Gita Gopinath, the No. 2 official at the International Monetary Fund, will leave her post at the end of August to return to Harvard University, the IMF said in a statement on Monday.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva will name a successor to Gopinath in “due course,” the IMF said.
Gopinath joined the fund in 2019 as chief economist – the first woman to serve in that role – and was promoted to first deputy managing director in January 2022.
No comment was immediately available from the U.S. Treasury, which manages the dominant U.S. shareholding in the IMF. While European countries have traditionally chosen the Fund’s managing director, the U.S. Treasury has traditionally recommended candidates for the first deputy managing director role.
Gopinath is an Indian-born U.S. citizen.
The timing of the move caught some IMF insiders by surprise, and appears to have been initiated by Gopinath.
Gopinath, who had left Harvard to join the IMF, will return to the university as a professor of economics.
Gopinath’s departure will offer Treasury a chance to recommend a successor at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking to restructure the global economy and end longstanding U.S. trade deficits with high tariffs on imports from nearly all countries.
She will return to a university that has been in the Trump administration’s crosshairs after it rejected demands to change its governance, hiring, and admissions practices.
Georgieva said Gopinath joined the IMF as a highly respected academic and proved to be an “exceptional intellectual leader” during her time, which included the pandemic and global shocks caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Gita steered the Fund’s analytical and policy work with clarity, striving for the highest standards of rigorous analysis at a complex time of high uncertainty and rapidly changing global economic environment,” Georgieva said.
Gopinath has also overseen the fund’s multilateral surveillance and analytical work on fiscal and monetary policy, debt, and international trade.
Gopinath said she was grateful for a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to work at the IMF, thanking both Georgieva and the previous IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, who appointed her as chief economist.
“I now return to my roots in academia, where I look forward to continuing to push the research frontier in international finance and macroeconomics to address global challenges, and to training the next generation of economists,” she said in a statement.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced it has increased the size of its contract with General Dynamics, a global aerospace and defense company, by $34,273,921 to reflect growing numbers of test activities and missile track fusion work performed at Grand Forks and other sites for the Space Development Agency (SDA). This announcement brings the total cumulative value of the contract, which is expected to be completed by Sep. 30, 2029, to $1,106,722,296.
As chair of the Senate Armed Services (SASC) Airland Subcommittee, U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) leads the effort to advance space-based capabilities and missions, both in North Dakota and across the nation.
“With the 319th Reconnaissance Wing flying RQ-4 Global Hawks and providing vital warfighting and ground-based capabilities, the innovative defense ecosystem at Grand Forks Air Force Base is unmatched,”said Cramer.“Raising the contract ceiling will allow General Dynamics to better support our Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture ground management, integration, operation, and sustainment efforts. This crucial investment is proofof the global expertise that resides right here in Grand Forks.”
In April, General Michael Guetlein, the DOD’s Golden Dome leader, joined Cramer and SDA Director Derek Tournear in touring North Dakota’s defense capabilities. The group saw recent updates at SDA Operations Center North and visited Cavalier Space Force Station. During the visit, the group viewed on-going U.S. Space Force activities throughout the state.
Last year, Cramer flipped the switch to bring the SDA Operations Center North online at Grand Forks Air Force Base (GFAFB), participated in a Grand Forks Base Retention Committee meeting, toured the University of North Dakota (UND) National Security Corridor, and announced new Navy personnel at GFAFB. Cramer also joined E-Space CEO Greg Wyler in meeting with UND faculty and SDA staff to discuss workforce development and initiatives, and announced educational initiatives between SDA and UND.
Six Northland students have been named as recipients of Northland Regional Council’s annual Tū i te ora Scholarship, each receiving $4000 and paid work experience with council this summer.
The recipients are Aakash Chatterji, Nehana Griffiths, Riana Lane, Isaac Morrow, Raine Ross, and William Trubshaw, who were selected from a pool of 26 applicants.
This is the sixth year council has awarded the scholarship, which recognises, encourages and supports student to undertake study that relates to council’s environmental and regulatory functions, whilst contributing to council’s vision ‘Tiakina te taiao, tuia te here tangata – Nurture the environment, bring together the people’.
Pou Manawhakahaere – Group Manager, Governance and Engagement Auriole Ruka says the scholarship provides value for both the recipients and council, with the recipients able to gain hands-on experience and council benefiting from the extra support during the busy summer period.
“It’s a great opportunity for the recipients to apply what they’ve learned through their tertiary study to real life scenarios, and our teams really value the different experiences and perspectives the recipients bring.”
Nehana Griffiths, who will join council’s Climate Action and Natural Hazards team, is passionate about learning how land has been utilised and the impacts of this over time.
“I enjoy looking at environmental management cases and learning how different communities in different contexts and situations tackle environmental problems, and what we can learn from those results for the future.”
Riana Lane will join council’s Biosecurity Partnerships team to help support community projects aimed at managing plant and animal species. She is determined to help protect the environment for future generations to enjoy and treasure.
“I want to apply my love for our flora and fauna in a career in conservation, breeding programmes, and zoology to work with and study our native species, and to support them to survive and thrive in our changing world.”
Ruka says the scholarship also enables council to tap into talent early and create a valuable pipeline for future employees.
“The scholarship offers students an incredible chance to gain valuable experience and discover if a career at council aligns with their career goals. We’ve had several previous recipients return to council after graduating or remained in casual and fixed-term roles.”
“We’re really looking forward to having this year’s recipients join us this summer and hope they enjoy the experience so much that they also return to council once they’ve completed their studies to enrich the region and its people with their knowledge and skills.”
The six winners (in alphabetical order by surname) are:
Aakash Chatterji, from Whangārei (Te Uriroroi, Te Parawhau, Te Mahurehure ki Whatitiri, Te Taoū. Ngāti Whātua, Ngā Puhi, and Varanasi India). Diploma in Environmental Management (Level 6) at NorthTec.
Nehana Griffiths, from Whangārei and Dunedin (Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Rehua, Te Rarawa, Te Waiariki, Ngāti Korora, Ngāpuhi). Bachelor of Arts, majoring in History and minoring in Geography and Māori Studies at University Otago.
Riana Lane, from Whangārei. Bachelor of Science, majoring in Biological Science and minoring in Psychology at University of Canterbury.
Isaac Morrow, from Kerikeri (Te Aupōuri). Bachelor of Marine Science at University of Otago.
Raine Ross, from Mōtatau (Ngāti Te Tarawa, Ngāti Hine). Bachelor of Science (Environmental Science) at Massey University.
William Trubshaw, from Whangārei. Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science conjoint, majoring in Biological Sciences and Geography, and minoring in Mathematics at University of Canterbury.
Ruka says the recipients will join NRC from mid-November 2025 to mid-February 2026 in the Biosecurity Partnerships, Climate Action and Natural Hazards, Hydrology, Te Tiriti Partnerships and Engagement Team, and Water Quality teams.
22 July 2025 – Amid growing concerns about shark bites on Australian beaches, researchers have developed a new framework to compare and assess the broad range of prevention measures available to help identify which are most suitable to dynamic conditions.
Flinders University researchers, in collaboration with The University of Queensland and state government agencies, developed 12 comprehensive but adaptable criteria encompassing mitigation efficiency, but also socio-economic and environmental factors.
Published in the scientific journal People and Nature, the research used this new framework to compare 15 different mitigation measures that could be used on the Gold Coast – including cutting-edge technology and traditional strategies – and reveals that a combination of strategies is most effective at reducing the likelihood of shark bites.
“Our analysis includes lethal options like traditional nets and drumlines, and non-lethal real-time shark alerts withSMART drumlines, drones, and early warning systems alongside personal electronic deterrents, listening stations, amid many other measures says, Southern Shark Ecology Group Research Leader at Flinders University and study co-author, Professor Charlie Huveneers.
“It’s designed to be adaptable across various coastal environments, including murky, enclosed bays to clear, dynamic surf beaches and can accommodate new technologies or changing needs over time.
“Importantly, this approach recognises that no single solution is universally effective; instead, a combination of approaches—such as public education, and behavioural changes— equally shared between state governments and growing numbers of surfers and beachgoers is likely to be most successful in reducing shark-bite risk.”
Michelle Henriksen, lead author of the study, says public sentiment is shifting towards the deployment of non-lethal strategies, so experts want to gain knowledge about their effectiveness.
“Results reiterated the societal shift towards non-lethal measures and highlighted which mitigation measures, or performance criteria lacked information, helping to identify knowledge gaps and research needs.”
“By assessing the effectiveness of non-lethal mitigation, we’ve reflected community sentiment on the importance of introducing new methods that protect both sharks and beachgoers,” Ms Henriksen says.
Shark-bite prevention measures strengths and weaknesses:
Physical Barriers: Effective in calm waters but impractical in surf zones like the Gold Coast.
Drones: Widely supported for shark detection; cost-effective and efficient for beach monitoring.
Personal electric Deterrents: Public education needed to improve acceptance.
SMART Drumlines: Non-lethal but concerns about bait attraction and response times.
Tagging: Requires sharks to be tagged and network of acoustic receivers but provide early warnings of shark presence
Sonar: Low effectiveness due to limited coverage and detection accuracy; better suited for future use with tech improvements.
Behavioural Interventions: Highly supported; focuses on education, personal responsibility, and safer ocean practices for people, instead of focusing on sharks.
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The 10th National Forum of the Rehabilitation Industry and Universal Design “Hope for Technology”, dedicated to demonstrating comprehensive solutions for creating an accessible environment, modern technologies for people with disabilities, was held in Moscow on July 10-11. The large-scale exhibition display of Russian manufacturers presented more than 450 domestic solutions in 9 areas: prostheses, orthoses and functional units, rehabilitation equipment and exercise machines. The biomechanics and medical engineering group of the Novosibirsk State University, which consists of students from several faculties, presented its developments to the professional community. This scientific group was created on the basis of Mathematical center in Akademgorodok
The exhibition of assistive technologies was attended by the head of the group, candidate of physical and mathematical sciences Vladimir Serdyukov, 4th year students Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of NSU Daria Korostovskaya and Alexander Niukkanen, 3rd year student Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of NSU Tatyana Shashkina, 5th year student Institute of Medicine and Medical Technologies NSU Sofia Eksharova, 2nd year master’s student Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of NSU Andrey Karavan, Master’s degree graduate Faculty of Geology and Geophysics of NSU Innokenty Serdyuk and postgraduate student of the Institute of Thermal Physics SB RAS Konstantin Lebeda. Young researchers got acquainted with developments in the field of assistive technologies, learned a lot of interesting things, showed the results of their projects, received feedback and acquired valuable contacts for further cooperation.
At their stand, the young researchers presented a motion capture system for studying the kinematics of patients’ walking, as well as an adaptive prosthetic socket for a hand prosthesis using 3D printing technology.
The group also presented its latest developments: a 3D-printed prosthetic foot for activity levels 1–2 and insoles for gait biomechanics diagnostics for amputees, which will complement and improve the motion capture system.
— The most feedback was received by one of our new developments, which was tested for the first time at the forum — a foot prosthesis printed on a 3D printer. Working on this project, we set ourselves the following goal: to make a foot prosthesis that would have a low cost, be easy to manufacture, have the ability to be personalized and manufactured in a short time using simple equipment, which would increase its availability, but at the same time maintain the general biomechanics of walking. An important point is that our prosthesis belongs to activity levels 1-2 and is intended only for walking, but is not suitable for running or sports. To develop the geometry, a digital stand was used that imitates human loads when walking. This way, we were able to create a prosthesis geometry that meets the goal, — said Andrey Karavan.
For the precise design of the prosthesis, 3D modeling and load analysis technologies in Ansys were used. Manufacturing using FDM printing technology took about 12 hours. The weight of the finished product was about 700 grams. This project received financial support from the Ministry of Science and Innovation Policy of the Novosibirsk Region.
The first time a patient tested a printed prosthesis was at the forum. The guys offered to test and evaluate it to the head of the prosthetic center “Instep” (St. Petersburg), who is an amputee himself.
— He liked that the sole is non-slip – even on wet floor tiles, which allows the user to take a shower without the risk of falling. However, he pointed out the shortcomings and shortcomings regarding the geometry of the product and made constructive suggestions for its improvement. His opinion is very important to us, and taking this feedback into account, we will adjust the prosthesis model and organize re-testing on other amputees. It will not be difficult to make adjustments due to the simplicity of the technology, — explained Daria Korostovskaya.
Another new development of the NSU biomechanics and medical engineering group attracted great interest from the forum participants — a pressure insole that will accurately determine the step phases and gait asymmetry. This “smart” insole was previously tested together with a motion capture system for analyzing gait kinematics. The invention will allow specialists in prosthetic centers to analyze the distribution of the load between healthy and amputated limbs, evaluate the distribution of pressure on the foot or prosthesis, and the dynamics of rehabilitation outside the clinic. This project received support from the FSI Foundation as part of the Student Startup competition.
— The video we recorded while testing this insole shows the distribution of the load on the foot when walking. It is important that it allows us to divide the gait cycles into support and transfer phases. We have the opportunity to analyze their ratio and draw conclusions about the gait asymmetry indicator of amputees, which is important for monitoring rehabilitation and correct placement of the prosthesis. When diagnosing the biomechanics of amputees’ gait, such insoles are placed in shoes under both the patient’s healthy foot and the prosthesis. To transmit and read data from the insole, we developed software for processing and visualizing the data, — said Tatyana Shashkina.
Young researchers plan to combine the motion capture system with a “smart” insole. During early research, the guys came to the conclusion that combining these technical solutions will allow for a more complete gait analysis. The motion capture system records the kinematics of the gait, and the insole records the pressure of the foot and prosthesis on the surface. By combining these data, it is possible to track the biomechanical indicators and symmetry of the patient’s gait, which is of great importance for assessing the progress of rehabilitation and adjusting the prosthesis settings.
This development has attracted great interest from representatives of prosthetic centers, some of whom have expressed interest in testing it in their institutions and working together. Among them are the Alorto prosthetic and orthopedic center (Barnaul) and the Ortho-Innovation prosthetic center (Moscow).
— We will be glad to cooperate with these and other prosthetic centers, including because during joint testing we will be able to replenish the database of gait kinematics of patients with lower limb amputations, which we are currently forming in the course of joint work with the Novosibirsk branch of the Moscow Prosthetic and Orthopedic Enterprise. In addition, at the forum we received a request to develop an adaptive prosthetic socket for a leg using 3D printing technology, similar to our existing development of a prosthetic socket for an arm. This is exactly what we intend to do in the near future, — Vladimir Serdyukov summed up.
Material prepared by: Elena Panfilo, NSU press service
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
A new study by U.S. nonprofit Common Sense Media has found that 72 percent of U.S. teens have tried an AI companion, according to a report by TechCrunch on Monday.
The study focused on AI chatbots that are designed for users to have more personal conversations with.
The study found that chatting with an AI is appealing to U.S. teens aged from 13 to 17, as 52 percent said they are regular users.
The findings are based on a study that ran during April and May 2025, used a representative sample of 1,060 teens and was conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago.
A total of 46 percent said they see AI companions as tools or programs, and 33 percent said they use them for social interaction and relationships, while half of teens said they do not trust the information provided by AI companions.
One-third of the teens said they found the conversations more satisfying than with real-life friends, though the rest felt the opposite. While 80 percent of teens said they spend more time with real friends than with their AI chatbots.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
A Chinese research team has achieved a world-leading breakthrough in quantum technology by developing an entangled light source with near-perfect fidelity, according to Sun Yat-sen University in south China’s Guangzhou.
The research, published online in Nature, was led by Wang Xuehua and Liu Jin, two professors from the university’s School of Physics.
It will provide critical support for the development of next-generation quantum precision measurement technologies and the construction of functional photonic quantum information processing chips, Wang said.
The theoretical prediction of spontaneous two-photon emission dates back to the 1960s. However, the generation probability of these “twin” photons was typically far lower than that of single photons, making experimental observation nearly impossible.
Despite numerous experimental attempts by international research teams over the past four decades, the field has seen no substantive breakthroughs.
Recent breakthroughs in semiconductor material growth and device processing techniques have provided essential support for experimentally realizing this phenomenon.
“We designed an ultrahigh-quality optical microcavity and precisely controlled the photon generation process at the micro-nano scale,” said Liu Shunfa, the paper’s first author and an associate professor at Sun Yat-sen University.
This microcavity creates a dedicated pathway for generating the “twin” photons, boosting the two-photon radiation efficiency from less than 0.1 percent to approximately 50 percent in experiments. The breakthrough makes the preparation of a controllable, triggered entangled photon-pair source feasible, Liu said.
“We’ve essentially built a dedicated ‘photon factory’ on the nanoscale for producing entangled photons,” Liu explained.
The research, based on a nano-sized solid-state “artificial atom” structure, introduced the cavity-induced spontaneous two-photon emission scheme.
It pioneered the achievement of spontaneous two-photon radiation intensity matching single-photon levels and successfully produced the novel on-demand triggered entangled photon-pair source with 99.4 percent fidelity.
“The results indicate an extremely high degree of ‘psychic connection’ between our entangled photons, and demonstrates the great potential of this technology for enhancing quantum communication security, quantum computing reliability, and quantum metrology precision,” Liu said.
Reviewers at Nature highly praised the work, calling it a groundbreaking advance in the field of two-photon research and noting that it achieves entangled photon pairs with record-high fidelity.
DUMAGUETE, Philippines, July 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitget, the leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company, is deepening its commitment to digital inclusion in the Philippines by expanding its PayFi Islands initiative to Negros Oriental. This next phase will bring Starlink-powered high-speed internet to Apo Elementary School and the Arts and Design Collective Dumaguete (ADCD), tackling long-standing connectivity challenges in education and the creative sector.
In many parts of Negros Oriental, including remote islands like Apo and urban centers such as Dumaguete, reliable internet access remains elusive. Outdated infrastructure, like microwave radio links, continues to limit bandwidth and reliability, cutting communities off from modern tools and opportunities. This digital divide has sent a ripple effect through key sectors, such as education and creative industries, hindering access to information, digital tools, and, in turn, economic opportunities.
Bitget Starlink being presented to Apo Elementary School
Bitget’s latest deployment brings high-speed Starlink internet to two key communities in Negros Oriental, each facing distinct yet equally urgent digital challenges. After years of limited resources and unreliable internet, Apo Elementary School, the only public school on Apo Island, will finally be connected through Starlink. This new access will unlock digital learning tools, teacher development programs, and broader educational networks, creating new opportunities for academic growth and long-term empowerment in a community that has long relied on fishing.
Bitget Starlink being presented to Arts and Design Collective Dumaguete (ADCD)
Meanwhile, in Dumaguete, Bitget partnered with the Arts and Design Collective Dumaguete (ADCD), a vibrant creative hub preparing to launch a maker’s space for local artists and entrepreneurs. Previously held back by poor internet access, this space will now offer digital tools, fabrication technologies, and pathways to global collaboration, enabling the city’s creative sector to thrive in the digital economy.
“Access to the internet is access to opportunities,” said Vugar Usi Zade, COO of Bitget. “With PayFi Islands, we’re connecting people to education, to the digital economy, to more opportunities. These communities deserve to be part of the future, and we’re here to help make that happen.”
Scheduled for full deployment in July 2025, the project includes hardware installation, subscription support, and community training. The expansion in Negros Oriental is part of Bitget’s second phase in bridging the digital divide in Philippine Island communities. In May 2025, Bitget’s Starlink Program first introduced reliable connectivity to Siargao’s Espoir School of Life and Barangay Pitogo. As Bitget continues its rollout, these initiatives lay the foundation for Bitget’s broader educational and empowerment programs, Blockchain4Youth and Blockchain4Her. These programs will introduce blockchain literacy, financial education, and decentralized technology training to students and women-led cooperatives in the region, ensuring that the new digital infrastructure becomes a platform for sustainable development.
The Blockchain4Youth initiative highlights a powerful message that true crypto adoption begins with access. From the classrooms of Apo Island to the creative studios of Dumaguete, this expansion reflects Bitget’s long-term commitment to inclusion, empowerment, and building a future where no one is left offline.
About Bitget
Established in 2018, Bitget is the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company. Serving over 120 million users in 150+ countries and regions, the Bitget exchange is committed to helping users trade smarter with its pioneering copy trading feature and other trading solutions, while offering real-time access to Bitcoin price, Ethereum price, and other cryptocurrency prices. Formerly known as BitKeep, Bitget Wallet is a leading non-custodial crypto wallet supporting 130+ blockchains and millions of tokens. It offers multi-chain trading, staking, payments, and direct access to 20,000+ DApps, with advanced swaps and market insights built into a single platform.
Bitget is driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships, such as its role as the Official Crypto Partner of the World’s Top Football League, LALIGA, in EASTERN, SEA and LATAM markets, as well as a global partner of Turkish National athletes Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu (Wrestling world champion), Samet Gümüş (Boxing gold medalist) and İlkin Aydın (Volleyball national team), to inspire the global community to embrace the future of cryptocurrency.
Aligned with its global impact strategy, Bitget has joined hands with UNICEF to support blockchain education for 1.1 million people by 2027. In the world of motorsports, Bitget is the exclusive cryptocurrency exchange partner of MotoGP™, one of the world’s most thrilling championships.
Risk Warning:Digital asset prices are subject to fluctuation and may experience significant volatility. Investors are advised to only allocate funds they can afford to lose. The value of any investment may be impacted, and there is a possibility that financial objectives may not be met, nor the principal investment recovered. Independent financial advice should always be sought, and personal financial experience and standing carefully considered. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Bitget accepts no liability for any potential losses incurred. Nothing contained herein should be construed as financial advice. For further information, please refer to our Terms of Use.
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ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 22, 2025.
New study finds the gender earnings gap could be halved if we reined in the long hours often worked by men Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lyndall Strazdins, Professor, Australian National University asylun/Shutterstock There are lots of reasons why people work extra hours. In some jobs, it’s the only way to cover the workload. In others, the pay is poor, so people need to work extra time. And in others still, working back
New study finds the gender earnings gap could be halved if we reined in the long hours often worked by men Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lyndall Strazdins, Professor, Australian National University asylun/Shutterstock There are lots of reasons why people work extra hours. In some jobs, it’s the only way to cover the workload. In others, the pay is poor, so people need to work extra time. And in others still, working back
Sky TV to buy channel Three owner Discovery NZ for $1 By Anan Zaki, RNZ News business reporter Sky TV has agreed to fully acquire TV3 owner Discovery New Zealand for $1. Discovery NZ is a part of US media giant Warner Bros Discovery, and operates channel Three and online streaming platform ThreeNow. NZX-listed Sky said the deal would be completed on a cash-free, debt-free basis,
Suffering in Gaza reaches ‘new depths’ – Australia condemns ‘inhumane killing’ of Palestinians Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amra Lee, PhD candidate in Protection of Civilians, Australian National University Australia has joined 28 international partners in calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and a lifting of all restrictions on food and medical supplies. Foreign Minister Penny Wong, along with counterparts from
As female independent MPs descend on parliament, they’re fulfilling the dreams of women across history Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Chappell, Post Doctoral Research, University of New England Australia’s 48th parliament has a record 112 women members. Ten of those women are independents. As they take their seats in the chamber, they’ll be realising the aspirations of some of Australia’s first suffragists who, more than a
Are screenwriters paid for a product or a service? The definition matters for their workplace rights Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Goodwin, Lecturer in Arts Management and Human Resources, The University of Melbourne Vitaly Gariev/Unsplash The film and television sector in Australia employs over 26,000 workers and generated more than A$4.5 billion in income in 2021–22. TV dramas generate a large part of this revenue. Australian screen
NZ and allies condemn ‘inhumane’, ‘horrifying’ killings in Gaza and ‘drip feeding’ of aid RNZ News New Zealand has joined 24 other countries in calling for an end to the war in Gaza, and criticising what they call the inhumane killing of Palestinians. The countries — including Britain, France, Canada and Australia plus the European Union — also condemed the Israeli government’s aid delivery model in Gaza as “dangerous”.
Everyone’s talking about the Perseid meteor shower – but don’t bother trying to see it in Australia or NZ Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland View of the 2023 Perseid meteor shower from the southernmost part of Sequoia National Forest, US. NASA/Preston Dyches In recent days, you may have seen articles claiming the “best meteor shower of the year” is about to start. Unfortunately,
Pumped up with poison: new research shows many anabolic steroids contain toxic metals Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Piatkowski, Lecturer in Psychology, Griffith University MilosStankovic/Getty Images Eighteen-year-old Mark scrolls Instagram late at night, watching videos of fitness influencers showing off muscle gains and lifting the equivalent of a baby elephant off the gym floor. Spurred on by hashtags and usernames indicating these feats involve
How EVs and electric water heaters are turning cities into giant batteries Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bin Lu, Senior Research Fellow in Renewable Energy, Australian National University Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock As the electrification of transport and heating accelerates, many worry the increased demand could overload national power grids. In Australia, electricity consumption is expected to double by 2050. If everyone charges their car and
The end of open-plan classrooms: how school design reflects changing ideas in education Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leon Benade, Professor in the School of Education of Edith Cowan University (ECU), Perth, WA, Edith Cowan University skynesher/Getty Imaged The end of open-plan classrooms in New Zealand, recently announced by Education Minister Erica Stanford, marks yet another swing of the pendulum in school design. Depending on
Could Rupert Murdoch bring down Donald Trump? A court case threatens more than just their relationship Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dodd, Professor of Journalism, Director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne If Rupert Murdoch becomes a white knight standing up to a rampantly bullying US president, the world has moved into the upside-down. This is, after all, the media mogul whose US
PBS and NPR are generally unbiased, independent of government propaganda and provide key benefits to US democracy Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie A. (Sam) Martin, Frank and Bethine Church Endowed Chair of Public Affairs, Boise State University Congress’ cuts to public broadcasting will diminish the range and volume of the free press and the independent reporting it provides. MicroStockHub-iStock/Getty Images Plus Champions of the almost entirely party-line vote
Africa’s minerals are being bartered for security: why it’s a bad idea Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hanri Mostert, SARChI Chair for Mineral Law in Africa, University of Cape Town A US-brokered peace deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda binds the two African nations to a worrying arrangement: one where a country signs away its mineral resources to a superpower
A popular sweetener could be damaging your brain’s defences, says recent study Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Havovi Chichger, Professor, Biomedical Science, Anglia Ruskin University Found in everything from protein bars to energy drinks, erythritol has long been considered a safe alternative to sugar. But new research suggests this widely used sweetener may be quietly undermining one of the body’s most crucial protective barriers
Why has a bill to relax NZ foreign investment rules had so little scrutiny? ANALYSIS: By Jane Kelsey, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau While public attention has been focused on the domestic fast-track consenting process for infrastructure and mining, Associate Minister of Finance David Seymour has been pushing through another fast-track process — this time for foreign investment in New Zealand. But it has had almost no public
PSNA calls on NZ to urgently condemn Israeli weaponisation of starvation Asia Pacific Report The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa has called on the New Zealand government to immediately condemn Israel’s weaponisation of starvation and demand an end to the siege of Gaza. It has also called for a permanent ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access to the besieged enclave. “All political parties and elected officials must break
Labor to put disclaimer under Mark Latham’s caucus room picture Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The picture of Mark Latham on the caucus room gallery of Labor leaders will have an annotation under it saying he was expelled for life and his actions do not accord with Labor values. The first meeting of the new
Pacific leaders demand respectful involvement in memorial for unmarked graves By Mary Afemata, of PMN News and RNZ Pacific Porirua City Council is set to create a memorial for more than 1800 former patients of the local hospital buried in unmarked graves. But Pacific leaders are asking to be “meaningfully involved” in the process, including incorporating prayer, language, and ceremonial practices. More than 50 people
Newspoll and Resolve give Labor big leads as parliament resumes after the election Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne With federal parliament to sit for the first time since the election on Tuesday, Newspoll gives Labor a 57–43 lead and Resolve a 56–44 lead. In Tasmania,
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) — China has released guidelines to accelerate digital education this year. Based on three years of experience summarizing the national digital education strategy, Chinese authorities have put forward comprehensive work plans to further advance national digital education.
How far has digital education progressed in China now and how will it develop in the future?
A BREAKTHROUGH IN DIGITAL EDUCATION
In 2022, the state public service platform for intellectual education was opened, marking the official launch of the national digital education strategy.
After three years of development, this platform integrates 5 sub-platforms and has access to 32 provincial-level platforms. It has registered more than 163 million users and the number of visits and views on the platform has exceeded 60.8 billion times.
At the same time, the platform has launched more than 110 thousand educational resources for primary and secondary schools, more than 11 thousand high-quality online courses for vocational education and 31 thousand courses for higher education.
“Over the past three years, breakthroughs have been made in implementing the national digital education strategy and the world’s largest platform for public learning resources and services and a lifelong public learning platform have been established,” said Zhou Dawan, head of the Department of Science, Technology and Information Technology of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.
At present, digital education in China is being comprehensively promoted with faster speed and efficiency. All schools at different levels in China are connected to the Internet, and more than 75% of schools have wireless network coverage. In addition, new infrastructure has been built in many places to build provincial-level intelligent education platforms.
“In the future, it is necessary to work hard to build a diversified system of platforms, catalog systems, resources, data and application systems, and improve the platform’s intelligence level to create a digital base with high intelligence and strong interaction,” said Yang Zongkai, head of the advisory committee of experts on digital education at the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.
AI IN EDUCATION REFORM
Nowadays, the application of artificial intelligence is becoming a hot topic in the field of education. From cities to rural areas, many educational institutions have begun to study specific areas of application of artificial intelligence.
In March this year, China released the intelligent version of the national intelligent education platform 2.0 and launched an “artificial intelligence testing ground” to promote innovation in human-computer interaction.
Zhou Dawan noted that in the future, the “AI testing ground” will be improved, focusing on four main aspects – student learning, teacher teaching, educational management and scientific research, and the innovative forces of high-level universities and enterprises will be combined to develop promising practical AI tools.
It should be recalled that the guidelines on accelerating digital education state that it is necessary to promote the digital transformation of academic disciplines, teaching materials and teaching models, and to improve the digital literacy and skills of the entire population, especially teachers and students.
In addition, the document also proposes to establish an “AI education” security assurance system and explore the possibility of establishing an algorithm security assessment system to effectively avoid problems such as cyber attacks, information cocoons, algorithm hegemony and Internet addiction.
PROMOTING DIGITAL EDUCATION AS AN INTERNATIONAL BRAND
The above document points out that the internationalization of digital education should be actively promoted and international cooperation in the joint creation and utilization of resources, joint training of personnel, etc. should be deepened so as to form an international brand of Chinese digital education.
After more than 10 years of development, China ranks first in the world in the number and scale of application of massive open online courses (MOOCs), creating an international brand in higher education worldwide.
In January 2024, the international version of the government’s public service platform in the field of intelligent education was launched, which will provide all-weather support for the education of students around the world.
In addition, according to the data, the state intellectual education platform in the field of higher education has been visited by more than 106 million people, and its users cover 183 countries and regions of the world.
The document also said that it is necessary to deepen the application of the international version of the national public service platform in the field of intelligent education, so that digital education can benefit students all over the world and China’s digital education can become a benchmark for the world.
“Digital education is an inevitable trend of modern development,” Zhou Dawan said, adding that it is not only a technological revolution in education, but also a profound reform of the concept, model and management of education.
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
There are lots of reasons why people work extra hours. In some jobs, it’s the only way to cover the workload. In others, the pay is poor, so people need to work extra time. And in others still, working back late or on weekends is encouraged and rewarded, explicitly and implicitly.
Those employees who do the extra hours, willingly and without complaint, are seen as hungry and ambitious. A view expressed in some workplaces is simply “that’s what everyone does”.
But what if we discovered that people – at least in heterosexual couple households – can only work long hours at their partner’s expense? Would it still be OK for workplaces to expect people to work longer than our standard full time week, and incentivise them for doing so?
Our study, published this month in the journal Social Indicators Research, found in Australian couple households where both partners had jobs, men earned on average $536 more than women every week. In Germany, the weekly gender earnings gap was €400.
About half of that income gap in both Australia and Germany was due to men working long hours and women effectively subsidising them to do this by cutting back their own work hours.
It’s tough to combine a job with running a household, but one person working extra hours makes this almost impossible. In households, a job with long work hours means someone else must pick up the rest. This includes caring for kids, running the house, walking the dog, cooking dinner and more.
What happens when one partner has to pick up the rest
One in three Australian employees care for children, and 13% of part-time and 11% of all full-time employees give care to someone else, often an ageing parent. This has knock-on effects which are impacting many people in our workforce. The extra hours don’t come out of nowhere, but they have been invisible in what we think of as fair.
In our study, we costed this knock-on in terms of earnings and work hours gaps in households, and what this could mean for equality of income.
We studied between 3,000 and 6,000 heterosexual couples from 2002 to 2019 in Australia and in Germany, estimating their weekly earnings and work hour gaps.
To understand the dynamics in the household, we used a two-stage instrumental variable Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition – a method that allowed us to model earnings gaps as a function of both partners’ paid and unpaid hours. This helped us estimate what the gender gap in hours and earnings would look like if time weren’t being “borrowed” or “subsidised” within the home.
Changing the hours men and women work
The results were striking. We showed how one partner’s paid work hours can increase when the other partner does more unpaid (household) work. This ability for partners to “trade” hours was one of the most important drivers of the work hour (and earning) gap.
So we re-ran models and recalculated what hours a woman and a man would work if one partner wasn’t “subsidising” the other’s work hours. The model showed women would work more hours and men would work fewer when there was a more even split of home duties. The weekly work hour gap shrank to 5.1 hours in Australia (a 58% reduction) and 6.9 hours in Germany (a 47% reduction).
The impact on earnings was just as significant. The gender earnings gap would shrink by 43% in Australia and 25% in Germany.
The gender earnings and work hours gaps are well known, and these are not the only countries facing this problem. What hasn’t been shown before is how it works in households to drive gender inequality across the nation.
The rest of the earnings gap is largely due to differences in pay across male and female industries and jobs, and the persistent gender pay gap in hourly pay.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average gender gap in hourly pay is 11.1%. This gap reflects the fact, hour for hour, women are generally paid less. The average weekly earnings gap is much larger at 26.4%.
As things currently stand in Australia, women earn only three-quarters of what men do, a shortfall similar to that in (Germany).
One part of the earnings gap is the gap in the hourly pay rate, but the other is the gap in how many hours are worked. We show how this would shrink if men worked hours that were closer to Australia’s legislated 38-hour week, and workplaces encouraged them to do so.
Closing the gap
If we stopped the time-shifting to partners that our culture of long working hours relies upon, we estimate that in a heterosexual couple, men’s hours would average closer to 41 a week, and women’s would increase to 36.
We could change the long and short hour compromise that so many households have to face. This change could make a huge difference to gender inequality, and women would no longer carry such a large economic cost from their partner’s work.
Maybe reining in excess hours should be the new focus for gender equality.
Lyndall Strazdins has received funding from the Australian Research Council to undertake research on this topic.
She has served as an expert witness on work hours and well-being for the State and Federal Court.
Liana Leach receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Medical Research Future Fund. She is a member of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU).
Tinh Doan receives funding from the Australia ComCare and the Department of Health and Aged Care for other works that are not related to this article.
If Rupert Murdoch becomes a white knight standing up to a rampantly bullying US president, the world has moved into the upside-down.
This is, after all, the media mogul whose US television network, Fox News, actively supported Donald Trump’s Big Lie about the 2020 presidential election result and paid out a US$787 million (about A$1.2 billion) lawsuit for doing so.
It is also the network that supplied several members of Trump’s inner circle, including former Fox host, now controversial Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth.
But that is where we are after Trump filed a writ on July 18 after Murdoch’s financial newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, published an article about a hand-drawn card Trump is alleged to have sent to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. The newspaper reported:
A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly “Donald” below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.
The Journal said it has seen the letter but did not republish it. The letter allegedly concluded:
Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.
The card was apparently Trump’s contribution to a birthday album compiled for Epstein by the latter’s partner Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence after being found guilty of sex trafficking in 2021.
Trump was furious. He told his Truth Social audience he had warned Murdoch the letter was fake. He wrote, “Mr Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but obviously did not have the power to do so,” referring to Murdoch handing leadership of News Corporation to his eldest son Lachlan in 2023.
Trump is being pincered. On one side, The Wall Street Journal is a respected newspaper that speaks to literate, wealthy Americans who remain deeply sceptical about Trump’s radical initiative on tariffs, which it described in an editorial as “the dumbest trade war in history”.
On the other side is the conspiracy theory-thirsty MAGA base who have been told for years that there was a massive conspiracy around Epstein’s apparent suicide in 2019 that included the so-called deep state, Democrat elites and, no doubt, the Clintons.
Trump, who loves pro wrestling as well as adopting its garish theatrics, might characterise his lawsuit against Murdoch as a smackdown to rival Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant in the 1980s.
To adopt wrestling argot, though, it is a rare battle between two heels.
A friendship of powerful convenience
Murdoch and Trump’s relationship is longstanding but convoluted. The key to understanding it is that both men are ruthlessly transactional.
Exposure in Murdoch’s New York Post in the 1980s and ‘90s was crucial to building Trump’s reputation.
Not that Murdoch particularly likes Trump. Yes, Murdoch attended his second inauguration, albeit in a back row behind the newly favoured big tech media moguls. He was also seen sitting in the Oval Office a few days later looking quite at home.
But this was pure power-display politics, not the behaviour of a friend.
Remember Murdoch’s derision on hearing Trump was considering standing for office before the 2016 election, and his promotion of Ron De Santis in the primaries before Trump’s second term. Murdoch’s political hero has always been Ronald Reagan. Trump has laid waste to the Republican Party of Reagan.
Murdoch knows what the rest of sane America knows: Trump is downright weird, if not dangerous. This, of course, only makes Murdoch’s complicity in Trump’s rise to power, and Fox News’ continued boosterism of Trump, all the more appalling.
But, in keeping with Murdoch’s relationship to power throughout his career, what he helps make, he also helps destroy. Perhaps now it’s Trump’s turn to be unmade. As a former Murdoch lieutenant told The Financial Times over the weekend:
he’s testing out: Is Trump losing his base? And where do I need to be to stay in the heart of the base?
And here is Murdoch’s great advantage, and his looming threat.
A double-edged sword
The advantage comes with the scope of Murdoch’s media empire, which operates like a federation of different mastheads, each with their own market and aspirations. While Fox News panders to the MAGA base, and The New York Post juices its New York audience, The Wall Street Journal speaks, and listens, to business. Each audience has different needs, meaning they’re often presented with the same news in very different ways, or sometimes different news entirely.
Like a federation, though, News Corp uses its various operations to drive the type of change that affects all its markets.
It might work like this. The Wall Street Journal breaks a story that’s so shocking it begins to chip away at MAGA’s unquestioning loyalty of Trump. This process is, of course, willingly aided by the rest of the media. The resulting groundswell eventually allows Fox News and the Post to tentatively follow their audiences into questioning, and then perhaps criticising, Trump.
Fox News audiences could slowly begin to question Trump, or abandon the network entirely. NurPhoto/Getty
The threat is that before that groundswell builds, Murdoch is seriously vulnerable to criticism from a still dominant Trump, who can turn conspiracy-prone audiences away from Fox News with just a social media post. Trump has already been busy doing just that, saying he is looking forward to getting Murdoch onto the witness stand for his lawsuit.
If the Fox audience decides it’s the proprietor who’s behind this denigration of Trump, they may decide to boycott their own favoured media channel, even though Fox’s programming hasn’t yet started questioning Trump.
The Murdochs’ fear of audience backlash was a major factor in Fox’s promulgation of the Big Lie after Trump’s defeat in 2020. The fear their audience might defect to Newsmax or some other right-wing media outfit is just as real today.
History littered with fakery
We also need to consider that Trump might be right. What if the letter is a fake?
Murdoch has form when it comes to high-profile exposés that turn out to be fiction. Who can forget the Hitler Diaries in 1983, which we now know Murdoch knew were fake before he published.
Think also of the Pauline Hanson photos, allegedly of her posing in lingerie, all of which were quickly proved to be fake after they were published by Murdoch’s Australian tabloids in 2009.
There was also The Sun’s despicable and wilfully wrong campaign against Elton John in 1987 and the same paper’s continueddenigration of the people of Liverpool following the Hillsborough stadium disaster in 1989.
But while Murdoch’s News Corp has a history of confection and fakery, the Wall Street Journal has a reputation for straight reportage, albeit through a conservative lens. Since Murdoch bought it in 2007, it has been engaged in its own internal battle for editorial standards.
Media rolling over
What Trump won’t get from Murdoch is the same acquiescence he’s enjoyed from America’s ABC and CBS networks, which have both handed over tens of millions of dollars in defamation settlements following dubious claims by Trump about the nature of their coverage.
In December 2024, ABC’s owner Disney settled and agreed to pay US$15 million (A$23 million) to Trump’s presidential library. The president sued after a presenter said Trump was found guilty of raping E. Jean Carroll.
Trump had actually been found guilty by a jury in a civil trial of sexually abusing and defaming Carroll and was ordered to pay her US$5 million (A$7.6 million).
CBS’ parent company, Paramount, did similarly after being sued by the president, agreeing in early July to settle and pay US$16 million (A$24.5 million) to Trump’s library. This was despite earlier saying the case was “completely without merit”.
Beware the legal microscope
From Trump’s viewpoint, two prominent media companies have been cowed. But his campaign against critical media doesn’t stop there.
Last week, congress passed a bill cancelling federal funding for the country’s two public-service media outlets, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR).
Also last week, CBS announced the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s stridently critical comedy show, although CBS claims this is just a cost-cutting exercise and not about appeasing a bully in the White House.
Presuming the reported birthday letter is real, Murdoch will not bend so easily. And that’s when it will be important to pay attention, because at some point Trump’s lawyers will advise him about the dangers of depositions and discovery: the legal processes that force parties to a dispute to reveal what they have and what they know.
If the Epstein files do implicate Trump, the legal fight won’t last long and the media campaign against him will only intensify.
Right now we have the spectre of Murdoch joining that other disaffected mogul, Elon Musk, in a moral crusade against Trump, the man they both helped make. The implications are head-spinning.
As global bullies, the three of them probably deserve each other. But we, the public, surely deserve better than any of them.
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.
Spurred on by hashtags and usernames indicating these feats involve steroids, soon Mark is online, ordering his first “steroid cycle”. No script, no warnings, just vials in the mail and the promise of “gains”.
A few weeks later, he’s posting progress shots and getting tagged as #MegaMark. He’s pleased. But what if I told you Mark was unknowingly injecting toxic chemicals?
In our new research we tested products sold in Australia’s underground steroid market and found many were mislabelled or missing the expected steroid entirely.
Even more concerning, several contained heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium. These substances are known to cause cancer, heart disease and organ failure.
What are anabolic steroids, and who is using them?
Anabolic steroids are synthetic drugs designed to mimic the effects of testosterone. Medical professionals sometimes prescribe them for specific health conditions (for example, hypogonadism, where the body isn’t making enough sex hormones). But they are more commonly taken by people looking to increase muscle size, improve athletic performance, or elevate feelings of wellbeing.
In Australia, it’s illegal to possess steroids without a prescription. This offence can attract large fines and prison terms (up to 25 years in Queensland).
Despite this, they’re widely available online and from your local “gym bro”. So it’s not surprising we’re seeing escalating use, particularly among young men and women.
People usually take steroids as pills and capsules or injectable oil- or water-based products. But while many people assume these products are safe if used correctly, they’re made outside regulated settings, with no official quality checks.
For this new study, we analysed 28 steroid products acquired from people all over Australia which they’d purchased either online or from peers in the gym. These included 16 injectable oils, ten varieties of oral tablets, and two “raw” powders.
An independent forensic lab tested the samples for active ingredients, contaminants and heavy metals. We then compared the results against what people thought they were taking.
More than half of the samples were mislabelled or contained the wrong drug. For example, one product labelled as testosterone enanthate (200mg/mL) contained 159mg/mL of trenbolone (a potent type of steroid) and no detectable testosterone. Oxandrolone (also known as “Anavar”, another type of steroid) tablets were sold claiming a strength of 10mg but actually contained 6.8mg, showing a disparity in purity.
Just four products matched their expected compound and purity within a 5% margin.
But the biggest concern was that all steroids we analysed were contaminated with some level of heavy metals, including lead, arsenic and cadmium.
While all of the concentrations we detected were within daily exposure limits regarded as safe by health authorities, more frequent and heavier use of these drugs would quickly see people who use steroids exceed safe thresholds. And we know this happens.
If consumed above safe limits, research suggests lead can damage the brain and heart. Arsenic is a proven carcinogen, having been linked to the development of skin, liver and lung cancers.
People who use steroids often dose for weeks or months, and sometimes stack multiple drugs, so these metals would build up. This means long‑term steroid use could be quietly fuelling cognitive decline, organ failure, and even cancer.
What needs to happen next?
Heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium often contaminate anabolic steroid products because raw powders sourced from some manufacturers, particularly those in China, may be produced with poor quality control and impure starting materials. These metals can enter the supply chain during synthesis, handling, or from contaminated equipment and solvents, leading to their presence in the final products.
Steroid use isn’t going away, so we need to address the potential health harms from these contaminants.
While pill testing is now common at festivals for drugs such as ecstasy, testing anabolic steroids requires more complex chemical analysis that cannot be conducted on-site. Current steroid testing relies on advanced laboratory techniques, which limits availability mostly to specialised research programs such as those in Australia and Switzerland.
We need to invest properly in a national steroid surveillance and testing network, which will give us data‑driven insights to inform targeted interventions.
We also need to see peer‑led support through trusted programs to educate people who use steroids around the risks. The programs should be based in real evidence, and developed by people with lived experience of steroid use, in partnership with researchers and clinicians.
Timothy Piatkowski receives funding from Queensland Mental Health Commission. He is affiliated with Queensland Injectors Voice for Advocacy and Action as the Vice President. He is affiliated with The Loop Australia as the research lead (Queensland).
Australia has joined 28 international partners in calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and a lifting of all restrictions on food and medical supplies.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong, along with counterparts from countries including the United Kingdom, France and Canada, has signed a joint statement demanding Israel complies with its obligations under international humanitarian law.
The statement condemns Israel for what it calls “the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians” seeking “their most basic need” of water and food, saying:
The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity […] It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid.
Weapon of war
Gazans, including malnourished mothers denied baby formula, face impossible choices as Israel intensifies its use of starvation as a weapon of war.
In Gaza, survival requires negotiating what the United Nations calls aid “death traps”.
According to the UN, 875 Gazans have been killed – many of them shot – while seeking food since the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operating in late May. Another 4,000 have been injured.
Gaza has been described as the “hungriest place on Earth”, with aid trucks being held at the border and the United States destroying around 500 tonnes of emergency food because it was just out of date.
More than two million people are at critical risk of famine. The World Food Programme estimates 90,000 women and children require urgent treatment for malnutrition.
Nineteen Palestinians have starved to death in recent days, according to local health authorities.
We can’t say we didn’t know
After the breakdown of the January ceasefire, Israel implemented a humanitarian blockade on the Gaza Strip. Following mounting international pressure, limited aid was permitted and the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations.
As anticipated, only a fraction of the aid has been distributed.
About 1,600 trucks entered Gaza between May 19 and July 14, well below the 630 trucks needed every day to feed the population.
Israeli ministers have publicly called for food and fuel reserves to be bombed to starve the Palestinian people – a clear war crime – to pressure Hamas to release Israeli hostages.
Famine expert Alex De Waal says Israel’s starvation strategy constitutes a dangerous weakening of international law. It also disrupts norms aimed at preventing hunger being used as a weapon of war:
operations like the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation are a big crack in these principles [that is] not going to save Gaza from mass starvation.
Palestinian organisations were the first to raise the alarm over Israel’s plans to impose controls over aid distribution.
UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher briefed the UN Security Council in May, warning of the world’s collective failure to call out the scale of violations of international law as they were being committed:
Israel is deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Tom Fletcher briefing the United Nations on the ‘atrocity’ being committed in Gaza.
Since then, clear and unequivocal warnings of the compounding risks of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing have intensified from the UN, member states and international law experts.
Weaponising aid
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation claims it has handed out millions of meals since it began operating in the strip in May. But the UN has called the distribution model “inherently unsafe”.
Near-daily shootings have occurred since the militarised aid hubs began operating. Malnourished Palestinians risking death to feed their families are trekking long distances to reach the small number of distribution sites.
While the foundation denies people are being shot, the UN has called the aid delivery mechanism a “deliberate attempt to weaponise aid” that fails to comply with humanitarian principles and risks further war crimes.
Jewish Physicians for Human Rights has rejected the aid’s “humanitarian” characterisation, stating it “is what systematic harm to human beings looks like”.
Human rights and legal organisations are calling for all involved to be held accountable for complicity in war crimes that “exposes all those who enable or profit from it to real risk of prosecution”.
Mounting world action
Today’s joint statement follows growing anger and frustration in Western countries over the lack of political pressure on Israel to end the suffering in Gaza.
Polling in May showed more than 80% of Australians opposed Israel’s denial of aid as unjustifiable and wanted to see Australia doing more to support civilians in Gaza.
Last week’s meeting of the Hague Group of nations shows more collective concrete action is being taken to exert pressure and uphold international law.
Th 12 member states agreed to a range of diplomatic, legal and economic measures, including a ban on ships transporting arms to Israel.
The time for humanity is now
States will continue to face increased international and domestic pressure to take stronger action to influence Israel’s conduct as more Gazans are killed, injured and stripped of their dignity in an engineered famine.
This moment in Gaza is unprecedented in terms of our knowledge of the scale and gravity of violations being perpetrated and what failing to act means for Palestinians and our shared humanity.
Now is the time to exert diplomatic, legal and economic pressure on Israel to change course.
History tells us we need to act now – international law and our collective moral conscience requires it.
Amra Lee 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.
Australia’s 48th parliament has a record 112 women members. Ten of those women are independents.
As they take their seats in the chamber, they’ll be realising the aspirations of some of Australia’s first suffragists who, more than a century ago, staunchly supported independent representation, but failed to gain traction at the ballot box.
Our earliest female political aspirants, Catherine Spence in Adelaide, Rose Scott in Sydney and Vida Goldstein in Melbourne, eschewed party politics, believing significant social issues should transcend political boundaries.
Recent close contests in the electorates of Bradfield and the eponymous Goldstein echoed the challenges of female independent candidates across time.
Australia’ first female candidate
Spence had been declined preselection for the nascent Labor Party in 1896. This was when women in South Australia, including Aboriginal women, became the first in Australia to have the right not only to vote, but also to stand for parliament.
Spence believed issues of social justice and electoral reform should override party allegiance.
The following year, Spence nominated for the federal convention to draft a Constitution for the new Australian parliament. Her strongest commitment was to proportional voting based on the Hare system of the single transferable vote, which was ultimately introduced to the Australian Senate in 1948. Spence believed this was the fairest electoral system to give voice to minority concerns.
She was the only woman to nominate. Although not elected, she won her place in history as Australia’s first female political candidate.
Acknowledging her defeat, Spence reflected:
I stood or fell on a question which both parties thought it expedient to ignore […] I look on my position in the poll as very satisfactory.
Similarly, Goldstein, the first woman to stand for Australia’s federal parliament in 1903, viewed her loss as “virtually a victory”. She explained to her supporters:
I stood as a protest against press domination and the creation of the vicious system of machine politics. I had the prejudice of ages to fight, and yet I secured more than half of the votes of the candidate heading the polls.
Although she did not stand for office, she brought together politicians across the divide with people of influence from the judiciary, publishing and the arts at her Friday evening salons.
Despite her privileged background and private income, Scott’s political leanings were towards socialism.
For more than 20 years she corresponded regularly with both Spence and Goldstein. Their extant letters reveal shared concerns for equal pay and education for women and child welfare.
Significant NSW legislation was reputedly drafted on Scott’s rosewood dining table. She remained staunchly opposed to party politics, scrawling her endorsement across a copy of The Inebriates Act 1900 “non-party and non-sectarian”.
Scott joined Goldstein on the hustings and furnished letters of support in Goldstein’s campaign pamphlets.
Spence, however, recalling the bitter lesson of her own candidature, wrote:
I am not at all sure that Vida Goldstein is wise in standing for the Senate. Women do not vote as women for women.
Successive, but unsuccessful attempts
Like Spence, Goldstein was hampered by misinformation, with questions asked about her eligibility to stand for parliament. Both lacked the financial support available to their opponents backed by party organisations.
Goldstein was attacked in the conservative press for her views on home and marriage. Comments on her dress and appearance trivialised reporting of her political message. Labor newspapers proclaimed that support for Goldstein would split the vote and result in a defeat of Labor’s candidates.
Vida Goldstein tried to enter politics numerous times, but faced many obstacles. Museums Vcitoria
Spence escaped similar attention because she was short, stout and in her seventies when she campaigned.
Goldstein nominated for the Senate again in 1910, campaigning for equal pay and federal reform of marriage and divorce laws.
Although she polled higher than in 1903, her campaign was hampered by lack of funds and negative press coverage.
Party politics had become more polarised. Many women were now actively joining the Labor Party or supporting the conservative Australian Women’s National League.
Between 1910 and her final tilt for the Senate in 1917, Goldstein stood twice for the seat of Kooyong, currently held for a second term by independent MP Monique Ryan.
Goldstein stood as a progressive independent for Kooyong in 1912. Labor did not field a candidate. She polled around half the votes of her male opponent. She stood again in 1915, remaining frank and uncompromising on her independent status:
as a non-party candidate I had difficulties to face that confronted no other candidate. The non-party candidate does not get the support of the party press. And the other special prejudice I have to fight is that of sex.
While their work towards women’s suffrage is acknowledged, the broader social and political contributions of our early feminists are often overlooked. When the right to vote still seemed unobtainable, they were lobbying for fairer divorce, child welfare, prevention of domestic violence and equal pay. Political representation seemed a step too far.
“None of these women could have imagined a Julia Gillard. It would have made their heads spin to think that a woman could be prime minister,” says historian Clare Wright.
An Australian parliament with majority of cabinet positions held by women, with women leading both the opposition in the House of Representatives and the government in the Senate, would leave them stunned, but triumphant.
Elizabeth Chappell previously received funding from the Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship 2021-2024
Australia has joined 28 international partners in calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and a lifting of all restrictions on food and medical supplies.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong, along with counterparts from countries including the United Kingdom, France and Canada, has signed a joint statement demanding Israel complies with its obligations under international humanitarian law.
The statement condemns Israel for what it calls “the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians” seeking “their most basic need” of water and food, saying:
The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity […] It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid.
Weapon of war
Gazans, including malnourished mothers denied baby formula, face impossible choices as Israel intensifies its use of starvation as a weapon of war.
In Gaza, survival requires negotiating what the United Nations calls aid “death traps”.
According to the UN, 875 Gazans have been killed – many of them shot – while seeking food since the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operating in late May. Another 4,000 have been injured.
Gaza has been described as the “hungriest place on Earth”, with aid trucks being held at the border and the United States destroying around 500 tonnes of emergency food because it was just out of date.
More than two million people are at critical risk of famine. The World Food Programme estimates 90,000 women and children require urgent treatment for malnutrition.
Nineteen Palestinians have starved to death in recent days, according to local health authorities.
We can’t say we didn’t know
After the breakdown of the January ceasefire, Israel implemented a humanitarian blockade on the Gaza Strip. Following mounting international pressure, limited aid was permitted and the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations.
As anticipated, only a fraction of the aid has been distributed.
About 1,600 trucks entered Gaza between May 19 and July 14, well below the 630 trucks needed every day to feed the population.
Israeli ministers have publicly called for food and fuel reserves to be bombed to starve the Palestinian people – a clear war crime – to pressure Hamas to release Israeli hostages.
Famine expert Alex De Waal says Israel’s starvation strategy constitutes a dangerous weakening of international law. It also disrupts norms aimed at preventing hunger being used as a weapon of war:
operations like the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation are a big crack in these principles [that is] not going to save Gaza from mass starvation.
Palestinian organisations were the first to raise the alarm over Israel’s plans to impose controls over aid distribution.
UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher briefed the UN Security Council in May, warning of the world’s collective failure to call out the scale of violations of international law as they were being committed:
Israel is deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Tom Fletcher briefing the United Nations on the ‘atrocity’ being committed in Gaza.
Since then, clear and unequivocal warnings of the compounding risks of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing have intensified from the UN, member states and international law experts.
Weaponising aid
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation claims it has handed out millions of meals since it began operating in the strip in May. But the UN has called the distribution model “inherently unsafe”.
Near-daily shootings have occurred since the militarised aid hubs began operating. Malnourished Palestinians risking death to feed their families are trekking long distances to reach the small number of distribution sites.
While the foundation denies people are being shot, the UN has called the aid delivery mechanism a “deliberate attempt to weaponise aid” that fails to comply with humanitarian principles and risks further war crimes.
Jewish Physicians for Human Rights has rejected the aid’s “humanitarian” characterisation, stating it “is what systematic harm to human beings looks like”.
Human rights and legal organisations are calling for all involved to be held accountable for complicity in war crimes that “exposes all those who enable or profit from it to real risk of prosecution”.
Mounting world action
Today’s joint statement follows growing anger and frustration in Western countries over the lack of political pressure on Israel to end the suffering in Gaza.
Polling in May showed more than 80% of Australians opposed Israel’s denial of aid as unjustifiable and wanted to see Australia doing more to support civilians in Gaza.
Last week’s meeting of the Hague Group of nations shows more collective concrete action is being taken to exert pressure and uphold international law.
Th 12 member states agreed to a range of diplomatic, legal and economic measures, including a ban on ships transporting arms to Israel.
The time for humanity is now
States will continue to face increased international and domestic pressure to take stronger action to influence Israel’s conduct as more Gazans are killed, injured and stripped of their dignity in an engineered famine.
This moment in Gaza is unprecedented in terms of our knowledge of the scale and gravity of violations being perpetrated and what failing to act means for Palestinians and our shared humanity.
Now is the time to exert diplomatic, legal and economic pressure on Israel to change course.
History tells us we need to act now – international law and our collective moral conscience requires it.
Amra Lee 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.
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), along with Congressman Riley Moore (R-W.Va.), introduced a resolution condemning the persecution of Christians around the world.
“Our country was founded on religious liberty. We cannot sit on the sidelines as Christians around the world are being persecuted for declaring Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We must condemn these heinous crimes,” Senator Hawley said. “Year after year, the number of Christians murdered by extremists in Nigeria has numbered in the thousands. Millions more have been displaced. We cannot allow this to continue. I urge my colleagues to join me in condemning the persecution of Christians around the world by supporting this resolution.”
“Around the world, our brothers and sisters in Christ face rampant persecution for simply acknowledging the name of Jesus. That is unacceptable. In Nigeria alone, more than 50,000 Christians have been martyred and more than 5 million have been displaced simply for professing their faith. During a Divine Liturgy in Damascus last month, an islamic jihadist opened fire on worshippers and detonated an explosive device — killing at least 30 and wounding dozens more. These examples illustrate the violence and death Christians face on a daily basis,” said Congressman Moore. “Unfortunately, decades of U.S. foreign policy blunders have exacerbated this crisis, with ethno-religious cleansing accelerating in Iraq after our failure to stabilize the country following the 2003 invasion. We as lawmakers cannot continue to sit idly by. I urge my colleagues to join me in condemning the persecution of Christians across the globe.”
The bill is endorsed by ADF International, Heritage Action for America, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, In Defense of Christians, Global Christian Relief, CatholicVote, Advancing American Freedom, Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE), Family Policy Alliance, Christians Engaged, and Save the Persecuted Christians.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
The Hubei Humanoid Robotics Industry Chain Matchmaking Conference was held on July 16 during the 3rd China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, with the theme “Synergizing Cutting-Edge Innovations, Empowering New Quality Productive Forces.”
Yu Jianlong, vice chairman of the CCPIT, speaks at the Hubei Humanoid Robotics Industry Chain Matchmaking Conference during the 3rd CISCE in Beijing, July 16, 2025. [Photo courtesy of CISCE Organizing Committee]
The event gathered over 400 participants, including ambassadors to China, academic experts, industry leaders and senior financial executives. Through keynote speeches, presentations, project promotions, product launches and strategic cooperation signings, the conference comprehensively showcased Hubei province’s advantages and potential in humanoid robot development. It facilitated precise connections across the industrial chain while injecting momentum into global humanoid robotics collaboration.
Yu Jianlong, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), stated at the event that as a pivotal hub where the Belt and Road Initiative intersects with the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Hubei boasts distinct geographical advantages, abundant sci-tech and educational resources, a robust innovation ecosystem and strong openness. In recent years, the province has demonstrated vigorous development momentum in humanoid robotics — from smart manufacturing to core component R&D, and from application scenarios to industrial ecosystem development.
“At this year’s CISCE, Hubei established the exclusive humanoid robotics exhibition zone, featuring 22 provincial enterprises showcasing over 80 exhibits — including 20 fully-integrated humanoid robots — collectively demonstrating Hubei’s complete industrial chain ecosystem for humanoid robotics,” Yu noted.
He emphasized that the CCPIT will continue expanding its enterprise service network and international partnerships, working with Hubei to establish high-quality cooperation platforms for Chinese and foreign enterprises. This will help position Hubei’s humanoid robotics industry as a standout brand in developing new quality productive forces.
Hu Zhonghai, director of the Hubei Sub-Council of the CCPIT, stated in his address that the humanoid robotics industry represents strategic high ground for developing new quality productive forces — serving as both a “barometer” for technological revolution and an “accelerator” for industrial upgrading. He emphasized Hubei’s ideal environment for robotics innovation, with its unique geographic advantages, strong industrial ecosystem support and superior open policies.
The joint exhibition booth of Hubei humanoid robotics enterprises during the 3rd CISCE in Beijing, July 19, 2025. [Photo/China.org.cn]
He noted the province has prioritized eight major projects, including breakthroughs in humanoid robotics, with 325 Global Fortune 500 companies having now established operations in Hubei. The province is firmly implementing its humanoid robotics industry roadmap targeting initial progress within one year, visible results in three years, and substantial momentum in five years.
Li Zhengxiang, chairman of the Hubei Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center, stated that the center is currently one of China’s largest and most scenario-rich innovation hubs for humanoid robotics. “Through a five-dimensional approach featuring platform leadership, industrial cluster development, financial support, talent empowerment and application scenario implementation, we will build a nationally influential ecosystem for the humanoid robotics industry,” he said.
Zhao Xingwei, legal representative of JCBot and professor at the School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), explained that JCBot has achieved industrialization with technical support from the team of academicians at HUST. The company’s products currently serve over 10 application fields, including industrial production, cultural tourism, emergency firefighting, inspection and warehousing. He emphasized JCBot will continue advancing R&D to expand into higher-value applications and support industrial upgrading.
During the new product launch session, Lou Kaiqi, deputy general manager of Hubei Optics Valley Dongzhi Embodied Intelligence Technology Co. Ltd., unveiled the company’s new humanoid robot model. Lou explained that the robot has already been deployed in various applications including exhibition hall docent services, retail guidance, reception duties and commercial performances, with plans for future expansion into government services, industrial operations, elderly care and other sectors.
A humanoid robot waves to the audience at the Hubei Humanoid Robotics Industry Chain Matchmaking Conference during the 3rd CISCE in Beijing, July 16, 2025. [Photo courtesy of CISCE Organizing Committee]
Shao Renjie, deputy director of integration at Hubei Kofon Intelligent Transmission Co. Ltd., unveiled a new drive joint module for humanoid robots at the event. The module integrates core components including high-torque motors, reducers and controllers, featuring high power density, precision control and lightweight design to meet dexterous movement requirements for humanoid robots. Shao noted that the launch of this module helps fill critical gaps in Hubei’s supply chain for humanoid robotics core components, strengthening local industrial self-sufficiency and control capabilities.
At the matchmaking conference, the Hubei Humanoid Robotics Industry Alliance signed strategic cooperation framework agreements with three partners: the Zhejiang Robot Industry Association, the National and Local Co-Built Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center, and the Zhongguancun Rongzhi Specialized Robotics Alliance. Under the agreements, the four parties will collaborate deeply on technology R&D, market expansion and talent exchange to build a stronger robotics ecosystem, enabling resource sharing and complementary advantages to collectively enhance competitiveness in humanoid robotics.
The film and television sector in Australia employs over 26,000 workers and generated more than A$4.5 billion in income in 2021–22. TV dramas generate a large part of this revenue.
Australian screen workers, including screenwriters, have traditionally been classified by productions as freelancers or contractors. In many cases, this means they have not been paid entitlements most other workers in Australia have access to.
A December ruling by the Australian Taxation Office defined many Australian screenwriters as employees, and therefore they should be paid superannuation. Now, the Australian Writers Guild and Screen Producers Australia are each “seeking legal advice” on what this ruling could mean for scriptwriters and Australia’s screen sector.
Mandated superannuation
The superannuation guarantee mandates employers make superannuation contributions for eligible employees in line with the minimum contribution rate (now 12%).
Historically, scriptwriters, like other arts workers, have been mainly engaged as freelancers, not employees. This means they are not always paid superannuation and other legal entitlements that come from being an employee.
But a December 2024 tax office ruling specifically defined many screen workers as employees.
This ruling advises that someone who sells an existing script (such as someone who wrote a film at their own initiative, and then sold the script to a producer) is not an employee, but “selling property”. These writers are not eligible for super payments.
But the ruling found people who are regularly working scriptwriters (such as those working in a writers’ room for a TV series) may be legally considered employees, and are eligible for payments and protections offered to employees.
Screen Producers Australia sees things differently. Information provided to their members argues scriptwriters are paid for the intellectual property rights associated with their product – meaning they are selling property.
Opposing this, the Australian Writers Guild argue scriptwriters on long-running TV programs or in writers’ rooms are performing services and are employees of the production companies.
If the screen production companies do not fall in line with the tax office ruling, the Australian Writers Guild have not ruled out undertaking legal action through a class action suit, or a strike.
As the guild is not a union, they cannot undertake protected industrial action. But the guild could encourage a “wildcat strike”: a spontaneous work stoppage without union leadership. They recognise, however, this would have the impact on member livelihoods.
What does this mean for scriptwriters?
The ruling from the tax office outlines how it would apply the legislation, but it has not yet been tested legally. If the ruling is tested legally – by, say, legal action from scriptwriters seeking superannuation payments – and scriptwriters are found to be employees, it could greatly affect their work and pay.
Not only could this lead to mandated superannuation contributions, but access to other entitlements such as parental leave, holiday pay and redundancy provisions.
Working conditions for Australians in the screen industries are difficult. Those working in the sector suffer from high levels of burnout and face systemic barriers when not white, male and able-bodied.
Scriptwriters in Australia often struggle to achieve sustainable careers. Aman Upadhyay/Unsplash
Scriptwriters in Australia often struggle to achieve sustainable careers. Scriptwriting fees often don’t fully cover the research and writing involved in script development, and the rise of streaming services has seen residuals – money made from licence fees of past work – all but disappear.
Secure work in writers’ rooms for television series is also diminishing as these shrink in both team size and duration, limiting opportunities for emerging writers.
Freelance scriptwriters may lack basic worker rights like minimum wage, job security, union bargaining and workers’ compensation insurance.
For those lucky enough to secure work, superannuation and other entitlements can be negotiated into individual contracts. Until now, this has relied on individuals having the power and ability to engage in contract negotiation.
Creative Workplaces – the division of Creative Australia formed in 2023 to address issues of pay, safety and welfare across the arts – recently launched a website. It offers industrial resources for arts organisations and workers to understand their rights and obligations.
This is an important tool for all in the creative industries to ensure they receive the minimums under the law. But it is not a regulatory body. The onus is on organisations and workers to put into practice the relevant contracts and employment relationships.
As the writers guild argues, it should not be up to individual workers to negotiate for basic worker entitlements. The recent tax office ruling, they say, means entitlements should include superannuation for many scriptwriters.
A sustainable screen career
As with other workplace issues impacting artists in recent years, scriptwriters deserve basic legal protections. They also deserve the safety and security that comes from being recognised as employees.
TV drama provides a valuable training ground for Australian creatives. Fostering talent includes the creation of liveable working conditions.
Initiatives such as Creative Workplaces can provide information, but leaders within creative organisations, production companies and other decision makers must act.
Producers may choose now to pay super, in line with the tax office ruling, or they may wait for legal precedent to be set. And while they must adhere to legal minimums, production companies must also consider whether those working with them can earn a sustainable living on these minimums, or if they should offer better employment terms.
If we want a future for screen stories in Australia, support for those working in the sector to build an enduring career is essential.
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.
To the respected Muslim community across New Zealand,
As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh,
FIANZ is scheduled (22nd July 2025) to sign an agreement referred to as the Harmony Accord on behalf of the Muslim community in New Zealand, with two Jewish organisations, one of which is publicly aligned with pro-Zionist positions.
Over the past few days, a group of Ulama (Islamic scholars), Imams, and leaders of Islamic organisations from various regions of New Zealand have engaged in urgent consultations regarding the proposed draft of the so-called “Harmony Accord.” This document came to our attention (through non-official channel) just days before its planned official signing between the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) and two Jewish organisations.
Despite our sincere efforts to engage constructively with the FIANZ representative, Br. Abdul Razzaq, including two formal meetings and a detailed written submission outlining our concerns and proposed amendments as requested, we received no official response from the FIANZ Executive Council. Instead, a public statement was released by FIANZ explaining their rationale and intent to proceed with signing, despite clear objections raised by a significant group of scholars, legal professionals, and civil society advocates, and without any meaningful consultation with religious scholars or community representatives.
Accordingly, after careful consideration, we find it to be our religious, moral, and communal duty to issue this public statement on behalf of the undersigned organisations and individuals—seeking clarity, accountability, and unity within the Muslim community, and fulfilling our responsibility before Allah.
Regarding the Consultative Meetings
Upon learning of the imminent signing of the Accord, a series of emergency meetings were convened by concerned Ulama, Imams, and community leaders representing mosques and Islamic institutions across New Zealand. Attendees included:
Participants:
Sh. Muhammad Aammer
Sh. Muhammad Anwar
Sh. Abu Anas
Sh. Himayatullah
Sh. Muhammad Shakir
Sh. Muhammad Patel
Sh. Shazly Khan
Sh. Alaa Mubarak
Sh. Reza Abdul Jabbar
Sh. Khalil
Note: The above individuals were present in the initial consultative meetings. The signatories to this statement are listed below and represent the final endorsing parties.
These respected scholars and leaders reached a unanimous consensus to reject the Accord in its current form, citing grave religious, ethical, and communal concerns, as well as a clear lack of transparency and proper consultation.
1.Lack of Consultation and Genuine Representation:
The Accord was never shared with key Islamic scholars, institutions, or the wider Muslim public. It lacked the basic process of transparent and inclusive consultation, and thus cannot be said to represent the New Zealand Muslim community in any legitimate capacity.
2.Doctrinal, Cultural, and Ethical Concerns:
The Accord contains ambiguous language and concepts that are open to interpretation, potentially leading to positions inconsistent with Islamic beliefs or misused in future contexts beyond the original intent of the agreement.
3.Complete Omission of the Palestinian Tragedy:
We are deeply alarmed and disappointed that the Accord makes no mention of the catastrophic humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza. Thousands of civilians—including women and children—are being systematically targeted, starved, and displaced in what leading international human rights bodies have classified as war crimes and acts of genocide.
Even more troubling is that one of the Jewish signatories to the Accord has publicly expressed support for the current Israeli policies in Palestine. Proceeding with such an agreement, without any acknowledgment of these realities, is ethically unacceptable, deeply painful for our community, and runs contrary to our shared values of justice and humanity.
4.Concerns Around Youth Engagement and Religious Education:
While we support constructive interfaith educational programs, such initiatives must include theological safeguards. Without scholarly oversight, there is a real risk that such efforts could unintentionally undermine Islamic values or promote secular or pluralistic ideologies inconsistent with our faith—especially in youth and educational settings.
True representation of New Zealand Muslims requires inclusive and transparent engagement with Ulama and Islamic organisations—particularly when addressing matters with theological, cultural, and communal implications.
Signing such sensitive agreements, regardless of intentions, without thorough consultation creates legal, social, and ethical consequences. It also risks falsely implying that the views of all Muslims are aligned behind the signatories.
We emphasise that declining to sign an agreement that contradicts Islamic principles and communal consensus does not equate to disengagement from interfaith dialogue. On the contrary, it is a principled stand to ensure that dialogue is based on mutual respect, clarity, and integrity—as the Qur’an teaches: “And do not argue with the People of the Book except in the best manner…” [Qur’an 29:46]
The idea that declining to sign an agreement risks losing the Muslim community’s “seat at the table” is troubling. New Zealand is a democratic country, built on rights and fairness. We believe the Government will continue to engage with Islamic organisations representing over 75,000 Muslims, regardless of their principled objection to this Accord.
2.Any individuals or organisations who choose to sign the agreement do so solely on their own behalf. Their decision does not reflect the views of the wider Muslim community in New Zealand.
3.We urge Muslims in New Zealand to reject the Accord in its current form, recognising it as unrepresentative and lacking legitimacy.
Our Core Values
1.We affirm that Muslims in New Zealand have, for decades, coexisted peacefully and respectfully with Jewish and other faith communities. The tragic terrorist attack in Christchurch in 2019, which claimed the lives of 51 innocent Muslims, was the act of a violent extremist and does not reflect the values or character of New Zealand society. As Muslims, we reject all forms of violence, racism, and extremism—whether against us or others—and remain committed to justice, compassion, and cooperation.
2.We value all genuine initiatives that seek to promote social harmony, inclusion, and peace across New Zealand.
3.We believe in meaningful interfaith dialogue and partnerships that benefit the broader society.
4.We insist that any agreement involving Muslim representation must respect Islamic values, be rooted in community consultation, and reflect the views of the actual Muslim public.
We ask Allah Almighty to unite our hearts upon truth, guide our steps with wisdom, protect the dignity of the Muslim community in New Zealand, and bring justice to all those who are oppressed.
Version 1.0 Introduction Taking part in the sessions Steps in the tool What happens after using the tool Feedback Introduction Background to the LSDT The LSDT is an integral part of the learner success approach. The tool is intended to be used by your organisation to undertake a self-assessment of your organisation’s level of maturity across a range of capabilities. These capabilities allow a tertiary education organisation (TEO) to design and implement a whole-of-organisation approach to improving outcomes for all its learners. You will meet in a group with other people from your organisation to discuss learner success, how your organisation is doing, and opportunities for development. The tool was originally designed by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) drawing on similar approaches in other jurisdictions and advice from subject matter experts in Aotearoa New Zealand. The tool was trialled as part of the TEC’s Learner Success Framework pilot projects, and insights from these projects were used to refine the specific questions and design of the tool. The tool was redesigned in 2022, in partnership with New Zealand tertiary education organisations. A note on language Throughout the LSDT we use the terms student, learner and tauira interchangeably. This is a conscious decision to reflect the diversity of those who engage in tertiary education and the different ways they identify. Your role as a participant The sessions with the tool bring a wide range of people together to discuss and arrive at a common understanding of your organisation’s current state in relation to learner success. As a participant, you will collaborate with others and help explore the steps in the tool by providing your expertise and honest opinions. Your facilitator Your facilitator plays a critical role in organising the sessions, keeping discussions focused and keeping the group moving forward. They provide continuity, especially if discussions take place over multiple sessions. Taking part in the sessions Setting the scene for learner success Before using the tool, you may have discussions with your facilitator to prepare for the sessions ahead. This could include exploring and deciding on a shared definition of learner success for your organisation. The seven capabilities These are the key elements an organisation needs to get right to enable learners to succeed – whatever that looks like for each learner. In the sessions, your facilitator will introduce and facilitate discussions around the following capabilities:
People, culture and leadership – the commitment and collaboration of the tertiary education organisation’s (TEO’s) leadership to culturally conscious learner success for all, a clear vision for desired change, and a whole-of-organisation approach Data and technology – the ability to ethically collect, assess, analyse and use data to inform decisions, and to use technology to support learner success for all Guided pathways – clear and relevant educational pathways, from first engagement to employment, that foster learner success for all Holistic learner supports – planning and integrating critical learner, academic and personal supports into a seamless, culturally conscious, timely experience designed with and for every learner Learner-centric systems – policies and practices that improve outcomes for learners, and processes for reviewing and aligning policies and practices to remove barriers and enable learner success (including drawing from the evidence base of Māori/Indigenous and diverse learner success practices) Teaching and learning – implementation of learner-centric instructional design, meaningful professional development, and learning environments and contexts to be effective and culturally conscious, including kaupapa Māori-designed environments Partnerships – the development and support of partnerships between the TEO and relevant employers/industry, family and whānau, hapū, iwi and community groups, social agencies and education providers.
Steps in the tool Step 1 – Define your ideal state Here you will discuss each question with your group, then decide on an “ideal state” as an answer. While some questions may relate to parts or functions of the organisation outside your area of expertise, it will still be useful to share your perceptions. Step 2 – Assess your current state Here you and your group will determine your organisation’s current progress, and agree on a score based on a scale defined by your ideal states in Step 1. These assessments will serve as a rough benchmark that provides a holistic sense of your organisation’s current state. Step 3 – Identify opportunities In this stage you and your group review the summary report with your scores, ideal states and notes. Discuss this and identify opportunities for your organisation. What happens after using the tool? After using the tool, your organisation is in a position to start to look at the next stage of the Learner Success Framework (“Problem Definition”), by asking these types of questions:
What opportunity might you want to tackle first? Where can you make the biggest gains? Who needs to be involved in that process?
Feedback Thank you for using the Learner Success Diagnostic Tool. We plan to continuously improve the tool, so we want to hear your suggestions and experiences. Please email your feedback (with the subject “LSDT feedback”) to: customerservice@tec.govt.nz.
The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) expects TEOs to take a proactive approach to improving outcomes for disabled learners. TEOs are required to develop and submit a Disability Action Plan (DAP) or DAP progress update as part of their Investment Plans. As most TEOs have now submitted a DAP, the focus has largely shifted to the progress updates. DAPs help ensure TEOs meet their responsibilities under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. What is a Disability Action Plan? We want to ensure TEOs avoid discrimination against disabled people, and disabled learners experience better outcomes throughout their education journey. A DAP helps a TEO to identify good practices and offers a blueprint for change. The DAP sits alongside other Investment Plan requirements, including Learner Success Plans, designed to improve outcomes for all learners, in particular, learners most in need. The DAP Guidance, which TEC provides, supports you to develop your DAP, or DAP progress update, and gives suggestions on how to use the Kia Ōrite Toolkit as part of this development.
Disability Action Plan progress update template Template for Disability Action Plan progress update for Investment from 2026 (DOCX 277 KB) TEOs are encouraged to use the template, which was introduced in 2025, or use the template’s headings to guide their own document. The Kia Ōrite Toolkit describes best practice The Kia Ōrite Toolkit is a New Zealand code of practice to achieve a tertiary education environment that supports disabled learners. A TEO’s DAP must show clear evidence that they are using various processes and measuring their progress against the Kia Ōrite Toolkit and its best practice standards. Access the Kia Ōrite Toolkit Find out more about the Kia Ōrite Toolkit for achieving equity Giving effect to the Tertiary Education Strategy (TES) Creating and implementing a DAP and improving outcomes for disabled learners also helps TEOs give effect to the TES – specifically, Objective Two: Barrier-free access. Supporting your learner success approach Fundamental to our work is understanding all learners and their needs and aspirations. Developing and implementing a DAP helps ensure an organisation fully understands the needs of disabled learners. Alongside Kia Ōrite, DAPs are a vital resource to support TEOs to redesign their businesses with learners at the centre. Ōritetanga – tertiary success for everyone Disability Action Plan report back for 2023 2023 was the second year TEOs were required to submit a DAP as part of the investment round. DAPs were assessed, and feedback provided to TEOs. A sector-level report on the development of DAPs in 2023 is available below.
The 2022 sector report is also available:
FAQs
The DAP Guidance is advice from the TEC on how to develop a DAP and what it should cover. Kia Ōrite is a toolkit for best practice, developed by a group of sector experts. It advises TEOs on how to best support disabled learners at all stages of their learning journey. They are two separate resources but support each other and should be read and used together.
TEOs must submit a Disability Action Plan if they:
We strongly encourage all TEC-funded TEOs to engage with the Kia Ōrite Toolkit and develop a DAP at the earliest opportunity. Doing so will mean taking all possible steps to reduce discrimination against disabled people, including staff, learners and those in the wider community, and improve educational outcomes for disabled learners.
TEOs must submit a Disability Action Plan progress update if they:
More information TEC staff are available to answer any questions about the DAP Guidance, the Kia Ōrite Toolkit and the investment process. Please contact your Relationship Manager or the Customer Contact Group on 0800 601 301 or at customerservice@tec.govt.nz
Last updated 28 August 2020 Last updated 28 August 2020
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In these recorded webinars, New Zealand and Australian experts share their knowledge to enhance the quality of your online teaching practice. In these recorded webinars, New Zealand and Australian experts share their knowledge to enhance the quality of your online teaching practice.
The following webinars provide insights from tertiary education organisations (TEOs), online learning experts, and online learners, which TEOs may find helpful with their online delivery. Webinar series 1: Online delivery in response to Covid-19 (2020)
Webinar series 2: Enhancing learner success through curriculum redesign of online learning (2024)
Online delivery in response to COVID-19 Tertiary teaching online: pedagogy and practice Mark Nichols of the Open Polytechnic and Ali Hughes from TANZ eCampus both answer the question “What do I need to know to be an effective and engaging teacher in the online space?” [embedded content] We apologise the webinar recording is not complete due to technical issues. To access all the information Mark and Ali shared through the webinar please use the resources below.
How to support and engage tertiary learners in an online environment (with a focus on pastoral care) Dr Cathy Stone of Australia’s University of Newcastle and Dr Teri McClelland from Southern Institute of Technology’s SIT2LRN discuss how to support and engage learners studying vocational and academic based qualifications in an online environment. Cathy Stone talks about her experience with the creation of the Australian National Guidelines for improving student outcomes in online learning. Teri McClelland discusses some of the specific practices SIT2LRN has developed to ensure their distance learners are engaged, supported and part of the Southern Institute of Technology’s community.
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Supporting disabled tertiary learners in an online environment Karen Hannay and Stephanie Houpt from the Open Polytechnic’s Learning Support Team discuss best practices and supports for disabled learners in an online environment. [embedded content]
Enhancing learner success through curriculum redesign of online learning A narrative approach to courseware design to support ākonga success The Open Polytechnic talk about their design and development function and how they use a narrative to guide learners through a course, informed by analytics. The presentation focuses on the role of courseware design in ākonga success and highlights their asynchronous model, where tutors and learners have the flexibility to engage with course content at different times. [embedded content] Distance learning – a student perspective Two distance learners share their experiences of online learning at an undergraduate and Masters levels. In this informative session the learners talk about things that make a difference in supporting their tertiary education experiences as online learners. They discuss barriers and challenges they face in online learning and share what they would like TEOs to know about catering to online learners. [embedded content] Experiences of online students: then, now and into the future Cathy Stone is an independent consultant and researcher, based in Australia. In this presentation, Cathy discusses her research into the online learner experience – exploring the needs and wants of the full range of online learners, from exclusively online to hybrid environments. Cathy provides insights on how learner experiences can improve delivery and talks about the future of online learning. [embedded content] Learning frameworks for engaging online delivery Massey University talks about their engagement framework to support rich, connected learning experiences for online learners. The presentation shares the role their Whakapiri framework plays in delivering online learning and teaching. Massey also talks about the challenges and realities of the design process and provide practical tips for TEOs to consider. [embedded content]
Singapore, 21 July 2025 – 16 young individuals have received the Singapore Sustainability Scholarship (SSS) to pursue courses in engineering, environmental, food, and science-related disciplines locally or overseas. Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, presented the scholarships at the award ceremony today. The SSS is jointly offered by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE), the National Environment Agency (NEA), national water agency PUB, and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). Minister Fu also presented certificates to 16 in-service scholars, recognising their commitment to enhance their skills and professional expertise, and potential to make even bigger contributions to the public service. The full list of Singapore Sustainability Scholarship and in-service scholars are inAnnex A and Brespectively.
2 A total of 293 scholarships have been awarded since the inception of the SSS in 2008. The Scholarship identifies potential future public service leaders with a passion for environmental stewardship, and nurtures them to tackle the challenges posed by climate change, environmental sustainability, water supply resilience and food safety and food security. Upon graduation, scholarship recipients will embark on fulfilling careers with MSE, NEA, PUB, or SFA, working on initiatives that impact the everyday lives of Singaporeans. These include safeguarding Singapore’s coastline from the effects of climate change, ensuring a secure and safe food supply for Singapore, and implementing the Singapore Green Plan 2030.
Singapore Sustainability Scholarship Recipients
3 Aarohi Chaudhary, 19, was inspired during her internship in NEA and chose to build a career with the agency. At NEA’s Public Health Policy Department, Aarohi learned that science and policy-making are closely connected while working on a project on new after-death practices. She will be pursuing a Master’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Oxford and is keen to apply scientific knowledge to address Singapore’s environmental challenges.
4 Mohd Kasyful Azhim, 24, is a mid-term scholarship recipient with PUB, pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering at the Singapore Institute of Technology. Kasyful is a passionate advocate for sustainability initiatives and a member of the student board at Al-Mizan Singapore, a non-profit network under the Association of Muslim Professionals. He is eager to advance PUB’s progress in enhancing sustainability across our operations and contribute to Singapore’s Water Story. “Water is at the heart of Singapore’s sustainability roadmap, and I am excited to play a role in ensuring our water future continues to be resilient and secure.”
5 Darren Chua, 25, represented Singapore in swimming, winning both a Gold and Silver medal for Singapore at the 2023 SEA Games. He is now shifting his focus to veterinary science. Growing up, he spent most of his time in the waters and this ignited his passion for working in aquatic environments. As one of SFA’s scholarship recipients this year, Darren will be pursuing a Bachelor of Veterinary Science at the University of Queensland. His studies will equip him with necessary skills to address challenges in aquatic animal health and food security in Singapore.
In-service Scholarship Recipients
6 Say Yueyang, Symus is one of our in-service scholars. As the Executive Engineer in NEA’s Radiation Protection and Nuclear Science Group (Nuclear Science and Technology Department, Regulation Division), Symus oversees the implementation of Singapore’s obligations under various nuclear safety conventions and agreements and is involved in strategising and planning engagements with international partners to enhance NEA’s capabilities in nuclear safety, safeguards and security. He will be pursuing an International Master’s Programme in Nuclear Engineering and Management at Tsinghua University, which will provide comprehensive professional education and research opportunities in nuclear science and engineering and strengthen his technical foundation to enable more thorough assessment of nuclear energy technologies.
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Leading healthcare provider, ProCare, warmly welcomes the announcement from Health Minister Simeon Brown and Universities Minister Dr Shane Reti that Cabinet has approved the establishment of a new medical school at the University of Waikato.
While the school won’t open until 2028, the announcement includes a strong focus on primary care and rural health which is much needed.
Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive of ProCare says: “With around 50% of GPs due to retire in the next 10 years this is a significant and timely investment in New Zealand’s healthcare workforce. The decision to prioritise primary care and rural health in the new Waikato Medical School aligns closely with the needs of our communities and the future of general practice.
“This is more than ‘just’ a new medical school – it’s a long-term investment in the health and wellbeing of the people of Aotearoa New Zealand. We commend the Government for listening to the sector and taking decisive action,” continues Norwell.
The graduate-entry programme will add 120 new doctor training places annually, helping to address the growing shortage of GPs and primary care clinicians across the motu.
“General practices are already feeling the strain of being able to meet increasing patient demand – especially in our rural and underserved communities. This announcement is a proactive step toward ensuring continuity of care and equitable access to health services,” says Norwell.
“This is a pivotal moment which will help reshape the pipeline of medical education. By creating more flexible pathways into medicine and embedding primary care at the heart of training, we can attract a more diverse and community-focused cohort of future doctors,” Norwell adds.
The announcement also complements recent expansions in nursing, pharmacy, and midwifery programmes at the University of Waikato, reinforcing a holistic approach to workforce development.
“It is unclear at this early stage exactly how the four-year degree programme will focus specifically on primary care, but we look forward to working collaboratively with the University and the Government to help support clinical placements of those graduates and ensure that students gain meaningful experience in general practice settings,” concludes Norwell.
About ProCare
ProCare is a leading healthcare provider that aims to deliver the most progressive, pro-active and equitable health and wellbeing services in Aotearoa. We do this through our clinical support services, mental health and wellness services, virtual/tele health, mobile health, smoking cessation and by taking a population health and equity approach to our mahi. As New Zealand’s largest Primary Health Organisation, we represent a network of general practice teams and healthcare professionals who provide care to more than 830,000 people across Auckland and Northland. These practices serve the largest Pacific and South Asian populations enrolled in general practice and the largest Māori population in Tāmaki Makaurau. For more information go to www.procare.co.nz
View of the 2023 Perseid meteor shower from the southernmost part of Sequoia National Forest, US.NASA/Preston Dyches
In recent days, you may have seenarticles claiming the “best meteor shower of the year” is about to start. Unfortunately, the hype is overblown – particularly for observers in Australia and New Zealand.
The shower in question is the Perseids, one of the “big three” – the strongest annual meteor showers. Peaking in the middle of the northern summer, the Perseids are an annual highlight for observers in the northern hemisphere.
As a result, every year social media around the world runs rife with stories about how we can enjoy the show. For an astronomer in Australia, this is endlessly frustrating – the Perseids are impossible to see for the great majority of Australians and Kiwis.
Fortunately, there are a few other meteor showers to fill the void, including a pair that will reach their peak in the next seven days.
What are the Perseids?
Every year, Earth runs into a stream of debris laid down over thousands of years by comet 109P/Swift–Tuttle. The comet swings around the Sun every 133 years or so, shedding dust and debris each time. Over the millenia, that material has spread to create a vast stream.
Animation of comet Swift–Tuttle’s orbit from 1850 to 2150. The blue orbit is Earth, magenta is the comet, with Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus’s orbits in green, red and yellow respectively. Phoenix7777/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA
Earth starts to run into debris from Swift–Tuttle in mid-July, and takes six weeks to pass through the stream. When the dust and debris hit Earth’s atmosphere, the resulting meteors create bright streaks in the sky – a meteor shower.
For most of that time, the dust we encounter is very widely spread, and so few meteors are seen. Around August 12, Earth reaches the densest part of the Perseid stream and the shower reaches its peak.
The Perseids aren’t even the ‘best’ meteor shower
Comet Swift–Tuttle last passed through the inner Solar System in 1992. With the comet nearby, Earth encountered more dust and debris, making the Perseids the best meteor shower of the year.
In the decades since, the comet has receded to the icy depths of the Solar System, and the peak rates for the Perseids have fallen off.
The “best” (most abundant) meteor shower of the year is now the Geminids. However, for people in the northern hemisphere, the Perseids are still well worth looking out for.
The curse of the spherical Earth
All meteor showers have a “radiant“– the point at which meteors seem to originate in the sky. This is because, for a given shower, all the debris hitting Earth comes from the same direction in space.
The debris from comet Swift–Tuttle crashes towards Earth from above the north pole, and at an angle. As a result, for people at a latitude of 58 degrees north, the Perseid radiant would be directly overhead in the early hours of the morning.
If a meteor shower’s radiant is below the horizon, you won’t see any meteors – Earth is in the way, and all the dust and debris is hitting the other side of the planet. It’s exactly the same reason you can’t see the Sun at nighttime.
Given the location of the Perseid radiant, it will never rise for observers south of 32 degrees. This means anyone below that line will never see any Perseids.
In theory, anyone north of 32 degrees south latitude can see the Perseids – but there are other complications.
The higher a shower’s radiant is in the sky, the more meteors you will see. This is why the Perseids can’t put on a great show for people in Australia. Even in the far north of Australia, the Perseid radiant remains low in the sky at its highest. For most Australians, the Perseids will be a spectacular disappointment.
Look for these meteor showers instead
If you’re keen to see a meteor shower from Australia or New Zealand, it’s best to cross the Perseids off your list. Fortunately, there are other options.
Every May, Earth passes through debris left behind by comet 1P/Halley, creating the Eta Aquariid meteor shower – only visible in the hours before dawn. For Australian observers, that’s the second best shower of the year.
At the end of July each year, two minor meteor showers reach their peaks: the Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids. This year, they peak on 29 and 30 July, with the best views coming in the hours around midnight. It’s a perfect time to head out to a dark sky site and relax under the stars – the centre of the Milky Way is high overhead in the evening sky, and these two showers provide some added fireworks to make the sky extra special.
Then, in December, comes the true “best shower of the year” – the Geminids. Reaching a peak on 14 and 15 December, the Geminids always put on a spectacular show. Unlike the Perseids, it can be seen from all across our island continent and in Aotearoa.
If you really want to see a great meteor shower, skip the Perseids and plan to head somewhere dark this summer, to spend a couple of nights relaxing under the stars.
Jonti Horner 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.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Paul M. Collins Jr., Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, UMass Amherst
Emil Bove, Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as a federal appeals judge for the 3rd Circuit, is sworn in during a confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on June 25, 2025. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images
On June 24, 2025, Erez Reuveni, a former Department of Justice attorney who worked with Bove, released an extensive, 27-page whistleblower report. Reuveni claimed that Bove, as the Trump administration’s acting deputy attorney general, said “that it might become necessary to tell a court ‘fuck you’” and ignore court orders related to the administration’s immigration policies. Bove’s acting role ended on March 6 when he resumed his current position of principal associate deputy attorney general.
When asked about this statement at his June 25 Senate confirmation hearing, Bove said, “I don’t recall.”
And on July 15, 80 former federal and state judges signed a letter opposing Bove’s nomination. The letter argued that “Mr. Bove’s egregious record of mistreating law enforcement officers, abusing power, and disregarding the law itself disqualifies him for this position.”
A day later, more than 900 former Department of Justice attorneys submitted their own letter opposing Bove’s confirmation. The attorneys argued that “Few actions could undermine the rule of law more than a senior executive branch official flouting another branch’s authority. But that is exactly what Mr. Bove allegedly did through his involvement in DOJ’s defiance of court orders.”
On July 17, Democrats walked out of the Senate Judiciary Committee vote, in protest of the refusal by Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, to allow further investigation and debate on the nomination. Republicans on the committee then unanimously voted to move the nomination forward for a full Senate vote.
As a scholar of the courts, I know that most federal court appointments are not as controversial as Bove’s nomination. But highly contentious nominations do arise from time to time.
Here’s how three controversial nominations turned out – and how Bove’s nomination is different in a crucial way.
Robert Bork testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation as associate justice of the Supreme Court in September 1987. Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Robert Bork
Bork is the only federal court nominee whose name became a verb.
“Borking” is “to attack or defeat (a nominee or candidate for public office) unfairly through an organized campaign of harsh public criticism or vilification,” according to Merriam-Webster.
In opposing the Bork nomination, Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts took the Senate floor and gave a fiery speech: “Robert Bork’s America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens’ doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of government, and the doors of the federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of citizens for whom the judiciary is often the only protector of the individual rights that are the heart of our democracy.”
Ultimately, Bork’s nomination failed by a 58-42 vote in the Senate, with 52 Democrats and six Republicans rejecting the nomination.
Republican Sen. John Ashcroft, from White’s home state of Missouri, led the fight against the nomination. Ashcroft alleged that White’s confirmation would “push the law in a pro-criminal direction.” Ashcroft based this claim on White’s comparatively liberal record in death penalty cases as a judge on the Missouri Supreme Court.
However, there was limited evidence to support this assertion. This led someto believe that Ashcroft’s attack on the nomination was motivated by stereotypes that African Americans, like White, are soft on crime.
Even Clinton implied that race may be a factor in the attacks on White: “By voting down the first African-American judge to serve on the Missouri Supreme Court, the Republicans have deprived both the judiciary and the people of Missouri of an excellent, fair, and impartial Federal judge.”
White’s nomination was defeated in the Senate by a 54-45 party-line vote. In 2014, White was renominated to the same judgeship by President Barack Obama and confirmed by largely party-line 53-44 vote, garnering the support of a single Republican, Susan Collins of Maine.
Ronnie White, a former justice for the Missouri Supreme Court, testifies during an attorney general confirmation hearing in Washington in January 2001. Alex Wong/Newsmakers
Estrada, who had earned a unanimous “well-qualified” rating from the American Bar Association, faced deep opposition from Senate Democrats, who believed he was a conservative ideologue. They also worried that, if confirmed, he would later be appointed to the Supreme Court.
Miguel Estrada, President George Bush’s nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, is sworn in during his hearing before Senate Judiciary on Sept. 26, 2002. Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images
However, unlike Bork – who had an extensive paper trail as an academic and judge – Estrada’s written record was very thin.
Democrats sought to use his confirmation hearing to probe his beliefs. But they didn’t get very far, as Estrada dodged many of the senators’ questions, including ones about Supreme Court cases he disagreed with and judges he admired.
Democrats were particularly troubled by allegations that Estrada, when he was screening candidates for Justice Anthony Kennedy, disqualified applicants for Supreme Court clerkships based on their ideology.
According to one attorney: “Miguel told me his job was to prevent liberal clerks from being hired. He told me he was screening out liberals because a liberal clerk had influenced Justice Kennedy to side with the majority and write a pro-gay-rights decision in a case known as Romer v. Evans, which struck down a Colorado statute that discriminated against gays and lesbians.”
When asked about this at his confirmation hearing, Estrada initially denied it but later backpedaled. Estrada said, “There is a set of circumstances in which I would consider ideology if I think that the person has some extreme view that he would not be willing to set aside in service to Justice Kennedy.”
Unlike the Bork nomination, Democrats didn’t have the numbers to vote Estrada’s nomination down. Instead, they successfully filibustered the nomination, knowing that Republicans couldn’t muster the required 60 votes to end the filibuster. This marked the first time in Senate history that a court of appeals nomination was filibustered. Estrada would never serve as a judge.
Bove stands out
As the examples of Bork, Estrada and White make clear, contentious nominations to the federal courts often involve ideological concerns.
This is also true for Bove, who is opposed in part because of the perception that he is a conservativeideologue.
This makes Bove stand out among contentious federal court nominations.
Paul M. Collins Jr. does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United States Senator John Hickenlooper – Colorado
Transparency for medical services will lower cost of health care and help Coloradans compare prices
WASHINGTON –U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Roger Marshall recently introduced the bipartisan Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, which would make health care costs more transparent. The bill requires providers to publish the costs of services so Americans understand what a specific visit or procedure will cost, and have the opportunity to compare prices and get the best deal.
“You wouldn’t book a flight if you couldn’t find out the ticket price until you land — or check into a hotel without knowing if you’re paying for the Ritz or a dump. But that’s the absurd guessing game Americans play every time they need medical care,” said Hickenlooper, who sits on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. “We deserve to know exactly what we are paying for whether it’s a lab test, a colonoscopy, or an MRI. Our bill gives Americans that peace of mind.”
“Customers don’t walk into a restaurant only to find out how much the food costs when they get the bill. Patients should know the price of the service they need before they make any decisions,” said Marshall. “Making America Healthy Again requires empowering Americans with the best information possible to inform their life and healthcare choices: the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act will ensure prices are available to patients to support a more competitive, innovative, affordable, and high-quality healthcare system.”
“We applaud Senators Roger Marshall and John Hickenlooper for their strong, bipartisan leadership on the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act. With actual, upfront, and accountable prices, patients will be able to shop for the best care with protection from rampant overcharges hiding in the shadows. We urge all senators to support this bill and pass it without delay to protect America’s patients,” said Cynthia Fisher, Founder and Chairman of Patient Rights Advocate.
When Americans go to the hospital, they often don’t know what services will cost beforehand. This forces patients to rely on their insurance to pay as much as possible and negotiate rates with providers, and robs patients of the ability to shop around for a better deal. There’s also a lack of transparency in agreements between insurance and providers.
The Patients Deserve Price Tags Actwould create true transparency for health care pricing by requiring all negotiated rates and cash prices between plans and providers to be accessible.
Specifically, the bill would:
Require machine-readable files of all negotiated rates and cash prices between plans and providers, not estimates.
Require hospitals to post actual prices for 300 shoppable services (and for all services starting in 2026).
Create a requirement for each patient to receive an Explanation of Benefits statement
Require providers or facilities to include a detailed itemized bill of each distinct item or service, or an all-in total price for bundled items if offered to the patient as an option.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
£63 million lift-off for clean aviation fuels
Winning 17 companies will share £63 million to accelerate sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production and support 1,400 jobs in the UK.
17 UK companies developing sustainable aviation fuel to receive share of new £63 million funding boost, supporting around 1,400 jobs
latest investment builds on this year’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) drive, which will help position the UK as the world leader in homegrown sustainable aviation fuel production
latest investment supports greenlighting of multiple airport expansion schemes to kickstart economic growth and deliver on our Plan for Change
The boost will support around 1,400 jobs and secure Britain’s position as the global leader in the green aviation market – critical to provide the clean fuel that’s essential to realise sustainable growth in the aviation sector.
Today’s investment means government has provided £198 million to date through the Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF) to scale up cleaner aviation technologies. Creating a clean aviation ecosystem will help power the next generation of airport infrastructure and capacity scale up, kickstarting economic growth and delivering the UK’s clean energy superpower ambitions to deliver on the Plan for Change.
Low carbon fuel production could add up to £5 billion to the economy by 2050, position the UK as a global hub for SAF production and enable the UK to go further and faster with expansion plans.
Aviation Minister, Mike Kane, said:
This £63 million is lift off for Britain’s green aviation revolution. We’re not just backing brilliant British innovation, we’re creating thousands of high-skilled jobs and positioning the UK at the forefront of the global sustainable aviation market.
From the labs of Sheffield to the runways of the future – this is how we kickstart economic growth, secure energy independence and make Britain a clean energy superpower.
SAF is an alternative to fossil jet fuel which reduces greenhouse gas emissions on average by 70% on a lifecycle basis, from feedstock to biofuel, making it the key technology that will allow UK aviation to grow capacity while achieving net zero commitments.
The SAF Bill will help secure the future of the aviation sector by boosting green fuel production in the UK and delivering cleaner flights. This bill will give investors the confidence to back sustainable aviation fuel production. It will help grow the sector, providing good green jobs and enabling the delivery of carbon savings.
Announcing the new funding at the University of Sheffield’s Energy Innovation Centre – which just received £1.5 million in this latest round – the Aviation Minister, Mike Kane, saw firsthand the groundbreaking work on aircraft engine testbeds and revolutionary aviation fuels.
Professor Mohamed Pourkashanian, Managing Director of the University of Sheffield’s Energy Innovation Centre, who is leading the project, said:
It is fantastic to see the University of Sheffield playing a leading role in the development of sustainable aviation fuel and supporting the aviation industry in its efforts to reduce its emissions. At Sheffield, we have some of the most advanced SAF research facilities in Europe and are excited to work with partners from the industry to help them test and develop new fuels and next generation clean energy technologies.
The AFF winners include a range of companies and are spread across the country, such as OXCCU Tech, which is developing a demonstration plant at Oxford Airport, to LanzaJet, which is building a commercial-scale plant in Teesside.
Andrew Symes, CEO and Co-Founder of OXCCU, said:
Support from the Advanced Fuels Fund is a key step in scaling our technology. This funding enables the detailed design and construction of OX2, our demonstration plant launching in 2026, and builds on the successful delivery of OX1. It brings us closer to producing lower-cost, lower-carbon aviation fuel and supports the UK’s ambition to become a global leader in SAF production.
Jimmy Samartzis, CEO of LanzaJet, said:
We’re proud that Project Speedbird, developed in partnership with British Airways, has been recognised by the Department for Transport as part of its continued commitment to advancing SAF in the UK.
This support demonstrates confidence in LanzaJet’s technology and the critical role ethanol-to-SAF can play in delivering economic growth, creating jobs and decarbonising air travel. Project Speedbird is vital to building a national SAF industry in the UK and to unlocking opportunity and innovation in the region.
We thank DfT for its leadership and vision in accelerating the transition to net-zero aviation.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
MHRA announces proposals to improve access to world’s best medical devices for patients and to boost economic growth in Britain’s med tech sector
The MHRA has now published the government’s response to its public consultation on future routes to market for medical devices – designed to modernise regulation
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has today announced important new steps to secure access for patients to the latest medical technologies available in Europe and other advanced countries.
As well as improving patient access to technologies, the proposals will boost med tech industrial growth by reducing duplicative regulatory costs faced by manufacturers and instead focuses the domestic approvals route (UKCA) on first-in-market innovative technologies, including AI as a medical device.
The MHRA has now published the government’s response to its public consultation on future routes to market for medical devices in Great Britain (GB), designed to modernise regulation and improve patient access to the latest innovative technologies.
In direct response to stakeholder feedback, the MHRA is also announcing its intention to consult later this year on the indefinite recognition of CE-marked medical devices.
In parallel, new international reliance routes will be introduced to allow swifter access to medical devices from trusted regulators in Australia, Canada, and the United States. This will allow eligible products to follow a streamlined pathway to market, helping bring the latest technologies to patients more quickly.
The MHRA will support removing the requirement for physical UKCA markings on products and packaging once unique device identification (UDI) requirements are in place. This will reduce barriers to entry to the market while strengthening traceability and safety monitoring.
These measures reflect the government’s commitments in the UK’s Life Sciences Sector Plan and Industrial Strategy, and the 10 Year Health Plan for England, to reduce unwarranted barriers to market entry and to deliver transformative technologies to patients faster.
Today’s announcement forms part of our broader regulatory reform programme for medical devices that will see improvements in patient safety through our new post-market surveillance requirements, the creation of streamlined and risk-proportionate routes for faster market entry for products that have already undergone assessment in comparator regions, and a refocusing of the UKCA domestic pathway on innovative technologies including AI.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP, said:
Our 10-Year Health Plan will seize the opportunities provided by new technology, medicines and innovation to deliver better care for patients, whether these originate at home or abroad.
It makes perfect sense that medical devices approved for use on patients in a country whose safety regulations we trust can also be used here – without red tape or bureaucracy delaying devices which can benefit NHS patients now.
We will look around the world to bring the best life-saving devices to Britain quickly and safely and build a modern health service that is fit for the future.
Minister of State for Science, Lord Patrick Vallance MP, said:
The MHRA’s new international reliance routes are excellent news for patients, who will now gain rapid access to new medical devices which have been approved as safe by our trusted regulatory partners. This is precisely the sort of streamlining of red tape that the Life Sciences Sector Plan calls for.
By making quick, informed, sensible decisions enabled by international reliance, the MHRA will be able to better target its resources, focusing on regulatory activity and scientific advice that will advance the development of innovative new medical products – ultimately helping patients, and supporting med tech businesses to grow.
Lawrence Tallon, MHRA CEO, said:
Our focus is on ensuring that patients benefit from the earliest possible access to safe and effective medical technologies that meet their needs and deliver significant clinical benefit.
By reducing regulatory duplication, improving traceability and aligning with international best practice, we are delivering on the Government’s promise to make this the best place in the world to market medical devices and a global leader in life sciences.
Professor Tom Clutton-Brock, Professor of Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine at the University of Birmingham and Chair of the Interim Devices Working Group (an expert advisory committee to the MHRA), said:
The proposed changes to the regulations represent the most significant advances since their original introduction. When enacted, we will lead the world in streamlining medical device approvals.
The rapid advances in medical and healthcare technology make balancing the need for innovation against both short-term and long-term safety a real challenge. After the EU exit there was a clear need to update our regulations to keep pace with other countries. After extensive consultation, the MHRA has listened carefully and published its response.
Simplification for low-risk devices and the carefully controlled reliance and recognition of regulatory approval from other countries will support safe innovation. This will benefit patients, clinicians and our MedTech and HealthTech industries.
The MHRA intends to notify the World Trade Organization of these changes later this year and will continue engaging with international partners and industry to implement the reforms.
Summary of the consultation response:
The MHRA’s 2024 public consultation on medical device regulation focused on the following areas: international reliance, UKCA marking, and the regulation of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) devices.
Measures being taken forward include:
International reliance routes will allow certain devices that have approvals or certifications from trusted regulators in Australia (TGA), Canada (Health Canada), and the United States (FDA) to follow a streamlined pathway to the GB market. This includes specific software and implantable devices that meet GB equivalence criteria.
The government will consult later this year on proposals to indefinitely recognise CE marked medical devices, which continue to be recognised in GB under existing transitional arrangements until 30 June 2028 or 2030 (depending on the device classification and legislation complied with).
Physical UKCA marking requirements will be removed once Unique Device Identification (UDI) is in place. This aims to reduce burdens on manufacturers while improving traceability and post-market surveillance.
Class B IVD devices will be subject to a more risk proportionate approach, requiring manufacturers to self-declare conformity with the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 and hold ISO 13485 quality management system certification before placing products on the GB market.
The response to a fourth proposal, to extend four pieces of assimilated EU law, was published in February 2025 and has subsequently been actioned.
The consultation, “Future regulation of medical devices and IVDs – routes to market”, ran from 30 November 2024 to 29 January 2025. It sought views on four legislative proposals to update the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (as amended).
These reforms are part of a broader programme to modernise medical device regulation in Great Britain following the UK’s departure from the European Union. They align with the ambitions of the Government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan and 10-Year Plan for the NHS in England.
ISO 13485 is an internationally recognised standard that sets out requirements for a quality management system (QMS) specific to the medical device industry. It ensures that manufacturers demonstrate consistent design, development, production, and post-market support for medical devices.
The MHRA will publish further information in due course about the next steps, including updates on the planned Pre-Market Statutory Instrument and a future consultation on the indefinite recognition of CE-marked devices.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK by ensuring they work and are acceptably safe. All our work is underpinned by robust and fact-based judgements to ensure that the benefits justify any risks.
The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.
For media enquiries, please contact the newscentre@mhra.gov.uk, or call on 020 3080 7651.
