Latest news with #INSA
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Cannabis testing lab reaches agreement with regulators to lift suspension
'Assured Testing Labs is pleased to have reached agreement with the Massachusetts CCC so that we can return to operations,' a company spokesperson said in a statement. 'While we disagree with aspects of how we got here, we are eager to return to what we do best: delivering scientific, evidence-backed testing with industry leading cannabis expertise.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Danny Carson, a cannabis workers' rights advocate with the Cannabis Worker Safety Coalition, said he was 'displeased' with the agreement, which he felt should have gone further to protect the health of cannabis workers and consumers. Advertisement The health impacts of consuming contaminated marijuana can be difficult to trace, but can include respiratory issues or The Commission last week issued an Advertisement The commission put an administrative hold on the products that had not yet been sold and created a health advisory web portal, but ultimately the onus is on consumers and retailers to follow through. A Commission spokesperson said the agency 'remains vigilant in its efforts to ensure consumers and patients have access to fully tested, safe products in the legal marketplace.' Some advocates say the advisory is too little, too late. 'I think it's a failure, once again, on the part of the CCC for workers, for consumers, and for the public,' Carson said. The advisory tells consumers to check the labels on their recreational or medical use marijuana products to see if they were tested between April 1, 2024, and April 15, 2025 and then cross reference the package label number with the Cannabis testing labs changing yeast and mold measurements to ensure higher pass rates on contaminant testing and attract business from cultivators is a widespread problem, Other states have issued recalls for safety reasons. New York in July issued a recall as a 'precautionary measure' following a product quarantine for concerns with testing accuracy. Missouri regulators Steve Reilly, head of government relations at retailer INSA, said a recall would have been appropriate given the uncertainty about the full extent of the problem. Reilly said INSA does not sell products tested by Assured, but it did not seem like there would be any consequences for retailers that did not follow recall procedures. Advertisement 'I think it's a good step,' Reilly said, 'but probably could have been sooner.' Each test sample can result in hundreds of product packages, meaning the process identifying all potentially affected products was 'labor and time intensive,' CCC enforcement counsel Timothy Goodin said at a public meeting on Thursday. Dr. Jordan Tishler, president of the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists, said it was reassuring to see the Commission issue a warning. But he said he worried that having to locate and compare label numbers, rather than brand or dispensary names, might deter people from heeding it. Tishler said he sent his patients an alert informing them of the advisory and instructing them to check their cannabis, but he said he has not heard from any of them with concerns. This either indicates everyone checked their products and everything was fine, he said, or, more likely, they ignored the warning or found it too confusing. For people with strong immune systems, Tishler said, the effects of consuming contaminated marijuana could take decades to appear. But for immunocompromised people — those receiving chemotherapy, for example — it could be life-threatening, he said. 'If you have cannabis at home, you really should make the effort to go online and make sure that it's okay, because it's not much ado about nothing,' he said. 'It could be something, and you should just take a few moments to check so that you're safe.' Stella Tannenbaum can be reached at
Time of India
30-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India prepares groundwork for constructing Very Large Gas Carriers locally
Advt Advt By , ETInfra The government is laying the groundwork for constructing five so-called Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs) locally with a Ship Technical Advisory Committee set up by an inter-ministerial Joint Working Group (JWG) finalising the technical specifications of the vessels that are used to haul Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).'The Ship Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) has finalised the technical specifications of the VLGC to be built at Indian shipyards at a meeting on Tuesday. It will be submitted to the JWG soon to take the plan forward,' said a source briefed on the costs some $120-125 million to build a 93,000 cubic metre VLGC from scratch in the current STAC had done a similar exercise previously for building Medium Range (MR) finalisation of the VLGC technical specifications comes in the wake of opposition from the Indian National Shipowners' Association (INSA), a lobby group for local fleet owners, on constructing MR tankers has told the government that there are an adequate number of MR tankers operating under the Indian flag to meet the requirements of the oil companies. Hence, it suggested that the government could look at 'other sectors and segments' of shipping where India is facing a shortfall such as VLGCs. India, according to INSA, has more than 30 MR tankers in its fleet against the requirement of some 18 such ships by the state-run oil companies.'INSA is against building ships locally. For some strange reasons, they prefer to buy second hand ships from abroad,' the source said.'INSA doesn't want the MR tankers to be manufactured here. They are saying you go for VLGC because there is no requirement for MR tankers,' the source stand was not acceptable to the government.'Today there may be no requirement for MR tankers but by the time these tankers are built by 2030 there will be a requirement plus there will be an increase in business after five years. Who is going to fill this gap,' the source 21 of the more than 30 MR tankers operating under the Indian flag are old and have to be replaced over the next 5 years. Who will build the ships and when will India create shipbuilding facilities,' he said.'INSA has a single agenda: to buy second-hand vessels from abroad. That is why they are looking to block the construction of MR tankers locally. So, much work has been done, including finalising the technical specifications of the MR tankers, which was submitted to the government. Even then they are not in favour of building MR tankers here,' the source is said to be one of the reasons why Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) has delayed floating a tender to buy 10 MR tankers from Indian yards, for which the Prime Ministers' Office (PMO) had set a June 15 deadline.'The PMO gave a clear order, whatever it may be, to float the tender by 15 June,' the source top brass of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is understood to have told a JWG meeting in early June about the deadline set by the PMO and wanted the tender process to be the state-run oil companies dithered on the way forward citing high project costs and other issues, a top MoPNG official is believed to have said at the JWG meeting that the order has come from the PMO and the tender has to be oil companies were categorically told by the MoPNG that even if the costs are high, to treat it as a 'strategic project' for the country and take approval from its board for any waivers ahead of floating the tender.'Still, they haven't done it,' the source said.A JWG meeting scheduled for June 23 had to be postponed as Indian Oil Corporation, the common nodal agency for issuing the tender on behalf of the oil companies, could not meet the June 15 deadline on floating the this time, INSA got into action and told T K Ramachandran, Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways that India 'require VLGC, not MR tankers', according to a source with knowledge of the discussions.
Coin Geek
09-07-2025
- Business
- Coin Geek
China expands AI partnerships with Brazil, Australia
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to gain significant steam, BRICS member states China and Brazil have signed a deal to collaborate on an agricultural and conservational use case. Representatives of both countries confirmed the bilateral partnership on the sidelines of the annual BRICS conference in Rio de Janeiro. The center's first project will revolve around the launch of an AI laboratory dedicated to supporting subsistence farming. The AI lab is a joint project between Brazil's National Semi-Arid Institute (INSA) and the China Agricultural University. INSA Director José Etham Barbosa confirmed that parties will explore AI integrations into farming equipment used in small-scale farming, promoting efficiency and increasing yield. 'We are bringing together various institutions to advance technology transfer, promote well-being, and embed these technologies into machinery for environmental and soil monitoring so that we can transform the semi-arid region through this partnership,' said Barbosa. Brazil and China have large swathes of semi-arid land, containing millions of residents, with 11% of Brazil's land characterized by sparse vegetation. The parties will set up a working group to identify key areas requiring urgent innovation while streamlining efficient technology exchange. Ambitious plans to establish more research centers in China and Brazil to achieve the collaboration's key objectives are underway. Both countries also said they would integrate AI with other advanced technologies to further support industrial innovation. Trade war with the United States have left Chinese firms blacklisted from accessing high-performance semiconductors required to train its AI systems. To sidestep the issues, China is turning to international partnerships, deepening ties with Russia and other BRICS member states. Furthermore, China is making bold steps to address its semiconductor shortages, building new fabrication plants from scratch and doubling down on AI research. Meanwhile, Brazil has made significant progress with AI, particularly in the areas of regulation. Brazilian regulators have established clear rules for AI companies, supporting the mainstream adoption of the technology across key sectors of the economy. AI extends its footprint in agriculture Experts are predicting a spike in AI utility in agriculture, with one report predicting a $10 billion surge in the industry's market capitalization by 2032. Government-backed initiatives are tipped to be the largest growth drivers, with Thailand launching an AI agriculture app with emerging technologies at the core. In one use case, Japanese enterprises are turning to AI-powered robots for various farm operations. The robots are racking impressive levels of success in harvesting operations with pundits predicting the wholesale application of AI robots in commercial farming operations. China eyes AI alliance with Australia Amid Donald Trump's polarizing trade war, Australia and China are inching toward inking new bilateral agreements in the coming days, with the Asian superpower considering the possibility of increased AI collaboration. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is scheduled to visit China to strengthen economic ties between both nations. Bilateral relations between China and Australia previously reached their lowest point under former Liberal Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Albanese's visit is expected to expand the terms of a 10-year-old free-trade arrangement between both parties. Top Chinese diplomat in Australia, Xiao Qian, revealed that the Chinese delegation will focus on traditional sectors while eyeing emerging sectors like AI and green energy. Australia has inked similar emerging technology deals with India and other regional allies, with Xiao eyeing a similar arrangement with China in the coming days. In particular, Chinese diplomats are keen on signing clauses involving technology sharing and AI commercialization opportunities. However, Australian pundits say a full AI collaboration with China faces a steep uphill climb given the inherent national security and data sovereignty issues. University of New South Wales (UNSW) Professor Toby Walsh disclosed that an AI collaboration is not a straightforward affair like other trade agreements. While the Chinese diplomats will push for the influx of China-made AI models in Australia, Walsh predicts that the Australian delegation will balk at the inclusion of the clause. However, the AI expert notes that there are still areas of potential AI partnerships between China and Australia, highlighting talent exchange programs. 'It's about exchanging people, it's training, it's us going to work with them and them coming to work with us,' said Walsh. Australia doubles down on AI utility Australia is keeping pace with the rest of the world in terms of AI innovation and applications. Earlier, the Australian military rolled out high-level AI solutions for national defense, integrating the technology in its military supercomputer. Furthermore, the private sector is extending a warm embrace toward AI, with ClimateForce and NTT Group leaning on the technology to protect the Daintree Rainforest from ecological dangers. Australia has received major investment from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) to boost its AI and cloud capabilities via the expansion of data centers across the country. In order for artificial intelligence (AI) to work right within the law and thrive in the face of growing challenges, it needs to integrate an enterprise blockchain system that ensures data input quality and ownership—allowing it to keep data safe while also guaranteeing the immutability of data. Check out CoinGeek's coverage on this emerging tech to learn more why Enterprise blockchain will be the backbone of AI . Watch: Demonstrating the potential of blockchain's fusion with AI title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Residents unveil giant 'animated' mural
A six-storey high mural has been unveiled on a housing block in east London, inspired by the memories of those living on the estate. The Priory Court Unity Banner in Walthamstow was created by the street artists INSA, along with local residents, who shared their stories in workshops as part of a project celebrating the heritage of the community. The giant artwork illustrates the area's links to the sewing trade and the artist William Morris, nods to the global diversity of residents and celebrates nature and community. It has been created as an "augmented reality" artwork, so that it appears to animate as a moving GIF when looked at through a special viewer app. Ideas for the theme of the mural were developed during estate-wide resident consultations, which included face-to- face interviews, focus groups and workshops. Young people engaged in the project by learning some of INSA's painting techniques, while some older residents contributed by making appliques that were sewn on to the mural. Mustafa, a trainee mural assistant, said it "meant a lot" to him to work on the project. "I learned a lot of things, a lot of skills I didn't know about before." He added that "everyone smiles" when they look at the mural. Ibrahim, who helped produce the work, said he thought it would make the community "stronger and more connected". "I think the mural is absolutely incredible. You can just look at it and you can see that it tells a wonderful story." Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to
BBC News
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Giant mural unveiled by Walthamstow estate residents
A six-storey high mural has been unveiled on a housing block in east London, inspired by the memories of those living on the estate. The Priory Court Unity Banner in Walthamstow was created by the street artists INSA, along with local residents, who shared their stories in workshops as part of a project celebrating the heritage of the giant artwork illustrates the area's links to the sewing trade and the artist William Morris, nods to the global diversity of residents and celebrates nature and has been created as an "augmented reality" artwork, so that it appears to animate as a moving GIF when looked at through a special viewer app. Ideas for the theme of the mural were developed during estate-wide resident consultations, which included face-to- face interviews, focus groups and workshops. 'Tells a wonderful story' Young people engaged in the project by learning some of INSA's painting techniques, while some older residents contributed by making appliques that were sewn on to the a trainee mural assistant, said it "meant a lot" to him to work on the project."I learned a lot of things, a lot of skills I didn't know about before."He added that "everyone smiles" when they look at the who helped produce the work, said he thought it would make the community "stronger and more connected"."I think the mural is absolutely incredible. You can just look at it and you can see that it tells a wonderful story."
