Inflation is building again; but the housing industry may find it harder to do so as a result of Trump tariffs. Win McNamee/Getty Images
Inflation figures released on Feb. 12, 2025, will come as a disappointment to Americans who hoped President Donald Trump would be true to his word on bringing down prices “on Day One.” It will also put pressure on the new administration to be wary of policies that may heat up inflation – and that includes tariffs.
The consumer price index, which measures the change in prices paid by consumers for a representative basket of goods and services, rose unexpectedly from December to January by 0.5%. It means consumers are paying around 3% more on item prices than they were a year ago.
The news isn’t good for anyone concerned. It means inflation remains above the Federal Reserve’s long-run target of 2% – making it harder for the central bank to cut rates at its next meeting on March 19. At its last meeting, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee kept its benchmark federal funds rate unchanged at a range of 4.25-4.50%.
Following the release of the latest inflation data, markets have a stronger conviction that the Fed will again hold rates steady when it meets in March.
It also means more pain for consumers. Higher interest rates set by the Fed play a large role in determining rates for mortgages, credit cards and auto loans. If January’s rate of inflation were to continue throughout 2025, consumers would see a painful 6.2% annualized inflation rate.
And although it would be churlish to link the latest jump in inflation to an administration just weeks old, it does put into focus the current slate of Trump economic policies. Economists have long warned that imposing tariffs on imports and cutting taxes does little to curb inflation – rather, they may contribute to faster price increases.
I believe that if these wide-ranging tariffs come into effect, the Federal Reserve will have no choice but to keep rates elevated for the remainder of 2025.
If Trump’s tariffs on Canadian imports, like lumber, take effect, Americans can expect continued price increases in the homebuilding sector. Supply and demand imbalances remain a key driver for higher prices, so fewer houses being built due to higher materials cost will likely lead to higher rents.
Consumers saw better news on new vehicle prices, which remained flat over the month and showed slight declines from a year ago.
This is even as demand for new cars increased 2.5% over 2024. In January 2025, the number of new vehicles sold topped the same month a year earlier for the fifth month in a row.
But as with homebuilding, any tariffs on the import of car parts or materials will impact the auto industry. Carmakers may have breathed an immediate breath of relief when Trump delayed new tariffs on Canada and Mexico. But if deals aren’t reached by the March 1 deadline, industry analysts expect immediate impacts on top sellers.
And any higher cost of new cars will have a knock-on effect on used cars, which saw prices jump 2.2% in January – it’s largest increase since May 2023.
Increased prices are no yoke! (groan)
Of course, not all inflationary pressures are in the purview of government.
All in all, voters who cited inflation as the main reason they were backing Trump may be feeling a little uneasy – the administration is only a few weeks old, but for one reason or other, Americans are experiencing ever higher prices with little relief in sight.
Jason Reed does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Four charged over alleged aggravated armed robbery at Perth
Thursday, 13 February 2025 – 10:17 am.
Four people have been charged over a targeted armed robbery at Perth. Police received a call from the victim of the alleged robbery on Tuesday evening after four people known to him forced their way into his residence. The victim was physically assaulted by one offender who was in possession of a baseball bat, but not seriously injured. The alleged offenders then left the scene with the victim’s vehicle, wallet and phone and a large amount of his property. Police quickly responded, and located the stolen vehicle a short time later at a Newnham residence. Four people – including a 32 Newnham woman, 29 year old Westbury man, 35 year old Newnham man, and 20 year old Launceston man, were located with the vehicle and arrested by police. All four have been charged with aggravated armed robbery and motor vehicle stealing and appeared in the Launceston Magistrates Court yesterday. They are due to appear again on March 11. Police would like to reassure the public this was a targeted incident involving people known to each other and there was no threat to the wider community. Investigations are ongoing. Anyone with information should contact police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000 or online at crimestopperstas.com.au
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Bradly Rosenthal, 42, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to nine years in federal prison for possessing methamphetamine intended for distribution and possessing two loaded firearms as a felon.
Rosenthal sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant three times in February 2024. On March 13, 2024, law enforcement received a report of suspected drug activity at a car wash located in Nekoosa, Wisconsin. Officers responded to the car wash where they encountered Rosenthal. After a K9 alerted to the presence of illicit substances, law enforcement searched Rosenthal’s vehicle and found 266 grams of methamphetamine, two loaded firearms, a Taser, $2,000, and drug distribution paraphernalia. Rosenthal is prohibited from legally possessing firearms because of a prior felony conviction.
At sentencing, Judge Conley expressed concern at Rosenthal’s “repeated serious crimes,” which include prior drug trafficking and firearms offenses, and his continued “endangerment of others.”
The charges against Rosenthal were the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI Central Wisconsin Drug Task Force and the Wisconsin Rapids and Nekoosa Police Departments. The ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force also assisted with the case. The ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force consists of federal agents from ATF and Task Force Officers (TFOs) from local agencies including the Dane County and Clark County Sheriff’s Offices and the Fitchburg, Madison, Sun Prairie, and La Crosse Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Remington and Megan Stelljes prosecuted this case.
This case has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime. The PSN approach emphasizes coordination between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to address gun crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition and violent and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms.
Construction is set to start next week on an upgrade to the rail crossing on State Highway 1B Telephone Road, east of Hamilton, which will reopen to traffic by the middle of the year, Minister of Transport Chris Bishop says. “Economic growth and productivity are a priority for the Government, and I’m pleased this upgrade work is finally getting underway to enable the road to reopen to vehicles and freight,” Mr Bishop says. “The package of improvements being delivered will see the road level raised, and new escape lanes built. The road surface will be raised by up to 410mm over a distance of 90 metres on Telephone Road north of the rail crossing and on Telephone Road/Holland Road/Marshmeadow Road south of the rail crossing. “Escape lanes built on the north side of Holland Road, will ensure longer vehicles heading south do not stack across the rail line as they wait to turn into Holland Road. For vehicles travelling east on Holland Road and wanting to turn left into Telephone Road, the escape lane provides a safe place to wait if access to Telephone Road is blocked by a train. “Safety at the intersection will also be improved with more line marking and signage, including new electronic warning signs when a train is approaching. “As part of the upgrade involves raising the road level, from Wednesday 19 February the intersection of Telephone Road, Holland Road and Marshmeadow Road will be closed to all traffic until the end of construction. This is expected to take around 3 months. “I appreciate the patience of the local community, and strong advocacy of local MP Tim Van de Molen, to bring us to this important milestone. I also want to thank NZTA, KiwiRail, and Waikato District Council for their work to find a pragmatic and cost-effective solution. I look forward to this work being completed as soon as possible, so we get traffic moving over the rail crossing once again.” Notes to Editor:
The rail crossing on SH1B Telephone Road was previously considered one of the most dangerous in New Zealand. The crossing was not level, resulting in low vehicles scraping rail and, in April 2022, dislodging a section of track. The distance between the rail and the intersection was also short, resulting in a high collision risk as cars wait to turn onto Holland Road. Both of these risks are being addressed in this work, enabling a safe reopening of the crossing. As a result of an incident in April 2022 KiwiRail and NZTA decided to immediately close the rail crossing until it could satisfy the safety requirements to reopen. Since then, SH1B traffic has been required to detour along Holland Road, Waverley Road and Seddon Road, adding approximately 10 minutes to through journeys. Following the closure, NZTA commissioned a detailed report on the future options for the crossing from consultants WSP. The report explored a range of options from low-cost interventions such as barrier arms, limited access to light vehicles and judder bars, to more complex options that involved significant engineering work to reconfigure the rail crossing and adjacent intersection. NZTA remained committed to investigating practical and affordable solutions to allow the Telephone Road railway crossing to reopen and continued to work with KiwiRail. This led to the new design which met requirements to allow the rail crossing to reopen. Another important factor in the new design meeting safety requirements is the reduction in traffic volumes, particularly the lower number of trucks, using SH1B following the completion of the Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway.
Spending stalled at 153.4 in January, following a strong sales spending to finish 2024.
The monthly CommBank Household Spending Insights (HSI) Index was flat in January, unchanged at 153.4, as consumers took a breather from opening their wallets following sale activity in the final months of 2024.
Modest spending increases were seen across six of the 12 spending categories, with the most notable uplifts seen in spending on Motor vehicles (+1.5 per cent), Insurance (+1.2 per cent), and Health (+1.0 per cent).
The biggest spending falls in January were in Education (-1.8 per cent), driven by reduced spending on universities, Hospitality (-1.0 per cent) and Household Goods (-0.9 per cent).
“The flat January HSI result was somewhat expected following the spike in spending we saw in the last three months of 2024 off the back of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day sales. Essentials made up the three highest spending categories in the month as consumers pulled back on discretionary spending,” CBA Senior Economist Belinda Allen said.
“We expect the RBA to lower interest rates at their first meeting of the year next week which will help provide a boost to consumer spending over the coming months. We anticipate a total of 100 basis points of monetary policy easing throughout 2025 to drive an improvement in the consumer spending pulse.”
On an annual basis, homeowners with a mortgage (+3.0 per cent) have surprisingly seen a larger increase in spending compared to those who own their home outright (+2.8 per cent), while renters continue to lag (+2.0 per cent).
“The increase in spending by those with a mortgage can be attributed to the fact that not only are this cohort likely at a stage of life where they’re spending on essential items, they’re still dedicating a significant share of their wallet to recreation and entertainment,” Belinda Allen concluded.
The CommBank HSI index tracks month-on-month data at a macro level and is based on de-identified payments data from approximately 7 million CBA customers, comprising roughly 30 per cent of all Australian consumer transactions.
Whitehorse RCMP have charged an individual with multiple charges, including break and enter of three downtown Whitehorse businesses.
On February 3, 2025 Whitehorse RCMP located Christopher Schafer in possession of a stolen vehicle. Mr. Schafer was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property over $5000 and fail to comply with a probation order. He was held in custody for court February 3, 2025, and was released from custody.
Between February 4 and February 6, 2025, Whitehorse RCMP responded to four separate calls for service related to incidents of break and enter, mischief under $5000, and uttering threats. Evidence gathered from the scenes led police in identifying a suspect.
On February 8, 2025, RCMP arrested Christopher Schafer. Mr. Schafer appeared in court on February 12, 2025 and has been remanded until February 26, 2025. He has been charged with the following offences:
Possession of property obtained by crime over $5000
Possession of break-in instruments with intent to be used (3 counts)
Possession of weapon for a dangerous purpose
Uttering threats to cause bodily harm (2 counts)
Fail to comply with a probation order (5 counts)
Disguise with intent to commit an indictable offence (3 counts)
Break and enter to business (3 counts)
Mischief under $5000
If you were a witness to a crime or have information about any crimes, please contact the RCMP at 867-667-5555.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News
FRESNO, Calif. — Jesse Torres-Alonso, 35, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to aiming the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, on Sept. 28, 2023, Torres struck a Kern County Sheriff’s Office helicopter (Air One) 12 times with a dangerously bright green laser beam. The laser strikes interfered with the pilot’s ability to see and avoid other aircraft and effectively monitor the aircraft instrument panel. Law enforcement officers were able to locate and seize the laser device, which bore a prominent warning label, stating, “DANGER,” and warned against shining the light in the eyes.
In the year that Torres committed this offense, the Federal Aviation Administration received 13,304 reports of laser strikes from pilots, marking a 41% increase over the 9,457 reported during 2022 and setting a record for the growing hazard.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case.
Torres is scheduled for sentencing on May 20, 2025, by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez. Torres faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced $150 million in climate resiliency grants to make New York State’s public college campuses greener, more resilient to severe weather and more energy efficient. Supported by funding from the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022, the State University of New York (SUNY) is receiving $100 million for clean energy projects, including the installation of a thermal energy network at SUNY Buffalo, and the City University of New York (CUNY) is receiving $50 million for solar, energy storage, and heat pump projects on three campuses as part of a comprehensive plan to reduce CUNY’s carbon footprint.
“New York’s higher education institutions play a significant role in leading by example to help advance a cleaner, greener future,” Governor Hochul said. “The $150 million in new investments from the Environmental Bond Act will allow SUNY and CUNY to take a significant step forward in electrifying campuses and integrating cleaner energy solutions to reduce pollution and help New York’s colleges become more energy efficient.”
SUNY projects funded by the Environmental Bond Act include:
Binghamton University: Binghamton University will install thermal energy networks and building heat pump technology on its campus. The funding will help implement construction of new high-efficiency networked water source heat pump systems in select buildings currently operating on approximately 20-year-old, lower-efficiency chillers. The new systems will effectively lower energy use by 45 percent, operating costs by $300,000, greenhouse gases by 1,100 metric tons (based on current grid emission factors), and other pollutants for the benefit of the campus and the larger community.
University at Buffalo: UB will construct the first of many energy hubs, all of which are needed to phase out fossil fuel-based systems and replace aging, lower efficiency systems with on-site electrical systems that lower greenhouse gas and other pollutants and improve operating efficiencies. This first high-efficiency energy hub will service a network of up to five buildings on UB’s South Campus.
SUNY Oswego: The campus will construct a geoexchange field system for a geothermal network to improve operating efficiencies, lower operating costs, and reduce greenhouse gas and other pollutants for the benefit of the campus and larger community. The project will result in an extensive underground utility infrastructure and central plant and building-level equipment conversions, which are required to continue converting the campus plant to sustainable measures.
Stony Brook University: The Environmental Bond Act investment will provide design and construction for multiple ground and rooftop solar voltaic (PV) arrays to improve community air quality and public health and decarbonize the Long Island electric grid. The resulting on-site renewable power generation will provide operational efficiencies, energy use reduction, greenhouse gas and pollutant reductions, as well as to provide additional capacity for any potential future campus growth.
CUNY projects funded by the Environmental Bond Act include:
City College of New York: Parking lot solar canopies on the south campus will be paired with battery storage, which will support flexible demand management and electric vehicle (EV) chargers will be added to help electrify campus transportation. Rooftop solar will also be deployed. Heat pumps will be installed to electrify heating and cooling for the library and other spaces in the North Academic Center, and also in the science building to heat building domestic hot water and pool water. Heat Pumps are three to four times more efficient than a boiler as they move existing heat, rather than creating heat through combustion.
Brooklyn College: Geothermal energy will be tapped as bore holes are drilled to provide ground source renewable heating and cooling for the adjacent West End Building, which houses student clubs, the film department, a testing center, and computer labs, and is a vital hub of student activity. Rooftop solar and EV charging stations will be installed at James Hall and West Quad, promoting EV adoption while supporting the college’s fleet electrification goals.
Hunter College: This project initiates the hydronic conversion transformation of North Hall energy systems away from inefficient steam and standalone window air conditioning. Energy efficient hot and chilled water from the central plant will replace an antiquated steam system. This step toward electrification will reduce baseload energy use and cut use of fossil fuels, ensuring a better-controlled, state-of-the-art, sustainable learning environment for students.
SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said, “With thanks to Governor Hochul, SUNY’s campuses are leading the way in advancing sustainability and addressing climate change. This Bond Act funding for four SUNY projects will help achieve New York State’s ambitious decarbonization goals and build a more sustainable future.”
CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez said, “By helping CUNY reduce the carbon footprint of our campuses, curb our consumption of fossil fuels and harness our capacity to aid sustainable energy production, Governor Hochul is enabling the University to promote prudent environmental stewardship. The Environmental Bond Act investments announced today will help CUNY play a key role in the development of a resilient, responsible, and resourceful New York.”
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said, “Governor Hochul’s commitment in the State of the State to advance a greener future through decarbonization is bolstered with this new $150 million Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act investment for innovative clean energy projects at SUNY and CUNY campuses across the state. Through the State’s Environmental Bond Act investments, New York is supporting advanced thermal energy networks, EV charging infrastructure, and other technologies that reduce pollution, lower operating costs, and create far-reaching benefits for schools and their surrounding communities.”
New York League of Conservation Voters President Julie Tighe said, “As the state transitions to a clean energy economy, it is critical that the government not just pass laws, but that they also lead by example. That is exactly what Governor Hochul is doing by allocating Bond Act funds to decarbonize SUNY and CUNY campuses, including by building out thermal energy networks and investing in solar and EV charging infrastructure at some of the most polluting buildings the state owns. We applaud the Governor for reducing New York’s carbon footprint while also helping seed one of the most promising clean energy solutions we have for our large buildings and campuses.”
Building Decarbonization Coalition New York Director Lisa Dix said, “We applaud the Governor for this critical step forward in implementing the Decarbonization Leadership Program and the SUNY and CUNY campus decarbonization action plans to advance Thermal Energy Networks across our state. This funding and continued leadership is key to getting fifteen Thermal Energy Networks, shovel-ready projects by 2026. Thermal Energy Networks will advance new economic development, modernize our universities, create union jobs, help avoid costly grid upgrades, slash pollution in our communities and help achieve New York’s climate goals – all while building a thriving clean energy economy.”
New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento said, “Thanks to Governor Hochul’s leadership, the potential of the Environmental Bond Act is now becoming a reality. These projects will be built union with robust labor standards, including prevailing rate, labor peace, and Buy American. As I said in 2022, when the delegates to the New York State AFL-CIO convention voted overwhelmingly to support the Environmental Bond Act ballot referendum, working together, we will decarbonize while establishing a solid foundation for union careers.”
New York State Building Trades President Gary LaBarbera said, “As New York looks to progress towards its climate goals, we must continue to fund clean energy initiatives that not only modernize our key institutions but also create thousands of good-paying careers for working class people. The investments from the Environmental Bond Act will help our SUNY and CUNY campuses operate in a greener and more environmentally friendly manner, generate more accessible pathways to the middle class for hardworking New Yorkers, and contribute to improving the experiences of everyone who attends and works at these colleges. We applaud Governor Hochul for supporting this investment and look forward to playing a role in pushing these climate adaptions forward.”
New York State continues to advance resiliency initiatives and investments that are helping to protect communities. Today’s announcement complements Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget proposal to invest more than $1 billion to help fund a more sustainable and affordable future. This ambitious proposal is the single-largest climate investment in state history, generating thousands of jobs, slashing energy bills for households, and cutting harmful pollution.
The funding to SUNY and CUNY demonstrates the ways New York State’s continued commitment can be achieved, by deploying renewable energy, advancing clean transportation and building decarbonization, and exploring emerging technologies that can support decarbonization goals and economic development. The Executive Budget also includes $108 million for climate resiliency initiatives that support coastal resiliency and additional funding for Green Resiliency Grants and continues a record $400 million for Environmental Protection Fund programs that include measures to adapt and mitigate climate impacts. Progress also continues in administering the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act, which has allocated approximately $1.25 billion, or 25 percent, of Bond Act funds to date.
New York State’s Climate Agenda
New York State’s climate agenda calls for an affordable and just transition to a clean energy economy that creates family-sustaining jobs, promotes economic growth through green investments, and directs a minimum of 35 percent of the benefits to disadvantaged communities. New York is advancing a suite of efforts to achieve an emissions-free economy by 2050, including in the energy, buildings, transportation, and waste sectors.
Source: Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
Marine researchers from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington have discovered a species of sea squirt that is thought to be new to science.
The sea squirt was found off Rakiura Stewart Island while the researchers were exploring marine communities that live on the area’s deep-water reefs.
“We were off Port Pegasus at the southern end of Rakiura and we could see all these really unusual ‘egg’ shapes on the seafloor. Closer inspection revealed they were large, 30 cm tall sea squirts that we haven’t found in any other part of Aotearoa,” said Professor James Bell, a marine biologist at the university.
Marine ecologist Mike Page, an emeritus scientist from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, confirmed the sea squirt is likely to be a new species that is yet to be named.
Sea squirts, also known as ascidians, play a key role in maintaining water quality. They are filter feeders—creatures that feed on nutrients in the water column.
“Unusually, sea squirts dominated the marine communities on the deep-water reefs that we explored off Stewart Island. We typically find sponges are the dominant player on deep-water reefs in other parts of the country,” said Professor Bell.
The new species of sea squirt was found at a depth of 115 metres.
“The water off Stewart Island was really clear down at this depth. This probably reflects the fact there are no major rivers draining into the sea and there are still large areas of native forest on the island.”
Video footage of the reefs shows many different species of sea squirt, varying in colour from bright white to pinks, blues, and yellows.
The footage was taken using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that can film in waters of more than 100 m deep.
“Finding this sea squirt is a reminder that we still have so much to learn about the rich diversity of life in the ocean. It’s also a reminder of the need to ensure we protect our marine environment and the unique species it supports,” said Professor Bell.
The ROV used by the researchers to collect video footage was purchased with funding from the George Mason Charitable Trust.
In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. The Russian military has continuously been launching missiles and artillery attacks on civilian facilities, causing great damage to the lives of the Ukrainian people. Japan is offering various assistance through public and private endeavors to rebuild lives, drawing on experiences gained through providing aid to countries in Southeast Asia.
One such example is a water supply aid project. As part of the government’s gratuitous recovery assistance, Japan is sending mobile water purification systems and ready-to-assemble water supply tanks to Ukraine’s cities where water supply networks were destroyed.
As part of this initiative, Nihon Genryo Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of water treatment systems headquartered in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, delivered four Mobile Siphon Tanks, a mobile water purification system, to Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and the southern port city Odesa. The system, developed by Nihon Genryo, does not require filter replacements, which were necessary in previous water purification systems. The company also invited water supply technicians in Kyiv to Japan and conducted training on water purification technology.
Nihon Genryo has been deeply involved in Southeast Asia. In 1982, it delivered fully automatic dust scrapers to the Bangkhen Water Treatment Plant in Bangkok, Thailand, to help remove impurities and provide safe, treated water. It also delivered Mobile Siphon Tanks to cities in Laos and Vietnam as part of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) and is training local staff on how to use them. In Laos, the company carried out emergency water supply operations during flood disasters in 2013 and 2020. In the Philippines, it provided drinking water to regions without access to a water supply by using river water. It also carried out emergency water supply operations at the request of the Japanese government in the wake of disasters such as Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 and Super Typhoon Rai in 2021. In this way, the company gained extensive experience assisting the lives and lifestyles of people in Southeast Asia, which is now being leveraged to help Ukraine, halfway across the globe in Europe.
In addition to water supply assistance, Japan also has international experience in providing aid to people with disabilities. Since Russia’s invasion, over 300,000 Ukrainian troops and civilians have become disabled as a result of injuries. However, medical equipment is growing outdated due to a shortage of funds, and providing assistance is an urgent matter. Japan provided rehabilitation equipment and welfare vehicles to 11 facilities in Kyiv Oblast through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). In December 2024, a commemorative ceremony was held in Kyiv. Ruslan Kravchenko, the governor of Kyiv Oblast, expressed his gratitude, saying, “We thank the Japanese government and its people for their extensive support. This will allow us to greatly improve the conditions for people with disabilities.”
Japan has also been committed to providing aid to people with disabilities in Southeast Asia. Gratuitous financial assistance was offered to Indonesia, for example, by providing mobile rehabilitation equipment in 1989 and taking part in a project to construct a vocational rehabilitation center for people with disabilities in 1995. In addition to dispatching Japanese specialists and Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs) to countries like Thailand and the Philippines, Japan also invites trainees from various countries to Japan through JICA initiatives to help raise rehabilitation standards for people with disabilities.
Removing landmines is another urgent issue that must be addressed in Ukraine. It is believed that the Russian military may have planted mines in an area of up to 150,000 square kilometers, which amounts to over a fourth of the country’s land. The Japanese government has been engaged in mine clearance efforts in Cambodia for many years. Drawing on this experience, it is offering comprehensive support to Ukraine by providing resources developed by Japanese companies, such as mine detectors, mine removers and systems using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify areas where mines have been planted, in addition to training on how to prevent injuries and offering aid to victims.
Japan is also working on assisting Ukrainian soldiers and civilians who survived mines but lost their limbs.
Instalimb, Inc. is a startup company headquartered in Tokyo that utilizes digital technology to create prosthetic legs. The company uses a special scanner to capture the shape of a patient’s leg and creates a 3D-printed prosthetic based on data designed by a prosthetist using software.
The CEO of the company, Yutaka Tokushima, said in an interview with the Japanese broadcasting network TBS Television, “One (of the merits) is that we can create prosthetics very quickly. Where it usually takes a month, we can do it in a day (at the quickest) and significantly lower the cost. Another merit is that one professional prosthetist can make many prosthetics.”
Prosthetic legs cost around 400,000 yen in Japan, but Tokushima says the company can reduce it to one-tenth of that amount.
Instalimb has its roots in the Philippines. After working at a computer-related company and as a designer of industrial products, Tokushima joined the JOCV program under JICA and was posted to the Philippines in 2012.
Later, with support from JICA and the Philippine government, he established a laboratory equipped with a 3D printer and laser cutter for industrial development. After he learned that many people in the Philippines needed prosthetic legs as a result of diabetes, he took on the challenge of developing high-performance yet affordable prosthetics. Over the course of four years, he developed a technology that specialized in creating prosthetic legs using 3D printing. These prosthetics are now available to people in the Philippines who cannot afford conventional ones.
As he works on creating prosthetics in Ukraine, Tokushima says, “Many people want to recover and rebuild their lives, but they can’t work because they don’t have access to prosthetic legs. So I want to give them hope, first and foremost. Our current mission is to provide prosthetics to each and every person who needs them as we aim for the ultimate goal of helping all the people of Ukraine regain their bright future.” A Japanese company, born in the Philippines, is now striving to help the wounded people of Ukraine.
Japan is offering aid to Ukraine in a diverse range of fields including infrastructure, education, agriculture, economy, machinery and culture—and much of this expertise comes from the experience Japan gained in Southeast Asia.
By Akio Yaita Journalist. Graduated from the Faculty of Letters at Keio University. After completing his doctorate at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, he worked as a correspondent for the Sankei Shimbun in Beijing and as Taipei bureau chief. Author or co-author of many books.
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About “Japan Connect” Bringing you the latest stories about Japan. This new service is provided by AFPBB News, which AFP launched in 2007.
Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) reintroduced the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act to allow critical mineral production to continue in the West. This bill is led in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Mark Amodei (R-Nev.-02).
“We need to streamline our federal permitting process to unleash the full potential of Nevada’s critical mineral economy,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “I’m continuing my bipartisan push to pass this commonsense bill that will cut red tape, protect mining jobs in Nevada, help support clean energy projects nationwide.”
“Domestic mineral production is critical to everyday energy, technology, and national security needs,” said Senator Risch. “For too long, Idaho’s minerals have been tied up in red tape, preventing responsible use of our natural resources. The Mining Regulatory Clarity Act ensures mining projects in Idaho and across the West can proceed and provide invaluable support to our communities and country.”
“The Rosemont Decision overturned decades of established precedent that allowed our domestic mining operations to flourish, and instead blocked production efforts with excessive red tape,” said Representative Mark Amodei. “Out West, we have an abundance of natural resources that we can responsibly utilize to reduce our reliance on adversaries and strengthen our national security. This bill reverses the damage caused by the misguided Rosemont Decision and restores clarity for critical mining projects to move forward.”
“The Nevada Mining Association applauds and supports the bipartisan Mining Regulatory Clarity Act,” said Amanda Hilton, President of Nevada Mining Association. “Nevada is a leading producer of critical minerals like copper, lithium, and magnesium, along with more than 20 other materials essential to daily life. This legislation provides necessary stability for Nevada’s modern mining industry, ensuring it can operate efficiently and sustain the high-paying jobs that tens of thousands of Nevada families depend on. We appreciate Senator Cortez Masto’s ongoing leadership in advocating for Nevada’s mining community.”
“The bipartisan Mining Regulatory Clarity Act is KEY to ensuring the U.S. can use our vast domestic resources to build the essential mineral supply chains we know we must have,” said Rich Nolan, National Mining Association president and CEO. “China’s recent actions to cut off VITAL mineral supply chains underscores the need to strengthen domestic mineral supply chains for manufacturing, energy, national security and other priorities. This legislation ensures the fundamental ability to conduct responsible mining activities on federal lands. Regulatory certainty, or the lack thereof, will either underpin or undermine efforts to meet the extraordinary mineral demand now at our doorstep.”
“BPC Action is pleased to see Sens. James Risch (R-ID) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) working together to tackle barriers to expand America’s critical mineral supply. The bipartisan Mining Regulatory Clarity Act provides much needed regulatory certainty for mining projects, strengthening critical mineral supply chains while driving job creation in the sector,” said Michele Stockwell, President of Bipartisan Policy Center Action.
“If we’re going to achieve U.S. energy dominance, spur innovation, and support American manufacturing, we need to expand the domestic production of critical minerals. We can do so while supporting workers, communities, and our natural resources through sensible, transparent, and efficient regulations. Advanced Energy United is encouraged to see the “Mining Regulatory Clarity Act,” which should enhance business certainty around our mining rules and regulations,” said Harry Godfrey, Managing Director for Federal Affairs at Advanced Energy United.
“As demand for electric vehicles continues to grow at home and abroad, the need for mineral commodities, including lithium, cobalt, graphite, and copper will likewise rise dramatically. Mining is essential for the United States to fulfill demand in the electric vehicle and clean energy sectors, not to mention other mineral applications in defense, consumer electronics, and advanced computing. The Mining Regulatory Clarity Act is the result of a years-long, bipartisan effort to reestablish certainty for mineral producers in the United States. ZETA applauds Senators Cortez Masto and Risch for their tireless efforts to advance this critical legislation,” said Albert Gore, Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA).
The Mining Regulatory Clarity Act provides regulatory certainty for mining projects and reaffirms long-held practice that some public land use under a mining claim inherently accompanies exploration and extraction activities for other mining-support activities. This bill creates an optional and voluntary pathway to allow use of public lands for ancillary purposes connected to a mining project that can only be used within an agency-approved Plan of Operations. The bill also creates a new revenue stream from new mill site claims to be dedicated to abandoned mine clean-up efforts. This legislation is cosponsored by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
Senator Cortez Masto has led efforts in Congress to support Nevada’s mining industry, protecting more than 83,000 local jobs and paving the way for Nevada to power the clean energy economy. She has consistently blocked burdensome taxes on mining and wrote important provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to bolster Nevada’s critical mineral supply chain and fund battery recycling programs in the state. She’s also introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen the domestic supply chain for rare-earth magnets.
Concerns Raised over Discrimination against Women, Minorities
Acknowledging the Syrian caretaker authorities pledges to achieve an inclusive Syrian-owned and -led political transition in line with the key principles of Council resolution 2254 (2015), the United Nations senior mediator in the country warned the Security Council today that further conflict could have a drastic impact on the fight against Da’esh and international peace and security.
The current transition in Syria is unfolding amid territorial division in the north-east and a complex security environment in the rest of the country, said Geir O. Pedersen, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria.
“The leadership of the caretaker authorities have repeatedly committed publicly and to me that the new Syria will be for all Syrians and built on inclusive and credible foundations,” he said.
On 29 January, a broad range of military factions assembled in Damascus and issued a declaration dissolving the 2012 Constitution, exceptional laws, the former Parliament, the former army, former regime-allied militias and the Ba’ath Party, he said. Ahmad al-Sharaa — declared “interim President and head of State for a transitional period” — pledged to “work to form a comprehensive transitional Government that expresses the diversity of Syria” towards “free and fair elections”.
The Special Envoy said that, while in Syria, he was “deeply struck” by the shared conviction among Syrians that the success of the country’s political transition is essential, and that “it cannot afford to fail”.
However, many are concerned that there has been no rule of law, no constitutional or legal framework for appointments and policy decisions and no systematic communication or transparency. Some expressed concerns that the caretaker authorities — staffed mostly with affiliates of the Idlib Salvation Government — are taking decisions that go “beyond a caretaker mode”, including in terms of restructuring State institutions, with potential impact on specific communities.
Additionally, many Syrians expressed concern at reports of discriminatory practices targeting women, and of increasing social pressure towards certain norms, he said, stressing that Syrian women want “more than protection”; they want meaningful participation in decision-making and transitional institutions.
He further observed that the situation in north-east Syria complicates the political transition, pointing to daily front-line hostilities impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure. Many Syrians expressed fears about security fragmentation and that external actors could exploit it — particularly “if the transition goes awry”. And many expressed parallel concerns that ongoing efforts for public sector restructuring may push hundreds of thousands into need – including former security elements — potentially jeopardizing future stability. Equally concerning is the inclusion of foreign fighters in the senior ranks of the new armed forces, as well as individuals associated with violations.
Relatedly, he spotlighted concerning reports of incidents still taking place against the backdrop of the authorities’ security operations, including men killed in the exchange of fire and reported serious ill-treatment in detention. In addition, residents are reportedly facing incidents of kidnapping, looting, expropriation of property and forced evictions of families from public housing.
Against this backdrop, he called on the caretaker authorities to ensure all armed actors cease these actions, amplify their assurances into concrete procedures and work on a comprehensive transitional justice framework. He also underscored that Israel must withdraw from Syria, noting the UN’s engagement with that country and the caretaker authorities to that end. Further, he urged sanctioning States to ease sanctions in the critical sectors of energy, investments and finance — including the Central Bank.
Syria ‘at Top of Priority List’ for UN, Humanitarian Aid Partners
Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, highlighted the impact of continued hostilities, especially in the north of Syria, on the country’s immense humanitarian crisis. Fighting in and around Mennbij in eastern Aleppo has displaced over 25,000 people, while hostilities have continued in Ar-Raqqa and Al-Hasakeh Governorates, affecting civilian infrastructure. “Since late November [2024], the United Nations and humanitarian partners have provided more than 3.3 million people with bread assistance, as well as other food aid,” she said, highlighting the work of mobile health and nutrition teams. The cross-border operation from Turkiye remains essential, she noted, adding that, in January, 94 trucks carrying essential supplies crossed through the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam crossings.
“Syria remains at the top of our priority list,” she said, adding that senior representatives of humanitarian agencies have visited the country to engage with partners and caretaker authorities. Outlining efforts to move towards a streamlined coordination architecture, which should be in place by June, she said it will be led by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Damascus. Turning to engagement with the caretaker authorities, she highlighted their assurances “to facilitate access, ease bureaucratic procedures and engage in practical dialogue with the humanitarian community”. Last week, cash-withdrawal limits for aid organizations were lifted, and transactions were authorized in Syrian pounds or United States dollars.
“Now is the time to invest in Syria’s future,” she emphasized, adding that many of the 6 million Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries are “weighing the momentous decision of whether to return”. Alongside life-saving support, it is essential to restore critical health water and other services, she added, expressing concern about funding shortfalls and calling for “generous financial pledges”. “The UN and partners are appealing for $1.2 billion to reach 6.7 million people through March of this year,” she said. Further clarity is needed on the implications of the freeze on US-funded activities and associated humanitarian waivers, she said, noting that, in 2024, funding from that country accounted for more than a quarter of support for the humanitarian response plan in Syria. She underscored that delays or suspension of funding will affect whether vulnerable people can access essential services.
Why does the Moon look larger on the horizon? The short answer is, we don’t know.
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We’ve been talking about this for 2,000 years. Aristotle mentions it. And in our own time, scientists are designing experiments to figure out exactly what’s going on. But there’s no consensus yet. Here’s what we do know. The atmosphere isn’t magnifying the Moon. If anything, atmospheric refraction squashes it a little bit. And the Moon’s not closer to us at the horizon. It’s about 1.5 percent farther away. Also, it isn’t just the Moon. Constellations look huge on the horizon, too. One popular idea is that this is a variation on the Ponzo illusion. Everything in our experience seems to shrink as it recedes toward the horizon — I mean clouds and planes and cars and ships. But the Moon doesn’t do that. So our minds make up a story to reconcile this inconsistency. Somehow the Moon gets bigger when it’s at the horizon. That’s one popular hypothesis, but there are others. And we’re still waiting for the experiment that will convince everyone that we understand this. So why does the Moon look larger on the horizon? We don’t really know, but scientists are still trying to figure it out. [END VIDEO TRANSCRIPT] Full Episode List Full YouTube Playlist
Question for written answer E-000531/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Matthieu Valet (PfE)
In order to comply with the emission limit restrictions forming part of the phasing out of internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035, EU regulations provide for fines for each sale of this type of vehicle that exceeds the authorised limits. These fines can be offset by the purchase of carbon credits.
However, these credits are mainly issued by exclusively electric vehicle manufacturers, led by Chinese companies and the US company Tesla.
This situation thus results in the European car industry indirectly subsidising its main competitors, jeopardising the competitiveness of European manufacturers.
In view of the above:
1.Has the Commission anticipated this adverse economic outcome?
2.What measures are planned to avoid undermining the competitiveness of European manufacturers?
WAVES offers a golden opportunity for Reel Makers and Professional Ad Filmmakers to shine as celebrites Hurry up! Only two days left, don’t miss this chance to have your work recognized on a global stage, Submit your entry by February 15th
WAVES Awards of Excellence as part of the Create in India Challenge, attracts global submissions, uniting creators from over dozen countries & more than 52 Indian institutes like NIDs, IITs & SRFTI
Posted On: 12 FEB 2025 6:46PM by PIB Delhi
Do you have a vision that speaks through the lens and a story that unfolds in every frame? If creativity runs through your veins the WAVES Awards of Excellence presents a golden opportunity
The much-anticipated Student Showreels & Professional Ad Film Competition is officially open for submissions! Submit your entry by February 15th.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in collaboration withASIFA India, a UNESCO-recognized global NGO promoting animation, is hostingWAVES Awards of Excellenceas part of the Create in India Challenge. These awards celebrate exceptional achievements in Animation, Visual Effects, and Extended Reality (XR), reinforcing India’s creative leadership on the global stage.
About the awards
There are two competition categories: Student Showreels (No time restriction) and Professional Ad Films (limit 60 seconds). The submissions reflect themes of India’s socio-cultural landscape, and modern technology like:
Wellness & Yoga
Gaming for Social Impact
ASIFA India has witnessed an exceptional response with enthusiastic participation
ASIFA India has received an overwhelming response with 1238 submissions of finished works from various demographics: Students (75%), Professionals (25%), Women (35%) and Emerging Creators (50%). The participation of women and young creators underscores the challenge’s role in promoting diversity, inclusivity, and fresh perspectives in India’s AVGC sector.
Submissions have been promoted across various continents, resulting in over 60 global entries from 13 countries, such as Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Greece, Cyprus, Iran, Finland, the Philippines, Germany, Sri Lanka, Puerto Rico, China, and Mexico. Global Animated Film association Asifa (Association Internationale du Film d’Animation) is promoting the competition globally via its 40 Chapters in various counties.
ASIFA also received submissions from more than 52 institutions in India and abroad. Leading global educational institutions like BAU Centro Universitario de Artes y Diseño de Barcelona, Bass School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology at UTD, Tehran University of Art, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Academy Of Art University, Academy of Design, Colombo, Kennesaw State University student have submitted their top entries to this prestigious festival. Students from Prestigious Indian Institutions including all NID, IITs (IDC School of Design and DOD at various IIT’s), SRFTI, Symbiosis, Sir JJ Institute of Applied Art, Banasthali Vidyapith, Ajeenkya D Y Patil University, BIT Mesra, UID, Srishti Manipal have also submitted their best work.
Glimpses of Submissions of Waves Awards of Excellence
WAVES Winners Gain Global Opportunities
Winners will receive in-personsupport for portfolio review by experts, opportunity to interact with global jury from US, Greece & India. They will also receive networking opportunities by direct engagement with key stakeholders, including international studios, producers, and government officials for potential career opportunities. Animation studios and independent developers will receive guidance on funding, IP development, and business scalability.
ASIFA India organized series Meet ups across 15 Indian sub-chapters to inspire creators from various cities for their participation in the upcoming WAVES Awards of Excellence. In the session ‘Deep Dive into Excellence from Mentors’ eminent global Jury like Briana Yarhouse from USA & Dr. Anastasia Dimitra from Athens, Greece gave tips to participants.
Global Jury Members Briana Yarhouse, Dr.Anastasia Dimitra sharing their expertise during a Virtual Meet recently, joined by Deanna Morse(Member of Oscars), Celebrity Artist Dhimant Vyas, BN Vichar& Others..Session Moderated by Sanjay Khimesara, President, Asifa India & Vinita Bachani, Core Committee Member
For more information and to submit your work, visit the submission portal here:
ASIFA India is a non-profit organization established in 2000 with the goal of promoting the art, craft, and profession of VFX, Animation & Gaming in India. ASIFA India has been working tirelessly to create a platform for creators including- Animators, Vfx & Gaming artists, students, and professionals to network, learn, and showcase their work.
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced today the filing of a criminal complaint charging Taqiy Lewis (27, Lakeland) with possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. If convicted, Lewis faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.
According to the criminal complaint, on December 24, 2020, M.C., a 70-year-old woman, was outside her Lakeland home with her family, including young children. At approximately 5:30 p.m., Lewis and others engaged in a shootout just outside M.C.’s residence. M.C. was struck twice and killed. A.L., a thirteen-year-old child, was also shot and wounded.
More than two years later, on February 9, 2023, during an unrelated investigation, ATF special agents and officers from the Lakeland Police Department recovered a Kahr CM9 9mm pistol while executing a search warrant. Forensic testing using the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) confirmed that this firearm was the one used to kill M.C. and injure A.L. Further investigation revealed that six casings collected from the crime scene, two spent projectiles recovered from a home, and a bullet recovered from M.C.’s body were all fired by Lewis and the Kahr CM9 pistol he possessed. At the time of the shooting, Lewis was a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.
A complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lakeland Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The UN Special Envoy for Syria on Wednesday called on the country’s caretaker authorities to make the transition to democratic rule inclusive, warning that transparency, rule of law and fair elections – particularly for women taking part – remain key concerns.
Briefing ambassadors in the Security Council, Geir Pedersen acknowledged commitments made by interim president Ahmad Al-Sharaa but stressed that Syrians across the country expect tangible actions.
“All Syrians I met…stressed to me how much they want institutional appointments, the transitional government, the provisional legislative body, the national dialogue process and any preparatory committees, and these need to be credible and inclusive,” he said.
He added that Syrian women, in particular, seek more than protection.
“They want meaningful participation in decision-making or appointments in key positions, based on their qualifications, [and] to participate in transitional institutions, so that their perspectives are considered, including on issues related to the status and rights of Syrian women.”
Security and economic risks
The fragile security situation continues to threaten political progress, Mr. Pedersen warned, citing ongoing hostilities in the northeast, including daily clashes, artillery exchanges, and airstrikes that are impacting civilians and infrastructure.
A recent wave of car bombings in residential areas has caused significant casualties.
While welcoming initial dialogue between caretaker authorities and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeast, he urged the United States, Türkiye, and regional and national actors to work together on “genuine compromises” that enable peace and stability.
“It is crucial that all doors remain open to ensuring the inclusion of all parts of Syria and all key constituencies within the political transition,” he added.
Concerns are also growing over economic stability against a backdrop of sanctions, widespread poverty and sudden donor cuts to humanitarian aid.
Mr. Pedersen urged sanctioning states to consider easing restrictions in critical sectors such as energy and finance, noting that many Syrians will measure progress not only by political reforms but by the price of food, access to electricity and employment opportunities.
Worsening humanitarian crisis
As political talks continue, the humanitarian situation in Syria remains dire, with more than 70 per cent of the population in need assistance.
Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for UN aid coordination, emphasised that humanitarians are scaling up efforts to deliver aid despite challenges.
Fresh fighting, particularly in the north, has displaced over 25,000 people from Manbij near the restive Turkish border area and attacks continue to hinder efforts to repair Tishreen Dam, a vital source of water and electricity for hundreds of thousands. In addition, explosive ordinance continues to pose a threat to civilians and hamper humanitarian efforts.
“All parties must take constant care to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure in the course of military actions,” Ms. Msuya stressed.
Assistant Secretary-General Msuya briefing the Security Council.
Aid delivery
The UN has been scaling up aid deliveries despite immense logistical challenges, having reached over 3.3 million people with food assistance since late November, following rapid gains made by opposition forces in against Assad regime-controlled areas.
Cross-border operationsfrom Türkiye remain a lifeline, with 94 trucks carrying food, medical supplies, and other essential aid arriving in Syria last month – more than triple the amount delivered during the same period last year.
However, funding shortfalls remain a major constraint.
Ms. Msuya noted that dozens of health facilities are at risk of closure, while water and sanitation services have already been suspended in displacement camps, affecting more than 635,000 people.
Furthermore, the recent suspension of US funding for aid programmes – which accounted for over a quarter of thehumanitarian response budget in 2024– have added to the uncertainty.
“Delays or suspension of funding will affect whether vulnerable people can access essential services,” Ms. Msuya warned.
Refugees weigh return
Increasing numbers of Syrian refugees are considering returning home, the deputy relief chief said.
Since December, approximately 270,000 Syrians have returned from neighbouring countries. A recent UN survey found that more than a quarter of refugees intend to return within the next year – a notable increase from previous years.
Ms. Msuya stressed that sustainable, safe, and dignified returns require major investments in livelihoods, health services, education and infrastructure.
“Now is the time to invest in Syria’s future,” she said, underscoring the need to ensure protection of civilians, facilitate flow of aid and a peaceful transition.
“Alongside the most critical lifesaving support, we must sustain and restore critical health, water, and other services that can enable people to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.”
Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer
to support nationwide infrastructure investments and promote fairness among drivers. The Fair Sharing of Highways and Roads for Electric Vehicles (Fair SHARE) Act would ensure that electric vehicles (EVs) pay into the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to support the construction and maintenance of U.S. roads and bridges.
Gasoline-powered cars pay into the HTF through the gas tax, but as of now, EVs do not contribute to the HTF at all. However, the average EV is significantly heavier than its gas-powered counterpart due to the weight of large EV batteries. The Fair SHARE Act would require additional investment in the HTF for EVs with heavier batteries to account for the road damage and increased maintenance costs they cause.
In addition to Senator Fischer, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.). U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (S.D.–AL) introduced identical companion legislation in the House.
“EVs can weigh up to three times as much as gas-powered cars, creating more wear and tear on our roads and bridges. It’s only fair that they pay into the Highway Trust Fund just like other cars do. The Fair SHARE Act will require EVs to pay their fair share for the upkeep of America’s infrastructure,” said Senator Fischer.
“EV drivers use our highways just as much as gas-powered vehicles, yet they are currently exempt from paying into the Highway Trust Fund because the Biden administration wanted to score points with its radical climate change base. The days of liberal elites in their expensive EV’s getting a free pass are over; they are contributing to wear and tear on our roads, and they should be forced to pay their fair share in repairs just like the rest of us,” said Senator Lummis.
“EVs are heavier than other consumer vehicles, and increase the wear and tear on our roads. EV drivers also don’t pay a gas tax like other drivers do,” said Senator Ricketts. “That’s wrong. This bill ensures Americans fueling their vehicles are not forced to pay for EV drivers.”
“The Highway Trust Fund is on the road to insolvency,” said Congressman Johnson. “It’s time to consider real changes and ensure EVs pay their fair share to maintain our roads and bridges. I’m grateful for Senator Fischer’s leadership on this bill that will undoubtedly create a more stable Highway Trust Fund, ensuring the government can continue to make meaningful investments in our road infrastructure needs.”
“All Americans benefit from a robust and safe transportation system. When it comes to paying for the maintenance and expansion of our road network, no one should get a free ride,” said American Trucking Associations Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs Henry Hanscom. “The trucking industry makes up just four percent of the vehicles on our nation’s highways, yet we pay nearly half the tab into the federal Highway Trust Fund—all while moving over 70 percent of the domestic freight tonnage. Clearly trucks are doing their part to invest in the nation’s infrastructure, and it is reasonable to expect electric vehicles to do the same. As fuel efficiency rises and adoption rates for alternative fuels accelerate, we must find long-term, sustainable, and equitable sources of revenue for the HTF. We commend Senator Deb Fischer and Congressman Dusty Johnson for leading this effort to ensure that electric vehicles are paying their fair share.”
“For nearly 70 years, purchasers of gasoline, diesel, gasohol, liquified natural gas and liquified petroleum gas have supported the maintenance and improvement of the nation’s roads and bridges. The lone exception to this user-fairness principle remains vehicles powered by electricity. Thankfully, Senator Fischer and Representative Johnson have introduced the Fair SHARE Act to correct this oversight and improve mobility for all Americans,” said American Road & Transportation Builders Association President and CEO Dave Bauer.
“This measure will provide a sustainable, long-term revenue stream to the Highway Trust Fund, allowing the construction employers to maintain and rebuild our nation’s roads and bridges. The legislation will close a loophole for electric vehicles, which currently do not currently contribute to the Fund. Instead of giving them a free ride, this measure simply asked electric vehicle users to take part in the same user-pay approach that enabled the U.S. to build and maintain the highway network,” said Associated General Contractors of America CEO Jeff Shoaf.
“It is imperative that all vehicles share the responsibility of maintaining our roadways. Senator Fischer’s Fair SHARE Act will ensure that by requiring EVs to contribute to the Highway Trust Fund, we can ensure that essential transportation infrastructure remains safe and accessible to everyone without any unfair burden placed upon any specific type of vehicle,” said National Association of County Engineers Executive Directors Kevan Stone.Full List of Stakeholder Support:
American Trucking Associations, American Road and Transportation Builders Association, American Society of Civil Engineers, Associated General Contractors of America, National Association of Counties, National Association of County Engineers, and National League of Cities.
Background:The HTF supports over 90 percent of federal highway aid to states. The HTF was meant to befunded primarily by the federal gas tax. However, since the gas tax was last raised in 1993, the HTF faces insolvency due to more fuel-efficient vehicles on the roads, leading to reduced fuel consumption.
EVs are not subject to the gas tax and do not contribute to the HTF. Furthermore, their heavy batteries (up to triple the weight of gas-powered cars) lead to more extensive road wear, causing more maintenance and greater costs.
Senator Fischer’s legislation would fix this discrepancy by implementing a fee at the manufacturer level at the point of sale of EVs. This ensures that every vehicle on the road is paying into the HTF and supporting critical repairs to America’s infrastructure.
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WASHINGTON – Aniq-Kai Covington, 16, of Washington, D.C., was charged as an adult (under Title 16) on February 11, 2025, in Superior Court with armed carjacking in connection with an August 13, 2024 incident in Southeast D.C. The charge was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
According to documents filed in court, on August 13, 2024, at approximately 9:15 p.m., police officers were dispatched to the 2700 block of 31st Street S.E., where they located the victim of an armed carjacking. The victim told the officers that at least two suspects approached the victim, who was sitting in their vehicle waiting for a family member. One suspect approached the victim’s driver’s side door and pointed a firearm at the victim, ordering the victim to get out of the vehicle. Another suspect attempted to open the victim’s passenger door. The victim complied and got out of the car. The first suspect then demanded money and took the victim’s wallet and cell phone, before the suspects fled northbound on 31st Street, SE in the victim’s car. The victim borrowed a phone from a family member and called 911.
The victim’s vehicle was located in the 2500 block of High Street S.E., stationary and unoccupied, just before 9:30 p.m., approximately 15 minutes after police were dispatched to the scene of the carjacking. The victim’s vehicle was forensically processed, and a latent fingerprint recovered from the interior passenger’s side door handle was later determined to belong to Covington.
Covington was presented in court yesterday and ordered detained. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 14, 2025.
The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Winer is prosecuting the case.
These charges are merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
S. 315 would direct the Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue a rule requiring that AM broadcast stations be accessible in all passenger motor vehicles imported into, shipped within, or manufactured and sold within the United States. (Passenger motor vehicles are those designed to primarily carry their operator and up to 12 passengers; the definition does not include motorcycles.) The bill would require DOT to issue the rule within one year of enactment and report to the Congress at least every five years on the rule’s effects. The rule would sunset 10 years after enactment.
Additionally, S. 315 would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) within 18 months of enactment to report on the role AM broadcasts in passenger vehicles play in disseminating emergency alerts through the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.
Using information on the cost of issuing similar rules and reports, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost DOT and GAO a total of $1 million over the 2025-2030 period. Any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Additionally, S. 315 would authorize DOT to assess civil penalties on manufacturers that fail to comply with the new rule; such penalties are recorded as revenues. CBO estimates that any additional revenues collected would total less than $500,000 over the 2025-2035 period because the number of violations would probably be small.
The bill would impose a private-sector mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) on the manufacturers of passenger vehicles sold in the United States by requiring them to provide access to AM broadcast stations at no cost to the consumer. Prior to the regulation taking effect, manufacturers would be required to provide access to AM broadcast stations in unequipped vehicles at no cost if requested.
CBO expects this would primarily affect manufacturers of electric vehicles (EVs) who have removed, or announced plans to remove, standard AM radio equipment from their vehicles. The bill also would prohibit future phase-outs in other vehicles where the equipment is standard, such as gasoline and diesel passenger vehicles, while the rule is in effect.
Based on sales data for EVs, the legislation would require manufacturers to update radio equipment in about 2 to 2.5 million vehicles each year. Since most EVs are already equipped with FM radio, this would likely result in a small increase in production costs to update the media system software and modify other radio components. CBO estimates the total cost of the mandate would be several millions of dollars each year the requirement is in effect and would not exceed the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($206 million in 2025, adjusted annually for inflation).
As a result of the legislation, some manufacturers may elect to make other modifications to the vehicle as well to improve audio quality. These modifications are not considered part of the costs to comply with the mandate because they would be made at the discretion of the manufacturer.
The bill also would preempt state and local laws by prohibiting those entities from enforcing any laws or regulations pertaining to the access of AM broadcast stations in passenger vehicles. CBO estimates that the preemption would not result in an increase in or loss of revenue to state or local governments and therefore would fall well below the threshold in UMRA for intergovernmental mandates ($103 million in 2025, adjusted annually for inflation).
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Willow Latham-Proença (for federal costs) and Brandon Lever (for mandates). The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
Headline: NCDHHS Announces First Pediatric Flu Deaths of 2024-25 Season, Urges Vaccination for Children Ages 6 Months and Older
NCDHHS Announces First Pediatric Flu Deaths of 2024-25 Season, Urges Vaccination for Children Ages 6 Months and Older jwerner
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is reporting two pediatric flu-related deaths, the first for the 2024-2025 flu season. One child in the Eastern region and another in the Central region of the state recently died due to complications of influenza. To protect both families’ privacy, additional information will not be released about these cases.
“We at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services extend our deepest sympathies to the families of these children,” said State Epidemiologist Zack Moore, M.D, MPH. “This is a sad reminder that seasonal influenza can be serious and, in some cases, even fatal. If you or your loved ones have not received the flu vaccine this season, please consider doing so to help protect your family and those around you.”
North Carolina has seen a rise in flu cases in recent weeks in combination with continued COVID-19 activity, and 171 adult flu-associated deaths have already been reported in North Carolina this season. NCDHHS tracks influenza, COVID-19, RSV and other respiratory viruses that may be circulating and publishes data weekly on the Respiratory Virus Surveillance Dashboard.
Flu vaccinations are especially important for children who are at higher risk of developing severe disease or complications, including those younger than 5 years old, especially under 2 years, or those with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes or a weakened immune system.
The CDC recommends all children ages 6 months and older receive a seasonal flu vaccine and an updated COVID-19 vaccine. Parents should also talk with their health care provider about options to protect infants from severe RSV disease, including vaccines for pregnant women during weeks 32 through 36 of pregnancy.
Early testing and treatment with an antiviral drug can also help prevent flu and COVID-19 infections from becoming more serious in children. Antiviral treatment works best if started soon after symptoms begin.
In addition to vaccines and treatment, everyone should take the following preventive actions to protect themselves and their loved ones against respiratory viruses:
Regularly wash your hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-based cleaner or sanitizer to prevent the spread of viruses to others
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and objects that may be contaminated
Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue and then discard the tissue promptly
Stay home when sick, except to seek medical care or testing, and take steps to avoid spreading infection to others in your home, including:
Staying in a separate room from other household members, if possible
Using a separate bathroom, if possible
Avoiding contact with other members of the household and pets
Not sharing personal household items, like cups, towels and utensils
Wearing a mask when around other people
For more information on respiratory viruses, including how to access vaccines, testing and treatment in your community, visit vaccines.gov/en, flu.ncdhhs.gov or covid.19.ncdhhs.gov.
El Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Carolina del Norte (NCDHHS, por sus siglas en inglés) informa sobre dos muertes pediátricas relacionadas con la influenza (gripe), la primera de la temporada de 2024-2025. Un niño en la región oriental y otro en la región central del estado murieron recientemente debido a complicaciones de la influenza. Para proteger la privacidad de ambas familias, no se divulgará información adicional sobre estos casos.
“En el Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Carolina del Norte expresamos nuestro más sincero pésame a las familias de estos niños”, dijo el epidemiólogo estatal Zack Moore, MD, MPH. “Este es un triste recordatorio de que la influenza estacional (gripe estacional) puede ser grave y, en algunos casos, incluso mortal. Si usted o sus seres queridos no han recibido la vacuna contra la influenza esta temporada, considere hacerlo para ayudar a proteger a su familia y a quienes lo rodean”.
Carolina del Norte ha visto un aumento en los casos de gripe en las últimas semanas en combinación con la continua actividad de COVID-19, y ya se han reportado 171 muertes asociadas a la gripe en adultos en Carolina del Norte esta temporada. NCDHHS rastrea la influenza, COVID-19, virus sincitial respiratorio (VSR) y otros virus respiratorios que pueden estar circulando y publica datos semanalmente en elTablero de control de vigilancia de virus respiratorios.
Las vacunas contra la gripe son especialmente importantes para los niños que corren un mayor riesgo de desarrollar enfermedades o complicaciones graves, incluidos los menores de 5 años, especialmente los menores de 2 años, o aquellos con afecciones crónicas de salud como asma, diabetes o un sistema inmunitario debilitado.
Los CDC recomiendan que todos los niños de 6 meses o más reciban una vacuna contra la gripe estacional y una vacuna actualizada contra COVID-19. Los padres también deben hablar con su proveedor de atención médica sobre las opciones para proteger a los bebés de la enfermedad grave por VSR, incluidas las vacunas para mujeres embarazadas durante las semanas 32 a 36 del embarazo.
Las pruebas y el tratamiento tempranos con un medicamento antiviral también pueden ayudar a prevenir que la gripe y las infecciones por COVID-19 se vuelvan más graves en los niños. El tratamiento antiviral funciona mejor si se inicia poco después de que comiencen los síntomas.
Además de las vacunas y el tratamiento, todos deben tomar las siguientes medidas preventivas para protegerse a sí mismos y a sus seres queridos contra los virus respiratorios:
Lávese las manos regularmente con agua y jabón o use un limpiador o desinfectante a base de alcohol para evitar la propagación de virus a otras personas
Evite tocarse los ojos, la nariz y la boca
Limpie y desinfecte las superficies y los objetos que podrían estar contaminados.
Cubra la tos y los estornudos con un pañuelo de papel y luego deseche el pañuelo de papel rápidamente
Quédese en casa cuando esté enfermo, excepto para buscar atención médica o pruebas, y tome medidas para evitar transmitir la infección a otras personas en su hogar, como:
Alojarse en una habitación separada de otros miembros del hogar, si es posible
Usar un baño separado, si es posible
Evitar el contacto con otros miembros del hogar y mascotas
No compartir artículos personales de uso doméstico, como tazas, toallas y utensilios
Usar una mascarilla cuando esté cerca de otras personas
Para obtener más información sobre los virus respiratorios, incluido cómo acceder a las vacunas, las pruebas y el tratamiento en su comunidad, visite vaccines.gov/en,flu.ncdhhs.govocovid.19.ncdhhs.gov.
Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and John Cornyn (R-TX) are introducing bipartisan legislation to protect a higher-quality veterans’ experience with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Improving Veteran Experience Act would lock into law the Veterans Experience Office (VEO), making it an official fixture to help meet the increased demand for services.
Founded in 2015, the VEO collects veterans’ feedback through surveys and uses that data to continuously improve the VA’s website and other resources used by veterans interacting with the VA. Currently, the VEO is not formally established within the VA, so this service’s long term future is at risk of being cut or changed despite its usefulness to the veteran community. In order to protect the office from being disbanded or reconsidered by future administrations or Congressional sessions, the Improving Veteran Experience Act would codify the VEO into law so it can continue to provide consistent and quality care into the future.
“When I was Governor, I would regularly call our constituent relations hotlines to make sure we were delivering for Maine people; my thinking is that customer service doesn’t have to be a private sector mentality. Our veterans consistently and courageously answered the call of duty when serving and we owe it to them to have the VA positioned to help them access their hard-earned benefits,” said Senator King. “Establishment of a Veterans Experience Office (VEO) is foundational to helping our veterans get the proper care and support they deserve from the VA. The bipartisan Improving Veteran Experience Act will lock in the VEO and better guarantee we continue to deliver on our promise to veterans — whether it’s 20 days after rejoining civilian life or 20 years.”
“The brave men and women who have selflessly served our country deserve the highest-quality health care, services and benefits,” said Senator Cornyn. “The Veteran’s Experience Office helps the VA deliver tailored, efficient customer service to our veterans, and I’m glad to support this legislation to make it permanent.”
Representing one of the states with the highest rates of veterans per capita, Senator King is a staunch advocate for America’s servicemembers and veterans. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, he has worked to ensure that veterans have access to jobs and training after separating from military service. He has previously cosponsored bipartisan legislation to provide veterans with job opportunities in the trucking industry. In 2024, Congress passed Senator King’s bipartisan legislation to improve veterans’ access to health care and benefits. He has been among the Senate’s most prominent voices on the need to address veteran suicide, and has repeatedly pressed for action from top Department of Defense (DoD) officials on this issue. Last summer, Senator King introduced the Lethal Means Safe Storage for Veteran Suicide Prevention Act to help reduce suicides among veterans by providing firearm lockboxes and bolstering mental health training for VA caregivers. He also contributes to the Veterans History Project, a Library of Congress initiative to collect and preserve the stories of American veterans; he most recently interviewed a 101-year-old World War II veteran from Millinocket, Maine. Senator King uses this interview series to learn and share the stories of the lives, service and sacrifices of Maine’s veteran community.
We are in the early days of a seismic shift in the global AI industry. DeepSeek, a previously little-known Chinese artificial intelligence company, has produced a “game changing”“ large language model that promises to reshape the AI landscape almost overnight.
But DeepSeek’s breakthrough also has wider implications for the technological arms race between the US and China, having apparently caught even the best-known US tech firms off guard. Its launch has been predicted to start a “slow unwinding of the AI bet” in the west, amid a new era of “AI efficiency wars”.
In fact, industry experts have been speculating for years about China’s rapid advancements in AI. While the supposedly free-market US has often prioritised proprietary models, China has built a thriving AI ecosystem by leveraging open-source technology, fostering collaboration between government-backed research institutions and major tech firms.
This strategy has enabled China to scale its AI innovation rapidly while the US – despite all the tub-thumping from Silicon Valley – remains limited by restrictive corporate structures. Companies such as Google and Meta, despite promoting open-sourceinitiatives, still rely heavily on closed-source strategies that limit broader access and collaboration.
What makes DeepSeek particularly disruptive is its ability to achieve cutting-edge performance while reducing computing costs – an area where US firms have struggled due to their dependence on training models that demand very expensive processing hardware.
Where once Silicon Valley was the epicentre of global digital innovation, its corporate behemoths now appear vulnerable to more innovative, “scrappy” startup competitors – albeit ones enabled by major state investment in AI infrastructure. By leveraging China’s industrial approach to AI, DeepSeek has crystallised a reality that many in Silicon Valley have long ignored: AI’s centre of power is shifting away from the US and the west.
It highlights the failure of US attempts to preserve its technological hegemony through tight export controls on cutting-edge AI chips to China. According to research fellow Dean Ball: “You can keep [computing resources] away from China, but you can’t export-control the ideas that everyone in the world is hunting for.”
DeepSeek’s success has forced Silicon Valley and large western tech companies to “take stock”, realising that their once-unquestioned dominance is suddenly at risk. Even the US president, Donald Trump, has proclaimed that this should be a “wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing”.
But this story is not just about technological prowess – it could mark an important shift in global power. Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has framed DeepSeek’s emergence as a “shot across America’s bow”, urging US policymakers and tech executives to take immediate action.
DeepSeek’s rapid rise underscores a growing realisation: globally, we are entering a potentially new AI paradigm, one where China’s model of open-source innovation and state-backed development is proving more effective than Silicon Valley’s corporate-driven approach.
The Insights section is committed to high-quality longform journalism. Our editors work with academics from many different backgrounds who are tackling a wide range of societal and scientific challenges.
I’ve spent much of my career analysing the transformative role of AI on the global digital landscape – examining how AI shapes governance, market structures and public discourse, and exploring its geopolitical and ethical dimensions, now and far in the future.
I also have personal connections with China, having lived there while teaching at Jiangsu University, then written my PhD thesis on the country’s state-led marketisation programme. Over the years, I have studied China’s evolving tech landscape, observing firsthand how its unique blend of state-driven industrial policy and private-sector innovation has fuelled rapid AI development.
I believe this moment may come to be seen as a turning point not just for AI, but for the geopolitical order. If China’s AI dominance continues, what could this mean for the future of digital governance, democracy, and the global balance of power?
China’s open-source AI takeover
Even in the early days of China’s digital transformation, analysts predicted the country’s open-source focus could lead to a major AI breakthrough. In 2018, China was integrating open-source collaboration into its broader digitisation strategy, recognising that fostering shared development efforts could accelerate its AI capabilities.
Unlike the US, where proprietary AI models dominated, China embraced open-source ecosystems to bypass western gatekeeping, scale innovation faster, and embed itself in global AI collaboration. China’s open-source activity surged dramatically in 2020, laying the foundation for the kind of innovation seen today. By actively fostering an open-source culture, China ensured that a broad range of developers had access to AI tools, rather than restricting them to a handful of dominant companies.
The trend has continued in recent years, with China even launching its own state-backed open-source operating systems and platforms in 2023, to further reduce its dependence on western technology. This move was widely seen as an effort to cement its AI leadership and create an independent, self-sustaining digital ecosystem.
Video: BBC.
While China has been steadily positioning itself as a leader in open-source AI, Silicon Valley firms remained focused on closed, proprietary models – allowing China to catch up fast. While companies like Google and Meta promoted open-source initiatives in name, they still locked key AI capabilities behind paywalls and restrictive licenses.
In contrast, China’s government-backed initiatives have treated open-source AI as a national resource, rather than a corporate asset. This has resulted in China becoming one of the world’s largest contributors to open-source AI development, surpassing many western firms in collaborative projects. Chinese tech giants such as Huawei, Alibaba and Tencent are driving open-source AI forward with frameworks like PaddlePaddle, X-Deep Learning (X-DL) and MindSpore — all now core to China’s machine learning ecosystem.
But they’re also making major contributions to global AI projects, from Alibaba’s Dragonfly, which streamlines large-scale data distribution, to Baidu’s Apollo, an open-source platform accelerating autonomous vehicle development. These efforts don’t just strengthen China’s AI industry, they embed it deeper into the global AI landscape.
This shift had been years in the making, as Chinese firms (with state backing) pushed open-source AI forward and made their models publicly available, creating a feedback loop that western companies have also – quietly – tapped into. A year ago, for example, US firm Abicus.AI released Smaug-72B, an AI model designed for enterprises that built directly upon Alibaba’s Qwen-72B and outperformed proprietary models like OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 and Mistral’s Medium. But the potential for US companies to further build on Chinese open-source technology may be limited by political as well as corporate barriers.
In 2023, US lawmakers highlighted growing concerns that China’s aggressive investment in open-source AI and semiconductor technologies would eventually erode western leadership in AI. Some policymakers called for bans on certain open-source chip technologies, due to fears they could further accelerate China’s AI advancements.
But by then, China’s AI horse had already bolted.
AI with Chinese characteristics
DeepSeek’s rise should have been obvious to anyone familiar with management theory and the history of technological breakthroughs linked to “disruptive innovation”. Latecomers to an industry rarely compete by playing the same game as incumbents – they have to be disruptive.
China, facing restrictions on cutting-edge western AI chips and lagging behind in proprietary AI infrastructure, had no choice but to innovate differently. Open-source AI provided the perfect vehicle: a way to scale innovation rapidly, lower costs and tap into global research while bypassing Silicon Valley’s resource-heavy, closed-source model.
From a western and traditional human rights perspective, China’s embrace of open-source AI may appear paradoxical, given the country’s strict information controls. Its AI development strategy prioritises both technological advancement and strict alignment with the Chinese Communist party’s ideological framework, ensuring AI models adhere to “core socialist values” and state-approved narratives. AI research in China has thrived not only despite these constraints but, in many ways, because of them.
Video: CNBC.
China’s success goes beyond traditional authoritarianism; it embodies what Harvard economist David Yang calls “Autocracy 2.0”. Rather than relying solely on fear-based control, it uses economic incentives, bureaucratic efficiency, and technology to manage information and maintain regime stability.
The Chinese government has strategically encouraged open-source development while maintaining tight control over AI’s domestic applications, particularly in surveillance and censorship. Indeed, authoritarian regimes may have a significant advantage in developing facial-recognition technology due to their extensive surveillance systems. The vast amounts of data collected through these networks enable private AI companies to create advanced algorithms, which can then be adapted for commercial uses, potentially accelerating economic growth.
China’s AI strategy is built on a dual foundation of state-led initiatives and private-sector innovation. The country’s AI roadmap, first outlined in the 2017 new generation artificial intelligence development plan, follows a three-phase timeline: achieving global competitiveness by 2020, making major AI breakthroughs by 2025, and securing world leadership in AI by 2030. In parallel, the government has emphasised data governance, regulatory frameworks and ethical oversight to guide AI development “responsibly”.
A defining feature of China’s AI expansion has been the massive infusion of state-backed investment. Over the past decade, government venture capital funds have injected approximately US$912 billion (£737bn) into early-stage firms, with 23% of that funding directed toward AI-related companies. A significant portion has targeted China’s less-developed regions, following local investment mandates.
Compared with private venture capital, government-backed firms often lag in software development but demonstrate rapid growth post-investment. Moreover, state funding often serves as a signal for subsequent private-sector investment, reinforcing the country’s AI ecosystem.
China’s AI strategy represents a departure from its traditional industrial policies, which historically emphasised self-sufficiency, support for a handful of national champions, and military-driven research. Instead, the government has embraced a more flexible and collaborative approach that encourages open-source software adoption, a diverse network of AI firms, and public-private partnerships to accelerate innovation. This model prioritises research funding, state-backed AI laboratories, and AI integration across key industries including security, healthcare, and infrastructure.
Despite strong state involvement, China’s AI boom is equally driven by private-sector innovation. The country is home to an estimated 4,500 AI companies, accounting for 15% of the world’s total.
As economist Liu Gang told the Chinese Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper: “The development of AI is fast in China – for example, for AI-empowered large language models. Aided with government spending, private capital is flowing to the new sector. Increased capital inflow is anticipated to further enhance the sector in 2025.”
China’s tech giants including Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent and SenseTime have all benefited from substantial government support while remaining competitive on the global stage. But unlike in the US, China’s AI ecosystem thrives on a complex interplay between state support, corporate investment and academic collaboration.
Recognising the potential of open-source AI early on, Tsinghua University in Beijing has emerged as a key innovation hub, producing leading AI startups such as Zhipu AI, Baichuan AI, Moonshot AI and MiniMax — all founded by its faculty and alumni. The Chinese Academy of Sciences has similarly played a crucial role in advancing research in deep learning and natural language processing.
Unlike the west, where companies like Google and Meta promote open-source models for strategic business gains, China sees them as a means of national technological self-sufficiency. To this end, the National AI Team, composed of 23 leading private enterprises, has developed the National AI Open Innovation Platform, which provides open access to AI datasets, toolkits, libraries and other computing resources.
DeepSeek is a prime example of China’s AI strategy in action. The company’s rise embodies the government’s push for open-source collaboration while remaining deeply embedded within a state-guided AI ecosystem. Chinese developers have long been major contributors to open-source platforms, ranking as the second-largest group on GitHub by 2021.
Founded by Chinese entrepreneur Liang Wenfeng in 2023, DeepSeek has positioned itself as an AI leader while benefiting from China’s state-driven AI ecosystem. Liang, who also established the hedge fund High-Flyer, has maintained full ownership of DeepSeek and avoided external venture capital funding.
Though there is no direct evidence of government financial backing, DeepSeek has reaped the rewards of China’s AI talent pipeline, state-sponsored education programs, and research funding. Liang has engaged with top government officials including China’s premier, Li Qiang, reflecting the company’s strategic importance to the country’s broader AI ambitions.
In this way, DeepSeek perfectly encapsulates “AI with Chinese characteristics” – a fusion of state guidance, private-sector ingenuity, and open-source collaboration, all carefully managed to serve the country’s long-term technological and geopolitical objectives.
Recognising the strategic value of open-source innovation, the government has actively promoted domestic open-source code platforms like Gitee to foster self-reliance and insulate China’s AI ecosystem from external disruptions. However, this also exposes the limits of China’s open-source ambitions. The government pushes collaboration, but only within a tightly controlled system where state-backed firms and tech giants call the shots.
Reports of censorship on Gitee reveal how Beijing carefully manages innovation, ensuring AI advances stay in line with national priorities. Independent developers can contribute, but the real power remains concentrated in companies that operate within the government’s strategic framework.
The conflicted reactions of US big tech
DeepSeek’s emergence has sparked intense debate across the AI industry, drawing a range of reactions from leading Silicon Valley executives, policymakers and researchers. While some view it as an expected evolution of open-source AI, others see it as a direct challenge to western AI leadership.
Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, emphasised its technical efficiency. “It’s super-impressive in terms of both how they have really effectively done an open-source model that does this inference-time compute, and is super-compute efficient,” Nadella told CNBC. “We should take the developments out of China very, very seriously”.
Silicon Valley venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, a prominent advisor to Trump, was similarly effusive. “DeepSeek R1 is one of the most amazing and impressive breakthroughs I’ve ever seen – and as open source, a profound gift to the world,” he wrote on X.
For Yann LeCun, Meta’s chief AI scientist, DeepSeek is less about China’s AI capabilities and more about the broader power of open-source innovation. He argued that the situation should be read not as China’s AI surpassing the US, but rather as open-source models surpassing proprietary ones. “DeepSeek has profited from open research and open source (e.g. PyTorch and Llama from Meta),” he wrote on Threads. “They came up with new ideas and built them on top of other people’s work. Because their work is published and open source, everyone can profit from it. That is the power of open research and open source.”
Not all responses were so measured. Alexander Wang, CEO of Scale AI – a US firm specialising in AI data labelling and model training – framed DeepSeek as a competitive threat that demands an aggressive response. He wrote on X: “DeepSeek is a wake-up call for America, but it doesn’t change the strategy: USA must out-innovate & race faster, as we have done in the entire history of AI. Tighten export controls on chips so that we can maintain future leads. Every major breakthrough in AI has been American.”
Elon Musk added fuel to speculation about DeepSeek’s hardware access when he responded with a simple “obviously” to Wang’s earlier claims on CNBC that DeepSeek had secretly acquired 50,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs, despite US export restrictions.
Beyond the tech world, US policymakers have taken a more adversarial stance. House speaker Mike Johnson accused China of leveraging DeepSeek to erode American AI leadership. “They abuse the system, they steal our intellectual property. They’re now trying to get a leg up on us in AI.”
For his part, Trump took a more pragmatic view, seeing DeepSeek’s efficiency as a validation of cost-cutting approaches. “I view that as a positive, as an asset … You won’t be spending as much, and you’ll get the same result, hopefully.”
The rise of DeepSeek may have helped jolt the Trump administration into action, leading to sweeping policy shifts aimed at securing US dominance in AI. In his first week back in the White House, the US president announced a series of aggressive measures, including massive federal investments in AI research, closer partnerships between the government and private tech firms, and the rollback of regulations seen as slowing US innovation.
The administration’s framing of AI as a critical national interest reflects a broader urgency sparked by China’s rapid advancements, particularly DeepSeek’s ability to produce cutting-edge models at a fraction of the cost traditionally associated with AI development. But this response is not just about national competitiveness – it is also deeply entangled with private industry.
Musk’s growing closeness to Trump, for example, can be viewed as a calculated move to protect his own dominance at home and abroad. By aligning with the administration, Musk ensures that US policy tilts in favour of his AI ventures, securing access to government backing, computing power, and regulatory control over AI exports.
At the same time, Musk’s public criticism of Trump’s US$500 billion AI infrastructure plan – claiming the companies involved lack the necessary funding – was as much a warning as a dismissal, signalling his intent to shape policy in a way that benefits his empire while keeping potential challengers at bay.
Not unrelated, Musk and a group of investors have just launched a US$97.4 billion (£78.7bn) bid for OpenAI’s nonprofit arm, a move that escalates his feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and seeks to strengthen his grip on the AI industry. Altman has dismissed the bid as a “desperate power grab”, insisting that OpenAI will not be swayed by Musk’s attempts to reclaim control. The spat reflects how DeepSeek’s emergence has thrown US tech giants into what could be all-out war, fuelling bitter corporate rivalries and reshaping the fight for AI dominance.
And while the US and China escalate their AI competition, other global leaders are pushing for a coordinated response. The Paris AI Action Summit, held on February 10 and 11, has become a focal point for efforts to prevent AI from descending into an uncontrolled power struggle. France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, warned delegates that without international oversight, AI risks becoming “the wild west”, where unchecked technological development creates instability rather than progress.
But at the end of the two-day summit, the UK and US refused to sign an international commitment to “ensuring AI is open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure and trustworthy … making AI sustainable for people and the planet”. China was among the 61 countries to sign this declaration.
Concerns have also been raised at the summit about how AI-powered surveillance and control are enabling authoritarian regimes to strengthen repression and reshape the citizen-state relationship. This highlights the fast-growing global industry of digital repression, driven by an emerging “authoritarian-financial complex” that may exacerbate China’s strategic advancement in AI.
Equally, DeepSeek’s cost-effective AI solutions have created an opening for European firms to challenge the traditional AI hierarchy. As AI development shifts from being solely about compute power to strategic efficiency and accessibility, European firms now have an opportunity to compete more aggressively against their US and Chinese counterparts.
Whether this marks a true rebalancing of the AI landscape remains to be seen. But DeepSeek’s emergence has certainly upended traditional assumptions about who will lead the next wave of AI innovation – and how global powers will respond to it.
End of the ‘Silicon Valley effect’?
DeepSeek’s emergence has forced US tech leaders to confront an uncomfortable reality: they underestimated China’s AI capabilities. Confident in their perceived lead, companies like Google, Meta, and OpenAI prioritised incremental improvements over anticipating disruptive competition, leaving them vulnerable to a rapidly evolving global AI landscape.
In response, the US tech giants are now scrambling to defend their dominance, pledging over US$400 billion in AI investment. DeepSeek’s rise, fuelled by open-source collaboration, has reignited fierce debates over innovation versus security, while its energy-efficient model has intensified scrutiny on AI’s sustainability.
Yet Silicon Valley continues to cling to what many view as outdated economic theories such as the Jevons paradox to downplay China’s AI surge, insisting that greater efficiency will only fuel demand for computing power and reinforce their dominance. Companies like Meta, OpenAI and Microsoft remain fixated on scaling computational power, betting that expensive hardware will secure their lead. But this assumption blinds them to a shifting reality.
DeepSeek’s rise as the potential “Walmart of AI” is shaking Silicon Valley’s foundation, proving that high-quality AI models can be built at a fraction of the cost. By prioritising efficiency over brute-force computing power, DeepSeek is challenging the US tech industry’s reliance on expensive hardware like Nvidia’s high-end chips.
This shift has already rattled markets, driving down the stock prices of major US firms and forcing a reassessment of AI dominance. Nvidia, whose business depends on supplying high-performance processors, appears particularly vulnerable as DeepSeek’s cost-effective approach threatens to reduce demand for premium chips.
Video: CBS News.
The growing divide between the US and China in AI, however, is more than just competition – it’s a clash of governance models. While US firms remain fixated on protecting market dominance, China is accelerating AI innovation with a model that is proving more adaptable to global competition.
If Silicon Valley resists structural change, it risks falling further behind. We may witness the unravelling of the “Silicon Valley effect”, through which tech giants have long manipulated AI regulations to entrench their dominance. For years, Google, Meta,and OpenAI shaped policies that favoured proprietary models and costly infrastructure, ensuring AI development remained under their control.
More than a policy-driven rise, China’s AI surge reflects a fundamentally different innovation model – fast, collaborative and market-driven – while Silicon Valley holds on to expensive infrastructure and rigid proprietary control. If US firms refuse to adapt, they risk losing the future of AI to a more agile and cost-efficient competitor.
A new era of geotechnopolitics
But China is not just disrupting Silicon Valley. It is expanding “geotechnopolitics”, where AI is a battleground for global power. With AI projected to add US$15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, China and the US are racing to control the technology that will define economic, military and political dominance.
DeepSeek’s advancement has raised national security concerns in the US. Trump’s government is considering stricter export controls on AI-related technologies to prevent them from bolstering China’s military and intelligence capabilities.
As AI-driven defence systems, intelligence operations and cyber warfare redefine national security, governments must confront a new reality: AI leadership is not just about technological superiority, but about who controls the intelligence that will shape the next era of global power.
China’s AI ambitions extend beyond technology, driving a broader strategy for economic and geopolitical dominance. But with over 50 state-backed companies developing large-scale AI models, its rapid expansion faces growing challenges, including soaring energy demands and US semiconductor restrictions.
China’s president, Xi Jinping, remains resolute, stating: “Whoever can grasp the opportunities of new economic development such as big data and artificial intelligence will have the pulse of our times.” He sees AI driving “new quality productivity” and modernising China’s manufacturing base, calling its “head goose effect” a catalyst for broader innovation.
To counter western containment, China has embraced a “guerrilla” economic strategy, bypassing restrictions through alternative trade networks, deepening ties with the global south, and exploiting weaknesses in global supply chains. Instead of direct confrontation, this decentralised approach uses economic coercion to weaken adversaries while securing China’s own industrial base.
Video: AP.
China is also leveraging open-source AI as an ideological tool, presenting its model as more collaborative and accessible than western alternatives. This narrative strengthens its global influence, aligning with nations seeking alternatives to western digital control. While strict state oversight remains, China’s embrace of open-source AI reinforces its claim to a future where innovation is driven not by corporate interests but through shared collaboration and global cooperation.
But while DeepSeek claims to be open access, its secrecy tells a different story. Key details on training data and fine-tuning remain hidden, and its compliance with China’s AI laws has sparked global scrutiny. Italy has banned the platform over data-transfer risks, while Belgium and Ireland launched privacy probes.
Under Chinese regulations, DeepSeek’s outputs must align with state-approved narratives, clashing with the EU’s AI Act, which demands transparency and protects political speech. Such “controlled openness” raises many red flags, casting doubt on China’s place in markets that value data security and free expression.
Many western commentators are seizing on reports of Chinese AI censorship to frame other models as freer and more politically open. The revelation that a leading Chinese chatbot actively modifies or censors responses in real time has fuelled a broader narrative that western AI operates without such restrictions, reinforcing the idea that democratic systems produce more transparent and unbiased technology. This framing serves to bolster the argument that free societies will ultimately lead the global AI race.
But at its heart, the “AI arms race” is driven by technological dominance. The US, China, and the EU are charting different paths, weighing security risks against the need for global collaboration. How this competition is framed will shape policy: lock AI behind restrictions, or push for open innovation.
DeepSeek, for all its transformational qualities, continues to exemplify a model of AI where innovation prioritises scale, speed and efficiency over societal impact. This drive to optimise computation and expand capabilities overshadows the need to design AI as a truly public good. In doing so, it eclipses this technology’s genuine potential to transform governance, public services and social institutions in ways that prioritise collective wellbeing, equity and sustainability over corporate and state control.
A truly global AI framework requires more than political or technological openness. It demands structured cooperation that prioritises shared governance, equitable access, and responsible development. Following a workshop in Shanghai hosted by the Chinese government last September, the UN’s general secretary, António Guterres, outlined his vision for AI beyond corporate or state control: “We must seize this historic opportunity to lay the foundations for inclusive governance of AI – for the benefit of all humanity. As we build AI capacity, we must also develop shared knowledge and digital public goods.”
Both the west and China frame their AI ambitions through competing notions of “openness” – each aligning with their strategic interests and reinforcing existing power structures.
Western tech giants claim AI drives democratisation, yet they often dominate digital infrastructure in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America, exporting models based on “corporate imperialism” that extract value while disregarding local needs. China, by contrast, positions itself as a technological partner for the rest of the global south; however, its AI remains tightly controlled, reinforcing state ideology.
China’s proclaimed view on international AI collaboration emphasises that AI should not be “a game of rich countries”“, as President Xi stated during the 2024 G20 summit. By advocating for inclusive global AI development, China positions itself as a leader in shaping international AI governance, especially via initiatives like the UN AI resolution and its AI capacity-building action plan. These efforts help promote a more balanced technological landscape while allowing China to strengthen its influence in global AI standards and frameworks.
However, beneath all these narratives, both China and the US share a strategy of AI expansion that relies on exploited human labour, from data annotation to moderation, exposing a system driven less by innovation than by economic and political control.
Seeing AI as a connected race for influence highlights the need for ethical deployment, cross-border cooperation, and a balance between security and progress. And this is where China may face its greatest challenge – balancing the power of open-source innovation with the constraints of a tightly controlled, authoritarian system that thrives on restriction, rather than openness.
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Peter Bloom 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.
Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Syria.
I will make three points today.
First, a little over two months have passed since the interim authorities took control of Damascus, offering hope for a brighter future and a more peaceful future for the Syrian people.
We are encouraged by efforts made in the weeks since and we welcome the interim authorities’ pledges to form an inclusive transitional government, leading to free and fair elections.
We welcome the engagement between the Special Envoy, his office and the interim authorities and his plans to return to Damascus shortly.
As the Special Envoy has said, Syria’s political transition cannot afford to fail.
As Syrians take the next steps towards a political process, we expect to see appointments to the transitional government and the recently announced Legislative Council and the Preparatory Committee which represent the diversity of Syrian society.
We hope there will be a clear process and timeline for this next phase of the transition, which respects the rights and safety of all Syrians.
Second, we have been clear, as others have too, that Syrians should chart their own future and that a political process should be Syrian-owned and Syrian-led.
However, as Special Envoy Pederson and ASG Msuya both reminded us, it is essential that the international community step in and support as the challenges are vast and humanitarian needs acute.
It is imperative that the UN, alongside the international community, plays a vital role in supporting Syrians to stabilise and then rebuild their country.
The deep scars and the damage of over a decade of conflict cannot be healed in a matter of months.
Last week the UK, working with the World Food Programme, committed over $3.7 million to the ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative which will enable Ukraine to support the most vulnerable Syrians and alleviate suffering.
So we endorse the Special Envoy’s call that we must also take this opportunity to scale up early recovery and sustainable programming to enable Syrians to feed themselves, to keep the lights on, to create jobs and build a better future.
Finally, we welcome the visit to Damascus of the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on 8 February.
This marks a positive step forward.
We must use this window of opportunity and the work to support the OPCW and Syria to declare and destroy Assad’s remaining chemical weapons programme, for a more stable and secure Syria.
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a transformational $150 million investment to connect the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) Ronkonkoma Station with the proposed North Terminal at MacArthur Airport, significantly improving accessibility and enhancing the region’s transportation infrastructure. This initiative builds on the Governor’s commitment to the development of a new terminal at MacArthur Airport, further positioning Long Island as a hub for economic growth and innovation.
“Long Islanders deserve modern, efficient transit systems that make their daily lives easier and fuel local economic growth,” Governor Hochul said. “By improving transit access, redesigning road networks, and enhancing critical infrastructure, we are unlocking new opportunities for businesses, tourism, and economic development. This $150 million investment will also create good-paying union jobs while transforming how Long Islanders connect to one another, to New York and to the rest of the world.”
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The new funding further leverages Governor Hochul’s 2022 commitment of $40 million for a new North Terminal at MacArthur Airport. The project will include a pedestrian walkway linking the airport and LIRR station, redesigned road networks and upgrades to various infrastructure. These enhancements will improve passenger experience, reduce travel times and position MacArthur Airport as a key transportation hub for Long Island.
MacArthur Airport has long played a vital role in Suffolk County’s transportation system, evolving from a military airfield in 1942 to being recognized as one of the best small airports in America. This latest investment reaffirms the State’s commitment to improving infrastructure and expanding economic opportunities in the region.
By improving connectivity and unlocking the potential of 48 acres of land surrounding the station, the project will drive further development and tourism growth. The investment aligns with the Governor’s broader vision for Long Island, which includes strengthening transit networks, expanding housing access and fostering job creation.
By improving transit access, redesigning road networks, and enhancing critical infrastructure, we are unlocking new opportunities for businesses, tourism, and economic development.
Governor Hochul
Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “This transformative investment demonstrates New York State’s commitment to building world-class infrastructure that drives economic growth. The direct connection between MacArthur Airport and the LIRR network will create new opportunities for business development, tourism, and job creation that will benefit Long Island for generations to come. The additional funding advances Long Island’s momentum as a hub for economic growth, expanding opportunities for residents, businesses, and visitors alike.”
Empire State Development Board Chairman Kevin Law said, “As a Long Islander, I know firsthand how critical robust transportation infrastructure is to our region’s future. This $150 million investment to connect MacArthur Airport with the LIRR’s Ronkonkoma Station will catalyze economic development, enhance quality of life, and create new possibilities for sustainable growth. The improved accessibility and modernized transit network will help cement Long Island’s continued success as a premier destination to live, work, and do business.”
Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free said, “The LIRR is the fastest, safest and most economical way to travel across Long Island and this project is a unique opportunity to help take more cars off the roads,” said LIRR President Rob Free. “Moving MacArthur’s terminal closer to Ronkonkoma station will encourage people to take the train to the airport. The LIRR is already the best travel experience to JFK and we are ready to help MacArthur Airport grow by bringing that same great travel experience there too.”
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Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said, “I thank Governor Hochul for recognizing the critically important need for infrastructure investment to help grow Suffolk County’s economy and protect its environment. Without these investments Suffolk County cannot grow to accommodate new businesses or create new opportunities for residents or improve transportation. This is a great win for the people of Suffolk County.”
Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Kevin J. McCaffrey said, “We thank the Governor for her investment in the Infrastructure surrounding the Ronkonkoma train station. We believe this investment goes hand in hand with the County’s continued investment to provide for the economic development of this important area of the county.”
Suffolk County Legislature Minority Leader Jason Richberg said, “MacArthur Airport has always had the potential to serve as a much-needed transit hub for Long Islanders, and today’s announcement takes us one step closer to making that a reality, ” said Suffolk County Legislature Minority Leader Jason Richberg. “The new, expanded North Terminal will make traveling and commuting easier for our millions of residents, create jobs, and bring more tourism and business to Suffolk County. I want to thank Governor Hochul for this critical investment that will go a long way in strengthening our region.”
Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter said, “We would like to acknowledge and thank Governor Hochul for her leadership and commitment to investing in our region. Commercial Development at Ronkonkoma South represents an incredible opportunity for the region and certainly maximizes the potential of our regional airport. With this investment, we are laying the foundation for long-term economic growth, bringing in high-quality jobs, and creating new opportunities for our young professionals to live and work right here in our community. We are also leveraging the investments made in our transportation infrastructure, including the enhancements to the LIRR and the future potential of Amtrak service. With mixed-use residential development north of the Ronkonkoma railroad, we have a unique opportunity to create a thriving, connected transportation hub that supports our workforce and strengthens our economy.”
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jennifer Clapp, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability, and Member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems, University of Waterloo
History has shown us again and again that, so long as inequality goes unchecked, no amount of technology can ensure people are well fed.
Today, the world produces more food per person than ever before. Yet hunger and malnutrition persist in every corner of the globe — even, and increasingly, in some of its wealthiest countries.
The major drivers of food insecurity are well known: conflict, poverty, inequality, economic shocks and escalating climate change. In other words, the causes of hunger are fundamentally political and economic.
The urgency of the hunger crisis has prompted 150 Nobel and World Food Prize laureates to call for “moonshot” technological and agricultural innovations to boost food production, meaning monumental and lofty efforts. However, they largely ignored hunger’s root causes — and the need to confront powerful entities and make courageous political choices.
Food is misallocated
To focus almost exclusively on promoting agricultural technologies to ramp up food production would be to repeat the mistakes of the past.
The Green Revolution of the 1960s-70s brought impressive advances in crop yields, though at considerable environmental cost. It failed to eliminate hunger, because it didn’t address inequality. Take Iowa, for example — home to some of the most industrialized food production on the planet. Amid its high-tech corn and soy farms, 11 per cent of the state’s population, and one in six of its children, struggle to access food.
Even though the world already produces more than enough food to feed everyone, it’s woefully misallocated. Selling food to poor people at affordable prices simply isn’t as profitable for giant food corporations.
They make far more by exporting it for animal feed, blending it into biofuels for cars or turning it into industrial products and ultra-processed foods. To make matters worse, a third of all food is simply wasted.
Meanwhile, as the laureates remind us, more than 700 million people — nine per cent of the world’s population — remain chronically undernourished. A staggering 2.3 billion people — more than one in four — cannot access an adequate diet.
Women queue up to receive food distributed by local volunteers at a camp in Somalia in May 2019. Conflicts hinder the effective delivery of humanitarian aid during food security crisis. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
Confronting inequity
Measures to address world hunger must start with its known causes and proven policies. Brazil’s Without Hunger program, for example, has seen dramatic 85 per cent reduction in severe hunger in just 18 months through financial assistance, school food programs and minimum wage policies.
Our politicians must confront and reverse gross inequities in wealth, power and access to land. Hunger disproportionately affects the poorest and most marginalized people, not because food is scarce, but because people can’t afford it or lack the resources to produce it for themselves. Redistribution policies aren’t optional, they’re essential.
Governments must put a stop to the use of hunger as a weapon of war. The worst hunger hotspots are conflict zones, as seen in Gaza and Sudan, where violence drives famine. Too many governments have looked the other way on starvation tactics — promoting emergency aid to pick up the pieces instead of taking action to end the conflicts driving hunger.
Governments must also break the stranglehold of inequitable trade rules and export patterns that trap the poorest regions in dependency on food imports, leaving them vulnerable to shocks.
Instead, supporting local and territorial markets is critical in helping build resilience to economic and supply chain disruptions. These markets provide livelihoods and help ensure diverse, nutritious foods reach those who need them.
Mitigating and adapting to climate change requires massive investments in transformative approaches that promote resilience and sustainability in food systems.
Agroecology — a farming system that applies ecological principles to ensure sustainability and promotes social equity in food systems — is a key solution, proven to sequester carbon, build resilience to climate shocks and reduce dependence on expensive and environmentally damaging synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
More research should explore agroecology’s full potential. And we must adopt plant-rich, local and seasonal diets, ramp up measures to tackle food waste and reconsider using food crops for biofuels.
This means pushing back against Big Meat and biofuel lobbies, while investing in climate-resilient food systems.
Bold political action needed
This is not to say that technology has no role — all hands need to be on deck. But the innovations most worth pursuing are those that genuinely support more equitable and sustainable food systems, and not corporate profits. Unless scientific efforts are matched by policies that confront power and prioritize equity over profit, then hunger is likely to here to stay.
The solutions to hunger are neither new nor beyond reach. What’s missing is the political will to address its root causes.
This message is shared by my colleagues with the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems, IPES-Food, whose work covers a range of expertise and experience. Hunger persists because we allow injustice to endure. If we are serious about ending it, we need bold political action, not just scientific breakthroughs.
Jennifer Clapp receives funding from the Canada Research Chairs program and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food).
A public consultation for a potential visitor levy scheme in Aberdeen which would raise revenue to be used for improvements for the visitor economy in the city has been agreed.
Aberdeen City Council’s Finance and Resources Committee today approved the move which would see the scheme charge a percentage fee on overnight stays in accommodation.
Convener of Finance and Resources Councillor Alex McLellan said: “Aberdeen City Council has developed the visitor levy scheme with key stakeholders which will now go out to consultation.
“There is the potential for the scheme to raise significant funds to help support our ambition to be a leading visitor destination.
“Our decision around whether or not to introduce a visitor levy will be informed by the consultation as it is important to consider the views of the trade, and a key part of that discussion will be around how the council could use the funds to boost the city’s economy, increase visitor numbers, and, in turn, fill hotel rooms.”
Chair of the Aberdeen City and Shire Hotels Association Frank Whitaker said “It is fair to say that the hotel sector lobbied hard against legislation for a visitor levy. However, the law now enables local authorities across Scotland to implement a visitor levy, so it is incumbent on industry to work with local authorities to develop effective schemes that support local economic growth.
“The introduction of a visitor levy scheme in Aberdeen City has the potential to be a positive economic growth lever if correctly invested, benefitting not just all types of visitors to Aberdeen but also local residents.”
The report to committee said The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill allows local authorities in Scotland to charge a fee or tax on overnight stays in some types of accommodation. The levy would be calculated as a percentage of the chargeable transaction for accommodation, after deducting any commission costs.
The main purpose of the bill is to invest more in the local economy in ways that will benefit business and leisure visitors as well as residents.
The local authority has the discretion to set what the rate is and the legislation allows for local authorities to set different rates for different purposes or areas meaning that different rates can be set for particular events, such as arts festivals or special conferences and that local authorities can vary the area in which the levy applies within their boundary.
Local authorities cannot vary the type of accommodation that the levy would apply to and that includes hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, guest houses, self-catering accommodation, camping sites, caravan parks, accommodation in a vehicle, or on board a vessel which is permanently or predominantly situated in one place.
Cruise ships and motor homes are not subject to the levy. The levy is not payable where the visitor or any other person utilising the right to reside in the overnight accommodation is in receipt of benefits, payments, or allowances for a disability.
The report said if it goes ahead, the absolute earliest a visitor levy scheme can come into effect in Aberdeen is 1 April 2027. For public consultation, a rate of 7% is proposed which would produce a levy of £5 per night on an average hotel room of £70 a night.
Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson alongside fleet colleagues at Bankhead Depot.
Safety is at the heart of the Council’s fleet, with our entire fleet of new Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) along with our welfare buses all equipped with enhanced safety features.
We’ve taken inspiration from the Progressive Safe System (PSS) which was implemented by Transport for London (TfL) in October 2024 to enhance vehicle awareness and reduce the likelihood of collisions. There are seven key requirements under PSS:
Camera monitoring system fitted to the vehicle’s nearside
Class V and VI mirrors
Blind spot sensors fitted to the vehicles nearside
Moving off sensors fitted to the front of the vehicle
Side under-run protection on both sides of the vehicle
Audible warning alerts when vehicles turn left
Prominent visual warning signage
In addition to adhering to PSS requirements, all our new vehicles are fitted with an Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS). AEBS uses sensors to monitor a vehicle’s surroundings and automatically apply the brakes if a collision is likely.
Whilst there are no such safety requirement anywhere else in the UK outside of London, we took the decision to ensure all HGVs purchased as part of the replacement programme were equipped with the technology to meet this standard.
Our 152 strong HGV fleet is comprised of refuse collection vehicles, road sweepers, road gritters, mobile library uses, construction vehicles in roads services, and utility trucks for maintaining streets and greenspace.
Whilst our 27 welfare buses, which transport children with Additional Support Needs (ASN), are not classed as HGV we took the decision to order these buses with the new safety features. These vehicles operate in and around schools and built-up areas during peak travel times so it’s important they are as safe as possible for everyone.
We’ve now taken delivery of over 70 of our new HGVs, with all new refuse collection vehicles due to arrive by the end of March 2025 and all other HGVs due to be in service this year.
Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson said:
I was delighted to go down to Bankhead this morning to see some of these new vehicles firsthand and talk to our colleagues who operate them. We have a responsibility to our colleagues and our residents to make sure our fleet is as safe as possible. This is why we’re investing tens of millions of pounds into our fleet.
With these changes I’m confident that we have the most advanced local authority fleet in Scotland when it comes to safety features. I hope that other parts of Scotland and the UK will look to London and Edinburgh’s example and follow suit.
Safety is an absolute priority for us when delivering our services and I have no doubt that these new features will have a positive impact.