Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND
JEJU ISLAND, South Korea — U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Greg Newkirk, commander of Task Force 70, met with Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) Rear Adm. Inho Kim, commander of the newly established Task Fleet Command, for the first time during the latest edition of the Composite Warfare Committee Meetings (CWCM) on Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, April 25, 2025.
Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan — In a demonstration of combat readiness and regional deterrence, the 18th Wing conducted a large-scale elephant walk, May 6, 2025, at Kadena Air Base, Japan, assembling one of the most diverse formations of U.S. military aircraft in the Indo-Pacific.
Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND
HONOLULU, Hawaii — U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Joel Carey, chief of staff of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, welcomes New Zealand Secretary of Defence Brook Barrington and Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Tony Davies to USINDOPACOM headquarters on Camp H.M. Smith in Honolulu, May 5, 2025.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
LONDON, May 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — JACKBIT Casino is making a bold impact on the UK’s online casino scene for 2025, offering a distinctive mix of privacy, speed, and premium gameplay. Since its launch in 2022, it has become a top choice for UK players who value no KYC requirements, instant crypto withdrawals, and access to over 7,000 games. With a sleek, user-friendly interface and full cryptocurrency support, JACKBIT delivers a modern, secure, and rewarding experience for real-money casino enthusiasts.
✔️JOIN JACKBIT & ACCESS 7,000+ GAMES INSTANTLY (UK ONLY)
JACKBIT Casino Features for UK Players
JACKBIT ranks among the best online casinos UK for 2025, offering privacy-first gaming with no KYC requirements. Players enjoy access to 7,000+ games, including top online pokies, live dealer tables, and more, powered by 85+ leading providers.
It supports 20+ cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, plus fiat options such as Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. With instant withdrawals, zero fees, and 24/7 multilingual support, JACKBIT delivers secure, flexible, and seamless gaming, making it a top-rated choice for crypto and real money casino fans.
Our Favorite Overall Casino in the UK
JACKBIT stands out in the best Online Casinos UK for 2025, thanks to its blend of anonymity, fast payouts, and top-tier gaming. Licensed by Curacao eGaming, it’s a leading no KYC casino, ensuring privacy without sacrificing security.
UK players can claim 30% rakeback and 100 wager-free spins, plus enjoy a VIP program offering up to 30% rakeback. With a sleek interface, a sportsbook covering 140+ sports, and flexible crypto + fiat payment options, JACKBIT delivers a seamless, private, and high-reward casino experience.
✔️GRAB 30% RAKEBACK + 100 WAGER-FREE SPINS – VIP PERKS AWAIT!
Benefits of JACKBIT:
Negatives of JACKBIT:
How To Join JACKBIT Casino? Step By Step
Joining JACKBIT, a leader in best online casinos UK, is quick and straightforward:
✔️CLICK HERE TO JOIN JACKBIT DIRECTLY
How We Selected JACKBIT as the Best Online Casino in the UK
Our rigorous evaluation process ensures JACKBIT ranks among the best online casinos in the UK. We assessed critical factors to identify the top crypto casinos for UK players:
License and Security
JACKBIT operates under a Curacao eGaming license, guaranteeing legitimacy and fair play. Advanced SSL encryption and a no KYC policy make it a secure best No KYC Casino, safeguarding UK players’ data and transactions in best online casinos UK.
Bonuses and Promotions
JACKBIT’s welcome offer, 30% rakeback, and 100 wager-free spins set a high standard in the best online casinos. Weekly $10,000 tournaments, Daily 1000 free spins, and Pragmatic Drops & Wins. The VIP rakeback system (up to 30%) and social media bonuses reward loyalty, making it a favorite in New Online Casinos.
Casino Games
Boasting over 7,000 games, JACKBIT offers unmatched variety, from slots and table games to live dealer options and a sportsbook with 140+ sports. This diversity appeals to all UK players in best Online Casinos UK.
Casino Game Providers
JACKBIT collaborates with 85 industry-leading providers, including Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, Evolution Gaming, Play’n GO, and Microgaming, ensuring top-quality online pokies and live games in best Crypto Casinos.
Banking Methods
JACKBIT supports 20+ cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Solana, etc.) and fiat options (Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, bank transfer) tailored for UK players. Instant crypto deposits and withdrawals position it as a leader in Pay ID Casino and best online casinos UK.
Customer Support
Available 24/7 via live chat in multiple languages (English, German, French, etc.), JACKBIT’s responsive support enhances its reputation as a top no KYC casino. Email support ([email protected]) ensures reliable assistance for UK players.
How We Choose the Top-Rated Casino Sites in the UK
To rank the best online casinos UK, we evaluate licensing, game variety, payment speed, bonuses, customer support, and user experience. JACKBIT excels with its Curacao license, 7,000+ games, instant crypto payouts, and no KYC policy, making it a premier anonymous online casino.
Mobile compatibility, responsible gambling tools (self-exclusion, deposit limits), and player feedback from platforms like Trustpilot are also critical, cementing JACKBIT’s status in new online casinos and best crypto casinos in the UK.
The Selection Process: Defining Excellence in Online Gaming
Our selection process for the best online casinos UK is meticulous:
JACKBIT’s instant payouts, vast game selection, and privacy-first approach made it the top choice for best online casinos UK.
A Gaming Paradise: 8,000+ Ways to Play
While JACKBIT’s library is closer to 7,000 games (not 8,000 as sometimes claimed), it remains a gaming paradise for UK players in best online casinos UK. From best online pokies to live dealer tables, digital scratch cards, and a comprehensive sportsbook, the platform caters to every taste. Its sportsbook, featuring 82,000+ monthly live events, 75,000+ pre-match events, 4,500+ betting types, and 140+ sports, adds unparalleled versatility, making JACKBIT a standout in best crypto casinos.
Craps
JACKBIT offers digital craps with provably fair outcomes, delivering fast-paced dice action. The intuitive interface and customizable betting options make it accessible for beginners and seasoned UK players in new online casinos.
Live Dealer Games
With over 250 live dealer games from Evolution Gaming, Pragmatic Play, and Ezugi, JACKBIT provides immersive experiences in blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and game shows like Dream Catcher and Crazy Time. High-definition streaming, multi-camera angles, and professional dealers make it a highlight of the best crypto casinos.
Poker
Poker fans enjoy variants like Casino Hold’em, Caribbean Stud, Three Card Poker, and Texas Hold’em, with daily tournaments offering cash prizes and leaderboards. JACKBIT’s poker offerings are a draw for strategic players in the best online casinos UK.
Roulette
From XXXtreme Lightning Roulette to classic European, American, and French variants, JACKBIT’s roulette selection is diverse, with high RTPs (up to 97.3%) and sleek graphics in the best No KYC casinos. Features like auto-play and bet history enhance the experience.
Blackjack
Blackjack enthusiasts explore numerous variants, including live dealer tables with side bets (Perfect Pairs, 21+3) and multi-hand options. High RTPs (up to 99.5%) and strategic depth make it a favorite in Anonymous Online Casino.
Slots
With over 5,000 slot titles, including progressive jackpots (Mega Moolah), Megaways (Bonanza), and classic fruit machines, JACKBIT’s best online pokies cater to all preferences. Popular titles like Tasty Bonanza, Rise of Olympus deliver thrilling gameplay with RTPs ranging from 95% to 98% in the best online casinos.
Table Games
Beyond poker, roulette, and blackjack, JACKBIT offers baccarat, sic bo, and hi-lo. These games feature RNG and live versions, with flexible betting limits (£0.10 to £5,000) to suit casual players and high rollers in the best online casinos UK.
Digital Scratch Cards
JACKBIT includes digital scratch card games, offering instant-win excitement with themes like treasure hunts and sports. High RTPs (up to 94%) and low stake best cryptos make them popular in new online Casinos.
Mini-Games
JACKBIT’s mini-games, such as Aviator, Plinko, and Mines, provide quick, crypto-friendly entertainment. Provably fair algorithms ensure transparency, appealing to UK players in best crypto casinos.
Sportsbook
JACKBIT’s sportsbook is a major draw, covering 140+ sports, including football, cricket, rugby, tennis, esports, and niche options like Gaelic hurling. With 82,000+ monthly live events, 75,000+ pre-match events, and 4,500+ betting types (e.g., over/under, handicaps), it offers competitive odds and in-play betting, making it a top feature in best online casinos UK.
✔️JOIN JACKBIT NOW & UNLOCK EXCLUSIVE BONUSES!
Payment Options
JACKBIT’s payment system is a cornerstone of its appeal in the best online casinos UK, offering a robust blend of cryptocurrency and fiat methods tailored for UK players. All transactions are fee-free, with instant crypto deposits and withdrawals, and fiat processing times are competitive.
Cryptocurrencies (20+)
JACKBIT supports an extensive range of cryptocurrencies, ensuring fast, secure, and private transactions for UK players:
Fiat Payment Methods
JACKBIT accommodates UK players preferring traditional methods, with secure and reliable options:
Additional Payment Notes
These options ensure JACKBIT’s versatility in best online casinos UK, catering to both crypto enthusiasts and traditional payment users. UK players should verify eligibility for fiat withdrawals due to regional banking restrictions.
Customer Support
JACKBIT’s customer support is a pillar of its success in best online casinos UK. Available 24/7 via live chat in multiple languages (English, German, French, Spanish, Russian, etc.), the team resolves queries promptly, typically within 1–3 minutes. Email support ([email protected]) offers a reliable alternative for detailed inquiries, with responses within 12–24 hours. Social media channels (Twitter, Telegram) provide additional support and bonus updates, appealing to UK players in best crypto casinos.
The Most Popular Payout Methods at Online New Zealand Casinos
While the query mentions New Zealand, we focus on UK-relevant payout methods, as JACKBIT’s systems align globally with slight regional variations. The most popular payout methods for UK players in best online casinos UK include:
Crypto withdrawals dominate due to their speed and privacy, reinforcing JACKBIT’s status in Pay ID Casino and best crypto casinos. Fiat withdrawals are reliable but slower, with occasional verification for sums exceeding $5,000, aligning with best No KYC Casino practices.
Additional JACKBIT Features for UK Players
Rakeback VIP Club
JACKBIT’s Rakeback VIP Club rewards UK players with bonus points based on their VIP level, redeemable for cash, free spins, or exclusive perks. Rakeback ranges from 10% to 30%, with higher tiers unlocking personalized offers, faster withdrawals, and dedicated account managers, making it a draw in best online casinos UK.
Tournaments and Leaderboards
JACKBIT hosts rewarding tournaments, including slots and live dealer challenges, with an attractive prize pool. Weekly leaderboards for sports betting and casino games offer cash prizes and free spins, enhancing engagement in best crypto casinos.
Mobile Compatibility
While lacking a dedicated app, JACKBIT’s mobile-optimized website delivers seamless gameplay on iOS and Android devices. UK players can access all 7,000+ games, manage payments, and contact support on the go, rivaling New Online Casinos with native apps.
Responsible Gambling Tools
JACKBIT supports responsible gambling with tools like deposit limits, self-exclusion, and session time alerts. Links to GamCare and BeGambleAware are provided for UK players, reinforcing their credibility in best online casinos UK.
Multilingual Platform
Available in English, German, French, Spanish, Russian, and more, JACKBIT’s platform caters to diverse UK players. The interface supports GBP currency display, ensuring a localized experience in best crypto casinos.
JACKBIT Conclusion: The best Online Casino for UK Players
JACKBIT Casino leads the best Online Casinos UK in 2025 with its no KYC policy, instant crypto withdrawals, and 7,000+ games. As a best No KYC Casino and anonymous online casino, it ensures privacy and security. With generous bonuses, 20+ cryptocurrencies, fiat options, and 24/7 support, JACKBIT offers UK players an unmatched gaming experience, from best online pokies to sports betting. Join now for thrilling, secure fun in best crypto casinos.
✔️CLICK HERE TO JOIN JACKBIT CASINO
Frequently Asked Questions
Does JACKBIT offer no KYC withdrawals?
Yes, JACKBIT is a best No KYC Casino, allowing anonymous withdrawals. Large payouts (over $5,000) may require verification.
How fast are withdrawals at JACKBIT?
Crypto withdrawals are instant (1–5 minutes), while fiat withdrawals (Visa, bank transfer) take 1–5 days, a strength in the best crypto casinos.
What games can I play at JACKBIT?
JACKBIT offers 7,000+ games, including best online pokies, blackjack, roulette, poker, live dealer games, digital scratch cards, mini-games, and a sportsbook with 140+ sports.
Email: support@JACKBIT.com
Disclaimer
General Disclaimer
This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice. Information provided is based on public sources, research, and user feedback available at the time of writing. While we strive for accuracy, no guarantees, express or implied, are made regarding completeness or timeliness.
Always verify details independently before making decisions. Use of this content is at your own risk.
Casino & Gambling Disclaimer
Online gambling involves financial risk and may not be suitable for everyone. Please ensure you meet the legal gambling age in your region before registering at any online casino. Laws vary by country and jurisdiction, and it’s your responsibility to stay compliant. We do not promote or encourage gambling, and participation is entirely at the user’s discretion.
Affiliate Disclosure
This article may include affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you sign up or make a purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. Our reviews are independent and unbiased. We only recommend platforms that we believe offer value, but we encourage users to do their research before engaging with any online casino.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6dcee7c9-acff-4da4-9755-f9e074d09ee1
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Quadient (Euronext Paris: QDT), a global automation platform powering secure and sustainable business connections, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Stasher, the world’s first luggage storage platform. This partnership marks a significant expansion of Stasher’s UK network and will provide travelers in key cities throughout the UK, including London, Birmingham, York, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Cardiff and Manchester, with more convenient, secure, and accessible luggage storage options through more than 1,640 Parcel Pending by Quadient smart lockers.
Gone are the days of dragging bags through crowded streets or waiting for hotel or travel check-in. Stasher offers hassle-free bag storage in 1,100+ cities worldwide, connecting travelers with a global network of trusted hotels, shops, and now Parcel Pending by Quadient smart lockers in the UK. Backed by award-winning customer support and a 4.8/5 rating from over 1.2 million reviews, Stasher has become the go-to solution for travelers seeking flexibility and peace of mind.
The integration with Parcel Pending by Quadient smart lockers marks a new chapter in convenience. Combining Stasher’s seamless booking experience with Parcel Pending by Quadient’s secure and easy-to-use locker terminals, travelers will now enjoy even more flexible storage – perfect for early arrivals, late departures, and everything in between.
“We’re excited to partner with Quadient to grow our smart lockers footprint,” said Oscar Thanoyannis, Commercial Director at Stasher. “This collaboration brings us closer to our mission: making travel easier, lighter and more enjoyable for everyone.”
The partnership is further proof of Quadient’s commitment to offering a broad range of services that enhance urban last-mile logistics and consumer convenience. Open to all carriers and services, Parcel Pending by Quadient open network lockers serve as local convenience hubs, offering secure, 24/7 access for deliveries, returns, exchanges, and item storage for services such as prescription pick up, retail click and collect, key exchange, and spare parts. Now, through this collaboration with Stasher, they will also operate as luggage storage hubs.
“We’re proud to join forces with Stasher to extend the reach and functionality of our Parcel Pending by Quadient smart locker network,” said Katia Bourgeais-Crémel, EVP Parcel Locker Solutions Europe at Quadient. “This partnership highlights the versatility of our lockers and our commitment to creating innovative, consumer-centric solutions that simplify everyday life—whether it’s picking up a parcel or storing your luggage.”
Quadient is steadily expanding its smart locker network across key markets in the U.S., Japan, and Europe. With over 25,700 units currently installed worldwide, the company is well on its way toward its long-term objective of deploying 40,000 by 2030.
Learn more at parcelpending.com/en-gb.
About Stasher
Stasher is the world’s first luggage storage platform, connecting travelers with thousands of verified hotels, shops, and smart lockers to store their bags securely and affordably. Operating in more than 1,100 cities with over 8,000 hosts, Stasher is trusted by millions to provide a seamless solution for bag storage before check-in, after check-out, during layovers, or while attending events.
About Quadient®
Quadient is a global automation platform powering secure and sustainable business connections through digital and physical channels. Quadient supports businesses of all sizes in their digital transformation and growth journey, unlocking operational efficiency and creating meaningful customer experiences. Listed in compartment B of Euronext Paris (QDT) and part of the CAC® Mid & Small and EnterNext® Tech 40 indices, Quadient shares are eligible for PEA-PME investing. For more information about Quadient, visit www.quadient.com.
Contact
Joe Scolaro, Quadient
Global Press Relations Manager
+1 203-301-3673
j.scolaro@quadient.com
Attachment
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Press Release
Cybernet and Nokia redefine Pakistan’s network landscape with 1.2T-per-lambda backbone
7 May 2025
Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced that Cybernet, Pakistan’s leading fiber broadband provider, has chosen Nokia’s cutting-edge optical transport solution for its new long-haul Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) network. Designed to deliver 1.2 terabits per second (Tbps) per wavelength, this next-generation infrastructure will power Cybernet’s national backbone. The network will connect over 25 cities in its initial phase and deliver more than 50 Tbps of long-haul capacity.
This deployment will support data center interconnect, enterprise and carrier networks, as well as Cybernet’s flagship consumer broadband service, StormFiber.
Cybernet provides comprehensive connectivity solutions across Pakistan, serving enterprise, corporate, and residential customers, in addition to offering carrier and transit services to international telecom operators. To support its growing data demands and build a terabit-scale infrastructure, Cybernet is deploying Nokia’s 1830 GX platform, integrated with 1.2T ICE7 coherent optics. The new network will expand capacity along resilient, diverse routes and enable a high-speed, low-latency terrestrial backbone that spans the entire country.
In addition to connecting cities and communities through Cybernet’s digital highways, the new backbone will also support cross-border transit services for carriers and internet service providers in Central Asia. By delivering scalable, high-capacity services at globally competitive rates, this initiative will ultimately accelerate Pakistan’s digital transformation and foster regional connectivity.
“By enhancing our network with cutting-edge technology, we’re able to keep pace with our customers’ rapidly evolving connectivity needs and deliver a superior end-user experience. Nokia is a trusted technology leader with the expertise and innovation to support our modernization goals. The 1830 GX-based solution will form the foundation for high-capacity services connecting Pakistan—and the region—to the global digital economy,” said Maroof Ali Shahani, Chief Operating Officer of Cybernet.
“Deploying state-of-the-art optical solutions ensures networks are not just keeping pace with, but even staying ahead in the race to meet surging bandwidth demands. As Cybernet prepares to modernize its network infrastructure, Nokia is proud to be helping transform Pakistan’s connectivity landscape with a 1.2T backbone, seamlessly interconnecting data centers, powering government networks, and delivering direct-to-home services,” said James Watt, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Optical Networks at Nokia.
Multimedia, technical information and related news
Product Page: ICE7 1.2Tb/s high-performance coherent optics
About Nokia
At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.
As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, which is celebrating 100 years of innovation.
With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.
About Cybernet
Cybernet is a leading fixed-line telecommunications provider in Pakistan with over 25 years of experience delivering high-quality connectivity solutions. Operating the country’s largest and most resilient FTTX network, Cybernet serves enterprise, carrier, and residential customers nationwide. It has international points of presence in France, the UAE, Oman, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Its service portfolio includes Carrier Ethernet, IPLC, DIA, MPLS, IP Transit, Wholesale Voice, Peering, cross-border and submarine transit capacities, as well as cloud and carrier-grade hosting. Cybernet is also the parent company of StormFiber, a fast-growing fiber broadband provider active in over 25 cities across Pakistan. Through sustained investment in infrastructure and innovation, Cybernet is helping to shape the future of Pakistan’s digital ecosystem.
Media inquiries
Nokia Press Office
Email: Press.Services@nokia.com
Follow us on social media
LinkedIn X Instagram Facebook YouTube
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Montrouge, May 7, 2025
CREDIT AGRICOLE S.A. ANNOUNCES REDEMPTION OF
EUR 750,000,000 Subordinated Fixed Rate Resettable Notes issued on June 5, 2020 (ISIN: FR0013516184)*
Crédit Agricole S.A. (the “Issuer”) announces today the redemption (the “Redemption”) with effect on June 5, 2025 (the “Redemption Date”) of all of its outstanding EUR 750,000,000 Subordinated Fixed Rate Resettable Notes issued on June 5, 2020 (ISIN: FR0013516184) (the “Notes”) pursuant to Condition 6(e) (Redemption at the Option of the Issuer) of the terms and conditions of the Notes (the “Terms and Conditions”) included in the base prospectus dated April 9, 2020, which was granted the visa n°20-136 by the Autorité des marchés financiers on April 9, 2020 (as further amended and supplemented, the “Base Prospectus”) at the outstanding nominal amount thereof, together with any accrued interest thereon (the “Redemption Amount”).
On the Redemption Date, the Redemption Amount shall become due and payable and, in accordance with Condition 5(h) (Accrual of Interest) of the Terms and Conditions, unless the Redemption Amount is improperly withheld or refused, each Note shall cease to bear interest on the Redemption Date.
The terms and modalities of the Redemption are set out in the notice to the holders of the Notes appended to this press release.
For further information on Crédit Agricole S.A., please see Crédit Agricole S.A.’s website: https://www.credit-agricole.com/en/finance.
DISCLAIMER
This press release does not constitute an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell the Notes in the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan or in any other jurisdiction. The distribution of this press release in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement comes are required to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions.
No communication or information relating to the redemption of the Notes may be distributed to the public in a country where a registration obligation or an approval is required. No action has been or will be taken in any country where such action would be required. The redemption of the Notes may be subject to specific legal and regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions; Crédit Agricole S.A. accepts no liability in connection with a breach by any person of such restrictions.
This press release is an advertisement; and none of this press release, any notice or any other document or material made public and/or delivered, or which may be made public and/or delivered to the holders of the Notes in connection with the redemption of the Notes is or is intended to be a prospectus for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council dated 14 June 2017 (as amended, the “Prospectus Regulation”). No prospectus will be published in connection with the redemption of the Notes for the purposes of the Prospectus Regulation.
This press release does not, and shall not, in any circumstances, constitute an offer to the public of Notes by Crédit Agricole S.A. nor an invitation to the public in connection with any offer in any jurisdiction, including France.
* The ISIN number is included solely for the convenience of the holders of the Notes. No representation is being made as to the correctness or accuracy of the ISIN number as contained herein.
CRÉDIT AGRICOLE S.A. PRESS CONTACT
Alexandre Barat + 33 1 57 72 12 19 alexandre.barat@credit-agricole-sa.fr
Olivier Tassain + 33 1 43 23 25 41 olivier.tassain@credit-agricole-sa.fr
Find our press release on: www.credit-agricole.com – www.creditagricole.info
| Crédit_Agricole | Groupe Crédit Agricole | créditagricole_sa |
Attachment
Source: Reserve Bank of India
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: Reserve Bank of India
Ajit Prasad Press Release: 2025-2026/270 |
Source: Reserve Bank of India
|
The Reserve Bank of India has been conducting Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) since September 2007 and consolidated results have been regularly disseminated on the Bank’s website in the form of web-articles. To promote transparency and research initiatives, Reserve Bank of India will now start disseminating the individual respondent-level forecasts from recent rounds of SPF (from round 61 onwards) after anonymising the forecasters’ personally identifiable information1. The individual respondent-level data for the survey along with its metadata are available on the Bank’s ‘Database on Indian Economy (DBIE)’ portal (https://data.rbi.org.in/DBIE/#/dbie/home) under the head Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF), in the ‘Unit-level Data’ tab. To further improve data accessibility and promote research, the aggregated/consolidated SPF data, as published in the web-articles, are also being released in a time series format along with its metadata under the ‘Surveys-Aggregated Data’ section in the ‘Statistics’ tab under the head ‘Survey of Professional Forecasters’ through DBIE. Ajit Prasad Press Release: 2025-2026/271 |
Source: Samsung
Samsung Electronics is unveiling global themes for its youth innovation program Samsung Solve for Tomorrow in a bold step to empower young people around the world to solve challenges together and drive positive social change.
Sustainability and Social Change Explored by Youth Around the World
Launched in the United States in 2010, Solve for Tomorrow is a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education competition that has reached more than 2.9 million students across 68 countries over the past 15 years. The program encourages students to propose creative solutions to social issues in their local communities, helping them build essential critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Starting in 2025 with the introduction of global themes, Solve for Tomorrow will go one step further to evolve into a platform for youth to collaborate and address universal problems that transcend local boundaries.
This year’s global themes are “Environmental Sustainability via Technology” and “Social Change through Sport & Technology with International Olympic Committee.”
“Environmental issues are among the most difficult challenges facing humanity today,” said Soojin Kim, Head of the Corporate Sustainability Center at Samsung Electronics. “We are pleased to join youth around the world on this journey to overcome these issues with technology.”
▲ A poster celebrating the 15th anniversary of Solve for Tomorrow and introducing the global themes
Global Themes Selected Through ‘Together for Tomorrow’ Olympic Partnership
As the Worldwide smartphone Partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games last year, IOC and Samsung partnered to launch ‘Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People’ — a digital community created to complement Solve for Tomorrow. The platform aims to engage young people from across the globe with the Olympic Movement and harness the transformative power of technology and sport to drive meaningful change.
During the Olympic Games Paris 2024, 10 students from the winning teams of the previous year’s Solve for Tomorrow program served as ambassadors for “Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People.”
The theme “Social Change Through Sport & Technology” was voted on by the public in the Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People community. Samsung and IOC plan to appoint individuals who exemplify this theme as global ambassadors and collaborate with them to develop solutions.
“We are delighted to work with our Worldwide Olympic Partner Samsung on the creation of this new sport-driven theme,” said Ollie Dudfield, Associate Director of Olympism 365 at IOC. “It’s an exciting step forward in line with the ambitions of IOC’s Olympism 365 strategy — empowering young people around the world to think boldly about how sport and technology can drive positive change.’’
Leveraging Samsung’s Expertise To Strengthen Support for Participants
Samsung is leveraging its unique resources and expertise to strengthen Solve for Tomorrow. By integrating the Samsung Design Thinking methodology into the program, the company hopes to encourage the development of practical, user-centered solutions. Samsung also plans to expand employee mentoring to help participants further refine their ideas with guidance from experts with real-world experience.
IOC Young Leaders Programme will also have a role to play in helping students understand how sport and technology can mix to generate innovative solutions to social challenges. “Through Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, I’ve learned that even a small idea can spark big change,” said Solve for Tomorrow US ambassador Ngan Huu Kim Le.
“Working alongside friends from around the world motivates me to keep seeking creative solutions for a better future.”
Solve for Tomorrow 2025 recently kicked off in Vietnam and India, and will soon be launched in Indonesia, Türkiye, Singapore and other countries. Spanning months from the qualifiers to the finals, the program will award winning teams, depending on the country, with project incubation funding and support for establishing STEM labs.
“Samsung Solve for Tomorrow has been Samsung’s flagship corporate citizenship initiative for the past 15 years,” said Eddie Cho, Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Citizenship Office at Samsung Electronics. “We look forward to strengthening the role of the global platform to nurture even more young people into the leaders of tomorrow.”
▲ The 15th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow U.S. Pitch & Reveal Event took place in Samsung DC on April 28. (From left) U.S. National Winner Charter School of Wilmington from Delaware with Yoonie Joung, President of Samsung Electronics North America; Solve for Tomorrow U.S. ambassador Ngan Huu Kim Le
▲ The India Opening Ceremony took place in IIT Delhi on April 29. (From left) Shubham Mukherjee, Head of CSR & Corp Communication, Samsung SWA; Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & IT; JB Park, President & CEO, Samsung SWA; Shombi Sharp, United Nations Resident Coordinator in India; Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi; Dr. Sapna Poti, Senior Director, Office of Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government
▲ The opening ceremony of Solve for Tomorrow 2025 Vietnam was held in Hanoi on March 28
Source: Samsung
Samsung, India’s largest consumer electronics brand, today announced the launch of its ultra-premium 2025 models of Neo QLED 8K, Neo QLED 4K, OLED, QLED TVs and The Frame lineup, bringing the revolutionary Samsung Vision AI technology to Indian consumers. At the heart of this launch is the new Samsung Vision AI that delivers an unparalleled home entertainment experience with next-generation AI capabilities. Staying true to its commitment to innovation, Samsung’s latest range redefines how users interact with screens, turning them into intelligent companions that enrich everyday living.
Samsung Vision AI – a cutting-edge technology framework – pairs AI-enhanced picture and sound for maximum performance with personalized experience. Samsung Vision AI is built on three pillars.
AI Mode optimizes picture quality and sound in real time by using advanced deep-learning algorithms that adapt to both content and ambient surroundings, ensuring stunning visuals and immersive audio every time.
AI Experience personalizes content discovery and settings by learning user preferences over time, delivering a smarter, more intuitive interaction.
Multi-Device Connectivity seamlessly connects the TV with smartphones, tablets, and other smart devices, enabling effortless content sharing, control, and continuity across the Samsung ecosystem.
“The role of the television in Indian homes has evolved – it’s no longer just about watching content, but about enabling connected, intelligent lifestyles. With the introduction of Samsung Vision AI across our widest-ever premium lineup, we are delivering a future-ready TV experience that goes beyond stunning visuals. Samsung Vision AI ushers in a truly personalized, AI-powered screen experience, where the viewer is more important than what’s being viewed. We are calling this shift ‘It’s Your Show’ – an experience where users are in complete control, with the TV adapting to their unique preferences, habits, and ecosystem. Our new AI TV lineup breathes new life into every frame, setting a new benchmark for cinematic excellence at home. With this new era of AI-powered screens, we are confident of accelerating next-generation TV adoption and strengthening our leadership in India’s premium television segment,” said Viplesh Dang, Senior Director, Visual Display Business, Samsung India.
Samsung Vision AI: Powering a New Generation of Smart, Personalized Entertainment Experiences
Samsung Vision AI represents a major leap in making screens smarter, more intuitive and deeply personal. It transforms televisions into adaptive hubs, responsive to their environment and user behaviours. They seamlessly blend into everyday life, making the TV an intelligent partner rather than just a display.
Several features come together to redefine the big screen experience-
Universal Gesture Control allows users to effortlessly navigate their Samsung Smart AI TV using simple hand movements, eliminating the need for a remote. This feature utilizes AI technology, and a connected Galaxy Watch to recognize gestures, allowing for intuitive control over various TV functions.
AI Upscaling Pro elevates lower-resolution content to near-8K quality, ensuring every detail is crystal clear. Powered by Samsung’s NQ8 AI Gen3 Processor, this feature sharpens images and enhances clarity, delivering a vivid and lifelike viewing experience.
Generative Wallpaper transforms idle screens into dynamic, personalized art canvases, creating visuals that match moods or occasions. Leveraging AI, this feature generates unique 4K images, allowing users to personalize their viewing experience with custom artwork.
Multi-Device connectivity keeps users updated about their living environment with real-time alerts and energy monitoring. Integrated with SmartThings, it provides real-time summaries of the home’s status and suggests necessary actions, enhancing peace of mind whether users are at home or away.
Pet and Family Care Mode provides peace of mind by detecting unusual activities of pets or family members and by automatically adjusting home settings for added comfort. Utilizing on-device AI, it can detect events such as a dog barking or a baby crying, alerting users when attention is needed.
Samsung’s Most Advanced AI-Powered Neo QLED 8K TV Redefines Visual Display Technology
Leading the 2025 AI TV lineup is the flagship Neo QLED 8K QN950F, designed to deliver the pinnacle of TV innovation. Powered by the advanced NQ8 AI Gen3 Processor, which employs 768 AI neural networks, this TV brings breakthrough features to life. Ensuring an exceptional viewing experience with crisp details, regardless of the input source, it is encased in an ultra-slim, minimalist Infinity Air design. The Neo QLED 8K QN950F is an object of beauty and a technological prowess, offering a truly immersive and sophisticated cinematic visual display.
The 8K AI Upscaling Pro feature intelligently analyzes and enhances any content to 8K quality, preserving details and textures with remarkable accuracy.
The Glare-Free technology ensures distraction-free viewing even in brightly lit spaces, reducing reflections without compromising colour or contrast.
Q-Symphony and Dolby Atmos combine to deliver a deeply immersive, multidimensional audio experience by perfectly synchronizing the TV speakers with compatible Samsung soundbars.
The ultra-fast 240Hz refresh rate ensures fluid motion and razor-sharp visuals, ideal for high-speed action, sports, and next-gen gaming.
AI Mode intelligently optimizes picture and sound based on content type and surroundings, delivering a customized viewing experience.’
The Neo QLED 8K is available in sizes of 85, 75, and 65 inches.
Lineup for All Entertainment Needs: Neo QLED 4K
The QN90F, QN85F, QN80F and QN70F models headline the Neo QLED 4K lineup. The QN90F features Quantum Matrix Technology Plus with 128 Neural Networks, Motion Xcelerator 165Hz, Glare-Free viewing and a powerful 60W 4.2.2 channel speaker system with Dolby Atmos and Q-Symphony for a cinematic audio-visual experience and Samsung’s signature Neo Slim design with Art Store and Generative Wallpaper support.
Samsung’s 2025 OLED TVs push performance further with NQ4 AI Gen3 Processor supported by 128 Neural Networks, Motion Xcelerator 165Hz, Glare-Free Viewing, and AI Motion Enhancer Pro for exceptional clarity in fast-moving scenes. These models support 100% Color Volume, are PANTONE Validated, and feature a minimalist Infinity One design with Attachable Slim One Connect to reduce clutter.
Samsung has also curated localized Smart Experiences for Indian consumers to include a range of services like gaming, entertainment, education and fitness.’
Cloud Gaming Service enables users to experience AAA games with Plug and Play – with no console or PC required.
Samsung Education Hub helps users to experience Big Screen Learning with live classes, making learning for your kids more interactive and immersive.
TV Key service upscales consumers as there is no requirement for a set-top box as it enables direct transmission of content through the cloud.
Samsung TV Plus provides 125+ national and international channels absolutely free with instant access to news, movies, entertainment and more.
The 2025 Samsung AI TVs come equipped with a built-in SmartThings hub, transforming the television into a central command centre for connected living. This integration allows users to effortlessly connect and control a wide array of smart devices. Additionally, SmartThings Energy offers insights into energy consumption patterns, promoting efficient energy use throughout the home. The platform’s ambient sensing capabilities analyse human movements and environmental sounds, allowing the system to adapt settings such as lighting and temperature to suit daily routines, thereby enhancing comfort and convenience.
Fortified with Samsung Knox, a comprehensive security platform that safeguards user data and privacy, high security standards are maintained. It detects and prevent unauthorized changes, blocks phishing websites to protect against malicious sites, and enhanced personal information protection through Samsung Knox Vault.
To ensure a future-ready and secure smart TV experience, Samsung’s 2025 AI TV lineup comes with 7 years of guaranteed OS upgrades at no additional cost. This industry-leading commitment extends the longevity of each device, keeping it up to date with the latest features, security enhancements, and performance improvements. Whether it’s advanced AI functionality or seamless SmartThings integration, consumers can enjoy a consistently premium experience year after year, making their investment in Samsung’s Vision AI-powered TVs truly future-proof.
Price, Offers & Availability
The 2025 lineup of Neo QLED 8K, Neo QLED 4K, OLED, and The Frame TVs will be available for pre-order from May 7, 2025 across Samsung retail stores, Samsung.com, and leading offline and online retail channels.
As part of the pre-order offer, consumers purchasing Neo QLED 8K, Neo QLED 4K, OLED TVs and The Frame can avail of exciting benefits, such as Free Soundbar worth up to INR 90990, cashback of up to 20%, Easy EMI with zero down payment, lowest EMI starting INR 2990 and up to 30-month EMI tenure. These offers are valid till May 28, 2025.
Samsung’s Neo QLED 8K range starts from INR 272990
Samsung’s Neo QLED 4K range starts from INR 89990
Samsung’s OLED range starts from INR 154990
Samsung’s QLED range starts from INR 49490
Samsung’s Frame TVs range starts from INR 63990
The 2025 Samsung AI TV lineup is available in a wide spectrum of screen sizes, catering to every viewing preference and space requirement. The range includes 43″, 50″, 55″, 65″, 75″, 77″, 83″, 85″, 98″ and the ultra-large 100” and 115″. From compact personal entertainment zones to immersive home theatres, this diverse selection ensures there’s a perfect AI-powered screen for every room and need.
Source: Reserve Bank of India
|
The Reserve Bank had issued the Framework for Recognition of Self-Regulatory Organisations in Financial Markets regulated by the Reserve Bank (Framework) and invited applications for recognition as Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) in financial markets. 2. An application seeking recognition as an SRO in financial markets regulated by the Reserve Bank was received from the Fixed Income Money Market and Derivatives Association of India (FIMMDA). 3. Based on an examination of the application against the relevant requirements under the framework, it has been decided to recognise FIMMDA as an SRO in financial markets regulated by the Reserve Bank. (Puneet Pancholy) Press Release: 2025-2026/274 |
Source: Securelist – Kaspersky
Headline: State of ransomware in 2025
With the International Anti-Ransomware Day just around the corner on May 12, Kaspersky explores the ever-changing ransomware threat landscape and its implications for cybersecurity. According to Kaspersky Security Network data, the number of ransomware detections decreased by 18% from 2023 to 2024 – from 5,715,892 to 4,668,229. At the same time, the share of users affected by ransomware attacks increased by 0.02 p.p. to 0.44%. This smaller percentage compared to other cyberthreats is explained by the fact that attackers often don’t distribute this type of malware on a mass scale, but prioritize high-value targets, which reduces the overall number of incidents.
That said, if we look at incidents at organizations requiring immediate incident response services that were mitigated by Kaspersky’s Global Emergency Response Team (GERT), we’ll see that 41.6% of them were related to ransomware in 2024, compared to 33.3% in 2023. Targeted ransomware is likely to remain the primary threat to organizations around the world for the foreseeable future.
Below are some of the global trends that Kaspersky observed with ransomware in 2024.
The RaaS model remains the predominant framework for ransomware attacks, fueling their proliferation by lowering the technical barrier for cybercriminals. In 2024, RaaS platforms like RansomHub thrived by offering malware, technical support and affiliate programs that split the ransom (e.g., 90/10 for affiliates/core group). This model enables less-skilled actors to execute sophisticated attacks, contributing to the emergence of multiple new ransomware groups in 2024 alone. While traditional ransomware still exists, the scalability and profitability of RaaS make it the primary engine, with platforms evolving to include services such as initial access brokering and data exfiltration, ensuring its dominance into 2025.
Many ransomware attacks still target Windows-based systems, reflecting the operating system’s widespread use in enterprise environments. The architecture of Windows, combined with vulnerabilities in software such as Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and unpatched systems, makes it a prime target for ransomware executables. In recent years, however, some attackers have diversified, with groups like RansomHub and Akira developing variants for Linux and VMware systems, particularly in cloud and virtualized environments. While Windows remains the epicenter, the growing focus on cross-platform ransomware signals a shift toward exploiting diverse infrastructures, especially as organizations adopt hybrid and cloud setups. This is not a new trend, and we expect it to persist in the coming years.
According to Chainalysis, ransomware payments dropped significantly in 2024 to approximately $813.55 million, down 35% from a record $1.25 billion in 2023. On the other hand, Sophos reports that the average ransom payment surged from $1,542,333 in 2023 to $3,960,917 in 2024, reflecting a trend of targeting larger organizations with higher demands. This report also highlights that more organizations paid ransoms to get their data back, although other reports indicate that fewer organizations paid ransoms than in 2023. For example, according to Coveware, a company that specializes in fighting ransomware, the payment rate hit a record low of 25% in Q4 2024, down from 29% in Q4 2023, driven by law enforcement crackdowns, improved cybersecurity and regulatory pressures discouraging payments.
In 2024, cybercriminals increasingly prioritized data exfiltration alongside, or sometimes instead of, encryption, focusing on stealing sensitive information to maximize leverage and profits or even extending threats to third parties such as customers, partners, suppliers, etc. Encryption is still widely used, but the rise of double and triple extortion tactics shows a strategic pivot. RansomHub and most modern ransomware groups often combine encryption with data theft, threatening to leak or sell stolen data if a ransom is not paid, making exfiltration a critical tactic.
Several major ransomware groups faced significant disruptions in 2024, though the ecosystem’s resilience limited the long-term impact. LockBit, responsible for 27.78% of attacks in 2023, was hit hard by Operation Cronos in February 2024, with law enforcement seizing its infrastructure, arresting members and unmasking its leader, Dmitry Khoroshev. However, despite these efforts, LockBit relaunched its operations and remained active throughout 2024.
ALPHV/BlackCat, another prolific group, was dismantled after an FBI operation in December 2023, though affiliates migrated to other groups such as RansomHub. The Radar/Dispossessor operation was disrupted by the FBI in August 2024, and German authorities seized 47 cryptocurrency exchanges linked to ransomware laundering. Despite these takedowns, groups like RansomHub and Play quickly filled the void, underscoring the challenge of eradicating ransomware networks. However, according to the latest research, the RansomHub group presumably paused their operations as of April 1, 2025.
When ransomware groups disband or disappear, their tools, tactics and infrastructure often remain accessible in the cybercriminal ecosystem, allowing other groups to adopt and enhance them. For example, groups like BlackMatter or REvil, after facing pressure from law enforcement, saw their code and methods reused by successors like BlackCat, which in turn was followed by Cicada3301. Disappearing groups may also sell their source code, exploit kits or affiliate models on dark web forums, enabling emerging or existing gangs to repurpose these resources. In addition, malicious tools are sometimes leaked to the internet, as was the case with LockBit 3.0. As a result, many smaller groups or individuals unrelated to the ransomware developers, including hacktivists and low-skilled cybercriminals, get hold of these tools and use them for their own purposes. This cycle of knowledge transfer accelerates the evolution of ransomware as new actors build on proven strategies, adapt to countermeasures, and exploit vulnerabilities faster than defenders can respond. In telemetry, these new groups using old toolkits can be identified as old groups (e.g., LockBit).
This is done to increase the effectiveness of their attacks and avoid detection. These toolkits often include exploitation tools, lateral movement tools, password attack tools, etc. that are tailored to specific targets or industries. By creating proprietary tools, these groups reduce their reliance on widely available, detectable exploits and maintain control over their operations. This in-house development also facilitates frequent updates to counter defenses and exploit new vulnerabilities, making their attacks more resilient and harder for cybersecurity measures to mitigate.
Targeted ransomware attacks, aimed at specific organizations for maximum disruption and payout, focus on high-value targets such as hospitals, financial institutions and government agencies, leveraging reconnaissance and zero-day exploits for precision. General ransomware, which spreads indiscriminately via phishing or external devices, often affects smaller businesses or individuals with weaker defenses. The focus on targeted attacks reflects cybercriminals’ preference for larger ransoms, though general ransomware persists due to its low-effort, high-volume potential.
According to Kaspersky research, RansomHub was the most active group executing targeted attacks in 2024, followed by Play.
Each group’s share of victims according to its data leak site (DLS) as a percentage of all reported victims of all groups during the period under review (download)
FunkSec emerged as a ransomware group in late 2024 and quickly gained notoriety, claiming multiple victims in December alone and outpacing established groups like Cl0p and RansomHub. Operating on a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) model, FunkSec employs a double extortion tactic that combines data encryption with exfiltration. The group targets sectors such as government, technology, finance and education in countries including India, Spain and Mongolia.
FunkSec is notable for its heavy reliance on AI-assisted tools, particularly in malware development. Its ransomware features AI-generated code with comments that are perfect from a language perspective, suggesting the use of large language models (LLMs) to streamline development and evade detection. Unlike typical ransomware groups that demand millions, FunkSec’s ransoms are unusually low, adopting a high-volume, low-cost approach.
Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) is an increasingly prevalent technique used in ransomware attacks to bypass security defenses and gain kernel-level access on Windows systems.
With BYOVD, attackers deploy a legitimate but vulnerable driver – often digitally signed by a trusted vendor or Microsoft – on a target system. These drivers, which operate at the kernel level (ring 0) with high privileges, contain exploitable flaws that allow attackers to disable security tools, escalate privileges or execute malicious code undetected. By leveraging signed drivers, attackers can evade Windows’ default security checks.
Although BYOVD is an advanced technique, there is a range of open-source tools like EDRSandblast and Backstab that lower the technical barriers and simplify such attacks. According to the Living Off The Land Drivers (LOLDrivers) project, hundreds of exploitable drivers are known, highlighting the scale of the problem. Attackers continue to find new vulnerable drivers, and tools like KDMapper allow mapping of unsigned drivers into memory via BYOVD, complicating defenses.
Share of users whose computers were attacked by crypto-ransomware, by region. Data from Kaspersky Security Network (download)
In the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions, ransomware affected a higher share of users due to rapid digital transformation, expanding attack surfaces and varying levels of cybersecurity maturity. Enterprises in APAC were heavily targeted, driven by attacks on infrastructure and operational technology, especially in countries with growing economies and new data privacy laws.
Ransomware is less prevalent in Africa due to lower levels of digitization and economic constraints, which reduce the number of high-value targets. However, as countries like South Africa and Nigeria expand their digital economies, ransomware attacks are on the rise, particularly in the manufacturing, financial and government sectors. Limited cybersecurity awareness and resources leave many organizations vulnerable, though the smaller attack surface means the region remains behind global hotspots.
Latin America also experiences ransomware attacks, particularly in countries like Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Mexico. Manufacturing, agriculture, and retail, as well as critical sectors such as government and energy are targeted, but economic constraints and smaller ransoms deter some attackers. The region’s growing digital adoption is increasing exposure. For example, NightSpire ransomware compromised Chilean company EmoTrans, a logistics company serving key industries in Chile such as mining, agriculture and international trade. The group first appeared in March 2025, and attacked government institutions, manufacturers and other companies in various parts of the world. Like many other groups, NightSpire uses the double extortion strategy and has its own data leak site (DLS).
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) sees a smaller share of users encountering ransomware attacks. However, hacktivist groups like Head Mare, Twelve and others active in the region often use ransomware such as LockBit 3.0 to inflict damage on target organizations. Manufacturing, government, and retail are the most targeted sectors, with varying levels of cybersecurity maturity across the region affecting security.
Europe is confronted with ransomware, but benefits from robust cybersecurity frameworks and regulations that deter some attackers. Sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, and education are targeted, but mature incident response and awareness limit the scale of attacks. The region’s diversified economies and strong defenses make it less of a focal point for ransomware groups than regions with rapid, less secure digital growth.
For example, RansomHub claimed responsibility for a 2024 attack on Kawasaki’s European offices, disrupting operations across multiple countries. The breach compromised customer and operational data, affecting supply chains for Kawasaki’s motorcycle and industrial products in Europe. The regional impact was significant in countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, where Kawasaki has a strong market presence, highlighting vulnerabilities in Europe’s manufacturing sector.
Change in the share of users whose computers were attacked by crypto-ransomware, by region, 2024 compared to 2023. Data from Kaspersky Security Network (download)
Looking ahead to 2025, ransomware is expected to evolve by exploiting unconventional vulnerabilities, as demonstrated by the Akira gang’s use of a webcam to bypass endpoint detection and response systems and infiltrate internal networks. Attackers are likely to increasingly target overlooked entry points like IoT devices, smart appliances or misconfigured hardware in the workplace, capitalizing on the expanding attack surface created by interconnected systems. As organizations strengthen traditional defenses, cybercriminals will refine their tactics, focusing on stealthy reconnaissance and lateral movement within networks to deploy ransomware with greater precision, making it harder for defenders to detect and respond in time.
Ransomware groups are also likely to escalate their extortion strategies, moving beyond double extortion to more aggressive approaches such as threatening to leak sensitive data to regulators, competitors or the public. The Ransomware-as-a-Service model will continue to thrive, allowing less-skilled actors to launch sophisticated attacks by purchasing access to pre-built tools and exploit kits. Geopolitical tensions may further drive hacktivism and state-sponsored ransomware campaigns targeting critical assets, such as energy grids or healthcare systems, as part of hybrid warfare. Smaller organizations with limited cybersecurity budgets will face heightened risks as attackers exploit their weaker defenses. To adapt, businesses must adopt zero-trust security models, secure IoT ecosystems and prioritize employee training to mitigate phishing and social engineering threats.
The proliferation of large language models (LLMs) tailored for cybercrime will further amplify ransomware’s reach and impact. LLMs marketed on the dark web lower the technical barrier to creating malicious code, phishing campaigns and social engineering attacks, allowing even less-skilled actors to craft highly convincing lures or automate ransomware deployment. As more innovative concepts such as RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and LowCode, which provide an intuitive, visual, AI-assisted drag-and-drop interface for rapid software development, are quickly adopted by software developers, we can expect ransomware developers to use them to automate their attacks as well as new code development, making the ransomware threat even more prevalent.
To effectively counter ransomware in 2025, organizations and individuals must adopt a multi-layered defense strategy that addresses the evolving tactics of groups like FunkSec, RansomHub and others that leverage AI, Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) and double extortion.
Prioritize proactive prevention through patching and vulnerability management. Many ransomware attacks exploit unpatched systems, so organizations should implement automated patch management tools to ensure timely updates for operating systems, software and drivers. For Windows environments, enabling Microsoft’s Vulnerable Driver Blocklist is critical to thwarting BYOVD attacks. Regularly scan for vulnerabilities and prioritize high-severity flaws, especially in widely used software like Microsoft Exchange or VMware ESXi, which were increasingly targeted by ransomware in 2024.
Strengthen endpoint and network security with advanced detection and segmentation. Deploy robust endpoint detection and response solutions such as Kaspersky NEXT EDR to monitor for suspicious activity like driver loading or process termination. Network segmentation is equally important – limit lateral movement by isolating critical systems and using firewalls to restrict traffic. Implement a zero-trust architecture that requires continuous authentication for access.
Invest in backups, training and incident response planning. Maintain offline or immutable backups that are tested regularly to ensure rapid recovery without paying a ransom. Backups should cover critical data and systems and be stored in air-gapped environments to resist encryption or deletion. User education is essential to combat phishing, which remains one of the top attack vectors. Conduct simulated phishing exercises and train employees to recognize AI-crafted emails used by FunkSec and others for stealth. Kaspersky GERT can help develop and test an incident response plan to minimize potential downtime and costs.
The recommendation to not pay a ransom remains robust, especially given the risk of unavailable keys due to dismantled infrastructure, affiliate chaos or malicious intent, as seen in the 2024 disruptions. By investing in backups, incident response and preventive measures like patching and training, organizations can avoid funding criminals and mitigate the impact. Kaspersky also offers free decryptors for certain ransomware families. If you get hit by ransomware, check to see if there is a decryptor available for the ransomware family used in your case. Note that even if one isn’t available right now, it may be added later.
Source: US State of California 2
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Paul Henderson, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the California African American Museum Board of Directors. Henderson has been the Executive Director at the San Francisco Department of Police Accountability since 2017. He was a Senior Policy Advisor with Biden for President in 2020. Henderson was the Deputy Chief of Staff in the San Francisco Mayor’s Office from 2011 to 2017. He held multiple positions at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office from 1995 to 2011, including Chief of Administration, Co-Manager of the Trial Division, and Trial Attorney. Henderson is a Founding Board Member of the Warner Music Group Social Justice Fund and Art Like Me, and a member of the San Francisco Bar Association. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation. Henderson is a Democrat.
Sinar Lomeli, of San Marcos, has been appointed to the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. Lomeli has been Counseling Faculty at MiraCosta College since 2016. She was an Adjunct Counselor and Instructor at Rio Honda College from 2014 to 2016. Lomeli was an Adjunct Counselor and Instructor at Norco College from 2014 to 2016. She earned a Master of Science degree in Guidance and Counseling from California State University, San Bernardino and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Lomeli is a member of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality. This position requires Senate confirmation. and the compensation is $100 per diem. Lomeli is a Democrat.
Desirea Haggard, of Pinon Hills, has been appointed to the Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. Haggard has been the Vice President of Sustainability and Environmental at Unacem North America since 2024. She was the Vice President of Environmental at the CalPortland Company from 2009 to 2024. Haggard was an Environmental Engineer at TXI Riverside Cement from 2004 to 2009. She earned a Master of Science degree in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Riverside and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Irvine. Haggard is a member of the Women in Mining California Chapter. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $100 per diem. Haggard is registered without party preference.
Christina Wong, of Chico, has been reappointed to the Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists, where she has served since 2021. Wong has been a Self-Employed Psychotherapist since 2024. Wong was the Senior Program Coordinator at the Glenn County Health and Human Services Agency from 2002 to 2024. She was a Mental Health Therapist at the Butte County Probation Department from 2008 to 2020. Wong was the Master of Social Work Coordinator at the University of Alabama School of Social Work from 1993 to 1997. She was the Dean of Student Affairs at Hong Kong Shue Yan University from 1993 to 1997. She earned a Master of Social Work degree from University of Hull and a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Hong Kong Shue Yan University. Wong is a member of the National Association of Social Workers. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $100 per diem. Wong is a Democrat.
David Rabbitt, of Petaluma, has been reappointed to the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission, where he has served since 2013. Rabbitt has been the District Two County Supervisor on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors since 2011 and an Independent Architect since 1997. He was a Member of the Petaluma City Council from 2006 to 2011. Rabbit was a Project Architect at Donald K. Olsen, AIA & Associates from 1985 to 1997. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $100 per diem. Rabbitt is a Democrat.
Vincent Wells, of Elk Grove, has been reappointed to the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission, where he has served since 2021. Wells has been the President of the United Professional Firefighters of Contra Costa County Local 1230 since 2008. He was a Fire Captain and Paramedic at Contra Costa Fire Protection District from 1997 to 2020. Wells was a Firefighter and Paramedic at the Fairfield Fire Department from 1995 to 1997. He served in the United States Air Force from 1985 to 1992. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $100 per diem. Wells is a Democrat.
Debra Garnes, of Rio Dell, has been reappointed to the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission, where she has served since 2021. Garnes has been Mayor of the City of Rio Dell since 2019. Garnes was an Operational and Certified First Response Instructor from 2001 to 2003. She held several positions at the Rancho Seco Nuclear Generation Station in the Sacramento Municipal Utility District from 1990 to 2002, including Hazardous Materials Technician and Specialist, Hazardous Materials First Responder, Asbestos and Lead Decommissioning Technician, and Senior Utility Clerk. Garnes was Fleet Payroll Supervisor at KLLM Trucking from 1989 to 1990. She was an Associate at the Ranco Seco Nuclear Generation Station in the Sacramento Municipal Utility District from 1988 to 1989. Garnes was a United States Navy Petty Officer Second Class, Gunnersmate Guns for the United States Navy from 1981 to 1985. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $100 per diem. Garnes is a Democrat.
Cindy Silva, of Walnut Creek, has been reappointed to the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission, where she has served since 2017. Silva has served as a Councilmember for the City of Walnut Creek since 2006. She was Mayor of the City of Walnut Creek from 2022 to 2023, 2018 to 2019, 2012 to 2013, and 2010 to 2011. She was the Owner of Eisley Silva Communications from 1987 to 2016. Silva was Sales Communication Manager at PeopleSoft from 2001 to 2004. She was Manager of International Proposals and Start-up Training at AirTouch Communications from 1993 to 1995. Silva was Senior Vice President of Product Development at Alamo Learning Systems from 1985 to 1987. She was the Owner of Eisley Communications Inc. from 1979 to 1985. Silva was a Management Newsletter Editor at the Southern California Gas Company from 1979 to 1980. She was a Project Associate at Systema Corporation from 1978 to 1979. Silva was Managing Editor at the California Dental Association from 1976 to 1978. She is the President of the League of California Cities, Statewide Board Member of the League of California Cities, and member of the Hospice East Bay Board of Directors. Silva earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Southern California. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $100 per diem. Silva is registered without party preference.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ronnie Das, Associate Professor in Data Analytics, The University of Western Australia
The English Premier League (EPL) is one of the most prestigious and widely consumed soccer competitions in the world.
Yet it is also manifestly lopsided when it comes to competitive balance. Only a handful of teams are title contenders each season.
The rest mainly aim to avoid relegation to the second-tier Championship, or strive to qualify for lucrative Europe-wide competitions that run alongside the domestic season.
Despite the dominance of a handful of teams, and this year’s title race already being decided in Liverpool’s favour, there is still major fan interest, even among neutrals.
The reason why is prestige and the financial windfalls for the teams that qualify for European leagues.
Competitiveness in the Premier League has significantly declined since 1997 due to growing overseas investments.
Super-wealthy investors such as Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour have permanently changed the fortunes of Chelsea and Manchester City, respectively. Since foreign acquisitions, these clubs experienced meteoric rises and dominated the league, and in Manchester City’s case, have enjoyed a near-monopoly on the league title in recent years.
Superior financial backing provides unfair advantages in the player transfer market, wage affordability, and modernising training facilities that domestically funded clubs can’t match.
This is probably a major reason why in 33 years of the EPL’s existence, there have only ever been seven different winners.
This isn’t a unique feature of the English competition.
Among the major European leagues, Barcelona and Real Madrid have combined 18 Spanish La Liga titles since 2004, Bayern Munich has won 15 German Bundesliga championships, and in Italy’s Serie A, Juventus (nine), Inter Milan (seven) and AC Milan (two) have shared the vast majority of titles over the past two decades.
This is an illustration of what economists call industrial concentration – market domination by a small number of organisations.
Normally, a fundamental principle when designing a sports league is the idea that every team should have a chance of winning it.
In US sports, such as the National Basketball Association, this is enshrined within the sport’s rules and governance.
One can argue it has been a long time since there was any such equality in English football.
Despite the criticism, there is still major interest in the Premier League, due mainly to the jostling for European qualification.
Liverpool and its fans are still celebrating their title win, which they clinched with four games to spare. The victory, the club’s 20th in top-tier English soccer, equals their arch-rival Manchester United’s record.
The league’s often thrilling relegation battle has also already been decided.
But interest in the league’s final few games is still high because many clubs are jostling for European qualification.
These European-wide competitions are, in descending order of prestige, the Champions League, Europa League and the recently launched Conference League.
Organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), these competitions bring together the top teams from each major European soccer league to compete against each other.
This year, the top five English clubs (instead of the usual top four) will be offered a confirmed Champions League position. This is due to the collective best performance of English clubs this season in the Champions League.
At the time of writing, there is only a seven-point spread between the six teams still vying for a top-five finish, with three games left to play.
The sixth team in the league table, and the FA Cup winner, also receives the opportunity to join Europe’s second-tier club league tournament, the Europa League.
And the Carabao Cup winner secures a spot in the third-tier Conference League.
With Newcastle United (Carabao Cup winner) and Manchester City (favourite for FA Cup final) likely to finish in the top five Premier League places, the race for Europe is getting more intense with mathematical permutations suggesting up to ten Premier League places may be open to European league qualification.
This means 12 EPL teams are still fighting for every single point.
European qualification delivers enormous financial incentives. For many of the smaller competing clubs, such as Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Fulham, this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Champions League qualification offers the largest financial rewards, with a €2.467 billion prize pool (A$4.34 billion), and minimum €18.62 million (A$32.7 million) reward per club for participation.
Each victory during the tournament’s league stage also attracts a further €2.1 million (A$3.69 million) performance bonus, and bonuses for qualifying for the knockout stage range from €1 million to €18.5 million (A$1.75 million to $32.4 million) per club, depending on how far they progress.
For Europa League participation, the reward is €4.31 million (A$7.57 million) per team, and €3.17 million (A$5.57 million) for the Conference League.
This money is vital for clubs’ survival, especially as player wages and the transfer market have skyrocketed in recent years.
For example, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, the highest-paid Premier League player, earns £500,000 (A$1.028 million) per week.
So, having the financial means to purchase top-quality players and sustain a strong team is becoming incredibly difficult for clubs with limited investments and earnings.
For smaller clubs, qualifying for European competition can be a lifeline, which is why there’s still so much interest in the Premier League’s upper mid-table battles – despite Liverpool already being a week into the title celebrations.
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.
– ref. The Premier League champions have already been crowned but there’s still a lot on the line – mainly money – https://theconversation.com/the-premier-league-champions-have-already-been-crowned-but-theres-still-a-lot-on-the-line-mainly-money-254700
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alice Gorman, Associate Professor in Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders University
During the height of the Cold War in the 1960s and 1970s, the USSR launched 29 spacecraft towards Venus, the planet scientists call Earth’s “twin sister”.
Three flew past Venus, and went into orbit around the Sun. Sixteen orbited or landed on Venus, where they experienced a climate often described as “hellish”.
Ten got stuck in Earth orbit. All of them re-entered Earth’s atmosphere the same year they were launched – except Kosmos 482, which has stayed aloft for 53 more years. As the last remnant of the Soviet Venus program left in Earth orbit, it’s not your average piece of space junk.
Because it was designed to withstand Venusian conditions, many think the lander may make planetfall on Earth instead of incinerating in the atmosphere. And that is expected to happen this week.
Venus was a target of interest because its thick clouds might be hiding life on the surface. But the spacecraft were also Cold War weapons aimed at demonstrating the superiority of socialist science.
Venera 1 was launched in 1961, only four years after Sputnik 1, the first satellite. Venera 7, in 1970, was the first spacecraft to successfully soft-land instead of crashing on a planet. Vega 2 was the last USSR Venus mission in 1984.
The Venera probes were launched in pairs, a few days apart. If one failed, the other might succeed. Venera 8 was launched on March 27 1972 and reached Venus 117 days later. On March 31, its twin left Earth but failed to escape Earth orbit, earning the designation Kosmos 482.
The spacecraft comprised a delivery “bus” about 3.5 metres tall, with a propulsion system, solar panels and a mesh dish antenna at one end, and the spherical landing craft at the other end. The landers had their own refrigeration system to cool them down and a heat shield to protect them. If all went to plan, the buses would eject the landers from orbit. The landers would hit the upper cloud decks at a speed of nearly 12km per second.
At 60km altitude, the main parachute was released to float the lander down to the surface. A range of instruments would then measure the temperature, pressure, wind speed, visibility, atmospheric gases and rock composition, and radio the results back to Earth. Each lander carried a USSR medallion inside.
But all didn’t go to plan. Venera 8 sped on its way to Venus, sending its lander down on July 22.
Fate had something different in store for Kosmos 482.
The upper rocket stage that was meant to propel the Kosmos 482 bus out of Earth orbit shut off too early because the timer wasn’t set correctly. The rocket stage fell back to Earth and burnt up, while titanium pressure vessels from its fuel system fell onto fields in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The bus and landing craft came apart in mid-June and the bus fell back into the atmosphere in 1981. The 465kg lander continued its orbit alone.
At its farthest, the lander was 9,000km away, coming as close as 210km in its highly elliptical orbit around Earth. Over 50 years, that orbit has lowered to only 2,000km at its farthest point. Now the atmosphere is dragging it back towards Earth with a predicted re-entry of May 10. You can get updates on Kosmos 482’s position here.
The lander had a titanium body designed to withstand Venus surface conditions of 90 times the atmospheric pressure of Earth and 470°C. After more than 50 years it won’t have the refrigeration, the capacity to aerobrake or a working parachute to slow it down and keep it cool. Its reentry will be uncontrolled.
Typically, space junk reenters at around seven kilometres per second and can reach temperatures of 1,600°C as it tears through the atmosphere. Titanium alloys have a melting point of around 1,700°C. This is why the so-called “space balls” that landed in New Zealand in April 1972 survived reentry. If they did, then the lander could as well.
Six of the nine other failed Kosmos reentries had landers or impactors, but we don’t know where they are – either they did not survive, fell into the ocean, or have not yet been found on land. This may also be the fate of the Kosmos 482 lander.
Venus might be the planet of love, but in popular culture, it has been associated with danger.
In the 1960 East German film The Silent Star (later dubbed into English as First Spaceship on Venus), the Venusians plan to bombard Earth with radiation so they can conquer it.
In the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, an American Venus probe returns bringing a deadly radiation which turns the dead into zombies.
An episode of the hit 1970s TV series The Six Million Dollar Man characterised a Russian Venus spacecraft as a “death probe” when it accidentally returned to Earth.
These representations reflect Cold War fears of nuclear war and war waged from space.
In the 21st century, we have a new source of anxiety: the environmental impacts of space junk. But spacecraft such as Kosmos 482 are not the junk people should be worried about.
In the past five years, there’s been a massive increase in the number of rocket launches and the number of spacecraft in low Earth orbit. More and more space junk is reentering the atmosphere. For example, it’s estimated that a Starlink satellite reenters almost every day. When it burns up, it leaves behind damaging chemicals and soot particles.
In the meantime, Venera 8 is still waiting silently on the surface of Venus for its twin to arrive.
Alice Gorman is an expert member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) International Scientific Committee on Aerospace Heritage and a Fellow of the Outer Space Institute.
– ref. More than 50 years after trying to reach Venus, a failed Soviet spacecraft is about to return to Earth – https://theconversation.com/more-than-50-years-after-trying-to-reach-venus-a-failed-soviet-spacecraft-is-about-to-return-to-earth-255836
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Bush, Senior Lecturer in History and Philosophy of Science, The University of Melbourne
Picture this: a small audience is quietly ushered into a darkened room. They gasp in awe, as a brilliant night sky shines above. They wonder – as many after them will do – what trickery has made the roof above their heads disappear?
But this is a performance; the stars above an ingenious projection. For the first time a public audience has experienced the spectacle of the opto-mechanical planetarium. The location is the newly opened Deutsches Museum in Munich, built to celebrate science and technology. The date is May 7 1925.
Throughout time, cultures around the world have used the stars to help make sense of the world, to understand where we come from and determine our place in the cosmos.
People have tried to recreate the movements of the stars and planets since antiquity. In the 1700s, the orrery, a clockwork model of the Solar System, was developed. The word “planetarium” was invented to describe orreries that featured the planets.
One room-sized orrery example was built by the self-taught Frisian astronomer Eise Eisinga. It’s still operational today in Franeker, Netherlands.
No human has ever been to the edge of the Solar System to see this view. Orreries, and other mechanical models of the universe like celestial globes, present views from impossible, external perspectives.
The desire for a realistic view of the stars and planets, created from a perspective we actually see, gathered pace in the early 20th century as light pollution from growing cities diminished the view of the night sky.
People like Oskar von Miller, first director of the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany, wanted to return this vision of the stars and planets to everyone. (Ironically, von Miller’s earlier career was as an electrical engineer, rolling out the city lighting that contributed to light pollution.)
One early attempt to create this view of the night sky was the Atwood Sphere, installed in Chicago in 1913.
Approximately five metres across, it was made of sheet metal perforated with a star map. When viewed from the inside, the light shining through 692 pinholes replicated the Chicago night sky. The whole structure could even be rotated to simulate the motion of the stars.
A realistic display of the stars is one thing. Representing the planets, whose positions in the sky change from night to night, is a different one. Von Miller and others at the Deutsches Museum knew that fixed holes could not represent the complexity of a moving planet.
What if the planets were displayed by projection? If so, couldn’t the stars be projected, as well? With this realisation, a new kind of planetarium was born, borrowing the name from earlier orreries but working in a completely different way.
The task of building such a device was given to the German optical company Carl Zeiss AG. After many setbacks, their first planetarium projector was completed in 1923, with the first performance at the Deutsches Museum a century ago today.
Planetariums were a hit with the public. Within decades, they had spread around the world – the first planetarium in the United States opened in Chicago in 1930, while the first one in Asia opened in Osaka, Japan in 1937. The popularity of planetariums particularly accelerated in the US during the space race of the 1960s.
Australia’s oldest operating planetarium is the Melbourne Planetarium, managed by Museums Victoria since 1965. In Aotearoa New Zealand, Auckland’s Stardome Observatory has been in operation since 1997. The current longest-running planetarium in the southern hemisphere is in Montevideo, Uruguay, operational since 1955.
The opto-mechanical planetarium projector remains a technological wonder of the modern world. Individual plates, perforated with pinholes, are illuminated by a bright central light. Separate lenses focus each projection from one of these star maps to fill the entire dome with about 5,000 stars.
The Sun, Moon and planets have separate projectors driven by gears and rods that mechanically calculate the object’s position in the sky for any time or place.
By the 1990s, a digital revolution had begun. With the advent of computers, the positions of the planets could now be calculated digitally. The Melbourne Planetarium became the first digital planetarium in the southern hemisphere when it installed the Digistar II in 1999.
This system, developed by computer graphics company Evans and Sutherland, replaced the multiple lenses of earlier projectors with a fisheye lens. A single beam of light swept across the whole dome so rapidly that it seemed to create a single image – albeit in a bizarre green colour, rendering a starfield of fuzzy green blobs.
The trade-off for a less crisp starfield was a 3D database with more than 9,000 stars. For the first time, planetarium audiences could fly through space, far beyond the edge of the Solar System.
Planetarium technology continues to develop. Today, most planetariums operate through video projection. Known as fulldome, the output from multiple projectors is blended together to create a seamless video, transforming the planetarium into a sophisticated 360-degree theatre.
Astronomy has also changed over the last century. Just as Zeiss was completing its first projector, astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that other galaxies exist beyond our Milky Way galaxy.
The stars shown on the dome in Munich in 1925 turned out to be just a tiny part of the universe that we know today.
Planetariums’ digital systems now incorporate data from telescopes and space agencies around the world. Audiences can fly off Earth, orbit the planets and moons of the Solar System, and explore the billions of known galaxies.
Yet some things have not changed. From orreries and lantern slides to opto-mechanical and digital planetariums, the communication of astronomy has always been about more than just the latest results of science.
The power of the planetarium over the last 100 years has been its ability to evoke wonder and awe. It taps into our enduring fascination with the vast mystery of the night sky.
Tanya Hill works at the Melbourne Planetarium operated by Museums Victoria.
Martin Bush does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. For 100 years, we have marvelled at planetariums. Here’s a brief history of how humans brought the stars indoors – https://theconversation.com/for-100-years-we-have-marvelled-at-planetariums-heres-a-brief-history-of-how-humans-brought-the-stars-indoors-255228
Source: US State of Hawaii
Posted on May 6, 2025 in Latest Department News, Newsroom
STATE OF HAWAIʻI
KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI
DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES
KA ‘OIHANA KUMUWAIWAI ‘ĀINA
JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR
DAWN CHANG
CHAIRPERSON
FIRST TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF KA‘IWA RIDGE TRAIL
FOR LITTLE FIRE ANT TREATMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2025
HONOLULU — The Ka‘iwa Ridge Trail, popularly known as the Lanikai Pillbox Trail, will close for Little Fire Ant (LFA) treatment from 6-10 a.m. tomorrow, May 7. Several agencies including the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), the O‘ahu Invasive Species Committee (OISC), and the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture are partnering in the effort to control LFA at this location.
Although not yet found on the trail itself, LFA were detected on the eastern slope of the ridge during a recent delimiting survey by Hawai‘i Ant Lab. Partners determined that an aerial approach would be best to treat the tricky ridge terrain and selected Aloha ‘Āina Drones to support the project.
“Drone technology is advancing our efforts to move this site from an active infestation to eradication,” said OISC Outreach Coordinator Erin Bishop. “Drones offer a faster, safer and more cost-effective way to treat large, steep areas.”
The DOFAW Nā Ala Hele Trail and Access Program will support the closure with stewards posted at the trail heads. Hikers who seek to use the trail during the closure will be encouraged to return after 10 a.m., once the trail reopens.
This will be the first in a series of treatments of LFA at this location over the next nine months. Anticipated trail closures are as follows:
| Treatment | Closure | Back-up Date |
| 1 | May 7, 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. | May 9, 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. |
| 2 | June 18 | June 20th |
| 3 | July 30 | Aug 1 |
| 4 | September 10 | September 12 |
| 5 | October 22 | October 24 |
| 6 | December 3 | December 5 |
| 7 | January 14, 2026 | January 16, 2026 |
| 8 | February 25, 2026 | February 27, 2026 |
As of April 2025, there have been over 80 LFA detections on island. The agencies involved in this treatment at Lanikai Pillbox reflect the broad base of cooperation across the island to control this pest. OISC, the Hawai‘i Ant Lab, and nonprofits like Hui o Ko‘olaupoko and the KEY Project have played instrumental roles in raising community support to control new detections. As a result, emergent populations of LFA have been successfully managed in other places on O‘ahu such as Mililani-Mauka, Kāneʻohe, Kailua and Mānoa.
Bishop added: “We’re thrilled to move forward with this innovative approach with the support of DOFAW — without it, the threat of LFA spreading into surrounding residential and recreational areas would remain. This marks a major step forward in protecting our communities and environment.”
# # #
RESOURCES
(All images/video courtesy: DLNR)
Photographs – Ma‘akua Ridge Trail Closure for LFA Eradication (various):
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/vxm7y9kz7w6eoo73fr77m/AOV74EOKSIZUkXa5oKszLKA?rlkey=3pwmkfsu6a6jse9pnm1v90w90&st=ty14p5gi&dl=0
Little Fire Ant information:
Little Fire Ant (LFA)
LITTLE FIRE ANTS ON OAHU AND MAUI
Little Fire Ant
www.stoptheant.org
For more information about LFA on Oʻahu, visit: www.oahuisc.org/lfa-community-actions/ or contact Erin Bishop, OISC Outreach Coordinator, at 808-266-7994.
Trail information:
https://hawaiitrails.ehawaii.gov
Get the Outerspatial App
https://www.facebook.com/oahu.hele/
Media Contact:
Ryan Aguilar
Communications Specialist
Hawai‘i Dept. of Land and Natural Resources
808-587-0396
Email: [email protected]
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jye Marshall, Lecturer, Fashion Design, School of Design and Architecture, Swinburne University of Technology
While the official theme of the 2025 Met Gala was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, another trend emerged among those on the red carpet: no pants.
While many might shudder at the thought of wearing their underwear in public, the no-pants trend has picked up steam in recent years, with celebrities such as Kristen Stewart, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Sydney Sweeney and many more rocking the look.
Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter and K-pop star Lisa in particular rocked the internet with their pantless outfits at the Met Gala – although the latter has stirred up some controversy.
Social media users were offended by Lisa’s underwear – part of a lacy bodysuit designed by Louis Vuitton – which seems to have an image of civil rights activist Rosa Parks embroidered onto it (although this hasn’t been confirmed), along with a number of other figures.
It’s possible the look wouldn’t seem quite as offensive if the rest of the bodysuit wasn’t concealed by the blazer. Nonetheless, it’s a less successful attempt at marrying the gala’s theme of Black dandyism with one of the hottest trends in fashion right now.
But where exactly does the no-pants trend come from? Is it as “new” as it seems? And do we have Bridget Jones herself to thank?
The revival of no pants, or mini shorts, marks a shift towards individualism in fashion, and is possibly also leveraging shock value. We’ve seen the trend slowly reemerge since 2022, with celebrity outfits and a series of runway adoptions.
The latest runways have continued to deliver collections with hot pants, mini shorts and simply no pants, including Miu Miu Spring 2024 RTW, Alexander Wang Spring 2025 RTW and Louis Vuitton Spring 2025.
The body positive movement may also be a factor in the way celebrities are expressing themselves. The no-pants trend is a moment to celebrate the legs. It’s also particularly useful for people who are shorter, as it creates the illusion of longer legs by pulling the focus to the torso.
Sabrina Carpenter told Vogue she was specifically advised by Pharrell Williams – Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director – to not wear pants at the Met Gala due to her short stature.
While fashion is often seen as frivolous, the way we dress is actually closely linked with cultural, economic and political movements.
Pants for women have a long and complex history. Before the mid-19th century, it was considered unacceptable for women in Western societies to wear bloomers (pants), as this was seen as a threat to male power.
The taboo continued up until the early 19th century, with one 1903 men’s magazine presenting a special issue of “bifurcated girls” – that is, women posing in trousers.
And it was only in 2013 that France officially overturned a 200-year-old (unenforced) ban that said women could only wear trousers with permission from the police.
If the no-pants trend seems overtly or subtly transgressive, it is because of the centuries women have spent trying to negotiate how much they can show of their bodies.
Exoticism also has a big role to play in the way women adopted trends to expose their body. In the past, each time women revealed parts of their body they weren’t “supposed to”, they’ve been met with public shock.
As for the no-pants trend, we can probably trace the first contemporary examples of this back to the rise of ballet clothing and dancewear, particularly the leotard, from the 1950s onward.
The workout videos of the 1980s (hello, Jane Fonda) also boosted the popularity of the look.
For women, pants provided practicality and freedom of movement, which was especially important as they took on men’s roles during the first and second world wars. So it’s no surprise womens’ pants became a fashion mainstay.
Other trends, such as going pantless, will usually come into mainstream fashion in one of two ways. Either they trickle down from runways and celebrities, or bubble up from street style or social media.
Trend cycles begin with “innovators” and “early adopters” – the bold among us who are ready to take the risk before others. Research into fashion trends suggests about 1% to 2.5% of the population are innovators who will adopt a style before it gains traction among the public.
Trends will generally die when they hit a point of saturation and people become tired of them. While a trend that’s closer to classic fashion may last ten years, fashion “fads” tend to fizzle out after about one to two years.
Given the Met Gala appearances, I think the no-pants look will be sticking around for at least another year. We can also expect it to dilute as it trickles down into mainstream fashion, which means we might see more mini shorts in stores instead.
Jye Marshall is a member of the Australian Fashion Council and Ethical Clothing Australia Accreditation.
– ref. How having no pants in public went from a nightmare to the Met Gala’s hottest fashion trend – https://theconversation.com/how-having-no-pants-in-public-went-from-a-nightmare-to-the-met-galas-hottest-fashion-trend-255952
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor of Higher Education Policy, Monash University
Labor’s federal election win means university fees and costs are set to change. But some of these changes will not be immediate.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has already said planned cuts to student debt will be a top priority for the the new parliament. A new student debt repayment system will follow soon after.
But humanities students paying nearly A$17,000 a year for their studies – thanks to the Job-ready Graduates scheme introduced by the Morrison government – will probably have to wait until 2027 for lower fees.
People with student debt will benefit from a 20% cut to how much they owe. As the Greens support wiping student debt entirely, Labor is likely to only need one or two other senators to pass the cut.
With more Labor senators elected, Labor will be less reliant on crossbenchers to get legislation through parliament.
Labor says the debt reduction will apply before 3.2% indexation is applied to HELP loan balances on June 1 this year. Given this deadline is mere weeks away, the necessary legislation will probably need to be retrospective.
On average, the 20% reduction will save Australia’s 3 million student debtors about $5,500 each.
Another promised Labor change will deliver quick cash benefits to the about 1.2 million people making compulsory student debt repayments.
If the Senate agrees, for the 2025-26 financial year, the income threshold to start repaying student loans will increase from $56,156 to $67,000. Anyone earning less than $67,000 in 2025-26 will repay nothing that financial year, compared to between $561 and $1,340 under current settings.
Once the $67,000 income threshold is reached, student debtors will repay 15% of their income above this amount up to an income of $125,000, when the rate moves up to 17%. For example, a person earning $68,000 will be $1,000 above the new threshold – 15% of $1,000 equals a repayment of $150. Under the current system, somebody earning $68,000 would repay $1,360.
Employers will deduct lower HELP repayments from their payroll, delivering extra cash to student debtor employees. Given the limited time before the thresholds are scheduled to change on July 1, employers may start with the old repayment system and transition to the new one after the necessary legislation passes.
During the election campaign, the Parliamentary Budget Office released work it did on HELP repayment scenarios for independent ACT Senator David Pocock, who was reelected on Saturday.
This showed how under Labor’s proposed system, people with student debt will take longer to repay and incur higher indexation costs. If student debtors are concerned about this they can make voluntary repayments.
A key to reducing repayment times is students accruing less debt in the first place. The Morrison government’s Job-ready Graduates policy increased student contributions for business, law and most arts subjects. Currently they pay $16,992 a year for their studies.
The Coalition introduced this change in 2022 in a bid to encourage more university students to study “job-ready” teaching, nursing and STEM subjects.
A new Australian Tertiary Education Commission, which Labor plans to legislate in the second half of 2025, will review student contribution levels as part of its broader role in managing the domestic student funding system.
Last year, the Australian Universities Accord final report recommended student contributions should no longer be designed to steer course choices. Instead they should be based on expected future earnings.
Using this principle, humanities students would pay the cheapest student contribution level. But this will not happen quickly.
The new commission has a lot of work to do, with new student contributions forming part of a broader funding overhaul. The government then needs to accept any recommendations and legislate the new rates.
Unfortunately for current students, this process means that student contributions are unlikely to change before 2027 at the earliest.
While many domestic students are set to eventually pay less for their education, international students face early increases in costs. During the election campaign, Labor announced student visa application fees will increase from $1,600 to $2,000. As recently as June 2024 the visa application fee was only $710.
This latest visa increase adds another item to an already long list of policies designed to discourage or block potential international students. It probably isn’t the last.
Although student visa applications have trended down, the number of student visa holders in Australia at the end of March 2025 was higher than at the same time in 2023 or 2024.
The government might try again to legislate formal caps on international student numbers. The Greens combined with the Liberals to block this in 2024.
With Labor returned, eligible teaching, nursing and social work students will receive $331.65 a week when on mandatory work placements.
While the “Commonwealth Prac Payments” policy is scheduled to start on July 1, the necessary legal instrument is not yet in place.
Late in the election campaign the Coalition announced that, if elected, it would proceed with Prac Payments as a loan, rather than a grant.
With the election result, Prac Payments can go ahead as originally planned. The minister can authorise the necessary delegated legislation before parliament sits. While the Senate could later “disallow” Prac Payments, the new Senate numbers make this very unlikely.
Labor’s election win should see another so far unlegislated program – needs-based funding for equity students – proceed as promised from January 1 2026.
This will be a per student payment made to universities for each low socioeconomic status and First Nations student, along with each student enrolled at a regional campus. The idea is similar to needs-based funding for schools.
Whether or not current education minister Jason Clare remains in the portfolio, Labor has a large higher education agenda to implement. In some areas the detail is already clear. But significant work remains to develop the new Australian Tertiary Education Commission and a new domestic student funding system.
With several policy start dates due in the next eight weeks, the government will need to move quickly.
Andrew Norton provided higher education policy advice to previous Liberal governments and served on the Universities Accord reference group during the first Albanese government.
His current employer, Monash University, is significantly affected by policies on international students.
– ref. Labor has promised fast action to cut student debt, but arts students will have to wait for lower fees – https://theconversation.com/labor-has-promised-fast-action-to-cut-student-debt-but-arts-students-will-have-to-wait-for-lower-fees-255872
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Mills, Honorary Senior Lecturer, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney
With the election campaign now fading into the rear-view mirror, the parties, particularly the Liberals, will be reviewing their campaign strategies. A part of this will likely be the use of televised debates.
Leaders’ debates have been part of Australian election campaigns since 1984, but the 2025 campaign set a record of four televised exchanges between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
The increased frequency, ever-evolving formats and fragmenting audiences of these televised campaign rituals do not guarantee improved voter information.
Debates are idealised in international academic research as a “public service event”.
But the evolution of Australian debates over four decades suggests voter education tends to be compromised by considerations of electoral strategy and network marketing.
Back in the 1980s, debates were a more stately affair – one-off events hosted by the National Press Club and carried by the national broadcaster.
This year, all four of the Albanese–Dutton exchanges were conducted in-house by the rival television networks.
In total, the four debates reached nearly six million viewers – though “reach” only measures “the total amount of people who dipped in for at least 60 seconds on linear TV, and 15 seconds on streaming”, according to media publication Mumbrella.
Even allowing for party officials, election nerds and political scientists who watched more than one debate, these are still significant numbers, if lower than in decades past. The Australian electorate, it seems, is not yet entirely jaded about politics and politicians.
Notably, squeezing four debates into a five-week campaign meant the last two took place with pre-polling under way.
For the networks, hosting a debate presents an opportunity to showcase their stars, generate “exclusives” and maximise audiences. Their interest lies in mistakes or conflict, not policy rundowns.
By contrast, for the Labor and Liberal campaign professionals, debates are primarily about risk minimisation. Debates are high-risk verbal combat: any gaffe, “gotcha” moment, forgotten statistic or ill-disciplined response in front of a live television audience carries a potentially high cost.
So leaders spend valuable campaign hours preparing for debates, rehearsing their talking points, workshopping zingers, probing ways of exploiting the other’s weaknesses and responding to their taunts and challenges.
They are structured such that they are not debates at all. There is no exchange, no rebuttal, no counterargument. For the most part, they resemble press conferences or studio interviews: formats in which the leaders are well practised and journalists are elevated to equal prominence with the political leaders.
The principal motivation for both incumbent and challenger is that debates offer direct and protracted opportunities to articulate their key messages.
In an era of fragmented audiences and shortened attention spans, each network promoted and gathered the viewers for them.
Opening and closing statements in which the leaders outline their contrasting visions and policy themes operate like paid advertisements – but without the payment.
The parties can then repackage the highlights into snackable short videos for social media, giving it a long tail. Both parties did this in this election.
Indeed, debates are all about whose voice is heard in an election campaign. Leaders’ debates reinforce the dominance of the major parties. Labor and Liberal strategists alike resist any suggestion that they should share the debate platform with minor parties.
But while it remains true that only the major party leaders have a chance of forming a new government, the new reality of Australian elections is that the majors rely heavily on preference flows from minor parties and independents, who thus have a legitimate claim to be heard on a debate stage.
Perhaps those in the live TV audiences who judged neither Albanese nor Dutton as winners of the debates were not “undecideds”, but minor party supporters.
Previous research suggests debates tend to assist challengers more than incumbents. Opposition leaders have the additional advantage of standing on an equal footing with the prime minister.
The exceptions generally occur when incumbents look likely to lose the election and want to gain ground against their challenger. Think Paul Keating in 1996, Kevin Rudd in 2013 and Scott Morrison in 2019, who all agreed to multiple debates.
In 2025, Albanese joins that list, given his poor poll standings before the campaign began.
It is not possible to measure what, if any, effect the four debates had on Albanese’s turnaround during the campaign. Voter effects are notoriously difficult to measure.
The Australian Electoral Study has identified only modest effects in previous campaigns. Perhaps thanks to confirmation bias, debates are more likely to reinforce than change opinions.
But the 2025 campaign may suggest something more. The campaign certainly saw significant shifts in opinion, including in perceptions of the two leaders. In Newspoll, Albanese surged as preferred prime minister, and as more likely to make Australians better off over the next three years.
With hindsight, it seems clear that voters warmed to Albanese’s confidence, consistency and plans for the future, and cooled on Dutton’s policy-light focus on grievance.
My hunch is the extended exposure of the leaders over four debates, right through the campaign and into the early voting period, provided some fuel for that change in perception.
Stephen Mills was a staff member (1986-91) for Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke and since 2015 has volunteered for local Labor election campaigns.
– ref. In an election that played out on social media as much as TV, do leaders’ debates still matter? – https://theconversation.com/in-an-election-that-played-out-on-social-media-as-much-as-tv-do-leaders-debates-still-matter-255771
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on May 7, 2025.
In an election that played out on social media as much as TV, do leaders’ debates still matter?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Mills, Honorary Senior Lecturer, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney With the election campaign now fading into the rear-view mirror, the parties, particularly the Liberals, will be reviewing their campaign strategies. A part of this will likely be the use of televised debates.
Labor has promised fast action to cut student debt, but arts students will have to wait for lower fees
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor of Higher Education Policy, Monash University Labor’s federal election win means university fees and costs are set to change. But some of these changes will not be immediate. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has already said planned cuts to student debt will be a top
How having no pants in public went from a nightmare to the Met Gala’s hottest fashion trend
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jye Marshall, Lecturer, Fashion Design, School of Design and Architecture, Swinburne University of Technology While the official theme of the 2025 Met Gala was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, another trend emerged among those on the red carpet: no pants. While many might shudder at the thought of
Greens leader Adam Bandt and Teal Zoe Daniel likely to lose their seats
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne With 80% of enrolled voters counted, the ABC is giving Labor 87 of the 150 House of Representatives seats, the Coalition 40, the Greens zero and all
For 100 years, we have marvelled at planetariums. Here’s a brief history of how humans brought the stars indoors
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Bush, Senior Lecturer in History and Philosophy of Science, The University of Melbourne Ulverstone Planetarium, Hive Tasmania Picture this: a small audience is quietly ushered into a darkened room. They gasp in awe, as a brilliant night sky shines above. They wonder – as many after
More than 50 years after trying to reach Venus, a failed Soviet spacecraft is about to return to Earth
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alice Gorman, Associate Professor in Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders University A postage stamp from the Soviet Union celebrating its Venus space program from the 1960s and 1970s. Soviet Union/Wikipedia During the height of the Cold War in the 1960s and 1970s, the USSR launched 29 spacecraft
The Premier League champions have already been crowned but there’s still a lot on the line – mainly money
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ronnie Das, Associate Professor in Data Analytics, The University of Western Australia The English Premier League (EPL) is one of the most prestigious and widely consumed soccer competitions in the world. Yet it is also manifestly lopsided when it comes to competitive balance. Only a handful of
Cheap overseas, ruinous in Australia: here’s how to make double-glazed windows the norm
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Trivess Moore, Associate Professor in Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University New Africa/Shutterstock In Europe, double-glazed windows are standard. But in Australia, these energy-saving windows are remarkably uncommon. Correctly installed, the effect of double-glazing is remarkable. Instead of a house losing or gaining huge amounts of
More Australians are overdosing on GHB. But there are ways to reduce your risk
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Freestone, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs, UNSW Sydney Hendo Wang/Unsplash Gamma hydroxybutyrate – better known as GHB – is an increasingly popular illegal drug being used recreationally in Australia. While it can create feelings of euphoria, disinhibition and increased libido,
The election of a new pope is announced with smoke: what do the colours mean, and how are they made?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Johnson, Professor of Liturgical Studies and Sacramental Theology and Director of the ACU Centre for Liturgy, Australian Catholic University For nearly 800 years the Catholic Church has utilised the process of the conclave to elect a new pope. “Conclave” means “with a key”, indicating the cardinal-electors
Avoiding AI is hard – but our freedom to opt out must be protected
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Jin Kang, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, RMIT University Vietnam Wachiwit Imagine applying for a job, only to find out that an algorithm powered by artificial intelligence (AI) rejected your resume before a human even saw it. Or imagine visiting a doctor where treatment options are
Popes have been European for hundreds of years. Is it time for one from Africa or Asia?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University Catholicism did not begin as a “white” faith. Born on the eastern rim of the Mediterranean, it spread through the trading routes and legions of the Roman Empire into Africa, Asia and, only later, what we now call Europe.
Moving towns: 4 stories of communities facing relocation show the complex realities of managed retreat
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stacy Vallis, Lecturer in Architecture and Emerging Technologies, Auckland University of Technology Shutterstock/Emagnetic With large parts of New Zealand having recently been pummelled by ex-tropical Cyclone Tam and ongoing bouts of heavy rain, it is important to remember that natural hazards have long shaped our cities. Two
Indonesian postcard image ‘dangerous’ but Fiji a rising star in RSF press freedom index
Pacific Media Watch To mark the release of the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) partnered with the agency The Good Company to launch a new awareness campaign that puts an ironic twist on the glossy advertising of the tourism industry. Three out of six countries featured in the exposé are from
Gender quotas are the only way for the Liberals to go: Simon Birmingham
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Liberals’ former Senate Leader Simon Birmingham has urged the party to adopt quotas for its women in parliament, in an excoriating post-election critique. Birmingham, a leading moderate who retired from parliament in January, says given the Liberals’ parliamentary representation
Why do some people get a curved back as they age and what can I do to avoid it?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jakub Mesinovic, Research Fellow at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University fran_kie/Shutterstock As we age, it’s common to notice posture changes: shoulders rounding, head leaning forward, back starting to curve. You might associate this with older adults and wonder: will this happen to me?
As Warren Buffett prepares to retire, does his investing philosophy have a future?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angel Zhong, Professor of Finance, RMIT University Warren Buffett, the 94-year-old investing legend and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, has announced plans to step down at the end of this year. His departure will mark the end of an era for value investing, an investment approach built
Labor settled the ‘funding wars’ just before the election. Here are 4 big issues schools still face
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stewart Riddle, Professor, School of Education, University of Southern Queensland Days before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the federal election, the Labor government settled a long-running argument with the states over school funding. This locked in a new 25%–75% split on federal and state funding for schools.
What’s the difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni E. Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney Douglas Olivares/Shutterstock. Arthritis – an umbrella term for around 100 conditions that damage the joints – affects 4.1 million Australians. This is expected to rise by 31% to 5.4 million by 2040
Office design isn’t keeping up with post-COVID work styles – here’s what workers really want
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ozgur Gocer, Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney Flexible work has become the new norm, despite the best efforts of companies calling workers back to the office. Some employers assume that a return to the old ways of working is both possible and desirable. But for many workers,
Source: US State of Hawaii
Posted on May 6, 2025 in Latest Department News, Newsroom
STATE OF HAWAIʻI
KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS
KA ʻOIHANA PILI KĀLEPA
INSURANCE DIVISION
JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR
KE KIAʻĀINA
NADINE Y. ANDO
DIRECTOR
KA LUNA HOʻOKELE
JERRY BUMP
ACTING INSURANCE COMMISSIONER
HAWAIʻI RESIDENTS ENCOURAGED TO REVIEW INSURANCE POLICIES IN PREPARATION FOR HURRICANE SEASON
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2025
HONOLULU — The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Insurance Division reminds consumers to evaluate theirinsurance policies before hurricane season, which starts June 1.
“Understanding what your insurance covers before a disaster hits is crucial,” said Acting Insurance Commissioner Jerry Bump. “It ensures you have enough coverage to rebuild or replace what you’ve lost. For example, if you’ve recently renovated your home, that likely increased its value. And even without upgrades, rising costs for materials and labor can still affect your coverage needs.”
Many consumers may not realize that standard homeowners and renters insurance policies typically do not cover hurricane andflood damage. Hurricane insurance must often be purchased separately or added as an endorsement onto the existing policy to ensure protection against hurricane-related damages. Additionally, once a tropical storm approaches the islands, insurancecompanies may issue a moratorium, temporarily halting the issuance of new policies.
Damage caused by floods are also typically covered under a separate policy. Since flooding can occur anytime and anywhere, even outside high-risk areas, it is important for property owners to consider adding flood insurance coverage. Those planning to purchase a National Flood Insurance Program policy should plan ahead, as there is typically a 30-day waiting period for the policy to go into effect.
Consumers should contact their agent or insurance company if they have any property updates or questions about their coverage.
For more information on flood and hurricane insurance and other helpful resources, please visit the DCCA Insurance Division’s website at https://cca.hawaii.gov/ins/resources/
###
Media Contact:
Communications Office
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
Phone: 808-586-2760
Email: [email protected]
Source: US State of Hawaii
Posted on May 6, 2025 in Latest Department News, Newsroom
STATE OF HAWAIʻI
KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
ʻOIHANA MAHIʻAI
JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR
KE KIAʻĀINA
SHARON HURD
CHAIRPERSON
HAWAIʻI BOARD OF AGRICULTURE
DEAN M. MATSUKAWA
DEPUTY TO THE CHAIRPERSON
HAWAIʻI BOARD OF AGRICULTURE
COMPOST REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM RELEASES $427,000
TO ASSIST AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NR25-10
May 6, 2025
HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) Compost Reimbursement Program for Fiscal Year 2025 has completed disbursements totaling $427,670 to 24 Hawai‘i agricultural operations for the purchase and transport of compost in Hawai‘i. Of the 24 businesses, 14 were farming and 10 were landscaping operations, with an average reimbursement of about $17,820 each.
Governor Josh Green, M.D., released $400,000 for the program in August 2024, from funds appropriated by the 2024 state Legislature (Act 231) for programs to control invasive species. HDOA added another $27,670 from department funds toward the program.
“For many agricultural operations, compost is a necessary element and a major expense,” said Sharon Hurd, chairperson of the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture. “Helping to defray some of the cost to purchase compost and also to transport it really helps out the growers.”
The program reimbursed agricultural operations up to 50% of the cost of compost purchased between July 1, 2024 and May 1, 2025, including the cost of transportation. The reimbursements were not to exceed $50,000 per qualified applicant. The program also required that the compost be purchased from a certified processor, retailer or wholesalers licensed to do business in Hawai‘i. In addition, certified processors were limited to those companies regulated by the Hawai‘i Department of Health Solid Waste Management Program, which helps to ensure that the compost does not harbor pests, such as the coconut rhinoceros beetle and other invasive species.
The 2025 legislative session included a bill that would continue the reimbursement program in 2026. The funding level is still pending.
# # #
Media Contact:
Janelle Saneishi
Public Information Officer
Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture
Phone: 808-973-9560
Cell: 808-341-5528
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://hdoa.hawaii.gov
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meru Sheel, Associate Professor and Epidemiologist, Infectious Diseases, Immunisation and Emergencies (IDIE) Group, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney
Five years ago, COVID was all we could think about. Today, we’d rather forget about lockdowns, testing queues and social distancing. But the virus that sparked the pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, is still circulating.
Most people who get COVID today will experience only a mild illness. But some people are still at risk of severe illness and are more likely to be hospitalised with COVID. This includes older people, those who are immunocompromised by conditions such as cancer, and people with other health conditions such as diabetes.
Outcomes also tend to be more severe in those who experience social inequities such as homelessness. In the United Kingdom, people living in the 20% most deprived areas have double chance of being hospitalised from infectious diseases than those in the least deprived areas.
In Australia, 58,000 COVID cases have been reported so far in 2025. However, testing rates have declined and not all positive cases are reported to the government, so case numbers in the community are likely much higher.
Latest data from FluCan, a network of 14 hospitals, found 781 people were hospitalised for COVID complications in the first three months of the year. This “sentinel surveillance” data gives a snapshot from a handful of hospitals, so the actual number of hospitalisations across Australia is expected to be much higher.
While deaths are lower than previous years, 289 people died from COVID-related respiratory infections in the first two months of the year.
We often see an increase in respiratory infections in winter.
However, COVID peaks aren’t just necessarily seasonal. Over the past few years, peaks have tended to appear around every six months.
Typical early symptoms of COVID included fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose and shortness of breath. These have remained the most common COVID symptoms across the multiple variant waves.
Early in the pandemic, we realised COVID caused a unique symptom called anosmia – the changed sense of taste or smell. Anosmia lasts about a week and in some cases can last longer.
Anosmia was more frequently reported from infections due to the ancestral, Gamma, and Delta variants but not for the Omicron variant, which emerged in 2021.
However, loss of smell still seems to be associated with some newer variants. A recent French study found anosmia was more frequently reported in people with JN.1.
But the researchers didn’t find any differences for other COVID symptoms between older and newer variants.
Yes. Testing is particularly important if you experience COVID-like symptoms or were recently exposed to someone with COVID and are at high-risk of severe COVID. You might require timely treatment.
If you are at risk of severe COVID, you can see a doctor or visit a clinic with point-of-care testing services to access confirmatory PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing.
Rapid antigen tests (RATs) approved by Australia’s regulator are also still available for personal use.
But a negative RAT doesn’t mean that you don’t have COVID – especially if you are symptomatic.
If you do test positive, while you don’t have to isolate, it’s best to stay at home.
If you do leave the house while experiencing COVID symptoms, minimise the spread to others by wearing a well-fitted mask, avoiding public places such as hospitals and avoiding contact with those at higher risk of severe COVID.
In most people with mild to moderate COVID, it can last 7–10 days.
Symptomatic people can spread the infection to others from about 48 hours before you develop symptoms to about ten days after developing symptoms. Few people are infectious beyond that.
But symptoms can persist in more severe cases for longer.
A UK study which tracked the persistence of symptoms in 5,000 health-care workers found symptoms were less likely to last for more than 12 weeks in subsequent infections.
General fatigue, for example, was reported in 17.3% of people after the first infection compared with 12.8% after the second infection and 10.8% following the third infection.
Unvaccinated people also had more persistent symptoms.
Read more:
How long are you infectious when you have coronavirus?
Vaccinated people who catch COVID tend to present with milder disease and recover faster. This may be because vaccination prevents over-activation of the innate immune response.
Vaccination against COVID continues to be one of the most effective ways to prevent COVID and protect against it. Data from Europe’s most recent winter, which is yet to be peer reviewed, reports COVID vaccines were 66% effective at preventing symptomatic, confirmed COVID cases.
Most people in Australia have had at least one dose of the COVID vaccine. But if you haven’t, people over 18 years of age are recommended to have a COVID vaccine.
Boosters are available for adults over 18 years of age. If you don’t have any underlying immune issues, you’re eligible to receive a funded dose every 12 months.
Boosters are recommended for adults 65–74 years every 12 months and for those over 75 years every six months.
Adults over 18 years who are at higher risk because of weaker immune systems are recommended to get a COVID vaccine every 12 months and are eligible every six months.
Check your status and eligibility using this booster eligibility tool and you can access your vaccine history here.
A new review of more than 4,300 studies found full vaccination before a SARS-CoV-2 infection could reduce the risk of long COVID by 27% relative to no vaccination for the general adult population.
With ongoing circulation of COVID, hybrid immunity from natural infection supplemented with booster vaccination can help prevent large-scale COVID waves.
Meru Sheel receives funding from National Health and Medical Research Council and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She serves on WHO’s Immunization and Vaccines Related Implementation Research Advisory Committee (IVIR-AC)
– ref. COVID is still around and a risk to vulnerable people. What are the symptoms in 2025? And how long does it last? – https://theconversation.com/covid-is-still-around-and-a-risk-to-vulnerable-people-what-are-the-symptoms-in-2025-and-how-long-does-it-last-253840
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Beattie, Lecturer, Media and Communication, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Government coalition partners National and Act are at odds over proposed restrictions on social media use by New Zealanders aged 16 and under.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently announced a National Party private member’s bill that would require social media companies to verify someone is aged 16 or older. Luxon said social media was not “always a safe place for young people”.
But ACT Party leader David Seymour has dismissed National’s proposal, saying it was “simple, neat and wrong”.
Even if the member’s bill is not chosen out of the parliament biscuit tin, global interest in getting young people off social media is increasing.
In late 2024, Australia passed a law banning children aged under 16 from social media platforms. Advocates, police and politicians in the United Kingdom, United States and elsewhere have all proposed similar laws.
While there is merit in young people spending more time offline, and there are real concerns about the impact of social media on wider society, it’s not clear that outright prohibition will achieve what is hoped for. Here are ten reasons a blanket ban is not the answer.
Lobby group Before 16 has compared social media to tobacco, saying the platforms should be treated as a public health harm. The implication is that young people could get addicted to social media.
But the standard for diagnosing addiction is high. Most young people are not addicted to social media; they have a habitual relationship with it that is hard to change.
Likewise, comparing digital experiences to food may not capture the full range of interactions and impacts. This often implies value judgements, suggesting online experiences are all about “dopamine hits” (similar to sweet treats) and inherently less valuable or “unhealthy” compared to offline experiences.
The language of the ban seems to suggest the relationship between social media and users goes in one direction – that people are simply exposed to the good and bad of platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and X. But using social media is not like going outside and getting burnt by the sun.
While social media affects people, it’s also a tool we use to actively shape and create meaning for ourselves. It provides social scaffolding for day-to-day lives, identity formation, communication with family overseas, community support, and even a place to complain about parents.
One of most influential books behind the ban is Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation. Haidt claims a causal link between social media use and increased anxiety and depression in Gen Z (those born between 1995 and 2012).
But this claim is highly contentious and has been criticised for failing to consider other causes for the rise in anxiety in young people.
At best, there may be a correlation between social media and poor mental health – they are happening at the same time. Young people are also grappling with the climate crisis, increasing inequality and global instability. These variables are difficult to isolate in a study, meaning social media becomes an easy target.
Critics of social media also assume everyone has a negative experience online. And yes, if you tend to compare yourself to others on social media then you might end up feeling bad about your life.
But not everyone thinks this way or uses social media to compare what they have (and don’t have) with others.
Moral panics can occur when emerging technologies challenge established social norms.
Phenomena such as “phubbing” (using a phone to snub someone) challenge what is considered “socially acceptable” behaviour, triggering a deluge of think pieces about how they hurt society.
While some skills may decline (such as reading and writing) with new technology, others like visual or oral storytelling practiced on social media are on the rise.
Banning social media could mean young people miss out on valuable digital skills.
Getting young people off social media might not be a big deal for kids who fit within their community. But if you are young, gay and live in a small town, for example, social media may provide the only space where you can feel safe or celebrated for who you are.
Social media is also a key means for immigrants to stay in touch with their families and culture.
There are also problems with how the ban is supposed to work – something Australia is still grappling with despite already passing a ban into law (which comes into effect at the end of this year).
Policymakers have yet to explain how age verification technologies would work without giving away more personal data to media platforms. And everyone would have to verify their age, regardless of whether they are under 16 years old or not.
Young people are savvier with technology than older generations. They lead with innovations such as FINSTA (fake Instagram) accounts – fake profiles that allow people to post more privately on Instagram without the pressure of conforming to expectations or judgement of people who know you.
Blanket bans could hurt this technological adeptness and creativity and stop young people from teaching us how to navigate our online and offline lives.
Media literacy is also a crucial skill in today’s media saturated age. The skill of unplugging could become part of that curriculum.
Temporarily going offline is an excellent way to make students aware of their relationship with social media. Schools could have media-free classes or courses to build awareness, encourage new habits and support students to develop new routines.
No one is arguing that social media hasn’t had a negative effect on individuals and society as a whole. But instead of a ban, why not work to improve the platforms?
We could focus regulatory efforts on creating safer spaces, like we do with physical buildings.
Overseas advocacy work on children’s digital rights shows how we can protect children from algorithms, gamification and other predatory tactics used by social media platforms, rather than introducing an outright ban.
Alex Beattie receives funding from The Royal Society of New Zealand. He has previously won a Marsden Fast Start Grant.
– ref. 10 reasons why banning social media for New Zealanders under 16 is a bad idea – and will affect adults too – https://theconversation.com/10-reasons-why-banning-social-media-for-new-zealanders-under-16-is-a-bad-idea-and-will-affect-adults-too-256065
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Hall, Professor of International Relations, Griffith University
India conducted military strikes against Pakistan overnight, hitting numerous sites in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and deeper into Pakistan itself. Security officials say precision strike weapon systems, including drones, were used to carry out the strikes.
Pakistan says at least eight civilians have been killed and many more injured.
While there’s still much uncertainty around what’s happened, it is clear both sides are closer to a major conflict than they have been in years – perhaps decades.
We’ve seen these kinds of crises before. India and Pakistan have fought full-scale wars many times over the years, in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999.
There were also cross-border strikes between the two sides in 2016 and 2019 that did not lead to a larger war.
These conflicts were limited because there was an understanding, given both sides possess nuclear weapons, that escalating to a full-scale war would be very dangerous. That imposed some control on both sides, or at least some caution.
There was also external pressure from the United States and others on both occasions not to allow those conflicts to spiral out of control.
While it’s possible both sides will exercise similar restraint now, there may be less pressure from other countries to compel them to do so.
In this context, tensions can escalate quickly. And when they do, it’s difficult to get both sides to back down and return to where they were before.
India says it was retaliating for a terror attack last month on mostly Indian tourists in heavily militarised Kashmir, which both sides claim. The attack left 26 dead.
There was a claim of responsibility after the attack from a group called the Resistance Front, but it was subsequently withdrawn, so there’s some uncertainty about that.
Indian sources suggest this group, which is relatively new, is an extension of a pre-existing militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has been based in Pakistan for many years.
Pakistan has denied any involvement in the tourist attack. However, there’s been good evidence in the past suggesting that even if the Pakistani government hasn’t officially sanctioned these groups operating on its territory, there are parts of the Pakistani establishment or military that do support them. This could be ideologically, financially, or through other types of assistance.
In previous terror attacks in India, weapons and other equipment have been sourced from Pakistan. In the Mumbai terror attack in 2008, for instance, the Indian government produced evidence it claimed showed the gunmen were being directed by handlers in Pakistan by phone.
But as yet, we have no such evidence demonstrating Pakistan is connected to the tourist attack in Kashmir.
India has also repeatedly asked Pakistan to shut down these groups. While the leaders have occasionally been put in jail, they’ve later been released, including the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attack.
And madrassas (religious schools) that have long been accused of supplying recruits for militant groups are still permitted to operate in Pakistan, with little state control.
Pakistan, meanwhile, claims that attacks in Kashmir are committed by local Kashmiris protesting against Indian “occupation” or Pakistanis spontaneously moved to take action.
These two positions obviously don’t match up in any way, shape or form.
It remains to be seen what cost either side is willing to pay to escalate tensions further.
From an economic standpoint, there’s very little cost to either side if a larger conflict breaks out. There’s practically no trade between India and Pakistan.
New Delhi has likely calculated that its fast-growing economy will not be harmed by its strikes and others will continue to trade and invest in India. The conclusion of a trade deal with the United Kingdom, after three years of negotiations, will reinforce that impression. The deal was signed on May 6, just before the Pakistan strikes.
And from the standpoint of international reputation, neither side has much to lose.
In past crises, Western countries were quick to condemn and criticise military actions committed by either side. But these days, most take the view that the long-simmering conflict is a bilateral issue, which India and Pakistan need to settle themselves.
The main concern for both sides, then, is the political cost they would suffer from not taking military action.
Before the terrorist attack on April 22, the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed the security situation in Kashmir was improving, and ordinary Indians could safely travel in the region. Those claims were undermined by what occurred that day, making it crucial for the government to respond.
And now, if Pakistan doesn’t react to the Indian strikes, its government and especially its military would have a cost to pay, too.
Despite a patchy record of success, Pakistan’s army has long justified its outsize role in national politics by claiming that it alone stands between the Pakistani people and Indian aggression. If it fails to act now, that claim might look hollow.
So, how does this play out? The hope would be there’s limited military action, lasting a few days, and then things calm down rapidly, as they have in the past. But there are no guarantees.
And there are few others willing to step in and help deescalate the dispute. US President Donald Trump is mired in other conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and with the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and his administration’s diplomacy has so far been inept and ineffective.
When asked about the Indian strike today, Trump replied it was a “shame” and he “hopes” it ends quickly.
That’s very different from the strong rhetoric we’ve seen from US presidents in the past when India and Pakistan have come to blows.
New Delhi and Islamabad will likely have to settle this round themselves. And for whoever decides to blink or back down first, there may be a substantial political cost to pay.
Ian Hall receives funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He is also an honorary academic fellow of the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne.
– ref. India and Pakistan have fought many wars in the past. Are we on the precipice of a new one? – https://theconversation.com/india-and-pakistan-have-fought-many-wars-in-the-past-are-we-on-the-precipice-of-a-new-one-256080
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roy Green, Emeritus Professor of Innovation, University of Technology Sydney
In his victory speech, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese highlighted social policy as a major factor in Labor’s electoral success, particularly Medicare, housing and cost of living relief. He was justified in doing so.
But looking forward, Treasurer Jim Chalmers named stalled productivity growth as a top priority for the next three years:
The best way to think about the difference between our first term and the second term …[is] the first term was primarily inflation without forgetting productivity, the second term will be primarily productivity without forgetting inflation.
The government asked the Productivity Commission in December to develop five pillars of its productivity agenda and come up with actionable reforms. And for the first time, the commission went out and sought “productivity pitches” from anyone in the community.
Ahead of further reports due out later this year, those community “pitches” offer some clues about where the Albanese government might start to tackle productivity over the next three years and beyond.
Essentially, productivity is about working smarter, not harder. It’s about efficiency and innovation driving more output for an economy or company. Growth in productivity has been the driver of real wage growth and improved living standards since the Industrial Revolution.
However, productivity performance has slumped across most advanced economies. In Australia, growth is the slowest in 60 years. This is despite the transformative impact of the internet and digital technologies.
Explanations of the productivity slowdown are many and varied. Some have suggested the growth of the care economy and the services sector more broadly means productivity is reduced. Others wonder whether it can be measured at all in this context.
The explanation that has gained most acceptance is that productivity has increased dramatically in “frontier firms” at the cutting edge of technological change and business innovation. The problem in Australia is that we have too few frontier firms and too many “laggard” companies. The rate of new technology adoption is too slow.
This problem is made more acute by Australia’s trade and industrial structure, which is heavily weighted to resources exports rather than the knowledge-based industries of the future.
This is the rationale for the Treasurer’s request in December for the Productivity Commission to identify priority reforms in five key areas. He asked for “actionable recommendations to assist governments to make meaningful and measurable productivity-enhancing reforms”.
The five pillars are:
These are ambitious objectives, and the Productivity Commission is pursuing the review task in a different way from the past by seeking ideas directly from the community through crowd sourcing.
This is a sensible move, especially given the commission’s role in presiding over Australia’s productivity decline. Perhaps they are finally learning from failed experiments in deregulation, privatisation and contracting out.
The commission has published a selection of the 500 suggestions it received. These include research and development initatives; improving university collaboration with industry; improving management capabilities and building inclusive workplaces; and reforming skilled migration.
In the technology area, suggestions included developing internal capability and processes in the public service; making more use of artificial intelligence; and improving digital infrastructure in regional areas.
In the care economy, pharmacists could play an increased role, such as consulting on minor illnesses, while more could be invested in preventative health.
The fifth area of focus, the energy transition, produced ideas on streamlining state and federal approval processes for net zero projects; increasing fossil fuel taxes; supporting electric vehicle uptake and vehicle-to-grid technology.
The commission has said it plans to continue the consultation process and release interim reports mid-year.
The question remains, will these individual measures on their own, however meritorious, be sufficient to shift the dial on Australia’s productivity performance without a more comprehensive approach to innovation and industrial policy?
The government set up a “strategic examination” of research and development (R&D) in February. An interim discussion paper found links between the decline of productivity growth, the decline of business spending on R&D, and the decline of manufacturing.
In other words, reversing the productivity slowdown may not simply be a matter of boosting R&D. It will also require the revival and reinvention of manufacturing. It implies a complex sovereign capability and means for diversifying Australia’s export mix in global markets and value chains.
This is the purpose of the government’s Future Made in Australia strategy, with its twin objectives of economic resilience and net zero transition. That success in turn depends on the development of a more effective and joined up research and innovation system.
The chance was missed in the commodity boom to design and deliver overdue structural changes in the Australian economy. Instead, the productivity decline was masked by a terms-of-trade boost to our national income, thanks to higher commodity prices.
The Albanese government’s second and possibly third term in office provides another opportunity to undertake the major structural changes required to secure Australia’s future as an inclusive and dynamic knowledge-based economy. Surely this one will not be missed.
Roy Green does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Labor says its second term will be about productivity reform. These ideas could help shift the dial – https://theconversation.com/labor-says-its-second-term-will-be-about-productivity-reform-these-ideas-could-help-shift-the-dial-255880
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark David Ryan, Professor, Film, Screen, Animation, Queensland University of Technology
US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of a plan to impose a 100% tariff on movies “produced in foreign lands” could have a massive impact on the global entertainment industry.
Film and television production is increasingly part of an interconnected global system. Hollywood’s major studios and global streaming giants use a diverse range of locations around the world, sometimes working across multiple countries for a single project.
Doing so allows them to leverage production incentives and tax shelters offered by different countries, take advantage of exchange rates to lower their production costs, and more.
They also film offshore, for example in China, as strategic co-productions and feature iconic locations and local actors to appeal to audiences in that specific national market.
Many countries have become important hubs in this global system of production. Australia is a significant player. So, how exactly might Trump’s tariffs work? And why is so much Hollywood film made internationally in the first place?
Trump made the announcement in a post on the social media network Truth Social. But his original statement is vague and lacks crucial detail.
Based on his post, this proposal could include any foreign movie imported into the United States. More likely, though, it refers to US movies filmed (in part or wholly) overseas.
Trump’s statement only singles out movies. He doesn’t mention television series for broadcasters, or specifically film and television programs made for streaming platforms.
This suggests a focus on movies made by Hollywood studios. It may or may not include content made by streamers such as Netflix.
Movies are a kind of intellectual property. They’re intangible products or services, not physical goods. If a tariff was applied to movies, they’d become the first service in the current trade war to receive one.
So what tariffs or regulations could be applied?
One option would be a levy on distributors releasing US movies made overseas. Another option would be to adapt the French TSA model, which levies a tax on all cinema tickets. In France, this money is reinvested into the local industry. The US could impose such a tax on tickets for films with production components overseas.
Both options would pass the costs on to consumers. A drop in already fragile cinema attendance or revenues could simply cause studios to reduce the number of movies made for theatrical release.
Studios might instead concentrate on making movies and television series for their own streaming platforms, such as Disney+ and Paramount+.
Could the tax be imposed in other ways? Many US studio movies, and television programs, are at least partly, if not wholly, filmed internationally. But they are still US-controlled movies and still dominate the box office in many countries worldwide.
Could the revenue of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), filmed on the Gold Coast in Australia, specifically be targeted and taxed for being made overseas, in contrast to a Hollywood movie made completely at home?
Would there be a sliding scale based on how much of a film is shot overseas? Would the tax apply to post-production or only production? The process of reviewing and enforcing this would be complex.
Another option may be taxing the portion of a movie’s production budget obtained from foreign tax incentives.
Major blockbusters filming in Australia are eligible for tax rebates and incentives, which can equate to almost half, or more, of the money they spend in Australia. But exactly how the US would review and regulate such a tax is again unclear.
International film and television production expenditure in Australia now averages A$880 million each year. International movies alone account for about half of that figure.
And the number of movies and television series being filmed in Australia has increased dramatically since the outbreak of COVID.
Production expenditure here on both local and international productions jumped from just over $1 billion in 2019–20 to about $2.4 billion in 2022–23.
There are numerous reasons for this. Australia became a more popular international production hub after serving as a “production bubble” during the pandemic, as restrictions forced filming to shut down in many other countries. Relationships were forged between local producers, crews, film agencies and studios.
The reputation of places like the Gold Coast, known for talented crews and stunning filming locations, has also played an important role in continually luring studios back.
But the major reason is the strong pull of Australia’s tax incentives for filming content here.
In Australia, international film and television programs are eligible for a 30% “location offset” on eligible production expenditures. If a project qualifies, producers will receive a provisional certificate, and they can claim a fixed 30% rebate for expenses in an income tax return for the relevant year.
There’s also a 30% offset on eligible post-production and visual effects work. And these incentives can be “stacked” on top of an extra 10–15% in incentives from state screen agencies (such as Screen QLD).
Some combined federal and state-based production offsets amount to rebates of 50%, or more, of a project’s production spend in Australia.
International productions, which are quite different to local film and television programs, generate employment for many local actors and technical professionals. The loss of this film production would dramatically reduce employment for local professionals.
If these levies are imposed only on movies that screen theatrically, then television series and streaming films and series could continue to film in Australia unaffected. That would lessen the impact on local industries. If the definition includes both, the impact could be dramatic.
Mark David Ryan has received funding from the Gold Coast Film Commission. He is affiliated with the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).
– ref. How do you put a tariff on movies? Here’s what Trump’s plan could mean for Australia – https://theconversation.com/how-do-you-put-a-tariff-on-movies-heres-what-trumps-plan-could-mean-for-australia-255948
