FOCUS ON FIJI
Pope forced to pull out of COP28 trip because of health issues Vatican City (Reuters) – Pope Francis has cancelled his planned trip to the COP28 climate meeting in Dubai because of the effects of influenza and lung inflammation, the Vatican said on Tuesday, adding to concerns about his health. The pope, who is 86, was due to begin a three-day visit to Dubai on Friday and the Vatican had said earlier on Tuesday that he was going ahead with the trip. “Although the Holy Father’s general clinical condition has improved with regard to the flu and inflammation of the respiratory tract, doctors have asked the pope not to
make the trip planned for the coming days to Dubai,” the Vatican said. The pope had agreed not to travel “with great regret,” it added, saying that it would look into ways that the leader of the world’s Roman Catholics could contribute to the discussions remotely. In a briefing earlier on Tuesday, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni had said Francis would deliver one of the keynote speeches in Dubai on Saturday and have bilateral meetings the same day with about 30 people, including about 20 heads of state. The pope had also met
with Spanish bishops visiting the Vatican on Tuesday. CONCERN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT The pope has made protection of the environment one of the cornerstones of his pontificate. In a document issued in October, Francis had appealed to climate change deniers and foot-dragging politicians to have a change of heart, saying they cannot gloss over its human causes or deride scientific facts while the planet “may be nearing the breaking point”. Francis also said the transition to clean, renewable
energy and the abandonment of fossil fuels was not going fast enough. The Vatican had announced on Monday the pope would limit his activities this week in order to conserve his strength after contracting the flu. A CT scan done at a Rome hospital on Saturday excluded pneumonia but detected inflammation in the pope’s lungs that caused breathing difficulties. He was receiving antibiotics intravenously, the Vatican said on Monday. As a young man in his native Argentina, Francis had part of a lung removed.
More investment Automated Clearing House goes live; needed to address allows instant interbank transactions gender-based violence – Puna
The new National Payment System’s Automated Clearing House (ACH) is now live, which means bank customers are able to carry out instant interbank transactions up to a specified limit. These transactions can be carried out between one bank to another, 24 hours a day and seven days a week; and applicable for those banks that had implemented straightthrough processing in its own environment. The Reserve Bank of Fiji announced the go live of the ACH this week, marking the culmination of the banking industry and the central bank’s collective efforts over the last three years to digitally transform Fiji’s payment system, and increase efficiency to support the domestic economy. RBF governor Ariff Ali says the ACH is the second of two major components introduced – the first being the Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS), and the Central Securities Depository launched in November last year.
Mr Aki said businesses were expected to see efficiencies in operations attributed to reduced cash handling costs, increased speed of operations, quicker and improved payment processing because of interoperability between the banks and the implementation of straightthrough processing. He said the system would form the pipeline for channeling approximately $200billion worth of transactions annually. “Increased interoperability is fundamental to driving payments efficiency. We saw a dramatic increase in transactions with the launch of the upgraded RTGS and anticipate this to
grow even further within the first few months after this go live,” Mr Ali said in a statement. “This improved infrastructure will help bolster business and retail transactions since it has the potential to handle increased volumes of digital payments seamlessly.” Westpac chief executive Shane Smith said the second phase of the NPS project provided an exciting opportunity for banks and customers to see the effects of having a payment system that provided fast and efficient exchange of funds within a reasonable timeframe. BSP Country Head and current Association
of Banks (ABIF) in Fiji Chairman Haroon Ali said all Fijians would enjoy the wide-ranging benefits of the ACH facility. “Some significant advantages it delivers include the immediate availability and readiness of funds for transactions between customers, irrespective of whether these occur within or outside standard business hours. For instance, individuals can promptly access their wages/salaries, and utilise them on the same day. Similarly, small businesses can expect improved cash flow management with the elimination of processing delays,” Mr Ali said. Mr Ali said the RBF, with the assistance of its development partner – International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, had consulted and collaborated extensively with the ABIF and Montran Corporation, the vendors of the system, on the business processes, technology and infrastructure to enable a successful go live.
AI threat demands new approach to security designs -US official Ottawa (Reuters) – The potential threat posed by the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) means safeguards need to be built in to systems from the start rather than tacked on later, a top U.S. official said on Monday. “We’ve normalized a world where technology products come off the line full of vulnerabilities and then consumers are expected to patch those
vulnerabilities. We can’t live in that world with AI,” said Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “It is too powerful, it is moving too fast,” she said in a telephone interview after holding talks in Ottawa with Sami Khoury, head of Canada’s Centre for Cyber Security. Easterly spoke the same day that agencies from 18
40 — THE BRISBANE INDIAN TIMES, December, 2023
countries, including the United States, endorsed new British-developed guidelines on AI cyber security that focus on secure design, development, deployment and maintenance. “We have to look at security throughout the lifecycle of that AI capability,” Khoury said. Earlier this month, leading AI developers agreed to work with governments to test new frontier models
before they are released to help manage the risks of the rapidly developing technology. “I think we have done as much as we possibly could do at this point in time, to help come together with nations around the world, with technology companies, to set out from a technical perspective how to build these build these capabilities as securely and safely as possible,” said Easterly.
With the awareness of the prevalence of violence against women and girls in the Pacific region, the Pacific Islands Forum has called for more investment into this area of addressing gender-based violence. PIF secretary-general Henry Puna made the comment as the world commemorates the 2023 United Nations 16 days of activism. He said the theme this year – ‘Invest to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls’ – was a timely one for the Blue Pacific Continent. “We all know that a Blue Pacific Continent that is thriving and working towards achieving our leaders 2050 vision for a resilient Pacific region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion, and prosperity must include our women and girls in all their diversity,” Mr Puna said. “Investing to prevent gender-based violence must involve our families and communities. “Survivors of violence must receive the services required. “Perpetrators must be held to account. “An essential part of accountability is confidence in the security and rule of law offered by our governments. It also includes continued advocacy and the involvement of men and boys.
“We need continued support for initiatives that work, as we know that intergenerational change takes time.” Mr Puna said to invest in preventing gender-based violence and violence against women and girls was to invest in families, clans, tribes, and communities – “to ensure that all citizens of our Blue Pacific Continent can contribute to building our communities, countries, and region; to accelerate action to take a solid and united stand against violence in all its forms”. “As we call for more investment, more action, and more solutions, let us also recognise the efforts of all those who have been at the forefront of addressing gender-based violence in our region, including feminists and women’s rights activists who have often been the target of harassment and intimidation because of their work.” At the regional level, Mr Puna said the Forum leaders had endorsed the 2050 Strategy Implementation Plan (IP) and the revitalised Pacific Leaders Gender Equality Declaration. “These two critical regional frameworks provide the impetus for us to continue to collectively invest our time and resources to ensure that we work towards a Blue Pacific Continent that is safe and free for all.”
