Day: May 19, 2023

President Joe Biden informed his key allies of the United States’ support for an international initiative to train Ukrainian pilots for F-16 fighter aircraft amid Kyiv’s diplomatic push for the fighter jets ahead of a major counteroffensive, said a report Friday.

According to anonymous US officials cited by The New York Times, discussions will take place in the coming months to determine the method of supplying Kyiv with the fighter jets.

It came after pressure from some European countries while Britain and Netherlands said they were working on an ‘international coalition’ to provide Ukraine with the fighter planes it needs. The US was initially not positive about providing Ukraine with F-16s, saying they were not necessary at the current stage of the conflict.

Meanwhile, leaders of G-7 countries, namely the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Italy, met Friday afternoon in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, where the war in Ukraine was one of the main topics of their agenda.

The US officials reportedly told the Times the training process, expected to span several months, will occur in Europe.

The officials said the countries providing the training would ‘collectively determine in coming months’ how to provide F-16s to Ukraine.

Shortly after the reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to Twitter to “welcome the historic decision” of the US and Biden to “support an international fighter jet coalition”.

“This will greatly enhance our army in the sky. I count on discussing the practical implementation of this decision at the #G7 summit in Hiroshima,” he wrote.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A funeral service was held on Friday for Jordan Neely who was choked to death in a New York City subway car earlier this month.

Hundreds of people gathered in a Harlem church to lay Neely to rest.

Reverend Al Sharpton was also among the attendees at the funeral service who delivered a powerful eulogy for Neely.

“Jordan was not annoying someone on the train. Jordan was screaming for help. We keep criminalizing people with mental illness,” he said. “What happened to Jordan was a crime.”

Neely, who struggled with mental illness, was killed in a chokehold when Daniel Penny, a subway rider, pinned him to the floor of a subway car.

Neely’s last moments were recorded on video which later sparked protests and debate about homelessness, mental health and racism.

Penny, a former Marine veteran, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter but was released on a $100,000 bail.

Penny pleaded not guilty. He will be back in court on July 17.

Source: Anadolu Agency

It is now more important than ever to strengthen human resources technological skills through training, including vulnerable groups of the population, said Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Philippos Hadjizacharias at the International Educational Conference on «Digital Transition and Inclusion in Education: An Agenda for Action» at the University of Nicosia.

The Deputy Minister stressed that, technological developments, digitization and emerging cutting-edge technologies such as AI were rapidly transforming society and the economy as a whole as well as the working environment.

‘It is now more important than ever to strengthen human resources skills through training, including vulnerable groups of the population, to be able to use Information and Communications Technologies and digital media for work purposes and for processing their daily transactions’ he said.

He added that the labour market will face revolutionary changes as some of the traditional jobs will disappear while new ones will be created.

‘Education will play a key role in helping society adapt to these changes. The educational system should thus be adapted in such a way that it focuses on skills that machines will be less capable of and not on those that will quickly be considered obsolete,’ he pointed out.

He added that jobs that will grow will be those that require personal input, flexibility, problem-solving skills and creativity. At the same time he said that computer learning in schools should be at a high level and students should be taught IT-related subjects such as Mathematics, Statistics and Programming.

‘To create a truly digital society, the Deputy Ministry implements actions to upgrade the skills of the entire population, for an economy without social exclusions. In the context of the National Action Plan for Digital Skills, it is envisaged to develop the Citizens’ Digital Academy platform where citizens will have free access to educational material. A number of actions aim at reshaping school curricula, promoting science and technology careers and cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset,’ said the Deputy Minister.

As regards the development of citizens’ digital skills, he said that the Deputy Ministry, in collaboration with bodies such as the Cyprus Academy of Public Administration, the Human Resources Development Authority, the Productivity Center and Universities, plans and implements actions to develop and upgrade skills of both the public and private sector workforce, as well as the general population, including vulnerable groups and remote areas.

At the same time, he said that the Deputy Ministry implements actions aimed at facilitating the digital transformation of businesses. He noted that for the period 2021-2027, a program with a total budget of 30 million euros has been designed to support the digital transition of businesses, including the use of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and cloud computing services.

Artificial Intelligence is continuously evolving the landscape of Higher Education, said Rector of the University of Nicosia Professor Philippos Pouyioutas.

As he said, intelligent tutoring systems, utilising data analytics, provide for personalised and adaptive learning, thus tailoring education and the learning process to each student’s unique needs, strengths and weaknesses. He added that ChatGPT and other similar AI tools provide challenges but also great opportunities for learning and work.

At the same time, he noted that it is not just AI alone that is revolutionising the education sector, but also metaverse technologies are converting online education into virtual education, providing immersive learning environments where users interact through digital avatars and holograms.

‘The opportunities are really endless and we should take advantage of the great potential of technologies’, he said.

British High Commissioner to Cyprus Irfan Siddiq said that education is the strongest bond between Cyprus and the UK, since many Cypriots study in the UK, pointing out the Cypriot students choose the UK Universities which are ranking among the top universities in the world. He also referred to the spirit that comes from British education and the life long learning connection that comes with it. He also said that the opportunities coming from the digital transition and the technological revolution are so great and it’s really essential to think how they could be harness or broader accessed across the world.

Chair of the Council for Education in the Commonwealth Lord Sonny Leong, said education is currently undergoing a digital revolution that will have profound consequences upon the future of the global citizens.

As he said digital transformation and inclusion are playing a significant role in improving education and fostering development.

Speaking about ChatGPT he said that it is the latest in line of a powerful and disruptive technologies which are now available both to educators and to learners, saying that with all the great benefits and challenges ‘we must be alert to this and to respond to the historically and unprecedented pace of change. He also said that information technology, artificial intelligence, industrial revolutions of this century will undoubtedly play a part in delivering the urgently needed green solution for the modern world.

Chief Executive and Secretary General, of the Association of Commonwealth Universities Dr. Joanna Newman said that exploring the digital transformation on education for greener and more inclusive societies couldn’t be more relevant in our rapidly evolving world. And that’s because the digital revolution sped up by the pandemic has changed our lives causing great excitement but also great anxiety of those excluded.

Director of the Directorate of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education Terpsa Konstantinidou stressed that digital transition is a key priority that requires a digitally skilled workforce, digitally empowered citizens and a strong digital education system.

She also said that digital education skills is essential in ensuring that digital transition is inclusive and mostly beneficial for all.

Constant technological changes, she added, requires the life-long development of skills by all learners, for Cyprus to remain sustainable and economically competitive.

The conference was organised by the The Council for Education in the Commonwealth (CEC), the University of Nicosia, the Foundation for the Management of European Lifelong Learning Programs (IDEP), and UNESCO Chair of the University of Nicosia.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Three Cypriot companies are included in the new list of sanctions imposed by the US.

A press release by the US Department of the Treasury says that with over 300 sanctions, US targets Russia’s circumvention and evasion, military-industrial supply chains, and future energy revenues.

The companies are Aquila Capital Group, Huriya Private Cyprus Ltd (Linked to John Desmond Hanafin) and Robarin Ltd, (Linked to Anselm Oskar Schmucki).

“Today, the United States, in coordination with the G7 and other international partners, is strengthening the unprecedented global sanctions and other restrictive economic measures to further degrade the Russian Federation’s capacity to wage war against Ukraine. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is implementing new commitments made at the G7 Leaders’ Summit to hold Russia accountable for its war,” the press release says.

Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said that ‘from the beginning of President Putin’s illegal and unprovoked war, our global coalition has focused on supporting Ukraine while degrading Russia’s ability to conduct its invasion.’

She added that ‘our collective efforts have cut Russia off from key inputs it needs to equip its military and is drastically limiting the revenue the Kremlin receives to fund its war machine. Today’s actions will further tighten the vise on Putin’s ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions.’

The press release notes that OFAC’s sanctions on 22 individuals and 104 entities, with touchpoints in more than 20 countries or jurisdictions, target those attempting to circumvent or evade sanctions and other economic measures against Russia, the channels Russia uses to acquire critical technology, its future energy extraction capabilities, and Russia’s financial services sector.

Additionally, OFAC is expanding sanctions authorities to target new sectors of Russia’s economy and sever Russia’s access to new categories of services, the press release says.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

NASA has awarded a NextSTEP-2 Appendix P Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD) contract to Blue Origin. Blue Origin’s National Team partners include Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005272/en/

A rendering of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander that will return astronauts to the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program. (Photo: Blue Origin)

Under this contract, Blue Origin and its National Team partners will develop and fly both a lunar lander that can make a precision landing anywhere on the Moon’s surface and a cislunar transporter. These vehicles are powered by LOX-LH2. The high-specific impulse of LOX-LH2 provides a dramatic advantage for high-energy deep space missions. Nevertheless, lower performing but more easily storable propellants (such as hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide as used on the Apollo lunar landers) have been favored for these missions because of the problematic boil-off of LOX-LH2 during their long mission timelines. Through this contract, we will move the state of the art forward by making high-performance LOX-LH2 a storable propellant combination. Under SLD, we will develop and fly solar-powered 20-degree Kelvin cryocoolers and the other technologies required to prevent LOX-LH2 boil-off. Future missions beyond the Moon, and enabling capabilities such as high-performance nuclear thermal propulsion, will benefit greatly from storable LH2. Blue Origin’s architecture also prepares for that future day when lunar ice can be used to manufacture LOX and LH2 propellants on the Moon.

Blue Origin and its partners are already at work and are excited to be on this journey with NASA.

This material is not a CNA editorial material and CNA shall not bear responsibility for the accuracy of its content. In case you have any questions about the content, kindly refer to the contact person mentioned in the text of the press release.

Source: Cyprus News Agency