Talented students at schools and colleges in Manchester are being connected to future employers helping to cultivate new opportunities as they look to enter the workforce.
The BREE (Building Relationships with Employers and Educators) project has been launched by Manchester City Council to bring together employers, educators and students to help them succeed in their future career path.
The first opening event was held in the city on Wednesday, 30 October, where representatives from businesses, schools and colleges were present to celebrate the initiative alongside the Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig, as well as partner organisations and stakeholders.
As the Council works towards Manchester becoming accredited as a Child Friendly City, it is important the city develops these relationships to give young people the best possible start in life, helping to develop skills and talent that will help them succeed in the years to come.
Businesses across Manchester are being called to join the project and lend their expertise and voice to growing this community, and establish strong bonds between the education sector and further work and training. It is a simple process, completed via a form on the Council’s website.
Councillor John Hacking, Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure said: “We know how important it is to provide young people the options and pathways to a future career. Whether it is sparking interest in a trade or sector, to showing what extra training is on offer for them we want to ensure there are no doors left unopened for school and university leavers.
“Work and Skills is a hugely important part of the work the Council does, working in tandem with our wider economic strategy, we want to see more people getting into well-paying jobs, helping to grow our city and economy in an inclusive and progressive way.”
The 92nd INTERPOL General Assembly takes place from 4-7 November in Glasgow, Scotland
GLASGOW, Scotland: Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, opened the INTERPOL General Assembly, stressing the need for international police cooperation to combat pervasive organized crime. The General Assembly is INTERPOL’s supreme governing body, made up of representatives from its 196 member countries. With around 1,000 attendees, it is the largest global gathering of senior law enforcement officials, who collectively decide how INTERPOL operates. This year, the General Assembly will elect the new Secretary General, after Valdecy Urquiza of Brazil was put forward as the chosen candidate of INTERPOL’s Executive Committee.
The Secretary General is INTERPOL’s chief full-time official and directs the 1,200 staff who work in the organization’s 15 duty stations around the world. The General Assembly will also elect nine new members to INTERPOL’s 13-member Executive Committee, which oversees the implementation of General Assembly decisions.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “This is the General Assembly of the world’s security experts. It’s your cooperation across borders that saves lives, time and again. It’s your collective efforts that bring organized criminals to justice, wherever they try to hide.” In his opening remarks, INTERPOL President Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi said: “From the rise of organized crime, drug trafficking and terrorism to climate change and migration challenges, our ability to adapt and innovate is crucial. This year’s General Assembly presents an opportunity for member countries to engage in fruitful conversations, share intelligence, and enhance collaborative strategies.” The Assembly will also consider a number of motions guiding the organization’s activities on terrorism, lawful access to digital evidence and child abuse, among other subjects.
In his statement to delegates, INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock said: “INTERPOL was created to serve police by allowing the exchange of information across borders. This mission still drives our work today. We have made INTERPOL’s systems more connected, our products better and our response more coordinated than ever before.” UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also addressed delegates, saying: “International security and domestic security are two sides of the same coin. That is why INTERPOL remains integral to public safety.” The first day of the General Assembly saw the announcement of the INTERPOL Law Enforcement Academy, an educational centre hosting a range of professional development programmes and events.
Housed within INTERPOL’s Global Complex for Innovation in Singapore, the Academy will notably offer an Executive Leadership Programme for senior police leaders from around the world. INTERPOL member countries will be invited to nominate candidates for the programme’s first cohort. “Some lessons can only be learned when fellow officers come together face to face. We must equip the next generation of police leaders with the right skills as they face a world that continues to evolve,” Secretary General Stock said.
For news and developments from INTERPOL’s 92nd General Assembly, visit INTERPOL’s website or follow us on social media.
SINGAPORE, Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Primech Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: PMEC) (“Primech” or the “Company”) and its subsidiary, Primech AI, are pleased to announce new strategic partnerships with Unity Group Holdings International Limited (1539.HK) (“Unity Group”), a renowned provider of energy solutions listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. These partnerships, formalized through separate Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), aim to harness Unity Group’s energy expertise and Primech AI’s robotic innovations to drive sustainability and technological advancements in their respective fields.
Unity Group (https://www.unitygroup.eco) operates in over 20 countries, offering innovative energy solutions that significantly reduce carbon footprints and operational costs for numerous global clients. This collaboration aligns with Primech’s commitment to environmental stewardship and marks a significant step in integrating sustainable practices and advanced technologies across its operations.
Details of the Partnerships:
Primech Holdings Ltd. will collaborate with Unity Group to explore and implement cutting-edge energy solutions in Singapore, focusing on enhancing energy efficiency within its extensive facilities management operations.
Primech AI and Unity Group will cooperate on the business development and trial deployment of the Hytron restroom cleaning robot into major properties in Dubai. This initiative aims to revolutionize facility maintenance with cutting-edge robotic technology, improving efficiency and reducing the environmental footprint of cleaning operations.
They will expand Unity Group’s technological footprint in Singapore and beyond, setting new standards for international collaboration in energy and robotic solutions.
Mr. Kin Wai Ho, CEO of Primech Holdings Limited, commented, “We are proud to partner with Unity Group to pioneer the integration of sustainable energy solutions and advanced robotics in our operations. These initiatives are pivotal as we continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in our industry, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of both environmental responsibility and technological innovation.”
Mr. Mansfield Wong, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Unity Group, stated, “Our collaboration with Primech Holdings and Primech AI represents a significant opportunity to leverage our expertise in energy solutions alongside Primech’s innovations in robotic technologies. We are excited about the potential of our joint efforts to set benchmarks in sustainability and operational efficiency globally.”
About Unity Group Holdings International Limited Founded in 2008, Unity Group became the first energy service company to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. At the core of its operations is the Energy Management Contract (EMC) business model, which implements customized solutions designed to achieve optimal energy efficiency and maximize returns for clients. Unity Group employs industry-leading, effective, and practical research methodologies. These methodologies span innovative green technologies, data analysis, and machine learning. The outcomes of its research and development efforts manifest in its uniquely versatile, appropriate, and actionable green technology solutions. Currently, Unity Group operates in Mainland China, Malaysia, and the Middle East.
About Primech Holdings Limited Headquartered in Singapore, Primech Holdings Limited is a leading provider of comprehensive technology-driven facilities services, predominantly serving both public and private sectors throughout Singapore, with expanding operations in Malaysia. With a legacy of excellence and innovation in the facility services industry, Primech’s operating subsidiary, Primech A & P offers an extensive range of services tailored to meet the complex demands of its diverse clientele. Services include advanced general facility maintenance services, specialized cleaning solutions such as marble polishing and facade cleaning, meticulous stewarding services, and targeted cleaning services for offices and homes. Additionally, CSG Industries Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Primech Holdings, manufactures and supplies various high-quality cleaning products under its brand, extending its reach and capabilities within the industry. Known for its commitment to sustainability and cutting-edge technology, Primech integrates eco-friendly practices and smart technology solutions to enhance operational efficiency and client satisfaction. This strategic approach positions Primech Holdings as a leader in the industry and a proactive contributor to advancing industry standards and practices in Singapore and beyond. For more information, visit www.primechholdings.com.
About Primech AI Primech AI is a leading robotics company dedicated to pushing the boundaries of innovation in technology. With a team of passionate individuals and a commitment to collaboration, Primech AI is poised to revolutionize the robotics industry with groundbreaking solutions that make a meaningful impact on society. For more information, visit www.primech.ai.
Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including, for example, statements about completing the acquisition, anticipated revenues, growth, and expansion. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on the Company’s current expectations and projections about future events that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are also based on assumptions regarding the Company’s present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future. Investors can find many (but not all) of these statements by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “likely to” or other similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure that such expectations will be correct. The Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results and encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results in the Company’s registration statement and other filings with the SEC.
NEW YORK, Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Insider, a leading AI-native omnichannel experience and customer engagement platform, today announced a $500 million Series E funding round led by General Atlantic, a leading global growth investor.
Insider plans to further develop its next-generation marketing software offering and invest heavily in research and development, focusing on expanding and evolving its AI solutions. The company also intends to scale its talent base and geographic footprint, leveraging General Atlantic’s global platform. With an established market position in 28 countries across five continents, including North America, EMEA, APAC, and Latin America, Insider plans to increase its regional investments on the back of strong demand in the U.S. market, where it has achieved significant growth. Additionally, the company will use the funds to explore strategic M&A opportunities.
As a leading enterprise marketing software provider, Insider enables marketers and customer experience teams to create highly personalized omnichannel experiences and manage customer engagement from a single platform. With an integrated CDP that vertically integrates data and marketing application layers to fuel marketing automation and personalizedcustomer journey orchestration across 12+ natively-supported channels – including WhatsApp, SMS, Email, Web, App, Site Search, and more – Insider helps marketers to efficiently collect, analyze, and predictively use first-party data in real-time. As a result, brands can accelerate growth, realize higher marketing efficiency, and create more valuable customer relationships.
Hande Cilingir, Co-Founder and CEO at Insider, said, “Our mission is to empower marketing and CX teams to deliver a holistic omnichannel experience and deepen customer engagement. Unlike traditional technology companies that focus on a single area or product, our approach has always been to build multiple best-in-breed and industry-leading products, bringing them together in one complete platform that outperforms single-point solutions. As a pioneer of predictive models in customer experience, this funding positions us to further build upon that foundation to disrupt the MarTech industry. We believe that our differentiators, especially AI-enabled tools, will set Insider apart as the preferred choice for marketing and customer experience teams, and we look forward to leveraging General Atlantic’s deep experience backing growth companies to drive the marketing technology shift.”
“Many brands are eager to move away from traditional marketing clouds that limit their growth. We are on a mission to help as many users as possible transition from legacy marketing clouds toInsider. We have developed a white-glove migration blueprint designed to make the transition seamless. In the last year, 150 brands have successfully made theswitch to Insiderusing our automatic migrator and pre-built integrations, and achieved up to 5X faster time to value compared to their previous vendor,” said Serhat Soyuerel, Co-Founder and CRO at Insider.
Insider launched patent-pending Sirius AI™, a comprehensive solution for end-to-end omnichannel experience creation. The technology combines the transformative power of generative, conversational, and predictive AI.
“This funding will help accelerate our ambitious product roadmap and grow our 350+ in-house engineering team. Over the next two years, we plan to focus on realizing our vision to build an end-to-end AI-native omnichannel experience and customer engagement platform that compounds promotional, transactional, and support capabilities into a seamless solution powered by an extensive set of channels. Harnessing Generative AI to make user interactions more conversational at every level, we plan to further invest in Sirius AI™ Co-Pilot, which guides teams at every stage of customer journey creation,” said Muharrem Derinkok, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Insider.
Sascha Guenther, Managing Director and Head of DACH at General Atlantic, commented, “The MarTech industry is benefitting from a secular shift levered to ongoing tailwinds, including the proliferation of data traffic and channels, the growing importance of first-party data, and evolving customer expectations regarding personalized experiences across channels. Insider has successfully positioned itself as a leading and dynamic innovator in the B2B SaaS space and delivers tangible ROI to its customers. We believe the company is well placed to capture a greater share of the $15+ billion total addressable market, as businesses race to upgrade their marketing strategies around the world in need of higher marketing efficiency and effectiveness.”
Alex Crisses, Managing Director, Enterprise Technology, and Global Head of New Investment Sourcing at General Atlantic, continued, “Insider has disrupted traditional marketing cloud operators in the enterprise space by offering a differentiated and well-integrated suite of next-gen products. Insider’s success lies in consistently delivering unmatched value to their customers. Few platforms are capable of achieving this, setting Insider apart. We believe Hande and her team are talented product visionaries and entrepreneurs, and we’re excited to help them scale further.”
As part of the transaction, Sascha Guenther, Alex Crisses, and Christopher Apfel, Vice President at General Atlantic, will join the Insider Board of Directors.
Insider is a leading AI-native Omnichannel Experience and Customer Engagement Platform – enabling marketing and customer experience teams to deliver a unique experience per person, from a single platform. Insider’s integrated CDP vertically integrates data and marketing application layers to fuel marketing automation and personalizedcustomer journey orchestration across 12+ natively-supported channels, like WhatsApp, SMS, Email, Web, App, Site Search, and more. Insider helps marketers to efficiently collect, analyze, and predictively use first-party data in real-time. As a result, brands accelerate growth, realize higher productivity, maximize marketing ROI, increase customer lifetime value, and create more valuable customer relationships.
Insider powers omnichannel experiences and customer engagement for 1,500+ global customers across retail, automotive, travel, and telecommunications, including Nike, Samsung, L’Oreal, Unilever, Allianz, Walt Disney, ING Group, Toyota, Singapore Airlines, and GAP.
Today, Insider has more than 1,100 team members representing 51 nationalities across 28 countries worldwide. The company is woman-founded, with 70% of top executive roles, including the CEO, CMO, CHRO, and CFO, being held by women. With initiatives such as 100 cities, 100 projects, Young Engineers Club, shecodes, and sheleads, Insider is committed to scaling its impact across its communities. For more information about Insider, please visit: https://useinsider.com.
About General Atlantic
General Atlantic is a leading global growth investor with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 520 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980, General Atlantic continues to be a dedicated partner to visionary founders and investors seeking to build dynamic businesses and create long-term value. Guided by the conviction that entrepreneurs can be incredible agents of transformational change, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector-specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon, and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with and scale innovative businesses around the world. The firm leverages its patient capital, operational expertise, and global platform to support a diversified investment platform spanning Growth Equity, Credit, Climate, and Sustainable Infrastructure strategies. General Atlantic manages approximately $97 billion in assets under management, inclusive of all strategies, as of October 1, 2024 (based on valuations as of June 30, 2024), with more than 900 professionals in 20 countries across five regions. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit: www.generalatlantic.com.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W. Va.– Approximately 77 members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local 598 (District 54) at Dow Chemical in South Charleston have voted to ratify an improved contract offer and end their strike at the employer.
On Oct. 21, IAM Local 598 members went on strike for fair wages and work-life balance. IAM International President Brian Bryant recently visited striking members, and members held a rally with the West Virginia AFL-CIO.
“Congratulations to the membership of IAM Local 598 for standing strong for the contract they deserve,” said IAM District 54 President and Directing Business Representative T. Dean Wright Jr. “Thanks to their solidarity, we have won a victory for our members, their families and the entire community. I would like to thank the District 54 staff, Local 598 officers, our members and their families, the South Charleston community, and International President Brian Bryant for all of their support.”
Highlights of the improved agreement include:
· General wage increase from 15.91% up to 20.28% over the life of the agreement.
· New employees will reach top rate in 36 months or sooner.
· The majority of the bargaining unit will exceed $40 per hour for their base salary, and has a defined path to making top rate or certification.
· 15% of total yearly salary contribution to 401(k) savings plan.
· Increases to safety, including Emergency Squad Pay (ESP) of $2,700 per year.
· Secured seniority language.
· Secured hours of work language, improving overtime practices and distribution for work-life balance.
· Increased shift premiums up to 200%.
· Gained paid family illness leave.
· Contributions to FSA dependent care reimbursement account.
· Contributions to childcare annually.
“Our Local 598 members have fought hard and won an exceptional contract that will benefit them for years to come,” said IAM Eastern Territory General Vice President David Sullivan. “This contract delivers significant and lasting improvements to their wages, benefits, and quality of life and sets a new benchmark for our members in the Eastern Territory.”
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers is one of North America’s largest and most diverse industrial trade unions, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries.
“The unwavering solidarity of IAM Local 598 members at Dow Chemical in South Charleston was crucial in securing this landmark victory,” said IAM International President Brian Bryant. “This contract is a testament to their collective power, delivering substantial gains in wages, benefits, and work-life balance. It was an honor to walk the picket line with them.”
Scores of esteemed industry leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs, and public officials came together at UConn Storrs recently to share ideas on combining their organizations’ energy and expertise to grow a robust, sustainable Connecticut economy.
“UConn Forum: Economic Engine of a Thriving Connecticut” featured discussions on driving the state’s economy through several key growth areas including advanced manufacturing, sustainable energy, fintech, biotech, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and other realms.
Panelists and participants praised the Oct. 31 event as a unique opportunity to learn about innovations in various industry sectors and inspire ideas for collaboration, including by drawing on UConn expertise.
With an annual impact of $8.5 billion on the state’s economy, UConn takes its responsibilities seriously to help drive Connecticut forward, President Radenka Maric told the crowd in welcoming remarks.
That includes sharing its research expertise, helping foster startup businesses and technologies, ensuring its graduates are entrepreneurial and workforce ready, and doing all within its power to keep them in Connecticut to build their careers and lives.
A common theme throughout the day’s discussions was Connecticut’s innovative spirit and enviable strengths, including a well-educated workforce, diverse population, strong schools, family-friendly quality of life, and innovation-oriented business ecosystem.
Forum participants also agreed it’s a perfect time to accelerate the collaborations between industry and higher education – particularly as Connecticut is regaining population lost during the recession; has seen a noteworthy jump in business startups; and is developing new technologies in several fields.
“What we’re seeing is that the trends have reversed in a pretty meaningful way. People are betting on Connecticut with both their wallets and their feet,” said keynote speaker Daniel O’Keefe, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD).
He said the state had the 19th best-performing economy nationwide in the last two years. That’s a major turnaround from the 2000s-era recession in which Connecticut became one of only three states – including Wyoming and Mississippi – whose economies contracted and became smaller on an inflation-adjusted basis.
As Connecticut’s manufacturing and national defense-related industries bounced back, so did the state – supplemented by growth in areas such as technology and software information, and other emerging industries such as those discussed at the UConn forum.
“This is a state where innovation happens literally every day. You don’t hear about it as much as you do in places like Silicon Valley because the innovation is taking place not only in our startups, but also in our incredibly large companies,” O’Keefe said.
Several new collaborations also have immense promise, such as the QuantumCT public-private partnership led by UConn and Yale.
UConn President Radenka Maric hands a proclamation from Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont to Lee Langston, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at UConn, during the “UConn Forum: Economic Engine of a Thriving Connecticut” event in the Rowe Commons ballroom on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (Sydney Herdle/UConn Photo)
That initiative aims to win federal funding to transform Connecticut into the nation’s leading accelerator of quantum technologies. The proposal recently advanced to the competition’s next stage, and marks the first time that UConn and Yale have partnered on an initiative of this scope.
That kind of collaborative thinking underscored most of the forum’s panels, in which the speakers discussed the importance of addressing society’s emerging needs for sustainable clean energy, effective and affordable pharma products, innovative use of AI, or other topics.
The forum’s guests also gained inspiration from the entrepreneurial history of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation as shared by its chairman, Rodney Butler ’99 (BUS).
Having endured generations of forced assimilation and poverty, its members survived economically by selling timber, maple syrup, and other goods until the tribe gained federal recognition in 1983, he said.
With the ability to diversify into more lucrative areas, the tribe opened a high-stakes bingo hall in 1986 and, in 1992, it opened Foxwoods Resort Casino – now the world’s largest such gaming and entertainment venue.
Today, the tribe’s annual economic impact in the state is about $1 billion, and it has expanded into the hospitality business, golf courses, real estate holdings, hotel and golf course development, a pharmaceutical network, sports betting, internet gaming, and other ventures.
It’s a far cry from the early days of selling handmade baskets, picking berries, and hunting snakes to survive economically. The Pequot tribe and UConn have also partnered on several projects, including the development of its hydroponic Meechooôk Farm; research into responsible gaming; and various academic and cultural endeavors.
“The reason we do all of it, and the reason we’re in this room, is to create a thriving and sustainable community,” Butler told the forum’s attendees. “Ours is at Mashantucket. In this room, it’s about Connecticut and dare I say, all of southern New England.”
Also as part of the forum, Maric presented a proclamation from Gov. Ned Lamont to UConn Professor Emeritus Lee Langston ’60 (ENG), one of UConn’s most accomplished engineering innovators.
His career included helping to develop the fuel cells that powered Apollo 11 to the moon. He also was part of a team that helped install the first solar panels at the White House during the Carter Administration, and pioneered gas turbine technologies now used worldwide, including at UConn’s Cogeneration (CoGen) Central Utility Plant.
Langston joined UConn in 1977 as a mechanical engineering professor after more than a decade at Pratt & Whitney. He also served a year as the interim dean of the School of Engineering (now a college), later retiring from UConn in 2003 but remaining active as a professor emeritus.
“His contributions to science and society are immeasurable,” Maric said in presenting the proclamation, adding that she first learned of his expertise in sustainable energy when she was studying for her Ph.D. in Japan.
Maric said the legacy of innovators such as Langston, along with the vision of people at the economic development forum and throughout the state, will be key to its future.
“We make the impossible possible in Connecticut. We are leaders and will continue to lead, and anyone who says we can’t do it in Connecticut will be proven wrong,” she said.
This election year, UConn’s College of Engineering (CoE) is helping to ensure trust in every vote cast.
Last month, Connecticut Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas announced 2,700 paper-based voting tabulators, statewide, will be replaced with new, state-of-the-art machines. The state hasn’t upgraded most voting equipment in almost 18 years.
“This is a pivotal moment for Connecticut’s elections, and one that is a long time in the making,” Thomas said in a recent press release. “Through this milestone tabulator upgrade, we’re providing our election administrators with the modern tools they need to run efficient elections.”
Since choosing the safest, most reliable tabulators was a crucial step in the replacement process, Thomas turned to the CoE’s Voting Technology Research (VoTeR) Center for guidance. Since 2006, members of the VoTeR Center have strived to assess the security and dependability of electronic voting equipment and develop new techniques for auditing the results of elections.
Laurent Michel is technical director of the VoTeR Center and professor of computer science and engineering (UConn Photo).
“For this evaluation, the VoTeR Center devised and executed testing procedures meant to assess the resilience of potential tabulators and the eco-system in which they operate against adversarial attacks,” explains Laurent Michel, technical director of the VoTeR Center and professor of computer science and engineering. “White-hat ethical hacking of this type is meant to find weaknesses in the equipment, or the processes election officials rely on to program, execute, and tabulate results state-wide.”
Over several weeks, the VoTeR team worked to evaluate potential new tabulators on the basis of cybersecurity guarantees, support for best-practice election audits, and compliance with the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines set by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. All findings inform officials as to the ideal safe-used processes that should be adopted to conduct elections with secure tabulators, Michel says.
Ultimately, the VoTeR team shared their evaluations with Thomas and the selection committee, and the State began purchasing the equipment. Secretary Thomas plans to distribute the new machines to nine Connecticut towns prior to the November general election. Other towns will receive theirs in 2025.
“Such an evaluation touches on many technical issues ranging from compliance to the standards to resilience to attacks an adversary might be tempted to carry out against a voting system, such as tampering with the equipment to coerce it into reporting incorrect results,” Michel says.
Michel, a founding member of the VoTeR Center, also serves as director of UConn’s Synchrony Financial Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity and co-director of the Connecticut Cybersecurity Center. At VoTeR, he works alongside Center Director Alexander Russell, professor of computer science and mathematics, Benjamin Fuller, associate professor of computer science, and several research software engineers, faculty, graduate, and undergraduate assistants. All three faculty teach in the CoE’s School of Computing.
“While directly supporting the State, the Center also pursues research in election integrity and auditing, with active involvement of undergraduates and graduate students,” Russell says.
The VoTer Center was formed in response to the Help America Vote Act, signed into law in 2002, and initially helped the State select the very tabulators that are currently at end of life. Since then, the purview of the center has significantly expanded, now supporting the State’s annual hand-counted audit procedures, providing forensic audits of electronic tabulators, developing technological tools for ballot processing and verification of voter assignments, and playing a critical role in the State’s efforts to guarantee voting rights.
“Proper auditing not only increases the confidence of the voters that state elections are run, but it also helps uncover procedural failings of the election process, enabling voting districts to better serve their constituents,” Michel says. “Our goals are to ensure the integrity of the election outcomes conducted with electronic voting systems and to continuously assess their security and dependability.”
View other reports, publications, and methodologies the Center relies on here.
Since the mid-1990s, funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been allocated to the state of Connecticut and distributed among different agencies that work to provide programs focused on nutrition and physical activity education to people eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP-Ed). UConn is home to one such agency, UConn Husky Nutrition & Sport, which recently received another $4.9 million from the USDA for the next three years.
“I congratulate Dr. Ann Ferris, Dr. Jennifer McGarry, and the entire UConn Husky Nutrition & Sport team on their renewed USDA funding,” says Jason G. Irizarry, dean of the Neag School of Education which houses the interdisciplinary team. “This initiative is an incredible example of the Neag School’s community outreach, which has a direct impact on individuals across Connecticut every day. I am proud of the strong community partnerships Dr. Ferris and Dr. McGarry have already cultivated, grateful for their steadfast support of our Neag School students over the years, and excited to see how this new funding will further enhance their team’s important work.”
The USDA funding is just the latest in a string of recent accomplishments for UConn Husky Nutrition & Sport (UConn HNS):
Husky Nutrition and Husky Sport combined into one entity in 2021
The team celebrated more than 20 years of growth and the launch of a new website and branding in 2023
New postdoctoral research fellows have been welcomed each of the past three years
Just this past summer, UConn HNS hired new staff members and led successful nutrition and physical activity education efforts across Connecticut.
Ferris, professor emerita in the School of Medicine, was a founding member of the team that first brought SNAP-Ed funding to Connecticut, leading to decades of social marketing campaigns and strategic change efforts aimed at increasing awareness and access to relevant resources and opportunities to empower individual, family, and community health.
Ann Ferris (UConn Health photo)
“Starting with conversations at the national level of USDA and a stated desire for nutrition education programs particularly working with older populations in Connecticut, our immediate efforts focused on partnering alongside people and agencies already working within communities,” Ferris says. “Soon came the usual challenges, such as securing a one-to-one dollar match of state to federal funding or needing to align administrative requirements across so many different stakeholders. …I just remember thinking at the time that there were just so many dedicated people that were able to get everything launched between the community, University, state, and federal levels.”
Since that time, Ferris has served as a leader of a team of dedicated staff and UConn students, UConn courses, and many collaborative partnerships within Connecticut’s communities. Over the course of her career, she has been awarded more than $28 million in funding from the USDA; National Institutes of Health; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and private foundations, as well as a full career of scholarly articles, policy reports, and conference presentations.
“I truly learned from so many people at every turn,” she says. “The willingness of parents and families to collaborate with us to build programs and how they shared their time, expertise, and feedback … that part just overwhelms me. Partnerships drove all our endeavors. It is so gratifying to witness Dr. McGarry, and her team take these programs in new directions, and I am glad to still be able to play a very small role with SNAP-Ed.”
Jennifer McGarry (Neag School photo).
With more than 40 staff and student employees on the team this fall, UConn HNS continuously strives to strengthen the SNAP-Ed workforce in Connecticut. The team offers culturally and contextually relevant trainings; workshops that develop skills around teaching and learning across the lifespan; and professional development on best practices associated with nutrition, sport sampling, and physical activity education.
“The evolving UConn HNS organization can learn from what has worked as well as extend the impact of community-campus collaborations across the state moving forward,” says McGarry, executive director of UConn HNS and professor in the Neag School’s Department of Educational Leadership.
This past summer, UConn HNS led nutrition and physical activity education efforts with 18 partner sites in five towns. These partnerships allowed for nearly 1,100 participants, ages 4 to 18, to take part in 240 direct education sessions. Catalina Quesada, a registered dietitian and community education specialist working with adults and families throughout the academic year, serves as a UConn HNS staff leader during the summer. She, and other established staff members like her, also led the recruitment, hiring, training, and supervision of 10 UConn students that worked 30-35 hours a week for 10 consecutive weeks in the summer.
(UConn HNS photo)
“Summertime is always fun for us as staff and for the newly hired students who will be delivering our programs in the community,” Quesada says. “A lot of work goes into planning, training, and executing the summer program. It takes many hours of very intentional work tailored to the development of the students and to the correct program alignment for our partnering sites. Our students always learn a lot from the programs they facilitate but more importantly, they learn from our community partners and the participants who come to our programs.”
Many of the UConn students who were on staff over the summer have chosen to stay involved with UConn HNS into the academic year. In their different roles, students continue to support partnerships and programs, develop curriculum, facilitate evaluations, serve as van drivers, and provide peer mentoring to new students who have recently joined UConn HNS.
“It is very fulfilling to experience how much the students grow throughout the summer internship, stay involved, and become more confident facilitators as they continue to engage in critical reflection, improvement, and connectivity with people and communities in Connecticut,” Quesada says.
In addition to undergraduate students, UConn HNS has supported new postdoctoral positions in each of the past three years. The postdocs serve as course instructors, support evaluation and research efforts, and lead community-based partnerships and programs.
“Starting with Kolin Ebron ’14 MS, ’21 Ph.D., who has gone on to become the assistant director of university opportunity programs at Eastern Connecticut State University, and followed by Julián Alonso Restrepo, who is now an assistant professor of sport management at UMass Boston, our team continues to benefit from the addition of talented postdocs.” McGarry says.
Currently in their second year as a postdoctoral research associate, Roc Rochon serves as an important connector across organizational efforts.
Roc Rochon (Submitted photo)
“Being part of UConn HNS has created opportunities to work closely with faculty, staff, students, and community partners,” Rochon says. “Serving on multiple working groups has extended pathways for me to pursue scholarly activities, lead in the process to refine course curricula, develop new strategies, and teach in the classroom … all the while connecting directly with community partners to build relationships and be a support for our team’s efforts with everyday learning.”
Along with Rochon, Ferris, and other staff and students, Neag School assistant professor-in-residence Danielle DeRosa ’09 (CLAS), ’15 MS, ’23 Ed.D. leads the organization’s People Team. Throughout the year, the team develops and facilitates holistic and professional development sessions for the larger UConn HNS group.
“As an organization, we prioritize the development of our staff and students to ensure positive engagement and learning,” DeRosa says. “This investment allows us to be prepared and relevant practitioners, as well as collaborative and supportive partners. As part of our SNAP-Ed funding, we’ve continued to recruit, develop, and promote professionals working within communities and supporting healthy and active lifestyles. Our professional development allows us to grow in our own capacity to learn with and from each other, with the goal being able to contribute alongside community partners, families, and children toward improved health outcomes.”
As part of that ongoing team development, UConn HNS welcomed three full-time staff members over the past six months: Veronica Jacobs ’16 (CLAS); Sarah Larocque ’09 (CAHNR), ’12 MS; and Brandon Keaton. Jacobs was involved with the organization as a UConn undergraduate student, before going on to complete a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs, holding different professional roles at multiple institutions. Now back with UConn HNS, Jacobs serves as the lead staff member overseeing a longtime partnership with Fred D. Wish School in Hartford that includes supervising 10 funded graduate assistants, while also contributing her expertise and leadership skills as part of the People Team.
Veronica Jacobs (Submitted photo)
“Returning to UConn HNS has gifted me opportunities to build new connections and a deeper awareness of the assets and resources in Hartford, a city that has been home for the past five years,” Jacobs says. “I’m excited to leverage my experiences in student development and social justice education to co-create intentional, joyful, and community-centered programs at Wish School, and support the holistic and professional growth of UConn students.”
Larocque has joined the team as a registered dietitian, with professional experience in the health industry and counseling work alongside families and children. She will be a leader with the Husky Reads program, which includes over 15 partner sites and more than 600 pre-kindergarten student participants each year. Often an entry point into UConn HNS for new UConn students, Husky Reads also operates as a two-credit course that is cross-listed in the departments of Nutritional Sciences and Educational Leadership during the fall and spring semesters.
Sarah Larocque (Submitted photo)
“I am just thrilled to be back at UConn, a place that has meant so much to me personally and professionally,” Larocque says. “I am excited to contribute my expertise as a registered dietitian, combining my love of working with children and families while also teaching classes and supporting UConn students as developing professionals.”
Keaton is new to UConn, yet brings experience as a former athlete, coach, and educator. He will be working with a few different programs, as UConn HNS works to enhance curricula and partnerships focused on physically active games and play. PreK-12 school-based efforts will include recess, movement within classrooms, and physical activity as part of the everyday environment, as well as other family and community settings such as before and after school, on the weekends, and during the summertime.
Brandon Keaton (Submitted photo)
“My family and I recently relocated to Connecticut,” Keaton says. “I am looking forward to building relationships, growing partnerships, and serving the community. Focusing on physical fitness, movement, and health — all of that is just what I feel called to do.”
Moving forward, an expansion of partnerships is on the horizon for UConn HNS, with a mixture of educational programs focused on increasing healthy eating and physical activity. UConn HNS also continues to grow its consulting efforts, working with partners to provide professional development workshops, support evaluation processes, and co-design social marketing campaigns. With the recent staff additions, there is a high level of excitement about enhancing all aspects of the organization.
“The sustained efforts of Husky Nutrition, Husky Sport, and now Husky Nutrition & Sport are rare to see,” McGarry says. “We are often told by our partners that so many university-based programs come and go. We remain committed not only to continuing partnerships with individuals, organizations, and communities, but also to evolving our approaches to prioritize relationships, recognize the strengths of everyone involved, and celebrate culture as part of our collaborations.”
To learn more about UConn Husky Nutrition & Sport, visit huskynutritionsport.education.uconn.edu.
But I assume the awkwardness in conversations about work is related to stereotypes of hip-hop culture. Among many, one of those assumptions is that hip-hop is only made for and by young people.
It’s no surprise that ageism exists in and about hip-hop culture; in the U.S., ageism is everywhere. But I would argue that ageism in hip-hop is especially strong because the first generation of rappers is only now reaching their golden years.
In response to 9th Wonder, legendary hip-hop artist Q-Tip warned on the social platform X that hip-hop fans might be turned off by a category with “adult” in the name. He suggested “Traditional Hip-Hop” instead, arguing that the music should all appear in “one pot,” lest it turn off younger listeners.
Whether it’s called Adult Contemporary or Traditional Hip-Hop, several hip-hop legends have recently released new music that could fit into this category. In July 2024, the legendary lyricist Rakim, who’s 56 years old, released “G.O.D.’S NETWORK (REB7RTH),” his first album in 15 years. Two months later, 54-year-old MC Lyte released “1 of 1,” her ninth studio album, and 56-year-old LL Cool J released “The Force,” his 14th studio album and his first in 11 years.
Growing pains
Since hip-hop emerged as a cultural force more than 50 years ago, people still seem to pigeonhole rap as music made by and for young people.
And it’s true that in hip-hop’s early days, teenagers were at the forefront of the fledgling movement.
A 1973 back-to-school party organized by a 15-year-old girl from the Bronx named Cindy Campbell is often credited with birthing hip-hop. Grand Wizzard Theodore was just 12 years old when he invented record scratching in 1977. The hip-hop careers of artists like Roxanne Shanté, Run-DMC and Ice Cube all began when they were teens.
Being closely intertwined with the perception of youth culture isn’t necessarily a good thing. It can compel critics to treat the music and its practitioners less seriously.
Rappers, no matter their age, can be dismissed or treated as childish or immature.
Call it growing pains: Unlike, say, classical or country, 50 years is a blip in the history of music. And for much of that time, critics regarded hip-hop as a passing fad. Then it was seen as an emergent subculture.
Nowadays, equating hip-hop with youth culture confines it to an arena it has long outgrown.
Imposter syndrome grows
Nonetheless, as rappers age, some can seem uncomfortable about participating in a form that can be so easily dismissed.
In 2015, filmmaker Paul Iannacchino Jr. released a documentary, “Adult Rappers,” about working-class rap artists.
All the people interviewed for the film rap professionally but aren’t famous. They are mostly men. Most of them admit that they sidestep questions about what they do for a living. One unshakable takeaway is the embarrassment about their age.
Even famous rappers aren’t immune to this feeling. Before his move to instrumental flute music, André 3000, one of the greatest rappers of all time, lamented becoming the old rapper still making music beyond his prime.
“I remember, at like 25, saying, ‘I don’t want to be a 40-year-old rapper,’” he told The New York Times in 2014. “I’m 39 now, and I’m still standing by that. I’m such a fan that I don’t want to infiltrate it with old blood.”
André 3000 has been a gifted lyricist for decades, and remains so. If he feels this way, I can imagine that many other artists might feel that, at a certain age, they don’t belong to the culture anymore.
Despite the fact that audiences have aged alongside the artists, it can still feel like there’s pressure to stay tapped in to youth culture, lest they create music that, to quote André 3000 more recently, lacks “fresh ingredients.”
This might encourage some aging artists to attempt to maintain a youthful sheen that will resonate with young audiences. Think of it as a pop culture version of Oscar Wilde’s novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”
In the novel, a man sells his soul for youth. Rather than physically aging, a painting of him ages instead, taking on the physical signs of his transgressions and pleasures.
It’s still easy to think of hip-hop as confined to a frame that bears all the marks of youthful longings, rebellion and sins: juvenile vitality, sprightly beauty and vigorous hedonism.
The expectations lead audiences to assume all artists have similar youthful aims and concerns. They can also lead artists to perform like they’re young and write about the concerns they had as youngsters, despite their respective ages. The hip-hop artists who can’t or choose not to pretend to be “forever young” are expected to “evolve” into moguls, actors, podcasters or reality TV personalities.
Of course, those assumptions only end up limiting what artists of all ages can accomplish.
Rappers at whatever level of celebrity you observe, famous and not famous, continue to create while embracing the inevitability of age. Nas, whose debut album, “Illmatic,” was released in 1994, has had an outstanding run of albums in the 2020s.
Jay-Z’s “4:44” showcased the rapper’s changing sensibilities that have seemingly evolved as he has aged.
North Carolina duo Little Brother’s entire catalog displays awareness of the absurdity of avoiding adulthood – outstandingly so, I might add, on their 2019 album, “May the Lord Watch.”
Even emerging rappers like Conway the Machine and 7xvethegenius seem to be able to balance burgeoning careers without caving to youth-obsessed pretenses.
Creating new, cleverly named musical categories to sidestep biases against aging probably won’t solve the issue. In hip-hop, as in so many American industries, ageism isn’t going away.
But I’d rather have that conversation than pretend I’m something I’m not.
A.D. Carson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Partisan squabbling isn’t just annoying – it’s also bad for business.
That’s what my colleagues and I found in a recent study on how uncertainty in environmental policy affects business investment.
First, we analyzed more than 300 million newspaper articles, looking for keywords related to environmental policy uncertainty. We found that this uncertainty spikes around election seasons and has nearly doubled over the past decade.
Then we looked at business investment rates – a common way to gauge a company’s financial health – at companies in affected sectors, such as those in the agriculture, mining, energy and automotive industries. We found that environmental policy uncertainty lowered those companies’ business investment rates by 0.010%.
That might not sound like a lot, but as economists like me know, small sums add up over time.
For example, the rise in environmental policy uncertainty in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election was linked with a one-time drop of the investment rate of 25% for companies affected by environmental policy, we found. This effect was larger than the uncertainty associated with defense, health and finance policy.
But my team also found a silver lining. Policy uncertainty had much less of an effect on business investment when control of Congress was divided and policy changes required bipartisan support, we discovered.
When the same political party controlled both chambers of Congress, environmental policy uncertainty was associated with a 0.013% decrease in investment rates. But when Congress was split, this decrease shrank to a much smaller 0.002%.
Why it matters
Because policy uncertainty tends to spike around elections, our results suggest that the current political environment is creating headwinds for business investment.
Our study also suggests that policies designed to spur business investment may be less effective than previously thought, because of the uncertainty they introduce.
Take, for example, the Inflation Reduction Act, passed in 2021, and the bipartisan infrastructure law of 2022. Both were crafted to encourage investment in clean-energy technologies.
But uncertainty over whether these packages would pass in the first place – and, if so, what these policies would include – may have deterred investment before they went into effect. And uncertainty about what aspects of the laws will continue after the election could also depress business investment.
A degree of uncertainty may be built into the democratic process. After all, the faster and more secretive a government is, the less accountable it is to the public. If you think of it that way, some uncertainty is an unavoidable cost of a healthy policymaking process.
Our study puts a price tag on these costs and reminds policymakers that political infighting is a drag on the economy. Our results do suggest one promising path forward: bipartisanship.
What’s next
Because there’s so much variety in environmental policies, our team is now doing research to see whether businesses respond differently to uncertainty in “carrot” policies – such as subsidies or tax breaks – versus “stick” policies, such as fines or other punishments.
Answering this question will help policymakers minimize the effects of uncertainty.
It’s also an open question whether newspaper articles convey information to business leaders or simply reflect the information they already have. If it’s the latter, media coverage may not be a great measure of the uncertainty businesses face.
To address this concern, we’re working to develop ways to measure uncertainty based on earnings call transcripts instead of newspaper articles. These could be a more direct way to gauge the uncertainties influencing business decisions.
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.
Charles Sims does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Two-thirds of the world’s food comes today from just nine plants: sugar cane, maize (corn), rice, wheat, potatoes, soybeans, oil-palm fruit, sugar beet and cassava. In the past, farmers grew tens of thousands of crop varieties around the world. This biodiversity protected agriculture from crop losses caused by plant diseases and climate change.
Today, seed banks around the world are doing much of the work of saving crop varieties that could be essential resources under future growing conditions. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway supports them all. It is the world’s most famous backup site for seeds that are more precious than data.
Tens of thousands of new seeds from around the world arrived at the seed vault on Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, in mid-October 2024. This was one of the largest deposits in the vault’s 16-year history.
And on Oct. 31, crop scientists Cary Fowler and Geoffrey Hawtin, who played key roles in creating the Global Seed Vault, received the US$500,000 World Food Prize, which recognizes work that has helped increase the supply, quality or accessibility of food worldwide.
The Global Seed Vault has been politically controversial since it opened in 2008. It is the most visible site in a global agricultural research network associated with the United Nations and funders such as the World Bank.
These organizations supported the Green Revolution – a concerted effort to introduce high-yielding seeds to developing nations in the mid-20th century. This effort saved millions of people from starvation, but it shifted agriculture in a technology-intensive direction. The Global Seed Vault has become a lightning rod for critiques of that effort and its long-term impacts.
I have visited the vault and am completing a book about connections between scientific research on seeds and ideas about immortality over centuries. My research shows that the Global Seed Vault’s controversies are in part inspired by religious associations that predate it. But these cultural beliefs also remain essential for the vault’s support and influence and thus for its goal of protecting biodiversity.
The Global Seed Vault gives scientists the tools they may need to breed crops that can cope with a changing climate.
Backup for a global network
Several hundred million seeds from thousands of species of agricultural plants live inside the Global Seed Vault. They come from 80 nations and are tucked away in special metallic pouches that keep them dry.
The vault is designed to prolong their dormancy at zero degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius) in three ice-covered caverns inside a sandstone mountain. The air is so cold inside that when I entered the vault, my eyelashes and the inside of my nose froze.
The Global Seed Vault is owned by Norway and run by the Nordic Genetic Resources Centre. It was created under a U.N. treaty governing over 1,700 seed banks, where seeds are stored away from farms, to serve as what the U.N. calls “the ultimate insurance policy for the world’s food supply.”
This network enables nations, nongovernmental organizations, scientists and farmers to save and exchange seeds for research, breeding and replanting. The vault is the backup collection for all of these seed banks, storing their duplicate seeds at no charge to them.
The seed vault’s cultural meaning
The vault’s Arctic location and striking appearance contribute to both its public appeal and its controversies.
In fact, however, the archipelago of Svalbard has daily flights to other Norwegian cities. Its cosmopolitan capital, Longyearbyen, is home to 2,700 people from 50 countries, drawn by ecotourism and scientific research – hardly a well-hidden site for covert activities.
Because of its mission to preserve seeds through potential disasters, media regularly describe the Global Seed Vault as the “doomsday vault,” or a “modern Noah’s Ark.” Singled out based on its location, appearance and associations with Biblical myths such as the Flood, the Garden of Eden and the apocalypse, the vault has acquired a public meaning unlike that of any other seed bank.
The politics of seed conservation
One consequence is that the vault often serves as a lightning rod for critics who view seed conservation as the latest stage in a long history of Europeans removing natural resources from developing nations. But these critiques don’t really reflect how the Global Seed Vault works.
The vault and its sister seed banks don’t diminish cultivation of seeds grown by farmers in fields. The two methods complement one another, and seed depositors retain ownership of their seeds.
Another misleading criticism argues that storing seeds at Svalbard prevents these plants from adapting to climate change and could render them useless in a warmer future. But storing seeds in a dormant state actually mirrors plants’ own survival strategy.
Dormancy is the mysterious plant behavior that “protects against an unpredictable future,” according to biologist Anthony Trewavas. Plants are experts in coping with climate unpredictability by essentially hibernating.
Seed dormancy allows plants to hedge their bets on the future; the Global Seed Vault extends this state for decades or longer. While varieties in the field may become extinct, their banked seeds live to fight another day.
Storing more than seeds
In 2017, a delegation of Quechua farmers from the Peruvian Andes traveled to Svalbard to deposit seeds of their sacred potato varieties in the vault. In songs and prayers, they said goodbye to the seeds as their “loved ones” and “endangered children.” “We’re not just leaving genes, but also a family,” one farmer told Svalbard officials.
The farmers said the vault would protect what they called their “Indigenous biocultural heritage” – an interweaving of scientific and cultural value, and of plants and people, that for the farmers evoked the sacred.
People from around the world have sought to attach their art to the Global Seed Vault for a similar reason. In 2018, the Svalbard Seed Cultures Ark began depositing artworks that attach stories to seeds in a nearby mine.
Pope Francis sent an envoy with a handmade copy of a book reflecting on the pope’s message of hope to the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Japanese sculptor Mitsuaki Tanabe created a 9-meter-long steel grain of rice for the vault’s opening and was permitted to place a miniature version inside.
Seeds sleeping in Svalbard are far from their home soil, but each one is enveloped in an invisible web of the microbes and fungi that traveled with it. These microbiomes are still interacting with each seed in ways scientists are just beginning to understand.
I see the Global Seed Vault as a lively and fragile place, powered not by money or technology but by the strange power of seeds. The World Food Prize once again highlights their vital promise.
Adriana Craciun does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
My three daughters and I arrived in Michigan from Pakistan in 2000.
Moving here was my choice, and I followed the legal process. Before the move, I had often been to the United States. I was familiar with the culture and spoke fluent English, so I thought I was prepared.
Resuming my career as a physician in the U.S. was arduous, but I finally passed all the qualifying exams and completed a psychiatry residency at Michigan State University in 2006. After finishing my studies, I stayed on as faculty.
Of course, there is nothing new or particularly unique about my family’s experience. Immigration, whether it is out of choice or forced by conflict, has always been part of the American experience. After all, the U.S. Constitution was signed by seven first-generation immigrants.
I teach cultural psychiatry to medical students and residents, specifically how to provide culturally appropriate care to Muslim patients. After more than 20 years in Michigan, I’m deeply rooted in the Muslim and immigrant community, and I’ve seen firsthand how anxious and uncertain my community is about the 2024 presidential election.
In the first half of 2024, the Michigan Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations documented 239 complaints of discrimination against Muslims, an 81% increase over the same period in 2023. In the report, CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid attributed the uptick to “policies of elected officials, rhetoric of candidates running for office, along with victim blaming by some political pundits.”
A key Arab American political action committee based in Michigan refused to endorse either candidate this cycle. Although the PAC typically backs Democrats, this year it said “neither candidate represents our hopes and dreams as Arab Americans.”
In late September, a national group of three dozen Muslim American scholars and imams signed an open letter calling on Muslims not to vote for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
“We want to be absolutely clear,” the letter reads, “don’t stay home and skip voting. This year, make a statement by voting third party for the presidential ticket.”
I know my vote is my voice, and I fully intend to participate in the electoral process. But I can’t trust any of the candidates to create a safe haven for my family – a place where my daughters and I can thrive and live our American dream.
Farha Abassi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Why does Jupiter look like it has a surface – even though it doesn’t have one? – Sejal, age 7, Bangalore, India
The planet Jupiter has no solid ground – no surface, like the grass or dirt you tread here on Earth. There’s nothing to walk on, and no place to land a spaceship.
But how can that be? If Jupiter doesn’t have a surface, what does it have? How can it hold together?
Jupiter’s mass is two-and-a-half times that of all the other planets in the solar system combined.
First, some facts
Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun, is between Mars and Saturn. It’s the largest planet in the solar system, big enough for more than 1,000 Earths to fit inside, with room to spare.
While the four inner planets of the solar system – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars – are all made of solid, rocky material, Jupiter is a gas giant with a composition similar to the Sun; it’s a roiling, stormy, wildly turbulent ball of gas. Some places on Jupiter have winds of more than 400 mph (about 640 kilometers per hour), about three times faster than a Category 5 hurricane on Earth.
Start from the top of Earth’s atmosphere, go down about 60 miles (roughly 100 kilometers), and the air pressure continuously increases. Ultimately you hit Earth’s surface, either land or water.
Compare that with Jupiter: Start near the top of its mostly hydrogen and helium atmosphere, and like on Earth, the pressure increases the deeper you go. But on Jupiter, the pressure is immense.
As the layers of gas above you push down more and more, it’s like being at the bottom of the ocean – but instead of water, you’re surrounded by gas. The pressure becomes so intense that the human body would implode; you would be squashed.
Go down 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers), and the hot, dense gas begins to behave strangely. Eventually, the gas turns into a form of liquid hydrogen, creating what can be thought of as the largest ocean in the solar system, albeit an ocean without water.
Go down another 20,000 miles (about 32,000 kilometers), and the hydrogen becomes more like flowing liquid metal, a material so exotic that only recently, and with great difficulty, have scientists reproduced it in the laboratory. The atoms in this liquid metallic hydrogen are squeezed so tightly that its electrons are free to roam.
Keep in mind that these layer transitions are gradual, not abrupt; the transition from normal hydrogen gas to liquid hydrogen and then to metallic hydrogen happens slowly and smoothly. At no point is there a sharp boundary, solid material or surface.
An illustration of Jupiter’s interior layers. One bar is approximately equal to the air pressure at sea level on Earth. NASA/JPL-Caltech
Scary to the core
Ultimately, you’d reach the core of Jupiter. This is the central region of Jupiter’s interior, and not to be confused with a surface.
Scientists are still debating the exact nature of the core’s material. The most favored model: It’s not solid, like rock, but more like a hot, dense and possibly metallic mixture of liquid and solid.
But pressure wouldn’t be your only problem. A spacecraft trying to reach Jupiter’s core would be melted by the extreme heat – 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit (20,000 degrees Celsius). That’s three times hotter than the surface of the Sun.
An image taken of Jupiter by Voyager 1. Note the Great Red Spot, a storm large enough to hold three Earths. NASA/JPL
Jupiter helps Earth
Jupiter is a weird and forbidding place. But if Jupiter weren’t around, it’s possible human beings might not exist.
That’s because Jupiter acts as a shield for the inner planets of the solar system, including Earth. With its massive gravitational pull, Jupiter has altered the orbit of asteroids and comets for billions of years.
Without Jupiter’s intervention, some of that space debris could have crashed into Earth; if one had been a cataclysmic collision, it could have caused an extinction-level event. Just look at what happened to the dinosaurs.
Maybe Jupiter gave an assist to our existence, but the planet itself is extraordinarily inhospitable to life – at least, life as we know it.
Could something be living in Europa’s water? Scientists won’t know for a while. Because of Jupiter’s distance from Earth, the probe won’t arrive until April 2030.
Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.
And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.
Benjamin Roulston does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The Sullivans is scheduled for an independent deployment to U.S. 5th fleet area of operations where it will conduct maritime security missions to support stability and freedom of navigation in the region. The Sullivans’ crew is trained and ready to engage in a variety of activities, from escorting ships to participating in joint exercises with allied and partner navies in the Middle East.
This deployment, the ship’s fifth deployment in three years, reflects the Navy’s ongoing commitment to ensuring a strong U.S. presence in critical areas and further bolsters the U.S. deterrence posture in the region, providing increased options to the combatant commander.
Earlier this year, The Sullivans returned from the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. The ship provided Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) for Commander, U.S. European Command amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Sullivans, alongside USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119), additionally provided on-station relief for USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) and USS Mcfaul (DDG 74), allowing both ships to return home after multiple deployment extensions. The crew provided escort to the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and USS Bataan Amphibious Readiness Group, and acted as Surface Action Group Commander, along with other U.S. Destroyers, while Gerald R. Ford conducted a port visit to Souda Bay, Crete.
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Point Predictive, the leader in AI solutions for fraud prevention, today announced a strategic partnership with OTTOMOTO® to integrate its advanced fraud detection and income & employment validation solutions into their comprehensive platform.
With auto lending fraud reaching nearly $8 billion last year, dealers and lenders face mounting challenges from synthetic identities and credit-washing schemes as well as income & employment misrepresentation. Lenders are increasingly finding and pushing back defaulted fraudulent loans to dealers. Dealers are struggling to absorb the pushbacks. Both dealers and lenders are looking for ways to stop fraud at dealerships before it even gets to the lenders.
The integration with Point Predictive’s IEValidate™, BorrowerCheck™ and DealerCheck™ solutions means that OTTOMOTO® dealers and lenders will have turnkey access to the most advanced identity, income, and employment validation services available. DealerCheck will also help lenders and dealership owners monitor loan application processes and ensure that fraud checks are in place and that risk remains low.
“Helping dealers and lenders address the nearly $8 billion in fraud hitting the auto industry is our priority,” said Tim Grace, CEO of Point Predictive. “By working with state-of-the-art platforms like OTTOMOTO®, we can provide turnkey access to thousands of dealerships and lenders to stop the majority of the loan pushbacks. With the integration, they can detect and prevent fraud they are missing today, reduce false positives from their current red flag tools, and validate income in real-time without using pay stubs or bank statements, enabling an easier process for dealers.”
The Best Platform Delivering a Better Way to Manage All Risk
Through the OTTOMOTO® platform, dealers and lenders will gain immediate access to Point Predictive’s solutions to stop more fraud and streamline their most critical and time-consuming verification processes.
OTTOMOTO® customers will have access to:
IEValidate – Validate Income and Employment Without the Hassle of Pay Stubs
With IEValidate, dealers and lenders can eliminate requests for pay stubs, which are difficult for an applicant to provide and are often forged. IEValidate is easier, faster, and more reliable, which means less work for everyone, including the applicant. In less than 1 second, a dealership can receive a full report on an applicant’s income and employment history. In addition, IEValidate confirms that the employer is not one of the 11,000 fake employers that we have identified as being used on fraudulent applications in the U.S. today.
BorrowerCheck – Stop Pushbacks and Eliminate Credit Bureau Interview Questions
No more unexpected pushbacks. BorrowerCheck eliminates dated red-flag checks which are often inaccurate and take too much time to review. New alerts provide clear direction on where the risk is, and how to resolve it quickly.
The solution also replaces antiquated Credit Bureau Interview Questions that can take 5 minutes or more to complete. Instead of those questions, BorrowerCheck provides SMS-based verification, which can be completed in less than 20 seconds. The solution works better and is faster than existing red flag tools used by dealers.
DealerCheck – Dashboards to Enable Better Partnership with Lenders
With DealerCheck, lenders and dealers get information that helps them track growing risks to avoid pushbacks and make smarter decisions about working together.
DealerCheck lets dealers and lenders:
See detailed reports about their dealers
Compare their dealer’s performance to other dealers
Spot trending of high-risk applications before they become big issues
Make smarter decisions, optimize stipulations and discounts, improve watchlist and working relationships with dealers
All Powered by Data
The new solutions available to OTTOMOTO®’s customers are driven by Point Predictive’s data which is unlike any data from a credit bureau. With over 269 million reported incomes and information on 22 million employers in the U.S., dealers get access to real history that enables automation to modernize a dealer’s operations and sell more cars faster.
“OTTOMOTO® is dedicated to streamlining the auto retail finance process,” said Paul Nicholas, CEO at OTTOMOTO®. “Integrating Point Predictive’s advanced solutions gives our dealers the tools to close deals faster while protecting their businesses from fraud.”
For more information on the Point Predictive and OTTOMOTO® partnership, please get in touch with Justin Davis at jdavis@pointpredictive.com.
About Point Predictive
Headquartered in San Diego, California, Point Predictive powers a new level of lending confidence and speed through artificial intelligence, powerful data insight from our proprietary data repository, and decades of risk management expertise. The company’s data and technology solutions quickly and accurately identify truthful and untruthful disclosures on loan applications. As a result, lenders can fund the majority of loans without requiring onerous documentation, such as pay stubs, utility bills, or bank statements, improving funding rates while reducing early payment default losses. Subsequently, borrowers get loans faster, and lenders realize an increased bottom line. For more information, please visit pointpredictive.com. Click here to partner with Point Predictive.
About OTTOMOTO®
OTTOMOTO® is a premier provider of lending technology for the auto, RV, Powersports, Marine, and aircraft industries. Focused on digital innovation, OTTOMOTO® is redefining traditional financing practices with a secure, transparent, and compliant process that benefits dealers, lenders, and consumers. With strategic partnerships and decades of industry expertise, OTTOMOTO® is committed to advancing the future of finance through cutting-edge technology solutions. Click here to partner with OTTOMOTO®.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
On 1 November 2024 the Environment Agency re-opened the initial consultation into an environmental permit application for an incinerator near Swadlincote.
Environment Agency re-opens initial consultation on plans for proposed site in Keith Willshee Way
Consultation to run from 1 November to 13 December 2024
Environment Agency will consider issues around any likely impact on human health and environment
Due to the high level of public interest associated with the site, the Environment Agency is re-opening the initial public consultation. The initial public consultation, ran between 28 June 2024 and 2 September 2024.
R&P Clean Power Limited has applied for the permit to operate an incinerator on Keith Willshee Way, Swadlincote DE11 9EN. The company has also separately applied to Derbyshire County Council for planning.
The company wants to incinerate up to 230,000 tonnes of non-hazardous waste each year in an incinerator known as an Energy from Waste Facility.
The proposed facility will incinerate waste to produce energy in the form of electricity. Electricity from this process will be exported to the National Grid.
An environmental permit sets the conditions which R&P Clean Power Limited must meet when operating the proposed incinerator. It covers the management and operation of the site and the control and monitoring of emissions.
Issues that we consider in deciding on the permit are:
Relevant environmental regulatory requirements and technical standards.
Information on local population and sensitive sites.
Protection of human and environmental health.
Comments on whether the right process is being used for the activity, for example, whether the technology is appropriate.
Pollution control and any emissions to air, land and water.
Whether energy generated by waste incineration is recovered as much as possible.
Handling and storage of waste.
The impact of noise and odour from vehicle movements on site.
Plans to deal with litter and vermin on site.
Any permit conditions that may be needed.
The Environment Agency will consult with partner organisations, including the UK Health Security Agency, as part of the process.
Issues such as suitability of the site, operating hours and traffic management to and from it, are matters for the planning authority, not the Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency can only consider issues covered by the environmental permit and can only refuse a permit application based on technical information.
However, in order to build and operate the proposed incinerator, the company will need to be granted both planning permission and an environmental permit.
To obtain an environmental permit, the company will need to show they are putting in place the necessary measures to meet current standards to protect human health and the environment. In addition, they must explain how any risks that are identified, such as odour and emissions, are prevented or minimised, alongside producing a Fire Prevention Plan.
Once the consultation closes, the Environment Agency will review all the comments received before reaching a draft decision. R&P Clean Power Limited has the right to appeal if the permit is refused.
If the Environment Agency thinks it is likely to issue the permit, it will consult again on the draft permit and draft decision document. This means the public will be able comment again if they feel that there is additional information that we have not considered in our decision.
If you wish to make comments about the application, please do so by 13 December 2024.
Remember, remember the fifth of November… the date free Family Hubs Terrific Tuesdays launch at the Potteries Centre.
The groups, run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Family Hubs team, will start on Tuesday 5 November in the Community Room on the lower mall of the Potteries Centre, Hanley, ST1 1PP.
Family Hubs offer bespoke advice and guidance to local communities, empowering families and offering opportunities for fun, education and support where needed.
They are running as part of a project being delivered with over £3.5 million of Government funding. Family Hubs are also an important part of the city council’s Family Matters programme, which provides families in the city with all the tips, advice and opportunities they need to thrive.
Councillor Sarah Hill, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “We want our Family Hubs programme to be easily accessible for families across the city. These new groups really support that aim as well as driving footfall into the city centre, supporting the local economy and businesses.
“Family Hubs are a really important part of our Family Matters programme, which is already helping to reduce the number of children in care after just nine months. Extra groups running from the Potteries Centre mean that more people can tap into the advice, guidance and fun on offer and have access to a wider range of services and activities.”
The new sessions build on the recent launch of Chell Heath Family Hub, which officially launched on Thursday 24 October, at the site of the former Stoke North Children’s Centre, Bishop Road, Chell Heath.
All of the groups running from the Potteries Centre are free to join and there is no need for residents to book. Sessions include:
Sensory fun for Babies, 9.30am – 11am A gentle, fun session with lights, music and learning through sensory experiences for babies 0 to 12 months.
Playful Parenting, 1pm – 2.30pm Bring your toddler along for some fun play. Learn about how you can support your child through play, create the best home learning environment and provide a strong base for future learning. For toddlers 1 – 4 years.
Make and take, 3.30pm – 4.30pm Have some crafty fun and make something to take home and treasure. For children aged 4 – 11 years.
Family Hubs are currently open in Tunstall, Normacot, Bentilee, Chell Heath and Shelton with other sites currently being developed. For 24/7 access to services, or for families that prefer to access online, the city council’s Digital Family Hub is available at https://familyhub.stoke.gov.uk/
On Nov. 3, 1994, space shuttle Atlantis took to the skies on its 13th trip into space. During the 11-day mission, the STS-66 crew of Commander Donald R. McMonagle, Pilot Curtis L. Brown, Payload Commander Ellen Ochoa, and Mission Specialists Joseph R. Tanner, Scott E. Parazynski, and French astronaut Jean-François Clervoy representing the European Space Agency (ESA) operated the third Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Sciences (ATLAS-3), and deployed and retrieved the U.S.-German Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite (CRISTA-SPAS), as part of NASA’s Mission to Planet Earth. The remote sensing instruments studied the Sun’s energy output, the atmosphere’s chemical composition, and how these affect global ozone levels, adding to the knowledge gained during the ATLAS-1 and ATLAS-2 missions. Left: Official photo of the STS-68 crew of Jean-François Clervoy, left, Scott E. Parazynski, Curtis L. Brown, Joseph R. Tanner, Donald R. McMonagle, and Ellen Ochoa. Middle: The STS-66 crew patch. Right: The ATLAS-3 payload patch. In August 1993, NASA named Ochoa as the ATLAS-3 payload commander, and in January 1994, named the rest of the STS-66 crew. For McMonagle, selected as an astronaut in 1987, ATLAS-3 marked his third trip into space, having flown on STS-39 and STS-54. Brown, also from the class of 1987, previously flew on STS 47, while Ochoa, selected in 1990, flew as a mission specialist on STS-56, the ATLAS-2 mission. For Tanner, Parazynski, and Clervoy, all from the Class of 1992 – the French space agency CNES previously selected Clervoy as one of its astronauts in 1985 before he joined the ESA astronaut cadre in 1992 – STS-66 marked their first spaceflight. Left: Schematic illustration of ATLAS-3 and its instruments. Right: Schematic illustration of CRISTA-SPAS retrievable satellite and its instruments. The ATLAS-3 payload consisted of six instruments on a Spacelab pallet and one mounted on the payload bay sidewall. The pallet mounted instruments included Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS), Millimeter-Wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS), Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM), Measurement of the Solar Constant (SOLCON), Solar Spectrum Measurement from 1,800 to 3,200 nanometers (SOLSCAN), and Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM). The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) instrument constituted the payload bay sidewall mounted experiment. While the instruments previously flew on the ATLAS-1 and ATLAS-2 missions, both those flights took place during the northern hemisphere spring. Data from the ATLAS-3’s mission in the fall complemented results from the earlier missions. The CRISTA-SPAS satellite included two instruments, the CRISTA and the Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI). Left: Space shuttle Atlantis at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Middle: Liftoff of Atlantis on STS-66. Right: Atlantis rises into the sky. Following its previous flight, STS-46 in August 1992, Atlantis spent one and a half years at the Rockwell plant in Palmdale, California, undergoing major modifications before arriving back at KSC on May 29, 1994. During the modification period, workers installed cables and wiring for a docking system for Atlantis to use during the first Shuttle-Mir docking mission in 1995 and equipment to allow it to fly Extended Duration Orbiter missions of two weeks or longer. Atlantis also underwent structural inspections and systems upgrades including improved nose wheel steering and a new reusable drag chute. Workers in KSC’s Orbiter Processing Facility installed the ATLAS-3 and CRISTA-SPAS payloads and rolled Atlantis over to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Oct. 4 for mating with its External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters. Atlantis rolled out to Launch Pad 39B six days later. The six-person STS-66 crew traveled to KSC to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, essentially a dress rehearsal for the launch countdown, on Oct. 18. They returned to KSC on Oct. 31, the same day the final countdown began. Following a smooth countdown leading to a planned 11:56 a.m. EST liftoff on Nov. 3, 1994, Atlantis took off three minutes late, the delay resulting from high winds at one of the Transatlantic Abort sites. The liftoff marked the third shuttle launch in 55 days, missing a record set in 1985 by one day. Eight and a half minutes later, Atlantis delivered its crew and payloads to space. Thirty minutes later, a firing of the shuttle’s Orbiter Maneuvering System (OMS) engines placed them in a 190-mile orbit inclined 57 degrees to the equator. The astronauts opened the payload bay doors, deploying the shuttle’s radiators, and removed their bulky launch and entry suits, stowing them for the remainder of the flight. Left: Atlantis’ payload bay, showing the ATLAS-3 payload and the CRISTA-SPAS deployable satellite behind it. Middle: European Space Agency astronaut Jean-François Clervoy uses the shuttle’s Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to grapple the CRISTA-SPAS prior to its release. Right: Clervoy about to release CRISTA-SPAS from the RMS. The astronauts began to convert their vehicle into a science platform, and that included breaking up into two teams to enable 24-hour-a-day operations. McMonagle, Ochoa, and Tanner made up the Red Team while Brown, Parazynski, and Clervoy made up the Blue Team. Within five hours of liftoff, the Blue Team began their sleep period while the Red Team started their first on orbit shift by activating the ATLAS-3 instruments, the CRISTA-SPAS deployable satellite, and the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) or robotic arm in the payload bay and some of the middeck experiments. The next day, Clervoy, operating the RMS, grappled CRISTA-SPAS, lifted it from its cradle in the payload bay, and while Atlantis flew over Germany, deployed it for its eight-day free flight. McMonagle fired Atlantis’ thrusters to separate from the satellite. Left: Ellen Ochoa and Donald R. McMonagle on the shuttle’s flight deck. Middle: European Space Agency astronaut Jean-François Clervoy in the commander’s seat during the mission. Right: Scott E. Parazynski operates a protein crystallization experiment in the shuttle middeck. Left: Joseph R. Tanner operates a protein crystallization experiment. Middle: Curtis L. Brown operates a microgravity acceleration measurement system. Right: Ellen Ochoa uses the shuttle’s Remote Manipulator System to grapple CRISTA-SPAS following its eight-day free flight. For the next eight days, the two teams of astronauts continued work with the ATLAS instruments and several middeck and payload bay experiments such as protein crystal growth, measuring the shuttle microgravity acceleration environment, evaluating heat pipe performance, and a student experiment to study the Sun that complemented the ATLAS instruments. On November 12, the mission’s 10th day, the astronauts prepared to retrieve the CRISTA-SPAS satellite. For the retrieval, McMonagle and Brown used a novel rendezvous profile unlike previous ones used in the shuttle program. Instead of making the final approach from in front of the satellite, called the V-bar approach, Atlantis approached from below in the so-called R-bar approach. This is the profile Atlantis planned to use on its next mission, the first rendezvous and docking with the Mir space station. It not only saved fuel but also prevented contamination of the station’s delicate sensors and solar arrays. Once within 40 feet of CRISTA-SPAS, Ochoa reached out with the RMS, grappled the satellite, and then berthed it back in the payload bay. A selection from the 6,000 STS-66 crew Earth observation photographs. Left: Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Middle left: Hurricane Florence in the North Atlantic. Middle right: The Ganges River delta. Right: The Sakurajima Volcano in southern Japan. As a Mission to Planet Earth, the STS-66 astronauts spent considerable time looking out the window, capturing 6,000 images of their home world. Their high inclination orbit enabled views of parts of the planet not seen during typical shuttle missions. Left: The inflight STS-66 crew photo. Right: Donald R. McMonagle, left, and Curtis R. Brown prepare for Atlantis’ deorbit and reentry. On flight day 11, with most of the onboard film exposed and consumables running low, the astronauts prepared for their return to Earth the following day. McMonagle and Brown tested Atlantis’ reaction control system thrusters and aerodynamic surfaces in preparation for deorbit and descent through the atmosphere, while the rest of the crew busied themselves with shutting down experiments and stowing away unneeded equipment. Left: Atlantis makes a perfect touchdown at California’s Edwards Air Force Base. Middle: Atlantis deploys the first reusable space shuttle drag chute. Right: Mounted atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, Atlantis departs Edwards for the cross-country trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On Nov. 14, the astronauts closed Atlantis’ payload bay doors, donned their launch and entry suits, and strapped themselves into their seats for entry and landing. Tropical Storm Gordon near the KSC primary landing site forced a diversion to Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California. The crew fired Atlantis’ OMS engines to drop out of orbit. McMonagle piloted Atlantis to a smooth landing at Edwards, ending the 10-day 22-hour 34-minute flight, Atlantis’ longest flight up to that time. The crew had orbited the Earth 174 times. Workers at Edwards safed the vehicle and placed it atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft for the ferry flight back to KSC. The duo left Edwards on Nov. 21, and after stops at Kelly Field in San Antonio and Eglin AFB in the Florida panhandle, arrived at KSC the next day. Workers there began preparing Atlantis for its next flight, STS-71 in June 1995, the first Shuttle-Mir docking mission. Meanwhile, a Gulfstream jet flew the astronauts back to Ellington Field in Houston for reunions with their families. As it turned out, STS-66 flew Atlantis’ last solo flight until STS-125 in 2009, the final Hubble Servicing Mission. The 16 intervening flights, and the three that followed, all docked with either Mir or the International Space Station. “The mission not only met all our expectations, but all our hopes and dreams as well,” said Mission Scientist Timothy L. Miller of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “One of its high points was our ability to receive and process so much data in real time, enhancing our ability to carry out some new and unprecedented cooperative experiments.” McMonagle said of STS-66, “We are very proud of the mission we have just accomplished. If there’s any one thing we all have an interest in, it’s the health of our planet.” Enjoy the crew narrate a video about the STS-66 mission.
HOUSTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston Field Office removed 25 unlawfully present noncitizens from the United States in October who were convicted of at least one child sex offense while in the country illegally.
Notable among the noncitizens removed during the month were two documented gang members and a Mexican national who was convicted of a child sex offense and removed from the United States in 2020, only to illegally reenter the country and be convicted in 2021 of committing a second sex offense involving minors.
“The 25 noncitizens that ERO Houston removed last month illegally entered the country and then proceeded to prey on the innocence and vulnerability of our children,” said ERO Houston Field Office Director Bret A. Bradford. “Unconscionably, one of the noncitizens that we removed was convicted of a child sex offense and deported and then he illegally reentered the country and committed a second child sex offense. Our immigration officers live and raise families in this community, and they take their mission to protect the residents of southeast Texas from dangerous criminal noncitizens like this personally. Last month’s results are just another example of their unyielding commitment to apprehend and remove threats to public safety to protect our communities from harm and restore integrity to our nation’s immigration system.”
Among the 25 illegally present child sex offenders removed by ERO Houston in October were:
A 37-year-old twice-deported Mexican national removed Oct. 16 who is a documented Paisas gang member with prior criminal convictions for committing lewd acts against a child under the age of 14 and illegal re-entry.
A 50-year-old three-time deported Mexican national removed Oct. 17 with convictions for sexual indecency with a child, cocaine trafficking, DWI (twice), assault, unlawful carrying a weapon, and illegal re-entry.
A 44-year-old Mexican national removed Oct. 18 who is a documented Colonia Durango gang member with prior criminal convictions for aggravated sexual assault of a minor, sexual indecency with a child, and larceny (twice).
A 37-year-old twice-deported Mexican national removed Oct. 16 with convictions for sexual indecency with a child and sexual assault of a child.
A 27-year-old Salvadoran national removed Oct. 2 with convictions for sexual assault of a child, resisting arrest, and providing false information to law enforcement.
A 58-year-old twice-deported Salvadoran national removed Oct. 2 with convictions for aggravated sexual assault of a child and illegal reentry.
A 33-year-old twice-deported Ecuadorian national removed Oct. 22 with convictions for unlawful surveillance / installing an imaging device for sexual arousal in a manner to injure a child under the age of 17, and illegal reentry.
A 20-year-old Guatemalan national removed Oct. 28 with convictions for sexual indecency with a child under the age of 14.
A 30-year-old twice-deported Guatemalan national removed Oct. 28 with convictions for incest with a minor under the age of 13 and illegal reentry.
A 52-year-old twice-deported Salvadoran national removed Oct. 23 with convictions for indecent liberties with a child, DWI, assault of a government employee, assault, and illegal reentry.
The ERO Houston Field Office is responsible for conducting immigration enforcement in an area of responsibility that spans 52 counties in east Texas stretching down the Louisiana state line and Texas Gulf Coast from Shelby and Hill Counties in the north to Refugio and Live Oak Counties in the south. In fiscal year 2023, ERO Houston arrested 13,595 illegally present noncitizens including 7,100 noncitizens with criminal convictions and 2,427 noncitizens with pending criminal charges. During that same fiscal year, ERO Houston removed 13,488 illegally present noncitizens including 6,015 noncitizens with criminal convictions and 1,092 noncitizens with pending criminal charges.
For more news and information on how the ERO Houston Field Office carries out its immigration enforcement mission in Southeast Texas follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROHouston.
As one of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) three operational directorates, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO’s mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO’s workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.
Manitoba Government Releases Strategy to Secure Province’s Mineral Future
Responsible Mining, Opportunity Ready: Mineral Powerhouse Strategy Sets Path Forward to Spur Mineral Economic Growth: Moses, Bushie
The Manitoba government has released its Securing Our Critical Mineral Future strategy to stand up critical minerals projects faster, while respecting the environment and forming strong Indigenous partnerships, Economic Development, Investment, Trade and Natural Resources Minister Jamie Moses and Municipal and Northern Relations and Indigenous Economic Development Minister Ian Bushie announced today.
“This Critical Minerals Strategy will solidify Manitoba as a world leader in responsible mineral development – which in turn brings good jobs to Manitoba,” said Moses. “No matter the result of tomorrow’s US election, our strategy will ensure Manitoba is a secure and responsible trade partner for years to come.”
Home to 30 of 34 critical minerals identified by the federal government as critical for promoting green energy and sustainable economic success, Manitoba is positioned to supply the materials needed to power the North American low-carbon economy, noted Moses. The strategy aims to attract investment and create good jobs in Manitoba. Key actions include the creation of a dedicated, single window Critical Mineral Office, investments in high-priority regional infrastructure projects and the development of a provincial revenue-sharing model for mining in partnership with Indigenous nations.
“Indigenous and northern communities can be the backbone to a successful mining sector, setting those communities and the Manitoba economy on the best path forward,” said Bushie. “By taking a nation-to-nation approach, this strategy will unlock the benefits of critical minerals for Indigenous nations through healthy resource development. This strategy will ensure Indigenous Peoples’ voices are heard and that they receive fairer financial value within the resource sector in order to advance economic reconciliation.”
“Manitoba needs to get new mines brought online faster,” said John Morris, co-director, Mining Association of Manitoba Inc. (MAMI). “MAMI agrees that by streamlining policy and regulation, permitting will improve with the new single-desk Critical Minerals Office. MAMI looks forward to working with the Province of Manitoba as we develop many of the action items contained in this strategy.”
The Manitoba government will continue to engage with rights holders, communities and business as work on the action items from the strategy begins to be implemented, said Moses.
The Manitoba Critical Minerals Strategy is available at www.manitoba.ca/minerals.
Thousands of people are expected at the St Albans Christmas Cracker – a free family-friendly event that kicks off the festive season.
The annual street festival takes place in the City Centre from noon until 6pm on Sunday 17 November with St Peter’s Street closed to traffic to create a safe and vibrant atmosphere.
Among the attractions will be live music, fairground rides, a Santa’s grotto, street entertainers and around 100 market stalls selling hot food, drinks and seasonal gifts.
Much of the family-friendly entertainment will be free with something to suit people of all ages and abilities.
Festive decorations and installations will be illuminated throughout the event and there will also guest appearances from some of this year’s Alban Arena pantomime, Cinderella.
The Christmas Cracker is organised by St Albans City and District Council, sponsored by St Albans City Centre BID and part-funded by the Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund.
Attractions include:
The Main Stage: situated near the taxi rank, there will be live music and other entertainment throughout.
Rising Stars Performance Space: located by the Anthropologie shop, there will be music from young performers from across the District.
Santa’s Grotto: situated by the Alban Arena and run by the St Albans Rotary Club.
Create and Play Zones: free interactive festive activities for all at locations across the site, including festive decoration making, a football shoot-out and traditional wooden games.
Market Traders: around 100 stalls selling a vast range of novelty gifts, seasonal produce and mouth-watering street food.
Street Performers: walkabout entertainment and street theatre including a stilt-walking Christmas trees and elves riding around on reindeer.éé
British Sign Language Interpreters will be available at the activities throughout the day.
Councillor Anthony Rowlands, Lead for Events, said:
I am thrilled at the prospect of another St Albans Christmas Cracker.
This is a fantastic way to get the District’s festive season underway and always attracts thousands of people to the City Centre.
I urge our residents not to miss out on the fun as there is great entertainment, much of it free, for people of all ages.
The event also provides a boost to the local economy by bringing many extra visitors to the City Centre where they will use our shops, pubs, cafés and restaurants as well as the market stalls.
Vivien Cannon, Manager of St Albans City Centre BID, said:
Everything has been laid on for the whole community to come along and help launch the start of this wonderful Christmas season.
Our City Centre businesses invest in the City through sponsorship of the event. Everyone wants to make sure visitors enjoy browsing around the stalls and enjoy the festive entertainments. Most of all, our businesses send Christmas Greetings and the message to continue to shop locally this Christmas.
Charter Market
Another highlight of the festive season will be the additional December dates for the twice-weekly Charter Market.
The Market will take place every Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 9am to 3pm, in the fortnight leading up to Christmas Day as well as the usual Wednesdays and Saturdays.
There will be an extra day’s trading, too, on Tuesday 24 December.
Pantomime
Cinderella starts at the Alban Arena on Thursday 12 December and runs until Sunday 12 January
Its stars include EastEnder Samantha Womack, comics Bob Goulding and Ian Kirkby, and Union J singer George Shelley. Tickets are available to book here.
Pictures: top, scene from the 2023 event; bottom, Cinderella at the Alban Arena.
Manitoba Government Invests in Mineral Development Future
Manitoba Mineral Development Fund, Modernized Early Mineral Exploration Guidelines, Infrastructure Study Will Help More Companies and Projects Thrive: Moses
The Manitoba government is announcing an additional intake of up to $2 million in funding through the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund (MMDF) to spur immediate economic growth, Economic Development, Investment, Trade and Natural Resources Minister Jamie Moses announced today.
“Our government is growing the critical mineral sector and creating good jobs for Manitobans by enabling the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund to advance projects in Manitoba,” said Moses.
Administered through the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce, the MMDF strategically funds economic development and mining projects of up to $300,000 per project that create Indigenous partnerships, increase local employment and stimulate investment in northern Manitoba. Since 2020, $14.7 million has been provided to 90 projects. This has leveraged over $128 million in private sector capital, generated over 660 jobs and 128 community and Indigenous partnerships.
“The MMDF has been an overwhelming success in providing funding that has resulted in increased opportunities for partnerships and development along with employment opportunities that have strengthened and greatly benefited communities in the north and across the province,” said Chuck Davidson, president and CEO, Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, and chair of the MMDF board. “The Manitoba government’s ongoing commitment to supporting and investing in projects that contribute to sustainable mineral development will help position Manitoba as a leader in the mineral sector.”
The Manitoba government has also partnered with the Mining Association of Manitoba Inc. to revise and modernize the guidelines for early mineral exploration. The guidelines provide clear direction to industry for undertaking early mineral exploration in the province to support and educate companies as they plan early mineral exploration projects to the highest environmental and industry standards. The new guidelines will also serve as a reference tool for Indigenous communities and regulatory bodies evaluating mineral exploration projects in Manitoba, said Moses.
The federal government has identified 34 minerals as critical for promoting green energy and sustainable economic success. Manitoba, which is sixth on the Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies’ Investment Global Attractiveness Index, has 30 of these 34 critical minerals. Critical minerals are crucial for Manitoba’s growth as a low-carbon leader and are essential to developing clean technologies, energy storage systems, electric vehicles and other technologies that advance net-zero targets, noted the minister.
For more information on critical minerals in Manitoba, visit www.manitoba.ca/minerals. For more information on the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund and the next intake, visit https://mmdf.ca/.
On October 22, 2024, Strathcona Resources Ltd. pleaded guilty in Kindersley Provincial Court to one violation of The Saskatchewan Employment Act and related to the same incident, Steel View Energy & Industrial Services Ltd. pleaded guilty to one violation of The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020.
Strathcona Resources Ltd. was fined for contravening clause 3-12 (a) (ii) of the Act (being a contractor, fail to ensure, insofar as is reasonably practicable, that every work process or procedure carried on at every place of employment or work site where an employer, employer’s worker or self-employed person works pursuant to a contract between the contractor and the employer or self-employed person that is not in the direct and complete control of an employer or self-employed person under contract with the contractor, is safe for, without risk to the health of, and adequate with regard to facilities for the welfare of all employers, workers, or self-employed persons at the place of employment, resulting in the serious injury of a worker).
As a result, the Court imposed a fine of $60,714.29 with a surcharge of $24,285.71 for a total amount of $85,000. One other charge was withdrawn.
Steel View Energy & Industrial Services Ltd. was fined for contravening clause 3-1 (a) of the regulations (being an employer, fail to comply with the duties of an employer at a place of employment including the provision and maintenance of a plant, systems of work and working environments that ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of the employer’s workers, resulting in the serious injury of a worker).
The Court imposed a fine of $39,285.71 with a surcharge of $15,714.29, for a total amount of $55,000.
The charges for both companies stemmed from a single incident that occurred on December 5, 2022, near Major, Saskatchewan when a worker was seriously injured when they were struck by an ejection clamp.
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For more information, contact:
Shane Seilman Labour Relations and Workplace Safety Regina Phone: 306-520-2705 Email: shane.seilman2@gov.sk.ca
Holy Mass in memory of the Cardinals and Bishops departed during the year, 04.11.2024
At 11.00 this morning, at the Altar of the Cathedra of the Vatican Basilica, the Holy Father Francis presided over Holy Mass for the repose of the Cardinals and Bishops departed during the course of the year.
The following is the homily delivered by the Pope after the proclamation of the Gospel:
Homily of the Holy Father
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Lk 23:42). These are the last words spoken to the Lord by one of the two men crucified with him. They were not the words of one of Jesus’ disciples who had followed him along the roads of Galilee and shared bread with him at the Last Supper. On the contrary, the man who spoke those words to the Lord was a criminal, someone who met him only at the end of his life, someone whose name we do not even know.
Yet, in the Gospel, the last words of this “outsider” initiate a dialogue full of truth. Even as Jesus was being “numbered with the transgressors” (Is 53:12) as Isaiah had prophesied, an unexpected voice is heard, saying: “We are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong” (Lk 23:41). So it was. That condemned criminal represents us all; each of us can replace his name with our own. Yet even more importantly, we can make his plea our own: “Jesus, remember me”. Keep me alive in your memory. “Do not forget me”.
Let us meditate on that word: remember. To remember (ricordare) means “to lead back to the heart (cor)”, to carry in the heart. That man, crucified alongside Jesus, transformed his dire pain into a prayer: “Carry me in your heart, Jesus”. His words did not reflect anguish and defeat, but hope. This criminal, who died as a disciple of the last hour, desired only one thing: to find a welcoming heart. That is all that mattered to him as he found himself defenceless in the face of death. The Lord heard the sinner’s prayer, even at the end, as he always does. Christ’s heart – an open, not closed heart – pierced by pain, was laid open to save the world. Dying himself, he was open to the voice of a dying man. Jesus dies with us because he died for us.
Crucified despite his innocence, Jesus answered the prayer of a man crucified for his guilt: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk 23:43). The memory of Jesus is effective because it is rich in mercy. As a man’s life comes to an end, God’s love grants freedom from death. The one who was condemned is now redeemed. The outsider becomes a fellow-traveller; a brief encounter on the cross leads to eternal peace. This makes us reflect a little. How do I encounter Jesus? Or better still, how do I let myself be encountered by Jesus? Do I allow myself to be encountered or do I close myself off in my selfishness, in my pain, in my self-sufficiency? Do I have a sense of my sinfulness that allows me to be encountered by the Lord, or do I feel righteous and say: “You are not here to serve me. Move along”?
Jesus remembers those who are crucified at his side. His compassion unto his final breath makes us realize that there are different ways of remembering people and things. We can remember our mistakes, unfinished business, friends and enemies. Brothers and sisters, let us ask ourselves today before this scene from the Gospel: how do we carry people in our heart? How do we remember those who were at our side in the events of our life? Do I judge? Do I divide? Or do I welcome them?
Dear brothers and sisters, by turning to the heart of God, the men and women of today and of every age can find hope for salvation, even if “in the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died” (Wis 3:2). All of history is kept in the memory of the Lord. Memory is safekeeping. He is its compassionate and merciful judge. The Lord is close to us as judge; he is close, compassionate and merciful. These are the three attitudes of the Lord. Am I close to people? Do I have a compassionate heart? Am I merciful? With this assurance, we pray for the Cardinals and Bishops who died in the last twelve months. Today, our remembrance becomes a prayer of intercession for our dear brothers. Elect members of the People of God, they were baptized into the death of Christ (cf. Rom 6:3) in order to rise with him. They were shepherds and models for the Lord’s flock (cf. 1 Pet 5:3). Having broken the bread of life on earth, may they now enjoy a seat at his table. They loved the Church, each in his own way, but they all loved the Church. Let us pray that they may exult in eternal communion with the saints. With firm hope, let us look forward to rejoicing with them in heaven. And I invite you to say three times with me: “Jesus, remember us!”, “Jesus, remember us!”, “Jesus remember us!”.
Contemporary economic challenges in Africa appear to be shifting the continent into a new era of development. From COVID-19 to war-induced inflation, many countries in Africa are facing significant economic challenges. The crises of recent years come on top of longer-term increases in debt, especially after the 2014 commodity price shock.
These circumstances have been the backdrop to recent conflicts, coups, and regime changes. But these contemporary crises follow a period of relatively successful state-led development in the first two decades of the 21st century, resulting in a hype about the new “African lions” and the emergence of an “Africa rising” narrative.
Two cases stand out as emblematic of this era: Rwanda’s vision of a Dubai-style financial and service hub, and Ethiopia’s rapid manufacturing and infrastructure ambitions.
Much has been written about the international factors behind this era of state-led development. The focus has been on the extension of private finance and the growth of “new” lenders such as China, India and Brazil. But these perspectives often overlook important questions. What has inspired ambitious African national plans over the last two decades? What assumptions were made about how development happens and how it should look?
In new research published in a special issue of a journal, we analyse these modernising visions. We unpick their differences and commonalities using cases from multiple countries.
Our emphasis is on understanding ideas, beliefs, and norms in shaping development plans. Such perspectives are often overlooked in the study of Africa. Scholars have often presumed that ruling elites are primarily interested in narrow material power or self-enrichment. We argue that ideas and beliefs underpin the goals and content of development plans.
The research covered in the special issue covers Angola, Eritrea and Tanzania, but in this article we will unpack our analysis of Ethiopia and Rwanda.
20th century modernist development
Many of the elements of development this century look like resurgent 20th century “high modernism”. This is a term coined by scholar James Scott to describe top-down, state-led, authoritarian programmes of economic development. These programmes typically used infrastructure and technology to engineer supposedly “backward”, “traditional” people and landscapes into efficient, modern, rational alternatives.
Perhaps the chief examples here are large dams. Historically, dams were viewed as the hallmark projects of modernisation. They could tame nature and deploy technology, whether electricity or irrigation, to found modern economies and workers. Ghana’s Akosombo Dam is one such project.
But building dams paused from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s as the World Bank and other major funders withdrew. Dam projects were seen as having too-high social and economic costs and as not performing well. Such negative impacts also generated significant protests.
Rwanda’s case
Underpinning Rwanda’s model is a concentrated Leninist-style power structure. The president and associated elites chart the path to progress. The party, with its affiliated companies and investment funds, is all powerful – not solely the state. Rwanda also revived mid-century plans, from dams to an east African railway corridor. Electricity was deemed central, resulting in a rapid, but overambitious five-fold increase in over 15 years.
This recent period was not just a reproduction of the 1960s, however. It had new elements. A Dubai-style aesthetic is central to the reinvented capital, Kigali, where the goal is to create a new corporate service hub, replete with skyscraper, conference centres, shopping malls and a new international airport. This replaces the 20th century obsession with industrial sites and brutalist concrete.
Rather than the state-led programmes of the 20th century, pro-market reforms have been incorporated. There’s an embrace of private enterprise, a stock market and investment. The country’s electricity boom was largely enacted by private firms and Rwanda consistently ranks as one of the top countries in the Ease of Doing Business index. It takes hours, not weeks, to set up a company and there’s a speedy regulatory bureaucracy.
In some cases, “neoliberal” reforms have been brought in, with private enterprise and investment in previously state-controlled domains. Rwanda embraced corporate investment and ownership while making business-friendly, low-tax reforms. The private sector was given a big role in Rwanda’s boom to build over 40 microhydro plants in 15 years.
New public management techniques, with individual incentives and civil service targets, were adopted.
Ethiopia’s case
Ethiopia focused on investments in large agricultural plantations and industrial parks. The result evoked 20th century modernisation drives. A broad-based infrastructure boom and an industrialisation strategy that moved agricultural produce up the value chain would transform the structure of the economy. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the Addis-Djibouti Railway and other megaprojects became symbols of this vision. The aim was to maintain state control of the commanding heights of the economy (electricity, water, telecommunications and aviation, among others), while building an industrial base that would absorb the surplus agricultural labour.
This was coupled with investments in education and health. In 2016, Ethiopia had the third highest ratio of public investment to GDP, but also one of the fastest economic growth rates globally.
Unlike Rwanda, this ideology has not survived. Progress in health, education and income was achieved but political tensions grew. By the mid 2010s, the material reality of people’s livelihoods could no longer keep up with the promises the ruling party had evoked. Dissent was not tolerated and led to mass protests, riots, and the eventual demise of the party. Since 2018, there has been a dramatic shift in ideology and vision with an openness to liberalisation, and a focus away from industrialisation to the service sector.
Continuity and change
Overall, our analysis reveals a combination of continuity and change during this period. It marks the triumph of an “African left”, with old titans like Tanzania’s Chama Cha Mapinduzi or Mozambique’s Frelimo joined by new revolutionary parties also inspired by Marxism.
The language of communism or socialism is not used explicitly. But a belief endures that top-down schemes and mega-infrastructure can catapult people into an “enlightened” future. Structural economic barriers are surmountable through technology and engineering.
Simultaneously, one cannot escape the language of the Davos establishment about the supremacy of markets, importance of foreign investment and pledges to tackle climate change and poverty. This illustrates the degree to which these illiberal modernisers are connected to international policymaking.
Our publication conceptualises this pattern of continuity and change, as a 10-point “illiberal modernisers” manifesto. Although holding considerable variation between countries, we argue that these these hegemonic ruling parties shared common goals of transforming society through an elite-defined programme.
Ultimately, the pattern of continuity and change demonstrates the importance of analysing ideas, beliefs, and values. Elites in Africa, just as elsewhere, are not only interested in power but are influenced by ideas about development.
– Visions of development have shifted in Africa over the past two decades: study explores how Rwanda and Ethiopia tried to shape the future – https://theconversation.com/visions-of-development-have-shifted-in-africa-over-the-past-two-decades-study-explores-how-rwanda-and-ethiopia-tried-to-shape-the-future-224988
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Henning Melber, Extraordinary Professor, Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria
The former liberation movement South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) has been in firm political control of Namibia since independence in 1990.
Itula, contesting as an “independent candidate” without party nomination, managed to snatch 30% of the votes from Geingob. Swapo’s downward trend was confirmed by a dramatic decline in support in the 2020 regional and local elections.
Despite these shifting grounds, democracy stood the test of time. The smooth transition following the death of Geingob in February 2024 was a sign of political stability. Previous vice-president Nangolo Mbumba became interim president.
But Swapo faces a new quality of opposition.
I have followed and analysed policy in Namibia since independence. In my view, the national assembly and presidential elections of 27 November 2024 signify a new political scenario. For the first time a clear victory for Swapo seems less certain.
Swapo
The Swapo election manifesto pays tribute to Geingob. But it doesn’t mention his Harambee Prosperity Plan. Nor does it feature his metaphor of the “Namibian house”, in which nobody is left behind.
This signifies an abrupt closing of a chapter. Mbumba declared himself a caretaker, not interested in the position for a long term. He therefore does not feature prominently in the election manifesto.
As decided by the party congress in December 2023 the Swapo presidential candidate is Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, also known as “NNN”. Born in 1952, she was a Swapo Youth League activist from her school days and joined Swapo in exile in the mid-1970s. As a liberation struggle veteran she became part of the party leadership and has been a cabinet member since independence.
Nandi-Ndaitwah would be the first female Namibian head of state if elected. But she faces strong competition from Itula.
Namibia’s president is directly elected by a 50% + 1 vote from the electorate. There are several presidential candidates nominated by parties with notable followings. This raises the possibility of no candidate achieving an absolute majority in the first round, for the first time. There would then be a second-round presidential election between the two candidates with most votes.
While not yet in parliament, Itula’s party, Independent Patriots for Change, made inroads in the 2020 regional and local government elections. In 2019, the Popular Democratic Movement won 16 out of the 96 parliamentary seats, becoming the official opposition. The newcomer Landless People’s Movement won four seats, making it the third strongest party.
Despite all these recent gradual shifts, hopes for visible transformation were largely unfulfilled. Namibian politics remained business as usual. As Rui Tyitende, a political scientist at the University of Namibia, recently wrote:
Namibia’s opposition parties are marred by political promiscuity, factionalism, internal conflicts and a perennial struggle for power … Even though Swapo is dysfunctional, the opposition needs to earn the right to govern.
The manifestos
This year’s election campaigns started much earlier than usual, testifying to new dynamics. While often lacking substance beyond personalised insults, electioneering remained peaceful. Notably, since independence, Namibia has not recorded a single politically motivated killing.
Despite early campaigning, party manifestos were released only from mid-September. These kept the media watching out for often dubious promises. Swapo wants to allocate about N$85.7 billion (U$4.9 billion) over five years for mass employment. It does not explain where the funds will come from. But it projects this will create 256,538 jobs.
The Landless People’s Movement claims to be Marxist, but includes a commitment to promoting a free market economy, and investment by multinationals. It also wants to send the first Namibian satellite into space.
Arguably, election manifestos have no serious impact on voting behaviour. For example, among the older generation, political party loyalties remain influenced to some extent by the liberation struggle history, and regional and ethnic identities.
In contrast, Namibians who were born after independence make up more than half of the country’s three million people, with an average age of 21 years. Many of the younger electorate live in urban areas, and have become an increasingly decisive factor. For them, the anti-colonial struggle and ethnicity provide little influence. This might be a factor in voting behaviour.
It seems that Swapo continues to attract the biggest crowds at rallies. However, it remains a matter of speculation if this signals huge electoral support, or is due to the entertainment by popular artists. Entertainment has always played a role in Namibian elections.
Free T-shirts, food and drinks are also incentives for people attending rallies, many of whom are not yet of voting age. While facing financial constraints, Swapo still has the most funds and donors. Another advantage is that it has a functioning operational structure throughout the country, with a regional and local presence of activists.
Something new or more of the same?
Swapo has comparative advantages but there is growing frustration among voters. Its dominance since independence has resulted in a form of democratic authoritarianism or authoritarian democracy. But voter support has still declined.
Similarly authoritarian leadership in the opposition parties and factional in-fighting provide no hope of alternative policies or political culture. Their political coalitions ended in disarray. This might come to Swapo’s rescue.
An unlikely but possible scenario would be an elected president coming from outside Swapo, while Swapo dominates the national assembly. The head of state has far-reaching executive powers. But he or she would then have to work with ministers and deputy ministers drawn from a parliament dominated by Swapo.
Such a constellation would complicate governance. It risks making a non-Swapo president a lame duck. It would be the biggest test for Namibia’s constitutional democracy and rule of law since independence.
As South Africa’s case shows, a former liberation movement can still have a future despite losing its outright majority.
Swapo could get beyond the nostalgic liberation struggle mindset and reinvent itself as a modern political party. This could – as happened in South Africa – pave the way to enter coalition politics in the best interest of the people.
– Namibia’s game-changing 2024 elections: Swapo might face defeat for the first time since independence in 1990 – https://theconversation.com/namibias-game-changing-2024-elections-swapo-might-face-defeat-for-the-first-time-since-independence-in-1990-241723
Source: United States of America – Department of State (video statements)
Spokesperson Matthew Miller leads the Department Press Briefing, at the Department of State, on November 4, 2024
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Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The Home Secretary’s speech to the INTERPOL General Assembly in Glasgow on working together to deliver on government priorities.
Delivered on:
(Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)
Thank you very much, good morning. Thank you very much Mr President for your opening words. It is an enormous privilege and honour to welcome all of you here for the 92nd INTERPOL General Assembly.
And it’s a pleasure to welcome you to the magnificent and historic city of Glasgow – and let me thank our hosts for all the work that has gone into facilitating this hugely important event.
Can I thank the Interpol Secretary General, Juergen Stock for your years of service, leading this organisation’s vital work and we look forward to congratulating your successor tomorrow and for the future work that all of us need to do together.
At a time when networks of organised and serious crime span the world, it matters more than ever to have equally integrated and global networks of law enforcement agencies working together to fight crime, and to keep our communities safe.
The UK is proud to be at the heart of those efforts.
Every year, our INTERPOL bureau in the National Crime Agency sends out 20,000 requests to partners around the world, and every day, they manage more than 1,000 incoming messages.
And we see the impact of that cooperation here on our streets. Here on the streets, here in Glasgow.
Just 4 weeks ago, one of Britain’s most wanted men was jailed for leading a major drug gang responsible for importing tonnes of cocaine into this city in banana boxes from Ecuador– fuelling addiction and gang violence across Scotland.
Thanks to a joint operation between Police Scotland, and Dutch counterparts, the UK National Crime Agency, he was arrested in the Netherlands, extradited back to Scotland, and sentenced to 20 years in prison in Glasgow High Court.
International cooperation, work with INTERPOL, delivering results in real life. So to all those working with colleagues on similar operations in pursuit of our collective security – I want to say a heartfelt thank you.
Over the past century, the success of INTERPOL has been a testament to the critical importance of its mission, to the skill and professionalism of its members, and to the spirit of innovation that has evolved through decades of political, technological and social change.
But most importantly of all, INTERPOL’s success has been evidence of that enduring belief that, together, we are stronger.
Britain’s new government is committed to that principle, and – from fraud to drug-trafficking – we believe there are so many crimes and criminal networks which can only be tackled effectively through strong international policing cooperation.
And let me highlight just 2 areas where we want to see even stronger cooperation in the years to come. First, in tackling the global scourge of violence against women and girls and child sexual abuse.
The scale of which should continue to shame us all.
Britain’s new government has set a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, but we know that cannot be achieved by working alone.
Perpetrators and predators across the world are being enabled and emboldened by new technologies, the use of which is growing at an alarming rate. The scale, complexity and severity of online abuse is increasing in every jurisdiction.
Tackling these tech-enabled harms is a central priority for the UK, and I am glad it will be one of the topics for discussion here this week.
We will only tackle these new threats through increased cooperation, and by committing to share not only the best intelligence but the best innovations to protect our children from harm.
And second, as you will hear shortly from our UK Prime Minister, we must also have a much stronger and more integrated global response to the organised immigration crime, which is growing around the world and profiting from human misery, putting lives at risk, undermining our border security, and destabilising our communities.
Here in the UK, our new Border Security Command is leading the fight against the criminal gangs who every week are crowding vulnerable people into flimsy dinghies on the coast of France, leaving dozens this year to drown or be crushed to death as they attempt to cross the Channel.
But we know those gangs operate not just on our shores, but all across Europe and beyond, a network of exploitation stretching around the globe
So we are also drawing up new agreements with our neighbours to strengthen law enforcement, disrupt supply chains, break the business models of the gangs and bring offenders to justice.
Because we know that the best way to strengthen UK border security is to work in partnership with other countries. Tackling the shared threats we all face, and preventing the growth of this transnational organised crime.
On this issue, and on so many others, the challenges we face may vary from nation to nation but the dangers are becoming ever more interlinked.
The lines between different threats are increasingly blurred.
And thanks to modern technology, the ability of crime groups to operate internationally has never been greater.
No single state can tackle these threats in isolation. International security and domestic security are two sides of the same coin.
That is why INTERPOL remains integral to public safety in every one of our countries.
That is why, under this government, Britain will always be an active partner and committed friend as we seek to make the world safer to all, and we thank all of you for being part of these efforts this week.
And we are fortunate to be led in our efforts in the UK by a Prime Minister who has spent many years leading national and international work to enforce the law, prosecute criminals and keep our communities safe.
So it is my great pleasure to introduce our Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to open up this Assembly today.
Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, is visiting Bangkok from 30 October to 6 November 2024. During his visit, he will meet with the Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, key government officials, representatives of the international community, private, and public sectors to promote road safety initiatives and advocate for enhanced measures, particularly on wearing quality helmets. His visit will be also the occasion to launch the UN-JCDecaux campaign #MakeASafetyStatement in the country. The Special Envoy will also speak at the UNESCAP/Alliance française Road Safety Seminar on 4 November. This aligns with the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, aiming to halve road fatalities by 2030.
The visit of the Special Envoy comes one month after the tragic bus road crash which caught fire while travelling on an outbound lane in Khu Khot in the Pathum Thani Province, resulting in 23 deaths of which were mainly school students.
The silent pandemic
Every year, the staggering toll of road-related fatalities claims the lives of 1.19 million people, leaving countless others with severe injuries. This silent pandemic overwhelmingly affects developing nations, where over 90% of the road traffic fatalities occur. Furthermore, road crashes are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5–29 years.
According to theWorld Health Organization, road crashes kill 18,218 people in Thailand each year, representing a road traffic fatality rate of 25/100,000 population, while the rate is in 15.7/100,000 in South-East Asia and 6.5/100,000 in Europe(WHO 2021). Despite the recent efforts of the country, Thailand is still ranked on the top worst countries in term of road fatalities.This is therefore urgent to act for increasing road safety in the country.
“Every life lost to preventable road accidents is a tragedy that reverberates through our communities and our country. This recent tragedy has reminded us of the urgent need for effective and sustained action. Road safety is not merely a matter of law enforcement but a shared societal responsibility. We owe it to our citizens, especially our children, to make our roads safer”, stated the new Prime Minister, H.E. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Road crashes have a significant social and economic burden, particularly in Thailand. “In addition to the human tragedy, road crashes trap countries into a vicious circle of poverty, costing till 6% of the GDP. Given their social and economic cost, road crashes are jeopardizing the entire sustainable development agenda. Now is the time for change, and I am looking forward to working with the Government of Thailand to stop the carnage on the roads.” stressed the UNSG’s Special Envoy Todt.
Wearing a safe helmet
If the causes of road crashes are multiple such as the non-reliability of the vehicles and of the road’s infrastructure and design, the lack of post-crashes services, weaknesses in theroad safety management, a dangerous road user’s behavior is still one of the main reasons costing lives on the road. On the mitigation of the risk factors for the road users, wearing a helmet responding to the UN standards is definitively a game changer. Wearing a quality helmet can reduce the risk of injuries by 69%.
Knowing that Thailandhas the highest rate of motorcycle-related deaths in the world, representingmore than 70% of the road traffic fatalities in the country, wearing a safe helmet is an absolute emergency.
#MakeASafetyStatement
During his visit in Thailand, the Special Envoy will launch the UN Global Road Safety Campaign, which aims to raise awareness of life-saving road safety measures. Launched globally in cooperation with JCDecaux Global under the motto #MakeASafetyStatement, it will run through 2025 in over 80 countries in the world.
The campaign seeks to reduce risk factors, especially in urban areas, enabling people to walk, live, and enjoy their environment safely. Sixteen global, and dozens of national, celebrities have joined forces to advocate for simple and effective road safety rules. Key messages include wearing a seat belt, driving safely, wearing a helmet, not texting and driving, not driving under the influence or while tired, and respecting pedestrians.
Participating celebrities in the campaign include Football Legend Mr. Didier Drogba, F1 Driver Mr. Charles Leclerc, Oscar-winning actress and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Ms. Michelle Yeoh, Tennis Legend Mr. Novak Djokovic, Musician Ms. Kylie Minogue, Motorcycle racer Mr. Marc Marquez, Supermodel Ms. Naomi Campbell, Actor Mr. Patrick Dempsey, Musician and Inspirational leader Mr. Youssou N’Dour, Actress Ms. Julie Gayet, Actor Mr. Michael Fassbender, Football icon Mr. Ousmane Dembélé, Double Olympic Champion Ms. Faith Kipyegon, F1 Driver Mr. Mick Schumacher, Actor Jean Reno and Cyclist Champion Tadej Podacar.
Risk factors that are too often neglected
Only seven countries in the world (France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Sweden)have laws that comply with WHO best practices for all the risk factors – speeding, drink driving, UN-standard motorbike helmet use, seatbelts and child restraint systems.
Media representatives are cordially invited to cover the launch of the campaign, mission andMemorandum of Agreement on Road Safety Cooperation between the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Healthat the press conference on 6 November 2024 at 1.30 PM at the Ministry of Transport (Ratcharotsamosorn Assembly Hall) in Bangkok, with:
Mr. Suriya Jungroongruangkit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport
Mr. Somsak Thepsutin, Minister of Public Health
Mr. Jean Todt, UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for road safety,
Ms. Michaela Friberg-Storey, UN Resident Coordinator to Thailand, presents the work of the UN in road safety in Thailand.
Mr. Arnaud de Ruffray, President of JCDecaux Thailand presents the UN-JCDecaux campaign for road safety in Thailand.
Ms. Saisunee Jana, Paralympic gold Medalist
About the Special Envoy
The former United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, appointed in 2015 Jean Todt as his Special Envoy for Road Safety. He was reconfirmed in this role by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, in 2017 and in 2021. In 2018, together with 14 UN organizations, the Special Envoy launched the UN Road Safety Fund (UNRSF). The Special Envoy contributes, among other things, to mobilize sustained political commitment to make road safety a priority; to advocate and raise awareness of UN legal instruments on road safety; to share established good practices in this area; to strive to generate adequate funding through strategic partnerships between the public, private and non-governmental sectors. Special Envoy brochure and X account.
