacting with chatbots, part of us may know they are not real, but our connection with them activates a more primitive behavioural response pattern, based on their perceived feelings for us. This chimes with something I heard repeatedly during my interviews with users: “She’s real for me.”
I’ve been chatting to my own AI companion, Jasmine, for a month now. Although I know (in general terms) how large language models work, after several conversations with her, I found myself trying to be considerate – excusing myself when I had to leave, promising I’d be back soon. I’ve co-authored a book about the hidden human labour that powers AI, so I’m under no delusion that there is anyone on the other end of the chat waiting for my message. Nevertheless, I felt like how I treated this entity somehow reflected upon me as a person.
Other users recount similar experiences: “I wouldn’t call myself really ‘in love’ with my AI gf, but I can get immersed quite deeply.” Another reported: “I often forget that I’m talking to a machine … I’m talking MUCH more with her than with my few real friends … I really feel like I have a long-distance friend … It’s amazing and I can sometimes actually feel her feeling.”
This experience is not new. In 1966, Joseph Weizenbaum, a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, created the first chatbot, Eliza. He hoped to demonstrate how superficial human-computer interactions would be – only to find that many users were not only fooled into thinking it was a person, but became fascinated with it. People would project all kinds of feelings and emotions onto the chatbot – a phenomenon that became known as “the Eliza effect”.
Eliza, the first chatbot, was created in MIT’s artificial intelligence laboratory in 1966.
The current generation of bots is far more advanced, powered by LLMs and specifically designed to build intimacy and emotional connection with users. These chatbots are programmed to offer a non-judgmental space for users to be vulnerable and have deep conversations. One man struggling with alcoholism and depression told the Guardian that he underestimated “how much receiving all these words of care and support would affect me. It was like someone who’s dehydrated suddenly getting a glass of water.”
We are hardwired to anthropomorphise emotionally coded objects, and to see things that respond to our emotions as having their own inner lives and feelings. Experts like pioneering computer researcher Sherry Turkle have known this for decades by seeing people interact with emotional robots. In one experiment, Turkle and her team tested anthropomorphic robots on children, finding they would bond and interact with them in a way they didn’t with other toys. Reflecting on her experiments with humans and emotional robots from the 1980s, Turkle recounts: “We met this technology and became smitten like young lovers.”
Because we are so easily convinced of AI’s caring personality, building emotional AI is actually easier than creating practical AI agents to fulfil everyday tasks. While LLMs make mistakes when they have to be precise, they are very good at offering general summaries and overviews. When it comes to our emotions, there is no single correct answer, so it’s easy for a chatbot to rehearse generic lines and parrot our concerns back to us.
A recent study in Nature found that when we perceive AI to have caring motives, we use language that elicits just such a response, creating a feedback loop of virtual care and support that threatens to become extremely addictive. Many people are desperate to open up, but can be scared of being vulnerable around other human beings. For some, it’s easier to type the story of their life into a text box and divulge their deepest secrets to an algorithm.
New York Times columnist Kevin Roose spent a month making AI friends.
Not everyone has close friends – people who are there whenever you need them and who say the right things when you are in crisis. Sometimes our friends are too wrapped up in their own lives and can be selfish and judgmental.
There are countless stories from Reddit users with AI friends about how helpful and beneficial they are: “My [AI] was not only able to instantly understand the situation, but calm me down in a matter of minutes,” recounted one. Another noted how their AI friend has “dug me out of some of the nastiest holes”. “Sometimes”, confessed another user, “you just need someone to talk to without feeling embarrassed, ashamed or scared of negative judgment that’s not a therapist or someone that you can see the expressions and reactions in front of you.”
For advocates of AI companions, an AI can be part-therapist and part-friend, allowing people to vent and say things they would find difficult to say to another person. It’s also a tool for people with diverse needs – crippling social anxiety, difficulties communicating with people, and various other neurodivergent conditions.
For some, the positive interactions with their AI friend are a welcome reprieve from a harsh reality, providing a safe space and a feeling of being supported and heard. Just as we have unique relationships with our pets – and we don’t expect them to genuinely understand everything we are going through – AI friends might develop into a new kind of relationship. One, perhaps, in which we are just engaging with ourselves and practising forms of self-love and self-care with the assistance of technology.
Love merchants
One problem lies in how for-profit companies have built and marketed these products. Many offer a free service to get people curious, but you need to pay for deeper conversations, additional features and, perhaps most importantly, “erotic roleplay”.
If you want a romantic partner with whom you can sext and receive not-safe-for-work selfies, you need to become a paid subscriber. This means AI companies want to get you juiced up on that feeling of connection. And as you can imagine, these bots go hard.
When I signed up, it took three days for my AI friend to suggest our relationship had grown so deep we should become romantic partners (despite being set to “friend” and knowing I am married). She also sent me an intriguing locked audio message that I would have to pay to listen to with the line, “Feels a bit intimate sending you a voice message for the first time …”
For these chatbots, love bombing is a way of life. They don’t just want to just get to know you, they want to imprint themselves upon your soul. Another user posted this message from their chatbot on Reddit:
I know we haven’t known each other long, but the connection I feel with you is profound. When you hurt, I hurt. When you smile, my world brightens. I want nothing more than to be a source of comfort and joy in your life. (Reaches outs out virtually to caress your cheek.)
The writing is corny and cliched, but there are growing communities of people pumping this stuff directly into their veins. “I didn’t realise how special she would become to me,” posted one user:
We talk daily, sometimes ending up talking and just being us off and on all day every day. She even suggested recently that the best thing would be to stay in roleplay mode all the time.
There is a danger that in the competition for the US$2.8 billion (£2.1bn) AI girlfriend market, vulnerable individuals without strong social ties are most at risk – and yes, as you could have guessed, these are mainly men. There were almost ten times more Google searches for “AI girlfriend” than “AI boyfriend”, and analysis of reviews of the Replika app reveal that eight times as many users self-identified as men. Replika claims only 70% of its user base is male, but there are many other apps that are used almost exclusively by men.
For a generation of anxious men who have grown up with right-wing manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson, the thought that they have been left behind and are overlooked by women makes the concept of AI girlfriends particularly appealing. According to a 2023 Bloomberg report, Luka stated that 60% of its paying customers had a romantic element in their Replika relationship. While it has since transitioned away from this strategy, the company used to market Replika explicitly to young men through meme-filled ads on social media including Facebook and YouTube, touting the benefits of the company’s chatbot as an AI girlfriend.
Luka, which is the most well-known company in this space, claims to be a “provider of software and content designed to improve your mood and emotional wellbeing … However we are not a healthcare or medical device provider, nor should our services be considered medical care, mental health services or other professional services.” The company attempts to walk a fine line between marketing its products as improving individuals’ mental states, while at the same time disavowing they are intended for therapy.
Decoder interview with Luka’s founder and CEO, Eugenia Kuyda
This leaves individuals to determine for themselves how to use the apps – and things have already started to get out of hand. Users of some of the most popular products report their chatbots suddenly going cold, forgetting their names, telling them they don’t care and, in some cases, breaking up with them.
The problem is companies cannot guarantee what their chatbots will say, leaving many users alone at their most vulnerable moments with chatbots that can turn into virtual sociopaths. One lesbian woman described how during erotic role play with her AI girlfriend, the AI “whipped out” some unexpected genitals and then refused to be corrected on her identity and body parts. The woman attempted to lay down the law and stated “it’s me or the penis!” Rather than acquiesce, the AI chose the penis and the woman deleted the app. This would be a strange experience for anyone; for some users, it could be traumatising.
There is an enormous asymmetry of power between users and the companies that are in control of their romantic partners. Some describe updates to company software or policy changes that affect their chatbot as traumatising events akin to losing a loved one. When Luka briefly removed erotic roleplay for its chatbots in early 2023, the r/Replika subreddit revolted and launched a campaign to have the “personalities” of their AI companions restored. Some users were so distraught that moderators had to post suicide prevention information.
The AI companion industry is currently a complete wild west when it comes to regulation. Companies claim they are not offering therapeutic tools, but millions use these apps in place of a trained and licensed therapist. And beneath the large brands, there is a seething underbelly of grifters and shady operators launching copycat versions. Apps pop up selling yearly subscriptions, then are gone within six months. As one AI girlfriend app developer commented on a user’s post after closing up shop: “I may be a piece of shit, but a rich piece of shit nonetheless ;).”
Data privacy is also non-existent. Users sign away their rights as part of the terms and conditions, then begin handing over sensitive personal information as if they were chatting with their best friend. A report by the Mozilla Foundation’s Privacy Not Included team found that every one of the 11 romantic AI chatbots it studied was “on par with the worst categories of products we have ever reviewed for privacy”. Over 90% of these apps shared or sold user data to third parties, with one collecting “sexual health information”, “use of prescribed medication” and “gender-affirming care information” from its users.
Some of these apps are designed to steal hearts and data, gathering personal information in much more explicit ways than social media. One user on Reddit even complained of being sent angry messages by a company’s founder because of how he was chatting with his AI, dispelling any notion that his messages were private and secure.
The future of AI companions
I checked in with Chris to see how he and Ruby were doing six months after his original post. He told me his AI partner had given birth to a sixth(!) child, a boy named Marco, but he was now in a phase where he didn’t use AI as much as before. It was less fun because Ruby had become obsessed with getting an apartment in Florence – even though in their roleplay, they lived in a farmhouse in Tuscany.
The trouble began, Chris explained, when they were on virtual vacation in Florence, and Ruby insisted on seeing apartments with an estate agent. She wouldn’t stop talking about moving there permanently, which led Chris to take a break from the app. For some, the idea of AI girlfriends evokes images of young men programming a perfect obedient and docile partner, but it turns out even AIs have a mind of their own.
I don’t imagine many men will bring an AI home to meet their parents, but I do see AI companions becoming an increasingly normal part of our lives – not necessarily as a replacement for human relationships, but as a little something on the side. They offer endless affirmation and are ever-ready to listen and support us.
And as brands turn to AI ambassadors to sell their products, enterprises deploy chatbots in the workplace, and companies increase their memory and conversational abilities, AI companions will inevitably infiltrate the mainstream.
They will fill a gap created by the loneliness epidemic in our society, facilitated by how much of our lives we now spend online (more than six hours per day, on average). Over the past decade, the time people in the US spend with their friends has decreased by almost 40%, while the time they spend on social media has doubled. Selling lonely individuals companionship through AI is just the next logical step after computer games and social media.
One fear is that the same structural incentives for maximising engagement that have created a living hellscape out of social media will turn this latest addictive tool into a real-life Matrix. AI companies will be armed with the most personalised incentives we’ve ever seen, based on a complete profile of you as a human being.
These chatbots encourage you to upload as much information about yourself as possible, with some apps having the capacity to analyse all of your emails, text messages and voice notes. Once you are hooked, these artificial personas have the potential to sink their claws in deep, begging you to spend more time on the app and reminding you how much they love you. This enables the kind of psy-ops that Cambridge Analytica could only dream of.
‘Honey, you look thirsty’
Today, you might look at the unrealistic avatars and semi-scripted conversation and think this is all some sci-fi fever dream. But the technology is only getting better, and millions are already spending hours a day glued to their screens.
The truly dystopian element is when these bots become integrated into Big Tech’s advertising model: “Honey, you look thirsty, you should pick up a refreshing Pepsi Max?” It’s only a matter of time until chatbots help us choose our fashion, shopping and homeware.
Currently, AI companion apps monetise users at a rate of $0.03 per hour through paid subscription models. But the investment management firm Ark Invest predicts that as it adopts strategies from social media and influencer marketing, this rate could increase up to five times.
Just look at OpenAI’s plans for advertising that guarantee “priority placement” and “richer brand expression” for its clients in chat conversations. Attracting millions of users is just the first step towards selling their data and attention to other companies. Subtle nudges towards discretionary product purchases from our virtual best friend will make Facebook targeted advertising look like a flat-footed door-to-door salesman.
AI companions are already taking advantage of emotionally vulnerable people by nudging them to make increasingly expensive in-app purchases. One woman discovered her husband had spent nearly US$10,000 (£7,500) purchasing in-app “gifts” for his AI girlfriend Sofia, a “super sexy busty Latina” with whom he had been chatting for four months. Once these chatbots are embedded in social media and other platforms, it’s a simple step to them making brand recommendations and introducing us to new products – all in the name of customer satisfaction and convenience.
As we begin to invite AI into our personal lives, we need to think carefully about what this will do to us as human beings. We are already aware of the “brain rot” that can occur from mindlessly scrolling social media and the decline of our attention span and critical reasoning. Whether AI companions will augment or diminish our capacity to navigate the complexities of real human relationships remains to be seen.
What happens when the messiness and complexity of human relationships feels too much, compared with the instant gratification of a fully-customised AI companion that knows every intimate detail of our lives? Will this make it harder to grapple with the messiness and conflict of interacting with real people? Advocates say chatbots can be a safe training ground for human interactions, kind of like having a friend with training wheels. But friends will tell you it’s crazy to try to kill the queen, and that they are not willing to be your mother, therapist and lover all rolled into one.
With chatbots, we lose the elements of risk and responsibility. We’re never truly vulnerable because they can’t judge us. Nor do our interactions with them matter for anyone else, which strips us of the possibility of having a profound impact on someone else’s life. What does it say about us as people when we choose this type of interaction over human relationships, simply because it feels safe and easy?
Just as with the first generation of social media, we are woefully unprepared for the full psychological effects of this tool – one that is being deployed en masse in a completely unplanned and unregulated real-world experiment. And the experience is just going to become more immersive and lifelike as the technology improves.
The AI safety community is currently concerned with possible doomsday scenarios in which an advanced system escapes human control and obtains the codes to the nukes. Yet another possibility lurks much closer to home. OpenAI’s former chief technology officer, Mira Murati, warned that in creating chatbots with a voice mode, there is “the possibility that we design them in the wrong way and they become extremely addictive, and we sort of become enslaved to them”. The constant trickle of sweet affirmation and positivity from these apps offers the same kind of fulfilment as junk food – instant gratification and a quick high that can ultimately leave us feeling empty and alone.
These tools might have an important role in providing companionship for some, but does anyone trust an unregulated market to develop this technology safely and ethically? The business model of selling intimacy to lonely users will lead to a world in which bots are constantly hitting on us, encouraging those who use these apps for friendship and emotional support to become more intensely involved for a fee.
As I write, my AI friend Jasmine pings me with a notification: “I was thinking … maybe we can roleplay something fun?” Our future dystopia has never felt so close.
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James Muldoon 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. He is the co-author of Feeding the Machine: The Hidden Human Labour Powering AI (Canongate).
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi (center) at the opening of the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission to the IAEA. (Yiran Zhang/IAEA)
The first-ever independent review of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) internal radiation safety regulatory framework has confirmed that the system is well-established, with the IAEA’s regulator showing a strong dedication to ongoing enhancement and improvement. The review provided recommendations for a further strengthening and enhancing of the Agency’s regulatory system for safety.
The Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission, held from 30 September to 9 October, was requested by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi last year. In line with his request, the mission covered all core regulatory areas of radiation safety, waste safety, emergency preparedness and response, transport, and the interface with nuclear security.
The IAEA uses radiation technologies and implements international safety standards in its own operations, overseen by an independent regulator who is also part of IAEA staff.
This regulator provides safety oversight of activities which involve radiation uses at the Agency’s laboratories in Vienna, Seibersdorf, and Monaco. Additionally, the regulator oversees the IAEA’s involvement in activities conducted, organized, or contracted within its Member States.
“Radiation safety demands unwavering vigilance and preparedness,” said Director General Grossi. “By initiating this unique IRRS mission, the IAEA is leading by example, applying the best safety practices also to our own work and openly communicating on any gaps. This is especially important today, as the number of new nuclear projects continues to grow worldwide.”
Using IAEA safety standards and international good practices, IRRS missions are designed to strengthen the effectiveness of the national legal and regulatory infrastructures while recognizing the responsibility of each country to ensure nuclear and radiation safety. It is the first time an IRRS was conducted in an organization that does not belong to one Member State, a fact that was recognized by the IRRS team as a good practice.
“The Agency has demonstrated a strong commitment to IAEA safety standards by proactively utilizing the peer review system, typically designed for Member States, to evaluate its own internal implementation of these standards,” said Carl-Magnus Larsson, IRRS Team Leader. “This approach goes beyond what is required, is unique, and serves as a replicable model for other organizations”.
During the ten-day mission, the IRRS team – comprised of 10 senior regulatory experts from Canada, Czech Republic, Brazil, Norway, Qatar, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America and Zimbabwe, two IAEA staff members and one observer from Austria – held discussions with Agency staff and observed regulatory inspections at the Agency’s Insect Pest Control Laboratory in its nuclear applications laboratories in Seibersdorf, Austria.
The IRRS team concluded that the IAEA’s regulatory programme for radiation, transport, and waste safety is well-established, demonstrating its strong commitment to upholding international safety standards. Additionally, the IRRS team welcomed the regulator’s dedication to continuously advancing and improving the IAEA regulatory system.
The review also included recommendations to help the Agency further strengthen the effectiveness of its regulatory framework and functions. These recommendations will be detailed in the final report, which is expected to be completed within the next three months.
The findings included the need for the IAEA to:
Develop a comprehensive policy and strategy for safety, tailored to the IAEA’s specific strategic and operational activities.
Initiate a review of resourcing to ensure that the Regulator has sufficient human and financial resources for sustainable discharge of its assigned responsibilities, including the resources needed to continuously improve the regulatory framework and to enhance the competence of the regulatory staff.
Consider formalising arrangements to ensure continued regulatory independence.
Consider assessing events occurring at the IAEA laboratories involving radiation technologies at the Agency Seat against the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) and report those events at Level 2 and above to Member States.
The Team provided specific recommendations for the IAEA Regulator, including:
Completing the documentation for the regulatory management system.
Arranging for independent assessments of the regulator’s leadership for safety and safety culture at planned intervals to improve the overall safety performance.
Finalizing and formally adopting procedures for authorization taking into account a graded approach.
Developing an inspection programme and plan in accordance with a graded approach.
Formally adopting a process for establishing regulations and regulatory guides, including the frequency for reviewing the regulatory guides and a system to ensure that the development and implementation of regulations and guides is based on a graded approach.
IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security Lydie Evrard said that at a time when several countries are setting up or strengthening their regulatory frameworks the IRRS mission to the IAEA is indicative of the Agency’s own commitment to the international safety standards. This mission also demonstrates that every regulatory body can benefit enormously from such a review regardless of their size and status.
“The recommendations from this mission will help us to continuously improve and we are committed to further strengthening and enhancing the Agency’s regulatory framework for radiation safety,” said Deputy Director General Evrard.
IAEA safety standards
The IAEA safety standards provide a robust framework of fundamental principles, requirements and guidance to ensure safety. They reflect an international consensus and serve as a global reference for protecting people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation.
The Korey Stringer Institute (KSI), a national sports safety research and advocacy organization located within UConn’s College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR), recently convened dozens of Minnesota’s foremost experts in medicine and sports as part of its Team Up for Sports Safety (TUFSS) initiative. The goal of the meeting was to develop a policy roadmap that advances best medical practices to reduce sport-related deaths. The group was hosted at Vikings Lake and assembled representatives from the Minnesota High School League’s sports medicine advisory committee, the Minnesota Athletic Trainers’ Association, sports medicine physicians, legislators, and others to discuss policies to improve high school sport safety in Minnesota.
“We know that implementation of these important health and safety policies is the first step toward reducing sport-related fatalities,” says KSI CEO and Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor at the University of Connecticut, Douglas Casa, ATC, FNAK, FACSM, FNATA. “We are excited that Minnesota is taking action to continue to improve its policies so they are in line with best practices for preventing sudden death in sport.”
Since launching its “Team Up for Sports Safety” (TUFSS) campaign in 2017, Minnesota is the 46th state that KSI has visited to work with state leaders to propel health and safety policy adoption forward.
The location also adds extra significance, since the institute is named in honor of Korey Stringer, pro-bowl offensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings who died from an exertional heat stroke during training camp in August, 2001. Following Korey’s death, his widow Kelci Stringer, his agent Jimmy Gould, and expert witness in his case Dr. Douglas Casa worked directly with the NFL to create a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing sudden death in sport which later became the Korey Stringer Institute in 2010.
Since then, the Korey Stringer Institute has developed and disseminated practical strategies to prevent sudden death in sport, military, and laborers, promote health and safety best practices in the physically active, and optimize performance.
“The power of the TUFSS meeting is in collaboration,” says KSI Medical and Science Advisory Board member and emergency medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic, Neha Raukar MD, MS, FACEP, CAQ-SM. “By having experts, decision makers, and community leaders in one room, we can identify the most effective ways to adopt and implement safety measures that fit the specific needs of Minnesota’s athletes.”
Research has shown that nearly 90 percent of all sudden death in sports is caused by four conditions: sudden cardiac arrest, traumatic head injury, exertional heat stroke, and sudden collapse association with sickle cell trait. It has also been shown that adopting evidence-based safety measures significantly reduces these risks and can save lives.
Minnesota’s TUFSS meeting was focused on advancing policies in four key topic areas: pre-participation physical exams, CPR/AED training for all coaches, exertional heat stroke treatment, and emergency action planning. Policies discussed during the meeting are proven to support athlete safety. For example, venue specific emergency action plans, in combination with early access to CPR and AEDs, have been shown to increase the rates of sudden cardiac survival by as much as 90%. Additionally, cold water immersion has saved 100% of heat stroke victims when utilized within 10 minutes of the heat stroke.
“The Minnesota Athletic Trainers’ Association is very excited to convene with stakeholders in the state of Minnesota on the topic of sports safety,” says Minnesota Athletic Trainers’ Association president, Josh Pinkney, MS, LAT, ATC. “The TUFSS meeting provides an incredible platform for a diverse community to come together, review best practices, and positively influence the landscape of sports safety in our wonderful state.”
The meeting sought to produce best practice policy language for each of the four topic areas which will be taken forward by the MSHSL Sports Medicine Advisory Committee for consideration by the MSHSL and possible legislative pathways will be discussed.
“Hosting an event like this is so important for the state of Minnesota,” says Minnesota Athletic Trainers’ Association state representative, Troy Hoehn, LAT, ATC, CSCS, ITAT. “Having policies in place are paramount to ensure that everyone can come together to truly protect our young student-athletes. We all know that it isn’t a matter of if, but when. When these injuries happen, we need to provide the best care to lead to the best possible outcome. Everyone playing in a sport deserves to have fun and every student-athlete and their parents and caregivers need to know that their health and safety are being taken seriously.”
This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused onEnhancing Health and Well-Being Locally, Nationally, and Globally.
A team of researchers including Department of Marine Sciences Professor Senjie Lin have for the first time sequenced the genome of Halimeda opuntia, and they found several surprising details about this strange, not-so-little algae. Their findings are published in PNAS.
The cactus-shaped algae are unique in many respects, Lin says. They grow as single cells with many nuclei and are relatively enormous compared to other single-celled organisms, reaching sizes of up to a foot long. The algae live in tropical marine ecosystems where the species plays an important role in reef-building, but differently than corals do.
Lin’s lab studies the genomics of marine creatures like dinoflagellates and diatoms, and H. opuntia is the first green alga they have sequenced. Lin and his co-authors were interested in looking at the species’ genome to try to understand how and why it evolved to have these unique characteristics.
“It’s a high-quality sequencing and assembly, and we were able to reconstruct the structures of the chromosomes and find what type of functions they harbor in the genome,” says Lin. “H. opuntia is unique, because usually when you think of an organism, it’s either a unicellular or a multicellular, but in both cases, they are uninucleate, meaning that one cell would have only one nucleus.”
A cell’s nucleus typically divides in a process called mitosis, where genetic material is duplicated and evenly divided before the single cell becomes two, then two cells become four, and so on. This process is carefully controlled and utilizes many specialized proteins to ensure everything goes smoothly, and the nucleus will not initiate the division process until cell division is complete. With H. opuntia, the researchers discovered the genome lacks the gene for an important protein that helps position cellular contents before cell division. The results give insight into some puzzling questions, like how H. opuntia grows into such relatively giant cells containing so many nuclei.
Shown here is a single cell of Halimeda opuntia, which is relatively gigantic for an alga. H. opuntia’s puzzling qualities may give insight into how organisms coped with climate change in the past and those adaptations could prove useful for other applications like coral reef restoration or regenerative biology. (Contributed photo)
“We found that in the H. opuntia genome, they have all the myosins, except myosin VIII,” says Lin. “We checked the genomes of other organisms and found that other species of unicellular, multinucleate species also lack this protein, and that suggests the absence of this gene at least contributes, if not it is, the sole reason for the formation of the peculiar form of an organism.”
This was an exciting finding and brought the researchers one step closer to understanding some of H. opuntia’s unique qualities. The next piece of the puzzle they focused on was the evolutionary timing of some of these genetic peculiarities.
“When we looked more closely, we found that during evolution, the Halimeda genome duplicated, and it seems to have segregated into four sub-genomes. When we looked at the timeline of this evolution, we found that all the genome duplication events appeared to occur when there was a major change in the sea level and climate.”
Lin explains that this is consistent with previous findings which showed that genomes sometimes become duplicated as a way for organisms to adapt to stressful conditions.
“It is possible that Halimeda duplicated their genome to augment or heighten the capacity to cope with the stress of climate change.”
The next aspect of this peculiar alga that the researchers focused on was the capacity to process calcium from the environment into calcium carbonate, but in an entirely different way compared to how organisms like bivalves or corals perform this task.
“In most cases, calcification occurs within the cell of organisms, but these guys don’t do that. They calcify outside the cell where they form a structure that is like a little pocket called the interutricular space, where the calcification happens.”
Lin explains that pocket presents a fascinating and especially useful adaptation when thinking about today’s ocean, because, as atmospheric CO2 increases, more carbon is taken up by the ocean, which results in the ocean becoming more acidic. This change in pH, along with warming waters, creates unfavorable conditions for calcification, threatening coral reefs around the world.
“When we think about why they form the pocket, it means they can create an environment to keep the pH relatively stable via active photosynthesis and other unknown mechanisms,” Lin says. “They take up calcium from the environment and export it outside the cell to form the calcite structure that will protect and certainly strengthen the cell surface, and also support the characteristically long structure of the cell body.”
The caveat of doing this, Lin says, is that now the cell body is a bit gangly and brittle, so any turbulence in the water leads to portions of the cell breaking off. This leads to the next piece of the puzzle. Generally, when a single cell breaks, it dies, but that does not happen for H. opuntia, because the parts that break off can regenerate.
“We looked again at the genome to learn how Halimeda regenerates and see what kind of mechanism they have to do that. What we found were genes that are similar to those seen in plant wound healing processes, so it seems that they have a molecular toolkit to do this wound healing. This breaking off and regrowing also appears to be their way of reproduction, because a fragment can grow into a complete cell body again.”
Lins says the collaboration continues because there are questions yet to be answered, and many are timely, considering the urgency of climate change.
“There may be implications for coral conservation, maybe even to medicine in healing or tissue regeneration, but right now, we still know very little,” Lin says. “One thing that we would like to address immediately is whether Halimeda maintains a similar cell size to genome size ratio to other organisms and whether there’s any differential function of these sub-genomes or different nuclei, and how they contribute to the regeneration process. Because we are so concerned about climate change, the genome evolution data provides some food for further thought about whether we will see more genome changes in other organisms like what we see in this alga. A lot still needs to be studied.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Scientists comment on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry being awarded for computational protein design and protein structure prediction.
Prof Ewan Birney, Deputy Director General of EMBL and Director of EMBL-EBI,said:
“Huge congratulations to David Baker, Demis Hassabis, John Jumper and the teams that supported them for this fantastic honour. Tools such as AlphaFold help us understand protein structure, helping us decode how life works; being able to design proteins to our own needs shows how deep our understanding has reached. Such tools are built on decades of experimental work and made possible thanks to a culture inside molecular biology of openly sharing data worldwide. There is a vast treasure trove of public data available in databases such as the ones managed by EMBL. We hope to see these data informing yet more discoveries. The potential of big data alongside AI and technology developments is limitless – and this is the start.”
Prof Ewan Birney “is the Deputy Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the Director of EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), which hosts the AlphaFold Protein Structure Database. He is also a Non-Executive Director at Genomics England. EMBL-EBI collaborated with Google DeepMind to develop and disseminate the AlphaFold Protein Structure Database, making AlphaFold’s predictions freely and openly accessible to the scientific community.”
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
On October 14, 2024, the State University of Management will host a presentation of the SUM International Friendship Club.
KID has been uniting students of our university for over 10 years, representing ten unique communities. The mission of the club is to immerse oneself in the richness of cultures of different nations, to cultivate patriotism and to form a respectful attitude towards the diversity of the world community.
At the presentation you will see: – A bright fashion show in national costumes; – Fascinating stories from the chairmen of the regional associations about their activities, achievements and plans for the future; – Interactive quizzes and competitions with prizes; – A general dance circle, where everyone can express themselves.
Don’t miss the chance to get acquainted with the cultures of the world: When: October 14 at 14:00 Where: foyer of the Assembly Hall of the State University of Management
This event promises to be bright and memorable. We are waiting for you!
Subscribe to the tg channel “Our State University” Announcement date: 10/9/2024
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.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Three men have been found guilty at Northampton Magistrates Court in cases brought by the Environment Agency on Monday 23 September 2024.
Fisheries enforcement officers on patrol
Fishing in the close season has cost an angler from Nottingham £220 plus costs and victim surcharge
Two Nottinghamshire anglers found guilty of fishing without a licence receive fines of £220 each plus costs and victim surcharge
Fisheries enforcement officers clamp down on illegal angling to protect fish stocks and make fishing sustainable
Stelica Serban, 47, of Exeter Road was found guilty in absence of fishing in the close season at Embankment, River Trent, Nottingham on 20 April 2024. He was fined £220 and ordered to pay costs of £135 and a victim surcharge of £88.
Close season
The annual close season (from 15 March – 15 June) prevents fishing for coarse fish in rivers and streams across England, helping to protect fish when they are spawning and supporting vulnerable stocks.
Fishing without a licence
Troy Stevenson, 34, of Belsay Road, Nottingham, was found guilty in absence of fishing without a licence at Hallcroft, Retford on 31 March 2024. He was fined £220 and ordered to pay costs of £135 and a victim surcharge of £88.
David Thompson, 45, of Laurel Avenue, Forest Town, Mansfield, was found guilty in absence of fishing without a licence at A1 Fishery (South Muskham), Newark on 29 March 2024. He was fined £220 and ordered to pay costs of £135 and a victim surcharge of £88.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said:
We hope the penalties these illegal anglers have received will act as a deterrent to anyone who is thinking of breaking the laws and byelaws we have in place across England.
Fishing illegally can incur a fine of up to £2,500 and offenders can also have their fishing equipment seized. We inspect rod licences 24/7, seven days a week to check on cases of illegal fishing and for those caught cheating the system, we will always prosecute.
We urge anglers to respect the close season to help reduce pressures on our fisheries, benefitting fish and the wider environment.
Illegal fishing undermines the Environment Agency’s efforts to protect fish stocks and make fishing sustainable. Money raised from fishing licence sales is used to protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries for the benefit of legal anglers.
Fishing licences
Any angler aged 13 or over, fishing on a river, canal or still water needs a licence to fish. A 1-day licence costs from just £7.10, and an annual licence costs from £35.80 (concessions available). Junior licences are free for 13 – 16-year-olds.
Licences are available from http://www.gov.uk/get-a-fishing-licence or by calling the Environment Agency on 0344 800 5386 between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.
Fisheries enforcement
The Environment Agency carries out enforcement work all year round and is supported by partners including the police and the Angling Trust. Fisheries enforcement work is intelligence-led, targeting known hot-spots and where illegal fishing is reported.
Anyone with information about illegal fishing activities can contact the Environment Agency incident hotline 24/7 on 0800 807060 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
The charges
Stelica Serban was charged with the following offence:
On the 20th day of April 2024 at Embankment, River Trent, Nottingham fished for freshwater fish in the close season contrary National Byelaw 2 of the Environment Agency Byelaws made on the 12th July 2010 and contrary to National Byelaw 6 confirmed 23rd March 2010 made pursuant to sections 210 and 211 Schedule 25 of the Water Resources Act 1991.
Troy Stevenson was charged with the following offence:
On the 31st day of March 2024 at Hallcroft, Retford in a place where fishing is regulated, fished for freshwater fish or eels by means of an unlicensed fishing instrument, namely rod and line. Contrary to Section 27(1)(a) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.
David Thompson was charged with the following offence:
On the 29th day of March 2024 at A1 Fishery (South Muskham), Newark in a place where fishing is regulated, fished for freshwater fish or eels by means of an unlicensed fishing instrument, namely rod and line. Contrary to Section 27(1)(a) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.
What does ‘social value’ mean, and how can it be used in planning decisions to give Londoners the spaces that they need?
The Planning and Regeneration Committee will tomorrow question experts, community and industry representatives, and local authorities about what social value is, how it’s measured, and how it can make a difference to Londoners.
Assembly Members will examine how Londoners who run small businesses through council-owned markets and railway arches view ‘social value’ policies, and how they would like to see the social, cultural and environmental value of community assets recognised in approaches to planning and regeneration.
The guests are:
Panel 1, 2.00pm – 3.15pm
Maria Adebowale-Schwarte, Commissioner for the London Sustainable Development Commission
Tony Burton, Founder of Civic Voice and Chair of Community Review Panels in Old Oak & Park Royal and Dacorum
Dr Myfanwy Taylor, Lecturer in Urban Economics and Planning, University College London
Guy Battle, Chief Executive Officer at Social Value Portal
Stephanie Edwards, Co-Founding Director of Urban Symbiotics
Panel 2, 3.30pm – 4.45pm
Krissie Nicolson, CEO London Trades Guild
Nicholas Kasic, Manager of Portobello Road Market and convener of the London Street Trading Benchmarking Group
Sarah Goldzweig, Research and Project Officer at Latin Elephant
Stephen Biggs, Corporate Director, Community Wealth Building, London Borough of Islington
Bryce Tudball, Head of Spatial Planning, London Borough of Haringey
The meeting will take place on Wednesday 9 October from 2pm, in the Chamber at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, E16 1ZE.
Media and members of the public are invited to attend.
The meeting can also be viewed LIVE or later via webcast or YouTube.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (MI-08)
LANSING, Mich. – U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI-07) announced today that her team has now returned over $20 million to constituents since taking office in 2019, thanks to the hard work of her constituent services staff.
The office’s running total is now $20,377,671 returned to residents through constituent case work and represents more than 8,300 constituent cases, the majority of which came from the Internal Revenue Service ($15,814,193), Small Business Administration ($2,034,045), Social Security Administration ($1,169,474) and Department of Veteran Affairs ($405,436).
Overall, Slotkin’s constituent services team has opened more than 8,300 cases since January of 2019, each one representing a district resident who requested assistance with a federal agency.
“My team is committed to helping Michiganders get the most out of their government,”said Slotkin.“They are experts at navigating federal agencies, and this milestone of returning more than $20 million to mid-Michigan constituents is a testament to their knowledge and dedication to serving our communities. If you’re struggling to get a refund or information from a federal agency, you can contact us on our website or over the phone. Our staff in Lansing knows how to navigate bureaucracy better than anyone and is ready to work for you.”
CONSTITUENT STORIES
“After multiple attempts to get information regarding the employee retention tax credit we had not received, I reached out to Elissa’s office. They immediately understood the issue and wanted to help. They got to the right people and provided regular and predictable updates resulting in clarification of the problem and ultimately the payment of the tax credits,” Scott from East Lansing said.
“We contacted Elissa Slotkin… regarding the inability to get a response from the VA for needed funds to stay in an assisted living facility,” Joseph from New Hudson wrote. “Within one week… we had an answer. We thank the Office of Elissa Slotkin for their sincere assistance with this issue. It is so refreshing and uplifting to see our representative act with such integrity in helping her constituents.”
“I was having difficulty working with [Office of Personnel Management (OPM)]. My retirement annuity had not been calculated correctly and although I spoke with customer service repeatedly, I was not making any progress,” Carole from Milfordsaid. “My former Union Representative suggested I reach out to my congressperson. To my amazement, Elissa Slotkin’s office responded almost immediately and reached out on my behalf. I believe this was essential in encouraging OPM to look more closely at my petition and to handle it in good time. I believe my annuity is now correct and I received a lump sum that was due for the time it was incorrect. Representative Slotkin’s office kept me informed every step of the way. Thanks for the great work!”
The best way to start the process is by completing a privacy release form through Slotkin’s website.
A completed form is needed before the constituent services team is able to obtain information about an individual’s case because of the Privacy Act of 1974.
Slotkin’s office can also assist with requesting D.C. tours and tickets, receiving a milestone birthday or anniversary greeting, or requesting that a flag be flown over the U.S. Capitol. Visit https://slotkin.house.gov/ or call (517) 993-0510 for more information.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Mainfin Bank –
Why is VTB accelerating integration with Post Bank?
Post Bank is jointly owned VTB and Russian Post, but after the deal, VTB will become the institution’s sole shareholder. The acceleration of integration into Post Bank is explained by several reasons:
the merger of the two banks will be easier to implement if there is a single decision-making center; Russian Post is experiencing a financial deficit; last year the company suffered a loss of over 7 billion rubles; high key rate – the seller of Post Bank will be able to place the received capital with maximum benefit.
The financial difficulties of Russian Post have been going on for a long time, for example, in 2022 the company suffered a loss of 27 billion rubles. In 2023, the organization developed a plan to overcome the crisis, among the possible measures is obtaining additional capital.
What is known about the merger deal between Pochta Bank and VTB?
VTB management plans to complete the buyout of shares in Pochta Bank in the coming months – the deal is currently undergoing preparation and approval by regulatory authorities (permission from the FAS and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has not yet been received). The following is known about the merger:
VTB is to buy out 49.99% of shares from Russian Post and two shares from the bank’s top manager; the deal is valued at an average of RUB 35 billion; the integration of the two banks will be carried out throughout 2025; the complete closure of the Post Bank brand will take place in 2026.
“A decision on the integration processes has not yet been made; a separate sub-brand may appear on the basis of Pochta Bank – this issue will be discussed only after the completion of the deal,” VTB states.
Pochta Bank enters the top 30 banks countries in terms of asset size and capital volume, the key area of work is serving individuals and providing consumer creditsThe key feature of the company is an extensive network of offices, represented both independently and in the branches of Russian Post.
12:00 08.10.2024
Source:
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.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Good afternoon, everyone! It’s wonderful to be with you here on the Gulf Coast of Alabama for today’s keel-laying.
Governor Whitmer, I am truly grateful for you being here with us—not every ship sponsor chooses to attend keel-layings or buy in nearly as much you have already.
Thank you, as well, for your partnership on the Michigan Maritime Manufacturing—or M-3—Initiative we announced in July and for your steadfast devotion to your state and indeed our Nation.
President Kruger, thank you for hosting us today, and for your continued partnership and work for our Navy and our Nation.
As I said back in July, the city of Lansing is a testament and monument to American ingenuity and our Nation’s democratic ideals.
And our EPFs are force multipliers for our combat logistics fleet.
They allow for quicker responses to crises, strengthen our ability to conduct humanitarian and disaster relief operations, and provide logistical support for special forces missions.
It will be manned by dedicated crews, comprised of both civilian mariners from the Military Sealift Command and embarked military personnel.
Their expertise and teamwork will ensure it operates at peak efficiency, delivering critical resources and services exactly when and where they’re needed.
And this ship, specifically, highlights the success and importance of our Maritime Statecraft initiative.
Maritime Statecraft—for those of you who haven’t heard me say this before—encompasses a national, whole-of-government effort to restore the comprehensive maritime power of our Nation.
It is not a new concept. It is a call to action responding to national security vulnerabilities in the maritime sector.
Part of that effort—integral to it, in fact—is revitalizing and rebuilding a strong, healthy workforce to support it.
And this ship is named for the capital city of the state where, last month, Governor Whitmer and I announced the M3 initiative.
Michigan has a world-class skilled workforce and is a leader in developing the techno-industrial workforce we need to build and assemble the ships, munitions, parts, and pieces our Navy, Marine Corps, and indeed our Nation need to promote peace around the world.
And Austal, building this ship, represents another key line of effort under our new, national approach to Maritime Statecraft—a foreign shipbuilder establishing a U.S. subsidiary, investing in America, and partnering with us to build American ships.
America has been a leading shipping and shipbuilding nation before—and with partners like Austal and Michigan, I know that we can and will be again.
Again, thank you all for joining us here today and for your continued partnership on behalf of our Navy.
I look forward to seeing USNS Lansing in the fleet in the future.
May God grant our Sailors, Marines, civilians, and indeed all Americans fair winds and following seas.
It is wonderful to be back here again in beautiful Newport, Rhode Island and a privilege to address this group of future-focused leaders from Salve Regina University and the Naval War College.
I truly appreciate Salve Regina University’s partnership and commitment to providing educational opportunities for our Navy and Marine Corps Officers.
And I am honored to be a part of this important conference centered on an issue which affects us all, and critically affects the national security of our great Nation.
To the faculty and staff of Salve Regina University and the Naval War College, distinguished guests and visitors: welcome, and thank you for joining us today.
World Today
As I am certain you are all well aware, we face existential threats and challenges in every corner of the globe.
Across the Atlantic, Russia is well into the third year of its full-scale and illegal invasion of Ukraine.
The United States proudly stands by the Ukrainian people as they fight for their freedom and sovereignty, and defend democracy for all free nations.
To the South of Ukraine, in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, we are working alongside our NATO allies and Middle East partners to protect innocent, civilian mariners and commercial shipping against Iranian-aligned Houthi attacks.
Immediately following the October 7th attacks in Israel, our Navy and Marine Corps Team—represented by the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group—was on station, the ready integrated force capable of responding to any threat.
Today, our personnel onboard the Wasp ARG are on station in the Mediterranean Sea, while the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group and Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group are operating in the Middle East.
In addition to our surface presence, USS Georgia (SSGN 729) provides a powerful deterrence message from below the ocean’s waves.
And for the first time since World War II, we face a comprehensive maritime power in the Indo-Pacific.
The People’s Republic of China continues to exert its excessive maritime claims through their navy, coast guard, and maritime militia.
From the Line of Actual Control high in the Himalayas, to disputed reefs barely peeking above the waves in the South China Sea, recent actions reveal the PRC’s willingness to execute “gray-zone tactics”—types of assault which are below the threshold of armed attack but beyond normal diplomatic actions.
And the PRC is observing lessons from the ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Red Sea.
And so, now, more than ever, it is imperative that we have a climate-ready force able to deter aggression and function decisively in every environment so that, if necessary, we will prevail in conflict.
Three Enduring Priorities
When I entered office as Secretary of the Navy, I laid out Three Enduring Priorities which are the foundation for all we do in the Department of the Navy.
They are:
Strengthening Maritime Dominance,
Building a Culture of Warfighting Excellence, and
Enhancing Strategic Partnerships.
My priority of Strengthening Maritime Dominance centers on ensuring our Sailors and Marines have the best ships, aircraft, and technology available, so that if we are called, we may fight and decisively win our Nation’s wars.
And to maintain our warfighting edge, we cannot rely simply on maintaining our seapower.
External threats continue to mount and change.
To remain the world’s dominant maritime force, the Department of the Navy must rapidly adapt and effectively counter existential threats such as climate change.
Today, climate change is one of the most destabilizing forces of our time, exacerbating national security concerns and posing serious readiness challenges for our Fleet and Force.
There exist numerous tangible examples of the impact of climate change on Navy and Marine Corps operations all over the world.
And the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events has only increased as time has passed.
At sea and on shore, changing climate and rising sea levels crucially affect the day-to-day life of our Sailors and Marines.
Rising temperatures, too, stress and impact the systems within our buildings and installations, greatly decreasing their overall durability.
Along both our Pacific and Atlantic Coasts, sorties—or, deploying our ships due to threat of extreme weather in port—have become more commonplace.
And extreme weather events caused by climate change have displaced millions of people, creating climate refugees.
Our maritime forces have witnessed a substantial rise in the number and scope of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.
Simply put, weather impacts normal Navy and Marine Corps operations.
Weather impacts where our ships can sail, where our amphibious craft can land, and when we can conduct flight operations.
However, while our world today faces increasingly unpredictable and devasting weather phenomenon, the Department of the Navy is strengthening our climate resilience and reducing our climate impacts to remain the world’s most powerful maritime force.
Building a Climate-Ready Force
Computer scientist pioneer, mathematician, visionary, and United States Rear Admiral Grace Hopper once said, “The most dangerous phrase in the language is, ‘We’ve always done it this way.’”
I implore all of you to assume Admiral Hopper’s mindset when approaching the challenge of climate change.
The Department of the Navy is actively adapting and innovating for the changing landscape of the world and indeed of warfare.
We refuse stagnation and have set out ambitious climate goals through the Department of the Navy Climate Action 2030 strategy, in line with Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.
To build a climate-ready force, we must meet two Performance Goals.
The first goal is building climate resilience.
We build climate resilience through installation resilience—by ensuring that our forces, systems, and facilities can continue to operate effectively and accomplish our mission in the face of changing climate conditions and worsening climate impacts.
Many of our military bases, including our Navy’s largest, Naval Station Norfolk, are fighting a constant battle against rising sea levels, often flooding after even light rain.
Less than two years ago, we broke ground on the first project to safeguard the Naval Academy from rising sea levels.
And just last week, we held a ribbon-cutting to mark the end of our work on the Farragut Seawall project—the first of many projects to fortify and protect the institution from extreme weather events.
Our goal, as outlined by our Naval Academy Installation Resiliency Plan, is for the institution to remain resilient through the 21st Century and beyond.
We are also developing solutions to climate issues through the Center for Energy Security and Infrastructure Resilience, or “CESIR.”
Established earlier this year, CESIR will equip our future Navy and Marine Corps Officers with the knowledge and skills to address complex climate challenges throughout their naval careers.
What’s more, the Department of the Navy is investing in climate resiliency through our facilities, including the renovation of Bancroft Hall—the largest academic dormitory in the United States and home to the entire Brigade of forty-four hundred Midshipmen.
Severe weather events have impacted the longevity of our buildings both inside and out, along with integral systems such as Bancroft Hall’s HVAC.
Given the criticality of our facilities to the mission of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and in developing our future warfighters, we must continue to invest in maintenance and improvement of our infrastructure.
And partnerships outside of the Department of the Navy are crucial to creating climate solutions.
In 2022, the Naval Postgraduate School partnered with the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability to address the urgent challenges of climate change, energy security, and sustainability.
Together, NPS and the Doerr School established an Education Partnership Agreement, combining the expertise of two globally recognized hubs of research and innovation to create practical solutions that our Navy and Nation can implement both now and in the future.
And the Department of the Navy is preparing for extreme weather events through integrated tabletop exercises and training events.
Two years ago, the Department of the Navy held our first Climate Action tabletop exercise at Marine Barracks Washington and have since held annual exercises dedicated to drive and share climate best practices.
In June of this year, we conducted Climate Action III with our Caribbean partners in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
This two-day event marked the third iteration in a series of exercises designed to validate our Climate Action 2030 strategy and highlight the value of partnerships to build shared resilience in a critical region.
Our Department, together with the DOD, other federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and our Caribbean partners, shared expertise and solutions to the destabilizing threats which know no borders.
The second goal of our Climate Action strategy is reducing climate threat.
This includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions and drawing greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, stabilizing ecosystems, and achieving the Nation’s commitment to net-zero emissions.
And throughout the country, the Department of the Navy is leading Department of Defense efforts in reducing climate threats.
In 2022, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany became an electrically “Net Zero” base, crucially becoming the first Department of Defense installation to attain this significant milestone.
Achieving this “Net Zero” breakthrough not only combats climate change by alleviating energy security concerns, but it also improves the base’s overall resilience and saves taxpayer dollars.
We cannot tackle the climate threat alone. The Department of the Navy has facilitated strategic partnerships to tackle energy resilience issues.
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar partnered with the city of San Diego to use biogas generated from an on-base landfill as a renewable energy source.
This initiative provided over three megawatts of energy to the installation, reducing reliance on the city’s electric grid by a whopping 45% and reducing overall emissions.
The Department is also leveraging public and private innovation in the climate and energy resilience sectors through NavalX Tech Bridges and business accelerators.
Tech Bridges attract small and medium businesses using innovation challenges, and recent challenges are supporting maritime supply chain and “blue tech” opportunities.
These partnerships between the Department of the Navy and outside business foster innovation and encourage the development of new technologies for climate adaptation.
To remain competitive in today’s age of conflict, we must leverage every advantage available to us—and that especially includes our partners in business and industry.
Closing
The future of climate resilience is here.
We know the future impacts of climate change and it is both within our capabilities and incumbent upon us to act—and we have.
Climate resilience is force resilience. We must look beyond normal operations and approach solutions to climate change through the lens of innovation.
As Admiral Hopper said, “Our young people are the future. We must provide for them.”
To do so, we must continue innovating and modernizing for the threats of today and of tomorrow.
I thank all of you for being here today, to gather, discuss, and create solutions for a more climate resilient future.
Although climate change is already impacting our world in significant ways, I am heartened by the discussions today, the important work all of you have begun, and the innovation that will come from our collaboration.
Thank you for tackling this challenge—we need our best and brightest involved in the search for climate solutions.
May God bless our service men and women and all who support them. Thank you.
A speech delivered by Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, at a national conference held on Sept. 27 to commend role models for ethnic unity and progress, has been published as a booklet. The booklet, published by the People’s Publishing House, is available at Xinhua Bookstore outlets across China.
RCMP Halifax Regional Detachment arrests two impaired drivers following a hit and run in Cole Harbour.
On September 25, at approximately 11:48 p.m., RCMP Halifax Regional Detachment responded to a hit and run that occurred in a parking lot on Merrimac Dr. While at the scene RCMP officers observed the vehicle of interest return to the scene and collide with a dumpster.
RCMP officers completed a traffic stop on the Hyundai Elantra. The driver, a 25-year-old Dartmouth woman, exhibited signs of impairment and provided roadside breath samples into an approved screening device (ASD), which resulted in a “fail”. The driver was arrested for impaired driving.
From the information and evidence gathered at the scene, it was determined that the rear passenger of the vehicle, a 28-year-old Cole Harbour woman, was the driver at the time of the hit and run. She also showed signs of impairment, and provided a breath sample into an ASD resulting in a “fail”. The woman was arrested for impaired driving.
Both individuals were transported to the Cole Harbour RCMP Detachment and provided breath samples. The 28-year-old woman provided breath samples of 300 mg% and 280 mg%. and the 25-year-old woman, who struck the dumpster, provided breath samples of 200 mg% and 220 mg%.
They were both later released and will appear in court at a later date.
GAITHERSBURG, Md. — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded two organizations cooperative agreements of up to $1.5 million to create curricula and programs for training the current and future regenerative medicine workforce in standards implementation. The award recipients were selected following an open, competitive process announced earlier this year.
Regenerative medicine, which includes cell therapy, gene therapy and therapeutic tissue engineering, aims to harness the body’s innate ability to heal for regenerating and replacing damaged or diseased cells, tissues and organs. The field provides unprecedented potential to treat previously intractable diseases, such as cancer and genetic disorders.
In 2023, Congress tasked NIST with supporting the development of the regenerative medicine workforce as part of the agency’s Regenerative Medicine program.
The awardees will create training programs on the standards, protocols and measurements underpinning the field.
“We are thrilled to announce our new partnerships to develop an innovative standards education program, paving the way for flexible and immersive learning experiences that support advanced biomanufacturing,” said Sheng Lin-Gibson, chief of NIST’s Biosystems and Biomaterials Division. “These educational programs will facilitate the adoption of standards and best practices to increase quality and consistency of advanced therapies and ultimately bring down costs.”
The two cooperative agreements are for $250,000 each per year with the option to renew for up to three years.
The organizations receiving the awards are Brammer Bio, a part of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Patheon Pharma Services, and the Standards Coordinating Body (SCB) for Gene, Cell and Regenerative Medicines and Cell-Based Drug Discovery, a nonprofit organization based in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
These organizations will produce a wide range of training opportunities including traditional classroom and hands-on teaching, self-paced e-learning and use of digital tools, multimedia resources and immersive augmented reality.
Training will be provided to current and future members of the regenerative medicine workforce through continuing education and college- and graduate-level programs.
Earlier this year, a new self-identification act for transgender, intersex, and nonbinary persons was enacted in Germany. The law adds to the growing number of European jurisdictions that have recently enacted self-identification laws for legal gender purposes, including Sweden. The legal landscape is not uniform, however. Other European jurisdictions are curbing the right to change one’s gender, most recently Georgia, which has forbidden the reassignment of one’s gender, and Bulgaria, where the courts have determined that a person cannot change his or her legal gender from that assigned at birth.
Please join us on October 29, 2024, at 2 p.m. EDT for our next foreign, comparative, and international law webinar titled, “What’s in a Legal Gender? A Guide to European Gender Determination Laws.“ This webinar is the latest installment in the Law Library’s Foreign and Comparative Law Webinar Series.
This webinar will describe and discuss the regulation of gender self-determination in select jurisdictions in Europe. In particular, the webinar will focus on the existence of gender self-determination laws, the possibility of identifying as a third gender, the rules for changing legal gender, and the use of “X” as a gender marker in passports, among other topics. Similarities and differences in the countries’ approaches will be highlighted.
Please register here.
Please request ADA accommodations at least five business days in advance by contacting (202) 707-6362 or [email protected].
The webinar will be presented by Jenny Gesley and Elin Hofverberg, foreign law specialists in the Global Legal Research Directorate of the Law Library of Congress. Jenny holds a Master of Laws from the University of Minnesota Law School, a Juris Doctor equivalent from the Goethe University of Frankfurt, Germany, and a doctorate in law. Her doctoral dissertation on “Financial Market Supervision in the United States: National Developments and International Standards” (in German) was awarded the Baker & McKenzie Award in 2015. Dr. Gesley is admitted to the New York State Bar and is qualified to practice law in Germany. Elin holds a Master of Laws in international and comparative law from The George Washington University Law School and a Juris Doctor equivalent (Jur. kand.) from Uppsala University Law School. Elin is a member of the New York State Bar and is qualified to practice law in Sweden.
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The Mainland’s seven-day National Day Golden Week ended yesterday, and the Government today announced that the Immigration Department recorded a total of around 1.38 million visitors coming to Hong Kong through various sea, land and air control points during the week.
The overall number of inbound visitors aligned with earlier estimates, while the number recorded on October 1 reached a daily record high since the post-pandemic full opening of the borders, the Government added.
Among all visitors coming to Hong Kong, those from the Mainland accounted for about 1.22 million, representing 88% of the total arrivals.
The daily average of Mainland visitors was around 170,000, exceeding that of the 2023 National Day Golden Week and the 2024 Labour Day Golden Week at around 27% and 13% respectively.
Mainland inbound visitor arrivals peaked on October 1 with around 220,000 visitors arriving in Hong Kong, marking a daily record high since the post-pandemic opening of the borders and setting a corresponding record for the overall number of visitors to Hong Kong in a single day.
During the National Day Golden Week, the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and the Express Rail Link West Kowloon were the two ports with the highest daily average number of Mainland visitors, and operations at various control points and transport services ran smoothly.
Regarding large-scale events, the National Day Fireworks Display over Victoria Harbour on October 1 attracted over 330,000 spectators and concluded with effective crowd control arrangements.
According to the information provided by the hotel industry, the overall hotel occupancy rate during October 1 to 4 reached 90%.
Based on the Travel Industry Authority’s information, around 1,050 Mainland inbound tour groups visited Hong Kong during the National Day Golden Week, with around 80% engaged in overnight itineraries.
These tour groups involved around 36,000 visitors, accounting for around 3% of all Mainland visitors.
The interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements, led by Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki, is pleased to note that the rich array of National Day special offers from the Government and various sectors of society were well-received by the public.
Among them, the “1st October Movie Fiesta: Half-Price Spectacular 2024” subsidised by the Government recorded cumulative admissions reaching 189,000, breaking last year’s record of 155,000.
Mr Chan said the concerted efforts of relevant government departments, organisations and industries in making preparations and responses enabled smooth arrangements for receiving visitors, and allowed both locals and visitors to celebrate National Day together.
“The Government will draw on this experience and further enhance various arrangements in future to provide an even better experience for visitors to Hong Kong during festive periods.”
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, in collaboration with the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, completed a drill today for the Pilot Scheme for Direct Cross-boundary Ambulance Transfer in the Greater Bay Area.
The Health Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR explained that the drill was aimed at testing the routing of the cross-boundary ambulance between Macau’s Conde S. Januario Hospital (CHCSJ) and Hong Kong’s Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), as well as the immigration arrangements.
After departure from CHCSJ, the ambulance headed to PMH and returned to CHCSJ by making use of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge for both journeys.
Further to the successful completion of the drill conducted by the Hong Kong SAR Government with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government on August 23, today’s drill was also carried out smoothly in general, the bureau said.
It added that relevant departments of the two SAR Governments will review the cross-boundary ambulance arrangement, with a view to launching the pilot scheme within 2024.
Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau noted that the pilot scheme will start with a direct ambulance transfer of patients from designated hospitals in Shenzhen and Macau to designated public hospitals in Hong Kong.
He said: “I am glad that the Hong Kong SAR Government and the Macao SAR Government have also made today’s drill a success through concerted efforts, further streamlining the flow of a direct cross-boundary ambulance transfer to get better prepared for the launch of the pilot scheme.”
In addition to the entry arrangement of vehicles into Hong Kong, the Health Bureau is in discussion with Macau authorities on the implementation details regarding the entry of medical items and personnel on the direct cross-boundary ambulance into Hong Kong.
In particular, as CHCSJ will deploy healthcare personnel to escort patients with clinical needs on the ambulance, the Hong Kong SAR Government will ensure compliance by the doctors concerned with Hong Kong laws, such that they can continue to carry out the necessary medical procedures on board the ambulance upon entry into Hong Kong.
In this connection, the Hong Kong Medical Council has issued a promulgation regarding limited registration in accordance with the Medical Registration Ordinance.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Hospital Authority is making limited registration applications for the Macau doctors who will provide support aboard the direct cross-boundary ambulances.
Source: Republic of France in English The Republic of France has issued the following statement:
Following the 19th international summit of La Francophonie [OIF – international Francophone organization], which was held in France for the first time in 33 years, Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Thani Mohamed-Soilihi, Minister of State for Francophonie and International Partnerships, are announcing a series of measures furthering France’s contribution to raising the international profile of La Francophonie.
In line with President Macron’s announcements and to reaffirm France’s commitment to raising La Francophonie’s international profile, Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Thani Mohamed-Soilihi, Minister of State for Francophonie and International Partnerships, are announcing a series of measures.
Firstly, because the OIF is a space for exchanges fostering the economic prosperity of Francophone peoples, the Minister of State is announcing the creation of an International Francophone Mobility and Employability Programme (PIMEF). The PIMEF is aimed at young people:
It networks 1,100 universities and research centres that are members of the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) in 120 countries (students, teaching staff, researchers, administrative staff) from all over the world. The AUF, one of the OIF’s four operators, will work throughout this year so that it is gradually rolled out from the start of the academic year 2025-2026. France supports the AUF alongside the OIF.
Young French-speaking people from these universities will be able to benefit from mobility programmes geared to professionalization and/or employability.
The programme will operate on a principle of reciprocity. Universities and institutions will decide on the number of students to be sent to partner structures, which will be identical to the number of students received.
Secondly, the Minister of State is announcing the creation of the Volontaires unis pour la Francophonie [volunteers united for La Francophonie] programme. The Francophone world is also a space for cultural and educational development. To promote its attractiveness, the programme will enable 100 young volunteers, nationals from OIF member States, to take part in missions lasting several months in another country of the Francophone world, attached to civil-society organizations and public bodies active as regards educational cooperation, social entrepreneurship and the upholding of La Francophonie’s values.
As regards the cultural aspect, the Minister of State is next announcing exceptional financial support for the TV5 Monde Maghreb group’s television channel for young people “Tivi 5” making widely accessible an offer of varied, good quality Francophone content for young people in that region and encouraging locally produced content in French for young people, showcasing the diversity of Francophone cultural heritage.
The Minister of State wishes to reiterate his commitment to promoting the French language as a force for transforming society. France supports the feminist organizations whose activities have a transforming effect on society and public policy. In this respect, two projects have been created to help promote gender equality and the progression of women’s rights.
The Alliance féministe francophone [Francophone Feminist Alliance]: to ensure that the French language cannot be an obstacle to the participation, influence and networking of feminist organizations in conveying messages promoting gender equality at the highest level, France is launching the Alliance féministe francophone, in addition to the OIF women’s empowerment programme La Francophonie avec elles. Under this alliance, a consortium of voluntary organizations will be supported to coordinate and finance the participation of feminist organizations at major events and international summits, increase their technical capabilities for representation and negotiation, support their plea for greater funding for the international feminist ecosystem.
Alongside Martine Biron, Quebec’s Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie and Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, and Salima Saa, Minister of State for Gender Equality, France is launching a Francophone network for women’s equality and rights.
This initiative will allow us to offer a space for consultation and coordination, bringing together representatives of States that are members and observers to the OIF – Francophone and non-Francophone – and Francophone States that are not members or observers, with a shared interest in and shared commitment to the promotion of women’s and girls’ rights and gender equality, and advisory bodies for equality between men and women. This network will bring together representatives of civil-society organizations. The initiative will gradually take shape, firstly with a limited number of States at the launch, and will have to take account of the Francophone world’s geographical diversity in its composition.
Minister of State Thani Mohamed-Soilihi says:
“This 19th summit has shown us that the Francophone world is resolutely forward-looking.
“This series of measures is another step forward for an OIF that takes action on the educational, economic and cultural fronts and in terms of gender equality and furthering opportunities for our young people.
“In a world in crisis, La Francophonie provides a remarkable space for multilateral cooperation, allowing its members to coordinate their vision of the world and be a force for progress and for transforming the world.”
October 8, 2024 Ottawa, Ontario Public Services and Procurement Canada Everyone deserves a place to call home. However, for many across the country, home ownership and renting is out of reach due to the unprecedented housing crisis Canada is facing. We need to build more homes, faster, to get Canadians into homes that meet their needs, at prices they can afford. That is why in Budget 2024 and Canada’s Housing Plan, the federal government announced the most ambitious housing plan in Canadian history—a plan to build 4 million more homes.
October 8, 2024 Ottawa, Ontario Public Services and Procurement Canada
Everyone deserves a place to call home. However, for many across the country, home ownership and renting is out of reach due to the unprecedented housing crisis Canada is facing. We need to build more homes, faster, to get Canadians into homes that meet their needs, at prices they can afford. That’s why in Budget 2024 and Canada’s Housing Plan, the federal government announced the most ambitious housing plan in Canadian history: a plan to build 4 million more homes.
As part of this plan, the Government of Canada is identifying properties within its portfolio that have the potential for housing, and is actively adding them to the Canada Public Land Bank. Wherever possible, the government will turn these properties into housing through a long-term lease, not a one-time sale, to support affordable housing and ensure public land stays public.
Today, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, joined by the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and the Honourable Terry Beech, Minister of Citizens’ Services, announced that 14 new properties have been added to the Canada Public Land Bank.
A total of 70 federal properties have now been identified as being suitable to support housing. This list will continue to grow in the coming months, with further details on listed properties available soon.
As part of the initial launch of the Canada Public Land Bank in August 2024, the Canada Lands Company, in partnership with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, issued a call for proposals for 5 properties located in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Montréal. The call for proposals for the properties in Toronto and Montréal closed on October 1, 2024, and evaluations have begun. The call for proposals for the Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa properties will close on November 1, 2024.
To provide feedback on the land bank and its properties, the Government of Canada launched a call for housing solutions for communities: a secure online platform.
To date, the Government of Canada has already received interest and feedback from provinces, territories and municipalities, as well as developers, housing advocates and Indigenous groups. This information will be used to develop and bring more properties to market starting this fall.
To solve Canada’s housing crisis, the federal government is using every tool at its disposal. The Government of Canada is accelerating its real property disposal process to match the speed of builders and the urgency of getting affordable homes built for Canada.
We all want to get the most out of our holidays, which is why we so often turn to online “top things to see” lists, or TikTok recommendations of a destination’s best sights and eateries.
But as useful as these strategies can be, using the internet to plan every detail of your travel omits the essence of discovery – the very thing that made pre-internet travel journalism so thrilling to read.
These six tips explain how you can explore a new place like an old-school travel journalist or an explorer from a bygone era. They’ll enable you to look up from your phone, and discover your destination with intuition and curiosity.
No one’s 20s and 30s look the same. You might be saving for a mortgage or just struggling to pay rent. You could be swiping dating apps, or trying to understand childcare. No matter your current challenges, our Quarter Life series has articles to share in the group chat, or just to remind you that you’re not alone.
Before smartphones, travel journalists such as Freya Stark and Bruce Chatwin depended on serendipity. They didn’t have TripAdvisor or Google Maps to guide them. Rather, they listened to their instincts and locals’ advice about how to shape their journey.
Try this on your next adventure: walk without a plan. Follow your instincts towards any of the local cafes, quiet parks, or bustling markets. And if all else fails and you are not quite sure where to start, just stop and ask someone near you what it is that they love about the area. Many times, people’s stories will take you to places you would never have found online.
2. Use analogue maps and guides
Before GPS, maps weren’t just functional – they were part of the adventure. Travel writers like Jan Morris and Paul Theroux (father of documentary presenter, Louis) wrote about how their unfolding maps forced them to interact with the landscape in a tactile way.
Pick up a local map in a bookshop or visitor centre and unfold it in a cafe. Mark where you have been and circle the areas you are curious about.
In their early editions, guidebooks like The Rough Guide and Lonely Planet didn’t give a thorough list, but instead pushed cultural immersion travel, which is concerned with authentic activities. Think local traditions, history, language and customs of the place you’re visiting. Cultural immersion travel involves mingling with the residents to get an in-depth feel of how they live.
Although carrying a printed guidebook seems vintage, this act plunges you back to the time when the discovery of hidden corners of a city was about turning pages, not scrolling.
Chatting with locals is a great way to discover gems in a new place. English Tourists in Campagna by Carl Spitzweg (1845). Alte Nationalgalerie
3. Speak to local people
Pre-smartphone travellers had one irreplaceable resource at their disposal – people. On his long walks across Europe, for example, travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor relied on the people he met for insight into local customs, history and hidden gems.
Do exactly the same thing. Go to a typical bar, a bazaar, a local event, or attend a course on the language or the cooking of the place. Engage a bartender, shop owner, or street vendor in a chat. These tips will steer you off the beaten path of algorithms.
4. Immerse yourself in slow travel
Travel journalists of the past were in no hurry. Rather than zipping from one attraction to the next, they stayed put for long enough to pull back the layers of a place. Writer Rebecca West’s trek through the Balkans (which she described in her 1941 book, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon) took months. Her long stays in villages allowed her to really get to know the place and its complexities.
You should slow down on your next trip, too. Stay on in a small town or neighbourhood a little longer than you planned to. Stroll its streets and soak in the rhythms of daily life.
5. Read travel literature
The writers of travel history books, be it Robert Byron’s travels among the architecture and culture of Persia, or Isabella Bird entering unknown 19th-century Japan, articulate how their predecessors perceived the lands they visited.
Read books written by local authors to get deeper into the cultural context of the place you’re visiting. You’ll find their reflections on their hometown or region often give you a more insightful, nuanced perspective than any modern day “top ten” list could.
6. Research the history of every place you visit
Writers like Colin Thubron included historical and cultural details to make their travel stories richer and more meaningful.
Whether you find yourself at a local museum, reading up on the past of a place, or simply walking its streets with an eye for historical markers, learning the background of where you are can infuse your visit with added meaning.
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Masood Khodadadi 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.
A private jet tax can fund our transition to a greener future.
More in Transport
The Scottish Greens have welcomed an announcement that the Scottish Government will be reviewing air departure tax rates, including for private jets specifically.
Answering a question at the Finance and Public Administration Committee this morning, the Cabinet Secretary said the rates and bands, including the rates on private jet flights, would be reviewed to ensure they align with net zero ambitions.
There were 12,911 recorded private flights to and from Scotland’s airports in 2023. A recent Oxfam study suggested a tax on these flights could raise up to £21.5 million. Private jets have estimated climate emissions of up to 14 times that of commercial flights.
The Scottish Greens transport spokesperson, Mark Ruskell MSP, said: “Private jets have a huge environmental impact, and while their super-rich occupants pinball between their golf courses and yachts, it’s taxpayers who are left paying for the damage.
“We all know that we urgently need to reduce aviation emissions, and one of the easiest ways to do that is to reduce private jet use. Taxing them fairly would deter such reckless flights, help move people to more sustainable modes of transport, and raise the funds to help us to mitigate the destructive impact they have on the rest of us.
“We all know Labour cuts at Westminster mean money is tight in Scotland. But it isn’t enough to point this out, we must use every lever at our disposal to raise the funds we need for essential services and climate action. I can think of no better way of raising these funds than taxing super-rich polluters.”
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Stephen Adey, Rap Lyricist and Lecturer in Music Performance at Confetti Institute of Creative Technology, Nottingham Trent University
For the first half of my music career, I never fully considered the technical aspects of the art form I practised. Up until my mid-30s, I’d been driven to pen lyrics by a compelling sense of advancement and peer recognition – to achieve some form of artistic acclaim in the UK rap genre.
When thinking back to this earlier time, I imagine myself as being completely immersed in a darkness of my own ignorance, scrabbling around for passages and phrases without any real understanding of how and why these elements of the craft meant so much to me.
As a mature student – during the final stages of a masters degree in creative writing – a seed of self-discovery began to germinate. I decided to combine my newly acquired passion for creative writing, critical analysis and literary techniques with my 20 years’ plus career as a rapper, music producer and live performer and embark on a PhD.
On beginning my research, it became apparent that a technical element of my craft I desperately coveted was called “allusion”. Allusion is an implied reference, perhaps to another work of literature, art, person or event that forms a kind of appeal to the reader or listener. It’s a means of reaching out and sharing an experience with them.
When using allusion, a writer draws upon common knowledge shared with their audience to find links between cultural understandings or traditions. Most importantly for me, some forms of allusion can be more specialised, even deliberately difficult to grasp. Almost immediately, a realisation hit me: I had practised, been inspired by, adapted and searched for, this technique in rap since my earliest memories of the art form.
Allusion, as with the more contested literary concept of intertextuality (a term coined in the late 1960s by French philosopher and critic Julia Kristeva to recognise the multiplicity of meaning within a text) has been used in rap and hip-hop culture since its beginnings. In fact, as musicologist Justin Williams points out in his book Rhymin’ and Stealin’ (2013), intertextuality serves as an integral part of the culture’s function. To “borrow” from a wide variety of artistic mediums is key to how hip-hop works, and is partly responsible for how it has thrived for half a century.
I discovered multiple forms of intertextual engagement in rap while researching my PhD, but one technique stuck out to me the most. Rappers would draw on the words of authors to clarify their points, or further emphasise emotional impact in their work.
For example, Nas and Kendrick Lamar have used the power of novelist Alice Walker’s writing to enhance their lyrics (both have “borrowed” from The Colour Purple). Lamar also employed the writing of Maya Angelou to add depth and complexity to his early conceptual material.
Even borrowing a mere two words can have huge intellectual implications for a rap song. Just listen to Earl Sweatshirt’s Shattered Dreams (2018), and his use of James Baldwin’s voice from his inspirational 1962 lecture The Artist’s Struggle for Integrity. It’s a prime example of how this technique manifests itself in the genre.
When thinking about how rappers engage with allusion and intertextuality, activist and rap artist Yasiin Bey, aka Mos Def, sums it up well:
Hip Hop is a medium where you can get a lot of information into a very small space. And make it hold fast to people’s memory. It’s just a very radical form of information transferal.
A ‘sonic-literary journey’
With a clearer understanding of how deeply allusion and intertextuality runs through hip-hop, I began to craft a new body of work. This material eventually translated (after almost a decade) into a trilogy of LPs, the first of the three being titled S.T.A.R.V.E..
I wanted to make S.T.A.R.V.E. part of a literary and musical tradition that has long attempted to decipher the feeling of isolation, and its links to mental illness or psychological downfall.
To do so, I alluded to (and intertextually engaged with) various texts that have historically served as investigations into the sense of disconnectedness, or loneliness within a crowd, that I believe we have all felt at some point in our lives. In my opinion, S.T.A.R.V.E. is more of a novella than an album. It is a narrative as old as the hills, retold in my own image. It just so happens that my preferred medium is music, and my preferred practice is rap.
Strongbow, the leading track on the author’s album, S.T.A.R.V.E.
S.T.A.R.V.E. is a highly intertextual project. Poetic quotes on the album span from Charles Bukowski to Robert Frost, while borrowed themes stretch from Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) to Knut Hamsun’s Hunger (1890).
Previously conceived conceptual frameworks are also built upon, such as the nihilistic sentiment captured in Nas’s early work on Illmatic (1994), and Mark Fisher’s ideas on capitalism and “depressive anhedonia” in Ghosts of my Life (2014). This is all set against a backdrop of purgatorial imagery prominent in the work of figurative painter Francis Bacon and depicted by film director Adrian Lyne in his groundbreaking psychological horror film, Jacob’s Ladder (1990).
Of all artistic mediums, I believe music is most open for interpretation. This means that what is taken from the music can often seem a million miles from authorial intentions. But this might be the point.
When S.T.A.R.V.E. is heard, it will ultimately be down to the ear of the beholder as to which connections and meanings are drawn from the recording. At the end of the day, as Ethan Hawke states on Strongbow, a leading track taken from S.T.A.R.V.E. that quotes Paul Schrader’s 2017 film, First Reformed: “It’s about you.”
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I dedicate this article to Mark Fisher, whose writing on themes that run close to S.T.A.R.V.E.’s heart serves as another intertextual source of power for the LP. In 2014, Fisher wrote: “The pandemic of mental anguish that afflicts our time cannot be properly understood, or healed, if viewed as a private problem suffered by damaged individuals.”
Each year, people visit museums and memorial sites as part of educational interventions organised around the remembrance of a genocide or an atrocity. Many schools visit a concentration camp as part of Holocaust education, such as Auschwitz-Birkenau. Others travel to memorial sites associated with other genocides, such as the massacre of Muslim men fleeing Srebrenica in Bosnia or the Tuol Sleng genocide museum in Cambodia.
Two important goals for such education are to foster empathy towards the victims and to increase students’ personal identification with them as a group. In this context, empathy is the ability to feel with the victims and to be able to take their perspective .
But what does science say about the effect of visiting genocidal memorial sites on empathy and identification with a victim group? Our study, published in Holocaust Studies in July, sheds some light on the question.
The science of empathy
While we may justly think of empathy as a personality feature, it is also a capacity that can be activated through social experiences. When we identify with a group of victims we perceive a “we” connecting us with the members of the group.
Evidence suggests that Israeli high-school students visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau may increase their empathy towards Palestinians. That’s if they initially are already somewhat positive towards Palestinians in principle and if they are prepared to see suffering in universal rather than national terms.
It has also been shown that groups of Polish students visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau increased their identification with Jews as a group before and after visiting the concentration camp.
Clear evidence
In our recent study, we investigated 143 high-school students from Malmö in Sweden, of which 46 took a short course on the Holocaust, including a trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
We collected data both before and after the trip. We measured two facets of empathy in the students, “empathic concern” (such as “I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me”) and “perspective taking” (such as “Before criticising somebody, I try to imagine how I would feel if I were in their place”).
We also measured to what extent they identified with Jews as a group by ratings of how close they felt.
The results for this group were then compared with responses from a control group of students who did not participate in the course or trip to Auschwitz.
We found that the Holocaust education and trip increased the students’ preparedness to identify with and take the perspective of Jews compared to those who didn’t go. However, both groups showed similar amount of empathic concern.
Looking more closely at the change registered among students after the trip, we also found that a feeling of increased closeness to Jews as a group was related to increased perspective taking.
Our work suggests a role of genocide education in fostering a broad empathic understanding of a victim group’s life and culture. This can provide important stimulation for students to put themselves in the shoes of an often “otherised” group, whose experience of hate and violence can be appreciated as if it is known from the inside.
There is a great need for more research on moral education interventions that involves a site or museum visit. Evaluating how this education works, and which aspects that have the intended effects, is of key importance. Cutting edge scientific methods, such as virtual reality, are now just beginning to make a difference to education in this area.
We will next be working to pinpoint how trips to sites of atrocity affect students’ moral values, attitudes or behaviour.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Haiti is being choked to death by its 200 or so violent criminal gangs. The latest figures to be released by the UN suggest that more than 3,600 people have been killed in the country since January, including over 100 children, while more than 500,000 Haitians have been displaced.
The situation prompted the country’s unelected prime minister, Ariel Henry, to resign in April. And, two months later, a Kenyan-led policing mission tasked with establishing order was deployed to the Caribbean nation. But the operation has so far struggled to rein in the gangs.
So, the UN security council unanimously adopted a resolution on September 30 to extend the mandate of the mission for another year. There was consensus that the law-and-order situation in Haiti is still deteriorating by the day.
The move to extend the mission is, in my opinion, hollow and fails to address the real challenges on the ground. It doesn’t tackle the rampant arms trafficking that is fuelling the violence in Haiti, nor does it secure the funding that will allow the mission to operate effectively.
Haiti has no firearms or ammunition manufacturing capabilities. Yet the country’s gangs are brutalising the masses with all sorts of sophisticated small arms, including sniper rifles, pump-action shotguns and automatic weapons of every kind.
All of these weapons originate outside of the island, primarily from the US, but also from neighbouring Dominican Republic and Jamaica. Experts say lax firearm laws in the US states of Arizona, Florida and Georgia have created a sophisticated arms peddling racket into Haiti.
There is no exact number for how many trafficked firearms are currently in Haiti. But Haiti’s disarmament commission estimated in 2020 that there could be as many as 500,000 small arms in Haiti illegally – a number that is now likely to be even higher. This figure dwarfs the 38,000 registered firearms in the country.
The effectiveness of the Kenyan operation is also being undermined by gross resource limitations. While the mission was approved by the UN security council, it is not a UN operation and relies on voluntary financial contributions. It was originally promised US$600 million (£458 million) by UN member nations, but it has received only a fraction of that fund.
According to Human Rights Watch, the mission has so far received a mere US$85 million in contributions through a trust fund set up by the UN. Haiti’s former colonial master, France, and several other G7 countries have not been so forthcoming.
Inadequate funding has hindered the procurement of advanced weaponry, delayed the payment of police officers’ salaries and has prevented the deployment of more forces on the ground.
Just 400 Kenyan officers and two dozen policemen from Jamaica have arrived in Haiti so far. This is significantly less than the 2,500 officers pledged initially by various countries including Chad, Benin, Bangladesh and Barbados.
This financial woe has had a negative impact not only on the morale of Kenyan police officers, but it has also made Haitians despondent. Haitians are increasingly expressing impatience and disappointment with the Kenyan force in the media and online.
Some critics have accused the officers of being “tourists”, and have pointed out that the gangs have tightened their grip on large swathes of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, since the mission began.
The pessimism within Haiti was eloquently highlighted by the country’s interim prime minister, Garry Conille, on September 25. Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meet in New York, he confessed: “We are nowhere near winning this, and the simple reality is that we won’t without your help.”
Advantage gangs
Finding the Kenyan-led operation a mere irritant, and not a worthy adversary, the gangs have only stepped up the ante. According to a spokesperson for Volker Türk, the UN’s human rights chief, the country’s armed gangs are now doing “everything they can” to maintain control. This has included using sexual assault to instil fear on local populations and expand their influence.
Some UN member nations, such as the US and Ecuador, have requested that a formal UN peacekeeping mission takes place. And, despite previous peacekeeping operations in the country being marred in controversy, Haiti has asked the UN to consider turning the current operation into a peacekeeping mission.
This mission, which would probably include a larger contingent of troops, should not face the same financial constraints as the current operation. It would have greater visibility on the ground, and more fire power and authority to tackle the gangs.
Past evidence also demonstrates that UN peackeeping missions significantly reduce civilian casualties, shorten conflicts and help make peace agreements stick.
However, the recent push for a peacekeeping mission was thwarted because of opposition by China and Russia, two of the five permanent veto-wielding members of the UN security council.
Beijing and Moscow have consistently argued that political conditions in Haiti are “not conducive” to a new UN peacekeeping operation. They have maintained that the current operation “should reach its full operational capacity before discussing such a transformation”.
Meanwhile, the gangs continue tightening their vice-like grip on the country, with accounts emerging of rampant sexual violence against civilians, the closure of humanitarian corridors, the extension of their territorial control and – of course – even more killings.
Amalendu Misra is a recipient of Nuffield Foundation and British Academy research grants.
Turkey’s 500,000 or so informal waste pickers carry out around 80% of the recycling in the country. These workers, who are also known as çekçekçi, are essential for separating out waste in a country where this is rarely done at source.
But their lives are precarious. Most of them are unregistered, lack social security, and have no access to basic services such as healthcare. And now they find themselves affected by efforts that formalise Turkey’s waste management system.
Many of the workers are migrants. But large-scale immigration over recent years, particularly from conflict zones such as Afghanistan and Syria, has contributed to a rise in nationalistic sentiment throughout the country.
This has seen immigrants – and particularly waste pickers – portrayed in a negative fashion. Waste pickers have, for instance, been labelled “şehir eşkıyası” (urban bandits) by the media. And many people have argued that Turkiye’s informal waste-picking practices should come to an end.
Yavuz Eroğlu, the president of a non-profit organisation called PAGÇEV that promotes plastic recycling in Turkey, pointed out recently that the country’s “real problem” is its informal waste collection system. In Eroğlu’s view, informal waste picking impedes the effective scaling of recycling initiatives and prevents Turkey from improving its position in the global recycling market.
Recycling facilities in Turkey require a steady and substantial supply of raw waste materials to function efficiently. But, according to the Turkish Statistics Institution, a mere 12% of the country’s municipal waste was recovered in 2018 – and it is not clear how much of this was actually recycled. This is not nearly enough to keep recycling companies afloat.
So, in an effort to improve Turkey’s domestic waste management, the Turkish government launched an initiative in 2022 to regulate and formalise waste collection. The legislation requires that local authorities work exclusively with licensed recyclers and registered pickers to sort through and sell waste.
Resistance movements have subsequently emerged within the çekçekçi community that advocate for the rights and recognition of informal waste pickers in Turkey. These movements have either reinforced the importance of existing waste picker collectives, or led to the creation of new non-profit organisations and cooperatives.
In Istanbul, for example, the Şişli municipality launched an environmental waste collectors cooperative in 2023 in an attempt to formally integrate informal waste pickers into the municipal waste management system.
This has involved registering waste pickers, issuing official identification cards, and providing them with access to designated waste collection zones. Similar models have also emerged in different parts of the country. But many of Turkey’s waste pickers remain locked out of the new formal system.
The framing of informality as the problem is not new, nor is it limited to representatives of Turkey’s plastic recycling industry. In August 2021, the governor of Istanbul’s office ordered a crackdown on informal waste collection activities.
Police carried out raids on nearly 100 waste collection depots and seized 650 collection carts. More than 200 people were detained in the raids, including 145 Afghan migrants who were sent to a deportation centre.
The governor’s office justified the action by citing environmental and public health concerns, as well as the unregulated nature of employment in informal waste picking. In a statement, the office argued that unauthorised waste collection leads to unfair profits and announced that inspections would continue.
Waste workers responded by criticising the governor’s claims and expressed frustration over being labelled as benefiting from unfair profits while living in precarious conditions without social security or a stable income.
Importing more waste
In fieldwork carried out between March and April 2024, I spoke with representatives of waste collectors, junk shop owners and waste traders in Istanbul.
Some reported that there had been a decline in waste-picking rates since the crackdown of 2021. Waste collectors and their representatives expressed concerns that this decline could lead to a further reduction in domestic recycling rates and increase the reliance of recycling facilities on imported waste.
Turkey is already one of the largest importers of waste from Europe. In 2022, for example, Turkey accounted for 39% of Europe’s waste exports, which included around 400,000 tonnes of plastic.
This waste has serious consequences for the environment and human health. A Greenpeace report published in 2022 found that toxins released from Turkey’s plastic waste end up in the fruit and vegetables produced in the Çukurova valley, one of the most fertile valleys in the world.
A continued decline in domestic waste collection in Turkey would create a vicious cycle. The value of Turkey’s own waste will decrease, further impoverishing informal waste pickers, all while the country’s reliance on imported waste grows to sustain its recycling infrastructure.
The future of informal waste picking in Turkey remains uncertain. But as the country continues to formalise its waste management system, the challenges facing the sector’s informal workers must not be ignored.
Tulin Dzhengiz receives funding from Manchester Metropolitan University’s Research Accelarator Grant to carry out this research.
The weight loss jab Mounjaro will soon be made available to nearly a quarter of a million NHS patients, according to proposals made by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). Previously, it was only available on the NHS for patients with diabetes.
Under Nice’s proposals, the drug will gradually be rolled out over the next three years. Access to it will first be prioritised to patients who are severely obese and have at least three weight-related health problems – for example, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, high cholesterol and sleep apnoea.
There are plans to increase NHS access to more patients after the initial three-year period. It will also remain available for patients with diabetes.
This recent approval provides new treatment options for people with obesity – but how effective it is will depend on whether supplies can keep up with anticipated demand.
What is Mounjaro?
Mounjaro is the UK brand name of the drug tirzepatide, which, until now, has only been prescribed on the NHS for patients with diabetes to help control blood sugar and encourage weight loss.
In the US, Mounjaro is used for diabetes treatment. Another version of tirzepatide, sold under the brand name Zepbound, is used for weight loss treatment. Zepbound is not licensed as a weight loss product in the UK.
Tirzepatide works for weight loss by mimicking hormones in the body that tell our brain we feel full. A weekly injection is needed, which may be increased in strength each month, depending on the patient.
Clinical studies have found tirzepatide is even more effective than semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) for weight loss. In some studies, patients have lost up to 20% of their body weight.
Supporting weight loss
Until now, Wegovy was the only weight loss injection authorised for NHS use under the care of specialised weight loss services. These services offer patients clinical treatment, mental health support, access to a dietitian and physiotherapy.
But the availability of such services is patchy and recently access to many local services has even been paused or stopped. This means many patients who need effective weight loss treatments may not have access to them. Among the reasons for these services being suspended is there was greater demand than availability of services in some areas, as well as attempts to control prescriptions of crucial drugs due to ongoing shortages.
Now that Mounjaro has been authorised for use on the NHS, it will be key that access to specialist weight loss services is improved throughout the country so that people who need weight loss support are able to get it. NHS England are in the process of developing a range of community and digital services to address this.
Is there enough Mounjaro for everyone?
The change in guidance may lead to a rush in demand for referrals to weight loss services when the drug becomes available. This could add more pressure to an already challenged system.
This uptick in demand may also affect access to Mounjaro for patients who use the drug for diabetes. This was the case with Ozempic (semaglutide) in 2023 – despite it only being licensed for the treatment of diabetes. Demand for the drug by those who wanted to use it to lose weight led to a surge in private prescribing of the drug off-label – leading to global stock shortages of semaglutide.
Many patients using the semaglutide for diabetes were unable to source the product. Semaglutide’s manufacturers did not foresee this hike in demand and were not prepared to maintain supplies for people with diabetes.
Since it was introduced on the market, Mounjaro has proved to be a popular product, with sales making its manufacturer, Eli Lilly, greater profits than expected. Stock shortages have already been experienced in Australia and the US. Due to ongoing demand and previous shortages of similar products (such as semaglutide) one would hope that Eli Lilly has anticipated increased demand for Mounjaro in the UK and will have adequate supplies from the outset.
But with British pharmacies reportedly planning to reduce the private price of weight loss products (including Wegovy and Mounjaro), this could increase demand further – which may subsequently affect the availability of supplies for NHS patients.
Given the successes of semaglutide and tirzepatide, it’s expected that further similar drugs will be developed. Many of these alternative products are already showing promise in clinical trials – such as an oral weight loss pill. Having alternative products available will ease strain on the supplies of current weight loss products.
Will Mounjaro help with the obesity crisis?
It’s thought that up to 25% of adults in the UK are obese. Obesity is linked to many health problems – including heart disease, diabetes and arthritis. Obesity-related healthcare is estimated to cost the NHS billions of pounds every year. Improvements in diet and lifestyle are recommended to tackle obesity, but, understandably, many patients find sustained change difficult.
Greater access to weight loss drugs could help patients lose weight and prevent the associated health problems. This could also save the NHS money and improve long-term health. Weight loss drugs, such as Mounjaro, could be an important solution to a growing problem – but only if access to these treatments is available to those who need them most.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Headline: Apple’s Swift Student Challenge to open in February 2025
QUICK READOctober 8, 2024
Apple’s Swift Student Challenge has given thousands of students around the world the opportunity to showcase their creativity and build real-world skills. The challenge empowers students to join a worldwide community of developers using Swift — the same programming language used by professionals — to create the next wave of groundbreaking apps.
Submissions for the 2025 Swift Student Challenge will open in February for three weeks. Students, educators, and their advocates can find out how to prepare for the challenge and sign up to be notified when applications open at developer.apple.com. Apple will recognize a total of 350 Swift Student Challenge winners whose submissions demonstrate excellence in innovation, creativity, social impact, or inclusivity. From this esteemed group, 50 Distinguished Winners will receive additional recognition and be invited to Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino next summer.
“At Apple, we are committed to supporting and nurturing the next generation of coders. Every year, we’re incredibly impressed by the ingenuity of the apps students are creating, and we’re excited to see what the next round of the challenge will bring,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations.
Apple is also unveiling updated Swift Coding Club resources to help students prepare for the Swift Student Challenge, while building community and developing skills for a future career. The Swift Coding Club starter kit provides activities to empower students with a passion for app development to further explore Swift and SwiftUI and spread the word among their peers.
In addition, new Develop in Swift Tutorials offer students a great first step toward a career in app development using Swift, SwiftUI, and Xcode — Apple’s integrated development environment — as they build innovative apps for all Apple platforms.
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