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Category: Education

  • MIL-Evening Report: Evicted PNG settlement fears collective punishment over gang rape and killing

    By Harlyne Joku and BenarNews staff

    Residents of an informal Port Moresby settlement that was razed following the gang rape and murder of a woman by 20 men say they are being unfairly punished by Papua New Guinea authorities over alleged links to the crime.

    Human rights advocates and the UN have condemned the killing but warned the eviction by police has raised serious concerns about collective punishment, violations of national law, police misconduct and governance failures.

    A community spokesman said more than 500 people living at the settlement at the capital’s Baruni rubbish dump were forcibly evicted by the police in response to the killing of 32-year-old Margaret Gabriel on February 15.

    Port Moresby newspapers reported the gang rape and murder by 20 men of 32-year-old Margaret Gabriel . . . “Barbaric”, said the Post-Courier in a banner headline. Image: BenarNews

    Authorities accuse the settlement residents, who are primarily migrants from the Goilala district in Central Province, of harboring some of the men involved in her murder.

    Prime Minister James Marape condemned Gabriel’s death as “inhuman, barbaric” and a “defining moment for our nation to unite against crime, to take a stand against violence”, the day after the attack.

    He assured every effort would be made to prosecute those responsible and his “unwavering support” for the removal of settlements like Baruni, calling them “breeding grounds for criminal elements who terrorise innocent people.”

    Gabriel was one of three women killed in the capital that week.

    Charged with rape, murder
    Four men from Goilala district and two from Enga province, all aged between 18 and 29, appeared in a Port Moresby court on Monday on charges of her rape and murder.

    The case has again put a spotlight again on gender-based violence in PNG and renewed calls for the government to find a long-term solution to Port Moresby’s impoverished settlements.

    Dozens of families, some of whom have lived in the Baruni settlement for more than 40 years, were forced out of their homes on February 22 and are now sleeping under blue tarpaulins at a school sports oval on the outskirts of the capital.

    Spokesman for the evicted Baruni residents, Peter Laiam . . . “My people are innocent.” Image: Harlyne Joku/Benar News

    “My people are innocent,” Peter Laiam, a community spokesman and school caretaker, told BenarNews, adding that police continued to harass the community at their new location.

    “They told me I had to move these people out in two weeks’ time or they will shoot us.”

    Laiam said a further six men from the settlement were suspected of involvement in Gabriel’s death, but had not been charged, and the community has fully cooperated with police on the matter, including naming the suspects.

    Authorities however were treating the entire population as “trouble makers,” Laiam added.

    “They also took cash and building materials like corrugated iron roofing for themselves” he said.

    No police response
    Senior police in Port Moresby did not respond to ongoing requests from BenarNews for reaction to the allegations.

    Assistant Commissioner Benjamin Turi last week thanked the evicted settlers for information that led to the arrest of six suspects, The National newspaper reported.

    Police Minister Peter Tsiamalili Junior defended the eviction at Baruni last month, telling EMTV News it was lawful and the settlement was on state-owned land.

    Bare land left after homes in the Baruni settlement village were flattened by bulldozers at Port Moresby, PNG. Image: Harlyne Joku/Benar News

    Police used excavators and other heavy machinery to tear down houses at the Baruni settlement, with images showing some buildings on fire.

    Residents say the resettlement site in Laloki lacks adequate water, sanitation and other facilities.

    “They are running out of food,” Laiam said. “Last weekend they were washed out by the rain and their food supplies were finished.”

    Separated from their gardens and unable to sell firewood, the families are surviving on food donations from local authorities, he said.

    Human rights critics
    The evictions have been criticised by human rights advocates, including Peterson Magoola, the UN Women Representative for PNG.

    “We strongly condemn all acts of sexual and gender-based violence and call for justice for the victim,” he said in a statement last month.

    “At the same time, collective punishment, forced evictions, and destruction of homes violate fundamental human rights and disproportionately harm vulnerable members of the community.”

    The evicted families living in tents at Laloki St Paul’s Primary School, on the outskirts of Port Moresby, PNG. Image: Harlyne Joku/Benar News

    Melanesian Solidarity, a local nonprofit, called on the government to ensure justice for both the murder victim and displaced families.

    It said the evictions might have contravened international treaties and domestic laws that protect against unlawful property deprivation and mandate proper legal procedures for relocation.

    The Baruni settlement, which is home primarily to migrants from Goilala district, was established with consent on the customary land of the Baruni people during the colonial era, according to Laiam.

    Central Province Governor Rufina Peter defended the evicted settlers on national broadcaster NBC on February 20, and their contribution to the national capital.

    “The Goilala people were here during pre-independence time. They are the ones who were the bucket carriers,” she said.

    ‘Knee jerk’ response
    She also criticised the eviction by police as “knee jerk” and raised human rights concerns.

    The Goilala community in Central Province, 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the capital, was the center of controversy in January when a trophy video of butchered body parts being displayed by a gang went viral, attracted erroneous ‘cannibalism’ reportage by the local media and sparked national and international condemnation.

    The evictions at Baruni have touched off again a complex debate about crime and housing in PNG, the Pacific’s most populous nation.

    Informal settlements have mushroomed in Port Moresby as thousands of people from the countryside migrate to the city in search of employment.

    Critics say the impoverished settlements are unfit for habitation, contribute to the city’s frequent utility shortages, and harbour criminals.

    Mass evictions have been ordered before, but the government has failed to enact any meaningful policies to address their rapid growth across the city.

    While accurate population data is hard to find in PNG, the United Nations Population Fund estimates that the number of people living in Port Moresby is about 513,000.

    Lack basic infrastructure
    At least half of them are thought to live in informal settlements, which lack basic infrastructure like water, electricity and sewerage, according to 2022 research by the PNG National Research Institute.

    A shortage of affordable housing and high rental prices have caused a mismatch between demand and supply.

    Melanesian Solidarity said the government needed to develop a national housing strategy to prevent the rise of informal settlements.

    “This eviction is a wake-up call for the government to implement sustainable urban planning and housing reforms rather than resorting to forced removals,” it said in a statement.

    “We stand with the affected families and demand justice, accountability, and humane solutions for all Papua New Guineans.”

    Stefan Armbruster, Sue Ahearn and Harry Pearl contributed to this story. Republished from BenarNews with permission. However, it is the last report from BenarNews as the editors have announced a “pause” in publication due to the US administration withholding funds.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs are the highest in decades − an economist explains how that could hurt the US

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Bedassa Tadesse, Professor of Economics, University of Minnesota Duluth

    President Donald Trump unveiled a sweeping new tariff plan on April 2, 2025, to reshape U.S. trade and boost domestic industry.

    Framing the announcement as “Liberation Day,” he proposed a 10% tariff on essentially all imports, with steeper rates for major trade partners, including 34% on Chinese goods and 20% on those from the European Union. Starting April 3, a 25% tariff on all foreign-made cars and auto parts will take effect – a move that he says will revive U.S. manufacturing and reset America’s trade agenda.

    But the fanfare surrounding the announcement masks a much larger gamble. What’s really at stake is trust – America’s long-standing reputation as a stable and predictable destination for global investment. And once that trust is lost, it’s incredibly hard to win back.

    The strategy is presented as a robust defense of American manufacturing and the middle class. But foreign direct investment – when overseas companies build factories or expand operations in the U.S. – depends on more than just opportunity. It depends on certainty.

    If global investors start to worry that U.S. trade policy can shift abruptly, they may relocate their capital elsewhere. As such, the administration’s aggressive approach to tariffs risks undermining the very confidence that has long made the U.S. a top destination for global capital.

    Auto tariffs as a case in point

    Nowhere is this risk more visible than in the auto industry.

    In 2023 alone, the United States attracted over US$148 billion in foreign direct investment, with nearly $42.9 billion tied to manufacturing, including in the automotive sector. Over the past few decades, major global automakers such as Toyota, BMW and Hyundai have established expansive plants in states including Alabama, Ohio and Kentucky.

    These facilities – many of which have seen significant reinvestment and expansion in recent years, especially in response to the shift toward electric vehicles – employ thousands of Americans and contribute significantly to local economies.

    Trump’s tariff push aims to get automakers to manufacture more vehicles on U.S. soil to overcome rising import costs. It’s a strategy with precedent. During his first term, the threat of auto tariffs, alongside existing plans, helped spur Toyota’s $1.6 billion investment in a North Carolina plant and Volkswagen’s expansion of its operations in Tennessee. It’s not far-fetched to imagine Honda or Mercedes following suit with new factories in Indiana or Texas.

    But here’s the catch: “Made in the USA” doesn’t always mean “made for less.” American auto plants often face productivity and efficiency gaps compared with foreign competitors. Labor costs are higher. Assembly lines move more slowly, partly due to stricter labor protections, less automation and aging infrastructure. And U.S. automakers such as Ford and GM still depend heavily on global supply chains. Even for vehicles assembled in America, about 40% of the parts, such as engines from Canada and wiring harnesses from Mexico, are imported.

    When those parts are taxed, production costs go up. Moody’s estimates that pickups such as the Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado could cost $2,000 to $3,000 more as a result. Goldman Sachs projects price hikes of up to $15,000, depending on the vehicle. Automakers then face a dilemma: raise prices and risk losing customers or absorb the costs and cut into their margins.

    A ripple effect across the economy

    Tariffs may protect one industry, but their ripple effects reach much further. They raise costs for other sectors that rely on imported inputs, slow down production by making supply chains more expensive and less efficient, squeeze profit margins, and leave businesses and consumers with harder choices.

    Factories represent billion-dollar investments that take years to recoup their costs. Mixed signals, such as the president calling tariffs “permanent” one moment and negotiable the next, create a climate of uncertainty. That makes companies more hesitant to build, hire and expand.

    And investors are watching closely. If building in the U.S. becomes more expensive and less predictable, is it still a smart long-term bet? When a company is deciding where to build its next battery plant or chip facility, volatility in U.S. policy can be a deal breaker.

    The consequences could surface soon. Goldman Sachs has already lowered its 2025 U.S. GDP growth forecast to 1.7%, down from an earlier 2.2%, citing the administration’s trade policy risks. Consumers, still grappling with inflation and high interest rates, may begin to delay big-ticket purchases, especially as tariffs push prices even higher.

    The international fallout

    America’s trading partners aren’t standing still. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says his country “will fight back – with purpose and with force.” The European Union is exploring duties on American tech firms. Japan, a longtime ally, is signaling unease. If these countries redirect investment to other countries, the U.S. could lose its competitive edge for years to come.

    And while roughly 1 million Americans work in the auto manufacturing industry, more than 150 million make up the total American labor force. When tariffs drive up input costs, it can trigger a chain reaction, hurting retailers, stalling service-sector jobs and slowing overall economic growth.

    Consumers will feel it too. Higher prices mean lower sales, reduced tax revenues and shrinking profits. All of that weakens the economy at a time when household budgets are already strained.

    Lessons from history

    The U.S. has seen how trade policy can shape investment decisions – just in reverse. In the 1980s, Japanese automakers responded to U.S. import quotas not by withdrawing but by building plants in the United States. That response was possible because policies were clear and negotiated, not abrupt or adversarial.

    Today, the story is different. Volatile, unilateral tariffs don’t build trust – they erode it. And when trust erodes, so does investment.

    Yes, a factory in Indiana or Kentucky might reopen. Yet if that comes at the cost of deterring billions of dollars in long-term investment, is it worth it?

    So while the president may celebrate April 2 as Liberation Day, markets may come to see it as the tipping point – when global confidence in the U.S. economy began to falter in earnest.

    Bedassa Tadesse 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. Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs are the highest in decades − an economist explains how that could hurt the US – https://theconversation.com/trumps-liberation-day-tariffs-are-the-highest-in-decades-an-economist-explains-how-that-could-hurt-the-us-253685

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Join the 54th APRI National Conference in Chicago

    Source: US GOIAM Union

    The A. Philip Randolph Institute will host its 2025 Annual Education Conference at the Hilton Chicago from Aug. 6-10, 2025. This event is an opportunity for labor leaders and members to come together to learn, share, and mobilize around the key issues affecting working people today. 

    The conference will feature a variety of continuous training programs and educational workshops aimed at empowering labor leaders. You’ll have the chance to engage with experts, network with fellow members, and learn strategies that can be implemented in your communities and workplaces.

    You can register for the conference here. Advanced registration closes June 30, 2025.

    Book your hotel reservation here.

    Share and Follow:

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: VizyPay Celebrates Fourth Consecutive Year on the 2025 Inc. Regionals List

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WAUKEE, Iowa, April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — VizyPay, a leading payment processing fintech serving small businesses in rural America, proudly announces its fourth consecutive year on the 2025 Inc. Regionals list, ranking #89 overall in the Midwest, No. 3 in Iowa, and No. 4 in financial services. The esteemed awards recognize the fastest growing privately owned companies in the United States, and this achievement underpins VizyPay’s incredible growth and relentless commitment to serving SMBs across the country.

    “Our continued growth is a reflection of our team’s deep-rooted dedication and passion to serve our customers,” said Frank Pagano, managing partner of VizyPay. “Securing a place on the Inc. Regionals: Midwest list for the fourth consecutive year is more than an honor—it’s an affirmation of our dedication to delivering affordable, transparent payment solutions that empower small businesses across rural America.”

    Over the past year, VizyPay has scaled up its team and infrastructure to meet the Midwest’s growing demand for secure and transparent payment solutions for its small business owners. The company’s unique offerings such as dual pricing and cash discount methods work to eliminate hidden fees and help thousands of small businesses reduce costs and improve their bottom line. With more than 131 million transactions processed, VizyPay delivered over $40 million in savings on processing fees to its network of 12,000+ merchants across the U.S.

    VizyPay’s rapid growth can also be attributed in part to the Learning for Geniuses (LFG) Tour, a nationwide initiative led by VizyPay CEO, Austin Mac Nab, focused on uplifting local entrepreneurs and driving the growth of small to medium-sized businesses. Traveling coast to coast, Mac Nab and the VizyPay team offer mentorship to entrepreneurs, providing a space to network with others, exchange ideas, and gain actionable insights to level up their game. To date, the tour has reached some key locations such as Austin, TX, Phoenix, AZ, Jacksonville, FL, and Las Vegas, NV, with additional stops scheduled across the U.S. throughout 2025.

    “With the LFG Tour, we are equipping the next generation of entrepreneurs to become the catalyst to driving growth for small businesses and success in rural America,” said Mac Nab. “This tour will go a long way to empowering individuals to achieve financial freedom and achieve their personal goals and never settle for less.”

    Along with being a four-time Inc. 5000 award honoree, VizyPay was also recognized as a Des Moines Top Workplace for the fourth year in a row and received the DSM Inclusion Award, showcasing its incredible workplace reputation and company culture.

    Complete results of the 2025 Inc. Regionals: Midwest can be found at inc.com/regionals/midwest.

    About VizyPay

    Headquartered in Waukee, Iowa, VizyPay was founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs who each had either significant credit card processing experience or were previously small business owners. Their combined understanding of these different industries created the perfect cocktail for a credit card processing company that could truly look out for the business owner. Making a huge splash nationwide by being transparent and customer-centric, VizyPay is a four-time Inc. 5000 honoree and three-time Inc. Regionals Midwest honoree.

    Media Contact

    Erica Torres

    Uproar by Moburst for VizyPay

    erica.torres@moburst.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Fan zones, fireworks and flags – plans unveiled for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 extravaganza

    Source: City of Sunderland

    Plans to create a carnival atmosphere around this summer’s opening match of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 in Sunderland have been unveiled by the City Council.

    Fan zones, fireworks and more than 150 colourful flags and banners will all add to the party atmosphere in the city centre, together with a fan parade to the Stadium of Light across the new Wear Footbridge connecting the city centre to the stadium.

    England’s Red Roses are due to kick off the opening match of the tournament against the USA at the Stadium of Light at 7.30pm on Friday 22 August and tickets are already selling fast.

    The Red Roses are favourites to win the tournament after last winning the World Cup in 2014 when South Shields born Sunderland University graduate Katy Daley McLean captained the team.

    The game was awarded to Sunderland following a competitive bidding process and will provide an estimated economic impact benefit of £20 million for the region.

    Details of plans for the tournament’s opening weekend have been released following approval by Sunderland City Council’s Cabinet last week, setting the stage for a spectacular opening weekend of celebrations for those attending the match at Stadium of Light.

    Fan zones at Keel Edge and Keel Square over the three days from Thursday 21 August to Saturday 23 August will add to the carnival atmosphere, hosting live entertainment, interactive games and a food court offering a range of tempting food and drink.

    On the evening of Thursday 21 there will also be a tie up with Sunderland Music City featuring local talent and musicians.

    Post game on Friday evening, there will a firework display from Riverside Park which can be viewed from across the city centre.

    A programme of community events across the North East involving Northumberland, Durham and Sunderland Rugby Clubs is also being planned, including touch rugby beach festivals planned from Bamburgh to Sunderland to engage local communities and rugby clubs.

    Councillor Beth Jones, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Tourism at Sunderland City Council, said: “It’s going to be incredibly exciting weekend. The eyes of the world will be on Sunderland and it’s a brilliant opportunity to showcase the city.

    “We will have visitors from across the globe and I can’t wait to welcome them to Sunderland.

    “There’s something for all the family in the events we’ve laid on across the weekend and I think it will be a real celebration of both the tournament and the city.”

    Further tickets for the tournament are due to go on sale later this spring, with competitive prices from £10 for adults and £5 for children. This means a family of four can enjoy an evening at the Women’s Rugby World Cup Opening Game for £30.

    To be the first to hear the latest ticketing news, fans can register for updates at www.rugbyworldcup.com/2025/newsletter

    To find out more about more about rugby in Sunderland and how to get involved, visit: www.mysunderland.co.uk/rugbyworldcup

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: PISh SPbPU presented a new project at the educational forum — school design bureaus

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University presented the best practices, projects and initiatives for training highly qualified specialists needed by the modern economy at the XV St. Petersburg International Educational Forum. The Advanced Engineering School of SPbPU “Digital Engineering” (PES), as a flagship division of the SPbPU Technological Development Ecosystem, launched innovative projects at the forum with an emphasis on advanced digital and production technologies and held thematic events for teachers aimed at developing engineering education in cooperation with representatives of the domestic industry, and also became an active participant in discussion platforms.

    On the first day of the forum, a scientific and practical seminar “Formation of the inventive culture of students: from idea to implementation” was held at school No. 219 in the Krasnoselsky district of St. Petersburg on the topic of “Personnel for the economy and technological sovereignty”. Senior lecturer of the Higher School of Advanced Digital Technologies, junior research fellow of the 3D-education laboratory of the SPbPU PIS “Digital Engineering” Andrey Shimchenko spoke at the opening and took part in the discussion of key issues in the development of the intellectual and creative potential of schoolchildren.

    On March 27, the forum hosted a presentation of the school design bureau project and the signing of agreements with schools and partners. The project is based on the idea of creating a network of school design bureaus at specially selected educational sites, working together and coordinated by the Advanced Engineering School of SPbPU “Digital Engineering”. The project is being implemented in partnership with the Academy of Digital Technologies and with the support of the Government of St. Petersburg. The corporate style of the network of school design bureaus was developed by the winner of the federal competition “Design of the Young – 2024” in the “Bureau” nomination, student of the Sverdlovsk Art School named after I.D. Shadr Matvey Nechkov.

    The events took place during the strategic session “Creating a Single Space for Modern Digital Education in St. Petersburg”, the program of which included a plenary session, a discussion platform of the session “Development of Engineering Competencies of Students in School Design Bureaus” and a session “Quantum Collaboration: Development through Partnership”. The venue was the IT company “Sber IT-hub”. The organizers of the strategic session were the Advanced Engineering School of SPbPU “Digital Engineering” and the Academy of Digital Technologies.

    Today we will discuss two important issues related to the development of engineering competencies in school design bureaus and children’s technology parks. These topics are very important for the development of a modern educational environment. It is necessary for each educational institution to respond to the demand that the real labor market puts before us. I would like to thank all our partners, including manufacturing companies, universities and schools, for being ready, in the conditions of such positive collaboration, to create and build a truly future that will allow our children to become highly competitive specialists, – Valeria Zotova, Director of the Academy of Digital Technologies, welcomed the participants of the strategic session.

    SPbPU’s advanced engineering school “Digital Engineering” systematically develops career guidance and educational projects for schoolchildren and college students. These projects are based on the use of advanced digital and production technologies for teaching natural science subjects. They also include the development small-sized wheeled autonomous robot (MKAR) and its application in schools and educational centers of St. Petersburg for teaching robotics and related disciplines. In February 2025, on the basis of the project partner, the Academy of Digital Technologies, the School programming competitions MKAR, and 15 St. Petersburg schools received models of the robot.

    The development of these educational initiatives in cooperation between schools, colleges, universities, educational centers and industrial partners is supported by the government of St. Petersburg. For example, in September 2024, Governor Alexander Beglov highly praised the concept youth design bureaus, presented by the SPbPU PISh “Digital Engineering” at the opening of the first educational site at the College of Industrial Automation.

    School design bureaus are club-type platforms where children, under the guidance of experienced instructors, can learn engineering and solve real technical problems from industrial partners. The goal of the project is not only to give schoolchildren the opportunity to try themselves as engineers, but also to organize effective career guidance for students in grades 7–10. Participants in school design bureaus will be able to visit high-tech enterprises, listen to lectures by leading industry experts, and undergo internships at partners’ production sites.

    Industrial partners of the school design bureaus developed practice-oriented tasks for them and provided them with licensed software. The main partners of the project include: AEM-Technologies (part of the mechanical engineering division of the Rosatom State Corporation), Gazprom Neft, the Physical Rehabilitation organization, Ascon-Design Systems, and the Kronstadt Engineering Center. As the project develops, the number of partners will increase.

    The school design bureau project became one of the key topics of the plenary session of the strategic session “Creating a single space for modern digital education in St. Petersburg”.

    St. Petersburg has always been a leader in the field of education, and today’s forum is another step forward in providing high-quality and modern education for our children. Exchange of experience and discussion of current issues will help to determine the main areas of development and achieve the set goals, – Svetlana Bobrovskaya, Deputy Head of the General Education Department of the St. Petersburg Education Committee, opened the plenary session.

    Director of the Center for Continuing Professional Education of the SPbPU PISh Sergey Salkutsan spoke about the school design bureaus and answered questions from the audience about the project and tools of system digital engineering.

    “It is important to teach schoolchildren and students to understand the fundamental physical and chemical processes underlying the objects being modeled,” says Sergey Vladimirovich. “Mathematics and physics are critically important for understanding the structure of the world. Only by mastering these two disciplines will future engineers be able to effectively use software for modeling and design. It is also necessary to teach children not only to carry out technical assignments, but also to understand production technologies and the path of the product to the end consumer.”

    Sergei Salkutsan emphasized that school design bureaus are part of a continuous chain that continues in colleges and universities.

    Director of the Academy of Digital Technologies Valeria Zotova also noted the positive impact of the school design bureau project on the development of engineering education in the country: This will open up new opportunities for the development of technical creativity and engineering competencies in our students. Of particular importance is that each of you will have the opportunity to develop your own roadmap for opening school design bureaus in your educational institution. This is not just a theory – this is a real action plan that we will implement together.

    Then the official presentation of the school design bureau project took place and agreements on their opening were signed with 13 educational institutions of St. Petersburg. The signing was preceded by training of teachers of educational institutions, which took place at SPbPU. The teachers received certificates of advanced training during the ceremony.

    School design bureaus will be opened in the following educational institutions of St. Petersburg:

    Academy of Digital Technologies; Academy of Talents; Center for Children’s (Youthful) Technical Creativity “Start” of Nevsky District; Engineering and Technological School No. 777; School No. 707 of Nevsky District; School No. 422 of Kronstadt District; School No. 582 with in-depth study of English and Finnish languages of Primorsky District; Gymnasium No. 49 of Primorsky District; School No. 518 of Vyborg District; School No. 617 of Primorsky District; School No. 219 of Krasnoselsky District; School No. 500 of Pushkinsky District; School No. 258 with in-depth study of physics and chemistry of Kolpino District.

    Cooperation agreements were signed by the project partners: Ascon-Design Systems, Physical Rehabilitation, and AEM-Technologies.

    After signing, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of ASCON, Alexander Golikov, noted: The main motivation that guides us as a developer is that we want to live in a country that creates, not a consumer. In a country with a powerful industry, with its own aircraft, electronics, software. To achieve this, it is necessary to develop a culture of invention and engineering creativity at all stages of education, since all advanced developments are created by qualified specialists. School design bureaus are a point of attraction for future engineers, and we, ASCON, provide the necessary software tools for the implementation of engineering ideas.

    To implement the project, school design bureaus “Ascon-Design Systems” transferred licenses for full access to the software to schools.

    Training in school design bureaus will be launched in cycles, but the first launch is different from the others. Basic training began on March 27. Work on the first project, “Development of a housing for an electronic rehabilitation device for children,” commissioned by the Physical Rehabilitation organization, will begin on April 21. In May, the finished assembly will be submitted for testing and production, a championship of the school design bureau network will be held, and the first project will end with a presentation of the manufactured products and their transfer to the customer. Schoolchildren who successfully complete the training will receive certificates from Ascon-Design Systems confirming their skills. In the future, these certificates will be taken into account when entering Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. The second task for schoolchildren by the fall of 2025 will be set by the partner of AEM-Technology.

    The development of school design bureaus was also one of the topics of the plenary part of the conference “Ecosystem of a specialized school: change management for technological sovereignty”, which was held at the project participant – school No. 258 with in-depth study of physics and chemistry in the Kolpino district of St. Petersburg. Engineer of the Advanced Engineering School of SPbPU “Digital Engineering” Tamara Korobova spoke about the launch of school design bureaus, highlighted the goals and objectives of the project, answered questions from teachers and took part in the discussion of current issues of specialized education for schoolchildren and the development of models of network interaction between educational organizations and industry partners.

    At the strategic session, students were able to immerse themselves in the tasks of future school design bureaus and try their hand at 3D modeling and printing.

    The leading engineering school of SPbPU “Digital Engineering” is developing three areas of development of design bureaus. Over the next year, we plan to methodically organize the activities of school bureaus, set up work with industrial partners and receive feedback from participants. Then, on the basis of the Polytechnic University, together with the Talent Academy, a bureau will be created that will be available to students of schools where there is no design bureau yet. The third area includes youth design bureaus based on secondary vocational education institutions, developed together with the College of Industrial Automation. Their activities are focused on in-depth study of the technological level of development and production of products. As part of their work, novice engineers should enter small-scale production, – summed up Sergey Salkutsan.

    The II All-Russian Digital Forum “From Lesson to Profession” was held as part of the XV St. Petersburg International Educational Forum. The second day of the event took place at the Polytechnic University. The co-organizers were the SPbPU PISh and School No. 619 of the Kalininsky District. More than 160 technical education specialists and heads of digital education centers from 33 regions of Russia took part.

    We have established a strong tradition of meeting, exchanging experience and practices. Within the framework of this forum, you will see the best of what St. Petersburg and other regions have to offer. And I am sure that you will remember the welcoming atmosphere of the Polytechnic University, and you will actively share the knowledge you have gained with your colleagues, – Pavel Rozov, Deputy Chairman of the St. Petersburg Education Committee, opened the event in a video address.

    Then the plenary session “National Policy in the Sphere of Digital Education” began. Natalia Gubkova, chief specialist of the Department of Information Technology and Digitalization of the Committee on Education of St. Petersburg, spoke about the influence of national projects on the work of digital education centers and the guidelines for the development of education until 2036.

    Experience of interaction with leaders of Russian industry for development of engineering education within the framework of the SPbPU PISh “Digital Engineering” program was presented by Mikhail Zhmailo, senior lecturer of the Higher School of Advanced Digital Technologies of the SPbPU PISh. He spoke about the practice-oriented model of polytechnic education, emphasized the need to develop modern educational tools and the importance of introducing advanced digital technologies in the education of young people at different levels. Mikhail Aleksandrovich noted the high interest of schools in participation in the project of development of school design bureaus and application in educational activities of a small-sized wheeled autonomous robot developed by engineers of the laboratory “Industrial Systems of Streaming Data Processing” (PSPOD) of the SPbPU PISh.

    Director of the Center for Advanced Professional Training Natalia Suddenkova gave a report on the implementation of the concept of continuous digital education in the context of developing cooperation between educational organizations and industrial partners, and also presented the project “My First Profession”.

    Director of the Academy of Digital Technologies Valeria Zotova highlighted the Academy’s projects and its role in the development of digital education and support of educational institutions, advanced training programs for teachers and managers.

    After the plenary session, the participants of the II All-Russian Digital Forum “From Lesson to Profession” visited the laboratories and scientific and technological spaces of SPbPU. Thus, in the laboratory “Industrial Systems of Streaming Data Processing” of the SPbPU PISh, teachers got acquainted with a model of a small-sized wheeled autonomous robot and learned more about its programming and the competencies of students that can be developed with its help.

    Senior Lecturer of the Higher School of Advanced Digital Technologies PISH SPbPU, Research Fellow of the Laboratory of Advanced Digital Technologies PISH SPbPU Georgy Vasilyanov presented guests a new version of the robot – MKAR 3.0, which was shown publicly for the first time. During the presentation, participants saw autonomous movement MKAR 2.0— version, already delivered to 15 schools in St. Petersburg, as well as the debut of MKAR 3.0 with improved sensors, modular design and support for ROS2 — the industry standard for robot control.

    Using the example of work Experimental Design Bureau of PISh SPbPU, opened within the framework VI International Forum “Advanced Digital and Manufacturing Technologies” In October 2024, participants became familiar with the implemented practices and approaches to designing high-tech products, which are planned to be replicated in the school design bureau project.

    The teachers also visited the Polytechnic Supercomputer Center and the Gazpromneft-Polytech Scientific and Educational Center on an excursion.

    And then the program of the II All-Russian Digital Forum “From Lesson to Profession” continued with a strategic session “Creating a Single Space for Modern Digital Education in St. Petersburg”, which was held by the Deputy Director for Educational and Methodological Work of the Academy of Digital Technologies Evgeniya Lineva.

    The session participants discussed the partnership, outlined development paths and prospects for further work.

    Read more about the events Here.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: AFRICA/MALAWI – Catholic University: Law Faculty students to provide free legal aid

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Catholic University of Malawi

    Lilongwe (Agenzia Fides) – “This year, the Church is celebrating a Jubilee Year with the theme: Pilgrims of Hope. As a falculty, can we not go to our prisons and help liberate those who do not belong there?” asked Father Wilfred Sumani, Acting Vice-Chancellor of the Catholic University of Malawi, in a speech to law faculty students preparing for the “Moot Court” competition (in which teams of law students compete in a mock criminal trial). Father Sumani urged the students to participate in the free defense of prisoners who cannot afford legal representation.Lawyer Noel Chalamanda, the facilitator of the training, expressed his commitment to join the challenge of helping prisoners on pro bono: “I will take on ten cases in this challenge and only require assistance from the students with the paperwork”.In Malawi, there are several cases of arrests based on inadequate investigations, often targeting poor individuals. This contributes to overcrowding in police cells and prisons. Despite legal reforms and the constitutional right of the poor to legal representation, this is rarely guaranteed in practice in Malawi. In addition to legal fees, those involved in a legal dispute also face other logistical costs. A large portion of the population still lives in rural areas. The inaccessibility and lack of functioning and effective legal institutions in rural areas is one of the main reasons why the poor have difficulty accessing the courts. For villagers, the nearest district court can be 25-40 kilometers away. Most villagers cannot afford a personal vehicle, and public transportation is non-existent in rural areas. The only means of transportation available to villagers are walking, cycling, or hitchhiking to court. Furthermore, they must arrive at the courthouse several days before the start of the trial, incurring costs for food and accommodation. The government provides insufficient funding for legal assistance to poor citizens, making it virtually impossible for most defendants. Furthermore, the Malawi Bar Association does not appear to particularly support the practice of pro bono defense. The initiative proposed by the Catholic University of Malawi for the Jubilee Year is therefore intended as a signal to try to change this situation. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 3/4/2025)
    Share:

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI: Ingersoll Rand Appoints Michelle Swanenburg to Board of Directors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DAVIDSON, N.C., April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE: IR), a global provider of mission-critical flow creation and life sciences and industrial solutions, today announced the appointment of Michelle Swanenburg to its Board of Directors, effective immediately.

    Swanenburg currently serves as the head of Human Resources (HR) at T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW), a premier global asset management organization with $1.63 trillion in assets under management as of February 28, 2025. She brings over twenty years of experience as a strategic and accomplished HR leader, with a proven track record of leading growth and innovation by continually improving strategies focused on people and culture. Her commitment to advancing company culture and fostering engaged teams will support Ingersoll Rand’s Deploy Talent strategic imperative.

    Swanenburg is a member of T. Rowe Price’s Management Committee, the Strategic Operating Committee, the Enterprise Risk Management Committee, the Management Compensation and Development Committee, and the Corporate Strategy Committee. Prior to her current role, she was the head of HR at Oaktree Capital Management. She currently serves as a board member for The Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore Inc. and is a member of the President’s Advisory Council at Stevenson University.

    “I am excited to welcome Michelle to our Board,” said Vicente Reynal, chairman and chief executive officer of Ingersoll Rand. “She brings significant human capital management, corporate governance, and shareholder engagement expertise to the organization. Our people are our number one asset, and Michelle’s insights will be invaluable as we continue to grow and enhance workforce experiences on a global scale.”

    About Ingersoll Rand Inc.
    Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE: IR), driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and ownership mindset, is dedicated to Making Life Better for our employees, customers, shareholders, and planet. Customers lean on us for exceptional performance and durability in mission-critical flow creation and life sciences and industrial solutions. Supported by over 80+ respected brands, our products and services excel in the most complex and harsh conditions. Our employees develop customers for life through their daily commitment to expertise, productivity, and efficiency. For more information, visit www.IRCO.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements
    This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to expectations of Ingersoll Rand Inc. (the “Company” or “Ingersoll Rand”) regarding the performance of its business, its financial results, its liquidity and capital resources and other non-historical statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “target,” “endeavor,” “seek,” “predict,” “intend,” “strategy,” “plan,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “on track to” “will continue,” “will likely result,” “guidance” or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than historical facts are forward-looking statements.

    These forward-looking statements are based on Ingersoll Rand’s current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from these current expectations. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. The inclusion of such statements should not be regarded as a representation that such plans, estimates or expectations will be achieved. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such plans, estimates or expectations include, among others, (1) adverse impact on our operations and financial performance due to geopolitical tensions, natural disaster, catastrophe, global pandemics, cyber events, or other events outside of our control; (2) unexpected costs, charges or expenses resulting from completed and proposed business combinations; (3) uncertainty of the expected financial performance of the Company; (4) failure to realize the anticipated benefits of completed and proposed business combinations; (5) the ability of the Company to implement its business strategy; (6) difficulties and delays in achieving revenue and cost synergies; (7) inability of the Company to retain and hire key personnel; (8) evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes; (9) changes in general economic and/or industry specific conditions; (10) actions by third parties, including government agencies; and (11) other risk factors detailed in Ingersoll Rand’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), as such factors may be updated from time to time in its periodic filings with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. The foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive.

    Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Ingersoll Rand undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or developments, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements.

    Contacts:
    Investor Relations:                                                 
    Matthew.Fort@irco.com         

    Media:                                 
    Sara.Hassell@irco.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/af4b4ec6-1c46-4b8c-a85b-97228ff35243

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Lessons from El Salvador for US university leaders facing attacks from Trump

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Annmarie Caño, Professor of Psychology, Gonzaga University

    Salvadorans participate in a procession on Nov. 14, 2015, to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the murder of the Rev. Ignacio Ellacuría, five other Jesuit priests and two employees at Central American University in San Salvador. Marvin Recinos/AFP via Getty Images

    Even before President Donald Trump took office, university presidents expressed concern about the impact of his agenda on higher education.

    Now they must lead their institutions in the wake of executive orders and directives that appear to undermine their authority and autonomy.

    They include cuts to research grant funding and the prohibition of diversity programs. The Trump administration has also proposed the dismantling of the Department of Education.

    These mandates contradict most university missions, which often include references to advancing knowledge in service of democracy. But few university leaders are taking public actions to oppose these directives.

    As a psychology professor and a former dean focused on equitable educational access, I believe U.S. higher education leaders in Trump’s crosshairs would do well to reflect on the courage of university leaders in El Salvador who, during the 1980s, opposed injustice despite facing grave personal risks for doing so.

    The Central American context

    El Salvador in the 1970s and 1980s was at the center of Cold War politics. In the name of preventing the spread of communism, the country’s U.S.-backed oligarchy and military waged a repressive campaign against people who pushed for human rights.

    The ensuing civil war saw about 75,000 Salvadorans killed.

    Before and during the conflict, universities that took the side of the poor and marginalized experienced intense backlash, including the revocation of funding and attacks on the reputation of university leaders.

    These actions feel eerily similar to those being taken against U.S. universities today.

    As I write in my forthcoming book, the heads of the Central American University in El Salvador offer a model of courageous leadership.

    The university president, Ignacio Ellacuría, was a Jesuit priest and a renowned theologian and philosopher. His second in command, Ignacio Martín-Baró, also a Jesuit priest, was a social psychologist. Martín-Baró developed the field of liberation psychology, which argues that oppression in society must be addressed to enable mental health and well-being.

    These leaders advanced ideas to create a more just society.

    They didn’t serve the elite by reproducing a wealthy and educated upper class that would support the status quo. Instead, Ellacuría called for universities to center the needs of poor community members in their teaching and social outreach.

    These university leaders and their faculty immersed themselves in impoverished communities to understand their plight and work toward a common, empowered future.

    Their leadership was remarkable. They persisted in their work despite being wrongfully labeled as Marxists and communists. They were threatened with deportation and targeted with death threats and bombing attacks on campus.

    Because of their efforts to promote justice, Ellacuría, Martín-Baró and six other people were assassinated on campus in 1989 by U.S.-trained military forces.

    A mural pays homage to six Jesuit priests and two university employees murdered during El Salvador’s civil war.
    Marvin Recinos/AFP via Getty Images

    Elements of liberatory leadership

    The Central American University leaders understood the power of their authority as scholars. But they didn’t use it to dominate others. They exercised their authority in service of the poor.

    Martín-Baró created the Institute for Public Opinion to collect and disseminate survey data about citizens’ experiences. In a 1988 survey, respondents in the countryside reported high unemployment and the widespread sentiment that their condition had worsened over the past decade.

    He also published research on the psychological impacts of political violence and war in El Salvador, including post-traumatic stress in children and families.

    The university leaders and faculty did not distance themselves from the people.

    Instead, they listened to their struggles and supported community groups such as the ecclesial base communities that organized to resist oppression.

    A fundamental reason for the university’s involvement in the country’s struggles was its belief in the “preferential option for the poor.”

    The theological concept upholds God’s love for all of humanity, which requires that God take sides. According to the theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez, a contributor to the development of Latin American liberation theology, God does not remain neutral when people are oppressed, so neither should human leaders.

    US higher education

    These elements of liberatory leadership, I argue, can provide lessons for U.S. higher education leaders, even at U.S. secular institutions.

    Rather than refrain from communicating with faculty and students, university leaders might acknowledge the fear and pain people are feeling in response to anti-immigration and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.

    University leaders might hold listening sessions to learn how executive orders are impacting faculty and students. In my experience as an executive coach, such listening sessions are uncommon due to fear of reprisal from politicians and other powerful stakeholders.

    Rather than not discussing the impact of federal orders, they might conduct surveys to publicize the scope of the effects. Leaders could make public statements, rooting their arguments in the values espoused by their university mission statements.

    That would run counter to declaring institutional neutrality, which more than 140 higher educational institutions have adopted.

    Yet, some leaders – Patricia McGuire of Trinity Washington University and groups such as the American Council on Education, for example – are “taking sides.” They are affirming the value of diversity and inclusion in a mission-aligned manner that is akin to voicing a preferential option for the poor.

    To be sure, there are risks to this kind of leadership.

    U.S. academic leaders may not face the same outcome as their counterparts in 1980s Central America, but they do risk their reputations and livelihoods for speaking out.

    They may be called names or added to online watch lists. Their institutions may be threatened with investigations and the cancellation of critical funds. They may be fired.

    The Central American University leaders faced the same risks, yet they empowered people to continue to resist unjust actions. Among the ecclesial base communities, they remain an important example of leadership during troubled times.

    Fear did not guide their actions. Freedom and truth did – values that are foundational to democracy.

    Annmarie Caño is the founder and owner of Annmarie Caño Coaching & Consulting, LLC. In the past, she has received funding from the National Institutes of Health. She is a member of the American Psychological Association.

    – ref. Lessons from El Salvador for US university leaders facing attacks from Trump – https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-el-salvador-for-us-university-leaders-facing-attacks-from-trump-249251

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Vitamin D builds your bones and keeps your gut sealed, among many other essential functions − but many children are deficient

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jacqueline Hernandez, Assistant Professor of Dietetics and Nutrition, Florida International University

    Most people in the U.S. get their vitamin D from Sun exposure. Stockbyte/DigitalVision via Getty Images

    You’ve likely heard about vitamin D’s important role in maintaining strong bones and teeth. But it also plays several other important roles to keep your body healthy – including the function of your gut.

    As part of our research on how a dietary fiber supplement affects bone mass in children and adolescents, the MetA-Bone Trial, we are also studying gut health.

    For this study, we recruited 213 children and adolescents from South Florida, primarily Hispanics, though some were Black. Before having them start taking the fiber supplement, we measured their vitamin D levels to ensure they had adequate amounts. Surprisingly, we found that 68% of these children had suboptimal vitamin D levels.

    Considering South Florida is an area with plenty of sunshine year-round, this was both startling and concerning. While vitamin D can be obtained from foods, most people in the U.S. get this vitamin primarily from skin exposure to sunlight. For youth approaching or experiencing puberty – a period of profound physiological changes, including rapid changes in bone mass – vitamin D deficiency could lead to several health issues.

    Vitamin D deficiency can have significant health consequences.
    Hrant Khachatryan/Unsplash, CC BY-SA

    Connection between vitamin D and health

    Vitamin D is involved in so many bodily functions because there are vitamin D receptors in different organs. These receptors act like docking stations for vitamin D to bind to and trigger different effects in the skin, intestine, bone, parathyroid gland, immune system and pancreas, among others.

    Vitamin D regulates calcium levels in the body, which is key for not only building and maintaining bone mass but also the basic functioning of the nervous system.

    Vitamin D also stimulates cell differentiation, a process in which cells become specialized to carry out specific functions. It is also essential to insulin secretion to control blood sugar levels, blood pressure regulation, muscle repair and regeneration, immune function and nutrient absorption, among many other functions.

    Vitamin D and gut health

    The vitamin D receptors in your gut improve calcium absorption and strengthen your intestinal barrier.

    The intestinal barrier is a layered wall that allows your gut to absorb nutrients and keep out harmful bacteria. This wall is composed of intestinal cells and proteins called tight junctions that act like bricks sealing these cells together. Tight junctions play an important role in maintaining the structure of your intestinal barrier.

    Tight junctions keep the cells of your intestine together, forming a selective barrier.
    VectorMine/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    Vitamin D receptors help your gut produce tight junctions to maintain your intestinal barrier. Research suggests that vitamin D deficiency reduces production of the receptors the nutrient binds to, subsequently reducing the seal of the intestinal wall. This weakening of the gut barrier may allow substances from the intestine to pass into the blood, causing inflammation. Disruption of the intestinal barrier is linked to many diseases, including liver disease, Type 1 diabetes, obesity and gastrointestinal conditions such as celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer.

    After discovering that so many of the participants in our MetA-Bone Trial had suboptimal vitamin D levels, we became interested in understanding how this nutrient might be affecting their gut health. For this, we also measured the strength of their intestinal barrier and associated this to their vitamin D levels in blood.

    We found that children with suboptimal vitamin D levels had a higher risk of damaging their intestinal barrier compared with children with optimal vitamin D levels. This finding suggests that even in healthy children, suboptimal levels of vitamin D may compromise the gut and potentially increase the risk of developing chronic diseases at an early age.

    Getting enough vitamin D

    Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in the U.S. and around the world. Roughly 15.4% of children and adolescents in the U.S. were vitamin D deficient in 2017. While vitamin D deficiency has slightly decreased over time in the general U.S. population, it remains high among teens, especially children with darker skin.

    How can you ensure you are getting enough of this important nutrient?

    Only a few foods naturally contain vitamin D. For example, vitamin D is naturally found in fatty fish – such as trout, salmon, cod and tuna – egg yolks and mushrooms. Vitamin D can also be found in many fortified foods, such as dairy products like milk and cheese, plant-based milks, breakfast cereals, some orange juice brands and infant formulas. Dietary supplements are also good sources of vitamin D.

    Some foods are good sources of vitamin D.
    happy_lark/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    For most people in the U.S., Sun exposure is their main source of vitamin D. However, how much Sun exposure you need depends on several factors, such as the melanin content of your skin. Melanin is a pigment that protects your skin from ultraviolet radiation. People with more melanin – and therefore darker skin – produce less vitamin D from Sun exposure than those with less melanin and may thus require longer Sun exposure to meet minimum requirements.

    Since excessive ultraviolet radiation is associated with skin cancer, clinicians typically recommend you meet your vitamin D requirements through foods and beverages. For healthy children and adults, the recommended dietary allowance of vitamin D is 600 IU, with an age-based upper limit of no more than 1,000 to 4,000 IU. You can usually meet this through a healthy diet that includes a variety of whole and unprocessed foods.

    Researchers continue to uncover the extensive benefits of vitamin D in the body, supporting its indispensable role in nutrition and health. For growing children and adolescents, enough vitamin D is important for healthy development.

    Jacqueline Hernandez receives funding from National Institute of Health and National Dairy Council

    Cristina Palacios receives funding from the National Institute of Health, the World Health Organization, and the National Dairy Council

    – ref. Vitamin D builds your bones and keeps your gut sealed, among many other essential functions − but many children are deficient – https://theconversation.com/vitamin-d-builds-your-bones-and-keeps-your-gut-sealed-among-many-other-essential-functions-but-many-children-are-deficient-249562

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Lowering the cost of insurance in Colorado – a new analysis of the Peak Health Alliance

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Mark Meiselbach, Assistant Professor of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University

    Health insurance premiums have continued to rise in the U.S. MoMo Productions/GettyImages

    A community-led partnership in Colorado designed to negotiate health care prices lowered health care premiums in 2020 and 2021, we find in our new paper in the Journal of Risk and Insurance. The nonprofit organization is called the Peak Health Alliance.

    As health care premiums continue to rise nationwide, many employers have formed so-called purchasing alliances in hopes of collectively reducing health care costs for their employees. Despite their popularity, to date there has been limited evidence to show these alliances work to control costs.

    We are health economics professors who have extensively studied policies that affect the design and cost of health insurance. Our work includes an earlier study we published in the American Journal of Managed Care that found large individual employers generally lack the ability to negotiate lower prices for their employees.

    In this most recent study, we evaluated Peak Health Alliance, which initially launched in Summit County, Colorado, in 2020 and then expanded to seven other rural Colorado counties in 2021.

    Our findings provide the first clear evidence that purchasing alliances like Peak can successfully reduce health care costs.

    Why it matters

    Peak Health Alliance was started in response to a Kaiser Health News report that found Summit County, which includes the ski destinations of Breckenridge and Keystone, was one of the most expensive counties in the country for health care. In collaboration with an insurance partner, Peak aimed to negotiate lower prices with hospitals in their networks and offer insurance plans on the individual market.

    One key advantage of Peak was its relatively small and clearly defined geographic area – a single county with a population of roughly 30,000 people. This simplified management and likely increased Peak’s bargaining power, as it allowed Peak to capture a large share of the population using a local insurer. Larger-scale initiatives, in contrast, often face greater administrative complexity as they manage more partners and geographies, potentially lowering their ability to negotiate effectively.

    Peak was also different because it worked with both individuals and employers.

    We used data from the Colorado Division of Insurance on health plans to compare changes in premiums from 2017 to 2021 between counties where Peak expanded to and counties where it did not.

    In 2024, the national average annual premiums for a private insurance health plan is close to $9,000 per year for single coverage. Peak’s savings of 13% to 17% translate to over $1,000 of savings per year per person enrolled in Peak’s plans.

    Premiums also dropped in the seven counties added during Peak’s 2021 expansion. Those counties were Dolores, Grand, Lake, La Plata, Montezuma, Park and San Juan.

    Our research strongly suggests that these premium reductions resulted primarily from lower health care prices. In other words, the costs insurers paid to health care providers for their services went down. When total costs are lowered, premiums for people enrolled in the plan also dropped.

    What still isn’t known

    It remains uncertain whether Peak Health Alliance can maintain its initial success following significant challenges with its insurance partners.

    Peak initially partnered with Bright Health, now NeueHealth, which initially offered individual and Medicare Advantage plans. But Bright Health stopped offering health plans across the U.S. in 2022 due to profitability struggles across its entire business. As a result, Peak was forced to stop offering insurance plans in Colorado for the years 2022 and 2023.

    Peak has since secured a new insurance partner in Denver Health Medical Plan, but it is unclear whether this new partnership will enable Peak to continue reducing health care costs.

    What’s next

    It’s not clear if similar alliances can replicate Peak’s success in different market conditions and geographic regions.

    Additionally, researchers need to examine the long-term effects of purchasing alliances on health care quality and consumer satisfaction, ensuring that cost savings do not compromise patient outcomes.

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

    Mark Meiselbach receives funding from Arnold Ventures. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of Arnold Ventures

    Matthew Eisenberg received funding for this work from Arnold Ventures. Matthew Eisenberg recieved funding outside of this work from the Commonwealth Fund, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute on Nursing Research. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors.

    – ref. Lowering the cost of insurance in Colorado – a new analysis of the Peak Health Alliance – https://theconversation.com/lowering-the-cost-of-insurance-in-colorado-a-new-analysis-of-the-peak-health-alliance-252473

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Susan Monarez, Trump’s nominee for CDC director, faces an unprecedented and tumultuous era at the agency

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jordan Miller, Teaching Professor of Public Health, Arizona State University

    The Trump administration laid off thousands more employees at the CDC on April 1, 2025, as part of its workforce reduction. Anadolu/Getty Images

    The job of director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention carries immense responsibility for shaping health policies, responding to crises and maintaining trust in public health institutions.

    Since the Trump administration took office in January 2025, the position has been held on an interim basis by Susan Monarez, whom Trump has now nominated to take the job permanently after his first nominee, former Florida Congressman David Weldon, was withdrawn, in part over his anti-vaccine views.

    Monarez, in contrast, is a respected scientist who endorses vaccines and has robust research experience. While she is new to the CDC, she is an accomplished public servant, having worked in several other agencies over the course of her career.

    Monarez’s nomination comes at a time when the Department of Health and Human Services is in the midst of mass layoffs, and health professionals – and many in the public – have lost confidence in the federal government’s commitment to supporting evidence-based public health and medicine.

    After having already cut nearly 10% of the CDC’s employees earlier in the year, the White House laid off thousands more HHS employees on April 1, gutting the CDC’s workforce by more than 24% in total.

    As a teaching professor and public health educator, I appreciate the importance of evidence-based public health practice and the CDC director’s role in advancing public health science, disease surveillance and response and a host of other functions that are essential to public health.

    The CDC is essential to promoting and protecting health in the U.S. and abroad, and the next director will shape its course in a challenging era.

    A critical time for public health

    In addition to the massive overhaul of the country’s public health infrastructure, the U.S. also faces a multistate measles outbreak and growing concerns over avian flu. Cuts to both the workforce and federal programs are hobbling measles outbreak response efforts and threatening the country’s ability to mitigate avian flu.

    The Trump administration has also brought in several individuals who have long held anti-science views.

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appointment to head of the Department of Health and Human Services was widely condemned by health experts, given his lack of credentials and history of spreading health misinformation.

    So the stakes are high for the CDC director, who will report directly to Kennedy.

    Two CDC workers – one who has been at the agency for 25 years and the other for 10 – protest mass layoffs on April 1, 2025.
    AP Photo/Ben Gray

    An abrupt pivot

    Prior to his inauguration, Trump had signaled he would nominate Weldon, a physician who has promoted anti-vaccine theories.

    But in March, Trump withdrew Weldon’s nomination less than an hour before his confirmation hearing was set to begin, after several Republicans in Congress relayed that they would not support his appointment.

    Instead, Trump tapped Monarez for the top spot.

    The role of a CDC director

    The CDC relies on its director to provide scientific leadership, shape policy responses and guide the agency’s extensive workforce in addressing emerging health threats.

    Prior to January, the CDC director was appointed directly by the president. The position did not require Senate confirmation, unlike the other HHS director positions. The selection was primarily an executive decision, although it was often influenced by political, public health and scientific considerations. But as of Jan. 20, changes approved in the 2022 omnibus budget require Senate confirmation for incoming CDC directors.

    In the past, the appointed individual was typically a highly respected figure in public health, epidemiology or infectious disease, with experience leading large organizations, shaping policy and responding to public health emergencies. Public health policy experts expect that requiring Senate confirmation will enhance the esteem associated with the position and lend weight to the person who ultimately steps into the role. Yet, some have expressed concern that the position could become increasingly politicized.

    Who is Susan Monarez?

    Monarez holds a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology. She has been serving as acting director of the CDC since being appointed to the interim position by Donald Trump on Jan. 24.

    Prior to stepping into this role, she had been serving as deputy director for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, since January 2023, a newer initiative established in 2022 through a US$1 billion appropriation from Congress to advance biomedical research.

    Monarez has robust research experience, as well as administrative and leadership bona fides within the federal government. In the past, she has explored artificial intelligence and machine learning for population health. Her research has examined the intersection between technology and health and antimicrobial resistance, and she has led initiatives to expand access to behavioral and mental health care, reduce health disparities in maternal health, quell the opioid epidemic and improve biodefense and pandemic preparedness.

    Monarez has not yet laid out her plans, but she will no doubt have a challenging role, balancing the interests of public health with political pressures.

    Reactions to her nomination

    Reactions to Monarez’s nomination among health professionals have been mostly positive. For instance, Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, remarked that he appreciates that she is an active researcher who respects science.

    But some have advocated for her to take a more active role in protecting public health from political attacks.

    In her interim position, Monarez has not resisted Trump’s executive orders, even those that are widely seen by other health professionals as harmful to public health.

    Since taking office, the current Trump administration has issued directives to remove important health-related data from government websites and has discouraged the use of certain terms in federally funded research.

    Monarez has not pushed back on those directives, even though some of her own research includes key terms that would now be flagged in the current system, like “health equity”, and that health leaders expressed concerns in a letter sent to Monarez in January.

    One of the duties of Susan Monarez, the nominee to lead the CDC, is to communicate critical health information to the public.
    NIH/HHS/Public domain

    CDC staff have said that Monarez has not been visible as acting director. As of early April, she has not attended any all-hands meetings since she joined the CDC in January, nor has she held the advisory committee to the director meeting that is typically held every February. One agency higher-up described her as a “nonentity” in her role so far. Monarez has also reportedly been involved in decisions to drastically cut the CDC workforce.

    While some have commented on the fact that she is the first nonphysician to head the agency in decades, that may actually be an advantage. The CDC’s primary functions are in scientific research and applying that research to improve public health. Doctoral scientists receive significantly more training in conducting research than medical doctors, whose training rightly prioritizes clinical practice, with many medical schools providing no training in research at all. Monarez’s qualifications are well-aligned with the requirements of the director role.

    A time of change

    The CDC was founded at a time of great change, in the aftermath of World War II.

    Now, in 2025, the U.S. is again at a time of change, with the advent of powerful technologies that will affect public health in still unforeseeable ways. New and emerging infectious diseases, like measles, COVID-19 and Ebola, are sparking outbreaks that can spread quickly in population-dense cities.

    A shifting health information ecosystem can spread health misinformation and disinformation rapidly. Political ideologies increasingly devalue health and science.

    All these factors pose real threats to health in the U.S. and globally.

    The next CDC director will undoubtedly play a key role in how these changes play out, both at home and abroad.

    This story is part of a series of profiles of Cabinet and high-level administration positions.

    Jordan Miller 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. Susan Monarez, Trump’s nominee for CDC director, faces an unprecedented and tumultuous era at the agency – https://theconversation.com/susan-monarez-trumps-nominee-for-cdc-director-faces-an-unprecedented-and-tumultuous-era-at-the-agency-250356

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: From business exports to veteran care − here’s what some of the 35,000 federal workers in the Philadelphia region do

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Todd Aagaard, Professor of Law, Villanova School of Law

    Federal layoffs have affected employees at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. Ryan Collerd/AFP via Getty Images

    Layoffs of federal employees and cutbacks to federal agencies have direct consequences for the Philadelphia area.

    I am a law professor at Villanova University outside Philadelphia, and my research focuses on the work of the administrative agencies that compose the federal government.

    I believe that understanding the federal government’s presence in the Philly metro area can highlight some of the potential consequences in our region for the rapid changes currently underway.

    Over 65,000 federal employees in PA

    More than 80% of federal civilian employees work outside of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. There are about 66,000 federal employees in Pennsylvania and 35,000 in Philadelphia.

    Over a dozen federal agencies have offices in the Philadelphia region. These include the Internal Revenue Service, Army Corps of Engineers, Agricultural Marketing Service, Food and Drug Administration, Economic Development Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Federal Transit Administration and the Census Bureau.

    Here are some examples of the broad variety of services that federal employees in the Philadelphia region provide to the public.

    Services to businesses

    Several federal agencies in the Philadelphia area provide expertise, advice and resources for businesses.

    For example, the U.S. Commercial Service, part of the Commerce Department, has an office in Philadelphia and assists U.S. businesses with exporting their products for international markets.

    The Small Business Administration, which has a district office in King of Prussia, provides resources and support for small businesses.

    And the Economic Development Administration operates a regional office in Philadelphia that distributes federal funds for construction, workforce training, manufacturing, disaster relief and other purposes.

    Benefits for retirees and veterans

    Other federal agencies administer government benefits programs. The Social Security Administration disburses benefits for retirees and the disabled, providing more than US$13 billion in benefits to almost 8 million people in the Philadelphia region each month.

    About 3,800 Pennsylvanians work for the Social Security Administration in offices located around the state.

    The Department of Veterans Affairs operates the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Medical Center in West Philadelphia. The center provides primary and specialty health care for veterans.

    Statewide in Pennsylvania, about 17,000 federal employees work for the Veterans Health Administration. Another 1,500 work for the Veterans Benefits Administration, which provides veterans with education and training, home loans, life insurance and pensions.

    Census data collection

    The Census Bureau operates an office in Philadelphia to collect and disseminate data in a region that stretches from Tennessee to Pennsylvania.

    The Census Bureau conducts the constitutionally mandated census of the U.S. population every 10 years, as well as an economic census of businesses every five years, and numerous surveys about communities, health, housing, crime, education and more.

    In addition, regional census employees answer questions from local media, work with local organizations to encourage participation in censuses and surveys, and educate the public about census data. This work is of particular importance because census data determines how federal funding is allocated.

    Military logistics

    The Defense Logistics Agency’s Troop Support Command is headquartered in Northeast Philadelphia. Troop Support is responsible for creating and maintaining military supply chains. This includes securing food, clothing, equipment and medical supplies.

    It is also responsible for procuring medals and ribbons for military awards, such as the Medal of Honor.

    About 5,000 federal employees, many of them military veterans, work for the Defense Logistics Agency in Pennsylvania.

    Bridges, dams and seawalls

    The Army Corps of Engineers has operated its district headquarters in Philadelphia since 1866.

    In addition to its role in supporting the military, the Corps of Engineers also constructs and maintains civil works projects. Its first civil works project in the Philadelphia region was the construction of a breakwater near Cape Henlopen, Delaware, in 1829.

    These days, employees of the district inspect and maintain bridges, operate flood control dams, build beachfill and seawall projects along coastlines and maintain 500 miles of navigation channels.

    The vast majority of federal civilian employees don’t work in D.C.
    Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress Domain

    National historical sites

    The National Park Service manages numerous historical sites and parks in the Philadelphia region, including the Independence National Historical Park, Valley Forge National Historical Park, Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, the Flight 93 National Memorial and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

    At these locations, National Park Service personnel educate visitors, maintain facilities, protect park resources and keep the public safe.

    Environmental cleanup

    The Environmental Protection Agency is perhaps best known as an environmental regulator, enforcing limits on air and water pollution and toxic substances. But it also is active in other areas, such as cleaning up contaminated sites in the Philadelphia area through the Superfund program.

    EPA’s National Priorities List includes almost 40 contaminated sites in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. For example, EPA manages the cleanup of the Philadelphia Navy Yard in South Philadelphia, where part of the Navy Yard had historically been used to dispose of waste from ships. EPA’s cleanup has remediated the onsite landfill and prevents contamination from seeping into the Delaware River.

    EPA also supervises the cleanup in Havertown of the site of a former wood treatment operation that contaminated the soil and groundwater with the highly toxic chemical pentachlorophenol, or PCP. Because of the cleanup, part of the contaminated site is now a widely used YMCA that serves the recreational and fitness needs of the community.

    Tax help

    The Internal Revenue Service, another agency known for its enforcement activities, also provides services in the Philadelphia area to support taxpayers. These include, for example, taxpayer assistance centers in Horsham, King of Prussia, Media and Philadelphia.

    The IRS also has a Taxpayer Advocate Service office in Philadelphia. The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent office that advocates for taxpayers who are having difficulties with the IRS.

    Read more of our stories about Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.

    Todd Aagaard is a visiting fellow at Resources for the Future in addition to his faculty position at Villanova University. From 1999 to 2007, he served as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice.

    – ref. From business exports to veteran care − here’s what some of the 35,000 federal workers in the Philadelphia region do – https://theconversation.com/from-business-exports-to-veteran-care-heres-what-some-of-the-35-000-federal-workers-in-the-philadelphia-region-do-251457

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: COVID modelling reveals new insights into ancient social distancing – podcast

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Gemma Ware, Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation

    lindasky76/Shutterstock

    Five years since COVID emerged, not only has the pandemic affected the way we live and work, it’s also influencing the way researchers are thinking about the past.

    In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, archaeologist Alex Bentley explains how the pandemic has sparked new research into how disease may have affected ancient civilisations, and the clues this offers about a change in the way humans designed their villages and cities 8,000 years ago.

    As an anthropologist and archaeologist at the University of Tennessee, Alex Bentley usually spend his time studying neolithic farming villages. But in the early days of the pandemic, he decided to team up with an epidemiologist on a research project to model the feedback loops between social behaviour, such as wearing a mask or not and the spread of disease. He says:

     In doing that project, we learned so much about the spread of disease and its interaction with different behaviours. It was a perfect setup for looking at the same kind of question in the distant past when diseases were evolving for the first time in dense settlements.

    Bentley was particularly interested in whether it could shed light on a conundrum: a curious pattern from the archaeological record that showed that early European farmers lived in large dense villages, then dispersed for centuries, then later formed cities again, which they also abandoned.

    All this was happening in the neolithic period, between around 9000BC and 3000BC, a time when humans shifted from a nomadic hunterer-gatherer lifestyle to settling in small tribes in one place, cultivating the land and domesticating animals.

    Bentley decided to apply the same model of how disease and patterns of behaviour spread during COVID, to map out how a contagious disease could have spread in an mega settlement called Nebelivka in modern-day Ukraine. This settlement was designed in an oval layout and divided into neighbourhoods, or clusters. Bentley and his colleagues suggest this layout, whether the inhabitants knew it or not, could have helped prevent the spread of disease.

    Listen to the full episode of The Conversation Weekly to hear the interview with Alex Bentley.

    This episode of The Conversation Weekly was written and produced by Katie Flood and hosted by Gemma Ware. Sound design was by Eloise Stevens and theme music by Neeta Sarl.

    Newsclips in this episode from ABC News.

    Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here.

    R. Alexander Bentley 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. COVID modelling reveals new insights into ancient social distancing – podcast – https://theconversation.com/covid-modelling-reveals-new-insights-into-ancient-social-distancing-podcast-253649

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Imagining what the world could look like without fossil fuels spurs people to action

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Michael T. Schmitt, Professor, Simon Fraser University

    Human activity has already warmed the planet by more than one degree Celsius, fuelling forest fires, exacerbating floods, super-powering storms and increasing the frequency of deadly heat waves.

    The main human driver of climate change is carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. Transitioning quickly off fossil fuels to other energy sources (solar, wind) is key to limiting global warming. To stay within 1.5 C of warming, we need to stop building new fossil fuel projects from this point forward.

    And yet, new pipelines, oil drilling projects and fracked gas wells are still being built. At a time when fossil fuel production should be decreasing, fossil fuel production is projected to expand — globally and in Canada.

    The total planned fossil fuel production for 2030 is double the level consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 C. In Canada, public support for expanding fossil fuel infrastructure seems to be increasing, possibly as a result of Trump’s tariff threats.

    What will it take to turn this pattern around? What might increase public support for a speedy transition away from fossil fuels?

    Increasing opposition

    Recently, in the Sustainability, Identity and Social Change Lab at Simon Fraser University, we successfully increased people’s opposition to new fossil fuel projects by simply asking them to imagine a sustainable world. We recruited American participants online, who were paid a small amount to complete a survey.

    Half were chosen at random to spend two to three minutes imagining and writing about a world in which humans have a sustainable relationship with the rest of the natural world. The other half were asked to write about their morning routine. We then asked participants whether they supported or opposed the development of two major and controversial fossil fuel infrastructure projects.

    The Willow Project is a proposed oil drilling project in Alaska that was approved by former U.S. president Joe Biden’s administration in 2023, shortly after we collected our data. The Mountain Valley Pipeline carries methane gas for 300 miles through West Virginia and Virginia. At the time of our study, it was still under construction and facing legal challenges, but went into operation last year.

    The participants who were asked to imagine a sustainable world expressed more opposition to the two fossil fuel projects than did participants who were not asked to imagine a sustainable world.

    For example, among participants who did not imagine a sustainable world, 44 per cent disagreed or strongly disagreed that the Willow Project should be completed. That opposition increased to 53 per cent for participants who imagined a sustainable world. Participants who imagined a sustainable world were also more likely to support the U.S. signing a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty — a campaign to get governments around the world to commit to ending the development of new fossil fuel projects.

    Imagining alternatives

    When we looked at what participants wrote when describing a sustainable world, they frequently mentioned a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. Participants generally described a sustainable world in positive terms, including a cleaner and healthier environment free from pollution, with more intact natural habitats and green spaces, and more harmonious and equitable relationships between humans.

    When focused on this alternative world, our participants brought their attitudes and intentions more in line with the desirable world they imagined and became more opposed to new fossil fuel projects.

    These findings are consistent with the idea that the more people can imagine alternative social arrangements, the more likely they are to support and work for social transformation. Bringing this idea into the environmental domain, we developed a measure of how well people can imagine a sustainable relationship between humans and the rest of nature.

    We found that people who agreed with statements like “I can easily imagine a world in which we supply all of our energy needs without harming the natural world” and “It is easy to imagine a world where we no longer use fossil fuels” were more likely to express a willingness to engage in behaviours that support climate change mitigation, like participating in an environmental protest or getting involved with an environmental group.

    In another study with Canadians, participants who could imagine a sustainable future were more likely to write and sign a letter to the Canadian environment minister asking for more action on climate change.

    Clear pictures

    Similar results have been found in research on utopian thinking: when people thought about a green utopia, they reported greater willingness to engage in pro-environmental actions, such as signing pro-environmental petitions and giving money to environmental groups.

    Other researchers found that asking U.S. participants to imagine “a positive future in which climate change has been significantly addressed” led to higher intentions to engage in climate action. In a study of French participants, reading a positive vision of a “decarbonated” world increased participants’ intentions to engage in pro-environmental behaviour.

    The implication for those who want to promote pro-environmental social change — including putting an end to new fossil fuel projects — is to provide people with clear and detailed descriptions of how a sustainable world would function and what it would be like to live in that world.

    With a clear picture of what a sustainable world would be like, and knowing what to work toward, people will be more likely to work for change.

    Michael T. Schmitt receives funding from the Social Sciences and Human Research Council.

    Annika E. Lutz receives funding from the Social Sciences and Human Research Council.

    – ref. Imagining what the world could look like without fossil fuels spurs people to action – https://theconversation.com/imagining-what-the-world-could-look-like-without-fossil-fuels-spurs-people-to-action-252111

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why tattoos are such an unreliable marker of gang membership

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Beth C. Caldwell, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School

    Tattoos of crowns and roses are popular among everyone – not just members of Tren de Aragua, as law enforcement has claimed. Marc Atkins/Getty Images

    The United States deported 238 Venezuelan men on three flights to El Salvador on March 15, 2025, claiming that they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang that originated in Venezuela.

    Immigration officials have said that tattoos were not the sole criteria used when deciding whom to deport; however, a government document showed that officials relied on tattoos and clothing to determine gang membership.

    A lawyer for Jerce Reyes Barrios, a professional soccer player who is among the Venezuelans deported to El Salvador, says the government detained and deported her client because he has a tattoo of a soccer ball with a crown on top, which resembles the logo of his favorite soccer team, Real Madrid. The tattoo and a photograph of Barrios making a hand sign that means “I love you” in sign language are the only two pieces of evidence the government has presented of his gang ties, according to the lawyer.

    Meanwhile, deported Venezuelan makeup artist Andry José Hernández Romero has a tattoo of a crown on each wrist, one with “Dad” and one with “Mom” written next to each crown. Immigration authorities indicated in his file that these tattoos were “determining factors to conclude reasonable suspicion” of his membership in the Tren de Aragua gang. Some government sources list crowns as a tattoo common for Tren de Aragua members, but other government sources cast doubt on that claim.

    The tattoos on the wrists of Andry José Hernández Romero, who says he was wrongly identified as a gang member by the Trump administration.
    David Alandete/X

    Whether or not the Trump administration used tattoos as a sole criteria for deportation, I’ve found in my own research that simply using tattoos as any sort of criteria can lead law enforcement astray.

    In 2023, I analyzed the reliability of tattoos as markers of gang membership in the Washington Law Review.

    The bottom line: While many people in gangs have tattoos that demonstrate their membership, many people who have absolutely no gang ties also get similar tattoos.

    Relying on them to determine gang membership has led to systematically misidentifying people as gang members – particularly as tattoos have become more popular.

    There are some types of tattoos that can be especially misleading.

    Geographic origins

    In 2017, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Daniel Ramirez Medina, who was lawfully in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. The government attempted to strip his status and deport him, claiming he was a gang member due to a tattoo that read “La Paz BCS.” La Paz is the capital of the Mexican state Baja California Sur, which is abbreviated “BCS.” The only evidence of gang membership that ICE agents presented in immigration court was this tattoo.

    But they overlooked the fact that tattoos depicting the names or area codes of hometowns or countries of origin are a common way for people to honor where they came from.

    This is particularly the case for people who migrate or move away from their homelands. For example, tattoos of “503” and “504” – the country codes used to dial El Salvador and Honduras, respectively – have been relied upon to allege gang membership, even as many people who have these tattoos deny any gang ties and have no criminal records. Law enforcement has also relied on tattoos of the words “Mexican,” “Chicano” or “Brown Pride” as evidence of gang membership.

    Some gangs, such as the Mexican Mafia, include a reference to nationality in the name of the gang. And in the U.S., street gangs are often based in specific neighborhoods, with many gangs incorporating the city or street where they’re based into gang names and associated tattoos. For this reason, tattoos celebrating a city or country can only lead to confusion.

    Tattoos of Mayan or Aztec images have also been used to designate people as gang members, even though these tattoos are clear expressions of cultural identity and do not necessarily have any nexus to gang membership. While some gangs do use specific Aztec symbols to identify members, it’s virtually impossible to distinguish a tattoo of cultural or geographic significance from a tattoo indicating gang association.

    In the case of Medina, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez, a George W. Bush appointee, ordered that his DACA status remain in place and that he be protected from deportation because ICE’s “conclusory findings” that he was a gang member were “contradicted by experts and other evidence.” Furthermore, an immigration judge who reviewed all the evidence had already concluded that he was not in a gang.

    Martinez was clearly disturbed by ICE’s claims, writing, “Most troubling to the Court is the continued assertion that Mr. Ramirez is gang-affiliated, despite providing no evidence specific to Mr. Ramirez to the Immigration Court in connection with his administrative proceedings, and offering no evidence to this Court to support its assertions four months later.”

    Religious imagery and pop culture

    Tattoos of popular Catholic religious images, such as the Virgin of Guadalupe, praying hands and rosaries, have also been used to label people as gang members, a move that would seem to be clearly overbroad.

    While some gang members may be Catholic, no one would even try to allege that all Catholics are gang members. At least one of the deported Venezuelan men had a tattoo of a rosary, along with tattoos of a clock and the names of his mother and niece with crowns atop the text.

    Tattoos have also become an important way for people to celebrate popular culture. Tattoos of a woman’s lips, for example, have become popular among gang members and non-gang members alike. A number of professional athletes, including soccer phenom Lionel Messi, have tattoos of their partner’s lips. However, this is also a tattoo law enforcement uses to categorize people as gang members.

    According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, tattoos of stars on shoulders, crowns, firearms, grenades, trains, dice, roses, tigers and jaguars are common among members of Tren de Aragua.

    The issue, of course, is that these symbols are also popular among people with no connection to the gang.

    Imprecise methodology

    Understanding the problem really comes down to math. While it may be true that many gang members have tattoos of the images listed above, it is also true that many non-gang members have similar tattoos.

    The Bayesian mathematical approach involves making inferences about probabilities based on available information. The probability that a gang member has a certain tattoo isn’t the same as the probability that an individual who has a certain tattoo is a gang member.

    The U.S. government seems to be wrongfully equating the two.

    Writing about the broader problems of discerning gang membership in 2009, sociologist David Kennedy argued that the law’s inability to devise rules “that clearly distinguish a gang and a football team, or a gang member and his mother” suggests that taking “legal action, based on imprecise language [is] something of a problem.”

    This problem becomes magnified when there’s no due process for the accused – which is exactly what happened to the Venezuelan men whisked off to El Salvador.

    Some tattoos – like these MS-13 ones – denote gang membership more clearly than others.
    Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images

    I collaborated on an amicus brief based on this research that was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in Department of State v. Munoz in 2024.

    – ref. Why tattoos are such an unreliable marker of gang membership – https://theconversation.com/why-tattoos-are-such-an-unreliable-marker-of-gang-membership-253094

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Medicare Advantage is covering more and more Americans − some because they don’t get to choose

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Grace McCormack, Research scientist of Health Policy and Economics, University of Southern California

    Since the mid-2000s, the Medicare system has dramatically transformed. Enrollment in Medicare Advantage – the private alternative to the traditional Medicare program administered by the government – has more than quadrupled. It now accounts for the majority of Medicare enrollment.

    Employers, including state government agencies, are helping drive this growth in Medicare Advantage sign-ups. The increase in people on Medicare Advantage plans burdens taxpayers and means more patients can be denied doctor-ordered care.

    At the same time, it is often difficult for people enrolled in Medicare Advantage to switch to traditional Medicare.

    Medicare insures people 65 or older and some who are younger and disabled. Attracted by lower premiums and co-pays and the promise of extra benefits, many over-65 Medicare beneficiaries are voluntarily choosing Medicare Advantage, often switching away from traditional Medicare when they’re relatively young and healthy.

    At the same time, many private and state employers have shifted their retirement plans so that the health benefit employees have earned counts only toward Medicare Advantage plans that replace traditional Medicare.

    We are health care policy experts who study Medicare, including what’s driving the changes in employer health care subsidies and why health care choices may be difficult for many people.

    Vanishing choices

    As of early 2025, health care subsidies for retired state employees in 13 states don’t include traditional Medicare supplement plans. The subsidies apply only to Medicare Advantage plans.

    In the private sector, just over half of large employers that offer Medicare Advantage have used it to replace traditional Medicare instead of offering their employees a choice.

    When private and state employers drop the option for the Medigap insurance that supplements rather than replaces traditional Medicare, retirees must choose a fully privatized Medicare Advantage plan or pay the full cost of a supplemental Medigap plan on their own. Medigap lowers or removes traditional Medicare’s co-pays and deductibles.

    When a person first enrolls in Medicare, Medigap costs US$30 to $400 a month, depending on coverage and location. But in most states, it can cost more if a person switches into the plan after the first year. There are some protections for people whose employer-sponsored plans change or are canceled. Enrollees should contact their local State Health Insurance Assistance Program advisers to understand their options.

    Altogether, 54% of people using Medicare are now using the private Medicare Advantage program, an increase from 8 million to 33 million between 2007 and 2024.

    Changing times

    After President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law in 1965, older Americans usually received health insurance through the government-administered traditional Medicare health insurance program. The Medigap private insurance for co-pays and deductibles was standardized in 1980.

    Today, a person signing up for Medicare also has, on average, more than 30 Medicare Advantage plan options – privately run alternatives to traditional Medicare and Medigap. The two largest providers, UnitedHealthcare and Humana, administered nearly half of all Medicare Advantage plans in 2024.

    Navigating the current Medicare system can be overwhelming, and the Medicare Advantage option is expensive for taxpayers. As policymakers continue to weigh potential reforms, it’s important to understand why Medicare Advantage has become so popular, who is enrolling in Medicare Advantage, and what aspects of Medicare Advantage plans may be important to them.

    Switching into Medicare Advantage

    The bulk of Medicare Advantage’s rapid growth has come from people switching from traditional Medicare into Medicare Advantage: In 2021 alone, over 7% of Americans covered by traditional Medicare switched to Medicare Advantage, but only 1.2% of those with Medicare Advantage coverage switched to traditional Medicare.

    This growth mirrors the privatization of Medicaid, the federal and state health insurance program for people with low income. About 74% of beneficiaries are now enrolled in private Medicaid plans. With Medicaid, people generally don’t have a choice – they are usually switched to a private plan by their state governments.

    But for Medicare, the privatization trend is not so simple.

    Compared with traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans are, on average, paid more by the taxpayer-funded Medicare system for covering each enrollee. Advantage plans also have more flexibility to limit their medical costs by restricting provider networks and requiring prior authorization.

    The extra benefits of Medicare Advantage

    Some of these extra funds result in higher profits for insurers, but they also partially finance benefits that are not part of regular Medicare.

    These benefits include limits to out-of-pocket costs traditionally offered by the supplemental Medigap plans and dental, hearing and vision coverage that Medicare doesn’t provide.

    In the past decade, lawmakers have introduced several bills to add this coverage, but Congress has not passed any of them.

    Medicare beneficiaries give many reasons for choosing their health plan. The most common reasons are different for people covered by traditional Medicare versus Medicare Advantage. Of people who have traditional Medicare coverage, 40% prefer to have more doctors and hospitals to choose from. A similar percentage of those with Medicare Advantage cite extra benefits or limits on out-of-pocket costs.

    Economic insecurity and advertising

    These financial protections and extra benefits are important for some older adults, given high rates of poverty and economic insecurity among people who are 65 or older. Though these supplemental benefits may not be very accessible, a quarter of surveyed beneficiaries said they were a primary reason for enrolling in Medicare Advantage. An additional fifth cited lower out-of-pocket costs.

    Medicare Advantage plans also typically include a low-cost drug plan that people who opt for traditional Medicare pay for separately as Part D.

    Compared with a traditional Medicare plan that doesn’t include a supplemental Medigap plan to limit premiums and co-pays, Medicare Advantage’s premiums and co-pays contribute to an estimated 18% to 24% lower out-of-pocket spending.

    Brokers, agents and advertisements also play an important role in which plans people choose. In a survey of people who have Medicare coverage, one-third said they used an agent or broker to choose a plan. Of those living below the federal poverty line, 12% said they relied on advertising.

    While these sources can inform beneficiaries about the many options, many policymakers have raised concerns about misleading marketing steering people into plans that don’t serve their needs. Brokers and agents may have more incentive to guide patients to Medicare Advantage because they are paid more for enrolling people in fully privatized plans than in the Medigap and Part D plans that supplement traditional Medicare.

    Retirement benefits shifted to Medicare Advantage

    Changes in retirement benefits are also contributing to the growth in Medicare Advantage.

    A majority of state employee health care retirement benefits include Medicare Advantage plans. And in 13 states, the health care benefit for retired state employees does not include a choice of Medigap: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

    In the private sector, the share of employers offering retirement health care benefits to their employees has declined since the 1990s: Only 21% of large employers offer those benefits today compared with 66% in 1988. But among private employers that still offer retirement health care benefits, those offering Medicare Advantage more than doubled between 2017 and 2024, from 26% to 56%.

    Just over half of large employers that offer Medicare Advantage have used it to replace regular Medicare instead of offering their employees a choice. This means that to remain in traditional Medicare, retirees would have to give up an employer subsidy that covers all or part of the Medicare Advantage premium and pay the full Medigap premium.

    Private employers that still offer subsidized health care insurance as a retirement benefit but offer only Medicare Advantage include IBM and AT&T.

    Employers cite the shift as a necessary response to rising health care costs, though many retirees have protested the trend. Medicare Advantage premiums are generally cheaper than Medigap premiums, saving employers money, in exchange for retirees potentially being denied care more often. New York City employees successfully prevented the switch.

    Stuck in Medicare Advantage

    For many Medicare beneficiaries, switching to Medicare Advantage is a one-way street because most states don’t offer switchers the guaranteed issue and community rating protections for Medigap supplemental coverage plans that people get when initially signing up for Medicare. These protections prevent people from being denied coverage or charged a higher price for preexisting conditions.

    This increased cost in most states of switching back to regular Medicare after age 66½ – especially for people with serious health conditions – may reduce the number of people who do so. But some switch despite the cost.

    Meanwhile, 5% of people who used Medicare Advantage plans in 2024 had to find a new one in 2025 because of a plan being discontinued. There is a silver lining, however: For the first 63 days after their coverage ends, people in failed plans can choose traditional Medicare plus a Medigap supplement with the guaranteed issue protection that in most states applies only during the first year of Medicare eligibility.

    Thirteen states and more than half of employers who offer a retiree health benefit have narrowed their benefit subsidy and only offer Medicare Advantage. This replaces traditional Medicare with a privately administered plan, removing the choice of Medigap, a supplement to traditional Medicare.
    SDI Productions/E+ via Getty images

    Who is enrolling in Medicare Advantage?

    Medicare Advantage growth has been particularly strong among people with low incomes and among racial and ethnic minorities.

    While the share of Americans enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans has grown nationwide, the program’s popularity still varies geographically. Today, the share of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage ranges from 2% in Alaska to 63% in Alabama, Connecticut and Michigan.

    Although an increasing share of people in rural regions have enrolled in Medicare Advantage, they are still less likely to enroll in Medicare Advantage and more likely to return from Medicare Advantage to traditional Medicare than their urban counterparts.

    Switching from traditional Medicare to Medicare Advantage is more common among relatively healthy people who use less health care than expected. This trend, known as “favorable selection,” means the Medicare Advantage companies are enrolling healthier people. The Medicare system pays Medicare Advantage plans based on the expected rather than actual medical costs. This contributes to the overpayment of Medicare Advantage plans.

    These switching patterns suggest that among people who have illnesses such as diabetes, Medicare Advantage is potentially more appealing if they already face barriers to health care access or are in better health. These barriers are particularly common among racial and ethnic minorities in both traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

    What Medicare Advantage enrollment growth means

    We believe that the Medicare Advantage program needs to be reformed. The high payments to Medicare Advantage providers have likely helped fund their explosive growth, exacerbating the financing issues that cost taxpayers US$83 billion a year.

    Medicare Advantage enrollment has grown particularly quickly among vulnerable populations. Many older Medicare beneficiaries are living below or near the poverty line, and a decreasing share of them are receiving subsidized retirement benefits.

    This has led some people to give up access to preferred providers or even treatments to spend less out of pocket on health care by enrolling in Medicare Advantage.

    Others who can afford extra premiums and who want more access pay extra for supplemental Medigap coverage alongside traditional Medicare. A Wall Street Journal investigation found a pattern of some Medicare Advantage patients switching to traditional Medicare when their health care expenses grew.

    In some ways, this resembles the tiered or “topped-up” health care system advocated for by some economists, where people receive a baseline plan, and those who want more coverage and can afford it pay for a more generous “topped-up” plan. Given the size and differing needs of the Medicare population, such a system can potentially be a cost-effective way to ensure health care access and financial protections.

    But it also creates inequalities in access, especially if the baseline plan is much worse than the “topped-up” plan.

    In addition, taxpayers pay more rather than less for someone enrolled in Medicare Advantage – the less expensive baseline plan that provides less health care. They pay less for someone enrolled in traditional Medicare plus additional supplemental insurance plans – the “topped-up” option.

    For Medicare to remain solvent, reforms will likely have to reduce what the federal government spends on Medicare, either by avoiding Medicare Advantage plan overpayments or making structural changes to how the plans are paid.

    We believe it’s important that, throughout any reform, people have access to an affordable plan that ensures access to health care. Projections show that under the current payment system, reductions in payments from the Medicare system to Medicare Advantage providers would likely lead to only modest decreases in plan generosity, though given the vulnerability of many who use Medicare Advantage, this would have to be monitored carefully.

    It’s also important for policymakers to consider improving traditional Medicare, whether that be allowing for an out-of-pocket maximum or covering at least the same degree of dental, vision or other benefits currently offered only under Medicare Advantage.

    This article is part of an occasional series examining the U.S. Medicare system.

    Past articles in the series:

    Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage: Sales pitches are often from biased sources, the choices can be overwhelming, and impartial help is not equally available to all

    Taxpayers spend 22% more per patient to support Medicare Advantage – the private alternative to Medicare that promised to cost less

    Grace McCormack receives funding from the Commonwealth Fund and Arnold Ventures.

    Victoria Shier receives funding from the National Institutes of Health.

    – ref. Medicare Advantage is covering more and more Americans − some because they don’t get to choose – https://theconversation.com/medicare-advantage-is-covering-more-and-more-americans-some-because-they-dont-get-to-choose-251796

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Coventry pupil helps E.ON Next drive to net zero

    Source: City of Coventry

    An Aldermoor Farm Primary School pupil has had their design brought to life as the wrap for E.ON Next’s newest electric vans.

    The vans will transport E.ON Next engineers to homes around Coventry and the surrounding area, installing smart meters and other sustainable energy solutions.

    The initiative is part of E.ON’s pioneering 15-year partnership with Coventry City Council, helping to make the city more sustainable.

    Y6 pupil at Aldermoor Farm Primary School, Fredrica, had her design chosen as part of a series of workshops previously run by E.ON across Coventry, aimed at educating and inspiring pupils about sustainability, renewable energy and the initiatives happening in their city to promote new types of energy, cleaner air and green jobs and skills.

    The eye-catching design, which features a bold message to ‘save energy’ will adorn two E.ON Next vans tasked with transporting E.ON Next engineers as they work to deliver net zero by installing a variety of sustainable energy solutions.

    Fredrica said: “I was really excited to hear that my design had been chosen. I thought of a quick and easy way to get the message across. Lots of adverts have too many words so I wanted to choose something that would have an immediate impact. Saving energy should be everyone’ s life goal. We can all contribute by doing simple things like turning off the lights and not wasting electricity.”

    The vans were proudly presented to Fredrica and her fellow classmates by Phil Gilbert, Director of Net Zero Delivery at E.ON Next and Councillor Jim O’Boyle Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change at Coventry City Council at an unveiling ceremony at Aldermoor Farm Primary School.

    Councillor Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, said: “It’s brilliant that Fredrica’s amazing design will be seen all over the city. It’s bold and clear and that’s exactly the right approach for such an important issue – the drive to net zero. Young people understand this as well as anyone and this competition really caught the imagination of local school pupils making it hard to select a winner. Our Strategic Energy Partnership is all about transforming the city’s approach to carbon reduction and through initiatives like this, the next generation of homeowners, drivers and energy users are learning about it early which is great.”

    Phil Gilbert, Director of Net Zero Delivery at E.ON Next, said: “The only way we’ll deliver our new energy world is if everyone feels energised and enthusiastic about a more sustainable future. And this initiative, as part of our Strategic Energy Partnership with Coventry Council, does exactly that. We’re so proud of the fantastic effort the pupils at Aldermoor Farm have put into this initiative, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the winning design. These electric vans will now join our fleet and support our engineers installing smart meters and other sustainable energy solutions like solar panels, heat pumps and EV chargers across the region.”

    Lucy Wright, Headteacher at Aldermoor Farm Primary School, said: “When I was told that a child at this school won the competition, I felt immense pride. Fredrica has truly embodied our value of ‘aspirational’ and I’m certain her example can inspire all children to have the highest of expectations for themselves. The vans look incredible with Fredrica’s design and seeing her name on the vans was the best of all. To have a student’s name on something so publicly positive is an almost indescribable feeling. Well done, Fredrica!”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to wildfires in Scotland and Dorset

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Scientists comment on wildfires in Scotland and Dorset. 

    Dr Rory Hadden, Rushbrook Senior Lecturer in Fire Investigation, University of Edinburgh, said:

    “Fire danger assessments in Scotland are Very High or Extreme.  This is not very uncommon at this time of year.  In late winter and early spring there is lots of dead vegetation around and living vegetation is dormant.  This vegetation dries out very rapidly during periods of low humidity and sunny weather.  First of all, fine vegetation will dry out which means these fuels become very easy to ignite.  Over time the ground surface also starts to dry which means the fire behaviours start to get more extreme.  At the moment predictions are that fires can be easily ignited in the dry vegetation and will spread quite rapidly especially where there is wind.  This is quite common at this time of year in the UK and we have seen several examples already.

    “Most fires start due to human actions which is why it is important to be considerate when enjoying the nice weather.  Do not light fires and take a picnic rather than a barbeque.  This will minimise the risk of starting a fire.  Even if it looks like a fire is out – smouldering of surface vegetation is hard to detect and may transition to a flaming fire many hours after people have left an area.  Better to not even take the risk.

    “Fires will eventually be extinguished either by direct firefighting or by the fire service and landowners allowing the fire to spread to be contained by barriers in the landscape.  These may be either natural (pockets of wetter ground or where vegetation is sparser) or man-made (roads, fuel breaks).

    “These fires are significant as they draw resources from the Fire and Rescue Services and will have impacts on local ecosystems.  We need to be able to use these to understand how wildland fire risk is changing in the UK and the scientific community will be learning from these events to help plan and prepare in future.”

    Prof Guillermo Rein, Professor of Fire Science, Imperial College London, said:

    “April marks the peak of the UK wildfire season.  After the winter months, vegetation is dry and flammable, and the rising temperatures in early spring promote the spread rate.  These spring wildfires tend to be small in size because they are usually quickly put out by the fire brigade.  Another peak in frequency but with much larger wildfires in the UK typically occurs later in the summer, especially during heatwaves when the vegetation is dry again and conditions are more extreme.

    “There is much the public can do to help.  Growing awareness is key.  Learn about wildfire in your local area and wider region.  Support your local fire brigades and land managers, ask questions to scientists and experts, and share your concerns with the relevant authorities.  A better-informed and engaged public makes a real difference in preventing and managing wildfires.”

    Declared interests

    Prof Guillermo Rein: “I declare that I have no conflict of interest.”

    For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Meals4Moms: UConn, CT Small Business Develop Program to Support Gestational Diabetes Management

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    An interdisciplinary team of UConn and UConn Health researchers have teamed up with a Hartford-based small business, My Local Chefs, to develop a program to help pregnant persons diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (also known as GDM) navigate their diagnosis and make choices to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

    This program, Meals4Moms, provides people diagnosed with GDM free meals aligned with the American Diabetes Association recommendations for GDM management, personalized exercise support, and access to evidence-based information and resources via a website.

    Dr. Andrea Shields, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the UConn School of Medicine at UConn Health, is spearheading the project team. Other members include Molly Waring, associate professor of allied health sciences in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR); Vanessa Sena, CEO of My Local Chefs; Ock Chun, professor of nutritional sciences in CAHNR; Linda Pescatello, professor of kinesiology in CAHNR; and Helen Wu, associate professor of psychiatry in the UConn School of Medicine.

    Gestational diabetes impacts 2 to 10% of U.S. pregnancies, and about 50% of patients with GDM will develop Type 2 diabetes in their lifetime. Having diabetes during pregnancy can impact both the long-term health of both mom and baby. Moms may experience higher rates of blood pressure. The baby may require special care after birth and could be at risk of developing obesity.

    The Meals4Moms program offers a unique opportunity to not only help pregnant individuals with GDM make changes needed to manage their health during pregnancy, but also to prevent diabetes over the long-term and promote maternal and child health. Specifically, the program offers weekly meal delivery and specific recipes to help with managing GDM, educational videos and podcasts, and personalized fitness plans to encourage more physical activity during pregnancy.

    UConn’s Office of the Vice President for Research’s Clinical Research and Innovation Seed Program (CRISP) funded the program. CRISP supports faculty in clinical roles to launch significant research projects.

    “Patients with gestational diabetes face significant challenges in adjusting their diet. Meals4Moms offers a practical solution to help them make necessary changes swiftly and maintain optimal blood glucose control. The funding from OVPR was crucial to bringing together a cross-campus collaboration of clinical, translational, and basic science research experts to put together this important lifestyle intervention,” says Shields.

    The research team recently published results of the first phase of this research in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. In this study, the team interviewed nine pregnant adults with GDM to solicit their feedback about the Meals4Moms program.

    Participants were shown a mock-up of the Meals4Moms website, sample recipes, cooking demonstrations, exercise video, and free online yoga videos that the research team vetted. Participants were then asked about aspects of the Meals4Moms program they liked and opportunities for improvement.

    Overall, participants were enthusiastic about the Meals4Moms program. They were excited about being able to order meals for themselves and their families and felt that meal delivery would reduce the stress knowing what foods are “GDM-approved.”

    Participants also liked the idea of personalized support for exercise and access to recipes and exercise videos vetted by GDM experts. They emphasized the importance of offering meals and recipes in a variety of cuisines and that meet patients’ and families’ dietary patterns and food allergies.

    “It was really helpful to talk to women with GDM and hear from them how the Meals4Mom program would fit into their lives,” says Waring, who conducted the interviews along with graduate and undergraduate students on her research team.

    Study findings informed the project’s second phase, which consisted of a pilot randomized trial to test the feasibility of adding the Meals4Moms program to usual prenatal care for pregnant individuals with GDM.

    My Local Chefs also offers cooking demonstration videos and recipes online that are reviewed by pregnancy and nutrition experts.

    Data from these two studies will inform a clinical trial to test whether the Meals4Moms program along with usual prenatal care is more effective than usual care alone for helping pregnant individuals manage their GDM.

    The project’s goal is to support a healthier diet and lifestyle for study participants and their families. Additionally, the project seeks to evaluate whether the Meals4Moms program fits into the pregnant person’s life and improves diet and exercise over the long-term.

    The Meals4Moms program will also strengthen community engagement and improve Connecticut residents’ health by leveraging local stakeholders such as local chefs and farmers.

    “Collaborating with UConn and UConn Health has strengthened our ability to integrate evidence-based nutrition into patient care. Their research expertise has been invaluable in advancing our medically tailored meal programs,” says Sena, CEO of My Local Chefs. “We aim to expand our reach to support more expectant mothers and improve maternal health outcomes through personalized, medically tailored meals.”

    This approach has the potential to be applied to other communities within and beyond Connecticut.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA Makes Progress on Advanced Drone Safety Management System

    Source: NASA

    From agriculture and law enforcement to entertainment and disaster response, industries are increasingly turning to drones for help, but the growing volume of these aircraft will require trusted safety management systems to maintain safe operations.
    NASA is testing a new software system to create an improved warning system – one that can predict hazards to drones before they occur. The In-Time Aviation Safety Management System (IASMS) will monitor, assess, and mitigate airborne risks in real time. But making sure that it can do all that requires extensive experimentation to see how its elements work together, including simulations and drone flight tests.
    “If everything is going as planned with your flight, you won’t notice your in-time aviation safety management system working,” said Michael Vincent, NASA acting deputy project manager with the System-Wide Safety project at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. “It’s before you encounter an unusual situation, like loss of navigation or communications, that the IASMS provides an alert to the drone operator.”
    The team completed a simulation in the Human-Autonomy Teaming Laboratory at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley on March 5 aimed at finding out how critical elements of the IASMS could be used in operational hurricane relief and recovery.
    During this simulation, 12 drone pilots completed three 30-minute sessions where they managed up to six drones flying beyond visual line of sight to perform supply drops to residents stranded after a severe hurricane. Additional drones flew scripted search and rescue operations and levee inspections in the background. Researchers collected data on pilot performance, mission success, workload, and perceptions of the experiences, as well as the system’s usability.
    This simulation is part of a longer-term strategy by NASA to advance this technology. The lessons learned from this study will help prepare for the project’s hurricane relief and recovery flight tests, planned for 2027.  
    As an example of this work, in the summer of 2024 NASA tested its IASMS during a series of drone flights in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Transportation in Columbus, Ohio, and in a separate effort, with three university-led teams.
    For the Ohio Department of Transportation tests, a drone flew with the NASA-developed IASMS software aboard, which communicated back to computers at NASA Langley. Those transmissions gave NASA researchers input on the system’s performance.

    NASA also conducted studies with The George Washington University (GWU), the University of Notre Dame, and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). These occurred at the U.S. Army’s Fort Devens in Devens, Massachusetts with GWU; near South Bend, Indiana with Notre Dame; and in Richmond, Virginia with VCU. Each test included a variety of types of drones, flight scenarios, and operators.

    Each drone testing series involved a different mission for the drone to perform and different hazards for the system to avoid. Scenarios included, for example, how the drone would fly during a wildfire or how it would deliver a package in a city. A different version of the NASA IASMS was used to fit the scenario depending on the mission, or depending on the flight area.

    When used in conjunction with other systems such as NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management, IASMS may allow for routine drone flights in the U.S. to become a reality. The IASMS adds an additional layer of safety for drones, assuring the reliability and trust if the drone is flying over a town on a routine basis that it remains on course while avoiding hazards along the way.
    “There are multiple entities who contribute to safety assurance when flying a drone,” Vincent said. “There is the person who’s flying the drone, the company who designs and manufactures the drone, the company operating the drone, and the Federal Aviation Administration, who has oversight over the entire National Airspace System. Being able to monitor, assess and mitigate risks in real time would make the risks in these situations much more secure.”
    All of this work is led by NASA’s System-Wide Safety project under the Airspace Operations and Safety program in support of the agency’s Advanced Air Mobility mission, which seeks to deliver data to guide the industry’s development of electric air taxis and drones.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom signs legislation 4.2.25

    Source: US State of California 2

    Apr 2, 2025

    SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that he has signed the following bill:

    • SB 26 by Senator Thomas Umberg (D-Santa Ana) – Civil actions: restitution for or replacement of a new motor vehicle. A signing message can be found here.


    For full text of the bill, visit: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. 

    Press Releases, Recent News

    Recent news

    Apr 2, 2025

    News What you need to know: Soil is starting to be placed over the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Southern California – an important milestone as the world’s largest wildlife crossing comes to fruition. LOS ANGELES – The world’s largest wildlife crossing is…

    Apr 2, 2025

    News What you need to know: Governor Newsom announced the release of the Master Plan for Career Education, a bold statewide strategy to connect Californians — especially those in rural parts of the state — to high-paying, fulfilling careers, with or without a college…

    Apr 2, 2025

    News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring April 2025, as Autism Acceptance Month.  The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATION This month, California joins communities around the world in…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: World’s largest wildlife crossing reaches new milestone as habitat project begins

    Source: US State of California 2

    Apr 2, 2025

    What you need to know: Soil is starting to be placed over the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Southern California – an important milestone as the world’s largest wildlife crossing comes to fruition.

    LOS ANGELES – The world’s largest wildlife crossing is beginning to take shape.

    Caltrans and the National Wildlife Federation celebrated the beginning of a project that will cover nearly an acre of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing with soil – making it easier for wildlife to move through its habitat. 

    Crews placed the first layers of soil over the bridge, which will span ten lanes of the U.S. Highway 101 freeway in the city of Agoura Hills. The total soil placement for the project will require approximately 6,000 cubic yards and will take several weeks to complete.

    California is a state of dreamers and doers – and with the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, we’ve turned our dreaming into doing. As soil gets placed over the bridge, we’re one step closer to reconnecting wildlife with habitat that’s been divided for generations. We’re not only making habitats whole again, we’re making our roads safer.

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    This milestone represents a significant step toward the restoration of an ecological corridor that will support a variety of local wildlife, including mountain lions, deer, bats, bobcats, desert cottontails, monarch butterflies and more. Weather permitting, planting of approximately 5,000 native plants will begin in May.

    “Wildlife crossings are unique because they allow people and nature to thrive together,” said Caltrans Director Tony Tavares. “By building the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, Caltrans is supporting transportation infrastructure that will not only reconnect and restore habitats but also reduce vehicle collisions with wildlife and enhance highway safety.”

    The bridge will feature coastal sage scrub plant species native to the Santa Monica Mountains, contributing to the overall environmental restoration strategy that includes 12 acres of open space and 50,000 native plants.

    How we got here

    On Earth Day 2022, Governor Newsom participated in the groundbreaking for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, a public-private partnership of monumental scope that has leveraged the expertise and leadership of dozens of organizations and institutions to protect and restore wildlife habitats in Southern California.

    Wildlife crossings of all kinds are essential to building a network of interconnected conserved lands and waters that protect and restore biodiversity while also supporting transportation infrastructure.

    Habitat connectivity provided by wildlife crossings is critical to the success of California’s 30×30 targets and allows people and nature to thrive together.

    To learn more about California infrastructure projects, visit build.ca.gov. 

    Press Releases, Recent News

    Recent news

    Apr 2, 2025

    News What you need to know: Governor Newsom announced the release of the Master Plan for Career Education, a bold statewide strategy to connect Californians — especially those in rural parts of the state — to high-paying, fulfilling careers, with or without a college…

    Apr 2, 2025

    News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring April 2025, as Autism Acceptance Month.  The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATION This month, California joins communities around the world in…

    Mar 31, 2025

    News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring March 31, 2025, as César Chávez Day.The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATIONThroughout his life of work and service, César Chávez empowered…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom unveils plan to create high-paying, fulfilling careers for more Californians, college degree or not

    Source: US State of California 2

    Apr 2, 2025

    What you need to know: Governor Newsom announced the release of the Master Plan for Career Education, a bold statewide strategy to connect Californians — especially those in rural parts of the state — to high-paying, fulfilling careers, with or without a college degree.

    MODESTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today unveiled the Master Plan for Career Education to strengthen career pathways, prioritize hands-on learning and real-life skills, and advance educational access and affordability. In a meeting at Modesto Junior College, Governor Newsom received the Master Plan, which provides a framework to respond to the complex challenges facing California’s labor market and education landscape and prepare all learners for the ever-changing workforce.

    The plan, supported by proposed budget investments, will make it easier for Californians to receive college credit for their real-world experience — including veterans. 

    With strategic input from agencies and community members, two central themes emerged to guide the creation of the Master Plan: enhance coordination and address structural barriers that make it difficult for Californians to navigate education, workforce training, and public benefit systems. By designing systems so they are inherently accessible to all learners regardless of their varied needs and circumstances, California can simultaneously expand access for a wide variety of learners and free up resources to provide more customized support for specific populations. The Governor’s January Budget includes several proposals that stem from the Master Plan.

    The Master Plan lays out a clear path to help all Californians — whether just starting out or switching careers — access high-paying, fulfilling jobs, with or without a college degree. By aligning our education system with real workforce needs, we’re powering economic growth and creating stronger communities.

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    Career Passports and Credit for Prior Learning

    To help Californians better showcase their skills, the state will launch Career Passports – a digital tool that combines academic records with verified experience from work, military service, training programs, and more. This skills-based record will help shift hiring away from degree-only requirements and open up more good jobs for workers of all backgrounds.

    The plan also invests in expanding Credit for Prior Learning (CPL), allowing veterans and working Californians to turn real-world experience into college credit. This statewide push is expected to benefit 250,000 people — including 30,000 veterans — and generate billions in long-term economic gains by speeding up time to degree and cutting costs.

    Together, these efforts help Californians get credit for what they already know — and put that knowledge to work.

    Stronger state and regional coordination

    To make career pathways more effective, the Master Plan calls for a new statewide collaborative to align education, training, and hiring needs. This body will help track labor market trends, reduce duplication, and build smarter workforce strategies.

    Locally, the plan supports stronger regional partnerships — expanding paid internships, streamlining funding, and engaging employers to identify in-demand skills. The goal: create seamless, real-world pathways from the classroom to the job site.

    You can read the full Master Plan HERE.

    How we got here

    In the 1960s, California’s Master Plan for Higher Education established a clear structure for its postsecondary systems (Community Colleges, CSU, and UC), based on a labor market requiring minimal formal education. However, as the 21st century has progressed, California’s economy has evolved. To meet the demands of a rapidly changing workforce, including the rise of artificial intelligence, educational institutions must adapt and develop strategies that support continuous upskilling throughout students’ careers.

    In recognition of this, in August 2023, Governor Newsom launched a new way forward through the Freedom to Succeed Executive Order. The culmination of those efforts, the Master Plan for Career Education provides a strategy for responding to the complex, multifaceted challenges confronting California’s labor market and educational landscape. It acknowledges the shifting demographics of college attendees and the changing nature of work — with automation and artificial intelligence reshaping job categories and skill requirements — and provides flexibility to address new challenges that will emerge in the future. The statewide effort has been led by a public-private partnership with philanthropy.

    The initial framework for the Master Plan was first released in December at Shasta Community College. 

    Recent news

    Apr 2, 2025

    News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring April 2025, as Autism Acceptance Month.  The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATION This month, California joins communities around the world in…

    Mar 31, 2025

    News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring March 31, 2025, as César Chávez Day.The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATIONThroughout his life of work and service, César Chávez empowered…

    Mar 31, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO — Today, Governor Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom announced the official launch of efforts to celebrate California’s 175th year of statehood. Today’s announcement initiates an effort to commemorate the rich and full history of the…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Thales to recruit 8,000 people in 2025 and accelerate its ‘Learning company’ programme

    Source: Thales Group

    Headline: Thales to recruit 8,000 people in 2025 and accelerate its ‘Learning company’ programme

    • Thales, a global leader in advanced technologies for Defence, Aerospace and Cyber & Digital, plans to recruit 8,000 people worldwide in 2025 to support the strong growth momentum across its three business segments. Around 40% of new hires will join engineering roles (including software and systems engineering, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data, etc.), while approximately 25% will join industrial roles (including technicians, operators and industrial engineers).
    • In parallel, more than 4,000 employees will benefit from functional and geographical internal mobility.
    • In a context marked by interconnected geopolitical crises, a rebound in air traffic and accelerating global connectivity, all of Thales’s businesses are growing and hiring. This builds on the strong momentum established in recent years, with:
      • Over 30,000 new hires between 2022 and 2024, including 9,000 in the Defence sector;
      • Over 8,000 internal mobility moves between 2023 and 2024;
      • Ten consecutive years during which Thales has hired at least 5,000 people annually.
    • In 2025, recruitment will take place across all regions of operation, including approximately 3,000 people in France, over 1,000 in the United Kingdom, 500 in the Netherlands, 400 in the United States, 400 in Australia, 300 in Central Europe, 250 in India, 200 in Germany, and 150 in Africa and the Middle East.

    Learning company: supporting employees’ professional development and keeping Thales’s expertise at the highest level

    • For the past three years, Thales has invested in its “Learning company” global skills development programme, delivered by 2,000 internal trainers as well as numerous tutors and mentors. Since 2023, Thales has increased the number of its Academies, which are designed to share knowledge globally. The Group now operates 13 Domain Academies (AI, Cybersecurity, Radar, Naval, Tube, Pyrotechnics, etc.) and 18 Functional Academies (Software, Hardware, Systems, Industry, Bid & Project Management, HR, Finance, Communication, etc.). By the end of 2025, Thales will have more than 35 academies.
    • The Group has also introduced innovative skills development methods, including a shared competency management system, simulation and virtual reality tools, and hands-on training solutions.
    • In 2024, 90% of Thales’s global workforce – 72,000 people – took part in skills development activities.

    Thales is committed to raising awareness amongst youth about the importance of science and to promoting inclusion and diversity

    • Across all countries where it operates, Thales strengthened its outreach efforts in 2024, engaging with more than 150,000 young people and taking part in over 600 events. In France in 2025, the Group plans to host more than 3,000 interns and apprentices, around 25% of whom will go on to be hired on permanent or fixed-term contracts. Nearly 1,500 middle and high school students will also complete observation internships at Thales sites.
    • Improving gender balance within teams and leadership remains a key priority for the Group. In 2024, women accounted for 30% of new hires worldwide. More than 60% of the Group’s executive Committees included at least four women; Thales is aiming for 75% by 2026.
    • With the signing of a new Group-wide agreement in 2024 to further promote the inclusion of people with disabilities, Thales is reaffirming its commitment, with an employment rate of nearly 7% in France.

    « To support the Group’s growth and performance, recruitment and internal mobility are essential, but we must go further. Giving our teams the opportunity to continuously develop their skills and encouraging them to pass on their expertise to colleagues is both the spirit and the ambition of our ‘Learning company’ programme. Our goal is to support the professional growth of our people and maintain Thales’s expertise at the highest level,»

    Clément de Villepin, Senior Executive Vice President, Human Resources, Thales

    Interested candidates can learn more and apply online at
    ​    Thales careers

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Video: NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim Soyuz MS-27 Launch

    Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)

    NASA astronaut Jonny Kim is set to lift off on his first mission to the International Space Station on Tuesday, April 8. Launch is scheduled for 1:47 a.m. EDT (0547 UTC) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

    Kim was selected to become a NASA astronaut in 2017; before joining NASA’s astronaut corps, Kim completed more than 100 combat operations as a Navy SEAL. A dual-designated naval aviator and flight surgeon, Kim received his doctorate in medicine from Harvard Medical School.

    Kim will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft, accompanied by cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, where they will spend approximately eight months on the International Space Station before returning to Earth in December. Kim will serve as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 72/73 crew, supporting scientific research to help us learn how to live in space while making life better back on Earth.

    After liftoff, MS-27 is scheduled to dock with the station at 5:03 a.m. EST (0903 UTC), with hatch opening at approximately 7:20 a.m. EST (1120 UTC). Watch live rendezvous coverage on NASA: https://plus.nasa.gov

    Get the latest mission updates: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

    Credit: NASA

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC807gzD9l8

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Mining Advances Growth Prospects for African Economies

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    CAPE TOWN, South Africa, April 3, 2025/APO Group/ —

    Mineral-rich African countries are strengthening cooperation with global partners to optimize the mining value chain, leveraging investments to accelerate GDP growth and sustainable development. In recent years, the contribution of mining to the national fiscus has grown significantly across many nations, and looking ahead, this growth momentum is on track to continue as nations promote greater investment in mineral development.  

    Mali

    The Malian government expects to collect $1.2 billion (apo-opa.co/41Uk6C6) in tax revenue from the mineral sector in Q1, 2025 alone. New developments such as Hummingbird Resources’ Yanfolia project and Ganfeng Lithium’s Goulamina mine coming online, the country’s mining industry is set to expand even further. In 2023, the sector contributed approximately $1 billion to the economy, accounting for 21.5% of the national budget.

    Malawi

    Malawi is accelerating the rollout and monetization of mining projects under its Agriculture, Mining and Tourism strategy. The strategy focuses on boosting activities across these sectors, with goals including increase exports, job creation and greater investment. The World Bank (apo-opa.co/3E0bWyX) projects that the mining sector will contribute 12% to Malawi’s GDP by 2027, generating $300 billion in export revenue between 2026 and 2040.

    South Africa

    South Africa’s mining sector remains a major economic pillar, contributing 6% to the country’s GDP in 2024 and generating R100 billion in national revenue. The industry provided 474,876 formal jobs, accounting for 4.5% of total employment, while exports reached R800 billion – representing 45% of total merchandise exports. With efforts to revitalize the gold industry and accelerate growth in critical minerals underway, the industry’s contribution to economic stability continues.

    Zambia

    In Zambia, mining continues to play a critical role, contributing 20% of total revenue, 15% of formal employment and 70% of export earnings (apo-opa.co/447UXVS). A plan to increase annual copper production to 3.1 million tons by 2031, reallocate 1,000 repossessed mining licenses (apo-opa.co/3R1l2hS) and attract new investments by firms such as Barrick, Jubilee Metals and Tertiary Minerals, will further expand the sector’s contribution to GDP.

    Botswana

    With a wealth of untapped mineral opportunities, Botswana seeks to leverage international partnerships to unlock additional value across its diamond sector. Diamond mining currently accounts for 4% of employment, 30% of GDP and 85% of total exports in the country. Going forward, greater investment across the industry will not only spur job creation but generate increased revenue from the industry.

    Ghana

    Ghana’s mining industry is a significant contributor to the country’s economy, with minerals such as gold, manganese, bauxite and diamonds generating substantial revenue for the economy. Gold accounted for 48.4% of GDP in 2024 while small-scale gold miners alone generated $5 billion in foreign earnings from gold exports in the same year. However, with a focus on improving industry regulation, formalizing small-scale mining operations and increasing investments, Ghana is on track to generate greater value from its mining sector.

    As global demand for minerals rises – driven by the energy transition and the Fourth Industrial Revolution – the prospects for Africa’s mining sector remain strong. The upcoming African Mining Week – taking place on October 1-3 in Cape Town – will highlight the sector’s expanding role in economic growth, job creation and revenue generation. African Mining Week will explore how countries are leveraging mining revenues to drive economic growth and infrastructure development, ensuring the industry remains a cornerstone of Africa’s economic future.

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Wolverhampton City Archives retain national accreditation

    Source: City of Wolverhampton

    It is a further boost for the service which in 2024/25 saw over 3,000 visitors across a year for the first time since pre-Covid and an increase of 23% on the previous year’s numbers – bucking the national trend.

    In 2015 the service was awarded Archive Service Accreditation status, meaning it provides an excellent standard of customer service, preserves collections in line with national standards and is a robust, sustainable service which plans and delivers ongoing improvement.

    Following a 3 year review inspection National Archives noted: “The panel were impressed by the progress made around digital preservation since the award of Accreditation and the efforts made by the service regarding succession planning.”

    Wolverhampton City Archives house a wealth of material relating to the history of all parts of the City of Wolverhampton, including Bilston, Bushbury, Penn, Tettenhall and Wednesfield.

    Its ever growing collection includes maps, books, census returns, newspapers, records from local schools, churches, clubs, societies and businesses, electoral registers, and indexes to births, deaths and marriages. There are also over 30,000 photographs, plus films, sound recordings, memorabilia and much more.

    City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for Digital and Community, Councillor Obaida Ahmed, said: “Congratulations to the City Archives for retaining its accreditation. It is a testament to the excellent service the team offer to residents and visitors to the city.

    “It is a valuable resource and is well utilised in the city by those wanting to research and explore the rich history that we have of Wolverhampton and its people.”

    The City Archives is based at the Molineux Hotel Building on Whitmore Hill and is open on Wednesdays from 1pm to 7pm, Thursdays and Fridays from 10am to 4pm, and Saturdays from 10am to 1pm. Admission is free.

    For more information about Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies, please visit Wolverhampton Arts & Culture.

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  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Call for Applications: World Heritage Young Professionals Forum 2025

    Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre

    UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, 1-8 July 2025 – “World Heritage in an interconnected world: Leveraging digital technologies and innovative approaches”

    As an integral part of the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee, in the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme, and with the support of the Republic of Bulgaria, the World Heritage Young Professionals Forum 2025 will take place from 1 to 8 July 2025 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, under the theme of World Heritage in an interconnected world: Leveraging digital technologies and innovative approaches.

    The Forum will enhance the expertise and capacities of young professionals in protecting, preserving, and promoting our natural and cultural World Heritage. Participants will discuss and gain a comprehensive understanding of global concepts related to World Heritage in a rapidly changing and increasingly connected world. They will explore how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), immersive tools (AR and VR), digital mapping, drones, and 3D modeling can revolutionize the preservation of World Heritage and enhance public awareness. Additionally, they will examine innovative approaches to World Heritage aimed at fostering sustainable heritage management for future generations. At the end of the Forum, the young professionals will present their Declaration to the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee.

    Call for Applications

    All interested candidates are invited to consult the Call for Applications

    Download

    Online application

    Candidates should submit the Online Application Form together with the requested documents by 22 April 2025 at 23:59 CET

    Online Application

    For any questions, kindly contact: wh-ypf@unesco.org

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Government Steps to ensure affordable LPG

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 03 APR 2025 3:12PM by PIB Delhi

    Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in May, 2016 with an objective to provide deposit free LPG connection to adult women from poor households across the country. The target to release 8 crore connections under PMUY was achieved in September 2019. To cover the remaining poor households, Ujjwala 2.0 was launched in August 2021 with a target to release 1 crore additional PMUY connections, which was achieved in January 2022. Subsequently, the Government decided to release 60 lakh more LPG connections under Ujjwala 2.0 and the target of 1.60 crore Ujjwala 2.0 connections was also achieved during December 2022. Further, Government approved release of additional 75 lakh connections under PMUY Scheme for the period FY 2023-24 to 2025-26 which has already been achieved during July 2024.

    As on 01.03.2025, the total number of active domestic LPG consumers in India stands at 32.94 crore, including 10.33 crore beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).

     Details of increase in domestic LPG consumers during the last three financial years are as below:

    Particulars (As on 1st of April)

    UNIT

    2022

    2023

    2024

       01.01.25

    LPG Active Domestic Customers

    (Lakh)

    3053

    3140

    3242

    3289

    Growth

    5.5%

    2.9%

    3.2%

    2.8%

    PMUY Beneficiaries 

    (Lakh)

    899.0

    958.6

    1032.7

    1033.4

    Growth

    12.3%

    6.6%

    7.7%

    3.2%

     Note: Growth rates as on 1st April of any year are w.r.t. figures as on 1st April of previous year.

     Source: PPAC

    In order to improve access to LPG across the country, various steps have been taken inter alia, including organizing campaigns for improving awareness about PMUY, organizing melas/camps to enroll and distribute connections, promotion through Out of Home (OOH) hoardings, radio jingles, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Vans etc., spreading awareness about advantages of using LPG over other conventional fuels and safe usage of LPG through LPG Panchayats, enrolment/awareness camps under Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, facilitation of consumers and their families for Aadhar enrolment and opening of bank accounts for getting PMUY connections, simplification of process of getting LPG connection, online application for PMUY connection at www.pmuy.gov.in, nearest LPG distributors, Common Service Centres (CSC) etc., option of 5 Kg Double Bottle Connection (DBC), swap option from 14.2 Kg to 5 Kg, provision for Migrant Families to avail new connection on Self-Declaration instead of Proof of Address and Ration Card.

    Further, OMCs are continuously commissioning new LPG Distributorships, especially in rural areas. Since the launch of PMUY scheme, OMCs have commissioned 7959 Distributorships (commissioned during 01.04.2016 to 31.12.2024) across the country, out of which 93% i.e. 7373 [Rurban- 1024, Gramin- 4974, Durgam Kshetriya Vitraks and Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitrak (DKV+RGGLV) – 1375] are catering to rural areas. As a result of these efforts, LPG coverage in the country has improved from 62% in April 2016 to near saturation now.

    India imports about 60% of the domestic LPG consumed. Price of LPG in the country is linked to its price in the international market. While the average Saudi CP (international benchmark for LPG pricing) rose by 63% (from US$ 385/MT in July 2023 to US$ 629/MT in February 2025), the effective price for Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) consumers for domestic LPG was reduced by 44% (from Rs. 903 in August 2023 to Rs. 503 in February 2025).

    The retail selling price of a 14.2 Kg domestic LPG cylinder is currently Rs. 803 in Delhi. After a targeted subsidy of Rs. 300/cylinder to PMUY consumers, Government of India is providing 14.2 Kg LPG cylinders at an effective price of Rs.503 per cylinder (in Delhi). This is available to more than 10.33 crore Ujjwala beneficiaries, across the country including Rajasthan.   Details of effective cost of domestic LPG cylinder to non-PMUY consumers and PMUY beneficiaries in Delhi, as on 01st March for last three years is as below :

     (Rs./14.2 kg. domestic LPG refill.)

     

    01.03.2023

    01.03.2024

    01.03.2025

    Non-PMUY consumers

    1103

    903

    803

    PMUY beneficiaries

    903

    603

    503

                    Source: Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC)

     

    Globally, PMUY is the biggest program of its kind that provides Domestic LPG to more than 10.33 crore poor households at an effective price of just about Rs. 35/Kg. Further, the effective price of domestic LPG cylinder in neighbouring countries as on 01.01.2025 is as below:

    Country

    Domestic LPG (Rs./14.2 kg.cyl.)#

    India

    503.00*

    Pakistan

    1094.83

    Sri Lanka

    1231.53

    Nepal

    1206.65

          Source: Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC)

          *Effective cost to PMUY beneficiaries in Delhi, effective price is Rs. 803 for non-PMUY consumers

    As a result of various steps taken by Government to improve access and affordability of domestic LPG for PMUY consumers, per capita consumption of PMUY beneficiaries (in terms of no. of 14.2 kg LPG cylinders taken per year) has increased from 3.01 (FY 2019-20) to 3.68 (FY 2021-22), 3.95 in FY 2023-24, and 4.43 in FY 2024-25.

    Various independent studies and reports have shown that PMUY scheme has had a significant positive impact on the lives of rural households, especially women and families in rural and remote areas. Some key benefits are briefly explained below:

    (i) PMUY had resulted in a shift from traditional cooking methods that involve burning solid fuels like wood, dung and crop residues. The use of cleaner fuel lowers indoor air pollution, leading to improved respiratory health, particularly among women and children who are traditionally more exposed to household smoke.

    (ii) Households in rural areas, especially those in remote locations, often spend a significant portion of their time and energy in collecting traditional cooking fuels. LPG has reduced drudgery and the time spent on cooking by women of poor households. The free time, thus, available with them can be utilized in multiple spheres for enhanced economic productivity.

    (iii) Transition from biomass and traditional fuels to LPG reduces the dependency on wood and other biomass for cooking purposes, leading to a decrease in deforestation and environmental degradation. This benefits not only the households but also contributes to broader environmental conservation efforts.

    (iv) With improved cooking facilities, there is a potential positive impact on nutrition. Families may find it easier to cook a variety of nutritious meals, contributing to better overall health.

    This information was given by THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS SHRI SURESH GOPI, in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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