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Yachting Developments to Build 109-Foot Sportfish

• By By Kim Kavin
• Updated: February 2, 2018

Yachting Developments in New Zealand has signed a contract to build a 109-foot sportfish yacht. Construction is scheduled to start early this year.

The yacht, currently known as Hull 1017, will be an all-carbon build with naval architecture and design by New Zealand’s Warwick Yacht Design.

Yachting Developments previously worked with Warwick Yacht Design on five projects, including the 100-foot sailing catamaran Quintessential.

You may recognize: Hull 1015, which Yachting Developments launched this past November. It is reportedly the world’s largest all-carbon sportfish yacht.

Where to learn more: visit Yachting Developments

Quick Specs:

Beam: 24’8″

Draft: 5’11”

Hull material: Carbon

Engines: 2/ 2,000 hp MTU 16V 2000 M96L diesels

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By SuperyachtNews 28 Apr 2020

Shipyard status update: Yachting Developments

The new zealand shipyard resumes operations after a month-long nationwide lockdown….

For  SuperyachtNews.com ’s continuing coverage of COVID-19’s impact on shipyard operations around the world, we heard from New Zealand-based Yachting Developments regarding an update on the facility’s current status. After weeks of full lockdown, the country has seen positive results and, as such, has moved into its next phase of response to the pandemic.

"It has been an interesting time dealing with business operations here in New Zealand under COVID-19 Alert Level 4," says Ian Cook, director at Yachting Developments. "Today marked the official return to work for Yachting Developments under the country's new Level 3 status, which came into play today after nearly five weeks of the Level 4's total country-wide lockdown for all but essential business. To meet the stringent requirements for safe work we have chosen to scale our workforce's return to work. This allows us to get organised to have the whole team at the yard over the next two weeks."

Yachting Developments has announced the safe delivery of 33m Al Duhail to its home port following the February launch. The upholstery department and 3D printing facilities will be back up and running and from 12 May and will have the capacity to expand to new projects and jobs.

Like all businesses returning to work under the COVID-19 Level 3 status, the Yachting Developments' staff will be practising safe distancing within the workplace and the same will be expected from people that come on site. There will be restrictions on movements within the site, while entry to buildings and offices will only be permitted to Yachting Developments staff members and approved accredited contractors.

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Yachting Developments sells a new sportfish superyacht

Known as YD1017

New Zealand yard Yachting Developments has announced an order for a 33m sportfish yacht.

The project is known as YD1017 and will be built from carbon fiber. The yard has not yet set a delivery date. The styling and naval architecture will be provided by local design house Warwick Yacht Design.

"We are proud to have signed this exciting new project and look forward to collaborating with the Warwick Yacht Design office and their repeat client to bring this custom superyacht build to life,” says Ian Cook, Managing Director of Yachting Developments.

The new sportfish yacht will be powered by two MTU 16V 2000 M96L diesel engines, delivering 2,000 hp each.

Yachting Developments has recently launched the impressive 39m M/Y Lanakai , one of the biggest sportfish yachts in the world.

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BOAT REVIEW Frers 33.8m Superyacht Cygnus Montanus

• Carbon fibre
• Built in New Zealand
• Easy handling
• Lifting keel
• Hydraulic sail controls
• Twin rudders
• Built for a serious sailor
• Needs only a small crew to sail
• Stylish and sumptuously-appointed
• True ocean wanderer
• Capable of 300-mile days

This 33.8m carbon-fibre sloop’s stately presence would enhance any superyacht marina, but she’s unlikely to spend much time harnessed in one. Cygnus Montanus is owned by a serious sailor.

The latest superyacht build from Auckland’s Yachting Developments Limited (YDL), she was launched mid-June. As the images reflect, she’s magnificent in every way – a glowing tribute to YDL’s expertise and, by association, New Zealand’s marine industry skills. Cygnus Montanus means ‘Mountain Swan’ and it’s a construction of two parts: the Swedish owner’s previous vessel ( Cygnus Montanus II ) is a Swan 77 – a marque synonymous with grace and elegance. The ‘mountain’ is a nod to his homeland’s topography.

Using my rapier-sharp powers of deduction, I’ll assume there was a Cygnus Montanus 1 and that strictly speaking, this new Frers-designed beauty should be Cygnus Montanus 111 . Whatever the truth, this iteration is a superb coda to the lineage. There is much to admire. But perhaps her signature attribute is the way the owner’s vision has been realised by the ‘team’ – designer, builder, interior décor specialist and sailmaker. Yes, she’s luxurious, impeccably stylish and sumptuously-appointed, yet there’s also an unsuperyacht-like ‘purposefulness’ about her. When did you last see twin rudders on a superyacht? You sense she’d be happier at sea than being tied up as a cocktail venue. The reason for this somewhat unorthodox blend is revealed in the owner’s brief – he wanted a true ‘ocean wanderer’ – a yacht suited to leisurely circumnavigations. And to appreciate this perspective consider that he completed 95,000 miles wandering the oceans in the Swan 77. This Frers is designed to sail in the Swan’s wake – though I’d suggest quite a bit more quickly. Another clue to her set-up and configuration is the ‘family living’ part of the design brief. I gather the owner has a large, extended family – all of whom like to sail, and often together. For a 33m yacht with a 51m mast, Cygnus Montanus carries a modest crew (four) – leaving plenty of room for the family. More than anything else, this small crew/large family requirement shaped the sloop’s design and rigging set-up.

EASY HANDLING I don’t have to remind you that the loads on sails this size are daunting and handling/reefing/trimming them can’t be considered easy – particularly for a small crew. Yet the sail plan is geared to simple, offshore cruising and easy handling. The Southern Spars rig carries an in-boom furling main and, as with all the sail controls, hydraulics provide the grunt work. The main’s complemented by a blade jib with vertical battens, maximized to fit the forward triangle, a hanked-on inner staysail, a Code 0, an asymmetrical gennaker and a storm trysail.

DESIGN DETAIL There isn’t sufficient room in these pages to cover all of the yacht’s innovative handling features, but I want to draw your attention to two – the anchor and the keel – to give you some idea of the design and engineering challenges YDL faced. As you may have noticed from the images, there isn’t an anchor hanging off the front – leaving the aesthetics of that sleek bow unadulterated.

INTERIOR Stylish, elegant, graceful, plush – yet also a very warm, homely space. Interior design is by Adam Lay Studio – and every vantage point offers an exceptional composition of colour and shape. Venture down the companionway and you’ll find a roomy full-beam main saloon with a dedicated dining space. The galley and crew’s accommodation are forward. All interior spaces have large skylights delivering plenty of natural light. Though she can accommodate 24, the vessel’s more typical guest list is set at eight: a full-beam owner’s cabin aft and three guest cabins. Each space has its own personality – with the décor themed around trips undertaken on the owner’s previous yacht.

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Yachting Developments in New Zealand getting ready for Launch of 33.7-metre S/Y Hull 1012

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Written by Eva Belanyiova

Yachting Developments in New Zealand are having a busy start to the year, with preparations well under way for the launch of the 33,7-metre S/Y hull 1012 to take place end of April, while the works on the second new build motor yacht Hull 1015 (38,7m) are progressing well, too, with lamination work in process.

First build shot of Hull 1015

This year the yard also continued its long-lasting support for the New Zealand Millennium Cup regatta, held in the Bay of Islands . Two of their builds, SILVERTIP and STEINLAGER 2 were racing, with Silvertip performing consistently and Stailager winning the Pacific Cup division for the second year running. Yachting Developments was well presented on site at the regatta with four of the team, including managing director Ian Cook racing aboard Stainlager, which underwent a comprehensive refit at the yard in 2014.

Silvertip racing at the NZ Millennium Cup 2016 – image Jeff Brown

The contraction of the hull 1012 by Frers is continuing well, with bespoke interiors by Adam Lay all put together and constructed in house by then yard’s experienced interiors team. It is currently being fitted, giving tantalising glimpses of how she will look once completed.

The lifting keel, which will provide the owners with complete freedom with access to even the most shallow of anchorages on their voyages around the globe, has now been fitted and final electrics and engineering work will make sure the superyacht is fully powered before leaving the shed. The launch ceremony is planned for end of April and will take place in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour.

As per the 38,7-metre Hull 1015, important progress can also be noted, with moulds for the massive Michael Peters-designed sports fisher now complete and lamination work beginning. Yachting Developments are now able to disclose the first in-build photos of the project, which show the true scale of this unique yacht.

Last but not least, the yard is also working on a long-term refit of 21,3-metre 1948 classic yacht WINDHAVEN, which is to be completed in 2016. She was bought by a Kiwi family and has been carefully restored to her former glory. In a story that is fitting as tribute to the yard’s dedication to ensuring the future of many of New Zealand’s most iconic yachts, Windhaven currently sits in the shed alongside another restoration project Erewhon, which was built alongside Windhaven in in 1948.

Please contact CharterWorld - the luxury yacht charter specialist - for more on superyacht news item "Yachting Developments in New Zealand getting ready for Launch of 33.7-metre S/Y Hull 1012".

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LANAKAI yacht NOT for charter*

39.5m  /  129'7 | yachting developments | 2017.

Owner & Guests

Cabin Configuration

• Previous Yacht

The 39.5m/129'7" Sport Fisher yacht 'Lanakai' was built by Yachting Developments in New Zealand at their North Shore City shipyard. Her interior is styled by design house Below Decks and she was delivered to her owner in December 2017. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Michael Peters Yacht Design.

Guest Accommodation

Lanakai has been designed to comfortably accommodate up to 8 guests in 4 suites comprising one VIP cabin. She is also capable of carrying up to 6 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

Range & Performance

Built with a carbon fibre hull and carbon fibre superstructure, with teak decks, she has impressive speed and great efficiency thanks to her planing hull. Powered by twin diesel MTU (12V 4000 M93) 3,140hp engines running at 2100rpm, she comfortably cruises at 10 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 12 knots. Lanakai features at-anchor stabilizers providing exceptional comfort levels.

*Charter Lanakai Motor Yacht

Motor yacht Lanakai is currently not believed to be available for private Charter. To view similar yachts for charter , or contact your Yacht Charter Broker for information about renting a luxury charter yacht.

Lanakai Yacht Owner, Captain or marketing company

'Yacht Charter Fleet' is a free information service, if your yacht is available for charter please contact us with details and photos and we will update our records.

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Lanakai Awards & Nominations

• International Superyacht Society Awards 2019 Best Power 24m-40m Nomination

NOTE to U.S. Customs & Border Protection

Specification

M/Y Lanakai

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March 2024: A look at the latest Microsoft Entra key feature releases, announcements, and updates

Adam Matthews

March 20th, 2024 0 0

Welcome to the March edition of our monthly developer update, where we dive into the latest news and announcements in Microsoft Entra. We’ve rolled out several significant enhancements, from new Generally Available (GA) Microsoft Entra ID Protection capabilities to Conditional Access updates which are under Public Preview. These updates can significantly streamline your workflow and security processes. You’ll find key information about these developments as well as links to further guidance, helping you integrate these updates effectively into your projects.

What went Generally Available (GA) since Feb 2024

Microsoft Entra ID Protection – Suspicious API traffic detection for users: A new detection capability has been introduced which flags abnormal or suspicious Microsoft Graph traffic or directory enumeration activities observed by users. Suspicious API traffic might suggest that a user is compromised and conducting reconnaissance in their environment.

Microsoft Entra ID Protection – Risk remediation on the Azure mobile app: Risk remediation capabilities of Microsoft Entra ID Protection, previously only available through the Microsoft Entra portal, are now accessible via the Azure mobile app. This includes comprehensive reporting, providing insights into risky behaviors such as compromised user accounts and suspicious sign-ins, along with the Risky users and Risky sign-ins report.

New Public Previews

Authentication Flows for Conditional Access: This feature introduces the capability to configure Conditional Access (CA) policies to restrict or block the usage of specific authentication flows. The initial release of this feature is limited to device code flow and authentication transfer.

Conditional Access – Require reauthentication every time: A new CA policy option that requires users to interactively reauthenticate—by providing their credentials again—before they access critical applications or take sensitive actions on any resource protected by CA.

News, updates, and resources

New applications added to the Microsoft Entra ID app gallery supporting SSO and  user provisioning .

Understand how you can migrate Identity and Access Management scenarios from Microsoft Identity Manager to Microsoft Entra .

To support alignment with Microsoft Entra ID HITRUST controls, detailed guidance is now available . It is organized to allow you to easily lookup the HITRUST control, objective, and HSR, with corresponding Microsoft Entra recommendations and advice.

Check out the updated guidance on  best practices to migrate applications and authentication from AD FS to Microsoft Entra ID . This guidance outlines the Application Migration tool, currently in preview, which facilitates discovering, evaluating, and configuring Microsoft Entra ID applications.

Workshop on-demand recordings

Microsoft identity platform: Explore modern authentication and authorization foundations and adding authentication to an app and learn about token customization and best practices for protecting an API.

Identity workshop: Explore what the Microsoft identity platform provides for developers, principles of modern authentication, and migrating apps from ADAL to Microsoft authentication library (MSAL).

Identity Blog

ICYMI: An overview of the Microsoft Entra updates for February 2024 , including updates on app filters for Conditional Access policies and an array of new Public Previews, like Microsoft Entra Internet Access for all apps.

This blog post delves into the challenges and adaptations that came with moving to a hybrid and remote work environment , through the shared experiences of three team members. It highlights how the team maintained work quality and standards, offering useful tips and insights for readers.

Discover the new Microsoft Entra External ID extension for Visual Studio Code , designed to streamline CIAM integration within your development workflow. Learn how this extension offers a seamless experience for configuring External ID applications directly in VS Code.

Check out recent videos from the  Microsoft Security YouTube  channel and  The 425 Show .

Microsoft Entra External ID CIAM Series

Getting Started With Microsoft Entra Verified ID

Stay connected and informed

This blog post aims to keep you informed and engaged with the latest Microsoft Entra developments, helping you harness these new features and capabilities in your identity development journey.

To learn more or test out features in the Microsoft Entra suite of products, visit our  developer center . Make sure you subscribe to the  Identity blog  for more insights and to keep up with the latest on all things Identity. And, follow us on YouTube for video overviews, tutorials, and deep dives.

Adam Matthews | Content Writer

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Additional Investment of $55 Million Needed to Improve Child Nutrition in Timor-Leste, Report Finds

DILI, March 21, 2024 – Timor-Leste can achieve its hunger and malnutrition reduction goals and significantly reduce childhood stunting by increasing its spending by $55 million in nutrition investments over the eight-year period 2023-2030 , the World Bank said in a report. At 47 percent, the stunting rate in Timor-Leste is currently one of the highest in the world.

Increasing investment by an average of around $7 million per year, from the current level of roughly $49 million, would represent just 0.3 percent of the nation's GDP, yet would promise significant returns in terms of health and productivity, according to Indicative Costing of Timor-Leste’s Consolidated National Action Plan for Nutrition and Food Security (CNAP-NFS).

Increasing investment in maternal and child nutrition from conception to a child’s second birthday is vital for preventing child stunting and fostering brain development and would reduce childhood illness and lead to a healthier population. In addition, because stunting is associated with reduced learning and lost productivity in adulthood, investments in nutrition can improve Timor-Leste’s human capital, with long-term economic development dividends.

Timor-Leste’s CNAP-NFS is a national plan to achieve the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 2 – ending hunger and malnutrition -- by 2030. To support the operationalization of CNAP-NFS, the World Bank prepared cost estimates of the additional resources needed to scale up nutrition interventions from the current level.  The estimates consider activities across multiple sectors, including education (school meals), health, agriculture, public works (water), and industry (food fortification).

“Child stunting currently affects almost half of the children under five in Timor-Leste,” said Kyoko Okamura, World Bank Senior Nutrition Specialist . “In the seven years remaining to reach Timor-Leste’s stunting goals, there are concrete actions that can be taken. Scaling up nutrition services, such as Mother Support Groups to work closely with families and communities to improve nutrition practices, for example, is an effective way to reach communities and have a real impact on reducing stunting.”

The report emphasizes the urgency of adopting a fast-track approach for stunting reduction, recommending the prioritization of high-return sectoral interventions. Targeting a 2 to 3 percentage point annual decrease in stunting rates—a challenging but attainable goal—necessitates immediate action. Key to this strategy is the efficient allocation and utilization of resources towards impactful interventions that promise significant improvements in child nutrition.

“The compelling evidence in favor of nutrition-focused support mechanisms, particularly cash assistance programs, underscores their importance in combating stunting,” said Bernard Harborne, World Bank Country Representative for Timor-Leste. “It will be important for the Government to review how these programs can be used to effectively target and support vulnerable pregnant women and young children during the essential first 1,000 days of life.”

World Bank in Timor-Leste

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Israel’s war on Gaza updates: ‘Humanitarian islands’ for Rafah civilians

With international community’s help, Israel’s military says it will transfer 1.4 million Palestinians to central Gaza ahead of its Rafah invasion.

• Israel’s military plans to transfer about 1.4 million Palestinian civilians trapped in southern Rafah city to “humanitarian islands” in the middle of Gaza before it launches a ground invasion.
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the US government has yet to see an Israeli proposal to “get civilians out of harm’s way” in Rafah and ensures shelter, food and medicine.
• Israeli attack hits a UN aid distribution centre in Rafah, killing at least one UNRWA staff member and wounding another 22.
• At least 31,272 Palestinians have been killed and 73,024 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attack stands at 1,139 and dozens continue to be held captive.

Thank you for joining us

The live page is now closed. You can continue to follow our coverage of the war in Gaza here .

To learn more about Israel’s attack on a UN warehouse in Rafah in southern Gaza, you can view our photo gallery here .

And you can find more news, features and videos on the conflict  here .

Here’s what happened today

We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a recap of today’s events:

• An Israeli attack hit a UN aid distribution centre in Rafah, killing at least one UNRWA staff member and wounding more than 20 others.
• Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari says that there are plans to push a significant amount of the more than one million displaced Palestinians in Rafah towards “humanitarian islands” in the centre of the Gaza Strip in advance of Israel’s planned offensive on the city.
• Lebanon’s Hezbollah has said two of its fighters were killed in the Bekaa Valley after Israeli jets launched attacks on the area for a second consecutive day. Israel also killed a Hamas member in south Lebanon’s largest city Tyre when it attacked a car.
• An unpublished report by UNRWA details the extensive use of torture against Palestinians taken prisoner by the Israeli military in Gaza, including 21 agency staff members and 15 family members of UNRWA staff, an accusation Israel has denied.
• Israeli forces shot a Palestinian who allegedly stabbed two Israelis at a checkpoint near Jerusalem.

Report: US privately tells Israel it will accept small-scale Rafah offensive

A report from US news site Politico says that senior US officials have told their Israeli counterparts that the administration of President Biden will support the targeting of “high-value Hamas targets in and underneath Rafah”.

The report cites four unnamed US officials, who told Politico that the US wants Israel to avoid a large-scale invasion of the southern Gaza City, where some 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are sheltered after fleeing Israeli bombardment in other parts of the Strip.

“In private conversations, top administration officials have signaled to Israel that they could support a plan more akin to counterterrorism operations than all-out war, four US officials said”, the report says.

“That, the administration officials argue, would minimize civilian casualties, decimate Hamas’ ranks and avoid scenes that have led to souring public opinion on Israel’s campaign and Biden’s handling of the war.”

The US has long said that it would require a plan to protect civilians in Rafah before it supported Israel’s promised Rafah invasion. Today, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that the US has yet to see such a plan.

Palestinians name a street after late US airman

Palestinians named a street in Jericho after Aaron Bushnell – the US airman who died after setting himself on fire to protest Israel’s war on Gaza.

Watch our video report below:

Getting aid into Gaza ‘very unpredictable’

Janti Soeripto, president of the charity Save the Children US, says it is “very unpredictable” which aid trucks can make it into Gaza and which ones are rejected.

“I saw a wooden toy box with games for children being rejected because the box was made of wood, and it had to be packed in carton boxes,” Soeripto, who was at the Rafah crossing in January, told Al Jazeera.

“Hygiene kits with soap, blankets and sanitary pads for women got rejected because there was a nail clipper in it. The list goes on.”

Moreover, Soeripto said even if trucks make it into Gaza, distribution inside was “problematic” amid the ongoing fighting in the coastal enclave.

“There’s so much rubble and destruction around that it is physically even hard to actually get the last mile in order to deliver our supplies when they make it in,” she added.

Attack on UN aid centre targeted Hamas commander: Israel military

Israel says its air strike on a UN food distribution centre in southern Gaza killed a Hamas commander after the UN said one staff member was killed and 22 others were wounded.

The Israeli military said the strike killed Mohammad Abu Hasna, whom the military described as a Hamas fighter who provided intelligence on Israeli troop positions, and was “also involved in taking control of humanitarian aid and distributing it to Hamas terrorists”.

In a statement, Hamas said Abu Hasna was a member of its police force and condemned his killing as a “cowardly assassination” meant to disrupt aid distribution.

Hamas identified another of the five killed as the head of an emergency committee for Rafah, Nidal al-Sheikh Eid.

WATCH: US woman rescued from Gaza rubble after Israeli air strike

An American woman living in Gaza was pulled from the rubble of an Israeli air strike after a two-hour operation to free her.

After she was freed, she had a message of solidarity with Palestinians facing Israel’s war. Watch the video below:

‘Who are you negotiating with if Hamas has been defeated?’

The leader of Hezbollah says Israel has already lost the war on Gaza, even if it launches a ground invasion of Rafah with the stated aim to “destroy” Hamas.

“Even if you go to Rafah, you have lost the war. Despite all the massacres, Gaza’s people will not surrender to you. The people of Gaza are still embracing the resistance,” Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech.

“Who are you negotiating with if Hamas has been defeated?” Lebanese media quoted him as saying.

“All Palestinian factions are unanimous in stopping the aggression, contrary to what is being reported that Hamas is obstructing the negotiations.”

EU Council president calls for pause in Gaza fighting

Charles Michel says a humanitarian pause is urgently needed, as well as the release of all captives.

“The EU will continue to insist on increasing urgently [needed] humanitarian aid, protection of all civilians and respect of international humanitarian law,” he said in a post on X.

Israel’s war on Gaza, raging since October 7, has caused mass civilian deaths, reduced vast areas to a rubble-strewn wasteland and sparked warnings of looming famine in the Palestinian territory of 2.3 million people.

With HH @TamimBinHamad @AmiriDiwan , agreed on the urgency to reach an agreement on a humanitarian pause & release of hostages. I thanked Qatar for its efforts. The EU will continue to insist on increasing urgently humanitarian aid, protection of all civilians & respect of… — Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) March 13, 2024

Aid groups provide new evidence of Israel attack on staff members

Medical Aid for Palestinians and the International Rescue Committee provided new details of an Israeli air strike on a residential compound housing humanitarian workers and their families.

The January attack wounded several team members despite coordinates being shared with the Israeli military, which offered six different explanations that “ have not provided clarity” as to why it happened, a statement said.

“The variety of responses highlights a continued lack of transparency regarding what occurred. It is clear from this experience the Israeli military and government are either unable or unwilling to properly investigate this serious incident,” the groups said.

The statement called on Israel’s allies, including the US and UK, to launch “a full, independent and timebound investigation into the 18 January incident – and all reported attacks on deconflicted facilities and personnel”.

“As current suppliers of arms and munitions to Israel, governments such as the UK and the US have a particular responsibility to hold Israel accountable for this and other attacks on aid workers and civilians.”

Israeli army attacks Hezbollah

On X, the Israeli army says it recently attacked “military buildings used by the terrorist organization Hezbollah” inside Lebanese territory.

It claimed attacks on the areas of Mis al-Jabal and Ita al-Sha’ab in southern Lebanon. Additionally, the army said it carried out artillery attacks on the Wadi Hamool area.

Earlier in the day, Israel attacked a car in Tyre, south Lebanon’s largest city, killing two, including Hadi Mustafa, a Hamas member based in the Rashidieh Palestinian refugee camp near Tyre.

Criticism of Israel’s war and occupation is not anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism, its prevalent nature, and the shame and guilt for the Holocaust that sit at the heart of Germany’s memory culture have indelibly shaped my life.

For many of Israel’s most ardent supporters, there is no space in the debate for those who criticise Israel’s actions. Nowhere is this more clear than in Germany, where German Jews, many of them Israelis, make up a disproportionate percentage of those detained for protesting against Tel Aviv’s warpath.

Violence begets violence. “Never again” must mean never again by anyone, against anyone.

You can read more of this opinion piece here .

Aid seekers injured by Israeli bullets in Gaza City

Al Jazeera’s correspondent reports that nine Palestinians awaiting aid distribution at the Kuwaiti roundabout in southern Gaza City were wounded by Israeli forces.

This roundabout has been the site of several attacks on aid seekers by Israel in recent weeks.

We will bring you updates on this attack as information comes in.

Israeli MPs approve revised wartime budget

Israel’s parliament has adopted a revised budget for 2024 allowing for more spending to finance the war against Hamas, now in its sixth month.

The new budget passed by a vote of 62 lawmakers to 55.

It modifies the budget passed in May 2023, increasing the spending limit by 70.4 billion shekels ($19.4bn), or more than 14 percent, according to a statement from Israel’s legislature, the Knesset.

Of that amount, 55 billion shekels ($15.1bn) could be allocated to the military and 15.5 billion ($4.1bn) could go “to finance civilian needs”, the statement said.

WATCH: How does US intelligence disagree with Israel on Gaza?

In its annual report, the US intelligence community says Hamas cannot be destroyed.

The group’s elimination is a core aim of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s merciless onslaught in Gaza.

So why is the US continuing to arm Israel to fight a war it doesn’t believe can be won?

EU, 5 other nations call on Israel to open additional crossings to Gaza

The European Union and five other countries in a joint statement called on Israel to open additional crossings besides the Cyprus maritime corridor so more aid can reach the coastal enclave.

“The ministers agreed there is no meaningful substitute to land routes via Egypt and Jordan and entry points from Israel into Gaza for aid delivery at scale,” it said, following a virtual ministerial meeting.

“The ministers underscored the need for Israel to open additional crossings so more aid can reach Gaza, including the north, and to ease overall customs restrictions to facilitate an increased flow of life-saving humanitarian assistance.”

While supporting 🇨🇾 maritime corridor, we call on 🇮🇱 to open additional crossings so more aid can reach #Gaza , including the North, and to ease overall customs restrictions. Joint statement after ministerial meeting by @EU_Commission , 🇨🇾, 🇬🇧, 🇺🇲, 🇦🇪, 🇶🇦 https://t.co/QQsK1BiOaG — Janez Lenarčič (@JanezLenarcic) March 13, 2024

Blinken comments on Israeli attack on UNRWA facility

In his news conference, the US secretary of state has told reporters that the US offers its condolences to the families and loved ones of those who “apparently” were killed in today’s bombing of an aid distribution facility operated by the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees.

According to UNRWA, the attack killed at least one of its staff members and injured an additional 22 other people.

Blinken admitted that he did not know “the facts” of the incident, but said that he spoke to the Israeli army about it, which told him that they were investigating.

He said that the incident reinforces “the imperative of having much better and much more consistent deconfliction,” between humanitarian workers and the Israeli army, adding that the people working to distribute desperately needed humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip must “be able to do their jobs with as much security and as much confidence as possible”.

The Israeli military, the Israeli government, have a responsibility to make sure that humanitarian work can be carried out,” he continued, including not striking “clearly marked” humanitarian facilities.

Israeli attacks on aid trucks and Palestinians seeking the aid carried by those trucks have been frequent over the last several weeks, including in northern Gaza, which is on the verge of famine.

Israeli military says it will push Rafah’s civilians to ‘humanitarian islands’

Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari says that there are plans to push a significant amount of the more than one million displaced Palestinians in Rafah toward “humanitarian islands” in the centre of the Gaza Strip in advance of its planned offensive on the city.

“We need to make sure that 1.4 million people or at least a significant amount of the 1.4 million will move. Where? To humanitarian islands that we will create with the international community,” Hagari told reporters at a briefing.

Hagari said those islands would provide temporary housing, food, water and other necessities to evacuated Palestinians. He did not say when Rafah’s evacuation would occur, nor when the Rafah offensive would begin, saying that Israel wanted the timing to be right operationally and to be coordinated with neighbouring Egypt, which has said it does not want an influx of displaced Palestinians crossing its border.

The US has frequently said that it will not support an Israeli invasion of Rafah without a clear plan to protect civilians there.

During its war on Gaza, Israel has frequently designated areas and corridors of movement for civilians as “ safe zones ” before bombing them, killing many.

Blinken says Israel has still hasn’t presented a plan to protect civilians in Rafah

The US government has been consistently saying that it would not support Israel’s promised invasion of Rafah without a “clear” plan from the Israeli government to protect the more than one million displaced Palestinians that are currently sheltering there.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that the US government has “not seen such a plan” as of yet.

“We need to see a plan that will get civilians out of harm’s way if there is to be a military operation, and not only get’s them out of harm’s way, but ensures that they have shelter, food and medicine,” he said.

Protecting civilians must be ‘priority’ for Israel: US

Protecting and aiding civilians must be “job number one” for Israel in the war-battered Gaza Strip, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says.

“We look to the government of Israel to make sure this is a priority. Protecting civilians, getting people assistance they need, that has to be job number one, even as they do what is necessary to defend the country to deal with the threat posed by Hamas,” he told reporters.

US President Joe Biden has made contradictory statements about how he intends to approach mounting international concerns over Israel’s military actions.

On Saturday, he said an invasion of the southern city of Rafah would be a “red line” for Israel not to cross. Still, he said he would never “leave Israel” or “cut off all weapons” for the US ally.

‘Deep distress’ over Gaza war to sour St Patrick’s Day at White House

The annual White House celebration of St Patrick’s Day will be less festive because of Irish anger over US support for Israel’s attack on Gaza.

The SDLP, Northern Ireland’s smaller nationalist party, said it isn’t sending any representatives to Washington, DC, for Friday’s event.

“The White House St Patrick’s Day event is a party. We have taken the principled position that we won’t be attending that party,” said Claire Hanna, an SDLP lawmaker.

“This is about the deep distress that we and our constituents feel practically every hour of the day about what’s going on in Gaza, and our attempt to use whatever opportunities we have — parliamentary and otherwise — to contribute and create international momentum to end this,” the Washington Post quoted Hanna as saying.

Dutch PM Rutte calls on Netanyahu to step up humanitarian aid into Gaza

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte urged his Israeli counterpart to “drastically reduce the level of force” unleashed on the coastal enclave.

“Further escalation must be prevented and an Israeli offensive in Rafah would cause a humanitarian disaster,” he added.

It was good to be in Israel and Egypt today to speak with Prime Minister Netanyahu ( @IsraeliPM ) and President El-Sisi ( @AlsisiOfficial ) about the alarming situation in the Middle East. All efforts must now be directed at agreeing an immediate pause in the fighting, leading to a… pic.twitter.com/6xkJyqywso — Mark Rutte (@MinPres) March 13, 2024

‘Stop Arming Israel’ protesters block San Francisco airport in US

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters have shut down part of the San Francisco International Airport to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the end of all US military assistance to Israel.

Demonstrators chanted “Free, free Palestine” while holding a banner that read “Stop Arming Israel” as they blocked access to security gates inside the international terminal in northern California.

Protesters also halted traffic outside the departures entrance, blocking all lanes while marching in a circle with Palestinian flags.

Israel’s war on Gaza has sparked mass demonstrations in major cities across the United States and led to repeated interruptions at US President Joe Biden’s campaign events.

HAPPENING NOW: Protestors demanding a #CeasefireNOW and an end to the genocide in Gaza have SHUT DOWN the Intl Terminal at #SFO pic.twitter.com/ZjNGFsaRS8 — Critical Resistance (@C_Resistance) March 13, 2024

MSF condemns last months’ Jenin hospital attacks

The international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) says Israel’s attack was just the “latest act of appalling violence” at the facility.

“In the last months, our team has witnessed bullets and tear gas grenades being fired at the facility, a minor being killed, ambulances being obstructed, and healthcare professionals being targeted,” Samuel Johann, MSF project coordinator in Jenin, said in a series of posts on X.

“Shooting people in a hospital, or any act of violence in a healthcare facility, is completely unacceptable. We unequivocally condemn the continued attacks on healthcare facilities.”

South Africa says citizens fighting with Israeli forces in Gaza will be arrested

South Africa’s foreign minister has said that any of her country’s citizens who fight with the Israeli armed forces in Gaza will be arrested when they return home.

Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor made the comments earlier this week at a Palestinian solidarity event attended by officials from South Africa’s governing African National Congress Party.

“I have already issued a statement alerting those who are South African and are fighting alongside or in the [Israeli military]: We are ready. When you come home, we are going to arrest you,” Pandor said, to rapturous applause from the audience.

She also encouraged people to protest outside the embassies of what she called the “five primary supporters” of Israel and its military action in Gaza.

In December, the foreign ministry said that the South African government was concerned that some of its citizens or permanent residents had joined the Israeli military to fight in Gaza.

Those with dual South African-Israeli citizenship could be stripped of their South African citizenship, the foreign ministry said.

How Greer development project aims to improve public safety needs

To accommodate its rapid growth, the City of Greer identified a need to bolster its public safety presence.

As part of its $100 million "ForGreer" development project , officials announced a new fire station and a public safety training facility to aid in first responder response to the city’s growing population.

According to the most recent data from U.S. Census Bureau, Greer’s population grew 19% from 2020 to 2022. The Greer Fire Department also received a yearly increase in emergency calls since 2020. In 2020, Greer FD received 3,722 calls, but by 2023 they received 5,001 calls, according to data provided by Greer Fire Chief Dorian Flowers.

The new fire station slated for the Groce Meadows Rd. area could reduce the response time to emergencies by seven minutes, Flowers said. The closest fire station operated by the Greer Fire Department is 4.6 miles away from the Groce Meadows Rd. area.

More: Here's how Greer plans to pay for new $100 million, four development initiative.

"That's critical in everything that we do," Flowers said. "Being able to respond in a reasonable amount of time makes the difference day-in and day-out."

This station will be the fifth fire station being operated by the Greer Fire Department.

Greer PD in need of their own place to train 

For the past few years, the Greer Police Department used training spaces utilized by the Greenville County Sheriff's Office and Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport security to train their officers. The need to borrow other training sites created scheduling conflicts for Greer police officers, Greer Police Chief Matthew Hamby said.

The new public safety training facility will be located on Hood Rd. and will include amenities like an indoor firing range, classrooms, office spaces and a fire training tower. The facility is estimated to be 18,000 square feet.

Hamby said that sharing training facilities created scheduling conflicts which led to officers not being able to find time to adequately train to meet certain qualifications required for firearm use. With a facility to call their own, officers will have a place to train whenever they want.

The department was forced to close its old firing range, located outdoors on Highway 101, as more housing developments popped up around the area, Hamby said. With an indoor facility, officers won’t have to worry about posing a risk to the public if stray bullets come from the firing range into nearby neighborhoods.

"We hope that this will solve a problem for many years to come as we see Greer continues to grow with new developments all over the place," Hamby said.

The training facility will replace what currently is the Greer Fire Department’s Station 42. The operations at Station 42 will be relocated to a station currently being constructed at the intersection of Suber Rd.  and Chick Springs Rd.

Upstate Police Reform: Tyre Nichols' death renewed calls for police reform. What do police leaders in SC think?

According to city officials, the new training facility will cost $17 million, and the fire station will cost $11 million.

Construction is set to begin on the training facility in late 2024, while a construction timeline for the fire station is currently unknown.

Greer’s city administrator Andy Merriman said that the two facilities are a huge improvement for the city in how they go about the city’s public safety.

"The goal is to ensure that we are putting our fire, emergency response facilities, equipment and personnel in a position to respond as quickly as possible," Merriman said.

Terry Benjamin II covers public safety and breaking news for The Greenville News and can be reached at [email protected] or on X @Terrybenji2 .

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Kushner Developing Deals Overseas Even as His Father-in-Law Runs for President

Donald Trump’s son-in-law, who was also a senior White House official, said he was close to finalizing real estate projects in Albania and Serbia.

By Eric Lipton ,  Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman

Reporting from Washington

Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Donald J. Trump, confirmed on Friday that he was closing in on major real estate deals in Albania and Serbia, the latest example of the former president’s family doing business abroad even as Mr. Trump seeks to return to the White House.

Mr. Kushner’s plans in the Balkans appear to have come about in part through relationships built while Mr. Trump was in office. Mr. Kushner, who was a senior White House official, said he had been working on the deals with Richard Grenell, who served briefly as acting director of national intelligence under Mr. Trump and also as ambassador to Germany and special envoy to the Balkans.

One of the proposed projects would be the development of an island off the coast of Albania into a luxury tourist destination.

A second — with a planned luxury hotel and 1,500 residential units and a museum — is in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, at the site of the long-vacant former headquarters of the Yugoslav Army destroyed in 1999 by the NATO bombings, according to a member of Parliament in Serbia and Mr. Kushner’s company.

These first two projects both involve land now controlled by the governments, meaning a deal would have to be finalized with foreign governments.

A third project, also in Albania, would be built on the Zvërnec peninsula, a 1,000-acre coastal area in the south of Albania that is part of the resort community known as Vlorë, where several hotels and hundreds of villas would be built, according to the plan.

Mr. Kushner’s participation would be through his investment firm, Affinity Partners, which has $2 billion in funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, among other foreign investors. In a statement, an official with Affinity Partners said it had not been determined whether the Saudi funds might be a part of any project Mr. Kushner is considering in the Balkans.

“We are very excited,” Mr. Kushner said in an interview. “We have not finalized these deals, so they might not happen, but we have been working hard and are pretty close.”

Mr. Kushner set up his investment company after he left his White House job as a senior adviser. He capitalized on relationships he had built in government negotiating in the Middle East, which included a close relationship with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.

Mr. Kushner ended up securing the $2 billion from the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia and hundreds of millions of dollars more from wealth funds in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar . He has taken few public steps so far to actually invest large chunks of this money.

Mr. Grenell also made valuable connections while in government, including some that appear to have given the Kushner team an inside track for investments in the Balkans. During his time in the Trump administration, Mr. Grenell worked on resolving disputes between Serbia and Kosovo.

These discussions indirectly involved Albania, as most citizens of Kosovo are ethnic Albanians and Albania plays a role in the regional discussions.

Mr. Grenell has remained close with Mr. Trump since the former president left office, defending him publicly and speaking to him regularly.

Mr. Grenell has said privately that he hopes to be secretary of state in a second Trump administration, according to a person who has discussed the matter with Mr. Grenell and who described the conversations on the condition of anonymity.

Mr. Grenell, in an interview, declined to address on the record any interest in potentially taking a post as secretary of state. He said only that he had not decided whether he would join any future Trump administration.

Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, which tracked business deals it considered conflicts of interest during the Trump administration, said these planned deals were unethical and would only raise new questions about the Trump family, particularly if Mr. Trump was re-elected.

“At this point in the election cycle Jared Kushner should freeze any new investment plans,” Mr. Weissman said. “This particular investment plan seems to involve the worst of every corrupt tendency of the Trump administration and Trump family.”

The Trump family’s involvement in foreign business deals became a major focus during Mr. Trump’s term, with critics ultimately suing and alleging that the family was illegally profiting from foreign payments — referred to as emoluments in the Constitution — while Mr. Trump was in office. These cases were dismissed as moot by the Supreme Court when Mr. Trump left office, but they could be reopened if he was back in the White House.

Since leaving office, Mr. Trump has become a partner in a development project in Oman , a deal he was brought into by a Saudi real estate firm that has ties to the Saudi government.

Mr. Kushner rejected any suggestion that he was getting preferential treatment because of his time in the government, or that any of the work was connected to the former president.

“No one is ‘giving’ me deals,” said Mr. Kushner, who insisted he was not planning to return to Washington should his father-in-law win the presidency again. “I operate fairly meticulously, and these investments will create a lot of value for the local communities, our partners and our investors.”

Representatives for Mr. Trump did not respond to multiple emails seeking comment.

Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, have largely stayed away from Mr. Trump’s political activities since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

The New York Times first approached Mr. Kushner on Wednesday morning about his prospective projects in the Balkans. He initially declined to answer questions, responding only after he disclosed his plans to Bloomberg News on Friday.

Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump visited Albania twice since Mr. Trump left office. They traveled the country with Mr. Grenell, and even met with Albania’s prime minister .

Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump, along with Mr. Grenell, have been focused in part on Sazan, a Mediterranean island in the south of Albania that until the end of the Cold War had been used by the Soviet Union and the Communist-led government of Albania as a secretive military base for submarines. The plan is to build a luxury hotel and villas on the island.

The rugged two-square-mile island has hundreds of Cold War-era bunkers and tunnels designed to withstand nuclear attack and has been largely vacant since the end of the Soviet Union. But it is only a half-hour by speedboat from Vlorë, a resort destination in southern Albania where the government of Saudi Arabia is already spending money to improve electricity service and other public utilities to help promote tourism in Albania.

Mr. Grenell, a former Fox News contributor and media consultant, has been working closely with Mr. Kushner and his investment firm.

Mr. Grenell has been vocal about his efforts to turn relationships he built in Albania and elsewhere in the Balkans into personal profits. He has returned to the region repeatedly and met with hotel industry executives, as well as Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama.

“We are looking for opportunities to invest through foreign investment in the Balkans, but more specifically in Albania, and the Albanian coast is wonderful,” Mr. Grenell said in one of a series of television and newspaper interviews he has done in Albania in the last three years.

The day-to-day management of the projects would be handled by Asher Abehsera, a California-based real estate developer who has done projects in Brooklyn with Mr. Kushner, and who traveled to the Balkans with Mr. Grenell and Mr. Kushner to check out the development sites, Mr. Kushner said.

Mr. Grenell added in a nearly 90-minute television interview in Albania last year that there was nothing wrong with his deal making because he was now out of government. “I’m working on projects, private equity projects, that I get to make money on,” he said. “No one should ever apologize for wanting to make money.”

Last July, Mr. Grenell, along with Ivanka Trump and Mr. Kushner, also met with Mr. Rama in Tirana, the capital of Albania, and they were all photographed together.

Mr. Rama has been pushing for nearly a decade to open Sazan up to redevelopment as a tourist destination, as well as looking for other ways to attract foreign investors to Albania to expand its tourist economy.

Auron Tare, a former member of Parliament in Albania who has served as an adviser to Mr. Rama, took Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner to Sazan Island in 2021 as part of a visit of Albania that included a cruise on a yacht and a helicopter trip across the coast.

Mr. Tare, in an interview, said he discussed with Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump the desire to develop Sazan, but to do so in a way that would preserve its history and environment.

Mr. Kushner and Mr. Grenell have been working closely with a billionaire Albanian business executive named Shefqet Kastrati and his son, Musa Kastrati. Their investments include a concession to run the international airport in Tirana, a chain of gas stations in Albania and hotels and other businesses, according to business associates and Mr. Kushner.

“They have helped us understand the cost of construction and how to operate locally,” Mr. Kushner said in an interview.

In October 2022, Shefqet Kastrati bought a $7.5 million house in Indian Creek, Fla., land records show, a property that is near where Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner now live. The Kastrati family also last year purchased a hotel in the Brickell section of Miami for $55 million from the Qatari royal family.

Musa Kastrati, in an interview, said that the role his family company would play in Mr. Kushner’s Albanian projects was still not clear, but that it would probably involve helping build some of the complexes. Mr. Kastrati also confirmed that he visited Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s Florida resort and residence, in December 2022 with Mr. Grenell and that he also briefly met Mr. Trump when the former president arrived as they were having dinner. Mr. Kastrati said he did not discuss the potential deal with Mr. Trump.

Mr. Grenell has repeatedly taken to Instagram and other social media accounts to promote tourism in Albania and to praise Mr. Rama, the prime minister.

“I support Rama’s vision for the Balkans,” Mr. Grenell said in a television interview in 2021 , after he met with another hotel industry executive in Albania named Irfan Hysenbelliu. “I love Albania and I invite U.S. investors in the country.”

The government of Saudi Arabia recently announced that it was looking for ways to increase its investment in Albania, first by helping build water, electricity and sewer services next to beach areas in Vlorë, which is the launching point to Sazan and where a new international airport is already being built. It has said it wants to invest up to $300 million in the nation .

Earlier this month, Saudi officials traveled to Albania to announce the creation of what they are calling the Saudi-Albania Business Council “to forge a new economic partnership between the two countries,” including in tourist projects. The Saudi chairman of the group, Abdulrahman Al-Mufarreh, did not respond to requests for comment.

Michael S. Schmidt contributed reporting.

Eric Lipton is an investigative reporter, who digs into a broad range of topics from Pentagon spending to toxic chemicals. More about Eric Lipton

Jonathan Swan is a political reporter covering the 2024 presidential election and Donald Trump’s campaign. More about Jonathan Swan

Maggie Haberman is a senior political correspondent reporting on the 2024 presidential campaign, down ballot races across the country and the investigations into former President Donald J. Trump. More about Maggie Haberman

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Biden-harris administration announces preliminary terms with intel to support investment in u.s. semiconductor technology leadership and create tens of thousands of jobs, office of public affairs.

U.S. Department of Commerce Proposes up to $8.5 Billion in Potential Direct Funding for Intel Under President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to Support Multiple Projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce and Intel Corporation have reached a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) to provide up to $8.5 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen the U.S. supply chain and re-establish American leadership in semiconductor manufacturing. Leading-edge logic chips are essential to the world’s most advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, and this proposed funding would help ensure more of those chips are developed and made domestically. As President Biden highlighted in his State of the Union, the CHIPS and Science Act is charting a new course to manufacture critical technologies in America, lead the world in innovation, and create good jobs here in the United States. This is the Department of Commerce’s fourth PMT announcement under the CHIPS and Science Act.

Over the course of the next five years, Intel expects its investments in the United States to exceed $100 billion, as it expands capacity and capabilities in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon, estimated to directly create over 10,000 manufacturing jobs and nearly 20,000 construction jobs. The Biden Administration’s proposed CHIPS investment, coupled with Intel’s investment, would mark one of the largest investments ever announced in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. The PMT also includes approximately $50 million in dedicated funding to develop the company’s semiconductor and construction workforce. This builds upon Intel’s own workforce investments, totaling over $250 million in the past five years, as well as its strong partnerships with local communities, community colleges, universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and apprenticeship programs.

“There is no one who cares more about revitalizing American manufacturing than President Biden, and today’s announcement is a massive step towards ensuring America’s leadership in manufacturing for the 21st century. With this agreement, we are helping to incentivize over $100 billion in investments from Intel – marking one of the largest investments ever in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, which will create over 30,000 good-paying jobs and ignite the next generation of innovation,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo . “This announcement is the culmination of years of work by President Biden and bipartisan efforts in Congress to ensure that the leading-edge chips we need to secure our economic and national security are made in the U.S.”

Leading-edge chips power the most sophisticated technology on the planet, including developing AI and building critical military capabilities. Intel’s process technologies such as Intel 18A and advanced packaging technologies, combined with its foundry services, would better enable U.S. companies to lead the AI industry by ensuring we have a domestic supply of these advanced chips.

“The CHIPS for America program will bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S. and create a vital R&D ecosystem to keep it here,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio . “The innovation sparked by this proposed investment would strengthen America’s technological and research leadership and significantly help enhance our nation’s manufacturing capacity while strengthening communities and creating good-paying jobs.”

“Today is a defining moment for the U.S. and Intel as we work to power the next great chapter of American semiconductor manufacturing innovation,” said Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger . “AI is supercharging the digital revolution and everything digital needs semiconductors. CHIPS Act support will help to ensure that Intel and the U.S. stay at the forefront of the AI era as we build a resilient and sustainable semiconductor supply chain to power our nation’s future.”

This proposed investment would deliver on the Administration's commitment to developing a robust domestic semiconductor ecosystem by reinforcing Intel's decades-long history in the United States. The investment will also enable the company to support industry-leading, U.S.-based fabless semiconductor companies with U.S.-based leading-edge production. The proposed CHIPS funding would strengthen all major technical processes for leading-edge chips to occur in the United States, including proposed investments in:

• Chandler, Arizona: Construction of two new leading-edge logic fabs and modernization of one existing fab, significantly increasing leading-edge logic capacity, including high volume domestic production of Intel 18A – the company’s most advanced chip design that enables higher performing, leading-edge chips through RibbonFET gate-all-around transistors and PowerVia backside power delivery. The company will produce the first Intel 18A product, called Clearwater Forest, at its Arizona facilities. In 2022, Intel partnered with Maricopa County Community Colleges to launch a first-of-its-kind program with Intel employee-instructors to provide students an entry point into semiconductor technician careers. This investment will support 3,000 manufacturing jobs and 6,000 construction jobs.
• Rio Rancho, New Mexico: Modernization of two fabs into advanced packaging facilities to close an important gap in the domestic semiconductor supply chain. When in full production, this facility will be the largest advanced packaging facility in the United States. To support engineering students in New Mexico, Intel established endowment scholarships at five colleges and universities and has supported STEAM education through investments, annual grants, and hands-on learning kits benefitting students living on indigenous lands. This investment will support 700 manufacturing jobs and 1,000 construction jobs.
• New Albany, Ohio: Creation of a new regional chipmaking ecosystem, anchored by the construction of two leading-edge logic fabs, expanded leading-edge foundry capacity, and supply chain diversification. Intel has devoted significant resources to develop a pipeline of skilled workers in Ohio, funding over 80 institutions of higher education across the state, including community colleges, HBCUs, and universities. As part of this investment in Ohio, Intel’s design and build partner Bechtel signed a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with the North America Building Trades Unions for the construction of the two facilities. This investment will support 3,000 manufacturing jobs and 7,000 construction jobs.
• Hillsboro, Oregon: Investment in the premier hub of leading-edge development in the United States through the expansion and modernization of technology development facilities that will utilize the world’s first High NA EUV lithography equipment. The Gordon Moore Park campus at Ronler Acres in Hillsboro, Oregon, is the heart of Intel’s innovation hub for leading-edge semiconductor research and technology development in the United States. These investments will further the company’s technological leadership and enable the continued development of new innovations. In 2022, Intel spent more than $4 billion with more than 500 suppliers across Oregon. This investment will support several thousand manufacturing and construction jobs.

Intel currently uses 100% renewable electricity in U.S. fabs and has achieved net-positive water status in its U.S. operations through efficient water management, water reuse, and, in collaboration with local communities, investment in water restoration in local watersheds. In addition, as part of its broader workforce investment program, Intel has committed to providing affordable, accessible, high-quality child care for its workers across its facilities. For U.S. employees, Intel will be increasing the reimbursement amount and duration for its back-up care program and adding additional access to discounted primary child care providers, as well as access to a vetted network of child care providers. In addition, Intel will pilot a primary child care reimbursement program for non-exempt employees.

In addition to the proposed direct funding of up to $8.5 billion, the CHIPS Program Office would make up to $11 billion in loans – which is part of the $75 billion in loan authority provided by the CHIPS and Science Act – available to Intel under the PMT. The company has indicated that it is planning to claim the Department of the Treasury’s Investment Tax Credit, which is expected to be up to 25% of qualified capital expenditures.

As explained in its first Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) , the Department may offer applicants a PMT on a non-binding basis after satisfactory completion of the merit review of a full application. The PMT outlines key terms for a CHIPS incentives award, including the amount and form of the award. The award amounts are subject to due diligence and negotiation of a long-form term sheet and award documents and are conditional on the achievement of certain milestones and remain subject to availability of funds. After the PMT is signed, the Department begins a comprehensive due diligence process on the proposed projects and continues negotiating or refining certain terms with the applicant. The terms contained in the long-form term sheet and the final award documents may differ from the terms of the PMT being announced today.

About CHIPS for America

The Department has received more than 620 statements of interest, more than 170 pre-applications and full applications for NOFO 1, and more than 160 small supplier concept plans for NOFO 2. The Department is continuing to conduct rigorous evaluation of applications to determine which projects will advance U.S. national and economic security, attract more private capital, and deliver other economic benefits to the country. The announcement with Intel is the fourth PMT announcement the Department of Commerce has made under the CHIPS and Science Act, with additional PMT announcements expected to follow throughout 2024.

CHIPS for America is part of President Biden’s economic plan to invest in America, stimulate private sector investment, create good-paying jobs, make more in the United States, and revitalize communities left behind. CHIPS for America includes the CHIPS Program Office, responsible for manufacturing incentives, and the CHIPS Research and Development Office, responsible for R&D programs, that both sit within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the Department of Commerce. NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. NIST is uniquely positioned to successfully administer the CHIPS for America program because of the bureau’s strong relationships with U.S. industries, its deep understanding of the semiconductor ecosystem, and its reputation as fair and trusted. Visit https://www.chips.gov to learn more.

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New Report Examines Progress on Global Sustainable Development Goals

Credit: Students in Nepal's Chitlang. Both Nomads/Forus

NEW YORK, Mar 21 2024 (IPS) - At the half-way point of the 2030 Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) “ are in deep trouble .” The need to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals has never been more urgent as only approximately 12% of targets are currently on track. “Planet” is equally at risk as “people” .

As civil society leader Mavalow Christelle Kalhoule, Forus Chair and President of SPONG, the Burkina Faso NGO network, puts it, “What unfolds in the Sahel and in so many other forgotten communities ripples across the globe, impacting us all even if we choose to look away. Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals is vital to unlock a different future.”

The new “Progressing National SDGs Implementation” report looks at how countries around the world are advancing in their efforts towards sustainable development. The 2023 edition of the report is particularly significant as it marks the midpoint towards the 2030 Agenda’s goals, and the “world is not delivering”.

The report, which has been published since 2017, looks at crucial aspects such as governance, civil society involvement and space, localization, the importance of policy coherence, and the principle of Leaving No One Behind.

To compile the analysis, the report combines official Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) submitted by member states with spotlight and alternative assessments, which aim to offer a more complete picture of national progress, particularly with respect to the fundamental 2030 Agenda principle to leave no one behind.

The report highlights that while more countries are engaging in ‘whole of government’ planning to implement the SDGs, at the same time many of the same countries do not ensure a wider ‘whole of society’ approach that involves civil society partners in delivery of the 2030 Agenda.

The report calls for a renewed global commitment to the SDGs, with a focus on:

Oli Henman from Action for Sustainable Development said: “We need to ensure that SDG reviews are genuinely inclusive of all parts of society and that national plans are backed up with real steps towards financing implementation at the community level. This to the only way that the world can get back on track to deliver the transformative change that was promised in 2015.”

Wangu Mwangi, a seasoned environmental journalist and expert in sustainable development, has authored the Progressing National SDG Implementation Report 2023, drawing on her extensive experience in sustainable development, land governance, natural resources management, climate change adaptation, and African development.

This report was coordinated by A4SD, in collaboration with ANND, BOND, Cooperation Canada, CPDE, Forus, IISD , Save The Children UK, and Sightsavers.

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