Latest news with #WorkingGroup
South China Morning Post
14 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong ‘silver economy' moves to boost spending by ‘5% annually over 3 years'
Elderly Hongkongers are expected to spend 5 per cent more annually over the next three years under wide-ranging 'silver economy' measures to spur consumption, a senior official has said when asked about a lack of targets for the policy. Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing, who is leading a new task force dedicated to tapping the silver economy, also said on Saturday that the government would conduct a study to analyse the spending habits and demands of various age groups among the elderly. Cheuk said that Hong Kong had plenty of room to boost senior residents' consumption and that many countries had already attached great importance to the silver economy. 'We think the product categories in the silver market currently are not diversified enough. The elderly have financial, purchasing and consumption powers,' Cheuk, who chairs the Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy, told a radio programme. 'There is no need to worry about whether there are enough customers if good products are available for them.'
Scoop
a day ago
- Politics
- Scoop
India: Government Arbitrarily Detained & Forcibly Transferred Rohingya Human Rights Defender In Defiance Of U.N. Ruling
Bangkok, 27 May 2025 The Government of India arbitrarily detained Rohingya human rights defender Mohammad Arfat for more than four years without due process, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled, Fortify Rights said today. The recent ruling, which responds to a complaint filed by Fortify Rights in May 2024, calls on Indian authorities to provide Mohammad Arfat with reparations, prevent future violations, and cooperate with the U.N. Refugee Agency to ensure his protection and potential resettlement. More than 40 days after the Working Group issued its decision, Indian authorities defied the U.N. ruling, forcibly transferring Mohammad Arfat to another country, where he now remains in hiding due to ongoing threats to his security. 'India's prolonged and arbitrary detention of Mohammad Arfat was both unlawful and unconscionable. He should never have been detained, let alone forcibly transferred out of India following the ruling,' said John Quinley, Director of Fortify Rights. 'The U.N. Working Group's opinion reaffirms what we have known all along—India violated international law by detaining a recognized refugee for years, and then put him even further in harm's way.' In the published opinion, adopted during its 101st session, the U.N. Working Group determined that India's detention of Mohammad Arfat since 2018 was arbitrary, lacked any legal basis, and deprived him of due process. The opinion finds that his detention was based solely on his status as a Rohingya refugee and that India violated key provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)—to which India is a state party and legally bound to uphold— including Articles 9 and 14, which protect against arbitrary detention and ensure the right to a fair trial. Upon his release from arbitrary detention, Mohammad Arfat told Fortify Rights: I was beaten by Indian police when I was first detained. … My health [after years] in Indian detention was not good, and I could not see a doctor. I became very sick over the years. … Now [after my release and transfer] I feel mentally and physically unwell. The U.N. Working Group is a body of independent human rights experts established by the U.N. Human Rights Council to investigate and provide opinions on cases of deprivation of liberty that are allegedly arbitrary or inconsistent with international standards. Fortify Rights filed the 20-page complaint to the Working Group on May 30, 2024, along with an annex of more than 90 pages supporting Mohammad Arfat's case and his right to liberty. The U.N. Working Group's opinion in response to Fortify Rights' submission expressed grave concern for Mohammad Arfat and recommended that Indian authorities: [E]nd the arbitrary detention of Mr. Arfat by immediately and unconditionally releasing him and to liaise with UNHCR to grant him protection and a remedy, befitting his status as an asylum-seeker, which could include resettlement in a third country. The U.N. Working Group also recommended that the Indian government provide 'compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law,' for the harm caused to Mohammad Arfat, and that those responsible for the violation of his rights be held accountable, urging the Government 'to ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mr. Arfat and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights.' Instead, India forcibly transferred Mohammad Arfat to another country shortly after the ruling. In addition to Mohammad Arfat's case, beginning on May 6, 2025, Fortify Rights documented how Indian authorities carried out mass arrests of Rohingya refugees in New Delhi. The next day, the authorities forced at least 40 of them back to Myanmar, where the military junta has been carrying out a genocidal campaign and where the Arakan Army — an ethnic resistance army fighting the Myanmar military junta in an ongoing revolution — has also carried out atrocities against the Rohingya people. In this instance, the India Navy dumped the refugees into the sea near the Myanmar border, placing their lives at grave risk in violation of international law. During the same crackdown, India also forcibly deported other Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh, which hosts more than one million Rohingya refugees in crowded and tightly controlled camps. On May 15, 2025, Tom Andrews, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, called India's forcing Rohingya into the sea 'unconscionable' and 'outrageous' and, in response, he launched an inquiry. Andrews said in a statement that forced returns to Myanmar are a 'serious violation of the principle of non-refoulment, a fundamental tenet of international law that prohibits states from returning individuals to a territory where they face threats to their lives or freedom.' Furthermore, on March 3, three U.N. experts, including Special Rapporteur Andrews, raised concerns about India's 'widespread, arbitrary and indefinite detention of refugees from Myanmar' in a letter to the Indian government: Conditions in places of detention are reportedly dire. Detainees from Myanmar, the majority of whom are Rohingya, are reportedly held in severely overcrowded cells, and do not receive adequate nutrition, clean water, or medical care. Facilities are reportedly unsanitary. Detainees lack clean clothes, bedding, and access to sunlight. Many detainees are reportedly suffering from illness, infections and other medical problems and are unable to access adequate medical care. India must immediately end its arbitrary and indefinite detention of refugees and provide reparations to all harmed by the government's reckless and violent crackdown on their rights, said Fortify Rights. India is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention nor its 1967 Protocol and lacks a domestic asylum law; however, it remains obligated to respect the international customary law principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the forced return of refugees to situations where they are likely to face persecution and other serious human rights abuses. India's forcible return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar—where they face grave risks of persecution, violence, or death—also violates several international treaties to which India is a state party, including the ICCPR (Articles 6, 7, and 9), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Articles 6 and 22), and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Article 5). Forcibly returning Rohingya refugees to Myanmar also violates the Genocide Convention, to which India is a state party, said Fortify Rights. By returning victims of genocide to a country where that genocide is ongoing, India may be failing in its obligation to prevent genocide under international law. Moreover, by knowingly contributing to the continuing genocide through the forced return of survivors, India risks legal complicity in the very crimes the Convention is meant to prevent. 'India has legal obligations to protect Rohingya refugees under treaties it willfully entered into,' said John Quinley. 'India should immediately and unconditionally free all refugees in detention and provide compensation for any harms inflicted.'
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
RBI to continue with supervisory measures for early risk identification
The Reserve Bank on Thursday affirmed its commitment to continue with its supervisory measures aimed at early identification of risks and vulnerabilities. The central bank would also focus on enhancing cyber resilience and capabilities of Supervised Entities (SEs) by implementing the recommendations of the inter-regulatory Working Group, which has uniform baseline cybersecurity guidelines for financial entities, it said in its annual report. It can be noted that over the last two-three years, the RBI has taken a slew of supervisory actions against entities, including business curtailment actions. "The Reserve Bank would continue with the supervisory initiatives aimed at early identification of risks and vulnerabilities, increasing the focus on the root cause of vulnerabilities, and harmonising the supervisory rigour across various segments of the financial system," the RBI said in its annual report. In the report, the RBI said the Indian banking sector is resilient, but added that given the heightened global uncertainties, proactive risk management is a necessity. "Considering the dynamic nature of the interest rate risk, banks need to address both trading and banking book risks, especially in light of moderation in Net Interest Margin (NIM)," the annual report recommended. On the regulatory policies front, the annual report said the Reserve Bank would consolidate and streamline regulations to improve business efficiency and simplify compliance. The report said several regulatory and supervisory guidelines were issued in FY25 to strengthen governance, risk management practices and operational resilience at lenders. In the new fiscal, the RBI will be undertaking a review of the citizens' charter for further improving the timeliness of regulatory approvals and citizen-centric services. It will also undertake a review of the Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021, to enhance the quality and speed of grievance resolution, the annual report said, adding that technology initiatives will be undertaken to upgrade the complaint management system. The central bank will also be embarking on drafting a new Payments Vision document, which would aim to build on the growth of payment systems in the last decade and provide further impetus to entities in the payments ecosystem to develop and deploy solutions in this space. Enhancing security, customer protection and fraud prevention will remain key priorities when it comes to digital payments in FY26, the report said. The RBI also said that it will undertake a review of the financial inclusion index in FY26, after the revision in the priority sector lending master directions.
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Council Backs Joint Approach For Water Services
Press Release – Kaipara District Council Kaipara District Council Mayor Craig Jepson says collaborating with the other Northland councils is necessary. Kaipara District Council has completed its deliberations on the future delivery model for water services, following community consultation as part of the Government's Local Water Done Well (LWDW) legislation. After reviewing feedback from 66 submitters, including businesses, organisations, and individuals, elected members agreed to pursue a multi-council controlled organisation as its priority model for water and wastewater services. This approach also received the strongest support from the community, with 60% of submissions favouring a collaborative Northland-wide effort to deliver infrastructure, maintenance, and service delivery for waters. Alternative options considered included a shared service contract model with one or more councils, and an in-house business model. Kaipara District Council Mayor Craig Jepson says collaborating with the other Northland councils is necessary. 'Reliable water services are important for our communities, so we need to make smart choices that keep them as affordable as possible and running smoothly for the long haul,' said Mayor Jepson. 'We know the cost of delivering water services is going to increase but we need to be in a position where we not only maintain efficient and affordable services but still maintain our community input on how these are managed. Representatives of Kaipara District Council are working alongside elected representatives from other Northland councils through a Local Water Done Well Working Group, with the goal of further investigating collaborative opportunities for water service delivery. Kaipara District Council Chief Executive Jason Marris said the decision today means staff will be working to finalise the Water Services Delivery Plan within the legislative timeframes. 'We're working closely with our Northland counterparts to support the working group in shaping a path forward. The decision today provides a good step to achieve what our community has signalled.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Eclipse Foundation and the Adoptium Working Group Announce the Latest Eclipse Temurin Open Source Java SE Runtime
As enterprises seek vendor-neutral Java options, the Adoptium Working Group unveils the latest Temurin release, an ROI tool, and a funding model to support the future of open source Java BRUSSELS, May 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Eclipse Foundation, a leading open source foundation, in collaboration with the Adoptium Working Group, today announced the latest release of Eclipse Temurin's Java SE runtime. As organisations around the world reevaluate their approach to Java, given recent changes in licensing and support costs, Eclipse Temurin continues to see incredible growth, having just surpassed 600 million downloads, rapidly approaching double the 380 million recorded at this time last year. This release improves stability, security, and platform coverage, including updates to Windows AWT behavior, Docker image cleanup, and expanded support for AIX ppc64 systems. These updates reinforce Temurin's focus on platform relevance, modernisation, and enterprise-grade stability. 'Eclipse Temurin's incredible growth reflects a clear shift in how enterprises are managing their Java enterprise application infrastructure. Organisations are seeking secure, high-quality, open source, and vendor-neutral alternatives, and Temurin delivers just that,' said Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse Foundation. 'With this latest release, we're continuing to deliver the quality and assurance organisations expect from commercial offerings, while also introducing new ways for the community to support and sustain this momentum.' The latest Eclipse Temurin release (8u452, 11.0.27, 17.0.15, 21.0.7, 24.0.1) includes: Reverted AWT headless detection on Windows to avoid regressions. Removed outdated Docker images for Windows ServerCore & NanoCore (1809). Added AIX ppc64 support for JDK 24, improving enterprise platform reach. Delayed Windows aarch64 build for JDK 24 due to unresolved test issues. In addition to the latest release, the Adoptium Working Group is also introducing two related initiatives to educate enterprises and ensure Eclipse Temurin's continued growth remains sustainable. First, the Working Group released a new ROI calculator that helps organisations quantify the financial impact of switching to open source Java, with enterprises reporting average annual savings of over $1.6 million after migrating from paid Java SE options to open source solutions like Eclipse Temurin. The Working Group also launched the Temurin Sustainer Program, which encourages reinvestment in the technology infrastructure that powers mission-critical Java workloads. The Eclipse Temurin Sustainer Program invites enterprises benefiting from Temurin to contribute a portion of their savings back into the project. Contributions are not required, and supporters can choose from several flexible funding tiers based on their estimated savings and scale of usage. These funds support faster releases, security maintenance, and expanded test infrastructure. The Temurin ROI calculator, available here, provides personalised estimates of Java support cost savings for organisations of any size. The Temurin Sustainer Program is not just about cost efficiency but also about supporting one of the most critical elements of an enterprise's technology stack. For enterprises relying on open source solutions like Eclipse Temurin, this program enables them to optimise their investment in Java and contribute to the broader innovation driving this ecosystem forward. The Eclipse AQAvit project is a prime example of how the Temurin Sustainer Program will continue to drive innovation, enabling smarter automation, better test coverage, and faster delivery across Java SE runtimes. Eclipse AQAvit™ is the quality and runtime branding evaluation project for Java SE runtimes and associated technology. During a release, it takes a functionally complete Java runtime and ensures that all the additional qualities are present that make it suitable for production use. Interested parties can learn about new and upcoming features here. About the Adoptium Working GroupThe Adoptium Working Group promotes and supports secure, high-quality, TCK-certified runtimes and associated technologies, backed by 84 dedicated contributors and 11 member companies, including Java ecosystem leaders and enterprise users. The Strategic Members of the Adoptium Working Group include Alibaba Cloud, Azul Systems, Google, Microsoft, Red Hat, and Rivos. The Adoptium Marketplace extends this leadership role and gives even more organisations a means of distributing their binaries. If your organisation is interested in participating in the Adoptium Working Group, you can view the Charter and Participation Agreement or email us at membership@ Companies can also participate as sponsors. Both membership and sponsorship help assure the sustainability of the Adoptium Working Group and certified open source runtimes for the developer community. About the Eclipse FoundationThe Eclipse Foundation provides our global community of individuals and organisations with a business-friendly environment for open source software collaboration and innovation. We host the Eclipse IDE, Adoptium, Software Defined Vehicle, Jakarta EE, and over 420 open source projects, including runtimes, tools, specifications, and frameworks for cloud and edge applications, IoT, AI, automotive, systems engineering, open processor designs, and many others. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, the Eclipse Foundation is an international non-profit association supported by over 300 members. To learn more, follow us on social media @EclipseFdn, LinkedIn, or visit trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Media contacts:Schwartz Public Relations (Germany)Gloria Huppert/Marita BäumerSendlinger Straße 42A80331 MunichEclipseFoundation@ (89) 211 871 -70/ -62 514 Media Ltd (France, Italy, Spain)Benoit Simoneaubenoit@ +44 (0) 7891 920 370 Nichols Communications (Global Press Contact) Jay Nicholsjay@ 408-772-1551
