Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:
TOKYO, Japan, October 21, 2024/APO Group/ —
The African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) has celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Policy and Human Resource Development Grant (PHRDG), a bilateral trust fund created by Japan in 1994.The initiative has contributed significantly to the development of Africa’s human capital, supporting over 100 transformational projects across various sectors.
Presenting a commemorative publication on the trust fund at the Ministry of Finance in Tokyo on Wednesday, 16 October, Dr Akinwumi Adesina Adesina, African Development Bank Group President said the publication highlights three decades of successful collaboration and the impactful projects funded by the Policy and Human Resource Development Grant, as well as the critical role the grant has played in Africa’s socioeconomic development.
Over the past three decades, Japan has contributed JPY 5.3 billion ($ 37.4 million) to the PHRDG, supporting 107 projects, with 96 completed and 11 ongoing as of September 2024. In recent years, the trust fund has seen a notable increase in contributions, underscoring Japan’s renewed commitment to fostering a climate-smart, resilient, inclusive, and integrated Africa.
Japan’s Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Atsushi Mimura, said he was pleased the country’s partnership with the African Development Bank Group was going well. He pledged continued support, particularly for the African Development Fund, the private sector, and Japanese and African start-ups
“We look forward to deepening Japan’s relationship with the African Development Bank,” he said.
Mimura described the African Development Bank Group’s partnership with the World Bank’s plan to bring electricity to 300 million Africans (Mission 300) as a powerful narrative that draws attention to the continent’s energy needs.
Adesina commended Japan for its strong support of the African Dev?
elopment Fund, noting that the Fund has delivered impressive results. He sought the country’s support on a wide range of issues, including the 17th general replenishment of the African Development Fund, Mission 300 (http://apo-opa.co/3YcTfy2), Special Drawing Rights, the private sector, and start-ups, among others.
“We thank the people of Japan for standing in solidarity with the people of Africa,” Adesina said.
Since its establishment, the PHRDG has been a vehicle for Japan to share its expertise and experience in human resource development, empowering Africans to lead the transformation of their societies and economies. The grant has supported a wide range of projects aligned with Japan and the African Development Bank Group’s shared objective of human capital development. Officials said the projects have laid the groundwork for accelerated economic growth in Africa.
In a foreword to the Policy and Human Resource Development Grant at 30 publication, Deputy Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs Daiho Fujii, expressed Japan’s pride in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the PHRDG.
“Japan is leading the international community’s efforts to overcome global challenges, particularly those affecting vulnerable populations. Through the PHRDG, we provide technical cooperation to develop the human resources that will drive Africa’s socioeconomic transformation. Our partnership with the African Development Bank Group is key to realizing a more resilient and prosperous Africa.”
As the Policy and Human Resource Development Grant enters its fourth decade, the African Development Bank Group and Japan have expressed eagerness to expand their partnership. With six new projects in the 2024–2025 pipeline, including initiatives in higher education, debt management, and climate-smart agriculture, the trust fund remains a critical tool for delivering impact across Africa, officials said.
Both parties pledged to continue to work hand in hand to unlock the potential of Africa’s human capital, fostering innovation and economic development for generations to come.
Japan–Africa Dream Scholarship Program: Investing in the Future
Among the most impactful PHRDG-funded initiatives is the Japan-Africa Dream Scholarship Program (JADS), launched in 2017. This program aims to develop Africa’s human capital by offering scholarships to high-achieving African students for master’s studies in fields such as agriculture, development economics, energy, and public health. To date, the program has awarded scholarships to 23 students from 10 African countries, two-thirds of whom are women.
Graduates of the JADS program have gone on to make significant contributions to their home countries. Alumni include Mary Yeboah Asantewaa from Ghana, who now works at SORA Technology in Accra, leveraging drone technology to control infectious diseases, and Glory Sibale from Malawi, who joined Tokyo’s Taiyo-Yuka recycling company, focusing on sustainable agricultural project management.
As part of his mission to Japan, Adesina also met with Nobumitsu Hayashi, the Governor of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, to expand collaboration in key areas, including agriculture, healthcare, energy access, support for youth entrepreneurs, critical minerals, and regional corridors.
Later Wednesday, Adesina met with the leadership of the Association of African Economic and Development Japan, where both parties discussed potential collaborations for impactful projects. He continued with meetings with Kanetsugu Mike, Chairman of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and Ken Shibuya, Co-Chairman of the Global South Africa Committee of Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives).
The African Development Bank president invited business leaders to the 2024 Africa Investment Forum to be held in Rabat in December. Adesina also hosted representatives of the African diplomatic corps, development partners, and the private and public sectors, where they discussed leveraging co-creative relationships with Japanese companies and institutions.
Message of the Holy Father for the centenary of the “Corriere dello Sport-Stadio”, 20.10.2024
The following is the text of the message sent by the Holy Father Francis to the Corriere dello Sport-Stadio on the occasion of the centenary of its founding:
Message of the Holy Father
Dear brothers and sisters,
Best wishes! A hundred years is an important milestone, a fine trophy to put in your cabinet! Even greater than that for the two million copies sold on the occasion of Italy’s victory in the 2006 World Cup! You have had a great run in these hundred years; besides, among those who contributed to the birth of the newspaper was a certain Enzo Ferrari, who knew something about engines and victories!
I thank the Director Ivan Zazzaroni for sending me a beautiful letter about the centenary of the newspaper, and it is a pleasure to be close to you on these days of celebration.
If I think about sport, and my homeland, Argentina, before I even think of the great football facilities, like the Bombonera, I think of when, as children, we played football with a ball made of rags. So many champions started this way, playing with friends in a carefree way on improvised fields between houses, even in contexts of great poverty. How beautiful it is to experience the feeling of fraternity: you play, and you play together, and you know that you are opponents only on the field, never enemies. You learn the joy of victory and you know the sweat and effort it cost, and you also learn from defeat, trying to get back up again and learn from the mistakes made so as to try to overcome them the next time, or simply to accept your own difference and your limit: we are all precious and unique, but we are not perfect.
Some say that I am a fan of San Lorenzo, an Argentine team: it remains a secret, but there is something beautiful in the history of that team. When the boys who played in the street at the beginning of the twentieth century were looking for a safe place to play football, a priest descended from Italians, a Salesian, Don Lorenzo Massa, opened the doors of the oratory, and a beautiful adventure began from there. Even today we need spaces for sport, especially in the poorest and most isolated contexts, but above all we need adults who welcome children and young people in an authentic way, who know how to listen to their dreams, who wish for a better future with them. Think about how here in Italy how much good has been done through the fields of parishes and oratories, and how many young people, now sporting champions, often remember that they started from the parish fields.
Your newspaper has a long history, and it intends to embrace the whole of Italy, for sporting events that concern it both within its borders and abroad: sport is one of the factors that make us feel like one people, such as when we stand up to sing the national anthem, at the stadium or in sports halls. How important it is to walk together, to feel part of a single family, and of a family of nations during the Olympics or the world or continental championships: in recent years we have still too often seen neighbouring peoples, or groups within the same countries, stand up against each other armed. Competition in sport is healthy, because it calls for patience, listening to the coach, respect for opponents, rules and referees, and coordination with one’s teammates: in the world, on the other hand, the aim is often to destroy the opponent, to make one’s own rules, to reject those who want to moderate the confrontation between the parties according to international law. Spreading a healthy sports culture in this sense means nurturing humanity in its most beautiful and authentic values, and for this I thank you.
Although unfortunately in recent years we have witnessed episodes of intolerance, which must be condemned, I am sure that there are many more examples in which sport has been able to “team up”, without race, class, or religious denomination being obstacles or barriers: I encourage you to foster this climate of authentic and welcoming humanity. We must reject any mindset of exclusion and violence, and for this we know that words have their value, to educate in what is good and beautiful, rather than to destroy. A newspaper article, even a sports article, can do a lot of good, but it can also damage and foment a climate of mistrust: I urge you not to be like this, though!
On the subject of acceptance and integral human promotion: for organizational reasons alone it is not possible to hold the Olympics and the Paralympics at the same time. In the recent editions in Paris we rejoiced at the many successes of incredible boys and girls: for some of them the gold medal was life-giving, because of how they were able to overcome, thanks to their inner strength and the help of everyone, the challenges of their disability. Their races are a hymn to life! May your newspaper tell of victories and defeats, but be a way of thinking and living of sport as a hymn to life!
Thank you for what you are and for what you do. Do not forget to pray for me.
Rome, Saint John Lateran, 19 October 2024
FRANCIS
AI has the unique potential to create new opportunities for everyone, drive economic growth, and advance breakthroughs in science that can change and save lives. That’s why it’s crucial to prepare young people for a future where AI plays an even bigger role.
Since its launch in 2018, Be Internet Legends has been a cornerstone of online safety education, reaching over 9 million children across the UK and over 100 million globally. Now, recognising the growing importance of AI literacy, we’re expanding the programme to equip children with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in a world with AI.
This week, our new “Understanding AI” assembly was streamed live to 152 schools and reached 22,800 students. The assembly aims to explain AI to children in an engaging and accessible way.
The assembly explains what AI is and how it works in simple terms that children can easily understand. It helps them identify AI in their daily routines, from voice assistants in their homes to the traffic lights that manage the flow of cars on the roads. It also encourages them to think critically about AI, question AI-generated information and understand its limitations.
Importantly, the assembly emphasises that AI is a tool that can complement human abilities and creativity, not replace them. It introduces children to the concept of ethical AI and encourages them to consider when AI should be used — and to always check app and other services’ age ratings.
The “Understanding AI” assembly was developed in close collaboration with a diverse group of experts, including leading AI researchers, online safety specialists and educators. This collaborative approach, combined with insights from a pilot in eight schools, ensures the assembly’s content is accurate, age-appropriate, and engaging.
The assembly reinforces the core principles of Be Internet Legends, particularly the “Alert” pillar, which encourages children to be mindful of their online surroundings and potential risks. By integrating AI literacy into the programme, we aim to give children the tools they need to be informed and responsible digital citizens.
You can watch the “Understanding AI” assembly on-demand at goo.gle/bil-ai-watch. For more information about the next Be Internet Legends assembly, plus other events and updates, check out goo.gle/bil-assemblies.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –
Artificial intelligence will not replace a doctor, but it can be a great assistant. At the same time, healthcare needs high-tech products that can quickly analyze and monitor the condition of patients. HSE scientists have used AI for preoperative planning and postoperative evaluation of results in spinal surgery and developed an automatic intelligent system for assessing the biomechanics of the arms and legs.
At the joint scientific seminar of the strategic project “AI technologies for humans” (as part of the Priority 2030 program), HSE scientists presented two developments related to the use of artificial intelligence in medical practice. This area is not new for the Higher School of Economics, noted HSE Vice-Rector Elena Odoevskaya in her opening remarks. Despite the fact that the university does not have educational programs in medicine, it still deals with medical products and plans to enter this market.
“In terms of goals and objectives, we must understand that this is a product, not just research. This means that we must have partners, including external ones, including industrial ones, and we must understand how this product will continue to live with us or without us. This is a question of how we implement it,” she emphasized.
Spine Marking App
The first report was devoted to the use of AI for preoperative planning and postoperative outcome assessment in spinal surgery. Chief Scientific Officer International Laboratory of Dynamic Systems and Applications (NRU HSE – Nizhny Novgorod) Vladimir Klinshov spoke about how computer vision technologies can improve the speed and quality of spinal X-ray analysis, helping to optimize the routine work of neurosurgeons. The working title of the product is VerteScan (from the word vertebra – vertebra). This is a service for viewing and analyzing X-ray images of the human spine, including an automatic marking system based on artificial intelligence. “We are making a specific and very utilitarian tool for automatic marking and analysis of spinal X-ray images. We want to relieve the doctor of a fairly routine part of his work, leaving him with the most important decisions. This product is made by surgeons for surgeons. This means that it will be intuitively understandable to doctors, it will be comfortable for them to use, and doctors will need it,” he said.
Spinal pathology accounts for 76% of patient visits to the neurological service, and 72% of visits result in temporary disability. Every year, more than a thousand surgical interventions on the spine are performed at the University Clinic of the Privolzhsky Research Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (PIMU — project partner).
VerteScan will help to determine the patient’s anatomy, the course of his disease, select the minimum permissible volume of surgical intervention, carry out a personalized selection of implants and surgical techniques to achieve the optimal result, and also predict the behavior of intact sections of the spine taking into account the change in biomechanics as a result of the intervention.
“There are many options for performing surgical interventions for spinal diseases. And each of the possible approaches must be carefully planned. Adequate preparation will lead to an adequate result, when we can not only perform the tasks that we set before the operation, but also evaluate and prevent negative changes in adjacent segments of the spine. Using the basic tools of the service that are already working, we can evaluate the parameters unique to each person – for example, the sagittal balance of the spine. It will be possible to plan the installation of implants so as not to disturb these parameters if they are normal, or we will be able to predict how much we will correct these parameters, how much we will change the local anatomy in order to bring these values u200bu200bto normal and ensure a good quality of life for the patient,” explained the team’s neurosurgeon Anatoly Bulkin.
Key partners for the project may include medical institutions, manufacturers of medical implants, and professional associations of orthopedic and spinal surgeons. A free trial version of the software is planned to attract initial users and collect feedback, while premium features will be available by subscription or one-time payment.
If the surgical intervention on the spine is performed suboptimally, it will lead to rapid wear of the intact spinal motor segments, and the treatment result will be worse than the disease itself, said Andrey Bokov, head of the neurosurgery department at PMU.
“If you do not take into account all possible parameters, the patient feels well after the operation for the first few years at most, and then decompensation sets in. This person is on sick leave for a long time, he is excluded from social life. This burden is sometimes even heavier than a life-threatening disease. Relatives who care for a patient with limited mobility are also involved. If we manage to reduce the percentage of such cases, the social effect will be very high,” he emphasized.
Physiotherapy under AI control
The second report was devoted to an automatic intelligent system designed to assess the biomechanics of the arms and legs. This system uses machine learning algorithms to analyze biomechanical data, which can significantly improve the diagnosis and rehabilitation of patients. It was presented by the project leader, research fellow Laboratory of Theory and Practice of Decision Support Systems of the Faculty of Informatics, Mathematics and Computer Science of the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Nizhny Novgorod Andrey Kovalchuk. He emphasized that diseases of the musculoskeletal system are called the non-infectious epidemic of the 21st century. A promising direction for the rehabilitation of patients with such pathologies is remote rehabilitation using digital technologies. This requires the presence of hardware and software systems (HSS) for video motion capture.
The PACs developed to date for remote motor rehabilitation have common drawbacks: high cost, complexity of operation, and the need for a doctor to be present at all times. This makes them inaccessible for mass use.
Remote rehabilitation will increase the number of patients per doctor by reducing the time of face-to-face interaction, but at the same time will improve the quality of service by transferring some of the doctor’s functionality to AI.
The patient will no longer need to visit a hospital, while maintaining a personalized approach and a flexible rehabilitation plan based on objectively measurable parameters.
“Within the framework of this project, it is planned to create a prototype of an automated system (mobile application) based on computer vision technology and designed for remote controlled rehabilitation of patients with musculoskeletal pathology, including after endoprosthetic surgery. With the help of this application, the doctor will be able to create an individual training program for the patient, and will also be able to control the following indicators: the ratio of correctly/incorrectly performed repetitions per session, the maximum, minimum and median joint flexion angles,” said Andrey Kovalchuk.
He emphasized that currently there are no domestic analogues of the mobile solution, and Western ones cannot be used in rehabilitation on the territory of the Russian Federation. The competitiveness of the system will be determined by its autonomy, efficiency and accessibility for a wide range of users, regardless of their location and financial status.
The application will not only collect and analyze video data of movement scenarios and transmit them to the doctor for monitoring and correction, but also interact with the user in real time through voice commands, voicing the mistakes and events made by the user.
Most neurological and orthopedic diseases are accompanied by movement disorders, said Anna Belova, head of the department of medical rehabilitation at PIMU, chief neurologist of the Ministry of Health of the Nizhny Novgorod Region. A patient discharged from the hospital should be regularly monitored by a doctor at home, do gymnastics for many months. But in reality, this does not happen due to a shortage of personnel. Therefore, the emphasis is placed on remote rehabilitation all over the world.
“The basis of recovery is not medication, it is not even surgery, it is therapeutic exercise. Movement is the basis of recovery, and not only for patients, but also for healthy people as they age. But these movements must be performed regularly and correctly – this is very important. For example, those who have undergone endoprosthetics should not perform a number of movements – for example, they cannot cross their legs, bend their knee more than 90 degrees, otherwise this will lead to dislocation of the joint. Therefore, this feedback for independent exercises is extremely important,” she explained.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
In October, the traditional recruitment for the additional professional education program “Procurement Management at Oil and Gas Complex Enterprises” started, which is implemented by the Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade with the support of PJSC Gazprom Neft. In the 2024-2025 academic year, this is already the eleventh launch of the advanced training program.
This program trains specialists in procurement and logistics for the oil and gas industry. The training is targeted and lasts two semesters, intended for master’s students, fifth-year specialists and fourth-year bachelor’s students of SPbPU. To enroll in the program, you must have an average diploma grade of at least 4.0 and be ready to undergo an internship in any region where Gazprom Neft subsidiaries are present.
Each year, no more than 13 students are admitted to the program, each of whom undergoes a multi-stage selection process. After submitting an application, including a questionnaire, resume, and motivation letter, the applicant must undergo verbal and digital testing, as well as an interview with Gazprom Neft representatives.
During their studies, students master about 20 educational modules. Among them: organization of procurement activities, project supply management, management of relationships with counterparties, transport and warehouse logistics, inventory management, basics of accounting and taxation in procurement. Classes are taught by teachers of the Polytechnic University and invited experts from Gazprom Neft.
After the theoretical course, students undergo a mandatory four-week internship at the Gazprom Neft group of companies. The program ends with the defense of their diploma theses. Students who have proven themselves during their studies and internship are offered jobs at Gazprom Neft or its subsidiaries located in many cities in Russia.
Training in the program and summer practice of students are financed by PJSC Gazprom Neft.
The additional education program has been implemented by the Higher School of Industrial Management of the Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade on the basis of the Master’s program “Management in the Oil and Gas Complex”, within the framework of cooperation with Gazprom Neft since 2015.
You can follow the news about the program on the website and in the university’s social networks, as well as in the group “Management in the oil and gas complex”.
Contacts for admission questions:
From SPbPU: program administrator Vyacheslav Dmitrievich Melehin, e-mail: v4mr@yandex.ru
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Moldovan citizens living in Romania cast their votes at a polling station in Bucharest, Romania, Oct. 20, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
Moldovan voters went to the polls Sunday for the country’s presidential election and a referendum on joining the European Union (EU).
The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Moldova said on Sunday in a press release that 2,219 polling stations are open to an estimated 3.3 million voters from 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) until 9 p.m. local time (1800 GMT).
The polls will be monitored by 2,061 observers, including 1,277 national observers and 784 international observers, according to the CEC.
Under the country’s constitution, a candidate must win an absolute majority to be elected as president; otherwise, the two candidates with the most votes proceed to a runoff.
Besides choosing a president, voters will also vote in a referendum on whether the goal of joining the EU should be enshrined in the country’s constitution.
“Our vote in the referendum will determine our fate for many decades to come,” said Maia Sandu, the incumbent Moldovan president seeking a second term in office.
Since her election in 2020, Sandu has steered Moldova towards greater alignment with the EU. She led the country to achieve EU candidate country status in 2022. In June 2024, formal accession negotiations were launched.
High-tech 3D scans have revealed the intricate inner workings of the world’s oldest model locomotive for the first time in more than 200 years.
Leeds Industrial Museum’s incredible miniature recreation of a pioneering early steam locomotive recently underwent a detailed CT X-Ray survey using sophisticated equipment at the University of Leeds.
The resulting images show how the precious model, made for the famed engineer Matthew Murray in 1811, replicated the revolutionary mechanics of its full-sized counterparts and in turn helped power a worldwide boom in the railway industry.
It is hoped the images can now illustrate to museum visitors how the model worked and exactly why it was so important to the evolution of early railways across the globe.
John McGoldrick, Leeds Museums and Galleries’ curator of industrial history, said: “This tiny model played a huge part in the development of the early rail industry, allowing Murray to showcase his brilliance to investors and giving him the opportunity to bring his trailblazing designs to life.
“Thanks to these remarkable scans, we can now explore for the first time since 1811 how the model worked, and the extraordinary ingenuity and intricacy which went into its creation.
“Short of cutting open the model, which we wouldn’t ever do, we’d never have got to see its inner workings in quite this way. Now, not only are we examining a piece of engineering history, we’re also getting a unique and unprecedented insight into the mind of one of the world’s great inventors.”
Full-sized Murray designs, such as the famous Salamanca, became the very first commercially viable steam locomotives, and were built around the same time as the model.
At least two other models of the same type were made, with one being gifted by Murray to Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia when he visited Leeds in 1816.
Murray would have used the fully working miniature replicas to woo potential investors and colliery owners, as well as impressing his fellow designers and contemporaries.
His efforts proved successful, with each engine selling for £350, galvanising Murray to create further locomotives which later inspired the great George Stephenson’s designs.
Those locomotives also revolutionised the transportation of coal in Leeds, enabling a small and relatively lightweight engine to haul more than 20 times its own weight, powered by steam from a cast iron boiler with a single flue.
Leeds Museums and Galleries teamed up with Dr Michael Bailey, an early railway historian and archaeologist of early locomotive technology, Dr Alice Macente from the University of Leeds School of Civil Engineering and Dr Sam Allshorn from the School of Earth and Environment.
The scans were carried out at Wolfson Multiphase Flow Laboratory in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds.
Dr Bailey will now be producing a detailed historical account of the model together with an assessment of its design and components.
Funding for the project came through the Leeds Cultural Institute’s Collections Research Fund, a collaboration between academics at the University of Leeds and Leeds Museums and Galleries.
The full findings of the scanning and research will be featured in a future exhibit about the model.
Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said: “The status Leeds has as a centre for engineering excellence over the centuries is incredible, and this extraordinary model really encapsulates that spirit invention and ingenuity.
“It’s also inspiring to see partners and organisations in modern-day Leeds working together to uncover more about the city’s story and using the latest technology to add new dimensions to what we know about the past.”
Once the world’s largest woollen mill, Leeds Industrial Museum is home to models and machinery paying tribute to the city’s industrial heritage as well as its many inventors and engineers.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Rosneft – Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
RN-Tuapse Marine Terminal (part of the Commerce and Logistics Block of Rosneft Oil Company) organized the Championship in Sports Garbage Collection among the Company’s enterprises operating in the Tuapse District of Krasnodar Krai. About 150 volunteers took part in the environmental action to clean up the natural monument – Kiselev Rocks, including employees of the terminal, RN-Tuapse Oil Refinery, a branch of SIBINTEK Investment Company, RN-Uchet, as well as activists of the youth “Movement of the First”, students, environmentalists and concerned local residents.
“RN-Tuapse Marine Terminal” and the Tuapse District Administration held a joint environmental campaign in the format of sports competitions for the third time. Teams of participants collected the maximum amount of household waste in the forest park for a time. Each team brought the collected bags to the judges’ site, where the judges determined the winners. Volunteers also sorted the waste for further recycling. The first place in the Championship was taken by the team of organizers – “RN-Tuapse Marine Terminal”, the second – “SIBINTEK”, the “bronze” was won by the “Movement of the First” team. The participants of the Championship collected more than 10 cubic meters of household waste, returning the pristine appearance of the natural area popular with tourists.
The Kiselev Rock cleanup campaign is the oil workers’ contribution to the development of the environmental movement, as well as the involvement of the population in preserving the unique nature of Kuban, promoting sports and a healthy lifestyle.
Preserving the environment for future generations is an integral part of Rosneft’s corporate culture and social policy. The company also pays attention to developing a healthy lifestyle culture and comprehensively supports sports.
“RN-Tuapse Marine Terminal” in its activities is guided by high environmental standards of rational use of natural resources and preservation of a favorable environmental situation in the region of presence. Every year the enterprise participates in the “Earth Hour” and “Green Spring” campaigns, and also holds clean-up days, maintains the cleanliness of the road leading to the city beach of Tuapse. Such events not only help to preserve the unique nature of the Tuapse region, but also contribute to environmental education, popularization of an environmentally responsible lifestyle.
Reference:
Kiselev Rock is a natural monument that has become part of the protected Kadosh forest park, which occupies 300 hectares in the picturesque Tuapse region of Krasnodar Krai. The forest park is home to 30 species of trees and shrubs, 7 vines, 255 species of herbaceous plants, including rare orchids.
Kiselev Rock is famous as the location where episodes of Leonid Gaidai’s film “The Diamond Arm” were filmed. Tourists visiting these places not only admire the beauty of nature, but also immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the famous film.
Department of Information and Advertising of PJSC NK Rosneft October 21, 2024
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
A digital euro would be a digital form of central bank money, specifically the euro. It could be used by the general public in much the same way as cash, only in virtual form. Alongside cash, the Eurosystem would thus supply households with an additional form of central bank money that can be used quickly, easily and securely.
On 21 October, Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard and her Nordic colleagues will be joined by Germany’s foreign minister in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Nordic Embassies complex in Berlin. The event will highlight the growing Nordic-German cooperation and shared ambition to promote a secure and sustainable future. Guests of honour include the Crown Princess and Prince Daniel, the German President, the King and Queen of Denmark, the Presidents of Finland and Iceland and Norway’s Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
“Germany is a close neighbour and a reliable, like-minded partner. The 25th anniversary celebration highlights the increasingly important Nordic-German cooperation and our joint efforts to promote a peaceful, secure and sustainable future. The economic, industrial and innovative strength and cultural connection shared by the Nordic countries and Germany offer numerous possibilities for cooperation. It will be a pleasure to take part in the celebration and at the same time make use of the opportunity for meaningful discussions between friends,” says Ms Malmer Stenergard.
The celebration on 21 October will include speeches, the inauguration of artwork by Maria Miesenberger and a preview of a Nordic exhibition. The German President and First Lady will host a dinner in the evening. The five Nordic foreign ministers will also be in talks with their German counterpart Annalena Baerbock. This will be followed by a press conference.
The Nordic Embassies in Berlin
The Nordic Embassies in Berlin were inaugurated on 20 October 1999. The complex is the only one in the world that houses the embassies of five Nordic countries. It is located in Tiergarten, where the buildings of the Swedish and Finnish legations could be found prior to their destruction during the Second World War. The overall complex was designed by architects Alfred Berger and Tiina Parkkinen, and the building that houses the Embassy of Sweden was designed by Gert Wingårdh. The Embassies have a common building, the Felleshus (Pan-Nordic Building), for exhibitions and events.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Austin Kay, Researcher in Sustainable Advanced Materials, Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials, Swansea University
As the world races to meet net-zero targets, emissions from all industrial sectors must be reduced more urgently than ever. Agriculture is an important area of focus as it contributes up to 22% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
One approach to decarbonising agriculture involves integrating solar panels – or photovoltaics (PVs) – into fields of crops, greenhouses and livestock areas. Often known as agrivoltaics, this can help farmers reduce their carbon footprint while continuing to produce food.
Agrivoltaics can also mitigate one of the main criticisms often made of solar power – that solar farms “waste” vast tracts of agricultural land that could otherwise be used for food production. In reality, solar farms currently occupy only 0.15% of the UK’s total land – not much compared to the 70% of land devoted to agriculture.
The simplest example of an agrivoltaic system would be conventional, crystalline silicon PVs (the market-leading type of solar panels), installed in fields alongside livestock. This method of farm diversification has become increasingly popular in recent years for three main reasons.
First, it enhances biodiversity as it means the fields are not being used for just one crop (monoculture), undergoing regular crop rotation, or being harvested for silage. Second, it increases production as livestock benefit from the shade and the healthier pasture growth.
Finally, the solar farm has reduced maintenance costs because livestock can keep the grass short. All this is achieved while the solar panels provide locally generated, clean energy.
However, if they’re not set up properly, agrivoltaics may still cause problems. One of the most important challenges, when used in fields where crops are grown, is balancing the need for sunlight between crops and solar panels. Crops need light to grow, and if solar panels block too much sunlight, they can negatively impact crop yields.
This issue varies from place to place. In countries with fewer sunny days like the UK, the panels need to let more sunlight through. But in places like Spain or Italy, some shade can actually help crops by reducing the stress of intense heat during summer months. Finding the right balance is tricky, as it depends on local conditions, the type of crop, and even the needs of pollinators like bees.
The complexity deepens when we consider the type of PV material used. Traditional solar panels aren’t always suitable because they often block the wavelengths (colours) of light needed by plants.
This is where newer materials, like organic semiconductors and perovskites, are ideal as they can be customised to let crops get the light they need while still generating energy. Unlike traditional inorganic semiconductors, which are essentially crystals of metal and metalloid atoms, organic semiconductors are molecules mainly made of carbon and hydrogen. Perovskites, meanwhile, are like a hybrid of organic and inorganic semiconductors.
In fact there are thousands of combinations of these materials to choose from, with scientific literature containing a plethora of options. Figuring out which one works best can be a daunting task.
This is where computational tools can make a big difference. Instead of testing each material in real-world conditions – which would take years and be incredibly expensive – researchers can use simulations to predict their performance. These models can help identify the best materials for specific crops and climates, saving both time and resources.
The tool
We have developed an open-source tool that helps compare various PV materials, making it easier to identify the best options for agrivoltaics. Our tool uses geographical data and realistic simulations of how different PV materials perform.
It considers how light travels through these materials and reflects off them, as well as other important performance measures like voltage and power output. The tool can also take lab-based measurements of PV materials and apply them to real-world scenarios.
Using this tool, we simulated how much power different PV materials could generate per square metre over the course of a year, across various regions. And we calculated how much light passed through these materials to ensure it was enough for crops to thrive.
By running these simulations for multiple materials, we could identify the most suitable options for specific crops and climates.
Tools like ours could play a critical role in decarbonising the agricultural sector by guiding the design of agrivoltaic systems. Future research could combine these simulations with economic and environmental impact analyses. This would help us understand how much energy we can expect from a solar panel over its lifetime compared to the resources and costs involved in producing it.
Ultimately, our tool could help researchers and policymakers in selecting the most efficient, cost-effective and eco-friendly ways to decarbonise agriculture and move us closer to achieving global net-zero emissions.
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Austin Kay is a Postgraduate Student at Swansea University and receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through program grant EP/T028513/1 Application Targeted and Integrated Photovoltaics.
In a significant diplomatic manoeuvre that may have far-reaching implications for the international system of alliances, Turkey has submitted a formal request to join Brics, the group of emerging-market economies, signalling its intent to diversify its partnerships beyond the west.
The Brics grouping, named after Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, comprises some of the world’s largest economies. Earlier this year, it welcomed four new members: Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Egypt. Although Saudi Arabia has been invited to join, the official process is yet to take place. Often viewed as an alternative to western-led organisations such as the EU, G7 and Nato, Brics signifies a significant shift in global power dynamics.
Ankara’s decision could be a strategy to strengthen relations with non-western powers as the global economy’s centre continues to shift away from the west, but is also about chasing more trade with Brics members.
Announced ahead of the Brics summit starting on October 22, Turkey’s application has raised questions about the broader implications for its role within Nato. If accepted, Turkey would be the first Nato member of Brics. However, this is not to say that Turkey is entirely turning away from the west. Turkey’s institutional ties with the western world run deep. At most, this move signals Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s intention to increase the government’s flexibility in its foreign relations.
Erdoğan said on September 1 that this move shows Ankara’s aims to cultivate ties with all sides simultaneously to “become a strong, prosperous, prestigious and effective country if it improves its relations with the east and the west simultaneously”.
Turkey’s acceptance into the group could be discussed during the upcoming 16th Brics summit, in Kazan, Russia. Malaysia, Thailand and Azerbaijan are among other countries expecting to join.
Between east and west
Turkey’s balancing act between east and west is not a recent phenomenon but a continuation of its policies since the end of the cold war, and is in line with its geographical position at the edge of Europe and Asia.
This strategy has been central to Turkey’s intricate, at times conflicting, approach to international relations and remains pertinent in an increasingly complex world. The shift from a unipolar world – the idea that the world is dominated by one super power – to one with more global powers has led all governments to reassess their foreign policies, and Ankara is no different.
Turkey’s longstanding commitment to Nato makes it highly unlikely that its willingness to join the Brics group signifies a move away from its western allies. Since 2016, Turkey has strengthened its economic, political, and military ties with Russia and China, and its recent application to the Brics group reflects this trend. According to some experts in Turkish foreign policy, while this development may raise concerns in western capitals, there is no pressing reason for the west to be alarmed about Turkey making concessions to Russia or acting independently of Nato.
There are two incentives driving Turkey’s application. According to Sinan Ülgen, director of the Istanbul-based Centre for Economic and Foreign Policy Studies: “The first is Turkey’s aspiration to enhance its strategic autonomy in foreign policy which essentially involves improving ties with non-western powers like Russia and China in a way to balance the relationship with the west. The second is the accumulated frustrations over the relationship with the west. For example, the EU has not even been able to decide on the start of negotiations on the updating of the customs union, its trade deal with Turkey that dates back to 1996.”
Turkey has been keen on joining the Brics group since 2018. Putin, during a meeting with Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan in Moscow in June this year, welcomed Ankara’s interest and promised that Moscow “will support this desire to be together with the countries of this alliance [Brics], to be together, closer, to solve common problems”.
Since the war in Ukraine, Russia has been making extra efforts to gain the support of more countries. Turkey holds a particular significance in this effort due to its strategic location, and its control of the Black Sea straits, an essential trade route for both Ukraine and Russia. The Black Sea has played an important part in the Ukraine war, and Turkey has been part of an alliance that has stymied Russia’s attempts to fully control the waters, and allowed Ukraine to continue to use the waters.
The Montreux Convention regulates maritime traffic through the Turkish Straits. The convention distinguishes between Black Sea and non-Black Sea powers, acknowledging specific advantages for the former, which includes Ukraine and Russia.
In March 2022, Erdoğan indicated that the convention allows Turkey to restrict the passage of naval vessels belonging to warring parties. Putin may be hoping that with Turkey on board as a Brics ally he may be able to persuade Ankara to give him more leeway. Currently Russia’s inability to control the Black Sea and cargo ships within it are seriously weakening its ability to constrain Ukraine’s economy.
Turkey anticipates that Brics membership will enhance its geopolitical standing and expand its economic influence, especially in non-western markets. Most importantly, leveraging its geopolitical position to influence global affairs and pursuing a more balanced and diversified foreign policy.
It is evident that Turkey aims to maintain its connections with the west while also desiring the flexibility to engage with other regions. It is highly improbable that this would lead to a significant overhaul of Turkey’s ties with western countries. It may, however, cause concern among fellow Nato members about how much they can rely on Turkey in the future.
Bulent Gökay does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
There is a city nearby that we hide from view. Its people are of all ages, ethnicities and classes. What unites them is a disease: all are diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME.
We hide them there because we don’t know where else to put them. Like a plague village, we have no plans to treat them, to study their disease or to trial possible drugs for them. We could choose to draw up such plans, to give the residents hope for their future health. But our country’s choice is to turn away and forget about these 250,000-plus inhabitants altogether. A city the size of Brighton that we deliberately ignore.
Worse, when we don’t ignore them, we blame them, telling them that they are all free to rise from their beds and wheelchairs, to walk away from the city. Doctors tell them they can free themselves of the disease by changing their belief systems. Make the effort, they say, and you will regain your health and previous lives.
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Outwardly, the city is quiet: its clocks have stopped, the streets are empty and house blinds are drawn. Inwardly, some lie still in their darkened rooms, masks on to protect them from their light sensitivity, keeping within their limited energy level, unable to tolerate sound, food and touch – lives spent in the shadows, barely lived. Inside, they feel like they have life-sapping toxins coursing through their veins. They say it feels like being on the verge of death; some even call it a “pseudo dying syndrome”.
A brief conversation with a friend, or washing their hair, or a sudden movement causes their symptoms to flare. This intensifies a fatigue that sleep cannot alleviate, and heightens their muscle or joint pain, headaches, or sensitivities to food, light or sound.
Simon McGrath, a close friend of mine who has lived with ME and written about it for 20 years, tells me:
I never know how much it is safe for me to do. It’s like I’m surrounded by an electric fence that will trigger a bad day if I touch it. But the fence is invisible, and moves every day.
A ‘scandal’ so much more than chronic fatigue
Fatigue does not begin to describe this disease, despite its other name being chronic fatigue syndrome, or CFS. “A bad day is like a very bad hangover lasting 24 hours or more: the morning after, without the night before,” Simon explains. “But with much more pain, much more fatigue and very bad brain fog. I feel as if all the neurons in my skull have collapsed and disconnected from each other.” By spotlighting fatigue, ME’s other name fails to convey its many debilitating symptoms.
Simon – or, rather, his illness – is why I am a ME researcher. At university, where we met, he graduated with a biochemistry degree, fizzing with energy and talent. His ME soon dimmed his bright future but would not stop him making a difference to the ME community through his writing, and in helping me understand this horrible disease.
The Times journalist, Sean O’Neill, says that ME is “routinely stigmatised and ignored by the NHS” and calls it “a scandal waiting for its Post Office moment”. O’Neill and his family had to endure the inquest into the death of his daughter, Maeve Boothby O’Neill, who died from natural causes because of severe ME.
Maeve’s ME left her unable to move, communicate or tolerate light, sound or touch. She did not want to go to hospital because, according to her GP, she “always gets worse when [she] goes in”.
Why is it that we give the least or worst treatments to those who are most in need?
Exile and misogyny
ME exiles people from their family, friends, and hoped-for futures. For most, this banishment is for life because nine in ten will never recover, and also because we expend too little effort to end this wicked disease.
That’s the irony – it’s society’s lack of effort to understand this illness and its treatment; our societal inertia; our failure to accept patients’ symptoms that perpetuate their exile.
So let’s attempt to diagnose what causes our apathy towards this cruel disease. The chief cause is misogyny, an ingrained prejudice born of the disease’s strong female bias: for every five women living with ME, there is only one man. It also has a strong age bias – young men are ten times less likely to be diagnosed with it than older women.
Another female-dominant disease is endometriosis. Like ME, the medical establishment is only just starting to appreciate the full nature of this debilitating condition.
In her memoir, Giving up the Ghost, the prize-winning novelist Hilary Mantel said of her endometriosis: “The more I said that I had a physical illness, the more they said I had a mental illness. The more I questioned the nature, the reality of the mental illness, the more I was found to be in denial, deluded.”
ME patients also report feeling that their concerns and symptoms are all too often dismissed.
Women with ME have spoken about their experiences of medical misogyny. For example, I talked to the Vikings actress Jennie Jacques who has spoken openly about her experiences of ME. She said that “Medical misogyny [is] at the heart of it. ME was psychologised when it most definitely shouldn’t have been”.
When later asked by ME specialistByron Hyde MD “why had he written up the Free Hospital epidemics as hysteria without any careful exploration of the basis of his thesis?”, McEvedy responded devastatingly, saying: “It was an easy PhD, why not?”
In the US, female-biased conditions attract less funding than male-biased ones. Funding for ME is 400-times less than for HIV/Aids, a male-biased disease, once their different disease burdens are accounted for.
In 2021, the previous UK government acknowledged the problem stating: “Studies suggest gender biases in clinical trials and research are contributing to worse health outcomes for women.”
COVID empathy?
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic should have woken us up from our collective lethargy, and should have turned apathy into empathy. For then there were times when we all became housebound, often sick with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and moreover so many of us – a million people, more than Liverpool and Manchester combined – came down with Long COVID.
Long COVID and ME share so many symptoms: post-exertional malaise, fatigue, widespread pain, disordered sleep, and brain fog. This overlap should never have surprised us – after all, two-thirds of people with ME report having had a triggering infection, such as glandular fever, just prior to their initial symptoms. Around 10% of people with glandular fever go on to develop ME symptoms.
It is as if we have our own brain fog, obscuring everyone with ME, forgetting how we – if fortune had been different – might have been them.
If we do not act to reduce the spread of infection, through immunisation and better ventilation, then numbers of people with long COVID – and other ME-like illnesses – will continue to rise, as infections so often trigger these conditions.
Going back to Simon, ME made him housebound, then bedbound. The NHS treated him with therapies based on increasing activity levels (Graded Exercise Therapy, or GET). This involves “gradually increasing physical activity to improve fitness and get the body used to activity again”.
The other NHS treatment approach, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), is about changing “illness beliefs”. Here, patients are asked to examine “how thoughts, behaviour and CFS/ME symptoms interact with each other”.
But these treatments are ineffective as cures. And worse still, for the majority of 11,000 people with ME on one survey, GET did more harm then good.
In a different online survey, of 542 ME patients, 81% responded that their symptoms worsened because of GET treatment. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, revised in 2021, say that CBT is not curative and that GET should not be offered to people with ME. Yet this new guidance has been implemented by only 28% of English NHS Trusts and Integrated Care Boards.
So, despite GET being described by patients as causing harm, and CBT as being ineffective as a cure, they are still being offered as a treatment. Over decades, very little has changed for Simon and hundreds of thousands of others with ME.
As we grew older together, Simon watched as I changed scientific career from physics into biology. I watched as his health might begin to rebuild, before suddenly collapsing, setting him back months or years. His ME has cost so much, he told me:
It’s so isolating and there’s so much loss. I got ill in the prime of life. It cost me relationships, my social life, my career, the chance of a family, the chance to contribute. Everything. Plenty of people seem to think it’s a lifestyle choice. Nobody would choose this.
As if his ME burden was not heavy enough, he started to carry other long-term health conditions, which each alone would bring me to my knees. Even though he does not feel it, I see his strength and resolution in adversity. At a time when biomedical evidence was rarely championed, he began his ME blog, and together with co-authors re-analysed clinical trial data. They concluded that the “recovery rates in the CBT and GET groups were not significantly higher than those in the control, no-therapy group”.
His own experience of ME, and his scientific eye-for-detail, make him a go-to person for people in the ME community.
In contrast, by 2013, and despite my decades of scientific training and academic privileges, I had done nothing for ME research. Why did I hesitate? “It’s not my scientific area,” I told myself. I trusted other researchers to identify effective and potentially curative treatments soon.
I was unprepared for the shock of my first ME research meetings. When studying other diseases, I had become used to vast conference halls brimming with celebrated scientists, enthusiastic PhD students, science prize winners, funders, and journal editors, all on the hunt for the next big breakthrough, grant or career opportunity.
For ME, however, the rooms were small and half-empty, funders and journal editors were nowhere to be seen, and researchers were talking at cross-purposes, showing sparse data from small-scale studies. These meetings were also empty of robust evidence for what physiologically had gone wrong for so many. At each meeting, a single word came to my mind: “forsaken” – those who others shun, neglect and abandon, whose existence is denied. I could not then, in all conscience, turn my back and walk away.
Not once have I regretted this decision. Its professional cost – measured in traditional markers of esteem, such as “glamour” publications, international conference and seminar invitations – has been more than offset by the fulfilment from working in this long-neglected field.
The extent of scientific disinterest in ME is clear: so far this year, there have been 17-times more publications mentioning “multiple sclerosis” than those mentioning ME or CFS, despite MS being rarer.
New study
My privilege now is to walk ME’s city of stolen futures alongside many people – like Simon – whose lost decades have been spent searching for their disease’s root causes. Together, for two-and-a-half years our team went back-and-forth with the Medical Research Council MRC and the National Institute for Health and Care Research NIHR. Eventually, we managed to secure a £3.2m award for DecodeME, a hunt for ME’s genetic causes.
DecodeME is not just the world’s largest study of the genetic causes of ME, but it was the first to place people with experience of ME at its heart. A total of 27,000 people with ME in the UK took part. We will report the study’s results as soon as we can. When we do, we will give them back first to the ME community whose data and samples we hold in trust.
The UK government has pledged to publish its delivery plan on ME in 2025. Andrew Gwynne MP, parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department of Health and Social Care, has said that it “will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease”.
This delivery plan will need to be radical.
Today, we urgently need more people to move through this city of lost hope to hear and to listen.
We need scientists to develop new vaccines against infections that trigger ME.
We need researchers, clinical specialists, hospital managers, and politicians to give deserved priority to this long-forsaken community and help lead these long-lost inhabitants back into the land of the well.
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Chris Ponting’s research has been funded by MRC, NIHR, Action for M.E. and ME Research UK.
The first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the beginning of conflict in Gaza left UK schools with a dilemma: how to mark the event. It has affected many around the world, including school children and their families in the UK.
Earlier in 2024, government adviser on social cohesion, Sara Khan, suggested that schools were not supporting reasonable debate about the Israel-Gaza conflict because teachers are nervous about handling such a sensitive topic in the classroom.
But if schools shut down the topic they risk encouraging mistrust, anger, hate and polarisation. Not least because students will instead seek out information online – and are quite likely to stumble upon fake news and conspiracy theories.
The leader of the UK’s biggest education union, Daniel Kebede, recently noted that there simply isn’t enough space in the curriculum for students to discuss such difficult issues. He claims the solution is to embed philosophy as a subject across England’s school curriculum.
The subject of philosophy is specifically set up to promote critical thinking skills and teach people how to have difficult conversations about controversial issues.
Teaching controversial topics
Controversial and sensitive topics are unavoidable. We encounter them discussed in the media, on the news, in the street and in our homes. Yet we are not always sure what to think, especially when the issue is complex, or how to talk to people we disagree with. And the skills of reasonable dialogue can be even harder when emotions are running high.
Young people need to learn how to discuss controversial issues like the Israel-Gaza war. The best way to do this is by including philosophy on the curriculum. Philosophy has an excellent toolkit designed to explore various points of view in a critically engaged way and, when taught dialogically – through discussion between students and teachers – students become seekers of shared knowledge and wisdom.
A key aspect of a democracy involves welcoming different ideas. Such diversity is a strength because it allows for many claims to be scrutinised, with only the best arguments gaining traction. Yet this process of sharing ideas requires our citizens to be able to hold reasoned discussions and to think critically.
The ability to hold reasoned, critical discussion is a valuable skill. fizkes/Shutterstock
To avoid aggression or chaos, people need to engage charitably with one another, being respectful of various experiences and perspectives while also being critical of the ideas presented.
The dialogical skills of philosophy
Philosophy, more than any other subject, encourages students to think about the reasons why they think something, and entertain the possibility that there are other points of view.
Philosophy is inherently dialogical. The most common teaching approach is to think about the steps in an argument, and then to consider the weaknesses in each of these.
Philosophy does this by teaching students to check: What assumptions am I making? Are the premises of my position sound? Does the conclusion logically follow from my starting point? What is a counterargument or counterexample to which I need to reply? Could I be wrong about this? What additional information do I need to draw a conclusion?
These kinds of questions encourage intellectual humility: the idea that I, like anyone else, could be wrong. Intellectual humility goes hand in hand with open-mindedness, ensuring we remain open to relevant new information.
Such skills of critical thinking and respectful disagreement are vital in a time of disinformation and fake news. Not only do we need young people to learn how to fact check and be critical of what they see and hear, but we also need them to learn that it is OK to disagree.
Being open-minded
The influential American philosopher Daniel Dennett, who died earlier this year, wrote about the importance of criticising with kindness and seeking the most charitable version of your opponent’s position. This is so important when discussing controversial topics, because reasonable people will disagree.
Criticising with kindness means staying humble and open to different points of view when having difficult conversations. And it means creating space for the airing of diverse arguments and examples. In this way, teachers who are trained in philosophy are able to remain politically neutral while helping students converse with one another about important issues that affect them and those they care about.
Philosophy is about learning to be respectful of others whose views differ from one’s own and to accept reasonable disagreement. It also teaches us to be comfortable with unsettled questions and complex answers. Teaching philosophy in the classroom leads to students engaging with ideas charitably and critically, encouraging open-mindedness and intellectual humility.
It is the skills of dialogue that we need as our society faces increasing polarisation and violent disagreement. These skills are some of the defining characteristics of a democracy. Happily, teachers are uniquely positioned to embrace the subject of philosophy and the skills it has to offer.
Laura D’Olimpio is co-founding editor of the open access Journal of Philosophy in Schools.
President Lai names Taiwania Capital Chairman Lin Hsin-i as 2024 APEC envoy 2024-10-21
On October 21 Presidential Office Spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) announced that President Lai Ching-te has invited Lin Hsin-i (林信義), chairman of Taiwania Capital Management Corporation, to act as his representative to attend the 2024 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) to be held in Lima, Peru from November 15 to 16. Spokesperson Kuo said that Chairman Lin, currently a senior advisor to the president and advisor on the Executive Yuan’s Economic Development Commission, possesses experience in both the public and private sectors. Beginning as a corporate manager, Chairman Lin has served as vice chairperson of China Motor Corporation and chairman of Tokio Marine Newa Insurance Corp. Ltd., she said. Using his corporate management experience to transition into major government roles, the spokesperson noted, he has served as minister of economic affairs, vice premier, minister of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (now National Development Council) of the Executive Yuan, and chairman of the Industrial Technology Research Institute. The spokesperson emphasized that Chairman Lin possesses a deep understanding of national economic and trade policy formulation and implementation. Spokesperson Kuo stated that Chairman Lin has attended APEC meetings three times and is thus well acquainted with the forum’s operation and issues. She explained that he represented Taiwan at the APEC Ministerial Meeting at both the 2000 meeting in Brunei and the 2001 meeting in Shanghai, and that he was appointed by former President Chen Shui-bian as leader’s representative in 2005, when he led a delegation to attend the AELM in Busan, Korea. She noted that he successfully completed his mission in each of these meetings. The theme for this year’s APEC in Peru is Empower, Include, Grow, Spokesperson Kuo noted, with three major policy priorities: trade and investment for inclusive and interconnected growth, innovation and digitalization to promote transition to the formal and global economy, and sustainable growth for resilient development. She said that all of these priorities share similarities with the important policies that Taiwan’s government is actively promoting. APEC has also attached a high level of importance to cooperation between the public and private sectors in recent years, the spokesperson said, and President Lai thus invited Chairman Lin to attend the meeting as our leader’s representative. She said the president expressed hope that with his professional expertise and abundant experience, Chairman Lin will present a clear picture of Taiwan’s government policy for APEC and enhance Taiwan’s global visibility and importance. Taiwan has been an active APEC participant since joining in 1991, and will not only conduct exchanges on issues at this meeting, but also continue to create opportunities for cooperation in a variety of fields in the future, Spokesperson Kuo said. Alongside other APEC members, she said, Taiwan will promote cooperation in such areas as green and digital transformation, digital innovation, digital health, small and medium-sized enterprise growth, women’s economic empowerment, inclusive growth, and food security. The spokesperson said that together, we will help bring about sustainable and mutual prosperity, and that we will show through action that Taiwan is willing and able to contribute even more to the world.
Participation in extreme sports has surged since COVID-19, with 490 million people estimated to be taking part globally. This may have been fuelled by a desire to break free from lockdown-induced monotony and an explosion of media coverage showcasing the allure of high-adrenaline activities.
Extreme sports, like Base jumping, free solo climbing, big wave surfing and downhill mountain biking, once reserved for a small percentage of people, are now becoming more mainstream.
But why are people willing to take such risks? As a climber myself, I was keen to find out. While the popular image of extreme sports participants often revolves around thrill seeking and adrenaline addiction, research from my colleagues and I shows there are far more complex reasons for why people participate.
An extreme sport is defined as one in which a mismanaged mistake or accident would result in serious injury or death.
Research has started to explore the reasons behind extreme sports participation, but there’s still a lot to uncover. Several studies have identified factors like personality, motivation, and even neurobiology as playing a role. But it remains unclear which of these consistently drives people to take part in high-risk sports.
We started our work by conducting a systematic review to consolidate existing research on what drives people to participate in extreme sports. The studies we looked at provided important insights into the various psychological and emotional factors that motivate people to engage in high-risk activities. This helped us build a more complete understanding of the extreme sports mindset. We uncovered five motivational factors.
Red Bull’s international marketing campaign largely revolves around extreme sports.
1. Connection
Participants often describe feeling at one with nature and free from the constraints of everyday life. Many also find a deep sense of belonging in the extreme sports community and are driven by the desire to push their personal boundaries.
2. Personality
While some people are indeed drawn to thrill seeking, many use extreme sports as a tool to regulate difficult emotions. This is particularly true for those with alexithymia, which is when people struggle to identify and express their feelings.
3. Goals
The drive to succeed plays a big role in why people take part in extreme sports. Of course, many athletes are motivated by setting clear goals, whether it’s winning competitions or improving their performance. In this sense, participation in extreme sport is no different from that of more traditional sport.
For many of the respondents in the studies we analysed, goal setting boosts confidence and helps them persist through challenges. Participants also often feel a strong sense of control over their activities and find a sense of community with like-minded people.
4. Managing risk
Far from being reckless, participants are often highly calculated about the risks they take. They thrive on managing risk, finding excitement in navigating dangerous situations rather than avoiding them.
5. Addiction-like urges
Some participants exhibit behaviour resembling addiction, experiencing mood disturbances when not engaging in their chosen extreme sport. This can create a powerful urge to return, a bit like withdrawal symptoms.
People who take part in extreme sport often thrive on managing risk. PhotoFires/Shutterstock
Our findings have broader implications. They challenge the traditional view of extreme sports enthusiasts as mere “adrenaline junkies”. The research suggests that extreme sports could potentially offer therapeutic benefits, particularly for people struggling with emotional regulation.
Far from just being about thrill seeking, these types of activities could provide an outlet for experiencing emotions that might otherwise be hard for some people to access. It opens new avenues for exploring how high-risk activities may be used to support mental health and wellbeing.
My own work in this field is ongoing. Recently, I’ve conducted interviews with elite extreme sport participants to explore their motivations in greater depth. This new research will examine how these motivations shift over time – before, during and after participation. I’m also expanding my studies to compare the motivations driving extreme sport enthusiasts with those of non-extreme sport participants, aiming to uncover what, if anything, truly sets them apart.
Odette Hornby does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
While many people in the creative industries are worrying that AI is about to steal their jobs, Oscar-winning film director James Cameron is embracing the technology. Cameron is famous for making the Avatar and Terminator movies, as well as Titanic. Now he has joined the board of Stability.AI, a leading player in the world of Generative AI.
In Cameron’s Terminator films, Skynet is an artificial general intelligence that has become self-aware and is determined to destroy the humans who are trying to deactivate it. Forty years after the first of those movies, its director appears to be changing sides and allying himself with AI. So what’s behind this?
Valued at around a billion dollars, Stability.AI was, until recently at least, headquartered above a chicken shop in Notting Hill. It is famous for Stable Diffusion, a text-to-image tool that creates hyperreal pictures from text requests (or prompts) by its users. Now it is moving into AI-created video.
Cameron appears to see their work as a potential game changer in film visual effects: “I was at the forefront of CGI over three decades ago, and I’ve stayed on the cutting edge since. Now, the intersection of generative AI and CGI image creation is the next wave,” he commented in a media release from Stability.AI.
Filmmakers supplement the live action reality that they shoot with two kinds of effects: special effects (SFX) and visual effects (VFX). They come at two different stages of film production. During the shoot, SFX are all the physical effects used to create spectacle – explosions, blood squibs, vehicle crashes, prosthetics, mechanical movement of sets.
During postproduction, VFX are the digital systems that add new elements to live-action filmed images – computer-generated imagery (CGI), compositing, motion capture rendering. They also combine separately shot images together.
A recent development of film technology, Virtual Production, has brought some VFX techniques into the film shoot. This process uses what are known as “games engines” – a technology developed for the creation of video games. Actors are filmed in front of sophisticated LED walls, which screen dynamic, pre-produced virtual worlds around the performer.
The real-world physicality of SFX means that artificial intelligence will have very limited impact here. It is in VFX where AI may have a transformative effect. I’ll be talking about the subject of deepfakes and AI in film at a public lecture on October 30, 2024: ‘Deepfakes and AI in film and media: seeing is not believing’.
We are also investigating the subject through the Synthetic Media Research Network, a group that I co-lead which brings together film creatives, academic researchers and AI developers. I spoke to a member of this collective, Christian Darkin, a VFX artist who now works as Head of Creative AI for Deep Fusion Films.
He sees the impact of generative AI on VFX as creating infinite choice in post-production. In future, filming the actors will be just the beginning. “You’ll put in the background later, you’ll change the camera angles, you’ll change the expressions, you’ll ramp up the emotion in the acting, you’ll change the voices, the costumes, the people’s faces, everything,” Christian told me.
One key motive for the film industry’s incorporation of AI into VFX is simple: the expense of traditional VFX. If you have watched the end credits of a blockbuster movie, you’ll have seen the number of VFX technicians that they employ. Generative AI offers a cheaper way to achieve spectacular screen images, potentially with no loss of quality.
The implication is that a lot of VFX technicians will lose their jobs as a result. However, in conversations that I have had with people working in these roles there’s a sense that, being highly skilled and technologically savvy, they will probably move into new roles in emerging areas of tech.
The ethics of AI technology
Media creatives are now presented with a huge selection of generative AI Tools that offer new ways of creating images, text, voices and music. However, a key problem related to the technology still needs to be addressed: have these AI tools been created ethically?
Each generative AI tool, from ChatGPT to Midjourney to Runway, rests on a foundation model that has been exposed to vast amounts of data, often from the internet, in order to help it improve at what it does. This process is called “training”.
AI developers build huge reservoirs of training data by using “crawlers”, bots that scour the internet for useful material and download trillions of files for their own use. This can include books, music, images, the spoken word and videos, created by artists who retain copyright over their material.
Stability.ai has been involved in a legal action over copyright in the UK courts. Getty Images, holder of a huge collection of pictures and photographs, is currently suing the company.
A former executive at Stability.ai, Ed Newton-Rex, resigned in November 2023 over the company scraping for creative content to train the model, without payment and claiming it is “fair use”.
Perhaps Cameron thinks that the AI developers will win the court cases against them and continue their technological trajectory. I asked Stability.ai if, before Cameron joined the company, they had scraped any of his creative material from the internet to use as training data for their foundation models – and did they ask his permission?
Their response was: “We’re not able to comment on the source of Stability
AI’s training data.”
Cameron’s Terminator films warned about the potential catastrophic effects of rogue AI. Yet the director now clearly thinks that he is now sitting on a winning horse.
Dominic Lees receives funding from the AHRC Impact Acceleration Account (University of Reading).
Coal workers suing their government over job losses. Indigenous people using the courts to block wind farms or anti-deforestation policies that violate their cultural rights. What these cases have in common is they challenge the fairness of climate policies and projects themselves.
Our new study, carried out with researchers from 16 universities and published in Nature Sustainability, finds that cases like these are increasingly being filed all over the world.
We coined the term “just transition litigation” to describe these cases. This term captures a focus on ensuring that climate action balances the transition to a low-carbon economy with social justice and the protection of vulnerable communities.
This phenomenon must be kept distinct from that of climate litigation, which tends to focus on holding governments and companies accountable for failing to reduce emissions or adapt to climate change.
Our research began in 2020, when we started noticing a growing number of cases that didn’t fit the conventional model of climate litigation. For example, in Chile, union workers sued the government, arguing that they had been excluded from discussions regarding the phase-out of coal plants. The Chilean Supreme Court ruled in favour of the workers, emphasising that a just transition strategy — one that includes consultation with affected communities — is essential for achieving carbon neutrality.
Similarly, in Norway, the Sami Indigenous people successfully challenged wind farm licenses, which the country’s Supreme Court found to have violated their cultural rights to herd reindeer. In Colombia, Indigenous people argued that projects aimed at reducing deforestation on their land violated their rights to self-determination and cultural integrity.
Just transition litigation seeks to ensure that the shift toward a greener economy is fair and inclusive, particularly for those who may be disadvantaged by the rapid changes it brings. The applicants in these cases often include regular workers, Indigenous people, women, children, minorities and other groups who are typically underrepresented in legislative and decision-making processes. (Our concept of just transition litigation excludes lawsuits brought by corporations seeking to protect their own interests at the expense of broader societal fairness.)
At the core of this litigation is the pursuit of justice. As countries shift to low-carbon economies, these policies inevitably produce both winners and losers. Oil and gas workers lose their jobs. Indigenous people are displaced or see the world around them changed by new wind or solar farms. All these people lament being treated unjustly.
To ensure widespread support for climate policies, their grievances should not be dismissed as mere nimbyism. Rather, they should be recognised as carrying precious insights into the fairness, equity, and social impacts of climate policies and projects.
The litigation we looked at calls upon courts to assess climate action against various different legal frameworks, ranging from constitutional and human rights law to corporate accountability standards. Some lawsuits use arguments of distributive justice, which focus on the allocation of resources and burdens. Some look at procedural justice, such as inclusive decision-making. Others want what is termed recognition justice, which focuses on respect for marginalised groups.
Why this matters
All this reflects a growing recognition that climate action may come at a cost to certain groups, especially those already on the margins of society. It also underscores the need to address the social justice of climate action and ensure it does not make the world even less equal.
The core issue is that, while much attention is given to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, less emphasis has been placed on ensuring we do so equitably. This is especially the case at a time when governments in the EU , the UK and the US are announcing plans to cut the red tape and expedite the transition.
As more communities turn to courts to seek justice, our study highlights an urgent need for policymakers to embrace inclusive, transparent and equitable processes. Decisions over who owns land, or what jobs people can do, should involve those most affected. Ensuring that climate policies are fair and just will not only protect vulnerable groups but also foster broader public support.
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Joana Setzer receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Foundation for International Law for the Environment, and the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment
Annalisa Savaresi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Mari Ellis Dunning, Associate Lecturer at the School of Languages and Literature and PhD Candidate, Aberystwyth University
For centuries, midway between the autumn equinox and winter solstice, the Welsh people have celebrated Calan Gaeaf on November 1. Nos Galan Gaeaf or “the evening before the first day of winter”, falls a day before, which the western world now recognises as Halloween.
A time of year filled with monsters and ghouls, here are five spooky winter customs and beliefs unique to Wales and its people.
1. Hwch Ddu Gwta
On Nos Galan Gaeaf, the horrifying hwch ddu gwta, or “tailess black sow”, would make its annual appearance. Usually a man draped in cloth or animal hide rising from dwindling fire embers, the hwch ddu would chase the village children home.
As the fire died and the children anticipated the materialisation of the black sow, they would often chant a spooky verse, like: “Adref, adref am y cynta’, Hwch Ddu Gwta a gipio’r ola,” (“Home, home, at once, the tailess black sow shall snatch the last one.”)
Juliette Wood, scholar of Celtic folklore, says the macabre ritual has its roots in beliefs about the souls of the dead, people and animals. But on a practical level, it was probably just an effective way of getting children to bed and teaching them about the dangers of straying from the group.
2. Fortune telling
Fortune telling would have been rife at this time of year. Questions over who was next to be married, and who may meet an untimely death, were particularly popular. Women looking for love may have wandered around the bounds of a church, chanting “here is the sheath, where is the knife”, hoping to hear the name of the person they would marry as a response.
In some parts of the country, stwmp naw rhyw, a mash made of nine different root vegetables with milk, butter, salt and pepper, would have a wedding ring placed at the centre. Whoever found the ring in their serving would be the next to be married.
Though these particular practices were performed at Calan Gaeaf, the widespread belief in fortune telling certainly wasn’t unique to this time of year, nor Wales, of course.
But Wales does have a long history of reliance on wise-women and soothsayers. Many Welsh people even regularly turned to the church for charms and curses.
3. Y Ladi Wen and other apparitions
Regarded as a seasonal boundary, Nos Galan Gaeaf was considered the most ominous of the three spirit nights. The others were Nos Galan Mai, which heralds the beginning of summer, and Noswyl Ifan, known also as the summer solstice.
As Nos Galan Gaeaf was a time to say goodbye to the recently deceased, the spirits were said to roam freely. Ghosts of the dead were believed to be seen at midnight on every stile, for example. And it makes sense that ghosts were to be found atop stiles. The fact that unbaptised children used to be buried at boundary fences suggests that these lines were liminal places and therefore the favourite perches of ghosts and apparitions.
Perhaps the most well known of these ghosts was Y Ladi Wen (the White Lady). Y Ladi Wen was an apparition who could be found haunting locations where violent deaths had occurred. She was also said to warn children about their bad behaviour.
4. Mari Lwyd
The Mari Lwyd is traditionally a Christmas and New Year wassailing folk custom popular in south Wales. It dates back to the 18th century and involves a horse’s skull placed on a pole, draped in ribbons.
A person hiding beneath a white sheet would carry the pole and snap the horse’s jaw open and shut. A procession led by Mari would go from house to house, where the group would sing verses asking to be let inside, prompting the hosts to improvise a rebuttal in verse.
The Mari Lwyd’s weird and somewhat terrifying appearance has led to her appearing earlier in the season, and adopted in different parts of Wales and as far afield as the US and Australia.
5. Gwrachod Powys
Perhaps the most sinister and spooky custom is one that could be found in Powys, mid-Wales.
Men would wander around in gangs wearing sheep skin, old ragged clothes and masks, drinking heavily and demanding gifts. They were called “gwrachod” (meaning hags or witches), probably in allusion to the Celtic belief that fiends, witches and faeries carried out their harmful and destructive tasks at night.
In the north, the name “gwrachod” was also used to describe men and women who went about their neighbours’ houses dressed in each other’s clothes and wearing masks.
During this Christmas tradition, which could be seen as a combination of the Mari Lwyd and the gwrachod, members of the party would dance, cheer and perform “antic diversions” in exchange for good cheer, ale, apples and nuts.
As October draws to a close and we creep towards the darkest days of midwinter, keep your wits about you. You might just end up face to face with a horrifying sow covered in fire ash, or confronted by a ghostly lady draped in white.
Mari Ellis Dunning does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Donald Trump loves tariffs. Making things more expensive if they come from foreign countries is at the heart of his bid for a second term in the White House.
“Tariffs are the greatest thing ever invented,” he said in September 2024 at a town hall event in Michigan. And he has promised that if he becomes US president again, he will impose an across-the-board tariff of up to 20% on imports – and even 200% on cars from Mexico – in a bid to encourage American manufacturing.
This is familiar ground for Trump, who showed he was fond of tariffs during his 2017-2021 presidency. Back then, he claimed his policy would address the trade imbalance with China, bring manufacturing jobs back to the US and raise revenues.
Tariffs were then imposed on a wide range of goods, from imported steel and aluminium, to solar panels and washing machines.
In fact, we found that imposing tariffs actually made the US even more reliant on foreign suppliers – and failed to stimulate the domestic job market. They also raised costs for US consumers and provoked retaliatory tariffs from trading partners including China, the EU, Canada, Mexico, India and Turkey.
China for example, responded by trebling tariffs on American cars. The EU filed a dispute with the World Trade Organisation and substantially raised tariffs on US exports including Harley Davidson motorcycles, jeans and bourbon whiskey.
And Trump’s tariffs did not lead to a boost for US manufacturing either. After tariffs were imposed, our research shows US manufacturing supply chains evolved to have fewer suppliers – but it was often US firms that got forced out of those supply chains, not their competitors from overseas.
We found that US manufacturers appeared to reduce their global reach, while actually increasing their dependence on a select few foreign companies – further evidence that Trump’s tariffs failed to produce the intended outcome.
Our research also suggests that “reshoring” – bringing production and manufacturing back to a company’s home country – is not feasible without an established ecosystem of suppliers, intermediaries and customers. So introducing trade barriers without adequate support for the development of regional supply chains is unlikely to result in stronger local economies or more jobs.
Essentially, for reshoring to work, the domestic economy needs to have the capacity to match demand. But the US (like the UK) has lost manufacturing capability in many areas, and rebuilding it is not going to happen overnight.
Establishing a new industry requires buildings, skilled staff and supply chains – and a very specific approach is required for each industry. Getting the right skills and labour is often the trickiest part and may require immigration.
However, even this may not work in the most complex industries. In the case of computer chips, for example, there are generous incentives in the US under the Biden administration to encourage chip manufacturing. Yet Taiwan still massively dominates the market, raising questions over whether the US could ever really compete.
Other industries that can use automation and robotics in manufacturing (such as chemicals and transportation equipment) might be easier to reboot, but they may not generate the expected number and range of jobs. And often reshoring strategies involve higher investment in automation, machinery and robotics, rather than jobs. Trump’s focus may have been bringing back manufacturing jobs back to the US, but the truth is that many of these jobs may be gone forever.
Trading places
Overall then, imposing tariffs without adequate domestic support mechanisms in place has led to US manufacturers increasing their dependence on foreign suppliers and reducing their dependence on local ones.
Yet tariffs are not exclusively favoured by Trump – or even right-wing politics. And there seems to be a fairly common view among politicians in the west that some tariffs can be an effective economic tool.
Trade barriers against China for instance, have continued under Joe Biden’s administration (although he has somewhat relaxed tariffs for imports from the EU, Canada and Mexico). And recently, Canada imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese cars and 25% on Chinese steel and aluminium, while the EU has also imposed tariffs on Chinese goods.
One of the few voices speaking out against tariffs belongs to former US vice-president Mike Pence. He recently proposed scrapping tariffs, saying they just made products more expensive for consumers – and failed to improve prosperity.
His old boss clearly disagrees. And if Trump does win a second term in office, it seems certain that imposing international tariffs will be high up on his “to do” list. But if their impact is anything like the last time, they will be of little benefit to the US economy or the voters who depend upon it.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Policy and luck have bought Europe a reprieve from the heights gas prices reached between the winters of 2022 and 2023, but prices are climbing again and the global gas market remains precariously balanced.
Rising tensions in the Middle East could upend it. If conflict spills into the Persian Gulf, it could disrupt shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar that equal 20% of global exports.
We believe this winter will be the final act of the gas crisis. Here’s what we should expect.
Dangerously underprepared
The case for Britain to rapidly phase out natural gas in heating and power generation is overwhelming. It would unburden household bills of expensive gas imports and leave the country less vulnerable to energy supply crunches, while also cutting carbon emissions. Doing so will take time: as of today, the UK relies on gas for 37% of all energy consumption.
Since the beginning of the recent crisis, the UK government has done little to change these facts. The end of the winter fuel payment to pensioners adds fresh concern. The Energy Crisis Commission recently found that the UK remains “dangerously underprepared” for a repeat of the gas price explosion of 2022-23.
All told, the UK cannot be oblivious to developments in the global gas market.
A crisis in the making
Resurgent gas demand after the lifting of COVID restrictions led to a quadrupling of UK gas prices in 2021. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Vladimir Putin throttled pipeline gas exports to Europe.
Europe turned to its greatest source of flexible gas supply: seaborne LNG. A price war for cargoes followed. The spending power of European economies pulled shipments away from low-income countries in Asia, such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, which caused crippling blackouts and a pivot to coal-fired generation.
Energy bills for an average household in the UK hit £4,279 in January 2023. The government protected consumers from the very worst at a cost of £51 billion in 2022-23, but the average household lost 8% of its budget to energy costs in 2022, rising to 18% for the poorest tenth of households. Roughly 2 million households on pre-payment meters were being cut off from their energy supply at least once a month at the height of the crisis.
Clement winters, moderate gas demand in Asia and successful measures to curb European gas demand saw UK gas prices fall from mid-2023. But they are still relatively high – at 48% above the average in the three years before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
One more winter
Could things get worse? Back in 2022, experts spoke of a “three-winter crisis” because significant new LNG export capacity (primarily in the US and Qatar) wasn’t expected until 2025. That has held true, and supply and demand in the global LNG market remains taut.
Several disturbances could destabilise this balance. The International Energy Agency expects that over 2024, global growth in gas demand will exceed the rate of growth in new LNG supply. Attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea by the Houthi militia in Yemen, in response to Israel’s invasion of Gaza, have rerouted LNG shipping routes. Cargoes that would have passed through the Suez Canal must now take the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope.
At the end of 2024, a major five-year agreement governing the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine will expire, and there is no prospect of renewal. Russian gas supplies to Europe will fall by around 5% of the EU’s total gas imports, or 65% of all gas imports into Austria, Hungary and Slovakia.
While Europe has been saved by mild winters over the last two years, this luck could break in 2024-25 according to some forecasts. Temperature – and the demand it creates for heating – will probably decide winter gas prices in Europe.
Geopolitical blowback
How might the worst-case scenario of conflict in the Persian Gulf happen?
Israel’s escalating military assaults on Hezbollah since September 17 have coincided with a 17% rise in UK gas prices. After Iran’s missile and drone strikes against Israel on October 1, European gas prices hit a new high for the year. This saw three LNG tankers destined for Asia change course mid-journey and head for Europe.
Israel has vowed retribution for the Iranian strike. Having obliterated Gaza and decapitated Hezbollah’s leadership, and with resolute material support from the US, Israel may now see Iran as vulnerable.
A severe response by Israel, targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities or oil infrastructure, would further up the ante. Wishing to avoid direct conflict, Iran could decide to target not Israel, but the flow of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz on which its western backers depend. Qatari LNG shipments through the strait account for 20% of global supply on their own.
Any interruption would also block Iran’s oil exports, afflict Iran’s friends as much as its foes, and kill Iran’s current reconciliation with the Gulf states. It is unlikely, but one would hope that the warning signs in the global gas market would remind western decision-makers that the conflict in the Middle East can continue to blow back on them.
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Michael Bradshaw receives funding from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) that is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). He also advises the government, thinktanks and companies on energy matters.
Louis Fletcher receives funding from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC), which is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont, who serves as chairman of the State Bond Commission, today announced that the commission voted at its meeting this morning to approve an allocation of $40 million in state funding that will be used to reopen Connecticut’s popularTime To Ownprogram to a new round of applicants.
Established by Governor Lamont with the support of the state legislature, Time To Own provides down payment assistance to low and moderate-income, first-time homebuyers in Connecticut. Administered by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Housing, this program has already helped thousands of people in the state buy their first homessince launching in 2022.
“Owning a home is a cornerstone of the American Dream, and programs like Time To Own are making it possible for more Connecticut residents to turn that dream into reality,” Governor Lamont said. “This new round of funding ensures that we can continue to provide the resources needed to help first-time homebuyers access affordable homeownership, build wealth, and invest in our state’s future.”
Time To Own has been a critical tool in supporting first-time homebuyers as they navigate the challenges of purchasing a home. By providing forgivable loans for down payments and closing costs, the program has enabled individuals and families to achieve the dream of homeownership, fostering long-term financial stability and contributing to stronger communities.
“The success of the Time To Own program speaks to its necessity in our current housing market,” Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said. “By making homeownership more attainable, we are not only helping individuals and families achieve stability but also creating more inclusive and vibrant communities across Connecticut.”
With the new funding, Time To Own is expected to support an even greater number of first-time homebuyers in the coming months. To date, the program has helped more than 4,800 homebuyers in 149 towns buy their first homes, more than half of whom are people of color. With the new funding allocation, Connecticut has invested $195 million in the program.
“Time To Own has already changed the lives of thousands of homebuyers, and we are thrilled to be reopening the program with this additional funding,” CHFA Executive Director Nandini Natarajan said. “This is a crucial step in expanding access to homeownership, particularly for low- and moderate-income residents and people of color. We remain committed to ensuring that as many Connecticut residents as possible can take advantage of this opportunity to secure their futures through homeownership.”
For more information on eligibility and how to apply for Time To Own, visitchfa.org/TimeToOwn.
United States Announces Significant New Military Assistance for Ukraine
Press Statement
October 21, 2024
The United States is providing another significant package of urgently needed weapons and equipment to our Ukrainian partners as they defend against Russia’s ongoing attacks. This additional assistance, provided under previously exercised Presidential Drawdown Authority from Department of Defense stocks, is valued at $400 million. It includes Munitions for HIMARS; 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition; Mortars; M113 armored vehicle; Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missiles; Javelin missiles; AT-4 rockets; Satellite communications support; Ammunition for crew-served weapons; Small arms, grenades, and training equipment; Demolitions equipment and munitions; and Spare parts, ancillary equipment, services, training, and transportation.
The United States is committed to supporting Ukraine with the equipment it needs to strengthen its position on the battlefield, defend against the Kremlin’s brutal aggression, and secure a just and lasting peace. As President Biden has made clear, the United States and the international coalition we have assembled will continue to stand with Ukraine.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
October 22, 2024
Treasury, IRS assessment confirm 2023 Congressional investigation finding that companies broke the law by sharing sensitive data with Big Tech firms.
Tax prep companies potentially face billions of dollars in criminal liability.
“DOJ has the sole authority to enforce the criminal statute on behalf of the millions of taxpayers harmed by this unauthorized disclosure of their sensitive personal and financial data.”
Text of Letter (PDF)
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), along with Representative Katie Porter (D-Calif.) wrote to the Department of Justice (DOJ) urging the investigation and prosecution of major tax preparation companies for illegally sharing protected and sensitive taxpayer information with Big Tech firms.
Last month, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released an audit report confirming that four online tax preparation companies broke the law by sharing legally protected and sensitive taxpayer information with Big Tech firms without taxpayer consent. Specifically, the report found that consent statements being used by the tax prep companies did not clearly identify the intended use of taxpayer data, a violation of Treasury regulations. The IRS agreed with TIGTA’s assessment. The report confirms November 2022 investigative reporting by the Markup and the results of a July 2023 Congressional investigation, led by Senator Warren, which found that the improper sharing of sensitive taxpayer personal and financial information by TaxSlayer, H&R Block, TaxAct, and Ramsey Solutions with Meta and Google appeared to be illegal.
Tax prep companies used pixels, computer code that tracks a user’s website activity, to obtain sensitive personal and financial information, including approximate income and refund amounts, for millions of taxpayers who filed their taxes online with these companies. Meta then used that information for advertising and to train its AI algorithm.
TIGTA conducted a detailed review of four tax preparation companies, and found that the companies did not obtain proper taxpayer consent for the release of their information.
“We write to urge you to investigate and prosecute the criminal behavior of major tax preparation companies identified in our investigation and confirmed by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Internal Revenue Service,” wrote the lawmakers. The penalties for these violations can include $1,000 per violation and up to 1 year in prison. TIGTA itself notes that it “reports potential criminal violations directly to the Department of Justice when TIGTA deems that it is appropriate to do so.”
The IRS recently announced the expansion of the highly successful Direct File program to 24 total states, making 30 million taxpayers eligible to file for free, securely, and directly with the IRS. However, many taxpayers still rely on private tax prep companies.
“Accountability for these tax preparation companies – who disclosed millions of taxpayers’ tax return data…is essential for protecting the rule of law and the privacy of taxpayers,” concluded the lawmakers.
Senator Warren has been at the forefront of holding tax prep firms and Big Tech accountable for their behavior, and pushed for an easy and free IRS Drect File program:
In May 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tom Carper (D-Del.), along with Representatives Don Beyer (D-Va.), Katie Porter (D-Calif.), and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) led over 130 lawmakers in sending a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, applauding the successful pilot of the Direct File program, and urging them to make it permanent and expand its functionality and scope.
In June 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tom Carper (D-Del.), along with Representatives Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Katie Porter (D-Calif.), and Don Beyer (D-Va.) led a coalition of 99 Democratic lawmakers in sending a letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel and Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo, applauding the IRS’ announcement of a pilot of a free tax filing tool next year.
In April 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tom Carper (D-Del.) led their colleagues in sending a letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel urging the agency to simplify the tax process and broaden access to free e-filing options.
In April 2023, at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren questioned IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel about the IRS’s failed Free-File partnership with private tax preparation software companies and called on the agency to implement a direct E-File program that will be truly free and easy for millions of Americans.
Commission Werfel agreed with Senator Warren that the gap between the 70% of taxpayers that Free File is supposed to serve and the 2% it actually does is “massive.” When Senator Warren pointed out that tax prep companies are instead pushing alternative services that should be free, are marketed as free, but are not, Commissioner Werfel also agreed that “the whole process needs to be improved,” that taxpayer rights have been violated, and the IRS has an obligation to make “the tax system easier for taxpayers to navigate.”
In March 2023, Senators Warren and Angus King (I-Maine) wrote a letter with 19 other senators to the Internal Revenue Service and Secretary Yellen expressing strong support for Secretary Yellen’s directive for the IRS not to raise audit rates for small businesses or households making under $400,000 annually.
In December 2022, Senators Warren and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), along with Representatives Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) sent letters to tax preparation companies H&R Block, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer, plus big tech firms Meta, and Google, amid reports that the tax preparation companies have been secretly transmitting individual taxpayers’ sensitive financial information to Meta and Google.
In July 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren led 22 of her colleagues in introducing the Tax Filing Simplification Act of 2022 to simplify the tax filing process for millions of Americans by lowering costs, eliminating red tape for all taxpayers, and saving them hours and hundreds of dollars.
During an exchange of the United States Senate Finance Committee in June 2022, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen agreed with Senator Elizabeth Warren on the need to create a free tax filing system that actually works for Americans.
Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Mitch McConnell
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced today the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) will award $509,000 to the Murray-Calloway Industrial Development Authority (MCIDA) through the States’ Economic Development Assistance Program. Today’s funding will support the development of a skills training and workforce development facility for underemployed and unemployed workers in the community, which will help boost the earning potential of program participants and address worker shortages in the region.
This federal funding is made possible through a DRA assistance program, which is funded by the FY2023 government funding bill and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Senator McConnell, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, advocated for DRA funding in both the annual appropriations process and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Senator also wrote a letter to Dr. Corey Wiggins, Federal Co-Chair of the Delta Regional Authority, in support of this project.
“Last year’s government funding bill, as well as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provide big investments for Western Kentucky’s communities, including assistance for Murray and Calloway counties’ first workforce development facility. This project will help hardworking Kentuckians get back to work in their communities while addressing the growing needs of job creators in the Commonwealth. I was proud to support funding for this project and I’ll continue to do what I can to ensure federal resources go toward Kentucky’s communities that need them most,” said Senator McConnell.
“MCIDA is thrilled to receive today’s award, which will allow our team to continue expanding this impactful workforce program through the construction of a permanent facility. Our community is thankful for Senator McConnell’s help in bringing home today’s federal grant, and we’re grateful for all he has done to support Western Kentucky over the years,” saidExecutive Director of the Murray-Calloway Industrial Development Authority Mark Manning.
Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:
ALGIERS, Algeria, October 22, 2024/APO Group/ —
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has announced the signing of a EUR 245-million global facility with the New World Television (NWTV) network. The funding will part finance the network’s acquisition of media licensing rights for selected broadcasting sport copyrights from global media rights holders to permit broadcast across Africa.
The facility agreement, signed on October 17, 2024, on the sidelines of the just concluded CANEX WKND 2024, covers broadcasting sport copyrights from the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA), Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF), French Ligue and Spanish LaLiga.
Granted within Afreximbank’s CANEX Financing Programme, under the Sports Development Framework of its Creative Economy Strategy which seeks to mitigate constraints to creative enterprise development and to stimulate intra- and extra-African export of creative products, the facility is expected to support the development of Africa’s sports value chain by placing the ownership of African sports content firmly in African hands.
The deal signing was overseen by Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank and Mr. Louis Biyao, representative of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NWTV.
Speaking on the facility, Mrs. Awani said: “The import of this facility lies in the significant impact it will make in empowering African enterprises, particularly in the creative sector, to assume control of African sports. By taking control of these broadcasting rights, we will see the fostering of local content production, creation of job opportunities and strengthening of the continent’s competitive edge in the global market while promoting cultural identity and economic growth. Afreximbank is strongly committed to supporting African enterprises driving progress in the creative sector and this transaction is a testament to that commitment.”
On his part, Mr. Biyao commented: “It is a great honour for NWTV to benefit from such support, which allows it to streamline its transactions without the constraints related to currency exchanges. This agreement opens new opportunities for NWTV, guided by the motto ‘produced by Africans, for Africans in Africa,’ to offer premium content to a larger number of Africans. This is content that is accessible and closely aligned with their reality, at a very affordable cost.”
He added: “NWTV aims to provide an innovative and accessible alternative in the African audiovisual landscape, broadcasting high-quality content in local languages, tailored to the expectations of African populations. This approach is fully in line with NWTV’s commitment to bringing audiovisual content closer to every African household.”
The facility is expected to address the challenge of African sports being largely controlled by non-African networks and broadcasting houses, marking a strategic shift towards empowering African entities to take control of the broadcasts, celebrate local sports talent and showcase the richness of the continent’s sporting culture.
It will also boost the development of the African television industry ecosystem by growing revenue opportunities for television stations that would now be able to add more content into their rotations and that would be able to sell more advertisement spaces, in addition to enabling NWTV to promote the diffusion of sports content in local languages. NWTV, which is currently able to develop broadcast content in seven local languages in 24 countries, is working on three additional languages to be deployed in 2024.
The four-day CANEX WKND 2024, organised by Afreximbank was held from 16 – 19 October, under the theme “One People, United in Culture, Creating for the World” and was attended by almost 4,000 delegates representing a diversity of creative sectors from across Africa and the diaspora.
CANEX WKND 2024 featured live performances, speeches by industry leaders and experts, masterclass sessions, sporting events, fashion shows, high energy music concerts and gastronomical showcases alongside a vibrant market and exhibition all aimed at advancing and expanding Africa’s unrivalled creative and cultural industries, with the aim of implementing pan-African measures that support the continent’s cultural sectors.
Headline: NCDHHS Provides Free Well Disinfection, Well Water Collection Kits to Communities Impacted by Hurricane Helene
NCDHHS Provides Free Well Disinfection, Well Water Collection Kits to Communities Impacted by Hurricane Helene hejones1
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced free well disinfection and well water collection kits are available for communities impacted by Hurricane Helene. Local health departments in western North Carolina will distribute kits for households with private wells that were flooded or damaged by the storm.
Excessive rain and flooding can cause water in private wells to become contaminated, meaning the water can make people sick if it is consumed. After a flood, private wells must be assessed for damage, repaired, disinfected and tested before use to ensure the water is safe. It is critical people do not drink or use water from a private well that has been damaged or flooded until it has been properly disinfected and tested after the storm.
The NCDHHS Division of Public Health has assembled well disinfection and well water collection kits for distribution through select local health departments. Private well owners living in the communities served by the following local health departments who have flooded or damaged wells can pick up free kits beginning Tuesday, Oct. 22. Participating local health departments include:
Burke County Health Department: 700 E. Parker Road, Morganton, NC 28655
Buncombe County Health Department – Environmental Health Building: 30 Valley St., Asheville, NC 28801
Caldwell County Health Department: 2345 Morganton Blvd., Lenoir, NC, 28645
Cherokee County Health Department: 228 Hilton St., Murphy, NC 28906
Haywood County Environmental Health: 157 Paragon Parkway, Suite 200, Clyde, NC 28721
Henderson County Health Department: 1200 Spartanburg Highway, Suite 100, Hendersonville NC 28792
Madison – Environmental Health Building: 5707 US-25, Marshall, NC 28753
Toe River Health District – Mitchell location: 130 Forest Service Drive, Bakersville, NC 28705
Toe River Health District – Avery location: 545 Schultz Circle, Newland, NC 28657
Yancey County Health Department: 202 Medical Campus Drive, Burnsville, NC 28714
Each well kit includes the necessary supplies to disinfect and collect a well water sample for testing, including step-by-step instructions. Flooded or damaged wells must be disinfected first before collecting a sample for testing. Private well owners should return the sample back to their local health department for testing. The local health department or testing lab will provide results back as quickly as possible. Private well owners who live in an impacted area not listed above should contact their local health department for well disinfection and testing assistance.
For help understanding test results, use the online Be Well Informed tool (select North Carolina) or contact the NCDHHS-DPH Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch at 919-707-5900 or oeeb@dhhs.nc.gov.
Well disinfection and well water collection kits can be picked up at the following dates and times:
Oct. 22-24, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Oct. 28-31, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Additional dates and times will be provided by the local health departments.
For information regarding Hurricane Helene including additional resources and flexibilities in place, please go to www.ncdps.gov/Helene and www.ncdhhs.gov/helene.
El Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Carolina del Norte (NCDHHS, por sus siglas en inglés) anunció hoy que hay kits gratuitos de desinfección y recolección de agua de pozo disponibles para las comunidades afectadas por el huracán Helene. Los departamentos de salud locales en el oeste de Carolina del Norte distribuirán kits para hogares con pozos privados que fueron inundados o dañados por la tormenta.
El exceso de lluvia y las inundaciones pueden contaminar el agua de los pozos privados, lo que significa que el agua puede enfermar a las personas si se consume. Después de una inundación, los pozos privados deben ser evaluados para detectar daños, reparados, desinfectados y analizados antes de su uso para garantizar que el agua sea segura. Es fundamental que las personas no beban ni usen agua de un pozo privado que haya sido dañado o inundado hasta que haya sido desinfectado y analizado adecuadamente después de la tormenta.
La División de Salud Pública del NCDHHS ha reunido kits de desinfección y recolección de agua de pozo para su distribución a través de departamentos de salud locales seleccionados. Los propietarios de pozos privados que viven en las comunidades atendidas por los siguientes departamentos de salud localescon pozos dañados o inundados pueden recoger kits gratuitos a partir del martes 22 de octubre. Los departamentos de salud locales participantes incluyen:
AppHealthCare – Ubicación en Alleghany: 157 Health Services Road, Sparta, NC 28675
AppHealthCare – Edificio de Salud Ambiental de Ashe: 626 Ashe Central School Road, Jefferson, NC 28640
AppHealthCare – Ubicación en Watauga: 126 Poplar Grove Connector, Boone, NC 28607
Departamento de Salud del condado de Burke: 700 E. Parker Road, Morganton, NC 28655
Departamento de Salud del condado de Buncombe – Edificio de Salud Ambiental: 30 Valley St., Asheville, NC 28801
Departamento de Salud del condado de Caldwell: 2345 Morganton Blvd., Lenoir, NC, 28645
Departamento de Salud del condado de Cherokee: 228 Hilton St., Murphy, NC 28906
Salud Ambiental del condado de Haywood: 157 Paragon Parkway, Suite 200, Clyde, NC 28721
Departamento de Salud del condado de Henderson: 1200 Spartanburg Highway, Suite 100, Hendersonville NC 28792
Madison – Edificio de Salud Ambiental: 5707 US-25, Marshall, NC 28753
Distrito de Salud Toe River – Ubicación en Mitchell: 130 Forest Service Drive, Bakersville, NC 28705
Distrito de Salud Toe River– Ubicación en Avery: 545 Schultz Circle, Newland, NC 28657
Departamento de Salud del condado de Yancey: 202 Medical Campus Drive, Burnsville, NC 28714
Cada kit de pozo incluye los suministros necesarios para desinfectar y recolectar una muestra de agua de pozo para su análisis, incluidas las instrucciones paso a paso. Los pozos inundados o dañados deben desinfectarse primero antes de recoger una muestra para su análisis. Los propietarios de pozos privados deben devolver la muestra a su departamento de salud local para su análisis. El departamento de salud local o el laboratorio de pruebas proporcionarán los resultados lo más rápido posible. Los propietarios de pozos privados que viven en una zona afectada no mencionada anteriormente deben ponerse en contacto con su departamento de salud localpara obtener asistencia con la desinfección y las pruebas de los pozos.
Para obtener ayuda para comprender los resultados de las pruebas, use la herramienta en línea Be Well Informed(seleccione Carolina del Norte) o comuníquese con la Sección de Epidemiología Ocupacional y Ambiental del NCDHHS-DPH al 919-707-5900 o oeeb@dhhs.nc.gov.
Los kits de desinfección y recolección de agua de pozo se pueden recoger en las siguientes fechas y horas:
Octubre 22-24, 9 a.m. a 3 p.m.
Octubre 28-31, 9 a.m. a 3 p.m.
Los departamentos de salud locales proporcionarán fechas y horas adicionales.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ted Lieu (33 District of California)
LOS ANGELES – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) led a letter with Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA) and Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency to identify any assistance and funding that can be made available to residents impacted by land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. In the letter, the Members called on Administrator Deanne Criswell to consider ways in which FEMA can help impacted communities in conjunction with other local, state and federal efforts to mitigate the dangerous ground movements and provide relief for impacted homeowners.
In the letter, the Members write:
Dear Administrator Criswell,
Thank you for your commitment to protecting all communities before, during, and after disaster strikes. We write to you regarding the urgent landslide on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and its devastating consequences for the residents of the communities of Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, and Rolling Hills Estates.
The Greater Portuguese Bend Landslide complex is located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in western Los Angeles County. As a result of the 2022 and 2023 winter storms, all three cities have experienced land movement at an unprecedented pace. In the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, the amount of land movement that the city was previously experiencing over the course of an entire year is now occurring on a weekly basis.
With this accelerated movement, utility infrastructure has been significantly impacted, and many residents are now without access to basic utilities. The de-energization of the region also poses a significant threat to critical public infrastructure such as sewage service and the dewatering wells that are needed to mitigate the landslide.
Your leadership has been key in addressing this land movement. Through FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes will be able to mitigate this crisis by eliminating excess moisture and reducing future ground movement. The City of Rancho Palos Verdes has also been working closely with FEMA and the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) in updating their scope of work for this project. This close partnership has allowed the City to maintain eligibility for the BRIC grant while conducting immediate work that is critical in addressing the ongoing movement.
We are thankful that federal resources are being utilized in the area. After a recent visit from Regional Administrator Bob Fenton, FEMA has requested the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey to provide technical assistance to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes as they work to stabilize the land. We urge any assistance be extended to the City of Rolling Hills and City of Rolling Hills Estates, so they too can work to mitigate the land movement and restore a sense of safety for their residents.
It is our understanding that the region faces challenges in accessing both state and federal aid because the land movement has persisted over time. We ask that FEMA work to identify any assistance and funding, that can be made available, to the residents impacted by land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
We know you share our deep concern about the impact that this land movement is having on the residents and businesses in these communities. Like you, several of us have visited the landslide area and witnessed firsthand the devastating impact this issue has had on the community. Following the increased land movement, we have held several meetings with experts from FEMA and our state and county representatives to better understand the impacts of this movement and what resources could be deployed in response. Additionally, we are continuing to advocate for projects submitted by the Geologic Hazard Abatement Districts through the federal appropriations process.
We urge you to consider all pathways to provide support to residents impacted by land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. We will continue to work with federal, state, and local officials to support these communities and their residents to ensure that any resources that can be offered to support them are available. We ask that you continue to keep our offices apprised of your work in the region and maintain communication as we work together to support impacted residents.
Thank you again for your attention to this emergency. We look forward to your response and cooperation in tackling this challenge.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Defence Secretary John Healey, provided an update to the House of Commons on the war in Ukraine.
Location:
House of Commons
Delivered on:
Mr Speaker, I have just returned from three days of intense defence diplomacy.
First, at the NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels where we welcomed President Zelenskyy and then, at the G7 Defence Ministers meeting in Naples where we had important updates from the battlefield, agreed this is a critical point in the conflict and stressed the need to step up and speed up support for Ukraine.
The G7 joint declaration strongly condemned Putin’s illegal invasion and reinforced our unwavering support for Ukraine. It also rightly stated:
“Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is posing a threat to international security, the purposes and principles of the United Nations, and the rules-based international order.”
This is what’s at stake for us all. And if President Putin prevails in Ukraine, he will not stop at Ukraine. And if big nations redraw international boundaries by force, the sovereignty and security of all nations is undermined.
That’s why the UK support, alongside allies, is so important. Military, economic, industrial, diplomatic.
But I can tell the House, Mr Speaker, I have returned to the UK knowing that NATO is united for Ukraine. The G7 is united for Ukraine. Just as the UK is united for Ukraine.
And our job now is to turn these talks into action, which is exactly what we are doing as a government. So, the Chancellor and I are today are announcing that the UK will provide an additional £2.26bn to Ukraine
This is new money, new money which will be delivered under the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans to Ukraine scheme. That’s part of the $50 billion loan package from G7 countries to support Ukraine’s military, budget, and reconstruction needs.
Loans, Mr Speaker, which will be repaid using the profits generated from immobilised Russian sovereign assets. Profits on frozen Russian money, supporting Ukraine’s fight against Putin. Turning the proceeds of Putin’s corrupt regime against that regime and putting it in the hands of Ukrainians.
And Mr Speaker, I want to be clear: Today’s new money is additional to the £3bn a year of military support this Government has committed to Ukraine each year for as long as it takes.
In addition to the £3.5bn Defence Industrial Support Treaty which I signed with Defence Minister Umerov in July, money that will be used by Ukraine to procure military equipment from British companies, boosting our British jobs and our British industry. And extra to the additional artillery, air defences, ammunition, and missiles we have announced in the first four months of this new Government.
Ukraine is a first order priority for me as Defence Secretary, it’s a first order priority for this Government. We will continue to step up support. We will continue to lead. We will stand with Ukraine as long as it takes.
Mr Speaker, today is now day 973 since Putin launched his full scale, illegal invasion of Ukraine. 973 days during which Ukrainians have been fighting with great courage – civilians and military alike. And there have been important battlefield developments in recent weeks. When I last updated the House, Ukrainian forces were one month into their remarkable offensive in Kursk.
Three months on, they continue to hold Russian territory and Ukraine’s strategic surprise has put Putin under pressure, forcing the diversion of some Russian troops and equipment.
And despite the increase in brutal Russian counter attacks and aerial bombardments, they have so far failed to dislodge that Ukrainian incursion. And it’s not just in Kursk where Ukraine is fighting back.
Ukrainian forces have launched long range attacks into Russian territory on military targets which are directly supporting Putin’s illegal invasion.
In September, Ukraine used long range drones to attack four ammunition storage facilities. These strikes successfully destroyed thousands of tonnes of ammunition.
Both the defensive thrust into Kursk, and the strategic defensive strikes into Russia, have had an impact on the battlefield.
Russia’s advance towards Pokrovsk in the East – Putin’s main line of effort – has been slowed. Russian losses continue to rise. Since the start of the conflict, Russia has likely suffered 675,000 casualties.
In September, the average casualty rate each date of Russians on the battlefield of Ukraine was 1271 – a record high and two and a half times the level this time last year.
And on equipment, Mr Speaker, they have now lost 3,400 tanks, 8,500 armoured vehicles and 26 Russian vessels in the Black Sea fleet have been destroyed or damaged.
But despite the incredible resilience Ukrainian forces have shown, they remain under great pressure from Russian forces across multiple fronts, and Russian troops continue to advance and continue to attack Ukraine infrastructure. Targeting the important port of Odessa and striking energy infrastructure.
So as we head into winter, Mr Speaker, Ukraine’s energy generation capacity has been reduced by up to two thirds of that of pre-war levels. Russian industry remains on a war footing. Russian artillery is outfiring Ukraine by at least 3 to 1, and Russia is also conscripting this year an additional 400,000 troops.
Defence will now account for 32%, one third of the total government budget in Russia next year.
And, Mr Speaker, in a concerning new development, it is now highly likely that the transfer and deployment of hundreds of combat troops from North Korea to Russia has begun. North Korean soldiers supporting Russia’s war of aggression on European soil – it is as shocking as it is desperate.
North Korea already sends significant munitions and arms to Russia in direct violation of multiple UN resolutions. And this developing military cooperation between Russia and DPRK has serious security implications for Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
It represents a wider growing alliance of aggression which NATO and the G7 nations must confront.
Mr Speaker, despite this dangerous development, Ukraine remains determined to fight on their frontline in the East and holding the territory in Kursk. President Zelensky will also continue to seek support for his Victory Plan, and we want to see this Plan succeed. We stand ready to work closely with the Ukrainians and with allies to make it succeed.
Mr Speaker, as we approach 1000 days of this war, this conflict is now at a really critical moment. And that’s why the UK continues to step up support for Ukraine.
Ukrainians are fighting to regain their sovereign territory, but they are also fighting to protect the peace, the democracy and the security for the rest of us in Europe.
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Thnks, the first on-demand gratitude expression platform for enterprises, SMBs, and individual contributors, today announced it has been named a 2024 Inc. Power Partner Award winner. The prestigious list honors B2B organizations across the country that have proven track records supporting entrepreneurs and helping startups grow. Thnks is featured alongside other renowned business leaders, including Slack, Intuit QuickBooks, Oracle NetSuite, Virtru, and HubSpot, among many others.
“Gratitude is powerful—it not only strengthens relationships but also drives measurable business outcomes,” said Brendan Kamm, Thnks Co-Founder and CEO. “Incorporating gratitude into the business world has the potential to transform how companies scale and grow. Our clients understand this, and this recognition reaffirms our commitment to helping our partners deepen connections and redefine how businesses build trust and achieve success.”
Thnks offers an easy-to-use digital platform, available and relevant to both enterprises and SMBs, focused on supporting and growing business relationships through gratitude. With Thnks, users can send personalized gestures of appreciation to colleagues, clients, or partners to strengthen business relationships that drive loyalty and revenue. Small acts of gratitude will always have an outsized business impact.
This year’s list recognizes Thnks in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) category among other leading companies in marketing and advertising, health and wellness, financial services, legal, logistics, public relations, and productivity. Every company on the Inc. Power Partner award list received top marks from clients for being instrumental in helping leadership navigate the dynamic world of startups. The B2B partners in CRM enhance the sales enablement process by supporting entrepreneurs across various facets of the business, including hiring, compliance, infrastructure development, cloud migration, fundraising, etc., allowing founders to focus on their core missions.
“This is our definitive listing of vendors and suppliers who have demonstrated excellence in serving small- and midsize customers,” says Inc. editor in chief Mike Hofman. “As part of the vetting process, our team of editors, researchers and reporters gathered information on companies’ products and services, assessed their reputation as captured in online comments and forums, and collected customer testimonials to ensure that the sales pitch matches the actual client experience. In every case, we spoke to founders like you who were happy to attest to a vendor’s genuine commitment to a mutually beneficial business partnership. We’re happy to be the conduit for that positive word of mouth.” To view the complete list, go to: Power Partner Awards 2024: Inc.’s Directory of B2B Excellence
The November 2024 Issue of Inc. magazine is available online now at https://www.inc.com/magazine and will be on newsstands beginning October 29, 2024.
ABOUT THNKS Established in 2016, Thnks believes making people feel appreciated – not just part of a transaction – is a business-building strategy. Utilized by over 10,000 teams and 120 Fortune 500 companies, Thnks is an on-demand gratitude expression platform for enterprises, SMBs, and individual contributors that converts small acts of gratitude into lasting business relationships that drive loyalty and revenue. The Thnks platform incorporates technology, program analytics and compliance/budget adherence to empower customers with a more economical, intentional, and authentic way to make people feel appreciated. To date, millions of Thnks have been sent – proving small acts of gratitude generate outsized business impact.
ABOUT INC. Inc. is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of our community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating our future. Inc.’s award-winning work achieves a monthly brand footprint of more than 40 million across a variety of channels, including events, digital, print, video, podcasts, newsletters, and social media. Its proprietary Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since its launch as the Inc. 100 in 1982, analyzes company data to rank the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The recognition that comes with inclusion on this and other prestigious Inc. lists, such as Female Founders and Power Partners, gives the founders of top businesses the opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.
