NewzIntel.com

Category: European Union

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council announces series of events to mark 80 years since Victory in Europe Day

    Source: Northern Ireland City of Armagh

    As we approach the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day on Thursday 08 May 2025, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council is pleased to announce a series of events dedicated to marking this pivotal moment in history.

    From poignant ceremonies and educational exhibitions to a celebratory evening and community gatherings, these events aim to honour those who served during World War II and foster a spirit of remembrance across the borough.

    The commemorative events will begin with a Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving on the eve of the anniversary, Wednesday 7 May at St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh. This poignant gathering will provide an opportunity for people to come together in reflection and gratitude.

    A highlight of the VE Day 80th anniversary programme will be a special celebratory event, which will take place at Craigavon Civic and Conference Centre on Thursday 08 May from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

    Open to the public, this free event will feature a line-up of musical entertainment including Corcrain Flute Band and Jenny Chambers School of Speech and Drama choir. Attendees will also enjoy some fish and chips – an iconic dish that was not subject to wartime rationing – before a speech by local historian Richard Edgar and a reading of a special VE Day tribute. The evening will then close with a symbolic beacon lighting ceremony at Craigavon Lakes at 9.30pm.

    The council has also organised several other initiatives to honour the significance of VE Day.

    A VE Day flag will be raised at the council’s three civic headquarters on Thursday 08 May at 9.00am, providing a visual reminder of this historic occasion. Moreover, an exhibition at Armagh County Museum will showcase both digital and physical archives, offering visitors a window into local life during World War II. The exhibition will run from Monday 05 May to Saturday 05 July.

    The council has also demonstrated its commitment to community engagement by awarding a total of £40,000 in grants to local community groups, enabling them to organise their own VE Day celebration events from Thursday 01 to Thursday 15 May 2025.

    Deputy Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Kyle Savage, commented,

    “As we prepare to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, it is important that we not only reflect on the sacrifices made during World War II but also celebrate the enduring spirit of strength and resilience in our community. All the events taking place across the borough are a tribute to the bravery of those who served and a reminder of the lessons we must carry forward.”

    To register your interest in attending the special celebratory event at the Craigavon Civic and Conference Centre on Thursday 08 May from 7.30pm to 9.30pm, go to armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk/veday. Please note, admission is free, but spaces are limited, so be sure to register your attendance in advance.

    For more information about national VE Day 80th anniversary events, visit https://ve80.com/

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING IN TERRANET AB

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    N.B. THIS ENGLISH TEXT IS AN UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION OF THE SWEDISH ORIGINAL OF THE NOTICE TO ATTEND THE EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING IN TERRANET AB, AND IN CASE OF ANY DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THE SWEDISH AND THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION, THE SWEDISH TEXT SHALL PREVAIL.

    The shareholders of Terranet AB, reg. no. 556707-2128, (the “Company“) are hereby invited to the Annual General Meeting on 23 May 2025 at 14.00 at Mobilvägen 12, Bricks building, room “Oktagonen”, Lund. Registration will commence at 13.45 p.m.

    ELIGIBILITY AND REGISTRATION

    Shareholders who wish to attend the General Meeting shall

    • be entered in the share register maintained by Euroclear Sweden AB on 15 May 2025,
    • notify the Company no later than 19 May 2025 of their intention to attend the meeting by e-mail to pal.eriksson@terranet.se or by mail to the Company at Mobilvägen 10, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden, and mark the envelope with “Annual General Meeting 2025”. When giving notice of attendance, shareholders must state their name, personal or corporate identity number, address, and telephone number and, where applicable, information about assistants (maximum 2).

    NOMINEE-REGISTERED SHARES

    Shareholders whose shares are registered in the name of a nominee must have their shares registered in their own name in order to be entitled to attend the AGM. Such registration may be temporary (so-called voting rights registration) and is requested from the nominee according to the nominee’s procedures. Voting rights registrations that have been completed (registered with Euroclear Sweden AB) no later than 19 May 2025 are taken into account in the preparation of the share register.

    PROXY

    Shareholders represented by proxy shall issue a written power of attorney for the proxy, signed and dated by the shareholder. The period of validity of the power of attorney may not exceed five years if specifically stated. If no period of validity is specified, the power of attorney shall be valid for a maximum of one year. If the power of attorney is issued by a legal entity, a copy of the certificate of registration or equivalent for the legal entity must be attached. A copy of the power of attorney and any registration certificate should be sent by letter or e-mail to the Company at the above addresses in good time before the meeting. Furthermore, the original power of attorney must be brought to the meeting. A proxy form is available on the Company’s website (www.terranet.se) no later than three weeks before the meeting.

    PROPOSED AGENDA

    1.   Opening of the meeting
    2.   Election of Chairman
    3.   Establishing and approval of the voting list
    4.   Election of one or more persons to verify the minutes
    5.   Examination of whether the meeting has been duly convened
    6.   Approval of the agenda
    7.   Presentation of the annual accounts and the auditors’ report as well as the consolidated accounts and the consolidated auditors’ report
    8.   Decision on
    a)  Adoption of the income statement and balance sheet and the consolidated income statement and consolidated balance sheet
    b)  Allocation of the Company’s profit or loss according to the adopted balance sheet and the adopted consolidated balance sheet
    c)  Discharge from liability of the members of the Board of Directors and the Managing Director
    9.   Resolution on the determination of the number of members of the Board of Directors and
    10.   Resolution on the determination of the remuneration of the Board of Directors and auditors
    11.   Election of the Board of Directors, auditors and any deputies
    12.   Resolution to amend the articles of association
    13.   Resolution on approval of the Board of Directors’ decision of 16 April 2025 on a directed issue of units
    14.   Resolution to approve the Board of Directors’ decision of 16 April 2025 on a rights issue of units
    15.   Resolution on authorisation for the Board of Directors to resolve on new issues of shares, warrants and/or convertibles
    16.   Resolution authorising the Board of Directors to make minor adjustments to the resolutions adopted by the General Meeting
    17.   Closure of the meeting

    PROPOSAL FOR A DECISION BY THE NOMINATION COMMITTEE

    Prior to the Annual General Meeting of the Company, the Nomination Committee was established by the Chairman of the Board of Directors contacting the shareholders who, as of August 31, 2024, were the three largest shareholders in the Company, who each appointed one member to the Nomination Committee.

    Prior to the 2025 AGM, the Nomination Committee consisted of Julian Aleksov, Chairman of the Nomination Committee, appointed by Maida Vale Capital AB and Oliver Aleksov, Michael Knutsson, appointed by Knutsson Holdings AB, and Torgny Hellström, Chairman of the Board of Terranet AB. The members are appointed by shareholders who, as of March 31, 2025, together represented approximately 13.09 percent of the voting rights for all shares in the Company. The Nomination Committee proposes the following.

    Item 2 – Election of the Chairman

    The Nomination Committee proposes that attorney Mark Falkner of Eversheds Sutherland Advokatbyrå AB be elected Chairman and keeper of the minutes of the Annual General Meeting or, if he is prevented from attending, the person he designates.

    Item 9 – Determination of the number of Board members and auditors

    The Nomination Committee proposes that the Board of Directors shall consist of five (5) members without deputies.

    The Nomination Committee further proposes that the Company shall have a registered accounting firm as auditor.

    Item 10 – Determination of fees for the Board of Directors and auditors

    The Nomination Committee proposes that a fee of SEK 185,000 shall be paid to each of the Board members elected by the AGM who are not employed by the Company or the Group and SEK 495,000 to the Chairman of the Board.

    The Nomination Committee proposes that a fee of SEK 27,500 shall be paid to each of the members of the Remuneration Committee (maximum three members). The Nomination Committee further proposes that a fee of SEK 65,000 shall be paid to each of the members of the Audit Committee (maximum two members) and that a fee of SEK 110,000 shall be paid to the Chairman of the Audit Committee.

    The auditor’s fees shall be paid according to approved invoices.

    Item 11 – Election of the Board of Directors, auditors and any deputies
    The Nomination Committee proposes that Torgny Hellström, Anders Blom, Magnus Edman and Mats Fägerhag be re-elected as ordinary Board members. Furthermore, it is proposed that Uwe Brandenburg be elected as an ordinary Board member. Nils Wollny and Tarek Shoeb have declined re-election. Torgny Hellström is proposed to be re-elected as Chairman of the Board.

    Uwe Brandenburg, born 1966        
    Uwe Brandenburg, a German citizen, holds a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications technology and is Chief Technology Officer for Automotive and Manufacturing at DXC Luxoft.        

    Uwe has worked 30 years in senior positions in the automotive, telecommunications and semiconductor industries. He has been ADAS CTO and Global Engineering Head at Valeo, Global Head for Camera and Radar Development at Continental and ADAS Engineering Director Europe at Autoliv. Autoliv, Continental and Valeo are all three major suppliers to the automotive industry.

    The Nomination Committee further proposes re-election of the registered accounting firm Ernst & Young Aktiebolag (“E&Y”) as the Company’s auditor for the period until the end of the Annual General Meeting 2026. E&Y has notified that the authorised public accountant Martin Henriksson will continue to be the auditor in charge.

    THE BOARD’S PROPOSAL FOR A DECISION

    Item 8b – Resolution regarding allocation of the Company’s profit or loss according to the adopted balance sheet and the adopted consolidated balance sheet

    The Board of Directors proposes that all funds available to the Annual General Meeting be carried forward.
    Item 12 – Resolution on amendment of the Articles of Association

    The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to amend the Articles of Association as set out below.        

    Current wording Proposed wording
    § 4 Share capital

    The share capital shall be not less than SEK 3 300 000 and not more than SEK 13 200 000.

    		 § 4 Share capital

    The share capital shall be not less than SEK 14,500,000 and not more than SEK 58,000,000.
    § 5 Number of shares

    The number of shares shall be not less than 330 000 000 and not more than 1 320 000 000.

    		 § 5 Number of shares

    The number of shares shall be not less than 1,450,000,000 and not more than 5,800,000,000.

    The CEO, or the person appointed by the Board of Directors, shall be entitled to make any minor adjustments that may be required in connection with the registration of the resolution with the Swedish Companies Registration Office. In the event that the share capital or the number of shares after registration of the directed issue and/or the rights issue under items 13 and 14, respectively, on the agenda falls below the proposed limits in the articles of association, the limits shall be adjusted to the extent necessary to enable registration.        
    The resolution under this paragraph shall be valid only if supported by shareholders holding not less than two-thirds (2/3) of both the votes cast and the shares represented at the meeting.

    Item 13 – Resolution on approval of the Board of Directors’ resolution of 16 April 2025 on a directed share issue

    The board of directors proposes that the general meeting resolves to approve the board of directors’ resolution of 16 April 2025 on a new issue of up to 5,461,210 units (the “Directed Issue“). The resolution shall otherwise be subject to the following conditions.

    1.        The new shares of Series B and warrants shall be issued in units. Each unit shall contain 33 shares of Series B and five (5) warrants of series TO9 B.

    2.        The Company’s share capital may be increased by a maximum of SEK 1,802,199.30 through the issue of a maximum of 180,219,930 shares of series B. A maximum of 27,306,050 warrants of series TO9 B shall be issued, entailing an increase in the share capital upon full exercise by a maximum of SEK 273,060.50.

    3.        The right to subscribe for shares in the Directed Issue shall, with deviation from the shareholders’ preferential rights, be granted to a number of pre-announced investors, existing shareholders and members of the Company’s management and board of directors. Prior to the decision on the Directed Issue, the Board of Directors has carefully investigated and considered alternative financing options, including raising capital solely through a rights issue. However, after an overall assessment and taking into account that a directed share issue allows the Company to raise capital earlier, the Board of Directors considers that new share issues carried out with deviation from the shareholders’ preferential rights in combination with a rights issue is a more favourable option for the Company and the Company’s shareholders than a rights issue alone. The Company is in an important phase and has a need for financing to ensure the Company’s long-term operations. It is therefore the Board of Directors’ assessment that a directed issue is the most appropriate financing solution given the current market conditions and the Company’s capital needs and that it is in the interest of all shareholders to carry out the Second Directed Issue.        

    4.        The subscription price per unit amounts to SEK 2.97, corresponding to a subscription price per B-share of SEK 0.09. The subscription price in the Directed Issue has been determined after negotiations with the subscribers and corresponds to a premium of approximately four percent in relation to the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s share on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market during the period 7 April 2025 up to and including 11 April 2025 and is considered by the Board of Directors to be on market terms. The subscription price also corresponds to the subscription price in the Rights Issue, which the Board of Directors decided on 16 April 2025. The share premium shall be added to the unrestricted share premium reserve.

    5.        Subscription can only be made in units and thus not of shares and warrants separately. Allotment may only take place in units. However, after the completion of the issue, the shares and warrants will be separated.

    6.        Subscription shall be made on a separate subscription list on the day of the unit issue. However, the board of directors is entitled to postpone the last day for subscription.        

    7.        Payment shall be made within three (3) banking days of the date on which the General Meeting approves the decision of the Board of Directors. However, the Board of Directors is entitled to postpone the final date for payment.        

    8.        Each warrant of series TO9 B entitles the holder to subscribe for one (1) Class B share at a subscription price corresponding to SEK 0.18. The subscription price may not be less than the share’s quota value applicable at any given time. Subscription for new shares by exercising the warrants of series TO9 B may take place during the period from 1 December 2025 up to and including 15 December 2025. Any surplus price upon subscription for new Class shares of Series B by exercising the warrants shall be added to the unrestricted share premium reserve. The warrants are subject to additional conditions including customary conversion conditions.

    9.        The new shares entitle their holders to dividends from the date of their entry in the share register.

    10.        The Board of Directors or the person appointed by the Board of Directors is authorized to make the minor adjustments necessary for the registration of the resolution with the Swedish Companies Registration Office.        

    The resolution under this item is valid only if supported by shareholders representing at least nine-tenths (9/10) of both the votes cast and the shares represented at the meeting. The resolution is conditional upon the Meeting approving the proposal to amend the Articles of Association in accordance with item 12 above and that the resolution is registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office.

    Item 14 – Resolution to approve the Board of Directors’ decision of 16 April 2025 on a rights issue of units        
    The board of directors proposes that the general meeting approves the board of directors’ resolution of 11 April 2025 on a new issue of a maximum of 13,880,714 units with preferential rights for existing shareholders (the “Rights Issue“). The resolution shall otherwise be subject to the following conditions.

    1. The new shares of Series B and warrants shall be issued in units. Each unit shall contain 12 (twelve) shares of Series B and three (3) warrants of series TO9 B.
    2. The Company’s share capital may be increased by a maximum of SEK 1,665,685.68 through the issue of a maximum of 166,568,568 shares of Series B. A maximum of 41,642,142 warrants of series TO9 B shall be issued, entailing an increase in the share capital upon full exercise by a maximum of 416,421.42
    3. The right to subscribe for units shall, with preferential rights, be granted to those who are registered as shareholders in the Company on the record date for the Rights Issue, whereby the holding of one (1) share of series B entitles to one (1) unit right. 86 unit rights entitle to subscription of one (1) share of series B.
    4. Shareholders registered in the Company’s share register maintained by Euroclear Sweden AB on the record date of 29 April 2025 will receive unit rights for participation in the Rights Issue.        
    5. In the event that not all units are subscribed for with unit rights, the Board of Directors shall, within the framework of the maximum amount of the rights issue, decide on allocation in accordance with the allocation principles below:

    (i)   In the first instance, allotment shall be made to those who have also subscribed for shares by virtue of subscription rights, regardless of whether the subscriber was a shareholder on the record date or not, and in the event of oversubscription in relation to the number of subscription rights that each person has exercised for subscription of shares and, to the extent that this cannot be done, by drawing lots.

    (ii)   Secondly, allotment shall be made to others who have subscribed for shares without subscription rights and, in the event that they cannot receive full allotment, in proportion to the number of shares that each has applied for subscription and, to the extent that this cannot be done, by drawing lots.

    (iii)   Ultimately, any remaining shares shall be allocated to the underwriters who have entered into underwriting commitments in proportion to the size of the respective underwriting commitment and, to the extent that this cannot be done, by drawing lots.

    1. Subscription can only be made in units and thus not of shares and warrants separately. Allotment may only take place in units. However, after the completion of the issue, the shares and warrants will be separated.
    2. Subscription of units shall take place during the period from 27 May 2025 up to and including 11 June 2025. The Board of Directors is entitled to extend the subscription period.
    3. The subscription price shall be SEK 1.08 per unit, corresponding to a subscription price of SEK 0.09 per B share. The warrants are issued without consideration. The share premium shall be added to the unrestricted share premium reserve.
    4. Payment of units shall be made in cash. Payment of units subscribed for with preferential rights shall be made at the same time as subscription takes place during the period from 26 May 2025 up to and including 9 June 2025. Payment of units subscribed for without preferential rights shall be made no later than three (3) banking days after the allotment notice has been sent to the subscriber. The Board of Directors has the right to extend the payment period.
    5. Each warrant of series TO9 B entitles the holder to subscribe for one (1) Class B share at a subscription price corresponding to SEK 0.18. The subscription price may not be less than the share’s quota value applicable at any given time. Subscription for new shares by exercising the warrants of series TO9 B may take place during the period from 1 December 2025 up to and including 15 December 2025. Any surplus price upon subscription for new Class shares of Series B by exercising the warrants shall be added to the unrestricted share premium reserve. The warrants are subject to additional conditions including customary conversion conditions.
    6. The new shares entitle their holders to dividends from the date of their entry in the share register.

    The resolution is conditional upon the AGM approving the proposal to amend the Articles of Association in accordance with item 12 above and that the resolution is registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office.

    Item 15 – Resolution on authorisation for the Board of Directors to resolve on new issues of shares, warrants and/or convertibles

    The Board of Directors of the Company proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to authorise the Board of Directors, until the next Annual General Meeting, on one or more occasions, to issue shares of series B, warrants and/or convertibles with the right to subscribe for or convert shares of series B, with or without deviation from the shareholders’ preferential rights, within the limits of the Articles of Association applicable from time to time, to be paid in cash, in kind and/or by way of set-off.

    The main reason for the Board of Directors to be able to decide on a new share issue without preferential rights for shareholders as described above is to be able to raise new capital to increase the Company’s flexibility for financing.

    For the resolution to be valid, the proposal must be supported by shareholders representing at least two thirds (2/3) of both the votes cast and the shares represented at the Annual General Meeting.

    Item 16 – Resolution authorising the Board of Directors to make minor adjustments to the resolutions adopted by the Meeting

    The Board of Directors proposes that the Meeting authorises the Board of Directors, the Managing Director or the person otherwise appointed by the Board of Directors to make such minor adjustments and clarifications to the resolutions adopted at the Meeting to the extent required for registration of the resolutions.

    OTHER

    Documents and information

    The notice, accounting documents, auditor’s report and proxy form will be made available to shareholders at the Company no later than three weeks before the meeting and will be sent free of charge to shareholders who so request and state their postal address. The documents will also be published on the Company’s website, www.terranet.se, no later than the same day.

    According to Chapter 7, Section 32 of the Swedish Companies Act, shareholders have the right to request information from the Board of Directors and the CEO regarding circumstances that may affect the assessment of an item on the agenda or the assessment of the Company’s financial situation. The board of directors and the managing director shall disclose such information if the board of directors considers that it can be done without material harm to the Company.

    Processing of personal data

    The personal data collected from the share register maintained by Euroclear Sweden AB, notifications received and information about proxies and assistants will be used for registration, preparation of the voting list for the general meeting and, where applicable, minutes of the general meeting. For further information on how your personal data is processed, see www.euroclear.com/dam/ESw/Legal/Integritetspolicy-bolagsstammor-svenska.pdf

    Number of shares and votes

    At the time of publication of this notice, the total number of shares in the Company amounts to 1,193,741,451, divided into 1,083,063 shares of series A and 1,192,658,388 shares of series B. After registration of the directed share issue resolved by the Board of Directors on 16 April 2025, pursuant to the authorization granted by the Annual General Meeting 2024, the total number of shares in the Company will amount to 1,291,299,252, divided into 1,083,063 shares of series A and 1,290,216,189 shares of series B. Each Class A share entitles to two (2) votes and each Class B share entitles to one (1) vote

    _____________________________

    Lund in April 2025
    Terranet AB
    The Board of Directors

    About Terranet
    Terranet’s goal is to save lives in urban traffic. The company develops innovative technical solutions for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Autonomous Vehicles (AV). Terranet’s anti-collision system BlincVision laser scans and detects road objects up to ten times faster than any other ADAS technology available today.
    The company is headquartered in Lund, with offices in Gothenburg and Stuttgart. Since 2017, Terranet has been listed on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market (Nasdaq: TERRNT-B). Follow our journey at: www.terranet.se

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Statement by President Meloni on EU list of safe countries of origin

    Source: Government of Italy (English)

    16 Aprile 2025

    It is with great satisfaction that I welcome the proposed EU list of safe countries of origin presented by the European Commission, which also includes, among others, Bangladesh, Egypt and Tunisia.

    I consider the proposal to bring forward the entry into force of some elements of the Pact on Migration and Asylum equally as positive, particularly the possibility to designate safe countries of origin with exceptions for certain regions and certain categories of individuals, and to apply the 20% threshold. These are in fact cases that allow accelerated border procedures to be activated for migrants arriving from certain nations, as provided for by the Italy-Albania Protocol.

    This is further confirmation that the direction charted by the Italian Government over these years is the right one, and of the support of an increasing number of European nations. Italy has played a decisive role in changing Europe’s approach to managing migration flows, and is continuing to do so. Europe now also sees defending external borders, fighting mass irregular migration, strengthening returns policies and implementing equal partnerships with countries of origin and of transit as a priority, and this is largely thanks to Italy’s determination and tenacity. The facts show that we were right and that we are on the right track.

    [Courtesy translation]

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Park Improvements Complete

    Source: City of Sunderland

    Improvements to Houghton’s popular Rectory Park, which got underway last year are now complete.

    Funded by Sunderland City Council’s Coalfield Area Committee through its Neighbourhood Fund, a total of £40,000 has seen the installation of a new cycle track, repairs to a historic fountain, new wrought iron gates, new benches and picnic benches, new litter bins, and improvements to the red gravel road and tarmac at the entrance.

    Councillor Mel Speding, Chair of Sunderland City Council’s Coalfield Area Committee, said: “The Coalfield Area Committee is proud to provide funding for these improvements to Rectory Park, especially the repair work to the fountain which we know is loved by residents. The park celebrated its 75th anniversary last year and these additions are designed to the keep it in great condition for future generations and keep families coming back time after time.

    “This is about making sure our parks are places everyone can be proud of and get the most enjoyment out of. With these new infrastructure improvements, we hope even more people will come and enjoy the park.”

    The Coalfield Area Committee is one of the five area committees across Sunderland. Made up of local councillors, these provide residents with a greater say by working closely with their communities and drawing on local knowledge to identify priorities for their area. They also create Area Plans to support the City Plan, focusing on local needs. These plans help fund and deliver projects in partnership with local voluntary and community sector organisations.

    Funding for the park improvements is one of 11 grants awarded by the Coalfield Area Committee since April 2024 to support community groups and voluntary organisations with various projects. This includes social inclusion and wellbeing activities, and the recently installed bleed kits located throughout the Coalfield. 

    The improvement project started with the installation of the cycling track in August 2024, which is regularly used by Gateway Wheelers for activities and events. Gateway Wheelers is a charity which helps provide access for people with disabilities to enjoy cycling.

    Gateway Wheelers currently offer different types of cycling sessions, such as private, groups, families or children.

    Sara Bateman, Project Officer for the Gateway Wheelers, said: “Cycling is a fantastic way to stay active and enjoy the outdoors. Thanks to recent funding in the park, our organisation has been able to continue helping people of all abilities experience the joy of cycling by providing cycles, equipment, and dedicated support.”

    “The Learn to Ride facility which uses the recently developed cycle track offers a safe, traffic-free space where everyone can build their cycling skills, gain confidence, and have fun in a welcoming environment.”

    For information on the different sessions, timetable and booking you can visit Disability cycling group| North East | Gateway Wheelers | Houghton

    For more details of community events and activities in the park throughout the rest of the year, visit Coalfield Sunderland Community: Facebook Page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Controlling the risk of Bridge Strikes

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    Controlling the risk of Bridge Strikes

    Following a recent public inquiry, Carey London Ltd had regulatory action taken against their Operator’s Licence by the Traffic Commissioner for the East of England, Richard Turfitt. Additionally, the vocational entitlement of the driver was suspended for a period of two months.

    In a recent public inquiry, Traffic Commissioner for the East of England Richard Turfitt took regulatory action against Carey London Ltd, a construction and transport operator based in St Albans. A collision with a bridge resulted in the load, an 8-tonne excavator, being knocked off the trailer bed of the vehicle and onto the adjacent footpath, which exposed multiple breaches of safety and compliance obligations after.

    Driver Contra drove the excavator onto the load bed and then secured it with the arm of the excavator facing the headboard. He then apparently measured the height of the load using a tape measure (not a measuring stick) before moving to another area of the site where the road plates were collected and secured with ratchet straps. The height of the load was measured to be 15’4”. The arm of the excavator was not re-stowed after the excavator was moved to allow the loading of the plates. There were four chains available, but these were not used to secure the excavator. The risk assessment at that time was not sufficient and consequently control measures such as written instructions were not present.

    The vehicle passed under a first bridge without difficulty, but he then struck the second bridge. The operator stated that Mr Contra had seen the bridge height of 15’ but proceeded to attempt to pass under the bridge, at speed. 

    The driver also failed to adhere to tachograph regulations, and this raised concerns about the operator’s oversight of driver compliance and training. The company was found to have failed in its legal undertakings to ensure that vehicles were fit and serviceable, to employ an effective written driver defect reporting system, and to comply with laws on drivers’ hours and tachograph regulations.

    Commissioner Turfitt said “A professional driver is not expected to allow lapses of attention as they are in charge of vehicles which are by their very nature and size, dangerous. The decision to drive in that state presents an unacceptable risk and the decision making is not indicative of a professional driver…..

    Whilst safety management is often miscategorised as an antidote to common-sense, all operators need to appreciate that risk assessment is not simply a matter of waiting for a danger to materialise, to then take action after the event. The outcome of this incident could have been truly catastrophic. Effective control measures should prevent an incident from occurring, protecting others from injury, drivers from the lasting impact, the reputation of the business and its liabilities. Compliance should make good business sense to any reputable operator.”

    The vocational entitlement of Driver Contra was suspended for a period of two months and the operator had their licence curtailed by half and warned that any further failures would be treated more severely.

    The full written decision containing the can be found here.

    For any further details or enquiries, please contact:

    Email: pressoffice@otc.gov.uk

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Europol supports strike-down on criminal organisation smuggling tens of thousands of hazardous salvage cars from the US

    Source: Europol

    The investigation, code-named ‘Nimmersatt’ (‘Insatiable’ in German), extended from the US to Russia, with links to Canada, Hungary, Ireland and the United Kingdom (UK), as well as 11 EU countries. Investigative measures were conducted today and yesterday in Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Spain.Wrecked cars, fake import papers, cosmetic repairs and tax fraudCriminal organisations…

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: RTI to Exhibit and Speak at DeviceTalks Boston 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Real-Time Innovations (RTI), the infrastructure software company for smart-world systems, will exhibit at DeviceTalks Boston 2025, taking place April 30–May 1 at the Boston Convention Center. At booth #700, RTI will demonstrate how its Connext® software enables intelligent connectivity across complex, distributed medical systems—from remote robotic surgery to next-generation monitoring, imaging, and beyond.

    On day one of the event, RTI CEO Stan Schneider will join NVIDIA’s Senior Director of Business Development for Healthcare, David Niewolny, for a discussion on how next-generation, edge-AI systems operate. NVIDIA provides the AI brain, while RTI delivers the connectivity nervous system for intelligent physical systems. Attendees will learn how AI is being integrated into today’s most advanced systems and what it takes to make them work in real time.

    RTI will also co-present with MedAcuity at the co-located Robotics Summit on “Advancing Remote Surgery: Tackling Latency, Precision, and Security Issues.”

    At booth #700, RTI will demonstrate remote teleoperation technology in collaboration with MedAcuity. The demo will highlight how Connext® software enables real-time control of an off-site robotic arm, showcasing the potential of low-latency connectivity in remote surgery applications.

    With its proven track record among leading healthcare innovators, Connext provides the data backbone that accelerates development and unlocks the potential of intelligent, distributed systems.

    Event Details

    What: RTI at DeviceTalks 2025, Booth #700
    When: April 30 – May 1, 2025
    Where: Boston Convention Center, 415 Summer St, Boston, MA 02210

    Speaking Session Details
    What: Advancing Remote Surgery: Tackling Latency, Precision, and Security Issues
    When: April 30, 2025, from 1:45 PM – 2:30 PM (EDT)
    Where: Room 260, Robotics Summit (co-located with DeviceTalks Boston)
    Who: Darren Porras, Market Development Manager at RTI, and Tom Amlicke, Technical Director, Robotics at MedAcuity

    What: Inside the Machine: How AI Operates in MedTech
    When: April 30, 2025, from 2:30 PM – 3:15 PM (EDT)
    Where: Room 162A, DeviceTalks Boston
    Who: Stan Schneider, CEO at RTI, and David Niewolny, Senior Director of Business Development for Healthcare at NVIDIA

    For more information about RTI at DeviceTalks or to meet with one of our experts, please visit this link.

    About RTI

    Real-Time Innovations (RTI) is the infrastructure software company for smart-world systems. RTI Connext® is the world’s leading software framework for intelligent distributed systems. Uniquely, Connext users can build systems that combine advanced sensing, fast control, and AI algorithms.

    With 2,000 customer designs, RTI excels at getting customers to production. RTI software runs over 300 autonomous vehicle programs, supports dozens of automotive ADAS and software-defined architectures, controls the largest power plants in North America, integrates over 500 major defense programs, drives a new generation of MedTech systems and robotics, and underlies Canada’s air traffic control and NASA’s launch control systems.

    RTI runs a smarter world.

    RTI is the market leader in products compliant with the Data Distribution Service (DDS™) standard. RTI is privately held and headquartered in Silicon Valley with regional offices in Colorado, Spain, and Singapore.

    Download a free trial of the latest, fully-functional Connext software today: www.rti.com/downloads

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: The UK is deeply concerned at recent political tensions and increased fighting across South Sudan: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Speech

    The UK is deeply concerned at recent political tensions and increased fighting across South Sudan: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on South Sudan.

    I will make three points. 

    First, the United Kingdom is deeply concerned at recent political tensions and increased fighting across South Sudan between parties to the 2018 peace agreement and other opposition forces. This includes the ongoing conflict in Upper Nile State.

    We are appalled by the attack on a UN helicopter in Nasir which resulted in the death of an UNMISS contractor.

    The current escalation risks South Sudan’s hard-won peace. 

    A return to widespread conflict would devastate the country and have damaging consequences for the broader region, especially in the context of the ongoing crisis in Sudan.

    The escalation of violence in the Upper Nile State has already caused dozens of civilian casualties and displaced at least 120,000 people.  

    So we urge the parties to ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access to civilian populations in Nasir and Ulang who are in need of emergency assistance and protection.

    Second, we are concerned by the arrest and ongoing detention of First Vice President Machar. 

    This action undermines the core principles of the 2018 peace agreement. 

    Alongside the AU and other international partners, we call for this action to be reversed to enable both parties to return to dialogue.

    We welcome efforts by regional partners, including the African Union and IGAD, to work with the South Sudanese leadership to de-escalate tensions. 

    And we call on South Sudan’s collective leadership to cease hostilities, release political detainees, including First Vice President Machar, and to engage seriously with regional mediation efforts.

    Third, President, the recent instability is a reminder of the importance of UNMISS as a peace partner for South Sudan. 

    The United Kingdom commends UNMISS’ work to de-escalate tensions and protect civilians.

    In this challenging context, their work to monitor human rights violations and support the provision of humanitarian assistance is critical. 

    And we call on the South Sudanese leadership to ensure the mission has freedom of movement, without political interference, so that it can effectively carry out its mandate from this Council.

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Human connections to seagrass meadows date back 180,000 years, study reveals

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Benjamin Jones, Chief Conservation Officer, Project Seagrass & Research Affiliate, Swansea University

    Benjamin Jones/Project Seagrass, CC BY

    For millennia, humans lived as hunter-gatherers. Savannas and forests are often thought of as the cradle of our lineage, but beneath the waves, a habitat exists that has quietly supported humans for over 180,000 years.

    Archaeological evidence suggests that early humans migrated along coasts, avoiding desert and tundra. So, as Homo spread from Africa, they inevitably encountered seagrasses – flowering plants evolved to inhabit shallow coastal environments that form undersea meadows teeming with life.

    Our recently published research pieces together historical evidence from across the globe, revealing that humans and seagrass meadows have been intertwined for millennia – providing food, fishing grounds, building materials, medicine and more throughout our shared history.

    Our earliest known links to seagrass date back around 180,000 years. Tiny seagrass-associated snails were discovered in France at Paleolithic cave sites used by Neanderthals. Too small to be a consequence of food remains, these snails were likely introduced with Posidonia oceanica leaves used for bedding – a type of seagrass found only in the Mediterranean. Neanderthals didn’t just use seagrass to make sleeping comfortable – 120,000 year old evidence suggests they harvested seagrass-associated scallops too.

    A bountiful supply of food

    Seagrass meadows provide shelter and food for marine life, such as fish, invertebrates, reptiles and marine mammals. Because they inhabit shallow waters close to shore, seagrass meadows have been natural fishing grounds and places where generations have speared, cast nets, set traps and hand-gathered food to survive and thrive.

    Long before modern fishing fleets, ancient communities recognised the value of these underwater grasslands. Around 6,000 years ago, the people of eastern Arabia depended on seagrass meadows to hunt rabbitfish – a practice so prevalent here that remnants of their fishing traps are still visible from space.

    Seagrass meadows have even been directly harvested as food. Around 12,000 years ago, some of the first human cultures in North America, settling on Isla Cedros off the coast of Baja California, gathered and consumed seeds from Zostera marina, a species commonly called eelgrass. These seeds were milled into a flour and baked into breads and cakes, a process alike to wheat milling today.

    Further north, the Indigenous Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, as far back as 10,000 years ago, developed a careful and sustainable way of gathering eelgrass for consumption. By twisting a pole into the seagrass, they pulled up the leaves, and broke them off near the rhizome – the underground stem that is rich in sugary carbohydrates. After removing the roots and outer leaves, they wrapped the youngest leaves around the rhizome, dipping it in oil before eating. Remarkably, this method was later found to promote seagrass health, encouraging new growth and resilience.



    Read more:
    Seagrass, protector of shipwrecks and buried treasure

    Today, seagrass meadows remain a lifeline for coastal communities, particularly across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Here, fishing within seagrass habitats is shown to be more reliable than other coastal habitats and women often sustain their families by gleaning – a fishing practice that involves carefully combing seagrass meadows for edible shells and other marine life. For these communities, seagrass fishing is vital during periods when fishing at sea is not possible, for example, during tropical storms.

    When seagrasses returned to the sea around 100 million years ago, they evolved to have specialised leaves to tolerate both saltwater submergence and periods of time exposed to the sun during tidal cycles. This allowed seagrasses to flourish across our coastlines, but also made them useful resources for humans.

    Seagrass leaves, once dry, are relatively moist- and rot-proof – properties likely discovered by ancient civilisations when exploring the uses of plants for different purposes. Bronze age civilizations like the Minoans, used seagrass in building construction, reinforcing mudbricks with seagrass. Analysis of these reveal superior thermal properties of seagrass mudbricks compared to bricks made with other plant fibres – they kept buildings warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

    These unique properties may have been why early humans used seagrass for bedding and by the 16th century, seagrass-stuffed mattresses were prized for pest resistance, requested even by Pope Julius III.

    By the 17th century, Europeans were using seagrass to thatch roofs and insulate their homes. North American colonialists took this knowledge with them, continuing the practice. In the 19th century, commercial harvesting of tens of thousands of tonnes of seagrass began across North America and northern Europe.

    In the US, Boston’s Samuel Cabot Company patented an insulation material called Cabot’s “Quilt”, sandwiching dried seagrass leaves between two layers of paper. These quilts were used to insulate buildings across the US, including New York’s Rockefeller Center and the Capitol in Washington DC.

    A legacy ecosystem – and a living one

    The prevalence of seagrass throughout human civilisation has fostered spiritual and cultural relations with these underwater gardens, manifesting in rituals and historical customs. In Neolithic graves in Denmark, scientists found human remains wrapped in seagrass, representing a close connection with the sea.

    Our new research tells us that seagrass meadows are not just biodiversity hotspots or carbon storage systems. They are ancient human allies. This elevates their value beyond conservation – they’re repositories of cultural heritage and traditional knowledge. They were practical, valuable, and deeply integrated into human cultures.

    We have depended on seagrass for 180,000 years – for food, homes, customs – so investing in their conservation and restoration is not just ecological, it’s deeply human.

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

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

    Nicole Foster receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Training and mobility actions.

    Oscar Serrano receives funding from the Spanish National Research Council

    Benjamin Jones 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. Human connections to seagrass meadows date back 180,000 years, study reveals – https://theconversation.com/human-connections-to-seagrass-meadows-date-back-180-000-years-study-reveals-253307

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: New business rescue practitioner appointed for troubled North West Transport Investment

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    The appointment of Mahomed Mahier Tayob as the new Business Rescue Practitioner (BRP) for the troubled North West Transport Investment (NTI) has been welcomed.

    This follows the recent Gauteng High Court’s ruling in favour of the North West Department of Community Safety and Transport Management, which led to the removal of the then BRP, Thomas Hendrick Samons.

    The department confirmed that NTI had applied for a voluntarily business rescue in July 2022, after facing financial difficulties.

    According to the department, Samons was tasked with turning the entity around to make it more sustainable and to generate income to pay creditors, primarily the employees. 

    However, he failed to account for the funds that the government had injected into the entity.

    The BRP also failed to pay salaries, which resulted in the cancellation of employees’ medical aid coverage, as well as the non-payment of their pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) and Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) contributions.

    The salaries of over 1 500 employees at NTI companies were not paid from September to December 2022, March to May 2023, June to November 2023, and February to March 2024.

    The NTI group, through its subsidiary Northwest Star, was established in 1973 as a wholly owned company of the North West Provincial Government and has served as the primary transport source in the province for decades.

    NTI can still be rescued

    Meanwhile, the Portfolio Committee on Community Safety and Transport Management, led by Freddy Sonakile, said it remains resolute in its belief that NTI can still be rescued. 

    “To this end, we will conduct a follow-up oversight visit to the NTI headquarters and depots within a month to assess the current state of the entity and to receive the official turnaround plan from both the newly appointed BRP and the department.

    “We note with concern that the former BRP, Mr Thomas Sammons, has launched a further appeal against the ruling. However, we take comfort in the fact that the Court invoked Section 18 of the Superior Courts Act, which ensures that the judgment is enforceable despite any application for leave to appeal,” said Sonakile.

    The committee expressed concern that the BRP continues to issue correspondence despite his removal.

    “What is deeply alarming, however, is the information received by the committee indicating that Mr Sammons continues to issue correspondence to NTI staff purporting to act as the BRP, despite his removal. Should these allegations prove to be true, we call on the department to urgently investigate this matter, and to lay criminal charges for fraud where appropriate.” 

    The committee has also called on the new BRP to prioritise a comprehensive turnaround strategy, within the 25-day window prescribed by the Companies Act.

    “At the heart of this plan must be the regularisation of NTI’s structural challenges, the restoration of salary payments to its employees who have suffered prolonged uncertainty, and a clear audit of previous disciplinary processes, many of which were reportedly handled arbitrarily,” said the Chairperson.

    The have since committed to maintaining its strict oversight role to ensure accountability, transparency, and ultimately, the restoration of NTI as a viable public transport entity that can serve the people of the North West with reliability and dignity.

    The department stated that Tayob is a senior BRP with impressive qualifications obtained from South Africa and the United Kingdom.

    “Among other entities Mr Tayob has rescued, include a State bus company in Gauteng and has also investigated R2.6 billion investment scheme on behalf of the Hawks.” 

    According to the department, Tayob will collaborate closely with Dr Ntlhopeng Dikobe, who has been appointed by the department as the Acting CEO of NTI. 

    Tayob is also expected to present a turnaround plan and provide regular reports to the shareholder representative, ensuring that NTI is restored to profitability. – SAnews.gov.za
     

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why were people so drawn to phrenology?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Fenneke Sysling, Assistant Professor in History of Science, Medicine and Colonialism, Leiden University

    B.erne/Shutterstock

    It’s hard to imagine now, but people once believed that the bumps on your head could reveal your personality. For one thing, it’s so hard to locate the bumps on your head, let alone the thirty or so bumps the phrenologists said could be discerned. So why was phrenology such an attractive idea for such a long time?

    Phrenology was the belief that the brain’s activity could be studied by examining the bumps on the skull, in places where the brain pushed outwards. Phrenologists claimed they could read your personality based on how big different bumps were. Initially, after German physiologist Franz Joseph Gall developed the new doctrine around 1800, it was a subject of serious scientific debate. But it was soon labelled quackery by the academic elite.

    But that wasn’t the end of phrenology. In fact, it became more popular in the 19th century, thanks to physician Johann Gaspar Spurzheim who wrote books and gave public lectures in Britain and France – focusing less on skulls and brains, and more on reading the living people. It remained a popular pastime for more than a century, mainly in English-speaking parts of the world but also outside it, for example in China.

    Front page of the American Phrenological Journal and Science of Health, 1880.
    AKaiser/Shutterstock

    Part of the appeal of phrenology was that it gave people a vocabulary to understand themselves and others. With urbanisation and a growing middle class, outside rigid class and religious structures, people were curious about new ways to categorise humankind. In the city, you wouldn’t necessarily know everyone nearby or even your neighbours, so your place in society was less determined.

    This may have led to more freedom but also to insecurity about what your and everyone else’s place was. Phrenology was a new way of classifying others. But it was not only meant to study others, it was also a way to know yourself, just like diary writing which also gained popularity in this period. With the help of phrenology, people could now see themselves as having an individual self, reflected in the shape of their head.

    Those interested could go to a lecture or read a book about phrenology or – if you lived in New York – visit the Phrenological Cabinet, a display of skulls, busts and portraits. If you really wanted to learn something about yourself, you asked a phrenologist for an examination. In the US this would cost you about half a dollar, (US$20 dollars (£15) today). Many popular phrenologists in the UK and the US offered readings. They were often itinerant, setting up shop in hotel rooms or at Brighton Pier in southern England.

    After a reading, clients sometimes received a written assessment, but more usually
    received a cheaper standardised chart that detailed their characteristics. On it, they received a score for typical phrenological characteristics such as adhesiveness (or friendship), spirituality, benevolence and time (the ability to judge the lapse of time, “essential for musicians”).

    The score was based on the phrenologist’s approach. They tended to gauge the size of the bumps in relative size, compared to your other bumps and to other people’s bumps. They claimed that this was a scientific approach, but it gave phrenologists a great deal of freedom in interpretation.

    And – surprise surprise – my analysis of about 160 charts between 1840 and 1940 showed that every single person who received a chart scored above average in most if not all traits.

    The positive results partly explain the appeal of a visit to the phrenologist. Another explanation, writes history professor Michael Sokal, is the Barnum effect. This is the tendency of people to rate descriptions of their personality that supposedly are tailored for them as accurate. In fact, they are often so vague and general that they would apply to almost all people.

    Many people, for example, would agree with the suggestion that they are of above-average intelligence but also experience anxiety and self-doubt sometimes. And, indeed, in my collections of phrenological charts, the trait that on average gets the lowest score was “self-esteem”. If only you work a bit on your self-esteem, is the implicit message, you can be an even better version of yourself.

    Phrenologists were often deterministic when they judged criminals or non-white
    people, based on the skulls or busts they had of people from these categories. Their irregular features or skull shapes apparently condemned them to a life in prison or in slavery.

    But they took a different approach to the middle-class visitors of their offices. The character trait of “destructiveness”, for example, was seen the trait of a murderer, but for a middle-class individual was usually explained as energy for overcoming difficulties.

    According to phrenologists, everyone could play a role in their destiny and people could use their self-knowledge for improvement. Taking time to reflect on the relationship between cause and effect, for example, could slowly increase the size of your “causality” bump, phrenologists said.

    According to early 20th-century phrenologist Stephen Tracht, it took three weeks for a child, three years for a young man, and more once you were 45 or 50, to develop a specific part of the brain.

    These practices show how in phrenology self-knowledge and self-improvement came to be seen as two sides of the same coin. And while not everyone will have accepted their phrenological assessment as an absolute truth and customers often took only the information from it that they liked, phrenology did become part of people’s vocabulary, and with it the message that with the right tools, they could become a better version of themselves.

    Fenneke Sysling received funding from the Dutch Research Council

    – ref. Why were people so drawn to phrenology? – https://theconversation.com/why-were-people-so-drawn-to-phrenology-246646

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Low iron is common in teenage girls – with vegans and vegetarians at greatest risk, according to our research in Sweden

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Moa Wolff, Postdoctoral Fellow, Family Medicine and Community Medicine, Lund University

    Teenage girls are particularly at risk of iron deficiency. Perfect Wave/ Shutterstock

    Teenage girls who avoid meat in favour of a plant-based diet are at higher risk of developing an iron deficiency, according to our latest research.

    Our study confirmed that iron deficiency is common among teenage girls, with 38% of participants affected. We also found that risk of iron deficiency was strongly associated with both eating patterns and menstrual blood loss. Girls who reported heavy periods and followed a meat-restricted diet – meaning they were vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian or avoided red meat – had by far the highest risk of developing iron deficiency. We found that nearly 70% of vegans and vegetarians had iron deficiency.

    As a growing number of young people turn to sustainable eating practices, this condition could become even more common. This is why it’s important teenagers are properly informed about the risks of low iron – and how they can get enough iron even while following a plant-based diet.

    The idea for this study came from the personal experience of one of us, whose teenage daughter struggled with fatigue, low mood and poor stamina. After months of assuming it was stress or excess screen time, blood tests revealed the cause: iron deficiency anaemia. The experience made us wonder whether the issue is more widespread. This sparked a research collaboration that brought together clinical and nutritional expertise.

    The study included 475 female high school students from southern Sweden. Participants completed questionnaires about their diet, what supplements they used, as well as their menstrual patterns. They also provided blood samples, which were analysed for haemoglobin and ferritin – the key markers used to assess iron status.

    The body contains about as much iron as a two-inch nail. Around two-thirds of the body’s iron is used in red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of body. This is why a deficiency can cause tiredness, pale skin and shortness of breath.

    But iron isn’t just about oxygen. The remaining one-third plays a key role in brain function, energy metabolism and nerve signalling. Studies show that even without anaemia, low iron can lead to fatigue, poor concentration, reduced academic performance and physical tiredness. Treating iron deficiency has been linked to reduced fatigue.

    Teenage girls are at particular risk of iron deficiency. There are several reasons for this.

    First, the body needs extra iron to keep up with the rapid growth that happens during puberty. Second, menstruation leads to iron loss, with periods often heavy during the first years after menarche (a woman’s first period). Third, diet plays a key role. Many girls also change their eating habits during adolescence, often reducing their intake of red meat or animal products. But even among omnivores, iron intake tends to be too low. It’s not just about what they avoid – it’s that many simply aren’t getting enough iron overall.

    Those who avoided animal proteins were at the highest risk of iron deficiency.
    nadianb/ Shutterstock

    While our findings are from Sweden, the issue is not unique to the country. A European school-based study from 2006-2007 found iron deficiency in 26% of girls aged between 12 and 17. Data from the United States also found that around 17% of girls aged 12 to 21 have low iron stores. Study methods may differ, but the trend is consistent: adolescent girls across countries are at risk of iron deficiency – often without knowing it.

    Despite how common iron deficiency is, several persistent myths can prevent young people from getting the help they need.

    One common belief is that eliminating animal products is inherently healthy, without acknowledging the need to replace the nutrients they supply.

    A plant-based diet can absolutely be healthy and sustainable. But when animal sources of iron are removed, it’s essential to include iron-rich plant foods and to combine them with certain foods for better absorption. Without that knowledge, even well-intentioned choices can lead to nutritional gaps.

    Another common belief is that low iron would be obvious – that you’d feel if you had it.

    In reality, iron deficiency and anaemia often develops slowly and the body adapts over time. Symptoms such as tiredness, poor concentration and low mood can sneak up gradually and become the new normal.

    A third misconception is that iron supplements are dangerous or unnecessary.

    For those diagnosed with a deficiency, supplements are often essential and safe when used properly. Treatment usually needs to continue for at least three months to restore the body’s iron stores.

    Iron intake

    So, what can be done? Here are three simple, evidence-based tips for a sustainable iron-rich diet:

    1. Make iron part of your daily routine. Whole grains, legumes and leafy greens (such as spinach, kale and chard) are good plant-based sources of iron. Even in a balanced diet, where a person consumes a maximum of 500g of red meat per week, more than 80% of daily iron intake comes from plant-based sources.

    2. Help your body absorb it. Plant-based iron is often tightly bound to phytic acid and needs help to be released. So it’s important to combine iron-rich meals with enhancers such as vitamin C (citrus fruits, peppers and cruciferous vegetables) or natural acids (citrus juice, vinegar, soy sauce, miso, kimchi or sauerkraut). These enhancers help improve iron absorption. You can also use fermentation to your advantage. Foods such as sourdough bread have gone through processes that reduce phytic acid, making iron more accessible.

    3. Avoid iron blockers. Skip tea or coffee with meals. The tannins they contain can significantly reduce iron absorption.

    With the right knowledge, young people can eat both sustainably and healthily – and avoid iron deficiency and its consequences.

    Moa Wolff receives funding from the Southern Health Care Region of Sweden, the Lions Research Fund Skåne, and Regional Funding for Clinical Research (USVE). She has also received an honorarium from Pharmacosmos for giving an educational webinar.

    Anna Stubbendorff 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. Low iron is common in teenage girls – with vegans and vegetarians at greatest risk, according to our research in Sweden – https://theconversation.com/low-iron-is-common-in-teenage-girls-with-vegans-and-vegetarians-at-greatest-risk-according-to-our-research-in-sweden-253878

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How could Canada deter an invasion? Nukes and mandatory military service

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Aisha Ahmad, Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Toronto

    United States President Donald Trump has been loud and clear. America’s liberal democratic allies cannot rely on the U.S. to protect them.

    Trump has also suggested using illegal force to achieve his own imperialist ambitions, even against former allies.

    Message received.

    Canadians and Europeans understand the American partnership is over.

    They’re now processing the implications of America’s apparent democratic collapse for global security.

    Does Trump’s stance mean that liberal democracies are now vulnerable to invasions, annexations and theft of natural resources? Yes, it does.



    Read more:
    An American military invasion of Canada? No longer unthinkable, but highly unlikely

    International security scholarship shows that, unless they are deterred, predatory superpowers use force to seize territory and natural resources for the purpose of aggrandizement.

    While an invasion of Canada is not imminent, the threats to democratic nations are now fully detectable and predictable.

    The responsible time to deter these threats is right now.

    Asymmetric deterrence

    Deterrence works when the imposed cost of an action is higher than its expected benefit. That means a hostile power won’t attack Canada if the risks of invasion are higher than the value of seizing our natural resources.

    Given that Canada is extremely resource-rich, that’s a challenge.

    While the Canadian government can make smart choices on military procurement, there is little any Canadian leader can do to transform the Canadian Armed Forces into a superpower army.

    Even if Canada redirected every penny of its budget to defence spending, it could not catch up with American, Russian or Chinese military power. Given this asymmetry, is deterrence possible?

    Absolutely.

    To get there, Canada must take two big steps: first, adopt a “whole-of-society” defence system to protect the homeland; and second, contribute to a democratic nuclear umbrella.



    Read more:
    Amid U.S. threats, Canada’s national security plans must include training in non-violent resistance

    Whole-of-society defence

    In “whole-of-society” defence, all citizens play a role in national security and emergency response. This approach requires mandatory military service and nationwide civil defence preparations.

    Whole-of-society defence not only improves societal resilience, but it also scares away potential invaders.

    Ordinary citizens can in fact defeat superpowers using nothing more than small arms and light weapons. The U.S. and Russia have both been trounced in the past by well-armed resistance movements.

    For a power-drunk dictator, whole-of-society defence is a sobering reality check.

    The presence of a large, well-armed and well-trained domestic population promises invaders a bloody, expensive and protracted ground war. That means high risks, low rewards, skyrocketing costs and decades-long timelines.

    That’s enough to deter a predatory superpower.



    Read more:
    Why annexing Canada would destroy the United States

    Many of Canada’s democratic allies have already embraced whole-of-society defence. Norway, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland all have mandatory military service and civil defence, and sensible gun regulations that allow law-abiding citizens to contribute to national security.

    Canada has every reason to adopt the Scandinavian approach to national defence, including mandatory military and civil service and the removal of some restrictions on Canadian firearms. An excellent model to consider is Sweden’s brand new “Total Defence” system.

    Norwegians, Finns and Swedes are peaceful people who have learned to survive next to a dangerous superpower. Canadians must look at their own vulnerabilities and see the logic and wisdom behind the Scandinavian approach.

    A democratic nuclear umbrella

    Although the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty prohibits nuclear weapons development, the Trump administration’s utter disdain for democratic allies has prompted a global rethink. Trump has demanded NATO countries stop relying on the U.S. military and spend more on their own defence.

    Nuclear weapons acquisition complies with his demand.

    Germany and Poland have reopened the nuclear debate, but most European democracies lack the materials to develop their own weapons. Instead, they are looking to France and the United Kingdom to create a new European nuclear umbrella.

    Some Canadians hope the U.K. and French umbrellas could protect Canada, too.

    That’s the wrong mentality.

    The U.K. and France have a combined 515 nuclear weapons. Russia has 5,580.

    Instead of asking the U.K. and France to further stretch their limited arsenals, Canada could step up and contribute to the solution.

    Canada is already a nuclear-threshold state with both the know-how and raw materials to develop a nuclear weapon. It would take time and money, but Canada is in a better position to help than most other European countries.

    Once across the nuclear threshold, Canada would have a bulletproof defence of its homeland. It could then work with the U.K. and France as an equal and reliable partner, contributing to a democratic nuclear umbrella to protect vulnerable allies.

    This would require formal withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty, but that action doesn’t need to be provocative or unilateral. Canada could co-ordinate its withdrawal with European allies as part of a collective defence of liberal democracies.

    In the face of rising tyranny and superpower conquest, Canada can either choose to be a burden on its overstretched French and British allies or a source of renewed safety for its democratic friends.

    Defending democracy

    Deterrence is hard work, but it is infinitely better than the horrors of invasion.

    Mandatory military service and nuclear weapons may be new ideas for Canadians, but other friendly democracies have been using these strategies for decades.

    The good news is that successful deterrence means stability and peace, so citizens can relax and carry on with their lives. Canadians want this safety for themselves, and for their allies, too.

    The time for Canada to act is now, when threats are foreseeable but not imminent. Waiting until an army amasses at the border is too late.

    To deter aggression, Canadians need to step up and be a little more like their Scandinavian, British and French allies. That is the price of continued freedom.

    Aisha Ahmad receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. How could Canada deter an invasion? Nukes and mandatory military service – https://theconversation.com/how-could-canada-deter-an-invasion-nukes-and-mandatory-military-service-253414

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to study looking at lab-grown chicken muscle tissue chunks

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A study published in Trends in Biotechnology looks at lab grown chicken chunks. 

    Dr Rodrigo Amaro-Ledesma, Director of the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein,  Imperial College London, said:

    “One of the key goals for cultivated meat is replicating the texture and structure of whole-cut products, such as chicken breast or steak.  Muscle tissue needs oxygen and nutrients delivered deep into the structure to remain viable.  As a result, most cultivated meat companies have initially focused on producing unstructured or ‘mince-style’ products, which are more feasible to produce at scale with current technologies.

    “This new paper presents an innovative approach to addressing the whole-cut challenge by using a Hollow Fiber Bioreactor (HFB), which mimics a circulatory system to deliver nutrients and oxygen across thick tissue constructs.  What is unique about this system is the cell alignment and muscle cell differentiation, showing potential for fibrous aligned products generated by the cells themselves.

    “It’s a meaningful technical achievement that they have produced a cultivated chicken meat several centimetres thick.  If you combine that with the research we’re conducting at the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein – fine-tuning flavour profiles and exploring alternative, cost-effective raw materials – we’re comfortably on track towards an exciting and appealing new range of products.

    “While the study highlights remaining hurdles such as the use of edible or food-safe materials and improving oxygen delivery at scale, broader challenges for the field remain.

    “Cultivated meat is a promising alternative to conventional meat because it offers the potential to reduce environmental impacts (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions, land and water use), eliminate the need for animal slaughter, and improve food safety by avoiding the use of antibiotics and reducing the risk of zoonotic diseases, amongst other advantages.

    “In order for cultivated meat products to hit the supermarket shelves in a big way, they need to also be a hit with consumers.  In the UK, we have the legacy of alternative proteins like Quorn, which are already more popular here than abroad.  More widely, there’s not only a taste, texture and nutrition barrier, but cultural, religious and habitual factors can prevent people trying new products no matter how appealing they can be.  At the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein at Imperial College London, we are combining cutting edge research, innovation, education and gastronomy to make headway on safety, quality and consumer acceptance.”

    Prof Derek Stewart, Director of the Advanced Plant Growth Centre and Co-Director of the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre, The James Hutton Institute, said:

    “The science on display here is solid and robust, with a significant level of supplementary material to support the conclusions.  This is an exciting advance in the alternative protein sector and specifically culture meat, and addresses many of the challenges that were seen as stumbling blocks such as aligned cell growth to deliver the meat texture sensory experience as well as the fundamental issues of getting nutrients and oxygen to the growing solid meat tissue.  The use of hollow fibre supports (in essence scaffolds) and the advances herein will open up many areas of allied research (and undoubtedly investment) with scaleup options now seemingly achievable with the progression from this paper in terms of better sensors, robotics and ultimately AI for control.

    “Limitations of the system presented are identified with the need to create better conveyable oxygen in the nutrient media, pressure control in media deliver in scaled up systems and the precise removal of the hollow fibres to deliver a uniform and appetising cut of whole meat.  However, these issues seem solvable.

    “As for all cultured meat production, the issues of energy use and associated sustainability need to be addressed but the proliferation of renewables and private wire connections could be a route to solving that conundrum.”

    ‘Scalable tissue biofabrication via perfusable hollow fiber arrays for cultured meat applications’ by Minghao Nie et al. was published in Trends in Biotechnology at 16:00 UK time on Wednesday 16 April 2025. 

    DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.02.022

    Declared interests

    Dr Rodrigo Amaro-Ledesma: “Nothing beyond that I am the Director of the Bezos Centre.”

    Prof Derek Stewart: “Prof Stewart has no conflicts of interest in relation to this research.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Supplement Manufacturing Partner, Inc. Issues Recall on Dorado Nutrition Brand Spermidine Supplement 10mg Vegetable Capsules (Spermidine 3HCL) Due To Undeclared Wheat Allergen

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

    Summary

    Company Announcement Date:
    April 14, 2025
    FDA Publish Date:
    April 16, 2025
    Product Type:
    Food & BeveragesAllergens
    Reason for Announcement:

    Recall Reason Description
    Undeclared wheat

    Company Name:
    Supplement Manufacturing Partners, Inc.
    Brand Name:

    Brand Name(s)
    Dorado Nutrition/Space Garden

    Product Description:

    Product Description
    Spermidine/Spermidin

    Company Announcement
    Supplement Manufacturing Partners, Inc. is recalling Dorado Nutrition brand Spermidine Maximum Strength 10 MG per serving, because it contains undeclared wheat. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.
    Spermidine Maximum Strength 10 MG per serving was sold online at Amazon from 05/22/2024 to 04/04/2025.
    Product was also sold in Germany as Spermidin 60 Kapseln 38g under Deep Green GmbH aka Space Garden.
    The Dorado Nutrition brand Spermidine Maximum Strength 10mg per serving is packaged in a white capsule bottle containing 120 capsules. The product is labeled with a blue outlined label, with a best by date of 04/2026 located on the bottom of the bottle, with Lot Number 12792402-44 and 12792402-44J. No allergic or adverse reactions have been reported to date.
    The recall was initiated after a Supplement Manufacturing Partner investigation following a test of the product. It was discovered that product containing wheat was distributed in packaging that did not reveal the presence of wheat. The mislabeled product has been removed from sale.
    Consumers who have purchased the product are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at SMPQuality@smpnutra.com or at 833-810-9896, 9-5 EST.

    Company Contact Information

    Product Photos

    Content current as of:
    04/16/2025

    Regulated Product(s)

    Topic(s)

    Follow FDA

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Public Health initiative aims to improve the health and safety of Salford taxi and private hire drivers and passengers

    Source: City of Salford

    • Salford Licensing Service has joined up with Salford Public Health to promote good physical and mental health
    • Funded Mental Health First Aid training and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) health checks
    • Public Health initiative part of Salford City Council’s commitment to creating a fairer, greener, healthier and more inclusive city for all.

    To support Salford City Council’s priority to create healthy lives and quality care for all, Salford Licensing Service has joined up with Salford Public Health to offer the opportunity to taxi and private hire licensed drivers, vehicle owners and operators licensed with the Authority, funded Mental Health First Aid training and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) health checks.

    This Public Health initiative aims to improve the health and safety of both taxi and private hire drivers and passengers by providing training that can help to improve mental health awareness, confidence in having mental health and wellbeing conversations and how to support others and signpost to available support and services.

    The CVD health checks are designed to detect early signs of heart disease and provide people with the information they need to reduce their risk of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes or dementia while helping to prevent the onset of serious and long-term health conditions. This initiative also supports people to stay well in work.

    The NHS Health Check programme is a cardiovascular disease programme and after the service was successfully relaunched in Salford in April 2023, 13,232 NHS Health Checks were delivered across the city, equating to 20.3% of the total eligible population by April 2024. This resulted in an increase of Salford’s rank to fourth highest performing local authorities (LA) in England, as well as and the top performing LA in Greater Manchester and the North West.

    Councillor Mishal Saeed, Executive Support Member for Social Care and Mental Health at Salford City Council said: “As a City Council, we are fully invested in the health and wellbeing of everyone in Salford. That’s why it’s important that we support more people to live healthy lives for longer by promoting good physical and mental health.

    “Taxi and private hire licensees deliver important transport services in our communities, to residents and visitors to the city, and supporting school transport. We look forward to positively engaging with licensees, providing health checks and mental health training opportunities, helping to support them in the management of their own health as well as being able to support members of the public, thereby fostering a positive and supportive environment.”

    Share this

    Date published
    Wednesday 16 April 2025

    Press and media enquiries

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: City centre shopping streets formally traffic free

    Source: City of Plymouth

    Old Town Street and New George Street will formally become a pedestrian area, bringing it in line with the rest of the city centre.

    From Monday 28 April a traffic regulation order will come into effect that means traffic restrictions apply to this redeveloped public space, which has been transformed and updated as part of a multi-million investment in the city centre.

    Councillor Mark Lowry, city centre champion said: “This is a major shopping street. More and more people want to sit and eat in some of the new businesses that have opened as well as enjoy the transformation of this area. The place has been packed in recent weekends, with music sessions and a food market. We want more of this.

    “People have always enjoyed strolling around here but the service yard created potential conflict between vehicles and pedestrians.

    “This order makes it clear that the safety of pedestrians and shoppers are the top priority. This is essentially legal paperwork which clarifies what delivery drivers should and should not be doing.”

     Steve Hughes, chief executive of the Plymouth City Centre Company, said: “These changes will make the city centre more welcoming for visitors and enable us to use the fully pedestrianised spaces for events and other street entertainment during the day and at night.

    “It will help us to make the city centre livelier and develop the evening and night-time economy, so will be good news for our businesses.”

    The order means:

    • Deliveries will only be permitted between 4am and 8am seven days a week on Old Town Street and New George Street (up to the service yard next to Tesco’s) – permits for those times are no longer needed.
    • Vehicles will only be allowed between 8am and 6pm (8pm on Thursdays) if the driver has a permit, issued by the Council. This has been introduced to keep pedestrians safe from vehicle movements but recognises many businesses, such as coffee shops open long before 9.30am.
    • The entire city centre pedestrian area including Old Town Street and New George Street is covered by a no loading and no waiting (no parking) restriction.

    Deliveries for businesses in Old Town Street and New George Street have already been restricted to accessing the service yards between 4am and 8am for months, while work to improve the public realm progressed. The order means this will be a permanent fixture.

    Restricting deliveries to this quieter period enables the new areas of public space to be prioritised for pedestrians during the day and evening, particularly with more events being held in the Old Town Square.

    The Council has been in discussions with businesses about concerns they have and has written to all businesses outlining details of the order as well as asking them to ensure their delivery drivers are aware of the access times as well as permit requirements.

    The conditions apply to any vehicle with a licence plate, including vans, mopeds and motorbikes. The Council is also asking businesses who use delivery riders to ensure that the riders comply with the law around electric cycles and cycle responsibly through the pedestrian areas. 

    As the traffic order is an experimental order, there is an open 18-month consultation period, which means the Council can tweak the arrangements where necessary.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Keel Square gets ready to host a street party for Sunderland’s shared celebrations for the 80th Anniversary of VE Day

    Source: City of Sunderland

    Residents are being invited to join in a moment of celebration when Sunderland marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day on Thursday 8 May.

    A day of celebration to mark 80 years since the end of World War 2 in Europe is being held in Keel Square from 11am that day with everyone invited.

    VE Day bunting, World War 2 vehicles with uniformed staff, and a vintage double decker bus will all add to the VE Day spirit in Keel Square, along with deck chairs and picnic tables for people to sit and soak up the atmosphere.

    There’ll also be the chance to enjoy one of the nation’s favourite dishes of fish and chips from a vintage style van on Keel Square. During the war years, many of the ingredients that make up this dish were left unrationed, helping solidify the dish into British cuisine.

    The WI will also be holding a charitable cake sale in the Pavilion beneath the EXPO screen from 11am as well as hosting a tombola, craft demonstrations and a display showcasing the WI during the war to now.

    The street party itself gets underway from 4pm, with a packed programme of performers to enjoy, including singers, dance troupes, a Punch and Judy show, face painters and stilt walkers.

    Residents are also being encouraged to submit any photos that they may have from VE day for display on the EXPO screen on the day alongside archived photos and videos of the 1940s celebrations. These can be sent to: events@sunderland.gov.uk

    Councillor Beth Jones, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Tourism at Sunderland City Council, said: “Street parties are a traditional way of celebrating VE day by bringing communities together. It will be fantastic to see Sunderland residents and communities coming together on Keel Square to join in this shared moment of celebration.

    “There are so many brilliant things to see and do on the day. Even though it’s a normal working day for residents, I’d like to encourage everyone to come down and join in with Sunderland VE Day celebrations.”

    The celebrations on Keel Square are part of the wider programme of organised events happening across Sunderland.

    Following on from the street party, there’ll be a chance to enjoy the ringing of the Sunderland Minster Church Bells between 5pm and 5:45pm.

    Then, from 7pm, residents can attend a special VE Day concert at the Fire Station. This will include performances from vintage singers, dancers, a big band and a choir. This will be hosted by former breakfast show host, Alfie Joey.

    Tickets for the concert cost £5 and are on sale now. Any residents wishing to purchase tickets can do so on this link: VE Day 80th Anniversary Concert | The Fire Station – Live Music, Theatre & Performance Venue

    The celebrations will end on Keel Square with Lighting Lamplights of Peace, followed by the singing of ‘I vow to thee my country’.

    Further celebrations are taking place throughout the city with schools, care homes and community groups registering to join in. This includes their own flag raisings, VE Day crafts and street parties.

    You can find out more about VE Day celebrations happening across Sunderland by visiting VE Day Celebrations – MySunderland or register your own event be emailing events@sunderland.gov.uk

    Share your celebration photos and videos on social media by using the #SunderlandVEDay80 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Corporate Lawyer from Scott Township Sentenced to More Than 12.5 Years in Prison for Methamphetamine Trafficking

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Scott Township, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 151 months of imprisonment, to be followed by eight years of supervised release, on his conviction of distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

    Chief United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on James France, 62, on April 15, 2025. A federal jury found France guilty of the charge in March 2022.

    According to information presented to the Court, France was a lawyer with an Ivy League degree who worked for several Pittsburgh-based law firms before turning to a life of methamphetamine distribution. On March 16, 2015, France was arrested in Illinois after a search of his car revealed approximately 1,344 grams of methamphetamine along with scales, packaging material, syringes, and more than $4,700 in U.S. currency. In May of 2016, an arrest of one of France’s conspirators by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Rochester, New York, led to the identification of France as a major methamphetamine supplier from the Pittsburgh area.

    In late June of 2016, the DEA effectuated a controlled purchase of $2,000 worth of methamphetamine from France at France’s Scott Township residence. A laboratory analysis of the drugs following the controlled purchase found it to be 55 grams of methamphetamine.

    At approximately 1:38 a.m. on July 29, 2016, Scott Township Police responded to a report of a home invasion in progress at France’s residence. When the police arrived, they encountered an individual who appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance and reported that six armed men attempted to break into the residence. The officers called out for anyone inside the house to come to the door and, when no one responded, officers entered to clear the residence.

    Based on the condition of the home, officers believed that the residence could be a methamphetamine laboratory and contacted the DEA, who determined that the house was not a methamphetamine laboratory and obtained a search warrant for the residence. During the search, officers recovered what later laboratory analysis determined was approximately 430 grams of pure methamphetamine, approximately $8,000 in U.S. currency, and other evidence of methamphetamine distribution.

    France was on bond for other offenses when local police officers arrested him on June 30, 2017, after executing another search warrant at his residence. That search resulted in the seizure of a methamphetamine smoking apparatus, syringes, scales, packaging material, large sums of U.S. currency, and quantities of methamphetamine.

    Throughout the judicial proceedings, the defendant attempted to obstruct justice by lying to the Court, violating the conditions of his bond, threatening to beat a person’s grandparents “to within an inch of their lives,” and verbally abusing his court-appointed counsel.

    Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

    Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Drug Enforcement Administration and Scott Township Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of France.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Culture can build a better world: four key issues on Africa’s G20 agenda

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Ribio Nzeza Bunketi Buse, Associate Professor, University of Kinshasa

    The cultural and creative industries are a growing source of income and job creation around the world, generating tens of millions of jobs. The cultural sector is also linked to soft power, to relations between countries.

    Because of this, culture is an active part of the agenda of the G20 global economic forum. Under the presidency of South Africa in 2025, the G20 has chosen four key culture focus areas: heritage restitution; socio-economic strategies for inclusivity; digital technologies; and climate action.

    Here, as a scholar of the sector, I outline why these four priorities are relevant to both the G20 and the African continent, and to South Africa itself as the host country, in the light of current global trends and issues.

    G20 and culture

    The relationship between culture and development is increasingly emphasised. The 2022 Unesco World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – or Mondiacult – recommended that culture be a “stand-alone” sustainable development goal.

    This proposal is underlined by the UN’s Pact for the Future, adopted in 2024. The 17 sustainable development goals, adopted by the UN in 2015, are to ensure peace and prosperity for all people by 2030. They include goals like zero hunger and reduced inequalities.

    Read more: What is Mondiacult? 6 take-aways from the world’s biggest cultural policy gathering

    As the global order shifts, new actors from the global south are emerging as the Brics group. However, the G20 is the only forum that includes countries from both the global north and south.

    The G20, like the G7 and Brics, has a tradition of including culture among the items for discussion at ministerial level, supported by a working group.

    Under Brazil’s presidency in 2024, the G20 Culture Working Group highlighted the relationship between education and culture. This was in line with Unesco’s Framework for Culture and Arts Education. Taking over the G20 presidency, South Africa has expanded on the cultural agenda.

    Cultural heritage

    Priority 1: the safeguarding and restitution of cultural heritage to protect human rights.

    This relates to cultural property, mainly stolen during colonisation and displayed in global south museums. It’s one of the key issues in the heritage sector today.

    After years of demands by formerly colonised countries, there’s a growing list of high profile objects being sent back home. France returned 26 Dahomey Kingdom royal treasures to Benin and the saber of El Hadj Omar Tall to Senegal; 119 Benin bronzes came from the Netherlands to Nigeria. Akan cultural objects were restituted from Japan to Côte d’Ivoire.

    This global issue has particularly affected African countries. South Africa, too, knows its importance, with the repatriation of the human remains of Saartjie Baartman by France.

    Statues of the Kingdom of Dahomey returned to Benin by France. Gerard Julien/AFP/Getty Images

    The Mondiacult 2022 declaration calls the return of cultural heritage an “ethical imperative”. It’s part of the respect for cultural rights and human rights.

    For South Africa, one of the most influential countries on the continent, this is a good way to support the 2023 position of the African Union (AU) on the urgent return of this heritage. Improving the relationship between the global north and south requires this kind of debate.

    Inclusive development

    Priority 2: integrating cultural policies in socio-economic strategies to ensure inclusive, rights-based development.

    The importance of cultural goods and services in national and international trade has been highlighted many times. Statistics show they make up a healthy share of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

    A 2021 study found that the cultural and creative industries contributed 4.3% to South Africa’s GDP. At African level, they are estimated to generate US$45.35 billion in income and 15.87 million jobs. According to the 2024 UN Creative Economy Outlook, exports of creative services globally rose to $1.4 trillion in 2022, an increase of 29% since 2017. Exports of creative goods reached US$713 billion, an increase of 19%.

    Read more: South Africa has taken over the G20 presidency from Brazil – what lessons can it learn?

    With the development of an African Continental Free Trade Area, the AU revised its plan for action on cultural and creative industries.

    South Africa can play a leading role in this priority, having drafted a national policy paper on trade agreements involving the creative and cultural industries. The country’s Creative Industries Vision 2040 aims for an annual growth rate of 6.8% of GDP for these industries.

    However, the creative economy should be rights-based development and inclusive of local communities, young people and women. The G20 countries will need to work together to support policies that enhance sustainability and equity for creative workers. This is especially important in Africa where the creative economy is largely informal and unprotected.

    Digital technologies

    Priority 3: harnessing digital technologies for the protection and promotion of culture and sustainable economies.

    Digital technology is transforming the creative economy value chain. In my survey of the COVID era’s harsh impact on creative workers, I found that digital media, online games, music and audiovisual content were able to be resilient. Their value chains, from creator to user, don’t require high levels of face-to-face interaction, and online tools can be used effectively.

    Maliyo, a games development company in Lagos, Nigeria. Olympia de Maismont/AFP/Getty Images

    In 2024 the UN Conference on Trade and Development reported that, in 2022, the most exported creative services globally were software services (41.3%), research and development (30.7%), advertising, market research and architecture (15.5%), audiovisual services (7.9%), information services (4%) and cultural, recreational and heritage services (0.6%).

    While digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) can be seen as a threat to creativity and intellectual property, they can also be used to promote respect for communities and creators. The development of monitoring software for collecting music rights payments is an example.

    In 2021 the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization adopted a recommendation on the ethics of AI. It proposes that AI tools be used for the benefit of the promotion, preservation, enrichment and accessibility of intangible or tangible cultural heritage. This issue is crucial because Mondiacult 2022 declared that culture is a “global public good” and the G20 must fund research and development of the most appropriate and advanced AI tools.

    Climate change

    Priority 4: the intersection of culture and climate change – shaping global responses.

    The challenges of climate change require a range of responses. Intangible cultural heritage (like oral traditions, social practices, rituals) can help to teach how ancient societies organised their relationships with nature and how they dealt with changes.

    The Herds, touring the world from central Africa for climate awareness. Hardy Bope/AFP/Getty Images

    Art, theatre, film, gaming and many other cultural forms can educate and raise awareness about this urgent issue. The African continent has a rich cultural diversity and is a potential source of many unexpected and insightful solutions.

    Keeping it relevant

    These four priorities reflect what is important on the continent. Africa will benefit from the collective efforts of the G20 countries in implementing such priorities. The presence of the AU as a permanent member of the G20 will support South Africa’s leadership and advance the continent’s cause.

    The challenge to the culture working group is to come up with relevant recommendations that can be endorsed by the G20 Ministerial Meeting. The 2024 G7 Ministerial Meeting on Culture, along with the AU and the African Development Bank, has set the tone. Their Naples Statement on culture for the sustainable development of Africa and the world notes that the G7 countries “intend to work with African governments to harness culture as a key driver of sustainable development”.

    A G20 summit on African soil cannot do less. It has all the potential it needs to support the African cultural sector in a variety of ways.

    – Culture can build a better world: four key issues on Africa’s G20 agenda
    – https://theconversation.com/culture-can-build-a-better-world-four-key-issues-on-africas-g20-agenda-253864

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Ernest Cole: the South African photographer at the centre of a powerful and heartbreaking film

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kylie Thomas, Senior Researcher and Senior Lecturer (Radical Humanities Laboratory, University College Cork), NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies

    Ernest Cole is famous for photographing the everyday realities of South Africa’s racist apartheid system. His 1967 book House of Bondage ensured his damning critique of the white minority regime was seen by the world. But its publication sent him into exile and was banned at home.

    The startling discovery of a vast archive of his work in a Swedish bank vault in 2017 has returned him to public view.

    House of Bondage was republished in 2023 and then, in 2024, celebrated Haitian film-maker Raoul Peck made Ernest Cole: Lost and Found.

    It would win the documentary prize at the Cannes Film Festival and show around the world, restoring the legacy of a photographer who died penniless in New York in 1990 at the age of 49.

    As a researcher of South African photography under apartheid, I was intrigued by how the film would convey this complex life story.

    It draws extensively on Cole’s images, made in South Africa, Europe and the US. It’s a beautiful, poetic interpretation of how his images mirrored his own experiences of oppression, displacement and the loneliness of exile.

    House of Bondage

    Cole was just 10 when the state introduced the Group Areas Act and entrenched racial segregation. He was 22 when his childhood neighbourhood of Eersterust was razed to the ground. His family was among the thousands forcibly removed to a new township.

    In his second year of high school, he elected to drop out. The state had introduced Bantu Education, designed to ensure Black children learned only enough for a life of servitude.

    Cole began to study by correspondence, taking a course with the New York Institute for Photography. By 18, he’d landed a position as a darkroom assistant at Drum magazine, working alongside German photographer Jürgen Schadeberg.

    Cole captured the everyday realities of Black life in South Africa. Ernest Cole/Magnolia Pictures

    In 1959, Cole saw a copy of French street photography pioneer Henri Cartier-Bresson’s The People of Moscow, and decided he would create a similar book to convey what it meant to live under apartheid.

    He spent six years taking the photographs that would become House of Bondage, a book that exposed the apartheid state.

    Determined to publish his images, he fled to the US in 1966, where his book appeared a year later. Acclaimed internationally, it was banned for 22 years in South Africa. Cole was prohibited from returning home and spent the next 20 years stateless.

    Read more: Ernest Cole: South Africa’s most famous photobook has been republished after 55 years

    He hoped to find freedom in America. Instead he felt pigeonholed as a Black photographer, dismayed at only ever being commissioned to document suffering.

    He made hundreds of photographs of people in Harlem, often drawn to scenes that were impossible in South Africa. Mixed-race couples holding hands in public, young people of different races hanging out, neon signs offering “Sex, sex, sex” rather than the “Whites only” signs of segregation he documented at home.

    Under apartheid, public space was segregated. Ernest Cole/Magnolia Pictures

    Commissioned to take photos in the Deep South, he found the same suffering and racism he’d thought particular to South Africa.

    In a letter to the Norwegian government requesting an emergency travel certificate to leave the US, he wrote:

    Exposing the truth at whatever cost is one thing. But having to live a lifetime of being a chronicler of misery and injustice and callousness is another.

    A life in fragments

    For me, the most poignant moment of the film is the footage of Cole speaking in his own voice in a 1969 documentary. A slight man with a sorrowful gaze, he’s seated at a table with prints of his photos:

    I’ve been banned in absentia, but that doesn’t matter because it (his book) will stand in the future. Because I’m sure South Africa will be free.

    His youthful conviction is undercut by the presence, in his voice, of the weight of all he’s experienced. Correspondence shows Cole’s book was sent to government officials in the US and Europe, and to the United Nations, but it would take decades of resistance before apartheid fell.

    Black life in America was as painful as back home. Ernest Cole/Magnolia Pictures

    Despite his fame, and the support of leading international photographers, writers and editors, Cole’s determination was ground down by the racism he encountered everywhere he went. Although he received grants to continue his work, he descended into poverty and depression.

    By the mid-1980s he stopped taking photos – his cameras were lost, stolen, or sold, and he learned that his belongings, including negatives and prints that he’d left in a hotel storage room in New York, had been discarded. Cole was destitute and ill.

    Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he watched Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 from his hospital bed. Cole died in New York that same year. All his negatives and the work he’d made during his life in exile were thought to be lost.

    Cole also captured street images of childhood joys wherever he went. Ernest Cole/Magnolia Pictures

    Finding Ernest Cole

    Peck’s meditative film draws on Cole’s notebooks and letters, along with research interviews, in a rather bold attempt to have him “tell his own story”. It’s a story driven by both curiosity and heartbreak, narrated by actor LaKeith Stanfield, whose rather jarring American accent gives voice to a South African experience.

    Although she’s not mentioned in the credits, Peck’s script draws heavily on interviews by Swedish curator and researcher Gunilla Knape. Her association with the Hasselblad Foundation might account for why she remains unacknowledged – the organisation is linked to the ongoing controversy over ownership of Cole’s work.

    Read more: Glimpses into the history of street photography in South Africa

    In 2017, Cole’s nephew, Leslie Matlaisane, received an email requesting that he travel to Sweden to discuss the return of items belonging to his uncle, discovered in a bank vault in Stockholm.

    The film includes footage of Matlaisane’s journey to Sweden and the bizarre scene that unfolds as Cole’s archive is returned without any explanation about how it came to be either lost or found, or who’d placed it there.

    The boxes included 60,000 negatives, and Cole’s notebooks and research materials for House of Bondage. An incredible trove of history has resurfaced, but as Peck’s film shows, Cole himself was irrecoverably lost in exile.

    Ernest Cole: Lost and Found is showing in Johannesburg. It can be streamed on various services.

    – Ernest Cole: the South African photographer at the centre of a powerful and heartbreaking film
    – https://theconversation.com/ernest-cole-the-south-african-photographer-at-the-centre-of-a-powerful-and-heartbreaking-film-254508

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Grenfell Tower site update April 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Correspondence

    Grenfell Tower site update April 2025

    A summary of current activity at the Grenfell Tower site.

    Documents

    Grenfell Tower site update April 2025

    PDF, 140 KB, 3 pages

    Grenfell Tower site update April 2025 – transcript

    PDF, 149 KB, 4 pages

    Details

    In this community update, we provide information on the decision on the future of Grenfell Tower shared in February by the Deputy Prime Minister with bereaved, survivors and local residents. There is also information on the annual Tower rewrapping, site works and maintenance, air quality monitoring, and health and wellbeing support, plus contact details.

    You can watch a recording of the update on the MHCLG YouTube channel:

    Grenfell Tower site update April 2025

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 April 2025

    Sign up for emails or print this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Last opportunity for media accreditation for the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands and the End of the Second World War in Europe

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Ottawa, ON – An official Government of Canada delegation will participate in a series of events to commemorate the Liberation of the Netherlands and the 80th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. The delegation will include Second World War Veterans, including some who participated in the Liberation of the Netherlands, representatives from Veterans organizations, and Veterans Affairs Canada officials. A contingent of the Canadian Armed Forces, including units involved in the Liberation of the Netherlands, will also participate in ceremonies and events.

    Events

    All times are Central European Time Zone

    2 May 2025 – 10:00
    Opening of Canada House Pavilion at Oranjepark
    Apeldoorn, Netherlands
    Visitors of all ages are invited to stop by the Canada House Pavilion to learn about Canada’s military service around the world, including the Netherlands.
    Media are asked to register for the opening event at media@veterans.gc.ca
     

    2 May 2025 – 15:00
    Commemorative Ceremony at Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery
    Groesbeek, Netherlands
    Co-hosted by: Faces to Graves and the Government of Canada
    Media Registration: media@veterans.gc.ca
     

    3 May 2025 – 14:00
    Apeldoorn Liberation Parade
    Apeldoorn, Netherlands
    Media Registration: Media must register by email at pers@apeldoorn.nl or by phone at +31 55 580 1363
     

    4 May 2025 – 11:00
    Commemorative Ceremony at Holten Canadian War Cemetery
    Holten, Netherlands
    Media Registration: Media must register here.
    Deadline for registration April 17
     

    5 May 2025 – 11:30
    Wageningen National Commemoration Capitulations 1945 and Liberation Parade
    Wageningen, Netherlands
    Media Registration: Media must register here.

    Notes for media

    Media who wish to be in attendance to cover events must register where indicated above.

    Media in Canada who wish to broadcast events in the Netherlands can contact Veterans Affairs Canada at the address below for information on how to obtain broadcast rights.

    For more information on the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands and the End of the Second World War in Europe, please visit this page.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Detectives name victim of fatal stabbing in Walworth

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    On Monday, 14 April at 21:16hrs police were called to Hillingdon Street, SE17 following reports of a stabbing.

    Officers attended the scene alongside the London Ambulance Service who treated a 21-year-old man for stab injuries.

    Sadly, despite their best efforts, he was pronounced dead on scene.

    Detective Chief Inspector Kate Blackburn said: “I am leading the investigation into the fatal stabbing of a 21-year-old man that took place at 21:16hrs on Monday, 14 April.

    “On Monday, we received multiple 999 calls, to Hillingdon Street, SE17 reporting that a young man had been stabbed and a number of people were seen carrying knives.

    “On arrival, officers found a 21-year-old man who had sustained serious stab injuries .He was treated by the London Ambulance Service before he was sadly pronounced dead on scene.

    “I can now name the victim as Giovanny Rendon Bedoya from Walworth. His next of kin has been informed and they are currently being supported by specialist officers. Our thoughts remain with them at this incredibly difficult time.

    “Following the incident, we immediately made six arrests. Out of the six people arrested, three have been no further actioned and three have been bailed pending further enquiries.

    “I would now like to appeal to the public for information. Please, if you saw, heard or have any footage following this incident then please come forward. Your information can significantly help our detectives with their investigation.

    “We believe there were many people in the area who saw the group, who haven’t yet come forward to speak to police.

    “Were you in the Hillingdon Street area on Monday evening? Did you see anyone acting suspiciously? Did you see anyone carrying a knife? If so please contact police.”

    Detective Superintendent Emma Bond who is Acting BCU Commander for Lambeth and Southwark policing added: “I recognise that this incident has caused deep concern across our communities.

    “I want to reassure you all today that we are working around the clock to find the perpetrators of this attack and to bring them to justice.

    “You can expect to see an increased police presence in the coming days and we have more neighbourhood officers on patrol in the surrounding areas this week.

    If anyone has any concerns then please do approach these officers, or their local neighbourhood teams, as we are here to help.

    “I want to reiterate what DCI Blackburn has said, and urge anyone who has any information about this incident to contact us on via 101 stating CAD7392/14APR. Alternatively, to remain 100% anonymous you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

    “Thank you all for your support and our thoughts and prayers go out the family and friends of the victim involved.”

    The investigation remains on-going.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Fatal accident at Ickenham station

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Fatal accident at Ickenham station

    Investigation into a fatal injury to a passenger at Ickenham London Underground station, 28 March 2025.

    Ickenham Underground station.

    At around 22:30 on 28 March 2025, a passenger fell from a platform and on to the track at Ickenham station, which serves the London Underground’s Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines.

    The passenger remained on the track and was struck by a train before being discovered by London Underground station staff. The accident resulted in fatal injuries being sustained by the passenger.

    Our investigation will seek to identify the sequence of events that led to the accident. It will also consider:

    • the actions of those involved and anything which may have influenced them
    • the management of the staff involved in the accident, including their training and competence
    • the arrangements in place to manage and control the risks of such accidents
    • any underlying management factors.

    Our investigation is independent of any investigation by the railway industry or by the industry’s regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.

    We will publish our findings, including any recommendations to improve safety, at the conclusion of our investigation. This report will be available on our website.

    You can subscribe to automated emails notifying you when we publish our reports.

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Derby LIVE wins ‘Public’s Business’ award after panto success

    Source: City of Derby

    Derby City Council’s Derby LIVE has been named as the Public’s Business of the Year following a public vote.

    The win at the Lots for Tots Awards follows closely on the heels of Derby LIVE and Little Wolf Entertainment’s record-breaking production of Cinderella receiving nominations in two categories at the UK Pantomime Association’s Pantomime Awards.

    The Lots for Tots Awards recognise and celebrate the exceptional businesses and individuals who make a positive impact on the lives of families throughout Derbyshire.

    The Public’s Business of the Year Award specifically honours family-focused organisations that work with or support families and children in the Derbyshire area. This award, along with only one other category, was entirely decided by public vote, highlighting the strong connection Derby LIVE has with the local community.

    Upcoming family entertainment presented by Derby LIVE and partners includes the St George’s Day celebrations in the city centre on Saturday 26 April, the Pop-up Theatre events at Markeaton Park in June and Derby Parks’ Superhero Picnics in July.

    Derby LIVE’s award success comes after their spectacular pantomime Cinderella, a collaboration with Little Wolf Entertainment, was recognised on a national stage at the UK Pantomime Association’s Pantomime Awards. Facing competition from hundreds of productions across the country, Cinderella received nominations for:

    Carmen Silvera Award for Best Magical Being – Mina Anwar (Fairy Godmother)
    Best Sisters – Morgan Brind and Roddy Peters

    While Cinderella didn’t take home the trophies at last weekend’s Awards Ceremony, the nominations themselves are a testament to the high-quality family entertainment produced by Derby LIVE and Little Wolf Entertainment.

    The cast of Cinderella

    Little Wolf won two awards, with their production of Snow White at Loughborough Town Hall named as Best Pantomime (500-900 seats), and Emma Robertson receiving the award for Best Newcomer to the Industry for her role in the same show.

    Derby LIVE and Little Wolf are already hard at work creating this year’s magical Derby Arena pantomime, Dick Whittington. Following the unprecedented success of Cinderella, which was Derby’s highest-grossing and best-attended pantomime in the arena’s history, tickets for Dick Whittington are expected to be in high demand. Tickets are on sale now, and families are encouraged to book early to avoid disappointment.

    Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Leader of Derby City Council and Cabinet Member for City Centre, Regeneration, Strategy and Policy, said: 

    Since I passed on the ownership of Lots for Tots back in 2022, the business has gone from strength to strength and it’s wonderful to see their annual awards taking off here in Derby. Derby LIVE has been rightly recognised for their tireless work, bringing vibrancy and family fun to Derby. I’m so proud of the entire team.

    This recognition, together with the incredible success of Cinderella, fuels our passion for providing these events and we can’t wait to share the magic of Dick Whittington this year.

    Book tickets for Dick Whittington at derbylive.co.uk or by calling 01332 255800. The show will be at Derby Arena from Friday 5 December until Wednesday 31 December 2025. Book before 31 May to get tickets at the Early Bird price of £20-£35. Concessions and family ticket savings are available.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The world could stop central Africa’s deadly mpox outbreak if it wanted to

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Chloe Orkin, Professor of Infection and Inequities, Centre for Immunobiology, Blizard Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London

    MIA Studio/Shutterstock

    The global outbreak of mpox in 2022-23 affected more than 100 countries and grabbed the attention of the scientific community. Research on mpox has intensified since.

    The virus behind the outbreak, technically mpox clade IIb, is spread through close physical contact. During the 2022 outbreak it was found in both sperm and vaginal fluid for the first time. This suggests it is sexually transmissible.

    Overall, deaths in the 2022 outbreak were very low: 0.1%. However, in people with very weak immune systems – such as those with advanced HIV – deaths were much higher, at around 15%.

    The outbreak was curtailed through public health agencies and doctors working in partnership with those most at risk of the disease – sexually active men who have sex with men. Key interventions included ensuring that people knew what signs to look for and how to protect themselves, as well as offering vaccinations.

    The more a virus spreads, the greater the likelihood it will mutate. Mutations can allow the virus to be more easily transmissible. This happened with the clade II virus, which branched into two and resulted in the clade IIb global outbreak in 2022. Something very similar has now happened with clade I. Clade I virus caused 14,626 mpox cases and 654 deaths in 2023.

    Health inequality is a killer

    Doctors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been battling to contain exponentially rising cases of the more severe clade I mpox, mainly affecting children under 15 and their caregivers.

    Mpox can be lethal, especially for children under five years old. The mortality rate for clade I is between 3% and 10%. The variation in mortality rates is due to differences in access to healthcare, such as access to antibiotics, as well as specialist care in hospital and intensive care.

    This strain, which has caused significant harm in central African countries such as the DRC, has not attracted the world’s attention in the same way as it has in the west – even though the number of people with the disease was rising year on year. Sadly, it’s very common in global public health for infectious diseases to be neglected unless they affect people in wealthy countries.

    Clade I virus is transmitted through close physical contact, respiratory droplets and contact with infected materials like bedding and infected animals. Historically affected countries, like the DRC, have not had access to the vaccine that helped curtail the outbreak in the US, Europe and the UK.

    The vaccine – called Jynneos in the US and Imvanex in Europe – has not been made or sold in Africa so far. And at US$100 per dose (£76), it is beyond the affordability of most low- and middle-income countries.

    These countries have relied on donations from philanthropic organisations or from governments. However, during the 2022 mpox outbreak, insufficient vaccines were donated to African countries, and local laboratory capacity – needed to test, monitor and respond to cases – was not significantly strengthened. According to experts, wealthier nations, international health agencies and global health donors should have taken the lead in addressing these gaps, but their support fell far short of what was needed.

    In 2024, the mpox virus spread very quickly from the Kivu area of the DRC, which is on the eastern border with Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda – and caused over 16,000 new cases and 511 deaths. The rapid spread among heterosexual people who were moving across porous borders with neighbouring countries – and within camps of internally displaced people – prompted scientists to study the virus to see if it had mutated.

    The virus has changed significantly enough to warrant being named as a new sub-variant: clade Ib.

    These changes may have enabled the rapid spread to several other African countries and the first ever case of clade I virus in Europe (Sweden) in a returning traveller.

    Vaccine accessibility

    So what does this mean for people in wealthy countries? The risk to the general population is very low. However, travellers to affected countries who mix with affected communities are at risk of contracting mpox and transmitting it to close contacts on return.

    We live in an interconnected world, so cases of the new strain are extremely likely to be identified in the coming weeks and months in many countries. But this does not make a global outbreak of clade Ib inevitable. The tools needed to limit the virus from spreading are in use already: community engagement, contact tracing, laboratory surveillance of new cases to monitor spread of clade Ib virus, and vaccination.

    Anyone who develops symptoms after being in contact with a returning traveller should isolate and follow national guidance on where to attend for medical care. It’s essential to do this as soon as possible after noticing symptoms because being vaccinated within four days of exposure can limit the likelihood of getting mpox and the severity – and length – of infection.

    Mpox causes skin lesions that look like blisters which become filled with pus after a few days – and it can cause ulcers in the mouth and on the genitals and bottom. People diagnosed with mpox should isolate and limit close physical and sexual contact while they have lesions.

    Stopping this outbreak is possible if affected countries are equipped with three things: access to free diagnostic tests, laboratory capacity to determine the mpox clade so the extent of the outbreak can be monitored and, most important, equal access to the vaccine.

    Millions of doses will be needed to protect people in affected countries. The declaration of a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization will allow better coordination of the international response, such as emergency licensing of the vaccine in all countries and greater capacity to buy and make the vaccine where it is needed most.

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

    – ref. The world could stop central Africa’s deadly mpox outbreak if it wanted to – https://theconversation.com/the-world-could-stop-central-africas-deadly-mpox-outbreak-if-it-wanted-to-236981

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: King Charles visits the Vatican: my research shows countries that cut ties with the Catholic Church perform better

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jason Garcia-Portilla, Lecturer in Business Management, University of Winchester

    King Charles’s recent visit to the Vatican may appear to be simply a symbolic gesture of ecumenical goodwill. But moments like this provide an opportunity to look at the long-term consequences of church-state relations around the world.

    Britain, of course, has a complicated history with the Catholic church. Edward VII (Charles’s great-great-grandfather) was the first UK monarch to visit the Vatican since the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

    The UK (and much of western Europe) is largely secular today, but this is a global exception: 85% of the world’s population identifies as religious. These beliefs are often passed down through generations, not necessarily chosen freely.

    Today’s religious identities have more to do with political decisions made centuries ago than with personal faith. Spain and Portugal are predominantly Catholic not because of the individual choices of their population, but because their monarchs aligned (and maintained the hegemony) of the Roman Catholic church-state. In England, on the other hand, King Henry VIII broke away from Rome in the 1530s, challenging (“protesting”) against the universal papal authority and leading to the establishment of the Church of England.

    This religious split also carried over to former colonies. Compare the US, (a Protestant country) to Mexico or Brazil (Catholic countries), and you’ll see the long shadow of these old decisions. My research shows the profound and lasting consequences of religion on these societies.

    Diverging nations

    In my book Ye Shall Know Them by Their Fruits, I analysed data from 65 countries across Europe and the Americas using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

    My findings suggest that countries with historical and legal alignments with the Catholic church — such as Spain, Portugal, Austria, Ireland and much of Latin America — tend to underperform on a number of metrics, including inequality and education, and have more political corruption compared to states that maintained institutional separation (such as through the Protestant Reformation). Historical Protestant countries include the UK, Switzerland, Scandinavian and North American countries.

    In particular, countries with strong traditional links to the Catholic church tend to exhibit higher levels of corruption and inequality. They also perform weaker in education, sustainability and competitiveness compared to Protestant countries.

    Prosperity and educational differences between Protestants and Roman Catholics are evident even within countries. In Switzerland, the Protestant cantons (such as Geneva and Zurich) are currently the most competitive, while the Roman Catholic cantons (such as Ticino and Valais) are the least competitive. In Germany, Protestants are more educated (0.8 years more) and more prosperous (5.4% higher income) than Catholics.

    Differences in economic prosperity and education are even higher comparing data across Protestant and Catholic countries.

    Before the Reformation, literacy in England was below 10%, and the Roman church largely monopolised education. The Protestant emphasis on individual reading – especially of the Bible – dramatically increased literacy rates and access to knowledge. This paved the way for broader democratic participation, industrialisation and innovation.

    Protestantism similarly proved influential in historical law revolutions, gradually separating society from feudal institutions and papalist medieval canon law.

    In Britain, the Reformation was not just a theological shift, but a political one, breaking institutional ties with Rome and affirming national sovereignty. The long-term effects of that decision have echoed through the UK’s democratic and economic development.

    Church-state relations

    The Vatican’s political influence is often underestimated. The Roman Catholic church is the only religious body that is, at the same time, a sovereign political state – with ambassadors, diplomatic immunity and seats at international forums. The pope holds absolute executive, legislative and judicial authority.

    Many of today’s Catholic-majority countries maintain formal relations with the Roman See through bilateral treaties called concordats. These agreements exert the power of the church in countries that have them, and are rarely democratically consulted with the population.

    In Colombia, for example, concordats throughout history have linked religion and politics, have given church-influenced groups power over the economy, and allowed Rome to control what is taught in public and private education at all levels.

    Since then, liberal efforts have reestablished much of the state’s power. But the effects are still evident in the strong cultural identity and presence of Catholicism in the country. Colombia has one of the highest proportions of adults raised as Roman Catholics in the world (92%), after Paraguay (94%).

    The Vatican remains a political actor whose influence is often underestimated.
    Collection Maykova/Shutterstock

    Historically, informal gestures of religious diplomacy have laid the groundwork for further cooperation and formal agreements with Rome.

    But King Charles’s recent Vatican visit is more diplomatic than anything. It reflects modern efforts to maintain and strengthen state-to-state relations and discuss shared global concerns like climate change and peacebuilding.

    It is for this reason that the king’s visit matters – not because a formal treaty is on the table, but because it shows the strength of the UK’s experience since the Reformation. An exemplary model of the success of church-state separation, British democracy and prosperity have thrived for centuries – without formal entanglements with the Catholic church.

    Dr Jason Garcia-Portilla earned his PhD in Organization Studies and Cultural Theory at the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), financed with a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship–ESKAS. Additionally, he holds an MSc in Climate Change and Policy from the University of Sussex in the UK (funded by the British Chevening Scholarship).

    – ref. King Charles visits the Vatican: my research shows countries that cut ties with the Catholic Church perform better – https://theconversation.com/king-charles-visits-the-vatican-my-research-shows-countries-that-cut-ties-with-the-catholic-church-perform-better-254357

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Joint press statement

    Source: NATO

    (As delivered)

    President Zelenskyy, Dear Volodymyr,
    It is important for me to be standing next to you today in Odesa, a city that has been under constant attack throughout Russia’s war against Ukraine. 

    Only this weekend, Russia attacked residential buildings and a hospital here with kamikaze drones. Today we both visited a hospital where I talked with some of the people injured in the war.

    Just two days ago, in Sumy on Palm Sunday –the holiest day in the Christian calendar –  two Russian ballistic missiles killed over 30 civilians – men, women, children. 
    Over 100 were injured – many seriously.
    This is simply outrageous. It’s part of a terrible pattern of Russia attacking civilian targets and infrastructure across Ukraine. Even hundreds of hospitals and medical workers have been targeted over the last years.

    I am here today because I believe Ukraine’s people deserve real peace – real safety and security in their country. In their homes.
    My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine. 
    Those who lost loved ones in these recent strikes. And so many over the years. 
    Those who have been injured. Or lost their homes. Or had their dreams shattered by this unjust and unlawful war. 

    So I am here with you today, dear Volodymyr, 
    To affirm to you and the Ukrainian people this simple message: 
    NATO stands with Ukraine. 

    You and I know that this has been true all along.
    I also know that some have called NATO’s support into question in the last couple of months. 
    But let there be no doubt. 
    Our support is unwavering. 

    NATO continues to provide political and practical support for Ukraine by delivering security assistance and training through our command in Wiesbaden. And we work closely together in Kyiv and in Brussels. 

    What’s more, just in the first three months of 2025, NATO Allies have already pledged more than 20 billion euros in security assistance for Ukraine this year. 
    Our commitment is clear – and concrete.
    We saw further contributions as you rightly said from Allies during the latest Ramstein meeting that was held in Brussels on Friday

    Our support to Ukraine is designed to ensure that your country is strong and sovereign. Able to defend today and to deter any future aggression. 
    All of this to underpin the efforts towards a just and lasting peace. 

    Indeed, today we again spoke about the important talks that President Trump is leading with Ukraine as well as with Russia to try to end the war and secure a durable peace. 
    These discussions are not easy – not least in the wake of this horrific violence –  but we all support President Trump’s push for peace. 

    Other Allies – including through efforts led by France and the United Kingdom – are ready, willing and able to shoulder more responsibility in helping to secure a peace when the time comes.

    So let me say again – to the people of Ukraine.
    We stand with you. 
    And look forward to a day that the brave men and women of this incredible country can enjoy freedom without fear. 
    So dear Volodymyr, thank you for inviting me here today. I am grateful for your leadership, for our friendship, and for our continued cooperation. 

    Slava Ukraini.

    Question: I have one question for both of you but in different forms. First of all today Mr. Witkoff said that the peace agreement that is being discussed as we understand with Russia includes some five territories , there is no NATO, there is no five article. That is why I have a different question to you. Mr General Secretary do you understand what Russia and America discussed about NATO without you and what it means for NATO, for Ukraine and for all the world? (continues in Ukrainian)

    Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General: Let me first say that I want to commend President Trump for breaking the deadlock and starting these talks about peace in Ukraine. I think this is important because we have seen so many people die, we have seen so many cities being destroyed, the infrastructure having been targeted by the Russians so I think this is an important effort. And I have decided not to comment on all the intermediate stages of this whole process because I do not want to interfere with the peace process. Whatever we do when it comes to helping here we do as discreetly as possible and I cannot comment on this in the press. I am sorry.

    Question: Mr Secretary General thank you for being here. The first question to you is, is there any information you could disclose on the update of the naval deployment of the coalition of the willing for securing of the Black Sea security situation? (Continues in Ukrainian)

    Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General: NATO is involved in a couple of these talks. We are of course following closely with our American friends, the initiatives by President Trump to bring Ukraine and Russia to a ceasefire and we support those efforts. Then through our command in Wiesbaden, so-called NSATU, we are working with Ukraine. And you had a visit last week of the French and the British senior officers here in Ukraine to discuss, going forward, what will be the best format to organise the Ukrainian armed forces for the future. Of course it will also help now with the fight against the Russians but also for the long term future. Because that will, in any case, be the first line of deterrence  to make sure that whenever a peace deal is struck/a ceasefire is agreed, that the Ukrainian armed forces are, as the first line of deterrence, capable and able long term to defend the country. And there are initiatives ongoing, and I think you are particularly now referring to what the French and the Brits are working on through the Coalition of the Willing. And we are also very much, of course, part of those talks and trying to advise wherever we can these discussions in the right direction. And I am very happy that the French and the Brits took this initiative to make sure that when, as a first line of defence, you have the Ukrainian armed forces, post a peace deal/ceasefire, that there might be more necessary to make sure that Putin will never ever ever ever try this again. Because nobody wants to get back to a situation of Minsk 2014, where you think you have a sort of peace deal but basically it is not strong enough, it is not holding and Putin tries this again. And whenever we come to a conclusion of this terrible war, it has to be clear to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin that he can never ever try again to capture one square kilometre or one square mile of Ukraine. So that is why the French, the Brits and others are discussing what we need more, on top of Ukrainian armed forces going forward, to make sure that that guarantee is there. This is all still being debated. It will also depend, it is my absolute conviction, on the exact outcome of a peace deal/a ceasefire and hopefully a strong combination of the two. What exactly will be that format and how it will work and who will do what, etc. These talks are ongoing. As we are preparing for that hopeful soon-to-be-achieved eventuality, I hope of course that NATO tries to steer that in the direction we think will be advisory.

    (response from President Zelenskyy in Ukrainian)

    Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General: maybe I can add one sentence that Türkiye has in 2022 already successfully agreed a ceasefire on the grain deal, they agreed to a grain deal in 2022, so let’s be positive about the fact that Türkiye again tries to bring together all relevant parties and let’s hope they are successful.

    Question: in Ukrainian

    Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General: Yes they are the aggressor. Let me be very clear. Russia is the aggressor. Russia started this war and there is no doubt.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Coop Pank AS will hold an investor webinar to introduce the results for the Q1 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Coop Pank invites shareholders, investors, analysts and other stakeholders to join its investor webinar, scheduled on 23 April 2025 at 9 am (EET). The webinar will be held in Estonian.

    The webinar will be hosted by the Chairman of the Board Margus Rink and the Chief Financial Officer Paavo Truu, who present the unaudited financial results of the First Quarter of 2025.

    During the webinar all attendees can ask questions. All questions will be answered after the presentation.

    To join the webinar, you need to register in advance via following link: https://bit.ly/CP-veebiseminar-osalemine-23042025  

    Registrants will be sent a link to the webinar and a reminder email one hour before the start of the webinar. The webinar will be recorded and published on the company’s website www.cooppank.ee and on our YouTube account.

    Coop Pank, based on Estonian capital, is one of the five universal banks operating in Estonia. The number of clients using Coop Pank for their daily banking has reached 211,000. Coop Pank aims to put the synergy generated by the interaction of retail business and banking to good use and to bring everyday banking services closer to people’s homes. The strategic shareholder of the bank is the domestic retail chain Coop Eesti comprising 320 stores.

    Additional information:
    Katre Tatrik
    Communication Manager
    Tel: +372 5151 859
    E-mail: katre.tatrik@cooppank.ee

    The MIL Network –