NewzIntel.com

Category: housing

  • MIL-OSI USA: Trump Tariffs, Trade War Concerns Heard During Welch’s Roundtable with Vermont Businesses and Farmers

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, convened Vermont businesses for a virtual roundtable to hear about the chaos caused by President Trump’s misguided tariff policies and his Trade War. Earlier this week, the president agreed to pause new 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico for 30 days, as well as 10% tariffs on imports of oil from Canada—which he had announced days prior, prompting immediate retaliation by Canada and Mexico. President Trump did not pause new 10% tariffs on imports from China. He has also threatened tariffs on imports from the European Union. 
    “These Trump Tariffs are of enormous concern because of their real practical impacts on enterprises, your companies, on your ability to do your work,” said Senator Welch during the event. “The concerns that I’ve seen and expressed to me by Vermonters are concerns that are being expressed to my Republican colleagues…I think that helps put us in a position to push back and be successful. 
    “Every single day, I’m going to be thinking about how this impacts you, and on Vermont, because each of you represent a significant part of the Vermont economy, and you certainly represent the Vermont spirit….I want to do everything I can to allow you to continue being successful doing what you’re doing.” 
    After President Trump’s decision to pause tariffs Canada and Mexico on Monday for 30 days, Senator Welch released the following statement: 

    “President Trump temporarily backtracking on his Trade War does nothing to give Vermont families, businesses, and farms the economic stability they deserve. Tariffs are taxes, and Trump just made it clear he’s fine with raising taxes on American families,” said Sen. Welch. 

    Senator Welch was joined by Vermont business owners, dairy and vegetable farmers, maple sugar makers, manufacturers, craft brewers, home heating and energy importers, home construction manufacturing, retailers, bankers, technology leaders, health care experts, transportation industry experts, local and state leaders, and others impacted by tariffs and the president’s reckless economic policies.  
    During the virtual roundtable, he heard clear concerns from Vermonters, including:    
    “It feels like death by a thousand cuts.” – Stoni Tomson, a small-scale vegetable farmer in Huntington, VT 
    “Adding a tariff will either lead to drug shortages in the short term, or long-term significant price increases.” –  Jason Williams, University of Vermont Health Network 
    “If the 25% tariff was applied in full, it would be about a $130,000 – $150,000 unbudgeted hit to our food procurement efforts. And as a charitable organization, we don’t have a consumer to pass along that cost to.” –  Jason Maring, Vermont Foodbank 
     “The ripple-effects that this could have on energy markets, and of course manufacturing, is very heavy.” – Catherine de Ronde, Agri-Mark 
    “We’re grateful for the pause, and hopeful you can do what you can do to make sure it never comes back.” – Matt Cota, Meadow Hill Consulting 
    “I’m just concerned in general that it’s going to further stagnate the ability for some of these much-needed construction projects to move forward.” – Matt Cook, PC Construction 
    “We would be strongly affected by the tariffs in terms of equipment costs for U.S. producers… I’m very concerned with the possible effects of this.” – Dave Folino, Vermont maple producer 
    “I can foresee this making homes unaffordable—which they already are.” – Denis Bourbeau, Bourbeau Custom Homes 
    “Our industry has grown in production almost 500% over the last 20 years, and these tariffs would go a long way towards potentially slowing that production.” – Alison Hope, Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association 
    “That kind of jolt to our budget—there’s just not room.” – Peter Kahn, Sienna Construction 
    “There’s just so much unknown, and I’m concerned about the impact on our customers—I’m worried that we’ll lose customers…All of this hurts everyone. It makes everything more expensive.” – Ashley Adams, P.G. Adams 
    “That would basically squeeze us out of the marketplace.” – Melanie Harrison, a small organic dairy farmer in Addison, VT 
    “Even though the tariffs aren’t in effect, we’re definitely already feeling the effects.” – Elise Magnant, small organic vegetable farmer in Plainfield, VT 
    “We’re all working on a very slim margin.” – Steve Parkes, Drop In Brewing 
    Today, Senator Welch will take these stories and the voices of Vermonters to the confirmation hearing for President Trump’s pick for U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, who will lead the President’s tariff strategy.  
    On Tuesday, Senator Welch took to the Senate floor to blast the proposed tariffs, which would be a tax on Vermonters. Attendees and constituents are invited to share how President Trump’s economic policies will impact their family, farm, or community by sharing their story on Senator Welch’s website. 
    This event follows a roundtable Senator Welch held in St. Albans on Monday, January 27th, where he heard from businesses and state and local leaders about the President’s threats to reignite a trade war with Canada, Mexico, and China. 
    In many cases, Vermont manufacturers buy imports from Canada to manufacture into products.  However, the ability of Vermont’s small manufacturing businesses to absorb a 25% increase in costs on parts or raw materials is limited. Tariffs on Canada and Mexico could result in layoffs or higher homebuilding costs, increased costs of grain for farmers, and more expensive equipment for maple producers, among other costs that will get passed on to the consumer. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Senior councillors set to give new Assisted Living Leeds headquarters final green light

    Source: City of Leeds

    Funding approval sought to refurbish new base in Stourton

    Senior councillors in Leeds will be asked to give the final go-ahead for enhanced new headquarters for the Assisted Living Leeds service which helps people with health issues to live in their own homes at a meeting next week.

    At the meeting of the council’s executive board at Civic Hall on Wednesday 12 February, councillors will be asked to approve £3.4million of funding to allow the refurbishment of the service’s new base at Waterside Road in Stourton to complete a £9million investment overall in the new facility.

    The Assisted Living Leeds service run by Leeds City Council plays a vital role in supporting people of all ages when they have been discharged from hospital to live independently at home. Working 24 hours a day, Assisted Living Leeds operates the Leeds Tele Care Service providing and monitoring assistive technology and equipment which allows people to live at home rather than being in a hospital or dedicated care setting.

    The service also provides a ‘return and reuse’ service, which allows used equipment to be returned, decontaminated, and reissued, where appropriate.

    The service is currently based at Clarence Road, a 1960s building which requires increasing ongoing maintenance. With the service also growing due to demand, in 2019 the council approved £5.6m for the acquisition of the new site at Waterside Road after assessing possible new locations in the city.

    The new site will offer high-quality modern accommodation and due to its layout also offers significant operational benefits which will help to improve the efficiency of service delivery and customer service. It will also help to future-proof the service for the coming years.

    Leeds City Council executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture Councillor Salma Arif said:

    “We are delighted that we are now in a position to get the refurbishment of the new Assisted Living Leeds headquarters underway as once completed it will bring significant benefits for our city and its residents.

    “The Assisting Living Leeds service provides an essential and invaluable lifeline to support people of all ages to be able to live healthy, happy and productive independent lives at home, and this move to its new location will enable it to continue to grow stronger and stronger helping even more people for years to come.”

    Should approval be given for the refurbishment to proceed, the new headquarters would be scheduled to open in January 2026.

    The new building when open will also become home to the council’s flood risk management team, monitoring rainfall and river levels across the city.

    To see the report being considered by the executive board visit Council and democracy (agenda item 9).

    To find out more about Assisted Living Leeds visit Equipment to help you live at home

    ENDS

    For media enquiries please contact:

    Leeds City Council communications and marketing,

    Email: communicationsteam@leeds.gov.uk

    Tel: 0113 378 6007

     

     

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: A Dose of History: Love is the Best Medicine

    Source: US State of Connecticut

     Cecily and Joe DiPiro: a Forever Type of Love  

    Picture this: UConn basketball season, 1975. You purchase your tickets for 50 cents apiece and head to the old fieldhouse, not yet knowing the glory of Gampel Pavilion. You and your date hit it off, and the rest is history!  

    For Cecily and Joe DiPiro, this is where their love story started. Their time at UConn began as freshmen in the School of Pharmacy, eager to dive into their passion. The following year, in January of 1975, they met while working at Yale New Haven Hospital. Amid conversation at the hospital, they realized they were in a few of the same classes together (nothing sparks love like organic chemistry). A month later, they were in that old fieldhouse on their first date. Cecily even has the ticket stub to prove it.  

    Over the next few years, Cecily and Joe’s passion grew as they fell in love with UConn. Their fondest memories include being proud members of AZO, a Professional Pharmaceutical Fraternity, and the Student Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP). In addition to their pharmacy coursework, Cecily and Joe cheered on the Huskies during hockey games, skied down Horsebarn Hill when a small ski slope was still in operation, enjoyed the campus creamery, and embraced the UConn social scene, finding time to party amidst their busy schedules. During their time at UConn, Cecily and Joe were put in charge of a Beerfest, where they convinced faculty members to pour beer while raising money for the 1978 yearbook. They also went on a trip to Eli Lilly, riding a bus for 15 hours with their classmates to Indianapolis, where they received a two-day tour of the company. 

    Cecily and Joe DiPiro

    After their late-night study sessions and Beer Fests at UConn were over and Cecily and Joe graduated, they went into separate residency programs. Joe went to the University of Kentucky for his residency and Pharm.D. while Cecily went to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. After a year in each of their residency programs, they tied the knot while continuing their passion for pharmacy. Cecily worked as a hospital pharmacist at UK Medical Center until Joe graduated, and then they moved to the Augusta, GA area. Joe worked for the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, while Cecily was a hospital pharmacist at the Medical College of Georgia Hospital. She spent most of her career as a hospital pharmacist, and in later years, worked as a diabetes coach and as a grants manager for the SC Pharmacy Association. Joe held leadership roles as Dean of South Carolina College of Pharmacy from 2005 to 2014 and Dean of Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Pharmacy from 2014 to 2022. The pair also worked on several writing projects together. While busy with their professional careers, Joe and Cecily found time to raise their three children, one of whom is a pharmacist, and now are blessed with eight healthy and active grandchildren! 

    Cecily and Joe DiPiro

    After retiring from their successful careers, Cecily and Joe have found time to appreciate the connections they made early on in their lives at UConn’s School of Pharmacy. Looking back, they hold a special place in their hearts for the camaraderie they felt with their classmates and faculty during their journey at the School. Back in the ‘70s, when many UConn students would venture home on the weekends, the couple and their classmates would stay on campus and have the library to themselves, forming study groups and offering each other support and encouragement. “Our classmates were our day-to-day family,” says Cecily, reminiscing about heading to the old library with the Gold Dome roof to study with classmates. Joe added, “If you didn’t show up to class, they’d have the notes.” There might have been more than just studying at the old library, as Joe and Cecily recall four or five other couples in their class who eventually got married.  

    Although they haven’t been back to campus in several years, Cecily and Joe will always feel connected to their UConn family. Through exchanging Christmas cards or reconnecting in person at UConn reunions, they find ways to stay connected to their Husky roots, remembering the love they fostered for pharmacy and each other here at Storrs. 

    Bill and Erica Baker: From Lab Partners to Life Partners 

    Fast forward about twenty years from Cecily and Joe’s time at the UConn School of Pharmacy, and this is where Bill and Erica’s love story begins. Both attending E.O Smith High School near UConn, they began their story as lab partners in their senior year during advanced biology. They quickly realized they shared a common goal of attending UConn to pursue pharmacy. From running around the UConn campus during high school gym class to attending sporting events in the ‘80s long before they enrolled, Bill and Erica were excited to deepen the kinship they had felt with the university while growing up. 

    Bill and Erica Baker Celebrating Bill’s Graduation

    The following year, now at UConn as commuter students, the couple made it official.  Bill says their relationship grew naturally, bonding over the same Pre-Pharmacy classes and spending time at each other’s houses after class. During their sophomore year, Bill and Erica joined UConn’s professional pharmacy fraternity AZO and remained active members in the following years, and Bill now serves as the faculty advisor for the organization. Throughout their time at UConn, Bill and Erica developed their own friend groups, creating a strong network of friends and study partners. They continued their passion for pharmacy and gained experience, with Bill working at Walgreens and Erica in a hospital pharmacy. Despite being busy with their professional and academic careers, Bill and Erica found time to enjoy campus-wide events like Spring Weekend and concerts at Jorgensen. They also took part in classic UConn traditions, such as attending basketball games at Gampel.

    Bill and Erica Celebrating Erica’s Graduation

     Bill and Erica’s biggest relationship challenge came toward the end of their time at the School when Bill graduated in 2002 while Erica had one more year to complete. When Bill graduated, he accepted a post-pharmacy traineeship in Hartford. During this time, he lived with Erica, who was finishing up her last year at UConn. A month after Erica graduated in 2003, they married and moved to Delaware. Coordinating a wedding and a big move while Bill was employed and Erica was still finishing her degree was a challenge, but it was something the couple overcame. They eventually settled in Delaware, where Erica got a post-grad job. Despite the challenge, the couple felt relieved when they chose similar career paths, both wanting to work in a hospital setting so their schedules would align. 

    Bill and Erica Baker Present Day

    Now a faculty member, Bill strives to appreciate the opportunities he has as a UConn professor. He’s especially grateful for what he can give back to UConn: ‘The honor of being here, and giving back to the school and community that has meant so much to me.’ With three young children, Bill and Erica remain busy with their professional and personal lives but always make time to support their Husky family through watching and attending basketball and football games. Bill urges current UConn students in the School of Pharmacy to take every opportunity they are given, make connections, and never get too overwhelmed: ‘Obviously, you want to enjoy yourself.’ 

     “We went to school here,” says Bill “We lived elsewhere for a period of time. And then now we’re back here.” Once a Husky, always a Husky!” 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Beloit Man Sentenced to 22½ Years for Producing Child Pornography

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)

    MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Misael Dominguez Adorno, 25, Beloit, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 22 ½ years in federal prison for producing child pornography. The prison term will be followed by 25 years of supervised release.  Dominquez Adorno pleaded guilty to this charge on October 9, 2024.

    In November 2022, Beloit Police received a CyberTip indicating that someone at Dominguez Adorno’s residence uploaded sexually explicit images onto the internet.  Based on the tip, officers obtained and executed a search warrant for the home, where they seized numerous cell phones, iPads, computers, and flash drives.

    Officers analyzed the devices and found videos of Dominguez Adorno engaged in sexually explicit conduct with five minors, whom officers were able to identify.  Officers also found that Dominguez Adorno had received sexually explicit images from a 6th minor victim.

    Judge Conley expressed concern that Dominguez Adorno only cared about getting what he wanted from each of his young victims, manipulating them to his advantage. Judge Conley also noted that Dominguez Adorno did not seem to realize that he had stolen part of each victim’s youth with his actions.

    The charge against Dominquez Adorno was the result of an investigation conducted by the Beloit Police Department, the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman prosecuted this case.

    This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Budd, Kaine Introduce Bill to Incentivize Landowners to Participate in Military Land Use Program

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ted Budd (R-North Carolina)

    Washington, D.C. — Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) have introduced the Incentivizing REPI Sales Act of 2025. The bipartisan, bicameral bill promotes military readiness by encouraging the land around military installations to be preserved for the military to train, test, and operate.

    The House companion is led by Reps. Greg Murphy (R-NC) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA).

    Senator Budd said in a statement:

    “As the United States confronts new and dangerous global threats, our military must maintain its readiness and lethality through realistic training at home installations. I’m proud to partner with Senator Kaine to encourage additional REPI participation in order to strengthen military readiness.”

    Senator Kaine said:

    “Our Armed Forces need resilient, modern bases so they can undergo the most realistic and high-quality training. I am a longtime supporter of the DOD’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program, which helps meet that goal while simultaneously conserving public lands. This legislation will incentivize participation in this program by creating a tax incentive for property owners who sell land or property for the military to use for training, resilience, and other important purposes. I am proud to work with Senator Budd on this legislation, and I will continue to do everything I can as a Senator representing one of the most military-connected states in the country to support our military installations.”

    Dr. Murphy said:

    “The Department of Defense’s (DOD) Readiness and Environment Protection Integration (REPI) is essential to our national security and invaluable ecosystems. Avoiding land use conflicts in areas used by our military is imperative to their ability to conduct critical training and maintain readiness. The Incentivizing Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Sales Act supports this successful initiative by incentivizing landowners to participate in this important program when considering the sale of property near military installations.”

    Rep. Panetta said:

    “Rising land costs are making it more difficult for the military and conservation partners to protect the land around bases. Our bipartisan bill would make it easier to preserve those critical buffers by waiving the capital gains tax for landowners who sell to conservation organizations for Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) projects.  By strengthening the REPI Program, we can ensure military installations remain mission-ready while safeguarding the surrounding environment.”

    Background:

    • The Department of Defense’s (DOD) Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program supports cost-sharing agreements between the Military Services, other federal agencies, state and local governments, and private conservation organizations to avoid land use conflicts near military installations, address environmental restrictions that limit military activities, and increase resilience to weather events and other environmental concerns.
    • REPI is a key tool used by DOD and its partners to protect the military’s ability to train, test, and operate. Development of lands and loss of habitat near military installations, ranges, and airspace can lead to restrictions or costly and inadequate training and testing alternatives.
    • Preserving natural areas is vital for keeping skies dark, which is necessary for night training, protecting habitats off-base for endangered species, and facilitating nature-based approaches to mitigate flooding and severe weather.
    • REPI successfully protected 27,000 acres around Fort Liberty, NC in order to provide a flight corridor for Grey Eagle drone training and conduct Robin Sage, the final training exercise of Special Forces qualification. This action also helped recover the local population of red-cockaded woodpeckers.
    • The Incentivizing REPI Sales Act excludes the appreciated land value from federal capital gains tax for landowners who sell land or easements near military installations specifically for REPI purposes.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former University Employee Charged with Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)

    COLUMBIA, S.C. — Mohammad Ebrahim Torki Harchegani, 38, has been charged with attempted enticement of a minor for sexual activity.

    During a contested bond hearing, an FBI special agent testified that on Dec. 3-4, 2024, multiple agencies participated in an online chat operation targeting child sex offenders where an officer posed as a 14-year-old female. Torki, a legal permanent resident of the United States and Iranian citizen, engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the alleged 14-year-old girl. Torki ultimately traveled to the residence where he believed the girl was home alone to engage in sexual activities with her. He was arrested thereafter.

    Testimony was also presented that Torki was a researcher at the University of South Carolina at the time of the chat. Upon his arrest, his employment was suspended and his contract with the university was not renewed.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

    Torki was ordered detained at the hearing. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

    The FBI Columbia Field Office, the South Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department participated in the online chat operation and investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elle E. Klein and Winston Holliday are prosecuting the case.

    All charges in the indictment are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Henryetta Resident Pleads Guilty to Burglary and Assault

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

    MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Cody Lynn Lusk, age 34, of Henryetta, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Burglary in the First Degree in Indian Country, and one count of Assault of a Spouse, Intimate Partner, or Dating Partner by Strangling, Suffocating, and Attempting to Strangle and Suffocate in Indian Country.

    The Indictment alleged that on March 22, 2024, Lusk broke into the dwelling house of an individual and entered, intending to commit a crime within.  The Indictment further alleged that Lusk then strangled and suffocated a dating partner.

    The crimes occurred in Muskogee County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

    The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, and the Muskogee Police Department.

    The Honorable D. Edward Snow, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.  Lusk will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caila M. Cleary and Morgan Muzljakovich represented the United States.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner and Kaine Announce $540,000 in Federal Funding for Floyd County

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $540,000 in federal funding for Floyd County to expand high-speed broadband in the region. The funding was awarded by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments that innovates and invests to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in 423 counties across the Appalachian region.

    “This project perfectly highlights the good that federal funding does for our communities,” said the senators. “This funding will bring broadband to Floyd County, expanding job opportunities, boosting the local economy, and supporting individual households. Despite illegal attempts from the Trump administration to sabotage federal funding, including for broadband, public safety, roads and bridges, and more, we will continue to fight for projects like this.”

    Specifically, the funding will go towards the Citizens Telephone Cooperative for the Citizens Industrial Park Broadband Expansion Project. As a result of this project, 26,400 linear feet of middle mile broadband network will be constructed to serve 285 businesses with 10Gbps speeds.

    Sens. Warner and Kaine have been outspoken about the harm that President Trump’s funding freeze would have had on Virginians and Virginia businesses. Last week, the senators called out President Trump’s order as illegal and costly, less than 48 hours after it was originally issued, the order was blocked by federal courts, and rescinded by the administration.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Celebrating World Pulses Day with Birmingham’s Full of Beans campaign

    Source: City of Birmingham

    Published: Thursday, 6th February 2025

    Tuesday 10th February marks World Pulses Day, a global awareness event promoting the importance of pulses, such as beans, lentils and chickpeas.

    Birmingham’s Public Health team is on a mission to help everyone discover just how amazing pulses are.  

    Pulses may be small, but they are mighty! They are packed full of protein, fibre, vitamins, and minerals, making them a nutritious addition to any meal, or a great snack for a boost of energy during the day. Their versatility means that they can be used in a wide variety of dishes and are a staple in many different cuisines.  

    They are also great for the planet because growing pulses helps to improve the quality of the soil, fewer greenhouse gases are released, and they use much less water compared to other sources of protein such as meat.  

    They can also help create nutritious meals that are affordable, particularly at a time when many households are concerned about the cost of living. 

    Birmingham Public Health is promoting the power of pulses through its Full of Beans campaign, which aims to increase the amount of beans and pulses eaten in schools, in families, and in food businesses.

    Under this initiative, and as World Pulses Day approaches, the team has created a feast of activities and resources, including booklets and online information, to help people discover, explore and celebrate beans and pulses through growing, tasting and cooking. Recipe ideas are also available via the Full of Beans communities on the Samsung Food app here.

    Keep an eye for further information, including activities and recipes, via Birmingham Public Health’s Healthy Brum social media channels on World Pulses Day itself.

    Further information on the Full of Beans campaign can be found here.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: International Community Must Keep Pushing for Permanent Ceasefire, Work towards Gaza’s Reconstruction, Secretary-General Tells Palestinian Rights Committee

    Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

    Speakers Urge Member States to Fully Support UN Palestine Refugee Agency’s Vital Work, Stress Rising Violence by Israeli Settlers in West Bank Must Stop

    The international community must keep pushing for a permanent ceasefire and work towards the reconstruction of Gaza, the UN Chief told the Palestinian Rights Committee today, highlighting the essential role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the process.

    “At its essence, the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people is about the right of Palestinians to simply live as human beings in their own land,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his remarks to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People as it opened its 2025 session.

    However, the realization of those rights steadily slips farther out of reach as the world witnesses “chilling, systematic dehumanization and demonization of an entire people”, he said.  Nearly 50,000 people — 70 per cent of them women and children — have been reported killed and most of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure — hospitals, schools and water facilities — has been destroyed.  Displacement after displacement, hunger and disease left an entire generation homeless and traumatized.

    “We cannot go back to more death and destruction,” he asserted, adding that the UN is working around the clock to reach Palestinians in need and scale up support.  That requires rapid, safe, unimpeded, expanded and sustained humanitarian access, he said, calling on Member States to fully fund humanitarian operations and support UNRWA’s vital work.

    In the search for solutions, it is crucial to stay true to the bedrock of international law and avoid any form of ethnic cleansing, he stressed, adding that a viable, sovereign Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel is “the only sustainable solution for Middle East stability”.

    Relatedly, he voiced grave concern over rising violence by Israeli settlers and other violations in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.  “The violence must stop,” he said, urging respect for international law, including the International Court of Justice orders.

    “The ceasefire was a decisive step forward in providing aid and safety,” said Coly Seck (Senegal), the elected Chair of the Committee for 2025.  He called on States to “reinvent strategies to block the way for those enemies of peace on Palestinian ground” and on the international community to defend “these people long oppressed”, adding:  “This is a key year for the Palestinian cause.”

    Permanent Observer for State of Palestine Rejects Concept of ‘Ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Open Hell in the West Bank’

    Riyad H. Mansour, Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, said that while “we are delighted to have a ceasefire”, the agreement must become permanent and cover all parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  He rejected the concept of “a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and open hell in the West Bank”, and underscored the need to implement all the agreement’s provisions, including the reconstruction of Gaza and the safe return of the Palestinians to the areas from which they were displaced.

    Outlining his objectives for 2025, he stressed that defending UNRWA — the most successful story of multilateralism since the UN’s inception — is paramount.  Furthermore, he outlined his plan to work with all Member States towards a successful international conference in June, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, to accomplish the objectives established by the International Court of Justice. The body determined that prolonged occupation of the Palestinian Territory is unlawful and must be terminated as quickly as possible.  Echoing that, the General Assembly legislated that this illegal occupation must be terminated within one year.

    Underscoring the need to rebuild Gaza, he declared:  “It is part of our homeland, and we do not have a homeland other than the State of Palestine [nor] are we looking for other homelands or countries”.  Rejecting any idea of ethnic cleansing, he urged all countries to help Palestine’s Government in this endeavour.  Accordingly, he spotlighted “intense meetings and communications” between President Mahmoud Abbas and the leaders of Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

    “There is no power on Earth that can remove the Palestinian people from our ancestral homeland, including Gaza,” he said, adding that the return of 400,000 Palestinians to the north is “our answer for those who want us to kick us out of Gaza”.

    UNRWA Is Stabilizing Force, Committed Partner to Peace, Agency Official Says

    Greta Gunnarsdottir, Head of the UNRWA Liaison Office in New York, speaking on behalf of the Agency’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazarini, said that, although the Knesset legislation prohibiting UNRWA’s operations creates challenges, the Agency’s local staff continues to operate “at considerable personal risk” in the occupied West Bank.  While operations in Gaza continue, it is unclear how the contact prohibition with Israeli officials will constrain the Agency’s work.  Since the ceasefire, UNRWA has distributed food to 750,000 people and conducted 17,000 medical consultations; in January, 260,000 children enrolled in its online learning programmes.

    However, she emphasized curtailing UNRWA’s operations will undermine the ceasefire and sabotage Gaza’s recovery and political transition.  “The Government of Israel is investing significant resources to portray the Agency as a terrorist organization,” she said, adding that — as a result — donors are declining or reducing funding.  “For 75 years, UNRWA has been a stabilizing force and a committed partner for peace in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  It must be allowed to remain so until a political solution is at hand,” she stated.

    UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Calls Israel’s Starving of 2.3 Million Palestinians in Gaza ‘Fastest Starvation Campaign in Modern History’

    Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, speaking via video conference, recalled that Israel announced its intent to starve the civilians in Gaza on 6 October 2023 — before the Hamas attacks.  On the reached agreement, he said:  “This is not a ceasefire, [but] a slowing down of Israel’s genocide and starvation campaign.”

    On 6 October 2023, Gaza had been under a blockade for 23 years, with 50 per cent of its civilians already food insecure and 80 per cent dependent on humanitarian aid.  “How is it even possible for Israel to starve 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza so quickly and so completely,” he asked, citing it as “the fastest starvation campaign in modern history”.

    One of the reasons for UNRWA’s creation in 1948 was to prevent the starvation of the Palestinian people, he pointed out, stressing that “there has always been the risk of starvation”.  The International Court of Justice has recognized the risk of genocide and the occurrence of starvation, as reflected in its warrants on the crime of starvation against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

    The right of return and the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people constitute the foundation necessary for future political solutions, he continued.  Israel has been attacking Palestinians “at degrees of violence not seen before”, destroying food systems and creating conditions of hunger that will last for generations.  Moreover, it has attacked the UN itself — it shot at peacekeepers in Lebanon, killed a record number of UN staff in Gaza, mostly UNRWA, and declared the Secretary-General a persona non grata.

    Nonetheless, he emphasized that without the support of the United States and Germany — among others — Israel would be unable to implement its starvation campaign and commit genocide.  Washington, D.C., under the previous administration, exited international law, while “the current administration exited the UN” by defunding UNRWA, threatening to defund the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and withdrawing from the Human Rights Council. “What is at stake is the international legal order and the UN itself,” he warned, highlighting the importance of the Hague Group, which was created to implement the decisions of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

    Recounting Death of Relatives in Gaza Due to Israeli Bombings, UNRWA USA Philanthropy Director Stresses ‘We Will Continue’

    “My world shuttered for the first time on 24 November 2023, when Israel dropped a bomb on the family home where my brother lived,” said Hani Almadhoun, Senior Director of Philanthropy at UNRWA USA, also recalling the humiliation of his other brother, who was falsely accused of being a fighter.  “Palestinian men were paraded by the Israeli army in their underwear as if they were part of some grotesque spectacle,” he observed.  While his non-profit organization supports UNRWA’s work, he noted that individual efforts — no matter how heartfelt — cannot replace the comprehensive support of an established institution like UNRWA.  He further recalled that, in February 2024, together with his brother Mahmoud, he co-founded the Gaza Soup Kitchen, which soon became a “lifeline” serving hot meals to thousands of families.

    When hospitals were under siege, Mahmoud also created a medical clinic that provided baby formula and diapers and founded a small school for 560 children.  He said that “forcing the Palestinians out of Gaza is as unrealistic as draining the ocean”, stating:  “Whenever the world failed the Palestinian people […] the land did not.”  His concluded by citing the words of his brother Mahmoud, who was killed by an Israeli strike in November 2024: “We will continue.”

    Committee Members Highlight UNRWA’s Indispensable Role, Reject Any Attempts to Expel Palestinians from Occupied Palestinian Territory

    In the ensuing discussions, Committee members highlighted UNRWA’s indispensable role, with Cuba’s delegate stressing that “to prohibit the work of the Agency today means undermining the present and the future of the Palestinian people”.

    While Guyana’s delegate underscored that “the ceasefire must be a stepping stone towards the lasting peace”, her counterpart from Venezuela warned that the latest developments in the West Bank could threaten the agreement.

    Others, including Nicaragua’s representative, rejected the recent declarations that imply attempts to expel the Palestinian population from its territories.  A displacement plan — “even opening it for discussion” — is unacceptable, said Türkiye’s representative.

    Echoing that, Qatar’s delegate said that, during the comprehensive reconstruction process in Gaza, the international community must ensure that Palestinians remain on their land.

    For her part, Egypt’s delegate said that commemorating the Committee’s fiftieth anniversary manifests “the failure of the international community to assist the Palestinian people”.

    2025 Work Programme Adopted, Bureau Elected  

    In other business, the Committee adopted its work programme for 2025 and unanimously elected Coly Seck (Senegal) as Chair and Neville Melvin Gertze (Namibia), Jaime Hermida Castillo (Nicaragua), Ahmad Faisal Muhamad (Malaysia), Arrmanatha Christiawan Nasir (Indonesia) and Ernesto Soberón Guzmán (Cuba) as Vice-Chairs.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI: E Ink Partners with MIT Solve to Launch Innovation Prize for Global Challenges

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BILLERICA, Mass., Feb. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — E Ink (8069.TW), the originator, pioneer, and global commercial leader in ePaper technology, announced today its collaboration with MIT Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute for Technology with a mission to drive innovation to solve world challenges. The E Ink Innovation Prize will award up to $300,000 over the next three years to teams helping solve the world’s most pressing issues.

    “This partnership with MIT Solve underscores our commitment to leveraging ePaper technology to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges,” said Johnson Lee, CEO, E Ink. “We believe that by supporting innovation, we can make a significant impact on global issues and drive sustainable change.”

    The inaugural E Ink Solve Global Challenge opened for applications on February 3, 2025, with prize recipients selected in August, and official project kick off in September. The E Ink Innovation Prize is open to solutions that utilize ePaper materials, technology, or displays to address problems of global importance in any of Solve’s areas of impact, including topics such as architecture, education, or intercultural understanding.

    “Working with E Ink, a company that originally spun out of the MIT Media Lab in 1997, is a full circle moment,” said Hala Hanna, Executive Director of MIT Solve. “This level of support is what drives scale and transformational impact. We look forward to working alongside E Ink to advance pivotal tech-based solutions that create a better future for all.” 

    MIT Solve finds and supports tech-based solutions to global challenges through open innovation challenges and partnerships, and in part with its collaboration with E Ink, aims to achieve a more sustainable and equitable future for all. The Innovation prize will be awarded to up to four Solver teams, with additional support from E Ink through project implementation. To learn more or to apply, please visit https://solve.mit.edu/challenges.

    E Ink continues to receive recognition across its climate strategy, privacy protection, and business ethics, with its ongoing inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and the Dow Jones Sustainability Emerging Markets Index (DJSI Emerging Markets). The company has revised its 2025 renewable energy goal to RE65, aiming for RE100 across all operations. Additionally, E Ink’s displays have been recognized for their environmental contributions, with 99.9% of product sales revenue qualifying as green revenue and is noted for its energy efficiency and eye health benefits, being the first display technology to receive certification from the International Dark-Sky Association.

    About E Ink
    E Ink Holdings Inc. (8069.TWO), based on technology from MIT’s Media Lab, provides an ideal display medium for applications spanning eReaders and eNotes, retail, home, hospital, transportation, logistics, and more, enabling customers to put displays in locations previously impossible. E Ink’s electrophoretic display products make it the worldwide leader for ePaper. Its low power displays enable customers to reach their sustainability goals, and E Ink has pledged using 100% renewable energy in 2030 and reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2040. E Ink has been recognized for their efforts by receiving, validation from Science-Based Targets (SBTi) and is listed in both the DJSI World and DJSI Emerging Indexes. Listed in Taiwan’s Taipei Exchange (TPEx) and the Luxembourg market, E Ink Holdings is now the world’s largest supplier of ePaper displays. For more information please visit www.eink.com. E Ink. We Make Surfaces Smart and Green.

    Stay Connected
    Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter/X

    Contact
    V2 Communications on behalf of E Ink
    eink@v2comms.com

    About MIT Solve:
    Solve is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a mission to drive innovation to solve world challenges. Solve is a marketplace for social impact innovation. Through open innovation challenges, Solve finds incredible tech-based social innovators from all around the world. Solve then brings together MIT’s ecosystem and a community of supporters to fund and scale these innovators to help them drive lasting, transformational impact. Join Solve on this journey at solve.mit.edu.

    Stay Connected
    Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

    Contact
    Bridget Weiler
    Director of Marketing & Communications
    bridget.weiler@solve.mit.edu

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump plans to ‘permanently resettle’ Palestinians outside Gaza – the very reason Unrwa was originally created

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Anne Irfan, Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Race, Gender and Postcolonial Studies, UCL

    Donald Trump shocked much of the world when he announced plans for the US to “take over” Gaza. Speaking at a press conference with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the US president outlined a plan to “resettle” Gaza’s population of nearly 2.2 million Palestinians elsewhere in the Arab world. Several officials later added that this resettlement would be temporary while Gaza was rebuilt.

    Governments around the world were quick to condemn the plan – with politicians and human rights advocates pointing out that it would amount to ethnic cleansing.

    Conversely, Netanyahu praised Trump for “thinking outside the box with fresh ideas”. Yet while there is no question that this plan violates international law, it is not as unprecedented as these responses suggest.

    Successive Israeli governments, often with clandestine US support, have long sought a similar “solution” for Gaza’s Palestinians, 66% of whom are already refugees from the Nakba (catastrophe) of 1948. At that time, Zionist militias and the Israeli army displaced and expelled 750,000 Palestinians before and during the First Arab-Israeli war.

    In fact, that’s the very reason the US supported the creation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Unrwa) in 1949. Though its purpose today is very different, it was originally intended as a tool to permanently resettle the Palestinians outside Palestine.

    The idea for Unrwa was inspired by the experience of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a US government agency established during the Great Depression. It promoted resource development through large public works programmes in the deep south.

    US officials considered the TVA a prototype for managing the Palestinian refugee crisis and pushed the newly established United Nations to set up an agency that would similarly create jobs and economic development.

    This was the “works” in Unrwa’s title. As they saw it, employment opportunities would encourage the Palestinians to integrate into their places of exile. Meanwhile, the resulting economic development would lessen resistance in the host state to the refugees’ permanent resettlement.

    In four of the five territories where Unrwa operates – Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the West Bank – it spent its first few years designing large public works projects. But in Gaza, the large concentration of refugees in a tiny territory with limited natural resources did not lend itself to public works projects.

    Instead US officials pushed Unrwa to resettle Palestinians outside of the Strip, in Sinai, Libya and further afield.

    Yet Unrwa’s efforts on this front quickly ran into a major obstacle: the Palestinians themselves. The refugees clearly understood that the “integration” projects and jobs schemes were intended to make their exile permanent – despite the UN having officially recognised their right to return home.

    By the late 1950s, the refugees’ persistent refusal participate in these programmes led Unrwa to shift its focus to education.

    Repeated expulsions

    The desire to forcibly transfer Gaza’s population never really disappeared. Gaza has been home to Palestinian refugees from across the country, with a huge political significance as a result, and its demographics have repeatedly been deemed unacceptable by elements of the Israeli state.

    Soon after it began occupying Gaza and the West Bank in 1967, the Israeli military forcibly expelled 200,000 Palestinians from Gaza to Jordan. Four year later, Shimon Peres, then the Israeli minister of transport and communications, sought to forcibly transfer more Palestinians into the Sinai. And around the same time, the Israeli government looked into relocating Gaza’s population to sites as far away as Iraq, Canada and Brazil.

    Such ideas persist in Israel. Shortly after Israel began its war on Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks of October 7 2023, there was also evidence in the form of a leaked intelligence report that the government was considering forcibly transferring Palestinians to Sinai.

    More recently, the White House administration floated the possibility of transferring Gaza’s population to Indonesia. And Trump spoke in alarming terms shortly after his inauguration of “cleaning out” the Strip.

    There’s no connection between the US president’s plan, as outlined this week, and the early US-backed idea to found Unrwa as an agency to oversee resettlement of Gaza’s population. Unrwa had abandoned its resettlement policy by the mid-1950s – and, in any case, Trump has long been one of Unrwa’s most virulent opponents.

    In 2018, he became the first US president to fully defund the agency. More recently he has been a vocal supporter of the Israeli Knesset’s ban on its operations.

    In the same press conference where Trump announced his plans for ethnic cleansing in Gaza, he also confirmed that he will extend the Biden administration’s ban on funding Unrwa.

    Yet Trump’s current plan is not a million miles away from the US government’s original intention for Unrwa. His apparent ignorance of this history suggests he is also unaware of the biggest likely obstacle to “permanent resettlement”.

    But he cannot ignore the historical resistance of the Palestinian people themselves to the seemingly endless plans to displace, dispossess and deny them their homeland.

    As Unrwa officials learned decades ago, the only “solution” for the question of the future of the Gaza Strip is a just and durable political process that accounts for the Palestinian people’s rights as well as Israeli security.

    Anne Irfan has received funding from the British Academy.

    Jo Kelcey has received funding from the Spencer Foundation.

    – ref. Trump plans to ‘permanently resettle’ Palestinians outside Gaza – the very reason Unrwa was originally created – https://theconversation.com/trump-plans-to-permanently-resettle-palestinians-outside-gaza-the-very-reason-unrwa-was-originally-created-249185

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: SPbGASU once again welcomed young intellectuals

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Grand Opening of Science Day

    SPbGASU held Science Day for participants of the 17th All-Russian Youth Educational Forum “Young Intellectuals of Russia”. On February 5, students of grades 5–11 of educational institutions defended projects and papers, attended master classes, and got acquainted with our university.

    The forum dedicated to the Day of Russian Science is being held in St. Petersburg from February 4 to 8. Its organizers are the Interregional Multidisciplinary Center “St. Petersburg Education”, the St. Petersburg Interregional Center “Education without Borders”, higher education institutions of the Northern capital with the support of the Academy of Military Sciences, the Maritime Council under the Government of St. Petersburg, the Council of Municipalities of St. Petersburg. As Natalya Polupanova, Director of the Interregional Multidisciplinary Center “St. Petersburg Education”, said, “198 participants from 15 educational institutions of 10 cities in 6 regions of the Russian Federation arrived at the forum. This year, an unprecedented number of projects – 142, this is a record. Project defenses are traditionally held at SPbGASU.”

    The events at our university were organized by the admissions committee with the participation of the Volunteer Club, the Kirpich Student Leisure and Creativity Center, the student media center and teachers.

    On behalf of Evgeny Rybnov, the rector of SPbGASU, Dmitry Ulrikh, the dean of the faculty of engineering ecology and urban economy, greeted the young intellectuals. Dmitry Vladimirovich said that our university has been a forge of personnel for the construction industry since 1832. Each faculty has its own scientific schools. The university is waiting for the guys as students.

    The forum participants learned about the activities of student associations at our university and watched concert numbers prepared by the teams of the Student Leisure and Creativity Center “Kirpich”.

    “To convey your thoughts to others”

    After the official part, the guests of our university went to the university auditoriums to defend their projects. The defenses took place within the framework of the humanitarian, natural science, historical, technical, creative and philological sections. In each section, the projects were evaluated by a jury.

    The meeting of the technical section was opened by Andrey Zazykin, Dean of the Automobile and Road Faculty. Andrey Vyacheslavovich believes that the faculty he heads, which trains specialists in the field of transport and mechanical engineering, is the most technical. Transport logistics, intelligent transport systems, modeling of road traffic and interchanges, construction of roads and bridges, organization of road safety, traffic light regulation, road signs, design and operation of vehicles – all this is done at the ADF. Here they train not only specialists, but also those who know how to convey their thoughts to others, present research results, and manage a team. The Dean wished the guys not to deviate from their path and invited them to take part in the Olympiad “Transport Systems and Technologies”, for successful performance in which additional points are awarded to the Unified State Exam. Applications can be submitted until February 10.

    In the project “Computer Modeling of the Movement of Material Points” Ekaterina Antipina, a 9th-grade student of Secondary School No. 3 from Kirovograd, Sverdlovsk Oblast, examined the movement of material points in various conditions, including the influence of forces, interactions, and the environment on their trajectory. The author worked in the Blender program, which allows demonstrating physical processes in a visual form. According to Ekaterina, her project helps develop an interest in physics and deepen knowledge of the subject. “I can say with confidence that the use of computer modeling has become a powerful tool for visualizing physical concepts. This project showed how modern technologies can be used in the educational sphere,” Ekaterina said.

    The features of windy spaces between architectural objects were studied by Anton Goloshumov, a 10th-grade cadet at the Lyceum named after Major General V. I. Khismatulin (Surgut, Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug (Yugra)). Under the scientific supervision of Sergei Osipov, a physical education teacher, Anton created a model reflecting the location of houses on one of the streets of Surgut, and conducted an experiment to study the nature of the wind between them. The young researcher believes that in places where there is strong wind, it is advisable to plant trees or shrubs. And it is also undesirable to put playgrounds and billboards there.

    After defending their projects, the forum participants took a tour of the university and attended master classes.

    From quadcopter to thermal imager

    Master class “Geodetic instruments”

    The master class “Geodetic Instruments” was held by Dmitry Ditrikh, Deputy Secretary in Charge of the Admissions Committee for Work at the Faculty of Engineering Ecology and Urban Economy, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Geodesy, Land Management and Cadastre. The students learned that graduates of the department can become specialists of Rosreestr, surveyors or cadastral engineers, and also work in related specialties – after all, all construction companies welcome a diploma from SPbGASU. They also learned about the purpose of geodetic instruments: a quadcopter, a 3D scanner, a theodolite, a reflector. Under the guidance of the students, it was possible to try these instruments in action. And in the process of communication, ask the students any question about studying at SPbGASU.

    The hydraulics laboratory held a master class on “The structure and operation of pumping stations. Assembly of pressure pipelines.” Ksenia Dmitrieva, assistant of the Department of Water Use and Ecology, and Maxim Sankov, senior laboratory assistant of the department, also began the lesson with a story about what graduates do: design, build, reconstruct water supply and sewerage networks. Then they talked about the types of pipelines and connections. As a result, the guys independently assembled a pressure section of the water supply pipeline.

    Master class “Models of Operations Research”

    At the “Operations Research Models” master class, they learned to apply mathematical models to solve practical problems. For example, how to transport goods from warehouses to stores, construction sites, or other places; how teams can rationally design objects. Lyudmila Moskalenko, associate professor of the Department of Information Systems and Technologies, suggested trying different solutions: calculating manually, writing a program, or using tools that are available on every computer.

    Associate Professor of the Department Alexander Epishkin spoke about what is happening at the Department of Construction Physics, Electric Power Engineering and Electrical Engineering, as well as about the purpose, selection and operation of electric drives in the public utilities of urban facilities at the master class “Purpose, Selection and Operation of Electric Drives in the Public Utilities of Urban Facilities”.

    Kirill Sukhanov and Ekaterina Anshukova, associate professors of the Department of Heat and Gas Supply and Ventilation, held a master class “Engineering Systems of Buildings. TIM-modeling and VR-technologies”. Participants of the master class learned about the areas of training in the department, got the opportunity to work a little in software packages in which heating and ventilation systems are designed, and visualize the obtained result using virtual reality glasses. They also studied a thermal imager and a heating device.

    Feedback from participants

    Alena Fadeeva, a 10th-grade student at Secondary School No. 24 in Krymsk, Krasnodar Krai, enjoyed defending her project the most: “I enjoyed performing the most. I defended the “Molecular Cuisine” project in the natural science section for 10th–11th graders. The jury members were friendly and asked interesting questions. And I really like the appearance of the university.”

    Irina Koroleva, a biology teacher at Secondary School No. 2 in Solnechnogorsk, Moscow Region, attended such a large-scale event for the first time: “The children are captivated! As a teacher, I like that they can immerse themselves in their future profession and see how the equipment works. For children, this is practice that they will remember for the rest of their lives. Their parents are also very pleased that the children were able to visit such a wonderful place.”

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Alexander Novak held the 37th meeting of the Federal Headquarters for Gasification

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Alexander Novak held the 37th meeting of the Federal Headquarters for Gasification

    February 6, 2025

    Alexander Novak held the 37th meeting of the Federal Headquarters for Gasification

    February 6, 2025

    Alexander Novak held the 37th meeting of the Federal Headquarters for Gasification

    February 6, 2025

    Alexander Novak held the 37th meeting of the Federal Headquarters for Gasification

    February 6, 2025

    Alexander Novak held the 37th meeting of the Federal Headquarters for Gasification

    February 6, 2025

    Alexander Novak held the 37th meeting of the Federal Headquarters for Gasification

    February 6, 2025

    Alexander Novak held the 37th meeting of the Federal Headquarters for Gasification

    February 6, 2025

    Alexander Novak held the 37th meeting of the Federal Headquarters for Gasification

    February 6, 2025

    Previous news Next news

    Alexander Novak held the 37th meeting of the Federal Headquarters for Gasification

    Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak held the first meeting of the Federal Headquarters for Gasification in 2025. The event was attended by the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin, the governor of Krasnodar Krai Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Stavropol Krai Vladimir Vladimirov, representatives of regional authorities, the Ministry of Energy, the Federal Antimonopoly Service, Rostekhnadzor, the Government Coordination Center, Rosreestr, the Ministry of Finance, etc.

    At the beginning of the meeting, Aleksandr Novak took part via video link in the ceremonial connection to the gas networks of the Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill (PPM) and the commissioning of the inter-settlement gas pipeline from the Novodvinsk gas distribution station (GDS) to JSC Arkhangelsk PPM in the Arkhangelsk Region. The event was also attended by the region’s governor Aleksandr Tsybulsky.

    Gasification of Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill JSC took place thanks to the commissioning of a 12 km long inter-settlement gas pipeline from Novodvinsk GRS, built as part of the gas supply and gasification development program for the Arkhangelsk Region for 2021–2025. The fuel will be used for heat and power supply of the enterprise’s capacities instead of coal and fuel oil. The total projected gas consumption by the plant will be about 550 million cubic meters per year.

    The new networks will also provide gas to the village of Zaozerye and, in the future, gasification of at least five settlements in the Primorsky and Kholmogorsky municipal districts of the Arkhangelsk region.

    “Today we are launching the gasification of a city-forming enterprise with a long history – the Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill. Its production is of strategic importance for the region, the products are supplied to the Russian market and exported to other countries. The introduction of the inter-settlement gas pipeline will also allow gasification of several settlements at once,” noted Alexander Novak.

    During the meeting of the federal headquarters, participants discussed the results of the social gasification program for 2024, plans for 2025, and the outlook up to 2030.

    According to the Ministry of Energy, as of February 5, 2025, about 2 million applications for social additional gasification have been submitted, 1.47 million of which have been accepted. The additional gasification potential is over 1.8 million households (excluding gardening non-profit partnerships (SNT)). 1.42 million contracts have been concluded for bringing gas to the boundaries of the site, more than 1.2 million of which have been fulfilled. Including about 800 thousand connections inside houses. In 2025, it is planned to connect another 150 thousand households to gas.

    The comprehensive service of gas connection within the boundaries of the plot, including the supply of in-house equipment, was provided to more than 367 thousand citizens. It was most in demand in the Voronezh Region, the Chechen Republic and the Orenburg Region (67-72% of the number of gas connections).

    The additional gasification of social and medical facilities is actively underway: 769 applications have been submitted by medical institutions, 794 by educational institutions. 476 and 448 contracts have been concluded, respectively, 335 contracts with medical institutions and 245 with educational organizations have been fulfilled up to the boundaries of the plots. Gas has been launched in 97 and 82 medical and social institutions, respectively. According to the results of the inventory, the potential for additional gasification of households in SNT is over 933 thousand units.

    Representatives of the Ministry of Energy and Gazprom Mezhregiongaz reported to the Deputy Prime Minister on the progress of transferring the social gasification program to digital platforms. Since 2022, the Connectgaz portal has been actively operating (HTTPS: //Connectgas.ru/), where you can apply for a household connection and calculate its cost, including within the boundaries of the site. There is a single portal for social gasification and an interactive map of gasification of regions, where you can track the schedule for introducing gas pipelines and the plan for connecting households and social facilities. In addition, the all-Russian hotline for gasification is successfully operating.

    Sergey Gustov, General Director of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz, reported on the operation of 1,808 memorials with Eternal Flames across the country; in 2025, in honor of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, gas will be supplied to another 120 such sites. On the eve of Victory Day, 80 Eternal Flames will be lit simultaneously in 80 regions of Russia.

    Alexander Novak instructed to pay special attention to the implementation of modern digital technologies during social gasification in order to optimize and speed up processes.

    The Deputy Prime Minister instructed federal and regional authorities, as well as the single gas supply operator, to submit work schedules to achieve a gasification rate of 82.9% by 2030, including an assessment of the possibility of constructing and expanding gas pipeline capacities, converting boiler houses to gas, intensifying gasification of residential buildings in SNT, etc. By 2030, according to the President’s instructions, gas should be supplied to at least 1.6 million households.

    Also, the Ministry of Energy and Gazprom Mezhregiongaz, on the instructions of the Deputy Prime Minister, will analyze the cost of a comprehensive service for connecting gas within plots and in houses to increase the potential for demand.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: Maris-Tech Secures First Eastern European Defense Order for Jupiter Nano

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Expansion into a New Defense Market Reinforces Maris- Tech’s Global Capabilities

    Rehovot, Israel, Feb. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Maris-Tech Ltd. (Nasdaq: MTEK, MTEKW) (“Maris-Tech” or the “Company”), a global leader in video and artificial intelligence (“AI”) based edge computing technology, today announced that it has received a new order from its U.K.-based distributor for its Jupiter Nano system to be delivered to a new defense company in Eastern Europe. This order marks a significant milestone for the Company as it expands into Eastern Europe’s defense sector and reinforces the Company’s’ position as a global player in video and AI-based edge computing solutions.

    The order includes dozens of Jupiter Nano units, which will be integrated into weapon systems for a defense project in Eastern Europe. With its compact form factor and ability to handle multiple video streams simultaneously, Jupiter Nano offers the advantage of ultra-low latency streaming and robust network support. It also addresses the customer’s specific challenges and seamlessly integrates into their sophisticated military systems.

    “We believe that this new order is a testament to both the strong relationship we have built with our U.K. distributor and the growing demand for Jupiter Nano’s advanced capabilities,” said Israel Bar, Chief Executive Officer of Maris-Tech. “Eastern Europe is a new and exciting market for us, and we believe that that this opportunity will allow us to expand our reach in the global defense and homeland security markets.”

    Jupiter Nano is a dual-channel H.264/H.265 codec, capable of 100msec ultra-low-latency streaming over wired and wireless networks. With video and audio capture, encoding, decoding, transcoding, and raw data preprocessing, Jupiter Nano is designed to meet the highest performance and reliability standards for modern defense applications.

    About Maris-Tech Ltd.

    Maris-Tech is a global leader in video and AI-based edge computing technology, pioneering intelligent video transmission solutions that conquer complex encoding-decoding challenges. Our miniature, lightweight, and low-power products deliver high-performance capabilities, including raw data processing, seamless transfer, advanced image processing, and AI-driven analytics. Founded by Israeli technology sector veterans, Maris-Tech serves leading manufacturers worldwide in defense, aerospace, Intelligence gathering, homeland security (HLS), and communication industries. We’re pushing the boundaries of video transmission and edge computing, driving innovation in mission-critical applications across commercial and defense sectors.

    For more information, visit https://www.maris-tech.com/

    Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

    This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe the Company’s future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believe,” “expect”,” “may”, “should,” “could,” “seek,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “estimate,” “anticipate” or other comparable terms. For example, the Company is using forward-looking statements when it is discussing: the new order for the Jupiter Nano system; the integration of the Jupiter Nano units into the weapon systems; the growing demand for Jupiter Nano’s advanced capabilities; and that the new order will allow the Company to expand its reach in the global defense and homeland security markets. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of the Company’s control. The Company’s actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause the Company’s actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: its ability to successfully market its products and services, including in the United States; the acceptance of its products and services by customers; its continued ability to pay operating costs and ability to meet demand for its products and services; the amount and nature of competition from other security and telecom products and services; the effects of changes in the cybersecurity and telecom markets; its ability to successfully develop new products and services; its success establishing and maintaining collaborative, strategic alliance agreements, licensing and supplier arrangements; its ability to comply with applicable regulations; and the other risks and uncertainties described in the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on March 21, 2024, and its other filings with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

    Investor Relations:

    Nir Bussy, CFO
    Tel: +972-72-2424022
    Nir@maris-tech.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Drone Manufacturers Scrambling to Keep Up with Growing Demand as Drone Applications Skyrocket

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PALM BEACH, Fla., Feb. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FN Media Group News Commentary – Drones are being increasingly adopted in a growing number of industries such as military, defense, land surveying, agriculture for crop monitoring, energy for inspecting power lines among others. The versatility of drones to perform various tasks efficiently is driving their adoption. Drones can be used to monitor hostile environments and enemy activity as well as used for strategic and operational reconnaissance. Commercial Drones are remotely piloted, optionally piloted, or fully autonomous aerial vehicles that play a significant role in plenty of sectors. They are commonly termed drones and are mostly known for their wide usage in various functions, such as Surveying & Mapping, Inspection & Monitoring among others. These vehicles are also used for mapping, surveying, and determining the weather conditions of a specific area. According to recent industry reports, the markets are poised to continue substantial growth in years to come. MarketsAndMarkets project that The Commercial Drone market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.2% from 2024 to 2030. The report said: “Based on End Use, the Transport, Logistics and Warehousing segment is anticipated to record the highest growth rate during the forecast period By End Use, the Drone market has been segmented into logistics & transportation, agriculture, energy & power, military, construction & mining, media & entertainment, insurance, wildlife & forestry, academics & research. Logistics & Transportation segment is estimated to record the highest CAGR during the forecast period with the significant growth of the global e-commerce sector, postal companies are opting for new methods to modify their traditional delivery business models. Active Companies in the markets today include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), ParaZero Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: PRZO), AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV), EHang Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: EH), AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE: UAVS).

    MarketsAndMarkets continued: “With several countries focusing on the use of commercial drones for postal deliveries, the commercial drone market will witness growth. The US Postal Service is exploring the possibility of introducing commercial drone into its vehicle fleets to advance mail delivery operations and support its collection of geospatial, sensor, image, and other data. Companies such as DJI (China) are actively developing solutions for Drone-based package delivery. Amazon (US) has already developed these services. Lower cost, density of urban environments, and the rising demand for reduced delivery times are contributing to the growth of this segment.”

    ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA) ZenaDrone Starts Testing its High-Density Batteries to Extend Flight Time for ZenaDrone 1000 Drone for US Defense Applications – ZenaTech, Inc. (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) (“ZenaTech”), a technology company specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drone, Drone as a Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS and Quantum Computing solutions, announces that ZenaDrone will commence testing work this quarter on a high density battery for the ZenaDrone 1000 multifunction AI drone designed for defense and commercial applications. High density batteries are lightweight and enable longer drone flight times, more reliability and endurance for longer defense missions, heavier payloads, and greater operational success of a wide range of military applications. ZenaDrone will use the batteries from ZenaTech’s affiliated company Galaxy Batteries Inc.

    “High density batteries are key to longer fight times and reliability in the harsh conditions of military defense operations such as cargo and resupply, intelligence gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. We will test to ensure these batteries will provide the customization, cost savings, supply chain control and superior performance we require. This is important to our goal to become a Blue UAS- certified supplier to sell to US defense branches and other military organizations,” said CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D.

    ZenaDrone 1000 is an autonomous multifunction drone offering stable flight, maneuverability, heavy lift capabilities, innovative software technology, sensors, AI, and purpose-built attachments, along with compact and rugged hardware engineered for military and industrial use. The company previously completed two paid trials with the US Air Force and the US Navy Reserve for logistics and transportation applications carrying critical cargo, such as blood, in the field.

    The company previously announced that its supply chain is fully NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) compliant and that it plans to apply for Green UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) followed by Blue UAS certification, an approved supplier list for drone companies.

    NDAA compliance refers to adhering to the provisions outlined in the National Defense Authorization Act, which is a set of US federal laws passed every year that specify the budget and expenditures for the Department of Defense (DoD) and address growing cybersecurity concerns. For a product to be NDAA compliant, it must not be produced by a set list of Chinese manufacturers, which extends to the chipsets, cameras, displays and other technology used.

    The Blue UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) program is a stringent government approved supplier list of drone companies that wish to do business with the US DoD; suppliers including ZenaDrone must meet strict NDAA cybersecurity and supply chain sourcing requirements. The Green UAS program is essentially the same as the Blue UAS program but has a more streamlined and faster certification process without the specifications on country of origin. Continued… Read this full release by visiting: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-zena/

    Other recent developments in the drone industry include:

    ParaZero Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: PRZO), an aerospace company focused on safety systems for commercial unmanned aircrafts and defense Counter UAS systems, recently announced the successful demonstration of its DropAir Precision airdrop system in collaboration with a leading global defense company. The demonstration showcased the DropAir system’s ability to safely and precisely deliver critical supplies under challenging operational conditions.

    During the test, ParaZero’s proprietary DropAir technology was deployed in multiple high-altitude drone airdrops. The system’s advanced parachute mechanism activated at low altitude, ensuring minimal drift and precise landings, even in complex environments. Following the successful demonstration, ParaZero plans to advance the DropAir system into the next phase of development, focusing on enhancing its capabilities for real-world military and humanitarian operations.

    AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in intelligent, multi-domain robotic systems, recently announced it has been awarded its third delivery order totaling $288 million of Switchblade® loitering munition systems as part of U.S. Army’s Directed Requirement (DR) for Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS). The delivery is part of a 5-year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract from Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground, with a contract ceiling value of $990 million, announced in August 2024.

    “AV is honored to continue fulfilling this important contract providing the U.S. Army with exceptional and reliable loitering munition solutions,” said Brett Hush, AV’s senior vice president and general manager of Loitering Munition Systems. “We continue to deliver for the U.S. Army with our superior supply chain and manufacturing capacity.”

    EHang Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: EH), the world’s leading Urban Air Mobility (“UAM”) technology platform company, recently announced that its flagship pilotless passenger-carrying aerial vehicle EH216-S completed its inaugural demo flight in downtown Shanghai. It served as an excellent backdrop to demonstrate the exceptional capabilities in convenience, safety, and eco-friendliness within the operational environment of UAM in metropolises. It has also officially launched the regular trial operation of the eVTOL sightseeing routes by the Huangpu River at Longhua Airport in Shanghai, in preparation for the following commercial operations in Shanghai. This move aims to realize the urban air mobility in mega central cities.

    Longhua Airport is regarded as the only airport in Shanghai downtown area with apron airspace and is home to the East China General Aviation Service Center of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (“CAAC”). As an important base for the high-quality development of Shanghai’s low-altitude economy, Longhua Airport offers ideal conditions for various low-altitude economic activities, including aerial mobility, tourism and sightseeing, emergency rescue and logistics. This flight not only showcased EH216-S’s capabilities for commercial applications in urban sightseeing and travel scenarios, but also laid a solid foundation for its future gradual implementation and realization of regular commercial operations of urban air taxis in the Yangtze River Delta region centered around Shanghai.

    AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE: UAVS) a leading provider of best-in-class unmanned aerial systems (UAS), sensors and software solutions for customers worldwide in the commercial and government verticals, announced it recently completed a successful flight demonstration of its eBee VISION Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) UAS platform at the French Army’s 61st Artillery Regiment’s event, FID25-61e RA Chaumont. The drone innovation forum was conducted January 30-31, 2025 and attended by the Company in conjunction with its French reseller partner Flying Eye.

    AgEagle CEO Bill Irby commented, “We continue to strengthen and broaden our relationship with the French Army through our partner Flying Eye, who completed training in January to become certified eBee VISION operators. This strategic union is expected to build upon the success of our largest single order in AgEagle’s history, valued at $3.4M, completed with the French Army in Q4 2024. We look forward to leveraging this momentum as we continue to expand the global footprint of our UAS products within both government and commercial verticals.”

    About FN Media Group:
    At FN Media Group, via our top-rated online news portal at www.financialnewsmedia.com, we are one of the very few select firms providing top tier one syndicated news distribution, targeted ticker tag press releases and stock market news coverage for today’s emerging companies. #tickertagpressreleases #pressreleases

    Follow us on Facebook to receive the latest news updates: https://www.facebook.com/financialnewsmedia
    Follow us on Twitter for real time Market News: https://twitter.com/FNMgroup
    Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/financialnewsmedia/

    DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM’s market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM has been compensated fifty four hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by ZenaTech, Inc. by the Company. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

    This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. “Forward-looking statements” describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as “may”, “future”, “plan” or “planned”, “will” or “should”, “expected,” “anticipates”, “draft”, “eventually” or “projected”. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company’s annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

    Contact Information:
    Media Contact email: editor@financialnewsmedia.com – +1(561)325-8757

    SOURCE: FN Media Group

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Shop owner fined for placing furniture on highway

    Source: City of Liverpool

    A shop owner who repeatedly placed furniture and household items on a street in Anfield has been hit with a bill of more than £1,600.

    Elliott James of Belmont Drive in L6, was found guilty at Liverpool Magistrates Court of depositing items on Rocky Lane between July and December last year, blocking the highway.

    The Council brought a prosecution under Section 137 (1) of the Highways Act 1980.

    He failed to appear in court for the hearing on 23 January and in his absence he was fined £660, plus a victim surcharge of £700 costs, meaning he will have to pay a total bill of £1,624.  

    The prosecution was brought with the support of the City Council’s Environmental Crime Enforcement Team, which was appointed last year to identify and take action against offenders who blight our local communities, be that by fly-tipping, littering or as in this case, causing obstruction of the highway. The team patrol the streets every day of the week to educate local communities on correct waste management and investigate environmental crimes. 

    Working closely with Merseyside Police, the team also check waste carriers to make sure they are disposing of waste correctly and carry the right licence to be able to do so.

    They are set to double in size in the coming months, providing more capacity to work with residents and businesses to prevent future fly-tipping.

    The Council is about to appoint an external partner to work closely with the taskforce to increase awareness of correct waste disposal and clamp down on illegal dumping, littering and dog-fouling.  

    Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “Mr James repeatedly placed furniture and large household items on a residential street, blighting the area and causing inconvenience and nuisance to people using the footway.

    “This type of behaviour is completely unacceptable and the action we have taken outlines our determination to prosecute when we have the necessary evidence. “We know residents are sick and tired of people abusing our streets and often using them as a dumping ground, and we are committed to stamping it out.”  

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Patrushev: The scale and pace of construction of solid municipal waste management facilities must increase

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Dmitry Patrushev held a meeting in the format of an incident “Organization of a system for handling municipal solid waste”

    February 6, 2025

    Dmitry Patrushev held a meeting in the format of an incident “Organization of a system for handling municipal solid waste”

    February 6, 2025

    Dmitry Patrushev held a meeting in the format of an incident “Organization of a system for handling solid municipal waste”

    February 6, 2025

    Meeting on the organization of a system for handling municipal solid waste

    February 6, 2025

    Meeting on the organization of a system for handling municipal solid waste

    February 6, 2025

    Meeting on the organization of a system for handling municipal solid waste

    February 6, 2025

    Previous news Next news

    Dmitry Patrushev held a meeting in the format of an incident “Organization of a system for handling solid municipal waste”

    Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev held a meeting in the format of an incident “Organization of a system for handling solid municipal waste”. It was attended by heads of relevant departments and heads of regions.

    “The implementation of the federal project “Closed Cycle Economy” has been launched since 2025. Its target parameters are outlined in the Presidential Decree on National Development Goals. Work to achieve these targets has already begun. Last year alone, solid municipal waste handling facilities with a total capacity of over 4 million tons were commissioned. The scale and pace of construction should only increase, citizens should see qualitative changes in waste management – strict adherence to the removal schedule and modern waste processing facilities,” said Dmitry Patrushev.

    The meeting discussed the development of the legislative framework in the field of waste management, as well as the implementation of “road maps” for the creation of infrastructure, the purchase of special equipment, containers and the arrangement of waste accumulation sites. The Russian Ecological Operator PPC will form performance indicators for the regions for the implementation of “road maps”.

    The participants of the meeting presented measures to improve the quality of work of regional operators during the holidays, when the waste management system experiences increased load. The best waste management practices of the Russian Ecological Operator will be formalized into methodological recommendations. The heads of the subjects of the Russian Federation will need to implement them in their work.

    During the meeting, positive experience of organizing work in the field of waste management in the Leningrad Region was highlighted. It was noted that an economically stable regional operator operates in the agglomeration, there are enough containers and accumulation sites. Already now, more than 60% of waste is sorted in the region.

    Following the meeting, the Ministry of Natural Resources was instructed to submit to the Government, together with the Russian Ecological Operator and interested departments, a plan to ensure full digital control over the waste management sector.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Scranton Man Charged With Production Of And Possession Of Child Pornography

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Anthony Clyde Hoffman, age 29, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was indicted on February 4, 2025, by a federal grand jury, for both production of child pornography and possession of child pornography. 

    According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, in November of 2024, Hoffman was in possession of over 800 unique images and videos of child exploitation material when agents executed a search warrant at his home. Additionally, a review of those images and videos revealed that in May of 2024, Hoffman had produced child exploitation images of a toddler using his cell phone.  

    The investigation was conducted by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Wyoming Valley Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Force, which was formed in late 2023, and is comprised of federal, state and local investigators and District Attorney’s Offices from counties throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luisa Honora Berti is prosecuting the case.

    “This indictment underscores the dedication and cooperation between HSI and our federal, state, and local partners within the Wyoming Valley Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Force,” said Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia Edward V. Owens. “One of our primary missions is to protect the most vulnerable among us, and we will continue to leverage all available resources to combat child exploitation and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.”

    “Successful cooperation between the partners of the Wyoming Valley Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Force allows for collaborative prosecutions such as this one and is why we formed this task force,” said Task Force Chair and Wyoming County District Attorney Joe Peters. “We thank the investigators and prosecutors involved and send the message that we will only increase our combined efforts to keep the children of Northeastern Pennsylvania safe.”

    “Children are our most precious resource in every community,” said District Attorney Raymond J. Tonkin. “The Pike County District Attorney’s Office joined the Wyoming Valley Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Force to further the mission of law enforcement and prosecutors working together to protect children from predators.”

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. 

    The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 50 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. 

    Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court. 

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: 5 Super Bowl commercials that deserve places in the advertising hall of shame

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Matthew Pittman, Associate Professor of Advertising and Public Relations, University of Tennessee

    A true advertising face-plant happens when a commercial is both tone-deaf and completely forgettable. spxChrome/iStock via Getty Images

    What makes something a flop?

    Not the kind of flop that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is prone to do, but a flop in the world of advertising?

    Brands airing Super Bowl ads have a lot riding on their investments – roughly US$7 million for a 30-second spot for the 2025 big game. So there’s a lot of pressure to get things right.

    In my advertising classes, I often tell students that a commercial that’s controversial or disliked in the moment shouldn’t necessarily be considered a failure. In fact, enragement drives engagement. So if one of the goals of advertising is to keep the brand top of mind for consumers, a hated Super Bowl ad still accomplishes at least one goal. Think of the now-infamous Pepsi ad where Kendall Jenner “solves racism” with a can of Pepsi. Or all those raunchy GoDaddy ads that everyone rolled their eyes at, but the company kept running, year after year.

    Instead, a true advertising face-plant is an ad that’s both tone-deaf and completely forgettable – so dull, off-putting or confusing that when a brand completely switches up its strategy, you almost don’t remember the massive blunder that compelled it to change course in the first place. Almost.

    So with this definition in mind, here are my submissions for five of the biggest Super Bowl advertising flops.

    1. General Motors, 2007

    Should viewers care about a ‘depressed’ robot?

    A GM robot gets so depressed after getting fired that it jumps off a bridge to end its own existence.

    How endearing.

    The ad for the then-struggling automaker, which aired during Super Bowl 41 between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, features a robot that struggles with depression and existential angst after learning its services are no longer needed on the assembly line.

    The robot questions its meaning and purpose and tries to combine dark humor and social commentary about the monotony of work and the inevitability of technological progress. But it ends up missing the mark for a few reasons.

    Suicide is pretty bleak for a Super Bowl spot, and mental health, in general, is a sensitive topic. There was little effort made to connect the spot to core GM brand values, which include inspiring “passion and loyalty” and “serving and improving communities.”

    Furthermore, the idea of robots having human emotions can be off-putting for many consumers – particularly at a time when many automotive and factory workers in the U.S. were rightly concerned about robots taking their jobs.

    2. Groupon, 2011

    The bizarre ad wasn’t funny and didn’t make much sense, either.

    Sometimes I try to imagine the meetings at ad agencies where ideas for clients are batted around:

    “We need to promote this new app that lets families get products like smoothies at slightly discounted prices.”

    “OK, how about this: It starts as a Tibetan tourism ad. Then it takes a dark turn and suggests that Tibet is about to be wiped off the map. That’s when our client’s product gets introduced: We tell viewers that before Tibetan culture goes extinct, they should try fish curry, like these 200 people in Chicago who saved $15 at a Himalayan restaurant using Groupon.”

    “Excuse me?”

    “Oh – and let’s have the narrator be a white guy with long sideburns.”

    I have no idea how this one avoided the cutting-room floor.

    3. Nationwide Insurance, 2015

    Another death on the docket.

    The insurance company used a strange mix of heartbreak and guilt-tripping to try to entice viewers to buy its policies during Super Bowl 49.

    The ad features a young boy narrating in a somber tone, listing all of the milestones he’ll miss because he’s dead: learning to ride a bike, travel the world, get married.

    The twist is that the cause of his death is an accident. That’s where Nationwide comes in: They offer life insurance to help offset tragedies. But wait – insurance doesn’t prevent tragedies. It merely provides compensation to “replace” what you lost. Both the morbid tone and twist were bizarre.

    Exploiting tragedies in advertisements is generally not going to win people over. I can’t imagine how it would feel to be a parent who’s lost a child and see this TV ad.

    4. Audi, 2020

    Everything everywhere all at once.

    Can a “Game of Thrones” star join forces with Disney while highlighting the importance of sustainability to create an ad for … Audi?

    In the minute-long spot, Masie Williams, who plays Arya Stark on “Game of Thrones,” belts out the lyrics to “Let It Go,” the hit single from Disney’s “Frozen.” As she drives, pedestrians join her in song. At the end of the ad, Audi announces that they are finally making an electric car.

    The ad seems to be about “letting go” of fossil fuel dependence – the gas sign yells it, car dealership yells it, mechanics yell it – almost two decades after the first major electric car hit the market.

    Was it meant to be empowering? Funny? Inspirational? It tried to do a little bit of everything, leaving viewers grasping and gasping. Not to mention the song “Let It Go” had come out seven years prior, which made the whole production seem even more dated.

    5. Just For Feet, 1999

    A company-cratering advertisement.

    Close your eyes.

    Imagine an ad that’s racist and confusing.

    Imagine an ad in which the main character is disappointed to receive the product being advertised.

    Imagine an ad so bad that the company sues the agency responsible for the ad because it destroyed their reputation and bankrupted them.

    Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Just For Feet’s “Kenyan Runner” Super Bowl ad.

    The ad depicts a barefoot Kenyan runner sprinting across a rugged landscape as a group of white men in military SUVs tracks him down as if on a hunting expedition.

    After they eventually catch him, they forcibly drug him by offering a mysterious beverage. The runner drinks it, collapses and wakes up to find that he is now wearing a pair of Just For Feet sneakers. He looks confused and distressed, as if he’d been violated.

    Bizarre and unsettling, indeed. Just For Feet filed for bankruptcy less than a year later.

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

    – ref. 5 Super Bowl commercials that deserve places in the advertising hall of shame – https://theconversation.com/5-super-bowl-commercials-that-deserve-places-in-the-advertising-hall-of-shame-247756

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Religious freedom is routinely curbed in Central Asia – but you won’t often see it making international news

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Eric Freedman, Professor of Journalism and Chair, Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, Michigan State University

    A majority of citizens in Central Asian countries practice Islam, but Muslims still face restrictions on religious expression. AP Photo/Theodore Kaye

    Freedom of worship is tenuous around the globe. The Pew Research Center’s latest annual report found “high” or “very high” levels of government constraints on religion in 59 of the 198 countries and territories it analyzed – a new record. When Pew began releasing reports on the issue in 2007, just 40 countries’ restrictions on religion were classified that way.

    And trampling of religious practices is a taboo subject for domestic news media in many, if not most, of such countries.

    As a journalism professor, I’ve studied international press practices and obstacles to fair, balanced, ethical and independent reporting for more than two decades. Much of my work is about press rights in “repressitarian” countries, meaning repressive in human rights practices and authoritarian in governance. I see overlaps among a range of human rights abuses – of freedom of expression, of religion, of political affiliation – and how the absence of press freedom shields those abuses from public scrutiny.

    The latest study I did with my undergraduate research assistant, Eleanor Pugh, examined how one news organization, Forum 18, covers constraints on religion in the five post-Soviet countries of remote but strategically important Central Asia. Based in Norway, the independent site is named after Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes a fundamental right to “freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”

    Forum 18 appears to be the only news outlet that specializes in coverage of the rights of diverse faiths across the former Soviet Union. Its journalism demonstrates the challenges media outlets have in covering and influencing treatment of religious affiliations and observances in the region.

    Taboo topic

    The five countries of Central Asia – Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan – pursue harsh policies and practices that frequently curtail freedom of faith. This is especially true for minority religions and sects, but even for practitioners of Islam, the region’s predominant faith. All are rated “Not Free” in the 2024 annual report on global political rights and civil liberties issued by Freedom House, a democracy advocacy group based in Washington.

    Government tactics include censorship and seizure of religious materials, trumped-up charges and prison terms for believers, prohibiting schoolchildren from wearing hijabs or attending worship services, and imprisoning Jehovah’s Witnesses who refuse compulsory military service. One recent law in Kyrgyzstan, which took effect Feb. 1, 2025, prohibits faith communities with fewer than 500 adult members and bans unregistered religious activities or places of worship.

    International news outlets generally devote little attention to religious freedom almost anywhere around the world, except for large-scale tragedies such as the repression of Muslim Uyghurs in western China and the genocidal suppression of Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar.

    Foreign journalists find it tough, sometimes impossible, to report on religious issues from inside authoritarian countries.

    Peter Leonard, the former Central Asia editor of the news outlet Eurasianet, told me in March 2024 that officials’ willingness to even talk with international journalists varies from country to country. At best, journalists are “greeted with a little bit of suspicion” in a capital city, while in rural areas and villages they “can expect to be booted out or harassed,” he said, adding, “Religion is a minefield area.”

    Ethnic Russian Kyrgyz citizens wait for a Sunday service at the Church of Archistrategos of God Mikhail – Archangel Michael of God Orthodox Church – in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, in 2010.
    AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko

    When limits on worship do make domestic news, they’re often presented as part of a fight against “terrorism” – a common way authoritarian regimes masquerade crackdowns on religious freedoms.

    Darkhan Umirbekov, an editor at Radio Fee Europe/Radio Liberty, told me that in Kazakhstan – where most media are owned, controlled or financially dependent on the regime and its allies – most such coverage is “in the context of extremism,” as when “security forces detain members of a religious sect or group.”

    Protecting sources

    We chose to study Forum 18 because its reporting follows traditional journalistic values such as fairness and balance, seeking comments and information from government and nongovernmental sources. One of the outlet’s key underlying motives, however, is advocacy in support of religious freedom.

    Although founded by a group of Christians, its coverage spans a wide spectrum of faiths. Recent topics included police raids on Jehovah’s Witnesses meetings in Kyrgyzstan, threats to punish a Muslim actor in Kazakhstan for quoting from the Quran in a video about Islam posted on Instagram, and the demolition of a mosque and Baptist church in Uzbekistan.

    Our analysis, which we presented at a 2024 conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, found that almost two-thirds of Central Asian stories in 2023 focused on broad topics such as fines, government policies and jail terms for believers. The remainder focused on one-off events such as particular arrests, raids or seizures of religious books.

    We also found that nonofficial news sources – frequently anonymous – outnumber named sources. Many of the site’s reporters’ sources have been developed over the years from the ranks of religious leaders, human rights activists, dissidents and legal scholars. Some live in the region, and others in exile.

    In light of the serious risk of retaliation, it is unsurprising that so many sources require anonymity. While their identities are known to reporters and editors, their names are not disclosed to audiences for protection from threats, attacks and intimidation. Sometimes these sources are described generically, such as “one Protestant” or “independent religious expert” or “local resident.”

    Forum 18 editor and co-founder Felix Corley told me in an interview: “What we’re concerned about is people that we talk to, that we don’t land them in trouble, so we have to be very careful to do everything we can to avoid endangering anyone by clumsy behavior on our part.”

    In addition, the site’s stories detail names and titles of officials responsible for anti-faith policies and practices – among them prosecutors, judges and agency heads, most of whom refuse to comment or even respond to media inquiries.

    Astana Grand Mosque in Kazakhstan, the largest mosque in Central Asia.
    Aytac Unal/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Small but significant

    Forum 18’s audience is primarily outside the region. It includes Central Asians living abroad, human rights activists, nongovernmental organizations, foreign governments, faith leaders and other news organizations that may cite or re-report its stories.

    For example, a 2019 U.S. State Department human rights report on Uzbekistan makes references to a Forum 18 story on the torture of a “prisoner of conscience” incarcerated for meeting with fellow Muslims and participating in religious activities without government permission.

    Religious freedom advocates hope such coverage can inform and influence world opinion. Reporting abroad can spotlight otherwise-unaccountable officials, especially when censorship, self-censorship and threats of prosecution preclude domestic media from reporting.

    Realistically, we recognize that external media coverage is unlikely to prompt meaningful protections of religious freedom in authoritarian countries.

    Even so, such journalism may be seen as a step – albeit a small, symbolic one – toward holding individuals, governments, social groups and other enablers accountable for violations of a fundamental human right.

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

    – ref. Religious freedom is routinely curbed in Central Asia – but you won’t often see it making international news – https://theconversation.com/religious-freedom-is-routinely-curbed-in-central-asia-but-you-wont-often-see-it-making-international-news-248740

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Legislative theatre: how this interactive artform empowers communities to create social change

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ana Isabel Nunes, Senior Lecturer in Social and Political Sciences, Nottingham Trent University

    What if every citizen could have a say in how the issues that affect their lives and communities were dealt with? Or could input into policy and even law-making? Legislative theatre is a form of community-based theatre that gives participants an opportunity to actively explore, analyse and transform their lives through drama and roleplay.

    Legislative theatre brings together citizens and policymakers in a creative constructive dialogue about issues and policies that affect local communities. The idea is to engage citizens in identifying solutions to social and political problems, and then help translate them into new laws.

    It was developed as an artform by Brazilian playwright and cultural activist Augusto Boal to create a variant of his own Theatre of the Oppressed, which was underpinned by his mantra: “All must act, all must be protagonists in the necessary transformations of society.”

    In the 1960s, as Brazil faced a repressive authoritarian regime, Boal started experimenting with theatre to give voice to oppressed people, and provide a method of resistance. Today it’s used all over the world for social and political activism, conflict resolution, community building, therapy, and consulting on government legislation.

    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

    In 1971, as a result of his activism, Boal was forced to leave Brazil by the military regime, but continued his work in exile in Latin America and Europe. He developed legislative theatre in 1992, after returning to Brazil, when he was elected city councillor for Rio de Janeiro.

    Boal invited members of the public and fellow councillors to test out local legislation and policies by performing and improvising “in character”. This allowed citizens and lawmakers to get together and develop policies through dialogue, by generating, testing and honing responses to shared issues in “live” scenarios.

    The first major success was the approval of the law of geriatric care, requiring municipal hospitals to provide specialist treatment for elderly patients. This law originated from a performance by the Terceira Idade (Third Age) group, highlighting the lack of geriatric specialists and the risks of inappropriate care. During Boal’s term as council member, legislative theatre led to the development and approval of 13 laws in Rio de Janeiro between 1992 and 1996.

    Augusto Boal talks about his work.

    How does legislative theatre work?

    Legislative theatre involves local partners and community members collaborating to create and present original theatre plays based on their own experiences. The process of developing the play can take days, weeks – even months. When ready, it is typically performed to an invited audience of interested parties and decision-makers.

    After watching the play, members of the audience join the performers on stage and collectively improvise alternative responses to the situations and issues presented. Afterwards advocates develop workable policy proposals, which then form the basis of further discussion and amendment. They then progress toward adoption via some form of democratic process, such as a community vote or city council ratification.

    Despite their best intentions, policymakers are often criticised for being disconnected from the very people their policies are supposed to help. Although legislative theatre comes with its challenges, the approach can promote a deeper, more thoughtful – and sometimes emotional – understanding of the problems people face.

    Using theatre and other artforms such as storytelling, participants can lay a foundation for sharing, listening and mutual understanding of complex social issues. Unlike other more traditional participatory approaches such as public hearings or citizens’ juries, legislative theatre offers an opportunity to test policy proposals in advance.

    This means normal everyday people – often those furthest from the levers of power – have a chance to make a difference to their own lives. By staging a presentation showing how social issues affect them, participants can invert the usual power dynamic, frequently placing policymakers in uncomfortable or unfamiliar positions.

    The immersive, often emotionally charged nature of this kind of theatre can feel quite alien to the more rational culture of policymaking. Sometimes this results in defensiveness and scepticism, which has perhaps dissuaded wider use by governments and other institutions.

    Successful change

    Legislative theatre has been widely used across the UK to create social change, demonstrating how the process can be used to generate effective solutions to complex challenges.

    The People Act, a recently launched project coordinated by Katy Rubin, showcases good examples of legislative theatre around the world, and invites people to connect and find out more about this creative tool.

    Rubin works with governments across the UK and internationally to implement and advance legislative theatre and has achieved some notable successes across the country, including:

    1. Tackling street harassment in Greater Manchester

    In 2023, Manchester’s Right to the Streets project identified public harassment of women and girls as a critical issue. A community play depicting the lack of support from authorities led to concrete changes, including active bystander training for public transport staff and a public awareness campaign on buses and trams.

    2. Youth-led climate crisis action in Glasgow

    A project in Glasgow empowered young people to address climate issues by creating performances that highlighted challenges such as transport accessibility and liveable neighbourhoods. The aim was to influence Glasgow city council’s policy discussions. Their efforts culminated in a performance during COP26, held in 2021 in Glasgow, showcasing the power of youth engagement in shaping climate policies.

    3. Homelessness and rough sleeping in the UK

    A 2020-2021 collaboration in Greater Manchester involved people who had experienced life on the streets, resulting in a homelessness prevention strategy. Similarly, a 2022 initiative in Coventry helped create the city’s rough sleeping strategy, praised for its inclusivity in a University of Warwick report.

    Legislative theatre’s ability to engage individuals, communities and policymakers is a powerful model for initiating change. It can bridge the all-too-often neglected gap between policy and personal experience, and provide people with a real sense of agency and optimism.

    Ana Isabel Nunes 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. Legislative theatre: how this interactive artform empowers communities to create social change – https://theconversation.com/legislative-theatre-how-this-interactive-artform-empowers-communities-to-create-social-change-247657

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why supermarkets are siding with farmers over inheritance tax

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kamran Mahroof, Associate Professor, Supply Chain Analytics, University of Bradford

    John Gomez/Shutterstock.com

    In recent years, British farmers have faced growing pressures, from Brexit to COVID and the Ukraine war. For some of them you can now add planned inheritance tax (IHT) reforms – announced in the budget last autumn – to that list.

    The proposals to cut certain agricultural reliefs sparked protests by farmers across the UK. Currently, farms benefit from 100% relief on agricultural and business assets, but from 2026 the relief will be capped at £1 million, with excess taxed at 20% (half the usual rate). Exactly how many farms will be affected is not yet clear but estimates range between a quarter and a third.

    Farming associations and the government have clashed over this in recent months. Some sections of the public have backed the protesting farmers and voiced their frustration after the announcement.

    But more recently, there has been support from a different – and unexpected – quarter. Seeing UK supermarkets enter the fray and highlight the concerns of farmers adds fuel to the already heated debate.

    The big chains have long faced accusations of unfair treatment towards farmers, using their might to press suppliers for the lowest prices and reportedly forcing some out of business in the process.

    So what has prompted supermarkets to speak out now? As a supply chain expert, I think there are several possible reasons.

    1. Empty shelves

    Simply put, the pressures on farmers can have far-reaching consequences for supermarket supply chains. A key reason for their support will be to avoid food shortages and empty shelves. There are many examples of supply chain disruptions leading to gaps in stores’ product lines, ultimately affecting the customer experience and supermarket profits.

    UK food supply chains are under increasing pressure. Disruptions such as adverse weather, energy price hikes and even cyberattacks have highlighted the vulnerability of the UK’s food system.

    Farmers have also demonstrated their ability in the past to cause disruption to food supply chains by protesting over cheap imports. Mass and sustained farmer protests could turn off the tap to the UK’s food supply, as happened in the Netherlands in 2022. UK supermarkets will want to avoid this at all costs.

    2. Reliance on imports

    In the event that their IHT is unaffordable (those affected will have ten years to pay the tax, interest free), some farms may be forced to sell up, leading to reduced availability of locally grown produce. Limited supply of domestic produce will increase the dependence on imports, ultimately leading to increased costs for supermarkets (and so for consumers too) as well as uncertainty.

    The UK’s food supply depends on global regions, seasonal shifts and complex sourcing to maintain fresh produce year round. Increased reliance on imports, combined with post-Brexit import charges is neither ideal nor sustainable for supermarkets.

    3. Reduced competition

    Supermarkets have a vested interest in maintaining competitive prices. Fewer agricultural producers essentially means less competition. This could mean supermarkets having less bargaining power with suppliers and a diminished ability to meet consumer demand for variety and quality.

    This could lead to higher prices in stores, potentially undermining supermarkets’ messaging around their competitive edge over smaller retailers.

    4. Public image

    Ultimately this move does supermarkets no harm. UK chains are both the backbone and the bane of farming. A handful of supermarkets dominate the food supply market, setting the prices farmers receive and shaping the structure of agricultural production.

    Supermarkets are often accused of exploiting farmers through their purchasing power, by dictating prices and imposing inflexible quotas. So their support for farmers could help with their public image. Aligning themselves with farmers offers them the opportunity to position themselves as protectors of the agricultural sector, boosting their public image while pressuring policymakers to take action.

    But will it change anything? Well, supermarkets have economic clout – and having their support is better than not having it.

    Historically, supermarkets have shown their collective ability to lobby. Their opposition to supermarket price caps, support for plastic reduction initiatives and even influencing policy in the wake of Brexit highlight how pressure from the big stores can shape national conversations.

    No one wants a return to empty supermarket shelves.
    Kauka Jarvi/Shutterstock

    All this, ultimately, is to ensure supermarkets can continue to serve customers with competitive prices. But who is paying for the UK’s cheap food culture?

    While supermarket dominance has led to lower prices for shoppers and even reduced inflation, it also exposes broader systemic issues within the UK’s food culture. Despite a recent study revealing that UK food costs were about 7% below the EU average, food prices remain a top concern for consumers in the UK.

    Farmers were not the only ones protesting. Migrant fruit and vegetable pickers staged a smaller demonstration, over claims of exploitation by farms.

    Either customers need to be prepared to pay more for their food, or supermarkets need to revisit their pricing strategies. Something has to give, and it appears that this time it cannot be the farmers or agricultural workers.

    While many farmers in the UK are asset-rich they are often cash-poor, frequently relying on wafer-thin profit margins to get by. Supermarkets may have a lot to lose if IHT reforms lead to lots of farmers leaving the sector.

    Protecting supply chains, maintaining cost structures and ultimately offering a stable, affordable domestic supply of produce is in their best interests. In the end, it may not be the farmers but the supermarkets who stand to gain (or lose) the most.

    Kamran Mahroof 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. Why supermarkets are siding with farmers over inheritance tax – https://theconversation.com/why-supermarkets-are-siding-with-farmers-over-inheritance-tax-248234

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How Trump’s Gaza plan does – and doesn’t – fit in with his pledge to put America first

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Mark Shanahan, Associate Professor of Political Engagement, University of Surrey

    Donald Trump welcomed the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to the White House on February 4 as the first foreign leader to visit Washington since his reelection as US president. At their post-meeting press conference, an unscripted Trump launched into his vision for a post-conflict Gaza.

    In just a few sentences, he expunged any remaining Palestinian hopes for a two-state solution in Israel. Trump suggested flattening what remains of the Palestinian settlement after 15 months of total war and forcing nearly 2 million people out of Gaza to make way for a US-controlled “Riviera of the Middle East”.

    As ever, the president was light on detail. But his outwardly reasonable suggestion for the fate of the Palestinian people was chilling: “You build really good quality housing, like a beautiful town, like some place where they can live and not die, because Gaza is a guarantee that they’re going to end up dying,” he told reporters.

    The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has since clarified that the proposal to resettle Gaza’s population would only be temporary, while debris was cleared and reconstruction took place. And the White House spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, has now reinforced this point.

    Trump re-entered the White House intent on driving an “America First” policy, both in economic terms and as the central platform of all foreign engagement. This, as Trump outlined in a speech in 2016, essentially means putting the “interests of the American people and American security above all else”.

    While already claiming responsibility for the recent Gaza ceasefire, which has seen the exchange of a number of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, he used Netanyahu’s visit as a means to up the ante of bringing peace to the Middle East.

    It’s here that “Trumperialism” comes to the fore. He sees Gaza not as a problem of war and people displacement, but as an opportunity for American business to build wealth – the classic US economic hegemony of the populist America First political theory.

    Trump’s vision for Gaza is much more akin to the post-2011 rebuilding of Iraq than, say, the European economic recovery after the second world war. There’s no sign of any Marshall Plan for Gaza and, while US private funding may flood in to build beachfront condos and gated playgrounds for the wealthy, it seems Trump expects Israel’s neighbours to pay for the exodus of the Palestinian people and their settlement on foreign soil.

    “They say they’re not going to accept,” Trump reportedly said of Egypt and Jordan’s opposition to relocating Palestinians during a meeting with Netanyahu in the Oval Office. “I say they will.” Trump has spent the past two weeks urging Jordan and Egypt to take hundreds of thousands more Palestinian refugees each as part of his vision to “clean out Gaza”.

    As ever, there is no nuance in Trump’s thinking. It is purely transactional: the US benefits and Trump himself – as the peacemaker – benefits most. So, in this sense, his vision for Gaza can certainly be seen as putting America First. But Trump’s Gaza proposal will chill many Americans, much as it has drawn scorn and disbelief from around the world.

    Foreign relations rarely raise a ripple among the domestic US audience and, on the surface, the strengthening of the US-Israel special relationship will be cheered by many who voted for Trump. This is, not least, because of the strong Judeo-Christian links that unite the pioneer cultures of Israel and the US heartland.

    However, in his White House news conference, Trump implied that he’s willing to put American boots on the ground to secure Gaza. “We’ll do what is necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll do that,” he responded when pressed on the issue. Members of Trump’s cabinet have since backed away from the suggestion, but the prospect of US troops being sent to Gaza is not exactly delivering on the isolationist tendency many US voters cast their ballot for.

    Trump does not like war. He is equivocal in his support for Ukraine, and has repeatedly threatened to withdraw the US from Nato. He believes that every problem can be solved by making a deal. But delivering Mar-a-Lago on the Med may mean thousands of American combat troops deployed to Gaza for years at daily risk of death. How do main-street Americans benefit from that?

    Sowing chaos

    At this stage, Trump’s proposal isn’t any kind of fully fledged plan. But his pronouncements still sow chaos. Already there’s massive fear among the Palestinian people. It’s clear that Trump sides firmly with the state of Israel and has no time for the Palestinian cause. That could well embolden what remains of Hamas, never mind the group’s allies in Lebanon, Syria and Iran, to stage attacks on Israel.

    It is already emboldening far-right nationalists in Netanyahu’s government to call for the Israeli military to finish the extermination of Hamas. Itamar Ben Gvir, who was until recently a member of Netanyahu’s cabinet, said in a post on X that “encouraging” Gazans to migrate was the only correct strategy to end the war in Gaza. If fundamentalists such as Ben Gvir gain the upper hand again, the fragile peace in Gaza will disappear.

    Trump envisaged palm trees and golf courses for a US-controlled, Israeli-enabled Gaza in his remarks. He just didn’t envisage more than a few Palestinians being there. Such a crude imposition of US economic and military hegemony won’t bring peace and is far more likely to plunge Gaza – and potentially the wider region – back into the terrors of war.

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

    – ref. How Trump’s Gaza plan does – and doesn’t – fit in with his pledge to put America first – https://theconversation.com/how-trumps-gaza-plan-does-and-doesnt-fit-in-with-his-pledge-to-put-america-first-249196

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Have your say on the future of City Hall

    Source: City of Norwich

    Published on Thursday, 6th February 2025

    We are asking residents to get involved and help shape the future of City Hall by taking part in a public consultation.

    The survey can be found on the city council’s consultation and engagement website, Get Talking Norwich.

    Councillor Mike Stonard, leader of Norwich City Council, said: “This consultation marks the start of our work to gather early thoughts about what a refurbished City Hall could offer its residents, businesses, people who work in the building and all our communities throughout the city.

    “We want to hear from as many people as possible to help shape some of that thinking which will feed into further detailed work to draw up what those proposals might look like.

    “Our ambition is to future-proof City Hall and inject some modern thinking on how we can improve the building but we will not compromise on its Grade II listed status and the iconic importance it adds to our city.”

    The launch of the consultation comes after councillors agreed the need for further exploration into the future of City Hall, while maintaining it as the council’s headquarters for business and its civic activities.

    Options to be looked at include refurbishing the building to provide better public access along with possibilities to repurpose the Grade II building so it has fit-for-future council offices and lettable spaces for events and conference opportunities, among other proposals.

    There is also a possibility of building an extension to the rear of City Hall, as intended in the original 1938 plans for the building – which could be used for offices, homes or a hotel.

    City Hall has long been a cherished symbol of the city’s heritage and civic pride, but it is currently underused and in need of significant investment to meet the demands of a modern city.

    Findings from the consultation will feed into wider conversations with local businesses and community groups. These will collectively help to shape different design ideas which will be considered by councillors later in the year.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: FMQs: Scottish Government urged to keep crucial renter protections in place

    Source: Scottish Greens

    06 Feb 2025 Housing

    Renters need to be protected from price hikes.

    More in Housing

    The Scottish Government has been urged to support tenants by maintaining protections that are set to expire next month.

    In 2022 the then Green Minister, Patrick Harvie, introduced a temporary cap on most in-tenancy rent increases. Since the end of the cap in March 2024, there has been a temporary rent adjudication system in place, also introduced by Mr Harvie. This potentially allows rent increases to be limited to no higher than 12% if a tenant applies to a rent officer for a decision.

    At the time, the Scottish Government said that the rent adjudication system was to support the transition away from the rent cap and to the forthcoming system of Rent Control Areas, and protect tenants from excessively large rent increases which could be experienced if there is a sudden move to open market rent levels that have been suppressed.

    The Scottish Government has indicated to the Scottish Association of Landlords that the temporary restrictions will not be renewed at the end of next month.

    In her first question to the First Minister, Ms Slater said:

    “Rents across Scotland are skyrocketing. Tenants are paying the price, while private landlords are lining their pockets.

    “And whilst the upcoming Housing Bill finally promises permanent rent controls to fix the system, these won’t come into force until 2027.

    “Right now, tenants are protected by temporary controls introduced whilst the Greens were in Government.

    “But these protections are set to expire in just two months, exposing tenants to extortionate rent increases. And despite having the powers to extend these protections, the Scottish Government has pledged not to.

    “First Minister – will you do the right thing to protect tenants and ensure these temporary protections are extended until permanent rent controls are in place?”

    In his response the First Minister did not commit to maintaining the existing protection.

    In her second question, Ms Slater said:

    “First Minister, the cost-of-living crisis for tenants has not gone away. Over the last 10 years, monthly rent for a two-bed flat in Edinburgh has more than doubled.

    “Some tenants are already reporting spending more than 70% of their income on rent. We agree on the need for permanent rent controls in the Housing Bill.

    “But this Government’s decision to scrap vital bridging rent controls will give landlords free rein to hike rents for two years. It is absolutely no surprise that the Association of Landlords has called it, to quote, “a very welcome announcement.”

    “But what does the First Minister have to say to renters who will be facing this cliff-edge in just a few weeks’ time?”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New nuclear energy would be a toxic and costly backward step

    Source: Scottish Greens

    06 Feb 2025 Energy

    Nuclear has no place in Scotland.

    More in Energy

    Nuclear energy is a costly and toxic distraction from the clean, green renewables investment that we badly need to make, says the Scottish Greens’ climate spokesperson, Mark Ruskell MSP.

    Mr Ruskell’s comments come as the Labour Party has doubled down on its support for the nuclear industry.

    Mr Ruskell said:

    “Nuclear energy is no solution to the climate crisis, and it is staggering that the Labour Party is so determined to double down on it.

    “New Nuclear energy would be a massive backwards step. It is a toxic and costly distraction from the clean, green renewable investment that we badly need to make.

    “It is unsafe, unreliable and will not do anything to lower the obscene bills that households across our country are being hit with. The last thing we should be doing is throwing billions of pounds at it.

    “Scotland has amazing potential in clean renewable energy, but it requires the political will to meet it. It is that green investment that can help us to tackle the climate emergency, drive down energy prices and cut our reliance on fossil fuels.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI China: Turning ice and snow into gold

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

    HARBIN, Feb. 6 — In Harbin, the capital city of China’s northernmost Heilongjiang Province, there is a mesmerizing winter wonderland.

    Here, towering ice structures mimicking landmarks from across Asia, cheers from super-long ice slides, and the breathtaking view from a giant Ferris wheel attracted over 610,000 visitors during this year’s eight-day Spring Festival holiday, which ended Tuesday.

    Near the entrance of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, an iconic winter attraction, a row of giant red characters stands out: “Snow and ice are also valuable assets.”

    This statement, first made by Chinese President Xi Jinping about nine years ago, has reshaped the country’s ice-and-snow sector and spurred the stellar growth of related industries.

    In March 2016, when taking part in a group discussion with Heilongjiang lawmakers at the annual national legislative session, Xi stressed the importance of leveraging the province’s winter resources. “Clear waters and green mountains are valuable assets, and so are Heilongjiang’s ice and snow,” he said.

    Bordering frigid Siberia, Heilongjiang is known for its freezing temperatures and ample snowfall in winter. With winter temperatures sometimes dropping below minus 30 degrees Celsius, the provincial capital Harbin is dubbed China’s “ice city.”

    Guided by Xi’s vision, the province has made sustained efforts to turn itself into a world-class winter tourist destination. Last year, Harbin alone welcomed 179 million visitors, with tourism revenue reaching 231.42 billion yuan (about 32 billion U.S. dollars), both rising over 30 percent year on year.

    The 9th Asian Winter Games, set to open here on Friday, presents the latest opportunity to cement Harbin’s “ice city” reputation. Notably, winter sports and tourism are also gaining momentum across China.

    Driven by policy support and increased demand, the number of ice-and-snow tourists in China is expected to reach 520 million in the 2024-2025 winter season, with revenue likely to exceed 630 billion yuan, according to the latest report by the China Tourism Academy.

    300 MILLION PEOPLE IN WINTER SPORTS

    Xi has identified China’s ice-and-snow sector as both a key economic driver and a vital means of promoting public fitness. A passionate sports enthusiast, he closely follows the development of winter sports.

    The primary goal of hosting the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics was to “engage 300 million people in ice-and-snow sports” and promote the leapfrog development of winter sports in the country, Xi told International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach in 2014.

    Before Beijing 2022, he conducted five on-site inspections across different competition zones in Beijing and the adjacent Hebei Province, meeting with athletes, construction workers and venue operators.

    “The ultimate goal of building a sporting powerhouse and a healthy China is to strengthen the people’s fitness, which is also an essential part of China’s endeavors to build a modern socialist country in all respects,” Xi said.

    The goal of “300 million people in winter sports” is now a reality, thanks to the promotion and popularization of ice-and-snow sports.

    “This year, our facility has seen a greater number of people hitting the ice, with a year-on-year growth of about 15 percent,” said Meng Qingyou, who teaches skating at a winter sports center in Harbin.

    Across the province, well-equipped facilities and professional coaching at ski resorts have drawn in new entrants from across the country.

    In the city of Shuangyashan, a popular ski resort offers 14 trails of varying difficulty levels, catering to both novices and seasoned ski enthusiasts.

    “This is my first time skiing,” said Zhao Dezhou, a tourist from east China’s Jiangsu Province. “At first, I was really nervous, but with the coach’s patient guidance, I can now glide freely across the snow and fully enjoy the thrill of this winter sport!”

    Even in snow-scarce regions of the country, more people are embracing indoor ice-and-snow sports. According to a recent industry report, six of the world’s top 10 indoor ski resorts are in China, located in cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

    ICE-AND-SNOW ECONOMY

    Beiji Village is nestled at the northernmost tip of China in the city of Mohe, Heilongjiang. As one of the coldest villages in China, Beiji endures an average temperature of below zero for over seven months a year.

    This agricultural and fishing village was named a national top-level scenic spot in 2015, attracting an increasing number of visitors to experience its unique scenery and extreme cold.

    “The tourism resources here are truly exceptional,” said Xi at the village during an inspection tour in September 2023. He stepped into villager Shi Ruijuan’s homestay and talked with the locals.

    Noting the importance of the tourism sector in achieving high-quality development, Xi urged policy support to ensure that the distinctive snow-and-ice resources generate more income for local people.

    In the past, the harsh cold and remote location drove many locals to leave Beiji. Nowadays, however, the very same factors are drawing tourists from far and wide. With ice-and-snow tourism gaining popularity in recent years, ice skating, skiing and fun activities like splashing water to create ice crystals have become big draws of the village.

    “Tourists used to come mainly in summer, but now we get plenty of visitors in winter too,” said Shi, adding that she had never expected the bitter cold to become a major tourism attraction.

    Shi has run the homestay business for more than a decade. “Previously, it was hard to make even 10,000 yuan a year. Now, we have visitors all year round, and during peak season I can earn over 10,000 yuan in just a week,” she said.

    With its booming ice-and-snow tourism, northeast China as a whole has gained fresh appeal. Once known as the country’s rustbelt, the region has long struggled with a painful economic transition and talent outflows.

    “Revitalizing northeast China” has been a recurring theme evident in Xi’s multiple inspection tours. In 2023, he stressed efforts to focus on developing the ice-and-snow economy as a new growth driver by promoting a full industrial chain of ice-and-snow sports, culture, equipment and tourism.

    Under Xi’s guidance, the ice-and-snow boom has spread from northeast China to the entire country, fostering a new national growth engine.

    Located in northwest China’s Xinjiang, Altay Prefecture is developing its reputation as a top skiing destination. In the 2023-2024 snow season, Altay welcomed about 4.89 million tourist visits, with tourism revenue totaling 5.1 billion yuan. It drove about half of the growth in terms of both tourist visits and revenue in Xinjiang last season.

    Southwestern provinces, such as Yunnan and Sichuan, are also leveraging their unique plateau ice-and-snow resources, as well as their proximity to Southeast Asia, to attract tourists.

    Peng Fuwei, a senior official of the National Development and Reform Commission, noted that the sector has formed a “dual-engine” structure, with winter manufacturing and services leading the way.

    “China now produces a comprehensive range of winter sports equipment, from personal gear to high-end snowmaking machines and snow groomers. In 2023, winter equipment sales reached about 22 billion yuan,” he said.

    The country aims to boost its ice-and-snow economy as a new source of growth, targeting an economic scale of 1.2 trillion yuan by 2027 and 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030, according to guidelines released by the State Council last year.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Harmonising the sanctioning of reception conditions when asylum seekers fail to meet their obligations

    Source: European Asylum Support Office

    A recent EUAA report looks at how EU-level and national courts in Member States have shaped the implementation of provisions relating to reducing or withdrawing material reception conditions, such as housing, food, and clothing or financial assistance, when asylum applicants do not comply with their obligations or engage in violent behaviour.

    The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) recently published a comparative analysis of EU and national court decisions, issued over the last 5 years, relating to the sanctioning of asylum applicants when they do not adhere to their obligations. The report comes as national authorities have reported an increase in applicants engaging in disruptive behaviour over the past years, as reported in the EUAA Asylum Report 2024.

    The analysis is limited to jurisprudence regarding sanctions, reductions or withdrawals of material reception conditions provided to asylum applicants and does not relate to criminal proceedings for acts which may qualify as criminal offences in the Member State concerned.

    Given the broad wording in the recast Reception Conditions Directive (RCD), it has long been at the discretion of Member States as to how to interpret the provisions and implement sanctions. However, a 2019 judgment by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) triggered national courts to align practices, resulting in some decisions being overturned by the courts. Most judgments referenced in the analysis, and which can also be found in the EUAA Case Law Database, involve reducing or withdrawing material reception conditions due to serious breaches of accommodation centre rules or seriously violent behaviour.

    The resulting jurisprudence has clarified the conditions for sanctions in four main areas, including:

    • Proportionality between the severity of the violation and the measure being imposed;
    • Imposing sanctions gradually and identifying alternatives;
    • Assessing the cumulative impact of violations by asylum applicants;
    • Responsibilities to provide information and ensure that applicants are adequately informed of the consequences of their actions.

    The findings of the report are particularly important given upcoming changes to these provisions under the revised Reception Conditions Directive, which was adopted as part of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. The updated legislation must be transposed into national law by 12 June 2026. The 2024 Directive broadens the scope of when sanctions can be applied, while it also better defines safeguards to uphold a dignified standard of living.

    Background

    Under Article 20 of the 2013 recast Reception Conditions Directive (recast RCD), Member States may reduce or, in exceptional and duly justified cases, withdraw material reception conditions for applicants for international protection. In this context, national authorities may impose sanctions applicable to serious breaches of the rules of the accommodation centres as well as to seriously violent behaviour.

    Any sanctions must be objective, impartial, motivated and proportionate to the particular situation of the applicant and must, under all circumstances, ensure a dignified standard of living; as established in the landmark CJEU judgment Zubair Haqbin v Belgium (C-233/18, 12 November 2019).

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Gaza: 10,000 aid trucks reached enclave since ceasefire began

    Source: United Nations 4

    Humanitarian Aid

    The humanitarian community’s plan to flood Gaza with lifesaving aid passed an important milestone on Thursday with the news that more than 10,000 relief lorries have entered the enclave since the ceasefire began on 19 January.

    Announcing the development, the UN’s top aid official, Tom Fletcher, said that the trucks contained lifesaving food, medicine, and tents – all desperately needed by Gazans after more than 15 months of constant Israeli bombardment.

    The UN emergency relief chief’s comments came as he prepared to join an aid convoy crossing into northern Gaza.

    In recent days, he has held “practical discussions” with the Israeli authorities in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem “to keep lifesaving UN aid moving into Gaza at scale”. This includes COGAT – the Israeli body responsible for approving requests to deliver aid into Gaza and the West Bank – and the Israel Foreign Ministry.

    Clearing rubble to live

    According to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, more than half a million people have returned to north Gaza since the ceasefire began. Needs for food, water, sanitation, healthcare and tents are enormous, with some returning to former homes with shovels to clear the rubble, according to the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF.

    In an update, the UN World Health Organization (WHO), said that it had received 63 trucks of medical supplies from aid partners to replenish its three warehouses in Gaza.

    In addition, more than 100 sick and injured patients have also been evacuated to Egypt for urgent medical treatment since the temporary ceasefire came into effect, while OCHA noted that primary and secondary health services are being provided throughout the Strip.

    Five ambulances entered Gaza to strengthen emergency response capacity on Tuesday, OCHA said in an update.

    Food production boosted

    The UN aid coordination agency noted that across Gaza, 22 bakeries supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) are now operational.

    The WFP has also provided nutrient supplements to more than 80,000 children and pregnant or breastfeeding women across Gaza, since the ceasefire took effect and UNICEF has continued distributing nutrition support for infants.

    “Humanitarian partners have screened more than 30,000 children under the age of five for malnutrition since the ceasefire took effect. Of those screened, 1,150 cases of acute malnutrition have been identified, including 230 cases of severe acute malnutrition,” OCHA said.

    In addition, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) distributed nearly 100 metric tons of animal feed to support herders in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, benefiting hundreds of people working in the agricultural sector.

    To sustain learning activities across the Strip, education partners have established three new temporary learning spaces yesterday in Gaza, Rafah and Khan Younis governorates, benefiting 200 school-aged children.

    Ceasefire push 

    The aid build-up came as the Secretary-General on Wednesday pushed for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all remaining hostages in the enclave, while strongly rejecting the suggestion that Gazans should be resettled outside their homeland.

    “In the search for solutions, we must not make the problem worse. It is vital to stay true to the bedrock of international law. It is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing,” Guterres told  the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, which met to set out its programme of work for the year. “We must reaffirm the two-State solution,” he said.

    Underlining the Secretary-General’s comments, the UN High Commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, said that “any deportation or forced transfer of persons without legal basis is strictly forbidden”.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –