Category: housing

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Needs Soar for Flood-Displaced Communities in Chad, IOM Scales Up Aid

    Source: International Organization for Migration (IOM)

    N’Djamena, 16 October – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is stepping up its efforts to support communities severely affected by widespread flooding in Chad, which has displaced over 13,000 people and left nearly two million people in need of urgent assistance.  N’Djamena alone hosts 5,137 individuals displaced, accounting for nearly a half of the total displacement from the floods.

    As of 1 October, the floods, concentrated in the capital N’Djamena and southern regions along the Chari River, have severely limited access to clean water and sanitation, posing a risk of waterborne diseases, and exacerbating the challenges faced by displaced families. As part of a larger regional crisis affecting 6.6 million people across West and Central Africa, the situation in Chad remains critical.

    “In the wake of devastating floods that have affected nearly two million people in Chad, the needs continue to grow.” said Pascal Reyntjens, Chief of Mission at IOM Chad. “Our teams are on the ground, coordinating with local authorities and partners to ensure that the assistance provided directly addresses the critical needs of those hardest hit.”

    IOM’s response has so far reached approximately 14,000 people across the Lake Chad region and N’Djamena. The Organization has been providing shelter and bedding, lighting, cooking and household kits. IOM has also been delivering essential water, sanitation, and hygiene support, including the installation of latrines to improve sanitary conditions in displacement sites. In collaboration with Chad’s National Commission for Refugee Reintegration (CNARR) and key humanitarian actors, IOM has mobilized rapid response teams to conduct needs assessments and register displaced individuals. Using its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), IOM is actively tracking the needs of displaced communities to inform humanitarian response and provide essential assistance.

    Ongoing efforts are underway to gather comprehensive data across affected regions, ensuring that no one is left behind in the response.  

    “The floods have taken everything from us,” said Anassa, a resident of N’Djamena who was displaced by the flooding. “With a roof over our head and clean water, we can start to rebuild our lives.”

    IOM, along with its partners, is calling for increased support to meet the immediate and long-term needs of flood-affected populations in Chad. The scale of the disaster requires a coordinated and sustained response to help families like Anassa’s rebuild their lives.

    Note to Editor

    The impact of climate change, disasters and environmental degradation are increasingly influencing migration patterns, especially among vulnerable populations. At COP29, people must be at the heart of the discussions.  IOM urges leaders to take concrete actions that protect and support those who want to stay, those on the move, and those needing or wanting to move.  

    For more information, please contact:  

    In Chad: Christina Van Hooreweghe, cvanhooreweg@iom.int  

    In Dakar: Joëlle Furrer, jfurrer@iom.int  

    In Geneva: Kennedy Okoth, kokoth@iom.int  

    MIL OSI United Nations News

  • MIL-OSI China: China unveils new measures to stabilize housing market

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

    BEIJING, Oct. 17 — Chinese officials announced new measures on Thursday to cement signs of stabilization in the property sector, after a bundle of pro-housing policies rolled out last month brought about “positive changes in the market.”

    Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong and other officials unveiled the fresh stimulus package and assessed the effects of previously announced policies at a press conference, after China’s leadership pledged last month to reverse the downturn of the property market and stabilize it.

    NEW PRO-HOUSING POLICIES

    The government will step up support for urban village and dilapidated housing renovation projects, Ni said, adding that China will renovate an additional 1 million such housing units with measures such as providing monetary compensation to residents.

    The minister stressed that all eligible real estate projects will be included in the “white list” mechanism and that their reasonable financing needs will be met through loans.

    Under the “white list” mechanism launched in January, local authorities are recommending that financial institutions provide financial support to eligible real estate projects.

    As of Oct. 16, loans approved for “white list” real estate projects had reached 2.23 trillion yuan (about 313 billion U.S. dollars), Xiao Yuanqi, deputy head of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, said at the press conference.

    It is expected that by the end of this year, the approved loan amount for the “white list” projects will surpass 4 trillion yuan, Xiao said.

    Last week, the Ministry of Finance announced a plan to allow local governments to issue special-purpose bonds to acquire commercial properties for use as affordable housing and to purchase idle land. Song Qichao, assistant minister of finance, told reporters that the ministry will work with other departments to formulate detailed regulations so that this policy will be implemented as soon as possible.

    Meanwhile, Ni urged local authorities to increase the provision of affordable housing. Official data showed that the number of affordable apartments nationwide grew to 1.48 million in the first nine months of this year.

    “By the end of the year, we aim to provide affordable housing to 4.5 million new urban residents and young people,” Ni said.

    EFFECTS OF PREVIOUS MEASURES

    A raft of pro-housing policies, which were released at the end of September, are kicking in, as evidenced by narrowing declines in property development investment and in sales of new commercial housing, Ni noted.

    “Particularly, since the end of September, there has been a significant increase in the number of visits to new property projects and in the number of sale contracts. Transactions on pre-owned homes have also gone up. There have been positive changes in the market,” he said.

    “Regulated by a series of policies, China’s real estate market has started bottoming out after three years of adjustment,” Ni stressed.

    To ease the financial burden on homeowners, China’s central bank has requested commercial banks lower interest rates for outstanding mortgage loans. The reduction will save borrowers 150 billion yuan, benefiting 50 million households, said Tao Ling, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, at the press conference.

    A key task for China’s policymakers in the housing sector is to ensure the delivery of homes under construction. Since China’s central government launched a campaign to this purpose in May, 2.46 million homes have been delivered to buyers, according to Ni.

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Kim to Hold 80th Town Hall Focused around Bullying Awareness

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03)

    WILLINGBORO, N.J. – Today, Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) announced he will be holding a telephone town hall on Wednesday, October 23rd at 5 PM to hear directly from neighbors, share updates from his recent work in Congress, and uplift National Bullying Awareness Month.

    Sign-up for Congressman Kim’s telephone town halls or tune-in to the event live at kim.house.gov/live.

    At his 80th town hall, Congressman Kim will be joined by Jessica Smedley, LPC and Director of Counseling for West Windsor/Plainsboro Regional School District to speak about the role of school counselors and anti-bullying coordinators at schools and other resources available to students and families. The town hall will highlight the Congressman’s continued work to ensure local schools have the mental health and counseling resources they need to best support students, address students and families’ needs during the school year, as well as his office’s efforts to connect the local community to anti-bullying resources and support for impacted students.

    To sign up for more updates from Congressman Kim, including the location and time of his next town hall, click here.

    Congressman Kim is the Ranking Member on the Military Personnel Subcommittee, and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, and the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. More information about Congressman Kim’s accessibility, his work serving New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District, and information on newsletters and his monthly town halls can be found on his website byclicking here.

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    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Trahan Tours Key Federally Backed Concord 250 Projects

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03)

    LOWELL, MA – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) was joined by State Representatives Carmine Gentile and Simon Cataldo to highlight federal funding she secured to support key Concord 250 projects ahead of next year’s celebrations.

    “With just six months until Concord hosts visitors from around the world for our semiquincentennial celebrations, it was great to see the progress being made on key projects at the Wright Tavern and all across Minute Man National Historical Park,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “I’m proud to have secured significant federal funding to help prepare for Concord 250, and I look forward to working with community leaders, national park officials, event organizers, and volunteers to make this celebration a resounding success.”

    “The federal funding secured by Congresswoman Trahan is absolutely critical to our success in hosting Concord250. This investment will allow us to enhance our historic sites, improve visitor experiences, and truly showcase the significance of Concord’s role in American history,” said Concord Town Manager Kerry Lafleur. “We’re deeply grateful for her leadership and the continued support of our legislative delegation.”

    “Thank you to Congresswoman Trahan for her crucial support to ensure that Concord’s 250th anniversary will be a celebration worthy of the town’s rich history and national significance,” said State Representative Carmine Gentile. “I look forward to working with the rest of Concord’s state delegation to ensure the town receives additional resources and support from the Commonwealth in order to make the Semiquincentennial an incredible success.”

    “I am grateful for the support of Congresswoman Trahan and Congress in directing substantial federal funds to supplement state grants in support of Concord’s historic places. The Wright Tavern and Minute Man National Historical Park will be center stage during next year’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the shot heard ‘round the world,” said State Representative Simon Cataldo. “These funds will preserve the rich heritage of these sites, ensuring that their significance is preserved for future generations to learn and draw inspiration.”

    The lawmakers visited the Wright Tavern where she was joined by members of the Wright Tavern Legacy Trust as well as state and local officials to see the impact of the $521,265 federal grant she helped secure through the National Park Service’s Semiquincentennial Grant Program. Built in 1747, the Wright Tavern is home to some of America’s most significant historical moments, including the First Massachusetts Provincial Congress in 1774 and the gathering place of the Minutemen who organized the resistance against the British in the Battles of Concord and Lexington in 1775. The federal investment will support the Trust’s multiphase plan to preserve the Wright Tavern and re-establish it as a historic education center and community meeting place ahead of Concord 250.

    “We are honored and excited to receive this grant from the National Park Service. Rep. Trahan’s support brings the dream of the Tavern to life as a historic gathering place to exchange ideas,” said Wright Tavern Legacy Trust Chair Tom Wilson. “Federal funding for the Wright Tavern is a rallying cry for our future — fortifying our heritage as we prepare to assemble for learning, dialogue and celebration within these historic walls. Just as our forebears gathered here, we honor their legacy and inspire new generations. Together, we’re building a stronghold of education and community as we approach America 250.”

    After leaving the Wright Tavern, the lawmakers joined Minute Man National Historical Park Superintendent Simone Monteleone and local officials to tour the work being done on the trails surrounding the Old North Bridge, the site of the Shot Heard ‘Round the World. The park is deploying $27,400,000 in federal funding through the Great American Outdoors Act to complete several restoration and preservation projects to prepare for an increase in visitors during Concord 250. This year, Minute Man also received another $1,440,000 in federal funding through the Inflation Reduction Act to support temporary staffing needs and invasive vegetation management ahead of the semiquincentennial celebrations.

    In 2020, Trahan supported passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, bipartisan legislation to close the $22 billion deferred maintenance backlog in national parks and public lands across the country, including the $27.4 million allocated to Minute Man National Historical Park. Trahan also voted in 2022 to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which, in addition to reducing prescription drug prices and decreasing energy costs for families, allocated funding for ecosystem restoration and resilience projects on federal lands like national parks.

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    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI: Commercial Drone Industry Has Expanded Significantly as Billion Dollar Market is Awarding Lucrative Opportunities for Manufacturers

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FN Media Group News Commentary – The business use cases of commercial drones have expanded significantly over the past few years and the commercial drone market is growing to interior uses in warehouses/facilities in additions to all of the well know exterior used. They are also being increasingly adopted in the construction and real estate sectors due to their ability to survey the property, offer constant and exact project alerts, increase safety, and prevent harmful accidents on construction sites. Moreover, their conventional applications, such as monitoring, surveillance, and security, have instigated the product demand for search and rescue operations, identifying unstable roofs in dangerous and inaccessible positions, tracking out elevated infrastructure that might have damaged electrical cables, etc. A recent report issued by Grand View Research, discussed the segments on the market, saying: “Product Insights: The rotary blade segment held the largest revenue share of over 78.9% in 2024. The demand for rotary blade drones is anticipated to surge for inspection activities owing to its ability to hover and execute agile maneuvering while maintaining a visual on a particular target for prolonged periods. These drones are often seen as a suitable alternative for various business applications such as surveillance, filmmaking, photography, and monitoring. In addition, they are easier to control than hybrid and fixed-wing counterparts. The hybrid segment is expected to attain a CAGR of over 18% over the forecast period owing to the advantages associated with these commercial drones. These drones enhance their efficiency and power by integrating the capabilities of batteries and fuel. Moreover, these drones can fly for long periods with heavier payloads, even in severe weather conditions. Tech giants like Facebook and Amazon use hybrid drones to transport packages effectively and quickly while enabling internet access in remote locations.” Active Tech Companies in the markets today include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCAT), Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE: JOBY), EHang Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: EH), AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV).

    Grand View Research continued: “Application Insights: The commercial application segment accounted for a revenue share of over 74.02% in 2024. – End Use Insights; The media & entertainment segment accounted for a revenue share of over 21.4% in 2024 and is expected to record a notable growth from 2025 to 2030. – Range Insights: The visual line of sight (VLOS) segment accounted for the largest revenue share of over 69% in 2024 and the beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of over 11.2% over the forecast period. – Operating Mode Insights: The remotely piloted segment accounted for the largest revenue share of over 59% in 2024 and the fully autonomous segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 12.4% over the forecast period. The electric propulsion type segment accounted for the largest revenue share of over 72% in 2024. The segment dominance is attributed to the popularity of electric drones using rechargeable batteries. These drones have gained widespread adoption due to numerous advantages such as quiet operations, flight efficiency, longer flight times, and easy maintenance, among others. This, in turn, is expected further to drive the segment demand over the forecast period.”

    ZenaTech Inc.’s (NASDAQ:ZENA) ZenaDrone Team Begins US Flight Testing of ZenaDrone 1000 Drone in the Arizona Desert ZenaTech, Inc. (“ZenaTech”), a technology company specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drone solutions and enterprise SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solutions, announced today that its subsidiary, ZenaDrone, has begun the first US flight testing of the ZenaDrone 1000 drone, including new hardware and software configurations, in the desert near Phoenix, Arizona. The company has also been concurrently working towards setting up offices, operations and partnerships in the state.

    “After years of development work and recently achieving US FAA approval, it is gratifying to be able to conduct live test flights and further build our company base in Arizona. This is the first of many test flights and demonstrations that will help us refine and build the reliability of the ZenaDrone 1000 solutions for agriculture, defense, security, land surveying and other applications where we see demand,” said CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D. One of the company’s longstanding collaboration partners is the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), the State of Arizona’s economic development organization.

    “We are thrilled that ZenaDrone has further grown and strengthened its Arizona presence by choosing Arizona as its base of U.S. operations. And we are now delighted that they have chosen Arizona’s skies to begin live testing of the ZenaDrone 1000 product. We look forward to continued work with ZenaDrone to grow their business in Arizona and throughout the world, including via participation at international trade shows and on international trade missions,” said Kevin O’Shea, Senior Vice President of International Trade for the ACA. Read the full press release and more for ZenaTech at:  https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-zena/

    Additional Groundbreaking ZenaTech Inc. Developments include:

    ZenaTech recently announced that its subsidiary, ZenaDrone, has begun the first US trial of the IQ Nano product solution for inventory management, beginning with a multinational auto part and components customer. The drone will be reading the bar codes and collecting inventory information as part of a paid trial. The IQ Nano indoor drone is designed for customers with warehouse, logistics and distribution operations to help them save costs and improve productivity by managing various tasks such as taking inventory, turning a weeklong activity into one day.

    “After two years of product development work, the initiation of the first IQ Nano drone trial inside a customer’s warehouse is an important milestone. We believe the technology will help innovate and improve their inventory management process. Further, receiving feedback from our first paying customer will be extremely valuable as we continue to fine tune our IQ series solutions, enabling us to expand our offerings with this and additional new customers,” said CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D.

    ZenaTech also recently announced that its subsidiary, ZenaDrone, is launching its IQ Nano product, part of the IQ series of indoor/outdoor drones. The IQ Nano is designed for customers in sectors such as warehousing and logistics to save costs and improve productivity while performing indoor inspection, monitoring and tracking processes including inventory management.

    The ZenaDrone IQ Nano is a 10×10-inch drone designed to perform regular and frequent inspections for applications such as bar code or RFID scanning, facility maintenance inspections, security monitoring, and 3D mapping specific to the needs of companies with warehouse, distribution, plants and industrial facilities. It is designed for autonomous use featuring integrated sensors, high-quality cameras and data collection. Weighing 1.5kg and with a flight time of up to 20 minutes before utilizing the automatic battery charging station, it is designed for hovering stability and for safety with obstacle avoidance capabilities.

    And finally, ZenaTech recently announced that its subsidiary, ZenaDrone, has commenced aerial operations to launch commercial drone services in the US. This was made possible due to recently achieving Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) exemption approval.

    Other recent developments in the Drone and/or Technology industry include:

    Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCAT) recently announced it secured a $1 million contract for its Edge 130 Blue drones from the United States Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM). The contract was secured through Noble, a leading provider of global sustainment and operations support for the U.S. Military and civilian government agencies, and was coordinated for procurement by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) on behalf of CECOM.

    FlightWave, an industry-leading provider of VTOL drone, sensor and software solutions was acquired by Red Cat in September 2024. The acquisition brings FlightWave’s flagship drone, the Edge 130 Blue into its family of low-cost, portable unmanned reconnaissance and precision lethal strike systems. FlightWave’s size, weight and vertical take off capabilities makes it ideal for maritime operations and littoral environments. FlightWave’s recent TACFI award will accelerate advanced enhancements to the Edge 130 Blue.

    Toyota Motor Corporation (TM) and Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE: JOBY), a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, recently announced that Toyota will invest an additional $500 million to support the certification and commercial production of Joby’s electric air taxi, with the aim of realizing the two companies’ shared vision of air mobility.

    The investment, which will be made in two equal tranches, is subject to standard regulatory approvals and certain other conditions, finalization of collaborative and commercial agreements and, with respect to the second tranche, the finalization of terms related to a strategic alliance focused on commercial manufacturing and certain other conditions. The investment, which will bring Toyota Motor Corporation’s total investment in Joby to $894 million, will be made in the form of cash for common stock, with the first tranche targeted to close later this year and the second in 2025. Further details of the investment are available via the companies’ regulatory filings with the SEC.

    EHang Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: EH), the world’s leading Urban Air Mobility (“UAM”) technology platform company, recently announced a major milestone with the successful completion of the first flight of its EH216-S pilotless eVTOL in Brazil.

    EHang’s first trial flight in Brazil took place in Quadra, located in the São Paulo region, in partnership with its local operator, Gohobby Future Technologies (“Gohobby). This achievement holds significant importance for the future development of UAM solutions in Brazil, a country known as the birthplace of Latin American aviation, home of one of the world’s leading aeronautical industries, and one of the world’s largest eVTOL markets. As for now, EHang and its local partners have carried out over 50,000 safe flights in 17 countries across Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America.

    AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) recently showcased the maritime prowess of its combat-proven JUMP® 20 uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) during the NATO REPMUS 2024 (Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping using Maritime Uncrewed Systems) exercise off the coast of Portugal. This dynamic demonstration reinforced JUMP 20’s advanced Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, autonomously launching and landing on a moving vessel in rough seas, with conditions reaching sea state level 5 and winds over 20 kts.

    The JUMP 20 also highlighted its multi-sensor mission versatility, seamlessly executing wide-area search and detection tasks. Its advanced Electro Optical and Mid-Wave Infrared (MWIR) turret automatically slewed to investigate identified targets without repositioning the platform, ensuring constant operational focus. Full-motion video was captured and later analyzed using AV’s cutting-edge computer vision technology, SPOTR-Edge™, enabling perception analysis using its robust library of object classifications, including persons, vehicles, and maritime vessels. Additionally, video from this event will further enhance the solution, making the JUMP 20 even more capable for future deployments by refining its object recognition and situational response capabilities.

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    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Europe: International appeal for humanitarian demining in Ukraine adopted in Lausanne

    Source: Switzerland – Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport

    Bern, 17.10.2024 – The first day of the Ukraine Mine Action Conference 2024 ended today with the presentation of the Lausanne Call for Action, which reaffirms the support of the majority of the countries present for humanitarian demining in Ukraine and around the world. The appeal calls for the needs of victims and disabled people to be addressed and promoting partnership and innovation to increase effectiveness in mine action. The conference, held in Lausanne at the EHL Hospitality Business School, brings together representatives of states, international organisations and partners in humanitarian demining.

    61 delegations met on 17 and 18 October 2024 in Lausanne for the Ukraine Mine Action Conference 2024 (UMAC2024). At the end of the first high-level day, the Lausanne Call for Action was adopted, calling for concrete action by states on humanitarian demining in Ukraine. This includes, for example, the swift and safe rehabilitation of agricultural areas, the economic and social reintegration of victims with disabilities, the promotion of international cooperation between the various partners active on the ground, and the exchange of experience and knowledge to foster innovative methods and technologies that increase the effectiveness of mine action at a global level. The text was presented by Switzerland and Ukraine, together with Croatia, which hosted the last mine action conference, and Japan, which will host the 2025 edition.

    Civil population, partnerships and innovation at centre of debate

    The event, hosted jointly by Switzerland and Ukraine, features debates and discussions based on three pillars – people, partners and progress – with the aim of highlighting the crucial importance of humanitarian demining as an integral part of the country’s economic and social reconstruction. The conference was opened by the Swiss president, Viola Amherd and the Ukrainian prime minister, Denys Shmyhal. The Swiss president emphasised in her speech that humanitarian demining is a priority for Switzerland: “Humanitarian demining is not only a security issue, but also a prerequisite for recovery, especially for the restoration of agricultural production and children’s education.”

    Also speaking at UMAC2024 will be figures from the scientific community and civil society, such as British photographer Giles Duley, a landmine survivor and UN Global Advocate for persons with disabilities in conflict situations and peacebuilding situations, and philanthropist Howard G. Buffett, chairman and CEO of the Howard G. Buffett foundation.

    Switzerland’s concrete support for humanitarian demining

    During the conference, the head of the FDFA, Ignazio Cassis, reiterated the importance of international cooperation in humanitarian demining and reaffirmed Switzerland’s commitment to the reconstruction of Ukraine, based on the Lugano Principles adopted in 2022. He also pointed out that the Federal Council decided last week to grant an additional CHF 30 million to the Fondation suisse de déminage (FSD) to extend its activities in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions until 2027. “Thanks to partners such as FSD and the International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, Switzerland is providing direct, effective support in Ukraine,” said Cassis. Since February 2022, the Swiss federal government has implemented various measures to support those affected by the war and allocated around CHF 3.7 billion. Last year the Federal Council approved CHF 100 million in support over four years, earmarked exclusively for mine action in Ukraine.

    Switzerland reiterates solidarity with Ukraine

    At the UMAC2024, a delegation from the Federal Council, led by President Viola Amherd, met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The meeting was dedicated to possible steps towards peace, reconstruction and solidarity with Ukraine in the face of the energy shortage in the upcoming winter months. The Swiss delegation, which included Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, emphasised Switzerland’s continued and long-term solidarity with Ukraine.

    Following the Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Bürgenstock resort in June, the two sides discussed further possible substantive steps towards a lasting and just peace in Ukraine. For Switzerland, it is clear that any solution must respect international law and the UN Charter. Switzerland remains ready to offer its good offices with the aim of supporting firm steps towards the inclusion of both parties. The thematic follow-up conference scheduled to be held in Montreal at the end of October on the human dimension, the fate of prisoners of war, arbitrarily detained civilians and abducted children was also discussed. A further important topic of discussion was Switzerland’s support for Ukraine and the reconstruction effort, to which the Federal Council attaches strategic importance.

    The Vaud cantonal police are implementing the necessary security measures for the UMAC2024, adapted to the assessment of the situation and in close cooperation with the Federal Office of Police (fedpol). The Swiss Armed Forces provide them with support, in particular in the areas of personnel transport, logistics, air surveillance and air transport.


    Address for enquiries

    FDFA Communication
    Federal Palace West Wing
    CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
    Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55
    E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
    Twitter: @SwissMFA


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    MIL OSI Europe News

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Brighton soldier killed at Passendale finally laid to rest

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A World War One soldier who was injured and sent home, but then returned to the front where he was killed, has finally been buried close to where he fell.

    Rifleman Callum Phillips plays the Last Post in honour of Rifleman Adams.

    A World War One soldier who was injured and sent home, but then returned to the front where he was killed, has finally been buried close to where he fell; just weeks before Remembrance Sunday.

    The burial service for Rifleman (Rfn) Frederick Thomas Adams which was organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) , also known as the War Detectives, took place at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Passchendaele New British Cemetery, in Belgium yesterday (Wednesday 16 October 24).

    Bob Adams, Rfn Adams’ first cousin twice removed, who aided JCCC by providing the DNA sample used to identify him was there.  

    Bob said: 

    I was intrigued to receive an e-mail last year asking me to carry out DNA testing in connection with Frederick, and once a positive result had been established, I had no hesitation in accepting the invitation to attend the burial service. 

    We are very proud to be related to someone with such a distinguished service record, and we want to give him the respect that he truly deserves. We are honoured to be invited to attend the burial service today, to commemorate his life that was sacrificed in the service of his country.

    Bob Adams, the first cousin twice removed of Rifleman Adams, with the party from 3rd Battalion The Rifles.

    Rfn Adams, who hailed from Brighton, was a career soldier who arrived on the Western Front immediately after the outbreak of hostilities. Having been wounded near Armentieres, on 25 October 1914, he was sent home and did not return to the fighting until 1917, when he was sent back into action as part of a citizen Army. He was killed in Passendale on 19 November 1917. As he was missing Rfn Adams was commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial in Belgium. 

    In 2018, the remains of a soldier of The Rifle Brigade were discovered during roadworks in Passendale. He was found with two chevrons, indicating that he may have either have held the rank of corporal or that he may have been wearing or in possession of two Good Conduct Stripes. After extensive research and DNA testing, the soldier was identified as Rfn Adams.  

    JCCC Caseworker, Rosie Barron said: 

    It has been an honour to work with The Rifles to give Rfn Adams the full military funeral that he deserves and to have conducted the research which led to his identification. It has also been a priviledge to meet Bob and to have shared this experience with him and his family. Rfn Adams was a career soldier, and I am sure when he returned to the Western Front in 1917, his knowledge and experience would have been invaluable to the men around him. May he now rest in peace alongside his comrades.

    Lieutenant Henry Waterson gives a reading at Rifleman Adams’ graveside.

    The service was conducted by the Reverend Huw Ryden CF, Chaplain to 3rd Battalion The Rifles and was supported by a bearer party from that battalion. 

    Reverend Ryden said: 

    As we preside at the burial service of Rifleman Adams who had been missing for so long; we, by proxy, represent the generations who so deeply wanted to be here. Those past generations are the loved ones who hoped and prayed for the miracle of a safe return. If not a safe a return, then a funeral service to afford some closure and an opportunity to say their last goodbyes. We now stand for those loved ones, and with such a realisation, we stand here deeply moved by the weight and depth of meaning that this service carries.

    The coffin of Rifleman Adams is carried to his grave by serving soldiers of 3rd Battalion The Rifles.

    The graves will now be cared for in perpetuity by CWGC

     Director for Central and Southern Europe at the CWGC, Geert Bekaert, said:  

    As we move closer to the period of Remembrance, we are honoured to be able to commemorate Rifleman Adams from Brighton, who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today. 

    We will care for his grave, and those of his comrades, in perpetuity.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI: Pineapple Energy Announces Lease Termination for Former Minnesota Headquarters – Move Expected to Produce Total Savings of Approximately $480,000

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RONKONKOMA, N.Y., Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pineapple Energy Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: PEGY), a leading provider of sustainable solar energy and backup power to households, businesses, municipalities, and for servicing existing systems, announced today that it has terminated the operating lease for its former corporate office in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

    The termination of the lease, which was set to expire in 2027, is expected to save the Company approximately $17,500 per month or $210,000 a year in associated rent. There was a one-time buyout fee associated with the lease termination agreement, and the Company will spread payment of that fee over the next 14-months.

    Taking into account the remaining years on the now terminated lease, other related costs, and the effect of the buyout fee, total savings are estimated at approximately $480,000.

    “The termination of this lease is another positive step in our ongoing cost reduction initiatives and reflects our efforts to centralize the Company’s operations in our current primary markets of Long Island, NY and Hawaii,” said Scott Maskin, Interim Chief Executive Officer. “We are authoring a new future for the Company, an important part of which is properly aligning our cost structure to help us deliver long-term value to our shareholders.”

    About Pineapple Energy

    Pineapple is focused on growing leading local and regional solar, storage, and energy services companies nationwide. Our vision is to power the energy transition through grass-roots growth of solar electricity paired with battery storage. Our portfolio of brands (SUNation, Hawaii Energy Connection, E-Gear) provide homeowners and businesses of all sizes with an end-to-end product offering spanning solar, battery storage, and grid services.

    Forward Looking Statements

    This press release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the Company’s current expectations or beliefs and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances, including the Company’s expectations regarding its ability to effect the reverse stock split and regain compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing standards. While the Company believes its plans, intentions, and expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, these plans, intentions, or expectations may not be achieved. For information about the factors that could cause such differences, please refer to the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, the statements made under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and in subsequent filings. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, except as required by law.

    Safe Harbor Statement

    Our prospects here at Pineapple Energy Inc. are subject to uncertainties and risks. This news release (video statement) contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbor provided by the foregoing Sections. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations or forecasts of future events, can be affected by inaccurate assumptions, and are subject to various business risks and known and unknown uncertainties, a number of which are beyond the control of management. Therefore, actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this presentation. The Company cannot predict or determine after the fact what factors would cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements or other statements. The reader should consider statements that include the words “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “estimates”, “plans”, “projects”, “should”, or other expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events or trends, to be uncertain and forward-looking. We caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional information respecting factors that could materially affect the Company and its operations are contained in the Company’s filings with the SEC which can be found on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

    Contacts:
    Scott Maskin
    Interim Chief Executive Officer
    +1 (631) 823-7131
    scott.maskin@pineappleenergy.com

    Pineapple Investor Relations
    +1 (952) 996-1674
    IR@pineappleenergy.com

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Global Commercial Drone Market Size Estimated at $30 Billion as Technological Advancements are Booming

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FN Media Group News Commentary – Experts and investors see continued growth in the global commercial drone market size. The market growth is attributed to the increasing enterprise application of drones across various industry verticals. Several drone manufacturers are continually testing, inventing, and upgrading solutions for diverse markets used for various applications, including filming and emergency response. Besides, the integration of modern technologies in commercial drones to deliver enhanced solutions is opening new growth opportunities for the commercial drone market. According to a report from Grand View Research said that the global commercial drone market size, which was estimated at USD 30.02 billion in 2024 is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.6% from 2025 to 2030. The report said: “Technological advances allow companies to design and construct measurement and annotation tools for estimating area, volume, and distance. As a result, organizations are constantly adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) solutions to retrieve accurate findings from large volumes of data. Integration of these modern technologies provides the industry with ample opportunities as they facilitate real-time, data-driven decision-making through high-speed data capture, processing, and transfer. AI-powered drones also allow users to interact and observe footage captured by other drones in real-time and track their flight paths.” Active Tech Companies in the markets today include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE: UAVS), RTX Corporation (NYSE: RTX), Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO), Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS).

    Grand View Research continued: “The delivery & logistics segment is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 14.3% from 2025 to 2030 with the expansion of the e-commerce sector across the globe. With the increased demand for quick delivery of goods, drones are being increasingly used in e-commerce warehouses for product warehousing and delivery. Warehouses worldwide are making significant investments to enhance the level of automation. In this regard, drones find an important usage in operations, such as barcode scanning, that require more person-hours. The U.S. commercial drone market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of above 8% from 2025 to 2030. The region is expected to witness steady growth considering the developments in UAV technology, favorable government initiatives, and growing demand from enterprises across industries. Furthermore, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued new regulations to facilitate more coherent and consistent standards for the legal and safe operation of UAVs in commercial spaces. These rules and regulations are anticipated to mitigate entry barriers and encourage product usage.”

    ZenaTech Inc.’s (NASDAQ: ZENA) ZenaDrone Team Begins US Flight Testing of ZenaDrone 1000 Drone in the Arizona Desert ZenaTech, Inc. (“ZenaTech”), a technology company specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drone solutions and enterprise SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solutions, announced today that its subsidiary, ZenaDrone, has begun the first US flight testing of the ZenaDrone 1000 drone, including new hardware and software configurations, in the desert near Phoenix, Arizona. The company has also been concurrently working towards setting up offices, operations and partnerships in the state.

    “After years of development work and recently achieving US FAA approval, it is gratifying to be able to conduct live test flights and further build our company base in Arizona. This is the first of many test flights and demonstrations that will help us refine and build the reliability of the ZenaDrone 1000 solutions for agriculture, defense, security, land surveying and other applications where we see demand,” said CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D. One of the company’s longstanding collaboration partners is the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), the State of Arizona’s economic development organization.

    “We are thrilled that ZenaDrone has further grown and strengthened its Arizona presence by choosing Arizona as its base of U.S. operations. And we are now delighted that they have chosen Arizona’s skies to begin live testing of the ZenaDrone 1000 product. We look forward to continued work with ZenaDrone to grow their business in Arizona and throughout the world, including via participation at international trade shows and on international trade missions,” said Kevin O’Shea, Senior Vice President of International Trade for the ACA. Read the full press release and more for ZenaTech at: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-zena/

    Additional Groundbreaking ZenaTech Inc. Developments include:

    ZenaTech recently announced that its subsidiary, ZenaDrone, has begun the first US trial of the IQ Nano product solution for inventory management, beginning with a multinational auto part and components customer. The drone will be reading the bar codes and collecting inventory information as part of a paid trial. The IQ Nano indoor drone is designed for customers with warehouse, logistics and distribution operations to help them save costs and improve productivity by managing various tasks such as taking inventory, turning a week-long activity into one day.

    “After two years of product development work, the initiation of the first IQ Nano drone trial inside a customer’s warehouse is an important milestone. We believe the technology will help innovate and improve their inventory management process. Further, receiving feedback from our first paying customer will be extremely valuable as we continue to fine tune our IQ series solutions, enabling us to expand our offerings with this and additional new customers,” said CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D.

    ZenaTech also recently announced that its subsidiary, ZenaDrone, is launching its IQ Nano product, part of the IQ series of indoor/outdoor drones. The IQ Nano is designed for customers in sectors such as warehousing and logistics to save costs and improve productivity while performing indoor inspection, monitoring and tracking processes including inventory management.

    The ZenaDrone IQ Nano is a 10×10-inch drone designed to perform regular and frequent inspections for applications such as bar code or RFID scanning, facility maintenance inspections, security monitoring, and 3D mapping specific to the needs of companies with warehouse, distribution, plants and industrial facilities. It is designed for autonomous use featuring integrated sensors, high-quality cameras and data collection. Weighing 1.5kg and with a flight time of up to 20 minutes before utilizing the automatic battery charging station, it is designed for hovering stability and for safety with obstacle avoidance capabilities.

    And finally, ZenaTech recently announced that its subsidiary, ZenaDrone, has commenced aerial operations to launch commercial drone services in the US. This was made possible due to recently achieving Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) exemption approval.

    Other recent developments in the technology industry include:

    AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE: UAVS) recently announced the Company was selected to participate in the REPMUS 2024 Exercise co-hosted by NATO. Exercises and demonstrations took place September 9-27, 2024 in Troia, Portugal.

    REPMUS (Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping augmented by Maritime Unmanned Systems) is an annual Portuguese Navy (PN)-led, NATO co-hosted exercise, focusing on maritime unmanned system (MUS) capability development. The objective of REPMUS 2024 is to conduct large-scale operational experimentation. The exercise facilitated the engagement of operational communities with the industry and academia, integrating the latest commercial off-the-shelf systems for trials. It also focused on validating experimental tactics, upgraded vehicles, software updates, integrated payloads, and command and control on Maritime Unmanned Systems (MUS) to address key operational issues. The last REPMUS exercise, which took place in September 2023, was attended by more than 25 Navies, 8 NATO entities and more than 30 companies and universities dedicated to research and development in this area.

    Raytheon, an RTX Corporation (NYSE: RTX) business, recently announced that it has entered full-rate production for Standard Missile-3 Block IIA, validating the program’s design maturity amid increased demand for the product from the United States and allied partners. The SM-3 Block IIA production milestone cleared the way for a $1.9 billion award from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency in July 2024 to produce rounds for both the U.S. government and Japan Ministry of Defense.

    Full-rate production signals that there is no elevated design or manufacturing risk in the missile and validates its reliability and performance.  “SM-3 Block IIA is a testament to the continuing partnership with Japanese industry to mature ballistic missile defense capabilities for the defense of our nation and our allies around the globe,” said Barbara Borgonovi, president of Naval Power at Raytheon. “This milestone indicates that the team has achieved full maturity in the missile’s design which leads to greater efficiencies throughout the program.”

    Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO), an award-winning, industry-leading drone solutions and systems developer, recently announced updates to its Board of Directors and Advisory Board. Olen Aasen is stepping down from the Draganfly Board, and Kim Moody has been appointed as the new Audit Chair. Additionally, Draganfly is welcoming back Andy Card, former White House Chief of Staff, to the Advisory Board.

    Andy Card, who previously served on Draganfly’s Board of Directors, is rejoining the Company as a member of its Advisory Board, brings decades of leadership experience. He served as White House Chief of Staff under President George W. Bush from 2000 to 2006, managing the Executive Office of the President and shaping U.S. policy during critical moments, including the September 11th attacks. Andy’s career also includes roles as U.S. Secretary of Transportation and Vice President of Government Relations for General Motors.

    “We are thrilled to welcome Andy back to the Draganfly team in this advisory capacity,” commented Cameron Chell, Draganfly CEO. “His leadership experience and trusted counsel have been critical to the Company’s growth, and we look forward to his continued insights as we drive innovation and expand our presence in the UAV industry.”

    Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS) recently announced that it has recently received a new, sole source, approximate $45 million single award contract related to a new satellite system. Work under this new satellite system contract award will be performed at secure Kratos engineering, production and integration facilities. Due to customer related, competitive and other considerations, no additional information will be provided regarding the new contract award at this time.

    Phil Carrai, President of Kratos Satellite Business Unit, said, “The Kratos team is laser focused on rapidly developing and delivering leading technology products, software and systems to our National Security related customers in support of Mission Critical Space and Satellite system requirements. We are excited about this new space system program opportunity.”

    About FN Media Group:

    At FN Media Group, via our top-rated online news portal at http://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

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    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 forty nine 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.

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    SOURCE: FN Media Group

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Subdivided units’ renaming necessary

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    (To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

    Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong said that it is necessary to rename compliant subdivided units (SDUs) as Basic Housing Units (BHUs) to highlight the compliance.

    Mr Wong, who heads the Task Force on Tackling the Issue of Subdivided Units, made the statement today during a press conference to elaborate on key initiatives in the Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address.

    A new housing policy, which seeks to categorise SDUs that meet required standards as BHUs, has been proposed in the Policy Address unveiled yesterday. SDUs that meet the required standards will be named BHUs, and owners of substandard SDUs that are upgraded to meet these standards can apply for BHU recognition.

    Mr Wong noted that it is never the Government’s intention to try to resolve housing issues just by coining another name for the SDUs, but renaming such units is a necessary step.

    He explained that under the new policy, the meaning of SDUs will become unclear because while there will be SDUs that have complied with the new requirements, some other incompliant SDUs may still exist in the meantime.

    “Basic Housing Units is very clear – they are all in compliance with the applicable requirements.”

    Separately, Mr Wong said it is unlikely that the new housing policy will lead to a drastic drop in the supply of subdivided flats.

    “Our survey has shown that about 70% of the currently existing SDUs will be able to comply with our requirements with minimal alterations, if any.”

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News

  • MIL-OSI China: Beijing’s 12345 hotline: Helping citizens and businesses

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    The Beijing 12345 Citizen Hotline Service Center, Oct.11, 2024. [Photo by Liao Jiaxin/China.org.cn]
    On Oct. 11, the Beijing 12345 Citizen Hotline Service Center was buzzing with energy. The rhythmic tapping of keyboards echoed through the room, as hundreds of operators were focused on addressing callers’ concerns and crafting tailored solutions for a wide range of needs.
    Each operator works with a “dual-screen” setup: one screen displaying the call management system, the other featuring a knowledge base search interface. “The knowledge base now contains tens of thousands of policies covering all aspects of daily life,” operator Yang Junyao explained.

    The dual-screen setup for operators in the Beijing 12345 Citizen Hotline Service Center, Oct.11, 2024. [Photo by Liao Jiaxin/China.org.cn]
    The center is equipped with a sophisticated real-time data analytics system, presented on a large screen that visually highlights the most common issues reported by the public. Official data reveals that over the past five years, the hotline has processed over 140 million inquiries from citizens and businesses, with a resolution rate of 96.5% and a satisfaction rate of 96.9%.
    In 2019, multiple departmental hotlines in Beijing were streamlined into the unified 12345 service hotline, significantly enhancing the city’s ability to respond swiftly and effectively to the concerns of both citizens and businesses. This initiative is part of a broader effort to refine Beijing’s urban management system in response to the city’s rapid socioeconomic development, incorporating advanced urban management and emergency service practices from around the world.

    A screen presents real-time analytics data at the Beijing 12345 Citizen Hotline Service Center, Oct.11, 2024. [Photo by Liao Jiaxin/China.org.cn]
    Liu Huan, a hotline supervisor with a decade of experience, has observed a shift in the types of issues being reported. “In the past, most calls were about individual problems like power outages or leaks. Nowadays, people also bring up public concerns, such as the need for timely garbage removal in residential compounds,” she said. This shift reflects the growing public expectations for higher standards in urban management and governance.
    Moreover, the 12345 hotline offers streamlined and specialized support services for businesses, such as one-touch direct calling and professional online consultations.
    To enhance its international service capabilities, the hotline began offering support in eight languages in 2008, meeting the diverse needs of the community and better assisting foreign residents, according to Yang.
    The Beijing 12345 service hotline has become a vital conduit for efficient communication between citizens, businesses and the government. The saying, “When in doubt, call 12345 — it works!” has become a common expression among Beijing’s residents, cementing the hotline’s status as a prestigious emblem of the city.

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper Leads 124 Members of Congress in Letter Urging Preservation of Governors’ National Guard Authority

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper
    Letter encourages the inclusion of language amending the proposal to shift Air National Guard personnel to the Space Force in upcoming defense budget
    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper led 86 representatives and 38 senators, including Senator Michael Bennet and Representatives Jason Crow, Yadira Caraveo, Diana DeGette, Doug Lamborn, Greg Lopez, Brittany Pettersen, Joe Neguse, and Joe Wilson, in a bipartisan letter urging the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to adopt language in the fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would preserve the authority of governors to oversee National Guard forces within their states. 
    “Should Congress strip governors of the ability to manage National Guard units within their states, it would risk fundamentally altering the Guard’s mission and identity, as well as set a concerning precedent whose impacts may be broader than anticipated,” wrote the lawmakers.
    Title 32 of U.S. Code gives governors authority over National Guard personnel in their states. Legislative Proposal 480 (LP 480) would move Air National Guard units with space missions into the U.S. Space Force without obtaining a governor’s consent prior to the transfer. The House NDAA, however, included amendment language that would allow this transfer only if the governor signs off,  protecting the Guard’s Title 32 mission and maintaining over a century of precedent.
    For 120 years, National Guard forces have served under governors’ command in all 50 states and territories. These service members fulfill important functions in the national defense, as well as Title 32 missions in their communities. The U.S. Air Force proposal disregards this longstanding tradition of the National Guard, as well as the choice by members of the Guard to serve in the branch and state of their choosing. 
    National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) and Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS) oppose LP 480, as do all 55 of the nation’s state and territorial governors, including Colorado Governor Jared Polis. Hickenlooper, Bennet, Crow, Polis, Colorado Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera, and Major General Laura Clellan of the Colorado National Guard joined in support of the National Governors Association Council of Governors calling on the Department of Defense to retract LP 480.
    Today’s letter comes after Hickenlooper led a letter with 85 other members of Congress opposing the inclusion of LP 480 in the NDAA and joined in support of the National Governors Association Council of Governors calling on the Department of Defense to retract LP 480. He also led 31 of his colleagues in submitting an amendment to the NDAA to permit the transfer only with gubernatorial approval. However, the amendment was not included in the final package for the Senate bill and did not have the opportunity for floor consideration.
    Colorado is home to a robust Space Force presence and the most National Guard members performing space missions of any state.
    The letter can be found HERE, or below:
    Dear Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Wicker, Chairman Rogers, and Ranking Member Smith,
    As you begin conference negotiations for the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), we urge you to retain the House-passed language regarding the U.S. Air Force’s Legislative Proposal 480 (LP 480) in the final bill. This straightforward and commonsense amendment preserves the statutory authority of governors to oversee National Guard forces under Title 32, while permitting the one-time personnel transfer that the U.S. Air Force requested.
    LP 480 seeks to transfer National Guard members performing space missions into the U.S. Space Force without gubernatorial approval. Such a change would undermine Sections 104 of Title 32 and 18238 of Title 10, which ensure that adjustments to the structure, organization, or mission of National Guard units have the consent of the state’s governor. For over a century, this authority has helped the National Guard fulfill the role of a flexible fighting force, able to respond swiftly to both domestic emergencies and national security needs. Should Congress strip governors of the ability to manage National Guard units within their states, it would risk fundamentally altering the Guard’s mission and identity, as well as set a concerning precedent whose impacts may be broader than anticipated.
    We recognize the urgency of the future threats facing our national security, and we support the Department of the Air Force’s efforts to prepare. We also believe that the desired end can be achieved through dialogue with affected states, without undermining the foundational principles that have guided the National Guard for over a century. This goal is shared by all 55 governors, who voiced their opposition to LP 480 in April letters to Secretary Austin. As this year’s NDAA process did not allow for amendment floor votes in the Senate, a companion measure with 32 bipartisan cosponsors was not able to be considered before the full chamber. To that end, we strongly urge the Senate and House Armed Services Committees to preserve the House-passed protections for governor oversight in the FY2025 NDAA.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Minister for Development speech at Chatham House

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    UK Minister for Development outlines a new “modern approach to development” in first major speech at Chatham House today

    It is an immense honour and privilege to be here today for the first time as Minister for Development and for Women and Equalities.

    Chatham House of course has a long history of being at the cutting edge of foreign policy and development thinking. It is the perfect place to share my vision for a modern approach to international development. I am delighted to see so many of you here, including so many of our partners – from Gates, to Gavi, to the Global Fund.

    I am proud to be able to say to you all – Britain is back on the world stage, with a minister at the top table, advocating for projects and assistance to advance that goal just mentioned of a world free from poverty on a liveable planet.

    [political content redacted]

    Today is the ‘International Day for the Eradication of Poverty’. Between the late 1990s and the early2020s, the world did make headway in lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Lives saved and lives changed.

    Many of these gains can never be undone. But as was mentioned the geopolitical challenges now are stark – and progress against the Sustainable Development Goals is stalling.

    We do live in a multipolar world with intense competition. We need to adapt and respond to to that world. The world is different – first – because over the last four years, the number of people in humanitarian need has doubled. A vicious cycle of an unprecedented profusion of conflicts and the climate crisis, which is now compounding the suffering of some of the most vulnerable people in the world. And many women, girls, and marginalised people are experiencing a devastating roll-back of hard-won rights, services, and democratic freedoms.

    I saw this first-hand during my recent trip to South Sudan. In the horrendous conditions of the camp in Bentiu for internally displaced people, I heard heart-breaking accounts from those who were forced to flee the brutal civil war in Sudan, as well as meeting people suffering from South Sudan’s own humanitarian emergency, caused by the legacy of civil war and the climate crisis.

    The conflict in Sudan has now forced more people from their homes than any other conflict – some ten million people. It has pushed nearly nine million people into emergency or famine levels of food insecurity, and as I raised at the UN last month – there is a real risk that without global action to prevent it, the worst famine in several generations could happen on the world’s watch.

    Around the globe, millions of people, who long to return home are beginning to despair that they ever will – including the Syrian refugees I met in Jordan, still there over a decade after they fled the conflict, and so many communities enduring such suffering – from the DRC, to Yemen, Ukraine, and Myanmar, to Gaza and the wider Middle East.

    In all this, political efforts have been vital to get aid in – including our reinstatement of £21m of UK funding to UNRWA, as the only Agency able to deliver at scale in Gaza, and the further £10-million of wider humanitarian support for Lebanon we announced earlier this month.

    By the end of this decade, unless more action is taken, some two-thirds of those living in extreme poverty will be living in fragile and conflict-affected states. At the same time courageous humanitarian aid workers on the front lines of getting help to them around the globe are under attack.

    We have a moral imperative to help turn things around. People everywhere – including the British people – understand instinctively that this is the right thing to do, Compassion, fairness, and refusing to look the other way when someone is in need are all British values. And action is in all our interests as well.

    The new government’s commitment to tackle irregular migration at source is important for those who would otherwise be forced to leave their homes, and important for people in the UK too. That is why, during the European Political Community meeting, the Prime Minister announced up to £84 million for projects across Africa and the Middle East – to address the factors that end up pushing people into small boats.

    The world is also changing because we see new leadership from the likes of President Lula of Brazil, and Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, on everything from reforming the global financial system, to tackling hunger and poverty around the world – through the emerging G20 Global Alliance for which I was so proud to announce UK support in Brazil.

    I have seen leadership among the women forest rangers who I met in Sulawesi in September. Visiting them gave me an inspiring reminder of the difference we can make to our planet and to peoples’ lives, when we work together as genuine partners – where action to preserve forests also promotes sustainable livelihoods, and where economic development goes hand in hand with combatting climate disaster.

    Today’s world is very different. But as our Foreign Secretary set out, our progressive, realistic approach draws on the same spirit that Ernest Bevin and Robin Cook animated and energised. For our country to once again lead on development, we will need a new, modern approach, based on genuine partnership, trust, and respect.

    It will mean recognising that for our partners, tackling the climate and nature crises is not separate from promoting economic growth and meeting humanitarian need, but intrinsic to both. And it will mean making good on our word, not leaving our partners high and dry and making the most of British talent and expertise to improve peoples’ lives, now and in the future.

    [political content redacted]

    We have to turn the page, if we are genuinely to work in partnership again. Consider that asylum costs, which have spiralled in recent years, at present account for almost 30% of our development spending while the backlog has soared, with people waiting years to receive a decision – which the Home Secretary is now taking action to rectify.

    Consider too that so much of our country’s current international climate finance commitment was backloaded into these final two years – but we are now committed to make good on the promise that the UK will get help to those who need it.

    [political content redacted]

    While we do not underestimate the significance or the complexity of these challenges in the shorter term. Neither should we underestimate our ability to respond under pressure in the long term. The UK has been ambitious on international development before. I am determined it will be again. Of course, that starts with boosting the effectiveness of our efforts.

    I want to thank everyone from the sector who fed into the White Paper, and the civil servants who worked so hard – and I want to reassure you that I value it, as a diagnosis of the problems we face and how UK development can help meet them.

    But I must be clear that we must now prioritise, and provide the strategy and the plan that has been lacking – and that is what I am now building. A core element of this is increasing our capability and capacity.

    The Development Review, led by Baroness Minouche Shafik, is about building on the breadth and depth of development experience, expertise, and innovation represented here today. In addition, we will work closely with the Independent Commission for Aid Impact – making sure our official development assistance reaches those who need it most, and where and when it is most effective.

    [political content redacted]

    Yet we must go further still if we are to shift our approach, quite determinedly – so it is truly modern. First and foremost – that means genuine partnership. Britain is back. Back in business. Back on the world stage.

    And back pursuing our mission of a world free from poverty, on a liveable planet. And my message is that we will work with others, in good faith, to build genuine partnership, underpinned by our respect for other governments, organisations, communities, and individuals.

    That means building shared plans for the future – not imposing our own, and – to quote the Prime Minister – listening a lot more, speaking a bit less.

    This is exactly the approach the Foreign Secretary is taking – as he recently set out so movingly in his speech at Kew Gardens, to friends from across the Commonwealth, and at the United Nations in New York.

    Currently, we are seeing those nations which were unable to industrialise bearing the brunt of the climate crisis – with a terrible cycle of floods, droughts, and hurricanes. Because climate and development are interlinked and interdependent, we will put tackling the climate and nature crisis at the heart of everything we do. Domestically, this government has an ambitious climate policy.

    The drive for cheaper, cleaner power, being led by Ed Miliband, will not only bring down bills here, help us achieve energy security, and meet our goals to decarbonise – it also gives us credibility and expertise abroad, as we lead the response to the climate and nature crisis both bilaterally and through multilateral organisations.

    Secondly – we will champion reform for a global, multilateral system that includes everyone, works for everyone, and is fit for the future.

    [political content redacted]

    That means not just listening to our partners, as a priority – but making sure we take action together. When it comes to the humanitarian and development system that is so stretched, we look forward to seeing Tom Fletcher making the most of his new role as UN Relief Chief, and to working with our partners to take a less siloed, more joined up approach – across everything from climate, to the needs of women and girls, to humanitarian relief.

    And when it comes to finance, time and again, we have heard from small islands and other vulnerable states, how difficult it is to access what they need to pursue their ambitions and priorities, escape the trap of unsustainable debt, and get on a sustainable footing.

    That is why, in his speech to the UN General Assembly, the Prime Minister set out the case for accelerating reform of the multilateral development banks, including shouldering more risk so they can unlock hundreds of billions of dollars so they can do more to unlock hundreds of billions of dollars and do more to build a more sustainable economy and help the poorest.

    Next week I will go to the World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington so they to press them to shoulder more risk so they can unlock the money that is so desperately needed. We will work with our partners – including fragile and climate vulnerable states to help them access more, better-quality, well-targeted, multiannual finance, including for adaptation, through a global financial system that is reformed and ready for the future, and through wider global forums where they have greater representation in the bodies that help shape our shared future – including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

    We will champion financial innovation – from the insurance and guarantees our partners are seeking, to the Climate Resilient Debt Clauses promoted by the UK, that we are calling on all creditors to offer in their current and future lending.

    Both within government and working with the financial services industry, we will make sure there is more to come – including helping countries tackle the barriers to investment that choke off the flow of private finance.

    On so many fronts, from trade to taxation – globally, momentum is now building for the sort of change we need to see, and we are committed to making the most of every opportunity to urge it ahead.

    That is why at the UN, the Prime Minister called on all donors to make the most of the International Development Association replenishment, as a critical milestone in the fight against poverty.

    It can be bigger, better, and help more people, especially those in fragile states and conflict zones. So, on that basis, under this new government, the UK will be ambitious too – increasing our pledge, and encouraging others to play their part. And as the Prime Minister highlighted at the UN in recent weeks, there are measures that we can crack on with right now, to unlock further resources for sustainability, resilience, and renewal – like a new levy on global shipping that takes account of the true cost of emissions, and puts the proceeds cutting them even further, and helping communities cope with their impacts.

    Third – we will make sure the UK’s expertise and ideas are at the heart of reliable development partnerships. When we work together across development and diplomacy, we maximise our impact – in everything from helping countries harness the opportunities of renewable energy, to reversing the vicious cycle of conflict, to empowering women and girls. This government will be proactive about all that the UK has to offer the world. Our country is brimming with talent and brilliance.

    We are home to research and innovation on everything from nutritious and resilient crops, to new medicines and vaccines, cleaner mining, and emerging technologies. We have world-class universities, finance institutions, and expertise in leveraging private capital into low-income emerging countries – including through BII.

    Both within government and in the City of London, we will make sure there is more to come, Including helping countries tackle the barriers that choke off the flow of private finance.

    We also of course harbour top-tier businesses ready to share their insights and innovation with peers around the world. And we harbour dedicated volunteers in everything from health to education, to search and rescue, to the protection of nature – and so much more.

    We are determined to put this talent and commitment to work, making sure we can connect British expertise and British solutions with international partners, in the spirit of collaboration and partnership.

    And as the Member of Parliament representing a large part of Oxford, a city full of people who have dedicated their entire working lives to serving others in need, this is personal priority for me.

    Fourthly – in doing all of this, the new government will be confident in publicly championing the power of international development – so we all feel the benefits of working together to make headway.

    At a time when the Prime Minister and Chancellor have set us all a challenge to grow our economy and bring opportunity to people across our country, we know our partners around the world share these goals for their countries and their people as well – from clean energy, to protecting and restoring nature – land and sea – and from trade, to tackling illicit finance.

    So that means no more apologising for making progress where we can, and more recognition that putting our best foot forward, in all we do at home and around the world, is in everyone’s best interests.

    Finally – I want to emphasise how much I look forward to working with all of you in the months and years ahead. In the last fourteen weeks, I have seen what development can achieve. From promoting green growth in Indonesia to helping keeping Syrian girls in school in Jordan, to promoting a literal life-line in South Sudan.

    I have seen how the UK can promote modern partnerships – at big global meetings from Rio to New York to Hamburg. And time and again, I have been reminded that as Mandela said, our human compassion binds us to one another, not in pity or paternalism, but in pursuit of our common purpose – of relieving suffering, and reinvigorating hope for our shared future by working towards it together.

    Mandela also said that together, as you all know, we could make poverty history. Well, much has changed since that time, twenty years ago, under a Labour government – for good and for bad.

    But it remains the case that the only way we can tackle shared challenges – from getting help to those in need, to preventing global health crises –i s by working towards it together.

    That is the only way we can make the most of shared opportunities – from reforming the global financial system, to healing the natural world. And that is the only way we can make good on the promises we have made at home as well – from the first duty of government to keep our nation safe, to our mission to grow our economy, so we bring opportunity to all.

    Sadly, there are forces hell-bent on setting the Global North in opposition to the Global South. Yet partnership is part and parcel of how we overcome them, and make sure that those of us who care about our shared future are able to work towards it together – ministers and civil servants, everyone here today, medics, firefighters, teachers volunteering their services, brave journalists, and people up and down our country – including our proud diasporas doing so much for our communities here and their families overseas.

    The British people understand this deeply, and it is extraordinary that even in such challenging times, people find a way to help – I have no doubt that the compassion of the British people will shine through once again now.

    Today, I am delighted to announce that the government will match public donations to a new Disaster Emergency Committee appeal, to help charities do more to get life-saving help to civilians caught up in the conflict in the Middle East, across Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, people who find themselves in desperate need of humanitarian relief. This support builds on the humanitarian aid this government has announced for Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, since July. We will match public donations to the new appeal up to £10 million – and together, we will make a difference.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: “We must show up for Black children in the youth justice system”

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Jacob Sakil, YJB Board Member and race champion reflects on Black History Month, identity, and how he’s showing up for Black children in youth justice.

    Jacob Sakil, YJB Board Member

    I moved from Brooklyn New York when I was 11 years old to Lewisham in South London. My mum was British and after she had my youngest brother decided she wanted us to move back to the UK. The first things I noticed were the differences in language, customs, and culture. My mother’s family heritage is from Jamaica and Cuba, and I was beginning to recognise the links between my identity and my Caribbean roots.  

    I wanted to understand the history of the UK and how it’s applied to my identity. What was interesting, is that Black British history was not covered in school in the same way I learnt about Black American history during my time at elementary school in the US. Some people don’t realise that Black British history is British history – it’s for everyone. It helps us to understand our past and recognise the impact of inequality and inequity, and to understand that children and young adults should be able to show up as their best selves without discrimination. 

    At home, my family would often watch the news together and we would discuss our opinions on things that were happening in the world and what needed to change to make things better and fairer. I loved this because when adults where exchanging ideas, my siblings and I were included. I suppose this is where my interest in social action and community stems from. Recognising that our ideas and dreams were just a valid as any adult’s. These interests led to me campaigning to become elected as the Young Mayor of Lewisham at just 16, and taking a greater role and a greater stake in my community. 

    As an adult, I enjoyed youth work; in fact, it became my passion. I was so motivated by how you could bring change for children and young adults. I wanted to inspire them to better understand their heritage and get a real sense of who they are. As a Black man, the importance of role models is important to me. For professionals in youth justice, those of us from Black communities, it’s vital to show up and show who we are and show our heritage, so children feel represented. It is also about occupying space and giving back to a society which at times may not have always been inclusive but has benefited from the duty and determination of people like the Windrush generation.  

    Becoming a YJB Board member

    This is what brought me to the Youth Justice Board. I wanted to be in spaces and places where decisions are being made and to use my identity and lived experiences to bring a greater impact and influence system change. I use my position on the Board as an opportunity to be reflective and demonstrate how we as professionals must show up for children. This coupled with still being an active Youth Worker is one way of staying grounded and remembering the best solutions come from collective and informed decision making. 

    Just last week I recorded a podcast for the YJB with Ricky Otto from Walsall. He works with children in custody and spoke at the Youth Justice Leaders’ Summit earlier this year. That conversation with him about his journey showed me the richness and importance of telling our stories, and reflected how through telling our stories we can create change within the youth justice system. Speaking to Ricky, I was inspired by his pride and his sense of purpose. The importance to him of fatherhood, and what this means to boys in custody was inspirational. He represents the impact and meaning of showing up in the lives of these children. If you get time, please do listen to the podcast.

    Jacob Sakil and Ricky Otto recording a podcast

    The statistics on overrepresentation of Black and Mixed heritage boys tell me that they are not being seen and not being supported. It is so important to allow the conversation of custody to widen and include a renewed focus on rehabilitation and prevention. We need to look towards their futures, their opportunities and at their potential. These boys are more than just numbers.  

    Black History Month, of all the months, is a great chance to reignite the conversation about what change looks like in the UK. It serves as an annual opportunity to deepen the impact of reflection and inform how we go forward. 

    I am proud to be a Black man. I am proud to work with children and young adults, and I am proud to be a YJB Board member. As part of my role on the Board, I am the lead for Equity Diversity and Inclusion. I am showing up for Black and Mixed heritage boys and girls who are overrepresented in the justice system and working to bring change. I am proud to do this because who we are, our identity and our heritage should and does reflect the richness and diversity of the communities we serve.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Things to Know: Personalizing your Home Décor with Music Frame

    Source: Samsung

    Next up in our “Things to Know” series, we’re pressing play on a closer look at Music Frame by Samsung, our new customizable speaker that doubles as a picture frame.
    With Music Frame, we’ve introduced an entirely new category of audio designed to make your favorite music or podcasts look as good as they sound. You can use it to display your printed photos or favorite artwork in an 8” by 8” inside the photo mat.1 It can operate as a standalone speaker using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth – and can even sync with your Samsung TV’s audio or soundbar for a more immersive, three-dimensional sound experience. No matter how you choose to use it – Music Frame can transform your living space, beautifully blending functionality and design.

    Make Music Frame Uniquely Yours
    You can easily swap out your favorite printed photos in the Music Frame – using it to showcase pictures from your summer travels, wedding snapshots, or even school graduation memories. Or, you could opt to turn your cherished moments or favorite art piece into a premium, custom 13”x13” acrylic Art Panel, provided exclusively by Shutterfly.2

    Music Frame comes with both a table stand, and wall mount fixture – so you can choose whether to hang it as part of a gallery wall, or set it on a bookshelf.
    New to Music Frame’s customization features is a White Bezel3 option. This White Bezel is magnetic, so you can easily snap it on and off as your aesthetic needs evolve. It provides another way for you to express your style, and curate your space.
    We’ve also introduced a new In-Wall Cable for Music Frame.4 You can use it to hide your power cable securely in your wall, minimizing clutter for a cleaner look that blends perfectly into your home design.

    For an entirely unique and enchanting Music Frame experience, you can also consider Music Frame WICKED Edition – created in partnership with Universal Pictures’ spectacular film adaptation of the spellbinding stage musical, Wicked. Experience magic unleashed with a Wicked edition Photo Frame and three photo cards featuring autographs and images of the film’s beloved characters, including one exclusive picture only available with Music Frame WICKED Edition. It’s also specially designed with a limited edition Wicked-themed bezel and customized Wicked-themed packaging. Sign up now to be notified when Music Frame WICKED Edition is available.

    Amplify Your Personality
    Packing four speakers and two subwoofers, Music Frame creates a rich, expansive sound that fills the room. You can hear balanced audio no matter where it’s setup in your space, thanks to its patented Wide Range Speaker Technology. It also offers multi-dimensional surround sound and a truly immersive listening experience with Dolby Atmos.5 Additionally, with SpaceFit Sound Pro, you get room-filling sound precisely tailored to your unique home. This feature enables Music Frame to analyze your environment and automatically optimize the audio for you, delivering accurate and clear sound.

    Create Perfect Harmony with Music Frame
    Music Frame can seamlessly connect to any TV, soundbar or smartphone via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, delivering powerful audio no matter your listening preference. Plus, Q-Symphony Technology unlocks an elevated audio experience when you sync Music Frame with your Samsung TV or soundbar. This feature synchronizes your audio across Samsung devices so your TV, soundbar and Music Frame speakers work together as one, providing a perfectly orchestrated experience that envelopes you in every scene or song.6 Streaming music from your Samsung phone to Music Frame is also just a tap away – with Tap Sound technology. Simply tap Music Frame with your phone7 – and start listening.

    Seamless Connections for Smart Integration
    Music Frame is designed with Alexa Built-In8 and supports Chromecast, Airplay, and more. That means you can effortlessly use it as a smart speaker with your favorite voice assistants and services. It can even serve as the centralized home hub to connect your devices and take control of your world. Simply setup Music Frame using the SmartThings app on your phone, and use it to instantly connect and begin controlling your smart home devices.

    Music Frame is available on Samsung.com, the Shop App, at Samsung Experience Stores, and at major carriers and retailers.
    For more information visit: https://www.samsung.com/us/

    1 Included mat holds photos 8″x10″ or 8″x8″; viewable area is 8″x8″.
    2 13”x13” Music Frame Art Panel sold separately. Available for purchase on Shutterfly.com/music-frame-art-panel.
    3 Music Frame sold separately.
    4 Music Frame sold separately. Installation should be performed in accordance with all applicable local, building and electrical codes and ordinances. Refer to the user manual for installation instructions.
    5 Requires compatible source content.
    6 Q-Symphony using the Music Frame is available only when connected with a (1) 2023-2024 Samsung TV, or (2) 2023-2024 Samsung TV and 2024 Samsung Soundbar.
    7 Tap sound is only compatible with select Samsung mobile devices, with Android 8.1 and above. Tap Sound requires SmartThings app to activate and set up. This service only works when Music Frame and mobile are on.
    8 Content Services may vary by region & are subject to change without notification. Amazon, Alexa, and all related logos are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI Russia: We Can Do Better

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    October 17, 2024

    Thank you, Andrea, for your kind words. And thanks to all of you for coming.

    Five years ago in this hall I delivered my first curtain-raiser as head of the IMF.

    At that time my main concern was a synchronized slowdown in global growth. Only months later it paled in comparison with the sudden shock of the pandemic, followed by other dramatic events—the tragic wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the cost-of-living crisis, and a further fracturing of the global economy.

    Next week, the world’s finance ministers and central bank governors will converge here to reflect on where we are, where we are headed, and what to do about it. Let me offer you a preview of what this conversation will look like.

    First, we will cherish the good news—and rightly so, because we haven’t had much of it lately. The big global inflation wave is in retreat. A combination of resolute monetary policy action, easing supply chain constraints, and moderating food and energy prices is guiding us back in the direction of price stability.

    And this has been done without tipping the global economy into recession and large-scale job losses—something we saw during the pandemic and after past inflation episodes, and which many feared we would see again. Both the US and euro area labor markets, to take two examples, are cooling in an orderly manner.

    This is a big achievement.

    Where did this resilience come from? Answer: from strong policy and institutional foundations built over time, and from international policy cooperation as countries learned to act fast and act together. We are benefiting from central bank independence in advanced economies and many emerging markets; years of prudential reforms in banking; progress made in building fiscal institutions; and capacity development worldwide.

    But, despite the good news, don’t expect any victory parties next week—for at least three reasons:

    • For one thing, inflation rates may be falling, but the higher price level that we feel in our wallets is here to stay. Families are hurting, people are angry. Advanced economies saw inflation rates at once-in-a-generation highs. So too did many emerging market economies. But look how bad the situation was for the low-income countries. At the country level and at the level of individuals, inflation always hits the poor the hardest.
    • Even worse, we are in a difficult geopolitical environment. We are all very worried about the expanding conflict in the Middle East and its potential to destabilize regional economies and global oil and gas markets. Its humanitarian impact, alongside the prolonged wars in Ukraine and elsewhere, is heartbreaking.
    • And on top of it all, this is happening at a time when our forecasts point to an unforgiving combination of low growth andhigh debt—a difficult future.

    Let’s take a closer look: medium-term growth is forecast to be lackluster—not sharply lower than pre-pandemic, but far from good enough. Not enough to eradicate world poverty. Nor to create the number of jobs we require. Nor to generate the tax revenues that governments need to service heavy debt loads while attending to vast investment needs, including the green transition.

    The picture is made more troubling by high and rising public debt—way higher than before the pandemic, even after the brief but significant fall in debt-to-GDP as inflation lifted nominal GDP. And do please notice the shaded area in the chart—what it shows is that, in a severe but plausible adverse scenario, debt could climb some 20 percentage points of GDP above our baseline.

    What does this mean for “fiscal space”? To answer this, let’s look at the share of government revenue consumed by interest payments. This is where high debt, high interest rates, and low growth come together—because it is growth that generates the revenues governments need to function and invest. As debt increases, fiscal space contracts disproportionately more in low-income countries—not all debt burdens are made the same.

    And fiscal space keeps shrinking. Just look at the frightening evolution of the interest-to-revenue ratio over time. We can immediately see how the tough spending choices have become tougher with higher debt payments. Schools or climate? Digital connectivity or roads and bridges? That is what it comes down to.

    To make matters worse, we live in deeply troubled times. The peace dividend from the end of the Cold War is increasingly at risk. In a world of more wars and more insecurity, defense expenditures may well keep rising while aid budgets fall further behind the growing needs of developing countries.

    Not only is development assistance too small, but major players, driven by national security concerns, are increasingly resorting to industrial policy and protectionism, creating one trade restriction after another. Going forward, trade will not be the same engine of growth as before. It is the fracturing I warned of back in 2019—but worse. It is like pouring cold water on an already-lukewarm world economy.

    My message today: we can do better.

    As Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank and my dear colleague from across the street, likes to say: forecasts are not destiny. There is plenty we can and must do to lift our growth potential, reduce debt, and build a more resilient world economy.

    Let me start with the domestic agenda. Governments must work to reduce debt and rebuild buffers for the next shock—which will surely come, and maybe sooner than we expect. Budgets need to be consolidated—credibly, yet gradually in most countries. This will involve difficult choices on how to raise revenues and make spending more efficient, while also making sure that policy actions are well-explained to earn the trust of the people.

    Here is the problem though: fiscal restraint is never popular. And, as a new paper by IMF staff shows, it’s only getting harder. Across a wide sample of countries, political discourse increasingly favors fiscal expansion. Even the traditionally fiscally conservative political parties are developing a taste for borrow-to-spend. Fiscal reforms are not easy, but they are necessary and they can enhance inclusion and opportunity. Countries have shown that it can be done.

    Ultimately, over the medium term, growth is key—to deliver jobs, tax revenues, fiscal space, and debt sustainability. Everywhere I go, I hear the same: an aspiration for higher growth and better opportunities. The question is: how?

    Answer: focus on reforms—there is no time to waste:

    • First area of reforms: make job markets work for people. We confront a world of deeply uneven demography: surging young populations in some places, aging societies elsewhere. Economic migration can help, but only up to a point given the anxieties in many countries. So too can supportive steps to help get more women into the workforce. Above all, there is a need for reforms to enhance skill sets and match the right people to the right jobs.
    • Second area: mobilize capital. There is an abundance of it globally, but often not in the right places or right types of investments—just think of all the money from all corners of the globe poured into liquid but less-productive assets in a few major financial centers. Putting savings to work for maximum economic benefit requires policymakers to focus on eliminating barriers such as weak investment environments and shallow capital markets. Financial sector oversight must not only ensure stability and resilience, but also encourage prudent risk-taking and value creation.
    • Third area: enhance productivity. This is what yields more output per unit of input, and there are many ways to raise it, from improving governance and institutions to cutting red tape to harnessing the power of AI. More and better spending on education and R&D help. Among advanced economies, those that lead on innovation show what works: venture capital industries, ecosystems that bring not only financing but knowledge, advice, and professional networks—screening new ideas, identifying winners, feeding them from birth to graduation. There are many lessons for others to learn.

    Globally, the pace of reforms has been slowing since the global financial crisis as discontent has risen.

    But progress is possible. A new IMF study shows that resistance to reforms is often driven by beliefs and misperceptions about the reforms themselves as well as the distributional effects. Reforms are best developed through two-way dialogue with the public, with measures to mitigate the impact on those who risk losing out. We have learnt how much this matters.

    As policymakers pursue reforms at home, they must also look outward.

    There is much that countries can do together as members of an integrated economic community, each benefitting from its own comparative advantage.

    The forces of technology, trade, and capital mobility have delivered a hugely valuable degree of interconnectedness.

    Yet still, we live in a mistrustful, fragmented world where national security has risen to the top of the list of concerns for many countries. This has happened before—but never in a time of such high economic co-dependence.

    My argument is that we must not allow this reality to become an excuse to do nothing to prevent a further fracturing of the global economy. Quite the opposite. My appeal during these Annual Meetings will be: let us work together, in an enlightened way, to lift our collective prospects.

    Let us not take the global tensions as given, but rather resolve to work to lower the geopolitical temperature and attend to the tasks that can only be tackled together:

    • Exhibit one: trade, which has lowered prices, improved quality, and created jobs. Thus far, trade has shown remarkable resilience in the face of new barriers, often flowing around them via third countries. But such redirection is not efficient, nor can we assume it will continue indefinitely. Countries would do well to recognize that the rules-based global trading system delivered many benefits and is worth preserving.
    • Two: climate, where we face an existential challenge, with countries that contributed the least to global emissions now first to suffer. Unexpectedly fast global warming should be ringing alarm bells. The glaciers are melting, the icecaps crumbling. Adverse weather events have telegraphed a frightening message from the future. We know what we must do: create fiscal space for the green transition, eliminate fossil-fuel subsidies, and get capital to where it is most needed. But we must do it!
    • Three: artificial intelligence, our single best shot at higher productivity. IMF research finds that AI, if managed well, has the potential to lift world growth by up to 0.8 percentage points—with that alone, we would go to a higher growth path than in the years before the pandemic. Yet AI is urgently in need of regulatory and ethical codes that are fundamentally global. Why? Because AI is borderless—it is already on smartphones everywhere. We better hurry. This technology will not wait!

    In all these areas and many more, the bottom line is that countries need to relearn how to work together. And institutions like the IMF—born from the basic idea that pooling resources together is efficient—play a vital role.

    In my first term as Managing Director—an unprecedented crisis period—we acted decisively to help our membership. We provided one trillion dollars’ worth of liquidity, and we delivered critical economic analysis and advice that helped policymakers synchronize their actions.

    Now, in the first days of my second term we have delivered again.

    Our Executive Board, in full consensus, has just approved important reforms that reinforce our strong financial position and directly benefit our membership. We are reducing charges and surcharges on our regular lending, and putting in place a comprehensive package that secures our concessional lending capacity to support low-income countries.

    And on November 1 our Board will welcome a third Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, ensuring more voice for what has been an underrepresented region.

    Combined with the fifty percent quota increase agreed at our last Annual Meetings, these actions give us the strength to continue to deliver high value-added to a membership that engages not out of charity but self-interest.

    It is the value we bring to our members that has resulted in our membership growing—and on that note, a very warm welcome to the Principality of Liechtenstein as it joins us as our 191st member!

    From our founding at Bretton Woods in the dark days of 1944 to today, the IMF has established a tradition of adapting to the changing world around it. Today, I give you my word: this will continue. We will stand with our members, always looking for the most impactful ways to serve.

    By the time I complete my second term at the helm of the IMF, I will have led it for most of this decade. And if I were granted one wish, it would simply be this: let not this decade be remembered as one where we allowed conflict to get in the way of existential tasks, storing up vast costs and potential calamity for those to follow. Let it be remembered as a time when we rose above our differences for the good of all.

    For our mutual prosperity—and ultimately for our survival—I say we can do better: let there be peace on earth and a revival of cooperation.

    Thank you!

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Mayada Ghazala

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    @IMFSpokesperson

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/10/17/sp101724-annual-meetings-2024-curtain-raiser

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: CNO Press Briefing: Atlantic Council

    Source: United States Navy

    GENERAL JAMES L. JONES: Good morning, everybody. And welcome to today’s event with Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti—chief of naval operations of the world’s finest Navy, I might add—to discuss her 2024 Navigation Plan for America’s Warfighting [Navy].

    My name is Jim Jones, and I serve as executive chairman emeritus here at the Atlantic Council and as chairman of the Scowcroft Center. So, on behalf of the Scowcroft Center and the Atlantic Council, as well as its Forward Defense Program, I would like to welcome you to this exciting fourth installment of our 2024 Commander Series.

    As we all know, since its origin the United States has relied on her Navy to maintain global maritime dominance, ensuring freedom of navigation, the ability to project US power across the globe and played a critical role in the nation’s strategic deterrent capabilities. As we continue into this era of strategic competition with peer or near-peer adversaries, potential adversaries, namely China and Russia, and the threat landscape evolves, the Navy faces many challenges, and its capabilities are stretched across the world.

    The Navy, and I might add the Marine Corps—you’re not going to get away with a commandant introducing you without mentioning the Marine Corps—but the Navy and her Marines must be ready for the possibility of war in the near future. But beyond that, it will need to continue to enhance its long-term advantage to deter future aggression and ensure a major contribution to global stability. A critical component in the effectiveness of this strategy will be leveraging technological innovation to maintain a ready and modern force. The Navy will need to invest in newer platforms, newer weapon systems, and embrace robotic and autonomous systems as well.

    The key advantage that the United States holds over its adversaries is the strong alliance network the US maintains. The Navy must continue to strengthen these relationships, to enhance collective security, deter adversarial aggression by improving interoperability with joint and allied forces. With so many threats looming on the not-so-distant horizon, it is also imperative that the Navy has a forward-thinking strategic vision that leverages all the advantages the United States holds, and enables the readiness to respond in competition, crisis, and conflict if necessary.

    And so today, we’re extremely fortunate to be joined by the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, who will discuss her recently published Navigation Plan for America’s Warfighting Navy. This is her strategic guidance for the US fleet during her tenure. A native of Pittsford, New York, Admiral Franchetti is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism and was commissioned through Northwestern University NROTC program in 1985. She earned her Surface Warfare qualification on the USS Shenandoah, went on to command at all levels, including Naval Reserve, Central Point, Oregon, USS Ross, Destroyer Squadron 21, US Naval Forces Korea, Carrier Strike Group 9 and 15, the US Sixth Fleet in Italy, and Striking and Support Forces NATO in Portugal.

    In addition to command, she has worked across the Navy and the joint force with emphasis on strategy, international engagement, and interagency collaboration, serving as the director Strategy, Plans, and Policy, J-5, and most recently as the vice chief of naval operations. As chief of naval operations, Admiral Franchetti is responsible for the command, use of resources, and operational efficiency of the naval operating forces and the Navy’s shore activities assigned by the secretary of the navy.

    Admiral Franchetti, we look forward to hearing from you today, and we’re very grateful for your presence here. After the admiral’s keynote remarks, she will be joined by Dan Lamothe for a moderated discussion. Dan has held a long career as a journalist and has written extensively about the armed forces for more than fifteen years. Since 2014, he has been covering the United States military and the Pentagon for The Washington Post. Dan, thank you very much for joining us today.

    I would also like to thank everyone attending this conversation with the admiral, whether in person or virtually. [Convenings] such [as] these are integral to the Atlantic Council’s [Scowcroft] Center for Strategy and Security, which works to develop sustainable, nonpartisan strategies to address the most important security challenges facing the United States and her allies and partners. Consistent with that mission, Forward Defense generates ideas and connects stakeholders in the defense ecosystem to promote an enduring military advantage for the United States, her allies, and partners. Its work identifies the defense strategies, capabilities, and resources of the United States needed to deter and, if necessary, prevail in any future conflict.

    I would like to extend a special thanks to Saab Corporation and Michael Anderson, who, unfortunately, couldn’t be here today but is usually in attendance. Saab and the Atlantic Council launched the Commander Series back in 2009. The vision was to establish a flagship speakers forum for senior military and defense leaders to discuss the most important security challenges, both now and in the future. Over the years, the program has become one of the Council’s main institutions. And we’re thankful to Saab for their continued support and collaborations. Before I turn it over to Admiral Franchetti for her keynote remarks, I’d like to remind everybody that this event is public and on the record. Thank you all for joining the Atlantic Council for what I know will be a captivating conversation.

    Admiral Franchetti, without any further ado, the floor is yours. Welcome.

    LISA FRANCHETTI: Well, thank you, General Jones, for your kind introduction and warm welcome. And I also want to thank the Atlantic Council for letting me be part of the Commander Series. It’s an incredible opportunity. And I’m very excited to have the opportunity to speak with all of you today.

    So, as General Jones just mentioned, I recently released my Navigation Plan for America’s Warfighting Navy, which is my overarching strategic guidance to the Navy to make our nation’s fleet more ready for potential conflict with the PRC by 2027, while also enhancing our Navy’s long-term warfighting advantage. But before I talk a little bit more about that, I want to talk about the why—the why behind the NAVPLAN, and what your navy is doing all around the world to protect our nation’s security and prosperity, to deter any would-be adversary, and to always be ready to fight and win decisively, if called to do so.

    As you all know, our Navy—our nation is and always has been a maritime nation. Seventy percent of our planet is made up of water. Eighty percent of the world’s population lives within two hundred kilometers of the coastline. Ninety percent of the global economy moves by sea. And 95 percent of international communications and about ten trillion dollars of financial transactions transit via undersea fiber optic cables every single day. In the United States alone, seaborn trade carries more tonnage in value than any other mode of transportation each year, generating about $5.4 trillion annually and supporting thirty-one million American jobs. And when our access to the sea is impacted, so too is our economy, our national security, and really our way of life.

    And I could think about a lot of different examples over the past years that demonstrate that intimate connection. Just think back to the impacts of COVID-19, the grounding of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal, and now Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, and even the port strikes on the east and west coast—gulf coast just a few weeks ago. It’s really clear that the seas are the lifeblood of our nation. And since the days of the Revolutionary War, as General Jones pointed out, our Navy and our Marine Corps team has protected and guaranteed our access to that sea. And on Sunday, we just celebrated our 249th birthday.

    I think the events of this year and the actions taken by your Navy-Marine Corps team in the Indo-Pacific, in the Mediterranean, in the Red Sea, and beyond really underscore the enduring importance of American naval power throughout our nation’s history. With an average of about 110 ships and seventy thousand sailors and Marines deployed on any given day, the Navy-Marine Corps team is operating forward, defending our homeland, and keeping open the sea lines of communication that fuel our economy. In the Indo-Pacific right now, the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group and the America Amphibious Readiness Group, with the 31st MEU embarked, are working alongside allies and partners to sustain a free and open regional order and enhance our collective interoperability.

    In the Baltic, the Atlantic, the high north, and the Mediterranean, our navies continue to work alongside NATO and other partner navies to defend NATO and to support Ukraine as they defend their country and their democracy, to further deter Russian aggression, and to ensure that Russia’s continued unjustified and horrific invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine is a strategic failure. And in the eastern Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the western Indian Ocean, our naval forces—including aircraft carrier strike groups, amphibious readiness groups, submarines and multiple destroyers—working alongside allies and partners, are containing the Israel-Hamas conflict, deterring others, especially Iran and its proxies, from escalating hostilities into regional war, and continuing to support Israel’s defense.

    Over the last few weeks, more American destroyers—the Bulkeley, the Frank E. PetersenMichael Murphy, and the Cole—have joined about a dozen other naval assets over the last year in knocking down Iranian and Houthi-launched ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones in defense of the rules-based international order, in defense of innocent civilian mariners, and in defense of Israel. The ability of our forces to seamlessly operate in any theater speaks to the value our Navy has provided to our nation for the last 249 years.

    We operate in a unique domain. It’s a domain that knows no boundaries. It’s a domain that transcends lines that are drawn on a map, and one in which the Navy provides agile, flexible options and decision space to our nation’s leaders every single day. I could not be more proud of that Navy team. It’s the active and reserve sailors. It’s our civilians. And it’s our families. There’s no other Navy in the world that can operate at this scale. No other Navy in the world can train, deploy, and sustain such a lethal, globally deployed, combat credible force at the pace, the scale, and the tempo that we do.

    And while all that we have achieved these past 249 years has filled me with confidence, I know that we cannot take our foot off the gas, because there’s no doubt that our nation is at an inflection point in history. We are facing a changing and challenging security environment, a changing character of war, and real challenges in ship, submarine, aircraft, construction and maintenance, munitions production, recruiting, and infrastructure maintenance. All while acknowledging the industrial and budgetary constraints complicating our efforts to address these challenges.

    I’ve already talked a little bit about the security environment, but I want to expand on how that’s changed a little bit more. As we are seeing, the rules-based international order that we have upheld, protected, and defended for over three-quarters of a century is under threat, in every ocean. The People’s Republic of China is our pacing challenge and presents a complex, multi-domain and multi-axis threat. I am eyes wide open that the challenge posed by the PRC to our Navy goes well beyond just the size of the PLAN fleet.

    It includes gray zone and economic campaigns, expansion of dual-use infrastructure like airfields and ports, and dual-use forces like the Chinese maritime militia, and a growing nuclear arsenal. It’s backed by a massive defense industrial base, which is on a wartime footing and includes the world’s largest shipbuilding capacity. The growing capabilities, capacity, and reach of the PRC military, along with its increasingly aggressive behavior in the East and South China Seas, underscore what Chairman Xi has told his forces, that they should be ready for war by 2027.

    The PRC is not our only competitor. Russia continues to be an acute threat. Iran, a stabling actor in the Middle East. And we are seeing increasing alignment of these competitors, the PRC, Russia, Iran, North Korea, violent extremist organizations, and globally sponsored terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, ISIS-K, and more. In addition to this dynamic security environment, we’re also facing a changing character of war, with advancements in battlefield innovation and cheaper, more accessible technology available to state and nonstate actors alike. We’re all learning a great deal from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the continued Houthi ballistic missile, cruise missile, and drone attacks in the Red Sea.

    To get after all these challenges, I would love to have the resources and the industrial base capacity to just expand the size of our force overnight. And I acknowledge the need for a larger, more lethal force. But it’s no secret to any of you that we are facing financial and industrial headwinds at getting, what I like to call, more players on the field. Our budget falls short of the 3 to 5 percent increase above inflation needed to support the Navy’s growth. And we’ve had continuing resolutions for fourteen of the past fifteen years, which stifle our momentum and slow any progress in delivering the warfighting capability and capacity needed to meet the needs of today and tomorrow.

    And while we’re investing significant resources to address our industrial base challenges, change will not happen overnight. We cannot manifest a bigger Navy—a bigger traditional Navy in just a few short years. So as I came into this position, I took all of this in—the changing security environment, the changing character of war, and our own challenges—and that is what provided the context that framed my Navigation Plan. It’s a plan that lays out where we need to go to make our Navy more ready for potential conflict anytime and anywhere. As the CNO who will be at the helm into 2027, I am compelled to do more, and do more faster, to ensure that our Navy is more ready. I can’t stand still as we work to secure long-term investments for our force.

    And so my Navigation Plan essentially parks these known challenges in a box. I’m still going to work on them, but they’re not the only thing I’m going to think about. And it helps me set a course to make strategic gains in the fastest time possible with the resources I can influence. It builds on America’s Warfighting Navy, a document that I released in January that lays out my priorities of warfighting, warfighters, and the foundation that supports them. And the NAVPLAN continues where my predecessor’s 2022 NAVPLAN left off. It lays out my plan to raise our fleet’s baseline level of readiness and put more players on the field—platforms that are ready with the requisite capabilities, weapons, and sustainment, and people that are ready with the right mindset, skills, tools, and training.

    And it does that really in two ways. First, by implementing what I call Project 33, seven key areas in which we need to accelerate, areas where I will invest my personal time and resources and put my thumb on the scale to urgently move the needle, with 2027 as our North Star. And second, by expanding the Navy’s contribution to the joint warfighting ecosystem. This is all about building enduring warfighting advantage by investing in key capabilities and creating the layered effects that the Navy can contribute across all domains, to those of the joint force and those of our allies and partners. This is fundamental to my vision of how we will deter and, if necessary, fight and win our future wars.

    So, going back to the first I’d like to briefly just touch on these seven equally important Project 33 targets, as they align to my priorities of warfighting, warfighters, and the foundation that supports them.

    Under warfighting, my first target is readying our platforms.

    The second target is operationalizing robotic and autonomous systems.

    My third target is fighting from the Maritime Operations Center. That’s our command and control nerve center and it will help synchronize how we deliver effects as a Navy and as a broader joint and combined force.

    Under the warfighters’ bucket, my fourth target is recruiting and retaining talented people.

    My fifth target is delivering the quality of service that our sailors and their families deserve.

    My sixth target is investing in warfighter competency, making our live virtual constructive training as reliable, realistic, and as relevant as possible.

    And finally in the foundation bucket, my seventh target is restoring the critical infrastructure that generates, sustains, and postures our force to fight, prioritizing the Pacific theater.

    Together, these seven targets—really, stretch goals—they represent my plan to make strategic gains in the fastest time possible with the resources I can influence. I know that moving out with purpose and urgency on these targets will deter the PRC and any other potential adversary, and make us even more ready to fight and win decisively should that deterrence fail.

    I’d like to end with just a few comments about the joint warfighting ecosystem I mentioned before because my Navigation Plan is critical to expanding our Navy’s contribution to it. I know that our Navy will never fight alone, so we are laser-focused on developing and integrating key Navy capabilities with those of our joint teammates and of our allies and partners, because it’s the aggregate effects that we deliver collectively that will matter.

    The joint warfighting ecosystem is all about pooling and creating those aggregate effects. It’s a system in which a capability enables and then is enabled by each of its participants. It’s on display in the Middle East right now, and I know it’s one that Admiral Paparo will leverage in the Indo-Pacific.

    Achieving these objectives in my Navigation Plan is an all-hands-on-deck effort where everyone has a role to play—industry, Congress, academia, our joint teammates, our allies and partners, and of course our sailors and our civilians. So I would like to thank all of you here for your interest in our Navy, and I would like to thank you for all that you have done to support our Navy team and will continue to do in the future to support America’s warfighting Navy.

    I have a clock in my office that tells me that there are 807 days left until 1 January 2027. There is no time to waste, and your Navy is ready to get after it. Thank you very much, and I look forward to discussion today. Thank you.

    Dan.

    DAN LAMOTHE: All right. Good morning, everyone.

    LISA FRANCHETTI: Good morning.

    DAN LAMOTHE: Thank you for your time today, ma’am.

    You just spent several minutes articulating your plan. I know you must have spent a lot of time planning that. This town often sees plans that run into headwinds, run into real-life events. Can you walk us through a bit what you think you can do to make this plan durable, make this happen, kind of clear-eyed, noting the headwinds, the budgetary constraints, and other things like that?

    LISA FRANCHETTI: Yeah. Well, thank you. And again, thanks for the chance to talk a little bit about the plan today.

    You know, I think this plan is a little bit different from some of the plans that we have had in the past, and I worked to make sure that it would be durable and it would stick. And I really spent about the last year working on this plan alongside all of our four-star commanders, our fleet commanders, our type commanders to really get after what are the things that we need to do and what we do we need to do to think, act, and operate differently to stay ahead of the challenges that we have with the resources that we can influence right now.

    And so when you look at the plan, it’s very focused—I would say it’s different in a few ways from previous plans.

    First, it’s focused on 2027. It’s focused on the PRC. So I’ve set my priorities, my sight. It’s narrowly focused on getting after those challenges.

    The other thing is that it really builds on Navigation Plan 2022, in which we had about eighteen different areas which we were really focused on and a lot of structure was put in place with single accountable individuals to drive progress in each one of those areas. I took a look, I took a fix, and I said, all right, here’s where we are based on NAVPLAN 2022, and here are seven areas where I think we can really put our foot on the gas and accelerate our progress in those to be real gamechangers in what we need to be able to do in the future.

    I think the last thing I would say what’s different about it is that it does have this single accountable individual responsible for each one of the targets that we’re trying to get after. And what we’ve found through our perform-to-plan and naval sustainment systems, processes have been put in place, if you have a stretch goal, a single accountable individual, and a cadence of accountability, that drives success.

    And the Navigation Plan will change my focus. It changes where I go, what I visit, what reports I get, what meetings I go to. And so my personal attention will be on these Project 33 goals as well as building the capabilities I talk about as the key capabilities for warfighting advantage that will get us where we need to be in the future.

    DAN LAMOTHE: OK. One of your stated goals is boosting surge readiness to 80 percent. I know talking to a lot of analysts in this town, they raise concerns whether real-life events, physics, other things would really challenge this. And I know you’ve raised previously the aircraft as a kind of parallel. Do you see 80 percent as aspirational, achievable, both? And I guess, how do you put your foot on the gas with that?

    LISA FRANCHETTI: Thanks. This is one of the most important—all seven are equally important, but you know, I’ve long said that we need to get more players on the field. There’s a lot of ways to do that. You know, one is to buy new ones. One is to get them in and out of maintenance on time, which is—that’s why I put this goal in here. One is to use what you have differently.

    I am focused on this, because the aviation example is really illustrative of what we know we can achieve. So in 2018, Secretary Mattis challenged our aviation community to get F/A-18 readiness up from 50 percent readiness/availability to 80 percent. And over the process of these—the last couple of years, and now six years on, we’ve been able to sustain 80 percent readiness in the F/A-18s because of the processes that we put in place, data-driven, daily drumbeats of accountability to make sure that we understood what the readiness was, what the barriers were to achieving that readiness, and moving forward.

    They’ve been able to scale that now through other type model series, and we’ve expanded it to the submarine force and also the surface force. So it’s a stretch goal, but I am committed and the team is committed to going after that stretch goal. So we are putting all those—we have, actually, all those processes in place now, and I’m really looking forward to that.

    I will just give another example, a metric in surface that might be useful. So, you know, on-time completion of maintenance availabilities is really important. So if you think back in 2022 we had about 27 percent completion on time, 2023 we moved it up into the 30 percents, and this year we’ll be up to 67 percent. So we put in a lot of procedures to be able to plan maintenance availabilities early in a surface, a submarine, and aviation, making sure we understand what parts we need, having available pool of parts, investing in those parts so they can be there on time; planning our stuff—maintenance availabilities at least six months ahead of time and locking them in to let industry know what’s coming and also get those parts on order. Those are some of the things we’re doing.

    So these are stretch goals, but I am confident that we’re going to work hard to get after them. And if we don’t make exactly 80 percent, we’re going to be farther along the road than we would be if I hadn’t set such an ambitious goal.

    DAN LAMOTHE: OK.

    LISA FRANCHETTI: And I will say all the communities are locked hands on these goals, so we are all committed to working together to get after them.

    DAN LAMOTHE: A lot of discussions about the future of the Navy tend to focus on ship numbers. I heard in your comments there you kind of addressed that head on. To what do you—what degree do you consider that construct limiting, and to what degree do you consider that construct necessary? You know, I—there’s a pragmatic aspect to this, but numbers are numbers, and I’m sure that’s something that you get an earful on a lot as well.

    LISA FRANCHETTI: Certainly. Well, I fully acknowledge that we need a larger, more lethal Navy. You know, we have multiple assessments that say that we need to have a larger Navy, and I really want to work closely, you know, with Congress, with industry to be able to deliver that Navy that we need. And that’s a really important thing.

    But the size of the Navy is not the only thing that matters. I think if you look at that future warfighting ecosystem, it’s really about the effects you can deliver with that Navy from a widely dispersed, disaggregated force integrated with all of the other forces of our joint force, whether it’s cyber, space, Air Force, Army, Marines. You can definitely envision a different type of warfighting environment where all of those effects are layered together, and that is really how we’re going to beat any adversary.

    So, to me, it’s both. We need to focus on getting the fleet that we need with the capabilities we need, but we also need to understand how we’re going to better integrate them with the joint force and alongside our allies and partners. And really, how do we build that interoperability from the ground up with allies and partners through both weapons systems but also exercises, and make sure that we can really plug and play, plug and fight any time that we need to be able to do that?

    DAN LAMOTHE: OK. Thank you.

    Let’s talk some current ops and maybe tie it back to the plan a bit. The Navy’s been extremely busy in the Red Sea and other parts of the Middle East over the last year. You know, I think a lot of us are tracking ship movements and things like that on a level that, you know, is not always common. What is the service learning as a result as seemingly almost daily sailors are knocking, you know, munitions out of the sky? And how long do you think the service can keep this up? It seems to me that there would be concern as this stretches on on magazine depth and also on just, you know, as you’re trying to pivot elsewhere this seemingly doesn’t go away.

    LISA FRANCHETTI: Well, first, I couldn’t be more proud of our Navy and Marine Corps team that’s out there. As I said earlier, you know, from day one we’ve been there to deter further escalation. And you know, I’m very proud of all of our ships—working alongside allies and partners, I would add—there in the Red Sea and in the—in the Indian Ocean to really uphold that rules-based international order.

    I think we’re learning a lot by being in the Red Sea. First, the value of allies and partners. And again, all of these exercises and training that we do all around the world, that’s enabled us to work together to get after this challenge.

    I would say a few other things. First, that our sailors are confident in their weapons system. And that’s really a testament to the development of these weapons systems over the last many years, but also to the training, the certification, all of the work we do to get our sailors, our ships, our aircraft, everything ready to go before they head into harm’s way. And our systems have performed as designed. So, again, it’s a real testament to the designers, the engineers, and now our people who are able to employ them effectively.

    I think the other thing that we’re learning is that we’ve been able to observe all of the different engagements, everything that the Houthis have used, all of their Iranian-supplied weapons systems, and we’ve been able to look at their tactics that they’re using. We’ve been able to use data and extract that information from our weapons systems, bring that back here to the US in a matter of hours. And getting that to our engineers; to our warfighting development centers where they develop tactics, techniques, and procedures; this has been really a gamechangers because then all the experts can work together, understand what’s going on. As tactics evolve, then we can introduce different tactics, adjustments to radars, whatever it is we need to do to be able to get after that.

    I’ll just give a small example. When I was out visiting one of our ships, I got to promote a fire controlman second class to first class. And he was a technician who worked with a gun weapons system, and he had an idea about how he could make the gun more effective against Houthi threats. And he wrote up his idea, he sent it back to the technical authorities, they validated it, and they put it out the rest of the fleet because it was a better way to use the gun and more effective. And so we got to put technology into the hands of a warfighter; we got him to think about how to think, act, and operate differently; and he was really a pioneer in innovating there on the battlefield.

    I always like to say in Ukraine they innovate on the battlefield every single day. They take what they have and they use it differently. We need to be able to do the same. So I think that’s another lesson that we’ve learned there.

    DAN LAMOTHE: OK.

    LISA FRANCHETTI: And to your last point about, you know, are we concerned about our sustainability to be there, of course, our job is to be there, and that is what we train our people to do. So I’m very proud to be able to do that mission. And we’re continuing to work, again, to invest in the munitions as I talk about the foundation—munitions, bases, infrastructure—all those things we need to generate and sustain the force, committed to getting after that.

    DAN LAMOTHE: All right.

    And I think we have just time for one more question. We’ve seen the Abraham Lincoln Strike Group extended. We’ve seen the Marine Expeditionary Unit extended along with the ARG. As we see this extend, you know, it occurs to me we don’t necessarily have a follow-on ARG new behind it. To what degree are you concerned about being able to sustain the tempo out there?

    LISA FRANCHETTI: Well, as you know, we train, deploy, and certify all of our forces to be able to meet the requirements that are set forth, you know, by the secretary. We’re a globally deployed force, and I think that’s one of the greatest things about the flexibility of our Navy. We can generate the forces, we can send them where they need to go, and allow the secretary to be able to move them between the different theaters to get after the missions that we have. So I’m confident in our ability to do that.

    I am very focused on readiness for all of our ships. You know, when you think about in the big picture what are my priorities, first, Columbia, our number-one acquisition priority. But after that, readiness, capability, and then capacity. I’m really focused on readiness and getting after all of these maintenance challenges that have caused some of the delays in the past, whether it’s in our amphibious force or in any one of our platforms. So, again, that’s how we’re going to get after this. And that’s why that’s a key part of our Navigation Plan.

    DAN LAMOTHE: OK. Thank you all for your time today. I’d ask you to remain seated so that the admiral can depart for another meeting.

    LISA FRANCHETTI: Thank you very much.

    DAN LAMOTHE: All right.

    LISA FRANCHETTI: Thank you.

    DAN LAMOTHE: Thank you.

    LISA FRANCHETTI: Oh, thanks. That was fun.

    DAN LAMOTHE: Thank you.

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI Video: Department of State Daily Press Briefing – October 17, 2024 – 1:15 PM

    Source: United States of America – Department of State (video statements)

    Spokesperson Matthew Miller leads the Department Press Briefing, at the Department of State, on October 17, 2024

    ———-
    Under the leadership of the President and Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity. On behalf of the American people we promote and demonstrate democratic values and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world.

    The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department, which includes the Foreign Service, Civil Service and U.S. Agency for International Development.

    Get updates from the U.S. Department of State at http://www.state.gov and on social media!
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    #StateDepartment #DepartmentofState #Diplomacy

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

    MIL OSI Video

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Future of Great British Railways

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 2

    Secretary of State for Transport outlines next steps for rail reform in Britain during the Derby rail skills event.

    Good morning everyone and let me start by thanking Derby City Council for organising this event.

    It’s wonderful to be back in Derby – the future home of Great British Railways (GBR).

    But in many ways, this has always been the industry’s home.

    A city of train building – 180 years and counting – from the Derby Works to Alstom today.

    A city of innovation – from the first steel rails to the iconic railway roundhouse.

    And a city of heritage – from railway cottages to the Brunswick Inn pub, which I’m glad to see is still going strong.

    But Derby has never rested on historic laurels.

    Instead, it has renewed and reformed. 

    That roundhouse is now Derby College, producing the engineers of tomorrow.

    The once rail technical centre is now part of Europe’s biggest rail cluster, with 11,000 jobs.

    And the works at Litchurch Lane, that once produced Victorian train carriages, now making trains for London’s Elizabeth Line.

    That’s why this event matters.

    Because today isn’t just about this city’s proud rail history, but about reinforcing Derby’s central role in shaping rail’s future.

    And about celebrating the brilliant businesses of all shapes and sizes that make up the rail industry.

    State of rail

    Derby’s zeal for renewal and reform is shared by this government.

    Because after years of dysfunction and decline – how our economy is managed, how public services are run, how government works, all must return to the service of working people, wherever they live.

    That is the work of national renewal the Prime Minister has promised.

    And it starts with our railways.

    On entering office, we were under no illusions as to the scale of the challenge.

    A railway mired in industrial action – costing the economy the equivalent of nearly £3 million pounds a day.

    And performance levels that were simply not good enough, with cancellations at a 10-year high.

    All visible problems, but with deep roots.

    Fragmentation, lack of accountability and conflicting interests.

    The very industry weaknesses Keith Williams identified years ago, still remain.

    The lack of political leadership on rail has left an industry more comfortable looking inwards, that fails to pull together when things go wrong, that has lost focus on improving each part of people’s experience with the railways – so passengers don’t get the journeys they deserve.

    We’ve seen this with delays to long promised upgrades to the East Coast Mainline, or the confusing array of fares and tickets passengers have to navigate. 

    And the great irony of privatisation is that the part of the industry that works best, that innovates and pushes boundaries – the dynamic supply chain – has been stifled. But these issues are systemic – not individual.

    Because when I speak to the supply chain and station staff, to engineers and signalers, they all want what’s best for the passenger.

    All are committed, enthusiastic and ready to work across organisational boundaries to deliver a better railway.

    But currently, they have neither the tools, incentives nor backing to do so.

    It’s why, as Passenger in Chief, when I said I would oversee the biggest overhaul of our railways in a generation, a big part of that will be a cultural reset.

    Where every part of the workforce feels empowered to challenge the orthodoxy of years past, supported by an entirely new and reformed organisation – Great British Railways.

    Where we value diverse skills, build new capabilities and forge high-quality careers that attract the next generation.

    And where everyone understands how they contribute to a railway unashamedly focused on delivering for passengers and taxpayers.

    It will not be British Rail Rebooted or Network Rail 2.0 – but we’ll usher in a new era for the railways where every part of the industry is motivated and incentivised to deliver for the passenger.

    That’s my personal mission.

    To join you in a determined effort to get our railways working again – for passengers, for its workforce and for communities across Britain.

    Because our railways are essential to getting Britain growing and moving again.

    Industrial action

    Within months, we’ve begun the essential work of change.

    We’ve ended the longest ever national strike on our railways.

    Gone are the political gimmicks of years past, which not only prolonged industrial action but caused misery for passengers and cost the railways £850 million pounds.

    Within days of taking office, I spoke to all rail unions and hit reset.

    I was clear that if talks were needed, we would sit round in good faith.

    If compromises could be made, we would all make them.

    And if a deal could be struck, we would fight for a fair agreement for workers, passengers and taxpayers.

    A new, grown-up, approach – which put passengers first and politics second. And clears the way for vital workforce reform, to modernise our railways and do away with outdated working practices.

    Public Ownership Bill

    I’ve also fired the starting gun on rail reform.

    The Public Ownership Bill has passed the Commons and now awaits committee stage scrutiny in the Lords.

    It calls time on a broken model, one that repeatedly failed passengers and one that cost tens of millions of pounds in fees each year.

    It allows us to bring passenger services into public hands as contracts expire over the next 3 years.

    But I know passengers won’t wait that long for things to improve.

    They rightly deserve better than the status quo.

    So we will continue building capacity and expertise in the public sector, as it takes on additional services.

    And in the meantime, I won’t hesitate to take decisive action if operators don’t meet their obligations.

    It’s a message I’ve already delivered loud and clear to the Managing Directors of Avanti West Coast and Cross Country. And indeed, we have set new and clear expectations to those train operating companies already in public ownership.

    Reform

    Now, public ownership and resolving national strikes are just stops on the journey to reform, not the terminus.

    The Railways Bill, which we will introduce later this parliamentary session, will get the industry back on track.

    We’ll establish Great British Railways – a directing mind running the railways as one system, with a relentless focus on passengers.

    We’ll stop the blame game, by unifying track and train.

    We’ll grip the finances, led by passenger need and taxpayer value.

    And we’ll grow freight, unlocking new green growth.

    Delivering GBR in full will be the work of years, not months. It is the biggest reform agenda of this government.

    But again, we cannot afford to wait.

    Shadow GBR

    So I’ve taken decisive action to bring the industry together under Shadow Great British Railways and its new Chair Laura Shoaf.

    Laura brings a wealth of experience.

    And I’ve asked her specifically to lay the foundations of culture change the industry needs.

    That, of course, means getting the basics right with performance, but it also means encouraging innovation at every opportunity.

    So, under her leadership, the heads of Network Rail, DOHL, and DfT’s rail services group – the people in charge of track and train – will work closer than ever before to set the tone of reform and deliver immediate improvements. 

    On performance: nowhere near good enough across the board, but not helped by the labyrinth of different contracts, measures and incentives at play.

    Different targets lead to competing priorities.

    And operational decisions that make sense in one part of the industry, can lead to worse outcomes overall – with passengers inevitably bearing the brunt.

    So, I will soon set out new performance measures, ensuring a more consistent and transparent approach.

    We’ll end the boom-and-bust approach to investment projects.

    Replacing it with a long term strategy for rolling stock – essential for the industry here in Derby.

    After years of government uncertainty and mixed messages, this will give the supply chain the certainty it needs to plan and invest.

    And finally, we’re reviewing fares and ticketing. Not just to unblock barriers to reform, but to urgently get passengers back on board with new exciting campaigns.

    That starts early next year, with a new ‘rail sale’ to coincide with the 200-year anniversary of the first passenger service.

    It will offer up to half price Advance and Off-peak fares – to get Britain moving, to connect our communities and to give back to passengers, who for too long have paid more and more for less and less.

    These first steps are important, as we start restoring some national pride to this industry and building the railway of tomorrow.

    Conclusion

    I began by talking about Derby, and it’s also a good place to end.

    We are standing in the biggest concentration of rail innovation and expertise in Europe.

    Around 600 rail companies, employing 45,000 people, have chosen to co-locate in the East Midlands.

    And it’s easy to see why.

    We have Derby University’s Rail Research Innovation Centre, Network Rail’s testing facility at Tuxford, Alstom’s world leading manufacturing facility and maintenance hubs for Sperry Rail and Railcare.

    All will soon be joined by GBR, providing the leadership this industry has sorely needed.

    Working in partnership – government and industry – to build a renewed and reformed railway, fit for the future, fit for Britain.

    A new era for our railways and a new era for Derby.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ARU students make final of national AT Awards

    Source: Anglia Ruskin University

    Published: 17 October 2024 at 14:32

    Harriet and Rebecca shortlisted for their architectural technology projects

    Two Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) students have made the six-person shortlist for best project at the AT Awards, which recognise excellence in architectural technology.

    Harriet Key and Rebecca Wakely have both been named finalists for the Student Award for Excellence in Architectural Technology at the annual awards, which are organised by the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT).

    Harriet and Rebecca study at ARU’s School of Architecture and Planning in Chelmsford, and have been shortlisted for projects they have completed as part of their ARU courses. 

    Rebecca, who lives in Godmanchester, designed The Octagon, a proposal for a sustainable community arts and cultural hub in the centre of Ely, while Harriet, who lives in Attleborough, has been shortlisted for Cranwood Residence, a design for a zero carbon, multi-generational housing development in Haringey, London.

    Mark Tree, Interim Head of Engineering and the Built Environment at ARU, said:

    “Congratulations to both Rebecca and Harriet for making the shortlist of the prestigious AT Awards this year – we’re extremely proud of their achievements. 

    “We were all incredibly impressed by the design projects they submitted, so it is pleasing that these also caught the eye of the awards judges. We are delighted with their deserved recognition.”

    For more information about the courses offered by ARU’s School of Architecture and Planning, visit https://www.aru.ac.uk/science-and-engineering/engineering-and-the-built-environment/school-of-architecture-and-planning 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI: CME Outfitters Collaborates with National Partners to Drive Diversity in Clinical Trials and Enhance Cultural Competency in Health Care

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RADNOR, Pa., Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CME Outfitters (CMEO), a leading provider of accredited continuing medical education, is excited to announce a groundbreaking partnership with the American Clinical Health Disparities Commission (ACHDC), alongside its longstanding collaboration with the National Black Church Initiative (NBCI), to combat health disparities. ACHDC, a coalition of African American clinicians and church leaders, is dedicated to eliminating the adverse effects of social drivers of health and improving health outcomes for African Americans through greater participation in clinical trials. This powerful alliance underscores CMEO’s unwavering commitment to transforming health care education, advancing equity in health care access, and driving change in clinical research.

    Participation in Strategic Meetings with FDA and NIH
    With a strong commitment to advancing health care equity, CMEO and NBCI were honored to meet with both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These pivotal collaborations aim to drive key health care initiatives focused on enhancing health equity, increasing diversity in clinical trials, and fostering cultural competency and humility among health care providers. Together, these efforts represent a unified step toward creating a more inclusive and effective healthcare system. These meetings are part of a broader effort to ensure that clinical research reflects the diversity of the population, particularly among African American communities, which have historically been underrepresented in medical research.

    “CME Outfitters is privileged to be at the forefront of these initiatives,” said Shari Tordoff, Founding Partner of CMEO. “Our collaboration with NBCI and ACHDC, along with our collaboration on FDA and NIH initiatives, allows us to leverage our expertise in education to help health care providers engage more effectively with diverse patient populations. By improving cultural competency and clinician competence, we are empowering providers to not only improve patient care but also actively contribute to diversity in clinical trials.”

    NBCI, a coalition of 150,000 African American churches representing over 27 million congregants, has been a key partner in this endeavor. The NBCI National Clinical Trial Strategic Plan (NCTSP), in collaboration with ACHDC, has been instrumental in increasing engagement in clinical trials within the African American community by addressing social drivers of health and reducing disparities in health care outcomes.

    “We are ushering in a new era of engagement for African Americans in clinical trials,” said Rev. Anthony Evans, President of NBCI. “By partnering with CME Outfitters, we’re able to leverage their expertise in clinician and patient education to bring about lasting change in health care access and equity. Together, we are not just improving participation in clinical trials—we are transforming the health care experience for millions of African Americans.”

    Among its many initiatives, CMEO has also been working closely with the CME Coalition to contribute to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Diversity Action Plan (DAP). The DAP aims to enhance the inclusion of underrepresented populations in clinical trials, ensuring that research results more accurately reflect the diverse makeup of the U.S. population. CMEO has provided valuable educational resources and strategic input in support of these goals, helping to lay the foundation for broader, more equitable participation in clinical research.

    Cultural Competency and Clinician and Patient Education
    CME providers have a responsibility to equip health care professionals with the skills to address bias and deepen their understanding of how diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives can meaningfully influence clinical practices and improve patient care. CMEO has reached thousands of clinicians with education and actionable strategies to recognize and address implicit biases and health inequities. Patient-focused activities by CMEO have also empowered patients, particularly those from underserved communities, to advocate for their health, ensuring that their voices are heard, and their care needs are met. “These efforts extend beyond mere education—they lead to real change in clinician behavior and, likewise, patients being empowered to be shepherds of their own care,” said Kashemi Rorie, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, of CMEO. “We have seen firsthand the impact of our programs on clinician behavior, particularly in terms of an increased awareness of bias and subsequent reductions in those biases. But importantly, we have also noted major shifts in promoting health equity and its impact on sustained optimal outcomes. Our collaboration with NBCI and ACHDC allows us to extend that impact even further by focusing on improving clinical trial diversity.”

    NBCI’s Achievements in Behavioral Change and Clinical Trial Enrollment
    NBCI has a long track record of successful health initiatives, having launched multiple programs that have demonstrated measurable changes in health behavior. From its immunization program to its multiple myeloma and endometrial cancer awareness efforts, NBCI has made significant strides in reducing health disparities among African Americans. Through its clinical trial programs, NBCI has educated over 52,000 individuals on the risks and benefits of clinical trial participation, and its faith-based command centers have enabled the rapid rollout of national health initiatives. NBCI plans to expand upon its successes by engaging 30,000 to 50,000 African American participants annually in clinical trials starting in 2025.

    About CME Outfitters
    CME Outfitters (CMEO) is dedicated to enhancing patient care through the development, distribution, and certification of cutting-edge continuing education activities. Our focus on integrating the interdisciplinary care team and patients ensures that health care providers deliver the highest standard of care. We offer a diverse range of educational interventions—including interactive webcasts, live symposia, medical simulations, and clinical case series—leveraging the latest technology to create an engaging learning environment that drives meaningful changes in clinician and patient behaviors. Additionally, we provide expert accreditation, outcome measurement, and logistics services for non-accredited organizations. Since joining KnowFully Learning Group in July 2020, CMEO has strengthened its commitment to transforming health care education. For more information about CMEO and its ongoing initiatives, visit http://www.cmeoutfitters.com.

    About National Black Church Initiative
    The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI) is a coalition of 150,000 African American and Latino churches working to eradicate racial disparities in health care, technology, education, housing, and the environment. The mission of NBCI is to provide critical wellness information to all of its members, congregants, churches, and the public. NBCI utilizes faith and sound health science and partners with major organizations and officials to reduce racial disparities in the variety of areas cited above. NBCI’s programs are governed by credible statistical analysis, science-based strategies and techniques, and methods that work and offer faith-based, out-of-the-box, and cutting-edge solutions to stubborn economic and social issues. For more information about NBCI, visit https://www.naltblackchurch.com, call (202) 744-0184, or contact Reverend Anthony Evans at dcbci2002@gmail.com.

    Contact:
    Kirstin Crane
    CME Outfitters
    Phone: 301-466-2416
    cranek@knowfully.com 

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Celebrating the ceremonial opening of Ne’ata’q Place, a shelter for Indigenous women and children in Newfoundland

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    News release

    October 17, 2024 — Stephenville, Newfoundland & Labrador — Indigenous Services Canada and Newfoundland Aboriginal Women’s Network

    Today marked the ceremonial opening of Ne’ata’q Place, a shelter for Indigenous women and children in Newfoundland. An initiative of the Newfoundland Aboriginal Women’s Network Inc. (NAWN), the shelter will provide a safe, supportive community for Indigenous women and children affected by family violence.

    Celebrating the opening of Ne’ata’q Place were the Director of Ne’ata’q House, Michelle Skinner; Minister Hutchings on behalf of Minister Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services; community members; and representatives from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Indigenous Services Canada (ISC).

    Ne’ata’q in Mi’kmaq means the sun is coming out. The shelter will provide transitional housing and supportive services, including mental health counselling, life skills development, Indigenous cultural supports, and system navigation. The services will be provided in a welcoming, homelike environment, and the work will be rooted in traditional Mi’kmaw values and traditions, emphasizing culturally competent trauma-informed care.

    Providing longer-term stays than crisis shelters, occupancy is available for up to six months. The shelter will include six light and airy rooms with self-contained kitchenettes. Two of the units, one single and one double, are fully accessible.

    Funding for Ne’ata’q Place is jointly supported by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Indigenous Services Canada, and the Town of Stephenville.

    Ne’ata’q Place is scheduled to open its doors in November 2024.

    Quotes

    “Together, hand in hand with our dedicated partners, we have built more than a house; we have built a bridge from adversity to strength, from uncertainty to hope.” 

    Dr. Elder Odelle Pike
    President Newfoundland Aboriginal Women’s Network

    “We are supporting the safety and well-being of Indigenous women and children affected by family violence. Ne’ata’q Place will provide a safe haven devoted to culturally appropriate and trauma-informed care. We congratulate and celebrate the Newfoundland Aboriginal Women’s Network in their work to provide a good way forward.”

    The Honourable Patty Hajdu
    Minister of Indigenous Services

    “Everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Thanks to today’s investment, we are providing new affordable housing units for Indigenous Peoples and women and children fleeing domestic violence right here in Stephenville. This is one of the many ways our National Housing Strategy continues to ensure no one is left behind.” 

    The Honourable Gudie Hutchings
    Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Minister of Rural Economic Development, Member of Parliament for Long Range Mountains 

    Quick facts

    • The Newfoundland Aboriginal Women’s Network Inc. (NAWN) is a non-profit organization that strives to promote, enhance, and encourage the health, social, educational, cultural and political well-being of the Aboriginal women within the Island portion of the province of Newfoundland.

    • Project funding includes:

      • $3,644,700 from the federal government through the National Housing Strategy’s Indigenous Shelter and Transitional Housing Initiative.
      • $40,000 from the federal government through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s SEED funding.
      • Ongoing operational funding from Indigenous Services Canada.
      • $150,000 in land equity from the Town of Stephenville.

    Associated links

    Contacts

    For more information, media may contact:

    Jennifer Kozelj
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Honourable Patty Hajdu
    Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for FedNor
    jennifer.kozelj@sac-isc.gc.ca

    ISC Media Relations
    819-953-1160
    media@sac-isc.gc.ca

    Michelle Skinner
    Director of Ne’ata’q House 
    709-721-0474
    director@nqplace.com

    Stay connected

    Join the conversation about Indigenous Peoples in Canada:

    X: @GCIndigenous
    Facebook: @GCIndigenous
    Instagram: @gcindigenous

    Facebook: @GCIndigenousHealth

    You can subscribe to receive our news releases and speeches via RSS feeds. For more information or to subscribe, visit http://www.isc.gc.ca/RSS.

    MIL OSI Canada News

  • MIL-OSI Security: United States Attorney’s Office Observes Domestic Violence Awareness Month

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Providence, RI — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month this October, reflecting our steadfast commitment to supporting survivors, raising awareness, and promoting justice for all those affected by domestic violence, announced U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

    Domestic Violence Awareness Month serves as an important opportunity to shed light on the profound impacts that domestic violence has on victims, families, and communities, and to emphasize the importance of collective action. Each year, millions of individuals are impacted by intimate partner violence, and far too many families endure the tragic consequences of domestic abuse. This Office is committed to ensuring that survivors are heard and perpetrators are held accountable and to strengthening partnerships with communities to prevent domestic violence.

    This year marks a particularly significant commemoration of efforts to combat domestic violence because it is also the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act. In 1994, the passage of this landmark, bipartisan legislation transformed the way our nation addresses domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by increasing protections for survivors, providing critical federal resources to support a coordinated community response to these crimes, and awarding grants at the local, state, territory, Tribal, and national levels.

    “Domestic and intimate partner violence is insidious, and it takes a devastating toll on our communities, transforming homes that should be places of refuge into scenes of abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha.  “I am determined to expand our efforts to use federal law enforcement tools to seek justice for the victims of these crimes, and hold the perpetrators accountable – the survivors of domestic violence deserve no less.”

    This year, on September 18th, 2024, the office announced the launch of a DOJ initiative with local law enforcement partners to reduce domestic incidents in Rhode Island cities of Woonsocket, Pawtucket, and Central Falls. The initiative was a provision for each district to develop a plan to reduce intimate partner firearm violence and to prioritize prosecution of domestic violence offenders prohibited from owning firearms.

    Domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking can have long-lasting impacts and consequences, and survivors in underserved communities are disproportionately impacted due to the lack of resources or barriers to accessing services. DVAM provides an opportunity to spread awareness about domestic violence and encourage everyone to play a role in ending gender-based violence.

    We also encourage everyone to learn more about domestic violence and take steps to support friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors who may be affected. By understanding the signs of abuse, providing a safe space for survivors, and connecting them to available resources, we can all play a role in creating safer communities.

    Victims of domestic violence deserve safety, dignity, and justice. We are committed to prosecuting those who violate federal laws, collaborating with local law enforcement and prosecutors to identify domestic violence offenders who violate federal firearms prohibitions, and ensuring survivors have access to the resources they need for safety and healing. Together, we can bring hope to those in need and build a future free from domestic violence. For more information on Domestic Violence Awareness Month or to access resources, please visit https://ricadv.org/

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: British Caribbean Minister meets Prime Minister Philip Davis KC in The Bahamas as the two countries strengthen trade ties

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Baroness Chapman signs new trade deals between the UK and The Bahamas

    • Baroness Chapman to visit The Bahamas as part of her first visit to the Western Caribbean
    • Minister meeting with Prime Minister Philip Davis KC to formally sign series of UK-Bahamas trade deals
    • UK-Bahamas trade relationship worth $5bn per year

    The UK Minister for the Caribbean, Baroness Chapman is in The Bahamas today.

    While in Nassau, the Minister met Prime Minister Philip Davis KC to discuss formally our bilateral partnership, and our shared priority of growing our economies, empowering our young people, and fighting the climate and nature crises.

    The Minister and Prime Minister announced a series of new trade deals between the UK and The Bahamas, that will see UK businesses including Manchester Airport Group and Amey PLC awarded contracts for work to operator Freeport Airport, and rebuild Glass Window Bridge.  

    In a demonstration of the growing UK-Bahamas trade relationship, Baroness Chapman was also able to announce that Amey PLC, the firm behind construction of the M1 and the rebuilding of Liverpool Lime Street, will be making Nassau the home of its first ever office in the Americas.

    The firm will hire and train Bahamian engineers and project managers, and connect Bahamian companies with British expertise to win contracts across the Caribbean and USA. 

    The current trade relationship between the UK and The Bahamas amounts to $5bn a year, making the UK one of The Bahamas’ most significant trade partners.

    UK Caribbean Minister, Baroness Chapman said:

    The UK-Bahamas relationship is going from strength to strength.  

    The deals I am announcing alongside the Right Honourable Philip Davis here this week will see British businesses deliver essential infrastructure projects for The Bahamas, and invest directly in The Bahamas.

    They are a further illustration of our growing partnership, as we continue work to deliver growth and prosperity for the people of both our nations.

    I look forward to continuing to deepen our ties from trade to climate during my time in The Bahamas.

    During her visit, Baroness Chapman also met Minister of Education and Technical and Vocational Training, Glenys Hanna-Martin, where she formally handed over 10,000 pages of historic documents pertaining to Bahamian Independence, that have been stored in the National Archives in the UK.  

    The documents have also been digitised and will be made available by The Bahamas’ National Archive, which will increase access and public understanding of the process undertaken to achieve independence by students both in The Bahamas and the UK.  

    Following a visit to a coral reef to see the work local NGOs are doing to preserve an important ecological area, the Minister toured the University of The Bahamas, where she took part in a roundtable alongside environmental science students, academics and NGOs focused on the impact of climate change on The Bahamas.

    Finally, the Minister visited the Forensics department of The Royal Bahamas Police Force and met two senior female officers who were recipients of the UK Chevening scholarship, and who received formal UK forensics training.

    Media enquiries

    Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

    Telephone 020 7008 3100

    Contact the FCDO Communication Team via email (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kamlager-Dove Secures $1 Million to Fund Construction of SoLa Impact’s New Tech & Entertainment Center in Crenshaw and Leimert Park

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager California (37th District)

    LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37) announced that she secured a $1 million grant for SoLa Impact’s affiliated nonprofit, the SoLa Foundation, in support of the completion of SoLa’s second state-of-the-art youth center. The SoLa Foundation is one of fifteen organizations that Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove secured a total of $12.4 million for through Fiscal Year 2024 government funding legislation.

    Opening in the first half of 2025, the 10,000 sq ft Art, Tech and Entertainment Center will be located on the ground floor of “Crenshaw Lofts,” SoLa Impact’s 195-unit workforce and affordable housing development in the LAX-Crenshaw Corridor. The center will train and mentor young people to become the next generation of professionals and entrepreneurs in arts, media, entertainment, emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, and the live events industry. The facility will feature a collaborative workspace, professional recording studio, and indoor/outdoor event space. It will serve at least 1,000 youth and young adults annually. A video preview of the center is available here.

    The funds are part of Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove’s commitments to the continued revitalization of the Crenshaw and Leimert Park communities as well as increasing access to career training and jobs in entertainment.

    “Crenshaw—the heart of Black LA—has seen many resurgence efforts since the 1992 Riots, many of them short-lived,” said Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove. “By connecting young Angelenos with workforce training in arts, entertainment, and technology careers, SoLa’s new youth center will make a real, lasting impact on South LA for generations to come. I was proud to secure funding for this center, and I look forward to seeing the vital role it will play in empowering future creators, entrepreneurs, and innovators from the storied community of Crenshaw.”

    SoLa Impact CEO, Martin Muoto, added, “With our second SoLa Tech Center powered by Live Nation, and Crenshaw Lofts, we are proud to be part of Crenshaw revitalization.  As we develop hundreds of affordable and workforce housing units across Los Angeles, we also want to ensure that the young people in communities like Crenshaw and South LA see a brighter future. Training them for jobs of the future is perhaps the most important way we can build California better.”

    “This center will have a transformative impact on the lives of our youth. This is my community and I am on a mission to ensure every young person has a shot at a brighter future. The center is about closing the racial digital divide in South LA. It’s about creating a more equitable playing field. It’s about creating access and pipelines to careers in the arts and technology. Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove shares this urgent mission and we are deeply grateful to her for being a catalyst in making our tech center possible,” said Sherri Francois, Chief Impact Officer of SoLa Impact and Executive Director of the SoLa Foundation.

    Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove tours the site of SoLa’s new youth tech and entertainment center in Crenshaw, which is currently under construction.

    ABOUT SOLA IMPACT’S FOUNDATION:

    The SoLa Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit affiliate of SoLa Impact, aims to improve the lives of South LA residents and break the cycle of intergenerational poverty by providing opportunities for education and economic mobility. SoLa’s Technology and Entrepreneurship Center Powered by Riot Games is a state-of-the-art, first-of-its-kind center at the heart of South Central Los Angeles. SoLa provides the community with skills-based technology programming, as well as scholarships and career development opportunities for underinvested communities to ensure Black and brown Angelenos get increased access to jobs, mentorship, and placement in the most competitive fields of business. Learn more at www.thesolafoundation.org.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with the C5+1 during UNGA 79 

    Source: United States Department of State (4)

    Office of the Spokesperson

    The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

    Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with foreign ministers and representatives from the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan today under the auspices of the C5+1 platform during the 79th annual session of the UN General Assembly.

    Reflecting on the commitments made by U.S. and Central Asian leaders during the inaugural C5+1 Presidential Summit on September 19, 2023, the Secretary acknowledged significant steps taken since that landmark occasion in furtherance of the Summit’s New York Declaration, including the C5+1 Critical Minerals Dialogue launch, the inaugural B5+1 Forum in support of U.S.-Central Asian business partnership, and the first C5+1 Special Session on Disability Rights on the margins of the UN Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) at the United Nations.

    Participants discussed steps toward enhanced regional security cooperation in pursuance of a shared vision for a peaceful Central Asia. The Secretary underscored the importance of upholding the United Nations Charter and its principles, including with respect to human rights, and C5+1 partnership that is grounded in respect for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of all states.

    Secretary Blinken noted that the year 2025 will mark ten years of enduring U.S.-Central Asian collaboration through the C5+1 platform. In the spirit of cooperation that has come to define the C5+1, the Secretary emphasized U.S. commitment to pursuing regional solutions to global challenges in partnership with the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Global: Donald Trump’s attack on overseas voters is erroneous and dangerous

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jennifer Saul, Chair in Social and Political Philosophy of Language, University of Waterloo

    I do research on racist and xenophobic speech. I am also an American citizen, and have voted from overseas since 1996 (first in the U.K., and now in Canada).

    This makes me especially well-placed to explain why Donald Trump’s Truth Social post about overseas voters in late September and Republican efforts to undermine those voters are factually wrong and politically dangerous.

    The current law giving Americans overseas the right to vote in federal elections is the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, which was signed into law by Ronald Reagan, a Republican president.

    The federal program to help American citizens vote while living overseas is overseen by the Department of Defense — which makes sense, given that a large number of them are members of the United States military. All of this should give pause to anyone who thinks that allowing overseas citizens to vote is some sort of left-wing conspiracy.

    Complex process

    Nor is it an easy matter to vote from overseas. Every state has its own process for verifying citizenship after the registration and request form reaches them, and each has its own rules that voters must follow in order for their ballot to be counted.

    My own state, New Jersey, is relatively simple: I can email my registration/request form, get my ballot by e-mail, and email it back. But I must also remember to mail in the paper version of my ballot or my vote won’t count.

    This is easy enough for me, from Canada or previously the U.K. But it’s much more difficult for American citizens living in places that lack reliable postal services who often have to use expensive courier services to carry out their duty as citizens.

    My husband’s state is New York. He is allowed to e-mail his ballot request, but he must also mail a paper version of the request. And the ballot itself comes with an elaborate set of envelope templates that require precise folding — and must arrive by a strict deadline, no matter where they’re being mailed from.

    He’s a former graphic designer, and comfortable performing this task. But imagine trying to do so while suffering from arthritis or vision problems — especially when the home-printed version has tiny text. In short, there is nothing easy about voting from abroad.

    So why use inflammatory language to pretend it’s an easy matter to generate many thousands of fraudulent overseas votes? One explanation would be to sow doubt about the election results. Anything that can introduce uncertainty and slow down the counting process can be exploited in an effort that could allow Trump and his allies to falsely declare him the winner on Nov. 5.

    Trump’s campaign has made no secret about its plan to follow this path.

    Language that suggests American citizens abroad are not really American also fits into a larger pattern of stoking divisions — and of drawing ever tighter boundaries around who would be counted as “real” Americans. This is a classic fascist power move, one that leads to a sharply defined “us,” who are worthy of moral consideration, as opposed to “them,” who are not.

    Disenfranchising citizens abroad

    Importantly, the movement against overseas voters is not just confined to a social media post. There are lawsuits in several states designed to disenfranchise American citizens abroad. These are citizens who may have gone to enormous lengths to carry out their duties by asking for and sending in election ballots, often at substantial personal expense and faced with substantial barriers.

    Trump and his allies are working hard to prevent Americans abroad from exercising their most basic rights of citizenship. When Trump uses language that accuses overseas voters of fraud and foreign interference, it suggests we’re not really Americans.

    There’s a major problem in doing so. As mentioned, a large segment of American citizens abroad are members of the U.S. armed forces. Efforts to disenfranchise Americans abroad are also efforts to disenfranchise the military.

    ‘Figleaf’ language

    That’s why Trump’s allegation on Truth Social that Democrats “want to dilute the TRUE vote of our beautiful military” makes no sense. This is especially true given it’s coming from someone who’s attacking the very law that allows members of the military to vote from abroad, including casting ballots for him if they’re so inclined.

    This is what I call a figleaf — an additional bit of speech that provides just a bit of cover for saying something else that is much less acceptable. The allegation suggests, to someone who doesn’t understand overseas voting, that Trump somehow supports the military.

    Trump’s “diluting the vote” rhetoric also plays into the deeply racist Great Replacement Theory. This theory holds that Democrats and other shadowy forces (often cast as Jewish) are plotting to replace white Americans with foreigners, in part as a way to secure electoral victory.

    Overseas voting might seem like a niche issue. But overseas citizens could make all the difference in a close election. The attack on overseas voting is part of a much larger pattern of destructive suggestions from Trump about who is and is not a real American.

    I am a member of the Democratic Party

    ref. Donald Trump’s attack on overseas voters is erroneous and dangerous – https://theconversation.com/donald-trumps-attack-on-overseas-voters-is-erroneous-and-dangerous-241332

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI USA: FEMA Hits $5 Million Mark!

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: FEMA Hits $5 Million Mark!

    FEMA Hits $5 Million Mark!

    HARRISBURG, Pa — The Federal Emergency Management Agency hit an important milestone October 11 when grants it has awarded to Commonwealth residents under its Individuals and Households Program (IHP) totaled $5,020,070.14.  The grants went to residents of Lycoming, Potter, Tioga and Union counties for losses they suffered as a result of Tropical Storm Debby, August 8-9. 

    In the month since September 11 when President Biden issued the presidential disaster declaration, 1,046 residents of the four counties have registered with FEMA to establish eligibility for federal disaster assistance. Registrants from Tioga County led the count with 426, Lycoming County came second with 349 residents registered, then Potter with 207 and Union with 64.

    FEMA has made 1,867 payments to applicants, most of whom received funds from Other Needs Assistance (ONA). ONA grants worth $1.83 million are for survivors’ immediate needs like medical and dental expenses, childcare, moving and storage or funeral costs. Housing Assistance worth $3.18 million, went to 418 residents to help them repair their damaged homes. FEMA cannot return applicants to their original pre-disaster situation, but it can help them regain their footing in recovery. 

    Two new components of ONA are Serious Needs Assistance and Displacement Assistance. Even though they were small outlays, they were important sources of funds for survivors with immediate needs. Serious Needs Assistance is a one-time lump-sum payment of $750 to an eligible household to help with essential items such as food, water, baby formula, diapers, personal hygiene items, medication and fuel for transportation. More than $507,000 from Serious Needs was provided to eligible survivors. 

    Displacement Assistance is designed for survivors who cannot return to their home following a disaster and provides them financial assistance they can use flexibly to pay for their immediate housing needs. The $900,900 given directly to survivors from Displacement Assistance provided eligible survivors with up-front funds to assist with immediate housing options of their choice until they are able to secure a rental option to focus on their long-term recovery.

    Home repair assistance from FEMA is limited to only owner-occupied primary homes, not vacation homes or second homes. In addition, home repair assistance is available to homeowners only for uninsured or underinsured disaster-damaged items that make your home safe, sanitary, secure and inhabitable. Households with damage to essential living spaces in a basement – including garden apartments – may also be eligible for FEMA assistance to help cover those losses. 

    When you apply for assistance, be sure to indicate if you had furnace and other essential electrical appliances damaged during the summertime disaster. If you have already repaired or replaced the furnace, be prepared to provide FEMA with valid estimates or receipts. 

    If you have yet to apply for FEMA assistance, go online to http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov, call 800-621-3362, or download the FEMA App to your phone. If you use a video relay service or captioned telephone service. give FEMA your number for the service. And for in-person assistance, visit a Disaster Recovery Center. The registration deadline is November 12, 2024.

    For more information about the disaster recovery operation in Pennsylvania, visit fema.gov/disaster/4815.   

                                                                                        ###

    Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency, or economic status. Reasonable accommodations, including translation and American Sign Language interpreters via Video Relay Service will be available to ensure effective communication with applicants with limited English proficiency, disabilities, and access and functional needs. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-3362 (including 711 or Video Relay).                                                                     

    FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters. FEMA Region 3’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Follow us on X at x.com/FEMAregion3 and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/femaregion3.

    erika.osullivan

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Security: Whitewood — Update: Saskatchewan RCMP increased police presence in the area of Whitewood, SK

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    October 10, 2024
    Whitewood, Saskatchewan

    News release

    As a result of continued investigation, officers located and seized a firearm in a vehicle that the suspects abandoned on old Highway #1 east of Whitewood, SK.

    Saskatchewan RCMP continue to investigate.

    Saskatchewan RCMP Police Dog Services, Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), and Forensic Identification Section are assisting in this investigation.

    Investigators continue to ask the public to report suspicious activity or people in the Whitewood area to police. Call 9-1-1 in emergencies or 310-RCMP in non-emergencies.

    We will continue to provide updates when we have more information available. If an imminent risk to public safety is identified, we will notify the public.

    –30–

    Saskatchewan RCMP: Increased police presence in the area of Whitewood, SK

    Saskatchewan RCMP are currently responding to a report of a robbery with a firearm in the area of Whitewood, SK. No injuries have been reported in relation to the robbery.

    Police officers advise that there are two suspects. They may be armed and are considered dangerous. The suspects were last seen driving on the old Highway #1 east of Whitewood, SK. The suspects are now believed to be on foot. One suspect is described as male and may have been wearing a green shirt. We do not have a description of the other suspect at this time. Both suspects are described as having a slim build.

    We are asking the public to report any suspicious activity or people in the Whitewood area to police. Please ensure your vehicle and house doors are locked. Report any suspicious activity to police immediately – call 9-1-1 in emergencies or 310-RCMP in non-emergencies.

    There will continue to be an increased police presence in relation to the ongoing investigation. We will provide an update when we have more information available. If an imminent risk to public safety is identified, we will notify the public.

    Report all information about this incident to your local police by calling 310-RCMP.

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI Security: Ohio Man Who Concealed Croatian War Crime Charge Sentenced to Prison for Immigration Fraud

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    An Ohio man was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison for possessing a green card he illegally obtained by concealing that he had been charged with a war crime in Croatia prior to immigrating to the United States.

    According to court documents, Jugoslav Vidic, 56, of Parma Heights, in applying to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States, falsely stated that he had never been charged with breaking any law even though he knew he had been charged in Croatia with a war crime against the civilian population. Vidic also falsely stated that his only past military service was in the Yugoslav Army from 1988 to 1989, when, in fact, he fought with the Serb Army of Krajina and its predecessors during the civil war in the former Yugoslavia from 1991 to 1995. As a result of these materially false statements, Vidic was approved for lawful permanent resident status and received a green card.

    “Jugoslav Vidic lied about war crimes charged against him in an attempt to escape his past and live in the United States unlawfully,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Thanks to the dedication of prosecutors, law enforcement, and our international partners, Vidic will serve prison time in the United States followed by his removal. His sentence demonstrates that human rights violators will not be allowed to hide from their crimes in the United States.”

    “Vidic committed serious human rights violations and was convicted of war crimes in Croatia as a result. Yet, he lied to U.S. immigration officials about his conviction and participation in a violent military force to claim refugee status and obtain a green card — becoming a permanent legal resident of our country — when he was not eligible to do so,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio. “Those who run away from violent crimes they commit elsewhere in the world and then enter our country by brazenly lying about their past will be held to account, as yesterday’s sentence demonstrates. Vidic’s deceitful actions are detestable, and unfairly hurt people in need who legitimately seek refuge to flee real harms in their home countries.”

    “Our communities here in Ohio and across the United States are not safe havens for war criminals to escape accountability in their home countries,” said Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “It is my hope that this sentencing provides some measure of solace to the victims’ families with the knowledge that despite the passage of time, the United States will seek justice.”

    “Jugoslav Vidic intentionally circumvented the laws of the United States by lying on his green card application about his war crimes conviction in Croatia,” said Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “This case should serve as a warning to others that the FBI will work with our law enforcement partners to identify and hold accountable those like Vidic who seek to violate U.S. law by fraud of any kind.”

    “Jugoslav Vidic knowingly avoided the truth of his past to enjoy the freedoms and liberties of the United States for over two and a half decades,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Nelsen of the FBI Cleveland Field Office. “Yesterday’s sentence underscores the work of the FBI and its local, state, federal, and international partners and sends a clear message that people in the United States who take part in war crimes, regardless of when or where they occurred, or by masking their involvement, will be identified, investigated, and prosecuted.”

    Vidic admitted in his plea agreement that he was charged with a war crime in Croatia in 1994 and convicted in absentia in 1998. The Croatian court found that during an attack by ethnic Serb forces in Petrinja, Croatia, on Sept. 16, 1991, Vidic cut off the arm of civilian Stjepan Komes, who died afterward. Vidic further admitted that he knew about the Croatian charges when he immigrated to the United States as a refugee in 1999, applied to become a lawful permanent resident in 2000, and was interviewed by U.S. immigration officials and received his green card in 2005.

    Vidic pleaded guilty to one count of possessing an alien registration receipt card knowing it had been procured through materially false statements. As part of the plea agreement, Vidic agreed to the entry of a judicial order of removal from the United States.

    HSI and the FBI are investigating the case with coordination provided by the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, including the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit. The Justice Department thanks the Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Justice and Public Administration of the Republic of Croatia, which were both instrumental in furthering the investigation.

    Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Shepherd and Jerome J. Teresinski for the Northern District of Ohio are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.

    Members of the public who have information about human rights violators or immigration fraud in the United States are urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or through the FBI online tip form, or HSI at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or through the ICE online tip form. All are staffed around the clock, and tips may be provided anonymously.

    MIL Security OSI