Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (21st District of New York)
Stefanik, Malliotakis Reintroduce Legislation to Impose Penalties on Antisemitic Universities | Press Releases | Congresswoman Elise Stefanik
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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Donald Norcross (1st District of New Jersey)
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the office of Congressman Donald Norcross released a statement on the Congressman’s recent medical event.
“Congressman Donald Norcross was traveling over the weekend and suffered an emergency medical event likely related to his gallbladder. He was admitted to UNC Rex Hospital in North Carolina on Sunday and is in stable condition, where he is receiving exceptional medical treatment. He is currently in good spirits and wants to thank the doctors, nurses, and support staff at UNC Rex Hospital for all their work on his behalf during his stay. When the Congressman is medically cleared to fly, he will be transferred back home to Cooper University Health Care in the coming days to complete his recovery. “
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Strating, Director, La Trobe Asia, and Professor of International Relations, La Trobe University
Much of the world is finding out it’s a very difficult time to be a friend and ally of the United States.
That includes the major parties vying for power at the May 3 federal election. While voters may be preoccupied with the cost of living, it’s impossible to ignore the global tumult caused by the second Trump administration.
Who would have thought six months ago that the US would vote alongside Russia and North Korea on UN resolutions on Ukraine, while China abstained? Or that it would propose transforming Gaza into a Mediterranean resort?
Given the uncertainty reverberating across the globe, do we need to rethink our major foreign relations? Will the ANZUS alliance survive the second Trump presidency unscathed?
Whoever forms Australia’s next government must diversify its approach to foreign policy to include more engagement with partners in Asia and the Pacific. It does not mean abandoning the US alliance, but it does mean avoiding over-reliance.
US President Donald Trump’s widespread imposition of tariffs is unravelling the global economic order.
Australia was not specifically singled out for punishment. Nevertheless, the 10% slug on Australian imports prompted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to condemn the tariffs as illogical:
they go against the basis of our two nations’ partnership. This is not the act of a friend.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was equally frank when he complained about Australia’s poor treatment:
We have a special relationship with the United States and it hasn’t been treated with respect by the administration or the president.
We have been let off relatively lightly compared with many other economies. But there may be an unforeseen strategic impact on Australia. For example, will other countries in our region decide that China is a more trustworthy partner than the US? What would that do for regional stability?
Dutton has questioned whether Albanese has the right character as leader to deal effectively with Trump.
It is unlikely any Australian prime minister could have done much to avoid the tariffs. We should consider the possibility that Trump doesn’t think much about Australia, which will shape the bilateral relationship for the foreseeable future.
Trump himself remains the wild card. His administration has prioritised ending the war in Ukraine, alienating European allies along the way.
The question for partners in Asia, including Australia, is whether the US is clearing the decks in Europe so it can focus on its main competitor: China. There are plenty of Beijing hawks in the administration, and China has been slapped with the steepest tariffs, which total 54%.
In Australia, we often worry about being dragged into a great power conflict in the region. And we do appear to be entering a world of even more rapid militarisation, with all the security risks that would entail.
The signing of the AUKUS submarine agreement in 2021 was one of the clearest signals to date that Australia was siding unequivocally with Washington. In the same year, Dutton declared it “inconceivable” Australia would not join the US in defending Taiwan if it was attacked by China.
But now, there is an entirely different issue Australia needs to consider. The US rapprochement with Russia might be interpreted as a portent of future deal-making with other authoritarian leaders, including Xi Jinping.
We can’t rule out Trump and Xi cutting a highly transactional deal on Chinese annexation of Taiwan. While this is unlikely, the security calculus now needs to incorporate a diverse range of plausible futures that previously seemed off the table.
A Taiwan bargain would make regional partners, including Australia, extremely nervous. If the US is willing to abandon Taiwan, it might be willing to abandon other allies as well.
The recent transit through Australian waters by Chinese naval vessels focused attention on whether Australian defence capabilities are sufficient to protect our coastline – and whether the Albanese government’s response was too tepid.
Yet, it is the opposition that has tempered its rhetoric on China, notwithstanding its policy commitment to end the 99-year lease of the Port of Darwin to Chinese firm Landbridge.
Peter Dutton has declared himself to be “pro-China”:
the relationship with China will be much stronger than it is under the Albanese government
This reflects lessons learned from the last election when a stronger tone on China hurt the Coalition among Mandarin-speaking voters.
Rather than talking up the China threat, the narrative is instead around the need to increase defence spending.
The Trump administration wants Australia to share more of the burden by lifting defence spending above 3% of GDP. Such a ramp-up may not be feasible in financial terms.
While Australia does need to boost military capabilities, increased spending should be determined by independent, evidence-based assessments of Australia’s defence needs.
Neither major party is questioning the alliance, which will survive the second coming of Trump. Nor will there be any debate over the AUKUS submarines, for which there is bipartisan support.
Any difference between Labor and the Coalition is likely to be on the periphery. However, one important difference will be how the respective parties think about our region. As Dutton recently demonstrated, the Coalition is less focused than Labor on relations with Asia.
While Trump is sucking up much of the oxygen in Australia’s foreign relations, we simply cannot afford to forget about our partners throughout the Asia-Pacific.
This is the second article in our special series, Australia’s Policy Challenges. You can read the first piece in the series here.
Rebecca Strating receives funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
– ref. Donald Trump has gatecrashed the federal election. It’s creating huge challenges for Australia’s next government – https://theconversation.com/donald-trump-has-gatecrashed-the-federal-election-its-creating-huge-challenges-for-australias-next-government-251912
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11)
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) was joined by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21) and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) in reintroducing the University Accountability Act, legislation that would fine tax-exempt schools that violate students’ civil rights under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The legislation comes as colleges and universities across the United States still remain under fire for allowing and enabling antisemitic students to wreak havoc on their campuses.
Under current federal law, a violation of Title VI, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin, can result in the loss of federal funds, but often times results in a mere corrective action that would bring the college or university back into compliance. The University Accountability Act would require colleges and universities that meet the penalty criteria to pay a fine of either five percent of the school’s aggregate administrative compensation as reported on the school’s Form 990, or $100,000, whichever is greater. After three civil rights violations, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would be required to review the college or university’s tax-exempt status for possible revocation.
“Universities have a responsibility to protect their students from violence and discrimination but, instead, we’re seeing a disturbing increase in antisemitic attacks and rhetoric on college campuses,” said Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis. “Our legislation seeks to hold these institutions accountable and encourage them to investigate and crack down on instances of antisemitism to help foster a safer academic environment for all students, regardless of their gender, race or religion.”
“I will continue to lead efforts to rid our colleges and universities of antisemitism alongside President Trump who is delivering on his promise to hold these failed institutions accountable for their neglect and abandonment of our Jewish students. The University Accountability Act will impose penalties on universities who violate the civil rights of their own students and put their undeserved tax-exempt status on the chopping block,” said Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.
“Since the horrific October 7, 2023, attacks, there has been a sharp rise in anti-Semitic rhetoric and violence on campuses, threatening Jewish students. The University Accountability Act ensures that any institution condoning this behavior is penalized by revoking its tax-exempt status and imposing harsh financial penalties. Not a dime of our tax dollars should be used to support colleges and universities that foster such heinous anti-Semitism,” said Congresswoman Claudia Tenney.
Last Congress, Malliotakis introduced several pieces of legislation to hold universities accountable, including the Combating Antisemitic Messaging and Promoting Unity in School Act (CAMPUS) Act, that would prohibit federal funding from going to schools that provide funding, tuition assistance, support, or a platform to an organization that engages in antisemitic behavior or fails to hold a faculty member who promotes antisemitism accountable, and the No Visas for Antisemitic Students Act, that would revoke students visas of foreign students in the United States who engage in antisemitic behavior.
View the Bill Text HERE.
Malliotakis is a member of the bipartisan House-Knesset Parliamentary Friendship Group, and has voted for, introduced and cosponsored several pieces of legislation to provide critical military assistance to Israel, restore maximum pressure on Iran, crackdown on rising antisemitism on college campuses and secure federal security grants for the local Jewish community.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is cosponsoring bipartisan legislation to help international students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) remain in the United States. The Keep STEM Talent Act would streamline the bureaucratic process for international students to obtain legal status and bolster the United States’ STEM labor force. The legislation would ensure that American born participants in the STEM labor market receive preference in the hiring process.
“In order for the U.S. to remain a leader in science and technology, we need highly skilled STEM graduates to stick around after graduation—even if they were born abroad,” said Senator King. “The Keep STEM Talent Act is a commonsense step toward keeping the world’s brightest minds in STEM in the U.S., while ensuring American born workers retain a leg-up in the job market.”
Specifically, the Keep STEM Talent Act:
Endorsers of the Keep STEM Talent Act include: the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers USA; American Mathematical Society; American Physical Society; the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO; American Federation of Teachers; SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics; Association of American Universities; Information Technology Industry Council; American Council on Education; International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers; Society of Women Engineers; NAFSA: Association of International Educators; Optica; American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.
In addition to Senator King, this legislation is sponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mike Rounds (R-SD).
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, Senator King is a staunch supporter of promoting American innovation in emerging technologies. In addition to advocating for US technology independence and expanding broadband connections across America, King has supported expanding STEM education for Maine students.
The full text of the resolution is available here.
Source: NASA
Long before joining NASA’s Test and Evaluation Support Team contract in October 2024, Angel Saenz was already an engineer at heart.
A STEM education program at his high school helped unlock that passion, setting him on a path that would eventually lead to NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
The program – FIRST Robotics Competition – is run by global nonprofit, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). It was the brainchild of prolific inventor Dean Kamen, best known for creating the Segway.
In what the organization calls “the ultimate sport for the mind,” teams of students spend six weeks working under adult mentors—and strict rules—to design, program, and build industrial-sized robots before facing off in a themed tournament. Teams earn points for accomplishing various engineering feats, launching, grappling, and climbing their way through the obstacles of a game that’s less football and more American Ninja Warrior.
Competing during the 2013 and 2014 seasons with the White Sands-sponsored Deming Thundercats, Saenz said FIRST was a link between abstract mathematical ideas and real-world applications.
“Before joining FIRST, equations were just something I was told to solve for a grade, but now I was applying them and seeing how they were actually useful,” he said.
By turning education into an extracurricular activity as compelling as video games and as competitive as any varsity sport, FIRST completely reshaped Saenz’s approach to learning.
“There are lots of other things kids can choose to do outside of school, but engineering was always that thing for me,” he said. “I associate it with being a fun activity, I see it more as a hobby.”
That kind of energy—as any engineer knows—cannot be destroyed. Today Saenz channels it into his work, tackling challenges with White Sand’s Composite Pressure group where he tests and analyzes pressure vessel systems, enabling their safe use in space programs.
“Having that foundation really helps ground me,” he said. “When I see a problem, I can look back and say, ‘That’s like what happened in FIRST Robotics and here’s how we solved it.’”
Deming High School teacher and robotics mentor David Wertz recognized Saenz’s aptitude for engineering, even when Saenz could not yet see it in himself.
“He wasn’t aware that we were using the engineering process as we built our robot,” Wertz said, “but he was always looking for ways to iterate and improve our designs.”
Saenz credits those early hands-on experiences for giving him a head start.
“It taught me a lot of concepts that weren’t supposed to be learned until college,” he said.
Armed with that knowledge, Saenz graduated from New Mexico State University in 2019 with a dual degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering.
Now 28 years old, Saenz is already an accomplished professional. He adds White Sands to an impressive resume that includes past experiences with Albuquerque-based global manufacturing company Jabil and Kirtland Airforce Base.
Though only five months into the job, Saenz’s future at White Sands was set into motion more than a decade ago when he took a field trip to the site with Wertz in 2013.
“The kind invitations to present at White Sands or to take a tour of the facility has inspired many of the students to pursue degrees in engineering and STEM,” Wertz said. “The partnership continues to allow students to see the opportunities that are available for them if they are willing to put in the work.”
In a full-circle moment, Saenz and Mr. Wertz recently found themselves together at White Sands once again for the 2024 Environmental, Innovation, Safety, and Health Day event. This time not as student and teacher, but as industry colleagues in a reunion that could not have been better engineered.
The 2025 FIRST Robotics World Competition will take place in Houston at the George R. Brown Convention Center from April 16 to April 19. NASA will host an exciting robotics exhibit at the event, showcasing the future of technology and spaceflight. As many as 60,000 energetic fans, students, and industry leaders are expected to attend. Read more about NASA’s involvement with FIRST Robotics here.
Source: European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group opened an office in Latvia today to propel strategic investments and sustainable growth in the country. This office, located in the capital Riga, will focus on priority projects in areas including climate action, digitalisation, housing, security and defence.
The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), will use its presence in Riga to deepen cooperation with Latvian partners in the public and private sectors including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
“The establishment of our office in Riga marks a milestone in our efforts to enhance financial accessibility and strengthen local financial markets,” said EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros. “It will serve as a focal point, where we can listen, engage, and support domestic needs more actively. Our goal is to drive innovation, sustainable development, and economic growth across various sectors in Latvia and the broader Baltic region.”
“The opening of the EIB Group’s office in Riga highlights Latvia’s strategic importance and our commitment to sustainable development and economic growth,” said Latvian Finance Minister Arvils Ašeradens. “The EIB’s presence will enhance access to financing for public and private sector initiatives, strengthening the local financial market. We have already established successful cooperation with the EIB for affordable housing and are discussing further projects, including in the defence industry.”
The EIB Group has invested over €4 billion in Latvia since the start of operations in the country in 1994 – with more than €3.5 billion from the EIB and over €560 million from the EIF. Last year, EIB Group financing in Latvia totalled €82 million.
Recent EIB operations in the country include a €200 million loan for energy utility Latvenergo to refurbish the power-distribution network and a €25 million credit for the University of Latvia to build a state-of-the-art campus in Riga. For its part, the EIF has made recent financial commitments to a Latvian investment fund Merito Partners and to a fund managed by Latvia-based SG Capital.
Today, the bank is lending €70 million to municipal utility Rīgas ūdens to improve and expand Riga’s water-supply network. This project aims to reduce drinking-water seepages and bolster environmental protection.
Future EIB Group priorities in Latvia include supporting renewable energy projects such as solar, wind, and energy storage; improving infrastructure; and fostering business innovation and startups.
The EIB Group has recently approved additional measures to support security and defence in Europe. This will allow to finance projects dedicated to military uses, such as barracks, storage facilities, drones, helicopters, radars, satellites, advanced avionics, propulsion, and optics, while maintaining strong financing capacity.
The bank has a pipeline of 14 defence projects expected for approval across Europe, including drones, space, cybersecurity, and quantum technologies, as well as facilities enhancing Europe’s defence capabilities.
“I warmly welcome the EIB’s decision to open an office and establish a permanent presence in Riga,” said European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis. “This move demonstrates the EIB’s strong commitment to supporting economic development in Latvia, and the broader Baltic-region, during these uncertain times. It will allow the EIB to better respond to the evolving needs of the Latvian economy, particularly in key areas such as renewable energy, infrastructure development, capital markets, and security and defence. EIB’s local presence will also enable it to offer more effective, timely support, and tailored solutions to local businesses and the national authorities, making an important contribution to Latvia’s development.”
The new office, located in Novira Plaza, will be headed by Paulina Brzezicka, an experienced banker who had worked at EIB Group’s Luxembourg headquarters since 2013. “I am honoured to lead the EIB Group’s new office in Riga, reflecting the Bank’s commitment to the country. We have a strong pipeline of operations in Latvia and I look forward to collaborating with our local partners to support Latvia’s sustainable growth.”
The EIB Group’s Office in Riga reflects a reinforced commitment to the Baltics as a whole, where to date the organisation has had a hub in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius covering all three Baltic States. Tomorrow the EIB Group will open an office in the Estonian capital Tallinn.
Background information
EIB
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, high-impact investments outside the European Union, and the capital markets union.
The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.
All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.
Fostering market integration and mobilising investment, the Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024 and mobilised €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers. Approximately half of the EIB’s financing within the European Union is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average.
High-quality, up-to-date photos of our headquarters for media use are available here.
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Barbara Leckie, Professor, English and the Institute for the Comparative Study of Literature, Art, and Culture; Academic Director, Re.Climate: Centre for Climate Communication and Public Engagement, Carleton University
At 7 p.m. on Day 71 of Donald Trump’s presidency, United States Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, rose to speak on the Senate floor. He did not cede his right to speech (“the right to recognition”) until 25 hours later, at 8:05 p.m. the following day.
While the form of his speech resembled a filibuster — a prolonged speech designed to delay or prevent legislation — Booker’s speech was not aimed at any proposed law. Instead he was responding to what he called a “time of crisis” in the United States.
That crisis, in Booker’s view, is driven by the actions of the Trump administration, including executive orders and other actions that he argued are eroding democracy, exacerbating the climate crisis and dismantling programs that offer life-saving support to both Americans and people around the world.
Booker set a record for the longest continuous speech in the U.S. Senate, surpassing speeches by Ted Cruz in 2013 and Strom Thurmond in 1957. He had no food, bathroom or sitting breaks.
Booker’s speech, both a physical feat and a call to action, has been much lauded. But while the content of his speech and its calls for cross-aisle collaboration are admirable, as a literary critic, I believe the form of his speech deserves equal attention.
How Booker delivered the speech helps to bring into focus his call for a participatory democracy — where everyone is actively involved — using two main strategies: interruption of the current norm (disruption), and an appeal to collaboration (working together).
Based on my work in the climate humanities, interruption and working together are among the most effective and necessary ways to generate political action.
Two contrasting forms of interruption are important here: interruption that fosters reflection and interruption that discounts it.
The German philosopher Walter Benjamin developed the concept of interruption in the 1930s as a way to foster thinking in times of crisis.
Some types of theatre, for example, interrupt their story to break with conventions and remind viewers that they’re watching a play. Building on Benjamin’s idea of interruption, I’m interested in how interruption can work in our current era of political crisis.
The Trump administration practises the second form of interruption that discounts thinking.
The administration’s technique of “flooding the zone,” for example, produces new actions in such quick succession that the conditions for thinking are eviscerated.
Trump’s preferred mode of communication has also been social media, known for its short and punchy delivery. These communication strategies — flooding the zone and short social media posts — scatter attention.
With the speed and volume of the Trump administration’s actions, it can feel impossible to respond to — let alone reflect on — every executive order, every overreach, every unconstitutional or illegal move.
Until recently, the U.S. Democratic Party has neither changed the form of their political practice nor the form of their communications in any significant way.
I believe that shifted last week.
When Booker chose to rise in the Senate, he adopted Benjamin’s version of interruption — by changing the form. In this case, through a congressional address with the time-honoured practice of not ceding the floor.
Read more:
With Trump in charge, America is going back to more hostile times
His single, extended action of uninterrupted speech (except for questions and a prayer) was exactly the opposite of flooding the zone.
His 25-hour speech commanded and held attention. It was exactly the opposite of a hastily dispatched social media post.
He asked his audience to listen in a form that reminded them of what listening demands. Stopping. Paying attention. Thinking. Acting.
Booker stood alone at the podium for over 25 hours but he did not act alone.
His speech is a powerful performance of collaboration and working together. This recognition of a collective debt to others is also mirrored in his repetition of the phrase “we, the people.”
Here, too, the form of his speech is revealing. Literary critics pay attention to how documents open and close and how words are used and repeated.
His first words acknowledge his debt to the “pages …the folks that work the door, the clerks, the Parliamentarians.” And his last words return to this point, thanking again “the pages… the Parlimentarian staffs … the clerks …the doorkeepers.”
Throughout the speech, he reminds his audience that the people are “stronger together”. His words alone cannot stop the dismantling of democracy, he insists, but “we, the people” can.
The form of his address is an expansive act of inclusion and working together. It incorporates questions to his audience, letters, poetry and literature, questions from the floor, community stories and historical examples.
Two questions inform his speech overall: “Did you speak up?” and “what can I do?” (the first is repeated with variations 52 times and the second 36 times).
Questions invite connection, participation, response and more questions. Booker’s answer to the linked questions is to “stand up, speak up” and promote the collective action of the people.
One form of standing up and speaking up is writing letters to one’s political representatives. Over the course of his speech, Booker gave voice to these constituents and in doing so widened the circle of representation in Congress: “I am trying to elevate the voices,” he said, “that don’t get to come to this place — voices I am hearing from, voices that identify themselves as a Republican veteran, a Democrat.”
The letters he read generate connection, closed gaps, and, like questions, invite further responses.
Booker’s recitation of poetry and literature was similarly inclusive and expansive. He used his platform to share Langston Hughes’s lines, “To save the dream for one / It must be saved for all,” Alice Walker’s comment that, “the most common way people give up their power is not realizing they have it in the first place,” and a translation from the Bantu language, “I am because we are,” among many others.
In short, Booker bent the form of the congressional address to encourage “thousands of ignition points,” thousands of creative ways to bend the form and work together.
He joins his voice to those of his constituents, literary and historical figures, Americans past and future, and to others around the world in an effort, as he put it — adapting the words of Martin Luther King Jr. — “to bend the arc of our nation … toward justice.”
The endurance and content of Booker’s speech is important, but its form most interrupted this moment of political upheaval, invited its listeners to notice and think, and offered examples of “coming together” to support others, listen to their voices, share their stories and be “stronger together.”
Barbara Leckie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Trump, interrupted: Cory Booker’s 25-hour Senate speech calls for collective action – https://theconversation.com/trump-interrupted-cory-bookers-25-hour-senate-speech-calls-for-collective-action-253819
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Bill Hodgetts, Audiology Professor, Dept of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine., University of Alberta
When people think about hearing loss, they picture someone turning up the TV too loud or saying “what?” a lot. But what I’ve learned in more than 20 years as an audiologist is that hearing loss is rarely just about the ears.
It’s also about identity, emotion and effort. And for many people, that’s the harder part.
As a clinician and university professor, I’ve worked with hundreds of people who hesitated to seek help — not because they couldn’t afford it, or didn’t have access to care, but because doing so meant admitting something they weren’t ready to accept: that something fundamental had changed.
They were afraid of what that change said about them. About aging. About control. About being “that person” with hearing aids.
I’ve come to believe that hearing loss is as much a psychological journey as a medical one. And maybe if more people understood that, they’d feel less alone and more willing to take the first step.
Hearing loss doesn’t flip a switch from “normal” to “not hearing.” It’s slow, creeping. You start asking people to repeat themselves. You feel exhausted after social events. You laugh along with jokes you didn’t quite catch. You start withdrawing from the edges of conversations, and eventually from the conversations themselves.
What most people don’t realize is that hearing loss taxes your brain. Imagine trying to read a book in a dim room. You can do it, but it takes more concentration. That’s what listening is like for people with hearing loss, especially in noisy environments. The brain works overtime to fill in the blanks.
Over time, this constant strain leads to mental fatigue and reduced cognitive capacity for other things, like memory and decision-making.
It’s not just a guess — neuroimaging and longitudinal studies show it. In fact, large-scale research like the ACHIEVE study, a randomized controlled trial led by Johns Hopkins researchers, found that treating hearing loss in older adults at risk for cognitive decline reduced global cognitive deterioration by nearly 50 per cent over three years.
The effect was strongest among participants with increased risk due to lower cognitive reserve and higher social vulnerability.
This isn’t because hearing loss causes dementia directly. Rather, the constant cognitive strain, combined with the social withdrawal that often accompanies hearing loss, creates conditions where the brain is less stimulated, less resilient and more vulnerable over time.
So if hearing loss affects the brain and well-being, why don’t more people get help? This is where psychology enters the room.
Humans are emotional decision-makers. We think we’re rational, but in reality, we rely heavily on feelings, assumptions and mental short-cuts. In fact, behavioural research has shown that even trained clinicians can make inconsistent choices when emotions or personal beliefs come into play.
One of the strongest forces I see in clinic is cognitive dissonance. That’s the uncomfortable feeling when our beliefs don’t match our actions. For example, someone might believe they’re independent and capable, but needing hearing aids makes them feel dependent or “old.” That internal conflict can lead to denial, resistance and even anger.
Another common obstacle is self-efficacy — our belief in our ability to do something. I’ve met people who are successful in business or leadership but feel completely overwhelmed by the idea of managing hearing technology. Their fear isn’t the device — it’s failing at something unfamiliar.
Even the way people think about memory and aging can be distorted. If you forget a word in your 40s, you joke about being busy. If it happens in your 60s or 70s, you fear it’s a sign of decline. Add hearing loss to the mix, and that fear amplifies.
That’s why the stories we tell ourselves — and the ones society tells us — matter.
The first audiology appointment isn’t just about a hearing test. It’s a conversation. We talk about how hearing loss is affecting your life: your relationships, your work, your confidence. We explore goals, concerns and what matters most to you.
Sometimes, people expect to leave with a hearing aid and a fix. But managing hearing loss is a process, not a transaction. It takes time to adjust. Your brain has to relearn sounds it hasn’t heard clearly in a long time. That can be jarring, but also profoundly empowering.
This is why the relationship between clinician and client matters so much. Research consistently shows the most important factor in successful counselling — whether it’s for hearing or anything else — is trust. When people feel safe, valued and understood, they’re more open to trying, adapting and growing.
I often say that hearing aids are like umbrellas. They don’t stop the rain, but they help you stay dry. Similarly, hearing aids won’t reverse hearing loss or prevent aging. But they can reduce the strain of listening. They can help you stay socially connected. They can improve quality of life.
And as the ACHIEVE study reinforces, the cognitive benefits of intervention, especially those that are at a greater risk for cognitive decline, are not hypothetical — they’re real. When we help people hear better, we’re not just improving their social lives. We’re reducing their risk of accelerated brain decline.
Even if hearing aids didn’t offer cognitive protection, they’d still be worth it: for the joy of conversation, the ability to be present and the chance to fully participate in life.
I know it can be hard to ask for help. But getting help doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means you value connection. It means you want to stay involved. It means you’re taking control.
So here’s what I hope people take away: if you’re struggling to hear, get your hearing checked — even if it’s just to get a baseline.
If you’re offered treatment, give yourself time to adjust. It’s not about perfection; it’s about progress.
If you know someone who’s pulling away socially, talk to them. Hearing loss is invisible, but its effects are not.
And if you’re wearing hearing aids already, congratulations — you’re doing something incredibly proactive for your brain, your relationships and your future.
As audiologists, we don’t just fix ears — we help people reconnect with their world. And that’s something worth hearing.
Bill Hodgetts has received funding from various government agencies and foundations for his work including Mitacs, Western Economic Partnership Agreement, Oticon Foundation and others.
– ref. It’s not just about hearing: Why getting help for hearing loss is also a psychological journey – https://theconversation.com/its-not-just-about-hearing-why-getting-help-for-hearing-loss-is-also-a-psychological-journey-253730
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Sarah-Patricia Breen, Adjunct Professor, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph
The 2025 federal election is characterized by anxiety, primarily driven by the actions and economic consequences of United States President Donald Trump’s agenda.
As tariffs and threats to Canadian sovereignty continue, it is little wonder why election promises have so far focused on jobs, tax breaks, infrastructure reinvestment, trade and military spending.
While sovereignty and rising costs of food, energy and critical minerals are key election issues, rural Canada has not been the focus of any of the major political parties.
Rural Canada is home to roughly one in five Canadians. It’s also home to the vast majority of the Canadian land base, including watersheds and food sheds — geographical areas that supply food to the population — as well as energy sources, critical minerals and forests.
As Canada faces increasing economic uncertainty, rural areas will play a critical role in supplying essential resources. Ensuring they benefit from this role requires strong place- and evidence-based rural development programs and policies from the federal government, whoever leads it after April 28.
Significant challenges — from trade wars to climate change — impact every community across Canada. However, what this looks like and how this is felt on the ground is different across rural Canada. All too often government policies and programs fail rural citizens and communities in one of two ways:
They don’t account for the impact of rural Canada. This means policies and programs fail to consider how rural realities can interfere with their intended implementation.
They don’t account for the impact of policies and programs on rural Canada. These failures are the unintended impacts that “place-blind” policies and programs have on rural communities.
These policy failures are driven by an urban bias in federal policies and programs. This bias is a result of limited or obscured rural data and the concentration of policy and decision-makers in Ottawa. These policy failures contribute to larger problems, like Canada’s growing issue with regional disparities, often along rural-urban lines.
This is nothing new.
Read more:
Canadian election 2021: Why rural Canada must play a central role
Rural Canada has a long history of being misunderstood and poorly represented in federal policy. Past and current federal efforts to include rural Canada in policymaking have been sporadic or uneven.
A national Rural Secretariat was established in 1996, and a “rural lens” was established in 1998. Both had the express purpose of providing leadership and co-ordination related to rural and remote areas within the federal government. These programs were then dismantled by the former Conservative government in 2013.
In 2019, the Liberal government established Canada’s first minister of rural economic development. Alongside this came a strategy for rural Canada, new tools to incorporate rural considerations and the Centre for Rural Economic Development, which included regionally located rural advisers.
However, as of 2025, these efforts have been weakened or ignored. The minister for rural economic development is now the minister of agriculture and agri-food and rural economic development. The Centre for Rural Economic Development — now housed in a separate ministry from the minister — has quietly ended its regional rural adviser program.
These examples illustrate the ongoing uncertainty of how realities of rural Canada are integrated — or not — into federal policies and programs. Rural Canada is often lumped in with a particular sector, including agriculture or natural resources. The de facto rural policy then becomes sector-focused.
This is a problem, because rural communities often have little or no power over resource development decisions and are largely at the mercy of companies that can simply pack up and leave.
A sector-based approach also ignores the multiple, complex and integrated needs and opportunities across rural places. The 2024 State of Rural Canada illustrates this complexity of rural issues. It offers recommendations to policymakers, one of which is the development of a comprehensive, cross-sectoral strategy that recognizes the diversity of rural Canada and provides a framework for co-ordinated action.
The need to shift to integrated, place-based approaches over sector-based is echoed in findings from research conducted both in Canada and internationally.
Based on our research across rural Canada, we support these findings. We also support the recent statement by the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation, which calls on the federal government to implement the following actions:
Rural Canada is vital to the future of Canada. It is critical that all political parties campaigning for the federal election have a platform that meaningfully includes rural Canada — and refrain from focusing only on sectors that operate in rural Canada.
The Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation recently released a list of questions that people can pose to their potential member of Parliament.
No. 1 on this list is: “What is your party’s vision for rural and northern Canada?” And yet few of the parties are answering or tackling that question during the ongoing election campaign.
Sarah-Patricia Breen has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Mitacs and the Government of British Columbia. She is a past president of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation.
Heather Hall has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Ontario Early Researcher Award Program, the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario (ARIO) and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. She is a former board member of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation and on the Board of Directors for the Northern Policy Institute.
Kyle Rich receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He is a former board member of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation.
Ryan Gibson has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, and Mitacs. Ryan is the past president of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation and the Canadian Community Economic Development Network.
– ref. In Canada’s 2025 federal election, is anyone paying attention to rural communities? – https://theconversation.com/in-canadas-2025-federal-election-is-anyone-paying-attention-to-rural-communities-253195
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Heather Whiteside, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waterloo
The bankruptcy of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) is often framed as the fall of “Canada’s oldest company.” Media narratives typically treat HBC as if it were a straightforward retail firm, albeit one with an exceptionally long history.
But HBC was always more than a hinterland mercantile fur trader in earlier centuries, just as it was more than a department store anchoring downtown shopping in the 20th century.
Like the beaver it nearly wiped out, HBC made Canada into its home by fundamentally transforming its environment, and no bankruptcy court will liquidate that legacy. Still, that legacy is more complex than many might assume.
Read more:
Hudson’s Bay liquidation: What happens when a company goes bankrupt?
HBC’s initials have sometimes been jokingly elaborated as “here before Christ.” But if we were to take a more secular tone, we might instead say it was “here before Canada,” initiating some of the country’s basic economic and political institutions.
In 1670, England’s King Charles II granted 18 investors the power to make laws, monopolize trade, enforce penalties and establish colonies in Rupert’s Land. Some four million square kilometres, this land grant centred on Hudson Bay but ranged from Labrador in the northeast to the Prairies in the southwest.
Along with establishing fur-trading posts populated by transient servants, the company created its own colonies. In 1811, HBC shareholder Thomas Douglas (Lord Selkirk) organized the first settlers in the Prairies at Red River, now Winnipeg. Forty years later, in 1851, HBC’s former chief factor James Douglas took charge of developing Victoria on Vancouver Island.
Of course, Indigenous Peoples were in these areas before long before Canada and long before HBC was. To secure its investments and protect its settlers, HBC representatives negotiated the first treaties with Indigenous Peoples west of the Great Lakes.
The 1817 Selkirk Treaty at Red River and the 14 Douglas Treaties on Vancouver Island in the 1850s are examples of HBC’s expansive role in settler colonialism. Overlooked for some time, the Douglas Treaties are now shaping jurisprudence.
Whereas the infamous HBC striped point blankets may be living room décor for some, for others they represented currency exchanged for long-ignored Indigenous land rights.
Likewise, transferring the six-storey, 94-year-old HBC department store in downtown Winnipeg to 34 First Nations in 2022 might be seen as a form of reconciliation. However, the company itself indicated “shifting consumer behaviour” was the reason for the handover.
Beyond its treaties with Indigenous Peoples and support for settler farmers, HBC is further implicated in the formation of Canadian sovereign territory writ large.
If asked to name famous real estate transactions formative for state-making in North America, one might readily think of Louisiana or Alaska, but Canada, too, was created through purchase. HBC sold Rupert’s Land to the government of Canada for $1.5 million in 1869, forming a significant portion of what we now know as modern-day Canada.
Hudson’s Bay kept roughly seven million acres after the sale, ensuring it would remain a significant force well into the 20th century. Writing of its lands in the Success Belt in the Prairies, HBC argued:
“This land, with a cash payment, was retained as recompense for over 200 years of exploration, pioneering, and trading which the Company had done and without which Canada, as she is today, would not exist.”
Incremental HBC land sales over the coming decades were accompanied by catchy slogans like Victoria as “The Garden of Canada” or Edmonton as Canada’s “Farthest West.”
HBC pamphlets advertised wharves, orchards, gardens, houses, estates, seashore lots, residential subdivisions, hotels and businesses in coastal and interior British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and northern Ontario.
It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that the company parted with its remaining residential acreages in Winnipeg in 1954 and Victoria in 1961.
The timing of the HBC’s bankruptcy dovetails with renewed anxieties about American annexation as U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatens to turn Canada into the 51st state.
Such annexation anxieties are nothing new for Canada.
Read more:
Canada as a 51st state? Republicans would never win another general election
In the 1850s, United Kingdom parliamentary support for the HBC monopoly was driven in part by a desire to counter American influence. One English MP warned in 1857 that if the HBC’s trade between the Red River colony and London were to end, “the whole of it would be transferred to the United States.”
Later, the Canadian federal government would use HBC to shore up its sovereignty claims in the High Arctic. In 1953 and 1955, more than 90 Inuit from northern Québec were forcefully relocated to the High Arctic. A government apology in February acknowledged the harm caused by the relocations, but the HBC’s decades-long role in instigating and organizing Inuit relocations was conspicuously omitted.
As Canadians look to protect the country from foreign threats, it helps to know how the country came to be in the first place. The long-running and multi-faceted role of the HBC is an integral part of Canada’s story; it has always been more than just a company.
Now saddled with $1 billion of debt, HBC’s demise seems inevitable. But its endurance beyond the original 1670 stockholders’ £4,720 investment speaks to its lasting impact. The HBC legacy will surely shape whatever’s next in store for Canada.
Heather Whiteside receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
– ref. More than a department store: The long, complicated legacy behind Hudson’s Bay Company – https://theconversation.com/more-than-a-department-store-the-long-complicated-legacy-behind-hudsons-bay-company-253818
Source: South Africa News Agency
Monday, April 7, 2025
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has welcomed the election of Zimbini Hill as the Chairperson and Professor Raymond Nkado as the Deputy Chairperson of the Independent Development Trust (IDT).
Hill is the former interim chairperson of the IDT, with 20 years’ experience as an executive leader in sectors ranging from financial services to public sector governance. She holds an MBA in Finance from Cass Business School at the City University of London.
Professor Nkado is the former Executive Dean for the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of the Witwatersrand, former President of the South African Council for Project and Construction Management Professionals. He holds a PMP qualification from the Project Management Institute of the United States.
“The Minister met with the Board this morning to welcome the latest appointments and wish them success for the remainder of their term,” the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure said in a statement on Monday.
Thereafter, the Board met with just the trustees to elect a Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson from among its members.
“Today’s board meeting brings about much needed stability to the IDT and brings an end to vacancies that have existed at the entity for the last 18 months.
“The new board will now have to deal with several challenges currently facing the IDT, including ensuring full compliance with the ongoing PWC investigation into the PSA Oxygen Plant Tender, restoring public trusts in the IDT and putting the entity back onto a pathway of good, clean, and transparent governance,” the department said.
READ | Macpherson welcomes PwC probe into R800m oxygen plant tender. – SAnews.gov.za
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Opening remarks by SED at LegCo Finance Committee special meeting
Chairman,
Education is the key to nurturing talent. The Government attaches great importance to education and has all been investing heavily in education. The Government’s expenditure on education is $112.4 billion in 2025-26, accounting for about 13.7 per cent of the total government expenditure. It includes $102.9 billion of recurrent education expenditure, around 17.5 per cent of the total government recurrent expenditure, taking up a significant share of the overall government expenditure. In line with the strategy of invigorating the country through science and education, we remain committed to education, striving to promote high-quality education and develop Hong Kong into an international hub for high-calibre talents.
To enhance the quality of education, we will continue to implement new measures in 2025-26 to create new impetus for high-quality development of Hong Kong’s economy. The new measures include –
To support post-secondary, and vocational and professional education and training, we will launch a new round of the Research Matching Grant Scheme totalling $1.5 billion to attract more organisations to support research endeavours of institutions, increase the quota of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme to 400 places per year, set up the Hong Kong Future Talents Scholarship Scheme for Advanced Studies to offer scholarships to up to 1 200 local students pursuing designated taught postgraduate programmes each academic year, and endeavour to develop Hong Kong into an international post-secondary education hub and to build the “Study in Hong Kong” brand.
To support the development of the self-financing sector, we have introduced a bill to amend the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320) into the Legislative Council for scrutiny, with a view to further enhancing the governance and competitiveness of self-financing post-secondary institutions. At the same time, we will gradually increase the admission quota for Mainland, Macao and Taiwan students for self-financing post-secondary institutions with the approval to admit Mainland students to degree programmes to 40 per cent, and to implement the new round of the Land Grant Scheme and the Start-up Loan Scheme, so as to promote the accelerated expansion of capacity and enhancement of quality of the self-financing post-secondary education sector.
For primary and secondary education, we will continue to enhance the quality of teaching, promote national education, national security education and patriotic education, adopting all-round, comprehensive, cross-key stage and interdisciplinary approaches to support schools to integrate national education into daily learning and teaching and strengthen students’ affection for and sense of belonging to the country. At the same time, funds are earmarked under the Language Fund for establishing two grants to enhance the effective use of English and Putonghua among students. Additionally, the “Pilot Scheme on Other Languages for Junior Secondary Students”, supported by the Quality Education Fund, will support junior secondary students to learn other languages, further harnessing the distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support of the Motherland and being closely connected to the world. We have also launched the “AI for Science Education” Funding Programme to promote pedagogical innovation and the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence)-assisted teaching in Junior Secondary Science.
In order to foster mental health of students, teachers and parents in a more holistic manner, we have launched the 4Rs Mental Health Charter in 2024, extending the Three-Tier School‑based Emergency Mechanism and implementing enhanced measures with a view to strengthening the support of students with high risks. For special education, we will replace the Personal Care Worker Grant with the Personal Care Enhancement Grant for Boarders to provide flexibility to relevant special schools in providing personal care services for boarders.
To enhance the effective use of public resources, the Education Bureau (EDB) will optimise and consolidate the use of education resources as appropriate, without affecting the quality of education and the teaching profession, and streamline procedures to improve efficiency. The key measures to be implemented in the 2025-26 financial year include –
The recurrent funding of University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities and Vocational Training Council will be reduced by two per cent in each of the coming three academic and financial years respectively (in line with the Government’s reduction in operating expenditure). In addition, UGC-funded universities will return a total of $4 billion of its General and Development Reserve Fund balance to the Government on a one-off basis. We believe that universities will make effective use of valuable public resources to preserve the quality and standard of teaching and research, and at the same time seize the opportunity of building our nation into a leading country in education and strive to develop Hong Kong into an international post-secondary education hub.
We will also adjust the general subvention for publicly-funded schools and kindergartens by about two per cent, consolidate some grants and adjust the disbursement arrangements. We will set up a task force to revamp and consolidate various grants to schools in innovative ways, such as disbursing grants to schools in the form of a block grant, so that schools may utilise the resources more flexibly based on their development needs and priorities.
In support of the Government’s Productivity Enhancement Programme, we reduced our recurrent expenditure by one per cent (about $1 billion) and an additional $1.5 billion (totalling $2.5 billion) in 2024-25. Such savings were wholly achieved by the EDB internally, with no reduction in funding/subvention to schools and subvented organisations (including UGC-funded universities), nor subsidies for students/parents. In the 2025-26 financial year, we will continue to support the Productivity Enhancement Programme by further reducing our recurrent expenditure by two per cent and an additional $4 billion at the same time (totalling $6.2 billion). The EDB is determined to ride out the difficult times hand in hand with the education sector.
In line with the targeted poverty alleviation strategy of the current-term government and to enhance the effective use of public resources, we will adapt to evolving circumstances and abolish the non-means-tested $2,500 student grant from the 2025/26 school year. For students from families with financial difficulties, we will provide them with a safety net and appropriate assistance through various means/asset-tested financial assistance measures, including Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme, Grant for School-related Expenses for Kindergarten Students, School Textbook Assistance Scheme, Student Travel Subsidy Scheme, Subsidy Scheme for Internet Access Charges, School-based After-school Learning and Support Programmes and Free Lunch at Schools etc., to ensure that all students have equal opportunities to receive quality education without being affected by financial difficulties.
In the coming year, we will continue to adopt an innovative approach to consolidate and optimise the use of education resources, and to enhance teaching effectiveness. Building on Hong Kong’s unique status and advantages under “one country, two systems”, we will pave way for accelerated education development from a holistic and long‑term perspective, and nurture our younger generation to become virtuous and knowledgeable lifelong learners who love the country and the city and are ready for future challenges and opportunities.
This is the end of my introduction. Thank you, Chairman.
Issued at HKT 20:57
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Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Maleeka Singh, PhD Candidate, Food Science, University of Guelph
Maple syrup, often called Canada’s “liquid gold,” has long been a target for fraudulent activities, such as the dilution or substitution with other syrups, due to its high demand.
Amid threats from the United States of increased tariffs and the imposition of a baseline tariff of 10 per cent on all imports that aren’t compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, increased maple syrup fraud is a possibility.
Food fraud, or economically motivated adulteration, is the deliberate misrepresentation of food for economic gain. This can include the substitution, dilution, addition and/or the removal of ingredients. Mislabelling of products is another form of food fraud that can happen at any point in the supply chain, from farm to fork.
Read more:
Sweet little lies: Maple syrup fraud undermines the authenticity of Canada’s ‘liquid gold’
Food fraud is a multi-billion-dollar industry and poses serious risks. It can harm consumer health, tarnish brand reputations and value, jeopardize the livelihood of legitimate producers and even hamper biodiversity and conservational efforts.
The threats of tariffs on Canadian goods by the U.S., which includes maple syrup and equipment used to make it, has raised concerns on both sides of the border about price increases and supply shortages.
Canada produces more than 70 per cent of the world’s maple syrup and Québec is the capital of this production. In 2024, the province exported around $450 million worth of maple syrup to the U.S.
Historically, food fraud has increased during harsh economic times, growing financial pressures, pandemics, climate incidents, wars, supply chain disruptions or any other event that destabilizes the balance between food supply and demand. These circumstances often increase food prices, creating an incentive for fraudsters to exploit the system.
From 2020 to 2024, the world faced significant supply chain disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, regional wars and significant climate events. Unsurprisingly, food fraud cases have increased tenfold, according to recent estimations.
Threats of higher tariffs could further contribute to this problem by increasing the likelihood that fraudsters will substitute high-value foods for lower-value products.
Given what we have learned from past cases of food fraud, threats of increased tariffs causes uncertainty in the supply chain, increasing the risk of fraudulent maple syrups from entering the market.
To combat this threat, there is a need for rapid, real-time and cost-effective methods to test maple syrup for authenticity.
Since the 1980s, various methods and tools have been developed or used to detect maple syrup adulteration. However, food fraudsters continuously adapt to evade detection, making it progressively more difficult to test for maple syrup adulteration. The more complex the testing methods, the more difficult they are to circumvent.
Traditionally, maple syrup quality testing involves measuring the dissolved sugar content in syrup through a unit of measurement known as degrees Brix. One degree Brix is equivalent to one per cent sugar. However, applications may be limited if unknown or non-conventional adulterants are used.
As fraud techniques become more sophisticated, new approaches are needed to ensure the authenticity of maple syrup. Non-targeted food analytical methods, such as fluorescence spectroscopy, allow for the screening of a wide range of samples, creating a fingerprint of a sample. The fingerprints can be compared to a reference library of profiles, or multiple attributes specific to maple syrups, rather than just one.
A recent study by our research team at the University of Guelph’s Corradini Lab explored how fluorescence fingerprints can be used to detect maple syrup adulteration.
Fluorescence fingerprinting works by examining how internal molecules in maple syrup glow when exposed to UV and visible light. These unique, glowing fingerprints allow for the detection of markers or features that may be indicative of maple syrup fraud.
Our study explored the adulteration of amber and dark maple syrups, with common maple syrup adulterants — namely beet, corn and rice syrups — at values ranging from one to 50 per cent.
We mapped unique and distinctive features in the fluorescence fingerprints, which were then used for differentiating pure from adulterated syrups. When exposed to UV and visible light, maple syrup features changed depending on the type — beet, corn or rice syrups — and amount of adulterant.
Using the markers of maple syrup identity, we were able to apply AI to analyze multiple fluorescent features simultaneously. This allowed for the identification of pure maple syrups from adulterants, with accuracy ranging from 75 to 99 per cent.
In fact, analyzing the fluorescence fingerprints of pure and adulterated syrups with the assistance of AI and machine learning techniques improved detection by up to 30 per cent, and identified adulterants at levels less than two per cent.
However, expanding the fluorescence fingerprint reference library can improve the accuracy and reliability of results. AI models often require very large and extensive databases. This will be crucial for understanding and accounting for how factors like the environment, geographic location and processing conditions may affect the maple syrup glow.
The use of AI to analyze fluorescent markers in maple syrup could allow for rapid and effective identification of suspicious fraudulent samples.
With the increased risk of food fraud due to threats of increased U.S. import tariffs on Canadian products, combining AI and maple syrup fingerprinting can detect maple syrup fraud. This will ensure that consumers receive safe, high-quality foods while protecting the identity of one of Canada’s most iconic products.
Maleeka Singh receives funding from the Arrell Food Institute and the SMART Scholarship Program. Maleeka Singh is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), International Association of Food Protection (IAFP) and the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Maria G. Corradini receives funding from NSERC and the Arrell Food Institute.
Maria G. Corradini is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), the American Chemical Society (ACS), and the Society of Food Engineers (SOFE)
Robert Hanner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. U.S. tariff threats could fuel maple syrup fraud, but AI could help navigate this sticky situation – https://theconversation.com/u-s-tariff-threats-could-fuel-maple-syrup-fraud-but-ai-could-help-navigate-this-sticky-situation-253396
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ben Sclodnick, Postdoctoral Fellow, Psychology, McMaster University
Have you ever been on a long drive and suddenly realized that you barely remember the past several minutes of driving?
Although the thought of driving without paying conscious attention to the road may be unsettling, we actually carry out complex behaviours without much thought all the time — and it’s all thanks to our memory.
In its simplest form, memory does one basic job: it forms associations between things that occur together. Just as we learn to associate a name with a face, or a scent with a food, memory allows certain contexts to become associated with specific thoughts and actions.
For instance, when we learn to drive, we’re taught to move our foot to the brake pedal whenever we see brake lights ahead. As we gain experience behind the wheel and these two events repeatedly occur together, we quickly reach a point where we automatically get set to press the brake pedal the moment we see brake lights — without needing to think about doing so.
Or perhaps you’ve noticed how fluently you can navigate through the apps and menus on your smartphone — as if your thumbs have little minds of their own — and that if someone re-organizes the apps on your home screen, this fluency can be difficult to relearn.
Each time we do something, our memory system makes connections between the behaviour and the current context. With experience, behaviours that once required conscious control can be activated automatically when we encounter a familiar context.
These automatic behaviours show how memory can control our behaviour without the need to consciously remember past events. Some researchers even call this form of memory “automatic control.”
Because automatic memory is by nature unconscious, we often don’t notice how essential it is for most of our everyday behaviour. Automatic memory allows us to function efficiently.
If we couldn’t rely on automatic control to trigger key actions while driving, we would be far less likely to survive those episodes of highway mind-wandering. If every thought and action required a conscious choice, something as simple as walking and talking would become an enormously demanding task.
Driving scenarios are relatable, which makes them useful for illustrating how automatic memory works. They also show how important this form of memory is for us to function effectively.
However, once you begin looking for automatic memory elsewhere, it becomes difficult to identify behaviours that don’t rely on these unconscious processes. Even our attempts to consciously control our attention may depend on automatic processes.
For example, why is it that certain things come to mind when we walk into a meeting with our boss — while very different things come to mind when you get together with an old friend? It’s not as if we always make conscious decisions about what to remember in these cases.
The explanation is that these two different scenarios are each associated with different sets of past experiences. When we encounter a particular person, experiences associated specifically with them spring to mind automatically as a result of the memory associations we’ve formed over time.
Although automatic memory is essential to our daily functioning, it does come at a cost. For instance, we all find ourselves acting the same way over and over in familiar situations — even when those actions run contrary to the way we’d prefer to act. But the truth is, if we want to change our patterns of behaviour, we need repeated opportunities to form new associations so that our automatic behaviours being to align with our goals.
One strategy for overcoming automatic memory is to practise the behaviours you want to change in new contexts. For example, if you find that having difficult conversations with your partner always ends with you to reacting negatively without meaning to, perhaps you need to try having those discussions in front of a friend or therapist.
Changing the context like this can help reduce the chance that your typical responses will be activated, making it easier to practise changing your behaviours in critical moments. For behaviours that have been built over a lifetime, there’s no quick hack. Relearning takes time and effort.
That is why, as an expert in memory and attention, I have compassion for people who struggle to change old habits. It’s also why I’m downright terrified when the city adds a new stop sign to an intersection where drivers are used to having the right of way.
Ben Sclodnick receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
– ref. How our unconscious memory keeps us functioning efficiently in our daily lives – https://theconversation.com/how-our-unconscious-memory-keeps-us-functioning-efficiently-in-our-daily-lives-246763
[. This grant has grown by $3.4 billion since 2018-19, and although Alberta performed about 20,000 more surgeries this past year than at that time, this is not good enough. Albertans deserve surgical wait times that don’t just marginally improve but meet the medically recommended wait times for every single patient.
With Acute Care Alberta now fully operational, Alberta’s government is implementing reforms to acute care funding through a patient-focused funding (PFF) model, also known as activity-based funding, which pays hospitals based on the services they provide.
“The current global budgeting model has no incentives to increase volume, no accountability and no cost predictability for taxpayers. By switching to an activity-based funding model, our health care system will have built-in incentives to increase volume with high quality, cost predictability for taxpayers and accountability for all providers. This approach will increase transparency, lower wait times and attract more surgeons – helping deliver better health care for all Albertans, when and where they need it.”
Activity-based funding is based on the number and type of patients treated and the complexity of their care, incentivizing efficiency and ensuring that funding is tied to the actual care provided to patients. This funding model improves transparency, ensuring care is delivered at the right time and place as multiple organizations begin providing health services across the province.
“Exploring innovative ways to allocate funding within our health care system will ensure that Albertans receive the care they need, when they need it most. I am excited to see how this new approach will enhance the delivery of health care in Alberta.”
Patient-focused, or activity-based, funding has been successfully implemented in Australia and many European nations, including Sweden and Norway, to address wait times and access to health care services, and is currently used in both British Columbia and Ontario in various ways.
“It is clear that we need a new approach to manage the costs of delivering health care while ensuring Albertans receive the care they expect and deserve. Patient-focused funding will bring greater accountability to how health care dollars are being spent while also providing an incentive for quality care.”
This transition is part of Acute Care Alberta’s mandate to oversee and arrange for the delivery of acute care services such as surgeries, a role that was historically performed by AHS. With Alberta’s government funding more surgeries than ever, setting a record with 304,595 surgeries completed in 2023-24 and with 310,000 surgeries expected to have been completed in 2024-25, it is crucial that funding models evolve to keep pace with the growing demand and complexity of services.
“With AHS transitioning to a hospital-based services provider, it’s time we are bold and begin to explore how to make our health care system more efficient and manage the cost of care on a per patient basis. The transition to a PFF model will align funding with patient care needs, based on actual service demand and patient needs, reflecting the communities they serve.”
“Covenant Health welcomes a patient-focused approach to acute care funding that drives efficiency, accountability and performance while delivering the highest quality of care and services for all Albertans. As a trusted acute care provider, this model better aligns funding with outcomes and supports our unwavering commitment to patients.”
“Patient-focused hospital financing ties funding to activity. Hospitals are paid for the services they deliver. Efficiency may improve and surgical wait times may decrease. Further, hospital managers may be more accountable towards hospital spending patterns. These features ensure that patients receive quality care of the highest value.”
Leadership at Alberta Health and Acute Care Alberta will review relevant research and the experience of other jurisdictions, engage stakeholders and define and customize patient-focused funding in the Alberta context. This working group will also identify and run a pilot to determine where and how this approach can best be applied and implemented this fiscal year.
Final recommendations will be provided to the minister of health later this year, with implementation of patient-focused funding for select procedures across the system in 2026.
Source: Office of United States Attorneys
CHICAGO — Andrew S. Boutros, who served as a federal prosecutor in Chicago for nearly eight years before entering private law practice, took the Oath of Office today as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
U.S. District Chief Judge Virginia M. Kendall administered the Oath of Office after Attorney General Pamela Bondi appointed Mr. Boutros as the United States Attorney. Mr. Boutros signed the Oath of Office this morning.
“I am humbled and honored to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “I am grateful to President Donald J. Trump, Attorney General Bondi, as well as the many others involved in my selection for their trust and confidence in me. As U.S. Attorney, I am committed to working alongside old and new colleagues to tackle the important problems that face our District. In addition, I look forward to working with our law enforcement partners to continue the Office’s longstanding tradition of pursuing justice on behalf of the citizens of the Northern District of Illinois.”
Mr. Boutros has selected Morris Pasqual, who for the past two years served as Acting United States Attorney, to be the Office’s First Assistant United States Attorney, a leadership role Mr. Pasqual previously held.
As an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2008 to 2015, U.S. Attorney Boutros investigated and prosecuted hundreds of cases, many of which involved matters of national and international significance. U.S. Attorney Boutros’s notable convictions included the world’s largest online drug trafficker on the dark web, one of the country’s “Top Ten Most Wanted” mortgage fraud defendants, and the owner of a Chicago hospital who thwarted collection of more than $188 million in civil judgments. U.S. Attorney Boutros also successfully prosecuted a series of cases involving unprecedented criminal violations of international trade, customs, and anti-dumping laws.
U.S. Attorney Boutros received numerous awards and accolades for his work as a federal prosecutor. The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association selected him as the National Prosecutor of the Year, presenting him with the National Prosecutorial Award. The American Bar Association honored U.S. Attorney Boutros with the Criminal Justice Section’s Norm Maleng Minister of Justice Award for best exemplifying the prosecutor’s duty to seek justice. U.S. Attorney Boutros also received honors from the FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
From 2015 until his appointment as United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney Boutros worked in private law practice in Chicago, holding various leadership roles. For 15 consecutive years, U.S. Attorney Boutros has taught an advanced criminal law course at the University of Chicago Law School. While practicing law full time, Mr. Boutros has also written and spoken extensively on criminal law and criminal law adjacent topics, including publishing two books, authoring nearly 160 articles and book chapters, and presenting at 90 speaking engagements.
U.S. Attorney Boutros earned a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from Virginia Tech, and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Source: Microsoft
Headline: Ninja Theory celebrates 11BAFTA Games Awards nominations for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
But today, we wanted to shine a light on Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, which picked up a staggering 11 nominations across a wide variety of categories, covering practically every element of the art of making games, and beyond. It’s a major moment for developer Ninja Theory (which previously picked up 9 nominations, winning in 5 categories, for Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice), a testament to the hard work and care that went into creating this singular experience.
To celebrate this moment, we spoke to developers across the studio about the work that went into their nominated category, and what it means to see this recognition.
[embedded content]
“The whole animation team was thrilled to be specifically recognised in the Animation category. We’re glad that all the hard work, love and specific vision for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II has been received so well.
“Our aim was to bring Senua, her cohort and adversaries to life as vividly as possible , whether it was the up-close nuance of an intimate moment between friends or life and death struggle against her deepest fears.”
Guy Midgley, Ninja Animation Director
Photo Credit: Gareth Dutton
“The team at Ninja Theory has always had such a passion for taking the art to new places in our games, but to have the recognition from BAFTA is incredible and means so much to everyone here.
“For Senua’s Saga we learnt so much on the journey, whether it was getting to grips with new features of UE5 and understanding how they could allow us to present our vision like never before, working with costume designers to build the real-life outfits for us to scan and understand their movements, or training how to fly professional drones so that we could capture meaningful data from the beauty of the Iceland landscape.”
Mark Slater-Tunstill, Ninja VFX Director
“To bring to life the world, the reality of Senua through sound is a privilege, a journey that requires a strong vision and a certain bravery that leads to finding a unique voice.
“Receiving this nomination brings a lot of joy to the whole Ninja audio team, who have worked tirelessly and with such craftsmanship to deliver an experience like no other.”
David García Díaz, Ninja Audio Director
Photo Credit: Gareth Dutton
“We’re very proud to receive a nomination for Best British Game and have Hellblade II sit alongside such a diverse and creative group of nominees in the category. Best British Game is a particularly special category for me, as I see it as a vehicle for inspiring the next generation of developers in my home country.
“I like to think that there will be a kid out there somewhere that will see the wonderful games being created in the UK and it will spark in them a dream to one day feel the same pride that I do in receiving a BAFTA nomination of their own.”
Dom Matthews, Ninja Studio Head
Photo Credit: Gareth Dutton
[embedded content]
“In Senua’s Saga, Ninja Theory have represented one of the most misunderstood of conditions with incredible skill, respect and sensitivity. Their depiction of psychosis was crafted with unerring attention to the underlying clinical neuroscience and, more importantly, to the personal experiences of those who have themselves carried the burden of psychosis.
“Ninja Theory have told the story, and amplified the voice, of people who are frequently unheard or dismissed. It has been an enormous privilege to play a small part in their work and to observe the depth and range of its impact in challenging stigma.”
Paul Fletcher, Bernard Wolfe Professor of Health Neuroscience, University of Cambridge
Photo Credit: Gareth Dutton
“To tell a story without words that connects the emotions with the listener, that is the quest of all the musicians involved in the creation of the soundtrack for the game.
“At the core of it is the word ‘collaboration’: From Heilung, Ren and Arunka, the fantastic voices and talent of Helen and Abbi, plus our own composers here at Ninja. It’s an honour for us to receive this nomination for a work that is done with great passion and care.”
David García Díaz, Ninja Audio Director
Photo Credit: Gareth Dutton
“Our heroine Senua faces down both inner and outer conflicts with persistence and strength of heart, and I feel fortunate to be part of the team sharing her unique perspective with the world.
“Storytelling is always foremost in our minds with all of Ninja Theory’s games, and I’m deeply honoured and grateful that the team’s work in this area has been recognised by BAFTA with a nomination in the Narrative category.”
Lara Derham, Writer and Stage Director
Photo Credit: Gareth Dutton
“I am deeply honored to be nominated at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards as ‘Performer in a Leading Role’ for my portrayal of Senua for the second time. It means the world to have my work as a performer recognized in such a meaningful way.
“BAFTA Games Awards play a vital role in elevating gaming as an art form, putting it on the same cultural stage as film and television. Their commitment to celebrating creativity, storytelling, and innovation in games is incredible, and their charity work, supporting new talent and making the industry more accessible is truly inspiring.
“In Senua’s Saga, we managed to push the performance tech further than ever before, which gave me the freedom to pour everything into my performance, knowing that every emotion and every little nuance would come through on screen. It was an incredible and rewarding experience.”
Melina Juergens
Photo Credit: Gareth Dutton
[embedded content]
“It’s hard to put into words how much this nomination means to me and how grateful I am to everyone involved in creating this beautiful game, and for allowing me to be a part of that creation. Every step of the process has been an unforgettable experience. I’ve made dear friends, learned new skills, worked abroad for the first time, and taken part in making something meaningful. As a gamer from the age of 5, I couldn’t have imagined what my future would hold. And to receive this recognition for our work goes beyond what I could ever have dreamed of. Thank you dearly dear Ninjas and Xbox for giving me the honor of working with you.”
Aldís Amah Hamilton
Photo Credit: Thelma Arngrims
“We are delighted to be jointly nominated for our role as the Furies. Working on Senua’s Saga was a joy thanks to the brilliance of David García Díaz and his dream team.
“We are a theatre company who work a lot with vocal improvisation and it was really exciting to collaborate with David in this way. It was fascinating for us to get an insight into how games are made. Everyone works so incredibly hard and it’s wonderful to see the team receiving such recognition for this.”
Helen Goalen and Abbi Greenland
“It’s a great honour to receive a Technical Achievement BAFTA nomination for Hellblade II, alongside a shortlist of excellent and varied nominees. This nomination celebrates not just the technology itself, but the vision and perseverance of the entire team; it’s a testament to the detail, artistry and technical effort we poured into crafting Senua’s world and its inhabitants, as part of our dedication to pushing the boundaries of interactive storytelling. We’re immensely grateful to BAFTA for this acknowledgement, and it fuels our passion to continue creating experiences that aim to resonate on a profound level. Thank you.”
Gavin Costello, Ninja Technical Director
Congratulations to everyone at Ninja Theory for their work on Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, and to all the recipients of BAFTA nominations this year.
You can watch the BAFTA Games Awards live on Tuesday, April 8 at 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern / 7pm UK via YouTube and Twitch.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
April 03, 2025
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Bill Foster (D-IL-11) today in reintroducing the bicameral American Innovation Act, which would provide annual budget increases at a rate of five percent, indexed to inflation, for cutting edge research at five federal agencies: the Department of Energy Office of Science; the National Science Foundation; the National Institute of Standards and Technology Scientific and Technical Research Services; the Department of Defense Science and Technology Programs; and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Directorate. The American Innovation Act would position the U.S. as a leader in development and discovery for decades to come by creating steady, sustained funding for breakthrough research at America’s top research agencies.
“As the Trump Administration continues slashing federal funding programs, investing in our world-renowned scientific research facilities and institutions is critical in order for America to stay competitive on the global scale,” said Duckworth. “I’m proud to join Senator Durbin and Congressman Foster in reintroducing the American Innovation Act to support our scientists and researchers as we expand American innovation, strengthen national security, create jobs, and grow our economy.”
“In its crusade to damage essential government infrastructure, the Trump Administration has failed to recognize that sustained support for basic scientific research has enabled the United States to put a man on the moon, build the internet, and produce a COVID-19 vaccine in record time. If we want to maintain our status as a world leader in research and technology, we must empower and fund our federal research agencies and retain their top talent,” said Durbin. “I’m introducing the American Innovation Act to ensure our nation’s scientists and researchers have access to critical funding to push our world forward while also creating jobs, growing our economy, and improving our national security.”
“I’m proud to work with Senator Durbin on this legislation to expand federal investment in scientific research,” said Foster. “Since World War II, investments in science and technology have helped expand our economy, create millions of jobs, and advance our national security. As we confront new and existing challenges, it’s critical that our scientists have the resources they need to ensure our nation remains at the forefront of research and innovation.”
The introduction of the American Innovation Act comes as the Trump Administration continues to gut federal research agencies by slashing programs and firing scientists conducting critical research. These moves only harm the future of the U.S., as investments in scientific research have helped the nation lead the world in new technologies, create millions of jobs, grow the economy and advance national security. Further, without serious federal investment in research, the U.S. could fall behind its competitors, particularly China.
Basic science funding in the U.S. has lagged in recent decades. Since the 1970’s, the United States investment in basic science has decreased by tenfold to about 0.1 percent of GDP. Meanwhile, China’s research intensity (GDP expenditures on R&D) has increased by 500 percent since 1996– if this trend continues, China will soon surpass the U.S. in investment in science.
In addition to Duckworth and Durbin, the American Innovation Act is cosponsored in the Senate by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI).
The legislation has earned the endorsement of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Association of American Universities; American Mathematical Society; Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities; Council of Undergraduate Research, Institute for Progress; Coalition for Academic Scientific Computation; American Physical Society; Federation of American Scientists; American Geophysical Union and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
A one-pager on the legislation can be found here.
-30-
Source: Government of Canada regional news
Nova Scotia is welcoming the five heads of mission representing Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in Canada, who are in Halifax together on a joint diplomatic visit beginning today, April 7.
During the three-day visit, provincial ministers and other officials will meet with the Nordic region diplomats to explore opportunities to strengthen existing trade partnerships and exchange insights on shared priorities.
For the Nordic countries, areas of special interest include the blue economy (sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth); renewable energy and green solutions; healthcare and life sciences; technology and innovation; and trans-Atlantic security and defence. For Nova Scotia, this includes opportunities to increase its self-reliance and invest in critical minerals, wind resources and the seafood sector.
“We’re thrilled to welcome the ambassadors from the Nordic region to talk about our shared goals and the mutual benefits of working together to protect citizens and strengthen trade opportunities,” said Barbara Adams, Nova Scotia’s Deputy Premier. “Nova Scotia is ready to do business, and we have a lot to offer. We’re excited to share the innovative work happening in Nova Scotia to harness our resources, promote Nova Scotia products and services and so much more.”
Deputy Premier Adams, who is also Nova Scotia’s Minister responsible for Military Relations, will join the heads of mission for a visit at Canadian Forces Base Halifax. The diplomats’ itinerary also includes stops at the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship in Dartmouth and the NATO DIANA Regional Office for North America in Halifax, as well as meetings with a half dozen provincial ministers.
The officials began their visit today with a luncheon hosted by Lt.-Gov. Mike Savage. They will later participate in a panel discussion at Dalhousie University hosted by the Halifax chapter of the Canadian International Council. The event is open to the public.
“Nova Scotia and the Nordic region hold much in common. Our economies and the lives of our residents are intertwined with the ocean; we are investing significantly in technology and infrastructure to power our increasingly green and digital economies; and we are hotbeds of innovation, advanced research and culture. On behalf of all five Nordic heads of mission, we very much look forward to our first joint visit to Nova Scotia and to deepening our relations as trans-Atlantic partners.”
— Hlynur Guðjónsson, Ambassador of Iceland to Canada
News release – Premier Promotes Nova Scotia in Denmark: https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2025/04/04/premier-promotes-nova-scotia-denmark
More information on the public panel with the heads of mission is available at: https://events.dal.ca/event/4409-jmeucecic-public-panel-conversation-with-the-nordic-amb
Nordic Co-operation – the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Council: https://www.norden.org/en
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The ACT Government will fund a four-year elective surgery plan as part of the 2024-25 ACT Budget.
The ACT Government is resourcing a four-year elective surgery plan to deliver 60,000 elective surgeries and to expand operating theatre capacity in public health services.
Despite the challenges impacting elective surgeries in recent years, Canberra Health Services is on track to perform a record number of elective surgeries this financial year.
Additional funding in the 2024-25 ACT Budget will further support the territory-wide surgery teams to continue this work across the ACT’s hospitals.
More endoscopies will be delivered thanks to the recent expansion and upgrade of the endoscopy suites at North Canberra Hospital.
Additional theatre capacity at Canberra Hospital in the new Critical Services Building will be essential to improve timely access to emergency surgeries and increase the total capacity for elective surgeries performed at Canberra Hospital.
Increased operating theatre sessions during evenings and weekends, and more surgical inpatient beds to support growing emergency surgery demand are a critical part of this investment.
The Government has also committed to deliver an additional 300 cataract surgeries through partnerships with private facilities.
The ACT Budget will support services and initiatives across the public hospital network, including acute care for older people across our public hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation at the University of Canberra Hospital, services for critically ill newborns and expanded maternity services.
Total investment in health next year is a record $2.6 billion. This will deliver more health services, infrastructure, support for the health workforce, and $52.7 million will be allocated to support the elective surgery plan.
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Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Good afternoon. Thank you to the event organizers for the generous invitation to join you to kick off the AI Summit. The Summit will explore critical topics—data quality and security, good governance for AI, critical third-party service providers, and the integration of generative AI in operating infrastructure, trade execution, clearing, and settlement, and trade surveillance, among others.
I’d like to highlight two risks implicated by the integration of AI in our markets—cybersecurity and fraud risks.
Cyber and fraud risks are ever-present in our markets. Sophisticated AI models have the potential to facilitate high-quality, near-flawless, synthetic content, enabling stunning heists. AI models train, test, and refine their functionality by aggregating and analyzing vast amounts of data, creating enticing targets for cyber intrusion campaigns.
While the threats are well-documented, we have not yet fully explored the potential for AI to address cyberthreats and AI-driven fraud. In the least, carefully studying coordinated efforts to develop cyber resilience may teach us some important lessons regarding how to use AI to mitigate cyber and fraud threats in our markets.
We are witnessing an increasing number of cyber and fraud threats executed using AI technologies. In some instances, the technology that drives these cyber and fraud threats may be an important offensive and defensive tool.
Your agenda rightly aims to identify pathways to good AI governance and best practices for individual firms and the broader financial ecosystem.[1]
AI and Financial Markets
Over the last few years, markets have witnessed the increasing potential for AI to engender efficiencies, reduce costs, harness and analyze vast amounts of data, and enable personalized access to markets. Many firms quickly discovered the potential for AI to streamline trade reporting, anti-money laundering (AML), and other regulatory compliance obligations. Financial services firms have used AI tools for many years, but “maturity in utilization and deployment of AI systems varies by institution and continues to evolve.”[2]
In addition, financial services firms use AI tools in both cyber and fraud threat assessments. Integrating innovative AI into legacy systems may, however, create vulnerabilities.
In recent years, firms have discovered that AI may become a tool for addressing these vulnerabilities. Machine learning or generative AI may replace or enhance legacy tools for fraud and cyber detection and risk management strategies. AI is enabling firms to educate employees and customers and to identify gaps in their cybersecurity and fraud detection and prevention measures.[3]
These issues are at the heart of the work of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and its mission[4] and resonate with my experiences as a lawyer in private practice, in-house, and my service as a Commissioner.[5] At the CFTC, I sponsor the Market Risk Advisory Committee (MRAC), a multi-stakeholder group of market participants that examines risk management issues and makes recommendations on how to improve market structure, mitigate risks, and enhance market integrity and stability for global derivatives markets.[6] MRAC has spent a significant amount of time considering cybersecurity and recommendations to enhance cyber resilience.[7] Fraud-related risks and applications are part of these conversations.
We know that algorithmic models that may be accurately described as AI have long been employed in financial services markets[8] and that these applications include regulatory surveillance and compliance monitoring.[9] In recent years, however, the use and integration of predictive technologies has increased.
In January of 2024, the CFTC issued a request for comment seeking to learn more about the uses of AI in CFTC-regulated markets.[10] I applaud the Commission for issuing the RFC as a pathway to increase visibility and better understand the implications of AI use in our markets. This dialogue between the Commission and market participants aims to enable markets and the Commission to leverage the benefits of evolving AI models while mitigating risks.
AI fraud and cyber threat prevention, detection, and mitigation represent common ground areas where the Commission and market participants are focused on the potential for AI to enhance market integrity.[11]
AI Fueled Cyber and Fraud Threats
About a year ago, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) released a report on Managing Artificial Intelligence-Specific Risks in the Financial Services Sector.[12] Several of the observations in the Treasury Report are unlikely to surprise this audience—cyber and fraud-related incidents continue to increase and, in parallel, the losses that firms experience as a result of these threats increase.[13]
Surveyed market participants indicate that cyberthreat actors benefit from lower barriers to entry, increasingly sophisticated automation, and decreasing time-to-exploit.[14] Firms face cyberthreats from actors including opportunistic fraudsters with access to advanced AI tools to sophisticated nation-state hackers who deploy targeted attacks.
AI-Driven Fraud
Evidence suggests that hackers are repurposing AI-based tools previously used in cyber defense tactics to identify weaknesses in networks and cybersecurity applications.[15] These weaknesses open back doors for cyber attacks. Generative AI may enable sophisticated actors to execute more convincing phishing campaigns. Deep fakes and similar campaigns may be more difficult to identify. Generative AI may accelerate the creation of new malware variants, lowering the barrier to entry and empowering a greater number of less sophisticated threat actors.[16] As a result, time-to-exploit is shrinking and the overall risk level to financial organizations is climbing. Notwithstanding many AI developers’ efforts to prevent the adaptation of their models to facilitate fraud, there is a rising tide of misuse of AI technologies.
Vulnerabilities of Technology
In addition to cyber threats, the vulnerability of AI systems is equally concerning. Through data poisoning, model evasion, and model extractions, those seeking to adapt models may introduce false data, model weights, and similar tactics to corrupt the AI models to manipulate outputs to benefit their outcome and distort or steal from AI-driven processes.[17] These adaptations potentially undermine the reliability of the models as well as features designed to enable cybersecurity and fraud detection. Data privacy also presents a notable concern.
Synthetic Identities and Impersonation
Identity impersonation and synthetic identity fraud are becoming ever more sophisticated. “Fraudsters can use AI to mimic voice, video, and other behavioral identity factors that financial institutions use to verify a customer’s identity.”[18] The ability to generate near-flawless fake credentials and believable digital appearances raises the stakes for banks, insurers, payment processors, and other financial entities that have traditionally relied on physical or behavioral markers for identification. Fraudsters posing as CEOs and CFOs have caused millions in losses by using AI to execute elaborate schemes to develop synthetic identities to convince company employees to make unauthorized transfers.[19] In response to these concerns, the Commission has issued customer education and outreach announcements to enhance market participants and customers’ awareness of these threats.[20]
Third Party Risks
Addressing these threats requires a comprehensive and collaborative approach to third-party risk management and data security.
According to the Treasury Report, “financial institutions should appropriately consider how to assess and manage the risks of an extended supply chain, including potentially heightened risks with data and data processing of a wide array of vendors, data brokers, and infrastructure providers.”[21]
In some instances, there may be high barriers to entry for providing third-party services. For example, few firms have the capability to offer globally accessible cloud-based services that demonstrate the requisite security protocols to enable financial services market participants to comply with substantial data security, integrity, and transfer standards.
As a result, only a few service providers may have the capability to deliver the quality of services needed or to respond to the vast amounts of data or information stored or processed by financial services firms. The limited competition for services may lead to a significant percentage of market participants relying on a handful of service providers.
We may describe these concerns as concentration risks.[22] While CFTC-regulated entities must “assess the risks of using AI and update policies, procedures, controls, and systems, as appropriate, under applicable CFTC statutory and regulatory requirements,”[23] the Commission, as a regulator, should also take an active role in understanding these risks.
Each of these links in the supply chain introduces potential vulnerabilities, especially with the increasing volume of data and the complexity of AI models. I have repeatedly raised these concerns.[24] It is important that all partners adhere to robust data protection, privacy guidelines, and contingency planning. These protocols are not only essential for safeguarding financial services firms, but also crucial for the resilience of the entire financial system.
Next Steps
The Treasury Report suggested next steps that identify both challenges and opportunities. I’d like to highlight a few of them that resonate with me and some proposals that I have advocated for during my service at the CFTC.
As I have intimated, as we study market participants’ use of AI, we are increasingly thoughtful about the Commission’s use of AI. As I’ve noted previously:
The CFTC has on staff surveillance analysts, forensic economists, and futures trading investigators, each of whom identify and investigate potential violations. These groups use supervisory technology (SupTech) in support of their work. Over the past few years, the CFTC has transitioned much of its data intake and data analysis to a cloud-based architecture. This increases the flexibility and reliability of our data systems and allows us to scale them as necessary. This transition will allow the Commission to store, analyze, and ingest this data more cost-effectively and efficiently.[25]
Coordination
I have consistently encouraged both inter-agency and international coordination on issues related to AI.[26]
I have advocated for “the creation of an inter-agency task force composed of financial regulators…. [to develop] guidelines, tools, benchmarks, and best practices for the use and regulation of AI in the financial services industry.”[27] As I have noted, “this approach promises efficiencies and a needed clarity for market participants trying to navigate diverse and sometimes divergent regulatory and compliance frameworks.”[28]
Financial services firms have indicated a desire to clarify regulatory approaches to innovative technologies. As reported to Treasury, “[s]ome financial institutions, however, expressed concern about the possibility of regulatory fragmentation as different financial sector regulators at both the state and federal level consider regulations around AI. This concern also extends to firms operating under different international jurisdictions.”[29]
Collaboration can help address significant issues and problems of scale, as well as some smaller changes that can help along the way. For example, the Treasury Report notes that “[a]s Generative AI increases in usage, there appears to be a significant gap in data available to financial institutions for training their models to prevent fraud….Ramifications of this data divide are especially apparent for anti-fraud use cases where larger institutions generally have much more internal data.”[30] This is not something that can be solved overnight, and will require thoughtful consideration and coordinated efforts.
The Treasury Report also encourages clarifying how we understand AI by advocating for a common lexicon specific to AI. Developing an agreed upon definition which would benefit financial institutions, regulators, and consumers alike, to “not only facilitate appropriate discussion with third parties and regulators but could help improve understanding of the capabilities AI systems may have to improve risk management or to amplify new risks,” and “may help address the current lack of clarity around measuring and identifying risks, especially with the rapid adoption of Generative AI. As noted in the introduction, terminology can have implications for the common understanding of AI technology and its associated risks as well.”[31]
Conclusion
I usually offer a standard disclaimer at the start of my remarks—something like, my thoughts are my own and do not reflect the perspectives of others. Today, however, I feel compelled to disclose that I used ChatGPT to draft this speech. Just kidding.
The research and development of this speech reflects weeks of effort by my staff and their patience with my not-so-gentle editing. However, as someone who spends significant amounts of time reading, studying, and processing data, I am tempted, at times, to defer to an increasingly capable generative AI model to serve as my speechwriter-in-chief. Assuming others will find tempting uses for AI as well, let’s figure out the best, responsible path for bringing this technology into our markets.
[1] The thoughts and perspectives that I share with you today are my own; they are not the views and perspectives of my fellow Commissioners, the Commission, or the staff of the CFTC.
[3] Treasury Report at 12-15.
[4] See, e.g., 7 U.S.C. § 5.
[5] See, e.g., Keynote Remarks of Commissioner Johnson for Governing Data at Iowa Innovation and Business Law Center and Yale Law Journal of Law & Technology at Yale Law School: Twin Peaks – Emerging Technologies (AI) and Critical Third Parties (Apr. 4, 2025), https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/opajohnson16.
[8] U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Request for Comment on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in CFTC-Regulated Markets (Jan. 25, 2024), https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8853-24 (citing Commissioner Kristin Johnson, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Financial Markets, Manuel F. Cohen Lecture, George Washington University Law School (Oct. 17, 2023) (describing the historic development and integration of increasingly complex algorithms including supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms in financial markets)).
[11] For example, a joint letter from trade associations and exchanges referred to the use of AI for compliance processes and controls and the World Federation of Exchanges identified compliance as a use case, stating “AI can be used to reduce manual inputs for trade documentation and regulatory reporting, as well as reducing market manipulation….” See Letter from World Federation of Exchanges to CFTC, Regarding Response to Request for Comment on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in CFTC-Regulated Markets (Apr. 24, 2024), https://comments.cftc.gov/PublicComments/ViewComment.aspx?id=73447; Letter from Futures Industry Association, FIA Principal Traders Group, CME Group, Inc., and Intercontinental Exchange Inc. to CFTC, Regarding Release No. 8853-24 (Jan. 25, 2024) Request for Comment on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in CFTC-Regulated Markets (Apr. 24, 2024), https://comments.cftc.gov/PublicComments/ViewComment.aspx?id=73444. The Bank Policy Institute stated that “… AI models, including generative AI tools, are being evaluated or piloted [by banking organizations] to enhance operational efficiencies and risk mitigation in the cybersecurity and fraud prevention contexts.” See Letter from Bank Policy Institute to CFTC, Regarding Request for Comment on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in CFTC-Regulated Markets (CFTC Release No. 8553-24) (Apr. 17, 2024), https://comments.cftc.gov/PublicComments/ViewComment.aspx?id=73424.
[12] See Treasury Report.
[13] Treasury Report at 10-11. Responses to the CFTC’s RFC also highlighted AI-driven fraud risk. For example, Letter from Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy to CFTC, Regarding Request for Comment on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in CFTC Regulated Markets (Apr. 24, 2024), https://comments.cftc.gov/PublicComments/ViewComment.aspx?id=73457.
[14] Treasury Report at 16.
[15] See, e.g., id. at 17.
[21] Treasury Report at 19.
[29] Treasury Report at 35.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Raleigh, NC, April 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —
RegEd, the market-leading provider of enterprise compliance and producer management solutions for insurance and financial services firms, today announced the appointment of Kevin Bieri as Chief Architect. Establishing this new role reflects RegEd’s continued investment in technology modernization and platform scalability to meet the evolving needs of its clients.
Bieri brings more than 15 years of technology and financial services experience, having led architecture and engineering efforts at leading global institutions. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Architecture at Fidelity Investments, where he was responsible for building modern retail trading experiences. Prior to that, he was Director of Architecture at ION Group, following its acquisition of Allegro Development Corp., and held engineering and architecture roles at firms including BlueCrest Capital Management, Credit Suisse, and Barclays Capital.
Bieri has a proven track record of designing and delivering high-performance, cloud-native applications and scalable SaaS platforms in complex financial environments. At RegEd, he will focus on advancing platform architecture, enabling greater flexibility and performance across the company’s solutions, and supporting its long-term innovation strategy.
“Creating the Chief Architect role is a clear signal of our commitment to building a next-generation technology foundation,” said Evan Cox, Chief Technology Officer at RegEd. “I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with Kevin in the past, and I’m confident that his technical leadership and industry experience will be instrumental as we continue to evolve our architecture and deliver outstanding solutions to our clients.”
Bieri shared his enthusiasm for joining RegEd at this pivotal time.
“RegEd is delivering real value in the compliance and producer management space, and I’m excited to help strengthen the technical backbone that supports that mission,” said Kevin Bieri, Chief Architect at RegEd. “This is a unique opportunity to help shape the future of the platform with a focus on performance, scale, and innovation.”
Bieri holds a degree in Finance from Tulane University and is based in Dallas, Texas.
For more information, visit https://www.reged.com.
About RegEd
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Source: The Conversation – UK – By Simon Kolstoe, Associate Professor of Bioethics, University of Portsmouth
Scientists, professors, engineers, teachers and doctors are routinely ranked among the most trustworthy people in society. This is because these professions rely heavily on research, and good research is viewed as the most reliable source of knowledge.
But how trustworthy is research? Recent news from the US suggests that the Trump administration wants to fund more “reproducibility studies”.
These are studies that check to see if previous results can be repeated and are reliable. The administration’s focus seems to be specifically on studies that revisit the debunked claim of a link between vaccines and autism.
This is a worrying waste of effort, given the extensive evidence showing that there is no link between vaccines and autism, and the harm that suggesting this link can cause. However, the broader idea of funding studies that attempt to repeat earlier research is a good one.
Take research on Alzheimer’s disease as an example. In June 2024, Nature retracted a highly cited paper reporting an important theory relating to the mechanism of the disease. Unfortunately, it took 18 years to spot the errors and retract the paper.
If influential studies like this were regularly repeated by others, it wouldn’t have taken so long to spot the errors in the original research.
Alzheimer’s is proving a particularly tricky problem to solve despite the large amounts of money spent researching the disease. Being unable to reproduce key results contributes to this problem because new research relies on the trustworthiness of earlier research.
More broadly, it has been known for almost ten years that 70% of researchers have problems reproducing experiments conducted by other scientists. The problem is particularly acute in cancer research and psychology.
Research is complicated and there may be legitimate reasons research findings cannot be reproduced. Mistakes or dishonesty are not necessarily the cause.
In psychology or the social sciences, failure to reproduce results – despite using identical methods – could be due to using different populations, for instance, across different countries or cultures. In physical or medical sciences problems reproducing results could be down to using different equipment, chemicals or measurement techniques.
A lot of research may also not be reproducible simply because the researchers do not fully understand all the complexities of what they are studying. If all the relevant variables (such as genetics and environmental factors) are not understood or even identified, it is unsurprising that very similar experiments can yield different results.
In these cases, sometimes as much can be learned from a negative result as from a positive one, as this helps inform the design of future work.
Here, it is helpful to distinguish between reproducing another researcher’s exact results and being given enough information by the original researchers to replicate their experiments.
Science advances by comparing notes and discussing differences, so researchers must always give enough information in their reports to allow someone else to repeat (replicate) the experiment. This ensures the results can be trusted even if they may not be reproduced exactly.
Transparency is therefore central to research integrity, both in terms of trusting the research and trusting the people doing the research.
Unfortunately, the incentive structure within research doesn’t always encourage such transparency. The “publish or perish” culture and aggressive practices by journals often lead to excessive competition rather than collaboration and open research practices.
One solution, as new priorities from the US have suggested, is to directly fund researchers to replicate each other’s studies.
This is a promising development because most other funding, alongside opportunities to publish in the top journals, is instead linked to novelty. Unfortunately, this encourages researchers to act quickly to produce something unique rather than take their time to conduct thorough and transparent experiments.
We need to move to a system that rewards reliable research rather than just novel research. And part of this comes through rewarding people who focus on replication studies.
Industry also plays a part. Companies conducting research and development can sometimes be guilty of throwing a lot of money at a project and then pulling the plug quickly if a product (such as a new medicine) seems not to work. The reason for such failures is often unclear, but the reliability of earlier research is a contributing factor.
To avoid this problem, companies should be encouraged to replicate some of the original findings (perhaps significant experiments conducted by academics) before proceeding with development. In the long run, this strategy may turn out to be quicker and more efficient than the rapid chopping and changing that occurs now.
The scale of the reproducibility, or replicability, problem in research comes as a surprise to the public who have been told to “trust the science”. But over recent years there has been increasing recognition that the culture of research is as important as the experiments themselves.
If we want to be able to “trust the science”, science must be transparent and robustly conducted.
This is exactly what has happened with research looking at the link between vaccines and autism. The topic was so important that in this case the replication studies were done and found that there is, in fact, no link between vaccines and autism.
Simon Kolstoe works for the University of Portsmouth, and is a trustee of the UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO). He receives research and consultancy funding from charities, universities and government. He chairs research ethics committees for the UK Health Research Authority, Ministry of Defence and Health Security Agency.
– ref. Scientists should try to repeat more studies, but not those looking for a link between vaccines with autism – https://theconversation.com/scientists-should-try-to-repeat-more-studies-but-not-those-looking-for-a-link-between-vaccines-with-autism-253696
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Amalendu Misra, Professor of International Politics, Lancaster University
The president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, declared a state of emergency in the capital city, Lima, on March 18. The decree, which came amid a wave of violence, gives the police and military full control of the security situation there for a period of 30 days.
Peru is no stranger to emergencies of this kind. Only last year, in September 2024, Boluarte’s government declared a 60-day state of emergency in 12 districts of the capital. The rationale for declaring the emergency now, as in the past, remains the same: to address the threat posed by criminal gangs.
The latest emergency was prompted by the brazen killing of Paul Flores, the popular 39-year-old lead singer of a Peruvian band called Armonia 10. Flores was shot dead by assailants who attacked a bus he was riding in with bandmates and attempted to extort money from them as they left a concert.
Peru has seen a spate of killings, violent extortion and attacks on public places in recent months. According to the Peruvian police, there were 459 killings across the country between January 1 and March 16, and over 1,900 reports of extortion in January alone.
Many Peruvians point to the fact that the extortion and homicide racket may be far more severe than official statistics suggest. Plenty of those affected by criminality do not report their misfortune for fears of reprisal by criminal gangs.
On March 21, a few days after the state of emergency in Lima was declared, Peru’s Congress voted to remove the interior minister, Juan José Santiváñez, from office. In a post on X, they said Santiváñez must take responsibility for his “inability to address the wave of citizen insecurity the country is facing”.
Peru serves as a hotspot for sexual slavery, illegal organ trafficking and labour exploitation. In addition, it is also the second-largest producer of cocaine in the world.
Over 95,000 hectares of land was dedicated to coca cultivation in the country in 2023 – an 18% increase from the figure recorded in 2021. This expansion has been driven primarily by cultivation in Peru’s indigenous territories and protected areas. Indigenous territories now account for 20% of all the coca cultivated in Peru.
These lucrative operations are led by local crime organisations, often working in collusion with corrupt public officials and foreign partners. According to Organized Crime Index, these criminal networks include police officers and migration officials who work at control points on the borders and facilitate illegal activities.
The logistics of Peru’s cocaine trade are often also managed by Serbian, Mexican and Colombian mafias. From Peru, cocaine goes through Mexico for the US market and Brazil for the European market. Some shipments are sent directly to Oceania and Japan.
Peru’s perpetual political instability, weak criminal justice system and the poor presence of the state in its outlying territories allow various criminal groups to engage in their nefarious trade.
Two former Peruvian presidents have faced corruption charges. One of them, Alejandro Toledo, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for corruption in 2024. The authorities accused Toledo of accepting US$35 million (£27 million) in bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to allow the company to build a highway in Peru.
Another controversial former president, Alberto Fujimori, had been in prison for 16 years for human rights abuses and corruption after being extradited from Chile in 2007. He was released in 2023 on humanitarian grounds and died the following year.
Meanwhile, prosecutors in Peru are seeking a 34-year sentence for ex-president Pedro Castillo, who was removed from office and arrested after his attempt to dissolve Congress in late 2022 and rule by decree. Castillo has described his trial as “politicised” and has refused legal counsel provided by the judicial system.
So many former Peruvian presidents have been accused of crimes that the country has designated a small jail on the outskirts of Lima specifically to house them. As Colombia-based journalist John Otis put it in a radio interview in 2023, the Barbadillo prison not only serves as a symbol of corruption, but also a testimony to political dysfunction in the country.
The spread of economic activities operating outside the law, such as illegal gold mining, has emboldened organised crime in Peru. Instances of politicians and criminals working together to line their pockets are not uncommon.
A good example is César Álvarez, the governor of the resource-rich Áncash region of western Peru. Nicknamed “the beast” by the citizens of the province because of his reputation for political violence, Álvarez allegedly operated with impunity by asserting his control through an elaborate network of government institutions and criminal organisations.
According to an indictment by Peru’s public prosecutor’s office, Álvarez extorted, threatened and ordered the assassination of political adversaries while in office between 2007 and 2014. Álvarez, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, was sentenced to eight years and three months in prison in 2019.
When the government in Lima last declared an emergency in parts of the capital in 2024, the country’s federation of business associations stated: “We live under siege from organised crime which has taken control of the country in the alarming absence of the state”.
This statement appears prophetic. Peru, it appears, is losing the battle against organised crime.
Amalendu Misra is a recipient of Nuffield Foundation and British Academy Fellowships.
– ref. Peru is losing its battle against organised crime – https://theconversation.com/peru-is-losing-its-battle-against-organised-crime-252349
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Simon Bullock, Research Associate, Shipping and Climate Change, University of Manchester
You’re probably reading this article on a device assembled in Asia, using materials shipped there from all around the world. After it was made, your phone or laptop most likely travelled to your country on a huge ship powered by one of the world’s largest diesel engines, one of thousands plying the world’s oceans. All this maritime activity adds up: international shipping burns over 200 million tonnes of fossil fuels a year.
The sector is trying to clean up its act. Its 2023 global climate strategy set a “strive” ambition of 30% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, relative to 2008 emissions and 80% by 2040. That’s close to a level of ambition that can deliver on the Paris climate agreement, but this target urgently needs policies to make it happen. This is also urgent: 2030 is only five years away.
The technology to deliver a rapid transition exists. Wind propulsion technology – yes, sails – can be fitted to existing ships, and much of the sector could soon switch to zero-emission fuels if they were seen as a good investment.
That said, the transition needs to be fast and will be costly. This raises questions about who is to foot the bill.
That’s the backdrop for a pivotal meeting this week in London at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO is the United Nations’ agency, made up of 175 nation states, charged with coordinating a response on shipping’s climate pollution. At this meeting, nations will take a series of decisions which will have a profound impact on whether the sector makes a rapid transition away from fossil fuels, or if it continues to limp along on its current high-carbon course.
There are two crucial and interlinked decisions to be taken, and at the moment the proposals range from strong to exceptionally weak. Outcomes could go either way.
The efficiency of shipping hasn’t got much attention, even though it’s an important part of reducing emissions. One key policy is the Carbon Intensity Indicator, which measures how much carbon is emitted per tonne of cargo for every mile travelled. The IMO’s current strategy requires improving this efficiency by 40% by 2030, compared to 2008 levels.
Annual fuel oil consumption (by ship type):
But here’s the problem: global demand for shipping is expected to grow by around 60% in that same time. So even with a 40% efficiency boost, total emissions from shipping could stay the same – or even go up – because so much more cargo will be moved.
Despite this, many countries haven’t updated their policies to reflect this growing demand or to align with the IMO’s updated “30% cuts by 2030” target.
Some countries, including Palau – a Pacific island nation vulnerable to climate change – and the UK, have pushed for stronger action. But there remains a long way to go before the world agrees on an ambitious path forward.
The more hotly debated issue is around a fiendishly complicated set of “mid-term measures”. A key part of this is creating a “global fuel standard” – essentially, targets for how much “zero emission” (or “green”) fuel ships must use and by when.
These rules would come with penalties or costs for using polluting fuels, which would effectively put a price on greenhouse gas emissions. Experts have long agreed that putting a price on shipping pollution is the most effective way to encourage cleaner and more efficient practices. But despite nearly 20 years of discussions, countries still haven’t agreed how to do this.
Decisions are further complicated by wrangles over how to fairly distribute the revenues from these penalties.
The good news is that the world is less than a week away from a decision which will put a price on shipping pollution in some form. The bad news is that proposals on the table could easily deliver a weak, uncertain price signal which doesn’t push the industry to invest in more green solutions. And the fuel standard itself might fall short of the ambitious climate targets set in 2023.
Until now, talks on improving shipping efficiency and on pricing polluting fuels have happened separately. A big task at the IMO summit in London is to integrate the two into one coordinated plan.
From a climate perspective, these policies should be judged by whether they will work together to cut shipping emissions by 30% by 2030 (the IMO’s current target).
As things stand, that outcome is still possible – but is now an uphill battle. Agreement this week is crucial and countries will show their true colours. If they can’t agree to agree more ambitious policies it will undermine the IMO’s ability to regulate shipping emissions.
Historically, the IMO tends to take its biggest decisions in the last hours of Thursday in week-long negotiations. Both ambitious and more cautious countries have a lot on the line, as the measure adopted will be legally binding for all of them.
A positive result depends on whether powerful groups such as the European Union line up to support ambitious measures, as as proposed by African, Caribbean, Central American and Pacific countries as well as the UK.
Although countries have agreed on climate targets for shipping, some still refuse to support the policies needed to actually phase out fossil fuels fast enough. That stance much change. If done right, IMO negotiations this week could be a turning point – not just for shipping, but for renewable energy and climate action worldwide.
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Simon Bullock is a member of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology
Christiaan De Beukelaer receives funding from the ClimateWorks Foundation.
Tristan Smith owns shares in UMAS International, that working alongside UCL Energy Institute, provides advisory services on the subject of maritime decarbonisation. My research group is recipient of research funding from UKRI, Climateworks Foundation and Quadratue Climate Foundation. I am on the advisory board of the Global Maritime Forum, and the Strategy Board of the Getting to Zero Coalition – not for profit structures that work across governments and industry stakeholders on maritime decarbonisation.
– ref. At a pivotal meeting, the world is set to decide how to cut shipping emissions – https://theconversation.com/at-a-pivotal-meeting-the-world-is-set-to-decide-how-to-cut-shipping-emissions-253462
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dipa Kamdar, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, Kingston University
TV star Ben Grylls says he does it for survival – and teaches his reality show contestants to do the same. Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Márquez practised this therapy to train for his 2009 fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr (he lost). Former Indian prime minister Morarji Desai claimed a daily glass of the stuff was a remedy for many diseases and contributed to his longevity.
What is the therapy these celebrities practice? Urophagia, also known as urine therapy, is the practice of drinking urine.
Whether the urine is your own, someone else’s or even obtained from an animal, people have been drinking pee as medicine for thousands of years. Most claims about urine therapy are based on anecdotes or ancient texts with no robust scientific evidence to support the benefits of urine therapy. There is evidence to show that drinking urine has a number of health risks, however,
In Indian Ayurvedic medicine, urine was used to treat asthma, allergies, indigestion, wrinkles and even cancer. The Roman poet Catullus believed urine helped to whiten teeth – possibly due to its ammonia content.
As a rudimentary test for diabetes, doctors used to taste urine to check how sweet it was. Now, of course, we have urine test strips to check for glucose in the urine.
In 1945, British naturopath John W. Armstrong published a book called “The Water of Life: A Treatise on Urine Therapy.” He claimed that drinking one’s own urine and massaging it into the skin could cure major illnesses.
Historically, drinking pee to treat illnesses may have made sense because of a lack of medical alternatives. But, as the urine-sipping celebrities above show, the practice is still followed today.
There are reported cases of using urine for home remedies to treat seizures in children in Nigeria. The China Urine Therapy Association claims that drinking and washing with urine can cure constipation and skin sores.
Urine is made by the body to get rid of waste. It is mostly made up of water (about 95%) and several waste products, including urea (2%), which is made by the liver after breaking down proteins in the body, creatinine, which is left over from energy-releasing processes in the muscles, and salts. If urine is just waste, how could drinking it be beneficial?
The kidneys act as regulators – not just to get rid of any toxins but to remove anything that it doesn’t need. For example, excess vitamins that aren’t needed by the body are found in urine.
Drinking urine means these vitamins and minerals are getting recycled instead of being wasted – this also goes for other hormones, proteins and antibodies that can be found in urine. However, the amounts of these substances in a glass of urine are unlikely to be enough to be beneficial and a vitamin supplement may be more effective.
Some advocates of urine therapy believe it can help prevent allergic reactions and control autoimmune conditions. The antibodies in the urine are supposed to make the immune system stronger.
Other modern uses also include cleansing and detoxification – some people have claimed that continually drinking recycled urine leads to cleaner urine and blood by removing toxins and leading to better overall health.
However, there’s no scientific evidence to support any of these claims.
Some social media influencers claim that urine has healing properties and drinking or applying it to the skin can help skin conditions such as acne and infections. As mentioned, urine does contain urea, which is often added to skin care products as a moisturiser. But the concentration of urea in urine is unlikely to be high enough to have this effect.
Urine also contains dehydroepiandrosterone, a steroid hormone produced by the body that declines with age, which has been marketed as an anti-ageing ingredient – but there isn’t enough data to demonstrate its efficacy.
Some advocates of urine therapy believe that urine is sterile. However, research has found that urine naturally contains low levels of bacteria and research shows that bacteria can further contaminate the urine when it leaves the body. Drinking urine, then, can introduce bacteria and toxins into the gut and potentially cause further illness like stomach infections.
Urine becomes more concentrated when it comes out again – the kidneys may have to work harder to filter out the excess, putting extra strain on them. The kidneys need water to process these salts.
Drinking urine means you have to pee out more water than you get from it, which speeds up dehydration – it’s similar to drinking seawater. Some drugs, such as penicillin antibiotics or heart medicines, are also excreted in the urine – by drinking urine, it can cause toxic levels of these drugs to build up in the body.
Mainstream medical communities do not endorse urine therapy as it lacks scientific evidence. Small amounts of urine drinking are unlikely to be harmful. But for tangible health benefits, other therapies with scientific evidence may be the way to go.
Dipa Kamdar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Drinking pee to improve health is an ancient practice – but the risks outweigh the evidence – https://theconversation.com/drinking-pee-to-improve-health-is-an-ancient-practice-but-the-risks-outweigh-the-evidence-253353
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ceri Brown, Associate Professor (Reader) in Education, University of Bath
The problem of the disadvantage gap – also known as the attainment gap – is a persistent one in education in England. It refers to how children from certain groups, such as those from poorer backgrounds, ethnic minorities or who have been in care, do worse at school than their peers.
It’s a central concern of the recent interim report of the ongoing review into England’s national curriculum, which points out that the current system is not working well for everyone.
The disadvantage gaps between groups can be measured in different ways. The more simplistic way is to consider outcome measures, such as exam results, in isolation.
For example, at the end of their primary schooling, eleven-year-olds in English state schools take standardised key stage assessments – SATs. These results are used to calculate the disadvantage gap index. The index ranks all pupils in the country and assesses the difference in the average position of disadvantaged pupils and others. It shows whether the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is widening or closing.
A disadvantage gap of zero would indicate that there is no difference between the average performance of disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils. According to the Department for Education’s figures for 2023-24, the disadvantage gap index at this level is 3.13 in children’s key stage scores. While it had been decreasing between 2011 and 2018, the gap rose to the highest level since 2012 in 2022.
For GCSEs, taken at age 16, the disadvantage gap index is 3.92. It has decreased slightly after widening in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
A more sophisticated analysis of the disadvantage gap can be made by comparing the rate of progress that children achieve through their schooling career. Children in English state schools take a baseline assessment when they first enter their reception year, and their progress from this point can be measured by comparing with their SATs key stage results in year six.
Ideally, all children would progress in their learning at the same rate. But research by one of us (Nadia Siddiqui) shows that pupils from persistently low socioeconomic groups do not progress at the same level as their counterparts.
A recent longitudinal research study – meaning that it has tracked the same participants over years – has shown that since the pandemic, there has been a very big impact on the reading and maths progress of primary school children from poorer backgrounds.
At secondary level, progress can be measured by comparing children’s progress from their SATs at the end of primary school with their GCSE exam results. This measure is called “progress 8”. It indicates how much a secondary school has helped pupils progress from their point of entry at year seven, when compared to a government-calculated expected level of improvement.
The progress 8 measure focuses on the progression children make from their starting points, as opposed to fixating only on the end points in children’s learning.
The government uses this measure not to compare individuals, but rather schools to see how much value has been added by each school relative to other schools. But it also measures the progress of key groups, such as children receiving free school meals or of different ethnicities.
The latest data shows that pupils from poorer backgrounds – those eligible for free school meals – made less progress than their peers. This was the case in every ethnic group.
In the last few decades, a number of education policies have been introduced to narrow the disadvantage gap determined by household poverty.
Direct funding to improve educational targets is a popular approach and has been adopted in countries across the world. This means schools receive additional funding for admitting disadvantaged pupils. This money should be spent on evidence-informed interventions for improving educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils.
Since 2010, schools in England have been incentivised by pupil premium funding to invest directly in the academic learning of disadvantaged pupils if they are not reaching expected levels. Schools receive funding for each pupil who is, or has been, eligible for free school meals, and for those who have been in care.
Pupil premium funding has changed the pattern of intake of disadvantaged pupils by schools. Segregation of poorer and wealthier pupils, in which pupils from poorer households are clustered in particular schools, has reduced. Schools now take more of a mix of children from poorer and wealthier backgrounds.
This is good because mixed schools create fairer and more inclusive societies where pupils are better equipped to succeed in diverse environments. What’s more, the relative disadvantage gap has slightly improved for pupils at primary school.
The evidence on interventions for disadvantaged pupils is still evolving. For practical reasons, approaches to improving the academic disadvantage gap are mainly applied at school level.
However, in some places, area-based funding schemes, which channel funding to selected regions of particular high poverty, have been introduced. Our research is exploring the extent to which this may be a feasible way to narrow the disadvantage gap.
Ceri Brown receives funding from UKRI (ESRC) and the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit.
Nadia Siddiqui receives funding from UKRI, EEF, British Council.
– ref. Children from poorer families do worse at school – here’s how to understand the disadvantage gap – https://theconversation.com/children-from-poorer-families-do-worse-at-school-heres-how-to-understand-the-disadvantage-gap-235706
Source: The Conversation – UK – By John Bridges, Professor of Planetary Science, University of Leicester
A mission will deliver rock and soil from Mars to laboratories on Earth in the 2030s. Mars Sample Return (MSR) is led by Nasa with participation from the European Space Agency (Esa). The mission will allow scientists to use the best laboratory instruments on Earth to determine whether Mars hosted microbial life billions of years ago.
So what will happen to the samples once they arrive on Earth?
Nasa’s Perseverance rover has already been doing the hard work of collecting the samples. The rover has been exploring a Martian location known as Jezero Crater since landing in February 2021. Along the way, it has used its drill to extract cores – cylindrical samples of rock – from Martian rocks, depositing them in sample tubes on the floor of the crater.
Present day levels of cosmic radiation at the Martian surface are thought to be too high for life to survive there. However, conditions may have been more hospitable to life billions of years ago, and it is these potential traces of ancient life that Perseverance was designed to seek out.
In September 2023, an independent review board found MSR’s budget and schedule to be “unrealistic,” and said that this would potentially delay the mission’s launch beyond 2028. This has led Nasa to seek alternative approaches to carrying out the mission.
The space agency issued a call for ideas from industry and is currently studying two proposals. But in terms of the broad mechanics, something – a rover or small helicopter – will need to collect the sample tubes and deliver them to a vehicle. That vehicle will then blast off the surface of Mars.
A capsule, carrying those Martian samples, will eventually enter the Earth’s atmosphere and parachute down to a government facility in Utah, US. This is all projected to happen in the 2030s.
Once safely on Earth, the samples from Jezero Crater will be analysed using sensitive instruments that are too big and complex to send on a rover to Mars. That’s the essence of MSR: in order to unambiguously identifying any traces of ancient Martian life, scientists will need to carry out multiple experiments and replicate the results.
In other words, separate and independent scientific teams will have to show that they can get the same outcomes from those experiments.
The scientific community is still making new discoveries with the 380kg of rock and soil from the Moon that was delivered to Earth by the six Apollo missions over 50 years ago. In the Apollo era, scientists had to work out a plan to keep the Moon samples pristine, in order to preserve them for generations of scientists to study.
Their solution was to put them in glove boxes: sealed containers that allow users to manipulate the contents via long gloves that extend from the outside to the inside of the box. These glove boxes contain dry nitrogen gas that protects against chemical changes to the samples. That’s worked well for the Moon rocks; the Apollo 11-17 samples can be seen and studied at Nasa’s Johnson Space Center in Houston today.
A more challenging plan will be needed for the approximately 500g of carefully selected Martian rock and soil. The facilities in which they are eventually stored will need to carefully control factors such as humidity and temperature. They will also need to prevent the samples from being contaminated by terrestrial microbes.
The requirements for managing the Martian samples are decided by an organisation called the Committee on Space Research (Cospar). Under Cospar guidance, MSR is defined as a Category V Restricted Earth Return Mission.
While scientists do not generally expect the Martian samples to contain present-day life, the requirements mean that the samples will be treated as if they do until the possibility is excluded. Cospar says: “A program of life detection and biohazard testing, or a proven sterilisation process, should be undertaken as an absolute precondition for the controlled distribution of any portion of the sample.”
Thus, a major part of MSR planning is the design and construction of a sample receiving facility (SRF), a building where initial analyses of the rock and soil are to take place. The work will be conducted under strict biocontainment rules, which mean that scientists will use equipment and follow procedures usually deployed in some of the most world’s most secure labs, designed to study harmful bacteria and viruses such as Ebola and Marburg virus. This situation will persist until a “sample safety assessment” has taken place.
This safety assessment will determine whether the samples can be studied at lower levels of biological containment. Only after that stage and another called “basic characterisation”, where scientists carry out an initial study of the minerals and chemistry of the rocks, will the samples gradually be released to the wider scientific community.
One problem for the mission is the complexity and cost of the SRF, which is expected to rise to hundreds of millions of dollars, or euros. This is largely because of the need to not only comply with the Cospar rules but also to incorporate the range of microscopes and spectrometers needed for the analyses.
Much of the reason for the delays in delivering the overall MSR programme come down to cost, so there is currently pressure to reduce the price tag. Against this background, Nasa and Esa have convened a measurement definition team, a panel of scientists who will determine which analyses are needed within the SRF. The resulting report will be published shortly.
In parallel, a programme of work to design and build new technology for MSR that allows both biological containment and analysis of the minerals in Martian samples is taking place. Esa, with Nasa collaboration, is funding the design of secure chambers called multi-barrier isolator cabinets, inside which the Martian rock and soil can be studied.
These cabinets will also incorporate the range of different scientific instruments needed for the basic characterisation stage. These could include powerful microscopes and a Raman spectrometer.
Combining the requirements for containment and analysis in this way has the potential to not only reduce the time needed before samples can be released to the scientific community, but also to substantially reduce the costs of the SRF and thus help the overall MSR programme.
John Bridges of Space Park Leicester, University of Leicester is funded by the European Space Agency and UK Space Agency to design and build isolator, spectroscopic and portable technology for Mars Sample Return at Space Park Leicester. He is a member of the NASA-ESA MSR Measurement Definition Team.
– ref. Nasa and Esa want to bring Martian rocks to Earth. Here’s what will happen to the samples once they get here – https://theconversation.com/nasa-and-esa-want-to-bring-martian-rocks-to-earth-heres-what-will-happen-to-the-samples-once-they-get-here-253914
Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
As part of the comprehensive state program “Construction”, supervised by the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services, in 2025, construction, renovation and implementation of 109 facilities and activities in the healthcare sector are underway. This was reported by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.
“Today marks World Health Day. This is a reason to pay attention to the work on developing healthcare infrastructure. In recent years, a number of significant projects in the healthcare sector have been implemented in Russia. Among them are modern multidisciplinary hospitals equipped with advanced medical equipment, renovated outpatient clinics that meet all the requirements for patient comfort and safety, as well as specialized medical centers where innovative diagnostic and treatment methods are being implemented. As part of the comprehensive state program “Construction”, we are building, updating and implementing 109 facilities and events in the healthcare sector. Among them are the construction of federal children’s rehabilitation centers in Yevpatoria and Novosibirsk Oblast, a new multidisciplinary medical center of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency of Russia in Yalta and many other institutions,” said Marat Khusnullin.
Thus, the Federal Children’s Rehabilitation Center, which is being built in Yevpatoriya by specialists from the PPC “Unified Customer in the Sphere of Construction”, is intended for children with diseases of the nervous system, musculoskeletal system, somatic and other diseases. An administrative building with an area of about 2 thousand square meters has already been put into operation after a complete restoration. In addition, a consultative and diagnostic building and a hospital building with 300 beds have been erected, which are now being equipped. Also under construction is a boarding house for children and parents, a hostel for medical personnel for 225 places and a building with a dining hall.
“The Federal Children’s Rehabilitation Center in Crimea is being built on the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In Podolsk, Moscow Region, such a facility has already been operating since 2023. Another large facility is the Federal Children’s Rehabilitation Center in Novosibirsk Region. On the territory of the medical institution, a hospital building with 300 beds and the main building are being built. Recently, specialists began to build a boarding house building, where young patients will live with their parents. Its area will exceed 8 thousand square meters,” said Deputy Minister of Construction and Housing and Public Utilities Yuri Gordeyev.
Also in St. Petersburg, a clinical building of the N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center is being built. The new building will include an admissions department, a 204-bed hospital, bone marrow transplant, resuscitation and intensive care departments. An operating block with 8 operating rooms is planned to provide high-tech care to cancer patients. This will allow the center to expand scientific research and training of specialists.
Another landmark building in the Northern capital is the new building of the Research Institute of Children’s Oncology, Hematology and Transplantology named after R.M. Gorbacheva, which is a division of the First Saint Petersburg State Medical University named after Academician I.P. Pavlov. The building, with an area of 17 thousand square meters, includes a hospital with 110 beds, bone marrow transplant departments, resuscitation and intensive care, 5 operating rooms and a blood transfusion department.
A treatment and diagnostic building for the Center for Dermatovenereology and Cosmetology is being built in Moscow. The building will include admission departments for adults and children, a radiation diagnostics department, a 40-bed hospital, 2 operating rooms, a 6-bed intensive care unit, and a sterilization department. The center will provide assistance to patients with lymphomas, skin tumors, and severe dermatosis.
In addition, a multidisciplinary medical center of the FMBA is being built on the Crimean peninsula, in the resort city of Yalta, which will provide emergency, planned and high-tech care in key areas: surgery, cardiology, oncology, pediatrics and resuscitation. The center will include a clinic, a diagnostic department, classrooms and housing for employees.
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