Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Current Convective Watches (View What is a Watch? clip)Updated: Sat Sep 28 00:03:05 UTC 2024 No watches are currently valid
Archived Convective ProductsTo view convective products for a previous day, type in the date you wish to retrieve (e.g. 20040529 for May 29, 2004). Data available since January 1, 2004.
Source: European Parliament 3
Political groups presented their candidates for Sakharov Prize 2024 during a joint committee meeting on Thursday. The three finalists will be selected in October.
The candidates for the 2024 Sakharov Prize, the highest tribute paid by the EU to human rights work, are:
– María Corina Machado as the leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela and President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia, representing all Venezuelans inside and outside the country fighting for the re-institution of freedom and democracy, Venezuela, nominated by the EPP group ;
– “Women wage peace” and “Women of the sun” and their co-founders Yael Admi and Reem Hajajreh, Israel/Palestine, nominated by the S&D group;
– Elon Musk, United States, nominated by the Patriots for Europe group;
– Edmundo González Urrutia, Venezuela, nominated by the ECR group;
– Women Wage Peace & Women of the Sun, Israel/Palestine, nominated by the Renew Europe group;
– Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu, Azerbaijan, nominated by The Greens/EFA group;
– Journalists in Palestine (Hamza & Wael Al-Dahdouh, Plestia Alaqad, Shireen Abu Akleh and Ain Media in honour of Yasser Murtaja & Roshdi Sarraj), Palestine, nominated by The Left group;
– Elon Musk, United States, nominated by Europe of Sovereign nations group.
The candidates were presented today in a joint meeting held by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Committee on Development.
Background and next steps
Awarded for the first time in 1988 to Nelson Mandela and Anatoli Marchenko, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is the highest tribute paid by the European Union to human rights work. It gives recognition to individuals, groups and organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to protecting freedom of thought. It promotes in particular freedom of expression, the rights of minorities, respect for international law, the development of democracy and the implementation of the rule of law. In 2023, the prize was awarded to Jina Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran.
On 19 September, MEPs and political groups nominated their candidates for the Sakharov Prize. Each nominee must have the support of at least one political group or 40 MEPs, and each individual Member may support only one nominee.
A shortlist of three candidates will be drawn up through a vote by the Foreign Affairs and Development committees on 17 October. The final winner or winners of the Sakharov Prize are chosen by the Conference of Presidents, a European Parliament body led by the president, which includes the leaders of all the political groups represented in the Parliament, making the choice of laureates a truly European choice. This year, the Conference of Presidents will choose the winning laureate on 24 October. The award ceremony will take place on 18 December, during a plenary sitting in Strasbourg.
MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –
Source: Government of Canada – in French
Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, and the United Kingdom’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Africa), HE Lord Collins of Highbury, presented the award to Amu TV CEO Lotfullah Najafizada on behalf of his fellow journalists and independent Afghan media.
September 27, 2024 – New York, United States of America – Global Affairs Canada
The 2024 Canada-UK Press Freedom Award was presented today to independent Afghan journalists and media outlets for their courage in reporting despite restrictions imposed by the Taliban.
Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, and the United Kingdom’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Africa), HE Lord Collins of Highbury, presented the award to Amu TV CEO Lotfullah Najafizada on behalf of his fellow journalists and independent Afghan media.
This award is a testament to Canada and the UK’s enduring commitment to supporting free and independent journalism.
Every day, independent Afghan journalists and media continue to provide a platform for uncensored information and hope in Afghanistan in the face of severe repression by the Taliban since August 2021.
Journalists and independent media are facing the risks posed by the Taliban’s harsh crackdown on journalism, working courageously to ensure press freedom is maintained in a difficult climate. They are reporting on the critical issues facing Afghanistan under Taliban rule, including human rights violations and the plight of women and girls, including forced marriages and denial of access to education.
Established in 2020, the Canada–UK Press Freedom Award recognizes individuals who have defended freedom of expression and democracy.
Egyptian online newspaper Mada Masr won the award in 2023. Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang was the winner in 2022, and the 2020 prize went to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.
The announcement of the 2024 prize takes place during the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly.
The Media Freedom Coalition, which was co-founded by the United Kingdom and Canada and now has more than 50 members, celebrated its fifth anniversary during the week’s activities.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.
Source: Australian Government – Minister of Foreign Affairs
President, friends –
Steeled by the horror of the most catastrophic conflict in history, humanity forged our United Nations.
Its purpose often defined not as taking us to heaven, but saving us from hell.
Yet we convene this week with so much of the human family enshrouded in darkness.
More conflict than any time since World War Two.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sudan.
Myanmar.
Yemen.
Gaza.
And now Lebanon.
Brutal, degrading conflict ingraining hatred and division; pushing peace into the unseeable distance; and pulling neighbours into an endless, reflexive cycle of blame and retaliation.
Such entrenched violence has its own gravity: more violence becomes the path of least resistance.
Seeing past hatred is hard. Building trust is hard. Compromise is hard. Making peace is hard.
But the future otherwise is not worthy of our children and the present is not worthy of ourselves.
We must remember why we built this institution.
The UN system is where the world comes together to agree and uphold standards and rules; to protect all of the world’s peoples and the sovereignty of all nations.
These rules always matter – never more so than in times of conflict – when they help guide us out of darkness, back toward light.
Back on a path towards peace, stability and prosperity.
Not long after we last gathered here, Israel was attacked by the terrorist group Hamas, which killed 1,200 people.
This was the greatest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, and Hamas continues to hold hostages.
It was an attack that cannot and should not be justified.
Like many countries, Australia has imposed sanctions on Hamas, its leaders and financial facilitators.
In Israel’s response, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed.
More than 11,000 children.
Nearly two million Gazans displaced, some many times over.
More than two million facing acute food insecurity.
This must end.
Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas.
All lives have equal value.
Last month we marked 75 years since the world established the Geneva Conventions – the foundations of international humanitarian law, to limit human suffering in conflict.
War has rules. Every country in this room must abide by them.
Even when confronting terrorists.
Even when defending borders.
Israel must comply with the binding orders of the International Court of Justice, including to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance at scale.
Australia shares the frustration of the great majority of countries, more than 77 years since the General Assembly adopted Resolution 181: a plan for two states side by side – one Jewish, one Palestinian.
77 years later, that Palestinian state still does not exist – long held out as the promise at the end of a peace process that has ground to a halt.
The world cannot wait.
We must all contribute new ways to break the cycle of conflict.
Earlier this year, Australia voted in this General Assembly in support of Palestinian aspirations for full membership of the UN.
We have sanctioned Israeli extremist settlers and will deny anyone identified as an extremist settler a visa to travel to Australia.
But individual country actions alone are not moving the dial.
The international community must work together to pave a path to lasting peace.
The world cannot keep hoping the parties will do this themselves; we cannot allow any party to obstruct the prospect of peace.
As I have said for many months, Australia no longer sees Palestinian recognition as the destination of a peace process, but a contribution of momentum towards peace.
Australia wants to engage on new ways to build momentum, including the role of the Security Council in setting a pathway for two-states, with a clear timeline for the international declaration of Palestinian statehood.
Because a two-state solution is the only hope of breaking the endless cycle of violence – the only hope to see a secure and prosperous future for both peoples.
To give the Palestinian people the opportunity to realise their aspirations through self-determination.
To strengthen the forces for peace across the region and undermine extremism.
A two-state solution, Israel and Palestine, is the opposite of what Hamas wants.
Hamas does not want peace, and it does not want security for the State of Israel.
Any future Palestinian state must not be in a position to threaten Israel’s security.
There can be no role for terrorists. And it will need a reformed Palestinian Authority.
Right now, the suffering across the region must end. Hostages must be released. Aid must flow.
We have provided more than $80 million in humanitarian aid to support civilians who have been devasted by this conflict.
But humanitarian aid is not a long-term answer.
It is now nearly 300 days since Australia and 152 other countries voted for a ceasefire.
Today I repeat that call.
Just as I repeat Australia’s call for a ceasefire in Lebanon, and for parties to fully implement Resolution 1701. Lebanon cannot become the next Gaza.
We know Australia is not a central player in the Middle East, but we seek to be a constructive voice for peace and the upholding of international law, including the protection of civilians.
In order to protect civilians, we must also protect aid workers who deliver the food, water and medicine civilians need to survive.
Aid workers are the best of humanity. Their selfless devotion to improving the lives of others should not cost them their own.
Yet 2023 was the deadliest year on record for aid workers, and 2024 is on track to be even worse.
Gaza is the most dangerous place on earth to be an aid worker.
Australia felt this deeply with the IDF’s strike against World Central Kitchen vehicles, which killed Australian Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues.
This was not a one-off incident. More than 300 aid workers have been killed since the start of this conflict.
This week, Australia has convened a group of ministers to pursue a new Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel.
The Declaration will be developed over the coming months, to demonstrate the unity of the international community’s commitment to protect aid workers and to channel that commitment into action in Gaza, in Sudan, in Ukraine and in all current and future conflicts.
All countries will be invited to join the Declaration.
I want to thank my fellow ministers from Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Sierra Leone, Switzerland and the United Kingdom – and the humanitarian leaders who have partnered with us in this.
As Zomi Frankcom’s family said this week:
“People like Zomi are rare and their bravery and selflessness should be not only celebrated but protected. They can’t be brave at any cost.”
The world’s peoples are counting on all of us here to rededicate ourselves to international humanitarian law, and the rest of the rules we have agreed to preserve peace and security.
Russia continues its vicious assault on the people and sovereignty of Ukraine, in flagrant violation of the UN Charter.
Aside from terrible damage and loss of life in Ukraine, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is also propelling the global crisis in food and energy security…
Raising the cost of living for working people all over the world.
This year we saw Russia end the mandate of the Security Council’s Panel of Experts on the DPRK after fourteen years of unanimous support.
The DPRK continues its unlawful activities with impunity, conducting illegal arms transfers to Russia and threatening our region, including the Republic of Korea and Japan.
We are concerned that Russia is sharing nuclear and space information and technology with Iran.
Rules are being blurred, undermined, and at times, blatantly violated.
We must rally to defend these rules that protect all of us; these rules that form the character of the world that we want.
A world where Australia and other countries have the freedom to decide our own futures, without interference and intimidation.
A world where we can find collective solutions to our toughest problems.
These problems are evolving and changing, but the commitment of some states to the rules underpinning the international system has not evolved for the better.
Whether cyberattacks, interference, disinformation or economic coercion – some states circumvent the rules, putting further out of reach collective approaches to counter new and emerging threats.
Pressing challenges like climate change, technology, poverty, reform of financial architecture – and increasingly necessary peacebuilding work.
We need reform of the UN system to better serve us all.
But reform cannot become a means for disruptors to dismantle protections for smaller countries.
No state should pretend the rules don’t apply to them;
Ignoring international rulings;
Using might over multilateralism;
Ruling by power alone, not by law;
Favouring impunity rather than facing accountability;
Forcing outcomes by economic coercion or military muscle, rather than on the level playing field we established so carefully.
We see some states trying to set us against each other, when the challenges demand that we come together – that we stand together in support of the security, prosperity and sovereignty of all countries.
Australia has a different vision for the world. One where no country dominates, and no country is dominated.
When disputes inevitably arise, we insist those differences are managed through dialogue, and according to the rules, not simply by force or raw power.
It’s why we have consistently pressed China on peace and stability in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
And why we have welcomed the resumption of leader and military level dialogue between the US and China.
Some countries may dismiss the rules as a Western construct. Our Asia-Pacific region tells a different story.
Take the agreement between Vietnam and Indonesia to delimit their Exclusive Economic Zone after twelve years of negotiations – an example of how long-standing maritime disputes can be resolved in accordance with international law.
Take Vanuatu’s landmark International Court of Justice initiative on climate change.
Or Fiji and Solomon Islands maritime boundary agreements.
Take the Bay of Bengal Arbitration where states peacefully resolved long-standing and sensitive claims under UNCLOS: the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Or Australia and Timor-Leste initiating the first ever compulsory conciliation under UNCLOS, leading to the resolution of our maritime boundary dispute.
We see it in the Philippines’ decision to go to the Arbitral Tribunal, constituted under the UNCLOS – and its unanimous, clear, ruling in the South China Sea arbitration between the Philippines and China, which is final and binding on the parties.
These cases in our region illustrate how international law has been built, defended and promoted by small and medium countries from different traditions.
The countries of our region have embedded the rules that serve us all, and we make an ongoing contribution to maintaining and promoting them.
Together we want to pursue peaceful ways to resolve disputes.
We know that this doesn’t happen on its own. All of us help make it happen.
Australia is doing this by being active, by exercising agency, and by contributing our efforts to the balance of power in our region and our world.
Our candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the term 2029-2030 reflects our deep commitment to contributing to international peace and security.
The Security Council is a foundation of our collective peace and security. But we must reform it.
Australia wants greater permanent and non-permanent representation for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Asia-Pacific.
This body must represent the world as it is in the 21st century.
We must also reform the peacebuilding and conflict prevention architecture. It is not working.
That will be the focus of our coming term on the Peacebuilding Commission.
Australia will support national prevention strategies in our term, essential for local peacebuilding.
We are providing additional resources and staff to the PBC’s support and secretariat bodies.
And we will increase our voluntary contribution to the UN Peacebuilding Fund to $15 million per year.
We are committed to doing all we can to de-escalate and prevent conflict.
We do this by responding when we, or our neighbours, are coerced or have sovereignty threatened.
We do this by supporting our region’s security – as we did at the Pacific Islands Forum this month, when we stood side-by-side with Pacific leaders to announce a Pacific-led, Australia-backed Pacific Policing Initiative.
We do this by backing the call of Fiji’s President for a cessation of ballistic missile testing in the Pacific.
We do this by combining reassurance and deterrence – by working with our friends and partners, openly and transparently, so no potential aggressor thinks the pursuit of conflict is worth the risk.
But there is so much more to do.
For peace to be truly durable it must be built by, and for, all of society.
That includes women.
Yet here, in the world’s premier peace forum, only around one in ten speakers at this dais so far this week have been women.
Gender equality is a primary predictor of peace, even more so than a state’s wealth or political system.
That is why Australia champions the Women, Peace and Security agenda.
We support initiatives that we know are working, like the Southeast Asia Women Peace Mediators, who link stakeholders to enhance the potential for constructive dialogue.
Like the Pacific Women Mediator’s Network, a locally led, vibrant and inclusive platform to support women’s political leadership.
And earlier this week, with Germany, Canada and the Netherlands, Australia invoked Afghanistan’s responsibility under international law for violations of the rights of women and girls.
The Taliban have erased women from Afghanistan’s self-portrait.
Effectively imprisoning half their society’s population immediately halves their country’s potential.
Depleting the soul and prospects of a nation.
Any country that wants to develop fully must encourage the full participation of all its people.
So we can’t pursue only parts of the 2030 Agenda: we must achieve all of the Sustainable Development Goals.
And yet, with just over five years to 2030, over a third of the SDG’s are stalled or regressing, and finance targets are not being met.
In times of scarcity, we need every development dollar to count.
This is why we need to strengthen the global financial architecture.
This is why Australia is backing the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index and the Bridgetown initiative.
This is why Australia is championing reforms that make Multilateral Development Banks more responsive to global shocks, and build sustainability and resilience, particularly in the smallest and most vulnerable countries.
This year, Australia committed 492 million Australian dollars to the Asian Development Fund, working with Japan to unlock a record 5 billion US dollars in new assistance to the region’s most vulnerable countries over the next decade.
Financial pressures are further strained by the trend of trade being used as a point of leverage rather than an opportunity, as economic interdependence is misused for strategic and political ends.
Nearly every country in this room depends on open trade with transparent and predictable rules.
We must keep working together to uphold these trade rules that underpin our economic growth and the livelihoods of our peoples.
Of course it’s not just finance and unfair trade arrangements that threaten development.
Climate change is causing more disasters, reversing years of development gains overnight.
Extreme weather threatens food and water security, with grave implications for global stability.
Australia is acting at home, enshrining our ambitious emissions reduction targets into legislation: 43 per cent by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
We are transforming our economy.
Within this decade, 82 per cent of Australia’s electricity generation will be renewable, up from around 32 per cent when I first addressed you two years ago.
We are building new industries to accelerate our economic transition and to export reliable, renewable energy to the world.
And we are acting internationally, to respond to our partners.
By the end of 2025, Australia will offer Climate Resilient Debt Clauses in our sovereign loans.
And the groundbreaking Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union Treaty entered into force on 28 August.
It is the first time two nations have recognised, in a legally binding treaty, continuing statehood and sovereignty, notwithstanding the impacts of sea-level rise.
This agreement supports Tuvaluans to live and thrive at home through land reclamation and investments in infrastructure, education and health.
At the same time, Tuvaluans have the choice to live, study and work in Australia.
‘Mobility with dignity’ means ensuring people have a genuine choice to stay.
Pacific voices have demonstrated sustained, clear and innovative leadership, as well as tremendous resilience.
This is why we are bidding to host COP31 in partnership with the Pacific.
We want to show the world the unique climate challenges facing our region and amplify the voices of Small Island Developing States, the custodians of our world’s oceans.
President, we know that along with climate change, technology will define the multilateral system and development goals for decades to come.
We want safe, accessible technology that is used for the global good – not as a tool for censorship, surveillance, exclusion and division.
From the start of negotiations for the Global Digital Compact, Australia has advocated that all states should boost access to digital technologies that offer benefits to our world.
We know that if countries don’t have digital infrastructure, they will miss out.
This is why we are building sustainable south-south connectivity, including submarine cables across the Pacific.
We also know not all knowledge is new.
First Nations’ people’s deep knowledge must be preserved and protected.
Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been innovators, inventors and knowledge-holders for over 65,000 years.
Whether it is firestick farming used to sustainably manage Country, or the engineering of great stone fish traps across rivers and seas.
That unbroken line of innovation has continued to this day.
Earlier this year, Australia’s Ambassador for First Nations People helped bring countries together to finalise the World Intellectual Property Organization Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge.
The treaty acknowledges the link between traditional knowledge, innovation and intellectual property.
It helps First Nations communities identify and protect the use of their knowledge by others, which will in turn spur collaboration between researchers, innovators and communities, opening up new opportunities for First Nations entrepreneurship.
This treaty is remarkable for another reason.
It serves as a source for optimism.
193 member states have agreed on new rules to the world’s intellectual property system.
That is an extraordinary achievement.
As I said at the outset, the international outlook is framed by entrenched division.
Where consensus often seems a lost cause.
But we collectively moved the intellectual property system a step forward.
Just as we collectively moved forward this week with the Pact for the Future.
And these recent wins remind us of the gains we’ve made we that need to protect.
Of the ways our lives are better because of the United Nations.
Of the ways our world is better because of our collective contribution to the international system.
It promotes economic development and makes trade more fair – together supporting job creation, overcoming poverty, and enabling small and medium countries to resist coercion.
It guards against the spread of nuclear weapons.
It sets the standards that keep food safe.
It assigns the satellite orbits that take the internet to the most remote reaches.
It sets the standards that keep 120,000 flights and 12 million passengers safely in the sky every day.
It is resolving and preventing conflicts in 53 peacekeeping and political missions.
Each year it saves more than 350 million children from malnutrition.
And most of all – let us always remember – we are collectively descended from people who lived in a harsher, more dangerous world…
Who built this UN system to confine horrors of the past to history, and to give us a better life.
We have no option and no excuse but to find a way through our challenges today, immense and intractable as they are.
We must work together.
We must drive change where it is needed, transparently, together.
We must drive change to include all the world’s peoples.
To deploy the collective agency that this forum provides, so we combat climate change, poverty and coercion…
So we negotiate peace.
President, friends –
We must not allow others to divide us for their own gain…
To dilute the protections that are inherent in the UN Charter, that are codified in the Geneva Conventions.
Rather, we have to reinforce those protections, in the interests of all states and civilians.
That is what Australia is for.
A peaceful, stable and prosperous world for all.
Where sovereignty is respected.
Where civilians are protected.
Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND
The combined armed and defense forces of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, and the United States, demonstrating a collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific, will conduct a Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, 27 Sept.
The naval and air force units of participating nations will operate together enhancing cooperation and interoperability between our armed forces. The activity will be conducted in a manner that is consistent with international law and with due regard to the safety of navigation and the rights and interests of other States.
The U.S., along with our allies and partners, uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, as well as respect to the maritime rights under international law.
Source: European Parliament 3
Ministers are holding a series of meetings in parliamentary committees to present the priorities of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council.
Hungary holds the Presidency of the Council until December 2024 included. This text will be updated regularly as the hearings take place.
Constitutional Affairs
On 19 September, European Union Affairs Minister János Bóka highlighted the need to reform the EU for upcoming enlargement and told MEPs that the Presidency envisions two ministerial-level discussions on the future of Europe. He raised concerns about maintaining interinstitutional balance when reforming the Framework Agreement between the EP and the Commission and mentioned the transparency of interest representation, EU accession to the European Court of Human Rights, and the EU Ethics Body as other priorities.
MEPs debated issues including the Hungarian government’s stance on EU values and its compliance with EU Court of Justice judgments. Many speakers raised concerns on the Prime Minister’s recent visits to Moscow and Beijing, while others advocated enhancing national authorities’ role in EU decision-making. Hungary’s announcement that it will seek an opt-out from migration rules and its national assembly’s position that European elections should be abolished were also discussed.
Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
On 23 September, Anikó Raisz, Secretary of State for Environmental Affairs and Circular Economy, said the Presidency would push for a more competitive Europe while addressing the triple challenge of reducing pollution, mitigating climate change, and preserving biodiversity. MEPs quizzed the Minister on the EU’s greenhouse gas reduction target for 2040, the Clean Industrial Deal, COP29, recent floods in Europe, the circular economy, pollution, new genomic techniques, chemicals, the role of forests and soil monitoring.
Péter Takács, Secretary of State for Health, highlighted, as priorities, adopting Council conclusions on cardiovascular diseases and renewing EU cooperation on organ donation and transplants. The Presidency also intends to adopt the updated Council recommendation on smoke-free environments and advance on the pharmaceutical package. MEPs quizzed the Presidency on measures foreseen on rare diseases, equal access to medicines, shortages in the healthcare workforce, the competitiveness of the EU’s pharmaceutical industry as well as mRNA vaccines.
Development
On 26 September Tristan Azbej, State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians, said that the Presidency would pay particular attention to the humanitarian-peace-development nexus, especially in the Sahel region. Mr Azbej also mentioned as priorities the implementation of the EU’s Samoa Agreement with the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific region, tacking the root causes of migration in partner countries, and supporting the Global Gateway initiative and the Team Europe approach to development.
MEPs raised questions about the credibility of the Presidency’s claims to advocate for human rights and democracy, given the rule of law concerns around the government as well as its ties with China and Russia. They also raised the importance of addressing the global persecution of Christians, and plans for closer cooperation with partner countries and countries of origin on returns and readmissions.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced a $334,996 investment to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to help efforts to locate potential victims and prevent human trafficking in the state, as part of PUCO’s oversight of commercial motor vehicle safety. This investment was awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
“We have a collective responsibility to protect and support survivors of trafficking and this is a vital investment in the safety and well-being of Ohioans,” said Brown. “This investment will help identify and put a stop to human trafficking activity.”
The investment was made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – legislation that Brown helped write and pass – and is provided from FMCSA’s High Priority-Commercial Motor Vehicle program.
If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
Report missing children to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-THE-LOST (843-5678).
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) welcomed the construction of the Butler Warren County Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Training Center in Liberty Township. The U.S. Department of Economic Administration awarded $1.5 million to the Butler and Warren County Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Trust Fund to build a 19,900-square-foot electrical trades training facility to prepare local workers with the necessary skills to secure good-paying, union jobs. This project is expected to create 300 jobs, retain 200 jobs, and generate $20 million in private investment.
“As we position Ohio to lead in the industries of the future, we need to make sure the next generation of Ohioans have the skills they need to succeed,” said Brown. “The Butler Warren County Joint Apprenticeship Training Center will prepare students for careers in the trades and expand opportunities for more Ohioans to get good-paying, union jobs.”
Source: United Nations secretary general
The Secretary-General met with H.E. Mr. Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. The Secretary-General thanked Foreign Minister Wang Yi for China’s contribution to the United Nations and its activities. The Secretary-General and the Foreign Minister discussed the implementation of the Pact for the Future. They also discussed international and regional issues of concern. The Secretary-General expressed readiness to strengthen cooperation with China in all pillars of United Nations activity.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, following his push, U.S. Senator Sherod Brown (D-OH) announced that the United States Air Force selected the Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus as one of seven finalists to become the main operating base for the new KC-46A. Between the proven performance of the Ohio Air National Guard’s 121st Air Refueling Wing (ARW) and its two 12,000-foot runways, Rickenbacker Air Guard Station (AGS) is well-positioned to accept the new eight KC-46A aircraft.
“Ohio has a long tradition of innovation and aerospace leadership, and the 121st Air Refueling Wing supports critical missions throughout the country and around the globe,” said Brown. “The Columbus Community and all of Ohio proudly supports the 121st. Rickenbacker’s outstanding facilities and proven performance and wealth of experience makes it an ideal location for the KC-46A operating base.”
The KC-46A provides aerial refueling support to the U.S. military and is the next generation of refueling and hauling capabilities. Due to the 121st ARW’s proven track record of exemplary performance in the air refueling mission, Rickenbacker is the ideal location to be the main operating base for the KC-46A.
Last week, Brown also secured $8,994,283 for the Columbus Regional Airport Authority to help rehabilitate Runway RL-23R at Rickenbacker to provide first responders closer access to the runway, improving rapid response capabilities and supporting the 121st’s missions. Brown advocated for this investment in the government funding package.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced a new investment to reimburse the cost of repairs for road damage in Wayne National Forest caused by winter storms that occurred in southeast Ohio in February 2021. The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $2,820,145 to the U.S. Forest Service for repairs made to transportation facilities on federal lands in Wayne National Forest that were damaged by the storms, which resulted in landsides, mudslides, and flooding across the forest.
“By securing this investment, the Forest Service will be able to cover the cost of repairs for critical infrastructure damaged by severe storms in southeast Ohio and ensure that Ohioans can continue to enjoy Wayne National Forest,” said Brown.
The investment was made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – legislation that Brown helped write and pass – and is provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration Emergency Relief Program.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
CHANGZHOU, China, Sept. 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —
On September 26, the 2024 New Energy Industry Development Conference & Invest in Changzhou Conference kicked off, gathering academicians, experts, domestic and international business representatives, and financial institutions to discuss collaboration and development.
A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.
A total of 42 representative projects were signed, with a total investment of 39.7 billion yuan, including 9 foreign-funded projects worth 1.16 billion USD. Ten provincial financial institutions signed key financing projects with a credit amount reaching 120 billion yuan.
Changzhou has pioneered the establishment of a complete industrial ecosystem encompassing generation, storage, transmission, application, and networking in the new energy sector. From January to August this year, Changzhou produced nearly 680,000 new energy vehicles, ranking first in investment enthusiasm nationwide. The solar photovoltaic industry is among the largest in the country, and the completeness of the power battery industry chain stands at 97%, the highest in China, significantly contributing to the high-quality development of the new energy industry.
Changzhou has been recognized as “China’s Capital of New Energy.” This title reflects the city’s commitment to building a world-class new energy industry cluster while adapting to new circumstances, enhancing its hard and soft power, and accelerating the progress of new industrialization. It represents the future of China’s new energy industry and showcases a green, efficient, innovative, and collaborative industrial image, shaping a vibrant “New Changzhou.”
Since 2022, Hurun Research Institute has consistently published the list of cities with high concentration in the new energy industry. At the conference, the 2024 Hurun China New Energy Industry Concentration Cities list was released, with Changzhou ranking third, maintaining the top position in investment enthusiasm for three consecutive years. Four new energy enterprises from Changzhou made it to the global unicorn list.
In the latest Hurun World 500, five companies related to new energy were included, three of which are from China: CATL, BYD, and Li Auto, all of which have chosen to invest in Changzhou. South Korea is a key source of foreign investment for the city, with 326 well-known Korean enterprises established in Changzhou. Major projects, including the ArcelorMittal soft magnetic project and the 3 billion yuan Li Auto component base project, are being launched, with Changzhou attracting a total of 10.59 billion yuan in foreign investment since 2020.
During the conference, 30 enterprises were awarded for their significant contributions to Changzhou’s social development, industrial upgrading, foreign trade, and technological innovation. To foster an open environment, Changzhou also released a multilingual guide for foreign personnel.
In today’s world, green, low-carbon, and sustainable development are paramount. Changzhou is implementing a series of strategic collaborations, innovation platforms, and national events to promote industrial integration and innovation. The second Energy Electronics Industry Innovation Competition was launched on-site, alongside the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement to support Changzhou’s new industrialization. The Jiangsu Advanced Power and Energy Storage Battery Technology Innovation Center was also inaugurated.
To promote investment and development in future industries, Changzhou established the largest new energy mother fund in Jiangsu Province, totaling 5 billion yuan. Additionally, several other funds were signed, including a 2 billion yuan Yangtze River Delta Hard Technology Scientists Fund and a 1.68 billion yuan Yuanzheng Venture Capital Fund, amounting to a total of 6.305 billion yuan.
Changzhou aims to enhance its industrial development capabilities and cultural soft power, actively promoting the integration of “Vehicle, Energy, Road, and Cloud.” The city is rolling out pilot projects for near-zero carbon parks and smart microgrids, encouraging the development of new business models such as virtual power plants and load aggregators, striving to become a national carbon peak pilot city.
Looking ahead, Changzhou will expand its new energy landscape, accelerate entry into smart networking and low-altitude economy industries, and unveil investment opportunities in nine fields, including synthetic biology, new energy vehicles, and hydrogen energy.
Source: The Organizing Committee of 2024 New Energy Industry Development Conference & Invest in Changzhou Conference
Source: US State of Florida
Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 24-209 on September 24, amending EO 24-208 and declaring a state of emergency for 61 counties.
To learn more, residents can visit FloridaDisaster.org/Guide. For updates on county resources available visit FloridaDisaster.org/Counties for a list of all 67 county emergency management contacts.
State Preparedness Effort
Transportation Modes
Seaports
Airports
Rail
Transit
Health and Human Services
Infrastructure, Roads and State Closures
Resources for Employees, Businesses and Consumers
For previous updates see below:
9/24/2024
9/25/2024
9/26/2024
Follow FDEM on X, Instagram, and Facebook for updates and visit FloridaDisaster.org/Updates for information relating to Hurricane Helene.
###
Source: United Nations secretary general
The Secretary-General met with H.E. Mr. Arnoldo André Tinoco, Foreign Minister of Costa Rica. The Secretary-General and the Foreign Minister discussed regional issues, including the current regional migration flows and the impact of organized crime. They also discussed the situation in Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The Secretary-General thanked Costa Rica for its support to multilateralism, solidarity with migrants and asylum seekers and for its leadership on climate action, including the preparations for the upcoming 2025 UN Ocean Conference.
+++++++++
El Secretario General se reunió con el Excelentísimo Sr. Arnoldo André Tinoco, Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de Costa Rica. El Secretario General y el Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores discutieron temas regionales, incluidos los actuales flujos migratorios regionales y el impacto del crimen organizado. También discutieron la situación en Haití, Nicaragua y Venezuela. El Secretario General agradeció a Costa Rica por su apoyo al multilateralismo, su solidaridad con los migrantes y solicitantes de asilo y su liderazgo en la acción climática, incluyendo los preparativos para la próxima Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Océanos en el 2025.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, Sept. 27 — China’s central bank on Friday cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for financial institutions by 0.5 percentage points and lowered the seven-day reverse repo interest rate by 20 basis points, enhancing policy support to solidify economic operations.
From Friday, the weighted average RRR for lenders will be approximately 6.6 percent, but those that have already implemented a 5 percent RRR will not be involved, according to a statement from the People’s Bank of China.
The move followed an RRR cut of 0.5 percentage points in February. The 1-percentage-point RRR reduction so far this year is expected to provide about 2 trillion yuan (about 285.3 billion U.S. dollars) in long-term liquidity for the financial market.
The seven-day reverse repo interest rate, a key short-term policy rate, was lowered from 1.7 percent to 1.5 percent on Friday, according to the central bank. The decrease was the largest in nearly four years.
The move aims to intensify the counter-cyclical adjustment of monetary policy and support the country’s stable economic growth, according to the central bank.
The seven-day reverse repo interest rate has fallen by a cumulative 30 basis points so far this year.
The simultaneous cuts to the RRR and policy rate reflect the central bank’s determination to adhere to a supportive monetary policy with strengthened intensity and more targeted regulation, as well as its concrete efforts to help the country meet major annual economic and social development targets, experts have said.
China seeks to expand its economy by approximately 5 percent year on year in 2024. The country’s GDP expanded by 5 percent in the first half of the year.
The policy moves followed a crucial meeting convened by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on Thursday, which called for intensified efforts in economic work, including the implementation of substantial interest rate cuts and the promotion of the property market’s stabilization.
It was noted at the meeting that the fundamentals of the Chinese economy remain unchanged, as do its favorable conditions, including a vast market, strong economic resilience and great potential.
However, the meeting said it is necessary to take a comprehensive, objective and sober view of the current economic situation, face the difficulties squarely, and remain confident.
The central bank’s Friday announcement maintained policy intensity, consolidated the foundation for the stable, sustained development of the capital market, and provided sufficient impetus for healthy, upward market development, said Dong Ximiao, chief researcher at Merchants Union Consumer Finance Company Limited.
China’s stock market has been on an upward streak in recent days, with heavy trading fueled by the broader-than-expected policy package to prop up the economy.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,087.53 points on Friday, a 12.81 percent weekly gain. The Shenzhen Component Index soared 17.83 percent this week to close at 9,514.86 points.
On Friday alone, the combined turnover of the two indices neared 1.45 trillion yuan, surpassing the 1-trillion-yuan mark for a third consecutive day.
The ChiNext Index, which tracks China’s Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, jumped 10 percent to close at 1,885.49 points on Friday.
On Tuesday, the country’s central bank, top securities regulator and financial regulator announced a raft of monetary stimuli, property market supports and capital market strengthening measures to be implemented in the near future to boost the country’s high-quality economic development.
These policy measures include an RRR reduction for banks and a mortgage rate reduction for existing homes, as well as the introduction of new monetary programs to boost the capital market.
Pan Gongsheng, governor of the central bank, said that the RRR may be lowered by a further 0.25 to 0.5 percentage points within the year, depending on the liquidity situation.
The country unveiled a set of guidelines on Wednesday to promote sufficient high-quality employment, stressing the importance of promoting reasonable increases in remuneration for labor and expanding the coverage of social insurance.
Experts say they expect the implementation of the policy package to galvanize the economic rebound.
These recent policy measures, combined with more effective fiscal policy support, will help sustain the rebound in economic growth for the remainder of the year, UBS economist Wang Tao noted.
Liang Si, a researcher at the Bank of China’s research institute, said the loan prime rates will likely be lowered following the seven-day reverse repo interest rate cut, which will reduce the financing costs of enterprises and the housing burden faced by residents.
When the decreased mortgage rates on existing home loans and the reduced minimum down payment ratio for second homes come into effect, the burden of residential mortgages will be eased and demand for housing will be boosted to contribute to the speedy recovery of the real estate market, Liang said.
The combination of monetary policy tools will increase financial support for the real economy, effectively boost market confidence and expectations, and create a sound monetary and financial environment for economic recovery, Dong said.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Two more one-stop service stations opened on Friday to serve international travelers at Shanghai’s two airports, marking the availability of arrival service at both the city’s two aviation hubs.
The two service stations coming into operation are situated at Terminal 1 of the Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Terminal 1 of the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, respectively. They will work together with the existing one at Terminal 2 of the Pudong International Airport, which was in trial operation since June 29, to provide inbound travelers with comprehensive, considerate, and efficient services upon their arrival in the city.
Tailored for the specific requirements of inbound travelers, the three one-stop service stations are tasked to effectively improve the convenience and satisfaction of expatriates traveling working and living in Shanghai.
Under a screen displaying “International Services Shanghai”, staff members work at four counters set up at each of the three stations, ready to offer services including communication, payment, tourism and transportation.
Crucial services including purchasing local SIM cards, cash exchange and withdrawal, portable Wi-Fi equipment, mobile payment consultation and transportation pass sale are available at the stations sitting directly outside the terminals’ international arrival exit points.
Jorge Cinco from Mexico, who just arrived at Terminal 1 of the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, said the services he needed most were payment consultation as well as telecommunications.
“They are very friendly and helpful,” he said of the staff members who helped him purchase a local SIM card at the counter.
Maria Costa Sanchez, who travelled from Spain to Shanghai to visit her daughter and three granddaughters, showed the same appreciation toward the service stations. Aided by a translation machine, she managed to exchange cash and acquire a local SIM card at Terminal 1 of the Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
So far, the one-stop service station at Terminal 2 of the Pudong International Airport has offered inquiries and services to more than 44,000 passenger trips, and received more than 3,600 pieces of positive feedback from international travelers from countries including Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and the Philippines.
The three one-stop service stations at Shanghai’s two airports would also respond to the upcoming seventh China International Import Expo by providing thoughtful services for exhibitors and participants of the event from all over the world.
Shanghai’s airports received 8.07 million passenger trips in the first half, soaring 173 percent from the same period of last year.
The stations are the result of collaboration between the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal Government, Shanghai Head Office of the People’s Bank of China, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Transport, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, Shanghai Communications Administration, Shanghai Airport (Group) Co Ltd and Shanghai Foreign Service (Group) Co Ltd affiliated to Donghao Lansheng (Group) Co Ltd.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, Sept. 27 — A reception to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China was held for foreign experts in various fields on Friday evening at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang attended the reception and, on behalf of the Chinese government and President Xi Jinping, conveyed thanks and regards to foreign experts and China’s international friends for their support of China’s reform, opening-up and modernization drive.
Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China’s progress over the past 75 years has been a result of the unremitting efforts of Chinese people of all ethnic groups and the hard work of foreign experts in various fields.
“Over the past 75 years, groups of foreign experts have made indelible contributions to the construction of China’s socialist modernization, which the Chinese people will always remember,” Ding said.
He noted that the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made systematic arrangements for the deepening of reform on all fronts, and for the promotion of Chinese modernization.
China adheres to a more active, open and effective talent policy, which will provide greater convenience, improved services and a better environment for foreign experts living and working in China, he said.
It is hoped that the vast number of foreign experts in China will continue to care for and support China’s development, and be good builders of Chinese modernization, good bridges for exchange and cooperation between China and foreign countries, and good non-governmental ambassadors to enhance friendship, Ding said. China also hopes that foreign experts in the country will make new, greater contributions to the construction of a community with a shared future for humanity, he added.
Source: United Nations secretary general
The Secretary-General met with H.E. Bakhtiyor Saidov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan. They discussed cooperation between the United Nations and Uzbekistan. The Secretary-General appreciated the role of Uzbekistan in regional cooperation and development. They also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, as well as the Summit of the Future.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
BISMARCK, N.D. – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the award of $970,634 to support substance abuse programs in three North Dakota tribal nations. The award will be distributed to the following tribes:
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) released the following statement on the impact of flash flooding and severe weather caused by Hurricane Helene in Tennessee:
“All Tennesseans impacted by flash flooding and severe weather should follow local guidance and evacuation protocols carefully. We are working with local officials to ensure public safety, and I encourage every Tennessean to avoid dangerous areas and heed the direction of emergency personnel if traveling. We stand ready to assist and help secure any federal assistance that may be necessary,” said Senator Blackburn.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
​The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued his visit to London, the United Kingdom (UK), yesterday (September 27, London time). In the morning, he attended a roundtable meeting organised by The CityUK, an industry-led body representing UK-based financial services. He engaged in in-depth discussions with over 20 leaders from the UK’s financial community. At the meeting, Mr Chan briefed participants on the economic situation in Hong Kong, and highlighted that the city’s financial markets are undergoing continuous reforms and innovations, with good progress achieved in the stock market, asset and wealth management, offshore renminbi business, green finance, fintech, etc. He said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is actively working to reinforce and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre, and he looks forward to strengthening co-operation with the UK financial sector to promote mutual development.
Mr Chan then attended a luncheon hosted by the Hong Kong Association of the UK, where he delivered a speech to about 150 guests from the UK political and business communities. He said that with the solid support of the Central Authorities, Hong Kong’s economy is steadily advancing, and the city is fully committed to promoting the development of the “Eight Centres”. He emphasised that financial services and innovation and technology are the city’s key future dual economic engines. Citing green finance as an example, Mr Chan highlighted that Hong Kong is developing itself into an international green tech and green finance centre; where the city fully supports the development of technologies in addition to green and sustainable financing. Hong Kong is also actively aligning with international green standards, including developing green classification frameworks, and pressing ahead with sustainability disclosure requirements in financial reporting. Mr Chan also introduced the four main areas of innovation and technology development in Hong Kong and explained how the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited, as “patient capital,” can leverage capital to guide more long-term private market investments into strategic industries, accelerating the development of its ecosystem.
Mr Chan will leave London today (September 28, London time) and arrive in Hong Kong in the afternoon of September 29.
Source: China State Council Information Office
At least 8 people were killed and 95 others injured in an attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Friday in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State in western Sudan, a local official stated.
“The RSF shelling targeted the Souq Al-Mawashi (livestock) market, south of El Fasher, which was crowded with civilians,” Ibrahim Khatir, director-general of North Darfur State’s health ministry, told Xinhua.
The RSF has not yet commented on the attack.
Since May 10, fierce clashes have raged in El Fasher between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF.
According to UN estimates, El Fasher is home to about 1.5 million people, 800,000 of whom are internally displaced persons.
Since April 15, 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a violent conflict between the SAF and the RSF. The conflict has resulted in approximately 20,000 deaths, thousands of injuries, and the displacement of millions of people, according to the most recent estimates by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Source: China State Council Information Office 2
Chinese national political advisors suggested improving relevant land, fiscal, tax and financial policies to support the country’s urban renewal and transformation, at a remote meeting held Friday in Beijing.
The seminar, held by the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top political advisory body, was presided over by Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the CPPCC National Committee.
Speaking at the meeting, Wang called on political advisors to participate in research and investigations on new urbanization and provide targeted advice regarding the topic. He also encouraged political advisors to help improve the public’s understanding of urban renewal and respond to their concerns about the project.
The attendees to the meeting advised better reconstruction of existing buildings, as well as renovation of old communities and urban infrastructure. They also called for efforts to improve urban ecosystems and promote the protection and adaptive reuse of historic buildings and blocks.
Source: US National Ocean Service News
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https icon
Secure websites use HTTPS
A small lock or https:// means you’ve safely connected to a .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Source: GenPro
An urgent need to increase patients’ access to general practice is the clear message from new research on New Zealand’s single biggest cause of cancer deaths, lung cancer.
A study published in the New Zealand Medical Journal found that surviving lung cancer in New Zealand could depend on access to a GP. (ref. https://nzmj.org.nz/media/pages/journal/vol-137-no-1603/4e8103db3e-1727209620/nzmjv137i1603_27sep2024.pdf )
“The research clearly shows that patients who are diagnosed with lung cancer after a GP referral tend to have better outcomes than those diagnosed after visiting emergency departments, by which time it’s often too late,” said Dr Angus Chambers, Chair of the General Practice Owners Association of Aotearoa New Zealand (GenPro).
“The study shows that there is health inequity in New Zealand – those who can access and afford to visit a GP are advantaged over those who cannot, which is wrong. We need to ensure everyone can access a GP for an earlier diagnosis which could save lives,” Dr Chambers said.
While an emergency department is an important part of the healthcare system, especially for red-flag symptoms, visiting a GP when symptoms are less severe can lead to an earlier diagnosis and therefore better treatment options.
“That patients are choosing not to go to their GP because they cannot get an appointment, cannot enrol in a local GP, or cannot afford to pay for a visit, means they put up with less serious symptoms. But eventually the symptoms get so bad they go to an emergency department. By this time it is often too late.”
GPs are at the coalface of early detection of highly fatal diseases like lung cancer, and are frustrated by an outdated funding system which is not helping patients access GPs for early diagnosis and optimal outcomes.
“A recent GenPro survey showed general practices are in crisis, squeezed by rising costs, high patient demand and staff shortages. The key reason is that government funding has not kept pace with the cost of running a general practice,” Dr Chambers said.
This is a result of Ministers, the Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora refusing to invest in general practice despite overwhelming evidence of the health benefits to New Zealanders.
“The government must as a matter of urgency increase its support of primary healthcare, overhaul the current out-of-date funding model, and help increase the supply of medical professionals into primary healthcare.”
GenPro, which represents more than half of all general practices in Aotearoa, is ready to work with the Minister of Health and the Health NZ Commissioner to develop the solutions needed.
Source: China State Council Information Office
Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell has stressed the need for immediate efforts towards the two-state solution, rather than waiting for a ceasefire, in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“If you want to build the two-state solution, do not wait for the ceasefire. Start working on it from now on,” Borrell told the Council on Foreign Relations, an influential U.S. foreign policy think tank, in New York on Friday.
The idea that we can start building peace after we stop the war is utopical and completely contrary to the dark reality, said Borrell, who is also the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. “We have to overlap the two processes,” he noted.
Borrell has promoted the solution of creating a Palestinian state at several events on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting.
At the Ministerial side event on the Middle East Peace Process on Friday, Borrell said “We have responsibility to thousands and thousands of innocent children who were killed” while warning that the way Israel has been conducting wars in the Middle East is certainly not a way to ensure security for Israel.
“These attacks against Lebanon have been creating such a great number of civilian casualties that cannot be justified by the right to defense,” Borrell noted.
Israel has pounded Lebanon since Monday morning, killing over 700 people and injuring nearly 2,200 others, according to figures released by the Lebanese Health Ministry.
He also pledged that the EU will continue to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
“We are the biggest supporter to UNRWA. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to provide critical resources to ensure the agency’s ongoing operations, and we call to international community to join us in this effort,” Borrell said at the UNRWA Ministerial Level meeting in New York.
“Together we can make a tangible difference in the life of millions of people, nothing less than that,” he added.
Source: China State Council Information Office
The acting UN relief chief on Friday allocated 10 million U.S. dollars in emergency funding for the humanitarian situation in Lebanon, which the local UN coordinator described as catastrophic.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Israeli air strikes continued to affect civilians and civilian infrastructure on the fifth consecutive day of the large-scale military escalation.
The world body’s humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, Imran Riza, called the destruction nothing short of catastrophic, with the surge in violence extending to previously unaffected areas, causing widespread destruction.
“We are witnessing the deadliest period in Lebanon in a generation, and many express their fear that this is just the beginning,” Riza said.
He said that in less than a week, at least 700 lives have been lost, thousands have been injured, and nearly 120,000 people have been displaced, with the numbers continuing to rise. Since the beginning of the conflict on Oct. 7, 2023, more than 1,500 civilians have been killed, and over 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes.
“The United Nations and partners are closely coordinating with the Lebanese Government to support the response efforts,” OCHA said. “We are delivering food, mattresses, hygiene kits, and emergency medical supplies.”
Riza said that critical funding gaps persist in the areas of shelter repair, food, fuel and coordination, among others. Humanitarian organizations are assessing the amount of funding required to address the increasing number of displaced people and the rising humanitarian needs.
UN Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya allocated the 10 million U.S. dollars from the world body’s Central Emergency Response Fund.
The office said the funds are in addition to the 10 million dollars released from the Lebanon Humanitarian fund earlier in the week.
In Gaza, OCHA warned that displaced people live in abysmal conditions, which could further deteriorate in the upcoming cold and rainy winter weather.
The United Nations and humanitarian partners recently conducted assessments — Sept. 19 and 22 — in two collective shelters in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis.
“At both sites, displaced communities live in overcrowded shelters and lack cleaning supplies, hygiene kits, sanitary pads and diapers, as well as clothes and infant formula for babies,” OCHA said.
The office said the first site was a school turned into a shelter by the UN relief agency known as UNRWA in the Al Bureij refugee camp in Deir al Balah. It was hosting more than 3,500 Gazans.
“Our teams found people were crammed into classrooms and worn-out tents, with an average of 80 to 100 people per classroom and 40 people per tent,” OCHA said. “Access to clean water and health care is extremely limited. Most residents are eating only one meal per day, with some people going the entire day without eating.”
The office said the second site was a makeshift camp in Abasan in eastern Khan Younis, hosting 2,500 people, including nearly 1,000 school-aged children.
“The site is in a flood-prone area, adjacent to a site where garbage is being dumped,” OCHA said. “There are no medical facilities and there is no food support at this site, except for occasional hot meals provided by a charity organization.”
The office said humanitarian aid movements in Gaza face significant access constraints.
“Nearly 90 percent of coordinated humanitarian movements between northern and southern Gaza so far in September have been either denied or impeded,” OCHA said.
In the West Bank, the office said the number of internal movement obstacles deployed by Israeli forces increased by more than 20 percent since June 2023.
Since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, OCHA said Israeli authorities in the West Bank also imposed movement restrictions, marked by the deployment or maintenance of hundreds of movement obstacles and a general closure that affects Palestinian permit-holders and bars them from accessing East Jerusalem and Israel.
“The cumulative impact of movement obstacles has been devastating, further entrenching the fragmentation of the West Bank, disrupting access to livelihoods and services for thousands of Palestinians and aggravating the already difficult living conditions there,” the office said.
OCHA said that health facilities in the West Bank also suffered in the conflict.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that from the Oct. 7 to July 30, there were 527 attacks on health care in the region, including obstruction of access, use of force, detention and militarized searches.
WHO said the attacks affected 54 health facilities, including 20 mobile clinics and 365 ambulances.
“These incidents not only hinder access to health care, but also jeopardize the safety of medical personnel and patients,” OCHA said.
Source: China State Council Information Office
The U.S.-led international mission formed a decade ago to combat the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq will cease to exist by September 2025, said a joint statement issued Friday by the U.S. and Iraqi governments.
There will be, however, a “transitioning to bilateral security partnerships in a manner that supports Iraqi forces and maintains pressure on ISIS,” said the statement, which on the U.S. part was carried by the State Department’s website, using the abbreviation of an alternative name of the Islamic State known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
The coalition’s military mission in neighboring Syria, where the Islamic State also operates, “will continue until September 2026,” the statement said.
The statement provided few details as to what, if any, number of U.S. troops will leave Iraq as a result of the end of the mission.
“I just want to foot stomp the fact that this is not a withdrawal. This is a transition. It’s a transition from a coalition military mission to an expanded U.S.-Iraqi bilateral security relationship,” a senior U.S. official told reporters during a briefing Friday.
The United States has some 2,500 military personnel in Iraq and roughly 900 troops in Syria, tasked with the mission of fighting Islamic State militants while also serving as trainers and advisors to local security forces.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Texas Ted Cruz
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced the Protect LNG Act. The legislation ensures that a court cannot vacate a previously authorized LNG permit, clarifies the venue for LNG lawsuits before federal courts, and mandates that courts grant expedited decisions in relevant cases.
Sen. Cruz said, “Texas energy producers have made the United States the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the world and have created jobs for thousands of Texans. However, fringe environmental groups and politicized courts are threatening those successes, and in the process endangering the development of energy projects across the United States. The Protect LNG Act protects energy producers from these attacks.”
Sen. Cornyn said, “As the leading producer of oil and natural gas in the nation, Texas plays a key role in supporting thousands of well-paying jobs at home and keeping the lights on across the country. This legislation will help crack down on frivolous lawsuits by left-wing climate activists who seek to weaponize our courts and threaten American energy, and I’m glad to join Sen. Cruz in halting this effort and maintaining Texas’ energy dominance.”
The full text of the Protect LNG Act is available here.
BACKGROUND:
In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated reauthorizations for the Rio Grande LNG and Texas LNG projects, threatening 7,000 jobs and undermining $24 billion in investments in the Rio Grande Valley. On September 25, 2024, Sen. Cruz sent a letter to the Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission urging him to appeal this terrible decision.