NewzIntel.com

Category: housing

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: First Minister to convene gathering on democracy and respect

    Source: Scottish Government

    A new initiative to unite Scotland together against extremism.

    First Minister John Swinney will convene a pivotal gathering of Scottish society to work together and unite Scotland against the “increasingly extreme far right”. 

    Representatives from key organisations across Scotland including churches, trades unions and charities will be invited to attend a gathering in April, alongside the leaders of Scotland’s parliamentary parties.

    Speaking at a press conference at Bute House, following the passage of the 2025-26 Budget, the First Minister said the new gathering will be an opportunity renew public trust in politics and unite Scotland in a common cause – “for democracy and respect.” 

    The First Minister said:

    “At the start of the year, I warned that failure to pass the budget would send a signal that Parliament and politics could not deliver. That failure would only serve the interests of an increasingly extreme far right and leave devolution dangerously exposed.

    “But the budget has passed, and a different story can be told. Yesterday’s vote demonstrated that partnership and collaboration are possible. And that is something precious, something vitally important itself.

    “But we must do more. It is time to come together to draw a line in the sand. To set out who we are and what we believe in. 

    “The threat from the far right is real. But that leaves me all the more convinced that working together is not only the right choice, but the only choice. 

    “That is why I want to share a new initiative to bring Scotland together in common cause. I want us to work together to agree a common approach to asserting the values of our country, to bringing people together and creating a cohesive society where everyone feels at home.

    “It was a mobilisation of mainstream Scotland that delivered our parliament a quarter of a century ago. And I have no doubt, it is only by mobilising mainstream Scotland that we can protect those things we care most about, those things that are most important to us today.”

    Background

    The First Minister will write to all party leaders and the leaders of civic organisations with the details of the upcoming gathering in due course. 

    A new initiative to bring Scotland together: First Minister’s speech – 26 February 2025 – gov.scot

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: RSE award success for University of Aberdeen Groundbreaking research from the University of Aberdeen has been recognised in the autumn 2024 RSE Research Awards open call.

    Source: University of Aberdeen

    Groundbreaking research from the University of Aberdeen has been recognised in the autumn 2024 RSE Research Awards open call.

    Ten researchers from the University will share the £686,000 total funding alongside a number of other Scottish higher education institutions. Recipients will use the funding to further their research across a diverse range of topics including international child protection laws, real estate advertising and biological diversity. 

    The Aberdeen researchers who received the funding are: 

    Dr Jesse Barker, whose research project Out of frame: Ecomedia in Spain examines how Spanish media has engaged with environmental themes amid a history of civil war and dictatorship. 

    Dr Vasilis Louca, who will use hydrophones to record the diversity of underwater sounds emitted by aquatic plants and invertebrates in Scottish wetlands, with the aim of understanding how sound diversity reflects actual levels of biological diversity in these ecosystems. 

    Dr Miracle Israel Nazarious with collaborators Professor Javier Martin-Torres and Dr Bartosz Kurjanski. Their project will advance a novel liquid sampling and ion analysis technology specifically designed for long-term deployments. The technology could have benefits from monitoring the quality of our local water supplies, to investigating the role of liquid environments such as rivers, lakes and oceans on Earth’s climate. 

    Professor Katarina Trimmings, whose project Cross-border protection of children: The 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention will investigate the legal challenges surrounding the protection of children in cross-border situations involving transnational families. 

    Dr Rainer Schulz, who will examine strategies of real estate agents when they advertise residential properties on local listings platforms. 

    Dr Arianna Zampollo and Professor Beth Scott, whose collaborative project with the CNR Institute of Marine Sciences in Italy will study the impacts of blue renewable energy (wind farms and floating solar panels) on hydrodynamics and nutrient dispersion in Scottish and northern Adriatic coastal waters. 

    And Professor Marian Wiercigroch’s project, Advanced modelling techniques for energy transition technologies, will explore the cutting edge nonlinear structural dynamics experimental methods for offshore wind turbine monitoring, which support the GB Energy agenda. 

    The RSE’s Research Awards Programme runs twice a year in spring and autumn. It aims to support Scotland’s research sector by nurturing promising talent, stimulating research in Scotland, and promoting international collaboration. Aberdeen is one of 10 of the 19 Scottish higher education institutions successful in this round of funding.  

    Professor Nick Forsyth, Vice-Principal (Research) said: “The University of Aberdeen has been at the forefront of groundbreaking interdisciplinary research for more than 500 years and these projects are testament to the commitment and ambition of our researchers. Recognition in this latest round of RSE funding demonstrates the global impact of work undertaken at the University and my congratulations go to our researchers for this exceptional achievement.” 

    RSE Vice President, Research, Professor Anne Anderson OBE FRSE said: “The RSE’s Research Awards Programme is crucial in supporting Scotland’s vibrant research community. These awardees will drive forward knowledge, address global challenges, and make valuable contributions to Scottish society. On behalf of the RSE, I congratulate these outstanding researchers and their international collaborators, and I look forward to following the outcomes of their work.” 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin, Schiff, Senate Judiciary Democrats Oppose Use Of Federal Prisons As Part Of President Trump’s Mass Deportation Efforts

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

    February 25, 2025

    Senate Judiciary Democrats to Pam Bondi: “We write to object to the recent decision to use Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities to detain immigrants swept up in the Trump Administration’s mass deportation efforts and urge you to reconsider this plan”

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) led a group of Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi stating opposition to the Trump Administration’s intended use of Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities to detain immigrants. The move is a policy revival from President Trump’s first Administration, where detained immigrants described allegations of mistreatment and unconstitutional detention conditions.

    The Senators begin by describing the allegations of mistreatment and unconstitutional detention conditions experienced under the previous Trump Administration, which this announcement revives, writing:“We write to object to the recent decision to use Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities to detain immigrants swept up in the Trump Administration’s mass deportation efforts and urge you to reconsider this plan. During the previous Trump Administration, detained immigrants described alleged mistreatment and unconstitutional detention conditions in federal prisons.  The detainees, many of whom were seeking asylum, lacked access to legal counsel, religious rights, phone calls, educational or other programming, and even clean clothing. Despite this troubling history, the current Trump Administration is apparently relying on the same poorly conceived detention scheme.”

    The Senators continue by stating concerns with the February 7th memo from BOP’s Correctional Programs Branch directing the policy change, writing: “[This memo fails] to provide meaningful guidance and direction to staff on the serious questions raised by these instructions. These questions include how to manage interactions between civil immigration detainees and the existing criminally incarcerated population; how the Department of Justice (DOJ) and DHS will ensure BOP staff receive adequate training and resources to meet the needs of the civil immigrant detainee population; and whether BOP facilities would even be able to meet basic immigration detention standards. Due to BOP already suffering from years of understaffing, inadequate resources, and crumbling infrastructure, the Administration’s decision to revive immigration detention in BOP facilities seriously threatens the safety and well-being of BOP staff, incarcerated individuals, and immigrant detainees.”

    The Senators then outline the long-faced staffing and infrastructure challenges that this policy change would perpetuate, as detailed by labor unions and previous Senate Judiciary Committee hearings. Additionally, they describe understaffing as just “one symptom of chronic underinvestment in the Bureau,” among which include growing maintenance needs that executive staff characterize as a “foundational, enterprise-wide challenge” to the tune of $3 billion.

    The Senators conclude by summarizing the challenges facing the Bureau that make immigration detention at BOP facilities problematic, writing: “Until serious funding and staffing challenges outlined above are addressed, federal prisons simply cannot safely and humanely meet the needs of its current inmate population, much less the needs of civil immigration detainees. Immigration detainees in federal prisons will face substandard conditions and care and their detention will only exacerbate significant institutional problems facing the Bureau. We therefore urge you to reconsider this plan and instead work with us to address BOP’s existing challenges.”

    In addition to Durbin and Schiff, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

    For a PDF copy of the letter to Attorney General Bondi, click here.

    During his tenure as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Durbin prioritized oversight of BOP and revived the Committee’s practice of holding annual BOP oversight hearings. In April 2021, the Committee held a BOP oversight hearing with then-Director Carvajal to address chronic understaffing issues and other concerns.  Later, Durbin called for a new, reform-minded BOP Director after an Associated Press report that found that BOP is a “hotbed of abuse, graft and corruption, and has turned a blind eye to employees accused of misconduct.” Then-Director Carvajal’s resignation was announced less than two months later.

    In September 2022, the Committee held its second BOP oversight hearing under Durbin, which was BOP Director Peters’ first time testifying before Congress since taking over as head of the Bureau. At that hearing, Durbin pressed Director Peters about abuse in federal prisons. In September 2023, Durbin held his third BOP oversight hearing. 

    In February 2024, Durbin convened a hearing entitled “Examining and Preventing Deaths of Incarcerated Individuals in Federal Prisons” at which Director Peters and DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz testified regarding issues related to the operation and management of BOP, including staffing shortages, that contributed to deaths in custody.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: In Senate Floor Speech, Durbin Announces Resolution With Van Hollen, Alsobrooks, Other Senate Democrats To Support Critical Work At NIH As Elon Musk, President Trump Continue To Slash Funding

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

    February 25, 2025

    Durbin asked for unanimous consent from the Senate to pass a resolution in support of NIH; Republicans rejected it

    WASHINGTON – Today, in a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked for unanimous consent (UC) to pass a resolution he introduced with U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), as well as 21 other Senators, that would pledge support for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as President Trump and Elon Musk continue to illegally cut funding and resources at NIH. The resolution simply says that the work of NIH should not be subject to interruption, delay, or funding disruptions in violation of the law, and it reaffirms that the NIH workforce is essential to sustaining medical progress. U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) rejected Durbin’s UC request.

    “All the progress we have made [at NIH], all the progress we hope to make is in danger because of Donald Trump and Elon Musk. That’s right—these two men promised to bring down the price of eggs, gasoline, and make housing more affordable. None of that has happened. Instead, they are carrying out an unprecedented and devastating campaign to cut research funding for cancers, ALS, Alzheimer’s, dementia, and infectious diseases,” Durbin said. “Instead of making life better for Americans, they want to slash research funding for the National Institutes of Health.”

    Durbin continued, “NIH funding is why people are beating cancer, why babies are being spared from preventable illnesses, why HIV is no longer a death sentence, why progress is being made on dementia and other neurological diseases.”

    Since the start of this Administration, the White House has unleashed a lawless, chaotic attack on everything from funding for farmers to biomedical research.

    “Let me tell you this—there is nothing to cheer about when it comes to [cutting] medical research. It was this bizarre memo from the Office of Management and Budget that illegally froze federal grant funding. They even prohibited the recipients of federal grants and medical research from physically meeting in the same place… The cuts that were announced by this Administration were quickly halted by a federal judge… but it seems even though the Court made a ruling, this Administration is still holding up funding, in violation of the court’s order. As a result, NIH has delayed awarding approximately $1 billion in grant funding—delaying research at institutions nationwide,” Durbin said.

    Durbin spoke about how the Administration’s cuts to NIH is harming one of his constituents, Dr. Timothy Koh—a Professor of Kinesiology and Nutrition at the University of Illinois Chicago. For 15 years, Dr. Koh has been researching why people with diabetes develop wounds that do not heal, as well as researching treatments to address these wounds. While having steady federal funding for his research through the years, Dr. Koh was recently informed that his NIH grant application is on hold because of the federal funding freeze. His current grant is scheduled to end on Friday, and if his grant is not renewed, he will have to lay off lab staff and will see major setbacks in his research. Dr. Koh recently said, “It’s going to potentially put an end to my research career, and we won’t be able to develop these new therapies for diabetic [patients].”

    “Make no mistake: under the Constitution, Congress is supposed to have the ‘power of the purse’ and over the past decade, bipartisan members of Congress have worked on a bipartisan basis to [increase] NIH’s funding [by 60 percent]… We did this because we know that NIH funding leads to new cures and treatments for patients in need, it supports well-paying jobs nationwide, and it cements our global leadership,” Durbin continued.

    Illinois universities and hospitals receive approximately $1.2 billion in NIH funding—which supports 14,000 jobs in the state and $3.5 billion in economic activity. Reports indicate that 1,200 NIH employees have been fired so far under President Trump and Musk’s direction—from experienced vaccine researchers to the next generation of scientists, to the Acting Director of the NIH’s Alzheimer’s and dementia program. Further, President Trump and Musk have reportedly ended a popular trainee program that brought 1,600 young scientists just out of college to the NIH’s world-renowned campus in Maryland to help run labs.

    Durbin concluded, “NIH research leads to the new cures and treatments that extend, improve, and save lives which is why I am introducing a resolution today to simply say of Senators on both sides of the aisle: let’s pledge support to make NIH an exception. Let’s not let wanton cuts stop something very valuable. This resolution is straight-forward—it says that the work of NIH should not be subject to interruption, delay, or funding disruptions in violation of the law, and it reaffirms that the workforce of the NIH is essential to sustaining medical progress… This is not controversial—Americans get sick on a bipartisan basis—shouldn’t we support medical research on a bipartisan basis? For as long as I can stand, for as long as I can speak, I will fight to protect NIH and the medical research it supports… I hope my Republican colleagues wake up and join me before it’s too late.”

    Van Hollen and Alsobrooks—whose state is home to NIH’s campus—helped lead the introduction of today’s resolution with Durbin. Along with Durbin, Van Hollen, and Alsobrooks, today’s resolution was cosponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Peter Welch (D-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Angus King (I-VT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Jack Reed (D-RI).

    “The dedicated civil servants at NIH work tirelessly on behalf of the American people to develop medical advancements that save lives. Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s reckless efforts to attack the agency are not only throwing this critical work into chaos, they’re also flat-out illegal. It’s disgraceful that Republicans refuse to join us in defending what has been a long record of bipartisan investment in biomedical research that helps Americans live longer, healthier lives,” said Van Hollen.

    “The Marylanders who work at NIH are contributing to lifesaving research and medical advancements. To stop this work will literally cost lives. The President and this Administration are no longer just targeting civil servants—they’re targeting the American people,” said Alsobrooks.

    Video of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here.

    Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here.

    Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here for TV Stations.

    Text of the resolution can be found here.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: TopLine Financial Credit Union Members and Employees Provide Warmth to Those in Need This Winter

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MAPLE GROVE, Minn., Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TopLine Financial Credit Union, a Twin Cities-based member-owned financial services cooperative, held their fourth annual Winter Gear Drive during the month of January benefitting local non-profits, Avenues for Youth, Karen Organization of Minnesota, MORE Community Services and YMCA of the North Youth and Family Services. TopLine members and employees generously donated winter gear items of youth and adult size jackets, boots, gloves, hats, scarves, socks and more to help bring warmth to those in need in our local communities.

    Employees were able to participate by donating winter gear items and money in exchange for a “Foundation Friday/Saturday” sticker, allowing them to wear jeans to work. TopLine and community members could also purchase items from an Amazon Wishlist or Target Registry and have them delivered directly to TopLine, and in return delivered to the charitable partners. When the program ended TopLine employees and members had donated over 493 winter gear items and $1,191 in cash to assist local individuals and families.

    “We are dedicated to meeting the needs identified by our nonprofit partners through various donation drives,” said Mick Olson, President and CEO of TopLine. “We are grateful for the generosity of our donors who have supported youth, adults, and families in our communities by donating coats, hats, mittens, scarves, and other warm winter items. We deeply appreciate our nonprofit partners who handle the distribution of all collected items.”

    Avenues for Youth provides emergency shelter, short-term housing and supportive services for homeless youth in a safe and nurturing environment. There are over 6,000 homeless youth in Minnesota each night. Avenues shelters in Brooklyn Park and Minneapolis help over 300 youth. Visit www.avenuesforyouth.org.

    Karen Organization of Minnesota provides refugees with resources and programs to remove barriers and achieve economic, social and cultural well-being. Visit https://mnkaren.org.

    MORE Community Services provides refugees and immigrants with education and support, helping them achieve economic and social independence today and for generations to come. Visit more-empowerment.org.

    The YMCA of the North Youth and Family Services is a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.
    To learn more about the Y’s mission and work, visit https://www.ymcanorth.org/impact.

    TopLine Financial Credit Union, a Twin Cities-based credit union, is Minnesota’s 9th largest credit union, with assets of over $1.1 billion and serves over 70,000 members. Established in 1935, the not-for-profit financial cooperative offers a complete line of financial services from its ten branch locations — in Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Champlin, Circle Pines, Coon Rapids, Forest Lake, Maple Grove, Plymouth, St. Francis and in St. Paul’s Como Park — as well as by phone and online at www.TopLinecu.com or www.ahcu.coop. Membership is available to anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school or volunteers in Anoka, Benton, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Pine, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Washington and Wright counties in Minnesota and their immediate family members, as well as employees and retirees of Anoka Hennepin School District #11, Anoka Technical College, Federal Premium Ammunition, Hoffman Enclosures, Inc., GRACO, Inc., and their subsidiaries. Visit us on our Facebook or Instagram. To learn more about the credit union’s foundation, visit www.TopLinecu.com/Foundation.

    CONTACT:
    Vicki Roscoe Erickson
    Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
    TopLine Financial Credit Union
    verickson@toplinecu.com | 763.391.0872

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/569e6412-d235-42f2-b3a7-82b07a9a58f4

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Signature Systems, Inc. Announces Slate Of New Features For Casino POS

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WARMINSTER, Pa., Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Signature Systems, Inc. (SSI), the award-winning hospitality technology provider known for their point-of-sale,PDQ POS, is proud to announce the release of “The Multi-Revenue Center Update.” This new software revision, numbered 3.5.383, gives operators of facilities that contain multiple food & beverage operations the ability to place orders and accept payment for any of those operations wirelessly. Guests can place, pay for and receive orders for any restaurant on premises without the need to leave their seat.

    With the new Multi-Revenue Center Update, staff can easily select any of their locations with one tap and take orders from a wireless POS tablet. Patrons at slot machines, tables, sportsbooks or at other locations can place orders for their favorite food and beverage items and have it delivered to them without taking their eyes off of the game.

    Contained in this update is the new virtual table functionality, which allows staff to easily create or transfer tabs for guests who are not at a pre-programmed location, like a set table or bar seat. This functionality also grants the ability to easily track customers who move locations, like from a table to a bar, or from a bar to a sportsbook without needing to close out and create a new tab.

    “The gaming industry is modernizing, using data and technology to enhance guest’s experiences, increasing retention,” said John White, EVP/CIO of Signature Systems Inc. “We’re modernizing along with them and, with this software update, casinos can take another big step forward. Multiple revenue centers from any POS removes a pre-existing limit to guest enjoyment and helps operators use hardware more efficiently.”

    Included in the software update is also the much-anticipated SMS Waitlist feature. Which allows for hosts and other staff to quickly add guests to a waitlist and be notified via SMS text message when their table is ready. This new functionality removes the need for special notification devices to hand to guests on the waitlist or additional software subscriptions.

    “When designing software for these environments, it’s crucial to consider the experiences of both guests and staff,” Said Justin Andrews, Lead Software Engineer at Signature Systems, Inc. “By improving operational efficiency and the speed of interaction, we can increase revenue and boost customer satisfaction.”

    About Signature Systems (SSI)

    With deep roots in food and beverage, Signature Systems, Inc. (SSI), is a 35-year tenured technology solutions provider whose signature product is PDQ POS, a top rated, all-concept point of sale management system. SSI differentiates itself from all others by virtue of its all-in-one, custom solution sets; all-in-house, domestic teams (including development, live 24x7x365 support, and data/cyber security); and all-in-accountability for prompt, accurate issue resolution.

    Products & services include natively integrated enterprise reporting w/mobile app, natively integrated Delivery Toolkit mobile app, natively integrated custom online ordering, 3rd party delivery fulfillment,

    an array of guest empowerment solutions including self-serve kiosks with multiple tenders, full PCI DSS compliance, comprehensive menu management, value-added integrations, expert project management, onsite training and education, and much more. Learn more at PDQpos.com and

    SSIpos.com, for all casino/hospitality-based restaurants, bars, and retail.

    SSI is the proud winner of the 2022 Innovation Award from Gaming & Leisure©.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0ec5b944-1695-4254-9a84-d09811651780

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council takes fresh vision for growth and prosperity to the heart of Government

    Source: City of Stoke-on-Trent

    At the start of our centenary year, Stoke-on-Trent is today taking a fresh vision for the city’s growth and prosperity to the heart of Government.

    The prospectus document – called Future 100 – is based around five missions and sets out a bold set of actions that, together, aim to transform the city’s economy and unlock prosperity and opportunity for decades to come.  

    A delegation – made up of the city’s MPs, the council leader, and representatives from the business and voluntary sectors – will deliver the document to 10 Downing Street today.  

    The prospectus, which has the subtitle “Shaping Our City: Growth for All”, has been drawn up by a city coalition including prominent politicians, business leaders, academics, and figures from the health and voluntary sectors. It is supported by Stoke-on-Trent’s three MPs as well as the city council.  

    It celebrates Stoke-on-Trent’s history as a hive of innovation and industry, its enviable position at the heart of the UK’s transport network, and its strengths in key growth sectors – including createch and advanced manufacturing.  

    But it also acknowledges the barriers to growth caused by historic Government underinvestment, national industrial decline in the 1980s and 1990s, and more than a decade of austerity cuts.  

    This creates a Stoke-on-Trent “paradox”: the fact the city’s economic growth has outstripped the national average over recent years, but deeply-rooted economic and social problems mean too many communities lack opportunity and are not able to reap the expected benefits of this headline growth.  

    The City Prospectus offers radical solutions – aligning itself with national Government priorities and offering the city as a test bed and pioneer for new ways of delivering local services.  

    Its five missions come with a series of bold actions that will be taken locally, as well as specific targets by which progress will be measured.  

    The prospectus is pitched as a partnership offer with Government – making clear that targeted interventions and investment will be needed to fully realise Stoke-on-Trent’s potential.  

    A foreword to the document – co-signed by Councillor Ashworth and the city’s MPs – says: “Stoke-on-Trent already has a dynamic, diverse and highly-integrated economy; a rich cultural heritage; and an indomitable sense of community spirit.   

    “The city is a strategic hub, connecting labour, goods and services across the region and the UK. With Government support and investment, we can overcome current challenges to create a city that is prosperous, inclusive and sustainable, delivering economic and social benefits locally and nationally for decades to come.   

    “We invite the Government to partner with us to unlock this city region’s full potential, transform our citizens’ lives and unleash a new era of creativity and innovation.”  

    The five missions listed in the City Prospectus are:  

    •  Securing economic growth  
    •  Delivering clean energy, sustainable transport and an improved local environment  
    • Regenerating the city  
    • Removing barriers to opportunity  
    • Improving the health and wellbeing of the population  

    The economic targets include achieving a local economy worth £9 billion a year by 2030, with 5,000 more people in employment and a 10 per cent increase in the value of locally-contracted supplies.   

    Environmental targets include tripling the amount of locally-generated renewable energy and increasing bus passenger journeys by a third in the next five years.  

    The city aims to have completed or be building 5,000 new homes, redeveloped 150 hectares of brownfield land and seen five heritage buildings removed from the “at risk” register.  

    The attainment gap will have been closed with the national average, with a 2.5 percentage point increase in the number of working-age residents with Level 3 or higher qualifications.   

    The city is also targeting a five percentage point drop in the proportion of children living in poverty, and a two-year boost to healthy life expectancy.  

    The Prospectus invites the Government to support the city’s work through specific, targeted interventions linked to the local missions and targets. That includes investment in critical growth enablers like transport infrastructure, heritage restoration and the city’s highly-successful Family Matters programme, which has driven down the number of children in care.  

    It suggests the Government could make Stoke-on-Trent a national incubator for public service reform based on higher educational attainment, and a national test best for a new model of educational inclusion aimed at enabling more children to learn in mainstream schools.  

    And it calls for innovations to unlock development, such as a revolving land fund to reclaim brownfield sites and help to kickstart council-house building.  

    Jane Ashworth, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “Stoke-on-Trent is already a nationally important engine of innovation and growth.  

    “But well-known obstacles have held back this growth. Austerity and chronic underinvestment in vital infrastructure have constrained our economy and mean opportunity has been unevenly spread.  

    “For too many of the people who live here, the headline growth in the city’s economy has felt like little more than a number of a spreadsheet.  

    “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create something better.  

    “The City Prospectus is a radical yet achievable plan to tackle our economic, social and environmental challenges at the same time; to transform the way we deliver services; and to make Stoke-on-Trent not just an engine of growth, but one which provides high quality homes, jobs, skills and opportunities for people across North Staffordshire and beyond.”  

    Gareth Snell, MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, said: ‘To deliver for our city and our country, we need a clear plan from Government and we need to be able to turn that into local actions.   

    “Labour’s missions focus on economic growth, city regeneration, removing barriers to opportunity and improving health and well-being. These are exactly the same priorities I want to see delivered in Stoke-on-Trent, so forging a new partnership with Government is the best way to ensure we all succeed.  

    “The Future 100 prospectus sets a series of ambitious targets and outlines what Stoke-on-Trent can contribute. But it also sets out the additional help and resources that the city will need to achieve those goals.”   

    Allison Gardner, MP for Stoke-on-Trent South, said: “Our city, shaped by its rich industrial history, has always been a place of hard work and innovation.   

    “The same spirit that built our city can lead it into a new chapter, driving the country forward once again.  

    “Stoke-on-Trent stands strong and proud, despite having been let down previously by the central Government. With the support of this Labour Government, our potential is limitless.” 

    David Williams, MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, said: “The Future 100 prospectus represents a bold and ambitious vision for Stoke-on-Trent’s next century, rooted in our city’s rich history of creativity, resilience, and innovation.  

    “For too long our city has not received the investment we deserve. We were hit hard by austerity and post-industrial decline stifled economic growth.  

    “The Future 100 prospectus represents a turning point, ensuring real investment in our transport infrastructure, beloved community assets, business growth and in improving opportunity for all.  

    “This is a moment for real transformation for our city, one where we seize the opportunity to build a thriving, sustainable, and inclusive future for all. With targeted investment and strategic action, we can unlock Stoke-on-Trent’s full potential, creating lasting economic and social benefits that will shape generations to come. 

    “I am grateful for the council’s leadership on creating this bold vision for our city, and I look forward to working with the Government, the council and other partners to turn the vision into a reality.” 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New homeless prevention drop-ins start

    Source: City of York

    L-r: Cllr Pavlovic, Jenny Newman and Evie Bailey at Carecent

    Published Wednesday, 26 February 2025

    As the risk of homelessness continues to worry many residents and be a reality for some, the Council is increasing support to help people keep their home with a new face-to-face service.

    At the monthly Homeless Prevention drop-in sessions, the friendly and knowledgeable team will work with residents on a wide range of issues.

    These include tackling rent arrears and debt, liaising with landlords, maximising income, addressing issues with neighbours and more. The team aims to resolve problems and prevent disputes arising, and to ensure residents can keep their homes and manage their tenancy.

    Cllr Michael Pavlovic, Executive Member for Housing at City of York Council, said:

    The ongoing cost of living crisis and pressures on housing are still affecting many residents with whom we work hard to help keep their homes.

    “People facing homelessness each have their own challenges to address. To support them and avoid the devastation of losing their home, we are boosting homeless prevention work by running the drop-in sessions and helping people with mental health issues. Please use them and work with us to help you keep your home.”

    The new drop-in Homeless Prevention sessions start at Carecent, St Saviourgate YO1 8NQ on Wednesday 26 February from 1-3pm. They will take place on the last Wednesday of every month and are available for people aged 18 or over.

    For more information on homelessness and support to avoid it, please visit www.york.gov.uk/HousingOptions.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Three Newport News men sentenced to life in prison for a series of six robberies and five murders

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Three Newport News men have been sentenced after they were convicted by a federal jury on charges relating to a series of violent crimes that included five murders and two additional shootings.

    According to court records and evidence presented at trial, from at least Jan. 16, 2017, through November 2017, Ronzel Monte Dixie, aka Bone or Bizzy, 31; Kwaimain Shy’de Redmon, aka Kwa, 30; and Meko Montez Brown Jr., aka Gangsta or 9-Ball, 26, along with others, carried out at least seven shootings, including five murders, four commercial robberies, three drug robberies, and three car thefts and engaged in two high-speed chases from police. During these robberies, the men were armed with various firearms including a .22 caliber Uzi-style firearm, a 1911 handgun, a Ruger P95 9mm pistol, and a stolen P9 Kahr 9mm pistol. During the course of the conspiracy, the defendants stole at least two cars. Victims included cellphone stores, drug dealers, gas stations/convenience stores, a correctional officer, and others. During most of the robberies, the men brandished and sometimes discharged their firearms.

    On Oct. 1, 2017, Dixie, Redmon, and another person robbed a drug dealer during a home invasion of her apartment. The group brandished two firearms and took drugs, currency, and the victim’s Lexus sedan.

    On Oct. 12, 2017, Dixie and another person robbed a different drug dealer for bail money to secure a bond for Redmon, who had been arrested on Oct. 11, 2017, while fleeing on foot from the Lexus automobile they had stolen during the robbery on Oct. 1, 2017.

    On Oct. 16, 2017, Dixie and Redmon summoned another individual to the Hoss’s Deli in Newport News because they had a problem with someone at the bar. They followed their target, who left Hoss’s Deli on a motorcycle, and Dixie fired a Ruger P95 from the passenger window of their vehicle, resulting in the victim’s death. Dixie executed the victim by firing again as he lay in the roadway. Following the shooting, Dixie and Redmon rummaged through the victim’s pockets and took his wallet.

    Later on Oct. 16, 2017, Dixie, Redmon, and the other individual approached the Happy Shopper convenience store in Hampton as it was closing. While demanding money, the third individual shot the store owner in the face. They proceeded to look through the store owner’s van for money and anything of value. During the robbery, Dixie executed a store employee by twice shooting him in the back of the head while he lay face down in the parking lot.

    On Nov. 7, 2017, Dixie, Brown, and another individual robbed another drug dealer, taking his P9 Kahr firearm. Approximately an hour later on Nov. 7, 2017, Dixie, Brown, and the other individual robbed an authorized retailer for MetroPCS in Hampton by brandishing the stolen firearm.

    On Nov. 8, 2017, Dixie, Brown, and another individual shot and killed a man at 9:20 p.m., and then shot a correctional officer at 9:31 p.m. during an attempted robbery. Dixie boasted that he killed the first man because his nickname was “Wavy 10” and he wanted 10 bodies to his name.

    On Nov. 9, 2017, Brown and another individual robbed a Miller Mart convenience store in Chesapeake. Brown brandished the P9 Kahr firearm and stole money from the business.

    On Nov. 10, 2017, Dixie, Brown, Redmon, and another individual stole a Cadillac in Newport News. As Brown attempted to drive the Cadillac from the parking lot, he hit another vehicle. When the driver of that vehicle followed the Cadillac, Brown shot and killed him. An hour later, Brown attempted to rob a victim who was just getting home to his apartment. During the robbery, Brown fired the P9 Kahr at the victim, but missed. The gun jammed, however, and the victim returned fire. After Dixie, Brown, Redmon, and the other individual fled the scene, Dixie used the firearm to shoot and kill a homeless person, firing multiple rounds at the victim while exclaiming, “My gun does not jam.”

    On Nov. 11, 2017, Dixie, Brown, and another individual robbed another authorized retailer for MetroPCS in Newport News. A family with two young children was present at the time of the robbery. Dixie, Brown, and the other individual brandished the firearm and stole money from the business.

    Dixie was convicted of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery, five counts of interference with commerce by robbery, five counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, five counts of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, and one count of use of a firearm resulting in death. Dixie was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences plus a consecutive 30 years.

    Redmon was convicted of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery, two counts of interference with commerce by robbery, two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, three counts of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, and one count of use of a firearm resulting in death.  Redmon was sentenced to life in prison plus a consecutive 57 years.

    Brown was convicted of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery, three counts of interference with commerce by robbery, three counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, and one count of obstruction of justice. Brown was sentenced to life in prison plus a consecutive 54 years.

    Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Michael Feinberg, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge David J. Novak. The Newport News Police Department and Hampton Police Division assisted in the investigation of this case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa R. McKeel and Mack Coleman and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard J. Zlotnick prosecuted the case.

    A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-74.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Statement by the Prime Minister on Mahashivratri

    Source: Government of Canada – Prime Minister

    The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on Mahashivratri:

    “Tonight, on the eve of the new moon, Hindu communities across Canada and around the world will celebrate Mahashivratri, also known as the Great Night of Shiva.

    “One of the most important Hindu festivals, Mahashivratri is a time of reflection and new beginnings. The festival brings families, friends, and communities together to signify the triumph of light over darkness and the pursuit of a better, brighter future.

    “Canada is proud to be home to a vibrant Hindu community. On this special occasion, I encourage Canadians to learn more about Mahashivratri as well as the contributions of Canadians of Hindu faith.

    “On behalf of the Government of Canada, I wish a happy Mahashivratri to those celebrating.”

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Samsung 2025 Bespoke AI Appliances Now Available to Reserve

    Source: Samsung

    Samsung Electronics America is introducing a new line of Bespoke AI appliances this spring, with advanced AI-powered features that offer greater personalization and connectivity in your home. You can reserve a new 2025 Bespoke AI appliance now through March 24 and receive a $100 credit toward your pre-order purchase. With the reserve offer, you will automatically be entered for a chance to win a $5,000 Samsung credit to be used on new Bespoke AI appliances.1

    Samsung debuted its first-ever suite of Bespoke AI appliances in 2024, introducing innovative products that integrate advanced AI technology with powerful connectivity and thoughtful design to help automate everyday tasks at home. The 2025 Bespoke AI line builds on these capabilities to offer a new level of AI-powered convenience that makes cooking, cleaning and doing laundry easier than ever. With seamless SmartThings integration2, AI sensors and cameras, and intuitive AI Home3 LCD touchscreen displays on more Samsung appliances, you can effortlessly monitor and manage your connected home from anywhere and multi-task with ease.
    The AI camera in Samsung’s new Bespoke 4-Door French Door Refrigerator with 9” AI Home LCD Screen keeps tabs on the food you store and remove, automatically updating your SmartThings grocery list when items are running low and sharing alerts when you should use ingredients because they are approaching the end of the produce’s freshness dates.4  And with the touchscreen display, it’s easy to look up recipes that incorporate the food you have on hand and send cooking instructions directly to your Bespoke Wall Oven with 7” AI Home. The Bespoke Wall Oven also has an AI camera that will recognize meals and suggest how to cook them, automatically optimizing cook times and temperatures, so you can focus on other things.

    In the laundry room, Samsung is introducing exciting new Bespoke AI Laundry Combo models, offering even more options to consumers looking for a format that works in a small space without compromising on performance or style. Like Samsung’s other 2025 Bespoke AI appliances, the new Bespoke AI Laundry Combos and the new Bespoke Front Load Washer and Dryer with AI Home are all equipped with 7” LCD touchscreen displays that enable convenient operation and seamless multi-device experiences across your Samsung appliances. You can even check on the status of dinner cooking in your Bespoke AI Wall Oven while you start a new load of laundry.
    Bespoke AI appliances can also automatically optimize performance according to your habits and personal needs, and routine maintenance reminders and service alerts make it easy to care for them, giving you the peace of mind that comes with knowing they will run smoothly and reliably for years to come.5
    For more information and to reserve your new 2025 Bespoke AI appliance, visit Samsung.com.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How palaeontologists are uncovering dinosaur behaviour

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By David Hone, Senior Lecturer in Zoology, Queen Mary University of London

    How do scientists study the behaviour of dinosaurs, who died 65 million years ago? After all, dinosaur fossils are rare enough as it is, and most are fragments and difficult to work with.

    This is something that palaeontologists have been working on since the earliest days of research on these incredible animals. Until recently, this was often only in vague terms of, for example, which animals were herbivores or carnivores.

    But new opportunities are becoming available to us. Palaeontologists have recently pieced together the colours and patterns of some feathered dinosaurs, using electron microscopes to see tiny preserved structures that used to contain the pigments of the animals in life. This is something that scientists used to think was probably impossible.

    But right now it can only tell us so much – it just tells us the colour of the individual animal at the time of its death.

    Studying more specimens of the same species could reveal if males and females were the same colours or if they differed, and if these feathers underwent seasonal changes or varied with the environment. Perhaps they turned white in winter as camouflage. Maybe feathers were different colours in different regions. This would suggest that the local environment helped these dinosaurs to hide and that they cannot have been wide ranging or their camouflage would not work.

    Perhaps the males were brightly coloured to attract mates, or perhaps both were, which would suggest both sexes were involved in rearing their offspring.

    This is something scientists should be able to tackle in the coming years. For some species at least, such as the small feathered dinosaur Anchiornis, we have the fossils, and we have the techniques. We just need to extract the data from the dinosaur fossils we have.

    We already have a good idea of what colours and patterns mean for different groups of living animals, so we can apply some of this knowledge to dinosaurs. However, much of researchers’ work on dinosaur behaviour has been stunted by a poor use of the behaviour of modern animals as a template for dinosaurs, and a tendency to focus on special specimens as being representative of bigger patterns.

    For example, we have well-studied fossils of carnivorous dinosaurs with the bones of other animals inside them. Although is incontrovertible that the carnivorous dinosaurs ate these other animals, it is hard – or even impossible – to know if the prey was scavenged or if it was hunted by the dinosaur.

    It’s too easy to think the dinosaur lived on the species the bones belonged to. Bones tend to survive the fossilisation process, but the animal might have mostly eaten muscle and organs, or even insects and they wouldn’t show up. Although such finds are important, we need to take them as evidence that something happened once, not that it was a habitual activity. Then we can go in search of other evidence to test or reject such an idea.

    In that context, we really are blessed. New fossils and new techniques (such as CT scans to get inside skulls to dinosaur brain to assess them) are still being discovered. And there are perhaps more dinosaur researchers than ever before, even if that total is not that high compared to other disciplines.

    It means that we are continually getting insights and new lines of evidence about things like how and what dinosaurs ate, their underlying physiology, the environments in which they lived, how they moved, and how they changed as they grew. This is the raw material of studies for behaviour, and adding this kind of data to our understanding of the behaviour of modern animals has enormous potential for future studies of dinosaurs (and other prehistoric animals).

    Another angle to consider is how palaeontologists formulate their ideas about dinosaur behaviour in the first place. For example, although we have numerous examples of several individuals of a dinosaur species found together, this doesn’t meant that the species habitually lived in groups, let alone that their near relatives did.

    Cats are generally solitary animals, but if you inferred the social behaviour of lions or cheetah from tigers and puma, you’d think these animals lived their lives alone. The fact is that lions and male cheetah usually live in groups.

    But they are sometimes solitary and will switch between being solo or living together at various times in their lives. So taking from the position that one group of dinosaurs died near each other means they and their relatives lived together won’t help us understand how they were really living.

    The future of the study of dinosaur behaviour is looking bright. This is why I wanted to write a book on the subject and to explore the issues we have had before, but frame the successes that are happening. Coupled with more rigorous attempts to investigate and test our hypotheses, we can establish a much firmer ground for understanding how these incredible creatures lived.

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

    – ref. How palaeontologists are uncovering dinosaur behaviour – https://theconversation.com/how-palaeontologists-are-uncovering-dinosaur-behaviour-246702

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why people rebuild in Appalachia’s flood-ravaged areas despite the risks

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Kristina P. Brant, Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology, Penn State

    Parts of the North Fork of the Kentucky River flooded in July 2022, and again in February 2025. Arden S. Barnes/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

    On Valentine’s Day 2025, heavy rains started to fall in parts of rural Appalachia. Over the course of a few days, residents in eastern Kentucky watched as river levels rose and surpassed flood levels. Emergency teams conducted over 1,000 water rescues. Hundreds, if not thousands of people were displaced from homes, and entire business districts filled with mud.

    For some, it was the third time in just four years that their homes had flooded, and the process of disposing of destroyed furniture, cleaning out the muck and starting anew is beginning again.

    Historic floods wiped out businesses and homes in eastern Kentucky in February 2021, July 2022 and now February 2025. An even greater scale of destruction hit eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina in September 2024, when Hurricane Helene’s rainfall and flooding decimated towns and washed out parts of major highways.

    Scenes of flooding from several locations across Appalachia in February 2025.

    Each of these events was considered to be a “thousand-year flood,” with a 1-in-1,000 chance of happening in a given year. Yet they’re happening more often.

    The floods have highlighted the resilience of local people to work together for collective survival in rural Appalachia. But they have also exposed the deep vulnerability of communities, many of which are located along creeks at the base of hills and mountains with poor emergency warning systems. As short-term cleanup leads to long-term recovery efforts, residents can face daunting barriers that leave many facing the same flood risks over and over again.

    Exposing a housing crisis

    For the past nine years, I have been conducting research on rural health and poverty in Appalachia. It’s a complex region often painted in broad brushstrokes that miss the geographic, socioeconomic and ideological diversity it holds.

    Appalachia is home to a vibrant culture, a fierce sense of pride and a strong sense of love. But it is also marked by the omnipresent backdrop of a declining coal industry.

    There is considerable local inequality that is often overlooked in a region portrayed as one-dimensional. Poverty levels are indeed high. In Perry County, Kentucky, where one of eastern Kentucky’s larger cities, Hazard, is located, nearly 30% of the population lives under the federal poverty line. But the average income of the top 1% of workers in Perry County is nearly US$470,000 – 17 times more than the average income of the remaining 99%.

    This income and wealth inequality translates to unequal land ownership – much of eastern Kentucky’s most desirable land remains in the hands of corporations and families with great generational wealth.

    When I first moved to eastern Kentucky in 2016, I was struck by the grave lack of affordable, quality housing. I met families paying $200-$300 a month for a small plot to put a mobile home. Others lived in “found housing” – often-distressed properties owned by family members. They had no lease, no equity and no insurance. They had a place to lay one’s head but lacked long-term stability in the event of disagreement or disaster. This reality was rarely acknowledged by local and state governments.

    Eastern Kentucky’s 2021 and 2022 floods turned this into a full-blown housing crisis, with 9,000 homes damaged or destroyed in the 2022 flood alone.

    “There was no empty housing or empty places for housing,” one resident involved in local flood recovery efforts told me. “It just was complete disaster because people just didn’t have a place to go.”

    Most homeowners did not have flood insurance to assist with rebuilding costs. While many applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance, the amounts they received often did not go far. The maximum aid for temporary housing assistance and repairs is $42,500, plus up to an additional $42,500 for other needs related to the disaster.

    The federal government often provides more aid for rebuilding through block grants directed to local and state governments, but that money requires congressional approval and can take months to years to arrive. Local community coalitions and organizations stepped in to fill these gaps, but they did not necessarily have sufficient donations or resources to help such large numbers of displaced people.

    Affordable rental housing is hard to find in much of Appalachia. When flooding wipes out homes, as Jackson, Ky., saw in July 2022 and again in February 2025, it becomes even more rare.
    Michael Swensen/Getty Images

    With a dearth of affordable rentals pre-flood, renters who lost their homes had no place to go. And those living in “found housing” that was destroyed were not eligible for federal support for rebuilding.

    The sheer level of devastation also posed challenges. One health care professional told me: “In Appalachia, the way it usually works is if you lose your house or something happens, then you go stay with your brother or your mom or your cousin. … But everybody’s mom and brother and cousin also lost their house. There was nowhere to stay.” From her point of view, “our homelessness just skyrocketed.”

    The cost of land – social and economic

    After the 2022 flood, the Kentucky Department for Local Government earmarked almost $300 million of federal funding to build new, flood-resilient homes in eastern Kentucky. Yet the question of where to build remained. As another resident involved in local flood recovery efforts told me, “You can give us all the money you want; we don’t have any place to build the house.”

    It has always been costly and time-intensive to develop land in Appalachia. Available higher ground tends to be located on former strip mines, and these reclaimed lands require careful geotechnical surveying and sometimes structural reinforcements.

    If these areas are remote, the costs of running electric, water and other infrastructure services can also be prohibitive. For this reason, for-profit developers have largely avoided many counties in the region. The head of a nonprofit agency explained to me that, because of this, “The markets have broken. … We have no [housing] market.”

    Eastern Kentucky’s mountains are beautiful, but there are few locations for building homes that aren’t near creeks or rivers. Strip-mined land, where mountaintops were flattened, often aren’t easily accessible and come with their own challenges.
    Posnov/Moment via Getty Images

    There is also some risk involved in attempting to build homes on new land that has not previously been developed. A local government could pay for undeveloped land to be surveyed and prepared for development, with the prospect of reimbursement by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development if housing is successfully built. But if, after the work to prepare the land, it is still too cost-prohibitive to build a profitable house there, the local government would not receive any reimbursement.

    Some counties have found success clearing land for large developments on former strip mine sites. But these former coal mining areas can be considerable distances from towns. Without robust public transportation systems, these distances are especially prohibitive for residents who lack reliable personal transportation.

    Another barrier is the high prices that both individual and corporate landowners are asking for properties on higher ground.

    The scarcity of desirable land available for sale, combined with increasingly urgent demand, has led to prices unaffordable for most. Another resident involved in local flood recovery efforts explained: “If you paid $5,000 for 30 acres 40 years ago, why won’t you sell that for $100,000? Nope, [they want] $1 million.” That makes it increasingly difficult for both individuals and housing developers to purchase land and build.

    One reason for this scarcity is the amount of land that is still owned by outside corporate interests. For example, Kentucky River Properties, formerly Kentucky River Coal Corporation, owns over 270,000 acres across seven counties in the region. While this landholding company leases land to coal, timber and gas companies, it and others like it rarely permit residential development.

    But not all unused land is owned by corporations. Some of this land is owned by families with deep roots in the region. People’s attachment to a place often makes them want to stay in their communities, even after disasters. But it can also limit the amount of land available for rebuilding. People are often hesitant to sell land that holds deep significance for their families, even if they are not living there themselves.

    Rural communities are often tight-knit. Many residents want to stay despite the risks.
    AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley

    One health care professional expressed feeling torn between selling or keeping their own family property after the 2022 flood: “We have a significant amount of property on top of a mountain. I wouldn’t want to sell it because my papa came from nothing. … His generation thought owning land was the greatest thing. … And for him to provide his children and his grandchildren and their great-grandchildren a plot of land that he worked and sweat and ultimately died to give us – people want to hold onto that.”

    She recognized that land was in great demand but couldn’t bring herself to sell what she owned. In cases like hers, higher grounds are owned locally but still remain unused.

    Moving toward higher ground, slowly

    Two years after the 2022 flood, major government funding for rebuilding still has not resulted in a significant number of homes. The state has planned seven communities on higher ground in eastern Kentucky that aim to house 665 new homes. As of early 2025, 14 houses had been completed.

    Progress on providing housing on higher ground is slow, and the need is great.

    In the meantime, when I conducted interviews during the summer and fall of 2024, many of the mobile home communities that were decimated in the 2022 flood had begun to fill back up. These were flood-risk areas, but there was simply no other place to go.

    Last week, I watched on Facebook a friend’s live video footage showing the waters creeping up the sides of the mobile homes in one of those very communities that had flooded in 2022. Another of my friends mused: “I don’t know who constructed all this, but they did an unjustly favor by not thinking how close these towns was to the river. Can’t anyone in Frankfort help us, or has it gone too far?”

    With hundreds more people now displaced by the most recent flood, the need for homes on higher grounds has only expanded, and the wait continues.

    Kristina Brant has received funding from the National Science Foundation and United States Department of Agriculture to support her past and ongoing research in rural Appalachia.

    – ref. Why people rebuild in Appalachia’s flood-ravaged areas despite the risks – https://theconversation.com/why-people-rebuild-in-appalachias-flood-ravaged-areas-despite-the-risks-240429

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: States that impose severe prison sentences accomplish the opposite of what they say they want

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By John Leverso, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati

    Prison doors close, but for most people convicted of crimes, they eventually open again. Hans Neleman/Stone via Getty Images

    Across the U.S., tough-on-crime policies are surging again, despite research showing they do little to reduce crime, particularly violent offenses.

    Before the early 1990s, people who were sentenced to 10 years in prison might be released after serving roughly half that long. That’s because of policies that allowed incarcerated individuals to earn credit for good behavior or, in some states, to avoid losing credits they already held toward an early release. These so-called “good time” policies were created by states to encourage good behavior and rehabilitation and to reduce prison overcrowding.

    But in the 1990s, when national politics was focused on crime rates, Congress encouraged states to adopt so-called “truth-in-sentencing” laws, which required people to serve at least 85% of their prison sentence.

    As research highlighted the inefficacy and unintended consequences of these laws, states rolled them back or modified them, mostly by partially repealing them or reducing the severity of mandatory sentences.

    Some efforts to roll back harsh sentencing rules continue: In Illinois, traditionally a leader in criminal justice reform, one bill that would soften truth-in-sentencing requirements has stalled, though another was introduced in January 2025.

    But in many other states, truth-in-sentencing laws and other similar laws that impose longer sentences are making a comeback, particularly for violent crimes.

    Since 2023, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Dakota and Tennessee have passed truth-in-sentencing laws. North Dakota is now considering similar legislation. In November 2024, Colorado voters required people convicted of violent crimes to serve higher percentages of their sentences, which is a similar move, though it didn’t bear the “truth-in-sentencing” label.

    A personal lens on the topic

    These laws have real effects on real people.

    In 1998, I was sentenced to 22 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for a gang-related violent crime I committed as a juvenile. I served just 11 of those years under a long-standing policy that allowed individuals to serve half their sentence with good behavior.

    But if I had been arrested just 100 days later, a truth-in-sentencing law would have taken effect, and I would have had to serve the full 22 years.

    Eleven years is a long time. Since my release in 2012, I’ve earned a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and a Ph.D. I’m now a college professor, author, husband and father.

    If I had been required to serve my full sentence, I would have been released in 2023, older and with fewer opportunities for education, rehabilitation and rebuilding my life.

    Instead of being able to start my education at the age of 30, I would have entered the world in my forties, making it much harder to pursue a decade of schooling to become a professor. The delay would have also made it harder to start a family, forcing me to balance career-building with the difficulties of having children later in life.

    Incarcerated graduates, who finished various educational and vocational programs in prison, wait for the start of their graduation ceremony in May 2023.
    AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

    Not deterring crime

    Supporters of truth-in-sentencing laws say they are intended to increase accountability for wrongdoing and deter crime. The logic can seem reasonably intuitive: If people know they will receive a harsher punishment, they will be less likely to commit particular crimes.

    But research finds that those are not the results. There is no compelling evidence that punitive sentencing policies discourage individuals from engaging in criminal activity.

    And states without truth-in-sentencing laws have seen their crime rates fall to roughly the same degree as states that have the laws.

    Harming society at large

    Research also finds that truth-in-sentencing laws cause far-reaching harms to people convicted of crimes and to society at large, undermining both rehabilitation and public safety.

    Because truth-in-sentencing laws focus on deterrence, they do not address the causes of criminal behavior, such as poverty and childhood trauma.

    These laws also make prisons less safe: They remove incentives for people in prison to follow the rules, get an education, participate in psychotherapy or otherwise engage in positive activities while behind bars.

    The vast majority of incarcerated people – six out of every seven inmates – are released into society again. Under truth-in-sentencing laws, they emerge from prison less prepared to follow the laws than they would have been if they had access to educational programs, therapy and an incentive structure that encouraged rehabilitation while incarcerated.

    A study in Georgia, for instance, found that after stricter sentencing requirements were enacted, inmates subject to the new rules committed more disciplinary infractions and participated in fewer rehabilitation programs in prison. And once released, they were more likely to commit new crimes than released inmates who had not been subject to the stricter sentences.

    Costing taxpayers dearly

    Additionally, the financial burden of these laws is significant.

    For example, Arkansas’ truth-in-sentencing law, passed in 2023, is projected to cost the state’s taxpayers at least US$160 million over the next decade to pay for increased prison capacity and staffing.

    Instead of deterring crime, truth-in-sentencing laws lock more people up for longer periods of time without addressing the underlying factors, which strains already overburdened correctional systems.

    These laws also disproportionately affect people of color, exacerbating systemic inequities in the criminal justice system.

    These people incarcerated in a California prison are learning computer programming.
    AP Photo/Eric Risberg

    A different path

    For me, the possibility of earning good-time credit was a powerful motivator to engage in rehabilitative activities and regain lost time after disciplinary infractions.

    When I began my sentence, Illinois law allowed people to receive a 50% reduction in their sentence through good-time credit: I might need to serve only half of my original 22-year sentence, and be released after 11 years, if I maintained good behavior.

    Breaking the rules would cost credit, extending my time in prison beyond that 50% mark. Early in my sentence, I broke the rules and was placed in isolation – also called segregation or restrictive housing, in a cell for 24 hours a day, except for six hours of exercise a week – for a total of 18 months, resulting in a significant loss of my good-time credit. As a result, instead of serving 11 years, my expected time in prison increased to approximately 12.5 years.

    This setback was a turning point. I knew that my actions had directly affected the length of time I would have to spend in prison. I became determined to earn back my lost time. I focused on staying out of trouble, earning my GED, completing my associate degree and enrolling in available programs. I was able to regain my time credit and had to serve only 11 years.

    Under today’s truth-in-sentencing laws, none of this would have been possible. I would have been required to serve my full sentence, regardless of whether I chose to change, rehabilitate or prepare for life after prison. The ability to reduce my sentence through good behavior and educational achievement gave me a tangible incentive to turn my life around, an opportunity that truth-in-sentencing laws eliminate.

    A way forward

    By contrast, investing in rehabilitation not only improves outcomes for those incarcerated but also makes communities safer by reducing the cycle of crime.

    Research shows that in-prison rehabilitation programs – particularly those centered on education and vocational training programs and social-support services such as housing help, mental health care and job placement assistance – reduce recidivism rates. While in prison, people are held accountable while also having opportunities to grow and learn, preparing for successful reintegration into society after their release.

    I believe that in the overwhelming majority of people in prison, there is potential for redemption – but that potential is most likely to emerge when they have opportunities to learn and grow and receive benefits for making changes in their lives.

    Unfortunately, many states are choosing to spend millions locking up more people for longer periods – while giving them less opportunity to improve themselves and their lives, reducing their potential for change and safe, productive reintegration into society upon release.

    John Leverso 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. States that impose severe prison sentences accomplish the opposite of what they say they want – https://theconversation.com/states-that-impose-severe-prison-sentences-accomplish-the-opposite-of-what-they-say-they-want-247550

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How ticket-splitting voters could shape the 2026 midterms

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Ian Anson, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

    Even in polarized times, some American voters still cross party lines to support both Democratic and Republican candidates. wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images

    With the 2024 U.S. election over and done with, political analysts and both major parties are already turning their attention to the upcoming midterm elections in 2026.

    All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 Senate seats will be up for grabs. The Democrats are as desperate to retake control of Congress as Republicans are to keep it. A Democratic-controlled Congress in 2026 would do everything in its power to halt President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda in its tracks.

    To edge out their opponent, candidates in highly competitive districts will have to win over some voters who rejected their own party’s presidential candidate in 2024. Democratic candidates will need to get support from at least some Trump voters; Republicans will need some support from Kamala Harris voters.

    Despite the intensely polarized U.S. political environment, a significant number of Americans routinely cross party lines to support both Democratic and Republican candidates at the polls. When it happens on the same ballot, this is called ticket-splitting.

    Just who are these voters, and when do they choose to split their tickets?

    I am a political scientist who studies American voting behavior. I see these questions as key to understanding how long Trump’s total control of government will last.

    Split tickets in North Carolina and Arizona

    Ticket-splitting created some surprising election returns in 2024, mostly benefiting down-ballot Democrats.

    For instance, Republican Donald Trump won North Carolina by around 3 percentage points, but voters elected a Democrat, Josh Stein, for governor by a margin of almost 15 percentage points. Several hundred thousand North Carolinians split their tickets to produce this outcome.

    More than 100,000 Arizonans likewise split their tickets in 2024, electing Trump with 52% of the vote, yet rejecting the Trump-aligned Senate candidate Kari Lake in favor of Democrat Ruben Gallego.

    Many experts believe that candidates such as Gallego and Stein were simply perceived as less extreme than their opponents, and so they lured moderate voters and even some Republicans.

    In this theory, extreme MAGA-aligned candidates win primary elections because they attract the most partisan voters. But they turn off many people in the general electorate.

    Marylanders split their tickets

    One of the most extreme examples of ticket-splitting in 2024 was in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland.

    Partyliners or ticket-splitters? Maryland voters cast their ballots in Baltimore on Nov. 5, 2024.
    J. Countess/Getty Images

    Cardin was a retiring three-term Democrat who had last won reelection in 2018 by an astronomical margin of over 34 percentage points. Initially, many expert analysts saw the seat as safe for Democrats.

    Then, in February 2024, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who had previously ruled out a Senate run, surprised political analysts by entering the Republican primary. After winning the primary handily, Hogan eventually squared off against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat, in the general election.

    Suddenly, a matchup that should have been Alsobrook’s to lose got competitive.

    Hogan, who left office in 2023, was a successful Republican governor who won election twice in reliably blue Maryland. Perceived by many voters as an ideological moderate, he was also a vocal Trump opponent in a state that supported Biden over Trump in 2020 by around 33 percentage points. During his governorship, Hogan routinely outperformed MAGA-aligned Republicans who ran for Congress in Maryland.

    Ultimately, Hogan did lose to Alsobrooks. She became Maryland’s first female U.S. senator and first Black U.S. senator. Yet Hogan came an incredible 17 percentage points closer to winning than Trump did. Kamala Harris beat Trump by 1.9 million votes, winning 63% of the electorate to Trump’s 34%.

    This means that Hogan exceeded Trump’s vote total by over 300,000 votes. That’s an immense amount of ticket-splitting by Marylanders in 2024.

    Who are the Hogan Democrats?

    To better understand ticket-splitting in Maryland’s 2024 election, I analyzed a survey that my university conducted in Baltimore County. Baltimore County is a bellwether county that has backed the winning gubernatorial candidate in every election since 2006.

    The UMBC Battleground Exit Poll surveyed 1,119 voters at election precincts across Baltimore County during early voting and on Election Day 2024. The results were weighted to ensure demographic representativeness.

    This extensive survey shows that around 10% of all voters in Baltimore County supported the surprising combination of the Democrat Harris and the Republican Hogan.

    In contrast, fewer than 2% of Trump voters split their tickets to back the Democratic Senate candidate Alsobrooks.

    My team’s data analysis shows that roughly half of Harris-Hogan voters – 51% – were Democrats. These ticket-splitters included a higher percentage of white voters than the Democrats who supported both Harris and Alsobrooks. Around 37% of Harris-Hogan voters identified as Black, Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern or another nonwhite racial category, compared with 55% of Harris-Alsobrooks voters.

    We found virtually no gender differences between Democrats who split their tickets to back a woman for president and a man for Senate and those who backed two women candidates.

    Harris-Hogan Democrats tended to be better educated than other voting groups. Around 68% reported having a college degree, compared with around 51% of all survey respondents.

    Perhaps the most striking feature of Harris-Hogan voters is their self-declared moderation.

    On a seven-point ideological scale ranging from “very liberal” to “very conservative,” around 61% of Harris-Hogan ticket-splitters put themselves at the exact midpoint of the scale. Only around 42% of the full sample of Maryland voters categorized themselves as centrist.

    Can moderates survive in Trump’s shadow?

    As our study shows, Hogan’s popularity in Maryland is due in part to his appeal among moderates. This finding helps to explain how this Republican has remained popular among Democrats and independent voters.

    However, Hogan still lost. Unlike in Arizona, where the Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego won by wooing moderate Republicans, the tenuous balance of power in the U.S. House and Senate may have prevented some Democratic and independent voters in Maryland from crossing the aisle to support a moderate Republican.

    Of course, Hogan also faced a formidable opponent. Alsobrooks had already emerged victorious in a tight primary against a well-funded and popular incumbent U.S. House representative, David Trone. I suspect a less-skilled Democratic candidate would have created even more Harris-Hogan voters.

    Ultimately, my analysis of ticket-splitting in 2024 reveals that even in an era of entrenched polarization, many voters approach congressional and presidential races with different mindsets.

    This dynamic will likely influence the next election cycle, too.

    The party of the president often takes heavy losses in midterm elections. In 2026, congressional candidates – and Democrats in particular – will be doing everything they can to woo moderates.

    This will be especially true if Trump’s aggressive policies, such as widespread government layoffs and mass deportations, prove unpopular.

    Let the campaigning begin.

    Ian Anson 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. How ticket-splitting voters could shape the 2026 midterms – https://theconversation.com/how-ticket-splitting-voters-could-shape-the-2026-midterms-246017

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Cutting Medicaid and federal programs are among 4 key Trump administration policy changes that could make life harder for disabled people

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Matthew Borus, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Binghamton University, State University of New York

    Disabled people’s employment rights and access to free health care are among the policy issues that the Trump administration is aiming to change. Catherine McQueen/Moment/Getty Images

    While policy debates on immigration, abortion and other issues took center stage in the 2024 presidential election, the first months of the Trump administration have also signaled major changes in federal disability policy.

    An estimated 20% to 25% of Americans have a disability of some kind, including physical, sensory, psychological and intellectual disabilities.

    Disability experts, myself included, fear that the Trump administration is creating new barriers for disabled people to being hired at a job, getting a quality education and providing for basic needs, including health insurance.

    Here are four key areas of disability policy to watch over the coming years.

    People hold signs at a protest in June 2024 demanding subway elevator reliability for disabled people in New York.
    Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

    1. Rights at work

    The Americans with Disabilities Act, which became law in 1990, requires that employers with more than 15 employees not discriminate against otherwise qualified candidates on the basis of their disability. It also requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations to disabled workers. This means, for instance, that a new or renovated workplace should have accessible entrances so that a worker who uses a wheelchair can enter.

    Despite these protections, I have spoken to many disabled workers in my research who are reluctant to ask for accommodations for fear that a supervisor might think that they were too demanding or not worth continuing to employ.

    Trump’s actions in his first days in office have likely reinforced such fears.

    In one of the many executive orders Trump signed on Jan. 20, 2025, he called for the relevant government agencies to terminate what he called “all discriminatory programs,” including all diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility policies, programs and activities that Trump deems “immoral.”

    The next day, Trump put workers in federal DEIA and accessibility positions on administrative leave.

    The following week, a tragic plane crash outside Washington, D.C., killed 67 people. Trump, without any evidence, blamed the crash on unidentified disabled workers in the Federal Aviation Administration, enumerating a wide and seemingly unrelated list of disabilities that, in his mind, meant that workers lacked the “special talent” to work at the FAA.

    Advocates quickly pushed back, pointing out that disabled workers meet all qualifications for federal and private sector jobs they are hired to perform.

    2. The federal workforce

    Many government disability programs have complex rules designed to limit the number of people who qualify for support.

    For instance, I study supplemental security income, a federal program that provides very modest cash support – on average, totaling US$697 a month in 2024 – to 7.4 million people who are disabled, blind or over 65 if they also have very low income and assets.

    It can take months or even years for someone to go through the process to initially document their disability and finances and show they qualify for SSI. Once approved, many beneficiaries want to make sure they don’t accidentally put their benefits at risk in situations where they are working very limited hours, for example.

    To get answers, they can go to a Social Security office or call an agency phone line. But there are already not enough agency workers to process applications or answer questions quickly. I spoke in 2022 with more than 10 SSI beneficiaries who waited on hold for hours while they tried to get more information about their cases, only to receive unclear or conflicting information.

    Such situations may grow even more severe, as Trump and billionaire Elon Musk try to eliminate large numbers of federal employee positions. So far, tens of thousands of federal workers have been laid off from their jobs in 2025. More layoffs may be coming – on Feb. 12, 2025, Trump instructed federal agency heads to prepare for further “large-scale reductions in force.”

    At the same time, multiple Social Security Administration offices have also been marked for closure since January 2025. An overall effect of these changes will be fewer workers to answer questions from disabled citizens.

    3. Educational opportunities

    Students with disabilities, like all students, are legally entitled to a free public education. This right is guaranteed under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, passed in 1975. IDEA is enforced by the federal Education Department.

    But Trump is reportedly in the process of dismantling the Education Department, with the goal of eventually closing it. It is not clear what this will mean for Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act enforcement, but one possibility is laid out in the Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership, a policy blueprint with broad support in Trump’s administration.

    Project 2025 proposes that Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act funds “should be converted into a no-strings formula block grant.” Block grants are a funding structure by which federal funds are reduced and each state is given a lump sum rather than designating the programs the funds will support. In practice, this can mean that states divert the money to other programs or policy areas, which can create opportunities for funds to be misused.

    With block grants, local school districts would be subject to less federal oversight meant to ensure that they provide every student with an adequate education. Families who already must fight to ensure that their children receive the schooling they deserve will be put on weaker footing if the federal government signals that states can redirect the money as they wish.

    4. Health care

    Before President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010, many disabled people lived with the knowledge that an insurer could regard a disability as a preexisting condition and thereby deny them coverage or charge more for their insurance.

    The ACA prohibited insurance companies from charging more or denying coverage based on preexisting conditions.

    Republicans have long opposed the ACA, with House Speaker Mike Johnson promising before the 2024 election to pursue an agenda of “No Obamacare.”

    About 15 million disabled people have health insurance through Medicaid, a federal health insurance program that covers more than 74 million low-income people. But large Medicaid cuts are also on the Republican agenda.

    These deep cuts might include turning Medicaid into another block grant. They could also partly take the form of imposing work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries, which could serve as grounds on which to disqualify people from receiving benefits.

    While proponents of work requirements often claim that disabled people will be exempt, research shows that many will still lose health coverage, and that Medicaid coverage itself often supports people who are working.

    Medicaid is also a crucial source of funding for home- and community-based services, including personal attendants who help many people perform daily activities and live on their own. This helps disabled people live independently in their communities, rather than in institutional settings. Notably, Project 2025 points to so-called “nonmedical” services covered under Medicaid as part of the program’s “burden” on states.

    When home- and community-based services are unavailable, some disabled people have no options but to move into nursing homes. One recent analysis found that nursing homes housed roughly 210,000 long-term residents under age 65 with disabilities. Many nursing facilities are understaffed, which contributed to the brutal toll of the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing homes.

    In response to both the pandemic and years of advocacy, the Biden administration mandated higher staffing ratios at nursing homes receiving Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. But Republicans are eyeing repealing that rule, according to Politico’s reporting.

    U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat, right, speaks during a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 19, 2025, on efforts to protect Medicaid from cuts.
    Nathan Poser/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Daunting task

    Tracking potential changes to disability policy is a complicated endeavor. There is no federal department of disability policy, for example.

    Instead, relevant laws and programs are spread throughout what we often think of as separate policy areas. So while disability policy includes obvious areas such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is also vitally relevant in areas such as immigration and emergency response.

    These issues of health care, education and more could impact millions of lives, but they are far from the only ones where Trump administration changes threaten to harm disabled people.

    Different programs have their own definitions of disability, which people seeking assistance must work to keep track of.

    This was a daunting task in 2024. Now it may become even more difficult.

    Matthew Borus received funding in the past from ARDRAW, a small grant program for graduate students working on disability research. The program was run by Policy Research, Inc. and funded by the Social Security Administration. The opinions and conclusions expressed here are solely the author’s.

    – ref. Cutting Medicaid and federal programs are among 4 key Trump administration policy changes that could make life harder for disabled people – https://theconversation.com/cutting-medicaid-and-federal-programs-are-among-4-key-trump-administration-policy-changes-that-could-make-life-harder-for-disabled-people-244458

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Philadelphia continues long history of Black-led protest meetings aimed at fighting racial inequity and prejudice

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Linn Washington, Jr., Professor of Journalism, Temple University

    Philadelphians attend a meeting at Germantown’s Center in the Park on Feb. 25, 2025, to strategize a new Black agenda. Linn Washington Jr. , CC BY-NC-ND

    A meeting in Philadelphia, held at a senior center on a bitter cold Saturday afternoon in late January 2025, drew nearly 300 people.

    They came for two key reasons.

    One was to voice outrage at the upsurge in policies and proposals nationwide that attack the advances of African Americans – many of which were secured in part through 1960s-era civil rights protests.

    The other was to begin to develop a “Black agenda” to counter those attacks in Philadelphia.

    In gathering communally to voice their concerns, attendees continued a legacy of Black-led protest meetings that spans over two centuries in the city.

    I am a professor of journalism at Temple University and a reporter who has covered racial inequities in America and abroad for 50 years. I was invited to attend the Philadelphia meeting to talk about the history of protest meetings in the city.

    That’s a history of successes and shortfalls that helped shape both Philadelphia and the nation.

    First mass meeting

    Over 200 years ago, what is considered the first mass protest meeting ever held in the United States by African Americans took place in Philadelphia.

    That little-known meeting, held in January 1817, drew 3,000 African Americans to Philadelphia’s historic Mother Bethel AME Church. The attendees came to denounce efforts by the American Colonization Society to relocate free Black Americans to a colony in West Africa. That group, with a predominately white membership that included prominent politicians and preachers, believed free Blacks could not be integrated into white America.

    The attendees at Mother Bethel in 1817 saw relocation as a forced removal of Black Americans from the homeland they supported as patriotically as white Americans. The unanimous opposition that attendees expressed helped change the stance of local Black leaders, such as Mother Bethel founder Richard Allen, from lukewarm supporters of relocation to opponents.

    Successes and shortfalls

    The tradition of mass meetings to address the adversity impacting Philadelphia’s African American community continued from the 19th century into the 20th and now the 21st century.

    The results have been mixed.

    For example, after members of the Pennsylvania state legislature proposed inserting a white-males-only voting restriction into the state’s constitution in 1838, denying voting rights for free Black men, Black Philadelphians held mass meetings to demand the provision be deleted.

    But those demands failed. Pennsylvania restricted voting to white men until 1870 when ratification of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted African American men the right to vote.

    However, mass meetings during the 1860s that had an agenda to desegregate trolleys in Philadelphia were successful. A law signed in 1867 banned segregated seating on public transit statewide.

    Renowned scholar and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois credited “public meetings and repeated agitation” for that statewide ban in his seminal 1899 book “The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study.”

    Demands to end police brutality have been the focus of mass meetings in the city at least since the 1918 formation of Philadelphia’s now-defunct Association for the Protection of Colored People. Abusive policing practices that continue in Philadelphia to this day point to a shortfall in fulfilling those demands.

    And yet, momentum from the key agenda item of mass meetings in the early 1970s – to increase political power – ultimately led to the election of the city’s first Black mayor, Wilson Goode, in 1983.

    Unfinished business

    Since 1817, Black-led protest meetings in Philadelphia have sought to end discrimination against African Americans. That consistent goal remains unrealized.

    The first national political conventions that African Americans staged in the U.S., beginning in September 1830, castigated discrimination. Convention attendees in 1831 sought an end to cruel and oppressive laws devised to disadvantage free Blacks.

    Nearly 150 years later, the “Human Rights Agenda” developed during a Philadelphia mass meeting in December 1978 and later the report from Philadelphia’s 2015 Black Political Summit Coalition both decried racial prejudice against African Americans.

    An observation that Du Bois made in “The Philadelphia Negro” about discrimination against African Americans in the so-called City of Brotherly Love retains contemporary relevance.

    A mural dedicated to Du Bois and the Old Seventh Ward is painted on the corner of 6th and South streets in Philadelphia.
    Paul Marotta/Getty Images Entertainment Collection via Getty Images

    Race prejudice “is a far more powerful social force than most Philadelphians realize,” Du Bois wrote. Most white Philadelphians, he noted, “are quite unconscious” regarding the prejudice that impacts Black residents. Their impulse is emphatically to deny such discrimination.

    Such denial allowed prejudice to persist then – and today.

    To begin to develop a new Black agenda, the organizers of the meeting at the senior center collected suggestions that attendees filed on note cards. They promised to publicly announce an action plan that is expected to involve economic boycotts and actions to strengthen the economic infrastructure in Philadelphia’s African American community.

    Defending rights and progress aroused attendees at that January meeting in 2025 as strongly as denouncing forced colonization aroused attendees at the mass meeting 208 years earlier.

    Read more of our stories about Philadelphia.

    Linn Washington, Jr. 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. Philadelphia continues long history of Black-led protest meetings aimed at fighting racial inequity and prejudice – https://theconversation.com/philadelphia-continues-long-history-of-black-led-protest-meetings-aimed-at-fighting-racial-inequity-and-prejudice-249117

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What’s the shape of the universe? Mathematicians use topology to study the shape of the world and everything in it

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By John Etnyre, Professor of Mathematics, Georgia Institute of Technology

    You can describe the shape you live on in multiple dimensions. vkulieva/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    When you look at your surrounding environment, it might seem like you’re living on a flat plane. After all, this is why you can navigate a new city using a map: a flat piece of paper that represents all the places around you. This is likely why some people in the past believed the earth to be flat. But most people now know that is far from the truth.

    You live on the surface of a giant sphere, like a beach ball the size of the Earth with a few bumps added. The surface of the sphere and the plane are two possible 2D spaces, meaning you can walk in two directions: north and south or east and west.

    What other possible spaces might you be living on? That is, what other spaces around you are 2D? For example, the surface of a giant doughnut is another 2D space.

    Through a field called geometric topology, mathematicians like me study all possible spaces in all dimensions. Whether trying to design secure sensor networks, mine data or use origami to deploy satellites, the underlying language and ideas are likely to be that of topology.

    The shape of the universe

    When you look around the universe you live in, it looks like a 3D space, just like the surface of the Earth looks like a 2D space. However, just like the Earth, if you were to look at the universe as a whole, it could be a more complicated space, like a giant 3D version of the 2D beach ball surface or something even more exotic than that.

    A doughnut, also called a torus, is a shape that you can move across in two directions, just like the surface of the Earth.
    YassineMrabet via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC-SA

    While you don’t need topology to determine that you are living on something like a giant beach ball, knowing all the possible 2D spaces can be useful. Over a century ago, mathematicians figured out all the possible 2D spaces and many of their properties.

    In the past several decades, mathematicians have learned a lot about all of the possible 3D spaces. While we do not have a complete understanding like we do for 2D spaces, we do know a lot. With this knowledge, physicists and astronomers can try to determine what 3D space people actually live in.

    While the answer is not completely known, there are many intriguing and surprising possibilities. The options become even more complicated if you consider time as a dimension.

    To see how this might work, note that to describe the location of something in space – say a comet – you need four numbers: three to describe its position and one to describe the time it is in that position. These four numbers are what make up a 4D space.

    Now, you can consider what 4D spaces are possible and in which of those spaces do you live.

    Topology in higher dimensions

    At this point, it may seem like there is no reason to consider spaces that have dimensions larger than four, since that is the highest imaginable dimension that might describe our universe. But a branch of physics called string theory suggests that the universe has many more dimensions than four.

    There are also practical applications of thinking about higher dimensional spaces, such as robot motion planning. Suppose you are trying to understand the motion of three robots moving around a factory floor in a warehouse. You can put a grid on the floor and describe the position of each robot by their x and y coordinates on the grid. Since each of the three robots requires two coordinates, you will need six numbers to describe all of the possible positions of the robots. You can interpret the possible positions of the robots as a 6D space.

    As the number of robots increases, the dimension of the space increases. Factoring in other useful information, such as the locations of obstacles, makes the space even more complicated. In order to study this problem, you need to study high-dimensional spaces.

    There are countless other scientific problems where high-dimensional spaces appear, from modeling the motion of planets and spacecraft to trying to understand the “shape” of large datasets.

    Tied up in knots

    Another type of problem topologists study is how one space can sit inside another.

    For example, if you hold a knotted loop of string, then we have a 1D space (the loop of string) inside a 3D space (your room). Such loops are called mathematical knots.

    The study of knots first grew out of physics but has become a central area of topology. They are essential to how scientists understand 3D and 4D spaces and have a delightful and subtle structure that researchers are still trying to understand.

    Knots are examples of spaces that sit inside other spaces.
    Jkasd/Wikimedia Commons

    In addition, knots have many applications, ranging from string theory in physics to DNA recombination in biology to chirality in chemistry.

    What shape do you live on?

    Geometric topology is a beautiful and complex subject, and there are still countless exciting questions to answer about spaces.

    For example, the smooth 4D Poincaré conjecture asks what the “simplest” closed 4D space is, and the slice-ribbon conjecture aims to understand how knots in 3D spaces relate to surfaces in 4D spaces.

    Topology is currently useful in science and engineering. Unraveling more mysteries of spaces in all dimensions will be invaluable to understanding the world in which we live and solving real-world problems.

    John Etnyre receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Elaine M. Hubbard Distinguished Faculty Award

    – ref. What’s the shape of the universe? Mathematicians use topology to study the shape of the world and everything in it – https://theconversation.com/whats-the-shape-of-the-universe-mathematicians-use-topology-to-study-the-shape-of-the-world-and-everything-in-it-235635

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Traliant announces new series of ethics and compliance courses to better protect organizations from legal risk

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Traliant, a leader in online compliance training, today announced a new series of courses to help organizations uphold ethics and compliance standards in today’s globalized marketplace. The three courses ─ Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption, Avoiding Conflicts of Interest, and Economic Sanctions ─ are designed to equip employees with the knowledge to make more informed decisions and protect organizations from risks tied to unethical or illegal practices.

    Maintaining a strong reputation as both a business partner and employer is essential for an organization’s success and growth. Earning stakeholders’ trust requires fostering a workplace culture rooted in ethical conduct and compliance, guided by a clear code of conduct. Employees must understand the laws, regulations, and ethical standards that impact their organization and daily responsibilities.

    “Without proper training, employees may unknowingly engage in transactions or business relationships that violate laws, leading to severe consequences such as fines, operational restrictions and reputational damage.” said Mike Dahir, CEO of Traliant. “It’s every employers’ responsibility to equip employees with the knowledge to navigate these challenging scenarios and positively contribute to their company’s reputation as a brand.”

    Traliant’s Global Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC) training helps learners understand the laws and regulations related to bribery and corruption and to develop strategies for preventing these practices in the workplace. The training, which is compliant with the legal obligations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), covers topics such as how to avoid criminal bribery, identify foreign officials, distinguish between bribery and extortion, and report suspicious activity.

    Conflicts of interest are another area that can erode trust in a company and lead to legal issues and penalties. By giving employees an understanding of what conflicts of interest are and why they must be avoided, Traliant’s Avoiding Conflicts of Interest training helps ensure that employees make decisions based on what is best for the company and are empowered to speak up about any potential conflicts.

    Economic sanctions impact global business operations, and employees play a vital role in ensuring organizational compliance and preventing violations that could lead to legal penalties, financial losses and reputational damage. Traliant’s Economic Sanctions training enables employees to understand the fundamentals of sanctions, including what key areas, entities and individuals are subject to U.S. sanctions. It also helps employees recognize warning signs of potential violations and provides guidance on seeking compliance support.

    To learn more about Traliant, visit: https://www.traliant.com/.

    About Traliant
    Traliant, a leader in compliance training, is on a mission to help make workplaces better, for everyone. Committed to a customer promise of “compliance you can trust, training you will love,” Traliant delivers continuously compliant online courses, backed by an unparalleled in-house legal team, with engaging, story-based training designed to create truly enjoyable learning experiences.

    Traliant supports over 14,000 organizations worldwide with a library of curated essential courses to broaden employee perspectives, achieve compliance and elevate workplace culture, including sexual harassment training, inclusion training, code of conduct training, and many more.  

    Backed by PSG, a leading growth equity firm, Traliant holds a coveted position on Inc.’s 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America for four consecutive years, along with numerous awards for its products and workplace culture. For more information, visit http://www.traliant.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

    Contact
    Reagan Bennet
    traliant@v2comms.com 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Cority Integrates Arcadia’s Platform to Automate Utility Data for ESG Compliance

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cority, the global leader in enterprise Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) and Sustainability software, has announced a strategic partnership with Arcadia, the industry leader in utility data and energy management solutions. This collaboration enables Cority customers to leverage Arcadia’s expansive data platform, reducing manual processes and enhancing the quality of sustainability reporting across large enterprises.

    The integration aligns Arcadia’s utility data platform with CorityOne, the company’s comprehensive and integrated EHS and sustainability SaaS-based ecosystem, creating a powerful solution for organizations managing complex energy portfolios. By automating data acquisition, cleansing, and standardization, the partnership empowers sustainability, energy management, and compliance teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than labor-intensive manual data entry processes.

    Simplifying sustainability reporting: Accurate energy data at scale
    The Arcadia partnership unlocks easy access to accurate global energy data for Cority customers. Arcadia’s platform leverages AI-driven processes to clean and fill data gaps and draws on insights from a database of over three million utility accounts. The company’s global data coverage encompasses more than 9,500 utility data providers — including electric, gas, water, and more — in 52 countries, and over 95% of residential and commercial accounts in the US.

    The breadth of utility data from Arcadia and ease of integration with Cority ensures companies can meet complex and ever-changing regulatory requirements seamlessly, including reasonable assurance standards under the EU’s CSRD regulation and the IFRS-S2 climate-related disclosures.

    “Large organizations often struggle with fragmented data collection, whether it’s keyed in manually or pulled from inconsistent spreadsheets,” said Alex Hardwick, director of sustainability, planning and enablement at Cority. “With Arcadia, our customers now have access to a scalable, automated solution that ensures reliable, traceable data for sustainability reporting and energy management. It’s a game changer for companies with extensive site networks.”

    CorityOne: A unified ecosystem for sustainability data management
    CorityOne’s unified ecosystem is built on the principles of interoperability and integration, allowing organizations to consolidate their sustainability and EHS data in one platform. By partnering with Arcadia, Cority strengthens its ability to deliver a comprehensive data management solution that streamlines processes, improves accuracy, and eliminates silos.

    “Organizations are under growing pressure to deliver accurate sustainability reports, but many are still relying on manual data collection processes that are time-intensive, prone to error, and often limited to a one-time annual exercise,” said Curtis Snyder, SVP & GM at Arcadia. “Cority’s focus on EHS and sustainability provides the perfect foundation for a single source of truth. By combining Arcadia’s automated utility data capabilities with Cority’s unified ecosystem, we’re helping enterprises move beyond static reporting to ongoing visibility into their resource usage and carbon impact—enabling smarter decision-making and streamlined reporting.”

    With this partnership, Cority customers gain access to a scalable and automated approach for managing utility data. Arcadia’s robust platform seamlessly integrates with CorityOne, enabling customers to link utility accounts across thousands of locations and directly feed standardized data into the system. This eliminates time-consuming manual data entry and provides organizations with a centralized, actionable view of their energy consumption and emissions, further streamlining the reporting process.

    About Cority
    Cority gives every employee from the field to the boardroom the power to make a difference, reducing risks and creating a safer, healthier, and more sustainable world. For over 35 years, Cority’s people-first software solutions have been built by EHS and sustainability experts who know the pressures businesses face. Time-tested, scalable, and configurable, CorityOne is the responsible business platform that combines datasets from across the organization to enable improved efficiencies, actionable insights, data-driven decisions, and more accurate reporting on performance. Trusted by over 1,500 organizations worldwide, Cority deeply cares about helping people work toward a better future for everyone. To learn more, visit www.cority.com

    About Arcadia
    Arcadia is the global utility data and energy solutions platform. With our leading data platform, AI-powered analytics, industry expertise, and expansive partner network, we deliver solutions for every stage of the enterprise energy management lifecycle across carbon, cost, and reliability. Arcadia also manages the nation’s leading community solar program.

    For media inquiries, contact:
    Natalie Rizk
    RiotMind
    natalier@theriotmind.agency

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: STMicroelectronics releases innovative satellite navigation receiver to democratize precise positioning for automotive and industrial applications

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    STMicroelectronics releases innovative satellite navigation receiver to democratize precise positioning for automotive and industrial applications

    • ST first to put quad-band, multi-constellation design, needed for precise GNSS positioning accurate to a few centimeters, on a single die
    • Innovative design ensures cost-effective precise positioning for road users and for new industrial applications, to increase the areas where autonomous vehicles can operate

    Geneva, Switzerland, February 26, 2025 – STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, has introduced the Teseo VI family of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers aimed at high-volume precise positioning use cases. For the automotive industry, Teseo VI chips and modules will be core building blocks of advanced driving systems (ADAS), smart in-vehicle systems, and safety-critical applications such as autonomous driving. They have also been designed to improve positioning capabilities in multiple industrial applications including asset trackers, mobile robots for home deliveries, managing machinery and crop monitoring in smart agriculture, timing systems such as base stations, and many more.

    “Our new Teseo VI receivers represent a real breakthrough among positioning engines for several reasons: they are the first to integrate multi-constellation and quad-band signal processing in a single die; they are the first to embed a dual-Arm®-core architecture enabling both very high performance and ASIL-level safety for assisted and autonomous driving applications. Last but not least, they embed ST’s proprietary embedded Non-Volatile-Memory (PCM), thus delivering a very integrated, cost-effective, and reliable platform for new precise-positioning solutions,” said Luca Celant, Digital Audio and Signal Solutions General Manager, STMicroelectronics. “ST’s new satellite-navigation receivers will support exciting, advanced capabilities in automotive ADAS applications and enable many new use cases being implemented by industrial companies.”

    Teseo VI is the first in the market to integrate all the necessary system elements for centimeter accuracy into one die, supporting simultaneous multi-constellation and quad-band operations. This innovation simplifies the development of end-user navigation and positioning products, enhances reliability even in challenging conditions like urban canyons, and reduces bill-of-materials costs. Additionally, the single chip accelerates time to market and allows for compact and lightweight form factors.

    The new Teseo VI family of precise positioning receiver chips leverages decades of experience and integrates multiple ST proprietary technologies, including precise positioning and advanced embedded memory.

    Technical Notes for Editors

    ST’s new GNSS device family includes the Teseo VI STA8600A and Teseo VI+, STA8610A, each with dual independent Arm® Cortex®-M7 processing cores for local control of all the IC’s (integrated circuit) functions. The Cortex-M7 brings powerful 32-bit processing and helps enable concurrent multi-constellation and multi-band operation on a single die.

    Teseo VI+ can also host various enhanced positioning engines, developed independently by third ST Authorized Partner companies, to provide complete real-time kinematics for centimeter position accuracy.

    Completing the family, the Teseo APP2 STA9200MA operates dual cores in lockstep, providing hardware redundancy for applications such as road vehicle guidance meeting ISO 26262 ASIL-B functional safety. Pin-compatibility between Teseo APP2 and other Teseo VI ICs simplifies PCB design for companies producing ASIL-certified and non-ASIL applications.

    All variants feature ST’s innovative RF architecture and GNSS baseband design provides quad-band GNSS support (L1, L2, L5 and E6) with the unique ability to acquire and track only L5. This is highly effective in reducing outliers and increasing robustness in difficult conditions such as urban canyons and in the presence of jammers.

    In addition, the proprietary phase-change memory (PCM) technology removes external memory needs, thereby minimizing the system bill of materials (BOM) and simplifying the manufacturing supply chain. Proprietary PCM is robust to withstand challenging environments such as automotive, non-volatile like Flash, and has a small cell architecture suited to space-efficient on-chip integration.

    The ICs all contain a full set of hardware cyber security features including secure boot, over-the-air firmware update, and output-data protection. In addition, ST’s hardware security module (HSM) provides robust protection against online hacking. The devices comply with the latest UNECE R155 and ISO 21434 specifications that mandate cybersecurity by design.

    The Teseo VI product family is supported by an established ecosystem of suppliers and partners for algorithms, reference designs, and compatible complementary hardware.

    The Teseo VI product family includes also two new GNSS automotive modules: the Teseo-VIC6A in a 16mm x 12mm form factor (embedding Teseo VI), and the Teseo-ELE6A in a 17mm x 22mm form factor (embedding Teseo VI+). These new modules simplify the integration of Teseo VI/VI+ ICs on the customer platform and ensure optimum performance. 

    The Teseo VI samples are available on request.

    For more information, please go to www.st.com/teseo6

    You can also read our blogpost at https://blog.st.com/teseovi/

    About STMicroelectronics
    At ST, we are over 50,000 creators and makers of semiconductor technologies mastering the semiconductor supply chain with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. An integrated device manufacturer, we work with more than 200,000 customers and thousands of partners to design and build products, solutions, and ecosystems that address their challenges and opportunities, and the need to support a more sustainable world. Our technologies enable smarter mobility, more efficient power and energy management, and the wide-scale deployment of cloud-connected autonomous things. We are committed to achieving our goal to become carbon neutral on scope 1 and 2 and partially scope 3 by 2027. Further information can be found at www.st.com.

    INVESTOR RELATIONS
    Jérôme Ramel
    EVP Corporate Development & Integrated External Communication
    Tel: +41.22.929.59.20
    jerome.ramel@st.com

    MEDIA RELATIONS
    Alexis Breton
    Corporate External Communications
    Tel: +33.6.59.16.79.08
    alexis.breton@st.com

    Attachments

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Relm Insurance and Liva Group Empower Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Web3 and AI Through Strategic Insurance Partnership

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Liva and Relm focus on businesses in high-growth innovative sectors often not covered by traditional insurance products.
    • From digital asset insurance to AI-related risk management and solutions, the partnership ensures businesses operating in these industries can secure the coverage they need to thrive.
    • Partnership will initially support companies in the UAE and Bahrain, with plans to extend services to Oman, Saudi Arabia, and other key markets in MENA.

    Dubai, UAE, Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Liva Group, a leading insurance group operating across the GCC, and Relm Insurance — the only insurer dedicated to dedicated to emerging sectors — today signed a strategic partnership aimed at empowering innovation and entrepreneurship in emerging sectors such as digital assets, biotech, and AI.

    The union will deliver tailored insurance solutions that address the unique and complex needs of tech companies.

    The partnership was formally signed by Martin Rueegg, CEO of Liva Group, and Joseph Ziolkowski, Global CEO and Founder of Relm Insurance, at DIFC AI Campus as part of DFS Dialogues. DFS Dialogues are exclusive strategic conversations that take place in invite-only gatherings in the lead-up to the Dubai FinTech Summit.

    Whether they’re start-ups or established players, firms in emerging sectors often struggle to get the right insurance due to a lack of understanding of their industries’ rapidly evolving landscape, which stifles innovation and deters investment. By combining Liva Group’s deep market knowledge with Relm’s deep expertise in specialised insurance, the partnership will provide unparalleled support to these companies, empowering them to tackle complex challenges and seize new opportunities.

    The alliance will initially support companies in the UAE and Bahrain, with plans to extend services to Oman, Saudi Arabia, and other key markets in MENA, supporting the region’s development as a leader in digital transformation, AI innovation, and blockchain technology.

    Martin Rueegg, Group CEO of Liva Group, said: “Sectors such as digital assets and AI are critical to the next phase of growth in this region. We believe that unlocking their full potential requires fostering an environment where creativity, collaboration, and innovation can thrive. At Liva, we recognise that technology is a key enabler of this transformation. By leveraging data-driven insights and digital solutions, we are not only improving customer experiences but also enhancing our ability to anticipate and respond to evolving market needs. A key aspect of this is providing entrepreneurs and investors with the confidence to embrace new challenges and explore fresh ideas. This mission is at the heart of our partnership with Relm.”

    Joseph Ziolkowski, Global CEO & Founder of Relm Insurance, added: “Our priority is to support clients and brokers by providing the insurance solutions tailored for innovative businesses in this region. This collaboration enables brokers to offer their clients the security they need to thrive in complex and dynamic sectors.”

    Operating through its Dubai-based affiliate, Relm Insurance holds a Category 4 licence issued by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). With its new headquarters in DIFC and regulation under the Bermuda Monetary Authority, Relm is well-positioned to provide its specialised insurance solutions in the region.

    -ENDS-

    About Liva Group

    Liva is an insurance group operating across the GCC, founded on the belief that insurance is a pillar that supports both personal and professional lives. As one of the pioneering insurance players in the region, Liva’s team of 1,200 employees is dedicated to offering products and services centred on customer needs, empowering individuals, businesses, and communities to thrive. Serving more than 1.5 million customers, Liva has a strong and growing presence in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain across motor, home travel, health, life, and commercial insurance, as well owning subsidiaries such as NSSPL (India) and Inayah TPA (UAE), supporting its long-term strategy to scale and diversify the business. The word “Liva” signifies “protection” or “life”, reflecting the Group’s commitment to protecting what matters most to its people, its partners, and, most of all, its customers.

    About Relm Insurance

    Relm Insurance Ltd. (Relm) is a Bermuda-domiciled specialty insurance carrier that supports emerging industries driving innovation and next-generation technologies. Launched in 2019, Relm offers a wide range of insurance products to high-growth markets, including digital assets, blockchain, AI, biotech, and the space economy. With a Financial Stability Rating of ‘A, Exceptional’ from Demotech, Relm is widely recognised for its industry expertise and solutions-driven approach, making it a trusted risk partner for businesses operating at the frontier of technological innovation.

    Media Contacts

    Sarah Abdelbary
    Brunswick Group
    sabdelbary@brunswickgroup.com

    Reannah Smith  
    Luna PR  
    reannah@lunapr.io

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Ataccama Recognized in BARC Data Intelligence Platform Report 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BOSTON, Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ataccama, the data trust company, today announced it has been named a challenger in the 2025 BARC Data Intelligence Platform Report. The report, which evaluates leading vendors in data intelligence, highlights Ataccama’s ability to unify critical capabilities—data cataloging, lineage, governance, quality, observability, and master data management—into a seamless, all-in-one platform. Ataccama enables organizations to eliminate complexity, ensure data reliability, and drive strategic data and AI initiatives with confidence.

    “As organizations modernize their technology stacks to enhance products, services, and business models, data silos hinder access and trust across the enterprise,” said Mike McKee, CEO of Ataccama. “Ataccama ONE simplifies this complexity, allowing organizations to organize, understand, and improve their data. This is especially important in highly regulated industries like financial services and insurance, where compliance is stringent, or in sectors like manufacturing, burdened by legacy systems. By creating a unified source of truth, businesses can streamline discovery, enhance efficiency, and demonstrate the value of their data investments. Our recognition by BARC underscores our commitment to unlocking the transformative potential of high-quality data.”

    The BARC report commends Ataccama for its integrated, in-house developed platform, which allows businesses to build scalable governance frameworks and ensure trust in their data assets. With advanced features—such as metadata refinement, automated data quality checks, and intuitive self-service tools—Ataccama simplifies complex data landscapes, fosters collaboration, and reduces risks tied to data quality issues or regulatory non-compliance.

    The report evaluates capabilities like metadata refinement and automated workflows within the data intelligence domain. While these are critical components, data intelligence is a subset of the broader concept of data trust. Ataccama ONE extends beyond the scope of the BARC evaluation by offering end-to-end capabilities, including governance, lineage, observability, master data management, all supported by ONE AI for automation of data tasks to save time for data teams. This comprehensive approach helps organizations establish resilient systems that support enterprise-wide trust, compliance, and innovation.

    “Trusted, high-quality data forms the backbone of successful data-driven organizations,” said Timm Grosser, Senior Analyst for Data and Analytics at BARC. “Platforms like Ataccama ONE address the critical need for unified data governance, quality, and cataloging by integrating advanced AI and active metadata. This allows enterprises to eliminate silos, ensure regulatory compliance, and make informed decisions, positioning them for long-term success.”

    Ataccama’s recognition as a Challenger reflects its ability to meet evolving market needs with innovative solutions, while its roadmap prioritizes AI-enhanced features and self-service capabilities to further empower organizations.

    To learn more about Ataccama ONE unified data trust platform, visit https://www.ataccama.com/platform

    About Ataccama
    Ataccama enables organizations to accelerate business initiatives with high quality data they trust using Ataccama ONE, a unified data trust platform. Combining data quality, lineage, observability, governance, and master data management in a single solution, Ataccama supports hundreds of organizations around the world to increase revenue, decrease costs, and mitigate risk. Ataccama was one of only three software companies to be recognized by Gartner as a Market Leader for Augmented Data Quality in 2024. Learn more at www.ataccama.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Introducing Lineos, AI Powered by insightsoftware: Transforming Finance Workflows With Actionable Insights

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RALEIGH, N.C., Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — insightsoftware, the most comprehensive provider of solutions for the Office of the CFO, today announced the launch of Lineos, a suite of AI-driven capabilities designed to enhance insightsoftware’s financial planning and analysis (FP&A), accounting, and operations products. Lineos supports finance professionals by simplifying complex data into actionable insights, addressing real-world challenges, and enabling confident decision-making.

    Manual processes and repetitive tasks continue to burden finance teams, consuming time and increasing the risk of errors. Many organizations spend more than 30 hours monthly on top-level reporting. According to Gartner, 81% of CFOs plan to increase AI investments in 2025—a sign of growing confidence in AI’s ability to transform financial operations. Lineos helps navigate this shift by automating tasks, uncovering trends, and delivering actionable insights—all within the systems teams already trust.

    “While finance teams recognize the potential of AI, many struggle to make it meaningful,” said Lee An Schommer, Chief Product Officer and General Manager, ERP Reporting & BI at insightsoftware. “CFOs are challenging their teams to boost productivity with AI, but finding a starting point can be difficult. At insightsoftware, we are dedicated to the Office of the CFO, delivering AI solutions that tackle real-world challenges like report generation. With Lineos, we empower finance teams with an AI-powered ‘line of sight’ into their data, enabling confident, data-driven decision-making.”

    How Lineos Empowers Finance Professionals:

    • Saves Time: Lineos takes care of tedious, manual tasks, such as summarizing comments, building and refining complex reports, and recommending pre-built content, so finance teams can focus on the big picture.
    • Reveals Patterns: Lineos uncovers hidden trends like spending patterns from general ledger data to help identify cost-saving opportunities, surfaces actionable insights from ESG data to boost sustainability ratings, and simplifies month-end close by consolidating comments across subsidiaries and departments, enabling faster, smarter decision-making.
    • Simplifies Workflows: Lineos uses Natural Language Query (NLQ) to enable effortless report creation, seamlessly integrates with existing systems, and reduces the need for heavy IT involvement, driving greater productivity and innovation.

    Lineos features work together to simplify processes, enabling finance teams to shift focus from managing data to driving insights and delivering value. Built on the insightsoftware Platform, Lineos capabilities fit into the workflows that finance teams already use, meaning there’s no steep learning curve or added complexity. Prioritizing security and privacy, it ensures data is protected at every step, enabling organizations to maintain reliable and secure business operations.

    Find out more about how Lineos can help finance teams bypass time-consuming manual processes and deliver insights sooner here.

    About insightsoftware
    insightsoftware is a global provider of comprehensive solutions for the Office of the CFO. We believe an actionable business strategy begins and ends with accessible financial data. With solutions across financial planning and analysis (FP&A), accounting, and operations, we transform how teams operate, empowering leaders to make timely and informed decisions. With data at the heart of everything we do, insightsoftware enables automated processes, delivers trusted insights, boosts predictability, and increases productivity. Learn more at insightsoftware.com.

    Media Contacts
    Inkhouse for insightsoftware
    insightsoftware@inkhouse.com

    Daniel Tummeley
    Corporate Communications Manager
    PR@insightsoftware.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Michael S Barr: Managing financial crises

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. I note that the objectives of the Program on Financial Stability include “supporting the world’s financial authorities in refining proven crises management tools and strategies.” Speaking as a representative of one of those authorities, I thought I would further the program’s goals by focusing these remarks on the principles and practice of crisis management. I am favored in that task with what one might call the luck of having been regularly confronted with crises in each of my three stints as a public servant, over a career divided between government and academia. In noting how often my arrival in government was accompanied by crisis, it might be reasonable to wonder if this is correlation or causation.

    Kidding aside, crisis management is central to all management because it demands the very best from managers when it is most needed. Anyone who spends time in government can expect that some of the most memorable and challenging experiences will be managing through tough situations, when the answers to problems are unclear but the mission of the organization comes into acute focus. The financial system is in a perpetual state balancing risk and reward. Sometimes the system falls out of balance, and vulnerabilities turn into stress or even crisis. This moment is when it is crucial to mitigate spillovers from the financial system that can hurt businesses and households and wreak havoc on the economy at large.

    Some of the most important features of modern economies were developed to prevent and mitigate financial crises. The first central banks, and eventually the Federal Reserve, were created to provide stable currencies and banking systems in support of the long-term stability of the provision of credit necessary to foster growth and rising living standards. Regulation of financial markets, regulation and supervision of banks, federal deposit insurance, and laws to protect investors, consumers, and businesses were developed over time to promote both financial stability and durable economic growth. I have spoken previously about how monetary policy and financial stability are inextricably linked and how the tools we use to conduct monetary policy and support financial stability work together.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour: Transforming banking and advancing sustainability

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Since its inception 58 years ago, ASEAN has evolved to become a significant force in global trade, investment and diplomacy. ASEAN now stands as the world’s fourth-largest economic bloc, with an estimated GDP of USD4.13 trillion.1 Looking ahead to 2025, ASEAN is poised for another strong year. GDP is expected to grow by 4.7%,2 significantly outperforming the global average. Much has been said about ASEAN’s pivotal role in global supply chains, our geopolitical neutrality and our strategic location for global trade. However, ASEAN’s driver for sustainable economic growth also comes from within: robust domestic consumption from a youthful demographic, strong growth of individual member states and increasing regional integration. In 2023, for example, intra-ASEAN trade accounted for 21.5% of the region’s total trade in goods.

    Let me touch briefly on Malaysia’s growth outlook. After a strong performance last year, Malaysia is expected to record steady growth going into 2025 despite the challenging global environment. The diversified export structure will help cushion against external demand shocks. But, more importantly, key factors within the economy, particularly the robust expansion in investment activity and resilient household spending, will be important to drive growth this year. Exports are also expected to continue expanding with support from tech upcycle and forthcoming tourist arrivals. We acknowledge that the growth outlook is highly subject to risks from trade and investment restrictions. However, growth could potentially be higher from greater spillovers from the tech upcycle, more robust tourism activities and faster implementation of investment projects in the country.

    The financial sector lies at the core of ASEAN’s progress over the years. The sector acts as the central engine to our economy, facilitating financial flows within ASEAN. Indeed, over the last few decades, we have made progress in facilitating regional capital flows, connecting our payment infrastructure and introducing a framework to support the integration of our banking system through the ASEAN Banking Integration Framework (ABIF). However, the potential for intra-ASEAN investments remains untapped, and there is still much to be done to achieve regional regulatory coherence. My vision is for the financial sector to become the critical enabler for the next phase of economic integration under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2045. This would require the sector to strategically harness the three driving forces: funding, technology and talent.

    Mobilising funds to unlock new growth sectors, bridge financing gap and drive sustainable growth for ASEAN

    Let’s start with funding, which is a crucial driver of ASEAN economic growth. ASEAN is facing significant funding gaps that demand our urgent attention. Let me share a few examples. The Asian Development Bank reports that ASEAN economies will need infrastructure investments of at least USD2.8 trillion from 2023 to 2030 to sustain economic growth, reduce poverty and respond to climate change. Key projects in the region that require large financing include the ASEAN Power Grid, which is pivotal to advancing the region’s climate and energy security agenda, and various ASEAN highway and railway projects, such as the Asian Highway Network, which are cornerstones of regional economic development and integration. Our micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) also face a daunting financing gap, exceeding USD300 billion annually.3

    These figures underscore the urgent need for strategic investments and collaborative efforts to secure a resilient and sustainable future for ASEAN. This need is even more pressing in a region where over 90% of all social infrastructure development has traditionally relied on public resources,4 and public funding faces increasing constraints. How, then, can the financial sector step in as a catalyst to crowd in diverse sources of funding and facilitate long-term investments to ensure sustainable economic expansion and build more resilient supply chains and communities?

    This is where blended finance, the strategic use of public, private, and philanthropic finance sources and development finance, can be a critical tool to mobilise additional private capital flows toward sustainable development in ASEAN. The financial sector is pivotal in advancing blended finance to meet funding gaps in ASEAN, by enabling acceptable risk-taking levels based on various funding sources. This approach leverages the willingness of development finance and philanthropic funders, including sovereign funds within ASEAN to assume greater risk exposure, utilising tools like partial credit guarantees to attract additional investors. Multilateral development banks and development finance institutions play a critical role by offering concessional financing and technical assistance, which supports local companies in accessing capital markets and structuring deals, thereby encouraging participation by private financial institutions through co-funding arrangements.

    I also believe that this is an opportunity for Islamic finance to demonstrate its unique role and impact. In recent years, Islamic finance has gained momentum within the ASEAN region. It offers alternative solutions to conventional financial structures through the use of risk sharing and social finance instruments that can be mobilised towards the development of productive economic sectors such as healthcare, transportation and green sectors. Notably, the deployment of blended capital using instruments such as waqf and zakat in Malaysia and a few neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and Brunei have significantly contributed to financial inclusion for the underserved and strengthened support for the MSMEs. An example of this is Malaysia’s iTEKAD initiative, a social blended finance programme for low-income microentrepreneurs that provides social and commercial funding, which comes together with training and mentorship to empower them in generating sustainable income. In the capital market structure, Islamic finance has also been mobilised for infrastructure, climate and green projects. In Malaysia, for example, a total of USD56 billion of sukuk was issued in 2023 to fund real economic sectors with a high concentration in renewable energy and green real estate.

    Embracing innovative financing structures will involve navigating various complexities that demand careful consideration, collaboration and adaptation. Hence, advancing capacity building within the financial sector is very crucial. In Malaysia, the Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) continues to serve as a key focal point in supporting the financial preparedness for climate change. As part of Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, Bank Negara Malaysia is committed to supporting the region’s transition efforts. During the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Governors Meeting week from 7 to 10 April this year in Kuala Lumpur, we will host several side events to advance these discussions. These events include a closed-door investor roundtable focused on innovative financing solutions for sizeable ASEAN green and transition projects, as well as pitching sessions on sustainable ASEAN Projects. We invite the financial industry to contribute and participate in these events.

    Responsible deployment of technology in financial services is key to maximise its potential while minimising risk

    Ladies and gentlemen,

    There is an immense potential for ASEAN to also leverage technology. This is the second point. With a median age of about 30 and a substantial portion under 35,5 ASEAN’s population is digitally proficient. Indeed, the adoption of digital financial services can be a game-changer in addressing challenges within the region, which include to better serve the needs of large unbanked and underbanked populations in our region.

    The outlook for digital financial services in ASEAN is very bright. Through innovations such as mobile wallets, digital payments and micro-lending, digital finance is expanding access to financial services for individuals who previously had limited options. These services are not just filling gaps – they are creating new pathways to financial inclusion, thereby allowing individuals to save, invest and access credit with unprecedented ease.

    While digital financial services hold tremendous promise, it comes with its own set of risks. Today’s technological advances are progressing at an unprecedented pace, making our response to these developments very crucial. For financial institutions, deployment of technology must be done thoughtfully and responsibly with holistic consideration of the impacts and value to the broader environment and community. This unwavering commitment to enhance financial services and preserve consumer confidence includes addressing cybersecurity risks, strengthening climate resilience, promoting financial literacy and ensuring that digital financial services are secure and accessible to all segments of society.

    As regulators, our commitment is for our policies to strike a balance between embracing technological innovation and, at the same time, preserving financial stability. Our Regulatory Sandbox allows for experimentation and contributes to the recalibration of regulatory policies such as eKYC. We also adapt our regulations to welcome new players into the market, those that have strong value propositions on inclusion, as demonstrated by the issuance of our licensing and regulatory framework for digital banks and digital insurers and takaful operators.

    Investing in talent strategies that not only creates a more agile and adaptive workforce, but also paves the way for regional talent mobility

    Let me move on to the third point. At the heart of economic growth and development lies talent. ASEAN is blessed with a vibrant, young and dynamic workforce. To capitalise on this potential, the financial sector will need to create an environment that nurtures the next generation of leaders and innovators in finance who carry a unique ASEAN identity – one that is not only tech-savvy, but also adept at navigating the complexities of regional regulations and global economic shifts while championing social equity and environmental sustainability.

    I would like to also take this opportunity to share Malaysia’s efforts in developing talent in our financial sector. In July last year, the industry launched the Financial Sector Future Skills Framework, and this is to empower individuals to take charge of their professional development, while creating new talent pipelines and succession pools. I reiterate the call I made during the launch of the framework for the industry to work closely with training institutes, professional bodies and industry associations to ensure that training programmes meet the established quality assurance standards and set high standards in new skill areas.

    Complementing this is a dynamic talent development hub, offering tailored learning programmes and certifications. For example, the Financial Sector Talent Enrichment Programme (FSTEP) targets fresh graduates interested in launching their career in financial services, while globally recognised financial certifications are available for seasoned professionals.

    Malaysia is also home to regional research and learning hubs such as the SEACEN Centre and is recognised globally as a leader in Islamic finance. With a multitude of well-established talent development institutions and capacity-building providers in Islamic finance, we offer a fertile ground for nurturing specialised skills and thought leadership in this field.

    To truly capitalise on the large working-age population in ASEAN, we need to go beyond domestic efforts. Financial institutions across the region should pursue collaborative initiatives that enhance talent mobility, such as through mutual recognition of qualifications and expertise sharing. ABIF can also be leveraged to intensify efforts to promote greater regulatory coherence through capacity-building initiatives. By doing so, we can improve connectivity across ASEAN markets, paving the way for a more integrated and resilient future for the region.

    In closing, today’s discourse reaffirms the financial sector’s commitment to turning AEC 2045 into a reality. The challenge lies in ensuring that the ASEAN financial sector has the capacity to do so by mobilising funds, leveraging technology, and developing regional talent.

    As I conclude my speech, I leave you with a thought from Peter Drucker: ‘The best way to predict the future is to create it.’ Together, let’s create a future where the financial sector empowers ASEAN’s growth and integration. On that note, I wish you all productive discussions during the rest of the Summit.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How tourism and fish farming can thrive together

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Mausam Budhathoki, Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling

    The tourism and aquaculture sectors have been working together in Oban, on Scotland’s west coast. Rab Woods/Shutterstock

    In many coastal regions, tourism and fish farms are vital industries that drive economic growth. Yet, they often compete for space, raising concerns about how to balance these two sectors without compromising the environment or local livelihoods.

    In Oban, on the west coast of Scotland, the twin industries of tourism and aquaculture are learning to coexist – and even thrive together. Coastal communities can face economic challenges due to the seasonal nature of tourism as well as often limited job options. Their reliance on coastal resources, which are increasingly affected by environmental changes, can heighten the difficulties.

    Aquaculture in high-income countries hasn’t always had the best reputation. Public perception can be negative due to concerns about the environmental impact and resource use. But when it’s practised sustainably, aquaculture can in fact help meet global food demands and contribute to the UN’s sustainable development goals, a blueprint for economic growth that’s equitable and environmentally aware.

    Our recent study explored how tourists perceive aquaculture during their holiday and whether exposure to fish farms influences their willingness to consume locally farmed seafood. The results suggest that integrating aquaculture and tourism can increase awareness of sustainable seafood and create economic opportunities.

    Oban’s coastline is home to salmon farms, shellfish cultivation, including mussels and oysters, and new seaweed farms. All of these sit in waters popular for marine tours. The tours attract visitors eager to learn more about local wildlife and history. But, aquaculture often faces criticism due to its impact on the landscape and marine ecosystems.

    This tension is not unique to Oban. Across Europe, aquaculture growth has stagnated despite its potential to improve food security and sustainability. Regulatory challenges and conflicts over space are significant hurdles. This is especially true in coastal communities where the acceptance and support of the community – known as a “social licence to operate” – is crucial.

    But our study offers a promising solution: aquaculture–tourism integration. By showcasing aquaculture as part of the tourism experience, Oban can educate visitors, encourage greater acceptance of sustainable farming practices and boost the local economy.

    What tourists think about aquaculture

    We surveyed 200 tourists on marine tours in Oban to understand how they view aquaculture. The responses revealed three main types of tourists. These are those with multiple motivations (visitors drawn by nature, socialising and learning); “relaxers” (tourists seeking rest and relaxation, often with little previous knowledge of aquaculture); and outgoing nature enthusiasts (active travellers who value wildlife and environmental conservation).

    Despite their different motivations, most tourists responded positively to seeing fish farms during their tours. The most notable shift was among the “relaxers”, who were more interested in eating locally farmed seafood after learning about sustainable farming practices. This shows how education and direct experience can reshape the way seafood production is perceived.

    Aquaculture sites are often viewed as eyesores, but our findings show that when framed as part of local culture, they can actually enrich the tourist experience. Tourists appreciated learning about sustainable seafood production as the boats approached floating net cages and began to view aquaculture as a positive part of the community.

    Marine tours could include stops at aquaculture sites to let visitors see the operation, hear from farmers and even sample the products. This would present an opportunity to engage tourists and encourage a connection with the industry – potentially building trust with the public.

    A successful hybrid venture in the seas around Rhodes, Greece.

    This kind of integration offers several advantages. First, it can drive economic growth by attracting tourists interested in sustainable food and environmental practices. This can create a new revenue stream for both the aquaculture and tourism sectors. For example, a small farm on the Greek island of Rhodes partners with a diving centre to offer marine biology tours and dives around its site. Visitors learn about sustainable aquaculture and swim with sea bream in net pens, exploring how these practices support environmental conservation.

    Beyond the economic benefits, it can also raise environmental awareness. As tourists learn about sustainable seafood farming, they are more likely to support more environmentally friendly food production in general.

    By understanding how aquaculture contributes to food security, public perceptions could shift, leading to broader acceptance of aquaculture as a solution for global food challenges. And positive experiences of aquaculture not only shift perceptions but also make it easier for operators to win support from the community and encourage a more responsible approach to farming practices. However, it’s important that these efforts are honest and truly focused on environmental and social responsibility.

    While many of the benefits are clear, there are challenges. Both aquaculture and tourism can damage the environment. Tourism can lead to habitat disruption and pollution, while poorly managed aquaculture can affect water quality and marine biodiversity.

    But when farms are regularly visited as part of tourism activities such as boat tours or guided farm visits, there is a greater incentive to maintain high environmental standards. Nonetheless, careful planning and regulation are essential to ensure both sectors operate sustainably without harming ecosystems.

    Another challenge is the aesthetic impact of aquaculture, a common issue with industrial food production. Fish farms inevitably alter coastal landscapes, but operators can choose design solutions that balance production needs with preserving the outlook.

    Finally, competition for resources and space can lead to conflicts between tourism and aquaculture. Coastal communities must manage these demands carefully to ensure both sectors can thrive. This requires collaboration between tourism operators and aquaculture farmers to prevent clashes over infrastructure and resources.

    Oban’s successful integration of aquaculture and tourism offers a model that can could be replicated by coastal communities globally. But barriers, such as the remoteness of some farms or regulatory requirements, may limit feasibility. However, by transforming fish farms into educational attractions, Oban demonstrates how sustainable practices can benefit both sectors.

    With a focus on cooperation, education and responsible farming, an integrated approach between tourism operators and aquaculture companies could strengthen the reputation of local seafood. Ultimately, it offers a sustainable model for coastal communities.

    Mausam Budhathoki receives funding from the EATFISH project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant 956697).

    Dave Little receives funding from EATFISH project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant 956697).

    – ref. How tourism and fish farming can thrive together – https://theconversation.com/how-tourism-and-fish-farming-can-thrive-together-249835

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Starmer announces aid cuts to fund defence – but Britain’s days as an aid superpower are already long over

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Balazs Szent-Ivanyi, Reader in Politics and International Relations and Deputy Director Aston Centre for Europe, Aston University

    Keir Starmer’s announcement that the UK will cut foreign aid in order to fund more defence spending seems like smart politics. With the US’s commitment to European security in question, it is clear that European countries, including the UK, need to spend more on defence.

    The US president, Donald Trump, with whom the prime minister is meeting on Thursday, has long called out Europeans for free-riding on America’s security guarantee. Credible promises of more British defence spending (including on American kit) may also deter Trump from introducing tariffs on UK imports.

    Building up the UK’s and Europe’s defence capabilities comes with a hefty price tag, and finding the money is tricky. The UK economy has weak growth prospects, and Labour has made a pledge not to increase taxes “on working people”. This leaves budget cuts in other areas as the only approach. The government seems to have decided that cutting foreign aid may be the least painful option for voters.

    Want more politics coverage from academic experts? Every week, we bring you informed analysis of developments in government and fact check the claims being made.

    Sign up for our weekly politics newsletter, delivered every Friday.

    Foreign aid has generally been seen as an area of government spending which has relatively weak groups of domestic supporters. Charities and companies that directly benefit from aid spending through government contracts are a smallish group, and many receive funding from several sources.

    Hostility to aid among the general public is relatively high. According to a 2024 survey by the British Foreign Policy Group, 46% of Britons surveyed thought that UK aid should not return to its previous high of 0.7% of gross national income (GNI), or should be cut even further below the 0.5% at the time of that survey.

    A frequent argument made by successive British governments is that aid, by targeting poverty and conflict, can address the root causes of migration. The public, however, is sceptical about aid’s ability to reduce irregular migration or make the UK safer.



    Read more:
    Why many policies to lower migration actually increase it

    Although Labour voters are more positive about aid’s benefits, it is unlikely that the government would see any major electoral harm from reductions to the aid budget.

    Where aid is really used

    While cutting aid may be a smart move politically, it will have longer-term consequences for the UK’s global influence and its ability to achieve positive change in the world. Many charities were quick to point this out, arguing that it will hurt the lives of the poorest across the world.

    Aid is now set to shrink from 0.5% of GNI to 0.3%, which implies the UK will still have a substantial aid programme. On average, rich countries spent 0.37% of their GNI on aid in 2023 – not much more than what the UK will spend now.

    In practice, however, 23% of the British aid budget in 2023 was made up by Home Office spending on housing refugees in the UK. This is unlikely to decline quickly, even though the government has said it aims to reduce it. A further 34% consisted of contributions to multilateral organisations like the United Nations and World Bank. While there is scope to cut some of this, large savings are difficult without the UK leaving some organisations.

    Given these two fixed items, very little will remain for “genuine” development programmes in partner countries – the kind of funding that is actually visible as UK aid.



    Read more:
    The UK spent a third of its international aid budget on refugees in the UK – what it’s paying for, and why it’s a problem

    Such a small genuine aid programme will undoubtedly mean lower development impact and lower British influence. But the UK’s standing and soft power, particularly in poorer countries, was already in tatters well before Starmer’s announcement.

    The merger between the Foreign Office and Department for International Development in 2020, followed by budget cuts and the re-allocation of aid to the Home Office, has destroyed the UK’s reputation as an “aid superpower” and champion of the global poor.

    Across-the-board cuts have even devastated programmes which the UK has declared as priority areas, such as support for women and girls. Some would argue that after these cuts, the UK did not have much of a reputation left to lose.

    But this story of UK aid is not unique. Indeed, the world has entered a new era of aid fatigue. The populist right portrays aid as wasteful and ineffective, as shown by the Trump administration’s dismantling of the US Agency for International Development.



    Read more:
    USAID’s freeze has thrust the entire global aid system into uncertainty

    Many Africans see aid as a neocolonial enterprise aimed at spreading western ideologies, a sentiment often echoed by the progressive left. Western countries themselves are increasingly open about their selfish reasons for providing aid, such as boosting business, while many non-western donors have emerged as alternatives.

    It is not a surprise that the west’s influence in the world has waned, as evidenced by its failure to build a global anti-Russia coalition following the invasion of Ukraine.

    The UK will need to adapt to these realities. Designing a smarter and highly targeted aid programme, perhaps from the ground up, is now more important than ever to rebuild Britain’s reputation.

    Balazs Szent-Ivanyi 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. Starmer announces aid cuts to fund defence – but Britain’s days as an aid superpower are already long over – https://theconversation.com/starmer-announces-aid-cuts-to-fund-defence-but-britains-days-as-an-aid-superpower-are-already-long-over-250873

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Turbo Energy Unveils SUNBOX Home Lite, the Next Generation in AI-Optimized, All-In-One Solar Energy Storage Solution for Residential Installations Throughout Spain

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VALENCIA, Spain, Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Turbo Energy, S.A. (NASDAQ:TURB) (“Turbo Energy” or the “Company”), a global provider of leading-edge, AI-optimized solar energy storage technologies and solutions, today proudly announced official market launch of the Company’s latest innovation in smart photovoltaic energy storage tailored for smaller residential installations – the SUNBOX Home Lite.

    Turbo Energy and Solar360 Introduce SUNBOX Home Lite, the Latest Innovation in All-In-One Solar Energy Storage Solutions

    SUNBOX Home Lite combines the sleek design and robust functionality of the original SUNBOX Home with a focus on homes requiring less than 15kh of solar energy storage. This cutting edge innovation is supported by Turbo Energy’s state-of-the-art cloud-based SaaS solution, which leverages Artificial Intelligence to provide intelligent data collection, optimized stored energy management and predictive analytics which provide real-time insight into weather and electricity price forecasts, solar panel performance, energy consumption and material cost savings opportunities.

    Turbo Energy has shipped 100 units to Solar360, which are available for immediate installation. A longstanding valued partner of Turbo Energy, Solar360, a joint venture of Repsol and Telefónica España, is engaged in the photovoltaic self-consumption business offering comprehensive solutions for individual customers; communities of neighbors; and companies, both SMEs and large corporations, through solar panel installations. In addition to the reach of its channels and its strength in operations and distribution, Telefónica contributes its technological expertise and IoT capabilities to provide differential optimization in the market. Repsol brings its experience in self-consumption and multi-energy in Spain, allowing them to offer customers a specific electricity rate that complements photovoltaic installations.

    Commenting on the launch of SUNBOX Home Lite, Alberto Jimenez, Director General del Segmento Masivo of Solar360, stated, “We chose Turbo Energy because it is a Spain-based company offering the industry’s most cutting-edge solar energy storage solutions – optimized with Artificial Intelligence. With the addition of SUNBOX Home Lite to Solar360’s growing line of Turbo Energy innovations, we are now empowered to address customer demand from smaller homeowners for solar energy storage solutions that have been specifically configured to satisfy their reduced energy storage requirements without having to sacrifice product quality, ease of installation and use and unmatched functionality.”

    Mariano Soria, Turbo Energy Chief Executive Officer, added, “We are excited to launch SUNBOX Home Lite in collaboration with Solar360. Since entering the self-consumption solar energy market, Solar360 has grown rapidly, demonstrating that it understands how to read the needs of its customers and earning the reputation of being a true expert in the area of photovoltaic installations.”

    Continuing, Soria said, “The market introduction of SUNBOX Home Lite not only enhances our Company’s growing line of proprietary all-in-one product offerings, but also reinforces our commitment to making affordable, sustainable energy accessible to every household. This is yet another testament to our mission of providing solutions that not only meet, but consistently exceed, the expectations of our customers and business partners. As a result, SUNBOX Home Lite is expected to measurably contribute to Turbo’s future growth and further extend and enhance our Company’s industry reputation as a customer-centric innovator of smart photovoltaic storage solutions.”

    About Turbo Energy, S.A.

    Founded in 2013, Turbo Energy is a globally recognized pioneer of proprietary solar energy storage technologies and solutions managed through Artificial Intelligence. Turbo Energy’s elegant all-in-one and scalable, modular energy storage systems empower residential, commercial and industrial users expanding across Europe, North America and South America to materially reduce dependence on traditional energy sources, helping to lower electricity costs, provide peak shaving and uninterruptible power supply and realize a more sustainable, energy-efficient future. A testament to the Company’s commitment to innovation and industry disruption, Turbo Energy’s introduction of its flagship SUNBOX represents one of the world’s first high performance, competitively priced, all-in-one home solar energy storage systems, which also incorporates patented EV charging capability and powerful AI processes to optimize solar energy management. Turbo Energy is a proud subsidiary of publicly traded Umbrella Global Energy, S.A., a vertically integrated, global collective of solar energy-focused companies. For more information, please visit www.turbo-e.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of the business of the Company, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control, including the risks described in our registration statements and annual report under the heading “Risk Factors” as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and Turbo Energy, S.A. specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    For more information, please contact:
    At Turbo Energy, S.A.
    Dodi Handy, Director of Communications
    Phone: 407-960-4636
    Email: dodihandy@turbo-e.com

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Correction: Form 8.3 – Assura Plc

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    AMENDED DISCLOSURE – PLEASE REFER TO SECTIONS 2(a) AND 3(a)

    8.3

    PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY
    A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE
    Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the “Code”)

    1.        KEY INFORMATION

    (a)   Full name of discloser: Rathbones Group Plc
    (b)   Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):
            The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named.    		  
    (c)   Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:
            Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree    		 Assura Plc
    (d)   If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree:  
    (e)   Date position held/dealing undertaken:
            For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure    		 24/02/2024
    (f)   In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?
            If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state “N/A”    		 No

    2.        POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

    If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

    (a)      Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

    Class of relevant security: 10p Ord
      Interests Short positions
      Number % Number %
    (1)   Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 179,035,513 5.50%    
    (2)   Cash-settled derivatives:        
    (3)   Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:        

            TOTAL:

    		 179,035,513 5.50%    

    All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

    Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

    (b)      Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors’ and other employee options)

    Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists:  
    Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages:  

    3.        DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

    Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

    The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

    (a)        Purchases and sales

    Class of relevant security Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit
    10p Ordinary Shares Sale 20,957 44.4592p
    10p Ordinary Shares Sale 25,016 44.2315p
    10p Ordinary Shares Sale 10,000 44.2914p
    10p Ordinary Shares Sale 5,000 44.3156p
    10p Ordinary Shares Sale* 7,491,247 43.056p
    10p Ordinary Shares Purchase 30,000 44.5975p

    *7,491,247 shares warehoused on 24/02/2025.

    (b)        Cash-settled derivative transactions

    Class of relevant security Product description
    e.g. CFD    		 Nature of dealing
    e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position    		 Number of reference securities Price per unit
             

    (c)        Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

    (i)        Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

    Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type
    e.g. American, European etc.    		 Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit
                   

    (ii)        Exercise

    Class of relevant security Product description
    e.g. call option    		 Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit
             

    (d)        Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

    Class of relevant security Nature of dealing
    e.g. subscription, conversion    		 Details Price per unit (if applicable)
    10p Ordinary Shares Transfer out 14,000  

    4.        OTHER INFORMATION

    (a)        Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

    Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:
    Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state “none”
    None

    (b)        Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

    Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:
    (i)   the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or
    (ii)   the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:
    If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state “none”
    None

    (c)        Attachments

    Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? No
    Date of disclosure: 26/02/2025
    Contact name: Chinwe Enyi – Compliance Department
    Telephone number: 0151 243 7053

    Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service.

    The Panel’s Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code’s disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

    The Code can be viewed on the Panel’s website at.

    The MIL Network –