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  • MIL-OSI: High Efficiency Electrolyser Cells Complete Key Durability Test

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Oct. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Next Hydrogen Solutions Inc. (the “Company” or “Next Hydrogen“) (TSXV:NXH, OTC:NXHSF), a designer and manufacturer of electrolyzers, is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed an extended durability test of its GEN2 electrolysis cells used in the efficient production of green hydrogen. The GEN2 cells will now be deployed in Next Hydrogen electrolysers at customer sites for commercial operation.

    Next Hydrogen previously reported that it has achieved leading efficiency of its GEN2 cells in October of 2023(1). The GEN2 cell performance of lower than 1.9 V per cell at 1 amp/cm2 and at 70oC exceeds reported US Department of Energy (DOE) technical targets status for energy efficiency, while maintaining a 2 times higher peak operating point(2). Further, a turn-down of 10% demonstrated best-in-class performance and an optimal solution for direct connection to renewables to produce green hydrogen.

    Equally important is the cell performance durability, and widely accepted testing protocols have been applied to confirm minimal degradation under intermittent operation as required for renewable energy supplied systems. Furthermore, 3,000 hours of cyclic testing have recently been successfully surpassed, providing the confidence to commercially deploy.

    The GEN2 cells will be applied to Next Hydrogen’s modular product line in sizes of 0.75MW, 1.5MW and 2.25MW and offer the best commercially available performance features.

    Raveel Afzaal, President and CEO of Next Hydrogen, stated, “This represents a significant milestone for us as we move into product commercialization. We are also upsizing our products and plan to demonstrate an even larger and more efficient GEN3 product version in 2025 based on leveraging our GEN2 success.”

    About Next Hydrogen
    Founded in 2007, Next Hydrogen is a designer and manufacturer of electrolyzers that use water and electricity as inputs to generate clean hydrogen for use as an energy source. Next Hydrogen’s unique cell design architecture supported by 40 patents enables high current density operations and superior dynamic response to efficiently convert intermittent renewable electricity into green hydrogen on an infrastructure scale. Following successful pilots, Next Hydrogen is scaling up its technology to deliver commercial solutions to decarbonize transportation and industrial sectors.

    Contact Information

    Cautionary Statements
    This news release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements”. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as “expects”, or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, “plans”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “forecasts”, “estimates”, “believes” or “intends” or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results “may” or “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: the risks associated with the hydrogen industry in general; delays or changes in plans with respect to infrastructure development or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to costs and expenses; failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals; health, safety and environmental risks; uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans with respect to infrastructure developments or capital expenditures; currency exchange rate fluctuations; as well as general economic conditions, stock market volatility; and the ability to access sufficient capital. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, there will be no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: 14/10/2024 Undersecretary of State Marek Prawda participated in the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council

    MIL ASI Translation. Region: Polish/Europe –

    Fuente: Gobierno de Polonia en poleco.

    Undersecretary of State Marek Prawda participated in the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on 14/10/2024. The main topics of today’s meeting in Luxembourg were Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.

    The ministers also held an informal discussion with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The Council also adopted further sanctions against Iran in connection with its military support for Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine. In the discussion on Russia’s aggression against the Minister of Ukraine, Marek Prawda stressed the need to provide further support for the attacked country, including military and energy support. He spoke in favour of lifting restrictions on the use of weapons transferred to Ukraine by the West and appealed for the urgent unblocking of financing for military support for Ukraine from the European Peace Facility. He also supported the proposal to establish an EU and G7 loan mechanism, guaranteed by income from the frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia. He also pointed to the need to maintain sanctions pressure on Russia and effectively combat the circumvention of sanctions, including by using the so-called “shadow fleet”. Minister Pravda also stressed the need to combat the Kremlin’s false propaganda. He noted that all peace initiatives must be in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principle of inviolability of borders and prepared in close consultation with Ukraine and accepted by it. In relation to the situation in the Middle East, Deputy Minister Marek Prawda emphasized that de-escalation remains the overriding goal. The Deputy Head of Polish Diplomacy also drew attention to the need to protect civilians, aid workers, UN personnel and members of the UNIFIL mission. The Undersecretary of State recalled that it was at Poland’s initiative that 40 countries participating in the peacekeeping forces in Lebanon signed a statement condemning the recent attacks on the mission’s force base. In an informal discussion with British Minister David Lammy, Deputy Minister Prawda declared Poland’s support for strengthening cooperation between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the area of foreign policy and WA. As part of current affairs, the Deputy Minister referred to Poland’s support for Moldova on the eve of the presidential elections and the referendum on EU integration, and also pointed to the key importance of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia for its geopolitical future.

    MILES AXIS

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Translation: 14/10/2024 The government adopted a draft act amending the Act on Agricultural Tax, the Act on Local Taxes and Fees and the Act on Stamp Duty

    MIL ASI Translation. Region: Polish/Europe –

    Fuente: Gobierno de Polonia en poleco.

    The government has adopted a draft act amending the Act on Agricultural Tax, the Act on Local Taxes and Fees and the Act on Stamp Duty14/10/2024

    The Council of Ministers has adopted the draft act submitted by the Minister of Finance amending the Act on Agricultural Tax, the Act on Local Taxes and Fees and the Act on Stamp Duty. The aim of the draft is primarily to ensure uniform principles for taxing garages in residential buildings and to introduce a comprehensive definition of a building and structure into the Act on Local Taxes and Fees. Key solutions Unification of the principles for taxing garages in residential buildings with property tax. All rooms intended for storing vehicles in residential buildings (not occupied for business activities) will be taxed as apartments. Clarified definitions of “building” and “structure” for the purposes of property tax. The lack of reference in the definitions of “building” and “structure” to construction law will ensure increased certainty of tax law, which will no longer be directly affected by changes in construction law. The draft contains a closed list of structures subject to taxation. At the same time, the catalogue of construction equipment subject to taxation has been narrowed down to only those that are directly related to a building or structure and necessary for their use in accordance with the e-designation. So-called small architectural objects will remain outside taxation. Extension until 31 March 2025 of the possibility of submitting a property tax return by entrepreneurs, to give them time to adapt to the proposed changes. Abolition of the application procedure for granting subject exemptions in the agricultural tax (e.g. for research institutes), which will be applied by operation of law – in order to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy. Tightening the collection of the spa fee. Municipal councils have been granted the right to impose on collectors of the spa fee the obligation to keep records of persons who will be required to pay this fee, which will enable control over the reliable fulfillment of the obligation to collect this fee. Determination of the jurisdiction of the tax authority in the matter of the stamp duty on a power of attorney submitted in electronic form (for example in the e-Tax Office). The proposed regulations are to enter into force on 1 January 2025.

    MILES AXIS

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: British Minister for the Caribbean underlines UK support for violence prevention and climate resilience on first visit to Jamaica

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    Minister set to formally launch a joint programme for violence prevention, and visit UK-supported health centre that withstood Hurricane Beryl

    The UK Minister for Latin America and the Caribbean, Baroness Chapman, arrives in Jamaica today for a visit focused on violence prevention and climate resilience – her first trip to the Western Caribbean since being appointed.  

    During her two-day trip, Baroness Chapman will visit Edward Seaga Primary School, an early beneficiary of the UK-Jamaica Violence Prevention Programme (VPP) – one of the UK’s largest aid projects in the region. Her visit marks the start of the programme’s implementation, with plans for interventions across further Jamaican schools. 

    The VPP, which will provide £15m over six years, will support the Government of Jamaica to develop more effective responses to the underlying causes of violent crime, with the aim of eradicating violence through grassroots community activities and engagement with educational institutions. 

    UK Caribbean Minister, Baroness Chapman said: 

    Jamaica is a highly valued Commonwealth partner. My visit is an important opportunity to build on our two countries close collaboration.

    I am excited to see first-hand how our joint work on key challenges – from violent crime to climate resilience – is making a difference to Jamaicans.

    The Minister will also visit an upgraded healthcare centre in Mandeville, funded by the UK through the ‘SMART’ Hospital Programme and implemented by the Pan American Health Organisation. She will tour the facility, which was able to largely withstand the impacts of Hurricane Beryl, remaining in operation to provide critical care to residents.  

    The UK continues to invest in building climate resilient infrastructure, having provided £8m towards the ‘SMART’ hospital initiative in Jamaica, which has helped provide improvement to the facilities and a dedicated toolkit to staff. In July 2024, the UK also provided up to £500,000 to support Caribbean nations severely affected by Hurricane Beryl.  

    While in Jamaica, the Minister will meet Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica, Kamina Johnson Smith, where they will discuss the importance of the UK-Jamaica bilateral relationship and areas of cooperation. She will also meet with influential business figures and Chevening scholars.

    To conclude her visit, the Minister will unveil a UK-Jamaica mural in downtown Kingston, painted by local artist Michael Elliot. The mural reflects  the significant contribution of the Windrush Generation.

    Media enquiries

    Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

    Telephone 020 7008 3100

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

    Updates to this page

    Published 15 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI China: Report on Aggregate Financing to the Real Economy (Flow) (Q1-Q3 2024)

    Source: Peoples Bank of China

    According to preliminary statistics, the aggregate financing to the real economy (AFRE) (flow) was RMB25.66 trillion in Q1-Q3 2024, down RMB3.68 trillion from the same period of 2023. Specifically, RMB loans to the real economy registered an increase of RMB15.39 trillion, RMB4.13 trillion smaller than the increase in the same period of 2023; foreign currency-denominated loans to the real economy (RMB equivalent) recorded a decrease of RMB206.3 billion, RMB69.8 billion larger than the decrease in the same period of 2023; entrusted loans registered a decrease of RMB15.5 billion, RMB121.2 billion larger than the decrease in the same period of 2023; trust loans recorded an increase of RMB356.2 billion, RMB292.3 billion larger than the increase in the same period of 2023; undiscounted bankers’ acceptances recorded a decrease of RMB147.6 billion, RMB389.3 billion larger than the decrease in the same period of 2023; net financing of corporate bonds was RMB1.59 trillion, down RMB54.5 billion year on year (y-o-y); net financing of government bonds was RMB7.18 trillion, up RMB1.22 trillion y-o-y; domestic equity financing by non-financial enterprises was RMB170.5 billion, down RMB503.9 billion y-o-y.

    Note 1: AFRE (flow) refers to the volume of financing provided by the financial system to the real economy within a certain period. In the calculations of AFRE (flow), data are from the PBOC, NFRA, CSRC, CCDC, NAFMII, etc.

    Note 2: Starting from January 2023, the PBOC added three types of non-depository banking financial institutions, namely consumer finance companies, wealth management companies, and financial asset investment companies, into financial statistics, hence adjustments to “RMB loans to the real economy” and “loan write-offs” in AFRE. At end-January 2023, the balance of RMB loans issued to the real economy by the above-mentioned institutions registered RMB841.0 billion, up RMB5.7 billion month on month; the balance of loan write-offs registered RMB170.6 billion, up RMB3.0 billion month on month. The statistics in this report are on a comparable basis.

    Date of last update Nov. 29 2018

    2024年10月14日

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Stay safe this fireworks season

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Follow OPSS guidance to purchase, use and dispose of fireworks safely and responsibly.

    The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has produced safety tips for this fireworks season on how to use fireworks responsibly and considerately to help protect both people and animals.

    You must only buy from licensed sellers

    Make sure you buy fireworks from licensed or registered in-store and online retailers. Do not buy fireworks from unknown retailers on social media sites. Remember it is illegal for under 18s to buy fireworks.

    Choose traditional dates and keep to the curfew

    People are more likely to plan to protect pets and other animals if fireworks are let off on traditional dates. The firework curfew is midnight on Fireworks Night, 1am on Diwali, New Year’s Eve and Chinese New Year, and 11pm the rest of the year. Firework timings may differ in Scotland. Search ‘fireworks’ on gov.scot for more advice.

    Follow the instructions carefully

    Before letting off fireworks, read all the safety instructions on the box, so you know important things like how far away people need to stand. If you do not understand the instructions and warnings, do not use the firework. Once any debris has cooled down, tidy it up and soak it in water overnight. Then put it in a rubbish bag and in the bin.

    Check what fireworks you can use at home

    Category F1, F2 and F3 fireworks are on sale to the public depending on the safety distance required. Check the labelling to ensure you have enough space to safely use a firework before you buy it.

    Always follow the Firework Code. Search ‘fireworks’ on GOV.UK for more advice.

    Think of local animals before setting off fireworks

    If you plan to let off any fireworks, let your neighbours know in advance so they can plan for pets that might be affected.

    If you live close to horses, let their owners know well in advance that you are letting fireworks off. Site your fireworks well away from them and aim them in the opposite direction. It is important to be considerate to horse owners as they cannot easily move horses away from fireworks.

    Notify nearby farms and stables if you are planning to use fireworks. Do not let off fireworks if they will disturb wildlife habitats, or roosting bats and birds.

    Keep your pet safe

    On nights where fireworks are being let off, keep dogs and cats inside with somewhere to hide and give small outdoor pets extra bedding and nesting material to burrow in.

    Download content from our fireworks campaign page, including a video, poster, leaflet and social media materials.

    Updates to this page

    Published 15 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI China: Report on Aggregate Financing to the Real Economy (Stock) (September 2024)

    Source: Peoples Bank of China

    According to preliminary statistics, outstanding aggregate financing to the real economy (AFRE) reached RMB402.19 trillion at end-September 2024, increasing 8.0 percent year on year. Specifically, outstanding RMB loans to the real economy posted RMB250.87 trillion, increasing 7.8 percent year on year; outstanding foreign currency-denominated loans to the real economy (RMB equivalent) recorded RMB1.43 trillion, decreasing 18.6 percent year on year; outstanding entrusted loans registered RMB11.25 trillion, decreasing 0.9 percent year on year; outstanding trust loans registered RMB4.26 trillion, increasing 11.8 percent year on year; outstanding undiscounted bankers’ acceptances recorded RMB2.34 trillion, declining 19.6 percent year on year; outstanding corporate bonds registered RMB32.07 trillion, increasing 2.2 percent year on year; outstanding government bonds reached RMB76.97 trillion, increasing 16.4 percent year on year; and outstanding domestic equity of non-financial firms amounted to RMB11.6 trillion, increasing 2.6 percent year on year.

    By structure, outstanding RMB loans to the real economy accounted for 62.4 percent of the total AFRE at end-September, decreasing 0.1 percentage points year on year; outstanding foreign currency-denominated loans to the real economy (RMB equivalent) accounted for 0.4 percent, decreasing 0.1 percentage points year on year; outstanding entrusted loans accounted for 2.8 percent, decreasing 0.2 percentage points year on year; outstanding trust loans accounted for 1.1 percent, increasing 0.1 percentage points year on year; outstanding undiscounted bankers’ acceptances accounted for 0.6 percent, decreasing 0.2 percentage points year on year; outstanding corporate bonds accounted for 8 percent, decreasing 0.4 percentage points year on year; outstanding government bonds accounted for 19.1 percent, increasing 1.3 percentage points year on year; and outstanding domestic equity of non-financial firms constituted 2.9 percent, decreasing 0.1 percentage points year on year.

    Note 1: AFRE (Stock) refers to the outstanding financing provided by the financial system to the real economy at the end of a period (end of a month, end of a quarter or end of a year). In the calculation of AFRE, data are from PBOC, NFRA, CSRC, CCDC, NAFMII, etc.

    Note 2: Starting from January 2023, the PBOC added three types of non-depository banking financial institutions into financial statistics, namely consumer finance companies, wealth management companies, and financial asset investment companies, hence adjustments to “RMB loans to the real economy” and “loan written-offs” in AFRE. At end-January 2023, outstanding RMB loans to the real economy issued by the above-mentioned three institutions posted RMB841 billion, increasing RMB5.7 billion month on month; the outstanding loan written-offs posted RMB170.6 billion, increasing RMB3 billion month on month. The statistics in this report are on a comparable basis.

    Date of last update Nov. 29 2018

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Announcement on Open Market Operations No.203 [2024]

    Source: Peoples Bank of China

    Announcement on Open Market Operations No.203 [2024]

    (Open Market Operations Office, October 15, 2024)

    In order to keep liquidity adequate at a reasonable level in the banking system, the People’s Bank of China conducted reverse repo operations in the amount of RMB68.3 billion through quantity bidding at a fixed interest rate on October 15, 2024.

    Details of the Reverse Repo Operations

    Maturity

    Volume

    Rate

    7 days

    RMB68.3 billion

    1.50%

    Date of last update Nov. 29 2018

    2024年10月15日

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Financial Statistics Report (Q1-Q3 2024)

    Source: Peoples Bank of China

    1. Broad money rose by 6.8 percent

    At end-September, broad money supply (M2) stood at RMB309.48 trillion, increasing by 6.8 percent year on year. Narrow money supply (M1), at RMB62.82 trillion, decreased by 7.4 percent year on year. The amount of currency in circulation (M0) was RMB12.18 trillion, an increase of 11.5 percent year on year. The first three quarters of the year saw a net money injection of RMB838.6 billion.

    2. RMB loans grew by RMB16.02 trillion in the first three quarters

    At end-September, outstanding RMB and foreign currency loans totaled RMB257.71 trillion, up 7.6 percent year on year. Outstanding RMB loans stood at RMB253.61 trillion, registering a year-on-year growth of 8.1 percent.

    In the first three quarters, new RMB loans amounted to RMB16.02 trillion. By sector, household loans increased by RMB1.94 trillion, with short-term loans and medium and long-term (MLT) loans rising by RMB402.4 billion and RMB1.54 trillion, respectively; loans to enterprises and public institutions grew by RMB13.46 trillion, with short-term loans, MLT loans and bill financing rising by RMB2.83 trillion, RMB9.66 trillion and RMB828.3 billion, respectively; and loans to non-banking financial institutions grew by RMB188.7 billion.

    At end-September, outstanding foreign currency loans stood at USD585.5 billion, down 14.6 percent year on year. In the first three quarters, foreign currency loans dropped by USD70.9 billion.

    3. RMB deposits increased by RMB16.62 trillion in the first three quarters

    At end-September, the outstanding amount of RMB and foreign currency deposits was RMB306.83 trillion, up 7.1 percent year on year. RMB deposits recorded an outstanding amount of RMB300.88 trillion, rising by 7.1 percent year on year.

    In the first three quarters, RMB deposits increased by RMB16.62 trillion. Specifically, household deposits, fiscal deposits and deposits of non-banking financial institutions rose by RMB11.85 trillion, RMB724.8 billion and RMB4.5 trillion, respectively, while deposits of non-financial enterprises fell by RMB2.11 trillion.

    At end-September, the outstanding amount of foreign currency deposits was USD849.1 billion, up 9 percent year on year. In the first three quarters, foreign currency deposits rose by USD51.2 billion.

    4. The monthly weighted average interest rates for interbank RMB lending and bond pledged repos in September stood at 1.78 percent and 1.83 percent respectively

    Lending, cash bond and repo transactions in the interbank RMB market totaled RMB1583.16 trillion for the first three quarters, with the daily average declining by 2.8 percent year on year to RMB8.38 trillion. Specifically, the average daily turnovers of interbank lending and pledged repo trading fell by 31.4 percent and 5.6 percent year on year, respectively, while that of cash bond trading increased by 25.7 percent year on year.

    The monthly weighted average interest rate for interbank lending in September stood at 1.78 percent, up 0.01 percentage points month on month but down 0.09 percentage points year on year. The monthly weighted average interest rate for pledged repos was 1.83 percent, up 0.04 percentage points month on month but down 0.13 percentage points year on year.

    5. Official foreign exchange reserves stood at USD3.32 trillion

    At end-September, China’s foreign exchange reserves stood at USD3.32 trillion, and the USD/CNY exchange rate was 7.0074.

    6. RMB cross-border settlement under the current account reached RMB11.76 trillion and RMB cross-border settlement of direct investment posted RMB6.04 trillion for the first three quarters

    RMB cross-border settlement under the current account reached RMB11.76 trillion for the first three quarters, including RMB8.88 trillion in settlement of trade in goods and RMB2.88 trillion in settlement of trade in services and other current account items. RMB cross-border settlement of direct investment amounted to RMB6.04 trillion, of which ODI and FDI posted RMB2.11 trillion and RMB3.93 trillion, respectively.

    Notes:

    1. Data for the current period are preliminary.

    2. Starting from 2015, deposits of non-banking financial institutions have been included in RMB deposits, foreign currency deposits and deposits in RMB and foreign currencies, while lending to non-banking financial institutions has been included in RMB loans, foreign currency loans and loans in RMB and foreign currencies.

    3. “Loans to enterprises and public institutions” in this report refers to loans to non-financial enterprises, government agencies and organizations.

    4. Starting from December 2022, e-CNY in circulation has been included in the amount of currency in circulation (M0). At end-December, e-CNY in circulation stood at RMB13.61 billion. The revision has not caused notable changes to month-end M1 or M2 growth rates of 2022. Shown below are the revised M0 growth rates.

    Jan. 2022

    Feb. 2022

    Mar. 2022

    Apr. 2022

    May 2022

    Jun. 2022

    Currency in circulation (M0)

    18.5%

    5.8%

    10.0%

    11.5%

    13.5%

    13.9%

    Jul. 2022

    Aug. 2022

    Sept. 2022

    Oct. 2022

    Nov. 2022

    Dec. 2022

    Currency in circulation (M0)

    13.9%

    14.3%

    13.6%

    14.4%

    14.1%

    15.3%

    5. Starting from January 2023, the People’s Bank of China has incorporated into the coverage of financial statistics three types of non-depository banking financial institutions, i.e., consumer finance companies, wealth management companies and financial asset investment companies. At end-January 2023, loans issued by the three types of institutions recorded an outstanding balance of RMB841 billion, posting an increase of RMB5.7 billion for the month, while their deposits registered an outstanding amount of RMB22.2 billion, rising by RMB2.7 billion over the month. All the statistics in this report are provided on a comparable basis.

    Date of last update Nov. 29 2018

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: IAEA Initiates First Practical Steps of Additional Measures at Sea Near Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

    Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

    International experts participated in the marine sampling, which included hands-on activities to take samples for subsequent analysis in their own laboratories. (Photo: IAEA)

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) initiated today the first practical steps of additional measures at sea near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS). The IAEA carried out marine sampling as an initial step, leveraging the presence of experts from various countries who were in Japan for a mission to collect samples for the latest IAEA interlaboratory comparison (ILC) related to the ALPS treated water discharge.

    This follows last month’s announcements by China and Japan that indicated their mutual agreement to implement additional measures, which will facilitate wider participation of other stakeholders under the framework of the IAEA. The Agency confirms that this agreement is built on its existing sampling and monitoring activities in compliance with the IAEA statutory functions.

    International experts from China’s Third Institute of Oceanography, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety and Switzerland’s Spiez Laboratory — members of the IAEA’s Analytical Laboratories for the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity (ALMERA) network — participated in the marine sampling near FDNPS, which included hands-on activities to take samples for subsequent analysis in their own laboratories.

    Experts from China, the Republic of Korea and Switzerland participated in the marine sampling near Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. (Photo: IAEA)

    “The Agency will continue to coordinate with Japan and other stakeholders, including China, to ensure that the additional measures are implemented appropriately under the framework of the IAEA, maintaining the integrity of the process with full transparency to ensure that water discharge levels are, and will continue to be, in strict compliance and consistent with international safety standards,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. 

    The IAEA views this mission as a timely opportunity to initiate the first practical steps towards full implementation of the additional measures. The Agency will continue its impartial, independent and objective safety review during the discharge phase, by having a continuous onsite presence, corroborating monitoring data through ILCs and providing live online monitoring. The IAEA will continue liaising at the technical level to ensure smooth implementation of the additional measures.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Study Surveys CT’s Forest Owners Ahead of Funding for Sustainable Initiatives

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    A new study updates a gap in data about Connecticut’s private forest owners.

    A vast majority, 71%, of Connecticut’s 1.75 million acres of forest are owned by private individuals.

    This means understanding private woodland owners’ priorities and interests is critical for state and federal outreach and funding programs.

    Ava Smith ’22 (CAHNR), now a social science research specialist at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, realized there were limited efforts in the last decade to update information about forest owners in Connecticut.

    “It’s important to continuously update our understanding and knowledge of private forest owners so that we can keep up and inform conservation targets,” Smith says.

    This survey sought to assess woodland owners’ interest in participating in forest management plans. These are individualized plans that help the owners engage in management practices to support whatever their intentions for their lands are.

    “It’s an effort on the part of the woodland owner to give some thought to the future,” says Thomas Worthley, associate extension professor of forest stewardship. “We know what the land is like now and we know how people use it now, but what is their intent five, ten, fifteen years from now with respect for their land? And the plan is a document that spells out how to accomplish whatever that vision is.”

    While they were not able to reach all forest owners, the researchers found some important differences within the group.

    This research, by Smith, Worthley, and Chadwick Rittenhouse, associate professor in residence in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, was published in Trees, Forests and People.

    For example, they found male landowners were more likely to have a management plan in place than female landowners.

    Smith says this may be because women have not historically been private landowners, or, it may just be a matter of women having different priorities for their lands as those interested in timber production or hunting.

    “Historically private landowners have been predominantly male,” Smith says. “It has been changing though. It could be that female landowners don’t know what avenues to pursue. They don’t necessarily have the same knowledge base or networks that landowners who have had the land for generations and generations do.”

    Ava Smith (Contributed photo)

    Woodland owners in Connecticut are generally more likely to be interested in the non-commercial benefits that forests provide such as privacy, connecting with nature, protecting wildlife habitat, or preserving a family legacy.

    “While the value of wood products is not to be ignored, that’s generally not their highest priority,” Worthley says.

    Those with plans were also more likely to be aware of resources available to them and be enrolled in a state program that incentivizes people to keep their land as woodlands, agricultural land, or open space.

    The survey showed that those who did not have a plan were generally neutral about developing one, rather than actively against them.

    The researchers also found that landowners had priorities beyond what they originally included as options such as pollinator protection.

    “To us, it means that there needs to be a level of effort or thought put into future educational programming and represent those varied interests,” Smith says. “If programs are not tailoring to the interests of the landowners, that’s potentially why participating in certain programming is low or landowners are not reaching out to their local service forester to learn more about what they can do to better their lands.”

    One of the biggest motivators for conducting this survey now is that within the next decade, the federal and state governments are going to provide funding to private woodland owners to enact climate sustainable practices, but only if they have a management plan in place.

    These practices will aim to improve forest resiliency to changes in temperatures and severe weather events or increase carbon sequestration.

    “As the public, we are depending on the forest to sequester carbon from the atmosphere,” Worthley says. “The only practical way we have of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is to grow green things as fast as we can.”

    This means forest owners can concentrate on which kinds of trees can grow fastest and sequester the most carbon, as one example of a sustainable management practice.

    As an extension forester, Worthley will be working diligently over the next few years to connect woodland owners with resources at UConn and beyond to help them get these plans in place.

    Private woodland owners can contact UConn Extension, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Forestry Division, or the National Resources Conservation Service to begin the process of creating a management plan.

    This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused on Advancing Adaptation and Resilience in a Changing Climate.

    Follow UConn CAHNR on social media.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Month of Discovery: Nadine Noaman ‘26, Uncovering UConn Muslim History

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    The contributions of the Muslim community at UConn — from the Arabic language program, to partnerships with international universities, to the Muslim Student Association and the Islamic Center at UConn (ICUC) — are now so integral to the University that a newly arrived first-year student might not think twice about how they all came to be, says Nadine Noaman ’26 (CLAS).

    But Noaman knows exactly how much work went into creating today’s community.

    “The impact of these generations should not go unnoticed. We are part of UConn history,” she says.

    Noaman is currently producing a docuseries entitled “Tracing the Trailblazers: UConn’s Muslim Community, Accommodations, and Activism Journey,” funded by the UConn IDEA grant and UConn BOLD Women’s Leadership Network.

    The impact of these generations should not go unnoticed. We are part of UConn history.

    For the project, Noaman is collecting oral histories from alumni and students who span the last half-century of Muslim life at UConn. The earliest interviewees were doctoral students at UConn in the 1970s; the most recent are current undergraduates, Noaman’s peers.

    The series has three major aims, says Noaman: to preserve this rich community history, to highlight strides made by Muslims at UConn, and to track the impact of Muslim student activism on the university.

    For Noaman, this history is personal. She herself is a third-generation leader in UConn’s Muslim community: both her maternal grandparents received their PhDs from UConn in the 1980s, and her mother received a Pharm.D. from the school. (Her aunt and uncle are also alumni.)

    The UConn International House in the 1950s. (Jerauld A. Manter/Department of Archives & Special Collections/UConn Library)

    From the Ashes

    In late 2023, a fire destroyed the Whitney House on the edge of the UConn Storrs campus – an iconic white building near Mirror Lake that had variously served as UConn’s International House and the home of the Rainbow Center over the past 50 years. The house was dismantled after the University deemed it beyond repair.

    “One of the earliest memories that I have that sparked the idea [for ‘Tracing the Trailblazers’] was when my mom and I were passing by the International House when they were about to take it down,” Noaman remembers. “And she started to recall how impactful that building was on campus. She shared how there were communal prayers and Eid celebrations – so many initiatives and events took place there that brought communities together.”

    “It’s unfortunate that the building is no longer physically there,” she continues. “In that moment, I realized I want to honor and preserve the legacy and experiences of these past generations at UConn.”

    UConn’s Muslim students tabling at the International Fair in the 1980s. (Courtesy of Nadine Noaman)

    Though the International House is no longer standing, UConn’s Muslim community has found other venues for sharing space and strengthening community ties. The Islamic Center at UConn (ICUC) hosts daily prayers, holiday festivities, and weekly halaqas, or lecture circles, to discuss Islam-related topics. It also accommodates the Muslim Student Association (MSA), of which Noaman is the Islamic Education Chair.

    “I love when I have the opportunity to do tabling; I get to talk to other amazing Huskies on campus and clear up misconceptions about Islam or provide accurate knowledge,” she says.

    In addition, Noaman also currently works as a coordinator for UConn Salaam, a program within the Asian American Cultural Center. Salaam develops programming that increases accurate knowledge of Islam, strives to dismantle Islamophobia, and builds coalitions amongst various student organizations.

    Muslim community members participate in a weekly halaqa, 2024. (Photo by Nadine Noaman)

    What Changes, What Stays the Same

    MSA table set up for an event informing the student community about Muslim life (Photo by Nadine Noaman)

    As a prominent player in these spaces, Noaman was curious about how Muslim life at UConn had evolved from the experiences of her grandparents to her own. While working on “Tracing the Trailblazers,” she learned that the reasons for this evolution were twofold.

    There were societal issues: the early interviewees recalled hostile jokes about Muslims all living in the desert, while current students report having to counter misconceptions that Islam promotes violence. Though the trends changed over time, they all fall “under the same iceberg: lack of knowledge,” notes Noaman.

    Second, there was the dynamic way the UConn Muslim community advocated for their needs, encouraging the University to be a more positive and inclusive place. Community organizing and solidarity established more accommodations for Islamic worship and holidays for generations to come.

    Celebrating the Diversity of Islam

    By engaging with the stories in “Tracing the Trailblazers,” Noaman says, viewers will be able to appreciate a rich array of perspectives and backgrounds.

    “There is such diversity in our Muslim community – in one Friday prayer, we realized that we had over 40 different nationalities represented,” she says.

    Muslim Huskies go on to make a difference for the University and the world, contributing in diverse ways, too.

    “We are a religion of peace,” says Noaman. “There’s a strong emphasis on being active in our community and helping others. So, many of my friends are in fields like healthcare and engineering because they want to embody those specific Islamic values.”

    Editing “Tracing the Trailblazers.” (Courtesy of Nadine Noaman)

    Noaman herself (who is double-majoring in Psychological Sciences and Spanish) wants to go into education – a field for which her coursework, student leadership, and independent research have well prepared her.

    Once complete, “Tracing the Trailblazers” will be available to stream online, and Noaman hopes to be able to host an on-campus premiere as well. She extends her gratitude to God, as well as her family, peers, and the BOLD network and IDEA grant team who supported this independent project.

    Having the funding was “affirming and motivating, and it gave me the resources to be detailed in the research aspect,” Noaman says. “I’ve done traditional research before, but embarking on this project has expanded my understanding of what I see as research, and so I’m grateful for this experience – times a gazillion-fold.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Samotlorneftegaz held an ethnic culture festival in Yugra

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Rosneft – Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Samotlorneftegaz (part of the Rosneft oil production complex) held the Festival of Ethnic Culture of Indigenous Peoples of Yugra in the Nizhnevartovsk District of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. The large-scale event was attended by more than 500 representatives of different peoples living and working in the Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug.

    Preservation of national culture and traditional way of life of indigenous peoples of the North is one of the significant areas of Rosneft’s social policy. The company annually implements large-scale projects to support indigenous peoples in the regions of its operations.

    During the folklore festival, many interactive events were held aimed at intercultural communication with the Khanty and Mansi peoples. The festival was timed to coincide with the beginning of the “little winter” according to the natural calendar of the Ob Ugrians, who, according to centuries-old traditions, strive to live in harmony with the environment. Representatives of the indigenous people of Yugra, through rituals, told about the philosophy of their peoples, living in harmony with the environment and maintaining the natural balance.

    Folk craftsmen held various master classes on national decorative and applied arts. Festival guests learned how to make amulets from natural materials, the traditional Khanty doll akan, and jewelry using ornamental patterns.

    A separate area hosted ethnosports events of indigenous peoples, which originate from the traditional way of life of reindeer herders and are an integral part of the unique culture of the Khanty and Mansi. Guests took part in northern all-round competitions, which included jumping over sleds, archery, and pulling a stick on a reindeer skin.

    Artistic numbers were performed on the concert stage, and in the guest tent visitors were treated to national cuisine. The ethnofestival ended with a large-scale round dance of friendship of peoples.

    Reference:

    Samotlorneftegaz is one of the key production enterprises of Rosneft, leading the development of the largest Samotlor field in Russia, which is located in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra.

    Samotlorneftegaz systematically implements the principles of supporting the national communities of the Khanty and Mansi. With the assistance of the enterprise, a unique digital project is being implemented in the district to provide ancestral lands with cellular communications and the Internet. At the moment, it has covered 3,650 people living in 177 territories of traditional nature management.

    The regional digital educational platform “Camp School-Garden” is being developed on the basis of the IT project. Currently, there are six camp schools-gardens operating in Yugra.

    Also, with the support of Samotlorneftegaz, scientific and practical conferences are held with the participation of representatives of the indigenous peoples of the North, competitions of professional skills among reindeer herders, and competitions in national sports.

    Department of Information and Advertising of PJSC NK Rosneft October 15, 2024

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

    Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    http://vvv.rosneft.ru/press/nevs/item/220917/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Global refinery margins fall to multiyear seasonal lows in September

    Source: US Energy Information Administration

    In-brief analysis

    October 15, 2024

    Data source: Bloomberg L.P.
    Note: The 3:2:1 crack spread is an indicator of refining margins, the short-term profit margin for oil refineries, which generally produce about 2 barrels of gasoline for every 1 barrel of distillate fuel oil. To estimate the refinery crack spreads, regional crude oil benchmarks were used (Brent for New York, Los Angeles, and ARA; Light Louisiana Sweet for the U.S. Gulf Coast; West Texas Intermediate for Chicago; and Dubai for Singapore). ARA=Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp

    Refinery margins for petroleum refiners across the world are shrinking, indicating reduced profitability from refining crude oil and selling petroleum products. Declining margins are the result of relatively weak demand for petroleum products even as global refining capacity increases.

    Global refinery margins, measured by the 3:2:1 crack spread, have been less than their five-year (2019–23) averages since the spring and dropped even more in the late summer and early fall. The 3:2:1 crack spread is calculated by subtracting the price of 3 barrels of crude oil from the price of 2 barrels of gasoline and 1 barrel of distillate. This year, the September monthly average refinery margin fell to its lowest for the month since 2020, when there was significantly less transportation fuel demand because of pandemic-related reductions in travel.

    The recent drop in refinery margins is a departure from the past two years. Following the lows in 2020, decreases in U.S. refinery capacity and recovering petroleum product demand supported stronger U.S. refinery margins. This trend was particularly true on the West Coast, where several refineries closed or converted operations to renewable diesel in response to its increasing use in the region.

    Refinery margins have fallen in part because of relatively weak demand for petroleum products, particularly distillate fuel oil. In 2024, U.S. product supplied of distillate fuel oil (the proxy we use for consumption) averaged 6% less than in 2023 and 8% than in 2019 from June through September, mostly due to declining manufacturing activity and the increasing use of biofuels in place of conventional, petroleum-based diesel fuels on the West Coast. Gasoline and jet fuel consumption were slightly below 2023 levels for the same months, and they both remain 6% below 2019 levels.

    Outside of the United States, petroleum product demand has been weak due to slowing economic activity in China and Europe. In addition, increasing adoption of electric vehicles, biofuels, and liquefied natural gas use in trucking is steadily reducing petroleum fuel consumption across much of Asia and Europe. Refinery margins have also been under pressure due to new refining capacity abroad. Kuwait’s 615,000-barrel-per-day (b/d) Al-Zour refinery reached full refining capacity early in 2024, Oman’s 230,000-b/d Duqm refinery has begun operations, and Nigeria’s 650,000-b/d Dangote refinery has been ramping up refining activity. In response to low refinery margins, some global refiners have reduced refinery runs, and some in Europe have announced plans to close or reduce capacity. Although planned before the recent decline in refinery margins, LyondellBasell plans to close its 264,000-b/d refinery in Houston, Texas, by the first quarter of 2025.

    Principal contributor: Jimmy Troderman

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Manchester Art Gallery’s Families of the World project shortlisted for prestigious award

    Source: City of Manchester

    Children enjoying themselves at Manchester Art Gallery

    A unique project at Manchester Art Gallery that creates a welcoming space for families with small children who are seeking sanctuary in the city has been shortlisted for a prestigious award by the Museum’s Association.

    The Association’s annual ‘Museums Change Lives’ awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding work by UK museums in delivering social impact and promote best practice by museums and individuals that supports communities and engages with contemporary issues.

    Manchester Art Gallery’s Families of the World project which has been nominated for an award, is focused on refugee children and families, and creates a space within the gallery for them to come together and to share their culture and experiences with each other.

    It has its roots in the spirit of welcome, improving access and inclusion to cultural and civic spaces, and the idea of a trauma-informed dimension to cultural activity.

    Cross cultural learning and sharing – particularly through food – is also a big part of the project and families regularly bring in food or share the making of food with others in the group as a way of connecting with each other and learning about each other’s cultural heritage.

    Connecting in this way through food has also seen some of the recipes brought in by families introduced to the wider public through the art gallery cafe and via on-line cookery demonstrations – where visitors are embracing the chance this brings for them to learn more about cultures other than their own.

    Inbal Livne, Senior Creative Lead Manchester Art Gallery, said: “We’re thrilled to be nominated for this award. We are a Gallery of Sanctuary, and Families of the World exemplifies our commitment to making the Gallery somewhere everyone is welcome, respected and represented. As an organization we gain so much from working with the families that engage with the project and this nomination is as much theirs as it is ours. “

    Working in partnership with Sure Start, Read Manchester, Manchester Public Health, and the City of Sanctuary, the gallery’s Families of the World project welcomes displaced families who are living in the city to a weekly Stay and Play session. At this joyful playgroup families are connected to vital services and signposted to other cultural venues and to the city’s wider offer for its youngest residents.

    The project also explores how the gallery can be used as a platform to extend a positive message to its visitors about Manchester being a place where refugees and asylum seekers can live safely – and where they can continue to make a valuable contribution within inclusive and resilient communities.

    Families are invited to weekly sessions at the art gallery

    Councillor Garry Bridges, Deputy Leader Manchester City Council, said: “Families of the World is an amazing project that reflects everything that we want Manchester to be – a place of welcome, warmth, safety and opportunity for everyone. It’s making a real difference to our newest and most vulnerable families in the city who in turn have so much to teach and share with us.”

    Manchester Art Gallery’s Families of the World project is generously funded by The Oglesby Charitable Trust.

    Louise Magill, The Oglesby Charitable Trust ,said: “We’re delighted that the insightful, creative work of our friends at the Gallery’s Families of the World programme has been acknowledged by being shortlisted for this award. The programme demonstrates the vital importance of cultural organisations in modelling a culture of welcome and belonging, and shows us that by bringing together the best resources our city has to offer, museums and other essential organisations really can change lives.”

    This year’s Museums Association awards take place in Leeds on Tuesday 12 November as part of the Museums Association annual conference.

    There are four award categories: The Championing Social Justice Award, Best Small Museum Project Award, Radical Changemaker Award, and the Best Museums Change Lives Project Award – which is the award Manchester Art Gallery’s Families of the World project has been nominated for.

    The Families of the World project in action

    View the shortlist for the Museums Change Lives awards 2024 here

    Find out more information about the Families of the World at Manchester Art Gallery here

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Eating ourselves to death: How the modern diet is destroying our bodies and our planet One of the UK’s leading food reform campaigners has been chosen to deliver the last in a decade-long series of prestigious talks at Aberdeen University.

    Source: University of Aberdeen

    Henry DimblebyOne of the UK’s leading food reform campaigners has been chosen to deliver the last in a decade-long series of prestigious talks at Aberdeen University.
    Henry Dimbleby, the outspoken former government policy tsar and independent national food strategy author, will deliver the 2024 Carnegie Lecture on November 6.
    The occasion marks the 75th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to the Rowett Institute’s founding director Lord Boyd Orr for his work improving global nutrition.
    Boyd Orr’s pioneering research demonstrating the link between poverty, poor diet and ill health had a major impact, inspiring everything from school milk to war-time rationing.
    After leading the Aberdeen-based Institute for three decades, he became the first director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1949  “for his lifelong effort to conquer hunger and want, thereby helping to remove a major cause of military conflict and war”.
    Today, 75 years on, the food landscape may have dramatically changed but we still find ourselves grappling with stark inequalities when it comes to diet and health.
    And echoes of Boyd Orr’s pleas for action – and of his frustrations at the pace of change and political will to force it – can be heard in the work of Mr Dimbleby.
    The Leon restaurants founder and co-author of the bestselling book Ravenous: How to Get Ourselves and Our Planet into Shape, will use the lecture to further explore his forensic analysis of our malfunctioning food system and how we can fix it.
    The Andrew Carnegie Lecture series, a ten-year programme of public talks at Scotland’s ancient universities (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews) is a project funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York to celebrate its centenary.
    Mr Dimbleby will afterwards join a panel discussion featuring Rowett Institute Director Professor Jules Griffin, Professor Alexandra Johnstone, the institute’s theme lead for Nutrition, Obesity and Disease and leader of the £1.6m Food Insecurity and Obesity (FIO Food) project, and Food Standards Scotland chair Heather Kelman.
    “John Boyd Orr’s contribution to improving British diets – and his clear understanding of the wider importance of nutritional health to our world – was immeasurable,” Mr Dimbleby says.
    “It is hard to know quite what he would make of the way problems with the food system have evolved since he was putting his expertise and drive behind global reform.
    “But it is a great pleasure to be able to go to Aberdeen – where the pioneering work that underpinned his achievements was done at the Rowett – to talk about how scientists, politicians, industry leaders and others can take a leaf out of the Boyd Orr book.”
    University of Aberdeen Principal Professor George Boyne said: “For more than 500 years the University has been at the forefront of driving research which goes beyond the status quo, works across borders and delivers sustainable solutions to the challenges facing society.
    “In Henry we are delighted to have a speaker delivering this special anniversary lecture who so clearly shares these principles and demonstrates the same commitment towards changing lives.”
    Related Content
    More information and tickets for the event are available here:
    The Andrew Carnegie Lecture at Arts Lecture Theatre event tickets from TicketSource

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New guide lets you plan your Walled City Trail experience at Derry Halloween

    Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

    New guide lets you plan your Walled City Trail experience at Derry Halloween

    15 October 2024

    The ultimate guide to all the ghoulish goings on in Derry this Halloween launched today, helping visitors plan ahead for the biggest Halloween celebration in Europe, now just weeks away.

    The Derry Halloween Awakening the Walled City Trail details all the best activities and highlights of the trail which runs this year from Monday October 28th – Thursday October 30th from 6pm – 9pm.

    It is available on the DerryHalloween.com website and printed copies will be available to pick up from Council buildings, Visit Derry and other venues in the week before Halloween.

    This year the trail is packed full of all sorts of spooky spectacles, weaving its magic throughout the city centre at haunted hotspots including the Upper City Walls, the Diamond, Cathedral Quarter, Guildhall Square, Waterloo Place and Ebrington Square.

    Visit the Witchy Wonderland where In Your Space Circus will create an eerie walk-through experience full of mischief and mayhem on Derry’s historic Walls.

    The ramparts will provide the perfect atmospheric backdrop for some dazzling fire performance and ghostly goings on. 

    This year the Guildhall Production Studio will bring the worlds of old and new together with the latest technology to animate the iconic Austins building and Bishop Street Court House, bringing some local ghost stories to life.

    Enter the ethereal Elemental Garden set to take over Ebrington Square, an ambient and mesmerising celebration of darkness and light, as visualised by landscape spectacle specialists LUXE, in a piece supported by The Executive Office.

    A number of exciting new highlights feature in the trail this year, including the debut appearance of the weird and wonderful Rodafonio, created by renowned designer and musician Cesar Alvarez and brought all the way from Barcelona.

    Also adding an international flavour to the festivities are the Stelzen-Art Time Travellers, bringing their enchanting illuminations all the way from Germany to the city’s Cathedral Quarter.

    Take care not to fall under a spell as the bewitching Hocus Pocus bring their spellbinding show to the City of Bones at Waterloo Place, 28th – 30th October, with an interactive, child friendly performance by the Studio 2 Sanderson Sisters, back after 300 years.

    Then step back in time to the 1980s as the New Gate Arts Group take you Back to the Future with a special street performance featuring a DeLorean Car and the renowned Sollus Highland Dancers.

    Add to this the Monster Fun Fair at Ebrington, the sensational Spark Drummers, Uncle Doom and his Organ of Doom, Street Walkabouts, Haunted Houses, Live Music, creepy Arts & Crafts, Kids Halloween Disco, Wailing Nuns, Wicked Windows, City Dance’s Walter on the Dance Floor, Interactive Kids Shows in the Guildhall and a city centre Trick or Treat Trail – and you will find plenty to keep you busy in the home of Halloween.

    Head of Culture with Council, Aeidin McCarter, said now was the time to plan your visit.

    “There is so much going on this year, we would really encourage people to plan ahead and familiarise themselves with the event map and programme information to ensure they get to see everything that’s happening,” she stressed.

    “The great thing is that from Monday – Wednesday we have a full programme of entertainment and activities in the build up to Halloween, so any night is a good time to visit!

    “The Awakening the Walled City Trail offers the chance to explore the city centre by night and experience some of the myth and magic that makes this place so special at this time of year.
    “I am thrilled that we are back on the City Walls this year for part of the trail – it’s the perfect place to capture the real essence and atmosphere of Halloween through the centuries.

    “There will be lots of activities for younger children throughout the day as well, so please check out the programme online or download our app for the latest updates.”

    The Derry Halloween festival is led by Derry City and Strabane District Council, supported by Tourism Northern Ireland and The Executive Office, with additional support from Ulster University and Air Coach.

    Download the Awakening the Walled City Trail at DerryHalloween.com and don’t forget that Derry Halloween is also on WhatsApp.
    Get the latest updates, exclusive sneak peeks, and instant info right on your phone.
    Don’t miss any of the spooky surprises in store at https://bit.ly/halloweenwhatsapp

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Albanese government promises to ban ‘dodgy’ trading practices

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    Hard on the heels of pledging a crackdown on excessive surcharges, the Albanese government has promised legislation to ban unfair trading practices.

    The government said this would include specific prohibitions on various “dodgy” practices.

    “From concert tickets to hotel rooms to gym memberships, Australians are fed up with businesses using tricky tactics that make it difficult to end subscriptions or add hidden fees to purchases,” the prime minister, treasurer and assistant treasurer said in a statement.

    “These practices can distort purchasing decisions, or result in additional costs, putting more pressure on the cost of living.”

    They said the government would deal with

    • “subscription traps” that make it difficult to cancel a subscription

    • “drip pricing” characterised by hidden fees or fees added during the purchase

    • deceptive and manipulative online practices. These aim to confuse consumers, such as for example by creating a false sense of urgency, warning there is only a limited time to purchase

    • dynamic pricing, where a price changes during the transaction

    • requiring a consumer to set up an account and provide unnecessary information for an online purchase

    • a business making it difficult for a consumer to contact it when they have a problem with the product.

    Earlier this week Arts Minister Tony Burke said on the ABC the government was not looking at “dynamic pricing” in the music industry.

    Asked on Four Corners whether dynamic pricing should be allowed in Australia, Burke said: “Surge pricing is something that, as consumers, people have always dealt with.

    “I don’t love it, but I think we have to be realistic, it’s always been there. It’s not something we’re looking at, at the moment.”

    Asked about the discrepancy, a government spokesperson said the Four Corners interview “was recorded a month ago, before this policy existed”.

    Treasury will consult on the design of the planned changes. The government on Wednesday will put out a consultation paper on reforms for greater protections for consumers and small businesses under the consumer guarantees and supplier indemnification in the Australian Consumer Law.

    The government says it will work with the states to have a final reform proposal in the first half of next year.

    There will be penalties for suppliers that refuse to give consumers a remedy such as a replacement product or a refund when legally required.

    “Currently, it can be difficult for consumers to obtain a remedy, especially when engaging in the digital economy,” the government statement said.

    The reforms would empower the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and state and territory agencies to pursue breaches of consumer guarantees and supplier indemnification provisions.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said “hidden fees and traps are putting even more pressure on the cost of living and it needs to stop”.

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

    – ref. Albanese government promises to ban ‘dodgy’ trading practices – https://theconversation.com/albanese-government-promises-to-ban-dodgy-trading-practices-234142

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Police constable charged with rape

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    A serving officer has been charged with rape.

    PC Tony Watts, attached to the North Area Command Unit, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 16 October.

    The charge relates to an incident which was reported in May 2022 and is alleged to have happened between mid-January 2020 and early February 2020 when the officer was off duty.

    PC Watts was arrested in May 2022 and later released on bail. He was charged on Wednesday, 25 September 2024.

    The victim, a woman known to him, has been informed.

    PC Watts has been suspended from duty.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man in custody for carrying 18 knives

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    A man is in custody this morning after being found carrying 18 knives, likely destined for south London gangs.

    The man, aged 23, was arrested by Specialist Crime officers carrying out a proactive operation to crack down on gang-related violence.

    Intelligence gathered led officers to conduct a stop and search on the man on Monday, 14 October at around 14.00hrs outside Edmonton Green train station. After resisting the stop and search, officers discovered 18 knives as well as a quantity of class A and B drugs in a drawstring bag.

    The man was arrested on suspicion of possession of offensive weapons, and with intent to supply class A and B drugs.

    The man remains in custody at a north London police station.

    Detective Inspector Lewis Sanderson, who led the operation, said: 

    “Time and again, knife crime and gang violence have terrible far-reaching consequences that affect both the victims and the communities around them.

    “That is why the Met’s operation to crack down on gangs and knife crime is so important, and it is why communities stand firm with us in this determination. This arrest is a welcome step towards removing weapons off our streets and tackling gang violence.

    “We are committed to making the capital a safer place, by reducing crime that impacts individuals, our communities and businesses.”

    Under A New Met for London officers are intensifying efforts to reduce knife crime and crackdown on violent gangs, while actively engaging with the local communities to foster collaboration and trust.

    Officers and staff continue encourage residents to voice any concerns and help us create safer neighbourhoods for everybody. If anyone has information or wishes to report a crime, they can call 101 for non-emergencies, or dial 999 in an emergency. Alternatively, you can report a crime through our website.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: CECO Environmental Upsizes Credit Facility to $400 Million

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DALLAS, Oct. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CECO Environmental Corp. (Nasdaq: CECO), a leading environmentally focused, diversified industrial company whose solutions protect people, the environment, and industrial equipment, has announced a significant upsize in the form of an amendment and restatement of its credit facility, increasing it to a $400 million senior secured revolving credit facility. This expansion from the existing $246 million aggregate capacity underscores CECO’s strategic commitment to strengthening its financial resources in pursuit of both organic and inorganic growth.

    The expanded credit facility comes with a five-year term and an option to increase the facility by $125 million. This move enables CECO with additional resources to efficiently fund potential opportunities and expand its footprint in global markets.

    Peter Johansson, CECO’s Chief Financial and Strategy Officer, emphasized the strategic importance of this expanded credit facility, noting, “This move not only provides us with greater financial agility but also reinforces our commitment to executing our growth plans effectively. With the backing of our committed financial partners, we are well-equipped to adapt to the evolving industry landscape and seize emerging opportunities.”

    Bank of America, N.A. is the Administrative Agent; BofA Securities, Inc. and TD Securities are the Joint Lead Arrangers, and The Toronto-Dominion Bank, New York Branch, Citibank, N.A., Fifth Third Bank, N.A. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. are Co-Syndication Agents. 

    ABOUT CECO ENVIRONMENTAL
    CECO Environmental is a leading environmentally focused, diversified industrial company, serving the broad landscape of industrial air, industrial water and energy transition markets across the global through its key business segments: Engineered Systems and Industrial Process Solutions. Providing innovative technology and application expertise, CECO helps companies grow their business with safe, clean, and more efficient solutions that help protect people, the environment and industrial equipment. In regions around the world, CECO works to improve air quality, optimize the energy value chain, and provide customer solutions for applications including power generation, petrochemical processing, general industrial, refining, midstream oil and gas, electric vehicle production, poly silicon fabrication, battery recycling, beverage can, and water/wastewater treatment along with a wide range of other applications. CECO is listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “CECO.” Incorporated in 1966, CECO’s global headquarters is in Dallas, Texas. For more information, please visit http://www.cecoenviro.com.

    Company Contact:
    Peter Johansson
    Chief Financial and Strategy Officer
    888-990-6670
    investor.relations@onececo.com

    Investor Relations Contact:
    Steven Hooser and Jean Marie Young
    Three Part Advisors, LLC
    214-872-2710
    investor.relations@onececo.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: South Africa: African Development Bank and Absa unveil multi-billion rand financial package to expand sustainable capital markets, boost economic…

    Source: African Development Bank Group
    The African Development Bank and Absa Group, one of Africa’s leading financial services providers, today celebrated a landmark agreement to mark the execution of a transformative financial package aimed at increasing funding for underserved segments, across South Africa and the continent.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Government pledges further action to strengthen patient safety

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Patient safety at heart of government’s plans for healthcare reform as Health and Social Care Secretary orders action to improve regulator performance.

    Patient safety across health and social care is set to be bolstered as the government takes action to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of key patient safety organisations.  

    The move – aimed at ensuring the country has the best system in place to keep patients safe – comes as a major review of the CQC’s operational effectiveness is published in full.

    The report, led by Dr Penny Dash, Chair of the North West London Integrated Care Board, identifies significant internal failings at the regulator which are hampering its ability to identify poor performance at hospitals, care homes and GP practices.   
      
    Its interim conclusions, published in July, prompted the Health and Social Care Secretary to order immediate action to restore public confidence in the effectiveness of health and social care regulation.  

    The full report confirms significant failings at the CQC in regard to its operational effectiveness – including poor performance in relation to inspections and a lack of capacity and capability to deliver improvements.     

    The report provides seven specific recommendations for improvement, which the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care fully supports. This includes recommending that the CQC formally pauses the implementation of its assessments of Integrated Care Systems as it works to restore public confidence in health and care regulation. This will allow the CQC to focus on getting the basics right when assessing the organisations it regulates. 

    The Health and Social Care Secretary has now asked Dr Dash to conduct two further reviews moving her focus from operational effectiveness to patient safety and quality. The first review will examine the roles and remits of six key organisations and make recommendations on whether patient safety could be bolstered through a different approach. These are:    

    • Care Quality Commission (CQC) including the maternity programme (MNSI)    

    • National Guardian’s Office (NGO)       

    • Healthwatch England (HWE) and the Local Healthwatch (LHW) network.    

    • Health Services Safety Investigation Body       

    • Patient Safety Commissioner        

    • NHS Resolution (quality and safety functions only) 

    A further review will focus on quality and its governance. This will guide the government’s next steps as it continues its drive for positive cultural change across health and social care.   
      
    All findings will also inform the government’s 10-Year Health Plan to transform the NHS and social care and make them fit for the future.   

    Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said:    

    Patient safety is the bedrock of a healthy NHS and social care system. That’s why we are taking steps to reform the CQC, to root out poor performance and ensure patients can have confidence in its ratings once again.  

    This government will never turn a blind eye to failure. An overly complex system of healthcare regulation and oversight is no good for patients or providers. We will overhaul the system to make it effective and efficient, to protect patient safety.

    The CQC has already taken its crucial first steps to rebuild its approach to regulation, including announcing Sir Julian Hartley, former Chief Executive of NHS Providers, will be appointed as its new chief executive.   

    Following the publication of Dr Dash’s interim report in July, the CQC Board also asked Professor Sir Mike Richards to conduct an internal review of the single assessment framework and its implementation. Sir Mike was Chief Inspector of Hospitals at CQC from 2013 to 2017. That review has also been published today (15 October) by the CQC.     

    However, Dr Dash’s full review makes clear that there is still much work to be done in the CQC and beyond to ensure that that the public can be confident in the quality and safety of the care they are receiving.   

    Commenting on her findings, Dr Penny Dash said: 

    This report reiterates the findings of my interim report while providing further detail and analysis of the CQC’s performance. It builds on insights and perspectives from patients and users, and a wide range of health and social care providers as well as senior leaders from the NHS and local authorities. 

    I am very grateful to the large number of staff within the CQC who have come forward to share their experiences of the last few years and to make recommendations for the future. They have shown exceptional patience and professionalism throughout this difficult period. 

    I am delighted that Sir Julian Hartley will be appointed as the CQC’s new Chief Executive – he is an outstanding leader, and I am confident he will restore the regulator’s ability to inspect and rate the safety and wider quality of health and social care services across England.

    Recent inquiries and reports, including the Infected Blood Inquiry, have highlighted how the patient safety space has developed in a way which means that multiple organisations are involved in related activities, leading to a complicated system without clear leadership.   

    Vic Rayner OBE, Chair of the Care Provider Alliance, said: 

    As both the Penny Dash Report and the review by Sir Mike Richards show, it is clear that urgent action is needed by the CQC to take on board the reality of how assessment and inspection is currently experienced by the tens of thousands of registered adult social care services across England.  

    What is also evident is that a step change is required in regulation going forwards, and care providers’ voices need to be heard in the coproduction of a regulatory framework that is fit for the future.

    Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation said:  

    Our members recognise the importance of regulation in supporting patient safety and care improvement but for far too long CQC’s operating model has not been fit for purpose. Many of our members contributed to the review, and we welcome Dr Penny Dash’s findings, which aim to improve the regulatory model for health and care professionals.  

    Given the stark findings, we believe the decision to pause ICS inspections is the right one and we will continue to work with CQC colleagues to ensure the approach adds value for systems and the public.  

    We will review both Dr Dash’s and Professor Sir Mike Richards’ findings in detail. These, alongside the government’s response, will strengthen patient safety and drive necessary improvements. We also look forward to contributing to the two new reviews announced today.

    Findings of the Safety Landscape Review can be expected in the new year. Meanwhile, the Health and Social Care Secretary will continue to monitor the CQC’s progress and support Sir Julian Hartley on its road to reform.

    Updates to this page

    Published 15 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Statement by Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Update on the Deployment of the THAAD Battery to Israel

    Source: United States Department of Defense

    “Yesterday, October 14, an advance team of U.S. military personnel and initial components necessary to operate the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery arrived in Israel.
     
    Over the coming days, additional U.S. military personnel and THAAD battery components will continue to arrive in Israel. The battery will be fully operational capable in the near future, but for operations security reasons we will not discuss timelines.

    The deployment of the THAAD battery to Israel underscores the United States’ commitment to the defense of Israel and to defend Americans in Israel from any ballistic missile attacks by Iran.”
     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK-Italy Young Leaders Programme: call for applications

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    This UK-Italy programme brings together a group of professionals whose common link is their leadership and passion for forging closer UK and Italy ties.

    Young Leaders Programme

    Every year, the UK and Italian Government will hold an open competition to invite applications from young Italian and British professionals onto the programme. Young Leaders can come from all sectors, including positions in the civil service, the military, leading companies, politics, charitable organisations, start-ups or the arts. They are dedicated to encouraging closer relations between the UK and Italy by promoting an innovative vision of the future bilateral relationship.

    Successful applicants are asked to sign the Young Leaders Charter (see attachment) and invited to undertake a visit to both the UK and Italy, to encourage closer relations through understanding culture and values, promoting constructive dialogue, exchanging thoughts and ideas and promoting the bilateral relationship.

    Once the Young Leaders have completed their visits, they will be invited to join the “Young Leaders Alumni” network, which includes personalities from distinguished careers ranging from journalists, scientists, the military and academics to business entrepreneurs, writers, art directors and composers.

    The UK-Italy Young Leaders Programme is an initiative supported by both governments, and is delivered by the British Embassy in Rome and the Italian Embassy in London.

    Read the Young Leaders Charter

    Young Leaders Charter

    PDF, 448 KB, 3 pages

    Download the YLP pamphlet with more information on the programme

    UK-ITALY young leaders programme pamphlet

    PDF, 342 KB, 14 pages

    This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

    Request an accessible format.
    If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

    Discover more about the 2024 young leaders (bios)

    Young Leaders 2024 – bios

    PDF, 889 KB, 6 pages

    Application process

    How can I apply for the Young Leaders Programme?

    To apply for the Programme, you must be a young professional under 40 years old (on the closing date for applications) who is a UK and/or Italian citizen. You must speak fluent English and demonstrate a commitment to build and shape UK-Italy bilateral relations.

    To apply, please download and complete the application form and email it with a copy of your CV (doc or pdf format) and a head and shoulders photo taken within the last year to: youngleadersprogramme@fcdo.gov.uk

    Young Leader Programme – Application form

    PDF, 161 KB, 3 pages

    Applications for the Young Leaders Programme 2025 will open from 13 September 2024 until 27 October 2024 at 23.59 GMT. Applications will not be processed after the closing date. Successful applicants will be contacted directly.

    Updates to this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Iqaluit — Emergency Landing at Iqaluit, Nunavut

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Iqaluit, Nunavut
    Date: 2024-10-15

    On October 15, 2024 at approximately 5:21 a.m, Air India flight 127 made an emergency landing to Iqaluit, Nunavut. The flight departed from New Delhi and was enroute to Chicago. All 211 passenger and crew disembarked the aircraft and were relocated to the Iqaluit International airport.

    Updates will be provided, once more information becomes available.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Kugluktuk — David Kuliktana arrested – RCMP seeking public assistance

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    On August 30, 2024, Kugluktuk RCMP obtained a warrant to arrest from the Nunavut Court of Justice for David Kuliktana.

    On September 05, 2024, Kugluktuk RCMP, V Division RCMP Containment Team along with K Division Emergency Response Team, arrested 31-year-old David Kuliktana at a cabin outside Kugluktuk.

    David Kuliktana is charged with:

    • Section 88 – Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose;
    • Section 151 – Sexual Interference;
    • Section 264.1(a) – Uttering Threats x 3;
    • Section 264(2)(d) – Criminal Harassment;
    • Section 266 – Assault x 2;
    • Section 267(a) – Assault with a weapon x 2;
    • Section 267(b) – Assault causing bodily harm x 2;
    • Section 267 (c) – Assault by choking x 2;
    • Section 271 – Sexual Assault x 2;
    • Section 279(2) – Forcible Confinement x 2;
    • Section 423(1)(a) – Intimidation to abstain from reporting x 2;
    • Section 733.1(1) – Fail to comply with Probation Order x 3

    David Kuliktana appeared before court and was remanded until his next court appearance on October 22, 2024 in Iqaluit, NU.

    Information received by Kugluktuk RCMP indicate that there may additional victims in the community. Anyone with information or wishing to come forward, is asked to please call Kugluktuk RCMP at 982-1111.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Ministers Hajdu and Saks to join Indigenous partners at the 2024 National Summit on Indigenous Mental Wellness in Calgary

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Please be advised that the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services, and the Honourable Ya’ara Saks, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, will deliver remarks at the 2024 National Summit on Indigenous Mental Wellness.

    Calgary, Alberta — Please be advised that the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services, and the Honourable Ya’ara Saks, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, will deliver remarks at the 2024 National Summit on Indigenous Mental Wellness.

    The Summit provides an opportunity for representatives from First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, organizations and leaders in mental wellness, as well as direct service providers and researchers working with Indigenous populations to share knowledge and connect on what is working to improve First Nations, Inuit and Métis mental wellness.

    Media are invited to attend the Ministers’ opening remarks followed by a media opportunity.

    Date: Wednesday, October 16, 2024

    Time: 8:30 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. (MT)

    Note: Media to arrive by 8:00 a.m. (MT)

    Where: Westin Calgary Airport Hotel
    671 Aero Drive NE
    Calgary, Alberta

    Yuval Daniel
    Director of Communications
    Office of the Honourable Ya’ara Saks
    Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health
    819-360-6927

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Science expeditions in snow, hail and air pollution

    Source: US Government research organizations

    NSF celebrates the 2024 Earth Science Week theme ‘Earth Science Everywhere’ with 3 upcoming field campaigns across the country

    Starting this winter through next summer, the U.S. National Science Foundation is supporting three field campaigns, or collaborative research activities, to study atmospheric phenomena. The first will take place in Colorado and focus on snowstorms. Soon after that wraps up, another group of researchers will gather in the Great Plains to study hailstorms. Finally, a team of scientists will take to the skies above New York City to look at air pollution drivers.

    Winter snowstorms from a cloudy perspective

    Credit: Melissa Dobbins

    From their perch in a wind vane atop the Storm Peak Laboratory, several cloud probes measure the properties of snowflakes and aerosols.

    Claire Pettersen and a group of researchers will spend 4 1/2 months working at a lab atop a Colorado mountain this coming winter as part of an NSF-funded field campaign to improve snowfall forecasts and climate change projections in the western U.S. mountains.

    The team includes scientists from multiple universities gathering at NSF-supported Storm Peak Lab, which sits atop Mount Werner next to a chairlift in the Steamboat Ski Resort, about an hour northwest of Denver. “Storm Peak Lab is a really cool place to design a field campaign,” Pettersen, a professor at the University of Michigan, said. “The lab actually sits inside a cloud when it snows on the mountain.”

    The lab’s unique location and cutting-edge meteorological instruments make it an ideal location to study how mountains impact winter clouds and snowfall. The upcoming effort, called the Snow Sensitivity to Clouds in a Mountain Environment (S2noCliME) field campaign, will leverage many NSF-funded resources in addition to the lab’s instruments, including the Colorado State University Sea-Going Polarimetric Radar, which will help the team study how storms can strengthen or weaken as they move through the region, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook radar observatory, which will help the team investigate cloud and ice particles during a snowstorm.

    The team is working with scientists at the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR) to put together a public field catalog that holds its data and observations. The team is also connecting with the community, including the local airport and nearby schools, to share weather forecasts and raise awareness of the campaign. “We want to provide something to the community that’s useful,” Pettersen said.

    Springing into hailstorms in the Plains

    After the snow melts and spring turns to summer next year, hail scientist Becky Adams-Selin of the company Atmospheric and Environmental Research, along with 14 collaborating institutions from 11 states and four countries, will spend six weeks in the Great Plains and Front Range studying hailstones falling from the sky.

    Hail can destroy buildings and devastate crops. To better understand the science behind the ice, Adams-Selin is leading an upcoming field campaign called In-situ Collaborative Experiment for the Collection of Hail In the Plains (ICECHIP), which will use a variety of instruments and techniques to study hail processes in thunderstorms in the Great Plains and Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.

    Credit: Becky Adams-Selin, AER

    A 3D-printed replica of the 7-inch hailstone that fell in Aurora, Nebraska on June 22, 2003.

    “It’s been a few decades since the last major field campaign focused on hail,” Adams-Selin.

    ICECHIP plans to make up for the long gap with a multipronged approach. The team will send out four mobile radars to characterize hailstones’ physical characteristics, like their size and shape. During a hailstorm, the team will use custom-designed equipment to capture the stones as they fall and redirect them into a cooler. Other plans include creating 3D printed hail models and then using drones to drop them to see how fast they fall.

    “Hail science is having a renaissance moment,” Adams-Selin said. Not only will this campaign provide valuable data for researchers and weather forecasters, but it will also aid insurance companies trying to set rates and mitigate damage, roofing companies, farmers and other entities affected by hail. “We are very integrated with the people who will use our science,” she said.

    City air in the summertime

    In the height of summer next year, John Mak and a team of researchers will spend four to six weeks studying what happens in the air above and around New York City.

    “New York City is a unique environment with a lot of relevance to the American population,” Mak, a professor at Stony Brook University, said. “We will fly the NSF NCAR C-130 aircraft and collect gases and particles to study this densely populated area that has a forest to its north, ocean to its south and large urban center in its center.” The resulting information will inform future research on ozone and air pollution and provide important information to air quality agencies to help them make decisions on methodologies for mitigating air pollution.

    The Greater New York Oxidant, Trace gas, Halogen and Aerosol Airborne Mission (GOTHAAM) will focus on the summer months. The warmer temperatures and longer days make for a unique laboratory setting to see how both urban and natural emissions from surrounding forests and water bodies create unique chemical reactions that can impact air quality and public health.

    “You can get a really interesting ‘soup’ of different kinds of compounds that can change throughout the day,” Mak said. “We’ll be exploring the interplay among the different pots, looking at how they mix throughout the day and what happens overnight, and how this impacts the next day’s chemistry as the sun comes up.”

    Earth Science Week activities

    Whether they’re studying snow in Colorado, hail in the Great Plains or air pollution in New York City, NSF-supported scientists are supporting the 2024 Earth Science Week theme, ‘Earth Science Everywhere.’

    Here are some activities related to each field campaign for K-12 students and educators:

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: HOTA: Agustín Ramos Calero

    Source: US Army (video statements)

    :DMD

    About the U.S. Army:
    The Army Mission – our purpose – remains constant: To deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars by providing ready, prompt & sustained land dominance by Army forces across the full spectrum of conflict as part of the joint force.
    Interested in joining the U.S. Army?
    Visit: spr.ly/6001igl5L
    Connect with the U.S. Army online:
    Web: https://www.army.mil Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USarmy/ X: https://www.twitter.com/USArmy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/usarmy/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/us-army
    #USArmy #Soldiers #Military #HeroesOfTheArmy

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su9Uzowo_Vw

    MIL OSI Video –