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Korea Herald
6 hours ago
- General
- Korea Herald
Global botanic gardens meeting kicks off in Seoul
Starting Monday, the 11th International Congress on Education in Botanic Gardens will be taking place at Seoul's Coex for five days. Themed 'Education for Change: The Role of Botanic Gardens in Addressing Global Challenges,' over 1,600 participants comprising practitioners, curators, academics, researchers and teachers from some 51 countries have gathered for the event, which takes place every two to four years. "With the accelerating dual crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss, it is more critical than ever to collaborate and explore how education for sustainable development, led by botanic gardens, can address these pressing global issues," said Botanic Gardens Conservation International, the co-organizer hosting the event with the state-run Korea National Arboretum. It is the second time the meeting is held in an Asian country after India, which hosted the assembly in 1999. The first meeting took place in the Netherlands in 1991. BGCI, an England-based plant conservation charity run by some 900 botanic gardens from 115 countries, said this year's meeting is the largest attended by over 1,600 guests. The five-day meeting will host 64 sessions, 45 workshops and 140 lectures. A statement will be released after the discussions, highlighting what the international community could improve to promote global cooperation on plant diversity, according to BGCI. A music concert will take place on the last day of the assembly at the National Demilitarized Zone Native Botanic Garden in Yanggu, Gangwon Province.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
The bigger hurt
Why two HCs' observations on freedom of expression make for troubling reading Freedom of expression is a precondition for democracy, and progress. Ideas are easily expressed through words, but sometimes more powerfully through art, as England-based street artist Banksy demonstrates frequently. India's Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression, with reasonable restrictions. The key word is 'reasonable'. However, two recent high court observations appear to strain the word. At first glance, Calcutta HC's remarks for social media content creator Sharmistha Panoli, and Karnataka HC's rebuke to actor Kamal Hassan, seem indisputable. Panoli is in the dock for her alleged comments against a community, after Op Sindoor. Calcutta HC told her, 'Look, we have freedom of speech, but that doesn't mean you will go on to hurt others.' To Hassan, who has ruffled feathers by suggesting Kannada is an offshoot of Tamil, Karnataka HC said, 'You may be Kamal Hassan or anybody, you cannot hurt the sentiments of the masses.' Effectively, both courts have said: take care your words don't hurt others. If this sets a precedent, all conversation, discussion, debate in this country will need to be convivial. Speakers, writers, artists will need to err on the side of caution not to annoy their audience. Even then, the sword of causing hurt will hang over their heads. The safest thing would be to shut up. Freedom of speech and expression is a hard-earned modern right. Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno was burnt alive for propagating the idea of an infinite universe, which offended the Church. Galileo lived his last years under house arrest for holding the view that Earth revolves around the Sun. One person's conviction is another's heresy, that's why making others' 'sentiments', opinions and feelings the test of good/bad speech is the surest way to destroy free speech. Supreme Court recently took this view while deciding the Imran Pratapgarhi case. It said the effect of words 'cannot be judged on the basis of the standards of people who always have a sense of insecurity or of those who always perceive criticism as a threat to their power or position' and 'even if a large number of persons dislike the views expressed by another, the right of the person to express the views must be respected and protected.' Unpalatable or hostile words certainly vitiate the atmosphere, but the solution is not to pack commentators inside jails. SC has a better prescription: counter views with views. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Britain's sunny spring brings a bumper strawberry crop
MAIDSTONE, England June 4 (Reuters) - Strawberry season has arrived early to Britain this year thanks to a "near perfect" spring blend of warm days, cool nights and high sunshine levels, growers said. The favourable conditions have meant sweeter, larger and more shapely strawberries arriving earlier on supermarket shelves this year and lower prices for shoppers. James Miller, the commercial director of Maidstone, southeast England-based WB Chambers Farms, said regular daytime temperatures in May of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), dropping to 9 C overnight, along with high light levels were the key to the exceptional early season crop. "(That's) really helped the plants to develop and to produce the sweet and large berries that we've got at the moment," he told Reuters. "The warm and sunny weather has been welcome for strawberry growing this year." Late last month, Tesco (TSCO.L), opens new tab, Britain's biggest supermarket group, said it had taken on extra stock from UK strawberry growers and had cut the price shoppers pay for 400g punnets from 2.50 pounds ($3.38) to 1.50 pounds. It expects to sell about 25% more strawberries this year than last. Miller said growing conditions this spring were very different to last year when Britain experienced a much colder and wetter start to the fruit growing season. He said all farmers understood that they have to adapt to climate change, and be prepared for changing circumstances. "We have to invest in the technology. That means that we understand the weather impact on the crops and how we change our irrigation or feeding routines for the future," he said. Miller also welcomed the news that the government is in the process of resetting trade ties with the European Union, which should make it easier to export. The sooner a deal comes the better. "If it was this summer, then this season, that would be fantastic," he said. ($1 = 0.7389 pounds)
Travel Weekly
5 days ago
- Business
- Travel Weekly
The limits of artificial intelligence in travel planning
Is AI coming for tour operator and travel advisor jobs? That's the question Wayfairer Travel CEO Jay Stevens sought to answer when he tasked ChatGPT with planning his trip to Japan in December. Jay Stevens Amid the buzz around AI becoming more advanced and introducing trip-planning tools, Stevens wanted to utilize the technology to assess "business risk." He prompted ChatGPT to plan the itinerary for his Japan ski trip and found that the technology excelled at some tasks, like finding the best onsens, but failed at others, like leaving him stranded after misinterpreting a bus schedule. Wayfairer is an England-based tour operator that specializes in bespoke travel. Stevens said one of the biggest risks to his company's model would be if AI can "do what we do and people don't have to pay for it." It's a fair consideration at a time in which entities like Google are pushing its AI-powered trip-planning capabilities and a handful of travel-focused AI tools are popping up. Stevens found that ChatGPT, the only AI tool he used to coordinate his Japan trip, failed when he arrived on a train from Tokyo to Yamagata, a rural prefecture, late at night. The last leg of his trip involved walking to a bus station, where things went awry. ChatGPT had messed up with the bus schedule, leaving Stevens without a way to his hotel (he eventually made it by hailing a taxi.) "So at 11 minutes past 11, it's snowing, so I'm covered in snow and starting to feel a bit cold," he said. Stevens said that in rural Japan, where data points aren't as available, ChatGPT didn't have enough data to provide accurate information. "Once you get outside of big data, you're into smaller data, it can find whatever it wants to find and start believing in it, which it clearly does," he said. Jay Stevens visited Appi Kogen ski resort on his trip. Photo Credit: Jay Stevens Things went awry a second time in Yamagata when Stevens relied on ChatGPT to plan a visit to an onsen, which left him stranded yet again when it didn't account for the lack of taxis and rideshares operating late at night in the rural area. The onsen was spectacular, he said, pointing out a strength in ChatGPT's recommendation, but it lost steam when planning the transit side of the trip. He was 20 minutes into what would have been a cold and snowy 2-hour walk when a stranger offered him a ride. When asked about Stevens' experience, a ChatGPT spokesperson said transportation schedules are among things users should verify. "While ChatGPT can be a great resource for trip planning, like finding restaurant recommendations, building sample itineraries or surfacing fun activity ideas, we always recommend double-checking important details like transportation schedules, ticket availability and local logistics directly with official sources," said Leah Seay Anise, a spokesperson for ChatGPT parent company OpenAI. "This is especially key for anything that changes often, like bus times or event hours." Pitfalls of GenAI tools Stevens' experience with scheduling errors mirrors that of a New York Times columnist who put AI to the test for planning a New York trip and found that ChatGPT messed up walking times and recommended Broadway show times that did not exist. That particular pitfall of generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, is because they rely on a knowledge base built on previously published information, said Christopher Anderson, a professor at the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration who teaches a course on AI opportunities in hospitality. The ability to look forward, like for scheduling excursions or making reservations, is still in its infancy. "We're still at the cusp of generative AI being able to look at a website, decide what it needs to do and then take those actions," he said. Anna Abelson, an adjunct instructor at New York University's Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality who focuses on tourism and niche travel, said GenAI can be useful for inspiring trip ideas and some planning, but "you should use it as an assistant and not an expert." Even though the technology can quickly sort through mountains of data and produce fast recommendations, it lacks the human touch that is a hallmark of travel advisors, she said. "The human touch should still be part of the travel planning and experiences," she said. "There is definitely a unique value of human connection and experience that cannot be replaced with anything else."
Mint
5 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Data privacy: Sales agent's ‘malicious behaviour' costs Vodafone a massive $51.3 million fine
(Bloomberg) -- Vodafone Group Plc was hit by a record €45 million ($51.3 million) data privacy fine in Germany over 'malicious behavior' by third-party sales agents. The actions of partner agencies that broker contracts to customers on behalf of Vodafone led to fraud, including fictitious contracts or term changes at the expense of clients, Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider, Germany's federal data protection commissioner, said in a statement Tuesday. 'If data breaches happen, we take action with all the means at our disposal,' Specht-Riemenschneider said. 'This is the highest fine my agency has ever imposed.' Privacy watchdogs across the European Union have increased their scrutiny under the bloc's comprehensive General Data Protection Regulation and started to levy hefty penalties. Meta Platforms Inc., the parent of Facebook, was slapped by a record €1.2 billion fine in Ireland over data transfer violations, while Inc. faced a €746 million penalty from Luxembourg regulators for improper use of personal data in advertising. The German Vodafone penalty had two components. A €15 million part was imposed because Vodafone didn't sufficiently vet and monitor the sales agents for data-protection compliance. A fine of €30 million was imposed for security flaws in the online customer identification which allowed unauthorized persons access to eSIM profiles, according to the statement. Vodafone fully cooperated, changed its processes and already paid the fine, Specht-Riemenschneider said. Vodafone Group Plc Chief Executive Officer Margherita Della Valle said the company's biggest market, Germany, may return to revenue growth in the current fiscal year after heavy competition and a regulatory change cost it millions of customers and pushed down sales. Vodafone will continue feeling the impact from the legal change — which barred landlords from bundling rent with TV and broadband services — for another quarter, Della Valle said in a call with reporters on Tuesday. The change has cost the company more than half of its TV customers living in housing complexes in Germany, but is projected to stabilize, she added. Germany, which has taken on greater importance after Vodafone sold off units in Spain and Italy, has been a drag on the company's revenue for the past four quarters. Vodafone's also dealing with heavier competition and took a €4.35 billion ($4.9 billion) impairment charge for the year on the value of the business because of its falling profit and growth expectations, the Newbury, England-based company said in a statement.
