NewzIntel.com

Category: Americas

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Event dedicated to attracting international organisations to Paris Region (5 Mar. 2025)

    Source: Republic of France in English
    The Republic of France has issued the following statement:

    On Tuesday 4 March, Laurent Saint Martin, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad, brought together international organisations operating in the Paris Region in the presence of Alexandra Dublanche, Vice-President of the Paris Region. The event was organised in partnership with Choose Paris Region, Paris-Île de France Capitale Économique, Business France and the Agence Française de Développement group. It was an opportunity to highlight the attractiveness of France, and the Paris region (Ile-de-France) in particular, to international organisations.

    There are now seventy international organisations in Paris Region, representing an economic weight of €4.8 billion for the region and employing more than 11,500 people, according to a study by Paris-Île de France Capitale Économique. Regional and multilateral initiatives such as the Club OI and the Paris Dialogue are helping these organisations to establish themselves, as well as new players, think tanks, associations and foundations that are helping to create a dynamic and innovative ecosystem. A new guide to welcoming international organisations to Paris Region, produced by Choose Paris Region in partnership with the MEAE, has been added to this programme.

    International organisations are all key players in France’s policy of multilateralism in the fields of global issues, development financing, climate, artificial intelligence and innovation. France reaffirms its commitment to these international players and its desire to strengthen the instruments and facilities at their disposal.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Secretary Noem Honors Fallen Customs and Border Protection Agent and His Fellow Officers

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: Secretary Noem Honors Fallen Customs and Border Protection Agent and His Fellow Officers

    In November 2022, Agent Santiago, Agent Lamphere, and Agent Maceda intercepted a vessel 14 miles off the coast of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. The individuals on board were attempting to smuggle drugs into American communities. After the agents identified themselves as law enforcement, the drug traffickers opened fire. All three agents were hit. Despite his near fatal injuries, Agent Santiago gave lifesaving first aid care to Agent Lamphere and attempted to save Agent Maceda. That day, Agent Maceda made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our great nation. 

    Secretary Kristi Noem presented Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agent Jorge Santiago and Agent Mark Lamphere with the Medal of Valor and Purple Cross awards.” data-asset-id=”58999″ data-asset-link=”1″ data-asset-type=”imageasset” data-entity-type=”emerald” data-image-style=”medium” src=”https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/externals/146e5b3d68ce3a373b0615ff4dcd2018.jpg.webp?itok=5WENAoVu”>
    Secretary Kristi Noem presented Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agent Jorge Santiago and Agent Mark Lamphere with the Medal of Valor and Purple Cross awards. | View Original

    A statement from Secretary Noem is below: 

    “It was my honor to present CBP Agent Jorge Santiago and Agent Mark Lamphere with the Medal of Valor and Purple Cross awards. In November 2022, both men and their fellow CBP Agent Michael Maceda were shot by drug traffickers attempting to bring drugs into American communities. Tragically, Agent Maceda lost his life. Thank you to all of our law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to keep America safe.” 
    While in Puerto Rico, Secretary Noem also met with Governor Jennifer González-Colón to discuss partnership efforts to secure America’s maritime borders.  

    While in Puerto Rico, Secretary Noem also met with Governor Jennifer González-Colón to discuss partnership efforts to secure America’s maritime borders.” data-asset-id=”59000″ data-asset-link=”1″ data-asset-type=”imageasset” data-entity-type=”emerald” data-image-style=”medium” src=”https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/externals/d4981d754a8cc3a7c068473e1dbab984.jpg.webp?itok=L6-PO0i6″>
    While in Puerto Rico, Secretary Noem also met with Governor Jennifer González-Colón to discuss partnership efforts to secure America’s maritime borders. | View Original

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sealing the Deal

    Source: NASA

    Written by Melissa Rice, Professor of Planetary Science at Western Washington University 

    This week, the Perseverance team faced a stubborn engineering challenge. After successfully collecting a core called “Green Gardens” from the “Tablelands” location, the rover struggled to seal the sample tube, despite multiple attempts. This isn’t entirely unprecedented — for a previous sample called “Mageik,” it took 40 days before being successfully sealed. The Green Gardens core is particularly exciting for our science team because it contains serpentine minerals, which may have formed billions of years ago when water interacted with rocks before the Jezero crater impact. On Earth, serpentine-rich environments can support microbial communities, making this sample particularly important to understanding ancient Mars’ potential for life.  
    The science team was torn with competing priorities: sealing up Green Gardens as quickly as possible vs. continuing to our next important science stop, “Broom Point.” Several options were considered: (1) stay put and focus on sealing, (2) start driving and keep trying to seal Green Gardens on the road, or (3) dump the Green Gardens sample from the tube and try extracting another core at Tablelands (this was the most drastic option). The science team went with (2), a dual-track strategy that would allow us to keep mission momentum while giving our engineers time to develop new approaches to the sealing challenge. The risk was that option (2) would keep the Green Gardens sample open for potentially a long time — depending on how obstinate the sample sealing would be — leaving the rock core exposed to the harsh conditions of Mars’ surface. 
    It was a trade that mission scientists were willing to make, and Perseverance has been making impressive progress down the west side of Jezero crater’s rim. With a downhill tilt there of 16 degrees, rover imagery is providing sweeping views of the landscape ahead toward Broom Point, where the rover will be tasked with studying the bright bedrock bands in the week to come.  
    And our optimistic approach paid off, because — voila! — our latest attempt to seal Green Gardens worked! The image above shows the seal successfully topping the sample tube. The next time the science team sees Green Gardens will be in a laboratory here on Earth, when we will finally learn what story the serpentine minerals have to tell. Until then, this sample’s lips are sealed, so to speak. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sols 4473-4474: So Many Rocks, So Many Textures!

    Source: NASA

    Written by Susanne Schwenzer, Planetary Geologist at The Open University
    Earth planning date: Wednesday, March 5, 2025
    The Martian landscape never ceases to amaze me, there is so much variation in texture and color! As a mineralogist, I marvel at them, but my colleagues trained in sedimentology regularly teach me how to see even more than the beauty of them: they can discern whether the materials that make up a rock were transported and laid down by the action of water or wind. The image above shows a rather unusual texture alongside more normal-looking laminated rocks. Just compare the small, brighter block in the foreground with the darker bigger rock in the center of the image. How should we interpret it? Well, that jury is still out. Are they sedimentary textures formed when the rock first was laid down, or shortly after, or are they textures that formed much later when water entered the rock and formed new minerals in the already existing rock? The latter would be more my area of research, and they are often called concretions. And I vividly remember the first concretions a rover ever found, the “blueberries.” Curiosity, of course, found many concretions, too. There is an interesting comparison between rocks that the Mars Exploration rover Opportunity found, and the one that Curiosity found very early in the mission, back at Yellowknife Bay. We have seen many more since, and the above might be another example.
    The landscape directly around the rover today also has some interesting textures and, most important, some more regular-looking bedrock targets. Bedrock is what the team perceives to be the rocks that make up the part of the hill we are driving through. The dark blocks, like the one above, that are also strewn occasionally in the path of the rover are called float rocks, and we always look higher up into the hills to find out where they might have come from. As interesting as all those blocks and boulders are, they pose a huge challenge for the rover drivers. Today, they had managed to get us all the way to the intended stopping point, which in itself is a huge achievement. A mixture of large rocks and sand is just not conducive to any form of travel, and I always wonder how tiring it would be to just walk through the area. But we made it to the intended stopping point, driving just under 20 meters (about 65 feet), as intended. Unfortunately though, one of the rover’s wheels was perched on a rock in ways that posed a risk of dropping off that rock during an arm move. So, as is usual in those cases, we accept that contact science is not possible. The risk would just be too great that the rover moves just at the wrong moment and the arm bumps into the rock that an instrument is investigating at that moment. So, safety first, we decided to keep the arm tucked in and focus on remote science.
    The team quickly pivoted to add some remote science to the already existing observations. As you might imagine in a terrain as interesting as this, Mastcam did get a workout. There are seven different observations in the plan! It looks into the distance to the Texoli Butte we are observing as we drive along it, and at a target, “Brown Mountain.” Looking into the many different features are also imaging activities on the targets “Placerita Canyon,” “Humber Park,” and two others just named “trough,” which is a descriptive term for little trough features the team is tracking for a while with the quest to better understand their formation. ChemCam has a LIBS investigation on target “Inspiration Point,” and two long-distance RMI (Remote Micro Imager) observations. One is truly at a long distance on Gould Mesa, another of the mounts we are observing as we go along. There is another RMI activity closer to the rover, to investigate more of those very interesting structures.
    We also have environmental observations in the plan, observing the opacity of the atmosphere and of REMS investigations are occurring throughout the plan. REMS is our “weather station” measuring atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, winds, and ultraviolet radiation levels. DAN looks at the surface to measure the water and chlorine content in the rocks that the rover traverses over and RAD is looking up to the sky to measure the radiation that reaches the Martian surface. We do not often mention those in our blocks, because we are so used to seeing them there every single sol, doing their job, quietly in the background.
    With so much to do, the only remaining question was where to drive. That was discussed at length, weighing the different science reasons to go to places along the path, and after much deliberation we decided to go to one of the float rocks, but reserve the option to make a right turn in the next plan, to get to another interesting place. All those discussions are so important to make sure we are making the most of the power we have at this cold time of the year, and getting all the science we can get. I am excited to see the data from today’s plan… and to find out where we end up. Not with a wheel on a rock, please, Mars — that would be a good start. But if we do, I am absolutely confident there will be lots to investigate anyway!

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Engineers Install Orion Solar Array Wings for Artemis II

    Source: NASA

    Technicians with ESA (European Space Agency) and Airbus installed the four solar array wings on NASA’s Orion spacecraft for Artemis II on March 3. The solar array wings, attached to the service module, deploy after Orion reaches space to power the spacecraft.
    Orion’s service module provides propulsion, thermal control, and electrical power, as well as air and water for the crew during their mission around the Moon.
    Each solar array wing has 15,000 solar cells to convert sunlight to electricity and is nearly 23 feet in length when fully deployed. In space, the arrays can turn on two axes to remain aligned with the Sun.
    Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign. Through Artemis, the agency will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
    Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Scientific Mission on Space Station Concludes

    Source: NASA

    NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission with agency astronauts Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov is preparing to return to Earth following their science mission aboard the International Space Station. Hague, Williams, and Wilmore completed more than 900 hours of research between over 150 unique scientific experiments and technology demonstrations during their stay aboard the orbiting laboratory.
    Here’s a look at some scientific milestones accomplished during their journey:

    NASA astronaut Nick Hague processes samples for Arthrospira C, an investigation from ESA (European Space Agency) that transplants and grows Arthrospiramicro-algae eboard the International Space Station. These organisms conduct photosynthesis and could be used to convert carbon dioxide exhaled by crew members into oxygen, helping maintain a safe atmosphere inside spacecraft. Arthrospira also could provide fresh food on long-duration space missions.

    Researchers are testing the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device (E4D), a modular device that combines cycling, rowing, and resistance exercises to help keep crews healthy on long-duration missions. A single, small device effective at countering bone and muscle loss and improving cardiovascular health is needed for use on future spacecraft such as the Gateway lunar space station. NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore works on installing the device aboard the International Space Station ahead of its evaluation.

    This red romaine lettuce growing in the International Space Station’s Advanced Plant Habitat is part of Plant Habitat-07, a study of how different moisture levels affect the microbial communities in plants and water. Results could show how less-than-ideal conditions affect plant growth and help scientists design systems to produce safe and nutritious food for crew members on future space journeys.

    Packed bed reactors are systems that “pack” materials such as pellets or beads inside a structure to increase contact between any liquids and gasses flowing through it. NASA astronaut Suni Williams installs hardware for the Packed Bed Reactor Experiment: Water Recovery Series (PBRE-WRS) investigation, which examines how gravity affects these systems aboard the International Space Station. Results could help scientists design better reactors for water recovery, thermal management, fuel cells, and other applications.

    During the Residence Time Driven Flame Spread (SOFIE-RTDFS) investigation at the International Space Station, this sheet of clear acrylic plastic burns at higher oxygen levels and half the standard pressure of Earth’s atmosphere. From left to right, the image sequence shows a side and top view of the fuel and the oxygen slowly diffusing into the flame. Studying the spread of flames in microgravity could help improve safety on future missions.

    During a recent spacewalk, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore swabbed the exterior of the International Space Station for ISS External Microorganisms, an investigation exploring whether microorganisms leave the spacecraft through its vents and, if so, which ones survive. Humans carry microorganisms along with them wherever they go, and this investigation could help scientists take steps to limit microbial spread to places like the Moon and Mars.

    NASA astronaut Nick Hague exercises on the International Space Station’s Advanced Resistive Exercise Device while wearing the Bio-Monitor vest and headband. This set of garments contains sensors that unobtrusively collect data such as heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and temperature. The data supports studies on human health, including Vascular Aging, a CSA (Canadian Space Agency) investigation that monitors cardiovascular function in space.

    NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore works with hardware for InSPA Auxilium Bioprinter, a study that tests 3D printing of an implantable medical device that could facilitate recovery from peripheral nerve damage, a type of injury that can cause sensory and motor issues. In microgravity, this manufacturing technique produces higher-quality devices that may perform better, benefitting crew members on future long-duration missions and patients back home.

    A deployer attached to the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module launches LignoSat into space. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) developed the satellite to test using wood as a more sustainable alternative to conventional satellite materials. Researchers previously exposed different woods to space and chose magnolia as the best option for the study, including sensors to evaluate the wood’s strain and its response to temperature and radiation. Researchers also are monitoring whether Earth’s geomagnetic field interferes with the satellite’s data transmission.

    NASA astronaut Suni Williams poses with bacteria and yeast samples for Rhodium Biomanufacturing 03, part of an ongoing examination of microgravity’s effects on biomanufacturing engineered bacteria and yeast aboard the International Space Station. Microgravity causes changes in microbial cell growth, cell structure, and metabolic activity that can affect biomanufacturing processes. This investigation could clarify the extent of these effects and advance the use of microbes to make food, pharmaceuticals, and other products in space, reducing the cost of launching equipment and consumables from Earth.

    The International Space Station’s Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer, or NICER, studies neutron stars, the glowing cinders left behind when massive stars explode as supernovas. NASA astronaut Nick Hague installs patches during a spacewalk to repair damage to thermal shields that block out sunlight while allowing X-rays to pass through the instrument. NICER continues to generate trailblazing astrophysics discoveries reported in hundreds of scientific papers.

    From inside the International Space Station’s cupola, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore photographs landmarks on Earth approximately 260 miles (418 kilometers) below. Crew members have taken millions of images of Earth from the space station for Crew Earth Observations, creating one of the longest-running records of how our planet changes over time. These images support a variety of research, including studies of phenomena such as flooding and fires, atmospheric processes affected by volcanic eruptions, urban growth, and land use.

    This photograph captures an orbital sunrise above the lights of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo as the International Space Station orbits above Brazil. This image is one of the millions of photographs taken by crew members for Crew Earth Observations. These images teach us more about our home planet, and studies show that taking them improves the mental well-being of crew members. Many spend much of their free time pursuing shots that, like this one, are only possible from space.

    The BioNutrients investigation demonstrates technology to produce nutrients during long-duration space missions using engineered microbes like yeast. Food stored for long periods can lose vitamins and other nutrients, and this technology could provide a way to make supplements on demand. NASA astronaut Suni Williams prepares specially designed growth packets for the investigation aboard the International Space Station.

    The International Space Station’s robotic hand, Dextre, attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm, moves hardware into position for the COronal Diagnostic EXperiment, or CODEX. This investigation examines solar wind and how it forms using a solar coronagraph, which blocks out bright light from the Sun to reveal details in its outer atmosphere or corona. Results could help scientists understand the heating and acceleration of the solar wind and provide insight into the source of the energy that generates it.

    Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov conducts a hearing test in the relative quiet of the International Space Station’s Quest airlock. Crew members often serve as test subjects for research on how spaceflight affects hearing and vision, the immune and cardiovascular systems, and other bodily functions. This research supports the development of ways to prevent or mitigate these effects.

    Euro Material Ageing, an ESA (European Space Agency) investigation, studies how certain materials age when exposed to the harsh space environment. Findings could advance design for spacecraft and satellites, including improved thermal control, as well as the development of sensors for research and industrial applications. NASA astronaut Suni Williams installs the experiment into the Nanoracks Bishop airlock for transport to the outside of the International Space Station.

    NASA astronauts Don Pettit and Butch Wilmore remove a small satellite deployer from an airlock on the International Space Station. The deployer had released several CubeSats into Earth orbit including CySat-1, a remote sensor that measures soil moisture, and DORA, a receiver that could provide affordable and accurate communications among small spacecraft.

    The Responsive Engaging Arms for Captive Care and Handling demonstration (Astrobee REACCH) uses the International Space Station’s Astrobee robots to test technology for capturing objects of any geometry or material orbiting in space. This ability could enable satellite servicing and movement to maximize the lifespan of these tools and removal of space debris that could damage satellites providing services to the people of Earth. NASA astronaut Suni Williams checks out an Astrobee fitted with tentacle-like arms and adhesive pads for the investigation.

    As part of a program called High school students United with NASA to Create Hardware, or HUNCH, NASA astronaut Nick Hague demonstrates the HUNCH Utility Bracket, a student-designed tool to hold and position cameras, tablets, and other equipment that astronauts use daily. Currently, crew members on the International Space Station use devices called Bogen Arms, which have experienced wear and tear and need to be replaced.

    The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft fires its thrusters after undocking from the International Space Station as it flies 260 miles (418 kilometers) above the Pacific Ocean west of Hawaii. NASA’s commercial resupply services deliver critical scientific studies, hardware, and supplies to the station.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Disaster Recovery Centers Open in Letcher, Owsley Counties

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: Disaster Recovery Centers Open in Letcher, Owsley Counties

    Disaster Recovery Centers Open in Letcher, Owsley Counties

    FRANKFORT, Ky — Disaster Recovery Centers are open in Letcher and Owsley counties in areas affected by the February floods. Disaster Recovery Centers, operated by the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management and FEMA, offer in-person support to survivors in declared counties as the result of severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides and mudslides from February. OWSLEY COUNTYOwsley County Recreation Center, 99 County Barn Road, Booneville, KY 41314LETCHER COUNTYLetcher County Recreation Center, 1505 Jenkins Road, Whitesburg, KY 41848All Disaster Recovery Centers operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday and 1 to 7 p.m. ET on Sundays, unless otherwise noted. FEMA representatives can explain available assistance programs, how to apply to FEMA, and help connect survivors with resources for their recovery needs. The deadline to apply for federal assistance is April 25, 2025.Other centers are open in the following locations:PIKE COUNTYPike Public Library, 126 Lee Ave., Pikeville, KY 41501Belfry Public Library, 24371 US-119 North, Belfry, KY 41514PERRY COUNTYHazard Community College, 1 Old Community College Drive, Hazard, KY 41701MARTIN COUNTYMartin County Library, 180 E Main Street, Inez, KY 41224KNOTT COUNTYKnott County Sports Complex, 450 Kenny Champion Loop #8765, Leburn, KY 41831FLOYD COUNTYFloyd County Board of Education, 442 KY-550, Eastern, KY 41622Additional Disaster Recovery Centers will open across the Commonwealth disaster area in the coming days. In addition to FEMA personnel, representatives from the Kentucky Office of Unemployment Insurance, the Kentucky Department of Insurance and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will be available at the recovery centers to assist survivors.You do not need to visit a center to apply with FEMAIf you are unable to visit the center, there are other ways to apply: you can apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-3362, or by using the FEMA mobile app. If you use a relay service, such as Video Relay Service (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA the number for that service.When you apply, you will need to provide:A current phone number where you can be contacted.Your address at the time of the disaster and the address where you are now staying.Your Social Security Number. A general list of damage and losses.Banking information if you choose direct deposit. If insured, the policy number or the agent and/or the company name.The first step to receive FEMA assistance is to apply. There are four ways to apply: visit DisasterAssistance.gov, download the FEMA App, visit a Disaster Recovery Center or call the toll-free FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362. The phone line is open daily from 7 a.m. to midnight ET, and help is available in most languages. The deadline to apply for assistance for flooding is April 25, 2025. For an accessible video on how to apply for FEMA assistance, go to youtube.com/watch?v=WZGpWI2RCNw.For more information about Kentucky flooding recovery, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4860. Follow the FEMA Region 4 X account at x.com/femaregion4. 
    sarah.cleary
    Thu, 03/06/2025 – 20:19

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: US Senate Confirms Troy Edgar as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: US Senate Confirms Troy Edgar as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

    ASHINGTON – Today, the United States Senate voted to confirm Troy Edgar as the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security by a bipartisan vote of 53-43.
    “Congratulations to Deputy Secretary Edgar on his bipartisan confirmation today. He will be a key player in making America safe again,” said Secretary Kristi Noem. “I look forward to working alongside Troy to ensure that the United States, once again, is a beacon of freedom, safety, and security for generations to come.”
    “I want to thank President Trump and the United States Senate for their trust in me. It is an honor to return to the Department,” said Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar. “I look forward to working alongside Secretary Noem and the dedicated men and women of DHS in our critical mission to keep Americans safe.”
    Troy Edgar previously served during President Trump’s first term as Chief Financial Officer and Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Management at the Department of Homeland Security. In that role, he oversaw financial policy, modernization efforts, and the Department’s $90 billion budget, ensuring funding for critical immigration policies and border wall construction.
    Most recently a Fortune 500 executive, Edgar brings over 30 years of leadership experience in the public and private sectors across finance, supply chain transformation, and technology.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Grateful Heart Attack Survivor Gives $1.5 Million to UConn School of Medicine

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Donald Reefe thought something was a little off when he had a nagging ache between his shoulders in December 2023. But he never imagined that a few weeks later he would end up in UConn Health’s Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center receiving life-saving treatment for a heart attack.

    “I attribute my recovery to the hospital, of course,” says Reefe. “As well as the quick work of the doctors, the nurses, and the support staff.”

    Reefe and his wife of 57 years, Jean, are thanking his care team by leaving a $1.5 million bequest to the UConn School of Medicine. The Donald and Jean Reefe Family Fund for Cardiology will support clinical technology, education, and research at the Calhoun Center.

    Donald and Jean Reefe (contributed photo).

    “I am very grateful to the Reefes for their support and generosity,” says UConn School of Medicine Dean Dr. Bruce T. Liang. “I am proud of our cardiologists, providers, and researchers who bring cutting edge medical advances to benefit our patients”.

    Life-Saving and Compassionate Care

    Reefe knew something was wrong when he awoke one morning and felt pressure in his chest following an intense dizzy spell the night before. He called 911 and was rushed to the emergency room at UConn Health. Dr. Michael A. Azrin led the care team.

    “Dr. Azrin came in and knew right away what was going on,” Reefe explains. “I don’t know how he determined it so quickly. I remember him saying the stent I needed was available and then I went right to the catheterization lab. It couldn’t have been more than 20 minutes from when I first arrived.

    “I looked at the doctor, he looked at me, and I had that almost overwhelming feeling that I was in good hands. I trusted him.”

    “They are very in tune with the patient and the family, which you don’t see everywhere,” Jean Reefe adds. “The doctor came up to me after and we had a real conversation. I never had a feeling they weren’t listening to us.”

    Recognizing and Preventing Heart Disease

    Heart disease, especially heart attack and stroke, is the leading cause of death in both men and women in the U.S. Don’t ever ignore or delay emergency care for these heart attack warning signs:

    Sudden chest pain, heaviness, or tightness/squeezing
    Shortness of breath
    Sweating or lightheadedness
    Dizziness
    Nausea
    Indigestion, heartburn, or an esophageal burning sensation.

    Dr. Maxwell Eder, assistant professor of cardiology in the School of Medicine, advises three ways to prevent heart disease.

    First, eat a daily diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and high in fiber.

    Second, stay active weekly with brisk walking or other vigorous exercise. The official recommendation for exercise by the American Heart Association (AHA) is 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week with strength training two days per week.

    Lastly, don’t ever smoke, or quit smoking now.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: What is a Charter School, Really?

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    In April 2025, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether the nation’s first religious charter school can open in Oklahoma. The St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would be funded by taxpayer money but run by a local archdiocese and diocese.

    The case is often discussed in terms of religion, and a decision in the school’s favor could allow government dollars to directly fund faith-based charter schools nationwide. In part, the justices must decide whether the First Amendment’s prohibition on government establishing religion applies to charter schools. But the answer to that question is part of an even bigger issue: Are charters really public in the first place?

    As two professors who study education law, we believe the Supreme Court’s decision will impact issues of religion and state, but could also ripple beyond – determining what basic rights students and teachers do or don’t have at charter schools.

    Dueling arguments

    In June 2023, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved St. Isidore’s application to open as an online K-12 school. The following year, however, the Oklahoma high court ruled that the proposal was unconstitutional. The justices concluded that charter schools are public under state law, and that the First Amendment’s establishment clause forbids public schools from being religious. The court also found that a religious charter school would violate Oklahoma’s constitution, which specifically forbids public money from benefiting religious organizations.

    On appeal, the charter school is claiming that charter schools are private, and so the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause does not apply.

    Moreover, St. Isidore argues that if charter schools are private, the state’s prohibition on religious charters violates the First Amendment’s free exercise clause, which bars the government from limiting “the free exercise” of religion. Previous Supreme Court cases have found that states cannot prevent private religious entities from participating in generally available government programs solely because they are religious.

    In other words, while St. Isidore’s critics argue that opening a religious charter school would violate the First Amendment, its supporters claim the exact opposite: that forbidding religious charter schools would violate the First Amendment.

    Are charters public?

    The question of whether an institution is public or private turns on a legal concept known as the “state action doctrine.” This principle provides that the government must follow the Constitution, while private entities do not have to. For example, unlike students in public schools, students in private schools do not have the constitutional right to due process for suspensions and expulsions – procedures to ensure fairness before taking disciplinary action.

    Charter schools have some characteristics of both public and private institutions. Like traditional public schools, they are government-funded, free and open to all students. However, like private schools, they are free from many laws that apply to public schools, and they are independently run.

    Because of charters’ hybrid nature, courts have had a hard time determining whether they should be considered public for legal purposes. Many charter schools are overseen by private corporations with privately appointed boards, and it is unclear whether these private entities are state actors. Two federal circuit courts have reached different conclusions.

    In Caviness v. Horizon Learning Center, a case from 2010, the 9th Circuit held that an Arizona charter school corporation was not a state actor for employment purposes. Therefore, the board did not have to provide a teacher due process before firing him. The court reasoned that the corporation was a private actor that contracted with the state to provide educational services.

    In contrast, the 4th Circuit ruled in 2022 that a North Carolina charter school board was a state actor under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In this case, Peltier v. Charter Day School, students challenged the dress code requirement that female students wear skirts because they were considered “fragile vessels.”

    The court first reasoned that the board was a state actor because North Carolina had delegated its constitutional duty to provide education. The court observed that the charter school’s dress code was an inappropriate sex-based classification, and that school officials engaged in harmful gender stereotyping, violating the equal protection clause.

    If the Supreme Court sides with St. Isidore – as many analysts think is likely – then all private charter corporations might be considered nonstate actors for the purposes of religion.

    But the stakes are even greater than that. State action involves more than just religion. Indeed, teachers and students in private schools do not have the constitutional rights related to free speech, search and seizure, due process and equal protection. In other words, if charter schools are not considered “state actors,” charter students and teachers may eventually shed constitutional rights “at the schoolhouse gate.”

    Amtrak: An alternate route?

    When courts have held that charter schools are not public in state law, some legislatures have made changes to categorize them as public. For example, California passed a law to clarify that charter school students have the same due process rights as traditional public school students after a court ruled otherwise.

    Likewise, we believe states looking to clear up charter schools’ ambiguous state actor status under the Constitution can amend their laws. As we explain in a recent legal article, a 1995 Supreme Court case involving Amtrak illustrates how this can be done.

    Lebron v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation arose when Amtrak rejected a billboard ad for being political. The advertiser sued, arguing that the corporation had violated his First Amendment right to free speech. Since private organizations are not required to protect free speech rights, the case hinged on whether Amtrak qualified as a government agency.

    The court ruled in the plaintiff’s favor, reasoning that Amtrak was a government actor because it was created by special law, served important governmental objectives, and its board members were appointed by the government.

    Courts have applied this ruling in other instances. For example, the 10th Circuit Court ruled in 2016 that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was a governmental agency and therefore was required to abide by the Fourth Amendment’s protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

    Currently, we believe charter schools fail the test set out in the Amtrak decision. Charter schools do serve the governmental purpose of providing educational choice for students. However, charter school corporations are not created by special law. They also fall short because most have independent boards instead of members who are appointed and removed by government officials.

    However, we would argue that states can amend their laws to comply with Lebron’s standard, ensuring that charter schools are public or state actors for constitutional purposes.

    Originally published in The Conversation.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: US car insurance premiums that rank among highest globally poised to go even higher with tariffs, says GlobalData

    Source: GlobalData

    US car insurance premiums that rank among highest globally poised to go even higher with tariffs, says GlobalData

    Posted in Insurance

    With the recent 25% tariffs imposed on goods imported from Mexico and Canada, the cost of vehicle repairs is expected to rise in the US, placing additional pressure on insurers to increase car insurance premiums, which are already among the highest globally, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

    GlobalData’s 2024 Emerging Trends Insurance Consumer Survey reveals that 53.5% of US consumers pay over $1,000 annually for car insurance. In comparison, only 21.0% of UK consumers report paying more than GBP750 ($966), while just 16.9% of Chinese consumers state their premiums exceed CNY7,000 ($963). Among all 11 countries included in the survey, none have a higher proportion of consumers paying $1,000 or more for car insurance than the US.

    Charlie Hutcherson, Insurance Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The recent trade measures introduced by the US government will have significant repercussions across the automotive and insurance industries. The tariffs on imported auto parts from Mexico and Canada will drive up costs across the supply chain, making vehicle repairs more expensive and contributing to rising insurance premiums.”

    The rising costs stem from the integrated supply chains that auto companies have established with manufacturers in Mexico and Canada, which play a critical role in the US automotive industry. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), Mexico and Canada accounted for approximately 35% of US steel imports last year, while Canada supplied nearly half of the country’s aluminum imports. Additionally, more than 30% of total auto parts used in the US were imported from these two countries, reflecting the industry’s reliance on cross-border trade to keep costs down.

    Hutcherson continues: “As US consumers are already paying some of the highest car insurance premiums globally, the tariffs are likely to exacerbate the situation. Rising repair costs will force insurers to adjust pricing models, and many consumers may see their premiums increase further. To navigate these challenges, insurers must focus on improving claims cost management and exploring alternative solutions such as telematics-based policies and strategic partnerships with repair networks.”

    Hutcherson concludes: “The knock-on effect of higher tariffs will be felt across the entire automotive ecosystem. Consumers, insurers, and manufacturers will all have to adapt as costs rise. For insurers, retaining customers in a competitive market will require innovative pricing strategies and cost-effective solutions to help offset the financial strain caused by these policy changes.”

    *GlobalData’s Emerging Trends Insurance Consumer Survey featured a panel of consumers aged 18+, with 5,520 respondents spread across 11 countries in different regions to identify global trends. There was a minimum of 500 respondents per country. It is GlobalData’s first-ever dedicated multi-market insurance consumer survey.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ditches and canals are a big, yet overlooked, source of greenhouse gas emissions – new study

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Teresa Silverthorn, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Liverpool

    Dick Kenny/Shutterstock

    It’s a cold winter morning in the bleak and bare arable fields of the East Anglian fens. At the edge of a field, a scientist dips a long pole into a ditch. So, what is a climate researcher doing here?

    We are measuring greenhouse gas emissions from ditches and canals by collecting samples of ditch water and analysing them in the laboratory. We also use floating chambers – a low-tech creation (sometimes coupled with high-tech sensors) made of a plastic bucket and noodle-shaped swimming floats that sit on top of the water and collect the gases emitted from it.

    As freshwater biogeochemists, we investigate how elements like carbon and nitrogen are cycled through freshwater ecosystems such as rivers, lakes and ponds. We study how human-induced pressures including eutrophication – when excess nutrients cause algal blooms that deplete oxygen – and climate change affect these cycles.

    Unlike many other scientists, we have a fondness for ditches and canals (we’ll call them all ditches from now on), which don’t tend to receive a lot of attention in the freshwater research world.

    Researchers have previously calculated that ditches emit up to 3% of the total global methane emissions from human activities. In our new study, we find they also emit a lot of CO₂ and nitrous oxide.

    In fact, when comparing the same surface area, ditches emit more CO₂ and nitrous oxide than ponds, lakes and reservoirs – probably due to the high nutrient inputs that go into ditches.

    Using a rough approximation of the global surface area of ditches, we estimate that including ditches would increase global freshwater CO₂ emissions by up to 1% and nitrous oxide emissions by up to 9%.

    These percentages might seem small, but they add up. When accounting for all three greenhouse gases, the world’s ditches emit 333Tg CO₂e (teragrams of CO₂ equivalents – a common unit to express the total climate impact of all greenhouse gases). This is nearly equivalent to the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 (379Tg CO₂e).

    For this study, we collaborated with ditch experts from the UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Australia and China. We collected existing data of greenhouse gas emissions from 119 ditches in 23 different countries, across all major climate zones.

    We estimated that global ditches cover about 5,353,000 hectares – about 22% of the UK’s total land area, or the whole of Costa Rica. However, researchers still don’t definitively know the global extent of ditches – they may actually cover a much larger area.

    Ditches are human-made, linear waterways built to serve a variety of purposes. By draining wetlands, they can help create productive soils for growing crops or trees.

    They also transport water for irrigating crops. Some are built to create desirable waterfront properties. Bigger canals play a role in shipping and transportation, while roadside ditches serve to redistribute storm water runoff.

    The global length of ditches is unknown but very large. In many European countries, the total ditch length rivals that of their streams and rivers. The Netherlands has 300,000km of ditches criss-crossing agricultural land. In Finland, networks of forestry drains total around 1 million km.

    Ditches can emit large amounts of greenhouse gases (CO₂, methane and nitrous oxide) that contribute to global warming and climate change. Ditches often contain stagnant water and are commonly found in agricultural and urban landscapes, which means they can receive high nutrient inputs from agricultural runoff containing manure and fertilisers, and from stormwater runoff containing lawn fertilisers, pet and yard waste.

    This creates the low-oxygen, high-nutrient conditions ideal for the production of greenhouse gases – especially methane and nitrous oxide, whose global warming potentials are much higher than CO₂. Given their extent, ditches therefore make a notable contribution to freshwater greenhouse gas budgets in many countries throughout the world.

    Fence, plant and dredge

    By considering ditches when reporting their annual greenhouse gas emissions, nations can build a more accurate picture of the problem. Proper quantification can also help researchers target ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ditches. For example, stronger legislation can limit the use of fertilisers and manure near ditches.

    In Australia, installing fences to prevent cattle from entering farm dams has reduced methane emissions from dams by half. A similar strategy could be applied to ditches to minimise the amount of nutrient-rich manure flowing into them.

    Planting more trees along ditch banks could help take up some of the nutrients and lower water temperature through shading, which also reduces greenhouse gas production. Dredging ditches can remove nutrient-rich sediments, while aerating ditch water can make conditions less ideal for the production of methane.

    So, solutions do exist – but they’ll only be employed and scaled up once the significance of emissions from ditches is quantified and more widely recognised.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Teresa Silverthorn has received funding for ditch research from from Defra, the Environment Agency, and EPSRC (UK research councils).

    Mike Peacock has received funding for ditch research from Defra, the Environment Agency, NERC and EPSRC (UK research councils), and Formas and VR (Swedish research councils).

    – ref. Ditches and canals are a big, yet overlooked, source of greenhouse gas emissions – new study – https://theconversation.com/ditches-and-canals-are-a-big-yet-overlooked-source-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-new-study-250240

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ilona Maher and the myth of feminine fragility – how one rugby player is reshaping sport

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sheree Bekker, Associate Professor, Department for Health, University of Bath

    American rugby player Ilona Maher has risen to global fame. Not just because of her athletic ability (though that is remarkable, winning an Olympic bronze in 2024 in the USA rugby sevens team, and now signing a professional contract with England’s Bristol Bears), but because of what she represents.

    Maher received widespread attention during the Paris Olympics as she shared her journey to sporting success and acceptance on TikTok. It’s a streak she’s continued with a recent turn on the US reality contest Dancing With the Stars, in which she finished second.

    Now in Bristol to play 15-a-side rugby in preparation for the 2025 World Cup, Maher’s popularity (she has 3.4 million followers on Tiktok, more than any other rugby player in the world, of any gender) signals a generational shift. One that is increasingly rejecting outdated notions of femininity, fragility and women’s place in sport.

    Maher is unapologetically big, strong and bold, embodying traits that women have historically been told they shouldn’t possess. She doesn’t shy away from expressing herself. Instead, she has expanded the western cultural model of what strength and confidence can look like.

    On Dancing with the Stars, Maher reversed conventional gender roles by lifting her partner during routines. After the show, she spoke candidly about the financial challenges of being a professional athlete in women’s rugby. She highlighted how lack of investment in the sport has forced her to find additional ways to sustain her career, such as participating in the dance show.

    Maher lifted her partner on Dancing with the Stars.

    Breaking barriers

    This rebellion against gender norms is both personal and political. Sport has long been a site of this struggle for women.

    Participation itself was once radical, as women had to fight just to step onto the field. When American runner Bobbi Gibb broke the rules to run the Boston Marathon in 1966, it was a subversive act that sparked backlash. She ran without permission, having been told women weren’t capable enough, and completed the race easily.

    In our new book, Open Play: The Case for Feminist Sport, we explain how women who excelled in physically demanding sports were often vilified for threatening the traditional gender norms that placed them in passive or nurturing roles, rather than active, competitive ones.

    Athletes who showed strength, endurance and skill in these domains challenged deeply ingrained stereotypes of women as physically inferior and fragile. As a result, they faced intense scrutiny, both socially and publicly. Their achievements were often dismissed as anomalies, and they were frequently subject to sexist criticism, questioning their femininity or even whether they were “real” women at all.

    Maher, too, has faced this misogynistic criticism, with online trolls questioning her gender identity. She has spoken openly about the shame she felt as a child, growing up in a body which defied traditional expectations of femininity that are defined by smallness. Yet by confronting these prejudices, she offers the world a new example of what a woman’s body – and a woman’s power – can look like and do.

    Feminism and sport

    Feminism has historically focused on achieving equality in social, political and economic realms. Yet thinkers like Mary Wollstonecraft recognised early on that physicality was central to maintaining men’s dominance. Wollstonecraft argued in 1792 that women’s perceived physical inferiority wasn’t natural, but a product of their subjugation.

    Sport has since become a pivotal arena for challenging the myth of feminine fragility, which persists in part because of the supposedly objective proof that men outperform women in many physical feats. But Wollstonecraft’s insights remain relevant: men and women still do not compete on equal terms. Women’s sports receive a fraction of the funding, resources and cultural support of men’s.

    And the inequalities extend far beyond economic and cultural support. Women are often discouraged from participating in sport, and shamed if they excel.

    We argue that the segregation of women’s sport, often framed as necessary to “protect female athletes”, actually perpetuates inequality. Around the world, women are still barred from competing against men no matter how exceptional they are, while men retain access to the best facilities, funding and opportunities.

    In our book, we argue that this structural segregation reinforces the myth of women’s inferiority while denying women and other athletes with marginalised gender identities the chance to push boundaries and showcase their full potential. Ending this segregation would challenge the narrative of feminine fragility and open the best of sport to everyone.

    We believe that Maher embodies this challenge. Her fans see in her a bold rejection of outdated gender stereotypes and a celebration of what women can achieve when given the chance. But her visibility also threatens those invested in maintaining traditional hierarchies. The backlash she faces is a reminder of how high the stakes are.

    Sheree Bekker is Co-Director of the Feminist Sport Lab. She is also affiliated with the UK Collaborating Centre on Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport, an International Olympic Committee Research Centre.

    Stephen Mumford is Co-Director of the Feminist Sport Lab.

    – ref. Ilona Maher and the myth of feminine fragility – how one rugby player is reshaping sport – https://theconversation.com/ilona-maher-and-the-myth-of-feminine-fragility-how-one-rugby-player-is-reshaping-sport-248395

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Attention LA County homeowners affected by the recent wildfires

    Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)

    Let’s talk about debris removal and the next steps in that process.
    Now that hazardous materials have been cleared by the EPA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is removing debris—but you must submit a Right of Entry (ROE) form to participate.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLV1V31YhkI

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: A Holistic Approach for Cleanliness of River Ganga

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 07 MAR 2025 3:12PM by PIB Delhi

    Namami Gange Programme’, is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014 with budget outlay of Rs.20,000 Crore to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.

    The Government of India (GoI) launched the Namami Gange Programme (NGP) in 2014-15 for the rejuvenation of river Ganga and its tributaries with a budgetary outlay of ₹ 20,000 crore, for five years, up to March 2021 and has been further extended to March 2026 with a budgetary outlay of ₹ 22,500 crore.

    The National Ganga Plan (CS) has been allocated a financial outlay of ₹3,400 crore[1] for the year 2025-26. This investment aims to enhance sewage treatment capacity, improve water quality, and regulate industrial waste discharge to rejuvenate the Ganga River and achieve prescribed bathing standards by 2025.

     

    Ganga: Lifeline of India

    The Ganga River, one of the most sacred rivers in the world, faces significant threats from excessive water abstraction and pollution. As a vital part of India’s cultural heritage and a key resource for sustenance, the river’s health is of paramount importance. To address these challenges, the Namami Ganga program was launched with the twin objectives of effectively reducing pollution and conserving and rejuvenating River Ganga.

    The Ganga River Basin

    The Ganga River basin is the largest in India, encompassing 27% of the country’s land mass and supporting about 47% of its population. Spanning over 11 states, the basin covers nearly 27% of India’s total geographical area. The majority of the basin, around 65.57%, is used for agriculture, while water bodies cover 3.47% of the area. Despite receiving 35.5% of the total water input in terms of precipitation, the Ganga River Basin is the second most water-stressed basin in India, following the Sabarmati Basin, with only 39% of the average per capita annual rainwater input among major Indian river basins. [2]

     

    Vision

    The vision for Ganga rejuvenation revolves around restoring the river’s wholesomeness, defined by ensuring “Aviral Dhara” (Continuous Flow), “Nirmal Dhara” (Unpolluted Flow), and maintaining its geological and ecological integrity. A comprehensive Ganga River Basin Management Plan (GRBMP) was developed by a consortium of seven IITs, emphasizing an Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) approach with multi-sectoral and multi-agency interventions.

    Key Interventions

    • Pollution Abatement (Nirmal Ganga): Addressing and reducing the sources of pollution in the river.
    • Improving Ecology and Flow (Aviral Ganga): Enhancing the ecological health and continuous flow of the river.
    • Strengthening People-River Connect (Jan Ganga): Fostering a deeper connection between the people and the river through community engagement and awareness.
    • Facilitating Research and Policy (Gyan Ganga): Promoting diversified research, scientific mapping, studies, and evidence-based policy formulation

    Over the years, concerted efforts made by NMCG are beginning to find success in restoring the pristine glory of the river.

     

    Progress Overview( As of 31 January 2025) [3]

    • A comprehensive total of 492 projects, valued at 40121.48 Crore, have been launched.
    • Among these, 307 projects have reached completion and are now operational.
    • An impressive 206 projects addressing Sewage Infrastructure have been set in motion.
    • A substantial fund of 33003.63Crore has been sanctioned for these sewage infrastructure projects.
    • Of these, 127 sewerage projects have been successfully completed, playing a pivotal role in mitigating pollution.
    • Additionally, 56 projects dedicated to Biodiversity & Afforestation have been undertaken.
    • These projects have received a funding commitment of over ₹ 905.62 Crore.
    • Notably, 39 projects focused on biodiversity and afforestation have been successfully concluded, augmenting the ecological equilibrium of the Ganga basin.

     

    Government’s Recent Initiatives for a Pollution Free Ganga[4]

     

    1. In a major step towards tackling pollution, the 60th Executive Committee Meeting of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) approved the interception and diversion of the Durga Drain and the construction of a 60 MLD capacity sewage treatment plant (STP) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, at a cost of ₹274.31 crore. This project, based on the hybrid annuity model, includes a 75 MLD capacity main pumping station and other essential structures, ensuring long-term wastewater management and pollution control.

     

    1. Additionally, a significant project was approved to prevent the flow of untreated sewage into Varuna, a major tributary of the Ganga, in Bhadohi. With an investment of ₹127.26 crore, this initiative will establish three STPs with capacities of 17 MLD, 5 MLD, and 3 MLD, along with an extensive sewer network to tap four major drains and prevent pollution. This project follows the Design-Build-Operate-Transfer (DBOT) model, ensuring sustainable operation and maintenance over the next 15 years.

     

    1. A National Framework for Safe Reuse of Treated Water has been developed by NMCG to guide States in formulating their reuse policies and to establish economic models for the reuse of treated wastewater. NMCG has also issued a guidance handbook for urban policymakers and city officials on safely reusing treated water, which aims to conserve freshwater resources and promote sustainable water management practices. [5]

     

    1. Seven Biodiversity Parks in seven districts (Mirzapur, Bulandshahar, Hapur, Budaun, Ayodhya, Bijnore and Pratapgarh) of Uttar Pradesh and 5 priority wetlands in Uttar Pradesh (3), Bihar (1) and Jharkhand (1) have been sanctioned.

     

    1. NMCG, through the State Forest Department, has implemented a forestry intervention project along the main stem of river Ganga. 33,024 hectares area have been afforested with an expenditure of about ₹ 398 crore.

     

    1. A total of 143.8 lakhs of Indian Major Carp (IMC) fingerlings have been ranched in the Ganga since 2017 to conserve fish biodiversity and prey base for river Dolphins, and ensure the livelihood of fishers in the Ganga basin under the special project implemented by Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI).

     

    1. A total of 203 number of sewerage infrastructure projects costing ₹ 32,613 crore have been taken up for remediation of polluted river areas with treatment capacity of 6,255 Million Litres per Day (MLD). 127 STP projects with a capacity of 3,446 MLD have been completed and made operational.

     

    1. For industrial pollution abatement, 3 nos. of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) have been sanctioned, i.e., Jajmau CETP (20 MLD), Banther CETP (4.5 MLD), and Mathura CETP (6.25 MLD). Two projects, Mathura CETP (6.25 MLD) and Jajmau CETP (20 MLD) have been completed.

     

    Conclusion

     

    The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) strives to deploy the best available knowledge and resources globally for Ganga rejuvenation. With significant progress achieved in various interventions, the programme continues to strive towards its goal of ensuring a clean and thriving Ganga for future generations.

     

    References

    https://nmcg.nic.in/ 

    https://nmcg.nic.in/writereaddata/fileupload/41_WebsiteMonthofApril2024.pdf

    https://nmcg.nic.in/NamamiGanga.aspx

    Annual Report 2023: https://nmcg.nic.in/Annual_Reports.aspx

    Ganga Vision Document: https://nmcg.nic.in/Disclosure.aspx

    Namami Gange Programme – At A Glance, September 2020: https://nmcg.nic.in/NamamiGanga.aspx

    Monthly Progress Report: https://nmcg.nic.in/projectsearch.aspx

    UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 684

    https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2102458

    https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2040176#:~:text=The%20Government%20of%20India%20(GoI,outlay%20of%20%E2%82%B9%2022%2C500%20crore.

    A Holistic Approach for Cleanliness of River Ganga

    *****

    Santosh Kumar/Sheetal Angral/Ritu Kataria/ Madiha Iqbal

    (Release ID: 2109078) Visitor Counter : 55

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Prime Minister expresses gratitude for the ‘Honorary Order of Freedom of Barbados’ Award

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 07 MAR 2025 10:02AM by PIB Delhi

    The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has expressed his gratitude to the Government and the people of Barbados for the ‘Honorary Order of Freedom of Barbados’ Award. Shri Modi has dedicated this honour to the 1.4 billion Indians and to the close relations between India and Barbados.

    The Prime Minister posted on X;

    “Grateful to the Government and the people of Barbados for this honour. 

    Dedicate the ‘Honorary Order of Freedom of Barbados’ Award to the 1.4 billion Indians and to the close relations between India and Barbados.” 

    @DameSandraMason

    @miaamormottley

     

     

    ***

    MJPS/VJ

    (Release ID: 2108980) Visitor Counter : 22

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: What they’re saying: Governor Newsom’s state of emergency to fast-track wildfire prevention projects

    Source: US State of California 2

    Mar 6, 2025

    SACRAMENTO – Foresters, firefighters, community leaders and wildfire experts are applauding Governor Gavin Newsom’s state of emergency proclamation to remove red tape and increase the pace and scale of forest management in California. 

    Following the devastation of the Los Angeles firestorms and with the risk of wildfire increasing statewide, Governor Newsom over the weekend proclaimed a state of emergency to fast-track critical projects protecting communities from wildfire, ahead of peak fire season. 

    Here is a snapshot of what leaders are saying across the state:

    Doug Teeter, Butte County Supervisor: “Devastating wildfires unfortunately have greatly affected our State’s citizens and environment. I applaud the Governor’s commitment to reduce the bureaucratic bottleneck CEQA has become.”

    Graham Knaus, Chief Executive Officer, California State Association of Counties: “This is absolutely the right move from Governor Newsom. Counties are ready to move quickly to address wildfire risks. The next step in recognizing that fire season is now year-round is to codify these orders in state law.”

    Brian K. Rice, President, California Professional Firefighters: “Governor Newsom’s actions demonstrate a meaningful commitment to safeguarding our communities from the escalating threat of wildfires. By streamlining essential forest management projects and cutting through delays, this decisive action not only enhances public safety but also ensures that our firefighters can operate under safer conditions when responding to future incidents. Such proactive measures are crucial in mitigating the severity of wildfires and protecting both lives and property across California.”​

    Patrick Blacklock, Chief Executive Officer, Rural County Representatives of California: “Federal and State policy backed by the preponderance of science is clear that we need to accelerate the pace and scale of forest treatments if we are to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire and improve the health of our forests. This EO is a significant step forward and we stand ready to collaborate with the Governor’s Administration to implement it.”

    Assemblymember David Tangipa (R-Fresno): “I’ll be the first to give credit where it’s due—thank you Governor Newsom for suspending CEQA as our communities face the threat of massive wildfires. Now, we must act fast to create buffer zones between urban, wild lands and critical infrastructure. We don’t have any time to waste!”

    Michael Wara, Senior Research Scholar, Stanford University: “Newsom trying to get more wildfire safety work done this year, addressing a critical issue for California.”

    Pete Jackson, VP/GM, Green Diamond Resource Company: “As a Registered Professional Forester, a forest landowner, and the Vice President/General Manager of Green Diamond Resource Company’s California Timberlands, I support Governor Newsom’s proclamation of a state emergency to remove barriers to increasing the pace and scale of fuels treatment projects. Fire touches the lives of all Californians. This unprecedented emergency necessitates immediate action to protect communities and their homes, businesses, working forests, watersheds, and wildlife. We can solve this problem together. Let’s get to work.”

    Matt Dias, President and CEO, CalForests: “The Governor’s Proclamation of Emergency supporting prevention activities is one of the critical and necessary actions to protect lives, communities and forests in an era of increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires across California.”

    Paul Mason, VP Policy and Incentives, Pacific Forest Trust: “To prevent destructive wildfires California needs to increase the use of prescribed fire by at least an order of magnitude. We’re excited to help rethink how California can improve the permitting for prescribed fire. Fire is both natural and inevitable, and when we are proactive we can have more fire under conditions that give good outcomes rather than always fighting fire under the worst conditions.”

    Randi Spivak, Center for Biological Diversity: “The Governor’s order is strategic.”

    J. Lopez, Member of the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection: “The Governor’s proclamation underscores the paramount importance of expediting the implementation of science-based resource management practices that safeguard and preserve natural and cultural resources, protect our towns and cities, and restore the traditional way of life for Californians.”

    Seth Schalet, CEO, Santa Clara County FireSafe Council: “Governor Newsom’s recent Executive Order is intended to fast-track fuel reduction projects across the state. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, a non-state entity covered in the EO, this allows us to accelerate shovel ready projects that normally would go through the lengthy CEQA process, so more fuel treatments and escape routes can be started before this year’s fire weather kicks in. One project we lead in Santa Clara County, the 110,000-acre West Santa Clara Landscape Resilience Project will leverage Governor Newsom’s EO by utilizing the California Vegetation Treatment Plan to implement ecologically restorative fuel reduction treatments across more than 110,000 acres in western Santa Clara County. These strategically placed treatments will focus on the Wildland Urban Interface and areas where high fuel loads are impacting the health of ecosystems.”

    Christopher Anthony, former Chief Deputy Director of CAL FIRE & Wildfire Advisor: “I applaud Governor Newsom’s efforts to accelerate forest health and community risk reduction efforts to address the increasing size and severity of wildfires. Streamlining regulatory barriers will protect lives, property and the unique natural resources of the State. This effort will also guard against the downstream economic impacts wildfire can have on local communities. The Emergency Proclamation clears hurdles allowing the return of low-intensity, beneficial fire to fire adapted ecosystems across California, ensures community wildfire mitigation efforts can be implemented quickly, and expedites the reduction of hazardous vegetation from within and around communities. We have no other choice than to move forward with a sense of urgency to stabilize property loss and create a future where beneficial fire, not destructive fire, is the dominant contributor to annual area burned.”

    California Biomass Energy Alliance: “CBEA applauds the Governor Newsom’s call for a state of emergency to expedite forest management projects in order to protect lives. CBEA is prepared to work with the state on removal of that wood waste and converting some of it to renewable energy.”

    Joe Smailes and Lawrence Camp, Forest Landowners of California: “Forest Landowners of California (FLC) represents the nonindustrial forest landowners of the state of California. These landowners, estimated to be approximately 100,000 individuals, own and manage approximately 20 percent of California’s forested landscape. Historically, administrative burden and costs have slowed the pace and scale of vegetation management to reduce the risk of wildfire, maintain water quality, preserve wildlife habitat and store carbon. We strongly endorse the Governor’s proposals as set forth in his Executive Order issued on March 1, 2025.”

    Press Releases, Recent News

    Recent news

    Mar 5, 2025

    News What you need to know: Governor Newsom has directed his Office of Emergency Services to coordinate with key partners during this next round of winter weather to strategically preposition critical resources to protect the public.  Los Angeles, California – As…

    Mar 4, 2025

    News What you need to know: California enforcement officials have seized an estimated retail value of $534 million of unlicensed cannabis in 2024. Since 2019, officials have seized approximately $2.8 billion in illegal cannabis. Sacramento, California – Reinforcing…

    Mar 1, 2025

    News What you need to know: Governor Newsom is proclaiming a state of emergency to fast-track critical forest management projects – part of the state’s ongoing efforts to protect communities from catastrophic wildfire. SACRAMENTO – Following the devastation of the Los…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Lithium Carbonate Futures Now Live for Trading on Abaxx Exchange

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, March 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Abaxx Technologies Inc. (CBOE:ABXX)(OTCQX:ABXXF) (“Abaxx” or the “Company”), a financial software and market infrastructure company, indirect majority shareholder of Abaxx Singapore Pte Ltd. (“Abaxx Singapore”), the owner of Abaxx Commodity Exchange and Clearinghouse (individually, “Abaxx Exchange” and “Abaxx Clearing”), and producer of the SmarterMarkets™ Podcast, today announced that its three regional, physically-deliverable Lithium Carbonate futures contracts are now live for trading.

    The energy transition is driving demand for battery metals to unprecedented levels, while countries race to secure critical supply chains — yet commodity futures markets have not kept pace with these new realities. Globally, lithium carbonate demand is projected to grow by 16% per year through 2030, according to the IEA¹, reinforcing the need for transparent price benchmarks and effective risk management tools. Abaxx’s Lithium Carbonate futures establish the first USD-denominated, physically-deliverable benchmark for lithium carbonate outside of China, offering transparent price discovery, precise hedging, and supply chain optimization in a market shaped by geopolitical shifts and evolving trade flows.

    Each regional contract is US dollar-denominated, physically deliverable DAP (Delivered at Place, as defined by Incoterms 2020), representing 1 tonne of lithium carbonate, with delivery locations at ports in Singapore, Rotterdam, and Baltimore.

    “Lithium carbonate sits at a critical point in the supply chain — between spodumene and hydroxide — where a benchmark price is most needed,” said Sacha Lifschitz, Head of Battery Materials at Abaxx Exchange. “By introducing a physically-deliverable contract with a direct delivery mechanism, we’re ensuring alignment with real-world trade flows. With contracts for lithium carbonate deliverable in Singapore, Rotterdam, and Baltimore, market participants now have access to pricing that reflects the market conditions specific to each region, creating a more transparent and effective pricing tool for the industry.”

    Abaxx’s suite of futures contracts for energy, environmental markets and battery metals is open for trading 14 hours a day, Monday through Friday. Visit abaxx.exchange/resources-clearing-members-brokers for a full list of clearing firms and execution brokers.

    About Abaxx Technologies
    Abaxx is building Smarter Markets — markets empowered by better financial technology and market infrastructure to address our biggest challenges, including the energy transition. In addition to developing and deploying financial technologies that make communication, trade, and transactions easier and more secure, Abaxx is an indirect majority-owner of subsidiaries Abaxx Exchange and Abaxx Clearing, recognized by MAS as a “recognised market operator” (RMO) and “approved clearing house” (ACH), respectively.

    Abaxx Exchange and Abaxx Clearing are a Singapore-based commodity futures exchange and clearinghouse, introducing centrally cleared, physically deliverable commodities futures and derivatives to provide better price discovery and risk management tools for the commodities critical to our transition to a lower-carbon economy.

    For more information please visit abaxx.tech, abaxx.exchange and smartermarkets.media.

    For more information about this press release, please contact:

    Steve Fray, CFO
    Tel: +1 647-490-1590

    Media and investor inquiries:

    Abaxx Technologies Inc.
    Investor Relations Team
    Tel: +1 246 271 0082
    E-mail: ir@abaxx.tech

    ¹ International Energy Agency (IEA), Critical Minerals Data Explorer, Stated Policies Scenario. Available at: https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/critical-minerals-data-explorer.

    Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

    This press release includes certain “forward-looking statements” which do not consist of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe Abaxx’s future plans, objectives, or goals, including words to the effect that Abaxx expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as “seeking”, “should”, “intend”, “predict”, “potential”, “believes”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “estimates”, “may”, “could”, “would”, “will”, “continue”, “plan” or the negative of these terms and similar expressions. Since forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to Abaxx, Abaxx does not provide any assurance that actual results will meet respective management expectations. Risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.

    Forward-looking information related to Abaxx in this press release includes, but is not limited to: Abaxx’s objectives, goals or future plans, benefits of the introduction of its Lithium Carbonate contracts; introduction of new battery materials products; the delivery of commodities subject to futures contracts; expectations related to the global energy transition; and positive impacts from the growth of global battery metal demand. Such factors impacting forward-looking information include, among others: risks relating to the global economic climate; dilution; Abaxx’s limited operating history; future capital needs and uncertainty of additional financing; the competitive nature of the industry; currency exchange risks; the need for Abaxx to manage its planned growth and expansion; the effects of product development and need for continued technology change; protection of proprietary rights; the effect of government regulation and compliance on Abaxx and the industry; acquiring and maintaining regulatory approvals for Abaxx’s products and operations; the ability to list Abaxx’s securities on stock exchanges in a timely fashion or at all; network security risks; the ability of Abaxx to maintain properly working systems; reliance on key personnel; global economic and financial market deterioration impeding access to capital or increasing the cost of capital; and volatile securities markets impacting security pricing unrelated to operating performance. In addition, particular factors which could impact future results of the business of Abaxx include but are not limited to: operations in foreign jurisdictions, protection of intellectual property rights, contractual risk, third-party risk; clearinghouse risk, malicious actor risks, third- party software license risk, system failure risk, risk of technological change; dependence of technical infrastructure; and changes in the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restriction on labor and international travel and supply chains, and the risk factors identified in the Company’s most recent management discussion and analysis filed on SEDAR+. Abaxx has also assumed that no significant events occur outside of Abaxx’s normal course of business.

    Abaxx cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. In addition, although Abaxx has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. When relying on forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Abaxx has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraphs will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release represents the expectations of Abaxx as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Abaxx undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements and information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and information. Cboe Canada does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General James Sues Trump Administration over Mass Firings of Federal Workers

    Source: US State of New York

    EW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 19 other attorneys general today filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for illegally firing thousands of probationary federal workers, including hundreds in New York. The administration is required to provide advance notice of mass layoffs to employees and states so that states can mobilize resources needed to process unemployment claims and care for unemployed workers. However, as Attorney General James and the coalition argue in their lawsuit, the administration has directed federal agencies to conduct immediate mass terminations of probationary employees without following the law. The resulting unlawful layoffs have upended workers’ lives, disrupted essential services, and forced states to scramble to provide resources for recently fired workers.

    “Whether it’s providing health care to our veterans, keeping our communities safe, or ensuring our children get a quality education, federal employees provide essential services every day,” said Attorney General James. “The Trump administration’s illegal mass firings of federal workers are a slap in the face to those who have spent their careers serving our country. Thousands of workers across New York and the nation are now struggling to pay rent, put food on the table, and care for their loved ones. Today, I am joining my fellow attorneys general in defending the rights of workers who serve our communities and stopping the chaos and confusion this unjust policy is causing.” 

    In New York, these illegal layoffs have impacted workers throughout the state. In the last week of February, 372 federal workers had filed for unemployment in New York. More than 1,000 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees nationwide were fired in February, including workers at VA medical centers in New York. Workers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who were fired included seven staffers assigned to New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In Buffalo and Syracuse, more than 100 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees have been fired, leaving New Yorkers without a critical resource for assistance with their tax returns at the height of tax season. The regional office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Buffalo also saw major staffing cuts, jeopardizing the rights of workers across Western New York.

    The probationary employees that the Trump administration has targeted are workers who have either been newly hired or have recently been promoted or changed offices. They are generally subject to a probationary period of one or two years.

    In their lawsuit, Attorney General James and the coalition argue that the Trump administration has violated the law by implementing mass layoffs, or Reductions in Force (RIF), without providing states and employees proper advance notice. Federal agencies are required by law to provide at least 60 days of prior written notice before they release any federal civil service employee under a RIF. These notices help states assemble job training programs, staff to process unemployment claims, and other resources to minimize the harm to affected workers and their communities.

    With this lawsuit, Attorney General James and the coalition are seeking a court order to stop further mass layoffs without notice and the reinstatement of all illegally fired federal workers who have been laid off since January 20, 2025.

    “Federal employees are the backbone of our nation’s operations, and their work is absolutely vital to the safety and well-being of every American,” said Congressman Dan Goldman. “The illegal mass firing of probationary employees is an unjust and reckless attack on the very workers who ensure our government functions. The federal workforce deserves our deepest respect, and the targeted layoffs of probationary employees will have a cascading effect, leading to a catastrophic loss of institutional knowledge that will be felt for generations. I applaud New York Attorney General James and the 16 other attorneys general for their bold and decisive action in filing this lawsuit to protect our dedicated federal workers, and, by extension, the integrity of our government.”

    “President Trump and Elon Musk have attacked our dedicated federal workforce, who process benefits for seniors and veterans, protect our natural resources, keep our skies safe, and so much more,” said Congressman Tim Kennedy. “No one is above the law, and today’s lawsuit will help ensure the President is held accountable for disrupting the lives of our civil servants and the hardworking families they serve in Western New York and across the country. I stand by Attorney General James as we come together to combat the Trump Administration’s reckless mass firings.”

    “Workers have rights in the United States, and it’s against the law – and against the interests of the American people who depend on critical services like Social Security – to indiscriminately fire dedicated public workers, including here in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley,” said Congressman John W. Mannion. “Trump and Musk’s efforts to illegally erase a century of hard-fought workplace protections must be stopped. On behalf of every worker in NY-22 – and every senior, veteran, farmer, and constituent who deserves a functioning and responsive government – I wholeheartedly support this legal action by Attorney General James and her counterparts.  We’ll see you in court, Mr. President.”

    “Instead of taking real action to lower costs or keep our communities safe, the Trump administration is gutting the workforce of those who provide care to our veterans, retirement for our seniors, and healthcare to our communities,” said Congressman Joe Morelle. “It’s shameful. I’m proud to support Attorney General James in her efforts to fight back and hold the President accountable.”

    “The Trump-Musk administration’s reckless and unlawful mass firings have been nothing short of a catastrophe—not just for the dedicated federal workers whose livelihoods have been upended, but for the millions of New Yorkers who rely on the essential services they provide,” said Congressman Jerrold Nadler. “If left unchallenged, these firings will undermine the very programs that working families, seniors, and people with disabilities in New York depend on every day. I am grateful that New York Attorney General James has taken swift action to challenge these illegal firings, and I am proud to stand with her and my fellow Congressional Democrats to send a clear message to our federal workers in New York: We stand with you, and we will not stop fighting until these outrageous and harmful actions are fully reversed.”

    Joining Attorney General James in filing today’s lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Resolution Life Announces $9.7 billion Strategic Reinsurance Agreement with Protective Life

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • $9.7 billion reinsurance transaction
    • Comprised of structured settlement and secondary guarantee universal life business
    • Demonstrates Resolution Life’s prudent risk management, substantial capital strength and proven execution capabilities in the US life and annuity market

    HAMILTON, Bermuda, March 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Resolution Life, a global life insurance group focusing on reinsurance and the acquisition and ongoing management of portfolios of life insurance policies, is pleased to announce the signing of a reinsurance transaction with Protective Life Corporation’s (“Protective”) insurance subsidiaries. Protective is a U.S. subsidiary of Tokyo-based Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc.

    The transaction scope includes blocks of in-force structured settlement annuities and secondary guarantee universal life business. Under the agreement, Protective will cede $9.7 billion in reserves and retain administration of the policies.

    The transaction will extend Resolution Life’s position as a leading global manager of in-force life insurance to c.$100 billion of general account life and annuity reserves and over four million policies in-force.

    This comes on the back of strong momentum for Resolution Life with the recent announcement of the acquisition of Resolution Life by Nippon Life to assist in Resolution Life’s next phase of growth.

    Warren Balakrishnan, CEO, US said,

    “This strategic transaction with Protective showcases our ability to manage complex life and annuity products at scale. Our substantial capital strength and proven execution record provide a strong, long-term partner for Protective Life and its policyholders. This transaction is a great example of our reinsurance offering to the US life and annuity market.”

    Moses Ojeisekhoba, President of Resolution Life said,

    “This is an exciting time for Resolution Life. With this transaction we continue to support the primary life insurance industry by providing long term capital for growth so they can respond to the changing needs of policyholders. With the recent announcement of Nippon Life’s acquisition of Resolution Life, we will continue to accelerate our growth in the highly active, multi-trillion-dollar global life and annuity consolidation sector.”

    Rich Bielen, President and CEO of Protective said,

    “At Protective, we are thrilled to announce this strategic reinsurance agreement with Resolution Life. This transaction represents an important milestone, allowing us to generate capital that can be invested for continued growth. We remain committed to growing life insurance sales through our valued distribution partners and look forward to continuing to provide exceptional service to our customers. We are excited about the opportunities it brings for Protective, our customers and our partners.”

    JP Morgan acted as financial advisor and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP served as legal counsel to Resolution Life. Wells Fargo served as financial advisor and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal counsel to Protective.

    Notes to Editors:

    About Resolution Life
    Resolution Life is a global life insurance group focusing on reinsurance and the acquisition and management of portfolios of life insurance policies. Since 2003 to date, prior Resolution entities together with Resolution Life have deployed approximately $19 billion of equity in the acquisition, reinsurance, consolidation and management of life insurance companies. Together, these companies have served the needs of over 13 million policyholders while managing approximately $390 billion of assets. Resolution Life today has operations in Bermuda, the U.K., the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and Singapore assisting the restructuring of the primary life insurance industry globally. Resolution Life provides a safe and reliable partner for insurers by:

    • Primarily focusing on existing customers, with selective new business growth in strategic markets
    • Delivering policyholder benefits in a secure, well capitalised environment
    • Returning capital to our institutional investors in the form of a steady dividend yield

    www.resolutionlife.com

    About Protective
    Protective has helped people achieve protection and security in their lives for 118 years. Through its subsidiaries, Protective offers life insurance, annuity, asset protection and employee benefits solutions and is helping nearly 17 million people protect what matters most. Protective’s approximately 3,800 employees put people first and deliver on the company’s promises to customers, partners, colleagues and communities – because we’re all protectors. With a long-term focus, financial stability and commitment to doing the right thing, Protective Life Corporation, a subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc., has $125 billion in assets, as of Dec. 31, 2024. Protective is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and is supported by a robust virtual workforce and core sites in the greater Cincinnati area and St. Louis. For more information about Protective, visit www.protective.com.

    Media Enquiries:

    Resolution Life
    Temple Bar Advisory
    Alex Child-Villiers / Sam Livingstone / Alistair de Kare-Silver / Juliette Packard
    +44 (0)20 7183 1190 / resolution@templebaradvisory.com   

    Protective
    +1 205 268 7879
    media@protective.com

    This information is provided by Reach, the non-regulatory press release distribution service of RNS, part of the London Stock Exchange. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Axi to Attend the 2025 Invest Cuffs in Poland

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SYDNEY, March 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Leading online FX and CFD broker Axi announced that it is attending this year’s Invest Cuffs in Kraków, Poland, taking place on March 28-29, 2025, at the ICE Kraków Congress Center.

    Event attendees will have the opportunity to explore the broker’s exceptional trading conditions or learn more about Axi’s longstanding collaboration with Man City, Premier League Champions. Manchester City memorabilia and the club’s mascot will be on-site for photos and attendees stand the chance to win exciting prizes from the broker, including a signed player shirt and other merchandise.

    The brand has a longstanding partnership with Premier League club, Manchester City FC, as well as LaLiga club, Girona FC, and Brazilian club, Esporte Clube Bahia. In 2023, they also announced England international John Stones as their Brand Ambassador. In 2024, the broker was recognised with the ‘Most Reliable Broker – Europe’ award at the 2024 Global Forex Awards.

    CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
    71.46% of retail client accounts lose money when trading in CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

    About Axi

    Axi is a global online FX and CFD trading brand, with thousands of customers in 100+ countries worldwide. Axi offers CFDs for several asset classes including Forex, Shares, Gold, Oil, Coffee, and more.

    For more information or additional comments from Axi, please contact: mediaenquiries@axi.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Assessing the Damage of a Trump-Putin Deal

    Source: Universities – Science Po in English

    This is not the “end of history” heralded by some after 1989, but certainly the end of an era marked by the post-war transatlantic alliance of Western democracies. The Alliance was created at the instigation of the United States; it is being undone by the United States. Trump’s pivot to Russia in dealing with the war in Ukraine closes a 75-year-old chapter in our history. It leaves behind a series of casualties’, not just collateral damage.

    Jacques Rupnik, Research Professor Emeritus at Sciences Po Center for International Studies (CERI) briefly sketched the most important. An article originally published by our partner The Conversation.

    The first casualty is Ukraine

    After the Alliance, first and most obvious is Ukraine. After the roasting given to president Zelensky in the White House, broadcast live to the world, the message is clear: there will be a ‘peace’ negotiated by Trump and Putin (their foreign ministers’ meeting was held in Ryiad) and imposed on the Ukrainians. It’s not a “give and take” negotiation, it is “take it or leave it”. Trump branded as a minor trophy in his speech to the Congress on 4 March 2025, the letter received from the Ukrainian president, revising his defiant stance: “I want peace quickly and am prepared to negotiate now”. “Negotiate”? He has not so far been invited to a negotiation which will be about Ukraine without Ukraine. Chose your historical analogy: Munich where Britain and France abandoned Czechoslovakia to Hitler in 1938 or the Hitler-Stalin pact of August 1939 which divided East European spheres of influence between them.

    In accepting the would-be ‘peace deal’ Ukraine would also give the US access to rare earth in Ukraine (some of it happens to be in Donbas controlled by Russia). In short, Ukraine’s choice, now deprived of US military backing (including intelligence and the capacity to strike in Russian territory), is: do you want to continue fighting on your own with the risk of being gradually exhausted and occupied by Russia or are you willing to cede, say, half of your territory – to the “Donald Trump & Co” mining company? Make-up your mind fast as the US president promised the deal would be settled within hundred days.

    The second casualty is Europe

    The second casualty is Europe or more precisely the political and security predicament inherited from the cold-war era and confirmed during America’s “unipolar moment” (Charles Krauthammer) which followed 1989. The moment was just that, a moment. Until now, the overwhelming majority of EU member-states cherished as an article of faith the idea that the American security umbrella was there and would stay there. That meant clinging to US foreign and security agenda and provide support to US international adventures including the 2003 war in Iraq. The East Europeans in particularly were adamant: you follow the US in the Mesopotamian desert, whether or not you believed the case made for it, but because you considered it as the best investment in your own security just as you were joining NATO. America was and remained the “indispensable nation” as Madeleine Albright put it. For many, particularly in Germany, Trump’s first term in office was seen as a mere parenthesis. Now it is Biden’s presidency which looks like a parenthesis between Trump I and Trump II.

    Macron’s call for European “strategic autonomy” or “European sovereignty” were seen with some suspicion as perhaps another neo-Gaullist ploy to distance Europeans from their American allies. A misperception as what was Macron was proposing was “Eurogaullism”, i.e. not French but European “strategic autonomy”.

    The harsh truth about Trump’s pivot to Russia

    Now the Europeans in a state of shock have to confront some harsh truths about Trump’s pivot to Russia and the Alliance losing its most precious asset: trust. The Nato article 5 guarantee – the principle of collective defence, which means that an attack against one Ally is considered as an attack against all Allies – is still formally there, but the faith in the American guarantee is gone.

    What we have just witnessed is the ‘de-coupling’ between the European and American allies. That had been a long-term objective of Soviet foreign policy during the cold war; it now comes true under Putin. In the 1980’s when the Soviet SS20 medium range missiles were deployed (could hit Western Europe, not the US), West Europeans supported the deployment of American Pershing missiles. French president Mitterrand went to the Bundestag to make the case in the face of a strong pacifist reaction in Germany: “Les missiles sont à l’Est, les pacifistes sont à l’Ouest” (“Missiles are in the East, pacifists are in the West”), Mitterrand said.

    A defining moment for Europeans

    This is now a defining moment for Europeans and it remains to be seen if and how they will rise to the occasion. The Munich conference displayed one, not very encouraging version. J. D. Vance first surprised his audience saying he was more worried about the threat from within (liberalism and its liberal and/or progressive values) than from without (Putin). He chastised the Europeans for not living up to the democratic values, leaving the European establishment present at the conference baffled and amazed: not just the war in Ukraine, but democracy too was now explictly part of the new Atlantic divide. Tensions between popular sovereignty as expressed in elections, and the rule of law with the separation of powers and its constitutional constraints, has been at the center of a more than two centuries old debate on both sides of the Atlantic (back to Tocqueville and his warnings about the “tyrany of the majority”). Vance made the case for the Trumpian version of “populist democracy” attacking the prevailing European version of liberal democracy based on the rule of law. Instead of responding in kind, as Vance rushed off to his meeting with the leader of the extreme right AfD, the president of the Munich conference, Christoph Heussgen, an experienced German diplomat, collapsed in tears. The whipping boy vs the weeping boy. A sad symbolic moment for Europe.

    However, in response to Trump’s pivot to Russia, the Europeans are coming to terms with the fact that they are now on their own. The meeting organised in London on 2 March 2025, suggests that a coalition of the willing is in the making in support of Ukraine and determined to give substance to a European “common security and defense policy” long discussed, now to be implemented.

    Who will be part of it?

    Who will be part of it? France and Britain, because of their military capacity, their nuclear power status and their old strategic culture. The Weimar triangle Paris-Berlin Warsaw is likely be its crucial axis within the EU. Macron has taken an increasingly tough stance on Russia and can claim to be a forerunner in terms of Europe’s “strategic autonomy”. The new German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has for the first time openly suggested that defense spending should not be constrained by outdated spending limits and that German/European security will have to be envisaged independently of the US.

    Poland’s Donald Tusk, now in charge of EU’s rotating presidency, has been a forerunner in his warnings about Russian expansionist ambitions and is the most explicit among Europeans concerning the effort needed in terms of building a European defense capacity (Poland spends 4,5% of the GDP for defense). The coalition will also include the Nordic countries: Danmark, mobilised in defense of… Greenland (!), Finland and Sweden who know a thing or two about the Russian threat and have now joined Nato only to discover that its founder is on the way out…

    As Tusk aptly put it: “500 million Europeans expect 340 million Americans to protect them against 140 million Russians”. Time for Europeans to take charge of their own destiny.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Secretaries Wright and Burgum Join American Energy Workers in Applauding President Trump’s Leadership & Historic Investment in American Energy Infrastructure

    Source: US Department of Energy

    PLAQUEMINES PARRISH, LOUISIANA—U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, both leaders of the National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC), today joined more than a thousand American energy workers at Venture Global’s Plaquemine LNG Export facility to highlight the impacts of President Trump’s energy agenda. The secretaries joined Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel in delivering remarks before touring the facility and speaking to the press.

    Thanks to President Trump’s commitment to restoring American energy dominance and day one reversal of the Biden-Harris LNG export permit ban, Sabel announced today that Venture Global would be making an additional $18 billion expansion to the Plaquemine LNG Export facility – making the facility the largest in the United States.

    Less than 50 days into the Trump administration, American energy companies are producing more energy here in the U.S. – lowering prices, providing good-paying jobs, strengthening local communities, and bolstering America’s national security.

    In case you missed it, remarks from Secretary Wright and Burgum are below:

    Secretary Wright:

    America is back.

    You, all of you here today, are bringing America back, making us greater and making us stronger. I could not be more humbled and proud to stand among you today. God bless what you do today and what you do every day.

    I want to also thank President Trump. He worked tirelessly, even putting his own life at risk to go back to Washington to become our president again, to bring commonsense back to Washington, DC. It all left the city. He brought back common sense with a simple agenda unleash American energy, unleash American business, and unleash the American spirit.

    And I see it here today with all of you. He’s from the East Coast. He’s a real estate developer. But instinctually he gets energy. He knows that energy is not one sector of the economy. It’s the sector of the economy that enables everything else, everything else.

    I want to thank the governor of Louisiana. Giant projects like this, they’re not getting built in California, where I lived many years. They’re not getting built in a lot of places. This takes leadership and boldness. This governor of Louisiana has allowed a flourishing in the Louisiana Gulf Coast and across the state. Louisiana today exports more LNG than every state in the United States. This is number one.

    That that that bar is going to be raised even higher because in the next several years, Louisiana will become a larger exporter of liquefied natural gas than any nation on Earth. You could be your own country and be number one.

    Venture global, as we heard from Mike Sable, the great, bold founding CEO, has taken huge risk. They raised money from all across America, from American like us, to build this business and make a bet. Make a bet on American energy production.

    The United States 15 years ago was the largest importer of natural gas in the world. And with bold entrepreneurs and leadership like President Trump, our governor in Louisiana, and Venture Global, today, the United States is the largest net exporter of natural gas in the world and growing strong, growing strong.

    What’s the fastest growing source of energy on the planet by far is natural gas. I looked at this over the last 15 years. Nothing else is close. Oil is second, by the way. The fastest growing sense source of energy in the planet is natural gas. The largest producer of natural gas on the planet is the United States.

    And so hence we’re growing our exports because of your work, because of your efforts, we’re going to increase the prosperity of America, increase the strength of America, increase the opportunities for Americans and for the citizens of the world.

    Where does this gas go? What’s this gas going to do? It’s going to make fertilizer so farmers can grow more food and feed everyone. It’s by far the largest source of electricity in the United States. Natural gas is. It’s to make petrochemicals. All the clothes were wearing the toys. Our cars are our computers. Our phones. Those are all made of natural gas.

    All the uses of natural gas, you can say. In short, they make our lives possible. They allow us to have a modern world and live these wonderful lives we live.

    But that doesn’t fall from heaven. That doesn’t just fall on earth. It has to be made, produced and delivered. And that only happens with hard working people like you. You are changing the world. You are changing people’s lives.

    I’ll end there. I just am humbled to be among you. I’m proud to be among you. I cannot overstate how important what you’re doing is and how aligned it is with the agenda of President Donald Trump. This guy wants America to be great. He wants America to be strong. He wants to lower our cost and expand opportunities for Americans.

    A strong, energized, empowered America is not just good for Americans. It’s good for the world. God bless you. God bless America and God bless President Trump.

    Secretary Burgum:

    What a gorgeous day we have here today. And today is a day of gratitude. And it’s a day of celebration.

    You’ve heard from the great speakers up here, my friend, Governor Jeff Landry. We’ve got two amazing entrepreneurs, Mike and Bob and the amazing Chris Wright. But we’re celebrating today American innovation, American entrepreneurship, and American workers. I stand here before you humbled because I can’t think of anything more patriotic.

    There’s no place I’d rather be than here looking at all of you standing here among this, this creation that you’ve built. And it started with two guys that said, hey, maybe we can do something that’s never been done before. Maybe we can invent a new way to think about how we want to process natural gas. Maybe we can figure out that the U.S., instead of being a net importer, is going to be a net exporter.

    And it was a couple of guys just sitting around a table that came up with the idea of Venture Global. Then you hear, it’s like when only in America, now is going to be one of the most important and influential energy companies in the world. That happens in our country only when we get the government out of the way.

    It happens when we cut red tape. One of our pathways to energy dominance is just unleashing the incredible resources that we have in this country. Getting the red tape, getting the federal government off the back of the worker, off the back of companies, and so that everybody can do the amazing work and build projects like this.

    And so, we’re celebrating that today. But I also said today is a day of gratitude. And I want to bring a message from President Trump to all of you, because President Trump fights for all of you every day. This guy I know everybody here, you work hard, you put in a long day, you go home, you get up and you do it the next day. He respects that. And you know what? He does that too.

    This guy didn’t take a day off for the last 90 days before the election. Then the next day he got up and he didn’t. He didn’t take a day off. He just started jamming all the way through to January 20th. And then since January 20th, he’s gotten more done than any president in the history of the United States ever has in their first month and a half.

    And somebody asked me, what’s it like working for the president? And I said, well said, you guys, you watch football. And they said, yeah, I watch football. I said, well, think about this. Think about the best football team ever assembled. The President Trump is the team owner and he’s the manager, and he’s the head coach, and he’s playing quarterback and he’s running a no huddle offense. And everybody that’s working for him has got to scramble back to the line for the next play, because we’re just going that fast every single day. And the change that he’s driving, the red tape that he’s cutting, it’s absolutely incredible. And one of the things that we’re here today, the announcement today is happening.

    The prior administration had a full-on attack against U.S. energy. They literally were stopping the permitting, killing jobs, killing capital formation, the money to come together to build something like this. And you know what that did that hurt every American and it helped our adversaries. President Trump is fighting for you every day. And he’s fighting because he believes in the we have U.S. energy dominance. It does two things. It builds American prosperity, and it brings peace abroad.

    We’re in two proxy wars right now. And both of our adversaries in those wars, Russia and Iran, Iran funding 24 terrorist groups. They’re funding those wars against us with energy production. With a facility like this where we can sell LNG around the world, we’re literally going to stop war.

    So, when you guys go to work every day, tell yourselves you’re just not doing a job building the most amazing, most technological plant in the planet. The biggest construction project in North America. You’re also building world peace. And the other thing you’re also doing is you’re building prosperity here at home for everybody that’s here.

    And it all starts with one thing, and that’s American energy. And you’re going to say it with me because with energy dominance part of our job is to cut red tape. And the other is we got to get more things flowing through those pipes heading towards Louisiana. And how are we going to do that?

    You know, how we are going to do it is three words. What are we going to do. We’re going to drill, baby drill one more time. What are we going to do. We’re going to drill, baby drill. And when we do that, we’re also going to mine baby, mine. We’re going to get critical minerals going. So, we’re stop buying critical minerals from China. We’re going to map baby, map, and we get the US Geological Survey going back and actually discovering all the resources we have on America’s balance sheet.

    People talk about America’s debt, $36 trillion in debt. Our assets could be 3 to 5 times more than that. But we don’t even know that because we’ve stopped looking for all the resource assets in this country. And we’re going to become an energy powerhouse. And with that, we’re going to bring inflation down for you and your families. And here at home, prosperity in America and world peace abroad.

    That’s what you’re working on every day. How exciting is it to be here with all of you? And again, a message of gratitude for President Trump to you. Nothing more patriotic than American worker that’s working to build energy dominance for this country. Your impact? It carries far and wide. It touches people all over the world. And it certainly helps your kids and your grandkids, and it helps our country reduce our debt, do everything that we’re doing.

    So, a big thank you from President Trump and a big thank you to the innovators and entrepreneurs that built this place and came up with the idea. And none of it happens without all of you. But let’s go. And what’s at the end? I want to say, I will say one thing when you’re doing when we’re doing this today, what are we doing together?

    We’re making America great again. One more time. What are we doing? Making America great again. Thank you. Way to go, venture global. Thank you all.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: [World Sleep Day] Recovering From Daylight Savings May Take More Than Three Weeks, Youngest Hit Hardest

    Source: Samsung

    Do you find yourself feeling more tired once the clocks spring forward for Daylight Savings Time (DST)? Well, you’re not alone. Although losing an hour the night of DST may seem insignificant, examining the sleep patterns of global Samsung Health user’s[i] from the US, Canada and more than 40 European countries reveals a ripple effect that causes weeks-long disruptions to sleep patterns, hitting younger age groups the hardest.
     
    DST Takes a Toll on Sleep, With Younger Generations Most Disrupted
    When looking into how much of an impact DST has on people the morning after, one thing is clear, everyone’s sleep patterns are thrown off. In fact, people spent a little too much time counting sheep the night of the time change, falling asleep 33 minutes later than the previous night, waking up 19 minutes earlier. While losing sleep isn’t easy at any age, those in their 20s likely felt it the most thanks to an extremely late bedtime and a seeming inability to sleep in.
     

     
    Moreover, Sleep Score – calculated based on an evaluation of a users’ total sleep time, awake time, sleep cycle, plus physical and mental recovery – was at the worst level for weeks after DST – and again, people in their 20s appeared to be most affected. When examining in the seven-day Sleep Score average, the 20s age group demonstrated the slowest score recovery rate, while older age groups adapted much quicker. By the third week, Sleep Score for all age groups were still not stable as normal, showing fluctuations in the quality of a good night’s rest.
     

     
    Useful Tips To Help You Get a Good Night’s Sleep and a Quicker Recovery
    The transition into DST clearly affects the sleep patterns of all age groups long after the clocks change, but for younger generations, prioritising sleep management during this time couldn’t be more important. In recognition of World Sleep Day, Samsung is sharing useful tips that make understanding your sleep patterns and habits as seamless and effortless as possible for a better night’s rest.
    Creating an ideal sleep environment is critical to a good night’s sleep. Later this month, Samsung Health app update[ii] will make this possible by providing guidance and analysis on the key factors that influence sleep quality, including temperature, humidity, CO2 and illuminance via a Sleep Environment Report[iii] – leveraging SmartThings and the power of Samsung’s extensive device ecosystem. With a better understanding of how your environment affects sleep, easily optimise your room conditions for an improved night’s rest.
     
    In addition to perfecting your sleep environment, understanding how activity can impact energy level is key. Samsung Health app updates also bring enhancements to Energy Score[iv], which provides an indicator of how much energy users can expend throughout the day. In addition to sleep and heart rate, a new detailed factor about activity – Activity Consistency – will help you understand your overall condition in greater detail by evaluating your activity levels over the past four weeks.
     
    It’s also important to understanding how you’re sleeping and making necessary adjustments through sleep training. Sleep Coaching makes this simple by seamlessly tracking your sleep patterns over 7 days and assigning a sleep animal based on the results. With a personalised coaching program, develop healthy habits and routines that set you on a positive path to achieving your sleep goals.
     
    World Sleep Day serves as an important reminder of the importance of sleep. With the latest Samsung Health app updates and the Galaxy ecosystem, Samsung remains committed to helping users optimise their sleep and lead healthier, more balanced life.
    [i]Findings analysed sleep data of Samsung Health users via Galaxy Watch series during DST in the spring of 2024.
    [ii]Certain features may vary by market, carrier or paired device.
    [iii]Sleep Environment Report feature will be available on smartphone with One UI 7 and Samsung Health app version 6.29.5 or higher, and when device is connected to SmartThings.
    [iv]Galaxy AI features track data and require compatible Samsung Galaxy phone, Samsung Health app and Samsung account.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI China: NPC deputy champions equipment manufacturing industry

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Cao Tianlan, a deputy to the 14th NPC, poses for a photo outside the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, March 5, 2025. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

    Cao Tianlan, a deputy to the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), stressed during the “two sessions” that China must leverage collaborative innovation across industrial chains, digital transformation and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partnerships to propel its equipment manufacturing industry toward higher-end, greener and smarter development.

    “China has maintained its position as the world’s largest manufacturing hub for many years, but there remains a gap in transitioning from a manufacturing giant to a manufacturing powerhouse,” Cao explained to China.org.cn. She called for technological innovation and industrial upgrading to drive this critical leap.

    In Cao’s view, collaborative innovation along industrial chains is pivotal for China’s equipment manufacturing sector to achieve leapfrog development. It strengthens cooperation among upstream and downstream enterprises, expands production scale, enhances efficiency and bolsters risk resilience and global competitiveness. She cited the development of China’s first self-developed F-class 50 MW heavy-duty gas turbine (G50) as a prime example. This breakthrough involved collaboration between over 300 upstream and downstream enterprises. Cao highlighted that the G50’s journey from R&D to deployment exemplifies the success of China’s new system for mobilizing resources nationwide to make key technological breakthroughs. 

    She further noted that in 2024, China established its first small and medium-sized gas turbine industrial chain alliance to jointly explore “Chinese solutions” to gas turbine development.

    Cao also emphasized that manufacturing digitization is integral to building a modern industrial system. At Dongfang Electric Corp, where she serves as deputy chief engineer, milestones include China’s first unmanned blade processing workshop, a green high-efficiency welding digital workshop, and an industrial internet platform with intellectual property rights enabling full data interconnectivity. “Moving forward, we will deepen the integration of the digital and real economies through smart technologies and digital upgrades, as well as AI Plus initiatives,” she added.

    Regarding international expansion, Cao acknowledged the achievements of China’s high-end equipment in global markets while underscoring that BRI partner countries have become a focal point for global manufacturing competition. She highlighted landmark projects by Dongfang Electric, cooperated with a power plant in Belarus, and Jirau hydropower station in Brazil, and PV projects in Uzbekistan. These projects have not only upgraded local energy infrastructure but also generated employment and stimulated economic growth. “They have enhanced the global competitiveness of ‘Made in China’ while strengthening mutual trust and cooperation with BRI countries,” she remarked.

    In addition, Cao proposed a standardization strengthening initiative for high-end equipment manufacturing, advocating for a comprehensive industrial chain standards system to promote the global adoption of Chinese standards. She urged active participation in international standardization organizations to boost the competitiveness of China’s high-end energy equipment on the world stage.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New UK-made space system to help protect military satellites

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    New UK-made space system to help protect military satellites

    Innovative UK-made tech will help the military monitor space following a new £65 million deal agreed today, in British Science Week.

    UK Space Command Operations

    The Borealis command, control and data processing system will help the UK military the UK Space Agency to better monitor and protect satellites, through new software which compiles and processes data from multiple sources, more quickly, to monitor space.  

    The £65 million deal with CGI UK, an IT systems integration specialist, will support around 100 skilled jobs in Leatherhead, Reading and Bristol, boosting the UK’s space capabilities and delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.  

    The new technology will provide UK military with a better understanding of the Space Domain, improving military commanders decision-making process and supporting operations, both at home and overseas.  

    Under the five-year contract, Borealis will provide software for the National Space Operations Centre, which develops and operates the UK’s space surveillance and protection capabilities. It will be a unique, UK-made system which support military operations around the world.  

    Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Rt Hon Maria Eagle MP, said:

    This new deal delivers for our national security by enhancing protection for our satellite technology that millions rely on, while boosting jobs and growth at home.   

    This Government continues to work swiftly to develop the new Defence Industrial Strategy. This announcement will support hundreds of highly skilled jobs, unlocking defence as an engine for growth and driving forward this government’s Plan for Change.

    Borealis will enhance the UK’s ability to monitor and protect crucial space assets, which underpin the UK’s security and prosperity, enabling us to navigate the oceans, keep our military personnel safe, monitor the climate, and forecast the weather.    Other key benefits which Borealis provides includes:  

    • Space Domain Awareness: The ability to understand and analyse what is happening in space around the Earth. This includes space weather – the environmental conditions in space around Earth – and monitoring objects in space, including space debris and active satellites.   

    • Protection of UK space assets: Borealis will provide a single, bespoke system, which will compile all data related to UK satellites. This enhanced awareness of what is happening in space will enable UK Space Command to better protect critical UK space systems.   

    • Integrated C2 System: Borealis will provide timely decision-quality information to government and military commanders through an interoperable system, across different tiers of security classification.  

    Maj Gen Paul Tedman, Commander of UK Space Command, said:  

    The use of space is crucial for our economy, prosperity, security, and defence, but assured access to space is becoming increasingly contested by adversaries and congested by users and debris. Therefore, it is imperative that we know what is happening in space.    

    Borealis is an innovative system that draws together multiple inputs to enhance the UK government’s understanding of the wide-ranging activity on orbit, allowing the UK to protect not just our own space assets, but those of our allies and partners as well.

    CGI is one of the world’s leading providers of independent IT services to international defence customers including the UK, Australia, Canada and the USA. CGI will work alongside a network of partner organisations hand-picked for their expertise to deliver the programme.    

    Neil Timms, Senior Vice President of Space, Defence & Intelligence UK & Australia at CGI said:  

    We’re proud to support UK Space Command and the UK Space Agency through delivery of BOREALIS. We believe this is a strategic step towards establishing a more holistic approach to the UK’s national space data architecture, with BOREALIS and the National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) at its heart.

    Updates to this page

    Published 7 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Academic freedom and democracy under siege: how a Nobel peace prize could help defend them

    Source: Universities – Science Po in English

    Echoing the Stand Up for Science movement, which was organised in the US to defend academic freedom, a call to mobilise in France has been launched for Friday, 7 March. Conferences, rallies and marches are being organised on the initiative of scientists united under the banner of Stand Up for Science France. Sciences Po, along with its partner The Conversation, has been committed from the outset to supporting those who advance research.

    March 7 has been recognized as the “Day of the Stand Up for Science Movement”, launched in 2017 in response to the anti-science actions of the first Trump administration. Under the second, attacks on scientists and scientific inquiry have escalated into a systematic assault–tantamount to a coup d’Etat against science itself.

    While Donald Trump is often portrayed as erratic, his policies in this area have followed a consistent trajectory. His new administration has once again declared ‘war’ on evidence-based national policymaking and science diplomacy in foreign affairs as evidenced by several early actions. Immediately after taking office, Donald Trump issued executive orders freezing or canceling tens of billions in research funding. All National Science Foundation projects have been halted pending review, while the National Institutes of Health faces suspensions under Health and Human Services directives. The US has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization, alongside a sweeping review of 90% of USAID-funded projects, signaling a major retreat from climate and global health diplomacy. Federal agencies and universities are in turmoil, leaving thousands of research-professors in limbo amid a politically driven funding freeze. The 2025 March simply calls for the restoration of federal research funding and an end to government censorship and political interference in science.

    The US is the world’s undisputed scientific superpower–for now

    While the Trump administration is not the sole force undermining academia worldwide, its actions are particularly striking coming from the world’s leading scientific superpower. Moreover, the situation is especially concerning because developments in the United States often have a ripple effect, shaping policies in other regions in the years that follow.

    Neither of the world’s top two scientific superpowers–Washington and Beijing–is positioned to champion academic freedom. China, having failed a liberal constitutional tradition and academic independence since the 1920s, restricts academic freedom to the confines of one-party rule. Caught between these rival scientific giants–both partners and competitors–the “old” Europe and like-minded coutries remain the only actors capable of setting new standards for academic freedom.

    A Nobel prize for academic freedom

    A decisive step toward its legal protection would be formal recognition by the Nobel Committees for Peace and Science of academic freedom’s fundamental role–both in ensuring scientific excellence and as a pillar of free, democratic societies.

    For the past decade, the Scholars at Risk association (SAR) has documented a broader global decline in academic freedom in its annual Free to Think Report. The 2024 edition highlights particularly alarming situations in 18 countries and territories (including the United States), which recorded 391 attacks on scholars, students, or institutions across 51 regions in a year. Data from the Academic Freedom Index in Berlin confirm that more than half of the world’s population lives in regions where academic freedom is either entirely or severely restricted. Some of the most concerning conditions are in emerging scientific ecosystems such as Turkey, Brazil, Egypt, South Africa, or Saudi Arabia. The overall trend is deteriorating: only 10 out of 179 countries have improved, while many democratic regimes are increasingly affected.

    Academic freedom in the European Union remains relatively high compared to the rest of the world. However, nine EU member states fall below the regional average, and in eight of them, it has declined over the past decade–signaling a gradual erosion of this fundamental value. Hungary ranks the lowest among EU countries, placing in the bottom 20–30% worldwide. Recent laws have further weakened university autonomy across the EU: financial autonomy in Austria, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Slovakia; organizational autonomy in Slovenia, Estonia, and Denmark; staffing autonomy in Croatia and Slovakia; and academic autonomy in Denmark and Estonia. Moreover, the European Parliament’s first report on academic freedom (2023) highlights emerging threats in France–political, educational, and societal–that impact the freedom of research, teaching, and study.

    Academic freedom, a professional right granted to a few for the benefit of all

    Freedom of expression, a fundamental pillar of academic freedom, has long been established as a human right, overcoming centuries of censorship and authoritarian control. In contrast, academic freedom is a more recent principle, granting scholars–recognized by their peers–the right and responsibility to research and teach freely in pursuit of knowledge. Like press freedom for journalists, it is a right granted to a few for the benefit of all.

    Rooted in medieval Europe, academic freedom has evolved from a privilege granted to students in the Quartier Latin to a recognized principle in international rights frameworks. It gained a collective and concrete dimension in the late 18th and early 19th centuries with the rise of the modern university. Wilhelm von Humboldt, founder of the modern public university in Berlin (1810), articulated the concept of ‘freedom of science’ (Wissenschaftsfreiheit), later enshrined in the Weimar Constitution of 1919, which declared that “art, science, and education are free.” The rise of American universities around the same time reshaped the concept, giving rise to “professional academic freedom.” This was formalized in the American Association of University Professors’ 1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, which affirmed the scholar’s primary duty to seek and establish truth. Though its roots lie in Germany, academic freedom ultimately became a cornerstone of American academic discourse.

    In the United States, academic freedom draws from multiple sources, with its protection varying by state laws, customs, institutional practices, and the status of higher education institutions. However, U.S. Supreme Court rulings have gradually reinforced its constitutional foundation, particularly after the McCarthy era, by invoking the First Amendment. Landmark cases such as Adler v. Board of Education (1952), Wieman v. Updegraff (1952), and Sweezy v. New Hampshire (1957) helped establish a constitutional doctrine on academic freedom. Finally, Keyishian v. Board of Regents (1967) extended First Amendment protections to academia, ruling that mandatory loyalty oaths violated both academic freedom and freedom of association.

    Interestingly, the American interpretation of academic freedom is currently more restrictive than the German model in certain respects. Article 5(3) of the 1989 Basic Law affirms the “right to adopt public organizational measures essential to protect a space of freedom, fostering independent scientific activity”. In contrast, the U.S. places greater emphasis on prohibitions and prioritizing individual rights over institutional autonomy.

    The ‘right to be wrong’

    Despite local variations, academic freedom is fundamentally tied to a shared vision of the university that upholds freedom of thought, with rationality and pluralism at its core. It includes the genuine “right to be wrong”–the understanding that a scientific opinion may be incorrect or even proven so does not diminish its protection. This stands in stark contrast to the anti-science, scientistic, or techno-nationalist approach, which views knowledge as a tool of power to serve a predetermined truth and objective of dominance. Authoritarian science, driven by power interests, seeks to diminish critical humanities and social sciences while elevating religion. It tends to reject interdisciplinary work, is exclusively mathematized, and is oriented toward a centralized yet deregulated autocratic tech-utopian state model.

    Since 1945, we have operated under the illusion that academic freedom is an indispensable condition for scientific excellence. However, we have recently learned that no systematic link exists between academic freedom and breakthrough scientific innovation in our era of new technologies. Given these circumstances, this proposal advocates for a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, for the first time in its history, in recognition of academic freedom.

    The Nobel Prize Committees for Science and Peace share the responsibility of using their prestigious platforms to uphold fundamental scientific and democratic values. They are uniquely positioned to champion humanist science, reinforcing its importance for scholars, students, and civil societies worldwide. Since the 1950s, around 90% of Nobel Prize laureates in scientific fields have either been US citizens or have studied and worked at Ivy League research institutions.

    While some US scientists are contesting actions of the Trump administration in court, academics worldwide should stand in solidarity with their American colleagues in resisting the erosion of science. To strengthen their efforts, they require the support of the Nobel Prize Committees.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK Climate Envoy Rachel Kyte announces support for South Africa’s Wholesale Electricity Market reform and implementation

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    UK Climate Envoy Rachel Kyte announces support for South Africa’s Wholesale Electricity Market reform and implementation

    Rachel Kyte, the UK’s Special Representative for Climate, emphasised the UK’s ongoing support for South Africa’s energy transition through the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). The UK has also announced additional funding to help prepare and ready South Africa’s wholesale electricity market and to explore interim transmission solutions. Additionally, the PIDG’s GuarantCo and BII are offering innovative guarantee facilities to energy trading companies.

    During her trip to Cape Town this week Rachel Kyte, UK Special Representative for Climate, announced support to the Energy Council of South Africa to continue engagement and analysis work through NECOM on the critical reform areas of Market liberalisation and Transmission expansion. 

    The UK welcomes the recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President Ramaphosa emphasising the importance of South Africa’s reform agenda as well as the important role of the Energy Action Plan and collective execution through NECOM by all stakeholders. 

    Wide participation of the private sector in renewable energy can displace coal at a lower cost and at the pace needed to meet business and consumer demand for green energy and energy security. As part of the Just Energy Transition Partnership, the UK is supporting South Africa to speed up the liberalisation of the energy sector, achieve emissions reductions and provide the energy needed to grow South Africa’s economy and provide jobs. Part of the UK’s investment pledge has been to provide Africa GreenCo and Etana with guaranteed facilities for their energy trading. This energy trading is the first step towards a broader wholesale market.  

    Energy Council of South Africa 

    With UK funding of over £330,000, the Energy Council is engaging consultants to analyse and inform the next stages of the implementation of South Africa’s Wholesale Electricity Market through:  

    • 10-year tariff and scenario modelling     

    • use of benchmarks from other countries e.g. Brazil 

    • clarifying risks such as financial, regulatory and institutional capacity   

    • identifying legal gaps 

    • looking at the financial instruments needed to support the market  

    This follows an initial project funded by UK International Development for the Energy Council to develop the Energy Transition Roadmap, which set out a critical path for addressing system-wide constraints and explored integrated solutions for an effective energy transition.  

    It is hoped this next phase of work will support the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM), the National Transmission Company of South Africa, Eskom, traders, buyers and other key players in the evolving energy market. 

    Updates to this page

    Published 7 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: SPbPU presented Russian education at the exhibition in Ankara

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University took part in a major educational exhibition The Conference 2025 Spring Turkey Fair, organized by the leading exhibition operator A2.

    SPbPU was the only Russian university at the exhibition. The event also included universities from Europe, the USA, China, Azerbaijan, and some Middle Eastern countries.

    The visitors were especially interested in SPbPU’s educational programs in English. The Polytechnic University was represented by Albina Bakurina, Deputy Head of the Department for Work with Foreign Students. She spoke about the possibilities of receiving scholarships from the Government of the Russian Federation, as well as about admission to contract education. The Polytechnic stand was very popular: queues formed at it throughout the exhibition.

    It was gratifying to note that applicants and their parents showed interest in Russia and, in particular, in SPbPU. Some visitors to the exhibition said that they were considering only Russia for higher education. Therefore, we hope for an influx of Turkish students to the Polytechnic University, – noted Albina Bakurina.

    During her visit to Ankara, Albina Bakurina also visited the Rossotrudnichestvo representative office. The meeting with the head of the representative office, Lyudmila Çalışkan, was devoted to issues of promoting Russian education and the Polytechnic brand in Turkey.

    SPbPU’s participation in the exhibition is an opportunity to present our educational programs to Turkish applicants, and we see their growing interest in Russian education, especially in the Polytechnic University. This confirms that our university is recognizable and in demand abroad. We hope that such events will help attract talented students from Turkey and strengthen our presence in the international educational market, – noted the head of the SPbPU International Education Department Evgeniya Satalkina.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Trump grants one-month suspension of tariffs on Mexico, Canada under trilateral agreement

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Thursday to grant a one-month exemption from tariffs on Mexico and Canada under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

    “No tariffs on those goods from Canada and Mexico that claim and qualify for USMCA preference,” the White House said in a fact sheet, while noting that 25-percent tariffs remain on goods that do not satisfy USMCA rules of origin.

    “A lower 10-percent tariff on those energy products imported from Canada that fall outside the USMCA preference. A lower 10-percent tariff on any potash imported from Canada and Mexico that falls outside the USMCA preference,” the White House said.

    About half of goods coming into the United States from Mexico would fall under the exemption and around 38 percent of goods from Canada would qualify, the NBC News quoted a senior administration official as saying.

    When signing the executive orders at the White House, Trump told reporters that the policy adjustments would help U.S. automakers during the “short-term transition” from now until April 2, when wide-ranging “reciprocal tariffs” will be announced.

    The day before, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump had decided to grant a one-month tariff exemption to the three major automakers — Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, temporarily waiving the 25-percent tariff on autos imported from Mexico and Canada under the USMCA.

    Earlier on Thursday, Trump said on social media that tariffs on Mexico will be paused until April 2, applying to anything covered under the USMCA, a trade agreement negotiated, signed, and ultimately enacted during Trump’s first term to replace the former North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

    On Feb. 1, Trump signed an executive order imposing a 25-percent tariff on products imported from Mexico and Canada, with a 10-percent tariff increase on Canadian energy products.

    On Feb. 3, Trump announced a 30-day delay in implementing the tariffs on both countries and continued negotiations. According to this decision, the relevant tariff measures were set to take effect on March 4.

    Economists and observers have expressed deep concerns about the potential impact of the tariffs on the U.S. economy.

    In a report released Tuesday, the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based think tank focused on U.S. tax policies, estimated that, without considering retaliatory measures, Trump’s 25-percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico will reduce long-term GDP by 0.2 percent, reduce hours worked by 223,000 full-time equivalent jobs, and reduce after-tax incomes by an average of 0.6 percent.

    For Mexico and Canada, the impact could also be significant.

    “If sustained the impact of the U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico can be expected to have a significant adverse economic impact on those countries given their very strong integration and exposure to the U.S. market,” IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said at a press briefing Thursday.

    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier that day that Canada will continue to be in a trade war with the United States for the foreseeable future. 

    MIL OSI China News –