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Category: Education

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ciscomani, VA Secretary Collins Reiterate Support for Veterans during Tucson Visit

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Juan Ciscomani (Arizona)

    “Our goal is to make sure veterans in Arizona and across the country get the best possible care we can provide”

    TUCSON, AZ – U.S. Congressman Juan Ciscomani and Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins reiterated their shared commitment to care for the men and women who’ve served our country in uniform.  

    During a tour of Southern Arizona VA Health Care System in Tucson, both the Congressman and the Secretary strongly pushed back on false claims that mission-critical positions within the VA will be cut, causing possible disruptions in the delivery of care and benefits. 

    “Don’t believe the lies,” Ciscomani said. “No one is talking about cutting positions for anyone that provides direct care or benefits to veterans. No one is talking about eliminating services. Our goal is to make sure veterans in Arizona and across the country get the best possible care we can provide.” 

    The Secretary spent the morning with Ciscomani in Tucson, meeting with the Congressman’s Veterans Advisory Council, touring the Tucson VA and discussing services to veterans with hospital leadership.   

    “One of the things that I spend 50 percent of my time on is basically fighting back against inuendo and rumor about what’s going on at the VA by those who think they know what’s going on at the VA,” Secretary Collins said. 

    Ciscomani, a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, represents a district with nearly 80,000 veterans, one of the largest veteran populations of any Congressional district in the country. His Veterans Advisory Council includes community leaders like Sierra Vista Mayor Clea McCaa and Sahuarita Mayor Tom Murphy. 

    “It is my duty, and honor, to advocate on behalf of veterans to ensure their needs are prioritized by the federal government,” said Ciscomani. “I am incredibly grateful to Secretary Collins for his leadership, our shared commitment to veterans, and for taking the time to talk with those who served, tour VA facilities in Tucson, and counter false narratives about cuts to mission-critical employees, healthcare, and benefits. Secretary Collins is a fantastic partner. I look forward to continuing working together to modernize and improve the VA to deliver on our promise to our veterans.”  

    “Under President Trump’s leadership, VA is challenging the status quo to find new and better ways of serving America’s heroes,” said Secretary Collins. “As part of that effort, we’re visiting VA facilities in Tucson and across the nation to see what’s working and what needs improvement. We will reform the department to make it work better for America’s Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors, and we thank Rep. Ciscomani for his support.” 

    Veteran Advisory Council  

    Ciscomani hosted a meeting of his Veteran Advisory Council with Secretary Collins where they reiterated that there are no plans to reduce access to healthcare or cut benefits at the VA.  

    Tucson VA Medical Center Leadership 

    Ciscomani and Secretary Collins met with leadership at the Tucson VA Medical Center to discuss recruitment and retention initiatives and countered false claims that the VA was planning cuts to mission-critical positions within the agency. 

    Tour of the Tucson VA Medical Center 

    Ciscomani, Secretary Collins tour facilities in the Tucson VA Medical Center. 

    Background:

    • Last week, Ciscomani honored 31 veterans from across Arizona 6th Congressional District in his second annual Veterans Service Leadership Award Ceremony.  

    • Through casework, Ciscomani’s team has returned $3.65 million to veteran-constituents, including $1.25 million since January 2025.  

    • So far in the 119th, Ciscomani has introduced three pieces of veterans-focused legislation, with one of these bills passing the House of Representatives unanimously. 
      • The Prioritizing Veterans’ Survivor Act (H.R. 1228)  would move the Office of Survivors Assistance (OSA) back within the Office of the VA Secretary to ensure that families of fallen veterans are able to receive the benefits and support they deserve.  
        • This bill passed the House of Representatives unanimously on April 9, 2025.   
      • The Coordinating Care for Senior Veterans and Wounded Warriors Act (H.R. 668) would improve healthcare coordination and management for veterans over the age of 65 who qualify for benefits from both the VA and Medicare.  
      • The Veterans Education and Technical Skills (VETS) Opportunity Act (H.R. 1458) would expand veterans’ access to educational opportunities for high-demand skilled trade and vocational programs, whether they are in-person or partially online. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Funding for Playground Equipment Coming in Fall 2025

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on April 29, 2025

    The Government of Saskatchewan will invest $3.75 million annually to deliver a new program to help fund school playground equipment in communities throughout the province.

    As a result, up to $50,000 in matched funding will be available for schools to build a new playground or update existing equipment.

    “Our government recognizes that every child deserves a place to play,” Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Alana Ross said. “Parent groups are working hard alongside local school councils to build safe, accessible playgrounds for their kids. This funding will help make their job a little easier, while ensuring projects are completed sooner.”

    Administered in partnership with the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association (SPRA), the School Playground Equipment Grant program is expected to start accepting applications in fall 2025.

    The SPRA is a non-profit dedicated to connecting, educating and inspiring parks and recreation providers to create parks and recreation spaces for the benefit of everyone, with its core operations funded by Sask Lotteries.  

    “We are proud to expand our partnership with the Government of Saskatchewan in the delivery of the School Playground Equipment Grant program,” Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association President Darcy McLeod said. “Playgrounds are crucial to child development and are foundational pieces of community infrastructure that support our health and wellbeing.”

    The criteria and guidelines will be announced closer to the application process, after engagement with stakeholders. It is estimated that approximately 75 projects will receive support each year.

    “It takes time to plan and develop a school playground,” Ross said. “The program will launch in just a few short months and we want communities to know work is underway so they can incorporate this new funding option into their planning process.”  

    Further details, including the specific date that applications open along with the program criteria will be announced once finalized in collaboration with SPRA.

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    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: CFTC Announces Departure of Amanda Olear After Nearly 2 Decades of Service

    Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced former Director of the Market Participants Division and former Acting Director of the Division of Market Oversight, Amanda L. Olear, will depart the agency on May 2. Ms. Olear has served at the CFTC for over 17 years in multiple leadership roles across various divisions. 
    “It has been a true pleasure to have known and worked with Amanda for 15 years. She has served the CFTC, our mission, and our markets with excellence for many years,” Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham said. “Throughout her distinguished tenure, Amanda has exemplified leadership, expertise, and pragmatism in every role she’s held. I would especially like to personally thank Amanda for serving on my executive management team. I’m grateful for her over 17 years of dedicated service to the CFTC and wish her the very best in her future endeavors.”
    “I would like to thank Acting Chairman Pham and former Chairman Behnam for the privilege of being part of their leadership teams,” Ms. Olear said, “It was an honor that I could not have imagined when I joined the CFTC as a junior staff attorney and one that I will carry with me for the rest of my career. I would also like to express my appreciation for the staff in the Market Participants Division and the Division of Market Oversight for their trust and support over the past 5 years. Their professionalism and expertise continue to impress and inspire me. My hope is that I proved myself worthy of their confidence.” 
    Ms. Olear joined the CFTC in 2007 and has served in various leadership capacities, including most recently as Acting Director of the Division of Market Oversight, where she led a team of attorneys, analysts, and other professional staff who oversee derivatives platforms and swap data repositories. Prior to this role, Ms. Olear served as the Director of the Market Participants Division since 2021.
    Ms. Olear began her tenure at the CFTC as an attorney-advisor in the then – Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight – with a focus on CPOs and CTAs. In 2013, she took on the role of Associate Director of the Managed Funds Section in the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight and served as the Deputy Director of Registration and Compliance from 2017 to 2021.
    Ms. Olear joined the CFTC from Council, Baradel, Kosmerl & Nolan, P.A. in Annapolis, Maryland, where she focused on business entity formation and complex commercial litigation. Prior to that, Ms. Olear served as a law clerk to the Honorable Lynne A. Battaglia on the Maryland Court of Appeals (now the Maryland Supreme Court). Coming from a long line of family farmers, she holds a JD, with honors, from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and a BA, summa cum laude, from McDaniel College.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Putin’s three-day ceasefire isn’t a genuine move towards peace, but Ukraine has to play along

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Natasha Lindstaedt, Professor in the Department of Government, University of Essex

    The Russian leader, Vladmir Putin, has announced a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine to commence on May 8, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in the second world war. The Kremlin says “all hostilities will be suspended” during this period and has made it clear it expects Ukraine to follow suit.

    Ukraine responded by calling for an immediate month-long ceasefire and questioned Russia’s commitment to lasting peace. In a post on social media, Ukraine’s foreign secretary, Andrii Sybiha, wrote: “If Russia truly wants peace, it must cease fire immediately … Why wait until May 8th?”

    The ceasefire announcement followed two important developments. On April 18, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, claimed that President Donald Trump was growing impatient and was likely to abandon peace efforts within days if there was no progress.

    Trump then made a rare rebuke of Putin on social media, writing “Vladmir, STOP” after a Russian air attack on Kyiv on April 24 killed 12 people and injured more than 80 others.



    Read more:
    Why is Donald Trump failing to bring peace to Ukraine like he promised?

    A temporary ceasefire allows Putin to do just enough to keep Trump thinking he is committed to a peace deal, hoping this will lead to eventual sanctions relief. But it also has clear benefits for Russia on the battlefield.

    Many aggressors use ceasefires to regroup, rearm and improve their positioning. Analysts have warned that Russia will use the pause to reorganise in order to pursue larger territorial ambitions, particularly in southern and eastern Ukraine.

    According to Ukraine, the broken “Easter truce” helped Russian forces in the Lyman sector of Donetsk Oblast regroup and launch a large-scale infantry assault shortly after its end. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, says the Easter ceasefire was violated by Russia around 3,000 times.

    While Trump appears frustrated by these recent developments, he has remained committed to maintaining a solid relationship with Putin. And in spite of the fact that only 2% of Americans are sympathetic to Russia, Trump has done little to hide his admiration for the Russian leader.

    Bloomberg news examined more than 300 of Trump’s public comments and over 3,000 social media posts since August 2024 and found that Trump has been echoing Russian talking points. The latest evidence of this occurred just days ago.

    When asked by a journalist on April 25 about what concessions Putin has made in the negotiation process, Trump claimed his Russian counterpart was making a “pretty big concession” by not taking over all of Ukraine.

    And while most western leaders condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Trump referred to it initially as “genius” and “savvy”.

    Trump not only respects Putin but sees their relationship as mutually beneficial. Putin has enticed Trump with potential investment opportunities in Russia, such as a Trump Tower project in Russia, and has supported his administration’s desire to take over Greenland.

    Though Putin occasionally flatters Trump, this is mostly to manipulate him. It was easy to see through Putin’s intentions with his commissioning of a laudatory portrait of Trump in the aftermath of his assassination attempt, standing triumphantly with the Statue of Liberty and American flag in the background. But, apparently, Trump was touched by it.

    This flattery seems to be working. Trump has recently announced that he supported Putin’s claims on Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014, representing a huge departure from decades of US foreign policy.

    By doing so, Trump is reneging on the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, where the US committed to support Ukraine’s sovereignty. This constitutes a breach of international law and will also make peace in Ukraine harder to achieve.

    The recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea is considered a red line for Ukraine and would be politically unpopular. Zelensky has made it clear that Crimea belongs to Ukraine, and that Russian annexation violates Ukraine’s current constitution. The constitution cannot be changed when the country is at war and under martial law.

    Ukraine’s limited options

    In spite of the unfavourable terms of any looming peace agreement, Zelensky has little choice at this point but to support a ceasefire. Nearly 90% of Ukrainians polled have faced stress due to the war and another poll, published in March, showed that 77% of Ukrainians back a ceasefire.



    Read more:
    Are Ukrainians ready for ceasefire and concessions? Here’s what the polls say

    The other issue is that Zelensky can no longer count on the US. And research from 2023 shows that for parties that have lost international support, moving towards a ceasefire is much more likely.

    With the US making clear that long-term support for Ukraine is not guaranteed, and Trump not approving a single military aid package since taking office, Zelensky has few options but to support a ceasefire agreement.

    Ceasefires are fairly common occurrences in conflict – over 230 ceasefires have taken place since 1990. But they are frequently broken. Russia in particular, has not been the most trustworthy partner in peace. According to Zelensky, Putin has broken 25 peace agreements over the past decade.

    This doesn’t leave one with much confidence that the latest ceasefire is a genuine move towards peace for Putin, or that the ceasefire will lead to anything more substantial.

    With Trump impatient to get a deal done rather than address the root cause of the conflict (Russia’s imperial ambitions), Russia will continue to manipulate the peace process and block future security guarantees for Ukraine.

    Putin is an expert at committing to agreements that he will renege on. By doing so, he can exact more concessions in the process, all the while blaming Ukraine for the breakdown in peace.

    Natasha Lindstaedt 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. Putin’s three-day ceasefire isn’t a genuine move towards peace, but Ukraine has to play along – https://theconversation.com/putins-three-day-ceasefire-isnt-a-genuine-move-towards-peace-but-ukraine-has-to-play-along-255463

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What Trump’s first 100 days mean for America’s women

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Amy Tatum, Lecturer in Communication and Media, Bournemouth University

    At a rally in November 2024, Donald Trump told the women of America that whether they “like it or not, I’m going to protect them”. And in his first 100 days as president, Trump has taken his role in a direction that leans into the most traditional form of patriarchy – a protector who knows what is best for women despite their demands to the contrary.

    In his leadership of the Republican party and his administration – and, crucially, in the executive orders he has issued – Trump has often tried to suggest women are at the forefront of his agenda. But rather than protecting women’s interests, these orders are setting back their rights at an alarming rate.

    On his first day back in the White House, the government website offering reproductive health information was taken offline. Since then, the Department of Health and Human Services has removed all mention of abortion protection policies and the Department of Justice has dropped the Biden administration’s lawsuit against Idaho, over its near-total abortion ban.


    How is Donald Trump’s presidency shaping up after 100 days? Here’s what the experts think. If you like what you see, sign up to receive our weekly World Affairs Briefing newsletter.

    The Trump administration has also asked to join the oral arguments currently being heard by the US Supreme Court that seek to prevent Medicaid funding for medical services offered by Planned Parenthood in the state of South Carolina.

    Such changes underline Trump’s stance on reproductive rights and suggest potential support for further legislation or legal battles aimed at limiting women’s access to such services.

    A Gallup poll found that in 2024, 63% of women in the US considered themselves pro-choice. So the Trump administration’s stance not only shows it is not listening to women; it signals that the government wants to restrict women’s agency for making their own reproductive decisions. This reinforces the patriarchal role taken by Trump and his administration.

    Limiting women’s democratic rights

    On March 25, Trump issued an executive order on voting registration. This was followed, a week later, by the House of Representatives vote on what is known as the “Save Act” (the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act). This legislation is aimed at limiting voter fraud – but has largely been seen as a way to restrict people’s ability to register to vote.

    The act, if passed by the Senate, will change the documentation that is required from a driving licence to either a birth certificate or passport. This is likely to have a detrimental effect on many women’s access to registration.

    In the US, 84% of women who marry men change their surname to that of their husband, meaning their name does not match that on their birth certificate. And it is estimated that 146 million US citizens do not hold valid passports – so many women wishing to vote may not have identification that would give them eligibility under this act.

    The draft law does not, at present, set out how married women would be able to circumvent this. The legislation has been criticised by commentators for its lack of protection for women voters, and has been seen as a way to disenfranchise and remove the rights of many women – effectively removing them from public affairs by denying their democratic rights.

    Attacking transgender rights

    Trump’s mission to “protect women” has extended to a concerted attack on gender non-conforming people. In his first day in the Oval Office, Trump signed executive order 14168 entitled: “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”

    The wording of the title of this executive order focuses on the defence of women through a biological lens. But what it really does is weaken legal protections for trans, intersex and non-binary people by removing recognition of such identities in federal government policy and institutions. It also has the potential to limit these groups’ access to healthcare, leisure spaces, identity documents and education.

    A week later, the president followed this up with an executive order restricting gender care for under-19s, meaning that insurance run by the federal government could not be used to cover treatments or gender transitions.

    The first 100 days of Trump’s second term have suggested an aggressive stance towards eroding the rights of women and gender non-conforming people that has been couched in the idea of “protecting women”. In fact, limiting access to reproductive healthcare, restricting the rights of trans, intersex and non-binary people, and potentially disenfranchising large numbers of women demonstrates a lack of protection and a diminishing of their voices.

    Trump is portraying himself as the ultimate patriarch – one who knows best, and who upholds the power and privilege of men like himself.

    Amy Tatum 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. What Trump’s first 100 days mean for America’s women – https://theconversation.com/what-trumps-first-100-days-mean-for-americas-women-255269

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Sinners: how real stories of Irish and Choctaw oppression inform the film

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rachel Stuart, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Deviant Identities, Brunel University of London

    Warning: this article contains minor spoilers for Sinners.

    Sinners is a vampire film set in Jim Crow-era Mississippi, a time of harsh segregation and racial injustice. The vampire is Irishman Remmick (Jack O’Connell), who is drawn to the blues music played at the Juke Joint, a club set up by identical gangster twins, Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan).

    We first encounter Remmick as he is being chased by a band of indigenous Choctaw vampire hunters, who corner him in the shack of a couple who happen to be part of the Ku Klux Klan. The Choctaw’s claim that Remmick is not who he appears to be falls on deaf ears and the couple soon become Remmick’s first victims.

    Remmick is soon drawn to the Juke Joint, where the music of blues guitarist Sammy “Preacher Boy” Moore (Miles Caton) is said to reach both ancestors and future generations. Keen to feast on the club’s patrons, Remmick tries to draw them outside by singing an Irish ballad from the mid-19th century, The Rocky Road to Dublin.

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    The Rocky Road to Dublin tells the story of an Irish man leaving his hometown of Tuam to travel to Liverpool. Tuam was the location of a Catholic mother and baby home, where the bodies of over 700 babies were found in 2015.

    Remmick uses the song to invite the Black Juke Joint patrons to join him and the others he has turned into vampires, offering them the chance to escape Jim Crow Mississippi.

    If Remmick was truly offering freedom, however, he would have tried to tempt them with a song of liberation, such as Oro Se Do Bheatha ‘Bhaile, which was the rebel song sung by the republican army as they overthrew the oppression of the English during the Easter Rising in 1916.

    Instead, the music he chooses, although catchy, is a story of exchanging one form of suffering (life in Tuam during the height of English oppression) for another – life on the English mainland where the ballad tells of victimisation and violence.

    The trailer for Sinners.

    The Choctaw’s hunting of Remmick is particularly interesting. The real Choctaw sent money to the starving Irish during the English-induced famine of the 1840s, when they were themselves experiencing genocide.

    Given that the Choctaw are historical allies of the Irish, by identifying that Remmick is not who he seems, they highlight that he does not represent the Irish spirit of resistance. Instead, he represents the spirit of oppression and his choice of music underscores this.

    Choice of setting

    Sinners is set in the early 1930s, a decade after the liberation of Ireland and five years after the founding of the Tuam mother and baby home. Perhaps Remmick needed new feeding grounds since Ireland was finally throwing off the oppression of the English. Where better than the deep south of the Jim Crow era to find oppression and those desperate to escape it?

    Remmick claims to be attracted to the music of the oppressed but when hoodoo healer Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) is killed by Stack before she can be turned into a vampire, we see his true intent. Remmick is angered by her death because although it appears it is the music he is drawn to, in reality it is Annie’s strength he desires.

    Annie, who is steeped in Black culture and can see the vampire’s real intentions, symbolises the way many Black women can resist a social system that is both capitalist and racist. This system doesn’t allow them to ignore the dangers it brings.

    It is the strength and energy of Africa embodied in Annie’s traditional beliefs that Remmick truly seeks to possess, and he is distraught when she dies without being turned into a vampire.

    Unlike Preacher Boy’s family, Annie has resisted the colonisation of her spirituality by the Christian church. Preacher Boy’s father encourages him to stop playing the blues because of its ability to call the devil. Through her ancestral practices however, Annie is able to recognise and resist the temptations of escape that Remmick offers.

    Sinners is an interesting work by filmmaker Ryan Coogler that leaves a trail of crumbs for future instalments. The Choctaw vampire hunters are only on screen for two minutes, but they represent an interesting aside that needs to be explored in terms of the oppressed reaching out to each other against colonialism.

    Annie, immersed in her African spirituality, resists oppression by calling on the strength of ancestors. It’s a powerful reminder that when we know where we come from it is hard to sell us a story of redemption that is ultimately another form of oppression.

    Rachel Stuart 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. Sinners: how real stories of Irish and Choctaw oppression inform the film – https://theconversation.com/sinners-how-real-stories-of-irish-and-choctaw-oppression-inform-the-film-255291

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: From headaches to addiction: the risks of overusing nasal decongestant sprays

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dipa Kamdar, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, Kingston University

    voronaman/Shutterstock

    Nasal decongestant sprays are a popular remedy for relieving nasal congestion caused by colds, allergies and sinus infections. These sprays provide quick relief allowing for easier breathing. However, while they can be effective in the short term, overusing nasal decongestant sprays can lead to serious health issues.

    In April 2025, ITV news reported on people who became dependent on nasal sprays. Many others went on to share similar experiences on social media platforms like TikTok.

    Nasal congestion happens when the lining inside the nose and sinuses becomes irritated, often due to allergens, viruses, or pollutants. In response, immune cells release inflammatory chemicals that cause swelling and increased mucus production. This swelling can block airflow, making it difficult to breathe and often disrupting sleep.

    Most decongestant sprays contain medications like oxymetazoline, xylometazoline, or phenylephrine. These drugs target adrenergic (adrenaline-sensitive) receptors in the blood vessels of the nasal lining, causing the vessels to constrict. As a result, the nasal lining becomes less swollen, opening up the airways and providing almost instant relief.

    This fast-acting benefit is precisely why so many people reach for these sprays. But the convenience can come at a cost.

    Rebound risks

    Withdrawal from nasal decongestant sprays can be a deeply uncomfortable experience for some. Common symptoms include headaches, nasal stuffiness, dryness and even anxiety.

    One of the most concerning side effects of overusing nasal sprays is a condition known as rebound congestion, or rhinitis medicamentosa (RM). This occurs when the nose becomes reliant on the spray to stay open. Over time, the effectiveness of the medication wears off – a phenomenon known as tachyphylaxis. As a result, users may apply the spray more frequently or in higher doses to get the same relief, creating a vicious cycle.

    Some symptoms of rebound congestion, such as constant stuffiness and red, irritated nasal passages, can resemble those seen in cocaine misuse. A US study estimated that up to 9% of patients visiting ear, nose and throat clinics present with RM. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to estimate how many people are affected in the UK, especially since nasal sprays are sold over the counter at pharmacies and supermarkets, often for as little as £3. With long wait times for doctor appointments, many people choose to self-medicate.

    Prolonged use of nasal decongestants can lead to chronic sinusitis: persistent inflammation and infection of the sinuses. The repeated narrowing of blood vessels can also reduce blood flow to nasal tissues, leading to thinning of the lining, chronic dryness, nosebleeds and, in some cases, nasal septal perforation: a hole in the nasal septum.

    Additionally, overuse can damage the turbinates – tiny bone structures inside the nose that help filter, warm and humidify the air you breathe. This can cause them to become swollen or inflamed (turbinate hypertrophy), worsening congestion. Overuse can also impair the function of cilia, tiny hair-like structures responsible for clearing mucus and allergens from the nose.

    Beyond physical symptoms, many users experience psychological dependence. The fear of not being able to breathe without the spray can cause significant anxiety, making it harder to stop using it even when symptoms worsen.

    If you find yourself relying on nasal sprays, it’s important to begin tapering off gradually to minimise withdrawal symptoms. In some cases, doctors may recommend steroid nasal sprays like beclomethasone to reduce inflammation during the withdrawal process. For severe cases, surgical intervention may be necessary. The good news? Many people recover within a week of stopping the spray with the right treatment plan.

    Safer alternatives

    So, what can you use instead? Saline nasal sprays or rinses can help flush out irritants and moisturise the nasal passages without causing rebound congestion. Oral antihistamines and oral decongestants may be more appropriate for allergy-related congestion but can have their own side effects. Antibiotics may be prescribed for sinus infections with severe congestion.

    If you’re using a nasal decongestant spray, it’s important not to exceed three to five days of use – seven days at most, according to experts. Always read the label and follow dosage instructions carefully.

    Nasal decongestant sprays can offer rapid relief, but overusing them can lead to serious consequences, including rebound congestion, tissue damage and psychological dependence. Use them sparingly, and if nasal congestion persists beyond a week, consult a healthcare professional.

    With safer alternatives and medical guidance, you can breathe easier – without the long-term risks.

    Dipa Kamdar 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. From headaches to addiction: the risks of overusing nasal decongestant sprays – https://theconversation.com/from-headaches-to-addiction-the-risks-of-overusing-nasal-decongestant-sprays-254830

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Both novelty and familiarity affect memory – how to make use of this when preparing for exams

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Judith Schomaker, Assistant Professor, Department of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University

    gonzagon/Shutterstock

    When getting ready to take exams, it can sometimes feel as though there’s no way all the information you need to remember is going to fit in your brain. But there are ways to create the right conditions to make your studying as efficient as possible.

    My research into the science of memory shows that both novelty – new experiences – and familiarity can affect memory. You can use novelty to prime yourself for learning, and familiarity to organise your memory and retain knowledge.

    To start with, this might mean going for a walk in an unfamiliar part of your neighbourhood or looking at some art for the first time – in person or online – before you even start studying.

    In the lab, colleagues and I have observed that chances are higher that you will remember new information if you just visited an unfamiliar place.

    In a typical experimental set-up, participants came to the lab to familiarise themselves with a virtual environment on a PC or with a virtual reality headset. This consisted of a fantasy island with unexpected elements, such as streetlight-sized candy canes. We invited our research participants to come back on two other occasions. During these sessions, they explored the same – now familiar – virtual environment, and one they hadn’t seen before.

    After each round of virtual exploration, the experiment participants were presented with a series of words to try to commit to memory, which we then tested them on after a completely different “distractor” task that consisted of solving simple maths problems. Interestingly, the participants who had explored a new environment typically remembered more words than those who had explored a familiar one. This suggests that novelty may prepare the brain for learning.

    After you’ve prepared your brain with a foray into the unknown, it’s time to harness familiarity.

    Why the familiar is important

    Learning entirely new information is often very challenging. Students sometimes report reading several pages, but having no recollection of what they read.

    There may be several reasons for this, but a common one is that it is difficult to memorise something if it is very different from anything you have learned before.

    The brain likes to categorise and label information, and our memory is organised in semantic categories. For example, if I mention “swivel chair”, “computer”, and “filing cabinet”, the overarching term “office” may pop to mind.

    Memory associations like these are crucial during memory retrieval, as linked information can work as a memory cue. In memory research we sometimes refer to these interlinked concepts as “memory schema”.

    When you have to learn something new, your brain will try to categorise that novel information. If a link can be made with something you already know, this information can more easily be integrated into an existing memory schema.

    Based on research, we would predict that studying for a test is more effective if you already know something about the topic, as it allows you to put novel information in your existing memory schema, and allows you to retrieve that information more easily at a later point in time.

    For example, imagine eating a yellow kiwi for the first time. Your previous experience with green kiwis will allow you to recognise the fruit. The novel experience of eating this slightly sweeter kiwi is easy to integrate in your existing knowledge of kiwis, including what they look, feel and taste like.

    Making connections

    But studying for exams often means learning abstract concepts. The related memory schemas are underdeveloped for less concrete information, which makes new information hard to remember.

    In a biological psychology course I teach, students have to learn about the transfer of information between brain cells. One of the crucial aspects of this topic is the change in chemistry of the neuron, from when it is at rest to when it is firing, and the potassium and sodium chloride ions involved.

    Exam results showed that students found these processes hard to remember. One year, I decided to introduce a simple visual memory aid: an image of a banana with a container of table salt on top.

    Memory aid to help students remember ions involved in neural transmission.
    Judith Schomaker, CC BY-NC-ND

    Most students know that bananas are rich in potassium, while table salt is sodium chloride. This simple picture shows the situation of a neuron at rest: A lot of potassium on the inside, and a lot of sodium chloride on the outside of the cell. But when the neuron is firing, ion channels open, and due to laws of diffusion, potassium will flow out, and sodium chloride into the cell.

    After I introduced this memory aid, the performance of students on the exam question about this topic increased significantly. In fact, last year it was labelled as “too easy” by our exam monitoring tool, because so many students got it right. The image made integration of novel knowledge into an existing schema easier because it linked new, abstract information to well-known elements – the banana and the table salt.

    When preparing for an exam, then, it can be helpful to think about how the new information you are trying to memorise relates to things you already know, even if this information is not directly relevant for the exam. Knowing that bananas are high in potassium, for instance, is not a learning objective of a biological psychology course.

    And if you go for a walk somewhere new first, even better. Hopefully these tips will help you turn difficult exam material into lasting memories.

    Judith Schomaker receives funding from NWO, LUF and LLinC.

    – ref. Both novelty and familiarity affect memory – how to make use of this when preparing for exams – https://theconversation.com/both-novelty-and-familiarity-affect-memory-how-to-make-use-of-this-when-preparing-for-exams-254722

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Aberdeen pupils to showcase their musical talents in Regensburg

    Source: Scotland – City of Aberdeen

    Pupils and staff representing Aberdeen City Music Service are set to perform in Regensburg this summer to mark the 70th anniversary of the twinning of the two cities.

    Members of the Council’s Education and Children’s Services Committee today (29 April) approved the pupils visit to Regensburg, as it will allow them to showcase their musical talents and enjoy the wider cultural experience. It will also further boost the twinning partnership between the two cities.

    The six musical pupils and two members of staff will perform alongside local young musicians and dancers from Regensburg at a special Scottish-Bavarian music event on the evening of Thursday 19 June.

    The official twinning celebrations will continue through to Sunday 22 June and will also see the group perform at the Bürgerfest – the biggest street festival in Regensburg.

    Councillor Martin Greig, the Convener of Education and Children’s Services Committee, said: “This music visit is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of our city’s twinning arrangement with Regensburg. This is an important partnership link. Our talented pupils will be able to share the joy and goodwill of music making with our friends in Germany. I am delighted that the young people involved can enrich their cultural experiences and bring best wishes from Aberdeen.”

    Councillor Jessica Mennie, Vice-Convener of Education and Children’s Services Committee, said: “We are thankful to the Mayor of Regensburg for her wonderful invitation to our young people.  Aberdeen has been twinned with Regensburg for 70 years, which is why it will be lovely to see our pupils being part of the festivities in Bavaria to mark such an important partnership.”

    The group’s participation in the celebrations followed an invitation from the Mayor of Regensburg Gertrud Maltz-Schwarzfischer.

    The pupils will share photographs and video clips of their trip on social media.

    The Committee members also heard that the Music Service is gearing up for Aberdeen Big Sing 2025 next month, and is working with the Education and Language departments in Clement-Ferrand, a French city which is twinned with Aberdeen.

    These reciprocal partnerships enrich pupil learning and allow them to use their language skills.  The proposed trip to Regensburg will help further develop this work with officers from Clement-Ferrand, who will also be in attendance in Regensburg.

    The travel to Regensburg is estimated at £2,500 and will be met via the approved Music Service budget for 2025/26. Hostel accommodation for the six pupils and two Music Service staff has been gifted by the Mayor of Regensburg’s office.  

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The role of family in modern society was discussed at the State University of Management

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    On April 29, the 2nd International Scientific Conference “Family in Modern Russian Society” was held at the State University of Management, organized by the Research Institute of Public Policy and Management of Industrial Economics of the State University of Management together with the university institutes.

    Today, family issues are given special attention at all levels. Thus, 2024 in Russia was held under the auspices of the Year of the Family and became fruitful in terms of long-term legislative, economic and social initiatives aimed at supporting Russian families.

    More than 50 students, postgraduates, applicants, scientists and teachers presented papers on the role of the family in Russian society, issues of family policy and traditional family values. Students and teachers of Russian universities, experts, representatives of government bodies and the clergy took part in the work of the sections. The Chairman of the Program Committee was Oleg Sudorgin, Director of the Research Institute of Public Policy and Management of Industrial Economy of the State University of Management.

    The conference included five sections.

    The section “Family and Marriage Values in the Minds of Modern Youth” was led by Deputy Director of the Institute of Personnel Management, Social and Business Communications for Research Galina Mokhova. Participants presented research on the specifics of family relationships and youth education, discussed the problems of trust in family relationships, and the perception of family and marriage by young people. Considerable attention was paid to the preservation and strengthening of intergenerational relationships and traditional family values.

    The Family Economy section, chaired by Galina Sorokina, Director of the Institute of Economics and Finance, discussed the specifics and issues of family economics and family budget in modern society. Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church also took part in the work: the rector of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Pronsky Monastery in the Ryazan Diocese, Abbot Luka (Stepanov), the rector of the Church of the Holy Blessed Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky on Volzhsky, Priest Kirill (Kraev), and the priest of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity near Saltykov Bridge, Priest Grigory (Falin). GUU expresses its deep appreciation and gratitude to the representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church for their participation in the conference.

    Within the framework of the section “Formation and development of modern state family policy in Russia”, headed by the head of the department of state and municipal administration, adviser to the rector’s office Sergey Chuev, current national and federal projects, strategies in the field of family and demographic policy, issues and prospects for state support for young families were discussed.

    Under the guidance of Irina Goncharova, leading researcher at the Research Institute of Public Policy and Management of Industrial Economics, in the section “The Institute of Family in the Era of Change: from Historical Mission to Modern Challenges,” the speakers examined aspects of the institution of family in the context of modern demographic challenges and the impact of digitalization, the role of the family in fostering patriotism and the formation of a positive image of the family in the media.

    The conference included a special thematic section dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War — “The Contribution of Families to Achieving Victory in World War II.” The section was chaired by Fanis Sharipov, Director of the Center for Socio-Economic and Political Research of China at the Research Institute of Public Policy and Management of Industrial Economy. The speakers presented stories related to their ancestors who fought during the Great Patriotic War, and shared memories of the courage and dedication of their relatives. The key issues of the section were the importance of preserving historical memory and the contribution of young people to preserving the memory of the war. Nikita Stepanov, Senior Researcher at the Center for Socio-Economic Development Institutes at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Ivan Arkhipov, Deputy Chairman of the Russian-Chinese Friendship Society and President of the I.V. Arkhipov Foundation, took part in the section.

    For the second time, the conference became a platform for professional and extensive consideration of the vectors of development of the Russian family, key foundations for preserving the continuity of traditions and family values. Participants unanimously noted the importance of discussing and forming new ideas for developing the institution of the family, and also emphasized that the regular nature of such events promotes dialogue between generations, preservation and popularization of traditions and family values in modern Russian society.

    Let us recall that in 2024, the first International Scientific Conference “Family in Modern Russian Society” was held at the State University of Management, dedicated to the Year of the Family, declared by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 04/29/2025

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEA Member Named 2025 National Teacher of the Year

    Source: US National Education Union

    By: Celeste Fernandez

    Published: April 29, 2025

    WASHINGTON — NEA member Ashlie Crosson, an English teacher at Mifflin County High School in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, is the 2025 National Teacher of the Year. 

    “On behalf of the National Education Association’s nearly three million members, we are proud to congratulate Ashlie for cultivating a curiosity for knowledge, nurturing growth, and guiding her students in exploring the world,” said NEA President Becky Pringle. “Her unwavering commitment helps build a stronger, brighter future for every student.”

    Crosson teaches Advanced Placement Language and Composition, English 10, and Survival Stories, an elective that explores global humanitarian crises through a youth-centered lens. She also advises the journalism program and oversees the production of the school newspaper and district magazine.

    A first-generation college graduate, Crosson credits her success to the teachers and counselors who supported her along the way. Inspired by their encouragement, she pursued a career in education to offer future generations the same guidance she once received. Crosson earned her bachelor’s degree in English education with a minor in journalism from Susquehanna University. In 2020, she returned to her hometown to give back to the community that shaped her.

    “Ashlie embodies our core belief that public schools and educators spark imagination, cultivate curiosity and critical thinking, and open doors for every student—no matter their race, background, ZIP code, or ability,” said Pringle. “For Ashlie, teaching is more than a profession—it’s a true calling.”

    Pringle’s praise is echoed by fellow education leaders who recognize Ashlie’s lasting impact on her students and community.

    “The Pennsylvania State Education Association congratulates Ashlie,” said PSEA President Aaron Chapin. “Ashlie works hard every day to nurture in her students a love for learning. Her tireless dedication to her students is helping prepare the next generation of creators, leaders, and innovators. And that benefits all of us because strong public schools make strong communities.”

    The Council of Chief State School Officers announced the four finalists for the 2025 National Teacher of the Year in January. CCSSO’s National Teacher of the Year program identifies exceptional teachers, recognizes their effective work in the classroom, engages them in a year of professional learning, amplifies their voices, and empowers them to participate in policy discussions at the state and national levels. 

    Follow us on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/neapresident.bsky.social and https://bsky.app/profile/neatoday.bsky.social

    # # #

    The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, students preparing to become teachers, healthcare workers, and public employees. Learn more at www.nea.org.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Colorado Ranks #3 Nationally for Preschool Enrollment, Driven by Free Universal Preschool Program

    Source: US State of Colorado

    Landmark Initiative Propels State from 27th to 3rd in First Program Year

    DENVER —The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) released a report today ranking Colorado third in the nation for the number of four-year-olds enrolled in preschool. In the 2023-24 school year, nearly 70% of all eligible four-year-olds enrolled in Colorado Universal Preschool. This program boosted Colorado from 27th in the nation to third. Colorado served a total of 52,617 three and four year olds, an increase of 31,277 from the prior year under the former Colorado Preschool Program (CPP). 

    “Colorado is proud to be breaking down barriers to help increase access to early childhood education and save families thousands of dollars per year. We look forward to building on the success of free preschool, and helping even more children and families enroll and access the benefits,” said Governor Jared Polis.

    “The experiences children have in their first few years of life lay the foundation for their future,” said Dr. Lisa Roy, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC). “That’s why Colorado created the Universal Preschool program—so that every child, no matter their background, can have the best possible start. This ranking is an inspiring testament to the hard work of many people and our vision for a brighter future for Colorado children.”

    Since its launch in 2023, Colorado Universal Preschool has transformed access to early childhood education.

    • Lowering Families’ Costs: The program saves families an average of $6,100 annually on preschool expenses for four-year-olds, providing critical financial relief.
    • Expanding Family Choice: With nearly 2,000 annual participating providers statewide, families have the flexibility to choose from a variety of early education models and community-based, school-based, and home-based settings to best meet their unique needs.
    • Serving Diverse Needs: In the first year, nearly 50% of participating 4-year-olds came from low-income households, with many children also classified as being English-language learners, experiencing homelessness, or having a disability.
    • Strengthening the Sector: The program distributed $239.4 million to providers of four year olds in the first year, enhancing sustainability and incentivizing sector growth.
    • Read more about the historic success of the program’s inaugural first year in the recently published Colorado Universal Preschool Annual Report.

    “We’re proud of how far we’ve come, and even more excited about where we’re headed,” said Dawn Odean, Director of Universal Preschool. “Our commitment to continuous improvement is rooted in partnership—with educators, providers, families, and local communities—and a shared vision that puts Colorado children’s outcomes at the center. Together, we’re creating the conditions for every child to thrive not just in preschool, but well beyond.”

    Proposition EE, passed in November 2020, and subsequent laws like HB22-1295 in 2022, paved the way for the CDEC and the Colorado Universal Preschool program. The statewide Universal Preschool program, launched on July 1, 2023, is managed by the CDEC using a mixed-delivery model in partnership with Local Coordinating Organizations (LCOs).

    Visit NIEER.org to see the report. 
     

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Ernst Standing up for Taxpayers in Washington

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
    WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, Senate DOGE Caucus Chair Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has been leading the fight in Washington to end taxpayer-funded union time (TFUT), the insane practice of requiring taxpayers to foot the bill for federal employees engaging in union activity while on the clock, including lobbying Congress for higher pay, negotiating telework agreements, and securing other cushy perks.
    While data was not released under the Biden administration, the most recent report from 2019 showed federal employees spent 2,606,390 hours engaged in union activities while on the clock for the American people, costing taxpayers $160 million in just one year.
    To uncover the true cost of TFUT, Senator Ernst demanded in December 2024 that 24 federal agencies provide accurate and up to date data. Ernst’s efforts have already uncovered the jaw-dropping details of the true cost to taxpayers at three federal agencies.
    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) revealed an 11% increase in costs since 2019, racking up more than $400,000 annually.
    NY POST | Nuclear agency had 11% increase in taxpayer-funded union time from five years ago, records show
    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) similarly admitted that north of $400,000 was spent every year for union activity.
    NY POST | NASA spent over $400K taxpayer dollars on union time last year
    The real bombshell came from the Defense Health Agency (DHA), which oversees the TRICARE health benefits for servicemembers, who said its bureaucrats spent 87,000 hours on union activity costing taxpayers $3.3 million.
    NY POST | Workers at Defense Health Agency spent $3.3 million and 87,000 hours working on their own union benefits
    Because the data from these three agencies is just the tip of the iceberg, Senator Ernst sent a letter to the Trump administration requesting that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) resume tracking and publicly disclosing the total cost of TFUT across government to provide taxpayers with a true accounting. The Trump administration has agreed and will soon publish a government-wide report. Ernst also introduced the Taxpayer-Funded Union Time Transparency Act to require the annual public disclosure of the cost of TFUT to the American people.
    Transparency is an important step but Ernst has also introduced the Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallet Act to require federal unions to reimburse taxpayers for all costs involving TFUT to potentially save the American people more than a billion dollars over the next decade.
    Her bill will ensure that no more tax dollars are spent on bureaucrats securing cushy perks as was the case at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Ernst uncovered that the IRS’s union secured a cushy telework agreement allowing employees to come in just two days per two-week pay period. To rub salt in the wound, all of the negotiations were done on taxpayers’ dime.
    NY POST | IRS workers only had to show up to work once a week in person, before Trump took over
    Last week, Ernst sent a letter to Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner about how his department has been ground zero for TFUT abuse by bureaucrats. She detailed examples of bureaucrats launching real estate careers, going on beach vacations, and even sitting in jail cells all while allegedly on union time.
    THE DAILY CALLER | Joni Ernst Reveals More Examples Of HUD Bureaucrats Bilking Taxpayers
    Ernst’s efforts to fight for taxpayers have earned her sweeping praise.
    NY POST | Public-sector workers spent 87,000 hours screwing you — just at one agency, just in two years
    The New York Post Editorial Board wrote about Senator Ernst and called her, “A fierce advocate for the troops as well as a staunch fighter against fraud and waste as head of the Senate DOGE caucus.”
    The Public Labor Unions Accountability Committee, who advocates for holding public sector unions accountable, has applauded Ernst’s work and emphasized that American taxpayers deserve to know where their money is going.
    FOX NEWS | MARY KATHARINE HAM: Teachers union bosses put themselves first, teachers and students last
    Fox News contributor, OutKick columnist, and Senior Advisor to the Public Labor Unions Accountability Committee Mary Katharine Ham praised Ernst’s efforts and demanded that public sector unions be removed from politics. Ham also called out the true cost of public sector unions on the Ruthless podcast and the Guy Benson Show.
    WASHINGTON EXAMINER | No more union time on taxpayer dime
    The Washington Examiner Editorial board applauded Ernst’s Protecting Taxpayer’s Wallet Act in a piece calling for the end of union time on the taxpayers’ dime.
    Americans For Fair Treatment, an advocacy group for getting union spending out of politics, has also praised the Protecting Taxpayer’s Wallet Act and called for its swift passage to bring a little fiscal sanity to Washington.
    SEAN HANNITY | IR-MESS! IRS Workers Only Had to Show Up for Work One Day a Week Before Trump 2.0: Report
    Hannity called out the insanity of IRS bureaucrats only having to show up once a week after Senator Ernst unearthed the arrangement.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Game change Canadian election: Mark Carney leads Liberals to their fourth consecutive win consécutive

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Fiona MacDonald, Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Northern British Columbia

    Canada’s 2025 federal election will be remembered as a game-changer. Liberal Leader Mark Carney pulled off a dramatic reversal of political fortunes after convincing voters he was the best candidate to fight annexation threats from United States President Donald Trump.

    “We are over the shock of the American betrayal; we have to take care of each other,” he told cheering supporters in his victory speech in Ottawa.

    “Together we will build a Canada worthy of our values. Canada strong, Canada free, Canada forever, vive le Canada!”

    Canadians gave the Liberals their fourth mandate since 2015, although the race against the Conservatives was much closer than polls predicted.

    Nonetheless, only four months ago, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre had a 25-point lead in public opinion polls and a fairly secure path to victory.

    Yet Poilievre’s lead soon vanished due to shifting voter sentiments defined less by the official campaign period and more by the months that preceded it. Justin Trudeau’s early January resignation announcement and Carney’s confirmation that he was officially in the Liberal leadership race dramatically changed the political landscape.



    Read more:
    After stunning comeback, centre-left Liberals likely to win majority of seats at Canadian election

    Within a matter of weeks, Liberal support surged when Carney became party leader and Trump continued to make threats about Canada becoming a 51st American state — and to levy punishing on-again, off-again tariffs against the country.

    The party went from being 20 percentage points behind the Conservatives to overtaking them, putting the party on track to secure its fourth consecutive victory. A shift described by longtime pollster Frank Graves as “unprecedented.”

    Poilievre’s messaging

    The emerging “Canada Strong” and “Elbows Up” narratives, linked to the widespread anti-Trump sentiment, proved a major advantage for the Liberals, who made the most out of this political gift.

    This shift, alongside Carney’s elimination of the carbon tax, left Poilievre on the back foot as his longstanding messaging on Trudeau and his “axe the tax” slogan became largely irrelevant. Poilievre also lost his Ottawa-area seat to a Liberal.



    Read more:
    Who really killed Canada’s carbon tax? Friends and foes alike

    The impact of these shifts in electoral fortunes extended beyond the two main parties. As the election became increasingly a two-party race between the Liberals and Conservatives, the smaller parties struggled for relevance.

    Election campaign polling and early results indicated steep losses for the NDP, with Jagmeet Singh losing his own seat in Burnaby, B.C. and then resigning as party leader. This could be due to voters on the left responding to calls to vote strategically to prevent Conservative victories in various ridings.

    The Bloc Québecois also lost ground, as did the Green Party of Canada and the People’s Party of Canada (PPC). Neither the Greens nor the PPC fielded full slates of candidates or participated in the leaders’ debates and therefore played comparatively limited roles in this election.

    Advance voting in a gendered election

    Another notable feature of this election was the record advance voting turnout, which surged to 7.3 million Canadians, up sharply from 5.8 million in 2021.

    Early voting has now become a central part of party campaign strategy, with campaigns “getting out the vote” at every opportunity, not just on Election Day. This trend raises questions not only about whether overall turnout will rise, but also whether party platforms remain as influential given so many votes were cast before all parties released their platforms.

    While many Canadians take in elections with a focus on party leaders and seat counts, there are other important ways to contemplate election outcomes in terms of inclusion and voice. What does this election tell us about gender and diversity representation in Canada’s Parliament?

    This was a deeply gendered election. The major party leaders are all men, with the exception of Elizabeth May, the Green Party co-leader.

    Preliminary candidate data showed a decrease in the number of women candidates compared to 2021.

    The NDP nominated the highest proportion of women candidates — the majority of its candidates are women — and fielded the most diverse slate of candidates in terms of Indigenous people, Black people, racialized people and LGBTQ+ candidates. But the party’s dramatic losses mean these gains will not translate into more diverse representation in Parliament.

    Furthermore, one of Carney’s first actions as prime minister was to eliminate the sex-balanced cabinet and to reduce the size of the cabinet. He eliminated the Ministry of Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) as well as ministerial portfolios focused on youth, official languages, diversity, inclusion, disability and seniors.

    These decisions reverse previous efforts taken to institutionalize gender and diversity leadership in Canada’s Parliament.

    Party platforms also reflected diverging approaches when it came to women. The Conservative platform only mentioned women four times, and three of those mentions were in the context of opposition to transgender rights.



    Read more:
    Pierre Poilievre’s ‘More Boots, Less Suits’ election strategy held little appeal to women

    The role of young working-class men

    Polling also revealed intersections of generation, gender and class are increasingly relevant. Like the last federal election, young working-class men are increasingly drawn to the Conservatives. This trend appears to be driven less by fiscal conservatism and more by concerns about rapid social change, a trend also observed in the 2024 American presidential election.

    Many of these young men are expressing frustrations over housing affordability and job security, and what they view as the Liberal and NDP’s “woke culture,” which they regard as eroding traditional values that have traditionally benefited men. In contrast, Canadian women of all ages continue to favour parties they view as more progressive — the Liberals and the NDP.

    Theoretical explanations for this include young men feeling left behind by the Liberals, while the Conservatives have seemingly figured out a way to connect with them.

    This may reflect campaign rhetoric about returning to traditional expectations and values around gender roles and men’s rights to well-paying jobs, an affordable home and taking care of their families.

    Electoral reform needed?

    In the aftermath of the election, there are avenues through which current gaps in representation can be addressed. Organizations like the United Nations’ Inter-parliamentary Union and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, as well as gender and politics scholarship, propose various reforms to continue to strengthen diversity in Parliament.

    These reforms are understood to be essential for enhancing the legitimacy, responsiveness and effectiveness of Canada’s parliamentary system. Research on gender-and diversity-sensitive parliaments consistently shows that when legislative bodies reflect the diversity of the societies they govern, they are more likely to produce policies that are equitable, inclusive and trusted by the public.

    Overall, this Canadian election was characterized by transformative twists and turns that shed more light on important ongoing questions about representation and the potential need for democratic reform if Canadians want to avoid a two-party system.

    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. Game change Canadian election: Mark Carney leads Liberals to their fourth consecutive win consécutive – https://theconversation.com/game-change-canadian-election-mark-carney-leads-liberals-to-their-fourth-consecutive-win-consecutive-253721

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ghana’s citizens have a right to protest: what does the law say about restricting it?

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Justice Tankebe, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Cambridge

    Ghana’s attorney general and minister of justice dropped charges against members of Democracy Hub, a civil society group, in February 2025, after four months of prosecution. The group had organised a protest in September 2024 against the widespread destruction and contamination of the country’s water bodies by persons and gangs engaged in illegal artisanal mining.

    Media reports alleged police harassment and use of excessive force during the three-day protest. The actions of the police and the courts were the latest in a history of suppression of the exercise of the right to protest. They are based on a military-era law that the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional three decades ago.

    The situation highlights the tension between the right to protest and lawful interference with those rights. As a criminologist and an expert in constitutional law, we argue that the tension can be minimised by considering four factors:

    • location and time

    • rights of others

    • target of protest

    • intentions of protesters.

    Right to protest in Ghana

    Ghana’s 1992 constitution guarantees the right to protest. However, as is standard practice in democracies, the constitution also allows these rights to be restricted on specified public interest grounds. Restrictions must be “reasonably required” in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public health or the running of essential services.

    The challenge democratic societies face is managing the apparent tension between people’s fundamental rights to protest and the need, sometimes, to interfere with those rights in the larger public interest.

    While Ghana’s Supreme Court ruling in 1993 forbids any action that would deny protesters their right to protest, it had grey areas. For example, it did not offer clear guidance on what would make a restriction “reasonably required” and “reasonably justifiable in terms of the spirit of the constitution”.

    Ghana is a former British colony, and its law and legal system continue to be influenced by UK legal principles. So the UK can offer guidance. In 2021, in the case of Director of Public Prosecutions v Ziegler and others, the UK Supreme Court pronounced certain principles and factors that police, prosecutors and judges must consider.

    Location and time

    The UK court reasoned that the right to protest includes the right to choose when and where to hold the protest. The location or path of a protest will determine whether its message is received by the intended target and what impact it will have.

    The Ghanaian police and courts have often violated this principle when a protest is stopped because the location is a so-called “security zone”. The basis for this categorisation is not clearly specified or defined in law. The Ghana constitution specifies that any restriction of the right to protest must be contained in “a law”.

    Rights of others

    Ghanaian law does not allow protesters to obstruct traffic, cause confusion or disorder, or violate the rights and freedoms of other members of the public. But protests almost always do cause some interference with the rights of others.

    That’s not sufficient reason to interfere with the right to protest. According to the UK Supreme Court, the police and courts must establish the extent of the actual violation of citizens’ rights – such as how many people were likely to be inconvenienced.

    Target of protests

    Where there is obstruction, there must be evidence that it was not connected to the reasons for the protest. One accusation against the Democracy Hub protesters was that they blocked the entrance to a health facility. Had they blocked access to, say, an authority responsible for granting licences for artisanal mining, the police would not have been justified in arresting them. The police must also show that no alternative routes were reasonably available to the inconvenienced public.

    Intentions of protesters

    This factor requires the police and courts to consider whether a protest is intended to be peaceful. Cooperating with the police, such as notifying them about the intended protest, signifies a peaceful intent. The UK court notes that where a protest is intended to be peaceful and is, indeed, peaceful, protesters will have the right to resist police arrest.

    A fair hand

    The checklist is not exhaustive, but it puts an important obligation on the police and the courts not to interfere unreasonably with the fundamental rights of citizens. While the right to protest is not absolute, it remains fundamental in a democracy. Therefore, a restriction of the right cannot be absolute either. The restriction must be reasonable and proportionate.

    In short, the restrictions attached to the right to assemble and to protest are designed to do no more than restrict (limit or constrain), within reasonable limits, how, where and when the right may be exercised. They are not meant to destroy or undermine protesters’ ability to exercise that right to achieve their desired goals.

    Current Ghanaian police and judicial practice must change, along the lines of the UK Supreme Court’s ruling, to ensure the right to protest is not treated as less valuable or less important than the restrictions that may be applied to limit it.

    Henry Kwasi Prempeh, who co-authored this article, is a Ghanaian lawyer and educationist, and the current executive director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development.

    Justice Tankebe 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. Ghana’s citizens have a right to protest: what does the law say about restricting it? – https://theconversation.com/ghanas-citizens-have-a-right-to-protest-what-does-the-law-say-about-restricting-it-248049

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: NSFAS payment delays to be resolved 

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Minister of Higher Education, Nobuhle Nkabane, has emphasised government’s commitment to providing students with the necessary support for their educational pursuits. 

    She highlighted crucial aspects of the disbursement of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) allowances and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) appeals process.

    “The timely disbursement of TVET allowances and the NSFAS appeals process are paramount towards a streamlined and transparent funding process that ensures that no student is left behind,” she said in a media statement. 

    “Access to education is not just a privilege, it is a fundamental right that facilitates personal and national growth.” 

    This is after recent delays in the disbursement of TVET student allowances, which were scheduled for 25 April 2025 but were affected by a system glitch. 
    NSFAS confirmed that payments were processed on 26 April and reflected in student accounts by 27 April. 

    The Minister acknowledged the inconvenience caused by these delays, stating that a specific group of approximately 800 students from one institution faced additional challenges regarding fund transfers. 

    However, NSFAS pledged to resolve these issues by Wednesday, 30 April. 

    “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused by the delays in allowances – delayed payments are unacceptable. We recognise the impact of these delays as students depend entirely on their allowances for living expenses,” she said. 

    She said NSFAS is prioritising the settlement of all outstanding amounts from 2024 owed to students and accommodation providers, with communication expected by the end of the month.

    Appeals process

    The Minister also touched on the appeals process, reporting that most appeals submitted for 2025 have been successfully addressed and are currently under review by the NSFAS Appeals and Tribunals Committee. 

    Students are encouraged to regularly check their accounts for updates on their appeals.

    The Minister also spoke about the qualification code discrepancies that affected fund disbursements to eligible students, which have been identified and largely resolved. 

    However, she said this discrepancy notably impacted students enrolled in specific National Certificate Vocational (NCV) programmes. 

    She expects the release of results to be done between 9 and 12 May, which will facilitate the disbursement of NSFAS funds to the affected students.

    “As the Minister of Higher Education, I appreciate the patience and understanding of all affected students and stakeholders during this process, and we remain committed to ensuring that all eligible students receive their funding and results promptly,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: US-China trade war could hurt Nigerian entrepreneurs: why, and how they should prepare

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Tolu Olarewaju, Economist and Lecturer in Management, Keele University

    As China and the United States lock horns in a trade war, slamming tariffs on each other, entrepreneurs in Nigeria are vulnerable to the fallout. In 2024, 27.8% of imports into Nigeria came from China. In the same year, US exports to Nigeria reached US$4.2 billion. Economist and entrepreneurship researcher Tolu Olarewaju unpacks what could happen if Chinese products destined for the American market were diverted to developing economies, including Nigeria.

    What dangers do the tariff tensions pose to Nigeria’s entrepreneurs?

    China is the world’s biggest manufacturing nation, producing far more than its population consumes domestically. It is already running an almost US$1 trillion goods surplus, meaning it exports more goods than it imports.

    China is often producing those goods at below the true cost of production due to domestic subsidies and state financial support, like cheap loans for favoured firms.

    If the goods it currently exports are unable to enter the US because tariffs have made them too expensive, Chinese firms could seek to divert them to other countries. This could be beneficial for some consumers. But it could undercut entrepreneurs who make competing products in these countries and threaten jobs and wages.

    Looking at the past profile of Chinese exports to Nigeria, these are some Nigerian goods that could be replaced by cheaper goods from China:

    Textiles and garments: Nigeria is the largest producer of textiles in west Africa. The Nigerian textile, apparel, and footwear sector contributed 2.97% to Nigeria’s GDP in 2023 and contracted by 1.75% in the first quarter of 2024. Locally made fabrics, garments and leather goods can easily be replaced by Chinese products, especially in the low-cost and mass-market segment. This is because China is one of the sector’s largest producers globally and can export at low cost.

    In 2024, the US was the top destination for China’s textiles exports.

    Furniture and home décor: Nigerian artisans are skilled at producing wooden furniture, home décor items, and other interior products. However, China is a global leader in furniture manufacturing. It offers mass-produced, inexpensive items. The wide variety and affordability could displace Nigerian furniture makers. The furniture market in Nigeria is expected to generate revenue of US$5.11 billion in 2025 and experience an annual growth rate of 2.93% between 2025 and 2029.

    Footwear: The Nigerian footwear market is valued at US$2.57 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow annually by 9.83%. The Nigerian footwear industry produces around 50 million pairs of shoes annually and employs over 500,000 people. China is one of the largest producers of footwear. In the US, 61.9% of all shoes are imported from China. Nigerian shoe manufacturers may find it difficult to compete with the flood of affordable Chinese-made footwear.

    Beauty, cosmetic, and skincare products: The Nigerian soap market is growing. It generated revenue of US$660.5 million in 2024 and is expected to reach US$1.07 billion by 2030. With a population of over 200 million, the demand for soap products is increasing. China is a major supplier of inexpensive, mass-produced beauty products.

    What are the biggest challenges holding back Nigerian entrepreneurs?

    Weak infrastructure: Frequent power outages make it difficult for businesses to operate and distribute their products. This is a significant barrier, especially in the age of digital technologies, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Poor road conditions also make it difficult to transport goods.

    High inflation: Nigeria’s headline inflation rate on a year-on-year basis stood at 24.48% in January 2025, and 29.90% in January 2024. High inflation raises the cost of raw materials, fuel, utilities and transport.

    Inflation also means a reduction in the purchasing power of consumers. While inflation should make Nigeria a less attractive market, Chinese goods are typically cheaper than local or western alternatives, even when inflation affects import costs.

    Interest rates for business loans are high in Nigeria. This reduces profit margins and makes it harder to maintain affordable prices for consumers.

    A poor business environment: Nigeria’s unpredictable political and economic landscape, characterised by shifting policies, and inconsistent regulations, makes it difficult for entrepreneurs to plan. They need to be able to forecast expenses, set pricing strategies or invest in long-term projects.

    Corruption also increases the costs of doing business and makes the business environment more uncertain.

    While it might seem logical for the government to protect the domestic business environment with blanket tariffs as suggested by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a more strategic approach is needed, one that focuses on targeted tariffs and investing in sectors with strong growth potential.

    Limited access to finance and high interest rates: Access to finance is a major barrier due to high interest rates and unreasonable collateral requirements for business credit.

    Currency depreciation and exchange rate volatility: The Nigerian naira has depreciated against foreign currencies in recent years. Entrepreneurs who rely on imports for raw materials or equipment have been hit hard by fluctuating exchange rates. Rising import costs can lead to even higher production costs. For businesses looking to export, this volatility can reduce the profitability of foreign sales, discouraging expansion into international markets.

    What should Nigeria’s entrepreneurs do to prepare for any potential fallout from the China-US trade war?

    Identify niche market needs: They should identify a market need that is not being met or that is under-served and cannot easily be met by Chinese goods.

    Focus on customer service: This way, entrepreneurs can build customer loyalty and reputation despite the influx of cheap goods.

    Embrace innovation: Nigerian entrepreneurs should be open to new ideas and technologies that can help them create new products and services, increase efficiency and reduce costs.

    Diversify supply chains: Relying heavily on imports from one country, especially raw materials, machinery, or electronics, can lead to shortages and price hikes if trade tensions escalate. Businesses should identify alternative suppliers, explore local sourcing options, and build stockpiles of essential inputs.

    Explore new export markets: Nigerian entrepreneurs should exploit regional trade agreements like the African Continental Free Trade Area for easier access to African markets.

    Adaptability and value creation: Businesses that focus on value creation are best positioned not just to survive but to thrive amid global shifts. Raw material exporters (for example, cashew and cocoa) may be vulnerable to price shocks. Value-added products offer better margins and greater market protection. Entrepreneurs should consider investing in light manufacturing or local processing, such as turning cocoa into chocolate.

    – US-China trade war could hurt Nigerian entrepreneurs: why, and how they should prepare
    – https://theconversation.com/us-china-trade-war-could-hurt-nigerian-entrepreneurs-why-and-how-they-should-prepare-254840

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: South Africa’s frogs and reptiles get their own list of names in local languages

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Fortunate Mafeta Phaka, Senior Postdoctoral Researcher of herptile-human interactions, North-West University

    Naming all the creatures and plants in nature is no small task. Fortunate Phaka is a zoologist who has conducted the first comprehensive analysis of naming and classification of frogs and reptiles in nine South African cultures. The list includes 136 frog and 407 reptile species that have been scientifically described. He explains why it’s important to record all the species names that people use in their own languages.

    Why did you study the indigenous names of frogs and reptiles?

    I am interested in the interactions between wildlife and people. These interactions include, for example, how people use wildlife in figures of speech, harvesting of wildlife for consumption, and of course how animals are assigned names.

    If everyone’s names for things are known and shared, the ideas behind the names can also be shared, appreciated and valued.

    Conservation planning is improved by consideration of different wildlife perspectives, which is revealed partly by the names that different people give wildlife.

    Knowing local names can provide assurance that people from different cultural backgrounds are talking about the same species.

    In South Africa, for example, there are 11 official spoken languages and scientists use Latin names for species. Most people aren’t familiar with the scientific names.

    That’s why we extended the list of scientific, Afrikaans and English names of South African frogs and reptiles to include names in the country’s other nine official languages.

    How did you go about it, and what did you find?

    The project started as a pilot study in 2016, carried out in the Zululand area of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, where frog biodiversity is high and Indigenous cultural practices are still part of everyday life. Results of the pilot were published as a book in 2017 and as a scientific publication in 2019.

    Following the success of the pilot study, I collected responses from 287 South African Indigenous language speakers (aged between 25 and 57) using an online questionnaire and in-person interviews while on field trips, and reviewed 18 scientific articles, dissertations and books to study naming practices even further.

    The study shed light on the way people group animals (folk taxonomy) and how that compares with the way scientists group them (scientific taxonomy).

    It became clear that Indigenous language names were often assigned based on unique features of frogs or reptiles, such as the sound they make, how they move or where they are found. Most of these names group several species together based on their similarities. This meant most frog and reptile species did not have Indigenous language names that were unique to them. For example, zoologists have named eight different Reed Frog species from South Africa but these eight species were assigned one Indigenous name that groups them together.

    Male Painted Reed Frog (Umgqagqa opendiwe in IsiZulu) calling. Fortunate Phaka, Author provided (no reuse)918 KB (download)

    The organised way of assigning Indigenous names to animals has some similarities to how scientists assign names that are unique to each species. For example, the Grass Frog species are grouped together under the scientific genus Ptychadena, and in IsiZulu the same species are grouped under the name Uvete. These similarities meant we could combine scientific naming practices with Indigenous naming practices to give each species a unique name in multiple languages.

    To ensure the unique Indigenous names remained familiar to speakers of respective languages, we added descriptive terms to the existing general Indigenous names to make them specific, instead of coining an entirely new name. For example in IsiZulu the general name Umgqagqa (used for all Reed Frogs) became Umgqagqa opendiwe (specific name for the Painted Reed Frog). And several other descriptive terms were added to Umgqagqa to distinguish between the eight Reed Frog species of South Africa.

    The author learning isiZulu names from safari guides in Zululand. Dr Edward Netherlands, Author provided (no reuse)

    Why does it matter to record the Indigenous names of species?

    Conservation hasn’t been doing a good job of being inclusive. Knowing Indigenous names and the local perspectives behind those names is a good way to start being aware of the multiple other perspectives. Conservation should ultimately be to everyone’s benefit.

    For a long time wildlife guidebooks have had very few Indigenous language names in them. With increased recording of Indigenous names, any South African would be able to open a wildlife guide and read a name in any of our 11 official spoken languages. Hopefully one day we can have more books like the Bilingual Guide to the Frogs of Zululand (IsiZulu version: Isiqondiso Sasefilidini Esindimimbili Ngamaxoxo AkwelaKwaZulu) that make it possible for you to read about your favourite wildlife in your preferred language.

    Has this been done for other groups of animals or plants?

    Birds and plants are two groups that have received this kind of attention.

    A recent scientific publication has worked on IsiZulu names for all South African birds and another publication studied the morphology of IsiZulu bird names. There has also been work on IsiXhosa insect names, and there has been a SeSotho animal word list published online. Indigenous names for African wildlife have received sporadic attention in the past, but with the recent increases in calls for consideration of Indigenous knowledge there has been increasing focus on understanding these names and using them.

    Do you have some favourite names?

    I have a lot of favourites but there are some names that stand out, like Senana (Sepedi general name for Rain Frogs) and Lebololo (Sepedi name for Puff adder). These names have the same root word or sound throughout most of the Indigenous South African languages and I am curious about how this happened. Rain Frogs are also called Senanatswidi in Sepedi and tswidi is an onomatopoeic reference to the whistling sound that Rain Frogs make.

    – South Africa’s frogs and reptiles get their own list of names in local languages
    – https://theconversation.com/south-africas-frogs-and-reptiles-get-their-own-list-of-names-in-local-languages-254643

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed Denounces Trump’s Disjointed International Student Visa Revocations That Drives Away Top Talent

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Earlier this month, the Trump Administration abruptly and arbitrarily removed thousands of international students from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems (SEVIS) database, which schools and the federal government use to monitor visa compliance.  Students at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design were among those reported to be impacted.

    Multi-state litigation was launched on behalf of students and communities nationwide affected by the revocations, and those fearful they could be next, and the courts sided with the international students, forcing the Trump Administration to halt and reverse its wave of visa revocations.  But with uncertainty and concern still high among families and schools, 35 U.S. Senators are taking action to help impacted foreign students and local schools and universities and warning that President Trump is driving away top talent and harming U.S. interests.

    Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) joined with Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 33 of their Senate colleagues in pressing the Trump Administration to reconsider recent decisions to revoke student visas in a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons.

    The 35 U.S. Senators began by urging the Administration to undo unlawful student visa revocations, writing: “We recently learned that your agencies have been revoking student visas and terminating Student Exchange and Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records across the country. These actions to end student status reflected an unannounced change in policy and were inconsistent with existing laws, regulations, policies, and agency guidance governing the maintenance and termination of student status—that is why we welcomed the news late last week that in response to litigation around the country, ICE has reversed these SEVIS terminations. We now urge you to undo other actions to end student status that are inconsistent with such laws, regulations, and agency guidance and ensure that all future actions to end student status fully comply with the law.”

    The Senators continued by highlighting the lack of reasoning provided in many of these visa revocations, writing: “[S]tudents across the country—who by all accounts appear to have followed all of the applicable laws and agency guidance—have reported visa revocations with no clear explanation as to the basis to terminate status. SEVP has completed at least 4,736 total terminations of student visa holders’ SEVIS records. By DHS’s own admission, the statute and regulations do not provide SEVP the authority to terminate nonimmigrant status by terminating a SEVIS record. Your decision to reverse such terminations is therefore prudent and required by law.”

    The Senators then outlined the Trump Administration’s apparent violation of federal law in revoking these visas, writing: “Current laws, regulations, and agency guidance also require notice to be provided when a student’s status is being terminated or revoked. Here, it is not clear that students were provided the notice required by law. Many students were notified by universities that they have lost their student status when their SEVIS records have been terminated, without being provided any information about potential reinstatement. Some students received emails that their visas were revoked and were directed to self-deport, with no clear information as to the basis for their revocation or means by which they can appeal the revocation. Some students only learned about losing status when arrested by masked federal agents. These reports suggest that students were not given notice of the termination of their status in a manner consistent with existing laws, regulations, and agency guidance.”

    The Senators conclude with an appeal to the Administration to reconsider these visa revocations and warning to adhere to federal law, before making a series of immigration requests, writing: “Students who have entered through our legal immigration system and followed the law remain unsure of what, if any, steps they may take to maintain their status and safeguard themselves from immigration enforcement. While we are relieved that ICE has reversed these SEVIS terminations, we now urge you to undo other actions to end student status that are inconsistent with such laws, regulations, and agency guidance. Finally, we understand that you are contemplating additional actions to end student status. Any such changes must be consistent with applicable statutes, including requirements for notice with respect to changes that would deprive a student of their status and ability to live and study in the United States and place them at risk of detention.”

    In addition to Reed and Durbin, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennett (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

    Full text of the letter follows:

    Dear Secretary Noem, Secretary Rubio, and Acting Director Lyons:

    We recently learned that your agencies have been revoking student visas and terminating Student Exchange and Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records across the country. These actions to end student status reflected an unannounced change in policy and were inconsistent with existing laws, regulations, policies, and agency guidance governing the maintenance and termination of student status—that is why we welcomed the news late last week that in response to litigation around the country, ICE has reversed these SEVIS terminations.  We now urge you to undo other actions to end student status that are inconsistent with such laws, regulations, and agency guidance and ensure that all future actions to end student status fully comply with the law.

    Foreign students must navigate a complicated mix of agencies to maintain their status. Under current regulations and policy, students who enter into the United States on an F-1 student visa or J-1 exchange visitor visa are admitted to the United States for “duration of status.”  This essentially means that F-1 and J-1 visa holders may be in good standing as long as they comply with the terms and conditions of their status, even if their visa has expired.  Students who enter on an M-1 visa for vocational education are admitted for a fixed time period to complete their course of study.  The Office of Student Exchange and Visitor Programs (SEVP), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), works with universities and program administrators to determine whether F-1 and M-1 students are meeting requirements for their visas and terminate SEVIS records as appropriate under SEVP regulations.  The Department of State (DOS) Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs administers the J-1 exchange visitor visa, but their records are maintained by SEVIS. Existing regulations and agency guidance inform students and other visa holders of how they might lose their student status, including that they cannot be convicted of serious crimes, cannot work unless authorized by DHS, and must be completing the education or program related to their visa. However, students across the country—who by all accounts appear to have followed all of the applicable laws and agency guidance—have reported visa revocations with no clear explanation as to the basis to terminate status. SEVP has completed at least 4,736 total terminations of student visa holders’ SEVIS records. By DHS’s own admission, the statute and regulations do not provide SEVP the authority to terminate nonimmigrant status by terminating a SEVIS record. Your decision to reverse such terminations is therefore prudent and required by law.

    Current laws, regulations, and agency guidance also require notice to be provided when a student’s status is being terminated or revoked. Here, it is not clear that students were provided the notice required by law. Many students were notified by universities that they have lost their student status when their SEVIS records have been terminated, without being provided any information about potential reinstatement. Some students received emails that their visas were revoked and were directed to self-deport, with no clear information as to the basis for their revocation or means by which they can appeal the revocation. Some students only learned about losing status when arrested by masked federal agents.  These reports suggest that students were not given notice of the termination of their status in a manner consistent with existing laws, regulations, and agency guidance.

    Once a student’s visa is revoked, although their status is not automatically terminated, removal proceedings may be initiated against them, allowing them to be detained at the discretion of DHS. Similarly, when a student’s SEVIS record is terminated, the student is no longer in an authorized period of stay in the United States, and students and their universities cannot regularly maintain student records in SEVIS, as is required to maintain student status. In addition, upon SEVIS record termination, the student must depart the United States or take other action to restore legal status, and DHS “may investigate to confirm the departure of the student.”

    Students who have entered through our legal immigration system and followed the law remain unsure of what, if any, steps they may take to maintain their status and safeguard themselves from immigration enforcement. While we are relieved that ICE has reversed these SEVIS terminations, we now urge you to undo other actions to end student status that are inconsistent with such laws, regulations, and agency guidance. Finally, we understand that you are contemplating additional actions to end student status. Any such changes must be consistent with applicable statutes, including requirements for notice with respect to changes that would deprive a student of their status and ability to live and study in the United States and place them at risk of detention.

    We also request information to better understand how your departments are implementing any new, unannounced policies with respect to identifying students for status revocation. Please provide the following information by May 12, 2025:

    1. Any guidance issued by DOS and/or DHS governing the revocations of nonimmigrant visas, issued from January 20, 2025 to date.

    2. Any guidance issued by DOS and/or DHS governing how nonimmigrants are to be notified of visa revocations, issued from January 20, 2025 to date.

    3. Any guidance issued by DOS and/or DHS governing the terminations of SEVIS records, issued from January 20, 2025 to April 25, 2025.

    4. Any guidance issued by DOS and/or DHS governing how student visa holders are to be notified of SEVIS terminations, issued from January 20, 2025 to April 25, 2025.

    5. Any guidance issued by DOS, DHS, and/or the Department of Justice governing the initiation of removal proceedings or immigration enforcement against student visa holders and other nonimmigrants, issued from January 20, 2025 to date.

    6. Any guidance issued by DOS and/or DHS regarding the use of artificial intelligence to search national databases, criminal records, and social media to identify nonimmigrants for visa revocation or to otherwise end status, issued from January 20, 2025 to date.

    7. The total number of student visas (F-1, M-1, or J-1 visas) that have been revoked since January 20, 2025 to date, disaggregated by:

    a. Student’s country of origin;

    b. Consulate or embassy that issued the visa;

    c. Visa category/Optional Practical Training (OPT);

    d. Date of revocation;

    e. University of study;

    f. Type of degree or field of study;

    g. Notice provided;

    h. Legal basis for revocation;

    i. Any grace period to allow students to make travel or other arrangements; and

    j. Whether the student’s SEVIS record was also terminated.

    8. The total number of SEVIS record terminations that have been issued since January 20, 2025 to April 25, 2025, disaggregated by—

    a. Student’s country of origin;

    b. Visa category/Optional Practical Training (OPT);

    c. Date of revocation;

    d. University of study;

    e. Type of degree or field of study;

    f. Whether the termination was initiated by the university or by DHS;

    g. Basis for termination;

    h. Notice provided;

    i. Any grace period to allow students to make travel or other arrangements; and

    j. Whether the student’s visa was revoked.

    9. The number of student visa holders on F-1, M-1, J-1 nonimmigrant status issued Form I862, Notice to Appear, initiating removal proceedings.

    Thank you for your prompt attention to this critical matter.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Cyberattacks: how companies can communicate effectively after being hit

    Source: The Conversation – France – By Paolo Antonetti, Professeur, EDHEC Business School

    In its latest annual publication, insurance group Hiscox surveyed more than 2,000 cybersecurity managers in eight countries including France. Two thirds of the companies in the survey reported having been the victim of a cyberattack between mid-August 2023 and September 2024, a 15% increase over the previous period. In terms of potential financial losses, Statista estimated that cyberattacks cost France up to €122 billion in 2024, compared to €89 in 2023 – a 37% rise.


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    The main forms of cyberattacks on French businesses, the recommendations for how companies can protect themselves, and the technical and legal responses they can adopt are well documented.

    However, much less is known about appropriate communications and public relations responses to cyberattacks. The issues at stake are critical. When a company is the target of a cyberattack, should it systematically accept responsibility, or can it instead claim to be a victim to protect its reputation? A wrong answer can aggravate the situation and undermine the confidence of customers and investors.

    Positioning as a victim

    Our recent research questions the assumption that accepting causal responsibility should be the norm after a cyberattack: we show that positioning oneself as a victim can be more effective in limiting damage to one’s image – provided claims of victimhood are deployed intelligently.

    There is evidence that firms need a strategy to present themselves effectively as victims of cybercriminals. Some firms, such as T-Mobile and Equifax, have in the past paid compensation to consumers while refusing to accept any responsibility, essentially presenting themselves as victims.

    Similarly, the large French telecommunications operator Free presented itself as a victim when communicating about the large-scale cyberattack that affected its operations last October, which may have had an impact on its image. The UK’s TalkTalk initially framed itself as a victim of a cybercrime but was later criticized for its inadequate security measures.

    Victimhood and sympathy

    Clumsily declaring itself as the sole entity to blame or the sole victim of a cyberattack – which is what interests us here – can be risky and backfire on a company, damaging its credibility rather than protecting its reputation.

    When companies present themselves as victims of cybercrime, they can elicit sympathy from stakeholders. People tend to be more compassionate toward businesses that depict themselves as wronged rather than those that deny responsibility or shift blame. In essence, this strategy frames the organization as a target of external forces beyond its control, rather than as negligent or incompetent. It leverages a fundamental social norm – people’s instinctive tendency to support those they see as victims.

    But claims of victimhood must align with public expectations and the specific context of the breach. They should not be about shirking responsibility, but about acknowledging harm in a way that fosters understanding and trust. The following approaches and choices can help.

    • align with public perception

    The reactions of stakeholders often depend on their understanding of the situation. If the attack is perceived as an external and malicious act, it is crucial for a company to adopt a consistent stance by emphasizing that it itself has been a victim. But if internal negligence is proven, claiming victim status could be counterproductive. The swiftness of a company’s response, the level of transparency and the relative stance taken are all part of a good strategy.

    • express support for stakeholders

    Adopting a position of victimhood does not mean denying all responsibility or minimizing the consequences of an attack. The company must show that it takes the situation seriously by expressing empathy and commitment to affected stakeholders. It must pay particular attention to those affected inside the organization: a claim of victimhood should be part of an apology or a message expressing concern. An effective message must be sincere and oriented toward concrete solutions.

    • consider reputation

    We find that it is easier for companies to claim victimhood persuasively if they are perceived as virtuous. This reputation can be due to a positive track record in terms of corporate social responsibility or because they are a not-for-profit institution (e.g. a library, a university or a hospital). Virtuous victims generate sympathy and empathy, and this is also reflected after a cyberattack.

    • highlight the harmfulness and sophistication of the attack

    The results of our study also show that public acceptance of victim status is more effective when the cyberattack is perceived to be the work of highly competent malicious actors. It is also important for a company to persuade the public that the attack harmed the company, while keeping the main focus of the response on the public.

    • don’t complain

    It is essential to distinguish between legitimate claims of victim status and communication that could be perceived as an attempt to exonerate oneself. An overly plaintive tone could undermine a company’s credibility. The approach should be factual and constructive, focusing on the measures taken to overcome the crisis.

    • test reactions before communicating widely

    Companies’ responses to a cyberattack can vary depending on the context and the public. It is best to assess different approaches before embarking on large-scale communication. This can be done through internal tests, focus groups or targeted surveys. Subtle differences in the situation can cause important shifts in how the public perceives the breach and what the best response might be.

    Our study sheds light on a shift in public expectations about crisis management: in the age of ubiquitous cybercrime, responsibilities are often shared. Poorly managed communication after a cyberattack can lead to a lasting loss of trust and expose a company to increased legal risks. Claiming victim status effectively, with an empathetic and transparent approach, can help mitigate the impact of the crisis and preserve the organization’s reputation.

    This article was written with Ilaria Baghi (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia).

    Paolo Antonetti ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

    – ref. Cyberattacks: how companies can communicate effectively after being hit – https://theconversation.com/cyberattacks-how-companies-can-communicate-effectively-after-being-hit-255061

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: US-China trade war could hurt Nigerian entrepreneurs: why, and how they should prepare

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Tolu Olarewaju, Economist and Lecturer in Management, Keele University

    As China and the United States lock horns in a trade war, slamming tariffs on each other, entrepreneurs in Nigeria are vulnerable to the fallout. In 2024, 27.8% of imports into Nigeria came from China. In the same year, US exports to Nigeria reached US$4.2 billion. Economist and entrepreneurship researcher Tolu Olarewaju unpacks what could happen if Chinese products destined for the American market were diverted to developing economies, including Nigeria.

    What dangers do the tariff tensions pose to Nigeria’s entrepreneurs?

    China is the world’s biggest manufacturing nation, producing far more than its population consumes domestically. It is already running an almost US$1 trillion goods surplus, meaning it exports more goods than it imports.

    China is often producing those goods at below the true cost of production due to domestic subsidies and state financial support, like cheap loans for favoured firms.

    If the goods it currently exports are unable to enter the US because tariffs have made them too expensive, Chinese firms could seek to divert them to other countries. This could be beneficial for some consumers. But it could undercut entrepreneurs who make competing products in these countries and threaten jobs and wages.

    Looking at the past profile of Chinese exports to Nigeria, these are some Nigerian goods that could be replaced by cheaper goods from China:

    Textiles and garments: Nigeria is the largest producer of textiles in west Africa. The Nigerian textile, apparel, and footwear sector contributed 2.97% to Nigeria’s GDP in 2023 and contracted by 1.75% in the first quarter of 2024. Locally made fabrics, garments and leather goods can easily be replaced by Chinese products, especially in the low-cost and mass-market segment. This is because China is one of the sector’s largest producers globally and can export at low cost.

    In 2024, the US was the top destination for China’s textiles exports.

    Furniture and home décor: Nigerian artisans are skilled at producing wooden furniture, home décor items, and other interior products. However, China is a global leader in furniture manufacturing. It offers mass-produced, inexpensive items. The wide variety and affordability could displace Nigerian furniture makers. The furniture market in Nigeria is expected to generate revenue of US$5.11 billion in 2025 and experience an annual growth rate of 2.93% between 2025 and 2029.

    Footwear: The Nigerian footwear market is valued at US$2.57 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow annually by 9.83%. The Nigerian footwear industry produces around 50 million pairs of shoes annually and employs over 500,000 people. China is one of the largest producers of footwear. In the US, 61.9% of all shoes are imported from China. Nigerian shoe manufacturers may find it difficult to compete with the flood of affordable Chinese-made footwear.

    Beauty, cosmetic, and skincare products: The Nigerian soap market is growing. It generated revenue of US$660.5 million in 2024 and is expected to reach US$1.07 billion by 2030. With a population of over 200 million, the demand for soap products is increasing. China is a major supplier of inexpensive, mass-produced beauty products.

    What are the biggest challenges holding back Nigerian entrepreneurs?

    Weak infrastructure: Frequent power outages make it difficult for businesses to operate and distribute their products. This is a significant barrier, especially in the age of digital technologies, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Poor road conditions also make it difficult to transport goods.

    High inflation: Nigeria’s headline inflation rate on a year-on-year basis stood at 24.48% in January 2025, and 29.90% in January 2024. High inflation raises the cost of raw materials, fuel, utilities and transport.

    Inflation also means a reduction in the purchasing power of consumers. While inflation should make Nigeria a less attractive market, Chinese goods are typically cheaper than local or western alternatives, even when inflation affects import costs.

    Interest rates for business loans are high in Nigeria. This reduces profit margins and makes it harder to maintain affordable prices for consumers.

    A poor business environment: Nigeria’s unpredictable political and economic landscape, characterised by shifting policies, and inconsistent regulations, makes it difficult for entrepreneurs to plan. They need to be able to forecast expenses, set pricing strategies or invest in long-term projects.

    Corruption also increases the costs of doing business and makes the business environment more uncertain.

    While it might seem logical for the government to protect the domestic business environment with blanket tariffs as suggested by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a more strategic approach is needed, one that focuses on targeted tariffs and investing in sectors with strong growth potential.

    Limited access to finance and high interest rates: Access to finance is a major barrier due to high interest rates and unreasonable collateral requirements for business credit.

    Currency depreciation and exchange rate volatility: The Nigerian naira has depreciated against foreign currencies in recent years. Entrepreneurs who rely on imports for raw materials or equipment have been hit hard by fluctuating exchange rates. Rising import costs can lead to even higher production costs. For businesses looking to export, this volatility can reduce the profitability of foreign sales, discouraging expansion into international markets.

    What should Nigeria’s entrepreneurs do to prepare for any potential fallout from the China-US trade war?

    Identify niche market needs: They should identify a market need that is not being met or that is under-served and cannot easily be met by Chinese goods.

    Focus on customer service: This way, entrepreneurs can build customer loyalty and reputation despite the influx of cheap goods.

    Embrace innovation: Nigerian entrepreneurs should be open to new ideas and technologies that can help them create new products and services, increase efficiency and reduce costs.

    Diversify supply chains: Relying heavily on imports from one country, especially raw materials, machinery, or electronics, can lead to shortages and price hikes if trade tensions escalate. Businesses should identify alternative suppliers, explore local sourcing options, and build stockpiles of essential inputs.

    Explore new export markets: Nigerian entrepreneurs should exploit regional trade agreements like the African Continental Free Trade Area for easier access to African markets.

    Adaptability and value creation: Businesses that focus on value creation are best positioned not just to survive but to thrive amid global shifts. Raw material exporters (for example, cashew and cocoa) may be vulnerable to price shocks. Value-added products offer better margins and greater market protection. Entrepreneurs should consider investing in light manufacturing or local processing, such as turning cocoa into chocolate.

    Tolu Olarewaju 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. US-China trade war could hurt Nigerian entrepreneurs: why, and how they should prepare – https://theconversation.com/us-china-trade-war-could-hurt-nigerian-entrepreneurs-why-and-how-they-should-prepare-254840

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: South Africa’s frogs and reptiles get their own list of names in local languages

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Fortunate Mafeta Phaka, Senior Postdoctoral Researcher of herptile-human interactions, North-West University

    Naming all the creatures and plants in nature is no small task. Fortunate Phaka is a zoologist who has conducted the first comprehensive analysis of naming and classification of frogs and reptiles in nine South African cultures. The list includes 136 frog and 407 reptile species that have been scientifically described. He explains why it’s important to record all the species names that people use in their own languages.

    Why did you study the indigenous names of frogs and reptiles?

    I am interested in the interactions between wildlife and people. These interactions include, for example, how people use wildlife in figures of speech, harvesting of wildlife for consumption, and of course how animals are assigned names.

    If everyone’s names for things are known and shared, the ideas behind the names can also be shared, appreciated and valued.

    Conservation planning is improved by consideration of different wildlife perspectives, which is revealed partly by the names that different people give wildlife.

    Knowing local names can provide assurance that people from different cultural backgrounds are talking about the same species.

    In South Africa, for example, there are 11 official spoken languages and scientists use Latin names for species. Most people aren’t familiar with the scientific names.

    That’s why we extended the list of scientific, Afrikaans and English names of South African frogs and reptiles to include names in the country’s other nine official languages.

    How did you go about it, and what did you find?

    The project started as a pilot study in 2016, carried out in the Zululand area of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, where frog biodiversity is high and Indigenous cultural practices are still part of everyday life. Results of the pilot were published as a book in 2017 and as a scientific publication in 2019.

    Following the success of the pilot study, I collected responses from 287 South African Indigenous language speakers (aged between 25 and 57) using an online questionnaire and in-person interviews while on field trips, and reviewed 18 scientific articles, dissertations and books to study naming practices even further.

    The study shed light on the way people group animals (folk taxonomy) and how that compares with the way scientists group them (scientific taxonomy).

    It became clear that Indigenous language names were often assigned based on unique features of frogs or reptiles, such as the sound they make, how they move or where they are found. Most of these names group several species together based on their similarities. This meant most frog and reptile species did not have Indigenous language names that were unique to them. For example, zoologists have named eight different Reed Frog species from South Africa but these eight species were assigned one Indigenous name that groups them together.

    Male Painted Reed Frog (Umgqagqa opendiwe in IsiZulu) calling.
    Fortunate Phaka, Author provided (no reuse)918 KB (download)

    The organised way of assigning Indigenous names to animals has some similarities to how scientists assign names that are unique to each species. For example, the Grass Frog species are grouped together under the scientific genus Ptychadena, and in IsiZulu the same species are grouped under the name Uvete. These similarities meant we could combine scientific naming practices with Indigenous naming practices to give each species a unique name in multiple languages.

    To ensure the unique Indigenous names remained familiar to speakers of respective languages, we added descriptive terms to the existing general Indigenous names to make them specific, instead of coining an entirely new name. For example in IsiZulu the general name Umgqagqa (used for all Reed Frogs) became Umgqagqa opendiwe (specific name for the Painted Reed Frog). And several other descriptive terms were added to Umgqagqa to distinguish between the eight Reed Frog species of South Africa.

    Why does it matter to record the Indigenous names of species?

    Conservation hasn’t been doing a good job of being inclusive. Knowing Indigenous names and the local perspectives behind those names is a good way to start being aware of the multiple other perspectives. Conservation should ultimately be to everyone’s benefit.

    For a long time wildlife guidebooks have had very few Indigenous language names in them. With increased recording of Indigenous names, any South African would be able to open a wildlife guide and read a name in any of our 11 official spoken languages. Hopefully one day we can have more books like the Bilingual Guide to the Frogs of Zululand (IsiZulu version: Isiqondiso Sasefilidini Esindimimbili Ngamaxoxo AkwelaKwaZulu) that make it possible for you to read about your favourite wildlife in your preferred language.

    Has this been done for other groups of animals or plants?

    Birds and plants are two groups that have received this kind of attention.

    A recent scientific publication has worked on IsiZulu names for all South African birds and another publication studied the morphology of IsiZulu bird names. There has also been work on IsiXhosa insect names, and there has been a SeSotho animal word list published online. Indigenous names for African wildlife have received sporadic attention in the past, but with the recent increases in calls for consideration of Indigenous knowledge there has been increasing focus on understanding these names and using them.

    Do you have some favourite names?

    I have a lot of favourites but there are some names that stand out, like Senana (Sepedi general name for Rain Frogs) and Lebololo (Sepedi name for Puff adder). These names have the same root word or sound throughout most of the Indigenous South African languages and I am curious about how this happened. Rain Frogs are also called Senanatswidi in Sepedi and tswidi is an onomatopoeic reference to the whistling sound that Rain Frogs make.

    Fortunate Mafeta Phaka receives funding from National Research Foundation/South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity.

    – ref. South Africa’s frogs and reptiles get their own list of names in local languages – https://theconversation.com/south-africas-frogs-and-reptiles-get-their-own-list-of-names-in-local-languages-254643

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Students of SPbGASU won the international Olympiad in applied mechanics

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Team of the Faculty of Civil Engineering: Artem Grigoriev, Alexandra Leonova, Anastasia Zimovets, Nadezhda Ostrovskaya and Professor of the Physical-Mechanical Institute of SPbPU Artem Semenov

    Two teams from SPbGASU took part in the All-Russian Student Olympiad in Applied Mechanics with International Participation. One of them won, the other became a bronze medalist.

    The Olympiad was held with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, the Association of Technical Universities and the Federal Educational and Methodological Association in the field of “Mechanical Engineering” at the Advanced Engineering School “Digital Engineering” of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (PISh SPbPU). 29 teams from 14 regions of Russia, as well as from Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan registered.

    The first place was taken by the team of the construction faculty of SPbGASU. It included Artem Grigoriev, Vladislav Laptev, Anastasia Zimovets and Alexandra Leonova. The leader was Associate Professor of the Department of Structural Mechanics Nadezhda Ostrovskaya.

    The team of the Automobile and Road Faculty took third place. It consisted of Ilya Zhdanov, Maxim Golubovich, Daniil Agapov and Nikita Gladkov. The leader was Alena Kolomeets, senior lecturer of the Department of Land Transport and Technological Machines.

    In the individual competition, third place went to Artem Grigoriev.

    As Nadezhda Ostrovskaya explained, the Olympiad was held from 1999 to 2020, and in 2025 it was resumed at the Advanced Engineering School of SPbPU (AES). The goals of the Olympiad are to revive the platform for interaction between gifted and talented students and their mentors in the field of applied mechanics, to introduce students to real enterprises of high-tech industries and Russian engineering software.

    In addition to the main program, where students were asked to solve six problems – three on theoretical mechanics and three on the strength of materials, all days were filled with interesting events. On the first day, an engineering competition for students took place, on the second day – excursions to the museum and laboratories of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, as well as to the enterprises of industrial partners. On the third day, master classes were held on the use of domestic software for various engineering purposes.

    Artem Grigoryev shared his impressions: “The tasks covered all sections of strength of materials and theoretical mechanics. To solve them, I had to recall many tasks completed during preparation – typical and advanced. I really liked that each task had a “key”, after finding which the task became much easier. I would like to express my deep gratitude to the organizers for the interesting program, as well as appreciation to my teachers Anna Olegovna Yulina and Nadezhda Vladimirovna Ostrovskaya, who helped me prepare, conducted interesting classes and thus inspired me to win.”

    “The high results of our students can be called a triumph of the SPbGASU engineering school, proof of the excellent training of our specialists in such fundamental disciplines as theoretical mechanics and strength of materials,” noted Nadezhda Ostrovskaya.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: Introducing Solodev Public Sector: A Cloud-First Platform Built for Government Agencies and Community Infrastructure

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., April 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Solodev, the cloud platform for developers and digital transformation, announced today the launch of Solodev Public Sector, a powerful new service built to help government organizations accelerate their cloud journey. From counties and cities to school districts, sheriff’s offices to libraries, Solodev Public Sector delivers the scalability, reliability, and security that public agencies need to support their citizens in times of stability and crisis.

    Powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), Solodev Public Sector provides a composable, cloud-native foundation for digital infrastructure that empowers agencies to be nimble and responsive, especially those considered essential to a community’s continuity and safety. Whether it’s keeping websites online during hurricanes in Florida or delivering real-time updates during a public emergency, Solodev ensures that digital services stay live when they matter most.

    “Public sector agencies are more than service providers – they’re lifelines,” said Shawn Moore, CTO at Solodev. “Solodev Public Sector gives governments the power to deliver resilient digital experiences that inform, protect, and support their communities, powered by the unmatched scalability of AWS.”

    A Cloud-First Approach for the New Era of Government

    Cloud technologies are transforming the Public Sector and delivering unmatched security, redundancy, and scalability to achieve mission-based outcomes. According to a report from Forrester on the State of the Cloud in 2025, government agencies are committed to the cloud and its efficiencies – and cloud adoption is extending beyond new applications to the migration of existing workloads.

    Solodev Public Sector harnesses the best of AWS cloud services to meet the uptime, security, and compliance needs of government organizations. The platform leverages essential AWS tools like:

    • EC2 for computing power
    • CloudFront CDN for rapid content delivery
    • Elastic Load Balancing and WAF for performance and security
    • RDS for managed database services
    • And more, all orchestrated to deliver high-availability cloud environments

    Solodev also integrates its enterprise-grade Solodev CMS to give agencies full control over their digital content, ensuring critical information is accessible across channels – even during outages or emergencies.

    Built for the Needs of Government Agencies

    With Solodev Public Sector, agencies can manage a wide range of services through modular features, including:

    • Event calendars
    • News feeds
    • Image galleries
    • ADA accessibility tools
    • Language translation services
    • RESTful API for integrating third-party apps

    This flexibility allows governments to streamline operations, reduce costs, and meet rising citizen expectations – all while maintaining data privacy and adhering to vital compliance benchmarks like accessibility and cybersecurity protocols.

    Supporting Essential Infrastructure – From Elections to Emergency Response

    Solodev Public Sector empowers government agencies across the U.S. to prepare for major storms and public emergencies. Whether it’s a supervisor of elections office managing real-time voter updates or a transit authority delivering urgent detour information, Solodev helps keep citizens informed and connected when they need it most.

    With built-in redundancy and 24/7/365 monitoring, backed by a U.S.-based help desk, Solodev ensures public sector clients receive world-class support around the clock.

    Solodev Public Sector is available via a subscription model and can be purchased directly through the AWS Marketplace. To explore Public Sector solutions, visit www.solodev.com/public-sector or contact Solodev.

    About Solodev

    Solodev helps developers around the globe build amazing customer experiences and collaborate on digital transformation, from code to cloud. The Solodev Platform provides the most complete ecosystem for developing apps and launching brands powered by cutting-edge technologies, including AI, cloud, metaverse, digital, blockchain, and more. Solodev also provides world-class consulting, training, managed services, and 24/7 human support. An Amazon Web Services Advanced Technology Partner, Solodev has achieved AWS competencies in Government, Education, Advertising & Marketing Technology, and Public Safety. Solodev products and services can be purchased at www.solodev.com or in the AWS Marketplace.

    For media inquiries:
    Matt Garrepy
    press@solodev.com

    For sales inquiries:
    Jonathan Morgan
    sales@solodev.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives re-open to public

    Source: Scotland – City of Aberdeen

    Local history enthusiasts are being encouraged to book a visit to ‘Explore Your Archive’ as Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives re-opens today (29 April) for in-person research visits at the Town House on Broad Street.
     
    The Archives have been closed to the public for almost a year to allow the team to carry out a major collection move from Old Aberdeen House to the Town House. Preparations began in November 2023 with a huge stocktake of the collection, when staff and a group of 20 volunteers recorded details of every item in every storeroom. One of the most formidable tasks was labelling over 7,000 individual boxes. The preparations also included checking that delicate items would be suitable for transportation, and wrapping and protecting a wide variety of materials, including glass slides from Second World War Red Cross hospitals, maps, oversized volumes and ledgers, and thousands of architectural plans.

    Over 9,000 individual items, including archive boxes, bankers boxes, crates, wrapped volumes and plans, were moved over 20 days of heavy lifting, multiple trolley loads and several flights of stairs – all fuelled by 136 packs of biscuits! Volunteers logged 1,549 hours helping with the move.

    The largest tasks for volunteers was an appraisal of 120 files of Aberdeen School Board correspondence sent from teachers and Aberdeen residents in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Volunteers reviewed and listed the bundles of letters, reducing the collection from seven storage shelves to two, using professional criteria to weed out items of little historic value. Detailed information on the collection of letters has been recorded in the Archives catalogue and the material is available to researchers.

    A new storeroom at the Town House is now home to several core collections, such as the school admission registers and logbooks, building warrants, council minutes for Aberdeenshire and the Port of Aberdeen records (Aberdeen Harbour Board). A selection of photographic images from this collection showing the technological changes that have taken place on the quayside over the past 100 years will be going on display at the Art Gallery from Saturday 7 June.  

    Councillor Martin Greig, Aberdeen City Council culture spokesman, said, “The Archives are a valuable resource for all kinds of research. It’s a tremendous source of pride for us in Aberdeen that we care for the oldest and most complete collection of burgh records in Scotland, dating back to 1398. They are recognised by UNESCO as being of outstanding historical importance to the United Kingdom. It’s very exciting that the Archives team has set up a new storeroom at the Town House where the public can access these remarkable collections, which really are a the gateway to the written history of the north-east of Scotland.”
      
    A new Access Guide to the Archives at the Town House is now available, along with a new Visual Guide containing details of what to expect on a visit to the Archives at the Town House. Both can be found on the Plan Your Visit pages of the Archives, Gallery & Museums website https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/AAGM/plan-your-visit/town-house-archives 

    Phil Astley, Team Leader – Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives, will be giving a free lunchtime talk on the Port of Aberdeen archives – ‘A Haven for History’ on Wednesday 7 May at 12.30pm. 
    https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/AAGM/whats-aberdeen-art-galleries-and-museums/lunchtime-talk-haven-history-port-aberdeen-archives 

    From the Archive: Aberdeen Harbour opens at Aberdeen Art Gallery on 7 June. The exhibition continues until 11 January, open daily, admission free https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/AAGM/whats-aberdeen-art-galleries-and-museums/archive-aberdeen-harbour

    The collections of Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives contain a wealth of documents and records dating from the 12th century to the present day, relating to the rich history and heritage of the City of Aberdeen and the three ancient counties of Aberdeen, Banff and Kincardine. They include burgh records, burial records, church records, business records and school records. 
     
    Visits to the Archives should be booked in advance by emailing archives@aberdeencity.gov.uk. More information can be found at: https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services/libraries-and-archives/aberdeen-city-and-aberdeenshire-archives/visitor-information  
      
    Read about the Archives move at https://aberdeenarchives.blogspot.com/ 

    Follow Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest news about reopening. 

    Image: Phil Astley, Team Leader – Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives, and  Councillor Martin Greig, pictured in the Charter Room at the Town House
     

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: BIMAC 2025 Conference Has Become an Effective Platform for Discussing the Digital Transformation of the Industry

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – At the conference sections

    The VIII International Scientific and Practical Conference “Information Modeling in Construction and Architecture” (BIMAC-2025), held at the St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Urban Planning on April 22–25, has ended. Over the course of four days, representatives of the scientific and industry communities discussed the development of digital solutions and their implementation in segments of the construction industry in various sections.

    Focus on digital solutions

    Information modeling of architectural and design solutions, engineering systems, the use of information modeling technologies in estimates, artificial intelligence and training of engineering personnel for the digitalization of construction, parametrics, visual programming, software development, 4D modeling in construction – these were the topics that were the focus of discussions and were considered from the point of view of various representatives of the construction industry. The Consortium of the Construction Industry of the Northwestern Federal District organized a working meeting and a round table “Digitalization of Construction Project Management Processes”. Let us recall that the priority areas of the consortium’s activities are the creation of a system of interaction with administrative, educational, scientific, industrial and public-professional organizations to ensure the region’s leading positions in the construction industry, the effective implementation of national projects and regional development programs.

    In addition, the conference paid attention to advanced training: Deputy General Director of Interregional Institute of Expertise LLC Sergey Dragomirov held a two-day intensive course “Information modeling in construction. Regulatory legal acts and legislative requirements, national standards”, in which he covered the current state of the regulatory framework in the field of application of information modeling technologies (BIM) in the design, construction and operation of capital construction projects.

    Industry exhibition

    An industry exhibition was held on the upper balustrade of SPbGASU. Here one could get acquainted in detail with the offers of partners and exhibitors, among which were the companies “WIZARDSOFT”, “Credo-Dialog”, “ELITA”, GC “NEOLANT”, “Stroygazservis”, BIMIT, “Nanosoft”, CSoft, “ASCON”. Our university also presented its stand.

    “We are manufacturers of engineering systems. Here we present our technologies for BIM. The “Smart Water” software allows you to calculate internal water supply and sewerage, as well as select pumping equipment and pumping units,” said Tatyana Kolegova, a representative of the ELITA company.

    “WIZARDSOFT is a developer of domestic software such as SmetaWIZARD, BIM WIZARD and PlanWIZARD. We are happy to tell you more about them. Visitors actively come to us, especially students. Students of SPbGASU use our programs,” shared a representative of the company “WIZARDSOFT” Alexandra Makarova.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: For the benefit of the capital: GUU will help the Management Center of the Moscow City Economy Complex

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    On April 28, at the invitation of the Director of the Management Center of the Moscow City Economy Complex (MCCMC) Evgeny Balashov, a working meeting was held between the Vice-Rector of the State University of Management Maria Karelina and the MCCMC team.

    The Center combines many years of experience in the field of municipal services with new developing areas of activity. The employees of the Central Control Center of the City Housing and Utilities Department work to promptly respond to the tasks related to monitoring the operation of housing and utilities facilities in Moscow. Analysts monitor the dynamics of processes, analyze the causes of incidents and make forecast estimates. The Center, as a single technological platform, unites all key sources of information, which facilitates the process of making strategic management decisions online.

    Colleagues from the Central Control Center of the KGH demonstrated the center’s business processes and introduced current and future tasks.

    The meeting resulted in the definition of the main vectors of interaction between the State University of Management and the Control Center. On the educational track, this is the organization of a basic department, the preparation and implementation of additional professional education and professional retraining programs. In the field of scientific research, the parties expressed mutual interest in joint research in the field of software modeling of various critical situations in the field of urban economy and their consequences.

    Taking into account the experience of the SMU scientists in the field of work on making management decisions under conditions of uncertainty (the head of the scientific school is Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Alexey Terentyev), the cooperation promises to be productive and will allow obtaining practical results in the interests of the Moscow City Economy Complex.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 04/29/2025

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: “The Art of Management: Science, Practice, Project Technologies”: The Results of the V All-Russian Interuniversity Forum

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    The 5th All-Russian Interuniversity Forum “The Art of Management: Science, Practice, Project Technologies” has concluded at the State University of Management.

    This forum has become an important platform for exchanging experiences in organizing project-based learning in higher education institutions, discussing current issues in project management and introducing innovative approaches in the educational and scientific fields.

    The event took place thanks to a fruitful partnership with two authoritative organizations: the project-methodical association “Association of project-oriented organizations of science and higher education” and the professional community “Association of project management “SOVNET”, which unites leading specialists in the field of project management.

    The Forum program included three large-scale events that brought together participants of different categories: from first-year students to teaching staff, representatives of administrative and managerial personnel of universities and experts from organizations of the real sector of the economy.

    More details about the first day of the Forum are provided in a separate article.

    On the second day, the Final of the Student Project Competition took place, which this year for the first time went beyond the SUM and attracted more than 50 external projects from various Russian universities, including: Kazan National Research Technical University named after A.N. Tupolev, Siberian Federal University, Southern Federal University, St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Tyumen State University, Russian University of Transport, MSTU “STANKIN”, Moscow Automobile and Road State Technical University, etc.

    Student project teams presented their developments to the expert jury in four nominations: “Business projects (startups)”, “Social projects”, “Consulting projects” and “Research projects”. Thanks to the support of our partners – IPI Lab LLC, Roskachestvo, Bank FINAM JSC, Exity Group, Algorithmika LLC, BPM Soft, Alfa-Bank, Smartika LLC and independent consultants – the participants received valuable recommendations and opportunities for further development of their projects.

    A particularly active and interesting event within the framework of the V All-Russian Interuniversity Forum “The Art of Management: Science, Practice, Project Technologies” was the Interuniversity Hackathon “Urban Development Technologies”, which took place at the State University of Management throughout all three days of the Forum.

    This year, the Hackathon was held for the fourth time and united 80 participants from GUU, RUT (MIIT), RGUTIS, RTU MIREA, RUDN, SFedU, SPbGASU in various fields of study in 9 teams as participants and team facilitators.

    More details about its discovery were given here, and the results were summed up in this article.

    The V All-Russian Interuniversity Forum “The Art of Management: Science, Practice, Project Technologies” ended with a ceremonial summing up of the results and awarding of the winners of the GUU Student Project Competition and the interuniversity hackathon “Urban Development Technologies”. Student projects and case solutions were awarded both the highest awards (1-3 places) and individual nominations from our colleagues and partners, as well as audience sympathy prizes.

    The State University of Management expresses its sincere gratitude to everyone for their active participation, professionalism and desire for development. We hope that the results of our joint work will find their application in practice, and new acquaintances and ideas will become the basis for further achievements and further development of project-based learning in Russian universities.

    Winners of the Student Projects Competition of the State University of Management

    Nomination “Business projects (startups)”

    1st place – project “Flight controller”, authors of the project – Korolev Semyon Yuryevich and Feoktistov Sergey Vyacheslavovich, MSTU “STANKIN”, curator – Kovalev Ilya Aleksandrovich;

    2nd place — project “Development of a wearable device for visualizing data from CNC systems in augmented reality mode”, Author of the project — Sergey Igorevich Karasev, MSTU “STANKIN”, curator — Ilya Aleksandrovich Kovalev;

    3rd place – project “RUmaTe”, team of the Russian University of Transport (MIIT) consisting of Mikhailova Elizaveta Alekseevna, Kharin Alexander Nikolaevich, Ushkalo Eduard Stanislavovich, Smaglyuk Kira Sergeevna, Baulina Karina Aleksandrovna, Anikeev Mikhail Andreevich. Curator – Chigarev Valentin Nikolaevich.

    Nomination “Social Projects”

    1st place — the project “Modern Pensioner”, the project team consisting of Fyodor Romanovich Nazarov, Anastasia Ivanovna Rudchenko, Vlada Vladimirovna Sudakova, Ksenia Dmitrievna Sysoeva, Shonia Sofiko Paataevna. State University of Management, curator — Elena Vadimovna Dianina;

    2nd place – project “Promotion of a public digital platform”

    3rd place — project “SMM promotion of the social project “Sobriety”, project team consisting of: Akinshina Anna Andreevna, Skripko Artem Vyacheslavovich, Eminova Anna Dmitrievna. Southern Federal University. Curator — Lankina Maria Yuryevna.

    Nomination “Consulting projects”

    1st place — project “Visualization of agricultural statistics data in the context of municipalities of the Moscow region”, project team consisting of Fedotov Sergey Andreevich, Khomutovskaya Kristina Dmitrievna, Chorbadzhyan Venera Agvanovna. State University of Management, curator — Dolgikh Ekaterina Alekseevna;

    2nd place – project “HR in the heart”, project team – Druzhinina Polina Yurievna, Makarkin Matvey Maksimovich, Nguyen Ngoc Ha Phuong, Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, Nikitina Ksenia Dmitrievna, Fastovskaya Milana Sukhrobovna. State University of Management, Curator – Lobacheva Anastasia Sergeevna;

    3rd place — project “Development of an application for maintaining results of online meetings”, project team: Belova Diana Dmitrievna, Mizgireva Kristina Yaroslavovna, Redikultsev Gleb Sergeevich. State University of Management. Curator — Terekhova Anna Evgenievna.

    Nomination “Research Projects”

    1st place – project “Software product for assessing the condition of power transmission line insulators”, author of the project – Radmir Rafilevich Mugletdinov, Kazan State Power Engineering University, curator – Aidar Khaidarovich Sabitov;

    2nd place — project “Development of a methodology for valuation zoning taking into account regional characteristics of the territory for the purposes of state cadastral valuation”, author of the project — Alina Pavlovna Illarionova. St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Curator — Yana Aleksandrovna Volkova;

    3rd place — project “Russian and foreign experience of legal protection of traditional spiritual and moral values”, author of the project – Karina Igorevna Meshcheryakova. State University of Management. Curator – Svetlana Evgenievna Titor.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 04/29/2025

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Opportunities for everyone: GUU took part in the discussion on the development of inclusive higher education

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    Representatives of the RUC of the State University of Management took part in the V All-Russian Forum of Inclusive Higher Education with International Participation “Formation of the Space of Inclusive Education: Requirements of the Time, Achievements, Growth Areas”

    Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia Olga Petrova addressed the Forum participants with a welcoming speech, noting the importance of developing inclusive higher education.

    The State University of Management was represented at the Forum by the Director of the RUMTS Elena Mitrofanova, the project managers of the RUMTS Tatyana Beregovskaya and Associate Professor Svetlana Grishaeva.

    Forum participants discussed six key problem areas:

    Theoretical and methodological aspects of the formation of the inclusive education space. Priorities of scientific research in the field of inclusive higher education. Issues of comprehensive support for students with disabilities in the social, educational and labor spheres. Practices of career guidance, education and employment of persons with disabilities. Social and educational inclusion, personal and professional development in the context of inclusion. Interdepartmental, interlevel and network interaction in education.

    The event featured a professional discussion of current issues in a wide range of continuous and successive, seamless inclusive education, social, educational and labor inclusion.

    Let us recall that a resource educational and methodological center for training disabled people and people with disabilities has been created and has been successfully operating since 2017 on the basis of the State University of Management. It is the curator of partner universities in 4 regions: Moscow, Moscow Region, Oryol Region and Smolensk Region.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 04/29/2025

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: Changes in the Management Board of Coop Kindlustusmaakler AS

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    The Supervisory Board of Coop Kindlustusmaakler AS, a subsidiary of Coop Pank AS, decided today, 29 April 2025, to appoint Marko Privoi as a new member of the Management Board of Coop Kindlustusmaakler AS. Privoi’s term of office will commence on 12 May 2025 and will last for three years.

    Marko Privoi has been working in the insurance sector since 1997. For the past 19 years, he has held various positions at the Estonian branch of ADB Gjensidige, and prior to that, he worked for 8 years at ERGO Insurance SE. Marko Privoi graduated from TTK University of Applied Sciences in 1988.

    Marko Privoi does not hold any shares or bonds of Coop Pank.

    Raivo Piibor will continue as a member of the Management Board of Coop Kindlustusmaakler AS.

    Coop Pank, based on Estonian capital, is one of the five universal banks operating in Estonia. The bank serves 213,000 daily banking customers. Coop Pank leverages the synergy between retail and banking sectors, bringing everyday banking services closer to home. The bank’s strategic owner is the domestic retail chain Coop Eesti, which operates a network of 320 stores.

    Additional information:
    Katre Tatrik
    Head of Communications
    Phone: +372 5151 859
    E-mail: katre.tatrik@cooppank.ee

    The MIL Network –