NewzIntel.com

Category: Education

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Coventry shines as 2025 Frontline Awards winners unveiled

    Source: City of Coventry

    Congratulations to our Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children’s Team and Chloe, who have been named winners at the 2025 Frontline Awards.

    The awards recognise social work practice and innovation, along with young people making a difference in the sector.

    The third annual awards took place in London, with guests including: social workers; care leavers; Children’s Minister, Janet Daby; Safeguarding Minister, Jess Phillips; Education Select Committee Chair, Helen Hayes; and care experienced Olympian Fatima Whitbread.

    Coventry’s Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children’s Service was named Team of the Year for its dedication to young people, influence on policy, and advocacy.
     

    Team Manager, Alexandra Capitani, said: “You don’t often get recognition, and the team works so hard – not just what’s in their contract, but going above and beyond.

    “We ask young people what they want and try to make that happen. Even with financial constraints, the team puts in their own extra time and money to try to make things happen.”

    Alexandra urged social workers to be creative in their approach, have open conversations and celebrate young people’s cultures.

    She added: “Think about what’s important to young people, whether that’s the clothes they wear, having fun or celebrating important cultural events. Spend time with them.

    “Obviously, they have been through a lot of trauma, and that’s something we have to support them with. But there’s so much more to talk about and learn together. It’s about getting to know them and building normal relationships, not just professional ones.”

    One care leaver who joined the team for the awards ceremony commended its social workers for striving to understand their circumstances and find appropriate solutions.

    There were three winners of Frontline’s award for young people, including Coventry’s Chloe, who won the Frontline Award for Young People.

    Chloe, a mentor and advocate for care leavers, has worked to reform how language is used within Coventry’s Children’s Services.

    Chloe said, “When I first started the House Project I was a shy person who had no confidence. Everyone supported me and believed in me. Now I have the knowledge and confidence to stand in front of others to change the narrative for care leavers.”

    Welcoming the awards, Cllr Patricia Seaman, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “These awards are very well-deserved and reflect the great deal of hard work that goes on in Coventry every day to give young people a voice and make them feel valued.

    “I am particularly pleased that the Awards celebrate innovation and the young people working in the sector. These are areas we value very highly in Coventry, and we are constantly looking at new ways to make our city even more child-friendly and a safe, happy, healthy and inclusive place for children, young people and their families.

    “Congratulations to everyone – we are very proud of you all.”

    Read more about the awards.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: NANO Nuclear Energy Closes $105 Million Common Stock Private Placement

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NANO Nuclear’s cash position at over $210 Million, which will fuel the company’s continued innovations in the advanced nuclear energy sector 

    Financing included primary participation from fundamental institutional investors, including a pre-eminent global investment manager and a leading long-only mutual fund

    New York, N.Y., May 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) (“NANO Nuclear” or “the Company”), a leading advanced nuclear energy and technology company, today announced the closing of its previously announced common stock private placement for gross proceeds of approximately $105 million, before deducting offering expenses. Net proceeds to NANO Nuclear are expected to be approximately $99 million.

    Primary participation in the private placement came from fundamental institutional investors, including a pre-eminent global investment manager and a leading long-only mutual fund. In the private placement, NANO Nuclear sold 3,888,889 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $27.00 per share.

    The proceeds from this financing significantly boosts NANO Nuclear’s cash on hand to over $210 million. With these resources, NANO Nuclear will be able to more readily advance its cutting-edge micro nuclear reactors and auxiliary nuclear energy-related businesses, as well as seek complimentary acquisitions and drive growth towards initial revenue generation.

    Figure 1 – NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. Closes $105 Million Common Stock Private Placement

    “We are very grateful to have secured this new capital, our largest funding round yet, which was also completed at our highest financing valuation to date and puts our cash on hand at over $210 million,” said Jay Yu, Founder and Chairman of NANO Nuclear Energy. “This achievement was made possible through the participation of well known, long term fundamental institutional investors who understand not only the nuclear energy renaissance we are participating in, but the specific potential for NANO Nuclear’s technologies and business plans. We expect this capital will accelerate our near- and longer-term valuation catalysts, particularly given the high technology readiness level of our KRONOS MMR™ microreactor (being developed in conjunction with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and our planned commencement of geological site characterization activities, including subsurface drilling investigations, for this reactor, which would be first research microreactor built on campus grounds in the U.S by an advanced reactor company. These activities will lead to the submission of our KRONOS MMR construction permit applications to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission thereafter. We also applaud last week’s presidential executive orders aimed at boosting nuclear energy in the U.S. and streamlining nuclear regulation, which will drive tailwinds for us and the entire nuclear energy sector in coming years. Our mission to become a leading, diversified, and vertically integrated advanced nuclear energy company has taken another large step forward, and we look forward to deploying our capital to drive innovation in our industry and value for our stockholders.”

    Titan Partners Group, a division of American Capital Partners, acted as the sole placement agent for the offering. Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP acted as counsel to NANO Nuclear, and Lucosky Brookman LLP acted as counsel to the placement agent.

    The securities sold in the private placement have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration with the SEC or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. The Company has agreed to file a registration statement with the SEC by June 10, 2025 covering the resale of the shares of common stock issued in the private placement.

    This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

    About NANO Nuclear Energy, Inc.

    NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) is an advanced technology-driven nuclear energy company seeking to become a commercially focused, diversified, and vertically integrated company across five business lines: (i) cutting edge portable and other microreactor technologies, (ii) nuclear fuel fabrication, (iii) nuclear fuel transportation, (iv) nuclear applications for space and (v) nuclear industry consulting services. NANO Nuclear believes it is the first portable nuclear microreactor company to be listed publicly in the U.S.

    Led by a world-class nuclear engineering team, NANO Nuclear’s reactor products in development include patented KRONOS MMR™ Energy System, a stationary high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that is in construction permit pre-application engagement U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in collaboration with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U. of I.), “ZEUS”, a solid core battery reactor, and “ODIN”, a low-pressure coolant reactor, and the space focused, portable LOKI MMR™, each representing advanced developments in clean energy solutions that are portable, on-demand capable, advanced nuclear microreactors.

    Advanced Fuel Transportation Inc. (AFT), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is led by former executives from the largest transportation company in the world aiming to build a North American transportation company that will provide commercial quantities of HALEU fuel to small modular reactors, microreactor companies, national laboratories, military, and DOE programs. Through NANO Nuclear, AFT is the exclusive licensee of a patented high-capacity HALEU fuel transportation basket developed by three major U.S. national nuclear laboratories and funded by the Department of Energy. Assuming development and commercialization, AFT is expected to form part of the only vertically integrated nuclear fuel business of its kind in North America.

    HALEU Energy Fuel Inc. (HEF), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is focusing on the future development of a domestic source for a High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) fuel fabrication pipeline for NANO Nuclear’s own microreactors as well as the broader advanced nuclear reactor industry.

    NANO Nuclear Space Inc. (NNS), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is exploring the potential commercial applications of NANO Nuclear’s developing micronuclear reactor technology in space. NNS is focusing on applications such as the LOKI MMR™ system and other power systems for extraterrestrial projects and human sustaining environments, and potentially propulsion technology for long haul space missions. NNS’ initial focus will be on cis-lunar applications, referring to uses in the space region extending from Earth to the area surrounding the Moon’s surface.

    For more corporate information please visit: https://NanoNuclearEnergy.com/

    For further information, please contact:
    Email: IR@NANONuclearEnergy.com
    Business Tel: (212) 634-9206

    PLEASE FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES HERE:

    NANO Nuclear Energy LINKEDIN
    NANO Nuclear Energy YOUTUBE
    NANO Nuclear Energy TWITTER

    Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

    This news release and statements of NANO Nuclear’s management in connection with this news release or related events contain or may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this context, forward-looking statements mean statements (including statements related to the anticipated benefits to the Company of private placement financing described herein, as well as statements regarding the anticipated benefits of nuclear regulatory reform and the potential fulfillment of Company’s business plans) related to future events, which may impact our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes”, “potential”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “would” or “may” and other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this news release and represent management’s current views and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, events or results and involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control. For NANO Nuclear, particular risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the following: (i) risks related to our U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) or related state or non-U.S. nuclear fuel licensing submissions, (ii) risks related the development of new or advanced technology and the acquisition of complimentary technology or businesses, including difficulties with design and testing, cost overruns, regulatory delays, integration issues and the development of competitive technology, (iii) our ability to obtain contracts and funding to be able to continue operations and advance our plans, (iv) risks related to uncertainty regarding our ability to technologically develop, gain registered intellectual property protection for, and commercially deploy competitive advanced nuclear reactor and other technology in the timelines we anticipate, if ever, (v) risks related to U.S. and non-U.S. government regulation, policies and licensing requirements, including by the DOE and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and including those associated with the recently enacted ADVANCE Act and the May 23, 2025 presidential executive orders seeking to support U.S. nuclear energy, and (vi) similar risks and uncertainties associated with the operating an early stage business a highly regulated and rapidly evolving industry. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release. These factors may not constitute all factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in any forward-looking statement, and NANO Nuclear therefore encourages investors to review other factors that may affect future results in its filings with the SEC, which are available for review at www.sec.gov and at https://ir.nanonuclearenergy.com/financial-information/sec-filings. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a predictor of actual results. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this news release, except as required by law.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Children’s commission meets

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki today chaired the 25th meeting of the Commission on Children.

    During the meeting, members were briefed by the Government on preparations for rolling out a mandatory reporting regime for child abuse cases.

    The Government said it is making preparations with relevant professions with a view to implementing the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance next January.

    It added that a Child Protection Campaign comprising publicity, promotion, education and training activities has been launched to enhance understanding of the mandatory reporting regime by professionals and the general public, and to raise awareness about child protection.

    Mr Chan said that child protection is a long-term commitment that must be sustained to ensure that professionals remain vigilant at all times, whilst awareness of child protection is rooted in the hearts of the general public.

    Separately, the Education Bureau, the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau and the Social Welfare Department briefed members on parent education efforts by the Government and various measures aimed at supporting children’s growth and well-being.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The anatomy of a smile: how to spot a fake from the real thing

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Michelle Spear, Professor of Anatomy, University of Bristol

    Axel Bueckert / Alamy Stock Photo

    You’ve probably heard the claim that it takes more muscles to frown than to smile. It’s usually framed as a feel-good reason to turn your frown upside down – less effort, more joy. But anatomically, the numbers don’t quite add up.

    We’ve all seen it – the smile that doesn’t quite reach the eyes. From awkward family photos to strained workplace pleasantries, our brains often detect that something is off long before we consciously realise why.

    But what is it about a smile that makes it feel sincere — or fake? The answer lies in a surprising blend of facial anatomy, neurology and emotional authenticity.

    Not all smiles are created equal, and anatomically speaking, there are at least two distinct kinds: the Duchenne smile, which reflects genuine happiness, and the non-Duchenne smile, which tends to be more social or strategic.

    Named after 19th-century French neurologist Guillaume Duchenne de Boulogne, the Duchenne smile activates two key muscle groups. The first group is associated with the corners of the mouth – where, for example, the risorius (from the Latin to smile) draws the corners outward and the zygomaticus major muscle lifts them.

    The second, and most telling, muscle is the orbicularis oculi, which tightens the muscles around the eyes, producing the familiar “crow’s feet” and the gentle narrowing we associate with warmth and delight.

    Fake or polite smiles, on the other hand, usually involve only the mouth muscles. The eyes remain wide or indifferent, and the smile appears more mechanical than meaningful – a kind of emotional camouflage.

    Both real and fake smiles depend on cranial nerve VII, also known as the facial nerve, which sends signals from the brain to the muscles of facial expression. However, there’s a key neurological difference: Duchenne smiles tend to be generated by the limbic system, the brain’s emotional core – particularly the amygdala, an almond-shaped group of neurons that processes emotional salience.

    Non-Duchenne smiles, by contrast, are often under more conscious cortical control, originating in the motor cortex. This divide means that authentic, emotionally driven smiles are involuntary.

    You can’t easily will your orbicularis oculi to contract convincingly unless you’re genuinely feeling the emotion behind the expression. Even professional actors must tap into real memories or method techniques to produce them convincingly.

    Why our brains notice the difference

    Humans are remarkably good at detecting emotional authenticity. Studies show that even infants as young as ten months can distinguish between real and fake smiles.

    Evolutionarily, this ability may have helped us assess trustworthiness, recognise true allies and avoid deception. The fusiform gyrus, a part of the brain involved in facial recognition, works closely with the superior temporal sulcus to decode expressions — helping us gauge intention as much as emotion.

    In modern life, our sensitivity to facial nuance continues to matter. Politicians, customer service workers and public figures frequently rely on the social smile to navigate complex interpersonal expectations. But observers – consciously or not – often pick up on these micro-discrepancies.

    Fake smiles aren’t necessarily malicious. In fact, they serve important social functions: smoothing awkward interactions, signalling politeness, defusing conflict and showing deference. They are a vital part of what sociologists call “emotional labour” – managing one’s expressions to meet societal or professional expectations.

    But this kind of smiling, when sustained for long periods, can be emotionally exhausting. Studies of emotional labour suggest that being required to smile without genuine feeling – especially in service roles – is associated with increased stress, burnout and even cardiovascular strain.

    As we move further into the age of AI, synthetic faces – from chatbots to virtual assistants – are being programmed to replicate human expressions. Yet the challenge remains: how do you fake authenticity? Engineers can program a smile, but without the micro-contractions around the eyes, many of these expressions still seem disingenuous. Our own anatomy sets the gold standard.

    So next time you’re trying to decode someone’s expression, don’t just look at the mouth. Watch the eyes. The orbicularis oculi rarely lies.

    Michelle Spear 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. The anatomy of a smile: how to spot a fake from the real thing – https://theconversation.com/the-anatomy-of-a-smile-how-to-spot-a-fake-from-the-real-thing-256481

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: In 2025, more than 2,100 budget places will be available at NSU at all levels of training

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    Today, TASS hosted a press conference dedicated to the specifics of the upcoming admissions campaign to universities in the Siberian Federal District. The event was attended by representatives of leading universities in Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk and Gorno-Altaisk. NSU was represented by Alexander Trusevich, Head of the Department for Work with Applicants.

    — Last year, more than 8,000 applicants showed interest in entering the university, in terms of the number of applications, this is, of course, several times more. We hope that this year the number will be even greater. As a rule, 2/3 of the total number of those enrolled are those who were enrolled in budget places, and the rest are paid admission. The interest and popularity of NSU is increasing among applicants based on the results of prestigious Olympiads — this is the All-Russian School Olympiad, these are the list Olympiads. Last year, the number of enrolled applicants with such results increased by almost 20%, — noted Alexander.

    In 2025, 2108 budget and 1363 fee-paying places will be available at NSU at all levels of training. In general, the number of places remains at the level of previous years.

    — This year, NSU will have a new category of places for the first time — places financed by industrial partners. Education in these places will be completely free for applicants, with the possibility of receiving a scholarship at the expense of industrial partners, — added Alexander.

    Among the main innovations that await applicants this year:

    — the most noticeable change compared to last year is the abolition of the requirement to provide the original educational document as a prerequisite for enrollment; instead of the original educational document, applicants must submit an application for consent to enrollment;

    — for the first time this year, applicants for master’s and postgraduate programs will be able to use the super service “Online University Admission” and submit documents using the “Gosuslugi” portal; this will expand the geography of applicants;

    — starting with this admissions campaign, universities must designate the maximum number of fee-paying places, which cannot be increased during the admissions campaign;

    — amendments were recently made to the Federal Law on Education, which will allow children of participants in military operations on the territory of the Russian Federation to enroll in places under a separate quota;

    — starting this year, a new type of individual achievements has been introduced for applicants to target quota places — targeted individual achievements; the maximum score that an applicant can receive is 5 points.

    This year, the university will introduce a number of new educational programs that train interdisciplinary specialists and cover promising areas. Among them are the specialty “Medical Cybernetics” and the master’s program “Industrial Pharmacy”. New educational programs are being implemented jointly with the MSU Engineering School, and large companies “Pharmstandard” and “Generium” are industrial partners. New educational programs will be developed on the basis of the infrastructure of the educational and scientific center of the Institute of Medicine and Medical Technologies, which is part of the modern NSU campus, built within the framework of the national project “Youth and Children”.

    Also starting this year, NSU is opening admission to the bachelor’s degree program “Applied Artificial Intelligence”. This program won the federal grant competition for training top specialists in the field of artificial intelligence. The pilot recruitment will consist of 150 students. The program will be implemented with the active participation of industrial partners – Rostelecom and Innotech (T1). Grant support will allow students to study for free and receive scholarships from industrial partners.

    On Faculty of Physics a new Master’s program “Applied Mathematics and Physics” will be implemented. Within its framework, training will be conducted in three profiles – “Space and Special Instrumentation”, “Medical Physics” and “Information Processes and Systems”.

    If we talk about the most popular areas, then the biggest competition is for those with a small number of budget places, for example: linguistics; business informatics; jurisprudence. The competition for them reaches 50 people per place.

    According to the results of the 2024 admissions campaign, the following can be distinguished among the most popular areas of natural science and engineering:

    — Applied Mathematics and Physics — 33.6 people per place (14 people enrolled on a budgetary basis);

    — Computer science and engineering — 27.3 people per place (185 people enrolled on a budgetary basis);

    — Physics. Physical informatics — 14.6 people per place (28 people enrolled on a budgetary basis);

    — Mechatronics and robotics — 13.8 people per place (70 people enrolled on a budgetary basis);

    — Chemistry — 9.9 people per place (65 people enrolled on a budget basis).

    — The interest in NSU from applicants coming from other regions is growing. Thus, last year, out of 2,000 people admitted to bachelor’s and specialist’s degree programs, almost 50% were not from the Novosibirsk Region. Moreover, applicants come not only from neighboring regions, but also from the central part of Russia: from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ufa, Kaliningrad, Samara and other cities, — Alexander emphasized.

    The university is increasing the number of foreign students, primarily interested in medical, natural science and engineering research areas. Many applicants are from the CIS – Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Among the far abroad countries, the top countries include China, Turkey, Iran and Iraq. This year, a joint educational program for a bachelor’s degree in physics will open with Chongqing University, 60 Chinese students will be accepted.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: AI Can Predict Students’ Academic Performance Based on Social Media Subscriptions

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

    A team of Russian researchers, including scientists from the National Research University Higher School of Economics, used artificial intelligence to analyze 4.5 thousand student subscriptions to VK communities. It turned out that the algorithms can predict with high accuracy who is an excellent student and who has difficulties with their studies. The work was published in the journal IEEE Access.

    A person leaves behind a digital trace – likes, photos, information about listening to music and clicking on links. Even the most careful people can learn a lot from their Internet activity. Some believe that you can not monitor your digital trace and that information on social networks does not affect your professional and personal life. For scientists, open data on the Internet is a subject of research.

    A group of scientists from the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Skoltech, and Tomsk State University collected data on subscriptions of 4,445 students with open profiles to various VKontakte communities. Then, using NLP analyzers (natural language analysis methods), they classified the topics of the communities, assessed the complexity of the texts that students read, and the emotional tone of the content. For each student, the researchers created a digital profile, including preferences and interests. After that, the scientists used machine learning to find a relationship between online activity and academic success.

    The researchers created an algorithm that predicts academic performance based on subscription analysis. In particular, students with high grades are more likely to be subscribed to communities related to science and education topics, where new technologies are discussed and analytical articles are published. Excellent students read more complex texts and show greater interest in discussions and deep analysis of information.

    Low-performing students were more likely to subscribe to entertainment communities that focused on humor, memes, music, and video games. The content of these communities was more likely to display negative emotions and was also less informative than that of higher-performing students.

    “Some of the results surprised us. For example, that students who are interested in art or traveling show excellent academic performance. These hobbies do not interfere with their studies. On the contrary, they seem to help them study better. And active interaction with communities related to part-time work is a marker of low academic performance, which is understandable,” comments Sergey Gorshkov, a postgraduate student. Department of Data Analysis and Artificial Intelligence Faculty of Computer Science National Research University Higher School of Economics.

    Educational organizations can use this approach to identify talented applicants and tailor curricula to specific groups. In addition, subscription analysis can help employers in recruiting, allowing them to find candidates with a high expected level of analytical skills.

    “This study once again reminds us of the need for digital hygiene. For example, in agreements on opening an account at a bank or with a mobile operator, you can see that you give permission to use some information from a social network account linked to your phone number. This can then be used to create a digital profile. Whether you want this is up to you,” says Dmitry Ignatov, head of the Scientific and Educational Laboratory of Models and Methods of Computational Pragmatics at the Faculty of Computer Science at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 29 May 2025 Departmental update Initiative to mainstream behavioural insights concludes in four African pilot countries

    Source: World Health Organisation

    Transforming approaches to public health challenges in Africa, the project Mainstreaming Behavioural Insights into Public Health in the African Region has marked a milestone in integrating behavioural sciences into health systems. Spearheaded by the WHO Behavioural Insights (BI) Unit at headquarters, alongside the Health Promotion and Social Determinants of Health Unit at the WHO Regional Office for Africa and several country offices, this initiative has empowered four pilot countries – Burkina Faso, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia – to adopt innovative strategies that bridge the gap between human behaviours and health outcomes.

    The adoption of behavioural insights into public health is key to understanding the factors that influence human decision-making and behaviours. These insights can, in turn, inform the design of targeted interventions, policies and strategies to overcome barriers to healthy behaviours.

    Project overview

    Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, the project ran from January 2023 to December 2024. It aimed to integrate behavioural science into health and enhance collaboration between the public health and academic institutions for the adoption behavioural evidence-informed policies and practices.

    Elena Altieri, Unit Head of the Behavioural Insights Unit at WHO HQ, highlighted the necessity of the project, noting:

    “Over the past decade, we’ve seen a growing interest in integrating behavioural sciences into public health among governments and institutions. However, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted significant practical and technical challenges in adopting these approaches. We face limitations in capacity, funding and time, and there’s also a lack of confidence among policymakers about the impact, sustainability and replicability of behavioural interventions. This project was designed to tackle these issues by offering robust, evidence-based strategies to practitioners to test and develop people-centred policies and interventions.”

    Key achievements

    • Academic integration: Universities in Burkina Faso, Namibia and Zambia launched behavioural science for public health courses as part of health promotion courses, with Namibia initiating a postgraduate diploma. The University of Pretoria integrated behavioural science capacity building and evidence-generation into its terms of reference as a WHO Collaborating Centre.
    • Institutional capacity building: Ministries of health in all participating countries received support to pilot test behavioural approaches and considerations into selected initiatives, strategies and work plans.
    • Health information systems innovation: Zambia’s Ministry of Health piloted behavioural insights and data collection within its routine antenatal care data collection system.

    The project achieved mainstreaming outcomes called for in the Behavioural sciences for better health resolution adopted by WHA76 in May 2023. Documented outcomes include strengthened cross-country networks, established behavioural insights pathways in academic institutions and health systems, and creation of new behavioural insights-based initiatives in the region.

    Positive spillover effects

    Doris Kirigia, Team Lead for Health Promotion and Social Determinants of Health Unit at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, reflected on the project:

    “The connections we’ve created between universities, ministries of health, WHO country offices, the Regional Office for Africa, and headquarters are already bearing fruit and will be highly beneficial moving forward. There’s growing interest in behavioural science in the region, and as an organization, we’ll focus on supporting other countries in establishing behavioural insights functions, providing technical support to initiate projects, and leveraging our pool of experts and trainers at the country level to sustain capacity-building efforts.”

    The project integrated behavioural insights into strategic plans, guidance, and new initiatives, including the Strengthening community protection and resilience: regional strategy for community engagement, 2023–2030. Several countries are using behavioural evidence to inform their risk communication and community engagement strategies in response to outbreaks. Countries like Mauritius have incorporated behavioural interventions into health promotion activities to reduce noncommunicable disease risk factors. Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Zambia use behavioural insights to promote people-centred sexual and reproductive health. New research projects include promoting healthy eating in Zambian schools, understanding the use of harmful skin lightening product in Gabon, and increasing uptake in parenting programmes in Tanzania.

    Reflections: strategies for success and pitfalls to avoid

    The project highlighted strategies for success and pitfalls to avoid when integrating behavioural sciences perspectives into public health.  

    • foster active collaboration between universities and ministries through the delivery of joint projects and training programmes to help discover synergies and facilitate the exchange of ideas;
    • encourage cross-country collaboration to support knowledge exchange and document lessons learned;
    • prioritize capacity building through diverse training approaches such as national and sub-national face to face trainings and online courses, to help mainstream behavioural sciences within universities and ministries of health;
    • showcase examples of practical applications of behavioural insights, including success stories, real-world case studies and pilot projects to demonstrate the potential benefits of the approach and to enhance visibility and credibility of behavioural insights champions; and
    • avoid overly ambitious timelines or overly complex pilots as rushing the process may compromise quality and lead to stakeholder disengagement and resistance.

    WHO calls on countries to deepen their understanding of integrating behavioural science into public health strategies. By replicating successful approaches and sharing experiences, we can leverage behavioural insights for better public health outcomes.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Grattan on Friday: Trump, tariffs and the Middle East are looming challenges for Albanese

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    Australia these days receives invitations to big-league international conferences. And so Anthony Albanese will be off soon to the G7 meeting in Alberta, Canada, on June 15-17.

    For the prime minister, what’s most important about this trip is not so much the conference itself, but his expected first meeting with US President Donald Trump, either on the sidelines of the G7 or in a visit to Washington while he’s in North America.

    Nothing is locked in. But it’s impossible to think such a meeting won’t take place. The Australian PM certainly needs to have his first face-to-face talks with the US president sooner rather than later.

    During the election, there was much argument over whether Albanese or Peter Dutton would be better at dealing with the difficult and unpredictable Trump, in particular, in trying to extract some concessions on his tariffs

    Australia has been hit by Trump’s 25% tariff on aluminium and steel, as well as by his general 10% tariff.

    The Trump tariff regime has been a chaotic story of decisions, pauses and changes of mind. In the latest drama, the United States Court of International Trade on Wednesday blocked Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs (as far as Australia goes, this relates to the 10% general tariff but not that on aluminium and steel). The court found the president had exceeded his powers. The administration immediately appealed the decision.

    We can’t know how this imbroglio will play out. But assuming Australia will still be confronting some tariffs, Albanese’s pitch for special treatment will be made around what we can do for the Americans with our large deposits of critical minerals and rare earths. These are vital for the production of a huge range of items, including for defence purposes.

    Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, speaking at a conference in Detroit this week, pointed out that the two countries already had a draft accord on these minerals.

    “What we need to work out […] is how do we collaborate both on the mining, the extraction, the transportation and the processing and the stockpiling to make our economies resilient, including what you’ll need for future battery manufacture,” Rudd said.

    When Albanese does get together with Trump, he will have the advantage of meeting him as the big winner of the recent election. Trump said of him post-election, “He’s been very, very nice to me, very respectful to me”.

    But that’s no iron-clad guarantee of success. With the US president, there are always multiple “known unknowns”.

    For Albanese, success on the tariff front would be important, but not, of course, as important politically as it would have been pre-election.

    A range of other issues will also be on the agenda when the two meet: including progress on AUKUS.

    The president would no doubt be pleased the government is in the process of booting the Chinese lessee out of the Port of Darwin (with American investment firm Cerberus expressing an interest in taking over, although the government’s preference is for the port to be in Australian hands).

    Trump might not think, however, that the government’s commitment to defence spending, due to reach 2.3% of gross domestic product by 2033-34, is enough. The Americans would prefer a level of 3% of GDP.

    No doubt the Middle East would also be canvassed in such talks. While Middle East policy is not a frontline issue in the Australian-American relationship, the Albanese government struggles at home to strike the right stance.

    Since the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, Australia has seen a deterioration in local social cohesion. Antisemitism spiked to a degree not anticipated; pro-Palestinian demonstrations became a regular and controversial feature. The government found itself under political fire from the Jewish community and pro-Palestinian critics alike.

    With the Israeli government disregarding international criticism, and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza growing more dire, Albanese this week toughened his rhetoric.

    On Monday he said: “It is outrageous that there be a blockade of food and supplies to people who are in need in Gaza. We have made that very clear by signing up to international statements”. He described Israel’s actions as “completely unacceptable”.

    Within Labor, the pressure to go further has been mounting. It is on two fronts. Some want sanctions against Israel (beyond the existing sanctions in relation to settlers on the West Bank). There is also the issue of whether Australia should recognise a Palestinian state ahead of a two-state solution.

    Ed Husic, a Muslim, was relatively outspoken even while he was in cabinet. Since being dumped from the ministry, he is much freer to put forth his view.

    This week, he was calling for imposing sanctions if other nations were to do so. “I think we should be actively considering […] drawing up a list of targeted sanctions where we can join with others”.

    Significantly, former Labor Foreign Minister Gareth Evans was another advocate, saying sanctions “would send a powerful message”.



    Read more:
    Gareth Evans: the case for recognising Palestine

    But when the question of sanctions was put to Albanese, he was dismissive, raising the issue of substantive outcomes.

    At the Labor party’s grassroots level, there is strong pressure for a more pro-Palestinian approach.

    It is not unreasonable to think that would strike a sympathetic chord with both Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, but they are very cognisant of the politics – both international and local.

    Wong a year ago raised the possibility of recognising Palestine statehood as a step along a peace process, ahead of a two-state solution.

    Australia’s ambassador to the United Nations, James Larson, last week delivered an Australian statement to a preparatory meeting for a June conference in New York on “the question of Palestine and the implementation of the two-state solution”.

    Echoing Wong’s earlier position, he said: “A two-state solution – a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel – is the only hope of breaking the endless cycle of violence, and the only hope of a just and enduring peace, for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”

    “Like other partners, Australia no longer sees recognition of a Palestinian state as only occurring at the end of negotiations, but rather as a way of building momentum towards a two-state solution.”

    Evans, in an article for Pearls and Irritations this week, says the “strongest and most constructive contribution” Australia could make on the issue would be to announce at the conference “that we are immediately recognising Palestinian statehood: not just as the final outcome of a political settlement but as a way of kickstarting it”.

    The government is tight-lipped about what stand it will take for the June 17-20 conference, saying it doesn’t have details yet and is unable to say who will attend for Australia. It says it is not being framed as a conference where countries are expected to make pledges.

    Nevertheless, many within Labor will be watching closely whether the coming weeks will see any change in Australia’s Middle East policy. But that, in turn, would depend on whether others make any moves, because Australia wants to have company from like-minded countries.

    Michelle Grattan 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. Grattan on Friday: Trump, tariffs and the Middle East are looming challenges for Albanese – https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-trump-tariffs-and-the-middle-east-are-looming-challenges-for-albanese-257333

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Wagamama to come to Preston’s Animate

    Source: City of Preston

    29 May 2025

    Preston City Council has announced Asian inspired Japanese restaurant, Wagamama is to open at its newly launched £45million Animate leisure scheme, which has been delivered by Maple Grove Developments. 

    Positioned between Taco Bell and Mad Giant Food Hall, Wagamama has taken a 4,125 sq ft unit on a 15-year lease. The fit out is due to commence imminently and will be open to customers early this summer.

    Open seven days a week, the new restaurant will create 55 new jobs and marks Wagamama’s 167th restaurant in the UK and Ireland and its 59th in the North. The deal means that just one final unit (10,270 sq ft) offering social space on the upper level is now available.

    Animate was officially opened in February by Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park, with many of the tenants including Ask Italian, Argento Lounge, Taco Bell Hollywood Bowl and ARC Cinemas now trading.

    Sita Wood, head of brand activation (restaurants) at Wagamama said: 

    “We’re incredibly excited to be opening our doors in preston, to meet local demand. our team are hard at work training for our opening, and we can’t wait to welcome our locals to enjoy their fresh favourites on our benches.”

    Cllr Wise at Preston City Council said: 

    “Animate has proven to be an in-demand venue for leisure operators and Wagamama deciding to open a restaurant here is a significant vote of confidence in the destination. It will prove to be a popular restaurant, stimulating additional footfall in the Harris Quarter, catalysing further investment, and boosting our local economy, central to our Community Wealth Building model.”

    Speaking about the arrival of Wagamama John Brady, at Bradys, joint agents for the scheme with Smith Young, commented:

    “Securing Wagamama is a strong endorsement of Preston’s growing appeal as a vibrant retail and leisure destination. The brand brings with it a loyal following and a reputation for quality, which will not only further enhance the visitor experience but also support the wider regeneration of the area by driving increased footfall.”

    The flagship scheme is one of six major projects in Preston’s Harris Quarter Towns Fund Investment Programme, a £200m programme, including £20.9m of funding by the government to support several regeneration projects.

    About Maple Grove Developments

    Maple Grove Developments is part of the Eric Wright Group. Founded in 1923, the Eric Wright Group is a leading property and construction company that develops, builds and maintains the UK’s infrastructure.

    Wholly owned by the Eric Wright Charitable Trust, the Group is committed to delivering employment and regeneration opportunities in the communities in which it operates in. All company profits are either invested back into the Eric Wright Group or awarded to charities and projects, predominately throughout the North West, which support young persons’ wellbeing, elderly services, education and training, health or carers’ support. 

    The Eric Wright Charitable Trust owns and operates Water Park Lakeland Adventure Centre in Cumbria and is an employer partner and sponsor of the Eric Wright Learning Foundation at Preston’s College, which supports young people aged 14+ studying Level 1 – 3 vocational courses and Apprenticeships.

    Based at Bamber Bridge, near Preston, the Eric Wright Group comprises seven specialist divisions that regularly collaborate to deliver joined-up approaches with outstanding results and maintain strong relationships with private and public sector clients and partners. The Group’s seven divisions are Maple Grove Developments, Construction, Civil Engineering, Water, Health & Care, Facilities Management (FM) and Applethwaite Homes. 

    About Animate

    The construction and development phase will help to generate up to 200 full time equivalent construction jobs for the local workforce, and provide opportunities for apprenticeship, work placements, training and upskilling through Eric Wright Group’s corporate and social responsibility programme.   

    A dedicated Animate Community Benefit Framework has been agreed between Preston City Council and Maple Grove Developments, which will deliver 15 community benefits, in line with Preston’s Community Wealth Building programme, to assist the delivery of the project and to provide the maximum impact for Preston’s residents and businesses.  

    The Community Benefit Framework seeks to use local labour, provide training, employment, volunteering opportunities and placements within local colleges, to promote environmental sustainability, and to ensure that all workers are treated equally and fairly. 

    Animate will also provide more than 140 long term jobs when it opens to the public following the two year construction phase.  

    About Towns Fund – Town Deals

    • On 27 July 2019, the Prime Minister announced that the Towns Fund would support an initial 101 places across England to develop Town Deal proposals, to drive economic regeneration and deliver long-term economic and productivity growth. 
    • A Town Deal is an agreement in principle between Government, the Lead Council and the Town Deal Board. It will set out a vision and strategy for the town, and what each party agrees to do to achieve this vision.  
    • Each of the 101 towns selected to work towards a Town Deal also received accelerated funding last year for investment in capital projects that would have an immediate impact and help places “build back better” in the wake of Covid-19. See the 101 places being supported to develop Town Deals.
    • Preston’s City Investment Plan is a 15 year vision for Preston setting out Preston’s long-term objectives and strategy to transform the city, targeting resources and aligning public and private sector investments to respond to needs and capitalise on opportunities for positive change. For details visit Invest – Preston’s City Investment Plan.
    • Preston City Council actively applies and prioritises the principles of Community Wealth Building wherever applicable and appropriate. Community Wealth Building is an approach which aims to ensure the economic system builds wealth and prosperity for everyone. 
    • Lancashire County Council’s £800,000 Economic Recovery grant is from its £12.8m  Economic Recovery & Growth programme to fund projects across the 12 Lancashire districts to tackle some of the economic impacts of Covid-19 and support recovery and growth. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Silicon Cyprus

    Source: European Investment Bank

    Ioannis Kasinopoulos and his friend Yiannis Zambas set up Electryone AI in 2023 with a “strong belief and no outside financing.” The belief was in their software, which uses artificial intelligence to make batteries that store renewable energy more efficient and profitable. They also believed in the importance of the transition to a clean, green economy. Without external funding, however, belief could only get them so far.

    The two young Cypriots, who had previously been at Meta, McKinsey and Palantir, worked hard to find pre-seed financing and some angel investors from their bases in London and Spain, including Genesis Ventures, a Greek venture capital firm backed by the European Investment Fund. Then they got an unexpected surprise—venture capital financing from their home island, where support for startups has been limited. 33East Venture Capital, a Nicosia-based venture capital fund supported by the Cyprus Equity Fund, started making investments from its €26 million fund this year, and it backed Electryone AI with €400 000 in January.

    “We were very happy to have people from Cyprus being part of this,” says Kasinopoulos, who was born in Nicosia. “We had tried to raise money in Cyprus, but we didn’t really get anywhere. There are companies in the energy space, but they didn’t understand software or venture capital. They wouldn’t take that much risk.”

    For technology and innovation startups in Cyprus, 33East’s new fund could be a gamechanger, reversing a brain drain that has seen talented Cypriots leave, largely for London. Though the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor ranks Cyprus seventh in the European Union for early stage entrepreneurial activity, venture capital investment in Cyprus is scarce, according to a report by the University of Cyprus’s Centre for Entrepreneurship.

    “There has been no formal path for startups to follow, so either companies died or left Cyprus to seek financing,” says Yiannis Eftychiou, one of two 33East cofounders. “There has been a drain of quality talent from Cyprus. But we see a lot of opportunity in Cyprus.”

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Is Sudan’s war the reason for South Sudan’s economic crisis? What’s really going on with oil revenue

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Jan Pospisil, Associate Professor at the Centre for Peace and Security, Coventry University

    The civil war in Sudan between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which began in April 2023, has had an impact on its neighbours. One of the most keenly affected countries is South Sudan, which became an independent state in 2011 and went on to endure its own civil war. This ended in 2018 with a tenuous peace agreement.

    The impact of the Sudanese war on South Sudan, however, isn’t a straightforward spillover catastrophe. The picture is more nuanced, and this is most clearly seen in South Sudan’s oil economy. Jan Pospisil, who has studied the dynamics in Sudan and South Sudan, explains.

    What is the current status of oil exports from South Sudan through Sudan?

    Landlocked South Sudan is reliant on its neighbour to the north to transport oil from its fields to the international market. Crude oil is transported via pipeline to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

    However, recent drone strikes on Port Sudan carried out by the Rapid Support Forces targeted power plants that supply electricity to pumping stations along Sudan’s critical oil pipelines.

    Soon after, the Sudanese army formally notified South Sudan that it would have to halt exports. Following hectic negotiations, the South Sudanese government released a statement that the stoppage could be prevented.

    This back and forth has reopened the pressing question of the impact of Sudan’s war on South Sudan’s economy and, in particular, the role of crude oil.

    Assessments of the impact of Sudan’s war on South Sudan suggest the worst: oil revenues would account for 80% of South Sudan’s budget and 90% of its fiscal revenue.

    This informs the International Monetary Fund’s warnings of looming economic collapse in case of a breakdown of oil exports. The predominant view is that a shutdown of the oil pipeline through Sudan would lead to a collapse of dollar inflows to South Sudan, triggering a severe economic crisis.

    However, South Sudan’s 2024-25 budget suggests a high reliance on non-oil revenue.

    In fact, government oil revenues for 2024-25 are based on a volume of only around 16,000 barrels per day. This is the share of total production of about 130,000 barrels per day controlled by South Sudan. Attempts to increase production to pre-war levels of up to 400,000 barrels failed. The substantial drop in production is explained by a decline in the quality of South Sudan’s oil wells, especially in Paloch in the north-east’s Upper Nile State, and Unity State in the north-central region.

    South Sudan additionally lacks the operational capacity to extract the oil it has in the ground.

    The 2024-25 budget projects a hefty fiscal deficit. The revenues projected will cover only about half of total planned state spending. Oil and non-oil revenues – which mainly include tax income from international NGOs and businesses – each account for about half of the revenue that’s expected to come in.

    Oil income has to account for debt (capital and interest) repayments on loans, as well as pipeline transport fees paid to Sudan. This means that even the optimistically assessed net contributions of oil revenue would only pay for 16% of planned government spending. South Sudan remains with a hefty deficit.

    What are the challenges South Sudan is facing in growing oil revenues?

    First, Petronas, a Malaysian multinational oil and gas company, withdrew from South Sudan in August 2024 after three decades.

    It left behind substantial challenges, including an arbitration process worth more US$1 billion. This followed the government preventing Petronas from selling its shares to the British-Nigerian group Savannah Energy.

    As a short-term solution, South Sudan de facto nationalised Petronas’ shares. It did this by transferring the shares to the state’s oil and gas company, Nile Petroleum Corporation (NilePet). This was perhaps in the hope of increasing revenue in the short term.

    However, NilePet hasn’t been able to replace Petronas’ production logistics. This has resulted in huge challenges in restoring production to levels before the 2024 pipeline disruptions.

    A second factor is the sale of oil forward. The then finance minister said in 2022 that most of the oil production had been sold in advance until 2027. He later retracted the statement, saying instead that some oil advances were merely “spread up to 2027”. While this walk-back attempted to soften the political fallout, it reinforced wider uncertainty about how much control NilePet actually retains over the revenues formally under its authority.

    Given the limited relevance of oil revenues for the official South Sudanese budget, why the major concern about disruptions?

    There are three reasons.

    First, NilePet plays a structural role in South Sudan’s informal and often dubious hard currency circulation, which international observers would call large-scale corruption. NilePet’s accounts rarely appear in any official financial accounts and are often channelled off-budget. NilePet functions as a black box within the public finance system where real money flows can only rarely be traced. Recent intentions by the president to structurally reform the company might implicitly confirm this.

    Second, there are indirect oil revenues that are important to the country’s security apparatus. This includes protection rents which come from protecting South Sudanese oil fields. This revenue never hits the budget. It pays the National Security Service either directly as salaries, or is reinvested in the considerable conglomerate of companies owned by the security service to multiply profits. Losing this revenue could destabilise the country because the funds are used to pay the salaries of the best-trained and best-equipped security service in the country.

    Third, South Sudan’s ability to attract new loans depends on the repayment of existing ones. These repayments largely depend on oil production. As the 2024-24 budget shows, South Sudan desperately needs new loans to keep even core state functions operational. Yet, funding from multilateral agencies has dwindled to small-scale loans from the African Development Bank. The International Monetary Fund has currently ended all its funding programmes.

    This is not a result of the war in Sudan. It is due to persistent concerns over insufficient financial governance in South Sudan and the state’s performance. Negotiations with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for new loans appear to have stalled, not least because of a default in repayments to Qatar.

    These factors show that the flow of oil to Port Sudan is significant to the availability of hard currency in South Sudan’s economy. But this is in more indirect ways than the outdated claim of an 80% budgetary dependency would suggest.

    The war in Sudan has a significant yet multifaceted impact on South Sudan’s economic health. But Juba’s biggest challenges are internal.

    South Sudan’s economy over the last six years has been mainly dependent on international loans coming in – a flow which has now dried up, resulting in a severe economic crisis unprecedented in the young country’s history.

    – Is Sudan’s war the reason for South Sudan’s economic crisis? What’s really going on with oil revenue
    – https://theconversation.com/is-sudans-war-the-reason-for-south-sudans-economic-crisis-whats-really-going-on-with-oil-revenue-257375

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: From idea to prototype: Polytechnic University held a fair of student projects

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    The first Student Project Fair “Idea in Action” was held at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. The organizers were the Youth Trajectory Center “Polytech Tower” under the Youth Policy Department and the OPD competition team. The goal of the event was to provide students with a platform to present their projects to the university’s partners, establish new contacts and find opportunities for further development. In addition, participants from the FabLab Polytech association presented the infrastructure and equipment available for creating prototypes.

    The event attracted interest from both student engineering teams, who organized more than 20 stands with their prototypes, and partners. The exhibition was visited by such companies as: JSC Power Machines, OOO Glavstroy-SPB Specialized Developer, OOO ARMAN, JSCB FORA-BANK (JSC) in St. Petersburg, TRICOLOR, the Russian Union of Young Scientists, ROBBO, JSC NPF Dipol, OOO VK, GC SoftBalance, Gazprom ID, the State Hermitage Museum.

    The university’s partners were also able to select three best projects, among which were: the robot battle team “Omnivores” (IMMIT, Higher School of Automation and Robotics) and two projects from the Higher School of Project Activity and Industrial Innovations of IMMIT – an electronic cigarette sensor and the student project accelerator “Grant Lab”.

    In addition to the exhibition of engineering projects, a traditional competition of projects for the course “Fundamentals of Project Activities” was held.

    The competition was held based on the results of the spring semester of this year, which was completed by more than 4,000 second-year students of all areas of training at SPbPU. 50 projects reached the university-wide final in four nominations: scientific and technical (8), IT (18), organizational (10), creative (14). Four teams from Surgut State University, winners of a similar event at their university, participated outside the competition. At Surgut State University, the OPD course is taught by teachers trained at SPbPU.

    In the nomination “Scientific and technical projects” the winner was the project “Development of a series of decks for skateboards and longboards and a modular ramp”, headed by Maya Varennikova. The project under the supervision of Daniil Vyzhanov “Robotized production line fishertechnik indusrty 4.0 under the control of 1C: Enterprise 8.3.” took 2nd place, “Bionic hand prosthesis”, headed by Ekaterina Trosko – 3rd place.

    The strongest organizational project was “IPMET Board Games”, Anastasia Kurynkina. The second was the project led by Varvara Polyakova “Development of a turnkey service package for a segment of the target audience (optional)”, the third was “Podcast for applicants of SPbPU ISI”, led by Polina Khazova.

    In creative projects, the leaders ranked as follows: 1st place – “Development of a game with a banking theme”, leader Daria Yudina, 2nd place – “Development of a board game dedicated to the history of the university (TsifKaf)”, leader of the RP Alexander Perin, 3rd place – “Katastrofa Code”, leader Alexandra Ryfalskaya.

    Among IT projects, the best was recognized as “Mobile application “Safe House”, headed by Mark Zheleznyakov. Second place was taken by the project “Development of a computer simulator/game “By the lake”” headed by Anastasia Bagrova, 3rd place – “Neural network fuzzer”, headed by Daniil Morozov.

    The award ceremony for the teams was attended by Vice-Rector for Youth Policy and Communication Technologies Maxim Pasholikov, Director of the Higher School of Project Activities and Innovations in Industry Sergey Redko, and Director of the Center for Youth Trajectories Andrey Dolgirev.

    Director of the Center for Youth Trajectories Andrey Aleksandrovich Dolgirev shared his impressions: It is great that our Polytechnic has so many wonderful students who, applying the knowledge they gained during their studies, have the desire and opportunity to create their own technical and social projects. This is also facilitated by the OPD course, as well as the space of opportunities with a fleet of machines and equipment, such as the Polytechnic Towers. If we add here the industrial partners of the university, such projects can be noticed by employers and investors. This is the main idea of the format of the “Idea in Action” fair. It allows combining educational activities and opportunities outside the educational programs, as well as giving students a chance for direct dialogue with companies.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Rosneft Days were held at the International Institute of Energy Policy and Diplomacy of MGIMO of the Russian Foreign Ministry

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Rosneft – Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    As part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the International Institute of Energy Policy and Diplomacy of MGIMO of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia (MIEP), thematic “Rosneft Days” were held for the university students.

    Over the course of two days, representatives of the Central Office and scientific institutes of Rosneft told students about the Company’s projects. The lecture topics covered issues of climate change, the use of renewable energy sources, sustainable development, carbon management and the implementation of climate projects that are relevant to the global energy agenda. The students were also told about the Company’s unique experience in conducting scientific expeditionary work in the Arctic and the evolution of fuels and petrochemical synthesis.

    For visitors of the Company’s theme days, master classes and a business game were organized, and educational films about the activities of Rosneft were shown. In addition, a selection of candidates for admission to the master’s program of the basic department with subsequent internship at Rosneft was also held. 50 applicants from MIEP took part in the selection.

    In May, one of Rosneft’s key partners, the International Institute of Energy Policy and Diplomacy of MGIMO University of the Russian Foreign Ministry, celebrates its 25th anniversary. Cooperation with the institute has been developing for over 20 years, is comprehensive and includes: work with talented youth, retraining and advanced training of the Company’s employees, implementation of the Company’s educational cooperation with foreign universities, development of the institute’s educational infrastructure, support for students and teachers, as well as research work.

    Rosneft was the first fuel and energy company to create a basic department of “Global Energy Policy and Energy Security” at MIEP, which has been operating since 2007. The department trains masters in the program “Energy Strategies of International Oil and Gas Companies”. The curriculum of the program includes practice-oriented courses in special disciplines and a two-year internship for students in the Company’s specialized divisions. The annual admission to the master’s program is 10 people.

    During the operation of the basic department, more than 160 master’s degree students completed a long-term internship at Rosneft. The best graduates of the master’s degree are employed by the Company following the internship.

    The Rosneft Corporate Training Center, created at MIEP, implements more than 20 unique programs for advanced training in regional studies, international law, economics, finance and other areas for the Company’s specific needs. More than 4 thousand employees of the Company have completed training at the Center.

    For high-potential and promising employees of the Company, who are in the personnel reserve, training is provided under the corporate Master of Business Administration (MBA) program with a specialization in “International Business in the Oil and Gas Industry”. More than 200 managers and personnel reserves of Rosneft have graduated from the program.

    Rosneft, together with MIEP, is developing cooperation with foreign partner universities.

    Reference:

    Rosneft cooperates with 203 educational partner organizations, including 75 Russian universities. Work with educational institutions is carried out within the framework of the corporate system of continuous education “School – College/University – Enterprise”, which has been in operation since 2005 and ensures a constant influx of young specialists with a high level of training to the Company.

    Department of Information and Advertising of PJSC NK Rosneft May 29, 2025

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Commission on Children convenes 25th meeting

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Commission on Children convenes 25th meeting 
         At the meeting, members received a briefing by the Government on the latest situation of the preparatory work for the implementation of the mandatory reporting regime for child abuse cases. The policy objective of the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance is to mandate 25 categories of specified professionals in the social welfare, education and healthcare sectors to report serious child abuse cases, thereby creating a wide and effective protection web for children and sending a strong deterrent to potential perpetrators that their abusive behaviours will easily be exposed. 
     
         Together with the relevant professions, the Government is proactively making preparations for the commencement of the Ordinance next January. The Government launched the Child Protection Campaign, which comprises publicity and promotion, education and training. It aims to enhance the understanding of the specified professionals as well as the general public regarding the mandatory reporting regime and to raise their awareness about child protection. Mr Chan said that child protection is a long-term commitment that must be sustained to ensure that professionals remain vigilant at all times and that awareness of child protection is rooted in the hearts of the general public.
     
         In addition, the Education Bureau, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau and the Social Welfare Department briefed members on the latest developments of parent education by the Government and the various measures implemented by the Government to support the growth and well-being of children. These measures assist parents in enhancing their parental capacity, enabling their children to develop more healthily and positively while fostering an environment conducive to the nurturing of the next generation for families. Members welcomed the Government’s various initiatives to ensure that children grow up healthily in love and care.
    Issued at HKT 17:40

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Government appoints new Managing Director of Urban Renewal Authority

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Government appoints new Managing Director of Urban Renewal Authority 
         The Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, said, “Mr Choi is a veteran architect and has worked in the fields of architecture and property development for a long time. He has a deep understanding of the local land and housing planning, the property market, conservation of historic buildings, green buildings and innovative construction techniques, among others, and is committed to creating quality and vibrant urban living in Hong Kong. I am confident that Mr Choi will lead the URA management in furthering the important task of urban renewal, as well as effectively handling the challenges of building decay while maintaining the financial sustainability of the URA. I look forward to close collaboration with him.”
     
         “I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Mr Wai Chi-sing, who is retiring upon completion of his term of office, for his invaluable contributions to the work of the URA over the years. Since taking up the position of Managing Director in 2016, with his exceptional leadership and extensive experience, Mr Wai has led the URA in taking forward various urban renewal initiatives with an innovative mindset. Apart from introducing new planning concepts and measures to enhance the speed and quality of redevelopment through a number of redevelopment projects and district studies, he also adopted a forward-looking mindset to promote building rehabilitation and made significant contributions to advancing sustainable urban renewal,” Ms Linn added.
     
         The Government appointed a consultancy firm last year to conduct an open recruitment exercise for the Managing Director post of the URA. The shortlisted candidates were considered by a selection panel chaired by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, and the recommendation on the appointment was made to the Chief Executive. Panel members included the Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong; the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn; the Chairman of the URA, Mr Chow Chung-kong; and Non-Executive Director of the URA Board Mr William Chan Fu-keung.
     
         The URA Managing Director is the URA’s administrative head, responsible for leading project teams to implement the decisions and instructions of the URA Board. The Managing Director is also the Deputy Chairman of its Board.
     
         A brief biography of Mr Choi is as follows:
     
         Mr Choi is an architect by profession. He was the Chief Executive Officer of Chinachem Group from 2018 to August 2024 before his retirement. Prior to that, he was the Managing Director of the Nan Fung Development Limited and a Director at Foster + Partners. He previously served as President of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and of the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design. 
     
         Mr Choi holds a Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the University of British Columbia in Canada and professional degrees in architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design. He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Hong Kong and a Master of Arts in Comparative and Public History degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. 
    Issued at HKT 14:00

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is Sudan’s war the reason for South Sudan’s economic crisis? What’s really going on with oil revenue

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Jan Pospisil, Associate Professor at the Centre for Peace and Security, Coventry University

    The civil war in Sudan between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which began in April 2023, has had an impact on its neighbours. One of the most keenly affected countries is South Sudan, which became an independent state in 2011 and went on to endure its own civil war. This ended in 2018 with a tenuous peace agreement.

    The impact of the Sudanese war on South Sudan, however, isn’t a straightforward spillover catastrophe. The picture is more nuanced, and this is most clearly seen in South Sudan’s oil economy. Jan Pospisil, who has studied the dynamics in Sudan and South Sudan, explains.

    What is the current status of oil exports from South Sudan through Sudan?

    Landlocked South Sudan is reliant on its neighbour to the north to transport oil from its fields to the international market. Crude oil is transported via pipeline to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

    However, recent drone strikes on Port Sudan carried out by the Rapid Support Forces targeted power plants that supply electricity to pumping stations along Sudan’s critical oil pipelines.

    Soon after, the Sudanese army formally notified South Sudan that it would have to halt exports. Following hectic negotiations, the South Sudanese government released a statement that the stoppage could be prevented.

    This back and forth has reopened the pressing question of the impact of Sudan’s war on South Sudan’s economy and, in particular, the role of crude oil.

    Assessments of the impact of Sudan’s war on South Sudan suggest the worst: oil revenues would account for 80% of South Sudan’s budget and 90% of its fiscal revenue.

    This informs the International Monetary Fund’s warnings of looming economic collapse in case of a breakdown of oil exports. The predominant view is that a shutdown of the oil pipeline through Sudan would lead to a collapse of dollar inflows to South Sudan, triggering a severe economic crisis.

    However, South Sudan’s 2024-25 budget suggests a high reliance on non-oil revenue.

    In fact, government oil revenues for 2024-25 are based on a volume of only around 16,000 barrels per day. This is the share of total production of about 130,000 barrels per day controlled by South Sudan. Attempts to increase production to pre-war levels of up to 400,000 barrels failed. The substantial drop in production is explained by a decline in the quality of South Sudan’s oil wells, especially in Paloch in the north-east’s Upper Nile State, and Unity State in the north-central region.

    South Sudan additionally lacks the operational capacity to extract the oil it has in the ground.

    The 2024-25 budget projects a hefty fiscal deficit. The revenues projected will cover only about half of total planned state spending. Oil and non-oil revenues – which mainly include tax income from international NGOs and businesses – each account for about half of the revenue that’s expected to come in.

    Oil income has to account for debt (capital and interest) repayments on loans, as well as pipeline transport fees paid to Sudan. This means that even the optimistically assessed net contributions of oil revenue would only pay for 16% of planned government spending. South Sudan remains with a hefty deficit.

    What are the challenges South Sudan is facing in growing oil revenues?

    First, Petronas, a Malaysian multinational oil and gas company, withdrew from South Sudan in August 2024 after three decades.

    It left behind substantial challenges, including an arbitration process worth more US$1 billion. This followed the government preventing Petronas from selling its shares to the British-Nigerian group Savannah Energy.

    As a short-term solution, South Sudan de facto nationalised Petronas’ shares. It did this by transferring the shares to the state’s oil and gas company, Nile Petroleum Corporation (NilePet). This was perhaps in the hope of increasing revenue in the short term.

    However, NilePet hasn’t been able to replace Petronas’ production logistics. This has resulted in huge challenges in restoring production to levels before the 2024 pipeline disruptions.

    A second factor is the sale of oil forward. The then finance minister said in 2022 that most of the oil production had been sold in advance until 2027. He later retracted the statement, saying instead that some oil advances were merely “spread up to 2027”. While this walk-back attempted to soften the political fallout, it reinforced wider uncertainty about how much control NilePet actually retains over the revenues formally under its authority.

    Given the limited relevance of oil revenues for the official South Sudanese budget, why the major concern about disruptions?

    There are three reasons.

    First, NilePet plays a structural role in South Sudan’s informal and often dubious hard currency circulation, which international observers would call large-scale corruption. NilePet’s accounts rarely appear in any official financial accounts and are often channelled off-budget. NilePet functions as a black box within the public finance system where real money flows can only rarely be traced. Recent intentions by the president to structurally reform the company might implicitly confirm this.

    Second, there are indirect oil revenues that are important to the country’s security apparatus. This includes protection rents which come from protecting South Sudanese oil fields. This revenue never hits the budget. It pays the National Security Service either directly as salaries, or is reinvested in the considerable conglomerate of companies owned by the security service to multiply profits. Losing this revenue could destabilise the country because the funds are used to pay the salaries of the best-trained and best-equipped security service in the country.

    Third, South Sudan’s ability to attract new loans depends on the repayment of existing ones. These repayments largely depend on oil production. As the 2024-24 budget shows, South Sudan desperately needs new loans to keep even core state functions operational. Yet, funding from multilateral agencies has dwindled to small-scale loans from the African Development Bank. The International Monetary Fund has currently ended all its funding programmes.

    This is not a result of the war in Sudan. It is due to persistent concerns over insufficient financial governance in South Sudan and the state’s performance. Negotiations with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for new loans appear to have stalled, not least because of a default in repayments to Qatar.

    These factors show that the flow of oil to Port Sudan is significant to the availability of hard currency in South Sudan’s economy. But this is in more indirect ways than the outdated claim of an 80% budgetary dependency would suggest.

    The war in Sudan has a significant yet multifaceted impact on South Sudan’s economic health. But Juba’s biggest challenges are internal.

    South Sudan’s economy over the last six years has been mainly dependent on international loans coming in – a flow which has now dried up, resulting in a severe economic crisis unprecedented in the young country’s history.

    Jan Pospisil receives funding from the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform (PeaceRep), funded by UK International Development from the UK government. However, the views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies. Any use of this work should acknowledge the authors and the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform.

    – ref. Is Sudan’s war the reason for South Sudan’s economic crisis? What’s really going on with oil revenue – https://theconversation.com/is-sudans-war-the-reason-for-south-sudans-economic-crisis-whats-really-going-on-with-oil-revenue-257375

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Germany steps up to replace ‘unreliable’ US as guarantor of European security

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham

    Two statements from world leaders this week bear closer examination. On May 27, the US president Donald Trump took to his Truth Social social media channel to proclaim that if it wasn’t for him, “lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia”. The following day the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, announced that his country would assist Ukraine in developing long-range missiles to deploy against targets inside Russia. Both statements are quite extraordinary.

    Even by Trump’s own standards, the public declaration by a sitting US president that he is protecting the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is unprecedented. Putin is under indictment for war crimes and has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine for more than three years after having illegally annexed Crimea over a decade ago. There can now be no doubt left that the US has become an unreliable ally for Ukraine and its European partners.

    This is the context in which Merz’s announcement of increasing defence cooperation with Ukraine becomes significant. While Trump continues to chase an impossible deal with Putin – even after threatening to abandon his mediation efforts less than ten days ago – Germany has doubled down on Ukraine’s defence.

    Not only that, but as the EU’s largest and Nato’s second-largest economy, Germany is now also aiming to turn its Bundeswehr (the German army, navy and air force) into the “strongest conventional army in Europe”. Its most senior military officer and chief of defence, Carsten Breuer, has published plans for a rapid and wide-ranging expansion of defence capabilities.

    Sign up to receive our weekly World Affairs Briefing newsletter from The Conversation UK. Every Thursday we’ll bring you expert analysis of the big stories in international relations.

    Germany is finally beginning to pull its weight in European defence and security policy. This is absolutely critical to the credibility of the EU in the face of the threat from Russia. Berlin has the financial muscle and the technological and industrial potential to make Europe more of a peer to the US when it comes to defence spending and burden sharing. This will be important to salvage what remains of Nato in light of a highly probable American down-scaling – if not complete abandonment – of its past security commitments to the alliance.

    After decades of failing to develop either a grand strategy to deal with Russia or the hard power capabilities that need to underpin it, achieving either will take some time. But it is important to acknowledge that some critical first steps have been taken by the new German government.

    Facing a growing threat

    For Germany, and much of the rest of Europe, the investment in more defence capabilities does not simply require producing more ammunition or procuring more advanced defence systems. These are important – but what is also needed is a significant investment in developing manpower. This means either finding more volunteers or reintroducing conscription, which is now no longer a taboo in Germany.

    Sending a whole new brigade to Lithuania, in its first international deployment since the second world war, is an important signal to Nato allies about Germany’s commitment to the alliance. It is also a clear signal to Russia that Germany finally is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to containing the threat from Russia. It’s a threat which has grown significantly since the beginning of the Kremlin’s full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

    The three years of Russia’s war against its neighbour have also highlighted the threat that Russia poses beyond Ukraine’s borders. The war against Ukraine has exposed European vulnerabilities and its dependence on the US. And it has taught military planners important lessons about what a future confrontation with Russia might look like. This is why Germany’s military planners have identified air defence systems, precision strike capabilities, drones, and electronic and cyber warfare assets as procurement priorities.

    Beyond Germany, the signs have have been that Europe more broadly is beginning to learn to stand on its own feet when it comes to its security. For the continent, the challenge is threefold. It needs to beef up its defence spending in light of the ongoing war against Ukraine and Russian threats to expand it further. Europe also needs to come to terms with the dismantling of the transatlantic alliance by Trump. And, finally, there is a populist surge that threatens the very foundations of European democracy and risks undermining efforts to stand up to both Trump and Putin. This has been given extra fuel by the alignment of Trump’s “America-first” Maga movement with Putin’s Russia.

    Major challenges ahead

    These are enduring challenges with no quick fixes. The first test of this apparent new-found European mettle will be the war in Ukraine. Giving Ukraine permission to use long-range missiles against targets in Russia is not a new development. Such a move was first taken by the then US president, Joe Biden, in November 2024 when he authorised Ukraine to launch limited strikes into Russia using US-made long-range missiles, followed by similar authorisations from London and Paris at the time, but not Berlin.

    Now, as then, how effective this will be depends not only on how many actual missiles Ukraine has but also on whether US intelligence sharing will continue. This is crucial for targeting. What’s more, effectiveness will also be difficult to measure. In a best-case scenario, Ukraine will now be able to stave off Russia’s reportedly impending summer offensive.

    The Kremlin has already indicated its displeasure and ratcheted up its nuclear sabre rattling.

    Trump, meanwhile, remains all talk when it comes to putting any pressure on Russia. By contrast, the Europeans, for once, are much more action orientated, which is another indication of the increasing rift across the Atlantic.

    This does not mean an end to transatlantic relations and pragmatic cooperation, as demonstrated by the meeting between the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, with his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul, which happened almost simultaneously with Trump’s and Merz’s statements.

    What it does mean, however, is that Europe’s security now entirely depends on whether key players on the continent can muster the will to mobilise the resources required to defend the continent against an aggressive foe to the east. Berlin and other European capitals seem to have recognised at long last that this needs to happen. Now they need to demonstrate that they can follow through with swift and decisive action.

    Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.

    – ref. Germany steps up to replace ‘unreliable’ US as guarantor of European security – https://theconversation.com/germany-steps-up-to-replace-unreliable-us-as-guarantor-of-european-security-257735

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom announces appointments 5.28.25

    Source: US State of California 2

    May 28, 2025

    SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

    LaCandice Ochoa, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Director of the Independent Living and Community Access Division at the Department of Rehabilitation. Ochoa has been Dean of Workforce and Economic Development in the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges since 2020, where she was previously Operations Manager of Workforce and Economic Development from 2020 to 2022. She was the Operations Manager for the Commission on Disability Access at the Department of General Services from 2018 to 2020. Ochoa was a Program Manager at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services from 2015 to 2018. She was a Program Analyst for the Health Professions Education Foundation at the Department of Healthcare Access and Information from 2014 to 2015. Ochoa was an Associate Governmental Program Analyst at the California Department of Rehabilitation from 2012 to 2014. She was an Executive Assistant at Disability Rights California from 2011 to 2012. Ochoa was an Outreach and Training Advocate at the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers from 2009 to 2011. She was a Support Staff Assistant for Bob Segalman, Ph.D. from 2008 to 2009. Ochoa is a member of the California Community College Association of Occupational Educators, Association of California Community College Administrators, and Association of California State Employees with Disabilities. She earned a Master of Science degree in Assistive Technology and Human Services from California State University, Northridge and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Ethnic Studies from University of California, San Diego. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $137,616. Ochoa is a Democrat.

    Aaron Christian, of Chino, has been appointed Chief of Population Risk, Quality Assurance, and Data Operations at the Department of Developmental Services. Christian has been Deputy Director of the Division of Community Assistance and Resolutions at the California Department of Developmental Services since 2024, where he has held several roles since 2020, including Assistant Deputy Director and Southern Region Manager. He held several roles at the San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center from 2010 to 2020, including Director of Client Services, Director of Community Services, Assistant Director of Community Services, Resource Developer, and Service Coordinator. Christian was a Youth Counselor at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2007 to 2009. He was a Program Manager at Esperanza Services from 2003 to 2007. Christian earned a Master of Public Administration degree in Public Sector Leadership from California State University, Northridge and a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services from University of Phoenix. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $187,104. Christian is registered with no party preference. 

    Sherri Miller, of Sacramento, has been appointed Special Assistant to the Secretary at the California Environmental Protection Agency. Miller has been Executive Office Manager at California High-Speed Rail Authority since 2023, where she was previously Staff Services Manager II from 2021 to 2023. She held several roles at the California Department of Motor Vehicles from 2012 to 2019, including Administrative Assistant II to the Department of Motor Vehicles Director and Executive Secretary. Miller is a participant of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program at California High-Speed Rail Authority. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $108,000. Miller is a Democrat.

    Jason Paguio, of Coronado, has been reappointed to the Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs, where he has served since 2022. Paguio has been President and Chief Executive Officer of the Asian Business Association San Diego and the Asian Business Association Foundation since 2019 and a Member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary since 2017. He was Director for North America at Dalman & Narborough from 2006 to 2025. Paguio was Director of Strategic Partnerships and Political Director for the California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce from 2020 to 2022. He was a Land Use Advisor for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors from 2017 to 2019. Paguio was Chief of Staff for the Office of the Deputy Mayor of the City of Chula Vista from 2015 to 2017. He is Chair of the Board of Directors of the San Diego Community Housing Corporation, Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Directors of LEAD San Diego, Member of the Board of Directors of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, NTC Foundation, and San Diego Opera and a member of the California Entrepreneurship and Economic Mobility Task Force in the Office of the Small Business Advocate. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation. Paguio is a Democrat.

    Rajan Gill, of Yuba City, has been reappointed to the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs, where he has served since 2013. Gill has been a Filmmaker at Neena Filmhouse since 2024, Professor of History at Yuba College since 2019, and Managing Partner at Gill Ranches since 2010. He was Professor of History at Las Positas College from 2018 to 2019. Gill was an Adjunct Professor at Yuba College from 2015 to 2018. He earned a Master of Arts degree in History from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Middle Eastern and South Asian studies from the University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation. Gill is a Democrat.

    Press releases, Recent news

    Recent news

    May 28, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom issued the following statement after a federal court ruled today that President Trump exceeded his use of emergency powers to enact broad-sweeping tariffs that hurt states, consumers, and businesses: “Like we said when we filed…

    May 28, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that he has signed the following bill:SB 49 by Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) – Tribal gaming: compact and amendment ratification.For full text of the bill, visit: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.  Recent…

    May 28, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued an emergency proclamation for Trinity County to assist in recovery from the December 2024 winter storms that caused significant damage to the local area. The emergency proclamation authorizes the Governor’s Office…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: West Hawaiʻi Island Welcomes Free, Public Preschool Classroom

    Source: US State of Hawaii

    West Hawaiʻi Island Welcomes Free, Public Preschool Classroom

    Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke Visits New Public Pre-K Serving South Kona Families

    Lt. Gov. Luke and Sen. Dru Kanuha visit with pre-K students at Hoʻokena Elementary.

    Link to Hoʻokena Elementary Photos
     Link to Hoʻokena Elementary B-Roll Video


    KONA, HAWAIʻI — This month, some of Big Island’s youngest learners were joined by special guests as Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke visited a new public pre-kindergarten classroom at Hoʻokena Elementary School. Luke, who leads the state’s     Ready Keiki initiative to expand access to preschool statewide, was joined by Senator Dru Kanuha.

    The new classroom at Hoʻokena Elementary is the second public preschool to open on West Hawaiʻi Island since the launch of Ready Keiki in January 2023.

    “Expanding preschool access on the Big Island and in rural communities is about equity and opportunity for both our keiki and their families,” said Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke. “When parents have reliable, high-quality early learning options close to home, they can stay in the workforce, support their families, and choose the care that best fits their needs. It’s about giving local families real options and making sure every community has the resources to thrive.”

    These new classrooms not only support young learners but also help strengthen local communities and give local families a reason to stay and raise their children in Hawaiʻi.

    “Giving our keiki in West Hawaiʻi the right start means building a strong foundation for learning and growth,” said Senator Dru Kanuha (District 3 – Kona, Ka‘ū, Volcano). “This new preschool classroom at Hoʻokena Elementary is an investment in our children’s future, and I’m grateful to Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke for expanding access to pre-K in rural communities like South Kona. The Ready Keiki initiative is opening doors for local families.”

    EOEL Public Pre-K Program Campuses on Hawaiʻi Island:

    Chiefess Kapi’olani Elementary

    Hilo Union Elementary

    Hōnaunau Elementary

    Honoka’a Elementary

    Hoʻokena Elementary School

    Kahakai Elementary School

    Kea’au Elementary

    Keonepoko Elementary

    Kohala Elementary

    Konawaena Elementary

    Mountain View Elementary

    Nāʻālehu Elementary School

    Pa’auilo Elementary and Intermediate School

    Pāhoa Elementary

    Waimea Elementary School

    The Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL) is now accepting applications for the 2025–2026 school year. Children must be 3 or 4 years old on or before July 31 of the school year for which they are applying.

    • March 3–June 30: Priority enrollment period. Preference is given to children who live in the geographic area of the school.

    • July 1–End of school year: Open enrollment.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom proclaims Jewish American Heritage Month 2025

    Source: US State of California 2

    May 28, 2025

    Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring May 2025, as “Jewish American Heritage Month.”

    The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below

    PROCLAMATION

    Throughout our history, generations of Jewish immigrants fleeing persecution have sought the promise of freedom and opportunity to start life anew in America. California is home to the second-largest Jewish population in the U.S., with thriving communities across the state. This month, we recognize the enduring faith, perseverance, and resilience of the Jewish people and celebrate the ways in which Jewish Americans enrich our culture, politics, civil society, and countless other areas.

    California is indelibly intertwined with and improved by the Jewish community, a community that has been part of this state since the very first days of our statehood. Jewish Californians have played pivotal roles in social movements, including the fight for civil rights through organizations like the Los Angeles and Bay Area Jewish Community Relations Councils. Film producer Carl Laemmle helped define the film industry, producing over 400 films, including Dracula and The Phantom of the Opera. California is not the state, nor is it the global force it is today, without the many contributions of the Jewish community.

    As we celebrate these accomplishments, we must also recognize the bigotry and violence that Jewish people have faced throughout history, and that shamefully persist to this day. Amid brazen displays of antisemitic hate, California is taking action to protect our communities and ensure that future generations never forget the lessons of the past.

    This year, the Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education released its report on the status of genocide education in California and its recommendations to better prepare people to recognize and respond to instances of antisemitism and bigotry.

    The report goes hand in hand with state work and investments to address existing antisemitism and keep people safe. We have released California’s first-ever plan to counter antisemitism in all its forms, advanced major investments to increase security at houses of worship and other at-risk cultural centers, funded anti-hate programs that combat intolerance and support victims, and launched the CA vs. Hate Resource Line and Network statewide to provide a safe, anonymous reporting option for victims and witnesses of hate acts.

    California will continue to lead the fight to confront all forms of racial, ethnic, and religious hate across our society with education and empathy. This Jewish American Heritage Month, let us pay tribute to the many and varied contributions of the Jewish people to our California story and celebrate our shared commitment to pluralism, cultural diversity, and religious freedom.

    NOW THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim May 26, 2025 as “Jewish American Heritage Month.”

    IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 27th day of May 2025.

    GAVIN NEWSOM
    Governor of California

    ATTEST:
    SHIRLEY N. WEBER, Ph.D.
    Secretary of State

    Recent news

    May 27, 2025

    News What you need to know: Since Governor Newsom launched the joint law enforcement efforts in Bakersfield, Oakland, and San Bernardino, officers have conducted 6,727 arrests, recovered 4,842 stolen vehicles, and confiscated 313 illicit firearms, reducing crime in…

    May 26, 2025

    News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring May 26, 2025, as “Memorial Day.”The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATIONOn Memorial Day, we remember those who laid down their lives in defense of…

    May 23, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Andrew “Tristan” Peery, of Sacramento, has been appointed Senior Product Manager at the Office of Data and Innovation. Peery has been Director of Web and Interactive Communications at…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s global trade plans are in disarray, after a US court ruling on ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Susan Stone, Credit Union SA Chair of Economics, University of South Australia

    A United States court has blocked the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs that US President Donald Trump imposed on imported goods from around 90 nations. This puts implementation of Trump’s current trade policy in disarray.

    The Court of International Trade ruled the emergency authority Trump used to impose the tariffs could not override the role of Congress, which has the right to regulate commerce with other countries.

    Tariffs imposed via other legislative processes – such as those dealing with cars, steel and aluminium – continue to stand. But the broad-based “reciprocal” tariffs will need to be removed within ten days of the court’s ruling. Trump administration officials have already filed plans to appeal.

    The ruling calls into question trade negotiations underway with more than 18 different nations, which are trying to lower these tariffs. Do these countries continue to negotiate or do they wait for the judicial process to play out?

    The Trump administration still has other mechanisms through which it can impose tariffs, but these have limits on the amount that can be imposed, or entail processes which can take months or years. This undermines Trump’s preferred method of negotiation: throwing out large threats and backing down once a concession is reached.

    Emergency powers were a step too far

    The lawsuits were filed by US importers of foreign products and some US states, challenging Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977.

    The lawsuits argued the national emergencies cited in imposing the tariffs – the trade deficit and the fentanyl crisis – were not an emergency and not directly addressed by the tariff remedy. The court agreed, and said by imposing tariffs Trump had overstepped his authority.

    The ruling said the executive orders used were “declared to be invalid as contrary to law”.

    The act states the president is entitled to take economic action in the face of “an unusual and extraordinary threat”. It’s mainly been used to impose sanctions on terrorist groups or freeze assets from Russia. There’s nothing in the act that refers to tariffs.

    The decision means all the reciprocal tariffs – including the 10% tariffs on most countries, the 50% tariffs Trump was talking about putting on the EU, and some of the Chinese tariffs – are ruled by the court to be illegal. They must be removed within 10 days.

    The ruling was based on two separate lawsuits. One was brought by a group of small businesses that argued tariffs materially hurt their business. The other was brought by 12 individual states, arguing the tariffs would materially impact their ability to provide public goods.

    Some industry tariffs will remain in place

    The ruling does not apply to tariffs applied under Section 201, known as safeguard tariffs. They are intended to protect industries from imports allegedly being sold in the US market at unfair prices or through unfair means. Tariffs on solar panels and washing machines were brought under this regulation.

    Also excluded are Section 232 tariffs, which are applied for national security reasons. Those are the steel and aluminium tariffs, the automobile and auto parts tariffs. Trump has declared all those as national security issues, so those tariffs will remain.

    Most of the tariffs against China are also excluded under Section 301. Those are put in place for unfair trade practices, such as intellectual property theft or forced technology transfer. They are meant to pressure countries to change their policies.

    Other trade investigations are still underway

    In addition, there are current investigations related to copper and the pharmaceuticals sector, which will continue. These investigations are part of a more traditional trade process and may lead to future tariffs, including on Australia.

    The Trump administration is still weighing possible sector-specific tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
    Planar/Shutterstock

    Now for the appeals

    The Trump administration has already filed its intention to appeal to the federal appeals court. This process will take some time. In the meantime, there are at least five other legal challenges to tariffs pending in the courts.

    If the appeals court provides a ruling the Trump administration or opponents don’t like, they can appeal to the Supreme Court.

    Alternatively, the White House could direct customs officials to ignore the court and continue to collect tariffs.

    The Trump administration has ignored court orders in the past, particularly on immigration rulings. So it remains to be seen if customs officials will release goods without the tariffs being paid in ten days’ time.

    The administration is unlikely to lie down on this. In addition to its appeal process, officials complained about “unelected judges” and “judicial overreach” and may contest the whole process. The only thing that continues to be a certainty is that uncertainty will drive global markets for the foreseeable future.

    Susan Stone 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. Trump’s global trade plans are in disarray, after a US court ruling on ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs – https://theconversation.com/trumps-global-trade-plans-are-in-disarray-after-a-us-court-ruling-on-liberation-day-tariffs-257812

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Influencer Andrew Tate is charged with a raft of sex crimes. His followers will see him as the victim

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Steven Roberts, Professor of Education and Social Justice, Monash University

    British prosecutors have this week charged social media influencer Andrew Tate with a string of serious sexual offences, including rape and human trafficking, alleged to have been committed in the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2015.

    This comes in the wake of an ongoing case in Romania. There, Tate and his brother Tristan face similar charges of coercing and exploiting women through what is sometimes described as the “loverboy method” of manipulation that is used to control and monetise women through webcam performances.

    A self-described misogynist, Tate is a widespread figure of notoriety for his views on women and his role in the internet “manosphere”. He has millions of followers globally, including ten million on X alone.

    This latest round of prosecutions will likely further entrench the loyalty of those followers: boys and young men who will see their leader as the victim of a corrupt system.

    Who is Andrew Tate?

    Tate is a British-American social media influencer and former kickboxer. He gained international notoriety for his violently misogynistic videos and pronouncements.

    He’s built a massive, loyal social media following through a brand that is part provocateur, part self-help guru and part conspiracy theorist.

    His rhetoric emphasises an aspirational masculinity geared towards extreme wealth and a physically fit body, combined with resentment towards women and so-called “feminised” societies. He has, for example, stated that women should “bear responsibility” for sexual assault.

    Tate is a leading ideological figurehead of what is often called the “manosphere” – a loose network of online communities and content creators who promote regressive ideas about masculinity, gender roles and male identity.

    Tate offers a template for many boys and young men to make sense of their place in the world, playing up ideas that boys are disenfranchised by social, economic, or cultural change.

    This is part of an emotional hook that provides belonging and clarity in a world his followers are told is stacked against them.

    Tate’s content involves both overt and, more often, insidious celebration of harmful gender norms and misogynistic ideologies.

    Research has found boys’ exposure to this content has contributed to a resurgence of a sense of male supremacy in classrooms. This then increases sexism and hostility towards women teachers and girl peers.

    Reinforcing the narrative

    Given this context, it is unlikely the new charges will erode his popularity.

    To be clear, he is not universally admired. In fact, the majority of boys reject what he stands for.

    However, for the significant minority who comprise his hardcore followers, these new charges will likely be used to reinforce a persecution narrative.

    In this way, Tate has paved the way for more violent and extreme misogyny to become standard, not rare.

    This was exactly the pattern when the Romanian charges first emerged. His followers flooded platforms with hashtags like #FreeTopG, reframing his arrest as proof that he was “telling the truth” and being punished for it.

    Figures like US President Donald Trump provide a relevant comparison. Trump has faced multiple criminal indictments and was found liable in a civil trial for sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll.

    Yet, his popularity among his base has held firm.

    For many of his supporters, these legal challenges are not signs of wrongdoing, but evidence their champion is being unfairly targeted by corrupt institutions.

    Tate is similar in that his hypermasculine posturing and anti-establishment bravado ensures his audience see him the same way.

    Prompting more loyalty

    Given their previous responses, we can already predict how the Tate brothers will respond this time. They will deny the charges, of course, but more importantly, they will use the moment to deepen their mythos.

    We might expect to see talk of “the matrix” of shadowy elites, and the weaponisation of justice systems to silence truth-telling men.

    They will insist the charges are not about what they did, but about who they are: disruptors of a weak, feminised society. This victim-persecutor framing is central to their appeal and will remain so as this unfolds.

    Their followers will, then, likely respond with greater loyalty. For those already steeped in online misogyny and disillusionment, legal accusations such as these don’t raise doubt, but instead confirm the story they already buy into.

    This makes combating Tate’s influence a complex challenge. Simply “calling it out” is not enough.

    As our research shows, Tate’s brand thrives not in spite of controversy, but because of it.

    This is why we need a more strategic, long-term approach to address the harms Tate and other such figureheads represent.

    We need robust gender education in schools, stronger commitments to critical media literacy, and the elevation of alternative role models who can speak to the same emotional terrain without reinforcing misogyny.

    This can include other content creators, like Will Hitchins, but also youth workers or people of any gender from boy’s existing communities.

    A key lesson here is that, for the manosphere’s key figures, being charged or even found guilty of crimes (should that occur) might not signal their downfall or diminish their relevance.

    Steven Roberts receives funding from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety, the Australian Research Council and the Australian Government. He is a Board Director at Respect Victoria, but this article is written wholly separate from and does not represent that role.

    Stephanie Wescott receives funding from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety.

    – ref. Influencer Andrew Tate is charged with a raft of sex crimes. His followers will see him as the victim – https://theconversation.com/influencer-andrew-tate-is-charged-with-a-raft-of-sex-crimes-his-followers-will-see-him-as-the-victim-257805

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The Africa in St. Petersburg Festival Combined Culture and Education

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    The 3rd International Youth Festival “Africa in St. Petersburg – We Are Together on the World Map” was held at St. Petersburg State University, organized by the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg. The event was attended by foreign students of the Polytechnic University, representatives of scientific foundations, public organizations and the consortium of the Russian-African Network University (RAFU).

    The day before, a meeting of the expert council on development and support of comprehensive partnership with African countries was held in the State Duma of the Russian Federation as part of the humanitarian forum “Russia – Africa: from implemented projects to new achievements”. Head of the RAFU project office Maxim Zalyvsky made a presentation on the activities of the Polytechnic University, emphasizing the importance of educational cooperation between Russia and Africa.

    The festival opened with greetings from the Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov and the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the city Alexander Belsky. The cultural program impressed guests with fiery performances, tasting of African cuisine and the exhibition “Dreams of Africa”, created by artists from two continents.

    Interest in the African theme is not accidental. On May 25, the world celebrated Africa Day, symbolizing the continent’s aspiration for unity and development. The exhibition “Humanitarian Cooperation Russia – Africa. Mission of Good” was timed to coincide with this date, presented in the State Duma. At it, RAFU demonstrated its achievements in training personnel for African countries, including the project to create a polytechnic university in Mali. Also, at the information stands, visitors to the exhibition could find information about other participants in the RAFU consortium – Lomonosov Moscow State University, Patrice Lumumba RUDN University, and S. O. Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Waters.

    Festival “Africa in St. Petersburg”, which was launched in 2023 at the Polytechnic University, has become an important bridge between cultures. Such initiatives strengthen international dialogue and open up new opportunities for joint achievements in education, art and the social sphere.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: SPbGASU presented its developments at the VI International Transport Festival “TransportFest”

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Development by Ekaterina Shatalova: experience in managing the homogeneity of a gas-air mixture

    Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering took part in the VI International Transport Festival “TransportFest”. As part of the business program on May 23, students and teachers of the Automobile and Road Engineering Faculty made presentations, presented their projects and research papers.

    At the technology session of the Children’s Automobile Forum (DAF-2025), student Mikhail Smetanin presented the development of power frame elements for special vehicles, carried out under the supervision of Associate Professor of the Department of Technical Operation of Vehicles Sergei Vorobyov.

    “The Keystone Auto company, which is a distributor of ALTAI brand trucks, set a technical task: to develop a power frame for a category No. 2 vehicle with a total load capacity of 12 tons, designed for the installation of special garbage collection superstructures. The department team completed the work on designing the power frame. The results have been implemented in the production process, and soon we will see these vehicles on the streets of our city,” said Sergey Vorobyov.

    Students Alena Isaeva, Dmitry Aleksandrov, Anastasia Tikhomirova and Andrey Garin (supervisor – postgraduate student Evgeny Trofimov) presented a report entitled “Safety, durability, storability, and maintainability of a traction battery using the example of a category 2 vehicle.”

    As Anastasia Tikhomirova explained, a traction battery is a battery designed to ensure continuous operation of a vehicle. Unlike starter batteries, it is designed for deep discharges (long-term operation) and multiple charge cycles. A category 2 vehicle is a truck with a gross weight of 3.5 to 12 tons.

    “Motor transport remains the main danger on the roads, many accidents happen every day. Given the growing number of electric vehicles and the active development of infrastructure for electric transport, the relevance of our project lies in the safety and operational reliability of such vehicles, increasing the service life of the battery and the convenience of its maintenance. We are successfully engaged in the conversion of vehicles to electric traction, previously we have already produced “Eletromus” vehicles and an electric tow truck based on MAN TGL 12.250,” said Anastasia Tikhomirova.

    Students Maria Raski and Ekaterina Shatalova presented a report entitled “Increasing the efficiency of using natural gas as a motor fuel in a gas-diesel engine”.

    “Our faculty conducts research related to the use of alternative fuels. We began studying the use of natural gas as a motor fuel in a gas-diesel engine in September 2024. Expanding the use of natural gas as a motor fuel is a hot topic, and according to the energy strategy of the Russian Federation until 2050, the volume of natural gas (methane) consumption should increase 15 times. In Russia, gas buses are becoming more common, as manufacturers strive to reduce emissions and improve the environmental sustainability of public transport. In the process of studying this topic, we identified several problems associated with the use of gas-diesel engines. The main problems include low efficiency and increased fuel consumption,” said Ekaterina Shatalova.

    To improve the efficiency of gas-diesel engines, students proposed the following approaches:

    Increasing mixture homogeneity: Optimizing the process of mixing gas and air can lead to more complete combustion and reduce energy losses; Reducing gas losses during valve overlap: Improving the design of valves and the control system can reduce leaks and improve the overall efficiency of the engine; Switching to a gas-diesel cycle: Studying and implementing a gas-diesel cycle, which combines the advantages of both gas and diesel fuel, can significantly improve efficiency and reduce consumption.

    Young researchers are confident that these measures can improve the performance of gas-diesel engines and will help to more widely introduce natural gas as an alternative motor fuel.

    The architecture of building a sustainable transport system based on a planned-cyclical development strategy is the focus of attention of student Ivan Beshentsev (project manager – Deputy Head of the Department of Information Technologies and Intelligent Systems of St. Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise “Gorelectrotrans” Alexander Figichev).

    “The concept of a sustainable transport system is inextricably linked with a planned-cyclical development strategy. Sustainability implies a well-coordinated interaction of all elements of the city’s transport framework – urban development belts, infrastructure, corridors and routes. For convenience, I have combined them into one pyramid. Each level has its own goal setting and takes on a certain transport load. Thus, the system as a whole is sustainable, and in order to maintain this sustainability in the long-term equivalent, it is necessary to apply a planned-cyclical development strategy. That is, pre-determined volumes of infrastructure necessary for sustainable development are introduced annually – primarily for electric transport,” the student explained.

    According to Ivan Beshentsev, the cyclicality concerns the implementation of repair work: each infrastructure facility has a certain life cycle, which is assessed based on the infrastructure load. In St. Petersburg, this cycle is 25 years, and every year 24 km of infrastructure for electric transport is updated (we have 600 km in total). If less is repaired, the wear and tear of the infrastructure will be unacceptable for current operation. If more, this will negatively affect the transport situation.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: New Australian data shows most of us have PFAS in our blood. How worried should we be?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian A. Wright, Associate Professor in Environmental Science, Western Sydney University

    New Africa/Shutterstock

    The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has this week released new data which tells us about the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Australians’ bodies.

    The data comes from concentrations measured in blood samples of nearly 7,000 people aged 12 and over, collected as part of the National Health Measures Survey for 2022–24.

    The findings are concerning, showing PFAS are detectable in the vast majority of the Australian population, to varying levels.

    But are they cause for alarm? What do these findings mean for our health?

    ‘Forever chemicals’

    PFAS, often called “forever chemicals”, are a group of thousands of different human-made chemicals. The molecular structure of PFAS chemicals – characterised by extremely strong bonds between carbon and fluorine atoms – makes PFAS resistant to degradation.

    Many PFAS products are very effective for their resistance to water, oil, grease and stains, while others promote foaming. Since the 1940s, PFAS chemicals have been widely used in many consumer and industry products, such as non-stick pans, stain-resistant fabrics and firefighting foam.

    One of the downsides of PFAS is their potential to bioaccumulate, or gradually build up in the body.

    Important exposure pathways include ingestion of PFAS in drinking water, in food, or absorption through the skin. Absorption of small amounts progressively builds up in the organs of people and animals, particularly the liver.

    Exposure to PFAS is associated with a heightened risk of many adverse health outcomes. These include reduced fertility, and increased risk of some cancers, liver disease, kidney disease, high cholesterol and obesity.

    Digging into the data

    The ABS data measured 11 types of PFAS. The group of PFAS chemicals they selected reflects the most commonly detected forms from previous studies. The concentration of PFAS chemicals is measured in blood serum in nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL).

    Three types of PFAS were detected in the blood of more than 85% of Australians, while the remainder were detected in lower proportions of people.

    The type of PFAS most commonly detected in blood was perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). It was found in 98.6% of samples.

    PFOS accumulation has been a major problem in firefighters. Many were exposed occupationally to PFOS, sometimes for decades, and many suffered an unusually high incidence of disease, including a suspected cancer cluster.

    The below graph shows the level of PFOS increases with age. This could be because it accumulates in the body over time, and because many types of PFOS are being phased out. From 2004 its use in firefighting was phased out by major users, such as the Department of Defence.

    PFOS was also found to be higher in males – research shows PFAS is excreted more rapidly in females, including through menstruation and breastfeeding.

    The second most commonly detected type of PFAS detected in Australian blood samples was perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in 96.1% of samples. PFOA has recently been classified by the World Health Organization as a group 1 carcinogen, meaning it’s a recognised cancer-causing agent.

    The third most commonly detected type of PFAS was perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), which was detected in 88.1% of samples.

    So what are the implications?

    The National Health Measures Survey identified a relationship between higher mean PFOS levels and markers of chronic disease including high total cholesterol levels, diabetes and kidney function.

    However, it’s important to note this is only 7,000 people, and the data were weighted to be representative of the Australian population. There may be other factors, such as lifestyle or occupation, that have influenced the results.

    While these findings may be concerning, they’re not cause for alarm. The scientific evidence more broadly doesn’t tell us conclusively whether concentrations of PFAS equivalent to those seen in the current data would have a direct effect on disease outcomes.

    Some good news is that overall, this data suggests we have less PFAS in our blood compared to people in other countries.

    Why this data is important

    The ABS report provides the most detailed national baseline data on PFAS in the Australian population to date.

    While many people are concerned about PFAS, some Australian communities have been particularly worried.

    For example, in August 2024 it was revealed that a water filtration plant in the Blue Mountains contained substantial concentrations of PFAS. This was probably due to a major petrol tanker crash in 1992 and residual effects of PFAS from firefighting foam used to respond to that incident.

    While people can have a blood sample taken to measure PFAS levels, it’s very expensive. NSW Health advises PFAS testing is not covered by Medicare or private health insurance.

    Reports are emerging of Blue Mountains residents that have paid for blood testing getting very high concentrations of PFAS. These ABS results will help people who do receive blood testing assess how their results compare with typical results of a person of the same age and sex. People with concerns should consult a medical professional.

    The ABS data will also be valuable for medical practitioners and public health authorities, providing important information to guide the management of PFAS contamination and its potential health effects.

    Ian Wright receives research and other funding from industry, local and state government bodies.

    – ref. New Australian data shows most of us have PFAS in our blood. How worried should we be? – https://theconversation.com/new-australian-data-shows-most-of-us-have-pfas-in-our-blood-how-worried-should-we-be-257648

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Sanders Announces Appointments

    Source: US State of Arkansas

    LITTLE ROCK, Ark.— Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders today announced the following appointments:

    Arkansas Dietetics Licensing Board

    Detri Brech, Arkadelphia, to the Arkansas Dietetics Licensing Board. Term to expire January 14, 2030.  Replaces Rosalea Hyland.

    Amanda Dawson, Sherwood, to the Arkansas Dietetics Licensing Board. Term to expire January 14, 2030. Replaces Debra Head.

    Jeff Odom, Prairie Grove, to the Arkansas Dietetics Licensing Board. Term to expire January 14, 2030.  Replaces Lisa Fischer.

    Arkansas Economic Development Council

    John Newcomb, Osceola, to the Arkansas Economic Development Council. Term to expire January 14, 2029. Reappointment.

    Arkansas Forestry Commission

    John McAlpine, Monticello, to the Arkansas Forestry Commission.  Term to expire January 14, 2030.  Reappointment

    Arkansas Manufactured Home Commission

    Melody Bozza, Hensley, to the Arkansas Manufactured Home Commission. Term to expire September 1, 2027. Previously vacant position.

    Ricky Davis, Junction City, to the Arkansas Manufactured Home Commission. Term to expire September 1, 2028. Reappointment.

    Hal Hunnicut, Conway, to the Arkansas Manufactured Home Commission. Term to expire September 1, 2029.  Previously vacant position.

    Ed Spaeth, Greenbrier, to the Arkansas Manufactured Home Commission. Term to expire September 1, 2028. Reappointment.

    Matt White, Russellville, to the Arkansas Manufactured Home Commission. Term to expire September 1, 2027. Reappointment.

    Arkansas State Medical Board

    Sarah Bone, Little Rock, to the Arkansas State Medical Board. Term to expire December 31, 2028. Previously vacant position. 

    Arkansas State Occupational Therapy Examining Committee

    Scott Harmon, Enola, to the Arkansas State Occupational Therapy Examining Committee.  Term to expire March 1, 2029. Previously vacant position.

    Hannah King, Jonesboro, to the Arkansas State Occupational Therapy Examining Committee. Term to expire March 1, 2030.  Replaces Justin Brazeal.

    Arkansas Veterans’ Commission

    Martha Cothren, Little Rock, to the Arkansas Veterans’ Commission. Term to expire October 15, 2029. Replaces Kyle Moore.

    Brad Hegeman, Conway, to the Arkansas Veterans’ Commission. Term to expire October 15, 2025. Previously vacant position.

    Dianna Lankford, Bentonville, to the Arkansas Veterans’ Commission. Term to expire October 15, 2027. Previously vacant position.

    Monte Mills, Bella Vista, to the Arkansas Veterans’ Commission. Term to expire October 15, 2026. Previously vacant position.

    Arkansas Workforce Development Board

    Aaron Chastain, Paris, to the Arkansas Workforce Development Board. Term to expire May 1, 2027. Previously vacant position.

    Tim Thorne, Marion, to the Arkansas Workforce Development Board. Term to expire May 1, 2028. Previously vacant position. 

    Teri Cox-Meadows, Sherwood, to the Arkansas Workforce Development Board. Term to expire May 1, 2026. Previously vacant position. 

    Barry Sellers, Russellville, to the Arkansas Workforce Development Board. Term to expire May 1, 2027. Previously vacant position. 

    Board of Trustees of the Arkansas School for the Blind and the Arkansas School for the Deaf

    Phillip Miller, Searcy, to the Board of Trustees of the Arkansas School for the Blind and the Arkansas School for the Deaf.  Term to expire January 14, 2029.  Replaces Holley Mott.

    Philip Powell, Little Rock, to the Board of Trustees of the Arkansas School for the Blind and the Arkansas School for the Deaf. Term to expire January 14, 2030.  Reappointment.

    Board of Trustees of Arkansas Northeastern College

    Clifton Chitwood, Osceola, to the Board of Trustees of Arkansas Northeastern College. Term to expire December 31, 2028.  Reappointment.

    Billy Curl, Blytheville, to the Board of Trustees of Arkansas Northeastern College. Term to expire December 31, 2030. Replaces Daniel Ritchey.

    Michael Jacques, Gosnell, to the Board of Trustees of Arkansas Northeastern College. Term to expire December 31, 2030. Replaces Lowry Robinson.

    Board of Trustees of Northwest Arkansas Community College

    Ashley Pointer, Bentonville, to the Board of Trustees of Northwest Community College. Term to expire January 1, 2027. Previously vacant position.

    Martin Luther King Jr. Commission

    Joseph Whitfield, Helena, to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission. Term to expire September 1, 2025. Replaces Andy Montgomery.

    Old State House Commission

    Rebecca Gosnell, Magnolia, to the Old State House Commission. Term to expire March 19, 2033. Replaces Stacy DeJarnette.

    Suesann Viguet, Fort Smith, to the Old State House Commission. Term to expire March 19, 2034. Replaces Janet Hendren. 

    Oil and Gas Commission

    Lawrence Bengal, Little Rock, to the Oil and Gas Commission. Term to expire February 20, 2027.  Previously vacant position.

    Glen Fritsche, Fort Smith, as Special Commissioner, to hear Docket No. 032-2025-05.

    State Board of Appraisers, Abstracters, and Home Inspectors

    Michael Griffino, Fayetteville, to the State Board of Appraiser, Abstracters, and Home Inspectors. Term to expire April 15, 2027. Reappointment. 

    Sara Hawkins, Imboden, to the State Board of Appraisers, Abstracters, and Home Inspectors. Term to expire April 15, 2027. Reappointment.

    Daniel Storlie, Batesville, to the State Board of Appraisers, Abstracters, and Home Inspectors. Term to expire April 15, 2027. Reappointment. 

    Scott McKennon, Morrilton, to the State Board of Appraisers, Abstracters, and Home Inspectors. Term to expire April 15, 2027. Reappointment.

    Matt Muehler, Hot Springs, to the State Board of Appraisers, Abstracters, and Home Inspectors. Term to expire April 15, 2028. Previously vacant position. 

    Brian Hester, Fayetteville, to the State Board of Appraisers, Abstracters, and Home Inspectors. Term to expire April 15, 2028. Reappointment. 

    Julie Matthews, Jonesboro, to the State Board of Appraisers, Abstracters, and Home Inspectors. Term to expire April 15, 2028. Reappointment.

    Sara Jane Stephens, Little Rock, to the State Board of Appraisers, Abstracters, and Home Inspectors. Term to expire April 15, 2028. Reappointment. 

    Walter Loveless, Little Rock, to the State Board of Appraisers, Abstracters, and Home Inspectors. Term to expire April 15, 2028. Reappointment. 

    State Board of Health

    Dr. James Zini, Mountain View, to the State Board of Health. Term to expire December 31, 2028. Reappointment.

    Dr. Tina Ipe, Little Rock, to the State Board of Health. Term to expire December 31, 2028. Previously vacant position.

    Dr. Keith Davis, Smackover, to the State Board of Health. Term to expire December 31, 2028. Replaces Glen Byrant.

    Dr. Laura Moore, Little Rock, to the State Board of Health. Term to expire December 31, 2028. Replaces Carl Riddell.

    Darlene Byrd, Cabot, to the State Board of Health. Term to expire December 31, 2028. Previously vacant position.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Appointment of Suffragan Bishop of Doncaster: 29 May 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Appointment of Suffragan Bishop of Doncaster: 29 May 2025

    The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Leah Beverley Vasey-Saunders, to the Suffragan See of Doncaster in the Diocese of Sheffield

    The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Leah Beverley Vasey-Saunders, Vicar of Lancaster Priory in the Diocese of Blackburn, to the Suffragan See of Doncaster in the Diocese of Sheffield in succession to the Right Reverend Sophie Jelley, following her translation to the See of Coventry.

    Background

    Leah Vasey-Saunders was educated at Huddersfield University and trained for ministry at Cranmer Hall, Durham.  She served her title at St. John’s Church, Whorlton and St George’s Church, Jesmond in the Diocese of Newcastle, and in 2004, was ordained Priest.  From 2008, she served as Team Vicar of St. John’s Church Heath Hayes, Cannock, in the Diocese of Lichfield and was appointed Vicar in 2010.  In 2013, she was appointed Priest-in-Charge of All Saints Church, Harworth and Bircotes, in the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham.

    From 2016, Leah served as Canon Precentor at Wakefield Cathedral, in the Diocese of Leeds. Leah is also the chair of trustees for On Fire Mission. Leah has served in her current role as Vicar of Lancaster Priory in the Diocese of Blackburn since 2021.

    Leah is married to Mark and they have four children.

    Updates to this page

    Published 29 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Dinosaurs could hold key to cancer discoveries

    Source: Anglia Ruskin University

    An image of fossilised erythrocyte-like structures

    New techniques used to analyse soft tissue in dinosaur fossils may hold the key to new cancer discoveries, according to a new study published in the journal Biology.

    Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and Imperial College London analysed dinosaur fossils using advanced paleoproteomic techniques, a method that holds promise for uncovering molecular data from ancient specimens.

    The researchers discovered red blood cell-like structures in a fossil while studying a Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus, a duck-billed, plant eating “marsh lizard” that lived between 66-70 million years ago in the Hateg Basin in present-day Romania.

    The new study used Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques to identify low-density structures resembling erythrocytes, or red blood cells, in the fossilised bone.

    The findings raise the possibility that soft tissue and cellular components are more commonly preserved in ancient remains than previously thought.

    By identifying preserved proteins and biomarkers, scientists believe they can gain insights into the diseases that affected prehistoric creatures, including cancer, potentially influencing future treatments for humans.

    The authors of the new study highlight the necessity of prioritising the collection and preservation of fossilised soft tissue, rather than just dinosaur skeletons, as future advancements in molecular techniques will enable deeper insights into disease evolution.

    A separate study had previously identified evidence of cancer in Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus, indicating its deep evolutionary roots.

    “Dinosaurs, as long-lived, large-bodied organisms, present a compelling case for investigating how species managed cancer susceptibility and resistance over millions of years.

    “Proteins, particularly those found in calcified tissues like bone, are more stable than DNA and are less susceptible to degradation and contamination. This makes them ideal candidates for studying ancient diseases, including cancer, in paleontological specimens.

    “Unlike skeletal structures alone, soft tissues contain proteins that provide molecular information that can reveal the underlying biological mechanisms of disease.

    “Our research, using relatively underused methods, invites further exploration that could hold the key to future discoveries that could benefit humans. However, it is crucial that long-term fossil conservation efforts are co-ordinated to ensure that future researchers have access to specimens suitable for cutting-edge molecular investigations.”

    Senior author Justin Stebbing, Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Anglia Ruskin University

    The full, open-access paper can be read here: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/4/370 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: The Fight for Alaska’s Future Begins in the Classroom

    Source: US State of Alaska Governor

    Fellow Alaskans,

    For far too long, we’ve been told that the answer to our education crisis is to simply spend more—more money, more bureaucracy, more time. And yet, here we are, after decades of such thinking, ranked 51st in the nation in reading and math according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. That is not just a policy failure—it is a moral failure. And it’s exactly why I’ve been fighting every single day to change course and put our children first.

    I know this system intimately. Before I was your governor, I served as a public school teacher, a principal, a superintendent, a school board president, and later worked in the University of Alaska system. I’ve seen the good. I’ve seen the bad. And I’ve seen how far we’ve drifted from the real mission: preparing our children with the skills they need to succeed in life.

    That’s why I’ve pushed so hard to refocus our system on the basics—on reading, writing, and math. These are the foundations of everything else in education and life. Without them, our children fall behind not just in school, but in the workplace, in civic life, and in their ability to achieve their dreams.

    It’s also why I’ve championed expanding charter schools, which are delivering real results. A recent Harvard study ranked Alaska’s public charter schools among the very best in the country. These schools are innovating, achieving, and showing what is possible when families are given real choices and teachers are given the flexibility to teach. Yet every time we try to expand these options for more families, the same forces rise up in opposition.

    Let’s call them what they are: the Education Cabal. This entrenched coalition of special interests, lobbyists, and status quo defenders only seems to find their voice when there’s more money on the table. But where are they when Alaska’s students fall to the bottom of national rankings? Where are they when children graduate without being able to read proficiently or do basic math? Where were they when we needed them to support bold reform?

    And let’s be clear—this isn’t about being anti-teacher. I have the deepest respect for our educators. That’s why I fought for a historic teacher recruitment and retention incentive package for our teachers this year—to reward and retain those doing the hard work. But shockingly, that very same Education Cabal helped kill the incentive. They claim to support teachers—until real solutions are offered.

    Just look at what happened with the Alaska Reads Act, a major reform aimed at early literacy and accountability. It passed by one vote, at the last minute, because many in this entrenched system tried to block it. Why would anyone oppose a law designed to make sure children can read by third grade? That’s a question every parent and taxpayer should be asking.

    Why does this Cabal demand that your children attend failing schools, while some of them quietly send their own children to elite private institutions? Why are they fighting open enrollment, which gives families the freedom to choose the best public school for their kids? Why don’t more legislators feel the urgency of an education emergency when Alaska is dead last in reading and math?

    These are not rhetorical questions. These are the hard truths that need to be answered. And if the Education Cabal won’t answer them, then we as Alaskans must answer with action.

    We’ve also fought to support homeschooling families and rural parents who know best what their children need. Alaska has long been a leader in distance learning and parental engagement, and we should build on that strength, not stifle it. The more flexible and responsive our system is, the better it serves all our families—urban, rural, Native, and military.

    The fight I’ve been leading isn’t about politics—it’s about priorities. And my priority is simple: put our students first. That means supporting teachers who deliver results. That means empowering parents with choices. That means holding schools accountable for performance—not just enrollment. And yes, it means investing in education, but investing strategically, with every dollar tied to outcomes.

    We have a moral imperative to do better. To stop measuring success by how much money we spend and start measuring it by how well our students read, write, and reason. We have an obligation to say “no more” to a system that protects itself before it protects our kids.

    Other states have shown us the way. Mississippi, Florida, Arizona—states that were once at the bottom of the rankings—are now climbing fast because they embraced change. They focused on reading, empowered families, and raised expectations. If they can do it, so can we.

    It’s time for Alaska to stop being dead last. It’s time to stop listening to the voices that only shout when dollars are on the table and fall silent when children are falling behind. It’s time to join the ranks of those who choose courage over comfort, outcomes over rhetoric, and students over systems.

    This fight is not over. Not even close. And I will continue to stand with every parent, teacher, and student who believes that Alaska’s future is worth fighting for. Because it is.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Ivey Signs “FOCUS Act” Preventing Use of Cell Phones in Alabama Public Schools

    Source: US State of Alabama

    MONTGOMERY – Governor Kay Ivey has signed the FOCUS Act, prohibiting students’ use of smart phones and other wireless devices inside Alabama’s public schools.

    Flanked by middle school students, Governor Ivey signed the FOCUS Act into law Wednesday morning in her office.

    “In my state of the state address, I repeated the requests of Alabama teachers and parents in calling for a ban on student cell phone use in our schools,” said Governor Ivey.  “Smart phones have beneficial roles when used in proper settings. However, these often-disruptive devices have no place in our classrooms during the school day except for educational purposes or during an emergency.  The FOCUS Act will enable students to ‘focus’ on learning while in school rather than on their phones.”

    “As a parent, equipping my children to excel in all aspects of life is priority number one, and what they learn in the classroom plays an immense role in that,” said Rep. Leigh Hulsey. “The FOCUS Act will limit distractions and provide an avenue for every student in our state to get the absolute most out of their day at school, leading to a stronger Alabama of tomorrow. I am grateful to Governor Ivey for the opportunity to sponsor this important legislation and sincerely appreciate the support of my colleagues in the House and Senate.”

    Internet-enabled devices present additional risks to children even when students are properly using them as part of their school curriculum. For this reason, the FOCUS Act will also protect students by requiring local boards of education to adopt internet safety policies governing student access to the internet on school-owned devices.“Our goal should always be to create an environment where students can reach their full potential – the FOCUS Act does just that,” said Sen. Donnie Chesteen. “By restricting the use of cell phones during instructional time, students will perform better, stay more engaged and enjoy stronger classroom communities. I applaud my colleagues in the Legislature for passing this important legislation and commend Governor Ivey for championing it.”

    Pike Road Junior High currently has a pouch policy for their cell phones and credits the students’ success to that policy.

    “Governor Ivey, thank you for your leadership,” said Pike Road Junior High Principal Christy Wright. “The truth is this isn’t just about a law, it’s about what happens when students and teachers are given the space and focus to grow. At the Pike Road Georgia Washington Campus, we implemented a no cell phone policy well before this bill was passed and the results have been powerful. We’ve seen a clear shift in our school culture: more engagement, deeper connections, and a greater sense of community. But the impact hasn’t just been social, it’s also academic. I am incredibly proud to share that our eighth-grade learners recently took the PSAT 8/9, and the results came in just yesterday. Not only did our school reach our growth target of a 60-point increase, we exceeded it with a 95-point gain. Even more impressively, our scores are 39 points above the national average. That is an extraordinary accomplishment.”

    The FOCUS Act will also protect children and teens by requiring the Alabama State Department of Education to offer safe social media training for all students prior to entering the eighth grade.

    A photo of today’s bill signing is attached.

    To request video from today’s signing, please email: [email protected].

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    MIL OSI USA News –