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Category: Science

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Briefing – Confirmation hearings of the Commissioners-designate: Dan Jørgensen – Energy and Housing – 15-10-2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Dan Jørgensen has most recently served as Danish Minister for Development Cooperation and Minister for Global Climate Policy. His role has been to oversee Denmark’s international development initiatives and global climate policies, including co-facilitating COP28 climate negotiations and co-chairing a number of working groups and alliances. Jørgensen is a member of the Social Democratic Party in Denmark, which is affiliated to the S&D group in the European Parliament. He has been a member of the Danish parliament since 2015 and previously served as Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, as well as Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, where he co-facilitated COP26 and COP27 negotiations and served as chair of the International Energy Agency’s Global Commission on People-Centred Clean Energy Transitions. Jørgensen was a Member of the European Parliament (2004-2013), where he served as vice-chair of the Committee on Environment, president of the Animal Welfare Intergroup and head of the Danish delegation of Social Democrats (2009-2013). Born in 1975, Jørgensen holds a master’s degree in political science from Aarhus University. His professional career also includes academic positions as adjunct professor and external lecturer. This is one of a set of briefings designed to give an overview of issues of interest relating to the portfolios of the Commissioners designate. All these briefings can be found at: https://epthinktank.eu/commissioner_hearings_2024.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Briefing – Confirmation hearings of the Commissioners-designate: Christophe Hansen – Agriculture and Food – 15-10-2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Christophe Hansen was re-elected as a Member of the European Parliament in June 2024 where he sits in the EPP group and is currently a member of the Committees for International Trade, Employment and Social Affairs, and Transport and Tourism. In the previous parliamentary term, Hansen sat on the Committee on International Trade and the Subcommittee on Tax Matters. He also served as Quaestor for a year, before stepping down after being elected to the Luxembourg Parliament in October 2023. In 2014, Hansen joined the Luxembourg Permanent Representation to the EU, chaired the Council of the EU’s Working Party on the Environment during the Luxembourg Presidency (July-December 2015), and served as an economic and commercial attaché at the Luxembourg Embassy in Brussels. From March 2017 to August 2018, Hansen represented Luxembourg in the European Economic and Social Committee. From 2007 to 2014, he had worked in the European Parliament as a political adviser to the centre-right MEP Astrid Lulling on agriculture, the environment, and economic and monetary affairs. Christophe Hansen was born in 1982 in Wiltz, Luxembourg. He earned a master’s degree in geosciences, environmental sciences and risk management from Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg in 2007.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Rosneft has developed a tabletop “monopoly” for training oil workers

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Rosneft – Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Specialists from the Rosneft Research Institute in Ufa have developed a board game to train workers in the oil and gas industry. Participants in the “oil monopoly” go through all stages of field development, from prospecting and exploration to design and commissioning.

    The integrated modeling game is intended for specialists of any level and field, including students.

    The teams’ playing field is divided into three blocks: geology and development, development, and economics. By throwing a die and moving their token around the field, the participant answers questions on the oil and gas business, as well as gets acquainted with Rosneft’s corporate software and makes decisions on the development of their assets. Random events can occur in the game – from changes in tax legislation to the introduction of innovative technologies.

    The winner is the participant or team that develops the deposit with the greatest economic efficiency. Game techniques help improve skills in building an asset development strategy in conditions of market competition and limited resources.

    More than 50 copies of the “oil monopoly” have been transferred to Rosneft perimeter enterprises and third-party oil and gas companies. For training personnel in the oil and gas industry, the game is planned to be transferred to 8 universities in the country, including the Company’s corporate departments at the Ufa State Petroleum Technological University and the Ufa University of Science and Technology.

    At present, specialists from the Ufa Institute are developing a course for teaching specialists and students the rules of the game and are working on the prospect of digitalizing the game for the subsequent creation of an electronic version.

    Department of Information and Advertising of PJSC NK Rosneft October 15, 2024

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

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

    http://vvv.rosneft.ru/press/nevs/item/220913/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to study on the rate of increase of global warming

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A study published in Nature Communications and Earth & Environment looks at the recent increase of global warming. 

    Dr Kevin Collins, Senior Lecturer Environment and Systems, Open University, said:

    “With many people and places experiencing year on year record temperatures around the globe in the last decade, it is very human to assume global warming is accelerating or ‘surging’.  However, through an authoritative statistical analysis of temperature increases since 1970, this research concludes that there is no detectable surge. Yet.

    “Instead, the results suggest global warming is occurring at a steady state. However, as the authors acknowledge, this may be because the size of any acceleration is either statistically too small, or there is simply not enough data to detect a surge in the last decade.  In other words, it is still too early to tell if the last decade (the warmest on record) represents a ‘leap’ in the warming trend.  By 2035 or 2040 we may look back and be able to see from 2015 onwards there has been a fundamental shift in the warming trend.

    “There is a very real danger that the new research is misinterpreted to show that there is no global warming or that a steady state increase in temperature means we have lots of time to act.

    “The bald statistics of a global warming world are already being lived by many populations and communities whose livelihoods are being severely impacted by heatwaves, droughts, floods, sea-level rise and other environmental changes.”

    Prof Richard Allan, Professor of Climate Science, University of Reading and National Centre for Earth Observations, said:

    “The new research highlights the difficulty in detecting an increase in the rate of surface warming, which is influenced by natural variations such as swings between warm El Niño and cool La Niña events. However, satellite observations and ocean measurements already detect a steady increase in Earth’s heating rate that is less susceptible to year to year fluctuations at the sea surface.

    “In fact, when all lines of evidence are scrutinized it is apparent that climate change is accelerating rather continuing steadily. Halting global warming by stabilizing Earth’s climate and limiting further damage from worsening extreme weather and rising sea levels is only possible through rapid and massive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.”

     

    ‘Is the Recent Surge in Global Warming Detectable?’ by Claudie Beaulieu et al. was published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment at 22:00 UK time on Monday 14th October.

    Declared interests:

    Dr Kevin Collins: No conflicts to declare.

    Prof Richard Allan: No conflicts to declare.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Rare Observation in Hidden Structure in Crystals Brings New Paradigms in Material Design for Advanced Energy Solutions

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 15 OCT 2024 3:34PM by PIB Delhi

    Researchers have made a rare observation where the local crystal structure symmetry or the arrangement of atoms in the immediate vicinity of a given atom, in a crystal, reduces upon warming, contrary to the usual trend of symmetry of crystal structures increasing with rising temperatures. The study underlines the significance of chemical design in triggering unconventional phenomena in crystalline materials useful for phononics, thermoelectrics and solar thermal conversion.

    Symmetry breaking plays a crucial role in fundamental chemistry and physics. A familiar manifestation of this phenomenon is the transition of a gas to a liquid and eventually to a solid upon cooling, with each phase transition involving a reduction in symmetry.

    Thermodynamic factors like entropy (measure of disorder) and enthalpy (measure of total energy stored) of a system determines how the system responds to changing conditions like temperature fluctuations.

    Traditionally, it is believed that as a material is heated, it tends to adopt a higher crystal symmetry due to the favourable increase in entropy.

    However, recent findings by Prof. Kanishka Biswas, Ms. Ivy Maria, Dr. Paribesh Acharyya and other team members at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore, an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology, challenge this conventional understanding, especially at the local structural level of a crystal.

    Local structure of a crystal is the arrangement of atoms in the immediate vicinity of a given atom in a crystal, typically within the collection of the first and second nearest neighbour atoms around a specific atom, technically known as the first and second atomic coordination environments respectively.

    In an ideal crystal, the local structure mirrors the global structure, but in certain rare cases, they can diverge. This is precisely what the team observed in an all-inorganic two-dimensional halide perovskite, Cs2PbI2Cl2 that belongs to the family of Ruddlesden-Popper halide perovskites (class of materials with a specific crystal structure).

    Contrary to the usual trend where heating increases symmetry, this compound exhibits a decrease in local symmetry with rising temperature, while the global crystal symmetry remains unchanged. This occurs due to configurational averaging, where the distorted local symmetries average out at longer length scales, leaving the global structure intact.

    This phenomenon of local symmetry breaking upon heating is termed “emphanisis,” meaning “appearing out of nothing.” The team employed an advanced synchrotron X-ray technique which simultaneously reveals both the local and global structures of solids from their X-ray diffraction patterns, to investigate emphanisis.

    The synchrotron X-ray experiments were done in DESY, Hamburg, Germany under the India-DESY collaboration supported by Department of Science & Technology (DST), India.

    The researchers traced this unusual local symmetry breaking to the stereochemically active lone pair of lead in the compound.

    Interestingly, Cs2PbI2Cl2 accommodates two types of structural distortion — static distortions in chlorine atoms and dynamic distortions in lead atoms. These distortions result from the complex interplay between different structure-distorting effects driven by the interactions between the mixed halide (Cl and I) motif and the active lone electron pair of lead in Cs2PbI2Cl2. The distortions happen because of a competition between a mix of structure-distorting forces that arise because of interaction of different parts of the material (the mixed anions- Cl and I) with the lone electron pair on the lead atoms in Cs₂PbI₂Cl₂.

    The high temperature “emphanitic” phase is characterized as a disordered distorted state, existing at the intersection of an ordered undistorted state and an ordered distorted state.

    “Emphanisis” is a promising strategy for achieving intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivity in crystalline materials. Such materials are highly sought after for their fundamental importance and diverse applications, including phononics, thermoelectrics, solar thermal conversion, and various heat management systems.

    The study now published in Advanced Materials, underscores the fundamental and functional significance of chemical design in creating unconventional phenomena in crystalline materials. The findings suggest that understanding these thermodynamic subtleties can lead to intriguing structural transformations with broad applications.

    Publication link: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202408008

     

    Figure 1. Schematic representations showing the evolution of local structure of a system exhibiting emphanisis.

    Prof. Kanishka Biswas (left) and Ivy Maria (right) at Solid State Chemistry Lab, JNCASR, Bangalore.

     

    ***

    NKR/DK/AG

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: A New Photocatalyst can Efficiently Degrade Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 15 OCT 2024 3:22PM by PIB Delhi

    Scientists have developed an efficient photocatalyst that can degrade in sulfamethoxazole, a broad-spectrum antibiotic to less hazardous chemicals and reduce health and environmental concerns associated with antibiotic contamination. 

    Antibiotic contamination has several adverse effects, including antibiotic resistance, ecological impact, human health concerns, etc. Hence, there is a need to find ways to mitigate this environmental issue.

    A team of scientists from Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati, an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology have synthesized copper zinc tin sulfide Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanoparticles (NPs) and copper zinc tin sulfide -tungsten disulfide CZTS-WS2 composite. The team led by Prof. Devasish Chowdhury utilised hydrothermal reaction of zinc chloride, copper chloride, tin chloride and tungsten disulfide forming a composite that is efficient photocatalyst in degrading sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic.

    Broad-spectrum antibiotics like sulfamethoxazole (SMX) have long been used to treat human illnesses like urinary and respiratory tract infections. However, more than 54 % of SMX was released into the environment along with the faeces and urine of the patients.

    “CZTS and its nanocomposites are a multifunctional quaternary semiconductor nanomaterial made up of earth-abundant, inexpensive, and non-toxic components possessing remarkable photostability making it extremely valuable in light-harvesting and photocatalyst applications,” said Prof. Chowdhury.

    The team consisting of Nur Jalal Mondal, Rahul Sonkar, Mridusmita Barman and Dr. Mritunjoy Prasad Ghosh, established that the CZTS-WS2 composite exhibits good photocatalytic activity for the breakdown of sulfamethoxazole.

    The developed catalyst could be recovered and used repeatedly without losing its effectiveness, which is very important from an economic point of view.

    Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) a popular analytical chemistry technique that can separate and identify the degraded product was used to analyze the intermediates and degraded products of the antibiotics’ degradation reaction. The study published in Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology A, determined that the majority of intermediates were less hazardous than sulfamethoxazole. In addition, the CZTS-WS2 composite demonstrated more than 80% radical scavenging efficiency and antibacterial capabilities.

    Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2024.115907

    *****

    NKR/DK/AG

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: 2024-45 ATTORNEY GENERAL LOPEZ URGES FEDERAL JUDGE TO ORDER THE FDA TO REVIEW ITS RESTRICTIONS ON ABORTION MEDICATION MIFEPRISTONE

    Source: US State of Hawaii

    2024-45 ATTORNEY GENERAL LOPEZ URGES FEDERAL JUDGE TO ORDER THE FDA TO REVIEW ITS RESTRICTIONS ON ABORTION MEDICATION MIFEPRISTONE

    Posted on Oct 14, 2024 in Latest Department News, Newsroom

     

    DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

    KA ʻOIHANA O KA LOIO KUHINA

     

    JOSH GREEN, M.D.

    GOVERNOR

    KE KIAʻĀINA

     

    ANNE LOPEZ

    ATTORNEY GENERAL

    LOIO KUHINA

    News Release 2024-45

     

    ATTORNEY GENERAL LOPEZ URGES FEDERAL JUDGE TO ORDER THE FDA TO REVIEW ITS RESTRICTIONS ON ABORTION MEDICATION MIFEPRISTONE

     

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    October 14, 2024

     

    HONOLULU – Attorney General Anne Lopez is urging a federal judge in Spokane, Washington, to rule that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s restrictions on the abortion medication mifepristone are inconsistent with the Administrative Procedure Act.

     

    “Since 2000, more than 5.6 million patients have safely used mifepristone. We should not be afraid to increase access to a medication whose safety and efficacy is based in science and proven over time. Artificial limitations on safe and effective medication are actual limitations on access to healthcare,” said Hawaiʻi Deputy Attorney General Erin Lau.

     

    The multistate lawsuit was filed last year in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington by 17 plaintiff states, including Hawaiʻi, and the District of Columbia.

     

    Of the more than 20,000 drugs approved by the FDA, only 73 drugs have extra restrictions known as a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), including highly addictive drugs such as Oxycontin. An even smaller subset of drugs carries additional restrictions known as Elements to Assure Safe Use (ETASU), including certain risky cancer drugs and high-dose sedatives. Despite its proven safety and efficacy, mifepristone has both a REMS and an ETASU restriction.

     

    Although the REMS and ETASU restrictions have been relaxed over time, certain restrictions remain. To prescribe mifepristone, health care providers must be specially certified by the drug distributor and submit their certification form to every pharmacy to which they send a mifepristone prescription—an administratively burdensome requirement that is unique to mifepristone. The pharmacy must also be specially certified with the drug distributor before it can dispense a prescription.

     

    To receive the prescription, the patient and their provider must sign an agreement that certifies the patient has decided to take the medication to end the pregnancy—regardless of whether they are seeking an abortion or are being treated for a miscarriage, which is a common use for mifepristone. These remaining requirements are excessive when considering mifepristone’s safety profile.

     

    The multistate lawsuit asserts the restrictions on prescribing and dispensing mifepristone are unduly burdensome, harmful and unnecessary, reduce access to a critically important drug, and expose providers and patients to unnecessary privacy and safety risks. The risks are exacerbated by the growing criminalization and penalization of abortion around the country in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The Dobbs case overturned nearly a half-century of precedent, stripping away the constitutional right to abortion recognized by the Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.

     

    The plaintiff states recently filed a motion for summary judgment, seeking to require the FDA to review whether mifepristone still meets the statutory requirements to impose a REMS with ETASU restriction based on its safety profile. The motion argues that decades of data conclusively show that mifepristone is safe and effective, and that medical experts have long opposed the FDA’s restrictions on the medication. By keeping the restrictions on mifepristone, the states argue that the FDA is unnecessarily and unlawfully limiting access to a medication that is safer than Tylenol, Viagra, and insulin.

     

    Along with Attorney General Lopez, attorneys general for Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Washington, D.C. joined the case.

     

    A copy of the motion can be found here.

     

    ###

    Media Contacts:

    Dave Day

    Special Assistant to the Attorney General

    808-586-1284

    Email: [email protected]

    Web: http://ag.hawaii.gov

     

    Toni Schwartz
    Public Information Officer
    Hawai‘i Department of the Attorney General
    Office: 808-586-1252
    Cell: 808-379-9249
    Email: [email protected]

    Web: http://ag.hawaii.gov

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom signs legislation to prevent gas price spikes and save Californians money

    Source: US State of California 2

    Oct 14, 2024

    What you need to know: New measure will help prevent price spikes that cost Californians upwards of $2 billion last year, giving the state more tools to require that petroleum refiners backfill supplies and plan ahead for maintenance.

    SACRAMENTO – Today, surrounded by legislators and community leaders in the rotunda of the California State Capitol, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation to help prevent gas price spikes and save consumers money at the pump.

    The legislation — ABX2-1 authored by Assemblymembers Gregg Hart and Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and Senator Nancy Skinner — allows the state to require oil refiners to maintain a minimum inventory of fuel to avoid supply shortages that create higher gasoline prices for consumers and higher profits for the industry. It also authorizes the California Energy Commission to require refiners to plan for resupply during refiner maintenance outages. A signing message can be found here.

    “Price spikes have cost Californians billions of dollars over the years, and we’re not waiting around for the industry to do the right thing — we’re taking action to prevent these price spikes and save consumers money at the pump. Now, the state has the tools to make sure they backfill supplies and plan ahead for maintenance so there aren’t shortages that drive up prices. I’m grateful to our partners in the Senate and Assembly for acting quickly to push this forward and help deliver relief for Californians.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    “With this new law, big oil companies are now responsible for stabilizing prices at the pump. It’s a critical accomplishment, but our work is not done. I will continue to fight to lower the cost of living, because housing, groceries and everyday necessities must be more affordable for all Californians.” — Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas)

    “Today, we’re coming together to provide needed relief at the pump and help keep hard-earned dollars in the pockets of Californians. I’m grateful to Governor Newsom, Speaker Rivas, and members of the Senate and Assembly for taking swift action on this critical issue. That said, our work isn’t stopping. We’re going to continue to grind away to help lower the cost of living for folks in every corner of the Golden State. It’s a necessity.” — Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast)

    Why it’s needed

    Price spikes at the pump are profit spikes for oil companies, and they’re overwhelmingly caused by refiners not backfilling supplies when they go down for maintenance. If this proposal had been in effect last year, Californians could have saved hundreds of millions — if not billions — of dollars at the pump according to analysis from the  Division of Petroleum Market Oversight (DPMO):

    Experts have come out in support of this measure, including Stanford economists who praised the proposal for being “an economically sound policy that addresses an important problem in a well-targeted way” and the “additional supply would free up refinery capacity to serve Nevada and Arizona, also reducing prices in these markets.”

    Supporters of the bill include mayors, local leaders, consumer organizations, environmental advocates, labor, business leaders and consumer groups. Last month, the Governor and supporters met and discussed how gasoline price spikes affect millions of Californians’ everyday lives, and shared why this plan will help California families.

    How we got here

    The Governor convened a special session to focus on saving Californians money at the pump. The proposal authorizes the California Energy Commission (CEC) to require petroleum refiners to maintain a minimum inventory of refined fuel throughout the distribution chain to avoid supply shortages that create higher prices at the pump for consumers. It also authorizes the CEC to require refiners to plan for resupply during scheduled refiner maintenance. The text of the proclamation calling for a special session is available here.

    Following gasoline price spikes in 2022, Governor Newsom called for a special session and worked in partnership with the Legislature to sign into law a package of reforms holding Big Oil accountable. 

    California’s new watchdog found that higher gasoline prices were caused by a suspicious market transaction, refinery maintenance without properly preparing for it, and more. 

    In January of this year, the watchdog sent Governor Newsom and the legislature a letter outlining specific proposals to reform California’s gasoline spot market, which included a minimum inventory requirement to prevent price spikes due to lack of stable supply.

    The state’s gasoline price watchdog also found that, in 2023, gasoline prices spiked largely due to refineries going offline without adequately planning to backfill supplies, which caused refining margins to spike as spot and retail prices jumped — indicating that refinery margins made up the largest proportion of the price spikes between July and September 2023.

    Convening experts, community leaders, and consumer advocates

    The Governor today also announced his appointments to the Independent Consumer Fuels Advisory Committee:

    Martha Dina Arguello, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Independent Consumer Fuels Advisory Committee. Arguello has been Executive Director at Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles since 2007. She was Director of Health and Environmental Programs at Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles from 1999 to 2007. Arguello is Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Standing Together Against Neighborhood Drilling and Californians for a Health and Green Economy. She is a member of the California Air Resources Board AB 32 Environmental Justice Advisory Committee and the Steering Committee of Californians for Pesticide Reform. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Arguello is a Democrat. 

    Michael Jorgenson, of Mill Valley, has been appointed to the Independent Consumer Fuels Advisory Committee. Jorgenson has served as Supervisory Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General since 2018. He was Deputy County Counsel IV at the Marin County Counsel’s Office from 2017 to 2018. Jorgenson served in several roles at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 2003 to 2017, including Deputy Attorney General in the Public Rights Division, Supervising Deputy Attorney General in the Civil Division and Deputy Attorney General in the Civil Division. He was an Associate at Berman Tabacco from 2001 to 2003 and at Kelly Gill Sherburne & Herrera from 1999 to 2001. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and History from University of Michigan. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Jorgenson is a Democrat. 

    Neale Mahoney, of Stanford, has been appointed to the Independent Consumer Fuels Advisory Committee. Mahoney has been a Professor of Economics at Stanford University since 2020. He was a Special Policy Advisor for Economic Policy at The White House from 2022 to 2023. Mahoney was a Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago from 2013 to 2020. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Economics from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Brown University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Mahoney is a Democrat. 

    Deborah “Debbie” Meeks, of Walnut Creek, has been appointed to the Independent Consumer Fuels Advisory Committee. Meeks has been Manager of United States West Coast Policy and Business Coordinator at Shell USA since 2021. She was a Manager of Alliances and Portfolios at Shell US Retail from 2017 to 2021. Meeks was Americas and Mexico Regional Manager, Principal Account Executive, and Senior Account Manager at Shell Catalysts and Technologies from 1995 to 2017. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from California State University, Long Beach. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Meeks is a Democrat. 

    Norman Rogers, of Santa Ana, has been appointed to the Independent Consumer Fuels Advisory Committee. Rogers has been Second Vice-President at United Steelworkers Local 675 since 2021, and a Plant Operator in Oil Movements at Marathon Petroleum Corporation since 2018. He was a Plant Operator for Oil Movements at Tesoro Refinery from 2013 to 2018. Rogers was a member of the Fire Brigade at the Carson Refinery from 2001 to 2021. He was Plant Operator for Oil Movements at BP from 2001 to 2013, and at Arco Refinery from 1999 to 2001. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Rogers is registered without party preference.

    Astrid Zuniga, of Modesto, has been appointed to the Independent Consumer Fuels Advisory Committee. Zuniga has been President at United Domestic Workers/AFSCME 3930 since 2024 and was Vice President from 2016 to 2024. She has been Executive Secretary/Treasurer at the Stanislaus and Tuolumne Central Labor Council since 2013, and an In-Home Support Services Caregiver since 1998. Zuniga is a member of the California Democratic Party Executive Board and the Women’s Advisory Committee for AFSCME International. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Zuniga is a Democrat. 

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: PRESIDENT OF INDIA IN Algeria; HOLDS BILATERAL MEETING WITH PRESIDENT of Algeria and leads delegation level-talks

    Source: Government of India

    PRESIDENT OF INDIA IN Algeria; HOLDS BILATERAL MEETING WITH PRESIDENT of Algeria and leads delegation level-talks

    PRESIDENT MURMU ADDRESSES INDIAN COMMUNITY IN Algeria

    the Indian community in Algeria IS a bridge taking forward India’s interests and soft power: PRESIDENT MURMU

    graces Algerian-Indian Economic Forum; SAys India-Algeria economic ties have not been able TO TAP THE POTENTIAL FULLY

    Posted On: 14 OCT 2024 11:00PM by PIB Delhi

     The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, reached Algiers, Algeria, yesterday evening (October 13, 2024), on the first leg of her State Visits to Algeria, Mauritania, and Malawi. As a special gesture, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune of Algeria received President Droupadi Murmu at the Airport and accorded her a ceremonial welcome.

     This is the first visit by an Indian President to Algeria.

     The President is accompanied by Minister of State, Shri Sukanata Majumdar, and Members of Parliament, Shri Mukeshkumar Dalal and Shri Atul Garg on this State visit.

     Yesterday evening, the President addressed the members of the Indian Community at Algiers, at a Reception hosted by the Ambassador of India to Algeria.

     Addressing the enthusiastic gathering of Indian community members who had travelled to Algiers for the occasion from all parts of Algeria, the President praised their contribution to Algeria’s economy. She said that the Government of India and the Indian society have always valued and appreciated the contribution of the Indian community in enhancing India’s position, prestige, and standing abroad. The Indian community in Algeria is a bridge taking forward India’s interests and soft power. She expressed confidence that they would continue to make India proud with their accomplishments and work for the betterment of India-Algeria relations.

     In her first engagement this morning (October 14, 2024), the President laid a wreath at the Maqam Echahid Memorial in Algiers and paid tribute to the soldiers who laid down lives in the Algerian War of Independence. She also visited the National Museum of the Moudjahid, commemorating Algeria’s struggle for liberation.

     Subsequently, the President visited the El Mouradia Palace where she held a meeting with H.E. Mr Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the President of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria. The two leaders discussed ways to take India-Algeria relations to a higher level, with a special focus on trade and investment. President Murmu re-affirmed India’s continued support of Algeria and India’s commitment to Africa. Both Presidents led the delegation-level talks and issued statements before the press.

     In the next engagement, the President addressed the Algerian-Indian Economic Forum, jointly organised by the Algerian Economic Renewal Council and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

     Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the stepping up of the India-Algeria relations is based on our shared values, common challenges, and mutual trust.

    The President said that Algeria’s rapid growth and expanding economy offer many opportunities in a variety of sectors. She urged Indian companies to remain engaged and invested in the opportunities that the Algerian economy offers.

    The President was happy to note that the overall trade between India and Algeria stands at 1.7 billion US dollars. However, the economic ties have not been able to tap the potential fully. She emphasised the need to reinforce our ongoing cooperation in energy, construction, automobiles, fertilizers, and pharmaceuticals, and identify new trade and investment initiatives for a brighter future.

     The President said that India has achieved many accomplishments in areas such as science and technology, IT, fin-tech, pharma, space, start-ups, and renewables. She said that India would be happy to share its experiences in these areas with our Algerian partners. The President said that reforms in India made it easy for businesses to establish and grow. She invited Algerian companies to join India’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make for the World’ initiatives.

    Click here to see the Press Statement during her visit to Algeria

    Click here to see the President’s speech

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: GSS 2024 calls for collaboration on international standards, paving way for sustainable development of emerging digital technologies Standards to focus on positive outcomes for humanity

    Source: Government of India (2)

    GSS 2024 calls for collaboration on international standards, paving way for sustainable development of emerging digital technologies Standards to focus on positive outcomes for humanity

    The standards we establish are more than just technical standards, but they are moral compasses”: Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development

    Posted On: 15 OCT 2024 9:08AM by PIB Delhi

    The Fifth Global Standards Symposium (GSS-24) concluded today in New Delhi, first time in the Asia-Pacific region. This landmark symposium, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and hosted by Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, brought together record 1500 leading policymakers, innovators, and experts from around the world to discuss the future of digital transformation and the critical role of international standards in enabling the next wave of emerging technologies.

    Addressing the closing ceremony, Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development stated that India under the leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has achieved unprecedented transformation, which is now globally recognized. He said that the development of international standards must be inclusive and democratic, reflecting of needs of all regions and encouraging active participation from developing countries. The Minister said, “As we conclude this remarkable symposium, I am confident that the standards we establish are more than just technical standards, but they are moral compasses, guiding us towards a future of shared global progress. India is ready to take this journey not alone, but with all of you as partners.”

    The symposium, which focused on the theme “Charting the Next Digital Wave: Emerging Technologies, Innovation, and International Standards,” addressed the critical need for a cohesive and forward-looking approach to the governance and standardization of emerging technologies. GSS serves as a high-level forum, offering a platform for discussion and coordination on the most pressing issues in technology and standardization.

    Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister of Communications and Development of the North Eastern Region, inaugurated the event earlier in the morning. In his inaugural address, he emphasized India’s role as a global hub for telecommunications and digital innovation, citing India’s record of being a land of science, innovation & rules aiding in the prosperity of the world.

    The symposium had a high-level segment that facilitated cooperation among industry leaders and ministers, focusing on the future of innovation and digital public infrastructure. The event called for robust international standards for AI governance. The symposium stressed the need to bridge the standards gap between developed and developing nations, ensuring equitable access to technology for all.

    Key sessions explored the role of open-source technologies, blockchain-based authentication, and the impact of AI and the Metaverse on public services and industry, advocating for collaboration with developers to create a more inclusive tech ecosystem. The event also featured an AI Standards Summit, which highlighted how consensus-based standards can spark innovation across various sectors, enhancing technological advancements.

    Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) chaired the GSS2024. It is for the first time that India took the leadership of this Symposium. The symposium concluded with a powerful Outcome Document emphasizing the crucial role of international standards in driving digital transformation globally. Dr. Upadhyay presented the key outcomes which included:

    1.         Driving Digital Transformation: The Outcome Document underscores international standards as the cornerstone for digital transformation globally.

    2.         Uniting Global Leaders: GSS-24 brought together industry giants and policymakers to discuss the impact of standards on cutting-edge technologies.

    3.         Innovation Through Standards: The AI Standards Summit showcased how consensus-based standards can spark innovation across various sectors, enhancing technological advancements.

    4.         Bridging the Gap: The symposium stressed the need to bridge the standards gap between developed and developing nations, ensuring equitable access to technology for all.

    5.         Harnessing AI and the Metaverse: GSS-24 highlighted the transformative potential of AI and the metaverse in public services and urban planning, urging the ITU to strengthen initiatives like the Global Initiative on Virtual Worlds.

    6.         Accelerating SDGs: The event underscored the vital role of international standards in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, paving the way for sustainable digital transformation.

    7.         High-Level Dialogues: An unprecedented high-level segment fostered collaboration among industry leaders and ministers, focusing on the future of innovation and digital public infrastructure.

    8.         Establishing AI Governance: GSS-24 called for robust international standards for AI governance, encouraging initiatives like AI for Good and the AI for Skills Coalition.

    9.         Empowering Open Source: The symposium recognized the critical role of open-source software in driving innovation, advocating for collaboration with developers to create a more inclusive tech ecosystem.

    10.       Celebrating Smart Cities: GSS-24 acknowledged cities excelling in smart and sustainable initiatives, reinforcing the commitment to the United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) initiative, led by the ITU, UNECE, and UN-Habitat.

    The Global Standards Symposium 2024 successfully laid the groundwork for the future of emerging technologies, demonstrating how international collaboration and standardization can drive innovation while ensuring inclusive growth. The outcome document of symposium lays the foundation for discussion at the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24), which is set to take place from October 15-24, 2024, also in New Delhi.

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA Activates Resources to Help Assess Impacts from Hurricane Milton

    Source: NASA

    In the wake of Hurricane Milton, NASA is deploying resources to support Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and state emergency management agencies to aid their response effort including satellite and aerial data collection.
    The agency’s Disasters Response Coordination System and Airborne Science Program are began conducting flights Friday to provide emergency responders with better insight into flooding, damage in Florida, and debris.
    “After the devastating impact from hurricanes Helene and Milton, NASA immediately sprang into action,” said Karen St. Germain, director, Earth Sciences Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Whether it is through observations from space or from airplanes, NASA is ready to assist communities affected by severe storms. We are working together with our federal and state partners to provide a better understanding of what is happening on the ground, in real time. NASA’s Disasters Response Coordination System was designed with the goal of delivering trusted, actionable Earth science information, where and when people need it, to enable effective response when these events strike.”
    NASA’s Uninhabited Aerial Synthetic Aperture Radar Vehicle (UAVSAR) instrument is gathering rapid wide area L-Band synthetic aperture radar data shared directly with FEMA and other organizations. Flights are coordinated directly with FEMA to augment their existing satellite and aerial data collection.
    Since Hurricane Milton struck, persistent cloud cover over the State of Florida has made it challenging to obtain optical satellite observations of conditions in the region. Synthetic aperture radar instruments, such as those aboard UAVSAR, can see through the clouds to observe changes on the ground. This provides much-needed observations of flood inundation across communities in Florida, as well as the extent of inland river flooding and resource deployment.
    The Disaster Response Coordination System has been working closely with FEMA and state emergency management agencies to aid response efforts as Hurricane Milton approached and impacted Florida. The team is actively sharing resources with other agency partners, the state of Florida, and disaster response non-profit organizations.  
    NASA continues to determine the needs of its partners and is sharing maps and data on the NASA Disasters Mapping Portal as they become available.
    Hurricane Milton caused significant wind, flooding, power outages, and damage across central Florida, from Sarasota and Tampa to Palm Springs and the Space Coast. Impacts are currently being assessed alongside lifesaving operations and emergency repairs. The Disasters Response Coordination System is collaborating directly with FEMA, the State of Florida Geospatial Information Office, U.S. Geological Survey, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and the American Red Cross. The Disasters Response Coordination System is also sharing any available Earth observation data with NASA’s Kennedy Space Center emergency managers to support their damage assessment process.
    By using tools like NASA’s Black Marble, and updating daily with differential analysis done to highlight areas with extended power outages, the agency provides FEMA, states, and non-profits the opportunity to distribute temporary generators, life-sustaining resources, and damage assessments.
    The UAVSAR flights are being conducted with support from NASA’s Disasters Program, NASA’s Earth Action Program, and NASA’s Research and Analysis Program, and are being managed by NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California,  a NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern and California, and the California Institute of Technology.
    To learn more about NASA’s Disaster Response Coordination System, visit:
    https://disastersresponsecoordinationsystem.gov

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Minister to attend cyber security, NATO meetings

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Minister Responsible for the GCSB and Minister of Defence Judith Collins will travel to Singapore and Brussels for Singapore International Cyber Week and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting. 

    New Zealand has been invited to attend the NATO meeting alongside representatives from the European Union and the Indo-Pacific 4 (IP4), which comprises New Zealand, Australia, Japan and the Republic of Korea. 

    “This is the first time IP4 Defence representatives will have the opportunity to exchange views with NATO Allies in the changing security dynamics in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions, including in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its implications for our region,” Ms Collins says.

    “I will be taking the opportunity to reiterate our unwavering support for the people of Ukraine as they fight against Russia’s illegal and unjustified war of aggression.

    “In a deteriorating global environment, New Zealand is committed to working with like-minded partners to uphold the international rules-based system that is fundamental to our security and prosperity.

    While in Brussels, Ms Collins will hold bilateral meetings with defence counterparts from NATO and the Indo-Pacific region, and will participate in a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.                               

    Ms Collins will also meet Directors-General from European Commission agencies in the Space, and Science, Innovation and Technology portfolios while in Brussels.

    Before going to Brussels she will attend the Singapore International Cyber Week, the most established cyber security event in the Asia Pacific region and one which provides a vital chance to discuss global cyber security. She will also take part in the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Cyber Security Special Session with Dialogue Partners.

    “I am pleased to represent New Zealand at this important gathering and am looking forward to participating in a range of discussions on global cyber security issues,” Ms Collins says.

    “Cyber security is front of mind for many New Zealand businesses and I am committed to ensuring we are prepared and resilient in this area.”             

    Ms Collins will also meet private sector representatives to discuss cyber and technology security matters while in Singapore.

    She leaves New Zealand tomorrow and returns on 20 October. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Alex Salmond: Scotland’s first nationalist leader and a tireless campaigner for independence

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Murray Leith, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Centre for Migration, Diaspora, Citizenship and Identity, University of the West of Scotland

    Alex Salmond, possibly one of the most famous Scottish politicians of recent decades, and certainly the best-known face of the Scottish National Party (SNP), has died at the age of 69.

    The former first minister of Scotland, a long-standing member of the Westminster parliament and a member of the Scottish parliament, he led the SNP from a small, fringe party within Westminster to become the ruling party of the Scottish government. He was the first Scottish nationalist first minister of Scotland, a post he would hold from 2007 to 2014.

    Salmond was born, raised and educated in Scotland. It was while he was a student at St Andrews University that he joined the university branch of the Federation of Student Nationalists in December 1973. As one of only two fully paid-up members of the SNP at the university, he became the branch president.

    After graduation, and a couple of years as a civil servant, Salmond moved to the Royal Bank of Scotland and became an economics expert, with a focus on oil. Yet, throughout this career he remained an active and committed member of the SNP.

    Leftwing in his views, he was part of the 79 Group, a small faction of the SNP that was very critical of the then leadership, and which advocated a more leftwing stance for the party as a whole. He, along with others, was briefly expelled from the SNP in 1982, but was allowed back in a month later.

    By 1985, Salmon was a senior figure in the SNP. His political career truly began in 1987, when he defeated the incumbent Conservative in Banff and Buchan in 1987 to become the consituency’s Westminster MP. He would win re-election four times, and then be elected to Holyrood, all from the north-east of Scotland, for the next three decades.

    SNP leadership and independence referendum

    Salmond first became leader of the SNP in 1990, and he showed his significant skills as a political strategist on the UK-wide stage. From here, he would become a very visible and recognisable face for the SNP, and for Scotland.

    It would be the advent of devolution in 1997, and the creation of the Scottish parliament in 1999 that would change the face of Scottish politics and allow Salmond to reach new heights. But there were many bumps along the way. Just a year into the life of the brand new parliament, Salmond suddenly stood down as SNP leader. There were rumours of fallouts with other leading figures.

    Salmond would, however, return as leader in 2004, replacing John Swinney (currently the first minister) after a poor showing for the SNP in Scottish parliament elections. As he was an MP and not an MSP at the time, the party at Holyrood was led by Nicola Sturgeon, at the time a longtime ally.

    Not only did he return as an MSP, but the SNP became the largest party in the Scottish parliament by one seat in 2007. It formed a minority government with Salmond as first minister and Sturgeon as his deputy.

    Another milestone was reached in 2011, when Salmond would lead the SNP in winning a majority within the Scottish parliament, a task everyone thought impossible given the voting system was, arguably, specifically designed to avoid such outcomes. This win led Salmond to begin negotiations with the UK government of David Cameron to hold a referendum on Scottish independence.

    In perhaps one of Salmond’s most effective moments, he came away with an agreement that allowed him many of his specific objectives – a single question on the ballot and a long lead in, of two years, before the referendum itself. Only ten years after he had returned as leader, he led the SNP to a referendum outcome where 45% of voters said yes to independence, a much larger figure than many thought possible.

    However, this was still a loss, and Salmond resigned as party leader the next day. He then returned to Westminster in 2015 but lost his seat in 2017.

    Further problems arose for Salmond in 2018, when allegations of sexual assault were made, and he resigned from the SNP after being a member for 45 years. Despite being cleared at a trial in 2020 of 14 charges, his relationship with the SNP, and his personal relationships with Sturgeon and other leading SNP figures, were badly damaged.

    He directly blamed Sturgeon and her husband, SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, for the way in which he was treated. He took the Scottish government to court over the handling of the accusations and won a substantial payout of half a million pounds.

    Establishing a new party

    Whether it was because of his treatment by the SNP, his disquiet at what he saw as the wrong priorities, or the inability for him to find a role after leaving as first minister, Salmond decided to establish a new political party, Alba, in 2021, only three years after leaving the SNP.

    After being on the national, and international, stage for several decades, Salmond remained committed to the political fight for Scottish independence. There were several defections from the SNP – two MPs, one MSP, and a few local councillors – but the party has never won an elected seat at any level.

    Salmond also presented a television show on Russian state broadcaster RT, a decision unpopular with many in the SNP. He also wrote as a tipster on horse racing for newspapers for many years.

    There can be little doubt that Salmond’s professional and personal lives were characterised by ups and downs. Yet the fact remains that he led the SNP to many victories, and saw them challenge the status quo and the British state in a manner unthinkable when he first became an SNP MP.

    Those present during the last few days of the 2014 referendum will remember the distinct feeling that maybe, just maybe, the SNP could pull off a win, and an independent Scotland – a dream he shared with millions of others – could be a possibility.

    Salmond reshaped the SNP, he reshaped the political landscape of Scotland, and his legacy cannot be overstated.

    Murray Leith has previously received funding from the European Union, the Scottish Government, and the UK Government. He is a member of the Electoral Reform Society.

    – ref. Alex Salmond: Scotland’s first nationalist leader and a tireless campaigner for independence – https://theconversation.com/alex-salmond-scotlands-first-nationalist-leader-and-a-tireless-campaigner-for-independence-241222

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Industrial Strategy launch to ‘hardwire stability for investors’

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Government launches a modern Industrial Strategy and new Advisory Council ahead of International Investment Summit

    Industrial Strategy logo

    • The Business Secretary and Chancellor announce steps to deliver long-term growth through a modern Industrial Strategy, including appointing a Chair of the new Industrial Strategy Advisory Council 
    • The Industrial Strategy will create a pro-business environment and play to the UK’s strengths, focusing on eight growth driving sectors including creative industries and financial services  
    • Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds pledges an end to instability “our modern Industrial Strategy will hardwire stability for investors and give industry the confidence to plan for the next 10 years and beyond” 
    • Clare Barclay, CEO of Microsoft UK, will chair government’s new Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, which will provide expert advice developed in partnership with business, unions, and stakeholders from across the UK 
    • Announcements come ahead of International Investment Summit which will bring together business leaders from around the globe to boost investment and growth 
    • Government is also asking for business to help shape the industrial strategy with a green paper to develop the plans in partnership 

    The next generation of British industry has been fired-up and readied to reignite our industrial heartlands and kickstart economic growth, as the Government launches the first Industrial Strategy in seven years. 

    Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves have published a green paper to kickstart delivery of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy. The strategy will drive long-term growth in key sectors that is sustainable, resilient and distributed across the country.   

    Announcing the eight growth sectors will be the focus of the Strategy, alongside naming the new Industrial Strategy Advisory Council’s chair, the Business Secretary has promised to ‘give investors a ten year plan to choose Britain’.  

    The key sectors the government will focus its modern Industrial Strategy are on advanced manufacturing; clean energy industries, creative industries; defence; digital and technologies; financial services; life sciences; and professional and business services. 

    The green paper, which will be published on the day of the International Investment Summit, will bring together UK leaders, high-profile investors and businesses from across the world. There, Reynolds is expected to tell delegates the Industrial Strategy will put Britain back on the global stage and help attract investment into the most productive parts of the UK economy.  

    Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds MP said: 

    Our modern Industrial Strategy will hardwire stability for investors and give them the confidence to plan not just for the next year, but for the next 10 years and beyond.  

    This is the next step in our pro worker, pro business plan which will see investors and workers alike get the security and stability they need to succeed. 

    Clare’s wealth of talent and experience will help ensure the Industrial Strategy delivers its mission of unleashing the potential of high productivity sectors to spur growth, spread wealth, and drive-up employment across the UK.

    Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves MP said:  

    I have never been more optimistic about our country’s potential. We have some of the brightest minds and greatest businesses in the world. From the creative industries and life sciences to advanced manufacturing and financial services. 

    This Government is determined to deliver on Britain’s potential so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.

    Clare Barclay, CEO of Microsoft UK, will chair the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council. The Council will inform the development of the Industrial Strategy through its expertise and latest evidence, working with business, trade unions, devolved governments, local leaders, academia and stakeholders.  

    In the King’s speech the Government committed to putting the Council on a statutory footing – giving it powers and responsibilities and ensuring it will be permanent and independent.  

    Ahead of establishing a statutory body, we are introducing an interim advisory Council. The first Council meeting and announcement of full membership is expected in the coming weeks.   

    Microsoft UK CEO Clare Barclay said: 

    As Chair of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, I will ensure the Council provides a clear and strong voice on behalf of business, nations, regions, and trade unions, as we invest for the future to ensure that our prosperity is underpinned by robust growth in key sectors right across the country. 

    Whilst we fully embrace the industries of today, we must also have a clear plan for future growth, and the Advisory Council will play a central role in shaping and delivering this plan.

    The government has also identified eight growth-driving sectors for the Industrial Strategy, focusing on sectors the UK excels in today and will excel tomorrow.  

    Over the last 25 years, the top 30% of sectors ranked by productivity in 1997 were responsible for generating roughly 60% of the economy’s entire productivity growth. That’s why our Industrial Strategy will channel support to sectors and geographical clusters that have the highest growth potential for the next decade. 

    Our strategy will create a pro-business environment to capture a greater share of internationally mobile investment in strategic sectors and motivate domestic business to boost their investment and scale up their growth. 

    Businesses up and down the country will also be invited to respond to the Industrial Strategy Green Paper, which will be published tomorrow.  

    The consultation will provide stakeholders with the opportunity to inform the Strategy’s continued development and ensure it delivers tangible impact to people and communities right across the UK.  

    Views are sought from business, international investors, unions and any other interested parties, on the overall vision, approach to growth sectors and the policy levers needed to drive investment.   

    Make UK CEO Stephen Phipson said: 

    We live in a world which is massively different to a decade ago and simply leaving the economy and, industrial strategy, to the free market is an ideology which is long past its sell by date. This is a welcome first step in addressing the achilles heel of the economy which has left the UK an outlier among advanced countries. It sets out a clarity of vision for how the resources of Government and, in particular, each department can be convened towards a single objective of long term growth across all regions.  

    With the welcome announcement of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council Chair and, the Council being put on a statutory footing, industry will no longer fear the constant chop and change in policy we have seen over the last decade or so and can focus on the long term – it is important that the Government is delivering on its promises.

    WPP CEO Mark Read said: 

    WPP supports the Government’s objective to create and foster an investment environment that drives long-term growth. As a global marketing services company, we believe that the UK’s world-leading creative industries, powered by new technologies like AI and exceptional talent, can continue to play a key role in further advancing the UK’s investment case on the global stage.

    Airbus UK Chairman John Harrison said: 

    Airbus welcomes the inclusion of advanced manufacturing in the Government’s Industrial Strategy as a vital opportunity to build on the successful partnership between government and the aerospace sector.  

    As one of the most technologically advanced businesses in the UK, we also welcome the strong focus on innovation, which is crucial to driving future growth and maintaining the UK’s global competitiveness in aerospace and defence.

    For businesses to invest and thrive they need confidence in their supply chains. So, we are also establishing a new supply chains taskforce in government that will work to assess where supply chains critical to the UK’s economic security and resilience – including those in the growth driving sectors outlined in the industrial strategy – could be vulnerable to disruption. The taskforce will ensure that government works with business to address these risks, building the conditions required to deliver secure growth. 

    We want the UK to be a prime investment opportunity for business. The Industrial Strategy, and the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, will be key to giving investors the solid foundation on which to build. 

    Notes to Editors:  

    • More information on sectors and productivity can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity/productivitymeasures/datasets/outputperhourworkeduk 

    • The Green Paper will be published tomorrow [Monday 14 October] at 9:30am. Businesses will have until 24 November to respond.  

    • Clare Barclay biography: Clare is Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft UK. She leads the strategy and delivery of Microsoft’s business in the UK, focused on helping organisations accelerate technology-driven growth. She is a thought leader and regular keynote speaker on how technology and AI presents a transformational opportunity to fuel UK economic growth. Clare engages at board level across industry sectors on how best to capitalise on the opportunity in harnessing the potential of AI. With nearly three decades in the technology industry, Clare has held a range of senior leadership roles with experience across all aspects of the business including partnerships to unlock opportunity across industries and empowering small and medium businesses, the beating heart of the UK economy, to prosper. In her prior role as Chief Operating Officer, she was also responsible for driving significant transformational change for Microsoft and in helping reshape its culture. Clare is passionate about the UK as a talent hub and the potential for UK industry to lead on the world stage, leveraging the latest scientific and technological advances. She is also deeply committed to diversity and inclusion and in helping young people succeed. She lives in London with her husband and two sons.  

    • The Summit will be sponsored by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, M&G plc, Octopus Energy, and TSL.

    Updates to this page

    Published 13 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Can Life Exist on an Icy Moon? NASA’s Europa Clipper Aims to Find Out

    Source: NASA

    With a spacecraft launching soon, the mission will try to answer the question of whether there are ingredients suitable for life in the ocean below Europa’s icy crust.
    Deep down, in an ocean beneath its ice shell, Jupiter’s moon Europa might be temperate and nutrient-rich, an ideal environment for some form of life — what scientists would call “habitable.” NASA’s Europa Clipper mission aims to find out.
    NASA now is targeting launch no earlier than Monday, Oct. 14, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
    Europa Clipper’s elongated, looping orbit around Jupiter will minimize the spacecraft’s exposure to intense radiation while allowing it to dive in for close passes by Europa. Using a formidable array of instruments for each of the mission’s 49 flybys, scientists will be able to “see” how thick the moon’s icy shell is and gain a deeper understanding of the vast ocean beneath. They’ll inventory material on the surface that might have come up from below, search for the fingerprints of organic compounds that form life’s building blocks, and sample any gases ejected from the moon for evidence of habitability.
    Mission scientists will analyze the results, probing beneath the moon’s frozen shell for signs of a water world capable of supporting life.

    “It’s important to us to paint a picture of what that alien ocean is like — the kind of chemistry or even biochemistry that could be happening there,” said Morgan Cable, an astrobiologist and member of the Europa Clipper science team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which manages the mission.
    Ice Investigation
    Central to that work is hunting for the types of salts, ices, and organic material that make up the key ingredients of a habitable world. That’s where an imager called MISE (Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa) comes in. Operating in the infrared, the spacecraft’s MISE divides reflected light into various wavelengths to identify the corresponding atoms and molecules.
    The mission will also try to locate potential hot spots near Europa’s surface, where plumes could bring deep ocean material closer to the surface, using an instrument called E-THEMIS (Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System), which also operates in the infrared.

    Capturing sharply detailed pictures of Europa’s surface with both a narrow and a wide-image camera is the task of the EIS (Europa Imaging System). “The EIS imagers will give us incredibly high-resolution images to understand how Europa’s surface evolved and is continuing to change,” Cable said.
    Gases and Grains
    NASA’s Cassini mission spotted a giant plume of water vapor erupting from multiple jets near the south pole of Saturn’s ice-covered moon Enceladus. Europa may also emit misty plumes of water, pulled from its ocean or reservoirs in its shell. Europa Clipper’s instrument called Europa-UVS (Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph) will search for plumes and can study any material that might be venting into space.
    Whether or not Europa has plumes, the spacecraft carries two instruments to analyze the small amount of gas and dust particles ejected from the moon’s surface by impacts with micrometeorites and high-energy particles: MASPEX (MAss SPectrometer for Planetary EXploration/Europa) and SUDA (SUrface Dust Analyzer) will capture the tiny pieces of material ejected from the surface, turning them into charged particles to reveal their composition.  
    “The spacecraft will study gas and grains coming off Europa by sticking out its tongue and tasting those grains, breathing in those gases,” said Cable.
    Inside and Out
    The mission will look at Europa’s external and internal structure in various ways, too, because both have far-reaching implications for the moon’s habitability.
    To gain insights into the ice shell’s thickness and the ocean’s existence, along with its depth and salinity, the mission will measure the moon’s induced magnetic field with the ECM (Europa Clipper Magnetometer) and combine that data with measurements of electrical currents from charged particles flowing around Europa — data provided by PIMS (Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding).
    In addition, scientists will look for details on everything from the presence of the ocean to the structure and topography of the ice using REASON (Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding to Near-surface), which will peer up to 18 miles (29 kilometers) into the shell — itself a potentially habitable environment. Measuring the changes that Europa’s gravity causes in radio signals should help nail down ice thickness and ocean depth.
    “Non-icy materials on the surface could get moved into deep interior pockets of briny water within the icy shell,” said Steve Vance, an astrobiologist and geophysicist who also is a member of the Europa Clipper science team at JPL. “Some might be large enough to be considered lakes, or at least ponds.”
    Using the data gathered to inform extensive computer modeling of Europa’s interior structure also could reveal the ocean’s composition and allow estimates of its temperature profile, Vance said.
    Whatever conditions are discovered, the findings will open a new chapter in the search for life beyond Earth. “It’s almost certain Europa Clipper will raise as many questions or more than it answers — a whole different class than the ones we’ve been thinking of for the last 25 years,” Vance said.
    More About Europa Clipper
    Europa Clipper’s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.
    To learn more about the science instruments aboard Europa Clipper and the institutions provide them, visit:
    https://europa.nasa.gov/spacecraft/instruments
    Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. APL designed the main spacecraft body in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission.
    NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.
    Find more information about Europa here:
    https://europa.nasa.gov

    News Media Contacts
    Gretchen McCartneyJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-393-6215 gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov 
    Karen Fox / Molly WasserNASA Headquarters, Washington202-358-1600karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
    Written by Pat Brennan
    2024-138

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh virtually dedicates to the nation 75 BRO infrastructure projects, worth Rs 2,236 crore, across 11 States/UTs

    Source: Government of India

    Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh virtually dedicates to the nation 75 BRO infrastructure projects, worth Rs 2,236 crore, across 11 States/UTs

    Terms it as a testament to the Govt’s commitment to further strengthen border infrastructure, defence preparedness & ensure socio-economic progress

    “India will be one of the safest & strongest nations in the times to come”

    Posted On: 12 OCT 2024 1:28PM by PIB Delhi

    Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, on October 12, 2024, virtually dedicated to the nation 75 infrastructure projects of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at a cost of Rs 2,236 crore. These projects – 22 roads, 51 bridges & two others – are spread across 11 States/Union Territories. Nineteen (19) are in Jammu & Kashmir, 18 in Arunachal Pradesh, 11 in Ladakh, nine in Uttarakhand, six in Sikkim, five in Himachal Pradesh, two each in West Bengal & Rajasthan and one each in Nagaland, Mizoram and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

    Raksha Mantri inaugurated the projects from the Headquarters, Trishakti Corps in Sukna, West Bengal. One of the main highlights was the inauguration of the Kupup-Sherathang Road in Sikkim which serves as a crucial link between Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg and Zuluk axis.

     

     

    In his address, Raksha Mantri termed the projects as a testament to the Government’s unwavering resolve to keep strengthening the border infrastructure and ensuring socio-economic progress of these areas. He added that these projects will go a long way in enhancing the defence preparedness of the country. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat by 2047’ can be realised through such infrastructure projects, he said.

    With the inauguration of these 75 projects, BRO has completed a total of 111 infrastructure projects in 2024 at an overall cost of Rs 3,751 crore. This includes 36 projects worth Rs 1,508 crore, such as the state-of-the-art Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh, inaugurated by the Prime Minister earlier this year. Last year, 125 infrastructure projects of BRO were dedicated to the nation at a cost of Rs 3,611 crore.

    Raksha Mantri commended the grit and determination of the BRO personnel for completing the projects in a time-bound manner even in most challenging terrains and harsh weather conditions, adding that the government, in its third term, aims to further bolster the border infrastructure with more promptness. Referring to the increased allocation of Rs 6,500 crore for BRO in Union Budget 2024-25, he expressed hope that it would not only contribute to strategic infrastructure development, but will also prove helpful in socio-economic progress in the border areas, including the North East region.

     

    Raksha Mantri pointed out that the governments before 2014 were of the view that the development of border areas can have an adverse impact as it may be used by the country’s adversaries. He emphasised that border infrastructure development has been the priority area of PM Modi-led Government ever since it came to power as these regions, especially the North-east, is crucial from the socio-economic & strategic perspectives. “In the last decade, we have built a vast network of roads from villages to cities, which has resulted in the country witnessing progress at an unprecedented pace,” he said.

    Shri Rajnath Singh assured the people that new dimensions will be added to the development of border areas. India will be one of the safest and strongest nations in the times to come, he said.

    Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, Defence Secretary-designate Shri RK Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command Lt Gen Ram Chander Tiwari, DG Border Roads Lt Gen Raghu Srinivasan, General Officer Commanding, Trishakti Corps Lt Gen Zubin A Minwalla were present with Raksha Mantri during the virtual inauguration, while Sikkim Chief Minister Shri Prem Singh Tamang was at the main site in Sherathang.

     

    Governors of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram; Lt Governors of Jammu and Kashmir & Ladakh; Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand; Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences & MoS in Prime Minister’s Office and Personnel & Public Grievances and MoS of Law & Justice and Parliamentary Affairs attended the event virtually.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Minister Dr Jitendra Singh presents Indo-US Endowment Awards:

    Source: Government of India

    Minister Dr Jitendra Singh presents Indo-US Endowment Awards:

    17 Indo-US teams given opportunity to work together primarily to develop AI-enabled tech and Quantum Technologies;

    USISTEF award function focuses on Critical and Emerging Technology;

    Government of India creating enabling innovation ecosystem with recent reforms like design linked incentives for semi-conductors

    US-India iCET to expand international collaboration in a range of areas to build a robust innovation ecosystem: Dr. Jitendra Singh

    17 Indo-US teams given opportunity to work together primarily to develop AI-enabled tech and Quantum Technologies

    Posted On: 12 OCT 2024 3:50PM by PIB Delhi

    While presenting the Indo-US Endowment awards to 17 winning teams, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, MoS (I/C) for Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh emphasized AI enabled collaboration between the two countries.

    The Department of Science & Technology and the USA are working together to elevate and expand the Indo-US strategic technology partnership and to connect scientists from both the countries to collaborate on emerging technologies such as AI and smart connected cities, said Dr Jitendra Singh.

    The Minister was speaking at the United States – India Science & Technology Endowment Fund (USISTEF) award function here, in which United States Ambassador Eric Garcetti also participated. These awards are given in the field of Critical and Emerging Technology.

     

    Dr Jitendra Singh congratulated all the 17 winning teams who have been given the opportunity to work together to develop AI-enabled technologies, decision support system, GPT-powered AI, development of technologies for quantum communication, robust quantum sensors under themes of Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Technologies.

    Dr Jitendra Singh said, “I am happy to say that as a part of the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), new implementing agreements have been executed between the science agencies to expand international collaboration in a range of areas to build a robust innovation ecosystem. The DST – National Science Foundation joint call in the areas of (i) Computer and Information Science and Engineering, (ii) Cyber-Physical Systems and (iii) Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace has resulted in the award of 11 high pitch proposals.”

     

    India and the US are at the pivotal point with the technologies shaping up for the future like Artificial Intelligence, Advanced manufacturing, block chain, green energy, quantum computing, getting ready to make one of the biggest technology transformations of the century.

    Appreciating the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, he said, Government of India is creating an enabling innovation ecosystem with recent reforms like design linked incentives for semiconductors, PLI schemes for automobiles, drone policy and removing barriers through initiatives like faceless assessment.

    Advancing the Research and Innovation Value chain and fostering the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in young minds has witnessed a phenomenal growth in India, said Dr Jitendra Singh, as evident from the Start-Up ecosystem gathering speed, scale and momentum. From 350 odd start-ups in 2014, the number swelled to over 1,40,000 Start-Ups. India is also home to over 110 Unicorns where 23 of them emerged only last year, which is a sign of India’s rapid upward ride on STI (Science, Technology & Innovation) ladder.

    Governments of both the countries established the USISTEF in 2009 for supporting promising joint US India entrepreneurial initiatives on co-developing products or technologies that are beyond the ideation stage. Over the years, the program has had a significant impact, both in terms of the development of new products and technologies and in seeding new sustainable collaborations between US and India inventors.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurates 75 Infrastructure projects built by BRO worth Rs 2,236 crore

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurates 75 Infrastructure projects built by BRO worth Rs 2,236 crore

    These include 07 roads and 12 bridges constructed at the cost ofRs731.22 crore in Jammu and Kashmir

    Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh takes part in inaugural function virtually

    Posted On: 12 OCT 2024 3:53PM by PIB Delhi

    Defence Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh today virtually inaugurated and dedicated 75 BRO (Border Roads Organisation) road and bridge projects to the nation at a cost of Rs 2,236 crore.

    These include 7 road and 12 bridge projects in Jammu & Kashmir worth Rs 731.22 crore virtually today. Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, MoS (I/C) for Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh, who is also Lok Sabha MP from J&K also joined the inauguration function virtually.

    The J&K road projects are Bishnah-Kaulpur-Khojipur (Km 0.0 to 24.328) worth Rs.73.26crore, Basoli-Bani-Bhaderwah (Km 70.00 to 89.00) Rs.97.76 crore, Basoli-Bani-Bhaderwah (Km 89.00 to 102.00) Rs81.42 crore, Galhar-Sansari(Km 0 to 10) Rs.37.69 under Project Sampark of BRO. Bandipur-Gureizin Rs.230.54 crore, Mohura-Baaz Rs.134.99 and Tutmarigali-Kaiyan Bowl Rs24.35 crore under Project Beacon of BRO.

    In addition, 12 bridges at Sawan, Sanu, Naigarh, Channani, Nantoo, Korga, Sewa-II, Biyalu, Dersu, Nirunar, Gurai and Garjun were constructed at the cost of Rs 51.21 crore in different areas of J&K.

    Overall, these Projects have been constructed in 11 border States/UTs of the country, including Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

    The ceremony was organised by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO)at Sukna in West Bengal. The Defence Minister inaugurated 22 Roads, 51 Bridges and 02 other miscellaneous projects. These Infrastructure Projects have been constructed under challenging weather conditions at places with most inhospitable terrain.

    Speaking on the occasion, Shri Rajnath Singh lauded BRO’s commitment towards establishing connectivity in far-flung areas by ensuring timely completion of these roads & bridges. He mentioned that in the last five years BRO had completed 450 infrastructure projects with a cost of more than Rs16,000 crore and this year, in 2024 with these 75 infra projects BRO has dedicated a record 111 infrastructure projects to the Nation.

    The Defence Minister appreciated the feat of construction of these 75 infrastructure projects at such an expeditious pace during this year. He mentioned that such performance by the BRO is unprecedented and is a reflection of the grit and determination of the entire Border Roads Organisation.

    Shri Rajnath Singh also lauded BRO’s effort of always being at the forefront in constructing more than 40% of Roads in high altitude areas with hostile terrain, harsh weather, low Oxygen levels and extreme cold. Despite these challenges BRO remains committed towards its mission of Connecting Place Connecting People.

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Bumpy start for UK’s new Labour government

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    People attend the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Britain, on Sept. 23, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    As the United Kingdom’s Labour government marks 100 days in office on Saturday, political commentators are markedly less enthusiastic than in the aftermath of the party’s landslide win in the July 4 general election. Instead, they are asking whether Labour will be able to get back on course after an apparently bumpy start.

    Labour had been in opposition since 2010 before Prime Minister Keir Starmer led the party to victory this year, securing a massive 174-seat majority in the UK parliament.

    The honeymoon period of popularity enjoyed by a new government was short-lived for Starmer, however, as his government’s accomplishments so far have been overshadowed by moves including the deeply unpopular plans to cut winter fuel benefits for pensioners.

    Among the most-touted achievements during Starmer’s first 100 days in power are the government’s success in resolving the junior doctors’ and train drivers’ strikes, cancelling the controversial Rwanda scheme proposed by the previous Conservative government, making good progress in launching GB Energy and scrapping no-fault evictions for tenants. Starmer’s handling of the far-right riots that rocked the country this summer has also been applauded.

    On Thursday, the government also unveiled the Employment Rights Bill, outlining reforms aimed at boosting economic growth and upgrading workers’ rights across the country. Official figures on Friday showed that the UK economy returned to growth in August after flatlining for two months, a welcome boost for the government.

    However, the government has come under fire for announcing plans to scrap winter fuel allowances worth up to 300 British pounds (392 U.S. dollars) for 10 million pensioners, and refusing to lift a two-child cap on child benefit.

    There has also been heavy criticism of Starmer for accepting thousands of pounds from a wealthy party donor to pay for clothes. Other Labour ministers have also received free gifts including tickets for major sporting events and Taylor Swift concerts.

    Professor Iain Begg from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) told Xinhua: “Labour, in power for its first 100 days, has been frantic. It’s had considerable difficulties and shown a lack of political experience, but it’s also tried to push forward a very large number of agenda items which had been lapsed under the previous administrations.”

    “The verdict, therefore, is a rather checkered one,” Begg said.

    An Opinium poll revealed in late September that Starmer’s approval rating had plunged below that of the Tory leader Rishi Sunak, suffering a huge 45-point drop since July. Meanwhile, a YouGov poll revealed this week that Starmer is now as unpopular as the controversial Brexiteer Nigel Farage.

    Nevertheless, Begg said that in British politics, a government will often make tough decisions and policy announcements in its first year in power, leaving another four years to turn such decisions around.

    “It’s fair to say that Starmer can expect a few more storms over the next year or so, until some of his initiatives start to show that they’re genuinely making a difference. There’ll be easy tests for the public to apply and if he passes those tests, he’ll be seen as a more successful prime minister than maybe he has been in his first 100 days,” he said.

    Andrew Roe-Crines, a researcher in British politics at the University of Liverpool, thinks the Budget will be an opportunity for Starmer and his party to sway public opinion when it is delivered on Oct. 30.

    “If they are right and they’re able to show this in the Budget by being able to invest in things which people expect to see, then maybe there’s hope for positive things later down the line,” Roe-Crines told Xinhua.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Experts, officials call for stronger China-Africa cooperation via Global Development Initiative

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    Experts, officials call for stronger China-Africa cooperation via Global Development Initiative

    ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 13 — Experts and policymakers from various United Nations (UN) agencies, the African Union (AU) and African countries stressed the need to further bolster China-Africa cooperation across various sustainable development areas while attending a recent dialogue on the Global Development Initiative (GDI) here.

    Addressing the gathering, Mohamed Belhocine, the AU Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, said China-Africa ties have evolved into “an outstanding and mutually beneficial partnership.”

    Describing China-Africa cooperation as “a bright example of South-South cooperation that addresses and harnesses global challenges and opportunities in several priority areas,” the AU commissioner said the China-proposed GDI has the capacity to further strengthen the ever-growing China-Africa relationship and broaden South-South cooperation.

    “The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Agenda 2063 (the AU’s 50-year continental development blueprint) both provide strategic frameworks for tackling issues confronting Africa and the world at large. In the same vein, the Global Development Initiative builds on the foundations of the SDGs to chart a path towards the realization of a global community,” said Belhocine.

    Belhocine further said China-Africa cooperation has achieved mutually beneficial development outcomes over the years. “The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is a vivid testament to the benefits of a partnership which covers science and technology, peace and security, climate change, education, agriculture, and information and communications technology, among many other sectors.”

    Participants attending the high-level dialogue emphasized the critical need to promote synergy in development plans and strategies to enhance broader China-Africa cooperation as the two sides strive to realize the vision of the GDI.

    Zhao Fengtao, vice chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, highlighted China’s readiness to work with Africa to fully implement the GDI and continue to strengthen China-Africa development cooperation, ultimately contributing to advancing the modernization and building of a China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.

    “The GDI calls for staying committed to development as a priority, staying committed to a people-centered approach and staying committed to benefits for all,” Zhao said.

    He also stressed China’s strong commitment to supporting Africa’s economic integration and modernization, improving the well-being of the African people and facilitating the implementation of the sustainable development agenda.

    Teshale Berecha, Ethiopia’s state minister of labor and skills, said the “remarkable” China-Africa cooperation, which exemplifies the spirit of South-South cooperation, is a vivid manifestation of the two sides’ shared commitment to mutual growth, sustainable development and empowerment of the two peoples.

    Highlighting some of the significant achievements of China’s cooperation with Ethiopia in particular and the wider African continent in general, the state minister said China has been a major partner for Ethiopia and beyond, particularly through its Belt and Road Initiative and other major development initiatives.

    “Our collaboration has yielded significant advancements in the area of science and technology too,” he said. “The establishment of joint research centers and technology transfer initiatives has enabled us to harness our collective expertise and address pressing challenges.”

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Journey to a Water World: NASA’s Europa Clipper Is Ready to Launch

    Source: NASA

    Find details about the launch sequences for the orbiter, which is targeting an Oct. 14 liftoff on its mission to search for ingredients of life at Jupiter’s moon Europa.
    In less than 24 hours, NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft is slated to launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket. Its sights are set on Jupiter’s ice-encased moon Europa, which the spacecraft will fly by 49 times, coming as close as 16 miles (25 kilometers) from the surface as it searches for ingredients of life. 
    Launch is set for 12:06 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 14, with additional opportunities through Nov 6. Each opportunity is instantaneous, meaning there is only one exact time per day when launch can occur. Plans to launch Europa Clipper on Oct. 10 were delayed due to impacts of Hurricane Milton.

    [embedded content]
    NASA’s Europa Clipper is the first mission dedicated to studying Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, one of the most promising places in our solar system to find an environment suitable for life outside of Earth.

    With its massive solar arrays extended, Europa Clipper could span a basketball court (100 feet, or 30.5 meters, tip to tip). In fact, it’s the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission. The journey to Jupiter is a long one — 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) — and rather than taking a straight path there, Europa Clipper will loop around Mars and then Earth, gaining speed as it swings past.
    The spacecraft will begin orbiting Jupiter in April 2030, and in 2031 it will start making those 49 science-focused flybys of Europa while looping around the gas giant. The orbit is designed to maximize the science Europa Clipper can conduct and minimize exposure to Jupiter’s notoriously intense radiation.
    But, of course, before any of that can happen, the spacecraft has to leave Earth behind. The orbiter’s solar arrays are folded and stowed for launch. Testing is complete on the spacecraft’s various systems and its payload of nine science instruments and a gravity science investigation. Loaded with over 6,060 pounds (2,750 kilograms) of the propellant that will get Europa Clipper to Jupiter, the spacecraft has been encapsulated in the protective nose cone, or payload fairing, atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, which is poised for takeoff from historic Launch Complex 39A.
    Launch Sequences
    The Falcon Heavy has two stages and two side boosters. After the side boosters separate, the core stage will be expended into the Atlantic Ocean. Then the second stage of the rocket, which will help Europa Clipper escape Earth’s gravity, will fire its engine.

    Once the rocket is out of Earth’s atmosphere, about 50 minutes after launch, the payload fairing will separate from its ride, split into two halves, and fall safely back to Earth, where it will be recovered and reused. The spacecraft will then separate from the upper stage about an hour after launch. Stable communication with the spacecraft is expected by about 19 minutes after separation from the rocket, but it could take somewhat longer.
    About three hours after launch, Europa Clipper will deploy its pair of massive solar arrays, one at a time, and direct them at the Sun.
    Mission controllers will then begin to reconfigure the spacecraft into its planned operating mode. The ensuing three months of initial checkout include a commissioning phase to confirm that all hardware and software is operating as expected.
    While Europa Clipper is not a life-detection mission, it will tell us whether Europa is a promising place to pursue an answer to the fundamental question about our solar system and beyond: Are we alone?
    Scientists suspect that the ingredients for life — water, chemistry, and energy — could exist at the moon Europa right now. Previous missions have found strong evidence of an ocean beneath the moon’s thick icy crust, potentially with twice as much liquid water as all of Earth’s oceans combined. Europa may be home to organic compounds, which are essential chemical building blocks for life. Europa Clipper will help scientists confirm whether organics are there, and also help them look for evidence of energy sources under the moon’s surface.

    More About Europa Clipper
    Europa Clipper’s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.
    Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. APL designed the main spacecraft body in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama; and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission.
    NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.
    Find more information about Europa here:
    europa.nasa.gov

    News Media Contacts
    Meira Bernstein / Karen FoxNASA Headquarters, Washington202-358-1600meira.b.bernstein@nasa.gov / karen.c.fox@nasa.gov
    Gretchen McCartneyJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.818-287-4115gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov 
    2024-139

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Can listening to music make you more productive at work?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Fiveash, ARC DECRA Fellow (Researcher), Western Sydney University

    Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock

    Listening to music can enhance our lives in all kinds of ways – many of us use it during exercise, to regulate our mood, or in the workplace.

    But can listening to background music while you work really make you more productive?

    It’s a controversial topic. Some people swear by it, others find it painfully distracting. The research agrees there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question.

    The best way to use music in the workplace depends on several factors, including your personality traits, what you’re doing, and what kind of music you’re listening to.

    Here’s how to find out what works best for you.

    Who you are

    Your personality has a key influence on whether background music can boost productivity or be distracting in the workplace, which relates to your unique optimal level of arousal.

    Arousal in this context relates to mental alertness, and the readiness of the brain to process new information. Background music can increase it.

    Research suggests that being at an optimal level of arousal facilitates a state of “flow”, enhancing performance and productivity.

    Introverts may need less external stimulus – such as music – to focus well.
    Ground Picture/Shutterstock

    Introverts already have a high baseline level of internal arousal.

    Adding background music might push them over their optimal level, likely reducing productivity.

    Extroverts, on the other hand, have lower baseline levels of internal arousal, so need more external stimulation to perform at their optimal level.

    This is why introverts may perform worse than extroverts with background music, especially when the music is highly arousing.

    What you’re doing

    Research has shown the nature of the task you’re doing can also have an important effect.

    Because of connections between music and language in the brain, trying to read and write at the same time as listening to complex music – especially music with lyrics – can be particularly difficult.

    However, if you’re doing a simple or repetitive task such as data entry or a manual task, having music on in the background can help with performance – particularly upbeat and complex music.

    These findings could be related to music’s effects on motivation and maintaining attention, as well as activating reward networks in the brain.

    Complex music may increase performance on some simple or manual tasks.
    Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock

    The type of music itself

    One important and often overlooked influence is what kind of music you choose to listen to.

    Research has shown that fast and loud music can be more detrimental to complex tasks, such as reading comprehension, than soft and slow music.

    Other research found that listening to calming music can have benefits for memory, while aggressive and unpleasant music can have the opposite effect.

    However, these effects also depend on your personality, your familiarity with the music, and your musical preferences, so the type of music that works best will be different for everyone.

    Music can be very rewarding and can benefit attention, mood and motivation.

    Choosing music that is meaningful, rewarding and makes you feel good will likely help boost your performance, especially when performing simple tasks.

    The type of music you listen to can have an effect.
    Samuel Sianipar/Unsplash

    What about complex tasks?

    It largely seems that the more complex or demanding the task is, the more distracting background music can be.

    One way to harness the motivational and mood-boosting effects of music to help with your workplace productivity is to play music before doing your work.

    Using music to boost your mood and enhance attention before starting a work task could help you be more productive in that task.

    Playing music right before a task can provide benefits while reducing the risk of distraction.
    XiXinXing/Shutterstock

    Playing music before a demanding task has been shown to boost language abilities in particular.

    So if you’re about to do a cognitively demanding task involving reading and writing, and you feel that music might distract you if played at the same time, try listening to it just before doing the task.

    Find what works for you

    Music can be both helpful and detrimental for workplace productivity – the best advice is to experiment with different tasks and different types of music, to find out what works best for you.

    Try to experiment with your favourite music first, while doing a simple task.

    Does the music help you engage with the task? Or do you get distracted and start to become more absorbed in the music? Listening to music without lyrics and with a strong beat might help you focus on the task at hand.

    If you find music is distracting to your work, try scheduling in some music breaks throughout the day. Listening to music during breaks could boost your mood and increase your motivation, thereby enhancing productivity.

    Moving along with music is suggested to increase reward processing, especially in social situations.

    Dancing has the added bonus of getting you out of your chair and moving along in time, so bonus points if you are able to make it a dance break!



    Read more:
    An education in music makes you a better employee. Are recruiters in tune?

    Anna Fiveash receives funding from The Australian Research Council.

    – ref. Can listening to music make you more productive at work? – https://theconversation.com/can-listening-to-music-make-you-more-productive-at-work-241123

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The science of happier dogs: 5 tips to help your canine friends live their best life

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mia Cobb, Research Fellow, Animal Welfare Science Centre, The University of Melbourne

    Bigzumi/Shutterstock

    When you hear about “science focused on how dogs can live their best lives with us” it sounds like an imaginary job made up by a child. However, the field of animal welfare science is real and influential.

    As our most popular animal companion and coworker, dogs are very deserving of scientific attention. In recent years we’ve learned more about how dogs are similar to people, but also how they are distinctly themselves.

    We often think about how dogs help us – as companions, working as detectors, and keeping us safe and healthy. Dog-centric science helps us think about the world from a four-paw perspective and apply this new knowledge so dogs can enjoy a good life.

    Here are five tips to keep the tails in your life wagging happily.

    1. Let dogs sniff

    Sniffing makes dogs happier. We tend to forget they live in a smell-based world because we’re so visual. Often taking the dog for a walk is our daily physical activity but we should remember it could be our dogs’ only time out of the home environment.

    Letting them have a really good sniff of that tree or post is full of satisfying information for them. It’s their nose’s equivalent of us standing at the top of a mountain and enjoying a rich, colour-soaked, sunset view.

    Dogs live in a world of smells, so it’s important to let them sniff until their heart’s content.
    Pawtraits/Shutterstock

    2. Give dogs agency

    Agency is a hot topic in animal welfare science right now. For people who lived through the frustration of strict lockdowns in the early years of COVID, it’s easy to remember how not being able to go where we wanted, or see who we wanted, when we wanted, impacted our mental health.

    We’ve now learned that giving animals choice and control in their lives is important for their mental wellbeing too. We can help our dogs enjoy better welfare by creating more choices and offering them control to exercise their agency.

    This might be installing a doggy door so they can go outside or inside when they like. It could be letting them decide which sniffy path to take through your local park. Perhaps it’s choosing which three toys to play with that day from a larger collection that gets rotated around. Maybe it’s putting an old blanket down in a new location where you’ve noticed the sun hits the floor for them to relax on.

    Providing choices doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.

    3. Recognise all dogs are individuals

    People commonly ascribe certain personality traits to certain dog breeds. But just like us, dogs have their own personalities and preferences. Not all dogs are going to like the same things and a new dog we live with may be completely different to the last one.

    One dog might like to go to the dog park and run around with other dogs at high speed for an hour, while another dog would much rather hang out with you chewing on something in the garden.

    We can see as much behavioural variation within breeds as we do between them. Being prepared to meet dogs where they are, as individuals, is important to their welfare.

    As well as noticing what dogs like to do as individuals, it’s important not to force dogs into situations they don’t enjoy. Pay attention to behaviour that indicates dogs aren’t comfortable, such as looking away, licking their lips or yawning.

    Just like humans, different dogs have different personalities.
    Daria Shvetcova/Shutterstock

    4. Respect dogs’ choice to opt out

    Even in our homes, we can provide options if our dogs don’t want to share in every activity with us. Having a quiet place that dogs can retreat to is really important in enabling them to opt out if they want to.

    If you’re watching television loudly, it may be too much for their sensitive ears. Ensure a door is open to another room so they can retreat. Some dogs might feel overwhelmed when visitors come over; giving them somewhere safe and quiet to go rather than forcing an interaction will help them cope.

    Dogs can be terrific role models for children when teaching empathy. We can demonstrate consent by letting dogs approach us for pats and depart when they want. Like seeing exotic animals perform in circuses, dressing up dogs for our own entertainment seems to have had its day. If you asked most dogs, they don’t want to wear costumes or be part of your Halloween adventures.

    5. Opportunities for off-lead activity – safely.

    When dogs are allowed to run off-lead, they use space differently. They tend to explore more widely and go faster than they do when walking with us on-lead. This offers them important and fun physical activity to keep them fit and healthy.

    Demonstrating how dogs walk differently when on- and off-lead.

    A recent exploration of how liveable cities are for dogs mapped all the designated areas for dogs to run off-leash. Doggy density ranged from one dog for every six people to one dog for every 30 people, depending on where you live.

    It also considered how access to these areas related to the annual registration fees for dogs in each government area compared, with surprising differences noted across greater Melbourne. We noted fees varied between A$37 and $84, and these didn’t relate to how many off-lead areas you could access.

    For dog-loving nations, such as Australia, helping our canine friends live their best life feels good. Science that comes from a four-paw perspective can help us reconsider our everyday interactions with dogs and influence positive changes so we can live well, together.

    Mia Cobb 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. The science of happier dogs: 5 tips to help your canine friends live their best life – https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-happier-dogs-5-tips-to-help-your-canine-friends-live-their-best-life-236952

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Electric car sales have slumped. Misinformation is one of the reasons

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Senior Lecturer of Urban Analytics & Resilience, UNSW Sydney

    Karolis Kavolelis/Shutterstock

    Battery electric vehicle sales in Australia have flattened in recent months. The latest data reveal a sharp 27.2% year-on-year decline (overall new vehicle sales were down 9.7%) in September. Tesla Model Y and Model 3 cars had an even steeper drop of nearly 50%.

    Sales also fell in August (by 18.5%) and July (1.5%). There’s a clear downward trend.

    Before this downturn, electric vehicle sales had been rising steadily, supported by increased choices and government incentives. In early 2024, year-to-date sales continued to grow compared to the same period in 2023. Then, in April, electric vehicle sales fell for the first time in more than two years.

    Australia isn’t simply mirroring a broader global trend. It’s true sales have slowed in parts of Europe and the United States — often due to reduced incentives. But strong sales growth continues in other regions, such as China and India.

    A range of factors or combinations of them could help explain the trend in Australia. These include governments axing incentives, concerns about safety and depreciation, and misinformation.

    Governments are cutting incentives

    Electric vehicles typically cost more upfront. However, the flood of cheaper Chinese vehicles is lowering the cost barrier.

    Federal, state and territory governments also provide financial incentives to buy electric vehicles. These have been among the main drivers of sales in Australia.

    Nationally, incentives include a higher luxury car tax threshold and exemptions from fringe benefits tax and customs duty. But several states and territories have scaled back their rebate programs and tax exemptions in 2023 and 2024.

    New South Wales and South Australia ended their $3,000 rebates on January 1 this year. At the same time, NSW ended a stamp duty refund for new and used zero-emission vehicles up to a value of $78,000. Both incentives had been offered since 2021.

    Victoria ended its $3,000 rebate, also launched in 2021, in mid-2023.

    In the ACT, the incentive of two years’ free registration closed on June 30 2024.

    Queensland’s $6,000 electric vehicle rebate ended in September.

    The market clearly responded to these changes. However, reduced financial incentives alone cannot explain the full picture. Despite several rounds of price cuts, sales of popular Tesla models are falling.

    Buyers are increasingly opting for hybrid vehicles instead. In September, sales of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles were up by 34.4% and 89.9%, respectively.

    These sales trends reflect other consumer concerns beyond just the upfront cost.

    Resale value worries buyers

    One major issue for car buyers in Australia, and globally, is uncertainty about their resale value. Consumers are concerned electric vehicles depreciate faster than traditional cars.

    These concerns are particularly tied to battery degradation, which affects a car’s range and performance over time. And batteries account for much of the vehicle’s total cost. Potential buyers worry about the long-term value of a used electric vehicle with an ageing battery.

    For example, a 2021 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus with nearly 85,000km currently lists for about $34,000. It has lost roughly half its value in just three years.

    While Tesla offers transferable four-year warranties and software updates, the rapid evolution of EV technology also makes older second-hand models less desirable, further reducing their value.

    Fires raise fears about safety

    Electric vehicle fires have made headlines globally. This has created doubts among consumers about the risks of owning them.

    In Korea, a high-profile battery fire in August 2024 led to a ban on certain electric vehicles from underground car parks. While similar bans are not common in Australia, some have been reported. These could have harmed local consumer confidence.

    Incidents of electric vehicle fires have increased along with vehicle numbers. Statistically, these vehicles are not more prone to fires than conventional cars – in fact, the risk is clearly lower.

    For example, analysis of publicly available statistics from South Korean government agencies, one of the early adopters of electric vehicles, show the number of fires per registered electric vehicle is steadily increasing. Fire risk remains lower than for traditional vehicles, although the gap is shrinking as the electric vehicle fleet ages. And the highly publicised nature of their fires is a source of growing buyer hesitancy.

    Electric vehicle fires in Korea are increasing with EV numbers, but the rate is still less than for petrol or diesel cars.
    Author provided using data from South Korean government agencies, CC BY

    Misinformation and politicisation are rampant

    The full environmental benefits of electric vehicles depend on widespread adoption. However, there is a wide gap between early adopters’ experiences and potential buyers’ perceptions.

    Persistent misconceptions include exaggerated concerns about battery life, charging infrastructure and safety. Myths and misinformation often fuel these concerns. Traditional vehicle and oil companies actively spread misinformation in campaigns much like those used against other green energy initiatives.

    In response, coalitions such as Electric Vehicles UK have formed to combat these false narratives and promote accurate information.

    The politicisation of green initiatives adds to the challenge. When electric vehicles become associated with a specific political ideology, it can alienate large parts of the population. Adoption then becomes slower and more divisive.

    Green transition is a work in progress

    The electric vehicle market in Australia is facing challenges, despite the growing variety of models and price cuts.

    The EV sales trend signals deeper issues in the market. Broader trends, such as the dominance of SUVs and utes, underscore the fact that while the transition to greener vehicles is progressing, it remains uneven.

    Further efforts will be needed to reduce misconceptions and misinformation, and bridge the gap between owners’ experience and potential buyers’ perceptions. Only then can Australia enjoy the environmental benefits of widespread EV adoption.

    Hadi Ghaderi receives funding from the iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre, Transport for New South Wales, Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, IVECO Trucks Australia limited, Victoria Department of Education and Training, Australia Post, Bondi Laboratories, Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre, Sphere for Good, Australian Meat Processor Corporation,City of Casey, 460degrees and Passel.

    Milad Haghani 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. Electric car sales have slumped. Misinformation is one of the reasons – https://theconversation.com/electric-car-sales-have-slumped-misinformation-is-one-of-the-reasons-240545

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: New leading cyber & digital forensics training facility for NSW jobs precinct

    Source: New South Wales Premiere

    Published: 11 October 2024

    Released by: Minister for Regional NSW

    A major state-of-the art cyber and digital forensics training facility will soon call South Jerrabomberra home following the Minns Labor Government’s $23 million investment in enabling infrastructure within the South Jerrabomberra Regional Jobs Precinct in southern NSW.

    CBIT Digital Forensics Services (CDFS), an Australian supplier of digital forensic tools, industry training and certification, has chosen the precinct to establish its first tactical training facility.

    Digital forensics focuses on identifying, acquiring, processing, analysing, and reporting on data stored electronically.

    CDFS anticipates it will almost double its workforce from nine to 18 over the next few years and plans to invest $11.7 million in a new building on the site, creating additional jobs for local construction and building workers.

    The construction of the NANGU Cyber Forensics Facility is expected to be completed by March 2025 and aiming to have the facility ready for training and operations for the second semester.

    The company has provided hi-tech services to organisations including law enforcement and government department to help deal with digital forensic and investigative issues including electronic evidence handling.

    CDFS joins a growing number of investors setting up in the South Jerrabomberra Regional Jobs Precinct. Further blocks within the precinct will become available for investors in early 2025.

    The precinct is supported by a $23 million contribution by the NSW Government for essential infrastructure including roads, footpaths, upgraded electricity, natural gas, water, and access to NBN Enterprise Ethernet services.

    Strategically located on Canberra’s doorstep, the precinct’s infrastructure and proximity to universities, world-class research and development facilities and a skilled workforce makes it a highly attractive opportunity for investors.

    With the wider region already home to more than 90 companies specialising in technology, cybersecurity and defence, the precinct development will help nurture high-tech careers in engineering, programming and science, specialising in cyber, space, AI, and defence.

    The site’s proximity to government agencies and the nation’s decision-makers, an international airport and major road networks puts new and emerging businesses in a prime position to thrive.

    To activate this investment-ready precinct in regional NSW, the NSW Government is working closely with the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council, the ACT Government and federal agencies.

    CDFS was supported by $3 million in Australian Government funding to establish the NANGU Cyber Forensics Facility.

    Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said:

    “It is important that we empower regional people and communities to prosper through a boost in skills, wages and opportunities. Through Regional Job Precincts like South Jerrabomberra, the NSW Government is providing this opportunity.

    “This precinct gives investors access to a highly skilled and educated local workforce. It aims to build a sustainable business hub offering fast-tracked planning approvals.

    “This investor-ready precinct has the advantage of proximity to key decision-makers in Canberra, and I am really proud that the NSW Government is giving businesses this opportunity to establish and grow in regional NSW.”

    Member for Monaro, Steve Whan said

    “With the rapid growth of areas like Jerrabomberra, Tralee, and Googong, precincts like this are ensuring we can keep highly qualified and skilled workers in their local area, and not lose their talents to the ACT or other major cities.

    “The investment in modern and specialised industries like cyber security, space, AI, and research is creating a sustainable and competitive workforce for regional NSW which will attract new people to our area.

    “I look forward to touring the precinct and learning about the work being done there.”

    CDFS CEO Zoran Iliev said:

    “The Ngunnawal people, the Traditional Owners of the lands where the NANGU Cyber Forensics Facility will stand, have recognised that these lands have always been places of teaching and learning. We deeply respect their traditions and are grateful to have NANGU in this beautiful area with a unique position near Queanbeyan, the Canberra airport, and our nation’s capital.

    Our facility, the NANGU Cyber Forensics Facility, will not only be a hub for technology and science but also a preserver of traditions. The forensic scientists trained here will not only be guardians of the truth but also guardians of the rich traditions of the Ngunnawal people.

    “As an independent RTO, we are proud to bring this training facility to South Jerrabomberra and offer young Australians a unique chance to get the qualifications to help them get not just a job but a career to be proud of.

    “The CDFS team and I are very proud and grateful for the opportunity to help this region by providing top-notch Cyber Forensics training and creating the much-needed new workforce in Cyber.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sols 4331-4333: Today’s Rover ABC – Aurora, Backwards Driving, and Chemistry, with a Side of Images

    Source: NASA

    4 min read

    Earth planning date: Friday, Oct. 11, 2024

    This blogger is in the United Kingdom, just north of London, where we yesterday had beautiful night skies with a red aurora that was even visible with the unaided eye, and looked stunning on photographs. That reminded me of the solar storm that made it all the way to Mars earlier this year. Here is my colleague Deborah’s blog about it: “Aurora Watch on Mars.” And, of course, that was a great opportunity to do atmospheric science and prepare for future crewed missions, to assess radiation that future astronauts might encounter. You can read about it in the article, “NASA Watches Mars Light Up During Epic Solar Storm.” But now, back from shiny red night skies north of London, and auroras on Mars six months ago, to today’s planning!

    Power — always a negotiation! Today, I was the Science Operations Working Group chair, the one who has to watch for the more technical side of things, such as the question if all the activities will fit into the plan. Today there were many imaging ideas to capture the stunning landscape in detail with Mastcam and very close close-ups with the long-distance imaging capability of ChemCam (RMI). Overall, we have two long-distance RMIs in the plan to capture the details of the ridge we are investigating. You can see in the accompanying image an example from last sol of just how many stunning details we can see. I so want to go and pick up that smooth white-ish looking rock to find out if it is just the light that makes it so bright, or if the surface is different from the underside… but that’s just me, a mineralogist by training, used to wandering around a field site! Do you notice the different patterns — textures as we call them in geology — on the rocks to the left of that white-ish rock and the right of it? So much stunning detail, and we are getting two more RMI observations of 10 frames each in today’s plan! In addition there are more than 80 Mastcam frames planned. Lots of images to learn from!

    Chemistry is also featuring in the plan. The rover is stable on its wheels, which means we can get the arm out and do an APXS measurement on the target “Midnight Lake,” which MAHLI also images. The LIBS investigations are seconding the APXS investigation on Midnight Lake, and add another target to the plan, “Pyramidal Pinnacle.” On the third sol there is an AEGIS, the LIBS measurement where the rover picks its own target before we here on Earth even see where it is! Power was especially tight today, because the CheMin team does some housekeeping, in particular looking at empty cells in preparation for the next drill. The atmosphere team adds many investigations to look out for dust devils and the dustiness of the atmosphere, and APXS measures the argon content of the atmosphere. This is a measure for the seasonal changes of the atmosphere, as argon is an inert gas that does not react with other components of the atmosphere. It is only controlled by the temperature in various places of the planet — mainly the poles. DAN continues to monitor water in the subsurface, and RAD — prominently featured during the solar storm I was talking about earlier — continues to collect data on the radiation environment.

    Let’s close with a fun fact from planning today: During one of the meetings, the rover drivers were asked, “Are you driving backwards again?” … and the answer was yes! The reason: We need to make sure that in this rugged terrain, with its many interesting walls (interesting for the geologists!), the antenna can still see Earth when we want to send the plan. So the drive on sol 4332 is all backwards. I am glad we have hazard cameras on the front and the back of the vehicle!

    Written by Susanne Schwenzer, Planetary Geologist at The Open University

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Press release: Major investment deals set to be announced at government’s inaugural International Investment Summit as PM vows to ‘remove needless regulation’ declaring Britain open for business

    Source: United Kingdom – Prime Minister’s Office 10 Downing Street

    Billions worth of investments in emerging growth sectors including AI and life sciences, and infrastructure are set to be unveiled by businesses and ministers at the government’s inaugural International Investment Summit today.

    • Ministers set to unveil billions worth of major investment deals in AI, life sciences and infrastructure
    • Follows investment of £24 billion in clean energy from business leaders hailing the UK’s “clear policy direction”
    • Comes as leading investors, CEOs, and politicians convene for inaugural International Investment Summit
    • PM vows to “do everything in my power to galvanise growth” as he pledges to “get rid of regulation that needlessly holds back investment”

    Billions worth of investments in emerging growth sectors including AI and life sciences, and infrastructure are set to be unveiled by businesses and ministers at the government’s inaugural International Investment Summit today (Monday 14th October).

    World leading CEO’s and investors from across the globe will meet with ministers, First Ministers, and local leaders at the Guildhall – a historic landmark which has served as the ceremonial heart of the City of London for centuries. 

    Securing investment is central to the government’s mission to deliver economic growth which will create jobs, improve living standards, and make communities and families across the country better off.  

    The government has already secured tens of billions worth of investments within 100 days of being in office. The International Investment Summit will provide an opportunity to build on this progress and showcase the UK’s economic strengths. The event will demonstrate that through serious, stable governance, the UK can establish enduring partnerships with businesses to boost investment and give investors the confidence they need to choose Britain. 

    In a sign of intent to deliver on its central promise, this government has immediately made a series of major interventions to restore economic stability and create the right conditions for growth and investment. Business leaders this week hailed the UK’s “clear policy direction” as they announced over £24 billion worth of investment in clean energy projects.

    The government’s policy platform – including bolstering the Office for Investment, a robust Industrial Strategy, major planning reforms to unlock infrastructure and housing, and founding a National Wealth Fund to catalyse private money – will attract investment, kickstart growth, and unlock Britain’s potential. 

    In his keynote speech opening the summit, the Prime Minister will outline how the government will build on this work, with a vow to “do everything in my power to galvanise growth including getting rid of regulation that needlessly holds back investment.” 

    He is expected to say not enough has been done to make sure the UK is keeping pace with emerging industries. He will pledge to “upgrade the regulatory regime to make it fit for the modern age, making Britain fit to harness all opportunities.”

    In his keynote speech, the Prime Minister will make his ‘pitch for Britain’. On the value of stability, the Prime Minister is expected to say: 

    “It’s not just that stability leads to growth – though we all recognise that. It’s also that growth leads to stability. Growth leads to a country that is better equipped to come together and get its future back. That’s why it’s always been so critical to my project.

    “We have a golden opportunity to use our mandate, to end chop and change, policy churn and sticking plasters that make it so hard for investors to assess the value of any proposition. 

    “We have the determination, the focus on clear long-term ends, a mission-led mindset that thinks in years, not the days or hours of the news grid, needed to unlock that potential. Do not doubt that. 

    “We are focusing on investment because the mission of growth, in this country especially, demands it. Private sector investment is the way we rebuild our country and pay our way in the world. This is a great moment to back Britain. This is great moment to back England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.”

    On regulation, he is expected to say: 

    “We’ve got to look at regulation where it is needlessly holding back the investment, to take our country forward.

    “Where it is stopping us building the homes, the data centres, warehouses, grid connectors, roads, trainlines, you name it then mark my words – we will get rid of it.

    “We will rip out the bureaucracy that blocks investment and we will make sure that every regulator in this country take growth as seriously as this room does.”

    The government will ask the CMA to prioritise growth, investment, and innovation through their work as a priority and it will also be reviewing the focus of other major regulators. 

    The regulatory review is just one part of the government’s work ensuring Britain is at the front of the queue for emerging opportunities. It builds on the recent creation of the Regulatory Innovation Office, which will curb red tape for cutting-edge emerging technologies, speed up approvals, and allow them to be rolled out to the public safely and quickly. 

    These changes come at the same time as the government delivers on a key manifesto promise to establish a modern Industrial Strategy. Long called for by business, the strategy hardwires long-term stability for investors and plays to the UK’s strengths by focusing on eight growth-driving sectors. 

    The summit will involve sessions with ministers and business leaders to discuss how together we can ensure the UK capitalises on emerging growth sectors including health tech and AI, clean energy and creative industries, for the good of working people. Confirmed speakers including Ruth Porat President & Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet, David A. Ricks Chair and CEO of Eli Lilly, Alex Kendall CEO of Wayve and Pushmeet Kohli Vice President of Research at Google DeepMind. 

    The Prime Minister will take part in an “in conversation” event with former CEO and chairman of Google Eric Schmidt, moderated by CEO of GSK Dame Emma Walmsley to discuss how the UK can seize the opportunities of AI to drive growth and productivity, and it’s potential to improve public services such as health and education.

    The Chancellor will close the summit and take part in a panel event discussing investment opportunities in the UK with Group Chief Executive of USS Carol Young, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock Larry Fink and CEO of Brookfield Asset Management Bruce Flatt.

    Attendees will then be invited to an exclusive reception at St Paul’s Cathedral attended by His Majesty The King. 

    Investment Minister Poppy Gustafsson OBE said: 

    “It’s never been a better time to invest in Britain. This summit is a hugely significant moment to showcase the UK’s economic strengths on the world stage and I’m delighted to be part of the government’s important work to drive growth and investment across the UK.”

    Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: 

    “I’m delighted to be attending the International Investment Summit. With a new government, we are reclaiming Britain’s reputation as a magnet for global investment – bringing with it new technology, new ways of thinking and, crucially, new jobs across our country, meaning higher living standards.  

    “London and the UK are open for business, trade and investment. I will continue working with the Government to forge new partnerships, reset relationships and seize the opportunity to secure long-term investment so that we can build a better London for everyone and deliver the change Britain needs.”

    Alex Kendall, Co-Founder and CEO of Wayve, said: 

    “I’m delighted to join the inaugural International Investment Summit. The UK has a strong opportunity to lead in Embodied AI, especially in automated vehicles. 

    “We appreciate the Government’s proactive collaboration with industry on intelligent legislation like the AV Act 2024. Their sector-specific approach to AI regulation is the right way to encourage both investment and innovation. 

    “As we advance our Embodied AI technology into safe, reliable, production-ready software for global automakers, we look forward to continuing to work with the Government to harmonise global regulations and scale UK innovation internationally.”

    Ruth Porat Chief Investment Officer at Alphabet Inc said:

    “Google is proud of our long history of meaningful investments in local talent, infrastructure and digital skilling in the UK which help everyone participate in the benefits of the digital economy. With the UK’s rich academic heritage, particularly in the sciences, it is well-positioned to capture the many opportunities that AI can deliver. 

    “The Investment Summit is an important moment to reflect on the progress to date, and how to best position the UK as a global leader in AI, with the economic and societal benefits this transformative technology can deliver today, and in the years ahead.”

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Major investment deals set to be announced at government’s inaugural International Investment Summit as PM vows to ‘remove needless regulation’ declaring Britain open for business

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Billions worth of investments in emerging growth sectors including AI and life sciences, and infrastructure are set to be unveiled by businesses and ministers at the government’s inaugural International Investment Summit today.

    • Ministers set to unveil billions worth of major investment deals in AI, life sciences and infrastructure
    • Follows investment of £24 billion in clean energy from business leaders hailing the UK’s “clear policy direction”
    • Comes as leading investors, CEOs, and politicians convene for inaugural International Investment Summit
    • PM vows to “do everything in my power to galvanise growth” as he pledges to “get rid of regulation that needlessly holds back investment”

    Billions worth of investments in emerging growth sectors including AI and life sciences, and infrastructure are set to be unveiled by businesses and ministers at the government’s inaugural International Investment Summit today (Monday 14th October).

    World leading CEO’s and investors from across the globe will meet with ministers, First Ministers, and local leaders at the Guildhall – a historic landmark which has served as the ceremonial heart of the City of London for centuries. 

    Securing investment is central to the government’s mission to deliver economic growth which will create jobs, improve living standards, and make communities and families across the country better off.  

    The government has already secured tens of billions worth of investments within 100 days of being in office. The International Investment Summit will provide an opportunity to build on this progress and showcase the UK’s economic strengths. The event will demonstrate that through serious, stable governance, the UK can establish enduring partnerships with businesses to boost investment and give investors the confidence they need to choose Britain. 

    In a sign of intent to deliver on its central promise, this government has immediately made a series of major interventions to restore economic stability and create the right conditions for growth and investment. Business leaders this week hailed the UK’s “clear policy direction” as they announced over £24 billion worth of investment in clean energy projects.

    The government’s policy platform – including bolstering the Office for Investment, a robust Industrial Strategy, major planning reforms to unlock infrastructure and housing, and founding a National Wealth Fund to catalyse private money – will attract investment, kickstart growth, and unlock Britain’s potential. 

    In his keynote speech opening the summit, the Prime Minister will outline how the government will build on this work, with a vow to “do everything in my power to galvanise growth including getting rid of regulation that needlessly holds back investment.” 

    He is expected to say not enough has been done to make sure the UK is keeping pace with emerging industries. He will pledge to “upgrade the regulatory regime to make it fit for the modern age, making Britain fit to harness all opportunities.”

    In his keynote speech, the Prime Minister will make his ‘pitch for Britain’. On the value of stability, the Prime Minister is expected to say: 

    “It’s not just that stability leads to growth – though we all recognise that. It’s also that growth leads to stability. Growth leads to a country that is better equipped to come together and get its future back. That’s why it’s always been so critical to my project.

    “We have a golden opportunity to use our mandate, to end chop and change, policy churn and sticking plasters that make it so hard for investors to assess the value of any proposition. 

    “We have the determination, the focus on clear long-term ends, a mission-led mindset that thinks in years, not the days or hours of the news grid, needed to unlock that potential. Do not doubt that. 

    “We are focusing on investment because the mission of growth, in this country especially, demands it. Private sector investment is the way we rebuild our country and pay our way in the world. This is a great moment to back Britain. This is great moment to back England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.”

    On regulation, he is expected to say: 

    “We’ve got to look at regulation where it is needlessly holding back the investment, to take our country forward.

    “Where it is stopping us building the homes, the data centres, warehouses, grid connectors, roads, trainlines, you name it then mark my words – we will get rid of it.

    “We will rip out the bureaucracy that blocks investment and we will make sure that every regulator in this country take growth as seriously as this room does.”

    The government will ask the CMA to prioritise growth, investment, and innovation through their work as a priority and it will also be reviewing the focus of other major regulators. 

    The regulatory review is just one part of the government’s work ensuring Britain is at the front of the queue for emerging opportunities. It builds on the recent creation of the Regulatory Innovation Office, which will curb red tape for cutting-edge emerging technologies, speed up approvals, and allow them to be rolled out to the public safely and quickly. 

    These changes come at the same time as the government delivers on a key manifesto promise to establish a modern Industrial Strategy. Long called for by business, the strategy hardwires long-term stability for investors and plays to the UK’s strengths by focusing on eight growth-driving sectors. 

    The summit will involve sessions with ministers and business leaders to discuss how together we can ensure the UK capitalises on emerging growth sectors including health tech and AI, clean energy and creative industries, for the good of working people. Confirmed speakers including Ruth Porat President & Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet, David A. Ricks Chair and CEO of Eli Lilly, Alex Kendall CEO of Wayve and Pushmeet Kohli Vice President of Research at Google DeepMind. 

    The Prime Minister will take part in an “in conversation” event with former CEO and chairman of Google Eric Schmidt, moderated by CEO of GSK Dame Emma Walmsley to discuss how the UK can seize the opportunities of AI to drive growth and productivity, and it’s potential to improve public services such as health and education.

    The Chancellor will close the summit and take part in a panel event discussing investment opportunities in the UK with Group Chief Executive of USS Carol Young, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock Larry Fink and CEO of Brookfield Asset Management Bruce Flatt.

    Attendees will then be invited to an exclusive reception at St Paul’s Cathedral attended by His Majesty The King. 

    Investment Minister Poppy Gustafsson OBE said: 

    “It’s never been a better time to invest in Britain. This summit is a hugely significant moment to showcase the UK’s economic strengths on the world stage and I’m delighted to be part of the government’s important work to drive growth and investment across the UK.”

    Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: 

    “I’m delighted to be attending the International Investment Summit. With a new government, we are reclaiming Britain’s reputation as a magnet for global investment – bringing with it new technology, new ways of thinking and, crucially, new jobs across our country, meaning higher living standards.  

    “London and the UK are open for business, trade and investment. I will continue working with the Government to forge new partnerships, reset relationships and seize the opportunity to secure long-term investment so that we can build a better London for everyone and deliver the change Britain needs.”

    Alex Kendall, Co-Founder and CEO of Wayve, said: 

    “I’m delighted to join the inaugural International Investment Summit. The UK has a strong opportunity to lead in Embodied AI, especially in automated vehicles. 

    “We appreciate the Government’s proactive collaboration with industry on intelligent legislation like the AV Act 2024. Their sector-specific approach to AI regulation is the right way to encourage both investment and innovation. 

    “As we advance our Embodied AI technology into safe, reliable, production-ready software for global automakers, we look forward to continuing to work with the Government to harmonise global regulations and scale UK innovation internationally.”

    Ruth Porat Chief Investment Officer at Alphabet Inc said:

    “Google is proud of our long history of meaningful investments in local talent, infrastructure and digital skilling in the UK which help everyone participate in the benefits of the digital economy. With the UK’s rich academic heritage, particularly in the sciences, it is well-positioned to capture the many opportunities that AI can deliver. 

    “The Investment Summit is an important moment to reflect on the progress to date, and how to best position the UK as a global leader in AI, with the economic and societal benefits this transformative technology can deliver today, and in the years ahead.”

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI China: China ready to strengthen alignment of development strategies with Vietnam

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Chinese Premier Li Qiang holds talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi, Vietnam, Oct. 13, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    China stands ready to strengthen alignment of development strategies with Vietnam, carrying out the plan of synergizing the Belt and Road Initiative with Vietnam’s Two Corridors and One Economic Circle strategy, said Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Hanoi on Sunday.

    China and Vietnam both are developing countries standing at a critical stage in their modernization efforts, Li said when holding talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, adding China firmly supports Vietnam in pursuing a path of socialism that suits its national conditions.

    Li reaffirmed China’s commitment to continuously improving and upgrading cooperation across various sectors with the Southeast Asian nation.

    China is ready to deepen cooperation with Vietnam in areas such as connectivity, trade, investment, tourism, healthcare, and disaster prevention and mitigation, as well as expand collaboration in local currency settlement and emerging industries, including the digital economy and green development, Li said.

    In August, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, held talks with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Vietnamese president, drawing a blueprint for and injecting fresh vigor into the development of China-Vietnam relations, Li said.

    China is willing to work with Vietnam to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two parties and two countries, maintain high-level communication, and continuously build mutual trust, Li said.

    The Chinese premier also called on upholding the original aspiration of good-neighborliness and friendship, reinforcing confidence in the two countries’ respective paths and systems, strengthening solidarity and cooperation, expanding comprehensive strategic cooperation and deepening the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.

    Li urged the two countries to take the opportunity of the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations and the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges, both taking place next year, to further deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, enhance mutual understanding between the two peoples, especially the younger generations, and carry forward the cause of China-Vietnam friendship.

    Li urged both sides to stick to the principle of friendly consultation, properly handle differences and expand maritime cooperation.

    China stands ready to work with Vietnam to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Vietnam at multilateral platforms such as the United Nations and APEC, strive for more just and rational global governance, safeguard the interests of developing countries, and play a leading role in the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

    Pham, for his part, said Vietnam and China enjoy a close relationship of comrades and brothers, and that their traditional friendship grows ever stronger.

    Developing relations with China is a top priority and a strategic choice for the party and the government of Vietnam, Pham said, noting China is the only country that encompasses all of Vietnam’s foreign policy priorities.

    Vietnam abides by the one-China principle, supports China’s development and growth, as well as the series of global initiatives put forward by President Xi, Pham said. He thanked China for its long-term support and assistance to his country.

    Next year marks the 75th anniversary of Vietnam-China diplomatic relations, Pham noted, saying that guided by the important consensus reached by the leaders of both parties and countries, Vietnam stands ready to strengthen high-level exchanges and enhance synergy of development strategies with China.

    He also pledged to advance cooperation with China in finance, investment, agriculture and science and technology, accelerate connectivity in transportation infrastructure, explore new models such as cross-border economic cooperation zones, expand collaboration in emerging sectors like the digital economy and green development, as well as strengthen exchanges in education, tourism, and youth exchanges.

    Vietnam is also willing to strengthen multilateral coordination with China to safeguard the common interests of developing countries, Pham said.

    He called on both countries to implement the high-level consensus of the two parties and two countries, properly manage differences through friendly consultation, and jointly safeguard maritime peace and stability.

    Following the talks, Li and Pham witnessed the exchange of cooperation documents in various fields, including connectivity, agricultural products, customs, finance, human resources, media, and education.

    During Li’s official visit to Vietnam, the two countries are also expected to issue a joint statement.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: For people with lung cancer, exercise can be gruelling. It’s also among the most important things

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kellie Toohey, Associate Professor Clinical Exercise Physiology, Southern Cross University

    Ivan Samkov/Pexels

    When you think of lung cancer treatment, what comes to mind – chemotherapy, radiation, surgery? While these can be crucial, there’s another powerful tool that’s often overlooked: exercise.

    Our recent study, published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, challenges the common belief that people with lung cancer are too sick to be physically active.

    In fact, we found exercise can play a vital role in improving life for those battling this disease.

    What we did and what we found

    Our review involved analysing 26 high quality studies on how best to incorporate exercise into treatment for lung cancer.

    We found the overwhelming weight of evidence shows exercise offers benefits at every stage of the lung cancer journey. This includes:

    • before surgery (being more fit can lead to faster recovery and potentially fewer complications)
    • after surgery (gentle exercise helps regain strength and makes daily tasks easier)
    • during other treatments (physical activity can ease side effects like fatigue and muscle weakness)
    • at advanced stages of disease (even for late-stage patients, evidence shows exercise can improve quality of life and maintain independence)
    • patients experiencing muscle wasting (evidence shows exercise, especially strength training, helps preserve muscle and keeps patients stronger).

    What does exercise look like?

    When we say “exercise,” we’re not talking about running marathons. For someone with lung cancer, it might mean:

    • taking a short walk around the block
    • doing some gentle cycling on a stationary bike
    • swimming or doing some movement in the water
    • lifting light weights or doing banded exercises
    • doing yoga or tai chi for more mobile, flexible joints, as well as stress and pain reduction.

    The key is to start slowly and listen to your body. What works for one person might not work for another.

    Getting started safely

    If you or a loved one has lung cancer and wants to be more active, start by talking with your doctor. They can advise on any precautions you should take and send you to an exercise specialist if needed.

    You might also consider working with an exercise physiologist or physiotherapist who can design a safe, personalised program.

    It’s OK to start small – even five to ten minutes of activity is beneficial, according to the Cancer Council Australia .

    Try to be consistent, if you can. Regular, gentle exercise is better than occasional intense bursts.

    It can help to keep track of your progress and how you feel after each session. You might also try looking for support groups or exercise classes specifically for cancer patients at local hospitals or community centres.

    The Cancer Council Australia website offers inspiration and ideas on exercises to start with, even in the home.

    The real-world benefits

    Research shows regular physical activity can significantly improve quality of life for lung cancer patients. These can include:

    • reduced fatigue, even though that might seem counterintuitive
    • less breathlessness, as exercise can improve lung function
    • less muscle weakness, which makes daily tasks easier
    • better mood, as physical exercise can help fight depression and anxiety
    • better sleep; many patients report sleeping more easily after starting an exercise routine.
    Exercise can improve lung function and may reduce breathlessness.
    Dragana Gordic/Shutterstock

    Ditch the stigma, and get the exercise support you deserve

    Lung cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed worldwide. It’s a devastating illness that affects not just the body, but also a person’s mental health and quality of life.

    Unfortunately, there’s often a stigma attached to lung cancer. Many patients feel judged, or that they must have done something – such as smoking – to “deserve” their diagnosis.

    This shame can prevent people from seeking help or joining support programs.

    But here’s an important truth: anyone can get lung cancer, even if they’ve never smoked.

    And regardless of how someone developed the disease, they deserve compassion and the best possible care – including support for physical activity.

    Never too late to start

    It’s important to note exercise can be beneficial even for those receiving palliative care.

    In palliative care, the goals shift from fighting the cancer to enhancing comfort and quality of life, and physical activity can play a significant role in this.

    Even palliative care patients may benefit from exercise.
    PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock

    A lung cancer diagnosis is undoubtedly daunting. But we’re learning patients have more tools to improve their wellbeing than we once thought.

    Exercise isn’t a cure, but it can be a powerful complement to traditional treatments and medications.

    If you or someone you know is facing lung cancer, don’t be afraid to discuss incorporating exercise into the treatment plan with your health-care team. Start small, be patient and consistent, and remember that every bit of movement counts.

    By challenging old assumptions and embracing exercise as part of lung cancer care, we can empower patients to take a more active role in their treatment.

    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. For people with lung cancer, exercise can be gruelling. It’s also among the most important things – https://theconversation.com/for-people-with-lung-cancer-exercise-can-be-gruelling-its-also-among-the-most-important-things-240216

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –