China has unveiled a guideline on the development of green finance, outlining 19 important measures for key areas to promote the building of a beautiful China.
Focusing on key areas such as the green development of key industries and ecological protection and restoration, China will work to create a project library for the building of a beautiful China and effectively improve the precision of financial support, according to the guideline jointly issued by four government agencies, including the People’s Bank of China and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
The guideline stresses enhancing the capacities of financial institutions to provide green financial services and enriching products and services for the area.
Efforts should be made to increase loan issuance and beef up financing support for green development, the document states.
It also calls for stepping up innovation in green financial products for key links and areas such as regional ecological and environmental protection projects, the development of the carbon market and green consumption.
A coordination mechanism across government agencies will be established to ensure implementation of these measures, the guideline says.
When disasters strike, they unleash enormous devastation on individuals, societies and economies. The ripple effects of death, destruction and displacement are unimaginable. Today, disasters are often supercharged by the climate crisis, increasing their frequency and intensity.
No one is safe, but children are particularly vulnerable. In recent years the number of children affected by destructive flooding worldwide has reached the highest levels in more than three decades. In the aftermath of a disaster, children face serious repercussions including disrupted education, nutrition and healthcare.
Yet children are more than victims of disaster. They have a huge stake in the future, and their ideas and innovations can help to reduce risk and build resilience.
As this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction reminds us, education is key for not only protecting children but enabling them to take part in decision-making to reduce risks for all.
All countries can take steps to reduce risks to children, by ensuring universal coverage of multi-hazard early warning systems, constructing and retrofitting disaster-resilient schools; signing up to the Comprehensive School Safety Framework; and providing young people with the space and tools to become champions of resilience.
On this International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, and every day, we owe it to future generations to shape a safer, more resilient tomorrow.
***** Lorsque les catastrophes frappent, tout est dévasté : individus, sociétés, économies. La mort, la destruction et les déplacements ont des conséquences inimaginables. De nos jours, les catastrophes sont bien souvent aggravées par la crise climatique, qui en augmente la fréquence et l’intensité.
Personne n’est à l’abri, mais les enfants sont particulièrement vulnérables. Ces dernières années, le nombre d’enfants touchés par des inondations destructrices à travers le monde a atteint son niveau le plus élevé depuis plus de trente ans. Les catastrophes laissent les enfants en proie à des situations critiques, telles que la perturbation de l’éducation, de la nutrition et des soins de santé.
Cependant, face aux catastrophes, les enfants ne sont pas seulement des victimes. Tout leur avenir est en jeu, et ils peuvent être sources d’idées et d’innovations propres à réduire les risques et à renforcer la résilience.
Comme nous le rappelle cette année la Journée internationale pour la réduction des risques de catastrophe, l’éducation est essentielle non seulement pour protéger les enfants, mais aussi pour leur permettre de participer à la prise de décision afin de réduire les risques pour toutes et tous.
Tous les pays peuvent prendre des mesures pour réduire les risques qui pèsent sur les enfants : ils peuvent universaliser la couverture des systèmes d’alerte précoce multidangers, construire ou moderniser des écoles de façon qu’elles résistent aux catastrophes, adhérer au Cadre global de sécurité scolaire ou encore offrir aux jeunes l’espace et les outils nécessaires pour qu’ils puissent devenir des champions de la résilience.
En cette Journée internationale pour la réduction des risques de catastrophe, et de manière générale, nous devons aux générations futures de leur offrir des lendemains plus sûrs et plus résilients.
China’s automobile industry has revealed a growth trend, with its production and sales of vehicles increasing steadily in the first nine months of 2024, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed on Saturday.
From January to September, China’s auto production totaled about 21.47 million units, up 1.9 percent year on year. Auto sales stood at 21.57 million units, an increase of 2.4 percent from the same period last year.
In September, auto production came in at nearly 2.8 million units, down 1.9 percent year on year, while monthly sales totaled about 2.81 million units, down 1.7 percent year on year.
China’s passenger vehicle market has been gradually picking up, with retail sales growing stronger in the third quarter of this year, thanks to government policies encouraging vehicle trade-ins and manufacturers launching new models during “Golden September and Silver October”, a peak period for car sales, said Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the association.
In August, China increased the financial stimulus to encourage consumers to scrap their old vehicles and buy new ones. Subsidies for trade-ins of new-energy passenger vehicles have doubled from 10,000 yuan (about 1,414 U.S. dollars) to 20,000 yuan, while those for trade-ins of fuel passenger vehicles have been lifted from 7,000 yuan to 15,000 yuan.
hen disasters strike, they unleash enormous devastation on individuals, societies and economies. The ripple effects of death, destruction and displacement are unimaginable. Today, disasters are often supercharged by the climate crisis, increasing their frequency and intensity.
No one is safe, but children are particularly vulnerable. In recent years the number of children affected by destructive flooding worldwide has reached the highest levels in more than three decades. In the aftermath of a disaster, children face serious repercussions including disrupted education, nutrition and healthcare.
Yet children are more than victims of disaster. They have a huge stake in the future, and their ideas and innovations can help to reduce risk and build resilience.
As this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction reminds us, education is key for not only protecting children but enabling them to take part in decision-making to reduce risks for all.
All countries can take steps to reduce risks to children, by ensuring universal coverage of multi-hazard early warning systems, constructing and retrofitting disaster-resilient schools; signing up to the Comprehensive School Safety Framework; and providing young people with the space and tools to become champions of resilience.
On this International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, and every day, we owe it to future generations to shape a safer, more resilient tomorrow.
***** Lorsque les catastrophes frappent, tout est dévasté : individus, sociétés, économies. La mort, la destruction et les déplacements ont des conséquences inimaginables. De nos jours, les catastrophes sont bien souvent aggravées par la crise climatique, qui en augmente la fréquence et l’intensité.
Personne n’est à l’abri, mais les enfants sont particulièrement vulnérables. Ces dernières années, le nombre d’enfants touchés par des inondations destructrices à travers le monde a atteint son niveau le plus élevé depuis plus de trente ans. Les catastrophes laissent les enfants en proie à des situations critiques, telles que la perturbation de l’éducation, de la nutrition et des soins de santé.
Cependant, face aux catastrophes, les enfants ne sont pas seulement des victimes. Tout leur avenir est en jeu, et ils peuvent être sources d’idées et d’innovations propres à réduire les risques et à renforcer la résilience.
Comme nous le rappelle cette année la Journée internationale pour la réduction des risques de catastrophe, l’éducation est essentielle non seulement pour protéger les enfants, mais aussi pour leur permettre de participer à la prise de décision afin de réduire les risques pour toutes et tous.
Tous les pays peuvent prendre des mesures pour réduire les risques qui pèsent sur les enfants : ils peuvent universaliser la couverture des systèmes d’alerte précoce multidangers, construire ou moderniser des écoles de façon qu’elles résistent aux catastrophes, adhérer au Cadre global de sécurité scolaire ou encore offrir aux jeunes l’espace et les outils nécessaires pour qu’ils puissent devenir des champions de la résilience.
En cette Journée internationale pour la réduction des risques de catastrophe, et de manière générale, nous devons aux générations futures de leur offrir des lendemains plus sûrs et plus résilients.
This photo taken on June 27, 2024 shows the construction site of the Grand Ring, the symbol for Expo 2025 Osaka, on the Yumeshima artificial island in Japan. [Photo/Xinhua]
The preparations for the 2025 World Exposition in the western Japanese city of Osaka are facing significant challenges six months ahead of its opening, local media reported.
One major concern is the delay in the construction of pavilions and other key facilities. Construction of many of the pavilions has fallen behind schedule, with concern growing some will not be completed by the opening, Kyodo News reported.
A plan to operate flying taxis, viewed as one of the event’s highlights, has been dropped after all four operators gave up on carrying passengers in their electric aircraft due to safety challenges, according to the report.
As of Oct. 6, over 7 million tickets had been sold, half of the 14 million advance tickets aimed for, the report cited organizers, adding some officials from participating companies say they are not very optimistic about sales.
The World Expo 2025 is scheduled to be held from April 13 to Oct. 13, 2025, on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay.
The budget for construction has grown 1.9-fold from the original plan to 235 billion yen (about $1.6 billion) and that for operation of the venue has risen 1.4-fold to 116 billion yen (about $780 million).
A man has been arrested after allegedly stealing a vehicle in Point Chevalier before being involved in a multi-vehicle crash on the northern motorway, near Dairy Flat.
Around 2:40pm Police responded to Walmer Road, Point Chevalier, after a man allegedly attempted to steal a vehicle from an elderly woman before stealing a vehicle from a second person on the same road. Luckily no serious injuries were sustained.
Police maintained observations of the vehicle to northern motorway with the assistance of the Air Support Unit and traffic cameras.
Inspector Daniel Meade says a pursuit was not initiated due to safety concerns. Instead, Police attempted to spike the vehicle, however the driver continued.
“At around 3pm the driver came to a stop following a multi-vehicle crash where the vehicle has rolled,” says Inspector Meade.
Two people, including the offender, received moderate injuries.
“While the offender was travelling along the northern motorway he has allegedly damaged a number of vehicles and knocked a motorcyclist off of their bike.
“The Serious Crash Unit have completed a scene examination and the road is due to be reopened within the next hour.”
Charges are being considered for the 34-year-old man and enquiries into the circumstances of the incident are ongoing.
Mo (right) and his team livestream the benefits of pomelos. [Photo/Xinhua]
As the morning light streams through the window and roosters crow, Mo Zhou yawns, steps out, calls his dog, grabs his tools, and embarks on a day’s work.
The 26-year-old differs from other farmers in that he always carries a smartphone to record his day-today life. He’s a vlogger, filming snippets of rural life and traditional homemade food for his 12 million followers on short-video platform Douyin.
From traditional dishes to heartfelt narratives, his videos capture the essence of rural life, showcasing the beauty of his hometown and its culinary delights.
His recording of the tranquil village of Chenjiazhai in Tongren, Southwest China’s Guizhou province, has garnered a total of 320 million likes on Douyin. Named Zhouzhou on the platform, he has posted 577 videos.
I cherish the earthy scent I carry and hope to encourage more young people to stay in rural areas and contribute to their hometowns through my experiences,” Mo says.
Mo cuts preserved pork for a video shooting. [Photo/Xinhua]
Born to a rural family in 1998, Mo has two older sisters. His life changed when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. To ease the financial burden, Mo decided to quit school and take care of his mother at home in 2019 as his mother’s health deteriorated.
Hearing about the man’s story, fellow villager Mo Zhilin found that Mo Zhou had the potential to become a vlogger by sharing his daily life. Later in 2020, Mo Zhilin, Mo Zhou, Mo Jun and Yang Xudong set up their e-commerce company.
Facing challenges with shyness and camera presence, Mo Zhou overcame his inhibitions by studying other accounts, taking online courses in video production and seeking advice from others on how to authentically showcase rural life and cuisine in his videos.
As their fan base grew, they raised the bar for video quality, embracing the natural rhythm of rural life. They sourced local ingredients based on the seasons, fostering a sense of nostalgia and connection with their audience.
“I will continue to anchor myself in the countryside, utilizing my online influence to capture and share more of Guizhou’s beauty, culture and culinary heritage,” the man says.
Since Li Ziqi, a rural Chinese woman, became an online sensation in the late 2010s, an increasing number of rural life vloggers have put their countryside in the frame.
Mo (right) and Yang Xudong promote kiwifruit online. [Photo/Xinhua]
Thanks to the popularity of short-video platforms, they share their lives online and use the internet as sales channels.
These channels not only bring higher incomes but also inject new life into the country’s rural vitalization.
Data from Douyin shows that last year, the platform had about 176 million rural content creators, posting more than 1 billion videos and selling about 4.73 billion orders of agricultural products.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, from 2012 to the end of 2022, over 12.2 million people had returned or moved to rural areas with the aspiration of starting businesses. The number is expected to reach 15 million by 2025.
A Chinese opera artist performs in the Huguang Guild Hall in Beijing, China, October 11, 2024. [Photo courtesy of CMG]
The 2024 Chongyang Festival Opera Gala was held by China Media Group (CMG) on Friday, graced by many renowned Chinese opera artists.
Chongyang Festival, also known as the Double Ninth Festival, falls on the 9th day of the ninth lunar month on the Chinese lunar calendar. It fell on October 11 this year.
In Chinese folklore, the number nine is a homonym of the Chinese word “jiu,” which contains the auspicious meaning of “a long and healthy life.” It is an annual festival to show respect and care for the elderly throughout China.
The gala was held in the Huguang Guild Hall in Beijing, a theater with a history of 200 years. The gala saw performances from young and senior Chinese opera artists, stressing the importance of respecting and loving the elderly.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected scheduled dried shark fins, dried sea cucumbers and proprietary Chinese medicine with ingredients of suspected scheduled Gastrodia Elata (with photos) Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected scheduled dried shark fins, dried sea cucumbers and proprietary Chinese medicine with ingredients of suspected scheduled Gastrodia Elata (with photos) ******************************************************************************************
Hong Kong Customs on October 10 seized about 460 kilograms of suspected scheduled dried shark fins, 200kg of suspected scheduled dried sea cucumbers and 3 300 boxes of proprietary Chinese medicine with ingredients of suspected scheduled Gastrodia Elata, with a total estimated market value of about $2.3 million, at Hong Kong International Airport. Through risk assessment, Customs officers inspected an air consignment, declared as carrying household goods and arriving in Hong Kong from Indonesia, on that day. Upon inspection, the batch of dried shark fins, sea cucumbers and proprietary Chinese medicine suspected to be scheduled under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Ordinance) (Cap. 586), was found inside 33 carton boxes. The case was handed over to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) for follow-up action. Under the Ordinance, any person importing, exporting or possessing specimens of endangered species not in accordance with the Ordinance commits an offence and will be liable to a maximum fine of $10 million and imprisonment for 10 years upon conviction with the specimens forfeited. For licensing requirements for the species listed on different appendices, members of the public may visit the website: http://www.cites.hk. For enquiries, please contact the AFCD through email (hk_cites@afcd.gov.hk) or call 1823. Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
China, Laos achieve more substantive progress in building community with shared future
VIENTIANE, Oct. 13 — Chinese Premier Li Qiang paid an official visit to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic from Friday to Saturday after attending the leaders’ meetings on East Asia cooperation here, stressing to continue to deepen practical cooperation with Laos.
Li, together with Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, attended the inauguration ceremony of the China-aided Mahosot General Hospital building here on Saturday. Speaking at the ceremony, Li extended warm congratulations on the successful completion of the project, highlighting the hospital as the largest in scale, most comprehensive in functions, and best equipped modern comprehensive hospital and medical teaching base in Laos.
As a flagship overseas project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, the Mahosot Hospital has played an important role in improving medical conditions and safeguarding the health of the Lao people.
Vilaphan Keokuman, deputy chief of the ear, nose, and throat department at Mahosot Hospital, said: “The brand-new building, modern facilities and equipment of the hospital, as well as its capacity to accommodate more patients, provide us with greater convenience.”
Premier Li emphasized in his speech at the ceremony that in recent years, the two countries have closely focused on building a community with a shared future with high standards, high quality, and high level, strengthened the synergy of development strategies, continued to deepen practical cooperation, and worked hard to complete a number of important infrastructure projects, injecting strong impetus into the economic development and improvement of people’s livelihood in both countries.
During his meeting with Thongloun Sisoulith, general secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao president, Li said China and Laos should enhance practical cooperation in trade, investment, production capacity, electricity, minerals and other fields, calling on both sides to further tap potentials, give full play to the driving-effect of the China-Laos Railway, and push for more visible results in all-around cooperation.
While talking with Sonexay, Li pointed out that China is ready to work with Laos to speed up the development along the China-Laos Railway and juxtaposed border control, and strengthen cooperation in new energy, advanced manufacturing, digital economy and artificial intelligence, among other fields.
Launched in December 2021, the China-Laos Railway, which serves as Laos’ first modern railway, has facilitated the transportation of over 10 million tonnes of goods valued at approximately 5.74 billion U.S. dollars as of September 2024, according to local authorities.
During Li’s visit, China and Laos released a joint statement focused on mutually beneficial cooperation of higher quality.
In the statement, the two sides agreed to continue to strengthen practical cooperation under the framework of strategic alignment between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Laos’ strategy to “convert the landlocked country into a land-linked hub”, and jointly implement the outline of the Belt and Road cooperation plan between the two countries.
Currently, China is the largest foreign investor in Laos, and Laos sees huge potential for further deepening cooperation with China across various fields including the export of agricultural products, the import of electric vehicles and trucks, tourism, hotels and restaurants, and electricity, mining, and solar energy.
Analysts said that both China and Laos are poised to take Premier Li’s visit, alongside the 15th anniversary of the China-Laos comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, as pivotal moments to further deepen bilateral cooperation.
Lu Guangsheng, a professor at Yunnan University’s Institute of International Relations, said China and ASEAN, including Laos, have strong industrial complementarity.
“China requires new drivers from Laos, while Laos looks to China for industrial support,” he remarked, suggesting that this mutual dependence will foster constructive strategies for promoting high-level openness and advancing the shared vision for a community with a shared future for humanity.
China has more than 600 million registered users for generative artificial intelligence (AI) services, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Saturday.
Zhao Zhiguo, chief engineer at the MIIT, highlighted the continuous expansion of the country’s core AI industry, with over 4,500 companies now operating in the sector.
Currently, nearly 200 generative AI service models are registered and available to the public, said Zhao.
He noted that it is essential to enhance the capacity of AI infrastructure for public services and establish accessible, adaptable and highly available AI development platforms to accelerate the training, optimization and large-scale application of AI models.
Efforts are also needed to enhance the supply capability of computing power facilities and build a unified national computing system, thereby increasing the share of intelligent computing resources, said Zhao.
The country’s telecommunications operator, China Mobile, launched an evaluation standard on general AI large models on the same day together with China Electronics Standardization Institute and 16 key enterprises, providing a reference for companies to select high-quality AI models.
The standard, driven by actual demand from key industries, focuses on six dimensions, namely functionality, accuracy, reliability, safety, interactivity and applicability, to comprehensively assess the core competence in the application of large models.
It covers a wide range of industry scenarios, including telecommunications, transportation, energy and manufacturing.
Growing up in Puerto Rico, Yomayra Cruz-Diaz didn’t imagine that one day she would work at NASA. Today, she serves as technical project coordinator at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, supporting its Aeronautics Research Directorate. Cruz-Diaz’s position requires her to travel in support of public engagement events and recently she supported NASA’s presence at the Miramar Airshow in San Diego, California where the agency’s booth featured Spanish-language STEM materials. Something, or rather, someone, made this event especially unique for Cruz-Diaz: Her son, Israel Martinez-Cruz, is currently serving in the United States Marine Corps and is stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. In a stroke of serendipity, they were both working the same event for their respective employers. Living on opposite sides of the country, they hadn’t seen each other in person for nearly a year. With surprise and joy, they hugged. Growing up in a Puerto Rican household, conversations about core values revolved around family, Martinez-Cruz said. He recalled seeing his mom work at NASA and feeling inspired by her work ethic. That level of commitment ran in the family. “Israel and I would carpool,” she said. “He would drop me off at Langley and then he would go on his way to his aircraft mechanic school.” Martinez-Cruz serves as an air traffic controller, work that Cruz-Diaz knew about but had never seen in person. “He’s explained to me what his job entails but taking a tour of his job site gives me a whole new understanding,” she said after a tour of the air traffic control tower. NASA is proud to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, the annual observance honoring the wide and rich histories, cultures, and contributions of the Hispanic and Latino community. In the words of NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, “Adelante y hacia arriba,” or “Onward and upward!”
A murder investigation is under way following a shooting in Barking.
Police were called at approximately 04:35hrs on Sunday, 13 October to reports of a man injured in Linton Road, Barking.
Officers and London Ambulance Service attended and found a man, believed aged in his 30s suffering a gunshot injury. Despite the best efforts of the emergency services he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Next of kin have been informed.
A crime scene remains in place at the location.
There has been no arrest and enquiries into the circumstances continue.
Acting Detective Chief Superintendent Lewis Basford who is responsible for policing in East Area which covers Barking said: “I understand the shock and concern local residents will be feeling following this incident, but I want to reassure them that a team of experienced detectives are already working diligently to piece together the events that has led to this shooting and identify who is responsible.
“Local residents will see increased police activity in and around the Linton Road area and I would ask them for patience while officers carry out vital work.
“If you have any concerns, or information that could assist the investigation, then please speak to one of them or contact police.”
Anyone with information that could assist police is asked to call 101 or ‘X’ @MetCC and quote CAD 1295/13Oct. You can also provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
China ready to strengthen alignment of development strategies with Vietnam — Chinese premier
HANOI, Oct. 13 — China stands ready to strengthen alignment of development strategies with Vietnam, carrying out the plan of synergizing the Belt and Road Initiative with Vietnam’s Two Corridors and One Economic Circle strategy, said Chinese Premier Li Qiang here on Sunday.
Li made the remarks when meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Yuri Trutnev with the winners of the second All-Russian long-range shooting tournament dedicated to the memory of Hero of the Soviet Union Fyodor Okhlopkov
October 13, 2024
In Yakutsk, the winners of the second All-Russian long-range shooting tournament dedicated to the memory of Hero of the Soviet Union Fyodor Okhlopkov were determined
October 13, 2024
Award ceremony for the winners of the second All-Russian long-range shooting tournament dedicated to the memory of Hero of the Soviet Union Fyodor Okhlopkov
October 13, 2024
Participants of the second All-Russian long-range shooting tournament dedicated to the memory of Hero of the Soviet Union Fyodor Okhlopkov
October 13, 2024
Yuri Trutnev with participants of the second All-Russian long-range shooting tournament dedicated to the memory of Hero of the Soviet Union Fyodor Okhlopkov
October 13, 2024
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Yuri Trutnev with the winners of the second All-Russian long-range shooting tournament dedicated to the memory of Hero of the Soviet Union Fyodor Okhlopkov
On October 13, the winners of the second All-Russian Long-Range Shooting Tournament dedicated to the memory of Hero of the Soviet Union Fyodor Okhlopkov were determined in Yakutsk. The closing ceremony of the competition was held by Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation – Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Far Eastern Federal District, Chief Judge of the tournament Yuri Trutnev, Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Aisen Nikolaev and Hero of Russia, Guards Major, Deputy Chief Judge Yaroslav Yakubov. The total prize fund of the tournament was 18 million rubles.
Over the course of two days, more than 140 shooters from different regions of the country, including participants in the special military operation, competed in night and day shooting. Among those who went to the firing line were active military personnel, employees of law enforcement agencies and special forces, as well as civilian shooting enthusiasts.
“Next year we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. The tournament we are holding is directly related to this anniversary. The competition is held in honor of the memory of Hero of the Soviet Union Fyodor Matveyevich Okhlopkov. And those who are now standing on the site, put on camouflage not only at the tournaments. We will do everything possible to make the competition interesting, objective and fair, so that through your work and joint efforts our country becomes stronger. I am sure that we need to continue this work. We have chosen a good place: Yakutia – a republic with good traditions of sniper skill. Competition creates opportunities to grow and move forward. Thanks to this tournament, among other things, more high-class shooters will be trained in our country, young guys will become interested in military-sports training, which means the level of sniper skill will grow and our Motherland will become stronger,” said Yuri Trutnev.
“I think the tournament was a success. Many more people came than the first time. The organizing committee headed by Yuri Petrovich Trutnev did a tremendous job to ensure that the best shooters of our country met at the competition. But there is no limit to perfection, we are already starting to prepare for the next tournaments, we will make every effort to ensure that they are held at an even higher level. The results that the participants of these competitions showed, despite the weather, indicate that our Yakutia and all of Russia have traditions of great ancestors, which are continued by their descendants,” noted Aisen Nikolaev.
The third place in the “Night” stage of the tournament was taken by a sniper with the call sign Kolpachok and a spotter with the call sign Vokha. The second place in the “Night” stage went to the pair Hunter and Creed. The first place in the “Night” stage was won by the pair with the call signs Brat and Kos.
The third place in the Day stage was won by the sniper pair with the call signs Agron and Yurich. The second place in the Day stage was taken by Nagirny and Bocharov. The first place in the Day stage was awarded to the shooters with the call signs Kolpachok and Vokha.
The third place winners of both stages were awarded high-precision rifles “Arkuda” of the domestic manufacturer. The second place winners were presented with the keys to the new all-terrain vehicle “Sokol” of the manufacturing plant “Yakt-Sokol” – a resident of the TOR “Patrioticheskaya”. The winners of the competitions received off-road pickup trucks.
Yuri Trutnev presented a high-precision Raptor rifle from the domestic brand Bespoke Gun. “This prize will go to the 155th separate guards marine brigade of the Pacific Fleet. We have met with the commanders and fighters of this brigade on the line of combat contact many times. I am proud of the fighters and their commanders. I hope that they have many victories ahead and, most importantly, a common victory,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
Following the two stages, special prizes were awarded from the Combat Sniping Federation and manufacturers of weapons and equipment: Lobaev Arms, ORSIS, Russian Solid, Dedal-NV and others.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced the appointment of Mike Savage as the new Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia.
Mike Savage is a respected former parliamentarian, mayor, and business leader with a lifelong commitment to serving the people of Nova Scotia. He was the Member of Parliament for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour for seven years and the Mayor of Halifax Regional Municipality for 12 years. Throughout his career, he has been a champion for social inclusion and disability rights, economic growth and affordability, and climate change action and mitigation.
The Prime Minister thanks the outgoing Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Arthur J. LeBlanc, for his service to the people of Nova Scotia and to Canada.
Quote
“I congratulate Mike Savage on his appointment as the new Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. He is a passionate public servant and an experienced leader, and I am confident that he will continue to serve Nova Scotians well and make important contributions in his new role.”
Quick Facts
Lieutenant Governors are the personal representatives of His Majesty The King of Canada in their respective provinces. They fulfill the roles and functions of the Crown, including granting Royal Assent to provincial laws.
Lieutenant Governors are appointed by the Governor General of Canada on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. They serve terms of at least five years.
Find details about the launch sequences for the orbiter, which is targeting an Oct. 14 liftoff on its mission to search for ingredients of life at Jupiter’s moon Europa. In less than 24 hours, NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft is slated to launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket. Its sights are set on Jupiter’s ice-encased moon Europa, which the spacecraft will fly by 49 times, coming as close as 16 miles (25 kilometers) from the surface as it searches for ingredients of life. Launch is set for 12:06 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 14, with additional opportunities through Nov 6. Each opportunity is instantaneous, meaning there is only one exact time per day when launch can occur. Plans to launch Europa Clipper on Oct. 10 were delayed due to impacts of Hurricane Milton.
[embedded content] NASA’s Europa Clipper is the first mission dedicated to studying Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, one of the most promising places in our solar system to find an environment suitable for life outside of Earth.
With its massive solar arrays extended, Europa Clipper could span a basketball court (100 feet, or 30.5 meters, tip to tip). In fact, it’s the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission. The journey to Jupiter is a long one — 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) — and rather than taking a straight path there, Europa Clipper will loop around Mars and then Earth, gaining speed as it swings past. The spacecraft will begin orbiting Jupiter in April 2030, and in 2031 it will start making those 49 science-focused flybys of Europa while looping around the gas giant. The orbit is designed to maximize the science Europa Clipper can conduct and minimize exposure to Jupiter’s notoriously intense radiation. But, of course, before any of that can happen, the spacecraft has to leave Earth behind. The orbiter’s solar arrays are folded and stowed for launch. Testing is complete on the spacecraft’s various systems and its payload of nine science instruments and a gravity science investigation. Loaded with over 6,060 pounds (2,750 kilograms) of the propellant that will get Europa Clipper to Jupiter, the spacecraft has been encapsulated in the protective nose cone, or payload fairing, atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, which is poised for takeoff from historic Launch Complex 39A. Launch Sequences The Falcon Heavy has two stages and two side boosters. After the side boosters separate, the core stage will be expended into the Atlantic Ocean. Then the second stage of the rocket, which will help Europa Clipper escape Earth’s gravity, will fire its engine.
Once the rocket is out of Earth’s atmosphere, about 50 minutes after launch, the payload fairing will separate from its ride, split into two halves, and fall safely back to Earth, where it will be recovered and reused. The spacecraft will then separate from the upper stage about an hour after launch. Stable communication with the spacecraft is expected by about 19 minutes after separation from the rocket, but it could take somewhat longer. About three hours after launch, Europa Clipper will deploy its pair of massive solar arrays, one at a time, and direct them at the Sun. Mission controllers will then begin to reconfigure the spacecraft into its planned operating mode. The ensuing three months of initial checkout include a commissioning phase to confirm that all hardware and software is operating as expected. While Europa Clipper is not a life-detection mission, it will tell us whether Europa is a promising place to pursue an answer to the fundamental question about our solar system and beyond: Are we alone? Scientists suspect that the ingredients for life — water, chemistry, and energy — could exist at the moon Europa right now. Previous missions have found strong evidence of an ocean beneath the moon’s thick icy crust, potentially with twice as much liquid water as all of Earth’s oceans combined. Europa may be home to organic compounds, which are essential chemical building blocks for life. Europa Clipper will help scientists confirm whether organics are there, and also help them look for evidence of energy sources under the moon’s surface.
More About Europa Clipper Europa Clipper’s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet. Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. APL designed the main spacecraft body in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama; and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. Find more information about Europa here: europa.nasa.gov
Headline: FEMA Assistance Tops $50 Million for Illinoisans Affected by Mid-July Severe Storms
FEMA Assistance Tops $50 Million for Illinoisans Affected by Mid-July Severe Storms
SPRINGFIELD – Just under a month since President Joe Biden declared a major disaster for the state of Illinois, FEMA assistance for households affected by the July 13 -16 severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding tops $50.6 million. These grants help pay for uninsured and underinsured losses and storm-related damage, including:
More than $24 million in housing grants to help pay for home repair, home replacement and rental assistance for temporary housing.
More than $26.5 million in Other Needs Assistance grants to help pay for personal property replacement and other serious storm-related needs—such as moving and storage fees, transportation, childcare, and medical and dental expenses.
More than $1.6 million in long-term, low-interest disaster loans has been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration for homeowners and renters to help repair, rebuild or replace disaster-damaged physical property and to cover economic injury for businesses of all sizes and non-profit organizations.
Homeowners and renters with July 13 – 16 storm damage to their home or personal property in the seven designated counties including, Cook, Fulton, Henry, St. Clair, Washington, Will and Winnebago, have until the November 19 deadline to apply for disaster assistance from FEMA and U.S. Small Business Administration.
Apply for FEMA assistance several ways:
Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov.
Use the FEMA mobile app.
In-person at a Disaster Recovery Center. Find a center nearest you, http://www.FEMA.gov/DRC.
Call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362. Multilingual operators are available. If you use video relay service, captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for that service.
Or how about that moment when two hitmen on their way to a job began talking about the intricacies of European fast food while listening to Kool & The Gang?
Directed by Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction (1994) celebrates its 30th birthday this month. Watching it now, this story of a motley crew of mobsters, drug dealers and lowlifes in sunny Los Angeles still feels startlingly new.
Widely regarded as Tarantino’s masterpiece, the director’s dazzling second film was considered era-defining for its memorable dialogue, innovative narrative structure and unique blend of humour and violence. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, made stars of Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman, and revitalised John Travolta’s career.
Pulp Fiction is dark, often poignant, and very funny. It is, as one critic describes it, an “intravenous jab of callous madness, black comedy and strange unwholesome euphoria”.
Tarantino’s trademark style includes plenty of violence and gore. IMDB
A Möbius strip plot
Famous for its non-linear narrative, Pulp Fiction weaves together a trio of connected crime stories. The three chapters – Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace’s Wife, The Gold Watch and The Bonnie Situation – loop, twist and intersect but, crucially, never confuse the viewer.
Tarantino has often paid tribute to French filmmakers Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Melville, whose earlier films also presented their narratives out of chronological order and modified the rules of the crime genre.
By inviting audiences to piece Pulp Fiction together like a puzzle, Tarantino laid the way for subsequent achronological films such as Memento (2000), Go (1999) and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998).
Pop culture meets postmodernism
In his influential essay Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, first published in 1984, political theorist Frederic Jameson coined the term “new depthlessness” to describe postmodern culture.
Jameson perceived a shift away from the depth, meaning and authenticity that characterised earlier forms of culture, towards a focus on surface and style.
Pulp Fiction’s iconic movie poster shows character Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) smoking a cigarette. IMDB
Pulp Fiction fits Jameson’s definition of depthlessness. It is stuffed with homages to popular culture and a vivid array of character types drawn from other B-movies – hitmen, molls, mob bosses, double-crossing boxers, traumatised war veterans and tuxedo-wearing “fixers”. It is a film of surfaces and allusions.
Jackson, Travolta and Thurman feature alongside established 1990s box-office stars including Bruce Willis and industry stalwarts Harvey Keitel and Christopher Walken, both of whom have brief but memorable cameos.
The film’s most iconic scene takes place at the retro 1950s-themed Jack Rabbit Slim’s diner. Thurman’s twist contest with Travolta fondly echoes Travolta’s earlier dancing in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and pays homage to other dance scenes in films such as 8 ½ (1963) and Band of Outsiders (1964).
Words and music
Film critic Roger Ebert once noted how Tarantino’s characters “often speak at right angles to the action”, giving long speeches before getting on with the job at hand.
Pulp Fiction is full of witty and quotable monologues and dialogue, ranging from the philosophical to the mundane. Conversations about foot massages and blueberry pie bump up against Bible verses and reflections on fate and redemption.
The film’s 1995 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay was a fitting achievement for Tarantino, who many regard as the snappiest writer in film history. Countless other filmmakers have looked to replicate Pulp Fiction’s mashup of cool and coarse.
Needle drops are just as important in establishing Pulp Fiction’s mood and tone. The film’s eclectic soundtrack pings between surf rock, soul and classic rock ‘n’ roll.
The soundtrack peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard 200 in 1994 and stayed in the charts for more than a year.
Dividing the critics
Though it was officially released in October 1994, Pulp Fiction had already made a stir earlier that by winning the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Many expected Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colours: Red to take the top prize. Tarantino himself seemed stunned, telling the Cannes audience: “I don’t make the kind of movies that bring people together. I make movies that split people apart.”
The film has divided critics ever since.
Many adored Pulp Fiction for its intoxicating allure and sheer adrenaline-fuelled pleasure. To this day it maintains a 92% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Film critic Todd McCarthy called it a film “bulging with boldness, humour and diabolical invention”.
But the backlash was equally robust. Some criticised the film for its excessive gore and irresponsible use of racial slurs. Screenwriting guru Syd Field felt it was too shallow and too talky. Jean-Luc Godard, once one of Tarantino’s idol, apparently hated it.
Nonetheless, its financial success (a box office return of US$213 million from an $8 million budget) signalled the growing importance and cultural prestige of independent US films. Miramax, the studio that backed it, went on to become a major force in the industry.
The 1994 film made stars of Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman. IMDB
A lasting legacy
Shortly after Pulp Fiction’s release, the word “Tarantinoesque” appeared in the Oxofrd English Dictionary. The entry reads:
Resembling or imitative of the films of Quentin Tarantino; characteristic or reminiscent of these films Tarantino’s films are typically characterised by graphic and stylized violence, non-linear storylines, cineliterate references, satirical themes, and sharp dialogue.
Pulp Fiction has since been parodied and knocked off countless times. Hollywood suddenly began mass-producing low-budget crime thrillers with witty, self-reflexive dialogue. Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead (1995), 2 Days In The Valley (1996) and Very Bad Things (1998) are just some example.
Graffiti artist Bansky even stencilled the likeness of Jules and Vincent all over London, with bananas in place of guns. The Simpsons got in on the act too.
Ultimately all I’m trying to do is merge sophisticated storytelling with lurid subject matter. I reckon that makes for an entertaining night at the movies.
I’d say there’s no better way to describe Pulp Fiction.
Ben McCann does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Against the backdrop of the ongoing hostilities in southern Lebanon and despite attacks that have hit United Nations positions, injuring a number of peacekeepers in the past several days, UNIFIL peacekeepers remain in all positions and the UN flag continues to fly. The Secretary-General pays tribute to the dedicated personnel of UNIFIL.
The Secretary-General reiterates that the safety and security of UN personnel and property must be guaranteed and that the inviolability of UN premises must be respected at all times without qualification. In a deeply worrying incident that occurred today, the entrance door of a UN position was deliberately breached by IDF armored vehicles.
UNIFIL continuously assesses and reviews all factors to determine its posture and presence. The mission is taking all possible measures to ensure the protection of its peacekeepers. UNIFIL’s role and its presence in southern Lebanon is mandated by the UN Security Council. In this context, UNIFIL is committed to preserving its capacity to support a diplomatic solution based on resolution 1701, which is the only possible way forward.
The Secretary-General reiterates that UNIFIL personnel and its premises must never be targeted. Attacks against peacekeepers are in breach of international law, including international humanitarian law. They may constitute a war crime.
He calls on all parties, including the IDF, to refrain from any and all actions that put our peacekeepers at risk. The Secretary-General takes the opportunity to reiterate the call for a cessation of hostilities and the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
VICTORIA, Seychelles, Oct. 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitget, the leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company, is excited to announce the listing ofX Empire’s X Coin (X) on its Pre-Market platform, giving users early access to this rapidly growing project. Built on the TON blockchain, X Empire is an innovative AI-powered platform that merges digital identity creation with personalized NFTs and blockchain gaming. This move further establishes Bitget as a top platform for supporting Telegram Mini-App tokens, following the success of previous listings such as DOGS, Notcoin, and Hamster Kombat.
Originally launched as a Telegram Mini-App Game, X Empire has quickly transformed into a comprehensive AI-based ecosystem. By combining blockchain and AI technologies, X Empire enables users to create and trade personalized NFT avatars. These avatars can be used both in gaming and as valuable digital assets, opening up new revenue opportunities for users. The integration with the TON blockchain ensures seamless NFT creation and transactions, making the platform highly accessible for both Web2 and Web3 users.
Boasting over 36 million monthly active users and 22 million subscribers on Telegram, X Empire has emerged as a leading project within the TON ecosystem. With over 7 million views per post and 100,000+ interactions, X Empire is one of the most engaged platforms in the mini-app gaming space, offering users an immersive experience that goes beyond just gaming.
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About Bitget
Established in 2018, Bitget is the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company. Serving over 45 million users in 150+ countries and regions, the Bitget exchange is committed to helping users trade smarter with its pioneering copy trading feature and other trading solutions. Formerly known as BitKeep, Bitget Wallet is a world-class multi-chain crypto wallet that offers an array of comprehensive Web3 solutions and features including wallet functionality, swap, NFT Marketplace, DApp browser, and more. Bitget inspires individuals to embrace crypto through collaborations with credible partners, including being the Official Crypto Partner of the World’s Top Professional Football League, LALIGA, in EASTERN, SEA and LATAM market, as well as a global partner of Turkish National athletes Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu (Wrestling world champion), Samet Gümüş (Boxing gold medalist) and İlkin Aydın (Volleyball national team).
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gainst the backdrop of the ongoing hostilities in southern Lebanon and despite attacks that have hit United Nations positions, injuring a number of peacekeepers in the past several days, UNIFIL peacekeepers remain in all positions and the UN flag continues to fly. The Secretary-General pays tribute to the dedicated personnel of UNIFIL.
The Secretary-General reiterates that the safety and security of UN personnel and property must be guaranteed and that the inviolability of UN premises must be respected at all times without qualification. In a deeply worrying incident that occurred today, the entrance door of a UN position was deliberately breached by IDF armored vehicles.
UNIFIL continuously assesses and reviews all factors to determine its posture and presence. The mission is taking all possible measures to ensure the protection of its peacekeepers. UNIFIL’s role and its presence in southern Lebanon is mandated by the UN Security Council. In this context, UNIFIL is committed to preserving its capacity to support a diplomatic solution based on resolution 1701, which is the only possible way forward.
The Secretary-General reiterates that UNIFIL personnel and its premises must never be targeted. Attacks against peacekeepers are in breach of international law, including international humanitarian law. They may constitute a war crime.
He calls on all parties, including the IDF, to refrain from any and all actions that put our peacekeepers at risk. The Secretary-General takes the opportunity to reiterate the call for a cessation of hostilities and the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
It’s one year since the failed referendum to enshrine a First Nations Voice to Parliament in the Australian Constitution.
The vote represents a moment of deep sadness and frustration for many First Nations people for the lost opportunity to move towards meaningful change in our lives, communities and for our futures. Many elders and old people will likely not live to see change.
To my mind, no single thing doomed the Voice. It was a mix of a lot of the above.
Albanese treating the referendum like an election campaign but without the usual level of resourcing and advocacy. The Coalition’s outright opposition to the idea (despite previous indications of support). The media’s failure to grapple with Indigenous issues and dogmatic insistence on giving prominence to “both sides” of the debate.
The YES23 organisation was also disorganised from the start. Yes campaigners were forced onto the back foot daily by relentless misinformation, seemingly deliberate, from the No campaign.
It was further amplified by the No campaign’s very successful “If you don’t know, vote no” slogan – the idea being that their untruths warranted little scrutiny.
That’s on top of a large undercurrent of racism that was never properly called out, and which has never been properly addressed.
Campaigns like this are something we as a nation haven’t come to terms with. We’ve seen in the United States how effective misinformation can be at confusing people, creating false senses of reality and distorting public perception.
Even if Australians supported the ideas behind the Voice in the abstract, neither they nor the media were prepared for the level of dishonesty and bad dealing from the No campaign. It was never a fair fight.
No, no, and no again
The Voice to Parliament represented a consensus plea from Indigenous communities for systemic reform. The idea was that the structure of the Australian political system was, either by design or outcome, causing many of the social and economic issues that we face, and therefore a structural solution was needed.
The No campaign claimed after the referendum that the result was a rejection of this idea of a Voice to Parliament as a solution to issues in Indigenous communities or among Indigenous peoples more generally, “because it wasn’t going to fix the things that needed to be fixed”.
Prominent No campaigner Warren Mundine even called the referendum the “most divisive, most racially charged attack on Australia I’ve ever seen”.
I am not bringing up these issues again to relitigate the issues of the referendum. Instead, I want to ask a very important question: the Voice to Parliament was designed to address our systemic disadvantage, so what solutions to these serious structural issues have any of the No campaigners offered in the past 12 months?
We have seen some policies from the Coalition. Plans to reduce “fly in, fly out” workers in remote communities. Reforming land rights and native title. A royal commission into child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities. Less need for programs with “a specific Indigenous focus” in urban areas, where most First Nations people live.
Some of these are just a rehash of failed Coalition policies of the past, as many others have mentioned. Some appear to have come personally from Senator Jacinta Price and are seemingly not backed by experts (or many people in Indigenous communities). Others appear to be tied directly into conservative political talking points, rather than really addressing Indigenous need.
The Coalition also abandoned its plan for an alternative second referendum almost immediately after the failed vote.
The Coalition and other leading No campaigners clearly have no plans to address the structural issues facing our peoples. They’re only offering more of the regular policy tinkering and seesawing we have seen far too often before.
Abandoning the cause
The same is true of the government. I have already written for this masthead about the government’s abject failures at implementing the Closing the Gap targets and its lack of meaningful consultation.
The government’s current attempts at Indigenous policy remain exercises in seeking consent over genuine consultation. Its proposed “economic empowerment” agenda for First Nations peoples is a perfect example.
Aside from the lack of codesign and meaningful engagement, such policies have been bandied about for the better part of two decades and still have not substantively moved the dial.
The pursuit of market-based wealth for some privileged few First Nations peoples and communities, under the guise of closing the gap, as well as focusing on the overexaggerated benefits of renewable energy as a driver of Indigenous economic power, is not “economic development” for all mobs.
The policy focus was also announced as Albanese abandoned his commitment to a Makaratta Commission – the Treaty and Truth components that were meant to follow the Voice to Parliament.
These ideas fall into the same tired policy stereotypes of throwing money at some of the usual organisations and peoples who have long benefited, and claiming this solves the systemic problems we face. The problem isn’t money, it’s the very rules of the game.
Charting a way forward
Research following the referendum shows that 87% of Australians think First Nations peoples should be able to decide for ourselves about our way of life. Moreover, 64% think the disadvantages faced by our communities warrant extra government attention, and 68% believe this disadvantage comes from “past race-based policies”.
Only 35% believe Indigenous peoples are now treated equally to other Australians, and only 37% believe injustices faced by our community are “all in the past”.
This clearly shows a level of recognition by the Australian people that something needs to be done about Indigenous policy and the structural issues in this country.
According to the same data, 87% of Australians agree it is “important for First Nations peoples to have a voice/say in matters that affect them”. This jumps to 98.5% among Yes voters, but also is true of 76% of No voters.
This suggests that Australian people see the problem and can identify the structural issues.
The real work, then, is on civics education, getting people to understand that the structural issues they can see need structural change; but also making them more aware of the effects of misinformation. It’s not right that proposals that should get the support of the Australian people can be derailed the way this was.
But what also isn’t right is the current abdication of Indigenous policy by both major parties and their abandonment of any attempt to remedy structural issues. Following the referendum, the major parties have given up.
To paraphrase myself from February’s Closing the Gap announcement: the next time you run into an MP, ask them what their plan for Indigenous people is. Ask them not just about closing the gap, but to fix the structural issues that so clearly disadvantage our people.
That’s the question no one wants to answer, but it’s what we need to do if we are to move on from the 2023 referendum in a positive direction.
James Blackwell is a member of the Uluru Dialogue at UNSW. He is also an Independent Councillor for Hilltops Council in NSW.
In response, the Australian government has organised evacuation flights for Australian citizens and is urging all Australians in Lebanon to take the earliest available flights due to the unpredictable nature of the conflict.
For the more than 248,000 Australians with Lebanese ancestry, and others, this has been a deeply distressing time.
Escalating violence in Lebanon has also resonated deeply with other diasporas in Australia, such as those from Palestine and Ukraine. These scattered communities share similar experiences of conflict and displacement.
So how do Australians with links to Lebanon, Gaza or other conflict zones look after their mental health at this time? And how can you support others who may be struggling?
Identifying with pain and suffering
People with emotional ties to conflict zones overseas identify with the pain and suffering they see and hear. Australians with shared cultural heritage may be living in the shadow of homeland events and experiencing what research has called “push-pull” dynamics.
This may be experiencing periods of calm and ease mixed with intermittent periods of intense fear, uncertainty and emotional pain as upsetting events unfold.
For some, sleeplessness, irritability, fear, frustration, uncertainty and emotional exhaustion combine. People are no longer isolated from their country of origin. Rather, global events influence their personal and social life, and mental health.
The way people manage the interplay between homeland events, sense of powerlessness, and mental health in Australia are complex. It is easy to be rapidly consumed by what is happening. Events are graphic, compelling and fast moving.
How to look after yourself
So what can you do if you notice yourself or someone close to you is becoming impacted?
Know your distress triggers. For some, this might be witnessing violence on television news or social media. For others, this might be stories about children and young people who have been killed. Seeing and hearing images and stories can be distressing if they are repeated across multiple platforms. Some people may need to minimise their media exposure.
Talk to people you trust about how you are feeling. Describe what is happening and what you notice about yourself. If you are feeling fragile or concerned about your mental health, or the mental health of a loved one, seek support from your health-care provider.
Reconnect with and strengthen personal support networks. Supportive cultural connections and family members, and other supports including friends and colleagues, can protect against the onset or worsening of mental distress.
Getting help early can create more options for support. It can also make it easier to accept help in the future.
Refer to trusted sources of information and calibrate media exposure. While many people need to know about events, news stories and imagery are distressing.
Incorporate activities that comfort and distract you, and make your situation feel safer. This can include:
spending time with family members or friends
spiritual, faith or religious reconnecting
distraction through music or food.
Avoid taking devices to bed to protect your sleep and your mental health.
How to support others
If you work with or support someone who is impacted, recognise this is a time for sensitivity and compassion. Show you are concerned and, at the same time, check they’re OK. Ask:
What would be most helpful in our support for you?
What is the best way for me/the team at work to be supportive and alongside you?
It is also important to ask about someone’s mental health. You can ask:
With events unfolding, how are things at home for you right now?
When validating a person’s experience, remember it is not always important to know personal detail or circumstances in fine detail. What is important is to demonstrate genuine interest, create trust and psychological safety. Aim to really listen, rather than listening so you can respond.
As a friend, colleague or manager, offering support and listening without judgement may help a person impacted by global catastrophic events.
In times like these, validation, human connection and support are some of the best things you can do to protect your own and other people’s mental health.
Sometimes it can be hard to find the words. Here’s what we know helps.
If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Nicholas Procter currently receives funding from Overseas Services to Survivors of Torture and Trauma, Foundation House and SA Health. He has previously received sitting fees from the Department of Home Affairs.
Mary Anne Kenny has previous received funding from the Australian Research Council and sitting fees from the Department of Home Affairs.
Battery electric vehicle sales in Australia have flattened in recent months. The latest data reveal a sharp 27.2% year-on-year decline (overall new vehicle sales were down 9.7%) in September. Tesla Model Y and Model 3 cars had an even steeper drop of nearly 50%.
Sales also fell in August (by 18.5%) and July (1.5%). There’s a clear downward trend.
Before this downturn, electric vehicle sales had been rising steadily, supported by increased choices and government incentives. In early 2024, year-to-date sales continued to grow compared to the same period in 2023. Then, in April, electric vehicle sales fell for the first time in more than two years.
Australia isn’t simply mirroring a broader global trend. It’s true sales have slowed in parts of Europe and the United States — often due to reduced incentives. But strong sales growth continues in other regions, such as China and India.
A range of factors or combinations of them could help explain the trend in Australia. These include governments axing incentives, concerns about safety and depreciation, and misinformation.
Federal, state and territory governments also provide financial incentives to buy electric vehicles. These have been among the main drivers of sales in Australia.
Nationally, incentives include a higher luxury car tax threshold and exemptions from fringe benefits tax and customs duty. But several states and territories have scaled back their rebate programs and tax exemptions in 2023 and 2024.
New South Wales and South Australia ended their $3,000 rebates on January 1 this year. At the same time, NSW ended a stamp duty refund for new and used zero-emission vehicles up to a value of $78,000. Both incentives had been offered since 2021.
Victoria ended its $3,000 rebate, also launched in 2021, in mid-2023.
Buyers are increasingly opting for hybrid vehicles instead. In September, sales of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles were up by 34.4% and 89.9%, respectively.
These sales trends reflect other consumer concerns beyond just the upfront cost.
Resale value worries buyers
One major issue for car buyers in Australia, and globally, is uncertainty about their resale value. Consumers are concerned electric vehicles depreciate faster than traditional cars.
These concerns are particularly tied to battery degradation, which affects a car’s range and performance over time. And batteries account for much of the vehicle’s total cost. Potential buyers worry about the long-term value of a used electric vehicle with an ageing battery.
For example, a 2021 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus with nearly 85,000km currently lists for about $34,000. It has lost roughly half its value in just three years.
While Tesla offers transferable four-year warranties and software updates, the rapid evolution of EV technology also makes older second-hand models less desirable, further reducing their value.
Fires raise fears about safety
Electric vehicle fires have made headlines globally. This has created doubts among consumers about the risks of owning them.
Incidents of electric vehicle fires have increased along with vehicle numbers. Statistically, these vehicles are not more prone to fires than conventional cars – in fact, the risk is clearly lower.
For example, analysis of publicly available statistics from South Korean government agencies, one of the early adopters of electric vehicles, show the number of fires per registered electric vehicle is steadily increasing. Fire risk remains lower than for traditional vehicles, although the gap is shrinking as the electric vehicle fleet ages. And the highly publicised nature of their fires is a source of growing buyer hesitancy.
The full environmental benefits of electric vehicles depend on widespread adoption. However, there is a wide gap between early adopters’ experiences and potential buyers’ perceptions.
The politicisation of green initiatives adds to the challenge. When electric vehicles become associated with a specific political ideology, it can alienate large parts of the population. Adoption then becomes slower and more divisive.
Green transition is a work in progress
The electric vehicle market in Australia is facing challenges, despite the growing variety of models and price cuts.
The EV sales trend signals deeper issues in the market. Broader trends, such as the dominance of SUVs and utes, underscore the fact that while the transition to greener vehicles is progressing, it remains uneven.
Further efforts will be needed to reduce misconceptions and misinformation, and bridge the gap between owners’ experience and potential buyers’ perceptions. Only then can Australia enjoy the environmental benefits of widespread EV adoption.
Hadi Ghaderi receives funding from the iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre, Transport for New South Wales, Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, IVECO Trucks Australia limited, Victoria Department of Education and Training, Australia Post, Bondi Laboratories, Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre, Sphere for Good, Australian Meat Processor Corporation,City of Casey, 460degrees and Passel.
Milad Haghani does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
ACT’s Local Government spokesperson Cameron Luxton is urging Wellington City Council to dig deep on cuts to wasteful spending as it revisits its long-term plan following the cancellation of the sale of the Council’s airport shares this week.
“With or without the sale, it’s clear that that the council is spending far too much, hiking rates too far, and strangling the life out of the city,” says Mr Luxton.
“It is a failure of governance that the Mayor and those councillors in favour of the sale were not able to convince their colleagues that the proceeds from the sale would not be wasted.
“No council should own an airport, but equally, no council should be spending as recklessly as Wellington is.
“Looking at the previously approved long-term plan, and related documents, obvious areas for savings include:
$112.9m to remove car access along the Golden mile
At least $104.4m on rescuing the city library
$115.2m on cycle lanes
$114m on a food waste recycling scheme and wheelie bins for general rubbish to be collected less frequently than the status quo
“These obvious areas for savings just scratch the service but collectively would far outstrip the roughly $321 million value of the airport shares.
“With the dire state of the council’s finances, even sacred cows like the wrecked Town Hall and the zoo should be on the table for sale.
“This week’s decision was a scathing indictment on the Council’s ability to serve the people on Wellington. But if the failure to sell airport shares forces the Council to take a hard look at its spending, that’s a silver lining.
“The introduction of unelected commissioners, as we saw in Tauranga, would be a disastrous outcome. Wellington’s council must urgently demonstrate its competence, dig deep to cut low-value spending and liquidate assets, and finally show some respect to ratepayers.”
The closure of a satellite medical practice at Waikanae Beach is the latest symptom of a growing crisis in primary healthcare caused by years of inadequate funding.
“Waikanae Beach patients, many of whom are elderly and high needs, will now have to travel much further to access medical help at Waikanae Health. This puts more even pressure on this health provider,” said Angus Chambers, Chair of the General Practice Owners Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (GenPro).
“In addition to closing its satellite practice, Waikanae Health also says it has stopped taking on new patients, withdrawn from delivering care at four rest homes, and quit almost all out-of-hours and home consultations. All would have been difficult decisions for the owners of the practice.
“The biggest concern is the impact on patients. But it’s also sad that this, and other closures and reductions in services, elicit no response from the government or Te Whatu Ora, which seem resigned to the gradual erosion of primary healthcare”.
“The state is disinterested in these closures and appears to expect general practice care to be replaced by pharmacies and telehealth, as they are cheaper options. Government is either unconcerned or ignorant to the fact that outcomes will suffer and cost more in the long term,” Dr Chambers said.
General practices are in crisis due to years of under-funding by government and are constrained by out-of-date rules which limit patient charges. They’re also struggling with higher costs, greater patient need, and shortages of medical professionals.
The pressures facing general practices are well documented. Barely a month goes by without a general practice closing, ceasing patient enrolments, or reducing services such as after-hours care.
“Waikanae’s issues are also reflective of the national trend for hospitals to push more and more patients back to GPs, and the impact of changes in eligibility for Community Services Cards that disadvantaged some practices with a high proportion of card holders with high health needs, such as Waikanae.
“The result of this cocktail of problems is that practices are struggling to stay afloat and retain and recruit GPs, meaning long days and staff burn out. Early retirement, reduction in services and, as we regrettably see again today, practice closures are logical consequences. “
“The government must as a matter of urgency increase its support of primary healthcare, overhaul the current out-of-date funding model, and help increase the supply of medical professionals into primary healthcare,” said Dr Chambers.
GenPro, which represents about half of all general practices in Aotearoa, is ready to work with the Minister of Health and the Health NZ Commissioner to develop the solutions needed.
Electronic card transactions: September 2024 – information release – 14 October 2024 – The electronic card transactions (ECT) series cover debit, credit, and charge card transactions with New Zealand-based merchants. The series can be used to indicate changes in consumer spending and economic activity.
Key facts All figures are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified.
Values are at the national level and are not adjusted for price changes.
September 2024 month Changes in the value of electronic card transactions for the September 2024 month (compared with August 2024) were:
spending in the retail industries was unchanged
spending in the core retail industries increased 0.3 percent ($19 million).
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