Source: Asia Development Bank
An ADB equity investment project has helped Philippine-based PHINMA Education expand its operations in Indonesia with two universities that now provide quality education to underserved communities. It has established or acquired Horizon University in Karawang, West Java, and lately, Horizon University in Jakarta. In this video, Indonesian students share how Phinma Education helps them achieve their dreams.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madalyn Scerri, Senior Lecturer in Tourism and Hospitality, Torrens University Australia
Traveldream.com.au sold discounted holidays – curated hiking tours, boutique cruises and cultural getaways through a slick website and polished social media ads. But news emerged last week that the Melbourne-based travel company has collapsed into administration, leaving customers out of pocket by thousands of dollars, and in some cases, stranded overseas.
What many didn’t know was that Traveldream hadn’t been formally accredited with the leading industry body since 2020. Its status under the Australian Travel Accreditation Scheme, run by the Australian Travel Industry Association, had been cancelled.
To make matters worse, most travel insurance policies don’t cover insolvency, meaning many customers have no way to recover their losses.
Australians are expected to spend over A$2 billion booking holidays online in 2024–25.
Big name platforms such as Booking.com and Expedia account for about 60% of this activity. But many travellers are also turning to smaller or lesser-known providers offering flashy deals and lower prices, often with fewer safeguards.
So, how can you protect yourself? Start with these five checks.
It’s a common tactic, and one that’s hard to resist. You’re scrolling, you see a dreamy image, the price is tempting, and suddenly you’re halfway through checkout.
But a polished ad doesn’t guarantee legitimacy.
Travel-related scams are on the rise, especially involving online-only sellers.
Check for a verifiable business address, phone number and customer support. If the deal feels vague, under-priced or overly urgent, that’s a red flag.
Look for independent reviews (on Trustpilot, Tripadvisor or Google), and check Scamwatch for known issues.
A company’s reputation isn’t just about what it promises: it’s built on how it responds to questions and complaints. Before booking, take a moment to see how the business interacts with customers online.
Do they reply constructively to complaints? Do they offer updates or explanations when issues arise?
Also notice the tone. Does it feel human and responsive, or generic and hands-off? That can suggest how they’ll treat you after the sale.
Small signs can speak volumes. A page with thousands of followers but no visible engagement may indicate a paid audience – and a company that vanishes when things get difficult.
Another way to assess a travel company’s credibility is to check if it holds formal accreditation. This signals the company has met standards in financial security, customer service and dispute resolution.
Search the Australian Travel Accreditation Scheme register at https://www.atas.com.au, or look for Quality Tourism Accreditation. For overseas providers, check for recognised local schemes.
Accreditation offers extra reassurance, but it’s not the whole picture. Some large, reputable companies, such as Expedia, operate without it. If a company isn’t accredited, proceed with caution and focus on how bookings and payments are handled.
Before booking, check what happens if the provider goes bust, whether you can cancel or reschedule, and how your booking will be confirmed. Where possible, follow up directly with the hotel, airline or tour operator to make sure reservations are secured.
It’s also important to understand what travel insurance does – and doesn’t – cover.
Company insolvency is one of the most common exclusions. Unless a policy includes “end supplier failure” or a similar clause (most don’t), you may not be able to claim a refund. Always read the Product Disclosure Statement to check exactly where you stand.
Another safeguard is to pay with protection in mind. Although conditions vary by provider, credit cards may offer chargebacks if the goods or services aren’t delivered.
While accredited travel agencies can be helpful for complex itineraries, like overseas trips with multiple stops or bundled services, it’s often worth booking directly with the provider when making travel arrangements online, whether that’s a hotel, airline or tour company.
Cutting out the intermediary can offer better value, including complimentary extras, flexible cancellation and full access to loyalty programs.
Direct bookings usually reflect real-time availability and pricing, reducing the risk of outdated information. You’ll benefit from direct communication and confirmation, making it easier to customise or resolve issues.
If something goes wrong, there’s also greater clarity about who’s responsible – offering stronger recourse under Australian Consumer Law.
As more Australians book holidays online, it’s becoming harder to tell what’s trustworthy and what could leave you out of pocket.
Traveldream’s collapse is a reminder. Even in the world of digital travel deals, it pays to ask: is this company built to last, not just until your trip departs, but until you return home?
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. An online travel company just collapsed. Here’s how to avoid being left stranded by an online deal – https://theconversation.com/an-online-travel-company-just-collapsed-heres-how-to-avoid-being-left-stranded-by-an-online-deal-256878
Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –
The NSU-NNC Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Shared Use Center conducted the first analysis of biocarbon content in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) samples. Four samples of different origin were analyzed during the laboratory study. The results showed that the accelerator mass spectrometry method can become a routine method for analyzing biocarbon in SAF aviation fuel.
— We were approached by specialists from the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (Moscow) to analyze the biocarbon content in kerosene samples using accelerator mass spectrometry. This analysis is necessary for the certification of the aviation fuel they are developing and its further use within the framework of modern requirements. This development is of particular relevance, which will only increase over time: in order to reduce the carbon footprint, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) launched the CORSIA program in 2016, which obliges airlines to compensate for the growth of emissions. The goal of this program is to prevent the growth of carbon dioxide emissions relative to the 2020 level. Russia also plans to participate in this international program. From 2025, flights from the EU must use 2% SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) — fuel with a biogenic component. By 2050, this share will reach 63%, — said Ekaterina Parkhomchuk, Director of the NSU-NNC UMS Collective Use Center.
SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) is a product of processing biomass, which includes vegetable oils, animal fat, lignocellulosic wood waste, and microalgae. Processing, depending on the type of feedstock, may include catalytic hydrogenation, hydrocracking, hydrodeoxygenation, isomerization, gasification, and the Fischer-Tropsch process. The resulting processing product is then added to kerosene obtained from fossil hydrocarbon sources.
Russia is one of the largest producers of jet fuel — 12.8 million tons of this type of fuel were produced in 2021 — and also has huge raw material potential for SAF production. In 2020, the production of vegetable oils amounted to 7.3 million tons. The production of “sustainable aviation fuel” requires certification and control over compliance with the requirements for the minimum content of the “biocarbon” share, so a routine method for its analysis is needed. This analysis can be performed by measuring the concentration of radiocarbon, for example, indirectly by the radioactivity of the material, or by the direct method of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Both methods for determining radiocarbon have been developed in Russia, but accelerator mass spectrometry is represented only in the Novosibirsk UMS Center of Collective Use of NSU-NNC.
Search for biogenic carbon
— “Biogenic” carbon differs from fossil carbon in its isotopic composition — primarily in the concentration of the radioactive isotope C-14 (radiocarbon) relative to the main stable isotope C-12. In modern biological objects, the proportion of radiocarbon, although extremely small — about 10 to the minus tenth power % — is still at a level detectable by modern technology; however, due to the beta decay of the C-14 nucleus, over time the amount of radiocarbon in fossil raw materials becomes orders of magnitude smaller and quantitative determination becomes impossible.
Accelerator mass spectrometry provides the ability to reliably measure the concentration of radiocarbon in any samples at a level above 10 to the -14th power %, which is 0.01% of the current level in the biosphere. Therefore, by conducting UMS analysis of any materials, including kerosene, food additives, drugs, etc., it is possible to determine with high accuracy the proportion of carbon of modern biological origin, – explained Ekaterina Parkhomchuk.
The NSU-NNC UMS Collective Use Center received 4 samples from RGUNG as introductory or test experiments, including two reference (standard) samples, which were kerosene obtained exclusively from biological raw materials and kerosene from fossil oil, as well as two samples of kerosene obtained by mixing the first two in proportions unknown to Novosibirsk scientists. Innovative sample preparation aimed at overcoming the “sulfur barrier” was used in the analysis of the samples. As Ekaterina Parkhomchuk explained, the complexity of fuel analysis lies in the high content of sulfur and nitrogen, which cause rapid corrosion of measuring instruments. A unique graphitizer has been developed at Novosibirsk State University, which allows working even with high-sulfur oils. This gives Russia a technological advantage over foreign analogues.
— UMS analysis requires the production of a graphite cathode from the material being studied. This is done by burning the sample, extracting the target carbon dioxide from the resulting complex gas mixture and catalytically carbonizing it into elemental graphite. The difficulty of analyzing most hydrocarbon fuels is that the material may contain impurity elements such as sulfur and nitrogen, which quickly disable traditionally used “graphitizers”, such as those offered by the Swiss company Ionplus. Several years ago, NSU developed and assembled a graphitization stand that allows for the preparation of graphitized samples for UMS cathodes with sufficient purity even from high-sulfur oils, which distinguishes it from foreign analogues. It was used for the work described, — said Ekaterina Parkhomchuk.
The studies were conducted under special conditions, observing all standardized requirements for laboratories that conduct radiocarbon studies not only of ancient samples, but also of samples containing excessive amounts of radiocarbon. These measures are designed to ensure radiation and biological safety, as well as to prevent cross-contamination of samples and false test results. Sample preparation of biological and C-14-labeled samples is carried out in different laboratories. Personnel working in one laboratory do not have access to the other. Employees of both laboratories maintain isolation from each other, do not cross paths in offices, lunch rooms, and recreation areas. Also, both laboratories use separate chemicals, materials, and utensils.
— Three graphite cathodes were made from each sample and UMS analysis was performed on all samples. It turned out that one reference sample did not contain C-14, i.e. it belonged to fossil raw materials (most likely oil), and the concentration of radiocarbon in the second reference sample slightly exceeded the modern level of C-14. This indicates that the time of origin of the plant raw materials from which the biogenic fuel was obtained corresponds to the period 2000-2010, when the concentration of radiocarbon in the atmosphere was still higher than usual as a result of nuclear tests conducted in the 50-70s of the last century. In other words, both samples really belonged to two different sources of production — fossil (oil, gas or coal) and modern (biomass). And the other two samples showed results different from the first two — one contained about 6% biogenic carbon, and the second — about 13%. Our experimental results coincided with the calculated ratios, according to which the RGUNG specialists prepared mixed samples, which confirms the validity of using the UMS method to determine biocarbon, – summed up Ekaterina Parkhomchuk.
Promising technology
The technology of joint processing of lignocellulosic raw materials PCH-SAF, developed at the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (National Research University), is based on the processes of fast pyrolysis, delayed coking and hydrocracking of traditional oil and plant raw materials. Waste is used as the initial biomass – sawdust of coniferous and deciduous trees, sunflower husks, etc.
— This technology consists of the joint processing of plant and oil raw materials. There are three stages of obtaining the component: fast pyrolysis of biomass, coking and hydrocracking. By means of fast pyrolysis, we liquefy the initial biomass and obtain the so-called bio-oil at the output. At the coking stage, co-processing of oil residues, for example, tar, with bio-oil occurs. At the hydrocracking stage, the raw material is a mixture of vacuum gas oil with the gas oil fraction of the coking process, containing bio-oil components, — explained Mikhail Ershov, professor of the Department of Oil Refining Technology.
One of the advantages of the technology developed at RGUNG is the use of the existing infrastructure of oil refineries. It is assumed that when it is implemented on an industrial scale, there will be no need to replace the catalyst at the hydrocracking unit, and if necessary, only the process conditions may need to be adjusted. The process is currently at the laboratory stage, a laboratory sample has been developed and is being tested. This work is being carried out within the framework of the RSF grant No. 22-79-10280 “Study of new methods for obtaining renewable aviation fuel from lignocellulosic biomass using a complex of thermal and thermocatalytic processes.”
Prospects for cooperation
Mikhail Ershov clarified that kerosene obtained using PCH-SAF technology must meet the requirements of GOST 10227, which applies to fuels for jet engines, and be no different from petroleum kerosene.
— In the context of the global transition to renewable energy sources, green fuel and reducing the carbon footprint, we must follow these trends. Compliance with ICAO emissions requirements will contribute to the growth of imports of renewable components, and therefore dependence on supplier countries (China, India). The PCH-SAF technology we propose, due to the existing infrastructure, will allow for a short transition to the production of aviation biofuel with a reduced carbon footprint without significant capital investments. In case of successful testing and confirmation of a reduction in the carbon footprint, it is necessary to approve such fuel with the participation of leading organizations FAU “25th State Research Institute of Chemmotology of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation”, FAU “TsIAM named after P.I. Baranov”, FSUE GosNII GA for use in civil and military aircraft, — he said.
Mikhail Ershov noted that currently there is no domestic method for measuring biogenic components in petroleum products, in particular, aviation fuel. However, with an increase in the share of biogenic raw materials involved, there will be a need to confirm the biogenicity of fuels. Therefore, RGUNG specialists plan to develop a standard method for determining biocarbon using UMS together with NSU scientists.
Ekaterina Parkhomchuk believes that the UMS method has proven its accuracy, sensitivity and reliability, and can become a key tool for the transition of aviation to “green” rails. And the introduction of the technology developed by RGUNG specialists into industry will open the way for Russia to leadership in the production of sustainable aviation fuel.
— Currently, standard methods for analyzing materials for biogenic origin have been developed in different countries, and radiocarbon analysis is considered the “gold standard” among all possible methods. The method of accelerator mass spectrometry, unique in sensitivity, accuracy, and productivity, and the sample preparation methods we have developed are considered very promising for this new area of economic activity, — Ekaterina Parkhomchuk summarized.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
TAIPEI, Taiwan, May 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — COMPUTEX — NVIDIA and Foxconn Hon Hai Technology Group today announced they are deepening their longstanding partnership and are working with the Taiwan government to build an AI factory supercomputer that will deliver state-of-the-art NVIDIA Blackwell infrastructure to researchers, startups and industries.
Foxconn will provide the AI infrastructure through its subsidiary Big Innovation Company as an NVIDIA Cloud Partner. Featuring 10,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs, the AI factory will significantly expand AI computing availability and fuel innovation for Taiwan researchers and enterprises.
The Taiwan National Science and Technology Council will use the Big Innovation Company supercomputer to provide AI cloud computing resources to the Taiwan technology ecosystem, accelerating AI development and adoption across sectors.
TSMC researchers plan to leverage the system to advance its research and development with orders-of-magnitude faster performance, compared with previous-generation systems.
“AI has ignited a new industrial revolution — science and industry will be transformed,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “We are delighted to partner with Foxconn and Taiwan to help build Taiwan’s AI infrastructure, and to support TSMC and other leading companies to advance innovation in the age of AI and robotics.”
“Foxconn builds technology that underpins modern life, and now, we’re building computing infrastructure to scale the next generation of breakthroughs across Taiwan,” said Young Liu, chairman and CEO of Foxconn. “By building this AI factory with NVIDIA and TSMC, we are laying the groundwork to connect people in Taiwan as well as government organizations and enterprises such as TSMC to accelerate innovation and empower industries.”
“At TSMC, innovation lies at the heart of everything we do. By harnessing advanced AI infrastructure, we empower our researchers to accelerate breakthroughs in semiconductor technology, enabling next-generation solutions for our customers and the world,” said Dr. C.C. Wei, chairman and CEO of TSMC. “Leveraging this AI factory reinforces our commitment to pushing the limits of AI-driven innovation.”
“Our plan is to create an AI-focused industrial ecosystem in southern Taiwan,” said Minister Wu Cheng-Wen of the National Science and Technology Council. “We are focused on investing in innovative research, developing a strong AI industry and encouraging the everyday use of AI tools. Our ultimate goal is to create a smart AI island filled with smart cities, and we look forward to collaborating with NVIDIA and Hon Hai to make this vision a reality.”
Foxconn Drives Regional Technology Innovation as NVIDIA Cloud Partner
The Big Innovation Cloud AI factory will feature NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra systems, including the NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 rack-scale solution with NVIDIA NVLink™, NVIDIA Quantum InfiniBand and NVIDIA Spectrum-X™ Ethernet networking.
In addition to becoming an NVIDIA Cloud Partner, Big Innovation Cloud plans to participate in the NVIDIA DGX Cloud Lepton™ marketplace, announced separately today. This will provide a wide range of enterprises — from startups and research institutions to established industry leaders — easy access to advanced GPU resources, further accelerating AI development and deployment in Taiwan. The system is expected to also provide computing to speed the work of startups and developers through the NVIDIA Inception program and the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute.
Foxconn will use the AI supercomputer of Big Innovation Company to accelerate automation and efficiency across its three core pillars — smart cities, electric vehicles and manufacturing — with a vision of connecting industries, citizens and government organizations to accelerate growth with AI.
For smart cities, the AI factory will help optimize connected transportation systems and other civil resources to enhance quality of life for people in Taiwan. For smart electric vehicles, the infrastructure will enable advanced driver-assistance systems and safety. In manufacturing, AI-driven analytics, automation and digital twin technologies will streamline operations and speed product iteration.
Learn more by watching the COMPUTEX keynote from Huang and learn more at NVIDIA GTC Taipei.
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the world leader in accelerated computing.
For further information, contact:
Natalie Hereth
NVIDIA Corporation
+1-360-581-1088
nhereth@nvidia.com
Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, statements as to: the benefits, impact, and performance of NVIDIA’s products, services, and technologies; NVIDIA’s partnership with third parties and the impact and benefits thereof; third parties adopting NVIDIA’s products and technologies and the impact and benefits thereof, and the availability and features of their offerings; science and industry being transformed; and NVIDIA partnering with Foxconn and Taiwan to help build Taiwan’s AI infrastructure, and to support TSMC and other leading companies to advance innovation in the age of AI and robotics are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are subject to the “safe harbor” created by those sections and that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: global economic conditions; our reliance on third parties to manufacture, assemble, package and test our products; the impact of technological development and competition; development of new products and technologies or enhancements to our existing product and technologies; market acceptance of our products or our partners’ products; design, manufacturing or software defects; changes in consumer preferences or demands; changes in industry standards and interfaces; unexpected loss of performance of our products or technologies when integrated into systems; as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the most recent reports NVIDIA files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on the company’s website and are available from NVIDIA without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.
Many of the products and features described herein remain in various stages and will be offered on a when-and-if-available basis. The statements above are not intended to be, and should not be interpreted as a commitment, promise, or legal obligation, and the development, release, and timing of any features or functionalities described for our products is subject to change and remains at the sole discretion of NVIDIA. NVIDIA will have no liability for failure to deliver or delay in the delivery of any of the products, features or functions set forth herein.
© 2025 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, DGX Cloud Lepton, NVIDIA Spectrum-X and NVLink are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Professor Rebekah Russell-Bennett, Associate Dean Research, Faculty of Business, Government and Law, University of Canberra
When the new parliament convenes after the recent election, it will feature a rarity in Australian politics. Women will lead two significant political parties at the same time: the Liberal Party’s Sussan Ley and the Greens’ Larissa Waters.
When female political leaders show ambition, they are often portrayed in the media as grasping, selfish and power-seeking. In other words, they are the embodiment of Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth.
The recent negative media coverage of Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s move to the Liberal Party was reminiscent of the depiction of Julia Gillard when she became Labor leader. Price’s ambition reportedly made her selfish, while Gillard’s ambition was framed as a “moral wrong”.
The pervasive misrepresentation of female politicians who display ambition can be thought of as “the Lady Macbeth bias”. This negative framing of ambition associates female politicians with ruthlessness and power at any cost. The prejudice reflects the central character theme in Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth, of a woman whose scheming was her undoing.
Lady Macbeth’s ambition is depicted as morally suspect and unnatural. This ambition leads to her demise.
With two new women leaders rising to the top and a record number of new female politicians in the 48th parliament, how will they be portrayed as their ambition plays out?
The media representation of women who aspire to leadership typically depicts female ambition as a negative. This is a distraction from any objective criticism of the person. This kind of gendered approach to female politicians could be a deterrent for women who have political aspirations.
There is a significant evidence base in academic literature that demonstrates ambition is a social construct that is highly gendered. Women politicians who show ambition are seen as unrelatable and unfeminine, while ambitious male politicians are described as visionary or strong.
Take, for example, this recent article on Paul Keating, whose ambition is lauded, making him a “rare leader”. Let us not forgot that Keating became prime minister by challenging Bob Hawke.
Compare the praise of Keating to the demonising of Gillard, who also challenged a sitting prime minister (Kevin Rudd) and you will see the opposite commentary. Ambition featured strongly in analysis of Gillard’s rise to power. Instead of praise for her ambition, she was often vilified, with her morality called into question.
Rudd’s comment to her in 2010 typifies this perspective: “Julia, you’re a good person, why are you doing this?”
So what is the outcome of this negative media portrayal of women in politics?
Female politicians with ambition are perceived as less likeable and take a hit in popularity and electoral success. This phenomena has been termed the double bind, which is a paradox experienced by women leaders. To be viewed as competent, they need to display traits typically associated with men, such as ambition, competitiveness and drive. However, when they do, this in turn makes them appear not feminine enough.
The result of this violation of gender stereotypes ranges from negative perceptions to backlash. Women can be overlooked for roles, receive less money and in the case of politics, face electoral retaliation.
So like Lady Macbeth, ambitious leaders are punished for defying the natural order of femininity. A lose-lose situation.
So what should be done? First the media need to take responsibility for the language used in headlines and stories about female politicians. A more androgynous approach to reporting on political leaders would go a long way to addressing this problem.
Second, we the public need to decry the use of overused stereotypes in media coverage, such as the Lady Macbeth tropes, when our female leaders are critiqued. While politicians should be held to high standards of accountability, transparency and ethics, a gendered approach undermines this scrutiny and weakens our democratic system.
Finally, we can limit “the Lady Macbeth bias” by showcasing ambitious female politicians across the political spectrum. When we normalise ambition in women, we break the association between ambition and masculinity. It is time to decouple leadership qualities from gendered stereotypes, not just for current female politicians but for the girls who are our future politicians.
The Lady Macbeth theme of ambitious women being unnatural, morally bankrupt, ruthless and manipulative is a serious misrepresentation of female politicians.
This negative portrayal is a barrier to women entering politics. Or surviving in politics.
Politicians such as Ley, Waters and Price should be held to account, but not on gendered terms. We must stop treating female politicians as Lady Macbeth. If we do not, gender inequality in politics will prevail.
That would be a sad future for all Australians.
Rebekah Russell-Bennett is affiliated with the Liberal party
– ref. Ambition is not a dirty word: female politicians and the ‘Lady Macbeth bias’ – https://theconversation.com/ambition-is-not-a-dirty-word-female-politicians-and-the-lady-macbeth-bias-256681
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joel Garrett, Lecturer in Exercise Science and Physiology, Griffith University
Many children across Australia have begun to play their favourite contact sports like rugby league, rugby union and Australian rules football.
Many will be just starting out during their early years of primary school.
Yet there are growing concerns these young athletes may be at heightened risk of sports-related concussions due to their more vulnerable developing brains.
Our new opinion article, published in Sports Medicine, presents the case for delaying all full-contact tackling until the age of 12, based on the current body of evidence and ongoing debate in the field.
Some see this as a necessary step to safeguard children’s brains. Others worry it might leave kids unprepared for more physical challenges as they grow.
But children are not mini adults.
Children have thinner cranial bones, proportionally larger heads and weaker neck muscles than adults, making them more vulnerable to rotational and linear forces during head impacts.
Read more:
A stronger neck can help young athletes reduce their risk of concussion
Their neural pathways are still maturing, so repeated head knocks – referred to as “sub-concussive” impacts, which don’t produce obvious concussion symptoms – may pose greater risks for long-term brain development.
Around the ages of eight to 12 is a sweet spot for children’s cognitive and motor development, as they make significant gains in physical fitness, motor coordination, body awareness and cognitive functions such as reaction time and decision-making.
An eight-year-old, for instance, may struggle with the rapid judgements required to align their shoulder and brace their neck properly when tackling a moving player.
However, by 12, many can execute these decisions with greater consistency.
Aligning physical growth with cognitive readiness can allow young athletes to enter contact situations with a firmer grasp of safe techniques and the confidence to use them during games.
A common misconception is delaying full-body contact means not teaching it at all.
Children should be gradually taught skills like body positioning, safe falling and correct shoulder placement before they are faced with high-intensity collisions.
This means children get time to master core skills of the sport, such as catching, passing, kicking and tactics, free from the added demands of body-to-body contact.
This dual focus on skill-based contact training and fundamental sport skills promotes a more holistic athlete development aligned with childhood development.
Unsurprisingly, studies show non-contact versions of sports have fewer head impacts than those in full-contact leagues.
Weight-based categories, such as those used in some junior rugby competitions, aim to lower injury risks by preventing physical mismatches. However, they don’t fully address poor technique or cognitive readiness.
Many leagues across the world are modifying contact rules to reduce youth injuries, with ice hockey the best example.
Some ice hockey competitions in North America raised the introduction of body checking (when players crash into each other with their hips or shoulders) to 13–14 years of age, resulting in significantly lower injury rates among younger players.
Studies also found delaying body checking did not increase concussion risk in later years, supporting the idea that “later is safer”.
Delaying full-body contact (such as tackling) in youth sport remains controversial.
Some argue early contact fosters character and builds resilience and physical readiness despite the risk to a developing brain.
But while early findings suggest delaying contact can reduce injuries, we still don’t have enough long-term studies to prove the full impact over time.
Delaying tackling also poses a challenge, as modifying a sport’s contact rules is complex, and cultural resistance or limited coaching resources in community leagues can hinder change.
Still, many believe that with appropriate formats, coach education and a phased introduction, it is possible to balance skill development with athlete safety.
A potential way forward involves structured, progressive skill development, and gradually teaching young players how to give and receive contact, initially in controlled, low-intensity settings. The emphasis should be focused on safe falling, bracing, neck strengthening and correct head placement.
Some experts also recommend a broader approach that makes safety part of everything in sport, including everything from how coaches teach to the rules of the game to the overall culture.
By ensuring consistency across coaches, referees and administrators, this model helps reduce the risk of concussions.
With a structured progression and strong safety culture, more children will be physically and cognitively prepared to participate in full-contact sports confidently, safely and with greater long-term enjoyment and retention.
Growing evidence supports introducing contact in a developmentally appropriate way to improve safety.
Earlier collisions may raise the risk of concussions without offering much benefit in the long run.
A delayed approach, with progressive skill instruction, may be safer and allow children to develop core skills first.
It’s a way to protect young brains and ensure every child can play confidently and safely once they transition to full-contact tackling, promoting long-term participation safely.
Jonathon Headrick is affiliated with Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA).
Joel Garrett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Why it’s time to delay tackling in junior sports until the age of 12 – https://theconversation.com/why-its-time-to-delay-tackling-in-junior-sports-until-the-age-of-12-256466
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Ahmed Ibrahim, Senior Lecturer, Computing and Security, Edith Cowan University
It’s nearly impossible to use the internet without being asked about cookies. A typical pop-up will offer to either “accept all” or “reject all”. Sometimes, there may be a third option, or a link to further tweak your preferences.
These pop-ups and banners are distracting, and your first reaction is likely to get them out of the way as soon as possible – perhaps by hitting that “accept all” button.
But what are cookies, exactly? Why are we constantly asked about them, and what happens when we accept or reject them? As you will see, each choice comes with implications for your online privacy.
Cookies are small files that web pages save to your device. They contain info meant to enhance the user experience, especially for frequently visited websites.
This can include remembering your login information and preferred news categories or text size. Or they can help shopping sites suggest items based on your browsing history. Advertisers can track your browsing behaviour through cookies to show targeted ads.
There are many types, but one way to categorise cookies is based on how long they stick around.
Session cookies are only created temporarily – to track items in your shopping cart, for example. Once a browser session is inactive for a period of time or closed, these cookies are automatically deleted.
Persistent cookies are stored for longer periods and can identify you – saving your login details so you can quickly access your email, for example. They have an expiry date ranging from days to years.
Pop-ups will usually inform you the website uses “essential cookies” necessary for it to function. You can’t opt out of these – and you wouldn’t want to. Otherwise, things like online shopping carts simply wouldn’t work.
However, somewhere in the settings you will be given the choice to opt out of “non-essential cookies”. There are three types of these:
functional cookies, related to personalising your browsing experience (such as language or region selection)
analytics cookies, which provide statistical information about how visitors use the website, and
advertising cookies, which track information to build a profile of you and help show targeted advertisements.
Advertising cookies are usually from third parties, which can then use them to track your browsing activities. A third party means the cookie can be accessed and shared across platforms and domains that are not the website you visited.
Google Ads, for example, can track your online behaviour not only across multiple websites, but also multiple devices. This is because you may use Google services such as Google Search or YouTube logged in with your Google account on these devices.
Ultimately, the choice is up to you.
When you choose “accept all,” you consent to the website using and storing all types of cookies and trackers.
This provides a richer experience: all features of the website will be enabled, including ones awaiting your consent. For example, any ad slots on the website may be populated with personalised ads based on a profile the third-party cookies have been building of you.
By contrast, choosing “reject all” or ignoring the banner will decline all cookies except those essential for website functionality. You won’t lose access to basic features, but personalised features and third-party content will be missing.
The choice is recorded in a consent cookie, and you may be reminded in six to 12 months.
Also, you can change your mind at any time, and update your preferences in “cookie settings”, usually located at the footer of the website. Some sites may refer to it as the cookie policy or embed these options in their privacy policy.
The reason cookie consent pop-ups are seemingly everywhere is thanks to a European Union privacy law that came into effect in 2018. Known as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), it provides strict regulations for how people’s personal data is handled online.
These guidelines say that when cookies are used to identify users, they qualify as personal data and are therefore subject to the regulations. In practice, this means:
Since a lot of website traffic is international, many sites even outside the EU choose to follow GDPR guidelines to avoid running afoul of this privacy law.
Cookie pop-ups are tiresome, leading to “consent fatigue” – you just accept everything without considering the implications.
This defeats the purpose of informed consent.
There is another way to address your online privacy more robustly – Global Privacy Control (GPC). It’s a tech specification developed by a broad alliance of stakeholders (from web developers to civil rights organisations) that allows the browser to signal privacy preferences to websites, rather than requiring explicit choices on every site.
GPC is not universally available, and it’s not a legal requirement – a number of browsers and plugins support it, but broader adoption may still take time.
Meanwhile, if you’re worried you may have accidentally consented to cookies you don’t want, you can find an option in your browser settings to delete cookies and get back to a clean slate (be warned, this will log you out of everywhere). If you want to learn even more, the non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation has a project called Cover Your Tracks.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. What does it mean to ‘accept’ or ‘reject’ all cookies, and which should I choose? – https://theconversation.com/what-does-it-mean-to-accept-or-reject-all-cookies-and-which-should-i-choose-256219
Source: Argument for Lifting NZ Super Age
Traffic will be back using the Holland Road/Marshmeadow Road intersection on Wednesday 21 May, following final surfacing work for the safety upgrade of the State Highway 1B Telephone Road railway crossing.
While the road will reopen, the rail crossing on Telephone Road itself must remain closed for another couple of months until KiwiRail has completed their signalling work, says NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).
“The signalling work is a vital part of the upgrade to safely allow vehicles to start using the Telephone Road rail crossing once again,” explains NZTA’s Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations, Roger Brady.
“We appreciate this has been a disruptive period and ask the Puketaha community to bear with us for just a couple more months until the crossing can fully reopen.”
To prevent vehicles using the rail crossing, shipping containers will be installed across the road tomorrow and remain in place until KiwiRail have completed their work, which is expected to be in late July.
“Unfortunately pedestrian access across the rail crossing will also no longer be possible, including the Puketaha School students who have been able to walk across twice a day,” Mr Brady says.
Both Puketaha School and the Ministry of Education, who manage the school bus routes, have been notified.
Alongside lowering the risk of vehicles damaging the rail tracks, NZTA has also added escape lanes to ensure vehicles do not get stuck on the crossing at busy times.
“As we hit the home stretch for the roading component of this project, we’d like to once more thank the community for your patience while SH1B Telephone Road remains closed at the rail crossing.”
Temporary traffic management will be in place until July showing the SH1B detour around Holland Road, Waverley Road and Seddon Road. This is the same detour that was in place from when the crossing first closed in 2022 until the start of the upgrade project in February this year.
KiwiRail media queries contact: Sue Allen Sue.Allen@kiwirail.co.nz
Source:
Members of Bacchus Marsh, Ballan and Melton fire brigades involved, ACFO David Maxwell and Commander Mal Hayes with ACFO Lachlan Redman and Acting Chief Officer Garry Cook. Credit: Uniform Photography
Acting CFA Chief Officer Garry Cook AFSM presented the distinguished Unit Citation for Service to the members at a ceremony in Myrniong on Sunday (18 May).
At 3.20am on 21 September 2022, CFA crews were called to a major crash on the Western Freeway in Pentland Hills, where a school bus carrying 27 students and four staff from Loreto College Ballarat had been struck at speed by a truck with a semi-trailer.
The bus veered off the road and rolled down a steep embankment, coming to rest in dense scrub with many occupants trapped. The truck with a semi-trailer came to a stop around 400 metres further down the freeway, with the driver pinned inside the cab.
CFA firefighters were among the first emergency services to arrive. Crews descended the slope using a secured hose reel, carrying rescue tools to reach and assist injured and disoriented students.
Simultaneously, other CFA crews helped extricate the truck driver and managed a significant diesel spill, while several members supported Ambulance Victoria to attend to the students.
Fifteen students and one staff member were hospitalised. Fortunately, there were no fatalities.
“This was an incredibly complex and emotionally charged scene, and our members showed true professionalism under pressure,” Garry said.
“Their ability to respond quickly, work alongside other emergency services and provide reassurance to young people in distress is something we as an organisation are very proud of.”
Captain of Bacchus Marsh Fire Brigade Ryan O’Shannessy, who was the CFA Incident Controller, said it was one of the most confronting incidents his crew had faced.
“It was a call-out that really showed the heart of our members, stepping in with empathy, skill and care to help a busload of young students and teachers who’d just been through something terrifying,” Ryan said.
“The injuries we saw were confronting, but everyone did what they could to help, drawing on our CFA training, life experience and the support of all the agencies working together.
“Seeing our crews comfort those kids, assess injuries and stay calm under pressure made me incredibly proud. It was a true team effort — not just from the three CFA brigades, but also from Fire Rescue Victoria, VICSES, Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria.
“We are grateful for this acknowledgement by the Victorian community and CFA, and while it was one incident of significance, we humbly accept this Unit Citation on behalf of our brigades for all the incidents we have and will continue to attend when called upon to help our local and wider communities in protecting life and property.”
Captain of Ballan Fire Brigade Ben Hatfield said the recognition meant a great deal.
“We’re proud to receive this on behalf of our brigades, but more importantly, we’re proud of how our members responded that day,” Ben said.
“This citation may recognise one moment, but it reflects the work we do every time we’re called to help, especially when it’s our youngest community members who need us most.”
| Submitted by | CFA media |
|---|
Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –
Universiade is a competition for students studying Italian at universities, which is organized annually by the National Association of Teachers of Foreign Languages ANILS (Italy).
The Universiade assignments are divided into six QCER/CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) levels, from A1 to C2, and include listening, reading, writing, speaking and grammar.
— The Italian language at Novosibirsk State University has always been taught at a very high level, our graduates work as teachers and translators from Italian and even teach at Italian universities. And we are very happy that there is an international project in which our students can test themselves by solving problems simultaneously with Italian students from all over the world, — notes the director of the Italian Center of NSU, senior lecturer of the Department of Romano-Germanic Philology Humanitarian Institute Olga Kuznetsova.
This year, first-year students from the Philology and Linguistics departments who started studying Italian only in September also took part in the Universiade. They took the risk of trying their hand at level A2 and showed decent results: at level A2, Philology student Maya Bordukova scored 88 points out of 100 possible, and Maria Zhuravleva (Linguistics) scored 79 points out of 100, showing the highest results in their groups.
— I was interested in testing my strength, learning something new and understanding what I could strive for. It’s one thing when you’re in a calm class, and another thing when you’re in a stressful situation. I wanted to know if I could demonstrate my knowledge at the same level. The Universiade lasted about an hour and a half, and we learned the results that same day from our teacher. I didn’t expect to get good results, because the level of the Universiade was a little higher than what we had. So when I saw my scores, I was surprised at first, but then I felt a surge of joy and motivation. It’s very nice to know that your efforts are paying off, — said Maya Bordukova.
Second-year philology students Daria Pod’yanova and Yuri Nikolaev scored 86 points out of 100 at level B1.
We congratulate all participants and wish them to conquer all levels of the Universiade, up to C2!
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on May 19, 2025.
What does it mean to ‘accept’ or ‘reject’ all cookies, and which should I choose?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ahmed Ibrahim, Senior Lecturer, Computing and Security, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock/The Conversation It’s nearly impossible to use the internet without being asked about cookies. A typical pop-up will offer to either “accept all” or “reject all”. Sometimes, there may be a third option, or a link to
What causes ADHD? What we know, don’t know and suspect
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Poulton, Senior Lecturer, Brain Mind Centre Nepean, University of Sydney Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock Neurodevelopmental disorders are a diverse group of conditions that affect the brain from early development. They include attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and learning disabilities, such as dyslexia. These conditions usually become more evident
Pacific children as young as 6 adopted, made to work as house slaves
By Gill Bonnett, RNZ immigration reporter This story discusses graphic details of slavery, sexual abuse and violence Pacific children as young as six are being adopted overseas and being made to work as house slaves, suffering threats, beatings and rape. Kris Teikamata — a social worker at a community agency — spoke about the harrowing
Australia launches ‘landmark’ UN police peacekeeping course for Pacific region
Australia has launched the world’s first UN Police Peacekeeping Training course tailored specifically for the Pacific region. The five-week programme, hosted by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), is underway at the state-of-the-art Pacific Policing Development and Coordination Hub in Pinkenba, Brisbane. AFP said “a landmark step” was developed in partnership with the United Nations, and
AI is moving fast. Climate policy provides valuable lessons for how to keep it in check
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milica Stilinovic, PhD Candidate, School of Media and Communications; Managing Editor, Policy & Internet journal, University of Sydney cybermagician/Shutterstock Artificial intelligence (AI) might not have been created to enable new forms of sexual violence such as deepfake pornography. But that has been an unfortunate byproduct of the
1 in 5 Gazans face starvation. Can the law force Israel to act?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Donald Rothwell, Professor of International Law, Australian National University As Israel continues to pound Gaza with airstrikes, killing scores of people a day, the two-month ceasefire that brought a halt to the violence earlier this year feels like a distant memory. Israel’s overall military and political objective
More people are trying medicinal cannabis for chronic pain. But does it work?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Nielsen, Professor and Deputy Director, Monash Addiction Research Centre, Monash University PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock More Australians than ever are being prescribed medicinal cannabis. Medicinal cannabis refers to legally prescribed cannabis products. These are either the plant itself, or naturally occurring ingredients extracted from the plant.
Why is southern Australia in drought – and when will it end?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chiara Holgate, Senior Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Weather of the 21st Century, Australian National University Artic_photo/Shutterstock Swathes of South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia are in the grip of drought as they experience some of the lowest rainfall totals on record. Farmers are
Wine is still Australia’s most popular alcoholic drink – but many producers face an uncertain future
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Chad, Honorary Fellow, Faculty of Business and Law, School of Business, University of Wollongong kwest/Shutterstock Australia has become world-famous for its wine, but the industry faces an uncertain future. Too many grapes grown amid falling consumer demand, an oversupply of budget wine, and an undersupply of
Something borrowed, something blue? Why the reign of the traditional wedding dress may be over
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jye Marshall, Lecturer, Fashion Design, School of Design and Architecture, Swinburne University of Technology Wedding Rebellion Workshop, London Ellie Cooper/unsplash The family and friends are all gathered, wedding bells are ringing, and the bride walks down the aisle in her beautiful bubblegum pink wedding dress. Twenty years
NZ Budget 2025: economic forecasting is notoriously difficult, but global uncertainty is making it harder
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Lecturer in Economics, University of Waikato Javier Ghersi/Getty Images This year’s budget will be one of the tightest in a decade, with the New Zealand government halving its operating allowance – the new money it has available to spend – from NZ$2.4 billion to $1.3
Why the wall of silence on the Gaza genocide is finally starting to crack
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – As Israel unveils its final genocide push, and mass death from starvation looms in Gaza, Western media and politicians are tentatively starting to speak up ANALYSIS: By Jonathan Cook Who could have imagined 19 months ago that it would take more than a year and a
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Poulton, Senior Lecturer, Brain Mind Centre Nepean, University of Sydney
Neurodevelopmental disorders are a diverse group of conditions that affect the brain from early development. They include attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and learning disabilities, such as dyslexia.
These conditions usually become more evident over time. This is because delays in the skills a child is expected to have developed at each age become more apparent.
ADHD is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder. It affects around 8-10% of children and 2-5% of adults.
ADHD affects a person’s efficiency at completing tasks (for example, because they get distracted) and their behaviour (such as losing things or struggling to pay attention).
ADHD can affect all aspects of functioning including problems learning and maintaining friendships. If undiagnosed, the challenges are likely to persist and may lead to anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.
There is no specific genetic or brain abnormality that causes ADHD and no single reliable test to diagnose it.
A formal diagnosis depends on whether a child shows at least six of the diagnostic criteria for inattention (at least five for adults) and/or at least six of the criteria for hyperactivity-impulsivity (at least five for adults). These have to persist for at least six months.
The diagnostic criteria include:
difficulty concentrating (for example, trouble listening, poor attention to detail, not getting tasks finished)
hyperactivity (including fidgeting, feeling restless and running around, constantly chatting)
impulsivity (for example, interrupting conversations and games, difficulty waiting their turn).
Not everyone with ADHD is hyperactive. For people with inattentive-type ADHD, their main difficulty is inattention, for example, concentrating consistently on everyday tasks that are not particularly interesting.
If someone meets the criteria for hyperactivity-impulsivity and for inattention, they have combined-type ADHD.
One problem with these criteria is they’re not specific to ADHD. For example, difficulties concentrating can also be a symptom of depression.
This is why it’s not enough to simply tick a symptom checklist. The formal diagnostic criteria emphasise these symptoms must interfere with daily functioning.
The key question is: are ADHD symptoms causing day-to-day problems or holding this person back?
What this means will vary from person to person, depending on what their everyday activities involve.
For example, someone may struggle to concentrate at school but excel later on in a creative career such as photography, or in a high-intensity job with hard deadlines, such as journalism.
It also means a person may only meet the full diagnostic criteria at certain stages of their life. Subthreshold ADHD – when someone meets some criteria but not enough for a diagnosis – can still cause significant difficulties.
Boys aged between four and 11 are up to four times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than girls.
This may partly be because the diagnostic criteria are especially good at identifying hyperactive young boys. But they are not as effective for girls, particularly those who are not hyperactive or disruptive, or who try to hide their difficulties concentrating.
Girls and women are likely to be diagnosed later and show more “internalising symptoms”, such as depression. However the rate of underdiagnosis in girls has been improving over the last four decades.
The gender disparity also evens out with age. The female proportion of young adults diagnosed with ADHD is closer to half (38%).
There is also a strong genetic component. Heritability for ADHD is around 70–80%. This describes how much of the person-to-person differences in ADHD are due to genetics, rather than environmental influences.
The more closely someone is related to a person with ADHD – in other words, the more genes they have in common – the more likely they are to have ADHD.
However the genetics are complex. It’s not as simple as finding a gene or selection of genes “responsible” for ADHD.
For example, early research linked ADHD to six genes that target neurotransmission (how the brain sends chemical signals). But the effect of each gene was small.
ADHD is now understood to be a polygenic disorder, with thousands of common genetic variants involved.
Each of these genes is capable of making a discrete but minuscule contribution to the overall expression of ADHD. Because these genes are common, the traits of ADHD are distributed throughout the population, with no clearly defined cut-off between those who do and do not have the condition.
Within a family, the interaction between shared genetics and a shared environment (their household) make it difficult to study these separately.
A supportive family can help a child with ADHD cope better with everyday tasks, as parents often adapt their parenting style to their child’s behaviour. This may mask the ADHD and delay diagnosis.
But if one or both parents also has ADHD, this may affect their parenting style. It can be difficult to determine how much of that child’s behaviour is due to their inherited ADHD, and how much to the family environment and parenting.
Studies have also shown children who are relatively young for their year when they start school have higher rates of treatment for ADHD. This points to their environment playing a role in when their ADHD is diagnosed, but not necessarily its cause.
For more information about ADHD, as well as information about support groups, visit the ADHD foundation or ADHD Australia websites.
Alison Poulton is a member of the Australasian ADHD Professionals Association and ADHD Australia. She has received personal fees and non-financial support from Shire/Takeda; and book royalties from Disruptive Publishing (ADHD Made Simple).
– ref. What causes ADHD? What we know, don’t know and suspect – https://theconversation.com/what-causes-adhd-what-we-know-dont-know-and-suspect-241119
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ahmed Ibrahim, Senior Lecturer, Computing and Security, Edith Cowan University
It’s nearly impossible to use the internet without being asked about cookies. A typical pop-up will offer to either “accept all” or “reject all”. Sometimes, there may be a third option, or a link to further tweak your preferences.
These pop-ups and banners are distracting, and your first reaction is likely to get them out of the way as soon as possible – perhaps by hitting that “accept all” button.
But what are cookies, exactly? Why are we constantly asked about them, and what happens when we accept or reject them? As you will see, each choice comes with implications for your online privacy.
Cookies are small files that web pages save to your device. They contain info meant to enhance the user experience, especially for frequently visited websites.
This can include remembering your login information and preferred news categories or text size. Or they can help shopping sites suggest items based on your browsing history. Advertisers can track your browsing behaviour through cookies to show targeted ads.
There are many types, but one way to categorise cookies is based on how long they stick around.
Session cookies are only created temporarily – to track items in your shopping cart, for example. Once a browser session is inactive for a period of time or closed, these cookies are automatically deleted.
Persistent cookies are stored for longer periods and can identify you – saving your login details so you can quickly access your email, for example. They have an expiry date ranging from days to years.
Pop-ups will usually inform you the website uses “essential cookies” necessary for it to function. You can’t opt out of these – and you wouldn’t want to. Otherwise, things like online shopping carts simply wouldn’t work.
However, somewhere in the settings you will be given the choice to opt out of “non-essential cookies”. There are three types of these:
functional cookies, related to personalising your browsing experience (such as language or region selection)
analytics cookies, which provide statistical information about how visitors use the website, and
advertising cookies, which track information to build a profile of you and help show targeted advertisements.
Advertising cookies are usually from third parties, which can then use them to track your browsing activities. A third party means the cookie can be accessed and shared across platforms and domains that are not the website you visited.
Google Ads, for example, can track your online behaviour not only across multiple websites, but also multiple devices. This is because you may use Google services such as Google Search or YouTube logged in with your Google account on these devices.
Ultimately, the choice is up to you.
When you choose “accept all,” you consent to the website using and storing all types of cookies and trackers.
This provides a richer experience: all features of the website will be enabled, including ones awaiting your consent. For example, any ad slots on the website may be populated with personalised ads based on a profile the third-party cookies have been building of you.
By contrast, choosing “reject all” or ignoring the banner will decline all cookies except those essential for website functionality. You won’t lose access to basic features, but personalised features and third-party content will be missing.
The choice is recorded in a consent cookie, and you may be reminded in six to 12 months.
Also, you can change your mind at any time, and update your preferences in “cookie settings”, usually located at the footer of the website. Some sites may refer to it as the cookie policy or embed these options in their privacy policy.
The reason cookie consent pop-ups are seemingly everywhere is thanks to a European Union privacy law that came into effect in 2018. Known as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), it provides strict regulations for how people’s personal data is handled online.
These guidelines say that when cookies are used to identify users, they qualify as personal data and are therefore subject to the regulations. In practice, this means:
Since a lot of website traffic is international, many sites even outside the EU choose to follow GDPR guidelines to avoid running afoul of this privacy law.
Cookie pop-ups are tiresome, leading to “consent fatigue” – you just accept everything without considering the implications.
This defeats the purpose of informed consent.
There is another way to address your online privacy more robustly – Global Privacy Control (GPC). It’s a tech specification developed by a broad alliance of stakeholders (from web developers to civil rights organisations) that allows the browser to signal privacy preferences to websites, rather than requiring explicit choices on every site.
GPC is not universally available, and it’s not a legal requirement – a number of browsers and plugins support it, but broader adoption may still take time.
Meanwhile, if you’re worried you may have accidentally consented to cookies you don’t want, you can find an option in your browser settings to delete cookies and get back to a clean slate (be warned, this will log you out of everywhere). If you want to learn even more, the non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation has a project called Cover Your Tracks.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. What does it mean to ‘accept’ or ‘reject’ all cookies, and which should I choose? – https://theconversation.com/what-does-it-mean-to-accept-or-reject-all-cookies-and-which-should-i-choose-256219
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Alison Poulton, Senior Lecturer, Brain Mind Centre Nepean, University of Sydney
Neurodevelopmental disorders are a diverse group of conditions that affect the brain from early development. They include attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and learning disabilities, such as dyslexia.
These conditions usually become more evident over time. This is because delays in the skills a child is expected to have developed at each age become more apparent.
ADHD is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder. It affects around 8-10% of children and 2-5% of adults.
ADHD affects a person’s efficiency at completing tasks (for example, because they get distracted) and their behaviour (such as losing things or struggling to pay attention).
ADHD can affect all aspects of functioning including problems learning and maintaining friendships. If undiagnosed, the challenges are likely to persist and may lead to anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.
There is no specific genetic or brain abnormality that causes ADHD and no single reliable test to diagnose it.
A formal diagnosis depends on whether a child shows at least six of the diagnostic criteria for inattention (at least five for adults) and/or at least six of the criteria for hyperactivity-impulsivity (at least five for adults). These have to persist for at least six months.
The diagnostic criteria include:
difficulty concentrating (for example, trouble listening, poor attention to detail, not getting tasks finished)
hyperactivity (including fidgeting, feeling restless and running around, constantly chatting)
impulsivity (for example, interrupting conversations and games, difficulty waiting their turn).
Not everyone with ADHD is hyperactive. For people with inattentive-type ADHD, their main difficulty is inattention, for example, concentrating consistently on everyday tasks that are not particularly interesting.
If someone meets the criteria for hyperactivity-impulsivity and for inattention, they have combined-type ADHD.
One problem with these criteria is they’re not specific to ADHD. For example, difficulties concentrating can also be a symptom of depression.
This is why it’s not enough to simply tick a symptom checklist. The formal diagnostic criteria emphasise these symptoms must interfere with daily functioning.
The key question is: are ADHD symptoms causing day-to-day problems or holding this person back?
What this means will vary from person to person, depending on what their everyday activities involve.
For example, someone may struggle to concentrate at school but excel later on in a creative career such as photography, or in a high-intensity job with hard deadlines, such as journalism.
It also means a person may only meet the full diagnostic criteria at certain stages of their life. Subthreshold ADHD – when someone meets some criteria but not enough for a diagnosis – can still cause significant difficulties.
Boys aged between four and 11 are up to four times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than girls.
This may partly be because the diagnostic criteria are especially good at identifying hyperactive young boys. But they are not as effective for girls, particularly those who are not hyperactive or disruptive, or who try to hide their difficulties concentrating.
Girls and women are likely to be diagnosed later and show more “internalising symptoms”, such as depression. However the rate of underdiagnosis in girls has been improving over the last four decades.
The gender disparity also evens out with age. The female proportion of young adults diagnosed with ADHD is closer to half (38%).
There is also a strong genetic component. Heritability for ADHD is around 70–80%. This describes how much of the person-to-person differences in ADHD are due to genetics, rather than environmental influences.
The more closely someone is related to a person with ADHD – in other words, the more genes they have in common – the more likely they are to have ADHD.
However the genetics are complex. It’s not as simple as finding a gene or selection of genes “responsible” for ADHD.
For example, early research linked ADHD to six genes that target neurotransmission (how the brain sends chemical signals). But the effect of each gene was small.
ADHD is now understood to be a polygenic disorder, with thousands of common genetic variants involved.
Each of these genes is capable of making a discrete but minuscule contribution to the overall expression of ADHD. Because these genes are common, the traits of ADHD are distributed throughout the population, with no clearly defined cut-off between those who do and do not have the condition.
Within a family, the interaction between shared genetics and a shared environment (their household) make it difficult to study these separately.
A supportive family can help a child with ADHD cope better with everyday tasks, as parents often adapt their parenting style to their child’s behaviour. This may mask the ADHD and delay diagnosis.
But if one or both parents also has ADHD, this may affect their parenting style. It can be difficult to determine how much of that child’s behaviour is due to their inherited ADHD, and how much to the family environment and parenting.
Studies have also shown children who are relatively young for their year when they start school have higher rates of treatment for ADHD. This points to their environment playing a role in when their ADHD is diagnosed, but not necessarily its cause.
For more information about ADHD, as well as information about support groups, visit the ADHD foundation or ADHD Australia websites.
Alison Poulton is a member of the Australasian ADHD Professionals Association and ADHD Australia. She has received personal fees and non-financial support from Shire/Takeda; and book royalties from Disruptive Publishing (ADHD Made Simple).
– ref. What causes ADHD? What we know, don’t know and suspect – https://theconversation.com/what-causes-adhd-what-we-know-dont-know-and-suspect-241119
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Aerial photo taken on March 22, 2021 shows the ruins of the Subax buddhist temple in Kuqa City of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Su Chuanyi)
China opened two new museums in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Sunday, showcasing artifacts that highlight the region’s rich history as a hub of ethnic integration and cultural exchange, as well as the diversity of Chinese civilization.
One of the museums, the Museum of the Western Regions Frontier Command in Luntai County, stands on the site of a Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-8 AD) protectorate first established in 60 BC to govern the Xinjiang area, which marked the official incorporation of the area into the Chinese territory.
Spanning 5,120 square meters of exhibition space with galleries divided into five sections, the museum features more than 460 artifacts (some grouped as sets) including pottery, bronze and iron wares and silk fragments. It uses immersive exhibits such as multimedia reconstructions of ancient scenes to illustrate how imperial Chinese authorities governed Xinjiang and fostered cultural exchange over two millennia.
In 2018, with approval from the National Cultural Heritage Administration, a joint archaeological team from Peking University’s School of Archaeology and Museology and the Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology launched excavations at the Zorkut site in Luntai.
Professor Chen Ling from Peking University explained that the unique triple-walled structure of the Zorkut ancient city ruins, along with the discovery of Han Dynasty-style building materials and valuable artifacts, provided key evidence that it was the seat of the Western Regions Frontier Command.
Through the latest archaeological findings and unearthed artifacts, the museum reveals how the Xinjiang area evolved under successive central governments amid enduring interaction, cultural exchange and integration among ethnic groups in the area, said Chen Ying, head of the bureau of cultural heritage of the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bayingolin, where Luntai is located.
Turgun Jelili, a villager from the nearby town of Karabag, said he felt extremely proud to see such a modern museum in his home region. “The architecture is stunning, and the exhibits are truly impressive. It left a deep impression on me,” he said, adding that he plans to bring his daughter to visit soon.
Also on Sunday, Luntai inaugurated the Zorkut ancient city archaeological park, creating an integrated cultural experience for visitors to explore both museum treasures and the actual ruins.
In Kuqa City, some 100 kilometers west of Luntai, the newly constructed Qiuci Museum commenced its public opening on the same day, housing 700 cultural relics (some grouped as sets), among which 96 fall under China’s three-tiered heritage protection system, including a Tang Dynasty (618-907) stone Buddha carving, Qiuci manuscripts, a silver coral-beaded veil and a painted clay sculpture.
The museum, named after the ancient kingdom of Kucha (“Qiuci” is its Chinese pinyin form), features galleries exploring Kucha’s legacy through its history, urban development and Buddhist art displays, plus rotating special exhibitions.
The ancient Kucha region, centered on present-day Kuqa City, spanned the mid-southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains and the northern rim of the Tarim Basin. Since the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), this strategic crossroads served as both a military-administrative hub for Chinese governance in the Western Regions and a cultural melting pot where Eastern and Western civilizations converged, according to Feng Wei, vice curator of the museum.
The region preserves the extraordinary cultural heritage that embodies the enduring historical ties between the Western Regions and the central plain areas, once the heartland of ancient China, Feng noted.
Statistics from the regional culture and tourism department show that Xinjiang’s 150 registered museums received over 13 million visits in 2024, 3.5 million of which were from young people.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
While her peers shuttle between China’s megacities chasing lucrative careers, 23-year-old Huang Huiru veers off the beaten track — immersing herself in the rugged terrain of the Pamir Plateau in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region for a gap year.
As a law graduate from Gansu University of Political Science and Law, Huang is among a growing group of Chinese youth who volunteer to turn classroom knowledge into practical solutions for developing the region.
Stationed in government departments in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, Huang and fellow volunteers revamped local job fairs through social media campaigns. In March, their efforts attracted over 80 employers offering more than 1,000 jobs, up from just five employers and a few job seekers in 2024.
“This is more than a job; it’s a calling,” she said.
Jobseekers exchange information on openings during a job fair in Urumqi, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 2, 2025. (Xinhua/Gao Han)
ANSWERING THE CALL
Since 2003, the “Go West” program has offered 540,000 young Chinese a chance to spend a year or more volunteering in the country’s vast western regions, and around 55,000 participants have been recruited in Xinjiang, according to the Communist Youth League of China. The talent program aims to inject new ideas and vigor into the regions with huge development potential.
In 2024 alone, more than 11,900 young professionals joined the program in Xinjiang, according to the regional Communist Youth League Committee.
Like Huang, they have taught in classrooms near the Taklamakan Desert, helped rebuild rural infrastructure, supported poverty-alleviation projects, and upgraded power grids, leaving a lasting impact on communities while forging their own career paths.
Though often a challenging experience, individuals find profound sense of fulfillment in their service and express a willingness to extend their commitments. Data showed that since 2003, more than 15,000 people have opted to remain in Xinjiang after completing their volunteer service.
Wu Xiaofang, a 30-year-old power grid engineer, relocated to Xinjiang after earning her PhD from the prestigious Xi’an Jiaotong University in 2023. She now pioneers stability solutions for the West-to-East Power Transmission Project that leverages the region’s abundant wind and solar resources and its surplus power generation capacity. With transmission channels in place, Xinjiang can deliver excess clean electricity to other parts of China.
“Xinjiang’s power grid offers vast potential to apply my expertise where the nation needs it most,” said Wu. Her efforts, including breakthroughs in maintaining ultra-high-voltage lines amid extreme weather, earned her recognition in Xinjiang’s talent program, a regional top professional honor.
Workers perform installation work at the Barkol convertor station of the Hami-Chongqing ±800 kilovolt ultra-high voltage direct current (UHV DC) power transmission project in Hami, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 21, 2025. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)
Yan Luming, a Master’s student from the People’s Public Security University of China, has brought innovative anti-fraud awareness campaigns to the city of Kashgar through the “Go West” program.
Assigned to the anti-fraud center of the Kashgar public security bureau, she creates educational content featuring witty dialogue and relatable scenarios popular on social media platforms. Her videos have garnered up to 400,000 views per episode, helping prevent numerous potential scams.
Wei Tao, head of the organization department of Kuqa City, said that targeted recruitment of students, graduates, and volunteers assigned to grassroots roles has become a pivotal force in advancing local governance and development.
VAST OPPORTUNITIES
Xinjiang has rolled out enhanced talent policies and a 10-billion-yuan (around 1.4 billion U.S. dollars) talent development fund to address workforce demands in building its 10 major industrial clusters.
In January this year, for example, the region launched the PhD recruitment initiative, aiming to attract over 1,000 global doctoral experts, signalling intensified efforts to bridge expertise gaps.
“Xinjiang’s expansive airspace and industrial needs align with our research goals, allowing us to translate research achievements into tangible productivity,” said Fan Yaoyao, a mechanical engineering postdoctoral researcher who works at an intelligent equipment research institute in Xinjiang.
Volunteers Nurbiyem Japar (L) and Ruzikeri Musa (R) help a villager trim seabuckthorn branches in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Gao Han)
In its latest recruitment drive this year, the “Go West” program attracted 410,000 applicants, with nearly 90,000 selecting Xinjiang as their first-choice destination.
Zhang Xin, a data communication graduate student at Tsinghua University, has chosen to temporarily suspend his postgraduate studies to pursue career opportunities in Xinjiang, drawn by the region’s burgeoning digital economy.
The student in his 20s from Hubei Province now works in Aksu Prefecture of Xinjiang, applying his expertise in talent recruitment and employment strategy optimization.
For Zhang, the turning point came during a 2022 internship in Xinjiang. “What struck me was the region’s vitality and untapped potential in information technology,” he said. “Unlike saturated first-tier job markets, Xinjiang offers a frontier where my data analytics skills can directly drive transformative projects.”
Zhang Xin (C), a volunteer working in Aksu Prefecture of Xinjiang, speaks during a volunteer recruiting event for the “Go West” program in north China’s Shanxi Province, April 18, 2025. (Xinhua)
Here, young professionals can accelerate both skill development and career progression while making substantive contributions through position-matched work, he added.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
China-Africa cooperation charts course for continental agricultural modernization
Chinese agricultural expert Hu Yuefang (1st R) inspects the growth of hybrid rice with local farmers in Mahitsy, Madagascar on March 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
Under the frameworks of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative, China-Africa agricultural cooperation has yielded fruitful results in recent years.
Through technology transfer, infrastructure development, equipment upgrade and industrial chain expansion, China has substantially boosted Africa’s agricultural productivity and sustainable development capacities, injecting strong momentum into the continent’s modernization drive.
Moving forward, China is committed to fully implementing its plan to support Africa’s agricultural modernization, notably by tackling development bottlenecks and fostering innovative cooperation, so as to extend the benefits of modernization and usher in a new era of China-Africa agricultural partnership.
This photo taken on March 26, 2025 shows a hybrid rice demonstration center launched by China in Mahitsy, Madagascar. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
As the rainy season waned in late March in Madagascar, lush paddies blanketed the landscape of Mahitsy, a town about 35 km northwest of the capital, Antananarivo. At the China Hybrid Rice High-Yield Demonstration Base, Chinese agricultural expert Hu Yuefang walked through the fields, pausing to examine rice stalks alongside local farmers.
Rice is Madagascar’s primary staple, occupying roughly half of the country’s cultivated agricultural land. Yet for years, low-quality seeds and outdated farming methods have hindered productivity, leaving domestic demand unmet.
To help Madagascar achieve food self-sufficiency, China launched a hybrid rice demonstration center project in the country in 2007, aiming to promote high-quality hybrid rice varieties, transfer advanced farming techniques, and boost crop yields.
After years of dedicated efforts, Chinese experts have successfully developed five hybrid rice varieties tailored to local conditions, achieving average yields of 7.5 tonnes per hectare — two to three times that of local varieties. These high-yield strains have been cultivated across a cumulative area of about 90,000 hectares nationwide, making Madagascar the largest grower of hybrid rice in Africa.
Femosoa Rakatondrazala, a farmer from Mahitsy, switched to planting hybrid rice three years ago. He said the crop has transformed his family’s life: “Hybrid rice brought us new hope. We used to struggle to feed ourselves, but now we have a surplus to sell and even save up to buy more land.”
Michel Anondraka, director general of agriculture and livestock at Madagascar’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, praised China’s contribution to the country’s agricultural progress. “Hybrid rice is a high-yield variety, and increasing its production will ensure Madagascar’s rice self-sufficiency,” he said.
Michel Anondraka, director general of agriculture and livestock at Madagascar’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Analamanga, Madagascar on March 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
Today, Chinese hybrid rice has been introduced to over 20 African countries. As China-Africa agricultural cooperation deepens, a growing number of Chinese-aided projects have taken root across the continent, bolstering food security and nudging African agriculture toward modernization.
In Tanzania’s Morogoro Region, China Agricultural University launched the “Small Technology, Big Harvest” project in 2011, promoting China’s maize-intensive planting technique. Starting with a single household in one village, the project now spans more than 10 villages and over 1,000 households, with maize yields doubling on average.
In Rwanda, China’s Juncao technology has enabled 4,000-plus households to shift to mushroom farming, creating over 30,000 jobs. The technology has now been introduced to over 100 countries, with 17 demonstration bases established globally.
Under the first three-year action plan of the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035, China has dispatched over 500 agricultural experts and trained nearly 9,000 professionals. By 2023, China had built 24 agricultural technology demonstration centers in Africa, promoting over 300 advanced technologies. These efforts have increased crop yields by an average of 30-60 percent, benefiting over 1 million smallholder farmers.
CHINESE SOLUTIONS
On the undulating plains of Siaya County in western Kenya, newly built irrigation canals stretch across the fields. Along one channel, farmer Peter Onyango directed river water into freshly dug furrows in readiness for vegetable planting.
The canals are part of the Lower Nzoia Irrigation Development Project, the largest of its kind in Kenya. Constructed by China’s Sino Hydro Company Limited, the project’s main structures were completed and operational in April 2024, bringing water to parched farmland along the project line.
This photo taken on Feb. 20, 2025 shows the water intake structure of the Lower Nzoia Irrigation Development Project in Siaya County, Kenya. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
Agriculture is the backbone of Kenya’s economy, employing roughly 70 percent of the population. Yet only about 4 percent of the country’s arable land is irrigated, leaving farmers heavily dependent on unpredictable rainfall. The project, including 111-km irrigation canals, 71-km drainage canals, and 736-km field canals, plays a vital role in addressing this challenge and enhancing agricultural productivity.
According to Kenya’s National Irrigation Authority, the project’s first phase, set for completion in May 2025, will irrigate more than 4,000 hectares on Nzoia River’s left bank, benefiting 12,600 farmers. A second phase will extend irrigation to another 4,000-plus hectares on the right bank.
During a site visit in January, Kenyan President William Ruto said the project would help expand irrigated farmland, urging farmers to make full use of the infrastructure to boost food production and support the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
Edward Mare Muya, a Kenyan irrigation agronomist, said the Chinese enterprise applied modern technology, innovative approaches and scientific management throughout the infrastructure, which serves as a model to accelerate Kenya — and Africa at large — from rain-fed farming to sustainable irrigation-based agriculture.
In South Africa, China’s intelligent devices are transforming modern farming. At Fountainhill Estate in KwaZulu-Natal Province, sugarcane fields swayed gently in the breeze as a drone from Chinese tech firm XAG hovered just three meters above the crops, precisely spraying fungicides.
Covering 2,250 hectares, the farm had long struggled with Eldana moth infestations, with traditional manual pesticide application proving inefficient and wasteful. “The Chinese drones have completely changed the whole farming practices,” said farm manager Deon Burger.
A drone from Chinese tech firm XAG sprays fungicides above sugarcane fields in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa on March 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Bai Ge)
The key advantage of drone operations lies in their efficiency. Agricultural service contractor Johan Prinsloo explained that manually spraying pesticides over 40 hectares of sugarcane requires 30 to 40 workers working an entire day, whereas with a drone, a team of just three people can complete the task.
Drones also offer greater precision. Drone pilot Lucius Du Plessis said, “With 3D terrain mapping and real-time adjustments, we can spray with pinpoint accuracy, reducing pesticide waste and minimizing environmental impact.” “The Chinese drone technology is taking us toward more precise farming,” Prinsloo added.
Since entering the South African market in 2020, XAG drones have serviced over 66,000 hectares of farmland. Today, these smart devices have spread far beyond South Africa’s sugarcane fields to a broader African landscape — soaring over rice paddies in Mozambique, wheat fields in Ethiopia, and vegetable gardens in Ghana. Chinese drones are becoming a vivid symbol of Africa’s journey toward agricultural modernization.
INDUSTRIAL CHAIN EXTENSION
In Kenya’s Murang’a County, macadamia orchards yielded a bountiful harvest in April. As morning mist clung to the trees, farmers stepped into fields to gather the season’s bounty. In the distance, trucks from Hongokee — the Kenyan arm of China’s Hunan Jianglai Food Co., Ltd. — rumbled toward the processing plant, laden with freshly harvested nuts.
As a major global production area, Kenya’s macadamia nuts enjoy a strong reputation on the international market, with prices steadily rising in recent years. Yet, most local factories remain confined to basic processing such as shelling, lacking advanced capabilities like grading, flavoring and packaging. As a result, the product fetches low returns, and with frequent export policy fluctuations, both farmers and enterprises have long struggled with constrained profits.
A farmer displays macadamia nuts at an orchard in Murang’a County, Kenya, on April 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
Recognizing the potential of Kenya’s high-quality raw materials, Jianglai invested nearly 30 million yuan (4 million U.S. dollars) in 2023 to establish a macadamia processing plant in the capital of Nairobi, equipped with advanced Chinese machinery and technology for shelling and other deep processing activities.
Wu Huazhong, Hongokee’s purchasing manager, said the plant has commenced trial production and is expected to become fully operational in the second half of this year. Within five years, it aims to achieve an annual processing capacity of 6,000 tonnes and generate around 200 jobs.
Strong demand from the Chinese market has directly driven the expansion of Kenya’s macadamia plantations. Jane Mburu, who grows 400 macadamia trees in Murang’a, had a bumper harvest last year. “The Chinese company offers twice the local purchase price,” she said. “Their stringent quality standards have also helped us improve planting techniques.”
John Mwangi, a local procurement personnel at Hongokee, said, “By investing in local production, we not only meet China’s demand for premium nuts but also help local processors upgrade their equipment and technology, promoting a shift toward more advanced and value-added production.”
In the semi-arid southwest region of Madagascar, goat farming accounts for over 80 percent of the country’s total. However, limited domestic demand and a weak industrial base have long confined local goat farming to small-scale household operations, making it difficult to achieve large-scale development and improved profitability.
To drive industry upgrading, in September 2023, Chinese firm Sino-Malagasy Animal Husbandry (Madagascar) established the country’s first dedicated goat meat processing plant in line with Chinese standards. With a designed annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes, the plant is expected to reach full production within three years.
Staff members guide a herd of goats to the weighing area in Analamanga, Madagascar, on March 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
During the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in 2023, China and Madagascar signed an agreement on goat meat exports. In September 2024, the firm obtained export certification and successfully delivered its first shipment of 900 kg of frozen goat meat to China’s Hunan Province, marking China’s first-ever import of mutton products from Africa.
The company has now built a complete industrial chain that spans tropical forage cultivation, livestock rearing, meat processing and exports, according to Zhang Ting, executive president of the firm.
“This plant will advance Madagascar’s livestock sector and extend the value chain,” said Anandraka. “We will seize the opportunity presented by the Chinese market to accelerate livestock sector modernization and usher in a new chapter in China-Africa agricultural cooperation.”
Source: Secondary teachers question rationale for changes to relationship education guidelines
Better connections around the Manukau Domain have been unlocked with a new walking track now open.
The paths consist of a new track, linking with the Opened Stone sculpture, and a second path connecting to the existing Manukau Domain track.
Chair Ella Kumar is excited the improved connections on the domain are completed.
“It’s great to see so many Puketāpapa projects in action, such as the Waikowhai boardwalk and coastal tracks, as well as now better connections on Manukau Domain.
“We live in a beautiful and coastal part of Tāmaki Makaurau, and the board is providing investment to unlock greenspace for the community to enjoy these picturesque spaces.”
The new 133-metre pathway is the result of early advocacy from Lynfield residents.
Opened Stone is one of five artworks created as part of the 1971 International Sculpture Symposium. The red granite sculpture by the late Japanese sculptor Hiroaki Ueda was inspired by traditional Shinto shrines.
The sculpture stood outside the Auckland Art Gallery for 35 years and was reinstalled in Manukau Domain in 2016.
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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Sam Graves (6th District of Missouri)
May 13, 2025
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06) wrote Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr asking for his agencies help in getting to the bottom of the concerning number of cancer cases at Warren Hills Elementary School in Liberty, Missouri.
“The families, teachers, and staff members at Warren Hills Elementary school have seen more than a half dozen staff members diagnosed with cancer in just over a decade,” said Graves. “Many parents have deep and growing concerns about the safety of continuing to send their children to school there—and I can’t blame them. There hasn’t been a thorough, independent, and comprehensive study into what’s going on, so that’s exactly what I’m asking Secretary Kennedy to help with.”
You can read the full letter here.
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Source: Secondary teachers question rationale for changes to relationship education guidelines
Aucklanders are invited to provide feedback to help shape the future use of Western Springs Stadium.
This public consultation, led by Auckland Council and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, is open for feedback, from today until 15 June 2025. It follows direction from the council’s Governing Body on 1 May 2025 to seek public feedback before making a decision on the stadium’s long-term use.
There are three options outlined in the consultation document that the council seeks feedback on. These are either Auckland Arena, Western Springs Bowl, or an option that ranges from keeping things as they are to suggesting something different for the future of the stadium.
Max Hardy, Auckland Council’s Director of Group Strategy and Chief Executive’s Office, encourages the community to say how they’d prefer to see the outer fields and stadium used at Western Springs.
“Western Springs has a rich and layered history – from the time when tuna, that’s eels, were fished in the springs, to its use as a vital water reservoir for the city, and later a stadium for speedway, sport, and iconic concerts. Now’s the time to tell us what you’d like to see here in the future” says Mr Hardy.
Nick Hill, Chief Executive of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU), also looks forward to seeing where the community support lies for this important and underused venue in Auckland’s stadium network.
“Western Springs Stadium is a special place with huge potential to evolve and meet the needs of our vibrant city and region. TAU ran an expression of interest process that resulted in two strong options, and we look forward to hearing what Aucklanders want to see happen to the site,” says Mr Hill.
The three options identified for public consideration are:
Option 1: Auckland Arena – A bespoke 12,500–15,000 capacity stadium with high-performance facilities and outer fields. Community use would include indoor basketball and padel courts. Proposed commercial activity includes hospitality options and a health centre.
Option 2: Western Springs Bowl – A permanent music and festival venue with a capacity of 50,000, using the natural amphitheatre and installing new permanent staging infrastructure. A 5,000 – 8,000 seated boutique stadium and community sport facility with clubrooms, a corporate hospitality venue and gym. This option would remain a community sports facility and the home of Ponsonby Rugby Club.
Option 3: neither option 1 or 2; instead keep things as they are or explore other ideas – Existing arrangements could be kept. Tātaki Auckland Unlimited would manage and operate the venue for concerts and festivals and the Ponsonby Rugby Club lease could be extended. Alternative options for the venue could be explored.
There are a number of ways to have your say. These include completing the online feedback form and attending Have Your Say Events for regional organisations and interest groups.
There will also be online information session on the evening of 27 May, where you can find out more about the options and ask questions.
This consultation follows an expression of interest process carried out by Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, which owns and operates Western Springs Stadium with funding from Auckland Council. Two redevelopment proposals emerged through that process, with the addition of the third option of keeping things as they are or exploring other ideas.
Public feedback will help inform a decision on the future of Western Springs Stadium.
Feedback on the Western Springs Stadium consultation closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 15 June 2025.
For more information, go to AK Have Your Say
Source: Secondary teachers question rationale for changes to relationship education guidelines
A project that’s transforming how Auckland deals with flooding has just taken home one of the top awards in the country.
At the recent Stormwater Conference and Expo Gala, the Ports of Auckland Outfall project was named Project of the Year, a big win for the team behind it.
The project, a collaboration between Auckland Council’s Healthy Waters, McConnell Dowell, and GHD, tackled a serious problem: regular flooding in Auckland’s Eastern CBD and Stanley Street area. This flooding threatened key infrastructure assets like Britomart Station, Spark Arena, and the Ports of Auckland.
To solve it, the team pulled off a New Zealand first.
They used a unique underground tunnelling technique, combined with what’s called an “inverted siphon”, to build a new stormwater outfall.
This system runs deep below Quay Street and through the Ports area, using twin pipes that now carry stormwater safely into the Waitematā Harbour.
Working under active train lines, historic sea walls, and a live port environment was no easy feat. But with close cooperation from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, and local businesses, the team made it happen without major disruption.
Looking down into the inverted siphon machine on Quay Street.
“I want to congratulate everyone in the team on this well-deserved award,” says Craig McIlroy, General Manager Healthy Waters & Flood Resilience.
“As we have seen through various extreme rain events, the climate change impact of flooding to the Auckland region has caused unprecedented disruption.
“The dedication and mahi that went into the project shows the strength of their collaborative approach in preparing for the future.”
One of the keys to their success was a special tunnelling machine that safely dug a 300-meter tunnel with minimal surface impact. Safety was front and centre throughout the process, and smart planning helped keep costs in check while speeding up construction.
Inverted siphon tunneling machine at work below Quay Street.
This isn’t just a win for the project team, it’s a big step forward for Auckland. The new outfall significantly reduces the risk of flooding downtown, making the city more resilient as extreme weather becomes more common. It also sets the stage for future growth, capping off nearly 20 years of careful planning.
In short, this award-winning project shows how smart ideas and strong teamwork can solve even the toughest urban challenges.
The Healthy Waters team came away with a further two awards on the night; Sarah Nolan won the Young Stormwater Professional of the Year and Rachel Devine as co-author of the winning Stormwater Paper of the Year for her work on the Auckland Central Library green roof.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
The ancient Zidanku Silk Manuscripts from the Warring States period are displayed during a handover ceremony at the Chinese Embassy in the United States in Washington, D.C., May 16, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
In the predawn hours of Sunday, a commercial flight from Washington D.C. touched down in Beijing carrying an extraordinary cultural payload — a collection of ancient Chinese silk manuscript fragments, dating back to the Warring States period (475-221 BC).
Unknown to most passengers, their journey coincided with one of China’s most significant cultural repatriations to date.
Returned by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art on Friday, the fragments are from “Wuxing Ling” and “Gongshou Zhan,” the latter two volumes of the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts. Time has been kind to the first volume, which remains largely intact, albeit outside China.
Collectively, the silk manuscripts, containing more than 900 Chinese characters, are the earliest examples of silk text discovered to date and the oldest classical Chinese book in the true sense.
“Wuxing Ling” consists of lunar month illustrations paired with explanatory texts, recording seasonal taboos and auspicious practices throughout the year.
“Gongshou Zhan” features texts arranged in a rare circular formation that are read clockwise, indicating the favorable and unfavorable directions, dates, and timing for attacking and defending cities.
The Zidanku Silk Manuscripts predate the renowned “Dead Sea Scrolls” by over a century. These extraordinary texts provide a window into ancient Chinese cosmology, temporal philosophy, and interpretations of human existence.
The documents hold pivotal significance for the study of ancient Chinese characters and literature, as well as Chinese academic and ideological history, said professor Li Ling from Peking University, who has spent over 40 years tracing the manuscripts’ provenance.
Tomb raiders stole the silk manuscripts from a Chu-state tomb at the Zidanku site in Changsha, Hunan Province, in 1942. Four years later, the silk manuscripts were smuggled out of China.
The return of these manuscripts has been a source of inspiration for many Chinese. “Welcome home, national treasures. I hope more cultural relics lost overseas can be repatriated soon,” commented a user on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
The repatriation was facilitated, among other factors, by an intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between China and the United States, which imposes import restrictions on Chinese archaeological materials and cultural artifacts. First signed in January 2009 and renewed in 2014 and 2019, the MoU was most recently extended for another five years beginning Jan. 14, 2024.
The MoU covers classified archaeological materials from the Paleolithic period through the end of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), as well as monumental sculptures and wall art over 250 years old. Between 2009 and 2023, it helped facilitated the return of 504 items or sets of Chinese artifacts from the United States.
Nevertheless, the repatriation of cultural artifacts displaced throughout history that fall outside the scope of applicable international conventions remains a challenge in cultural heritage governance.
After assembling a robust chain of evidence regarding the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts, China formally issued a memorandum to the Smithsonian Institution demanding the return of the “Wuxing Ling” and “Gongshou Zhan” on April 30, 2024.
Following extensive consultations based on dialogue and cooperation, supported by thorough tracing research, the National Museum of Asian Art has agreed to return the cultural treasures to China.
As the morning sun rose, “Wuxing Ling” and “Gongshou Zhan” were back home and on their way to the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA)’s repository.
They will be shown at the National Museum of China in July, alongside other repatriated cultural artifacts.
Remarkably, 2,310 items or sets of lost Chinese cultural relics have been repatriated since 2012, the year of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
A senior NCHA official noted that the administration will continue to work toward the early return of Sishi Ling, the first volume of the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts.
Source:
19 May 2025
New research shows that Australians care deeply about the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) – one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World – but 13% can’t tell you where it is located.
A social media survey canvassing Australians’ perceptions of the iconic tourism drawcard also revealed that while most people are aware of the threats facing the world’s largest coral reef, few can name many individual species inhabiting it.
The survey, conducted by University of South Australia (UniSA) researchers and recently published in Marine and Freshwater Research, underscores the need for a targeted public awareness campaign to address knowledge gaps about the fragile ecosystem, according to lead author Jarrah Taylor.
The UniSA environmental science master’s student says that 113 Australians recruited via social media were asked four open-ended questions about the Great Barrier Reef, including where it was located, what species lived in the reef, its importance to Australia, and the major threats facing it.
The survey’s key findings were:
Taylor says it is not surprising that fish and coral topped the recognition list for marine life in the Great Barrier Reef.
“Images of both coral and fish have long been used in tourism campaigns dating back to the 1970s,” she says.
“We were not expecting participants to provide the scientific name for individual species, but we were interested to see if they could identify flora and fauna at a more niche level – for example reef sharks, manta rays, giant clams and potato cod. This was not the case.”
The most common specific species identified was the clownfish, most likely owing to media portrayals in Finding Nemo, a 2003 animated adventure film inspired by the Great Barrier Reef.
“This shows the power of digital media and popular culture in raising awareness of charismatic species, which can lead to conservation support,” Taylor says.
UniSA senior author Dr Brianna Le Busque says that only three species classified as endangered were identified by participants – the green turtle, staghorn coral, and the hammerhead shark – and fewer than 1% of respondents cited birds, despite the GBR supporting breeding populations of 20 seabird species.
“This finding highlights the need for more education of endangered and critically endangered species living in the Great Barrier Reef, which are under threat from human activities,” Dr Le Busque says.
“We know from a psychology perspective that people are more motivated to help conservation efforts if they feel personally connected to species and know more about them.
“The Great Barrier Reef supports more than 6000 different species and is the jewel in the crown of coral reefs worldwide. It is important to Australia environmentally, economically, culturally and scientifically, and we need to protect it for future generations.”
The researchers recommend expanding the study in future to include a larger, more representative sample of the Australian population. The current study comprised 70% women and 30% men, with participants from SA, Queensland, NSW and Victoria.
“Australians perceptions of species diversity of, and threats to, the Great Barrier Reef” is authored by University of South Australia researchers Jarrah Taylor, Associate Professor Carla Litchfield and Dr Brianna Le Busque. DOI: 10.1071/MF24109
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Media contact: Candy Gibson M: +61 434 605 142 E: candy.gibson@unisa.edu.au
Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
On May 19, Mikhail Mishustin will visit the Lomonosov cluster of the Moscow State University Vorobyovy Gory Innovative Scientific and Technological Center, where he will hold a meeting of the Government Commission on the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Entrepreneurship.
The event will be attended by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: Greenpeace Statement –
Following his piece on the late Pope Francis, Jefferson Chua continues his reflections on the relationship between the Papacy of the Roman Catholic Church and climate change, now in the hands of a new pontiff.
There is a photo of Robert Francis Prevost, back then when he was still archbishop in Chiclayo, Peru, wading through the floodwater that devastated his parish during the historic 2017 El Niño floods. He struck a calm figure who had little to no qualms about being in the middle of a disaster. The photo made me think: what does Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, think of climate change, and–more importantly– the solutions needed to address it?
There are quite a number of clues as to what he would have thought about climate change. He largely aligns with the late Pope Francis’s pivot towards the environment and the Laudato Si agenda, in urging the church to transform words into action in addressing the climate crisis. He has likewise called for a “non-tyrannical relationship” with nature as a key ingredient in climate action, while warning of serious consequences brought about by technological innovation if it is not grounded in a reciprocal relationship with nature.
In the same breath he also mentions the Vatican’s recent adoption of solar power as well as the purchase of electric vehicles as positive steps in addressing climate change. In his younger years he has also pushed for petitions and shared opinions that seem to align with more urgent climate action and international cooperation.
I am drawn to the pope’s choice of name. His nominal predecessor, Leo XIII, stands among the giants of the petrine ministry because he took on arguably the greatest challenge of the church during his time: its relationship with the modern world. His encyclical, Rerum Novarum, not only articulated the church’s positionality in the modernizing and industrializing world, but also spoke about the dangers of unchecked capitalism and its impacts on rights, especially that of workers and laborers. In other words, Leo XIII signalled a critical gaze on unchecked profiteering and how this pursuit of more growth and wealth comes at the expense of the rights of those that were instrumental in achieving that wealth.
I wonder if Leo XIV will be able to transpose this critical gaze onto arguably the greatest challenge of our time, the climate crisis. Our era is characterized by the near-total domination of the corporate few who have reaped in record profits at the expense of everyone. Climate impacts have been increasing in intensity and regularity more than ever, resulting in staggering global losses. In 2024 alone, estimates vary from insurance payouts worth USD 137 billion, to upwards of USD 229 billion with just the ten costliest disasters of last year.
In contrast, just the five largest investor-owned oil and gas companies–Shell, Exxon Mobil, British Petroleum, Chevron, and Total Energies–earned USD 102 billion in 2024. The figure becomes even more mind-boggling if one looks at their profits in the last decade, which amounted to almost USD 800 billion. This greed is underlined by their business practices, with all of them announcing in different manners of speaking that they will not be phasing out oil and gas and will be cutting investments in green and renewable energy, while at the same time spending astronomical amounts of money to run advertising and marketing campaigns that paint a rosy picture of their supposed concern for the environment and climate action.
Taking a broader view lays bare this gross inequality: the world’s wealthiest 10% has caused two-thirds of global warming since 1990, which boils down to not just individual lifestyle choices, but more importantly to the concentration of wealth held by a very few but powerful group of people.
It is amid this sad and alarming backdrop that we find Leo XIV, who inherits a church in a world that is increasingly more difficult to live in, especially by those at the frontlines of the climate crisis. It is this world that also beckons on Leo XIV to transform the church “from words to action.” Climate action must go beyond platitudes and pursue accountability.
There are hopeful signals within the church. A good example would be the Philippines, which constantly ranks as among the most vulnerable countries to climate impacts. For instance, the Roman Catholic Church in the country has set 2025 as the target year when it will be fully divesting from coal and fossil gas investments. Religious-run academic institutions such as Mapua University has likewise pronounced that it too will be divesting from fossil fuels. Church-based grassroots communities and priests have likewise supported environmental defenders and indigenous groups against unchecked transition mineral mining, and have called for holistic climate accountability policies such as the CLIMA Bill. That there is a wealth of examples in the frontiers of the climate crisis should push Leo XIV to take on the fight for climate justice beyond discursive urging. He inherits a church that is suffering precisely because it is in the frontlines. In this manner, Leo XIV himself, through the office entrusted to him, also inherits this moral responsibility to act.
Perhaps none can encapsulate this moral imperative of his papacy better than an example from his adopted home, Peru. Saul Luciano Lliuya, a farmer from Huaraz, Peru, filed a case against German energy company RWE AG. Initially filed in 2015, Lliuya contested that RWE’s emissions–which is considered one of the biggest emitters in Europe–had a direct impact on the climate that is threatening the claimant’s home. After a successful appeal process in 2017 and initial hearings in March 2025, the court will issue an announcement this May. Lliuya’s case takes on and represents an increasingly-familiar experience by climate-impacted frontline communities of no accountability and increasing impacts.
One can imagine Leo XIV, in his white cassock, bearing witness to the increasing frequency of floods that Lliuya and countless others are experiencing and, perhaps, likewise add his influential voice to the growing chorus of those calling for accountability. If he is true to his name, and if his papacy signals an unbroken line from Francis’s concerns in Laudato Si, then there is no other alternative to calling out those who are most responsible for the climate crisis: not just individuals, not just countries, but corporations that have accumulated so much wealth while the least of us suffer the worst consequences of a common home in crisis.
Jefferson Chua is a Greenpeace Campaigner working on climate, based in the Philippines.
You might want to check out Greenpeace Philippines’ petition called Courage for Climate, a drive in support of real policy and legal solutions in the pursuit of climate justice.
The climate crisis may seem hopeless, but now is the time for courage, not despair. Join Filipino communities taking bold action for our planet.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jye Marshall, Lecturer, Fashion Design, School of Design and Architecture, Swinburne University of Technology
The family and friends are all gathered, wedding bells are ringing, and the bride walks down the aisle in her beautiful bubblegum pink wedding dress.
Twenty years ago, this would have raised some eyebrows. But not so much now, as a growing number of women opt to buck the traditional bridal gown for more unique and colourful finery.
The white wedding gown tradition wasn’t cemented in the West until the 19th century. Before then, brides across Europe wore all manner of hues on their wedding day, including reds, blues, yellows, and even black (often in cases where the bride was mourning a close family member).
During the Victorian era (1837–1901), fashion trends were heavily influenced by the wealthy, and especially by the royal families. So it was Queen Victoria’s 1840 wedding that truly kicked off the white wedding gown trend.
In a bridal context, the colour white often came to be associated with “purity” – symbolism that can be traced back to ancient Rome, where white was worn by brides and by “vestal virgins” – the priestesses who served in the cult of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth.
In the decades following Queen Victoria’s wedding, we continued to see British royal brides adorned in shades of white, and particularly ivory, cementing what a traditional wedding dress should look like.
That said, this tradition might now be on its way out, reflecting broader shifts in societal attitudes towards marriage.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show a steady long-term decline in the percentage of people getting married – as well as an increase in the median marriage age for both men and women.
Australia has also become increasingly multicultural. And with more multicultural marriages comes a unique blend of marriage traditions and colour palettes. For instance, in many Asian cultures, including Chinese and Vietnamese, it is customary to wear red due to its positive associations with luck, joy and happiness.
Religious adherence also has a role to play in the overall aesthetic of modern weddings. A growing number of young Australians are identifying as non-religious, which means they’re less likely to partake in a church wedding with a puffy white tulle dress.
Without religious protocols to follow, young couples are expressing their own youthful values at their weddings – and this often includes a more laid-back approach to dressing.
The legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2017 has also prompted bridal stores to cater to a wider market by offering a greater variety of non-traditional colours and silhouettes.
Meanwhile, social media and the rise of celebrity culture adds pressure to think outside the box.
For decades, celebrities have been innovators delivering shock value on their special day. Back in 1954, Marilyn Monroe wore a dark brown suit to her second wedding with Joe DiMaggio. Some 15 years later, Audrey Hepburn got married in a pink Givenchy minidress.
Today’s stars are following suit. In 2018, singer Mandy Moore donned a pink dress on her wedding day, while model Emily Ratijowsky chose a bright yellow Zara pantsuit.
In Australia, designers have spent decades distancing themselves from the typical European influence to forge their own fashion identity. One such person, Akira Isogawa, helped develop the bridal landscape throughout the 1990s, by pushing the boundaries of the “traditional bride”.
The Japanese-born designer brings his own flavour to bridal dresses by infusing them with Eastern elements such as different coloured silks, hand-embroidered motifs, unique beading and even woven fabric. He has also showcased his designs internationally, helping expand Australia’s fashion identity on a world stage.
Despite the move away from traditional wedding gowns, bridal stores are expected to grow their revenue over the next few years. And the industry as a whole will likely continue to contribute to overconsumption by capitalising on the shift away from tradition.
Many stores have changed their business model to cater for more women picking off-the-rack gowns due to financial pressures. According to one industry report, about 17% of brides in 2024 had a custom wedding dress made, compared to 75% purchasing a dress off-the rack, and 7% purchasing a second-hand dress.
At the same time, a number of new fashion technologies are supporting the next generation of onshore manufacturing by allowing the creation of hyper-personalised dresses. In the future, it may be common for brides to co-design their off-the-rack wedding dress.
Recycled and upcycled bridal dresses
have been slow to gain popularity, despite growing pressure on the industry to be more sustainable.
This may just be the tip of the iceberg of the non-traditional bridal movement. Australian weddings are starting to take their own shape, becoming less about formality and more about celebrating what couples value the most.
While we won’t see every bride walking down the aisle in colours like fuchsia pink, we can expect to see more brides opt for softer pastels over shades of white.
Ideally, the bridal industry would slow down in adopting new trends and instead focus on “localism” practices, wherein consumers are looped into the process of how their clothes are made. This would emphasise sustainability through local production and consumption, while also contributing to local fashion cultures.
Jye Marshall is a member of The Australian Fashion Council and Ethical Clothing Australia Accreditation.
– ref. Something borrowed, something blue? Why the reign of the traditional wedding dress may be over – https://theconversation.com/something-borrowed-something-blue-why-the-reign-of-the-traditional-wedding-dress-may-be-over-254806
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Chad, Honorary Fellow, Faculty of Business and Law, School of Business, University of Wollongong
Australia has become world-famous for its wine, but the industry faces an uncertain future. Too many grapes grown amid falling consumer demand, an oversupply of budget wine, and an undersupply of premium wine are just some of the problems besetting the industry.
There are still many small and medium-sized wineries across Australia. But the industry is dominated by a few large players, as well as “vertical integration” with ownership linkages between wineries and retailers.
Just this month, a merger between global drinks giant Pernod Ricard’s Australian, New Zealand and Spanish wine brands and Accolade Wines (one of Australia’s largest winemakers) was completed, creating a new giant – Vinarchy – to be based in Adelaide with A$1.5 billion in annual revenue.
This move will involve an estimated cull of up to 50 wine brands, which speaks to a broader story of growing concentration. Numerous Australian wine companies have come up for sale in recent years, and the industry is undergoing rationalisation.
The current pressures will require an overall reduction in wine production, and a focus on premium over ordinary wines. Grape-growers and some smaller wineries are likely to be most affected.
According to Wine Australia, the Australian wine industry currently has about 6,000 grape growers and 2,156 wineries. It employs 163,790 people (full- and part-time) and contributes $45 billion to the Australian economy each year.
This large size shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Wine is the most popular alcoholic drink in Australia. But troubles have been brewing for the industry for years.
Domestic wine consumption has been in steady decline, down 9% since 2016–17.
This trend isn’t confined to Australia; it is global. The decline reflects cost-of-living pressures, growing health concerns about alcohol, and Gen Z questioning traditional drinking norms.
However, the picture is nuanced. Wine isn’t a staple product; it is a discretionary purchase. Prices in Australia can range from less than $5 to well over $1,000 per bottle, and palates vary significantly among consumers.
Price is generally regarded as an indicator of quality. Wine selling in Australia in the “ordinary” price range of less than $15 per bottle is declining, but wine selling in the “premium” ($15 per bottle and above) price range is increasing.
In the face of decreased global wine consumption, Australia’s shrinking domestic market has also been faced with a steady decline in wine exports. This is problematic for producers looking to exports to offset declines in domestic sales.
These woes are impacting the wine industry in different ways at different points along the supply chain. Let’s start with grape-growing.
The current challenge is for growers of “ordinary-quality” grapes in the shrinking marketplace. The Riverina and Riverland areas are the main grape-producing areas of Australia and achieve a low price per tonne.
There is still high demand for “premium-quality” grapes but these are generally grown in select regions of Australia, typically with a cooler climate.
Unsurprisingly, grapes from warm inland regions of Australia account for 72% of wine grape production, at an average price of $345 per tonne, whereas grapes from cool temperate regions achieve an average price of $1,531 per tonne.
The future impacts of climate change need to be assessed, and are already playing into growers’ decisions. Cooler regions are becoming more highly sought after for grape-growing.
Coupled with increased demand for premium grapes, this will make warm inland regions increasingly problematic. Unlike seasonally planted crops such as vegetables and grain, new grape vines require three years after planting before bearing decent levels of fruit. Farmers must determine the most appropriate long-term use of their land.
Many of Australia’s 2,156 wineries are small-scale (typically privately owned). Other wineries are much larger, with extensive resources. Most consumers are largely unaware of most of these wineries – how many wine brands can you list?
Such diversity already presents a challenge for various wineries trying to market themselves. Adding to this, a large number of Australian wine brands are owned by just a few large industry players, some with links to retailers via vertical integration.
Retailers such as Endeavour Group (formerly part of Woolworths) and Coles own hundreds of wine brands. Some of these brands are marketed to look like independent wineries. Some commentators have even suggested a wine duopoly exists at the retail level.
With the trend towards less consumption overall, and towards premium-quality wines instead of ordinary-quality wines, some wineries may need to shift their focus.
On the challenges facing the industry, acclaimed Victorian winemaker Rick Kinzbrunner told me:
We need a better balance of supply and demand and especially more emphasis on top quality wines at reasonable prices.
If you’re a wine drinker, current wine industry issues may seem irrelevant. But the ongoing oversupply of ordinary-quality wine for the near future offers plenty of price discounts.
For consumers of premium wines, given current high demand, be wary: does what you’re getting quality-wise match the price? Some wines marketed at high prices don’t have the quality to match.
Consumers may wish to increase direct contact with wineries (via cellar doors, websites and mailing lists) and independent retailers to expand their options.
Winners and losers will emerge as inevitable industry change occurs.
Paul Chad does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Wine is still Australia’s most popular alcoholic drink – but many producers face an uncertain future – https://theconversation.com/wine-is-still-australias-most-popular-alcoholic-drink-but-many-producers-face-an-uncertain-future-256320
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chiara Holgate, Senior Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Weather of the 21st Century, Australian National University
Swathes of South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia are in the grip of drought as they experience some of the lowest rainfall totals on record.
Farmers are spending eye-watering amounts of money buying feed, or selling stock to stay afloat.
Some towns are already on water restrictions. Those not connected to the mains water system are in a perilous situation. In the Adelaide Hills, water is being trucked in to fill empty rainwater tanks and dams.
The story playing out across southern Australia could be a glimpse of what’s to come. Our recent research suggests southern Australia may experience longer and more intense droughts in the future, as the climate changes.
Parts of southern Australia have been experiencing drier than normal conditions for well over a year.
Conditions on the ground are worsening as the drought continues.
In Adelaide, the desalination plant has ramped up to maintain water supply. Similarly, Victoria’s desal plant has fired up for the first time since 2022 as dam levels fall.
Farmers are facing some of the driest conditions in decades, and financial pressures are mounting.
Nature, too, is struggling. Waterways, wetlands and deep pools have dried up, leading to fears for endangered fish, insects and many other species.
In a drought-prone country such as Australia, there’s an age-old question: why do the rains sometimes disappear?
Our recent research shows Australian scientists are getting closer to answering this question.
We now know Australian droughts develop when weather systems that lift and carry moisture from the ocean – to fall as heavy rain on land – disappear. When these weather systems return, the droughts break.
These kinds of weather systems have been notably absent from southern Australia in recent months. Instead, slow-moving high-pressure systems, which typically bring warm and dry conditions, have been the standout feature across southern Australia.
For Australia, the driest inhabited continent, heavy rains are what keep drought at bay. Last spring and summer, drought conditions were building in parts of Queensland and northern New South Wales. But then Tropical Cyclone Alfred brought heavy rains, dumping up to four times as much rain as these areas usually get in February and March.
Similarly, heavy rains at the end of last year helped parts of northern and central WA avoid drought conditions.
Unfortunately, western Victoria and southern SA have had no such luck.
If farmers, water authorities and policymakers knew how much longer this drought would last, they could make clear plans. Keep or sell livestock? Impose water restrictions or wait?
Unfortunately, drought timing is very hard to predict. As our research shows, the climate processes that bring weather systems laden with heavy rain are complex.
But we do know heavy and persistent rain is needed to break the drought. And the current forecast shows there’s a decent chance of that as we head towards spring. Though forecasts can change, and those with skin in the game will have their eyes glued to next month’s update to the Bureau of Meteorology’s rainfall outlook.
It also helps that we’re heading into what’s usually the rainier time of year. This means the odds of receiving decent rain are higher at this time of year than if we were heading into summer.
Over the past few decades, southern Australia has become drier. Drying has been most pronounced during the cooler months, between April and October. Some parts of southern Australia have also become more drought-prone, with the number of months spent in drought increasing over this time.
Maps of the current dry conditions across southern Australia closely follow the regions projected to experience longer and more frequent drought conditions in future.
It’s too early to draw a clear line between climate change and this particular drought. But the weight of evidence shows southern droughts are likely to strike more often in the future. The Tinderbox Drought from 2017–19, for instance, was the first Australian drought to show a possible worsening from climate change.
The good news? We now know more about how Australian droughts work. This means we can now be more confident in the direction of Australia’s water future than in past decades.
We must urgently use this new knowledge to develop innovative solutions that will allow Australia to thrive in a climate of increasingly variable water availability. Solutions will involve setting sustainable limits on water use, introducing water recycling and improving efficiency, among other measures.
Though solutions may look different in different parts of Australia, one thing rings true everywhere: we all need to make every drop count.
Chiara Holgate receives funding from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century.
Ailie Gallant receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
– ref. Why is southern Australia in drought – and when will it end? – https://theconversation.com/why-is-southern-australia-in-drought-and-when-will-it-end-256443
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Nielsen, Professor and Deputy Director, Monash Addiction Research Centre, Monash University
More Australians than ever are being prescribed medicinal cannabis.
Medicinal cannabis refers to legally prescribed cannabis products. These are either the plant itself, or naturally occurring ingredients extracted from the plant. These ingredients, such as THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol), are called cannabinoids. Some cannabinoids are also made in labs to act like the ones in the plant.
Medicinal cannabis comes in different forms, such as oils, capsules, dried flower (used in a vaporiser), sprays and edible forms such as gummies.
Since regulatory changes in 2016 made medicinal cannabis more accessible, Australia’s regulator has issued more than 700,000 approvals. (But approvals for medicinal cannabis don’t reflect the actual number of patients treated. One patient may have multiple approvals, and not all approved products are necessarily prescribed or supplied.)
Around half of the approvals have been for chronic pain that isn’t caused by cancer.
In Australia, chronic pain affects around one in five Australians aged 45 and over, with an enormous impact on people’s lives.
So what does the current evidence tell us about the effectiveness of medicinal cannabis for chronic pain?
A 2021 review of 32 randomised controlled trials involving nearly 5,200 people with chronic pain, examined the effects of medicinal cannabis or cannabinoids. The study found a small improvements in pain and physical functioning compared with a placebo.
A previous review found that to achieve a 30% reduction in pain for one person, 24 people would need to be treated with medicinal cannabis.
The 2021 review also found small improvements in sleep, and no consistent benefits for other quality of life measures, consistent with previous reviews.
This doesn’t mean medicinal cannabis doesn’t help anyone. But it suggests that, on average, the benefits are limited to a smaller number of people.
Many pain specialists have questioned if the evidence for medicinal cannabis is sufficient to support its use for pain.
The Faculty of Pain Medicine, the professional body dedicated to the training and education of specialist pain physicians, recommends medical cannabis should be limited to clinical trials.
Read more:
Medicinal cannabis to manage chronic pain? We don’t have evidence it works
Guidance from Australia’s regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), on medicinal cannabis for chronic non-cancer pain reflects these uncertainties.
The TGA states there is limited evidence medicinal cannabis provides clinically significant pain relief for many pain conditions. Therefore, the potential benefits versus harms should be considered patient-by-patient.
The TGA says medicinal cannabis should only be trialled when other standard therapies have been tried and did not provide enough pain relief.
In terms of which type of medical cannabis product to use, due to concerns about the safety of inhaled cannabis, the TGA considers pharmaceutical-grade products (such as nabiximols or extracts containing THC and/or CBD) to be safer.
This evidence may feel at odds with the experiences of people who report relief from medicinal cannabis.
In clinical practice, it’s common for individuals to respond differently based on their health conditions, beliefs and many other factors. What works well for one person may not work for another.
Research helps us understand what outcomes are typical or expected for most people, but there is variation. Some people may find medicinal cannabis improves their pain, sleep or general well-being – especially if other treatments haven’t helped.
Like any medicine, medicinal cannabis has potential side effects. These are usually mild to moderate, including drowsiness or sedation, dizziness, impaired concentration, a dry mouth, nausea and cognitive slowing.
These side effects are often greater with higher-potency THC products. These are becoming more common on the Australian market. High-potency THC products represent more than half of approvals in 2025.
In research studies, generally more people experience side effects than report benefits from medical cannabis.
Medical cannabis can also interact with other medications, especially those that cause drowsiness (such as opioids), medicines for mental illness, anti-epileptics, blood thinners and immunosuppressants.
Even cannabidiol (CBD), which isn’t considered intoxicating like THC, has been linked to serious drug interactions.
These risks are greater when cannabis is prescribed by a doctor who doesn’t regularly manage the patient’s chronic pain or isn’t in contact with their other health-care providers. Since medicinal cannabis is often prescribed through separate telehealth clinics, this fragmented care may increase the risk of harmful interactions.
Another concern is developing cannabis use disorder (commonly understood as “addiction”). A 2024 study found one in four people using medical cannabis develop a cannabis use disorder. Withdrawal symptoms – such as irritability, sleep problems, or cravings – can occur with frequent and heavy use.
For some people, tolerance can also develop with long-term use, meaning you need to take higher doses to get the same effect. This can increase the risk of developing a cannabis use disorder.
Like many medicines for chronic pain, the effectiveness of medicinal cannabis is modest, and is not recommended as a sole treatment.
There’s good evidence that, for conditions like back pain, interventions such as exercise, cognitive behavioural therapy and pain self-management education can help and may have fewer risks than many medicines.
But there are challenges with how accessible and affordable these treatments are for many Australians, especially outside major cities.
The growing use of medicinal cannabis for chronic pain reflects both a high burden of pain in the community and gaps in access to effective care. While some patients report benefits, the current evidence suggests these are likely to be small for most people, and must be weighed against the risks.
If you are considering medicinal cannabis, it’s important to talk to your usual health-care provider, ideally one familiar with your full medical history, to help you decide the best approaches to help manage your pain.
Suzanne Nielsen receives funding from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, alongside government and philanthropic organisations to conduct independent research.. She is the president-elect for the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs. She serves as a consultant for the World Health Organization. She has contributed to independent reviews of the evidence on medical cannabis for government organisations include Worksafe and the TGA.
Myfanwy Graham receives funding from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, alongside government and university institutes. Myfanwy has served as a consultant for the UNODC, WHO and NASEM. She is an appointed member of the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s Medicinal Cannabis Expert Working Group. This article does not represent the views of the TGA or the Expert Working Group.
– ref. More people are trying medicinal cannabis for chronic pain. But does it work? – https://theconversation.com/more-people-are-trying-medicinal-cannabis-for-chronic-pain-but-does-it-work-256471
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Donald Rothwell, Professor of International Law, Australian National University
As Israel continues to pound Gaza with airstrikes, killing scores of people a day, the two-month ceasefire that brought a halt to the violence earlier this year feels like a distant memory.
Israel’s overall military and political objective in Gaza hasn’t changed after 19 months of war: it is still seeking the absolute defeat of Hamas and return of the remaining Israeli hostages.
But it is unclear how Hamas will ever be militarily defeated unless there is a complete and unconditional surrender and the laying down of all arms. This appears unlikely, despite the success of Israel’s so-called “decapitation strategy” targeting the Hamas leadership.
And Hamas continues to hold an estimated that 57 Israeli hostages in Gaza, of which up to 24 are believed to still be alive. The group is insisting on guarantees that Israel will end the war before releasing any more hostages.
With negotiations at a stalemate, Israel has not only maintained its blockade of Gaza, but strengthened it.
Israel first imposed a land, sea and air blockade of Gaza in 2007 after Hamas came to power. These restrictions have severely limited the movement of people and vehicles across the border, as well as the amount of food, medicine and other goods that have been permitted to go into and out of Gaza.
These controls increased significantly after Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. They’ve been maintained at heightened levels ever since.
The January ceasefire temporarily increased the flow of food, medical aid and other support into Gaza. However, this came to an end in early March when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut off aid again to pressure Hamas to extend the ceasefire and release more hostages. Hostilities resumed soon after.
The United Nations’ humanitarian efforts in Gaza have now come to a “near-standstill”. On May 13, Tom Fletcher, the UN emergency relief coordinator, addressed the UN Security Council, stating:
For more than 10 weeks, nothing has entered Gaza – no food, medicine, water or tents. […] Every single one of the 2.1 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip face the risk of famine. One in five faces starvation.
Israel denies there are food shortages in Gaza. It says it won’t permit any trucks to enter the strip until a new system is in place to prevent Hamas from siphoning supplies.
Both the 1949 Geneva Conventions and customary international law make clear:
The use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare is prohibited.
In addition, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) makes starvation of civilians a war crime.
Under international humanitarian law, Fletcher noted, Israel has the responsibility to ensure aid reaches people in territory it occupies. However, Israel’s method of distributing aid, he said, “makes aid conditional on political and military aims” and “makes starvation a bargaining chip”.
International courts have not ignored Israel’s obligations on this front.
In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif (one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack), in addition to Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
In relation Netanyahu and Gallant, the ICC’s pre-trial chamber found:
there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies.
As Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute, there is no obligation on the government to act on the arrest warrants. Both men remain free to travel as long as they do not enter the territory of a Rome Statute party. (Even then, their arrest is not guaranteed.)
The ICC warrants will remain in effect unless withdrawn by the court. The arrest in March of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte highlighted that while ICC investigations may take time, those accused of crimes can eventually be brought before the court to face justice.
This is especially so if there is a change in political leadership in a country that allows an arrest to go ahead.
Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is hearing another case in which South Africa alleges Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza.
The case began with high-profile hearings last year when the court issued provisional measures, or orders, requiring Israel to refrain from engaging in any genocidal acts.
The most recent of those orders, issued last May, called on Israel to immediately halt its offensive in Rafah (in southern Gaza) and maintain the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to allow “unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”.
These orders remain in effect. Yet, Rafah today is a “no-go zone” that Gazans have been ordered to evacuate. And Israel’s ongoing blockade of the strip and restrictions on aid and food entering the territory are clearly in defiance of the court.
Late last month, the ICJ began hearings to form an opinion on Israel’s duties to allow aid to enter Gaza. Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, criticised the ICJ’s hearings as “another attempt to politicise and abuse the legal process in order to persecute Israel”.
The court’s advisory opinion on this issue is not expected for several months. A final decision on South Africa’s broader case may take years.
Reflecting on the situation in Gaza, Fletcher observed at the UN:
This degradation of international law is corrosive and infectious. It is undermining decades of progress on rules to protect civilians from inhumanity and the violent and lawless among us who act with impunity. Humanity, the law and reason must prevail.
Yet, while the Security Council continues to have the situation in Gaza under review, it has proven incapable of acting decisively because of US support for Israel.
The Biden Administration was prepared to use its veto power to block binding Security Council resolutions forcing Israel to respond to the humanitarian crisis. The Trump Administration would no doubt do the same.
However, as Duterte’s arrest shows, international law sometimes does result in action. The finding by another UN body last week that Russia was responsible for the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014 is another case in point.
As the Dutch foreign minister pointed out in that case, the finding sends a message that “states cannot violate international law with impunity”.
Donald Rothwell receives funding from Australian Research Council
– ref. 1 in 5 Gazans face starvation. Can the law force Israel to act? – https://theconversation.com/1-in-5-gazans-face-starvation-can-the-law-force-israel-to-act-256695
