Latest news with #Cummings
2 days ago
- Health
Situation in Gaza is 'catastrophic,' Save the Children's humanitarian director says
As the Israel -Hamas war drags on with little progress on ceasefire efforts, more than 100 organizations are warning of 'mass starvation' in Gaza. Save the Children Gaza Humanitarian Director Rachael Cummings said Sunday that 'the situation in Gaza is catastrophic for children and increasingly now for adults.' Cummings, who has been based in Gaza since early 2024, said conditions at Save the Children's clinics in Gaza are reaching new levels of crisis, and she expects the numbers of malnourished to rise. 'In the first two weeks of July, we've seen exactly the same number of children we saw in the whole of June, and we're expecting that trajectory, sadly, to increase," she said. "The number of children who are malnourished -- very concerningly, pregnant women, women who are breastfeeding are also malnourished." "But this morning, I went to our clinic in Deir Al-Balah, about 10 minutes from where I am right now. It was absolutely packed, and it was a scene I had never witnessed before, and I've been working in this sector for over 20 years in the whole of Africa, in various places around the world. And every child in the health center today was malnourished, but also every adult was extremely thin, gaunt-looking, exhausted. The situation is absolutely terrible here,' Cummings said. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 30,000 children under 5 are now malnourished. The crisis, however, isn't just in the streets, where people are trying to collect food and water from distribution vans, but also in Gaza's hospitals and health care centers, Cummings said. Famine has caused many to seek help, given the mounting health complications endured by those in the city. "And for months I've said, how can it get worse for children? It cannot get any worse for children, but apparently, yes, it can get worse for children. And now, we are seeing all of the coping mechanisms that families have deployed within -- with mothers eating less than three meals a day to two meals a day, to one meal a day. Now, they're not having a meal a day. And this is very, very concerning. And this is at scale,' Cummings said. Israel began new airdrops of humanitarian aid this weekend, though Cummings said she had concerns whether that will be effective enough to get people things like food, medicine and hygiene supplies. "We welcome the humanitarian supplies entering Gaza, of course. And we need to do that in a controlled manner. Airdrops are not in a controlled manner, and one airdrop is equal to around one truck,' Cummings said. "So we need to bring in humanitarian supplies, supplies over land through the recognized routes. We need the U.N. system be enabled to manage the distributions." Israel announced on Friday plans to begin new airdrops of humanitarian aid, though Cummings had concerns whether that will be effective enough to get people things like food, medicine and hygiene supplies. 'Airdrops are not in a controlled manner, and one airdrop is equal to around one truck,' Cummings said. On Sunday, Israel announced a "tactical" military pause in three areas in Gaza. Israel said that it would allow the United Nations and other aid organizations into 'secure' regions to deliver food and medicine. 'We know as Save the Children, as humanitarian agencies, how to do safe and dignified distributions. So yes, we welcome the fact that now the U.N. is allowed to bring in humanitarian supplies, including food, including medicines, including nutrition commodities, and including hygiene supplies,' Cummings said.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
James Cummings prepares for move to train in Hong Kong with final Melbourne runners at Caulfield in the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes on Saturday
James Cummings is left only with a lifetime of Melbourne racing and training memories to cherish. The iconic Flemington stable, Carbine Lodge, has all but been emptied now, along with mantelpieces which proudly showcased Godolphin success under Cummings's watch. Only three horses remain in the yard, Kin, Inhibitions and Kallos, ahead of the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) on Saturday at Caulfield – his last runners in Melbourne. Cummings, in Sydney on Saturday to saddle two at Randwick, cannot pack into boxes what is going to be missed the most before a move to train in Hong Kong next year. Flemington, the racecourse and its people – most importantly the loyal Carbine Lodge team but also resident trainers and participants alike, past and present. 'I'll miss the team, a really amazing team that have been assembled and developed a great passion for the horses,' Cummings said. 'They see the horses leave, they're horses that they love … it bubbles a bit of emotion to the surface. 'Seeing that makes you appreciate that even more … missing the team will be the biggest thing. 'We've had really lovely pedigrees, outstanding horses come through the stable, but you know, the horses do come and go. 'The longevity of people that have been here to see the ebbs and flows of the stable … we cherish that … and so that makes it particularly difficult.' Cummings shared a moment with Reg Fleming on Wednesday night in Melbourne. Fleming, who served as foreman for Cups King Bart Cummings, has been a mainstay at Flemington. 'I've always been in his orbit in a way, whether it's growing up from afar in Sydney,' Cumming said. 'His relationship and devotion really to my grandfather and then being a colleague of his … Reg and a number of other staff have been around a long time.' Cummings has upheld a family tradition for top-class success in Melbourne, particularly Flemington. Cummings has saddled 13 of 52 Group 1 wins at Flemington including three Newmarket Handicaps, two Australian Cups, two VRC Oaks and the Victoria Derby before the successful Godolphin chapter. Cummings's father Anthony (Oaks and Derby) and older brother Edward (Australian Cup) boast top class Flemington honours. Bart's deeds remain peerless – 13 Australian Cups, 12 Melbourne Cups, 11 Mackinnon (Champions) Stakes, nine VRC Oaks and eight Newmarket Handicaps among others. 'It's been a very special place to our family,' Cummings said. 'To say it's been a privilege to train here is an understatement really, it truly has been a privilege and more. 'The trophies, that are not quite in the mantelpieces anymore as they've been boxed up, but it's more than just the trophies to show for those great results here. 'There are amazing pedigrees that have been updated and improved by those results, stallions at stud, stallions on the roster, broodmares at stud … and great memories.' Cummings has always held the Flemington mounting yard in the highest esteem. 'The theatre there and the drama and club feel,' Cummings said. 'To think back to those times (big race days), the place looks amazing and it feels like a very privileged place to be, in the thick of the action. 'I'd say that mounting yard encapsulates … everything about Flemington, doesn't it, everything's done well, and plenty of space, and it's a great cauldron, a great test for a horse, as much as it's a cauldron it's spacious. 'There's pressure and everyone's there and you know, the competition couldn't be much stronger … lucky to be a part of it.' Cox Plate success in 2022 with Anamoe at The Valley stamped Cummings's own legacy and avenged a contentious defeat the previous year, a benefit arguably in hindsight. Anamoe was second past the post by a hair margin in the 2021 but sustained interference from Irish raider and Cox Plate winner State Of Rest. Stewards dismissed the high-stakes protest after submissions from all parties. 'In a funny way, it probably opened up his entire four-year-old career because he had something to come back to prove and we got to see so much more of him as a result,' Cummings said. 'If you can remain upbeat and circumspect about those things that just go against you a little bit you give yourself the opportunity to make good and he got his chance for retribution. 'Everybody is better off as a consequence and he set himself up beautifully for the next phase of his career.' • Shinn tightens grips on jockeys' title at Sandown Cummings confirmed the personal and professional importance of a Melbourne spring major Cox Plate. 'I'd won a Slipper and Doncaster in Sydney, very important to get a major in Melbourne … you don't get too many opportunities at those sorts of races,' Cummings said. 'That was an amazing day (2022 Cox Plate) and an amazing race to look back on … it gave the entire team a huge uplift … imagine that day, the next day, next few weeks, people walking out in blue (Godolphin) jackets being congratulated for the feats of that champion horse. 'It's important to celebrate your wins … as much as you resist feeling the difficult days too much, it's inevitable you will still feel the disappointments and those feelings are bitter feelings. 'If you can, I think, without getting carried away, balance that out with celebrating big days. I think that's really proved to be a really good recipe for team culture and your longevity at that level.' Cummings has to keep winning races next year in Hong Kong, if nothing else but to appease his and wife Monica's four children under 10. 'They think I've got hundreds of trophies,' Cummings laughed. 'That's their view of (racing) seeing the trophies come home, but they're probably a bit young, the oldest is 10, so a bit on the younger side to be fully immersed in the ins and outs of the industry. 'Show and tell has been good for the five year old. She's enjoyed taking the odd trophy in. 'There's a few trophies stashed away in drawers as well as on display (at home) … but they'll have to be packed away. I can't take them all.'
RTÉ News
7 days ago
- Health
- RTÉ News
Starving Gaza children say they wish to die, charity says
Children in Gaza have told the charity 'Save the Children' that they wish to die because they cannot access food and clean water, according to the charity's humanitarian director Rachel Cummings. Speaking on RTÉ's News At One, Ms Cummings said the war in Gaza has inflicted an enormous toll on the mental health of Palestinian children. "We have children in our child friendly spaces, where we provide psychological support, sharing with us that they now wish to die because there is food and water in heaven. "And their family members, their mothers and fathers, are there and they wish to be with them," she said. "It is absolutely catastrophic the impact that this is having immediately on children, but this medium and longer-term impact on children is really, really concerning," she added. The charity has also observed many children and pregnant and breast-feeding women showing signs of malnutrition. Ms Cummings said no food has been available to purchase in the market in Deir al-Balah over the last five days, which is typical of the wider situation in Gaza. She added her team working in the territory also cannot find or buy food. "The situation gets worse and worse every day, which is impossible and incredible to think about. "This is symptomatic of the wider picture being that people don't have enough food to eat. "They're rationing food for their children and this is the situation in the whole of Gaza." People are 'hungry, exhausted and terrified' Ms Cummings said that everyone in Gaza is hungry, exhausted and terrified and have to make very difficult choices when it comes to food. "They're bulking out whatever food they have with water they know to be dirty, that they know may cause their children to be sick." Save the Children in Gaza is loated around 3km away from the area which Israel has demanded people evacuate from as it continues its air and ground attacks. Ms Cummings said they can hear "active" and "heavy" gunfire and bombardments. "There is nowhere safe in Gaza and people being displaced further south into al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, along the beach. "It's very, very congested already, overcrowded, and we know that people have nowhere to go. They have no means to move and people making the impossible decision to stay," she added.
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Business Standard
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- Business Standard
Tesla spars in court over autopilot alert 2 seconds before 2019 crash
Tesla is seeking to show a jury that the company's technology performed as it should and that the driver is fully to blame for running through a stop sign at a T intersection Bloomberg The final two seconds before a Tesla Model S crashed into a parked SUV took center stage Thursday in a court showdown over who's responsible for the 2019 collision — the distracted driver or his car's Autopilot system. Tesla is seeking to show a jury that the company's technology performed as it should and that the driver is fully to blame for running through a stop sign at a T intersection in the Florida Keys and ramming into a Chevrolet Tahoe, killing a woman who stood next to the SUV and seriously injuring her boyfriend. A three-week trial in Miami federal court over a suit filed by the woman's family and the boyfriend is putting close scrutiny on a decade-long experiment with semi-autonomous driving at Elon Musk's electric vehicle maker. A verdict against Tesla would be a blow at a time when the company is staking its future on self-driving and pushing to launch a long-promised robotaxi business. The first few days of the trial have taken jurors deep into how the technology works and what its limitations are. The company's lawyer, Joel Smith, pressed a key witness for the plaintiffs to agree that an audible alert 1.65 seconds before impact — when the car's automated steering function aborted — would have been enough time for the driver to avoid or at least mitigate the accident. Smith demonstrated what the alarm sounds like for jurors to hear. Data recovered from the car's computer shows that driver George McGee was pressing the accelerator to 17 miles (27.4 kilometers) per hour over the posted speed limit, leading him to override the vehicle's adaptive cruise control before he went off the road. He hit the brakes just .55 seconds before impact, but it remains in dispute whether he saw or heard warnings from the Model S while he was reaching to the floorboard for his dropped cell phone. Safety expert Mary 'Missy' Cummings, an engineering professor at George Mason University, acknowledged in her second day on the witness stand that McGee may have braked in response to the alert, but she suggested his reaction time was too slow to know for sure. Cummings, who has criticized Tesla's technology in the past and previously served as an adviser to the National Highway Safety Administration, didn't yield much to Smith's questioning. At one point the lawyer highlighted past comments by Musk, in which the Tesla chief executive officer said the use of 'beta' to describe the Autopilot system is meant to convey that the software is not a final product and to discourage drivers from 'complacency' and taking their hands off the steering wheel. 'I do not have any evidence in front of me that the word 'beta' is trying to communicate anything to drivers,' Cummings said. 'What it is trying to do, in my professional opinion, is avoid legal liability.' The jury also heard Thursday from an accident reconstruction specialist, Alan Moore, who argued that if Tesla had programmed its software not to operate on roadways it wasn't designed for — like the one on Key Largo — 'this crash would not have happened.' But he also testified that McGee had a history of disregarding alerts. Moore explained to jurors that Autopilot automatically disengages if a driver fails to put hands on the wheel after receiving three audible warnings. 'Almost every time he commuted from his office to his condo, he would get a strikeout,' Moore said. When that happened, McGee would pull over, put the car in park, shift it back into drive and turn Autopilot back on, the witness said. In his opening argument, Smith had said the data history for McGee showed that he'd safely traveled through the intersection where the crash happened almost 50 times in the same Model S. 'The only thing that changed was his driver behavior,' Smith told the jury. 'He dropped something and was trying to pick it up.'
Mint
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- Mint
Tesla Spars in Court Over Autopilot Alert 2 Seconds Before Crash
(Bloomberg) -- The final two seconds before a Tesla Model S crashed into a parked SUV took center stage Thursday in a court showdown over who's responsible for the 2019 collision — the distracted driver or his car's Autopilot system. Tesla is seeking to show a jury that the company's technology performed as it should and that the driver is fully to blame for running through a stop sign at a T intersection in the Florida Keys and ramming into a Chevrolet Tahoe, killing a woman who stood next to the SUV and seriously injuring her boyfriend. A three-week trial in Miami federal court over a suit filed by the woman's family and the boyfriend is putting close scrutiny on a decade-long experiment with semi-autonomous driving at Elon Musk's electric vehicle maker. A verdict against Tesla would be a blow at a time when the company is staking its future on self-driving and pushing to launch a long-promised robotaxi business. The first few days of the trial have taken jurors deep into how the technology works and what its limitations are. The company's lawyer, Joel Smith, pressed a key witness for the plaintiffs to agree that an audible alert 1.65 seconds before impact — when the car's automated steering function aborted — would have been enough time for the driver to avoid or at least mitigate the accident. Smith demonstrated what the alarm sounds like for jurors to hear. Data recovered from the car's computer shows that driver George McGee was pressing the accelerator to 17 miles (27.4 kilometers) per hour over the posted speed limit, leading him to override the vehicle's adaptive cruise control before he went off the road. He hit the brakes just .55 seconds before impact, but it remains in dispute whether he saw or heard warnings from the Model S while he was reaching to the floorboard for his dropped cell phone. Safety expert Mary 'Missy' Cummings, an engineering professor at George Mason University, acknowledged in her second day on the witness stand that McGee may have braked in response to the alert, but she suggested his reaction time was too slow to know for sure. Cummings, who has criticized Tesla's technology in the past and previously served as an adviser to the National Highway Safety Administration, didn't yield much to Smith's questioning. At one point the lawyer highlighted past comments by Musk, in which the Tesla chief executive officer said the use of 'beta' to describe the Autopilot system is meant to convey that the software is not a final product and to discourage drivers from 'complacency' and taking their hands off the steering wheel. 'I do not have any evidence in front of me that the word 'beta' is trying to communicate anything to drivers,' Cummings said. 'What it is trying to do, in my professional opinion, is avoid legal liability.' The jury also heard Thursday from an accident reconstruction specialist, Alan Moore, who argued that if Tesla had programmed its software not to operate on roadways it wasn't designed for — like the one on Key Largo — 'this crash would not have happened.' But he also testified that McGee had a history of disregarding alerts. Moore explained to jurors that Autopilot automatically disengages if a driver fails to put hands on the wheel after receiving three audible warnings. 'Almost every time he commuted from his office to his condo, he would get a strikeout,' Moore said. When that happened, McGee would pull over, put the car in park, shift it back into drive and turn Autopilot back on, the witness said. In his opening argument, Smith had said the data history for McGee showed that he'd safely traveled through the intersection where the crash happened almost 50 times in the same Model S. 'The only thing that changed was his driver behavior,' Smith told the jury. 'He dropped something and was trying to pick it up.' More stories like this are available on
