A team of Chinese researchers proposed a theory of one-way quantum direct communication and successfully developed a practical system, advancing quantum direct communication from a concept to the stage of practical application. According to a study recently published in Science Advances, researchers from the Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, Tsinghua University, and North China University of Technology set a record in a standard optical fiber communication test with a transmission distance of 104.8 km. They achieved stable transmission at a rate of 2.38 kilobit per second for 168 consecutive hours. Quantum direct communication was previously proposed by a team led by Long Guilu from Tsinghua University, one of the corresponding authors of the study paper. It enables secure communication by utilizing quantum states and features characteristics such as eavesdropping detection and prevention, compatibility with existing networks, simplified management processes, and covert transmission. The core challenge in this field is achieving secure and reliable communication using quantum states with extremely low energy. These states are highly susceptible to interference in quantum channels characterized by high noise, high loss, and the risk of eavesdropping. Previous research used bidirectional protocols, in which both communicating parties had to transmit quantum states back and forth. This resulted in significant system loss and severely limited communication performance improvement. “In 2022, we set a world record for quantum direct communication over 100 kilometers, but the rate was only 0.5 bit per second, which allowed transmission of messages with very few characters,” Long recalled. He explained that one-way transmission could halve the distance of quantum state transmission, significantly reducing loss, which is the key to improving the performance of quantum direct communication. The researchers developed high-noise and high-loss channel coding and other key technologies to propose a theoretical method for one-way quantum direct communication. They resolved the technical challenges and completed the development of the communication terminal. The new system’s communication rate has increased by 4,760 times compared with the one developed in 2022, significantly enhancing the performance of quantum direct communication. According to Long, quantum direct communication systems are expected to be widely applied in fields with extremely high requirements for information security, such as government affairs and finance. There are two main types of quantum secure communication. One is quantum key distribution, which uses quantum states to generate keys while transmitting encrypted information through classical communication. Its advantage is the high transmission rate. The other is quantum direct communication, which directly transmits information using quantum states. In the event of eavesdropping, the quantum states can self-destruct to ensure information security.
While the rapid rise of China’s homegrown artificial intelligence reasoning model DeepSeek has sparked a host of enterprises seeking to cash in by offering training courses on how to use it, experts have warned consumers to be wary of wasting their money on courses that provide guidance that is already freely available. On Chinese lifestyle app Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, some users share guides on using DeepSeek, with prices ranging from a few yuan to several hundred yuan. “If you don’t learn how to use AI today, you’ll be left behind tomorrow,” several posts say. “How to use DeepSeek to earn money” is another trending topic on the platform. These posts are typically followed by links to purchase courses or join group chats. On WeChat, multiple accounts use DeepSeek user guides as clickbait, though full content often requires additional payment. Paid online communities focused on AI are also emerging, offering “exclusive” resources to subscribers. According to the course descriptions, these paid tutorials typically cover basic AI tool usage, including prompt writing, skill-building, applications in various fields and even strategies for making money with AI. “The rise of new technologies is always accompanied by a boom in paid training courses,” said Yan Huaizhi, an associate professor of the School of Computer Science &Technology at the Beijing Institute of Technology, in an interview with Workers’ Daily. “On one hand, this trend reflects people’s desire to learn new skills. On the other hand, it epitomizes how some agencies exploit the knowledge gap to make quick profits,” Yan said. “The popularity of these paid courses also highlights that selling tools to those eager to make money is a lucrative business model,” he added. Since the release of DeepSeek R1 on Jan 20, a tag for a DeepSeek training course on Xiaohongshu has been viewed almost 20 million times. While some courses and online communities offer value, the quality of many paid offerings is sometimes questionable. Some simply repackage materials from other AI models or provide low-quality content under the DeepSeek name. “By touting AI as a necessary survival tool, these people are selling anxiety,” one user wrote online. Bao Ran, vice-president of the Interactive Media Technical Standards Promotion Committee of the China Communications Standards Association, said there is no need to pay for these tutorials since the basics are freely available online. On video-sharing platform Bilibili, free DeepSeek and AI tutorials have attracted millions of views. One video explaining DeepSeek’s local deployment, published on Jan 27, has more than 2 million views. Chinese universities such as Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University have also offered free AI-related lectures and guides to students. While certain consumers such as the elderly may gain value from being walked through how to use AI models step by step, others may feel cheated when they realize they paid for something that they could have easily accessed for free.
The Chinese navy has made a big mistake. Sending what Defence Minister Judith Collins called a ‘formidable ship’ so close to Sydney, and interrupting Air New Zealand domestic flights, shows the New Zealand public we need to spend more on defence. ACT supporters have been alone in voting for two per cent of GDP on defence, we predict there will now be more.
We remember the Ukrainians who’ve lost their lives and their homes in the three years since the Russian invasion.Free Pressremains resolute. There are basic facts that cannot be changed. Russia is the aggressor. The war is not just or legal. The breach of borders by force is dangerous to free people everywhere. We must never accept might is right, but we must build our strength so the world doesn’t end up that way.
The Most Important Fact Schools Don’t Teach
Schools are teaching children all sorts of things, but so far as we are aware they are not teaching the most important fact of human life. The fact they’re not teaching this fact tells us how mindless education has become, and it limits children’s thinking.
The fact we’re talking about is the astonishing growth of human life expectancy in the last two centuries. For 100,000 years, people lived to thirty on average.Now, the global average is 72 years.
People have different ideas about what a good life is. But (except for a few terrorists and cults), everyone agrees being alive is better than being dead. Something in the last 200 years gave us a whole extra life.
If the education system teaches children nothing else, it should teach that something happened in the last 200 years and it doubled life expectancy. Once they know that, they can learn what works.
We think the answer might be the problem. The education bureaucracy, academics, and teacher unions don’t want to teach that capitalism is a raging success.
They’d have to teach about the genesis of the free market in the swamps of the Netherlands. People driven to the lowlands by violence decided to make something of themselves. They drained swamps and built dykes, creating usable land that was theirs.
The result was a society where ordinary people could make a difference in their own lives. They demanded property rights because they’d literally created their own property. If you couldn’t take then you had to trade, and tribalism gave way to the market. It was around this time Abel Tasman discovered New Zealand for Europe.
William of Orange, a Dutchman who became King of England, helped take the revolution across the sea, where it germinated on an island buffered from invasion. The common law and the market, along with the enlightenment made the industrial revolution possible.
In turn the British Navy opened up the world’s sea lanes to trade, and spread their system of democracy and capitalism to the new world, ensuring it would endure for centuries even when they themselves came under attack from fascism.
All the while ordinary people could get enough calories to be healthy, live in cities with sanitation free of disease, and medical care would stop children and their mothers dying in childbirth or shortly after. Violence that was normal for most humans most of the time, and shortened many lives, is now an exceptional event for most people most of the time.
The revolution spread further after the Cold War, lifting billions from poverty in the East the same way they had thrived in the west. That same prosperity has raised their life expectancy too. Now the whole world lives twice as long on average as it did before the industrial revolution, but your teacher won’t dwell on that basic fact in most of the world’s schools.
Instead we have an epidemic of anxiety and depression amongst young people. The tremendous gains of the last two centuries are barely understood. Instead the gains are banked and forgotten while children worry about comparatively small problems.
We spend a lot of time worrying about differences between people living today when, in reality, everyone is doing vastly better than everyone was even a few generations ago. So much division, so little reality, and not enough hope.
Imagine if the most important thing children learned was that we’ve doubled our lives in 200 years after 100,000 years of misery. That could be springboard for asking what works and building a much more hopeful future. We just need the Left to make peace with capitalism.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
An observational study published in BMC Medicine looks at antidepressant use and cognitive decline in people with dementia.
Prof Tara Spires-Jones, Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Group Leader in the UK Dementia Research Institute, and President of the British Neuroscience Association said:
“Mo and colleagues’ study examined data from over 18,000 people with dementia enrolled in a Swedish national registry to look for associations between antidepressant use and dementia symptoms. They observed faster cognitive decline in people with dementia who were taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) type antidepressants. This was a large study that looked at data over time, which is a strong design. However, this type of data cannot prove that it was antidepressant use that caused the faster decline. People who needed antidepressants may have had more aggressive disease or the depression itself could have been affecting disease progression. It is also worth noting that the effect was not the same for all types of dementia; people with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) did not have accelerated cognitive decline when taking antidepressants. In people with FTD, antidepressants were associated with slightly slower decline. Previous studies have also reported mixed results, highlighting the need for more research before we have a full understanding of the effects of antidepressant use on dementia progression.”
Dr Richard Oakley, Associate Director for Research and Innovation at Alzheimer’s Society, said:
“This study suggested that antidepressants led to faster rates of memory and thinking decline in people with dementia. But it did not rule out the possibility that the changes were due to the presence of depression rather than antidepressant use, so further research is needed to understand the effects of antidepressants.
“Alzheimer’s Society wants to see the severity of an individual’s dementia recorded on their primary care records as either mild, moderate or severe. This is especially important as the study shows a decline in memory and thinking skills was stronger in people with more severe dementia who took antidepressants than those who didn’t.
“It’s vital that regular reviews are carried out when prescribing antidepressants, but recent research showed that less than half of people with a dementia diagnosis had their medication reviewed in the preceding 12 months.
“Alzheimer’s Society is funding research to better understand depression and anxiety in people living with dementia, how to manage it, and how genetics might be involved.”
Dr Emma L Anderson, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, University College London,said:
“As the authors themselves acknowledge, there is substantial risk with this study design for confounding by indication, which could explain the results either in part, or entirely. Confounding by indication is where the outcomes we observe are actually due to the underlying reason people take these medications in the first place (e.g. mental health conditions), rather than the medication itself. More robust study designs, which overcome this very important limitation, are needed before such bold conclusions can be made. When based on limited evidence, these claims can be very damaging for public understanding of antidepressants, which we know help millions of people around the world.”
Dr Prasad Nishtala, Reader, University of Bath, said:
“This large population-level study from Sweden uses real-world data and is well-conducted. However, there are some important limitations that should be considered. One major issue is that the severity of depression in dementia patients wasn’t fully accounted for, which has the potential to bias the results. Additionally, there may be a “channelling bias,” meaning that certain antidepressants like citalopram and sertraline might have been more commonly prescribed to patients with severe dementia, which could also bias the results.
“Another key limitation is that the study found only a small change in MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination) scores, which may not be meaningful in everyday clinical practice. Previous research has shown that older adults taking tricyclic antidepressants can experience faster cognitive decline because these drugs interfere with the activity of acetylcholine—a chemical in our brain critical for maintaining cognition. Even among SSRIs (a common type of antidepressant), some, like paroxetine, are known to have stronger anticholinergic effects that could impact cognition negatively. There is also a problem of “residual confounding”,- meaning there could be other risk factors that can affect cognition, and it is unclear if they have accounted for other anticholinergic drugs like oxybutynin, which many dementia patients take to treat their urinary incontinence. The analyses were done on dispensed data (medication sold by pharmacists), and it is unclear if patients actually took them.
“This study suggests that SSRIs like citalopram and sertraline might also speed up cognitive decline. However, it doesn’t explain how or why this happens at a biological level. Because of these limitations, the study’s findings should be interpreted with caution and ideally replicated using other real-world data sources.”
‘Antidepressant use and cognitive decline in patients with dementia: a national cohort study’ byMinjia Moet al.was published in BMC Medicine at 01:00 UK time on Tuesday 25th February.
Prof Tara Spires-Jones: I have no conflicts with this study but have received payments for consulting, scientific talks, or collaborative research over the past 10 years from AbbVie, Sanofi, Merck, Scottish Brain Sciences, Jay Therapeutics, Cognition Therapeutics, Ono, and Eisai. I am also Charity trustee for the British Neuroscience Association and the Guarantors of Brain and serve as scientific advisor to several charities and non-profit institutions.
Dr Emma L Anderson: I have no declarations or conflicts of interest.
Dr Prasad Nishtala: I sit on the editorial board for BMC Medicine.
People pose for photos in front of the poster of the Chinese animated feature “Ne Zha 2” at a cinema in Hong Kong, Feb. 18, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
Chinese animated blockbuster “Ne Zha 2” grossed more than $845,900 upon its debut in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions on Saturday, achieving the highest first-day box office revenue for an animated film in the SARs.
Over 92,000 people in the two cities showed up on Saturday to watch the movie, which has raked in over 13.7 billion yuan ($1.89 billion) around the world and ranked eighth in terms of global box office revenue. This prompted distributors in the SARs to increase the number of screenings on day one from 500 to more than 800 in 2D and IMAX formats, also a record in the history of Hong Kong’s and Macao’s film industries.
In Hong Kong and Macao, the film has traditional Chinese and English subtitles. Cinemas operated by the film’s four local distributors — Mandarin Motion Pictures, Intercontinental Film Distributors, Sil-Metropole Organisation and Emperor Motion Pictures — have arranged around 400 screenings for Monday, with tickets of some screenings sold out.
On Sunday, China Retold, a local key opinion leader alliance dedicated to promoting the latest developments on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong on social media platforms, organized a free screening of “Ne Zha 2”. Those attending the screening formed a long line outside a cinema in Causeway Bay early in the morning, and during the screening, audience members frequently erupted in laughter during humorous scenes and exclamations of awe at the spectacular special effects.
After the screening, Sebastian Lee, a student from the United Kingdom studying at Chinese University of Hong Kong, said he had heard about the movie’s box office success, which piqued his curiosity, so he decided to attend the special screening.
Although he wasn’t previously familiar with the background of Chinese mythology, the film explained these cultural elements in a simple and understandable way, making it easy for non-Chinese audiences to follow, Lee said.
He also praised the film’s special effects, particularly those in the final battle scene, saying that the unprecedented level of detail and complexity of the animation provided an excellent viewing experience.
Laurent Daury, a French lawyer who works in Hong Kong, said that although it was his first time to watch a Chinese animated film, the movie exceeded his expectations and gave him a strong sense of Chinese culture.
He said the film reaffirmed his understanding of traditional Chinese culture, particularly the importance of respect, including respect for work, family and skills.
Cultural values
Daury said that the film, compared with Western-made animated films, conveys more traditional cultural values, which he admired. He added that he would definitely recommend the film to those around him and planned to watch it again with his wife and friends.
Karolina Gruschka, a kindergarten teacher in Hong Kong, said the film’s elements of ancient Chinese mythology help viewers, especially children, better understand traditional Chinese culture.
She said she was touched by the friendship between the two main characters, Ne Zha and Ao Bing. Despite coming from entirely different backgrounds, their connection endured all challenges, showing that true friendship can overcome any obstacle, regardless of one’s origins, she added.
Gruschka also said that a unique aspect of the film is its core concept of the struggle between good and evil, conveying an uplifting belief that people can change their destiny through their choices.
“Ne Zha 2” reimagines the tale of Ne Zha, a rebellious deity from Chinese mythology, intertwining ancient folklore with modern themes of defiance and self-determination.
The film was released on the mainland on Jan. 29, the first day of the Year of the Snake, and soon became the highest-grossing film in China.
The film has been released overseas in markets such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and will debut in Singapore and Malaysia in March.
A reliable, durable and large-scale storage solution10 min read
Australia’s favourable natural geographical landscape and abundance of retiring mine sites provide a unique opportunity for pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) to play a key role in driving the energy transition in this country. By delivering consistent, long-duration, dispatchable capacity during peak demand, PHES can help stabilise the system when other technologies may struggle.
The past two years have seen a surge in the uptake of battery energy storage systems (BESS). However, firming assets such as BESS and intermittent generators such as wind and solar are constrained by weather conditions, redundancy and, in the case of BESS, capacity and duration limits. These constraints highlight the need for a more reliable, durable, large-scale storage solution to complement the other technologies.
In the first part of our pumped hydro Insight series, we explore the drivers behind the growing uptake of PHES in Australia, and highlight key considerations for developers, investors, financiers, contractors and other stakeholders assessing such projects.
Key takeaways
There is growing interest in PHES as a long-term, firm, long-duration dispatchable asset that is unconstrained by weather, technology, asset life or capacity limitations.
Approximately 20 PHES projects are actively being developed in Australia, with over 22,000 sites identified as suitable for a PHES.
PHES projects are capital intensive and inherently complex in their planning, procurement, delivery and commercialisation. These factors necessitate careful planning, robust risk mitigation strategies and proactive engagement with stakeholders to ensure the success of PHES over the long term.
What’s driving the uptake of PHES in Australia?
There is no doubt that interest in PHES as an energy generation and storage solution is growing. There are a number of key drivers behind this.
While BESS are an important part of the storage solution, they have limitations. Most BESS projects range between 200MW and 500MW, with larger projects, such as Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub’s 1,200MW battery, still only half the size of Snowy Hydro 2.0’s 2,200MW project. BESS typically provide around four hours of dispatchable energy before needing to recharge, while PHES can deliver up to 175 hours.
BESS also have a shorter asset life of around 20 years, with a steady degradation profile down to 60–70% of the nameplate capacity over time, whereas PHES projects are designed to last over 50 years. While BESS technology is still maturing on a utility scale, PHES has a long-established track record and doesn’t face the same fire risk, making it a more sustainable option for long-term energy storage.
In 2017, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Australian National University identified 22,000 potential ‘bluefield’ PHES sites across Australia, with an estimated energy storage capacity of 67,000GWh. Many of these sites are in areas with natural elevation differences that facilitate the construction of connected upper and lower reservoirs with minimal excavation. The proximity of these sites to natural water sources, such as rivers and dams, would allow these projects to leverage existing water systems to create the necessary reservoirs.
PHES can also take a ‘closed-loop’ form, where water is transported to a site away from existing river systems and cycled between the two reservoirs. This type of system can be located where topographical features support it, allowing for new PHES facilities to be co-located with solar and wind generation projects in renewable energy zones, boosting grid reliability in those areas.
The planned and accelerated closure of mine sites presents a unique opportunity for owners to repurpose aging mines into PHES projects. Sites such as Kidston, Mt Rawdon and Muswellbrook show how former mine sites can be transformed into PHES facilities, capitalising on rehabilitation obligations and the potential for long-term, revenue-generating assets.
Australia has over 60,000 abandoned mine sites, posing challenges for owners who must manage costly rehabilitation efforts on non-revenue-generating assets. With around 75% of mine closures being unplanned or premature, there is an opportunity to repurpose these sites into valuable operational assets. Many of these sites have existing excavated pits that can be used as reservoirs for closed-loop PHES, reducing excavation risk costs and supporting mining companies’ rehabilitation goals through sustainable energy projects.
The Federal Government and most state governments are supporting private sector-led PHES projects through grants, concessional debt, revenue underwrites and streamlined approvals processes.
In NSW, EnergyCo’s Pumped Hydro Recoverable Grants Program, which is part of the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, helps developers with the cost of early-stage feasibility studies. Additionally, developers can tender for Long-Term Energy Service Agreements (LTESA) in NSW and the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) across Australia. The NSW Energy Security Corporation (which received $1 billion in funding and will act as the state equivalent of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation) has been mandated to investigate co-investment opportunities with the private sector on energy storage projects, including PHES.
Although no LTESA or CIS have been awarded to a PHES project yet, the NSW Government has shown strong long-term support for long-duration storage with an updated position to the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020 (NSW). By retaining the minimum dispatch duration definition at eight hours and broadening the long-duration storage LTESA assessment criteria, PHES projects are positioned to benefit from future government support. Similarly, under the proposed South Australian Firm Energy Reliability Mechanism, PHES projects offering dispatchable energy for at least eight hours will be able to bid for contracts to underwrite a portion of their revenue, complementing other state and federal policies.
After the infrastructure boom of the past decade, the pace of the transport infrastructure sector has slowed, while demand for energy infrastructure has risen. Civil contractors with experience in metro, rail and road projects are now focusing on energy projects to capitalise on the available work.
The civil infrastructure required for PHES, such as deep excavation, tunnelling and the construction of underground caverns and access routes, is similar to that required for transport infrastructure. Contractors with heavy engineering, excavation and tunnelling experience, and an available workforce, are well positioned to apply their skills to PHES projects.
What challenges are emerging?
Despite strong drivers and the promising potential of PHES, the uptake and reaching contract close of PHES transactions has lagged behind short to medium duration BESS, wind and solar projects.
PHES projects are inherently complex and capital intensive, with several key challenges emerging.
PHES projects typically require large areas of land, which can lead to complex environmental impacts, particularly biodiversity, water resources and, potentially, cultural heritage, and significant challenges with site access and spoil management. As a result, they require more detailed environmental impact assessments and complex approvals processes compared with BESS projects. In addition to state planning approval and environmental licences, PHES projects often require approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), as well as being subject to any remediation obligations under any relevant mining tenements and approvals if located on a mine site.
Securing land tenure is another significant challenge, especially when land is required within national parks, is over land held by Aboriginal land councils or land where native title is still active.
Water entitlements and licences, crucial for establishing reservoirs, are also a key consideration, particularly for closed-loop projects. While some states, such as NSW, have introduced a special category of water licences for initial fills, these licences may come with restrictions that limit pumping from nearby water sources to periods of high flow, presenting programming challenges. In addition to securing the necessary approvals and resources, early engagement with traditional owners, landowners and local communities is essential for obtaining a social licence to operate.
We have seen a continuing shift in risk transfer across energy and infrastructure. For PHES, in particular, this has been driven by a limited pool of experienced civil contractors with PHES experience in Australia, a lack of competition among original equipment manufacturer suppliers, and supply chain impacts and increasing demand for energy projects. A consequence of this shift has been the growing use of disaggregated contract packages, including in PHES procurement.
By splitting contracts, developers can distribute risk among multiple parties and limit exposure to contractor insolvency, with each contractor focusing on their specialist area. Ideally, this improves quality and efficiency, at a more competitive price. However, this approach can create challenges, particularly for developers and financiers, introducing interface gap risks between the contractors, and resulting in smaller sizing for caps and security packages.
Transport infrastructure procurement has traditionally been driven by state governments, creating a concentrated and aligned purchasing power that drove well-understood risk profiles. The energy infrastructure market is comparatively more diffused, involving a mix of government and private developers, contractors of all tiers and international entrants. This has meant that ‘market standard’ positions are fluid and highly bespoke contracts are being developed.
An added complexity is that PHES procurement to date has been led by government-developers who are able to use collaborative commercial models with unfixed, variable cost elements. This is more difficult for private developers with limited funding sources who are required to demonstrate bankability to financiers. A balance will need to be struck between developers’ and financiers’ desire for firm pricing and transferred risk, with the contracting market’s calls for flexible, uncapped, commercial models.
The contractor-led market has brought with it a rise in collaborative contracting in the infrastructure sector and the market is evolving. As an example, NSW and Victoria have adopted incentivised target cost models in infrastructure procurement projects, and Snowy 2.0 shifted from a traditional engineering, procurement and construction model to an incentivised target cost model. While the rise in collaborative contracting has not involved a full-scale move from wrapped lump sum to alliance models, there is an increased focus on fair risk allocation, considering each party’s ability to manage risks.
In the PHES space, risk associated with input material costs, labour costs and underground work have been the particular focus of collaborative risk-sharing arrangements.
Input material and labour costs: PHES projects rely on significant quantities of materials such as concrete and steel, but supply chain issues and material cost escalation could increase project prices and timeframes. Additionally, the scale and construction duration of PHES projects requires substantial labour compared with other assets, with the remoteness of some projects potentially necessitating relocation packages and project-specific camps to attract skilled workers. Enterprise bargaining agreements can mitigate these challenges. However, the long construction period on PHES projects means that enterprise bargaining agreements are more likely to be renegotiated during delivery, reopening labour costs and creating the risk of industrial disputes. Given market changes, sensible and targeted risk-sharing mechanisms should be considered upfront to optimise value for money.
Underground work: PHES projects are complex and involve extensive subterranean work. While owners and developers can undertake geotechnical investigations prior to construction commencing, those have limitations, so a geotechnical risk-sharing mechanism is often needed. Geotechnical Baseline Reports are commonly used to set the agreed baseline conditions for tunnels and reservoirs, which serve as the test for any time or cost adjustments.
Site selection is crucial for PHES projects, as suitable locations are often farther from existing grid infrastructure, leading to higher and more variable grid connection costs compared with BESS projects. Developers must ensure clarity on connection fees payable by a developer to the relevant network service provider and carefully consider the terms of connection agreements.
Additionally, developers should be aware of the generator performance standards and how they align with other regulatory approvals for the project.
A key challenge for developers is monetising storage projects and accessing debt capital markets. In the second part of our pumped hydro Insight series, we will explore the challenges, considerations and opportunities that developers, financiers and stakeholders face in monetising and creating stable revenue streams for PHES projects. Stay tuned.
Actions that you can take now
If you are considering entering the PHES space, as either a developer, investor, contractor, or financier, it is important to consider the following:
Strategic site selection: Rehabilitating existing assets, such as former mines or cleared agricultural sites with low biodiversity and cultural heritage value, and easy access water supply, may reduce planning delays, simplify environmental approval, and, for mine sites, limit the need for extensive excavation.
Early engagement: Engage early with all relevant parties, including local government, the community, traditional owners, landholders, consent authorities, regulators, contractors, geotechnical experts, financiers and government programs. The work done early in the project, and through concept and procurement processes, is crucial to the success of your PHES project.
Monitor the market: As more PHES projects emerge, market trends in commercial models, risk profiles and offtake strategies will evolve.
Adapting to changing regulations and government policies: We expect the regulatory landscape and government policies will evolve to better support PHES projects. Staying updated on these changes will be key to your project’s success.
Keep an eye out for future Insights in the pumped hydro series, where we will expand further on the offtake and financing strategies that will underpin the bankability and revenue generation of PHES projects.
SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER MINISTER FOR FINANCE MINISTER FOR WOMEN MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE MINISTER FOR GOVERNMENT SERVICES
THE HON AMANDA RISHWORTH MP MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES MINISTER FOR THE NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME
SENATOR THE HON MURRAY WATT MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS
The Albanese Labor Government is reaffirming its commitment to end violence against women and children in one generation, today releasing the response to the independent review of the paid family and domestic violence leave.
The independent review, conducted by Flinders University, found the leave was “life changing” for those who accessed it and that there was broad stakeholder support from both employers and unions.
It found paid family and domestic violence leave is working as intended, supporting the financial security of those escaping or experiencing violence.
The Government accepts all five recommendations from the review. Work is now underway to address the recommendations, including through:
Continued focus on raising awareness to integrate the leave as an ordinary workplace practice across Australian workplaces;
Tailored guidance for priority cohorts, such as First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse and casual employees;
Training programs for first responders, health, allied health and community frontline workers who commonly interact with victim-survivors on the entitlement;
Additional strategies to improve awareness and access to the entitlement, opportunities to better understand usage of the leave, and further evaluation of the leave through the upcoming statutory review of Closing Loopholes reforms.
The review also made 12 findings, the most notable, was there should be a focus on increasing awareness and understanding of the leave entitlement through communities and workplaces.
It also found that ongoing stigma around family and domestic violence was a barrier to workers accessing the leave.
Resources will be updated and repromoted to incorporate feedback from the review.
The Government response highlights the important role that workplaces can play in addressing family and domestic violence. There is considerable goodwill from employees and employers alike to make sure anyone who needs the leave can access it, and the workplace is equipped to play its part in supporting people experiencing family and domestic violence.
The Albanese Government will continue to engage with unions, employer groups, and state and territory governments on strategies to improve awareness and access to the leave.
Paid family and domestic violence leave is just one of many actions the Albanese Government has taken to improve economic security for women and end gender-based violence.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Women Katy Gallagher:
“Since coming to government, we have been deeply committed to ending gender-based violence – we were proud to introduce paid domestic and family violence leave as some of our first legislation, and the independent review has demonstrated its life changing impact.
“The Opposition refused to implement this important change during their years in government, but the Albanese Government listened to the sector, unions and victim-survivors, and we can see the results – more women accessing important and life changing support.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth:
“Paid family and domestic violence leave from work will save lives. This entitlement will allow victim-survivors to take time off to keep themselves and their family safe, without losing their income or their jobs.
“Everyone has a role to play to end violence against women and children. It’s vital to that first responders and frontline workers have the right training and education about paid family and domestic leave, so that they can best support victim-survivors of family and domestic violence.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Murray Watt:
“No worker should have to choose between their safety and their pay. We’ve made sure all 12.4 million Australian employees, including casuals, can access 10 days’ paid leave each year when impacted by family and domestic violence.
“This leave has been life changing for Australians so far, and the Albanese Labor Government is committed to raising awareness, understanding and uptake, so that anyone who would benefit from this leave can access it.
“But it’s under threat from Peter Dutton and the Coalition – Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Michaelia Cash claimed paid family and domestic violence leave is a “perverse disincentive” to employers hiring women.
“Peter Dutton and the Coalition need to tell Australians whether this leave will be part of the “targeted set of repeals” of workplace laws they’ve promised to take to the election.”
The Albanese Labor Government has today announced a major world first reform to provide basic universal outdoor mobile coverage across Australia.
Labor’s Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation (UOMO) will require mobile carriers to provide access to mobile voice and SMS almost everywhere across Australia.
UOMO will ensure up to 5 million square kilometres of new competitive outdoor mobile coverage across Australia, including over 37,000 kilometres on regional roads.
Whether it’s in national parks, hiking trails or out on the farm, outdoor coverage will be accessible almost anywhere where Australians can see the sky.
The Albanese Government’s policy objectives are to:
expand Triple Zero access for Australians across the nation;
expand outdoor voice and SMS coverage into existing mobile black spots; and
improve the availability of mobile signals during disasters and power outages.
This reform is only possible due to the transformative global innovations in Low Earth Orbit Satellites (LEOSats), and the arrival of Direct to Device (D2D) technology, which enables signals from space direct to mobile devices.
The Government will consult and introduce legislation in 2025 to expand the universal service framework to incorporate mobile coverage for the first time.
Implementation of outdoor SMS and voice will be expected by late 2027, with many Australians likely to obtain access before then.
Basic mobile data will be considered in the future as technology roadmaps and capacity considerations develop.
The Government will work with stakeholders and industry to get the legislation right, including flexibility where warranted by supply, spectrum and other factors.
The Albanese Government will also engage with industry and examine incentives and removal of barriers to support public interest objectives and competition outcomes.
Only the Albanese Labor Government has a plan to build Australia’s future, including delivering $3 billion to complete the building of the fibre NBN.
With global industry expected to launch D2D messaging this year, the Government is moving to ensure this technology becomes an addition to a modernised and expanded voice Universal Service Obligation, including maintaining free access to Triple Zero.
To ensure consumers are informed about device compatibility and experience, the Government will work with industry and the University of Technology Sydney to expand handset testing.
The policy has been informed by engagement with the LEOSat working group, advice by the Australian Communications and Media Authority on radiocommunications spectrum, the findings of the Regional Telecommunications Review, and extensive feedback from regional and remote stakeholders and consumers about the need for multiple connectivity paths.
The Government remains committed and will continue to evolve its existing co-investment programs like the Mobile Black Spot Program and Mobile Network Hardening Program to expand terrestrial mobile coverage, resilience and capacity.
Further reforms to the longstanding universal services framework will be announced as the Government considers recommendations from the 2024 Regional Telecommunications Review.
Quotes attributable to the Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP:
“Labor governments have a proven record of expanding universal access to essential services, and the Albanese Government is forging another step forward.
“The Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation will improve public safety, increase resilience during natural disasters, and provide an extra layer of coverage in areas previously thought too difficult or costly to reach.
“The experience will be different to land mobile networks, but the benefits transformative, particularly for a large continent such as ours.
“Building our mobile future with the latest technology is a vital element of Labor’s plan to make Australia the most connected continent by 2030.”
HELENA — A Helena man accused of carrying a firearm on the campus of the Jim Darcy Elementary School in Helena admitted to a firearm charge today, Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Racicot said.
The defendant, Bryant Nicholas Espinoza, 37, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm in a school zone. Espinoza faces a maximum of five years in prison, consecutive to any other count of conviction, a $100,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for June 9. Espinoza was released pending further proceedings.
The government alleged in court documents that on Feb. 7, 2024, the principal of Jim Darcy Elementary School contacted the Lewis and Clark Sheriff’s Office and advised the responding deputy that a staff member had notified her that the day prior, the parent of a student was on campus and was carrying a firearm. The staff member observed Espinoza standing in front of the school with a small dog. The staffer approached to assist Espinoza, and he informed the staffer he was there to pick up his daughter, who was a student. During the conversation, the staffer observed Espinoza was carrying a firearm. The staffer identified Espinoza in a photo, and surveillance video showed Espinoza on school property with a small dog and what appeared to be a pistol in a holster on his hip. On April 9, 2024, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the sheriff’s office executed a federal search warrant at Espinoza’s residence and seized a 9mm pistol, two rifles and ammunition. In an interview, Espinoza identified himself in still photos taken from the surveillance video and said that the item on his hip looked like a firearm. Espinoza told agents where the pistol was located at his residence. Agents asked if there was a reason he had the gun at the school, and Espinoza responded that Montana was an “open carry state.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Samsung Electronics today announced that it has published a joint research paper with Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) detailing the development of an innovative achromatic metalens in the renowned academic journal Nature Materials.
The paper, titled “Roll-to-plate printable RGB-achromatic metalens for wide-field-of-view holographic near-eye displays,” reflects the findings of research conducted by Samsung and POSTECH’s joint research team, wherein they developed an achromatic metalens free from color distortions and combined it with holographic displays to overcome various optical aberrations. This innovation paves the way for compact yet high-quality holographic XR wearable devices and applications in cameras and sensors.
Dr. Seokil Moon from Samsung Research and Professor Junsuk Rho from POSTECH led the study, with researchers Minseok Choi, Joohoon Kim and Kilsoo Shin from POSTECH also listed as co-authors of the paper.
Overcoming Conventional Chromatic Aberration Limitations To Achieve a Compact Achromatic Metalens
A metalens is a flat lens composed of nanoscale structures capable of controlling light diffraction, which can drastically reduce the size and thickness compared to traditional convex optical lenses.1 For this reason, it has been recognized as a next-generation optical component for applications in displays and cameras, sparking over a decade of research.
Despite these advantages, metalenses have encountered technical challenges in product development due to severe chromatic aberration,2 which leads to significant image distortion.
Previous efforts to eliminate chromatic aberration in metalenses relied on designing individual metastructures independently and subsequently assembling them onto a substrate. As a result, the interrelationships between structures were overlooked during the design phase, preventing the complete reduction of chromatic aberration in the final lens.
The research team overcame the challenge of chromatic aberration reduction by redefining the conventional design approach for metalenses. By accounting for the interrelationships between all metastructures during the design phase and designing them simultaneously, the team has successfully eliminated chromatic aberration after fabrication.
In addition to eliminating chromatic aberration, the achromatic metalens developed by the team also achieves a shorter focal length, significantly reducing the lens’ size and weight.3
Higher Resolution and Less Eye Strain With a Single Lens
Typically, metalenses exhibit various optical aberrations beyond chromatic aberration, with image distortion worsening as screen size increases. These issues have traditionally been addressed by combining multiple lenses. However, the research team has resolved various optical aberrations within the device by integrating a single achromatic metalens with a holographic display, achieving a wide field of view and distortion-free, high-quality images.
Additionally, through technical validation, the research team has demonstrated that substituting conventional optical lenses and displays with achromatic metalenses and holographic displays enables the delivery of compact, lightweight and virtual images that cause less eye strain.4
The findings of this study are anticipated to be applied to immersive media devices such as those equipped with extended reality (XR) capabilities. They will also be used in various optical systems — including displays, cameras and sensors — to enhance performance and reduce size.
Through this collaboration between industry and academia, Samsung has validated the entire process — from conceptualizing innovative ideas to implementation — confirming the potential for advancing various future optical systems and securing next-generation display technologies.
Samsung remains committed to ongoing research efforts, aiming to secure groundbreaking technologies that will shape the future through continued collaborations with academia and other industry-leading initiatives.
1 A convex lens typically has a thickness of several millimeters, sometimes exceeding a centimeter, whereas metalenses are much thinner, usually less than 0.5 mm.2 Chromatic aberration, also called color fringing, occurs when a lens fails to focus all colors to the same point, creating colored fringes along the edges of objects in photographs.3 Compared to previously proposed achromatic metalenses, this research has fabricated metalenses that are 3–5 times larger in size while maintaining the same focusing power (numerical aperture).4 The image quality is enhanced by 13% after aberrations are corrected using the holographic display. The image quality is measured using the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), which is widely used in image and signal processing.
Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the third anniversary of the Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and his colleagues in introducing the Protecting our Guests During Hostilities in Ukraine Act. This legislation would provide temporary guest status to Ukrainians and their immediate family members who are already in the United States through the “Uniting for Ukraine” parole process. The bill allows Ukrainians to stay and work in the U.S. until the Secretary of State determines that hostilities in Ukraine have ceased and it is safe for them to return.
“Three years ago, we made a commitment to help protect Ukrainians fleeing Putin’s unprovoked invasion. Maintaining our commitment to the Ukrainian people is crucial, now more than ever, to ensure not only the future of European democracy, but our own security,” said Senator Welch. “Vulnerable Ukrainians legally in the United States should be able to stay here under temporary guest status until conditions in Ukraine are safe for their return. Obviously, those conditions don’t exist only days after Putin’s largest killer-drone attack of the war. I urge my Republican colleagues to join us in standing by displaced Ukrainians and standing up against Putin’s ruthless attempts to isolate and erase Ukraine.”
“Three years ago today, Putin began his brutal, criminal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine—which remains on the frontlines of democracy and transatlantic security,” said Senator Durbin. “When the war started, Americans across the country opened their hearts and communities to Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression. Both Republicans and Democrats petitioned President Biden to protect them from deportation. While not a single Republican has cosponsored this bill, I urge them to join us to ensure Ukrainians legally present in the U.S. have temporary guest status until conditions in Ukraine are safe for return. Standing up to dictators and speaking out for victims of war should not be a partisan issue.”
U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) are original cosponsors of the Protecting our Guests During Hostilities in Ukraine Act.
The individuals included in the bill already underwent rigorous vetting to ensure that they present no criminal or public safety risks. The legislation would also allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to revoke this temporary status if new information raises such concerns about any individual. Bill text can be found here.
The following organizations endorsed the Protecting our Guests During Hostilities in Ukraine Act: Refugee Council USA; Chin Association of Maryland; HIAS; World Relief; Center for Gender & Refugee Studies; Human Rights First; Church World Service; International Refugee Assistance Project; Global Refuge; Boat People SOS; Center for Victims of Torture; Jesuit Refugee Service; and Veterans for American Ideals.
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the nomination of three New York State agency commissioners. The Governor nominates Denise Miranda as Commissioner of the State Division of Human Rights, Amanda Lefton as Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation; and Willow Baer as Commissioner of the State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities.
“As we work to make New York the best place to raise a family, it’s critical to have a team in place with the skills and experience to make that goal a reality,” Governor Hochul said. “These three nominees have proven themselves to be strong leaders with a record of achievement — and they will play a pivotal role leading these state agencies.”
About Commissioner Denise Miranda
Denise Miranda was appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul in March 2024 as the Acting Commissioner of the Division of Human Rights (DHR).
During her first year at the Division, Ms. Miranda initiated a complete overhaul of the Division’s intake operations, increased staffing by 40 percent in the first six months, expanded education and outreach initiatives and engaged in wholesale organizational change to ensure and protect the Division’s legacy of being the first state agency in the country dedicated to protecting human and civil rights. In November of 2024, she launched the first statewide “Call Out Hate” campaign to support the work of the Division’s Hate and Bias Prevention Unit, which was created to combat prejudice and discrimination. At the close of the Acting Commissioner’s first year at DHR and with the Governor’s support, DHR saw a 30 percent increase in the agency’s budget and actively worked to increase the agency’s prevention efforts while hastening its processes for investigation and adjudication of claims.
Prior to this, Acting Commissioner Miranda served as the Executive Director of the New York State Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs for seven years. She oversaw the agency’s operations, which included investigations into abuse and neglect, criminal prosecutions, and administrative disciplinary proceedings. Under her leadership, the Justice Center managed the care of over one million individuals, with a workforce of more than 425 employees and a $41 million operating budget.
About Commissioner Amanda Lefton
Amanda Lefton’s diverse career spans the public and private sectors, including previously serving as the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) within the Department of the Interior. Under her leadership, BOEM developed and implemented an ambitious federal offshore wind program creating a new industry of family supporting jobs and generational opportunity. Her collaborative approach brought together various stakeholders to responsibly manage the nation’s critical offshore energy and mineral resources.
Prior to her role as BOEM Director, Lefton served as the First Assistant Secretary for Energy and Environment for New York, where she led the State’s environmental and climate initiatives overseeing a portfolio of executive agencies including the DEC. She has also worked for The Nature Conservancy in New York as the Deputy Policy Director and climate mitigation lead, the Rochester Regional Joint Board of Workers United and the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate. Most recently, Lefton was the Vice President of Offshore Development, U.S. East at RWE — one of the world’s leading players in the offshore wind sector.
Originally from Queens, she grew up on Long Island and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University at Albany. She now resides in the capital region with her wife and stepchildren.
About Commissioner Willow Baer
Willow Baer is honored to be nominated as Commissioner of OPWDD. Prior to stepping up as Acting Commissioner, Willow served as OPWDD’s Executive Deputy Commissioner and oversaw the agency’s operational management, including planning, fiscal planning and oversight, and policy development. She was also responsible for oversight of agency staff in a broad range of capacities, including direct care support, clinical and medical staff in residential and non-residential settings, maintenance and operations.
Willow has served twice as Assistant Counsel to Governor Kathy Hochul, overseeing legal priorities and legislation across the fields of Human Services and Mental Hygiene. Additionally, Willow previously served as General Counsel to OPWDD, General Counsel and Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Children & Family Services, and as Counsel to the NYS Justice Center. Willow was named a ‘2024 Power Players in Health Care by Politics NY and amNY Metro.
Willow has spent her entire career working to protect and advocate for underrepresented populations. She will continue the agency’s work to ensure that New York is a state that is inclusive, supportive, and one that those with developmental disabilities live with meaningful choice and are proud to call home.
Acting Commissioner of the Division of Human Rights Denise Miranda said, “It is the honor of my career to be nominated by Governor Hochul to lead the Division of Human Rights. For nearly 30 years, I’ve dedicated my professional life to advancing civil rights and protecting vulnerable communities throughout New York State, and I am grateful to the Governor for entrusting me with this responsibility. I am elated to accept this nomination and to partner with the Governor to pave the agency’s next chapter as we celebrate 80 years of our NYS Human Rights Law. I look forward to vigorously protecting the civil rights of all New Yorkers.”
Incoming Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation Amanda Lefton said, “I am honored Governor Hochul has entrusted me to carry out the Department of Environmental Conservation’s critical mission. I am committed to delivering meaningful results to enhance the health and safety of communities all across the State and to protecting our environment and natural resources for future generations.”
Acting Commissioner of the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities Willow Baer said, “I am grateful that, under Governor Hochul’s leadership, New York State has restored its status as a national leader in providing services to people with developmental disabilities with policies that prioritize greater independence, innovative housing options, and community integration. I am honored and excited to be nominated by the Governor to lead the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities and I am humbled every day to be doing this work alongside the many self-advocates and families throughout New York State who are fighting for equity and inclusion.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Press release
Professor Sir Ian Chapman appointed next CEO of UK Research and Innovation with renewed focus on economic growth
Sir Ian will lead the team at UKRI in backing thousands of researchers and innovators in developing solutions which improve people’s lives and help grow the economy
Professor Sir Ian Chapman appointed as new UKRI CEO
Professor Sir Ian Chapman will become the next CEO of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), leading a refreshed mission that puts economic growth at the heart of public investment in R&D, helping to fulfil the potential of science and technology in improving lives, Science Minister Lord Vallance has announced today (Tuesday 25 February).
UKRI is the country’s largest public research funder, with a budget of £9 billion per year, giving it a central role in ensuring public funding is invested in ambitious, pioneering research that will benefit the whole of the UK and provide a clear return on investment for hardworking taxpayers.
Its work in recent years includes backing the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, which has saved countless lives and the construction of the world’s most advanced wind turbine test facility, helping the UK to become a clean energy superpower. It has also been a major contributor to the £1 billion of UK public investment in AI R&D so far so the UK captures the technology’s opportunities to enhance growth and productivity as the third largest AI market in the world.
Sir Ian will lead its team in supporting thousands of bright researchers and innovators in developing solutions from life-saving medicines to protecting our environment – ultimately making a visible, positive difference to people’s lives and supporting the missions at the heart of the Government’s Plan for Change.
His experience will be a major asset in drawing on the UK’s world-leading research talent, facilities, universities and businesses, as drivers of R&D which will kickstart economic growth, make Britain a clean energy superpower and build an NHS fit for the future.
During his time as CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, Sir Ian has led the transition from an organisation rooted in deep R&D excellence, to one that is now also delivering a major infrastructure project to design and build a prototype powerplant; driving inward investment and economic growth; and enabling development of a skilled workforce and supply chain.
Science Minister, Lord Vallance, said:
“Growing the economy is this government’s number one mission and taking full advantage of the innovative ideas, talent and facilities across our country is key to reaching that goal and improving lives across the UK.
“Sir Ian’s leadership experience, scientific expertise and academic achievements make him an exceptionally strong candidate to lead UKRI in pursuing ambitious, curiosity-driven research, as well as innovations that will unlock new benefits for the UK’s people and drive our Plan for Change.
“We also thank Dame Ottoline Leyser ahead of her stepping down this summer, recognising her pivotal work in guiding UKRI through challenging times, notably during the Covid pandemic and through the UK’s return to participation in Horizon Europe.”
Incoming UKRI CEO, Professor Sir Ian Chapman, said:
“I am excited to be joining an excellent team at UKRI focussed on improving the lives and livelihoods of UK citizens.
“Research and innovation must be central to the prosperity of our society and our economy, so UKRI can shape the future of the country.
“I was tremendously fortunate to represent UKAEA, an organisation at the forefront of global research and innovation of fusion energy, and I look forward to building on those experiences to enable the wider UK research and innovation sector.”
Through our world-class universities and institutes, UKRI develops and nurtures future talent who can maintain the UK’s position as a global hub of research, development and deployment in the long term while collaborating with partners around the world so that scientific and technological advances driven in the UK can benefit lives at home and around the world.
UKRI plays a key part in driving up UK participation in the world’s largest research programme, Horizon Europe, helping to build a more efficient and joined-up approach to research funding and unleashing the power of UK research and innovation.
UKRI will also play an increasing role in steering our long-term industrial strategy, removing barriers to growth and building on the UK’s strategic advantage in its fundamental science capability.
UKRI Chairman, Sir Andrew Mackenzie, said:
“The board and I are delighted that Ian will become UKRI’s next CEO in the summer.
“Research and Innovation are fundamental to UK growth. Ian has the skills, experience, leadership and commitment to unlock this opportunity to improve the lives and livelihoods of everyone. We look forward to working with him on the next phase of UKRI’s development and our stewardship of the UK’s innovation culture and systems.
“We thank Ottoline for an outstanding five years as UKRI’s CEO. She has delivered a step-change in operational effectiveness and cross-discipline work through collective and inclusive leadership and secured more social and commercial impacts from our investments.”
Climate Minister Kerry McCarthy said:
“I’d like to thank Sir Ian for his many years of dedicated service at UK Atomic Energy Agency, the last nine as CEO. In that time, he has transformed the organisation into a world leading hub for fusion energy commercialisation and driven the UK and global strategy for fusion development forward.
“I am delighted that the UK will continue to benefit from his drive and expertise in his new role. We will shortly begin recruiting a new UKAEA CEO to lead the UK’s world-class fusion programme into the next decade.”
Notes to editors
Established in 2018, UKRI is a non-departmental public body that combines the strengths of nine distinct research and innovation funders:
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Innovate UK (IUK)
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Research England (RE)
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Sir Ian – who currently sits on UKRI’s Board – will take up the post in the summer, bringing strong leadership experience from his role as CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority since 2016 and links to academia. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Physics, and a visiting Professor at Durham University.
With a background in fusion and firm grasp of the part that ambitious and targeted R&D can play in improving lives, he has published over 100 journal papers and received several awards for his research.
His appointment follows an open recruitment process launched in August 2024, after Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser announced her intention to stand down as UKRI’s CEO from June 2025.
Having held the post since 2020, Dame Ottoline leaves a strong foundation to build on, from navigating the continued delivery of research through the pandemic to supporting the UK’s return to participation in Horizon Europe – putting UKRI in a strong position to bolster its role as an engine for delivering pioneering research to improve lives and grow our economy.
The UKAEA Board has provisionally agreed that Tim Bestwick (UKAEA deputy CEO) will take over as interim CEO of UKAEA after Sir Ian leaves, whilst a permanent replacement is appointed.
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
February 24, 2025
WASHINGTON – On the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today introduced the Protecting our Guests During Hostilities in Ukraine Act, legislation that would provide temporary guest status to Ukrainians and their immediate family members who are already in the United States through the “Uniting for Ukraine” parole process. The bill allows Ukrainians to stay and work in the U.S. until the Secretary of State determines that hostilities in Ukraine have ceased and it is safe for them to return. U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) are original cosponsors of the legislation.
“Three years ago today, Putin began his brutal, criminal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine—which remains on the frontlines of democracy and transatlantic security,” said Durbin. “When the war started, Americans across the country opened their hearts and communities to Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression. Both Republicans and Democrats petitioned President Biden to protect them from deportation. While not a single Republican has cosponsored this bill, I urge them to join us to ensure Ukrainians legally present in the U.S. have temporary guest status until conditions in Ukraine are safe for return. Standing up to dictators and speaking out for victims of war should not be a partisan issue.”
The individuals included in the bill already underwent rigorous vetting to ensure that they present no criminal or public safety risks. The legislation would also allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to revoke this temporary status if new information raises such concerns about any individual. Bill text can be found here.
The following organizations endorsed the Protecting our Guests During Hostilities in Ukraine Act: Refugee Council USA; Chin Association of Maryland; HIAS; World Relief; Center for Gender & Refugee Studies; Human Rights First; Church World Service; International Refugee Assistance Project; Global Refuge; Boat People SOS; Center for Victims of Torture; Jesuit Refugee Service; and Veterans for American Ideals.
Source: US Senator for New Mexico Ben Ray Luján
As Wildfires Have Devasted New Mexico and Western States in Recent Years, Luján’s Bipartisan Bill Would Create Career Pathways to Tackle Growing Wildfire Threats
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) reintroduced the bipartisan Regional Leadership in Wildland Fire Research Act, legislation that would establish regional research centers at institutions of higher education across the country to boost wildfire mitigation and research. Under this legislation, these regional centers would be tasked with developing next-generation fire and vegetation models and technologies to support wildland fire management and address the specific needs of the region they are situated in. Additionally, this bill would establish a National Center Coordination Board to coordinate the work of regional centers and establish Regional Advisory Boards from wildfire management agencies, state and Tribal governments, and other stakeholders to provide input and assistance.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, current wildfire models are failing to adequately predict fire behavior under extreme conditions and in more complex environments. These models also struggle to reproduce recent catastrophic wildfires, making them more likely to fail at predicting future wildfires or determining when and where it is safe to conduct prescribed burns. To support effective wildland fire management and prepare firefighters against evolving risks, next-generation fire and vegetation models are needed.
“Far too many communities in New Mexico and in states across the country know that wildfire season can cost you everything. We must do everything possible to understand the root causes of these wildfires and how local communities can improve wildfire mitigation efforts and save lives and livelihoods,” said Senator Luján. “I’m proud to partner with Senator Sullivan to reintroduce this bipartisan legislation to establish regional research centers tasked with developing next-generation fire and vegetation models and technologies to boost wildfire mitigation. Each of these regional centers will help boost wildland fire management across the country while creating more opportunities for a good-paying job through career training for wildfire research. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill signed into law.”
“Wildfires burn millions of acres in Alaska every year—sometimes as much or more than the combined acreage burned in the rest of the country,” said Senator Sullivan. “To better protect lives, homes and critical infrastructure, we need to invest in research that will produce more accurate models and empower our wildland firefighters to better predict and extinguish fires before they become full-scale natural disasters. I’m glad to reintroduce legislation with Senator Luján to establish wildland fire research centers at our universities with specialized expertise in this space—like UAF in Interior Alaska—and develop more effective firefighting strategies that respond to the unique circumstances of each of our states.”
“Californians are all too familiar with the devastating toll catastrophic wildfires can take on their communities, burning down homes and businesses, and uprooting families’ livelihoods,” said Senator Padilla. “As the climate crisis makes wildfires more dangerous and harder to predict, expanding our wildland fire research would help us better prepare for wildfires and safely conduct prescribed burns ahead of peak fire season. California universities are already the nation’s leading hub for wildfire research and technology, and this bipartisan effort is a critical step forward in expanding next-generation fire mitigation efforts.”
“If we’ve learned anything from recent wildfire tragedies across the country, it’s that the threat of catastrophic wildfires isn’t seasonal, nor is it isolated to one region; it’s a year-round, nationwide threat. I’m proud to join this bipartisan effort with my colleagues to invest in better anticipating wildland fires, streamlining our response, and ensuring we are fighting these fires faster and more effectively to keep communities safe,” said Senator Sheehy.
Each regional research center will:
Conduct research to improve our understanding of wildland fire, including causes and associated risks for fires, rehabilitation of affected ecosystems, mitigation strategies that improve firefighter safety, and more;
Develop, maintain, and operate next-generation fire and vegetation models and technologies to support wildland fire management; and,
Develop a career pathway training program to help carry out wildland fire research.
The bill is supported by the Federation of American Scientists, Megafire Action, National Association of State Foresters, National Federation of Federal Employees, the Nature Conservancy, the University of New Mexico, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
“The University of New Mexico stands in strong support of this legislation sponsored by Senator Ben Ray Luján and Senator Dan Sullivan, seeking to improve existing models of wildland fire risk and build new, improved forecasts of wildfire susceptibility. UNM, along with our state and federal partners, acknowledges the critical function this legislation will serve as we aim to provide more accurate information to land managers and firefighters who share our interest in protecting our local communities and forested watersheds, preserving rural livelihoods and sustaining agricultural economies in New Mexico for future generations,” said Garnett S. Stokes, President, The University of New Mexico.
“We spend billions on improving our understanding of disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes – that hasn’t happened yet with megafire. The Regional Leadership in Wildland Fire Research Act recognizes and invests in our research community to produce region specific scientific research and solutions to catastrophic wildfires, allowing innovators and wildland firefighters to use this information to directly leverage technology to predict, detect, and prevent megafire,” said Matt Weiner, CEO of Megafire Action.
“Extreme weather has pushed wildfires to grow in size and severity, making our current wildfire models inadequate. The Regional Leadership in Wildland Fire Research Act is a significant investment in understanding how wildland fire risks continue to evolve, and establishes a strong foundation that first responders and forest managers can rely on,” said Daniel Correa, Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of American Scientists. “We commend Senator Luján and Senator Sullivan for their leadership to champion and invest in innovative next-generation fire and vegetation models to protect human health, ecosystems, and our communities.”
“Approximately 80% of Alaska’s population is living in areas at risk of wildland fire. It is vital that we improve our understanding of and develop better ways to prevent and combat wildland fire on a regional basis. The best way to accomplish these goals is through regional research efforts. I’m grateful Senator Sullivan recognizes this and thankful for his leadership and introduction of the Regional Leadership in Wildland Fire Research Act. UAF stands ready to advance wildland fire regional research to help protect lives and property in Alaska. I also want to thank Senator Luján for partnering with Senator Sullivan on this important legislation,” said Dr. Dan White, Chancellor of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF).
“NFFE is pleased to endorse the Regional Leadership in Wildland Fire Research Act, which will provide critical resources for research and technology that will help protect American communities from the wildfire crisis,” said NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “If we are to properly address devastating megafires and improve wildland firefighter safety, we must also develop the next generation of experts to support wildland fire research. Thank you to Senator Luján for his leadership on this issue.”
Full text of the bill is available here. A one-pager of the bill is available here.
Chunxiao Qu, An artist doesn’t need a label (Biannual Façade Commission), 2004, Borchardt Library, La Trobe University, Bundoora. La Trobe Art Institute, La Trobe University. Photograph by AJ Taylor. Image courtesy the artist.
The absurdity of contemporary communication will be on display at the University of South Australia’s Samstag Museum of Art, delivering an insightful and humorous take on how humans are easily misunderstood between the translation of what is said and what is heard.
Direct, Directed, Directly will kickstart Samstag’s 2025 program for the Parnati season (Parnati meaning autumn in Kaurna culture) from Friday 28 February, coinciding with the launch of the Adelaide Festival.
Installed across the two levels of the art museum, the exhibition is one of many in Samstag’s annually curated program of innovative and experimental contemporary art from SA and around the world.
Direct, Directed, Directly explores communication – speaking directly, speaking indirectly, looking for meaning (and not finding it), double meanings and breakdowns.
Featuring performances, moving images and sounds created by national and international artists, the installation dives into the difficulties between what is said and what is heard. This group exhibition suggests that amid frustration, futility and misunderstanding, there is catharsis to be found in the humour and absurdity of our attempts to connect.
Director of Samstag Museum of Art Erica Green says the year ahead for Samstag will be a celebration of innovative and thought-provoking contemporary arts practice.
“Delving into a diverse range of themes – from the absurdity of contemporary communication to the formal qualities of light and movement – our 2025 program will deliver a year of surprising and insightful visual art experiences for everyone to enjoy,” she says.
Parnati season Friday 28 February to Friday 30 May 2025 Adelaide Festival Direct, Directed, Directly Artists: Richard Bell (Kamilaroi, Kooma, Jiman and Gurang Gurang), Madison Bycroft, Kuba Dorabialski, Danielle Freakley, Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader, Monte Masi and Chunxiao Qu.
Kudlila season 20 June to 26 September Frank Bauer Samstag’s Kudlila Season, Kudlila meaning winter in Kaurna culture, will begin in June with works by Adelaide-based designer, jeweller, silversmith and artist Frank Bauer. Over a career spanning 45 years, the German-born artist’s cross-disciplinary practice is hallmarked by exceptional quality and a breadth of skill. His process begins with the hand – first drawing then progressing to handling, touching, making in his workshop – and results in works that bear human nature first and foremost in mind. A former lecturer at SACAE, an antecedent of the University of South Australia, who has exhibited in Europe and Australia, his work is held in major museums around the world.
Caption Frank Bauer, Flag pole, detail, 2024. Photograph by Sia Duff.
North Terrace: worlds in relief Artists: Andrew Burrell, Allison Chhorn, Louise Haselton, the ArcHitects (Gary Carsley and Renjie Teoh), with poetry by Natalie Harkin (Narungga). As the city’s cultural boulevard, North Terrace is emblematic of Tarntanya/Adelaide’s founding on Kaurna Yarta and the conduct of colonial relations today. In this suite of new works, curated by guest curator Jasmin Stephens, artists from Adelaide, NSW and Singapore respond to the city’s environs and the world views that they convey. The exhibition begins with Narungga poet/activist Natalie Harkin’s text Cultural Precinct, first published in 2016. The artists cast a critical eye over North Terrace’s familiar and lesser-known aspects. Invoking histories of sculpture, moving image and design, the exhibition draws on the collection of UniSA’s Architecture Museum.
Wirltuti Season 16 October to 5 December Sean Cordeiro and Claire Healy: Psychopomp NSW-based artistic duo and Samstag scholars (2006) Sean Cordeiro and Claire Healy will premiere their vibrant moving image work Psychopomp alongside a selection of past works for Samstag’s Wirltuti season in 2025 (Wirltuti meaning ‘spring’ in Kaurna culture). Psychopomp is the outcome of the 2024 UniSA Jeffrey Smart Commission. This vibrant moving image work explores the porous relationship between science and mysticism, and rocket technology and spirituality. From NASA’s Apollo, Mercury and Gemini mission names, which are directly inspired by the gods of antiquity, to pioneer rocket scientist Jack Parson’s conversion to Aleister Crowley’s Church of Thelema, Cordeiro and Healy identify a strong spiritual thread in the history of rocket and space exploration. Melding the significant historical text, the poem Hymn to Pan, with footage of farming fertility festivals in Thailand and Laos, Psychopomp explores the expressive potential of motion, technology and pagan rituals.
5 STEPS FOR BETTER LIVING, MAXIMUM GAINS AND MANIFESTING YOUR MOST OPTIMISED SELF!! Adelaide Film Festival Expand Moving Image Commission Artists: Nisa East, Anna Lindner and Yasemin Sabuncu. 5 STEPS… originates from the 2023 AFF EXPAND Lab, a development initiative bringing together filmmakers, artists and screen-based practitioners to develop collaborative approaches to making moving images. 5 STEPS… offers a satirical, critical reflection on the trends of commodified, masculine ‘wellness’ in times of existential crisis. The multi-channel installation draws on experimental performance, surrealism and dark humour to examine the way wellness subcultures can be used to promote self-centred ideas of freedom and success. A series of compelling character studies of the ‘alpha’ personalities and fitness evangelists that populate the manosphere, this work examines the psychological mechanisms of rejecting failure, vulnerability and introspection, and the pursuit of infinite growth at any cost.
Nisa East, Anna Lindner and Yasemin Sabuncu, 5 STEPS FOR BETTER LIVING, MAXIMUM GAINS AND MANIFESTING YOUR MOST OPTIMISED SELF!!, production still 2024. Still courtesy the artists.
Ryan Presley In 2024, UniSA commissioned Marri Ngarr artist Ryan Presley to paint a portrait of its Chancellor, The Honourable John Hill. To accompany the unveiling of this commission, Samstag will display a selection of works by Presley. Presley’s figurative paintings weave personal and cultural motifs with art historical references. Raised a Catholic, his art practice explores religious iconography, often featuring intricate patterning and human figures set against seductive and lyrical dreamscapes composed of clouds, sand dunes and industrial motifs.
Samstag Museum of Art is located at UniSA’s City West campus, an easy 15-minute walk from the city centre. Free city trams operate daily. Samstag is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm. Visit the website for more information.
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Media contact: Erica Green, Director Samstag Museum of Art M: +438 821 239 E:erica.green@unisa.edu.au
As part of Eating Disorders Awareness Week, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is announcing his intention to refresh New Zealand’s eating disorders strategy, and shining a spotlight on the work and research being done to support people with disordered eating.
“Very positive work is being done across the country to address eating disorder issues and the Government wants to take this even further. Eating disorders are not choices, they are a health crisis that have the potential to disrupt people’s lives. New Zealand’s strategy has not been refreshed in 16 years and it is time for an update.
“Today I am signalling my intent to refresh the ‘Future Directions for Eating Disorders Services in New Zealand’ strategy document, with the objective of having clear prioritised actions for implementation. Other focuses will include identifying where further efforts across eating disorders services are required, and improving our understanding of eating disorder data.
“There is also great opportunity to grow and utilise the peer support workforce more – professionals with lived experience who help people within the health system.
“The introduction of new roles like lived-experience peer support workers and family peer support workers provides additional valuable help, along with reassurance that recovery is possible. They also recognise the important role that families play in treatment and provide support to families.
“The refresh we are carrying out will give an opportunity to better explore how to help people benefit from these roles more.
“Currently there are not many peer support workers in New Zealand focused specifically on eating disorders. Today I had privilege of meeting with one of the only peer support workers who works exclusively at an eating disorder service, based at Hillmorton Hospital, to discuss their unique role in improving treatment.
Mr Doocey also met with the South Island Eating Disorders (SIEDs) service today to show his support for the sector. SIEDS is one of four regional specialist eating disorders hubs, which work closely with their district partners or ‘spokes’.
“It is always inspiring to meet with our frontline clinicians, and to hear about innovation and improvements that are underway to support people, including those with eating disorders, to make a full recovery,” Mr Doocey says.
“Important research is being done in the sector – SIEDs is involved in research partnerships with the University of Otago, with a particular focus on prevention and understanding more about the genetics of eating disorders that will contribute treatment advances internationally.
“The team are also working on expanding Media Smart, an eight-lesson programme aimed at improving body image and reducing eating disorder risk factors among young people.
“Prevention is key in this space, and this programme has shown significant improvements in intermediate-aged students’ resilience against harmful media messages.
“It is work like this that will contribute to helping people with mental health and addiction needs, as well as supporting people to stay well and help us reach the mental health targets this Government has committed to.”
Eating Disorders Awareness Week is an annual campaign to educate the public about the realities of eating disorders and to provide hope and visibility to individuals and loved ones impacted by eating disorders. Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2025 is taking place from 24 February to 2 March. New Zealand’s Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness Week will take place between 2 September and 8 September.
ADVISORY – SCHUYLKILL COUNTY – Governor Shapiro to Visit Child Care Center to Highlight Proposed Investments to Recruit and Retain Child Care Workers, Expand Access to Quality Services
Governor Josh Shapiro will visit The Perception Training Center to talk about the major investments in workforce development in his 2025-26 Budget Proposal and his plans for expanding Pennsylvania’s child care workforce and making child care more affordable.
During his first two years in office, Governor Shapiro signed into law a historic expansion of the Child and Dependent Care Enhancement Tax Credit and created a new tax credit for businesses who want to contribute to their employees’ child care costs. Those two initiatives helped make child care more affordable – and the Governor’s proposal this year would make child care more available through an investment of $55 million to support child care workforce recruitment and retention grants.
WHO: Governor Josh Shapiro Senator David Argall Representative Tim Twardzik Michelle Dallago, Owner and Executive Director of Perception Early Learning, Inc. Bob Carl, President and CEO of the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce Meridith Driscoll, Parent
WHEN: TOMORROW, Tuesday, February 25, 2025 at 10:15AM
WHERE: The Perception Training Center, Inc. 1265 Laurel Boulevard, Pottsville, PA 17901
LIVE STREAM: pacast.com/live/gov governor.pa.gov/live/
RSVP: Press who are interested in attending must RSVP with the names and phone numbers for each member of their team to ra-gvgovpress@pa.gov.
WATKINS, CO –The Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) Division of Aeronautics is pleased to announce the results of the 2025 Colorado Aviation Economic Impact Study (CEIS). This comprehensive study aims to quantify the economic contributions of airports across the state, updating the previous analysis conducted in 2020.
“The aeronautics industry in Colorado creates jobs, boosts economic growth, and contributes to the success of our agricultural and trade partnerships. International and domestic air travel in Colorado has contributed to aeronautical business retention within our state, and opened up job opportunities that have fostered a skilled-workforce here in Colorado” said Governor Polis.
The 2025 CEIS evaluates the economic impact of on-airport activities and visitor spending at each participating airport. In addition to these key metrics, the study explores the critical role of airports in facilitating air cargo operations, driving economic growth, and supporting Colorado’s agriculture industry. It also examines tax revenues generated by aviation-related activities and highlights the significant economic contribution of Denver International Airport.
The 2025 study assessed the annual economic impact of 66 public-use airports in Colorado, measuring their contributions in terms of employment, payroll, value added, and total business revenue. The findings revealed that these airports collectively generate $68.9 billion in annual business revenue, support 348,500 jobs with a total payroll of $23.5 billion, and contribute $40.3 billion in value added. While employment levels remained relatively steady, the study highlighted a significant 42% increase in annual business revenue associated with Colorado airports from 2020 to 2025.
“This crucial study underscores the vital importance of airports and air travel for communities large and small throughout Colorado,” said Colorado Aeronautical Board Chair Kent Holsinger.
“Since opening thirty years ago this week, DEN’s exponential passenger growth and emergence as a central hub in the global aviation market has contributed to it being a multi-billion-dollar economic engine for the Denver metro area, Colorado and the entire Rocky Mountain region. This is something we are incredibly proud of, and it’s a responsibility we take seriously,” Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington said.
The 2025 CEIS deliverables, including the executive summary, individual airport brochures, and animated flight maps, are now accessible at https://www.coloradoaviationsystem.com/2025-ceis.
Headline: New Early Career Academy to support more of our best and brightest to take on teaching in NSW
Published: 25 February 2025
Released by: Minister for Education and Early Learning
The Minns Labor Government is continuing work to rebuild public education across New South Wales with the $20 million Innovative Teacher Training Fund to support NSW’s best and brightest students to embark on a successful teaching career.
In a NSW first, the NSW Government is establishing the Early Career Academy for Teachers, fulfilling an election commitment which will serve as a centre of excellence for new and future teachers, with expanded support, enhanced development opportunities and stronger partnerships with universities and across schools.
The Academy will be a one-stop-shop for attracting and supporting new teachers, featuring a digital hub, new scholarships, tailored learning and resources, and embedded department support with a dedicated employee stationed at key universities.
University Admissions Centre data shows growing interest in applications and offers for students studying Education degrees, following several years of decline.
Applications by school leavers for Education degrees have risen by 500 or 23 per cent compared to the same time last year, while offers have risen by 642 or 36 per cent compared to 2024.
The Early Career Academy will focus on making a teaching degree the first preference for more students, improving the classroom readiness of beginning teachers and retaining more early career teachers in NSW public schools.
This initiative builds on the historic pay rise in teachers’ salaries, which took NSW beginning teachers from the worst paid in the country to among the highest. Targeted strategies to address the unsustainable workloads of teachers are also bearing fruit, leading to a greater attractiveness of the teaching profession.
The Early Career Academy for Teachers will develop a range of programs and opportunities including:
An enhanced scholarship program including early offers to future teachers in high priority regions and specialist areas
Revamped professional experience placements to facilitate consistent and high quality experiences for pre-service teachers before they enter the classroom
Greater system-led support for pre-service and beginning teachers, including enhanced resources and collaboration opportunities, to enhance the quality of assistance available to early career teachers
Stronger strategic partnerships with universities, including Department of Education University Partnership Leads to provide tailored support with those seeking employment opportunities in NSW public schools
Department-led professional learning to support classroom readiness, curriculum expertise and teaching practices
A Digital Hub with personalised content to support new and future teachers throughout their educational and professional pathway
The Academy will also continue and expand existing, successful programs such as the school-based Future Teachers Club and rural and remote Beyond the Line study tours.
The Early Career Academy will formally commence in Term 1, 2026, following co-design and engagement with the profession, union and key stakeholders.
The NSW public education system is the largest employer of teachers in Australia with more than 96,000 educators working in our schools every year.
Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:
“The Minns Labor Government promised we would do everything we can to get more of our best and brightest into teaching and keep them in the classroom – and we are delivering.
“The Early Career Academy will be a game-changer for new and prospective teachers, provide co-ordinated, multi-faceted support and ensuring we have highly skilled, classroom-ready teachers getting jobs in NSW public schools.
“With the NSW Department of Education being the largest employer of teachers in Australia, it is crucial that universities understand the needs of our public schools, and the Academy will play an important role in ensuring partner universities offer the right courses for our future teachers.
“Our government has delivered nation-leading pay rises for teachers and reduced teacher vacancies by 40%, and we are building on this work to attract more of our best and brightest to teaching careers in our schools – while ensuring they are supported and valued to stay.
“The Academy is not just about getting more people to choose a career in teaching or ensuring they are prepared for the classroom from day one, it is about letting our early career teachers know that the Department and the Government is backing you to succeed.”
A view of the Utopia Planitia region on Mars which is believed to be the site of an ancient ocean. ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA
In the 1970s, images from the NASA Mariner 9 orbiter revealed water-sculpted surfaces on Mars. This settled the once-controversial question of whether water ever rippled over the red planet.
Since then, more and more evidence has emerged that water once played a large role on our planetary neighbour.
For example, Martian meteorites record evidence for water back to 4.5 billion years ago. On the young side of the timescale, impact craters formed over the past few years show the presence of ice under the surface today.
Today the hot topics focus on when water appeared, how much was there, and how long it lasted. Perhaps the most burning of all Mars water-related topics nowadays is: were there ever oceans?
A new study published in PNAS today has made quite a splash. The study involved a team of Chinese and American scientists led by Jianhui Li from Guangzhou University in China, and was based on work done by the China National Space Administration’s Mars rover Zhurong.
Data from Zhurong provide an unprecedented look into rocks buried near a proposed shoreline billions of years old. The researchers claim to have found beach deposits from an ancient Martian ocean.
An illustration of Mars 3.6 billion years ago, when an ocean may have covered nearly half the planet. The orange star (right) is the landing site of the Chinese rover Zhurong. The yellow star is the landing site of NASA’s Perseverance rover. Robert Citron/Southwest Research Institute/NASA
Blue water on a red planet
Rovers exploring Mars study many aspects of the planet, including the geology, soil and atmosphere. They’re often looking for any evidence of water. That’s in part because water is a vital factor for determining if Mars ever supported life.
Sedimentary rocks are often a particular focus of investigations, because they can contain evidence of water – and therefore life – on Mars.
For example, the NASA Perseverance rover is currently searching for life in a delta deposit. Deltas are triangular regions often found where rivers flow into larger bodies of water, depositing large amounts of sediment. Examples on Earth include the Mississippi delta in the United States and the Nile delta in Egypt.
The delta the Perseverance rover is exploring is located within the roughly 45km wide Jezero impact crater, believed to be the site of an ancient lake.
Zhurong had its sights set on a very different body of water – the vestiges of an ancient ocean located in the northern hemisphere of Mars.
Topography of Utopia Planitia. Lower parts of the surface are shown in blues and purples, while higher altitude regions show up in whites and reds, as indicated on the scale to the top right. ESA/DLR/FU Berlin
The god of fire
The Zhurong rover is named after a mythical god of fire.
Zhurong is investigating an area near a series of ridges – described as paleoshorelines – that extend for thousands of kilometres across Mars. The paleoshorelines have previously been interpreted as the remnants of a global ocean that encircled the northern third of Mars.
However, there are differing views among scientists about this, and more observations are needed.
On Earth, the geologic record of oceans is distinctive. Modern oceans are only a few hundreds of millions of years old. Yet the global rock record is riddled with deposits made by many older oceans, some several billions of years old.
This diagram shows how a series of beach deposits would have formed at the Zhurong landing site in the distant past on Mars. Hai Liu/Guangzhou University
What lies beneath
To determine if rocks in Utopia Planitia are consistent with having been deposited by an ocean, the rover collected data along a 1.3km measured line known as a transect at the margin of the basin. The transect was oriented perpendicular to the paleoshoreline. The goal was to work out what rock types are there, and what story they tell.
The Zhurong rover used a technique called ground penetrating radar, which probed down to 100 metres below the surface. The data revealed many characteristics of the buried rocks, including their orientation.
Rocks imaged along the transect contained many reflective layers that are visible by ground penetrating radar down to at least 30 metres. All the layers also dip shallowly into the basin, away from the paleoshoreline. This geometry exactly reflects how sediments are deposited into oceans on Earth.
The ground penetrating radar also measured how much the rocks are affected by an electrical field. The results showed the rocks are more likely to be sedimentary and are not volcanic flows, which can also form layers.
The study compared Zhurong data gathered from Utopia Planitia with ground penetrating radar data for different sedimentary environments on Earth.
The result of the comparison is clear – the rocks Zhurong imaged are a match for coastal sediments deposited along the margin of an ocean.
Zhurong found a beach.
Photograph of frosted terrain on Utopia Planitia, taken by the Viking 2 lander in 1979. NASA/JPL
A wet Mars
The Noachian period of Martian history, from 4.1 to 3.7 billion years ago, is the poster child for a wet Mars. There is abundant evidence from orbital images of valley networks and mineral maps that the surface of Noachian Mars had surface water.
However, there is less evidence for surface water during the Hesperian period, from 3.7 to 3 billion years ago. Stunning orbital images of large outflow channels in Hesperian land forms, including an area of canyons known as Kasei Valles, are believed to have formed from catastrophic releases of ground water, rather than standing water.
From this view, Mars appears to have cooled down and dried up by Hesperian time.
However, the Zhurong rover findings of coastal deposits formed in an ocean may indicate that surface water was stable on Mars longer than previously recognised. It may have lasted into the Late Hesperian period.
This may mean that habitable environments, around an ocean, extended to more recent times.
Aaron J. Cavosie has received funding from Australian Research Council and the Space Science and Technology Centre at Curtin University.
Source: Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB)
The Panama Canal is a busy maritime route, with 14,000 ships passing through it every year. But this canal is also a potential pathway for the spread of non- native fishes from one ocean to another.
Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Freie Universität Berlin, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and Harvard University have now compared the fish communities of Lake Gatun in the Panama Canal aquatic corridor before and after the canal’s expansion in 2016.
Since the extensive structural changes to the canal’s lock system, significantly more marine fish species have entered the freshwater lake; they now make up 76 percent of the total biomass of the fish population and are primarily large predatory fishes.
As a result, the lake’s food web is changing and local fisheries are heavily impacted. There is also an increased risk that some species will pass through the canal and colonize the opposite ocean – with important ecological and evolutionary consequences.
Maritime shipping is one of the most important introduction pathways for invasive species. Historically, species introductions through the Panama Canal have been relatively low, largely due to the existence of a soft barrier – the freshwater artificial Lake Gatun – inside the Canal. However, the 2016 expansion of the Panama Canal involved major structural changes to the canal’s lock system, which may have increased the likelihood that more marine fish species and greater numbers of them enter the lake and eventually cross the canal. This is because the new locks for the passage of mega-ships (called Neopanamax) are substantially larger than the old ones. So for every ship transit through the new locks, more freshwater flows into the sea, but also more seawater enters Lake Gatun – and therefore potentially more marine fishes.
The research team compared the fish populations before (2013-2016) and after (2019-2023) the expansion of the canal. They used a unique long-term series of scientific standardized catch data on the number, biomass and spatial distribution of the fish community. “The Panama Canal has the potential to connect the marine biota of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, which have been separated for three million years. Before the canal’s expansion, this potential was relatively low. Now it looks that the permeability of the canal to interoceanic invasions is increasing after its expansion”, said Gustavo A. Castellanos-Galindo. He is one of the two lead authors of the study and a researcher at IGB, FU Berlin and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
After the canal expansion: the proportion of marine fish species in total mass increased from 26 to 76 percent
Since 2016, the composition of the fish community in Lake Gatun has significantly shifted from freshwater to marine fish species. Before the canal’s expansion, marine fishes made up only 26 percent of the total fish biomass; now they account for 76 percent. Of these species, 18 are originally from the Atlantic and five from the Pacific. Prior to 2016, around 57 percent of the biomass of the lake’s fish community consisted of non-native freshwater fishes, particularly the Peacock Bass (Cichla ocellaris var. monoculus) and the Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), while native freshwater fishes made up 17 percent. After the expansion, native and non-native freshwater fish species make up only 11 and 13 percent of the total fish biomass, respectively.
Large predatory fishes from the ocean change the food web and thus the fish stocks for local fisheries
The researchers also looked at functional groups. These are groups of fish species that use environmental resources in a similar way. With this approach, the impact of the altered fish community on the ecosystem can be better assessed. The team found 15 new functional groups in the fish community of Lake Gatun following the canal’s expansion. The most representative group (by weight) are large pelagic predators, such as the Atlantic Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus). Conversely, eight groups from the pre-enlargement period are missing: they correspond mainly to native freshwater fish species, mostly small in size, that feed on detritus or are omnivores, for example Brycon petrosus. “The food web in Lake Gatun is being severely altered by the novel marine fish species. This has also important impacts on local fisheries”, said Prof. Jonathan Jeschke, co-author of the study and researcher at IGB and FU Berlin.
Risk of interoceanic invasions
The researchers also investigated the risk that these changes pose for possible interoceanic migrations. “The increase in marine organisms in this water corridor could represent a potential invasion in progress, increasing the likelihood that some species will pass through the canal and colonize the opposite ocean. Since most of these marine fish are apex predators with a broad niche range, their colonization of the Atlantic and Pacific is likely to alter ecological interactions and possibly lead to ecosystem-level changes”, said Gustavo A. Castellanos-Galindo.
Publication:
Gustavo A. Castellanos-Galindo, Diana M.T. Sharpe, D. Ross Robertson, Victor Bravo, Jonathan M. Jeschke, Mark E. Torchin, New fish migrations into the Panama Canal increase likelihood of interoceanic invasions in the Americas, Current Biology, 2025, ISSN 0960-9822, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.01.049
About the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB):
IGB is Germany’s largest and one of the leading international centres for freshwater research. It is also one of the oldest institutions in this field. The roots of the predecessor institutions can be traced back to the end of the 19th century. Today, science at IGB covers a wide range of disciplines – from hydrology, physics, geography, ecology and evolution to socio-ecology, from molecular biology to the study of entire ecosystems and catchments, and from microbial ecology to fish behaviour.
Our findings and methods provide an excellent basis to train young scientists and to promote an open knowledge exchange with society. Thus, we contribute to coping with ecological and societal challenges, such as the adaptation to global change, the conservation of aquatic biodiversity and the sustainable use and management of inland waters. https://www.igb-berlin.de/en/
ATLANTA (February 24, 2025) — On Tuesday, February 25, at 12:00 p.m., Sen. Billy Hickman (R–Statesboro) will celebrate Georgia Reads Day with the Georgia Council on Literacy. Sen. Hickman will be joined by Georgia Reads Coach Malcolm Mitchell, Rep. Chris Erwin (R–Homer) and leadership from the Georgia Council on Literacy. The 2025 Georgia READBowl champions and the Georgia Reads Community Award winners will be recognized during the event.
EVENT DETAILS:
Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Where: Georgia State Capitol, North Steps, 206 Washington St., Atlanta, GA 30334
This Event is Open to the Public.
MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES:
We kindly request that members of the media confirm their attendance in advance by contacting Jantz Womack at SenatePressInquiries@senate.ga.gov.
More information on Georgia Reads can be found here.
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Sen. Billy Hickman serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education and Youth. He represents the 4th Senate District which includes Bulloch, Candler, Effingham, and Evans County as well as a small portion of Chatham County. He may be reached at 404.463.1371 or by email atbilly.hickman@senate.ga.gov
FLOYD, Va. and INDEPENDENCE, Va., Feb. 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Skyline Bankshares, Inc. (the “Company”) (OTC QX: SLBK) – the holding company for Skyline National Bank (the “Bank”), announces the appointment of Israel O’Quinn as a director of the Company and the Bank effective immediately. The Company’s Board of Directors approved the appointment on February 18, 2025.
Mr. O’Quinn is President and CEO of The United Company Foundation as well as the James W. and Francis G. McGlothlin Foundation. He has also served as an elected member of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2011. For almost all of his tenure in the House of Delegates, Mr. O’Quinn has been a member of the Commerce and Energy committee, among others, which has provided him an in-depth knowledge of the laws and regulations related to banking and other businesses. Before his current role leading the two charitable foundations, Mr. O’Quinn was a key executive at KVAT Food Stores (Food City) for seventeen years, serving in roles of increasing responsibility across the organization, including strategy, regulatory issues and community relations. Born and raised in Southwest Virginia, and having represented the area for over a decade in the legislature, he is well-versed in the needs and opportunities of the region. Mr. O’Quinn is a member of the Emory & Henry University Board of Trustees and he earned Bachelors Degrees in Political Science and History from the college. In addition to his legislative and professional work, Mr. O’Quinn has served on a number of other boards and commissions, including as Chairman of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce, and provided leadership to economic development projects as Co-Chair of InvestSWVA.
President and CEO Blake Edwards stated, “Israel’s professional experience, service in the legislature, and in-depth knowledge of the region, will make him a tremendous addition to Skyline as we continue to expand our presence in the southwest Virginia and eastern Tennessee markets. We are excited to welcome Israel to the Skyline family.”
Skyline National Bank is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Skyline Bankshares, Inc. and serves southwestern Virginia, northwestern North Carolina, and eastern Tennessee with 28 branches and 2 loan production offices.
For more information contact: Blake Edwards, President & CEO – 276-773-2811 Lori Vaught, EVP & CFO – 276-773-2811
Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
PROVIDENCE, RI – After the recent passing of Judge Bruce M. Selya, 90, a proud son of Providence who became the first Jewish person to ascend to the federal bench in Rhode Island — serving as a senior U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and later as chief judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review — U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) issued the following statement today hailing Judge Selya’s remarkable life and legacy:
“Rhode Island has lost a legal legend whose outstanding contributions to the community and the people of Rhode Island go well beyond his four decades of remarkable service on the federal bench.
“As a judge, Bruce Selya was nationally renowned and respected and set a high bar that many others in his profession admire and aspire to reach. As a man, he will be remembered for his exemplary devotion to the law and uplifting others, particularly those in his beloved hometown of Providence.
“A man of great wisdom, integrity, modesty, wit, and high ethical standards, Judge Selya was known for his thoughtfulness, keen intellect, and judicial temperament. He touched countless lives in his courtroom and beyond, including legions of law clerks he mentored over the years, including U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson.
“Over the course of his impressive legal career, he had a hand in over 1,800 opinions, many written in his signature, concise writing style that brings complex issues into focus. He participated in notable cases that helped shape and influence the nation’s jurisprudence.
“An inspiration to many, his example will continue to serve as a guiding light to future generations of lawyers and judges. And his philanthropic work will continue to make a positive difference.
“Our heartfelt condolences to his beloved wife Cindy, their children, grandchildren, and extended family and friends. We join them in mourning a great loss, and in celebrating a life well lived. Thank you, Your Honor, for a lifetime of service to others and for your undying dedication to the people of Rhode Island and the principles of democracy and justice for all.”
Born and raised in Providence, Selya attended Classical High School before going on to graduate with honors from Harvard Law School. In 1982, Selya was nominated to U.S. District Court by President Ronald Reagan and later elevated to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1986.
In 2000, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist appointed Selya to the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, a position Selya held until 2004. In 2005, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts appointed Selya to the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, and in 2008 Selya was appointed to the chief judgeship of the Court of Review.
Selya contributed his time and talents to many community causes and public service endeavors, including leadership roles on numerous and diverse institutional boards. He taught law school students and received honorary degrees from Bryant University, Roger Williams University, and Brandeis University.
In 2023, the City of Providence designated Fulton Street as Judge Selya Way.
Integral to this is mainstreaming the histories of Black, Indigenous and other racialized and equity-deserving communities. This can be done through history studies and also through citizenship and cultural education.
It is important to go beyond Black History Month in order to embrace the importance of Black history for Black students and all students — ignored for too long in history textbooks and teaching.
To this urgent issue we bring our combined research and educational expertise. Nanre Nafziger, the first author of this story, has researched how Black/African peoples can reclaim their histories and cultures, and Sabrina Jafralie, who has a PhD in teacher education, has researched Québec curricula and also brings experience as a Québec-born-and-raised teacher at a Montréal high school.
Essential to combat anti-Black racism
Teaching Black history is essential to fighting against anti-Black racism reinforced through negative depictions of African and Black histories.
History education is important for raising critical and actively involved citizens and increasing acceptance and understanding. Educators speak of developing a “historical consciousness” — which includes learning to examine causes and consequences, and to revisit and interpret sources. This is a critical building block for fighting racism and negative depictions of racialized groups.
History education is important for raising actively involved citizens and increasing understanding. Students at Dawson College in Montréal in 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Black/African history education is largely absent in Québec’s history curricula, reinforcing the erasure of the contributions of Black people to the development of Québec but also to world history. For example, history and citizenship secondary education (Cycle 1) refers to Black/Afro-Canadian history only in naming enslavement and oppression.
This creates a narrow and damaging history that fails to recognize the diverse range of achievements by Black people. It neglects the rich cultural heritage of Afro-Canadians and reinforces systemic inequities in how knowledge is produced and disseminated.
Sabrina writes: I was fortunate that my Afro Nova Scotian mother taught me our history across Canada. However, it was not present in my education until I created it in high school.
Historical fight for Black history
Researchers have raised concerns that Québec’s “interculturalism” — a longstanding province-specific take on how to address and integrate cultural differences — fails to take into account the complexities of identities and omits important histories.
Despite systemic omissions, Black and African communities in Québec have a rich tradition of upholding and preserving their histories through the meticulous work of community archivists and memory keepers.
This includes the creation of Black libraries, books, articles and curriculum materials, oral storytelling and walking tours. Black community organizations offer cultural and community programming that focuses on diverse cultures and histories of Black people. Renowned historian, educator and long-time advocate for Black history Dorothy Williams, created a curriculum toolkit called the ABCs of Black History in French and English for teachers and educators to use in schools.
Recommended revisions
In its brief to the education minister, the Advisory Board on English Education recommended rewrites to “the K-11 history curriculum to broaden its perspective beyond Québec based content and Eurocentricity,” and allowing latitude for schools to incorporate history curriculum relevant to students’ backgrounds.
While it is helpful when school boardsmark Black History Month and share resources for teachers, the integration of Black history requires a holistic and comprehensive curricular focus.
The new Culture and Civics Curriculum (CCQ), a mandatory subject in primary and secondary schools, offers opportunities to address systemic racism with a focus on citizenship, culture and identity. Yet, there is no assurance students will gain competencies to address racism, or teachers will be well-equipped to lead such learning, given the curricular approach. For example:
The elementary program of the CCQ prepares students to understand “cultural realities” and contains a module on Indigenous perspectives. However, the approach is rooted in Euro-centered sociology.
Secondary 5 (students aged 16-17) names the compulsory concept of social inequalities (along with sexism and other inequalities related to gender and sexuality; racism and colonialism; socio-economic inequalities; environmental inequalities). However, the teacher decides how to teach these grouped concepts and what emphasis to give these areas.
This means there is a possibility that the CCQ curriculum could address anti-Black racism, but there are too many variables to guarantee it. By contrast, sexuality education and civic education are deemed mandatory and special topics.
Black history now
Including Black history in the curriculum will have a profound, direct impact on students by strengthening their identity, citizenship, and “sense of pride and belonging to Québec society.”
Healthy learning can take place when students and people see their place in history and curriculum, as this creates a sense of belonging. The current curriculum creates exclusion and allows educators to hide in their bias if they desire.
Diverse curricula create space and acknowledge hidden histories and foster a shared humanity and a vision for a shared, socially just, future.
Rather, integrating Black history can serve as a portal for inspiring and encouraging critical discourses on histories of communities that are under-represented in dominant stories of Québec.
At a moment when exclusion, vitriol against difference and increasing intolerance dominates social discourse and interactions, Québec can choose another path. Only through critically assessing our past can we look forward to any form of a unified future: nous nous souvenons, we must all remember and be remembered.
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.
On his first day in office, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to freeze foreign aid funding. This was followed by a stop-work order for dozens of life-saving humanitarian programs.
One of the programs affected by this announcement is the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This program has invested more than US$100 billion in the global HIV/AIDS response since it was founded in 2003. This makes the U.S. the largest funder of HIV/AIDS programs worldwide.
Although a 90-day waiver has since been issued which temporarily allows life-saving HIV drugs to continue being delivered, the impact of this executive order is already being felt across the globe — including in Africa, where PEPFAR funding has been integral in controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
If PEPFAR funding ends when the waiver expires — or resumes but doesn’t allow funding for services to all key populations — this will have severe impacts on those in the continent living with HIV or at high-risk of infection.
HIV/ AIDS research
For 45 years, the University of Manitoba has been part of an important initiative in Nairobi, Kenya — partnering with the Sex Worker Outreach Program (SWOP and local agency Partners for Health and Development in Africa (PHDA) to develop effective strategies against HIV that can be employed in the region and communities worldwide. The approach, developed in 1985 by Elizabeth Ngugi, a public health nurse, and Francis Plummer, a University of Manitoba researcher, has empowered the community to share knowledge and to advocate for their rights. It has been vital in reducing HIV prevalence.
This partnership between the University of Manitoba and SWOP has been funded by PEPFAR since 2003. It receives an average of US$1.5 million annually to deliver reproductive health, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infection and HIV services to key populations. Currently, this funding allows the program to operate nine clinics in Kenya, which annually provide services to over 40,000 female sex workers, 12,000 men who have sex with men and 1,400 transgender people.
The program offers safe spaces and tailors services to address the specific needs of each group and reduces health-care barriers. Our research team assessed gaps and refined approaches so that this partnership could serve the most vulnerable — transforming engagement with key groups.
Groundbreaking research findings have also emerged because of this partnership. University of Manitoba research conducted with the SWOP community was among the first to show that STIs increase the risk of HIV infection, that breastfeeding heightens the risk of transmitting HIV to babies, that male circumcision helps prevent HIV and that some people exposed to HIV have a natural immunity to the virus.
If PEPFAR funding does indeed end in April once the temporary waiver expires, it would have a serious impact on the HIV/AIDS programs being delivered not only in Kenya but around the globe.
SWOP clinics have been instrumental in curbing HIV infections among sex workers. HIV prevalence among female sex workers accessing SWOP clinics declined from 44 per cent in 2008 to 12 per cent in 2017. This 67 per cent reduction can be attributed to an increase in HIV testing, community education and STI treatment. The program also highlighted the prevalence of HPV anal lesions in men who have sex with men and the importance of early detection. The cessation of PEPFAR funding will jeopardize STI and HIV services.
After much advocating, the SWOP clinics servicing female sex workers were able to resume some of their activities last week (Feb. 12, 2025). However, the waiver specified that PEPFAR-funded HIV care and treatment services could only be offered to certain groups. This meant we were unable to resume HIV prevention services for all key groups.
Without a strong contingency plan, the abrupt end to PEPFAR funding will have devastating consequences. It would mean an immediate end to SWOP activities. This would mean no more HIV testing, preventive treatment and anti-retroviral therapy — which would increase the risk of transmission, leading to an increase in cases and even a greater number of deaths in people living with HIV.
SWOP partners with local agencies to provide empowerment, legal support and counselling. Closing these clinics could leave the communities they serve more vulnerable to violence, exploitation and human rights abuse.
On the research front, funding cuts would mean ongoing projects would be halted and new ones couldn’t be started. Three already-funded University of Manitoba studies are planned to start this year. These aim to further investigate the impact of HIV on women living in the region and understand how women’s health can be improved not only in Kenya but worldwide.
But without SWOP’s infrastructure (such as their clinics and outreach team) we won’t be able to start these new studies. Furthermore, the implementation of research-based programs that aim to prevent HPV-related cancers would be stopped.
Cuts to HIV/AIDS funding could threaten the 40 years of work that has gone into ending the AIDS epidemic — potentially putting the lives of millions of people at risk.
The PEPFAR program has saved over 25 million lives since its beginning in 2003. Ending the PEPFAR program would have serious impacts on services for key populations and the LGBTQ+ communities. If the funding does end after the waiver expires in April, it will be necessary for Canada’s provincial and federal governments to step in and become leaders in global health and the fight against HIV.
Toby Le receives funding from CIHR and Research Manitoba.
Julie Lajoie receives funding from Grand Challenge Canada, Canadian Institute of Health Research, CANFAR and MMSF (Manitoba Medical Service Fundation).
Keith Fowke receives funding from CIHR and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Prior to becoming pope, he was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires, and was the first person from the Americas to be elected to the papacy. He was also the first pope to choose Francis as his name, thus honoring St. Francis of Assisi, a 13th-century mystic whose love for nature and the poor have inspired Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
Pope Francis chose not to wear the elaborate clothing, like red shoes or silk vestments, associated with other popes. As a scholar of global Catholicism, however, I would argue that the changes Francis brought to the papacy were more than skin deep. He opened the church to the outside world in ways none of his predecessors had done before.
Care for the marginalized
Pope Francis reached out personally to the poor. For example, he turned a Vatican plaza into a refuge for the homeless, whom he called “nobles of the street.”
The Argentinian Jorge Mario Bergoglio, ordained for the Jesuits in 1969 at the Theological Faculty of San Miguel. Jesuit General Curia via Getty Images
While he maintained the church’s position that all priests should be male, he made far-reaching changes that opened various leadership roles to women. Francis was the first pope to appoint a woman to head an administrative office at the Vatican. Also for the first time, women were included in the 70-member body that selects bishops and the 15-member council that oversees Vatican finances. Shortly before his death, he appointed an Italian nun, Sister Raffaella Petrini, as President of the Vatican City.
Some of Francis’ positions led to opposition in some Catholic circles.
One such issue was related to Francis’ embrace of religious diversity. Delivering an address at the Seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Kazakhstan in 2022, he said that members of the world’s different religions were “children of the same heaven.”
While in Morocco, he spoke out against conversion as a mission, saying to the Catholic community that they should live “in brotherhood with other faiths.” To some of his critics, however, such statements undermined the unique truth of Christianity.
During his tenure, the pope called for “synodality,” a more democratic approach to decision making. For example, synod meetings in November 2023 included laypeople and women as voting members. But the synod was resisted by some bishops who feared it would lessen the importance of priests as teachers and leaders.
In a significant move that will influence the choosing of his successor, Pope Francis appointed more cardinals from the Global South. But not all Catholic leaders in the Global South followed his lead on doctrine. For example, African bishops publicly criticized Pope Francis’ December 2023 ruling that allowed blessings of individuals in same sex couples.
Traditionalists argued that the Latin Mass was an important – and beautiful – part of the Catholic tradition. But Francis believed that it had divided Catholics into separate groups who worshiped differently.
This concern for Catholic unity also led him to discipline two American critics of his reforms, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, and Cardinal Raymond Burke. Most significantly, Carlo Maria Viganò, the former Vatican ambassador, or nuncio, to the United States was excommunicated during Francis’ tenure for promoting “schism.”
In the last days of his pontificate, Pope Francis also criticized the Trump administration’s efforts to deport migrants. In a letter to US Bishops, he recalled that Jesus, Mary and Joseph had been emigrants and refugees in Egypt. Pope Francis also argued that migrants who enter a country illegally should not be treated as criminals because they are in need and have dignity as human beings.
Writings on ‘the common good’
In his official papal letters, called encyclicals, Francis echoed his public actions by emphasizing the “common good,” or the rights and responsibilities necessary for human flourishing.
Pope Francis washes the foot of a man during the foot-washing ritual at a refugee center outside of Rome on March 24, 2016. L’Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP
His first encyclical in 2013, Lumen Fidei, or “The Light of Faith,” sets out to show how faith can unite people everywhere.
In his next encyclical, Laudato Si’, or “Praise Be to You,” Francis addressed the environmental crisis, including pollution and climate change. He also called attention to unequal distribution of wealth and called for an “integral ecology” that respects both human beings and the environment.
His third encyclical in 2020, Fratelli Tutti, or “Brothers All,” criticized a “throwaway culture” that discards human beings, especially the poor, the unborn and the elderly. In a significant act for the head of the Catholic Church, Francis concluded by speaking of non-Catholics who have inspired him: Martin Luther King Jr., Desmond Tutu and Mahatma Gandhi.
In his last encyclical, Dilexit Nos, or “He Loved Us,” he reflected on God’s Love through meditating on the symbol of the Sacred Heart that depicts flames of love coming from Jesus’ wounded heart that was pierced during the crucifixion.
Francis’ papacy has been historic. He embraced the marginalized in ways that no pope had done before. He not only deepened the Catholic Church’s commitment to the poor in its religious life but also expanded who is included in its decision making.
The pope did have his critics who thought he went too far, too fast. And whether his reforms take root depends on his successor. Among many things, Francis will be remembered for how his pontificate represented a shift in power in the Catholic Church away from Western Europe to the Global South, where the majority of Catholics now live.
Mathew Schmalz is Roman Catholic and a political independent.
An annual budget that injects more than £30 million of additional funding to meet ongoing cost and demand pressures in essential social care and homelessness services has been agreed by Plymouth City Council.
The additional funds have been included in the £253.4 million revenue budget for 2025/26 approved by at the Full Council meeting on Monday (24 February).
Council Leader Tudor Evans said: “Despite the huge financial challenges we continue to face, we have not only managed to balance the books but also delivered a budget that remains hugely ambitious for growing Plymouth’s prosperity and delivering what Plymouth residents say matters most – creating jobs, more affordable housing, improving health, increasing safety and most importantly, supporting the elderly and protecting the most vulnerable children in Plymouth.
“It is also a budget that protects and enhances valued services such as libraries, grass cutting, street cleansing and repairing our roads and pavements.
“This is a budget that allow Plymouth to continue to do remarkable things in difficult circumstances.”
The additional funding includes £16 million additional funding for protecting vulnerable children, £2 million for school transport for children with a Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND), £12 million for adult social care and £724,000 to support the homeless.
An extra £770,000 has also been allocated to help reduce the Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) waiting list.
The additional funding means that 83 per centof the Council’s total revenue budget is now spent on social care services.
The 2025/26 budget also maintains a £300,000 uplift in the grass cutting budget and an additional £425,000 to increase the staff resource in the Street Services team, which manages grass cutting, street cleansing and waste collection services.
It also includes an additional £250,000 to support funding the Council’s Net Zero commitment, an extra £141,000 to support the Council’s leisure provider Plymouth Active Leisure and £226,000 to support foster carers with an additional allowance.
To deliver a balanced budget the Council needs to continue to transform how it operates to increase efficiency and reduce cost. The agreed budget requires that a total of £9.6 million savings need to be delivered by all Council departments.
They include £3.1 million of savings plans through the ongoing transformation of Children’s Services and £2.7 million of savings in the Adults, Health and Communities directorate through its modernisation plans and contract savings.
To support the budget a Council Tax increase of 2.99 per cent and a two per cent precept to support adult social care services was agreed.
The full council also agreed a capital programme of £395.8 million for 2024/25 to 2028/29.
This includes funding for the transport improvement schemes, such as the Woolwell to The George scheme; the rail station regeneration scheme; investment in housing projects and tackling homelessness; projects delivering the city’s net zero ambitions; introducing zero emission buses; delivering Plymouth and South Devon Freeport, the Armada Way regeneration scheme; highway maintenance, drainage and essential engineering projects; and the regeneration of key waterfront assets such as Tinside Lido through the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park.
H.R. 1156 would extend the statute of limitations from 5 to 10 years for federal criminal prosecution and civil enforcement actions for fraud related to the temporary unemployment programs enacted during the coronavirus pandemic. Under current law, the statute of limitations for those offenses will begin to expire in March 2025. Currently, states refer unemployment insurance claims involving allegations of fraud to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Labor (DOL) for further investigation. That office reviews cases and refers findings to the Department of Justice (DOJ) or other entities for criminal or civil prosecution.
The bill also would rescind direct appropriations provided for program integrity activities in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Estimated Federal Cost
The estimated budgetary effect of H.R. 1156 is shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation fall within budget functions 500 (education training, employment, and social services), 600 (income security), and 750 (administration of justice).
Table 1.
Estimated Budgetary Effects of H.R. 1156
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
2025-2030
2025-2035
Increases or Decreases (-) in Direct Spending
Estimated Budget Authority
0
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Estimated Outlays
-3
1
1
1
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Increases in Spending Subject to Appropriation
Estimated Authorization
*
2
1
1
1
*
n.e.
n.e.
n.e.
n.e.
n.e.
5
n.e.
Estimated Outlays
*
2
1
1
1
*
n.e.
n.e.
n.e.
n.e.
n.e.
5
n.e.
n.e. = not estimated; * = between -$500,000 and $500,000.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1156 would increase revenues by less than $500,000 over the 2025-2035 period.
Basis of Estimate
CBO assumes that the bill will be enacted in March 2025. Estimated outlays are based on historical patterns for existing and similar activities.
Direct Spending and Revenues
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1156 would increase net direct spending and revenues by less than $500,000 over the 2025-2035 period (see Table 2).
Table 2.
Estimated Changes in Direct Spending Under H.R. 1156
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
2025-2030
2025-2035
Increases or Decreases (-) in Direct Spending
Extend the Statute of Limitations
Estimated Budget Authority
5
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
5
5
Estimated Outlays
*
3
1
1
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
5
5
Rescind Funding for Program Integrity Activities
Budget Authority
-5
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-5
-5
Estimated Outlays
-3
-2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-5
-5
Total Changes
Estimated Budget Authority
0
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Estimated Outlays
-3
1
1
1
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Extend the Statute of Limitations. Upon the enactment of H.R. 1156, CBO expects that DOL would provide additional funding to states to continue their referrals of cases to DOL and provide information about those cases to the department’s OIG and federal law enforcement agencies. Under current law, DOL has permanent authority to fund whatever amounts are necessary for those activities for pandemic-related programs. Using information from DOL, CBO estimates that under the bill the department would provide $5 million in additional funding to states, increasing direct spending by the same amount over the 2025-2035 period.
By extending the period for which DOJ could pursue prosecutions, CBO expects that H.R. 1156 would increase the collections of penalties and the recovery of additional benefits paid fraudulently in 2025 and subsequent years. That change would not affect state laws or rules governing the recovery of overpayments. Based on an analysis of data for similar offenses from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, CBO estimates that the increase in penalty collections would be insignificant. Criminal and civil fines are recorded in the budget as revenues; criminal fines are deposited into the Crime Victims Fund and spent without further appropriation. Thus, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1156 would increase revenues and the associated direct spending from penalty collections by less than $500,000 over the 2025-2035 period. Additionally, using information from DOL and DOJ, CBO estimates that any additional recoveries of overpaid benefits, which are recorded as reductions in direct spending, would be insignificant. The extent to which any additional recoveries would happen is highly uncertain.
Rescind Funding for Program Integrity Activities. The bill would rescind $5 million in mandatory funding provided in the American Rescue Plan Act to state unemployment insurance agencies for program integrity activities, which are undertaken to ensure that benefits are paid correctly. Using information from DOL, CBO estimates that the rescission would decrease direct spending by $5 million over the 2025-2035 period.
Spending Subject to Appropriation
CBO assumes that if the statute of limitations were extended, more potential fraud cases would be referred to the OIG, and that office would continue to investigate cases it might otherwise have dropped. Using information from the Department of Labor, CBO estimates that the OIG would require an additional $5 million over the 2025-2030 period to handle those referrals and cases. Assuming appropriation of the estimated amounts, CBO estimates that outlays for those activities would total $5 million over the same period (see Table 1).
Pay-As-You-Go Considerations
The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. CBO estimates that enacting the bill would increase direct spending by less than $500,000 over the 2025-2035 period and increase revenues by less than $500,000 in every year and over the 2025-2035 period (see Table 3).
Table 3.
CBO’s Estimate of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Effects of H.R. 1156, the Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act, as Ordered Reported by the House Committee on Ways and Means on February 12, 2025
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
2025-2030
2025-2035
Net Increase or Decrease (-) in Outlays
Pay-As-You-Go Effect
-3
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Increase in Long-Term Net Direct Spending and Deficits
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1156 would not significantly increase net direct spending in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2036.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1156 would not significantly increase on‑budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2036.
Mandates
The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
Mandates: Erich Dvorak
Estimate Reviewed By
Elizabeth Cove Delisle Chief, Income Security Cost Estimates Unit
Justin Humphrey Chief, Finance, Housing, and Education Cost Estimates Unit
Kathleen FitzGerald Chief, Public and Private Mandates Unit
Christina Hawley Anthony Deputy Director of Budget Analysis
H. Samuel Papenfuss Deputy Director of Budget Analysis
