NewzIntel.com

Category: Education

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China hosts symposium on traditional cultures along the Silk Road

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) — A 2025 symposium on the protection, development and application of traditional cultures along the Silk Road opened in Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, on Friday.

    The symposium, co-organized by the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Government, the Provincial Department of Education and Northwest University (NWU), brought together more than 100 experts from higher education institutions in China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Morocco and the United Kingdom.

    The event included the opening ceremony of the Intelligent Perception Laboratory for Situational Awareness in Countries Along the Silk Road, aimed at enhancing the level of cooperation between research organizations in China, Central Asia and Arab countries.

    Speaking at the symposium, SZU Rector Sun Qingwei introduced those present to the university’s achievements in research related to the Great Silk Road.

    The Silk Road served as a channel for trade and economic interaction and civilizational exchanges between the East and the West, and in modern times it has gained new vitality. Sun Qingwei called on the two sides to make joint efforts to deeply integrate production, education, research and application.

    The main theme of the symposium is “The Great Silk Road: civilizational mutual learning and innovation in culture.” Within its framework, two sub-forums were held on issues of Chinese-Arab and Chinese-Central Asian civilizational exchanges. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Maritime NZ announces safer boating funding for 2023

    Source: Maritime New Zealand

    Maritime NZ has announced recipients of its annual Community Grant funding for safety programmes to help reduce fatalities and injuries to people out on the water in recreational craft.

    In total, 21 projects and initiatives around the country will share $876,680 worth of funding. In 2022, 24 projects shared $853,000.

    In 2022 there were 17 deaths (spread across 16 incidents) related to recreational craft. The number of fatalities has remained relatively consistent over the last decade, despite significant efforts from recreational craft safety-focussed organisations.

    For Maritime NZ Director, Kirstie Hewlett, these fatalities and the substantial number of preventable harm incidents are of significant concern for her and the rest of Maritime NZ. 

    “With nearly two million people in New Zealand undertaking activities on the water, we know it is very important to get the right safety messages out to a wide range of people, from different backgrounds, all over Aotearoa.

    “At Maritime NZ, we will be looking for opportunities to promote the work of other organisations to reduce harm, and are keen to see collaborative approaches to safety across the sector.

    “No one organisation has the answer or the ability to reach everyone. This is why it is important to work together to increase water users’ knowledge on how to be safe on the water, and ultimately bring down instances of harm.

    A key part of the funding allocation decision was looking at how to reach at-risk groups.

    “There are several initiatives that are targeted to supporting different ethnic groups, including Pasifika, Asian and Māori communities.

    “Across New Zealand, we know there are differing levels of safety knowledge, safety equipment owned by water users and language barriers for some communities. It is hugely important we keep up our previous momentum with supporting these communities and have them prioritising safety.

    “Everyone should go home safely from a day out on the water.

    “It is vital water users understand the rules and know how to keep themselves safe,” Ms Hewlett says.

    The funding is split across local and national initiatives, with recipients located all around New Zealand. 

    Among the initiatives that have secured funding are Coastguard’s Old4New lifejacket upgrade programme, which includes Second Life Lifejackets and received $100,000; Northland Regional Council’s Nobody’s Stronger Than Tangaroa campaign, which received $85,000; and $70,000 for Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s Kia marutau ki te wai and Safety is Our Wai scheme.

    Beneficiary organisations include the Kayak Association of Sea Kayakers, Watersafe Auckland (Drowning Prevention Auckland), New Zealand Stand Up Paddling, Jet Boating NZ, and several regional councils.

    A key purpose of the fund is to support campaigns and collaboration led by the members of New Zealand’s Safer Boating Forum, a coalition of organisations dedicated to improving safety in the recreational boating sector.

    Successful recipients

    Council / Organisation

    Programme

    Funding Approved

    Bay of Plenty Regional Council
    Jon Jon Peters

    [email protected]

    Safety is our Wai & Kia marutau ki te wai
    Continuation of on-water safety programme to  Harbour & Lakes and safer boating education and resources specifically to local Iwi and Hapū

    $70,000

    Coastguard New Zealand Tautiaki Moana Aotearoa

    Daisy Docherty

    [email protected]

    Old4New Lifejacket Upgrade Programme including Second Life Lifejackets and Ngā Hue ō Hinemoa

    Continuation of the Old4New Lifejacket Upgrade campaign offering heavily discounted lifejackets and PFD’s to those who upgrade their old or damaged lifejackets across NZ and  providing new life jackets for at-risk communities Continuation of an existing programme to educate Pasifika boaties to be more knowledgeable and safer skippers.

    $100,000

    Environment Canterbury

    Gordon McKay

    [email protected]

    Canterbury Safe Boating Programme

    Continuation of programme to educate safer boating and providing an Enforcement Officer to specialise in educating the jet boat sector.

    $55,000

    Environment Southland
    Zak Smith

    [email protected]

    Environment Southland Boating Safety Program
     Continuation of existing programme to deliver consistent boating safety education to recreational boating operators on water and on boat ramps.

    $20,000

    Gisborne District Council
    Peter Buell
    [email protected]

    Tairāwhiti Haumaru Moana
    Continuation of  promoting safer boating throughout the region

    $48,000

    Greater Wellington Regional Council
    Grant Nalder
    [email protected]

    Do you know what you need to?
    To deliver nationally consistent safe boating messages and the aim is to make this relevant and available to a wide demographic through direct contact with a range of boaties.

    $58,410

    Hawke’s Bay Regional Council
    Adrian Wright

    [email protected] 

    Tamariki and Pakeke Boating Safety Programme
     Continuation of education program of delivering Safer Boating Education to local iwi and running a “Suddenly in Charge Course” at boating clubs around the region

    $18,000

    Jet Boating New Zealand Inc.

    Stephen Woodside
    [email protected]

    Jet Smart – Safer Jet Boating
    Continuation to produce a series of Jet Smart – Safer Jet Boating videos that contain safety messages focusing on river navigation.

    $36,650

    Kayak Association of Sea Kayakers (KASK)
    Steve Cooper

    [email protected]

    KayakSafe NZ
    Continuation of delivery of key kayaking safety messages through a variety of channels.

    $7,000

    Marlborough District Council

    Brittany Hamilton

    [email protected]

    Safer Boating Roadshow Marlborough – bringing boating safety to you!
     Visiting remote areas and promote safer boating behaviour. 

    $20,000

    Nelson City Council
    Stuart Whitehouse
    [email protected]

    Maritime Safety Internship
    Increasing safety education and compliance for Nelson waters

    $27,000

    Nelson City Council
    Stuart Whitehouse
    [email protected]

    Sup on water educational programme
    Continuation of programme to educate SUP users on safety and help develop skills about informed decision making in dynamic environments.

    $4,800

    New Zealand Stand Up Paddling Inc.  (NZSUP)
    Bill Dawes
    [email protected]

    SUP SAFE
     Continuation of campaign targeted at stand up paddle boarders to increase safety behaviours. 

    $24,000

    Northland Regional Council
    Peter Thomas
    [email protected]

    Nobody’s stronger then Tangaroa
    Continuation of engaging with remote communities with specific messaging and face to face engagement

    $85,000

    Queenstown Lakes District Council
    Isabelle Logez
    [email protected]

    QLDC Waterways Skipper Responsibility Campaign
    Increased public messaging to promote skipper responsibility of waterways within region, which solely comprises of inland waterways – rivers and lakes.

    $12,000

    Royal New Zealand Coastguard

    Marilyn Brady

    [email protected]

    Ko Tangata Moana

    To deliver safer boating courses to Maori, Pasifika and Asian communities

    $100,000

    Waikato Regional Council
    Chris Bredenbeck
    [email protected]

    Operation Neptune
    Continuation of on-water education with three primary tactics education, engagement and enforcement while delivering safety messages
     

    $45,000

    Waka Ama NZ
    Lara Collins
    [email protected]

    Waka Ama Water Safety
    Continuation of delivery of the CBE Waka Ama Safety Course to all waka ama paddlers around Aotearoa. 

    $46,000

    Watersafe Auckland Inc.(Drowning Prevention Auckland)
    Nicola Keen-Biggelaar
    [email protected]

    WaiWise for the Pacific, Asian and Indian communities
    Continuation of programme to provide specific drowning prevention education for the three at-risk communities in Tāmaki Makaurau.

    $50,000

    Watersafe Auckland Inc.(Drowning Prevention Auckland)
    Nicola Keen-Biggelaar
    [email protected]

    Supporting growth in use of Lifejacket Hubs for drowning prevention education
    Continuation to provide hubs where people can access lifejackets and support growing awareness of these hubs.

    $25,000

    Yachting New Zealand
    Raynor Haagh
    [email protected]

    Yachting New Zealand’s sailing experience RŪNĀ

    Continuation of the RŪNĀ framework to encourage a wider and more diverse range of students to connect with sailing both inside and outside the classroom  

    $25,000

    $876,680

    Note to editors

    • All of Maritime New Zealand’s recreational boating work is funded through fuel excise duty on petrol (about $5.4 million). This is from contributions to the tax boaties make when refuelling their boats. A portion of this funding is used to support the Community Grants programme
    • Maritime NZ also provides funding to a range of Councils around the country to support on-water compliance. Funding for ‘No Excuses’ and on-water compliance initiatives will not come out of community grants funding. Instead they will be supported from the on-water compliance funding budget.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Promoting social inclusion through pet companionship

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Renata Roma, Postdoctoral Fellow, Center of Behavioural Sciences and Justice Studies/Pawsitive Connections Lab, University of Saskatchewan

    The benefits of pet companionship have been widely researched and celebrated.

    Pets can improve our mood and immune system. They can also encourage staying active and fit, offer emotional comfort and companionship, and foster social connections. Pets can even increase life expectancy.

    Unfortunately, pet companionship is not always easily accessible to everyone. Several groups face hurdles when it comes to sharing time or living with a pet. Some of the hurdles that people can face when accessing pets include the lack of pet-friendly housing and financial resources to afford pet food and veterinary care.

    There can also be more concrete barriers to pet companionship, such as no-pet clauses in rental agreements or no-pet policies in retirement homes.

    As we strive for social equality, it is essential to address hurdles that prevent some people from experiencing the known benefits of spending time or living with a pet.

    Challenges and misconceptions

    Several factors can make pet companionship less accessible. Some of these factors include lack of appropriate housing and lack of financial resources for pet food and pet-related veterinary services. A Canadian survey found that new immigrants and young people aged 18 to 34 years are the groups most affected by these factors and, often, elderly people experience housing-related and financial challenges.

    For pet guardians, the inability to pay for grooming services, food or health-care services can create feelings of distress and, for their pets, this can lead to a reduced quality of life. In this case, we see that the well-being of both pet guardians and their beloved pets can be compromised.

    Moreover, some studies link higher income to an increased likelihood of living with companion animals. When it comes to economic factors, it is concerning that some believe certain groups of people should not be pet guardians. The Michelson Found Animals Foundation highlights several misconceptions about living with companion animals, which are often associated with financial hardships.

    For example, some people believe that people who live in apartments, rather than homes with backyards and green space, should only have small dogs as pets. However, this belief ignores a dog’s energy level as some small dogs are highly energetic while some big dogs are less energetic. This belief also does not consider the guardian’s ability to provide mental and physical stimulation for their dog.

    Still other people believe that if someone cannot afford the costs associated with caring for a pet, they should not have a one. This belief only reinforces social inequalities and reflects a deeper form of discrimination.

    Financial problems and housing restrictions may force people to give up their pets, and this is an emotionally difficult decision. Research by Christine Yvette Tardif-Williams, one of the authors of this story, with childhood and youth researcher Rebecca Raby and graduate students at Brock University shows how homeless children often navigate feelings of emotional intimacy towards their pets alongside feelings of loss and grief. In this research, homeless children shared stories about missing or losing companion animals either through separation or death.

    Research also shows that most people experiencing homelessness are responsible pet guardians, and that their pets are often very healthy and that they too benefit from human companionship — it’s a mutually beneficial, two-way emotional connection.

    A more equitable future in pet companionship

    Pet companionship and systemic inequalities are interconnected. For instance, many socioeconomically disadvantaged and marginalized families and communities — including, but not limited to, racialized, Indigenous, homeless, immigrant and refugee families and their children — face barriers to pet companionship.

    We need targeted strategies and policies to reduce the barriers faced by these families and communities. It is important to create more opportunities for people and pets to live together. This can help us to address social inequality in pet companionship among diverse groups.

    Some studies highlight the need for increasing access to free or low-cost veterinary care. Making shelters and housing more pet-friendly is also essential. Promoting campaigns to reduce misconceptions about pet companionship among diverse groups of people is another key strategy.

    One example of a program that helps make pet companionship more accessible is Community Veterinary Outreach (CVO).This is a registered charity located across different provinces in Canada. They provide health care for people and preventive care for pets. They also run education programs covering topics such as animal behaviour, nutrition, and dental care. Together, these services help to support vulnerable populations living with pets.

    Another example is the PetCard program, a Canadian financing program that offers flexible options for people to split the payment of veterinary-related services.



    Read more:
    How ‘One Health’ clinics support unhoused people and their pets

    However, we need more consistent collaborative work that begins by raising awareness about the importance of pet companionship for diverse groups of people. Expanding this discussion can help us design fairer policies about pet companionship, foster social justice and bring communities together.

    Overlooking the relevance of this discussion can reinforce discriminatory views around pet companionship.

    Supporting pet companionship

    It is problematic when access to pet companionship is restricted due to a family’s economic status or housing opportunities, since it means they’re less likely to experience the well-being benefits of pet companionship. In this way, pet-related benefits are limited to a select and privileged group.

    We can help people and animals build meaningful bonds by promoting equitable access to companionship. The needs of pets must also be prioritized in any effort to increase access to pet companionship. This means making sure pets’ physical and emotional needs are met and that they also benefit from the human-pet bond. Pets’ well-being and rights should always come first when making pet companionship more accessible.

    To create a fair approach to supporting pet companionship among diverse populations, we need to balance human and pet needs and ensure the well-being of both humans and their pets.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Promoting social inclusion through pet companionship – https://theconversation.com/promoting-social-inclusion-through-pet-companionship-255089

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Best Senior Dating Sites & Mature Dating Apps: Senior Match Review for 50+ Singles

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Vaughan, Ontario, May 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Introduction: Why Senior Dating Is Thriving in 2025

    As people live longer, healthier lives, the desire for meaningful companionship well into our 50s, 60s, and beyond has become more common. Online platforms tailored for mature adults have grown rapidly, offering new ways to connect and form lasting bonds. Among these options, Senior Match has built a reputation as one of the most trusted platforms for older singles.

    ⇒ Join the Best Senior Match Website for Free!

    In this review, we’ll explore how Senior Match works, what makes it stand out in the senior dating space, and whether it’s the right platform for you. Whether you’re newly single, divorced, or just ready to meet someone who understands your life stage, this guide covers everything you need to know.

    What Is Senior Match? Overview & Background

    Senior Match is an online dating service specifically designed for individuals aged 50 and above. Launched in 2001, the platform has maintained a clear mission: to create a safe and welcoming environment where mature singles can find love, friendship, and travel companions.

    With over one million registered members and thousands of active users weekly, Senior Match stands out for its age-focused community and straightforward approach. Unlike multi-age platforms, it doesn’t admit members under 45, which keeps interactions relevant and aligned with the interests of older adults.

    The platform is accessible via both desktop and mobile apps, offering flexibility for users regardless of their tech preferences.

    Mature Dating Made Simple – Discover Matches Near You on Senior Match

    Who Should Join Senior Match? Target Audience

    Senior Match is built for adults over 50 who are looking for a relationship, casual companionship, or new friendships. The community includes retirees, professionals, widowers, and individuals who want to re-engage with the dating world at their own pace.

    It’s also suitable for those who value personal connections, maturity, and thoughtful conversations over swiping-based interactions. However, while it accommodates a wide range of relationship goals, it’s more geared toward meaningful engagement than short-term flings.

    For LGBTQ+ seniors, the site does offer some functionality but remains predominantly focused on heterosexual dating, which may limit experience diversity in that area.

    Platform Features: How Senior Match Works

    Senior Match offers a clean, intuitive interface that’s easy to navigate. Registration is quick, requiring basic details such as age, location, interests, and a profile picture. Once set up, users can access various features:

    • Search Filters: You can filter potential matches by age, region, lifestyle habits, and personal values. Free users access basic filters, while premium members enjoy advanced sorting options.
    • Match Suggestions: Unlike algorithm-driven matches, Senior Match allows users to browse profiles at their own pace. This manual process encourages more thoughtful engagement.
    • Communication Tools: Members can send winks, add favorites, and reply to messages. Direct messaging is reserved for upgraded accounts.
    • Community Features: The platform includes blog posts, senior dating advice, safety tips, and even first date ideas — contributing to a more holistic dating experience.
    • Mobile App: The app mirrors the website’s functionality and is available for Android and iOS. While not as flashy as modern dating apps, it performs reliably for messaging and profile browsing.

    Finally, a Senior Dating Site That Gets You — Try Senior Match Today!

    Free vs Paid Membership: What Do You Get?

    The free version of Senior Match allows users to create a profile, browse other members, send limited winks, and participate in blog discussions. However, direct communication with other users — including replying to messages — is locked behind the paid tier.

    Upgrading to a premium plan unlocks full messaging capabilities, access to who viewed your profile, and advanced search options. It also boosts visibility, placing your profile higher in search results and giving you a greater chance of being seen.

    While the free version is a good starting point, most users eventually move to premium for a fuller experience.

    Senior Match Pricing & Plans (Updated 2025)

    Senior Match offers three premium subscription options as of 2025:

    • 1 Month Plan: $29.95
    • 3 Month Plan: $59.95 ($19.98/month)
    • 6 Month Plan: $95.95 ($15.99/month)

    These plans are competitively priced within the senior dating market. The six-month plan offers the best value, especially for users committed to finding a match over time.

    Subscriptions auto-renew by default, so it’s important to manage your billing settings if you prefer not to continue. Refunds are not guaranteed, so consider starting with a short-term plan if you’re trying it for the first time.

    Ready for Real Connection? Join the Best Senior Dating Site Now!

    User Safety, Privacy & Verification

    Senior Match emphasizes user safety, especially for an audience that may be more vulnerable to online scams. All new profiles undergo manual review before being published, and uploaded photos must meet content guidelines.

    The platform has tools to block users, report suspicious activity, and protect personal data. Email verification is required to complete signup, and user information is never publicly displayed beyond profile basics.

    Unlike some mainstream apps, Senior Match is relatively free of bots or fake accounts — a point highlighted in many external reviews.

    Real Senior Match Reviews & Testimonials

    Below are experiences shared by users on platforms like RetirementLiving and the official Senior Match site:

    Marsha D., 62 – Austin, TX
    “I joined out of curiosity and ended up meeting someone special within a few weeks. The site feels safe, and I appreciated how simple everything was.”

    Robert F., 68 – St. Petersburg, FL
    “The profile setup was quick, and I like how it’s tailored for people like me. Conversations feel more mature and respectful than what I experienced on other platforms.”

    Helen M., 59 – Sacramento, CA
    “I wish the free plan had more features, but the upgrade was worth it. I’ve had meaningful chats and even gone on a few dates.”

    Douglas S., 73 – Boston, MA
    “It’s nice to have a dating app where you don’t feel out of place. No one here is playing games, and that’s what I wanted.”

    Patricia K., 65 – Chicago, IL
    “Customer support was responsive when I had trouble logging in. That gives me confidence in the site’s credibility.”

    Disclaimer: This review includes general information and user feedback. Results may vary. This is not a paid endorsement, but we may earn a commission if you register through links on this page.

    The Mature Dating Site Everyone’s Talking About in 2025 – Don’t Miss Out!

    Pros and Cons of Senior Match

    Pros:

    • Exclusively for adults over 50
    • Clean, easy-to-use interface
    • Manual profile approval for added safety
    • Helpful community blog and dating tips

    Cons:

    • Messaging limited to premium users
    • No video call features
    • Not ideal for LGBTQ+ matchmaking

    Senior Match vs Other Senior Dating Sites

    Here’s how Senior Match stacks up against its main competitors:

    Senior Match vs OurTime

    • OurTime has a broader audience but includes users under 50
    • Senior Match offers a more age-focused environment
    • OurTime has more ads and upsells

    Senior Match vs SilverSingles

    • SilverSingles uses a personality test for matching
    • Senior Match offers more browsing freedom
    • SilverSingles is better for long-term matchmaking, but Senior Match feels less rigid

    Senior Match vs eHarmony 50+

    • eHarmony has a higher subscription fee and a longer sign-up process
    • Senior Match gets users into conversations faster
    • Both are serious about relationship-focused dating

    Bottom Line: If you’re over 50 and want a platform exclusively tailored to your age group with less clutter, Senior Match delivers that niche experience better than its competitors.

    Thousands over 50 are finding love on Senior Match – what are you waiting for?

    Senior Match Mobile App Review (iOS & Android)

    The Senior Match mobile app retains all major website features in a compact format. While the design isn’t flashy, users praise its simplicity — which benefits those who may not be tech-savvy.

    Features include:

    • Profile browsing
    • Messaging (for premium users)
    • Daily match suggestions
    • Account management

    Both the iOS and Android versions receive favorable reviews, with most complaints relating to occasional bugs rather than core functionality.

    Tips for Getting the Most Out of Senior Match

    Here are practical ways to make your experience more successful:

    • Craft a strong profile: Use clear photos and honest, warm descriptions.
    • Be proactive: Don’t wait for others to message — send winks or thoughtful messages.
    • Stay safe: Avoid sharing personal details too early and use in-app communication only.
    • Engage in community blogs: Sharing thoughts on relationships and senior life can attract attention.
    • Be patient: Finding the right person takes time, especially when your standards are higher.

    Why Settle? The Best Senior Dating Site Is Waiting – Explore Now

    Frequently Asked Questions (Senior Match FAQs)

    Q1: Is Senior Match completely free?
    You can browse and create a profile for free, but messaging and advanced features require a paid subscription.

    Q2: How do I cancel auto-renewal?
    Go to Account Settings → Subscription → Turn off auto-renewal.

    Q3: Is Senior Match available on mobile?
    Yes, you can download it from the App Store or Google Play.

    Q4: What’s the average user age?
    Most users are between 55 and 70 years old.

    Q5: Can I block or report someone?
    Yes, the platform allows blocking and reporting directly from the user’s profile.

    Q6: Are there fake profiles?
    Manual review helps keep the site clear of bots, though vigilance is still advised.

    Q7: Can I use it internationally?
    Yes, although the majority of users are based in the U.S., there are global members.

    Q8: Is the platform LGBTQ+ friendly?
    Support is limited; it caters more to heterosexual matchmaking.

    Q9: Can I upload multiple photos?
    Yes, profiles support several images for better visibility.

    Senior Match Success Stories: Real-Life Connections That Lasted

    Nothing showcases the platform’s value better than real success stories. Senior Match features numerous testimonials from couples who met through the platform and went on to build lasting relationships.

    Barbara & Greg – Atlanta, GA
    After joining the platform in early 2023, Barbara connected with Greg within the first month. They began chatting daily, bonding over books and weekend gardening. After six weeks, they decided to meet for coffee — now they’re planning a cross-country road trip together.

    Deborah & Alan – Scottsdale, AZ
    Deborah, a 64-year-old retired teacher, was hesitant to try online dating. But Senior Match’s user-friendly design helped her ease into the process. She met Alan, 67, and the two now enjoy art shows and salsa classes every week.

    James & Carol – Naples, FL
    Both divorced in their 60s, James and Carol had almost given up on dating. Their connection started with a shared interest in photography. Today, they’re both exploring Europe — with travel photos featured on their joint blog.

    These stories aren’t rare. They represent a growing trend of successful long-term connections initiated online — especially when platforms are designed with mature adults in mind.

    Swipe Less, Connect More – The Mature Dating App Seniors Trust

    2025 Trends in Senior Dating & What They Mean for You 

    The senior dating world has evolved dramatically in recent years. In 2025, new trends are shaping how people over 50 approach relationships online:

    1. Increased Mobile Use Among Seniors

    More users over 60 are using mobile dating apps. Senior Match’s mobile compatibility keeps pace with this shift, offering a smooth user experience on smartphones and tablets.

    2. Video Introductions (Still Lacking on Senior Match)

    Many modern dating apps now feature short video intros — something Senior Match doesn’t currently offer. Users seeking that feature may find it missing here, though the blog and profile space allow for a deeper self-description.

    3. AI-Powered Match Suggestions

    Platforms are beginning to adopt AI to suggest compatible matches. While Senior Match doesn’t use AI algorithms, this may be an area for future improvement.

    4. Offline Meetups & Events

    Many seniors now expect platforms to host virtual or in-person social events. Senior Match currently doesn’t organize community meetups, but the messaging tools do support arranging them independently.

    5. Voice and Phone-Based Connections

    Some services now allow users to talk directly via app-based calls. This is not yet offered by Senior Match, which relies entirely on text-based chat.

    While not the most tech-advanced, Senior Match remains a reliable and trusted platform for those who value simplicity, safety, and connection.

    Meet Local Singles on the Senior Dating Site Built for Real Relationships

    Senior Match for Divorced & Widowed Singles

    Many members on Senior Match are navigating the dating scene after a significant life change, such as divorce or the loss of a spouse. This platform provides a space where emotional maturity, patience, and shared life experiences are deeply appreciated.

    For Divorced Singles:
    The transition from a long-term relationship to single life again can be overwhelming. Senior Match allows individuals to re-enter the dating world at their own pace. The ability to take things slowly, read detailed profiles, and communicate before meeting in person makes it easier to rebuild trust and confidence.

    For Widowed Members:
    Grief can make starting over daunting. What stands out about Senior Match is its respectful community, where users understand the value of second chances. Many profiles openly state if someone is widowed, helping to foster understanding and empathy.

    Tips for Success:

    • Be honest about your relationship history in your profile
    • Focus on shared values rather than rushing into romance
    • Use the blog and advice sections for inspiration on reentering dating

    Whether you’re looking for companionship, friendship, or romance, Senior Match gives divorced and widowed users a soft landing and new beginning.

    Fall in Love Again with the #1 Senior Dating Site Online

    Senior Match Photo Guidelines & Profile Tips

    Your profile is your first impression, and on a platform like Senior Match, a thoughtful presentation can make all the difference. Here’s how to stand out:

    Profile Photo Tips

    • Use a recent photo: It builds trust and avoids awkward surprises.
    • Smile naturally: A warm expression invites conversation.
    • Avoid filters: Authenticity resonates with this audience.
    • Dress neatly: Casual yet polished photos perform best.

    About Me Section

    • Write in first person: “I enjoy morning walks…”
    • Mention lifestyle habits: travel, hobbies, favorite books or activities
    • Keep it concise but personal — avoid clichés

    What You’re Looking For

    • Be clear if you’re seeking a serious relationship or companionship
    • Mention non-negotiables kindly (e.g., non-smoker, pet lover)

    This section is your personal space to shine. It’s not about being perfect — it’s about being real. A profile that reflects who you are today (not who you were 10 years ago) will connect better.

    How to Stay Safe When Meeting Matches Offline

    Meeting someone from an online platform in real life can be exciting — and nerve-wracking. Senior Match encourages users to stay cautious and informed.

    Key Safety Tips:

    • Always meet in a public place: Coffee shops, parks, or restaurants are great choices.
    • Tell a friend or family member your plans: Share the location and expected time of return.
    • Use your own transportation: Maintain independence and flexibility.
    • Avoid alcohol on the first meeting: Stay alert and in control.
    • Keep personal items secure: Don’t leave phones, bags, or medication unattended.

    Red Flags to Watch For:

    • Pressuring to meet privately or too soon
    • Evasive answers to simple questions
    • Financial requests or emotional manipulation

    Senior Match itself doesn’t arrange in-person events, so all meetups are independently planned. Use good judgment, take your time, and trust your instincts.

    Your Next Chapter Starts Here – Find Companionship on a Leading Senior Dating Site

    How Senior Match Supports Travel Companionship Connections

    Senior Match isn’t just about finding romantic partners — it’s also a hub for seniors looking for travel buddies and companions to explore the world with.

    Many users specify in their profile whether they enjoy traveling or are looking for someone to accompany them on trips. Whether it’s a domestic road trip, a cruise, or international adventure, finding someone with similar travel interests can be easier than you think.

    How to Highlight Travel Interests:

    • Add destinations you’ve visited or dream of exploring
    • Mention whether you prefer solo-style exploration or guided tours
    • Include photos from past travels in your gallery

    By using travel-related keywords and filtering profiles with shared travel goals, Senior Match users can connect with others who are equally adventurous. It’s a great way to turn wanderlust into connection — even if romance isn’t the primary goal.

    Senior Match Customer Support & Community Engagement

    While many platforms rely on automated support, Senior Match offers responsive assistance for both technical and account-related queries.

    Support Features Include:

    • Email support for billing or login issues
    • FAQ section covering subscriptions, safety, and account settings
    • Manual profile/photo review with guidelines available on-site

    The platform’s blog and dating advice section also act as informal community spaces. Users can read posts on confidence, senior lifestyle, or dating etiquette — all geared toward a mature audience.

    Though it doesn’t have a public forum or direct peer-to-peer threads, Senior Match’s clean layout makes support resources easy to locate. The ability to reach out directly when something goes wrong (or simply ask for help) contributes to overall user satisfaction.

    Experience Real Conversations – Try the Senior Dating Site That Works

    How to Identify a Genuine Profile on Senior Match

    With thousands of members active each week, it’s important to know how to distinguish between genuine and questionable profiles. Senior Match makes efforts to verify new accounts, but here’s how you can spot sincerity from the start.

    ✅ Traits of a Genuine Profile:

    • Multiple, recent photos: Real members usually share at least two or three clear images.
    • Complete bios: A real profile will include hobbies, background, and what the person is looking for.
    • Message depth: Responses that reflect your profile or ask personal questions are a good sign.
    • Consistent tone: Watch for people who answer clearly and consistently without copy-paste replies.

    Red Flags:

    • No profile photo or only one overly polished image
    • Vague responses like “I like you” or “You’re special” without context
    • Fast attempts to move the conversation off-platform
    • Profiles that seem too perfect or too broad

    Always trust your instincts. Senior Match gives you tools like “Favorites” and “Viewed Me” to gauge interest and interaction patterns over time.

    Finally, a Senior Dating Site That Gets You — Try Senior Match Today!

    How to Spot Romance Scams and Stay Protected

    While Senior Match works to keep scammers out, no platform is completely immune. Older users, especially those new to online dating, can be vulnerable to deception.

    Common Romance Scam Tactics:

    • Claims of love too soon, within a few messages
    • Excuses to avoid video calls or in-person meetings
    • Financial stories: sudden emergencies, medical bills, or travel issues
    • Long, emotionally charged messages early on

    How to Stay Safe:

    • Never send money or gift cards to someone you haven’t met
    • Don’t share financial or personal information (e.g., social security number, address)
    • Use Senior Match’s messaging tools until you’re fully comfortable
    • Report any suspicious activity immediately

    Senior Match provides a “Report” button on all profiles. It’s your right to use it when something doesn’t feel right. Staying cautious doesn’t mean being fearful — it means protecting your time and peace of mind.

    Long-Distance Dating on Senior Match: Does It Work?

    Many seniors are open to connecting with people outside their hometown. Whether it’s due to relocation plans, retirement travel, or simply wanting a larger pool of matches, long-distance dating is increasingly common.

    Tips for Long-Distance Connections:

    • Use the search filters to widen your location radius
    • Clarify upfront whether travel is possible — for you and your match
    • Stay consistent with messaging, video calls, and occasional surprises
    • Plan realistic in-person meetings after trust has been built

    Some users even relocate after finding a strong connection. Others agree to meet halfway or take turns visiting. The key is managing expectations and ensuring both people are equally invested.

    Senior Match doesn’t provide location match alerts, so it’s up to you to use filters and keywords (like “willing to relocate”) to find those with shared flexibility.

    Meet Real People, Not Games – Join the Best Mature Dating Site Online

    How to Break the Ice on Senior Match

    Starting a conversation on a dating site can feel awkward, but Senior Match users tend to appreciate kindness, clarity, and directness.

    Here’s how to open with impact:

    • Reference something in their profile: “I noticed you enjoy hiking. Have you visited any trails recently?”
    • Compliment with context: “You have a great smile — and your dog looks adorable too!”
    • Use humor, gently: A light joke can disarm tension but keep it respectful
    • Ask thoughtful questions: “What’s one place you’ve always wanted to visit?”

    What to Avoid:

    • “Hi” or “How are you?” with no follow-up
    • Overly flirty or romantic lines too soon
    • Asking for phone numbers in the first message

    A great icebreaker shows that you’ve read the person’s profile and are genuinely interested in them as a person, not just their photo.

    How Senior Match Protects Against Fake Bots

    Unlike many free or younger-focused apps, Senior Match maintains a strict policy against fake accounts and spam bots. Here’s how the platform keeps things authentic:

    Key Safety Measures:

    • Manual Review: All profiles and photos go through a human approval process
    • No Instant Messaging: Members must mutually engage before deeper messaging occurs, reducing bot intrusion
    • Email Verification: New users must confirm their email to activate the account
    • Report and Block Tools: Easily remove unwanted messages or suspicious profiles from your view

    While no platform is entirely bot-free, Senior Match maintains a clean user base through consistent moderation. Users frequently note that they feel safer and more respected here than on mainstream dating sites where automation is more prevalent.

    If you do come across a suspicious profile, use the “Report” feature — the team usually responds quickly.

    You’re not too late. The best Senior Dating Site is still growing fast

    What Happens After You Find a Match?

    Finding someone you genuinely connect with is a rewarding moment — but what happens next? Senior Match doesn’t pressure users to delete their profiles once they pair up, so you can take the next step at your own pace.

    Steps After a Successful Match:

    • Start planning offline meetups: Choose neutral, public locations for first meetings
    • Exchange contact info safely: After a few conversations, you may decide to move communication off the platform
    • Decide if you want to pause your account: Senior Match allows account suspension without deletion
    • Update your profile: If you’re seeing someone exclusively, note it in your profile or set your visibility to “off”

    Many users keep their account active as a backup or simply to stay connected with friends. Whether your journey ends with one match or multiple experiences, Senior Match supports your choices without pressure.

    Senior Match as a Platform for Friendship, Not Just Romance

    Not every user on Senior Match is looking for romantic love. A large segment of the community joins to find companionship, friendship, or activity partners in their area.

    Some are widowed and not ready to date again, while others are relocating and looking to expand their social circle. The platform allows users to clearly indicate their goals in their profile, whether that’s:

    • Coffee meetups
    • Shared travel adventures
    • Fitness partners
    • Conversation buddies

    Don’t miss your chance to join the most trusted Mature Dating App in 2025

    How to Attract Friendship-Based Matches:

    • Select “Friendship” in your relationship goals
    • Mention social hobbies like gardening, hiking, or cooking classes
    • Include warm, approachable language in your profile description

    This makes Senior Match feel more like a community than a typical dating app — perfect for seniors who value meaningful human connections in all forms.

    How to Get Noticed More on Senior Match

    Getting more profile views — and more messages — often comes down to a few simple tweaks. Here’s how to stand out without feeling like you’re advertising yourself.

    Actionable Tips:

    • Update your profile regularly: Fresh edits bring your profile back to the top of search results
    • Upload 3–5 quality photos: Include a mix of smiling headshots and activity-based shots
    • Be active in the blog section: Commenting or posting shows engagement, which others notice
    • Reply promptly: Timely responses keep momentum going and improve visibility
    • Use “winks” daily: They’re free and show casual interest without pressure

    Also, experiment with messaging during off-peak hours (early morning or late evening). This helps your messages stand out in a smaller batch of incoming notes. Users who take 10–15 minutes each day to engage meaningfully often see the best results.

    Your Next Chapter Starts Here – Find Companionship on a Leading Senior Dating Site

    Senior Match Premium: Is It Worth It Long-Term?

    While the free version of Senior Match is a great way to explore the platform, most users find the full experience opens up only with a paid membership.

    What You Gain with Premium:

    • Unlimited messaging: Essential for building relationships
    • Who viewed your profile: Helps prioritize outreach
    • Advanced search filters: Narrow matches by interests, lifestyle, or location
    • Boosted visibility: Appear more frequently in search results

    Users who subscribe for 3 or 6 months report a higher success rate than those on shorter plans. If you’re serious about finding a connection — whether romantic or platonic — the cost pays off in time saved and improved engagement.

    Long-Term Value:

    • You can always pause your subscription if needed
    • Great for those who plan to actively date, not just browse
    • Less costly than traditional dating methods (travel, event-based matchmaking)

    For seniors ready to invest in quality connections, premium access on Senior Match proves itself within the first few weeks of consistent use.
    50+ and Single? Senior Match Is the Senior Dating Site Built Just for You
    Final Verdict — Who Will Benefit Most from Senior Match? 

    If you’re aged 50 or above and want a mature, focused space to meet new people, Senior Match remains a top-tier option in 2025. It may lack some flashy features like video chat or AI matching, but it delivers where it matters most — genuine users, intuitive design, and a respectful environment.

    Whether you’re seeking a committed relationship, companionship, or simply someone to share coffee and conversation, the platform makes it easy to connect. It’s particularly ideal for:

    • Widows and widowers looking to ease back into dating
    • Retirees who want to find love in their next chapter
    • People tired of youth-centric dating apps

    With pricing that’s fair and a strong support team, Senior Match continues to offer excellent value for senior singles ready to take that next step.

    Project name: Senior Match
    10 – 8707 Dufferin St, Suite 160
    Vaughan, Ontario L4J 0A6
    Canada
    Company website: https://www.seniormatch.com/
     TEL: 1-416-628-1072 OR 1-888-702-1274 (Toll-Free)

    Content Accuracy Disclaimer
    Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in this article. However, due to the dynamic nature of product formulations, promotions, and availability, details may change without notice. The publisher makes no warranties or representations as to the current completeness or accuracy of any content, including product claims, pricing, or ingredient lists.
    It is the responsibility of the reader to verify product information directly through the official website or manufacturer prior to making a purchasing decision. Any reliance placed on the information in this article is done strictly at your own risk.
    Affiliate Disclosure
    This article may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service through these links, the publisher may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. These commissions help support the creation of in-depth reviews and educational wellness content.
    The publisher only promotes products that have been independently evaluated and deemed potentially beneficial to readers. However, this compensation may influence the content, topics, or products discussed in this article. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliate partner or product provider.
    All product reviews and descriptions reflect the author’s honest opinion based on available public data, user feedback, and scientific references at the time of writing. The inclusion of affiliate links does not influence the objectivity or integrity of the content. However, readers are encouraged to independently verify product information and consult with healthcare professionals prior to purchase or use.
    No warranties, either expressed or implied, are made about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, or suitability of the content provided. The publisher and all affiliated parties expressly disclaim any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of any information contained herein.
    Product and Trademark Rights
    All product names, logos, and brands mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Use of these names does not imply endorsement unless explicitly stated. SM® , Seniormatch® SuccessfulMatch® are the trademarks of its respective brand owner.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Apollo Capital Comments on MediPharm Labs’ Failure to Respond to Reasonable Offer to Ensure Fair, Lawful and Transparent 2025 Annual Meeting

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MediPharm Labs Board Continues to Obstruct the Appointment and Oversight of an Independent Chair

    Failure to Appoint an Independent Chair to Oversee the Election of Directors at the Annual Meeting Prevents Shareholders from Exercising their Legal Right to Hold the Current Board Accountable for their Epic Failures

    Board Made No Attempt to Engage with Apollo Capital; Instead Resorted to Continued Campaign of Misdirection and Character Assassination Aimed to Undermine Shareholders Demanding Change

    Shareholders Deserve the Opportunity to Elect New Leaders in a Lawful and Fair Election

    Apollo Capital Reiterates Commitment to Transparent Election Process for the Benefit of All Shareholders

    URGES SHAREHOLDERS TO DISREGARD MEDIPHARM LABS’ GREEN PROXY CARD AND VOTE THE GOLD PROXY CARD “FOR” APOLLO CAPITAL’S SIX DIRECTOR NOMINEES

    TORONTO, May 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Apollo Technology Capital Corporation (“Apollo Capital”) which together with its affiliates and associates collectively is one of the largest shareholders of MediPharm Labs Corp. (TSX: LABS) (OTCQB: MEDIF) (FSE: MLZ) (“MediPharm Labs”, or the “Company”), owning approximately 3% of the Company’s common stock, today announced that MediPharm Labs’ Board of Directors (the “Board”) did not respond to Apollo Capital’s “With Prejudice” offer to the Board to ensure the rights of shareholders are protected in connection with the Company’s upcoming 2025 Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholder to be held on June 16, 2025 (the “Annual Meeting”).

    Apollo Capital distributed the offer to MediPharm Labs counsel on May 21, 2025 – seeking to ensure a lawful and fair election overseen by an independent Chair in order to protect the rights of shareholders at the Annual Meeting. The offer, which Apollo Capital shared publicly, was unilaterally ignored by MediPharm Labs’ Board, who made no attempts whatsoever to engage with representatives of Apollo Capital.

    Apollo Capital Chairman and CEO Regan McGee commented, “MediPharm Labs and its Board continue to demonstrate their utter disregard for the rights of shareholders, preferring to further entrench themselves rather than honour their fiduciary duty to act in shareholders’ best interests. Apollo Capital’s offer was made in good faith to take the necessary steps to do right by MediPharm Labs shareholders, and it is damning that the Board would put its own personal interests ahead of the law and the interests of Company shareholders.

    “The record needs to be set straight after all the misleading, defamatory and demonstrably untrue statements from the MediPharm Labs Board. Outside of MediPharm Labs, all litigation that I am involved in is related to each other. It is effectively one litigation and was initiated by me in order to protect shareholders from a small group of rogue board members who I sued for breaching their fiduciary duties. Tellingly, but not surprisingly, the MediPharm Labs Board wants to suggest that this is somehow a bad thing!

    “The Company’s attempts to villainize me are merely a feeble attempt to misdirect shareholders away from legitimate concerns regarding their staggering mismanagement of MediPharm Labs, which they have yet to answer for.”

    To be clear, MediPharm Labs’ Board is obviously trying to confuse the shareholders into thinking that it is a bad thing that board members who breach their fiduciary duties should be sued and held accountable.

    Now, let’s shine the spotlight back on what matters – your investment.

    Apollo Capital’s nominees know how to build successful businesses, know how to get deals done, and know how to raise money.

    In response to the Company’s allegations against one of Apollo Capital’s nominees for election to the Company’s Board, Regan McGee, Apollo Capital encourages shareholder to understand the facts regarding Mr. McGee and one of his businesses, Nobul Technologies Inc. (“Nobul”):

    • Nobul was named to the prestigious 2023 Deloitte Technology Fast 500™, which ranks the 500 fastest-growing technology companies across North America. The recognition further validates Nobul’s impact at a continental scale, placing it among the elite group of companies that are shaping the future of tech through extraordinary financial performance, sustained growth, and breakthrough innovation.
    • Nobul topped the 2022 Deloitte Technology Fast 50™, earning the #1 spot with an astounding four-year revenue growth rate of 72,944%—the highest of any Canadian company on the list. The Fast 50 recognizes the country’s most transformative and innovative technology companies based solely on audited financial performance. Nobul’s top placement highlights its unmatched ability to deploy capital efficiently, scale rapidly, and deliver exceptional returns.
    • Nobul has been recognized on CNBC’s Upstart 100, a list of the world’s most promising venture-backed startups. Selected from global nominees, Nobul stood out as a high-growth disruptor.
    • Regan McGee invented the Real Estate Marketplace Method and System (Patent # 12,260465) issued by the US Patent Office on March 25, 2025.   The patent incorporates Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Matching Algorithms for Consumers, Real Estate Agents and Properties, as well as Blockchain to facilitate secure, traceable Real Estate processes.
    • Regan McGee founded Nobul when he was in a hospital rehabilitation centre recovering from a severe spinal cord injury and learning how to walk again; Refusing to be slowed down by being disabled, he is tenacious, willing to put in the hard work, and he never gives up.

    The Board’s attempts to malign the business acumen and character of Regan McGee and Apollo Capital’s nominees are a pathetic distraction from the fact that the MediPharm Labs Board has presided over the catastrophic destruction of 99% of shareholder value.

    Apollo Capital is focused on what matters – protecting MediPharm Labs shareholders’ investment.

    Apollo Capital asks shareholders to consider the dire state of MediPharm Labs:

    • MediPharm Labs is on track to run out of money by November 2025 – a mere six months from now.
    • No one on MediPharm Labs’ slate of Board Members has ever built anything of note.

    Apollo Capital’s highly experienced director nominees – John Fowler, Alan D. Lewis, David Lontini, Demetrios Mallios, Regan McGee, and Scott Walters – will implement much-needed business and governance reforms in their first 100 days, including:

    • Slashing executive and Board compensation and suspending all equity/cash awards until a new performance-aligned structure is in place.
    • Eradicating the eye-watering $1,200,000 per year blown on travel and “other expenses”.
    • Implementing an immediate spending lockdown by freezing all non-essential, discretionary expenditures.
    • Beginning a revenue quality and margin analysis by assessing the sustainability, growth, and profitability of each business line.
    • Launching zero-based budgeting by rebuilding the company’s cost structure from the ground up based on necessity and ROI.
    • Restoring transparent shareholder communication, including:
      • Regular interactive earnings calls
      • A comprehensive Investor Day within the first 100 days
      • Open channels for shareholder feedback and dialogue
    • Implementing a new executive compensation plan directly tied to performance against key operational and financial targets.

    Shareholders can visit www.CureMediPharm.com, to sign up for important campaign updates.

    To access Apollo Capital’s Circular and related proxy materials, including a proxy or voting instruction form, visit SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

    Contacts

    For Shareholders:
    Carson Proxy
    North American Toll-Free Phone: 1-800-530-5189
    Local or Text Message: 416-751-2066 (collect calls accepted)
    E: info@carsonproxy.com

    For Media:
    CureMediPharm@gasthalter.com

    Legal Disclosures

    Information in Support of Public Broadcast Exemption under Canadian Law

    In connection with the Annual Meeting, Apollo Capital has filed an amended and restated dissident information circular (the “Circular”) in compliance with applicable corporate and securities laws. Apollo Capital has provided in, or incorporated by reference into, this press release the disclosure required under section 9.2(4) of NI 51-102 – Continuous Disclosure Obligations (“NI 51-102”) and the corresponding exemption under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario), and has filed the Circular, available under MediPharm’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The Circular contains disclosure prescribed by applicable corporate law and disclosure required under section 9.2(6) of NI 51-102 in respect of Apollo Capital’s director nominees, in accordance with corporate and securities laws applicable to public broadcast solicitations. The Circular is hereby incorporated by reference into this press release and is available under MediPharm’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The registered office of the Company is 151 John Street, Barrie, Ontario, Canada L4N 2L1.

    SHAREHOLDERS OF MEDIPHARM ARE URGED TO READ THE CIRCULAR CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and shareholders are able to obtain free copies of the Circular and any amendments or supplements thereto and further proxy circulars at no charge under MediPharm’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. In addition, shareholders are also able to obtain free copies of the Circular and other relevant documents by contacting Apollo Capital’s proxy solicitor, Carson Proxy Advisors Ltd. (“Carson Proxy”) at 1-800-530-5189, local (collect outside North America): 416-751-2066 or by email at info@carsonproxy.com.

    Proxies may be revoked in accordance with subsection 110(4) of the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) by a registered shareholder of Company shares: (a) by completing and signing a valid proxy bearing a later date and returning it in accordance with the instructions contained in the accompanying form of proxy; (b) by depositing an instrument in writing executed by the shareholder or by the shareholder’s attorney authorized in writing; (c) by transmitting by telephonic or electronic means a revocation that is signed by electronic signature in accordance with applicable law, as the case may be: (i) at the registered office of the Company at any time up to and including the last business day preceding the day the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement of the Annual Meeting is to be held, or (ii) with the chair of the Annual Meeting on the day of the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement of the Annual Meeting; or (d) in any other manner permitted by law. In addition, proxies may be revoked by a non-registered holder of Company shares at any time by written notice to the intermediary in accordance with the instructions given to the non-registered holder by its intermediary. It should be noted that revocation of proxies or voting instructions by a non-registered holder can take several days or even longer to complete and, accordingly, any such revocation should be completed well in advance of the deadline prescribed in the form of proxy or voting instruction form to ensure it is given effect in respect of the Annual Meeting.

    The costs incurred in the preparation and mailing of any circular or proxy solicitation by Apollo Capital and any other participants named herein will be borne directly and indirectly by Apollo Capital. However, to the extent permitted under applicable law, Apollo Capital intends to seek reimbursement from the Company of all expenses incurred in connection with the solicitation of proxies for the election of its director nominees at the Annual Meeting.

    This press release and any solicitation made by Apollo Capital is, or will be, as applicable, made by such parties, and not by or on behalf of the management of the Company. Proxies may be solicited by proxy circular, mail, telephone, email or other electronic means, as well as by newspaper or other media advertising and in person by managers, directors, officers and employees of Apollo Capital who will not be specifically remunerated therefor. In addition, Apollo Capital may solicit proxies by way of public broadcast, including press release, speech or publication and any other manner permitted under applicable Canadian laws, and may engage the services of one or more agents and authorize other persons to assist it in soliciting proxies on their behalf.

    Apollo Capital has entered into an agreement with Carson Proxy Advisors (“Carson Proxy”) for solicitation and advisory services in connection with the solicitation of proxies for the Meeting, for which Carson Proxy will receive a fee not to exceed $250,000, together with reimbursement for reasonable and out-of-pocket expenses. Apollo Capital has also engaged Gasthalter & Co. LP (“G&Co”) to act as communications consultant to provide Apollo Capital with certain communications, public relations and related services, for which G&Co will receive a minimum fee of US$75,000 in addition to a performance fee of US$250,000 in the event that Apollo Capital’s nominees make up a majority of the Board following the Annual Meeting, plus excess fees, related costs and expenses.

    No member of Apollo Capital nor any of their associates or affiliates has or has had any material interest, direct or indirect, in any transaction since the beginning of the Company’s last completed financial year or in any proposed transaction that has materially affected or will or would materially affect the Company or any of the Company’s affiliates. No member of Apollo Capital nor any of their associates or affiliates has any material interest, direct or indirect, by way of beneficial ownership of securities or otherwise, in any matter to be acted upon at the Annual Meeting, other than setting the number of directors, the election of directors, the appointment of auditors and the approval of the ordinary resolution approving, among other things, the Company’s amended and restated equity incentive plan dated May 8, 2025 and the unallocated awards available thereunder.

    Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains forward‐looking statements. All statements contained in this filing that are not clearly historical in nature or that necessarily depend on future events are forward‐looking, and the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “plan,” and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward‐looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of Apollo Capital and currently available information. They are not guarantees of future performance, involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, and are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. All forward-looking statements contained herein are made only as of the date hereof and Apollo Capital disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur, or of which Apollo Capital hereafter becomes aware, except as required by applicable law.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: SA, Tanzania research funders sign landmark MoU to deepen bilateral scientific cooperation

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    The National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening and expanding their scientific partnership.

    This agreement was signed during the 13th Annual Meeting of the Global Research Council (GRC), which was hosted by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in collaboration with the Research, Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA) this week.

    According to the NRF, this new MoU establishes a strategic framework for enhanced cooperation in science, technology, and innovation, including the social sciences and humanities. 

    Rooted in principles of equality, reciprocity, and mutual benefit, it marks a significant milestone in a long-standing relationship that has fostered impactful collaboration between the two institutions.

    This move recognises the importance of science, technology, and innovation (STI) and its strong systems in promoting the growth and competitiveness of national economies and thereby improving the socio-economic standards of life in both countries. 

    Both the research funders have agreed that the MoU will serve as a reflection of their mutual intention to cooperate, coordinate, and combine their resources, experience, and expertise to effectively execute their mandates.

    CEO of the NRF, Dr Fulufhelo Nelwamondo, said this partnership reaffirms the NRF’s commitment to advancing scientific excellence and innovation through strategic continental partnerships. 

    “With COSTECH, we are not only strengthening bilateral research cooperation but building shared capabilities that will benefit both our societies in areas critical to sustainable development,” said Nelwamondo. 

    The bilateral partnership between the NRF and COSTECH began following an intergovernmental agreement signed in 2011. 

    In 2012, the two organisations jointly launched a call for collaborative research proposals, resulting in the co-funding of 15 projects across priority areas such as health, information and communication technology (ICT), palaeontology, nanomaterials, and agricultural value addition. 

    This programme facilitated collaboration among 54 research institutions, including four outside Africa and led to the training of 11 doctoral and seven postdoctoral students, alongside 27 peer-reviewed publications.

    It also enabled mobility exchanges for over 30 researchers and academics.

    “This MoU reflects the spirit of mutual respect and shared purpose that defines the relationship between COSTECH and the NRF. 

    “Together, we are co-creating knowledge, advancing innovation, and jointly addressing the development challenges and opportunities that our countries and the broader region face,” said Director General of COSTECH, Dr Amos Nungu.

    In addition to bilateral efforts, both the NRF and COSTECH are active partners in regional and multilateral initiatives. 

    COSTECH hosts two OR Tambo Africa Research Chairs at Sokoine University of Agriculture and the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology. 

    It has also participated in joint initiatives under programmes such as the African–Japanese Collaboration (AJ-CORE), the Long-term Europe–Africa Water-Energy-Food Nexus (LEAWEF), and the COVID-19 Africa Rapid Grant Fund.

    Tanzania also participates in the u’GOOD Research Programme, coordinated by the NRF and implemented in partnership with Foundation Botnar and the Human Sciences Research Council. 

    In addition, both NRF and COSTECH play an active role in the Global Research Council through participation in its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Pilot Initiative and contributing to its governance structures.

    The MoU provides a platform to co-develop programmes that enhance research excellence, support innovation ecosystems, and contribute to sustainable development across Africa. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: WC Education urges parents to check if the login details are correct for online admissions

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Friday, May 23, 2025

    The Western Cape Department of Education (WCDE) is urging parents to prepare their login information for the online admissions system ahead of the offers being made.

    “There is always a flurry of excitement, nerves, and anticipation on this date, and not being able to log in because of a forgotten password can be extremely frustrating,” the statement read. 

    The admissions window for Grade R, 1, or 8 in 2026 closed on 15 April 2025. Since then, schools have been implementing their admission policies to select successful candidates.

    According to the provincial department, schools will start to make offers of acceptance to parents from 30 May 2025. 

    Parents will then be required to confirm their acceptance by 17 June 2025.

    “We also ask parents to make sure that they have provided their correct contact details on the system. Every year, we encounter difficulties communicating with parents whose contact details have changed since they made their initial application, but who have not informed the department.

    “As a result, a place for a learner might be available, but the parents are not aware if they have not checked the system or have been uncontactable via phone.” 

    A step-by-step guide to updating login details is now available on the admissions website to assist parents.

    Meanwhile, parents can also contact the WCED call centre on 0861 819 919 or visit their education district office to update their contact details.

    “Don’t wait. Ensure that your login and contact details are correct today.” 

    The online admissions system, as well as more information about admissions, is available on the WCED website: https://www.westerncape.gov.za/education/service/learner-admissions. – SAnews.gov.za
     

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI: Fortinet Named a Challenger in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Security Service Edge

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

    News Summary

    Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today announced it has been recognized as a Challenger in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Security Service Edge (SSE). This recognition follows Fortinet’s recent placement as a Leader and the highest in ability to execute in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for SD-WAN for the fourth consecutive year — we believe this further validates Fortinet’s vision and execution in delivering a unified SASE platform.

    “We continue to demonstrate strong momentum, innovation, and growth in the SSE market,” said Nirav Shah, Senior Vice President, Products and Solutions at Fortinet. “We believe Fortinet’s placement in the Challengers quadrant is a testament to our growing adoption, positive customer feedback, aggressive roadmap execution with monthly releases, and ever-expanding market share. Our focus is on delivering real outcomes through flexible deployment models, seamless integration with existing infrastructure, and consistent AI-powered security wherever users connect.”

    A Differentiated SSE Experience
    With FortiSASE, Fortinet delivers the most unified, flexible, and intelligent solution on the market today, enabling secure access from anywhere while reducing complexity, enhancing user experience, and strengthening security across hybrid environments. Key differentiators include:

    • Unified solution: Unlike many fragmented offerings, FortiSASE is built on a single operating system, FortiOS, a unified management console, endpoint agent, and centralized data lake. This cohesive architecture ensures consistent security policy enforcement and streamlined operations across all environments from on-premises to the cloud. The integration of Fortinet Secure SD-WAN with cloud-delivered SSE, and digital experience monitoring (DEM) under one platform provides comprehensive visibility and control, reducing complexity and potential security gaps.
    • Flexible connectivity: FortiSASE offers unparalleled flexibility to accommodate a wide range of organizational needs by supporting BYOD, contractors, agent-based, and agentless devices, as well as third-party SD-WAN solutions, facilitating seamless integration into existing infrastructures. Fortinet is also investing in building its own global cloud infrastructure, further enhancing performance, scalability, and control across its SASE services. Fortinet Sovereign SASE gives organizations flexibility and control over their data, especially in regulated sectors like finance and healthcare. Organizations can also integrate FortiSASE with Fortinet’s WLAN/LAN portfolio to secure thin edge locations without the need for additional appliances or agents, ensuring comprehensive protection even in resource-constrained environments.
    • Intelligent innovation: FortiSASE, powered by FortiGuard AI-Powered Security Services, delivers broad protection through integrated capabilities like secure web gateway (SWG), universal zero-trust network access (ZTNA), cloud access security broker (CASB), Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS), and remote browser isolation (RBI), all managed from a single unified console. Security teams can enforce zero-trust policies to manage access and data flows to generative AI (GenAI) apps, gaining visibility into usage patterns, destinations, and enabling enterprise-wide AI governance.

    What Customers Are Saying About FortiSASE
    In addition to this latest Gartner acknowledgement, Fortinet was the only vendor to be recognized with the Gartner® Peer Insights™ Customers’ Choice Recognition two years in a row for Security Service Edge. In the 2025 Gartner® Peer Insights™ Voice of the Customer, security service edge (SSE), FortiSASE customers had this to say:

    “Elevating user experience with FortiSASE: perfect features and functionality”
    We use SIA (secured internet access) and SPA (secured private access) functionality of FortiSASE and the overall experience is exceptionally great.

    “Reliable SSE with ZTNA solution with breadth of design options”
    Secure and reliable internet access for all hybrid users. Secure users regardless of their access location. Our overall experience with the solution is great and users are happy from the day we deployed this endpoint on their machines.

    “Best of the breed cloud delivered security solution to secure hybrid workforce”
    This solution allows us to accommodate growing user count without compromising performance. The solution provides robust security features, which include web filtering to provide protection against web-based threats. The Solution provides secure access to users irrespective of their location, Users are allowed to access the internet or servers post compliance checks. Our overall experience is highly positive.

    Additional Resources

    GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

    Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

    Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Security Service Edge, By Charlie Winckless, Thomas Lintemuth, Dale Koeppen, 20 May 2025

    Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Data Center Switching, By Andrew Lerner, Simon Richard, Nauman Raja, Jorge Aragon, Jonathan Forest, 31 March 2025

    Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Cyber-Physical Systems Protection Platforms, By Katell Thielemann, Wam Voster, Ruggero Contu, 12 February 2025

    Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Email Security Platforms, By Max Taggett, Nikul Patel, Franz Hinner, Deepak Mishra, 16 December 2024

    Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Access Management, By Brian Guthrie, Nathan Harris, Abhyuday Data, Josh Murphy, 2 December 2024

    Gartner, Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN, By Jonathan Forest, Karen Brown, Nauman Raja, 30 September 2024

    Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms, By Evgeny Mirolyubov, Franz Hinner, Deepak Mishra, Satarupa Patnaik, Chris Silva, 23 September 2024

    Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Privileged Access Management, By Abhyuday Data, Michael Kelley, Nayara Sangiorgio, Felix Gaehtgens, Paul Mezzera, 9 September 2024

    Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Single-Vendor SASE, By Andrew Lerner, Jonathan Forest, Neil MacDonald, Nat Smith, Charlie Winckless, 3 July 2024

    Gartner, Magic Quadrant Security Information and Event Management, By Andrew Davies, Mitchell Schneider, Rustam Malik, Eric Ahlm, 8 May 2024

    Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wired & WLAN Infrastructure, By Tim Zimmerman, Christian Canales, Nauman Raja, Mike Leibovitz, 6 March 2024

    Note: Fortinet acquired Perception Point in December 2024. Perception Point was recognized in the 2024 Magic Quadrant for Email Security Platforms

    “Fortinet was recognized in 11 different Magic Quadrant reports including being named an Honourable Mention in Magic Quadrant for Data Center Switching, for Access Management, and for Privileged Access Management.”

    Gartner, Voice of the Customer for Security Service Edge, Peer Contributors, 27, September 2024. Gartner, Voice of the Customer for Security Service Edge, Peer Contributors, 29, September, 2023

    About Fortinet
    Fortinet (Nasdaq: FTNT) is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people, devices, and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity everywhere our customers need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million customers trust Fortinet’s solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Collaboration with esteemed organizations from both the public and private sectors, including Computer Emergency Response Teams (“CERTS”), government entities, and academia, is a fundamental aspect of Fortinet’s commitment to enhance cyber resilience globally. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog, and FortiGuard Labs.

    Copyright © 2025 Fortinet, Inc. All rights reserved. The symbols ® and ™ denote respectively federally registered trademarks and common law trademarks of Fortinet, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. Fortinet’s trademarks include, but are not limited to, the following: Fortinet, the Fortinet logo, FortiGate, FortiOS, FortiGuard, FortiCare, FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager, FortiASIC, FortiClient, FortiCloud, FortiMail, FortiSandbox, FortiADC, FortiAgent, FortiAI, FortiAIOps, FortiAgent, FortiAntenna, FortiAP, FortiAPCam, FortiAuthenticator, FortiCache, FortiCall, FortiCam, FortiCamera, FortiCarrier, FortiCASB, FortiCentral, FortiCNP, FortiConnect, FortiController, FortiConverter, FortiCSPM, FortiCWP, FortiDAST, FortiDB, FortiDDoS, FortiDeceptor, FortiDeploy, FortiDevSec, FortiDLP, FortiEdge, FortiEDR, FortiEndpoint FortiExplorer, FortiExtender, FortiFirewall, FortiFlex FortiFone, FortiGSLB, FortiGuest, FortiHypervisor, FortiInsight, FortiIsolator, FortiLAN, FortiLink, FortiMonitor, FortiNAC, FortiNDR, FortiPAM, FortiPenTest, FortiPhish, FortiPoint, FortiPolicy, FortiPortal, FortiPresence, FortiProxy, FortiRecon, FortiRecorder, FortiSASE, FortiScanner, FortiSDNConnector, FortiSEC, FortiSIEM, FortiSMS, FortiSOAR, FortiSRA, FortiStack, FortiSwitch, FortiTester, FortiToken, FortiTrust, FortiVoice, FortiWAN, FortiWeb, FortiWiFi, FortiWLC, FortiWLM, FortiXDR and Lacework FortiCNAPP. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Fortinet has not independently verified statements or certifications herein attributed to third parties and Fortinet does not independently endorse such statements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, nothing herein constitutes a warranty, guarantee, contract, binding specification or other binding commitment by Fortinet or any indication of intent related to a binding commitment, and performance and other specification information herein may be unique to certain environments.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sen. Matt Brass Joins British Consul General for Workforce Development Tour in Newnan

    Source: US State of Georgia

    ATLANTA (May 23, 2025) — On Tuesday, May 20, Sen. Matt Brass (R–Newnan) joined British Consul General Rachel Galloway for a workforce development tour and roundtable discussion at the Central Educational Center (CEC) in Newnan. The visit, hosted by CEC CEO Mark Whitlock, highlighted the center’s nationally recognized model for preparing students for in-demand careers through academic and technical training. The tour offered an inside look at the center’s innovative programs–from dual enrollment to industry certification pathways–that have become a blueprint for workforce development across the state.

    Consul General Galloway, who represents the United Kingdom in the Southeastern United States, visited CEC to learn more about Georgia’s workforce education strategies and explore potential opportunities for collaboration between the UK and Georgia. Her visit underscored the global relevance of the CEC model and the value of cross-cultural dialogue on education and economic growth.

    Sen. Brass emphasized the importance of institutions like CEC in building a strong, skilled workforce ready to meet the needs of Georgia employers: “It was an honor to host British Consul General Rachel Galloway in Newnan and show her firsthand the workforce development happening in Senate District 6,” said Sen. Brass. “The Central Educational Center is a blueprint for how we train the next generation of Georgia’s workforce. From manufacturing to healthcare to film production, the CEC prepares students to compete and succeed in a global economy. I’m grateful to Consul General Galloway for visiting and recognizing the value of CEC’s programming. I also want to thank Mark Whitlock and his team for their continued leadership. The impact of CEC isn’t limited to Coweta County. It’s setting a standard that can benefit communities across Georgia and inspire ideas beyond our borders.”

    Consul General Galloway added, “Workforce development is a key part of economic growth, which is why CEC’s work in partnering with local industry and building workforce programmes is essential in preparing students to enter the job market. The UK can learn from this expertise to support businesses and drive growth. As our new landmark economic deal with the US demonstrates, the UK and US can go further and faster together and that will happen through partnerships and knowledge sharing at all levels.”

    The Central Educational Center continues to serve as a cornerstone of Georgia’s workforce development efforts, bridging the gap between classroom learning and career readiness. Attached is a full itinerary.

    # # # #

    Sen. Matt Brass serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules. Sen. Brass represents the 6th Senate District, which includes Coweta and Heard, as well as parts of Carroll County. He can be reached at (404) 656-0057 or by email at matt.brass@senate.ga.gov.

    For all media inquiries, please reach out to SenatePressInquiries@senate.ga.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Diversity : European Parliaments are falling behind

    Source: Universities – Science Po in English

    People of foreign origin continue to be underrepresented in national parliaments across Europe, according to a comparative study conducted in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Laura Morales, a researcher at the Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics (Sciences Po / CNRS), contributed to this study. In particular, individuals with immigrant backgrounds remain underrepresented relative to their share of the general population. This is also the case in France, according to earlier research by Laura Morales. Discover the main findings in this article. 

    Members of parliament with immigrant backgrounds remain underrepresented in the national parliaments of major European countries, according to the recent REPCHANCE Europe study, funded by the Robert Bosch Stiftung. Covering five European democracies—Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, and Switzerland—between 2012 and 2021, the study defines individuals of immigrant origin as those born abroad with foreign nationality, or with at least one parent meeting that condition. The study shows that, despite progress over the past decade, the proportion of individuals of immigrant origin among national parliamentarians remains lower than their share in the population of each country. This observation also applies to France, which Laura Morales examined in a separate project funded by Sciences Po, InclusiveParl. 

    Disparities in the Representation of Social Diversity Over Time and Space

    As of 2021, the Netherlands leads with the highest proportion of MPs of immigrant origin (19%), though this is still below the percentage of immigrants in the general population (24.6% according to StatLine). The same is true for all other countries studied, including Switzerland (14% in the National Council, compared to 39.5% in the population according to the BFS) and Germany (11% in the Bundestag, compared to 27.2% according to Destatis). 

    For Spain, France, and the UK, only the proportion of those born abroad or with foreign nationality is known. These figures—drawn from OECD statistics for comparability—thus underestimate the population of foreign descent, yet they still exceed or at best equal the share of immigrant-origin MPs: Spain’s Congress of Deputies includes 2% immigrant-origin MPs (versus 15.4% foreign-born residents), France’s National Assembly 9.8% (versus 13.3%), and the UK’s House of Commons 15% (versus 14%). The discrepancies would be even larger if descendants of foreign-born individuals with foreign nationality were considered in the general population.

    Parliamentary representation of individuals with immigrant backgrounds has improved over time, but progress has varied greatly by country (see chart below).

    Share of MPs of Immigrant Origin in Five European National Parliaments (2012–2021). 
    Depending on the country, this period includes a variable number of legislative sessions: 5 in Spain, 4 in Germany and the UK, 3 in Switzerland, and 2 in the Netherlands. 
    Source : REPCHANCE Europe. Drivers and Obstacles to Minority Representation.

    In comparison with these five countries, the proportion of foreign-origin MPs in France’s National Assembly was 7.5% during the 14th legislature (2012–2017) and 9.8% during the 15th (2017–2022). These figures place parliamentary diversity in France at a level similar to Germany during the same period. 

    “These contrasting developments in diversity within European parliaments are partly due to differing immigration timelines and levels in each country—a longer migration history in the UK, more intense immigration in Switzerland—but also to the degree of attention political parties pay to diversity in their ranks and candidate selections,” explains Laura Morales, university professor at the Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics and lead researcher of the study for Spain and the UK. “The role of political parties is evident in the non-linear increase in diversity in the Dutch and Swiss parliaments and the lack of real progress in Spain, despite growing social diversity in all of these countries.”

    Persistent Obstacles

    Another part of the REPCHANCE Europe study is based on interviews with elected officials of immigrant origin at national, regional, or local levels. These interviews help to understand how such individuals become politically engaged and what barriers they face. For example, people of immigrant origin more often run under left-wing parties, particularly in Germany and Switzerland, and to a lesser extent in the UK and the Netherlands. Decisions to run for office are often influenced by growing up in politically active families, but mobilization by party officials also plays a crucial role. Whether they are actually elected depends on factors such as the constituency assigned or list placement in proportional voting systems. 

    Once in office, foreign-origin MPs often face discrimination (with women experiencing both sexism and racism), hate speech, or tokenism—being used to give the appearance of diversity—according to the study. Furthermore, these MPs are often expected (or limited) to focus on migration and integration issues, even without prior expertise in these areas.

    Towards Greater Political Inclusion

    In their report, the researchers propose concrete measures to achieve more balanced representation of people of immigrant origin. These recommendations include extending voting rights for certain elections (e.g., local or regional), educational initiatives, but most importantly, measures targeted at political parties: more active recruitment of immigrant-origin individuals, stronger anti-discrimination policies, and a focus on training, which would benefit all newcomers to politics. 

    Ferdinand Mirbach, an expert at the Robert Bosch Stiftung, emphasizes that “increasing the political representation of people of immigrant origin is essential for the proper functioning of democracy. Political parties, civil society, and institutions must actively create opportunities and remove obstacles to ensure a diversity of voices are heard in decision-making.”
     

    > To learn more, access the comparative research report REPCHANCE Europe. 

    Translation from French to English by Hannah Ashburn

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Moth X Human by Ellie Wilson inspired by Wiltshire nature reserve

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Moth X Human by Ellie Wilson inspired by Wiltshire nature reserve

    Data from Parsonage Down National Nature Reserve is used by composer violinist Ellie Wilson for her Moth X Human performances at Bradford and Southbank Centre.

    Moth X Human by Ellie Wilson will be played at Bradford City of Culture 2025 and the Southbank Centre with imagery created by Northern School of Art students.

    Moths are rather unassuming creatures, often playing second fiddle to their insect cousins, butterflies.  But in a new work being premiered next month, they are far from that. In fact they have been instrumental in creating the immersive soundworld that forms the basis of composer Ellie Wilson’s piece.

    “Moth X Human” is an instrumental piece, based on moth activity data collected last summer, much of it from Natural England’s Parsonage Down National Nature Reserve near Salisbury.

    The piece will have its first airing in Bradford during the UK City of Culture celebrations on 7 June and then will also be played at the Southbank Centre in London on 5 July, as part of a New Music Biennial. 

    Classically trained Ellie said the idea to use insect activity to create music that explores declining biodiversity came to her at breakfast one morning and from there she was introduced to the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology which had created a system with high-resolution cameras to capture images of moths and record their species. 

    The numbers of moths visiting Parsonage Down National Nature Reserve by Salisbury were used to create this instrumental. Image by Northern School of Arts.

    Ellie chose two lots of data on which to base her composition. One was from Parsonage Down, where over the course of four hours, 80 different moth species were recorded on 1 August, including elephant hawk, burnished brass, water veneer and ruby tiger moths. The second was from monoculture farmland, where pesticides have been used and on the same night. Just 19 different species were recorded. 

    The species were each given a unique sound or note to create the 12-minute long piece that is played alongside live musicians.

    Ellie said:

    At some points the moths create short melodic fragments and these can be heard later in the piece as repeating motifs in the cello and piano.

    By contrast, the end of the piece uses data from a poor habitat, audibly demonstrating declining biodiversity due to human interference.

    Natural England’s senior reserve manager for National Nature Reserves in Wiltshire, Stuart Hales, said:

    National Nature Reserves are our most important places for nature, so it’s exciting to see Parsonage Down providing inspiration for the arts, in addition to being crucial for conservation.

    We hope that this fabulous project helps connect people with nature through the power of music to bring it to a whole new audience.

    Students from the Northern School of Art have created more than 100 moth designs, which are being animated to complement the music during the performances.

    Be sure to catch the premiere of Moth x Human as part of New Music Biennial 2025 – a festival presented in partnership by PRS Foundation, Southbank Centre, and Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. Free tickets available now for Bradford (6 to 8 June) and Southbank Centre (4 to 6 July).

    Listen to a trailer of Moth X Human.

    Background

    • OCM is a unique producer and charity that works to develop and present the highest quality and most innovative new music and sound-based live events, to engage diverse local and national audiences with our work, and to deepen understanding and appreciation of musical cultures from within the UK and worldwide. OCM’s raison d’être is to bring music, artists and audiences together in ways that encourage and create memorable and meaningful experiences for all. See OCM.
    • PRS Foundation and Southbank Centre’s New Music Biennial is a critically acclaimed free festival of new music, presenting a unique snapshot of contemporary music in the UK today. 20 pieces of new music will be performed across two festival weekends at Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture (6 to 8 June 2025) and London’s Southbank Centre (4 to 6 July 2025), broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and available for download from NMC Recordings. You can find out about all 20 New Music Biennial commissioning organisations and composers at New Music Biennial. PRS Foundation’s New Music Biennial is generously supported by Southbank Centre, Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, BBC Radio 3, Arts Council England and NMC Recordings. You can find out more at PRS Foundation. Moth X Human will be presented in Bradford and London, in collaboration with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, London’s Southbank Centre and PRS Foundation’s New Music Biennial.
    • UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) is a leading independent research institute dedicated to understanding and transforming how we interact with the natural world. With over 600 researchers, we tackle the urgent environmental challenges of our time, such as climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. See CEH.
    • The Northern School of Art is a specialist art and design school based in North East England. The higher-education campus in Hartlepool, Durham, delivers a wide range of Art, Design and performance-based degrees across undergraduate and postgraduate study. The School, established 150 Years ago, and is rated TEF Gold. The School is also well-known for its further education campus, providing a range of diplomas, A-level and Foundation study across the art, design and performance disciplines, rated Ofsted Outstanding. Find more information at Northern Art.

    Updates to this page

    Published 23 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Next phase of Hull water project brings boost to wildlife

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Next phase of Hull water project brings boost to wildlife

    The next phase of Hull’s Dynamic Drains project gets underway – helping to transform the city’s urban watercourses.

    The new mural created on Northern Powergrid’s electricity sub station

    Unloved green spaces have been revamped into a new park as the next phase of an exciting project to transform a city’s urban watercourses gets underway.

    Hull’s Dynamic Drains aims to improve the city’s urban watercourses, boost wildlife habitats and encourage people to connect with their natural environment.

    The latest developments along Holderness Drain in the east of the city includes a new park between Portobello Street and St John’s Grove, a new piece of striking wildlife artwork co-designed by local children that has transformed Northern Powergrid’s electricity substation, and easier access to fishing.

    The city’s wildlife and history trail has also been expanded, with wildlife mascots Wendy the water vole and Percy the perch taking walkers from East Carr Road all the way to King George Dock and the Humber Estuary.

    Along the way people can find out more about the local history at each of the 12 bridges crossing the drain and spot some wildlife native to the location.

    Hull’s Dynamic Drains is a partnership project with the Environment Agency, Groundwork Yorkshire, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Hull City Council.

    The £500,000 pilot phase of the project to bring improvements along Beverley and Barmston Drain was completed last year.

    Encouraging people to connect with nature

    The Environment Agency’s Dan Jagucki said:

    We’re delighted to have rolled out the exciting Hull’s Dynamic Drains project to Holderness Drain.

    This partnership work has already created new green spaces to enjoy and is encouraging people to connect with nature in what is a largely urban environment.

    Bringing together a local artist with local children – supported by Northern Powergrid – and transforming an old building into a new striking mural has really helped to bring the project to life for the community.

    Pupils from Archbishop Sentanu School with the mural they helped to design. Credit: Katie Cawthorne.

    So far the £235,000 project, largely funded by the Environment Agency, has included:

    • A new piece of public artwork at Preston Road created by artist Mike Sprout. With permission and support from Northern Powergrid, the walls of a previously dull electricity substation have been transformed into a wildlife themed mural. With support from Mike and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the mural was co-designed by children from Archbishop Sentanu School, Woodlands Primary School and The Hut Youth Centre (Child Dynamix), with some children even helping with the painting.
    • The expansion of the city’s history and wildlife trail, which was originally created during the Beverley and Barmston Drain pilot project. The new trail takes people from East Carr Road to King George Dock and the Humber Estuary. The wildlife mascots Wendy the water vole and Percy and perch tell people about the history and wildlife of the area.
    • Designed and delivered by Groundwork Yorkshire a new linear park has been created between St John’s Grove and Portobello Street. A winding footpath leads people through an avenue of trees including apples, pears and plums to pick, with stone seats for people to use. Four new bins have also been provided by Hull City Council along the path to help reduce littering.
    • Access for fishing on the drain has been made easier and safer with the installation of two flights of fishing steps in the new park, soon to be complemented by two new fishing platforms on the opposite bank at Flinton Grove.

    One of the new signs as part of the history and wildlife trail. Credit: Groundwork Yorkshire.

    Project shows ‘nature finds a way to thrive’

    Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s David Craven said:

    It’s easy to assume the drains through a major city are brown and lifeless, but this project shows that nature finds a way to thrive.

    We hope the ongoing success of Dynamic Drains encourages everyone from school children to commuters to stop and look around them at the wildlife in their community.

    The introduction of fruit trees and public art only further the strong sense of community that is being brought together.

    Peter Murphy, Operations Director for Groundwork Yorkshire, added:

    Working on Hull’s Dynamic Drains programme has been so rewarding, bringing a multi-disciplinary team together to deliver community engagement, landscape design and contract management, resulting in meaningful improvements to the land along these important blue-green corridors.

    Future plans to roll out the project further

    Future plans for work on Holderness Drain includes more tree planting along the trail and two new pocket parks at Saltshouse Road and Maybury Road.

    Hull’s Dynamic Drains also has plans to continue working across the city on its other urban waterways.

    Councillor Charles Quinn, portfolio holder for Environment at Hull City Council, said:

    Hull’s Dynamic Drains is a very important and exciting local environmental project. As a port city on the Humber estuary, water has always defined Hull’s identity.

    Residents have told us how much they appreciate the transformation of the drain bank. It has made a significant improvement to people’s safety, especially the children going to and from Archbishop Sentamu Academy.

    Plus, it has improved people’s access to local nature, improved leisure opportunities like fishing, and boosted general fitness with improved accessibility for walking and cycling.

    Cathryn Harper, Customer Service Manager for Northern Powergrid, said:

    This is the second time we’ve supported the Dynamic Drains team with local projects.

    After being part of a successful project to restore a section of Beverley and Barmston drain near our Clough Road depot, it was a yes when they approached us about decorating the Preston Road substation.

    Local residents were just as enthusiastic when we went out to check they were happy with the initial designs, but I think it’s fair to say the stunning end result has surpassed everyone’s expectations!

    Background

    More information on the pilot project at Beverley and Bramston Drain.

    More detail on the Hull’s Dynamic Drains project.

    Updates to this page

    Published 23 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ARU sharpens the focus on African photography

    Source: Anglia Ruskin University

    A photograph by Patrick Chilaisha, which will be on display in Lusaka next month

    Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is playing a role in establishing Zambia’s first-ever international photographic festival, which aims to give a platform to African photography within the continent.

    The first Bakashimika International Photography Festival, taking place in the capital Lusaka between 12-18 June, is currently the only international photography festival in southern Africa.

    Bakashimika will showcase bold, innovative work that reflects contemporary African narratives; spotlighting both emerging and established photographers from Zambia and neighbouring countries.

    With 20 exhibitions and more than 40 photographers from Angola, Congo, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and South Africa, as well as Zambia, the festival will celebrate photography as a powerful tool for storytelling, cultural expression, and connection.

    Bakashimika is being supported through Anglia Ruskin University’s QR impact planning funding, recognising the festival’s potential to shift the creative and cultural landscape in the region.

    Dr Kerstin Hacker from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has been researching visual self-governance in Zambia since 2008 and has collaborated with Geoffrey Phiri, former Chairperson of the Zambian National Visual Arts Council, to organise exhibitions and workshops for emerging photographers in the country since 2016.

    “Currently there are no international networking opportunities for photographers and lens-based artists in southern Africa, let alone Zambia itself. This festival is about creating space for southern African stories, promoting south-to-south engagement, achieving global visibility, and nurturing the next generation of African photographers.

    “The festival will celebrate indigenous African visual storytelling and spark a new wave of creative talent and visual self-governance in Zambia. Bakashimika also aims to be a meeting place for Zambian, southern African and international photographers, educators and industry experts.”

    Dr Hacker, Senior Lecturer in Photography at ARU

    Alongside Dr Kerstin Hacker and Geoffrey Phiri, the festival is organised by Edith Chiliboy, the artistic director and a leading voice in Zambia’s photography scene, and Patrick Chilaisha, operational director of Bakashimika, who is shaping the festival’s digital presence.

    The week-long celebration of lens-based art begins on 12 June and will include exhibitions, artist talks, workshops, screenings, and portfolio reviews. For further information, visit https://bakashimika.com

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: University hosts World Energy Business Schools (WEBS) Conference 2025 On 22 May 2025, the University of Aberdeen hosted the second World Energy Business Schools (WEBS) Conference, reaffirming its commitment to global collaboration on energy and sustainability challenges.

    Source: University of Aberdeen

    On 22 May 2025, the University of Aberdeen hosted the second World Energy Business Schools (WEBS) Conference, reaffirming its commitment to global collaboration on energy and sustainability challenges.
    Building on the success of the inaugural event in 2024, this year’s conference – entitled ‘Strengthening Global Ties for a Sustainable Future’ – brought together academics from across Europe and Australia to share research and foster partnerships aimed at advancing the energy transition.
    While the first conference laid the groundwork for collaboration between the University of Aberdeen, Curtin University (Australia), and the University of Calgary (Canada), the 2025 event expanded the network, drawing participation from seven universities:

    University of Aberdeen, Scotland
    University of Dundee, Scotland
    Curtin University, Australia
    University of Insubria, Italy
    University of Southern Denmark
    University of Groningen, Netherlands
    University of Stavanger, Norway

    This broader engagement marks a significant step in the evolution of the WEBS initiative, reinforcing its potential as a platform for international cooperation in research and education on energy and sustainability.
    Although held primarily online, the event also welcomed in-person attendees at the Sir Duncan Rice Library in Aberdeen, with School Director of Research, Professor Keith Bender, serving as host. The one-day conference featured a full schedule of presentations grouped around four key thematic areas:

    Sustainable Workers and Firms
    Public and Private Environmental Policy
    Energy Transitions
    Finance and Policy in Sustainable and Circular Economies

    Presentations addressed diverse topics, ranging from workforce sustainability and peer effects in low-carbon housing adoption, to friend-shoring, circular economy challenges and financial risks in the context of climate change. A highlight of the day included cross-national insights into renewable energy governance, corporate sustainability, and collaborative consumption strategies in business-to-business networks.
    The WEBS 2025 Conference underscored the value of sustained dialogue among business schools in energy-active regions. As global energy systems evolve, the WEBS network provides a forum for collaborative research, joint funding bids and PhD training opportunities.
    With two successful conferences now completed, the WEBS initiative is poised to become a leading academic network driving forward interdisciplinary insights and policy-relevant research on the future of energy.
    The Business School at the University of Aberdeen looks forward to continuing this important collaboration in the years ahead. Academics, researchers, and graduate students interested in energy, sustainability, and global collaboration are encouraged to engage with the WEBS network.
    Whether through joint research projects, future conference participation, or knowledge exchange, WEBS offers a growing platform for impactful interdisciplinary work. For further information or to express interest in future events, please contact the Business School at bs-research@abdn.ac.uk.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cook, A View on Financial Stability

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Thank you, Alessandra, for organizing us today, and thanks to you, Veronica Guerrieri, and Marina Azzimonti for initiating this effort seven years ago. I am honored to be with so many friends in macroeconomics at the 2025 Women in Macro Conference. I still read, recommend, and cite your work and am grateful to New York University and the University of Chicago for supporting this conference and this research.1
    How has the arc of mainstream macroeconomic research become more closely integrated with issues related to financial stability? This question is what I would like to discuss today. I applaud the advances in incorporating financial stability into macroeconomic models, which have significantly enhanced our understanding of financial market functioning and its effect on the economy. It is a topic that holds special importance to me as a macroeconomist who has worked at the intersection of macroeconomics and finance since my dissertation and as the chair of the Federal Reserve Board’s Committee on Financial Stability. I would like to then offer my assessment of the stability of the U.S. financial system.
    Financial stability supports the objectives assigned to the Federal Reserve, including full employment and stable prices, a safe and sound banking system, and an efficient payments system. A financial system is considered stable when banks, other lenders, and financial markets are able to provide households, communities, and businesses with the financing they need to invest, grow, and participate in a well-functioning economy—and can do so even when hit by adverse events, or “shocks.”2 Financial instability, by contrast, arises when vulnerabilities—such as asset bubbles, excessive leverage, liquidity mismatches, or interconnected exposures—can build up to such an extent that they can amplify different shocks and threaten the core functions of the system and the functioning of the broader economy.
    Macroeconomic Research and Financial StabilityThe idea that supply creates its own demand, or Say’s law, was the prevailing economic orthodoxy of the 1800s. As a result, the core content of macroeconomics as a separate discipline did not exist. Prolonged periods of involuntary unemployment were considered to be impossible. Money and credit were thought to act as a “veil” with no real effects, so money was seen as neutral and banks and other financial intermediaries as essentially passive, despite what we now know.
    The Great Depression fundamentally put an end to this comforting orthodoxy and prompted decades of work to better understand the causes of, and policy responses to, economic fluctuations. For the first time, financial factors took center stage in economic theory. Directly responding to the failures of economic theory exposed by the Depression, John Maynard Keynes introduced the concept of a “liquidity trap,” in which fear pushes the demand for money so high that the usual corrective measures become ineffective.3 Friedrich Hayek and the Austrian school of economics emphasized the role of unsustainable credit booms, noting that booms in “malinvestment” would lead to fundamental mismatches that would need to be addressed.4 Despite the early focus on panics, credit booms, and extreme dynamics, macroeconomic research evolved in a way that de-emphasized the role of the financial system, likely reflecting technical limitations and, more broadly, the need to develop policy frameworks for the post–World War II economy where the Great Depression seemed less relevant. Modeling financial crises requires addressing complex nonlinear dynamics, feedback loops, and discontinuities, like defaults and bank runs. All of these were analytically intractable and computationally unmanageable with the tools available at the time.
    As a result, the macroeconomic framework that originated from the ideas of Keynes generally assumed stable and frictionless financial markets. The IS-LM, or Investment-Saving Liquidity Preference-Money Supply framework, which describes how the goods market and the money market interact to determine aggregate output and interest rates in the economy, emerged as the central analytical tool for understanding short-run output and interest rate dynamics.5
    However, the neoclassical synthesis was not without its critics. Joan Robinson argued that capital accumulation and investment behavior were inherently volatile and criticized the prevailing framework for overlooking important sources of instability.6 Milton Friedman’s work challenged the Keynesian paradigm by highlighting the importance of monetary policy and the destabilizing effects of monetary mismanagement.7 Even as the rational expectations revolution in macro ushered in explicit modeling of micro foundations and dynamic optimization, financial intermediaries, credit frictions, and the potential for systemic crises remained largely absent. Neoclassical growth models prioritized capital accumulation and technological progress as drivers of long-run growth, and real business cycle models emphasized productivity shocks as drivers of fluctuations in employment and growth.8
    Two papers familiar to many of you here and published in 1983 were instrumental in bringing financial stability considerations back into macroeconomic research. Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig showed how banks’ role in providing liquidity makes them vulnerable to runs, while Ben Bernanke demonstrated how bank failures deepened the Great Depression.9 These contributions, which were recognized with a Nobel Prize in 2022, have helped pave the way for researchers wishing to explore both directions of the relationship between financial fragility and macroeconomic outcomes. In parallel, Hyman Minsky’s financial instability hypothesis advanced a dynamic view of systemic risk, emphasizing how periods of sustained economic and financial stability tend to encourage excessive leverage and risk-taking—culminating in what we now call a “Minsky moment.” This phenomenon is when a rapid unwinding of financial positions triggers broader economic distress.10
    Ultimately, it took the Global Financial Crisis to bring home just how deeply the financial system and macroeconomic dynamics are intertwined, as evidenced by the explosion of research on financial stability and financial frictions. Models incorporating financial intermediaries, leverage cycles, and endogenous risk became more central to macroeconomic analysis, while empirical work confirmed the critical role of credit booms in preceding financial crises.11
    Over the past few years, macroeconomic research, to which some of you have contributed, continued to incorporate important financial stability aspects, ranging from endogenous leverage and bank runs to models studying the effects of monetary policy in the presence of heterogenous banks.12 Much of this research is also being done at the Fed, and it has informed our current work in the area. I thought it would be helpful to describe some of that work to you.
    Monitoring Financial StabilityCentral banks around the world routinely monitor the financial system for risks, because financial crises can lead to severe recessions. A cornerstone of the Fed’s work in this area is our framework for monitoring and assessing vulnerabilities. The most recent version of our semiannual Financial Stability Report (FSR) was released last month.13 Our framework distinguishes between two fundamental elements: shocks and vulnerabilities.14 Shocks are adverse events that by their nature are difficult to predict and, unfortunately, are all too frequent. Recent examples include the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and many geopolitical events that still warrant headlines. Vulnerabilities, which are aspects of the financial system that would amplify stress, tend to build up over time and can be identified and assessed. We monitor vulnerabilities in four key categories: asset valuation pressures, household and business borrowing, financial-sector leverage, and liquidity and maturity transformation, or funding risks. Policies to build resilience in the financial system are appropriately targeted at reducing vulnerabilities, because they do not require foreknowledge of any particular shocks.
    The financial cycle is recognized as being lower in frequency than the business cycle, with vulnerabilities building over years and typically only to be crystallizing in a short-lived stress event—the classic dynamic of going up by the stairs but down by the elevator.15 Further, as I mentioned earlier, vulnerabilities often build during prolonged expansions as, for example, investor optimism leads to greater tolerance of risk, excess borrowing, and increased leverage. The realization of stress and associated contraction can put these forces into reverse, resulting in decreased vulnerabilities. But the economic and human costs of such an adjustment can be significant.
    Financial Stability AssessmentOur most recent FSR reflects data and information generally available as of April 11, a point when financial market volatility and risk-off sentiment were elevated, with, for example, the S&P 500 having fallen more than 10 percent from its prior peak. Nonetheless, the report echoes many of the themes that we had been highlighting for the previous couple of years. I will discuss our most recent report in the context of some of those themes and illustrate a few lessons from the April volatility.
    Let me start with one theme that is quite encouraging. Generally, businesses and household finances are in solid shape. Most households are able to service their debt, and overall household debt relative to GDP has declined over the past five years. While we are seeing some stress among low-to-moderate-income borrowers and those with subprime credit scores, the risks posed by overall household borrowing remain moderate. Stable balance sheets and solid income have supported the ability of most nonfinancial businesses to service their debt. At the same time, smaller and riskier businesses—which tend to have lower debt service capacity, measured by the interest coverage ratio—are sensitive to income shocks.
    Most households are able to service their debt, and overall household debt relative to GDP has declined over the past five years. While vulnerabilities posed by overall household borrowing remain moderate, we are seeing some signs of stress among borrowers with subprime credit scores, which include many low- and moderate-income households. For instance, auto and credit card delinquency rates for borrowers with subprime credit scores increased substantially in 2022 and 2023 and are at or near their highest levels since the financial crisis. More generally, a sufficiently large income shock could strain the debt-servicing capacity of a broader group of households and push up delinquency and default rates, resulting in more substantial losses for lenders.
    Asset prices have fluctuated significantly over the past several years. Although we do look at asset prices, we tend to focus more on “valuations pressures,” which essentially measure how much prices differ from a variety of benchmarks. For instance, we care whether prices, relative to measures of risk, appear to be out of step with historical experience. In such circumstances, the potential price declines—should risk appetite revert to historical averages—would be larger than normal. Additionally, when the compensation for risk is low, borrowing or leverage could also increase and put further upward pressure on valuations. Coming into the April volatility, valuation pressures were elevated, consistent with the strong economy.
    Allow me to discuss our view of valuation pressures in property markets and come back shortly to the imprint of the April volatility on stock and bond prices. The significant rise in house prices during and after the pandemic has slowed substantially over the past couple of years, but price-to-rent ratios and model-based valuation measures are around the record levels last seen in 2005. Two key differences are that lax underwriting standards do not appear to have driven the increase in house prices and owners’ equity appears to be more solid, using both price- and model-based measures.
    We also noted that commercial real estate (CRE) valuations had been elevated going into 2022 but declined significantly through the period of higher interest rates and deteriorating CRE fundamentals. Prices and fundamentals appear to have moderated, and valuations are closer to historical norms. Given the significant volume of CRE that is maturing and will need to be refinanced, I am continuing to watch this market closely.
    Let me now turn to financial system leverage and funding risks. Capital in the banking system continues to be at historically high levels. However, as you no doubt remember, the intersection of interest rate and liquidity risks played a prominent role in the March 2023 banking-sector stress. High reliance on funding from uninsured deposits was a key vulnerability among some of the most affected banks, including those that failed. When higher interest rates resulted in substantial unrealized losses, we observed rapid outflows of uninsured deposits from a handful of banks. In the April FSR, we describe how over the past couple of years, the share of uninsured deposits relative to total bank funding has decreased for most banks, especially for those that previously relied heavily on uninsured deposits. This outcome is a welcome signal. However, sizable exposure to fixed-rate assets remains, suggesting ongoing exposure to interest rate risk.
    Since 2019, our FSRs have noted another development in markets—a decline in market liquidity. “Market liquidity” refers to the cost of quickly buying or selling a desired quantity of a security and being able to do so without having a significant effect on the market price. During periods of asset-price volatility, it is not surprising that liquidity often declines, so we consider whether market liquidity measures are low given the level of volatility. As discussed in previous FSRs, some evidence indicates that a number of measures of liquidity have shifted down over time, particularly in Treasury markets, where volatility has also been relatively high.16 We have done a lot of work, as have others, to analyze the causes and what lower liquidity in normal times may imply for market functioning during periods of severe stress. One area we are exploring is broker-dealers’ intermediation capacity, which has been affected by a number of factors, including elevated Treasury issuance and increased client demand for secured financing—which is typically collateralized by Treasury securities.
    With that backdrop, let me now turn to last month’s events. The details of the tariff announcements in early April were unexpected. Corporate earnings calls and our own broad-based market outreach suggest three areas of concern among businesses and market participants: One, significantly heightened uncertainty, two, an increased risk of a slowdown in economic activity, and three, prospects for higher inflation. With subsequent announcements some of this uncertainty has ebbed. Nonetheless, the episode offers some insights relevant for financial stability.
    Asset prices fell sharply, particularly in equities, but also in corporate bond and other securities markets. By the second week of April, major stock indices had declined almost 20 percent from their mid-February peaks, with over half of the declines coming in a seven-day period in early April. The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s Volatility Index, the VIX, was extremely elevated through this period, closing at levels not seen since the onset of the pandemic. Some of the decline in equity prices likely reflected a change in the economic outlook, but investor risk appetite likely fell as well, although this is harder to assess because data on changes in earnings expectations arrive with a lag. As we have flagged in previous FSRs, large asset-price declines, whatever the cause, can trigger margin spirals and other feedback loops that are self-reinforcing, if there is excessive leverage or liquidity mismatches in the system.
    Highly leveraged investors, including some large hedge funds, have rapidly unwound positions during past bouts of market volatility. While such dynamics likely contributed to some of the price declines in early April, the overall volumes appear limited. As Roberto Perli, the manager of the Federal Open Market Committee’s System Open Market Account, noted in a recent speech, while there is evidence of some unwinding of the swap spread trade, it was orderly. He said there is no evidence of an unwinding of the cash-futures basis trade, a large and highly leveraged trade that exploits small differences in the prices of Treasury securities and Treasury futures contracts. This stability likely owes in part to the resilience of funding markets through this episode.17
    Large asset-price declines also prompt outflows from open-end mutual funds. Some funds specialize in relatively illiquid assets, such as high-yield corporate bonds or leveraged loans. This is another potential vulnerability we have tracked over time, because a large redemption wave can overwhelm these funds’ cash reserves, leading to fire-sale dynamics in the underlying markets. And redemptions from some funds were quite large in April, particularly given that, in contrast with previous episodes, the general level of interest rates did not fall. Nonetheless, funds were able to handle these redemptions without contributing to stress in corporate debt markets.
    Treasury markets also continued to function in an orderly fashion throughout the episode. To be sure, market depth and other liquidity measures decreased from already low levels, but the decline was in line with what would be anticipated, given the elevated volatility in markets. This outcome is in contrast to what we saw in March 2020, when trading became much more difficult than would have been expected, given the level of volatility because of the broad market dysfunction that characterized the onset of the pandemic.
    The episode provided a real-life example of the large asset-price declines and sudden bursts of volatility that can result from shocks when asset valuations are stretched, as well as the importance of stable and resilient funding markets in absorbing shocks. The experience will surely help us hone our ongoing assessment of financial system vulnerabilities and areas of resilience.
    ConclusionI would like to conclude my remarks with a few examples of research areas that I think would be interesting and helpful to me and, perhaps, to other policymakers.
    First, I understand the difficulty of developing macroeconomic models in which financial risk is endogenously determined by leverage and liquidity mismatch rather than a reliance on exogenous risk shocks. But I hope that the prospect of making highly impactful policy-relevant contributions will induce researchers to dig in on this topic.
    Second, episodes of strain in U.S. Treasury markets over the past several years illustrate the importance of nonbank financial intermediaries, a term that encompasses hedge funds, mutual funds, life insurers, finance companies, and money market funds. This is particularly true in the U.S., where credit is provided by a combination of banks and nonbanks that are often connected through counterparty relationships or common exposure. It would be helpful to have deeper insights into the potential macroeconomic consequences of the shifting interaction between banks and nonbanks.
    Third, relatedly, efforts to incorporate private credit and private equity into macroeconomic models could spur important lines of research. Layered leverage in intermediation chains involving private equity, private credit funds, banks, and businesses can transmit and amplify real-economy shocks to different parts of the financial sector. In addition, private equity and private credit are macro-relevant sectors that can transmit shocks to the real economy.
    I understand that it is easy to throw out a research wish list and walk away, leaving the substantial modeling and operational challenges to others. But I do think it is worth developing new tools and approaches for better characterizing our evolving macro-financial reality. I hope some of you and your graduate students will take up the challenge.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to join you today.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text
    2. See Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (2024), Financial Stability Report (Washington: Board of Governors, April). Return to text
    3. See John Maynard Keynes (1936), The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (London: Macmillan). Return to text
    4. See Friedrich A. Hayek (1931), Prices and Production (London: George Routledge & Sons). Return to text
    5. See J. R. Hicks (1937), “Mr. Keynes and the ‘Classics’; A Suggested Interpretation,” Econometrica, vol. 5 (April), pp. 147–59; and Franco Modigliani (1944), “Liquidity Preference and the Theory of Interest and Money,” Econometrica, vol. 12 (January), pp. 45–88. Return to text
    6. See Joan Robinson (1956), The Accumulation of Capital (London: Macmillan). Return to text
    7. See Milton Friedman and Anna Jacobson Schwartz (1963), A Monetary History of the United States, 1867–1960 (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press). Return to text
    8. See Robert M. Solow (1956), “A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 70 (February), pp. 65–94; and Finn E. Kydland and Edward C. Prescott (1982), “Time to Build and Aggregate Fluctuations,” Econometrica, vol. 50 (November), pp. 1345–70. Return to text
    9. See Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig (1983), “Bank Runs, Deposit Insurance, and Liquidity,” Journal of Political Economy, vol. 91 (June), pp. 401–19; Ben S. Bernanke (1983), “Nonmonetary Effects of the Financial Crisis in the Propagation of the Great Depression,” American Economic Review, vol. 73 (June), pp. 257–76; and Ben S. Bernanke, Mark Gertler, and Simon Gilchrist (1983), “The Financial Accelerator in a Quantitative Business Cycle Framework,” in John B. Taylor and Michael Woodford, eds., vol. 1: Handbook of Macroeconomics (Amsterdam: Elsevier), pp. 1341–93. Return to text
    10. See Hyman P. Minsky (1982), Can “It” Happen Again? Essays on Instability and Finance (Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe).  Return to text
    11. See, for example, Mark Gertler and Nobuhiro Kiyotaki (2010), “Financial Intermediation and Credit Policy in Business Cycle Analysis” in Benjamin M. Friedman and Michael Woodford, eds., vol. 3: Handbook of Monetary Economics (Amsterdam: Elsevier), pp. 547–99; Markus K. Brunnermeier and Yuliy Sannikov (2014), “A Macroeconomic Model with a Financial Sector,” American Economic Review, vol. 104 (February), pp. 379–421; Mark Gertler and Simon Gilchrist (2018), “What Happened: Financial Factors in the Great Recession,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 32 (Summer), pp. 3–30; Òscar Jordà, Moritz Schularick, and Alan M. Taylor (2013), “When Credit Bites Back,” Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, vol. 45 (December), pp. 3–28; Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff (2009), This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press). Return to text
    12. See, for example, Mark Gertler, Nobuhiro Kiyotaki, and Andrea Prestipino (2020), “A Macroeconomic Model with Financial Panics,” Review of Economic Studies, vol. 87 (January), pp. 240–88; and Marco Bellifemine, Rustam Jamilov, and Tommaso Monacelli (2022), “Monetary Policy with Heterogeneous Banks,” CEPR Discussion Paper No. 17129 (Washington: Center for Economic and Policy Research, March 22). Return to text
    13. See Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (2025), Financial Stability Report (PDF) (Washington: Board of Governors, April). Return to text
    14. Details of the approach are outlined in the framework developed by Tobias Adrian, Daniel Covitz, and Nellie Liang (2013), “Financial Stability Monitoring (PDF),” staff report no. 601 (New York: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, February; revised June 2014). Return to text
    15. See Claudio Borio (2014), “The Financial Cycle and Macroeconomics: What Have We Learnt?” Journal of Banking & Finance, vol. 45 (August), pp. 182–98. Return to text
    16. See, for example, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (2023), Financial Stability Report (PDF) (Washington: Board of Governors, May); and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (2024), Financial Stability Report (PDF) (Washington: Board of Governors, November). Return to text
    17. See Roberto Perli (2025), “Recent Developments in Treasury Market Liquidity and Funding Conditions,” speech delivered at the 8th Short-Term Funding Markets Conference, sponsored by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, May 9. Return to text

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • Musk’s DOGE expanding his Grok AI in U.S. government, raising conflict concerns

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE team is expanding use of his artificial intelligence chatbot Grok in the U.S. federal government to analyze data, said three people familiar with the matter, potentially violating conflict-of-interest laws and putting at risk sensitive information on millions of Americans.

    Such use of Grok could reinforce concerns among privacy advocates and others that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team appears to be casting aside long-established protections over the handling of sensitive data as President Donald Trump shakes up the U.S. bureaucracy.

    One of the three people familiar with the matter, who has knowledge of DOGE’s activities, said Musk’s team was using a customized version of the Grok chatbot. The apparent aim was for DOGE to sift through data more efficiently, this person said. “They ask questions, get it to prepare reports, give data analysis.”

    The second and third person said DOGE staff also told Department of Homeland Security officials to use it even though Grok had not been approved within the department.

    Reuters could not determine the specific data that had been fed into the generative AI tool or how the custom system was set up. Grok was developed by xAI, a tech operation that Musk launched in 2023 on his social media platform, X.

    If the data was sensitive or confidential government information, the arrangement could violate security and privacy laws, said five specialists in technology and government ethics.

    It could also give the Tesla and SpaceX CEO access to valuable nonpublic federal contracting data at agencies he privately does business with or be used to help train Grok, a process in which AI models analyze troves of data, the experts said. Musk could also gain an unfair competitive advantage over other AI service providers from use of Grok in the federal government, they added.

    Musk, the White House and xAI did not respond to requests for comment. A Homeland Security spokesperson denied DOGE had pressed DHS staff to use Grok. “DOGE hasn’t pushed any employees to use any particular tools or products,” said the spokesperson, who did not respond to further questions. “DOGE is here to find and fight waste, fraud and abuse.”

    Musk’s xAI, an industry newcomer compared to rivals OpenAI and Anthropic, says on its website that it may monitor Grok users for “specific business purposes.” “AI’s knowledge should be all-encompassing and as far-reaching as possible,” the website says.

    As part of Musk’s stated push to eliminate government waste and inefficiency, the billionaire and his DOGE team have accessed heavily safeguarded federal databases that store personal information on millions of Americans. Experts said that data is typically off limits to all but a handful of officials because of the risk that it could be sold, lost, leaked, violate the privacy of Americans or expose the country to security threats.

    Typically, data sharing within the federal government requires agency authorization and the involvement of government specialists to ensure compliance with privacy, confidentiality and other laws.

    Analyzing sensitive federal data with Grok would mark an important shift in the work of DOGE, a team of software engineers and others connected to Musk. They have overseen the firing of thousands of federal workers, seized control of sensitive data systems and sought to dismantle agencies in the name of combating alleged waste, fraud and abuse.

    “Given the scale of data that DOGE has amassed and given the numerous concerns of porting that data into software like Grok, this to me is about as serious a privacy threat as you get,” said Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, a nonprofit that advocates for privacy.

    His concerns include the risk that government data will leak back to xAI, a private company, and a lack of clarity over who has access to this custom version of Grok.

    DOGE’s access to federal information could give Grok and xAI an edge over other potential AI contractors looking to provide government services, said Cary Coglianese, an expert on federal regulations and ethics at the University of Pennsylvania. “The company has a financial interest in insisting that their product be used by federal employees,” he said.

    “APPEARANCE OF SELF-DEALING”

    In addition to using Grok for its own analysis of government data, DOGE staff told DHS officials over the last two months to use Grok even though it had not been approved for use at the sprawling agency, said the second and third person. DHS oversees border security, immigration enforcement, cybersecurity and other sensitive national security functions.

    If federal employees are officially given access to Grok for such use, the federal government has to pay Musk’s organization for access, the people said.

    “They were pushing it to be used across the department,” said one of the people.

    Reuters could not independently establish if and how much the federal government would have been charged to use Grok. Reporters also couldn’t determine if DHS workers followed the directive by DOGE staff to use Grok or ignored the request.

    DHS, under the previous Biden administration, created policies last year allowing its staff to use specific AI platforms, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the Claude chatbot developed by Anthropic and another AI tool developed by Grammarly. DHS also created an internal DHS chatbot.

    The aim was to make DHS among the first federal agencies to embrace the technology and use generative AI, which can write research reports and carry out other complex tasks in response to prompts. Under the policy, staff could use the commercial bots for non-sensitive, non-confidential data, while DHS’s internal bot could be fed more sensitive data, records posted on DHS’s website show.

    In May, DHS officials abruptly shut down employee access to all commercial AI tools – including ChatGPT – after workers were suspected of improperly using them with sensitive data, said the second and third sources. Instead, staff can still use the internal DHS AI tool. Reuters could not determine whether this prevented DOGE from promoting Grok at DHS.

    DHS did not respond to questions about the matter.

    Musk, the world’s richest person, told investors last month that he would reduce his time with DOGE to a day or two a week starting in May. As a special government employee, he can only serve for 130 days. It’s unclear when that term ends. If he reduces his hours to part time, he could extend his term beyond May. He has said, however, that his DOGE team will continue with their work as he winds down his role at the White House.

    If Musk was directly involved in decisions to use Grok, it could violate a criminal conflict-of-interest statute which bars officials — including special government employees — from participating in matters that could benefit them financially, said Richard Painter, ethics counsel to former Republican President George W. Bush and a University of Minnesota professor.

    “This gives the appearance that DOGE is pressuring agencies to use software to enrich Musk and xAI, and not to the benefit of the American people,” said Painter. The statute is rarely prosecuted but can result in fines or jail time.

    If DOGE staffers were pushing Grok’s use without Musk’s involvement, for instance to ingratiate themselves with the billionaire, that would be ethically problematic but not a violation of the conflict-of-interest statute, said Painter. “We can’t prosecute it, but it would be the job of the White House to prevent it. It gives the appearance of self-dealing.”

    The push to use Grok coincides with a larger DOGE effort led by two staffers on Musk’s team, Kyle Schutt and Edward Coristine, to use AI in the federal bureaucracy, said two other people familiar with DOGE’s operations. Coristine, a 19-year-old who has used the online moniker “Big Balls,” is one of DOGE’s highest-profile members.

    Schutt and Coristine did not respond to requests for comment.

    DOGE staffers have attempted to gain access to DHS employee emails in recent months and ordered staff to train AI to identify communications suggesting an employee is not “loyal” to Trump’s political agenda, the two sources said. Reuters could not establish whether Grok was used for such surveillance.

    In the last few weeks, a group of roughly a dozen workers at a Department of Defense agency were told by a supervisor that an algorithmic tool was monitoring some of their computer activity, according to two additional people briefed on the conversations.

    Reuters also reviewed two separate text message exchanges by people who were directly involved in the conversations. The sources asked that the specific agency not be named out of concern over potential retribution. They were not aware of what tool was being used.

    Using AI to identify the personal political beliefs of employees could violate civil service laws aimed at shielding career civil servants from political interference, said Coglianese, the expert on federal regulations and ethics at the University of Pennsylvania.

    In a statement, the Department of Defense said the department’s DOGE team had not been involved in any network monitoring nor had DOGE been “directed” to use any AI tools, including Grok. “It’s important to note that all government computers are inherently subject to monitoring as part of the standard user agreement,” said Kingsley Wilson, a Pentagon spokesperson.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI USA: North Carolina Museum of History Presents Awards to Young Historians at State Convention

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: North Carolina Museum of History Presents Awards to Young Historians at State Convention

    North Carolina Museum of History Presents Awards to Young Historians at State Convention
    jejohnson6

    Young historians from across the state gathered at the North Carolina Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Asheboro for the 2025 Tar Heel Junior Historian Association (THJHA) Annual Convention hosted by the North Carolina Museum of History.

    Typically held at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, this year’s event took place at the zoo due to ongoing renovations at the museum. Featured in the fall 2024 issue of Tar Heel Junior Historian magazine, the zoo offered an exciting venue for students to explore North Carolina’s natural and cultural heritage.

    “This year’s convention was unlike any other—we traded exhibit halls for habitats, and students loved it,” said Colleen MacGilvray, program coordinator for the Tar Heel Junior Historian Association. “Seeing junior historians explore the zoo with compasses, journals, and trading cards in hand was a powerful reminder that history is everywhere. Their curiosity and creativity show how the museum’s mission continues to reach learners in new and unexpected places.”

    Junior historians arrived with their clubs and families, picked up field activity kits, and explored the zoo using journals, compasses, and the new “Collecting Carolina Cards” featuring North Carolina state animals. Some students, like the Polar Bear Junior Historians of Union County, even visited exhibits tied to their club names.

    Authorized by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1953, THJHA is sponsored by the North Carolina Museum of History, part of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The association is a free program open to students in grades 4–12 and supported by a statewide network of clubs. Each club must have at least one adult adviser, and may be based in public, private or home schools, or in other organizations such as museums, historical societies, 4-H groups, and scouting groups.

    To learn more or start a club, visit ncmuseumofhistory.org.

    Student and Chapter THJHA Award Winners

    Awards are given for outstanding student projects and chapters. This year’s competition consisted of a photography category. The photography competition only accepted individual entries. Groups could submit a project in the History in Action Contest.

    Chapter of the Year
    The 2025 Chapter of the Year goes to the Silverdale History Club, Silverdale Elementary School, Onslow County.

    Rookie Chapter of the Year
    The 2025 Rookie Chapter of the Year goes to the Polar Bear Junior Historians, Union Preparatory Academy at Indian Trail, Union County.

    County-by-County List of Winners

    Buncombe County 2025 THJHA Winners
    Winner from Reynolds Mountain Christian Academy

    • Ella Rose Wooton won first place in the N.C. Historic Architecture Photography Contest, Architectural Details category.
      The Reynolds Mountain Junior Historians received recognition for their History in Action project, “Cleaning Project at the Smith-McDowell House.”

    Chatham County 2025 THJHA Winners
    Winners from NC Homeschool Adventures

    • Barnaby Shedor won third place in the N.C. Historic Architecture Photography Contest, Commercial/Industrial Buildings category.
    • Wally Shedor won first place in the N.C. Historic Architecture Photography Contest, Monuments/Markers category.
    • Heidi Young won second place in the N.C. Historic Architecture Photography Contest, Monuments/Markers category.

    Nash County 2025 THJHA Winners
    Winners from Rocky Mount Academy

    • Michaela Boone won third place in the N.C. Historic Architecture Photography Contest, Institutional/Public Buildings categories.
    • The RMA Junior Historians received recognition for their History in Action project, “Rocky Mount Academy Veterans Day Parade.”

    Northampton County 2025 THJHA Winners
    Winners from Oak and Magnolia Home School

    • Micaylah Johnson won second place in the N.C. Historic Architecture Photography Contest, Institutional/Public Buildings category.
    • Damon Johnson won second place in the N.C. Historic Architecture Photography Contest, Houses category.

    Surry County 2025 THJHA Winners
    Winners from Mount Airy Museum of Regional History

    • Madeline Caudill won first place in the N.C. Historic Architecture Photography Contest, Houses category.
      The Jesse Franklin Pioneers received recognition for their History in Action project, “Pilot Mountain State Park Oral History.”

    Union County 2025 THJHA Winners
    Winner from Union Preparatory Academy at Indian Trail

    • David Quintero won second place in the N.C. Historic Architecture Photography Contest, Architectural Details category.

    Wake County 2025 THJHA Winners
    Winner from Underwood Magnet Elementary School

    • Logan Lenkeit won first place in the N.C. Historic Architecture Photography Contest, Institutional/Public Buildings category.

    Wilson County 2025 THJHA Winners
    Winners from Trabem Conservatory

    • William Beam won third place in the N.C. Historic Architecture Photography Contest, Architectural Details category.
      Homeschoolers Honoring Ancestors received recognition for their History in Action project, “Restoring Odd Fellows.”

    Yadkin County 2025 THJHA Winners
    Winners from Forbush Middle School

    • Stella Matthews won first place in the N.C. Historic Architecture Photography Contest, Commercial/Industrial Buildings category.
    • Camden Matthews won second place in the N.C. Historic Architecture Photography Contest, Commercial/Industrial Buildings category.
    • Annie Marcum won third place in the N.C. Historic Architecture Photography Contest, Monuments/Markers category.

    About the N.C. Museum of History

    The North Carolina Museum of History, a Smithsonian Affiliate, fosters a passion for North Carolina history. This museum collects and preserves artifacts of state history and educates the public on the history of the state and the nation through exhibits and educational programs. In 2024, more than 275,000 people visited the museum to see some of the 150,000 artifacts in the museum collection. Located in the heart of downtown Raleigh, the North Carolina Museum of History serves as the flagship historical institution of the Division of State History Museums. This division, part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, includes seven regional history museums dedicated to preserving and interpreting the stories of North Carolina’s past.

    About the Smithsonian Affiliations Network

    Since 2006, the North Carolina Museum of History has been a Smithsonian Affiliate, part of a select group of museums and cultural, educational and arts organizations that share Smithsonian resources with the nation. The Smithsonian Affiliations network is a national outreach program that develops long-term collaborative partnerships with museums and other educational and cultural organizations to enrich communities with Smithsonian resources. More information is available at affiliations.si.edu.

    About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

    The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.

    The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the N.C. Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.

    May 21, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Exploring 250 Years of Freedom: K-12 Educators From Around the State Selected for the America 250 NC Teacher Fellowship

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Exploring 250 Years of Freedom: K-12 Educators From Around the State Selected for the America 250 NC Teacher Fellowship

    Exploring 250 Years of Freedom: K-12 Educators From Around the State Selected for the America 250 NC Teacher Fellowship
    jejohnson6

     The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) proudly announces the selection of the 2025 America 250 NC Teacher Fellows. This unique, seven-month professional development initiative for K-12 educators is part of the state’s America 250 NC programming and will help ensure classrooms all around the state mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in engaging ways.

    Fifteen exceptional middle and high school educators from each region of North Carolina have been selected for the 2025 Fellowship, representing varied backgrounds, experiences, disciplines, and locations.

    “This fellowship will provide teachers with tools and resources to help students understand our state’s history and the important role it played in the American Revolution,” said Pamela B. Cashwell, secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. “Throughout 2025, we are focused on connecting our department’s educational resources to as many teachers and students as possible through robust America 250 NC programming, including this fellowship.”

    In a thematic and cross-disciplinary approach to history education, the America 250 NC Teacher Fellowship will broaden its scope beyond just the years of the American Revolution, as Fellows study how inhabitants of North Carolina throughout the last three centuries have interacted with the nation’s most cherished ideal: freedom. Fellows will visit N.C. Historic Sites around the state and engage in virtual learning throughout the seven-month fellowship to deepen their historical scholarship and enhance their teaching practices. This opportunity also aims to create a community of learning where educators can network with other historians, scholars, cultural institutions, and authors from around the state.

    The Fellows will also play a pivotal role in advising DNCR on meeting the evolving needs of K-12 students and teachers. Their insights will shape the implementation of North Carolina’s America 250 initiative and its accompanying resources in classrooms statewide.

    The 2025 America 250 NC Teacher Fellows are:

        • Tim Barnsback, Burke Middle College, Burke County Schools

        • Majulee Edwards, West Craven Middle School, Craven County Schools

        • Ijeoma Eke, Oberlin Middle School, Wake County Schools

        • Jessi Eriksen, The Experiential School of Greensboro

        • Emily Grogan, Watauga High School, Watauga County Schools

        • Kristen Kane, Supporting Multiple Schools, Duplin County Schools

        • Jennah King, East Middle School, Montgomery County Schools

        • Michael Llaury, Smithfield-Selma High School, Johnston County Schools

        • Eustacia Lowry-Jones, Old Main STREAM Academy

        • Elizabeth Muller, Riverside Middle School, Martin County Schools

        • Rayshawn Powell, Cardinal Charter Academy

        • Triana Rei Kraitz, Martin Millennium Academy, Edgecombe County Schools

        • Colin Richardson, Green Hope High School, Wake County Public Schools

        • Alex Rowe, Crest High School, Cleveland County Schools

        • Tinisha Shaw, Supporting Multiple Schools, Guilford County Schools

    Secretary Cashwell noted: “This program stands as a testament to the commitment of DNCR to our state’s talented teaching professionals. As we approach this significant milestone in American history, this collaborative fellowship will foster a deeper understanding of and interest in North Carolina’s place in history and will support educators around the state in inspiring the next generation of engaged and informed leaders.”

    The America 250 NC Teacher Fellowship is sponsored by the NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources in partnership with Carolina K-12. To learn more about DNCR’s America 250 NC initiatives, visit America250.NC.gov.

    About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
    The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.

    The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.
    May 23, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hear from the Health Experts About the Human Harm of HHS’ Mass Terminations 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) this week held a two-day spotlight forum, entitled “Trump’s Destruction of HHS: Mass Firings, Reorganization, and the Human Harm Caused.”  The forum examined the human harm caused by the Trump Administration’s sweeping reorganization and mass terminations at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  
    Watch the forums on Senator Welch’s YouTube. 
    Tuesday’s forum featured testimony from Dr. Robert Califf, the former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Dr. Meg Sullivan, the former Acting Secretary for Administration for Children and Families (ACF); Ms. Chiquita Brooks La-Sure, the former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); and Ms. Carole Johnson, the former Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  
    Wednesday’s forum featured Dr. Anne Schuchat, the former Principal Deputy Director, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Ms. Trina Dutta, the former Chief of Staff, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); Dr. Sean Bruna, the former Senior Advisor, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); Professor Alison Barkoff, the former Administrator for Administration for Community Living (ACL); and Dr. Jeremy Berg – former Director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at NIH.  
    Watch the livestreams of the hearings below, and hear directly from the health experts: 
    “The multiple rounds of firings that have occurred have had a significant impact on both the physical ability of the FDA to do its work and the morale of the organization…It’s hard for me to imagine a more effective approach to demoralizing a workforce. The bottom line is that the firings have left the FDA with not enough people to do the work, and we lost so many of the most experienced people that making the most complex judgements needed in the day-to-day work of the agency and multiple-regulated industries,” said Dr. Robert Califf, Former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Agency (FDA). “These issues are leading to, first: many of aspects of the industry looking to go overseas to develop their products. And perhaps, most importantly—China is now emboldened to overtake the United States in the infrastructure needed for this vital part of our public health and the economy,” 
    “Gutting the staff that administer ACF programs will make children, families, and communities suffer. In addition, when the programs are cut or disappear, everyone feels the impact and longer wait lists, fewer providers, and local organizations stretched to the breaking point,” said Dr. Meg Sullivan, Former Acting Assistant Secretary of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “ACF programs, including those not mentioned just now, support the services communities rely on in every corner of America. They can be the difference for your child care center staying open, your local diaper bank having supplies, meal delivery for older adults, or for a child remaining safely at home. We should be investing in our children and families, but firing child well-being experts at ACF and proposing senseless cuts will unquestionably cause them harm.” 
    “The current proposals drown both Medicaid and ACA Marketplace in excessive red tape that will hurt everyone—including seniors, mothers, children, those with disabilities, and it will cause more uncertainty, more churn, and more people delaying lifesaving treatments,” said Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “The proposals in the House Reconciliation bill that target both Medicaid and the Marketplace seek to undermine the very progress that the Affordable Care Act sought to achieve in making our health care system more affordable and accessible to everyone regardless of their income or health care needs. The bill aims to increase friction in the health care system for enrollees and does so at the same time that many of the staff, who could help reduce this friction, were fired. These changes not only hurt the millions of people that rely on those programs, but our providers and, in fact, our entire health care system.” 
    “Rather than strengthen this essential safety net, the Administration is prioritizing dismantling it. The Administration has already slashed health center program staffing, put the widely acclaimed pediatrician who oversaw maternal and child health programs on leave, fired the transplant surgeon recruited to help reform the nation’s transplant system, and eliminated entire offices that are essential to any organization — like HR and communications,” said Carole Johnson, Former Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). “If the current Administration follows through on its plans, HRSA will cease to exist and the families and communities in your states that most depend on this help will lose it just as the majority looks to make it harder for them to get and keep Medicaid coverage. The safety net may never have been more fragile than it is at this moment.” 
    “The cuts are dangerous for the American public. You, your families and communities are less safe. If you are pregnant, your risk of dying after you deliver will be higher because the Perinatal Quality Collaborative was cut and the pregnancy risk factor assessment monitoring system, or PRAMS was also eliminated. If you have a toddler, they’ll have a higher chance of losing IQ points to lead poisoning because CDC’s lead poisoning program was canceled. Last year, more than 500 children were affected by lead contamination of cinnamon flavored applesauce and CDC led the response. Next year there will be no one to call,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, Former Principal Deputy Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 
    “Proposed cuts of more than $1 billion threaten to stymie progress just as we’re seeing real, measurable results. Such cuts to SAMHSA’s discretionary grant portfolio will impact on-the-ground programs that serve millions of Americans. SAMHSA’s discretionary grants serve as a powerful innovation engine, which have allowed the government to scale up interventions like coordinated specialty care for first episode psychosis, peer support services, and crisis care. Cuts to programs like those that support pregnant and postpartum women with substance use disorder, that foster mental health awareness training, and that promote the wellness of young children, would force states to use their block grant dollars to pick up the slack. And at a time when looming Medicaid cuts will put even more pressure on those block grants, communities will be left in a precarious position as they address their mental health and substance use disorder needs,” said Trina Dutta, Former Chief of Staff of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). 
    “Dismantling AHRQ will have nationwide consequences. It weakens evidence-based care. It hinders health care from addressing emerging threats and dismantles grant programs that support current research and the training of future researchers. It eliminates mandatory funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund, requiring an Affordable Care Act amendment, and strips vital tools from state and local health systems working to improve care. In short, the two applied science strands that facilitate medical progress and aid in implementing scientific innovations in our healthcare systems would be lost,” said Dr. Sean Bruna, Former Senior Advisor to the director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).  
    “Dismantling the Administration for Community Living and cutting its programs will devastate the tens of millions of older adults and disabled people who rely on them to stay in their own homes and communities,” said Alison Barkoff, a George Washington University professor who led ACL during the Biden Administration. “Cuts to ACL’s programs will force people into institutions like nursing homes, taking away their independence and increasing costs to programs like Medicaid and Medicare.”       
     “I can summarize the consequences of these terminations in one word: delay…Termination of grants management specialists may make it even harder and will affect all aspects of the NIH mission. The most time-sensitive component of NIH are clinical trials…A delay of a month or two might not seem like a lot, but many of the patients in these trials don’t have many months left. These treatments represent a chance for a strong, favorable outcome for individual patients and an opportunity for researchers to learn how to make these treatments work better in the future. I honestly cannot imagine how frustrating it must be for these patients and their loved ones,” said Dr. Jeremy Berg, Former Director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at NIH. “The number of research subjects and patients at the clinical center is down apparently by 30% or more. This prevents patients from receiving care, slows research, and is a colossal waste of resources for the world’s greatest research hospital. That this is all being done in the name of ‘efficiency’ would make George Orwell blush.” 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Russia is facing fresh sanctions, but Putin is used to dealing with a struggling economy

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Yerzhan Tokbolat, Lecturer in Finance, Queen’s University Belfast

    The UK and the EU have agreed to hit Russia with a raft of new economic sanctions after hopes of a ceasefire with Ukraine came to nothing. One French minister commented that it is time to “suffocate” the Russian economy.

    Since the country’s fullscale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, that economy has certainly suffered. Sanctions on Russia have already led to a depreciation of the rouble, high inflation, very high interest rates and a stagnating economy.

    But it remains unclear what effect any new measures will have. And Vladimir Putin has a history of riding out economic hardship.

    When he became president of Russia just over 25 years ago, the country’s economy was in dire straits. Attempts by his predecessors Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin to build a more open and capitalist system had not worked well for most Russian citizens.

    Instead, a rapid wave of privatisations, which reformers hoped would build strong institutions, had mostly benefited a small group of oligarchs who exploited a weak and corrupt state to seize key oil, gas and mineral assets.

    Those oligarchs resisted legal reform, moved wealth abroad, failed to invest in the domestic economy, and gradually gained control of major corporations and media, expanding their political influence. By 1995, nearly half of Russians were living in poverty.

    The 1998 crisis worsened the situation, as a global recession and falling commodity prices led to fiscal imbalances and doubts about Russia’s ability to service its debt and uphold the fixed exchange rate. The central bank raised interest rates to 150% to try and stabilise the rouble, but this failed.

    It eventually allowed the rouble to float, and the currency lost about two-thirds of its value. When he came to power in 2000, Putin was then confronted with the challenge of rebuilding the Russian economy.

    Luckily for him, between 2000 and 2008, an oil and gas boom drove GDP growth, increasing incomes, and allowing for early repayment of national debts. Putin – and national pride – received a boost.

    Rising energy revenues helped stabilise the economy and enabled the state to tighten its grip on the energy sector. By 2006, Gazprom accounted for 20% of government tax revenue.

    Putin then shifted his focus to Europe. With German support, the Nord Stream pipeline was completed in 2011, enabling direct gas exports to western Europe while bypassing Ukraine. This increased European dependence on Russian energy.

    But Putin’s oil and gas-driven economic model struggled to sustain growth, and by 2013, his approval ratings had fallen to their lowest point since 2000.

    The annexation of Crimea in 2014, along with a very expensive Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, temporarily boosted his popularity.

    Running on empty

    However, these accomplishments did little to address Russia’s core economic problems, particularly its failure to build a diversified economy.

    By 2018, Russia’s economy was again stagnant, with a weak currency and declining living standards, and Putin’s popularity fell in part due to unpopular budget-saving reforms, including raising the retirement age.

    There was widespread doubt about Putin’s model of lasting prosperity, which relied on state-led growth, but was marked by instability, resource dependence and growing geopolitical ambition.

    In this light, Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 appeared to be a familiar tactic to boost support. Indeed, his approval jumped to 83% after invading Ukraine, matching levels seen after the 2014 Crimea annexation. His ratings have remained high since, with recent polls still showing approval levels above 80%.

    But the Russian economy will still be a worry. Sustaining a “war economy”, where manufacturing and investment are focused on conflict cannot go on forever, particularly as the manufacturing product is being rapidly depleted as the Russian military uses it the field. And reliance on commodities has amplified the impact of sanctions, hitting key banks and energy firms such as Gazprom and Rosneft.

    Meanwhile, the US has significantly expanded its presence in Europe’s energy market, supplying nearly 50% of the EU’s liquid natural gas imports after tripling exports between 2021 and 2023.

    Major Russian pipeline projects such as Nord Stream 2 and Power of Siberia 2 remain in limbo. And the decline in oil prices in April 2025, the biggest since November 2021, poses further risks.

    If a ceasefire is agreed, a pause in the war could offer Russia the chance to regroup and recover economically. Sanctions are often temporary, and global demand for oil and gas remains strong. Some countries may re-engage in trade.

    But future economic stagnation could once again fuel aggression. Unless Russia undertakes structural reforms and redefines its role in the global economy by reducing reliance on resource exports and engaging more constructively with global markets, the cycle of confrontation may repeat itself, with far-reaching global consequences.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Russia is facing fresh sanctions, but Putin is used to dealing with a struggling economy – https://theconversation.com/russia-is-facing-fresh-sanctions-but-putin-is-used-to-dealing-with-a-struggling-economy-255732

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Freeze branding: the new body modification technique causes serious and irreversible harm

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Adam Taylor, Professor of Anatomy, Lancaster University

    If you’re a fan of the TV show Yellowstone, you’ll know the deal – you earn your place on the ranch by being branded. On the show, this means having a red-hot iron pressed into your flesh, leaving a permanent scar of loyalty to Yellowstone Dutton Ranch and its patriarch, John Dutton.

    In life imitating art, people are getting themselves branded, but instead of using heat, they are using freeze branding. The branding iron is cooled using dry ice, isopropyl alcohol or liquid nitrogen, and then pressed against the skin to leave a permanent mark.

    In 1966, Dr R. Keith Farrell at Washington State University developed freeze branding (also known as CryoBranding) as a less painful way to mark animals for identification. Aside from being less painful, it also produces less scarring than hot branding.

    Cattle skin is much thicker than human skin and can take more punishment. Scratches that would cause pain and bleeding in humans would barely mark the surface of cattle. Horse and cattle skin is anywhere between two and four times thicker than human skin.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    When a person is freeze branded, the super cold causes ice crystals to form inside skin cells. As the water inside the cells freezes, it expands and breaks the cells’ walls. This kills the cells and stops them from making melanin, the pigment that gives your skin and hair colour.

    Because of the relative thinness of human skin (2mm), it’s more likely to get badly burned from extreme cold. It can take as little as 20 seconds for liquid nitrogen to cause second, third and even fourth degree burns.

    These burns can lead to serious problems, such as infection, frostbite or even loss of fingers or limbs.

    Second, third and fourth degree burns can go deep enough to damage muscles, tendons and even bones. As these deeper tissues heal, scarring can form and cause long-term problems called contractures – a medical condition in which muscles, tendons or other soft tissues permanently tighten or shorten, causing restricted movement.

    This is a bigger risk if the branding is done near the arms or legs, and it might need physiotherapy or even surgery to fix.

    Like any serious burn, freeze-branding also increases the risk of dehydration. That’s because burns damage the skin’s protective barrier, and your body loses fluid while trying to heal from the trauma.

    As mentioned above, freeze branding destroys melanocytes, special skin cells that give your skin its colour.

    When you are exposed to sunlight – or the UV rays from a tanning bed – these cells produce more melanin to protect your skin. They pass this melanin to nearby skin cells, where it forms a kind of shield around the cell’s DNA to help prevent damage from UV rays. That’s why your skin tans after time in the sun. It’s your body’s way of protecting itself.

    If you permanently damage your melanocytes, this protective shield is lost. People with albinism, who don’t produce melanin, have a much higher risk of skin cancer for this reason. We don’t yet know all the long-term risks of losing melanocytes – but they could be serious.

    You’re not a cow

    There are strict safety protocols for branding animals. There are zero for humans. And in the UK, it’s illegal to brand people – whether with heat or cold.

    So if you’re looking for a statement piece, stick with tattoos or body art that has been tested and regulated and won’t put you at risk of burns, nerve damage or some types of cancer.

    Your skin is your largest organ with many important roles, including protecting your internal structures from germs and helping synthesise key vitamins. Don’t treat it like livestock.

    Adam Taylor 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. Freeze branding: the new body modification technique causes serious and irreversible harm – https://theconversation.com/freeze-branding-the-new-body-modification-technique-causes-serious-and-irreversible-harm-255786

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: History shows that Donald Trump is making a serious error in appeasing Vladimir Putin

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tim Luckhurst, Principal of South College, Durham University

    The policy of appeasement – strategic concessions to an aggressor that are designed to avoid war – is generally most closely associated in the UK with the Conservative leader Neville Chamberlain, prime minister between May 1937 and May 1940.

    When Chamberlain moved into 10 Downing Street, Adolf Hitler’s willingness to ignore international agreements was already apparent, having broken the Versailles treaty with a massive expansion of Germany’s armed forces, the occupation of the Rhineland.

    Faced with the prospect of Germany moving on Czechoslovakia, Chamberlain continued to work to appease Hitler by agreeing to territorial concessions in his favour. He believed that by appeasing the Führer, Europe could avoid war and save lives.

    Chamberlain’s failure, and the subsequent outbreak of the second world war after Germany’s invasion of Poland in September 1939, are recognised as evidence that the appeasement of expansionist nationalists always fails. Such leaders will simply take all that is offered and demand more.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    There are parallels with the relationship between the current US president, Donald Trump, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Trump and his senior officials have also repeatedly suggested that Ukraine should secure a peace deal by acquiescing to Putin’s demands, including for sovereign Ukrainian territory and assurances that Ukraine won’t be allowed to join Nato.

    This makes it seem as if Trump believes that peace can be achieved by appeasing Putin. Like Chamberlain at Munich, Trump has suggested offering the sovereign territory of an independent nation to appease a bully.

    Trump is not the first American president to make this mistake. Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served between March 1933 and April 1945, also tried to appease Hitler. The historian Frederick W. Marks III notes that “the keynote of his approach … beginning in 1933 was appeasement”.

    Before he was inaugurated, Roosevelt sought to persuade Sir Ronald Lindsay, the British ambassador to the US between 1930 and 1939, that Poland should be persuaded to concede the Polish Corridor to Germany. When German troops seized the Rhineland, Roosevelt’s White House made no protest.

    Between 1935 and 1937, Roosevelt made speeches condemning autocracy – but his actions did not match his words. In 1938, he appointed the appeaser Joseph Kennedy as US ambassador to the UK. Kennedy assured the German ambassador in London that he “sympathised not only with Germany’s racial policy but also with her economic goals”.

    In Berlin, the US ambassador, Hugh Wilson, insisted that defence of Czechoslovakia’s borders would be unrealistic. The Czechs should surrender the Sudetenland to Germany. Roosevelt continued his efforts to arrange a compromise peace when German forces seized Poland in September 1939.

    Echoes of the past

    The parallels continue. Confronted by Russia’s invasion of its democratic neighbour and relentless attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities, Trump’s response, shortly after taking office, was to bully the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and negotiate directly with Russia. This approach signally failed and the killing continued and even intensified.

    Now, following his two-hour conversation with Putin on Monday, Trump has abandoned his insistence on an unconditional 30-day ceasefire. He now insists that the war is not his to fix. The US will step back. It is another hard blow to Ukrainian hopes for negotiation and compromise.



    Read more:
    After another call with Putin, it looks like Trump has abandoned efforts to mediate peace in Ukraine

    To a much greater extent than Roosevelt, Trump appears to treat weakness as evidence of moral inadequacy. In a recent essay, Ivan Mikloš, the former deputy prime minister of Slovakia who has advised successive Ukrainian governments in various capacities, writes of what he sees as Trump’s “affinity for the Kremlin boss”. Miklos believes that Trump admires Putin, and concludes that:

    President Putin, of course, sees that Mr Trump has a soft spot for him. This does not deter him in his maximalist demands, it encourages him even more.

    The US president’s treatment of Zelensky in the Oval Office at the end of February, and repeated statements since, suggest he lacks the patience for diplomacy – a concern that has been widely reported. Trump is said to admire Putin because the Russian president exercises power with minimal restraint.

    Meanwhile, Zelensky must plead for the military and financial support he requires to continue fighting a foe with a population four times larger.

    Lessons from history

    There is scant evidence that Trump pays attention to history. He should, because for Putin, history is central to strategy. A graduate of law who studied at Leningrad State University, graduating in 1975, Putin appears to have embraced an idealist version of his homeland as it operated in his youth as the Soviet Union – under the hardline leadership of Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko.

    That Soviet Union included all of the territory of modern Ukraine. Putin aspires to recapture it. His vision is a Russia restored to a status comparable to that of the Soviet Union during the cold war years of his youth.

    Trump appears to forget that throughout the cold war, the Soviet Union’s powerful armed forces and ideological hostility to democracy cost the US an average of 3.6% of its GDP in defence spending each year. It’s one thing for Trump to demand that the European members of Nato must increase their defence budgets. It’s another to imagine that Nato can immediately provide a reliable deterrent to Russian aggression without US involvement.

    Trump’s newly appointed defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, suggested at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Brussels in February that the US would reorientate its security policy away from Europe, saying Europe must “take ownership of conventional security on the continent”.

    This is essential, Hegseth said, because China is the real threat, and the US lacks the military resources to face in two directions simultaneously. It was a confession of weakness that places both America and Europe at increased risk.

    The philosopher George Santayana is credited with the warning: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”. Chamberlain’s version of appeasement failed to prevent Adolf Hitler’s aggression in the 20th century. Trump’s version appears equally incapable of deterring Vladimir Putin’s territorial ambitions in the 21st.

    Tim Luckhurst has received funding from News UK and Ireland Ltd. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the Society of Editors and the Free Speech Union

    – ref. History shows that Donald Trump is making a serious error in appeasing Vladimir Putin – https://theconversation.com/history-shows-that-donald-trump-is-making-a-serious-error-in-appeasing-vladimir-putin-257252

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: We found a germ that ‘feeds’ on hospital plastic – new study

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ronan McCarthy, Professor in Biomedical Sciences, Brunel University of London

    Amparo Garcia/Shutterstock.com

    Plastic pollution is one of the defining environmental challenges of our time – and some of nature’s tiniest organisms may offer a surprising way out.

    In recent years, microbiologists have discovered bacteria capable of breaking down various types of plastic, hinting at a more sustainable path forward.

    These “plastic-eating” microbes could one day help shrink the mountains of waste clogging landfills and oceans. But they are not always a perfect fix. In the wrong environment, they could cause serious problems.

    Plastics are widely used in hospitals in things such as sutures (especially the dissolving type), wound dressings and implants. So might the bacteria found in hospitals break down and feed on plastic?

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    To find out, we studied the genomes of known hospital pathogens (harmful bacteria) to see if they had the same plastic-degrading enzymes found in some bacteria in the environment.

    We were surprised to find that some hospital germs, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, might be able to break down plastic.

    P aeruginosa is associated with about 559,000 deaths globally each year. And many of the infections are picked up in hospitals.

    Patients on ventilators or with open wounds from surgery or burns are at particular risk of a P aeruginosa infection. As are those who have catheters.

    We decided to move forward from our computational search of bacterial databases to test the plastic-eating ability of P aeruginosa in the laboratory.

    We focused on one specific strain of this bacterium that had a gene for making a plastic-eating enzyme. It had been isolated from a patient with a wound infection. We discovered that not only could it break down plastic, it could use the plastic as food to grow. This ability comes from an enzyme we named Pap1.

    Biofilms

    P aeruginosa is considered a high-priority pathogen by the World Health Organization. It can form tough layers called biofilms that protect it from the immune system and antibiotics, which makes it very hard to treat.

    Our group has previously shown that when environmental bacteria form biofilms, they can break down plastic faster. So we wondered whether having a plastic-degrading enzyme might help P aeruginosa to be a pathogen. Strikingly, it does. This enzyme made the strain more harmful and helped it build bigger biofilms.

    To understand how P aeruginosa was building a bigger biofilm when it was on plastic, we broke the biofilm apart. Then we analysed what the biofilm was made of and found that this pathogen was producing bigger biofilms by including the degraded plastic in this slimy shield – or “matrix”, as it is formally known. P aeruginosa was using the plastic as cement to build a stronger bacterial community.

    Pathogens like P aeruginosa can survive for a long time in hospitals, where plastics are everywhere. Could this persistence in hospitals be due to the pathogens’ ability to eat plastics? We think this is a real possibility.

    Many medical treatments involve plastics, such as orthopaedic implants, catheters, dental implants and hydrogel pads for treating burns. Our study suggests that a pathogen that can degrade the plastic in these devices could become a serious issue. This can make the treatment fail or make the patient’s condition worse.

    Thankfully, scientists are working on solutions, such as adding antimicrobial substances to medical plastics to stop germs from feeding on them. But now that we know that some germs can break down plastic, we’ll need to consider that when choosing materials for future medical use.

    Ronan McCarthy receives funding from the BBSRC, NC3Rs, Academy of Medical Sciences, Horizon 2020, British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Innovate UK, NERC and the Medical Research Council. He is also Director of the Antimicrobial Innovations Centre at Brunel University of London.

    Rubén de Dios receives funding from the BBSRC and the Medical Research Council.

    – ref. We found a germ that ‘feeds’ on hospital plastic – new study – https://theconversation.com/we-found-a-germ-that-feeds-on-hospital-plastic-new-study-256945

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Linguistics could make language learning more relevant – and attractive – for school pupils

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan Kasstan, Senior Lecturer in French and Linguistics, University of Westminster

    BearFotos/Shutterstock

    A 2023 YouGov poll found that only 21% of UK adults can hold a conversation in a language other than their mother tongue. About half of the other 79% regretted not engaging more with languages at school, and more than half of all those polled were interested in learning a new language.

    By comparison, some 60% of EU citizens surveyed in 2022 reported good or proficient foreign language skills.

    Something is clearly going wrong with foreign language learning in UK schools, and this is not improving. For example, A-level entries in modern languages in England as a percentage of all A-level entries has fallen since 2010.

    Yet our research shows that many pupils in England and Wales are curious about how language has been shaped by society, culture and history, and how contact between people from different backgrounds leads to language change. A languages curriculum oriented around linguistics – the critical and analytical study of language itself – could meaningfully address the decline in language learning.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    In March 2025, the interim report of an ongoing review of school curriculum and assessment in England was published. This called for changes to how language learning takes place in schools.

    Some of the issues identified are not exclusive to the languages curriculum. The authors point out that, in general, pupils do not see their lives and interests represented in what they are taught, and that the curriculum is not responsive to social change. At the same time, the report recognises that young people’s understanding of culture through language is essential.

    The national languages curriculum has been recognised as problematic for some time. Unlike all other subjects at GCSE and A-level, including highly practical subjects like physical education and music, languages in schools are taught and assessed almost purely as skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. They lack critical, theoretical and analytical dimensions.

    Furthermore, the topics covered, while broad, are socially skewed to the point that it can make them difficult for pupils to relate to: discussions of alpine skiing holidays abroad, for instance. This does little to change the view that studying languages is the preserve of the elite.

    Our work with language teachers, together with colleagues Alice Corr, Norma Schifano and Sascha Stollhans, suggests that including linguistics in the languages curriculum can tackle some of these shortcomings.

    Linguistics could also contribute to learning in other subjects.
    Juice Flair/Shutterstock

    Linguistics allows a language – with all of its richness and complexity – to be studied as a psychological, cultural and historical object, enabling pupils to probe how it is shaped by (and shapes) society. Rather than simply learning vocabulary and grammar, and using them to talk about, say, regional identity or multiculturalism, linguistics-based lessons focus on how language relates to these topics.

    Linguistics could also enhance the teaching of other subjects including English as a first or additional language, as well as subjects such as history, geography, maths and science. This is because linguistics encourages a framework for analysis that is readily applicable to other subjects.

    What’s more, the soft skills obtained from this approach to language learning can enhance employability, fostering language experts that are better prepared for the real world. This would make school languages an attractive choice even for those not wishing to pursue a languages degree.

    For the UK to meet its societal, economic and commercial challenges, we require more linguists of all kinds, as this 2020 proposal for a national languages strategy from institutions including the British Council and Universities UK highlights.

    Our own research shows that a languages curriculum enriched with linguistics is appealing to both students and teachers. It can enhance motivation and confidence among pupils, while contributing to a more diverse and comprehensive learning experience.

    We have also shown that it can easily be integrated into language teaching without additional teacher training. Above all, a linguistics-rich curriculum can help students feel represented in their learning, allowing them to reflect on cultural and social issues they understand and feel strongly about.

    The numbers speak volumes

    Language learning in schools in England in particular has long been in decline. The statistics mask wider systemic problems, too. School language departments are increasingly under-resourced or are closing altogether. This means fewer pupils learning languages at A-level and beyond, and many fewer training to be language teachers.

    Plugging this shortage with teachers from abroad has also become increasingly difficult, particularly since Brexit, creating a vicious circle.

    There is a knock-on impact for higher education. Ongoing closures of university language programmes have led to “cold spots” emerging in parts of the country: areas where no universities offer language degrees. Access to higher language learning thus risks becoming a postcode lottery, especially for those without the financial means to study far away from their home town.

    A significant change in how languages are taught is needed – and enriching language teaching with linguistics could be effective, feasible, and potentially transformative.

    Jonathan Kasstan receives funding from the British Academy.

    Michelle Sheehan receives funding from The British Academy and The Leverhulme Trust.

    Anna D. Havinga 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. Linguistics could make language learning more relevant – and attractive – for school pupils – https://theconversation.com/linguistics-could-make-language-learning-more-relevant-and-attractive-for-school-pupils-255068

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Still Wakes The Deep deserves its three Baftas for superlative survival horror game thrills

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Thomas Hainey, Senior Lecturer/Programme Leader of Computer Games Development, University of the West of Scotland

    The survival horror game genre is very much like the survival horror-movie genre. It is a niche genre which appeals to people who crave good scares and want to get their adrenaline pumping. Some of the most popular games, such as Resident Evil – a game so influential it spawned an 11-film franchise – have raked in millions of dollars.

    In the summer of 2024, along came Still Wakes the Deep, developed by The Chinese Room, a British video game developer based in Brighton that is famous for exploration games including Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. A creepy thriller set on a Scottish oil rig, Still Wakes The Deep was nominated for eight Bafta games awards.

    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

    Last month it scooped three of them (including two for best performance for Scots actors Alec Newman and Karen Dunbar), even though it was up against titles appealing to a far wider audience such as Astro Bot and Helldivers 2. The third Bafta was for new intellectual property which is awarded to the best game not part of an established series.

    December 1975. Disaster strikes the Beira D oil rig off the coast of Scotland. Navigate the collapsing rig to save your crew from an otherworldly horror on the edge of all logic and reality.

    The setting is probably the most realistic oil rig in any game I’ve seen. It a state of dank disrepair, the rig feels totally authentic in its 1970s period details. Just walking around is perilously treacherous and keeps players on edge.

    Players adopt the persona of Glaswegian electrician Cameron “Caz” McCleary. It’s Christmas and he’s dodging the police and an angry wife after a bar fight. To top it off he’s just been fired by the rig boss for his sins.

    Despite the unsafe nature of the rig and a storm threatening, the rapacious manager insists on drilling deeper which unleashes a nameless, timeless terror that infects the workers who soon start turning into hideous mutants. Caz is running desperately back and forth, fighting against the storm, fires, and the bloodthirsty mutant creatures.

    Level design (the structuring of the game’s spaces and environments) is creative. The spaces inside are dark and claustrophobic. Those outside are chaotic, as the rig starts collapsing above a roiling North Sea. The use of a linear narrative is executed well, and Caz is desperately trying to save himself and his crew by either launching lifeboats or making it to the helicopter pad. But absolutely nothing is going to plan.

    The graphics and aesthetics are beautifully crisp and the attention to detail even in the crew quarters and mess is really something, not to mention the particle effects (such as fire and electrical sparks). Looking over the edge at the North Sea or at the rain drumming against the window is pretty realistic.

    The level design is intuitive for experienced and novice gamers alike and players can customise the experience with “hints” which you can turn off, for example, if you want a more challenging time. The hints are usually marked in yellow paint and show you where to go, where to hide and how to solve puzzles.

    Obstacles include former crew who have transformed into terrifying creatures. The linear narrative and the atmosphere ramp up the tension as players try to make it stealthily past the monsters. The game requires “well-ordered” problem solving which makes the experience both nerve racking and “pleasantly frustrating”, as academic James Gee describes the process in his paper Learning by Design: Good Video Games as Learning Machines.

    Digital games-based learning uses computer games for education and training. Highly realistic, problem-solving games such as Still Wakes The Deep present immersive environments that can provide an authentic experience that could be used in supplementary training.

    Imagine, for example, learning about safely launching lifeboats in a crisp 3D environment like this, with no risk from weather or water (or mutants). Video games can be tailored to teach a plethora of skills that can shape careers. They don’t have to just be about entertainment.

    But entertainment this definitely is. Still Wakes The Deep keeps players on edge like an interactive narrative horror movie with a fair share of jump scares and plenty of death-defying leaps, as Caz hangs by his fingernails or bolts for his life.

    The game plays on a number of psychological fears including burning, fear of drowning, vertigo, infection and being munched by now fully mutated, tendril-dragging ex-crewmates.

    It has a touch of Resident Evil and Aliens, and one YouTube walkthrough hails it it as “every fear in one horror game”. In a column praising the game’s brilliance, Neil Mackay of the Glasgow Herald said: “Let me deliver a quick kill-shot to the notion that games are somehow a substandard art form in comparison to the novel, theatre, film or visual arts. In many ways today the best games combine the best of each discipline.”

    The Guardian’s Melinda Hetfield described it as “the Thing, but on a Scottish oil rig in the 1970s”. Which just happens to be the original pitch by Dan Pinchbeck, the studio’s co-founder. So safe to say – mission accomplished.

    For me, the Scots actors really bring it to life. Bafta winners Alec Newman (famous for his portrayal of Paul Atreides in the Dune series) and comedian Karen Dunbar give fantastically convincing performances that help to build the atmosphere of dread.

    It’s good to see working-class Scottish voices in all their sweary glory here, as they are not commonly represented in games. Diversity is an area that many developers are seeking to address with better representation. Some of the Scots vernacular might cause a few lost-in-translation moments for players from other countries (subtitles may be needed), but there is much grim humour to be enjoyed here that just adds to the terrifying fun.

    Thomas Hainey 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. Still Wakes The Deep deserves its three Baftas for superlative survival horror game thrills – https://theconversation.com/still-wakes-the-deep-deserves-its-three-baftas-for-superlative-survival-horror-game-thrills-254732

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How the UK could monetise ‘citizen data’ and turn it into a national asset

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ashley Braganza, Professor of Business Transformation, Brunel University of London

    Aleksandr Ozerov/Shutterstock

    Data is the lifeblood of artificial intelligence (AI) and as such is a hugely valuable resource. Entrepreneur Matt Clifford’s report on the AI Opportunities Action Plan, commissioned by the UK government, has set out some ambitious recommendations for unlocking UK public data to power AI development – and serve as a state asset.

    Making UK-owned datasets available for training AI, according to innovation secretary Peter Kyle, could help the country become a global leader in the technology. The government has accepted all 50 recommendations in the action plan.

    But the plan lacks a clear strategy to ensure that UK citizen-generated data – which could include anything from crime and healthcare information to local authority data – serves as a public asset rather than merely a source of private profit.

    The government’s planned National Data Library (NDL) could address this effectively. In evidence we presented to the government, we set out how the NDL should be structured, managed and monetised in the form of a UK sovereign data fund. This would ensure that the value derived from AI is retained responsibly and reinvested for wider public benefit.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Across all sectors, UK citizens produce vast amounts of data. This data is increasingly needed to train AI systems. But it is also of enormous value to private companies, which use it to target adverts to consumers based on their behaviour or to personalise content to keep people on their site.

    Yet the economic and social value of this citizen-generated data is rarely returned to the public, highlighting the need for more equitable and transparent models of data stewardship.

    AI companies have demonstrated that datasets hold immense economic, social and strategic value. And the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan notes that access to new and high-quality datasets can confer a competitive edge in developing AI models. This in turn unlocks the potential for innovative products and services.

    However, there’s a catch. Most citizens have signed over their data to companies by accepting standard terms and conditions. Once citizen data is “owned” by companies, this leaves others unable to access it or forced to pay to do so.

    Commercial approaches to data tend to prioritise short-term profit, often at the expense of the public interest. The debate over the use of artistic and creative materials to train AI models without recompense to the creator exemplifies the broader trade-off between commercial use of data and the public interest.

    Countries around the world are recognising the strategic value of public data. The UK government could lead in making public data into a strategic asset. What this might mean in practice is the government owning citizen data and monetising this through sale or licensing agreements with commercial companies.

    In our evidence, we proposed a UK sovereign data fund to manage the monetisation of public datasets curated within the NDL. This fund could invest directly in UK companies, fund scale-ups and create joint ventures with local and international partners.

    The fund would have powers to license anonymised, ethically governed data to companies for commercial use. It would also be in a position to fast-track projects that benefit the UK or have been deemed to be national priorities. (These priorities are drones and other autonomous technologies as well as engineering biology, space and AI in healthcare.)

    AI in healthcare could be a beneficiary of a sovereign data fund.
    Gerain0812/Shutterstock

    At the heart of the sovereign data fund, there would be a broad social mission. This would allow it to invest its profits to fund projects that work towards improved healthcare provision, greater social mobility and digital inclusion, as well as better digital infrastructure. The fund could also support job creation and help cover the costs associated with widespread AI adoption.

    A data-driven sovereign fund could become a key fiscal instrument, especially in light of the £400 billion windfall expected from AI adoption in the UK by 2030. Establishing such a fund could ensure that innovation is coupled with effective regulation and social responsibility. Importantly, this model could also prevent public datasets from becoming undervalued giveaways to foreign-owned entities.

    Of course, many citizens may have valid concerns about how their data is used and monetised. Ethical safeguards should be embedded into the system through clear rules and protocols that prevent misuse at the point of data access.

    Gaining public trust

    Public confidence in how citizen data is handled will be vital. Trust should be at the heart of AI governance. While unlocking data can accelerate AI development, it also raises legitimate public concerns around surveillance, manipulation, discrimination and exploitation.

    The sovereign data fund model can help mitigate these risks by offering transparent and accountable structures for managing public data, while ensuring that the benefits are shared equitably. This business model ensures clarity around data ownership by affirming that citizens remain the primary beneficiaries of the data they generate.

    It will require a commitment to licensing transparency, with all commercial agreements made available to the public.

    An independent oversight board, comprising finance and business experts, ethicists, academics, tech experts and representatives from civil society, would reinforce strong governance.

    Arguably, in the global AI race, data is as valuable as semiconductors or energy. The UK must consider data sovereignty a matter of national security.

    A sovereign data fund with controlled licensing could strengthen data diplomacy on UK terms. This approach would provide a stronger negotiating position in data-sharing partnerships, research alliances and AI ethics agreements.

    The UK’s future in AI depends on innovation and economic productivity, as well as principled stewardship of public resources. Citizen data sourced from public services must be perceived as both a financial and strategic asset.

    The sovereign fund model ensures that benefits of data-driven AI innovation extend beyond immediate shareholder returns. It recognises the importance of sharing profits derived from citizen data, enriching the UK as a whole.

    A sovereign data fund could transform the NDL from a mere repository into a central pillar of UK digital resilience. The government’s response to the AI action plan makes a promising start. But without a bold vision, it risks giving away one of the UK’s most valuable resources in the AI era – public data generated by its citizens.

    S Asieh Hosseini Tabaghdehi receives funding from UKRI (ESRC) to investigate the ethical implication of digital footprint data in SMEs value creation.

    Ashley Braganza 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. How the UK could monetise ‘citizen data’ and turn it into a national asset – https://theconversation.com/how-the-uk-could-monetise-citizen-data-and-turn-it-into-a-national-asset-256176

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: For many island species, the next tropical cyclone may be their last

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Simon Valle, Conservation Planning Officer at IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group & Honorary Lecturer in Conservation Science, Bangor University

    The Bahama warbler, a species which suffered greatly as a result of Hurricane Dorian in 2019. David Pereira

    When a major cyclone tears through an island nation, all efforts rightly focus on saving human lives and restoring livelihoods. However, these storms have permanent consequences for other species that are often forgotten.

    As the world continues to heat, cyclones are expected to become more frequent, intense and unpredictable. The International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the global authority on biodiversity, lists storms as one factor threatening species. But just how much of a threat is still poorly understood.

    The effects of cyclones on biodiversity are easily neglected because the damage is sudden, scattered and hard to measure. Extinctions can be abrupt and go unnoticed. This largely overlooked extinction crisis is likely to worsen with climate change.

    In a new study, we measured the threat posed by tropical cyclones on the diversity of land-based mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles globally. We mapped all severe tropical cyclones that occurred between 1972 and 2022 and checked how many overlapped with areas widely recognised to be exceptionally rich in species, otherwise known as biodiversity hotspots.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    We focused on severe cyclones only – those with wind speeds exceeding 130 mph – as historically, it is these that have caused species to severely decline or go extinct.

    What we found surprised us: three-quarters of all severe cyclones struck hotspots which are entirely comprised of islands. This seemed alarming. Islands have an inherently high extinction risk anyway because they support many species that are found nowhere else and which evolved in isolation. These species often have very small populations and nowhere to escape when disaster strikes.

    Even more worrying, more than 95% of the severe cyclones that struck island biodiversity hotspots hit the same five ones. In descending order of cyclone frequency these are: Japan, Polynesia-Micronesia, the Philippines, Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands, and the Caribbean islands.

    We clearly identified high-risk areas, but what does this mean for the animal species that live there? To find out we consulted the red list of threatened species which is compiled and regularly updated by the IUCN to see how many vertebrate species were noted for their vulnerability to storms.

    One cyclone away from extinction

    The hotspots experiencing the most severe cyclones are not necessarily those that have the most storm-threatened species. For example, Japan has the most storms but the fewest species at risk, whereas the Caribbean has fewer storms but over 128 species are threatened by them. This suggests that the frequency of cyclones alone does not determine the danger to each region’s biodiversity.

    Other aspects are likely to play a role. In particular, the data indicates that species in island biodiversity hotspots made up of a lot of small islands are more at risk of local or global extinction.

    The more we learned about the dangers posed by cyclones, the more concerned we became. Many species are so restricted in range that they could be entirely wiped out by just one cyclone. It has happened before. The Bahama nuthatch (Sitta insularis), a small forest-dwelling songbird, is thought to have gone extinct following the passage of Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

    One of the last known sightings of the Bahamas nuthatch.

    Preparing for the unpredictable

    To begin raising awareness and help conservationists prioritise their efforts, we compiled a watchlist of the species that are most at risk from tropical cyclones. This includes 60 storm-threatened species which are present only on a single location on a single island.

    For each of these 60 species, the next severe tropical cyclone may be their last. A better understanding of the distribution and status of these species is only the beginning. Conservationists need to plan how to help them avoid a sudden demise.

    The need to act quickly is clear. Of the 60 species on our list, only 24 are part of any active conservation effort and just six are in captive breeding programmes. Coordinated efforts are our best bet and we propose a task force under the IUCN to allow better preparation, rapid response and international support.

    With the right knowledge and foresight, we can ensure human recovery and ecological survival for future generations.

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

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Tom Martin, head of research at Operation Wallacea, contributed to this article.

    Simon Valle and David Jorge Pereira do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointments.

    – ref. For many island species, the next tropical cyclone may be their last – https://theconversation.com/for-many-island-species-the-next-tropical-cyclone-may-be-their-last-256600

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s proposed Golden Dome missile defence system – an expert explains the technical challenges involved

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jack O’Doherty, PhD Candidate in Nuclear Strategy, University of Leicester

    The Trump administration’s recent announcement of a “Golden Dome” strategic missile defence shield to protect the US is the most ambitious such project since President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) of the 1980s.

    The SDI programme – better known by its somewhat mocking nickname of “Star Wars” – sparked a heated debate over its technical feasibility. Ultimately, it would never become operational. But do we now have the technologies to realise the Golden Dome shield – or is this initiative similarly destined to be shelved?

    A completed Golden Dome missile defence shield would supposedly defend the US against the full spectrum of air and missile threats, including long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and those with shorter ranges – any of which could be armed with nuclear warheads.

    But Golden Dome would also aim to work against cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons such as boost-glide vehicles, which use a rocket to reach hypersonic speeds (more than five times the speed of sound) before continuing their trajectory unpowered.

    The missile defence shield could theoretically also protect against warheads placed in space that can be commanded to re-enter the atmosphere and destroy targets on Earth – known as fractional orbital bombardment systems.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Ballistic missiles arguably pose the biggest threat because of the sheer numbers in the hands of other nuclear armed nations. ICBMs follow a three-phase trajectory: the boost, midcourse and terminal phases.

    The boost phase consists of a few minutes of powered flight as the missile’s rocket engines propel it into space. In the midcourse phase, the missile travels unpowered through space for about 20-25 minutes. Finally, during the terminal phase, the missile re-enters the atmosphere and hits the target.

    Plans for the Golden Dome are likely to involve defensive weapons that target ballistic missiles during all three phases of their trajectory.

    Boost-phase missile defence is attractive because it would only require shooting down a single target. During the midcourse phase, the ballistic missile will deploy its warhead – the section that includes the explosive charge – but could also release several decoy warheads. Even with the best radar systems, discriminating the real warhead from the decoys is incredibly difficult.

    One part of Golden Dome will involve targeting ballistic missiles during their boost phase.
    US Air Force

    However, there are big questions over the technical feasibility of targeting ballistic missiles during their boost phase – and there is also a limited time window, given that this phase is relatively short.

    The weapons platforms designed to target a ballistic missile in its boost phase could consist of a large satellite in low-Earth orbit, armed with multiple small missiles called interceptors. An interceptor could be deployed if a nuclear armed ballistic missile is launched at the US.

    One study conducted by the American Physical Society suggested that, under generous assumptions, a space-based interceptor platform might be able to destroy a target from 530 miles (850km) away. This measure is known as the weapon’s “kill radius”.

    Even with a kill radius of this size, a space-based interceptor system would require hundreds or even thousands of satellites, each armed with small missiles to achieve effective regional coverage. It might be possible to get round this constraint, though, by using directed-energy weapons such as powerful lasers or even particle beam weapons, which use high-energy beams of atomic or subatomic particles.

    A critical vulnerability of such a system, however, is that an adversary could use anti-satellite weapons – missiles launched from the ground – or other offensive actions such as cyberattacks to destroy or disable some of the interceptor satellites. This could establish a temporary corridor for an adversary’s ballistic missile to pass through.

    ‘Brilliant Pebbles’

    An idea for a space-based boost-phase defence system called Brilliant Pebbles was proposed towards the end of the 1980s. Rather than having large satellites with multiple missiles, it entailed having around 1,000 small individual missiles in orbit. It would have also used about 60 orbiting sensors called Brilliant Eyes to detect launches.

    Brilliant Pebbles was cancelled by President Bill Clinton’s administration in 1994. But it provides another template for technologies that could be used by Golden Dome.

    Options for destroying ballistic missiles during the midcourse of their trajectories include existing weapons systems such as the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system and the US Navy’s ship-based Aegis platform.

    Unlike midcourse-phase missile defence (which must cover a large geographical area), terminal-phase interception is a last line of defence. It usually involves destroying incoming warheads that have re-entered the atmosphere from space.

    A plan for destroying single warheads during the terminal trajectory phase could use future versions of existing weapons platforms, such as the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 Missile Segment Enhancement or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense.

    However, while there has been progress in this technology in the decades since Star Wars was proposed, the debate continues over whether these systems work effectively.

    Ultimately, it is the huge costs, as well as political opposition, that could pose the biggest hurdles to implementing an effective Golden Dome system. Trump’s proposal has revived the idea of missile defence in the US. But it remains unclear whether its most ambitious components will ever be realised.

    Jack O’Doherty is affiliated with the NATO Defense College, as a Junior Associate Fellow.

    – ref. Trump’s proposed Golden Dome missile defence system – an expert explains the technical challenges involved – https://theconversation.com/trumps-proposed-golden-dome-missile-defence-system-an-expert-explains-the-technical-challenges-involved-257473

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: As Trump’s ratings slide, polling data reveals the scale of Fox News’s influence on US politics

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Whiteley, Professor, Department of Government, University of Essex

    Donald Trump’s ratings continue to slide on most issues. Recent Economist/YouGov polling across the US, completed on May 9-12, shows 51% think the country is on the wrong track, while only 45% have a favourable impression of his job as president. On inflation and prices in the shops, only 35% approve of his handling of this policy.

    Trump seems to be scoring particularly badly with young voters. Around 62% of young people (18 to 29s) have an unfavourable opinion of the president, compared with 53% of the over-65s.

    Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to pursue an agenda to close down, or shackle, much of the media it considers not on his side.

    Funding for national public service radio NPR and television PBS, as well as the global news service Voice of America, is under threat. Some national news outlets are under investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for their coverage.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    In a speech in March, Trump said broadcasters CNN and MSNBC, and some newspapers he didn’t name “literally write 97.6% bad about me”. He added: “It has to stop. It has to be illegal.”

    The Trump team clearly see the role of the media as important to establishing and retaining support, and have taken steps to shake up White House coverage – including by changing who can attend the White House press pool.

    About seven in ten members of the American public say they are following the news for updates on the Trump administration. It is interesting, therefore, to consider the role of the media in influencing Trump’s popularity, and insights can be found in the massive US Cooperative Election Study, conducted during the presidential contest last year.

    That survey showed 57% of Americans had watched TV news in the previous 24 hours. Around 81% had used social media during the same period, but only 20% had used it to comment on politics.

    There is a lot of attention being paid to fake news on the internet, which is helping to cause polarisation in the US. But when it comes to news about politics, TV coverage is still very important for most Americans.

    The survey asked respondents about the TV news channels they watched, and Fox News came out on top with 47% of the viewers. ABC came second with 37%, and CBS and CNN tied on 35%. Fox News is Trump’s favourite TV station, with its rightwing populist agenda and regular output of Trump-friendly news.

    Relationship between Trump voters and Fox News’s audience in 2024 US presidential election:


    Source: Author graph based on Cooperative Election Study 2024, CC BY

    The Cooperative Election Study had 60,000 respondents, which provides reasonably sized samples in each of the 50 states. The Trump vote varied quite a lot across states, with only 34% of voters in Maryland supporting him, compared with 72% in Wyoming. The electoral college formally decides the results of presidential elections, and this is based on states – so, looking at voting in this way can be quite revealing.

    The connection between watching Fox News and Trump’s vote share can be seen in the chart above. It varies from 21% who watched the channel in Vermont to 60% in West Virginia.

    Vermont is represented in Congress by Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist from a radical political tradition, and only 32% voted for Trump there. In contrast, West Virginia is part of the rust belt of impoverished states hit by deindustrialisation and the decline of the coal mining industry, and 71% voted for Trump there.

    We can use a regression model (which looks at the relationship between variables) to predict support for Trump using key measures that drive the vote share for Trump in each state. The model uses three variables to predict the results with 95% accuracy, which means while not perfect, it gives a very accurate prediction of Trump’s vote.

    Not surprisingly, partisanship – that is, the percentage of registered Republicans in each state – is one of the key metrics. In addition, ideology – the percentage of respondents who say they are conservatives – is another.

    Perhaps more surprisingly, the third important predictor is viewership of Fox News. The relationship between watching the channel and voting for Trump is very strong at the state level. Also, the more time people spend watching the channel, the more likely they are to have voted for Trump.

    Impact of key factors on Trump voting in 2024 US election:


    Source: Author based on Cooperative Election Study , CC BY

    This chart calculates the relationship between watching Fox News and other factors and the strength of a state’s support for Trump in 2024. If a variable is a perfect predictor of Trump voting, it would score 1.0 on the scale. If it is a perfect non-predictor, it would score 0.

    So, the most important predictor of being a Trump voter was the presence of conservatives in a state, followed by the percentage of registered Republicans, and the third was watching Fox News. A high score on all three meant greater support for Trump.

    To illustrate this, 45% of Texans considered themselves conservatives, 33% were registered Republicans, and 51% watched Fox News. Using these measures, the model predicts that 57% would vote for Trump. In fact, 56% voted for him in that state in 2024. So, while the prediction was not perfect, it was very close.

    A similar predictive model can be used to forecast former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s vote shares by state. In her case, we need four variables to predict the results with 95% accuracy – the percentage of registered Democrats, liberals and moderates in a state, and also Fox News viewership.

    Not surprisingly in Harris’s case, the relationship between Fox News viewing and voting is strongly negative (correlation = -0.64). When viewership was high, the Harris vote was low.

    Years ago, the “fairness doctrine” used to mandate US broadcasters to fairly reflect different viewpoints on controversial issues in their coverage. Candidates for public office were entitled to equal air time.

    But this rule was removed by the FCC in 1987, and has led to an era of some broadcasters becoming far more partisan. The FCC decision followed a period of debate and challenges to the fairness doctrine. This led to its abolition under Ronald Reagan, the Republican president who inspired Project 2025 – the document that in turn appears to be inspiring the Trump government’s policy agenda.

    When the Trump era is over, incumbent Democrats are going to have to repair US institutions that this administration has damaged. If they want to do something about the polarisation of US politics, they may also need to restore the fairness doctrine.

    Had it not been removed in the first place, it is possible that Harris would have won the 2024 presidential election, since Fox News would not exist in its present form. Whatever happens next, the US media is likely to play an important role.

    Paul Whiteley has received funding from the British Academy and the ESRC.

    – ref. As Trump’s ratings slide, polling data reveals the scale of Fox News’s influence on US politics – https://theconversation.com/as-trumps-ratings-slide-polling-data-reveals-the-scale-of-fox-newss-influence-on-us-politics-256274

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Project Spotlight: USGS Scientists Work with Kenai Peninsula Communities to Define Baseline Water Data Amid Climate Uncertainty

    Source: US Geological Survey

    Homes and a fisher along the Kenai River. Photo: Christian Thorsberg.

    Seldovia, Alaska — a quintessential sleepy fishing town on the southern edge of the Kenai Peninsula — starts to wake up around late May. 

    By then, the first salmon are running. Water taxis come and go. Fishing charters fill. Bellies, too. During a busy year, the community of roughly 500 people doubles in size from the influx of tourists eager to soak up the Arctic sun. 

    The summer of 2019 began with its usual verve, and as May turned to June turned to July, the height of the busy season, the sleepy town was still dreaming. “The summer was great. I remember midway through, people were so happy,” says Cassidi Cameron, who at the time was Seldovia’s city manager. “We had all these visitors. Everybody had a smile on their face.”

    But as inns brimmed, freezers filled, and coffers replenished, one site in town felt emptier. “And then it started to dawn on us,” Cameron says. “Wow, there hasn’t been very much rain.”

    All of Seldovia draws its water from a single reservoir, which sits within city limits no more than 200 feet above sea level. A gravity-fed treatment facility rests below, and water flows naturally into a distribution system. The operation is entirely dependent on rainfall and melting snow, and summer is a time of increased water usage. But between June and August of 2019, fewer than three inches of rain had fallen, roughly half a foot behind seasonal averages.  

    Early signs of water shortages began to reveal themselves, though they could be explained away by leakages, which were a common occurrence in town. “Alaska’s infrastructure is very much aged-out, and we were having several issues with our water lines deteriorating and breaking or just plain not working,” Cameron says. Some of Seldovia’s oldest residents didn’t seem too worried, either. They recalled the 1970s and ‘80s, when a booming fish cannery industry meant frequent water overconsumption.

    But as the pleasurable string of sunny days turned to unseasonable warmth, Cameron remained diligent. She ordered an underwater scan of the reservoir to check for leaks in its bed. She monitored the water usage of the state ferry, which was still docking in Seldovia three times each week and taking 20,000 to 50,000 gallons of water with each stop. Regular visits to the reservoir revealed it was losing several inches of surface water each day, both to usage and evaporation. By August, consumption spiked at more than 200,000 gallons per day. This seemed like a lot, but Cameron had no historical numbers for comparison. Seldovia held its breath for the reliable late-summer rainy season. But August came and went — nothing. 

    What had once seemed an impossibility to Cameron, who moved to the coastal community in 2008 from Idaho and began working for the city in 2009, was suddenly her problem to fix: “How could you have a drought and water shortages in Alaska?” she wondered.

    This question was addressed at a standing-room-only town hall meeting — “I’ve never seen one so well-attended,” Cameron recalls. Many residents were well-aware that the reservoir in neighboring Nanwalek had recently been reduced to mud. That Wrangell, too, was running dry. As a potential Day Zero loomed locally, community members were cautioned to limit their showering, cooking, and cleaning. Library hours were shortened. Restaurants switched to disposable utensils. Pallets of drinking water were imported and delivered door-to-door for several weeks. 

    The city received a permit to pump water from a regional creek and set up a non-potable tank of gray water for public use. Still, Suzie Stranik, the chair of the Seldovia Arts Council, recalls shutting down her greenhouse early and flushing her toilets sparingly. “It was quite a time here in our community,” she says.

    Looming above town, the reservoir dwindled. At its lowest point, it held just 14 days of water. 

    Today, Cameron works as the executive director of the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District. When she recalls that stressful summer, it is above all the massive learning curve, and the lack of readily available science, that floats to the top of her mind. 

    “It was a bigger situation than what we were prepared for,” she says. “I needed a crash course in hydrology. It was a reality check.”

    Cameron’s experience is not unfamiliar to many leaders in small communities across the Kenai Peninsula and Alaska more broadly. Often, they have few resources — and little time — to prepare for potentially life-altering weather events. Had September not brought rains and cooler temperatures, a bad situation could easily have been worse. 

    “I wish there were more resources and data back in 2019 to help me understand our water situation and reservoir capacity,” she says. “A good rule of thumb for the future would be: get a baseline understanding, get familiar with your water source.”

    A Beaver Creek Baseline 

    Three years later and roughly 80 miles north of Seldovia, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists Josh Koch, Meg Haserodt, and Andy Leaf eased their kayaks through the freshwater lowlands of the peninsula’s northwestern bogs. Marshes and muck marked the peaty landscape, many hidden ponds threatening to overtop their waders and bows. 

    Compared to 2019, the summer of 2022 was significantly wetter. Mosquitos swarmed as the trio installed wells in the shallow peat. For weeks, they measured the interactions of surface water and groundwater, temperature, and vegetation cover along the narrow banks of Beaver Creek. 

    As he was pounding in a well, USGS scientist Andy Leaf (right) lost his wedding ring. “It’s still out there, as far as I know,” he says. “An archaeologist will find it one day.” Photo: Meg Haserodt.

    A 10-mile-long tributary of the mighty Kenai River, Beaver Creek is a critical watershed for the city of Kenai, the peninsula’s most populous community. Nearly all of its 7,500 year-round residents depend heavily on pumped groundwater for clean drinking water, and thousands of Pacific salmon — the lifeblood of the community’s economy and staple of its meals — have spawned in its gravel for generations. 

    “If you live in Kenai, Beaver Creek is your backyard,” says Ben Meyer, an environmental scientist and water quality coordinator with the Kenai Watershed Forum, and a Kenai resident. “For both people and wildlife, it’s a crucial place where water needs intersect.”

    Beaver Creek is one of the many watersheds in the Cook Inlet region that is currently intact yet sensitive to shifting climate regimes. Laying within a rain shadow, the area averages only 19 inches of precipitation each year. From May through September, 64 percent of the watershed’s slow-moving streams are supplied by groundwater flows.

    “Nineteen inches of precipitation is not a lot,” Leaf says. “Some people have talked about the possibility of the wetlands drying up due to climate change.” Koch adds: “We anticipate these lowland streams to be the ones most potentially impacted by changes to the climate, namely temperature and precipitation.”

    On the upper Kenai Peninsula, the annual average temperature is expected to increase by roughly 11 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, according to the Scenarios Network for Arctic Planning (SNAP). Greater rainfall is also possible, with SNAP models projecting 45 percent more precipitation in spring alone. But deluges may be interspersed with long, dry stretches — a “more rain, more drought” phenomenon expected to affect many parts of south-central and southeast Alaska by mid-century.

    “As average air temperatures warm, we anticipate more summers like 2019 could happen,” Meyer says. “It behooves us to be prepared.”

    Hot Pockets and Salmon Refugia

    With an uncertain climate in mind, USGS and the Kenai Watershed Forum collaborated on a recently published study that establishes baseline streamflow and temperature measurements and future scenarios for Beaver Creek. The team projects that the volume of groundwater and streamflow discharge will remain about the same through 2050. Atmospheric warming, however, will almost certainly affect the water’s quality.

    “By far the biggest concern is rising temperatures,” Leaf says. “Both from an acute standpoint, like heat waves, but also warmer temperatures for longer periods of time.”

    Between 1950 and 2009, the average summer temperature on the upper Kenai Peninsula was 53.6 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the team’s models, by mid-century, waters near the mouth of Beaver Creek will experience 34 to 63 extra days each year with average weekly temperatures above 55.4 degrees, and 14 to 81 extra days above 59 degrees. 

    Extended periods of warmth are likely to produce at least some negative impacts on Pacific salmon incubation, spawning, rearing, and migration. The team also projects “routine exceedances” of 68 degrees — the water temperature at which salmon succumb to disease and heat stress.

    “On the Kenai, as for so much of Alaska, important hydrologic questions are related to salmon and salmon habitat,” Koch says.

    Fishers on the Kenai River. Photo: Christian Thorsberg.

    While identifying areas of concern, the team also looked for bright spots. Their report identifies several streams in the basin that, despite warming air temperatures, are expected to remain cool enough for salmon to thrive or rest within during days of extreme heat. Because Beaver Creek flows through the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, the team hopes these potential areas of salmon refugia will benefit from dedicated habitat conservation. 

    Coho and king salmon, which both migrate through and spawn in lowland waters like Beaver Creek, have seen precipitous declines in the Kenai River watershed in recent years. According to preliminary data from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the watershed’s king salmon late run escapement last year was a mere 6,630 — well below the 15,000 – 30,000 goal range — even with no permitted harvest. And while coho escapement is not monitored, their 2024 commercial harvest estimate of 24,750 was 86 percent below the recent 20-year average.

    These findings again contribute to a baseline understanding of the watershed’s health, Meyer says, as no escapement, for any salmon species, is currently measured in Beaver Creek specifically.

    “It was exciting to see that our model could find and identify those safer locations,” Koch says.  “Hopefully, that’s information that land managers can use to think about preservation of important habitat.”

    Future Stressors

    By 2046, the city of Kenai is expected to see its population grow by 13.3 percent, relative to 2015. Nearby Soldotna, home to about 4,500 people, is likely to grow at a similar rate. The researchers don’t anticipate water shortages from this alone, though local development could bring additional water demands.

    If built, the proposed Alaska LNG pipeline — which would transport natural gas 800 miles through the heart of Alaska, from the North Slope to the Kenai Peninsula — would likely cross through and then terminate adjacent to the Beaver Creek watershed near Nikisi. The area would also host the pipeline’s liquefaction plant, where natural gas is condensed for export. The facility, Meyer says, could potentially draw from the municipality’s water supply. 

    An active petroleum exploration project is also underway near the last few miles of Beaver Creek, just outside the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, though drilling is occurring below the water table. Oil and gas impacts were not considered as part of this study.

    “Our goal was not to assign value between different uses, but to simply demonstrate how the water moves and how that might change in the future,” Koch says. “We’re hopeful that we’ve provided new information that can be used by the community to weigh those trade-offs and manage those resources.”

    The Kenai River in late September, the tail end of the seasonal salmon run. Photo: Christian Thorsberg. 

    Resource considerations are magnified on the 25,000 square-mile peninsula, where roughly 60,000 people call home. Every community — from Seldovia to Seward, from Kenai to Hope — is connected to Anchorage and the rest of Alaska by just a single road and several small airports. 

    Sustainable living is equally sensitive to both longer-term climate changes, Cameron says, as it is to sudden events. 

    “It isn’t all about drought,” she says. “How do you manage your resources in the event of a catastrophe, or something significant that affects basic living needs? Water is one of them, and we need to raise awareness for planning and preparation.”

    The peninsula’s unique geography and location makes it susceptible to natural disasters including landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, and the expected eruption of Mt. Spurr, a stratovolcano just 60 miles from Kenai. Such events can suddenly make any given town, possibly in crisis, unreachable. Having reliable science during times of need is crucial, the researchers say. They hope similar studies will be a priority for other Kenai communities soon.

    “Generating baseline data sets can be challenging to convince people to fund,” Haserodt says. “But they’re really useful. They’re an investment in our understanding of the future of our water resources and ability to make data-driven management decisions.”

    This news announcement was written by Christian Thorsberg, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Read the original post on the Alaska CASC website: Kenai Peninsula Communities Struggle for Baseline Water Data Amid Climate Uncertainty | AK CASC

    MIL OSI USA News –