Chief Executive John Lee today met Leading Party Members Group of the Ministry of Ecology & Environment Secretary Sun Jinlong to exchange views on issues of mutual concern.
Mr Lee welcomed Mr Sun’s visit with his delegation to attend the opening ceremony of the 19th Eco Expo Asia and to learn more about Hong Kong’s work in improving harbour water quality and waste management through site visits.
The Chief Executive also thanked the central government and the Ministry of Ecology & Environment for their strong support to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s work in protecting the ecological environment.
He said the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China focused on achieving the objective of building a beautiful China by ramping up green transition in all areas of economic and social development and improving the environmental governance system.
“The Hong Kong SAR Government will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Ecology & Environment and the governments of provinces and cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to promote environmental governance in the GBA, including improving water quality of Shenzhen River and enhancing regional air quality, in efforts to build a beautiful China and a beautiful Hong Kong.”
Mr Lee also stated that the Hong Kong SAR Government will leverage the city’s unique advantages of enjoying strong national support while maintaining unparalleled connectivity with the world to introduce ecological protection and development technologies from the Mainland and internationally, with a view to establishing Hong Kong as a demonstration base for green technologies.
He added that Hong Kong will play its role as a super connector and a super value-adder, combining its world-class professional services and advantages in financing to contribute to ecological protection and development.
Secretary for Environment & Ecology Tse Chin-wan and Director of the Chief Executive’s Office Carol Yip also attended the meeting.
Gateway is set to advance science in deep space, bringing groundbreaking research opportunities to lunar orbit.
Stephanie Dudley sits at the intersection of human spaceflight and science for Gateway, humanity’s first lunar space station that will host astronauts and unique scientific investigations. Gateway’s mission integration and utilization manager, Dudley recently posed for this photo in a high-fidelity mockup of the space station’s HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost), where astronauts will live, conduct science, and prepare for missions to investigate the lunar South Pole region. Dudley works with NASA’s partner space agencies and academia to identify science opportunities on Gateway. HALO will host various science experiments, including the Heliophysics Environmental and Radiation Measurement Experiment Suite, led by NASA, and the Internal Dosimeter Array, led by ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). The heliophysics experiment will fly on HALO’s exterior, and the dosimeter will be housed inside Gateway in a series of racks, mockups of which are shown to the right of Dudley in the image above. Both experiments will study solar and cosmic radiation to help the science community better understand how to protect astronauts and hardware during deep space travels to places like Mars. “We are building [Gateway] for a 15-year lifespan, but definitely hope that we go longer than that,” Dudley recently said on Houston We Have a Podcast. “And so that many years of scientific study in a place where humans have never worked and lived long-term, Gateway is going to allow us to do that.” Dudley pulls double duty as a deputy director for the Exploration Operations Office within NASA’s Moon to Mars Program, a role that connects her to Artemis science beyond Gateway, including science investigations on the Orion and Human Landing System spacecraft and lunar terrain vehicle. “My work…is helping to make sure that across all of the six [Artemis] programs, including Gateway, we’re all focusing on utilization in the same way,” Dudley said. Dudley’s team coordinates science payloads for Artemis II, the first mission to send humans to the Moon since 1972, and Artemis III, the first landing in the lunar South Pole region that is of keen interest to the global science community. Gateway’s HALO will launch with the space station’s Power and Propulsion Element ahead of the Artemis IV mission in 2028, the first lunar mission to include an orbiting space station. “Gateway sounds so science fiction, but it’s real,” Dudley recently said. “And we’re building it. And in a few years, it’s going to be around the Moon and that’s when the real work, the fun work in my opinion, is going to begin and science will never be the same.” Gateway is humanity’s first lunar space station as a central component of the Artemis campaign that will return humans to the Moon for scientific discovery and chart a path for the first human missions to Mars.
BOSTON, Oct. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Duck Creek Technologies, the intelligent solutions provider defining the future of property and casualty (P&C) and general insurance, today announced the winners of the company’s second annual Partner of the Year Awards. Accenture, Aggne Global, EY, Hexaware, LTIMindtree and Xceedance received Systems Integrator Partners awards, while Quadient and Verisk were named Solution Partners of the Year.
The awards recognize the power of partnerships and their role in driving success across the P&C and general insurance ecosystem. This year’s Systems Integrator Award winners include:
Accenture: recognized as the Value Creation Partner of the Year for helping our joint customers recognize value and see efficiencies through innovation. Accenture has consistently delivered high-quality solutions to customers in North America and is expanding into Asia-Pacific and Europe. Accenture has also invested heavily in creating specialized assets including a Duck Creek claims gen AI co-pilot.
Aggne Global, a wipro company: received North America’s Systems Integrator Partner of the Year, which recognizes a partner who excels in joint go-to-market and delivering Duck Creek solutions to customers in North America and consistently exceeds delivery adherence standards. Aggne has proven instrumental in driving new sales and quality implementations meeting and exceeding Duck Creek’s best practices, Certified Resources, and overall project health across implementations.
EY: named Partner of the Year: Advisory Services for successfully delivering implementation services for customers and providing invaluable regional Insurance Advisory expertise in markets outside of North America. EY continues to bring value to Duck Creek’s customers and prospects around the globe.
Hexaware: received the Emerging Partner of the Year, which recognizes an emerging Systems Integrator partner in the Duck Creek ecosystem for exhibiting an eagerness to build their best practices and jointly go-to-market with Duck Creek to serve our global customers. They have been awarded for teaming up with Duck Creek to showcase value in a new geography and partnering to provide local language and implementation support.
LTIMindtree: received Partner of the Year: Digital Transformation which recognizes a partner who has excelled in helping Duck Creek customers move to the latest Duck Creek OnDemand solution suite and innovatively addressed common issues around migration and integration. LTIMindtree helped to migrate a variety of Duck Creek customers to the latest platform by introducing those innovative technology solutions.
Xceedance: Recognized as International Partner of the Year. This award is given to a partner who excels in joint go-to-market activities, effectively delivers Duck Creek solutions to customers in emerging international markets and exceeds implementation standards. Xceedance has played a valuable role in helping Duck Creek secure a large insurer client in a new territory and has a highly successful implementation record.
This year’s Solution Partner Award winners include:
Quadient: recognized as Go-to-Market Solution Partner of the Year because they excelled in co-marketing with Duck Creek to generate increased demand and brand equity for both parties. They stood out amongst our solution partners for their creative marketing with Duck Creek both at Insurtech Connect 2023 and Formation 2024, driving significant interest amongst prospects, and their consistent presence at international Duck Creek events for three consecutive years.
Verisk: awarded Solution Partner of the Year for its impact on integrations. Verisk, a leading global data analytics and technology provider, has the most integrations with Duck Creek of any solution partner. Verisk is one of the longest active solution partners with Duck Creek and continues to be a strong collaborator for innovation and go-to-market strategy across multiple Duck Creek products.
“Our partner ecosystem is an essential element in enabling Duck Creek to continue to deliver solutions that are reimagining the future of insurance,” said Mike Jackowski, Chief Executive Officer, Duck Creek Technologies. “Together, we are accelerating innovation in the insurance industry by providing top-tier cloud-based solutions paired with exceptional services. We value all our partners and celebrate their contributions and accomplishments.”
For more information about these award-winning Duck Creek partners, visit https://www.duckcreek.com/partner/ and these partner websites:
Duck Creek Technologies is the intelligent solutions provider defining the future of the property and casualty (P&C) and general insurance industry. We are the platform upon which modern insurance systems are built, enabling the industry to capitalize on the power of the cloud to run agile, intelligent, and evergreen operations. Authenticity, purpose, and transparency are core to Duck Creek, and we believe insurance should be there for individuals and businesses when, where, and how they need it most. Our market-leading solutions are available on a standalone basis or as a full suite, and all are available via Duck Creek OnDemand. Visit www.duckcreek.com to learn more. Follow Duck Creek on our social channels for the latest information – LinkedIn and X.
Consolidated net sales of $531.4 million, a decrease of 1% to the prior year
Water Systems and Distribution net sales increased 2% and 1%, respectively, while Fueling Systems net sales decreased 10%
Operating income was $73.5 million with operating margin of 13.8%
GAAP fully diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $1.17
FORT WAYNE, Ind., Oct. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Franklin Electric Co., Inc. today announced its third quarter financial results for fiscal year 2024.
Third quarter 2024 net sales were $531.4 million, compared to third quarter 2023 net sales of $538.4 million. Third quarter 2024 operating income was $73.5 million, compared to third quarter 2023 operating income of $78.1 million. Third quarter 2024 EPS was $1.17, versus EPS in the third quarter 2023 of $1.23.
“Our third quarter results were softer than expected due to continued macro pressure from lower home sales and starts, along with weather being wetter than normal. However, the demand environment remains healthy across our key end markets, which has normalized following record levels of sales in recent years. Margins remained stable due to our disciplined cost management, and we are actively pursuing opportunities to further reduce expenses across the enterprise,” commented Joe Ruzynski, Franklin Electric’s CEO.
“As we close out the year, we expect tempered order activity in-line with seasonal patterns. That said, having spent time with our incredible global team members over the past few months, I am energized by the potential of Franklin Electric. With our wide range of capabilities, strategic footprint, and flexible balance sheet, we have the ability to drive differentiated growth and accelerate productivity for years to come,” concluded Mr. Ruzynski.
Segment Summaries
Water Systems net sales were $302.2 million, a new third quarter record, an increase of $6.4 million or 2 percent compared to the third quarter 2023. The sales increase was driven by higher sales of groundwater products, all other surface products and water treatment products. The sales increase was partially offset by lower sales of large dewatering pumps, which had a record quarter last year. Water Systems operating income in the third quarter 2024 was $52.8 million, a new third quarter record. Third quarter 2023 Water Systems operating income was $52.7 million.
Distribution net sales were $190.8 million, an increase of $1.6 million or 1 percent compared to the third quarter 2023. Sales increases were driven by sales from a recent acquisition. The Distribution segment operating income in the third quarter 2024 was $12.2 million. Third quarter 2023 Distribution operating income was $10.7 million.
Fueling Systems net sales were $69.7 million in the third quarter 2024, a decrease of $8.0 million or 10 percent compared to the third quarter 2023. Sales decreases were driven by lower volumes. Fueling Systems operating income in the third quarter 2024 was $24.1 million. Third quarter 2023 Fueling Systems operating income was $25.8 million.
2024 Guidance
The Company is lowering its sales guidance for full year 2024 to be approximately $2.00 billion and reducing its EPS guidance for full year 2024 to be in the range of $3.75 to $3.85 which incorporates the Company’s first nine months performance and its outlook for the fourth quarter.
Earnings Conference Call
A conference call to review earnings and other developments in the business will commence at 9:00 am ET. The third quarter 2024 earnings call will be available via a live webcast. The webcast will be available in a listen only mode by going to:
All registrants will receive dial-in information and a PIN allowing them to access the live call. It is recommended that you join 10 minutes prior to the event start (although you may register and dial in at any time during the call).
A replay of the conference call will be available from Tuesday, October 29, 2024, through 9:00 am ET on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, by visiting the listen-only webcast link above.
Forward Looking Statements
“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained herein, including those relating to market conditions or the Company’s financial results, costs, expenses or expense reductions, profit margins, inventory levels, foreign currency translation rates, liquidity expectations, business goals and sales growth, involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, risks and uncertainties with respect to general economic and currency conditions, various conditions specific to the Company’s business and industry, weather conditions, new housing starts, market demand, competitive factors, changes in distribution channels, supply constraints, effect of price increases, raw material costs, technology factors, integration of acquisitions, litigation, government and regulatory actions, the Company’s accounting policies, future trends, epidemics and pandemics, and other risks which are detailed in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, included in Item 1A of Part I of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, Exhibit 99.1 attached thereto and in Item 1A of Part II of the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. These risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements made herein are based on information currently available, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
About Franklin Electric
Franklin Electric is a global leader in the production and marketing of systems and components for the movement of water and energy. Recognized as a technical leader in its products and services, Franklin Electric serves customers around the world in residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial, municipal, and fueling applications. Franklin Electric is proud to be named in Newsweek’s lists of America’s Most Responsible Companies and Most Trustworthy Companies for 2023 and America’s Climate Leaders 2023 by USA Today.
FRANKLIN ELECTRIC CO., INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(Unaudited)
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Third Quarter Ended
Nine Months Ended
September 30, 2024
September 30, 2023
September 30, 2024
September 30, 2023
Net sales
$
531,438
$
538,431
$
1,535,596
$
1,592,163
Cost of sales
341,775
352,178
982,556
1,055,164
Gross profit
189,663
186,253
553,040
536,999
Selling, general, and administrative expenses
115,998
107,687
352,290
324,651
Restructuring expense
139
462
139
735
Operating income
73,526
78,104
200,611
211,613
Interest expense
(1,556
)
(2,984
)
(4,980
)
(10,309
)
Other (expense) income, net
(181
)
277
709
1,865
Foreign exchange income (expense), net
88
(2,483
)
(5,228
)
(8,098
)
Income before income taxes
71,877
72,914
191,112
195,071
Income tax expense
16,983
14,746
43,795
39,167
Net income
$
54,894
$
58,168
$
147,317
$
155,904
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
(298
)
(370
)
(663
)
(1,181
)
Net income attributable to Franklin Electric Co., Inc.
$
54,596
$
57,798
$
146,654
$
154,723
Earnings per share:
Basic
$
1.19
$
1.25
$
3.18
$
3.34
Diluted
$
1.17
$
1.23
$
3.14
$
3.29
FRANKLIN ELECTRIC CO., INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Unaudited)
(In thousands)
September 30, 2024
December 31, 2023
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents
$
106,273
$
84,963
Receivables (net)
272,003
222,418
Inventories
524,647
508,696
Other current assets
39,560
37,718
Total current assets
942,483
853,795
Property, plant, and equipment, net
226,072
229,739
Lease right-of-use assets, net
62,694
57,014
Goodwill and other assets
575,994
587,574
Total assets
$
1,807,243
$
1,728,122
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Accounts payable
$
173,935
$
152,419
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
124,865
104,949
Current lease liability
17,963
17,316
Current maturities of long-term debt and short-term borrowings
76,402
12,355
Total current liabilities
393,165
287,039
Long-term debt
11,581
88,056
Long-term lease liability
43,484
38,549
Income taxes payable non-current
–
4,837
Deferred income taxes
31,128
29,461
Employee benefit plans
30,781
35,973
Other long-term liabilities
23,219
33,914
Redeemable noncontrolling interest
1,179
1,145
Total equity
1,272,706
1,209,148
Total liabilities and equity
$
1,807,243
$
1,728,122
FRANKLIN ELECTRIC CO., INC. AND CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited)
Nine Months Ended
(In thousands)
September 30, 2024
September 30, 2023
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income
$
147,317
$
155,904
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash flows from operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization
41,825
39,582
Non-cash lease expense
15,223
12,664
Share-based compensation
10,127
8,449
Other
5,178
10,894
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Receivables
(51,440
)
(20,427
)
Inventory
(18,760
)
2,537
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
17,218
4,376
Operating leases
(15,700
)
(12,847
)
Income taxes-U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
(3,870
)
(2,902
)
Other
3,968
399
Net cash flows from operating activities
151,086
198,629
Cash flows from investing activities:
Additions to property, plant, and equipment
(28,897
)
(30,155
)
Proceeds from sale of property, plant, and equipment
704
–
Acquisitions and investments
(1,151
)
(6,641
)
Other investing activities
37
26
Net cash flows from investing activities
(29,307
)
(36,770
)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Net change in debt
(12,477
)
(87,653
)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock
5,269
9,010
Purchases of common stock
(56,989
)
(29,888
)
Dividends paid
(35,442
)
(31,315
)
Deferred payments for acquisitions
(348
)
(448
)
Net cash flows from financing activities
(99,987
)
(140,294
)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
(482
)
(4,848
)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents
21,310
16,717
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period
84,963
45,790
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period
$
106,273
$
62,507
Key Performance Indicators:Net Sales Summary
Net Sales
United States
Latin
Europe, Middle
Asia
Total
(in millions)
& Canada
America
East & Africa
Pacific
Water
Fueling
Distribution
Other/Elims
Consolidated
Q3 2023
$182.0
$45.5
$48.7
$19.6
$295.8
$77.7
$189.2
($24.3
)
$538.4
Q3 2024
$183.6
$43.5
$53.4
$21.7
$302.2
$69.7
$190.8
($31.3
)
$531.4
Change
$1.6
($2.0
)
$4.7
$2.1
$6.4
($8.0
)
$1.6
($7.0
)
($7.0
)
% Change
1
%
-4
%
10
%
11
%
2
%
-10
%
1
%
-1
%
Foreign currency translation *
($0.3
)
($4.4
)
($0.3
)
$0.0
($5.0
)
$0.1
$0.0
($4.9
)
% Change
0
%
-10
%
-1
%
0
%
-2
%
0
%
0
%
-1
%
Acquisitions
$4.5
$0.0
$0.0
$0.0
$4.5
$0.0
$4.7
$9.2
% Change
2
%
0
%
0
%
0
%
2
%
0
%
2
%
2
%
Volume/Price
($2.6
)
$2.4
$5.0
$2.1
$6.9
($8.1
)
($3.1
)
($7.0
)
($11.3
)
% Change
-1
%
5
%
10
%
11
%
2
%
-10
%
-2
%
29
%
-2
%
*The Company has presented local currency price increases used to offset currency devaluation in the Argentina and Turkey hyperinflationary economies within the foreign currency translation, net row above.
Key Performance Indicators:Operating Income and Margin Summary
Hong Kong, China, Oct. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — On October 23, 2024, Linklogis Inc. (09959.HK, “Linklogis”) released its business update for the third quarter of 2024. In the third quarter of 2024, the total transaction volume processed by the technology solutions of Linklogis reached RMB105 billion, representing an 18% year-over-year growth, with the quarterly transaction volume surpassing RMB100 billion for the first time, setting a new historical record. The company’s core growth driver, the Multi-tier Transfer Cloud, continued to excel, processing a total volume of supply chain assets of RMB47.7 billion, a year-over-year increase of 29%. Additionally, the ABS Cloud regained its growth momentum by launching new products, achieving an impressive 325% growth despite a challenging overall market environment.
Linklogis is dedicated to high-quality development, prioritizing the enhancement of efficiency and quality in its core business. Linklogis continues to diversify its customer base while strategically optimizing its business structure by reducing low-margin product lines. In the third quarter, Linklogis’ revenue and income from principal activities saw year-on-year growth, accompanied by a notable improvement in gross profit margin.
Focusing on Core Business Development, ABS Cloud Achieves 325% Growth Against Market Trends
In the third quarter of 2024, the total transaction volume processed by the technology solutions of Linklogis reached RMB105 billion, marking an 18% year-on-year increase. Within this, Anchor Cloud processed supply chain assets amounting to RMB64.4 billion, up 13% year-over-year, while FI Cloud handled supply chain assets totaling RMB34.6 billion, a 16% increase. Driven by a focused investment in its core business, the Multi-tier Transfer Cloud within the Anchor Cloud experienced robust growth, processing supply chain assets totaling RMB47.7 billion, a 29% rise year-over-year. Additionally, the ABS Cloud within the FI Cloud successfully launched new products to meet the increasing demand for diversified asset allocation in the current low-interest-rate environment. This initiative expanded services from upstream payable assets to downstream receivable assets, resulting in an impressive transaction volume of RMB22 billion for ABS Cloud in the third quarter, reflecting a remarkable 325% year-over-year growth and achieving success despite market challenges.
In the third quarter of 2024, Linklogis successfully won bids for the development of the supply chain finance service platform for Yangtze River Industry Investment Group and Genertec Universal Medical Group. Additionally, Linklogis has partnered with several large enterprises and financial institutions, including Shandong Binzhou Urban Construction Group, Huayuan Landport Capital Operation, Hubei Wanchuan State-owned Capital Investment and Operation Group, Changsha Broad Homes Industrial Group, Huaxia Bank, and China Bohai Bank, to collaborate in the supply chain finance technology sector and launch the first batch of multi-tier transfer businesses.
Linklogis accelerated its high-quality customer acquisition in the third quarter, adding 103 new customers and 184 partners, bringing the total number of customers to 959 and total partners to 2,270. This includes 1,917 anchor enterprises and 353 financial institutions. Notable new anchor enterprise customers include Wahaha Group, Jingye Group, Shanghai Electric Group, Yunnan Provincial Investment Holdings Group, and Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group. Linklogis continues to expand and optimize its customer base, focusing on key industries such as infrastructure, construction, renewable energy, and public utilities, achieving a remarkable customer retention rate of 96%.
Acquisition of Bytter to Advance Treasury Development
According to the announcement on October 29, 2024, Linklogis has officially signed an equity acquisition agreement with the current controlling shareholder of Shenzhen Bytter Technology Co., Ltd. (“Bytter”) for the acquisition of 29.38% of its shares. Upon completion of the acquisition, Linklogis’s total shareholding will increase to 54.38%, making it the controlling shareholder of Bytter. The two companies will enhance their product offerings by integrating their core strengths in fund management and supply chain finance technology. Together, they aim to support state-owned enterprises as well as large and medium-sized private enterprises in building a world-class financial management platform. Linklogis will combine external mergers and acquisitions with internal growth to embark on a new chapter in the development of smart industry-finance treasury solutions.
Linklogis is dedicated to enhancing shareholder returns through active share repurchases. As of the end of the third quarter of 2024, the company has repurchased 142 million shares for approximately HK$280 million. Moving forward, Linklogis will continue to monitor market trends, seize growth opportunities, and focus on sustainable high-growth core businesses. Linklogis aims to maintain rapid customer acquisition while steadily advancing in technological innovation and service expansion, striving to create long-term value for both customers and investors.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. Cryptocurrency mining can involve risk. There is potential for loss of funds. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities.
Irvine, CA., Oct. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Clean Energy Technologies, Inc. (“CETY”) (Nasdaq: CETY), a clean energy manufacturing and services company specializing in eco-friendly energy solutions, clean fuels, and alternative power for small and mid-sized projects in Americas, Europe, and Asia, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Exergy International Srl (“Exergy”), a global leading provider of Organic Rankine Cycle (“ORC”) systems, with headquarters in Italy. This strategic partnership aims to drive growth in the field of heat recovery solutions by promoting, selling, and supporting Exergy’s ORC systems across the Americas and potentially other global regions. The collaboration will expand Exergy’s and CETY’s Waste Heat to Power solutions throughout the Americas, enabling CETY to offer small to large-scale ORC systems for industries such as cement, steel, glass, oil & gas, utilities and for power generation from geothermal resources and biomass.
Leveraging CETY’s established market presence and engineering expertise, coupled with Exergy’s advanced high-capacity ORC systems utilizing the Radial Outflow Turbine, the two companies will offer highly-efficient and competitive waste heat recovery solutions to target specific industry needs for decarbonization.
“We see a significant growth trajectory ahead,” said Kam Mahdi, CEO of CETY. “With the rising demand for energy-efficient solutions, this partnership provides a scalable platform to tap into a wide range of ORC applications, from waste heat recovery in industrial process heat and biomass projects to geothermal. Together, we’re positioned to make an impact on the waste heat to power landscape, generating strong sales growth and profitability.”
Luca Pozzoni, General Manager of Exergy, comments: “Exergy views the American market as a key region for the company’s development and growth, a market that we have chosen to focus on in the coming years. I am confident that our collaboration with CETY will allow us to expand our presence, deepen our understanding of the market, and soon establish new ORC references in the region. With over 550 MWe in our portfolio, we are well-positioned to support American industries in their decarbonization journey.”
This MOU represents a strategic partnership in the waste heat recovery sector and a pathway for scalable global growth. As industries continue to prioritize sustainable energy practices, the demand for ORC solutions is expected to increase. CETY and Exergy are poised to seize the momentum and set a new standard in delivering energy-efficient solutions worldwide.
About Exergy International srl
EXERGY INTERNATIONAL Srl is a leading provider of clean energy technologies. We are experts in the design, engineering and manufacturing of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems with the pioneering Radial Outflow Turbine. EXERGY’s proprietary technologies, covered by several patents, allow for highly efficient energy production via the exploitation of heat sources from geothermal, waste heat from industry, biomass and concentrated solar power. The EXERGY portfolio accounts for over 500 MWe and the second largest geothermal binary fleet worldwide. EXERGY is part of the Chinese TICA Group, a leading integrated system and service provider in HVAC. From the headquarters in the north of Italy (Milan), EXERGY exports and implements its technology worldwide with a particular focus on high growth potential markets. Website: https://exergy-orc.com/
About Clean Energy Technologies, Inc. (CETY)
Headquartered in Irvine, California, Clean Energy Technologies, Inc. (CETY) is a rising leader in the zero-emission revolution by offering eco-friendly green energy solutions, clean energy fuels and alternative electric power for small and mid-sized projects in North America, Europe, and Asia. We deliver power from heat and biomass with zero emission and low cost. The Company’s principal products are Waste Heat Recovery Solutions using our patented Clean CycleTM generator to create electricity. Waste to Energy Solutions convert waste products created in manufacturing, agriculture, wastewater treatment plants and other industries to electricity and BioChar. Engineering, Consulting and Project Management Solutions provide expertise and experience in developing clean energy projects for municipal and industrial customers and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies.
CETY’s common stock is currently traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “CETY.” For more information, visit www.cetyinc.com.
This summary should be read in conjunction with the Company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2024 and other periodic filings made pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which contain, among other matters, risk factors and financial footnotes as well as a discussions of our business, operations and financial matters located on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.
Safe Harbor Statement
This news release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to achieving corporate objectives, developing additional project interests, the Company’s analysis of opportunities in the acquisition and development of various project interests and certain other matters. These statements are made under the “Safe Harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements contained herein. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on the Company’s current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of CETY’s business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of the Company’s control. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: “anticipate,” “plan,” “expect,” “estimate,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “will” and similar references to future periods. Any forward-looking statement made by the Company in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
Clean Energy Technologies, Inc. Investor and Investment Media inquiries: 949-273-4990 ir@cetyinc.com Source: Clean Energy Technologies, Inc.
Exergy International Srl Media contact: Sara Milanesi s.milanesi@exergy.it +39 3666012588
SINGAPORE, Oct. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — GDS Holdings Limited (the “Company” or “GDSH”) (NASDAQ: GDS; HKEX: 9698), a leading developer and operator of high-performance data centers in China and South East Asia, today announced that its international affiliate, DigitalLand Holdings Limited (“GDS International” or “GDSI”), which acts as the holding company for GDSH’s data center assets and operations outside of mainland China, has entered into definitive agreements for certain institutional private equity investors (the “Investors”) to subscribe for US$1.0 billion of Series B convertible preferred shares (the “Series B”) newly issued by GDSI.
GDS International was established in 2022 with its corporate headquarters in Singapore. Its portfolio currently comprises approximately 480 MW of data center capacity in service and under construction and an additional 590 MW held for future development across strategic locations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia (Johor), Indonesia (Batam), and Japan (Tokyo).
The US$1 billion Series B investment is mostly comprised of new US investors, led by Coatue Management with substantial participation by The Baupost Group. Together with GDSI’s existing equity, the Series B raise will be sufficient to capitalize the development of up to 1 GW of total data center capacity.
GDSH has determined not to exercise its pre-emption rights for the Series B equity raise. Post closing and on an as-converted basis, GDSH will own approximately 37.6% of the equity interest of GDSI in the form of ordinary shares. The value of GDSH’s equity interest in GDSI implied by the Series B subscription price is approximately US$1.3 billion, equivalent to approximately US$6.75 per American Depositary Share of GDSH. Post closing, GDSH will no longer consolidate GDSI for accounting purposes and GDSH will no longer have the right to appoint a majority of directors to the Board of GDSI.
“I am delighted to announce this new capital raising for our international business,” said Mr. William Huang, Chairman and CEO of GDSH and Chairman of GDSI. “Within a short period of time, we have created new markets in and around Singapore-Johor-Batam which are attracting both regional and global hyperscale demand. We see tremendous opportunities for growth in these markets as well as in other new markets which we are currently evaluating. The Series B equity issue benchmarks significant incremental value creation for our shareholders. We look forward to further achievements by our international business as we take it to the next level.”
“Data centers are mission critical infrastructure to support the future of AI and cloud,” said Philippe Laffont, Founder of Coatue. “We have been very impressed by the management team, and its capabilities to execute and expand the footprint of the business in such a short period of time. We are excited to work alongside management to expand GDSI into a global leading data center platform.”
“GDSI has emerged as one of the most rapidly expanding data center platforms in the APAC region,” said Robert Yin, Partner at Coatue. “We believe GDSI is strategically positioned to capitalize on demand for future AI and hyperscale solutions, and we look forward to supporting the business in its continued expansion of next-generation infrastructure.”
“As a shareholder of GDSH, we are extremely impressed with William and his team and GDSI’s ambitious and credible international expansion plan,” said Richard Carona, Partner, The Baupost Group. “We’re pleased to support their growth as part of this Series B financing.”
The Closing is expected to occur as soon as the closing conditions provided in the definitive agreements are satisfied. It is expected that the Series B issuance will be exempted from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”) pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act regarding transactions not involving a public offering or Regulation S under the Securities Act.
The Series B shares and the ordinary shares deliverable upon conversion of the Series B shares have not been registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws. They may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any of these securities, nor shall there be a sale of the securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
GDSI’s financial and legal advisors for this transaction are Morgan Stanley Asia Limited and White & Case, respectively. Latham & Watkins served as the legal advisor for Coatue.
About GDS Holdings Limited
GDS Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: GDS; HKEX: 9698) is a leading developer and operator of high-performance data centers in mainland China and, through an equity investment in its international affiliate, in Hong Kong and South East Asia. The Company’s facilities are strategically located in primary economic hubs where demand for high-performance data center services is concentrated. The Company also builds, operates and transfers data centers at other locations selected by its customers in order to fulfill their broader requirements. The Company’s data centers have large net floor area, high power capacity, density and efficiency, and multiple redundancies across all critical systems. GDS is carrier and cloud-neutral, which enables its customers to access the major telecommunications networks, as well as the largest PRC and global public clouds, which are hosted in many of its facilities. The Company offers co-location and a suite of value-added services, including managed hybrid cloud services through direct private connection to leading public clouds, managed network services, and, where required, the resale of public cloud services. The Company has a 23-year track record of service delivery, successfully fulfilling the requirements of some of the largest and most demanding customers for outsourced data center services in China. The Company’s customer base consists predominantly of hyperscale cloud service providers, large internet companies, financial institutions, telecommunications carriers, IT service providers, and large domestic private sector and multinational corporations.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “future,” “guidance,” “intend,” “is/are likely to,” “may,” “ongoing,” “plan,” “potential,” “target,” “will,” and similar statements. Among other things, statements that are not historical facts, including statements about GDS Holdings’ beliefs and expectations regarding the growth of its businesses and its revenue for the full fiscal year, the business outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as GDS Holdings’ strategic and operational plans, are or contain forward-looking statements. GDS Holdings may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on Forms 20-F and 6-K, in its current, interim and annual reports to shareholders, in announcements, circulars or other publications made on the website of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Hong Kong Stock Exchange”), in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause GDS Holdings’ actual results or financial performance to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: GDS Holdings’ goals and strategies; GDS Holdings’ future business development, financial condition and results of operations; the expected growth of the market for high-performance data centers, data center solutions and related services in China and South East Asia; GDS Holdings’ expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of its high-performance data centers, data center solutions and related services; GDS Holdings’ expectations regarding building, strengthening and maintaining its relationships with new and existing customers; the continued adoption of cloud computing and cloud service providers in China and South East Asia; risks and uncertainties associated with increased investments in GDS Holdings’ business and new data center initiatives; risks and uncertainties associated with strategic acquisitions and investments; GDS Holdings’ ability to maintain or grow its revenue or business; fluctuations in GDS Holdings’ operating results; changes in laws, regulations and regulatory environment that affect GDS Holdings’ business operations; competition in GDS Holdings’ industry in China and South East Asia; security breaches; power outages; and fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in China, South East Asia and globally, and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in GDS Holdings’ filings with the SEC, including its annual report on Form 20-F, and with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release and are based on assumptions that GDS Holdings believes to be reasonable as of such date, and GDS Holdings does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Garret Martin, Senior Professorial Lecturer, Co-Director Transatlantic Policy Center, American University School of International Service
But the upcoming presidential election may be somewhat of an outlier. In a September 2024 poll, foreign policy actually ranks quite high in voters’ concerns – with more Democrats and Republicans combined saying it was “very important” to their vote than, say, immigration and abortion.
As such, understanding where Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic rival Kamala Harris stand on the significant international issues of the day is important. And we can do so by looking at the records of their respective administrations in the three regions they prioritized: the Indo-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.
Donald Trump: Disrupter-in-chief
In his 2017 inaugural address, Trump painted a dark picture of the U.S. In his telling, his country was being taken advantage of by other nations, especially in trade and security, while neglecting domestic challenges.
To disrupt this, Trump promised an “America First” approach to guide his administration.
And in practice, his foreign policy certainly proved disruptive. He showed a clear willingness to buck traditions and undid some of former President Barack Obama’s signature policies, such as the Iran nuclear deal, which exchanged sanctions relief for restrictions on Tehran’s domestic nuclear program, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.
In so doing, he ruffled the feathers of allies and foes alike.
While NATO did make inroads in bolstering its Eastern flank in that period, the alliance was primarily defined by internal turmoil and limited cohesion during Trump’s time in office. U.S. relations with the European Union hardly fared better. In 2018, the U.S. imposed steel and aluminum tariffs on the European Union, citing national security concerns.
Trump also broke with previous U.S. presidents in his administration’s Asia policy. One of his first moves in 2017 was to abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal negotiated by Obama. Trump’s late 2017 national security strategy also announced a major shift toward China, labeling it as a “strategic competitor” – implying a greater emphasis on containing China as opposed to cooperating with it.
This hawkish turn played out especially in the field of trade. Trump’s administration imposed four rounds of tariffs in 2018-19, affecting US$360 billion of Chinese goods. Beijing, of course, responded with tariffs of its own. The two countries did sign a so-called phase-one deal in January 2020 that sought to lower the stakes of this trade war. But the COVID-19 pandemic nullified any chance of success, and relations soured further with each Trump utterance of the pandemic being a “Chinese virus.”
Although not taking a driving role in foreign policy, Harris has been part of an administration that has committed the U.S. to repairing alliances and engaging with the world.
Moreover, it cultivated different diplomatic platforms in the Indo-Pacific to act as a counterweight to China. This included the cultivation of the Quad dialogue with Australia, India and Japan, and the AUKUS deal with Australia and the U.K., both of which attempted to further the Biden administration’s strategy of containing China’s influence by enlisting regional allies. Finally, the Biden administration did maintain some channels of communication with China at the highest level as well, with Biden meeting Xi Jinping twice during his presidency.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walks alongside Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House compound on Sept. 26, 2024. Tom Brenner/Getty Images
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has repeatedly denounced immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally and the danger he says that poor immigrants of color pose for the U.S. – often using hateful language to make his point.
In early October 2024, Trump took his comments a step further when he questioned immigrants’ faulty genes, saying without support that “Many of them murdered far more than one person, and they are now happily living in the United States. You know, now a murderer, I believe this, it’s in their genes. And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now.”
It was far from the first time Trump has invoked eugenics – a false, racist theory that some people, and even some races, are genetically superior to others.
In 1988, for example, Trump told Oprah Winfrey during an interview: “You have to be born lucky in the sense that you have to have the right genes.”
“I always said that winning is somewhat, maybe, innate. Maybe it’s just something you have; you have the winning gene. Frankly it would be wonderful if you could develop it, but I’m not so sure you can. You know, I’m proud to have that German blood, there’s no question about it. Great stuff.”
The Nazis are indeed the most infamous believers of the false idea that white, blue-eyed, blonde-haired people were superior to others – and that the human population should be selectively managed to breed white people.
But the Nazis didn’t originate these ideas. In fact, the Nazis were so impressed with many American eugenic ideas that they incorporated them into their racist, antisemitic laws.
Root of eugenics
The British scientist Francis Galton, a cousin of the evolutionist Charles Darwin, first developed the theory of eugenics in the 1860s, and it gained a foothold in the U.S. and Britain around this time.
By the dawn of the early 1900s, much of the American eugenics scholarship looked down on American immigrants from any place other than Scandinavia, thus coining the term “Nordicism.”
In the late 19th and early 20th century, immigration to the U.S. was at its peak. In 1890, 14.8% of people living in the U.S. were immigrants. Many people felt concerned about immigration in the U.S., and there were many prominent eugenicists in America. Two of the most famous were Madison Grant and Lothrop Stoddard.
Both were avowed white supremacists who advocated for scientific racism. They wrote popular and widely read books that helped shape American and German law in the 1920s and 1930s.
Grant, Stoddard and other theorists in the U.S. embraced eugenics as a way to justify racial segregation, restrict immigration, enforce sterilization and uphold other systemic inequalities.
Stoddard attacked the United States’ immigration policies in his 1920 book, “The Rising Tide of Color: The Threat Against White World-Supremacy.” He wrote: “If the present drift is not changed, we whites are all ultimately doomed. … We now know that men are not, and never will be equal. We now know that environment and education can only develop what heredity brings.”
Another prominent eugenicist was Harry H. Laughlin, an educator and superintendent of the Eugenics Record Office, a now-defunct research group that gathered biological and social information about the American population.
Laughlin wrote an influential 1922 book, “Eugenical Sterilization in the United States,” which included a chapter on model sterilization laws. The Third Reich used his book and laws as a template when implementing them in Germany during the height of the Nazi period.
Laughlin also regularly testified before U.S. Congress, with this 1922 testimony representative of his message to lawmakers: “Immigration is essentially and fundamentally a racial and biological problem. There are many factors to consider, but, from the standpoint of the future, immigration is primarily a long time national investment in human family stocks.”
Eugenicists, including Laughlin, have long been specifically preoccupied with Norwegian genetics – believing that America is under attack when immigration occurs from non-Nordic countries.
In 1924, Congress approved the Immigration Act, which severely limited immigration to the U.S., established quotas for immigrants based on nationality and barred immigrants from Asia.
It was only following the end of World War II and the Holocaust that eugenics fell out of favor and lost its prominence in American thinking.
Trump’s recycling of history
Fears over foreign immigrants weakening the U.S. were popular a century ago, and Trump and many of his followers still embrace them today.
Trump has also promoted eugenicists’ obsession with Scandinavia and the superiority of white people.
In 2018, Trump spoke about immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and Africa, saying “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?”
In the same meeting, Trump also reportedly suggested that the U.S. should instead draw in more people from countries like Norway.
In April 2024, Trump again embraced this idea of Scandinavian superiority, saying that he wants immigrants from “Nice countries. You know, like Denmark, Switzerland? Do we have any people coming in from Denmark? How about Switzerland? How about Norway?”
A dangerous flash to the past
A person running for president in 1924 would seem more likely than a candidate in 2024 to espouse this now-discredited point of view.
The idea of America First, at the time, denoted American nationalism and exceptionalism – but also was linked to anti-immigration and fascist movements.
When Coolidge signed the heavily restrictive 1924 Immigration Act into law he stated, “America must remain American.”
One hundred years later, Trump calls to mind an America First mentality, including when he regularly reads the lyrics to a song called “The Snake” during his rallies as a way to explain the dangers of welcoming immigrants into the U.S. The civil rights activist Oscar Brown wrote this poem in 1963, and his family has said that Trump misinterprets the song’s words.
‘I saved you,’ cried that woman.
‘And you’ve bit me even, why’
‘You know your bite is poisonous and now I’m going to die.’
‘Oh shut up, silly woman,’ said the reptile with a grin,
‘You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in.’
I have written a book on this and I used many of my citations in Chapter 4 to help develop this piece though I reworded or reframed it.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Nicholas R. Micinski, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, University of Maine
The Israeli parliament’s vote on Oct. 28, 2024, to ban the United Nations agency that provides relief for Palestinian refugees is likely to affect millions of people – it also fits a pattern.
Aid for refugees, particularly Palestinian refugees, has long been politicized, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, or UNRWA, has been targeted throughout its 75-year history.
The vote by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, to ban the UNRWA goes a step further. It will, when it comes into effect, prevent the UNRWA from operating in Israel and will severely affect its ability to serve refugees in any of the occupied territories that Israel controls, including Gaza. This could have devastating consequences for livelihoods, health, the distribution of food aid and schooling for Palestinians. It would also damage the polio vaccination campaign that the UNRWA and its partner organizations have been carrying out in Gaza since September. Finally, the bill bans communication between Israeli officials and the UNRWA, which would end efforts by the agency to coordinate the movements of aid workers to prevent unintentional targeting by the Israel Defense Forces.
Refugee aid, and humanitarian aid more generally, is theoretically meant to be neutral and impartial. But as experts in migrationandinternational relations, we know funding is often used as a foreign policy tool, whereby allies are rewarded and enemies punished. In this context, we believe Israel’s banning of the UNRWA fits a wider pattern of the politicization of aid to refugees, particularly Palestinian refugees.
What is the UNRWA?
The UNRWA, short for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, was established two years after about 750,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled from their homes during the months leading up to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent Arab-Israeli war.
Prior to the UNRWA’s creation, international and local organizations, many of them religious, provided services to displaced Palestinians. But after surveying the extreme poverty and dire situation pervasive across refugee camps, the U.N. General Assembly, including all Arab states and Israel, voted to create the UNRWA in 1949.
Since that time, the UNRWA has been the primary aid organization providing food, medical care, schooling and, in some cases, housing for the 6 million Palestinians living across its five fields: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, as well as the areas that make up the occupied Palestinian territories: the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The mass displacement of Palestinians – known as the Nakba, or “catastrophe” – occurred prior to the 1951 Refugee Convention, which defined refugees as anyone with a well-founded fear of persecution owing to “events occurring in Europe before 1 January 1951.” Despite a 1967 protocol extending the definition worldwide, Palestinians are still excluded from the primary international system protecting refugees.
While the UNRWA is responsible for providing services to Palestinian refugees, the United Nations also created the U.N. Conciliation Commission for Palestine in 1948 to seek a long-term political solution and “to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and the payment of compensation.”
As a result, UNRWA does not have a mandate to push for the traditional durable solutions available in other refugee situations. As it happened, the conciliation commission was active only for a few years and has since been sidelined in favor of the U.S.-brokered peace processes.
Is the UNRWA political?
The UNRWA has been subject to political headwinds since its inception and especially during periods of heightened tension between Palestinians and Israelis.
While it is a U.N. organization and thus ostensibly apolitical, it has frequently been criticized by Palestinians, Israelis as well as donor countries, including the United States, for acting politically.
The UNRWA performs statelike functions across its five fields, including education, health and infrastructure, but it is restricted in its mandate from performing political or security activities.
Initial Palestinian objections to the UNRWA stemmed from the organization’s early focus on economic integration of refugees into host states.
Although the UNRWA officially adhered to the U.N. General Assembly’s Resolution 194 that called for the return of Palestine refugees to their homes, U.N., U.K. and U.S. officials searched for means by which to resettle and integrate Palestinians into host states, viewing this as the favorable political solution to the Palestinian refugee situation and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this sense, Palestinians perceived the UNRWA to be both highly political and actively working against their interests.
In later decades, the UNRWA switched its primary focus from jobs to education at the urging of Palestinian refugees. But the UNRWA’s education materials were viewed by Israel as further feeding Palestinian militancy, and the Israeli government insisted on checking and approving all materials in Gaza and the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.
A protester is removed by members of the U.S. Capitol Police during a House hearing on Jan. 30, 2024. Alex Wong/Getty Images
While Israel has long been suspicious of the UNRWA’s role in refugee camps and in providing education, the organization’s operation, which is internationally funded, also saves Israel millions of dollars each year in services it would be obliged to deliver as the occupying power.
Since the 1960s, the U.S. – the UNRWA’s primary donor – and other Western countries have repeatedly expressed their desire to use aid to prevent radicalization among refugees.
In response to the increased presence of armed opposition groups, the U.S. attached a provision to its UNRWA aid in 1970, requiring that the “UNRWA take all possible measures to assure that no part of the United States contribution shall be used to furnish assistance to any refugee who is receiving military training as a member of the so-called Palestine Liberation Army (PLA) or any other guerrilla-type organization.”
The UNRWA adheres to this requirement, even publishing an annual list of its employees so that host governments can vet them, but it also employs 30,000 individuals, the vast majority of whom are Palestinian.
Questions over links of the UNRWA to any militancy has led to the rise of Israeli and international watch groups that document the social media activity of the organization’s large Palestinian staff.
In 2018, the Trump administration paused its US$60 million contribution to the UNRWA. Trump claimed the pause would create political pressure for Palestinians to negotiate. President Joe Biden restarted U.S. contributions to the UNRWA in 2021.
While other major donors restored funding to the UNRWA after the conclusion of the investigation in April, the U.S. has yet to do so.
‘An unmitigated disaster’
Israel’s ban of the UNRWA will leave already starving Palestinians without a lifeline. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said banning the UNRWA “would be a catastrophe in what is already an unmitigated disaster.” The foreign ministers of Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the U.K. issued a joint statement arguing that the ban would have “devastating consequences on an already critical and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, particularly in northern Gaza.”
Reports have emerged of Israeli plans for private security contractors to take over aid distribution in Gaza through dystopian “gated communities,” which would in effect be internment camps. This would be a troubling move. In contrast to the UNRWA, private contractors have little experience delivering aid and are not dedicated to the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality or independence.
However, the Knesset’s explicit ban could, inadvertently, force the United States to suspend weapons transfers to Israel. U.S. law requires that it stop weapons transfers to any country that obstructs the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid. And the U.S. pause on funding for the UNRWA was only meant to be temporary.
The UNRWA is the main conduit for assistance into Gaza, and the Knesset’s ban makes explicit that the Israeli government is preventing aid delivery, making it harder for Washington to ignore. Before the bill passed, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matt Miller warned that “passage of the legislation could have implications under U.S. law and U.S. policy.”
At the same time, two U.S. government agencies previously alerted the Biden administration that Israel was obstructing aid into Gaza, yet weapons transfers have continued unabated.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced sanctions under the Special Economic Measures (Burma) Regulations against 3 individuals and 4 entities for supplying weapons and military equipment to the Myanmar military.
October 29, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced sanctions under the Special Economic Measures (Burma) Regulations against 3 individuals and 4 entities for supplying weapons and military equipment to the Myanmar military.
The sanctions announced today, in coordination with the United Kingdom and the European Union, respond to the ongoing and increasing aerial attacks by the Myanmar military regime. Over the last six months, military airstrikes killed almost 400 civilians, including more than 60 children, and injured more than 750 people
These attacks are a grave breach of international peace and security and violate the basic principles of democracy and respect for human rights. The conflict has resulted in a worsening humanitarian crisis and increased instability as the regime escalates violence to assert its authority.
Imposing these sanctions on individuals and entities under the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA) is in direct response to these actions and to those supplying weapons, military equipment, key resources and revenue to the Myanmar military.
Canada continues to urge all countries to impose similar measures. We call on the international community to suspend all support to the Myanmar military, including the transfer of weapons, materiel, aviation fuel, equipment, and technical assistance to the Myanmar military.
Canada will continue to support the aspirations of the people of Myanmar and those who work peacefully to advance a peaceful, inclusive, democratic future.
Effective October 29, 2024, Canada is imposing sanctions against the following individuals and entities for supplying weapons and military equipment to the Myanmar military during worsening attacks on civilians.
Effective October 29, 2024, Canada is imposing sanctions against the following individuals and entities for supplying weapons and military equipment to the Myanmar military during worsening attacks on civilians.
Canadian measures
The Special Economic Measures (Burma) Regulations impose on listed persons a prohibition on any transaction (effectively, an asset freeze) by prohibiting persons in Canada and Canadians outside Canada from engaging in any activity related to any property of these listed persons or providing financial or related services to them.
The specific prohibitions are set out in the regulations.
Targeted individuals are senior figures in the Myanmar military responsible for such international humanitarian and human rights law violations. The names of the individuals and entities added to the schedule of these regulations are the following:
Individuals
Charlie Than
Ne Aung
Win Kyaw Kyaw Aung
Entities
King Royal Technologies Company Ltd.
Royal Shune Lei Company Ltd.
International Group of Entrepreneurs (IGE)Company Ltd.
Today, during the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16), the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development, announced a total of $62 million in funding for the following projects
Today, during the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16), the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development, announced a total of $62 million in funding for the following projects:
Project: Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund Partner: Conservation International Funding: $20 million for fiscal years 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund aims to support the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in 3 biodiversity hot spots: the Cerrado in Brazil; countries in the Indo-Burma region, namely Cambodia, Laos and Thailand; and countries in the Tropical Andes region, namely Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Canada’s contribution will advance gender equality by strengthening leadership skills among women conservationists and enhance locally driven conservation in key biodiversity areas through financial and technical support.
Project: Biodiversity Ecosystem Restoration for Community Resilience in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh Partner: UN Development Programme Funding: $12.5 million for fiscal years 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026
This project aims to strengthen biodiversity conservation and resilient ecosystems in climate-vulnerable and marginalized communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh. The project will work with these communities to develop and implement community-based biodiversity conservation plans. It will also increase women’s role in decision making and in implementing inclusive biodiversity ecosystem restoration plans with local government agencies, as well as improve the restoration of biodiversity ecosystems by vulnerable households and enhance resilient alternative livelihoods of ecosystem-dependent communities to improve market access and biodiversity conservation.
Project: Supporting the Protection of Marine Biodiversity Within the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean Through Dark Vessel Detection Technologies Partner: Fisheries and Oceans Canada Funding: $5 million for fiscal years 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026
This project shares Canadian technical expertise to assist Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Peru in protecting their unique marine biodiversity and supporting coastal communities, specifically women, Indigenous people and Afro-descendants. The project will provide access to innovative Canadian satellite surveillance technology by MDA Space Ltd. to support monitoring and enforcement efforts to reduce the threats posed by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities.
Project: Strengthening Marine Law Enforcement in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean Partner: WildAid Funding: $5 million for fiscal years 2024 to 2025 to 2026 to 2027
This project will help improve the protection and sustainable use of marine ecosystems in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Peru. This will be achieved by strengthening the capacity of national marine authorities and government-endorsed community organizations to reduce the threats posed by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The project will increase the effectiveness of maritime law enforcement by advocating for compliance through education, outreach and the creation of community-wide benefits.
Project: Enhancing Indigenous Peoples’ Resilience to Climate Change in Colombia Partner: World Food Programme Funding: $9.5 million for fiscal years 2023 to 2024 to 2027 to 2028
This project will help increase the resilience of Indigenous communities in the Amazon. The rich and diverse ecosystems in the southern Colombian Amazon rainforest are highly sensitive to climate change, facing rapid alterations in temperature and water availability. This degradation directly affects the food security and nutrition of forest-dependent communities, particularly Indigenous people and women. The project will focus on climate adaptation, sustainable agriculture and environmental management by combining ancestral practices with modern technology. It will promote sustainable agri-food value chains to improve food security and enhance the role of women in climate governance. Project activities will be carried out in Putumayo, Caquetá and Amazonas.
Project: Podong Indigenous Peoples Initiative Partner: International Union for the Conservation of Nature Funding: $7 million for fiscal years 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026
This initiative is the result of a collaboration between the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Indigenous leaders and the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity. Canada’s contribution will help Indigenous people build their capacity to implement gender-responsive biodiversity conservation actions, build leadership skills to engage in global environmental forums and negotiations, and address the barriers Indigenous peoples face in accessing funding for their self-determined climate and biodiversity priorities and actions.
This initiative will take place in Guatemala, Nepal, Panama and Tanzania. It advances the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which emphasizes Indigenous peoples’ right to conservation and protection of the environment and the productive capacity of their land.
Project: Accelerating Systemic Change for Gender Equality and Biodiversity Conservation Through the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans Accelerator Partnership Partner: UN Environment Programme Funding: $3 million for fiscal years 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026
The National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) Accelerator Partnership is a global initiative launched in Montréal at COP15. It provides knowledge, technical and financial support to developing countries for the preparation and implementation of their national biodiversity strategies and action plans. NBSAPs are essential road maps that guide decision making and on-the-ground action to conserve and use biodiversity in a sustainable manner.
Canada’s support will help Antigua and Barbuda, Comoros, Costa Rica, Eswatini, Tajikistan, Thailand and Togo develop and update their NBSAPs and ensure that they are gender-responsive and inclusive.
Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau today briefed members of the Trade & Industry Advisory Board on major initiatives related to economic and trade developments in the 2024 Policy Address.
Mr Yau said that the Policy Address announced a series of initiatives, including a reduction of the duty rate for liquor, to create new impetus for Hong Kong’s economic development.
Currently, the import prices of about 85% of duty-paid liquor in Hong Kong stand at $200 or below, meaning that such products will not benefit from the duty reduction.
The commerce chief pointed out that this can avoid providing an incentive for citizens to increase liquor consumption as a result of the duty deduction, adding that the proposal has struck a balance between various policy considerations such as facilitating high-end liquor trade, maintaining healthy public finances and safeguarding public health.
Mr Yau also briefed the members on the proposal introduced in the Policy Address to build a high value-added supply chain service centre.
He noted that Invest Hong Kong and the Trade Development Council will set up a mechanism and enhance their interfaces for attracting Mainland enterprises to establish international or regional headquarters in Hong Kong for managing offshore trading and supply chains, and providing one-stop diversified professional advisory services for enterprises in Hong Kong looking to go global.
Mr Yau also highlighted that the Policy Address rolled out various support measures for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including relaunching the principal moratorium arrangement under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme, as well as raising the maximum indemnity ratio of the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation to 95%.
Separately, the Trade & Industry Department briefed the meeting attendees on the Second Agreement Concerning Amendment to the Mainland & Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement Agreement on Trade in Services (Amendment Agreement II).
Mr Yau said the series of measures will provide better support for SMEs while further promoting economic and trade developments, thereby enabling the steady advancement of Hong Kong’s economy.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The UK, EU and Canada have announced further sanctions targeting the Myanmar military’s access to military material, equipment and funds.
The UK, EU and Canada have announced a further round of sanctions to increase pressure on the Myanmar military regime and its associates.
UK sanctions target entities supplying aviation fuel and equipment to the Myanmar military. August 2024 saw the highest number of airstrikes on record by the Myanmar military, killing dozens of civilians.
The UK, EU and Canada have announced further sanctions targeting the Myanmar military’s access to military material, equipment and funds.
UK action will help to constrain the Myanmar military’s ability to conduct airstrikes on civilians, which amount to gross human rights violations.
The latest round of UK sanctions is against six entities involved either in providing aviation fuel to the Myanmar military or in the supply of restricted goods, including aircraft parts. Today’s announcement bolsters previous sanctions against suppliers of aviation fuel to the military in February and March 2023 and arms dealers in October 2023.
The UK will continue to work with partners to restrict the sale and transfer of arms and finance to the Myanmar military. Since the coup, the UK has provided more than £150 million for life-saving humanitarian assistance, healthcare, education and support for civil society and local communities in Myanmar.
Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Catherine West said:
The human rights violations taking place across Myanmar, including airstrikes on civilian infrastructure, by the Myanmar military is unacceptable and the impact on innocent civilians is intolerable.
That is why today the UK is announcing fresh sanctions targeting the suppliers of equipment and aviation fuel to the Myanmar military. Alongside the EU and Canada, we are today further constraining the military’s access to funds, equipment and resources.
These sanctions will increase pressure on the Myanmar military. The UK remains steadfast in our support for the Myanmar people and their aspirations for a peaceful and democratic future.
On 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military overthrew the democratically elected government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and installed a military regime. Since then, they have used violence and atrocities to maintain power and suppress any opposition voices. Increasingly brutal tactics have been implemented as the military continue to cling on to power, leading to the highest number of airstrikes on record by the Myanmar military this August (2024), killing dozens of civilians.
Over 3.4 million people are now displaced from their homes due to the fighting, over 18 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and Myanmar is now seeing a proliferation in serious and organised crime.
Background
Since the coup, the UK has designated 25 individuals and 33 entities under the Myanmar Sanctions Regime. The UK continues to lead international efforts to undermine the regime’s credibility and constrain their access to revenue and arms.
Today the UK has sanctioned:
Asia Sun Group Company Limited – for being owned or controlled by Zaw Min Tun, a Myanmar businessman previously sanctioned by the UK in 2023 for making available economic resources, namely aviation fuel, directly or indirectly to or for the benefit of the Myanmar security forces.
Swan Energy Company Limited – for being associated with Asia Sun Trading Company Limited and by for making available economic resources (aviation fuel) directly or indirectly to or for the benefit of the Myanmar security forces.
Myan-Oil Company Limited – for being associated with Asia Sun Trading Company Limited.
Rich Ray Trading Company Limited – for being associated with Asia Sun Trading Company Limited and by making available economic resources (aviation fuel) directly or indirectly to or for the benefit of the Myanmar security forces.
Progress Technology Support Company (a.k.a Royal Shune Lei Co) – for being involved in the supply to Myanmar of restricted goods or restricted technology or of material related to such goods or technology.
King Royal Technologies Company Limited- for being involved in the supply to Myanmar of goods or technology which could contribute to a serious human rights violation or abuse.
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Agustinus Tri Budi Utomo, of the clergy of the diocese of Surabaya, Indonesia, until now episcopal vicar for pastoral care, as bishop of the same diocese.Msgr. Agustinus Tri Budi Utomo was born on 12 March 1968 in Ngawi, East Java. After entering the Saint Vincentius a Paulo Minor Seminary in Blitar, he continued his formation at the Saint John XXIII Interdiocesan Major Seminary in Malang, attending the Widya Sasana Philosophical and Theological Institute in Malang, where he was awarded a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in theology.He was ordained a priest on 27 August 1996.He has held the following offices: chaplain for university students (1996), parish vicar (1996-2000) and parish priest (2000-2001) of Saint Mary of the Annunciation in Sidoario, lecturer at Universitas Airlangga (1996-2001), teacher at the Saint Vincentius a Paulo Minor Seminary (1996-2001), director of the Lembaga Karya Dharma social and healthcare Foundation (2001), parish vicar of Infant Jesus in Marau, diocese of Ketapang (2001-2004), parish priest of Saint Charles Borromeo in Tembelina, diocese of Ketapang (2004-2005), parish priest of Saint Pius XI in Blora (2005-2007), president of the Yohanes Gabriel educational Foundation (2006-2007-2012), episcopal vicar for Region IV (2007-2008), lecturer at the Universitas Katolik Widya Mandala (2007-2010), episcopal vicar of Cepu and parish vicar of Saint Willibrordus in Cepu (2008-2011), parish administrator of Saint Mary of the Annunciation in Sidoario (2017-2018), parish vicar of Saint Mary of the Annunciation in Sidoario (2018-2020), parish vicar of the Catheral (2020-2022), and chair of the diocesan Commission for the Family (2020-2022). Since 2011 he has served as vicar general of the diocese of Surabaya and subsequently episcopal vicar for pastoral care. Since 2021 he has been a member of the diocesan Commission for Property and Assets and, since 2022, parish vicar of Sakramen Mahakudus Pagesangan in Surabaya. (EG) (Agenzia Fides, 29/10/2024)
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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Fr. John Mung Ngawn La Sam, M.F., of the Missionaries of Faith, until now parish priest of Saint Paul Church and head of the Retreat Centre in Shadau, as bishop of the diocese of Myitkyina, Myanmar.Msgr. John Mung Ngawn La Sam, M.F., was born on 27 April 1973 in Moe Gok. He studied law atMyitkyina University and philosophy at Saint Joseph’s Institute of Philosophy in Pyi Oo Lwin. After completing the year of spirituality at the formation house of the Missionaries of the Faith in Rome (2009-2010), he studied theology at the Pontifical Lateran University (2011-2014).He gave his religious vows in the Congregation of the Missionary Fathers of Faith on 8 September and was ordained a priest on 16 January 2016.He has held the following offices: assistant parish priest of the Saint Colombano Cathedral, Myitkyina (2016-2017), and since 2017, parish priest of Saint Paul’s Church and head of the Retreat Centre in the diocese of Myitkyina. (EG) (Agenzia Fides, 29/10/2024)
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Seoul (Agenzia Fides) – Yesterday evening, in the church of the “St. Francis Educational Center” in the Jung Dong district, in the capital of South Korea, a mass was held in memory of the victims of the Halloween disaster in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district where on October 29, 2022, a total of 159 people lost their lives in a stampede, swept away by the crowd of young people who had come for the Halloween party.The Holy Mass was celebrated by Father Marco Inkook Kim together with about 20 diocesan and religious priests, and was attended by at least 200 people, among whom there were also numerous nuns. During the Mass, the names of all the victims were read in the presence of the parents present, who wore purple clothes and sat in the first pews. The father of Sang-eun, one of the victims, took the floor and gave a long speech. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the nuns and priests on behalf of the grieving families for holding our hands, shedding tears and offering us comfort and support,” said Lee Sung-hwan, among other things.The Mass concluded with a performance by the famous artist Shin Sang Og, followed by music to the sounds of the song “Fly me to the moon”.The Catholic Church in Korea will host World Youth Day in 2027. There are many expectations from those involved in organizing this event, which will be an opportunity for the Korean ecclesial community to look with particular attention to the young generations and their situation. (PR) (Agenzia Fides, 29/10/2024)
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INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (“FHLBank Indianapolis” or “Bank”) today announced the results of the election of two Indiana Member Directors and three Independent Directors to its Board of Directors (“Board”). The following individuals were elected to the Board and will each serve four-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2025.
The new Indiana Member Directors are:
Dan L. Moore, executive chairman, Home Bank, S.B., Martinsville, Ind. Previously, Moore served as its chairman, president and CEO and director. Moore served on the Board from 2011 to 2022 and was Board Chair from 2019 to 2022. He also served as Chairman of the Council of Federal Home Loan Banks in 2022.
Jamie R. Shinabarger, CEO, Springs Valley Bank & Trust Co., Jasper, Ind. Shinabarger also serves on the bank’s board of directors and of SVB&T Corp., the bank’s holding company in French Lick, Ind.
The new Independent Directors are:
Kathryn M. Dominguez, professor of public policy and economics, University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy in Ann Arbor, Mich. She also serves as the school’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and is the co-faculty director of the Center on Finance, Law and Policy. Dominguez was appointed to the Board as an Independent Director to fill a partial term in 2023, and currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Risk Oversight Committee.
Charlotte C. Henry, former chief information technology officer for the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, Detroit. Henry has been an Independent Director on the Board since 2017. She currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Board’s Security and Technology Committee, and formerly served as the Chair of that committee.
Todd E. Sears (Public Interest Independent Director), vice president of development, Cohen Esrey, Indianapolis. Previously, Sears served as chief investment officer and chief financial officer of Valeo Financial Advisors and was executive vice president of research, policy and strategy at Kittle Property Group, Inc., in Indianapolis. Sears previously served as the executive vice president for the non-profit CDFI, Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership. He has served as an Independent Director on the Board since 2021 and previously served on the Board’s Affordable Housing Advisory Council from 2012-2018.
Annually, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency determines the size of the Board and designates at least a majority, but no more than 60%, of the directorships as member directorships and the remainder as independent directorships. Independent directors are nominated by the Board after consultation with the Bank’s Affordable Housing Advisory Council and the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Media contact: Scott Thien, Sr. Communications Lead 317-902-3103 sthien@fhlbi.com
Building Partnerships. Serving Communities FHLBank Indianapolis is a regional bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System. FHLBanks are government-sponsored enterprises created by Congress to provide access to low-cost funding for their member financial institutions, with particular attention paid to providing solutions that support the housing and small business needs of members’ customers. FHLBanks are privately capitalized and funded, and they receive no Congressional appropriations. One of 11 independent regional cooperative banks across the U.S., FHLBank Indianapolis is owned by its Indiana and Michigan financial institution members, including commercial banks, credit unions, insurance companies, savings institutions and community development financial institutions. For more information about FHLBank Indianapolis, visit www.fhlbi.com and follow the Bank on LinkedIn, and Instagram and X at @FHLBankIndy.
“This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training exercise series, which is a testament to the strength and longevity of the U.S.-Malaysia partnership,” said Capt. John Baggett, deputy commodore, Destroyer Squadron 7 and U.S. head of delegation for the opening ceremony. “Over the past three decades, we’ve built a strong foundation of trust and cooperation that has benefited both of our nations. Exercises like this underscore the excellent partnership between our militaries and emphasizes our respect for one another.”
CARAT Malaysia 2024 builds on 67 years of close collaboration between the U.S. and Malaysia. It highlights our continued dedication to peace, stability and security in the region. Additionally, CARAT Malaysia serves as a symbol of the U.S. commitment to key Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) partners to reinforce ASEAN Centrality, supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific.
During the exercise, participants will engage in specialized training across a wide range of disciplines including medicine, legal operations, aviation, and force protection. Naval vessels and maritime surveillance aircraft, and specialized teams (including diving and explosive ordnance disposal units) will conduct high-intensity drills focusing on anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-air warfare, and maritime domain awareness.
This year, Marine Rotational Force – Southeast Asia (MRF-SEA) personnel will engage in training events and expert exchanges with Royal Malaysian army and naval forces, focusing on amphibious operations planning, medical treatment in maritime environments, legal discussions, and security and cyber operations best practices.
These events aim to enhance the collective interoperability and proficiency between U.S. and Malaysian forces while cultivating strong relationships as partners.
“CARAT serves as a vital platform for our armed forces to engage in cooperative operations. It emphasizes our shared dedication to promoting stability and addressing shared challenges in our maritime domain,” said Royal Malaysian Navy First Admiral Hj Muhammad Rohdi bin Ariffin, assistant chief of staff, Joint Force Headquarters and Malaysian head of delegation for the opening ceremony. “We are privileged to host our friends from the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. This exercise showcases the strength of our partnership and the spirit of collaboration… Together we can overcome challenges and ensure a stable future for all.”
Participating U.S. assets include the Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) and a P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft, staff and personnel from Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, Commander, Task Force (CTF) 72, 73, 75, and 76, Command, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7, and MRF-SEA personnel from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Royal Malaysian Navy participating assets include the Kedah-class offshore patrol vessel KD Terengganu (F 174), the Keris-class littoral mission ship KD Rencong (KD 114), a Eurocopter AS 550 Fennec helicopter, an F/A-18D Hornet multi-role fighter, and two Agusta Westland AW139 helicopters.
As the U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed DESRON in Southeast Asia, DESRON 7 serves as the primary tactical and operational commander of littoral combat ships rotationally deployed to Singapore. DESRON 7 also functions as the CTF-76 Sea Combat Commander and builds partnerships through training exercises and military-to-military engagements as the executing agent of Commander, Task Group CARAT.
U.S. 7th Fleet is the Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
The Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre (SMSRC) is committed to improving access to support services for individuals affected by sexual misconduct within the Defence community.
October 29, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of National Defence
The Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre (SMSRC) is committed to improving access to support services for individuals affected by sexual misconduct within the Defence community.
Today, the SMSRC launched its 2024-25 call for applications for the Community Support for Sexual Misconduct Survivors Grant Program. This initiative aims to broaden the availability of support services and strengthen collaboration between community-based organizations and Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) service providers.
Grant Details:
One-time project grants: up to $50,000
Recurrent grants: up to $75,000 annually for two to three years
Application deadline: November 26, 2024, at 11:59 PM Pacific Time
Funding anticipated to commence: Spring 2025
The goal of the Grant Program is to broaden the scope of support services accessible to those affected by sexual misconduct in the wider Defence community and increase the collaboration between community-based and DND/CAF service providers. The SMSRC’s Grant Program was developed based on the request of people in the Defence community affected by sexual misconduct to have access to a broad range of culturally competent, confidential, specialized care and support services.
The grant program is part of It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence (the federal GBV Strategy).
“Improving access to support services for members of the Defence Community who have been affected by sexual misconduct is a top priority for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. By funding projects across Canada, the SMSRC’s Grant Program ensures that our people have access to a broader range of support services. The Defence Community works hard every day to keep Canadians safe and it is our duty to make sure we build an institution where everyone feels respected and empowered to reach their full potential.”
The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence
“Survivors and individuals affected by sexual misconduct should be able to access the support services they need when and where they need them. This program helpsexpand access to critical support services close to home. By investing in community-based organizations, our government is empowering communities to provide the care and resources that survivors and their families can count on.”
The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
“The SMSRC Community Support for Sexual Misconduct Survivors Grant Program is open to receiving applications from community-based service providers. I look forward to establishing grant agreements with organizations across the country to support those affected by sexual misconduct. Together, we can work to make sure that those affected have the support they need.”
Linda Rizzo-Michelin, Chief Operating Officer, Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre (SMSRC), Department of National Defence
Quick facts
The Grant Program was first launched in the fall of 2022 and currently funds 32 projects in Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.
Eligible organizations include, but are not limited to, sexual assault centres, community support programs and counselling services who have the capacity and expertise to provide support to those that have been affected by sexual misconduct within the wider Defence community.
The “wider Defence community” includes current and former CAF members/Veterans, DND public service employees, Cadets, Junior Canadian Rangers, their families, supporters, and caregivers (age 16 and older).
The program seeks to support projects that address the needs of diverse populations, women, men, sexually and gender diverse people; Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and additionally sexually and gender diverse (2SLGBTQI+) people; Indigenous Peoples; Black, Asian and other racialized people; people living with disabilities; religious minorities; those living in an official language minority community; those living in northern, rural and remote communities; others with diverse identity factors; and/or people who cannot access services in person.
In addition to funding community support, the SMSRC provides support services to meet the needs of the wider Defence community.
Associated links
Contacts
Media Relations Department of National Defence 613-904-3333 mlo-blm@forces.gc.ca
On his first day in Singapore attending the 28th ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Meeting, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, this evening met with Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma of the Philippines’ Department of Labor and Employment. During the meeting, both sides exchanged views on the initiatives led by the Philippines in the ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Work Programme and labour-related priorities and looked forward to working closely with the Philippines during its Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2026.
The post Secretary-General of ASEAN meets with Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment of the Philippines appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.
And yet, it is precisely because it is written in English, that climate science is largely inaccessible to the majority of people globally.
To explain this apparent contradiction, we need to look at some numbers. Nearly 90% of scientific publications globally are in English. This is a staggering dominance of just one language. But English, often called a global language, is only spoken by a minority of the world’s population.
How do we know that most people in the world don’t speak English? English the main language of society in only a handful of countries: the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The population of these countries, combined, amounts to about 400 million – a very small percentage of the world’s population.
In many other former British colonies, such as India, Nigeria or Malaysia, English exists alongside other languages. In these contexts English tends to be an elite language, used mostly by urban, middle-class, well-educated people. Elsewhere, English functions as a lingua franca, used mostly in transnational communication.
Given these diverse scenarios, it is extremely difficult to estimate the number of speakers of English with any precision. About 20 years ago, linguist David Crystal suggested that the number may be somewhere between 1 and 2 billion. Even if we take the upper limit of that extremely large range, we’re talking about only one quarter of the world’s population. This means that three out of four people in the world do not speak English.
That means at least three quarters of the world’s population do not speak the language in which the science about climate change is disseminated globally. At the same time, languages other than English are marginalised and struggle to find space in the global communication of science.
So this linguistic inequality creates an imbalance in the distribution of scientific knowledge about climate change. But it also reinforces two other types of existing inequality.
One has to do with the production of scientific knowledge in general, which is disproportionately emanating from the two main Anglophone countries: the US and the UK. Out of the top 100 scientific journals for impact and prestige, 91 are based in these two countries.
Out of 100 top scientific journals, 91 are published in the UK and the US. Sergei25/Shutterstock
The other form of inequality has to do with social injustice. Scientific literature is almost exclusively written in English. But this language is virtually unknown by most people, especially in developing countries. And so, societies who suffer more from climate change are precisely those where access to scientific literature about it is severely limited.
What is the solution? Unesco’s Open Science initiative, is attempting to tackle the problem. It aims to “make scientific research from all fields accessible to everyone for the benefits of scientists and society as a whole”. One of its objectives is to “ensure that scientific collaborations transcend the boundaries of geography, language and resources”.
Breaking language barriers
Achieving the objectives set by Open Science is no easy task. One approach is to break the barrier of English monolingualism by promoting multilingualism.
On the one hand, opportunities must be created for scientists from around the world to communicate their research and their scholarship in languages other than English.
On the other, the great technological advancement made in machine translation, especially with the advent of AI, should be put to use in order to ensure that content is available in languages other than English. This is precisely the goal of Climate Cardinals, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to “make the climate movement more accessible to those who don’t speak English” by translating information into more than 100 languages.
These kinds of concrete efforts offer hope for climate literacy and, consequently, for action to lessen the impact of climate change.
Mario Saraceni 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.
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AutoScheduler.AI, an innovative Warehouse Orchestration Platform and WMS accelerator, announces that Ian Johnston has joined the company as the Vice President of Customer Success. He will replace Stephen Zujkowski, who is retiring. Ian has over a decade of experience in supply chain operations, logistics management, and strategic leadership. He will use his expertise to help AutoScheduler’s customers gain value and success from deploying AutoScheduler solutions. He will be the face of success for all AutoScheduler’s customers, ensuring the talented implementation team continues delivering exceptional services and fostering true partnerships.
“As a leader within Amazon, Ian has demonstrated a deep understanding of operational planning and championed many technology implementations that enabled transformative changes within numerous operations,” says Keith Moore, CEO of AutoScheduler.AI. “His rich and diverse experience in leading and supporting innovation and a keen understanding of driving customer excellence make him a perfect fit for this pivotal role at AutoScheduler.AI.”
“I am looking forward to setting new benchmarks for excellence in customer success with the best project delivery experiences, clear communications, and robust customer relationships, enabling AutoScheduler.AI to be the market leader in warehouse orchestration,” says Ian Johnston, Vice President, Customer Success, AutoScheduler.AI. “I am dedicated to driving value for clients through our innovative solutions and aligning AutoScheduler’s capabilities with customer needs.”
As Vice President of Customer Success, Ian oversees the strategy, execution, and management of all aspects of customer deployment and satisfaction. He will ensure that customers derive maximum value from AutoScheduler, leading to improved fulfillment, better labor utilization, and lower costs. As the leader in the Customer Success organization, he will drive measurable positive business outcomes, customer satisfaction, retention, and expansion across the customer base.
Before joining AutoScheduler.AI, Ian served as Director of Supply Chain at Amazon, overseeing North America’s largest heavy bulky logistics network, which included managing demand forecasting, capacity management, and product development for the U.S. and Canada. Ian’s leadership contributed to significant advancements in operational efficiency, including the development of several novel planning products that enhanced forecast accuracy and capacity flexibility, reducing Amazon’s cost to serve and improving delivery speeds. Prior to Amazon, Ian served as a Marine Infantry Officer, where he led combat operations in Afghanistan and deterrence operations in Southeast Asia. He later served at the White House, supporting two administrations and several high-profile events.
Ian holds an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, a BA in Political Science with a minor in Spanish from The Citadel, and is actively pursuing a Master of Science in Real Estate at the University of San Diego.
About AutoScheduler.AI AutoScheduler.AI orchestrates warehouse activities directly on top of your WMS, optimizing operations for peak performance. Developed alongside industry leaders like P&G and successfully deployed at prominent companies such as Pepsi, General Mills, and Unilever, our AI and Machine Learning platform seamlessly integrates with your existing systems. Focused on labor planning, inventory workflow, human-robotics interaction, and space utilization, we streamline operations, reducing travel and inventory handling while maximizing OTIF rates and labor efficiency. With prescriptive analytics driving insights, our clients harness the power to enhance efficiencies and generate value across their supply chains. Reach out to us at info@autoscheduler.ai for more information.
Recent research on animal sleep behaviour has revealed that sleep is influenced by the animals around them. Olive baboons, for instance, sleep less as group sizes increase, while mice can synchronise their rapid eye movement (REM) cycles.
In western society, many people expect to sleep alone, if not with a romantic partner. But as with other group-living animals, human co-sleeping is common, despite some cultural and age-related variation. And in many cultures, bedsharing with a relative is considered typical.
Apart from western countries, caregiver-infant co-sleeping is common, with rates as high as 60-100% in parts of South America, Asia and Africa.
Despite its prevalence, infant co-sleeping is controversial. Some western perspectives, that value self-reliance, argue that sleeping alone promotes self-soothing when the baby wakes in the night. But evolutionary scientists argue that co-sleeping has been important to help keep infants warm and safe throughout human existence.
Many cultures do not expect babies to self-soothe when they wake in the night and see night wakings as a normal part of breastfeeding and development.
Concerns about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Sids) have often led paediatricians to discourage bed-sharing. However, when studies control for other Sids risk factors including unsafe sleeping surfaces, Sids risk does not seem to differ statistically between co-sleeping and solitary sleeping infants.
Researchers don’t yet know whether co-sleeping causes differences in sleep or, whether co-sleeping happens because of these differences. However, experiments in the 1990s suggested that co-sleeping can encourage more sustained and frequent bouts of breastfeeding. Using sensors to measure brain activity, this research also suggested that infants’ and caregivers’ sleep may be lighter during co-sleeping. But researchers speculated that this lighter sleep may actually help protect against Sids by providing infants more opportunities to rouse from sleep and develop better control over their respiratory system.
Childhood co-sleeping past infancy is also fairly common according to worldwide surveys. A 2010 survey of over 7,000 UK families found 6% of children were constant bedsharers up to at least four years old.
Some families adopt co-sleeping in response to their child having trouble sleeping. But child-parent bedsharing in many countries, including some western countries like Sweden where children often co-sleep with parents until school age, is viewed culturally as part of a nurturing environment.
It’s normal for children to bedshare in many parts of the world. Yuri A/ Shutterstock
It is also common for siblings to share a room or even a bed. A 2021 US study found that over 36% of young children aged three to five years bedshared in some form overnight, whether with caregivers, siblings, pets or some combination. Co-sleeping decreases but is still present among older children, with up to 13.8% of co-sleeping parents in Australia, the UK and other countries reporting that their child was between five and 12 years old when they engaged in co-sleeping.
Two recent US studies using wrist-worn actigraphs (motion sensors) to track sleep indicated that kids who bedshare may have shorter sleep durations than children who sleep alone. But this shorter sleep duration is not explained by greater disruption during sleep. Instead, bedsharing children may lose sleep by going to bed later than solitary sleepers.
The benefits and downsides of co-sleeping may also differ in children with conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, mental health disorders and chronic illnesses. These children may experience heightened anxiety, sensory sensitivities and physical discomfort that make falling and staying asleep difficult. For them, co-sleeping can provide reassurance.
Adults sharing beds
According to a 2018 survey from the US National Sleep Foundation, 80-89% of adults who live with their significant other share a bed with them. Adult bedsharing has shifted over time from pre-industrial communal arrangements, including whole families and other household guests, to solo sleeping in response to hygiene concerns as germ theory became accepted.
Bedsharing couples also often get into sync with each other’s sleep stages, which can enhance that feeling of intimacy. However, it’s not all rosy. Some studies indicate that females in heterosexual relationships may struggle more with sleep quality when bedsharing, as they can be more easily disturbed by their male partner’s movements. Also, bedsharers can have less deep sleep than when sleeping alone, even though they feel like their sleep is better together.
Many questions about co-sleeping remain unanswered. For instance, we don’t fully understand the developmental effects of co-sleeping on children, or the benefits of co-sleeping for adults beyond female-male romantic partners. But, some work suggests that co-sleeping can comfort us, similar to other forms of social contact, and help to enhance physical synchrony between parents and children.
Co-sleeping doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all answer. But remember that western norms aren’t necessarily the ones we have evolved with. So consider factors such as sleep disorders, health and age in your decision to co-sleep, rather than what everyone else is doing.
Gina Mason receives funding from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation (grant #334-BS-24). The views expressed herein are her own, and do not represent the official views of the Academy or any other professional organization with which she is affiliated.
Goffredina Spanò 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.
Today Secretary General Rutte met with President von der Leyen for the first time since Mr Rutte took office at the helm of NATO.
Their discussion focused on the importance of a close and strategic partnership between NATO and the European Union.
Both agreed that in an increasingly dangerous world, this partnership is vital in order to champion and safeguard peace, freedom and prosperity.
Russia’s war of aggression on European soil is the single biggest threat to peace and security on the European continent.
Secretary General Rutte and President von der Leyen both emphasised that the deployment of North Korean soldiers in support of Russia’s war of aggression represented a significant escalation of the war against Ukraine as well as a serious threat to European security and global peace.
They also discussed the growing assertiveness of authoritarian states on the world’s stage. These states challenge our common interests, values and democratic principles, using multiple means – political, economic, technological and military.
To address these evolving threats and challenges, Secretary General Rutte and President von der Leyen have agreed today to set up a new high-level task force to strengthen the existing NATO-EU cooperation. Planning for the first meeting of the task force is expected to move forward in the coming weeks.
Keen Sword is the latest in a series of joint-bilateral field training exercises designed to increase combat readiness and interoperability of Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and U.S. forces.
In addition to Carrier Air Wing 5 and the strike group staff, embarked aboard the flagship Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), CTF 70 is represented in the exercise by the expeditionary Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 134, as well as the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88), both operating under Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15.
“The George Washington Carrier Strike Group’s presence is crucial in Keen Sword 25,” said Rear Adm. Greg Newkirk, commander of Task Force 70 and the carrier strike group. “In Keen Sword, our strike group rehearses complex, high-end warfighting with the joint force and allies. This type of exercise showcases the range, agility and lethality of our unified force and reestablishes the George Washington Carrier Strike Group in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations with emphasis.”
George Washington, returning in its second stint as the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier forward-deployed to Japan, departed the San Diego area on Oct. 8 to begin operations in the Indo-Pacific.
The carrier was previously forward-deployed to Yokosuka from 2008 to 2015, and will return there in late fall after completion of its current patrol. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) served as the forward-deployed carrier from 2015 until earlier this year.
“Keen Sword 25 provides the George Washington CSG an arena to flex its considerable capability in the air, surface and information domains,” said Newkirk. “Not only is the strike group conducting dynamic flight operations and complex expeditionary logistics during this exercise, it is also serving as a hub for tactical decision-making, driving action and reaction among forces throughout the region.”
The CSG team, with DESRON 15, is coordinating with Lake Erie, operating with allies in the Philippine Sea near Okinawa, as well as Preble, which is in Yokosuka providing a platform for bilateral Tomahawk Land-Attack Missile (TLAM) training with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force specialists.
Keen Sword is a biennial exercise designed to help promote peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region. This exercise, and others like it, are an opportunity to demonstrate to the world the will of the U.S. and allies to defend Japan, as well as the ironclad nature of the U.S.-Japan alliance, which has stood for more than 70 years.
As U.S. forces gear up for the latest iteration of Keen Sword, Navy personnel from across the globe are preparing for one of the largest bilateral military exercises between the United States and Japan.
Among those participating are Sailors from Navy Expeditionary Medical Facility (EMF) Bravo, currently stationed at Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Twentynine Palms. These Sailors will provide essential medical support throughout the exercise, ensuring operational readiness extends to medical care in the field. Their involvement highlights the critical role that medical teams play in maintaining the health and effectiveness of deployed forces.
The Oct. 23 to Nov. 1 exercise, aimed at testing operational readiness and strengthening combat interoperability, will bring together key military assets from both nations for a coordinated effort in maintaining regional security.
Since 1986, Keen Sword has brought together thousands of American and Japanese service members to train for potential real-world conflicts, with a specific focus on joint operations. The exercise serves as a platform for the U.S. military to work alongside Japan’s Self-Defense Forces in a simulated, yet highly realistic, mass casualty environment.
One of the many Sailors participating in the exercise is Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (HM1) Raymond Black from Colorado City, Arizona, a biomedical equipment repair technician. Black explained that the primary role of his team during the exercise is to set up and maintain a field hospital capable of receiving casualties in the event of an emergency.
“Much of the operation will be conducted by the Navy on ships, but our role will be setting up the field hospital to be on standby for patient evacs,” said Black. “That way if this were a real-world event, we would be prepared to receive casualties.”
The medical team participating in Keen Sword includes a wide variety of specialties, bringing together a broad range of medical expertise to support the mission effectively.
“It’s pretty much anything you’d need,” Black expressed. “We’ve got biomeds like myself. We’ve got radiology. We’ve got preventative medicine. We’ve got a surgical team, admin — we’re going to be basically a full hospital.”
Black, a seasoned biomed, has extensive experience serving overseas, having deployed to Iraq twice and Kuwait once. His deployments have given him a unique perspective on the challenges of maintaining and repairing medical equipment in a field setting.
“Trying to perform maintenance and repairs while deployed is significantly harder,” Black said. “You might have to wait weeks for parts, or the equipment could be so old that they don’t make parts for it anymore. That experience helps me prepare for the unexpected challenges we might face in this exercise.”
Lieutenant Junior Grade Belinda Larche, a patient administration officer originally hailing from Cameroon emphasized the importance of the exercise in evaluating readiness.
“Keen Sword is designed to assess EMF Bravo’s ability to deploy within 10 days and provide Role III healthcare support in an austere environment,” she said.
Larche, who has previously served overseas as a medical regulator (MEDREG) in Iraq, believes the skills she gained from her deployments will be critical during Keen Sword.
“I served in Iraq as the MEDREG of 28 Joint and 9 Coalition Units across the Combined Joint Task Force Area of operations in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM),” Latched explained. “As the MEDREG for Navy Expeditionary Medical Unit Role-2E, I led a team of three medical operations personnel in executing 25 urgent, priority, and routine intra and inter-theater medical evacuations. I believe the skills I honed during that mission will greatly assist me and my team to accomplish Keen Sword successfully.”
One of the less visible but equally essential roles during the exercise will be filled by Information Systems Technician 3rd Class Christopher Logan from Long Beach, California. Logan’s responsibilities include ensuring communication systems are fully operational, allowing seamless coordination during medical evacuations.
“I am going to help run the systems, make sure that nothing goes down, and try to maintain network stability as a system administrator,” Logan said. “We’ll also be setting up communications so we can transmit medical information and better coordinate patient care.”
HM1 Isai Lopez, a surgical technician from Florida, will assist in setting up and maintaining a sterile environment for potential surgeries. Lopez, who has previously served at NMRTC Rota and aboard the USS Essex, emphasized the value of training in realistic environments.
“In this exercise, we have the privilege of training to receive patients in a mass casualty situation for multiple days to create the stressful environment the medical force may receive in a real-life scenario. This allows us to find ways to be as efficient as possible,” Lopez said. “It’s crucial that this isn’t the first time we’re exposed to these situations. The way this (exercise) becomes most effective is for those attending Keen Sword to share their experience with every Sailor.”
Black also highlighted the exercise’s value for further bolstering strategic interoperability with Japan.
“Keen Sword helps us work out problems so we can operate smoothly with our Japanese allies,” he said. “Because, with any operation, the main issue is always communications — who’s doing what, what needs to happen, and when. The goal is to make sure that, if a conflict arises, these questions are already answered to the point that we’re fully ready.”
Keen Sword, which occurs every two years, reflects the ongoing commitment of the U.S. and Japan to maintain regional stability in the Indo-Pacific. This year’s exercise comes amid growing concerns about the security dynamics in the region, particularly with China’s increasing military presence.
“We need to be prepared for anything,” Black added. “That’s why exercises like Keen Sword are so important.”
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Anthoni van Nieuwkerk, Professor of International and Diplomacy Studies, Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs, University of South Africa
The last two summits of Brics countries have raised questions about the coalition’s identity and purpose. This began to come into focus at the summit hosted by South Africa in 2023, and more acutely at the recent 2024 summit in Kazan, Russia.
At both events the alliance undertook to expand its membership. In 2023, the first five Brics members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – invited Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to join. All bar Saudi Arabia have now done so. The 2024 summit pledged to admit 13 more, perhaps as associates or “partner countries”.
On paper, the nine-member Brics+ strikes a powerful pose. It has a combined population of about 3.5 billion, or 45% of the world’s people. Combined, its economies are worth more than US$28.5 trillion – about 28% of the global economy. With Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE as members, Brics+ produces about 44% of the world’s crude oil.
Based on my research and policy advice to African foreign policy decision-makers, I would argue that there are three possible interpretations of the purpose of Brics+.
A club of self-interested members – a kind of global south cooperative. What I’d label as a self-help organisation.
A reforming bloc with a more ambitious goal of improving the workings of the current global order.
A disrupter, preparing to replace the western-dominated liberal world order.
Analysing the commitments that were made at the meeting in Russia, I would argue that Brics+ sees itself more as a self-interested reformer. It represents the thinking among global south leaders about the nature of global order, and the possibilities of shaping a new order. This, as the world moves away from the financially dominant, yet declining western order (in terms of moral influence) led by the US. The move is to a multipolar order in which the east plays a leading role.
However, the ability of Brics+ to exploit such possibilities is constrained by its make-up and internal inconsistencies. These include a contested identity, incongruous values and lack of resources to convert political commitments into actionable plans.
Summit outcomes
The trend towards closer trade and financial cooperation and coordination stands out as a major achievement of the Kazan summit. Other achievements pertain to global governance and counter-terrorism.
When it comes to trade and finance, the final communiqué said the following had been agreed:
adoption of local currencies in trade and financial transactions. The Kazan Declaration notes the benefits of faster, low cost, more efficient, transparent, safe and inclusive cross-border payment instruments. The guiding principle would be minimal trade barriers and non-discriminatory access.
establishment of a cross-border payment system. The declaration encourages correspondent banking networks within Brics, and enabling settlements in local currencies in line with the Brics Cross-Border Payments Initiative. This is voluntary and nonbinding and is to be discussed further.
creation of an enhanced roles for the New Development Bank, such as promoting infrastructure and sustainable development.
a proposed Brics Grain Exchange, to improve food security through enhanced trade in agricultural commodities.
All nine Brics+ countries committed themselves to the principles of the UN Charter – peace and security, human rights, the rule of law, and development – primarily as a response to the western unilateral sanctions.
The summit emphasised that dialogue and diplomacy should prevail over conflict in, among other places, the Middle East, Sudan, Haiti and Afghanistan.
Faultlines and tensions
Despite the positive tone of the Kazan declaration, there are serious structural fault lines and tensions inherent in the architecture and behaviour of Brics+. These might limit its ambitions to be a meaningful change agent.
The members don’t even agree on the definition of Brics+. President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa calls it a platform. Others talk of a group (Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi) or a family (Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jianan).
So what could it be?
Brics+ is state-driven – with civil society on the margins. It reminds one of the African Union, which pays lip service to citizens’ engagement in decision-making.
But it would need to cohere around shared values. What would they be?
Critics point out that Brics+ consists of democracies (South Africa, Brazil, India), a theocracy (Iran), monarchies (UAE, Saudi Arabia) and authoritarian dictatorships (China, Russia). For South Africa this creates a domestic headache. At the Kazan summit, its president declared Russia a friend and ally. At home, its coalition partner in the government of national unity, the Democratic Alliance, declared Ukraine as a friend and ally.
There are also marked differences over issues such as the reform of the United Nations. For example, at the recent UN Summit of the Future the consensus was for reform of the UN security council. But will China and Russia, as permanent security council members, agree to more seats, with veto rights, on the council?
As for violent conflict, humanitarian crises, corruption and crime, there is little from the Kazan summit that suggests agreement around action.
Unity of purpose
What about shared interests? A number of Brics+ members and the partner countries maintain close trade ties with the west, which regards Russia and Iran as enemies and China as a global threat.
Some, such as India and South Africa, use the foreign policy notions of strategic ambiguity or active non-alignment to mask the reality of trading with east, west, north and south.
The harsh truth of international relations is there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests. The Brics+ alliance will most likely cohere as a global south co-operative, with an innovative self-help agenda, but be reluctant to overturn the current global order from which it desires to benefit more equitably.
Trade-offs and compromises might be necessary to ensure “unity of purpose”. It’s not clear that this loose alliance is close to being able to achieve that.
– Brics+ could shape a new world order, but it lacks shared values and a unified identity – https://theconversation.com/brics-could-shape-a-new-world-order-but-it-lacks-shared-values-and-a-unified-identity-242308
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By David Jackman, Departmental Lecturer in Development Studies, University of Oxford
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the world’s longest reigning female political leader, fled Bangladesh on 5 August 2024 for the safety of India. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of protesters descended on Bangladesh’s capital city, Dhaka. The crowds ransacked her official residence, occupied the nation’s parliament and burnt down her family home.
Hasina, who had ruled the country for more than 20 years in total, had been widely accused of turning autocratic and clamping down severely on any opposition to her rule.
For many, the Bangladesh revolution offers hope in the context of growing global authoritarianism. It illustrates the power of the youth to confront entrenched leaders, and the fragility of authoritarianism. It also highlights a striking feature of contemporary global politics: how central capital cities are to the political life of nations.
In our new book, Controlling the Capital: Political Dominance in the Urbanizing World, a diverse range of scholars argue that capital cities are crucial political sites. They’re where governing elites seek to assert and maintain political control, and they are also stages for political contestation.
The book is focused on sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the two fastest-urbanising regions of the world.
Authors explore the strategies and tactics used by ruling elites to politically dominate their capital cities in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The authors also consider how urban populations have engaged with these efforts. People may resist authority, but they can also cooperate with it in ways that benefit themselves – which sometimes reinforces or supports authoritarian control.
This is increasingly important in the context of two contemporary trends. First, authoritarianism is growing globally. Just 10 years ago under half of the world’s population lived under authoritarian rule; now the figure is at 71%. The second trend is the ongoing rapid urbanisation of the world’s population, with the majority of us globally now living in urban areas.
Urban unrest
Over the past year we’ve seen how capital cities are spaces for contestation.
Some pro-democracy movements draw from their own histories of struggle and the paths that have been carved by those before them. The template of Bangladesh’s 2024 revolution is ingrained in politics from the ways in which liberation was fought and how later struggles against authoritarian rule were won. The capital city has also been crucial, and students at Dhaka University were key mobilisers in such movements.
In other contexts, the link between political resistance and urban areas is a relatively new and surprising route to political change. One example is “the struggle” seen in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo and the unseating of the Rajapaksa family, who were perceived as increasingly authoritarian rulers of the country. The Colombo chapter in this volume highlights how such protests emerged in a context where urban unrest had rarely threatened those in power before.
Even where anti-authoritarian protests have proved futile time and again, urban populations rarely remain quiet.
In Kampala, Uganda, demonstrations prior to the 2021 elections resulted in a horrifying government crackdown. Inspired by events in neighbouring Kenya, protesters took to the streets once more in July 2024 to demonstrate against corruption.
The protests that erupted in Nairobi from late June 2024 against tax rises engulfed the capital city. They continued for some time, fuelled by the brutal police response. Similarly, Nigeria’s 2020 #EndSARS protests against police brutality created a powerful movement in cities such as Abuja and Lagos which shook government, and resonated across much of the continent.
In an age of social media, learning and mimicry across national borders is increasingly common. One of the defining images of Kenya’s 2024 urban uprising was of a group of men with their arms raised and crossed at the wrists – a gesture of anti-authoritarian protest that gained particular resonance several years back during neighbouring Ethiopia’s own uprising.
As urban protest seems set to continue and spread – often taking intentionally similar forms – techniques of urban authoritarian control are more varied and complex.
Strategies to dominate and control city populations can be dramatic and repressive – such as the brute force of police violence – and they can also be subtle, deeply ingrained, and sometimes difficult to discern.
Authoritarian tactics
Our book argues that authoritarian leaders are increasingly aware of the power of the urban masses. As a result, they are using a range of subtle, and not-so-subtle, tactics to entrench their domination in capital cities.
The first are policies and favours that actively build support among urban groups. These can range from inclusion in political parties to investments in social provisions or infrastructure to win support. The book’s chapter on Addis Ababa shows how the latter were particularly striking under the previous governing regime in Ethiopia.
The second are repressive interventions that aim to crush opposition. These are also diverse, and include violent crackdowns, but also surveillance and intimidation.
In practice, the two types of interventions often overlap. The line also blurs through various forms of manipulation. For instance, misinformation or the delivery of goods in exchange for performances of political loyalty, underpinned by implicit threats of coercion.
We also highlight the significance of urban geography.
Ruling elites often seek to divide city populations (for example inner-city dwellers versus the peripheries). This is evident in our book’s chapter on Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Rajapaksas tried to consolidate power by appealing to the new middle class suburbanites through “beautification” projects. But these displaced and excluded the inner-city poor.
Chapters on Harare and Kampala also show how particular peripheral areas have become central to efforts to build an urban support base by Zanu-PF and the National Resistance Movement. This often plays out through the informal parcelling out of land to supporters.
Contesting autocratic rule
Concerns about authoritarian politics are at an all-time high.
The above Google Ngram highlights the perilous rise in the use of the term “autocratization” in published work over the past decade.
Meanwhile, the contestation of autocratic rule will continue to erupt in cities, especially in rapidly urbanising parts of the world. In this context, the need to understand how autocracy and urbanisation collide could hardly be more important.
If pro-democracy forces are to have any hope of prevailing against efforts by authoritarian ruling elites to entrench their position, there is a crucial need to better understand their urban strategies and tactics.
– Autocrats and cities: how capitals have become a battleground for protest and control – https://theconversation.com/autocrats-and-cities-how-capitals-have-become-a-battleground-for-protest-and-control-240377
