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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Deadline approaches for School Age Payment applications

    Source: Scottish Government

    Parents and carers urged not to miss out on support worth over £300

    Parents and carers, with a child born between 1 March 2019 and 29 February 2020, risk missing out on hundreds of pounds worth of help if they don’t apply for School Age Payment in time.

    The deadline is midnight on 28 February 2025.

    School Age Payment is worth £314.45 per child. It is one of Social Security Scotland’s Best Start Grant payments. It is only available in Scotland.

    The money can be spent on anything the child needs at this stage including; books, bags, clothes and equipment for school. School Age Payment is paid around the time a child is first old enough to start primary school. There is no requirement to take up a place at school.

    This is important as parents and carers could miss out on the payment if they defer when their child starts school and don’t apply until then.

    The payment is available for multiple children from the same household, as long as each child is the right age.

    Social Security Scotland automatically pays School Age Payment to eligible people who get Scottish Child Payment. But those who do not receive Scottish Child Payment or who have opted out of automatic payments must apply before the deadline.

    Some families who are not eligible for Scottish Child Payment might still be eligible for the School Age Payment. This includes parents and carers who: receive housing benefit, are under 18 and do not receive any other benefits or are 18 or 19 and dependent on someone else who receives benefits for them.

    Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said:

    “If you have a child in the family aged five, or who turns five this month, then you could be eligible for School Age Payment.

    “We are urging everyone who is eligible to make sure that they don’t miss the deadline for applications, especially as all the children in the household who are the right age can get the payment.

    “Best Start Grant is made up of a series of payments designed to ensure that children in Scotland get exactly that – the best start possible in life. This money is an important contribution to families at a key stage in their child’s development when they may be facing additional costs.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Allens’ trusted expertise recognised in 2024 banking and finance rankings

    Source: Allens Insights

    Allens secured top rankings in the 2024 syndicated loans and project finance league tables, reflecting a strong year of activity driven by complex cross-border financings, infrastructure investment, and evolving lender dynamics.

    The firm maintained its market-leading position in syndicated loans, with standout rankings across multiple league tables:

    Bloomberg

    • First in APAC (ex Japan) – borrower lead counsel by deal count
    • First in APAC (ex Japan) – lender lead legal adviser by value
    • Second in APAC (ex Japan) – borrower legal adviser by value

    Debtwire

    • First in APAC (ex Japan) – lead bank legal counsel
    • First in Australia – lead bank legal counsel
    • Second in APAC (ex Japan) – borrower legal counsel
    • Second in Australia – borrower legal counsel

    Infralogic

    • First in APAC – project finance legal adviser by value and deal count
    • First in Australia and New Zealand – project finance legal adviser by value and deal count

    LSEG (formally Refinitiv)

    • Second in APAC (inc Japan) – borrower legal adviser by value and deal count
    • Second in Australia – borrower legal adviser by value and deal count

    ‘These results reflect the trust our clients place in us to advise on their most strategic and high-value financings. We are fortunate to work with market-leading lenders, sponsors, and borrowers across the region, supporting them on complex transactions that drive investment and growth,’ said Partner and Head of Banking & Finance Tim Stewart.

    ‘The market remains highly active, particularly in project finance and structured lending, and we expect this momentum to continue into 2025 as borrowers and lenders adapt to evolving regulatory and economic conditions.’

    Highlights in 2024 included advising:

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Message to the Community on the Proposed State Budget

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    To the UConn Community:

    Earlier today, Governor Lamont released his proposed state biennial budget for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. The governor proposes an appropriation of $234.6 million and $239.8 million for UConn and $123.1 million and $126.9 million for UConn Health, respectively. Both are less than the university requested. The State of Connecticut funds approximately 16% of the combined university budget overall this year.

    The university must take the time to thoroughly review the proposed budget to fully understand its implications if enacted as written. Along with other university leaders, Dr. Agwunobi and I look forward to testifying before the General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee regarding the proposed budget and related issues on Feb. 19.

    Remember that today marks only the beginning of the state budget process and we look forward to working closely with the governor, OPM, and the General Assembly in the months ahead as the process unfolds.

    Overall, we have reasons to be optimistic about our university and its future.

    This year, UConn has set a record for applications at nearly 62,000, an impressive increase of 5,000 compared to last year’s historic high. This success underscores the unwavering confidence that students and families have in our outstanding faculty, more than 300 of whom rank among the most highly cited scholars worldwide. We are a vital force in building communities and advancing the state of Connecticut and our Husky pride is immense.

    Looking ahead, our focus will be building on our distinctive strengths. We are deeply committed to excellence and prioritizing our students, as demonstrated by our exceptional graduation rates. This year, 8,800 first-generation undergraduate students enrolled at UConn. The first-year retention of these students has increased from 86% to 89% in the last several years, an indication of the superb work of our faculty and staff in supporting these students.

    We are committed to cultivating a culture of innovation, leveraging technology like AI and data analytics, exploring new educational delivery models like online and hybrid programs, partnering with industry for applied learning, new revenue generation, and optimizing administrative processes to streamline operations.

    Our dedication to research is unparalleled and remains a cornerstone of our strength. We have successfully submitted major grants, including the SMART AI initiative, positioning Connecticut as a leader in AI smart manufacturing. In collaboration with Yale, we are pursuing what would be the largest grant in the history of the university: Connecticut Quantum Engine, totaling $160 million.

    UConn Health continues to go from strength to strength. Recognized by Newsweek for the last three years as one of the World’s Best Hospitals, UConn John Dempsey Hospital has received eight consecutive “A” patient-safety ratings by the Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization focused on quality and safety in American healthcare, and has been named top 15% in the nation for patient experience by Healthgrades.

    In addition to being Connecticut’s No.1 producer of physicians, surgeons, and dentists, the UConn Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine at UConn Health are highly competitive, with a year-over-year increase in applications. This year, the School of Medicine received more than 5,700 applicants for 112 available spots, and the School of Dental Medicine received 1,600 applicants for 52 available spots.

    As a result of the quality education these schools provide, 25% of physicians practicing in Connecticut and 65% of dentists in the state were trained at UConn Health. Forbes has also named UConn Health as one of the best places to work in Connecticut.

    Our fundraising efforts have reached new heights, with an average of more than $130 million raised in the past three years, a significant increase from the previous average of $85 million. We are gearing up to announce an open campaign on April 23, with an ambitious goal of $1.5 billion.

    Our crowning achievements will be predicated on successful outcomes for our students. A UConn degree is more than a piece of paper – it is a pathway to lifelong success. Our strategic vision is aligned with state and federal priorities, particularly in creating the “Industry of the Future.” Our research and educational initiatives will focus on the following key areas:

    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Quantum Information Science
    • Advanced Manufacturing
    • Biotechnology
    • Health
    • Humanities and Peace on Earth
    • Utilizing natural resources and advanced technologies to ensure clean water, air, and soil for all
    • Community prosperity and workforce development

    By capitalizing on our strengths, we will attract and retain top-tier faculty to spearhead transformative research efforts and recruit promising graduate students from across the nation and around the globe. We are committed to building and maintaining the infrastructure necessary to support groundbreaking research, fostering an innovative and entrepreneurial environment that drives economic development, particularly in emerging technologies such as AI, quantum science, and health sciences.

    As New England’s leading public land- and sea-grant research institution, UConn is powered by robust academics, world-class innovative research, a premier athletics program, and a dedicated community. Our students come from every town in the state, almost every state in the nation, and nearly 120 different countries.

    Finally, UConn’s contributions to Connecticut are not limited to the graduates shaped in our classrooms or the research that takes place on our campuses – it is also found in the countless programs and people who provide direct public services and outreach to Connecticut’s communities, making a direct impact in every corner of our state.

    UConn recently produced a sort of reference guide outlining many of these services available for use by individuals, communities, schools, municipal governments, and more. It contains important highlights, but it is not a comprehensive catalog of all the ways UConn serves the state and its communities as they are too numerous to list in a single publication.

    As always, our success depends on the continued hard work and commitment of our faculty, staff, and students, united as one community with shared priorities, goals, and far-reaching aspirations.

    Connecticut and UConn are inextricably linked; there is no Connecticut without UConn, and there is no UConn without Connecticut. By working collaboratively with state and federal partners, parents, donors, and alumni, we are poised to reach unprecedented heights in our mission.

    Radenka Maric
    UConn President

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Jefferson, Do Non-inflationary Economic Expansions Promote Shared Prosperity? Evidence from the U.S. Labor Market

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Thank you, Professor O’Connell, for that kind introduction and for the opportunity to talk to this group.1 I am delighted to be back at Swarthmore College. This special community brings back fond memories of fantastic students, great colleagues, and pedagogical excellence.

    Yesterday, I discussed my outlook for the current U.S. economy. I highlighted how the economy is growing and appears to be roughly in balance, with low unemployment and declining inflation. Today, I will review some of the historical evidence pertaining to periods when the Federal Reserve has achieved both components of its dual mandate, maximum employment and stable prices, on a sustained basis—that is, periods of long non-inflationary economic expansions. My title question is whether economic evidence indicates that such expansions also result in greater shared prosperity.
    My focus will be on the labor market. A reason for this focus is that for many individuals, their employment attachment is a key determinant of their household’s overall well-being. My approach will be to compare the current labor market with the labor market at the end of 2019—that is, at the end of the most recent long, non-inflationary expansion. Such a comparison provides a lens through which to view the prospects for broadly shared prosperity fostered by the current U.S. labor market.
    The remainder of my talk is organized as follows. First, I describe the labor market at the end of 2019. After that, I discuss the state of the labor market in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, I describe the current labor market situation. Next, I discuss possible reasons why strong labor markets facilitate broad-based prosperity. Before concluding, I consider whether the benefits of long expansions are persistent.
    The Labor Market on the Eve of the COVID-19 PandemicLet’s begin the exploration of my title question with a careful look at the situation during the historically strong labor market on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the 2007-09 Global Financial Crisis, the U.S. economy expanded for 128 consecutive months, making it the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. During this period, as shown in figure 1, the aggregate unemployment rate fell steadily from a peak of 10 percent in October 2009 to 3.5 percent in September 2019, the lowest recorded in nearly 50 years. Job opportunities were plentiful in this strong labor market, with the ratio of vacancies to job seekers hovering around 1.2 throughout 2019, implying that businesses were seeking to fill more open positions than there were workers actively searching for employment. Moreover, while some long economic expansions have led to an unwelcome rise in prices, inflation remained low and stable. Indeed, the Federal Reserve was grappling with inflation somewhat below, rather than above, its longer-run 2 percent target.
    In addition, and perhaps related to the length of the expansion, the pre-pandemic labor market was remarkable in terms of the broad-based gains seen across demographic groups, which contributed to a historic narrowing of employment disparities. For instance, as shown in figure 2, the unemployment rate among African Americans, the solid red line, has usually been about twice as high as that for white individuals, the solid blue line, and is more sensitive to the state of the business cycle. The unemployment rate among Hispanics, the dotted green line, falls between these two groups. In late 2019, however, both African American and Hispanic unemployment rates had fallen to the lowest levels on record up to that point, significantly narrowing the persistent unemployment gaps between these groups. Before this, the greatest improvement in the unemployment rate among African Americans was at the end of the 1991–2001 economic expansion, which itself was the second longest expansion in U.S. history. But in 2019, the unemployment rate for African Americans was about 2 percentage points lower than it was in early 2001.
    The influence of the long expansion on employment gaps also was evident for other groups of workers. Like minorities, individuals with less education, and especially those who have not completed high school, also experience higher cyclical volatility in their employment.2 In 2019, as shown in figure 3, the unemployment rate gaps between workers with less than a high school education, the solid red line, and those who have attained at least a bachelor’s degree, the solid purple line, also were near multidecade lows. Further, the strong labor market created new opportunities for teens and younger workers, groups whose employment prospects, and even long-term career trajectories, are especially sensitive to the cyclical state of the economy.3
    Beyond narrowing gaps between workers actively searching for a job, the strong pre-pandemic labor market also helped draw many new participants into the labor force. Among prime-age workers, those aged 25 to 54, the labor force participation rate began rising again around 2015, as shown in figure 4, reversing a declining trend. This was true among both men, the solid black line, whose participation had been steadily declining since the 1950s, and women, the dashed red line, whose participation had previously peaked in early 2000. Labor force participation among women was rising especially briskly in the months just before the pandemic, essentially reversing its entire decline over the previous 20 years. While this partially reflects broader demographic trends such as increasing educational attainment, participation was rising for both women with and without a college degree after 2015, suggesting that the strong labor market played a part in this reversal.
    Turning now from employment and participation to earnings, nominal wages were growing solidly before the pandemic. As with gains in employment, the strong labor market was especially beneficial for some groups. Most noticeably, as shown in figure 5, wage growth for the bottom quartile of earners, the solid red line, started to pick up about five years into the expansion, in late 2014, and by 2019 was significantly stronger than for workers in higher earnings quartiles, the solid purple line.4 These differences in wage growth are important, as they imply convergence in levels and, therefore, declining wage inequality as the bottom of the distribution catches up to higher earners. Similarly, wages were growing faster for non-white workers relative to white workers in 2019, though differences by educational attainment were less pronounced at the time.
    Looking back now, the U.S. economy in 2019 was in a good place. The labor market was tight but not overheating, bringing widespread gains to workers. Further, had it not been for the sudden and dramatic interruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, this strong labor market was expected to persist. In December 2019, the median Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) participant expected the aggregate unemployment rate to remain below 4 percent through the end of 2022 while inflation was expected to move back up to the Committee’s 2 percent objective.5 Had this long, non-inflationary expansion continued as the Committee forecast, gaps in employment and earnings across groups may have continued to narrow as well.
    The Labor Market Following the COVID-19 PandemicThe expansion, however, was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, the unemployment rate, as shown in figure 6, briefly surged to 14.8 percent, its highest rate since the Great Depression while the share of Americans seeking jobs (not shown) plummeted. Moreover, those same groups that had benefited from the strong pre-pandemic labor market—African American and Hispanic workers, women, and individuals without a college degree—generally fared worse at the onset of the pandemic. Although some of these groups typically experience greater losses in economic downturns, factors unique to the pandemic, including greater exposure to the industries most affected by lockdowns, also contributed to disparities in job losses. For instance, unlike a typical recession, the pandemic disproportionately affected service industries, which employ a larger share of women than industries like construction and manufacturing, which are generally more cyclically sensitive.
    Just as the pandemic itself led to unprecedented losses in the labor market, the subsequent recovery was unprecedented in many ways. As the health risk abated and the economy reopened, labor demand surged as businesses attempted to re-hire workers, but many workers remained on the sidelines. By late 2021, the labor force participation rate was still well below its pre-pandemic level. Vacancies rose to record levels, while, at the same time, quits, as shown in figure 7, surged as workers sought out new job opportunities, leading some to refer to the post-pandemic recovery as the “Great Resignation.” Consequently, as shown in figure 8, the gap between available jobs, the solid black line, and available workers, the dashed red line, which had been just over 1 million positions in late 2019, widened to over 6 million, the equivalent of two job openings for every unemployed worker. This was an exceptionally tight labor market, far exceeding any in recent history, including the labor market before the pandemic.
    The strong post-pandemic aggregate economy reversed the disparities between groups that initially widened in 2020. The aggregate unemployment rate fell to 3.4 percent in April 2023, its lowest since 1969. That same month, the unemployment rate for African Americans fell to 4.8 percent, the lowest level on record and 1/2 percentage point below the previous record set in 2019, as shown in figure 9 by the red solid line, which is the difference between the unemployment rate for African Americans and its own average in the year 2019.
    Although labor force participation was initially slower to recover, the labor force participation rate among prime-age women climbed to its highest level ever in 2023, well above even pre-pandemic levels, as shown in figure 10 by the red dashed line, which is the difference between the labor force participation rate for women and its own average in the year 2019.
    The tight labor market also led to a surge in nominal wage growth, especially for workers lower in the earnings distribution. In fact, as shown in figure 11, wage growth for low-wage workers, the solid red line, was strong enough, with a peak wage growth close to 7.5 percent in 2022, to drive a meaningful compression in the aggregate wage distribution (not shown). Economic research suggests that the pandemic recovery reversed around one-third of the increase in the aggregate ratio of the 90th percentile to the 10th percentile wage inequality since the 1980s.6 These gains at the bottom of the income distribution also were reflected in the experience of different demographic groups, as shown in figure 12, with stronger wage growth for nonwhite workers, the dashed red line, relative to white workers, the solid black line, and, unlike even the pre-pandemic expansion, for workers with a high school education or less relative to those with a bachelor’s degree or more.
    Unlike the noninflationary pre-pandemic expansion, however, these nominal wage gains coincided with rising prices, reducing many workers’ actual purchasing power. Real wage growth deflated by the personal consumption expenditures price index, which adjusts for the effect of inflation on workers’ purchasing power, was negative for many workers in 2022, despite strong aggregate employment growth. Further, the costs of inflation also vary across groups, and there is evidence that rising prices may hurt lower-income populations more.7 This underscores the connection between the two components of the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate to promote both maximum employment and stable prices, since the benefits of strong labor markets are eroded when accompanied by an unwelcome rise in inflation.
    The Current Labor Market SituationLet me turn now to the labor market situation more recently. As the economy has recovered from the pandemic, the labor market has come into better balance. By mid-2024, the gap between available jobs and available workers—I’ll show that figure again here—had essentially returned to where it was in 2019, reflecting both a decline in vacancies and improvements in labor supply. Various indicators pointed to a labor market that was still tight, but no longer overheating.
    Currently, the labor market remains solid, on balance, and inflation continues a bumpy descent toward the FOMC’s 2 percent objective. Layoff activity and initial claims for unemployment insurance, shown in figure 13, remain low by historical standards even as job openings have moved down to more normal levels. The unemployment rate appears to have leveled off close to what the median FOMC participant currently sees as its long-run sustainable level of 4.2 percent.8 While employment gaps between certain demographic groups have widened a touch since 2022, they remain historically narrow. Further, a welcome development as inflation has moderated is that real wage growth has picked up even as nominal wage growth has slowed. Though wages are now growing similarly across demographic groups, the narrowing of the wage gap across demographic groups realized in 2021 and 2022 persists.
    How Do Strong Labor Markets Facilitate Broad-Based Prosperity?Looking back at long, noninflationary episodes like the pre-pandemic expansion raises the question of why strong labor markets have been especially beneficial for certain demographic groups. Although the literature has not reached a definite conclusion to this question, researchers have pointed to several economic mechanisms that may help explain these patterns.
    In 1973, the economist Arthur Okun argued that “high-pressure” labor markets—such as those in 2019 and during the pandemic recovery—allowed workers to move up the job ladder, creating new opportunities for individuals on the margins of the labor market.9,10 Further, he argued that when job openings are difficult to fill, employers relax hiring standards, creating new opportunities for individuals who otherwise might struggle to find employment. Consistent with this argument, economic research shows that as the labor market strengthened from 2010 to 2014, employers reduced education and experience requirements in online job postings.11 Economic research also highlights the role of more productive job-worker matches as tight labor markets facilitate a re-allocation of labor to better and more productive jobs.12 On the participation side, the labor force participation rate tends to respond to business cycles with a significantly longer lag than the unemployment rate, for instance, due to the stickiness of decisions related to caregiving or educational responsibilities. This suggests that long expansions are especially important for drawing non-participants back into the labor market.13
    Of course, each business cycle is different, making it difficult to draw general conclusions from past episodes. The pandemic recovery, for example, led to a rise in retirements, far more than what would have been expected given population aging.14 On the downside, this contributed to the significant shortage of workers as the economy was reopening. On the upside, it may have created more opportunities for younger workers to move up the job ladder than is typical during a normal expansion, making Okun’s argument especially relevant. The COVID-19 pandemic also was a remarkable reallocation shock, and elevated quits and job switching may have improved the quality of matches between businesses and workers more than usual, potentially contributing to strong productivity growth and wage gains.
    Perhaps paradoxically, excessively tight labor markets may not be beneficial to lower-wage workers in the long run. Some economists argue that hiring difficulties may lead firms to adopt technologies that substitute, rather than complement, workers, ultimately reducing labor demand.15 Similarly, an overheating labor market may lead some workers to prioritize short-term gains over longer-term career stability. Empirical evidence, for example, suggests that during economic expansions some young people choose to take an unstable job that is likely to disappear in the next recession, rather than invest in training opportunities.16
    Are the Benefits of Long Expansions Lasting?Another key question for policymakers is whether the benefits of long expansions can be sustained, given that the same groups who benefit disproportionately from strong labor markets also fare worse in recessions. Again, the literature, while not conclusive, offers some reasons for cautious optimism. There is some empirical evidence that suggests that the benefits of tight labor markets are somewhat persistent, at least for African Americans and women.17 The fact that labor market disparities that worsened during the pandemic returned to their pre-pandemic levels so quickly following the pandemic may be another reason to be hopeful.
    ConclusionLet me conclude by offering an answer to my title question. The weight of the historical evidence I discussed today suggests that broadly shared economic prosperity is more likely when the economy grows over time with low unemployment and stable prices. While the early part of the current expansion was inflationary, the intent of monetary policy actions over the past few years has been to return us to a prolonged period where prices are stable and the labor market remains solid. The historical experience of the U.S. labor market suggests that long, noninflationary expansions are associated with narrower gaps in employment and earnings, with minority groups and less-educated workers benefiting disproportionately from sustained periods of strong economic growth. Such benefits can help make up for the disproportionate losses experienced by the same groups during economic downturns and, in some cases, may even lead to lasting gains.
    Finally, let me return to where I started, the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate: maximum employment and stable prices. The historical evidence that I have reviewed tonight suggests that shared prosperity is a byproduct of sustained accomplishment of our mission.
    Thank you.

    ReferencesAaronson, Stephanie R., Mary C. Daly, William L. Wascher, and David W. Wilcox (2019). “Okun Revisited: Who Benefits Most from a Strong Economy? (PDF)” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Spring, pp. 333–75.
    Akerlof, George A., Andrew K. Rose, and Janet L. Yellen (1988). “Job Switching and Job Satisfaction in the U.S. Labor Market (PDF),” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, no. 2, pp. 495–582.
    Autor, David, Arindrajit Dube, and Annie McGrew (2023). “The Unexpected Compression: Competition at Work in the Low Wage Labor Market,” NBER Working Paper Series 31010. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, March (revised May 2024).
    Betts, Julian R., and Laurel L. McFarland (1995). “Safe Port in a Storm: The Impact of Labor Market Conditions on Community College Enrollments,” Journal of Human Resources, vol. 30 (Autumn), pp. 741–65.
    Cajner, Tomaz, John Coglianese, and Joshua Montes (2021). “The Long-Lived Cyclicality of the Labor Force Participation Rate,” Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2021-047. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, July.
    Dellas, Harris, and Plutarchos Sakellaris (2003). “On the Cyclicality of Schooling: Theory and Evidence,” Oxford Economic Papers, vol. 55 (January), pp. 148–72.
    Dellas, Harris, and Vally Koubi (2003). “Business Cycles and Schooling,” European Journal of Political Economy, vol. 19(4), pp. 843–59.
    Jefferson, Philip N. (2005). “Does Monetary Policy Affect Relative Educational Unemployment Rates?” American Economic Review, vol. 95 (May), pp.76–82.
    ——— (2008). “Educational Attainment and the Cyclical Sensitivity of Employment,” Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, vol. 26 (October), pp. 526–35.
    Krueger, Alan B. (2002). “Economic Scene: As Recovery Builds, the Less Educated Go to the End of the Employment Line,” New York Times, March 7.
    Modestino, Alicia Sasser, Daniel Shoag, and Joshua Ballance (2016). “Downskilling: Changes in Employer Skill Requirements over the Business Cycle,” Labour Economics, vol. 41 (August), pp. 333–47.
    Montes, Joshua, Christopher Smith, and Juliana Dajon (2022). ” ‘The Great Retirement Boom’: The Pandemic-Era Surge in Retirements and Implications for Future Labor Force Participation,” Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2022-081. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, November.
    Okun, Arthur M. (1973). “Upward Mobility in a High-Pressure Economy (PDF),” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, no. 1, pp. 207–52.
    Orchard, Jacob (2021), “Cyclical Demand Shifts and Cost of Living Inequality,” working paper, February (revised September 2022).
    Oreopoulos, Philip, Till von Wachter, and Andrew Heisz (2012). “The Short- and Long-Term Career Effects of Graduating in a Recession,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, vol. 4 (January), pp. 1–29.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text
    2. See Jefferson (2005, 2008). Return to text
    3. See Oreopoulos, Von Wachter, and Heisz (2012). Return to text
    4. Nominal wages in the figure are measured by the Atlanta Fed’s Wage Growth Tracker. Series show 12-month moving averages of the median percent change in the nominal hourly wage of individuals observed 12 months apart. Workers are assigned to wage quartiles based on the average of their wage reports in both the Current Population Survey and outgoing rotation group interviews; workers in the lowest 25 percent of the average wage distribution are assigned to the 1st quartile, and those in the top 25 percent are assigned to the 4th quartile. Return to text
    5. The December 2019 median forecast of FOMC participants is taken from the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), which is available on the Board’s website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm. FOMC participants submit projections of future economic activity and their individual views of the appropriate path of monetary policy conditional thereupon four times a year. These projections are published as the SEP. The SEP is neither a consensus forecast nor is it a commitment to a policy path. Rather, it shows the median, central tendency, and range of the participants’ projections estimated using the 19 individual projections. Return to text
    6. See Autor, Dube, and McGrew et al. (2023). Return to text
    7. See Orchard (2022). Return to text
    8. See the December 2024 median forecast of FOMC participants in the SEP, which is available on the Board’s website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm. Return to text
    9. See Okun (1973). Return to text
    10. While there is no official definition of a “high-pressure” labor market, the term usually refers to a period when the unemployment rate is below its natural rate—that is, below its long-run sustainable level. Return to text
    11. See Modestino and others (2016). Return to text
    12. See Akerlof, Rose, and Yellen (1988). Return to text
    13. See Cajner, Coglianese, and Montes (2021). Return to text
    14. See Montes, Smith, and Dajon (2022). Return to text
    15. See Krueger (2002). Return to text
    16. Specifically, empirical evidence indicates that educational enrollment rates go down during expansions. For four-year college enrollment rates, see Dellas and Sakellaris (2003); for community college enrollment rates, see Betts and McFarland (1995); for high school enrollment rates, see Dellas and Koubi (2003). Return to text
    17. See Aaronson and others (2019). Return to text

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Marshals Arrest Milwaukee Rape Suspect

    Source: US Marshals Service

    Nashville, TN – A U.S. Marshals task force in Tennessee, working a collateral lead from the U.S. Marshals Service in Wisconsin, today arrested in Nashville a man wanted in Milwaukee for sex crimes against children.

    Yi Leon Harris, 40, was charged with two counts of repeated sexual assault of a child, and a warrant for his arrest was issued in Milwaukee Circuit Court on Jan. 29.

    On Jan. 31, the Milwaukee Police Department requested the assistance of the U. S. Marshals Service Eastern Wisconsin Violent Offender Task Force with locating and apprehending Harris.

    Upon developing information that Harris was residing in the Nashville area, the Eastern Wisconsin Task Force requested the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service Middle Tennessee Fugitive Task Force.

    The Middle Tennessee Task Force located Harris at a residence on Brooksboro Terrace in Nashville. Harris was arrested without incident and taken to the Davidson County Detention Center where he was booked as a fugitive from justice and will await extradition to Wisconsin.

    The U.S. Marshals Service is committed to protecting communities by apprehending dangerous fugitives.

    The U.S. Marshals Middle Tennessee Task Force is a multi-agency task force that serves the Middle District of Tennessee. Its membership is comprised of Deputy U.S. Marshals, Putnam, Rutherford, and Sumner County Sheriff’s Deputies, Metro Nashville Police Officers, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Tennessee Department of Correction Special Agents, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senate Confirms Scott Turner as Secretary of HUD

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Senate confirmed Scott Turner to serve as the 19th Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by a vote of 54 to 44 today. U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, issued the following statement after voting in favor of Turner’s nomination.

    “Scott Turner is first and foremost a leader, and he will be an excellent Secretary of Housing and Urban Development,” said Cramer. “He has a fundamental understanding of supply-side policies, and he knows what landlords need to provide affordable housing options where they’re needed most. Local and tribal communities across North Dakota will benefit from his expertise as a builder and developer.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senate Banking Committee Hearing Examines Impacts of Debanking

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (Banking) Committee held a hearing today to ensure banks and financial institutions make lending and services decisions based on impartial, risk-based analysis, not political or reputational favoritism. In recent years, prominent American banks have engaged in a discriminatory practice, referred to as debanking. Banks and financial institutions have used their economic standing to categorically exclude law-abiding industries by refusing to lend or provide services to them. This includes industries such as firearms, ammunition, crypto, federal prison contractors, and energy producers. 

    Prior to the hearing, U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, reintroduced his Fair Access to Banking Act, which protects fair access to financial services and ensures banks operate in a safe and sound manner. The legislation requires lending and services decisions to be based on impartial, risk-based analysis, not political or reputational favoritism.

    Cramer explained his legislation does not require banks to take specific actions, but rather prohibits them from categorically discriminating against legal industries. Cramer noted that the reason “some of the bank presidents, who have never dared say it out loud, tell me they support [the Fair Access to Banking Act] is because they want this burden removed from them. They want this political pressure from their 30-year-old staff or the regulator they fear, or the political movement of the day, or the activist investors trying to impose their values, they want that removed from them.”

    [embedded content]

    “What’s your sense of a bill like a Fair Access to Banking Act that again, it’s not saying you have to bank this industry,” asked Cramer. “It says you’re prohibited from discriminating against. Does this seem like a radical idea?”

    “I think the regulators have pushed debanking of industries, which is what you talking about,” replied Mike Ring, President, CEO and Co-Founder of Old Glory Bank. “I think mid-level executives push debanking of individuals for political causes.”

    “What needs to be done, consistent with the Act that you have introduced, is simply that there’s more transparency and there’s more notice when these kinds of [regulatory] decisions are made,” responded Stephen Gannon, a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP, a financial services expert.“There’s been a long sort of volume of executive orders coming out of the [Trump] White House, but one of them revived an executive order from 2019 called 13892. That executive order gives more due process to folks who wish to contest the actions of regulators than the due process clause itself allows.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cotton, Kaine Reintroduce Bill to Study Effects of Cellphones in Schools

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas Tom Cotton

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Contact: Caroline Tabler or Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353
    February 5, 2025

    Cotton, Kaine Reintroduce Bill to Study Effects of Cellphones in Schools

    Washington, D.C. — Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) today reintroduced the Focus on Learning Act, legislation that would require the Surgeon General to complete a study on the effects of cellphone use in K-12 classrooms on students’ mental health and academic performance. The bill is cosponsored by Senators Katie Britt (R-Alabama) and Mark Kelly (D-Arizona). Companion legislation is being led in the House by Congressman Bruce Westerman (Arkansas-4).

    “Widespread use of cell phones in schools are at best a distraction for young Americans; at worst, they expose schoolchildren to content that is harmful and addictive. Our legislation will make schools remain centers of learning,” said Senator Cotton.

    “We need to do more to ensure students can excel in the classroom, and part of this means digging into how cellphone use in schools is impacting students’ mental health and their ability to learn and form relationships with their peers. I’m glad to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation to provide us with more information on cellphone use, so schools and parents can make the best decisions to set kids up for success. I’m also glad that our work on this issue has already generated interest at the state and local level around the nation,” said Senator Kaine, who serves on the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee.

    Text of the legislation may be found here. 

    Background:

    • The study would include insights from a pilot program, also established by the legislation, to provide schools with secure containers for students to store phones during school hours.
    • The bill authorizes $5 million annually for the next five years for the pilot program.
    • The pilot program will allow exceptions for students with health conditions, disabilities, and non-English speakers.
    • Schools participating in the pilot program will have a communication system in place that allows teachers, administrators, and staff to communicate with local emergency responders.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Boozman Welcomes Arkansas Farmers at Senate Ag Committee Hearing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas – John Boozman

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) welcomed Arkansas farmers to share their perspectives on the agricultural economy during a Senate hearing examining the challenges facing rural communities

    Marianna farmer Nathan Reed and Newport farmer Jennifer James detailed the difficulties they are experiencing in the industry.

    “The last couple years have been the most difficult of my life. Despite record yields, my operation has endured steep losses due to a sharp increase in input costs and low commodity prices,” Reed told committee members. 

    Reed and his wife along with their four children grow cotton, rice, corn and soybeans. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Cotton Council and is an executive officer of the Arkansas Ag Council as well as a member of the Arkansas Plant Board.

    He expressed appreciation for the natural disaster and market assistance funds provided by Congress late last year but called for an improved farm bill to prevent farms from failing throughout rural America.

    James grows rice, corn and soybeans with her husband, father and son. She is an active member of USA Rice in addition to serving on the Farmers Board of Directors and the Farm Policy Task Force. Her many accolades include the 2019 USA Rice Farmer of the Year, the first-ever woman elected to serve on the Riceland Board of Directors, and 2023-24 Outstanding Alumna at the University of Arkansas Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

    “Last year, I completed my 30th full-time crop. I can say without a doubt that it was the most difficult year financially that we have endured so far. This year, I’m even more worried about what is to come. Just last week, my husband, dad, son and I sat down to have one of the hardest business conversations we’ve ever had to have – is it worth it? What scares me is I know we’re one farm family of thousands having these same conversations,” James said in her testimony.

    James called on Congress to pass a new, stronger farm bill to help improve the financial outlook for agricultural producers.

    In December, Boozman led Senate efforts to secure market assistance for the agriculture community and remains committed to delivering the certainty and predictability farmers, ranchers and producers need in an updated farm bill.

    “My highest priority for the next farm bill is to improve the farm safety net, whereby every farmer in every region of the country will have access to modernized risk management tools regardless of the commodity they grow. If we fail to modernize the safety net, agriculture will see further consolidation as farm families leave the business, and the ripple effects to our country will be profound,” Boozman said in his opening statement.

    Watch Boozman’s questions to Arkansas witnesses: 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: $2 million for new health worker accommodation in Albury

    Source: New South Wales Government 2

    Headline: $2 million for new health worker accommodation in Albury

    Published: 6 February 2025

    Released by: Minister for Regional Health

    The Albury Wodonga community will benefit from new Key Worker Accommodation which will help attract, recruit and retain more healthcare workers.

    The Minns Labor Government will invest $2 million in health worker housing in Albury as part of the Key Health Worker Accommodation Program.

    The $200.1 million Program supports more than 20 projects across rural, regional and remote NSW.

    The funding will secure approximately 120 dwellings across regional NSW, which includes the building of new accommodation, refurbishment of existing living quarters and the purchase of suitable properties such as residential units.

    The four-year Program will support the recruitment and retention of more than 500 health workers and their families by providing a range of accommodation options.

    The Program is one of a number of investments the Minns Labor Government is making to strengthen the regional health workforce and builds on the success of the NSW Government’s $73.2 million investment in key health worker accommodation across five regional local health districts (Far West, Murrumbidgee, Southern NSW, Hunter New England and Western NSW).

    Quotes attributable to Minister for Regional Health, Ryan Park:

    “The Minns Labor Government is committed to investing in modern, sustainable accommodation options for key health workers who are the backbone of our regional, rural and remote communities.

    “Strengthening our regional health workforce is a key priority for our government and the $2 million investment in Key Worker Accommodation will help support and attract key healthcare workers to Albury.”

    Quote attributable to Labor Spokesperson for Albury, Tara Moriarty MLC:

    “The Minns Labor Government’s Key Health Worker Accommodation Program will support Albury Wodonga Health in providing high-quality health services to the community.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: ACCC denies authorisation for industry code on marketing of infant formula

    Source: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

    The ACCC has denied authorisation sought by the Infant Nutrition Council for an industry code which seeks to restrict the advertising and promotion of infant formula.

    The Infant Nutrition Council sought authorisation to continue to implement the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula: Manufacturers and Importers Agreement (MAIF Agreement) and its associated guidelines for a further five years.

    The ACCC considers that the effectiveness of the MAIF Agreement is being undermined by several factors including its voluntary nature, its limited scope, and restrictions on its ability to capture the breadth of modern digital marketing methods.

    As such, the ACCC considers that the claimed public benefits are unlikely to arise, or are likely to occur with or without the MAIF Agreement. Further, the ACCC considers the conduct is likely to result in some competitive detriment.

    “We are not satisfied in all the circumstances that the MAIF Agreement is likely to result in public benefits that would outweigh the public detriments likely to result from it,” ACCC Acting Chair Mick Keogh said.

    MAIF Agreement

    The MAIF Agreement, initially established in 1992, has formed part of Australia’s response to its obligations as a signatory to the World Health Organisation’s International Code of Marketing Breast Milk Substitutes.

    The MAIF Agreement is a voluntary, self-regulatory code of conduct which aims to restrict those manufacturers and importers of infant formula who opt in to the agreement from advertising and promoting formula for infants up to 12 months of age. Its implementation requires ACCC authorisation as it forms an agreement between competitors not to market their infant formula products.

    “While the link between breastfeeding and improved health outcomes for mothers and children is undisputed, we are concerned there are several factors that undermine the effectiveness of the MAIF Agreement in protecting breastfeeding rates,” Mr Keogh said.

    “We are not satisfied that the MAIF Agreement and associated guidelines are likely to result in a net public benefit to justify authorisation and consider that they are likely to result in some public detriment through reduced competition between infant formula manufacturers and importers, compared to the future without the conduct.”

    Further information on the final determination is available on the ACCC’s public register at Infant Nutrition Council.

    Note to editors

    ACCC authorisation provides statutory protection from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act.

    Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.

    Background

    The Infant Nutrition Council represents the majority of manufacturers and importers of infant formula in Australia.

    The Council applied for revocation of the existing authorisation and the substitution of a new one to continue to make and give effect to the MAIF Agreement and its associated guidelines for a further five years to ensure a framework remains in place while the Government prepares and implements its response to the independent review of the MAIF Agreement.

    In September 2024, the ACCC announced it was proposing to deny this authorisation and sought feedback from interested parties which raised broader health policy issues including whether restrictions on marketing of infant formula should extend to breastmilk substitutes for children over 12 months of age and to retailers.

    These issues go beyond the scope of the ACCC’s assessment of this application under competition law and are a matter for the Australian Government.

    The Department of Health and Aged Care commissioned an independent review of the MAIF Agreement which found that it is no longer fit for purpose and recommended that it be replaced with a stronger regulatory framework in the form of a legislated, prescribed, mandatory code.

    In a submission to the ACCC, the Department stated that the Government accepted this recommendation and intends to introduce a mandatory regime to restrict marketing of infant formula, which it expects would take two years to implement.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI: Euronet Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Earnings Release Date and Conference Call Details

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LEAWOOD, Kansas, Feb. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Euronet (or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: EEFT) announced today it will release fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings results prior to the market opening on Thursday, February 13, 2025. Euronet will hold a conference call the same day at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the results.

    The conference call and accompanying slide show presentation will be accessible via webcast by following the link posted on http://ir.euronetworldwide.com. Participants wanting to access the conference call by telephone must register at Euronet Worldwide Fourth Quarter 2024 Earnings Call to receive dial-in information. While not required, it is recommended participants join the call five minutes prior to the event start.

    A webcast replay will be available beginning approximately one hour after the event at http://ir.euronetworldwide.com and will remain available for one year.

    About Euronet Worldwide, Inc.

    Starting in Central Europe in 1994 and growing to a global real-time digital and cash payments network with millions of touchpoints today, Euronet now moves money in all the ways consumers and businesses depend upon. This includes money transfers, credit/debit card processing, ATMs, POS services, branded payments, foreign currency exchange and more. With products and services in more than 200 countries and territories provided through its own brand and branded business segments, Euronet and its financial technologies and networks make participation in the global economy easier, faster, and more secure for everyone. 

    A leading global financial technology solutions and payments provider, Euronet has developed an extensive global payments network that includes 55,292 installed ATMs, approximately 949,000 EFT POS terminals and a growing portfolio of outsourced debit and credit card services which are under management in 67 countries; card software solutions; a prepaid processing network of approximately 766,000 POS terminals at approximately 348,000 retailer locations in 63 countries; and a global money transfer network of approximately 595,000 locations serving 198 countries and territories. Euronet serves clients from its corporate headquarters in Leawood, Kansas, USA, and 67 worldwide offices. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.euronetworldwide.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ernst Pushes to Keep Iowans in the Loop

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is supporting the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act to protect Iowans’ access to news by requiring automakers to maintain AM radio in their vehicles. This legislation also protects consumers from a separate or additional charge for this technology. 
    “Iowans rely on our AM radio stations to receive updates on weather, business, government, and commodity prices, which is why it is so important that we continue this important avenue of communication,” said Ernst. “I’m working to ensure folks across our state can stay in the loop through this resource that delivers timely information.”
    During national emergencies, such as the 2020 derecho that devastated large portions of Iowa, AM radio remains a key communication service to relay life-saving information and updates.
    Read the bill text here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI China: China researchers clone 4,000-year-old native swine breed

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    This undated photo shows two cloned Shaziling piglets, delivered via surrogate mother, in Xiangtan, central China’s Hunan Province. [Xiangtan municipal livestock breeding station/Handout via Xinhua]
    Two cloned piglets born in central China’s Hunan province are expected to promote China’s pork industry and diabetes treatment research while preserving a 4,000-year-old local breed once pushed to the brink by foreign competitors.
    According to the Xiangtan municipal livestock breeding station, the cloned Shaziling piglets, delivered via surrogate mother on Jan. 24 in Xiangtan County, mark a milestone in China’s decade-long push to preserve indigenous livestock breeds using biotechnology.
    Once a staple in Hunan’s famed hongshao rou (braised pork), Shaziling pigs, a breed native to Xiangtan, nearly vanished as industrial foreign breeds dominated Chinese farms in previous years.
    It is considered a precious genetic resource and was added to China’s national animal genetic resource protection list in 2006.
    To protect the genetic resources of the Shaziling pig, the breeding station initiated the somatic cell cloning experiment with support from a research team led by Yin Yulong, a Chinese Academy of Engineering academician and chief researcher at the Insitute of Subtropical Agriculture under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, starting in June 2024.
    Researchers utilized frozen ear tissue cells from Shaziling pigs to create fibroblast cells, leading to successful embryo construction, cultivation, and transplantation. On Jan. 24, the surrogate mother pig successfully gave birth.
    Tan Hong, head of the breeding station, said that the two piglets display characteristic features of the Shaziling pig, such as a short snout, butterfly ears, and cow-like eyes. They are healthy and being cared for by skilled technicians.
    Yin noted that the research achievement goes far beyond agriculture.
    He emphasized the anatomical, physiological, immunological, and genomic similarities between pigs and humans. These similarities make pigs ideal models for diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular ailments. Their similar organ size and structure enhance their prospects in xenotransplantation research.
    Wu Maisheng, a researcher at the Xiangtan Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, revealed that porcine-human xenotransplantation studies conducted in Hunan since 2005 have found that the Shaziling pig possesses the highest biosafety and is the best donor for such transplants. The success rate for using Shaziling pig islet cells in diabetes treatment reached 95.45 percent.
    Wu said the birth of the cloned Shaziling pig facilitates long-term preservation and live recovery of genetic resources, providing a valuable experimental model for innovative conservation methods for high-quality local pig breeds.
    Future research will focus on the cloned pigs’ adaptability to environmental conditions, growth, and reproductive performance, as well as in-depth studies of the progeny’s weight gain, meat quality, and genetic traits.
    Yin also said that the Shaziling pig presents extensive application prospects as a food source, disease model, and donor for xenotransplantation. It is increasingly significant in modern agriculture, medical research, and clinical treatments.
    The research team aims to utilize cloning technology to replicate superior Shaziling pigs with high feed conversion rates, meat yield and quality.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: US withdraws from UN Human Rights Council

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

    The executive order also stops funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and requires the U.S. State Department to reevaluate the UN Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

    Trump made his announcement on the same day he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country has consistently criticized both the human rights body and UNRWA for alleged bias against Israel.

    During Trump’s first term, the United States withdrew from the UNHRC in June 2018. In February 2021, then Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the Joe Biden administration would reengage with the council as an observer.

    Since 1950, UNRWA has been assisting Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Argentina announces withdrawal from WHO

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    The government of Argentina announced its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday.

    The presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni told a press conference that President Javier Milei “instructed Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein to withdraw Argentina’s participation in the World Health Organization.”

    “Argentines are not going to allow an international organization to intervene in our sovereignty, much less in our health,” Adorni said.

    “It should be clarified that Argentina does not receive financing from the WHO for health management, therefore, this measure, as some have said, at least on social networks, does not represent a loss of funds for the country, nor does it affect the quality of services,” the spokesperson added.

    The official said that the decision “gives the country greater flexibility to implement policies adapted to the context and interests that Argentina requires, as well as greater availability of resources, and reaffirms our path towards a country with sovereignty also in matters of health.”

    The spokesperson said he did not know when asked about the possibility of the South American country adopting similar measures concerning other international organizations, but he stressed that “the president is very categorical regarding making Argentina freer.”

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Xi holds talks with Pakistani president

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2025. Xi held talks with Zardari, who is on a state visit to China, in Beijing on Wednesday. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in Beijing on Wednesday.

    Xi said China and Pakistan enjoy ironclad friendship and are all-weather strategic cooperative partners.

    In recent years, the two countries have provided firm political support for each other, maintained close high-level exchanges, and advanced the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and cooperation in various fields, setting a good example for relations between countries, he said.

    China stands ready to work with Pakistan to advance their respective modernization drives, accelerate the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, bring more benefits to the two peoples, and make greater contributions to regional peace, stability and prosperity, Xi said.

    Xi stressed that China always views its relations with Pakistan from a strategic perspective, and maintains a high degree of stability and continuity in its friendly policy toward Pakistan. He said that China will, as always, support Pakistan firmly in safeguarding its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, in combating terrorism, and in following a development path suited to its national conditions.

    He called on the two countries to deepen the docking of development strategies and the exchange of governance experience, strengthen exchange at all levels and across all authorities, and consolidate the political foundations of China-Pakistan relations constantly.

    China welcomes Pakistan to become one of the first countries to benefit from China’s further deepening of reform comprehensively and expanding high-standard opening up, Xi said, adding that China is ready to deepen practical cooperation with Pakistan in various fields, work together to upgrade China-Pakistan Economic Corridor cooperation, and help Pakistan consolidate its development foundations and unleash its development potential.

    He said that China hopes Pakistan will intensify the security measures for Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan, and strengthen bilateral and multilateral counter-terrorism cooperation.

    Noting that next year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Pakistan, Xi called on the two sides to deepen exchange and cooperation on culture, education and the media, with the aim of passing on the China-Pakistan friendship from generation to generation.

    “China appreciates Pakistan’s active support for the three global initiatives and participation in relevant cooperation, and stands ready to work with Pakistan to adhere to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, resist unilateralism and hegemonic practices, strengthen multilateral coordination, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries,” Xi said.

    Pakistan will stand steadfastly with China no matter how the situation changes, Zardari said. He expressed Pakistan’s appreciation for the selfless assistance China has provided for Pakistan’s economic and social development. He said that Pakistan is willing to learn from China’s successful experience and promote the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and cooperation in various fields, so as to realize industrialization and modernization.

    He said that under the brilliant leadership of President Xi, China has played an ever-growing leadership role in international affairs and has become an increasingly important force for world peace, stability and prosperity.

    Pakistan is willing to work closely with China to uphold multilateralism, safeguard free trade, and promote the common interests of the two countries and the vast number of developing countries, he added.

    After their talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, trade, science and technology, and radio and television.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Peng Liyuan chats over tea with wife of Kyrgyz president

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

    Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, chats over tea with Aigul Japarova, wife of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    BEIJING, Feb. 5 — Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, chatted over tea with Aigul Japarova, wife of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, in Beijing on Wednesday.

    Peng welcomed Japarova, who is accompanying President Japarov on a state visit to China on the occasion of the Spring Festival. Noting that China and Kyrgyzstan have a traditional friendship, Peng expressed the hope that the people of both countries will maintain frequent exchanges and build close connections.

    Cultural exchanges are an important bridge for people-to-people exchanges, Peng added, expressing the hope that China-Kyrgyzstan people-to-people exchanges and cooperation will flourish.

    Peng also voiced appreciation for Japarova’s enthusiasm in social charity and public welfare, and looked forward to strengthening cooperation between China and Kyrgyzstan concerning the protection of the rights and interests of women, children and vulnerable groups, so as to jointly benefit the two peoples.

    Japarova extended Chinese New Year greetings to Peng and expressed sincere gratitude for the warm reception. She highly praised the significant achievements of China’s economic and social development, and expressed her willingness to actively promote Kyrgyzstan-China people-to-people exchanges and cooperation and continuously enhance the friendship between the two peoples.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: A glimpse of Yingge dance, folk dance popular in S China’s Guangdong

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

    A glimpse of Yingge dance, folk dance popular in S China’s Guangdong

    Updated: February 6, 2025 08:29 Xinhua
    An aerial drone photo shows a Yingge dance team performing during an event celebrating the Spring Festival in Shantou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 2, 2025. The Yingge dance, or “dance to the hero’s song,” is a form of folk dance popular in south China’s Guangdong Province. The dance merges opera, dance, and martial arts and was listed as the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage in 2006. Dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), this traditional dance is often performed during traditional Chinese festivals. The Yingge dance has been trending on social media platforms over the past two years as videos of the dance garnered millions of views online. This year, Yingge dance teams from Shantou have also been invited to perform on multiple overseas stages for the Spring Festival celebrations. [Photo/Xinhua]
    A Yingge dance team performs during an event celebrating the Spring Festival in Shantou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 2, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    A Yingge dance team of children performs during an event celebrating the Spring Festival in Shantou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 2, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    Members of a Yingge dance team are pictured in Shantou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Jan. 26, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    A women’s Yingge dance team performs in Shantou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Jan. 29, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    A Yingge dance team performs during an event celebrating the Spring Festival in Shantou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 2, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    A Yingge dance team performs during an event celebrating the Spring Festival in Shantou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 2, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    A Yingge dance team performs during an event celebrating the Spring Festival in Shantou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 2, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: UWD tiltmeter

    Source: US Geological Survey

    UWD tiltmeter

    The UWD tiltmeter, located near Uēkahuna within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, experienced a power supply issue starting at 8 a.m. HST on February 5, 2025, and is not currently providing reliable data. 

    The UWD tiltmeter provides ground deformation information for Kīlauea summit region, and the shallow Halemaʻumaʻu magma reservoir. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff are working to resolve this issue and will provide an update when the tiltmeter can be serviced. In the meantime, the SDH and IKI tiltmeters, located southwest of the summit caldera and east of the summit caldera respectively, remain operational. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Readout of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s Meeting With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

    Source: United States Department of Defense

    Department of Defense Spokesman John Ullyot provided the following readout:

    Today, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Pentagon. This was Secretary Hegseth’s first hosting of a foreign dignitary as Secretary of Defense in the Trump Administration. The Secretary emphasized the unbreakable bond that exists between the United States and Israel and praised Israel as a model ally in the Middle East. Secretary Hegseth stressed that the United States remains 100 percent committed to Israel’s security. 

    The Secretary and Prime Minister discussed Hamas’ October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of some 1,200 civilians, including more than 40 Americans. Secretary Hegseth praised Prime Minister Netanyahu for his courage and leadership over the past 15 months, culminating in a ceasefire agreement that secured the release of Israeli, American, and other hostages. 

    The Secretary emphasized that this Administration will support Israel’s right to defend itself.  Prime Minister Netanyahu praised the Administration’s commitment to providing Israel with the munitions it needs.

    Secretary Hegseth also commended Prime Minister Netanyahu for Israel’s military operations that have significantly degraded Iran and its proxies.  Both leaders agreed that Iran remains a threat to regional security and agreed to work together on this challenge. Secretary Hegseth and Prime Minister Netanyahu also agreed that regional integration is critical to stability in the Middle East.

    The Secretary made clear that the United States, under President Trump’s leadership, will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel to pursue peace through strength.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Saunders on DOGE targeting the Department of Labor: Musk will have to go through unions and working people

    Source: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement as workers today protested Elon Musk’s plans to target the Department of Labor:

    “It’s not surprising that Elon Musk has ordered his DOGE cronies to storm the Department of Labor next. He has always seen working people as a threat. From blatant union busting at Tesla to skyrocketing worker injuries at SpaceX, Musk views his workers as expendable. Now, he has turned his attention to workers across the country. The Department of Labor fights to protect all working people – from stopping wage theft, discrimination and workplace violence to enforcing overtime, FMLA and whistleblower protection laws. People’s sensitive data should not be put at risk on the whims of an un-elected billionaire who has been given unchecked power. That’s why AFSCME joined a lawsuit filed today to protect the public against DOGE accessing the DOL’s information. Musk can try to rob us of our freedoms, but he’ll have to go through unions and working people first.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Second Reading – Universities Accord (National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence) Bill 2025

    Source: Australian Ministers for Education

    This week the new National Student Ombudsman opened its doors.

    It has the powers of a Royal Commission to investigate complaints made against a university.

    This is a national first.

    And it has been a long time coming.

    Too long.

    For too long students have been let down by their universities and inaction by previous Governments.

    Advocates have been ignored and they shouldn’t have been.

    The evidence is overwhelming.

    One in twenty university students report being sexually assaulted on campus.

    One in six report being sexually harassed.

    And one in two report that they felt they weren’t being heard when they made a complaint.

    That’s why I acted.

    That’s why this Government has acted.

    Introducing legislation last year to create the first National Student Ombudsman.

    But this is just the first step.

    These bills that I introduce today are the next steps.

    They provide for the establishment and enforcement of a National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence.

    The Code will be made by the Minister as a legislative instrument and it will set out best practice requirements that all higher education providers will be required to meet.

    It will hold all higher education providers to consistently high standards to proactively prevent and respond to gender-based violence.    

    These standards will be backed by monitoring and enforcement to ensure that we build a culture of compliance in this critical area.

    Under the Code, higher education providers will be required to take evidence-based steps to prevent gender-based violence on their campuses. 

    This includes requiring that Vice-Chancellors and CEOs to make a whole-of-organisation plan, and report to their Governing Bodies every six months on the actions they are taking to implement it. 

    They will be required to provide evidence-based prevention education and training to staff and students and consider any history of gender-based violence in the recruitment and promotion of staff. 

    They will be required to consult with students, staff and people with lived experience, and their approach must be informed by evidence of what works. 

    The Code will also ensure that when the worst happens, students and staff have access to the best response possible. 

    A response that’s trauma informed and puts people first. 

    A response that ensures people are heard, have agency in what happens next, have access to the support that they need and are supported by their institution to achieve their educational outcomes.

    Providers will be required to train staff and student leaders on how best to respond to disclosures. 

    And non-disclosure agreements will be prohibited, unless requested by a victim-survivor.  

    Providers will also be required to report de-identified data and measure the changes that their policies are securing, informing compliance, ensuring accountability and contributing to the national evidence base to help us build an understanding of what works best. 

    The Code will also include an enforceable requirement that providers implement the recommendations of the National Student Ombudsman.

    This gives the findings and recommendations of the Ombudsman real teeth and will make sure that they are put in place to improve our universities and other providers.

    University is not just a place where people learn. For many students, it’s where they live.

    That’s why the Code will also have specific requirements to help ensure that student accommodation is safe for students.

    The Code will require that following a disclosure or formal report, measures are immediately put in place to prioritise residents’ safety and arrange urgent support services. 

    And for accommodation which is affiliated with a university but not controlled by it, the university will be required to seek that accommodation provider’s agreement to meet the requirements of the Code or lose the benefits of their affiliation with the university.

    And universities will have an obligation to investigate formal reports of gender-based violence even where they occur at student accommodation which is operated by a third party.

    If you want to know why that’s important, you just have to look at the accounts of sexual assault and mistreatment at university colleges and other on-campus accommodation.

    Universities will not have the option of saying “a disclosure of gender-based violence is a matter for a private college”. Where the discloser or respondent is a student or staff member of the university, the Code will require that the university take action, including to provide trauma-informed support and to investigate where necessary. 

    The Code has been the subject of broad consultation over the past eight months, including with victim-survivor advocates, students, the higher education sector, gender-based violence experts, states and territories and relevant Australian Government agencies. 

    Detailed consultation has taken place through an Expert Reference Group comprising 19 leaders from higher education, gender-based violence and the student accommodation sectors and victim-survivor advocates.

    I table a copy of the draft Code for the information of colleagues.

    The Code contains critically important standards and requirements which all higher education providers must follow.

    That’s why these bills also establish a new regulatory framework with robust compliance monitoring backed by strong enforcement powers.

    To monitor and enforce the Code, a new specialist gender-based violence unit will be established within the Department of Education.

    The unit will provide guidance, education and advice to support universities and other providers in understanding their legal obligations under the Code.

    The unit will also be able to exercise a significant range of powers to monitor, investigate and respond to non-compliance with the Code and the measures in this Bill.

    These powers include issuing requests for information, compliance notices, infringement notices, and powers to require enforceable undertakings and to seek civil penalties and injunctions through a court.

    As I mentioned earlier, Vice Chancellors and CEOs will be directly accountable for the compliance of their university with the Code, including requirements that they report every six months to their governing body.

    The bills provide for significant civil penalties where a provider fails to comply with the National Code or a compliance notice from the Secretary, or fails to keep records or meet their reporting obligations.

    Compliance with the National Code will also become a quality and accountability requirement for providers under the Higher Education Support Act 2003.

    Transparency is important here too.

    That’s why the bill provides for annual reporting on the gender-based violence unit’s operations and performance which will be tabled in both Houses of Parliament.

    The introduction of the Code is part of the Action Plan Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education, agreed to by all Education Ministers in February last year.

    That Action Plan was recommended by a working group of Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments which my Department convened as part of our response to the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report.

    The Universities Accord Interim Report underlined the importance of moving immediately to address sexual assault and sexual harassment in our universities. 

    That’s what I have done.

    The Student Ombudsman is now up and running.

    And these Bills are the next steps.

    I want to thank everyone who has been involved in bringing them to the Parliament today.

    From the Universities Accord Panel, to the Working Group, Expert Reference Group and Education Ministers across the country. To my colleagues and our respective Departments and offices who worked together to make today possible.

    And most importantly to the advocates and the victim-survivors who have fought for this for so long.

    Organisations like End Rape on Campus.

    End Rape on Campus was founded in 2016 by Sharna Bremner; she ran it with a small group of committed volunteers.

    Working for free.

    Working to make the lives of students safer.

    Incredibly important work.

    When this Parliament passed legislation last year to set up the National Student Ombudsman, they put out this statement:

                “End Rape on Campus Australia has now permanently closed… Almost 9 years to the day since our founding, we’ve done the thing that organisations like ours should be aiming to do – we’ve advocated ourselves out of business. We’re incredibly thankful to everyone who has supported us over the years.”

    End Rape on Campus didn’t close because the work to rid our campuses of sexual assault and harassment is complete. It is not.

    It was because Government was finally listening – and we were bringing together the resources needed to make a real difference.

    That’s what the National Student Ombudsman is.

    And that’s what these bills and the draft National Code are.

    I commend these bills to the House.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Taskforce Raven seizes stolen property during targeted Newnham search

    Source: Tasmania Police

    Taskforce Raven seizes stolen property during targeted Newnham search

    Thursday, 6 February 2025 – 10:49 am.

    A man has been charged with multiple burglary and stealing offences after police seized $3000 worth of stolen property during a targeted search at Newnham.
    Members of Taskforce Raven arrested the man on Wednesday 5 February in relation to an investigation into an aggravated burglary.
    During a subsequent search of a Newnham residence, taskforce members seized a quantity of power tools believed to have been stolen during recent burglaries. 
    The man has been charged with aggravated burglary, stealing, attempted stealing, burglary, computer-related fraud, possession of stolen property.
    He will appear in the Launceston Magistrates Court at a later date.
    Sergeant Ivan Radosavijevic said Taskforce Raven commenced on Monday 3 February and had already seen strong results.
    “The taskforce will focus on crime reduction, by targeting recidivist offenders,” he said.
    “Anyone with information about recidivist offending or anti-social behaviour in the Northern District should contact police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000”.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI: LNG Energy Group Announces New Director Appointments

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, Feb. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LNG Energy Group Corp. (TSXV: LNGE) (TSXV: LNGE.WT) (OTCQB: LNGNF) (FRA: E26) (the “Company” or “LNG Energy Group”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Chad McGuffin and Mr. Matt Molak to its Board of Directors of the Company, effective immediately.

    Mr. McGuffin is the President of Lewis Energy Group, L.P. (“LEG”) and Mr. Molak is the Chief Financial Officer of LEG. Effective immediately, Mr. Lawler and Mr. Jumper have resigned from the Board of Directors of the Company. The appointments are subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

    About LNG Energy Group

    The Company is focused on the acquisition and development of oil and gas exploration and production assets in Latin America.

    For more information, please see below:

    Website:
    www.lngenergygroup.com

    Investor Relations:
    Angel Roa, Chief Financial Officer
    Email: investor.relations@lngenergygroup.com
    Telephone: +57-321-943-9396

    Find us on social media:
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lng-energy-group-inc/
    Instagram: @lngenergygroup
    X: @LNGEnergyCorp

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper Statement on Metro Denver ICE Raids

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Hickenlooper – Colorado

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper released the following statement in response to reports of ICE arrests and activity across Denver and Aurora. 

    “Reports that ICE was blocking school buses picking up kids and preventing families from leaving their homes are deeply troubling.

    “We all want criminals off of our streets. Securing our border doesn’t require targeting children and families who have committed no crimes.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Government rips up rules to fire-up nuclear power

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    More nuclear power plants will be approved across England and Wales as the Prime Minister slashes red tape to get Britain building – as part of his Plan for Change.

    • Prime Minister puts Britain back in the global race for nuclear energy.
    • Changes will allow for Small Modular Reactors for the first time.
    • Latest step in Government’s determination to grow the economy and deliver cleaner, more affordable energy.

    More nuclear power plants will be approved across England and Wales as the Prime Minister slashes red tape to get Britain building – as part of his Plan for Change.

    Reforms to planning rules will clear a path for smaller, and easier to build nuclear reactors – known as Small Modular Reactors –to be built for the first time ever in the UK. This will create thousands of new highly skilled jobs while delivering clean, secure and more affordable energy for working people.

    This is the latest refusal to accept the status quo, with the government ripping up archaic rules and saying not to the NIMBYs, to prioritise growth. It comes after recent changes to planning laws, the scrapping of the 3-strike rule for judicial reviews on infrastructure projects, and application of common-sense to environmental rules.

    For too long the country has been mired by delay and obstruction, with a system too happy to label decisions as too difficult, or too long term. The UK was the first country in the world to develop a nuclear reactor, but the last time a nuclear power station was built was back in 1995. None have been built since, leaving the UK lagging behind in a global race to harness cleaner, more affordable energy.

    The industry pioneered in Britain has been suffocated by regulations and this saw investment collapse, leaving only one nuclear power plant – Hinkley Point C – under construction. And this was after years of delay caused by unnecessary rules – meaning companies produced a 30,000-page environmental assessment to get planning permission.

    Meanwhile, China is constructing 29 reactors, and the EU has 12 at planning stage, giving these places a huge advantage in the global race to harness new technologies, create jobs and deliver cleaner, cheaper, independent energy.

    Investors want to get on and build reliable, cheap nuclear power, which will in turn support critical modern infrastructure, such as supercomputers to power the UK’s ambitions – but they have been held back.

    Today’s plan will shake up the planning rules to make it easier to build nuclear across the country – delivering jobs, cheaper bills in the long term, and more money in people’s back pockets. This will be achieved by:

    Including mini-nuclear power stations in planning rules for the first time – so firms can start building them in the places that need them.

    Scrapping the set list of 8-sites – which meant nuclear sites could be built anywhere across England and Wales.

    Removing the expiry date on nuclear planning rules – so projects don’t get timed out and industry can plan for the long term. 

    Setting up a Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce – that will spearhead improvements to the regulations to help more companies build here. This will report directly to the PM. 

    This is the Government delivering on a manifesto commitment to galvanise nuclear to help the UK achieve energy security and clean power, while securing thousands of good, clean jobs.

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

    This country hasn’t built a nuclear power station in decades. we’ve been let down, and left behind. 

    Our energy security has been hostage to Putin for too long, with British prices skyrocketing at his whims.  

    I’m putting an end to it – changing the rules to back the builders of this nation, and saying no to the blockers who have strangled our chances of cheaper energy, growth and jobs for far too long. 

    My government was elected to deliver change. I’ll take the radical decisions needed to wrestle Britain from its status quo slumber, to turbocharge our plan for change.

    Currently, nuclear development is restricted to eight sites – as part of archaic planning rules that haven’t been looked at since 2011. With the reforms unveiled today, the refreshed planning framework will help streamline the process to encourage investment and enable developers to identify the best sites for their projects, supporting development at a wider range of locations.  

    Developers will be encouraged to bring forward sites as soon as possible at the pre-application stage in the planning process, speeding up overall timelines.  

    It will include new nuclear technologies such as small and advanced modular reactors for the first time, providing flexibility to co-locate them with energy intensive industrial sites such as AI data centres. 

    These technologies are cheaper and quicker to build than traditional nuclear power plants and require smaller sites, meaning they can be built in a greater variety of locations.  

    There will also continue to be robust criteria for nuclear reactor locations, including restrictions near densely populated areas and military activity, alongside community engagement and high environmental standards. 

    Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: 

    Build, build, build – that is what Britain’s clean energy mission is all about.  

    The British people have been left vulnerable to global energy markets for too long – and the only way out is to build our way to a new era of clean electricity. 

    Nuclear power creating thousands of skilled jobs. That is what this government will deliver.

    Alongside reforms to the siting process, a specialist taskforce will lead on making sure nuclear regulation incentivises investment, to deliver new projects more quickly and cost efficiently, while upholding high safety and security standards. 

    Britain is currently considered one of the world’s most expensive countries in which to build nuclear power. The taskforce will speed up the approval of new reactor designs and streamline how developers engage with regulators.  

    Nuclear regulation will cover both civil and defence nuclear to help unlock economic growth in the sector.  

    The taskforce will better align the UK with international partners so reactor designs approved abroad could be green lit more quickly, minimising expensive changes. It will also examine how to reduce duplication and simplify processes where there are multiple regulators covering overlapping issues, as well as ensuring regulatory decisions are both safe and proportionate. 

    The work will help the issues faced by projects such as Hinkley Point C, where three European regulators reached different assessments on the reactor design, leading to delays and increased costs. 

    The UK’s rigorous safety standards and record will continue to be upheld. Nuclear plants are designed with multiple layers of safety measures including making them robust enough to withstand a direct aircraft impact. 

    This is part of the government push to drive growth – building on the Prime Minister’s announcement to overhaul the legal challenges to major infrastructure projects including nuclear – with Sizewell C having suffered increased legal costs and uncertainty as a result of local activists taking them to court.  

    In a volatile world, where oil and gas prices are driven by tyrants like Putin, the drive for new nuclear is an integral part of the government’s plans to replace the UK’s dependence on fossil fuel markets with clean homegrown energy, to make the UK energy independent and protect consumers with clean, homegrown power.  

    Since July, the government has committed to driving forward new nuclear including further funding for Sizewell C at the Autumn Budget 2024.  

    Great British Nuclear also continues to progress the small modular reactor competition, with contract negotiations currently underway. 

    Gary Smith, GMB General Secretary, said: 

    GMB has long said there can be no net zero without new nuclear. 

    For too long, the failure to deliver new nuclear has weakened our energy security and undermined economic growth. 

    Sizewell C stands ready and waiting for the green light to power up our country’s future. 

    Now we need to see spades in the ground without delay.

    Alistair Black, Senior Director, UK at X-energy said: 

    Opening up new siting opportunities for a fleet of advanced reactors will help unlock tens of billions of pounds of investment and growth across the country, bringing clean secure electricity and heat for industry. 

    We welcome this step today, and the intent to streamline assessment processes whilst ensuring robust regulatory standards continue to be met. We look forward to reviewing this in detail and responding to the consultation.

    Simone Rossi, CEO of EDF in the UK, said:

    As a major operator, investor and developer, EDF welcomes the proposals designed to speed up new nuclear projects in the UK and unlock economic growth.

    Nuclear is essential to a secure, low carbon energy system and is the ideal partner to renewables. There is a great opportunity to build new infrastructure across England and Wales, to replace aging stations and take advantage of available skills, existing grid connections and supportive communities.

    “The opportunity will only be fully realised with the necessary reforms to planning and regulation, alongside continuing to build on the critical work at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C to further develop skills and supply chains.”

    Darren Hardman, CEO, Microsoft UK, said: 

    We welcome the government’s plans to accelerate the building of safe, modern nuclear as part of the energy mix. Economic growth will require increased energy supply for the UK, but we must not lose sight of our ambitions for a fully decarbonised grid.

    Chair of Great British Nuclear Simon Bowen said:

    Nuclear energy is a powerful tool for growing the UK’s economy. By expanding the range of sites where safe, secure, reliable, and clean nuclear energy plants can be built, there is huge potential to positively transform areas facing economic uncertainty. 

    Today’s announcement also signals exciting opportunities to co-locate nuclear energy generation on data centre sites and to decarbonise industrial processes.

    Nuclear is one of the safest and cleanest forms of energy generation. The new independent nuclear regulation taskforce will help unlock growth and investment by providing clarity and certainty while ensuring regulations are fit for purpose.

    Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said:

    This is the Prime Minister’s strongest signal yet that new nuclear is critical to the growth and clean power mission. A more streamlined planning system will give certainty to investors, the supply chain and communities, and will enable us to get on with building new nuclear plants on more sites and at pace for a cleaner, more secure power system.

    We need to make Britain the best possible place to build new nuclear, both large-scale and SMRs, which means avoiding unnecessary stumbling blocks and ensuring regulations are proportionate to our urgent need for low carbon power, energy security and good jobs.

    Jonathan Geldart, Director General of the Institute of Directors, said:

    The government is right to identify nuclear power as a crucial contributor to the UK’s future electricity needs. This development shows the right desire to overcome the significant challenges involved in building back nuclear at scale, in terms of planning obstacles and project delivery. Despite these challenges, today’s announcement marks a significant move forward.

    Mike Clancy, General Secretary of Prospect said:

    The government’s ambition to drive forward a new generation of nuclear power after decades of delay is exactly what Britain needs.

    Nuclear is not only essential for hitting our Net Zero goals and maintaining energy security, it also creates thousands of good, well-paid jobs in areas of the country where they are sorely needed.

    Speeding up the approval of new sites and new reactors is an important step towards enabling investment in new nuclear. The government’s support for Sizewell C is also a welcome vote of confidence in the sector and bringing this project to a Final Investment Decision will provide a strong foundation for its future growth.

    The success of Britain’s world class nuclear sector is built on a robust regulatory process, and we welcome a review of this framework to ensure it is supporting investment while still providing assurance that high safety standards are being maintained.

    Cathal O’Rourke, Laing O’Rourke’s Group Chief Executive Officer said:

    This announcement is a significant step forward for the UK’s nuclear industry. The clarity provided by these new planning rules, the focus on streamlining the regulatory process, and the emphasis on standardising reactor designs is precisely the sort of clear, unequivocal direction the industry needs.

    Having played a central role in delivering nuclear capacity at Hinkley Point C, we understand the complexities of these projects firsthand and these new measures, particularly around regulatory reform and streamlined planning, will be invaluable in ensuring future projects, like Sizewell C, can be delivered more efficiently and cost-effectively.  

    In particular, standardisation and an industrialised approach will be key to driving down costs and accelerating construction timelines, ensuring we can deploy new nuclear capacity efficiently and at pace by adopting a “copy, improve, repeat” approach to design and implementation. This type of approach would also improve worker welfare conditions on site from a physical and wellbeing perspective.

    This clear signal from government will unlock investment, create jobs nationwide for shared prosperity, including an ability to plan for long-term investment in apprenticeships, and ensure the UK can benefit from clean, locally supplied nuclear power for generations to come.

    Chris Conboy, Managing Director, Nuclear EMEA at AtkinsRéalis said:

    We welcome plans to accelerate new nuclear developments. Speeding up lengthy planning processes would help to bring forward new projects faster, strengthening the UK’s world-class nuclear supply chain and creating jobs and skills across the country. 

    Nuclear will be the cornerstone of a reliable net zero energy system. We need both large and small nuclear technologies to realise our AI ambitions, bolster our energy security, and enable the sustainable development of towns, cities and industries across the UK: building the right technology in the right locations is vital to power the UK’s growth agenda and meet our net zero goals.

    David Omand, former Director of GCHQ said: 

    It is very welcome to see this government pushing forward on their commitment to national security by making the UK more energy secure and speeding up nuclear power to boost growth across the country. Nuclear is critical to national security, and taking this kind of action is a mark of the seriousness with which Keir Starmer takes the challenges of modern geopolitics. I fully support this push to knock down barriers to safe, modern nuclear as part of the nation’s critical infrastructure.

    Kim Darroch, former National Security Adviser said: 

    As a former National Security Adviser, I think driving for as much homegrown clean power as possible in this age of global turbulence should be among our top national security objectives. So I welcome the Prime Minister’s intervention to accelerate the regeneration of our nuclear power industry.

    Julian David OBE, CEO, techUK said: 

    If we want the UK economy to keep growing, we must invest in our energy infrastructure. We are pleased to see the Government announce new plans to reform planning rules to expand new energy generation. This move will boost the economy, create new jobs, and ensure the UK is not reliant on external agents for its own energy supply.

    Updates to this page

    Published 6 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New survey suggests benefits system is letting down people with mental health conditions who want to work

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Many sick and disabled people say they want to work to help boost their living standards – but aren’t given the right support, according to new data published on Time to Talk day today [6 February].

    • New survey suggests 200k people claiming health and disability benefits are ready for work now if the right job or support were available.
    • Comes as number of young people with a mental health condition who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness reaches over a quarter of a million (270,000)
    • Overhaul of health and disability benefit system set to be unveiled in Spring to ensure it provides meaningful support to help long term sick back into work

    Many sick and disabled people say they want to work to help boost their living standards – but aren’t given the right support, according to new data published on Time to Talk day today [6 February].

    New research published by the Department for Work and Pensions shows that nearly half (44%) of people with a mental health condition expect to be able to work in future if their health improves.

    This comes as the number of young people (aged 16 to 34) who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness and have a mental condition reaches 270,000. This number has been rising consistently over the past decade and has increased by 60,000 (26%) in the last year alone. The equivalent figure for all people of working-age (16 to 64) is 790,000 – an increase of 140,000 (22%) over the last year

    The Work Aspirations of Health and Disability Claimants survey also finds that a third (32%) of those claiming health and disability benefits believe they can work now or in future.  (5%) say that they would be ready now if the right job or support were available. This equates to around 200,000 individuals

    The survey also finds that those out of jobs overwhelmingly see work as a key part of their identity and a route to higher self-esteem, happiness and security.

    In further evidence that the current system pushes people away from work, the survey revealed that 50% of people who are on health and disability benefits and are not currently in work said they were worried they would not get their benefits back if they tried paid employment and it did not work out.

     It comes as the Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall visits Workbridge charity which offers support to people who are unable to work due to mental ill health, to hear how they’re supporting people with mental health conditions into work.

    Responding to the stark survey results, the Work and Pensions Secretary has said the report demonstrates the need to reform the current welfare system, so that it offers better, meaningful support to give disabled people and people with long-term health conditions a real opportunity to find work.

    The upcoming reforms will be a key part of the government’s Plan for Change to boost employment by breaking down barriers to opportunity – creating a welfare system that promotes tailored pathways into work and accommodates the complex nature of disabilities and health conditions – and consequently, improving people’s living standards.

    Work and Pensions Secretary, Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP said:

    Today’s report shows that the broken benefits system is letting down people with mental health conditions who want to work.

    People claiming Health and Disability benefits have been classed by the system as “can’t work” and shut out of jobs and have been ignored – when they’ve been crying out for support.

    That is a serious failure. It’s bad for people, bad for businesses, which miss out on considerable talent, and bad for the economy.

    For young people in particular, being out of work can have a scarring effect that lasts a lifetime.

    On Time to Talk day, it’s time to change how we support people with long-term health conditions, such as a mental health condition, so that they have a fair chance and choice to work.

    On her visit to Workbridge, Kendall will speak to experts to hear their insights on how government and employers can better accommodate the fluctuating nature of people’s mental health – ensuring that people’s views and voices are at the heart of changes that affect them.

    We know that being in work has a positive effect on people’s mental and physical health – providing people with confidence and independence, as well as financial benefits.

    The UK remains the only G7 country that has higher levels of economic inactivity now than before the pandemic, with the benefits bill spiralling – largely driven by the increase in people claiming incapacity benefits for mental health conditions, who had not received the care and treatment they deserve.

    The reforms to the health & disability benefit system due to be unveiled in a Green Paper in Spring will consider these issues and how the government can tackle these barriers to employment, and the government will work closely alongside charities, organisations and disabled people to ensure their voices help shape any proposals for reform.

    The Green Paper will set key ambitions for creating a system that is fairer on disabled people – offering support into work which takes into consideration the realities of their health condition and life circumstances, and fairness for the taxpayer by bringing down the benefits bill.

    The reforms are expected to build on the Get Britain Working White Paper, which set out the first steps to achieving the government’s target 80% employment rate, driving up growth and driving down poverty in every corner of our country. 

    Successful steps have already been taken to offer work and life-changing support, with a record number of people with mental health conditions receiving employment advice through the NHS Talking Therapies programme.

    Alongside this support, the Government has settled record funding for the NHS – so that all people can get the care they need – and have pledged:

    • 8,500 more mental health staff
    • Mental health support teams in every school
    • Open-access mental health hubs in every community

    Additional Information

    Time to Talk Day is an initiative led by Rethink Mental Illness, Mind and Co-op to encourage people to talk about their mental health.

    Full results from the Work Aspirations of Health and Disability Claimants are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-aspirations-and-support-needs-of-health-and-disability-customers

    Source: The employment of disabled people 2024 – Table EIA020  Apr-Jun 24 compared to Apr-Jun 23

    Updates to this page

    Published 6 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Press release: Government rips up rules to fire-up nuclear power

    Source: United Kingdom – Prime Minister’s Office 10 Downing Street

    More nuclear power plants will be approved across England and Wales as the Prime Minister slashes red tape to get Britain building – as part of his Plan for Change.

    • Prime Minister puts Britain back in the global race for nuclear energy.
    • Changes will allow for Small Modular Reactors for the first time.
    • Latest step in Government’s determination to grow the economy and deliver cleaner, more affordable energy.

    More nuclear power plants will be approved across England and Wales as the Prime Minister slashes red tape to get Britain building – as part of his Plan for Change.

    Reforms to planning rules will clear a path for smaller, and easier to build nuclear reactors – known as Small Modular Reactors –to be built for the first time ever in the UK. This will create thousands of new highly skilled jobs while delivering clean, secure and more affordable energy for working people.

    This is the latest refusal to accept the status quo, with the government ripping up archaic rules and saying not to the NIMBYs, to prioritise growth. It comes after recent changes to planning laws, the scrapping of the 3-strike rule for judicial reviews on infrastructure projects, and application of common-sense to environmental rules.

    For too long the country has been mired by delay and obstruction, with a system too happy to label decisions as too difficult, or too long term. The UK was the first country in the world to develop a nuclear reactor, but the last time a nuclear power station was built was back in 1995. None have been built since, leaving the UK lagging behind in a global race to harness cleaner, more affordable energy.

    The industry pioneered in Britain has been suffocated by regulations and this saw investment collapse, leaving only one nuclear power plant – Hinkley Point C – under construction. And this was after years of delay caused by unnecessary rules – meaning companies produced a 30,000-page environmental assessment to get planning permission.

    Meanwhile, China is constructing 29 reactors, and the EU has 12 at planning stage, giving these places a huge advantage in the global race to harness new technologies, create jobs and deliver cleaner, cheaper, independent energy.

    Investors want to get on and build reliable, cheap nuclear power, which will in turn support critical modern infrastructure, such as supercomputers to power the UK’s ambitions – but they have been held back.

    Today’s plan will shake up the planning rules to make it easier to build nuclear across the country – delivering jobs, cheaper bills in the long term, and more money in people’s back pockets. This will be achieved by:

    Including mini-nuclear power stations in planning rules for the first time – so firms can start building them in the places that need them.

    Scrapping the set list of 8-sites – which meant nuclear sites could be built anywhere across England and Wales.

    Removing the expiry date on nuclear planning rules – so projects don’t get timed out and industry can plan for the long term. 

    Setting up a Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce – that will spearhead improvements to the regulations to help more companies build here. This will report directly to the PM. 

    This is the Government delivering on a manifesto commitment to galvanise nuclear to help the UK achieve energy security and clean power, while securing thousands of good, clean jobs.

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

    This country hasn’t built a nuclear power station in decades. we’ve been let down, and left behind. 

    Our energy security has been hostage to Putin for too long, with British prices skyrocketing at his whims.  

    I’m putting an end to it – changing the rules to back the builders of this nation, and saying no to the blockers who have strangled our chances of cheaper energy, growth and jobs for far too long. 

    My government was elected to deliver change. I’ll take the radical decisions needed to wrestle Britain from its status quo slumber, to turbocharge our plan for change.

    Currently, nuclear development is restricted to eight sites – as part of archaic planning rules that haven’t been looked at since 2011. With the reforms unveiled today, the refreshed planning framework will help streamline the process to encourage investment and enable developers to identify the best sites for their projects, supporting development at a wider range of locations.  

    Developers will be encouraged to bring forward sites as soon as possible at the pre-application stage in the planning process, speeding up overall timelines.  

    It will include new nuclear technologies such as small and advanced modular reactors for the first time, providing flexibility to co-locate them with energy intensive industrial sites such as AI data centres. 

    These technologies are cheaper and quicker to build than traditional nuclear power plants and require smaller sites, meaning they can be built in a greater variety of locations.  

    There will also continue to be robust criteria for nuclear reactor locations, including restrictions near densely populated areas and military activity, alongside community engagement and high environmental standards. 

    Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: 

    Build, build, build – that is what Britain’s clean energy mission is all about.  

    The British people have been left vulnerable to global energy markets for too long – and the only way out is to build our way to a new era of clean electricity. 

    Nuclear power creating thousands of skilled jobs. That is what this government will deliver.

    Alongside reforms to the siting process, a specialist taskforce will lead on making sure nuclear regulation incentivises investment, to deliver new projects more quickly and cost efficiently, while upholding high safety and security standards. 

    Britain is currently considered one of the world’s most expensive countries in which to build nuclear power. The taskforce will speed up the approval of new reactor designs and streamline how developers engage with regulators.  

    Nuclear regulation will cover both civil and defence nuclear to help unlock economic growth in the sector.  

    The taskforce will better align the UK with international partners so reactor designs approved abroad could be green lit more quickly, minimising expensive changes. It will also examine how to reduce duplication and simplify processes where there are multiple regulators covering overlapping issues, as well as ensuring regulatory decisions are both safe and proportionate. 

    The work will help the issues faced by projects such as Hinkley Point C, where three European regulators reached different assessments on the reactor design, leading to delays and increased costs. 

    The UK’s rigorous safety standards and record will continue to be upheld. Nuclear plants are designed with multiple layers of safety measures including making them robust enough to withstand a direct aircraft impact. 

    This is part of the government push to drive growth – building on the Prime Minister’s announcement to overhaul the legal challenges to major infrastructure projects including nuclear – with Sizewell C having suffered increased legal costs and uncertainty as a result of local activists taking them to court.  

    In a volatile world, where oil and gas prices are driven by tyrants like Putin, the drive for new nuclear is an integral part of the government’s plans to replace the UK’s dependence on fossil fuel markets with clean homegrown energy, to make the UK energy independent and protect consumers with clean, homegrown power.  

    Since July, the government has committed to driving forward new nuclear including further funding for Sizewell C at the Autumn Budget 2024.  

    Great British Nuclear also continues to progress the small modular reactor competition, with contract negotiations currently underway. 

    Gary Smith, GMB General Secretary, said: 

    GMB has long said there can be no net zero without new nuclear. 

    For too long, the failure to deliver new nuclear has weakened our energy security and undermined economic growth. 

    Sizewell C stands ready and waiting for the green light to power up our country’s future. 

    Now we need to see spades in the ground without delay.

    Alistair Black, Senior Director, UK at X-energy said: 

    Opening up new siting opportunities for a fleet of advanced reactors will help unlock tens of billions of pounds of investment and growth across the country, bringing clean secure electricity and heat for industry. 

    We welcome this step today, and the intent to streamline assessment processes whilst ensuring robust regulatory standards continue to be met. We look forward to reviewing this in detail and responding to the consultation.

    Simone Rossi, CEO of EDF in the UK, said:

    As a major operator, investor and developer, EDF welcomes the proposals designed to speed up new nuclear projects in the UK and unlock economic growth.

    Nuclear is essential to a secure, low carbon energy system and is the ideal partner to renewables. There is a great opportunity to build new infrastructure across England and Wales, to replace aging stations and take advantage of available skills, existing grid connections and supportive communities.

    “The opportunity will only be fully realised with the necessary reforms to planning and regulation, alongside continuing to build on the critical work at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C to further develop skills and supply chains.”

    Darren Hardman, CEO, Microsoft UK, said: 

    We welcome the government’s plans to accelerate the building of safe, modern nuclear as part of the energy mix. Economic growth will require increased energy supply for the UK, but we must not lose sight of our ambitions for a fully decarbonised grid.

    Chair of Great British Nuclear Simon Bowen said:

    Nuclear energy is a powerful tool for growing the UK’s economy. By expanding the range of sites where safe, secure, reliable, and clean nuclear energy plants can be built, there is huge potential to positively transform areas facing economic uncertainty. 

    Today’s announcement also signals exciting opportunities to co-locate nuclear energy generation on data centre sites and to decarbonise industrial processes.

    Nuclear is one of the safest and cleanest forms of energy generation. The new independent nuclear regulation taskforce will help unlock growth and investment by providing clarity and certainty while ensuring regulations are fit for purpose.

    Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said:

    This is the Prime Minister’s strongest signal yet that new nuclear is critical to the growth and clean power mission. A more streamlined planning system will give certainty to investors, the supply chain and communities, and will enable us to get on with building new nuclear plants on more sites and at pace for a cleaner, more secure power system.

    We need to make Britain the best possible place to build new nuclear, both large-scale and SMRs, which means avoiding unnecessary stumbling blocks and ensuring regulations are proportionate to our urgent need for low carbon power, energy security and good jobs.

    Jonathan Geldart, Director General of the Institute of Directors, said:

    The government is right to identify nuclear power as a crucial contributor to the UK’s future electricity needs. This development shows the right desire to overcome the significant challenges involved in building back nuclear at scale, in terms of planning obstacles and project delivery. Despite these challenges, today’s announcement marks a significant move forward.

    Mike Clancy, General Secretary of Prospect said:

    The government’s ambition to drive forward a new generation of nuclear power after decades of delay is exactly what Britain needs.

    Nuclear is not only essential for hitting our Net Zero goals and maintaining energy security, it also creates thousands of good, well-paid jobs in areas of the country where they are sorely needed.

    Speeding up the approval of new sites and new reactors is an important step towards enabling investment in new nuclear. The government’s support for Sizewell C is also a welcome vote of confidence in the sector and bringing this project to a Final Investment Decision will provide a strong foundation for its future growth.

    The success of Britain’s world class nuclear sector is built on a robust regulatory process, and we welcome a review of this framework to ensure it is supporting investment while still providing assurance that high safety standards are being maintained.

    Cathal O’Rourke, Laing O’Rourke’s Group Chief Executive Officer said:

    This announcement is a significant step forward for the UK’s nuclear industry. The clarity provided by these new planning rules, the focus on streamlining the regulatory process, and the emphasis on standardising reactor designs is precisely the sort of clear, unequivocal direction the industry needs.

    Having played a central role in delivering nuclear capacity at Hinkley Point C, we understand the complexities of these projects firsthand and these new measures, particularly around regulatory reform and streamlined planning, will be invaluable in ensuring future projects, like Sizewell C, can be delivered more efficiently and cost-effectively.  

    In particular, standardisation and an industrialised approach will be key to driving down costs and accelerating construction timelines, ensuring we can deploy new nuclear capacity efficiently and at pace by adopting a “copy, improve, repeat” approach to design and implementation. This type of approach would also improve worker welfare conditions on site from a physical and wellbeing perspective.

    This clear signal from government will unlock investment, create jobs nationwide for shared prosperity, including an ability to plan for long-term investment in apprenticeships, and ensure the UK can benefit from clean, locally supplied nuclear power for generations to come.

    Chris Conboy, Managing Director, Nuclear EMEA at AtkinsRéalis said:

    We welcome plans to accelerate new nuclear developments. Speeding up lengthy planning processes would help to bring forward new projects faster, strengthening the UK’s world-class nuclear supply chain and creating jobs and skills across the country. 

    Nuclear will be the cornerstone of a reliable net zero energy system. We need both large and small nuclear technologies to realise our AI ambitions, bolster our energy security, and enable the sustainable development of towns, cities and industries across the UK: building the right technology in the right locations is vital to power the UK’s growth agenda and meet our net zero goals.

    David Omand, former Director of GCHQ said: 

    It is very welcome to see this government pushing forward on their commitment to national security by making the UK more energy secure and speeding up nuclear power to boost growth across the country. Nuclear is critical to national security, and taking this kind of action is a mark of the seriousness with which Keir Starmer takes the challenges of modern geopolitics. I fully support this push to knock down barriers to safe, modern nuclear as part of the nation’s critical infrastructure.

    Kim Darroch, former National Security Adviser said: 

    As a former National Security Adviser, I think driving for as much homegrown clean power as possible in this age of global turbulence should be among our top national security objectives. So I welcome the Prime Minister’s intervention to accelerate the regeneration of our nuclear power industry.

    Julian David OBE, CEO, techUK said: 

    If we want the UK economy to keep growing, we must invest in our energy infrastructure. We are pleased to see the Government announce new plans to reform planning rules to expand new energy generation. This move will boost the economy, create new jobs, and ensure the UK is not reliant on external agents for its own energy supply.

    Updates to this page

    Published 6 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mongolian Minister of Defense visits U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    AIEA, Hawaii  –  

    U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Joshua M. Rudd, deputy commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, hosts Mongolian Minister of Defense Sandag Byambatsogt at USINDOPACOM headquarters on Camp H.M. Smith in Hawaii, Feb. 4, 2025.

    Topics of discussion included defense ties, advancing shared interests and cooperation, military modernization, and expansion of peacekeeping operations.

    The U.S. and Mongolia upgraded their bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership in 2019, and this year marks 38 years of the U.S.-Mongolian relationship rooted in shared values and mutual respect.

    USINDOPACOM is committed to enhancing stability in the Indo-Pacific region by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, deterring aggression and, when necessary, fighting to win

    MIL Security OSI –