ópera Nuvo founder tells supporters publication will cease operations By rssfeeds.indystar.com Published On :: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 22:30:56 +0000 After ending print publication in 2019 and moving to online nonprofit model, Nuvo will cease operations. Full Article
ópera How coronavirus hit operating income for Lucas Oil Stadium, Indiana Convention Center By rssfeeds.indystar.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 19:21:06 +0000 Operating revenues for the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium dropped by 60 percent in March, during coronavirus, compared to last year. Full Article
ópera 'Operation Inspiration' grounded Saturday because of snow and hail By london.ctvnews.ca Published On :: Sat, 9 May 2020 11:06:08 -0400 The famed Snowbirds were scheduled to fly over parts of Southern Ontario Saturday as part of "Operation Inspiration," but actual snow has grounded those plans for 24 hours. Full Article
ópera A new autonomous delivery vehicle is designed to operate like a bicycle By www.washingtonpost.com Published On :: Thu, 25 Jul 2019 18:18:41 +0000 In Ann Arbor, Mich., the creators of a new autonomous vehicle have designed their robot to operate on local streets — but more so like a bicycle than a car. Full Article
ópera Who Really Owns and Operates The Well-known Cruise LInes By tips4travellers.libsyn.com Published On :: Mon, 24 Feb 2020 12:00:00 +0000 Who actually owns and operates the most popular and your favourite cruise lines? Be prepared for some surprises as I take a look at who the biggest cruise lines in the world are based on number of passengers carried, and then who owns and controls the lines. Although there are many cruise lines, they are all pretty much owned by three large cruise corporations. Discover who owns and operates the cruise lines you have heard of, love or considering cruising with. Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 60+ cruises. Follow Tips For Travellers on: Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge Full Article
ópera Dune HD Secures Operator Content And Revenue Using Verimatrix VCAS for IPTV By www.tvover.net Published On :: Thu, 18 Oct 2012 20:17:16 GMT IPTV operators will now benefit from industry-leading revenue security solutions when using Dune HD media players, thanks to a new partnership between Dune HD and Verimatrix. Verimatrix is the specialist in securing and enhancing revenue for multi-screen digital TV services around the globe, and its Video Content Authority System for IPTV solution and embedded ViewRight security client are now available across Dune HD’s award-winning range of digital media players, enabling operators to better protect content from piracy while enhancing service revenues. Verimatrix VCAS software-based security solutions are the most widely deployed content protection systems amongst tier-one operators globally, with a growing base of over 600 deployments. These operators and other Verimatrix partners will now be able to install Dune HD’s extensive range of digital media players and set-top boxes, which combine high performance, engineering excellence and customisable features, backed up by the highest levels of content security. Full Article IPTV Set-Top Boxes
ópera Dune HD And Beenius Partner To Deliver Best Of Breed IPTV Solution To Operators By www.tvover.net Published On :: Tue, 23 Oct 2012 20:52:38 GMT Operators looking to deploy IPTV and Video on Demand will benefit from faster, lower-risk implementations that enable them to offer more services to users through a major partnership between Dune HD and Beenius announced today at TelcoTV2012. This will be demonstrated on the Beenius booth (number 105) at TelcoTV. As part of the partnership, Dune HD’s advanced set-top boxes have been certified by Beenius and are now integrated with Beenius’ Beesmart open, flexible, and feature-rich interactive TV middleware platform. Together this provides an adaptable, integrated and best of breed solution to operators and system integrators, backed by the engineering expertise of both partners. Full Article IPTV Events;IPTV Middleware;IPTV Set-Top Boxes
ópera Elon Musk threatens to pull Tesla operations out of California and into Texas or Nevada By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 17:27:31 +0000 Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Saturday the company will file a lawsuit against Alameda County and threatened to move its headquarters and future programs to Texas or Nevada immediately, escalating a fight between the company and health officials over whether its factory in Fremont can reopen. Tesla had planned to bring back about 30% of […] Full Article Automotive TC Transportation california cars ceo Elon Musk Fremont Gavin Newsom Governor hyperloop manufacturing Nevada PAN TechCrunch Tesla Tesla Model S texas The Boring Company
ópera Achieving Paperless Operations and Document Automation with AI and ML By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Tue, 07 Jan 2020 19:00:58 +0000 Paper is an essential commodity for office operations. Most conventional offices rely on paper for completing the simplest tasks. Even after digitization, the dream of a completely paperless office is far from reality. Humans are used to a standard form of note-taking and documentation. Here is how to achieve paperless operations and document automation with […] The post Achieving Paperless Operations and Document Automation with AI and ML appeared first on ReadWrite. Full Article AI automation Document ML operations Paperless
ópera velocityconf: RT @allspaw: Operations and System Safety - always a student http://t.co/1VYBEZYrK8 #devops #velocityconf By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 30 May 2013 18:43:30 +0000 velocityconf: RT @allspaw: Operations and System Safety - always a student http://t.co/1VYBEZYrK8 #devops #velocityconf Full Article
ópera Obama Private Call Released: Implores Political Operatives to Help Protect Him…”We gotta make this happen” By 100percentfedup.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 17:30:22 +0000 The following article, Obama Private Call Released: Implores Political Operatives to Help Protect Him…”We gotta make this happen”, was first published on 100PercentFedUp.com. Michael Isikoff at Yahoo News on Friday night released audio of a call from former President Barack Obama to political operatives and the media to help protect “the rule of law” by protecting him. Obama desperately wants the Deep State and media to protect him by helping elect Joe Biden: “The fact that there is […] Continue reading: Obama Private Call Released: Implores Political Operatives to Help Protect Him…”We gotta make this happen” ... Full Article Breaking Featured Politics
ópera ER stress increases store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) and augments basal insulin secretion in pancreatic beta cells [Molecular Bases of Disease] By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: 2020-04-24T06:08:45-07:00 Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and increased peripheral insulin resistance. Unremitting endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress can lead to beta-cell apoptosis and has been linked to type 2 diabetes. Although many studies have attempted to link ER stress and T2DM, the specific effects of ER stress on beta-cell function remain incompletely understood. To determine the interrelationship between ER stress and beta-cell function, here we treated insulin-secreting INS-1(832/13) cells or isolated mouse islets with the ER stress–inducer tunicamycin (TM). TM induced ER stress as expected, as evidenced by activation of the unfolded protein response. Beta cells treated with TM also exhibited concomitant alterations in their electrical activity and cytosolic free Ca2+ oscillations. As ER stress is known to reduce ER Ca2+ levels, we tested the hypothesis that the observed increase in Ca2+ oscillations occurred because of reduced ER Ca2+ levels and, in turn, increased store-operated Ca2+ entry. TM-induced cytosolic Ca2+ and membrane electrical oscillations were acutely inhibited by YM58483, which blocks store-operated Ca2+ channels. Significantly, TM-treated cells secreted increased insulin under conditions normally associated with only minimal release, e.g. 5 mm glucose, and YM58483 blocked this secretion. Taken together, these results support a critical role for ER Ca2+ depletion–activated Ca2+ current in mediating Ca2+-induced insulin secretion in response to ER stress. Full Article
ópera Synergy in North Africa: Furthering Cooperation By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mon, 20 Jan 2020 15:57:54 +0000 21 January 2020 Discussions of North African integration have evoked ideas of a shared identity and a common destiny in the region. However, recent attempts to build regional blocs in North Africa have been unsuccessful. This paper examines the benefits of a ‘synergistic’ approach to North African cooperation. Read online Download PDF in English Download PDF in Arabic Dr Mohammed Masbah Associate Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme @MasbahMohammed LinkedIn Google Scholar Mohamed El Dahshan Associate Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme @eldahshan LinkedIn Google Scholar 2020-01-21-Market.jpg A Tunisian vendor poses as he sells white truffles at a market in the town of Ben Guerdane, 40km west of the Libyan border, in February 2016. Photo: Getty Images. SummaryNorth African integration is not a new idea. However, countries in the region have so far struggled to form a cohesive bloc with deep political, economic and social ties. Political instability has effectively deprioritized North African integration. A focus on thematic (political, economic and security) ‘synergies’ may provide a better framework for cooperation than seeking opportunities for all-encompassing ‘deep’ and ‘comprehensive’ integration.Governments of North Africa dedicate considerable resources to domestic security. Much of their efforts are conducted at the national-level and directed towards threats from terrorists, insurgents and militias. Improved security cooperation would achieve better outcomes and economies of scale, including efforts to tackle human trafficking.A new generation of jihadis has emerged in North Africa since 2011. Nearly 27 per cent of the 30,000 fighters who travelled to Syria are from the Maghreb. While government counterterrorism operations have been effective, countries have failed to address the root causes of radicalization.Border economies have suffered as a consequence of a security focus on terrorism and smuggling, which has rendered many previously accepted cross-border trade activities illegal. States have struggled to provide alternative livelihoods for those who have lost this source of income. Border forces tend to lack the right combination of capacity, training and equipment to secure borders and often resort to heavy-handed tactics.New thinking is required to develop a more human-centric and proactive approach to migration issues in the region, which continues to witness huge flows of migrants. The migration policy of Morocco, introduced through legislation in 2014, could be a model for North Africa.The countries of North Africa have varying economic profiles, ranging from economically diverse Morocco to oil-and-gas-dependant Libya. However, they all face similar challenges including unemployment (particularly among the young), poor public-service delivery, low FDI levels, an oversized public sector, ineffective tax collection, and high informality.Fostering entrepreneurship and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are priorities for North African countries, particularly regarding job creation. Regulatory cooperation – such as harmonizing SME definitions, legislation and support institutions – across North Africa is an obvious area where further integration would encourage the development of start-ups and small businesses.With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, North African governments must address their technological gaps and work to improve public–private cooperation. In some sectors, such as the fintech industry, North African countries can build upon nascent synergies that have developed organically, such as those of start-up incubators and angel investors that work across the region.Renewables, particularly solar energy production, are a promising development for North Africa. While regional initiatives, such as Desertec, have stalled due to political differences between countries, the sector has witnessed exponential growth in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco, where the involvement of the private sector has proved successful. Department/project Middle East and North Africa Programme, North Africa Dialogues Full Article
ópera Transatlantic Economic Cooperation and the Global Economy By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 04 Feb 2015 10:15:01 +0000 Members Event 13 February 2015 - 1:00pm to 2:00pm Chatham House, London Transcriptpdf | 112.29 KB Transcript Q&Apdf | 129.72 KB Event participants Caroline Atkinson, Deputy Assistant to President Obama and Deputy National Security Advisor for International EconomicsChair: Sebastian Mallaby, Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow in International Economics, The Council on Foreign Relations The speaker will outline the importance of economic cooperation in the transatlantic relationship and consider recent developments in the global economy. Members Events Team Email Full Article
ópera Transatlantic Cooperation to Prevent and Stop Mass Atrocities By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Tue, 10 Feb 2015 16:15:01 +0000 Invitation Only Research Event 16 February 2015 - 1:00pm to 5:00pm Chatham House, London Meeting Summarypdf | 305.38 KB Event participants Ambassador Lee Feinstein, Founding Dean, School of Global & International Studies, Indiana UniversityXenia Wickett, Project Director, US; Dean, The Queen Elizabeth II Academy, Chatham HousePaul Arkwright, Director, Multilateral Policy, Foreign & Commonwealth OfficeDr Patricia Lewis, Research Director, International Security Programme, Chatham HouseJonathan Prentice, Director, London Office & Senior Adviser for European Advocacy, International Crisis GroupSir John Holmes, Director, The Ditchley Foundation The international community is in urgent need of successful, cooperative strategies for both preventing mass atrocities before they begin and stopping those in progress. As recent crises have highlighted, effective international cooperation to save lives and preserve peace and security remains largely aspirational. Participants will discuss current thinking on mass atrocity prevention and intervention, and identify how transatlantic cooperation in this space could be more effective.Attendance at this event is by invitation only. Department/project US and the Americas Programme Richard Gowing Programme Administrator +44 (0)20 7389 3270 Email Full Article
ópera The Future of US Global Leadership: Implications for Europe, Canada and Transatlantic Cooperation By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 05 May 2016 09:13:42 +0000 10 May 2016 As the United States’ international engagement changes, Canada and Europe should increase coordination with it to prevent power vacuums from emerging. Download PDF Xenia Wickett Former Head, US and the Americas Programme; Former Dean, The Queen Elizabeth II Academy for Leadership in International Affairs @xeniawickett LinkedIn Rory Kinane Former Manager, US and the Americas Programme 2016-05-06-future-us-global-leadership.jpg Marine One, carrying US President Barack Obama, departs the White House on 26 August 2014, Washington DC. Photo: Getty Images. SummaryThe United States’ transatlantic allies need to appreciate how its global leadership is changing and what this means for their interests, and respond accordingly. Notions of US decline have been overstated, but the country is not going to play the same international role in the future that it has previously.As the United States’ international engagement changes, Canada and Europe should increase coordination with it to prevent power vacuums from emerging. The transatlantic allies should work together to build greater links at all stages of the policy process, from perceptions of threat, prioritization, analysis, threat definition and policy formation to implementation and action. As the United States’ capabilities adapt to its changed circumstances and role, so too must those of its allies. This adjustment must go far beyond military aspects to enhancing diplomatic, energy, economic, intelligence and other resources.In addition to the challenges around differing interests, priorities and capabilities inherent in any alliance, Europe appears to have lost its confidence. In part this is due to its growing disengagement and introspection. But Europe retains huge potential for influence if it uses its resources effectively. There is much that European states can do, individually and together, to take more control over advancing their strategic interests. Equally, by working together they can do much to nudge the United States in helpful directions to support the mutual interests of all parties.The conversation on reforming global institutions such as the IMF must move beyond the need for change per se towards articulating the actual shape of such changes. Europe and Canada will likely need to push the United States into accepting reform of these institutions to better reflect today’s reality and tomorrow’s challenges. Global institutions need more diversified leaderships if they are to ensure their long-term legitimacy and influence. This will be difficult to push through politically in the United States, but by working with new regional and global powers to propose reforms, Europe and Canada can help find an acceptable solution.The use of ad hoc coalitions does not necessarily damage the efficacy of broader consensus institutions such as NATO. In fact, flexible coalitions may often be desirable when solutions to new challenges need to be developed and agreed quickly.Canada and Europe should consider partnering with other actors besides the United States where necessary. This may be expedient for meeting individual objectives, and would have the secondary benefit of demonstrating to emerging powers that the West does not exclude cooperation with others out of an arbitrary loyalty to the United States.Europe needs to appreciate the potentially dire consequences of failing to adapt to changing US leadership and an increasingly complex world. There is a real chance that the European project could unravel in the next few years due to external and internal pressures. While many European policy-makers display an understanding of these challenges in private, in public there is little appetite for taking the decisions necessary to bring long-term stability to the continent. Department/project US and the Americas Programme Full Article
ópera The Hurdles to Developing a COVID-19 Vaccine: Why International Cooperation is Needed By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 23 Apr 2020 09:26:36 +0000 23 April 2020 Professor David Salisbury CB Associate Fellow, Global Health Programme LinkedIn Dr Champa Patel Director, Asia-Pacific Programme @patel_champa While the world pins its hopes on vaccines to prevent COVID-19, there are scientific, regulatory and market hurdles to overcome. Furthermore, with geopolitical tensions and nationalistic approaches, there is a high risk that the most vulnerable will not get the life-saving interventions they need. 2020-04-23-Covid-Vaccine.jpg A biologist works on the virus inactivation process in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on 24 March 2020. The Brazilian Ministry of Health convened The Technological Vaccine Center to conduct research on COVID-19 in order to diagnose, test and develop a vaccine. Photo: Getty Images. On 10 January 2020, Chinese scientists released the sequence of the COVID-19 genome on the internet. This provided the starting gun for scientists around the world to start developing vaccines or therapies. With at least 80 different vaccines in development, many governments are pinning their hopes on a quick solution. However, there are many hurdles to overcome. Vaccine developmentFirstly, vaccine development is normally a very long process to ensure vaccines are safe and effective before they are used. Safety is not a given: a recent dengue vaccine caused heightened disease in vaccinated children when they later were exposed to dengue, while Respiratory Syncytial Virus vaccine caused the same problem. Nor is effectiveness a given. Candidate vaccines that use novel techniques where minute fragments of the viruses’ genetic code are either injected directly into humans or incorporated into a vaccine (as is being pursued, or could be pursued for COVID-19) have higher risks of failure simply because they haven’t worked before. For some vaccines, we know what levels of immunity post-vaccination are likely to be protective. This is not the case for coronavirus. Clinical trials will have to be done for efficacy. This is not optional – regulators will need to know extensive testing has taken place before licencing any vaccine. Even if animal tests are done in parallel with early human tests, the remainder of the process is still lengthy. There is also great interest in the use of passive immunization, whereby antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 (collected from people who have recovered from infection or laboratory-created) are given to people who are currently ill. Antivirals may prove to be a quicker route than vaccine development, as the testing requirements would be shorter, manufacturing may be easier and only ill people would need to be treated, as opposed to all at-risk individuals being vaccinated.Vaccine manufacturingDevelopers, especially small biotechs, will have to make partnerships with large vaccine manufacturers in order to bring products to market. One notorious bottleneck in vaccine development is getting from proof-of-principle to commercial development: about 95 per cent of vaccines fail at this step. Another bottleneck is at the end of production. The final stages of vaccine production involve detailed testing to ensure that the vaccine meets the necessary criteria and there are always constraints on access to the technologies necessary to finalize the product. Only large vaccine manufacturers have these capacities. There is a graveyard of failed vaccine candidates that have not managed to pass through this development and manufacturing process.Another consideration is adverse or unintended consequences. Highly specialized scientists may have to defer their work on other new vaccines to work on COVID-19 products and production of existing products may have to be set aside, raising the possibility of shortages of other essential vaccines. Cost is another challenge. Vaccines for industrialized markets can be very lucrative for pharmaceutical companies, but many countries have price caps on vaccines. Important lessons have been learned from the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic when industrialized countries took all the vaccines first. Supplies were made available to lower-income countries at a lower price but this was much later in the evolution of the pandemic. For the recent Ebola outbreaks, vaccines were made available at low or no cost. Geopolitics may also play a role. Should countries that manufacture a vaccine share it widely with other countries or prioritize their own populations first? It has been reported that President Trump attempted to purchase CureVac, a German company with a candidate vaccine. There are certainly precedents for countries prioritizing their own populations. With H1N1 flu in 2009, the Australian Government required a vaccine company to meet the needs of the Australian population first. Vaccine distributionGlobal leadership and a coordinated and coherent response will be needed to ensure that any vaccine is distributed equitably. There have been recent calls for a G20 on health, but existing global bodies such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and GAVI are working on vaccines and worldwide access to them. Any new bodies should seek to boost funding for these entities so they can ensure products reach the most disadvantaged. While countries that cannot afford vaccines may be priced out of markets, access for poor, vulnerable or marginalized peoples, whether in developed or developing countries, is of concern. Developing countries are at particular risk from the impacts of COVID-19. People living in conflict-affected and fragile states – whether they are refugees or asylum seekers, internally displaced or stateless, or in detention facilities – are at especially high risk of devastating impacts. Mature economies will also face challenges. Equitable access to COVID-19 vaccine will be challenging where inequalities and unequal access to essential services have been compromised within some political systems. The need for global leadership There is an urgent need for international coordination on COVID-19 vaccines. While the WHO provides technical support and UNICEF acts as a procurement agency, responding to coronavirus needs clarity of global leadership that arches over national interests and is capable of mobilizing resources at a time when economies are facing painful recessions. We see vaccines as a salvation but remain ill-equipped to accelerate their development.While everyone hopes for rapid availability of safe, effective and affordable vaccines that will be produced in sufficient quantities to meet everyone’s needs, realistically, we face huge hurdles. Full Article
ópera Webinar: Responding to COVID-19 – International Coordination and Cooperation By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 23 Apr 2020 10:20:01 +0000 Members Event Webinar 1 May 2020 - 1:00pm to 1:45pm Event participants Yanzhong Huang, Senior Fellow for Global Health, Council on Foreign RelationsDr Olive Shisana, President and CEO, Evidence Based Solutions; Special Advisor on Social Policy to President Cyril Ramaphosa Rob Yates, Director, Global Health Programme; Executive Director, Centre for Universal Health, Chatham HouseChair: Dr Champa Patel, Director, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House As a body with a relatively small operating budget and no formal mechanisms, or authority, to sanction member states that fail to comply with its guidance, the World Health Organization has been limited in its ability to coordinate a global response to the COVID-19 outbreak. At the same time, the organization is reliant on an international order that the current coronavirus crisis is, arguably, disrupting: as containment measures become more important in stemming the spread of the virus, the temptation to implement protectionist policies is increasing among nations. For example, the UK did not participate in an EU scheme to buy PPE and Germany has accused the US of ‘piracy’ after it reportedly diverted a shipment of masks intended for Berlin. Elsewhere, despite rhetorical commitments from the G7 and G20, a detailed plan for a comprehensive international response has not been forthcoming. The panel will discuss issues of coordination and cooperation in the international response to COVID-19. Have global trends prior to the outbreak contributed to the slow and disjointed international response? How has the pandemic exposed fissures in the extent to which nations are willing to cooperate? And what is the capacity of international organizations such as the WHO to coordinate a concerted transnational response and what could the implications be for the future of globalization and the international liberal order?This event is open to Chatham House Members. Not a member? Find out more. Full Article
ópera Roles of active-site residues in catalysis, substrate binding, cooperativity, and the reaction mechanism of the quinoprotein glycine oxidase [Enzymology] By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: 2020-05-08T03:41:14-07:00 The quinoprotein glycine oxidase from the marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas luteoviolacea (PlGoxA) uses a protein-derived cysteine tryptophylquinone (CTQ) cofactor to catalyze conversion of glycine to glyoxylate and ammonia. This homotetrameric enzyme exhibits strong cooperativity toward glycine binding. It is a good model for studying enzyme kinetics and cooperativity, specifically for being able to separate those aspects of protein function through directed mutagenesis. Variant proteins were generated with mutations in four active-site residues, Phe-316, His-583, Tyr-766, and His-767. Structures for glycine-soaked crystals were obtained for each. Different mutations had differential effects on kcat and K0.5 for catalysis, K0.5 for substrate binding, and the Hill coefficients describing the steady-state kinetics or substrate binding. Phe-316 and Tyr-766 variants retained catalytic activity, albeit with altered kinetics and cooperativity. Substitutions of His-583 revealed that it is essential for glycine binding, and the structure of H583C PlGoxA had no active-site glycine present in glycine-soaked crystals. The structure of H767A PlGoxA revealed a previously undetected reaction intermediate, a carbinolamine product-reduced CTQ adduct, and exhibited only negligible activity. The results of these experiments, as well as those with the native enzyme and previous variants, enabled construction of a detailed mechanism for the reductive half-reaction of glycine oxidation. This proposed mechanism includes three discrete reaction intermediates that are covalently bound to CTQ during the reaction, two of which have now been structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. Full Article
ópera Non-traditional security cooperation between China and south-east Asia: implications for Indo-Pacific geopolitics By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 08 Jan 2020 11:17:30 +0000 8 January 2020 , Volume 96, Number 1 Read online Xue Gong The ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ (FOIP) strategy, actively promoted by the United States with support from its allies and partners, is a significant geopolitical response to China's growing power and expanding influence in Asia and beyond. Beijing has adopted various new strategies to cope with the challenges related to FOIP. One of these strategies is to secure a robust relationship with south-east Asia in order to make these regional states either neutral to or less supportive of the Indo-Pacific vision. In addition to economic statecraft and soft power, Beijing believes that it can also tap into the domain of non-traditional security (NTS) to strengthen relations with this region to position itself better in the intensifying regional geopolitical competition. The article addresses the following question: what is the impact of China's NTS cooperation with south-east Asia on Beijing's geopolitical rivalry with other major powers in the Indo-Pacific region? The article argues that China's NTS cooperation with south-east Asian countries may help China maintain its geopolitical standing in the region, but it is unlikely to lead to any dramatic increase of China's strategic influence in the region. This essentially means that Beijing may be able to prevent ASEAN or most ASEAN member states from lending substantive and strong support to the Indo-Pacific construct, but it will not be able to stop ASEAN states from supporting some elements of the FOIP. Full Article
ópera Webinar: Responding to COVID-19 – International Coordination and Cooperation By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 23 Apr 2020 10:20:01 +0000 Members Event Webinar 1 May 2020 - 1:00pm to 1:45pm Event participants Yanzhong Huang, Senior Fellow for Global Health, Council on Foreign RelationsDr Olive Shisana, President and CEO, Evidence Based Solutions; Special Advisor on Social Policy to President Cyril Ramaphosa Rob Yates, Director, Global Health Programme; Executive Director, Centre for Universal Health, Chatham HouseChair: Dr Champa Patel, Director, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House As a body with a relatively small operating budget and no formal mechanisms, or authority, to sanction member states that fail to comply with its guidance, the World Health Organization has been limited in its ability to coordinate a global response to the COVID-19 outbreak. At the same time, the organization is reliant on an international order that the current coronavirus crisis is, arguably, disrupting: as containment measures become more important in stemming the spread of the virus, the temptation to implement protectionist policies is increasing among nations. For example, the UK did not participate in an EU scheme to buy PPE and Germany has accused the US of ‘piracy’ after it reportedly diverted a shipment of masks intended for Berlin. Elsewhere, despite rhetorical commitments from the G7 and G20, a detailed plan for a comprehensive international response has not been forthcoming. The panel will discuss issues of coordination and cooperation in the international response to COVID-19. Have global trends prior to the outbreak contributed to the slow and disjointed international response? How has the pandemic exposed fissures in the extent to which nations are willing to cooperate? And what is the capacity of international organizations such as the WHO to coordinate a concerted transnational response and what could the implications be for the future of globalization and the international liberal order?This event is open to Chatham House Members. Not a member? Find out more. Full Article
ópera UK–EU Defence and Security Cooperation after Brexit By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 20 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000 Full Article
ópera Operation Decisive Storm: Analysing Four Years of Conflict in Yemen By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 21 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000 Full Article
ópera The Hurdles to Developing a COVID-19 Vaccine: Why International Cooperation is Needed By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 23 Apr 2020 09:26:36 +0000 23 April 2020 Professor David Salisbury CB Associate Fellow, Global Health Programme LinkedIn Dr Champa Patel Director, Asia-Pacific Programme @patel_champa While the world pins its hopes on vaccines to prevent COVID-19, there are scientific, regulatory and market hurdles to overcome. Furthermore, with geopolitical tensions and nationalistic approaches, there is a high risk that the most vulnerable will not get the life-saving interventions they need. 2020-04-23-Covid-Vaccine.jpg A biologist works on the virus inactivation process in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on 24 March 2020. The Brazilian Ministry of Health convened The Technological Vaccine Center to conduct research on COVID-19 in order to diagnose, test and develop a vaccine. Photo: Getty Images. On 10 January 2020, Chinese scientists released the sequence of the COVID-19 genome on the internet. This provided the starting gun for scientists around the world to start developing vaccines or therapies. With at least 80 different vaccines in development, many governments are pinning their hopes on a quick solution. However, there are many hurdles to overcome. Vaccine developmentFirstly, vaccine development is normally a very long process to ensure vaccines are safe and effective before they are used. Safety is not a given: a recent dengue vaccine caused heightened disease in vaccinated children when they later were exposed to dengue, while Respiratory Syncytial Virus vaccine caused the same problem. Nor is effectiveness a given. Candidate vaccines that use novel techniques where minute fragments of the viruses’ genetic code are either injected directly into humans or incorporated into a vaccine (as is being pursued, or could be pursued for COVID-19) have higher risks of failure simply because they haven’t worked before. For some vaccines, we know what levels of immunity post-vaccination are likely to be protective. This is not the case for coronavirus. Clinical trials will have to be done for efficacy. This is not optional – regulators will need to know extensive testing has taken place before licencing any vaccine. Even if animal tests are done in parallel with early human tests, the remainder of the process is still lengthy. There is also great interest in the use of passive immunization, whereby antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 (collected from people who have recovered from infection or laboratory-created) are given to people who are currently ill. Antivirals may prove to be a quicker route than vaccine development, as the testing requirements would be shorter, manufacturing may be easier and only ill people would need to be treated, as opposed to all at-risk individuals being vaccinated.Vaccine manufacturingDevelopers, especially small biotechs, will have to make partnerships with large vaccine manufacturers in order to bring products to market. One notorious bottleneck in vaccine development is getting from proof-of-principle to commercial development: about 95 per cent of vaccines fail at this step. Another bottleneck is at the end of production. The final stages of vaccine production involve detailed testing to ensure that the vaccine meets the necessary criteria and there are always constraints on access to the technologies necessary to finalize the product. Only large vaccine manufacturers have these capacities. There is a graveyard of failed vaccine candidates that have not managed to pass through this development and manufacturing process.Another consideration is adverse or unintended consequences. Highly specialized scientists may have to defer their work on other new vaccines to work on COVID-19 products and production of existing products may have to be set aside, raising the possibility of shortages of other essential vaccines. Cost is another challenge. Vaccines for industrialized markets can be very lucrative for pharmaceutical companies, but many countries have price caps on vaccines. Important lessons have been learned from the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic when industrialized countries took all the vaccines first. Supplies were made available to lower-income countries at a lower price but this was much later in the evolution of the pandemic. For the recent Ebola outbreaks, vaccines were made available at low or no cost. Geopolitics may also play a role. Should countries that manufacture a vaccine share it widely with other countries or prioritize their own populations first? It has been reported that President Trump attempted to purchase CureVac, a German company with a candidate vaccine. There are certainly precedents for countries prioritizing their own populations. With H1N1 flu in 2009, the Australian Government required a vaccine company to meet the needs of the Australian population first. Vaccine distributionGlobal leadership and a coordinated and coherent response will be needed to ensure that any vaccine is distributed equitably. There have been recent calls for a G20 on health, but existing global bodies such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and GAVI are working on vaccines and worldwide access to them. Any new bodies should seek to boost funding for these entities so they can ensure products reach the most disadvantaged. While countries that cannot afford vaccines may be priced out of markets, access for poor, vulnerable or marginalized peoples, whether in developed or developing countries, is of concern. Developing countries are at particular risk from the impacts of COVID-19. People living in conflict-affected and fragile states – whether they are refugees or asylum seekers, internally displaced or stateless, or in detention facilities – are at especially high risk of devastating impacts. Mature economies will also face challenges. Equitable access to COVID-19 vaccine will be challenging where inequalities and unequal access to essential services have been compromised within some political systems. The need for global leadership There is an urgent need for international coordination on COVID-19 vaccines. While the WHO provides technical support and UNICEF acts as a procurement agency, responding to coronavirus needs clarity of global leadership that arches over national interests and is capable of mobilizing resources at a time when economies are facing painful recessions. We see vaccines as a salvation but remain ill-equipped to accelerate their development.While everyone hopes for rapid availability of safe, effective and affordable vaccines that will be produced in sufficient quantities to meet everyone’s needs, realistically, we face huge hurdles. Full Article
ópera On the existence of an operator group generated by the one-dimensional Dirac system By www.ams.org Published On :: Fri, 10 Apr 2020 08:09 EDT A. M. Savchuk and I. V. Sadovnichaya Trans. Moscow Math. Soc. 80 (2020), 235-250. Abstract, references and article information Full Article
ópera Spectral Properties of Differential Operators with Oscillating Coefficients By www.ams.org Published On :: Fri, 10 Apr 2020 08:09 EDT N. F. Valeev, Ya. T. Sultanaev and É. A. Nazirova Trans. Moscow Math. Soc. 80 (2020), 153-167. Abstract, references and article information Full Article
ópera Ordinary differential operators and the integral representation of sums of certain power series By www.ams.org Published On :: Fri, 10 Apr 2020 08:09 EDT K. A. Mirzoev and T. A. Safonova Trans. Moscow Math. Soc. 80 (2020), 133-151. Abstract, references and article information Full Article
ópera Finite-dimensional approximations to the Poincaré–Steklov operator for general elliptic boundary value problems in domains with cylindrical and periodic exits to infinity By www.ams.org Published On :: Fri, 10 Apr 2020 08:09 EDT S. A. Nazarov Trans. Moscow Math. Soc. 80 (2020), 1-51. Abstract, references and article information Full Article
ópera What happens to a fund that is listed pursuant to a product specific rule filing once the fund is eligible to operate under Rule 6c-11 and elects to list on Nasdaq under Rule 5704? By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Publication Date: Apr 10 2020 The SEC will withdraw the existing approval order and the fund will become subject to the requirements of Rule 6c-11 and Nasdaq Rule 5704.... Full Article
ópera Do all the funds operating under an existing exemptive order have to transition to operating under Rule 6c-11 and Nasdaq Rule 5704 at the same time? By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Publication Date: Apr 10 2020 Yes. According to the SEC, once an ETF becomes eligible to operate under Rule 6c-11 and elects to list on Nasdaq under Nasdaq Rule 5704, the existing order related to that fund (and all other funds under that exemptive order) will be rescinded. Once a fund is listed under Nasdaq Rule 5704, it will not be able to relist under Nasdaq Rule 5705(b) (Index Fund Shares) or Nasdaq Rule 5735 (Managed Fund Shares) unless a new exemptive relief order is obtained from the SEC.... Full Article
ópera Non-traditional security cooperation between China and south-east Asia: implications for Indo-Pacific geopolitics By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 08 Jan 2020 11:17:30 +0000 8 January 2020 , Volume 96, Number 1 Read online Xue Gong The ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ (FOIP) strategy, actively promoted by the United States with support from its allies and partners, is a significant geopolitical response to China's growing power and expanding influence in Asia and beyond. Beijing has adopted various new strategies to cope with the challenges related to FOIP. One of these strategies is to secure a robust relationship with south-east Asia in order to make these regional states either neutral to or less supportive of the Indo-Pacific vision. In addition to economic statecraft and soft power, Beijing believes that it can also tap into the domain of non-traditional security (NTS) to strengthen relations with this region to position itself better in the intensifying regional geopolitical competition. The article addresses the following question: what is the impact of China's NTS cooperation with south-east Asia on Beijing's geopolitical rivalry with other major powers in the Indo-Pacific region? The article argues that China's NTS cooperation with south-east Asian countries may help China maintain its geopolitical standing in the region, but it is unlikely to lead to any dramatic increase of China's strategic influence in the region. This essentially means that Beijing may be able to prevent ASEAN or most ASEAN member states from lending substantive and strong support to the Indo-Pacific construct, but it will not be able to stop ASEAN states from supporting some elements of the FOIP. Full Article
ópera Bridging an Impossible Gap? Japan-South Korea Cooperation in a Changing Asia By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Fri, 10 Jan 2020 16:35:01 +0000 Research Event 10 February 2020 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE Event participants Jennifer Lind, Associate Fellow, US and the Americas Programme and Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham HouseChair: Tania Branigan, Leader Writer, The Guardian China’s growing power and assertiveness in Asia has led the United States and other liberal partners to move toward an Indo-Pacific strategy. While Japan embraces this, South Korea remains noticeably reticent. Moreover, tensions between the two countries have escalated into crisis with the reinvigoration of historical disputes. This roundtable will explore the root causes of current animosity between Seoul and Tokyo, and the potential ways it can be overcome.This event is co-hosted with Dartmouth College. THIS EVENT IS NOW FULL AND REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED. Department/project Asia-Pacific Programme, Conflict, Peace and Stability, Geopolitics and Governance Lucy Ridout Programme Administrator, Asia-Pacific Programme +44 (0) 207 314 2761 Email Full Article
ópera Network Power in the Asia-Pacific: Making Sense of the New Regionalism and Opportunities for Cooperation By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Fri, 17 Jan 2020 16:00:01 +0000 Research Event 7 February 2020 - 9:45am to 5:30pm Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE Agenda - Network Power in the Asia-Pacific.pdfpdf | 118.01 KB The Asia-Pacific region continues to increase in geopolitical and geoeconomic importance. The rise of China and tensions with the US are affecting bilateral relationships and traditional alliances in the region. Whether seen from the perspective of the Quad – Australia, India, Japan and the US – or the Indo-Pacific concept embraced by a wide range of countries but with no shared consensus on scope and objectives or with ASEAN who insists on the importance of its own centrality, the region is redefining and reconceptualising itself.With a diverse range of initiatives – including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – there are a plethora of regional agreements and institutional groupings that add further complexity.As the Bretton Woods architecture continues to be dominated by Western powers, China is also spearheading parallel governance initiatives such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Belt and Road Initiative and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a means of enhancing its geopolitical and geoeconomic influence.This one-day conference will focus on how such networks and alliances have been built, and sustained, in the Asia-Pacific region. In order to understand how new regional initiatives might open up opportunities for new forms of international cooperation, the conference will focus on the themes of cyber-technology and innovation, sustainable development and mitigating the impacts of climate change and new infrastructure initiatives. It will assess whether there is a zero-sum conflict between competing networks and agendas or whether a common approach can be developed. Department/project Asia-Pacific Programme, Geopolitics and Governance, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth, Technology and Society, Trade, Investment and Economics Lucy Ridout Programme Administrator, Asia-Pacific Programme +44 (0) 207 314 2761 Email Full Article
ópera Biosafety Protocol News Issue 8 - Working towards a common goal: Ten years of international cooperation on implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety By bch.cbd.int Published On :: Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera Issue 13 of the Biosafety Protocol News, biosafety newsletter, entitled "Joint Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety/Aarhus Convention Cooperation Public Access to Information and Public Participation" is now available By bch.cbd.int Published On :: Tue, 20 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD News: State of Parana delivers on its Commitment to offset Carbon Emissions of the Operations of the CBD Secretariat. By www.cbd.int Published On :: Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD News: Statement by the Executive Secretary, Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, on the occasion of the Expert Meeting on South-South Cooperation on Biodiversity for Development, Montreal, 6 November 2008. By www.cbd.int Published On :: Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD News: State of Paraná Reports on Carbon-Offset Programme for the Operations of the Secretariat through the Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties By www.cbd.int Published On :: Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD News: Report of the Expert Meeting for South-South Cooperation on Biodiversity for Development. By www.cbd.int Published On :: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD News: Disaster Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, statement by the Executive Secretary, Ahmed Djoghlaf, on the occasion of the 5th Annual United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation and the Launch of the Global South-South Development Expo or By www.cbd.int Published On :: Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD News: Message from Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary, on the occasion of the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, 19 December 2008. By www.cbd.int Published On :: Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD News: Statement by Ahmed Djoghlaf Executive Secretary at the Opening Session of the Expert Meeting on Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Development Cooperation, Montreal, 13 May 2009 By www.cbd.int Published On :: Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD News: Statement by Ahmed Djoghlaf, CBD Executive Secretary, at the Closing Session of the Expert Meeting on Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Development Cooperation, Montreal, 15 May 2009. By www.cbd.int Published On :: Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD Communiqué: Expert Meeting on Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Development Cooperation concludes in Montreal. By www.cbd.int Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD Joint Communiqué: United Nations World Tourism Organization and the Secretariat of the Convention sign Memorandum of Cooperation. By www.cbd.int Published On :: Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD Communiqué: G-77 Ministers Pay Special Tribute to CBD Secretariat's Leading Role in South-South Cooperation. By www.cbd.int Published On :: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD News: Statement by Mr Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the First Meeting of the Steering Committee for South-South Cooperation on Biodiversity, Montreal, 29 October 2009. By www.cbd.int Published On :: Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD Communiqué: The Group of 77 Initiates the Preparation of a Multi-Year Plan of Action for South-South Cooperation on Biodiversity for Development. By www.cbd.int Published On :: Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD News: Message from Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, 19 December 2009. By www.cbd.int Published On :: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
ópera CBD News: Statement by Mr Ahmed Djoghlaf, The Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the Occasion of the Meeting For Promoting North-South, South-South And Triangular Cooperation For Sustainable Forest Management, 19 December 20 By www.cbd.int Published On :: Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT Full Article