On the margins of the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Industry and Technological Innovation, chaired by Minister Urso and attended virtually by Minister Champagne, Canada and Italy released the following Statement of Intent for Canada and Italy to deepen collaboration on critical minerals and critical raw materials:
On the margins of the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Industry and Technological Innovation, chaired by Minister Urso and attended virtually by Minister Champagne, Canada and Italy released the following Statement of Intent for Canada and Italy to deepen collaboration on critical minerals and critical raw materials:
With the adoption of the Italy-Canada Roadmap for Enhanced Cooperation on the margins of the G7 Summit in June and Canada’s ongoing work under the 2022 Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, Italy and Canada agreed to strengthen collaboration on energy security and sustainability. We have committed to regular engagement on these issues in the form of an Energy Dialogue, focused on critical minerals, the energy transition, sustainable fuels, energy storage solutions and enabling technologies, and advanced nuclear reactors and fusion research.
Canada and Italy recognize the importance of international partnerships to make critical minerals and critical raw materials supply chains more diversified, transparent, resilient, responsible, circular, resource efficient, and sustainable. Canada and Italy seek to enhance cooperation in this domain through the promotion of trade and investment, exchanges of policies, regulations, best practices, technical and ESG standards.
Canada and Italy will advance this cooperation through the following areas of work:
Strengthening Supply Chains: Promote critical mineral value chain trade and investment opportunities in Canada and Italy through government efforts to facilitate B2B matchmaking and Canada-Italy co-investments in projects.
International Collaboration & Multilateral Engagement: Coordinate participation through leading international fora addressing critical mineral supply chains security and resiliency, including but not limited to the Minerals Security Partnership, the International Energy Agency, the G7, the Conference on Critical Materials and Minerals and through the Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance.
Research and Innovation: Discuss opportunities for joint research through Horizon Europe, which Canada joined in July 2024. Italy and Canada will work jointly to improve recycling of critical minerals and critical raw materials.
Mapping and exploration: Share best practices on respective exploration plans and explore opportunities for collaboration between the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) and the Geological Survey of Canada.
We have committed to regular engagement on these issues through the Energy Dialogue, to be launched by Canada’s Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson and Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin in the coming months. Our Statement of Intent today demonstrates Canada and Italy’s strong partnership, and we hope that it will bring many opportunities to continue building on our longstanding bilateral relationship.
Parks Canada’s Hometown Heroes program honours Floyd H. Prosser
October 10, 2024 Halifax, Nova Scotia Parks Canada
A Parks Canada ceremony is being held to honour Floyd H. Prosser as a Hometown Hero for his exceptional achievements and outstanding contributions during his time with the Canadian Army overseas during the Second World War and in civilian life. In sharing his story with Canadians, we acknowledge how his loyalty and continued commitment to his community made him an inspirational hero in Canada.
Darren Fisher, Member of Parliament for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour, will be in attendance on behalf of the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada.
Alannah Phillips, Field Unit Superintendent of Mainland Nova Scotia, will also be present to help honour and celebrate this Hometown Hero inductee.
Please note that this advisory is subject to change without notice.
The details are as follows:
Date: October 12, 2024 Time: 1:00 p.m. ADT Location: Halifax Citadel 5425 Sackville St. Halifax NS B3J3Y3
-30-
France Faucher Manager, Commemorations and Engagement france.faucher@pc.gc.ca Tel.: 819-210-7266
The ASEAN Foreign Ministers and the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today witnessed the signing of the Instrument of Accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, H.E. Xavier Bettel, on the sidelines of the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits and Related Summits in Vientiane, Lao PDR.
The accession by Luxembourg brings the number of High Contracting Parties (HCPs) to the TAC to 55. The growing number of HCPs reflects the importance and relevance of the TAC in the current regional and global context.
The post Luxembourg signs Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.
Regional development projects from Italy, Malta, Poland, Hungary, and Spain all scooped up awards at the REGIOSTARS awards ceremony in Brussels. The awards recognise projects that through the EU’s Cohesion Policy deliver change on the ground and strengthen economic and social progress in the EU.
A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, in the context of a request to use IMF resources (borrow from the IMF), as part of discussions of staff monitored programs, or as part of other staff monitoring of economic developments.
The authorities have consented to the publication of this statement. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.
Washington, DC:Kuwait has a window of opportunity to implement needed fiscal and structural reforms to boost private sector-led inclusive growth and diversify its economy away from oil:
Gradual fiscal consolidation of about 12 percent of GDP is needed to reinforce intergenerational equity.
Structural reforms should focus on improving the business environment, attracting FDI, and unifying the labor market.
These reforms should be underpinned by continued prudent monetary and financial sector policies.
Economic statistics should be strengthened to support well-informed policymaking.
Recent Developments, Outlook, and Risks
Kuwait has a window of opportunity to implement needed fiscal and structural reforms. Political turmoil has gripped Kuwait in recent years, stalling reforms. The political gridlock was broken in May 2024, when H.H. the Amir Sheikh Meshaal al‑Ahmad al‑Jaber al‑Sabah dissolved the Parliament and suspended parts of the Constitution for up to 4 years, allowing reforms to be expedited.
The economic recovery was disrupted in 2023, and inflation is moderating. Real GDP contracted by 3.6 percent in 2023. This economic downturn was concentrated in the oil sector, which contracted by 4.3 percent in 2023 due to an OPEC+ oil production cut. In addition, the non-oil sector is estimated to have contracted by 1.0 percent in 2023, primarily reflecting lower manufacturing activity in oil refining. Headline CPI inflation declined to 3.6 percent in 2023 reflecting lower core and food inflation. More recently, headline inflation moderated further to 2.9 percent (y-o-y) in August 2024, given lower housing and transport inflation.
The external position remained strong in 2023. The current account surplus moderated to 31.4 percent of GDP in 2023, with a 10.3 percent of GDP reduction in the trade surplus from lower oil prices and production largely offset by a 7.4 percent of GDP increase in the income surplus. Official reserve assets amounted to a comfortable 9.0 months of projected imports at end-2023. However, the external position was substantially weaker than the level implied by fundamentals and desirable policies in 2023, partly reflecting inadequate public saving of oil revenue.
The fiscal balance weakened in FY2023/24. The fiscal balance of the budgetary central government swung from a surplus of 11.7 percent of GDP in FY2022/23 to a deficit of 3.1 percent of GDP in FY2023/24. This mainly reflected a 5.8 percent of GDP reduction in oil revenue given lower oil prices and production, and a 9.7 percent of GDP increase in current spending, of which 5.7 percent of GDP went to the public sector wage bill while 3.4 percent of GDP went to subsidies. Nonetheless, the fiscal balance of the general government (which includes the income from SWF investments) was an estimated 26.0 percent of GDP in FY2023/24.
Financial stability has been maintained. Banks have sustained strong capital and liquidity buffers to satisfy the CBK’s prudent regulatory requirements, while NPLs remain low given judicious lending practices and are well provisioned for.
Under the baseline assuming current policies, the economy is projected to remain in recession in 2024, then to recover over the medium term:
Real GDP will contract by a further 3.2 percent in 2024 due to an additional OPEC+ oil production cut, then will expand by 2.8 percent in 2025 as the cuts get unwound, and will grow broadly in line with potential thereafter.
The incipient recovery of the non-oil sector will continue in 2024, with non-oil GDP expanding by 1.3 percent despite fiscal consolidation, after which it will gradually converge to its potential of 2.5 percent.
Headline CPI inflation will continue to moderate to 3.0 percent in 2024 as excess demand pressure dissipates and imported food prices fall, then will gradually converge to 2.0 percent as the non-oil output gap closes.
The current account surplus will moderate further to 28.4 percent of GDP in 2024 as lower oil prices and production reduce the trade surplus, then will gradually decline over the medium term alongside oil prices.
The fiscal deficit of the budgetary central government will increase to 5.1 percent of GDP in FY2024/25 as lower oil revenue more than offsets expenditure rationalization, then will steadily rise by about 1 percent of GDP per year over the medium term under current policies.
The risks surrounding these baseline economic projections are skewed to the downside. The economy is highly exposed to a variety of global risks through its oil dependence, in particular to commodity price volatility, a global growth slowdown or acceleration, and the further intensification of regional conflicts. The materialization of these risks would be transmitted to Kuwait mainly via their impacts on oil prices and production. Domestic risks are primarily associated with the implementation of fiscal and structural reforms, which could get further delayed or accelerated. These reforms are needed to diversify the economy away from oil, which would enhance its resilience and stimulate private investment.
Economic Reforms—Transitioning to a Dynamic and Diversified Economy
The authorities aspire to implement reforms to support the transition to a dynamic and diversified economy. To achieve this goal, a well-sequenced package of fiscal and structural reforms is needed. Structural reforms to improve the business environment and attract foreign investment are needed to boost private sector-led inclusive growth. Meanwhile, fiscal reforms should be implemented to reinforce intergenerational equity while incentivizing Kuwaitis to pursue newly created job opportunities in the private sector, in particular gradual fiscal consolidation.
The contractionary stance of fiscal policy is appropriate. Fiscal policy was strongly procyclical in FY2023/24, with a fiscal expansion of 6.9 percent of non-oil GDP contributing to excess demand pressure. Under the FY2024/25 Budget, the non-oil fiscal balance of the budgetary central government should increase by 4.7 percent of non-oil GDP relative to FY2023/24. This large fiscal consolidation will help close the non-oil output gap while reinforcing intergenerational equity. It is mainly driven by current expenditure rationalization, concentrated in planned subsidy cuts worth 4.3 percent of non-oil GDP.
Substantial further fiscal consolidation is needed to ensure intergenerational equity. Under the baseline, the projected fiscal balance of the general government is far below the level needed to maintain the living standards of Kuwaitis for generations to come. A prudent approach calls for gradual fiscal consolidation of about 12 percent of GDP to reinforce intergenerational equity, alongside structural reforms to diversify the economy away from oil. These reforms would also reinforce external sustainability.
Expenditure and tax policy reforms would be needed to support the transition to a dynamic and diversified economy:
Fiscal consolidation should be implemented at a pace of 1 to 2 percent of GDP per year until the PIH fiscal balance target is achieved. This would offset or reverse the projected roughly 1 percent of GDP per year increase in the fiscal deficit of the budgetary central government over the medium term, without reducing growth much.
Compensation of government employees surged over the past decade, to the top of the GCC. A public sector wage setting mechanism should be introduced to gradually reduce the 41 percent premium over the private sector, while a hiring cap should be used to steadily lower the public sector employment share, both towards high-income country levels.
Hydrocarbon consumption subsidies are the highest in the GCC. They should be phased out by gradually raising retail fuel and electricity prices to their cost-recovery levels while providing targeted transfers to vulnerable groups.
On-budget public investment plummeted over the past decade, to near the bottom of the GCC. It should be raised to build up the quantity and quality of infrastructure towards high-income country levels.
The hydrocarbon share of government revenue remains the highest in the GCC. In the context of the global minimum corporate tax agreement, the government’s plan to extend the CIT to all large domestic companies is welcome. To boost non-oil revenue mobilization, Kuwait should introduce the GCC-wide VAT and excise tax.
The conduct of fiscal policy should be strengthened with Public Financial Management reforms. To align budget planning and execution with fiscal policy objectives, the Ministry of Finance should introduce a medium-term fiscal framework—including a fiscal rules framework with a public debt ceiling and non-oil fiscal balance target—underpinned by a medium-term macroeconomic framework. To inform fiscal policymaking and assess reform proposals, the capacity of the Macro-Fiscal Unit should be strengthened. To facilitate orderly fiscal financing, the Liquidity and Financing Law should be enacted expeditiously.
Monetary and Financial Sector Policies—Maintaining Macrofinancial Stability
The exchange rate peg to an undisclosed basket of currencies remains an appropriate nominal anchor for monetary policy. It has supported low and stable inflation for many years. Sustaining this successful monetary policy track record requires preserving the independence of the CBK. The monetary transmission mechanism should be strengthened by deepening the interbank and domestic sovereign debt markets, establishing an efficient capital market, and phasing out interest rate caps.
The restrictive stance of monetary policy is appropriate. The exchange rate regime gives the CBK relative flexibility to conduct monetary policy. The policy rate is currently in line with controlling inflation and stabilizing non-oil output while supporting the exchange rate peg, and is above neutral. Under the baseline, monetary normalization is warranted, as inflation further moderates and the non-oil output gap closes.
Systemic risk remains contained and prudently managed. The credit cycle downturn triggered by the pandemic has been gradually unwinding, with the credit gap estimated to be nearly closed. Under the CBK’s latest stress tests, the capitalization and liquidity of the banking system generally exceeded Basel III minimum requirements, while individual bank shortcomings were limited. The stance of macroprudential policy is appropriate given contained systemic risk and subdued credit growth. Given that capital requirements exceed Basel III minimum requirements, the CBK could consider reclassifying part of its country specific capital buffer as a positive neutral countercyclical capital buffer. It should also continue its practice of regularly reviewing the adequacy of its financial regulatory perimeter and macroprudential toolkit. Finally, the CBK should continue its risk-based supervisory approach to assessing banks and effectively addressing any vulnerabilities.
Structural financial sector reforms are needed to enhance financial intermediation efficiency. The unlimited guarantee on bank deposits should be gradually replaced with a limited deposit insurance framework to address moral hazard, while the interest rate caps on loans should be phased out to support efficient risk pricing.
A comprehensive and well-sequenced structural reform package is needed to increase non-oil potential growth. The initial priorities are to improve the business environment by enhancing transparency, raising efficiency, and further opening up the economy. Meanwhile, labor market reforms should be gradually phased in to incentivize private sector-led inclusive growth.
The business environment should be further improved to raise economic competitiveness and promote private investment. To boost transparency, data disclosure on secondary market real estate transactions should be enhanced, while universal auditing standards for corporate balance sheets should be adopted. To raise efficiency, the government should improve public infrastructure, conduct regulatory impact assessments with public consultations, integrate digital public service delivery across ministries, and further streamline business establishment processes. To attract FDI, full foreign ownership of businesses should be permitted, while foreign ownership restrictions on land should be relaxed. Finally, public land sales for residential and commercial development should be scaled up.
Major labor market reforms are needed to promote economic diversification. To incentivize Kuwaitis to seek employment in the private sector, compensation and working conditions should be better harmonized across the public and private sectors. Enhancing the quality of education and aligning it with private sector needs would raise productivity and support economic diversification. Employment of highly-skilled expatriate workers should be supported by introducing targeted visa programs and reforming job sponsorship frameworks, promoting knowledge transfer. Higher female labor force participation should be encouraged by further improving the working environment for women, including by fully implementing the legal requirements for childcare in the private sector.
Reforms are needed to strengthen AML/CFT effectiveness. The AML/CFT framework should be strengthened expeditiously following a risk-based approach to protect its effectiveness.
Progress with climate change adaptation and mitigation should be accelerated. The government has made progress with implementing the 2019 National Adaptation Plan, but is delayed in developing its mitigation plan.
Data provision has some shortcomings that somewhat hamper surveillance, which the authorities should address within their legal constraints. An expenditure-side National Accounts decomposition remains unavailable for 2023, while multi-year delays in the publication of GDP data after the pandemic confounded surveillance and policymaking. The CSB urgently needs additional funding to boost its capacity and resume its annual Establishment Survey, which has not been conducted since 2019. The exclusion of government investment income and SOE profit transfers from the Government Finance statistics hampers fiscal policy analysis, while the omission of government foreign assets from the IIP statistics generates stock-flow inconsistencies with the BOP statistics.
The mission thanks the authorities for their warm hospitality and constructive engagement.
KEFLAVIK, Iceland – Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 8 operated alongside 17 NATO ally and partner nations during Exercise Northern Challenge 2024, Sept. 26-Oct. 9, 2024. Northern Challenge demonstrates the United States’ commitment to NATO allies and partners by integrating efforts to plan and execute complex EOD detection, neutralization, and exploitation capabilities within a multinational framework.
Northern Challenge is an annual, joint-funded multinational exercise hosted by the Icelandic Coast Guard aimed at preparing NATO allies and partners for international deployments to clear the way for lethal, resilient forces to operate in contested environments and disrupt our adversaries in conflict.
EODMU 8, assigned to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 68, trained alongside tactical units from U.S. Marine Corps’ 8th Engineer Support Battalion and U.S. Army’s 702nd and 720th Ordinance Companies . Additional participating NATO allies and partners included Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and United Kingdom.
Northern Challenge 2024 included roughly 330 participants, 500+ improvised explosive devices (IEDs), 380 land tasks, and 120 maritime tasks. Throughout the exercise, two teams from EODMU 8 completed 50 training serials and provided four exercise control members who assessed and mentored other nations’ teams. During the exercise, EOD technicians responded to simulated IEDs threats of increasing complexity over a two-week period.
“At Northern Challenge 2024, we’re working with our NATO allies and partners learning different tools for the toolbox and increasing our lethality on the battlefield,” said Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Jake Ferguson, platoon 8-2-2 Leading Chief Petty Officer, EODMU 8. “We’ve had some awesome training put on by our Icelandic and British partners; we’ve done a lot of both maritime and land-based IED serials that we’ve been able to defeat. We’re also turning in evidence, working with the exploitation cell to develop counter-IED tactics and reporting procedures.”
In addition to conducting complex training scenarios, EOD technicians from across participating countries collaborated within a multinational exploitation center to enhance interoperability at the operational level. These cells ensured that EOD teams were organized to effectively counter IED threats while ensuring the intelligence analysis and information sharing is in accordance with NATO standards and procedures.
The exploitation cell was comprised of the Technical Exploitation Coordination Cell (TECC) and the Combined Exploitation Laboratory (CEL). The TECC and CEL fuse capacities and capabilities across a joint interagency multinational structure. This multinational effort provided high-level analysis of collected exploitable material (CEM), refining fidelity of the operating area and providing critical information to the operator on the ground or in the water.
CEM in the lab consisted of a full scope of exploitation methods such as triage, x-ray, chemical analysis, biometrics, forensics, electronics engineering exploitation, and document and media exploitation.
The end state of the analysis is to inform the command, provide enhanced operator threat assessment on the battlefield, and ultimately deny the adversary anonymity.
U.S. Navy EOD technicians from Expeditionary Exploitation Unit One (EXU-1) led the CEL in coordination with personnel from U.S. Army Force Europe (USAREUR) and other allies and partners. Their mission throughout the exercise was to assist in processing and analyzing exploitable material collected from simulated explosive threats, analyze and consolidate the findings, then brief the overall threat environment and an assessment of next 24-48 hours, providing a tactical picture for stronger decision-making on the ground and better situational awareness.
Lt. Ryan DuTot, an EOD officer assigned to EXU-1, served as the exercise’s Combined Exploitation Laboratory office in charge.
“Northern Challenge 2024 is not just about defusing bombs; it’s about harnessing cutting-edge technology to outsmart adversaries and strengthen global security alliances,” said DuTot. “The integration of technical exploitation into this exercise ensures we don’t just neutralize threats, but also gain critical intelligence from them. Any time we are working with partner nations in an environment like this, it’s a force multiplier that provides long-term strategic benefits.”
Operating in a range of environments and exchanging knowledge with regional NATO allies and partners enhances every participating unit’s readiness and relationships with international and interagency counterparts.
“Exercises like Northern Challenge provide an excellent opportunity to rehearse our IED defeat tactics in austere environments,” said Cmdr. John Kennedy, commander, EOD Mobile Unit 8. “The unique value of Northern Challenge is the exploitation piece. For our operational platoons, the drills didn’t end at ‘defeating the device’; they concluded after ‘exploiting the device’ so we could gain an appreciation of how the device works, and who employed it.”
Northern Challenge provided practical training to operators across the joint force, with the integration of the exploitation cell to enhance the intelligence picture driving the threat assessment. As a result, the United States military is better prepared to deploy EOD forces throughout the U.S. European Command’s area of responsibility in support of the collective defense of NATO allies.
“We’ve worked with the Canadians, Swedes, Icelanders, Polish, Lithuanians, and others; these guys are so good at their craft. Everybody here is a warrior, and they all volunteered to do the same job. Exchanging tactics, techniques, and procedures with them is making every single one of us better so that the enemy doesn’t get a leg up on us,” said Ferguson. U.S. military participation in Northern Challenge 2024 demonstrates that U.S. and NATO joint forces are ready and postured with combat-credible capability to assure, deter, and defend in an increasingly complex security environment.
CTF 68 is a part of the U.S. 6th Fleet and commands all Naval Expeditionary Combat Forces, in U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command areas of responsibility. Navy Expeditionary Combat Forces bridge the gap from sea to shore and provides expeditionary capabilities in remote, complex and austere environments.
EODGRU 2 and EODMU 8 operate as part of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command and provide skilled, capable, and combat-ready deployable Navy EOD and Navy Diver forces around the globe to support a range of operations.
Washington, DC: The World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are pleased to announce that Tanzania is the second country benefiting from the Enhanced Cooperation Framework for Climate Action (the Framework). This follows the approval of an arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) in June 2024 by the IMF Executive Board, and the WBG’s active engagement on climate action in the country.
Tanzania is highly vulnerable to climate change which poses significant risks to its macroeconomic, fiscal, and social development. Through the Framework, the IMF and WBG working closely with other development partners, will coordinate their efforts to support Tanzania’s ambitious policy reform agenda to address risks and challenges associated with climate change and enhance the resilience of the Tanzanian economy.
The Framework aims to support efforts by Tanzania’s authorities to bring together development partners, the private sector and civil society to address the adverse impacts of climate change. Building on their respective analytical expertise and financing instruments, the IMF and WBG will jointly provide critical support to Tanzania’s authorities in advancing climate action. This will be done through an integrated, country-led approach to policy reforms and public and private climate investments, including through complementary and well-sequenced reform measures.
Tanzania is the second country to benefit from this Framework, which builds on technical analysis such as the IMF’s Climate Policy Diagnostics (CPD). The country authorities, the WBG and the IMF identified several areas where synergies in capacity development and policy support will be most beneficial, such as (i) climate resilient public financial management, (ii) energy, water and other reforms that will build resilience and promote sustainable development, (iii) disaster risk management and social protection, and (iv) supervision of financial sector climate-related risks.
Under the Framework, the IMF-WBG will support Tanzania to consider climate change as a key element of medium-term public investment planning and prioritization. The IMF will back the introduction of climate resilient public investment regulations and reporting, while the WBG will focus on supporting sectors that help strengthen Tanzania’s resilience to climate change, such as energy, water, social protection, and agriculture. The two institutions will also support improvements to Tanzania’s disaster risk management policy and implementation, including a disaster risk financing framework and enhancements to the social safety net to make it responsive to climate shocks.
The WBG and the IMF will also support policies to improve water resource management, while IMF-supported reforms will help expand villages’ land use planning and management. Tanzania will also develop supervision of financial sector climate-related risks with support from the IMF and WBG.
Finally, the Framework will help catalyze official technical and financial assistance and private sector financing. The IMF and WBG stand ready to support a country-led platform to mobilize additional programmatic and project climate financing that could be implemented in 2025.
The Government Actuary’s Department announces the reappointment of Les Philpott as non-executive GAD Board chair.
Credit: Shutterstock
Les is an experienced Chair and non-executive director, having held a diverse range of non-executive roles across the public, private and charity sectors.
He has a background in public management at senior executive levels. He formerly held the role of Chief Executive at the Office for Nuclear Regulation and previously held senior leadership positions in the Health and Safety Executive.
Commenting on the reappointment Fiona Dunsire, the Government Actuary, said: “With his business understanding and non-executive director experience at chair level, Les has been an insightful and inspirational presence as the Chair of the GAD Board.
“I look forward to working further with him during his second term as we continue to develop the range of work GAD supports across government.”
Les also commented and said: “I am delighted to have been reappointed to this role and proud to continue to support the work of such talented, committed people throughout GAD as its Board Chair, particularly in taking forward our new business strategy.”
Notes:
Les will continue to lead GAD’s Board as the Non-Executive Chair, for a further 3 years, ending in September 2027.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has extended the appointment of Sir John Armitt as the Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission.
Sir John Armitt’s appointment as Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has been extended for six months to support the development of the ten-year strategy and the creation of National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.
Sir John has served as Chair of the NIC since 2018, before which he was Deputy Chair and a commissioner since the NIC was established in 2015. Sir John was reappointed as Chair in January 2023 for a further two years. Sir John’s current appointment is due to end on 18 January 2025, when he will have served ten years at the NIC. However, due to the need for strong leadership and continuity at the NIC during this period of transition, Ministers have agreed to extend Sir John’s appointment for a further six months to support the NIC during this time.
Sir John’s appointment will now end on 18 July 2025.
About the Appointment Process
Sir John Armitt’s appointment has been extended for a further six months following the provisions of his original appointment, having met required performance standards and with the agreement of ministers. The chair role is a non-executive part-time position.
Sir John has confirmed that he has not undertaken any political activity within the previous five years including donating to, or canvassing on behalf of, any political party.
Aberdeen is set to sparkle over the festive period as a new light trail is added to the Christmas programme later this year.
Residents and visitors will be able to enjoy the return of traditional festive favourites including the Christmas Parade, Aberdeen Christmas Village including the Curated in the Quad Christmas Market, and festive lighting in Union Terrace Gardens.
The events line-up includes:
Aberdeen Christmas Village – Thursday 14 November to Tuesday 31 December 2024
Christmas Light-up Trail – Thursday 14 November to Tuesday 31 December 2024
Curated in the Quad Christmas Market at Marischal College – Weekends only (Friday to Sunday) from 15 November to 22 December 2024
Aberdeen Christmas Parade and Charlie House Santa Run – Sunday 17 November 2024
Nativity Scene – Monday 2 December 2024 to Sunday 5 January 2025 (Blessing Event: 2 December)
Carol Concerts – Saturday 14 December, David Welch Winter Gardens, Duthie Park
Aberdeen Lord Provost, Dr David Cameron said: “The festive events that will be taking place across the city are always so well received and I enjoy seeing all ages enjoying what the city has to offer.
“Each year the events taking place offer something for everyone and it is always great to see families out enjoying the festivities. It also encourages more people to come into the city centre and visit local businesses.”
The new Christmas Light-up Trail will see 12 light features located across the city centre, with families able to discover them all while taking some fabulous Christmas selfies.
The Aberdeen Christmas Parade will feature a new route this year due to closures on Union Street Central. The Parade will begin as normal at Albyn Place and turn onto Union Terrace before finishing at His Majesty’s Theatre.
Ian Littlewood, Codona’s Operations Director, said: ‘We are really excited about the event this year. The new layout and huge number of extra stalls at the Curated in the Quad Christmas Market is going to look spectacular’.
Adrian Watson, chief executive of Aberdeen Inspired, said: “As the song says, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year – and Aberdeen’s Christmas celebrations are among the most wonderful in the country. After all, last year’s Aberdeen Christmas Village was ranked the fifth best in the UK.
“I have no doubt this year’s will be just as sparkling, thrilling and magical – all the elements that make Christmas in Aberdeen so special. Adding to that will be the unique Curated In The Quad festive market – 50% bigger than last year – that will showcase the finest producers and creatives in the north-east, raise money for the vital work of Charlie House, all while bringing thousands of people into the city centre to boost local shops, bars, restaurants and businesses.”
All events are subject to planning and licensing permission. Full details of the Christmas in Aberdeen events will be announced shortly via our website.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3
Introductory Statement on Syria. Delivered by the UK’s Permanent Representative to the WTO and UN, Simon Manley.
Location:
Geneva
Delivered on:
(Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)
Thank you Mr President,
I have the honour to present draft resolution L.11 on the human rights situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, on behalf of: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Qatar, Türkiye, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom.
Mr President,
When he briefed this Council last month, the Chair of the Commission of Inquiry, Paulo Pinheiro described Syria, as a “quagmire of despair”. A fitting, yet tragic, depiction of the depth of human suffering Syrians continue to endure at the hands of Assad and his allies.
Once again, the Commission’s report documents violence against civilians; arbitrary arrests; and detentions under the most horrific conditions where torture and sexual and gender-based violence are rife.
Families receive no information or are misinformed about the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones following their detention. There is simply no end to the cruelty that the regime is apparently willing to inflict on those that it is meant to protect.
The draft resolution highlights violations and abuses against a generation of children in Syria, who have known nothing but a world where violence, fear, hunger and loss are a daily reality.
A world where at least 2.4 million children are out of school. Where those as young as 11 have endured sexual and gender-based violence in state-run detention facilities. Where children are the innocent victims of indiscriminate attacks on schools, hospitals and civilian areas.
As we approach International Day of the Girl Child, it is important we note the particular vulnerability of girls in Syria. Throughout this long conflict, girls have been targeted based on their gender, subject to forced marriage, and have taken on increased care-giving responsibilities. It is no wonder that of those out of education, girls are disproportionately affected.
Mr President,
The resolution we present today condemns such violations and abuses and calls for them to stop.
It demands that attacks on schools, healthcare and medical facilities cease. And it implores all parties to maintain unhindered, safe and sustainable humanitarian access to those in need.
Importantly, the resolution acknowledges that Syria’s future depends on the ability of generations to come to engage meaningfully in a political solution to the conflict.
I thank all those who have engaged constructively in the negotiation process.
If a vote is called on this resolution, I urge members of the Council to vote in favour of it.
Commissioner Pinheiro made clear that Syrians continue to look to this house for hope, for help. We cannot, should not, will not, abandon them.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Information on the new processes for licence terminations for those serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) or Detention for Public Protection (DPP) sentence
The Parole Board is currently updating information on IPP licence terminations to reflect the relevant provisions within the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 that will come into force shortly. Revised guidance for Parole Board members will be published in the near future.
Anyone serving an IPP or DPP sentence, or family and friends of someone serving an IPP or DPP sentence requiring independent advice is recommended to call the Howard League for Penal Reform hotline: 01209 701 888. More information can be read here: IPP Licence Termination Hotline
Further guidance can be found in the licence termination legal guide below, produced jointly by the Howard League for Penal Reform, the Prison Reform Trust and Prisoners’ Advice Service.
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Cllr Tom Hunt, Leader of Sheffield City Council, talks about the decision to hold a consultation on bus franchising:
Sheffield is transforming day by day. New homes are being built and regeneration projects are underway with cranes dotted across the city’s skyline. It is an exciting time for our city.
And now we are moving forward with a plan to improve our buses.
Buses are vital for thousands of people in Sheffield to get to work, access education, go shopping, to care for loved ones and to see friends and family. But I know that our buses are currently not good enough.
For 40 years, since privatisation in the 1980s, private bus companies have been able to pick and choose routes, cut services and put profit ahead of passengers. Our deregulated bus system means communities have little say and no control.
There is a way to turn this around. This week we have taken a big step forward to bring our buses back under public control in Sheffield and across South Yorkshire.
On October 23rd, a public consultation is being launched about whether to move to a ‘franchise’ model for our buses. This would bring regulation of bus routes, frequencies, fares, and tickets under local public control.
The consultation will ask you if South Yorkshire should adopt a franchise system. This is what has happened in Greater Manchester. Mayor Andy Burnham took control of the bus network in September 2023. Since then, figures show that there has been a more reliable service in Manchester with record numbers of people using buses.
This is what we want to achieve in Sheffield. Better bus services with more people using them would ease congestion on our roads, it will help further improve air quality, and it would provide people with more opportunities.
Improving public transport is about social justice. Unreliable and infrequent buses rob people of opportunity. Everyone, wherever you live, whatever your income, should have access to good quality public transport.
We know that public transport that is run for the public works. In March, South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, brought the Supertram back into public control for the first time in 27 years. The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority is now responsible for the running, upkeep and expansion of the network, and are developing ambitious plans to expand the tram network.
I’m hugely optimistic for Sheffield. Creating a better bus network in the coming years is a key part of our plans to give people more opportunities. Look out for the consultation and please have your say. Whether you currently use the buses or not, we want to hear from you.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
A study published in JAMA Network Open looks at maternal folate levels and congenital heart disease risk in babies.
Dr Erica D. Watson, Associate Professor in Reproductive Biology at University of Cambridge, said:
“It is important to be responsible when writing about this subject because folic acid supplementation has real benefits to fetal health, and we do not want to scare people off from taking their pregnancy vitamins!
The study indicates that maternal folic acid supplementation largely benefits the development of the baby’s heart. However, the study also shows that in some cases high folate levels in the mother’s blood was associated with an increased risk of heart defects in the baby. More research is needed to understand why this is. It is difficult to predict exactly how much folic acid is too much because genetics, metabolism, diet, and other aspects of the environment of both parents might interact to impact heart development. Importantly, moderate folic acid supplementation likely benefits fetal heart development.”
‘Maternal Serum Folate During Pregnancy and Congenital Heart Disease in Offspring’ by Qu et al., 2024 was published in JAMA Network Open at 16:00 UK time on Thursday 10th October.
DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.38747
Declared interests
Dr Erica D. Watson “I have no conflicts of interest to declare”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Hundreds of people who took part in violent disorder during the summer have already been jailed.
Hundreds of people who took part in violent disorder during the summer have already been jailed, data published today reveals.
The rapid action taken across the justice system by police, prosecutors and those working in courts has meant that 388 people have been jailed to date – nearly half (47.5%) of all those who have appeared in court so far.
In total, over 800 people who took part in violent thuggery have now had an initial court hearing as part of a collective effort across criminal justice agencies to keep communities safe and free from further violence and punish those who took part in the mindless disorder. Of these, almost 500 cases have been completed.
The data released today shows that between 30 July and 3 October:
819 defendants have been received by the courts in connection with the public disorder
817 have already had their first hearing
477 have been sentenced
388 people have been sent to immediate custody
324 cases are still in progress
Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said:
The mindless minority who took part in the disgraceful scenes we witnessed this summer were warned they would feel the full force of the law. This data shows that many have already seen the inside of a prison cell and many more face the prospect in future.
I would like to pay tribute to the dedicated professionals across the criminal justice system who have worked tirelessly to deliver swift justice.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Government makes significant expansion to size of attendance mentoring to get thousands more persistently absent pupils back in school
Thousands more pupils will benefit from the support of a specialist attendance mentor as the government ramps up work to tackle the epidemic of school absence.
Persistent absence across the country has increased since the pandemic, with around one in five pupils across the country currently missing 10% or more of school.
Backed by £15 million, the government will expand the investment and reach of attendance mentoring to reach 10,000 more children and cover an additional 10 areas with some of the worst attendance rates across the country. Nottingham, Ipswich and Blackpool are among the new areas that will benefit from the expansion.
The original programme, which has been running since 2022 in five pilot areas, sees attendance mentors provide one to one support to persistently absent pupils including those with SEND or mental ill health to break down the barriers to attendance, getting them back in the classroom, learning and thriving.
The new mentoring programme builds on the government’s plan to deliver free breakfast clubs in every primary school, with delivery starting in up to 750 schools from as early as April 2025. This is one of many programmes that will make sure children start the day ready to learn to ensure they leave school with the best life chances.
Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson said:
Tackling the national epidemic of school absence is non-negotiable if we are to break down the barriers to opportunity so many young people face.
For too long persistent absence has held back young people across the country and denied them the life chances that they deserve: this government is gripping this generational challenge facing our schools.
This significant new investment will help thousands of children back into the classroom and marks an important step towards truly turning the tide on persistent absence, helping us drive high and rising standards in every school.
Pupils on the programme will be supported over a 12 to 20 week period and will have a specific plan to help them, developed by the mentor.
This might include helping pupils to manage anxious feelings, developing their confidence and self-esteem, establishing more consistent routines at home and supporting pupils to access support from wider services.
The programme will be run by delivery partners, Etio, a specialist consultancy that is already running a number of successful education projects in England, including the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics.
UK Managing Director at Etio, Dr. Gordon Carver said:
Etio has been awarded the Attendance Mentoring Pilot Expansion (AMPE) project by the DfE, which aims to improve attendance and produce a robust evidence base for what works. The project is expected to yield important sector insights for tackling one of the most pressing issues in education. Headed up by Etio Project Director, Laura Bell, and a brilliant team behind her, we are keen to begin this important work.
The pilot programme has already successfully supported pupils with a wide range of challenges including low-level anxiety, special educational needs, poor attitude to learning and complex family circumstances. The pilot evaluation showed improvements in individual pupils’ attendance, wellbeing, home routines, and engagement at school.
To make sure the new contract also provides the opportunity to build a more robust evidence base around what works, the department has appointed the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) to oversee a full external evaluation of the programme.
Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza said:
As Children’s Commissioner, children tell me all the time that they want to be in school, so this investment is a welcome step in addressing some of the barriers to attendance. These barriers are varied and complex: unmet mental health or SEND needs, family commitments such as being a young carer, or a disengagement from school that needs special care to resolve.
I remain deeply concerned by the rate of severe and persistent absences, which have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. Attendance mentors can be an important part of the solution, by being a trusted person working closely with children and their families.
I have seen through my role as Chair of Greater Manchester Local Attendance Action Alliance how shared objectives, learning from what works and focusing on meeting every child’s needs means we can see real progress. Attendance must be a shared and top priority. Only when we ensure every child can engage with education, will we truly break down the barriers to opportunity.
The programme builds on the government’s statutory Working together to improve school attendance guidance which takes a ‘support first’ approach to managing school absence, by working with children and their families to address their specific barriers to regular school attendance.
The government is committed to tackling the root causes of absence including by providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every secondary school, introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary and ensuring earlier intervention in mainstream schools for pupils with special needs.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
We worked closely with the government on a purchase from National Grid to form the publicly owned National Energy System Operator.
Credit: iStockPhoto
We worked closely with the government on the purchase from National Grid of the Electricity System Operator to form the publicly owned National Energy System Operator (NESO).
The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) worked with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). DESNZ decided to set up NESO to drive progress towards net zero while maintaining energy security and minimising costs for consumers.
Clean power
The change means Britain’s energy system will be planned by a new publicly owned organisation as part of an overall plan to help deliver clean power by 2030.
It will help connect new generation projects with the electricity grid, working alongside Great British Energy to deploy renewable energy. NESO launched on 1 October 2024.
Credit: Shutterstock
GAD’s expertise
We worked to time-critical deadlines and provided substantial support around the specialist issue of pensions.
Support and advice
Our support for DESNZ involved collaborating with numerous parties inside and outside government, working closely with DESNZ’s legal advisers. We were pleased to receive feedback from DESNZ on our “excellent service, support and advice”.
Claire King (Head of Implementation at DESNZ for this project) worked with the GAD team and said: “GAD approached this transaction with the utmost professionalism. The team dealt with the many stakeholders as our subject matter experts in pension transfers and managing investment risk. Their experience and enthusiasm helped us to drive the project forward and reach a solution that took account of all parties’ needs.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The VMD’s online services will be unavailable from 6am Saturday 12 October until 8pm Sunday 13 October due to essential site maintenance.
Most of the VMD’s online services will be unavailable from 6am on Saturday 12 October due to essential site maintenance. We expect that all services will resume by 8pm on Sunday 13 October.
The services that will be temporarily unavailable are:
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The UK’s International Climate Finance (ICF) has helped 110 million people adapt to the effects of climate change.
Reduced or avoided over 105 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, and avoided 750,000 hectares of ecosystem loss, according to official analysis released today.
Climate finance has helped to mobilise £8.4 billion of public and £7.8 billion of private finance for climate change.
The UK’s International Climate Finance (ICF), helps developing countries limit and manage the impacts of climate change, mitigate further global warming from emissions and avert, minimise and address loss and damage.
The results published today demonstrate the transformational impact of the UK’s International Climate Finance from 2011, ensuring developing countries have access to clean energy and innovative technology to drive the global transition to net zero, while supporting the most vulnerable countries who are experiencing the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Over the last 12 years, the UK has:
Supported over 82 million people with improved access to clean energy.
Avoided or reduced 105 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to taking all UK cars off the road for approximately 1 year and 7 months.
Avoided 750,000 hectares of ecosystem loss, the equivalent to more than 1 million football pitches.
Through UK International Climate Finance, UK aid is investing in innovative solutions to tackle climate change, such as energy efficiency and forestry across the Global South to demonstrate their commercial viabilities:
The Climate Public Partnership (CP3) programme has been addressing the dual challenge of both climate challenge and access to clean, affordable energy by building a public-private partnership to unlock private investments. By investing in private equity funds, including £50 million to the Catalyst Fund, over a portfolio of 124 projects, UK aid successfully mobilised over £86 million of private finance to date.
In Madagascar and Indonesia, UK aid is helping to protect, restore and sustainably manage mangrove forests while reducing the poverty of the coastal communities that rely on them. By working together with national governments, local communities and the private sector, the Blue Forests Programme developed green business opportunities based on sustainable mangrove forestry and fisheries management and helped protect around 58,000 hectares of mangrove forests and delivered around 660,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide savings.
These results come as the UK has taken swift action at home to tackle the climate crisis and provide energy security for British families and businesses. The UK is first major economy to set a landmark goal in delivering clean power by 2030. In the space of a few months the Government has already:
Lifted the ban on onshore wind in England to roll out a new supply of clean and cheap power.
Delivered the most successful renewables energy auction to date, securing enough clean power to supply the equivalent of 11 million homes.
Introduced Great British Energy, creating the next generation of skilled jobs and protecting family from volatile fossil fuel prices that helped drive the cost of living crisis.
Consented unprecedented amounts of nationally significant solar – 2GW – more than the last 14 years combined.
The UK will use that strong action at home to accelerate global action at the COP29 summit in Baku, raising ambition to agree a new financial target to support developing countries in tackling climate change.
Minister for International Development, Anneliese Dodds said:
International climate finance is at the heart of our climate and development objectives and our Mission to be a clean energy superpower.
Our work – and the billions in private finance it has unlocked – will help the most vulnerable who are experiencing the worst impacts of the climate crisis and enable partners to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
Our programmes are making a positive difference to people’s lives and helping to build a liveable planet for all, now and in the future.
UK Climate Minister Kerry McCarthy said:
The UK has played a key role in supporting the most vulnerable communities across the globe in tackling climate change while alleviating poverty and improving access to cleaner energy sources.
But there is more work to do, and unlocking greater global climate finance is crucial in addressing the needs of developing countries who are on the frontline of the crisis.
That’s why the UK will be pushing for an ambitious finance goal for climate aid at COP29. We will continue to champion the voices of those most affected and we will lead from the front in speeding up the global transition to net zero.
UK Minister for Nature Mary Creagh said:
We have a responsibility to tackle the biggest challenges facing our planet. This means putting nature loss and climate change at the forefront of the global agenda.
We are seeing an unprecedented decline in species and the loss of some of the world’s richest and most diverse ecosystems. Our climate programmes play a vital role in protecting and restoring nature and supporting the communities most affected by this crisis.
These results come ahead of this year’s UN climate summit COP29 in Baku, which will see countries come together to negotiate a new financial target for supporting developing countries in their climate actions, known as the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG).
In addition to UK ICF, the UK’s world leading expertise on green finance and net zero industries is supporting developing countries achieve their own climate goals through leveraging private sector funds. Since 2011, the UK has helped mobile £7.8 billion of private finance for climate change purposes.
The £11.6 billion commitment for the ICF remains the government’s intention as we undertake the spending review. Speaking at the UN General Assembly on 27 September the Prime Minister made clear the UK would continue to be a leading contributor to international climate finance.
Background
The UK’s International Climate Finance is funded by Official Development Assistance (UK aid) from FCDO, DESNZ and DEFRA.
UK International Climate Finance (ICF) is a portfolio of investments with a goal to support international poverty eradication now and in the future, by helping developing countries manage risk and build resilience to the impacts of climate change, take up low-carbon development at scale and manage natural resources sustainably. Through annual publications the ICF sets out results from these investments against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Today, Thursday 10 October, Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet Member for Housing, Communities and Cooperative Development, marks World Homeless Day.
Chris said: “I have made no secret of the fact that Plymouth, like many other towns and cities across the UK, is in the midst of a housing crisis.
“As I speak today, there are more than 300 households living in temporary accommodation.
“These numbers are just those we know about. They don’t include people who are sofa-surfing, rough sleepers or people who, for whatever reason, have not registered with us.
“These families are not just statistics. They are people who want what should be, in 2024, a basic human right; somewhere to call home.
“Today, on #WorldHomelessDay, I pledge to continue the work that we do to support people who find themselves homeless, to continue our push for more truly affordable housing, to keep working with our partners to support our most vulnerable rough sleepers and to make the tough decisions needed to ease the crisis here in Plymouth.”
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The SSRO has published updates to its pricing and reporting guidance, following consultation with stakeholders. We’ve also published our response to what stakeholders told us.
Pricing guidance
In January 2024 the SSRO published new pricing guidance to support the implementation of changes to the single source regulatory framework, which came into force on 1 April 2024. We consulted stakeholders between January and April 2024, seeking feedback on the new guidance. Following consideration of consultation responses we have published updated guidance on:
Alternative pricing types
Allowable Costs
The baseline profit rate and its adjustment
These updated guidance documents provide contracting parties with:
Support to use alternative pricing methods for contracts which allows non-competitive defence contracts to be priced in new ways. For example, an item can be priced by reference to competitive markets: simplifying and speeding up procurement.
More flexibility and transparency through broadening the ability for a contract to be split into different components or parts, each with its own profit rate and price (known as componentisation). This allows contract prices to better reflect the risk-sharing between the MOD and defence contractors.
A rationalisation of how the contract profit rate is calculated, removing two steps from the previous six-step process and simplifying the agreement of contract profit rates.
To read more about how we have responded to what stakeholders told us during the consultation period, have a look at the consultation response.
Reporting guidance
Alongside the pricing guidance, we have also published our response to the consultation on the updated reporting guidance, which helps contractors submit statutory reports following the legislative changes made on 1 April 2024. The consultation also included minor changes to the compliance methodology.
We issued the guidance and the proposed change to the compliance methodology in advance of concluding this consultation to give stakeholders time to familiarise themselves as early as possible and to allow their feedback to be based on initial use. Stakeholders were generally supportive of the changes which the SSRO has made.
Following consideration of consultation responses we have published updated reporting guidance on:
Contract reports.
Supplier reports.
DefCARS functionality.
To read more about how we have responded to what stakeholders told us during the consultation period, have a look at the consultation response. An explanation of the changes made across the three guidance documents are explained in Appendix 1 of the consultation response document.
Application of the guidance
This new and updated pricing and reporting guidance will apply to qualifying defence contracts and qualifying sub-contracts entered into or amended from 10 October 2024.
To assist stakeholders in understanding the guidance changes, we have included in the consultation response document a table that shows where the previous guidance text has been revised.
“It’s difficult for many of them, because they have to prove their vulnerability in legal terms. It’s emotionally dehumanizing that I need to prove what has happened to me for a basic human right, which is safety.”
With these words, Panos Mylonas, a psychologist and Mental Health activity manager working with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Athens, Greece, describes the emotional toll that the asylum-seeking process takes on individuals who are forced to continually justify their suffering.
On International Mental Health Day, in a conversation with Panos, the depth of the mental health crisis among migrants and refugees becomes painfully clear. Having worked with MSF for over four years, Panos shared his experiences working in the grave migration reality in Athens, where he supports unaccompanied minors, victims of sexual violence, and people with psychiatric needs.
The journey, the future, and the trauma
Migrants and refugees arrive in Greece carrying stories of survival from their countries of origin. Many of them have faced life-threatening circumstances including violence, torture, imprisonment, and sexual violence. Panos describes how most individuals are unaware of the dangers they will face on their journey, which often includes additional trauma. He explains that the combination of their traumatic experiences at home and the violence they encounter while fleeing leads to complex mental health issues that emerge when they arrive in Greece.
“They come here, having faced traumatic events in their country of origin and during their journey, which leads to very complex mental health presentations,” says Panos.
Panos highlights several recurrent mental health issues among the migrants he works with, including suicidal ideation, hopelessness, and severe anxiety.
“Almost all of them talk about suicidal thoughts, lack of support, and sleeping problems,” he says. The overwhelming feeling of hopelessness stems from their uncertain future in Greece, where many remain in a state of limbo, waiting for their asylum claims to be processed. This uncertainty exacerbates their trauma, preventing them from finding any sense of stability.
Panos Mylonas, a psychologist and Mental Health activity manager“Almost all of them talk about suicidal thoughts, lack of support, and sleeping problems,”
One of the most severe challenges faced by migrants and refugees is the deprivation of access to healthcare, which has a direct and devastating impact on their mental health. Panos explains that “when they get, let’s say, a negative reply to their asylum claim, this means that their access to healthcare is stopped.”
For many, this loss of healthcare is a significant blow, exacerbating their feelings of helplessness and deepening their mental health struggles. The denial of essential medical services strips them of the opportunity to receive both physical and psychological care, worsening their already fragile state. Panos places great stress on the need for uninterrupted access to healthcare, regardless of asylum outcomes, asserting, “access to healthcare should always be present, regardless of the result.” Without such support, the psychological burden on these individuals intensifies, leaving them trapped in a cycle of uncertainty and despair, further complicating their ability to rebuild their lives.
A particularly vulnerable group
Among the most vulnerable are unaccompanied minors, who face specific challenges. These young individuals, already in a fragile stage of their development, are thrust into an environment where they are disconnected from their families and have limited social support. While Greece provides some legal protections and shelter, Panos explains that these minors often face a sudden withdrawal of support once they turn 18.
“Once they are no longer minors, they are sent to camps, where there is little to no follow-up,” he adds, explaining the difficult transition many minors face as they enter adulthood without sufficient support.
MSF provides crucial support
MSF plays a crucial role in providing specialized mental health support to refugees and migrants. MSF offers a space where individuals are welcomed with respect and dignity.
“We provide them a space, regardless of race or gender or sexuality, to be heard and supported,” he emphasizes. We not only offer psychological support but also works in collaboration with social workers to provide holistic care, addressing both the practical and emotional needs of the migrants.
However, the demand far exceeds the capacity of MSF. Many patients have complex mental health needs, requiring long-term support that is difficult to sustain. “The scope of MSF is limited, and the needs are much greater than we can meet,” says Panos. This underscores the need for more comprehensive support systems for migrants, including better integration strategies and expanded mental health services.
When asked what he would change in the current system, Panos calls for faster processing of asylum claims and better living conditions in the camps, which often feel like prisons to those forced to reside there. He also points to the need for greater community support and raising awareness in the host society.
“There needs to be more awareness in Greek society about what is happening and more efforts to integrate these individuals into the community,” he suggests. Improving the availability of interpreters in healthcare settings and ensuring continuous access to healthcare, even for those who receive negative asylum claims, are also critical changes MSF calls for.
Médecins Sans Frontières has been providing essential medical and humanitarian aid to asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants in Greece since 1996. In response to the 2015 humanitarian crisis, MSF expanded its efforts to address the growing needs of people arriving in Greece. Emergency interventions were set up across Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Athens, and the border town of Idomeni, offering medical and mental health care, shelter, water and sanitation services, and distributing vital relief items. From December 2015 to March 2016, MSF also carried out life-saving search and rescue operations in the Aegean Sea.
Since the beginning of 2024, our mental health services in Athens, Greece have provided vital support to more than 1,900 individuals. Our primary clinical diagnoses include anxiety disorders, PTSD, and depression, often triggered by difficult living conditions, forced displacement, and experiences of sexual violence. Over half of those we support (56.3%) have been impacted by violence, leading to symptoms such as anxiety (40.9%), depression (31,6%) and trauma-related distress (14,7%). Our team works to address these complex needs, helping people cope with the challenges of displacement and adversity.
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Source: United Kingdom – Prime Minister’s Office 10 Downing Street
The Prime Minister hosted Mark Rutte, the new Secretary General of NATO, at Downing Street this morning.
The Prime Minister hosted Mark Rutte, the new Secretary General of NATO, at Downing Street this morning.
The Prime Minister thanked Secretary General Rutte for travelling to the United Kingdom so early on in his tenure.
Both leaders discussed the importance of a strong and united NATO in the face of ongoing Russian aggression. The Prime Minister set out the UK’s steadfast contribution to Allied forces, including through the UK’s nuclear deterrent, and said he said he looked forward to working closely with the NATO Secretary General in the coming months and years.
Turning to broader conflicts, the leaders agreed that the security of the Indo-Pacific and Euro Atlantic regions was indivisible, and that strong relationships between NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners were vital to global stability.
The leaders also discussed the situation in the Middle East and the importance of de-escalation and a ceasefire.
Source: United Kingdom – Prime Minister’s Office 10 Downing Street
The Prime Minister hosted President Zelenskyy in Downing Street this morning to discuss his victory plan for Ukraine.
The Prime Minister hosted President Zelenskyy in Downing Street this morning to discuss his victory plan for Ukraine.
The Prime Minister welcomed the opportunity to be briefed by the President, and underscored the UK’s steadfast commitment to a sovereign Ukraine. He added that he looked forward to hearing reflections from President Zelenskyy and the other international partners he was visiting this week.
Looking ahead to the winter, and the challenges that would bring, they both agreed on the need to ensure Ukraine was in the best possible position.
The leaders also discussed Ukraine’s long-term future, and how investment in the country’s security today would support Europe’s broader security for generations to come.
Both looked forward to seeing one another again soon.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The Prime Minister hosted President Zelenskyy in Downing Street this morning to discuss his victory plan for Ukraine.
The Prime Minister hosted President Zelenskyy in Downing Street this morning to discuss his victory plan for Ukraine.
The Prime Minister welcomed the opportunity to be briefed by the President, and underscored the UK’s steadfast commitment to a sovereign Ukraine. He added that he looked forward to hearing reflections from President Zelenskyy and the other international partners he was visiting this week.
Looking ahead to the winter, and the challenges that would bring, they both agreed on the need to ensure Ukraine was in the best possible position.
The leaders also discussed Ukraine’s long-term future, and how investment in the country’s security today would support Europe’s broader security for generations to come.
Both looked forward to seeing one another again soon.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Government appoints leading industry and academic experts to the Clean Power 2030 Advisory Commission to help accelerate UK’s mission to decarbonise the electricity grid.
Eight energy and nature experts have been appointed to accelerate UK’s mission for clean power by 2030
the 8 commissioners have almost 200 years’ worth of experience across energy policy, environment, industry and academia
experts will form new Advisory Commission for Mission Control, with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband attending their first meeting today
Eight leading figures from across industry and academia have been appointed to help accelerate the government’s world leading target to deliver clean power by 2030.
The Clean Power 2030 Advisory Commission will support Chris Stark, Head of Mission Control, in developing a Clean Power 2030 system – providing expertise to deliver the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, expected later this year.
The Action Plan will set out the path to decarbonise the electricity grid, helping protect billpayers from volatile gas prices and strengthening Britain’s energy security.
The 8 commissioners come from across industry and academia with a wealth of expertise and experience to advise on specific aspects of developing a clean power system, including planning, infrastructure, nature, and supply chains.
The full list of commissioners include:
Nick Winser: Over 30 years’ experience in the energy sector, including having been CEO of National Grid across UK and Europe, and President of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity.
Tim Pick: Over 25 years in the energy sector and is a passionate advocate for offshore wind having been the UK’s first Offshore Wind Champion.
Juliet Davenport: Founder of the Good Energy company and President of the Energy Institute. Juliet has been an innovator for over 20 years, working on ideas to fight climate change and transform the energy sector for the better.
Robert Gross: As well as being Director of the UK Energy Research Centre since 2020, Rob is Professor of Energy Policy and Technology at Imperial College.
Craig Bennett: Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trust and former CEO of Friends of the Earth, Craig has 20 years’ experience of designing and contributing to executive education and leadership programmes at numerous universities and business schools.
Jo Coleman: 35 years’ experience in the energy industry. Board member of several energy organisations, with a background in engineering and major project delivery in the oil and gas sector.
Lucy Yu: CEO and founder at Centre for Net Zero, Octopus Energy Group’s not-for-profit AI and data-driven research institute, which was set up to advance tech-driven energy systems that benefit humanity.
Dr Simon Harrison: A leading voice in public policy around the ways engineering can help with the energy transition and decarbonisation. Was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2023 – the highest accolade in the profession.
The Energy Secretary chaired the first Advisory Commission meeting this afternoon, emphasising the importance of the new group for removing barriers and accelerating the energy system towards clean power by 2030.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:
The best way to take back control of our energy security and create highly skilled jobs is to speed up the rollout of renewables and transition towards clean homegrown power.
The Clean Power 2030 Advisory Commission, benefiting from decades of experience across industry and academia, under Chris Stark’s leadership, will have a laser-like focus on delivering our mission for clean power by 2030.
Head of Mission Control Chris Stark said:
The Clean Power by 2030 is a statement of our ambition. This mission will unlock good jobs and protect the consumer, and it is key to our energy security.
We will work closely with our partners in industry to deliver this mission at pace – these are 8 leading figures in their field to drive that partnership.
I’m looking forward to working with all 8 commissioners to unblock barriers, spot the opportunities, and deliver a clean power system by 2030.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The Prime Minister hosted Mark Rutte, the new Secretary General of NATO, at Downing Street this morning.
The Prime Minister hosted Mark Rutte, the new Secretary General of NATO, at Downing Street this morning.
The Prime Minister thanked Secretary General Rutte for travelling to the United Kingdom so early on in his tenure.
Both leaders discussed the importance of a strong and united NATO in the face of ongoing Russian aggression. The Prime Minister set out the UK’s steadfast contribution to Allied forces, including through the UK’s nuclear deterrent, and said he said he looked forward to working closely with the NATO Secretary General in the coming months and years.
Turning to broader conflicts, the leaders agreed that the security of the Indo-Pacific and Euro Atlantic regions was indivisible, and that strong relationships between NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners were vital to global stability.
The leaders also discussed the situation in the Middle East and the importance of de-escalation and a ceasefire.
Education is essentially an “industry of industries,” with K-12 and higher education enterprises handling data that could include health records, financial data, and other regulated information. At the same time, their facilities can host payment processing systems, networks that are used as internet service providers (ISPs), and other diverse infrastructure. The cyberthreats that Microsoft observes across different industries tend to be compounded in education, and threat actors have realized that this sector is inherently vulnerable. With an average of 2,507 cyberattack attempts per week, universities are prime targets for malware, phishing, and IoT vulnerabilities.¹
Security staffing and IT asset ownership also affect education organizations’ cyber risks. School and university systems, like many enterprises, often face a shortage of IT resources and operate a mix of both modern and legacy IT systems. Microsoft observes that in the United States, students and faculty are more likely to use personal devices in education compared to Europe, for example. Regardless of ownership however, in these and other regions, busy users do not always have a security mindset.
This edition of Cyber Signals delves into the cybersecurity challenges facing classrooms and campuses, highlighting the critical need for robust defenses and proactive measures. From personal devices to virtual classes and research stored in the cloud, the digital footprint of school districts, colleges, and universities has multiplied exponentially.
We are all defenders.
A uniquely valuable and vulnerable environment
The education sector’s user base is very different from a typical large commercial enterprise. In the K-12 environment, users include students as young as six years old. Just like any public or private sector organization, there is a wide swath of employees in school districts and at universities including administration, athletics, health services, janitorial, food service professionals, and others. Multiple activities, announcements, information resources, open email systems, and students create a highly fluid environment for cyberthreats.
Virtual and remote learning have also extended education applications into households and offices. Personal and multiuser devices are ubiquitous and often unmanaged—and students are not always cognizant about cybersecurity or what they allow their devices to access.
Education is also on the front lines confronting how adversaries test their tools and their techniques. According to data from Microsoft Threat Intelligence, the education sector is the third-most targeted industry, with the United States seeing the greatest cyberthreat activity.
Cyberthreats to education are not only a concern in the United States. According to the United Kingdom’s Department of Science Innovation and Technology 2024 Cybersecurity Breaches Survey, 43% of higher education institutions in the UK reported experiencing a breach or cyberattack at least weekly.²
QR codes provide an easily disguised surface for phishing cyberattacks
Today, quick response (QR) codes are quite popular—leading to increased risks of phishing cyberattacks designed to gain access to systems and data. Images in emails, flyers offering information about campus and school events, parking passes, financial aid forms, and other official communications all frequently contain QR codes. Physical and virtual education spaces might be the most “flyer friendly” and QR code-intensive environments anywhere, given how big a role handouts, physical and digital bulletin boards, and other casual correspondence help students navigate a mix of curriculum, institutional, and social correspondence. This creates an attractive backdrop for malicious actors to target users who are trying to save time with a quick image scan.
Recently the United States Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer alert on the rising threat of malicious QR codes being used to steal login credentials or deliver malware.³
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 telemetry shows that approximately more than 15,000 messages with malicious QR codes are targeted toward the educational sector daily—including phishing, spam, and malware.
Legitimate software tools can be used to quickly generate QR codes with embedded links to be sent in email or posted physically as part of a cyberattack. And those images are hard for traditional email security solutions to scan, making it even more important for faculty and students to use devices and browsers with modern web defenses.
Targeted users in the education sector may use personal devices without endpoint security. QR codes essentially enable the threat actor to pivot to these devices. QR code phishing (since its purpose is to target mobile devices) is compelling evidence of mobile devices being used as an attack vector into enterprises—such as personal accounts and bank accounts—and the need for mobile device protection and visibility. Microsoft has significantly disrupted QR code phishing attacks. This shift in tactics is evident in the substantial decrease in daily phishing emails intercepted by our system, dropping from 3 million in December 2023 to just 179,000 by March 2024.
Source: Microsoft incident response engagements.
Universities present their own unique challenges. Much of university culture is based on collaboration and sharing to drive research and innovation. Professors, researchers, and other faculty operate under the notion that technology, science—simply knowledge itself—should be shared widely. If someone appearing as a student, peer, or similar party reaches out, they’re often willing to discuss potentially sensitive topics without scrutinizing the source.
University operations also span multiple industries. University presidents are effectively CEOs of healthcare organizations, housing providers, and large financial organizations—the industry of industries factor, again. Therefore, top leaders can can be prime targets for anyone attacking those sectors.
The combination of value and vulnerability found in education systems has attracted the attention of a spectrum of cyberattackers—from malware criminals employing new techniques to nation-state threat actors engaging in old-school spy craft.
Microsoft continually monitors threat actors and threat vectors worldwide. Here are some key issues we’re seeing for education systems.
Email systems in schools offer wide spaces for compromise
The naturally open environment at most universities forces them to be more relaxed in their email hygiene. They have a lot of emails amounting to noise in the system, but are often operationally limited in where and how they can place controls, because of how open they need to be for alumni, donors, external user collaboration, and many other use cases.
Education institutions tend to share a lot of announcements in email. They share informational diagrams around local events and school resources. They commonly allow external mailers from mass mailing systems to share into their environments. This combination of openness and lack of controls creates a fertile ground for cyberattacks.
AI is increasing the premium on visibility and control
Cyberattackers recognizing higher education’s focus on building and sharing can survey all visible access points, seeking entry into AI-enabled systems or privileged information on how these systems operate. If on-premises and cloud-based foundations of AI systems and data are not secured with proper identity and access controls, AI systems become vulnerable. Just as education institutions adapted to cloud services, mobile devices and hybrid learning—which introduced new waves of identities and privileges to govern, devices to manage, and networks to segment—they must also adapt to the cyber risks of AI by scaling these timeless visibility and control imperatives.
Nation-state actors are after valuable IP and high-level connections
Universities handling federally funded research, or working closely with defense, technology, and other industry partners in the private sector, have long recognized the risk of espionage. Decades ago, universities focused on telltale physical signs of spying. They knew to look for people showing up on campus taking pictures or trying to get access to laboratories. Those are still risks, but today the dynamics of digital identity and social engineering have greatly expanded the spy craft toolkit.
Universities are often epicenters of highly sensitive intellectual property. They may be conducting breakthrough research. They may be working on high-value projects in aerospace, engineering, nuclear science, or other sensitive topics in partnership with multiple government agencies.
For cyberattackers, it can be easier to first compromise somebody in the education sector who has ties to the defense sector and then use that access to more convincingly phish a higher value target.
Universities also have experts in foreign policy, science, technology, and other valuable disciplines, who may willingly offer intelligence, if deceived in social-engineering cyberattacks employing false or stolen identities of peers and others who appear to be in individuals’ networks or among trusted contacts. Apart from holding valuable intelligence themselves, compromised accounts of university employees can become springboards into further campaigns against wider government and industry targets.
Nation-state actors targeting education
Peach Sandstorm
Peach Sandstorm has used password spray attacks against the education sector to gain access to infrastructure used in those industries, and Microsoft has also observed the organization using social engineering against targets in higher education.
Mint Sandstorm
Microsoft has observed a subset of this Iranian attack group targeting high-profile experts working on Middle Eastern affairs at universities and research organizations. These sophisticated phishing attacks used social engineering to compel targets to download malicious files including a new, custom backdoor called MediaPl.
Mabna Institute
In 2023, the Iranian Mabna Institute conducted intrusions into the computing systems of at least 144 United States universities and 176 universities in 21 other countries.
The stolen login credentials were used for the benefit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and were also sold within Iran through the web. Stolen credentials belonging to university professors were used to directly access university library systems.
Emerald Sleet
This North Korean group primarily targets experts in East Asian policy or North and South Korean relations. In some cases, the same academics have been targeted by Emerald Sleet for nearly a decade.
Emerald Sleet uses AI to write malicious scripts and content for social engineering, but these attacks aren’t always about delivering malware. There’s also an evolving trend where they simply ask experts for policy insight that could be used to manipulate negotiations, trade agreements, or sanctions.
Moonstone Sleet
Moonstone Sleet is another North Korean actor that has been taking novel approaches like creating fake companies to forge business relationships with educational institutions or a particular faculty member or student.
One of the most prominent attacks from Moonstone Sleet involved creating a fake tank-themed game used to target individuals at educational institutions, with a goal to deploy malware and exfiltrate data.
Storm-1877
This actor largely engages in cryptocurrency theft using a custom malware family that they deploy through various means. The ultimate goal of this malware is to steal crypto wallet addresses and login credentials for crypto platforms.
Students are often the target for these attacks, which largely start on social media. Storm-1877 targets students because they may not be as aware of digital threats as professionals in industry.
A new security curriculum
Due to education budget and talent constraints and the inherent openness of its environment, solving education security is more than a technology problem. Security posture management and prioritizing security measures can be a costly and challenging endeavor for these institutions—but there is a lot that school systems can do to protect themselves.
Maintaining and scaling core cyberhygiene will be key to securing school systems. Building awareness of security risks and good practices at all levels—students, faculty, administrators, IT staff, campus staff, and more—can help create a safer environment.
For IT and security professionals in the education sector, doing the basics and hardening the overall security posture is a good first step. From there, centralizing the technology stack can help facilitate better monitoring of logging and activity to gain a clearer picture into the overall security posture and any vulnerabilities.
Oregon State University
Oregon State University (OSU), an R1 research-focused university, places a high priority on safeguarding its research to maintain its reputation. In 2021, it experienced an extensive cybersecurity incident unlike anything before. The cyberattack revealed gaps in OSU’s security operations.
“The types of threats that we’re seeing, the types of events that are occurring in higher education, are much more aggressive by cyber adversaries.”
—David McMorries, Chief Information Security Officer at Oregon State University
In response to this incident, OSU created its Security Operations Center (SOC), which has become the centerpiece of the university’s security effort. AI has also helped automate capabilities and helped its analysts, who are college students, learn how to quickly write code—such as threat hunting with more advanced hunting queries.
Arizona Department of Education
A focus on Zero Trust and closed systems is an area that the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) takes further than the state requirements. It blocks all traffic from outside the United States from its Microsoft 365 environment, Azure, and its local datacenter.
“I don’t allow anything exposed to the internet on my lower dev environments, and even with the production environments, we take extra care to make sure that we use a network security group to protect the app services.”
—Chris Henry, Infrastructure Manager at the Arizona Department of Education
Follow these recommendations:
The best defense against QR code attacks is to be aware and pay attention. Pause, inspect the code’s URL before opening it, and don’t open QR codes from unexpected sources, especially if the message uses urgent language or contains errors.
Consider implementing “protective domain name service,” a free tool that helps prevent ransomware and other cyberattacks by blocking computer systems from connecting to harmful websites. Prevent password spray attacks with a stringent password and deploy multifactor authentication.
Educate students and staff about their security hygiene, and encourage them to use multifactor authentication or passwordless protections. Studies have shown that an account is more than 99.9% less likely to be compromised when using multifactor authentication.
Corey Lee has always had an interest in solving puzzles and crimes. He started his college career at Penn State University in criminal justice, but soon realized his passion for digital forensics after taking a course about investigating a desktop computer break-in.
After completing his degree in security and risk analysis, Corey came to Microsoft focused on gaining cross-industry experience. He’s worked on securing everything from federal, state, and local agencies to commercial enterprises, but today he focuses on the education sector.
After spending time working across industries, Corey sees education through a different lens—the significantly unique industry of industries. The dynamics at play inside the education sector include academic institutions, financial services, critical infrastructure like hospitals and transportation, and partnerships with government agencies. According to Corey, working in such a broad field allows him to leverage skillsets from multiple industries to address specific problems across the landscape.
The fact that education could also be called underserved from a cybersecurity standpoint is another compelling challenge, and part of Corey’s personal mission. The education industry needs cybersecurity experts to elevate the priority of protecting school systems. Corey works across the public and industry dialogue, skilling and readiness programs, incident response, and overall defense to protect not just the infrastructure of education, but students, parents, teachers, and staff.
Today, Corey is focused reimagining student security operations centers, including how to inject AI into the equation and bring modern technology and training to the table. By growing the cybersecurity work force in education and giving them new tools, he’s working to elevate security in the sector in a way that’s commensurate with how critical the industry is for the future.
Next steps with Microsoft Security
To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions, visit our website. Bookmark the Security blog to keep up with our expert coverage on security matters. Also, follow us on LinkedIn (Microsoft Security) and X (@MSFTSecurity) for the latest news and updates on cybersecurity.
¹The Institutional Impacts of a Cyberattack, University of Florida Information Technology. January 18, 2024.
²Cyber security breaches survey 2024: education institutions annex, The United Kingdom Department for Science, Innovation & Technology. April 9, 2024
³Scammers hide harmful links in QR codes to steal your information, Federal Trade Commission (Alvaro Puig), December 6, 2023.
Methodology: Snapshot and cover stat data represent telemetry from Microsoft Defender for Office 365 showing how a QR code phishing attack was disrupted by image detection technology and how Security Operations teams can respond to this threat. Platforms like Microsoft Entra provided anonymized data on threat activity, such as malicious email accounts, phishing emails, and attacker movement within networks. Additional insights are from the 78 trillion daily security signals processed by Microsoft each day, including the cloud, endpoints, the intelligent edge, and telemetry from Microsoft platforms and services including Microsoft Defender. Microsoft categorizes threat actors into five key groups: influence operations; groups in development; and nation-state, financially motivated, and private sector offensive actors. The new threat actors naming taxonomy aligns with the theme of weather.
Too often, people living with mental health challenges are met with misunderstanding, rejection and isolation. Tackling this is the key to building healthier, more inclusive societies. That is why every year on 10 October we celebrate World Mental Health Day, with this year’s theme being prioritising mental health at work.
To mark this important occasion, the Commission has presented an EU Support Package on stigma. The Commission will work with national authorities to implement it, and connect them with mental health advocacy groups, for inclusive and informed policy-making.
Tackling stigma is about more than just policy-making, which is why the Commission also launched the new ‘In this together’ campaign. This will see it reach out to people across the EU, to challenge misconceptions and promote greater understanding and acceptance on mental health. It will also support national action in education by distributing teaching materials to schools around Europe as a way of increasing awareness and normalising mental health.
In addition, an updated tracker was published today to monitor progress on the 20 flagship initiatives that are part of the EU’s comprehensive approach to mental health. This approach, which was rolled out in 2023, has financing opportunities worth EUR 1.23 billion that will directly and indirectly support Member States. Its aim is to ensure (i) adequate and effective prevention, (ii) access to high quality and affordable mental healthcare and treatment and (iii) reintegration into society after recovery.
According to a 2023 EU survey, almost 1 in 2 people (46% of the EU population) had experienced emotional or psychosocial problems, such as feeling depressed or anxious, in the previous 12 months. The stakes are high and that is why the EU is committed to creating a future where everyone’s mental health is nurtured, valued and protected.
Headline: Apple debuts the first scripted film captured in Apple Immersive Video
October 10, 2024
UPDATE
Apple debuts the first scripted film captured in Apple Immersive Video and reveals new immersive films for Apple Vision Pro
New episodes, films, series, and concerts captured in Apple Immersive Video are set to debut later this year, with more coming early next year
Today, Apple revealed new episodes, films, series, and music performances captured in Apple Immersive Video that will debut on Apple Vision Pro for free. Apple Immersive Video is a remarkable media format that leverages ultra-high-resolution 3D video and Spatial Audio to put viewers in the center of the action.
Submerged, the first scripted short film captured in Apple Immersive Video, written and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Edward Berger, is now available. Next month, Apple and The Weeknd will launch a breathtaking immersive music experience celebrating the seven-time diamond-certified artist’s highly anticipated new album, Hurry Up Tomorrow. With Concert for One, a new concert series set to debut later this year, fans will experience intimate performances from the world’s biggest artists, beginning with a special set from the award-winning British singer-songwriter RAYE. New episodes of Adventure, which follows pioneering athletes as they take on awe-inspiring challenges, will also release this year.
Submerged
This immersive fiction thriller, available to Apple Vision Pro users around the world for free, invites viewers onto a WWII-era submarine and follows its crew as they wrestle to combat a harrowing attack. This adrenaline-pumping thrill ride showcases the unique storytelling experiences made possible by Apple Immersive Video.
“Apple Immersive Video allows Apple Vision Pro users around the world to experience the next generation of sports, documentaries, and music performances. With Submerged, an immersive film from visionary director Edward Berger, we’re excited to premiere the next generation of narrative filmmaking,” said Tor Myhren, Apple’s vice president of Marketing Communications. “Vision Pro places you in the middle of the story — inside a densely packed submarine, shoulder to shoulder with its crew. That deep sense of immersion just wasn’t possible before, and we can’t wait to see how it inspires filmmakers to push the boundaries of visual storytelling.”
“Apple Immersive Video is a wonderful new medium that expands the horizon of storytelling,” said Edward Berger, director of the Academy Award-winning All Quiet on the Western Front and the upcoming, critically acclaimed Conclave. “Apple Vision Pro inspired me to tell a story in a way that just wasn’t possible before, and in the process, it changed the way my team and I think about creating a story. This immersive technology pioneered by Apple is going to change the future of filmmaking.”
Shot on location in Prague, Brussels, and Malta over three weeks, Submerged was filmed using a full-scale 23-ton submarine set made with real steel, brass, and metal that was modeled after WWII-era vessels. Significant portions of the set were built to withstand being fully submerged, and featured practical camera traps and special effects that were uniquely rigged to expose Apple Immersive Video cameras to sparks, steam, water, and fire without breaking viewers’ sense of immersion. Cast members who might appear out of frame or focus in a 2D feature were meticulously scripted, and participated in extensive stunt rehearsals, including freedive training in dive tanks and open water, to maintain continuity and realism. Fans can go behind the scenes of Submerged with a short film that shows how the cast and crew crafted this immersive, action-packed drama exclusively for Apple Vision Pro.
2024 NBA All-Star Weekend
Next Friday, basketball fans will enjoy an immersive short film of the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend, featuring the Rising Stars, the Slam Dunk contest, the first-ever NBA vs. WNBA 3-Point Challenge, “Stephen vs. Sabrina,” and highlights from the All-Star Game.
Concert for One
Concert for One is the first music series captured in Apple Immersive Video, bringing fans closer to their favorite artists than ever before. The inaugural performance comes from six-time BRIT Award winner RAYE, who alongside her 20-piece band offers her blend of R&B, jazz, and pop to viewers from the best seat in the house.
Adventure
After stepping into thin air above Norway’s breathtaking fjords with highliner Faith Dickey, and traversing the streets and rooftops of Paris with the world’s leading parkour group, viewers are invited to swim alongside freediver Ant Williams while he attempts to best his record for the longest distance under ice with just a single breath. The next episode of Adventure, “Ice Dive,” will debut in the U.S. in December.
Early next year, viewers can experience the shores of Majorca, Spain, where world-class sport climber Kai Lightner tackles his biggest challenge yet: free-solo climbing over the secluded and rocky coves, where one slip will send him into the raging sea.
Elevated
In the next episode of Elevated, “Maine,” available early next year, viewers will experience a crisp autumn in New England, with a stunning journey along winding coastlines and above breathtakingly beautiful rivers.
These new episodes, films, series, and concerts join the growing Apple Immersive Video catalog available today, which includes Alicia Keys: Rehearsal Room, Boundless, Elevated, Prehistoric Planet Immersive, Wild Life, and more — all available from the Apple TV app on Apple Vision Pro.
Availability
Apple Vision Pro is available in Australia, Canada, China mainland, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, the U.K., and the U.S.
Users in these countries and regions can enjoy a free demo of Apple Vision Pro at their local Apple Store and receive an extended preview of Submerged upon request beginning Monday, October 14.
Apple Immersive Video is available at no additional cost from the Apple TV app in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, the U.K., and the U.S. Users in China mainland can access Apple Immersive Video from the Migu Video and Tencent Video apps, which are available to download for free from the App Store for Apple Vision Pro.
New Apple Immersive Video episodes and films debut in U.S. English with subtitles in additional languages. Title availability varies by country or region.
