UK arms sales are causing death and destruction in Gaza.
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The UK government must end its complicity in genocide and finally halt arms sales to Israel, says Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie following news that over 330 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes on Gaza last night.
With warnings from the United Nations that the majority of people killed in the war in Gaza are women and children, the Scottish Greens have renewed calls for the UK government to terminate arms sales to Israel.
Mr Harvie said:
“Under the terms of the ceasefire deal, Israel should have been withdrawing from Gaza by now, but instead they have violated the ceasefire by carrying out nothing less than a massacre.
“The scale of horror that Israel is inflicting must serve as a wake-up call to our governments to end their role in genocide, and hold the Israeli Government to account for its war crimes.
“Continuing to arm and support Israel can only lead to further destruction and even more lost lives. It is civilians who are paying the devastating cost of collective punishment, mass displacement and the destruction of schools, hospitals and homes.
“With a Trump administration that doesn’t even pretend to care about Palestinian rights, the Israeli Government is clearly feeling empowered and knows that they will face no consequences.
“We cannot allow this to continue any longer. There is a moral obligation on all governments to stop arming Israel and instead hold them accountable for their actions.”
Mr Harvie also called for the Scottish Government to stop all financial support for companies who are profiting from the war, after reports that Scottish Enterprise has given over £1 million to organizations that arm Israel since the start of the war.
Mr Harvie added:
“The Scottish Government has rightly condemned UK complicity, but time and again it has refused to end support for the companies who are enabling and profiting from the killing. It is time for them to put their money where their mouth is and end their hypocrisy.”
FREMONT, Calif., March 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH), a global energy technology company and the world’s leading supplier of microinverter-based solar and battery systems, today commended the introduction of Brazil’s new fire safety standard, Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT) NBR 17193, which outlines stringent recommendations like rapid shutdown functionality requirements for solar installations in all buildings.
The new standard emphasizes the importance of safety in solar energy systems, particularly focusing on reducing fire hazards associated with high-voltage direct current (DC) energy components like centralized “string” inverters. Enphase’s microinverter technology intelligently converts low-voltage DC from solar panels into safe low-voltage alternating current (AC) right at the panel, inherently aligning with the new safety standard objectives by eliminating the need for high-voltage DC in residential and commercial solar installations.
Additionally, all Enphase microinverters support rapid shutdown functionality, a critical safety feature that allows for the immediate de-energization of the system in emergency situations. The new safety standard recommends that all solar installations in Brazil have rapid shutdown functionality before connecting to the grid. This capability not only helps protect property, people, and emergency personnel but also aligns with global best practices for solar system safety. Brazil installers and distributors can learn more about the standard on the Enphase website (English and Portuguese).
“Enphase’s microinverters have revolutionized our approach to solar installations,” said Adriano Coury, CEO of Onway Energy, an installer of Enphase products in Brazil. “The low-voltage AC design not only simplifies the installation process but also significantly reduces fire risks to help protect homeowners and emergency response teams.”
“Safety is paramount in our operations,” said João Lucas Silva, CEO of Solusun, an installer of Enphase products in Brazil. “With Enphase’s microinverters, we can offer our clients a solution that complies with the latest safety standards and provides peace of mind.”
“Enphase’s microinverters arrived in the Brazilian market meeting all safety requirements, ensuring protection for installers and homeowners,” said Marcel Ciriaco, founder of EnergySeg, an installer of Enphase’s products in Brazil. “The NBR 17193 corroborates the compliance of Enphase’s microinverters with global safety standards. Therefore, our Enphase customers will continue to benefit from the credibility and technological efficiency of our solution.”
“This critical new safety standard is a significant milestone for the Brazilian solar industry, setting new benchmarks for safety and reliability,” said Ken Fong, senior vice president and general manager of the Americas and APAC at Enphase Energy. “Our microinverter technology is designed to meet and exceed these standards, providing Brazilian customers with safe, reliable, and high-performance solar energy solutions.”
Installers of Enphase’s products in Brazil can order IQ8P™ Microinverters today, with peak output AC power of 480 W, supporting newer high-powered solar modules. All IQ8P Microinverters activated in Brazil come with a 25-year limited warranty. For more information about Enphase Energy in Brazil, please visit the website.
About Enphase Energy, Inc.
Enphase Energy, a global energy technology company based in Fremont, CA, is the world’s leading supplier of microinverter-based solar and battery systems that enable people to harness the sun to make, use, save, and sell their own power—and control it all with a smart mobile app. The company revolutionized the solar industry with its microinverter-based technology and builds all-in-one solar, battery, and software solutions. Enphase has shipped approximately 80.0 million microinverters, and approximately 4.7 million Enphase-based systems have been deployed in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit https://enphase.com/.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements related to the expected capabilities and performance of Enphase Energy’s technology and products, including safety, quality and reliability. These forward-looking statements are based on Enphase Energy’s current expectations and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements as a result of such risks and uncertainties including those risks described in more detail in Enphase Energy’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed by Enphase Energy from time to time with the SEC. Enphase Energy undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events, or changes in its expectations, except as required by law.
Demonstrators participate in a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 17, 2025. On Monday, tens of thousands of people gathered in a massive rally in Sanaa, protesting against U.S. airstrikes in northern Yemen that have led to dozens of deaths. [Photo/Xinhua]
The U.S. military launched a new wave of airstrikes on Yemen, targeting several sites in and around the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah Monday evening, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV said.
“One airstrike targeted the Al-Arj area in Bajil district, east of the city, while another series of airstrikes hit and destroyed the Al-Habashi iron factory in the Salif district, northwest of the city,” the TV channel reported.
Residents described the airstrikes as extremely violent with explosions heard from miles away.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or the extent of the damage.
On Monday, thousands of people gathered in a massive rally at Sabeen Square in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital Sanaa, protesting against U.S. airstrikes in northern Yemen that have led to dozens of deaths.
Demonstrators, with many carrying snipers and Kalashnikov rifles, chanted slogans denouncing the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which ordered the airstrike campaign on Houthi targets starting Saturday evening.
“Death to America, death to Israel,” protesters cried at the square decorated by huge billboards showing the group’s leader, and other leaders from what the group called the “resistance axis.”
Addressing the crowd, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, head of the group’s supreme revolutionary committee, said the group views the U.S. operations as “aggression and terrorism, and we will confront escalation with escalation.”
Over the past two days, dozens of Houthi-controlled military sites, as well as dozens of residential houses, have been targeted and bombed by U.S. fighter jets across Sanaa, and several other northern and western provinces under Houthi control.
Many families have fled the capital for fear of their lives.
According to the latest statement from the Houthi-run Health Ministry, the death toll from the U.S. airstrikes has increased to 53, including five children and two women. Search operations under the rubble of residential buildings were still ongoing.
In a televised speech Sunday, Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi threatened to launch attacks targeting U.S. naval and commercial ships if the U.S. military continued to conduct airstrikes on Houthi-held areas.
The White House on Sunday said in a televised statement that the U.S. military targeted and killed several senior Houthi leaders during the airstrikes. The Houthi group has yet to comment.
The U.S. airstrikes began Saturday evening as Trump vowed to continue air attacks until the Houthis stopped attacking international shipping lines and ships.
He also warned the Houthis that if they do not stop their attacks “starting today … hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before.”
The renewed conflict comes after Israel halted the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza on March 2, coinciding with the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
On Tuesday, the Houthi group announced that it would resume launching attacks against any Israeli ship in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait until the crossings of the Gaza Strip are reopened and aid allowed in.
From November 2023 to Jan. 19, the Houthi group launched dozens of drone and rocket attacks against Israel-linked ships and Israeli cities to show solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The attacks later expanded to include U.S. and British ships after the U.S.-British navy coalition started to intervene, launching air raids and missile strikes against Houthi targets to deter the group.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday about settling the conflict in Ukraine, U.S. media reported.
“We’re doing pretty well, I think, with Russia…I’ll be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday. A lot of work’s been done over the weekend,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One during a flight from Florida to Washington on Sunday evening.
Trump, who is working to finalize a 30-day ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine, said that land and power plants will be part of his conversation with the Russian leader.
“We will be talking about land. We will be talking about power plants,” Trump told reporters. “I think we have a lot of it already discussed very much by both sides, Ukraine and Russia.”
“We want to see if we can bring that war to an end. Maybe we can, maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance,” he said.
The Israeli army conducted on Tuesday intense airstrikes on the northern and central Gaza Strip, marking the most violent escalation since the ceasefire, according to local sources and eyewitnesses.
Palestinian medical and security sources told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes launched raids of unprecedented scale, triggering successive explosions in several areas of northern and central Gaza.
The sources said that the Israeli army has killed over 200 Palestinians in the coastal enclave.
In an initial statement, the Palestinian Civil Defense said that Israeli aircraft targeted homes, mosques, schools and shelters, resulting in significant casualties.
“Our crews are facing great difficulties due to the size and number of targets being struck simultaneously,” the civil defense added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced early Tuesday that Netanyahu and the country’s Defense Minister Israel Katz had ordered the military to “operate against Hamas with increasingly powerful military force.”
According to the statement, the move followed what it described as Hamas’s “repeated refusal to release hostages” and rejection of proposals presented by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and other mediators.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was conducting “extensive strikes” on Hamas targets, it said.
The statement added that the strikes are being carried out under an operational plan presented by the IDF over the weekend and approved by the political leadership.
Katz warned in a separate statement that if Hamas does not release all hostages, “the gates of hell will open in Gaza,” and Hamas will encounter the Israeli military “with an intensity they have never known before.”
Israel’s state-owned Army Radio said that the move indicated the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on Jan. 19, “has collapsed.”
The Israeli army killed at least 200 Palestinians and wounded dozens more during the intensifying airstrikes on various places in Gaza, the Hamas-run government media office said Tuesday.
In a press statement, the office said that the Israeli raids targeted densely populated residential areas in the south, north and center of the Strip, as well as camps for displaced persons.
“The strikes caused significant material damage and left dozens trapped under the rubble, while rescue teams faced severe challenges in reaching the victims due to the ongoing bombardment,” it said.
The past few hours have witnessed a sharp military escalation, with Israeli warplanes launching successive raids on residential neighborhoods in Gaza City, the southern city of Khan Yunis and the town of Jabalia in the north.
Palestinian eyewitnesses told Xinhua that they heard powerful explosions that echoed throughout the Strip as civil defense crews rushed to pull victims from beneath the debris.
Medical sources in Gaza said that hospitals are operating beyond capacity amid a severe shortage of medical supplies, making it increasingly difficult to treat heavy casualties.
Ambulance services have been disrupted as the ongoing airstrikes have destroyed roads and infrastructure, further complicating rescue efforts.
The latest escalation comes after Israel announced the resumption of attacks on Gaza, citing Hamas’s rejection of U.S.-brokered proposals to extend the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
Hamas, in turn, accused Israel of violating the ceasefire that took effect on Jan. 19 and called on mediators to pressure Israel to halt the military campaign.
At least 42 people have died over the past three days as tornadoes, dust storms and other severe weather events wreaked havoc across eight states in the U.S. Midwest and South, according to reports from local authorities in these states.
The U.S. National Weather Service received about 80 tornado reports between Friday and Sunday and dozens of them have been confirmed, including an EF-4 tornado with wind speeds reaching 190 miles per hour in Arkansas.
In the past three days, Missouri reported 12 storm-related fatalities; Kansas recorded eight, who were killed in a 50-vehicle crash due to a massive dust storm; and Mississippi reported six.
Multiple deaths due to tornadoes, destructive gusts, dust storms, storm-related wildfires and heavy rainfall were also reported in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, and North Carolina.
Footages circulating on social media and eyewitness accounts illustrate the immense destruction caused by the storms. Hundreds of homes and buildings were damaged while tens of thousands of households and businesses were left without power after storms battered their communities.
In Alabama, a school bus was hurled onto a middle school roof and a mobile home were ripped from its foundations and smashed to the ground.
In North Carolina, a fallen tree crashed into a home on Sunday, killing two children.
The storm system weakened on Monday and is moving eastward. However, the National Weather Service warned that heavy rainfall poses a flooding threat for parts of the East Coast while the central U.S. faces extremely dry conditions, raising wildfire risks.
New report from Oxfam and its Polish partner, Egala, details violence and torture facing people on the move at the Poland-Belarus border.
The report exposes Poland’s illegal pushback policy, bankrolled by the EU.
Oxfam and Egala is urging the EU to investigate human rights abuses and pushbacks at this European border and invest in strengthening Poland’s asylum and reception system.
Today, Egala and Oxfam published a new report,“Brutal Barriers”, detailing the frightening and sometimes deadly journey of people trying to reach safety in Europe. Survivors’ testimonies reveal the violence inflicted by both Polish and Belarusian authorities on people seeking asylum as well as the treacherous conditions people face in crossing the swamplands of the primeval Białowieża forest.
The report documents abuses by the Polish authorities including shooting people with rubber bullets, setting dogs on them and giving them water laced with pepper spray. There are accounts of people being detained without food or water, having their clothes confiscated and being forced to strip naked.
Polish authorities have also forcibly pushed people back, including those in urgent need of medical care. This has included reported pushbacks of people who are unconscious or immobile, and even a case of a pregnant woman who was pushed back and subsequently suffered a miscarriage. Some have even reportedly been forcibly returned while receiving medical care in hospitals.
“Pushbacks at the Poland-Belarus border are generalized and systemic. We continuously come across people in the forest who have been pushed back to Belarus by Polish authorities”, said Aleksandra Gulińska, Egala Advocacy Lead.
Poland and Belarus have created a ‘death zone’ at Europe’s border. People are trapped in the forest for weeks or months, without food or water, exposed to extreme weather, with temperatures plummeting to minus twenty degrees in winter. People are unable to escape the forest as they are blocked on both sides by either the Polish or Belarusian authorities.
Accounts from those forcibly pushed back to Belarus paint a bleak picture of what awaits them on the Belarusian side of the border. Survivors describe the conditions as ‘hell’ with reports of violence, including sexual violence, robberies, and torture – from electrocution to waterboarding to cutting off of body parts.
“This is the ‘hell’ Poland is sending people back to, and it is sponsored by the EU,” said Sarah Redd, Oxfam Ukraine Advocacy Lead.
Local organizations and volunteers face increasing harassment and criminalization. Last year, Poland declared parts of the border an exclusion zone, making it harder for organizations like Egala to provide life-saving assistance. Aid workers are forced to choose between helping people in need and facing the criminalization or harassment of their staff and volunteers.
“We are among the very few who witness firsthand the hellish experience of people trying to seek safety. It’s terrifying to think about what would happen if no-one was there to help them”, said Gulińska.
The report also documents instances where the Polish authorities forced people to sign papers renouncing their intention to seek asylum, using intimidation and physical violence.
These reports of pushbacks are all part of Poland’s systemized pushback policy, with the latest move being a temporary block to people’s rights to claim asylum at its borders. With concerns over the escalation in Ukraine, European security sits at the top of the agenda. However, European leaders must ensure that these efforts do not include violations of fundamental human rights, as aid groups are witnessing at the Poland-Belarus border.
“Poland has abandoned its commitments to the rule of law and to protecting people fleeing war and persecution. It has instead replaced EU law with razor wire, torture and violence, creating an illegal pushback policy funded by the EU”, said Redd.
“The EU must stop bankrolling this pushback policy and shut down any future plans that gamble with people’s lives. The EU and European countries need to invest in an asylum system that actually works and allows people to rebuild their lives. This is not about politics – it’s about what is right”, said Redd.
Egala is a grassroots organization providing humanitarian aid, medical support and legal assistance to people on the move at the Poland-Belarus border. Oxfam partnered with Egala in 2023 as part of its response to the humanitarian crisis at the Poland-Belarus border.
The report collects extensive existing evidence as well as testimonies from Egala volunteers and workers on the ground and the voices of refugees themselves in order to document the human consequences of restrictive, illegal and inhumane policies at this border. Below is a selection of testimonies – see the report for more:
“It’s June, the middle of summer, and I just met a man with first-degree hypothermia. He was emaciated and he hadn’t drunk anything”, Jagna, Egala volunteer and professional medic – name changed to protect identity.
“The second man had a leg injury and an initial degree of hypothermia. As his condition was not improving, the volunteer explained that they could try call an ambulance. About an hour after calling the official emergency number, the border guards arrived – without an ambulance. All three men were taken to the Border Guard post. At this point the Egala volunteers lost contact with them”, said Olga, Egala employee – name changed to protect identity.
“What would happen if we weren’t here? There would be a lot of dead bodies in the forest”, said Jagna, Egala volunteer and professional medic – name changed to protect identity.
Photos will be uploaded shortlyhere. There is a shorthand available – please reach out for more information.
In 2024, nearly 600 cases of violence by the Polish authorities were reported according to information provided by WeAreMonitoring.
The Polish government has taken several steps to create an illegal policy of pushbacks and violence including:
September 2021: Poland created an exclusion zone at the border barring humanitarian workers and journalists. The zone was later reduced following legal action.
June 2024: The Tusk government reintroduced the exclusion zone. The Polish authorities have yet to respond to requests from Egala to enter the zone to provide humanitarian assistance.
July 2024: Poland enacted a law exempting Polish authorities from prosecution for improper use of weapons at the border.
February 2025: Poland suspended the right to asylum at the Poland-Belarus border – effectively legalizing pushbacks.
Oxfam and Egala are calling on the EU to:
Redirect EU funding and support away from border walls and surveillance, and instead invest in strengthening Poland’s asylum and reception system.
Publicly condemn the human rights abuses occurring at the border.
Investigate breaches of EU asylum law by Poland and, if justified, initiate infringement proceedings.
Ensure that Poland implements the EU Migration Pact – in particular, an independent monitoring of human rights violations, such as pushbacks.
Oxfam and Egala call on the Polish government to:
End illegal pushbacks and process asylum cases in accordance with human rights standards and EU law.
Repeal laws decriminalizing firearm use and suspending the right to asylum.
Allow safe access to humanitarian and human rights organizations at the border area.
In 2022, the EU allocated over 67 million euro to Poland under theBorder Management and Visa Policy Instrument to cover ‘the additional needs for support related to the situation at the border with Belarus’. In2024, the EU topped up this funding by 52 million euro to enhance border surveillance.
As a young climate advocate, I have always believed that speaking up can change the world. That when we raise our voices for our planet, people will listen. That when we fight for a future where clean air and water are not privileges but rights, justice will be on our side. But this lawsuit against Greenpeace International and Greenpeace entities in the USA by Energy Transfer feels like a punch to the gut—a brutal reminder that those who destroy our home will stop at nothing to silence those who protect it.
This is not just a lawsuit. It is an attack on our future. A warning shot aimed at every single person who dares to challenge the greed that fuels the climate crisis. If they can go after Greenpeace with a $300 million lawsuit, what is stopping them from coming after me? Or you? Or the millions of young people who refuse to stand by as our future is stolen from us?
We are running out of time. The climate crisis is already here. It is in the super typhoons that rip through our homes, tearing apart walls and washing away entire neighborhoods. It is in the unbearable heat that suffocates our cities, turning streets into furnaces and claiming lives in deadly heat waves. It is in the rising seas swallowing entire communities, forcing families to abandon the lands their ancestors called home. It is in the devastating droughts that turn fertile lands into wastelands, leaving nothing but cracked earth and dying crops. It is in the raging wildfires that reduce forests to ash and choke the air with smoke.
Yet instead of holding polluters accountable, they are trying to silence those who fight to protect what little we have left.What kind of world does that leave us with? One where speaking the truth is punished? Where corporations decide who gets to thrive and who gets left behind? Where the next generation inherits nothing but disasters, displacement, and destruction?
I refuse to accept that. We refuse to accept that.
This case is not just about Greenpeace. It is about every young person who dreams of a future worth living in. It is about our right to fight for that future without fear. It is about ensuring that the voices of the youth are not drowned out by the wealth and power of those destroying our planet.
But let me be clear: we are not alone. We are millions, standing shoulder to shoulder, refusing to be silenced. They can try to intimidate us, but they cannot break us. And we will keep fighting—because we have no other choice. This is our home. This is our future. And we will defend it with everything we have.
We stand with Greenpeace. We stand with every environmental defender. We stand for justice, for truth, and for a world where young people are not punished for caring about the only planet we have.
To everyone reading this: Stand with us. Speak up. Take action—share this message, join the movement, and demand accountability. Our voices, our actions, and our solidarity are stronger than their fear tactics. The future belongs to those who refuse to be silenced. And we will not be silenced.
The fight is far from over. Stand with us, raise your voice, and make it clear: those who seek to silence us will never succeed. We will speak. We will fight. And we will win—because justice demands it, and the planet we call home is worth fighting for.
On a sunny morning in late February, a group of students from the UConn Forest Crew work through the sugar maple stand, affixing taps and lines to the trees, and then running them back to a storage tank.
They are working alongside Tom Worthley, a UConn Extension forestry educator, preparing the sugar bush for the upcoming sap season. The group is preparing the trees for the warm days and cold nights that prompt the sugar maple trees (Acer saccharum) to produce sap for transformation into maple syrup’s golden goodness.
Each gallon of maple syrup requires about 40 gallons of sap, creating a hive of activity for the weeks-long sap season each year.
“I’m involved because of the student experience and to promote trees and forests to people around the state, creating materials like maple syrup that link people to the resource. There’s also a lot of satisfaction that comes from having something you grew or made and can enjoy later,” Worthley says.
Connecticut is in the heart of the sugar maple range and ranks eleventh nationally in maple syrup production. The UConn Sugar House is one of many throughout the state offering a high-quality and delicious product each year.
Maple syrup production in the United States increased in 2024, with the highest yield from the past 25 years, due in part to an increased number of taps and favorable weather conditions.
Despite strong promotional campaigns from Vermont, New York, and Canada, once sap is syrup, it’s basically impossible to tell where it came from. As long as the sugar producer uses high-quality production methods, all of these syrups will taste about the same.
“All the more reason to support Connecticut maple producers,” says Worthley.
The timeless tradition began with Indigenous cultures in North America, who moved their families to a sugar bush, or stand of sugar maple trees, in late winter as the snow began to melt.
The sap’s sweetness was likely discovered by sap icicles on the trees, and this led to collecting sap for use throughout the year. Without pots for boiling, the Indigenous people made three types of sugar instead, and later the tradition evolved to syrup production.
UConn’s sugar house is tucked in behind the Farm Services buildings, near where the Woodsmen Teams maintain their timber mill and practice yard.
Extension professionals, faculty from the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, and UConn students have made syrup here for over 30 years, preparing the next generation of maple producers and selling their syrup to support the sugar house and equipment.
“Our student-run maple program illustrates one of the great benefits that the UConn Forest provides to our campus community, the hands-on, practical educational experiences that our students can engage in,” says Robert Fahey, Goerge F. Cloutier Professor in Forestry. “Through work experiences and internships we are able to provide training that gives our students the technical skills they need as well as real-world experience conducting and managing forest-related activities such as maple-syrup production, creating value-added wood products, and trails and recreation management.”
UConn students boiling maple sap for syrup (Contributed photo)
For some students, this is just one element of their “forest education.”
“It’s exciting to learn what the forest is capable of, how we utilize forests, and that it’s not just by cutting them down,” says Zach Placzek ’25 (CAHNR). Placzek’s desire to protect the forest led him to seek certification to fight fires, and he is working with the UConn fire chief to help establish a controlled burn operation to control invasive species in a recently harvested area of the forest.
The 2,100-acre UConn Forest has several sugar bushes, and the students rest a sugar bush and use another at times as part of their forest stewardship. Sugar maple trees thrive on north facing slopes with deep soils, and while the UConn Forest has several such locations, Worthley also mentions growing more sugar maple trees, and perhaps developing or cultivating a stand closer to the sugar house.
“The ability to produce maple syrup locally in Connecticut is one of the many positive benefits created by living in a well-forested state” says Amy Harder, associate dean for Extension. “Many producers also benefit from integrating agritourism into their operations so the public can see, smell, and taste the entire experience – something my family loves to do!”
Sap runs just below the bark on sunny days, dripping from the taps into the buckets or lines affixed to each tree. Once the sap really starts running, the students need to empty the tank at the sugar bush daily. It’s transported back to the sugar house on campus in their 60-gallon transfer tank and pumped into another tank outside the sugar house. Gravity feeds the sap into the evaporator inside the house.
The wood-fired pans are heated to 219 degrees Fahrenheit, boiling the water out of the sap, with steam rising through the vent in the sugar house’s roof. Sap becomes syrup as the water evaporates and the sugar content increases. Next, it’s filtered to remove any solids and then reheated to over 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Bottles are carefully filled with the 180-degree sap and turned upside down to seal the lids.
Maple syrup comes in four colors, Golden, Amber, Dark, and Very Dark. Lighter syrup – golden and amber – is from early sap and has a milder flavor. The lighter colors are often the syrup of choice for breakfast foods, added to coffee, or drizzled over ice cream. Later season sap is darker because it has more sugars in it, and the sugars make the darker syrup with its robust flavor. Many people use darker syrups for baking and cooking, although some prefer this flavor on breakfast foods.
Sap season wraps up by the end of March, sometimes earlier if the weather warms faster than expected. The students clean the equipment and conduct any needed repairs or maintenance on the equipment before storing it for next year. UConn’s 30-year-old evaporator is in its last season, and the off-season challenge this year is fundraising to replace it.
“For myself, being a researcher and doing a lot of outreach work with the local professional foresters, I find immense value in having this living lecture hall to teach from,” says Amanda Bunce, a Ph.D. student studying tree biomechanics and silviculture. “Students do much better learning in the real thing than from a classroom, and I find it so much easier to share my own enthusiasm for ecology when we’re out in it.”
Find a Sugar House near you in Connecticut by visitingConnecticut Grown.
This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision areas of Advancing Adaptation and Resilience in a Changing Climate and Fostering Sustainable Landscapes at the Urban-Rural Interface.
When Marlena Edmonson, a social worker and elementary school counselor from Indiana, considered running for political office, she thought she needed to be an expert in economics or political science if she wanted to throw her hat into the ring.
Joshua Levin ’25 (MSW), a student at the UConn School of Social Work, had toyed with the idea of running for office, but felt like he needed more information on how to actually run an effective campaign.
Also a student at UConn, Quinn Meehan ’26 (MSW) is passionate about making things like political social work, campaigning, and being involved in politics more accessible for those living with disabilities.
And Kashmir Flood, a Master of Social Work student at the Columbia University School of Social Work, sees herself incorporating political work and social work practice together in some way – whether by running for office herself or supporting candidates in the future.
For many of the 130 social workers and students who traveled to Hartford on the first weekend in March and spent two days in a chilly, windowless conference room at the Downtown Marriott hotel in Hartford, the idea of launching, running, or participating in a campaign for political office had seemed like a daunting task.
How do you get started?
Why are the rules so complicated?
And, if I run for office, will I really have to call people on the phone to ask them for money?
But travel they did, from 20 different states and the District of Columbia – some coming from as far as California, New Mexico, Iowa, and Arkansas – to take part in the 29th iteration of the Campaign School for Social Workers, presented by the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work and to learn, step-by-step, the ins and outs of running a political campaign at any level of government.
Founded in 1995 by the late former UConn School of Social Work dean, Nancy A. Humphreys, her namesake institute works to increase the political participation and power of social workers and the communities they serve.
Since 1996, the Campaign School has trained thousands of social workers, students, and faculty from both the U.S. and abroad on what it’s like to get involved in politics as volunteers, staff, advocates, and candidates; to navigate systemic barriers; and to uphold the social work profession’s values and code of ethics while participating in the political process.
Charles Lewis, founder and director of the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy in Washington D.C.; Kimberly Hardy, second vice chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party and president of the Society for Spirituality and Social Work; Connecticut State Representative Cristin McCarthy Vahey; and Tanya Rhodes Smith, outgoing director of the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work at UConn, speak at a panel during Humphreys Institute Campaign School, held on March 7 and 8, 2025. (Thomas Rettig/UConn Photo)
Despite the typical public perception of what social workers do, notes the Humphreys Institute’s outgoing director Tanya Rhodes Smith, social work was founded as a political profession and has always been committed to not only working with individuals, but also to working on solutions to the complex issues impacting the communities that they serve.
And a big part of that is, and always has been, the profession’s active and visible role in the political process.
“Democracy reflects the priorities of those who show up,” Rhodes Smith told the participants on the first day of this year’s Campaign School, “and hint: it’s a small group of people. So, it matters who votes, who holds office, who works on campaigns, and who donates money.”
The skills that make someone a great social worker, Rhodes Smith explained, also make someone a great candidate, and learning how to take part in politics and campaigning is as much about developing leadership skills as it is figuring out financing rules and putting out yard signs.
She also warned that Day One of campaign school would be “like drinking out of a firehose.”
“But we’re going to teach you to live your life as a candidate, so that you will be ready when you decide or are asked to run or serve by others,” Rhodes Smith said.
Have a Plan. Write it Down.
“Close your eyes,” ordered Kate Coyne-McCoy, the person who’s been holding that proverbial firehose at nearly every Campaign School.
“Imagine you’re back in grade school, and you take the bus to your friend Susie’s house, and you go in, and you call your mother, and you say, ‘Mom, I’m at Susie’s and I just invited myself to dinner.’ If you’re like my mother, there’s an audible gasp. You don’t invite yourself to dinner,” Coyne-McCoy continued.
“Now, open your eyes. It’s 2025. You’re not just going to invite yourself to dinner. When you get there, you’re going to ask for money.”
Coyne-McCoy is a social worker who has trained more than 9,000 individuals to run for elected office, is a former Congressional candidate herself, and served as the chief trainer for the Harvard Square to the Oval Office program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School.
And fundraising, she told the participants, is the barrier to most candidacies – the thing you don’t want to do more than anything.
“You cannot get elected to anything if you don’t have the money to communicate with the people you need to,” Coyne-McCoy said. “I know that 90 percent of you are sitting here saying, ‘Nope.’ You can – you all can. But are you willing to do it?”
Though this year marked Coyne-McCoy’s final Campaign School training, she didn’t try to ease the water pressure from her firehose of information. Day One was a nonstop onslaught starting with becoming a candidate, ending with volunteer recruitment, and covering everything in between.
The depth and breadth of the material was surprising to some of the attendees.
“I was afraid it would be more local, and not enough of the others,” said Edmonson, who is interested in running for federal office. “But I feel like I got what I needed.”
You cannot get elected to anything if you don’t have the money to communicate with the people you need to. I know that 90 percent of you are sitting here saying, ‘Nope.’ You can – you all can. But are you willing to do it? — Kate Coyne-McCoy
“I didn’t think it was to be this amount of information at this level of expertise,” Meehan said. “I didn’t think it was going to be complete experts in the field, from so many different organizations, and so, that was really what impressed me.”
Early on in the day, Coyne-McCoy – who spent all of Day One on her feet, roaming around the room while barreling through her training materials and engaging the participants as they peppered her with questions and hypothetical scenarios – explained that it doesn’t matter what office someone is running for: They need to a have a campaign plan and write it down.
That plan needs to include details on their campaign team, their fundraising and budget, messaging, research, and their timeline.
Over the rest of the day, she’d periodically quiz the participants on these essentials.
“What’s the most important part about campaign planning?” she’d call out.
As the day went on, the chorus of voices that responded grew stronger and louder as they’d answer back.
“Have a plan. Write it down.”
The day also included a messaging component where the participants worked to craft their own personal story, a 90-second pitch that explained why they were running and why someone should vote for them – something not just valuable on a campaign, but also in their lives and as social workers.
“Telling your story is about you,” Coyne-McCoy explained. “It’s the thing you should do when you walk into a job interview. It’s what you would do when you walk into a legislator’s office.”
A few participants shared their stories, including a young woman who beat addiction and wants to see those who lack access to health care find the services they need.
And a teacher who saw the lack of resources her students experienced and saw how it made them feel – as though they didn’t matter.
And a social worker and teenage mother who wants her peers to join her in consistently upholding the values and ethics of the social work profession.
That code of ethics – a set of standards set forth by the National Association of Social Workers – was a consistent theme of this year’s Campaign School, Rhodes Smith said, because whether seeking to serve in local, state, or federal office, the code can be applied to help social workers navigate all types of challenges, including conflicts with values that might occur in politics.
“Politics and campaigns exist in a partisan context, but the code rises above party,” she said, “and it’s our superpower and guide through every sticky situation or ethical dilemma.”
‘Any one of you could do it’
The firehose of Day One gave way to a quieter, more thoughtful approach on Day Two, where discussions started a day dedicated to processing everything learned the day before and figuring out how participants might apply it in their own lives.
In-depth discussions with social workers serving in various elected offices were encouraging but realistic about what it means to both run for and hold office.
“We need to demystify how to run for office,” said Justin Roias, a city councilor in Providence. “It feels complicated, and that feels intentional. There’s a lot of things hidden that you need to learn yourself. But once you do, you’ll get there.”
“When I think about local politics, I think about cultivating future leaders,” said Kai Belton, a state representative from Middletown. “And then, I’m looking in this room full of social workers, and I’m like, oh my god, this is amazing. I can’t tell you how many of my colleagues up at the legislature say, ‘Kai, we need more social workers up here.’
UConn Social Work Student Jacob Pierce – with Tanya Rhodes Smith, outgoing director of the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work – at the Humphreys Institute Campaign School on March 7, 2025. (Thomas Rettig/UConn Photo)
“There are so many people who want to see you win, and you will have the support that you need. I think that this looks intimidating, but it’s really not, and I think that any one of you could do it.”
Discussions with community organizers and panelists looking to navigate power imbalances and improve representation in politics stressed the importance of perseverance.
“Embrace the long game,” encouraged Katrina Huff-Larmond, a city councilor in Randolf, Massachusetts. “We have to understand that what we are fighting for is not going to happen tomorrow. And there’s so much work we need to do in the community, it’s going to take time. We can’t give up.”
The day concluded as participants revisited their personal stories – with some choosing to share and present them while standing at the podium before their peers – and with a challenge from Rhodes Smith: To share what their next step would be when they left campaign school.
Edmonson plans to get in touch with a local official to talk about her potential future campaign.
Meehan wants to work with a co-organizer to help mobilize people with disabilities and help them register to vote, especially people living in institutions.
Others plan to attend local board or city council meetings, volunteer, get involved.
For Flood, the weekend helped her find the connection and encouragement that she needed.
“I knew it would make me want to think about ways that I could find myself in social work and politics,” Flood said, “but it just really solidified for me that, ok, this is really what I want to do. And I didn’t think I could have any more fire in my belly than I do now. So, I’m so happy and really excited.”
And Levin, who said he plans refer back to his notes from the weekend for a while to come, said anyone considering committing the time to go to Campaign School should, “Do it.”
“It’s so easy to convince ourselves to not do something,” Levin said. “There’s always going to be 1,000 reasons to not do something, but that one reason is definitely more important.”
Charter committing to openness, transparency and accountability
Welsh public organisations pledge new approach focused on the bereaved and survivors of public tragedies.
Organisations across Wales have signed a charter which commits them to responding to public tragedies with openness, transparency and accountability.
The Charter for Families Bereaved by Public Tragedy calls for a cultural shift in public bodies’ engagement with bereaved families, ensuring the lessons of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and its aftermath are learned to prevent those who are affected by public tragedy in the future from having the same experience.
Organisations across Wales – including Welsh Government, local authorities, police forces, Welsh Ambulance Service, fire and rescue services, and the Mining Remediation Authority – have all signed up to support bereaved families and the community in the aftermath of a major incident, with a clear commitment to people and to providing services that meet their needs before, during and after an event.
A launch event will be held in Merthyr Tydfil today (Tuesday 18 March 2025), attended by Bishop James Jones KBE, who wrote the charter as part of his report on lessons from the Hillsborough tragedy.
He will be joined by the bereaved and survivors of public tragedies, including Hillsborough, Grenfell Tower, Manchester Arena and Aberfan, which stands only a few miles from the launch.
Bishop Jones said:
Today the nation of Wales is leading the way with more than 50 of its public bodies signing the charter. In doing so the culture of the organisations has begun to change and there is a renewed commitment to public service and to respecting the humanity of those we are called to serve.
The charter represents a promise that after any future tragedy no one will be left to navigate their grief and survival alone. That no one will endure again the ‘patronising disposition of unaccountable power’.
This is a pivotal moment in the life of the nation as we embrace the principles of the charter and pledge to respect the humanity of all its citizens which should be at the heart of all public service.
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service Chief Fire Officer Dawn Docx, chair of the Joint Emergency Services Group in Wales, said:
We recognise that co-operation when supporting families affected by public tragedy is vital for ensuring the wellbeing and resilience of our communities.
By working together we can use our collective expertise and resources to provide meaningful support to those in need during times of crisis and beyond.
South Wales Police Deputy Chief Constable Mark Travis added:
By signing the charter, each and every organisation is making a public statement to learn the lessons of the Hillsborough disaster and other tragedies to ensure that we never lose sight of the perspective of bereaved families and ensure that they are treated with care and compassion, not only at the time of emergency and tragedy but in the weeks, months and years after.
While today is a landmark, the real challenge is to embed the charter into our training and culture to ensure it becomes an integral part of our response to any public tragedy.
The involvement of the bereaved and survivors of public tragedy has been a driving force in bringing about today’s momentous step forward.
Julia Draycon, Environment Director at the Mining Remediation Authority, said:
As a 24/7 emergency response organisation, with staff across Great Britain ready to respond to incidents, we are proud to sign up to the charter For Families Bereaved Through Public Tragedy and we’re committed to upholding the principles within it.
We act with integrity, respect and empathy; we take pride in the way we are dedicated to delivering for the communities we serve.
For media enquiries contact the community response team
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
Opened after major renovation office“My Documents” of the Arbat district. It is located at the address: Sivtsev Vrazhek lane, house 20. In the renovated premises it has become even more convenient to receive government services.
“We strive to make the process of receiving government services as comfortable as possible for every Moscow resident. Today, after a major overhaul, another government services center was opened. The updated office in the Arbat district has become more spacious and bright due to a modern approach to organizing space, a corporate style in the interior and new furniture. A separate office for informal marriage registration and a play area for visitors with children have appeared here. The center has been improved for the comfortable stay and movement of people with limited mobility,” said Alexander Grebenkin, Deputy Director for Infrastructure and Security of Moscow Government Services Centers.
For people with disabilities, there is a lifting platform at the entrance, an adapted reception area and an extended reception window.
“As part of the major repairs at the public services center, the roof and facade were repaired, the stained glass windows were replaced, through which more natural light will enter the premises. The space was also zoned, which allowed for a more rational and comfortable placement of employees, and due to this, the width of the passages was increased, which will provide evacuation routes that meet fire safety standards. The entrance groups were put in order: new doors were installed, the railings and handrails at the ramp for people with limited mobility were replaced, which is lined with non-slip tiles, and the canopies over the central porch and emergency exit were updated. In addition, as part of the work to adapt the center for people with limited mobility, a vertical platform was installed for wheelchair users,” said the First Deputy Head of the Moscow City Department of Major Repairs.
In the office, city residents can not only fill out the necessary documents, but also use computers with free access to receive electronic services and other additional services. For example, take photos for documents, print them or make a copy, make payments, including state fees, using terminals in the hall or at the reception window.
In the comfortable waiting area, visitors can fill out an application, charge their phone, drink coffee and relax. In the book exchange area, anyone can leave their book and take another one or scan QR codes with links to interesting works by popular authors.
The My Documents government services center in the Arbat district is open daily from 08:00 to 20:00.
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 access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
The 3rd All-Russian scientific and practical conference with international participation “Student sports in the modern world” was held at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. Leading experts and scientists from Russian regions and abroad discussed current issues of developing student sports and innovative types of physical activity.
The conference began with an open meeting of the St. Petersburg regional branch of the All-Russian public organization “Russian Student Sports Union” (RSSU). In a round table format, under the leadership of the deputy head of the department for the development of student and adaptive sports of the Federal Center for the Training of Sports Reserves Dmitry Zhdanovich, issues of developing innovative sports were discussed.
At the plenary session, Professor of the Russian University of Sports “GCOLIFK” Lyudmila Lubysheva gave a report on the social responsibility of an athlete as a factor in eliminating the “personality deficit” in the conditions of information reality. Leading specialist of the Belarusian State University of Physical Education Valery Vasyuk spoke about phygital technologies and their impact on students’ motor activity. Dina Sokolova from MIREA discussed youth sports exchanges between the CIS member states with colleagues, and Executive Director of the Student Sports League of Sambo Elena Lomakina presented the prospects for the development of this sport in the Commonwealth of Independent States.
At the master classes “Phygital tactical range, unique laser tag systems and devices” and “Tactical fire complex for simulating shooting”, conference participants were able to get acquainted with advanced technologies and their application in sports activities.
During the conference, the Director of the Institute of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism of SPbPU Valery Sushchenko and the Chairman of the Regional Branch of the All-Russian Public Organization “Laser Tag Federation of Russia” in St. Petersburg Denis Ryabenko signed an agreement on the development of innovative sports. The cooperation includes: holding joint sports events in laser combat and training events as part of the preparation of the St. Petersburg national team in phygital tactical shooting; holding joint cultural and educational events.
The conference’s sectional sessions were devoted to the topics of student sports and scientific and methodological support. The conference also included an off-site meeting with an open discussion of the key approaches and principles of the RSSS activities and a friendly basketball meeting at the St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design.
The conference “Student Sports in the Modern World” has become an important platform for exchanging experiences and ideas on the development of student sports in Russia and abroad.
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.
The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) today said it expects about five to eight tropical cyclones will likely hit Hong Kong during the year, which is in the normal to above normal range.
Presenting the city’s weather outlook at a press briefing, HKO Director Chan Pak-wai said the tropical cyclone season is expected to start in June or earlier and cease in October or later.
The annual mean temperature in Hong Kong is expected to be above normal this year, while the annual rainfall is expected to be near normal, ranging from 2,100mm to 2,700mm. However, Mr Chan stressed that Hong Kong may still be affected by heavy rain and advised the public to be prepared for the rain and tropical cyclone seasons.
Mr Chan also highlighted the ongoing improvements to the HKO’s various services, noting that with the rainy season approaching, the HKO will enhance its radar and satellite imagery services to allow the public to better grasp the rainfall situation in the lower atmosphere.
The department also plans to add graphical rainfall information for various districts in the next couple of months.
From the second half of this year, the HKO will, on a trial basis, attach videos featuring its forecasters explaining future weather changes on camera, to some of its Weather Notes articles.
There are also plans to add more computer model forecast products, including the forecasting of chances of thunderstorms, onto the “Earth Weather” webpage this year, to provide people with a comprehensive understanding of weather changes.
Separately, the HKO will hold open days on March 22 and 23 to showcase its work. Apart from joining the event in person with a valid ticket, members of the public can take a virtual tour on a dedicated webpage due to be launched on March 22.
CUPERTINO, Calif., March 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HackerRank, the Developer Skills Company, today shared details from last week’s successful AI Day 2025 event, which included an exclusive look at the company’s latest product innovations plus industry insights from HackerRank CEO Vivek Ravisankar, GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke and Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas.
AI Day 2025, which attracted over 7,000 attendees, served as a sneak peek for several new groundbreaking features. Starting with the opening keynote from Ravisankar, titled “The Future is Human + AI,” the event explored the trends and changes impacting how developers work and how companies hire and retain developer talent. In this first session, Ravisankar set the stage for the day, introducing the idea of “Service as a Software,” which HackerRank sees as the next wave of innovation. With this new take on the traditional SaaS model, AI-powered services act as autonomous agents able to perform end-to-end tasks.
From here, the team offered a look at five innovations built directly into the HackerRank platform. These updates include:
Proctor mode – Like having a personal proctor for take-home assessments, HackerRank’s Proctor mode guides candidates through the process, enforces compliance and flags integrity violations – ensuring a fair and transparent evaluation. The update also includes session replay and integrity insights for hiring managers and talent teams to help further gain insights.
AI interviewer – Designed to conduct first-round interviews, not just evaluate code correctness, HackerRank’s new AI Interviewer closely simulates a real interview experience, giving hints without revealing answers, adapting to the candidate’s skill level and asking follow-up questions to see how candidates think.
Engage assistant – To help companies rediscover past candidates and build strong pipelines of qualified talent, HackerRank’s Engage AI Assistant automatically analyzes previous candidate profiles, matches them with current hiring needs and creates targeted marketing campaigns that include an on-brand microsite and developer-friendly email campaign.
AI tutor – Designed to help developers improve skills, navigate learning paths and achieve certifications, HackerRank’s AI Tutor provides structured plans, delivers real-world challenges and gives step-by-step guidance without handing out answers.
ASTRA benchmark – Built to assess AI models’ ability to perform complex tasks across the software development lifecycle, HackerRank’s ASTRA Benchmark measures correctness, consistency, efficiency, cost and communication. The live leaderboard is available at hackerrank.com/ai/astra.
Following HackerRank’s product announcements, Ravisankar joined GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke for a discussion about how continued innovation will augment the role of developers rather than replace them. It was here that Dohmke pointed out, “We will never run out of work because we will never run out of ideas.”
To close out AI Day 2025, Ravisankar sat down with Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas for a fireside chat, which considered what’s next for AI-powered knowledge systems and new concepts shaping the future of tech.
Reflecting on the day and the products HackerRank previewed to the market, Ravisankar commented, “At HackerRank, we recognize that the future belongs to those who know how to integrate, orchestrate and innovate with AI – and that’s reflected across this release. AI is unlocking new possibilities for developers – and the companies that hire them. It’s time to embrace AI and look toward what’s next.”
About HackerRank HackerRank, the Developer Skills Company, leads the market with over 2,500 customers and a community of over 26 million developers. Having pioneered this space, companies trust HackerRank to help them set up a skills strategy, showcase their brand to developers, implement a skills-based hiring process, and ultimately upskill and certify employees…all driven by AI. Learn more at hackerrank.com.
As per the National Policy on Disaster Management (NPDM), the primary responsibility for disaster management, including disbursal of relief assistance on ground level, rests with the State Governments concerned. The State Governments undertake relief measures in the wake of natural calamities, from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) already placed at
their disposal, in accordance with Government of India’s approved items
and norms. The Central Government supplements the efforts of the State Governments and provides requisite logistics and financial support. Additional financial assistance is provided from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), as per laid down procedure, in case of disaster of ‘severe nature’, which includes an assessment based on the visit of an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT). The details of funds allocated and released under SDRF and NDRF during 2024-25 are at Annexure.
In the wake of floods/landslide/cyclonic storms during 2024, the IMCT had visited affected areas of Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, Odisha, Telangana and Tripura for on-the-spot assessment of damages. Based on the reports of IMCT, the Central Government has approved central assistance of Rs. 1554.99 crore on 13th February, 2025 to these States from NDRF, subject to an adjustment of 50% of the opening balance for the year available in the SDRF of the respective State. Out of the total amount of Rs. 1554.99 crore, Rs. 608.08 crore has been approved for Andhra Pradesh, Rs. 170.99 crore for Nagaland, Rs. 255.24 crore for Odisha, Rs. 231.75 crore for Telangana and Rs. 288.93 crore for Tripura.
In wake of landslide and flash flood in Wayanad, Kerala, an IMCT constituted by the Central Government visited the affected areas of the State from 8th August to 10th August, 2024. Based on the report of the IMCT, the Central Government has approved an amount of Rs. 153.47 crore (subject to the adjustment of 50% of balance available in the SDRF account) for the landslides, flash flood of 2024, assistance for the Air bills for utilising the service of Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters for rescue & relief, as per actual, and actual expenditure for the clearance of debris.
Besides, an amount of Rs. 388.00 crore (Rs. 291.20 crore Central Share + Rs. 96.80 crore State share) has been allocated to the State Government Kerala for the financial year 2024-25 in SDRF. The 1stinstalment of Rs. 145.60 crore of Central share was released on 31.07.2024. The 2ndinstalment of Rs. 145.60 crore of Central Share was also released on 01.10.2024 in advance to the State. In addition, the Accountant General, Kerala reported balance of Rs. 394.99 crore in its SDRF account as on 1stApril, 2024. Thus, sufficient fund is available in the SDRF account of the State for the relief operations.
Further, the State conducted Post-Disaster-Needs-Assessment (PDNA), estimating a total requirement of Rs. 2219 crores for Recovery & Reconstruction Plan. The Central Government had constituted a Multi Sectoral Team and further action is taken as per the established procedure under the Guidelines on Constitution and Administration of Recovery & Reconstruction Funding Window, which is available on Ministry of Home Affairs website www.ndmindia.mha.gov.in.
******
Annexure
Statement showing State-wise details of allocation and releases of Funds under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) during the year 2024-25 (As on 12.03.2025)
(Rs. in crore)
S.N.
State
Allocation of SDRF
Releases from SDRF
Release from NDRF
Central Share
State Share
Total
Ist Installment
2nd Installment
1.
Andhra Pradesh
1036.00
344.80
1380.80
518.00
518.00
—
2.
Arunachal Pradesh
231.20
25.60
256.80
115.60
—
—
3.
Assam
716.00
79.20
795.20
358.00
358.00
—
4.
Bihar
1311.20
436.80
1748.00
655.60
655.60
—
5.
Chhattisgarh
400.00
133.60
533.60
—
—
—
6.
Goa
10.40
3.20
13.60
5.20
—
—
7.
Gujarat
1226.40
408.80
1635.20
600.00#
—
—
8.
Haryana
455.20
151.20
606.40
227.60
227.60
—
9.
Himachal Pradesh
378.40
41.60
420.00
189.20
189.20
66.92
10.
Jharkhand
526.40
175.20
701.60
500.80#
—
—
11.
Karnataka
732.00
244.00
976.00
366.00
—
3454.22
12.
Kerala
291.20
96.80
388.00
145.60
145.60
—
13.
Madhya Pradesh
1686.40
561.60
2248.00
843.20
843.20
—
14.
Maharashtra
2984.00
994.40
3978.40
1492.00
1492.00
—
15.
Manipur
40.00
4.00
44.00
38.80#
11.20
—
16.
Meghalaya
60.80
6.40
67.20
59.60#
—
—
17.
Mizoram
43.20
4.80
48.00
21.60
21.60
7.56
18.
Nagaland
38.40
4.00
42.40
19.20
19.20
170.99
19.
Odisha
1485.60
495.20
1980.80
742.80
742.80
—
20.
Punjab
458.40
152.80
611.20
229.20
—
—
21.
Rajasthan
1372.00
456.80
1828.80
686.00
686.00
—
22.
Sikkim
47.20
4.80
52.00
23.60
23.60
221.12
23.
Tamil Nadu
944.80
315.20
1260.00
472.40
472.40
276.10
24.
Telangana
416.80
138.40
555.20
208.40
208.40
—
25.
Tripura
63.20
7.20
70.40
31.60
40.00
174.97
26.
Uttar Pradesh
1791.20
596.80
2388.00
1748.40#
—
—
27.
Uttarakhand
868.00
96.00
964.00
434.00
—
—
28.
West Bengal
936.00
312.00
1248.00
468.00
468.00
—
TOTAL
20550.40
6291.20
26841.60
11200.40
7122.40
4371.88
# = includes arrears of previous year.
This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Shri Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
The primary responsibility of undertaking rescue, relief and rehabilitation measures in the event of a natural disaster rests with the State Governmentsconcerned. The Central Government, wherever required, supplements the efforts of the State Governments by providing logistics and financial support in cases of natural disasters of severe nature and beyond coping capacity of the State resources.
As per Section 23 (2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the State Executive Committee is responsible for the preparation of Disaster Management Plan (Plan) of its State, after consultation with local authorities, district Authorities and having regard to the guidelines laid down by the National Authority, which is to be approved by the State Authority. Further, as per Section 22 (2) (o) of the Act, the State Executive Committee is mandated to lay down, review and update State level response plans.
National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP), issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in 2016 and further revised in 2019, facilitates State Authorities in preparation of their SDMPs.
Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has informed that they have prepared a Delhi Disaster Management Plan (DDMP), which has provisions for disaster preparedness and response in case of any disaster in the city including Earthquake Action Plan. The DDMP is available at https://ddma.delhi.gov.in/ddma/ddma-plan-home.
Further, DDMA has also intimated that in view of the recent Delhi earthquake of 4.0 magnitude on 17.02.2025, a review meeting has been
taken by Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor with NDMA on 12.03.2025. The agenda included vulnerability and risk assessment of Delhi and Earthquake Preparedness Plan. NDMA submitted the Terms of Reference for Earthquake Preparedness Plan.
As part of ongoing activities, some important preparedness and capacity buildingmeasurestaken in Delhi are as under:-
1. NDMA has been actively facilitating the States including Delhi for conducting Multi State Level Mock Exercises on various hazards as per their vulnerability profile.
2. NDMA has conducted following Table Top Exercise and Mock Exercise for Delhi:-
S.No.
Date
Name of Disaster
a
15, 28 to 30 Jun 2017
Earthquake Scenario
b
12, 27-28 Jun 2019
Earthquake (Multi State Mock Exercise)
c
20 Aug 2020
Earthquake Scenario (Table Top Exercise)
d
22-24 Mar 2023
Earthquake (Multi State Table Top Exercise)
3. After the recent Delhi earthquake on 17.02.2025, in addition to the ongoing awareness generation activities, the following have also been undertaken by NDMA :
i) the TV panel discussion programme of NDMA- ‘Aapda Ka Samna’ was recorded and broadcasted through Doordharshan TV Network at national and regional levels on 2nd March 2025 and 8th March 2025 respectively;
ii) NDMA has undertaken a series of street plays (Nukkad Natak) across various areas of Delhi in March 2025;
iii) various updates and creatives on earthquake have been posted on the social media platforms of NDMA.
This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Shri Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced his appointment of 10 Superior Court Judges: two in Alameda County; three in Los Angeles County; one in Merced County; one in Orange County; two in San Bernardino County; and one in San Francisco County.
Alameda County Superior Court
Doris Ng, of Alameda County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Alameda County Superior Court. Ng has served as a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Labor since 2023. She served multiple roles at the California Department of Industrial Relations, including Chief Counsel from 2020 to 2023 and Staff Attorney in 2007 and from 2013 to 2020. Ng worked as Supervising Attorney at the Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach from 2011 to 2013 and as a Staff Attorney at the Bay Area Legal Aid from 2008 to 2011. She was a Supervising Clinical Attorney at the Women’s Employment Rights Clinic from 2003 to 2007 and a Staff Attorney at Equal Rights Advocates from 1998 to 2003. Ng was an Associate at Rosen, Bien and Asaro from 1996 to 1998 and an Associate at Gough & Cohen from 1994 to 1995. Ng received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Gregory Syren. Ng is a Democrat.
Jonathan Wolff, of Contra Costa County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Alameda County Superior Court. Wolff has served as Chief Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Law Division at the California Attorney General’s Office since 2017, where he has held several other positions, including Senior Assistant Attorney General from 2008 to 2016, Supervising Deputy Attorney General from 2003 to 2008, and Deputy Attorney General from 2001 to 2003. He was an Associate at Kelly, Gill, Sherburne & Herrera, LLP from 1998 to 2001. Wolff received a Juris Doctor degree from Santa Clara University School of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Frank Roesch. Wolff is a Democrat.
Los Angeles County Superior Court
William Shin, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Shin has served as a Deputy Attorney General at the California Attorney General’s Office since 2005 and as a Staff Judge Advocate and Deputy Staff Judge Advocate at the California Air National Guard since 2019. Shin was an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate at the United States Air Force Reserve from 2011 to 2019. He was a Deputy District Attorney at the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office from 2004 to 2005 and an Associate at Franscell Strickland Roberts & Lawrence from 2001 to 2004. Shin received a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Julie Fox Blackshaw. Shin is a Democrat.
Kimberly Dotson, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Dotson has served as a Commissioner at the Los Angeles Superior Court since 2018. She was a Deputy Public Defender at the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office from 2002 to 2018. Dotson received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Lee R. Bogdanoff. Dotson is a Democrat.
Faye Chen Barnouw, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Barnouw has served as an Assistant Regional Director at the Federal Trade Commission since 2019, and was an Attorney there from 2001 to 2019. She was a Trial Attorney with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 1997 to 2001, and an Associate at Parker Milliken Clark O’Hara & Samuelian from 1994 to 1997. She served as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Warren J. Ferguson at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1993 to 1994. Barnouw received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Deborah L. Sanchez. Barnouw is a Democrat.
Merced County Superior Court
Chamandeep Johal, of Merced County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Merced County Superior Court. Johal has served as a Commissioner at the Mariposa County Superior Court since 2023 and as a Family Law Facilitator at the Merced County Superior Court since 2018. She was the Principal Attorney at Johal Law from 2010 to 2018. She was a Partner at Connich & Grewal, LLP from 2008 to 2010 and an Associate at the Law Offices of Michael J. Connich from 2004 to 2008. Johal received a Juris Doctor degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Donald Proietti. Johal is registered as no party preference.
Orange County Superior Court
Jennifer McCartney, of Orange County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Orange County Superior Court. McCartney has worked as the Firm Director at the Children’s Law Center of California since 2019. She has held several roles at the Children’s Law Center of California since 2006, including Supervising Attorney from 2016 to 2019, Writ Attorney from 2015 to 2019, and Staff Attorney from 2006 to 2015. McCartney received a Juris Doctor degree from Whittier Law School. She fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Justice Nathan R. Scott to the Court of Appeal. McCartney is a Democrat.
San Bernardino County Superior Court
Cecilia Joo, of Riverside County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the San Bernardino County Superior Court. Joo has served as a Commissioner at the San Bernardino Superior Court since 2023. She has served in several roles at the San Bernardino District Attorney’s Office since 2007, including Supervising Deputy District Attorney and Deputy District Attorney. Joo received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of LaVerne College of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Michael R. Libutti. Joo is non-partisan.
Dina Amani, of Riverside County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the San Bernardino County Superior Court. Amani has served as a Commissioner at the San Bernardino Superior Court since 2019. She was the Principal Owner at Farhat Law Firm, APC from 2014 to 2019. Amani was an Associate at Ewaniszyk Law Firm from 2005 to 2019 and an Associate at Rosin & Associates from 2003 to 2004. She was a Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch from 2000 to 2002. She worked as an Intern Law Clerk at the Chicago Stock Exchange in 1999. Amani was an Associate at Cline & Associates from 1997 to 1998. Amani received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of LaVerne College of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Brian S. McCarville. Amani is a Democrat.
San Francisco County Superior Court
Julia Cervantes, of San Francisco, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the San Francisco County Superior Court. Cervantes has served as Managing Attorney at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office since 2023. She was the District Attorney Representative at the San Francisco Innocence Commission from 2022 to 2023. Cervantes has held several positions at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, including Lead Attorney from 2022 to 2023, Managing Attorney from 2020 to 2021, and Assistant District Attorney from 2011 to 2020. She served as Vice President of the San Francisco County Juvenile Probation Commission in 2022. She was a Deputy District Attorney at the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office from 2021 to 2022. Cervantes received a Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Richard B. Ulmer. Cervantes is a Democrat.
The compensation for each of these positions is $244,727.
Press Releases, Recent News
Recent news
Mar 17, 2025
News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring March 17, 2025 through March 23, 2025, as United States Navy Week.The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATIONCalifornia proudly plays a crucial role…
Mar 14, 2025
News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Janessa Goldbeck, of San Diego, has been appointed to the California Veterans Board. Goldbeck has been the Chief Executive Officer of Vet Voice Foundation since 2022 and the Principal…
Mar 14, 2025
News What you need to know: Aided by $10 million from the State of California, LA Rises, Maersk and APM Terminals, LA-area grant program awards $2.7 million to fire-impacted small businesses, nonprofits and workers to navigate recovery and rebuilding. LOS ANGELES –…
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is organising a brainstorming session onLeveraging Non-Conventional Data Sources for Official Statistics on 20th March, 2025 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The session aims to deliberate upon the ways and means of using the non-conventional data along with the conventional data generated through the censuses, surveys, and administrative records.
The rapid advancements in technology have given rise to non-conventional data sources, offering new opportunities for data-driven decision-making. The non-conventional data sources come from earth observation (satellite images); Mobile telecommunications (call records); social networks (sentiment analysis), and citizen-generated data (civil society data). Many of these are considered big data, large volumes of unstructured information that require new capacities for their analysis. The non-conventional data sources become an opportunity to complement the existing official data available with the statistical community.
In recent years there has been a need for better convergence of data arising from these two types of sources, conventional and non-conventional. Discussions about what official statistics are currently measuring and the types of data being used for these measurements have been taking place at the Statistical Institutions of different countries. The time is thus opportune to bring the relevant stakeholders at one platform and ponder upon the right set of frameworks, and systems to confluence the non-conventional data with the conventional data in official statistics.
The event congregates domain experts, policymakers, data scientists, and statisticians to discuss opportunities, challenges, and strategies for supplementing alternative data sources with the conventional data, thereby enhancing the scope, accuracy, and timeliness of official statistics. The panelists of the technical session will delve into various emerging data sources, their features- structural and transactional, and possibility of their integration with the conventional datasets.
The keynote on the brainstorming session will be delivered by Sri Kris Gopalkrishnan, one of the co-founders of Infosys, recognized as a global business and technology thought leader. Mr. Gopalakrishnan serves on the Board of Governors of Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), is the Chairman, The Council, IISc Bangalore, and is the Chairman, Board of Governors of IIIT, Bangalore.
In addition, the brainstorming session would be addressed by Sri Rana Hasan, Regional Lead Economist, South Asia, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Sri Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC), and Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
The panelists of the technical sessions are the representatives from UN agencies, Governments and Private Institutions, namely, Survey of India (Department of Science & Technology), National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC: Department of Space), UIDAI (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), IIT, Kanpur, World Bank, IDinsight, GDi, and Great Lakes Institute of Management.
The event is likely to be attended by the representatives of the central Ministries/Departments, UN agencies, Think Tanks, Independent organisations, and Universities and research institutions.
The outcomes of the brainstorming session are likely to be instrumental in understanding methodologies for better use of non-conventional data sources, as also in evolving an institutional arrangement for data integration generated through the conventional and non-conventional sources.
OPENING REMARKS by Dr Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, Director UNESCO Pacific Regional Office.
Dear Honorable Minister T. C. Schuster, Samoa Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE)
Dear Diplomatic Corps, High Commissioners, Ambassadors, Heads of UN Agencies
I warmly welcome Dear Representatives from the Pacific Countries who have braved the storm and travelled a long way to be with us today. My most sincere and humble thanks to you. PNG, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, French Polynesia, Tuvalu, Cook Islands and Samoa. Certain experts were held back to monitor the weather situation in their countries.
These experts and representatives are mainly from National Geological Services, National Tsunami Warning Centers, National Volcano Observatories and National Disaster Management Offices (NDMO).
I Warmly thank and Welcome, our partners, the Samoa Meteorological Services, Samoa Disaster Management Office, SPREP, UNDRR, regional partners, the Pacific Community (SPC), JICA, USGS and other partners………… connected online. Especially those who were unable to travel due to the current cyclonic weather conditions.
Dear friends of UNESCO,
It is my honor and pleasure to address you at the opening ceremony of the Science and partnerships for geohazard resilience in the Pacific region towards a Multi-hazard Early Warning System
Firstly, let me extend my deep appreciation to the Government of Samoa for hosting this important event and for their flexibility in organizing this event in such uncertain weather conditions and ALLOWING FOR HYBRID SESSIONS.
Geohazards
Geohazards are defined as an adverse geologic condition capable of causing damage or loss of property or life. These processes only become hazards when humans get in their way.
The Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) proximity to the Ring of Fire, where volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis occur, makes it one of the most vulnerable regions to geohazards in the world.
In celebration of the International Geoscience programme on healing the earth, the 50th Anniversary in 2022 noted and I quote
ONE HEALTH
Earth and Ocean Sciences contribution to the implementation of the SDG’s
The Earth gives and the Earth takes away. It gives humanity the rich tapestry of landscapes within which civilisations and complex societies have flourished, providing the raw materials to build livelihoods and the resources to feed and fuel our modern world.
It takes away through the disasters that emerge from geological violence In the coming decades our planet faces a geological tipping point that threatens the future of humanity and the natural world that sustains it. Geoscience – the science of planet Earth an the ocean sciences – will be vital in averting that calamity.
Geosciences and the ocean sciences
Geoscience studies how our planet works, unravels its four and a half billion year history, and applies that past understanding to present and future societal concerns.
Geohazards History of the PICTs
I am told that,
• 30% of global seismicity is observed in the Southwest Pacific Region
(Lebellegard et al., 2007) and less than 3% of seismic stations are available for
real time monitoring within this area (repartition based on GEVN network).
• 15% of deadly tsunami’s originate from the Southwest Pacific
• 80% of these tsunamis are caused by an earthquake.
• 69% of world tsunamis originate from the Pacific Ocean Basin and marginal seas
• 99% of deaths in the Pacific are caused by local and regional tsunamis.
• We need not to be reminded by the recent events in Vanuatu on 17th December
2024 and the 2022 Hunga- Tonga Hunga Ha’apai Volcano Eruption and Tsunami
Why UNESCO and how can UNESCO support the management of geohazards?
Vision of a world at peace could not be a world without science
Since its establishment after WW2, UNESCO promotes international cooperation in the natural sciences, and marine sciences through its inter governmental and international scientific programmes. UNESCO is home to the inter-governmental hydrological programme, international basic sciences and UNESCO is the only organization with a mandate in the earth sciences. This is the S in UNESCO.
The International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) is the oldest and most successful example of a scientific partnership between a non-governmental organization (the International Union of Geological Sciences; IUGS) and an intergovernmental organization (UNESCO). The IUGS, founded in 1961, with 121 national members representing over a million geoscientists, is one of the world’s largest scientific organizations. It encourages international co-operation and participation in the Earth sciences in relation.
Since 1972, UNESCO, through the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) and in partnership with the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), has harnessed the intellectual capacity of a worldwide network of geoscientists to lay the foundation for our planet’s future, focusing on responsible and environmental resource extraction, natural hazard resilience and preparedness, and adaptability in an era of changing climate.
For 60 years, UNESCO’s inter governmental Oceanographic Commission promotes international cooperation in marine sciences to improve management of the oceans, coasts and marine resources.
UNESCO, is leading the United Nations OCEAN DECADE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 2020-2023 and have launched the Ocean Decade Tsunami Programme (ODTP) in 2021. This is an effort to bolster the global tsunami warning system by reducing response times and enhancing community readiness.
Its main objectives are to:
o Enhance systems’ capacity to issue actionable and timely warnings for tsunamis from all identified sources to 100% of coasts at risk;
o Guarantee that 100% of communities at risk are prepared and resilient to tsunamis by 2030 through efforts like the UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme.
Our UNESCO Natural and Ocean Sciences have joined efforts in convening this Regional Geohazards week-long meeting responding to the call of Pacific Islands Countries and Territories.
UNESCO recognizes the efforts of Pacific Islands Countries and Territories in their collaboration to better understand the science and geohazards risks under the Oceania Regional Seismic Network (ORSNET), Melanesia Volcano Network (MVN), Pacific Islands Landslide Network and the Regional Working Group on Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System for Pacific Islands Countries and Territories (WG-PICT).
Therefore in 2023, the inaugural Science and Partnership for Geohazard Resilience Workshop in Nadi, Fiji was launched. Since then, we can review the outcomes:
• Among PICTs, UNESCO in collaboration with regional and international partners to strengthen PICTs understanding of geoscience and Geohazards through the UNESCO’s.
o International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) and Global Geoparks
In collaboration with SPTO and SPC, Fiji, Vanuatu, Tuvalu recently targeted on the establishment of Geoparks.
o DRR Programme, UNESCO supports Member States.
In collaboration with SPC, UNDRR, UNICEF and others UNESCO is supporting PICTs ( Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Tuvalu) on a 2-year Funded project on Information Management.
o Tsunami Resilience Programme, UNESCO supported;
The review of National Tsunami SOP in Fiji- a pre-requisite for an FJD 72 million Concessional loan
Review of National Tsunami warning and response SOP in Tonga, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
Pacific Wave Exercise 2024 – Regional PICT Exercise and National Tsunami Drills in Fiji and Tonga.
Official recognition of 6 PICT communities to be UNESCO/IOC Tsunami Ready Community in 2023-2024.
In December 2023, the PSIDS regional geohazards community of practice discussed the need to better understand the science of geohazards to clearly ascertain threats posed by geohazards among PICTs and the status of:
a) in-country capability of geohazard monitoring and detection and multi-hazard early warning system.
b) Volcano, earthquake, tsunami, and landslide sciences among PICTs
c) seismic data sharing for earthquake, volcano and tsunami monitoring and
detection
This Inaugural Science and Partnerships for Geohazards Resilience Meeting identified the need to develop a Regional Geohazards Strategic Framework to inform programmes or projects to address the capacity gaps in scientific hazard monitoring, assessment, warning, and disseminations to enable the public to better understands their risks and threats from a geohazard.
Since December 2023, the PSIDS regional geohazards community have been exploring opportunities to strengthen the science and scientific data and knowledge that informs geohazard programmes, policies.
• UNESCO is a major global partner of the UNEW4ALL supporting the four lead
agencies, UNDRR, WMO, ITU and International Federation of the Red Crescent
Society,
• UNESCO recognizes the call of the Pacific Islands Leaders under the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and intends to work closely with regional UN and CROP agencies to accelerate progress of PICTs towards achieving the goals of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.
• The PICT geohazards community is critical in advising Pacific Island Leaders on threats posed by Geohazards to PICTs.
Your meeting this week builds on the outcomes of the inaugural 2023 meeting. But also other scientific and technical meetings organised by the partners.
• Your meeting this week is timely in order to;
Identify and consolidate the gaps and needs in your geohazards operations and services.
Identify spaces for constructive and meaningful engagement (on geohazards scientific and technical advice) with Pacific Islands Leaders through the Pacific DRR Ministers Meeting (in consultation with Pacific Disaster Managers Meeting) and the Pacific Meteorological Ministers Meeting (in consultation with the Pacific Meteorological Council.
The PSIDS regional geohazards community mostly includes Geological Services with Geohazard Management Units/ Sections are mostly hosted by Meteorological Services or Mining/Mineral/Natural Resources Departments. These are mainly a small team of technical and scientific officers who monitors, detects, and provide public advisories on geohazards. This regional community is mainly coordinated within UNESCO/IOC Tsunami Warning Systems in collaboration with Geoscience Australia, GNS New Zealand and USGS including CROP Agencies such as The Pacific Community (SPC) and SPREP.
At the regional level, under the Pacific Resilience Programme (PRP), a technical working group on Multi-Hazard Early Warning System have been established to provide the overarching common DRR frameworks as well as guidance and coordination support.
Scientific applications for seismic monitoring and detection like SeisComP is widely used by PICTs however, its full potential is not realized due to limited staff capacity and capacity development. Current Staffs of Geological Servies need proper scientific training with the support of partners such as USGS, Geoscience Australia, and GNS New Zealand.
Measuring the impacts on girls and women who bear the burdens of geohazards in a community. A high number of UNESCO’s geoscience projects are led by women Earth scientists, in 2020 women are project leaders in 38% of the active geoscience projects.
The meeting will also provide a platform to
i) stock take progress and share learning considering vulnerabilities and level of
exposure of different members of public to geohazards such as tsunami, volcano, earthquake and landslides.
ii) The meeting will include sessions of the Inter governmental coordination group
for the Pacific Tsunami warning and mitigation system
iii) It will include sessions on Volcano under Melanesia Volcanic Network (MVN) and
JICA/ volcano research project with Landslides and earthquakes under ORSNET
Oceania Regional Seismic Network.
This meeting comes at a critical point as a culmination of all scientific technical workshops held recently with different stakeholders.
– 2023-UNESCO inaugural science and partnerships for geohazards resilience
– Pacific Islands Science, Technology and Resources Network (STAR) Conference
held in Fiji on 20-22nd November 2024 and the
– Forecasting and Communicating Earthquake Hazard and Risk (FORCE) project, Understanding Earthquake Hazard and Risk in the Pacific Region Workshop 18-19th November 2024 gathering national officials from National Geohazards Observatories, National Tsunami Warning Centers and National Disaster Management Office (NDMO).
Two questions arise:
i) Should there be a platform for a PSIDS Regional Geohazards Strategy.
The PSIDS Regional Geohazards Strategy could inform programmes or projects developed at national and regional level and stimulate collaboration and partnerships among government agencies, development partners, universities, CROP Agencies and UN Agencies particularly UNESCO.
ii) Given the success, momentum on geohazards resilience, should there be a
Multi-hazard Early Warning system bringing together the different entities
Thanks
Specifically thank, our partners UNDRR, SPC, Weather Ready Programme at SPREP, USGS and Tokyo University in supporting this Regional Geohazard Meeting.
Lastly, this meeting is brought to you by UNESCO’s Natural Science Programme coordinator Susan Schneegans and UNESCO/IOC Tsunami Resilience Programme Coordinator Jiuta Korovulvula, and their team Arti Devi. Other colleagues from UNESCO based here These programmes coordinate this regional gathering of Pacific Islands Countries and Territories Geohazards Community since the Inaugural 2023 Regional Geohazards Meeting in Nadi, Fiji.
Dear Experts, this is your platform and your meeting. I greatly thank you.
I thank the Diplomatic Corps and heads of agencies for their presence and time. I have no doubt their participation would lead to further avenues for collaboration with the geohazards community to combat and build back better.
I am certain that the exchanges that we will hear in the upcoming days will be inspiring and will provide a basis to extend and increase the excellent cooperation between UNESCO and all of you. UNESCOs’ Intergovernmental scientific and international programmes support its Member States to strengthen their national capacity in oceans and geosciences for the management of both geohazards risk reduction.
Let me end i0 by wishing you all fruitful exchanges and thank once again the Government of Samoa and Honorable Minister Schuster for the great work in converting this into the first Regional meeting on Science and partnerships for geohazard resilience in the Pacific Region: towards a multi- hazard early warning system.
And before I close I would like to go back to the reflection on science and development
Vision of a world at peace could not be a world without science
In 2021 UNESCO’s 193 Member States endorsed the first standard setting instrument Recommendation on Open Science. Open science is a set of principles and practices that aim to make scientific research from all fields accessible to everyone for the benefits of scientists and society as a whole. Open science is about making sure not only that scientific knowledge is accessible but also that the production of that knowledge itself is inclusive, equitable and sustainable.
Open science:
• increases scientific collaborations and sharing of information for the benefits of
science and society;
• opens the processes of scientific knowledge creation, evaluation and communication to societal actors beyond the traditional scientific community.
Our interconnected world needs open science to help solve complex social, environmental, and economic challenges and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. By promoting science that is more accessible, inclusive and transparent, open science furthers the right of everyone to share in scientific advancement and its benefits as stated in Article 27.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Depending on where you stand at the lunar South Pole, you may experience temperatures of 130°F (54°C) during sunlit periods, or as low as -334°F (-203°C) in a permanently shadowed region. Keeping crews comfortable and tools and vehicles operational in such extreme temperatures is a key challenge for engineers at Johnson Space Center working on elements of NASA’s Artemis campaign. Abigail Howard is part of that innovative team. Since joining Johnson in 2019, she has conducted thermal analysis for projects including the lunar terrain vehicle (LTV), pressurized rover, VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover), and Gateway – humanity’s first lunar space station. Her work explores how different materials and components respond to different temperatures and how to manage heat transfer in products and structures. She currently serves as the passive thermal system manager for the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program, leading a small team of thermal analysts. Together, they provide expertise on passive thermal design, hardware, modeling, and testing to vendors and international partners that are developing rovers and tools for human exploration of the lunar surface.
Howard said her sudden shift from thermal analysis engineer to thermal system manager involved a steep learning curve. “Every day was like drinking through a firehose. I had to learn very quickly about systems engineering tasks, project phases, and leadership, while also learning about many new thermal approaches and designs so that I could provide good insight to project leadership and program vendors and partners,” she said. “Having a good group of senior engineers and friends to lean on and building up my team helped me get through it, but the single most important thing was not giving up. It gets easier and persistence pays off!”
Howard feels fortunate to have worked on many interesting projects at NASA and presented her work at several conferences. Top achievements include watching her first NASA project launch successfully on Artemis I and supporting the LTV Source Evaluation Board as the thermal representative. “Something I’m really proud of is obtaining funding for and managing a test that looked at thermal performance of dust mitigation for spacecraft radiators,” she added.
She believes interesting and challenging work is important but says the biggest determinant to professional success and satisfaction is your team and your team lead. “Having a really great team and team lead on Gateway thermal taught me the kind of leader and teammate I want to be,” she said. Howard encourages fellow members of the Artemis Generation to not let imposter syndrome get in their way. “Focus on the evidence of your abilities and remember that no one is in this alone,” she said. “It’s okay to ask for help.”
Headline: FEMA Updates Flood Maps in Alameda County
FEMA Updates Flood Maps in Alameda County
OAKLAND, Calif
– The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has delivered preliminary flood maps for Alameda County and the cities of Alameda, Oakland, and Piedmont, California
The maps identify revised flood hazards along Peralta Creek and the Byron Tract delta
The new maps will help building officials, contractors and homeowners make effective mitigation decisions, thereby contributing to safer and more disaster resilient communities
Before the new Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) become effective, a 90-day appeal period will run from March 29, 2025, to June 28, 2025
During this time, residents and businesses with supporting technical and scientific data—such as detailed hydraulic or hydrologic studies—may appeal the flood risk information
The preliminary maps are available for review at hazards
fema
gov/femaportal/prelimdownload/
Flood hazards are dynamic and change over time due to factors such as weather patterns, erosion, and community development
FEMA and Alameda County officials worked together to provide updated information that accurately reflects the flood risk
These updates may also impact future building standards and insurance requirements
This local mapping project is part of FEMA’s nationwide effort to increase flood risk awareness and support actions that reduce the impact of flooding on new and existing structures
FEMA encourages residents to review the preliminary flood maps to understand local flood risks, potential future insurance requirements, and to raise any concerns about the information provided
Flooding is the most common and widespread weather-related natural disaster in the United States
Ninety-eight percent of counties have experienced a flood event, highlighting the importance of understanding and preparing for flood risks
For more information, contact Moses Tsang at Alameda County Public Works Agency at (510) 670-5553 or moses@acpwa
org
###FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters
When a ceasefire in the war between Hamas and Israel finally came into effect on January 19, the world breathed a collective sigh of relief.
However, that ceasefire agreement, and its associated negotiations, have now been cast aside by new Israeli attacks on Gaza.
A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the strikes came after Hamas’ “repeated refusals” to “release our hostages”, and the group’s rejection of all proposals presented by US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Even before Israel cut off all humanitarian aid and electricity to Gaza in the past two weeks, Hamas claimed it had not met the levels of humanitarian aid, shelter and fuel it agreed to provide in the terms of the ceasefire. However, this is a distraction from a larger issue.
This ceasefire was always more like a strangle contract than a negotiated agreement between equal parties. Israel, as the party with far greater military and political power, has always had the upper hand.
And while the first phase of the ceasefire, which lasted 42 days, saw the successful release of 33 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, the ceasefire also enabled Israel to use it for its own political and military ends.
Buying time
The most common conventional concern about ceasefires is that the parties to a conflict will use them for their own ends.
Typically, the worry is that non-state armed groups, such as Hamas, will use the halt in violence to buy time to regroup, rearm and rebuild their strength to continue fighting.
But states such as Israel have this ability, too. Even though they have standing armies that might not need to regroup and rearm in the same way, states can use this time to manoeuvre in the international arena – a space largely denied to non-state actors.
Trump’s rise to power in the US has seemingly given the Israeli government carte blanche to proceed in ways that were arguably off limits to previous US presidents who were also largely supportive of Israel’s actions.
This includes the plan of forcing Gaza’s population out of the strip. This plan was raised earlier in the war by Trump advisor Jared Kushner and Israeli officials as a supposed humanitarian initiative.
Trump has now repeated the call to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan – or possibly other parts of Africa – and for the US to take “ownership” of the coastal strip and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
On the face of it, this plan would be a war crime. But even if it is never fully implemented, the fact it is being promoted by Trump after many years of domestic Israeli and international opprobrium shows how political ideas once thought unacceptable can take on a life of their own.
Political and military maneouvering
Israel has also used the ceasefire to pursue larger political and military goals in Gaza, the West Bank, southern Lebanon and Syria.
Even though the ceasefire did reduce overall levels of violence in Gaza, Israel has continued to carry out attacks on targets in the strip.
It has also escalated the construction of settlements and carried out increasingly violent operations in the West Bank. In addition, there have been egregious attacks on Palestinian residents in Israel.
And though nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners were released during the ceasefire, Israel was holding more than 9,600 Palestinians in detention on “security grounds” at the end of 2024. Thousands more Palestinians are being held by Israel in administrative detention, which means without trial or charge.
During the ceasefire, Israel also accelerated efforts to evict the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, from its headquarters in East Jerusalem. And the Israeli government has also proposed increasinglydraconian laws aimed at restraining the work of Israeli human rights organisations.
On the military front, the ceasefire arguably alleviated some pressure on Israel, giving it time to consolidate its territorial and security gains against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and in Syria.
In the past two months, two deadlines for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon passed. Israel has instead proposed establishing a buffer zone on Lebanese territory and has begun destroying villages, uprooting olive trees and building semi-permanent outposts along the border.
In a speech in February, Netanyahu also demanded the “complete demilitarisation of southern Syria” following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. And Defence Minister Israel Katz said this month Israel would keep its troops in southern Syria to “protect” residents from any threats from the new Syrian regime.
Be careful what you wish for
While Palestinians are known for their sumud – usually translated as steadfastness or tenacity – there is a limit to what humans can endure. The war, and subsequent ceasefires, have created a situation in which Gazans may have to put the survival and wellbeing of themselves and their families above their desire to stay in Palestine.
There is a general assumption that ceasefires are positive and humanitarian in nature. But ceasefires are not panaceas. In reality, they are a least-worst option for stopping the violence of war for often just a brief period.
A ceasefire was never going to be the solution to the decades-old conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Instead, it has turned out to be part of the problem.
Marika Sosnowski 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.
When a ceasefire in the war between Hamas and Israel finally came into effect on January 19, the world breathed a collective sigh of relief.
However, that ceasefire agreement, and its associated negotiations, have now been cast aside by new Israeli attacks on Gaza.
A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the strikes came after Hamas’ “repeated refusals” to “release our hostages”, and the group’s rejection of all proposals presented by US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Even before Israel cut off all humanitarian aid and electricity to Gaza in the past two weeks, Hamas claimed it had not met the levels of humanitarian aid, shelter and fuel it agreed to provide in the terms of the ceasefire. However, this is a distraction from a larger issue.
This ceasefire was always more like a strangle contract than a negotiated agreement between equal parties. Israel, as the party with far greater military and political power, has always had the upper hand.
And while the first phase of the ceasefire, which lasted 42 days, saw the successful release of 33 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, the ceasefire also enabled Israel to use it for its own political and military ends.
Buying time
The most common conventional concern about ceasefires is that the parties to a conflict will use them for their own ends.
Typically, the worry is that non-state armed groups, such as Hamas, will use the halt in violence to buy time to regroup, rearm and rebuild their strength to continue fighting.
But states such as Israel have this ability, too. Even though they have standing armies that might not need to regroup and rearm in the same way, states can use this time to manoeuvre in the international arena – a space largely denied to non-state actors.
Trump’s rise to power in the US has seemingly given the Israeli government carte blanche to proceed in ways that were arguably off limits to previous US presidents who were also largely supportive of Israel’s actions.
This includes the plan of forcing Gaza’s population out of the strip. This plan was raised earlier in the war by Trump advisor Jared Kushner and Israeli officials as a supposed humanitarian initiative.
Trump has now repeated the call to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan – or possibly other parts of Africa – and for the US to take “ownership” of the coastal strip and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
On the face of it, this plan would be a war crime. But even if it is never fully implemented, the fact it is being promoted by Trump after many years of domestic Israeli and international opprobrium shows how political ideas once thought unacceptable can take on a life of their own.
Political and military maneouvering
Israel has also used the ceasefire to pursue larger political and military goals in Gaza, the West Bank, southern Lebanon and Syria.
Even though the ceasefire did reduce overall levels of violence in Gaza, Israel has continued to carry out attacks on targets in the strip.
It has also escalated the construction of settlements and carried out increasingly violent operations in the West Bank. In addition, there have been egregious attacks on Palestinian residents in Israel.
And though nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners were released during the ceasefire, Israel was holding more than 9,600 Palestinians in detention on “security grounds” at the end of 2024. Thousands more Palestinians are being held by Israel in administrative detention, which means without trial or charge.
During the ceasefire, Israel also accelerated efforts to evict the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, from its headquarters in East Jerusalem. And the Israeli government has also proposed increasinglydraconian laws aimed at restraining the work of Israeli human rights organisations.
On the military front, the ceasefire arguably alleviated some pressure on Israel, giving it time to consolidate its territorial and security gains against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and in Syria.
In the past two months, two deadlines for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon passed. Israel has instead proposed establishing a buffer zone on Lebanese territory and has begun destroying villages, uprooting olive trees and building semi-permanent outposts along the border.
In a speech in February, Netanyahu also demanded the “complete demilitarisation of southern Syria” following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. And Defence Minister Israel Katz said this month Israel would keep its troops in southern Syria to “protect” residents from any threats from the new Syrian regime.
Be careful what you wish for
While Palestinians are known for their sumud – usually translated as steadfastness or tenacity – there is a limit to what humans can endure. The war, and subsequent ceasefires, have created a situation in which Gazans may have to put the survival and wellbeing of themselves and their families above their desire to stay in Palestine.
There is a general assumption that ceasefires are positive and humanitarian in nature. But ceasefires are not panaceas. In reality, they are a least-worst option for stopping the violence of war for often just a brief period.
A ceasefire was never going to be the solution to the decades-old conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Instead, it has turned out to be part of the problem.
Marika Sosnowski 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.
STEPHANIE DALZELL, HOST: Returning to our top story today, the government says it will investigate the child care sector after Four Corners exposed systemic issues and cases of abuse and neglect. Let’s bring in the Early Childhood Education Minister, Anne Aly, to discuss this further. Anne, thanks for joining us. This Four Corners investigation exposed a flawed and inconsistent regulatory system for child care centres with allegations of abuse. Can I just ask you, firstly, what was your initial reaction when you saw the story?
MINISTER ANNE ALY: Yeah, look, I think the behaviours that were reported in last night’s story are deeply, deeply concerning and I want to make it very clear that there is no tolerance for those kinds of behaviours in early childhood education and care sector. We care deeply and are committed to child wellbeing and safety and understand that parents rightly expect that when they drop off their children in early childhood education and care, that their children are well looked after, that they’re safe and that they’re secure.
I might point out that the vast majority of providers, and the vast majority of early childhood educators, are dedicated professionals who care deeply about safety and child development and child education.
I would also point out that I expect that state and territory governments fulfil their regulatory obligations and ensure that services operating within their jurisdictions comply with the National Quality Framework.
Now, this afternoon, I have asked the CEO of the National Quality Authority to give some immediate advice on what more can be done around child safety and security, building on the 2023 recommendations of the report that myself and the Minister for Education, Jason Clare commissioned. That gives us a range of recommendations for improving child safety in early childhood education and care. All state and territory ministers and the Commonwealth Government have agreed on those recommendations and we’re making good progress in implementing those recommendations. And we’ll continue working with state and territory governments to ensure that child safety and wellbeing are front and centre of our early childhood education and care system.
DALZELL: You mentioned the state and territory regulators. Given how systemic these failures and breaches have been here, does the Federal Government need to take over regulation to ensure children’s safety?
ALY: Well, early childhood education and care and the regulation of early childhood education and care services is a shared responsibility. The states have a responsibility and the Federal Government has a responsibility. And so, I would reiterate that I expect state and territory governments to fulfil their regulatory obligations and ensure that services within their jurisdictions comply with the National Quality Framework.
DALZELL: The Commonwealth pays Child Care Subsidies. You’re writing the cheques. Wouldn’t it make sense for you to also fund the regulators upholding these national standards?
ALY: As I said, it’s a shared responsibility between state and Federal Governments. The Federal Government has a responsibility for the National Quality Framework. The state governments have a responsibility for the regulation. Embedded within the National Quality Framework are safety, security and child health and wellbeing measures. And I expect that state and territory governments fulfil that regulatory responsibility.
DALZELL: The Prime Minister says he supports an investigation into the sector. I know it’s early days, but what are you anticipating that might look like? The Greens are calling for a Royal Commission. Why won’t you consider that? And what will this investigation look like?
ALY: Well, the Prime Minister, as the Prime Minister said, Royal Commissions take years. Now, these are not issues that have just cropped up in early childhood education and care. They are long-standing issues. But this is the first time we have a Federal Government, in the Federal Labor Government, that is taking reform seriously and that has a program of reform. We have already commissioned a review by the ACCC, a review by the Productivity Commission. We have in 2023, as I mentioned, the review into child safety and wellbeing in early childhood education and care. Those reviews are informing our pathway to a system, a universal early childhood education and care system, that is based on quality, affordability and accessibility for every child in Australia. We’ll continue to refer to the reviews that we have done and the consultations that we have with the sector, with families, with educators to chart that pathway to universal early childhood education and care, which is quality, which is affordable and which is accessible.
DALZELL: Anne on another topic, Israel has begun striking Gaza again today, the biggest attack since the start of this ceasefire. How concerned are you about this and the status of the ceasefire?
ALY: I’m deeply concerned. I think the ceasefire gave hope of the stages towards a more lasting peace between Palestine and Israel. I have said before, and I will say it again, there is absolutely no justification for the collective punishment of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli Defence Forces. And you know, this is deeply, deeply concerning. I continue to push for, and I know Australia will continue to push for, an end to the hostilities, a lasting ceasefire and a lasting peace.
DALZELL: Can I also ask you about Peter Dutton’s idea for a referendum to deport dual citizens that have committed serious crimes? We just heard Shadow Trade Minister Kevin Hogan say that one person is too many to be a dual citizen that’s committed a serious crime like terrorism. What’s your response to that?
ALY: Well, our constitution is very clear. A citizen is a citizen, and all citizens should be treated equally. You know, I think the Prime Minister describes this as a thought bubble. I would add to that that Peter Dutton likes to punch down, and he likes to utilise the politics of division and politics of fear for what he sees to be as political gain. I agree with the Prime Minister that this is a thought bubble.
DALZELL: What would the government do, or what is the government doing to deal with dual citizens who have committed crimes like terrorism?
ALY: We have laws in place, and we continue to follow the letter of the law. What we’re talking about here is Peter Dutton wanting to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on a referendum to change our constitution, to give himself the power to take away, strip away citizenship as he sees fit. You know, I think that many Australians would find that idea of a single politician having the power to strip them of their citizenship to be quite untasteful.
DALZELL: When pressing Kevin Hogan about this idea earlier, he didn’t have any specific figures on exactly how many dual citizens might have committed crimes like terrorism. Are you concerned about the Coalition putting this on the table without those details in place?
ALY: I’m concerned that it will be a free-for-all. You know, where does it stop? Who decides? If Peter Dutton wants the power to decide who gets citizenship and who doesn’t, or who gets their citizens stripped and who doesn’t get their citizens stripped, I think all Australians should be concerned about that.
DALZELL: Anne Aly, thanks so much for your time. We really appreciate it.
Next week’s budget will have cost-of-living assistance that will be meaningful and substantial but “responsible”, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said.
In a Tuesday speech framing the budget Chalmers said, “it will be a responsible budget which helps with the cost of living, builds our future, and makes our economy more resilient in the new world of global uncertainty”.
He said the budget would have five major priorities:
helping the recovery and rebuild following Cyclone Alfred, for which it will provide $1.2 billion
helping with the cost of living and finishing the fight against inflation
strengthening Medicare and funding more urgent care clinics
putting money into every stage of education
making the economy more competitive and productive.
In the question-and-answer part of his appearance at the Queensland Media Club Chalmers refused to be drawn on whether the cost-of-living relief would include more help on power bills, as is widely expected.
He was also put on the spot about his future leadership ambitions, initially being asked whether, given federal Labor’s poor showing in Queensland, it would do better with a leader from that state.
After diverting the question with a joke and a vigorous defence of Anthony Albanese’s “practical pragmatism” and his appreciation of Queensland, he was asked directly, “So you don’t have aspirations to become leader one day yourself?” “No”, he replied.
Chalmers is lowering expectations of extensive new initiatives being announced next Tuesday, because big spending measures in health, education and infrastructure have been announced.
The budget will project deficits throughout the forward estimates. But Chalmers said Treasury did not expect the bottom line this year or the coming years to be substantially changed from the mid year update.
In the mid-year update release in December, Treasury said it expected the deficit this financial year to be $26.9 billion. The deficit was forecast to increase further next year to $46.9 billion, compared with $42.8 billion forecast in last year’s budget.
Chalmers sought to scotch incorrect predictions he said had been made.
“For example, some commentators have made wild and wide-of-the-mark predictions about big surges in revenue.
“Some wrongly predict the tax-to-GDP ratio will go up this year, when Treasury expects it to be stable or even a bit down.
“Revenue upgrades have actually come off very significantly since the highs of October 2022.”
Chalmers argued the Australian economy “has turned a corner” but acknowledged “a new world of uncertainty” in which it was operating.
“The global economy is volatile and unpredictable.
“There’s a new US administration disrupting trade, a slowdown in China, war in eastern Europe and a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East, division and dissatisfaction around the world.
“Overnight, the OECD downgraded its growth expectations for next year and the year after.”
The OECD cut its forecasts for GDP growth to just 1.8% in 2026, down from an earlier forecast of 2.5%.
“Treasury forecasts in the Budget will have Chinese and American growth slowing to around 4.5 and 2 per cent next year, respectively.
“The forecasts for the US are the same as the mid-year update but the downside risks are weighing more heavily now.
“Unemployment is rising overseas from higher interest rates, and in the UK inflation is going up again.
“This is the global backdrop for the Budget.”
Chalmers repeated the government’s criticism of the US failure to grant an exemption from the steel and aluminium tariffs.
He said Treasury had modelled the impact of tariffs on our economy, both before the US election, and after the inauguration.
“Treasury estimates the direct hit to GDP from steel and aluminium tariffs would be less than 0.02 per cent by 2030. So the direct overall impacts on Australia should be manageable.
“But when you add in the indirect effects, the hit to GDP could be more like 0.1 per cent by 2030.
“In fact, over a range of scenarios, Treasury found the indirect GDP impacts of a trade war could be up to four times larger than the direct effects of tariffs on our economy.
“In a world of retaliation and escalation, the impacts of tariffs are amplified, they linger for longer, resulting in a bigger reduction in GDP and a bigger increase in prices.”
Michelle Grattan 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.
When a ceasefire in the war between Hamas and Israel finally came into effect on January 19, the world breathed a collective sigh of relief.
However, that ceasefire agreement, and its associated negotiations, have now been cast aside by new Israeli attacks on Gaza.
A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the strikes came after Hamas’ “repeated refusals” to “release our hostages”, and the group’s rejection of all proposals presented by US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Even before Israel cut off all humanitarian aid and electricity to Gaza in the past two weeks, Hamas claimed it had not met the levels of humanitarian aid, shelter and fuel it agreed to provide in the terms of the ceasefire. However, this is a distraction from a larger issue.
This ceasefire was always more like a strangle contract than a negotiated agreement between equal parties. Israel, as the party with far greater military and political power, has always had the upper hand.
And while the first phase of the ceasefire, which lasted 42 days, saw the successful release of 33 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, the ceasefire also enabled Israel to use it for its own political and military ends.
Buying time
The most common conventional concern about ceasefires is that the parties to a conflict will use them for their own ends.
Typically, the worry is that non-state armed groups, such as Hamas, will use the halt in violence to buy time to regroup, rearm and rebuild their strength to continue fighting.
But states such as Israel have this ability, too. Even though they have standing armies that might not need to regroup and rearm in the same way, states can use this time to manoeuvre in the international arena – a space largely denied to non-state actors.
Trump’s rise to power in the US has seemingly given the Israeli government carte blanche to proceed in ways that were arguably off limits to previous US presidents who were also largely supportive of Israel’s actions.
This includes the plan of forcing Gaza’s population out of the strip. This plan was raised earlier in the war by Trump advisor Jared Kushner and Israeli officials as a supposed humanitarian initiative.
Trump has now repeated the call to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan – or possibly other parts of Africa – and for the US to take “ownership” of the coastal strip and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
On the face of it, this plan would be a war crime. But even if it is never fully implemented, the fact it is being promoted by Trump after many years of domestic Israeli and international opprobrium shows how political ideas once thought unacceptable can take on a life of their own.
Political and military maneouvering
Israel has also used the ceasefire to pursue larger political and military goals in Gaza, the West Bank, southern Lebanon and Syria.
Even though the ceasefire did reduce overall levels of violence in Gaza, Israel has continued to carry out attacks on targets in the strip.
It has also escalated the construction of settlements and carried out increasingly violent operations in the West Bank. In addition, there have been egregious attacks on Palestinian residents in Israel.
And though nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners were released during the ceasefire, Israel was holding more than 9,600 Palestinians in detention on “security grounds” at the end of 2024. Thousands more Palestinians are being held by Israel in administrative detention, which means without trial or charge.
During the ceasefire, Israel also accelerated efforts to evict the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, from its headquarters in East Jerusalem. And the Israeli government has also proposed increasinglydraconian laws aimed at restraining the work of Israeli human rights organisations.
On the military front, the ceasefire arguably alleviated some pressure on Israel, giving it time to consolidate its territorial and security gains against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and in Syria.
In the past two months, two deadlines for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon passed. Israel has instead proposed establishing a buffer zone on Lebanese territory and has begun destroying villages, uprooting olive trees and building semi-permanent outposts along the border.
In a speech in February, Netanyahu also demanded the “complete demilitarisation of southern Syria” following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. And Defence Minister Israel Katz said this month Israel would keep its troops in southern Syria to “protect” residents from any threats from the new Syrian regime.
Be careful what you wish for
While Palestinians are known for their sumud – usually translated as steadfastness or tenacity – there is a limit to what humans can endure. The war, and subsequent ceasefires, have created a situation in which Gazans may have to put the survival and wellbeing of themselves and their families above their desire to stay in Palestine.
There is a general assumption that ceasefires are positive and humanitarian in nature. But ceasefires are not panaceas. In reality, they are a least-worst option for stopping the violence of war for often just a brief period.
A ceasefire was never going to be the solution to the decades-old conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Instead, it has turned out to be part of the problem.
Marika Sosnowski 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.
When a ceasefire in the war between Hamas and Israel finally came into effect on January 19, the world breathed a collective sigh of relief.
However, that ceasefire agreement, and its associated negotiations, have now been cast aside by new Israeli attacks on Gaza.
A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the strikes came after Hamas’ “repeated refusals” to “release our hostages”, and the group’s rejection of all proposals presented by US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Even before Israel cut off all humanitarian aid and electricity to Gaza in the past two weeks, Hamas claimed it had not met the levels of humanitarian aid, shelter and fuel it agreed to provide in the terms of the ceasefire. However, this is a distraction from a larger issue.
This ceasefire was always more like a strangle contract than a negotiated agreement between equal parties. Israel, as the party with far greater military and political power, has always had the upper hand.
And while the first phase of the ceasefire, which lasted 42 days, saw the successful release of 33 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, the ceasefire also enabled Israel to use it for its own political and military ends.
Buying time
The most common conventional concern about ceasefires is that the parties to a conflict will use them for their own ends.
Typically, the worry is that non-state armed groups, such as Hamas, will use the halt in violence to buy time to regroup, rearm and rebuild their strength to continue fighting.
But states such as Israel have this ability, too. Even though they have standing armies that might not need to regroup and rearm in the same way, states can use this time to manoeuvre in the international arena – a space largely denied to non-state actors.
Trump’s rise to power in the US has seemingly given the Israeli government carte blanche to proceed in ways that were arguably off limits to previous US presidents who were also largely supportive of Israel’s actions.
This includes the plan of forcing Gaza’s population out of the strip. This plan was raised earlier in the war by Trump advisor Jared Kushner and Israeli officials as a supposed humanitarian initiative.
Trump has now repeated the call to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan – or possibly other parts of Africa – and for the US to take “ownership” of the coastal strip and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
On the face of it, this plan would be a war crime. But even if it is never fully implemented, the fact it is being promoted by Trump after many years of domestic Israeli and international opprobrium shows how political ideas once thought unacceptable can take on a life of their own.
Political and military maneouvering
Israel has also used the ceasefire to pursue larger political and military goals in Gaza, the West Bank, southern Lebanon and Syria.
Even though the ceasefire did reduce overall levels of violence in Gaza, Israel has continued to carry out attacks on targets in the strip.
It has also escalated the construction of settlements and carried out increasingly violent operations in the West Bank. In addition, there have been egregious attacks on Palestinian residents in Israel.
And though nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners were released during the ceasefire, Israel was holding more than 9,600 Palestinians in detention on “security grounds” at the end of 2024. Thousands more Palestinians are being held by Israel in administrative detention, which means without trial or charge.
During the ceasefire, Israel also accelerated efforts to evict the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, from its headquarters in East Jerusalem. And the Israeli government has also proposed increasinglydraconian laws aimed at restraining the work of Israeli human rights organisations.
On the military front, the ceasefire arguably alleviated some pressure on Israel, giving it time to consolidate its territorial and security gains against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and in Syria.
In the past two months, two deadlines for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon passed. Israel has instead proposed establishing a buffer zone on Lebanese territory and has begun destroying villages, uprooting olive trees and building semi-permanent outposts along the border.
In a speech in February, Netanyahu also demanded the “complete demilitarisation of southern Syria” following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. And Defence Minister Israel Katz said this month Israel would keep its troops in southern Syria to “protect” residents from any threats from the new Syrian regime.
Be careful what you wish for
While Palestinians are known for their sumud – usually translated as steadfastness or tenacity – there is a limit to what humans can endure. The war, and subsequent ceasefires, have created a situation in which Gazans may have to put the survival and wellbeing of themselves and their families above their desire to stay in Palestine.
There is a general assumption that ceasefires are positive and humanitarian in nature. But ceasefires are not panaceas. In reality, they are a least-worst option for stopping the violence of war for often just a brief period.
A ceasefire was never going to be the solution to the decades-old conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Instead, it has turned out to be part of the problem.
Marika Sosnowski 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.
A national Palestinian advocacy group has called on the Aotearoa New Zealand government to immediately condemn Israel for its resumption today of “genocidal attacks” on the almost 2 million Palestinians trapped in the besieged Gaza enclave.
Media reports said that more than 230 people had been killed — many of them children — in a wave of predawn attacks by Israel to break the fragile ceasefire that had been holding since mid-January.
The renewed war on Gaza comes amid a worsening humanitarian crisis that has persisted for 16 days since March 1.
This followed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to block the entry of all aid and goods, cut water and electricity, and shut down the Strip’s border crossings at the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
“Immediate condemnation of Israel’s resumption of attacks on Gaza must come from the New Zealand government”, said co-national chair John Minto of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) in a statement.
“Israel has breached the January ceasefire agreement multiple times and is today relaunching its genocidal attacks against the Palestinian people of Gaza.”
Israeli violations He said that in the last few weeks Israel had:
refused to negotiate the second stage of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas which would see a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza;
Issued a complete ban on food, water, fuel and medical supplies entering Gaza — “a war crime of epic proportions”; and
Cut off the electricity supply desperately needed to, for example, operate desalination plants for water supplies.
“The government is out of touch with New Zealanders but in touch with US/Israel.
“Foreign Minister Winston Peters seems to be explaining his silence as ‘keeping his nerve’.
Minto said that for the past 17 months, minister Peters had condemned every act of Palestinian resistance against 77 years of brutal colonisation and apartheid policies.
“But he has refused to condemn any of the countless war crimes committed by Israel during this time — including the deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war.
“Speaking out to condemn Israel now is our opportunity to force it to reconsider and begin negotiations on stage two of the ceasefire agreement Israel is trying to walk away from.
“Palestinians and New Zealanders deserve no less.”
A Netanyahu “Wanted” sign at last Saturday’s pro-Palestinian rally in “Palestinian Corner”, Auckland . . . in reference to the International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued last November against the Israeli Prime Minister and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. Image: APR
‘Devastating sounds’ Al Jazeera reporter Maram Humaid said from Gaza: “We woke up to the devastating sounds of multiple explosions as a series of air attacks targeted various areas across the Gaza Strip, from north to south, including Jabalia, Gaza City, Nuseirat, Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis.”
“The strikes hit homes, residential buildings, schools sheltering displaced people and tents, resulting in a significant number of casualties, including women and children, especially since the attacks occurred during sleeping hours.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said at least 232 people had been killed in today’s Israeli raids.
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas called on people of Arab and Islamic nations — and the “free people of the world” — to take to the streets in protest over the devastating attack.
Hamas urged people across the world to “raise their voice in rejection of the resumption of the Zionist war of extermination against our people in the Gaza Strip”.
