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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Salford City Council celebrates social workers during Social Work Week 

    Source: City of Salford

    • The awareness week is an opportunity to celebrate the successes of social workers and the impact the profession has on communities
    • Social workers provide a wide range of support, helping children and adults to maximise their life chances and reach their full potential
    • Salford City Council currently provides social care to 5,446 adults and children  

    This year’s Social Work Week, 17 to 21 March 2025, which coincides with World Social Work Day on 18 March, aims to bring people together to celebrate the successes of social workers and to pay tribute to the impact the profession has on communities. 

    Key themes of the awareness week this year are focused on:

    • Data and insight: how to ensure that social workers practice and its regulation is data driven and how this can improve people’s experience of the profession.
    • Education and training: how are social workers supported throughout each step of their career journey and why continuous learning and supervision is essential.
    • Innovation: learnings from the adoption of digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve professional practice and where are the ethical tensions.
    • Professional identity: understanding if a greater sense of professional identity is crucial for the future of social work.
    • Safe and effective practice: how professional competence contributes to building public trust in the social work profession and what can be learnt from fitness to practise.

    Social workers work autonomously and collaborate as part of a professional team to provide a wide range of support, helping children and adults to maximise their life chances and reach their full potential.

    In what is very much a rewarding career, the role can be a demanding and emotional one. Social workers are often the unsung heroes, and this is an opportunity to celebrate the amazing work that our social workers do with residents of Salford.

    They advise, help and protect children and adults with support needs from harm or abuse and support them to live independently. From helping keep a family under pressure together to supporting someone with mental health problems, learning disabilities and those on the autism spectrum, social workers have to make difficult decisions that impact people’s lives based on the best interests of children and adults.

    Social workers also help people to overcome significant difficulties, such as substance addictions, domestic abuse, mental health challenges, and homelessness and poverty, supporting them to be empowered and live independently, develop positive relationships and access education, training and employment.

    Salford City Council provides:

    • 13 types of social care services to vulnerable adults and children across the city
    • an average of 129,545 hours of care to adults/children each month
    • social care to 5,446 adults and children

    Councillor Jim Cammell, Lead Member for Children’s and Young People’s Services at Salford City Council said: “We are proud of the work we do to improve the lives of our children, young people and families in Salford, and our social workers are absolutely key to that. I want to recognise the dedication and valuable work that our social workers do, and also the teams who support them, to ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive.”

    “Through this national recognition, we can help to inform and educate the public on what social work is and work collaboratively with other local authorities and government bodies to share valuable knowledge that can help to address the challenges and create positive solutions. This week is an important part of recognising and celebrating social workers’ commitment and dedication, and to thank them for the incredible work they do every day.”

    Councillor John Merry, Lead Member for Adult Social Care and Health at Salford City Council said: “Social care is a very important part of our work with our communities and partners to help everyone lead fulfilling, healthy, and independent lives in Salford. This week is a great way of highlighting all the unseen but vital support that social work provides for residents to care for their strengths, connections, and families, in their own homes and communities.”

    Councillor Mishal Saeed, Executive Support Social Care and Mental Health at Salford City Council said: “Our social workers play a vital role in supporting residents in the community, helping their wellbeing in order to live longer and better lives and feel connected to others in their area. This week is an important part of recognising and celebrating social workers commitment and dedication.” 

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    Date published
    Tuesday 18 March 2025

    Press and media enquiries

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council’s Shop a Tipper scheme leads to successful prosecution – and gift card reward

    Source: City of Wolverhampton

    A city resident reported an incident of suspected fly tipping to the council through Shop a Tipper. Because their information led to a prosecution, the resident received a £100 Enjoy Wolverhampton gift card.

    Officers are now reminding offenders that they are being watched – and warning them not to ignore council investigations.

    In the latest prosecution, Shannon Mattox, of Waltho Street, Whitmore Reans, was found guilty in her absence of one obstruction charge under section 110 of The Environment Act 1995 for failing to comply with investigating officers’ requests for assistance.

    Dudley Magistrates Court ordered Mattox to pay a fine and costs totalling £1,716 during the hearing on 12 March. The costs awarded to the council will be reinvested back into its environmental crime service.

    In this case, a woman was seen on 16 February last year wheeling a bin with a house number on it. She was then seen throwing bags of household waste from the bin onto an open space off Waltho Street.

    Correspondence with a name and address was found among the waste and Mattox was served with a notice asking her to attend the Civic Centre. She failed to attend as required.

    The incident was reported under the council’s Shop a Tipper scheme by 3 independent witnesses. One of the witnesses provided an information statement and will receive a £100 Enjoy Wolverhampton gift card.

    Under the council’s Shop a Tipper campaign, residents are encouraged to report any incidents of fly tipping.

    If the information provided leads to successful identification, and Fixed Penalty Notices are issued and paid or a prosecution takes place, residents receive a £100 Enjoy Wolverhampton gift card.

    Residents can contact 01902 552700 with information or report online at Fly-Tipping – Shop a Tipper.

    Eight gift cards have recently been given out to residents in Whitmore Reans, Penn, Bushbury South and Heath Town.

    In total, 29 gift cards have been issued under the Shop a Tipper scheme. In each case, residents have reported incidents of fly tipping and provided the council with evidence to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice.

    In addition to the reporting scheme, officers from the council’s environmental crime team have seized 2 vehicles in the last 3 weeks in relation to fly tipping offences under their ongoing work.

    Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “This is a great result for our Shop a Tipper scheme, and I’d really like to thank the resident who came forward and provided the vital information which led to another successful prosecution.

    “Shop a Tipper allows residents to report this horrible crime and means our officers can investigate and bring people to justice.

    “We continue to work hard to deter fly tipping through a variety of methods including our Shop a Tipper scheme, CCTV cameras, a drone and the recent increase in our Fixed Penalty Notice to £1,000.

    “Suspected fly tippers should be aware that they are being watched – and they can’t ignore our investigations.”

    Residents are reminded that waste can be disposed of free of charge at our Household Waste and Recycling Centres (tips) which are open 7 days a week from 8am to 4pm. Centres are at Anchor Lane, Lanesfield, Bilston and Shaw Road, Wolverhampton.

    A bulky item collection service to dispose of big unwanted items is also available, find out more at Bulky item collection.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Oregon Emergency Coordination Center Activates to Level 3 in Response to Flooding

    Source: US State of Oregon

    he Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) has activated the State Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) to Level 3 (Regional Response) in response to widespread flooding impacting parts of western Oregon.

    Heavy rain has caused flooding of small streams, creeks, and some rivers across southwest Oregon. Urban flooding is ongoing, and there is an increased risk of landslides and rockfalls in areas with steep terrain.

    The National Weather Service has issued multiple Flood Warnings, and a broader Flood Advisory remains in effect for several regions across the state as part of the 2025 Statewide March Flood Monitoring effort.

    Flood Warnings, Advisories, and Watches are in effect in various areas — as shown in green on the included map:

    • Flood Warning: Significant flooding is occurring or imminent — threat to structures and life.
    • Flood Advisory: Ponding on roads and minor flooding possible.
    • Flood Watch: Conditions are favorable for flooding — stay alert and prepared in case warnings are issued.

    Multiple local and Tribal emergency operations centers are also activated, and OEM is working closely with local, Tribal, and state partners to monitor impacts and support response and recovery operations as needed. The Level 3 activation allows OEM to maintain situational awareness, facilitate information-sharing, and help fulfill resource requests from impacted jurisdictions.

    Oregonians are urged to take precautions during and after this flooding event:

    • Stay informed: Monitor local weather forecasts and sign up for emergency alerts at ORalert.gov. View the Flood Dashboard for real-time updates on impacts and response actions.
    • Avoid travel if possible: Roads may be hazardous due to flooding. If you must travel, be prepared with an emergency kit, chains, and extra supplies.
    • If you must leave home: Check TripCheck.com for the latest road conditions. Carry a fully stocked emergency car kit. Read more about driving safety tips on the OEM blog.
    • Prepare for power outages: Keep flashlights, batteries, and a backup heat source on hand.
    • Never use generators or grills indoors, as they pose serious carbon monoxide risks.
    • Check on neighbors: Ensure elderly or vulnerable individuals have the supplies and support they need to stay safe and warm.
    • Know where to go to get warm: Warming shelters are available and listed at Oregon 211.
    • Review tips on ‘How to Stay Safe Once the Waters Retreat,’ including do not turn the electricity back on if any power outlets were below the flood line as they can spark and start a fire.

    Stay Connected and Stay Safe

    Be sure to follow your local emergency management agency for the latest updates and local information.

    Helpful Resources:
    Road Conditions: TripCheck.com

    Weather Forecasts: weather.gov
    Flood Dashboard: tinyurl.com/aa6z9rrt

    Sign up to receive the latest news directly from OEM. To find out more about preparedness, like how to Be2Weeks Ready for disasters, visit Oregon.gov/OEM.

    ###

    It is the mission of the Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) to proactively develop emergency response, risk reduction and disaster recovery programs to better serve Oregonians during times of disaster. OEM prioritizes an equitable and inclusive culture of preparedness that empowers all Oregonians to thrive in times in crisis. The agency leads collaborative statewide efforts, inclusive of all partners and the communities we serve, to ensure the capability to get help in an emergency and to protect, mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies or disasters. For more information about the OEM, visit oregon.gov/oem. You can get this document in other languages, large print, braille, or a format you prefer. For assistance, email Photo caption: Photo 1 Fat Elk Road in Coos County, image from Julia Delyria
    Photo caption: Photo 2 Fat Elk Road in Coos County, image from Julia Delyria

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reuters: Democratic lawmakers slam Pentagon for scrapping climate studies

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
    March 12, 2025
    Democratic lawmakers slammed President Donald Trump’s administration for canceling U.S. military studies on the impact of climate change, saying the move jeopardizes national security by ignoring climate-related risks at home and abroad.
    Scientists say climate change is increasing the intensity and frequency of hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding and wildfires. The lawmakers, in a previously unreported letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, say that translates into damage to military bases, drawing U.S. troops to more relief missions and ushering in greater maritime access to the Arctic.
    The issue has emerged in the United States as one of many that is dividing Republican and Democratic politicians. Trump, a Republican, has targeted climate programs as part of a broader effort to slash government spending.
    Hegseth posted on X on Sunday: “The (Department of Defense) does not do climate change crap.”
    …
    Read the full article here.
    By:  Phil StewartSource: Reuters

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Aid should never be used as a political tool: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    Aid should never be used as a political tool: UK statement at the UN Security Council

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

    Thank you President and thank you to USG Fletcher for his sobering briefing. 

    I also want to thank Algeria and Somalia for calling this meeting – an initiative which the UK fully supports considering the alarming humanitarian situation.

    President, this meeting comes at a critical moment. 

    As my Foreign Secretary has said, the civilian casualties from Israeli strikes overnight are appalling.

    I want to be clear, a return to fighting will only result in the deaths of further Palestinian civilians, Israeli hostages and IDF soldiers. 

    This conflict cannot be resolved through military means.

    We want to see the ceasefire re-established as soon as possible.

    The humanitarian situation in Gaza was already catastrophic. 

    After 17 days, Israel continues to block all aid entering Gaza. Crossing points have been shut off. Bakeries are closing. Hospitals and desalination plants are running on generators that could stop at any moment.

    This is horrifying and unacceptable.

    Humanitarian aid should never be used as a political tool. 

    We are calling for the following urgent steps to bring this terrifying situation back from the brink.

    First, we call for the protection of civilians, and for safe, rapid, unimpeded humanitarian access. 

    We call on Israel to fulfil its international obligations and allow for a rapid and unhindered resurgence in the flow of aid. 

    This includes the supply of items such as medical equipment, shelter items, and water and sanitation equipment, essential to meet humanitarian and early recovery needs in Gaza, but which remain restricted. 

    Failure to deliver this not only risks undoing the vital humanitarian progress made during phase one of the ceasefire agreement; it also risks violating international humanitarian law.

    Second, we urge all parties to return urgently to dialogue and to implement the ceasefire agreement in full, including scaling up aid and releasing the 59 hostages who have been cruelly held by Hamas for over 500 days and have endured unimaginable suffering. 

    For Israel to be secure, these terrorists can have no role in Gaza’s future. But cutting off aid and resuming the fighting is not a means to this end.

    Finally, we reiterate that civilians of Gaza who have suffered so much must be allowed to return to their homes and rebuild their lives.

    Colleagues, we urge all parties to return to the ceasefire deal and get back to the path of peace. 

    A negotiated two-state solution is the best way to ensure long-term security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

    Updates to this page

    Published 18 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The timeframe for assigning social benefits in Moscow will be halved

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    The issue of increasing the efficiency of the social protection sphere, including reducing the timeframes for providing social services, was considered at a meeting of the Presidium of the Moscow Government. Following the meeting, Sergei Sobyanin instructed to continue this work.

    A modern, high-quality and convenient social security system accompanies Muscovites throughout their lives, she noted in her report Anastasia Rakova, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Social Development. Around 4.5 million city residents, or every third Muscovite, benefit from various support measures. From year to year, the capital’s budget maintains its social focus.

    The most important area of social protection work is to increase the availability and targeting of social assistance for Muscovites in need.

    Moscow provides the highest standards of social support for city residents, while maintaining the best traditions and introducing new flexible and effective assistance tools. For example, thanks to digitalization within the framework of the new standard, it was possible to reduce the time for reviewing an application for recognizing a person as needing social services by half – from 10 to five working days.

    The procedure for applying for the service has also become much more convenient and faster. Now you can submit an application at the My Documents government services center or electronically on the mos.ru portal (including with the help of relatives, friends or neighbors).

    The diagnostics are carried out in the most friendly and informal atmosphere. The data obtained is entered into an electronic system, which, using special algorithms, evaluates the functional state of a person and forms an individual social service program with the maximum range of social services.

    The modernization of boarding houses has made it possible to transform them into comfortable social homes, where living conditions are as close as possible to those at home.

    For young people with mental disabilities, conditions are created for maximum socialization, including employment and independent living.

    Since January 1, 2024, the Social Treasury has been operating in Moscow — the first single center in the country for processing applications for support measures for all categories of Muscovites. Treasury specialists make decisions on the appointment of more than 90 different benefits, allowances and social payments. Last year, more than three million Muscovites applied to the Social Treasury.

    In 2023–2024, the capital completely updated the Moscow social services information system. In essence, it was created anew. Today, this modern digital platform includes a large number of subsystems, which are divided into two large blocks.

    The first is related to the automation of the work of the social treasury and social support services. For example, it includes the provision of vouchers for spa treatment, payments for children, and support for large families.

    The second block is intended to automate other areas of work of the city social protection system. In particular, this includes the sphere of guardianship, services for the issuance of technical rehabilitation means and prosthetic and orthopedic products.

    A single centralized database has been created that unites the disparate information systems of social protection in Moscow. Millions of records containing data on recipients of 86 state services have been transferred to it. The Moscow information system of social services now allows tracking appointments, checking rights and providing support measures through automation. For example, if a city resident visited a point of distribution of technical rehabilitation equipment, and before that updated his passport data, the changes will be recorded in the system. Or if a person changed the bank account for receiving payments and indicated that all other data should be linked to this account, the system will automatically make the necessary updates.

    The rejection of paper document flow and file exchange, the creation of data marts and the active implementation of modern technologies will allow, on average, to halve the time it takes to assign payments. In addition, digital transformation will provide a technological reserve for the transition to proactive (without filing applications) provision of social services to needy citizens.

    Individual approach to each: what kind of support do city residents receive from social workersSobyanin made a decision to index Moscow social payments

    In addition, Moscow is implementing more than 20 projects on digitalization, creation and development of urban systems in the field of social protection of the population. Since 2019, the information system of long-term care and social hospitals has been successfully operating and developing. The system is designed to identify and form targeted assistance programs for Muscovites in need of home or hospital care. Its use increases the speed and quality of social services, and by eliminating paperwork, costs are reduced. For example, the time for reviewing an application for recognizing a person in need of social services has been reduced by half – from 10 to five working days. In 2024, the project took first place in the “Social Sphere” nomination of the II National Award for Contribution to the Development of Digitalization of Urban Economy “Smart City”.

    The information system “Moscow – a kind city” is actively developing. The grant competition of the same name for socially oriented non-profit organizations (NPOs) has been held since 2019. Within its framework, 648 NPO projects have received financial support from the city over six years.

    Since 2022, contracts with winning NGOs have been concluded electronically and signed with an enhanced qualified electronic signature (previously, documents were signed on paper). Since 2024, the process of generating reports (financial and analytical) has been automated. And in 2025, it is planned to completely switch to the electronic form of providing all reporting documents. Thus, the information system will implement the full cycle of the competition in electronic form – from submitting an application to generating reports on the results of the implementation of projects using grant funds. In addition, on the same digital platform, an electronic selection of NGOs is carried out to provide city premises for free use for up to three years.

    A single help desk has been in operation since 2021 Department of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the City of Moscow by phone: 7 495 870-44-44. In 2024, its specialists received and processed 3.2 million calls and requests from chatbots.

    From May 2024 on on the department’s websiteThe chatbot Dobrynya is working — a virtual assistant for Muscovites in matters of social services. The most popular requests are checking the queue for spa treatment, payments and social support, as well as signing up for an online consultation.

    If necessary, Dobrynya will explain in detail the content and rules of operation of popular social programs (for example, home social services, the Moscow Longevity and Good Bus projects) or redirect to the relevant sections of the mos.ru and Dsn.ru, where you can find out the details of a particular social service.

    In a conversation with Dobrynya, you can find out about the size of social benefits and how long it will take to process certain services, such as registering for rehabilitation or registering for a spa voucher.

    If Dobrynya cannot give an exact answer, an employee of the unified reference service of the Department of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the City of Moscow will promptly answer the question in the chat. Since its appearance, the chatbot has processed over 20 thousand requests from Muscovites, and only 15 percent of them required the help of an operator.

    Every year, receiving various social support measures becomes more accessible and technologically advanced, while taking into account the individual needs and life situations of each person. The client paths of city residents are designed so that they have the opportunity to receive most social support measures and all the necessary information without leaving home.

    Interactive map and smart chatbot: how digital social solutions help Muscovites

    The introduction of a new social services system made it possible to achieve ahead of schedule the goals of the decree of the President of the Russian Federation on national development goals for the country until 2030 and for the future until 2036 (achieving digital maturity in the social protection sphere by 2030, which involves the automation of most processes within the framework of unified industry digital platforms and a data-based management model).

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

    Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

    https: //vv.mos.ru/mayor/tkhemes/1251505/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICE arrests 31 illegal aliens, 3 charged for criminal activity

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with support from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations, and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, arrested 31 illegal aliens March 9 during a targeted enforcement operation in the San Juan area.

    The multi-agency operation took place at an illegal cockfight location. Three of the arrested were charged for criminal activity.

    All the illegal aliens are in ICE custody pending removal.

    ICE Homeland Security Investigations San Juan Special Agent in Charge Rebecca González-Ramos said: “This operation is part of ongoing enforcement under the Presidential Executive Order, to combat illegal immigration across Puerto Rico. Local enforcement partnerships are key to fulfill our mission of keeping our communities safe.”

    ICE is focused on public safety and national security threats. Individuals illegally present in the United States who are encountered during an enforcement operation may be taken into custody and processed for removal as stated by law.

    Members of the public with information can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

    Learn more about ICE HSI mission to increase public safety in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on X at @HSISanJuan.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Extensiv Appoints Carey Ballard as New Chief Marketing Officer

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Extensiv, a leading provider of omnichannel software solutions for warehouse, inventory, and order management, today announced the appointment of Carey Ballard as its new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Ballard brings two decades of marketing experience with a focus on messaging and brand strategy to the role.

    Throughout her career, Ballard has held leadership positions at prominent organizations, including Lumin Digital and Arizona State University. She successfully developed and executed comprehensive marketing strategies at these institutions that enhanced brand recognition and drove revenue growth. Her experience and expertise span various industries, including technology and software development, where she has consistently demonstrated a keen ability to align marketing and brand initiatives with business objectives.

    In her new role at Extensiv, Ballard will be responsible for leading the company’s overall marketing strategy, including brand building, demand generation, product marketing, and communications. She will work closely with the sales, product, and customer success teams to strengthen Extensiv’s market position and drive continued growth.

    “I am thrilled to join Extensiv at this exciting time in the company’s growth,” said Carey Ballard. “Extensiv is a leader in the omnichannel fulfillment space, and I see tremendous potential to further elevate the brand and communicate the value of its solutions to a wider audience. I look forward to working with the team to develop and execute innovative marketing strategies to drive business growth and solidify Extensiv’s position as the partner of choice for businesses looking to optimize their warehouse, inventory, and order management.”

    “We are thrilled to welcome Carey to our team,” said Aaron Stead, CEO of Extensiv. “Her experience as a business owner and marketer, coupled with her proven track record of success in technology and software, makes her the right person to lead us forward. Carey’s strategic vision and understanding of Extensiv’s leadership position in the market will be invaluable as we continue to expand our reach and deliver best-in-class solutions to our customers. We are confident she will play a key role in driving Extensiv’s continued profitable growth.”

    About Extensiv 

    Extensiv, formerly 3PL Central, is a visionary technology leader focused on creating the future of omnichannel fulfillment. We partner with warehouse professionals and entrepreneurial brands to transform their fulfillment operations in the radically changing world of commerce and consumer expectations. Through our unrivaled network of more than 1,500 connected 3PLs and a suite of integrated, cloud-native warehouse management (WMS), order management (OMS), inventory management (IMS), and integration management software, we enable modern merchants and brands to fulfill demand anywhere with superior flexibility and scale without painful platform migrations as they grow. More than 25,000 logistics professionals and thousands of brands trust Extensiv every day to drive commerce at the pace modern consumers expect. Learn more at www.extensiv.com. 

    Media Contact
    Jill Hillen
    jhillen@extensiv.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: AssetMark Launches New Program to Help Bridge Succession Planning Gap for Financial Advisors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CONCORD, Calif., March 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AssetMark, a leading provider of wealth management and technology solutions for financial advisors, today announced the launch of a new program for advisors, Ascent. The program is aimed at helping advisors face the challenges of succession planning by providing education and guidance throughout the entirety of their career.

    Succession planning has become an increasingly urgent issue for financial advisors as a growing number of them approach retirement, while fewer new entrants are joining the industry. According to data from Cerulli, 72% of new advisors leave the profession shortly after entering, raising concerns about the sustainability of financial advisory practices. The demographic shift within the advisor population is particularly striking, with an estimated 110,000 advisors expected to retire in the next decade. In stark contrast, only 9% of advisors are under the age of 35, while 45% are 55 or older.

    In response to this challenge, AssetMark developed Ascent to support advisors at various stages of their careers. The program offers tailored training and resources designed to help them plan for succession and ensure the continuity of their businesses. The Ascent program features a range of training mediums, mentorship opportunities, and events, structured across three key stages:

    • Embark for Future Advisors: A six-month program for advisors who are new to the industry.
    • Advance for Successor Advisors: A year-long program for next-gen advisor leaders and successors.
    • Summit for Established Advisors: A four-month program for advisors who own their practice and those approaching exit.

    “AssetMark works with thousands of financial advisors who bring up succession planning time and time again as an area where they need greater support,” said Matt Matrisian, Head of Client Growth at AssetMark. “This is why we developed Ascent – to help advisors start their careers with succession planning in mind while providing guidance to more experienced advisors ready to exit their practice, ensuring a smooth process through the entire lifecycle.”

    The program’s structure makes it possible for advisors to make succession decisions that not only assure the continuity of their business but also align with their personal goals and retirement plans. The program’s training provides advisors with a variety of skills – from allowing future advisors to learn about client experiences, to coaching seasoned advisors through overcoming emotions often tied to letting go of their practice.

    “The launch of Ascent is AssetMark’s latest step in our mission to continuously enhance and grow the capabilities that we provide to today’s financial advisors,” said Michael Kim, CEO of AssetMark. “The job of an advisor continues to evolve, so naturally, their expectations of a service partner platform do too. I’m proud of how the AssetMark team continues to meet these expectations in areas that are most important and challenging to advisors, such as succession planning.”

    About AssetMark

    AssetMark operates a wealth management platform whose mission is to help financial advisors and their clients. AssetMark, together with its affiliates AssetMark Trust Company, Voyant, and Adhesion Wealth Advisor Solutions, serves advisors at every stage of their journey with flexible, purpose-built solutions that champion client engagement and drive efficiency. Its ecosystem of solutions equips advisors with services and capabilities to help deliver better investor outcomes by enhancing their productivity, profitability, and client satisfaction. 

    With a history going back to 1996, AssetMark has over 1,000 employees, and its platform serves over 10,700 financial advisors and over 317,000 investor households. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had over $139 billion in platform assets. AssetMark is a Registered Investment Adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information, please visit www.assetmark.com. Follow us on LinkedIn. 

    Media:
    Vesselina Davenport
    Public Relations & Communications
    vesselina.davenport@assetmark.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Samsung Showcases the Future of AI-Powered Connected Living at ‘World of Samsung’ 2025

    Source: Samsung

    LONDON, U.K. – 18 March 2025 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a pioneer for connected device experiences, hosts ‘World of Samsung’ from this Tuesday, 18th March, in Frankfurt, Germany. The event spotlights Samsung’s latest AI-powered innovations across televisions, audio, smart home, digital appliances, gaming, and mobile, showcasing how AI is transforming technology into a seamless extension of everyday life.
     

    [Left to Right – Charlie Bae, Director of Product Business Management (TV and AV), Diana Diefenbach, Senior Manager of Technical Product for DA, Stephanie Chosen, Brand and Product Marketing for MX, Benjamin Braun, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung Europe]
     
    “At Samsung, we’re committed to making all the devices you use smarter and more connected” said Benjamin Braun, Samsung Europe’s Chief Marketing Officer. “World of Samsung is not just about showcasing products – it’s about demonstrating how AI can make daily life better. Whether it’s Vision AI[1] optimising your TV settings for the best viewing or sound experience, or AI-powered mobile and home appliances that adapt to your habits, we’re showing how technology can feel more personal and tangible than ever before.”
     
    Bringing together media and partners, World of Samsung offers a hands-on experience with the latest AI innovations – showing that the connected home of the future is no longer a concept, but a reality. From entertainment and productivity to effortless daily convenience, Samsung is redefining how people interact with technology in ways that are both meaningful and tailored to their unique lifestyles.
     
    Transforming Home Entertainment
    For 19 consecutive years, Samsung has been the world’s number one selling TV brand[2], continuously pushing the boundaries of innovation to deliver exceptional picture quality and cutting-edge AI capabilities. Additionally, for the past 11 years, Samsung has also been the number one selling brand for sound bars[3], ensuring an immersive audio experience that complements its industry-leading displays. Samsung believes that every viewer deserves a screen tailored to their space and lifestyle. That’s why, in 2025, Samsung is offering cinema-quality viewing across a range of screen sizes – from 24 inches all the way up to an expansive 115 inches – without compromise.
     
    Samsung’s 2025 TV line-up introduces the next evolution of AI-powered picture and sound. The latest Neo QLED, OLED, and QLED models, including The Frame and The Frame Pro, integrate advanced AI technologies to redefine the way we experience content. For example, AI Picture Optimiser enhances every frame in real time, using deep learning to intelligently adjust brightness, contrast, and colour for a more lifelike viewing experience.
     
    Meanwhile, Colour Booster Pro, powered by Samsung’s real Quantum Dot technology, expands the colour volume for richer, more vibrant visuals. As a leader in display innovation, Samsung’s Quantum Dot technology utilises ultra-fine semiconductor particles to achieve unbeatable colour accuracy and brightness. Since pioneering no-cadmium Quantum Dots in 2015, Samsung has continued to lead the industry, delivering stunning, true-to-life visuals across its QLED and QD-OLED displays, enhanced by Samsung’s use of indium-based Quantum Dots for exceptional colour purity.
     
    For art lovers, Samsung showcases its biggest Art Store ever, with over 3,000 pieces from 70 world-renowned museums and institutions, now available across all 2025 microLED, Neo QLED and QLED models. Strengthening its commitment to digital art, Samsung is also expanding its partnership with Art Basel, bringing museum-quality artwork directly into customers’ homes. Plus, with Q-Symphony, users can enjoy an immersive audiovisual experience, seamlessly connecting up to three devices with their TV to produce cinematic sound.
     
    Beyond stunning visuals, Samsung is making sure its TVs stay smart and secure for years to come, with 7 years of One UI Tizen updates, backed by Samsung Knox Matrix, ensuring a future-proof and protected entertainment experience.
     
    Samsung is redefining gaming with AI-driven innovations, from AI Auto Game Mode, which optimises visuals and response times for competitive play, to Samsung Gaming Hub, offering seamless access to top cloud gaming services. Coming soon to Europe, the Odyssey OLED G8, the world’s first 27” 4K OLED gaming monitor, delivers ultra-high 166 PPI density and a 240Hz refresh rate for stunning detail and smooth gameplay. Also launching soon, the 49″ Dual QHD Odyssey G9 boasts an impressive 1ms response time and 1000R curved screen for a more immersive experience.
     

     
    AI Home: Smarter Living, Seamlessly Connected
    World of Samsung also showcases how Samsung is bringing AI-powered intelligence to the heart of the home with its latest Bespoke AI appliances and SmartThings connectivity. With SmartThings as the backbone of this ecosystem, Samsung continues to enhance AI Energy Mode[4], helping users reduce electricity costs by charging your Jet Bot AI during non-peak hours or washing a smaller load in cooler temperatures while automating everyday household tasks. Whether optimising energy consumption, providing real-time home insights, or enhancing daily routines, Samsung’s AI-powered solutions are redefining what’s possible in the connected home.
     

     
    Age of Accelerated Mobile Experiences
    At World of Samsung, the Galaxy S25 series takes centre stage, marking a new era of AI-powered mobile experiences. With Galaxy AI, Samsung is making everyday tasks faster, smarter, and more intuitive, whether through Live Translate[5], which enables seamless real-time call translations, or Generative Edit[6] and Drawing Assist[7], which bring AI-driven creativity to photo editing. Additionally, the Now Bar[8] keeps users effortlessly informed with real-time updates on messages, calendar events, and more, directly from the lock screen.
     
    Also showcased is the Galaxy Book5 series, bringing next-level AI computing with AI Select and Samsung Studio, making image, video, and document editing more efficient than ever. Samsung’s mobile innovations go beyond individual devices, integrating seamlessly into the AI-powered ecosystem. With SmartThings Home Insight, users can monitor everything from their pet’s well-being via JetBot to their home’s energy consumption, all from their Galaxy device.
     
    For more information on Samsung’s full range of AI-enhanced products, visit: https://www.samsung.com/uk/
     

     
    [1] Available features may vary by model.
    [2] Samsung TV has been ranked No.1 selling TV Brand for 19 consecutive years by Omdia- Samsung Electronics Marks 19 Consecutive Years as the Global TV Market Leader – Samsung Newsroom U.K.
    [3] Samsung has been ranked No.1 selling soundbar brand for 11 consecutive years by FutureSource Consulting- Samsung Soundbar Tops Global Sales for 11th Consecutive Year – Samsung Newsroom U.K.
    [4] Available on Android and iOS devices. A Wi-Fi connection and a Samsung account are required.
    [5] Live Translate requires a network connection and Samsung Account login. Live Translate is only available on the pre-installed Samsung Phone app. Certain languages may require language pack download. Service availability may vary by language. Accuracy of results is not guaranteed.
    [6] Generative Edit feature for Photo Assist requires a network connection and Samsung Account login. Editing with Generative Edit may result in a resized photo. A visible watermark is overlaid on the image output upon saving in order to indicate that the image is generated by AI. The accuracy and reliability of the generated output is not guaranteed.
    [7] Drawing assist feature requires a network connection and Samsung Account login. A visible watermark is overlaid on the image output upon saving in order to indicate that the image is generated by AI. The accuracy and reliability of the generated output is not guaranteed.
    [8] Some functional widgets may require a network connection and/or Samsung Account login

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why has the Gaza ceasefire collapsed? Why has the US launched aistrikes in Yemen? Middle East expert Q&A

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Scott Lucas, Professor of International Politics, Clinton Institute, University College Dublin

    For the past few weeks, the world’s attention has been focused on the prospect of a ceasefire in Ukraine and the diplomatic manoeuvrings that has entailed. But while Donald Trump has been focusing on negotiations with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, the ceasefire deal in Gaza he had a hand in getting over the line appears to have fallen apart.

    After negotiations with Hamas broke down, Israel cut off all humanitarian aid to Gaza at the beginning of March, then cut off power, and overnight on March 17 launched massive airstrikes across the Strip, killing more than 400 people.

    Meanwhile, the US has responded to attacks on shipping in the Red Sea with massive airstrikes against the Iran-back Houthi rebels. This has been widely interpreted as a message to Iran’s leaders from Trump, who is putting pressure on the Iranian government to negotiate a new nuclear deal to replace the one struck in 2013 which was rejected by the US president in 2018.

    Scott Lucas, a Middle East expert at University College Dublin, addresses some of the key issues involved.

    Do the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza mean the ceasefire deal is officially dead?

    Yes. This is the end of the two-month ceasefire that paused Israel’s open-ended war on Gaza. The six-week phase one of the ceasefire officially ended on March 1, after some hostages held by Hamas were exchanged for some Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

    There never was a possibility of a phase two. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing pressure from hard-right groups inside and close to his government and still vowing to destroy Hamas, was never going to accept a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas remaining in the Strip. Hamas was never going to accept eviction – and there was no prospect of agreement on a successor Palestinian government for Gaza.

    So Netanyahu, also being pressed by families of the remaining 59 hostages, sought an extension of phase one with the return of all those dead or alive. Hamas, whose last leverage is retaining those hostages, demanded a phase two.

    Israel cut off humanitarian assistance earlier this month. Returning to the aerial assault was the next step. The renewal of ground attacks will be next.



    Read more:
    Gaza ceasefire deal looks doomed as Israel blockades Strip and bars entry of humanitarian aid

    What is Israel’s long-term plan for Gaza?

    There is no long-term plan at the moment. Netanyahu needs a short-term return of the hostages to escape his political bind, not to mention his ongoing bribery trial.

    Israel’s hard right – and Donald Trump – may envisage a depopulated Gaza under Israeli military rule. But all such ambitions will be suspended as the death and destruction continues.

    What has been overshadowed is the possibility of a long-term plan in the West Bank, where Israel has been stepping up military operations and violence is escalating. As the world watches Gaza, the Israelis may seek to expand and consolidate their de facto rule through settlements in a programme which will be tantamount to annexation.

    Donald Trump saw the Gaza ceasefire as his deal. How will he react to Netanyahu breaking it?

    Trump was happy to grab the immediate, self-proclaimed glory of “peacemaker” for phase one.

    Since there was no possibility of being a peacemaker for a phase two, Trump set this aside for the fantasy of Trump Gaza and his golden statue on the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

    Now he will be content to blame and bash Hamas.

    Meanwhile the US has been attacking the Houthis in Yemen. What is Trump’s strategy here?

    The airstrikes are, in part at least, Trump speaking to the American public. He poses as a “peacemaker” at times, but he enjoys playing the tough guy. And, at a time when economic issues and Musk-inflicted chaos may dent his approval rating, he could rally support with the bombing.

    At the same time, Trump has carried out his standard ploy with Iran’s leaders: give me a photo opportunity for the “art of the deal” or I’ll “rain hell on you”.

    A direct strike on Tehran would unleash repercussions throughout the Middle East. Even though Iran has been weakened in the past year, it still has the capability to strike Americans in the region.

    Sign up to receive our weekly World Affairs Briefing newsletter from The Conversation UK. Every Thursday we’ll bring you expert analysis of the big stories in international relations.

    So the low-cost option is to fire on Iran’s ally in Yemen. Some officials in the Trump administration will favour this as a way of putting pressure on the Iranians ahead of any potential talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme. Others will see this as part of backing for Israel amid the open-ended war in Gaza, and still others could endorse the step as a bolstering of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. And there is always the argument that the strikes could deter Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

    The Iranian response has been fairly muted. Why is that?

    Iran’s leadership is embroiled in a combination of economic, social and regional problems, perhaps the most serious situation since the mass protests after the disputed 2009 presidential election.

    Tehran’s projection of power has been shaken by the fall of its ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the decimation of Hezbollah in Lebanon last year, and an eroding position in Iraq, where Iran’s influence over the government of prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is looking increasingly tenuous.

    The economy is in a parlous state. In early 2018, the exchange rate was 45,000 Iranian rial to the dollar. Now it is approaching 1 million to the dollar.

    Inflation is officially at 36%, but is far higher in reality, particularly for food and other essentials. Unemployment is rising and infrastructure is crumbling. There are shortages of electricity in a country that is the world’s seventh-largest oil producer.

    Having faced the “Woman, life, freedom” protests since September 2022, the regime is caught between making accommodations to public discontent and cracking down on rights. Some political prisoners have been released, but authorities are pursuing a draconian campaign against women who dare not to wear the hijab.

    Hardliners are trying to curb the centrist government, forcing out the economy minister, Abdolnaser Hemmati, and the foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was central in the 2015 agreement that restricted Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Pursuing both that domestic campaign and confrontation abroad is a tall order.

    What does this mean for a new nuclear deal with Iran?

    Some Trump advisers may believe they can use the sledgehammer in Yemen to bludgeon Iran to the negotiating table and Trump’s photo opportunity with the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, or Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

    Good luck with that. Iran may be weakened, but Khamenei is not going to negotiate at the point of an American weapon. Responding to news of a Trump letter to Tehran that threatened, “There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal,” last week Khamenei dismissed the idea of talking with the Trump administration.

    He said: “When we know they won’t honour it, what’s the point of negotiating? Therefore, the invitation to negotiate … is a deception of public opinion.”

    Recent history is instructive. In 2013, Khamenei finally relented to nuclear deal talks when told by the then president, Hassan Rouhani, of an imminent economic collapse if Iran held out. More than five years later, however, the Iranian leadership was prepared to withstand Trump’s “maximum pressure” and withdrawal from the nuclear agreement.

    Iran’s idea for talks was based on a cautious process beginning with confidence-building measures on both sides. But a US approach predicated on bombing and bluster has effectively sidelined that.

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

    – ref. Why has the Gaza ceasefire collapsed? Why has the US launched aistrikes in Yemen? Middle East expert Q&A – https://theconversation.com/why-has-the-gaza-ceasefire-collapsed-why-has-the-us-launched-aistrikes-in-yemen-middle-east-expert-qanda-252532

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The Winter’s Tale at The Tobacco Factory, Bristol – a marvellous production with much to say about the modern world

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jo Lindsay Walton, Principal Research Fellow in Arts, Climate and Technology, University of Sussex

    The first half rips your heart out. The second attempts, tenderly, to put it back again. This is The Winter’s Tale, currently being performed at The Tobacco Factory, Bristol.

    In Shakespeare’s tragicomedy, King Leontes of Sicilia, in a fit of jealous paranoia, falsely accuses his wife Queen Hermione of adultery with their friend, King Polixenes of Bohemia. Quickfire catastrophe unfolds.

    Before you know it, the couple’s newborn daughter, Perdita, has been abandoned on a Bohemian hillside, left to the mercy of wolves and ravens. Sixteen years later, raised by the mercy of Bohemian shepherds instead, Perdita falls in love with Polixenes’ son. There are disguises. There are japes. And, astonishingly, there is reconciliation.

    It’s a marvellous production, directed by Heidi Vaughan, and it marks a welcome return of Shakespeare to The Tobacco Factory after a hiatus. With a cast drawn from Bristol’s deep talent pool, the connections on stage feel secure, energetic, and richly nuanced.

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

    Hermione and Paulina are two of Shakespeare’s most intriguing roles for women, and Alice Barclay and Rose Wardlow do them justice. Barclay is stunning as the stunned Hermione, while Wardlow brings layers of vulnerability and sarkiness to Paulina’s righteous fury. Many of the smaller and medium roles shine. Amy Loughton (Perdita’s shepherdess mum) and Bill Ward (Polixenes) find organic situational comedy in moments that could easily have been merely functional.

    King Leontes’ tyranny, which dominates the first half, is played by Felix Hayes as a kind of psychotic episode. I’m torn. Hayes has a strong stage presence, with a whiplash switch from gentle loveliness to shuffling, brooding, whimpering monstrosity.

    It’s a spellbinding breakdown. But I was left wondering – might a less unhinged portrayal have better exposed the complicity of the court?

    The costume and set design also feel a little elusive. This ambiguity means the nature of Leontes’ authority is hard to pin down, as is the misogyny that shapes his tyranny. With androgynous-suited courtiers and soft furnishings, it’s hard to pin down the time or place, unless it’s the soft play area at Wacky Warehouse.

    The choice seems deliberate, leaning into that timeless fairytale quality. But The Winter’s Tale is specifically about time, including a particular time – now.

    What The Winter’s Tale can tell us in 2025

    The play celebrates the healing power of time, nature and the turn of the seasons. But the seasons themselves are not immune to tyranny. In other words, The Winter’s Tale is about responses to tyranny, as well as tyranny itself.

    Paulina (Wardlow) attempts to bloody well sort it out. She directly confronts both Leontes (“this most cruel usage of your queen, / not able to produce more accusation / than your own weak-hing’d fancy, something savours / of tyranny”) and the cowardly court (“such as you, /
    that creep like shadows by him, and do sigh / at each his needless heavings”).

    But how about the others? Camillo (Dorian Simpson) pragmatically scurries for the hills to bide his time. Cleomenes (Amy Loughton) musters some flustered bravery. Antigonus (Stu McLoughlin), let’s be frank, deserves to be eaten by a bear. It’s lucky there’s one handy.

    The Winter’s Tale can be tricky to stage in the round. It’s a story filled with centripetal forces – characters beg, vow, comfort, cling, smother – yet the space encourages just the opposite: centrifugal forces, outward motion, striding away, lobbing repartee over a shoulder, performers unfolding like a clockwork mechanism. The round staging comes into its own, however, in beautiful scenes of revelry, song, and dance, which are also scenes of healing.

    Someone once told me that boredom is an important part of healing. The lengthy pastoral scenes of the First Folio Winter’s Tale seem to bear that out. But for this production, Robin Belfield has given the script a tight edit, shortening many of these scenes.

    Ultimately, I’m grateful for the judicious cuts – people do, after all, need to leave the theatre eventually, and the two halves feel equally balanced.

    The Winter’s Tale proposes that real healing comes from remorse, time, and distance. It also comes from the company of those less wrapped up in the trauma. Your wounds will define you until you learn to relinquish the lead role in your own tragedy, and accept a supporting role in somebody else’s comedy.

    By the end of the play, Leontes feels remorse – but is it enough to provide healing for those he has hurt? Or is something more missing – some more explicit reckoning or reparative justice? I don’t know. The Winter’s Tale won’t resolve the question of whether healing is ever truly complete. It only asks whether we are willing to live with the weight of what cannot be undone.

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

    – ref. The Winter’s Tale at The Tobacco Factory, Bristol – a marvellous production with much to say about the modern world – https://theconversation.com/the-winters-tale-at-the-tobacco-factory-bristol-a-marvellous-production-with-much-to-say-about-the-modern-world-251944

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Helping close to 30,000 Canadian workers pursue the jobs and opportunities of tomorrow

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    March 18, 2025                   Gatineau, Quebec                   Employment and Social Development Canada

    The race to decarbonization is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create good-paying jobs, grow our economy and lower harmful emissions. By investing in union training programs and giving tradespeople the green skills required to meet this moment, we are ensuring that Canadian workers play an active role in that race and assume an outsized position in the jobs and opportunities it promises to bring.

    Today, the Minister of Jobs and Families Steven MacKinnon announced more than $67 million across 10 projects to help equip approximately 29,300 tradespeople with high-demand skills as industries shift to greener, low-carbon alternatives. This funding will run from 2025 to 2030.

    These projects, funded by the Sustainable Jobs funding stream of the Union Training and Innovation Program under the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy, complement the investment in the Sustainable Jobs Training Fund that helps thousands of workers to upgrade or gain the new skills required for a green economy.

    This funding is part of the Government’s response to the skilled trades workforce’s most pressing needs, including addressing barriers to successful entry, supporting progression and completion of apprenticeships, addressing the housing crisis, and increasing net-zero construction to unlock Canada’s economic potential.

    Today’s announcement is another step the Government is taking to grow Canada’s economy and create well-paying sustainable jobs for generations to come.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Westminster launches ‘10 by 10’ programme to empower children with new experiences | Westminster City Council

    Source: City of Westminster

    Westminster City Council has launched the 10 by 10 programme designed to give children the opportunity to take part in 10 enriching activities by the time they turn 10-years-old.

    The 10 by 10 programme aims to offer all children free and low-cost opportunities to explore new talents, learn important life skills, and experience everything on offer across Westminster. 10 by 10 represents one of many council initiatives that is intended to reduce inequalities in the City – an objective which sits at the heart of our Fairer Westminster strategy.

    In partnership with schools and local organisations, we have curated a wide-ranging offer to empower children to complete the 10 activities before they turn 10-years-old. All activities are hosted here:

    westminster.gov.uk/10by10

    Examples of the activities on offer include free swimming at Westminster’s leisure centres using the ActiveWestminster Discount Card – ActiveWestminster; sporting, arts and creative sessions via our partner, Young Westminster Foundation Our City | What’s On for Young Londoners; and youth specific opportunities at fantastic museums across Westminster.

    The activities we will be supporting are:

    1. Join in competitive team sports

    2. Play an instrument

    3. Learn to swim

    4. Take part in drama and performing arts. Attending a theatre production

    5. Visit the seaside and the countryside

    6. Experience museums, galleries, and heritage sites in Westminster that include the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Cartoon Museum, Somerset House, (and sites in nearby local authorities – like Natural History Museum, Science Museum, London Zoo)

    7. Take part in camping trips and overnight residentials

    8. Learn to ride a bike to improve children’s confidence

    9. Take part in debating

    10. Register with a library and use it at least 5 times per year

    10 by 10 is an exciting addition to the council’s children’s services department, which was rated Outstanding by Ofsted in January 2025. The programme joins other vital family support services, such as our Family Hubs which are located across Westminster and specialised support for children with disabilities, including the Tresham Centres.

    This campaign is part of the council’s effort to create further awareness of free and low-cost activities in the borough with specific consideration for affordability for residents.

    By ensuring that all children have access to these experiences, we are taking important steps toward creating a fairer and more inclusive city for all.

    Pictured is: Cllr Less, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services; Cllr Hug, Leader of the Council; Lyndsy Killip, Executive Headteacher of London Community Education Federation; Iraklis Kolokotronis, Head of Early Years 

    Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Cllr Aicha Less said:

    All children deserve equal access to enriching activities and the ‘10 by 10’ campaign offers a way to remove barriers that often deny access to these life-changing opportunities.

    Throughout the process we have kept affordability for families in mind – with all activities being offered for free or at a low cost so no child misses out.

    I encourage parents, carers and guardians to get their children involved to empower them with new knowledge, experiences, and confidence.

    To see the free and low-cost activities on offer to help children complete the 10 by 10 check out the directory on the Family Information Hub: westminster.gov.uk/10by10

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ‘High ambition for all pupils’ at Good rated school

    Source: City of Wolverhampton

    Inspectors visited Edward the Elder Primary School last month and, in their report published this week, found that everyone ‘subscribes to the values of partnership for achievement’.

    Staff, pupils and parents ‘are right to be proud of their school’, with pupils achieving ‘high standards’ in reading, writing and mathematics.

    Staff hold ‘consistently high expectations’ for how pupils should behave, and they are described as ‘very polite and friendly’ and praised for the way they ‘concentrate and listen well’.

    The curriculum is ‘well thought through with carefully considered concepts, knowledge and vocabulary identified’. The school, part of Elston Hall Learning Trust, prioritises reading, with staff ‘experts in early reading’ and pupils achieving high standards in the subject.

    Edward the Elder is a ‘very inclusive school with ambition for pupils with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND)’. Pupils with SEND are identified swiftly and support is introduced to help them to succeed. As a result, pupils with SEND ‘achieve well’.

    The school also ‘places importance on building pupils’ character’, with residential visits and a range of inclusive extra curricular activities and visits which ‘enrich the curriculum’.

    Edward the Elder is ‘highly visible in the local community’, regularly involving parents and carers in pupils’ learning, and governors and trustees know their roles and responsibilities well, having ‘an in depth understanding of the work of the school’.

    Inspectors concluded that Edward the Elder Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at its last inspection in 2019, when it was judged to be Good.

    Headteacher Bridget Highman said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the outcome of our recent Ofsted inspection.

    “This result reflects the hard work, dedication and commitment of our talented staff, governors, supportive families, and, most importantly, our wonderful pupils at Team Edwards.

    “It is a testament to the strong community spirit we have here and throughout our Trust, and we will continue to work together to provide the best possible learning environment for every child in our care.”

    Councillor Jacqui Coogan, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, added: “This is an excellent report about a school which has high expectations for its pupils, and which is supporting them to achieve these high expectations.

    “I would like to congratulate Bridget Highman, her leadership team and staff, the governors and trustees and of course the parents and pupils on their continuing success.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ARU to host Plant Empowerment’s first UK workshop

    Source: Anglia Ruskin University

    Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is to host an exclusive workshop aimed at anyone involved in indoor crop production, focusing on increasing yields while cutting resource use.

    Taking place at ARU’s Chelmsford campus on 6-7 May, it will be the first time that Netherlands-based Plant Empowerment – global leaders in sustainable crop production – have run a workshop in the UK.

    Plant Empowerment are renowned for their data-driven approach to optimising plant growth by maintaining natural balances, and their philosophy focuses on enhancing crop resilience, increasing yields, and ensuring efficient use of water, energy, and nutrients.

    The two-day event will feature practical demonstrations and expert insights aimed at growers, industry leaders, innovators, and academics.

    Anglia Ruskin University’s Writtle campus, located just outside Chelmsford, is a leading centre for agricultural and horticultural courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Established as a specialist land-based institution in 1893, Writtle merged with Anglia Ruskin University last year to become ARU Writtle.

    “Plant Empowerment view a greenhouse as a connected ecosystem, where light, water, climate, and nutrients must work in harmony to maximise plant health and productivity. Their innovative approach is transforming indoor crop production, and we’re excited to host their first UK workshop here at ARU.

    “Attendees will benefit from interactive sessions, live demonstrations of technology applications – including greenhouse management and environmental control – and networking opportunities focused on tackling food security and sustainability challenges.”

    Dr Kami Baghalian, Senior Lecturer in Crop Production at ARU Writtle

    Topics that will be covered during the workshop include Exploring the Rootzone: Understanding its critical role in crop health; Light and Irrigation: Managing resources for maximum growth efficiency; A Fresh Approach to Pest and Disease Management: Reducing crop risks through innovation; and Optimal Pollination Strategies: Tailored techniques for both summer and winter conditions.

    The workshop is free for academics and places cost £150 for industry participants. To book, visit https://store.anglia.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/conferences-events/fse-conferences-courses-and-events/fse-conference-courses-events/2-day-plant-empowerment-workshop

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: ICYMI: “Trump’s tariffs are saving the American steel industry”

    Source: The White House

    The American steel industry will be “reinvigorated” by President Donald J. Trump’s tariffs on steel imports, writes Steel Manufacturers Association President Philip K. Bell in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — describing how President Trump’s action to close loopholes and exemptions will strengthen the critical industry.

    “The American steel industry, in other words, is going in reverse, primarily because of increasing imports from exempt countries and product exclusions. With global overcapacity soaring, foreign producers everywhere will take advantage of any gaps in America’s tariffs to find an outlet for their excess steel in the U.S. market.

    The harmful impact of a ton of imported steel sold at the domestic industry’s expense does not depend on whether it comes from an ‘ally’ or ‘adversary’ country.

    A stable supply of domestically produced steel is more important than ever to America’s national, economic and energy security. In the face of the considerable pressure likely to come to exempt certain countries and weaken the tariffs, the president has stayed strong and continued to put America first on steel trade.”

    Read the full op-ed here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Relief Still Available to Montana Private Nonprofits Affected by May Storms

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding eligible private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Montana of the April 18, 2025, deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by the May 6-9, 2024, severe winter storm and flooding.

    The disaster declaration covers the counties of Blaine, Chouteau, Fergus, Hill, Judith Basin, Petroleum, Pondera, Teton, Toole, Wheatland, as well as the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation and the Fort Belknap Indian Community.

    Under the declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to PNPs providing non-critical services of a governmental nature and suffered financial losses directly related to the disaster. Examples of eligible non-critical PNPs include, but are not limited to, food kitchens, homeless shelters, museums, libraries, community centers, schools and colleges.

    EIDLs are available for working capital needs cause by the disaster and are available even if the PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills not paid due to the disaster.

    Interest rates can be as low as 3.25% with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due, until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amount terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

    To apply online, visit SBA.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

    Submit completed loan applications no later than April 18.

    ###

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Lackawanna County Man Sentenced to 96 Months’ Imprisonment for Theft of Major Artwork

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

    SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Thomas Trotta, age 49, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on March 13, 2025, to 96 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a term of supervised release, and to pay restitution in the amount of $2,759,073, by U.S. District Judge Malachy E. Mannion for one count of theft of major artwork.

    According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Trotta had previously pleaded guilty to one count of theft of major artwork, and admitted to stealing the following:

    • “Le Grande Passion” by Andy Warhol and “Springs Winter” by Jackson Pollock stolen in 2005 from the Everhart Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania;
    • Nine (9) World Series rings, seven (7) other championship rings, and two (2) MVP plaques all belonging to Yogi Berra, worth over $500,000 stolen in 2014 from the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center in Little Falls, New Jersey;
    • Six (6) championship belts, including four belonging to Carmen Basilio and two belonging to Tony Zale stolen in 2015 from the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York;
    • The Hickok Belt and MVP Trophy belonging to Roger Maris, stolen in 2016 from the Roger Maris Museum in Fargo, North Dakota;
    • The U.S. Amateur Trophy and a Hickok Belt awarded to Ben Hogan, stolen in 2012 from the USGA Golf Museum & Library;
    • Fourteen (14) trophies and other awards worth approximately $300,000 stolen in 2012 from the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in Goshen, New York;
    • Five (5) trophies worth over $30,000, including the 1903 Belmont Stakes Trophy, stolen in 2013 from the National Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York;
    • Three antique firearms stolen in 2006 from Space Farms: Zoo & Museum in Wantage, New Jersey;
    • A 1903/1904 Tiffany Lamp stolen in 2010 from the Lackawanna Historical Society in Scranton, Pennsylvania,
    • “Upper Hudson” by Jasper Crospey, worth approximately $120,000, stolen in 2011 from Ringwood Manor in Ringwood, New Jersey;
    • Antique firearms worth over $150,000, stolen in 2011 from Ringwood Manor in Ringwood, New Jersey;
    • Hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of gold nuggets stolen in 2011 from the Sterling Hill Mining Museum in Ogdensburg, New Jersey;
    • An antique shotgun worth over $30,000 stolen in 2018 from Space Farms: Zoo & Museum in Wantage, New Jersey;

    Trotta committed the above thefts as part of a larger, eight-person conspiracy.  After a month-long trial held earlier this year, co-conspirators Nicholas Dombek, age 54, of Thornhurst, Pennsylvania, Damien Boland, age 48, of Moscow, Pennsylvania, and Joseph Atsus, age 48, of Roaring Brook, Pennsylvania, were convicted of conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment and disposal of major artwork, and interstate transportation of stolen property, as well as multiple related substantive offenses. They are presently pending sentencing.

    Three additional co-conspirators pleaded guilty pursuant to felony informations and were sentenced by Judge Mannion earlier this year. They include:

    • Dawn Trotta, age 53, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, who was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment and disposal of major artwork, and interstate transportation of stolen property;
    • Frank Tassiello, age 52, of Taylor, Pennsylvania, who was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment and disposal of major artwork, and interstate transportation of stolen property; and
    • Ralph Parry, age 47, of Springbrook Township, Pennsylvania, who was sentenced to three years of probation as well as a period of home-confinement for conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment and disposal of major artwork, and interstate transportation of stolen property.

    After stealing the above-described items, the conspirators would transport the stolen goods back to northeastern Pennsylvania, often to the residence of Dombek, and melt the memorabilia down into easily transportable metal discs or bars.  The conspirators would then sell the raw metal to fences in the New York City area for hundreds or a few thousands of dollars, significantly less than the sports memorabilia would be worth at fair market value.

    Dombek burnt the painting “Upper Hudson” by Jasper Crospey, valued at approximately $100,000, to avoid the painting being recovered by investigators and used as evidence against the members of the conspiracy. The whereabouts of many of the other paintings and stolen objects are currently unknown, however, several antique firearms stolen from the Space Farms: Zoo and Museum and the Ringwood Manor Museum, both in New Jersey, were recovered by investigators.

    The matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Pennsylvania State Police, the New Jersey State Police, the New York State Police, the New Jersey State Park Police, the Newport Police Department (Rhode Island), the Fargo Police Department (North Dakota), the Chester Police Department (New York), the Exeter Borough Police Department (Pennsylvania), the Scranton Police Department, the Franklin Police Department (New Jersey), the Village of Goshen Police Department (New York), the Metropolitan Police Department (Washington, D.C.), the West Milord Township Police Department (New Jersey), the Montclair Police Department (New Jersey), the Saratoga Springs Police Department (New York), the Canastota Police Department (New York), the South Abington Police Department (Pennsylvania), the Bernards Township Police Department (New Jersey), the Salisbury Township Police Department (Pennsylvania), the Montclair State University Police Department (New Jersey) the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office (Pennsylvania), the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office (New Jersey), the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (New Jersey), the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (New York), and multiple other local law enforcement agencies from across the country.   

    Assistant United States Attorneys James M. Buchanan, Jenny Roberts, and Sean Camoni prosecuted the case.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: City Man Charged in 2023 Kidnapping, Death of Philadelphia Man Abducted Outside His Home

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

    PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Tyheem Tyler, 34, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping resulting in death, and aiding and abetting.

    The indictment alleges that on or about March 6, 2023, the defendant traveled to Wey Um’s place of business in Philadelphia and participated in a robbery of Wey Um at gunpoint.

    The indictment further alleges that in the early hours of March 31, 2023, Tyler and his co-conspirators drove a Ford Explorer SUV to Wey Um’s Philadelphia home, kidnapped Wey Um from outside of his residence, and at approximately 2:12 a.m., drove Wey Um in the Ford Explorer to a location near the Delaware River in Philadelphia.

    As alleged, Tyler knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully seized, confined, kidnapped, abducted, carried away, and held, and aided and abetted the unlawful seizing, confining, abduction, carrying away, and holding of, Wey Um, deceased, for ransom, reward, and otherwise, resulting in the death of Wey Um, and in committing and in furtherance of the commission of the offense used means, facilities, and instrumentalities of interstate commerce.

    If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment or death.

    The case was investigated by the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Everett Witherell and Timothy Lanni.

    An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: KIS Bridging Loans announces new research on “The Trump Effect”

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    London, UK , March 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — With the 2024 US presidential election looming, the global financial landscape is bracing for potential volatility. In a newly published article, KIS Bridging Loans explores the implications of ‘The Trump Effect’ on the UK’s economy, interest rates, and investment trends. Read the full analysis here.

    Worldwide Rare Earth Deposits

    The article delves into how market fluctuations, investor sentiment, and trade policies influenced by a possible second Trump administration could affect UK businesses and borrowers. Historically, political shifts in the United States have had a ripple effect on global financial markets, and the UK is no exception.

    “Uncertainty breeds caution in the financial sector, and we’re already seeing a shift in lending patterns,” said [Spokesperson Name], a financial expert at KIS Bridging Loans. “Investors and borrowers alike are closely watching the US election, as the outcome could have significant consequences for interest rates and economic stability in the UK.”

    The in-depth analysis covers key factors such as:

    • The potential impact of Trump’s economic policies on UK trade and investment
    • Fluctuations in the stock market and how they influence UK lending conditions
    • What property investors and homebuyers should anticipate in a changing economic climate

    As financial institutions navigate these uncertain times, KIS Bridging Loans remains committed to providing insights and flexible financing solutions to help borrowers stay ahead of market shifts.

    To read the full article and stay informed on how political developments may shape the UK economy, visit https://www.kisbridgingloans.co.uk/finance-news/the-Trump-effect/.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Proposed merger of CIC Regulator to Companies House

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Proposed merger of CIC Regulator to Companies House

    The proposed merger of the Office of The Regulator of Community Interest Companies to Companies House

    In light of recent announcements we would like to take this opportunity to reassure our customers that for the time being it will be business as usual within the Office of the CIC Regulator, and your obligations and duties as a CIC remain the same.

    Updates to this page

    Published 18 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Companies House launches registration of Authorised Corporate Service Providers

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Companies House launches registration of Authorised Corporate Service Providers

    Companies House has taken a big step towards greater certainty about who is filing information on behalf of companies.

    Today (18 March 2025), sees the launch of a new service that allows third-party corporate service providers, such as accountants, legal professionals and company formation agents to apply to register as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). 

    The new ACSP service is one of the changes being made under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (‘the Act’) to strengthen the business landscape in the UK.  

    As the Act is further implemented, third-party providers will have to register using this new service to file information and confirm that they have verified the identities of their clients.     

    The Act provides a more robust framework for anyone filing on behalf of a company.  

    For example, ACSPs will be required to: 

    • be based in the UK 
    • register with Companies House, providing opportunities for oversight 
    • be registered with a UK supervisory body for anti-money laundering (AML) purposes 
    • retain records of identity verification checks 

    Where appropriate, the registrar may suspend or cease an ACSP’s registration with Companies House.

    Companies House CEO Louise Smyth CBE said:

    The new ACSP regime is a step towards a more transparent and secure business environment in the UK.

    Requiring third party agents to register as authorised corporate service providers will provide assurance that identity checks they carry out achieve the same level of assurance as identity verification directly through Companies House.

    Soon all new and existing company directors (and equivalents), people with significant control, as well as those filing information with Companies House will need to verify their identity.

    This will provide more assurance about who is setting up, running, owning and controlling companies in the UK.

    To become an ACSP, businesses must be registered with one of the UK’s 25 anti-money laundering supervisory bodies. When registering as an ACSP, applicants will need to provide their AML supervisory body membership number.

    Michelle Giddings, Head of AML and Operations, Professional Standards, ICAEW said:

    ICAEW is the largest accountancy professional body supervisor in the UK, supervising around 10,000 firms. We welcome the launch of this new service which will enhance the integrity of the UK’s company registration system, combat financial crime and close the loopholes that have historically facilitated the misuse of corporate entities.

    Chartered accountants can play a vital role in the reforms by registering as an ACSP and supporting their clients with filing information and meeting the new verification requirements.

    The ACSP registration process will need to be completed by someone who holds a senior role within the business, such as a director.  

    Companies House estimates that up to 50,000 businesses could apply to register as ACSPs within 12 months of the service launch.

    Notes to editors

    The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 introduced robust new laws to fight corruption, money laundering and fraud. 

    The changes we are introducing in phases will enable us to crack down on misuse of the UK companies register.

    From 18 March 2025, individuals and organisations will be able to register as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP).

    From 8 April 2025, individuals will be able to voluntarily verify their identity using GOV.UK One Login or via an ACSP.

    In due course, Companies House will be able to: 

    • make identity verification a compulsory part of incorporation and new appointments for new directors and PSCs
    • begin the 12-month transition phase to require more than 7 million existing directors and PSCs to verify their identity – the identity verification will happen as part of the annual confirmation statement filing
    • make identity verification of the presenters a compulsory part of filing any document
    • require third-party agent firms filing on behalf of companies to be registered as an ACSP
    • reject documents delivered by disqualified directors as they will be prohibited from doing so, unless they are delivered by an ACSP for specified filings permitted by law

    Useful links:

    Registering as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) – YouTube

    Guidance: 

    Updates to this page

    Published 18 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Marat Khusnullin: More than 215 thousand square meters of housing have been commissioned and 22 billion rubles have been attracted to the economy on the Crimean peninsula thanks to infrastructure projects

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    Square on Novikov Street, Balaklava, Sevastopol

    Since the reunification of Crimea with Russia in 2014, a large-scale comprehensive work on infrastructure development has been carried out on the peninsula, aimed at creating comfortable living conditions for people and sustainable socio-economic development of the regions. Modern housing, roads, social institutions, housing and communal services facilities are being built, and public spaces are being improved, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin reported.

    “Today we celebrate 11 years since the Crimean Peninsula returned to Russia. During this time, the peninsula has been transformed almost beyond recognition. The state program of socio-economic development, national projects and targeted support instruments have allowed us to create and update the peninsula’s infrastructure at an accelerated pace. This work has yielded results. I would like to note the good pace of housing construction. In particular, effective regional development instruments have contributed – infrastructure budget and special treasury loans (IBK and STK). The projects implemented since 2022 with their help have stimulated the commissioning of 215.5 thousand square meters of housing and attracted more than 22.1 billion rubles of private investment to the local economy,” said Marat Khusnullin.

    Thus, with the involvement of IBC and SKK funds, six housing and communal services facilities were commissioned in the Republic of Crimea. Among them are the reconstructed Moinaki electrical substations in Yevpatoria, Foton and Severnaya in Simferopol. They made it possible to ensure a stable and uninterrupted power supply to thousands of consumers, and also, due to the increase in capacity, to form a reserve for connecting new facilities to the power grid. In addition, the reconstruction of Mramorny Lane, leading to a developing residential area in Simferopol, was completed, and a kindergarten for 250 children was built in the city of Saki. At the expense of IBC, the construction of a kindergarten for 280 children in Yevpatoria and Antichny Prospekt in Sevastopol continues.

    When creating comfortable living conditions for people, much attention is also paid to the improvement of populated areas. This work was successfully carried out within the framework of the national project “Housing and Urban Environment”.

    “Since 2019, about 500 public areas and courtyards have been renovated in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. Moreover, the opinions of local residents are taken into account when choosing priority locations. Last year, more than 213 thousand residents of the peninsula took part in the voting for improvement sites. Now, work on creating a comfortable urban environment continues within the framework of the national project “Infrastructure for Life”. In 2025, it is planned to improve 100 public areas: 77 in Crimea and 23 in Sevastopol,” said Minister of Construction and Housing and Public Utilities Irek Fayzullin.

    For example, the central city square in Yalta was improved. A light and music fountain was installed there, an amphitheater was arranged, navigation systems, shaded areas, and places for tourist groups to gather appeared for the convenience of vacationers. Now this square can host small events and open-air film screenings.

    A promising mechanism for the high-quality renewal of cities, the formation of a comfortable environment for life, work and recreation of citizens is the integrated development of territories. This tool allows for the renewal of housing stock, modernization or creation of the necessary social, communal and transport infrastructure, and the involvement of inefficiently used areas in municipalities in circulation.

    “By the decision of the Government, the Territorial Development Fund, with the involvement of a subsidiary, is implementing the KRT project in the village of Privetnoye in the urban district of Alushta. The total area of the territory to be developed is 480.6 hectares. It is planned to build more than 3.2 million square meters of real estate there. The implementation of the project will contribute to the socio-economic development of the Republic of Crimea, create a year-round resort with beaches and berths for small vessels, as well as with modern infrastructure for comfortable living, increase the tourist flow and attract additional investment to the region. Currently, urban development documentation is being developed, support measures for the construction of infrastructure facilities are being worked out,” said Ilshat Shagiakhmetov, General Director of the Territorial Development Fund.

    In addition, large social facilities are being built on the peninsula. Thus, on the instructions of the President, the Federal Children’s Rehabilitation Center is being built in Yevpatoria. The work is being carried out under the supervision of the public-law company “Single Customer in the Sphere of Construction”.

    “The first stage of the center’s construction is currently being completed. A consultative and diagnostic building and a hospital building with 300 beds have already been erected. They are currently being equipped with new technological and medical equipment. The administrative building was previously put into operation. The construction of a boarding house for accommodating young patients with their parents and a dormitory for medical workers is also ongoing,” said Karen Oganesyan, General Director of the Unified Customer PPC.

    Construction and reconstruction of facilities is underway on the territory of the Kiparisny and Solnechny camps of the International Children’s Center Artek. The infrastructure for the Krymsky training center in Alushta is actively developing – a new sports complex with a swimming pool and a hotel are already ready, and reconstruction of the incline-cross track is ongoing.

    Also in Sevastopol, on Cape Khrustalny, a large cultural cluster with a total area of 150 thousand square meters will appear. The Academy of Choreography has already opened and is working. The museum complex, in which the Russian State Art Gallery will open, is at a high level of readiness.

    The work on the development of the peninsula is aimed not only at updating the infrastructure, but also at creating a favorable investment climate. The growth of the economy of Crimea and Sevastopol is also facilitated by the free economic zone, which has been operating since 2015, and which provides for a special legal regime for doing business. In 2024 alone, its participants invested 58.2 billion rubles in the economy. Today, there are 1,526 participants in the free economic zone, thanks to which 6.4 thousand infrastructure facilities have been commissioned and 111.5 thousand jobs have been created, and 481.2 billion rubles have been invested in the economy of the peninsula, including 272.4 billion rubles in capital investments.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICE, law enforcement partners arrest 24 illegal criminal alien offenders during Charlotte enforcement operation

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with law enforcement partners from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, apprehended 24 illegal aliens in Charlotte during an enhanced targeted enforcement operation which ran March 1 to 8.

    Charges from those arrested included:

    • 13 aggravated felonies or other violent offenses.
    • Three illegal firearms or weapons offenses.
    • Two MS-13 gang member affiliation cases.
    • One assault on a federal officer.
    • Five property crimes.
    • 11 DWI charges.

    Of these criminal aliens, six had active immigration detainers which the Charlotte Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Office had not honored. There are 18 additional targeted aliens still at large who also had detainers that were not honored. ICE has been unable to locate those individuals, and they remain at large and pose a potential danger to the community. These aliens could have been safely and efficiently transferred into ICE custody if their detainers had been honored.

    ICE is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that protects the U.S. homeland through the arrest and removal of those individuals who compromise the safety of our communities and the integrity of our immigration laws.

    Entering the United States without authorization is a violation of federal law, and those who do so may be subject to administrative arrest and, in some cases, criminal prosecution.

    Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

    Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in our communities on X: @EROAtlanta.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Tanner Settlement — Lunenburg District RCMP investigating suspected arson in Tanner Settlement

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Lunenburg District RCMP is investigating a suspected arson after a structure fire in Tanner Settlement.

    On March 17, at approximately 2:10 am, Lunenburg District RCMP and fire services responded to a report of a fire at a home on Tanner Settlement Rd. Upon arrival, the residence was fully engulfed in flames.

    The fire was extinguished, but the home sustained extensive damage. No one was at the residence at the time of the fire.

    Initial investigation indicates the fire was intentionally set.

    The investigation is ongoing and is being led by the Lunenburg District RCMP with assistance from RCMP Forensic Identification Services and the Nova Scotia Fire Marshal’s Office.

    Anyone with information is asked to contact the Lunenburg District RCMP at 902-634-8674. To remain anonymous, contact Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). A secure web tip can be submitted at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca or use the P3 Tips App.

    File #: 2025-345521

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Growers Edge, Compeer Financial, and Evergreen Bank Group Partner to Deliver Rapid Input Financing Offering

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    JOHNSTON, Iowa, March 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Growers Edge, a technology firm that provides modern financial products and data-driven tools for agricultural retailers, manufacturers and lenders, today announced a new partnership with Evergreen Bank Group and Compeer Financial.

    Faced with low profit margins and high interest rates, agricultural retailers and manufacturers have embraced in-house input financing programs to increase wallet share and better serve their grower customers. In-house input financing helps retailers and manufacturers retain sales opportunities and valuable data, unlike other lines of credit (like local operating loans), which can be used elsewhere.

    Together, Compeer Financial, Evergreen Bank Group and Growers Edge provide funding liquidity and a partner branded SaaS platform that simplifies the application, credit decisioning, and loan management process. By empowering agricultural retailers and manufacturers to provide growers with instant financing decisions at competitive rates, the partnership helps growers manage risk and defer payment on new, innovative crop inputs.

    “Given the current state of the ag economy, input financing is a powerful sales tool,” said Andy Flores, Business Development Director at Growers Edge. “Our customer agronomists report that financing conversations are often initiated by growers. They’re willing to try new inputs, but they need their retailer partners to help mitigate the risk.”

    Aligned in their missions of supporting rural communities, Compeer Financial, Evergreen Bank Group and Growers Edge will also partner in the development of other financial products and new digital tools that help growers maximize output, achieve peace of mind and secure their economic futures.

    “This partnership brings financing options to farmers when and where they need it,” said Kelly Miller, Director of AgTech at Compeer Financial. “Growers Edge and Evergreen Bank Group understand the importance of making it easier for clients to do business in their local communities and Compeer Financial is proud to provide a cutting-edge option to do just that.”

    The landmark partnership follows a series of major achievements for Growers Edge. In addition to serving four of the top ten largest retailers in the country with the Crop Plan Warranty, Growers Edge has partnered with organizations like Nutrien, PepsiCo, Mondelez and Helena Agri-Enterprises to boost sustainable agriculture practices.

    In 2024, Growers Edge acquired AQUAOSO Technologies, which offers its services under the Agcor brand and provides mapping, data, and analytics software for agricultural lenders, and expanded its farmland valuation tool to cover more than 144 million acres of land across nine states. Earlier this year, Growers Edge announced it protected over 1 million acres of American farmland from downside risk through its crop plan warranty program.

    To request an input financing platform demo from Growers Edge and request a term sheet, go demo at Growers Edge.

    About Growers Edge

    Growers Edge provides modern financial products and data-driven tools that help forward-thinking agriculture retailers, manufacturers, and lenders reduce their growers’ risks and costs when adopting newer innovative solutions and practices. The company’s crop plan warranties and input financing solutions are trusted by dozens of retailers and manufacturers to assist hundreds of growers affordably purchase their products and guarantee yields on over one million acres of cropland.

    About Compeer Financial

    Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural communities. The $33.1 billion organization provides loans, leases, risk management and other financial services throughout 144 counties in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Based in the Upper Midwest, Compeer Financial exists to champion the hopes and dreams of rural America, while providing personalized service and expertise to clients and the agriculture industry.

    About Evergreen Bank Group

    Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Oak Brook, IL, Evergreen Bank Group is a leading tech-savvy community bank serving the greater Chicago area and beyond. In addition to its retail and commercial banking services, Evergreen is a national leader in niche lending markets, including collector car, powersports, and manufactured housing loans. With a focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences through innovative digital platforms, Evergreen is redefining community banking for the modern era.

    Media Contact
    Sergut Dejene
    sergut@propllr.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Video: UK Supporting people into apprenticeships | House of Lords

    Source: United Kingdom UK House of Lords (video statements)

    Members discuss easing entry requirements for apprenticeships.

    Read a transcript of this question:
    https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2025-03-10/debates/D671E841-131C-4391-A51F-001AC01010DF/ApprenticeshipsEntryRequirements

    Catch-up on House of Lords business:

    Watch live events: https://parliamentlive.tv/Lords
    Read the latest news: https://www.parliament.uk/lords/

    Stay up to date with the House of Lords on social media:

    • X: https://twitter.com/UKHouseofLords
    • Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/houseoflords.parliament.uk
    • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/UKHouseofLords/
    • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UKHouseofLords
    • Flickr: https://flickr.com/photos/ukhouseoflords/albums
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-house-of-lords
    • Threads: https://www.threads.net/@UKHouseOfLords

    #HouseOfLords #UKParliament

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H4k2GI5vgo

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Global: An artist traces her choices under Putin’s Russia – from resistance to retreat to exile – one mural at a time

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Stephen Norris, Professor of History; Director of the Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies, Miami University

    ‘Atlases,’ Victoria Lomasko’s mural at Miami University Used by permission of Victoria Lomasko

    Victoria Lomasko, a graphic artist and muralist, has spent her career documenting how authoritarianism took hold in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. What she has illustrated – as well as the personal journey she has taken – affords a chance to see how dictatorship can develop and strengthen across a decade.

    In 2019, I invited Lomasko – who goes by Vika for short – to Miami University, where I teach Imperial Russian and Soviet history. The Havighurst Center for East European, Russian and Eurasian Studies was holding a semester-long series on “Truth and Power” that also included two other Russian dissidents: Leonid Volkov, then chief of staff for opposition leader Alexei Navalny; and Mikhail Zygar, who helped found the independent news station TV Rain in 2010.

    I asked Lomasko to paint a mural illustrating the consequences of telling the truth in Putin’s Russia – a theme she has explored in all her works. Her completed mural, “Atlases,” depicted the struggle individuals face between desires to protest or to turn inward under authoritarianism.

    Taking action

    Lomasko first gained acclaim for “Other Russias,” which was published in English in 2017. The book is a collection of what she terms “graphic reportage”: comic-style art combined with current events.

    In it, she covered Russians who are largely invisible: activists, sex workers, truckers, older people, provincial residents, migrants and minorities. She wanted to represent them as “heroes” in their own lives, giving them agency and visibility.

    Her heroes came into the public spotlight in 2011 and 2012, when mass protests began in Russia after fraudulent elections and Putin’s return to the presidency. Lomasko attended the protests and sketched the participants. The rallies of 2012 seemed to signify that Russian citizens from a wide range of backgrounds could unite to resist creeping authoritarianism.

    A protester in Moscow asks a police officer, ‘Are the police with the people?’ in an illustration from ‘Other Russias.’
    Used by permission of Victoria Lomasko

    In addition to publishing her drawings, Lomasko also exhibited her work in Moscow and St. Petersburg – a seeming sign that censorship could not prevent an artist or ordinary citizen from voicing their frustration.

    This hope did not last long. Over the next few years, the Kremlin passed a series of laws that designated organizations, then media outlets and eventually individuals as “foreign agents” if they received any funding from abroad.

    Led by then Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky, who was appointed by Putin in 2012, the Russian state also began to demand “patriotic” culture supporting the government, and label anyone who resisted as “unpatriotic.”

    In these years, Lomasko documented how protests shrunk to local levels – truckers who decried a new tax, Muscovites who lamented the destruction of local parks, and urban activists who protested plans to tear down Soviet-era apartments. She still depicted participants as everyday heroes, yet she also noticed how protesters’ brief sense of power through collective action faded into disillusionment after the Kremlin went ahead with its plans.

    An illustration from ‘Other Russias’ of a truckers protest camp in 2016 in Khimki.
    Used by permission of Victoria Lomasko

    Changing tack

    “Other Russias” introduced Lomasko to a worldwide audience. By the time the book came out in 2017, however, she began to question the very basis of her graphic reportage.

    The protests that had inspired hope in 2011 and 2012 had not prevented a more aggressive, more oppressive form of Putinism from taking hold. After the protests, the Kremlin further concentrated power and employed propaganda to stifle dissent, becoming what the scholars Sergei Guriev and Daniel Triesman have called “spin dictators.”

    Was it enough for an artist to document social change? Lomasko concluded that the answer was no – art should offer solutions. She decided to paint murals that would move beyond graphic reportage.

    This new trajectory informed her Miami University project. By the time she arrived in March 2019, Lomasko had completed her first two murals: one for a gallery in England and a second in Germany.

    The first, “The Daughter of an Agitprop Artist,” featured her father, who had worked as a propaganda poster artist in her hometown of Serpukhov in the 1980s. In the mural, her father gazes at his work, the rituals of government-sponsored marches, and Lenin posters plastered everywhere. Young Vika stands with her back to her father, holding a red balloon. She stares at her future self, a woman covering the grassroots protests of 2012.

    Victoria Lomasko’s mural at the Arts Centre HOME in Manchester, England.
    Used by permission of Victoria Lomasko

    “Our Post-Soviet Land,” her second mural, depicted the ways some former Soviet states, particularly Ukraine, were distancing themselves from their communist past after independence – while others, particularly Russia itself, seemed to be increasingly nostalgic for the Soviet era.

    Two paths

    Lomasko spent two weeks on campus at Miami University here in Ohio, completing a mural that built on these themes.

    The central feature are two figures representing contemporary versions of Atlas, the titan who held up the world in Greek mythology. One faces left, toward a group of people praying in front of an Orthodox icon of Jesus. Here Lomasko depicts one path Russians took in response to the oppressive nature of Putinism: turning inward, retreating to a spiritual life.

    The second Atlas gazes upward, holding an artist’s brush. Below this figure a series of people take to the streets, protesting. They hold flags and banners representing a number of causes, including the 2011 “Occupy” movement in the United States. Lomasko’s message seems clear: This is a second path to take to resist authoritarianism – one that might succeed if participants see themselves connected across borders.

    Victoria Lomasko stands with her mural ‘Atlases’ at Miami University.
    Stephen Norris

    Art in exile

    After unveiling “Atlases,” Lomasko mentioned that she was still trying to retain hope for her country and for humanity. Once again, it did not last long.

    During the first two terms of Putin’s presidency, and that of Dmitry Medvedev, the government had largely left citizens’ speech alone, though it controlled information through state media. In 2018 and 2019, however, Russia passed laws that clamped down on internet access and mobile communication.

    Lomasko could no longer exhibit her work in Russia and was increasingly unable to find paid work as an artist. As she told me, the state considered her unvarnished depictions of ordinary Russians to be distasteful, while publishers and gallery owners considered her works politically dangerous.

    When the country began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, these changes allowed the government to criminalize opposition. Lomasko made the difficult decision to flee Moscow. She took her cat and as many artworks as she could carry, but she had to abandon most of her possessions. She documented this new journey the only way she knew: through a series of art panels titled “Five Steps.”

    “Isolation” encapsulates how Lomasko and dissidents like her grew ever more cut off from the rampant patriotism espoused by Putin. “Escape” shows her leap into the unknown, fleeing her country because she feared arrest, while others are caught up in war and political repression.

    “Exile” depicts Lomasko starting anew in a different country. “Shame,” the most powerful, seeks to capture her emotions at having to flee, as well as the shame she felt for what Russia was doing to Ukraine. “Humanity” retains the artist’s attempt to preserve her optimism – her sense that humans have more in common than they have differences, and that seeing oneself within a larger, global community might give power to the invisible.

    ‘Humanity,’ by Victoria Lomasko.
    Used by permission of Victoria Lomasko

    Tens of thousands of Russians have left the country since the start of the war, many of them artists and activists. Zygar and Volkov – the two other Russian citizens on campus for our university’s 2018-19 series – have also had to flee.

    Lomasko’s art helps trace how authoritarianism took hold in Russia across the past decade. I believe her responses to Putin’s dictatorship, including her decision to flee her homeland, offer us all something to ponder.

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

    – ref. An artist traces her choices under Putin’s Russia – from resistance to retreat to exile – one mural at a time – https://theconversation.com/an-artist-traces-her-choices-under-putins-russia-from-resistance-to-retreat-to-exile-one-mural-at-a-time-250486

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Social movements constrained Trump in his first term – more than people realize

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Kevin A. Young, Associate Professor of History, UMass Amherst

    Donald Trump’s first term as president saw some of the largest mass protests seen in the U.S. in over 50 years, from the 2017 Women’s March to the 2020 protests after George Floyd’s murder.

    Things feel different this time around. Critics seem quieter. Some point to fear of retribution. But there’s also a sense that the protests of Trump’s first term were ultimately futile. This has contributed to a widespread mood of despair.

    As The New York Times noted not long ago, Trump “had not appeared to be swayed by protests, petitions, hashtag campaigns or other tools of mass dissent.” That’s a common perspective these days.

    But what if it’s wrong?

    As a historian, I study how our narratives about the past shape our actions in the present. In this case, it’s particularly important to get the history right.

    In fact, popular resistance in Trump’s first term accomplished more than many observers realize; it’s just that most wins happened outside the spotlight. In my view, the most visible tactics – petitions, hashtags, occasional marches in Washington – had less impact than the quieter work of organizing in communities and workplaces.

    Understanding when movements succeeded during Trump’s first term is important for identifying how activists can effectively oppose Trump policy in his second administration.

    Quiet victories of the sanctuary movement

    Mass deportation has been a cornerstone of Trump’s agenda for more than a decade. Yet despite his early pledge to create a “deportation force” that would expel millions, Trump deported only half as many people in his first term as Barack Obama did in his first term.

    Progressive activists were a key reason. By combining decentralized organizing and nationwide resource-sharing, they successfully pushed scores of state and local governments to adopt sanctuary laws that limited cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

    When the sociologist Adam Safer examined thousands of cities and dozens of states, he found that a specific type of sanctuary law that activists supported – barring local jails and prisons from active cooperation with ICE – successfully reduced ICE arrests. A study by legal scholar David K. Hausman confirmed this finding. Notably, Hausman also found that sanctuary policies had “no detectable effect on crime rates,” contrary to what many politicians allege.

    Another important influence on state and local officials was employers’ resistance to mass deportation. The E-Verify system requiring employers to verify workers’ legal status went virtually unenforced, since businesses quietly objected to it. As this example suggests, popular resistance to Trump’s agenda was most effective when it exploited tensions between the administration and capitalists.

    The ‘rising tide’ against fossil fuels

    In his effort to prop up the fossil fuel industry, Trump in his first term withdrew from the Paris climate agreement, weakened or eliminated over 100 environmental protections and pushed other measures to obstruct the transition to green energy.

    Researchers projected that these policies would kill tens of thousands of people in just the United States by 2028, primarily from exposure to air pollutants. Other studies estimated that the increased carbon pollution would contribute to tens of millions of deaths, and untold other suffering, by century’s end.

    That’s not the whole story, though. Trump’s first-term energy agenda was partly thwarted by a combination of environmental activism and market forces.

    His failure to resuscitate the U.S. coal industry was especially stark. Coal-fired plant capacity declined faster during Trump’s first term than during any four-year period in any country, ever. Some of the same coal barons who celebrated Trump’s victory in 2016 soon went bankrupt.

    CBS News covered the bankruptcy of coal firm Murray Energy, founded by Trump supporter Robert E. Murray.

    The most obvious reasons for coal’s decline were the U.S. natural gas boom and the falling cost of renewable energy. But its decline was hastened by the hundreds of local organizations that protested coal projects, filed lawsuits against regulators and pushed financial institutions to disinvest from the sector. The presence of strong local movements may help explain the regional variation in coal’s fortunes.

    Environmentalists also won some important battles against oil and gas pipelines, power plants and drilling projects. In a surprising number of cases, organizers defeated polluters through a combination of litigation, civil disobedience and other protests, and by pressuring banks, insurers and big investors.

    In 2018, one pipeline CEO lamented the “rising tide of protests, litigation and vandalism” facing his industry, saying “the level of intensity has ramped up,” with “more opponents” who are “better organized.”

    Green energy also expanded much faster than Trump and his allies would have liked, albeit not fast enough to avert ecological collapse. The U.S. wind energy sector grew more in Trump’s first term than under any other president, while solar capacity more than doubled. Research shows that this progress was due in part to the environmental movement’s organizing, particularly at the state and local levels.

    As with immigration, Trump’s energy agenda divided both political and business elites. Some investors became reluctant to keep their money in the sector, and some even subsidized environmental activism. Judges and regulators didn’t always share Trump’s commitment to propping up fossil fuels. These tensions between the White House and business leaders created openings that climate activists could exploit.

    Worker victories in unlikely places

    Despite Trump self-promoting as a man of the people, his policies hurt workers in numerous ways – from his attack on workers’ rights to his regressive tax policies, which accelerated the upward redistribution of wealth.

    Nonetheless, workers’ direct action on the job won meaningful victories. For example, educators across the country organized dozens of major strikes for better pay, more school funding and even against ICE. Workers in hotels, supermarkets and other private-sector industries also walked out. Ultimately, more U.S. workers went on strike in 2018 than in any year since 1986.

    This happened not just in progressive strongholds but also in conservative states like West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kentucky. At least 35 of the educators’ strikes defied state laws denying workers the right to strike.

    In addition to winning gains for workers, the strike wave apparently also worked against Republicans at election time by increasing political awareness and voter mobilization. The indirect impact on elections is a common side effect of labor militancy and mass protest.

    Quiet acts of worker defiance also constrained Trump. The early months of the COVID-19 pandemic featured widespread resistance to policies that raised the risk of infection, particularly the lack of mask mandates.

    Safety-conscious workers frequently disobeyed their employers, in ways seldom reflected in official strike data. Many customers steered clear of businesses where people were unmasked. These disruptions, and fears they might escalate, led businesses to lobby government for mask mandates.

    This resistance surely saved many lives. With more coordination, it might have forced a decisive reorientation in how government and business responded to the virus.

    Labor momentum could continue into Trump’s second term. Low unemployment, strong union finances and widespread support for unions offer opportunities for the labor movement.

    Beyond marches

    Progressive movements have no direct influence over Republicans in Washington. However, they have more potential influence over businesses, lower courts, regulators and state and local politicians.

    Of these targets, business ultimately has the most power. Business will usually be able to constrain the administration if its profits are threatened. Trump and Elon Musk may be able to dismantle much of the federal government and ignore court orders, but it’s much harder for them to ignore major economic disruption.

    While big marches can raise public consciousness and help activists connect, by themselves they will not block Trump and Musk. For that, the movement will need more disruptive forms of pressure. Building the capacity for that disruption will require sustained organizing in workplaces and communities.

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

    – ref. Social movements constrained Trump in his first term – more than people realize – https://theconversation.com/social-movements-constrained-trump-in-his-first-term-more-than-people-realize-248843

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –