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Category: Education

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ukraine war: path to peace looks increasingly narrow as Kyiv’s western backers scramble to focus on their own interests

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

    After more than three years of war, the prospects of peace for Ukraine remain slim. There is no obvious credible pathway even to a ceasefire, given Russia’s refusal to extend a brief and shaky truce over Easter. This, despite the US, UK and Ukraine all signalling their support for this idea.

    And even if the considerable hurdles impeding a ceasefire deal could be overcome, a more fundamental problem would remain. None of the key players in the conflict appear to have a plan for an agreement that is likely to be acceptable to Kyiv and Moscow.

    Previous plans, such as a joint proposal by China and Brazil in May last year which was supported by a Chinese-led “Friends of Peace” group were primarily focused on a ceasefire as a stepping stone to negotiations about an actual peace agreement.

    This and other plans were all light on detail of what a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine would entail but were nonetheless roundly rejected by Ukraine and its western allies as favouring Russia. Given that a ceasefire would simply freeze the front lines and very likely make them permanent with or without a subsequent peace agreement, this was not an unreasonable position.

    What Ukraine proposed instead, however – and what its western allies backed, at least rhetorically – was hardly more viable. The peace plan proposed by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in December 2022 was already on life support at the time of the first “Summit on Peace in Ukraine” in Switzerland in June 2024.

    Only 84 of the 100 delegations attending the summit (out of 160 invited) supported a watered-down version of Zelensky’s plan in their final communique – and there was no agreement on a follow-up meeting. Ukraine’s peace plan was clearly dead in the water.

    Ukraine then proposed an “internal resilience plan”. With its its focus on ensuring that the country can survive a long war of attrition with Russia, this is anything but a peace plan.

    But it serves Kyiv’s needs to avoid an unconditional surrender to Moscow. This is also high on the agenda for Ukraine’s European allies who remain committed to supporting Kyiv.

    For the emerging European coalition of the willing, it is important to keep Ukraine in the fight while they build up their own defences. They face the possibility of a new international order in which the world might well be carved up into US, Russian and Chinese spheres of influence.

    Where the White House stands

    Such a carve-up is at the heart of efforts by the US president, Donald Trump. Trump is trying to secure a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine as well as a deal that would give the US privileged access to Ukrainian resources.

    Having initially fallen apart during an extraordinarily acrimonious press conference in the White House on February 28, this deal now appears to be relatively close to conclusion.

    The ceasefire deal Trump appears to envisage would divide Ukraine itself into spheres of influence according to a plan recently suggested by Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg. Yet even such a pro-Moscow arrangement that would offer Putin control of 20% of Ukraine continues to elude negotiators.

    At present, the Russian president has few incentives to settle for less than his maximum demands and stop a war that he thinks he is still able to win on the battlefield – particularly given Trump’s unwillingness to exert any meaningful pressure on Russia.

    At times, it now appears more likely that Trump will simply abandon his efforts to end the fighting in Ukraine. From a Russian perspective, this would be preferable to a ceasefire that freezes the conflict but doesn’t lead to a peace deal reflecting Moscow’s demands.

    The likely calculation in the Kremlin is that even if the 2026 mid-term elections in the US water down Trump’s power, that still leaves two more years to conquer more Ukrainian territory. Should Washington then make another push for a ceasefire, Moscow could claim any additional conquests as a price for Ukraine to pay for a settlement.

    Even if Trump does not walk away from the negotiations now, and even if his special envoy Steve Witkoff ultimately manages to cobble together a deal, this will more likely look like a ceasefire than like a peace agreement.

    Gulf remains between Russia and Ukraine

    The simple reason for this is that Russia’s and Ukraine’s positions on an acceptable outcome have not shifted. Putin remains committed to the full annexation of four complete Ukrainian regions as well as retaining Crimea. Zelensky has repeatedly ruled out territorial concessions and is broadly supported by Ukrainians in this stance.

    For the west, the reality that a peace agreement is close to impossible on terms satisfying all sides has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. To the extent that there are any joint efforts by Ukraine, the US and the European coalition of the willing, they are completely centred on a workable ceasefire.

    At a meeting of foreign ministers and high-level officials in Paris on April 17, discussions were focused on making such a ceasefire sustainable.

    While details of how this can be achieved remain unclear, the fact that there now appears to be a more inclusive negotiations track signals progress, at least on the process of negotiations. Whether this will lead to an actual breakthrough towards a sustainable ceasefire, however, will depend on their substance and whether Ukraine and Russia can ultimately agree on terms about disengagement of forces, monitoring, and guarantees and enforcement mechanisms.

    This is an already incredibly high bar, and the bar for a subsequent peace agreement is higher yet. In the current stage of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, a ceasefire is clearly a precondition for a peace agreement. But the sole focus on the former will not make the latter any more likely.

    What’s more, given Russia’s track record of reneging on the Minsk ceasefire agreements of September 2014 and February 2015, investing everything in a ceasefire deal might turn out not just a self-fulfilling but a self-defeating prophecy for Ukraine and its supporters.

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

    Tetyana Malyarenko 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. Ukraine war: path to peace looks increasingly narrow as Kyiv’s western backers scramble to focus on their own interests – https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-path-to-peace-looks-increasingly-narrow-as-kyivs-western-backers-scramble-to-focus-on-their-own-interests-254864

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: How Fomo – the fear of missing out – affects young people’s binge drinking

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Richard Cooke, Professor of Health Psychology, University of Staffordshire

    Media_Photos/Shutterstock

    Past English government campaigns have tried to curb youth drinking by focusing on the things young people might do while drunk and regret later: falling off scaffolding, vomiting or ending up looking a mess.

    And while more recent attempts, such as the Spread Campaign in Australia, have tended to be less overtly graphic, they still focus exclusively on harms associated with drinking, such as cancer. They use fear to try and scare people into changing their drinking behaviour.

    But despite their popularity with policymakers, psychological research has generally shown that campaigns based on fear do not change behaviour. What’s more, our research has found that even when young people thought they would regret what they did when drunk and made plans to drink less, they still ended up drinking the same amount.

    Over a number of research studies, we’ve tried to figure out why regret doesn’t change drinking behaviour. What we’ve found is that for many young people, the fear of missing out on the good things they might experience while drinking outweighs the fear that they might do something they regret.

    When young people in a focus group talked about their binge drinking, several downplayed the severity of the things they’d done while drunk – which included taking their clothes off in a nightclub and dancing naked on a table, and getting a tattoo of a footballer on their bum. They explained that the social benefits they got out of drinking, such as making shared memories, bonding and meeting new people, outweighed any negative consequences that followed.

    This helps to explain why health campaigns can be ineffective. If you can justify naked dancing or getting a tattoo on your bum, you’re not going be too bothered about feeling a bit sick the morning after.

    In a second, ongoing study, we talked to young adults about their fears of missing social events. Many told us that not attending these events meant exclusion from in-jokes based on shared experiences, leaving them feeling isolated. One of our interviewees even admitted an event would be “rubbish” but went anyway so as to not miss out.

    So, it seemed to us that regret might work differently for things you do – “action regret” – versus things you do not do: “inaction regret”.

    Young people feared missing out on experiences.
    Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

    Applied to alcohol, this makes sense. Memories of hangovers fade, but you hold on to those shared experiences that mean so much. Conversely, not sharing experiences means you are left out of conversations, wondering what might have been.

    This means that Fomo – the fear of missing out – might be a better predictor of young adults’ drinking behaviour than anticipating regret.

    For our most recently published research study, we recruited over 100 young adults aged 18-30 and asked them to report the Fomo they felt and how much they planned to drink. They did this three times a day on three consecutive weekends. We also asked them how much they had gone on to drink each time.

    Measuring Fomo and drinking plans multiple times over a short period helped us understand fluctuations in feelings and drinking plans. Our results show that experiencing higher levels of Fomo increased how much young adults planned to drink, and led to them drinking more.

    This suggests one reason young adults drink more after experiencing Fomo is that they believe drinking more makes it more likely something memorable will happen. This supports what we found in our qualitative studies.

    In contrast, experiencing Fomo did not make young adults drink more frequently. In another study one of us (Richard) conducted, young adults’ drinking frequency was best predicted by social factors, such as how often young adults contacted their friends about drinking, and their drinking habits.

    As drinking often happens in social settings with friends, its frequency is likely to depend more on these social and contextual factors, rather than individual differences in Fomo or drinking plans.

    Overall, our research shows that Fomo – an entirely psychological phenomenon – influences young adults’ drinking plans and how much they drink. Such results can help explain why hard-hitting health campaigns that highlight regret following binge-drinking are ineffective at reducing binge-drinking. Young adults are more worried about missing out socially than about the hangover the next day.

    Richard Cooke has received funding from NIHR, the Wellcome Trust, European Union, and the European Foundation for Alcohol Research (ERAB) who were funded by the Brewers of Europe. ERAB had no role in study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of data, writing of manuscripts or decisions to submit papers for the projects they supported.

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

    – ref. How Fomo – the fear of missing out – affects young people’s binge drinking – https://theconversation.com/how-fomo-the-fear-of-missing-out-affects-young-peoples-binge-drinking-230229

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Digging into an environmental scandal on the Isle of Man

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Anna Turns, Senior Environment Editor

    SimoneN/Shutterstock

    I first spoke to freshwater scientist Calum MacNeil in February 2022. He explained to me that The Isle of Man – a self-governing island in the Irish Sea between the UK and and Ireland – was being cast as world’s only “all-nation” Unesco biosphere reserve.

    He explained how, in 2014, before its Unesco designation, contaminated silt was deliberately dumped in the Irish Sea. While designated as a biosphere, contaminated silt dredged from a marine harbour has been contained in a sealed pit but leachate from that has discharged into Peel Bay, where people regularly swim from the sandy beaches.

    As an environmental journalist, the story stood out to me and the more we spoke, the more the plot thickened.



    Read more:
    Toxic chemical pollution continues on Isle of Man as government defends Unesco conservation status

    I spent hours of my spare time digesting the evidence he sent me – all of it in the public domain. Government reports, online pollution policies, local news coverage, the biosphere nomination documents.

    MacNeil, who worked for the Isle of Man government between 2004 and 2017, knew what he was talking about.

    But the more I looked into this, the more I felt up against smoke and mirrors. Beautiful beaches, clean seas and a thriving ecotourism destination (according to the government’s tourism marketing). Contrast that with contaminated waste ending up in the ocean.

    Three years on, and The Conversation’s Insights team and I have been working closely with Professor of Water Science at Liverpool John Moores University, Patrick Byrne. He has analysed and interpreted the consequences of this pollution.

    While pollution is rife around the world to a certain extent, this instance is particularly shocking, he explains.

    Now, The Conversation is proud to present our exclusive Insights investigation, Leaked, in two key parts. An introductory news article written Byrne explains the backstory and highlights the prominence of Isle of Man’s Unesco biosphere status.

    Further analysis unfolds in an in-depth Q&A between Byrne and MacNeil. Byrne explains the gravity of legacy contamination from synthetic toxic chemicals known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and why transparency is so key.

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

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

    – ref. Digging into an environmental scandal on the Isle of Man – https://theconversation.com/digging-into-an-environmental-scandal-on-the-isle-of-man-247738

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Autistic people’s experiences of periods are under-researched – here’s why that needs to change

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rebecca Ellis, Assistant Researcher in Public Health, Swansea University

    Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock

    Periods can be painful, unpredictable and disruptive. And for autistic people, they can present additional challenges. From sensory sensitivities to barriers accessing healthcare, the experience of autistic menstruation remains under-explored in research.

    Our new review highlights just how little we know about autistic experiences of periods – and why more inclusive research from autistic people themselves is needed.

    Menstruation – the biological process in which blood is discharged through the vagina from the inner lining of the uterus – is often described as a negative experience. Periods can be irregular, heavy and painful. They may also affect a person socially and emotionally.

    Despite 1.8 billion people across the world menstruating every month, period stigma still exists. For many, this leads to social isolation and negatively affects their access to appropriate menstrual education and products. And, while menstrual products and awareness have improved over the last few decades, many people across the globe are still unable to afford the products they need.

    Incidences of structural sexism within education, the workplace and healthcare can negatively affect those who aren’t cisgender men. People assigned female at birth – including girls, women, transgender men and some non-binary people – who experience menstruation are affected by the historical focus on the male body in healthcare. For example, gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis are only now receiving attention within research, having previously been largely ignored.

    Autism research has historically focused on cisgender men and boys. The experiences of autistic people assigned female at birth have only recently started to be researched, especially in relation to their reproductive care. What limited research does exist has shown poorer physical, mental and social wellbeing outcomes relating to their experiences of menstruation.


    Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock

    We reviewed existing studies that detail experiences of periods both from the point of view of autistic people and those who support them. We focused on research that had interviewed autistic people directly, and those within their social circle, about periods. Twelve sources, including research papers, articles and blogs, fitted our criteria, from which we identified the important themes.

    Our sources included contributions from autistic people who were mostly teenagers and young adults, alongside parents, siblings, and medical and educational professionals. While the themes discussed depended on who was being spoken to, many autistic reflections focused on the need for information and practical support ahead of periods starting.



    Read more:
    Why autistic people must be at the heart of autism research

    Some interviewees described having autism-specific experiences during menstruation, such as increased sensory sensitivities and burnout (a state of exhaustion and personal withdrawal). These were often unseen by the people around them.

    Parental and professional comments typically focused on the need for tailored support for their autistic children who were menstruating, with the end-goal of independence. Often, their comments set the child against neurotypical standards, the social norms of the majority.

    Menstruation was described as a predominantly negative experience by everyone who was spoken to. But mentions of period stigma affected how comfortable autistic people were discussing this topic with others.

    They were also less likely to access social networks and peer support in social environments such as schools. Very often because of this, autistic people weren’t provided with the knowledge they needed to compare their experiences with those of other people.

    Pain

    The dismissal of pain emerged as a significant issue. Many autistic people reported that their pain was normalised by those around them, including parents, siblings and school staff, regardless of its severity. They were told their level of pain was something everyone else also experienced and dealt with. Autistic people were also likely to internalise these messages until they became their own opinions and beliefs.

    Since autistic people often perceive and communicate pain differently, this can lead to delays in seeking help – and being rejected when they do so.

    The lack of autistic voices in research influences the kind of support that is developed. If resources are designed based on the priorities of parents or professionals rather than autistic people themselves, these resources may fail to meet the needs of the people having periods.



    Read more:
    Autistic women face barriers to safe and supportive maternity care – new research

    There are specific autism-related experiences of menstruation that we know less about because of the lack of research. Our review suggests autistic people are often held to neurotypical standards of menstrual management – without recognition of autism-specific factors such as sensory sensitivities, communication differences and the ways in which information is best conveyed.

    We argue that future research on menstruation should include autistic voices, speaking to people of different ages and backgrounds about their experiences.

    By prioritising autistic perspectives, we can develop more accessible resources and communication strategies that ensure this knowledge is transferred in ways that make sense for those who need it most. Tailored support could also help parents, carers and professionals better understand and respond to autistic experiences of menstruation.

    If we want to create meaningful change, we need to start by listening to autistic people themselves.

    Aimee Grant receives funding from the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council and the Morgan Advanced Studies Institute. She is a non-executive director of Disability Wales.

    Monique Craine owns & runs Neurodivergent Matters. They are a member of Welsh Labour. They are part of the Independent Advisory Group for Dyfed Powys Police. Monique is also a community councillor for Tawe Uchaf Community Council.

    Rebecca Ellis 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. Autistic people’s experiences of periods are under-researched – here’s why that needs to change – https://theconversation.com/autistic-peoples-experiences-of-periods-are-under-researched-heres-why-that-needs-to-change-249095

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Reducing diversity, equity and inclusion to a catchphrase undermines its true purpose

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Detris Honora Adelabu, Clinical Professor of Applied Human Development, Boston University

    More than 440 anti-DEI bills have been introduced in 42 states since the 2023 Supreme Court decision that ended race-conscious college admissions. J Studios/Getty Images

    Diversity, equity and inclusion, which has become the catchphrase DEI, represents a commitment to fairness and to tackling racism and exclusionary policies that limit access to resources and perpetuate injustice.

    The Trump administration’s attacks on DEI frame efforts toward equity and fairness as illegal, wasteful, immoral and shameful.

    However, unfair access to resources and opportunities remains a daily reality in American society.

    Consider persistent disparities in housing, education and employment that prevent access to resources and opportunities based on race.

    These inequalities are also evident in health care and the criminal justice system.

    African Americans, for instance, make up approximately 13% of the U.S. population. But they account for 53% of exonerations after wrongful convictions.

    As public health expert David Ansell argues in his book “The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills,” these disparities are not just a matter of quality of life but of life itself.

    Where people are born and how they live shape their access to health care, education, nutritious food, stable housing and fair treatment within the justice system. This inequity, Ansell argues, creates a “death gap” where systemic barriers to opportunity and well-being shorten lives.

    As professors focused on human development and education, we are committed to building fair and equitable living and learning opportunities for all students. We believe reducing diversity, equity and inclusion to a catchphrase or acronym undermines its importance and purpose to tackle the racism and biases that contribute to unfairness and injustice.

    More than a single concept

    DEI is more than an acronym or catchphrase. When diversity, equity and inclusion is reduced to a buzzword, it undermines its importance and the depth of work required to create inclusive spaces.

    Each component of DEI represents unique aims and challenges.

    Diversity is the practice of involving people from a range of social and ethnic backgrounds who hold varying perspectives. Diversity includes the meaningful and intentional inclusion of those who have been historically underrepresented.

    Equity is the practice of being fair and just, especially in a way that seeks to address existing inequalities.

    Equity means providing fair access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded. This includes those who have been underrepresented due to historical and contemporary biases.

    This inequity is illustrated by education funding disparities where public schools attended by majority Black and Latino students receive less funding than majority white, affluent schools.

    Inclusion is the state of being included within a group in a way that establishes a feeling of being welcomed and respected.

    Broad benefits

    Consider the racial diversity in your neighborhood. To what extent is it racially diverse?

    People of color in predominantly white neighborhoods face discrimination. This includes encounters with police and other community members who question their presence within spaces that have historically been majority white. However, diversity and inclusivity within communities contribute to prejudice reduction and improved race relations.

    DEI can broadly benefit society.

    Imagine going to the local grocery store and the doors open automatically as you approach. Upon exiting, you push your shopping cart toward the sloped sidewalk designed to provide easy access to the road surface. Although the automatic doors and sloped sidewalk were designed for individuals with physical disabilities, these examples of DEI initiatives make everyday life better for everyone.

    The danger of oversimplification

    Reducing diversity, equity and inclusion to a catchphrase can lead to a superficial understanding and application of the concepts.

    Some organizations incorporate DEI language into their mission statement without committing to deeper changes that promote equity and fairness.

    In higher education, institutions may promote DEI initiatives while failing to address inequities in access and opportunity among students and faculty. Despite decades of stated commitments to DEI, predominantly white higher education institutions have made little progress toward racially diversifying their faculty, leadership or student body.

    States such as Florida, Texas and Kentucky have introduced policies to dismantle programs aimed at promoting racial and gender equity in education.
    designer491/Getty Images

    For example, 72% of U.S. college and university presidents and 72% of faculty identify as white. Yet white adults make up just 60% of the U.S. population.

    Additionally, some organizations hire chief diversity officers without allocating resources or power to enact meaningful policy changes. Such superficial steps toward DEI squander its potential to transform higher education to truly advance diversity, equity and inclusion.

    Backlash against DEI

    DEI is also susceptible to political manipulation and dismantling.

    More than 440 anti-diversity, equity and inclusion bills have been introduced in 42 states since the 2023 Supreme Court decision that ended race-conscious college admissions.

    States such as Florida, Texas and Kentucky have recently introduced policies to dismantle programs aimed at promoting racial and gender equity in education and the workplace.

    Meanwhile, in recent years DEI officers and advocates have lost jobs in higher education and other organizations.

    DEI has become a scapegoat for political and systemic failures.

    President Donald Trump, for example, blamed diversity, equity and inclusion for a Washington, D.C., plane crash that killed 67 people in January 2025. And Missouri is suing Starbucks, claiming the coffeehouse chain’s DEI policies are increasing wait times for orders.

    Diversity, equity and inclusion is not about individual prejudice or emotions. It’s about addressing the systemic historical exclusions of people of color and other underrepresented groups – people who have not had fair and equitable access to resources and opportunities in America.

    Linda Banks-Santilli is a member of the board of Horizons@LMS, a summer enrichment program focused on improving math and literacy for low-income students.

    Detris Honora Adelabu and Felicity Crawford do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Reducing diversity, equity and inclusion to a catchphrase undermines its true purpose – https://theconversation.com/reducing-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-to-a-catchphrase-undermines-its-true-purpose-249717

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Brothers in Spirit. The 24th Anniversary of the Formation of VSKS was Celebrated at the State University of Management

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    On April 22, 2025, a ceremonial event dedicated to the 24th anniversary of the formation of the All-Russian Student Rescue Corps was held at the State University of Management.

    The ranks of VSKS include over 8,000 volunteers from 88 subjects of the Russian Federation. 240 student rescue teams operate on the basis of educational institutions. The headquarters of the Moscow city branch of VSKS is located at the State University of Management.

    Before the event, the head of the Moscow city branch of VSKS, Maxim Dzhetygenov, showed the head of the All-Russian Student Rescue Corps, Evgeny Kozeev, and the vice-rector of the State University of Management, Vitaly Lapshenkov, new classrooms in the Information Technology Center, intended for classes of VSKS volunteers.

    At the ceremonial parade in honor of the holiday, Vitaly Lapshenkov also gave a congratulatory speech: “I am glad to welcome the best volunteer rescuers to the territory of the State University of Management. On behalf of the rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroyev, I congratulate you on the birthday of the All-Russian Student Rescue Corps. You have chosen an interesting and complex area of activity, I wish you to develop your skills that save human lives. And I thank you for this noble cause. Next year, VSKS will turn 25 years old, there will be many festive events in honor of this beautiful date. But first of all, I hope that the anniversary year will pass calmly for you.”

    The head of the Moscow city branch of the VSKS, Maxim Dzhetygenov, presented Vitaly Lapshenkov with a letter of gratitude from the command and personnel of the 1st rifle battalion of the 1st separate motorized rifle brigade for the humanitarian aid provided as part of the joint campaign with the VSKS, “GUU-SVOim”.

    The head of the All-Russian Student Rescue Corps, Evgeny Kozeev, addressed the staff of the organization: “Today is a special day for us. Over the past 24 years, we have become a large and close-knit team. We are constantly growing in number, we work a lot with schoolchildren and students, and we regularly participate in many humanitarian missions. Thank you for your concern, fortitude, and diligence. Your contribution helps the country become stronger. We still have many accomplishments ahead of us, and together we are strong!”

    Evgeny Kozeev presented distinguished volunteers with letters of gratitude from Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as medals and certificates of honor.

    The head of the Moscow city branch of VSKS Maxim Dzhetygenov addressed the student rescuers with an inspiring speech: “Dear friends, colleagues and, dare I say it, brothers in spirit, I congratulate you on the holiday! Our staff is constantly changing, students graduate from their universities and leave our ranks, but new ones always take their place. I am sure that many years from now, each of you will be proud of your deeds and tell children how you helped people, saved lives, eliminated the consequences of terrorist attacks and natural disasters. I am proud to work with you. I congratulate everyone on the holiday. Hurray! Hurray! Hurray!”

    Maxim Dzhetygenov, as a deputy of the Moscow City Duma, presented the student rescuers with letters of gratitude from the Moscow City Duma.

    After the ceremonial formation, competitions were held between the teams of the Moscow City Branch of the VSKS.

    In just 24 years of activity, VSKS volunteers have taken part in the elimination of 50 major emergency situations and their consequences.

    Since February 2022, VSKS volunteers have been providing assistance to residents of the LPR, DPR, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. At the same time, more than 2 thousand VSKS volunteers in the regions of Russia helped visiting residents of Donbass: they met, handed over humanitarian aid, and escorted displaced persons to temporary accommodation points. In the territory of historical regions, student rescuers accompany humanitarian convoys, deliver humanitarian aid, carry out emergency recovery work, and provide targeted assistance. The State University of Management, together with the VSKS, regularly holds events of the “GUU – SVOim” campaign.

    In March 2024, volunteer squad members helped eliminate the consequences of the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.

    Since April 2024, an operational headquarters has been deployed in the Belgorod region. The tasks of the volunteers are to deliver food and other humanitarian aid to temporary accommodation points, and to clear away the rubble of buildings and structures that have been destroyed.

    Since August 2024, a joint humanitarian aid headquarters has been open in Kursk. Volunteers receive, sort, deliver humanitarian aid, and eliminate the consequences of shelling.

    The headquarters will be open from December 2024

    One of the key areas of VSKS is working with the younger generation – from kindergarten to graduation from a secondary or higher educational institution. At present, 187 school rescue teams have been opened in 50 regions, in which more than 3,000 schoolchildren actively participate. Let us recall that last year, the State University of Management hosted the semi-final of the Central Federal District of the All-Russian competition among school rescue teams.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 04/22/2025

    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 –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Children’s military sports camps to open in the capital for the 80th anniversary of Victory — Sobyanin

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    In honor of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, children’s military-sports tent camps will open in the capital. Sergei Sobyanin announced this in his telegram channel.

    “A project unique to the capital’s education system will start on June 1. The camps will be named after outstanding marshals of the Soviet Union: “Zhukov” will be located on the territory of the “Alabino” training ground, “Rokossovsky” – in the “Patriot” park, “Vasilevsky” – in the Noginsk rescue center of the Russian Emergencies Ministry,” the Moscow Mayor wrote.

    Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @Mos_Sobyanin 

    Over 4.5 thousand students of grades 7–10 will attend specialized shifts during the summer — winners of city, all-Russian and international competitions and contests in sports, tourism and military-patriotic areas. A total of six two-week shifts will be organized during the summer.

    The guys will undergo tactical, engineering and fire training, learn the basics of topography, fire and rescue operations and field medicine, learn to operate unmanned aerial vehicles and navigate the terrain.

    The programs were developed by the capital Department of Education and Science together with the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (EMERCOM of Russia). Participation is free. You can submit an application in the web version of the electronic diary of the Moscow Electronic School project in in the “School” section, indicating your achievements in competitions and contests.

    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.

    Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

    https: //vv.mos.ru/mayor/tkhemes/12648050/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Jefferson, Economic Mobility and the Dual Mandate

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Thank you, Dr. Singleton, for the kind introduction and for the opportunity to speak here today.1 It is great to be back in Philadelphia, and I look forward to today’s discussions on economic mobility.

    As monetary policymakers, my colleagues and I on the Federal Open Market Committee do not have direct control over economic mobility in the U.S. Our key monetary policy tools are not designed to address this issue, nor is economic mobility part of our mandate. However, our dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability has implications for a wide range of economic outcomes, including economic mobility. This leads to many important questions about the relationship between the dual mandate and economic mobility. In my remarks, I want to address two such questions. First, does meeting the dual mandate facilitate economic mobility? And second, does economic mobility matter for the conduct of monetary policy?
    In today’s talk, I will discuss my views on these questions, but I will not be able to provide definitive answers. Rather, I hope that posing these questions and relaying some of my own thoughts will lead to further discussions during this conference and beyond. Before turning to these questions, let me start with a brief overview of intergenerational mobility in the U.S.
    Taking Stock of Economic MobilityEconomic mobility, the ability to move up the economic ladder, is at the heart of the American dream. We tell our children that in the U.S., if you work hard and play by the rules, you can have a secure and successful financial future no matter where you start. We continue to believe strongly in this part of the American dream and remain optimistic that hard work is a primary determinant of later-life success. In a survey from 2019, when respondents were asked which factors are essential or very important to getting ahead in life, nearly 90 percent identified hard work, and only 30 percent indicated coming from a wealthy family.2
    Policymakers have long been aware of the importance of economic mobility. To illustrate that, let me share a quote from former Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke: “Equality of economic opportunity appeals to our sense of fairness, certainly, but it also strengthens our economy. If each person is free to develop and apply his or her talents to the greatest extent possible, then both the individual and the economy benefit.”3
    With these sentiments of what Americans and policymakers think and feel about mobility in mind, let me turn to some evidence on economic mobility in the U.S. One common way to measure economic mobility is to relate an individual’s income in adulthood to their family income during childhood. The measure I am showing here—from Harvard economist Raj Chetty and coauthors—is likely familiar to many of you.4 It shows a relative intergenerational mobility measure, also known as the “rank–rank” relationship. This measure relates a child’s ranking in the income distribution as an adult, shown on the vertical axis, to the child’s family income rank during childhood, shown on the horizontal axis.
    The upward slope of the line implies that children born into lower-income families tend to be lower on the income distribution as adults. For example, a child born to the richest parents is, on average, 30 percentage points higher in the income distribution as an adult compared with a child born to the poorest parents. This difference in the relative standing in the income distribution as an adult translates into meaningful differences in earnings levels. To put this in perspective, consider two children who grow up to be 30 percentile points apart on the earnings distribution as adults, with one at the 80th percentile and the other at the 50th percentile. The child who grows up to be at the 80th percentile of the distribution as an adult will earn roughly twice as much compared with the child at the 50th percentile.5
    In addition to having lower earnings as adults, children born into lower-income families are more likely to experience outcomes that can negatively affect their success in the labor market later in life. Girls born into the bottom decile of the family income distribution are about 10 times more likely to become teenage mothers compared with those born to top-decile families.6 Boys born into bottom-decile families are roughly 20 times more likely to be incarcerated in their thirties compared with boys from families in the top decile.7 Teen pregnancy and incarceration are extreme examples of barriers to labor market success that differentially affect children from lower-income families. More generally, there are numerous reasons that any individual may struggle in the labor market, including skill mismatches and lack of proper training or education.
    Does Meeting the Dual Mandate Facilitate Economic Mobility?Now, let me turn to the Fed’s dual mandate and discuss how working toward maximum employment and price stability helps set the stage for broad-based success generally, and how this may provide favorable conditions for upward mobility.
    Consider my first question: Does meeting the dual mandate facilitate economic mobility? To help answer this question, I want to revisit remarks I delivered earlier this year about the implications of noninflationary expansions on shared prosperity.8 Specifically, I am reflecting on the economic expansion that followed the 2007–09 Global Financial Crisis (GFC). During that period, the economy expanded for 128 consecutive months, making it the longest economic expansion in U.S. history.
    As shown in figure 2, the aggregate unemployment rate fell steadily from a peak of 10 percent in October 2009 to 3.5 percent in September 2019, the lowest level recorded in nearly 50 years. The labor market in this period was remarkable in terms of broad-based gains seen across demographic groups, which contributed to a historic narrowing of employment differentials. To illustrate this point, let’s add in unemployment rates by levels of education, as shown in figure 3. In 2019, the unemployment rate gaps between workers with less than a high school education, the solid green line near the top of the chart, and those who had attained at least a bachelor’s degree, the solid orange line closer to the bottom, were near multidecade lows. Further, the strong pre-pandemic labor market drew many new participants into the labor force, including teens and younger workers whose employment prospects, and even long-term career trajectories, are especially sensitive to the cyclical state of the economy.9 These are the types of labor market conditions that the economist Arthur Okun speculated would increase upward mobility.10 In a tight labor market, when individuals move up the job ladder, they create openings for newer or less educated workers.
    Moving on to earnings, figure 4 shows that nominal wage growth increased steadily following the GFC. As with gains in employment, the strong labor market was especially beneficial for some groups. To demonstrate that, let’s turn to figure 5, which shows wage growth for different earnings levels. Wage growth for the bottom half of earners, the dashed red line, started to pick up about five years into the expansion, and by 2017, it was notably stronger compared with that for workers in the top half of the earnings distribution, the solid blue line.11 These differences in wage growth are important. As the bottom of the distribution catches up to higher earners, wage inequality declines. These are also dynamics that can facilitate upward economic mobility.
    Let me now turn to the second component of the dual mandate, price stability. While some long economic expansions have led to an unwelcome rise in prices, inflation remained low and stable during the economic expansion following the GFC. Indeed, Federal Reserve policymakers were grappling with inflation somewhat below, rather than above, the longer-run 2 percent target, as shown in figure 6.
    Low and stable inflation is important for individuals and businesses for a variety of reasons. It ensures that the nominal wage gains I just discussed are not eroded in real terms and that necessities remain affordable. In addition, it helps individuals and families plan for major purchases, such as a car or home, and for major expenses, including retirement and college.
    I want to highlight one of these major expenses—higher education—as attending college is an important pathway for upward mobility. Looking at figure 7, higher education inflation is shown by the red line. A variety of factors affect the cost of college generally, including student loan costs, state funding, and administrative overhead. Nonetheless, when inflation was low for an extended period during the economic expansion that followed the GFC, we also saw a moderation in the growth of higher education costs.12
    To illustrate the importance of college attendance for mobility, let me return to the rank–rank intergenerational mobility relationship I showed earlier. As before, the darkest dots show the national child-income-rank-to-parent-income-rank relationship. Now consider how this relationship looks across different types of higher education. The red line shows elite four-year colleges, the green line shows the remaining four-year institutions, and the lighter-blue line shows two-year schools. As you can see from the colored lines, the relationship between family income rank and later-life income rank is weaker—that is, the slope of the line is flatter—within each type of college than it is nationally.
    The flatter slope indicates that outcomes for children from lower-income families are more similar to outcomes for children from higher-income families within each college type than they are overall. In this way, higher education is an important source of upward mobility for many youths and a pathway to a more secure financial future. Of course, the relatively steeper national relationship holds because there are meaningful differences in college enrollment over the family income distribution.
    Going back to my initial question, I asked whether meeting the dual mandate facilitates economic mobility. I think that achieving the dual mandate sets the conditions for all individuals to succeed, including those moving up the economic ladder. The evidence suggests that long noninflationary expansions are associated with narrower gaps in employment and earnings, and that lower-wage and less-educated workers benefit disproportionately from sustained periods of strong economic growth. Further, achieving price stability allows individuals and households to plan for and make investments in human capital, such as attending college, that may allow individuals to move up the income distribution.13
    Does Economic Mobility Matter for the Conduct of Monetary Policy?Before I conclude, I want to return to my second question: Does economic mobility matter for the conduct of monetary policy? As I mentioned earlier, economic mobility is not part of the Federal Reserve’s mandate, and our monetary policy tools are blunt instruments for affecting economic mobility. For example, interest rates affect the entire economy, not targeted populations, and rate changes operate through financial markets rather than directly influencing labor market outcomes.
    One way that economic mobility could matter for the conduct of monetary policy is if the goals of monetary policy are easier to achieve in a high-mobility society compared with one with low mobility. I do not know if this is true, but let me offer some conjectures. I think that a society with relatively higher mobility may allow for more efficient transmission of monetary policy. In a dynamic economy with relatively more upward mobility, individuals may have greater incentives to be proactive in the job market. They may seek new and better job opportunities, which could allow for a quicker path to maximum employment following economic downturns. Further, individuals and households may hold additional savings for increased investments in human capital when mobility is relatively higher, allowing for more effective transmission of monetary policy. Stepping back, I pose this question not to offer a definitive answer, but rather to serve as one potential starting point for your discussions here today.
    ConclusionLet me conclude by pointing out that the patterns we observe in our economy, including those for economic mobility, are not predetermined. Outcomes can and will change as we learn more about effective strategies to improve and maintain economic mobility in the U.S. By joining in these conversations here today, and by continuing to research and describe the patterns of economic mobility, you are helping society understand the dynamics of our economy better and find new and innovative ways to help keep the American dream of economic mobility alive and well. Thank you.
    ReferencesAutor, David H. (2014). “Skills, Education, and the Rise of Earnings Inequality among the ‘Other 99 Percent,’ ” Science, vol. 344 (May), pp. 843–51.
    Bernanke, Ben S. (2007). “The Level and Distribution of Economic Well-Being,” speech delivered at the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, Omaha, Neb., February 6.
    Bleemer, Zachary, and Basit Zafar (2018). “Intended College Attendance: Evidence from an Experiment on College Returns and Costs,” Journal of Public Economics, vol. 157 (January), pp. 184–211.
    Card, David (1999). “Chapter 30 – The Causal Effect of Education on Earnings,” in Orley C. Ashenfelter and David Card, eds., Handbook of Labor Economics, vol. 3A. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science, pp. 1801–63.
    Chetty, Raj, John N. Friedman, Emmanuel Saez, Nicholas Turner, and Danny Yagan (2020). “Income Segregation and Intergenerational Mobility across Colleges in the United States,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 135 (August), pp. 1567–1633.
    Chetty, Raj, Nathaniel Hendren, Patrick Kline, and Emmanuel Saez (2014). “Where Is the Land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 129 (November), pp. 1553–1623.
    ISSP Research Group (2022). International Social Survey Programme: Social Inequality V – ISSP 2019. GESIS, Cologne. ZA7600 Data file Version 3.0.0.
    Jefferson, Philip N. (2025). “Do Non-inflationary Economic Expansions Promote Shared Prosperity? Evidence from the U.S. Labor Market,” speech delivered at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa., February 5.
    Looney, Adam, and Nicholas Turner (2018). “Work and Opportunity before and after Incarceration (PDF),” Economic Studies at Brookings. Washington: Brookings Institution, March.
    Okun, Arthur M. (1973). “Upward Mobility in a High-Pressure Economy (PDF),” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, no. 1, pp. 207–61.
    Oreopoulos, Philip, Till von Wachter, and Andrew Heisz (2012). “The Short- and Long-Term Career Effects of Graduating in a Recession,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, vol. 4 (January), pp. 1–29.
    Wolla, Scott A., Guillaume Vandenbroucke, and Cameron Tucker (2023). “Is College Still Worth the High Price? Weighing Costs and Benefits of Investing in Human Capital,” Page One Economics. St. Louis: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, September 1.
    Zimmerman, Seth D. (2014). “The Returns to College Admission for Academically Marginal Students,” Journal of Labor Economics, vol. 32 (October), pp. 711–54.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text
    2. The data are Federal Reserve Board staff calculations for U.S. respondents in the International Social Survey Programme: Social Inequality V. See IISP Research Group (2022). Return to text
    3. See Bernanke (2007), quoted text in paragraph 1. Return to text
    4. In figure 1, parent and child linkages and incomes are based on population-level tax data. The sample includes children born between 1980 and 1982. Parent income for these children is the average of total pretax family income when the child is between the ages of 15 and 19. Later-life income for these children is measured in 2014 when the child is between the ages of 32 and 34 and is defined as total individual pretax income. See Chetty and others (2020). Return to text
    5. Earnings are, on average, just under $56,000 at the 80th percentile of the child earnings distribution, compared with just under $27,000 at the 50th percentile. See Chetty and others (2020). Return to text
    6. See Chetty and others (2014). Return to text
    7. See Looney and Turner (2018). Return to text
    8. See Jefferson (2025). Return to text
    9. See Oreopoulos, von Wachter, and Heisz (2012). Return to text
    10. See Okun (1973). Return to text
    11. Nominal wages in the figure are measured by the Atlanta Fed’s Wage Growth Tracker. Series show 12-month moving averages of the median percent change in the nominal hourly wage of individuals observed 12 months apart. Workers are assigned to wage quantiles based on the average of their wage reports in both the Current Population Survey and outgoing rotation group interviews. Workers in the lowest 50 percent of the average wage distribution are assigned to the bottom half, and those in the top 50 percent are assigned to the top half. Return to text
    12. There are limitations to this measure of higher education costs, as it is volatile and may not reflect the underlying net price that students pay. However, list tuition prices have been shown to be salient for many families when making college enrollment decisions. For example, see Bleemer and Zafar (2018). Return to text
    13. Despite the rising cost of college, research consistently shows a positive return to higher education for most students. See Wolla, Vandenbroucke, and Tucker (2023), Autor (2014), Zimmerman (2014), and Card (1999). Return to text

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Election Diary: Dutton in third debate gives Labor ammunition for its scare about cuts

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

    In the leaders’ third head-to-head encounter, on Nine on Tuesday, Peter Dutton’s bluntness when pressed on cuts has given more ammunition to Labor’s scare campaign about what a Coalition government might do.

    “When John Howard came into power, there was $96 billion of debt from Labor at that point. John Howard didn’t outline the budget from opposition and it is not something you can do from opposition,” Dutton said.

    That allowed Anthony Albanese to, once again, rewind the tape to Tony Abbott’s 2014 budget, declaring it had “ripped money out of” education and hospitals. “There will be cuts afterwards – he’s just confirmed that – but they won’t tell you what they are.”

    Dutton’s reference to the 1996 budget reinforced the point that he is keeping his options very open on cuts, which will need to go well beyond the squeeze on the public service to which the Coalition is committed. It’s becoming increasingly clear full details won’t be provided before May 3.

    Despite best efforts to get them to answer questions as asked, both leaders again blatantly dodged when they could not, or chose not to, give a direct response.

    Dutton was asked what he would say to voters who think he is Trump-lite. The opposition leader talked down the clock – about Howard being his inspiration, about mudslinging – but didn’t actually attempt to rebut the point.

    Albanese predictably had much to say about Dutton’s nuclear policy. But when he was pressed on whether, if Labor lost, it should accept the people’s verdict and reconsider its position on the nuclear moratorium, the PM rambled about nuclear as a “friendless policy” rather than giving a straight reply.

    The debate’s frisson came when the leaders were asked to nominate each other’s biggest lies. The toing and froing included disputation over whether those 2014 cuts were actually “cuts” or just smaller increases than earlier budgeted for. “Prime Minister, you couldn’t lie straight in bed”, Dutton lashed out, with Albanese retorting that his “personal abuse” was “a sign of desperation”.

    Who won this encounter, once again differed in the eyes of various beholders.

    Pope’s death causes brief hiatus, that disadvantages Dutton

    On the day that pre-polling started, both leaders cut back on their campaigning, in the wake of the death of Pope Francis.

    The pontiff’s passing has further curtailed this penultimate week of the campaign, a week already shortened at one end by Easter and at the other by Anzac Day.

    The hiatus disadvantages the opposition, which has been losing support in the polls, and desperately needs as much opportunity as possible to sell its message.

    It also shows the risk of leaving policy releases late. The Coalition would have hoped for some clear air for Wednesdays release of its defence policy, an area where it believes it has an advantage. But news from the Vatican will overshadow local stories for a couple of days or longer.

    The pope’s death has drawn attention to something noted by the Catholic Weekly earlier this month, when it said this election “may be the first in Australian history in which both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition identify as Catholics” – although, it pointed out, that didn’t extend to attending church regularly.

    In Australia’s more sectarian days, Labor’s membership was heavily Catholic, with the Liberals the party of Protestants. That broke down over recent decades.

    Anthony Albanese reflected on his Catholic roots at Easter and then when paying tribute to the Pope.

    On Easter Sunday, when he attended mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, he spoke about his time at the school next door. “It’s an important part of my life. When in year six the Christian Brothers heard that I was going to have to leave the school because we weren’t able to afford school fees … in an act of generosity, [they] said ‘just pay what you can’.”

    Albanese told The Australian’s Troy Bramston he regarded himself as “a flawed Catholic but it’s a part of my values,”

    “I go to church occasionally just by myself. That sense of who I am, it is certainly how I was raised, and those values of kindness and compassion being something that is a strength.”

    Peter Dutton’s story is more complicated. His father’s family was Catholic; his mother’s Protestant. Dutton told Bramston this gave rise to “tension”. He went to an Anglican school but identifies with the Catholic church. “He argues Christian teachings align with Liberal party values,” Bramston wrote.

    In Melbourne on Tuesday, Albanese joined those attending an early morning mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral. In Sydney Dutton went to St Mary’s. Then they both shifted back into campaign mode, for Tuesday night’s debate.

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

    – ref. Election Diary: Dutton in third debate gives Labor ammunition for its scare about cuts – https://theconversation.com/election-diary-dutton-in-third-debate-gives-labor-ammunition-for-its-scare-about-cuts-254990

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Leaders trade barbs and well-worn lines in unspectacular third election debate

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Visitor, School of History, Australian National University

    Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have met for the third leaders’ debate of this election campaign, this time on the Nine network. And while the debate traversed much of the same ground as the first two, the quick-fire set up of the debate allowed for some more animated exchanges less than two weeks from election day.

    Three expert authors give their analysis of how the two leaders performed.

    Joshua Black, Australian National University

    Tonight’s leaders’ debate was a marked improvement on the appalling spectacle Nine hosted three years ago. Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton had clearly taken advantage of the reduced campaign activity in recent days to prepare themselves for this contest.

    The problem? There was nothing new worth saying. Viewers were treated instead to the greatest hits of an election campaign that has so far not been especially great. Dutton once again paid homage to Howard and Costello’s liberalism (read: “I’m not Trump”), while Albanese repeated his hardly seamless mantra: “no-one held back and no-one left behind” (read: “I’m not Dutton”).

    For all of the lofty soundbites, the debate hinged on pedantry. The semantic argument from the first debate about the 2014 budget and health and education spending came up again. (Were there cuts, or did these “line items” simply not grow as fast as promised?)

    Both leaders repeated banal explanations about why they were best placed to deal with the Trump White House. There was plenty of tired campaign rhetoric about looming recessions and “talking Australia down”. Even an exchange from last week between Albanese and the ABC’s moderator David Speers seemed to be repeated tonight: why isn’t the government’s energy relief for households means-tested?

    At times, this debate was self-indulgent on the part of Nine Entertainment. Ally Langdon (who opened the debate by welcoming “a bit of theatre”) routinely cast her own judgement, condemning Albanese and Dutton for merely “patching cracks” and not proving their “fiscal responsibility” sufficiently.

    Interestingly, media policy was one of the few things on which the two leaders could agree. Nine’s political editor Charles Croucher asked the leaders to state their attitude toward the News Media Bargaining Code, which prompts global tech giants to pay Australian news providers for access to their content. Both leaders tripped over themselves to assure the panel they were on a “unity ticket” to protect local media companies (including Nine Entertainment) from being “cannibalised” by multinational tech giants. (Of course, a fair playing field for local media providers is clearly in the national interest.)

    This was Dutton’s best debate showing so far. That’s hardly a win. The prime minister managed to reel off a list of his government’s more popular policies, subtly compare his compassionate approach to leadership with Dutton’s darker obsession with order and the threat of disorder, and remind people of the opposition leader’s history of unpopular statements and policies. A modest win for Albanese, if not grounds for inspiration.

    Andrea Carson, La Trobe University

    Coinciding with the first day of early voting, the third leaders’ debate was more like a game of speed chess – with 60 seconds for leaders’ answers, and 30 seconds for rebuttals. The result was too often a word salad.

    While voters may be feeling debate fatigue — and little wonder with a fourth showdown looming on Channel 7 on Sunday — this one could have mattered. With about half of Australians casting their votes early, these televised match-ups represent a potential last chance to shape opinions before May 3.

    Instead, questions often focused on personal qualities: trust and lies, and less on policy – poorly serving viewers as answers became a tit-for-tat affair. The countdown of the clock only re-enforced leaders’ rehearsed answers to well-worn topics of cost of living, energy prices, Medicare bulk billing rates, immigration, housing crisis and tax cuts, barely exposing key policy differences for undecided voters. Even their matching blue suits and pale ties made them look less like opponents and more like political twins.

    Dutton seemed more assured than Albanese from the start.

    Typically, campaign messages get more negative as we move closer to polling day. Studies have shown fear campaigns can “work”, but they can also turn off voters, particularly women. So, unsurprisingly, Dutton’s emphasis was on law and order framed in the language of fear, promising to “keep people safe in their home and communities […] in very uncertain times”. He also promised to cut migration, couched as bringing down housing prices.

    The former policeman seeking to be prime minister kept with the law and order theme to sway voters offering a $A750 million package to stamp out illegal drugs and tobacco.

    In a similar vein, the Labor leader Anthony Albanese used every chance he had to pivot questions back to Labor’s policy home ground advantage: health, education (free TAFE and reduced HECS debt) and low-cost childcare.

    Asked by journalist Deborah Knight if he was “too soft” as a leader, Albanese strove to offer voters hope over fear, replying: “kindness isn’t weakness […] we raise our children to be compassionate”, arguing he can still hold firm when dealing with autocratic leaders to protect Australia’s national interest.

    As Dutton listed his top legislative priorities if elected, promising a 25% fuel levy tax, Albanese scored a zinger, pointing out that that policy expires in a year, chortling “you better do it quickly before it disappears”. Overall, it was a flat event, lacking atmosphere and detailed information.

    Zareh Ghazarian, Monash University

    The “Great Debate”, as it was called by the broadcaster, started on a solemn tone as both leaders mourned the passing of Pope Francis. The format of the debate was geared towards a quick-fire approach. Time limits of one minute per response to questions ensured the debate covered a lot of ground. Policies from cost of living to international affairs were discussed.

    The leaders played their roles effectively. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton demonstrated a laser-like focus on critiquing the government, while highlighting the Coalition’s policies. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the track record of his government while also taking opportunities to criticise the previous Morrison government. Both leaders stayed true to advancing the core messages of their campaign.

    Cost of living was central to the debate and provided ample opportunity for Dutton and Albanese to put forward their views on the measures they believe would address the issues. Energy policy, and the divide between nuclear and renewable energy sources, also emerged. There was also a moment of unity as both leaders took pride that Australia had implemented a social media ban for under-16s.

    After the only break of the night, the host gave both leaders the opportunity to spell out the values that underpinned their policy approach. Dutton focused on restating policy goals, such as a reduction in fuel excise. Albanese returned to “no one left behind, but no one held back” as his key message, a concept he had also mentioned in his victory speech in 2022.

    On the whole, and considering the stakes, the debate was a model of civility. Both leaders presented as being in command of the details regarding their policies. Gaffes about figures, costings, and promises were virtually non-existent. Whether it added anything new about the leaders or their policy platforms, however, is debatable.

    Joshua Black is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The Australia Institute.

    Andrea Carson and Zareh Ghazarian 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. Leaders trade barbs and well-worn lines in unspectacular third election debate – https://theconversation.com/leaders-trade-barbs-and-well-worn-lines-in-unspectacular-third-election-debate-254941

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Dutton promises Coalition would increase defence spending to 3% of GDP ‘within a decade’

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

    Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will promise a Coalition government would boost Australia’s spending on defence to 2.5% of GDP within five years and 3% within a decade.

    Launching the Coalition’s long-awaited defence policy on Wednesday in Western Australia, Dutton will commit to investing more than $21 billion to take spending to 2.5%.

    Australia’s current defence spending is about 2% of GDP, and due to rise to 2.3% by 2033-34. The Trump administration has flagged it wants allies to raise their spending to 3%.

    Trump’s under-secretary of defence for policy, Elbridge Colby, has said:

    The main concern the United States should press with Australia […] is higher defence spending. Australia is currently well below the 3% level advocated for by NATO Secretary General Rutte, and Canberra faces a far more powerful challenge in China.

    The opposition statement, from Dutton and shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie, does not go into detail about how the bigger allocation would be spent, or how it would be paid for.

    Defence Minister Richard Marles gave notice of Labor’s line of attack if there is no detail provided. He said on Tuesday:

    It won’t cut it to have vague numbers, to have aspirations, to have signposts in the future. There needs to be a great deal of specificity in respect of what that defence policy looks like.

    In its statement, the opposition accuses Labor of overseeing “more than $80 billion in cuts and delays to defence in just three years, degrading morale and capability, and putting Australia at risk”.

    It says the commitment to 2.5% is “significantly higher than under Labor and demonstrates the Coalition’s commitment to keeping Australia safe in uncertain times”.

    Under Labor, defence spending has stayed static at 2% of GDP for three years – and Labor has walked away from its own target of increasing defence spending to 2.4% of GDP by 2033-34, dropping it instead to ‘over 2.3%’.

    In its most recent budget, Labor delivered no new funding for defence.

    In stark contrast, a Dutton Coalition government will increase defence spending to 3% of GDP within a decade, while Labor’s spend plateaus at around 2.3%.

    The opposition says Australia is facing the most complex and serious strategic circumstances since the second world war.

    The rise of authoritarian powers, and conflict in Europe and the Middle East are a reminder that Australia cannot take peace for granted.

    “Under the Coalition, there will be clarity around the risks we face and a strategy to deter them,” the opposition says.

    “We believe that investing in Defence is an investment in peace – which is maintained through a strong army, navy, air force and enhanced cyber security.”

    This week’s statement follows an earlier Coalition commitment to reinstate the fourth squadron of F-35A Joint Strike Fighters.

    Dutton said: “The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister regularly tell Australians that we live in the most precarious period since the end of the second world war. Yet, over the last three years, Labor has done nothing about it, other than rip money out of Defence, weakening strength and morale.”

    Hastie said: “A Dutton Coalition government will back Australian workers and businesses in defence industry to develop the sovereign capabilities our country needs. They are a critical enabler to the Australian men and women in uniform”.

    Hastie has been little seen on the campaign trail.

    Marles said over the last three years the government had engaged “in the biggest peacetime increase in defence spending that Australia has seen”.

    “We’ll continue to look at what the appropriate levels of defence spending are.

    “Increases in defence spending will happen under this government […] because that is, in fact, what we’ve done over the last three years”.

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

    – ref. Dutton promises Coalition would increase defence spending to 3% of GDP ‘within a decade’ – https://theconversation.com/dutton-promises-coalition-would-increase-defence-spending-to-3-of-gdp-within-a-decade-254993

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is backing Welsh independence the same as being a nationalist? Not necessarily

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Robin Mann, Reader in Sociology, Bangor University

    Over the past few years, support for Welsh independence has grown in ways not seen before. A recent poll commissioned by YesCymru, a pro-independence campaign group, found that 41% of people who’ve made up their minds on the issue would now vote in favour of independence.

    The striking finding is that the number jumps to 72% among 25-to-34 year olds. Meanwhile older generations, particularly those aged 65 and up, remain firmly in the “no” camp, with 80% opposed.

    This does seem a big shift in public mood. But does it mean Wales is becoming more nationalist? Not exactly.

    The relationship between constitutional attitudes and nationalism is complicated, as research by myself and colleagues shows. Many people back independence for reasons that have less to do with feeling strongly Welsh or waving flags, and more to do with wanting better decision-making closer to home.

    During 2021, as part of a broader research project on Welsh people’s views on the COVID pandemic and vaccination, we spoke to people from different ages, backgrounds and locations. Some were vaccinated, others weren’t. Some had voted in elections while others hadn’t voted in years, if ever.

    Many people we talked to felt the Welsh government had done a better job than Westminster at handling the pandemic. They saw the decisions made in Wales – like keeping stricter rules in place when England relaxed theirs – as more sensible, more caring, and more in line with what they personally wanted from a government. And with that came a confidence that Wales could handle even more control over its own affairs.

    Historically, Welsh nationalism was tightly linked to the Welsh language and culture. Self-government was always a part of the conversation, but not necessarily the main driver. That started changing in the late 20th century.

    In 1979, Wales voted against devolution. In 1997, it narrowly voted in favour. After that, things slowly began to shift. And now, more than 25 years into devolution, support for some form of self-government is the mainstream view. Independence is no longer such a fringe idea.

    Interestingly, younger generations are far more open to it – and many of them aren’t what you’d typically think of as nationalists. They may not speak Welsh or see themselves as “political” in the traditional sense. Their support often comes from practical concerns about the economy, democracy and how decisions are made.

    External events like Brexit have clearly played a role. In fact, the YesCymru campaign was formed just before the EU referendum in 2016. Independence support surged afterwards, especially among Remain voters.

    Many saw the Brexit fallout, as well as austerity, as proof that Westminster didn’t reflect their values or priorities. This showed how disruptive events can reshape the way people see their place within the UK.

    Independence without nationalism?

    One of the more surprising findings in our research – echoed in the 2025 polling – is that support for independence doesn’t always come from people who are politically engaged or pro-devolution. In fact, some support came from people who hadn’t voted in years, or felt completely disillusioned with the political system.

    They expressed their support for independence through statements like: “They [the Welsh government] all need to go, but if I pay tax in Wales I want it to stay in Wales and be spent here.”

    We also found a lot of people sitting on the fence. They weren’t against independence, but they had big questions about it. Would it mean isolation? Would it lead to more division?

    One person told us: “I’m a little bit nationalistic, but I didn’t want the UK to leave the EU. So why would I want Wales to leave the UK?” Another said: “I don’t believe in borders, but I do think the Welsh government should run things.”

    These aren’t black-and-white views. People’s feelings about independence – and nationalism – are often full of contradictions. And this reflects the wider truth that ordinary political views are often messy. Most of us don’t live in the extremes, and this is a good thing.

    What’s also worth noting is that nationalism takes many forms. Some people who strongly oppose Welsh independence do so from a very rightwing populist-nationalist perspective, where calls to abolish the Senedd (Welsh parliament) sit alongside demands for hard borders and less immigration. So, the assumption that “independence equals nationalism” isn’t always true – and nor is the reverse.

    Could independence really happen?

    Wales isn’t alone in debating big questions about its future. In places such as Scotland, Catalonia and Flanders, political and economic crises can fuel movements for independence. In all these cases, trust in central government and a desire for more local fiscal control have played a major role.

    For Wales, the question often comes back to the economy. While faith in Wales’s ability to govern is growing, many still worry whether an independent Wales could stand on its own financially. And for a lot of undecided voters, that remains the sticking point. For this reason, granting Wales more powers through devolution might do more to stave off demands for independence than anything else.



    Read more:
    Devolving justice and policing to Wales would put it on par with Scotland and Northern Ireland – so what’s holding it back?

    But the conversation is shifting. Support for independence is no longer just about nationalist grievances. It’s about how people want to be governed, and about trust and responsiveness.

    So, does supporting Welsh independence make you a nationalist? Not necessarily. For many, it’s not about nationalism at all.

    Robin Mann receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council and the British Academy. He is a Reader in Sociology at Bangor University and also Co-director of the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD).

    – ref. Is backing Welsh independence the same as being a nationalist? Not necessarily – https://theconversation.com/is-backing-welsh-independence-the-same-as-being-a-nationalist-not-necessarily-254354

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Stripping federal protection for clean water harms just about everyone, especially already vulnerable communities

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jeremy Orr, Adjunct Professor of Law, Michigan State University

    A Des Moines Water Works employee takes samples from a nearby river for analysis. The regional water utility delivers drinking water to more than 500,000 Iowans. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

    Before Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, U.S. factories and cities could pipe their pollution directly into waterways. Rivers, including the Potomac in Washington, smelled of raw sewage and contained toxic chemicals. Ohio’s Cuyahoga River was so contaminated, its oil slicks erupted in flames.

    That unchecked pollution didn’t just harm the rivers and their ecosystems; it harmed the humans who relied on their water.

    The Clean Water Act established a federal framework “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.”

    As an attorney and law professor, I’ve spent my career upholding these protections and teaching students about their legal and historical significance. That’s why I’m deeply concerned about the federal government’s new efforts to roll back those safeguards and the impact they’ll have on human lives.

    A fire of an oil slick on the Cuyahoga River swept through docks at the Great Lakes Towing Company site in Cleveland in 1952, one of several times that pollution in the river caught fire.
    Bettman/Getty Images

    Amid all the changes out of Washington, it can be easy to lose sight of not only which environmental policies and regulations are being rolled back, but also of who is affected. The reality is that communities already facing pollution and failing infrastructure can become even more vulnerable when federal protections are stripped away. Those laws are ultimately meant to protect the quality of the tap water people drink and the rivers they fish in, and in the long-term health of their neighborhoods.

    A few of the most pressing concerns in my view include the government’s moves to narrow federal water protections, pause water infrastructure investments and retreat from environmental enforcement.

    Diminishing protection for US wetlands

    In 2023, the Supreme Court narrowed the definition of “waters of the United States.” In its decision in Sackett vs. Environmental Protection Agency, the court determined that only wetlands that maintained a physical surface connection to other federally protected waters qualified for protection under the Clean Water Act.

    Wetlands are important for water quality in many areas. They naturally filter pollution from water, reduce flooding in communities and help ensure that millions of Americans enjoy cleaner drinking water. The Clean Water Act limits what industries and farms can discharge or dump into those waterways considered “waters of the U.S.” However, mapping by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that upward of 84%, or 70 million acres, of the nation’s wetlands lacked protection after the ruling.

    The Sackett ruling also called into question the definition of “waters of the U.S.”

    The Trump EPA, in announcing its plans to rewrite the definition in 2025, said it would make accelerating economic opportunity a priority by reducing “red tape” and costs for businesses. Statements from the administration suggest that officials want to loosen restrictions on industries discharging pollution and construction debris into wetlands.

    Toxic algae blooms fueled by farm, urban and industrial runoff can trigger fish kills and shut down beaches for days, harming tourism businesses.
    Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    Pollution already harms wetlands along Florida’s Gulf Coast, leading to fewer fish and degraded water quality. It also affects people whose jobs depend on healthy waterways for fishing, recreation and tourism.

    This marks a shift away from the federal government protecting wetlands for the role they play in public health and resilience. Instead, it prioritizes development and industry – even if that means more pollution.

    Pausing investment for rebuilding crumbling infrastructure

    Public water systems are also at risk. The Trump administration on its first full day in office froze at least US$10 billion in federal water infrastructure funding. That included money for replacing lead pipes and building new water treatment plants, allocated under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

    Public water systems across the country have been falling into disrepair in recent decades due to aging and sometimes dangerous infrastructure, as cities with lead water pipes have discovered.

    The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s drinking water, stormwater and wastewater infrastructure grades of a C-minus, D and D-plus, respectively, in its 2025 Infrastructure Report Card. The group estimates that America’s drinking water systems alone need more than $625 billion in investment over the next 20 years to reach a state of good repair.

    Jackson, Miss., volunteers distributed bottled water to residents in 2022 after the aging water system failed.
    AP Photo/Steve Helber

    Congress passed the Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to help pay for updating drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems. That included replacing lead pipes and tackling water contamination, especially in the most vulnerable communities. Many of the same communities also have high poverty and unemployment rates and histories of racial segregation rooted in government discrimination.

    Where I live in Detroit, this need is especially clear. We have the fourth-highest number of lead service lines, connecting water mains to buildings, of any city in the country, and these pipes continue to put people at risk every day. Just an hour up the road, the Flint water crisis left a predominantly Black, working-class community to suffer the consequences of lead-contaminated water.

    These aren’t abstract problems; they’re happening right now, in real communities, to real people.

    Dropping lawsuits meant to stop pollution

    The Trump administration’s decision to drop from some environmental enforcement lawsuits filed by previous administrations is adding to the risks that communities face.

    The administration argues that these decisions are about reducing regulatory burdens – dropping these lawsuits reduces costs for companies.

    However, stepping back from these lawsuits leaves the communities without a meaningful way to put an end to the long-standing harms of environmental pollution. Few communities have the resources to litigate against private polluters and must rely on regulatory agencies to sue on their behalf.

    Real lives are affected by these changes

    What America is seeing now is more than a change in regulatory approach. It’s a step back from decades of progress that made the nation’s water safer and communities healthier.

    President Donald Trump talked repeatedly on the campaign trail about wanting clean air and clean water. However, the administration’s moves to reduce protection for wetlands, freeze infrastructure investments and abandon environmental enforcement can have real consequences for both.

    At a time when so many systems are already under strain, it raises the question: What kind of commitment is the federal government really making to the future of clean water in America?

    Jeremy Orr works for Michigan State University College of Law and Earthjustice.

    – ref. Stripping federal protection for clean water harms just about everyone, especially already vulnerable communities – https://theconversation.com/stripping-federal-protection-for-clean-water-harms-just-about-everyone-especially-already-vulnerable-communities-252267

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Some politicians who share harmful information are rewarded with more clicks, study finds

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Yu-Ru Lin, Associate Professor of Computing and Information, University of Pittsburgh

    The likes pour in for some politicians who post misinformation. J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images

    What happens when politicians post false or toxic messages online? My team and I found evidence that suggests U.S. state legislators can increase or decrease their public visibility by sharing unverified claims or using uncivil language during times of high political tension. This raises questions about how social media platforms shape public opinion and, intentionally or not, reward certain behaviors.

    I’m a computational social scientist, and my team builds tools to study political communication on social media. In our latest study we looked at what types of messages made U.S. state legislators stand out online during 2020 and 2021 – a time marked by the pandemic, the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. We focused on two types of harmful content: low-credibility information and uncivil language such as insults or extreme statements. We measured their impact based on how widely a post was liked, shared or commented on on Facebook and X, at the time Twitter.

    Our study found that this harmful content is linked to increased visibility for posters. However, the effects vary. For example, Republican legislators who posted low-credibility information were more likely to receive greater online attention, a pattern not observed among Democrats. In contrast, posting uncivil content generally reduced visibility, particularly for lawmakers at ideological extremes.

    Why it matters

    Social media platforms such as Facebook and X have become one of the main stages for political debate and persuasion. Politicians use them to reach voters, promote their agendas, rally supporters and attack rivals. But some of their posts get far more attention than others.

    Earlier research showed that false information spreads faster and reaches wider audiences than factual content. Platform algorithms often push content that makes people angry or emotional higher in feeds. At the same time, uncivil language can deepen divisions and make people lose trust in democratic processes.

    When platforms reward harmful content with increased visibility, politicians have an incentive to post such messages, because increased visibility can lead directly to greater media attention and potentially more voter support. Our findings raise concerns that platform algorithms may unintentionally reward divisive or misleading behavior.

    Political misinformation has burgeoned in recent years.

    When harmful content becomes a winning strategy for politicians to stand out, it can distort public debates, deepen polarization and make it harder for voters to find trustworthy information.

    How we did our work

    We gathered nearly 4 million tweets and half a million Facebook posts from over 6,500 U.S. state legislators during 2020 and 2021. We used machine learning techniques to determine causal relationships between content and visibility.

    The techniques allowed us to compare posts that were similar in almost every aspect except that one had harmful content and the other didn’t. By measuring the difference in how widely those posts were seen or shared, we could estimate how much visibility was gained or lost due solely to that harmful content.

    What other research is being done

    Most research on harmful content has focused on national figures or social media influencers. Our study instead examined state legislators, who significantly shape state-level laws on issues such as education, health and public safety but typically receive less media coverage and fact-checking.

    State legislators often escape broad scrutiny, which creates opportunities for misinformation and toxic content to spread unchecked. This makes their online activities especially important to understand.

    What’s next

    We plan on conducting ongoing analyses to determine whether the patterns we found during the intense years of 2020 and 2021 persist over time. Do platforms and audiences continue rewarding low-credibility information, or is that effect temporary?

    We also plan to examine how changes in moderation policies such as X’s shift to less oversight or Facebook’s end of human fact-checking affect what gets seen and shared. Finally, we want to better understand how people react to harmful posts: Are they liking them, sharing them in outrage, or trying to correct them?

    Building on our current findings, this line of research can help shape smarter platform design, more effective digital literacy efforts and stronger protections for healthy political conversation.

    The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

    Yu-Ru Lin receives funding from external funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF).

    – ref. Some politicians who share harmful information are rewarded with more clicks, study finds – https://theconversation.com/some-politicians-who-share-harmful-information-are-rewarded-with-more-clicks-study-finds-252491

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: I study local government and Hurricane Helene forced me from my home − here’s how rural towns and counties in North Carolina and beyond cooperate to rebuild

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jay Rickabaugh, Assistant Professor of Public Administration, North Carolina State University

    Last year was a record year for disasters in the United States. A new report from the British charity International Institute for Environment and Development finds that 90 disasters were declared nationwide in 2024, from wildfires in California to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.

    The average number of annual disasters in the U.S. is about 55.

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides funding and recovery assistance to states after disasters. President Donald Trump criticized the agency in January 2025 when he visited hurricane-stricken western North Carolina. Though 41% of Americans lived in an area affected by disaster in 2024, according to the institute’s report, the Trump administration is reportedly working to abolish or dramatically diminish FEMA’s operations.

    “FEMA has been a very big disappointment. They cost a tremendous amount of money. It’s very bureaucratic, and it’s very slow,” Trump declared, saying he thought states were better positioned to “take care of problems” after a disaster.

    “A governor can handle something very quickly,” he said.

    Trump’s remarks have prompted a heated response, including proposals to fundamentally overhaul – but not abolish – federal disaster recovery.

    But I believe the current discussion about FEMA handling U.S. disasters puts the emphasis in the wrong place.

    As a scholar who researches how small and rural local governments cooperate, I believe this public debate demonstrates that many people fundamentally misunderstand how disaster recovery actually works, especially in rural areas, where locally directed efforts are particularly key to that recovery.

    I know this from personal experience, too: I am a resident of Watauga County, in western North Carolina, and I evacuated during Hurricane Helene after landslides severely impaired the roads around my home.

    When disaster strikes

    Here, in short, is what happens after a disaster.

    Federal legislation from 1988 called the Stafford Act gives governors the power to declare disasters. If the president agrees and also declares the region a disaster, that puts federal programs and activities in motion.

    Yet local officials are generally involved from the very start of this process. Governors usually seek input from state and local emergency managers and other municipal officials before making a disaster declaration, and it is local officials who begin the disaster response.

    That’s because small and rural local governments actually have the most local knowledge to lead recovery efforts in their area after a disaster.

    Local officials determine conditions on the ground, coordinate search and rescue, and help bring utilities and other infrastructure back online. They have relationships with community members that can inform decision-making. For example, a county senior center will know which residents receive Meals on Wheels and might need a wellness check after disaster.

    However, small towns cannot do all this alone. They need FEMA’s money and resources, and that can present a problem. The process of applying and complying with the requirements of the grants is incredibly complex and burdensome. According to FEMA’s website, there are eight phases in the disaster aid process, composed of 28 steps that range from “preliminary damage assesment” to “recovery scoping video” to “compliance reviews” and “reconciliation.” Getting through these eight phases takes years.

    If you think this FEMA graphic shows a simple, straightforward process, there might be a job for you in emergency managment.
    Public Assistance’s Consolidated Resource Centers’ 2022 New Hire Training, Federal Emergency Management Agency.

    Larger cities and counties frequently have dedicated staff that apply for disaster aid and ensure compliance with regulations. But smaller governments can struggle to apply for and administer state or federal grants on their own – especially after a disaster, when demands are so high.

    That’s where regional intergovernmental organizations come in. Every region has its own name for these entities. They’re often called councils of government, regional planning commissions or area development districts. My colleagues and I call them RIGOs, for their initials.

    What is a RIGO?

    No matter the name, RIGOs are collaborative bodies that allow local governments to cooperate for services and programs they might not otherwise be able to afford. Bringing together local elected officials from usually about three to five counties, RIGOs help local officials cooperate to address the shared needs of everyone in their area. They do this in normal times; they also do this when disasters strike.

    RIGOs operate throughout most of the U.S., in big cities and rural areas, in turbulent times and in calm. They serve different needs in different regions, but in all cases, RIGOs bring together local elected officials to solve common problems.

    One example of this in western North Carolina is the Digital Seniors project, launched during COVID-19. Here, the local RIGO is called the Southwestern Commission. In 2021, the RIGO area agency on aging coordinated with the Fontana Regional Library to help dozens of elders who had never been connected to the internet get online during the pandemic. The Southwestern Commission used its relationships with the local senior centers to identify people who needed the service, and the library had access to hot spots and laptops through a grant from the state of North Carolina.

    In rural areas, RIGOs work alongside regional business and nonprofits to allow local governments to offer regular services and programs they might not otherwise be able to afford, such as public transportation, senior citizen services or economic development.

    Part of that work is helping member governments navigate the maze of federal and state funding opportunities for the projects they hope to get done, often by employing a specialized grant administrator. Each small local government may not have enough work or revenue to justify such a staff member, but many together have the workload and funding to hire someone specially trained to abide by the rules of funding from states and the federal government.

    This system helps small local governments receive their fair share in federal grant money and report back on how the money was spent.

    Transparency, technical compliance and action

    Disasters rarely respect borders. That’s why governments generally work together to distribute grant money for rebuilding communities.

    In the summer of 2022, eastern Kentucky faced deadly flooding after receiving about 15 inches of rain over four days – 600% above normal. The North Fork of the Kentucky River crested at approximately 21 feet, killing over two dozen people and damaging 9,000 homes and more than 100 businesses.

    A volunteer helps to clear debris in Perry County, Ky., after the historic floods of August 2022.
    Michael Swensen/Getty Images

    The Kentucky River Area Development District, a RIGO representing eight counties, played a key role in the area’s recovery. It secured millions in FEMA aid and maintained critical services, including expanded food delivery and transportation for elderly residents.

    Similarly, after disastrous flooding hit Vermont in 2023 and 2024, another RIGO, the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission, jumped into action. It quickly provided emergency communication to the 23 small villages and towns in its region and has since supported local governments applying for grants and reimbursements.

    Today, it continues to assist in Vermont’s disaster planning and flood mitigation. This is also part of the recovery process.

    Local control

    Rebuilding after a disaster is a long, arduous process. It begins after national journalists and politicians have left the area and continues for years. That would be true no matter how Trump restructures emergency aid: The damage is massive, and so is the repair.

    For example, here’s how western North Carolina looks six months after Helene: Most businesses have reopened, most folks have running water again, and people can drive in and out of the area.

    But many roads are still full of broken pavement. Mud from landslides presses up against the sides of the highway, and condemned housing teeters on the edge of ravaged creek beds.

    A storm-damaged apartment complex in Swannanoa, N.C., in March 2025.
    Sean Rayford/Getty Images

    It is, in other words, too soon to see the full impact of local government efforts to rebuild my region. But RIGOs across the region are hiring additional temporary staff to help local governments get federal money and comply with complex guidelines. Their support ensures that decisions affecting North Carolinians are voted on by the city and county leaders they elected – not decreed by governors or handed down from Washington, D.C.

    Locally led rebuilding is slow and difficult work, yes. But it is, in my opinion, the most community-responsive way to deal with disaster.

    Jaylen Peacox, a graduate student in public administration at North Carolina State University, contributed to this story.

    Jay Rickabaugh receives grant funding from the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

    – ref. I study local government and Hurricane Helene forced me from my home − here’s how rural towns and counties in North Carolina and beyond cooperate to rebuild – https://theconversation.com/i-study-local-government-and-hurricane-helene-forced-me-from-my-home-heres-how-rural-towns-and-counties-in-north-carolina-and-beyond-cooperate-to-rebuild-248606

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Habeas corpus: A thousand-year-old legal principle for defending rights that’s getting a workout under the Trump administration

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Andrea Seielstad, Professor of Law, University of Dayton

    Two Latin words – ‘habeas corpus’ – protect any person, whether citizen or not, from being illegally confined. deepblue4you, iStock / Getty Images Plus

    In some parts of the world, a person may be secreted away or imprisoned by the government without any advanced notification of wrongdoing or chance to make a defense. This has not been lawful in the United States from its very inception, or in many other countries where the rule of law and respect for individual civil rights are paramount.

    The legal doctrine of “habeas corpus,” a Latin phrase that has its American roots in English law as early as the 12th century, stands as a barrier to unlawful arrest.

    In its essence, habeas corpus protects any person, whether citizen or not, from being illegally confined. Habeas corpus is Latin for “you shall have the body” and requires a judge literally to have the body of any incarcerated person brought physically forward so that the legality of their detention may be assessed.

    That is why habeas, sometimes also called the “Great Writ”, is front and center right now in many of the lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s arrest and deportation of noncitizen students, scholars, humanitarian refugees and others.

    In an April 7, 2025, decision in a habeas corpus case brought by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union representing Venezuelans who faced deportation, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the government must give those it aims to deport the opportunity to legally challenge their removal from the U.S. This chance for due process when deprived of liberty is what habeas corpus is and does.

    Since then, several federal judges have issued habeas writs blocking certain deportations from the U.S. and even movement of potential deportees from one state to another.

    The rapid deportation to El Salvador of noncitizens from the U.S. has sparked public concern about deportees’ ability to challenge the move.
    Dominic Gwinn, Middle East Image / Middle East Images via AFP

    Habeas corpus’s deep roots

    The idea that no person shall be deprived unjustly of liberty formally dates to the 39th Clause of the Magna Carta signed by England’s King John in 1215.

    The Magna Carta itself was, as the U.K. parliament describes it, “the first document to put into writing the principle that the king and his government was not above the law.”

    Although the writ originally was a means of enforcing the king’s power over his subjects, as noted by the Supreme Court in reviewing the writ’s long history, English judges over time issued habeas corpus “to enforce the King’s prerogative to inquire into the authority of a jailer to hold a prisoner.”

    The idea crossed the ocean to play an important part in the formation of the U.S. constitutional form of democracy. As the Supreme Court emphasized in a 2008 case holding that the habeas corpus privilege existed even for “aliens” designated as enemy combatants and detained at Guantanamo Bay: “Protection for the privilege of habeas corpus was one of the few safeguards of liberty specified in a Constitution that, at the outset, had no Bill of Rights.”

    In the Federal Judiciary Act of 1789, which created lower federal courts following the ratification of the Constitution, Congress gave immediate power to the federal courts to issue habeas corpus relief.



    Read more:
    Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans to El Salvador sparks legal questions likely to reach the Supreme Court

    Congress expanded the right in 1867 to permit habeas corpus challenges to unlawful actions by state and local officials. This enabled people who were still held in slavery or indentured servitude, or otherwise detained in state jails, to seek release in federal court. This legislation also established the framework, still recognized today, for state prisoners to attack the constitutionality of their state convictions in federal court.

    States and some tribes also have their own habeas corpus statutes. Congress also extended habeas to allow federal challenges to detention by tribal officials via the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, which made many of the constitutional rights held by individuals applicable to official action by federally recognized Native American tribes. In fact, habeas corpus is the sole remedy under the Indian Civil Rights Act for challenging any of the enumerated rights in that act.

    When is habeas corpus used?

    The principal use of habeas corpus, historically and in more modern times, has been “to seek release of persons held in actual, physical custody in prison or jail,” as Justice Hugo Black wrote in a 1962 Supreme Court opinion.

    Its scope extends well beyond imprisonment, however. Habeas has been the vehicle for challenging interference with child custodial rights, involuntary commitment to inpatient treatment or psychiatric care, military induction, restrictive conditions of pretrial release, probation or parole, and banishment from tribal lands, to name a few examples.

    Besides securing the physical release of imprisoned persons, habeas corpus may result in dismissal of criminal charges, new trials or appeals, the appointment of legal counsel, and court orders directing remediation of cruel or inhumane conditions of confinement.

    The idea that no person shall be deprived unjustly of liberty formally dates back to the 39th Clause of this document, the Magna Carta, signed by England’s King John in 1215.
    The National Archives

    Critical safeguard of liberty

    Detained individuals have been blocked from using habeas corpus less than a handful of times in American history.

    In the words of the Constitution’s Article I, which governs congressional power: “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”

    For example, it was suspended by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War; in Hawaii after the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor; during rebellions in 11 South Carolina counties overtaken by the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction in the years just after the Civil War; and in certain provinces of the U.S.-controlled Philippines in 1905.

    Significantly, however, habeas relief has remained vital to challenges to presidential orders and congressional enactments even during times of war and other national security concerns.

    The Supreme Court reaffirmed the validity of using habeas corpus in many efforts to suspend or limit the writ in cases stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

    In November 2001, President George W. Bush issued a military order authorizing the indefinite detention of noncitizens suspected of being connected to terrorism. Under that order, Yaser Hamdi, who was an American citizen, was detained in U.S. military facilities without being charged, without legal counsel or the possibility of court hearings after being accused of fighting for the Taliban against the United States.

    In a 2004 ruling on Hamdi’s case against the government, the Supreme Court upheld the right of every American citizen to use habeas corpus, even when declared to be an enemy combatant.

    The court later ruled that Congress’ efforts to impose similar limits with respect to noncitizens being detained at Guantanamo Bay under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 were an unconstitutional abridgment of habeas corpus rights.

    In the 2004 landmark case of Rasul v. Bush, the Supreme Court reaffirmed limits on when habeas corpus can be suspended – and when it cannot. The justices said that even foreign detainees captured in countries around the world and brought to Guantanamo Bay on suspected ties to terrorism had the right to challenge their detention in U.S. courts.

    As these cases affirm, “Neither citizenship nor territoriality have been determined to be essential to the exercise of the writ.”

    Habeas corpus is a critical safeguard of liberty. In the words of Chief Justice John Marshall in the seminal 1803 case, Marbury v. Madison, the “very essence” of civil liberty is “the right to claim the protection of the laws, whenever he receives an injury.”

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

    – ref. Habeas corpus: A thousand-year-old legal principle for defending rights that’s getting a workout under the Trump administration – https://theconversation.com/habeas-corpus-a-thousand-year-old-legal-principle-for-defending-rights-thats-getting-a-workout-under-the-trump-administration-254525

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: On Earth Day, Power Over Energy Celebrates 12 Years of Advancing Energy Literacy 

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LIBERTY LAKE, Wash., April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Power Over Energy®, an energy literacy initiative backed by Itron, is celebrating Earth Day and its 12th anniversary with the launch of a new website, new interactive educational content, and continued growth around the world.

    Consumer energy literacy is more important than ever for building a cleaner energy future. Consumer education plays a crucial role in the adoption of energy-efficient technologies and participation in energy-saving programs. According to an Itron Resourcefulness Report, 43% of utilities believe consumers play a critical role in speeding the clean energy transition by understanding the importance of sustainable energy, adopting more energy efficient appliances, participating in demand response programs and changing their daily consumption behavior to align with grid needs.

    This year’s Earth Day theme, “Our Power, Our Planet,” underscores the importance of individual action and collective responsibility—an idea at the heart of Power Over Energy’s mission. The campaign’s focus on improving energy literacy directly supports this call to action, empowering people to make smarter energy choices that contribute to a more sustainable future. 

    Since its launch in 2013, Power Over Energy has been dedicated to increasing awareness about the impacts of energy and water consumption, climate disruption and inspiring people with hope through innovative solutions and personal actions to help create a more resourceful world. The literacy initiative has reached 276 million consumers around the world and gained a global following across Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X.

    Power Over Energy’s new website showcases energy and climate challenges and solutions through blog posts, videos and the new and wildly popular Power Play Quiz Game. The initiative educates and inspires followers through monthly educational campaigns, newsletters, and social media posts on topics including the challenges posed by climate disruption; solutions that span clean energy, conservation, smart cities, transportation and water; and opportunities to take action.

    The new website expands its Power Play Quiz Game to include five new versions, each aligned with a key solution area from the website: Smart Cities, Clean Energy, Transportation, Water, and Conservation. These interactive quizzes engage users in a fun, educational way, empowering them with knowledge to take meaningful action toward a more sustainable future.

    “It’s been gratifying to see the momentum and following that the Power Over Energy initiative has achieved,” said Marina Donovan, Itron’s vice president of global marketing, ESG and public affairs. “Power Over Energy is dedicated to educating consumers about the impacts of energy and water consumption. The new website helps consumers better understand the challenges of climate disruption and the solutions to help us adapt to our changing world. As we recognize and celebrate Earth Day, unveiling Power Over Energy’s new website reaffirms our commitment to educate people how to create a more resourceful world.” 

    “Energy and water are both critical resources, and what most people don’t realize is that they depend on each other. If there is a shortage or constraint in one, it leads to a shortage and constraint in the other. Educating consumers about the importance of protecting these resources and inspiring the next generation of innovators to address these challenges is crucial. With Power Over Energy’s new website and more Power Play Quiz Games, the initiative creates an engaging environment for educating website visitors,” said Dr. Michael Webber, Sid Richardson Chair in Public Affairs and the John J. McKetta Centennial Energy Chair in Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

    About Power Over Energy
    Power Over Energy is an energy literacy initiative dedicated to increasing awareness about the impact of our current energy and water consumption, the benefits of energy efficiency, the interconnectedness between energy and water, and the importance of modernizing the electricity grid and deploying smart city technologies. Explore the new website at poweroverenergy.org and test your knowledge by playing the Power Play Quiz Game.

    About Itron
    Itron is a proven global leader in energy, water, smart city, IIoT and intelligent infrastructure services. For utilities, cities and society, we build innovative systems, create new efficiencies, connect communities, encourage conservation and increase resourcefulness. By safeguarding our invaluable natural resources today and tomorrow, we improve the quality of life for people around the world. Join us: www.itron.com.

    Itron® and the Itron Logo are registered trademarks of Itron, Inc in the United States and other countries and regions. All third-party trademarks are property of their respective owners and any usage herein does not suggest or imply any relationship between Itron and the third party unless expressly stated.

    For additional information, contact:

    Itron, Inc.

    Alex Morin
    Corporate Communications Specialist
    PR@Itron.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/63bca064-fdf8-4bc8-a0ea-f11bb4eb0399

    The MIL Network –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Engineers of the Future: GUU Introduces High School Students to Scientific Projects

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    Representatives of the State University of Management held a series of meetings with 10th-11th grade students as part of the RosGeoTech Advanced Engineering Schools project.

    The children were told about the digitalization of the fuel and energy business and modern management technologies in industry management (FEC), and were also introduced to the PISh “PRO PROJECT” competition and given advice on preparing an individual project.

    Before the start of the master class, the Head of the Scientific Research Coordination Department of the State University of Management Maxim Pletnev introduced the guests to the activities of the RosGeoTech Scientific and Technical School, which covers alternative energy, power engineering, oil and gas, autonomous unmanned and robotic innovative systems.

    The head of the Advanced Engineering School, Andrey Luzhetsky, also addressed the event participants with a welcoming speech.

    As part of the additional general development program, students became familiar with the development trends of the energy industry (3D technologies), studied management technologies related to the use of drones for geological exploration and detection of damage in electrical networks, as well as the concept of digital twins (digital fields and substations) and elements of risk-oriented management in the risk management system.

    The students also began to master the basics of machine learning in the fuel and energy sector, using a simple algorithm as an example, became familiar with the formulation of tasks, identifying problems and creating a competitor matrix. They were explained what machine learning is, who is behind its development, and also looked at the learning tasks and their solution, after which they “hacked” the algorithms.

    In addition, a presentation was given on the All-Russian Project Competition for High School Students “PRO PROJECT”. The deadlines and key stages of the competition were discussed, as well as the specifics of team and individual participation and the topics of the areas. Both unsuccessful projects (for example, essays and papers) and successful ones (startups and product developments) were analyzed using examples. In conclusion, the schoolchildren asked questions about the preliminary assessment of their project ideas and were invited to join the competition group on VKontakte, where all relevant information is published.

    The event was aimed at introducing schoolchildren to the RosGeoTech PISh project, which helps train future specialists in the field of engineering sciences.

    Let us recall that the Advanced Engineering School “RosGeoTech” was created on the basis of GGNTU named after academician M.D. Millionshchikov together with the State University of Management. In March 2025, based on the results of the work carried out in 2024 and the defense of the project before the Council of the Advanced Engineering School, “RosGeoTech” received a large grant for further development.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 04/22/2025

    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 –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE begins Zhejiang visit

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Chief Executive John Lee today arrived in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, to start a four-day visit programme, touring local innovation and technology facilities, and meeting Hong Kong people and representatives of Hong Kong enterprises in Zhejiang.

     

    Upon arriving in Hangzhou in the afternoon, Mr Lee, along with a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government delegation he is leading, visited the ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific & Technological Innovation Center to learn more about the latest developments in innovation and technology collaboration between Hong Kong and Hangzhou.

     

    The Chief Executive pointed out that Zhejiang University is one of the eligible Mainland universities under the Top Talent Pass Scheme, and over 4,000 of its graduates have been approved to pursue their careers in Hong Kong through the scheme.

     

    He also highlighted that the centre serves as a major innovation and technology platform in Zhejiang, bringing together talent skilled in the collaborative development of industry, education and research sectors.

          

    In the evening, Mr Lee attended a dinner, hosted by the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in Zhejiang, where he engaged with Hong Kong people and representatives of Hong Kong enterprises in Zhejiang to find out more about their daily lives and developments.

     

    He encouraged them to leverage their strengths to serve Zhejiang enterprises in going global and attracting foreign investment, with a view to contributing to mutual benefits and the high-quality development of Hong Kong and Zhejiang.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: iBio Expands Cardiometabolic and Obesity Pipeline through Licensing of First-in-Class Antibody Targeting Activin E from AstralBio

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN DIEGO, April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: IBIO), an AI-driven innovator of precision antibody therapies, today announced a licensing agreement with AstralBio Inc. for a preclinical first-in-class antibody targeting Activin E, which was discovered using iBio’s patented Machine-Learning Antibody Engine. Activin E is a promising novel therapeutic target whose inhibition is believed to induce fat-selective weight loss and offer protection against obesity and cardiometabolic disease. iBio plans to rapidly advance testing of the antibody in more complex models following preclinical studies that demonstrated strong antibody binding, inhibition of Activin E signaling and fat-specific weight loss in an obese rodent animal model.

    The in-licensed antibody represents what iBio believes to be the first functional inhibitor of Activin E, a challenging, yet genetically validated therapeutic target playing a key role in regulating energy balance and fat distribution. Inhibiting Activin E-mediated signaling could offer a novel therapeutic strategy to reduce internal abdominal fat while preserving muscle mass—potentially reversing obesity, preventing diabetes, and improving overall cardiometabolic health. As one of several cellular components involved in cardiometabolic regulation, Activin E, along with amylin, GLP-1 and others, are part of a broader network of signaling pathways that have the potential to be targeted simultaneously to yield synergistic benefits for patients.

    Using its proprietary Machine Learning Antibody Engine and advanced epitope engineering technology, iBio designed engineered epitopes representing five key regions of the Activin E protein. This approach led to the successful development of a molecule that fully blocks Activin E-mediated signaling and inhibits its function across multiple in vitro models. In vivo proof-of-concept was established in a rodent model of obesity, where the antibody induced fat-selective weight loss as a monotherapy and showed synergistic weight loss when added to a GLP-1 receptor agonist in recently published data by iBio. iBio plans to present additional preclinical data of its antibody targeting Activin E at the International BMP Conference, taking place in Philadelphia, PA, from May 2–6.

    “Our decision to license this Activin E-targeting functional antibody, a potentially first-in-class molecule, at this early stage reflects our firm belief in Activin E as a promising therapeutic target and our confidence in building upon the strong preclinical data we recently published,” said Martin Brenner, Ph.D., DVM, iBio’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer. “This antibody represents a strategic expansion of our pipeline in cardiometabolic diseases and obesity and a significant step toward clinical development of a medication that can potentially offer meaningful benefits to patients.”

    Additionally, iBio amended its existing collaboration agreement with AstralBio to add a fifth target for the treatment of cardiometabolic disease. iBio will identify and create an antibody against such target, leveraging its proprietary Drug Discovery Platform. In exchange for adding an additional target to the collaboration and pursuant to the license agreement, AstralBio has provided iBio a $750,000 credit which iBio has applied toward the option fee for the exclusive license of the novel antibody that inhibits the function of Activin E. AstralBio will be eligible for development and commercialization milestone payments totaling up to $28 million. If iBio sublicenses the licensed product, AstralBio is to receive low to mid-single-digit sublicense fees on the proceeds of the sublicense fees. iBio is solely responsible for the research and development, manufacturing and commercialization activities of the licensed product.

    About iBio, Inc.

    iBio (Nasdaq: IBIO) is a cutting-edge biotech company leveraging AI and advanced computational biology to develop next-generation biopharmaceuticals for cardiometabolic diseases, obesity, cancer and other hard-to-treat diseases. By combining proprietary 3D modeling with innovative drug discovery platforms, iBio is creating a pipeline of breakthrough antibody treatments to address significant unmet medical needs. Our mission is to transform drug discovery, accelerate development timelines, and unlock new possibilities in precision medicine. For more information, visit www.ibioinc.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” “predict,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “intend” or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and include statements regarding the therapeutic potential of Activin E as a target for cardiometabolic disorders and obesity; Activin E being a promising novel therapeutic target whose inhibition is believed to induce fat-selective weight loss and offer protection against obesity and cardiometabolic disease; plans to rapidly advance testing of the antibody in more complex models; the in-licensed antibody being the first functional inhibitor of Activin E; inhibiting Activin E-mediated signaling offering a novel therapeutic strategy to reduce internal abdominal fat while preserving muscle mass potentially reversing obesity, preventing diabetes, and improving overall cardiometabolic health. As one of several cellular components involved in cardiometabolic regulation; Activin E, along with amylin, GLP-1 and others, having the potential to be targeted simultaneously to yield synergistic benefits for patients; plans to present additional preclinical data of its antibody targeting Activin E at the International BMP Conference, taking place in Philadelphia, PA from May 2–6; and the antibody having the potential to deliver meaningful benefits to patients. While iBio believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, the ability of Activin E to be a successful target for cardiometabolic disorders and obesity and iBio’s antibody to induce fat-selective weight loss and offer protection against obesity and cardiometabolic disease; iBio’s ability to obtain regulatory approvals for commercialization of its product candidates, or to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements; regulatory limitations relating to iBio’s ability to promote or commercialize its product candidates for specific indications; acceptance of iBio’s product candidates in the marketplace and the successful development, marketing or sale of products; and whether iBio will incur unforeseen expenses or liabilities or other market factors; and the other factors discussed in iBio’s filings with the SEC including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2024 and its subsequent filings with the SEC on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and iBio undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

    Corporate Contact:
    iBio, Inc.
    Investor Relations
    ir@ibioinc.com

    Media Contacts:
    Ignacio Guerrero-Ros, Ph.D., or David Schull
    Russo Partners, LLC
    Ignacio.guerrero-ros@russopartnersllc.com
    David.schull@russopartnersllc.com
    (858) 717-2310 or (646) 942-5604

    The MIL Network –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Rigetti Wins Innovate UK’s Quantum Missions Pilot Competition to Advance Quantum Error Correction Capabilities on Superconducting Quantum Computers

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Rigetti, in collaboration with Riverlane and the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), has been selected as one of the winners of Innovate UK’s Quantum Missions pilot competition. Leveraging Rigetti’s quantum computer hosted at the NQCC, the £3.5 million Rigetti-led consortium aims to benchmark and enhance the quantum error correction capabilities of superconducting quantum computers — a requirement for achieving large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computing.

    BERKELEY, Calif., April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rigetti UK Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rigetti Computing, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGTI) (“Rigetti” or the “Company”), a pioneer in full-stack quantum-classical computing, today announced that it has been selected as one of the winners of Innovate UK’s Quantum Missions pilot competition to benchmark and enhance quantum error correction (QEC) capabilities on superconducting quantum computers. Rigetti will lead a £3.5 million consortium alongside Riverlane and the NQCC Superconducting Circuits Team to leverage Rigetti’s superconducting quantum computer hosted at the NQCC to conduct ambitious QEC tests that advance state-of-the-art metrics and demonstrate real-time QEC capabilities — a requirement for universal, fault-tolerant quantum computing.

    Fault-tolerant quantum computing has the potential to usher in a new era of computational power to solve real-world problems. Achieving fault tolerance requires QEC to be effectively integrated with quantum computing technology, and with that comes addressing critical challenges. These include processing bottlenecks in classical control systems and their integration with quantum error decoding technology, as well as the high error rates of current quantum computers. The project aims to make measurable advancements towards overcoming these challenges by developing key capabilities required for executing a large number of quantum operations on Rigetti’s UK-based quantum computer.

    As part of the project, Rigetti will upgrade its existing NQCC quantum computer. The upgrades will include:

    • Deploying a larger 36-qubit quantum processing unit (QPU), updating from the current 24-qubit QPU
    • Integrating Rigetti’s latest generation control system, enabling improved qubit control and a fully programmable, low-latency interface with Riverlane’s Quantum Error Correction (QEC) Stack

    Riverlane will lead the QEC experiments, identifying key improvements to enhance system performance and meet crucial QEC metrics. The NQCC Superconducting Circuits Team will support the system upgrade and provide quality assurance for the QEC experiments.

    “Our NQCC testbed continues to serve as a critical resource for advancing our technology capabilities. We believe that we have a tremendous advantage on our path to fault-tolerant quantum computing with Riverlane’s QEC expertise and our modular, open architecture that lends itself to flexible and innovative solutions to scale our technology,” says Dr. Subodh Kulkarni, Rigetti CEO. “Moreover, we benefit from the strong advantages of superconducting qubits, which we believe are the winning qubit modality given their fast gate speeds and clear path to scaling.”

    “Developing high-performance quantum error correction is critical to achieving fault-tolerant quantum computing, and this project provides an ideal environment to advance those capabilities,” said Steve Brierley, Riverlane CEO & Founder. “By integrating our QEC stack with Rigetti’s upgraded superconducting quantum computer, we aim to achieve measurable improvements in key performance metrics, including throughput, latency, and decoding accuracy, which are essential for real-time error correction. We look forward to making significant progress through this collaboration.”

    The Quantum Missions pilot competition was established to accelerate quantum computing and quantum networking projects by increasing their capabilities and removing technological barriers to their commercialization and adoption. Rigetti was also awarded two additional Quantum Missions pilot competition projects:

    • Collaboration with SEEQC to integrate its digital chip-based technology with Rigetti’s 9-qubit Novera™ QPU hosted at the NQCC with the goal of identifying and understanding the key system components needed for scalable QEC. The project partners also include Cambridge Consultants, Oxford Instruments Nanotechnology Tools, NQCC, and University of Edinburgh.
    • Collaboration with TreQ, Qruise, Q-CTRL, and Oxford Ionics to create an open-architecture quantum computing testbed. The project will offer eight unique configurations by combining two quantum processors, two control systems, and two quantum software stacks. The project will also deliver an open specification for quantum workflows, creating a common interface between quantum software and hardware.

    These projects build on Rigetti’s leadership in the UK’s quantum computing ecosystem, including launching the first fully operational quantum computer at the NQCC and leading a three-year £10 million consortium to deploy one of the first UK-based quantum computers hosted at Oxford Instruments’ Tubney Woods facility.

    About Rigetti
    Rigetti is a pioneer in full-stack quantum computing. The Company has operated quantum computers over the cloud since 2017 and serves global enterprise, government, and research clients through its Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform. In 2021, Rigetti began selling on-premises quantum computing systems with qubit counts between 24 and 84 qubits, supporting national laboratories and quantum computing centers. Rigetti’s 9-qubit Novera QPU was introduced in 2023 supporting a broader R&D community with a high-performance, on-premises QPU designed to plug into a customer’s existing cryogenic and control systems. The Company’s proprietary quantum-classical infrastructure provides high-performance integration with public and private clouds for practical quantum computing. Rigetti has developed the industry’s first multi-chip quantum processor for scalable quantum computing systems. The Company designs and manufactures its chips in-house at Fab-1, the industry’s first dedicated and integrated quantum device manufacturing facility. Learn more at https://www.rigetti.com/.

    Rigetti Computing Media Contact:
    press@rigetti.com

    Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
    Certain statements in this communication may be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including but not limited to, expectations with respect to the Company’s business and operations, including its expectations related to the Innovate UK grants as part of the Quantum Missions pilot competition and work with Riverlane to benchmark and enhance quantum error correction (QEC) capabilities on superconducting quantum computers; SEEQC, NQCC, Cambridge Consultants, Oxford Instruments Nanotechnology Tools, and University of Edinburgh to integrate a digital chip-based technology with Rigetti’s 9-qubit Novera™ QPU hosted at the NQCC with the goal of identifying and understanding the key system components needed for scalable QEC; and TreQ, Qruise, Q-CTRL, and Oxford Ionics to create an open-architecture quantum computing testbed. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events and can be identified by terminology such as “commit,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “intend,” “strive,” “expect,” “intend,” “will,” “estimate,” “believe,” “predict,” “potential,” “pursue,” “aim,” “goal,” “outlook,” “anticipate,” “assume,” or “continue,” or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Rigetti and its management, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: Rigetti’s ability to achieve milestones, technological advancements, including with respect to its roadmap, help unlock quantum computing, and develop practical applications; the ability of Rigetti to complete ongoing negotiations with government contractors successfully and in a timely manner; the potential of quantum computing; the ability of Rigetti to obtain government contracts and the availability of government funding; the ability of Rigetti to expand its QCS business; the success of Rigetti’s partnerships and collaborations; Rigetti’s ability to accelerate its development of multiple generations of quantum processors; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Rigetti or others; the ability to continue to meet stock exchange listing standards; costs related to operating as a public company; changes in applicable laws or regulations, including taxes and tariffs; the possibility that Rigetti may be adversely affected by other economic, business, or competitive factors; Rigetti’s estimates of expenses and profitability; the evolution of the markets in which Rigetti competes; the ability of Rigetti to execute on its technology roadmap; the ability of Rigetti to implement its strategic initiatives, expansion plans and continue to innovate its existing services; disruptions in banking systems, increased costs, international trade relations, political turmoil, natural catastrophes, warfare, and terrorist attacks; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and other documents filed by the Company from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements other than as required by applicable law. The Company does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.

    The MIL Network –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Canada’s new immigration policy favours construction workers but leaves the rest behind

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Shiva S. Mohan, Research Fellow, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration & Integration program, Toronto Metropolitan University

    Migrant workers have long been recognized as essential to Canada’s economy. But that recognition rarely translates into meaningful inclusion. As Canada embarks on new immigration reforms, persistent inequalities continue to define who truly belongs, and who remains excluded.

    In March, the federal government announced a new national pathway to permanent residence for up to 6,000 out-of-status construction workers.

    Although framed as a recognition of essential labour, the new program highlights a deeper reality: Canada’s immigration reforms continue to prioritize business and industry needs. In this instance, those needs are in housing and construction.

    This selective approach reveals deeper patterns in Canada’s immigration system, often described as a hierarchy of deservingness. This framework assigns greater value to certain types of labour, while sidelining others. This sidelining is often based on race, gender and class and limits access to recognition and rights for all essential workers.

    Former Immigration Minister Marc Miller estimated that between 300,000 and 600,000 out-of-status people were living in Canada as of 2024. The new construction worker pathway, while important for some, will address only a tiny fraction of this population.



    Read more:
    A national caregiving strategy is coming — what could it mean for Canadians?

    Political and industry priorities

    With a federal election on the horizon, the construction worker pathway is as much a political move as a policy reform.

    The program expands on a pilot that granted permanent residence to approximately 1,365 people and their families in the Greater Toronto Area before closing in December 2024.

    The current national rollout of the program reflects public and industry pressure to address Canada’s housing crisis. Housing has become a top priority for governments across the country.

    Developers and industry groups, such as the Canadian Home Builders’ Association, have long lobbied for faster housing construction and more skilled trades workers. Their advocacy, combined with widespread concern over affordability, made it politically attractive to prioritize construction labour rather than implement broader regularization efforts.

    But this approach exposes who is left out. Sectors like caregiving, domestic work and agriculture, largely dominated by racialized and feminized labour continue to be excluded from clear and inclusive pathways to status.

    Canada’s low-wage economy has historically depended on the labour of racialized and immigrant women. Migrants in these sectors, often work in private or hidden spaces, making their labour less visible and politically legible.

    Caregiving and domestic work in Canada have historically been undervalued. It is often framed as natural extensions of women’s roles and systematically marginalized in immigration policy through programs like the Live-in Caregiver Program.

    Fragmented, insufficient system

    Research confirms that Canada’s approach remains fragmented and insufficient. As part of my work with MIrreM, an international project studying irregular migration and regularization policies, we found that Canadian programs are often small, sector-specific and constrained by narrow eligibility criteria.

    New federal government Home Care Worker Immigration pilots offer another highly competitive pathway to residency.

    But these programs remain narrowly targeted, restricted and quickly capped, with application limits often reached on the same day they open. They also provide little relief for the many out-of-status caregivers already living and working in Canada.

    Other countries have demonstrated that large-scale, inclusive reforms are possible, offering Canada a model to follow.

    Spain’s 2005 regularization program successfully granted legal status to 700,000 people. The Spanish assessment recognized employment records, community ties and long-term residence. This model shows that broad, fair regularization strategies can balance administrative efficiency with political feasibility.

    Meanwhile, Canada’s fragmented reforms exclude most out-of-status critical workers. And it leaves them without any sustainable pathway to status, prolonging their vulnerability and insecurity.



    Read more:
    Personal support workers are the backbone of health care but the bottom of the power structure

    A comprehensive immigration strategy needed

    Canada urgently needs a transparent, fair and scaleable immigration strategy. It must be one that values people’s contributions, not just the immediate needs of businesses.

    Cleaners, caregivers, farm labourers, food service workers and others deserve the same recognition and opportunity as those in construction.

    A comprehensive regularization strategy would not only uphold dignity and fairness. It would also strengthen Canada’s economy, improve labour protections and promote social inclusion.

    As Canadians prepare to head to the polls, the incoming government faces a critical choice.

    It can continue with piecemeal, politically convenient reforms that leave most out-of-status workers behind. Or it can commit to a broad, rights-based regularization strategy that recognizes the full social fabric of those who sustain this country.

    Shiva S. Mohan 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. Canada’s new immigration policy favours construction workers but leaves the rest behind – https://theconversation.com/canadas-new-immigration-policy-favours-construction-workers-but-leaves-the-rest-behind-253792

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ambitious changes to Canadian conservation law are needed to reverse the decline in biodiversity

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Trevor Swerdfager, Practitioner-In-Residence, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, University of Waterloo

    Canada’s biodiversity is in decline. Globally, climate change, urbanization, overexploitation of resources and habitat loss are combining to drive biodiversity loss across all ecosystems.

    The recent biodiversity assessment of the Americas, from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, documents these trends. Domestically, the 2024 State of Canada’s Birds Report points to falling bird populations over time, while a 2020 World Wildlife Fund report emphasized similar declines across the full range of plants, animals and other living organisms in Canada.

    Put simply, Canada’s efforts to reverse this decline are not succeeding.

    The State of Canada’s Birds Report 2024 shows that some bird populations have declined dramatically.
    (Government of Canada/Birds Canada)

    Laws protecting biodiversity

    There is a foundational reason for our subpar progress in conserving biodiversity: the poor state of biodiversity law in Canada.

    Laws matter. They codify societal values and priorities, define acceptable behaviours and establish the government programs and institutions needed to tackle complex problems. Canadian biodiversity law is neither meeting today’s challenges nor positioning us for the future.

    Federally, biodiversity laws include: the Fisheries Act (1868); Migratory Birds Convention Act (1917); Canada National Parks Act (CNPA, 1930); Canada Wildlife Act (1973); Forestry Act (1985); Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Inter-provincial Trade Act (1992); Oceans Act (1997); Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act (2002); and the Species At Risk Act (2002).

    Over the years, important additions to these acts include habitat and sustainability provisions to the Fisheries Act in 1977 and 2019 respectively, and a 2011 amendment to the CNPA, requiring that National Parks be managed to ensure their “ecological integrity.”

    Nevertheless, several of the laws are pre-date the Second World War and all pre-date the internet, climate change and current biodiversity science.

    Whooping cranes are considered endangered, and are protected under the Species at Risk Act.
    (Shutterstock)

    Disconnected approach

    Canadian biodiversity laws evolved through multiple unconnected legislative events over 150 years. They legislatively fragment the environment into separate components and fracture accountability into multiple agencies. They entrench program silos fostering conflicting departmental priorities and operational inefficiencies.

    They establish no biodiversity goals, reporting mechanisms or mandates for biodiversity science. Their structures impedes public data sharing and transparency, dissuades Indigenous engagement and consistently sparks federal-provincial tensions.

    They contain no mechanisms for translating Canada’s commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework into legal or programmatic action.

    Nothing on the horizon suggests that these shortcomings will be addressed through new leadership, new policy or plain old good luck. On the contrary, these laws seem destined to yield the same sub-optimal outcomes.

    The Jefferson salamander is listed as endangered by both federal and provincial legislation.
    (iNaturalist/evangrimes), CC BY

    Meeting the challenge

    If we are to meet current and future biodiversity conservation challenges, we must develop a new legislative approach. This approach should support the creation of modern biodiversity programs and institutions and drive integrated, transparent and inclusive decision-making.

    Our work suggests that we need a single unified law for biodiversity: a Canadian Biodiversity Conservation and Protection Act (CBCPA). A new act of this kind would replace the existing nine laws and could usefully include:

    1. Principles requiring — not just encouraging — nature-positive programs emphasizing biodiversity, science, ecosystems, transparency, accountability and inclusivity.

    2. Mandated biodiversity target and objective setting, including those of the Global Biodiversity Framework. This should also include reporting measures that offer actionable insights into program effectiveness and delivery improvement opportunities.

    3. Requirements for the use and public documentation of science in decision-making, including the requirement that all government biodiversity data should be made available to the public.

    4. Establishment of governance arrangements embracing Indigenous rights and interests, as well as mechanisms to bring conservation communities together around collective actions, facilitated by a new Biodiversity Conservation Fund.

    5. Creation of a Biodiversity Conservation Agency to fuse the existing four agencies into one, and establish clear ministerial accountability and a stronger voice for biodiversity in Cabinet.

    6. Operational elements governing the establishment and operation of protected areas, the management of fish and migratory birds, and the protection and recovery of species at risk in a cohesive and mutually reinforcing manner.

    A CBCPA would dramatically improve policy and regulatory certainty for industry. It would drive program cohesion and efficiency, build trust in government decision-making and facilitate intra- and inter-governmental collaboration. It would remove key obstacles to biodiversity conservation success and create the societal conditions so urgently needed to reverse biodiversity decline in Canada.

    This would obviously be an ambitious legislative project replete with substantive policy and political challenges. But the importance of biodiversity to Canada’s ecological, economic and social well-being is difficult to overstate. Maintaining the legislative status quo or adopting minimalist incrementalism is unwise.

    As we transform our economic and trade systems in Canada to grapple with climate change, a fundamental shift in how we conserve and protect biodiversity is equally vital. This is a time for ambition, not apathy.

    Derek Armitage has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

    Trevor Swerdfager 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. Ambitious changes to Canadian conservation law are needed to reverse the decline in biodiversity – https://theconversation.com/ambitious-changes-to-canadian-conservation-law-are-needed-to-reverse-the-decline-in-biodiversity-252781

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Secretary of State letter in response to the Child Safeguarding Panel National Review

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Correspondence

    Secretary of State letter in response to the Child Safeguarding Panel National Review

    A letter from the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, to the Chair of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.

    Applies to England

    Documents

    Secretary of State letter to Annie Hudson: 16 April 2025

    PDF, 164 KB, 3 pages

    Details

    A letter from the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, to the Chair of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, Annie Hudson, in response to the National review into child sexual abuse within the family environment.

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 April 2025

    Sign up for emails or print this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Rosneft Continues Research into Rare Bird Species

    Source: Rosneft

    Headline: Rosneft Continues Research into Rare Bird Species

    1 April is International Bird Day, established to raise awareness of the need to conserve the diversity and numbers of birds in their natural habitats.

    Environment protection is an integral part of the Company’s corporate culture and operation principles. The Company is particularly committed to the study of birds.

    As part of the new Tamura Biodiversity Conservation Programme, a major expedition to the Brekhovsky Islands and adjacent areas of the Gydan Peninsula in the north of Krasnoyarsk Territory was organised during the 2024 field season. In the ornithological area of international importance, 60 species have been recorded, among them: the peregrine falcon, the barnacle, the water scoter and the long-tailed duck, as well as the Siberian chiffchaff, the red-winged thrush and the brown thrush. Scientists have noted movements of tundra swans, geese, ducks and gulls in these areas. The work will clarify the abundance and species composition of the herds.

    The company supports research on red listed birds in the Sakhalin region and Khabarovsk territory. For example, the Komsomolsk refinery (part of Rosneft’s oil refining complex) and scientists from Zapovedniy Priamurye continue to implement the Under the Strong Wing project to protect Steller’s sea eagles, the largest member of the eagle family. On the territory of the Komsomolsky Nature Reserve, photo and video cameras have been installed, which make it possible to observe bird families in summer and early autumn. During the previous stages of the project, ornithologists identified the location of the birds’ nests. A five-day snowmobile expedition was organised to install the camera traps. Scientists are also planning to use quadrocopters to survey the eagle population in the Komsomolsky Reserve, and a five-day snowmobile expedition has been organised to install the camera traps.

    In addition, as part of the Under the Strong Wing project, its participants carry out environmental education activities for young people in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. On International Bird Day, the reserve’s specialists gave an informative talk with a quiz for children.

    Samara’s oil workers are helping ornithologists to preserve another member of the eagle family — the white-tailed eagle. This year, Rosneft’s Samara Group of Enterprises summarised the results of the first stage of a grant competition for research projects to study this rare bird in the region. Scientists from Samarskaya Luka National Park carried out a series of activities aimed at studying the habitats and increasing the population of the red-listed bird. They identified nesting areas, recorded nest locations and key demographic indicators — the number of eggs in the clutch and the number of chicks hatched. Today, work is underway to create a map of the white-tailed eagle’s habitat in the Samara region.

    With the support of RN-Uvatneftegaz, the white-tailed eagle is also being studied in the Tyumen region. In 2024, the results of a grant project to study the population of this species were summarised there, and with the support of RN-Uvatneftegaz, the white-tailed eagle is also being studied in the Tyumen region. As part of the project, scientists from Tyumen State University created a biotechnical programme aimed at increasing the number of white-tailed eagles and prepared an e-book «Birds of the Southern Tyumen Region». Ornithological work of this kind in the south of the Tyumen Region was carried out for the first time.

    RN-Vankor supported a scientific expedition to the Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District of Krasnoyarsk Territory, where scientists studied wild goose populations, including those listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. The large amount of data collected during the fieldwork will provide an overview of the current population status and nesting sites of geese species.

    In addition, since 2020, Rosneft, together with the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, has been conducting extensive research on the white gull, a rare bird species listed in Russia’s Red Book. Expeditions were carried out to hard-to-reach areas on the islands of the Kara Sea — Wiese, Golomyanny, Sredny and Domashny. Scientists carry out aerial surveys, ring adult white gulls, install GPS trackers and collect biological material from the birds.

    Department of Information and Advertising
    Rosneft
    April 1, 2025

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: The Invasive Processes of Scar Tissue

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    When a scar develops from surgery, injury, or infection, the surrounding tissue transforms. While scar formation has been extensively studied, less is understood about the impact of a new scar in the tissue microenvironment.

    Kshitiz, associate professor of biomedical engineering in the UConn School of Dental Medicine, took a closer look at this scar tissue phenomenon in Nature Communications. In his research, accompanied by postdoctoral student Wenqian Du, Kshitiz studied the rare yet life-threatening maternal fetal condition placenta accreta, which occurs when the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall, to shed some light on scar tissue.

    UConn School of Dental Medicine associate professor Kshitiz (courtesy of Kshitiz)

    Cesarian sections, which result in uterine scarring, are increasing rapidly. In parallel, placenta accreta cases are also increasing. The connection between uterine scarring and placenta accreta seems significant, leading the research team to further question how scarring can trigger invasive properties.

    The current theory, according to the researchers, is that the scar is like an “empty road” and the placenta forms and moves into the scar. Kshitiz is skeptical of this standing theory.

    “We questioned it because it does not make any sense,” Kshitiz says. “If it’s an ’empty road,’ why doesn’t the mother’s womb cells take the empty road? What we found is that it is not an empty road—the scar is full of collagen.”

    The collagen from the scar tissue, the researchers found, transforms the endometrium of the mother into an inflammatory state. Using uterine tissue, the researchers created a synthetic scar matrix that mimicked placenta accreta. They uncovered that in the case of placenta accreta, a channel opens in the scar tissue, causing calcium to infiltrate the endometrium and cause inflammation. When the inflammation occurs, specific molecules start aggressively recruiting placental cells towards themselves in a very invasive manner.

    The researchers now have a better understanding about the implications of scarring, unlocking the possibility for more studies about scar tissue in the future.

    “As one of the first major studies on the basic biology of placenta accreta, this discovery opened a whole new area where we can start asking questions about the implications of scars,” says Kshitiz. “By looking at placenta accreta we can learn about the invasive processes caused by scar tissue.”

    Last year, Kshitiz was awarded $2.5 million in R01 funding from the Eunice Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to address the mechanisms driving placenta accreta spectrum.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Atana Wins 2025 HR Tech Award for Best Talent Development Solution

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BELLEVUE, Wash., April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Seeking to redefine workplace culture and training, Atana has been named Best Innovative or Emerging Tech Solution for Learning and Talent Development in the 2025 HR Tech Awards. The award marks Atana’s second notable win this month.

    The HR Tech Awards, powered by Lighthouse Research & Advisory and presented by UNLEASH, spotlight excellence and innovation across the HR technology landscape. The program is designed to help HR leaders and technology buyers identify solutions that drive real results.

    “Atana distinguishes itself with a comprehensive, award-winning training platform that is designed to create a more respectful and inclusive workplace, using engaging content to tackle even the most challenging topics like diversity and sexual harassment prevention,” said Ben Eubanks, Chief Research Officer, Lighthouse Research & Advisory. “By leveraging behavioral theory and robust analytics, Atana empowers organizations to drive meaningful change and quantify the positive impact on both employees and the business as a whole.”

    Atana CEO John Hansen shared, “Winning an HR Tech Award is a proud moment for the Atana team. It’s a testament to how our solution innovates and elevates workplace training, driving employee engagement and delivering measurable impact across the workforce. This recognition fuels our mission to help create healthy, positive and respectful workplaces.”

    Now in its sixth year, the HR Tech Awards are judged by an independent panel of industry practitioners, educators and consultants. Each winner is vetted based on overall innovation, product demonstrations and customer case studies. Lighthouse Research & Advisory notes that with more than 5,000 providers competing in today’s HR technology landscape, the HR Tech Awards recognize 1-2 percent of those companies in the space, reinforcing Atana’s value in the market.

    For more information about Atana’s award-winning solutions, visit atana.com.

    About Atana

    Bringing together decades of experience, award-winning courses, and a powerful analytics platform, Atana takes learners from best intentions to actionable and measurable behavioral change at scale. With Atana, employers can build more inclusive workplaces through engaging content and science-backed learning and development. For more information, please visit atana.com.

    Note to editors: Trademarks and registered trademarks referenced herein remain the property of their respective owners.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f2e8d93b-07b9-488b-8af4-d77f5b7fcecb

    The MIL Network –

    April 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic University Accepts the Challenge

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    The Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University hosted a roadshow of the National Prize in Future Technologies “Challenge”. The organizers explained what the new scientific award is and what the criteria for selecting the winners are. The special guest of the meeting was the 2024 laureate of the prize in the “Perspective” nomination, the outstanding Russian chemist Leonid Fershtat, who gave a lecture on his scientific developments.

    Opening the event, the first vice-rector of SPbPU, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vitaly Sergeev noted that the future of the country depends on the level of development of science, the quality and quantity of innovative developments. Vitaly Vladimirovich called on young scientists to actively follow the example of the participants of the “Challenge” award, and not only generate ideas, but also popularize science.

    “Behind every seemingly simple and obvious solution, such as this laser pointer, there are scientific discoveries of its time,” Vitaly Sergeev emphasized. “That is why I would like today’s meeting to give you motivation and a desire to do science, to realize how high the prestige of a scientist is in our country, and to inspire you to new achievements.”

    In her welcoming speech, First Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Science and Higher Education of St. Petersburg Irina Ganus noted the importance of creativity in the activities of young people and the significance of projects such as the National Challenge Prize for motivating young scientists.

    In turn, the Vice President of the Foundation for the Development of Scientific and Cultural Relations “Challenge” Elena Eremenko emphasized that stimulating creativity and involving young people in scientific activities is the main goal of the award, and expressed hope for an increase in the number of applications from scientists in St. Petersburg in general and from SPbPU in particular.

    “We see our mission in creating an environment in which science, technology and knowledge are the most important values of society for solving the social and technological problems of the country,” said Elena Eremenko. “It is important that scientists become heroes of our time, real stars and role models for the younger generation. We show with real examples that it is possible to achieve success in science and be in demand.”

    Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the National Prize in the Field of Future Technologies “Challenge”, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Head of the Materials Design Laboratory, Distinguished Professor of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Department of Materials Science of Semiconductors and Dielectrics of the University of MISiS Artem Oganov spoke about the features of submitting applications for the “Challenge” Prize and the differences between the prize and other scientific awards.

    “Awards are needed, on the one hand, to attract scientists’ attention to certain areas, and on the other hand, to attract investment in science,” said Artem Oganov, emphasizing that the quality of the award depends on the quality of its laureates. And in the case of the “Challenge” award, according to him, all the laureates are real, active and successful scientists.

    The application procedure for participation in the award is very simple: you just need to write a short message to the committee about your development. You don’t need to collect any documents. And then experts will take over, check everything and make a decision. Applications for the award are open on the website premiumchallenge.rf until May 21.

    The roadshow was completed by the winner of the 2024 National Prize in the Field of Future Technologies “Challenge” in the “Perspective” nomination, Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Head of the Laboratory of Nitrogen-Containing Compounds of the N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor of the Joint Department of the N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry of the National Research University Higher School of Economics Leonid Fershtat. In the lecture “There is no such thing as too much nitrogen: why are heterocycles with a high nitrogen content needed?” the scientist presented his developments in the field of creating new organic substances based on nitrogen-oxygen heterocyclic compounds. Heterocyclic compounds are widespread in living organisms, so these studies can contribute to the creation of new drugs. On the other hand, the bonds “carbon – nitrogen”, “nitrogen – nitrogen” and “nitrogen – oxygen” have high energy, which makes it possible to create energy-intensive materials on their basis that can be useful in the aerospace and mining industries.

    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 –

    April 22, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: InStride’s Hybrid Clinical Cohorts Fill High-Need Roles in Healthcare

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LOS ANGELES, April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — InStride, a human capital management company providing strategic education benefits, today announced a hybrid education model that empowers healthcare organizations to fill critical roles by developing talent from within. InStride’s hybrid clinical cohorts combine online learning with in-hospital training, enabling providers to rapidly fill critical roles such as medical assistants, surgical technologists, and radiologic technologists. With over 400 employee participants across multiple states, InStride’s model is operating at an unprecedented scale in the industry—delivering both workforce and financial impact. Already, two major healthcare systems have saved over $10 million by using this model to train surgical technologists, cutting contingent labor costs.

    “Healthcare systems find their hands tied, as they can’t hire their way out of today’s clinical workforce shortages,” said Craig Maloney, CEO at InStride. “Together with our partners, we’re changing that by making it easier than ever to identify and develop that talent from within. Our hybrid clinical cohorts are a scalable and cost-effective way to fill these high-need roles, and our hands-on program support ensures both employees and organizations see results.”

    Addressing critical healthcare workforce shortages

    Allied health professionals make up over 60% of the healthcare workforce, yet many of these roles face significant shortages. For example, radiology technologist vacancies have surged to 18%, nearly triple the rate from three years ago, delaying imaging services and prolonging hospital stays. Healthcare organizations must find solutions to train and retain this talent internally rather than relying solely on external hiring.

    InStride’s hybrid, cohort-based approach

    Unlike traditional training models, InStride partners with healthcare providers to develop clinical cohorts tailored to address specific workforce needs. By combining structured online learning with hands-on experience, these programs are designed for efficiency, higher completion rates, and real-world impact.

    Key features of hybrid clinical cohorts include:

    • Cohort-based learning: Employees progress through structured programs together, fostering peer support and improved completion rates.
    • Custom pathways for high-demand roles: Programs cover medical assistants, surgical technologists, and emerging pathways for radiologic technologists and cytologists.
    • On-the-job training: Integration with onsite hospital training programs ensures learners gain real-world experience while earning credentials.

    Unmatched support from start to finish

    InStride’s clinical cohorts ease strain on healthcare teams by delivering end-to-end support that sets employees up for success. From cohort design to clinical training, InStride works closely with healthcare leaders and academic partners to ensure the right participants are enrolled and fully supported. With clear visibility into employee progress, organizations can confidently fill high-need roles with employees who are ready to step in and make an impact.

    Proven impact

    Franklin University, one of InStride’s academic partners collaborating to deliver clinical cohorts, offers a clear view of the model’s success:

    “We have seen firsthand how these clinical cohorts drive stronger learner outcomes,” said Jonathan McCombs, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Health and Public Administration at Franklin University. “Learners consistently achieve higher pass rates on certification exams—23 percentage points above the national average on the NCCT TS-C exam—thanks to the combined strength of the program’s structure, practitioner faculty, close support, and our close alignment with workforce needs.”

    By providing a clear pathway to certification, InStride’s cohort-based approach bridges the gap between education and employment in high-demand clinical fields. With stronger outcomes and ongoing support, healthcare providers build a steady pipeline of skilled professionals, reducing turnover, lowering hiring costs, and addressing workforce shortages in roles like surgical technology and beyond.

    About InStride

    InStride is a human capital management company that solves corporate talent challenges through strategic education benefits and skills development solutions. By breaking down barriers to learning, fostering career growth aligned with organizational goals, and simplifying program management, InStride delivers lasting impact. Partnering with forward-thinking companies like Labcorp, Adidas, and SSM Health, InStride drives meaningful social and business outcomes by providing access to life-changing education. Visit instride.com or follow InStride on LinkedIn for more information and up-to-date news.

    Contact:

    Sophia Puglisi
    sophia.puglisi@instride.com 
    805.889.6273
    Communications Specialist at InStride 

    The MIL Network –

    April 22, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ‘Stay home, save lives’: New research shows Covid restrictions had no effect on behaviour People did not alter their behaviour to follow enhanced local restrictions during the pandemic and they may have been more effective if based around factors other than just Covid-19 cases according to new research from the University of Aberdeen.

    Source: University of Aberdeen

    People did not alter their behaviour to follow enhanced local restrictions during the pandemic and they may have been more effective if based around factors other than just Covid-19 cases according to new research from the University of Aberdeen.
    People did not alter their behaviour to follow enhanced local restrictions during the pandemic and they may have been more effective if based around factors other than just Covid-19 cases according to new research from the University of Aberdeen.
    The study published in Translational Behavioral Medicine looked at people’s behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic in Scotland.  
    The team examined adherence to restrictions introduced during the pandemic including social distancing, mask-wearing, staying at home and hand washing.  
    They compared people’s behaviours before and after local restrictions were implemented. They also compared behaviours of those living in areas with increased restrictions to those living in areas without.  
    Results showed that people did not change their behaviour when restrictions were tightened and that applied to all behaviours including social distancing and mask wearing. 
    They also found people in high or low restriction areas behaved no differently to each other.   
    Led by Dr Chantal den Daas, Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology, in collaboration with the Covid Health and Adherence Research in Scotland (CHARIS) project, the team interviewed individuals across Scotland at random from March to November 2020, to get a representative sample of the Scottish population.  
    The respondents answered questions about their behaviours from the past week, including if they had left their home, if they had adhered to the two-metre social distancing rule, if they had worn a mask in a shop or on public transport and if they washed their hands as soon as they got home.  
    Dr den Daas said: “When local restrictions were introduced in 2020 due to an increase in Covid-19 case numbers, we thought we would see a change in behaviour after they were implemented. But this was not what we found. 
    “It is really important to build an understanding of what could have been done differently and how we can effectively influence public behaviour in the future should we be faced with another public health crisis.  
    “This research provided insight on the type of information we should aim to collect in future pandemics, to see if we can find better measures to predict cases, examine the need for restrictions and the effect of any restrictions put in place.  
    “Future research in acute outbreaks should assess behaviour and beliefs about the virus, risk on an ongoing basis and identify the need for intervention even before cases rates start to go up.” 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    April 22, 2025
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