MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Orders from October 17, 2024 No. 2884-r, No. 2885-r
Documents
Order dated October 17, 2024 No. 2884-r
Order dated October 17, 2024 No. 2885-r
On the instructions of the President, the Government will allocate additional funding for the socio-economic development of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Karelia, Chechnya, as well as the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. Orders to this effect have been signed.
Announcing this decision atGovernment meeting on October 17, Mikhail Mishustin reported that the total amount of funds allocated to the six regions will amount to more than 9.2 billion rubles.
“They will be able to use resources to ensure the balance of their budgets in order to solve a number of important problems for the lives of citizens. Including helping local healthcare, housing and utilities, the agro-industrial complex and other areas,” the Prime Minister specified.
The funds will be used, in particular, for activities within the framework of the state program for the restoration and socio-economic development of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. More than 3.4 billion rubles will be allocated for these purposes. Federal funding is intended to support the operation of boiler houses and water supply systems, as well as to implement other popular measures in this sector so that local residents are provided with all basic utilities without interruptions.
In addition, more than 993 million rubles will be allocated to maintain the stable operation of the healthcare system in the Kherson region.
A total of 3.5 billion rubles will be allocated from the Government’s reserve fund to Karelia and Chechnya for socially significant expenses.
The remaining documents will be published.
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.
Source: ASEAN – Association of SouthEast Asian Nations
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with the Presidential Delegation of the U.S. led by the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat, during her visit to Jakarta, Republic of Indonesia. Following the successful convening of the 12th ASEAN-U.S. Summit held in Vientiane, Lao PDR, on 11 October 2024, both sides exchanged views and ideas to further strengthen the ASEAN-U.S. Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
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Source: United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) met with local and state officials to receive an update on repairs following the devastating damages caused by Hurricane Helene. In Washington County, Senator Blackburn met with families who have lost loved ones, homes, and businesses during the destruction alongside Governor Bill Lee and Deputy Governor and Commissioner of Transportation for Tennessee Butch Eley. In Greene County, Senator Blackburn received an update on the reconstruction of Kinser Bridge, which was washed away in the Nolichucky River during the storm.
“Our staff is working every single day to help people with flood recovery, and right now people are trying to get things cleaned up and cleaned out so they can make assessments about rebuilding and what recovery is going to look like. Our goal at the federal level is to continue to work with FEMA to get these projects completed as quickly as possible. We continue to lift up those who have felt the wrath of this storm in prayer.” – Senator Blackburn
Click here to download this photo of Senator Blackburn, Governor Lee, and First Lady Maria Lee.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
China willing to carry out more intellectual property cooperation with other countries: vice premier
HANGZHOU, Oct. 20 — China is willing to carry out more pragmatic and mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries in the field of intellectual property to benefit more countries and peoples, said Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing.
He made the statements while delivering a speech during the opening ceremony of the 2024 International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property World Congress on Saturday, after reading out President Xi Jinping’s congratulatory letter to the congress.
Zhang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said President Xi’s letter fully reflects the great importance China attaches to intellectual property work. China will speed up the improvement of its legal system, management system, policy system and rule system for intellectual property to further stimulate the vitality of innovation of the public and better serve high-quality development and promote Chinese modernization.
He noted that China is ready to carry out more practical and mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries in the field of intellectual property, work together to firmly uphold the multilateral intellectual property system with the World Intellectual Property Organization at its core, and promote the improvement of international rules and standards for intellectual property.
He added that the country is willing to work together with other countries to build a global intellectual property governance structure featuring extensive consultation, joint contributions and shared benefits, so that the fruits of scientific and technological innovation will benefit more countries and peoples and better improve the well-being of mankind.
Source: United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) introduced the Choices for Increased Mobility Act to increase access to wheelchairs made with advanced materials by allowing Medicare beneficiaries to upgrade to lighter, more functional wheelchairs without bearing the entire upfront cost. These manual wheelchairs help prevent shoulder injuries, enhance maneuverability, and reduce overall pain and fatigue for users.
“Too many Americans with disabilities face unnecessary barriers to obtaining the best mobility equipment to meet their needs,” said Senator Blackburn. “By making it easier for Medicare beneficiaries to upgrade to wheelchairs made with advanced, lighter materials like carbon fiber and titanium, this bipartisan bill would help improve the quality of life for countless individuals. I’m pleased to work with Senator Duckworth to reduce financial burdens on those who rely on these essential devices and ensure that more people have access to the mobility solutions they deserve.”
“For too long, Medicare recipients have struggled to access lighter, more functional wheelchairs that would help them get around more easily while putting significantly less strain on their bodies,” said Senator Duckworth. “Our bipartisan legislation would help ensure Medicare recipients are better able to access the wheelchairs they need to live healthier, more independent lives—with minimal cost to the federal government. It’s a win-win.”
BACKGROUND
Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) is a specialized subset of the Durable Medical Equipment benefit, which includes highly configurable manual and power wheelchairs, adaptive seating, and positioning systems. Among these, manual wheelchairs constructed from advanced materials like carbon fiber and titanium are significantly stronger and lighter than standard aluminum wheelchairs.
When the Medicare billing code for ultra-lightweight manual wheelchairs was established in 1993, materials like titanium and carbon fiber were not considered, as they were not yet in use for wheelchairs. As a result, CRT providers have struggled to supply wheelchairs with these advanced materials at the fee schedule amounts set by Medicare.
Historically, Medicare allowed beneficiaries who met medical necessity requirements to upgrade their equipment by paying the difference between standard and upgraded materials. However, a policy change in 2016 removed this option, requiring beneficiaries to prepay the entire cost of the wheelchair out-of-pocket and await reimbursement for the standard portion, significantly limiting access to these advanced wheelchairs.
CHOICES FOR INCREASED MOBILITY ACT
The Choices for Increased Mobility Act would create two new billing codes for ultra-lightweight manual wheelchairs: one for base models and another for those constructed with titanium or carbon fiber. This change would allow Medicare beneficiaries to upgrade to lighter, more functional wheelchairs without bearing the entire upfront cost. Instead, beneficiaries would only pay for the cost of the specialized materials, significantly reducing their financial burden.
This bill aims to restore the option for beneficiaries to choose and pay for advanced materials for their wheelchairs without removing medical necessity requirements. It would ensure that Medicare covers the standard portion of the wheelchair cost, with beneficiaries responsible only for the upgraded materials.
ENDORSEMENTS
This legislation is supported by the American Association for Homecare, Permobil Americas, National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology, National Registry for Rehabilitation Technology Suppliers, Clinical Task Force, The VGM Group, U.S. Rehab, Association for Tennessee Home Oxygen & Medical Equipment Services, Great Lakes Home Medical Services Association, Midwest Association for Medical Equipment Services, Southwest Medical Equipment Suppliers Association, Alabama Durable Medical Equipment Association, Michigan HomeCare & Hospice Association, Pennsylvania Association of Medical Suppliers, Georgia Association of Medical Equipment Suppliers, Texas Medical Equipment Providers Association, Home Medical Equipment and Services Association of New England, Georgia Association of Medical Equipment Suppliers, Florida Alliance of Home Care Services, Atlantic Coast Medical Equipment Services Association, Northeast Medical Equipment Providers Association, Nevada Association of Medical Product Suppliers, Big Sky Association of Home Medical Equipment Suppliers, Pacific Association for Medical Equipment Services, Colorado Association for Medical Equipment Services, California Association of Medical Product Suppliers, Ohio Association of Medical Equipment Services, and Arkansas Medical Equipment Providers.
“We are so fortunate to be able to work with leaders like Senator Blackburn and Senator Duckworth who share our passion for supporting people with disabilities,” said Tom Ryan, President & CEO of the American Association for Homecare. “Their work to improve access to lightweight wheelchairs is the latest example of their commitment to ensuring people with mobility challenges can remain actively engaged in their communities.”
“Our mission will always be to enable those with disabilities to live life with independence by providing aides of the same technical standards that we all use in our daily lives. S. 5154 is a common sense, budget neutral solution that empowers individuals with the choice to access to the many benefits of titanium or carbon fiber wheelchair frames,” said Chuck Witkowski, President of Permobil Americas. “We are immensely grateful to Senators Blackburn and Duckworth and thank them for their continued leadership and support of this community.”
Click here for bill text.
The air is charged with anticipation as an auction commences at the Kunming International Flora Auction Trading Center in Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
Giant screens flicker with the pulse of the market, displaying the ever-changing prices of fresh-cut flowers. Auctioneers make swift decisions, and soon the auctioned flowers will embark on journeys far and wide, not just within the country but to over 50 overseas markets.
Official data shows that daily transaction volume at the auction trading center, located in Dounan of Kunming, is as high as 6 million stems.
In the afternoon, Yang Tao delivers 2,000 bundles of blooms to the flower market. A second-generation flower grower, Yang bears witness to the transition of Dounan.
Residents in Dounan began planting flowers in 1983. In the 1990s, they embarked on the path of commercial cultivation and trading of fresh-cut flowers. At that time, farmers and traders sold flowers on the main road of Dounan Village, forming a 50-meter-long “Dounan flower street.”
Over the following decades, flowers grown in Dounan were sold to more regions across the country. In 1999, China’s first professional flower-trading market was established in Dounan.
Since then, Dounan has further developed and strengthened its flower industry chain, progressively establishing itself as the largest fresh-cut flower trading hub in Asia. Now seven out of 10 fresh-cut flowers in China come from Dounan.
Every day, over 1,700 varieties of fresh flowers are traded in Dounan, which has established itself as the national center for trade, logistics, financial services and big data information of flowers, as well as a convention and exhibition hub for flower tourism.
Dounan’s blooming flower industry has also consolidated China’s role as a major player in the global flower market.
With about 1.5 million hectares dedicated to flower cultivation and more than 5 million people involved in the industry, China has become the world’s largest flower producer, and an important flower trader and consumer.
A guideline jointly issued by China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs proposed that by 2025, the annual sales of the country’s flower industry will reach 300 billion yuan (about 42 billion U.S. dollars), and more than 700 billion yuan in 2035.
Such promising market prospects have encouraged flower growers to keep improving their know-how and updating cultivation techniques.
“The introduction of advanced technologies and an integrated smart irrigation system for water and fertilizer has revolutionized our cultivation techniques,” Yang said.
“This has led to a substantial increase in both the yield and quality of our roses. Now, a team of just four workers can efficiently manage 1.3 hectares of flower fields,” he said, adding that during peak holiday periods, the high market demand means he can sell 140,000 roses in a single day.
The flower industry has ignited a wave of prosperity that extends far beyond itself.
“We have a thriving market centered on the flower industry. We have established cooperation with 49 logistics enterprises, nearly 12,000 brands, over 10,000 flower brokers, 350,000 flower wholesale markets and florist shops across the country,” said Qian Chongjun, the executive president of Yunnan Dounan Flower Industry Group.
As the flower industry flourishes, a ripple effect is transforming the surrounding areas of Dounan. The blossoming logistics, financial services and tourism sectors are all contributing to a vibrant economic boom in the region.
To Yang, the industry brings a palpable sense of happiness and fulfillment, bringing him a comfortable income while providing a service to thousands of customers seeking flowers to adorn their homes or as a romantic gift.
“My life has taken a significant step forward thanks to the flowers,” he said, adding that he has recently invested in a new refrigerated truck and hired a driver as the volume of business continues to grow.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday sent a congratulatory message to Prabowo Subianto on assuming the presidency of Indonesia.
Noting that China and Indonesia are traditionally friendly neighbors, Xi said that the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries has been growing steadily, entering a new era of building a community with a shared future.
Next year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Indonesia, which will provide a new opportunity for advancing bilateral cooperation, Xi said.
Xi also expressed willingness to maintain close strategic communication with Prabowo to guide the building of a China-Indonesia community with a shared future to a higher level, and write a new chapter of seeking strength through unity, promoting solidarity and coordination, and achieving mutual benefit between two major developing countries.
Indonesia’s former army general, Prabowo Subianto, was sworn in as the country’s eighth president on Sunday morning at the parliament building, succeeding Joko Widodo, who led the world’s fourth most populous nation for the past decade.
Prabowo, who had been serving as defense minister, and his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Widodo’s eldest son and former mayor of Surakarta, won the 2024 presidential election held on Feb. 14.
In his inauguration speech, Prabowo pledged to serve all Indonesians. “We will prioritize the interests of the nation and state above all else,” he stated in his address to the nation.
Following the ceremony, 73-year-old Prabowo and 37-year-old Gibran, Indonesia’s youngest-ever vice president, will be greeted by cheering crowds as they make their way to the state palace.
Three people were killed and eight others injured on Saturday during a trail ride shooting in Holmes County, the southern U.S. state of Mississippi, authorities said.
The incident occurred when at least two people opened fire into a crowd of 200 to 300 people celebrating Holmes County Consolidated School’s homecoming football win at an outdoor event several hours after the game ended.
Holmes County Sheriff Willie March said the shooting followed an argument among several young men.
The sheriff said police officers are searching for the suspects in connection to the shooting and an investigation is underway.
Having surged to the forefront of the global new energy vehicle (NEV) market with their outstanding performance, Chinese automakers are exploring strategies to gain an advantage over their competitors in the more challenging latter phase of the market race, which is increasingly driven by intelligent development and artificial intelligence.
One of the latest efforts in this push is the 2024 World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference (WICV), held from Oct. 17 to 19 in Beijing.
The WICV attracted over 250 auto firms and institutions from home and abroad, with more than 200 new technologies and products making their debut.
“Intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs) have become a focus of industry innovation, and Chinese automobiles are accelerating into a new stage with intelligence as their core competitiveness,” said Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Holding Group, at the event.
Seizing the opportunities presented by intelligent technology and promoting China’s transformation into an automotive powerhouse is a challenge the entire Chinese auto industry must address, he added.
Like many of China’s leading car companies, Geely has made significant strides in intelligent innovation, driving advancements in areas such as automobile safety, human-machine interaction, intelligent driving, onboard chips and low-orbit satellites. The company is also committed to creating an integrated space-ground smart network.
According to Zhu Huarong, chairman of Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd, China’s ICVs saw rapid growth this year, with sales projected to reach 17 million and a penetration rate surpassing 63 percent.
Stefan Mecha, CEO of the Volkswagen China Passenger Cars Brand, said that China actively fosters innovation opportunities through consistent government plans for ICV and NEV development, a tech-savvy consumer base, and an openness to technology within an advanced tech ecosystem.
A comprehensive industrial system for China’s ICV sector has basically taken shape, covering products and technologies such as basic chips, sensors, computing platforms and chassis control, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Jin Zhuanglong said Thursday during the opening ceremony of WICV.
China leads the world in human-machine interaction and is rapidly advancing toward breakthroughs in technologies like steer-by-wire and active suspension technologies, among others, the minister noted.
According to Jin, the country’s ICV sector currently boasts nearly 400 “little giant” firms, or novel elites of small and medium-sized enterprises that are engaged in manufacturing, specialize in a niche market and hold cutting-edge technologies. Five Chinese lidar companies have ranked among the global top 10 in sales, while nine automotive manufacturers are piloting conditional automated driving models.
Lei Jun, founder and CEO of tech giant Xiaomi, revealed at the WICV that the company is expected to deliver more than 20,000 units of its first self-developed NEV model SU7 this month, and achieve its annual delivery target of 100,000 vehicles in November.
The new model was released by the market newcomer in late March, and technological breakthroughs in key fields have been achieved, such as modeling design, batteries, intelligent driving and intelligent cockpits.
“In the next five years, the structure of the entire automotive industry will be reconstructed on a large scale,” Lei said.
The CEO noted that the entire industry should engage in benign competition and work together to explore the international market. He also urged Chinese automakers to avoid redundant investments and focus on creating a smart automotive ecosystem.
Global players like Volkswagen are also speeding up their intelligent transformation in a bid to expand their presence in the Chinese market.
“We will invest consequently into the localization of our R&D activities to integrate ourselves much more strongly into the rapidly growing ecosystem for electric vehicles in China,” said Ralf Brandstaetter, chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group China.
In addition to building its largest development center outside Germany in the city of Hefei in east China, Volkswagen is also strengthening cooperation with local manufacturers like Xpeng and high-tech companies such as Horizon Robotics, Thundersoft and Gotion.
“This deep integration into the world’s leading development network for ICVs will further expand our local innovative strength, but also provides us with a strategic advantage on the global markets in the mid-term,” Brandstaetter said.
“China is driving the future of the automotive industry, and we are committed to being part of this journey in the era of ICVs,” he added.
To support such rapid industrial development in China, more than 50 cities have designated over 32,000 kilometers of test routes for ICVs and upgraded about 10,000 kilometers of roads with smart technologies, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Kizil Caves in China’s Xinjiang bear witness to cultural exchange in ancient times
Exploring the Kizil grottoes in China’s Xinjiang, which are seen as a testament to the exchange and mutual learning between ancient civilizations in different parts of the world.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
View of Tonghai Port Area in Nantong, E China’s Jiangsu
Updated: October 20, 2024 11:16Xinhua
An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 19, 2024 shows cargo ships docking at the Tonghai Port Area, a container terminal, at Nantong Port in Nantong, east China’s Jiangsu Province. In the first three quarters this year, the Tonghai Port saw about 1.17 million TEU of container throughput in total, up 21.82 percent year on year. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 19, 2024 shows a view of the Tonghai Port Area, a container terminal, at Nantong Port in Nantong, east China’s Jiangsu Province. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 19, 2024 shows cargo ships docking at the Tonghai Port Area, a container terminal, at Nantong Port in Nantong, east China’s Jiangsu Province. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 19, 2024 shows a view of the Tonghai Port Area, a container terminal, at Nantong Port in Nantong, east China’s Jiangsu Province. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 19, 2024 shows a view of the Tonghai Port Area, a container terminal, at Nantong Port in Nantong, east China’s Jiangsu Province. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 19, 2024 shows a view of the Tonghai Port Area, a container terminal, at Nantong Port in Nantong, east China’s Jiangsu Province. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 19, 2024 shows a view of the Tonghai Port Area, a container terminal, at Nantong Port in Nantong, east China’s Jiangsu Province. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 19, 2024 shows a view of the Tonghai Port Area, a container terminal, at Nantong Port in Nantong, east China’s Jiangsu Province. [Photo/Xinhua]
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Chuka Onwumechili, Professor of Communications, Howard University
Football is a game of passion, and passions can become particularly inflamed when the sport represents larger political struggles. In Nigeria in 1977, an Africa-wide football contest fuelled the ethnic rivalry between the Yoruba and the Igbo people to the point that the military had to intervene. The game was to be played as a semi-final in the Africa Cup Winners’ Cup, the club football tournament that would go on to become the Caf Confederation Cup.
As scholars of sports communication, we recently published a research paper about that 1977 confrontation between Shooting Stars of Ibadan (Ibadan is home to a Yoruba majority in the south-west) and Enugu Rangers (Enugu is an Igbo state).
Our study adds to a history of football and politics that is not well documented in Africa. In the process it shows that football represents more than just sport, but can also be a way of understanding cultural and political issues.
Yoruba vs Igbo
The rivalry between the Igbos and Yorubas is almost as old as the formation of Nigeria in 1914. Both groups vie politically and for jobs. Each forms roughly a fifth of the Nigerian population. The Igbo had lost political power after the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970.
This rivalry became particularly visible in Nigerian football from the 1950s when ethnic groups contested annually for the Alex Oni Cup. The Yorubas often won, the Igbos a close second but the tournament was eventually discontinued because of fights between players and spectators.
After this, Igbos did not have a representative club team in national competitions until after the war ended in 1970. Top Igbo footballers were employed at various clubs across the country, particularly in Lagos. Yorubas played for various clubs in their home region. One such club was the Shooting Stars. They made up the bulk of the Ibadan Lions team that won the national Challenge Cup four times from 1959 to 1969.
After the civil war, most Igbo footballers – who had fought unsuccessfully for the secession of Biafra state – were afraid to live in other parts of the country. Enugu Rangers was formed and the club dominated Nigerian football in the 1970s and 1980s.
Shooting Stars had become the beacon club of the Yorubas and quickly developed a rivalry with Enugu Rangers.
The semi-final that caused all the trouble
This ongoing rivalry escalated when the two clubs beat off opposition from across the continent to meet in the two legs of the semi-final of the Africa Cup Winners Cup in 1977. Shooting Stars were defending the title. Rangers chose not to take part in the more prestigious Africa Champions Club’s Cup – instead they sought to equal Shooting Stars’ feat of winning the Cup Winners Cup.
To add to the tension, Nigeria’s national team was made up of mainly by players from these two clubs – and the national team was competing in the last stage of the qualifiers for the 1978 men’s football World Cup. It was feared that the rivalry would affect its chances. Almost daily, the newspapers reported on accusations levelled by officials of the two teams at each other and the Nigerian Football Association (today the Nigeria Football Federation).
The association had to find solutions – fast. Both teams had played their home matches in their own cities so far. The association decided that their two semi-final games should be played in a “neutral” location: Lagos.
But after the first leg, a designated “home game” for Shooting Stars, ended 0-0, controversy erupted. Lagos is in the west of the country, home of the Yorubas. This was seen to give the Shooting Stars an advantage. There was also controversy about whether the teams could call up some or all of their players in the national team. The association’s authority to re-schedule the second leg was then called into question. These issues were argued at fever pitch and publicly by fans and in the media, with threats and ethnic undertones.
The association wanted to bar both Rangers and Shooting Stars from using their national team players, but was eventually forced to agree on the release of all players to play in the final leg of the Africa Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final. But not before making a very late request that the Confederation of African Football put off the game until after the national team’s World Cup qualifying games.
Shooting Stars, frustrated by the postponement, lashed out publicly and in the media. They accused Nigeria’s federal sports commissioner, Dandeson Isokrari, of ethnocentrism and favouritism. Isokrari was an easterner, from Enugu Rangers territory.
With tension boiling over and threats issued from both sides, the second-in-command of the Nigeria state, Major General Musa Yar’ Adua, stepped in to avoid ethnic strife and possible violence. He instructed the match to move to Kaduna, a northern city, away from the homes of the clubs. This decision by the country’s military leadership calmed nerves.
An overflowing crowd packed the Kaduna venue from the early morning. In the early minutes of the game, Shooting Stars mounted a siege in the Rangers’ goal area. It was so tense that journalists and photographers converged behind the Rangers goal. Angry Rangers supporters claimed they were not journalists and photographers, but disguised juju men concocting mystical incantations that kept the ball rooted in the Rangers goal area.
The match ended in another 0-0 tie but Rangers advanced when goalkeeper Emmanuel Okala helped to turn the penalty kick tiebreaker in the club’s favour, 4-2. Despite the tensions, there were no reported incidents of violence during the match.
This epic contest between two clubs during a continental cup contest in 1977 reminds us of the rivalry that persists even today among ethnic groups across the continent. Football often represents such ethnic rivalries beyond the field of play – and in the case of Enugu Rangers and Shooting Stars it reached a dangerous level that forced the state to step in.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
2024 AIPPI World Congress opens in Hangzhou
Updated: October 20, 2024 10:21Xinhua
Participants visit an exhibition at the venue of the 2024 International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) World Congress in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Oct. 19, 2024. Themed “balanced protection and innovative development of IP rights,” the 2024 AIPPI World Congress opened in Hangzhou on Saturday. The event is co-organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the AIPPI. [Photo/Xinhua]Participants are pictured at the venue of the 2024 International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) World Congress in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Oct. 19, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]Participants communicate at the venue of the 2024 International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) World Congress in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Oct. 19, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]A performance is staged at the opening ceremony of the 2024 International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) World Congress in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Oct. 19, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]Participants communicate at the venue of the 2024 International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) World Congress in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Oct. 19, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
TIANJIN, Oct. 20 — Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the country’s state-level economic and technological development zones to continuously stimulate innovation vitality and endogenous momentum and promote high-standard opening up for in-depth reform and high-quality development.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a recent instruction on the work of such development zones.
At the sidelines of the 45th AIPA General Assembly in Lao PDR, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs, H.E. Nararya S Soeprapto, held a productive meeting with H.E. Tan Sri Dato’ Johari bin Abdul, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malaysia. The discussion centred on Malaysia’s upcoming presidency of AIPA in 2025 and the modalities of the 4th AIPA-ASEAN Hearing. During the meeting, DSG Nararya assured Malaysia of ASEAN’s commitment to a successful AIPA Chairmanship, emphasising the Secretariat’s readiness to collaborate on initiatives that will enhance the role of AIPA in ASEAN Community building efforts.
Photo credit: Parlimen Malaysia
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MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Denis Manturov with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto
The First Deputy Prime Minister, on behalf of President Vladimir Putin, headed the Russian delegation at the inauguration of the country’s elected President Prabowo Subianto. Denis Manturov was received by the President of Indonesia and also held talks with the Minister and Coordinator for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Airlangga Hartarto.
Trade and economic relations between Russia and Indonesia are showing positive dynamics. “Over the past three years, mutual trade turnover has grown by three quarters and by the end of 2023 amounted to 4.1 billion dollars. This year, despite unfavorable external factors, we have generally managed to maintain a stable level of trade turnover,” Denis Manturov noted.
The First Deputy Prime Minister discussed bilateral cooperation in the trade, economic and humanitarian spheres with his Indonesian colleagues. The conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement between Indonesia and the EAEU is of great importance for strengthening trade and economic cooperation. Work on the draft agreement is at an advanced stage. Speaking about specific industry areas of cooperation, Denis Manturov singled out the agro-industrial complex. “We have restored supplies of Russian wheat to Indonesia and see preconditions for increasing supplies, given Russia’s leading position in the global grain market. Russia is also ready to increase exports of mineral fertilizers in demand in Indonesia, and to meet the needs of Indonesian partners for fuel, including oil and LNG,” he emphasized. Promising areas of cooperation that were also discussed during the working visit were the peaceful use of nuclear energy and the space sector.
Next year, Russia and Indonesia are preparing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The Soviet Union was one of the first countries to recognize Indonesia’s sovereignty and independence from the Netherlands in 1950. A plan of joint events dedicated to the landmark date has already been prepared. An extensive business and cultural program will be provided for as part of the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Russian-Indonesian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, which will take place in March 2025.
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.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The other Common Squirrel Monkey of Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens passed away The other Common Squirrel Monkey of Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens passed away ******************************************************************************************
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced today (October 20) that the other Common Squirrel Monkey of the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens (HKZBG) that was put under isolated surveillance was found dead today. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) will conduct necropsy on the animal body, to ascertain if the cause of death was the same as the other cases earlier. At present, one De Brazza’s Monkey that has been isolated since October 13 is still under isolated surveillance and given medication. A total of 11 animals of the HKZBG have passed away since October 13. The LCSD will continue to close the Mammals Section of the HKZBG, to closely monitor the health conditions of the animals, and continue to provide protective gear and health monitoring for staff who take care of animals. At present, the health conditions of staff concerned are normal. The LCSD has all along been communicating with the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health and the AFCD to ensure that appropriate protective measures are taken.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on Oct. 20 (local time) through waters where high-seas freedom of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law. The ship transited through a high seas corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state. Higgins and Vancouver’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrated the United States’ and Canada’s commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle. The international community’s navigational rights and freedoms in the Taiwan Strait should not be limited. The United States rejects any assertion of sovereignty or jurisdiction that is inconsistent with freedoms of navigations, overflight, and other lawful uses of the sea and air.
ACT Ethnic Communities spokesperson Dr Parmjeet Parmar is challenging Brian Tamaki after Indian New Zealanders and other ethnic communities raised concerns about a new campaign to “Make NZ Kiwi Again” which targets immigrants.
“I have been approached by representatives of ethnic communities in New Zealand alarmed to see Brian Tamaki is promoting conspiracy theories about an ‘Indian invasion’.In a long video tirade, Tamaki rails against Hindu temples, Indian civil aviation officials, and the proposed free trade deal with India.
“Tamaki wants New Zealanders to march to ‘Make NZ Kiwi Again’ , but he cannot be very Kiwi himself if he has forgotten our fundamental history and values. Every New Zealander has either crossed an ocean to build a life here, or is descended from someone who did. Kiwis believe in freedom and a fair chance for anyone who’s willing to offer their efforts to society.
“I hope Brian Tamaki doesn’t have to visit hospital any time soon, but if he does, he will experience firsthand the contribution of immigrant doctors, nurses, and carers that have made New Zealand home.
“The construction sector is powered by migrants who are literally building New Zealand’s future. Others develop cutting-edge technology right here in New Zealand to solve problems, boost exports, and create jobs that benefit us all.
“The migrant community shouldn’t be feared – they should be embraced for all they bring to New Zealand.
“Tamaki warns that Indians are ‘not bad people, but they have intentions’. That is part is true – we have intentions to build peaceful and prosperous lives, raise educated children, and open businesses that offer value to New Zealand.
“Brian Tamaki is a shameless self-promoter and is clearly willing to tap into any negative sentiment that draws attention and outrage. This week it’s Indians, next week it will be another group. It’s tempting to ignore him, but when he seeks to define who is and isn’t a Kiwi, he must be challenged.”
Later this week the government will receive the report of the year-long independent inquiry into its handling of the COVID pandemic.
Among the issues it will have to contend with is air quality, in particular the air quality in high occupancy public buildings such as schools, aged-care facilities, shops, pubs and clubs.
Many already have high quality air. High-fitration air conditioning (so-called mechanical ventilation) is standard in offices, hospitals and shopping centres.
But not in schools. Almost all of our schools (98% in NSW) use windows.
In Australia’s national construction code, this is called “natural ventilation” and it is allowed so long as the window, opening or door has a ventilating area of not less than 5% of the floor area, a requirement research suggests is insufficient.
Windows, but no requirement to keep them open
There’s no requirement to actually open the windows. School windows are often shut to keep in the heat in (or to keep out the heat in summer).
The result can be very, very stuffy classrooms, far stuffier than we would tolerate in shopping centres. This matters for learning. Study after study has found that when air circulation gets low, people can’t concentrate well or learn well.
And they get sick. Diseases such as flu, COVID and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) spread when viruses get recirculated instead of diluted with fresh air.
The costs of the resulting sickness are borne by students, parents, teachers and education systems that need to find replacement staff to cover for teachers who are sick and parents who need to look after sick children at home.
A pilot study prepared for the Australian Research Council Centre for Advanced Building Systems Against Airborne Infection (known as “Thrive”), suggests the entire cost of installing high-filtration air conditioning in every Australian school would be offset by the savings in reduced sickness.
What classroom air is like
The study carried out by the education architecture firm ARINA compared the ventilation of 60 so-called naturally ventilated schools in southern NSW and the Australian Capital Territory to that of a school in Sydney that happened to have been fitted with a Standards Australia-compliant air conditioning system to control aircraft noise.
It used carbon dioxide levels to measure ventilation. Carbon dioxide is a good proxy for ventilation because its levels are determined by both the number of people breathing out concentrated carbon dioxide and the clean air available to dilute it.
Under a normal load, defined as 26 students, one teacher and one assistant, measured levels of carbon dioxide in the air-conditioned school stayed below 750 parts per million (ppm) and were typically between 500 and 600 ppm.
A reading of 700 ppm is particularly good. It means the people in the room breathe in less than 0.5% of air breathed out by others.
But in “naturally ventilated” classrooms the reading often climbed to 2,500 ppm and sometimes more, within an hour of a class commencing.
At 2,500 parts per million, people in the room are breathing in 5.5% of the air breathed out by others. This is also high enough to affect cognition, learning and behaviour, something that begins when carbon dioxide climbs above 1,200 ppm.
Research suggests using ventilation to cut carbon dioxide to 700 ppm can cut the risk of airborne transmission of disease by a factor of two and up to five.
The economic case for healthy air
In 2023, Australia had 9,629 schools with 4,086,998 students.
ARINA has previously estimated the cost of ensuring all of these schools are mechanically ventilated at A$2 billion per year over five years.
Offsetting that cost would be less sickness. Documents released under freedom of information laws show Victoria spent $360.8 million on casual relief teachers between May 2023 and May 2024, 54% more than before COVID in 2019.
The figures for other states are harder to get, but if Victoria (with 26% of Australia’s population) is spending $234 million more per year on casual relief teachers than before COVID, it is likely that Australia is spending $900 million per year more.
Add in the teachers in non-government schools (37% of Australia’s total) and the potential saving from air conditioning schools exceeds $1 billion per year.
Add in the other non-COVID viruses that would no longer be concentrated and circulated in classrooms and the potential savings grow higher still.
Worth more than $1 billion per year
And, in any event, the cost of replacement teachers is a woefully incomplete measure of the cost of illness in schools. Many ill teachers can’t be replaced because replacements aren’t available, making schools cancel lessons and combine classes, costing days, weeks and sometimes months of lost education.
Also, the bacteria and viruses spread by recirculated air infect students as well as teachers, keeping students (and often their parents) at home as well.
This suggests the costs per year of not air conditioning schools exceed $1 billion and may well approach or exceed $2 billion, which is the estimated cost per year over five years of air conditioning every Australian school.
Natural ventilation was never a good idea for classrooms: it was cheap at the time, but not cheap at all when the costs are considered. Those costs happen to extend beyond disease to thermal comfort, energy use and the ability of students to concentrate.
It’s time we gave students and teachers the kind of protections we demand for ourselves in our offices, our shopping centres and often our homes. It would soon pay for itself.
Geoff Hanmer is a member of the executive of the Industry Training and Transformation Centre for Advanced Building Systems against Airborne Infection Transmission (known as Thrive) which receives funding from the Australian Research Council, QUT, the University of Melbourne and industry partners in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. He is a director of the health expert body OzSAGE and the managing director of ARINA, an architectural consultancy.
As the summer boating season begins, Maritime New Zealand and the Safer Boating Forum are urging all boaties and watercraft users to prioritise safety.
Safer Boating Week, starting Monday, 21 October, highlights the importance of safety as recreational boaties, and craft users (whether in a power boat, waka ama, kayak, canoe or paddle board) return to the water. For many, this will be the first time since last summer they venture out, making this year’s theme, ‘Come Home Safe’, more relevant than ever. It builds on last year’s theme and reinforces the need for safe boating practices and encourages everyone to make safety a priority to ensure they return home.
Maritime NZ’s Director, Kirstie Hewlett, highlighted the ongoing importance of Safer Boating Week in promoting safety messages year-round. “This is our 11th Safer Boating Week, and it’s as important as ever. Over the past decade, more than 170 people have lost their lives in recreational craft incidents.
“These figures are deeply concerning, and the Safer Boating Forum is committed to reducing the number of deaths on the water,” she says.
The Safer Boating Forum represents a wide range of recreational craft activities, and this year’s launch event will focus on paddle craft safety.
Paddle craft users accounted for a significant portion of last year’s fatalities, with 5 out of 11 fatal incidents involving paddle craft.
At the launch event, we’ll hear from newly crowned Paris Olympic champions Tara Vaughan and Olivia Brett (members of the women’s K4 team with Lisa Carrington), and five-time NZ surf lifesaving Ironwoman champion Danielle Mackenzie. They will share their journeys to becoming elite athletes and how they want to encourage others to take up their sports -safely. Coming from surf lifesaving backgrounds, they know how crucial it is to stay safe around water.
Maritime NZ’s Harm Prevention Lead for Recreational Craft, Victoria Slade, says paddle craft are particularly vulnerable due to their design and the environments in which they operate.
“Paddle craft are more likely to capsize than non-paddle craft, and most incidents occurred within one nautical mile of shore or on inland waterways like lakes and rivers. This highlights that danger isn’t just far out at sea,” she says.
New Zealand’s waters can turn rough quickly, especially for paddle craft users. A calm day can become dangerous within minutes, with strong winds and waves easily overwhelming smaller vessels.
“If you’re planning to head out on the water, check the marine weather forecast, take two forms of waterproof communication to call for help, and always wear a properly fitting lifejacket,” Ms. Slade says.
As of 15 October this year, 14 people in recreational craft have died or gone missing after heading out on the water. These tragic incidents occurred in 10 separate incidents.
Therefore, to help reduce the number of these fatalities, this year’s launch event will also feature a safety campaign calledCome Home Safe Deals.
Research conducted for Maritime NZ about how diverse communities engage with recreational craft safety shows that whānau, family, and friends want to support each other in being safe on the water. These groups are key sources of information and strength.
Ms. Slade explains, “This safety campaign taps into the importance of these connections, encouraging children, partners, whānau, and friends to influence our target audience and promote safe behaviour.”
Come Home Safe Deals involves individuals pledging to take certain actions if people they care about follow key safety rules. For example, “If you promise to always wear a lifejacket, I’ll promise to clean my room,” or “If you check the marine weather forecast, I’ll cook your favourite dinner.”
As part of this initiative, a dedicated web app allows participants to enter into these agreements.
“Our safety campaign efforts will target this broader audience, guiding them to the Come Home Safe Deals webpage, where they can enter for a chance to win prizes by setting up their deal online,” Ms. Slade says.
The website,comehomesafe.nz, goes live on October 21 and will run for one month.
For more safety advice, visithttp://www.saferboating.org.nz, where recreational craft users can find guidance on planning their trips, staying safe on the water, maintaining their boats, and using different types of recreational crafts safely.
– The research was conducted by Litmus, a social research and evaluation agency with specialist multi-disciplinary teams. Maritime NZ commissioned Litmus to conduct a qualitative study on how different communities in Aotearoa New Zealand use craft in interactions with marine environments, how they kept themselves safe while doing so and what ideas they had for how safety could be improved.
Headline: Disaster Recovery Center Opens in Mecklenburg County
Disaster Recovery Center Opens in Mecklenburg County
RALEIGH, N.C. – A Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) will open Monday, Oct. 21 in Charlotte (Mecklenburg County) to assist North Carolina survivors who experienced loss from Tropical Storm Helene.
The Mecklenburg County DRC is located at:
Corvian Community School 9501 David Taylor Drive Charlotte, NC 28262 Open: 8 a.m. – 7 p.m., Monday through Sunday
A DRC is a one-stop shop where survivors can meet face-to-face with FEMA representatives, apply for FEMA assistance, receive referrals to local assistance in their area, apply with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for low-interest disaster loans and much more.
FEMA financial assistance may include money for basic home repairs, personal property losses or other uninsured, disaster-related needs, such as childcare, transportation, medical needs, funeral or dental expenses.
Centers are already open in Asheville, Bakersville, Boone, Brevard, Hendersonville, Jefferson, Lenoir, Marion, Morganton, Newland, Old Fort, Sparta, Sylva and Waynesville. To find those center locations, go to fema.gov/drcor text “DRC” and a zip code to 43362. Additional recovery centers will open soon. All centers are accessible to people with disabilities or access and functional needs and are equipped with assistive technology.
Homeowners and renters in 39 North Carolina counties and tribal members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians can visit any open center, including locations in other states. No appointment is needed.
It is not necessary to go to a center to apply for FEMA assistance. The fastest way to apply is online at DisasterAssistance.gov or via the FEMA app. You may also call 800-621-3362. If you use a relay service, such as video relay, captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service.
For anyone who has been online in Australia longer than a decade or so, the discussion around current proposals to set a minimum age for social media use might trigger a touch of déjà vu.
Between 2007 and 2012, the Rudd–Gillard government’s efforts to implement a “Clean Feed” internet filter sparked very similar debates.
Beset by technical problems and facing fierce opposition, the Clean Feed was eventually abandoned in favour of laws that already existed. Will the proposed social media ban face a similar fate?
How to regulate cyberspace
The question of how to regulate a cyberspace occupied by both adults and children has puzzled governments for a long time. Traditional controls on physical media are difficult to apply to online spaces, particularly when so much online media comes from overseas.
As early as 1998, an Australian Broadcasting Authority report noted a key difficulty in online regulation. Namely, balancing adults’ access to legal online spaces and content with restrictions on childrens’ access to age-inappropriate material and bans on illegal content.
The Clean Feed proposal attempted to address parental concerns about age-inappropriate websites. First raised in 2006 by Labor in opposition, it became a campaign promise at the 2007 election.
The proposal aimed to solve the issue of overseas content. Australian authorities could already require website owners in Australia to take down illegal content, but they had no power over international sites.
To address this, the Clean Feed would require internet service providers to run a government-created filter blocking all material given a “Refused” classification by the Australian Classification Board, which meant it was illegal. Labor argued the filter would protect children from “harmful and inappropriate” content, including child pornography and X-rated media. The Australian Communications and Media Authority created a “blacklist” of websites that the filter would block.
Technical trouble
The Clean Feed was plagued by technical issues. Trials in 2008 revealed it might slow internet speeds by up to 87%, block access to legal websites, and wouldn’t block all illegal content.
While the effect on speeds was improved, the 2008 trials and others in 2009 revealed another problem: determined users could bypass the filter.
There were also fears the blacklist would be used to block legal websites. While the government maintained the filter would only target illegal content, some questioned whether this was true.
Internet service providers were already required to prevent access to content that had been given a Refused classification. This, along with unclear government statements about removing age-inappropriate material, led many to believe the blacklist could be more far-reaching.
The government also planned to keep the list secret, on the grounds that a published list could become a guide for finding illegal material.
The blacklist
In 2009, the whistleblowing website Wikileaks published a list of sites blacklisted in Denmark. The government banned those pages of Wikileaks, and in response Wikileaks published what it said was the Australian government blacklist. (The government denied it was the actual blacklist.)
Newspapers noted that around half the websites on the published list were not related to child pornography.
Wikileaks published what it claimed was the government’s planned ‘blacklist’ of websites, along with a rationale for publishing the list. Wikileaks
The alleged blacklist also contained legal content, including Wikipedia pages, YouTube links, and even the website of a Queensland dentist. This lent weight to fears the filter would block more than just illegal websites.
More debates emerged surrounding how the Refused classification category was applied offline as well as on the internet.
In January 2010, the Australian Sex Party reported claims from pornography studios that customs officials had confiscated material featuring female ejaculation (as an “abhorrent depiction” or form of urination) and small-breasted adult women (who might appear to be minors). Many questioned whether these should be banned, and if such depictions would be added to the blacklist – including members of hacker-activist group Anonymous.
On February 10 2010, activists targeted several government websites. The Australian Parliament site was down for three days. Protesters also mass-emailed politicians and their staff the kinds of pornography set to be blocked by the filter.
While Operation Titstorm gained media attention, other digital activists (such as Electronic Frontiers Australia and other members of Anonymous) criticised its illegal tactics. Many dismissed the protest as juvenile.
In February 2010, hacker-activists from Anonymous launched denial-of-service attacks and email campaigns in protest of proposed internet filters. WIkipedia
However, one participant argued that many protesters were children, who had used these methods because “kids and teenagers don’t really get the chance to voice their opinions”. The protesters may have been the very people the Clean Feed was supposed to protect.
The government abandoned the Clean Feed in 2012 and used existing legislation to require internet service providers to block INTERPOL’s “worst of” child abuse list. It remains to be seen whether the social media minimum age will similarly crumble under the weight of controversy and be rendered redundant by existing legislation.
The same, but different
The Clean Feed tried to balance the rights of adults to access legal material with protecting children from age-inappropriate content and making cyberspace safer for them. In a sense, it did this by regulating adults.
The filter limited the material adults could access. Given it was government-created and mandatory, it also decided for parents what content was age-appropriate for their children.
The current proposal to set a minimum age for social media flips this solution by determining what online spaces children can occupy. Similar to the filter, it also makes this decision on parents’ behalf.
The Clean Feed saga reveals some of the difficulties of policing the internet. It also reminds us that anxiety about what Australian youth can interact with online is nothing new – and is unlikely to go away.
Rebecca Houlihan 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.
Anyone who has spent time inside a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) knows it’s intense.
For the tiny babies cared for in these wards, any infection could prove fatal. Great care is taken to prevent the spread of pathogens, but outbreaks still occur.
Traditionally, detecting outbreaks within a NICU has been reactive – only after multiple babies fall ill at the same time.
Our research is advancing the use of whole-genome sequencing technologies to detect outbreaks early and stamp out bacteria before they threaten more babies.
From reactive to proactive
NICU outbreak surveillance usually involves monitoring rates of illness and identifying spikes and long-term trends that may point to a pathogen circulating on the ward.
When a potential outbreak is identified, bacteria may be cultured and retrospectively sequenced to determine if they can be linked to a shared source or transmission on the ward.
Wellington Regional Hospital has changed its approach to infection surveillance in the NICU. Rather than waiting for infants to fall ill, they are using the same sequencing technology we developed at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) for genomic contact tracking during the COVID pandemic.
Infants in the unit have diagnostic swab samples taken as part of routine practice. If any key bacteria are cultured from these samples, they are sequenced promptly to identify possible transmission events in near real time. This allows us to monitor the situation closely and respond quickly to emerging outbreaks.
Genome sequencing allows NICU teams to monitor infectious bacteria before babies fall ill. Getty Images
Because not all infants carrying a particular bacterial strain will experience a severe infection, this proactive approach can detect an outbreak before any babies fall ill.
And because whole-genome sequencing decodes the entire genetic makeup of bacteria, it also provides the NICU team with information on how pathogens are related to each other. This allows them to differentiate one-off cases imported to the unit from any circulating within it.
This level of detail allows for precise infection monitoring and fast, informed decisions on outbreak control.
A case study
This shift was recently tested when proactive genomic surveillance showed two infants in the NICU had eye infections caused by the same organism, an uncommon strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
MRSA is notorious for its resistance to common antibiotics, making it particularly dangerous in hospitals.
The onsite sequencing showed the two cases were likely linked. The priorities were to establish whether other infants were affected and limit the pathogen’s spread as quickly as possible. Screening of infants in the NICU found six more carrying the same strain of MRSA (though none with serious illness).
This meant these infants could be isolated rapidly and the outbreak contained before any others developed a significant infection. ESR’s experience as genomic contact tracers helped establish how these infections spread in the unit.
An outbreak response takes up resources and involves multiple steps, from the initial confirmation of the infection and its transmission route to communication with parents.
This proactive approach to infection surveillance provides an early-warning system. It means the NICU team can be confident an outbreak is underway and act quickly to contain it.
MRSA in New Zealand
The power of genome sequencing extends beyond immediate outbreak control.
By comparing the genomic data generated in the lab to that collected in national surveillance projects, our team was able to show the strain that caused the eye infections may have emerged in the early 1990s.
This strain has slowly accumulated the genes required to evade first-choice antibiotics, underpinning the risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Aotearoa New Zealand.
We also highlighted the power of genomics to reveal connections when we found the MRSA strain causing illness in the NICU was related to bacteria collected from cattle. This discovery underscores the concept of “One Health” – the idea that human health, animal health and environmental health are inextricably linked.
The data suggest bacteria from a cow milk tank and from babies in a hospital may have shared a common ancestor at some point.
Future focus
As we continue to unravel the complex world of microbes, tools like whole-genome sequencing offer hope in the ongoing battle against infectious diseases. The work at Wellington Regional Hospital’s NICU is just the beginning.
From protecting our most vulnerable newborns to uncovering unlikely connections between farm animals and hospital patients, genomic technology is changing how we combat infectious diseases.
As this technology continues to evolve, it promises to play an increasingly crucial role in safeguarding public health, one DNA sequence at a time.
In the face of growing antibiotic resistance and emerging pathogens, this proactive, genomics-based approach to infection control may well be our best defence.
We would like to acknowledge the contributions by Max Bloomfield and the teams at Awanui Labs, and Emma Voss and team at Livestock Improvement Corporation.
Rhys White received a travel bursary from Oxford Nanopore Technologies and a travel grant from the UK Microbiology Society.
David Winter and Suzanne Manning 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.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Guastella, Professor and Clinical Psychologist, Michael Crouch Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health, University of Sydney
Neurodevelopmental conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism affect about one in ten children. These conditions impact learning, behaviour and development.
Executive function delays are core to challenges people with neurodevelopmental conditions experience. This includes skills such as paying attention, switching attention, controlling impulses, planning, organising and problem-solving.
These skills are important for learning and long-term development. They have been linked with future occupational, social, academic and mental health outcomes. Children with improved executive function skills and supports for these skills do better long term.
Decades of studies have described how difficulties in attention and impulse control underpin ADHD. Meanwhile, difficulties with switching attention and flexibility of thinking have been proposed to underpin autism.
As a result, different supports and interventions developed for different neurodevelopmental conditions target these skills. It sets up a system where a diagnosis is made first, then a set of supports is provided based on that diagnosis.
But our recent study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, shows executive function problems are similar across all neurodevelopmental conditions. Understanding these common needs could lead to better access to supports before waiting for a specific diagnosis.
Our study found more similarities than differences
We looked at 180 studies, over 45 years, that compared executive function skills across two or more neurodevelopmental conditions.
We brought the research together for all neurodevelopmental conditions that have been defined by diagnostic manuals, including ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome, communication disorders and intellectual disabilities.
Surprisingly, we found most neurodevelopmental conditions showed very similar delays in their executive skills.
Children with ADHD showed difficulties with attention and impulse control, for example, but so did children with autism, communication and specific learning conditions.
There were very few differences between each neurodevelopmental condition and the type of executive function delay.
This suggests executive function delay is best considered as a common difficulty for all children with neurodevelopmental conditions. All of these children could benefit from similar supports to improve executive skills.
But supports have become siloed
For decades, research has failed to integrate findings across conditions. This has led to siloed research and practices across the education, health and disability sectors.
Our data showed a gradual shift in the type of conditions that have been studied since 1980. In the earlier days, as a percentage, there were a far greater proportion of studies conducted on tic disorders, such as Tourette’s syndrome. In the past ten years, autism has been of greater focus.
This means research and practice is also siloed, based on the focus on funding and interest in the community. Some groups miss out from good science and practice when they become less visible in the political landscape.
This has led to a skewed support system where only children with a specific diagnosis can be offered certain interventions. It also reduces access to supports if families can’t access diagnostic services, which can be particularly difficult in regional and rural communities.
Due to these diagnosis-driven research practices, there are now assessment services, guidelines and treatments that are recommended for autism. These are usually independent from and not offered to children with ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome, communication disorders or intellectual disabilities despite a significant overlap in children’s needs.
How does this affect access to support
Families often find it hard to get the help they need. They often describe the assessment and support process as confusing, with long wait times and lots of barriers.
We have previously shown caregivers often attend assessment and support services with a broad range of needs, but leave with many needs unaddressed.
Recent national child mental health, autism and ADHD guidelines call for more integrated supports for children. But most services are not well set up to do this. It will take time to drive such system change if this is to be achieved.
Why we need integrated research
More integrated research will lead to more cohesive support systems across education, health and disability for all children in need.
Studies show, for example, that many risk factors (genetic and environmental) are common to all neurodevelopmental conditions. These include a broad overlap of risk genes that are the same between conditions, and common environmental factors that influence development in the womb, such as the use of certain drugs, stress and a significant immune response.
Other studies show how most children diagnosed with one neurodevelopmental condition will also be diagnosed with others.
But gaps remain. While we know certain stimulant medications can work well for ADHD, for example, we have less information about how they might help children with other neurodevelopmental conditions who have attention difficulties.
Unlike our knowledge about social supports for children with autism, we don’t have much research on how we can help children with ADHD with their social needs.
We should take a wider view of children’s needs
It’s important for families to be aware that if their child meets criteria for one neurodevelopmental condition, it is very likely that they will meet criteria for other neurodvelopmental conditions. They will likely have many needs relevant to other conditions.
It is worth asking clinical services about broader needs beyond a diagnosis. This should include developmental, mental and physical health needs.
It is also important to consider that many common interventions may have potential to support all children with neurodevelopmental conditions.
This is an important issue for government. Reviews are under way for supporting the needs of people with autism, intellectual disability and ADHD.
It’s time to establish more integrated systems, supports and strategies for all people with neurodevelopmental conditions for their home, school, play and work.
Adam Guastella receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and Australian Research Council for research into neurodevelopmental conditions. He is director of the Clinic for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research and scientific chair of Neurodevelopment Australia, a scientific group seeking to improve the knowledge and supports for all people with neurodevelopmental conditions.
Kelsie Boulton 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 (Au and NZ) – By Mike Lee, Professor in Evolutionary Biology (jointly appointed with South Australian Museum), Flinders University
Welcome to our ‘Light and health’ series. Over six articles, we look at how light affects our physical and mental health in sometimes surprising ways.
For most of our evolutionary history, human activity has been linked to daylight. Technology has liberated us from these ancient sleep-wake cycles, but there is evidence sunlight has left and continues to leave its mark.
Not only do we still tend to be awake in the daytime and sleep at night, we can thank light for many other aspects of our biology.
Light may have driven our ancestors to walk upright on two legs. Light helps explain the evolution of our skin colour, why some of us have curly hair, and even the size of our eyes.
As we’ll explore in future articles in this series, light helps shape our mood, our immune system, how our gut works, and much more. Light can make us sick, tell us why we’re sick, then treat us.
Million of years of evolutionary history means humans are still very much creatures of the light.
We stood up, then walked out of Africa
The first modern humans evolved in warm African climates. And reducing exposure to the harsh sunlight is one explanation for why humans began to walk upright on two legs. When we stand up and the Sun is directly overhead, far less sunshine hits our body.
Early Homo sapiens had extra Sun protection in the form of strongly pigmented skin. Sunlight breaks down folate (vitamin B9), accelerates ageing and damages DNA. In our bright ancestral climates, dark skin protected against this. But this dark skin still admitted enough UV light to stimulate vital production of vitamin D.
However, when people colonised temperate zones, with weaker light, they repeatedly evolved lighter skin, via different genes in different populations. This happened rapidly, probably within the past 40,000 years.
With reduced UV radiation nearer the poles, less pigmentation was needed to protect sunlight from breaking down our folate. A lighter complexion also let in more of the scarce light so the body could make vitamin D. But there was one big drawback: less pigmentation meant less protection against Sun damage.
How our skin pigmentation adapted with migration patterns and changing light.
This evolutionary background contributes to Australia having among the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.
Our colonial history means more than 50% of Australians are of Anglo-Celtic descent, with light skin, transplanted into a high-UV environment. Little wonder we’re described as “a sunburnt country”.
Sunlight has also contributed to variation in human eyes. Humans from high latitudes have less protective pigment in their irises. They also have larger eye sockets (and presumably eyeballs), maybe to admit more precious light.
Again, these features make Australians of European descent especially vulnerable to our harsh light. So it’s no surprise Australia has unusually high rates of eye cancers.
We cannot shake our body clock
Our circadian rhythm – the wake-sleep cycle driven by our brains and hormones – is another piece of heavy evolutionary baggage triggered by light.
Humans are adapted to daylight. In bright light, humans cansee well and have refined colour vision. But we see poorly in dim light, and we lack senses such as sharp hearing or acute smell, to make up for it.
Our nearest relatives (chimps, gorillas and orangutans) are also active during daylight and sleep at night, reinforcing the view that the earliest humans had similar diurnal behaviours.
This lifestyle likely stretches further back into our evolutionary history, before the great apes, to the very dawn of primates.
The earliest mammals were generally nocturnal, using their small size and the cover of darkness to hide from dinosaurs. However, the meteorite impact that wiped out these fearsome reptiles allowed some mammalian survivors, notably primates, to evolve largelydiurnal lifestyles.
If we inherited our daylight activity pattern directly from these early primates, then this rhythm would have been part of our lineage’s evolutionary history for nearly 66 million years.
This explains why our 24-hour clock is very difficult to shake; it’s so deeply ingrained in our evolutionary history.
Successive improvements in lighting technology have increasingly liberated us from dependence on daylight: fire, candles, oil and gas lamps, and finally electric lighting. So we can theoretically work and play at any time.
However, our cognitive and physical performance deteriorates when our intrinsic daily cycles are disturbed, for instance through sleep deprivation, shift work or jet lag.
Futurists have already considered the circadian rhythms required for life on Mars. Luckily, a day on Mars is around 24.7 hours, so similar to our own. This slight difference should be the least of the worries for the first intrepid martian colonists.
How would humans cope on Mars? At least they wouldn’t have to worry too much about their body clocks. NikoNomad/NASA/Shutterstock
Light is still changing us
In the past 200 years or so, artificial lighting has helped to (partly) decouple us from our ancestral circadian rhythms. But in recent decades, this has come at a cost to our eyesight.
Many genes associated with short-sightedness (myopia) have become more common in just 25 years, a striking example of rapid evolutionary change in the human gene pool.
And if you have some genetic predisposition to myopia, reduced exposure to natural light (and spending more time in artificial light) makes it more likely. These noticeable changes have occurred within many people’s lifetimes.
Light will no doubt continue to shape our biology over the coming millennia, but those longer-term effects might be difficult to predict.
Mike Lee receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Hermon Slade Foundation
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robin Smit, Adjunct Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney
Statements have been circulating online, including leading news platforms, that battery electric cars will greatly increase the average mass of the on-road fleet. This claim is used as an argument against these cars.
Even the Australian motoring organisation NRMA has posed the question: “EVs are heavy. Are they safe on our roads and carparks?” (It does say the answer is yes.)
The stated reason for such concerns is generally that electric car batteries are heavy and increase overall vehicle mass. A heavier vehicle needs more energy to drive it and so will typically increase emissions. A greater mass also reduces traffic safety and could have damaging impacts on parking spaces and roads.
A critical review released yesterday took a closer look at these claims to see if they hold true in Australia. It finds these claims don’t stack up in a country where sales of fossil-fuelled (petrol, diesel, LPG) vehicles skew towards large and heavy utes and SUVs.
When adjusted for actual top 10 vehicles sold and using realistic mass values, the average mass of battery electric and fossil-fuelled cars differs by just 68 kilograms. That difference is not significant, especially because electric cars are much more energy-efficient.
Oversimplifying a complex topic
The claims being made often oversimplify a complex reality. They tell only part of the story, which can be misleading.
For instance, internal combustion engine cars have consistently increased in mass over time. Known as car obesity, this fact is often unfairly ignored in comparisons.
Similarly, these statements pretend to know how complex consumer behaviour will respond to future availability of battery electric cars and their fast-changing and improving features. Often, the results of overseas studies cannot be directly applied to different Australian conditions.
4 points of contention
Our report identifies and unpacks four main points of contention.
First, there are different ways to define and compare the mass of battery electric and combustion engine cars. In practice, the choice is rather arbitrary. Depending on the method, the comparison may be neither adequate nor accurate.
Often the comparison is made between similar or similarly sized battery electric and combustion engine cars. Or electric cars can be compared only to an equivalent non-electric version of models such as the VW Golf. Another variation is to simply compare the average mass of a large range of cars currently on sale, without considering the impact of sales volumes.
Second, a common argument is that batteries are heavy, so electric cars are heavier than fossil-fuelled cars. But this is simplistic – it’s not only the battery that matters.
Offsetting the extra battery mass, other parts of the electric car such as their motors are smaller and lighter. They can cut its mass by up to 50%.
And actual extra battery mass itself depends on a range of factors. Battery chemistry, battery size and energy storage capacity (which determines how often a car needs recharging) all affect the mass. Indeed, battery mass varies between 100 and 900 kilograms for cars.
Third, car obesity has greatly and consistently increased fossil-fuelled car mass. Unless we include this rise in car obesity, the comparison with battery electric cars tells only half the story.
Finally, it is challenging to accurately predict the mass impacts of electric cars. A common assumption is that future vehicle buyers’ behaviour does not change when switching to battery electric cars. This assumption seems unlikely and again oversimplifies the comparison.
For instance, market availability, marketing focus, purchase price and performance characteristics will largely guide buyers’ decisions. These considerations are all highly dynamic. They are changing significantly and fast.
So how do they compare in Australia?
A proper comparison needs, at least, to include realistic vehicle mass and sales data. Our study compares the differences in vehicle mass between the top ten best-selling cars for both battery electric and fossil-fuelled vehicles in Australia in 2022, as shown below.
Masses of the top 10 most popular new battery electric (top) and fossil-fuelled (bottom) passenger cars sold in Australia in 2022. Circle sizes represent sales volumes. The top-selling internal combustion engine car is the Toyota Hilux (64,391 sold). For pure battery electric cars it’s the Tesla Model 3 (10,877 sold). Vehicle mass is defined as ‘mass in running order’, adjusted for average vehicle occupancy. Author provided, Transport Energy/Emission Research (TER)
Currently sold top 10 models of battery electric cars cluster more at the heavy end, but the most popular cars are relatively light. The top 10 models of fossil-fuelled cars have a larger spread in mass. Yet, when it comes to sales, most are relatively heavy SUVs or utes.
When ranked by popularity and compared, battery electric cars are not always heavier. They can be almost 300kg (12%) lighter to almost 800kg (55%) heavier than the corresponding fossil-fuelled car. Importantly, the overall difference in the average mass of the two categories when adjusted for sales is just 68kg (about 3% of total vehicle mass).
This small difference is insignificant in terms of energy and emission impacts. A more important factor here is the superior energy efficiency of battery electric vehicles.
How will they compare in future?
Clearly, future sales profiles may differ from current sales profiles. The current profile may be largely defined by a certain type of customer (such as a high-income early adopter). They might not be typical of mainstream consumers in coming years.
Buyers’ future behaviour is uncertain and hard to predict. It would depend on the effectiveness of (new) policy measures such as Australia’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, the actual vehicles offered for sale, marketing efforts by car suppliers and possibly also cultural changes.
Any shifts in buyer behaviour could greatly influence the car fleet’s average mass. They could continue the current trend towards larger and heavier vehicles, or shift to smaller and lighter vehicles.
But this is the point: the impacts of electrification of passenger vehicles on average mass are highly uncertain. Statements on the matter are often speculative and can be unfairly biased by the methods used.
In markets where heavy petrol and diesel vehicles dominate car sales, such as Australia and New Zealand, current evidence suggests increased electric car sales are unlikely to greatly increase average vehicle mass. In fact, average mass could actually go down as cheaper and lighter electric cars go on sale here.
Vehicle mass remains important
Importantly, the report is not downplaying the importance of vehicle mass for transport emission abatement.
In previous research it was estimated that only a passenger vehicle fleet dominated by small and light battery electric vehicles may get Australia close to achieving the net-zero emissions target in 2050.
To meet the target, it is thus important to reverse the trend of increasing car obesity, for all cars. But vehicle mass should not be used as an argument against electrification.
Robin Smit is the founding Research Director at the Transport Energy/Emission Research (TER) consultancy.
A Queensland tribunal has ruled it is not discriminatory for a school to require girls to wear a skirt at formal events.
The private high school said girls needed to wear skirts for occasions including excursions, ceremonies and class photographs.
A female student had complained to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal about different treatment for boys and girls.
While the tribunal acknowledged there was “different treatment between the sexes”, it found there was not enough evidence to show this was “unfavourable”.
Why are female students still made to wear skirts and dresses? And why is this a problem?
Who decides?
In Australia, uniform rules are largely determined by individual schools.
Schools have some obligations to their communities, governing bodies (such as state education departments and independent school peak bodies) and anti-discrimination legislation.
But ultimately, it’s up to the school to decide how their uniform looks, who can access different items, where and when items may be worn, and what non-uniform items are regulated.
Pants occupy an odd space here. For public schools, most state education departments require girls to have the option of pants (which can include shorts or trousers), for both sport and regular uniforms.
But private schools do not have the same obligations. Some are starting to update their policies and allow girls to wear shorts or pants if they choose.
Girls’ access to pants is not as straightforward as a school including them within the uniform policy.
As researchers note, simply allowing girls to wear pants may not be enough. If school cultures are not welcoming, or if the design is uncomfortable, girls may still avoid them.
Or, as can be the case with private schools, a school may offer pants on a limited basis, such as only during winter. Alternatively, there may be a special order process for pants, making them difficult to obtain.
Or schools may permit their use, except on special occasions such as photo days or excursions, like the Queensland case.
Why does it matter?
The skirt itself isn’t the issue. The element of choice is.
As researchers note, skirts and dresses are linked to outdated expectations of modesty and femininity. They can be targets of fetish and harassment, and entrench binary ideals of gender.
The longer gender-normativity is baked into school policies, the longer students are denied their right to equitable education. And the longer that schools promote the idea of “girl” and “boy” as opposite and concrete categories, the harder it will be to combat schoolyard misogyny and queerphobia.
Kayla Mildren 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.
WICHITA, Kan., Oct. 20, 2024 — Today, local Textron IAM members voted to accept the latest contract offer, which covers nearly 5,000 members across three campuses in Wichita. They will return to work beginning Wednesday, Oct. 23.
IAM Local 774 (District 70) members voted down the companies’ last, best, and final offer in September, citing concerns over wages and healthcare as some of the top issues they felt Textron Aviation did not address.
Read: Together We are Unstoppable: IAM Leadership Gives Boost to Local 774 Textron Strike Lines
“Our skilled members in Wichita know what it takes to make Textron Aviation products just like they know how to stick together for what’s right,” said IAM International President Brian Bryant. “The dedication it takes to stand up with your Brothers and Sisters to fight for what you deserve is admirable, and the entire IAM is beyond proud of Local 774.”
Read: IAM Local 774 Members at Textron Aviation Vote to Reject Contract, Strike for Fairness
The offer extended across the table in September was not enough for many workers at one of Wichita’s largest aircraft producers. Keeping Textron Aviation as a strong player in a competitive market, these essential workers toiled during the worst pandemic in recent history. With wages 7% below the national average for aerospace members at Local 774, they fought hard to bring their wages up and over flatline.
Healthcare was another top concern for many families employed by Textron Aviation. With a deeply flawed healthcare system, many of the industry’s top savings measures include passing these costs onto hardworking families for Local 774.
Read: IAM Local 774 Members Demand More for Families, Wichita Community as Textron Aviation Strike Enters Second Wee
The new offer that Local 774 members voted on over the weekend includes a fifth year, as several members were adamant about not having a contract expire in an election year. There is also a 5% wage increase and an additional $3,000 directable bonus.
Some of the other highlights include:
31% overall increase in wages throughout the five-year agreement
$3,000 directable lump sum to use how the member sees fit
Longevity bonuses
New technical and license holder premium pays
Automatic Quarterly Increases raised to 30 cents per hour
COLA cap increased from $700 to $1,500
Define Benefit plan negotiated new rate increases
New Insurance premium increase caps at 3%
Insurance premium rates will remain at 2025 rates for the No Deductible plan for the life of the agreement
Improvements earned time off with improved accrual time
“Our members know what matters to them and used their voices as the essential tool to gain more,” said IAM Southern Territory General Vice President Craig Martin. “Textron Aviation is a powerhouse in today’s market and needed to offer more. I am proud of our members in Wichita – they stood strong and won for their families and communities.”
At a time when unions are flexing their power, there appear to be small glimpses of hope when it comes to business leadership—or at least an understanding that you have to treat your employees respectfully and listen. For those businesses that don’t, the members of the IAM have no problem giving a little push.
“We know aircraft in Wichita,” said IAM District 70 Business Representative for Local 774 Clint Shockley. “We also know family, survival, and our members’ rooted values here. Local 774 members have shown that through collective action and won.”
The new offer will be backdated to Sept. 23 and will remain in effect until September 2029.
