DENVER – Today, Lt. Governor Primavera and Director of the Office of Saving People Money on Health Care visited a school-based health center at George Washington High School to learn more about the importance of these facilities to students and communities. The Lt. Governor was joined by a student, school staff, leadership from Denver Health and Denver Public Schools, the Youth Healthcare Alliance, and Senator Janice Marchman and Representative Emily Sirota.
“The Polis-Primavera administration has been working since day one to break down barriers to health care and these facilities are important avenues where students and staff can get important care in a convenient location. I appreciate the collaboration that goes into these centers and the opportunity it gives young people, helping them fulfill their potential,” said Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera.
Since taking office, the Polis-Primavera administration and the Office of Saving People Money on Health Care have made Colorado a national leader in reducing health care costs. The creation of Reinsurance and Colorado Option are connecting Coloradans with insurance coverage outside of an employer while saving them money. Through the Prescription Drug Affordability Board and capping the cost of insulin at $100 per month, the administration is helping Coloradans save money on prescription drugs. Colorado is also pursuing a waiver from the federal government to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada. These are just a few of the ways Colorado is increasing access to health care while lowering costs.
Earlier this year, Governor Polis signed SB24-034, which expands eligible uses for the grant program at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) that supports school-based health centers to school-linked health services. These grants currently fund 59 operating SBHCs and four planning sites throughout Colorado. The SBHC Program also partners with other state agencies and grant programs to expand the services available in SBHCs.
Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
KINGSTON, RI – U.S. Senator Jack Reed and U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner today joined with University of Rhode Island (URI) leadership, researchers, scientists, professors, and students to celebrate a $795,000 federal earmark to boost secure computing and data infrastructure capabilities, capacity, and storage through high-performance computing (HPC) upgrades that will advance research in undersea vehicle technology as well as research focus areas across URI’s departments.
The federal funds secured by Senator Reed and Congressman Magaziner will help advance the “RI-SEC: Secure Computing & Data Infrastructure for the University of Rhode Island” project. This initiative will help ensure URI can keep up with the evolving role that HPC plays in a wide range of academic disciplines and will strengthen and expand the partnership between researchers at URI’s National Institute of Undersea Vehicle Technology (NIUVT) and subject matter experts with the U.S. Navy and Electric Boat.
“As Rhode Island’s flagship public research institution, the University of Rhode Island needs access to cutting-edge technology and computing capabilities to ensure they can stay up to speed on developments and breakthroughs in a wide range of academic fields,” said Senator Reed, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “I’m glad to have worked with Congressman Magaziner to deliver this federal funding for URI which will help make strategic upgrades and strengthen partnerships with experts at the U.S. Navy and Electric Boat. This project will help URI make new, exciting advancements, better educate students on modern technology, and attract more researchers, scientists, professors, and others.”
“This funding will help the University of Rhode Island build on its leadership status as a center for cutting-edge research and education,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner. “This grant will enhance the technology available to students and researchers across a variety of high tech fields, and will help make our state more economically competitive.”
“As the state’s public flagship research university, URI is engaged in cutting-edge research that is accelerating discovery in key sectors of the state’s Blue Economy, while training the next generation of Rhode Island’s workforce,” said President Marc B. Parlange. “With support from Senator Reed and Congressman Magaziner, this federal earmark will enhance the University’s computational resources to expand large-scale research opportunities in undersea vehicle technology for our faculty, students, and industry partners.”
Following the earmark announcement, URI President Marc B. Parlange and Dean of Engineering Anthony Marchese accompanied Senator Reed and Representative Magaziner for a tour of the National Institute of Undersea Vehicle Technology (NIUVT) – a federal, public, and private partnership at URI that provides research and technical support to advance current and future technologies in the undersea vehicle domain.
The federal funding secured by Senator Reed and Congressman Magaziner will primarily assist NIUVT in upgrading HPC capacity and strengthening cyber security in order to carry out and bolster its work linking academic researchers and subject matter experts with the U.S. Navy and Electric Boat, which helps build the U.S. Navy’s most advanced submarines.
Through the RI-SEC project, increased cybersecurity and data management enhancements and the hiring of new information technology (IT) security staff will offer more control and flexibility in capability, capacity, and data storage. These key upgrades will help NIUVT strengthen their work with the Navy and Electric Boat and will also help other departments at URI expand research by leveraging artificial intelligence, HPC, and other cutting-edge digital advancements.
It is a pleasure to be here with you all to commemorate the African Union’s Year of Education.
As the world emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic and the massive disruption it caused, we were faced with an exacerbated education crisis. A crisis of exclusion, of quality and of relevance. A crisis made worse by stagnating investments by national governments, as well as the international community.
It was in this context that the Secretary-General called for the Transforming Education Summit.
The Summit was a landmark moment that was borne out of a realization that the education of yesterday was simply not up to task to respond to the needs of today and of tomorrow.
It succeeded in elevating education on the global agenda, in mobilizing greater commitment to deliver SDG4 at the country-level and in expanding the global movement for a reimagined education.
The Summit led to several important initiatives, calls to action and national statements of commitment by over 140 countries, more than 40 of which are from Africa. It led to the creation of the SG’s High-Level Panel on Teachers, which earlier this year produced specific, actionable recommendations on transforming teaching as well as the teaching profession. I hope that we are all heeding these recommendations, as we devise policies and draft legislation.
Importantly, it also led to the African Union’s declaration of 2024 as its year of education. A truly momentous decision. It represents a significant opportunity to highlight the importance of education within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals as well as Agenda 2063.
This is important because when it comes to investing in education, our continent offers significant returns. African youth are poised to expand our continents and the world’s economic productivity. Within the next ten years, every third new entrant into the global workforce will be African.
At the same time the proliferation of digital technologies, like Artificial Intelligence, offers an opportunity to leapfrog the many constraints we face when pursuing the traditional pathways of development.
Investing in education now will help achieve broader development goals.
Despite progress in the last two decades in increasing access to education in the region, there is still a lot to do. Close to 100 million children are out of school in Sub-Saharan Africa. Primary school completion rates are below 70%, which drops to 50% for girls. Africa needs an additional 15 million teachers in the classroom to achieve SDG targets by 2030.
As you continue your journey, the UN system – UNESCO, UNICEF, UNECA, the RC system – stands poised to support you, through technical support as well as programme funding. This support will focus on digital transformation, entrepreneurship and jobs, inclusion and equity, and data and accountability, along with the traditional models of multilateral support which are focused on classrooms and curricula.
Excellencies, ,
Today, exactly two years after the Transforming Education Summit, we stand at an important inflection point.
With our new Pact of the Future, you have renewed your commitment to the Goals including SDG4. With this rejuvenated focus on the SDGs we will proceed to the Global Education Meeting next month in Brazil; on to Financing for Development in Madrid (FFD4) and then the World Summit for Social Development in Qatar (WSSD2). As we do this, we must not lose sight of the work of actually delivering change.
While we must keep pushing education to the forefront of the global stage through our advocacy, our efforts must also be aimed at delivering effective education policy changes at the regional, national and sub-national level.
We must take concrete actions on the ground for a prosperous and growing Africa. We must transform and tailor teaching, curricula, and classrooms to the needs of young people and the demands of the modern world. We must harness technology, where possible to leapfrog the constraints that we may face in delivering the traditional model of education.
Excellencies,
In simple terms, we must deliver on education today, so a new generation of entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders can emerge in the years to come.
I look forward to hearing about your discussions and follow-up actions as you move forward on the journey to transform education. Your motivation to face the crisis in education in meaningful and concrete ways is a source of hope for all of us.
Coinciding with World Cancer Research Day today, the NSW Government is committing $2.1 million in research grant funding to support the work of the state’s cancer researchers, including world-renowned Professors Georgina Long AO and Paul Timpson.
Co-Australian of the Year Professor Long and the team at Melanoma Institute Australia and The University of Sydney have been awarded almost $700,000 for an imaging system that will allow researchers to better visualise and understand tumour cell interactions across various cancer types, via the Cancer Institute NSW funding.
It is hoped an improved understanding of the tumour microenvironment will assist with cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Professor Timpson and the team at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research were awarded almost $700,000 to purchase a system that will provide unprecedented insights into cell-to-cell interactions, treatment responses and cancer dormancy to enable more effective treatment for cancers, including pancreatic, breast, and prostate cancer.
Three clinical trials grants, valued at $250,000 each, have also been funded to support projects focused on improving access to cancer clinical trials, including:
The Building Capacity in Cancer Clinical Trials across Maridulu Budyari Gumal project aims to address enrolment challenges in clinical trials by targeting populations with lower trial participation rates. This includes socioeconomic disadvantaged, culturally and linguistically diverse and rural and regional communities.
The Sydney Cancer Partners Clinical Trials Support project aims to increase recruitment from priority populations to trials, including Aboriginal, culturally and linguistically diverse and LGBITQ communities.
Targeted Cancer Clinical Trials Support for Regional NSW project aims to deliver targeted initiatives such as increased trial sites and education and training to boost clinical trial participation across the Central Coast, Hunter, New England, Mid North Coast and Northern NSW areas.
The NSW Government, through Cancer Institute NSW, is one of the largest funders of cancer research in NSW, having invested more than $470 million in the past 20 years across nearly 100 competitive research awards and grants.
Minister for Medical Research David Harris said:
“Targeted research is vital to delivering better treatments and interventions that reduce the impact of cancer and ultimately save lives.
“Our researchers strive every day to improve the lives of people in NSW and across the world, and we’re proud to invest in them to continue their work and help improve cancer outcomes for all.”
NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO Cancer Institute NSW, Professor Tracey O’Brien AM said:
“While significant progress has been made in understanding and treating cancer, it remains the leading cause of death in NSW with sadly one in two people set to be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime.
“Investing in and accelerating research and innovation is key to improving our understanding of a disease that continues to devastate communities across NSW.”
Professor Georgina Long AO said:
“Technologies that provide a clear large-scale and detailed view of tumours and enable us to see how cells interact with each other are critical to move the cancer field forward.
“The imaging system, called the Phenolmager HT 2.0, which we have been able to purchase through the research equipment grant, provides the ability to better understand tumour cell interactions.
“This will enable researchers at Melanoma Institute Australia and The University of Sydney to bridge cancer research to clinical use and ultimately deliver more effective cancer treatments.”
Professor Paul Timpson said:
“The cutting-edge Akoya-PhenoCycler Fusion system will concurrently detect and visualise 100 proteins, providing unprecedented insights into cell-to-cell interactions, chemotherapy and immunotherapy responses, cancer dormancy, and novel therapies for cancers like pancreatic, breast, and prostate cancer.
“Proteins drive functional outcomes within cells, and constitute drug targets, yet existing technologies do not accurately reflect protein activity at a specific location or time.”
The ascent of Anura Kumara Dissanayake marks a break with the past and from the establishment parties and politicians blamed for taking the country to the brink of economic collapse in 2022.
Dissanayake characterized the victory as a “fresh start” for Sri Lanka – but he will nonetheless need to address the economic baggage left by his predecessors and the impact of an International Monetary Fund loan that came with painful austerity demands. The Conversation turned to Vidhura S. Tennekoon, an expert on Sri Lanka’s economy at Indiana University, to explain the task facing the new president – and how Dissanayake intends to tackle it.
What do we know about Sri Lanka’s new president?
Anura Kumara Dissanayake leads both the National People’s Power alliance, or NPP, and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, or JVP. Rooted in Marxist ideology, the JVP was founded in the 1960s with the aim of seizing power through a socialist revolution. But after two failed armed uprisings in 1971 and 1987-89 – which resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of lives – the party shifted toward democratic politics and has remained so for over three decades.
Until this election, the JVP remained a minor third party in Sri Lanka’s political landscape, while power alternated between the alliances led by the two traditional political parties – the United National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party – or their descendant parties.
In 2019, under Dissanayake’s leadership, the NPP was formed as a socialist alliance with several other organizations. While the JVP continues to adhere to Marxist principles, the NPP adopted a center-left, social democratic platform – aiming to attract broader public support.
But the political landscape shifted dramatically during the economic crisis of 2022. Many Sri Lankans, frustrated with the two traditional parties that had governed the country for over seven decades, turned to the NPP, seeing it as a credible alternative.
The party’s anti-corruption stance, in particular, resonated strongly because many people blamed political corruption for the economic collapse.
While a significant achievement, it also marks a historic first for Sri Lanka — Dissanayake is the first president to be elected without majority support; the remaining 58% of votes were split between candidates from the two traditional parties.
His immediate challenge will be to secure a parliamentary majority in the upcoming elections, a crucial step for his administration to govern effectively.
What kind of economy is Dissanayake inheriting?
Two and a half years ago, Sri Lanka experienced the worst economic crisis in its history. With foreign reserves nearly depleted, the country struggled to pay its bills, leading to severe shortages of essential goods. People waited in long lines for cooking gas and fuel, while regular blackouts became part of daily life. The Sri Lankan rupee plummeted to a record low, driving inflation to 70%. The economy was contracting, and the country defaulted on its international sovereign bonds for the first time.
This sparked a massive protest movement that ultimately forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign. In July 2022, Parliament appointed Ranil Wickremesinghe to complete the remainder of Rajapaksa’s term.
In the two years that followed, Sri Lanka’s economy made an unexpectedly rapid recovery under Wickremesinghe’s leadership. After securing an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the currency stabilized, the central bank rebuilt foreign reserves, and inflation fell to single digits. By the first half of 2024, the economy had grown by 5%.
The government successfully restructured its domestic debt, followed by a restructuring of its bilateral debt – that is, government-to-government loans, mostly from China but also from India and Western counties, including the United States. Just days before the election, an agreement was reached with international bondholders to restructure the remaining sovereign debt.
Despite these achievements, Wickremesinghe was overtaken in the presidential race by both Dissanayake and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. Wickremesinghe’s unpopularity stemmed largely from the harsh austerity measures implemented under the IMF-backed stabilization program.
Dissanayake now inherits an economy that, while more stable, remains vulnerable. He will have limited room to maneuver away from the carefully planned economic path laid out by his predecessor, even as voters expect him to fulfill popular demands.
How does Dissanayake plan to improve Sri Lanka’s economy?
As a leader from a Marxist party, Dissanayake will likely pursue policies to reflect collective decisions made by the politburos and central committees of the NPP and JVP, rather than his individual views. He advocates for an economic system where activities are coordinated through a central government plan, emphasizing the importance of “economic democracy.”
His party believes prosperity should be measured not just by economic growth but by the overall quality of life. They argue that people need more than just basic necessities — they require secure housing, food, health care, education, access to technology and leisure.
Dissanayake’s long-term vision is to transform Sri Lanka into a production-based economy, focusing on sectors like manufacturing, agriculture and information technology rather than service industries. One of the key policies is to promote local production of all viable food products to reduce reliance on imports. To support these activities, the NPP plans to establish a development bank. Additionally, they NPP proposes increasing government spending on education and health care, in line with Sri Lanka’s tradition of providing free, universal access to both.
Where does this leave the IMF loans?
Historically, Dissanayake’s party has been critical of the IMF and its policy recommendations. Given the severity of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, Dissanayake has acknowledged the need to stay within the IMF program for now. But he has vowed to renegotiate with the IMF to make the program more “people-friendly.” Dissanayake’s proposals include raising the personal income tax exemption threshold to double its current level and removing taxes on essential goods. Dissanayake’s party also plans adding jobs to the public sector, despite the ongoing effort to reduce the government workforce to manage the deficit.
Dissanayake’s populist policies, aimed at attracting mass support during the campaign, will inevitably strain government revenues while increasing expenses. However, the IMF program requires Sri Lanka to maintain a primary budget surplus of at least 2.3% of gross domestic product to ensure debt sustainability. Dissanayake has promised not to jeopardize the country’s economic stability by deviating from this target. His strategy is to improve the efficiency of tax collection, which he believes will generate enough revenue to fund his policies.
Additionally, his party has criticized the deal struck by Wickremesinghe’s government with international lenders, calling it unfavorable to the country. Dissanayake has promised to seek better terms. However, since these agreements are already in place, it remains uncertain whether the new government will attempt to renegotiate them.
Vidhura Tennekoon was a former employee of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven
09.23.24
WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today congratulated Lincoln Elementary School in Beach, Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood Public School in Mohall and Red Trail Elementary School in Mandan on being designated by the U.S. Department of Education as 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools. Since 1982, the Blue Ribbon School award has honored public and private schools across the country that display overall academic excellence or progress in closing achievement gaps.
“This Blue Ribbon designation recognizes the hard work of students, teachers and faculty, and the entire school community as examples of academic success,” said Hoeven. “We congratulate these schools on this honor and are grateful for their investment in the success and well-being of their students.”
We have updated our guidance on the requirements for vetting workers at limited-attendance child-care centres.
The new Regulatory Systems (Education) Amendment Act 2024 means updates have been made to the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 (Regulation 51).
A key point is that Police vetting must be completed for non-teaching and unregistered employees at unlicensed child-care centres before the person begins work. This vetting must be used to assess any risks to the safety of children.
What are limited-attendance child-care centres?
These are any premises that are:
used regularly for the care of three or more children under six years old (not including the children of the persons providing the care) and
where the children do not stay for more than two hours per day and
where the children’s parents or caregivers are in close proximity to the children, and are able to be contacted and resume responsibility for the children at short notice.
For example, a crèche at a gym or shopping mall.
It does not include being provided with care before or after school.
Every year, humpback whales migrate up the east coast of Australia to breed, and journey back to Antarctica to feed. During their migration, the whales make calls and sing songs – a grand chorus in the symphony of their ecosystems.
This underwater soundscape is a valuable and vital window into the health of this species and their habitats. By tracking audio data, scientists can understand migration activity, patterns, mating calls, competitive behaviors and more.
Humpback whale mating call, collected in the Gold Coast
As part of the Digital Future Initiative, Google Australia is teaming up with Griffith University to implement more precise, comprehensive and efficient monitoring of whale migrations and their ecosystems in Australia – enabled by Google AI and automatic audio detection.
Researchers Dr Olaf Meynecke from Griffith University’s Whales and Climate Program and Dr Lauren Harrell from Google Research are leading this collaboration.
Traditional whale research methods have faced limitations in both data collection and analysis. Researchers logged sightings and manually analysed audio recordings, which is time-consuming and does not give a continuous view of whale activity. Moreover, visual sightings can only be logged during daylight, and tracking the evolving vocal dialects of whales across different regions and seasons is a complex task.
With this new collaboration, researchers have deployed hydrophones — underwater microphones — and Google AI powered audio detection systems to monitor the sounds and songs of humpback whales and their habitats.
A seal swimming around a hydrophone off the South Coast, NSW
Hydrophones allow us to tune into marine soundscapes and continuously collect underwater audio data all day and all night, through the entire humpback migration season. Google’s AI technology processes this data, automatically detecting whale sounds, marking their location in time and classifying the species. This frees researchers from the minutiae and laborious manual work, so they can look at the big picture, uncover insights and explore new research frontiers.
Dr Olaf Meynecke deploying a hydrophone in Terrigal, NSW
Curtin University’s Centre for Marine Science and Technology is supporting the collection and labeling of acoustic data, and a range of local citizen science groups will assist with monitoring each of the hydrophone sites. The AI model will eventually be open-sourced on Kaggle and GitHub, benefiting other whale and marine researchers worldwide.
While our current focus is on monitoring humpback whale sounds, the potential of this AI model extends far beyond. We’ll look to build on the model to detect the sounds of diverse marine species, from fish to dolphins and seals. These advancements will open up uncharted territories of research that could help protect these magnificent creatures and their habitats for generations to come.
Protected zones around abortion services now in place.
Protected zones of 200 meters around all abortion services in Scotland are now in place.
Within these zones, it is now a criminal offence to intentionally or recklessly behave in ways that could influence the decisions of women and staff to access services; impede their access; or otherwise cause alarm, harassment or distress.
Police Scotland are responsible for enforcing the legislation. People who break the law can be fined up to £10,000, or be given an unlimited fine, depending on the court procedure.
Determining whether an offence has been committed will be a matter for Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Courts. Depending on the facts and circumstances of each case, some examples of criminal behaviour may include: approaching someone to try and persuade them not to access abortion services, surrounding people as they try to go in or out of the clinic or hospital, handing out leaflets, religious preaching and silent vigils.
Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health Jenni Minto said:
“The introduction of Safe Access Zones is a crucial milestone in protecting women’s abortion rights – no one has the right to interfere in women’s personal medical decisions and the law now makes that abundantly clear.
“I thank Gillian Mackay and all those involved for their work to progress this legislation. I would like especially recognise the women who showed incredible courage in speaking up and sharing their experiences during the Bill process.
“The new zones of 200 meters around all abortion services will help ensure women have safe access to healthcare – free from intimidation. This law is about protection for women at a time when many will feel incredibly vulnerable around taking a deeply personal and difficult decision.”
Background
Full details of the penalties that apply for committing an offence.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, Sept. 23 — China and Switzerland on Monday began negotiations on an upgrade of the Sino-Swiss free trade agreement (FTA), with both sides agreeing to intensify consultations and reach a high-level upgrade agreement as soon as possible on the basis of mutual benefits.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Guy Parmelin, Swiss federal councilor and head of the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, announced the launch of talks through a livestream.
Wang said that since it came into effect 10 years ago, the Sino-Swiss FTA has played a positive role in promoting the growth of bilateral trade, and enterprises in both countries have truly benefited.
Upgrading the FTA will help expand bilateral trade and boost two-way investment, and promote the upgrading of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, Wang said, adding that it will also showcase the two countries’ support for free trade and openness to the outside world at a time when economic globalization is encountering headwinds.
Parmelin said that with trade protectionism on the rise globally, it is of great significance that China and Switzerland have launched their FTA upgrade negotiations. It shows that the two countries are always committed to building an open, standardized environment for international economic and trade cooperation, and it has sent a positive signal to the outside world that the two countries will deepen cooperation, he added.
The Sino-Swiss FTA was signed in July 2013 and came into effect in July 2014.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
Then-Representative Markey authored the National Alzheimer’s Project Act in 2011 and the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act in 2014
Washington (September 23, 2024) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security and founder and co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s, applauded passage by the House of Representatives of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act, legislation that would cement and build on the important progress that has been made to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease. The National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) Reauthorization and the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act (AAIA) now head to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
“Since my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1985, I have fought to ensure the federal government has the funding, resources, and coordination necessary to find a cure for this disease,” said Senator Markey. “The National Alzheimer’s Plan Act and the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act have transformed our understanding of the disease and its risk factors for more than a decade. But our work is not yet done. Today’s extension of these bills until 2035 is a commitment from Congress that we will not stop fighting until Alzheimer’s is a disease only found in history books. I thank Senator Collins and my colleagues for their support in delivering hope to millions of families just like mine across the country as these two bills head to the President’s desk.”
“We have made tremendous progress in recent years to boost funding for Alzheimer’s research, which holds great promise to end this disease that has had a devastating effect on millions of Americans and their families,” said Senator Susan Collins, a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease. “These two bills will maintain our momentum and make sure that we do not take our foot off the pedal just as our investments in basic research are beginning to translate into potential new treatments. We must not let Alzheimer’s to be one of the defining diseases of our children’s generation as it has ours.”
“I know from firsthand experience what a devastating illness Alzheimer’s disease is, as I watched my mother battle with it for a decade before her passing,” said Senator Mark Warner, co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease. “While we’ve made great strides in research, there is still so much work to be done to find effective ways to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s. On behalf of the millions of American families who have been touched by Alzheimer’s, I’m glad to see these two bills head to the president’s desk to be signed into law.”
The NAPA Reauthorization Act — co-led by Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Collins (R-Maine), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) — would reauthorize NAPA through 2035 and modernize the legislation to reflect strides that have been made to understand the disease, such as including a new focus on promoting healthy aging and reducing risk factors. The bill also includes updated language to reduce health disparities for underserved communities, including Black, Brown and disabled communities, who are at increased risk for Alzheimer’s as they age.
The NAPA Reauthorization Act is endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Association, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, National Down Syndrobe Society, National Down Syndrome Congress, and LuMind IDSC Foundation.
The Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act — authored by Senators Markey, Collins, Capito, Warner, Moran, Menendez, Murkowski, and Stabenow — would continue through 2035 a requirement that the Director of the National Institutes of Health submit an annual budget to Congress estimating the funding necessary to fully implement NAPA’s research goals. Only two other areas of biomedical research – cancer and HIV/AIDS – have been the subject of special budget development aimed at speeding discovery.
The Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act is endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Association and UsAgainstAlzheimer’s.
Senator Markey is a leader in the fight to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease and to support family caregivers. In July 2024, Senator Markey applauded the HELP Committee’s passage of Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2024, which included provisions based on his Respite Care And Resources for Everyone (CARE) Act and Convenient Care for Caregivers Act to expand respite care for family caregivers of older adults that need long-term care, including individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia. Earlier that month, Senator Markey unveiled his “Caring for Caregivers” family caregiving agenda, which included his Convenient Care for Caregivers Act to support family caregivers and individuals with Alzheimer’s receiving health care services at the same time and location to improve health outcomes. As a member of the House of Representatives, Senator Markey founded the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s to develop a whole-of-government approach to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s. He created the Independence at Home program to provide seniors, including individuals with Alzheimer’s and other dementia, the option to receive primary care in their home. Senator Markey authored the bipartisan Spending Reductions Through Innovations in Therapies (SPRINT) Act, which would encourage drug development for high-cost, chronic health conditions such as Alzheimer’s, the Health Outcomes, Planning and Education (HOPE) Act to improve early detection and diagnoses of Alzheimer’s and support caregivers, and the Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Act, which would require the National Institutes of Health (NIH) work to improve treatment outcomes and engage federal agencies in the effort to combat Alzheimer’s.
NASA and the U.S. Department of Education are teaming up to engage students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education during after-school hours. The interagency program aims to reach approximately 1,000 students in more than 60 sites across 10 states to join the program, 21st Century Community Learning Centers. “Together with the Education Department, NASA aims to create a brighter future for the next generation of explorers,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “We are committed to supporting after-school programs across the country with the tools they need to engage students in the excitement of NASA. Through STEM education investments like this, we aspire to ignite curiosity, nurture potential, and inspire our nation’s future researchers and explorers, and innovators.” On Monday, NASA and the Education Department kicked off the program at the Wheatley Education Campus in Washington. Students had an opportunity to hear about the interagency collaboration from Kris Brown, deputy associate administrator, NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, and Cindy Marten, deputy secretary, Education Department, as well as participate in an engineering design challenge. “The 21st Century Community Learning Centers will provide a unique opportunity to inspire students through hands-on learning and real-world problem solving,” said Brown. “By engaging with in learning opportunities with NASA scientists and engineers, students will not only develop the critical thinking and creativity needed to tackle the challenges of tomorrow, but also discover the joy of learning.” “Through this collaboration between the U.S. Department of Education and NASA, we are unlocking limitless opportunities for students to explore, innovate, and thrive in STEM fields,” said Marten. “The 21st Century Community Learning Centers play a pivotal role in making this vision a reality by providing essential after-school programs that ignite curiosity and empower the next generation of thinkers, problem-solvers, and explorers. Together, we are shaping the future of education and space exploration, inspiring students to reach for the stars.” NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland will provide NASA-related content and academic projects for students, in-person staff training, continuous program support, and opportunities for students to engage with NASA scientists and engineers. Through engineering design challenges, students will use their creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills to help solve real-world challenges that NASA engineers and scientists may face. In May 2023, NASA and the Education Department signed a Memorandum of Understanding, strengthening collaboration between the two agencies, and expanding efforts to increase access to high-quality STEM and space education to students and schools across the nation. NASA Glenn signed a follow-on Space Act Agreement in 2024 to support the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. The program, managed by the Education Department and funded by Congress, is the only federal funding source dedicated exclusively to afterschool programs. Learn more about how NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement is inspiring the next generation of explorers at: https://www.nasa.gov/stem -end- Abbey DonaldsonHeadquarters, Washington202-269-1600abbey.a.donaldson@nasa.gov Jacqueline MinerdGlenn Research Center, Cleveland216-433-6036jacqueline.minerd@nasa.gov
The Kenyan High Court is today hearing a case in which two Ethiopian citizens, Abrham Meareg and Fisseha Tekle, and Kenyan civil society organization The Katiba Institute are accusing Facebook’s parent company Meta of promoting content that led to ethnic violence and killings during the armed conflict in northern Ethiopia from November 2020 to November 2022.
The petitioners argue that the Facebook platform’s algorithmic recommendation systems prioritized and promoted inciteful, hateful and dangerous content on its platform during the conflict, contributing to significant human rights violations. The Kenyan court will decide if it has jurisdiction to hear the case.
Meta’s legal team has argued that the case should not be heard in Kenya because the company is registered in the US and that Meta’s terms of service require such claims to be filed in the US.
They also argue that the alleged human rights violations occurred in Ethiopia and therefore cannot be heard in Kenya.
Today’s hearing is focused on two critical procedural aspects: the petitioners’ application to have no fewer than three judges appointed to hear the case as it raises important substantial questions of law and whether Kenyan courts have jurisdiction to hear the case as challenged by Meta.
Mandi Mudarikwa, the Head of Strategic Litigation at Amnesty International.
“Communities and individuals impacted by corporate human rights abuses committed by multi-nationals often struggle to access justice and effective remedies because of jurisdictional, practical and other legal challenges. As a result, Amnesty International is advocating for an approach to both cases that is informed by human rights obligations and corporate responsibilities that ensure justice and accountability.”
In Kenya, a single Judge presides over a case, but petitioners can request their cases to be heard by not less than three judges if it raises significant constitutional issues.
The petitioners, represented by Nzili and Sumbi Advocates and supported by the tech-justice organization Foxglove, argue, among other reasons, that because the content moderation operation reviewing Facebook content from Ethiopia was located in Kenya, the case can be brought to the Kenyan High Court.
Other reasons cited for considering the case under Kenyan jurisdiction are Fisseha Tekle’s current residence in Kenya and safety concerns preventing him from returning to Ethiopia, the fact that The Katiba Institute is a Kenyan organization and the existence of a significant Facebook user base in the country.
Amnesty International is one of seven human rights and legal organizations involved as interested parties to the case. The organization submitted written responses in support of the petition and opposing the application challenging jurisdiction by Meta.
Background
Abrham Meareg is the son of Meareg Amare, a University Professor at Bahir Dar University in northern Ethiopia, who was hunted down and killed in November 2021, just weeks after posts inciting hatred and violence against him were posted on Facebook.
He claims that Facebook only responded to reports about the posts eight days after Professor Meareg’s death, more than three weeks after his family had first alerted the company.
The second petitioner, Fisseha Tekle, an Amnesty International employee, has faced extensive online hate due to his human rights work in Ethiopia. Now living in Kenya, Tekle fears for his safety, underscoring the transnational impact of the content spread through Facebook’s channels.
Katiba Institute, the third petitioner, has brought the case in the public interest given the unchecked viral hate and violence on Meta’s Facebook platform and Kenya’s constitutional obligations.
The case will proceed to deal with the substantive questions relating to the extent, if any, to which Meta is accountable for the human rights violations and human suffering caused as a result of the content promoted on Facebook.
We expect this hearing to be heard in person and will provide further details before the court session on 24 September, 2024 once they become available.
Mercy Mutemi of Nzili and Sumbi Advocates represents the two individual petitioners and was Africa Legal’s Tech Lawyer of the Year for 2022. Foxglove, the tech-justice organization behind severalcases against tech companies, are supporting the case. Backing the case as interested parties are a long list of major human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Global Witness, Article 19, Kenyan Human Rights Commission, Kenya’s National Integration and Cohesion Commission among others.
Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio
ICYMI: Rubio, Clement Present Plan to Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses
Sep 23, 2024 | Press Releases
Congress Can Protect Jews on College Campuses
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Paul Clement
September 23, 2024
Wall Street Journal
The ancient poison of antisemitism has infected American higher education…. Campus antisemitism isn’t restricted to…widely publicized incidents…. A survey by Alums for Campus Fairness finds “44% of Jewish students report never or rarely feeling safe identifying as a Jew at their school.”
College administrators and local authorities have the power and responsibility to protect Jewish students, but they have often failed…. Universities and law enforcement need better leaders, but the U.S. also needs a legal structure prohibiting antisemitic harassment on college campuses with clarity and teeth.
Doesn’t this structure already exist? Yes and no. Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in federally-funded institutions of education. But it doesn’t specifically prohibit discrimination against Jews, and [it] doesn’t cover religious discrimination….
The Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campuses Act…would extend Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to cover religious discrimination (with an exception for religious institutions)…. The bill affirmatively respects and preserves free speech rights. It targets [harassment that] the U.S. Supreme Court has already held the First Amendment doesn’t protect….
The bill would also address a status quo in which the Education Department gives schools a slap on the wrist when they fail to protect Jewish students. Academic programs would receive a clear warning for the first offense, escalating to a 10% reduction of federal assistance after the second and a 33% reduction after the third….
Read the rest here.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Faith Jeremiah, Lecturer in Business Management (Entrepreneurship and Innovation), Lincoln University, New Zealand
The project comprises 2,700 solar panels and 4,000 floating pontoons. It covers one hectare of the treatment pond, making excellent use of a marginal land asset in a dense urban environment.
The floating solar array generates 1,040 kilowatts of electricity and reduces 145 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. It also saves NZ$4.5 million in electricity costs per year. The electricity it generates, alongside biogas co-generation, meets 25% of the plant’s energy needs.
The floating solar panel array, together with biogas generation, meets a quarter of the Rosedale wastewater treatment plant’s energy needs. Lynn Grieveson/Getty Images
The project represents the first use of floating solar and the first megawatt-sized solar project in the country. As energy prices soar and environmental pressures mount, it is time to start exploring innovative solutions with the resources we already have.
Wastewater ponds provide underused surface
New Zealand is currently grappling with an electricity crisis, marked by increasing demand, aging infrastructure and a challenging transition to renewable energy sources.
As New Zealand intensifies its efforts to integrate more renewable energy, we need innovative solutions to stabilise the grid and meet growing energy demands.
One underutilised resource lies in wastewater treatment ponds. New Zealand has more than 200 wastewater ponds, chosen for their simplicity and low operational costs. They remain the most common form of wastewater treatment because they are robust, require low energy, cope with high water and waste loads and provide buffer storage to avoid applying agricultural effluent to wet soils.
However, because of the high surface area and nutrient-rich environment, algal growth is one of the biggest issues with waste stabilisation ponds. This is exacerbated on days with high sunshine levels and warmer water temperatures. It complicates the treatment process and necessitates costly chemical interventions.
An opportunity for New Zealand
My background is in entrepreneurship and innovation and the idea of floating solar panels on New Zealand’s expansive wastewater ponds represents an untapped opportunity.
Apart from generating power and preventing algal growth, the solar panels provide shade that keeps the water cooler and reduces evaporation. This is critical for maintaining effective wastewater treatment.
Utility-scale solar panels are now recognised as the cheapest form of energy, with rapidly declining costs over the past five years.
While relatively new to New Zealand, floating solar panels have shown significant advantages in other parts of the world. New Zealand may be held back by a misconception that solar panels work best in hot and sunny climates. In fact, solar panels harness the sun’s energy – not its temperature – making New Zealand’s cooler climate an ideal environment for efficient solar energy generation.
Given New Zealand uses more energy per capita than 17 of our 30 OECD peers, floating solar panels on wastewater ponds could set an example for how we tackle energy and environmental challenges.
By turning underutilised spaces into power-generating assets, we not only address immediate needs but also pave the way for a more sustainable, resilient future.
Faith Jeremiah does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jim Baird (R-IN-04)
Rep. Baird’s Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act Passes U.S. House
Washington, September 23, 2024
Today, Congressman Jim Baird’s (IN-04) Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman Baird is the Republican lead on the bipartisan legislation, which was introduced by Representative Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06). The Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act modernizes math curricula to make it more applicable to real-world scenarios and improves science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in K-12 schools.
“As a PhD scientist, I know the impact STEM education has on American innovation, and we must ensure students have the mathematical problem-solving skills necessary to succeed,” said Rep. Baird. “I am grateful to work with Representative Houlahan on this important bill to update school curricula to better equip our students with the STEM education they need to tackle the challenges of our modern world. I am proud to see this bill pass the full U.S. House, and I hope to work with the Senate to get this legislation signed into law soon.”
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Honorary Senior Fellow, School of Culture and Communication. Editor in chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne
The Nelson Packer Tank, that cavernous space at the very bottom of the Art Gallery of NSW’s Naala Badu building, has been waiting for art like this.
The former World War II oil storage tank is huge, held together by rows of structural columns. Their dominance means it is just not possible for viewers to have an unimpeded fields of vision for any art on display. Then there are the acoustics. Every sound resonates, but few carry far.
This is a room of echoes, embedded in the dark.
In this space Angelica Mesiti, an Australian living in France, has created The Rites of When: an event that rethinks ancient rituals of seasonal celebrations, while also marking the terrible changes wrought on our heating planet. Her tools are video, performers, music and song – all modified by the unique whispering echoes of the Tank.
The sky, and the snow
As the title implies, Mesiti has used the structure of Stravinski’s The rite of spring as one of the elements in her great design. But she shows a world far removed from mythical Russian peasants.
Each of the two movements are preceded by “Celestial Nebula”, where abstract forms of light dissolve into a vision of the night sky, presented on seven giant video screens.
This is not the sky as seen by city dwellers, where artificial light eliminates the stars, but rather the Milky Way in all its glory, with its hero stars which we call the Seven Sisters, but people in the northern hemisphere call the Pleiades.
Mesiti has said one of her inspirations was that, when COVID came, she and her partner began to spend time away from Paris in rural France. Here she came to know the night sky, and to see both the rhythms and the realities of rural life.
In the first movement, a dazzling starscape is gradually bleached by artificial light, which transforms into sunlight, and the viewer is looking at drone footage of a snow-capped pine forest which we then zoom through.
The dominant columns of The Tank combine with the straight tree trunks of this plantation forest give a sense of visual ambiguity. With the all surrounding sound, it is hard to work out where the screened image ends and where the columns begin.
A sudden shift of mood in the music, and the viewers are plunged into the middle of a Brueghel-like celebration of people dancing in the winter solstice. The colours are warm, the rustic dancers are wearing decorations made of the fruits of the field. They dance around a bonfire made from wooden planks, they form a procession with an effigy of a horned beast, stuffed with fireworks.
The fireworks and the dancers become a frenzy of ever increasing movement of rhythmic sound which explodes into dazzling white silence.
Capturing the summer solstice
When she was discussing The Rites of When at the media preview, Mesiti casually mentioned how hard it had been to film the snowy forest as, for the first time ever, winter was so mild it hardly snowed at all on the pine plantations of the Jura Mountains.
Global heating added an extra element when filming the summer solstice.
At first the viewer sees the seven screens as giant patterns of gold, marked by elegant patterns of vertical lines. Perspective changes when a tiny toy moving up one of the screens is revealed to be a harvester. This is a drone’s eye view of a wheat harvest in modern industrial scale farming. As the fields are slowly stripped of their crop, a puff of smoke appears, then a line of fire, and the gold is steadily eaten away to become charcoal.
This was not planned. Europe was so hot and dry last June that a single spark from a harvester grinding a stray stone turned the wheat to ash. Monoculture, so effectively described by those endless flat golden fields, has no defence against nature.
The mood of the music changes and golden smoke covering the wheat dissolves into golden light. A small, solemn procession appears and moves across each screen in turn. They elevate each member in turn, in a quiet ritual performance.
The colours of the background change with their movement– from gold, to red, to purple, to blue. As they reach the last screen the blue fades to grey, to rain.
In the silence, a single hand on a single screen snaps fingers. On the other side of the room, another responds. Now there is a rhythmic orchestra clicking, clapping and slapping – ever faster, ever louder. The hands become dancers, moving in a wild ecstatic dance of increasing intensity, as the bodies are caught up with the music and the light.
In her notes, Mesiti calls this section “Ecstatic Collectivity”. It seems an apt description.
At the very end, Mesiti returns us to the pure colours of the Celestial Nebula. Perhaps she is saying the folly of humanity may change the moods of the earth, but the stars will endure forever.
The Rites of When lasts just over 30 minutes. Because it is so dependent on its location, this is a piece that cannot travel. It is worth the price of an air fare.
The Rites of When is at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, until May 11 2025.
Joanna Mendelssohn has in the past received funding from the Australian Research Council.
When scientists make important discoveries, both big and small, they typically publish their findings in scientific journals for others to read. This sharing of knowledge helps to advance science: it can, in turn, lead to more important discoveries.
But published research papers can be retracted if there is an issue with their accuracy or integrity. And in recent years, the number of retractions has been rising sharply. For example, in 2023 more than 10,000 research papers were retracted globally. This marked a new record.
The huge number of retractions indicates a lot of government research funding is being wasted. More importantly, the publication of so much flawed research also misleads other researchers and undermines scientific integrity.
Fuelling this troubling trend is a mentality known in academia as “publish or perish” which has existed for decades. The publication of research papers drives university rankings and career progression, yet the relentless pressure to publish has contributed to an increase in fraudulent data. Unless this changes, the entire research landscape may shift toward a less rigorous standard, hindering vital progress in fields such as medicine, technology and climate science.
A ‘publish or perish’ environment
Universities and research institutes commonly use the rate of publications as a key indicator of research productivity and reputation.
The Times Higher Education Index, which ranks these institutions, assigns 60% of its score to research, and publications are fundamental to this score.
Additionally, publications are closely tied to individual career advancement. They influence decisions on tenure, promotions and securing funding.
These factors create a “publish or perish” environment, a term first coined in 1942 by sociologist Logan Wilson.
A growing trend
Recent evidence indicates the constant pressure to generate data and publish papers may be affecting the quality of research and fuelling retractions of research papers.
Retraction Watch is one of the largest databases to monitor scientific retractions. Launched in 2010, it reveals a growing trend in the number of publications being retracted.
In the past decade, there have been more than 39,000 retractions, and the annual number of retractions is growing by around 23% each year.
Nearly half the retractions were due to issues related to the authenticity of the data. For example, in August the United States Office of Research Integrity found that Richard Eckert, a senior biochemist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, faked data in 13 published papers. Four of these papers have been corrected, one has been retracted and the remainder are still awaiting action.
Plagiarism was the second most common reason research papers were retracted, accounting for 16% of retractions.
Fake peer review was another reason why research papers were retracted.
Typically, when a publication is submitted to a journal, it undergoes peer review by experts in the same field. These experts provide feedback to improve the quality of the work.
However, the use of fake peer reviewers has increased tenfold over the past decade. There has also been an eightfold rise in publications linked to so-called “paper mills”, which are businesses that provide fake papers for a fee.
In 2022, up to 2% of all publications were from paper mills.
Genuine mistakes in the scientific process accounted for only roughly 6% of all retractions in the last decade.
More pressure, more mistakes
One reason for the surge in retractions over the last decade may be that we are getting better at finding and detecting suspicious data.
Digital publishing has made it easier to detect potential fabrication, and more scientists are making a brave stand against these dubious practices. No doubt, the current number of retractions is an underestimate of a much larger pool.
But the intensification of the “publish or perish” culture within universities also plays a major role.
Nearly all academic staff are required to meet specific publication quotas for performance evaluations, while institutions themselves use publication output to boost their rankings. High publication counts and citations enhance a university’s position in global rankings, attracting more students and generating income from teaching.
The prevailing reward system in academia often prioritises publication quantity over quality. When promotions, funding, and recognition are tied to the number of papers published, scientists may feel pressured to cut corners, rush experiments, or even fabricate data to meet these metrics.
Changing the model
Initiatives such as the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment are pushing for change. This initiative advocates for evaluating research based on its quality and societal impact rather than journal-based metrics such as impact factors or citation counts.
A shift in journal policies to prioritise the sharing of all experimental data would enhance scientific integrity. It would ensure researchers could replicate experiments to verify others’ results.
Academics face increasing pressure to publish journal articles to advance their careers. Protasov AN/Shutterstock
Also, universities, research institutions and funding agencies need to improve their due diligence and hold those responsible for misconduct accountable.
Including a simple question such as, “Have you ever had or been involved in a retracted paper?” on grant applications or academic promotions would improve the integrity of research by deterring unethical behaviour. Dishonest answers could be easily detected, thanks to the availability of online tools and databases such as Retraction Watch.
Over the past 20 years, scientific research has significantly improved our quality of life. Career scientists must shoulder the responsibility of ensuring researchers uphold the values of truth and integrity that are fundamental to our profession. Protecting the integrity of our work is foremost to our mission, and we must remain vigilant in safeguarding these principles.
Nham Tran receives funding from the Australian Research Council
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Collings, Senior Research Fellow, Transforming early Education and Child Health Research Centre, Western Sydney University
Caring for someone with disability is a complex and demanding task. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show this role is increasingly being undertaken by people who have disability themselves. There were 1.2 million primary carers in Australia in 2022, and of these, 43.8% have disability (up from 32.1% in 2018).
Disability support and aged care are critical issues for the federal government right now. The new Aged Care Act will take effect in July next year and amendments to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Act roll out from early October.
A National Carers Strategy, recognising the demands placed on informal carers and the need for better supports, is also being developed.
What do this group of carers need? And are they getting the right kind of support?
In line with our ageing population, one in six carers are over 65 and most older Australians want to age “in place” at home. This means informal care needs are set to rise exponentially.
Improved diagnosis, more disclosure of disability status and higher prevalence of health conditions leading to disability are increasing the numbers of and demands on informal carers.
Who is doing the caring and why?
While both women (12.8% of the population) and men (11.1%) provide informal care, women are more likely to be primary carers (6.1% are women, 3% are men.
Primary carers are less likely to be in paid employment than non-carers (64.6% to 82%), and fewer than half of those caring for 40 hours or more a week are employed. Informal carers are more likely to have a disability or chronic health condition (38.6%) than the general population (21.4%), with even higher rates among primary carers (43.8%).
The main reasons for becoming a carer are a sense of family responsibility and emotional obligation. Over a third of those caring for their child say they have no other choice.
Of 6,825 respondents from across Australia, over 80% were women and almost half (47.6%) identified as having disability or long-term health conditions, which the survey combines. Disability and poor health among carers are associated with higher levels of emotional distress and greater difficulty in accessing services.
Most carers are women and their caring load may prevent them doing paid work. Desizned/Shutterstock
‘My prospect of earning an income and saving is bleak’
Statistics tell us only part of the story. The voices of informal carers who report living with disability or chronic health conditions shed light on the layered demands they face. They reported that care is often invisible, undervalued and ceaseless. One woman, aged 73, described informal care as “hard and unappreciated work”.
A lack of government support and financial uncertainty left many despairing. As one carer, aged 56, said:
No government recognises us and in the end we are saving them billions/trillions of dollars […] I have been a carer for over 13 years and it will go on for many years, so my prospect of earning an income and saving is bleak.
Caring can have profound health and wellbeing effects. As another woman, aged 56, said:
Being close to retirement myself, and having elderly parents, puts so much strain on my own health, mentally and physically. I have had to deal with breast cancer and its treatments and ongoing side effects. This is really stressful. I oversee all the services, and manage ongoing issues. My care role is endless. I only work minimal hours myself due to my care role. Who looks after me?
Caring for carers
Carers with disability or chronic health conditions report a lack of appropriate, accessible and timely services. This makes it hard to meet their own health-care needs. Many struggle with arranging support across mainstream and NDIS providers on behalf of the person they care for and themselves.
Our research about the needs of a specific group of disabled Australians with care-giving responsibilities – parents with intellectual disability – find they can fall between system gaps when mainstream services are not accessible or the NDIS fails to take a family-centred approach.
A parent with intellectual disability may struggle to understand complex and shifting eligibility rules and might be able to use their NDIS funding to assist with meal preparation for themselves but not for their child. As one mother with intellectual disability said:
No one explained to me, ‘Oh, the NDIS package can help you with a lot of different things’, like helping with my parenting capacity.
Changes and opportunity
A cornerstone of the NDIS reforms is the creation of foundational supports. That’s good news for the 86% of disabled Australians without an NDIS plan and their informal carers, who rely on mainstream services like schools, health services and public transport.
Likewise, the National Carers Strategy is an opportunity to ease some of the burden shouldered by many informal carers. By consulting with carers directly, services designed to meet their diverse needs and circumstances can be made available. In the immediate term, often carers reach crisis point before receiving support. Early interventions in the form of practical, everyday, orientated supports – including respite together with peer support – can help.
The authors wish to acknowledge the contribution of Sarah Judd-Lam and Lukas Hofstaetter from Carers NSW for their data and analysis contributions to this piece.
Gabrielle Weidemann receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Defence. This funding is not for research on disability and/or care for those with disability.
Elisabeth Duursma, Michelle O’Shea, and Susan Collings 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.
Robots work on an assembly line of a factory of a private enterprise in Zouping City, east China’s Shandong Province, Sept. 13, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]
A sustained focus on supporting innovation in strategic emerging sectors, future industries and traditional industries will be high on the agenda as China advances its economic structural reforms, which are aimed at fostering new quality productive forces and driving a shift from old growth drivers to new ones, economists and entrepreneurs said.
Economists said the new quality productive forces will serve as a key driver for boosting the country’s economic growth in the coming years, which will help offset the real estate downturn, accelerate the building of a modern industrial system and promote high-quality development in the long run.
Huang Hanquan, head of the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research, said that fostering new quality productive forces is of vital importance in promoting high-quality economic growth, boosting total factor productivity and realizing Chinese modernization.
“Various regions and departments across China have embraced this approach to drive economic progress, which will significantly accelerate technological innovation, enhance industrial application and facilitate the shift of growth drivers from old to new ones,” Huang said.
A new report says that despite geopolitical headwinds that are having an impact on China’s economic growth trajectory and momentum, the nation is achieving success by boosting investment in science and technology, as well as by refocusing its efforts to enhance capabilities in emerging industries including artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles and electric vehicles, and this is key to reinvigorating China’s growth engine.
According to the Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities China Index, cities that were home to a significant number of tech hubs displayed a high level of economic resilience. According to the report, Chinese cities that have strategically invested in emerging technologies will continue to thrive, even as the broader economy faces challenges at home and abroad.
Highlighting that sci-tech innovation is a key element in the development of new quality productive forces, Huang from the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research called for more efforts to achieve breakthroughs in core technologies by investing more in fundamental research and tackling choke points, and by stepping up reforms in the science and technology, education and talent systems.
More efforts should also be made to advance reforms in the market-based allocation of production factors, allowing factors such as land, labor, capital and technology to flow freely and efficiently to fields of new quality productive forces, he said.
Looking ahead, Huang said the country should foster new pillar industries, including next-generation information technology, new energy vehicles, new energy and new materials, to offset the impact of the decline in real estate on China’s economy and create new growth drivers.
Huang’s remarks came after a resolution adopted in July at the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China placed great emphasis on improving the institutions and mechanisms for fostering new quality productive forces in line with local conditions.
Justin Yifu Lin, dean of Peking University’s Institute of New Structural Economics, said that regions with development gaps should measure their progress compared with their own past rather than shifting their focus to the pursuit of success in frontier activities, which could result in haphazard or uneven development.
There are two types of new quality productive forces — one that invents new technologies and one that applies them, Lin said. Therefore, applying new technologies in traditional sectors should be treated as part of the drive to harness new quality productive forces, he added.
“Regions with gaps in development should use new technologies to improve productivity. It’s essential to follow the principle of seeking truth from facts and develop according to competitive advantages,” Lin said.
China must better leverage the role of the market and tap the opportunity of technological innovation to enhance productivity, especially as it stands at the same starting line with other countries for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is an opportunity that China “cannot afford to miss”, he said.
The nation, which recently released a guideline to improve its market access system, is taking solid steps to optimize its business environment and foster new quality productive forces. This marks the country’s key push to implement the resolution adopted at the third plenary session.
The guideline details 10 measures, including improving the negative list management model, strengthening the coordination of policies for domestic and foreign-funded enterprises, and optimizing the market access environment for new forms of business and new sectors.
Liu Qiao, dean of Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management, said that high-standard opening-up and deeper institutional reforms will create immense room for improvement in resource allocation efficiency, leading to an increase in the growth rate of total factor productivity.
Liu noted that the path to new quality productive forces involves expanding into industries and fields that can enhance total factor productivity and form new quality productive forces, adding that there are two paths to achieving this objective.
“The first route involves leveraging revolutionary technological changes to foster strategic emerging industries and future endeavors, including sectors associated with energy transition and digital transformation, as well as future-oriented industries like quantum computing and AI-driven big data. These will create new momentum, aiding in the acceleration of total factor productivity growth.
“The second path involves opportunities brought about by China’s transformation and upgrade of traditional industries. Currently, the productivity in China’s agricultural and services sectors, for example, is relatively low, offering significant potential for increasing total factor productivity,” he said.
Global executives hailed China’s reform initiatives aimed at fostering new quality productive forces, saying that they present opportunities for global stakeholders.
Nancy Wang, country manager at LinkedIn China, said that China’s vigorous pursuit of new quality productive forces aims to foster an innovation-driven economic growth model centered on technological advancement, sending a signal of China’s readiness to face the challenges of globalization and technological revolution with greater openness, inclusivity and innovation.
Victor Tsao, vice-president of open-source solutions provider Red Hat and general manager of Red Hat Greater China, said, “We believe that through further deepening reform and opening-up, and optimizing the business environment, China will continue to attract more foreign enterprises.”
This aerial photo shows a cargo ship at a smart container terminal of Tianjin Port in north China’s Tianjin, July 7, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]
China and Switzerland on Monday began negotiations on an upgrade of the Sino-Swiss free trade agreement (FTA), with both sides agreeing to intensify consultations and reach a high-level upgrade agreement as soon as possible on the basis of mutual benefits.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Guy Parmelin, Swiss federal councilor and head of the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, announced the launch of talks through a livestream.
Wang said that since it came into effect 10 years ago, the Sino-Swiss FTA has played a positive role in promoting the growth of bilateral trade, and enterprises in both countries have truly benefited.
Upgrading the FTA will help expand bilateral trade and boost two-way investment, and promote the upgrading of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, Wang said, adding that it will also showcase the two countries’ support for free trade and openness to the outside world at a time when economic globalization is encountering headwinds.
Parmelin said that with trade protectionism on the rise globally, it is of great significance that China and Switzerland have launched their FTA upgrade negotiations. It shows that the two countries are always committed to building an open, standardized environment for international economic and trade cooperation, and it has sent a positive signal to the outside world that the two countries will deepen cooperation, he added.
The Sino-Swiss FTA was signed in July 2013 and came into effect in July 2014.
Tsechok Dorje (1st L) and Tsering Drolma (2nd R) pose for a photo at a care center in Ngari Prefecture, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region, Sept. 14, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua] Seeing Tsechok Dorje’s scar on the right side of his face, Tsering Drolma couldn’t help but feel heartbroken, with tears welling up in her eyes. Several days ago, the eighth grader accidentally fell onto a heater and injured his face at school. When a teacher called Tsering Drolma about the accident, she was so panicked that she immediately asked her husband to drive her to the hospital to check on Tsechok Dorje’s condition. “I dared not be present while he was receiving treatment,” said Tsering Drolma, 36. “Luckily, his eyes are fine. Otherwise, I would feel guilty for the rest of my life.” Tsering Drolma is not Tsechok Dorje’s biological mother, but a Tibetan worker at a care center in Ngari Prefecture, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region. She serves as a custodian-like “mother” of 12 orphans, including Tsechok Dorje. Sheltering 81 children and 54 elderly people without any family members or living with disabilities, the care center combines the functions of an orphanage and a nursing home, with workers serving like family members and creating an atmosphere like a big family. Tsering Drolma still remembers when Tsechok Dorje first arrived there two years ago. “Back then, he was still immersed in the sorrow of losing his loved ones. He would often sit alone in the corner without uttering a word,” Tsering Drolma recalled. To help him embrace the new environment, the workers in the care center often took him out to play, made his favorite meals for him and helped him study. These acts of affection and care have gradually transformed him, turning his quiet and reserved persona into a sociable and outgoing one. In addition to helping his “mother” take care of the younger children, Tsechok Dorje also shares what happened in school as well as his observations during a museum visit with his “siblings.” Over the two years, his academic performance has also significantly improved. To better take care of the children, Tsering Drolma often attends various training sessions, including caring for the orphaned and children living with disabilities, performing first aid and preparing nutritious meals. “Our only wish is for these children to grow up healthy and happy,” she said. The care center was established in 2015 under the support of central and regional governments and the donation of an insurance company, with a total spending of more than 58 million yuan (about 8.2 million U.S. dollars). The center has facilities including a massage therapy room, a dining hall and a laundry room. It also gives allowance to elderly people and children every month. Compared with the traditional charity institutions that separate children and elderly people, the two-in-one care center offers space as well as an atmosphere for social interactions like a big family, said Jampel, the legal representative of the center, adding that they also organize galas during festivals such as the Tibetan New Year. After a cup of buttered tea in the morning, Tseten, 83, likes to go to the sunlight hall during the weekends, with children surrounding him to hear his stories about his misery in the past when he was a serf. “I used to be whipped hard by the master for losing a yak. I had no time to wait for my wounds to heal and had to stand on my feet the next day to herd cattle,” said Tseten, who has been living in the center since 2016. Tseten was in a wheelchair due to his bad knees when he first arrived there. Now, with years of meticulous care and treatment from doctors from a Tibetan medicinal hospital and nurse assistants in the care center, he is able to walk without a cane. Lhadro, a nursing assistant, is responsible for caring for Tseten and five other elderly people. In addition to bringing buttered tea, doing the laundry and changing sheets regularly for them, she conducts massage therapies and applies Tibetan medicine for external use on them based on doctors’ prescriptions. “Seeing the elderly gradually regain their health, I have a great sense of achievement,” said Lhadro. In recent years, a total of 80 nursing homes for elderly people with extreme financial difficulties have been built in Xizang. By the end of 2022, more than 5,800 elderly people in extreme financial difficulty had been cared for at nursing homes with government support, according to government figures. A soccer player at school, Tsechok Dorje likes wearing his training vest even at “home” and dreams of becoming a professional soccer player when he grows up. On a wall in his room, where four children live in bunk beds, is a poster of the Brazilian soccer player Neymar. “I hope I can play soccer as well as Neymar someday,” Tsechok Dorje said.
Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –
Scientific and Educational Center “Evolution of the Earth” NSU — is a modern complex of exhibition halls, exhibits and interactive systems. The center was created to support scientific, educational and popularizing activities in the field of Earth sciences among the widest audience.
The exhibition of the center consists of four thematic halls. The first is dedicated to the planet Earth, its structure and cosmic environment – here the guides will tell about the methods by which our planet is studied. In the second hall you will learn about the processes occurring in the depths of the Earth, you will be able to touch pieces of real lava from Mongolia, Iceland and Kamchatka, and also see and hear the process of a volcanic eruption. The evolution of life from the appearance of the first cells to dinosaurs will be told in the third hall. In the fourth hall you can see real native gold and oil, as well as look at the model of the deep-sea bathyscaphe “Mir-1”, with the help of which the bottom of the World Ocean was studied.
The center currently operates in the format of excursions for organized and group tours. You can sign up for an excursion with a group of friends, the guides will take you through all four thematic halls, tell you many facts and answer any questions. Excursions for NSU students and employees are free.
You can sign up for a tour by calling (383) 363-42-25 or by email ee@nsu.ru.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Work to complete the new slow vehicle bay on State Highway 2 (SH2) at Kotemaori in northern Hawke’s Bay will start next week.
The new 260 metre slow vehicle bay on SH2, near the intersection with Kakariki Farm Road, will provide another place for road users to safely pass slow vehicles as they head north to Wairoa.
Crews have been waiting for warmer weather to complete the work, which includes laying the final seal on the road.
The work is expected to take 2 weeks and crews will begin on site from next Monday (30 September). During this time, temporary traffic management will be in place through this site with stop/go and a temporary reduced speed limit of 30km/h.
Delays of no more than 10 minutes are expected.
Once crews have finished this work, the slow vehicle bay will be operational. The work is weather dependent and there could be delays if conditions are too cold or wet.
Background
This work is part of Connecting Tairāwhiti, which is a programme of projects providing more slow vehicle bays and more places to pull off the road safely to check messages or take a break on State Highways 2 and 35 across the Tairāwhiti and northern Hawke’s Bay regions. The programme also includes some resilience projects to strengthen and stabilise sites on State Highway 35 to help it remain open and functional during disruptions such as weather events.
A slow vehicle bay is a widened stretch of road on an uphill incline that allows slow, heavy vehicles, such as trucks and buses, to pull over as they slow down – allowing other vehicles to pass.
As part of this project, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi has also made safety improvements to Kotemaori School’s access on SH2, including a safe right-turn bay to access the school.
Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University – Earlier this summer, the complex of buildings of the first stage was successfully put into operation – it includes a new educational building of the NSU SUNC, a leisure center for students and two blocks of dormitories for NSU students and postgraduates. The total area of the first stage was 38 thousand square meters. Construction of a modern campus of NSU is carried out within the framework of the national project “Science and Universities”.
The new dormitory building is the object of the second stage of the first stage of construction at the expense of the philanthropist with the support of the Foundation for the Development of Social Projects “Perspektiva”. It will become a significant addition to this comfortable infrastructure, connecting with the leisure center by an underground passage. The building project is developed in the uniform architectural style of the NSU campus – facade solutions made of concrete tiles will repeat the appearance of the new student dormitory buildings.
The total area of the dormitory for students of the NSU SUNC will be about 15 thousand square meters. On 6 floors there will be 2- and 3-bed rooms with a total capacity of 562 people, storage and administrative premises, common leisure rooms and a medical block. Leisure, recreational areas, self-service laundries are provided on each floor.
— New dormitories for students of the NSU SUNC will allow us to better solve problems related to the accommodation of schoolchildren outside their home, and will ensure the fulfillment of modern requirements for the conditions of stay of children coming to study at the SUNC. The staff of the physics and mathematics school are included in the process of planning and designing new dormitories, and will assist at all stages of the project implementation, — noted the director of the NSU SUNC Lyudmila Nekrasova.
The construction of the new facility will be carried out on the site of the old building of the NSU SUNC. Its demolition and the start of construction work are scheduled for the end of 2024. The planned date for commissioning of the new dormitory is the second quarter of 2028. The technical customer of the construction will be OOO NDK Group.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Have you ever noticed changes in your eating habits when you are sad, bored or anxious?
Many people report eating either more, or less, as a way of helping them to cope when they experience difficult emotions.
Although this is a very normal response, it can take the pleasure out of eating, and can become distressing and bring about other feelings of shame and self-criticism.
Adding to the complexity of it all, we live in a world where diet culture is unavoidable, and our relationship to eating, food and body image can become complicated and confusing.
Emotional eating is common
“Emotional eating” refers to the eating behaviours (typically eating more) that occur in response to difficult emotions.
Research shows around 20% of people regularly engage in emotional eating, with a higher prevalence among adolescents and women. In a study of more than 1,500 adolescents, 34% engaged in emotional eating while sad and 40% did so while anxious.
Foods consumed are often fast-foods and other energy-dense, nutrient-poor convenience foods.
But other factors might also contribute to the likelihood of emotional eating. The physiological effects of stress and strong emotions, for example, can influence hormones such as cortisol, insulin and glucose, which can also increase appetite.
First, know that fluctuations in eating are normal. However, if you find that the way you eat in response to difficult emotions is not working for you, there are a few things you can do.
Then, you can start to think about how you handle your emotions and hunger cues.
Expand your emotional awareness
Often we label emotions as good or bad, and this can result in fear, avoidance, and unhelpful coping strategies such as emotional eating.
But it’s also important to differentiate the exact emotion. This might be feeling isolated, powerless or victimised, rather than something as broad as sad.
By noticing what the emotion is, we can bring curiosity to what it means, how we feel in our minds and bodies, and how we think and behave in response.
Tap into your feelings of hunger and fullness
Developing an intuitive way of eating is another helpful strategy to promote healthy eating behaviours.
Intuitive eating means recognising, understanding and responding to internal signals of hunger and fullness. This might mean tuning in to and acknowledging physical hunger cues, responding by eating food that is nourishing and enjoyable, and identifying sensations of fullness.
Intuitive eating encourages flexibility and thinking about the pleasure we get from food and eating. This style of eating also allows us to enjoy eating out with friends, and sample local delicacies when travelling.
It can also reduce the psychological distress from feeling out of control with your eating habits and the associated negative body image.
Try to be flexible in thinking about the pleasure of food and eating with friends. La Famiglia/Shutterstock
When is it time to seek help?
For some people, the thoughts and behaviours relating to food, eating and body image can negatively impact their life.
Having the support of friends and family, accessing online resources and, in some instances, seeing a trained professional, can be very helpful.
There are many therapeutic interventions that work to improve aspects associated with emotional eating. These will depend on your situation, needs, stage of life and other factors, such as whether you are neurodivergent.
The best approach is to engage with someone who can bring compassion and understanding to your personal situation, and work with you collaboratively. This work might include:
unpacking some of the patterns that could be underlying these emotions, thoughts and behaviours
helping you to discover your emotions
supporting you to process other experiences, such as trauma exposure
developing a more flexible and intuitive way of eating.
One of the dangers that can occur in response to emotional eating is the temptation to diet, which can lead to disordered eating, and eating disorder behaviours. Indicators of a potential eating disorder can include:
recent rapid weight loss
preoccupation with weight and shape (which is usually in contrast to other people’s perceptions)
eating large amounts of food within a short space of time (two hours or less) and feeling a sense of loss of control
eating in secret
compensating for food eaten (with vomiting, exercise or laxatives).
If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or the Butterfly Foundation on 1800 ED HOPE
(1800 33 4673).
Inge Gnatt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The United States remains the top destination for Chinese students studying abroad despite concerns among students and parents over visas and public security, said an official with the US embassy in Beijing.
Meanwhile, Chinese students who plan to study in US universities and their parents expressed concerns about unfair treatment that US border authorities imposed on Chinese students in some cases.
Karen Gustafson, the embassy’s minister counselor for consular affairs, told China Daily on Sunday that the embassy issued 105,000 visas to students from China last year. “We are currently hosting 290,000 Chinese students in the US,” she said.
A report released by the US Department of State showed that in the first half of 2023, a total of 44,762 students from the Chinese mainland were granted F-1 visas to study in the US, a year-on-year increase of 44 percent.
As of the end of July, the embassy had issued more than 80,000 student visas to Chinese nationals, Gustafson said, noting the continuing increase in visas issued to Chinese students.
According to the 2023 Open Doors report released in November, Chinese students accounted for approximately 29 percent of the 1.05 million foreign students in the US during the 2022-23 academic year, down from 33 percent in the previous academic year.
Gustafson said that despite a decreasing trend, Chinese students remain the largest group of foreign students in the US, and are expected to “stay at the top and grow”.
“We really wholeheartedly welcome Chinese students to come to the US, and we are always hoping to encourage more students to come,” she said, adding that the embassy is making efforts to maximize student numbers and return to the peak before the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Sunday, hundreds of Chinese students and parents participated in an education fair in Beijing, seeking information on the prospects of studying abroad. Around 100 US universities attended the fair.
A fair visitor, surnamed Wang, said she hopes to address her concerns over her daughter’s further education in the US by seeking advice from the universities and the organizer.
Wang said that her daughter, a student of biological sciences in Wuhan, Hubei province, is preparing to pursue postgraduate studies in the US.
Given recent cases of Chinese students, particularly those majoring in science and engineering at US universities, having their visas refused on arrival, receiving unfair treatment by border enforcement and even facing deportation, Wang said she is worried and hopes to get more information from the authorities.
In recent years, dozens of Chinese students have reported that they suffered from unwarranted harassment, interrogation and repatriation because of their political or scientific research background.
Many have posted on social media platforms their “terrifying” experiences of being taken by border officials to a “small dark room” at US airports, raising public concerns.
“What I care about most is the safety of my child and whether she can smoothly graduate from a US university,” Wang said, adding that she had heard that Chinese students applying for certain subjects face higher risks of visa rejection.
Gustafson called such cases isolated incidents, and said the majority of Chinese students are continuing their studies in the US.
While the US embassy is in charge of issuing visas, entry into the country is handled by the Department of Homeland Security, she said.
“What I can say is the vast majority of Chinese students going to the USend up studying in the US, and we really welcome them to continue to do so,” she added.
Significant harm
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in April that enforcing deportation orders against Chinese students has caused significant harm to the individuals concerned and disrupted cultural and academic exchanges between China and the US.
“Recent cases demonstrate that US law enforcement officers are engaging in deportation for the sake of deportation, exhibiting political, discriminatory and selective enforcement,” she said at a news conference.
Zhu Chenge, an assistant researcher of US diplomacy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the excessive scrutiny of Chinese students by US authorities may seem to affect only a small group, but it is in reality demolishing one of the pillars of the complex interactions between China and the US.
“Normal academic exchanges between two technological powerhouses are disrupted. It is certainly not a positive sign if students and scholars are more concerned about their personal safety than academic matters,” Zhu said.
Wang Jialing, a 10th grader in the international class at RCF Experimental School in Beijing, has started to prepare his US university application.
Aiming to enroll into the University of Southern California as a finance major, he inquired about application procedures and career prospects at the education fair. He said he wants to choose a college among the top 50 in the US in a relatively safe state, and plans to return to China after obtaining a bachelor’s degree.
The BRICS mechanism contributes to building a fairer and more equitable global governance system, said a survey published Monday.
The Global Survey: BRICS Cooperation in the New Era of Global Development 2024, conducted in 30 countries with 12,316 valid samples, showed the average recognition of the role of the BRICS mechanism in improving the global governance system reached 94.6 percent among the participants.
The respondents believed that the BRICS mechanism would enhance the representation of developing countries in global governance and enhance the reform and improvement of the global governance system, the survey said.
Such sentiment is stronger among developing countries, with recognition in the BRICS countries and other developing nations exceeding 95 percent, the survey noted, adding that countries like Russia, Brazil, Pakistan, Cuba, Peru and Mexico all have a recognition rate of over 96 percent.
The survey was conducted from May to July 2024 by the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies in collaboration with Beijing Dataway Technology Co. Ltd. It was released at the BRICS Seminar on Governance & Cultural Exchange Forum 2024 in Moscow.
This piece is the final of a three part series on Australia’s defamation laws. You can read the other pieces here and here.
Defamation laws exist to strike a balance between press freedom and the protection of people’s reputations from wrongful harm. In Australia, this balance has always been loaded against press freedom.
This is due partly to the way the defamation laws have been framed and partly by the way the courts have interpreted them.
Courts examine matters of journalism in the same way they examine matters of law: forensically, with strict rules and high standards of evidence and proof.
While we rightly expect ethical and honest reporting from our media, even the best can prove insufficient under the piercing gaze of defamation law. And in a time when media companies are more cash-strapped than ever, this has a chilling effect on the stories that get told and press freedom more broadly.
Ethics vs the law
Until 2006, each Australian jurisdiction had its own defamation laws. This created a nightmare of complexity for publishers, especially of newspapers and broadcasts that crossed state boundaries, which meant all the main media organisations.
They had to take into account the risks posed by litigation in the jurisdiction least favourable to press freedom.
For many decades, that was New South Wales. It was one of the states where truth alone was not a sufficient defence; there also had to be a public interest in the material. In some other jurisdictions this was called public benefit.
This was a major burden on press freedom and it was removed by the introduction of uniform defamation laws in 2006.
Since then, it has been enough for publishers to prove the substantial truth of the meanings conveyed in an article in order for the defence of truth to succeed.
It may sound straightforward, but proving substantial truth requires producing admissible evidence strong enough to satisfy the civil standard of proof: on the balance of probabilities. That usually means having documents and witnesses who are willing to be identified.
If, as is often the case, the article has drawn on evidence from a confidential source, the publisher is unable to put that source in the witness box because to do so would breach the media’s fundamental ethical obligation to protect the identity of confidential sources.
So unless the source is prepared in advance to be identified should the matter come to court, a story relying significantly on that person’s testimony may not see the light of day unless some other defence is available.
In 2021, those defences were expanded, although quite how significant that expansion turns out to be remains to be seen.
What appears on paper to be the most significant change was the introduction of a general public interest defence. This says that if publication of a story is in the public interest, and the publisher has a reasonable belief that it is, then publication can be defended on that ground.
There has been only one major test of that new defence, and it went against the media.
That case showed “reasonable belief” depended on the journalism being sound. In this case, the court found that the defendant, which was the ABC, had relied on shaky testimony that had not been sufficiently verified and had not given the subject of the story a fair opportunity to respond.
At odds with practicalities
This brings us to the question of how the courts interpret the law.
One of the big disappointments in this respect has been the way the courts have interpreted what, at the time, was hoped to be a significant addition to Australia’s threadbare free-speech jurisprudence.
In a case brought against the ABC by a late prime minister of New Zealand, David Lange, the High Court established the principle that freedom of speech on matters of government and politics trumped a person’s case for protection for their reputation.
If a person wanted to sue for defamation, they had to do so in a way that did not burden freedom of speech on matters of government and politics.
However, the High Court attached a test of reasonableness to this freedom. In several ways, it’s similar to the “reasonable belief” test in the new public interest defence.
Unfortunately, successive courts have applied the Lange reasonableness test in ways that are so strict they require journalists to meet standards demanding more powers of investigation than they possess or to exceed the usual journalistic standards of verification. Journalists can’t subpoena documents or compel people to speak to them.
The result is that this defence has become more or less a dead letter for journalistic purposes.
Is a story worth the cost?
Those accused of defamation can also defend it by saying it was comment or honest opinion. The first requirement of this defence is that the material be a comment and not a statement of fact.
But courts have interpreted this in different ways.
This uncertainty was illustrated by a famous case that became known as “Leo the Lobster”. A restaurant and restaurateur in Sydney successfully sued the Sydney Morning Herald over a review of a lobster dinner written by one Leo Schofield.
Schofield, who was a colourful writer, said the lobster had been overcooked:
the carbonized claws contained only a kind of white powder which might have been albino walrus.
Despite the amusing language, the court interpreted that as a literal factual description, not a statement of opinion.
Courts have a limited sense of humour, which makes satirical writing a chancy business, since the sharper the satire, the closer it is to literal truth.
Cartoons, which are satirical by definition, have more leeway but are not immune to defamation suits.
Then there’s the costs of defamation, particularly for media outlets. They’ve become exorbitant.
It has been estimated that the costs involved in the case brought by Ben Roberts-Smith against The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times amounted to about $25 million. The newspapers won, although the matter has gone to appeal.
But even if the verdict is upheld, experience shows it is unlikely they will recoup anything like their full costs.
At a time when all major news media organisations are under acute financial pressure because of the inroads the internet has made on their revenue, there is a strong temptation not to risk publishing material the public has a right to know because of the financial impact an action for defamation would have.
Denis Muller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Photo: A flooded school yard in Chiang Rai province, Thailand. (Khem Krairit / Save the Children)
BANGKOK/HANOI, 24 September 2024 – Floods in Thailand and Vietnam have damaged about 945* schools across both countries, leaving children out of classes as recovery efforts get underway following the worst storm Asia has seen this year, Save the Children said.
In the north of Thailand, floods tore through homes and schools leaving 140 schools damaged, while in Vietnam at least 805[1] schools have been damaged since early September after Typhoon Yagi battered the country.
Asia is the world’s most disaster-hit region from weather, climate and water-related hazards.[2] Across the world, a staggering 774 million children – or one third of the world’s child population – are living with the dual impacts of poverty and high climate risk.[3]
In Thailand, this means learning has been disrupted for more than 30,500 children[4] for an indefinite period.
The floods have also increased the risk of waterborne diseases. Globally, increases in disease related to climate change are projected to have deadly implications for children, including vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. [5]
Classroom floors, chairs, tables and learning materials in schools across Thailand’s northernmost Chiang Rai province remain covered in mud and many schools are in need of new learning equipment.
Children’s psychosocial well-being has also been acutely affected by the loss of their belongings, damage to their schools, their play areas and environments familiar to them.
Patchara*, a 15-year-old student from Chiang Rai province, said she was able to save only some belongings when the floods hit and water levels reached her waist level.
Her family is temporarily staying with relatives. Patchara said she’s worried about waterborne diseases as she travels to school. This is her first severe flood experience.
Many flood-affected areas in Thailand and Vietnam are also still inaccessible due to flooded roads and the danger of landslides, severely hampering rescue and relief operations.
Guillaume Rachou, Save the Children Thailand Executive Director, said:
“Children in Chiang Rai can’t go back to school anytime soon. Others have had to stay at home to help their families rebuild their lives. The recovery effort will take months so it’s important that these children’s lives are as normal and that they can return to their classrooms as soon as, and as safely, as possible and feel supported during the transition.”
Save the Children will provide essential support to children in five districts of Chiang Rai province, including booklets on flood recovery hygiene and on infant feeding.
The children’s charity will also provide 1,500 students with back-to-school kits including learning kits and school uniforms. In collaboration with global apparel retailer UNIQLO, the initiative will also see the distribution of 2,600 items of children’s clothing, which includes 1,600 new pieces of children’s innerwear and T-shirts, along with 1,000 pieces of adult clothing sourced from the brand’s customer take-back program known as “RE.UNIQLO.”
Save the Children is also working with community volunteers, teachers and Thailand’s Department of Mental Health to provide psychological first aid training and training in how to spot children who are at risk of dropping out of school. The children’s organisation will set up a mobile psychological first aid team to support school staff and students at 20 schools where community outreach activities will include theater and arts.
In Vietnam, Save the Children has been in discussions with government agencies to release a flood response plan to help affected children return to school safely and continue their learning.
Save the Children has worked in Thailand since 1979 to support children most impacted by discrimination and inequality running programmes on education, child protection, livelihood, and child rights governance.
Save the Children started working in Vietnam in 1990 and now operates in 22 provinces in partnership with government agencies, civil society organisations, the private sector and academic institutions.
