NewzIntel.com

Category: Australia

  • MIL-Evening Report: 50 new urgent care clinics are on the cards. But are the existing ones working? Here’s what we know so far

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University

    Over the weekend the Australian government announced A$644 million to build an extra 50 Medicare urgent care clinics around Australia. This is on top of nearly $600 million previously committed to establish 87 clinics.

    Once these 50 new clinics open in the 2025–26 financial year, the government says four in five Australians will live within a 20 minute drive to a clinic. While this seems like a worthy pursuit, the question is whether they are worth the taxpayer dollar, when we already have GPs and emergency departments.

    So what does the evidence say? Are urgent care clinics worth the money?

    Remind me, what are urgent care clinics?

    Urgent care clinics provide bulk-billed care for urgent but not life-threatening conditions, seven days a week for extended business hours. No appointment is necessary and anyone with a Medicare card can walk in and receive care. You can search online for your closest clinic.

    Clinics are staffed by GPs and nurses. They treat people who perhaps don’t want to wait for a GP appointment, attend an emergency department or call healthdirect. Injuries and illnesses treated include minor infections and cuts, minor sports injuries and respiratory illness.

    Patients may benefit from urgent care clinics through quicker access to care and lower costs if they would not otherwise be bulk billed.

    They don’t however get to see their regular GP, which may reduce the appeal for patients who value continuity of care, such as those with chronic or mental health conditions.

    Why were they introduced?

    The Australian health-care system faces significant pressures as chronic disease increases, our population ages, and our health-care workforce remains stretched.

    Long emergency department waiting times and ambulance ramping (when an emergency department is too full to accept patients delivered by ambulance) are common across Australia.

    Meanwhile, access to GP bulk-billing services has declined. The government is trying to address this by paying GPs billions more to reduce costs for patients.

    Medicare urgent care clinics were introduced to reduce workload pressure on GPs, take pressure off public hospital emergency departments, and improve access to affordable primary care.

    They were first announced by the Labor Party in 2022 when in opposition. Labor wanted to build its reputation as being “Medicare’s guardian”, a theme continued in the lead up to this next federal election.

    Is there any evidence they work?

    Medicare urgent care clinics were first established less than two years ago. While some states had already introduced these types of clinics, it will take time for Medicare urgent care clinics to embed themselves into the health-care system and for patients to become familiar with them.

    Cost and waiting times are significant factors for people choosing between primary care, urgent care clinics and the emergency department.

    Around 19% of people visited an emergency department in 2022–23 because the GP was not available when required.

    Research suggests many people may have used urgent care clinics to avoid GP co-payments, and many may have used them because waiting times to see a GP were too long.

    People might visit urgent care clinics because the wait to see a GP is too long.
    Irina Mikhailichenko/Shutterstock

    The Albanese government reported there had been one million visits to urgent care clinics as of December 2024 (about 1.5 years after they first opened). While this may seem impressive, it should be viewed in the context of emergency department presentations. There were 9 million of those in 2023–24.

    Direct evidence on whether Medicare urgent care clinics are taking pressure off emergency departments does not yet exist. While research from the United States suggests these types of clinics reduce emergency department presentations, the effects won’t necessarily be the same in Australia.

    The amount of time patients spend in emergency departments continues to rise across Australia.

    Many patients will still use emergency departments despite access to clinics. Around 40% of emergency department presentations address an ailment that an urgent care clinic may handle, but only 16% of people who attend an emergency department think their care could have been delivered by a GP.

    How can we improve their chance of success?

    We need targeted public messaging to make sure patients understand how and when to best use urgent care clinics.

    If we channel minor injuries and illness after hours into an urgent care clinic, rather than funding multiple after hours general practices to remain open, we could reduce health system costs. That is because the cost per patient will go down as the number of patients treated within a clinic increases.

    None of this will work unless we have enough health workers to staff these clinics. Currently there are shortages of GPs and nurses, so urgent care clinics are competing with general practices for their workforce.

    These workforce shortages are less than ideal and could increase GP waiting times or reduce the viability of urgent care clinics. The Mount Gambier urgent care clinic recently went into liquidation amid staff shortages.

    The government has announced additional funding to train more GPs and nurses. Workforce investment is crucial to meet increasing demands, but will take time.

    To the future

    The government has committed more than $1 billion to urgent care clinics to date. Understanding whether urgent care clinics substitute for GP or emergency department presentations, or merely provide additional health-care access, is vital to their success. We need comprehensive and long-term evaluations to fully understand the extent to which urgent care clinics meet their objectives.

    Henry Cutler has previously received funding from Northern Territory Health.

    – ref. 50 new urgent care clinics are on the cards. But are the existing ones working? Here’s what we know so far – https://theconversation.com/50-new-urgent-care-clinics-are-on-the-cards-but-are-the-existing-ones-working-heres-what-we-know-so-far-251261

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Latest news – Ordinary meeting of 13 February 2025, Strasbourg, IN CAMERA – Delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

    Source: European Parliament

    On 13 February 2025 DASE was briefed and held preparatory exchanges for the 13th EU-Thailand IPM in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand, with
    – Ms Leila Fernandez Stembridge, Head of Division for Southeast Asia (ASIAPAC.3), European External Action Service (EEAS) and

    – Ms Silvia Formentini, Team Leader for EU-Southeast Asia trade relations, DG TRADE, South and South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand Unit (TRADE.C.2), European Commission

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Latest news – Ordinary meeting of 13 February 2025, Strasbourg – Delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

    Source: European Parliament

    On 13 February 2025 DASE was briefed and held preparatory exchanges for the 13th EU-Thailand IPM in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand, with
    – Ms Leila Fernandez Stembridge, Head of Division for Southeast Asia (ASIAPAC.3), European External Action Service (EEAS) and

    – Ms Silvia Formentini, Team Leader for EU-Southeast Asia trade relations, DG TRADE, South and South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand Unit (TRADE.C.2), European Commission

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Latest news – Ordinary meeting of 12 December 2024, Brussels – Delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

    Source: European Parliament

    On 12 December, DASE held an exchange of views on EU-ASEAN relations with

    • Ms Leila Fernández Stembridge, Head of Division for Southeast Asia (ASIAPAC.3), the European External Action Service (EEAS) and

    • Mr Christophe Kiener, Head of Unit, DG TRADE, South and South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand Unit, European Commission

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Yes, Biden Spent Millions on Transgender Animal Experiments

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    Last night, President Donald J. Trump highlighted many of the egregious examples of waste, fraud, and abuse funded by American taxpayers, including $8 million spent by the Biden Administration “for making mice transgender.”
    The Fake News losers at CNN immediately tried to fact check it, but President Trump was right (as usual).FACT: Under the Biden Administration, the National Institutes of Health doled out millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded grants for institutions across the country to perform transgender experiments on mice.
    $455,000: “A Mouse Model to Test the Effects of Gender-affirming Hormone Therapy on HIV Vaccine-induced Immune Responses”
    $2,500,000: “Reproductive Consequences of Steroid Hormone Administration”
    “These mice manifest defects in ovarian architecture and have altered folliculogenesis.”

    $299,940: “Gender-Affirming Testosterone Therapy on Breast Cancer Risk and Treatment Outcomes”
    “We will compare the incidences and tumor specific survival in female mice (intact) and oophorectomized female mice receiving TT with their respective counterparts that do not receive TT.”

    $735,113: “Microbiome mediated effects of gender affirming hormone therapy in mice”
    $1,200,000: “Androgen effects on the reproductive neuroendocrine axis”
    “Aim 2 utilizes transgenic mice to test whether male-level androgens acting via AR specifically in kisspeptin neurons are necessary and/or sufficient for androgen inhibition of in vivo LH pulse parameters, including pulse frequency, and the estrogen-induced LH surge.”

    $3,100,000: “Gonadal hormones as mediators of sex and gender influences in asthma”
    “We will study the contributions of estrogens to HDM-induced asthma outcomes using male and female gonadectomized mice treated with estradiol…”

    TOTAL: $8,290,053

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: VIDEO: Peters Takes to Senate Floor to Denounce Trump Administration’s Illegal Firing of Thousands of Veterans Throughout Federal Workforce

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters

    WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) delivered a speech on the Senate floor denouncing the Trump Administration’s illegal firing of thousands of veterans throughout the federal government. Veterans make up nearly 30 percent of the federal workforce, or approximately 640,000 employees. Since taking office, the Trump Administration has already laid off about 6,000 former servicemembers without cause, including veterans who worked in federal agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of Defense (DOD), and the Treasury Department for several years. In his remarks, Peters underscored the talent and value that veterans bring to the federal civil service and called on the Trump Administration to immediately reinstate these employees. 

    “Employing our nation’s veterans when they transition to civilian life is not just a responsibility, it is a smart business decision,” said Senator Peters. “That’s why the federal government has long taken advantage of this absolutely remarkable talent pool.”  

    Peters continued, “These are Americans who put their lives on the line to defend this country. They took up a job to continue to serve the people of this country. They represent the best of our nation, and we need them in our federal workforce. I’m calling on the Administration to reinstate these veteran employees immediately.” 

    To watch a video clip of Senator Peters’ remarks, click here.

    In his remarks, Peters also highlighted the stories of Michigan veterans who were impacted by these firings:

    “My staff met with a veteran who has worked for the VA in Michigan for nearly 30 years. Last year, they were moved to a new role within VA and were promoted to supervisor shortly thereafter. No surprise, because they had never received less than an excellent performance review over 30 years. But because they were relatively new to that specific role, they were swept up in the widespread firings, both within VA and across government, of all probationary employees. They were one of many veterans fired abruptly without cause, without reason.”

    “In another case, a veteran with 8 years of active-duty service in the Air Force was fired from a VA in Michigan after receiving an ‘outstanding’ performance review. Their probationary period was set to expire last week, just 12 days after they were let go.”

    Peters has been a continued advocate for America’s veterans. In January 2024, two bipartisan bills authored by Peters were signed into law to protect burial benefits for both veterans and military families. Peters also helped pass the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act into law – which delivered VA health care and benefits to all generations of toxic-exposed veterans – and their survivors – for the first time in our nation’s history. In 2016, Peters’ Fairness for Veterans Act was signed into law to help veterans who may have been erroneously given less than honorable discharge from the military due to negative behavior resulting from mental health traumas, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). In 2017, Peters was recognized as Legislator of the Year by the Vietnam Veterans of America for his work authoring and enacting the Fairness for Veterans Act.   

    Peters served more than a decade in the U.S. Navy Reserve, where he earned a Seabee Combat Warfare Specialist designation and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. After the September 11th terrorist attacks on our country, he volunteered again for drilling status and served overseas as part of his Reserve duty. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Mice with woolly mammoth traits could pave the way for the resurrection of an ice age giant

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Timothy Hearn, Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics, Anglia Ruskin University

    A US biotech company has genetically modified mice to have traits from the extinct woolly mammoth. Researchers at Colossal Laboratories and Biosciences endowed their mice with the thick, shaggy hair of the mammoth and its efficient fat metabolism, which helped it survive in icy conditions.

    Colossal’s ultimate goal is to introduce these woolly mammoth traits, along with others, into modern elephants. This general area of science has become known as de-extinction.

    However, elephants have long gestation (pregnancy) periods, exhibit complex social behaviour, and experimentation on them raises significant ethical challenges, including the issue of animal welfare. Therefore, the researchers have chosen mice for the initial experiments.

    Mice breed quickly, and their genes are easier to modify, which allows
    scientists to test and refine their methods in an animal they understand well.

    Instead of trying to clone a dead mammoth, Colossal is trying to transform an modern elephant into a mammoth. The process begins with ancient DNA. Colossal’s team extracted genetic material from woolly mammoth remains preserved in Arctic permafrost – a natural archive that has safeguarded genetic secrets for thousands of years.

    By comparing this ancient DNA with that of modern elephants, the researchers identified the specific genes responsible for the mammoth’s distinctive woolly coat and its rapid fat metabolism.

    The next step was to use a powerful gene editing tool
    called Crispr. This molecular technique enables scientists to make precise modifications (changes) in an organism’s DNA. In the laboratory, the researchers applied Crispr to edit the DNA of mouse embryos, introducing the mammoth versions of the genes that control hair texture and fat metabolism.

    Many experiments were needed and a large number of mouse embryos underwent testing to ensure the genetic modifications were successful. However, the work clearly demonstrated that these complex genetic traits could be replicated in a living model.

    This is a process that would be far more difficult, and ethically challenging, if
    attempted directly in elephants. However, the success in mice provides a critical proof of concept.

    In an elephant, the process would involve editing early-stage embryos and implanting them into a surrogate elephant mother. For now, the work in mice offers a safer, efficient and more cost-effective way to test and perfect the scientists’ gene editing approaches.

    Although the prospect of an elephant with woolly mammoth characteristics may still
    be a distant goal, the current work with mice is an essential early milestone. By focusing on a manageable animal, the scientists can gather vital data and refine their techniques without the immediate complications that would arise from working with larger, more complex animals.

    This methodical progression – from mice to elephants – ensures that each step is
    shown to be effective before moving on to the next. Such incremental progress in science can eventually lead to groundbreaking advances.

    Although the whole concept of bringing the mammoth back might sound like science fiction, Colossal envisions a future where de-extinction and genetic enhancement play a key role in restoring natural ecosystems.

    Their research could pave the way for reviving other species, such as the thylacine – a carnivore that lived on the island of Tasmania – or the dodo, which once roamed Mauritius. The work might even contribute to the survival of current endangered species by enhancing their natural defences, such as introducing genes that confer immunity to disease.

    As habitats shrink and species become increasingly endangered, innovative conservation strategies are urgently needed. Gene editing, as demonstrated in these experiments, could provide a complementary tool to traditional conservation methods.

    By bestowing modern species with traits that once helped extinct animals survive in extreme conditions, scientists hope to improve their resilience to a changing environment.

    Timothy Hearn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Mice with woolly mammoth traits could pave the way for the resurrection of an ice age giant – https://theconversation.com/mice-with-woolly-mammoth-traits-could-pave-the-way-for-the-resurrection-of-an-ice-age-giant-251561

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Aberdeen filmmaker inspired by story of soprano supported by Lord Strathcona A film created by an Aberdeen academic exploring the life of a soprano whose musical rise was supported by a former University chancellor has won awards and been included in the official selection of a number of international film festivals.

    Source: University of Aberdeen

    Pauline Donalda c1906A film created by an Aberdeen academic exploring the life of a soprano whose musical rise was supported by a former University chancellor has won awards and been included in the official selection of a number of international film festivals.
    Madame Donalda by Professor Alan Marcus, Chair in Creative and Cultural Practice, examines the life of Pauline Lightstone, who performed as Madame Donalda. Filmed in Montreal, London and Aberdeen, it has generated much international interest.  
    Donalda’s stage name was a tribute to Donald Smith, who became Lord Strathcona (1820-1914) a Scottish-born Canadian businessman who became a leading philanthropist after making his fortune from investments in land, railways, and banking.  
    Born in Forres, Moray, in 1899 he was appointed Lord Rector of the University of Aberdeen and later became its Chancellor.
    As a 15-year-old, the purity of Pauline’s voice was recognised during musical rehearsals at a synagogue and she was then awarded a place at the Royal Victoria College (RVC), originally the women’s college at McGill University.
    Lord Strathcona was a champion of women’s education at McGill and was a proponent of the education of women and furthering women’s opportunities.
    He agreed to support Pauline’s ‘fully rounded musical education’ including study at Conservatoire de Paris.
    Lord Strathcona’s second benefaction to the College was made under his middle name of Donald and the women supported by ‘the Donalda Endowment’ proudly called themselves ‘the Donaldas’ – a tradition adopted by Pauline Lighthouse who appeared on stage as Pauline Donalda.
    After a successful debut in Nice, France, in 1904, her artistic career quickly took off. In 1905, she sang at London’s Covent Garden for the Queen and at The Brussels Royal Opera House.
    These performances earned her tremendous acclaim and for many years she sang the leading operatic roles at Covent Garden and the great opera houses of Europe. She also toured Britain and sang at Aberdeen’s Musical Hall.  When World War I broke out, she suspended her international career and organised benefit concerts to support the war effort.
    From 1922 she devoted herself to teaching voice and in 1942 founded the Opera Guild of Montreal, which went on to stage the first Canadian performances of many operas.
    Professor Marcus, whose own father Rudy Marcus received his degrees from McGill including an honorary doctorate, and at 101 is the oldest living Nobel laureate (Chemistry, 1992) in North America, said he was inspired by a story which pulls together many threads of his own life.
    “I was told the story of Madame Donalda aka Pauline Lightstone by a great uncle of mine some 35 years ago when I learned that she was a relative of ours, and it made a sufficient impression on me that I was hopeful one day I might be able to tell it in film form,” he added.
    “The key elements of the story involving a daughter of European immigrants to Montreal, who against the odds rose to become in her early-20s one of the great sopranos of her day, adapts well to film, because through moving image and sound one can provide a more vivid impression and sense of presence. 
    “During the years of research and drawing upon archives in London, Montreal and Ottawa, I was able to piece together through news items and her personal correspondence and much archival imagery, the various components of Donalda’s life. 
    “What was unexpected was the Aberdeen connection and the fact that her patron, from whom she took her stage name, Madame Donalda, was a keen proponent of women’s education and served both as Chancellor of McGill, where she studied, and the University of Aberdeen.  The personal connection I and my family have with Aberdeen and McGill added an immediacy to the story.”
    The film has received Best Documentary and Best Editing awards at the Experimental Dance and Music Film Festival 2024 in Toronto, the Best Classical Music film award at the Buenos Aires 11th Music Film Festival 2025, and official selection at ten other film festivals including the Los Angeles Film and Documentary Awards 2024.
    Professor Marcus said: “It is gratifying that the film has been included in various international film festivals and won awards, but what I hope is that when people view the film they not only learn of Donalda’s talents and be intrigued with her extraordinary accomplishments, but also be enthralled by the short performances in her old recordings, and more recently through the participation in the film of Bulgarian soprano, Sofia Dimitrova, who brings the musical pieces to life with great passion.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ‘Run Safe, Run Well’ information event in Craigavon

    Source: Northern Ireland City of Armagh

    (L-R) Diane Cordner (World Triathlon Level 2 Coach and Advanced Sport Nutrition Advisor.); Gail McComiskey (Movement Matters NI); Deputy Lord Mayor, Cllr Kyle Savage; Constable Victoria Elliot (PSNI); Patricia Gibson (PCSP Manager); Constable Diarmuid Sands (PSNI) and Lynette Cooke (PCSP Development Manager).

    Over 100 people attended the ‘Run Safe, Run Well’ event to highlight personal safety while running and the importance of good nutrition to support performance, injury prevention and recovery.

    The event was organised by Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) along with Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council’s Sports Development team and PSNI.

    Whether it’s for fun, to be active or to run competitively, running is a hugely popular activity for people of all ages and abilities across the borough. Each week hundreds of people join a running community to take on the local parkrun at Armagh, Craigavon and Lurgan.

    Speaking at the event, Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Kyle Savage said:

    “One of the Council’s key goals is to create ‘a happy, healthy and connected community’. This event is an important step towards achieving that vision, however personal safety while out running remains a real concern, particularly for females.

    “Tonight’s event has been a great opportunity to raise awareness about staying safe and how to report issues and concerns. The nutrition advice and tips will also go a long way to supporting people in their journey to lead fitter and healthier lives.”

    Representatives from Lurgan and Armagh Neighbourhood Policing teams and PSNI were on hand to offer advice and guidance on risk aversion, particularly when running alone.

    Local World Triathlon Level 2 Coach and Advanced Sport Nutrition Advisor Diane Cordner shared tips and advice on the importance of a healthy balanced diet and its role in performance and recovery.

    Gail McComiskey from Movement Matters NI, shared valuable insights into how to reduce injuries while running and how to support recovery.

    Closing the event, Chair of PCSP, Alderman Mark Baxter said: “It has been fantastic to welcome everyone along to this event. I wish to extend a very special thank you to our guest speakers who delivered lots of key messages on the importance of staying safe, healthy and active, and our local independent retailers and exhibitors who generously sponsored spot prizes.”

    The event was supported by local business including McKeever Sports, Armagh Sports and Trophies, Donaghy’s and support service Start 360!

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The shortcut to less warming? It runs through a farm field

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jack Marley, Environment + Energy Editor, UK edition

    Barillo_Images/Shutterstock

    “The biggest challenge to limiting climate change to 2°C, the upper target of the 2015 Paris agreement, is this: methane emissions are rising very fast,” says Euan Nisbet, a professor of earth sciences at Royal Holloway University.

    If each CO₂ molecule is like a candle that patiently warms the atmosphere, methane is like an exploding bomb: responsible for much more heat, but over a much shorter timescale. Satellites are identifying the methane that’s leaking from oil wells and gas pipelines, and most countries have at least promised to reduce these emissions by a third by 2030.

    But if humanity is to throw the brakes on runaway climate change, something has to be done about the biggest human source of methane there is: agriculture.

    This roundup of The Conversation’s climate coverage comes from our award-winning weekly climate action newsletter. 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.

    Taming methane

    Earth’s atmosphere is warmer and wetter than it would otherwise be, thanks to fossil fuel burning. This is inducing wetlands, once a reliable carbon store, to emit more methane to the atmosphere, and so speed up climate change, Nisbet says.



    Read more:
    Methane emissions are turbocharging climate change – these quick fixes could slow it down

    This makes it even more urgent to tamp down the methane sources under our immediate control. Nisbet has calculated that roughly 210 million to 250 million tonnes of methane come from agriculture and its products. Most of this is in the breath of livestock animals and their manure, and food rotting in landfills.

    Here’s the good news.

    “Cutting agricultural methane emissions involves a wide range of relatively cheap measures that need good design and management, but could cut food-related emissions substantially over the next decade,” Nisbet says.

    Adding a layer of soil to a landfill provides habitat for methane-munching bacteria. Covering manure storage tanks, banning the burning of crop waste and only flooding rice paddies when necessary could pinch other methane sources.

    Reducing food waste would also cut methane emissions.
    AleksB59/Shutterstock

    These aren’t expensive or difficult changes, Nisbet says. It might cost more to vaccinate cattle or breed them to produce more female calves, however. The point with both measures is to have smaller herds for the same quantity of beef and milk.

    Lower consumer demand would also shrink these methane mobs (here’s where you come in, dear reader). If more of our essential nutrients like protein came from beans instead of meat, our health would benefit along with the climate. While nutritionists and environmental scientists urge us to eat more fruit and vegetables, the global food system is stacked against this outcome.



    Read more:
    Meat and dairy gobble up farming subsidies worldwide, which is bad for your health and the planet

    Globally, every fifth dollar of public farming subsidy goes towards rearing meat. In the intensively farmed UK where I live, 85% of farmland is devoted to livestock and the crops that feed them. Yet these captive animals are the source of less than one third of our calories.

    “The longer the livestock-intensive system prevails, the greater the environmental, economic and social costs,” says Benjamin Selwyn, a professor of international development at the University of Sussex.

    The fruits of our labour

    Selwyn favours a “green new deal” that would make farming “complement rather than undermine the environment”.



    Read more:
    The UK’s food system is broken. A green new deal for agriculture could be revolutionary

    What does that look like? Fewer cows, more woodland and more crops grown for human consumption, Selwyn says. This is essentially what government advisers recently proposed to keep the UK on track for net zero emissions.



    Read more:
    The UK must make big changes to its diets, farming and land use to hit net zero – official climate advisers

    To nudge the food system in this direction, researchers like Yi Li, a senior lecturer in marketing at Macquarie University, are testing the effect of labels on meal choices.

    In Australia, where Li is based, meat accounts for half of all greenhouse gas emissions from products consumed at home. Producing 1kg of beef may emit 60kg of greenhouse gas, while the same quantity of peas yields just 1kg of emissions. But Li found consumers weren’t always savvy to the gulf in emissions between the two.

    “Our label creates a mental link between a food source and its carbon impact,” she says.

    “When a consumer sees high carbon scores and red traffic lights appearing more frequently on meat and other animal products, they begin to make the connection between those products and higher emissions.”



    Read more:
    Want a side of CO₂ with that? Better food labels help us choose more climate-friendly foods

    While better informed consumers are important, the food system needs deeper reform.

    “Many conceptions of the protein transition from animal sources to more plant products ignore the necessity of improving farmers’ and agricultural workers’ incomes. But this will be crucial,” Selwyn says.

    Just as oil and gas workers will need financial support and training opportunities to ply their skills in a low-carbon energy sector, farm workers will need security and guidance to adapt to new forms of food production says Alex Heffron.



    Read more:
    The UK farmer protests you probably haven’t heard about

    Heffron, a PhD candidate at Lancaster University, researchers agricultural transitions and is a farm worker himself. He says that people picking crops, milking cows and driving farm machinery are among the most exploited and precariously employed of the UK’s workforce.

    Seasonal farm workers often live where they work, raising the risk of abuse.
    Pavel Tarin Alcala/Shutterstock

    In fact, if the country were to begin phasing out livestock and ramping up fruit and vegetable production tomorrow, the burden would fall heavily on migrant labourers who the UK attracts with a seasonal worker scheme. This scheme has been criticised for overlooking allegations of forced labour.

    “There will be no green transition unless these workers have a stake in it,” Heffron says.

    What kind of stake might move farmers away from steak? Selwyn has some suggestions, which include spreading land ownership more evenly with community land trusts and allowing public bodies to acquire vacant, derelict or damaged land for allotments and nature habitat.

    “Farms can be paid directly by government for sustainable production to combat farmer poverty,” he adds. “And the real living wage of £12.60 an hour should be compulsory for agricultural workers.”

    – ref. The shortcut to less warming? It runs through a farm field – https://theconversation.com/the-shortcut-to-less-warming-it-runs-through-a-farm-field-251419

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Methane emissions are turbocharging climate change – these quick fixes could slow it down

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Euan Nisbet, Professor of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London

    Rotting food is a major source of world-warming methane. Roman Mikhailiuk/Shutterstock

    The biggest challenge to limiting climate change to 2°C, the upper target of the 2015 Paris agreement, is this: methane emissions are rising very fast.

    Methane is a greenhouse gas that, molecule for molecule, traps heat in the atmosphere more effectively than carbon dioxide, though over a much shorter timescale (decades versus centuries). Reducing emissions of methane to the atmosphere could drastically slow the rate at which Earth’s climate is warming.

    Unfortunately, a warmer and wetter atmosphere is already causing wetlands to make more methane and so exacerbate climate change. This feedback loop makes the task of cutting methane from sources under our immediate control, like agriculture, more urgent. The good news is, my colleagues and I showed that there are lots of ways we can do this in a recent study.

    Each year, about 600 million tonnes of methane are emitted to the air, very roughly 40% from natural sources and 60% from human activities. Of this latter portion, fossil fuels contribute 120-130 million tonnes. This is methane that leaks from gas pipelines, coal mines and oil wells. There has at least been some progress towards controlling these leaks: new satellite technology has excelled at finding them, while 159 countries have pledged to cut emissions by 30% by 2030.

    In contrast, roughly 210-250 million tonnes of methane come from agriculture and its products, but these emissions are much tougher to tackle. It’s easier to spot a leaky gas well from space than farm leaks that are collectively large but individually small.

    These sources include the breath of livestock animals and their manure (roughly 120 million tonnes), rice fields (about 30 million tonnes), crop waste fires (about 20 million tonnes) and organic matter rotting in landfills (about 70 million tonnes).

    Shrinking the number of animals reared for food would benefit the climate.
    Andreas Bayer/Shutterstock

    Since 2000, the UK has slashed total methane emissions, especially by covering landfills and piping out gas, but farming emissions, from manure stores for instance, have hardly changed. The methane is made by methanogens, which are microbes that live in oxygen-poor environments, like the stomachs of cows, and biodigesters (which grow bacteria to convert organic waste into fertiliser, oils and gas) and landfills.

    If the UK cuts its own agricultural emissions by importing more food from tropical nations like Brazil it may still increase climate damage on a global scale. The problem is a global one, and very few countries are successfully reducing methane emissions from farming.

    Where there’s muck, there’s methane

    Cows, pigs and chickens make vast amounts of manure. In the US, Europe and East Asia, manure is often kept in big tanks or lagoons. These are usually under covers, but still release a lot of methane.

    Gas-tight coverings can prevent this, and the captured methane can be harvested and then burned to generate electricity. This still produces CO₂, but the warming impact is smaller, while the electricity can replace new natural gas in the national grid.

    The remaining slurry can be turned into fertiliser. Though it’s not commercially feasible now, it may one day be possible to turn it into aviation fuel.

    Biodigesters are becoming common in towns and on farms, but are often very leaky. Methane doesn’t smell, but if a biodigester is releasing other gases that stink, it’s probably also releasing methane. Leaks are easily controlled but much tighter regulation is needed to ensure this happens.

    Most of the world’s cattle are in India, Africa and South America. In large parts of the tropics, rain-fed crops aren’t enough to sustain people. The difference is made up by meat and milk from cows and goats that browse trees and bushes and graze seasonal grasses.

    Smaller herds can produce the same amount of food if cattle diseases are reduced. Bovine mastitis, East Coast fever and African trypanosomiasis can be vaccinated against, for example and agricultural experts in India have even used artificial insemination to make more calves female, and so slash dairy cattle numbers. It’s possible to give drugs to cattle to reduce methane emissions, but poor countries would struggle to cover the expense.

    Rice paddies emit methane, but rice is essential for nutrition, especially in East and South Asia, and increasingly in Africa. Flooding paddies only when and for how long it is needed during the year may cut emissions by as much as a quarter.

    In China, India, Africa and many parts of the US and Europe, landfills are major methane emitters. This is where wasted food ends up. But as the UK has shown, emissions can be sharply reduced by good landfill design and gas extraction.

    Simply adding a metre of soil to the surface of a landfill creates habitat for methane-eating bacteria, and also prevents landfill fires, which are very common in Africa and India. Still inexpensive is putting a plastic liner between the waste and soil and inserting pipes to extract gas that can generate electricity.

    The widespread burning of crop waste that pollutes skies in India and tropical Africa has terrible consequences for human health, but it also includes methane emissions that contribute to climate change.

    After a harvest, farmers may burn crop residues to cheaply prepare the land for future cultivation.
    RGtimeline/Shutterstock

    Crop waste fires were once a major source of air pollution in the UK and Europe. Today they are minimal thanks to better farming practice and straw processing. To cut burning, farmers need good advice, good management, good regulation and targeted financial help.

    Cutting agricultural methane emissions involves a wide range of relatively cheap measures that need good design and management, but could cut food-related emissions substantially over the next decade. High on the list should be tackling landfills and crop waste fires in India and Africa. In the US, Europe and China, it is manure storage facilities and biodigesters. With determination and inexpensive financial carrots and sticks, much could be accomplished.

    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.

    Euan Nisbet is an honorary fellow of Darwin College at the University of Cambridge. He is a member of the science panel of the UN International Methane Emissions Observatory.

    – ref. Methane emissions are turbocharging climate change – these quick fixes could slow it down – https://theconversation.com/methane-emissions-are-turbocharging-climate-change-these-quick-fixes-could-slow-it-down-246192

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: VelocityEHS Redefines Excellence in Chemical Management Software in Analyst Report

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — VelocityEHS, a global leader in enterprise EHS and ESG solutions, has been recognized as a market-leading chemicals management software provider in the latest Smart Innovators: Chemicals Management Software report conducted by Verdantix, an independent research firm.

    In a comprehensive assessment of 13 leading vendors, VelocityEHS achieved the highest overall score across key functional areas critical to chemical safety and compliance.

    “At VelocityEHS, we are dedicated to empowering organizations with the most effective, intuitive, and scalable solutions for managing chemical safety and compliance,” said VelocityEHS CEO Matt Airhart. “This recognition validates our commitment to helping companies navigate the increasingly complex regulatory landscape to improve worker health safety.”

    The Verdantix report evaluated providers across six core capabilities, with VelocityEHS earning high marks in four of the categories—earning a Market-Leading designation. In the remaining two categories, VelocityEHS was recognized as a Comprehensive Solution, further solidifying its position as an industry leader.

    Market Leading Capabilities

    Chemical Approvals & Inventory Tracking
    Facilitates streamlined approval workflows, real-time inventory tracking, and regulatory screening of chemical ingredients, helping companies maintain compliance and prevent unauthorized chemical use.

    Chemical Spill & Incident Management
    With the industry’s best spill response tools, Velocity enables real-time reporting, automated workflows, and corrective action tracking to mitigate chemical-related risks and improve workplace safety.

    Chemicals Management Compliance Reporting
    Simplifies compliance with Tier II, TRI, and other reporting frameworks by offering automated regulatory tracking and comprehensive data management, ensuring firms meet evolving chemical regulations.

    Hazard Communication & HazMat Labeling
    Provides advanced labeling capabilities, including built-in templates and automatic hazard classification based on SDS data, ensuring organizations remain compliant with global labeling standards such as GHS, OSHA, and WHMIS.

    Comprehensive Capabilities  

    Safety Data Sheet (SDS) Management
    Provides a robust SDS management solution, offering a centralized repository for SDSs, automated indexing, and multi-language support, ensuring organizations can easily access and update chemical safety information.

    Chemical Substitution & Toxicology Analyses
    By providing tools to identify safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals, VelocityEHS helps firms comply with regulations like REACH and TSCA while minimizing environmental and health risks. This commitment to safety and sustainability drives continues innovation, ensuring their solutions not only meet regulatory requirements but also support organizations’ broader EHS goals.

    A key example of this innovation is the recent enhancements to the Chemical Management solution, making it one of the first to align with OSHA’s Hazcom standard updates with Revision 7 of the UN’s Globally Harmonized Systems of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). These updates ensure companies can adapt to evolving compliance requirements while maintaining workplace safety.

    The key changes include:

    • Revised classification criteria
    • Updated label provisions
    • Classification amendments
    • Additional updates to SDS information requirements
    • New provisions for concentration ranges claimed as trade secrets

    VelocityEHS proactively implemented these updates based on the final rule and insights from internal experts, ensuring that EHS professionals had the tools and capabilities exactly when they needed them most.

    “Another recent advancement, our new AI-powered SDS indexing tool, helps companies quickly access critical safety data, improving response times during incidents and potentially saving lives. It’s all about combining innovation with responsibility to create a safer, more efficient and human-centered future for EHS,” said Airhart.

    “Organizations need more than just compliance tools—they need intelligent, connected solutions that help them stay ahead of risks. That’s why we’ve integrated our Chemical Management solution onto the enhanced Accelerate Platform,” he added.

    Unifying Chemical Management with Safety, Industrial Ergonomics, and Operational Risk, Velocity empowers organizations to create reports and integrate data from multiple solutions, enabling them to proactively manage risks and drive safer, more sustainable operations.

    “As chemical regulations continue to expand, firms are turning to chemical management software to help guide them through the increasing complexities and keep pace with change. Chemicals management software vendors, such as VelocityEHS with its advanced technology, enable medium – to high-risk companies to streamline chemical management workflows and exceed compliance requirements,” says Zain Idris, Industry Analyst at Verdantix.

    To learn more about VelocityEHS Accelerate, visit www.ehs.com/accelerate/.

    About VelocityEHS

    Relied on by more than 10 million users worldwide to drive operational excellence and achieve outstanding outcomes, VelocityEHS is the global leader in true SaaS enterprise EHS & ESG technology. The VelocityEHS Accelerate® Platform is the definitive gold standard, delivering best-in-class software solutions for managing Safety, Ergonomics, Chemical Management, and Operational Risk. In addition, Velocity offers world-class applications for Contractor Safety & Permit to Work, Environmental Compliance, and ESG.

    The VelocityEHS team includes unparalleled industry expertise, with more certified experts in health, safety, industrial hygiene, ergonomics, sustainability, the environment, AI, and machine learning than any other EHS software provider. Recognized by the EHS industry’s top independent analysts as a Leader in the Verdantix 2025 Green Quadrant Analysis, VelocityEHS is committed to industry thought leadership and to accelerating the pace of innovation through its software solutions and vision. Its privacy and security protocols, which include SOC2 Type II attestation, are among the most stringent in the industry.

    VelocityEHS is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with locations in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Tampa, Florida; Oakville, Ontario; London, England; Perth, Western Australia; and Cork, Ireland. For more information, visit www.EHS.com. 

    About Verdantix

    Verdantix is the essential thought-leader for world-enhancing innovation. We support change-makers with our proprietary data, unique expertise and executive networks. Our impactful analysis is delivered via a digital platform, consulting engagements and in-person events to thousands of decision-makers in more than 100 countries. From offices in London, New York and Boston, the Verdantix research team applies the principles of rigour, accuracy and curiosity to help our globally distributed clients solve their most complex challenges. Verdantix.com.

    Media Contact

    Jennifer Sinkwitts

    jsinkwitts@ehs.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Severe Thunderstorm Watch 27

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Note:  The expiration time in the watch graphic is amended if the watch is replaced, cancelled or extended.Note: Click for Watch Status Reports.
    SEL7

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 27
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    1025 AM EST Wed Mar 5 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of
    Southern Maryland
    Eastern/Southeastern Virginia
    Coastal Waters

    * Effective this Wednesday morning and evening from 1025 AM until
    600 PM EST.

    * Primary threats include…
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely
    A tornado or two possible

    SUMMARY…A convective line is expected to continue
    eastward/northeastward into more of eastern/southeastern VA and
    southern MD over the next several hours. Strong wind fields across
    the region will support the potential for damaging gusts within this
    line. A low probability for a brief tornado or two also exists.

    The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 45
    statute miles north and south of a line from 75 miles west southwest
    of Richmond VA to 20 miles east of Patuxent River MD. For a complete
    depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
    (WOUS64 KWNS WOU7).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
    favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area.
    Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening
    weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
    warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
    tornadoes.

    &&

    OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 26…

    AVIATION…A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
    1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few
    cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
    27035.

    …Mosier

    Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas.
    SAW7
    WW 27 SEVERE TSTM MD VA CW 051525Z – 052300Z
    AXIS..45 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF LINE..
    75WSW RIC/RICHMOND VA/ – 20E NHK/PATUXENT RIVER MD/
    ..AVIATION COORDS.. 40NM N/S /33ESE LYH – 25W SBY/
    HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..1 INCH. WIND GUSTS..60 KNOTS.
    MAX TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27035.

    LAT…LON 37737857 38937605 37637605 36437857

    THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A
    COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS
    FOR WOU7.

    Watch 27 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.

    Note:  Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes

    Probability of 2 or more tornadoes

    Low (20%)

    Probability of 1 or more strong (EF2-EF5) tornadoes

    Low (5%)

    Wind

    Probability of 10 or more severe wind events

    Mod (60%)

    Probability of 1 or more wind events > 65 knots

    Low (20%)

    Hail

    Probability of 10 or more severe hail events

    Low (10%)

    Probability of 1 or more hailstones > 2 inches

    Low (

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Queensland Youth Week 2025

    Source: Government of Queensland

    Mark your calendar! This year Queensland Youth Week is happening from 6-12 April 2025

    Queensland Youth Week (QYW) is a statewide celebration of the talents, achievements, and contributions of young Queenslanders aged 12–25.

    We’re inviting individuals, community groups, schools, and organisations to host events or activities that celebrates young Queenslanders’ incredible achievements.

    Hosting an event is a great way to:

    1. showcase the talents and achievements of young Queenslanders
    2. foster connection, learning, and collaboration within your community
    3. celebrate and support the next generation of leaders and changemakers.

    Add your event to our calendar by registering today and let us share your event with young people across Queensland.

    Register your event

    Looking for inspiration? Check out the QYW 2024 events calendar to see what was celebrated last year.

    Spread the word: Resources now available

    To help you promote QYW and your events, we have a variety of free, downloadable resources available for customisation and distribution within your networks.

    Get the resources

    You can also like, share, and repost updates on the Queensland Youth social media channels (Queensland Youth Facebook and Queensland Youth Instagram). Don’t forget to use the hashtag #QYW2025

    For updates, resources, and events visit qld.gov.au/youthweek or contact the Queensland Youth Week Team via email at QYW@housing.qld.gov.au

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: If you’re stressed, you’re distracted

    Source: Government of Queensland

    Check every time, never leave a child behind in a vehicle.

    Stress, exhaustion and distractions can impact short term memory, leading to devastating consequences when transporting children. Look Before You Lock means building a routine of checking to help avoid leaving a child in a car unintentionally. This means checking even if you know your child is not with you.

    Make sure to discuss your Look Before You Lock routine with every person who transports your child. This includes partners, grandparents, and friends. Making checking a habit could just save their life.

    Learn more about keeping children safe www.qld.gov.au/lookbeforeyoulock.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Madagascar’s lemurs live with the threat of cyclones – has this shaped their behaviour?

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Alison Behie, Professor of Biological Anthropology, Australian National University

    Madagascar is an island that’s no stranger to natural disasters, in particular cyclones. This is because it’s located in the south-west Indian Ocean cyclone basin, a region of the Indian Ocean where tropical cyclones typically form and develop.

    Madagascar has experienced 69 cyclones between 1912 and 2022, although cyclones have been a pressure on the island for much longer – estimates range from hundreds to more than thousands of years. This regular exposure has resulted in a uniquely harsh and unpredictable environment.

    Madagascar is also the only place in the entire world where lemurs, a group of primates, are naturally found. It’s home to over 100 species of lemurs.

    Due to ongoing threats of disaster impacts, hunting and deforestation, lemurs are the most endangered group of mammals in the world. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 98% of lemur species are threatened with extinction, 31% of which are critically endangered.

    It is therefore important to understand future threats to lemurs so as to protect them.

    Lemurs are unusual among primates. They show a higher degree of traits associated with resilience to living in a disaster-prone environment. For example, very few species rely on a diet of fruit, which is one of the first food items to disappear after a cyclone. Over half of lemur species rely on leaves as their main food item.

    They also exhibit a high degree of energy conserving behaviours, including hibernation and torpor – a shorter period of inactivity characterised by a lower body temperature and metabolic rate.

    It has long been believed that these behaviours are a result of Madagascar’s frequent cyclones. Living in an unpredictable environment over multiple generations could lead to different features being beneficial for survival. Some evolutionary adaptations may happen within a few decades, others could form over thousands of years.

    However, there is variation among species in these traits and, to date, no one has tested whether the unique behavioural features of lemurs actually occur more frequently in species that have experienced more cyclones, or if there may be a different explanation. Our research wanted to clear this up.

    In our study, my colleagues and I found no association between cyclone impact and how resilient lemurs are. We did however find a positive association between cyclone impact and body size. This suggests that the more a lemur species is affected by cyclones, the smaller they are.

    Given the increase globally in disasters, this type of work allows us to better understand the most and least resilient species to prepare for conservation efforts into the future.

    How resilient are lemurs?

    My research focuses on how animals, particularly primates, respond to the threat of climate change and disaster exposure. Previous work my colleagues and I did with howler monkeys showed that historical hurricane exposure was significantly linked to the evolution of behavioural adaptations, like small group size and energy conserving behaviours.

    We set out to design a specific study for lemurs. We wanted to determine whether the variation in behavioural traits in lemurs could be accounted for by the variation in cyclone exposure across the island.

    To carry out this research, we first made a map showing how cyclones affect different parts of Madagascar. We used weather patterns, past cyclone paths, how strong the cyclones were, and how much rain they brought. Data used for this came from the past 58 years, which is the data that was available, although Madagascar has been hit by cyclones over a much longer time period.

    We then placed a map of where lemurs live on top of our cyclone map to see how much cyclones affect each lemur species’ home. Our study covered the 26 species for which enough data was published to be able to determine their overall behavioural traits.

    For each of these species, we created a “resilience score”. To create this score, each species got one point for each behavioural trait they exhibited that is associated with living in a cyclone-prone area. For example, a species that shows hibernation got one point and a species that does not got 0 points. The resilience traits we used included: energy conserving behaviours; habitat use; group size; fruit in the diet; home range size; geographic range; and body size.

    We then added up the score across all resilience traits and compared the resilience score of each species with their habitat range cyclone score. This helped us see if species in high-impact areas had higher resilience. If so, it would strongly suggest that resilience traits evolved as an adaptation to frequent cyclones.

    Our results found no relationship between cyclone impact and overall resilience score. This may be because the historical cyclone data we had access to covered only the past 58 years. This may not be an accurate proxy for longer term cyclone activity associated with evolutionary adaptations.

    It could also be that the traits linked to cyclone resilience may have already existed in the last common ancestor of lemurs due to rapid environmental change on the African continent. Recent research suggests this ancestor rafted to Madagascar from Africa on floating vegetation. These traits could have helped it survive the journey. They’re also seen in other wildlife believed to have rafted to their island habitats and that may have been crucial for island colonisation.

    While overall resilience scores were not associated with cyclone impact, we did find that lemur species with smaller bodies experienced greater cyclone impacts. The north-east of the island was found to experience higher cyclone activity compared to the south-west. This aligns with previous research suggesting that larger primates, which require more food and space and reproduce more slowly, are less resilient and more likely to die after habitat disturbance.

    Importance for conservation

    Ours was the first study to try to find a quantitative link between cyclone exposure and the evolution of behavioural adaptations in lemurs and only the second to do so in primates.

    While results did not show a link to overall resilience, they did provide a template for future studies to explore the concept on other primates at a global scale. The study also provides a cyclone impact grid that could be used to assess impacts on other wildlife in Madagascar.

    In addition, our work has highlighted the importance of body size as a factor associated with less resilience to disaster.

    Read more: Mozambique’s cyclone flooding was devastating to animals – we studied how body size affected survival

    This research helps us to understand more about how species responded to cyclones in the past, which improves our understanding of the sorts of behavioural flexibility needed to survive severe environmental change. This then improves our ability to predict the effects of future events and mitigate impacts through more effective and targeted conservation. This is particularly true in island ecosystems, such as Madagascar, where endemic species are confined.

    Read more: Madagascar supports more unique plant life than any other island in the world – new study

    – Madagascar’s lemurs live with the threat of cyclones – has this shaped their behaviour?
    – https://theconversation.com/madagascars-lemurs-live-with-the-threat-of-cyclones-has-this-shaped-their-behaviour-249172

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Deepening UK-US defence relations and peace in Ukraine to top agenda for Defence Secretary’s Washington visit

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Deepening UK-US defence relations and peace in Ukraine to top agenda for Defence Secretary’s Washington visit

    During meetings, the Defence Secretary will hail the unparalleled depth of the UK-US relationship, which bolsters security and supports economic growth

    Securing a lasting peace in Ukraine and strengthening bonds between NATO allies will be the focus of discussions during the Defence Secretary’s visit to Washington DC on Wednesday and Thursday – including a meeting with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth.

    John Healey MP will hail the unparalleled depth of the UK’s special relationship with the US – the UK’s closest security ally – as both nations continue to collaborate on military operations, peacekeeping, intelligence gathering, and development of advanced technologies – bolstering security and supporting economic growth. 

    The Defence Secretary’s arrival in Washington DC comes as the UK receives the last of an order of 50 of the latest generation AH-64E attack helicopters for the British Army, the most advanced attack helicopter in the world. The helicopter was handed over yesterday (4 March) at the Boeing site in Arizona under a programme that supports more than 300 UK jobs, helping to grow the UK economy – underscoring defence as an engine for driving economic growth. 

    The visit also comes at the conclusion of the 50th occurrence of Exercise Red Flag in Nevada, a joint exercise with the UK, United States and Australia. The training is designed to test equally matched air forces in a realistic combat scenario and involves more than 3,000 military personnel in high-intensity training, such as dogfighting, air-policing and practicing bombing runs, at Nellis Air Force Base. 

    At their bilateral meeting tomorrow [Thursday], the two Defence Secretaries are due to discuss the plan for peace in Ukraine being worked on by the US, UK, France, and European allies. It comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Washington last week, where the Prime Minister and the President confirmed both nations will work together on security arrangements to deliver a lasting peace in Ukraine. The discussions follow the Prime Minister’s meeting of international leaders in London last weekend, where allies discussed the need for a lasting peace settlement, with US support.    

    The latest defence engagement with the new US administration follows a first meeting between the two Defence Secretaries last month, when the UK convened the 50-nation strong Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which coordinates urgent military support for Ukraine. 

    On Wednesday, the Defence Secretary will attend a reception to mark the 250th Anniversary of the US Marine Corps, held at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Washington DC.

    Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, said: 

    Amid a period of growing global instability, the unique and special relationship between the UK and US is as strong as ever – underlined by a shared commitment to freedom and democracy. 

    It is crucial that the UK and Europe step up further to take more responsibility for our security, and we are doing so. In the face of increasing global threats, we are cementing our ties as NATO allies, bolstering our national security and economic security, too. 

    The Prime Minister was clear following his meetings over the past week, that we will continue our dialogue with friends and allies to secure a path to a lasting peace in Ukraine. We will advance that work in Washington over the coming days.

    Discussions are also expected to cover deepening the UK-US defence relationship. The British and US Armed Forces operate in close alignment around the world, from the long-standing global coalition to combat Daesh in the Middle East to joint maritime security patrols in the Indo-Pacific.  

    Collective security and stability also support both nations’ economies and delivers on our Plan for Change.

    The AUKUS programme to develop a fleet of world-class nuclear powered, conventionally armed submarines for the UK and Australia, is a perfect example of this work – with a £9 billion contract with Rolls Royce awarded in January as part of the programme, creating more than 1,000 jobs and supporting a further 4,000 roles. 

    The Apache programme also supports the UK economy, with numerous components manufactured in the UK. This benefits 75 British companies, including 33 SMEs, with jobs being supported at the Army Aviation Centre at Middle Wallop in Hampshire and Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk.

    Updates to this page

    Published 5 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Inspectors praise Stanley Primary School

    Source: Scotland – City of Perth

    Stanley Primary School and Early Learning and Childcare has been praised for their work to improve outcomes for children.

    Inspectors from Education Scotland visited the school in January and highlighted several strengths in the school’s work.

    They also praised the school’s approach to children’s wellbeing, and the leadership opportunities given to pupils throughout their time at the school.

    The inspection also identified areas for improvement, including improving approaches to learning, teaching and assessment and enhancing planning and assessment strategies to ensure all children make the best possible progress.

    Education Scotland’s evaluations for Stanley Primary School and Early Learning and Childcare are as follows:

    Primary Stages:

    • Leadership of change: Satisfactory
    • Learning, teaching, and assessment: Satisfactory
    • Ensuring wellbeing, equality, and inclusion: Good
    • Raising attainment and achievement: Good

    Nursery Class:

    • Leadership of change: Good
    • Learning, teaching, and assessment: Good
    • Ensuring wellbeing, equality, and inclusion: Good
    • Securing children’s progress: Good

    Councillor John Rebbeck, convener of Perth and Kinross Council’s Learning and Families Committee, said: “This inspection report achievement is a testament to the dedication, hard work, and commitment of the entire school community.

    “This report not only recognises the school’s current successes but also sets a benchmark for continued growth and improvement.”

    Last modified on 05 March 2025

    Share this page

    Print

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Madagascar’s lemurs live with the threat of cyclones – has this shaped their behaviour?

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Alison Behie, Professor of Biological Anthropology, Australian National University

    Madagascar is an island that’s no stranger to natural disasters, in particular cyclones. This is because it’s located in the south-west Indian Ocean cyclone basin, a region of the Indian Ocean where tropical cyclones typically form and develop.

    Madagascar has experienced 69 cyclones between 1912 and 2022, although cyclones have been a pressure on the island for much longer – estimates range from hundreds to more than thousands of years. This regular exposure has resulted in a uniquely harsh and unpredictable environment.

    Madagascar is also the only place in the entire world where lemurs, a group of primates, are naturally found. It’s home to over 100 species of lemurs.

    Due to ongoing threats of disaster impacts, hunting and deforestation, lemurs are the most endangered group of mammals in the world. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 98% of lemur species are threatened with extinction, 31% of which are critically endangered.

    It is therefore important to understand future threats to lemurs so as to protect them.

    Lemurs are unusual among primates. They show a higher degree of traits associated with resilience to living in a disaster-prone environment. For example, very few species rely on a diet of fruit, which is one of the first food items to disappear after a cyclone. Over half of lemur species rely on leaves as their main food item.

    They also exhibit a high degree of energy conserving behaviours, including hibernation and torpor – a shorter period of inactivity characterised by a lower body temperature and metabolic rate.

    It has long been believed that these behaviours are a result of Madagascar’s frequent cyclones. Living in an unpredictable environment over multiple generations could lead to different features being beneficial for survival. Some evolutionary adaptations may happen within a few decades, others could form over thousands of years.

    However, there is variation among species in these traits and, to date, no one has tested whether the unique behavioural features of lemurs actually occur more frequently in species that have experienced more cyclones, or if there may be a different explanation. Our research wanted to clear this up.

    In our study, my colleagues and I found no association between cyclone impact and how resilient lemurs are. We did however find a positive association between cyclone impact and body size. This suggests that the more a lemur species is affected by cyclones, the smaller they are.

    Given the increase globally in disasters, this type of work allows us to better understand the most and least resilient species to prepare for conservation efforts into the future.

    How resilient are lemurs?

    My research focuses on how animals, particularly primates, respond to the threat of climate change and disaster exposure. Previous work my colleagues and I did with howler monkeys showed that historical hurricane exposure was significantly linked to the evolution of behavioural adaptations, like small group size and energy conserving behaviours.

    We set out to design a specific study for lemurs. We wanted to determine whether the variation in behavioural traits in lemurs could be accounted for by the variation in cyclone exposure across the island.

    To carry out this research, we first made a map showing how cyclones affect different parts of Madagascar. We used weather patterns, past cyclone paths, how strong the cyclones were, and how much rain they brought. Data used for this came from the past 58 years, which is the data that was available, although Madagascar has been hit by cyclones over a much longer time period.

    We then placed a map of where lemurs live on top of our cyclone map to see how much cyclones affect each lemur species’ home. Our study covered the 26 species for which enough data was published to be able to determine their overall behavioural traits.

    For each of these species, we created a “resilience score”. To create this score, each species got one point for each behavioural trait they exhibited that is associated with living in a cyclone-prone area. For example, a species that shows hibernation got one point and a species that does not got 0 points. The resilience traits we used included: energy conserving behaviours; habitat use; group size; fruit in the diet; home range size; geographic range; and body size.

    We then added up the score across all resilience traits and compared the resilience score of each species with their habitat range cyclone score. This helped us see if species in high-impact areas had higher resilience. If so, it would strongly suggest that resilience traits evolved as an adaptation to frequent cyclones.

    Our results found no relationship between cyclone impact and overall resilience score. This may be because the historical cyclone data we had access to covered only the past 58 years. This may not be an accurate proxy for longer term cyclone activity associated with evolutionary adaptations.

    It could also be that the traits linked to cyclone resilience may have already existed in the last common ancestor of lemurs due to rapid environmental change on the African continent. Recent research suggests this ancestor rafted to Madagascar from Africa on floating vegetation. These traits could have helped it survive the journey. They’re also seen in other wildlife believed to have rafted to their island habitats and that may have been crucial for island colonisation.

    While overall resilience scores were not associated with cyclone impact, we did find that lemur species with smaller bodies experienced greater cyclone impacts. The north-east of the island was found to experience higher cyclone activity compared to the south-west. This aligns with previous research suggesting that larger primates, which require more food and space and reproduce more slowly, are less resilient and more likely to die after habitat disturbance.

    Importance for conservation

    Ours was the first study to try to find a quantitative link between cyclone exposure and the evolution of behavioural adaptations in lemurs and only the second to do so in primates.

    While results did not show a link to overall resilience, they did provide a template for future studies to explore the concept on other primates at a global scale. The study also provides a cyclone impact grid that could be used to assess impacts on other wildlife in Madagascar.

    In addition, our work has highlighted the importance of body size as a factor associated with less resilience to disaster.



    Read more:
    Mozambique’s cyclone flooding was devastating to animals – we studied how body size affected survival

    This research helps us to understand more about how species responded to cyclones in the past, which improves our understanding of the sorts of behavioural flexibility needed to survive severe environmental change. This then improves our ability to predict the effects of future events and mitigate impacts through more effective and targeted conservation. This is particularly true in island ecosystems, such as Madagascar, where endemic species are confined.



    Read more:
    Madagascar supports more unique plant life than any other island in the world – new study

    Alison Behie receives funding from The Australian Research Council.

    – ref. Madagascar’s lemurs live with the threat of cyclones – has this shaped their behaviour? – https://theconversation.com/madagascars-lemurs-live-with-the-threat-of-cyclones-has-this-shaped-their-behaviour-249172

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK to extend electronic travel to European visitors

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    UK to extend electronic travel to European visitors

    Europeans can now apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to travel to the UK and will need one from 2 April 2025.

    Photo: Getty Images

    The UK government is taking the last major step in the rollout of Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for the millions of visitors who pass through the UK border every year. From today, eligible Europeans can apply for an ETA and will need one to travel to the UK from Wednesday 2 April 2025.

    This expansion follows the successful rollout of ETAs to all eligible non-European nationals last year, which includes visitors from the USA, Canada and Australia who now need an ETA to travel. Almost 1.1 million visitors have been issued with ETAs and will benefit from smoother, easier travel to the UK for short trips in the future.

    ETAs will strengthen the immigration system’s security and keep our country safe by screening people before they set foot in the UK.

    Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Seema Malhotra, said:

    Securing our borders is a foundation of the UK government’s Plan for Change and by digitising the immigration system we are paving the way for a contactless UK border, ensuring visitors enjoy a seamless travel experience in the future.

    Expanding ETA worldwide cements our commitment to enhance security through technology and innovation.

    Applying for an ETA is quick and simple through the UK ETA app and, with the vast majority of applicants currently receiving a decision automatically in minutes, spontaneous trips to the UK should still be possible. Prospective visitors can also apply on GOV.UK if they do not have access to a smartphone.

    Applicants provide their biographic and biometric details and answer questions on suitability and criminality. Once an applicant has successfully applied, their ETA is digitally linked to their passport.

    While most applications are approved quickly, it is still recommended to allow up to 3 working days to account for the small number of cases that require additional review.

    An ETA currently costs £10 and allows multiple visits to the UK of up to 6 months over a 2-year period, or until the holder’s passport expires – whichever is sooner. An ETA is not a visa, it is a digital permission to travel.

    The UK government continues to work closely with the travel industry, including major airline, maritime and rail carriers, to ensure the smooth implementation of our new digital requirements.

    Updates to this page

    Published 5 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Apple introduces the new MacBook Air with the M4 chip and a sky blue color

    Source: Apple

    Headline: Apple introduces the new MacBook Air with the M4 chip and a sky blue color

    March 5, 2025

    PRESS RELEASE

    Apple introduces the new MacBook Air with the soaring performance of the M4 chip, a gorgeous new sky blue color, and a lower starting price of $999

    The world’s most popular laptop delivers more value than ever with greater performance, up to 18 hours of battery life, a 12MP Center Stage camera, and enhanced external display support — all in its strikingly thin and light design

    CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced the new MacBook Air, featuring the blazing-fast performance of the M4 chip, up to 18 hours of battery life,1 a new 12MP Center Stage camera, and a lower starting price. It also offers support for up to two external displays in addition to the built-in display, 16GB of starting unified memory, and the incredible capabilities of macOS Sequoia with Apple Intelligence — all packed into its strikingly thin and light design that’s built to last. The new MacBook Air now comes in an all-new color — sky blue, a metallic light blue that joins midnight, starlight, and silver — giving MacBook Air its most beautiful array of colors ever. It also now starts at just $999 — $100 less than before — and $899 for education, making it an incredible value for students, business professionals, or anyone looking for a phenomenal combination of world-class performance, portability, design, and durability. With two sizes to choose from, the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air are available to pre-order today, with availability beginning Wednesday, March 12.

    “MacBook Air is by far the world’s most popular laptop, and today we’re giving everyone even more reasons to love it, including a big boost in performance with the M4 chip, a new Center Stage camera, and a beautiful new sky blue color,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Combined with its thin and light, fanless design, all-day battery life, and the incredible capabilities of macOS Sequoia with Apple Intelligence, MacBook Air is unlike any other laptop. And with a new lower starting price of $999, MacBook Air delivers more value to consumers than ever before, making this the perfect moment to upgrade or experience the Mac for the first time.”

    A Fresh New Hue: Hello, Sky Blue  

    Adding a new choice to the lineup of MacBook Air colors is the all-new sky blue. A beautiful, metallic light blue that creates a dynamic gradient when light reflects off of its surface, sky blue joins midnight, starlight, and silver to complete the brilliant array of color choices for MacBook Air. All color options, including sky blue, come with a color-matched MagSafe charge cable.

    M4: Performance to the Next Level 

    With M4 in MacBook Air, everything from daily activities like multitasking between apps to more demanding tasks like photo and video editing is faster and more fluid. The M4 chip features a powerful 10-core CPU, an up to 10-core GPU, and support for up to 32GB of unified memory, making the new MacBook Air up to 2x faster than the M1 model.1 When compared to the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, the M4 model delivers up to 23x faster performance.1 With battery life on the new MacBook Air up to 18 hours, Intel-based upgraders will get up to six additional hours, so they can get more done on a single charge.1 The powerful Neural Engine in the M4 chip, which accelerates AI-based tasks, is also up to 3x faster than on MacBook Air with M1, significantly increasing speed in tasks like automatically enhancing photos and removing background noise from a video.

    MacBook Air with M4 delivers a new level of performance:

    • Spreadsheet calculation performance in Microsoft Excel is up to 4.7x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, and up to 1.6x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1.1
    • Video editing in iMovie is up to 8x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, and up to 2x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1.2
    • Photo editing in Adobe Photoshop is up to 3.6x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, and up to 2x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1.1
    • Web browsing is up to 60 percent faster when compared to a PC laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, and more demanding tasks get up to 2x faster performance.1

    Built for Apple Intelligence

    MacBook Air is built for Apple Intelligence, unlocking exciting new capabilities that make Mac even more helpful and powerful. Users can explore creative new ways to express themselves visually with Image Playground, create the perfect emoji with Genmoji, and make their writing even more dynamic with Writing Tools. With new Siri improvements, users can move fluidly between spoken and typed requests to accelerate tasks throughout their day, and Siri can answer thousands of questions about Mac features and settings, with step-by-step instructions for how to do something on Mac. With access to ChatGPT seamlessly integrated into Writing Tools and Siri, users can choose to access ChatGPT’s expertise so they can get things done faster and easier than ever before. Users can access ChatGPT for free without creating an account, and privacy protections are built in — their IP addresses are obscured and OpenAI won’t store requests. Users can choose whether to enable ChatGPT integration, and are in full control of when they use it and what information is shared with ChatGPT.

    Designed to protect users’ privacy at every step, Apple Intelligence uses on-device processing, meaning that many of the models that power it run entirely on device. For requests that require access to larger models, Private Cloud Compute extends the privacy and security of Mac into the cloud to unlock even more intelligence. When using Private Cloud Compute, users’ data is never stored or shared with Apple; it is used only to fulfill their request.

    Always Camera-Ready

    A new 12MP Center Stage camera with improved video quality keeps MacBook Air users looking their best, whether at home, school, or work. Center Stage automatically keeps users centered in the frame as they move around — great for connecting with friends and family over FaceTime or joining an important meeting. It also supports Desk View, which simultaneously displays the user and a top-down view of their desk, making video calls even more engaging for those who want to show off their latest DIY project or present a prototype at work.

    Enhanced Display Support 

    MacBook Air can easily power a multi-display setup to make viewing and interacting with content a breeze, for anyone from business professionals at the office multitasking across multiple windows, to students in a dorm room tackling a big project across several apps. For users who like to spread their work out, MacBook Air now supports up to two 6K external displays, in addition to its built-in Liquid Retina display.

    Everything Users Already Love

    More people choose MacBook Air over any other laptop. In addition to what’s new, MacBook Air with M4 includes all of the useful features and capabilities that have made it so popular, including:

    • Reliability and durability: The 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air feature a durable aluminum unibody enclosure that’s built to last, and are both less than half an inch thin, so users can work, play, or create from anywhere. The 13-inch model provides the ultimate in portability for users on the go, while the 15-inch model offers even more room to multitask.
    • Touch ID and Magic Keyboard: With the advanced security of Touch ID, users can easily and securely unlock their MacBook Air, make online purchases with Apple Pay, and download apps. The comfortable and quiet Magic Keyboard is backlit and comes with a full-height function row.
    • Gorgeous display: MacBook Air features a brilliant 13.6- or 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display with up to 500 nits of brightness, support for 1 billion colors, and up to 2x the resolution of comparable PC laptops. Content looks vivid with sharp detail, and text appears super crisp.
    • Versatile connectivity: MacBook Air with M4 features fast Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. It also includes MagSafe charging and two Thunderbolt ports for connecting accessories like external storage and security keys, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack.
    • Mics and speakers: Users will sound their best with a three-mic array and enhanced voice clarity on audio and video calls. And with an immersive sound system that has support for Spatial Audio along with Dolby Atmos, users will enjoy a three-dimensional soundstage for music and movies.

    An Unrivaled Experience: macOS Sequoia

    macOS Sequoia completes the new MacBook Air experience with a host of exciting features, including iPhone Mirroring, allowing users to wirelessly interact with their iPhone, its apps, and notifications directly from their Mac.3 Safari, the world’s fastest browser,4 now surfaces relevant information on sites in Highlights; summarizes articles in the redesigned Reader; keeps videos front and center in a new Video Viewer; and lets users hide distracting items with Distraction Control. Gaming gets even more immersive with features like Personalized Spatial Audio and improvements to Game Mode, along with a breadth of exciting titles, including Civilization VII, Wuthering Waves, and more. Easier window tiling means users can stay organized with a window layout that works best for them. The all-new Passwords app gives convenient access to passwords, passkeys, and other credentials — all stored in one place. And users can apply new, beautiful built-in backgrounds for video calls, which include a variety of color gradients, or use their own photos.

    Next month, macOS Sequoia 15.4 will make it easier than ever to set up the new MacBook Air with iPhone. By simply bringing iPhone close to Mac, users can quickly and conveniently sign in to their Apple Account to get their files, photos, messages, passwords, and more on their new MacBook Air.5

    Better for the Environment

    MacBook Air is designed with the environment in mind. As part of Apple 2030, the company’s ambitious goal to be carbon neutral across its entire carbon footprint by the end of this decade, Apple is transitioning to renewable electricity for manufacturing, and investing in wind and solar projects around the world to address the electricity used to charge all Apple products, including MacBook Air. Today, all Apple facilities run on 100 percent renewable electricity — including the data centers that power Apple Intelligence.

    To achieve Apple 2030, the company is designing products with more recycled and renewable materials, which further drives down the carbon footprint. MacBook Air features over 55 percent recycled content overall, the most in any Apple product. This includes 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure and 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets. The battery contains 100 percent recycled cobalt and — in a first for any Mac — over 95 percent recycled lithium. MacBook Air meets Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency, and is free of mercury, brominated flame retardants, and PVC. The packaging is entirely fiber-based, bringing Apple closer to its goal to remove plastic from all packaging by the end of 2025.6

    Pricing and Availability

    • Customers can pre-order the new MacBook Air with M4 starting today on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 28 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Wednesday, March 12.
    • The 13-inch MacBook Air with M4 starts at $999 (U.S.) and $899 (U.S.) for education, and the 15‑inch MacBook Air with M4 starts at $1,199 (U.S.) and $1,099 (U.S.) for education. Both are available in sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver.
    • Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options, and accessories are available at apple.com/mac.
    • Apple Intelligence is available on all Mac models with M1 and later, in localized English for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK, and the U.S. Additional languages — including French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (simplified), English (Singapore), and English (India) — will be available in April, with more languages coming over the course of the year, including Vietnamese. Some features, applications, and services may not be available in all regions or all languages.
    • With Apple Trade In, customers can trade in their current computer and get credit toward a new Mac. Customers can visit apple.com/shop/trade-in to see what their device is worth.
    • AppleCare+ for Mac provides unparalleled service and support. This includes unlimited incidents of accidental damage, battery service coverage, and 24/7 support from the people who know Mac best.
    • Every customer who buys directly from Apple Retail gets access to Personal Setup. In these guided online sessions, a Specialist can walk them through setup, or focus on features that help them make the most of their new device. Customers can also learn more about getting started with their new device with a Today at Apple session at their nearest Apple Store.
    • Customers in the U.S. who shop at Apple using Apple Card can pay monthly at 0 percent APR when they choose to check out with Apple Card Monthly Installments, and they’ll get 3 percent Daily Cash back — all up front. More information — including details on eligibility, exclusions, and Apple Card terms — is available at apple.com/apple-card/monthly-installments.

    About Apple Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s six software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV+. Apple’s more than 150,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth and to leaving the world better than we found it.

    1. Testing was conducted by Apple in January 2025. See apple.com/macbook-air for more information. Battery life varies by use and configuration. See apple.com/batteries for more information.
    2. Results are compared to previous-generation MacBook Air systems with Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 2TB SSD; and 1.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7-based MacBook Air systems with Intel Iris Plus Graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 2TB SSD.
    3. Available on Mac computers with Apple silicon and Intel-based Mac computers with a T2 Security Chip. See requirements on apple.com/macos/macos-sequoia. Some iPhone features (for example, camera and microphone) are not compatible with iPhone Mirroring.
    4. Testing was conducted by Apple in August 2024. See apple.com/safari for more information.
    5. Available next month on macOS Sequoia 15.4 with iPhone and iPad running iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, or a later version.
    6. Based on retail packaging as shipped by Apple. Breakdown of U.S. retail packaging by weight. Adhesives, inks, and coatings are excluded from our calculations of plastic content and packaging weight.

    Press Contacts

    Starlayne Meza

    Apple

    starlayne_meza@apple.com

    Lizette Viviana Du Pond

    Apple

    ldupond@apple.com

    Apple Media Helpline

    media.help@apple.com

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever

    Source: Apple

    Headline: Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever

    March 5, 2025

    PRESS RELEASE

    Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever, featuring M4 Max and new M3 Ultra

    With Thunderbolt 5, up to 512GB of unified memory, and an up to 16TB SSD, all in a compact design, the ultimate pro desktop delivers even more performance

    CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced the new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever made, featuring M4 Max and the new M3 Ultra chip. The ultimate pro desktop delivers groundbreaking pro performance, extensive connectivity now with Thunderbolt 5, and new capabilities in its compact and quiet design that can live right on a desk. Mac Studio can tackle the most intense workloads with its powerful CPU, Apple’s advanced graphics architecture, higher unified memory capacity, ultrafast SSD storage, and a faster and more efficient Neural Engine. It provides a big boost in performance compared to the previous generation, and a massive leap for users coming from older Macs.

    Mac Studio is a powerhouse for AI, capable of running large language models (LLMs) with over 600 billion parameters entirely in memory, thanks to its advanced GPU and up to 512GB of unified memory with M3 Ultra — the most ever in a personal computer. It’s also built for Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that transforms how users work, communicate, and express themselves, while protecting their privacy. The new Mac Studio is available to pre-order today, with availability beginning March 12.

    “The new Mac Studio is the most powerful Mac we’ve ever made,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “A complete game-changer for pros around the world — powering both home and pro studios — Mac Studio sits in a class of its own, offering a staggering amount of performance in a compact, quiet design that fits beautifully on your desk. With this new Mac Studio, we’re delivering even more extreme performance with M4 Max and M3 Ultra, support for half a terabyte of unified memory, up to 16TB of superfast storage, and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity. Mac Studio truly is the ultimate pro desktop.”

    Mac Studio with M4 Max: A Performance Juggernaut

    The new Mac Studio with M4 Max is the perfect choice for video editors, colorists, developers, engineers, photographers, creative pros, and other users who need to blaze through intensive workflows. It delivers phenomenal single-threaded CPU performance with the world’s fastest CPU core, along with outstanding multithreaded CPU performance for complex workloads. Featuring an up to 16-core CPU, an up to 40-core GPU, over half a terabyte per second of unified memory bandwidth, and a Neural Engine that is over 3x faster than M1 Max, Mac Studio with M4 Max can run on-device AI models incredibly fast. Mac Studio with M4 Max is up to 3.5x faster than Mac Studio with M1 Max, and is up to 6.1x faster than the most powerful Intel-based 27-inch iMac.1

    The GPU in M4 Max also brings Apple’s advanced graphics architecture to Mac Studio for the first time, including dynamic caching, hardware-accelerated mesh shading, and a second-generation ray-tracing engine for more seamless content creation and gaming. Mac Studio with M4 Max starts at 36GB of unified memory, with support for up to 128GB, so users can do everything from sorting through thousands of images with speed and precision, to producing complex compositions with hundreds of tracks, plug-ins, and virtual instruments, all played in real time. And with the powerful Media Engine in M4 Max, which features two ProRes accelerators, Mac Studio performance is outstanding for videographers who can effortlessly work with multiple streams of 4K ProRes.

    Mac Studio with M4 Max enables:1

    • Up to 1.6x faster image processing in Adobe Photoshop when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 2.9x faster when compared to the 27-inch iMac with Core i9. 
    • Up to 2.1x faster build performance when compiling code in Xcode when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 3.1x faster when compared to the 27-inch iMac with Core i9. 
    • Up to 1.2x faster ProRes transcode performance in Compressor when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 2.8x faster when compared to the 27-inch iMac with Core i9. 
    • Up to 1.6x faster video processing performance in Topaz Video AI when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 5x faster when compared to the 27-inch iMac with Core i9.

    Mac Studio with M3 Ultra: The Pinnacle of Pro Performance

    Mac Studio with M3 Ultra pushes demanding workflows to a whole new level. It delivers nearly 2x faster performance than M4 Max in workloads that take advantage of high CPU and GPU core counts, and massive amounts of unified memory.2 Mac Studio with M3 Ultra is up to 2.6x faster than Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 6.4x faster than the 16-core Intel Xeon W-based Mac Pro.1 With the new M3 Ultra, Mac Studio features an up to 32-core CPU with 24 performance cores, 50 percent more than any previous Ultra chip and the most CPU cores ever in a Mac. It also offers an up to 80-core GPU, more than any Apple silicon chip; a powerful 32-core Neural Engine for on-device AI and machine learning (ML); and a high-bandwidth memory architecture that delivers over 800GB/s of unified memory bandwidth.

    Mac Studio with M3 Ultra starts with 96GB of unified memory, which can be configured up to 512GB — the most unified memory ever in a personal computer — and up to 16TB of ultrafast SSD storage, so content and data can be kept locally. That’s enough storage for over 12 hours of 8K ProRes video. The advanced graphics architecture brings Dynamic Caching, along with hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing, so graphics workflows like GPU-based renderers are up to 2.6x faster than Mac Studio with M1 Ultra.

    Mac Studio with M3 Ultra enables:1

    • Up to 16.9x faster token generation using an LLM with hundreds of billions of parameters in LM Studio when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, thanks to its massive amounts of unified memory.
    • Up to 2.6x faster scene rendering performance in Maxon Redshift when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 6.4x faster when compared to the 16-core Intel-based Mac Pro with Radeon Pro W5700X.
    • Up to 1.1x faster basecalling for DNA sequencing in Oxford Nanopore MinKNOW when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 21.1x faster when compared to the 16-core Intel-based Mac Pro with Radeon Pro W5700X. 
    • Up to 1.4x faster 8K video rendering performance in Final Cut Pro when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 4x faster when compared to the 16-core Intel-based Mac Pro with Radeon Pro W5700X.

    Thunderbolt 5 for High-Bandwidth Accessories and Expansion

    The new Mac Studio features Thunderbolt 5 ports that deliver transfer speeds up to 120 Gb/s, up to 3x faster than the prior generation, enabling faster external storage, expansion chassis, and powerful hub solutions. For those who rely on PCIe expansion cards for their workflows, Thunderbolt 5 allows users to connect an external expansion chassis with higher bandwidth and lower latency. And with M3 Ultra, Mac Studio now drives up to eight Pro Display XDRs at the full 6K resolution. Mac Studio also offers a wide array of connectivity within easy reach for pros, including a 10Gb Ethernet port, an HDMI port, an SDXC card slot on the front to conveniently import photos and video, along with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

    Built for Apple Intelligence

    Mac Studio helps pros push the boundaries of what they can do, and Apple Intelligence elevates those experiences even further. Writing is even more dynamic with Writing Tools, which can help users rewrite, proofread, or summarize — whether they are responding to emails or using summarization to draft an abstract in seconds in apps like Scrivener. Pros can minimize unnecessary distractions with Priority Notifications and use live transcription in Notes to record and easily recap important meetings. With new Siri improvements, users can move fluidly between spoken and typed requests to accelerate tasks throughout their day, and Siri can answer thousands of questions about Mac features and settings, with step-by-step instructions like how to combine PDF files in Preview. With access to ChatGPT seamlessly integrated into Writing Tools and Siri, users can tap into ChatGPT’s expertise, so they can get things done even faster and easier. Users can choose to enable ChatGPT integration, and are in full control of when to use it and what information is shared with ChatGPT. Users can also explore creative new ways to express themselves visually with Image Playground, and drop their original image right into their paper, mood board, or Keynote presentation. Whether users are researching their next project, editing a video, creating new designs, or preparing for their next lecture, these new tools will help pros be even more productive.

    Designed to protect users’ privacy at every step, Apple Intelligence uses on-device processing, meaning that many of the models that power it run entirely on device. For requests that require access to larger models, Private Cloud Compute extends the privacy and security of Mac into the cloud to unlock even more intelligence. When using Private Cloud Compute, users’ data is never stored or shared with Apple; it is used only to fulfill their request.

    macOS Sequoia: An Unrivaled Experience

    macOS Sequoia completes the new Mac Studio experience with a host of exciting features, including iPhone Mirroring, which allows users to wirelessly interact with their iPhone, its apps, and notifications directly from their Mac.3 Pros can now move files, photos, and videos between iPhone and Mac as easily as they can drag and drop between apps on Mac. Easier window tiling means users can stay organized with a window layout that works best for them. The all-new Passwords app gives convenient access to passwords, passkeys, and other credentials, all stored in one place. And users can apply beautiful built-in backgrounds for video calls, which include a variety of color gradients and system wallpapers, or upload their own photos. Safari, the world’s fastest browser,4 now surfaces relevant information on sites in Highlights; summarizes articles in the redesigned Reader; keeps videos front and center in a new Video Viewer; and lets users hide distracting items with Distraction Control. Gaming gets even more immersive with features like Personalized Spatial Audio and improvements to Game Mode, along with a breadth of exciting titles, including Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition by CD PROJEKT RED, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and more.

    Next month, macOS Sequoia 15.4 will make it easier than ever to set up the new Mac Studio with iPhone.5 By simply bringing iPhone close to Mac, users can quickly and conveniently sign in to their Apple Account to get their files, photos, messages, passwords, and more on their new Mac Studio.

    The Ultimate Studio Setup

    Mac Studio, together with Studio Display, empowers creative users to build the studio of their dreams. Studio Display perfectly pairs with Mac Studio with its expansive 27-inch 5K Retina display, 12MP Center Stage camera, studio-quality three-mic array, and six-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio. For users working on HDR workflows, Pro Display XDR offers a 32-inch Retina 6K display with up to 1600 nits of peak HDR brightness. Customers can also add matching Magic accessories — including Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse — that beautifully complement the elegant design of Mac Studio and Studio Display.

    Better for the Environment

    The new Mac Studio is designed with the environment in mind. As part of Apple 2030, the company’s ambitious goal to be carbon neutral across its entire carbon footprint by the end of this decade, Apple is transitioning to renewable electricity for its manufacturing, and investing in wind and solar projects around the world to address the electricity used to power all Apple products, including Mac Studio. Today, all Apple facilities run on 100 percent renewable electricity — including the data centers that power Apple Intelligence.

    To achieve Apple 2030, the company is designing products with more recycled and renewable materials, which further drives down the carbon footprint. Mac Studio features over 30 percent recycled content overall, including 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure and 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets. Mac Studio uses far less energy and materials than desktops in its class, and is free of mercury, brominated flame retardants, and PVC. The packaging is entirely fiber-based, bringing Apple closer to its goal to remove plastic from all packaging by the end of 2025.6

    Pricing and Availability

    • Customers can pre-order the new Mac Studio starting today on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 28 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Wednesday, March 12.
    • Mac Studio starts at $1,999 (U.S.) and $1,799 (U.S.) for education. Additional configure-to-order options are available at apple.com/store. 
    • More information on Studio Display, Pro Display XDR, and Magic accessories is available at apple.com/shop/buy-mac.
    • Apple Intelligence is available on all Mac models with M1 and later, in localized English for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK, and the U.S. Additional languages — including French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (simplified), English (Singapore), and English (India) — will be available in April, with more languages coming over the course of the year, including Vietnamese. Some features, applications, and services may not be available in all regions or all languages. 
    • With Apple Trade In, customers can trade in their current computer and get credit toward a new Mac. Customers can visit apple.com/shop/trade-in to see what their device is worth. 
    • AppleCare+ for Mac provides unparalleled service and support. This includes unlimited incidents of accidental damage, battery service coverage, and 24/7 support from the people who know Mac best. 
    • Every customer who buys directly from Apple Retail gets access to Personal Setup. In these guided online sessions, a Specialist can walk them through setup, or focus on features that help them make the most of their new device. Customers can also learn more about getting started with their new device with a Today at Apple session at their nearest Apple Store.
    • Customers in the U.S. who shop at Apple using Apple Card can pay monthly at 0 percent APR when they choose to check out with Apple Card Monthly Installments, and they’ll get 3 percent Daily Cash back — all up front. More information — including details on eligibility, exclusions, and Apple Card terms — is available at apple.com/apple-card/monthly-installments.

    About Apple Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s six software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV+. Apple’s more than 150,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth and to leaving the world better than we found it.

    1. Testing was conducted by Apple in January and February 2025. See apple.com/mac-studio for more information.
    2. Results are compared to Mac Studio systems with Apple M4 Max, 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 128GB of RAM, and 8TB SSD.
    3. Available on Mac computers with Apple silicon and Intel-based Mac computers with a T2 Security Chip. See requirements on apple.com/macos/macos-sequoia. Some iPhone features (for example, camera and microphone) are not compatible with iPhone Mirroring.
    4. Testing was conducted by Apple in August 2024. See apple.com/safari for more information.
    5. Available next month on macOS Sequoia 15.4 with iPhone and iPad running iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, or a later version.
    6. Based on retail packaging as shipped by Apple. Breakdown of U.S. retail packaging by weight. Adhesives, inks, and coatings are excluded from calculations of plastic content and packaging weight.

    Press Contacts

    Michelle Del Rio

    Apple

    mr_delrio@apple.com

    Starlayne Meza

    Apple

    starlayne_meza@apple.com

    Apple Media Helpline

    media.help@apple.com

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Is your TPAR overdue?

    Source: Australian Department of Revenue

    If your business pays contractors for Taxable payments reporting system (TPRS) services, you may need to lodge a Taxable payments annual report (TPAR) by 28 August each year.

    From 22 March, we’ll apply penalties to businesses that:

    • haven’t lodged their TPAR from 2024 or previous years
    • have been issued 3 reminder letters about their overdue TPAR.

    Last year, we issued more than 11,000 businesses with approximately $18 million in penalties.

    If you don’t need to lodge a TPAR, you can submit a non-lodgment advice (NLA) form. If you no longer pay contractors, you can also use this form to indicate that you won’t need to lodge a TPAR in the future.

    TPAR data helps us identify contractors who under-report their income. This lets us level the playing field for honest businesses.

    Understand your TPAR lodgment obligations

    Find out more about how to prepare, record and report your TPAR.

    Remember, a registered tax professional or BAS agent can help you with your TPAR lodgment obligations.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Operation Protego

    Source: Australian Department of Revenue

    About Operation Protego

    Operation Protego is an ATO-led investigation into large-scale GST fraud that was promoted particularly on social media. The attempted fraud involves an individual:

    • inventing a fake business
    • lodging a fraudulent Australian business number (ABN) application, and
    • submitting fictitious business activity statements (BAS) to attempt to gain a false GST refund.

    In May 2022 we issued warnings to the community to be on the lookout for fraud schemes being promoted through social media and other channels. We advised those who were involved to come forward.

    The most serious offenders of financial crime are referred to the ATO-led Serious Financial Crime Taskforce (SFCT), including individuals involved in Operation Protego. The SFCT is taking firm action against individuals, facilitators and promoters suspected of defrauding the community by inventing fake businesses to claim false GST refunds.

    You need to check the facts – nobody is giving money away for free or offering loans that don’t need to be paid back. Simply speaking, if you don’t operate a business, you don’t need an ABN, and you shouldn’t lodge a BAS. This is fraud.

    For those who may be tempted by the promise of big gains, the ATO has sophisticated risk models. We work with banks, law enforcement agencies and other organisations to share information and detect fraud. We also have access to intelligence through community tip offs, and other information sources. The SFCT brings together the knowledge, resources and experience of relevant law enforcement and regulatory agencies to identify and address the most serious and complex forms of financial crime.

    Latest news

    25 February 2025 – Benjamin West sentenced to 2 years jail

    Benjamin West has been sentenced to 2 years jail. He is to be released after serving 6 months in custody, on a recognisance release order of $500, and to be of good behaviour for 2 years. Mr West was also ordered to pay reparation of $49,226.

    In February 2022, Mr West applied for an Australian Business Number claiming he was providing garden and lawn maintenance services. He then knowingly provided his myGov login details to a third party who lodged 6 business activity statements, allowing Mr West to fraudulently obtain $49,226 in GST refunds before attempting to obtain a further $25,060 which was stopped by the ATO.

    An audit by the ATO determined that he was not operating a legitimate business, and therefore not entitled to the GST refunds he had claimed.

    17 February 2025 – Adam Hohenberger sentenced to 2 years and 3 months jail

    Adam Hohenberger was sentenced to 2 years and 3 months in jail for committing GST fraud. He is to be released after serving 8 months in custody, on a recognisance release order. He must be of good behaviour and be supervised by a probation officer for 19 months.

    Mr Hohenberger was charged with 22 counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and 16 counts of attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception.

    In May 2020, an Australian business number (ABN) was created for a construction repair business in Mr Hohenberger’s name. In 2022, he lodged 98 business activity statements (BAS) receiving over $108,000 he was not entitled to.

    During the audit process it was discovered that Mr Hohenberger did not have the skills required to repair construction machinery and therefore he was not operating a legitimate business.

    Mr Hohenberger was also ordered to repay $108,451 to the ATO.

    29 November 2024 – Thitikorn Thanawong sentenced to 2 years and 8 months jail

    Thitikorn Thanawong recklessly dealt with $296,212 that was the proceeds of indictable crime. She spent the entire amount on holiday expenses, transfers to associates and luxury retail purchases.

    She was sentenced to 2 years and 8 months in jail, to be released on a recognisance release order after serving 10 months, upon entering recognisance of $2,000 and to be of good behaviour for 2 years.

    For more information, see Luxury spender jailed through Operation Protego.

    28 October 2024 – Craig Hamilton sentenced to 2 months and 2 weeks jail

    Craig Hamilton was sentenced to 2 months and 2 weeks jail, released immediately on a security of $500 and to be of good behaviour for 2 years for dealing with the proceeds of indictable crime. Mr Hamilton obtained and dealt with $80,000 of fraudulent funds.

    Mr Hamilton reactivated a past Australian business number (ABN) operating as a construction project manager. In February 2022, 4 business activity statements (BAS) were lodged for the business and he claimed GST refunds that he was not entitled to.

    During the audit process, several red flags were identified:

    • No website or social media presence existed for the business.
    • Reported expenses exceeded his actual earnings.
    • Identical expense amounts were reported every quarter.
    • 80% of his income came from government benefits.

    Mr Hamilton’s bank records also didn’t indicate any business expenses or wages being paid. Instead, his expenses were largely spent on fines and fees, takeout, and supermarket purchases.

    Of the $80,000 obtained, $72,905 was recovered from the bank after Mr Hamilton’s account was frozen. This left a balance of $7,094 which he was ordered to repay.

    16 October 2024 – Tahra Wyntjes sentenced to 4 years jail

    Tahra Wyntjes was sentenced to 4 years jail with a non-parole period of 2 years and 4 months. She was charged with one count of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one count of attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception.

    Ms Wyntjes obtained $599,349 in fraudulent GST refunds she was not entitled to and attempted to obtain a further $259,976, which was stopped by ATO officers.

    Ms Wyntjes registered for both an ABN and for GST in November 2021 for a residential cleaning business. Between November 2021 and March 2022, she lodged fraudulent BAS, which ATO officers quickly noticed and began investigating.

    Ms Wyntjes was ordered to repay $599,349 by the court.

    For more information, see Victorian woman sentenced over GST fraud.

    9 October 2024 – Aman Akol sentenced to 6 months jail

    Aman Akol was sentenced to 6 months jail, released on a security of $1,000 and good behaviour for one year. She was charged with one offence of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, and one offence of attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception.

    Between 20 October 2021 and 2 March 2022, Ms Akol conspired with an online associate to dishonestly lodge 7 BAS for a cleaning business that did not exist. These lodgments resulted in Ms Akol fraudulently obtaining $85,759 in GST refunds she was not entitled to and attempting to obtain a further $27,960.

    Aman Akol is the sister of Arec Akol who was charged and sentenced with similar offences in January 2024.

    6 September 2024 – Lee Sheridan sentenced to 2 years jail

    On 6 September 2024, Lee Sheridan was sentenced to 2 years in jail, to be released after having served 6 months, for dealing with the proceeds of crime (GST fraud).

    Mr Sheridan received and spent fraudulent GST refunds totalling $377,820 after he provided his personal details to an individual who lodged 38 original and revised monthly BAS on his behalf.

    For more information, see Operation Protego holds Perth offender to account.

    31 May 2024 – Joshua Mitchell sentenced to 18 months in jail

    On 31 May 2024, 33-year-old Joshua Mitchell was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, partially suspended with a $2,000 recognisance, under supervision and good behaviour. Mr Mitchell was also ordered to pay reparation of $24,200.

    Between 11 March 2022 and 2 April 2022, Mr Mitchell dishonestly lodged one original and one revised BAS, for a business that did not exist. He fraudulently obtained a total of $24,200.

    During the same period, he disposed of almost all the proceeds he had fraudulently obtained through payments to associates, streaming services and restaurants.

    26 March 2024 – Lisa McCormick sentenced to 2 years 6 months jail

    Lisa McCormick was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months jail and ordered to repay $39,600 in fraudulent funds. After serving 12 months, she will be released on a security of $5,000 and good behaviour for 18 months.

    Between 3 March 2022 and 30 April 2022, Mrs McCormick lodged 3 fraudulent BAS and as a result, received a GST refund of $39,600 which she was not entitled to. She also tried to obtain a further $9,820.

    While undergoing investigation, Mrs McCormick sent 8 false documents to the ATO which she was later charged over.

    She was charged with 2 counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception, one count of attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception, and one count of using a false document with the intention of dishonestly inducing a Commonwealth public official.

    22 January 2024 – Arec Akol sentenced to 3 months jail

    Arec Akol was sentenced to 3 months jail, released on a security of $5,000 and good behaviour for a year. She was charged with one count of obtaining financial advantage by deception.

    Ms Akol had registered an ABN for a cleaning business which didn’t exist. Seven fraudulent BAS were then lodged between 1 April 2021 and 28 February 2022.

    In total, Ms Akol claimed a GST refund of $69,461 which she was not entitled to. She was ordered to repay this amount in full.

    12 January 2024 – Adam Mitchell sentenced to a community corrections order of 15 months

    Adam Mitchell was sentenced to a community corrections order of 15 months after being charged with one offence of dealing in money or property that was the proceeds of crime worth $10,000 or more.

    Mr Mitchell had registered an ABN in 2017 and registered for GST reporting on 8 April 2022. On 22 April 2022, he lodged a fraudulent BAS claiming a GST refund of $18,000.

    In addition to the community corrections order, Mr Mitchell was ordered to repay the Commonwealth the full amount he had fraudulently claimed.

    17 November 2023 – Wayne Garrett sentenced to 3 years and 4 months jail

    Wayne Garrett was sentenced to 3 years and 4 months in jail with a non-parole period of 1 year and 9 months and ordered to repay $180,095 for GST fraud. He was charged with one count of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, one count of attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception and one count of joint commission with a person of interest.

    Mr Garrett received $180,095 in GST refunds he was not entitled to. He also attempted to obtain a further $50,644.

    23 October 2023 – Rachel Saville sentenced to 1 year and 8 months jail

    Rachel Saville was sentenced to 1 year and 8 months jail after being charged with 4 counts of obtaining benefit by deception.

    Ms Saville reactivated an ABN for a jewellery and silver manufacturing business on 7 February 2022. Between 21 February 2022 and 26 July 2023, she lodged 63 fraudulent BAS obtaining $73,650 that she was not entitled to.

    Ms Saville also attempted to claim a further $192,983 in fraudulent GST refunds.

    For more information, see Wollongong woman jailed for GST fraud.

    30 August 2023 – Linden Phillips sentenced to 7 and a half years jail

    Linden Phillips was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison with a non-parole period of 5 years. He was changed with obtaining financial advantage by deception, attempt to obtain financial advantage by deception, and deal with the proceeds of crime.

    Mr Phillips lodged false BAS which saw him fraudulently receive more than $830,000.

    For more information, see Mildura man jailed for 7 years for GST fraud.

    Update: Upon appeal, the sentence was reduced on 13 June 2024 to 6 years and 3 months with a non-parole period of 4 years.

    29 August 2023 – Justin McCormick sentenced to 2 years jail

    Justin McCormick was sentenced to 2 years jail with a 12-month non-parole period and ordered to repay almost $110,000 of funds fraudulently obtained. He was charged with 5 offences of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception from the Commissioner of Taxation.

    Mr McCormick had an ABN which had been registered between 28 March 2009 and 13 February 2015. He then re-registered this ABN on 11 February 2022 with the intent to lodge BAS for a business that did not exist and to claim GST on purchases that were never made.

    As a result of the false information reported in each BAS, McCormick obtained $109,278 in GST refunds, an amount to which he was not entitled.

    For more information, see Perth man jailed as Protego enforcement action continues.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Does your NFP need to lodge an income tax return?

    Source: Australian Department of Revenue

    Taxable not-for-profit (NFP) organisations must lodge income tax returns and pay income tax on taxable income.

    The income tax return is different to the NFP self-review return. If you have been self-assessing as income tax exempt and notified us through the self-review return that your NFP is taxable, you must also lodge an income tax return or a non-lodgment advice form to meet your tax obligations for the 2023-24 income year.

    Taxable NFPs with an income year ending 30 June, must lodge their income tax return or non-lodgment advice by 15 May 2025. If your NFP has an ATO-approved substituted accounting period, check your due date to lodge the 2023–24 income tax return as it is determined by your approved balance date. Avoid last minute stress by getting started well before the due date.

    If you think your NFP is not taxable and is eligible to self-assess as income tax exempt, read the guide to Reporting requirements to self-assess income tax exemption.

    How to lodge

    If you are a taxable NFP company with less than $416 in taxable income, you can meet your NFPs lodgment obligation by completing the new downloadable non-lodgment advice form.

    All other taxable NFPs, including partnerships and trusts, must lodge an income tax return. You can lodge:

    If you will be using a new tax agent, you must first nominate them as your registered tax agent. For more detailed information about these steps you can visit how to nominate your registered agent where you can download our PDF guide How to nominate an agent in Online services for business.

    To find out more about how to lodge, check out the Not-for-profit guide to the Company tax return 2024.

    Keep up to date

    We have tailored communications for the NFP sector to keep you up to date with key tax and super information:

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Safeguarding not-for-profits from dodgy schemes

    Source: Australian Department of Revenue

    We know the vast majority of not-for-profit (NFP) organisations operate with integrity and serve the public good. However, recently we’ve seen a resurgence in the promotion of, and participation in, tax schemes that involve entities exploiting NFP structures to avoid taxes.

    We have evidence of these schemes being promoted online and on social media, that results in participants setting up a foundation that they claim is a NFP and exempt from taxes. Unlike genuine NFPs, participants funnel their untaxed employment, contractor, or business income through these ‘foundations’, to avoid paying tax on this income.

    We originally brought these schemes to the public’s attention in 2016 when we issued Taxpayer Alert TA 2016/5 Purported tax-exempt non-profit ‘foundations’ used to evade or avoid taxation obligations. We’re also taking steps to raise awareness about the danger of schemes with the broader community, for example in our recent media release.

    How you can help

    If you become aware of these arrangements, we ask for your help to identify those individuals or entities who are promoting them or who are involved in them.

    These schemes deprive the Australian community of crucial funding for essential services and undermine public trust in legitimate NFPs. With your help we can identify more of these ‘foundations’ and stop their activity.

    We take unlawful tax schemes such as these very seriously, and participants can face heavy penalties. We also take targeted action against promoters of unlawful tax schemes, including the application of penalties under the promoter penalty laws.

    You can report a tax or super scheme confidentially by:

    • completing the tip-off form on our website
    • contacting us on 1800 060 062.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI: Magnite’s CTV Supply Leadership Is Unmatched With 99% Market Coverage, Shows Latest Jounce Report

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Magnite (NASDAQ: MGNI), the largest independent sell-side advertising company, leads the market with 99% of CTV supply coverage and 96% of overall omnichannel supply coverage, according to the latest Jounce Supply Benchmarking Report. Magnite’s comprehensive coverage in the CTV ecosystem maintains a more than 24% lead over the next company in the study.

    Magnite is the only sell-side advertising company that has direct relationships with leading media owners including Disney and Netflix, in addition to long-standing partnerships with publishers including Roku, Warner Bros. Discovery, and others. Magnite has preferred integrations with over 90% of its CTV supply partners, making it the most comprehensive place to access differentiated supply, unique first-party data, and content signals.

    “Magnite helps us make our advertising business more dynamic, more efficient, and more scalable — they’re a valuable partner,” said Miles Fisher, Senior Director, Strategic Advertising Partnerships at Roku. “Their advanced capabilities and programmatic expertise maximize the value of Roku’s premium inventory, while delivering better outcomes for buyers.”

    “Magnite’s unparalleled CTV footprint opens many doors beyond simply having greater access to inventory,” said Dan Fox, Global Chief Investment Officer at IPG Mediabrands. “As a result of Magnite’s direct relationships with media owners, we gain unique supply-side insights that can optimize targeting and improve performance. The transparency and control Magnite offers ensures we can execute high-quality campaigns with confidence, delivering better outcomes for our clients in an increasingly fragmented media landscape.”

    To better support media owners and buyers, Magnite offers:

    • The built-for-streaming TV ad server SpringServe, that helps media owners meet the challenge of managing high-quality ad experiences across the video landscape.
    • Leading audience and identity tools within Magnite Access, a suite of omnichannel audience products that make it easier for display, online video, and streaming media owners–and their advertising partners–to maximize the value of their data assets.
    • Flexible and efficient routes to video inventory via ClearLine, a self-service solution that provides agencies direct access to premium video inventory on Magnite’s platforms.
    • Award-winning and innovative technology, like Live Stream Acceleration and AI-driven wrapper automation, that solve complex challenges to yield significant benefits for both publishers and advertisers.

    “The results of the Jounce study represent the culmination of the years we’ve spent building deep, strategic relationships with media owners and developing the most advanced tools to drive their success,” said Sean Buckley, President, Revenue at Magnite. “We equip sellers with the technology they need to earn the full value of their inventory while providing turn-key ways for buyers to tap into quality supply. Our role helps both sides of the ecosystem thrive.”

    About Magnite

    We’re Magnite (NASDAQ: MGNI), the world’s largest independent sell-side advertising company. Publishers use our technology to monetize their content across all screens and formats including CTV, online video, display, and audio. The world’s leading agencies and brands trust our platform to access brand-safe, high-quality ad inventory and execute billions of advertising transactions each month. Anchored in bustling New York City, sunny Los Angeles, mile high Denver, historic London, colorful Singapore, and down under in Sydney, Magnite has offices across North America, EMEA, LATAM, and APAC.

    Media Contact:

    Charlstie Veith
    cveith@magnite.com

    Investor Relations Contact:

    Nick Kormeluk
    nkormeluk@magnite.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: OPTIZMO Returns as Official Content Sponsor for LinkUnite V

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    AUSTIN, Texas, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — OPTIZMO Technologies, the leading platform for email suppression list management, data security, and compliance solutions, proudly announces its return as the Official Content Sponsor for LinkUnite V. This year’s highly anticipated event will take place at the iconic Newbury Boston from June 11th–13th, bringing women leaders in digital marketing back to the city where the LinkUnite journey began.

    LinkUnite has become a transformative movement uniting women in leadership roles across the digital marketing industry. The annual invite-only event provides a space to cultivate connections, amplify voices, and celebrate innovation. LinkUnite V promises to deliver a unique blend of luxury, history, and inspiration, featuring panels, discussions, and networking opportunities as unforgettable as Boston itself.

    As the Official Content Sponsor, OPTIZMO will return to create more collaborative and impactful video content to spotlight the LinkUnite community. This includes interviews with attendees, sponsors, and panelists, showcasing the event’s energy, insights, and the connections it fosters. OPTIZMO’s COO, Tom Wozniak, and Creative Director, Jonathan Salas, will once again lead the video initiative, capturing and celebrating the journey of women leaders in the digital marketing industry.

    “Being part of LinkUnite from its inception has been a privilege, and we’re honored and excited to return as the Official Content Sponsor for LinkUnite V,” said Khris Thayer, CEO and Co-Founder of OPTIZMO. “This incredible initiative grows stronger every year, and we’re proud to be a part of that growth for years to come.”

    “I am thrilled that we’re bringing our fifth LinkUnite to the beautiful city of Boston! This isn’t just another gathering; it’s a heartwarming reunion in a city that echoes the spirit and warmth of our own incredible circle. I am so excited to create more unforgettable memories with all the amazing ladies of LinkUnite.” — Amanda Farris, CEO & Co-founder of LinkUnite.

    “There’s no place like home! Bringing LinkUnite V to Boston means blending the best of my roots with the future we’re building together. This city has always been about trailblazers and changemakers, just like the women of LinkUnite. Let’s make history in a place that knows how to do just that!” — Sara Malo, President and COO of LinkUnite.

    Hosting the event in Boston is especially meaningful, as the city is the birthplace of the concept of LinkUnite, first coming to life in a few napkin sketches. With The Newbury Boston providing the backdrop and a program designed to inspire, LinkUnite V is set to be another unforgettable experience.

    About OPTIZMO

    OPTIZMO Technologies is the recognized thought leader in the email and online marketing space for email suppression list management, email campaign management, data management, and risk mitigation services relative to email compliance. With an expert staff in pursuit of unrivaled efficiency, innovative technology, and an insatiable desire to problem-solve, clients find a customer-centric business model that not only enhances the way OPTIZMO clients do business but drives the company forward. The company is headquartered in Austin, TX, and has offices and team members in Charleston, Denver, and Brisbane, Australia.

    Media Contact:
    Antonio Jones
    Marketing Manager
    antonio@optizmo.com

    Tom Wozniak
    Chief Operating Officer
    tom@optizmo.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Tornado Watch 26

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Note:  The expiration time in the watch graphic is amended if the watch is replaced, cancelled or extended.Note: Click for Watch Status Reports.
    SEL6

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Tornado Watch Number 26
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    745 AM EST Wed Mar 5 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Tornado Watch for portions of
    Central and Eastern North Carolina
    Central and Eastern South Carolina
    Coastal Waters

    * Effective this Wednesday morning and afternoon from 745 AM
    until 100 PM EST.

    * Primary threats include…
    A couple tornadoes possible
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely

    SUMMARY…A broken squall line will continue east across the Watch
    area through the midday into the early afternoon. Very strong wind
    fields and a destabilizing airmass will support the potential for
    embedded circulations in the squall line to pose a risk for damaging
    gusts (55-70 mph) and a threat for tornadoes.

    The tornado watch area is approximately along and 95 statute miles
    east and west of a line from 50 miles north of Raleigh NC to 10
    miles south of Charleston SC. For a complete depiction of the watch
    see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for
    tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch
    area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for
    threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements
    and possible warnings.

    &&

    OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 25…

    AVIATION…Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
    surface and aloft to 0.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
    gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 300. Mean
    storm motion vector 24035.

    …Smith

    Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas.
    SAW6
    WW 26 TORNADO NC SC CW 051245Z – 051800Z
    AXIS..95 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF LINE..
    50N RDU/RALEIGH NC/ – 10S CHS/CHARLESTON SC/
    ..AVIATION COORDS.. 80NM E/W /43N RDU – 8S CHS/
    HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..0.5 INCH. WIND GUSTS..60 KNOTS.
    MAX TOPS TO 300. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.

    LAT…LON 36577707 32747840 32748166 36578049

    THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A
    COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS
    FOR WOU6.

    Watch 26 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.

    Note:  Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes

    Probability of 2 or more tornadoes

    Mod (40%)

    Probability of 1 or more strong (EF2-EF5) tornadoes

    Low (20%)

    Wind

    Probability of 10 or more severe wind events

    Mod (60%)

    Probability of 1 or more wind events > 65 knots

    Low (10%)

    Hail

    Probability of 10 or more severe hail events

    Low ( 2 inches

    Low (

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: DNA detectives in Antarctica: probing 6,000 years of penguin poo for clues to the past

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jamie Wood, Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Evolution, University of Adelaide

    Jamie Wood

    Studies of ancient DNA have tended to focus on frozen land in the northern hemisphere, where woolly mammoths and bison roamed. Meanwhile, Antarctica has received relatively little attention. We set out to change that.

    The most suitable sediments are exposed near the coast of the icy continent, where penguins like to breed. Their poo is a rich source of DNA, providing information about the health of the population as well as what penguins have been eating.

    Our new research opens a window on the past of Adélie penguins in Antarctica, going back 6,000 years. It also offers a surprise glimpse into the shrinking world of southern elephant seals over the past 1,000 years.

    Understanding how these species coped with climate change in the past can help us prepare for the future. Wildlife in Antarctica faces multiple emerging threats and will likely need support to cope with the many challenges ahead.

    A unique marine ecosystem

    Adélie penguins are particularly sensitive to changes in their environment. This makes them what we call a “sentinel species”, providing an early warning of imbalance or dysfunction in the coastal ecosystem. Their poo also provides a record of how they responded to changes in the past.

    In our new research, we excavated pits up to 80cm deep at ten Adélie penguin colonies along the 700km Ross Sea coastline. We then collected 156 sediment samples from different depths in each excavation.

    Six of these colonies were still active, meaning birds return annually to breed. The other four had been abandoned at various times over the past 6,000 years.

    From these sediments we generated 94 billion DNA sequences, which provided us with an unparalleled window into the past lives of Adélie penguins and their ecosystem.

    We detected the DNA of several animal species besides Adélie penguins. These animals included two other birds, three seals and two soil invertebrates.

    Not all of this DNA came from penguin poo. Our samples also contained DNA from feathers, hairs or skin cells of other species in the environment at the time.

    Sediment samples were taken from ten penguin colonies of various ages, six active (white dot) and four abandoned (coloured dot), on the coast of Ross Sea in Antarctica.
    Wood, J., et al (2025) Nature Communications, CC BY-NC-ND

    Penguin population size and diet

    When we took a closer look at the DNA from penguins of the present day, we found more genetic diversity in samples from larger colonies.

    Recognising this relationship between genetic diversity and colony size enabled us to estimate the size of former colonies. We could also reconstruct population trends through time.

    For example, in samples from active colonies, we found penguin genetic diversity increased as we sampled closer and closer to the surface. This may reflect population growth over the past century.

    The DNA also revealed changes in penguin diets over time. Over the past 4,000 years, the penguins in the southern Ross Sea switched from mainly eating one type of fish – the bald notothen – to another, Antarctic silverfish.

    The bald notothen lives beneath the sea ice, so this prey-switching was likely driven by a change in sea ice extent compared with the past.

    Examples of an active Adélie penguin colony (Cape Hallett), and a 6,000 year old abandoned Adélie penguin colony site (Terra Nova Bay).
    Jamie Wood

    Surprise! Elephant seals

    We made an unexpected discovery at Cape Hallett, in the northern Ross Sea. This is the site of an active penguin colony.

    Samples of sediment from close to the surface contained lots of penguin DNA and eggshell. But samples from further down, where penguin DNA and eggshell were scarce, contained DNA from southern elephant seals.

    Today, elephant seals are uncommon visitors to the Antarctic continent, and breed on subantarctic islands including Macquarie, Campbell and Antipodes Islands. Yet, bones of elephant seal pups found along the Ross Sea coast indicate the species used to breed in the area.

    Carbon dating of these bones indicate elephant seal colonies began disappearing from the southern Ross Sea around 1,000 years ago. Over the following 200 years, colonies in the northern Ross Sea began vanishing too.

    As the climate cooled and the extent of sea ice increased, elephant seals could no longer access suitable breeding sites. These sites were then taken over by Adélie penguins who expanded into areas once occupied by seals.

    Our DNA evidence suggests Cape Hallett was one of the last strongholds of southern elephant seals on the icy continent. But we may yet again see elephant seals breeding on the Antarctic mainland as the world warms and sea ice melts.

    Even more ancient DNA in Antarctica

    Our study spans the past 6,000 years, but our research suggests it would be possible to go even further back.

    The DNA fragments we found were very well preserved, showing little of the damage expected in warmer climates.

    So it should be possible to obtain much older DNA from sediments on land in Antarctica – maybe even 1 million-year-old DNA, as recently reported from Antarctic sediments beneath the ocean floor.

    Worthy of lasting protection

    In December 2017, 2.09 million square kilometres of the Ross Sea and adjoining Southern Ocean became the world’s largest marine protected area. Establishing the protection was a major achievement, yet it was only afforded for 35 years.

    After 2052, continuation of the region’s protected status will require international agreement. Knowledge of the vulnerability of local species and their risk in the face of change will play a key role in informing the decision. Our research provides a case study for how ancient environmental DNA can contribute towards this understanding.

    This research was part of the Ross Sea Region Research and Monitoring Programme,, funded by the New Zealand Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment.

    Theresa Cole does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. DNA detectives in Antarctica: probing 6,000 years of penguin poo for clues to the past – https://theconversation.com/dna-detectives-in-antarctica-probing-6-000-years-of-penguin-poo-for-clues-to-the-past-249940

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –