Category: Science

MIL-OSI Global: AI is just one of the thorny issues facing photography – here’s how the industry can prioritise ethics

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Savannah Dodd, Postdoctoral research fellow, Centre for Creative Ethnography, Queen’s University Belfast

Photography is an immensely powerful medium. Unlike paintings or drawings, photographs have long been connected to ideas of truth and used as evidence, shaping our understanding of the world. When it comes to journalism, photographs have been shown to have a greater impact than the written word alone – in fact, the lead image of a news article can alter how a reader interprets the text.

But right now the industry is having a crisis of conscience, and the past few years have seen a surge in online debate about ethics, as concerns have been raised about photographic practices across a wide range of industries, from fashion advertising to charity fundraising.

These concerns have extended to the news media, which has drawn criticism for the one-dimensional representation of certain communities, for example that of black men and Afghan women, which is exacerbated by inconsistent standards applied to publishing images of suffering.

This article is part of our State of the Arts series. These articles tackle the challenges of the arts and heritage industry – and celebrate the wins, too.

While questions of image ethics are not new, this crisis is only deepening with the exponential growth in the production and use of AI-generated images.

It is often difficult to differentiate between photographs and photo-realistic AI-generated images, and the lines between the two are being increasingly blurred as AI images are sold on picture library platforms and used by advocacy campaigns for charities. AI images are now being used in the campaign for the upcoming US election, perhaps most famously with an AI image of Taylor Swift endorsing Donald Trump.

Despite the ongoing discussion about photography ethics, practice is sometimes slower to change. This can create a tension between those who espouse more traditional approaches to photography, and those who are critiquing those approaches. This is contributing to polarisation within the industry and a growing uncertainty about how we can use photography ethically today.

As an anthropologist who teaches visual media ethics, I am interested in how professional photographers think about and practise ethics in their work. This year, as part of my research into this topic, I analysed 48 interviews I conducted between 2020 and 2023 with people working in photography.

These interviews focused particularly on the perspectives of professionals, including those whose voices have often been marginalised within the industry. This includes black photographers, photographers of colour, photographers in the global south, disabled photographers and female photographers. All of these interviews are publicly available online.

Lessons in self-reflection

In each interview, I asked: “What does photography ethics mean to you?” Through analysing their responses, I have distilled eight key lessons about photography ethics. From foundational ideas about the power of photography to practical advice about personal biases, collaboration, asking for consent and building trust, these lessons can help to foster a deeper understanding of the ethical considerations in photography.

One of the threads that runs through many of these lessons is the importance of self-reflection. Photographers speak about engaging in self-reflection to understand their own motivations for telling a certain story through photography, as well as their own personal perspective in relation to the stories they tell. Photographer Kirsty Mackay says:

I think looking at the objective and your own reasons for documenting a subject is really, really important. What we see, quite often, is middle-class photographers making a story about working-class people, not really to raise awareness of an issue, but really for themselves, and for their own ego, and to elevate their status within photography.

Self-reflection can help photographers to better understand how their perspective shapes the way they tell visual stories by identifying their underlying assumptions and unconscious biases. As photographer and academic Dr Tara Pixley explains: “In your career as a photographer … you’re going to tell hundreds of stories, but the first story you have to tell to yourself is the one about you.”

While self-reflection is important for mining our motivations and mitigating our biases, it cannot achieve objectivity. Despite long-held beliefs in the objectivity of photography, there is a growing recognition within the industry that we all see the world through our own lens, subjectively. This is why we need a diversity of photographers.

Additionally, no amount of self-reflection can substitute knowledge and understanding of the people, places and topics we are photographing. Photographers like Taha Ahmad stress the importance of research in their practice. He explains that doing research can help photographers to “have a better understanding of the kind of work they are going to produce and what impact the work could make when it is out in front of the world”.

Despite its limitations, self-reflection is critical for the future of the photography industry. Photography ethics are changing as the world changes. This may mean that past practice does not match up with the current ethical standards. This may also mean that we respond to ethical issues differently today than we might have in the past. The key is to learn from our past experiences to inform our practice in the future.

The lessons identified by this report should not be understood as guidelines or rules, nor are they comprehensive. Instead, they are intended to help inform how we think about photographs, the photographic process and photography ethics – and, perhaps, they can help us to navigate the current crisis of conscience felt across the photography industry.

Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

Savannah Dodd is the founder and director of the Photography Ethics Centre. She receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

– ref. AI is just one of the thorny issues facing photography – here’s how the industry can prioritise ethics – https://theconversation.com/ai-is-just-one-of-the-thorny-issues-facing-photography-heres-how-the-industry-can-prioritise-ethics-241148

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to study looking at a home-based transcranial direct current stimulation treatment (tDCS) and major depressive disorder

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

October 21, 2024

A study published in Nature Medicine looks at home-based brain stimulation as a possible treatment for major depressive disorder.

Dr Julian Mutz, King’s Prize Research Fellow, King’s College London, said:

“Depression is a common mental health condition that carries a significant disease burden. While medication and psychotherapy are effective, they do not work for every patient and sometimes cause unwanted side effects. Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial magnetic or electrical stimulation, offer alternative treatment options. A barrier to more widespread use is the need for frequent visits to the clinic, usually five times a week for several weeks. There is considerable interest in transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) due to its potential for home-based use. However, data from randomised clinical trials are limited. Prior studies have supported its feasibility but more data are needed to establish efficacy, an important gap that this study addresses. In this phase II trial of 174 patients, the authors show that tDCS was efficacious over a ten-week period, a longer duration than prior home-based trials. Nearly half of the patients receiving tDCS achieved clinical remission, compared to just over 20% in the control group. The treatment also showed a good safety profile, which will provide reassurance to both clinicians and patients. Given that two of the largest randomised controlled trials of tDCS yielded negative results, this trial will undoubtedly contribute to the ongoing discussions about tDCS as a treatment option for depression.

“This is a well-designed trial of tDCS, with sample sizes comparable to those of the largest tDCS trials in the clinic. The trial had appropriate procedures in place to mitigate potential risks of bias and the authors carefully monitored and reported on adverse events and safety. The assessment of efficacy was not limited to clinician ratings but also included patient reported outcomes.

“tDCS is different from electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). ECT involves inducing a seizure and is applied under general anaesthesia. ECT is generally reserved for the most difficult-to-treat patients when other treatment approaches have been unsuccessful. tDCS applies mild electrical stimulation to the scalp while the patient is fully awake.”

Prof Jonathan Roiser, Professor of Neuroscience & Mental Health, UCL, said:

“This paper reports on a moderately large clinical trial of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for depression. tDCS is a non-invasive brain stimulation method that has been tested in many previous depression trials – with mixed success – and involves delivering a mild electric current to a specific brain region (often, as in this study, to the prefrontal cortex, with electrodes placed on the forehead). tDCS was delivered several times per week for 10 weeks, for half an hour each time. In the “sham” (i.e. placebo) group, patients received only very brief stimulation to mimic the sensation of the active tDCS on the skin, in an attempt to introduce blinding. What was relatively new in this study was the use of a commercially available device patients could use at home by themselves, with remote support from the study team. Patients were told to use the machine five times each week for the first three weeks, reduced to three times each week for the remaining seven weeks. Around two-thirds of the patients were taking antidepressant medication. Some of the study investigators had a financial interest in the company that makes the tDCS device.

“On average, both groups had quite substantial reductions in depressive symptoms (rated by the research team using a standard clinical interview) over 10 weeks. However, there was a greater reduction in the active stimulation group, around half of whom got completely better. This improvement was statistically better than in the sham group, around one-quarter of whom got completely better. The size of the difference was in the small-to-moderate range, which is quite similar to trials of antidepressant medication. The major challenge in interpreting this otherwise promising finding relates to problems with blinding: around three-quarters of the active stimulation group correctly guessed their treatment allocation, while less than half did so in the sham stimulation group. This was probably due to minor side effects caused by the stimulation device; mostly skin redness, which occurred in nearly two-thirds of those receiving active stimulation, but also skin irritation and cognitive problems (trouble concentrating) in a small number of patients. If there was clear skin redness on the forehead, it is possible that the researchers conducting the clinical interviews might also have also guessed the treatment allocation. It is worth noting that a couple of the patients had more serious side effects, specifically skin burns which may have been caused by incorrect use of the device.”

‘Home-based transcranial direct current stimulation treatment for major depressive disorder: a fully remote phase 2 randomized sham-controlled trial’ by Rachel D. Woodham et al. was published in Nature Medicine at 16:00 UK time on Monday 21 October 2024.

DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-03305-y

Declared interests

Dr Julian Mutz: “I do not have any COIs to report. I have co-authored publications with the senior author in the past, but have not been involved in any collaboration recently.”

Prof Jonathan Roiser: “No interests to declare.”

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Arctic Circle Assembly: Minister Doughty Plenary Speech

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

UK Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories outlines the UK’s commitment to the Arctic in the face of rising global challenges.

Location:

Reykjavik

Delivered on:

18 October 2024 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

Thank you very much. It is a genuine pleasure to be here, President Grímsson and all of you at the Arctic Circle, distinguished guests and friends across the room.

It’s a pleasure to be here representing the new government in the United Kingdom, and it has been fantastic to be part of some fascinating discussions – yesterday following my visit with my ministerial colleague in Tromsø, at the Framsenteret in Norway, and in Oslo, and then here in Reykjavik, and meeting with many colleagues from across the Arctic region.

I am glad of the opportunity to be able to say a few words to you about the UK’s valuable work with all of you as fellow friends of the Arctic.

I reflect on many of my own personal relationships with people and communities across this incredible region. I have friends from Iqaluit to Nuuk, from Tromsø to Tórshavn, and here in Reykjavik too.

I reflect back on a moment I spent as a 19-year-old in Finnish Lapland, in the Millenium New Year’s Eve, in a little cabin in the snow, in minus 25, enjoying the sauna and some skiing.

But like many that night, I thought a lot about the world, the future of the world in this century, my place in it and what the future might hold.

And as I sat there amid the incredible beauty and peace, little could I have imagined how the world would look nearly a quarter of a century on.

With Putin’s war raging on the European continent, and all of the implications that brings for regional and global security.

And with climate change and biodiversity loss advancing at such a frightening pace, wrecking precious ecosystems and destroying livelihoods.

And with me as the British minister responsible for Europe, North America and indeed our relations in the Polar regions, I am very conscious that I have to work with all of you to address those challenges.

And of course that is a daunting responsibility.

But it is also an immense privilege to hold this role and to be here with you all, united in concern and care for the Arctic, and indeed both polar regions, and determined to navigate the challenges ahead in a spirit of co-operation and respect.

So there are three areas I wanted to focus on briefly with you today – firstly, our relationships, secondly, our shared security, and thirdly, our efforts to tackle the climate and nature crises.

Firstly, let me confirm to you that the new UK government is putting internationalism and multilateralism at the heart of all that we do.

We are resetting and deepening relationships with friends in Europe and beyond – many here in this room – to better face global challenges.

The UK’s Arctic Policy Framework continues to guide our approach, and we continue to update and develop that, guided by science and indeed the strategic challenges that we face.

And, as it makes clear, we are committed to the Arctic Council in our role as a State Observer, recognising that it has been at the heart of a stable and peaceful region for much of the past three decades.

And indeed, the Council has an important role to play in articulating a strong voice and delivering effective governance.

It has potential to act as a multilateral ‘glue’, with the strength to bind together a fragmented world.

So, our objectives for the Council are characterised by strong co-operation and constructive dialogue – objectives I think we all share in this room.

And I commend Norway’s work as Chair of the Council to re-start the technical engagement in the face of the very significant geopolitical challenges.

We will do what we can to further those efforts, as part of our commitments to the multilateral system.

But we are of course not naïve. The security of the Arctic is clearly at risk – the impacts of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine cannot be underestimated, let alone the wider geopolitical cooperation and competition landscape, and that will impact on all of us in this important region.

So alongside our resolute support for Ukraine, we are working tirelessly with partners for peace, security and stability, particularly for all of those areas of Europe on what I call the flanks – including the Western Balkans, the Nordic states and beyond.

We recognise Russia’s rights and role as an Arctic state.

But we will not tolerate attempts to wreck regional stability, disrupt critical infrastructure or restrict freedom of navigation.

There is no global security without Arctic security. So, we are ready to protect and – if necessary – assert our rights.

And on Wednesday, I was privileged to take a tour with the Norwegian Coastguard in Tromsø, to see how security threats and environmental changes are monitored in the High North.

They have a tough job in tough conditions – and all credit to them.

And as someone who’s participated alongside our training with Royal Marines in Northern Norway, I have huge respect for all of those who regularly brave the Arctic wilderness to ensure we are ready to protect it.

And let me be clear that the UK’s commitment to NATO, to the Joint Expeditionary Force, the Northern Group, and the Arctic Security Forces Roundtable is ironclad, including of course our close partnership with our hosts, Iceland.

And the NATO alliance is of particular significance to me personally. Many members of my family have served in NATO operations over many years, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with allies.

Of course, beyond Putin’s menace, climate change and the global marine biodiversity loss that we are tragically seeing is the other immense threat that we are all discussing here looming over the Arctic.

We are witnessing devastating impacts – on glaciers, fish stocks and weather patterns – with implications for us all.

And we are painfully aware that global warming is driving geopolitical competition over resources beneath the ice too.

And so that’s why my colleague, the Foreign Secretary David Lammy, made clear in his first major policy speech last month that efforts to address the climate and nature crisis are central to our new government’s work.

So at COP29 we will press the global community to accelerate ambition to reduce our emissions and push for an agreement on an ambitious new climate finance goal.

And we have also seen how research to understand and assess climate change – including through the Arctic Council – has been an important basis to build collaboration. We will continue to back this.

But we have already invested over one hundred and thirty-five million pounds in Arctic research over the last decade, including through UK centres of expertise.

Our Royal Research Ship, Sir David Attenborough, paid its first visit to Greenland over the summer, and I was delighted to hear about their work here last night.

That data gathered will help us understand crucial changes and their impacts on the Arctic Ocean and beyond.

Now, our Advanced Research and Invention Agency has launched an eighty-one-million-pound call for proposals for further research around Greenland.

This new programme will develop an early warning system for ‘tipping points’, providing climate data of local and global importance.

And we are committing further funds to collaborations with Arctic Council Working Groups, helping to enhance understanding of climate impacts on the livelihoods of Arctic indigenous people, including many other things.

And I think it’s important to say here that, while we tend to focus on modern science for solutions, indigenous knowledge often holds the key to understanding and responding to the climate and nature crises, on top of the absolute necessity of working in respect and partnership with all of those communities and peoples who live in these wonderful lands, understand these lands, and steward their resources, and indeed their beauty.

So further research will be key, and will build on our programmes, for example with Canada and the Inuit Nunangat, which is looking into climate-driven changes in that Arctic homeland, as well as impacts on health and wellbeing. I have been delighted to meet representatives of communities from across the Arctic at this fantastic conference.

So this is just a brief flavour of our work, of our partnerships, of our hope for the future.

But let me say in conclusion that the future of the Arctic depends on every one of us, working together, in a spirit of strong collaboration and co-operation.

I hope that when we look back, 25 years from now, it’ll be from the perspective of a more secure, peaceful and indeed sustainable era. Not least here in the Arctic, but also globally.

Thank you very much.

Updates to this page

Published 21 October 2024

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Climate futures for lizards and snakes

Source: US Geological Survey

Have you found your niche?

For us humans that usually means we’ve found a job or hobby that is perfectly suited to our interests and skills. A climate niche is similar—it’s the combination of temperature and precipitation that is perfectly suited to a species’ needs. Climate is particularly important for lizards and snakes because they are ectotherms, commonly referred to as “cold-blooded.” That means they depend on the environment for warmth since their bodies don’t generate heat on their own.

It’s no surprise then that the southwestern U.S. and Mexico are home to the most lizard and snake species in western North America. However, as the climate warms and water availability becomes more variable, the locations of species’ climate niches could change. Parts of the continent that were previously suitable for a species could become too warm, while areas farther north or higher in elevation that were previously too cold for reptiles could become “just right.”

This classic Goldilocks story was the focus of a recent study by U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Forest Service researchers. Where will those ideal climate conditions be as climate change unfolds across the West? Answering that question could help us predict where species will live in the future, providing valuable information for those working today to sustain biodiversity tomorrow.

Scientists gathered data on the recent distributions of 130 lizard and snake species found from Mexico to western Canada.

The climate in each species’ current range defined its “climate-niche distribution” or the area where the temperature and precipitation have been suitable for survival and reproduction over the last 30 years or so.

Then, the team looked at where those same climate conditions may occur later in the century based on multiple climate change scenarios.

Overall, future climate-niche distributions are predicted to shift northward and towards higher elevations.

By the end of the century, 68% of the 130 species are predicted to have an expanded climate-niche distribution, potentially resulting in new species arriving across state and international borders if there are no barriers to dispersal.

Idaho and Colorado are the states predicted to have the most species knocking at their door. Both states border vast deserts to the south and have remarkable elevation gradients.

Dede Olson, research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station says:

“As species migrate northward, they could cross jurisdictional boundaries, such as private lands, state lines, or even international borders. Natural resource agencies might find themselves managing species that were not previously within their regions.”

On the map to the right, areas shaded in yellow have suitable climate for a larger number of reptile species. The maximum number of species is 68 in the recent time period and 69 in the future scenario. Areas in purple are suitable for fewer species.

Although most species are predicted to enjoy an expanded climate niche, 8.5% of species—mostly in the southwest United States and Mexico—could lose climate-niche space as parts of their current ranges become too warm and dry for survival. The states of Chihuahua and Sonora in Mexico are predicted to lose climate-niche space for the most species.

The researchers behind the study released the full data set to the public and developed a data visualization tool to make it easy to explore the results and learn more about how climate change could impact local species. The data release includes downloadable data, including full-page illustrations of climate-niche predictions for each species.

Anyone from scientists and resource managers to local residents interested in the wildlife in their own backyard can use the tool. The interactive figures display the results by species, state, or elevation.

Michelle Jeffries, a biologist with the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center says:

“We created this data visualization tool so resource managers will be able to quickly identify which species may need attention as the climate changes. The tool brings the figures from the paper to life. It allows users to interact with the data, filter it, and create their own figures tailored to their specific needs or interests.”

Whether those reptile species can actually move towards cooler climates and survive in new habitats depends on many factors. Human-created barriers like cities or roads could block the way, or natural obstacles like rivers and canyons could halt progress.

On the map to the right, areas shaded in brown are predicted to lose climate-niche space for reptile species in the future. Areas in teal are predicted to gain species. These simulated dispersal scenarios are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Actual changes in climate-niche species richness will likely fall somewhere in between: some species will be able to disperse and others will not.

There could be other habitat suitability considerations as well, like food availability or predators. It’s also possible that some species will adapt to the changing climate of their current range and stay put. Populations with enough genetic variation could evolve tolerance to warmer temperatures over generations. In other words, a shift in climate-niche doesn’t necessarily mean a species’ distribution will shift accordingly.

David Pilliod, research ecologist with the USGS and lead author of the publication said:

“Researchers around the world are looking at links between genetics and climate adaptation, temperature and reproduction, the timing of life history events and migrations…it’s a long list. Reptiles are a very diverse but understudied group, and we know they’re particularly sensitive to changes in environmental temperature. We wanted to try and focus attention on species and habitats that could be impacted by climate change relatively soon.”

This early warning that climate-niche distributions could change, and reptile species could be gained or lost, gives wildlife managers a chance to prepare. The results of this study are relevant to managers across 47 states and provinces from Mexico to western Canada with responsibilities for species conservation and habitat management.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Schakowsky, Warren, Welch Push to Increase Funding for Medical Research, Require Law-Breaking Drug Companies to Reinvest in NIH and FDA
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (9th District of Illinois)

Bill applies to pharmaceutical companies who are found guilty or are accused of breaking the law and settle with the federal government.
Full Text of Bill (PDF) | One Pager (PDF)

EVANSTON – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), along with U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced the Medical Innovation Act of 2024 to increase funding for medical innovation by requiring large pharmaceutical companies that are accused of breaking the law and settle with the federal government to reinvest a percentage of their profits into the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In 2023, the NIH only had funds for 23% of the applications it received, contributing to a huge medical innovation gap. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies have been accused of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid, marketing drugs for unapproved uses, illegally incentivizing doctors to prescribe drugs, lying about the safety of their drugs, and violating other criminal and civil laws. The companies have settled many of these claims with the federal government, treating the fines as a cost of doing business. Most recently, Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay the Justice Department $450 million to settle a set of lawsuits alleging that the company defrauded Medicare and conspired with other drug-makers to illegally inflate the prices of two generic drugs.

Between 2019 and October 2024, the Department of Justice pursued new actions against or settled cases with at least 40 pharmaceutical companies.

The Medical Innovation Act would:
- Require pharmaceutical companies accused of breaking the law to reinvest a small percentage of their profits in NIH and FDA. These payments would increase with the severity of the settlement penalty, and would only be required of companies that rely on federally-funded research to develop billion-dollar, “blockbuster” drugs.
- Invest in life-saving medical innovation through the NIH and FDA. Payments collected through this bill would be used to develop treatments and diagnostics to address unmet medical needs; support research grants for early career scientists; research diseases that disproportionately contribute to federal health care spending; and advance basic biomedical research, among other uses.
- Promote sustained investments in biomedical research. To ensure that the Act results in a net increase in funding for medical research, money from the supplemental settlement fees would only be available in years that annual appropriations for NIH and FDA are equal to or greater than appropriations for the agencies in the prior fiscal year.
“For too long, drug companies that rely on federally-funded research to develop their blockbuster drugs have gotten away with defrauding consumers and taxpayers,” said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. “The Medical Innovation Act would make it more difficult for these drug companies to game the system by requiring them to provide a share of their profits to increase investments in biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. We can continue to be a leading force in medical innovation and this legislation will help ensure that we have the means to cure diseases and save lives.”

“Big Pharma shouldn’t be able to defraud the federal government and get away with just a slap on the wrist,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren. “This bill will help us save lives by ensuring giant drug companies that enter into settlement agreements with the federal government chip in to fund the next generation of medical research.”

“The Medical Innovation Act is a commonsense way to advance more medical research by holding shady pharmaceutical companies accountable when they break the law,” said Senator Peter Welch. “I led this bill as a member of the House and am fighting today with my colleagues Senator Warren and Representative Schakowsky to maintain America’s leadership in biomedical science.”

This bill is endorsed by the following organizations: National Women’s Health Network, AIDS United, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Society of Behavioral Medicine, Families USA, Public Citizen, and Massachusetts Medical Society.

“The Medical Innovation Act reinvests in vital research. This legislation is a crucial step toward holding the pharmaceutical industry accountable while ensuring that taxpayer-funded research leads to tangible advancements in health. With women historically underrepresented in clinical trials, it’s imperative that we close the innovation gap. The Network thanks Senator Elizabeth Warren for her leadership on this issue and we are hopeful that together, we can create a healthier future for all women,” said Denise Hyater-Lindenmuth, Executive Director, National Women’s Health Network.

###
MIL OSI USA News –
January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Homicide investigation following death of Baby Ru reaches one year mark

Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

Today marks the one year anniversary of the death of an infant in Lower Hutt who has come to be known as Baby Ru.

This was a callous homicide in which the victim was a defenceless child, and we are determined to get justice for Baby Ru and provide closure for his whānau and the wider community.

There has been a dedicated Police investigation team working tirelessly through a huge amount of evidence for a year now.

This work is incredibly painstaking, and meticulous care must be made to ensure all information is recorded and nothing important is missed.

We believe that the people who know what happened to Baby Ru must surely have it weighing on their conscience.

We urge you – lighten your load, do the right thing, and tell us what you know.

We continue to thank everyone who has contacted Police with information and we will continue to investigate every possible lead and piece of information we receive, no matter how small.

If you can assist with our enquiries please contact Police via 105 online reporting quoting file number 231022/1708, or anonymously through Crimestoppers.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

Note to Media: photo of Baby Ru has been provided by Ru’s whānau

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Welch Joins Warren, Schakowsky in Pushing to Require Law-Breaking Drug Companies to Reinvest Profits in NIH & FDA for Medical Research

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
Medical Innovation Act applies to pharmaceutical companies who are found guilty or are accused of breaking the law and settle with the federal government.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09) in introducing the Medical Innovation Act of 2024, which would require large pharmaceutical companies that are accused of breaking the law and settle with the federal government to reinvest a small percentage of their profits into the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“The Medical Innovation Act is a commonsense way to advance more medical research by holding shady pharmaceutical companies accountable when they break the law,” said Senator Welch. “I led this bill as a member of the House and am fighting today with my colleagues Senator Warren and Representative Schakowsky to maintain America’s leadership in biomedical science.”
“Big Pharma shouldn’t be able to defraud the federal government and get away with just a slap on the wrist,” said Senator Warren. “This bill will help us save lives by ensuring giant drug companies that enter into settlement agreements with the federal government chip in to fund the next generation of medical research.”
“For too long, drug companies that rely on federally-funded research to develop their blockbuster drugs have gotten away with defrauding consumers and taxpayers,” said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. “The Medical Innovation Act would make it more difficult for these drug companies to game the system by requiring them to provide a share of their profits to increase investments in biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. We can continue to be a leading force in medical innovation and this legislation will help ensure that we have the means to cure diseases and save lives.”
In 2023, the NIH only had funds for 23% of the applications it received, contributing to a huge medical innovation gap. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies have been accused of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid, marketing drugs for unapproved uses, illegally incentivizing doctors to prescribe drugs, lying about the safety of their drugs, and violating other criminal and civil laws. The companies have settled many of these claims with the federal government, treating the fines as a cost of doing business. Most recently, Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay the Justice Department $450 million to settle a set of lawsuits alleging that the company defrauded Medicare and conspired with other drug-makers to illegally inflate the prices of two generic drugs. Between 2019 and October 2024, the Department of Justice pursued new actions against or settled cases with at least 40 pharmaceutical companies. 
The Medical Innovation Act would: 
Require pharmaceutical companies accused of breaking the law to reinvest a small percentage of their profits in NIH and FDA. These payments would increase with the severity of the settlement penalty, and would only be required of companies that rely on federally-funded research to develop billion-dollar, “blockbuster” drugs.  
Invest in life-saving medical innovation through the NIH and FDA. Payments collected through this bill would be used to develop treatments and diagnostics to address unmet medical needs; support research grants for early career scientists; research diseases that disproportionately contribute to federal health care spending; and advance basic biomedical research, among other uses.
Promote sustained investments in biomedical research. To ensure that the Act results in a net increase in funding for medical research, money from the supplemental settlement fees would only be available in years that annual appropriations for NIH and FDA are equal to or greater than appropriations for the agencies in the prior fiscal year.    
Senator Welch introduced the Medical Innovation Act as a Member of the House of Representatives in the 114th Congress alongside Senator Warren and they have pushed for the legislation since 2015. The Medical Innovation Act is cosponsored this Congress by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
This bill is endorsed by the National Women’s Health Network, AIDS United, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Society of Behavioral Medicine, Families USA, Public Citizen, and the Massachusetts Medical Society. 
View the bill text of the Medical Innovation Act.
Read more about the Medical Innovation Act.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s Joint Press Conference with Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the African Union Commission

Source: United Nations MIL-OSI 2

erci, Mesdames et Messieurs,

Vous allez me permettre avant de faire aussi quelques commentaires sur nos travaux aujourd’hui, que je puisse lire un petit texte que j’ai écrit moi-même, avec mon cœur. Je voudrais dire quelques mots à l’encontre de mon cher collègue et ami, Moussa Faki.

Cher Moussa, depuis le début de nos mandats respectifs en 2017, nous avons parcouru un long chemin ensemble.

Votre vision d’une Afrique intégrée, prospère et pacifique a toujours été en harmonie avec nos objectifs pour un monde plus juste, durable et digne.

Votre leadership éclairé, votre capacité à rassembler et votre engagement infatigable pour le multilatéralisme représentent une source d’inspiration pour tous.

Et votre sens du dialogue et grande expertise des enjeux globaux ont permis de faire entendre la voix de l’Afrique sur la scène internationale avec force et clarté.

Vous avez toujours été un fervent défenseur de la coopération entre l’Union africaine et les Nations Unies. Grâce à nos efforts conjoints, nous avons renforcé nos liens institutionnels, aligné nos stratégies et multiplié nos actions communes sur le terrain.

Que ce soit dans la prévention et la résolution des conflits, la lutte contre le changement climatique ou la promotion du développement durable – et dans des contextes toujours difficiles – votre contribution a été inestimable.

Cher ami, je tiens à vous exprimer ma profonde gratitude pour votre dévouement et votre humanité. Votre héritage perdurera bien au-delà de votre mandat, car vous avez posé les fondations d’un partenariat Union africaine-Nations Unies plus fort et plus efficace.

Vous incarnez l’esprit même de coopération et de solidarité internationale, et c’est avec une grande amitié que je vous adresse mes remerciements les plus chaleureux.

I am particularly happy about our session today. We have, as Chairperson Faki expressed, we have looked into our cooperation developed during these years, and how it became more than the signature of common positions, ad hoc common actions. This cooperation became an institutionalized cooperation in which all key areas of our common intervention, peace and security, sustainable development and human rights. We have common programmes, common strategies, and we work together very effectively in the perspective that unites us, and the perspective that unites us is of an African continent that is able to provide with citizens all the rights that they should enjoy. And in the context of a world able to overcome the terrible divisions that we are facing today.

And I have to say that I came from the Summit of the Future with the conscience that there are now conditions for the international community to start providing justice to the African people.

First of all, in relation to the questions of peace and security, there is now a consensus from Member States that the Security Council must be reformed, and there is now a consensus of all Member States that the key aspect of that reform is to have two African members as permanent members of the Security Council.

On the other hand, many decisions were taken in relation to the capacity to deepen our cooperation with the African Union in areas like prevention, mediation, peace building, and the capacity to act together to address the multiple conflicts that today the African continent, as the whole world, unfortunately, are dealing with.

Then for the first time, there was the recognition that we live in an economic system and a financial system that is outdated, that is ineffective, and that is unfair.

And it is especially ineffective and unfair because of the African continent.

Africa faces enormous obstacles to its development.

First of all, they are deeply rooted in the past, deeply rooted in the colonial legacy. And I can speak totally at ease, because I come from a colonial structure.

African countries gained independence with their economies and to a certain extent, their society is distorted by the interests of the colonial powers that organize their economies to the benefits of the colonists.

And then the African continent has had to face an enormous number of challenges. Just recently, COVID-19, the dramatic impacts in prices and the interest rates that were enhanced by the war in Ukraine, and the extremely difficult present situation in which many countries are drowning in debt and many countries do not have access to the resources, namely, to concessional finance in order to not only be able to reduce their debts, but to be able to provide to their citizens those essential actions that are necessary for their lives to be engaged.

And we managed finally to have, in the Summit of the Future, the affirmation that the international financial architecture must be corrected and must be corrected to give more voice and more power to Developing Countries in general, of course, African countries in particular, and to mobilize much more resources for the SDGs, to reduce, adapt and to create conditions for sustainable development and for climate action in mitigation and adaptation to the benefit of developing countries. And I hope that now it will be possible to implement those measures, because they are essential for justice in relation to the African continent.

And then we just decided to create the common working group with the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union Commission to do serious research, to allow to contribute to the creation of an African strategy to bridge the digital divide and the Artificial Intelligence divide, and to overcome all the enormous structural difficulties and impediments that exist today, and to be able to claim the resources that will be necessary for it to be possible, and for the digital world and the Artificial Intelligence not to be another factor of inequality, but to be a factor to allow to catch up and for the African continent to move, as it has done in the past, more fast in development, to be able to provide the best conditions for their citizens.

And we are totally committed to have a strong African presence in the political dialogue that will now meet annually at United Nations on artificial intelligence, and on the international scientific panel that will follow in [developing] the state of the art of artificial intelligence.

We want the African continent – that is a young continent – and in relation to scientists that are young scientists – to be able to be in the first line and not to be left behind because of the construct of injustices that still today exists.

In these circumstances, I’m sure that cooperation between the [African Union] and the United Nations, these cooperations were led by Moussa Faki – that that cooperation will remain in the future, as strong, as dynamic and as committed to our being of those that justify our action, the people of Africa and the people of the world.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Are academics more likely to answer emails from ‘Melissa’ or ‘Rahul’? The answer may not surprise you

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan MacKenzie, Professor and Simons Chair in International Law and Human Security, Simon Fraser University

Onehundredseventyfive/Unsplash, CC BY

Universities are supposed to be places where all students can learn, free from discrimination.

A key part of this ideal is academics welcoming all students to study and research, regardless of their racial background.

But as our new research shows, Australian academics responded differently to potential PhD students, depending on whether they were called “Melissa” or “Rahul”.

Racism on campus

Many overseas and Australian studies have shown racism is both a historical and ongoing problem for universities.

A 2020 Australian study showed universities tend to be run by older, white men. A 2021 UK study showed academics from different cultural backgrounds face racism at work.

But there has been less specific attention paid to those trying to become academics.

The main way people start an academic career is via a doctoral degree. In the Australian system, before a student is accepted they usually require an established academic to agree to supervise them. So a student’s initial communication with a potential supervisor is very important.

To start a PhD, students usually need to have a supervisor lined up.
Jacob Lund/Shutterstock

How we set up our research

To investigate whether racism is playing a role at the entrance point to PhD study, in 2017 we sent about 7,000 emails from fictitious students to academics based at the main campuses of Australia’s Group of Eight universities (billed as Australia’s top research universities).

These are the Australian National University, Monash University, University of Adelaide, University of New South Wales, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, University of Western Australia and University of Queensland.

We emailed staff ranked senior lecturer or above, as these are the levels most likely to be supervising PhD students. Academics were identified by university websites, and we sent emails to everyone who fit our rank criteria across all disciplines.

In this process, we found 70% of relevant academics were male and 84% were white. This did not improve in the more senior ranks – more than 68% of professors were white men.

What did the email say?

The emails asked for an meeting to talk about potential PhD supervision.

They were identical apart from the senders’ names. These names were tested to be associated with male and female and with white-European, Indigenous, South Asian, Chinese and Arab identities. Recipients were randomly allocated to different name groups.

The emails indicated the sender was an Australia-based student with fluent English. It conveyed an interest in the recipient’s research and urgency in meeting because the sender was only on campus for several days. It also noted “I have recently finished my honours degree” (a common path into a PhD in Australia) and was sent from a University of Sydney email address.

We emailed about 7,000 senior academics as part of our study.
Tipa Patt/Shutterstock

What did we find?

Responses agreeing to a meeting or requesting further information were categorised as “positive”. Those who declined a meeting were “non-positive”. Automated replies and those who did not reply were “non-responses”.

Of 6,928 emails sent, 2,986 (43.1%) received a reply within 24 hours and 2,469 (35.6%) received a positive reply. There were 3,942 (56.9%) non-responses and 517 (7.5%) non-positive responses (declining a meeting).

We initially planned to give academics a week to respond, but after IT at one university noticed several staff had received emails with identical text, we ended the experiment after 24 hours.

From here, the results were stark: emails from names associated with non-white racial groups received significantly fewer responses and positive replies than those from names typically associated with white individuals.

An email from “Melissa Smith” was far more likely to get a positive response than an identical email from “Grace Chen Jinyan” (six percentage points lower) or “Omar al-Haddad” (nine percentage points lower).

The most dramatic gap was in the positive response rates to Melissa Smith, compared with “Rahul Kumar”. The rate of positive responses to Melissa was 12 percentage points higher than for Rahul.

Overall, our statistical analysis showed the white-sounding names averaged a 7% higher reply rate and a 9% higher positive response rate than the non-white sounding names. Both these findings were highly statistically significant, meaning we can be very confident the results were not due to chance.

Of course, some faculty members may simply have been unable to meet with the student, or may have missed the email. However, given the randomisation used, it is reasonable to assume bias explains the gap in responses to students with different names.

This is alarming because it suggests racial bias is quietly influencing who gets a foot in the door of academia even before formal admissions processes begin.

Silver linings

One seemingly positive finding was academics at the more junior end of our study group appeared to show less bias towards students of different backgrounds.

For academics at senior lecturer or associate professor levels, Melissa was 10.5% more likely to receive a positive response than Rahul, while the corresponding figure for full professors was 14.7%.

However, junior academics often have little institutional power or much of a say on hiring. More research is needed to explore whether generational change is achievable (albeit painfully slow).

We also found that, unlike similar US studies, there was no significant bias against female students. In fact, there was some evidence of positive bias, or preference, for female students.

Our study found academics did not discriminate against potential candidates based on gender.
Matej Kastelic/ Shutterstock

Backlash to our study

We based our study on a peer-reviewed study carried out in the United States, and followed a research ethics protocol approved by our university.

However, minutes after academics received our follow-up email telling them they had been part of a research study (part of our ethics protocol), the backlash began.

The University of Sydney, our home institution at the time, received more than 500 inquiries about the study. While some were curious or supportive, the majority were complaints. These were primarily about our use of deception (a well-researched and supported method of studying bias). Megan MacKenzie, the more junior author (at the time a senior lecturer), received calls threatening her with consequences for her career.

Although unpleasant, the reaction was revealing. It reinforces other research on how defensive racial majorities can be when they believe they are suspected of bias. It also complements work showing internal resistance to diversity efforts in higher education.

What can we do?

Universities pride themselves on being meritocracies, where the best ideas and brightest minds rise to the top. But our study suggests racial bias is undermining this principle by influencing who is even considered for an academic career.

There is growing acknowledgement racism is a significant problem on Australian university campuses (as well as in broader society). In May, the federal government asked the Australian Human Rights Commission to study the prevalence and impact of racism at Australian universities.

But this study is not due to deliver its final report until June 2025, and any ensuing action will be further away still.

What can be done now to tackle this issue?

First, universities need to acknowledge academia remains overwhelmingly white and male, in spite of efforts to increase diversity.

Second, universities also need to acknowledge the existence of racial bias, the need for ongoing research into how it operates in higher education and the most effective strategies to tackle it.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Are academics more likely to answer emails from ‘Melissa’ or ‘Rahul’? The answer may not surprise you – https://theconversation.com/are-academics-more-likely-to-answer-emails-from-melissa-or-rahul-the-answer-may-not-surprise-you-241352

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 24, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Where there’s smoke: the rising death toll from climate-charged fire in the landscape

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fay Johnston, Professor, Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania

Daria Nipot, Shutterstock

Inhaling smoke is bad for you. Smoke from any kind of fire, from bonfire to burn-off to uncontrolled wildfire, can have serious consequences.

Even low levels of smoke can make many heart and lung diseases worse, sometimes triggering a rapid deterioration in health. When we are repeatedly exposed over months and years, air pollution, including smoke, makes us more likely to develop heart, lung and other chronic diseases.

Now, new international research has linked the warming climate to some of the deaths from exposure to fire smoke in large parts of the world, including Australia.

In 2012, I led the first team to estimate the number of landscape fire smoke-related deaths globally each year. Our estimate of 339,000 deaths did not attempt to pull out the influence of climate change. But we noticed much higher impacts during hotter and drier El Niño periods.

The researchers behind the new study took this a step further, estimating how much of the historical burden of fire smoke-related deaths might be attributable to climate change. They found a considerably increasing proportion, from 1.2% in the 1960s to 12.8% in the 2010s.

Where there’s fire, there’s smoke

A wall of flames is way more deadly than a bit of smoke in the air – isn’t it? It’s not so simple. When you look back at a fire disaster, the smoke-related death toll in the aftermath can be surprisingly high.

During the extreme Australian bushfire season of 2019–20, there were 33 deaths directly related to fire. But my team found the number of smoke-related deaths was 429, more than ten times higher.

Smoke travels vast distances and can affect very large populations. Millions of people in Australia and New Zealand breathed smoke from the 2019-20 Australian fires. The sheer scale of the air quality impacts means the associated public health burden can be very large.

Smoke harms our health in two ways. In the short term, it makes existing diseases worse. As soon as the body detects smoke, it initiates immune and stress responses that affect, among other things, blood pressure, blood glucose and the risk of forming blood clots.

For some people with serious chronic illness such as heart and blood vessel disease, these subtle changes can trigger deadly complications including heart attacks or strokes.

When smoke reaches our eyes, throats and lungs, it acts as an irritant. This can be enough to make people living with asthma or other lung conditions seriously unwell.

Over the longer term, air pollution is a known risk factor for developing heart disease, lung disease, asthma, diabetes and stroke, and landscape fire smoke is increasingly contributing to the load.

How did the researchers find this out?

Most research on the health impact from air pollution focuses on the damage done by fine particles called PM_2.5. These particles are defined as those less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter, meaning they are small enough to get into the lungs and bloodstream.

In the new paper, the authors used computer models to estimate how global changes in fire-related PM_2.5 emissions between 1960 and 2019 had been influenced by the warming climate. To do this, they evaluated climate factors known to promote fire activity, such as higher air temperatures and lower humidity. Then, they used modelling to estimate how these changes would have influenced fire activity, smoke exposure and smoke related deaths globally.

Using this approach, the authors attributed 669 (1.2%) of the wildfire-induced smoke-related deaths in the 1960s to climate change. But that rose to 12,566 (12.8%) in the 2010s. They found the influence of climate change was higher in some regions, including Australia.

Climate change is making fires worse

These reported numbers seem to be surprisingly low when put in context with previous global and regional estimates of deaths due to air pollution from landscape fires.

But estimating how many deaths can be attributed to landscape fire smoke is a challenging task, requiring assumptions about the size and strength of the links between meteorology, fire activity, smoke production and dispersal, population vulnerability and health outcomes in the huge diversity of landscapes, climates and cultures across the world.

Importantly, the estimates in this recent study were driven by changes in climate. But the modelling approach can less easily account for fluctuations and trends in another incredibly important driver of fire activity on Earth, human activity.

For example, huge volumes of smoke globally are created by setting fires to burn and clear tropical forests for agriculture. Corporate activity and government policies drive these fires more than climate change, and are harder to capture in a modelling study.

Nevertheless, these new results clearly support empirical studies showing increases in extreme fire activity attributable to climate change, and illustrates the relative impacts when other influences are held constant. Importantly, it points to parts of the world – including the north and southeast of Australia – where we can expect harmful population smoke impacts to get worse.

The likely geographic impacts can be put together with information about the location of more vulnerable population groups, or higher population densities, to focus on responses where they are most needed. But in Australia that means pretty much everywhere, including the tropical north.

What we can do about it?

To adapt to a smokier world, we will need comprehensive education about escalating air quality hazards and ways to reduce the harm for both the general public and health professionals.

These include keeping on top of long-term health conditions that could be made worse by air pollution, knowing how to keep track of air quality, and when to use strategies such as face masks, air filtration and managing the ventilation of homes and buildings to reduce individual smoke exposure.

Adaptive responses alone do not get around the urgent need to act on climate change. Watching fire seasons around the world get steadily worse year on year really frightens me. We are getting into a vicious cycle where the hotter climate is driving more and more fire. These fires are increasingly venting long-stored carbon and contributing to further climate change.

As well as ending the massive combustion of fossil fuels, we must halt the burning of tropical rainforests and agricultural crop residues globally. These actions will also dramatically improve air quality and health globally and support ongoing capture and storage of atmospheric carbon.

Fay Johnston receives research funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the National Environmental Science Program, Asthma Australia and the health departments of the Tasmanian and ACT governments. She led the development of the air quality app AirRater, and is a founding director of AirHealth Pty Ltd, which provides air quality information services.

– ref. Where there’s smoke: the rising death toll from climate-charged fire in the landscape – https://theconversation.com/where-theres-smoke-the-rising-death-toll-from-climate-charged-fire-in-the-landscape-241590

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: ADB Appoints Shanny Campbell as Lao PDR Country Director

Source: Asia Development Bank

VIENTIANE, LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC (23 October 2024) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed Shanny Campbell as its Country Director for the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). She assumed office this week. Ms. Campbell will lead ADB’s operations in the Lao PDR in support of its national development goals, including its ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2030.

“I am honored to serve in this new role as ADB’s Country Director in the Lao PDR,” said Ms. Campbell. “I look forward to working closely with the government and development partners in supporting the country’s sustainable public finances, enhancing equitable access to services, and advancing its climate commitments.”

Ms. Campbell, a national of New Zealand and the United Kingdom, joined ADB in 2010 from the private sector. She has 31 years of experience across 26 countries in the transport, energy, agriculture and water resources, and finance sectors. Prior to this appointment, she was ADB’s Country Director for Tajikistan. She holds a Master of Development and Bachelor of Science degrees from the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

The Lao PDR has been a member of ADB since 1966. As of December 2023, ADB has committed 365 public sector loans, grants, and technical assistance totaling $2.7 billion to the country.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region.

MIL OSI Economics –

January 24, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Israel’s actions in Gaza, backed by the US, are shaking the world order to its core
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Dunning, Sessional Academic, School of Social Sciences, Macquarie University

While the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar could have provided an off-ramp for the conflict in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing vows of “total victory” make this seem unlikely.

The concept of “total victory”, however, is extremely problematic. Every time Israel declares an area cleared of Hamas and then withdraws, Hamas, which carried out the horrific attack on southern Israel on October 7 2023, has quickly returned to reestablish control.

As a result, there has been a marked Israeli escalation in northern Gaza in recent days, and much discussion about a so-called “general’s plan” being pushed by some right-wing members of Netanyahu’s government.

Concocted by a former Israeli general, Giora Eiland, the plan is, in essence, to forego negotiations, bisect the enclave and give northern Gaza’s 400,000 inhabitants the bleak choice between leaving and dying.

We don’t know whether Netanyahu will officially endorse the plan. Israeli leaders reportedly told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week they are not implementing it. However, it nonetheless has broad support among Israel’s political and military elite.

The Israeli military has already issued expulsion orders to the people of northern Gaza. The government has said anyone who remains would be considered a military target and will be deprived of food and water.

While Israel denies obstructing humanitarian aid, the World Food Program said no food aid entered northern Gaza for two weeks in early October. While some aid has been entering since then, thousands are still at risk of starvation and outbreaks of preventable diseases.

Moreover, many Palestinians, including the sick, elderly and wounded, are unable to move and have nowhere to go. The prospect of the overcrowded and unprotected tent cities of the south is hardly enticing.

Israeli human rights groups say the military had been deliberately blocking aid to give the population no choice but to leave northern Gaza. Israel may now be backtracking under pressure from the United States, which has given Netanyahu’s government a 30-day deadline to increase the amount of aid it allows into Gaza or risk losing US weapons funding.

Undermining international norms and rules

Israel’s war against Gaza, and now Lebanon, has repeatedly challenged the foundations of the liberal international rules-based order set up after the second world war, as well as the tenets of international law, multilateral diplomacy, democracy and humanitarianism.

The norms of the liberal world order are expressed in various institutions, such as:
- the UN Charter
- the UN Security Council, with its notionally legally binding resolutions
- the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague
- the Geneva Conventions governing the rules of war
- the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), among many others.
Recently, the ICJ ruled Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem is illegal and ordered it to withdraw. In response, Netanyahu said the court had made a “decision of lies”.

In a separate case, South Africa brought a charge to the ICJ, alleging Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinian people over the past year. The world’s top court has preliminarily ruled there is a “plausible” case for a finding of genocide, and said Israel must take measures to ensure its prevention.

At this juncture, however, human rights groups and others have argued that Israel has failed to comply with this order, thereby undermining one of the key institutions of the liberal world order.

This is compounded by the fact that few major democratic states have been willing to strongly condemn Israel’s failure to comply with international law in Gaza – or have done so belatedly – let alone intervened in any concrete fashion.

In addition, the UN Security Council has failed – primarily due to the veto power exercised by the US – to take any tangible measures to enforce its own resolutions against Israel, as well as the rulings of the ICJ.

This is fuelling widespread perceptions of hypocrisy in relation to the accountability of notionally democratic states for alleged violations of humanitarian law, compared with other nations that don’t have great power patrons.

In the early 1990s, for instance, the UN Security Council unanimously passed several resolutions against Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, followed a decade later by resolutions demanding Saddam Hussein’s regime comply with weapons inspection mandates. The US and its allies used these resolutions as the legal justification for their invasion of Iraq. Ultimately, no weapons of mass destruction were found. Then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan later said the invasion of Iraq was illegal and contrary to the UN Charter.

However, dozens of UN Security Council resolutions concerning Israel have been passed and not enforced. Many others have been vetoed by the US.

The prosecutors of the ICC have also requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity (in addition to several Hamas leaders, now dead). The warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were met with indignation by some Western politicians. Yet, the West broadly praised the ICC’s arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Furthermore, the US Congress attempted to sanction the court over the Netanyahu arrest warrant, once again underscoring the often selective way in which international law is applied by nation states.

A crisis of legitimacy for the world order

Democratic states like to present themselves as the protectors, and sometimes enforcers, of the liberal world order, ensuring continued international peace and security.

Indeed, Israel and its supporters often characterise its military actions as the forward defence of the democratic world against tyrannical larger powers, as a means of protecting itself from adversaries that want to destroy it. The problem is Israel’s actions often directly contradict the liberal world order it purports to defend, thereby undermining its legitimacy.

Failure to rein in Israel’s actions has led to accusations of “double standards” regarding international law. The US and Germany provide Israel with 99% of its arm imports and diplomatic cover. Although Germany has stopped approving new weapons exports to Israel, both countries certainly have more leverage to stop the carnage in Gaza if they wish.

The West’s self-abrogated moral superiority is arguably in tatters as it continues to undermine the principles of the liberal world order. The question is: if this world order falls, what will the new world order look like?

Tristan Dunning has signed a statement of solidarity with Palestine from academics in Australian universities.

Shannon Brincat has signed a statement of solidarity with Palestine from academics in Australian universities.

Martin Kear 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.

– ref. Israel’s actions in Gaza, backed by the US, are shaking the world order to its core – https://theconversation.com/israels-actions-in-gaza-backed-by-the-us-are-shaking-the-world-order-to-its-core-241460
MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –
January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Chinese, European scholars discuss human rights issues

Source: China State Council Information Office

Over 60 officials and human rights scholars from China and European countries including Germany, Britain, Sweden, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the Czech Republic gathered in Berlin on Tuesday for a seminar focused on the protection of “new and emerging rights.”

The seminar addressed key topics including social rights, economic inequality, the intersection of digital technology and human rights, and protecting human rights in the context of climate change.

Ma Huaide, vice president of China Society for Human Rights Studies and president of China University of Political Science and Law, said the protection of emerging rights has become a new issue in global human rights development.

Ma emphasized China’s efforts in protecting citizens’ online security and privacy rights, as well as promoting environmental protection and green development. He also called for global cooperation to adopt a “humanity first” approach, promote true multilateralism to avoid imbalances in the global governance of emerging rights, and foster consensus through openness and fairness.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and chairperson of the German think tank Schiller Institute, praised China’s vision of a shared future for mankind, as well as initiatives like the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, which transcend narrow geopolitical interests to address modern human rights needs.

Jure Zovko, president of the International Academy for the Philosophy of the Sciences, underscored the importance of dialogue between civilizations, urging mutual learning to protect human beings and their living conditions, while mitigating the risks associated with globalization.

Jiang Jianxiang, director of the Central South University Human Rights Center, said that the diversity of emerging rights concepts and their protection reflects the cultural diversity of the international community. He highlighted the potential for new insights through deeper cooperation and exchanges between Chinese and European human rights institutions and scholars.

First held in 2015, the seminar, now in its eighth edition, is an institutionalized platform for in-depth exchanges and cooperation on human rights between China and Europe.

This year’s seminar was co-hosted by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and the Central South University Human Rights Center, organized by the German and Chinese Culture Foundation, and co-organized by the University of Munster and the International Academy for the Philosophy of the Sciences.

MIL OSI China News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: New Prada-designed spacesuit is a small step for astronaut style, but could be a giant leap for sustainable fashion

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alyssa Choat, Lecturer in Fashion and Textiles Design, University of Technology Sydney

For its recent Spring/Summer 2025 show, fashion brand Diesel filled a runway with mounds of denim offcuts, making a spectacle of its efforts to reduce waste.

Haunting yet poetic, the “forgotten” byproducts of fashion production were reclaimed and repurposed into something artful. But the irony isn’t lost, given fashion shows like this one demand significant resources.

Diesel’s event is an example of a growing trend towards the “spectacle of sustainability”, wherein performative displays are prioritised over the deeper, structural changes needed to address environmental issues.

Can the fashion industry reconcile its tendency towards spectacle with its environmental responsibilities? The recent spacesuit collaboration between Prada and Axiom Space is one refreshing example of how it can, by leaning into innovation that seeks to advance fashion technology and rewrite fashion norms.

Performance art instead of substantive change

The fashion industry has always relied on some form of spectacle to continue the fashion cycle. Fashion shows mix art, performance and design to create powerful experiences that will grab people’s attention and set the tone for what’s “in”. Promotional material from these shows is shared widely, helping cement new trends.

However, the spectacle of fashion isn’t helpful for communicating the complexity of sustainability. Fashion events tend to focus on surface-level ideas, while ignoring deeper systemic problems such as the popularity of fast fashion, people’s buying habits, and working conditions in garment factories. These problems are connected, so addressing one requires addressing the others.

It’s much easier to host a flashy event that inevitably feeds the problem it purports to fix. International fashion events have a large carbon footprint. This is partly due to how many people they move around the world, as well as their promotion of consumption (whereas sustainability requires buying less).

The pandemic helped deliver some solutions to this problem by forcing fashion shows to go digital. Brands such as Balenciaga, the Congolese brand Hanifa and many more took part in virtual fashion shows with animated avatars – and many pointed to this as a possible solution to the industry’s sustainability issue.

But the industry has now largely returned to live fashion shows. Virtual presentations have been relegated to their own sectors within fashion communication, while live events take centre stage.

Many brands, including Prada, held fashion shows without guests during lockdowns in 2021.

Towards a sustainable fashion future

Technology and innovation clearly have a role to play in helping make fashion more sustainable. The recent Prada-Axiom spacesuit collaboration brings this into focus in a new way.

The AxEMU (Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit) suits will be worn by Artemis III crew members during NASA’s planned 2026 mission to the Moon. The suits have been made using long-lasting and high-performance materials that are designed to withstand the extreme conditions of space.

By joining this collaboration, Prada, known for its high fashion, is shifting into a highly symbolic arena of technological advancement. This will likely help position it at the forefront of sustainability and technology discussions – at least in the minds of consumers.

Prada itself has varying levels of compliance when it comes to meeting sustainability goals. The Standard Ethics Ratings has listed it as “sustainable”, while sustainability scoring site Good on You rated it as “not good enough” – citing a need for improved transparency and better hazardous chemical use.

Recently, the brand has been working on making recycled textiles such as nylon fabrics (nylon is a part of the brand DNA) from fishing nets and plastic bottles. It also launched a high-fashion jewellery line made of recycled gold.

Innovating for a changing world

Prada’s partnership with Axiom signifies a milestone in fashion’s ability to impact on high-tech industries. Beyond boosting Prada’s image, such innovations can also lead to more sustainable fashions.

For instance, advanced materials created for spacesuits could eventually be adapted into everyday heat-resistant clothing. This will become increasingly important in the context of climate change, especially in regions already struggling with drought and heatwaves. The IPCC warns that if global temperatures rise by 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, twice as many mega-cities are likely to become heat-stressed.

New innovations are trying to help consumers stay cool despite rising temperatures. Nike’s Aerogami is a performance apparel technology that supposedly increases breathability. Researchers from MIT have also designed garment vents that open and close when they sense sweat to create airflow.

Similarly, researchers from Zhengzhou University and the University of South Australia have created a fabric that reflects sunlight and releases heat to help reduce body temperatures. These kinds of cooling textiles (which could also be used in architecture) could help reduce the need for air conditioning.

One future challenge lies in driving demand for these innovations by making them seem fashionable and “cool”. Collaborations like the one between Prada and Axiom are helpful on this front. A space suit – an item typically seen as a functional, long-lasting piece of engineering – becomes something more with Prada’s name on it.

The collaboration also points to a broader potential for brands to use large attention-grabbing projects to convey their sustainability credentials. In this way they can combine spectacle with sustainability. The key will be in making sure one doesn’t come at the expense of the other.

Alyssa Choat 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.

– ref. New Prada-designed spacesuit is a small step for astronaut style, but could be a giant leap for sustainable fashion – https://theconversation.com/new-prada-designed-spacesuit-is-a-small-step-for-astronaut-style-but-could-be-a-giant-leap-for-sustainable-fashion-240551

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Opposing Austerity – More than 10,000 workers fight back against government cuts

Source: PSA

More than 10,000 workers, including PSA members, gathered across the motu to fight back together against government cuts to public, health and community services and attacks on Te Tiriti.

PSA members stood shoulder to shoulder with workers from other unions at hui in Whangārei, Auckland, Manukau, Hamilton, Mt Maunganui, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson, Greymouth, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill.

The New Zealand Council of Trade unions led organisation of the Fight Back Together hui with the support of many its affiliated unions.

Speaking before a 4,500 strong crowd at Parliament Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi assistant secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said that workers demand, “better investment in public and social infrastructure, public services, health and education” so New Zealanders’ standard of living improves.

“That’s what this is all about. It’s about a decent quality of life for all of us. It’s about an education system where every child reaches their potential,” she said.

“It’s about a health system where we … and our families get the health care we need.

“It’s about an Aotearoa New Zealand that upholds the provision of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

“It’s about an Aotearoa New Zealand that values public servants and the public services they deliver for all of us.”

More than 6000 public servants, many PSA members, have lost their jobs under the government’s cuts. Fitzsimons said public servants including those in public health, public science and those protecting our borders have been impacted by the cuts.

Fitzsimons described the cuts as “shameful”.

“[Public servants] know their work is important and it now won’t get done.”

PSA National Secretary Duane Leo said the 3500-strong crowd at Auckland’s Aotea Square was vibrant and colourful.

‘People were happy to be there speaking up. It’s about time we started to do this,” he said.

“We need to change course and value and invest in our public services; for our future, for all Kiwis, and abandon this backward road to nowhere.”

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ARIA Workshop

Source: US Government research organizations

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will convene an in-person workshop on November 12, 2024, in Washington, D.C., to provide more detail about NIST’s new ARIA program. Participants will learn about ARIA’s experimentation environment and NIST’s approach to evaluation-driven research.

ARIA (Assessing Risks and Impacts of AI) is a NIST AI Innovation Lab program to gather evidence about AI’s risks to people and society as part of advancing the science and practice of AI risk measurement.

The one day in-person workshop will take place at The American Geophysical Union in Washington, D.C.

This is the first in a series of ARIA workshops to facilitate discussion about aspects of this unique program. The series will begin with a deep-dive into the role of annotation in the ARIA program. Stay tuned for future series.

The target audience for this workshop is any organization currently participating (or interested in participating) in the ARIA pilot efforts, those working in the field of socio-technical evaluations, and organizations engaged in the annotation of human-AI interactions.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Virtual Seminar: Harnessing Microgravity for the Necessary Leap in Semiconductor Technology

Source: US Government research organizations

The United States is currently decades behind on silicon semiconductor technology manufacturing, exemplified by the CHIPS and Science Act enacted in 2022. But to truly lead the future of semiconductor technology, we must look beyond silicon, which has reached its physical limits in output power and operating frequency, and establish dominance in beyond-silicon semiconductor technology. To do this, a robust method for manufacturing beyond-silicon crystals will be needed for advanced packaging and substrate usage. This webinar will introduce an innovative concept of using US pre-eminence in space technology to leapfrog into a semiconductor leadership position while simultaneously spurring the commercialization of low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Existing beyond-silicon crystal growth methods yield small volumes of poor-quality crystals. Rather than traditional solutions that address the symptoms of this problem, our innovation addresses the root cause: gravity. By moving manufacturing to LEO, the detrimental effects of gravity on crystal growth (e.g., buoyancy & sedimentation, container interactions, hydrostatic pressure, thermal convection) can be eliminated – resulting in greater than 3x increase in crystal size and up to 1000x fewer defects. These benefits at the crystal level can in turn improve device properties by an order of magnitude when used as substrates. For example, improved thermal properties of microgravity-grown crystals can address critical packaging challenges faced by device manufacturers across consumer electronics, medical devices, and aerospace & defense.

Microgravity semiconductor crystal growth has a robust academic track record through the 80s and 90s during the space shuttle era. However, once the US transitioned LEO R&D to the ISS, semiconductor crystal growth was deprioritized due to its incompatibility with ISS human life support systems. Pursuing this promising avenue for semiconductor crystal growth requires additional infrastructure that is external to the ISS to host the necessary high temperature, high pressure payloads. This seminar will discuss the most cost-effective and timely manner to acquire this critical LEO infrastructure that will facilitate US leadership in semiconductor technology.

Dr. Jessica Frick is the CEO & Co-Founder of Astral Materials, Inc., a company that uses microgravity as a manufacturing tool to grow beyond-silicon semiconductor crystals at a size and quality that cannot be achieved on Earth. Dr. Frick holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry & Materials Science from Princeton University and has a deep expertise in microgravity crystal growth from her time as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Engineer at Stanford University. With over a decade of experience in crystal growth, on Earth and in microgravity, Dr. Frick has been instrumental in raising awareness on the benefits of microgravity material processing and the infrastructural needs to conduct this work in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Dr. Frick’s unique perspective on crystal growth innovation, which is tightly coupled to US pre-eminence in space, will provide valuable insights that will help attendees understand the tangible benefits microgravity manufacturing has to offer the semiconductor community.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Schoolchildren are invited to get acquainted with leading universities

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

Open days at Moscow universities will be held in a new format. As part of the project “One day at the university”, students of grades 9-11 will be able to visit higher education institutions and get acquainted with the features of education.

“The One Day at the University project gives the opportunity to feel the university atmosphere and live a student’s day. Schoolchildren will have access to 60 higher education institutions, where they can get acquainted with more than 400 specialties. Together with their parents, they will attend interactive excursions, consultations with teachers, lectures by partner employers and meetings with graduates. It is planned that more than 100 thousand high school students will take part in the project,” the capital’s

Department of Education and Science.

Educational institutions have prepared a rich program. Guests will be told about the scientific and cultural life of the university, faculties, departments and specialties in a presentation format. In addition, they will be introduced to youth movements, interest clubs, sports associations and theater communities.

During interactive excursions, schoolchildren can immerse themselves in student life and walk along the corridors of buildings. They will visit canteens, co-working spaces, libraries, lecture halls, laboratories, assembly halls and sports facilities of universities. In addition, guests will be able to listen to lectures from partner employers on employment and internships, as well as learn about the successful stories of graduates.

The project involves the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, Moscow State Pedagogical University, Russian National Research Medical University named after N.I. Pirogov, National Research University “MPEI”, National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”, National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI” and the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.

The project “One day at the university” was organized by the capital Department of Education and Science. You can take part in it until the end of November. Information about the programs and registration are available on the portal “Horizons”.

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

http://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/145645073/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ20: Activities in celebration of the National Day and exhibitions relating to patriotic education

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yung and a written reply by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, in the Legislative Council today (October 23):

Question:

     Regarding the activities in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the exhibitions relating to patriotic education organised by the HKSAR Government this year, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the following information on the aforesaid celebratory activities: (i) the names of the activities, (ii) the organising government departments, (iii) the dates on which the activities were held (with commencement and end dates) and (iv) the numbers of participants, and set out the breakdown in the table below; and

(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)

(2) whether it has assessed the overall effectiveness of the various exhibitions relating to patriotic education (including the national security exhibition and the “Glorious Voyage: Splendid Achievements of the People’s Republic of China in Its 75 Years” exhibition series at the Hong Kong Museum of History, as well as the exhibitions at the Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence) in terms of the attendances, the level of satisfaction, etc; whether it will continuously step up promotion of such exhibitions through more innovative means, so as to attract more members of the public and tourists to visit them?

Reply:

President,

     Having consulted the relevant bureaux and departments, the consolidated reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Yung is as follows:

     This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. To celebrate this important day with members of the public, the HKSAR Government has spared no effort in planning and launching a wide array of rich, diverse and creative celebratory activities before and after the National Day featuring the spirit of patriotism, so as to share the joy of the National Day with the public, while at the same time promote patriotism.

     Regarding part (1) of the question, the HKSAR Government and various sectors of the community has organised more than 400 celebratory activities before and after the National Day. Details of the events are available on the dedicated website (www.nationalday75.gov.hk). As at October 16, 2024, 38 amongst the 71 highlight celebratory events organised by various policy bureaux and departments had been completed. Please refer to the Annex for details.

     Regarding part (2) of the question, the HKSAR Government has organised a number of exhibitions with elements of patriotism, for example, the thematic exhibition “Brothers in Arms: War of Resistance Activities of the East River Column in Shenzhen and Hong Kong” exhibited at the Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence since September 4, 2024, and the “Glorious Voyage: Splendid Achievements of the People’s Republic of China in Its 75 Years’ Exhibition Series” at the Hong Kong Museum of History and Hong Kong Science Museum since September 27, 2024, etc. Moreover, the covered walkway of Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park is currently hosting the “Trendsetting Travel in China” display to showcase national achievements, whereas the thematic book exhibition “The Glorious and Momentous Days – Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China” is being held at various public libraries and the Hong Kong Museum of History. These exhibitions cover various themes across different areas, presenting a comprehensive display of the country’s development. Overall speaking, the exhibitions are effective and the response of the public is overwhelming. As at October 15, the exhibitions organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) have recorded over 300 000 visitors. The LCSD will continue to promote the exhibitions through various channels including online media, and organise related education and extension programmes to attract more locals and visitors.

     In addition, the National Security Exhibition Gallery, located at the Hong Kong Museum of History, is the first dedicated exhibition in Hong Kong to systematically introduce national security. It has been opened to the public for visits with free admission since August 7 this year and has already welcomed 100 000 visitors in just two months. This shows that the community attaches great importance to and is supportive for national security education. Visitors have given very positive feedback about the exhibition hall, and consider the exhibition contents rich, diverse, and educational. In order to attract more locals and visitors, the National Security Exhibition Gallery will roll out thematic exhibitions in mid-2025 for the 10th National Security Education Day and the 5th anniversary of the promulgation of the Hong Kong National Security Law.

     The HKSAR Government is truly grateful for the staunch support received from various sectors of the community and the general public, without such, these many celebratory events would not have completed so successfully. This fully reflects the passion and love from all Hong Kong citizens for our country. The HKSAR Government will continue to press ahead with perseverance and determination, bring together the community forces, and take on the responsibility to lead Hong Kong to a brighter future.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Majority of NZ researchers see Māori Indigenous knowledge as relevant to their work – but there is a gender divide

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katharina Ruckstuhl, Associate Professor in Indigenous Economy, University of Otago

Getty Images

While the New Zealand government plans to review 28 pieces of legislation with a view to changing or repealing references to the Treaty of Waitangi, the science sector is embracing engagement with Māori and leading the way in linking science and Indigenous knowledge at a national scale.

We surveyed 316 researchers from research organisations across New Zealand on their engagement with Māori and their attitudes towards mātauranga Māori (Indigenous knowledge system). We found the majority agree engagement is important and mātauranga Māori is relevant to their research.

Our preliminary findings show most of the surveyed researchers engaged with Māori to some degree in the past and expect to keep doing so in the future. A majority agreed mātauranga Māori should be valued on par with Western science.

New Zealand is not alone in seeing Indigenous knowledge as complementary. Over the past few decades, several international projects engaged Indigenous knowledge systems to help solve pressing local and global problems. This includes traditional Aboriginal burning the reduces the risk of wildfires and sustainable water management.

But New Zealand has been at the forefront of developing a nationwide approach through the 2007 Vision Mātauranga policy. This science-mātauranga connection has given New Zealand a global lead in how to meaningfully and practically mobilise science and Indigenous knowledge at a national scale.

In contrast, the US only recently developed its national Indigenous science policy.

Merging knowledge systems

The merging of Indigenous and Western knowledge is particularly important in the high-tech innovation field. Here, New Zealand’s approach is starting to have real impacts, including supporting innovations and capabilities that would not have happened otherwise.

Through years of engagement with the research and innovation sector, Māori are increasingly expecting the sector to work differently. This means both engaging beyond the laboratory and being open to the possibility that science and mātauranga Māori together can create bold innovation. Examples include supporting Māori businesses to create research and development opportunities in high-value nutrition, or using mātauranga to halt the decline of green-lipped mussels in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Mātauranga Māori has been key to restoring green-lipped mussels at Ōhiwa Harbour in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
Getty Images

Some media reports give the impression of a divided research community when it comes to mātauranga Māori. There have also been anecdotal reports suggesting scientists feel “pressured” to include “irrelevant” mātauranga Māori in science applications to win funding.

We questioned whether this divide was real and as widespread as was being reported. We investigated how non-Māori researchers view engagement and collaboration, in particular the role of mātauranga Māori within that engagement.

We examined the responses of the 295 non-Māori scientists in our survey and found 56% agreed mātauranga Māori should be valued on par with Western science. Only 25% disagreed. Moreover, 83% agreed scientists had a duty to consult with Māori if the research had impacts on them.

However, there was a significant gender difference: 75% of women compared to 44% of men agreed mātauranga Māori should be valued on par with science. Only 8% of women disagreed with that statement compared to 34% of men.

Gender differences

As social scientists researching New Zealand’s innovation system, these results quantified our earlier observations in two important respects.

First, it seems that exposing researchers to engagement with Māori communities may create a more open attitude to mātauranga Māori. A key aspect of the past few years has been to broaden the science sector’s engagement with various communities, including Māori.

The Vision Mātauranga policy has been explicit about this in the innovation sector and research and development areas. It appears likely this approach has, at least for some non-Māori researchers, created an openness to consider mātauranga Māori as an equivalent, although different, knowledge framework.

This policy push and Māori community pull has seen scientists in this survey overwhelmingly agree that Māori should be consulted about the impacts research may have on their communities.

Second, while we disagree with the anecdotal evidence that the science community as a whole is split when it comes to mātauranga and engagement with Māori, our results suggest there is a difference between genders. Women researchers in this survey are very positive when it comes to valuing mātauranga Māori, whereas men are relatively less so. We need to study this more deeply to find out why this might be the case.

Shifts in how researchers work

New Zealand’s science, research and innovation sector is in the middle of a structural transition with reviews of its priorities, policy, funding and organisational arrangements.

While central government re-arrangements can happen relatively quickly, the interface between the laboratory, community and industry can take years to adjust. Embedding new practices is complex and not easily done.

The 2007 Vision Mātauranga policy was initially slow, uneven and bumpy in its implementation. But our results suggest its impact has accelerated over the past few years. This includes recognising that working alongside different knowledge systems is valuable for innovation.

Whatever New Zealand’s current restructure of the science sector prioritises, the way researchers work has changed. New Zealand is now at the forefront of global shifts when it comes to links between Indigenous knowledge and science.

Anecdotes aside, accelerating the engagement between Māori and the science sector will be key to delivering the impact Māori and wider New Zealand expect.

Katharina Ruckstuhl received funding from Science for Technological Innovation, National Science Challenge.

Madeline Judge received funding from Science for Technological Innovation, National Science Challenge.

Urs Daellenbach received funding from Science for Technological Innovation, National Science Challenge.

– ref. Majority of NZ researchers see Māori Indigenous knowledge as relevant to their work – but there is a gender divide – https://theconversation.com/majority-of-nz-researchers-see-maori-indigenous-knowledge-as-relevant-to-their-work-but-there-is-a-gender-divide-241239

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: NSU launched a pilot computing cluster of the Lavrentyev supercomputer center

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

The first stage of the computing cluster segment of the Lavrentyev supercomputer center has been launched at Novosibirsk State University. The segment is located in the NSU academic building, and will later be located on the premises of the NSU research center, which is one of the facilities the second stage of the modern campus of NSU. With a computing power of 360 teraflops (trillions of floating-point operations per second), it surpasses all similar servers in academic institutions beyond the Urals. The new cluster is designed to work with large language models and generative artificial intelligence.

— The Lavrentyev SCC is an important part of the university development strategy, which involves the creation of a modern computing infrastructure based on NSU. The launch of the pilot cluster is a significant step towards achieving this goal. The Lavrentyev SCC will become a center for collective use and will be in demand by a wide variety of specialists, and will also be useful for processing large scientific data, — commented the rector of NSU, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Mikhail Fedoruk.

It is planned that the Lavrentyev supercomputer center will be fully operational in 2026. The maximum computing power will be 10 petaflops (quadrillion floating-point operations per second). The first stage of the Lavrentyev SCC, which was launched at NSU, will already allow solving a number of important research and applied problems.

— We will use it to practice the application of large language models to real-world devices, including industrial artificial intelligence, transport, and unmanned aircraft systems. It is possible that swarm technologies will also be part of our work in the future.yu1sch. But first, we must provide a separate device with minimal intelligence, and then develop algorithms for their interaction with each other in order to solve common problems, said Alexey Okunev, director Institute of Intelligent Robotics NSU.

Among the first projects for which the computing power of the new cluster will be used are projects implemented in the interests of industrial partners within the NSU Research Center for Artificial Intelligence. In particular, we are talking about various video analytics sensors developed by order of Rostelecom — these are transport detectors, detectors of non-standard behavior for schools, etc.

— This server is equipped with graphic accelerators that allow for multiple parallel calculations, it has the necessary amount of graphic video memory so that we can use modern large language models of the ChatGPT and GigaChat level, fine-tune and customize them to solve specific problems. The term “non-standard behavior” is quite difficult to formulate algorithmically. The task of recognizing non-standard types of behavior and preventing them can be solved using advanced artificial intelligence technologies, which can be provided to us by large language models. This should increase the accuracy and robustness (resistance to interference) of our models, — Alexey Okunev explained.

The computing cluster also opens up additional opportunities for the implementation of new educational programs. Thus, “Digital Department” of NSU It is planned to launch the Machine Learning program. Within its framework, students will be trained on real projects that use artificial intelligence technologies and whose customers are industrial partners from various industries.

yu1sch Decentralized process management through self-organizing collective work of all its elements.

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.

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI: TGS Announces Birmingham-Gemini 3D Seismic Survey in Appalachian Basin

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

OSLO, Norway (23 October 2024) – TGS, a global leader in energy data and intelligence, today announced an extension to the Birmingham 3D seismic survey covering 276 square miles. The survey is strategically located on the western flank of the Appalachian Basin, aligning with the most prospective trend of the Utica-Point Pleasant formation and Clinton sands.

Kristian Johansen, CEO of TGS, commented: “The Birmingham-Gemini 3D survey reflects TGS’ commitment to uncovering the Appalachian Basin’s potential. Combined with our well-log database and analytical products, it provides clients with critical insights to drive exploration and production success, highlighting our dedication to delivering premium geoscience data for informed decision-making.”

The Birmingham-Gemini 3D seismic survey will target key formations in the Appalachian Basin, including the Ordovician Trenton, Black River, Utica/Point Pleasant, Cambrian reservoirs, and Silurian Clinton sands. Positioned up-dip from the Utica condensate and gas trend, the survey aims to explore the under-explored Point Pleasant oil window.

Using advanced seismic imaging, the project will map deep structures to identify hydrocarbon traps, analyze facies changes and optimize well placement. These insights will aid operators in refining exploration and production strategies.

TGS will enhance the seismic data by integrating it with its extensive Appalachian geologic and well database, including over 480,000 well logs. Proprietary formation tops and well performance metrics, available through the TGS Well Data Analytics platform, provide clients with comprehensive analysis for deeper insights into the region’s potential.

Recording for the Birmingham-Gemini 3D survey will commence in early 2025, with the fully processed dataset available to clients by year-end.

This project is supported by industry funding.

For more information, visit TGS.com or contact:

Bård Stenberg
IR & Business Intelligence
Mobile: +47 992 45 235
investor@tgs.com

About TGS
TGS provides advanced data and intelligence to companies active in the energy sector. With leading-edge technology and solutions spanning the entire energy value chain, TGS offers a comprehensive range of insights to help clients make better decisions. Our broad range of products and advanced data technologies, coupled with a global, extensive and diverse energy data library, make TGS a trusted partner in supporting the exploration and production of energy resources worldwide. For further information, please visit http://www.tgs.com (https://www.tgs.com/).

Forward Looking Statement
All statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove accurate. These factors include volatile market conditions, investment opportunities in new and existing markets, demand for licensing of data within the energy industry, operational challenges, and reliance on a cyclical industry and principal customers. Actual results may differ materially from those expected or projected in the forward-looking statements. TGS undertakes no responsibility or obligation to update or alter forward-looking statements for any reason.

The MIL Network –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI NGOs: Cuba: Amnesty International designates four persons as prisoners of conscience in the midst of a new wave of state repression

Source: Amnesty International –

In a context of systematic human rights violations, a completely restricted civic space and the criminalization of any form of dissent, Amnesty International today declared political dissident Félix Navarro, independent journalist and Dama de Blanco Sayli Navarro, 11J protester Roberto Pérez Fonseca and activist Luis Robles as prisoners of conscience.

“These designations are a recognition of the dozens of people who remain in prison in Cuba for peacefully exercising their rights, and of all those who live under constant surveillance, harassment and the threat of criminalization. A recognition of the courage and resistance of the people of Cuba who are standing up to constant and generalized repression and fighting for their rights and the rights of all people,” said Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.

Félix Navarro is a 71-year-old political dissident and founder of the “Pedro Luis Boitel” Party for Democracy. For over 30 years, he has been the coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba and has been associated with the Cuba Decides platform and the Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba. Félix is currently serving his third prison sentence for political reasons. He was imprisoned in 1992 on charges of “enemy propaganda” for putting up “anti-revolution” posters in his home town. In 2003, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the criminal proceedings following the crackdown known as the “Black Spring”, along with 75 other dissidents, journalists and activists. In this context, he was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. He was released on extra-penal leave on 23 March 2011, together with fellow prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer, as the last of the group of 75 to be freed after previously refusing to be released in exchange for exile.

Sayli Navarro, his daughter, is a 38-year-old activist and cofounder of the Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White), a group of mothers, wives and daughters of the group of 75 people arrested during the “Black Spring”. Sayli has lived with the consequences of the state repression exercised against her father since she was a child. She was expelled from university in 2010 because of her “counter-revolutionary links”, and has been arbitrarily detained, subjected to interrogation and threatened on a number of occasions by state security agents and police authorities.

Félix and Sayli Navarro were sentenced in March 2022 to 9 and 8 years in prison respectively for events related to the protests of 11 and 12 July 2021. Both were violently arrested on 12 July at their local police station in the town of Perico, Matanzas province, when they went to enquire about the situation of members of their movement who had been arrested during the protests the day before.

Luis Robles, 32, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison in March 2022 on charges of enemy propaganda and disobedience for peacefully protesting on a pedestrian street in central Havana in December 2020. Luis was holding up a sign that read ‘’Freedom‘’, ‘’No+Repression‘’ and ‘’#Free-Denis‘’ and walking in circles as dozens of people began to film him. Luis Robles held up the sign for several minutes until the police approached him, took the sign from him and arrested him, with Luis putting up no resistance. This happened a few days after the San Isidro Movement staged a lockdown and hunger strike to demand the release of rapper Denis Solís. Luis wanted to express his solidarity with the rapper and his support for the San Isidro Movement.

Roberto Pérez Fonseca, 41, was sentenced in October 2021 to 10 years’ imprisonment for his participation in the protests of 11 July 2021. Roberto was charged with the offences of contempt, assault, public disorder and incitement to commit a crime, all of which are typically used by the Cuban authorities against those who exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Roberto’s detention to be arbitrary and motivated by the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of assembly and association, as well as to freedom of opinion and expression. It also found that Roberto’s right to a fair and impartial trial had been violated.

These designations come in the context of renewed repression by the Cuban authorities against activists, human rights defenders, journalists, intellectuals and independent media in the last weeks of September. This includes an alarming increase in ill-treatment, harassment, arbitrary detentions, new threats of criminalization, denial of prison benefits and worrying reports of deterioration in the health and physical integrity of detainees.

“Following the widespread state repression unleashed by the July 2021 protests, and with many activists, political opponents and dissidents unjustly imprisoned, the Cuban state seems intent on eradicating any capacity for resistance within Cuban society, which now extends to projects, spaces and activism not linked to traditional political opposition or dissidence,” added Ana Piquer.

Independent media organizations El Toque, Periodismo de Barrio and Cubanet have claimed in editorials and on social media that their contributors have received threats of criminalization from the authorities in recent weeks. According to these reports, contributors have repeatedly been summoned by police and state security agents and informed of possible criminal prosecution for “mercenarism”. In addition, activists and independent media contributors reported on their social networks that they had received arbitrary summonses followed by interrogations by the authorities and state security agents about their journalistic work and their links to certain individuals or media outlets considered to be “counter-revolutionary”. In this context, Amnesty International has had access to the testimonies of at least 20 activists, who have reported being threatened with imprisonment, forced to record themselves and sign declarations of self-incrimination, and deprived of their mobile phones and computers. Similarly, Cuban human rights organizations reported that at least three independent media contributors were forced to write public resignations on their social networks, expressing their intention not to work with independent media. On 16 September, the cultural magazine PM Magazine announced that it was closing down permanently due to increasing pressure and harassment against its director by state security agents.

“This climate of constant fear and intimidation adds to our concern at the continuing reports of the deteriorating health and ill-treatment of prisoners of conscience Loreto Hernández, Pedro Albert and José Daniel Ferrer, and the increasing and systematic harassment of journalist Carlos Michael Morales, and Damas de Blanco leader Berta Soler. It is imperative that the international community show solidarity and demand the immediate release of those imprisoned for exercising their rights, and an end to the repression and harassment of dissidents in Cuba,” said Ana Piquer.

Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of prisoners of conscience, and of all those unjustly imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights. The organization also calls on the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel to respect human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, to repeal repressive legislation, and to end the repression of dissidents.

In order to determine whether a person is a prisoner of conscience, Amnesty International uses the information available to it regarding the circumstances leading to their detention. By designating a particular person as a prisoner of conscience, Amnesty is affirming that this person must be immediately and unconditionally released but is not endorsing their past or present views or conduct.

MIL OSI NGO –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: IADS Showroom Day

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

IADS Showroom Day
IADS Showroom Day
*****************

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (October 23) the official Chinese name for the Interbank Account Data Sharing (IADS) initiative and the launch of the IADS Developer Platform, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), enabling banks to securely and efficiently share bank account data with other banks, subject to customer consent. The IADS pilot programme commenced in January this year, with a total of 28 participating banks (see Annex). The programme has established the rules and standards facilitating interbank customer-consented data sharing, covering retail, corporate and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customer segments. This allows banks to share customers’ deposit account information (including account availability, status, balances and transaction records) with other banks, subject to customer consent. The initiative aims to encourage the industry to launch more innovative data-driven banking products and services, thereby enhancing customer experience. To showcase the initial results of the pilot programme, the HKMA held the IADS Showroom Day today, allowing banks to share practical applications of IADS, including streamlining loan application process, consolidated financial analysis, and online identity verification. Banks will gradually launch related products to the market. Additionally, in collaboration with the HKSTP, the HKMA announced the launch of the IADS Developer Platform, a one-stop platform that provides testing account data and simulated application programming interfaces (APIs) from participating banks, facilitating collaboration between banks and technology firms to jointly develop more data-driven products and services. Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA Mr Howard Lee said, “The rapid development of the digital economy underscores the importance of secure and efficient data transfer. We are pleased to see the banking sector actively supporting IADS and utilising customer-consented data to provide innovative banking products and services that bring convenience and benefits to the public, promoting the steady and healthy development of the fintech ecosystem.” For more details about the IADS initiative, please visit the HKMA’s website.

Ends/Wednesday, October 23, 2024Issued at HKT 15:00

NNNN

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Asian Development Blog: How Strengthened Regulations and Healthcare Can Prevent Lead Poisoning

Source: Asia Development Bank

Lead exposure remains a significant public health threat in Asia and the Pacific, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The global effort to address lead poisoning must focus on stricter regulations, enhanced healthcare capacity, and coordinated international action to protect vulnerable populations.

The harmful effects of lead poisoning have been well-established since ancient times, with the First Century Roman writer Vitruvius warning of the health hazards of the widely-used metal. Today, we know that “there is almost no function in the human body which is not affected by lead toxicity.”

Lead exposure increases deaths from cardiovascular diseases among adults, particularly in low and middle-income countries. The long-term storage of lead in bones can lead to a wide range of health effects, including high blood pressure and renal failure.

For pregnant women and their babies, lead exposure is particularly devastating—it can cross the placental barrier, causing complications of pregnancy, miscarriages, stillbirths, and low birth weight.

In children, lead exposure has long-term and irreversible impacts on mental function reducing educational performance and employment opportunities. Together, these health consequences for individuals compromise the economic growth and social stability of entire countries.

While high income countries have significantly reduced lead exposure through rigorous testing, targeted research, and robust policy interventions, low- and middle-income countries, including several in Asia and the Pacific, continue to grapple with dangerously high levels of lead exposure.

An estimated 95% of the world’s IQ loss and 90% of cardiovascular deaths from exposure to lead is in low and middle-income countries, according to a 2023 study. The economic costs of lead exposure are staggering, with losses in total GDP of 10.5% in East Asia and the Pacific, 9.1% in South Asia, and 8.9% in Sub-Saharan Africa.

With effective interventions, high-income countries have reduced this economic impact of lead exposure to losses of 5.0% of total GDP but have not yet eliminated all sources of lead exposure.

The scale of the challenge is immense. Lead exposure causes three times as many deaths as exposure to unsafe water and sanitation and just as many deaths as air pollution. South Asia has some of the highest blood lead levels in the world with India alone home to 275 million children affected by lead poisoning —this amounts to half of all India’s children and one-third of the children affected by lead globally.

Bangladesh struggles with chronic lead exposure, largely due to contaminated spices, while Afghanistan faces a “silent epidemic” linked to lead-leaching cookware.

In the Philippines, 2021-2022 data from the Expanded National Nutrition Survey shows that over a million Filipino children ages 6-9 years have elevated blood lead levels. In Indonesia, more than 8 million children are estimated to have high blood lead levels with millions more at risk from lead paint covering homes and public facilities.

Across Asia and the Pacific, the informal recycling of used lead-acid batteries continues to poison communities, contaminating air, soil, and water.

The different sources of lead exposure complicate the challenge to remove the problem, however, the scope of the health and socioeconomic damage from lead demands decisive and comprehensive action. But we are not starting from zero.

The evidence base is robust, and the solutions are within reach. What remains is the political will and coordinated action across sectors to implement them effectively. The recent launch of the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future at the United Nations General Assembly marks a watershed moment in the global fight against lead poisoning.

Exposure to lead is one of the most preventable public health threats, and yet it remains a pervasive environmental poison.

Health systems are at the forefront of the response toward a lead-free future.

Developing countries must strengthen health regulatory frameworks and enforce existing standards for lead content in products such as food, cosmetics, paints, and water. Inconsistent enforcement has been a major barrier in reducing exposure, and this must be addressed with urgency.

Stronger regulatory oversight and harsher penalties for non-compliance will be key, particularly in industries known for high lead usage. International development partners, through technical advice and policy-based lending, can play a pivotal role in incentivizing reforms and ensuring their effective implementation.

Building healthcare capacity is crucial. Healthcare professionals have low knowledge of the symptoms of lead poisoning, such as irritability and lethargy in mild doses and tremors and other neuropathies in higher doses.

Training is needed so that health workers identify lead poisoning and provide timely referrals for treatment. Developing the necessary healthcare infrastructure—from rural clinics to urban hospitals—is fundamental to ensuring that testing, treatment, and prevention measures can be implemented from communities, primary care facilities to hospitals.

Health actions should support the establishment of systematic, large-scale testing and data collection systems. Reliable data plays an essential role in understanding the full scope of lead exposure and to inform targeted interventions. Alongside quantitative measurements, the use of qualitative and ethnographic data is invaluable tool to understand how and why lead-contaminated products are used – and who is exposed to them.

Public awareness is critical. Surveys reveal that knowledge about the dangers of lead exposure is shockingly low. Large-scale educational and health promotion campaigns must be launched to raise awareness of the sources and effects of lead poisoning, particularly in communities most at risk.

While the health sector has a role in addressing lead poisoning, whatever the source, the scale and complexity of the problem demands coordinated action well beyond a single sector.

Governments, civil society, multilateral institutions, development agencies and the private sector must all come together to share resources, knowledge, and best practices. Only through collaboration can we hope to reduce and ultimately eliminate lead from our environment. The launch of the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future is a vital step in bringing stakeholders together.

Exposure to lead is one of the most preventable public health threats, and yet it remains a pervasive environmental poison. The science is clear; the solutions are known. A lead-free future is not just a possibility—it is a necessity.

By acting now, we can safeguard the health and potential of millions of children, secure the economic and social well-being of developing countries, and ensure a healthier, brighter Asia and Pacific for generations to come.

MIL OSI Economics –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI China: 1st Tianwen sci-fi awards announce winners

Source: China State Council Information Office 3

The inaugural Tianwen Chinese Science Fiction Literature Contest handed out trophies to respective winners over the weekend in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

Author Liu Yang gives his acceptance speech for Best Novel on stage during the Tianwen Chinese Science Fiction Literature Contest’s award ceremony held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Oct. 18, 2024. [Photo courtesy of Tianwen Chinese Science Fiction Literature Contest Organizing Committee]

During the award ceremony, ten main awards were handed out, which included Liu Yang winning Best Novel for “A City in the Well,” Fractal Orange being awarded Best Novelette for “Descartes’ Evil Genius” and Hai Ya’s “Spring Outside the Earthen Building” taking home Best Short Story.

Other award winners included “Honor of Kings – Amber Era” for Best Science Fiction Video Game Script and “The Wandering Earth II,” which won Best Sci-fi Film and Television Script. “The Three-Body Problem, Part One,” a comic book adaptation of Liu Cixin’s sci-fi trilogy, won Best Sci-fi Comic Book. Writers He Shan, Liu Ziheng, Pang Yujie, Long Teng and Ren Keye all received the award for best young sci-fi writers. Science Fiction World magazine was named the best sci-fi literature organization. The award for best new sci-fi writer was won by Liu Maijia.

Ten international sci-fi works were also honored at the ceremony with the Tianwen Special Award. These international works included Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” Arthur C. Clarke’s “Rendezvous with Rama,” Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Found and the Lost” and Robert L. Forward’s “Dragon’s Egg: A Novel,” and represented the top translated works in China over the past decade, as voted by members of last year’s World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Chengdu and this year’s Tianwen members.

Supported by the China Writers Association and hosted by the Chengdu municipal government, the contest received 1,162 submissions from both domestic and international sci-fi writers and practitioners, with submissions ranging from novels, short stories and comic books to films, TV series and games. The jury stated that the first Tianwen Chinese Science Fiction Literature Contest advocated for diverse and widespread participation.

“Last year at Worldcon, we launched the Tianwen Program to inspire sci-fi creators and stimulate the creation of high-quality works, promoting the exchange and integration of Chinese-language sci-fi with the rest of the world,” said Shi Zhanjun, a secretary of the secretariat of the Chinese Writers Association. “The launch of the Tianwen Program and this contest aim to foster cross-disciplinary integration in sci-fi literature, leading to a more fascinating and diverse sci-fi world.”

During the award ceremony, a camp for young sci-fi writers was also initiated under the Tianwen brand as an important component to the Tianwen Program. The camp aims to provide a series of professional creative training sessions for young writers with potential.

Launched last year during the 81st Worldcon in Chengdu, the Tianwen Program is named after a poem composed over 2,300 years ago by the esteemed poet Qu Yuan that explores the principles of the cosmos and probes the origins of the universe. In English, the Chinese term “Tianwen” means “questions to heaven.”

“‘Tianwen’ embodies traditional Chinese culture and a modern exploratory spirit, which is about how we advance into the universe and explore the future of humanity,” said Qiu Huadong, vice chairman and a secretary of the secretariat of the China Writers Association at the award ceremony for the Tianwen Chinese Science Fiction Literature Contest. “As a foundation for sci-fi films and television, launching superior sci-fi literary works is crucial. With these high-quality works, the growth of sci-fi animation, film, television and other adaptations will flourish.”

Award winners and performers pose for a group photo during the Tianwen Chinese Science Fiction Literature Contest award ceremony held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Oct. 18, 2024. [Photo courtesy of Tianwen Chinese Science Fiction Literature Contest Organizing Committee]

In the past year, the national sci-fi industry has advanced from the “ten billion level” to the “hundred billion level,” achieving a revenue of 113.29 billion yuan ($15.94 billion), according to the 2024 China Science Fiction Industry Report.

MIL OSI China News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Students, postgraduates and young scientists discussed current issues of modern construction at a conference at SPbGASU

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Information Systems and Technologies Section

The LXXVII National Scientific and Practical Conference of Students, Postgraduates and Young Scientists “Current Issues of Modern Construction” was held at the Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering from October 15 to 18. The conference brought together more than 1,000 participants and listeners not only from SPbGASU, but also from Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography, National Research Moscow State University of Civil Engineering, Chuvash State University named after I.N. Ulyanov, Saint Petersburg State University of Railway Engineering named after Emperor Alexander I, Novosibirsk State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Donbass National Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture and other universities, giving them the opportunity to exchange ideas and test scientific results.

The topics of the reports covered a wide range of issues in modern construction, including those related to computer science, information systems and technologies, technosphere safety, economic security, legal regulation of urban development and transport, and many others. The work was organized within 31 sections.

Several reports at the architectural design section were devoted to the topic of Arctic development. Nikita Milov, a second-year master’s student at the SPbGASU Faculty of Architecture, presented a report entitled “Functional Zoning of a Site and Planning Structure of a Marine Terminal in the Northern Conditions (the City of Kandalaksha)” (supervised by Aleksey Mikhalychev, Associate Professor of the Department of Architectural Design).

According to the author of the report, Kandalaksha can become a cultural and tourist hub for water routes of river and sea cruise transport. Nikita proposed breathing new life into this city by creating a new sea passenger terminal in it. It could include hotels, exhibition transformable spaces, and office centers.

Museum complexes are necessary in the cities of the Far North, says Artem Martynenko, a second-year master’s student at the Faculty of Architecture of our university (his academic supervisor is Associate Professor of the Department of Architectural Design Sergey Ivanov). According to Artem, the development of territories located in the Arctic zone is one of the main tasks of the Russian Federation. To do this, it is necessary to create a pleasant, well-maintained environment, including for cultural leisure. It is also worth considering the modern policy aimed at patriotic education of youth and awakening interest in studying the history and culture of our country. Given these factors, the design and construction of museum complexes is becoming an urgent task for architects. Artem formulated the principles of designing museum complexes beyond the Arctic Circle: multifunctionality, which allows the complex to gather the maximum number of consumers and remain in demand all year round, taking into account climatic features when choosing design solutions, etc.

Anzhelika Ivanikhina, a fourth-year bachelor’s student at the Faculty of Architecture (supervised by Milena Zolotareva, Deputy Dean for Research, Associate Professor of the Department of History and Theory of Architecture), spoke about the algorithm for using generative neural networks to form an architectural concept using the example of creating a glamping site at the section on the history and theory of architecture. The audience learned how work on one of the projects was carried out in the workshop where the student works. According to Anzhelika, there is nothing wrong with using generative neural networks. You need to start with analyzing the territory and the initial data; then you should develop a functional plan and functional zoning, determine the concept of a specific part of the general plan and develop sketches. After that, you can start creating a prototype for the neural network, then analyze and adjust it. The final stage will be color correction of the result, post-processing in editing programs.

The architectural and spatial features of Omsk, using the central part of the city as an example, became the topic of the report by the second-year undergraduate student of the Faculty of Architecture Arina Peteshova (supervised by Milena Zolotareva). Arina believes that the central part of Omsk has unique architectural and spatial characteristics that can be successfully used for the further development of the city. It is necessary to optimize the planning of the urban environment, pay attention to the development of integration solutions for historical and modern buildings, and study the impact of new architectural projects on the existing urban structure.

The creation of tools for processing data on the working hours of the organization’s employees is being carried out by a second-year master’s student of the Faculty of Engineering Ecology and Urban Economy Egor Abramov under the supervision of the acting head of the Department of Information Systems and Technologies Olga Yarkova. Egor gave a report on the topic of his research at the section of information systems and technologies. The student analyzed the information environment of the enterprise, formulated the requirements for the developed tools, and determined the methods and technologies for implementation. The researcher plans to develop an application for solving work tasks and performing additional functions.

The conference “Current Problems of Modern Construction” was held within the framework of a subsidy from the federal budget to educational institutions of higher education for the implementation of events aimed at supporting student scientific communities No. 075-15-2024-854. Scientific materials of the conference will be published in a collection of materials indexed in the Russian Science Citation Index.

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.

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: The London Fire Brigade: Is its culture changing?
Source: Mayor of London

Two years on from a review which identified institutional misogyny, racism and issues in handling mental health, what progress has the London Fire Brigade (LFB) made in tackling its cultural problems?

Tomorrow, the London Assembly Fire Committee will ask academics, unions, and women in the fire service about how much progress has been made since the review and what work can still be done.

Members will closely examine whether the LFB’s recently launched Professional Standards Unit and its External Complaints Service are working effectively to drive up standards in the service, and will learn more about the challenges of the delivery of complex cultural change in other institutions.

The guests are:

Panel 1: 10am-10.45am
- Ann-Marie Barlow, Director, Energise Development
- Suzanne McCarthy, Independent Chair, Fire Standards Board
- Dr Jessica White, Acting Director of Terrorism and Conflict Studies, Royal United Services Institute
- Dr Rowena Hill MBE, Professor of Resilience, Emergencies and Disaster Science, Nottingham Trent University
Panel 2: 10.55am-12.15pm
- Paula Lyons, Company Secretary, Women in the Fire Service
- Anna Snelson, LFB Women in the Fire Service
- Gareth Cooke, London Regional Organiser, Fire Brigades Union
- Adam Shaw, London Regional Treasurer, Fire Brigades Union
- Deborah Riviere Williams, Chair of Unison within the LFB
The meeting will take place on Thursday 24 October from 10am, in the Chamber at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, E16 1ZE.

Media and members of the public are invited to attend.

The meeting can also be viewed LIVE or later via webcast or YouTube.

Follow us @LondonAssembly.
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: GUU at the forum “Voice of the generation. Vice-rectors, teachers”

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

A team of teachers from the State University of Management took part in the program “Voice of a Generation. Vice-Rectors Teachers”, held with the support of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.

Representatives of more than 50 universities of our country gathered at the Mashuk Knowledge Center in Pyatigorsk.

This year, the main topic of the meeting was educational work, which was examined from different points of view: psychology, law, neurobiology.

The delegation of the State University of Management included: Deputy Director of the Institute of Economics and Finance for educational work Valeria Ivanova, Deputy Director of the Institute of Social and Cultural Studies and the Bureau of Culture Svetlana Grishaeva, Deputy Director of the Institute of Information Systems for educational work Kirill Putilov, Deputy Head of the Department of Management in the Sphere of Culture, Cinema, Television and Entertainment Industry Anna Akopyan and Lecturer of the Department of Marketing Alina Gorchakova.

The forum’s guests of honor were Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Olga Petrova and Advisor to the Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Madeleine Baturina.

The forum program included not only the usual presentations by speakers, master classes and seminars, but also other formats of work: quiz, business games, round tables, reflection and an immersive game with immersion, where teachers together decided what the future world will be like in terms of values, specialties and what the student of the future will be like.

During four days of intensive work, the team from each university had the opportunity not only to reconsider their views on the educational process at the university, but also to plan specific actions applicable in their work, as well as to exchange experiences with colleagues from other universities and even make their own proposals for changing the points of the educational work program at their university.

At the end of the final evening, all participating teams had to formulate a phrase describing the main insight after completing the program.

The quote from the GUU team is: “The happiness of discovering yourself through discovering others.”

Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 23.10.2024

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 24, 2025
MIL-OSI NGOs: Cuba: Amnesty declares four new prisoners of conscience in midst of new wave of state repression
Source: Amnesty International –

Widespread state repression has been enforced since the July 2021 protests, but a renewed effort to suppress dissent began this September

Félix Navarro, Dama de Blanco Sayli Navarro, Roberto Pérez Fonseca and Luis Robles have been named as prisoners of conscience

‘This is a recognition of the courage and resistance of the people of Cuba who … fighting for their rights and the rights of all people’ – Ana Piquer

Amnesty International has declared political dissident Félix Navarro, independent journalist Dama de Blanco Sayli Navarro, 11J protester Roberto Pérez Fonseca and activist Luis Robles as prisoners of conscience.

These designations come in the context of renewed repression by the Cuban authorities against activists, human rights defenders, journalists, intellectuals and independent media in the last weeks of September. This includes an alarming increase in ill-treatment, harassment, arbitrary detentions, new threats of criminalisation, denial of prison benefits and worrying reports of deterioration in the health and physical integrity of detainees.

Ana Piquer, Director of the Americas at Amnesty International, said:

“These designations are a recognition of the dozens of people who remain in prison in Cuba for peacefully exercising their rights, and of all those who live under constant surveillance, harassment and the threat of criminalisation. This is a recognition of the courage and resistance of the people of Cuba who are standing up to constant and generalised repression and fighting for their rights and the rights of all people.

“Following the widespread state repression unleashed by the July 2021 protests, and with many activists, political opponents and dissidents unjustly imprisoned, the Cuban state seems intent on eradicating any capacity for resistance within Cuban society, which now extends to projects, spaces and activism not linked to traditional political opposition or dissidence.

“It is imperative that the international community show solidarity and demand the immediate release of those imprisoned for exercising their rights, and an end to the repression and harassment of dissidents in Cuba.”

Prisoners of conscience
- Félix Navarro is a 71-year-old political dissident and founder of the “Pedro Luis Boitel” Party for Democracy. For over 30 years, he has been the coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba and has been associated with the Cuba Decides platform and the Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba. Félix is currently serving his third prison sentence for political reasons. He was imprisoned in 1992 on charges of “enemy propaganda” for putting up “anti-revolution” posters in his hometown. In 2003, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the criminal proceedings following the crackdown known as the “Black Spring”, along with 75 other dissidents, journalists and activists. In this context, he was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty. He was released on extra-penal leave on 23 March 2011, together with fellow prisoner of conscience José Daniel Ferrer, as the last of the group of 75 to be freed after previously refusing to be released in exchange for exile.
- Sayli Navarro, Félix Navarro’s daughter, is a 38-year-old activist and co-founder of the Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White), a group of mothers, wives and daughters of the group of 75 people arrested during the “Black Spring”. Sayli has lived with the consequences of the state repression exercised against her father since she was a child. She was expelled from university in 2010 because of her “counter-revolutionary links”, and has been arbitrarily detained, subjected to interrogation and threatened on a number of occasions by state security agents and police authorities.
Félix and Sayli Navarro were sentenced in March 2022 to 9 and 8 years in prison respectively for events related to the protests of July 2021. Both were violently arrested on 12 July at their local police station in the town of Perico, Matanzas province, when they went to enquire about the situation of members of their movement who had been arrested during the protests the day before.
- Luis Robles, 32, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison in March 2022 on charges of enemy propaganda and disobedience for peacefully protesting on a pedestrian street in central Havana in December 2020. Luis was holding up a sign that read “Freedom”, “No+Repression” and “#Free-Denis” while walking in circles as dozens of people began to film him. Luis held up the sign for several minutes until the police approached him, took the sign from him and arrested him, with Luis putting up no resistance. This happened a few days after the San Isidro Movement staged a lockdown and hunger strike to demand the release of rapper Denis Solís. Luis wanted to express his solidarity with the rapper and the San Isidro Movement.
- Roberto Pérez Fonseca, 41, was sentenced in October 2021 to 10 years imprisonment for his participation in the protests of July 2021. Roberto was charged with the offences of contempt, assault, public disorder and incitement to commit a crime, all of which are typically used by the Cuban authorities against those who exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Roberto’s detention to be arbitrary and motivated by the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of assembly and association, as well as to freedom of opinion and expression. It also found that Roberto’s right to a fair and impartial trial had been violated.
Climate of repression

Independent media organisations El Toque, Periodismo de Barrio and Cubanet have claimed in editorials and on social media that their contributors have received threats of criminalisation from the authorities in recent weeks. According to these reports, contributors have repeatedly been summoned by police and state security agents and informed of possible criminal prosecution for “mercenarism”. In addition, activists and independent media contributors reported on their social networks that they had received arbitrary summonses followed by interrogations by the authorities and state security agents about their journalistic work and their links to certain individuals or media outlets considered to be “counter-revolutionary”.

Amnesty has had access to the testimonies of at least 20 activists who have reported being threatened with imprisonment, forced to record themselves and sign declarations of self-incrimination, and deprived of their mobile phones and computers. Similarly, Cuban human rights organisations reported that at least three independent media contributors were forced to write public resignations on their social networks, expressing their intention not to work with independent media.

On 16 September, cultural magazine PM Magazine announced that it was closing down permanently due to increasing pressure and harassment against its director by state security agents.

Ana Piquer said:

“This climate of constant fear and intimidation adds to our concern at the continuing reports of the deteriorating health and ill-treatment of prisoners of conscience Loreto Hernández, Pedro Albert and José Daniel Ferrer, and the increasing and systematic harassment of journalist Carlos Michael Morales, and Damas de Blanco leader Berta Soler.”

Amnesty calls for the immediate and unconditional release of prisoners of conscience, and of all those unjustly imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights. The organisation also calls on the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel to respect human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, to repeal repressive legislation, and to end the repression of dissidents.

In order to determine whether a person is a prisoner of conscience, Amnesty uses the information available to it regarding the circumstances leading to their detention. By designating a particular person as a prisoner of conscience, Amnesty is affirming that this person must be immediately and unconditionally released but is not endorsing their past or present views or conduct.
MIL OSI NGO –
January 24, 2025