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Category: Fisheries

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Zambia formally accepts WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

    Source: WTO

    Headline: Zambia formally accepts WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

    DG Okonjo-Iweala said: “Turning the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies into real benefits for people and the planet is a global endeavour, and I am grateful to Zambia, as a landlocked country, for stepping up and doing its part. With Zambia’s ratification, we are now closer than ever to adding the Agreement to the WTO rulebook and only six ratifications away from breaking new ground in protecting livelihoods, food security and restoring marine fish stocks.”
    Ambassador Luambia said: “Zambia is very pleased to be part of the first 105 signatories and part of the 111 ratifications that will bring the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies into force. As a landlocked country, Zambia understands the importance of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies in sustaining marine fish stocks and promoting fair trade to support livelihoods, particularly for those in small scale fishing. Zambia believes that the entry into force of this Agreement will further strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at the centre.”
    Formal acceptances from two-thirds of WTO members are required for the Agreement to enter into force — representing 111 members. The list of the 105 WTO members which have deposited their instruments of acceptance with the WTO is available here.
    At the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) held in Geneva in June 2022, ministers adopted by consensus the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, setting new, binding, multilateral rules to curb harmful fisheries subsidies. The Agreement prohibits subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, for fishing overfished stocks, and for fishing on the unregulated high seas.
    Ministers also recognized the needs of developing economies and least-developed countries by establishing a fund to provide technical assistance and capacity-building to help governments that have formally accepted the Agreement to implement the new obligations.
    The Fish Fund launched a Call for Proposals on 6 June, inviting developing economies and LDCs that have ratified the Agreement to submit requests for project grants aimed at helping them implement the Agreement. The WTO Fish Fund portal can be found here.
    WTO members also agreed at MC12 to continue negotiating on remaining fisheries subsidies issues. The objective is to find consensus on additional provisions to further strengthen the disciplines on fisheries subsidies.
    Information for members on how to accept the Protocol of Amendment is available here.

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    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Zambia formally accepts WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

    Source: WTO

    Headline: Zambia formally accepts WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

    DG Okonjo-Iweala said: “Turning the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies into real benefits for people and the planet is a global endeavour, and I am grateful to Zambia, as a landlocked country, for stepping up and doing its part. With Zambia’s ratification, we are now closer than ever to adding the Agreement to the WTO rulebook and only six ratifications away from breaking new ground in protecting livelihoods, food security and restoring marine fish stocks.”
    Ambassador Luambia said: “Zambia is very pleased to be part of the first 105 signatories and part of the 111 ratifications that will bring the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies into force. As a landlocked country, Zambia understands the importance of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies in sustaining marine fish stocks and promoting fair trade to support livelihoods, particularly for those in small scale fishing. Zambia believes that the entry into force of this Agreement will further strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at the centre.”
    Formal acceptances from two-thirds of WTO members are required for the Agreement to enter into force — representing 111 members. The list of the 105 WTO members which have deposited their instruments of acceptance with the WTO is available here.
    At the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) held in Geneva in June 2022, ministers adopted by consensus the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, setting new, binding, multilateral rules to curb harmful fisheries subsidies. The Agreement prohibits subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, for fishing overfished stocks, and for fishing on the unregulated high seas.
    Ministers also recognized the needs of developing economies and least-developed countries by establishing a fund to provide technical assistance and capacity-building to help governments that have formally accepted the Agreement to implement the new obligations.
    The Fish Fund launched a Call for Proposals on 6 June, inviting developing economies and LDCs that have ratified the Agreement to submit requests for project grants aimed at helping them implement the Agreement. The WTO Fish Fund portal can be found here.
    WTO members also agreed at MC12 to continue negotiating on remaining fisheries subsidies issues. The objective is to find consensus on additional provisions to further strengthen the disciplines on fisheries subsidies.
    Information for members on how to accept the Protocol of Amendment is available here.

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    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Implementation of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1141 – E-002805/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-002805/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Michał Kobosko (Renew)

    Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1141 introduces a 96-hour time limit for the processing of fishery products at temperatures below 0°C. Although seemingly technologically neutral, these rules have an impact on processing plants that use stiffening technology as an integral part of their production process.

    The largest plants of this type are located in Poland, including in Ustka and Słupsk. They employ thousands of people in a region with limited opportunities for economic development. The fish processing industry, which is a pillar of the local labour market, has been forced to undergo a costly reorganisation of its production. I have received information that producers from other Member States have not implemented the same rules. These rules have a direct impact on jobs, investment and the socio-economic stability of less industrialised areas.

    In light of the above:

    • 1.Has the Commission carried out an analysis of the impact of Regulation 2024/1141 on employment and the economic situation in EU regions where fish processing is a key local industry?
    • 2.Did the Commission take into account in its impact assessment that the new rules will almost exclusively affect specific plants located in less industrialised regions, and does the Commission intend to adopt compensatory or support measures for local communities affected by this regulation?
    • 3.Has the Commission carried out an assessment of the implementation of this regulation throughout the EU? If so, which countries were included in the detailed assessment and what methodology was used?

    Submitted: 9.7.2025

    Last updated: 15 July 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senate Passes Tuberville Legislation to Protect American Fishermen from Cartels

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Alabama Tommy Tuberville
    Alabama lands 34 percent of all recreationally caught Red Snapper in the Gulf
    WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL)and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act to target cartel members who are illegally catching and smuggling red snapper and tuna imports into the country.
    “This is great news for our hardworking fishermen who have worked overtime to compete with Mexican cartels flooding our markets with illegal red snapper,” said Senator Tuberville. “It’s also a win for every American because it cuts off the cash flow to cartels, which have been terrorizing our communities. I’ll continue standing up for our fishermen and fighting to preserve the outdoor activities Alabamians enjoy.”
    The Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a standard methodology for identifying the country of origin of red snapper or tuna imported into the United States. Snapper poaching continues to be an issue across the Gulf of America, as Mexican fishermen illegally catch red snapper, smuggle it into their country, and then rip off American consumers by selling our fish back to us. 
    Full text of the legislation can be found here.
    BACKGROUND:
    Mexican fishermen cross the maritime border between Texas and Mexico on small boats called “lanchas” to illegally catch red snapper in U.S. waters and return to Mexico. The fish are sold in Mexico or mixed in with legally-caught red snapper then exported back into the United States across land borders. Red snapper is one of the most well-managed and profitable fish in the Gulf of America, but illegal fishing by Mexican lanchas puts law-abiding U.S. fishermen and seafood producers at a competitive disadvantage. Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities violate both national and international fishing regulations.
    Cartels engaged in drug smuggling and human trafficking also engage in the profitable illegal fishing of red snapper. The same fishing boats and fishermen who catch red snapper also smuggle drugs and humans for the cartels, and these profits support the organization.
    Technology exists to chemically test and find the geographic origin of many foods, but not for red snapper or tuna. With the help of machine learning, NIST scientists are currently able to chemically determine the geographic origin of foods, including strawberries, apples, cherries, ginseng, ginkgo, beef, honey, and rice. Using those same methodologies, these scientists believe it would be possible to determine the geographic origin of red snapper, allowing law enforcement to have a better understanding of the networks that support illegal fishing.
    The Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act would develop a field test kit the Coast Guard could use to accurately ascertain whether fish were caught in Mexico or U.S. waters, thus allowing federal and state law enforcement officers to identify the origin of the fish and confiscate illegally caught red snapper or tuna before it is imported back into the U.S. It would also reduce the financial incentives for the crime, since the fish could no longer be sold back into the United States. If successful, this method could be expanded to identify other IUU fish.
    MORE:
    Tuberville Takes Aim At Cartels Engaged in Illegal Red Snapper Fishing
    Tuberville Voices Concerns About New Federal Red Snapper Limits
    Tuberville, Colleagues Advocate for Management Flexibility to Preserve Red Snapper Season
    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Schatz: Republican Tax Law Will Result In Millions Losing Health Care And Food Assistance, Rural Hospitals Closing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz

    WASHINGTON – Following the enactment of the Republican tax law, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) spoke out on the Senate floor last night to underscore the harmful impacts the law will have on millions of people. The new law, passed without any bipartisan support, will soon kick more than 17 million Americans off of health insurance, raise monthly health care costs across the country, and slash nutritional assistance for those in need – all in order to cut taxes for the ultra-wealthy.

    “First thing that’s going to happen: 17 million Americans, including 9 million people on Medicaid, will lose health care coverage in about 18 months’ time,” said Senator Schatz. “Hundreds of rural hospitals and nursing homes will close without enough funding to continue operating. More people are going to get sick because of this law. But we’re going to have fewer hospitals and doctors to take care of them. Why? Because Medicaid is a big revenue stream for really all hospitals, but especially rural hospitals.”

    Schatz continued, “We are not going to stop talking about this. We are going to talk about this until it is repealed. We’re going to talk about this when the rates go up for your electricity. We’re going to talk about this when kids are thrown off their nutritional assistance. We’re going to talk about this when rural hospitals close. We are going to talk about this when your insurance coverage rates go up.”

    The full text of Schatz’s remarks can be found below. Video is available here. 

    Two weeks ago, Republicans passed one of the most unpopular bills in the history of the country. And now that it’s law, we don’t have to imagine anymore what might happen. We know for sure what’s going to happen to tens of millions of people all across the country.

    I want to focus on five things that are going to happen. Five things that are going to happen because we no longer have to talk about a House version and the Senate version, or what the president says he wants, or what someone says – you know, “if I don’t get this, I’m going to vote no.” Now we have a law. We have public law. Federal law.

    First thing that’s going to happen 17 million Americans, including 9 million people on Medicaid, will lose health care coverage in about 18 months’ time. To keep their coverage, people will have to complete hours and hours of paperwork just to prove that they’re working. That’s in spite of the fact that the number of nondisabled adults on Medicaid who don’t work is very low, about 8 percent.

    So how do these work requirements actually function? Well, in Arkansas, which is one of the two states that tried this and then pulled it back because it was a failure, the reporting portal was only open during the day and closed between the hours of 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. So let’s say you work long hours as a truck driver. If you’re trying to log on at night to fill out your forms, you are out of luck. Or let’s say something unfortunate happens to you. Let’s say you get in a car accident or have a bad case of the flu. Maybe you’re not hospitalized, but you are incapacitated, at least temporarily. If you miss the reporting window, you might lose the coverage.

    And what’s preposterous about these Medicaid work requirements is in order to establish that you’re either working or seeking work, you have to fill out a form. If you get sick and are bedridden and can’t fill out the form, they say, don’t worry, there’s an exception for a situation like that. Guess how you apply for the exception – by filling out another form.

    There are only a couple of people on a couple of million people on Medicaid who even fit the description of someone who is non-disabled and on Medicaid, and yet the actual official projections, which is to say, the way they save the money, is they’re projecting many, many millions of people are going to get kicked off of Medicaid, even though they’re eligible.

    And I know I’m a Democrat, and I wanted this bill to fail. And I want to tell you why this is a failure of a bill, but that’s literally in their projections. Without those projections, they don’t have enough revenue for the biggest tax cuts for the wealthiest people in the history of the planet.

    Number two, hundreds of rural hospitals and nursing homes will close without enough funding to continue operating. More people are going to get sick because of this law. But we’re going to have fewer hospitals and doctors to take care of them. Why? Because Medicaid is a big revenue stream for really all hospitals, but especially rural hospitals. It can be up to about half of what they call the payer mix. What is a payer mix? It’s just you might get paid by private insurance 30 percent. You might get paid by Medicaid, 45 percent. You might have a little VA. You might have a little private pay adds up to 100 percent. So as you look at your revenue picture, 40, 50, sometimes even more percent of that money comes from Medicaid. If there’s a huge $1 trillion nationwide reduction in Medicaid money, that money is reduced money for rural hospitals and rural hospitals will definitely close. Not all of them, but many of them. So even if you’re not on Medicaid. If you live in a place where there’s a rural hospital and that’s the flagship hospital for a small town that might not be available to you, you might have to drive 2 or 3 hours for care or even emergency care.

    Number three, starting next year, tens of millions of people are going to pay hundreds of dollars a month more for health insurance. And this is one I think we should linger on, because now that the fight over Obamacare is sort of in the rearview mirror, people just think they get on to the ACA portal, they sign up for their health care, and they pay what they pay. Right? Like, “oh, I want a family plan. I want this level of deductible.” And then it spits out how much you’re going to pay every month, what tens of millions of people don’t actually know is those rates on the exchange are subsidized. And without those subsidies, we’re going to go back to the bad old days pre-Obamacare, when people would pay absurd amounts of money for their health care insurance, even if they’re employed, even if they do have insurance.

    And what is I think, underrated both politically and on policy, is all of those rates get set in the next couple of months. Because in order to start paying and in order to start enrolling, you got to notify people, “hey, you’re thing that was $289 a month, now it’s $789 a month.” And so sometime in the fall, it depends on the state, October and November. Some people in December are going to get a letter saying, “if you want to stay on the same health care plan, here’s your new price.” And those new prices are going to be astronomical.

    Now we do have a disagreement between the parties. I think there are a lot of people who just don’t like public subsidy of health care insurance premiums. I’m sure the presiding officer has her reservations about that kind of thing. It is about the size and the scope of government. But there is a factual aspect to this, which is whatever one’s governing philosophy is, whatever one thought about the Affordable Care Act, the plain fact of the matter is people are going to get letters from their insurance carriers with astronomical increases that they will not be able to pay.

    Number four, 5 million people are either going to lose some or all of their nutritional assistance starting next year. You know, this trope is like almost as old as I am, like some lazy person on food stamps. Just like collecting food stamps. Loving that life, going to the store, buying fancy stuff. It’s $6 a day. The average nutritional assistance amount per person per day is six bucks. We have actually, I don’t know if you know this, but we have subsidized food in the United States Senate, not because the government is paying for it, but because all the restaurants that operate here don’t have to pay lease rent. So it’s a little bit cheaper than you would normally get. I can’t get anything for six bucks downstairs in the Dirksen cafeteria. Not that would feed me $6 a day is the average amount. And what the Republicans decided to do. Is to generate savings, is to find saving is to cut nutritional assistance. Why? Because they needed to pay for the biggest tax cut in American history for the wealthiest people and corporations that have ever existed.

    It would be one thing if people were getting 75 bucks a day for food. It would be one thing if they were getting 25 bucks a day for food, but they’re getting six bucks, and 5 million people will now have enormously difficult time trying to figure out just how to survive the day. And I mean, not quite literally, survive the day. Find the calories within your 6 or 8 or $12 budget.

    Finally, people are going to pay hundreds of dollars more per year on electricity because this bill throttles the cheapest and most abundant form of energy in wind and solar. And this is where you got to stay with me for a moment. I’m very passionate about climate action. I think it is a planetary emergency. I think it is a moral obligation that we take care of our planet so it can sustain us for generations to come. But even if you don’t care about that, the only energy that is ready to come on line right now is solar energy. Some wind energy, but mostly solar energy. Why? Because nuclear, frankly takes at least ten years to permit and site. And of course, anytime anyone wants to do any nuclear power generation, everybody in whatever neighborhood or state or county that is tries to stop it. And so you not you don’t just have regulatory risk, you have project risk. Ten years is an optimistic scenario. I’m a big believer in nuclear energy, but ten years is the most realistic scenario to get a bunch of nuclear energy on line.

    Likewise, geothermal maybe 5 to 8 years in the most optimistic scenario. Again, I love geothermal energy. I think it is an untapped resource across the United States of America. We have about a six-year gap before any of those other technologies are ready. And so a lot of fossil advocates go, well, why don’t we do more gas? There is a backlog of combined cycle gas turbines, and that can’t just be fixed by saying I will take more.

    Everybody wants more. There is a backlog. You cannot get gas generation online in the next five years. So what does that mean? It means over the next five years, solar is the stuff that is like instantly pluggable into the grid. Super cheap, not terribly controversial except for in this chamber and ready to power the AI revolution or whatever other load needs we have.

    But this bill kind of putatively, kind of ideologically decides, “no, we’re not for all of the above. You know, that thing we said about whatever’s cheap and plentiful and available every time we were trying to prevent clean energy from coming on the grid? Remember that thing we used to say? Now, really what we meant is we quite hate solar energy. Particularly we hate solar energy.”

    Again, I think that’s preposterous from a planetary standpoint. But even if there were no planetary crisis, this is the energy that is available to us and we are about to face energy shortages. The reason, for instance, Texas of all places, has not had blackouts and brownouts is because solar can’t absorb when the sun is high and it is 108 degrees and everybody’s pumping their air conditioner. That also happens to be the point in time, the point of the day when all the solar farms are running at full capacity and they can power the grid. And so solar energy isn’t something from 17 years ago, when people would say, “you know, sometimes the sun is shining and sometimes it’s not, and it’s intermittent and the batteries aren’t there.” All of that is in the rearview mirror. All the technical issues, not all of them, 90 percent of the technical issues related to solar energy have been resolved. And that’s the scariest thing for the fossil energy people. You know why? Because they can’t argue that this isn’t economically smarter. They just have to argue that it’s like woke or something like woke electrons.

    Who cares where the electrons come from? If they’re cheap and plentiful, we should all be for them. And so this bill is going to create shortages, which will drive up prices. And in some places reduce power quality. What does power quality mean? It means we’re going to have blackouts and brownouts across the country. So to do any of these things in a bill would be bad. But to do all of it, all of it, in order to pay for the biggest wealth transfer from the poor to the rich in history, is morally and economically bankrupt.

    Nobody asked for any of this. Trump voters were not demanding any of this. Nobody was asking to lose their health care or not be able to feed their kids or pay more to keep the lights on at home, but they raced to do it anyway, knowing full well how devastating it would be for the country and for their own home states.

    One final point: we are not going to stop talking about this. We are going to talk about this until it is repealed. We’re going to talk about this when the rates go up for your electricity. We’re going to talk about this when kids are thrown off their nutritional assistance. We’re going to talk about this when rural hospitals close, we are going to talk about this when your insurance coverage rates go up.

    We are not going to stop talking about this because this document, which was enacted into law, is a perfect encapsulation of the difference between the political parties. My party is flawed. Obviously, my party is flawed. But I’ve never seen my party propose a bill that transferred so much money from the poor to the rich, and I’ve never seen my party propose a bill that raises the price of electricity, that raises the price of food and raises the price of health care.

    And so we’re going to talk about this today, tomorrow, for the next 18 months. And until this thing is repealed from the federal law books.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Madagascar launches $7 million initiative to protect coasts from climate change

    Source: APO – Report:

    .

    Madagascar has officially launched a landmark initiative aimed at enhancing climate resilience by restoring critical coastal ecosystems and improving livelihoods across vulnerable regions. Nearly 100,000 people are expected to benefit directly across four key coastal regions—Boeny, Menabe, Diana, and Atsimo Atsinanana—where climate impacts are already threatening both livelihoods and biodiversity.

    The project, Scaling Up Ecosystem-Based Adaptation for Coastal Areas in Madagascar, will be executed by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development with a USD 7.1 million grant from the Global Environment Facility and a cofinancing of USD 27 million. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) assisted the government with developing the project and will act as the implementing agency, as a continuation of a long-standing partnership on resilience-building and strengthened environmental stewardship

    Madagascar’s coastal ecosystems—mangroves, coral reefs, and coastal forests—serve as natural buffers against rising seas, intensifying cyclones, and coastal erosion. Yet these ecosystems are under growing pressure from deforestation, overfishing, and a changing climate. Coastal zones support more than 75% of the local population by providing, for example, marine species for fisheries or valuable non-timber forest products.

    The new project aims to enhance the resilience of both ecosystems and communities through nature-based solutions, conventionally  referred to as ecosystem-based adaptation.

    In close coordination with the Regional Directorates for Environment and Sustainable Development (DREDD), the project will support integrated coastal zone management structures, enhance national and local adaptation coordination, and provide revised tools and plans to integrate EbA at the regional and municipal levels.

    The initiative will restore 3,000 hectares of mangroves and coastal forests and rehabilitate 2,000 hectares of degraded watersheds using community-based approaches. Over the course of the project, almost 100,000 people are expected to benefit directly from ecosystem-based adaptation interventions.

    It will also support the creation of 20 ecosystem-based businesses, with a focus on empowering women and youth through access to training, technical support, and equipment. These businesses will span climate-resilient sectors such as sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, beekeeping, ecotourism, and rainfed agriculture.

    An official high-level launch ceremony was held on 15 July at Hôtel Le Louvre Antaninarenina, bringing together representatives from national ministries, UN agencies, civil society, and development partners. 

    In her opening speech at the ceremony, the Secretary General of Environment and Sustainable Development Hahitantsoa Tokinirina Razafimahefa, said: “Restoring mangroves means protecting the coastline, supporting sustainable small-scale fishing, creating natural carbon sinks, and preserving nesting sites for rare species. In other words, it means acting on adaptation, mitigation, food security, and biodiversity conservation—all at once.”

    Paz Lopez-Rey, UNEP’s Programme Management Officer for the new project, said: “The project will strengthen local governance for integrated coastal zone management, while ensuring the integration of ecosystem-based adaptation into key regional and municipal planning tools. But it will go further than that; it will lead to a national strategy to scale up ecosystem-based adaptation in other vulnerable coastal areas of the country.”

    – on behalf of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Taurine could power your energy drink – and maybe cancer cells too. Here’s what you need to know

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Gulshanara (Rumy) Begum, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition & Exercise Science, University of Westminster

    shutterstock New Africa/Shutterstock

    Energy drinks are big business. Marketed as quick fixes for fatigue and performance dips, energy drinks are especially popular among young people, athletes, sports enthusiasts, and so-called “weekend warriors” – people who pack their workouts into the weekend instead of exercising regularly. Gamers are now a major target too.

    But as the market grows, so do concerns about what’s actually in these drinks – and what these ingredients might be doing to our bodies.

    Many energy drinks contain some combination of three familiar stimulants: caffeine, found naturally in coffee, tea and cacao; guarana, an Amazonian plant rich in caffeine; and taurine, a naturally occurring amino acid found in scallops, mussels, turkey and chicken.

    Taurine, in particular, has drawn both hype and hope. It is credited with performance-enhancing properties and potential health benefits. But new research is raising important questions about how it behaves in the body – and when it might do more harm than good.

    In May 2025, a study published in Nature sparked headlines and unease in equal measure. It found that taurine may fuel the progression of leukaemia, a group of blood cancers that begin in the bone marrow.

    The study showed that while healthy bone marrow cells naturally produce taurine, leukaemia cells cannot. But they can absorb taurine from their surroundings and use it as a fuel source to grow and multiply. Research on mice and in human leukaemia cell samples demonstrated that taurine in the tumour microenvironment – the area around a tumour that includes blood vessels, immune cells and structural support – accelerated the progression of leukaemia.

    Crucially, when researchers blocked taurine uptake by leukaemia cells (using genetic techniques), cancer progression slowed significantly. The authors suggest taurine supplements could potentially worsen outcomes in people with leukaemia and propose that developing targeted ways to block taurine uptake by cancer cells might offer a new treatment strategy.

    Taurine: friend or foe?

    Taurine is one of the most abundant free amino acids in the human body, found in especially high concentrations in the heart, muscles and brain. In healthy people, it’s mainly obtained through diet, but the body can also synthesise taurine from the amino acids methionine and cysteine, provided it has enough vitamin B6, which is found in foods such as salmon, tuna, chicken, bananas and milk.

    Most people consuming a typical western diet take in 40mg–400mg of taurine a day from food alone. This figure refers only to taurine that is directly ingested, not including the additional amount the body can synthesise internally, which may vary depending on age, diet and health.

    Scallops contain high levels of taurine.
    barmalini/Shutterstock

    Taurine is listed on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) generally recognised as safe (GRAS) database, and according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), it’s safe to consume up to six grams per day. By comparison, a serving of Red Bull or Monster contains around one gram – comfortably below that threshold.

    Despite recent concerns about a possible link to blood cancer progression, taurine isn’t inherently harmful. In fact, some people may benefit from supplementation, especially those receiving long-term parenteral nutrition, where nutrients are delivered directly into the bloodstream because the gut isn’t working properly. People with chronic liver, kidney or heart failure may also have trouble producing or holding on to enough taurine, making supplementation helpful in specific clinical settings.

    Ironically, some research suggests taurine may actually help reduce the side effects of chemotherapy in leukaemia patients – even as emerging studies raise concerns that it could also fuel the disease. This contradiction underscores how much context matters: the effects of taurine depend not just on dosage and delivery, but also on the patient’s underlying condition. What helps in one context, could harm in another.

    But here’s the catch: taking taurine as a supplement for particular health reasons is very different from consuming large quantities through energy drinks, which often combine taurine with high levels of caffeine and sugar. This combination can put strain on the heart, interfere with sleep and increase the risk of side effects, particularly for people with underlying health conditions or those taking other stimulants.

    The latest research raises important questions about whether taurine-heavy products could be harmful in some cases, especially for people with, or at risk of, blood cancers.

    So, should you worry?

    According to the current evidence, if you’re a healthy adult who occasionally sips an energy drink, there’s little cause for alarm. But moderation is key. Consuming multiple high-taurine drinks daily or taking taurine supplements (without prior professional consultation), on top of a taurine-rich diet might not be wise, especially if future research confirms links between taurine and cancer progression.

    Until more is known, the safest approach would be to enjoy your energy boosts by consuming a nutritious diet rather than consuming energy drinks. If you have any underlying health conditions – or a family history of cancer – it’s always best to consult a healthcare professional before diving into taurine supplementation or consumption of energy drinks.

    Gulshanara (Rumy) Begum 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. Taurine could power your energy drink – and maybe cancer cells too. Here’s what you need to know – https://theconversation.com/taurine-could-power-your-energy-drink-and-maybe-cancer-cells-too-heres-what-you-need-to-know-256957

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: 07.15.2025 Cruz-Led Bipartisan Bill to Protect Livelihoods of Texas Fishermen Passes the Senate

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Texas Ted Cruz
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Senate passed the Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act, which was introduced by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). The bipartisan bill directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a standard methodology for identifying the country of origin of red snapper and certain species of tuna imported into the United States.
    Technology exists to chemically test and find the geographic origin of many foods, but not for red snapper and tuna. The legislation supports the development of a field test kit that can be used to accurately ascertain whether fish were caught in U.S. or foreign waters, thus allowing federal and state law enforcement officers to identify the origin of the fish and confiscate illegally caught red snapper and tuna before it is imported back into the U.S.
    The Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Act was reintroduced in January and advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee the following month. The legislation was also co-sponsored by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).
    Sen. Cruz said, “Hardworking Texas fishermen in the Gulf of America are being undercut by cartel-backed entities who illegally catch and smuggle red snapper into U.S. markets, using profits to fund other illicit activities. I am proud to lead the fight on this bipartisan legislation to crack down on these corrupt operations, stand up for Texas fishermen, and protect our communities. Now, it’s time for the House to act and help us put an end to this illegality.”
    Sen. Schatz said, “Seafood that’s caught illegally or intentionally mislabeled rips off consumers and makes it harder for law-abiding U.S. fishermen to compete. Our bill will help fight against anyone who tries to pass off cheap foreign tuna for high-quality ahi from local Hawai‘i fishermen.”
    BACKGROUND
    Mexican fishermen cross the maritime border between Texas and Mexico on small boats called “lanchas” to illegally catch red snapper in U.S. waters and return to Mexico. The fish are sold in Mexico or mixed in with legally-caught red snapper then exported back into the United States across land borders. Red snapper is one of the most well-managed and profitable fish in the Gulf, but illegal fishing by Mexican lanchas puts law-abiding U.S. fishermen and seafood producers at a competitive disadvantage.
    Last year, the Coast Guard seized more than 18 tons of illegally caught fish from Mexican lanchas. As of June of this year, the Coast Guard has arrested more than 50 Mexican fishermen and seized thousands of pounds of illegally caught fish, further underscoring the need for additional measures to protect our resources.
    In Hawaii, commercial fishermen have long fought to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and human trafficking in the seafood industry. IUU fishing activities violate both national and international fishing regulations.
    Sens. Cruz, Britt, and Tuberville previously introduced similar legislation during the 118th Congress, which passed the Commerce Committee in July of last year.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Decisions We Take Now ‘Will Shape Development Trajectories for Decades to Come’, Deputy Secretary-General Tells High-Level Political Forum

    Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

    Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the opening of the 2025 high-level political forum on sustainable development, in New York today:

    In 2015, the world made a landmark commitment to achieve sustainable development and ensure that no one is left behind.

    The 2030 Agenda built on previous decades of development efforts and carried forward the vision and lessons of the Millenium Development Goals.

    It framed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) around a paradigm shift that integrates the three core dimensions of sustainable development — economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability — and underscored the vital role of effective governance and strong institutions.

    It carried a promise to everyone, everywhere, to live in dignity, on a safe and healthy planet.

    Today, a decade later, we meet again as the world grapples with conflicts and deepening geopolitical tensions.

    The fabric of multilateralism is fading, and the SDGs seem out of reach.  Hard-won development gains are at serious risk, as a multitude of challenges, exacerbated by the chronic shortfall in adequate financing.

    Alarmingly, half of the world’s poorest countries have yet to return to their pre-pandemic income levels.

    Inequalities have amplified.  Trade tensions are escalating.  The climate crisis is worsening.  Democracy is under threat.  And the debt crisis continues to tighten its grip on the world’s poorest countries.

    The situation is truly sobering.  Yet, the latest data show that while progress on SDGs has been uneven and limited, there is reason for hope.

    Social protection and health systems are expanding, especially in middle-income countries, where they are reaching more people.

    More mothers are surviving childbirth and more children are living beyond their fifth birthday.

    Education access is broadening, creating new pathways for young people.

    The number of girls who are in school and studying STEM subjects is higher than ever before.

    Countries are investing in better data and technology, for policies to reach the furthest behind.

    There are promised investments in digital connectivity and clean energy, to serve those in the most remote areas.

    Meanwhile, the world has united behind an ambitious global agreement to confront deep-seated structural challenges and unlock faster, more inclusive progress.

    The Pact for the Future, adopted last September, builds on existing reforms and commitments and charts a bold way forward to revive multilateralism and collective action, anchored in peace, solidarity and cooperation.

    The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development renewed our commitment to deliver on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, take forward debt solutions and tackle the international financial architecture.

    The Ocean Conference in Nice generated important consensus on critical issues, from marine protected areas to plastic pollution, illegal fishing and maritime security.

    The thirtieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+30) and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the women, peace and security agenda, reignited political drive for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

    And there are many more opportunities this year to push our agenda forward:

    The Second Stocktake of the UN Food System Summit.

    The Second World Summit on Social Development.

    The Biennial Summit on Finance.

    The thirtieth UN Climate Change Conference, and ahead of that, new, updated and economy-wide nationally determined contributions to get our climate goals back on track.

    We must build on these achievements.  Make the most of the momentum and drive action — particularly through this high-level political forum.

    We are under pressure because the truth is:  expectations are high, trust is eroding and crises are deepening, as we strive to deliver on our promise of the 2030 Agenda.

    This forum is an important opportunity to reflect, exchange and course correct.  It is our space to amplify the momentum, share lessons and good practice, deepen partnerships and reignite our collective ambition to fulfil the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals.

    Over the coming days, we must reflect honestly and constructively on progress.  Particularly on SDG3 on health and well-being; SDG5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment; SDG8 on decent work and economic growth; SDG14 on life below water; and SDG 17 on partnerships and means of implementation — this all with human rights at the centre of everything we do and hope to achieve.

    And we must focus on the theme of this year’s meeting:  “Inclusive solutions, based in science and evidence,” and take heed of key findings of the Secretary-General’s Report on the SDGs.

    We need solutions that address persistent challenges, that can be adapted and applied across diverse contexts and that improve the lives of billions of people who are left behind:  the 800 million people living in extreme poverty; the 2.2 billion people without safe drinking water; the 2.3 billion suffering food insecurity; the 3.4 billion without safely managed sanitation; and the countless women, Indigenous Peoples, smallholder farmers and other marginalized groups unable to access formal health and protection systems.

    This forum will also welcome the tenth set of voluntary national reviews, or VNRs.  They present a temperature check of every country’s journey.

    Since 2016, a total of 190 countries have conducted close to 400 VNRs.

    This voluntary national exercise has been almost universally adopted:  a heartening sign of commitment to the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs and evidence that the SDGs are now deeply woven into national plans, policies and monitoring frameworks.

    These reviews are powerful road maps to achieve the SDGs and mobilize all stakeholders.  Across regions, we have seen civil society’s engagement deepen — driving progress nationally and locally.  VNRs have helped build knowledge and data and offered practical pathways to dismantle structural barriers that hold us back.  Over the past decade, they have inspired action through inclusive, scalable approaches, grounded in local realities.

    I look forward to the 37 VNR presentations at this forum, and I encourage other countries to engage and foster a meaningful exchange of experiences. It is up to all of us to build on our successes and make this forum count.

    We have come far.  And have even further to go.  But we have much further to go if we are to honour the promise of the SDGs.

    The pathway to 2030 is narrowing.  And the decisions we take now — where we invest, what we prioritize, and where we reform — will shape development trajectories for decades to come.

    With five years to go, the Secretary-General’s UN80 initiative marks a historic step to build on recent reforms and ensure that the United Nations remains a trusted, agile partner, ready to tackle today’s challenges and tomorrow’s uncertainties, and drive our collective push for the 2030 Agenda nationally, regionally and globally.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Researcher Spotlight: Violeta Sanchez i Nogue’s Journey to Bioprocess Development at NREL

    Source: US National Renewable Energy Laboratory

    On a Christmas morning in the early 1990s, in a small town north of Barcelona, a young Violeta Sanchez i Nogue’s interest in chemistry was born. She unwrapped a junior chemistry lab kit that would ignite a love of science and lead to a successful career as a senior researcher at NREL.

    Violeta Sanchez i Nogue, now a senior researcher, started her career at NREL as a postdoctoral researcher. Photo by Werner Slocum, NREL

    “With the kit, you could run lots of different assays inside glass tubes with different chemical compounds,” Sanchez i Nogue said. “It even had an alcohol burner! In retrospect probably not the safest game, but you can imagine lots of color changes and fume generation when reactions were taking place. I had lots of fun playing with this game with my sister, and I was just fascinated by it.”

    With visions of someday working in a chemistry lab, Sanchez i Nogue took an opportunity to expand her horizons by joining an engineering boot camp during the summer before high school graduation.

    “I really enjoyed it, as it gave me exposure to university-level research,” she said. “We spent a couple of weeks taking environmental samples in the Pyrenees and analyzing them in a lab the university had installed at the mountain hostel. Most of the researchers were from the chemical engineering department, so I had the chance to learn about the types of research they were doing.”

    Combining Scientific Passions

    Needless to say, she was hooked. She decided to combine her two interests and pursue a degree in chemical engineering at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. During her undergraduate studies, she completed an internship at Lund University in Sweden, where she later returned to earn a Ph.D. in engineering. It was here that she became familiar with NREL’s leading work on lignocellulosics and bioethanol—the focus of her thesis.

    Sanchez i Nogue worked for a startup company developing yeast strains and processes for second-generation ethanol and other biotech applications. In the summer of 2015, she joined NREL as a postdoctoral researcher working on a project to produce renewable carbon fibers.

    “It just felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when a colleague from grad school sent me the job posting,” Sanchez i Nogue said. “It was a relatively big project with universities, other national labs, and industrial partners. This first project was ambitious, and the fermentations I was running were really fast, but it was an amazing experience to be able to work with a highly multidisciplinary team. After a few months of being at NREL, I had the opportunity to join another project, which I am still part of.”

    Working With Microorganisms

    “While one might think the challenges an organism faces when we put them in bioreactors are really different compared to their native environment, you can actually leverage lots of natural strengths and weaknesses from learning about their origins,” Sanchez i Nogue said.

    Violeta Sanchez i Nogue works with digesters in NREL’s Field Test Laboratory Building. Photo from Violeta Sanchez i Nogue, NREL

    Most of her projects have parallel efforts across the laboratory in metabolic engineering, separations, catalysis, and analysis.

    “Working on multidisciplinary projects with people who all have unique sets of expertise and backgrounds can be challenging at times,” Sanchez i Nogue said. “But it always feels like a pivotal moment when synergies occur because people work together.”

    “I love the fact that I learn something new every single day,” she said. “I have what I consider one of the greatest privileges in a job: I work with dedicated, hard-working, and kind people, and this is a pleasure not everyone has.”

    Seeking New Challenges

    While the development of core capabilities happens on a laboratory scale, Sanchez i Nogue also works at the pilot scale in NREL’s Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility and externally with different industrial and university project partners.

    Given her proclivity for collaboration, Sanchez i Nogue is not one to shy away from a new challenge. In 2023, she worked to onboard new operations in NREL’s Field Test Laboratory Building to be able to use different types of organic waste (including food waste, manure, and wastewater). Today, she is doing similar work on setting up an aerobic gas fermentation system in NREL’s new Research and Innovation Laboratory that will allow the use of hydrogen, oxygen, and flue gases.

    “Deploying new capabilities in the lab is often challenging,” Sanchez i Nogue said. “Who do we bring to the table to help moving things forward? How does it fit into the current lab operations? Which changes will be needed to implement it safely? It is a lot of work behind the scenes.”

    Sanchez i Nogue’s behind-the-scenes work has a history of paying off.

    “Over these last years, I have been fortunate to work with people who took our challenges as theirs, and that has allowed for instrumental changes to the system,” she said. “I am happy to contribute to expanding NREL’s bioeconomy and sustainable transportation research capabilities!”

    Living Beyond the Lab

    Outside of work, Sanchez i Nogue enjoys cooking, baking, reading, gardening, and raising her 2-year-old daughter, which includes answering endless whys about people and nature’s curiosities.

    “We recently had a nice opportunity to see a couple of robins nesting in our front yard, so we talked about how and why they were constructing the nest, laying the eggs, incubating them, feeding them, teaching them to fly, and more,” she said. “She is also fascinated by butterflies and has just started to distinguish ants from spiders.”

    Her daughter’s expanding love of learning about the world around her mirrors that of her own, nurtured by the fateful junior chemistry lab kit from many Christmases ago.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: One Decade of Celebrating the Boulder-White Clouds

    Source: US State of Idaho

    This August marks ten years since one of the most meaningful land management bills in Idaho’s history—the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and Jerry Peak Wilderness Additions Act was signed into law. A decade later, we celebrate the protection of the Cecil D. Andrus Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness area and Idahoans’ shared love for the land.
    The Boulder-White Clouds, with their beautiful high peaks, spectacular alpine lakes, and breathtaking country ready for recreation, represent some of the very best of our great state. For decades, however, they were at the center of crafting a compromise over how best to preserve this area.
    That debate ended the Idaho way—with countless Idahoans, including ranchers, recreationists, conservationists, local leaders, and elected officials, coming together, setting aside differences, and producing a solution to protect this iconic land.
    Passing this legislation has been one of my proudest accomplishments in Congress, but I’m even prouder of how it came together. It would not have been possible without the tireless work of Idahoans from all different backgrounds—people like Sandra Mitchell, with the Idaho State Snowmobile Association, numerous county commissioners, including Cliff Hansen and the late Wayne Butts, and Rick Johnson, the former executive director of the Idaho Conservation League.
    As a lifelong Idahoan who loves public lands, protecting access to these special places has always been a top priority. It was critical that the Boulder-White Clouds be designated a wilderness—rather than a national monument—because wilderness status provides the strongest possible protections for public lands.
    The law created three new wilderness areas—the Hemingway-Boulders, the White Clouds, and the Jim McClure-Jerry Peak—permanently preserving over 275,000 acres of public land. At the same time, the legislation honored multiple uses by protecting grazing, maintaining motorized and trail access for snowmobiles, mountain bikes, and two-wheeled vehicles, and supporting the economic well-being of rural communities.
    This legislation also delivered more than $6.5 million in grants to support rural counties and improve trails, most notably the Redfish Lake to Stanley Trail. This was an important piece in the Boulder-White Cloud compromise, and I’m confident that this trail will positively impact recreation and the local economy for years ahead.
    One of the most meaningful milestones wasn’t until a few years after it was signed: renaming the area after the late Idaho Governor and Secretary of the Interior, Cecil D. Andrus. Cecil Andrus devoted his life to protecting the very land he loved and fought for, and now his name is tied to this area forever. 
    Ten years on, protecting and preserving the Boulder-White Clouds has been one of the most rewarding pieces of legislation I have championed. Not only does this bill showcase we’d rather have an Idaho solution than one imposed by DC, but it also serves as an example of what’s possible when Idahoans come together.
    This anniversary is a moment to celebrate—and to look ahead. Knowing that future generations can enjoy the same benefits we have today. Here’s to ten years of the Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness, and to many more generations of Idahoans who will cherish them. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Lawler Introduces Bill to Strengthen State Department Hiring and Passport Services

    Source: US Congressman Mike Lawler (R, NY-17)

    Washington, D.C. – 7/15/25… Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), introduced the Cutting Passport Backlog Act.  

    This legislation amends the Department of State Authorization Act of 2023 to extend the special hiring authority for passport specialists from three to five years. This will allow the Bureau of Consular Affairs to hire qualified passport specialists without going through longer, traditional federal hiring processes. This measure has been identified by both the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the State Department as a key factor in improving service efficiency.

    “Since I was elected to Congress, my office has helped thousands of Hudson Valley residents with passport related casework. This casework is unfortunately far too common. The Cutting Passport Backlog Act will make the process easier for all parties, ensuring the State Department gets constituents their documents without unnecessary delays,” said Chairman Lawler.

    “Americans often travel abroad to see their family, go to school, or for countless other reasons. That is why a streamlined passport process is essential. I’m proud to lead efforts that support effective government operations and enhance the quality of federal services delivered to all Americans,” concluded Chairman Lawler. 

    As Chairman of the MENA Subcommittee, which holds jurisdiction over both the State Department’s Bureau of Management and Bureau of Counterterrorism, Lawler is leveraging his role to advance reforms that support a more agile and effective foreign policy.

    Each of these bills, including the Cutting Passport Backlog Act, has been submitted for consideration in the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s State Department reauthorization. 

    Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties. He was rated the most effective freshman lawmaker in the 118th Congress, 8th overall, surpassing dozens of committee chairs.

    ###

    Full text of the bill can be found HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Lawler Introduces Bill to Strengthen State Department Hiring and Passport Services

    Source: US Congressman Mike Lawler (R, NY-17)

    Washington, D.C. – 7/15/25… Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), introduced the Cutting Passport Backlog Act.  

    This legislation amends the Department of State Authorization Act of 2023 to extend the special hiring authority for passport specialists from three to five years. This will allow the Bureau of Consular Affairs to hire qualified passport specialists without going through longer, traditional federal hiring processes. This measure has been identified by both the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the State Department as a key factor in improving service efficiency.

    “Since I was elected to Congress, my office has helped thousands of Hudson Valley residents with passport related casework. This casework is unfortunately far too common. The Cutting Passport Backlog Act will make the process easier for all parties, ensuring the State Department gets constituents their documents without unnecessary delays,” said Chairman Lawler.

    “Americans often travel abroad to see their family, go to school, or for countless other reasons. That is why a streamlined passport process is essential. I’m proud to lead efforts that support effective government operations and enhance the quality of federal services delivered to all Americans,” concluded Chairman Lawler. 

    As Chairman of the MENA Subcommittee, which holds jurisdiction over both the State Department’s Bureau of Management and Bureau of Counterterrorism, Lawler is leveraging his role to advance reforms that support a more agile and effective foreign policy.

    Each of these bills, including the Cutting Passport Backlog Act, has been submitted for consideration in the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s State Department reauthorization. 

    Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties. He was rated the most effective freshman lawmaker in the 118th Congress, 8th overall, surpassing dozens of committee chairs.

    ###

    Full text of the bill can be found HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Whose turn is it? The question is at the heart of language and chimpanzees ask it too

    Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Kayla Kolff, Postdoctoral researcher, Osnabrück University

    When we think about what sets humans apart from other animals, language often comes to mind. Language is more than words – it also relies on the ability to build shared understanding through conversation.

    At the heart of conversation is turn-taking: the ability to coordinate interaction in time. This means alternating speaking roles, where one person speaks and the other listens, and responding in ways that keep the exchange moving forward.

    But is this uniquely human? Increasingly, scientists are finding signs of turn-taking beyond our species – in visual cues in Siamese fish, in meerkat calls, and, as our recent study suggests, also in the grooming behaviour of chimpanzees.

    As primatologists and biologists, we are interested in the evolutionary origins and driving forces behind human communication and cognition.

    One animal behaviour that’s been said to involve features resembling human communication is grooming – combing through or licking each other’s fur. It’s one of the ways that some animals connect and bond with one another.

    Grooming is a central part of the daily lives of chimpanzees, a species that together with bonobos represent humans’ closest living relatives. Chimpanzees engage in grooming to build relationships, reduce stress, and strengthen their friendships. While we know why they groom, and whom they prefer to groom, we do not know much about how it is organised. Does grooming happen randomly, or do chimpanzees take turns? And might things like age, their position in the group, family ties, or friendships influence the interaction? There may be another layer to grooming, shaped by social decisions made in the moment.

    To answer this, we looked at whether grooming interactions involve turn-taking. We found that chimpanzees living in their natural environments do take turns, using a range of signals and movements to engage each other within the interaction. We then went on to check whether age, social standing, family ties and friendships affected the exchange of turns.

    We found that especially age and social standing shaped how individuals accommodated their partners. This is in line with Communication Accommodation Theory, which is the idea that individuals adapt their communication according to the characteristics of recipients. Our findings open a new window on chimpanzee social cognition and provide perspectives on the evolutionary foundations of human communication.

    Grooming coordination in the wild

    To investigate how chimpanzees coordinate their grooming interactions, we studied male eastern chimpanzees at the Ngogo field site, in Uganda’s Kibale National Park. Over the course of ten months, we observed and filmed grooming interactions among 42 males in their natural environment using a digital camera.

    As chimpanzee grooming is not just a simple back-and-forth where one chimpanzee grooms and then gets groomed in return, we paid close attention to gestures and additional actions. Gestures are bodily movements used to get another chimpanzee’s attention or to ask for something, such as raising an arm to invite more grooming. Actions, on the other hand, are things one chimpanzee does to another, such as grooming, approaching or leaving.

    Based on these, we identified four types of turn exchanges:

    • action–action

    • action–gesture

    • gesture–action

    • gesture–gesture.

    We observed that chimpanzees actively managed the interaction, using actions and gestures to start, invite, or respond to their partner’s participation.

    What shapes participation in these exchanges?

    Some chimpanzees were more likely than others to take turns during grooming. A closer look revealed that age and social status played a key role. Older males, who in chimpanzee societies tend to hold more dominant positions, were more likely to get responses from others. Younger males, especially adolescents, were more likely to take a turn in response to others than to have others take a turn in response to them – suggesting they were more often responding than being responded to.

    That makes a lot of sense when you think about chimpanzee social life. Younger individuals are still figuring out their place in the group, and grooming can be a way to build and nurture relationships and to learn the social ropes and finesses. Older males already have stable and strong friendships; they often receive grooming from others and tend to give less in return.

    Surprisingly, friendships and family ties did not influence the chances of turn-taking, although these are important aspects of chimpanzee lives. What mattered more were age and social standing. Think of it like choosing a lunch seat at school: you might choose to sit near an older student or someone popular, even if it meant not sitting with your friends or family.

    Grooming interaction between Gus (a subadult male) and Jackson (an adult male and the alpha), both of whom also appear in the Netflix documentary Chimp Empire.

    When we looked more closely at different types of turn-taking, one stood out: gesture–gesture exchanges. These looked a lot like social negotiations, where both chimpanzees gestured to each other before any grooming happened. These kinds of exchanges were more common when a chimpanzee interacted with an older individual, who may be more experienced in handling social situations and better at getting what they want, whether that means “groom me” or “keep going in grooming me”.

    This study suggests that chimpanzees take turns as a strategic social tool to achieve goals like being groomed instead of doing the grooming themselves. Who you are, who you are interacting with, and what you might stand to gain from the exchange all shape how things unfold.

    What this tells us

    Our findings reveal that chimpanzee grooming is a complex behaviour, organised through structured exchanges of gestures and actions, shaped by strategies for engaging with others. It’s about more than the grooming itself.



    Read more:
    Inside the chimpanzee medicine cabinet: we’ve found a new way chimps treat wounds with plants

    This ability to coordinate action and respond to others suggests a basic foundation that may have helped lay the groundwork for the evolution of human communication.

    Kayla Kolff received funding from the DFG, German Research Foundation.

    This project is part of a project that was funded by an EUConsolidator
    grant (772000, TurnTaking) to SP of the European
    Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon
    2020 research and innovation programme.

    – ref. Whose turn is it? The question is at the heart of language and chimpanzees ask it too – https://theconversation.com/whose-turn-is-it-the-question-is-at-the-heart-of-language-and-chimpanzees-ask-it-too-258736

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Africans survived 10,000 years of climate changes by adapting food systems – study offers lessons for modern times

    Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Leanne N. Phelps, Associate research scientist, Columbia University

    Imagine living in a place where a single drought, hurricane, or mudslide can wipe out your food supply. Across Africa, many communities do exactly that – navigate climate shocks like floods, heatwaves, and failed harvests.

    What’s often overlooked in the development policies to tackle these threats is a powerful sources of insight: Africa’s own history.

    Around 14,700 to 5,500 years ago, much of Africa experienced wetter conditions – a time referred to as the African Humid Period. As wet conditions declined around 5,500 years ago, major social, cultural, and environmental changes ensued across the continent.

    We’re part of a multidisciplinary team of scientists who recently published a study about how diverse African communities adapted to climate variability over the past 10,000 years. This is the first study to explore thousands of years of change in people’s livelihoods across the continent using isotopic data.

    This continent-wide approach offers novel insights into how livelihoods formed and evolved across space and time.

    Prior theories often assumed that societies and their food systems evolved in a linear way. In other words they developed from simple hunting and gathering communities to politically and socially complex societies practising agriculture.

    Instead, what we see is a complex mosaic of adaptable strategies that helped people survive. For 10,000 years, African communities adapted by mixing herding, farming, fishing and foraging. They blended different practices based on what worked at different times in their specific environment. That diversity across communities and regions was key to human survival.

    That has real lessons for food systems today.

    Our research suggests that rigid, top-down development plans, including ones that privilege intensifying agriculture over diversified economies, are unlikely to succeed. Many modern policies promote narrow approaches, like focusing only on cash crops. But history tells a different story. Resilience isn’t about choosing the “best” or most “intensive” method and sticking with it. Rather it’s about staying flexible and blending different strategies to align with local conditions.

    The clues left behind

    We were able to develop our insights by looking at the clues left behind by the food people ate and the environments they lived in. We did this by analysing the chemical traces (isotopes) in ancient human and domestic animal bones from 187 archaeological sites across the African continent.

    We sorted the results into groups with similar features, or “isotopic niches”. Then we described the livelihood and ecological characteristics of these niches using archaeological and environmental information.



    Read more:
    Tooth enamel provides clues on tsetse flies and the spread of herding in ancient Africa

    Our methods illustrated a wide range of livelihood systems. For example, in what are now Botswana and Zimbabwe, some groups combined small-scale farming with wild food gathering and livestock herding after the African Humid Period. In Egypt and Sudan, communities mixed crop farming – focused on wheat, barley, and legumes – with fishing, dairy, and beer brewing.

    Herders, in particular, developed highly flexible strategies. They adapted to hot plains, dry highlands, and everything in between. Pastoral systems (farming with grazing animals) show up at more archaeological sites than any other food system. They also have the widest range of chemical signatures – evidence of their adaptability to shifting environments.

    Our study also used isotopic data to build up a picture of how people were using livestock. Most animal management systems were reliant on grasses (plants such as millet and tropical pasture), and adapted to diverse ecological conditions. Some systems were highly specialised to semi-arid and mountainous environments. Others included mixed herds adapted to wetter or lower elevation regions. In other cases, animals were kept as stock in small numbers to supplement other livelihoods – providing milk, dung, and insurance against crop failure.



    Read more:
    Pastoralists are an asset to the world – and we have a lot to learn from them

    This adaptability helps clarify why, over the past millennium, pastoral systems have remained so important, especially in areas with increasing aridity.

    Mixed livelihood strategies

    The study also provides strong evidence for interactions between food production and foraging, whether at community or regional level.

    Dynamic, mixed livelihood strategies, including interactions like trade within and between communities near and far, were especially apparent during periods of climatic stress. One of these periods was the end of the African Humid Period (from about 5,500 years ago), when a drier climate created new challenges.

    In south-eastern Africa, from 2,000 years ago, there was a rise of diverse livelihood systems blending herding, farming and foraging in complex ways. These systems likely emerged in response to complex environmental and social change. Complex changes in social networks – especially around sharing land, resources, and knowledge – likely underpinned the development of this resilience.



    Read more:
    Hunter-gatherer diets weren’t always heavy on meat: Morocco study reveals a plant-based diet

    How the past can inform the future

    Ancient livelihood strategies offer a playbook for surviving climate change today.

    Our analysis suggests that over thousands of years, communities that combined herding, farming, fishing and gathering were making context-specific choices that helped them weather unpredictable conditions. They built food systems that worked with the land and sea, not against them. And they leaned on strong social networks, sharing resources, knowledge and labour.

    Past responses to climate shifts can inform current and future strategies for building resilience in regions facing socio-environmental pressures.

    Leanne N. Phelps is affiliated with Columbia Climate School at Columbia University; Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK; and NGO Vaevae based in Andavadoake, Toliara, Madagascar

    Kristina Guild Douglass receives funding from The US National Science Foundation. She is affiliated with the NGO Vae Vae.

    – ref. Africans survived 10,000 years of climate changes by adapting food systems – study offers lessons for modern times – https://theconversation.com/africans-survived-10-000-years-of-climate-changes-by-adapting-food-systems-study-offers-lessons-for-modern-times-260240

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Africans survived 10,000 years of climate changes by adapting food systems – study offers lessons for modern times

    Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Leanne N. Phelps, Associate research scientist, Columbia University

    Imagine living in a place where a single drought, hurricane, or mudslide can wipe out your food supply. Across Africa, many communities do exactly that – navigate climate shocks like floods, heatwaves, and failed harvests.

    What’s often overlooked in the development policies to tackle these threats is a powerful sources of insight: Africa’s own history.

    Around 14,700 to 5,500 years ago, much of Africa experienced wetter conditions – a time referred to as the African Humid Period. As wet conditions declined around 5,500 years ago, major social, cultural, and environmental changes ensued across the continent.

    We’re part of a multidisciplinary team of scientists who recently published a study about how diverse African communities adapted to climate variability over the past 10,000 years. This is the first study to explore thousands of years of change in people’s livelihoods across the continent using isotopic data.

    This continent-wide approach offers novel insights into how livelihoods formed and evolved across space and time.

    Prior theories often assumed that societies and their food systems evolved in a linear way. In other words they developed from simple hunting and gathering communities to politically and socially complex societies practising agriculture.

    Instead, what we see is a complex mosaic of adaptable strategies that helped people survive. For 10,000 years, African communities adapted by mixing herding, farming, fishing and foraging. They blended different practices based on what worked at different times in their specific environment. That diversity across communities and regions was key to human survival.

    That has real lessons for food systems today.

    Our research suggests that rigid, top-down development plans, including ones that privilege intensifying agriculture over diversified economies, are unlikely to succeed. Many modern policies promote narrow approaches, like focusing only on cash crops. But history tells a different story. Resilience isn’t about choosing the “best” or most “intensive” method and sticking with it. Rather it’s about staying flexible and blending different strategies to align with local conditions.

    The clues left behind

    We were able to develop our insights by looking at the clues left behind by the food people ate and the environments they lived in. We did this by analysing the chemical traces (isotopes) in ancient human and domestic animal bones from 187 archaeological sites across the African continent.

    We sorted the results into groups with similar features, or “isotopic niches”. Then we described the livelihood and ecological characteristics of these niches using archaeological and environmental information.



    Read more:
    Tooth enamel provides clues on tsetse flies and the spread of herding in ancient Africa

    Our methods illustrated a wide range of livelihood systems. For example, in what are now Botswana and Zimbabwe, some groups combined small-scale farming with wild food gathering and livestock herding after the African Humid Period. In Egypt and Sudan, communities mixed crop farming – focused on wheat, barley, and legumes – with fishing, dairy, and beer brewing.

    Herders, in particular, developed highly flexible strategies. They adapted to hot plains, dry highlands, and everything in between. Pastoral systems (farming with grazing animals) show up at more archaeological sites than any other food system. They also have the widest range of chemical signatures – evidence of their adaptability to shifting environments.

    Our study also used isotopic data to build up a picture of how people were using livestock. Most animal management systems were reliant on grasses (plants such as millet and tropical pasture), and adapted to diverse ecological conditions. Some systems were highly specialised to semi-arid and mountainous environments. Others included mixed herds adapted to wetter or lower elevation regions. In other cases, animals were kept as stock in small numbers to supplement other livelihoods – providing milk, dung, and insurance against crop failure.



    Read more:
    Pastoralists are an asset to the world – and we have a lot to learn from them

    This adaptability helps clarify why, over the past millennium, pastoral systems have remained so important, especially in areas with increasing aridity.

    Mixed livelihood strategies

    The study also provides strong evidence for interactions between food production and foraging, whether at community or regional level.

    Dynamic, mixed livelihood strategies, including interactions like trade within and between communities near and far, were especially apparent during periods of climatic stress. One of these periods was the end of the African Humid Period (from about 5,500 years ago), when a drier climate created new challenges.

    In south-eastern Africa, from 2,000 years ago, there was a rise of diverse livelihood systems blending herding, farming and foraging in complex ways. These systems likely emerged in response to complex environmental and social change. Complex changes in social networks – especially around sharing land, resources, and knowledge – likely underpinned the development of this resilience.



    Read more:
    Hunter-gatherer diets weren’t always heavy on meat: Morocco study reveals a plant-based diet

    How the past can inform the future

    Ancient livelihood strategies offer a playbook for surviving climate change today.

    Our analysis suggests that over thousands of years, communities that combined herding, farming, fishing and gathering were making context-specific choices that helped them weather unpredictable conditions. They built food systems that worked with the land and sea, not against them. And they leaned on strong social networks, sharing resources, knowledge and labour.

    Past responses to climate shifts can inform current and future strategies for building resilience in regions facing socio-environmental pressures.

    Leanne N. Phelps is affiliated with Columbia Climate School at Columbia University; Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK; and NGO Vaevae based in Andavadoake, Toliara, Madagascar

    Kristina Guild Douglass receives funding from The US National Science Foundation. She is affiliated with the NGO Vae Vae.

    – ref. Africans survived 10,000 years of climate changes by adapting food systems – study offers lessons for modern times – https://theconversation.com/africans-survived-10-000-years-of-climate-changes-by-adapting-food-systems-study-offers-lessons-for-modern-times-260240

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Whose turn is it? The question is at the heart of language and chimpanzees ask it too

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kayla Kolff, Postdoctoral researcher, Osnabrück University

    When we think about what sets humans apart from other animals, language often comes to mind. Language is more than words – it also relies on the ability to build shared understanding through conversation.

    At the heart of conversation is turn-taking: the ability to coordinate interaction in time. This means alternating speaking roles, where one person speaks and the other listens, and responding in ways that keep the exchange moving forward.

    But is this uniquely human? Increasingly, scientists are finding signs of turn-taking beyond our species – in visual cues in Siamese fish, in meerkat calls, and, as our recent study suggests, also in the grooming behaviour of chimpanzees.

    As primatologists and biologists, we are interested in the evolutionary origins and driving forces behind human communication and cognition.

    One animal behaviour that’s been said to involve features resembling human communication is grooming – combing through or licking each other’s fur. It’s one of the ways that some animals connect and bond with one another.

    Grooming is a central part of the daily lives of chimpanzees, a species that together with bonobos represent humans’ closest living relatives. Chimpanzees engage in grooming to build relationships, reduce stress, and strengthen their friendships. While we know why they groom, and whom they prefer to groom, we do not know much about how it is organised. Does grooming happen randomly, or do chimpanzees take turns? And might things like age, their position in the group, family ties, or friendships influence the interaction? There may be another layer to grooming, shaped by social decisions made in the moment.

    To answer this, we looked at whether grooming interactions involve turn-taking. We found that chimpanzees living in their natural environments do take turns, using a range of signals and movements to engage each other within the interaction. We then went on to check whether age, social standing, family ties and friendships affected the exchange of turns.

    We found that especially age and social standing shaped how individuals accommodated their partners. This is in line with Communication Accommodation Theory, which is the idea that individuals adapt their communication according to the characteristics of recipients. Our findings open a new window on chimpanzee social cognition and provide perspectives on the evolutionary foundations of human communication.

    Grooming coordination in the wild

    To investigate how chimpanzees coordinate their grooming interactions, we studied male eastern chimpanzees at the Ngogo field site, in Uganda’s Kibale National Park. Over the course of ten months, we observed and filmed grooming interactions among 42 males in their natural environment using a digital camera.

    As chimpanzee grooming is not just a simple back-and-forth where one chimpanzee grooms and then gets groomed in return, we paid close attention to gestures and additional actions. Gestures are bodily movements used to get another chimpanzee’s attention or to ask for something, such as raising an arm to invite more grooming. Actions, on the other hand, are things one chimpanzee does to another, such as grooming, approaching or leaving.

    Based on these, we identified four types of turn exchanges:

    • action–action

    • action–gesture

    • gesture–action

    • gesture–gesture.

    Mulligan (left) and Carter (right) members of the Ngogo chimpanzee community in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Kayla Kolff, Author provided (no reuse)

    We observed that chimpanzees actively managed the interaction, using actions and gestures to start, invite, or respond to their partner’s participation.

    What shapes participation in these exchanges?

    Some chimpanzees were more likely than others to take turns during grooming. A closer look revealed that age and social status played a key role. Older males, who in chimpanzee societies tend to hold more dominant positions, were more likely to get responses from others. Younger males, especially adolescents, were more likely to take a turn in response to others than to have others take a turn in response to them – suggesting they were more often responding than being responded to.

    That makes a lot of sense when you think about chimpanzee social life. Younger individuals are still figuring out their place in the group, and grooming can be a way to build and nurture relationships and to learn the social ropes and finesses. Older males already have stable and strong friendships; they often receive grooming from others and tend to give less in return.

    Surprisingly, friendships and family ties did not influence the chances of turn-taking, although these are important aspects of chimpanzee lives. What mattered more were age and social standing. Think of it like choosing a lunch seat at school: you might choose to sit near an older student or someone popular, even if it meant not sitting with your friends or family.

    Grooming interaction between Gus (a subadult male) and Jackson (an adult male and the alpha), both of whom also appear in the Netflix documentary Chimp Empire.

    When we looked more closely at different types of turn-taking, one stood out: gesture–gesture exchanges. These looked a lot like social negotiations, where both chimpanzees gestured to each other before any grooming happened. These kinds of exchanges were more common when a chimpanzee interacted with an older individual, who may be more experienced in handling social situations and better at getting what they want, whether that means “groom me” or “keep going in grooming me”.

    This study suggests that chimpanzees take turns as a strategic social tool to achieve goals like being groomed instead of doing the grooming themselves. Who you are, who you are interacting with, and what you might stand to gain from the exchange all shape how things unfold.

    What this tells us

    Our findings reveal that chimpanzee grooming is a complex behaviour, organised through structured exchanges of gestures and actions, shaped by strategies for engaging with others. It’s about more than the grooming itself.

    Read more: Inside the chimpanzee medicine cabinet: we’ve found a new way chimps treat wounds with plants

    This ability to coordinate action and respond to others suggests a basic foundation that may have helped lay the groundwork for the evolution of human communication.

    – Whose turn is it? The question is at the heart of language and chimpanzees ask it too
    – https://theconversation.com/whose-turn-is-it-the-question-is-at-the-heart-of-language-and-chimpanzees-ask-it-too-258736

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI: Fortuna Investments Expands to Midland, Texas, Strengthening Its Footprint in America’s Energy and Innovation Corridor

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MIDLAND, Texas, July 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fortuna Investments, a leading America-first venture capital firm, is proud to announce the expansion of its operations into Midland, Texas, where it will build upon its strategic focus on rare earth elements, space infrastructure, and uranium and nuclear energy. Known for its bold investments in critical, high-growth sectors, Fortuna continues to deepen its national presence—now with a strategic location in the heart of Texas to complement its existing offices in Los Angeles and Miami.

    Midland, long recognized as a hub of American energy production and resilience, reflects the grit, tenacity, and values that define Fortuna’s mission. “The people of Midland embody the same strength and entrepreneurial spirit that drive our firm, so this is a natural next step for us,” said Justus Parmar, Founder and CEO of Fortuna Investments.

    Texas continues to thrive as a pro-business powerhouse—with a culture of entrepreneurship, no state income tax, and a rapidly growing capital markets ecosystem. The recent announcement of a Texas-based stock exchange adds even more momentum to the state’s financial future, offering local investors and companies new platforms for liquidity and capital formation.

    Midland is central to Fortuna’s strategy of investing in American ingenuity and potential. As the Permian Basin’s energy epicenter, the city hosts a deep concentration of independent energy wealth, legacy capital, and long-term investors. These characteristics align seamlessly with Fortuna’s model of disciplined, asset-backed growth investing.

    Fortuna already holds key strategic assets across Texas, including:

    • The PEAK Project — A developing rare earth elements mine vital to securing domestic supply chains.
    • Space Infrastructure — With emerging assets based in Midland’s aerospace corridor.
    • Uranium and Nuclear Holdings — Supporting U.S. energy security and the growing nuclear renaissance.

    “As global markets shift, and the demand for critical materials and energy grows, our presence in Midland positions us to lead from the front,” said Parmar. “We believe this expansion strengthens our ability to drive value and national significance across the sectors we champion.”

    Fortuna’s Midland office will be located at 223 W. Wall Street, STE 200 in Midland. Oscar Garcia has been brought on in the role of Business Development and Corporate Strategy Lead to head the local team.

    For more information, visit https://investfortuna.com or email deals@investfortuna.com.

    About Fortuna Investments

    Founded in 2015 by Justus Parmar, Fortuna Investments is a private investment firm that develops long-term partnerships with change-making entrepreneurs in emerging industries. Fortuna specializes in venture capital investments and has led and advised on over $1 billion in transactions since its founding.

    Fortuna’s investments are concentrated in several high-growth sectors, including aerospace and defense, rare earth elements, uranium mining and nuclear technology, electronic waste refining, and robotics. The firm routinely invests for the long term and takes an active operating role.

    In 2020, the firm’s leadership group launched the Fortuna Foundation, an independent charitable organization that supports initiatives dedicated to promoting mental health, education, financial literacy and other community organizations in need.

    More information can be found at https://investfortuna.com/. Follow Justus Parmar on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram.

    Media Contact:

    Will Butler
    fortuna@dlpr.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Fortuna Investments Expands to Midland, Texas, Strengthening Its Footprint in America’s Energy and Innovation Corridor

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MIDLAND, Texas, July 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fortuna Investments, a leading America-first venture capital firm, is proud to announce the expansion of its operations into Midland, Texas, where it will build upon its strategic focus on rare earth elements, space infrastructure, and uranium and nuclear energy. Known for its bold investments in critical, high-growth sectors, Fortuna continues to deepen its national presence—now with a strategic location in the heart of Texas to complement its existing offices in Los Angeles and Miami.

    Midland, long recognized as a hub of American energy production and resilience, reflects the grit, tenacity, and values that define Fortuna’s mission. “The people of Midland embody the same strength and entrepreneurial spirit that drive our firm, so this is a natural next step for us,” said Justus Parmar, Founder and CEO of Fortuna Investments.

    Texas continues to thrive as a pro-business powerhouse—with a culture of entrepreneurship, no state income tax, and a rapidly growing capital markets ecosystem. The recent announcement of a Texas-based stock exchange adds even more momentum to the state’s financial future, offering local investors and companies new platforms for liquidity and capital formation.

    Midland is central to Fortuna’s strategy of investing in American ingenuity and potential. As the Permian Basin’s energy epicenter, the city hosts a deep concentration of independent energy wealth, legacy capital, and long-term investors. These characteristics align seamlessly with Fortuna’s model of disciplined, asset-backed growth investing.

    Fortuna already holds key strategic assets across Texas, including:

    • The PEAK Project — A developing rare earth elements mine vital to securing domestic supply chains.
    • Space Infrastructure — With emerging assets based in Midland’s aerospace corridor.
    • Uranium and Nuclear Holdings — Supporting U.S. energy security and the growing nuclear renaissance.

    “As global markets shift, and the demand for critical materials and energy grows, our presence in Midland positions us to lead from the front,” said Parmar. “We believe this expansion strengthens our ability to drive value and national significance across the sectors we champion.”

    Fortuna’s Midland office will be located at 223 W. Wall Street, STE 200 in Midland. Oscar Garcia has been brought on in the role of Business Development and Corporate Strategy Lead to head the local team.

    For more information, visit https://investfortuna.com or email deals@investfortuna.com.

    About Fortuna Investments

    Founded in 2015 by Justus Parmar, Fortuna Investments is a private investment firm that develops long-term partnerships with change-making entrepreneurs in emerging industries. Fortuna specializes in venture capital investments and has led and advised on over $1 billion in transactions since its founding.

    Fortuna’s investments are concentrated in several high-growth sectors, including aerospace and defense, rare earth elements, uranium mining and nuclear technology, electronic waste refining, and robotics. The firm routinely invests for the long term and takes an active operating role.

    In 2020, the firm’s leadership group launched the Fortuna Foundation, an independent charitable organization that supports initiatives dedicated to promoting mental health, education, financial literacy and other community organizations in need.

    More information can be found at https://investfortuna.com/. Follow Justus Parmar on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram.

    Media Contact:

    Will Butler
    fortuna@dlpr.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Fortuna Investments Expands to Midland, Texas, Strengthening Its Footprint in America’s Energy and Innovation Corridor

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MIDLAND, Texas, July 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fortuna Investments, a leading America-first venture capital firm, is proud to announce the expansion of its operations into Midland, Texas, where it will build upon its strategic focus on rare earth elements, space infrastructure, and uranium and nuclear energy. Known for its bold investments in critical, high-growth sectors, Fortuna continues to deepen its national presence—now with a strategic location in the heart of Texas to complement its existing offices in Los Angeles and Miami.

    Midland, long recognized as a hub of American energy production and resilience, reflects the grit, tenacity, and values that define Fortuna’s mission. “The people of Midland embody the same strength and entrepreneurial spirit that drive our firm, so this is a natural next step for us,” said Justus Parmar, Founder and CEO of Fortuna Investments.

    Texas continues to thrive as a pro-business powerhouse—with a culture of entrepreneurship, no state income tax, and a rapidly growing capital markets ecosystem. The recent announcement of a Texas-based stock exchange adds even more momentum to the state’s financial future, offering local investors and companies new platforms for liquidity and capital formation.

    Midland is central to Fortuna’s strategy of investing in American ingenuity and potential. As the Permian Basin’s energy epicenter, the city hosts a deep concentration of independent energy wealth, legacy capital, and long-term investors. These characteristics align seamlessly with Fortuna’s model of disciplined, asset-backed growth investing.

    Fortuna already holds key strategic assets across Texas, including:

    • The PEAK Project — A developing rare earth elements mine vital to securing domestic supply chains.
    • Space Infrastructure — With emerging assets based in Midland’s aerospace corridor.
    • Uranium and Nuclear Holdings — Supporting U.S. energy security and the growing nuclear renaissance.

    “As global markets shift, and the demand for critical materials and energy grows, our presence in Midland positions us to lead from the front,” said Parmar. “We believe this expansion strengthens our ability to drive value and national significance across the sectors we champion.”

    Fortuna’s Midland office will be located at 223 W. Wall Street, STE 200 in Midland. Oscar Garcia has been brought on in the role of Business Development and Corporate Strategy Lead to head the local team.

    For more information, visit https://investfortuna.com or email deals@investfortuna.com.

    About Fortuna Investments

    Founded in 2015 by Justus Parmar, Fortuna Investments is a private investment firm that develops long-term partnerships with change-making entrepreneurs in emerging industries. Fortuna specializes in venture capital investments and has led and advised on over $1 billion in transactions since its founding.

    Fortuna’s investments are concentrated in several high-growth sectors, including aerospace and defense, rare earth elements, uranium mining and nuclear technology, electronic waste refining, and robotics. The firm routinely invests for the long term and takes an active operating role.

    In 2020, the firm’s leadership group launched the Fortuna Foundation, an independent charitable organization that supports initiatives dedicated to promoting mental health, education, financial literacy and other community organizations in need.

    More information can be found at https://investfortuna.com/. Follow Justus Parmar on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram.

    Media Contact:

    Will Butler
    fortuna@dlpr.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Fortuna Investments Expands to Midland, Texas, Strengthening Its Footprint in America’s Energy and Innovation Corridor

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MIDLAND, Texas, July 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fortuna Investments, a leading America-first venture capital firm, is proud to announce the expansion of its operations into Midland, Texas, where it will build upon its strategic focus on rare earth elements, space infrastructure, and uranium and nuclear energy. Known for its bold investments in critical, high-growth sectors, Fortuna continues to deepen its national presence—now with a strategic location in the heart of Texas to complement its existing offices in Los Angeles and Miami.

    Midland, long recognized as a hub of American energy production and resilience, reflects the grit, tenacity, and values that define Fortuna’s mission. “The people of Midland embody the same strength and entrepreneurial spirit that drive our firm, so this is a natural next step for us,” said Justus Parmar, Founder and CEO of Fortuna Investments.

    Texas continues to thrive as a pro-business powerhouse—with a culture of entrepreneurship, no state income tax, and a rapidly growing capital markets ecosystem. The recent announcement of a Texas-based stock exchange adds even more momentum to the state’s financial future, offering local investors and companies new platforms for liquidity and capital formation.

    Midland is central to Fortuna’s strategy of investing in American ingenuity and potential. As the Permian Basin’s energy epicenter, the city hosts a deep concentration of independent energy wealth, legacy capital, and long-term investors. These characteristics align seamlessly with Fortuna’s model of disciplined, asset-backed growth investing.

    Fortuna already holds key strategic assets across Texas, including:

    • The PEAK Project — A developing rare earth elements mine vital to securing domestic supply chains.
    • Space Infrastructure — With emerging assets based in Midland’s aerospace corridor.
    • Uranium and Nuclear Holdings — Supporting U.S. energy security and the growing nuclear renaissance.

    “As global markets shift, and the demand for critical materials and energy grows, our presence in Midland positions us to lead from the front,” said Parmar. “We believe this expansion strengthens our ability to drive value and national significance across the sectors we champion.”

    Fortuna’s Midland office will be located at 223 W. Wall Street, STE 200 in Midland. Oscar Garcia has been brought on in the role of Business Development and Corporate Strategy Lead to head the local team.

    For more information, visit https://investfortuna.com or email deals@investfortuna.com.

    About Fortuna Investments

    Founded in 2015 by Justus Parmar, Fortuna Investments is a private investment firm that develops long-term partnerships with change-making entrepreneurs in emerging industries. Fortuna specializes in venture capital investments and has led and advised on over $1 billion in transactions since its founding.

    Fortuna’s investments are concentrated in several high-growth sectors, including aerospace and defense, rare earth elements, uranium mining and nuclear technology, electronic waste refining, and robotics. The firm routinely invests for the long term and takes an active operating role.

    In 2020, the firm’s leadership group launched the Fortuna Foundation, an independent charitable organization that supports initiatives dedicated to promoting mental health, education, financial literacy and other community organizations in need.

    More information can be found at https://investfortuna.com/. Follow Justus Parmar on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram.

    Media Contact:

    Will Butler
    fortuna@dlpr.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: A Message From the United States Attorney to the Residents of Ruidoso, New Mexico: Combating Disaster-Related Fraud

    Source: US FBI

    ALBUQUERQUE – The recent flooding in Ruidoso, New Mexico, has brought devastating loss and hardship to our community. Lives have been lost, homes and businesses have been destroyed, and many families are facing an uncertain future. In the midst of this tragedy, we have witnessed countless acts of generosity and resilience as neighbors, volunteers, and organizations step forward to help those in need.

    Unfortunately, history teaches us that disasters like this also attract individuals seeking to exploit the situation for personal gain. Fraudulent activity undermines recovery efforts and diverts critical resources away from genuine victims.

    Past disasters have shown that fraud can take many forms, including:

    • Individuals not affected by the flooding who attempt to claim disaster benefits.
    • The creation of fraudulent charities or the diversion of donations intended for legitimate relief organizations.
    • Fraudulent applications for rebuilding grants and loans, such as those offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

    Our office has zero tolerance for those who seek to steal from disaster victims or misuse funds meant for recovery. We have established a Disaster Fraud Working Group, which includes the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, HUD, SBA, Postal Inspectors, Internal Revenue Service, and U.S. Marshals Service. This group is actively reviewing potential cases and will work closely with the New Mexico Department of Justice, local and tribal law enforcement, and community partners to ensure that fraudsters are brought to justice.

    Anyone considering disaster-related fraud should be aware that federal law—specifically, 18 United States Code, Section 1040—provides for penalties of up to 30 years in federal prison.

    We urge the public to remain vigilant. If you observe suspicious activity or suspect fraud, please report it immediately. The National Disaster Fraud Hotline is available toll-free at (866) 720-5721, or you may email disaster@leo.gov. The hotline operates 24/7.

    Together, we can protect our community and ensure that help reaches those who truly need it.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: United Kingdom Citizen Extradited to Face Charges in $99 Million Wine Fraud

    Source: US FBI

    Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, James Wellesley was arraigned following his extradition from the United Kingdom (UK), where he was arrested in 2022.  In 2022, Wellesley, along with his co-defendant Stephen Burton, was charged with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy in connection with a scheme perpetrated through Bordeaux Cellars, a company he and Burton operated.  Wellesley was arraigned today before United States Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy. Burton was extradited from Morocco in 2023 and is currently pending trial.  Wellesley was ordered detained pending trial. 

    Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York) announced Burton’s arraignment. 

    “Today’s arraignment sends a message to all perpetrators of global fraud schemes that my Office will work tirelessly to ensure they answer for crimes committed in the United States,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “We will not rest in our efforts to seek justice for victims of fraud.”

    “James Wellesley and his business partner allegedly concocted an elaborate scheme defrauding investors out of millions of dollars to finance their own personal expenses. Their alleged deceit spread across years and continents,” stated FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “Today’s arraignment signals to all criminals that the FBI will practice the same resolve in bringing perpetrators to justice.” 

    “James Wellesley and his co-conspirator are accused of masterminding their nearly $100 million international fraud scheme that exploited the unsuspecting public, including New Yorkers, for their own selfish enrichment. As alleged, the defendants claimed Bordeaux Cellars boasted a high-value wine stockpile and a clientele of ‘high-net-worth wine collectors’ – and in turn profited handsomely – all while they swindled investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more,” stated HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Patel.  “Let it be known, regardless of the nature of the transnational criminal scheme, HSI New York, alongside our law enforcement partners, will continue to adapt and evolve to fight global and domestic financial crimes wherever and whenever possible.”

    The indictment alleges that from at least June 2017 and continuing through February of 2019, the defendants posed as executives Bordeaux Cellars.  The defendants solicited investors, including residents of the Eastern District of New York, at, among other places, investor conferences held in the United States and overseas.  The defendants claimed to investors that Bordeaux Cellars brokered loans between investors and high-net-worth wine collectors that would be fully collateralized by high-value collections of wine.  The defendants promised that investors would receive regular interest payments from the borrowers, and that Bordeaux Cellars would keep custody of the wine, securing the loans while the loans were outstanding.  As alleged, these representations were lies, the “high-net-worth wine collectors” did not actually exist, and Bordeaux Cellars did not maintain custody of the wine purportedly securing the loans.  Instead, the defendants used incoming loan proceeds to make fraudulent interest payments to investors and for their own personal expenses, resulting in $99 million dollars’ worth of misdirected funds. 

    The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison. 

    The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) provided significant assistance in securing Wellesley’s arrest and extradition from the UK.  This Office thanks UK authorities for their assistance in this matter.

    The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section.  Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin Weintraub is in charge of the prosecution. 

    The Defendants:

    STEPHEN BURTON
    Age: 58
    United Kingdom

    JAMES WELLESLEY
    Age: 56
    United Kingdom

    E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-79 (PKC)

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: United Kingdom Citizen Extradited to Face Charges in $99 Million Wine Fraud

    Source: US FBI

    Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, James Wellesley was arraigned following his extradition from the United Kingdom (UK), where he was arrested in 2022.  In 2022, Wellesley, along with his co-defendant Stephen Burton, was charged with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy in connection with a scheme perpetrated through Bordeaux Cellars, a company he and Burton operated.  Wellesley was arraigned today before United States Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy. Burton was extradited from Morocco in 2023 and is currently pending trial.  Wellesley was ordered detained pending trial. 

    Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York) announced Burton’s arraignment. 

    “Today’s arraignment sends a message to all perpetrators of global fraud schemes that my Office will work tirelessly to ensure they answer for crimes committed in the United States,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “We will not rest in our efforts to seek justice for victims of fraud.”

    “James Wellesley and his business partner allegedly concocted an elaborate scheme defrauding investors out of millions of dollars to finance their own personal expenses. Their alleged deceit spread across years and continents,” stated FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “Today’s arraignment signals to all criminals that the FBI will practice the same resolve in bringing perpetrators to justice.” 

    “James Wellesley and his co-conspirator are accused of masterminding their nearly $100 million international fraud scheme that exploited the unsuspecting public, including New Yorkers, for their own selfish enrichment. As alleged, the defendants claimed Bordeaux Cellars boasted a high-value wine stockpile and a clientele of ‘high-net-worth wine collectors’ – and in turn profited handsomely – all while they swindled investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more,” stated HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Patel.  “Let it be known, regardless of the nature of the transnational criminal scheme, HSI New York, alongside our law enforcement partners, will continue to adapt and evolve to fight global and domestic financial crimes wherever and whenever possible.”

    The indictment alleges that from at least June 2017 and continuing through February of 2019, the defendants posed as executives Bordeaux Cellars.  The defendants solicited investors, including residents of the Eastern District of New York, at, among other places, investor conferences held in the United States and overseas.  The defendants claimed to investors that Bordeaux Cellars brokered loans between investors and high-net-worth wine collectors that would be fully collateralized by high-value collections of wine.  The defendants promised that investors would receive regular interest payments from the borrowers, and that Bordeaux Cellars would keep custody of the wine, securing the loans while the loans were outstanding.  As alleged, these representations were lies, the “high-net-worth wine collectors” did not actually exist, and Bordeaux Cellars did not maintain custody of the wine purportedly securing the loans.  Instead, the defendants used incoming loan proceeds to make fraudulent interest payments to investors and for their own personal expenses, resulting in $99 million dollars’ worth of misdirected funds. 

    The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison. 

    The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) provided significant assistance in securing Wellesley’s arrest and extradition from the UK.  This Office thanks UK authorities for their assistance in this matter.

    The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section.  Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin Weintraub is in charge of the prosecution. 

    The Defendants:

    STEPHEN BURTON
    Age: 58
    United Kingdom

    JAMES WELLESLEY
    Age: 56
    United Kingdom

    E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-79 (PKC)

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: West and East Midlands move into drought

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    West and East Midlands move into drought

    Following the driest spring in 132 years, Environment Agency steps up operational response.

    EA officers rescuing fish from a dried up River Redlake in Shropshire

    The Environment Agency has declared drought status for the West Midlands and East Midlands following the driest spring in 132 years. 

    The Environment Agency announced the change in status today, 15th July 2025. Following declining river flows and groundwater levels with some river flows in the regions at their lowest for June since 1976. 

    The decision sees the regulator stepping up its operational response in the West Midlands and the East Midlands. While making sure water companies deliver the actions agreed in their drought plans. 

    The announcement comes as the National Drought Group meets to discuss next steps, with people being asked to play their part and use water wisely.

    West Midlands and East Midlands follow other regions that have moved into drought recently, including the north-west of England and Yorkshire. 

    Matt Gable, Regional Incident Lead at the Environment Agency, said: 

    Against a backdrop of a changing climate, this change of status recognises the impact prolonged dry weather is having on water resources and the environment. 

    In the Midlands, we are taking action to reduce that impact and to oversee the actions water companies need to take to secure public water supplies. 

    We are also encouraging people to play their part through the rest of the summer period by noting the small steps we can all take to save water.

    In the Midlands, river levels are already low with some river flows in the region at their lowest for June since 1976. The River Severn catchment received only two-thirds of the rainfall it normally does in June, while the Trent catchment fared worse, with only 37% of its long-term average for June. 

    Teams are out on the ground actively monitoring river levels, with staff working with the water sector to ensure there is enough water for the people and the environment.  Staff are also supporting farmers and abstractors with advice on how to manage abstraction during prolonged dry weather and low flows.  Fisheries teams are responding where necessary to protect fish which are struggling due to reduced oxygen or moving them if the river has dried up.

    The Environment Agency expects and will ensure that water companies follow their drought management plans. Water companies need to step up their work to fix leaks and adjust their operations to conserve water.  

    The public is being asked to think about how they use water at home and in the garden, and to comply with any local restrictions. The less water you use at the home, the more water there is in your local environment.  Recreational water users are being asked to remain vigilant and report any environmental issues they see, such as fish in distress, acting as important eyes and ears on the ground.  

    Read more about how the Environment Agency is responding to dry weather in the Midlands here: Managing the impacts of drought in the Midlands – Creating a better place

    Read more about drought here: Drought explained – Creating a better place.

    Background information

    • A decision to declare drought is taken based on reservoir levels, river flows, groundwater levels, how dry soils are, environmental incidents and water resources position along with consideration of the long-term weather forecasts. These are based on Environment Agency Area classifications. 

    • Temporary Use Bans (TUBs) are a decision for the water companies and must be made in line with their drought plans. Read more here: Why do we have hosepipe bans?

    Map of Environment Agency areas

    Updates to this page

    Published 15 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China-Russia Intangible Cultural Heritage Fair Held in Border City of Heihe

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    BEIJING, July 15 (Xinhua) — The China-Russia Intangible Cultural Heritage Fair was held in Heihe, Heilongjiang Province, from July 12 to 14, showcasing the rich folk arts of the two countries, according to the city’s Department of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism.

    On the Chinese side, the event was attended by heirs of 11 intangible cultural heritage sites of various levels, while the fair brought together 24 artists engaged in decorative and applied arts from 12 regions of the Russian Federation, including Moscow, Kamchatka Krai, Magadan Oblast, the Republic of Buryatia and Amur Oblast.

    At the exhibition within the framework of the fair, visitors saw paintings made of fish skin, various birch bark products, stone microminiatures, etc., the manufacturing technique of which is related to the intangible cultural heritage in China. Meanwhile, Russian artisans presented unique wooden dolls, wood and stone carvings, ceramic dishes, sculpture, etc.

    At the fair, Russian artists opened several master classes, during which visitors were able to try making traditional Yakut amulets, textile folk dolls, etc. with their own hands.

    In addition, the heirs of intangible cultural heritage and invited guests from both countries conducted an in-depth exchange of experiences and organized a dialogue on the topic of preserving, inheriting and innovative development of traditional handicrafts.

    The three-day event, which aimed to promote intangible cultural heritage exchanges between China and Russia, attracted thousands of local residents as well as domestic and foreign tourists, promoting the sale of arts and crafts, the department said in a statement. -0-

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Completed fish pass in Suffolk’s chalk stream help fish to thrive

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Completed fish pass in Suffolk’s chalk stream help fish to thrive

    A new £1.2 million fish pass on the River Lark in Mildenhall improves migration for trout, eels, and course fish.

    The new £1.2 million fish pass on the River Lark in Mildenhall that improves migration for trout, eels, and coarse fish.

    Thousands of fish will benefit from improved access to vital habitats following the installation of a new fish pass on a precious chalk stream.  

    The natural limestone fish passage at Turf Lock on the River Lark has replaced 2 weirs that were preventing wild brown trout, eels and coarse fish from migrating upstream.  

    Built as a rock ramp-style fish pass using natural materials, boulders were carefully placed to disrupt the flow. The new design allows fish to swim between boulders, as they move upstream, which provide shelter and creates better conditions for migration across varying water levels and flows.

    Lou Mayer, environment programme manager for the Environment Agency in Suffolk, said:

    It’s fantastic to see work completed on this important project and witness fish swimming up into Mildenhall for the first time in centuries. Chalk streams are a valuable natural resource that the Environment Agency and its partners are working hard to restore and protect. 

    Over time, there has been a gradual decline in both biodiversity and the overall health of the River Lark’s ecosystem. This project and other planned initiatives will help this river continue to recover and become more resilient to future challenges of climate change.

    Councillor Philip Faircloth-Mutton, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for environment, communities and equality, said:

    Protecting and enhancing Suffolk’s environment is one the county council’s core ambitions, and the fish pass project is a great example of what can be achieved. 

    The Brecks is such a nationally unique area, and thanks to the hard work and care of all the partners involved, it is wonderful to know that fish are now accessing parts of the river for the first time in generations.

    This initiative forms part of the government’s Plan for Change commitment to restore nature and improve water quality across the country.

    The project is being delivered through the Brecks Fen Edge and Rivers Landscape Partnership Scheme, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and hosted by Suffolk County Council in collaboration with local authorities, the Environment Agency, Anglian Water, Natural England and other partners.

    The Environment Agency invites residents to come and learn about the fish pass and the wider effort to restore the health of the River Lark. Friday July 18, 5pm – 7pm at the Mildenhall Cricket Club, Mildenhall IP28 7JU. No need to book.

    Background: 

    The Environment Agency is funding this project from the Water Environment Improvement Fund, which has been used to unlock £3million of National Lottery Heritage Fund for the Brecks Fen Edge and Rivers Landscape Partnership scheme, delivering heritage conservation projects on the Breck’s fenland fringe, key freshwater habitats and primary river corridors.   

    The River Lark’s catchment partnership objective is to make improvements to habitat and ecological status of the river. Find out more here:  The River Lark Catchment Partnership 

    The River Lark has been identified as a flagship river for The Chalk Stream Restoration Project nominated as a Flagship catchment by Anglian Water and supported by the River Lark Catchment Partnership.  

    Gov.uk blog about eel migration: Ancient mystery of European eel migration unravelled to help combat decline of critically-endangered species – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

    Anyone aged 13 or over needs a licence to fish for salmon, trout, eels or freshwater species, with the price as little as £6.60 for a day. Through buying a licence, anglers help protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries: https://www.gov.uk/fishing-licences/buy-a-fishing-licence.

    Contact us:

    Journalists only – 0800 141 2743 or communications_se@environment-agency.gov.uk.

    Updates to this page

    Published 15 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: More areas of country move into drought with dry weather set to continue

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    More areas of country move into drought with dry weather set to continue

    National Drought Group steps up operational response and asks people to play their part in managing the drought and use water wisely

    The National Drought Group (NDG) met today (15 July) as a drought is declared in the West and East Midlands. Dry weather continues to impact water resources across England requiring water companies to take action to manage demand with the public being urged to use water wisely. 

    Since the group last met on 5 June, the situation has deteriorated, with further areas, including the West and East Midlands, now officially in drought and recently three more areas moved into prolonged dry weather status (Lincs and Northants, East Anglia, and Thames area). A hosepipe ban is set to be introduced from 22nd July by Thames Water following a period of prolonged dry weather in the area.  

    Across England, rainfall was 20% less than long term average for June. June was also the hottest on record for England, with two heatwaves driving unusually high demand for water. Reservoir levels continue to fall, with overall storage across England at 75.6% and at 53.8% in Yorkshire necessitating a Temporary Use Ban (TUB).

    The National Drought Group heard that without further substantial rain, some water companies may need to implement further drought measures, including more Temporary Use Bans (TUBs) to conserve supplies. The Environment Agency expects and will ensure that water companies follow their drought management plans. Water companies need to step up their work to fix leaks and adjust their operations to conserve water. 

    The public is being asked to think about how they use water at home and in the garden, and to comply with any local restrictions. The less water you use at the home, the more water there is in your local environment.  The National Drought Group is also asking recreational water users – such as anglers, swimmers, and boaters to remain vigilant and report any environmental issues they see, such as fish in distress, acting as important eyes and ears on the ground. 

    Farmers are using water efficiently, supporting one another, and looking to trade water and welcome the support from the Environment Agency. However, without further rain, the agricultural community are facing a range of challenges due to the dry weather including concerns about irrigation reservoir levels. It is likely that yields will be lower than last year, particularly non-irrigated grains and straw  

    Environment Agency teams are out on the ground actively monitoring river levels, with staff working with the water sector to ensure there is enough water for the people and the environment.  Teams are also supporting farmers and abstractors with advice on how to manage abstraction during prolonged dry weather and low flows.  Fisheries teams are responding where necessary to protect fish which are struggling due to reduced oxygen or moving them if the river has dried up and they have become stranded. 

    Impacts across wildlife away from rivers and reservoirs have been seen since March. Wildfires, drying up wetlands and coastal sites, with the loss of breeding seasons for rare species have all been seen.

    Helen Wakeham, Environment Agency Director for Water and National Drought Group chair, said:   

    This has been the driest start to the year since 1976, and we need to make sure our water supplies can sustain us through the summer.  

    Today I have asked all the partners who make up the national drought group to step up their operational response to manage the drought and use water wisely. Environment Agency teams are out on the ground actively monitoring river levels and working to ensure there is enough water for the people and the environment.

    Water Minister Emma Hardy said:  

    I have asked the National Drought Group to step up its response to ensure we are successfully managing the impacts of ongoing dry weather. Water companies must now take action to follow their drought plans – I will hold them to account if they delay.  

    We face a growing water shortage in the next decade. That’s why we are pushing ahead with urgent water reforms under our Plan for Change, which includes £104 billion of private investment to build nine reservoirs and new pipes to cut leaks.

    Dr Will Lang, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, said:

    Although some areas saw rainfall at the start of July,  for many the month so far has been fairly dry, continuing a pattern seen through spring and June. We’ve now recorded our third heatwave of the summer and following a period of fresher, more unsettled conditions it’s likely to turn warmer and more humid again across many parts of England later this week. There’s also the possibility of heavy, thundery showers for some places too.

    It does look as though we’ll see typical changeable weather during the latter third of July and into early August with a mix of rain, showers. Confidence in details inevitably gets lower, the further ahead we look, but this would be consistent with our seasonal expectations.

    The National Drought Group – which includes the Met Office, government, regulators, water companies, farmers, CRT, angling groups and conservation experts. With further warm, dry weather expected, the NDG will continue to meet regularly to coordinate the national response and safeguard water supplies for people, agriculture, and the environment. 

    Notes to editors:   

    A decision to declare drought is taken based on reservoir levels, river flows, groundwater levels, how dry soils are, environmental incidents and water resources position along with consideration of the long-term weather forecasts. These are based on Environment Agency Area classifications.

    Temporary Use Bans ( TUBs) are a decision for the water companies and must be made in line with their drought plans

    More information on how drought is defined can be found here: Drought: how it is managed in England – GOV.UK

    Updates to this page

    Published 15 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Curiosity Blog, Sols 4595-4596: Just Another Beautiful Day on Mars

    Source: NASA

    Written by Ashley Stroupe, Mission Operations Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    Earth planning date: Wednesday, July 9, 2025
    In today’s plan, we have a little bit of everything. With it being winter still, we are taking advantage of the ability to let the rover sleep in, doing most of the activities in the afternoon when it is warmer and we need less heating. As the Systems Engineer (Engineering Uplink Lead) today, I sequenced the needed heating and some other engineering housekeeping activities.
    We start off with an extensive remote science block with Mastcam imaging of a nearby trough to look for potential sand activity. There is color imaging of a displaced block, “Ouro,” near a circular depression — could this be a small crater? Mastcam also takes a look at a ridge “Volcán Peña Blanca” to look at the sedimentary structures, which may provide insights into its formation. ChemCam LIBS and Mastcam team up to look at the “Los Andes” target, which is the dark face of a nearby piece of exposed bedrock. ChemCam RMI and Mastcam check out a distant small outcrop to examine the geometry of the layers. We also throw in environmental observations, a Mastcam solar Tau and a Navcam line-of-site looking at dust in the atmosphere. After a nap, Curiosity will be doing some contact science activities on “Cataratas del Jardín” and “Rio Ivirizu” bedrock targets. Looking at two nearby targets for variability can help us understand the local geology. Cataratas del Jardín gets a brushing to clear away the dust before both targets are examined by MAHLI and APXS. Fortunately for the Arm Rover Planner, both of these targets are fairly flat and easy to reach.  Before going to sleep for the night, Curiosity will stow the arm to be ready for driving on the next sol.On the second sol, there is more remote science. ChemCam LIBS and Mastcam will examine “Torotoro,” another piece of layered bedrock. ChemCam RMI will take a mosaic of “Paniri,” which is an interesting incision in the rock that is filled with another material. There are also environmental observations, a Navcam dust devil survey and a suprahorizon movie. After another nap, Curiosity is getting on the road. We’re heading southwest (direction shown in the image) about 50 meters (about 164 feet), but we need to sneak between sandy pits and skirt around some terrain that we can’t see behind. The terrain here provides pretty nice driving, though, without a lot of big boulders, steep slopes, or pointy rocks that can poke holes in our wheels. After the standard post-drive imaging for our next plan, there are some Navcam observations to look for clouds and our normal look under the rover with MARDI before Curiosity goes to sleep for the night.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Curiosity Blog, Sols 4595-4596: Just Another Beautiful Day on Mars

    Source: NASA

    Written by Ashley Stroupe, Mission Operations Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    Earth planning date: Wednesday, July 9, 2025
    In today’s plan, we have a little bit of everything. With it being winter still, we are taking advantage of the ability to let the rover sleep in, doing most of the activities in the afternoon when it is warmer and we need less heating. As the Systems Engineer (Engineering Uplink Lead) today, I sequenced the needed heating and some other engineering housekeeping activities.
    We start off with an extensive remote science block with Mastcam imaging of a nearby trough to look for potential sand activity. There is color imaging of a displaced block, “Ouro,” near a circular depression — could this be a small crater? Mastcam also takes a look at a ridge “Volcán Peña Blanca” to look at the sedimentary structures, which may provide insights into its formation. ChemCam LIBS and Mastcam team up to look at the “Los Andes” target, which is the dark face of a nearby piece of exposed bedrock. ChemCam RMI and Mastcam check out a distant small outcrop to examine the geometry of the layers. We also throw in environmental observations, a Mastcam solar Tau and a Navcam line-of-site looking at dust in the atmosphere. After a nap, Curiosity will be doing some contact science activities on “Cataratas del Jardín” and “Rio Ivirizu” bedrock targets. Looking at two nearby targets for variability can help us understand the local geology. Cataratas del Jardín gets a brushing to clear away the dust before both targets are examined by MAHLI and APXS. Fortunately for the Arm Rover Planner, both of these targets are fairly flat and easy to reach.  Before going to sleep for the night, Curiosity will stow the arm to be ready for driving on the next sol.On the second sol, there is more remote science. ChemCam LIBS and Mastcam will examine “Torotoro,” another piece of layered bedrock. ChemCam RMI will take a mosaic of “Paniri,” which is an interesting incision in the rock that is filled with another material. There are also environmental observations, a Navcam dust devil survey and a suprahorizon movie. After another nap, Curiosity is getting on the road. We’re heading southwest (direction shown in the image) about 50 meters (about 164 feet), but we need to sneak between sandy pits and skirt around some terrain that we can’t see behind. The terrain here provides pretty nice driving, though, without a lot of big boulders, steep slopes, or pointy rocks that can poke holes in our wheels. After the standard post-drive imaging for our next plan, there are some Navcam observations to look for clouds and our normal look under the rover with MARDI before Curiosity goes to sleep for the night.

    MIL OSI USA News –