NewzIntel.com

Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI Russia: IMF Staff Concludes Visit to Zambia

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    February 27, 2025

    Lusaka, Zambia: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team, led by Mercedes Vera Martin, visited Zambia during February 19-25, 2025, as part of the Fund’s ongoing engagement with the Zambian authorities and other stakeholders.

    At the conclusion of the visit, Mrs. Vera Martin issued the following statement:

    “The mission team engaged with the Zambian authorities on recent macroeconomic developments and the economic outlook. Encouragingly, the Zambian economy has shown greater resilience than previously anticipated in 2024, supported by stronger-than-projected performance in both the mining and non-mining sectors”.

    “We also took stock of the authorities’ progress in meeting key commitments under the IMF-supported program. These efforts will be formally assessed in the context of the fifth review of the Extended Credit Facility arrangement, which is expected to be initiated with a mission in early May 2025.”

    “During this visit, IMF staff held discussions with Finance Minister Musokotwane, Bank of Zambia Governor Kalyalya, and their teams, as well as representatives from various government agencies and other key stakeholders. The IMF team would like to express its gratitude to the Zambian authorities and all stakeholders for their constructive engagement and support during this mission.”

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Kwabena Akuamoah-Boateng

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

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/02/27/pr-2549-zambia-imf-staff-concludes-visit

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Saskatchewan Leads the Nation in Private Capital Investment Growth

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on February 27, 2025

    Province Ranks First for Growth in Private Capital Investment in 2024 

    Saskatchewan led all provinces in private capital investment growth in 2024, with an increase of 17.3 per cent over 2023. The province is also expected to lead the nation in overall capital investment growth in 2025.  

    “Attracting new investment and growing our existing businesses continues to be a key priority for our government and these numbers demonstrate our province is the best place to invest in Canada,” Trade and Export Development Minister Warren Kaeding said. “Our investment attraction strategy is our roadmap to achieving our Growth Plan target by building a competitive business environment, low tax and utility rates, a transparent and predictable regulatory environment, a strong suite of incentives and a network of nine international offices that connect Saskatchewan to the world.”

    Private capital investment in Saskatchewan increased last year by 17.3 per cent to $14.7 billion, ranking first among provinces. In 2025, private capital investment is expected to increase 10.1 per cent to $16.2 billion, ranking second among provinces. 

    Total capital investment in Saskatchewan last year increased by 16.9 per cent to $19.9 billion, ranking second among provinces. In 2025, total capital investment is expected to increase 10.8 per cent to $22.1 billion, ranking first among provinces.

    Today’s numbers build on additional key economic indicators for Saskatchewan. Statistics Canada’s latest GDP numbers indicate that Saskatchewan’s 2023 real GDP reached an all-time high of $77.9 billion, increasing by $1.77 billion, or 2.3 per cent from 2022. This places the province second in the nation for real GDP growth, and above the national average of 1.6 per cent.

    Capital investment refers to the expenditures on fixed assets intended to produce goods and services. Fixed assets include structures, machinery and equipment. This is an important economic indicator as it showcases businesses’ optimism about the current and future state of the economy, as well as the ability to earn a return on their investment.

    Last year, the Government of Saskatchewan unveiled its new Securing the Next Decade of Growth – Saskatchewan’s Investment Attraction Strategy. This strategy, combined with Saskatchewan’s trade and investment website, InvestSK.ca, contains helpful information for potential markets and solidifies the province as the best place to do business in Canada.  

    For more information visit: InvestSK.ca.

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI: Drone Technology Advancement for Performing Growing Number of Tasks and Usage Leading to Revenue Growth

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PALM BEACH, Fla., Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FN Media Group News Commentary – According to a recent article issued by Fact.MR, the global drone surveying market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.3% during the forecast period of 2023 to 2033. The report said: “The drone surveying market is witnessing increased demand for its services across different industries. The survey done by drones has multiple benefits in comparison to the traditional way of surveys such as lower cost, reduced time, and improved end results. The drone covers a larger area within less amount of time and money for a survey if compared with the traditional or conventional way of surveys. Since the data is captured and generated with actual imagery, it also brings better transparency in the end result. All these benefits have resulted in increased demand from governments and real estate development companies for drone surveying services. The drone surveying service providers are entering into partnerships with companies and the government to carry out surveys on their behalf for the planning and development of urban areas and townships. The image and data collected from the drone surveys are more accurate and can be converted into meaningful output as per the requirements. This helps governments and infrastructure development companies in different stages of planning in township development, urban planning, and land surveys. The continuous advancement of technology in the drone market has led to increased demand for their products and services. The services or task performed by a drone has significantly improved in the last few years which has ultimately resulted in improved demand.”   Active Companies in the Drone Industry today include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), Safe Pro Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAI), ParaZero Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: PRZO), New Horizon Aircraft (NASDAQ: HOVR), Unusual Machines (NYSE: UMAC).

    Fact.MR added: “The industries catered to by drones have also increased significantly. Earlier most of the demand for drones was from agriculture and public administration, now it has increased to infrastructure development, mining, energy, education, and transportation among others. Now a mining company can easily calculate/measure the area covered for the mining, or the stockpile volume with the help of drone surveys. It is expected that in the coming years, the drone surveying industry will witness continuous technological advancement, resulting in the expansion of service offerings. The US drone surveying market and construction and mining industry is expected to be the market leader in the demand for drone surveying services. Increased spending from governments and rising demand for residential and commercial spaces would add a significantly high pace to the overall drone surveying demand in the US.”

    ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA) ZenaDrone Advances IQ Square Drone to Manufacturing Stage for Outdoor Applications Including Inspections, Surveys, and the Fast-Growth Power Washing Sector – ZenaTech, Inc. (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) (“ZenaTech”), a technology company specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drones, Drone as a Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS and Quantum Computing solutions, announces that its subsidiary ZenaDrone has moved its first batch of IQ Square multifunction drones from prototype to manufacturing stage. This drone was designed for outdoor applications for operator line-of-site inspections such as for building and construction inspections, short-range land surveys, power washing and other business and government applications. The IQ Square is also expected to be a key part of ZenaDrone’s multifunction drone inventory for its Drone as a Service or DaaS business, which enables business and government users to hire a turnkey drone service and drone pilot through a local store for easy subscription-based or pay-as-you-go access to drones for various uses.

    “The IQ Square’s rapid progression from the prototype stage, initiated in 2022, to the manufacturing and assembly stage is a testament to our hardware and engineering team’s dedication and hard work. We see many commercial and government applications for the IQ Square, which we also envision will be central to powering our future DaaS operations as a versatile multifunction drone for multiple outdoor uses requiring line-of-site including fast growth uses like power washing,” said CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D.

    The IQ Square will be equipped with a power wash system for use in larger-scale cleaning jobs such as stadium seating, building exteriors, and public spaces; drones eliminate the need for scaffolding, lifts, or manual labor by providing a more efficient, safe, and cost-effective solution. Tethered to a ground-based water and a power source, it is designed to maintain a continuous supply of high-pressure water needed to clean large areas without the weight limitations of onboard tanks.

    The mold and drone body frames of the first batch of IQ Square drones are currently being completed, after which they will be assembled, integrated, and tested at the company’s Sharjah, UAE production facility. The Company will oversee the integration and quality inspection of electronics, battery and propulsion systems, software, and sensor installation and calibration, concluding with final flight testing.

    According to QYResearch, the global market for drone cleaning services, including applications such as water hose-tethered power washing for stadium seats and public areas, is projected to reach approximately $53.89 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 19.3%.

    ZenaTech’s Drone as a Service or DaaS business model enables government agencies, building developers, entertainment facilities, farmers, environmental firms, etc. to conveniently access a turnkey drone solution via a local store on a pay-as-you-go or subscription basis rather than having to buy the entire drone hardware and software solution. Like Amazon Web Services, where Amazon owns computer equipment platforms and hires the personnel, with the DaaS model, ZenaDrone owns the drones, hires the pilots and ensures regulatory compliance to enable the cost savings, precision and efficiency of drones over existing legacy methods.   Continued… Read this full release by visiting: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-zena/

    Other recent developments in the drone industry include:

    Safe Pro Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAI) recently announced that its Safe Pro AI subsidiary reached its latest milestone having processed over 1,000,000 real-world images and 20,000 explosive threat detections in Ukraine utilizing its patented AI-powered small object threat detection and drone image analysis and mapping technology.

    Sourced from real-world aerial imagery collected in Ukraine by organizations utilizing commercially available drones over the past two years, SafePro’s latest generation of small object detection models include one of the largest and widest arrays of labeled imagery of landmines, unexploded ordnance (UXO) and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in existence today. Supported by the hyper scale of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud, this robust dataset enables the patented SpotlightAI™ ecosystem to rapidly detect over 150 types of surface-level explosive hazards, enabling government and humanitarian organizations to quickly assess threats on the ground with sub-centimeter precision. The Company intends to utilize its newly enhanced models to power new threat detection solutions designed for expanded domestic and international applications in defense, public safety and commercial markets.

    ParaZero Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: PRZO) recently announced that it has successfully achieved regulatory compliance with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for its SafeAir systems. This milestone marks a step forward for the company, solidifying its position as a trusted provider of safety solutions in the rapidly expanding drone market.

    ParaZero secured EASA compliance for its SafeAir systems. The Company announced last week that its system is integrated with the DJI Matrice 350, DJI Mavic 3T, and DJI Mavic 3E, and has successfully achieved CE Class C5 compliance. This achievement marks a significant advancement in drone safety and regulatory readiness, particularly within the European market.

    New Horizon Aircraft (NASDAQ: HOVR) announces that John Wyzykowski has been appointed as a Technical Expert.   Horizon Aircraft recently announced that John Wyzykowski has joined the company as a Technical Expert to support the development of its propulsion systems. John is the latest in a series of new hires as Horizon Aircraft continues to bolster its engineering team with people who have proven track records in the aerospace sector. John joins from Lilium, a leading eVTOL developer, where he held the position of Head of Propulsion. With decades of experience in advanced aerospace propulsion, John will play a key role in supporting the ongoing development and optimization of the Cavorite X7, Horizon’s revolutionary hybrid-electric eVTOL.

    John is a recognized expert in propulsion system design, integration, and performance optimization for next-generation aerospace platforms. His extensive background includes work on gas turbine and fully electric propulsion architectures, with a deep understanding of the unique challenges associated with eVTOL applications, including power density, thermal management, and system redundancy. His insights will be instrumental as Horizon Aircraft continues its rigorous testing and refinement of the Cavorite X7’s propulsion system.

    Unusual Machines (NYSE:UMAC) announced it has recently secured Red Cat Holdings (RCAT) as a customer for motors. This marks the company’s first partnership to develop motors built to a U.S. drone producer’s specific requirements. Red Cat will use three motor variants from Unusual Machines for one of its platforms designed for government and commercial applications.

    Red Cat has placed its initial order, marking a significant milestone in Unusual Machines’ efforts to become a Tier 1 supplier of drone motors for American manufacturers. The motors will be among the first produced in Unusual Machines’ U.S.-based manufacturing facility, which is currently under development. In the interim, production will take place in a partnered facility, that we believe will result in a seamless supply chain transition. Unusual Machines expects to begin delivering on Red Cat’s first order by the end of March.

    This order further strengthens the relationship between Unusual Machines and Red Cat, as the companies continue their collaborative work on the FANG™, a high-performance FPV drone designed for defense applications.

    About FN Media Group:

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    DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels.  FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein.  FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security.  FNM’s market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities.  The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material.  All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks.  All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release.  FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers.  Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks.  For current services performed FNM has been compensated fifty four hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by ZenaTech, Inc. by the Company.  FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

    This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. “Forward-looking statements” describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as “may”, “future”, “plan” or “planned”, “will” or “should”, “expected,” “anticipates”, “draft”, “eventually” or “projected”. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company’s annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

    Contact Information:

    Media Contact email: editor@financialnewsmedia.com – +1(561)325-8757

    SOURCE: FN Media Group

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: African Development Bank signs $45 million grant agreement with Chad for asphalting of the Kyabé-Mayo road section

    Source: African Development Bank Group
    The African Development Bank and the government of Chad have signed a grant agreement worth $44.9 million to finance the asphalting of the 49.5-kilometre Kyabé-Mayo section of the Kyabé-Singako road, including the construction of a 55-metre bridge.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI China: “Soliciting US support for independence” is dead end: Defense Spokesperson 2025-02-27 “The Taiwan question is purely an internal affair of China, which brooks no external interference. We firmly reject any form of US military contact with and US arms sale to China’s Taiwan region,” said Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, at a press conference on Thursday.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – Ministry of National Defense 2

      BEIJING, Feb. 27 — “The Taiwan question is purely an internal affair of China, which brooks no external interference. We firmly reject any form of US military contact with and US arms sale to China’s Taiwan region,” said Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, at a press conference on Thursday.

      The spokesperson made the above remarks when responding to the related news reports. According to reports, the US government will soon unfreeze $870 million in “security aid” for Taiwan and the DPP authorities are considering another arms purchase from the US worth between $7 billion and $10 billion in the hope of gaining the so-called support from the Trump administration. 

      ” ‘Soliciting US support for independence’ is a dead end. Diverting taxpayers’ money that should have been used to benefit the public into the endless abyss of ‘harming and ruining Taiwan’ will surely lead to self-inflicted disasters for the DPP authorities,” said the spokesperson. 

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    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Stemming Financial Fragmentation | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    Financial systems have historically helped to support economic growth and advance human development, but in 2022 geopolitical and economic shocks led to a 50% decline in global financial flows. As tensions persist, states are exerting political pressure on finance and exploring the construction of parallel systems.

    What actions can protect the integrity of the global financial system and ensure that capital markets continue to enable economic growth?

    This session is linked to the Financial System Fragmentation Initiative of the World Economic Forum.

    Speakers: Allison Schrager, Jon M. Huntsman Jr, Javier Pérez-Tasso, David M. Rubenstein, Paul Chan Mo-po, Challa Sreenivasulu Setty

    The 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will provide a crucial space to focus on the fundamental principles driving trust, including transparency, consistency and accountability.

    This Annual Meeting will welcome over 100 governments, all major international organizations, 1000 Forum’s Partners, as well as civil society leaders, experts, youth representatives, social entrepreneurs, and news outlets.

    The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

    World Economic Forum Website ► http://www.weforum.org/
    Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/worldeconomicforum/
    YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/wef
    Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/worldeconomicforum/
    X ► https://twitter.com/wef
    LinkedIn ► https://www.linkedin.com/company/world-economic-forum
    TikTok ► https://www.tiktok.com/@worldeconomicforum
    Flipboard ► https://flipboard.com/@WEF

    #Davos2025 #WorldEconomicForum #wef25

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpvX6BuRL84

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Marat Khusnullin: The number of land plots with registered boundaries in Russia has increased to 43.5 million since 2020

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    The government continues comprehensive work to improve the quality of data in the Unified State Register of Real Estate (USRRE). Since 2020, the number of land plots without recorded boundaries in Russia has decreased by 9.1 million, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin reported.

    The entry of information on the boundaries of land plots, as well as on administrative boundaries and boundaries of territorial zones into the Unified State Register is carried out by Rosreestr within the framework of the Complete and Accurate Register project, which has been implemented since 2020 at the direction of the President of Russia on ensuring the reliability of information in state information resources.

    “The efficiency and quality of services in the field of land and real estate, as well as the spatial development of the country, depend on filling the USRN with complete and accurate information. The result of this work primarily depends on activity and involvement in processes at the regional level. In this regard, interaction has been established with the offices of the Plenipotentiary Representatives of the President of Russia in the federal districts and with the heads of the subjects. Today, the USRN contains information on 60.9 million land plots in the country, of which 43.5 million (71.5%) have a coordinate description of the boundaries. Since 2020, the share of plots without clearly defined boundaries has decreased by 9.1 million. As part of the state program “National Spatial Data System”, by the end of 2025 we plan to increase the share of plots with boundaries to 72%, and by the end of 2030 – to 95%,” said Marat Khusnullin.

    According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the largest increase in the number of land plots with coordinate description of boundaries was recorded in ten regions. The leaders include the Republic of Tatarstan, the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, Moscow, Sverdlovsk regions and Stavropol Krai.

    The increase in the number of land plots with registered boundaries was influenced by the implementation of comprehensive cadastral works. This is one of the effective mechanisms for filling the USRN with complete and accurate data. Thus, over the past five years, such works have been carried out in relation to 4 million real estate objects.

    “A significant increase in the figures for entering boundaries into the Unified State Register of Real Estate was facilitated by the adoption in August 2023 of a law aimed at eliminating the intersections of the boundaries of settlements, territorial zones, forestries with the boundaries of land plots. As part of the implementation of this law, Rosreestr initiated the project “Verification of information in the register of boundaries of the Unified State Register of Real Estate”. In 2024, we processed almost 3 million intersections (96.5%), of which 512 thousand were eliminated. 2.5 million intersections are not subject to adjustment in accordance with the law. The remaining 3.5% will be processed in the first quarter of 2025,” said Oleg Skufinsky, head of Rosreestr.

    The process of entering information on the boundaries of land plots into the Unified State Register of Real Estate will also be accelerated by the entry into force on March 1 of this year of a law that provides mechanisms to stimulate the registration of land plots, buildings and structures by citizens and legal entities. In particular, registration of rights or transactions will be possible only in relation to land plots with precise boundaries.

    Marat Khusnullin also noted that stable dynamics are observed in the inclusion of information on the boundaries of administrative-territorial entities in the real estate register. Since 2020, the share of boundaries between constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the USRN has increased by 53% and amounted to 87%. The share of boundaries of municipalities, information on which is included in the USRN, amounted to 94% – 29% more than in 2020. The share of boundaries of settlements reached 78% – 48% more than in 2020. A significant increase occurred in terms of entering information on the boundaries of territorial zones into the USRN, which is an important criterion for investment attractiveness and further development of regions. This figure was 74%. This is 61% more than at the beginning of 2020 (13.4%).

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Opens Business Recovery Center to Assist Georgia Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Debby and Helene

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the opening of a Business Recovery Center (BRC) in Telfair County to assist small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations who sustained economic losses caused by Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricane Helene.

    Beginning Thursday, Feb. 27, SBA customer service representatives will be on hand at the BRC to answer questions about SBA’s disaster loan program, explain the application process and help individuals complete their application. Walk-ins are accepted, but you can schedule an in-person appointment in advance at appointment.sba.gov. The BRC hours of operation is listed below.

    Business Recovery Center (BRC)

    Telfair County

    Telfair Community Service Center

    91 Telfair Ave #D

    McRae-Helena, GA 31055

    Opening: Thursday, Feb. 27, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

    Hours:     Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

    Closed: Saturday and Sunday  

    “SBA’s Business Recovery Centers have consistently proven their value to business owners following a disaster,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “Business owners can visit these centers to meet face-to-face with specialists who will guide them through the disaster loan application process and connect them with resources to support their recovery.

    The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs that suffered financial losses directly related to these disasters. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises.

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

    The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due, until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

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

    The deadlines to return economic injury applications are June 24, 2025, for Tropical Storm Debby and June 30, 2025, for Hurricane Helene.

    ###

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: OSCE reaffirms its full support for the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE

    Headline: OSCE reaffirms its full support for the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina

    The Mission reaffirms its full support for the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. (OSCE) Photo details

    SARAJEVO, 27 February 2025 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mission) reaffirms its full support for the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A peaceful and prosperous future for everyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina requires respect for the rule of law and democratic institutions, stewarded by responsible leadership.
    The Mission calls upon the Republika Srpska National Assembly not to adopt the laws and measures proposed by the government of Republika Srpska that would undermine the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
    Any unilateral transfer of competences, or threats of doing so, from the State to the entity level with the aim of creating parallel systems contravene the rule of law and the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This includes proposals for the establishment of parallel institutions, the banning of the work of critical State-level institutions, and the potential criminalization of the basic functions of a democratic state.
    The Mission further reiterates its previously stated concerns that the adoption of the Proposal of the Law on the Special Registry and Publicity of the Work of Non-Profit Organizations would run counter to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s international human rights obligations and OSCE commitments, in particular in the areas of freedom of association, freedom of expression, media freedom and prohibition of discrimination.
    We urge the political leaders to uphold the rule of law and their constitutional and legal obligations to respect the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: IMF Executive Board Concludes 2024 Article IV Consultation with India

    Source: International Monetary Fund

    February 27, 2025

    Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation[1] with India.

    Despite recent moderation, India’s economic growth has remained robust, with GDP growth of 6 percent y/y in the first half of 2024/25. Inflation has broadly declined within the tolerance band, though food price fluctuations have created some volatility. The financial sector has remained resilient, with non-performing loans at multi-year lows. Fiscal consolidation has continued, and the current account deficit has remained well contained, supported by strong growth in service exports.

    Real GDP is expected to grow at 6.5 percent in 2024/25 and 2025/26, supported by robust growth in private consumption on the back of sustained macroeconomic and financial stability. Headline inflation is expected to converge to target as food price shocks wane. The current account is expected to widen somewhat but remain moderate at -1.3 percent of GDP in 2025/26. Looking ahead, India’s financial sector health, strengthened corporate balance sheets, and strong foundation in digital public infrastructure underscore India’s potential for sustained medium-term growth and continued social welfare gains.

    Risks to the economic outlook are tilted to the downside. Deepening geoeconomic fragmentation could affect external demand, while deepening regional conflicts could result in oil price volatility, weighing on India’s fiscal position. Domestically, the recovery in private consumption and investment may be weaker than expected if real incomes do not recover sufficiently. Weather shocks could adversely impact agricultural output, lifting food prices and weighing on the recovery in rural consumption. On the upside, deeper implementation of structural reforms could boost private investment and employment, raising potential growth.

    Executive Board Assessment[2]

    Executive Directors commended the authorities’ prudent macroeconomic policies and reforms, which have contributed to making India’s economy resilient and once again the fastest growing major economy. Directors stressed that in the face of headwinds from geoeconomic fragmentation and slower domestic demand, continued appropriate policies remain essential to maintain macroeconomic stability. India’s strong economic performance provides an opportunity to advance critical and challenging structural reforms to realize India’s ambition of becoming an advanced economy by 2047.

    Directors commended the authorities’ commitment to fiscal prudence and welcomed the adoption of a debt target as the medium-term fiscal anchor, which has enhanced transparency and accountability. Given significant development and social needs, Directors recommended continued, well-calibrated fiscal consolidation over the medium term to rebuild buffers, ease debt service, and reduce debt. They suggested a greater focus on domestic revenue mobilization, which together with current expenditure rationalization, such as better targeting of subsidies, can create space for growth-enhancing expenditure on infrastructure and health. Notwithstanding fiscal disparities across states, Directors also broadly agreed that a more holistic fiscal framework that includes state and central government, as well as a more detailed fiscal deficit path with sufficient flexibility, could be used as an operational guide.

    Directors welcomed the Reserve Bank of India’s well-calibrated monetary policy with inflation remaining within the target band. They noted that opportunities could arise to gradually lower the policy rate further, and stressed that monetary policy should remain data-dependent and well communicated. Directors recommended greater exchange rate flexibility as the first line of defense in absorbing external shocks, with foreign exchange interventions limited to addressing disorderly market conditions. A few Directors also saw the need for foreign exchange interventions in other cases noting limitations in the current global financial safety net.

    Directors welcomed the 2024 Financial System Stability Assessment, which points to the overall resilience of India’s financial system, and encouraged the authorities to use the current favorable environment to further strengthen financial resilience. Noting pockets of vulnerability from the interconnectedness among nonbank financial institutions, banks, and markets, as well as from concentrated exposures to the power and infrastructure sectors, Directors recommended further aligning India’s framework of financial sector regulation, supervision, resolution, and safety net with international standards. A number of Directors also suggested greater flexibility in priority sector lending. Directors encouraged the authorities to further improve the AML/CFT framework.

    Directors emphasized that comprehensive structural reforms are crucial to create high-quality jobs, invigorate investment, and unleash higher potential growth. Efforts should focus on implementing labor market reforms, strengthening human capital, and supporting greater participation of women in the labor force. Boosting private investment and FDI is also vital and will require stable policy frameworks, greater ease of doing business, governance reforms, and increased trade integration which should include both tariff and nontariff reduction measures with all parties involved. In this context, Directors welcomed India’s recent tariff reductions, noting that these can enhance competitiveness and foster India’s role in global value chains. Directors commended India’s significant progress in emission intensity reduction and renewable energy deployment and agreed that a balanced climate policy framework, alongside greater access to concessional financing and technology, would be key to achieving net zero emissions by 2070. Directors also welcomed the ongoing capacity development provided to further upgrade the quality, availability, and timeliness of India’s macroeconomic and financial statistics.

    Table 1. India: Selected Social and Economic Indicators, 2020/21-2025/26 1/

    2020/21

    2021/22

    2022/23

    2023/24

    2024/25

    2025/26

    Est.

    Projections

    Growth (in percent)

       Real GDP (at market prices)

    -5.8

    9.7

    7.0

    8.2

    6.5

    6.5

    Prices (percent change, period average)

       Consumer prices – Combined

    6.2

    5.5

    6.7

    5.4

    4.8

    4.3

    Saving and investment (percent of GDP)

       Gross saving 2/

    29.8

    30.9

    31.0

    32.6

    32.7

    32.2

       Gross investment 2/

    28.9

    32.1

    33.0

    33.3

    33.6

    33.5

    Fiscal position (percent of GDP) 3/

      Central government overall balance

    -8.5

    -6.7

    -6.6

    -5.6

    -4.8

    -4.5

      General government overall balance

    -12.9

    -9.4

    -9.0

    -8.1

    -7.4

    -7.0

      General government debt 4/

    88.4

    83.5

    82.0

    82.7

    82.7

    81.4

      Cyclically adjusted balance (% of potential GDP)

    -7.6

    -7.7

    -8.4

    -8.2

    -7.4

    -7.1

      Cyclically adjusted primary balance (% of potential GDP)

    -2.5

    -2.6

    -3.3

    -2.8

    -2.0

    -1.6

    Money and credit (y/y percent change, end-period)

       Broad money

    12.2

    8.8

    9.0

    11.1

    10.0

    10.9

       Domestic Credit

    9.5

    9.0

    13.1

    12.0

    11.2

    11.9

    Financial indicators (percent, end-period)

      91-day treasury bill yield (end-period)

    3.3

    3.8

    6.7

    7.0

    …

    …

      10-year government bond yield (end-period)

    6.3

    6.9

    7.3

    7.1

    …

    …

      Stock market (y/y percent change, end-period)

    68.0

    18.3

    0.7

    24.9

    …

    …

    External trade (on balance of payments basis)

       Merchandise exports (in billions of U.S. dollars)

    296.3

    429.2

    456.1

    441.4

    443.3

    458.7

        (Annual percent change)

    -7.5

    44.8

    6.3

    -3.2

    0.4

    3.5

       Merchandise imports (in billions of U.S. dollars)

    398.5

    618.6

    721.4

    686.3

    728.8

    768.6

        (Annual percent change)

    -16.6

    55.3

    16.6

    -4.9

    6.2

    5.5

      Terms of trade (G&S, annual percent change)

    2.0

    -8.7

    -2.7

    3.2

    -1.3

    0.2

    Balance of payments (in billions of U.S. dollars)

      Current account balance

    24.0

    -38.7

    -67.0

    -26.0

    -34.7

    -53.8

       (In percent of GDP)

    0.9

    -1.2

    -2.0

    -0.7

    -0.9

    -1.3

     Foreign direct investment, net (“-” signifies inflow)

    -44.0

    -38.6

    -28.0

    -10.1

    1.9

    -6.4

     Portfolio investment, net (equity and debt, “-” = inflow)

    -36.1

    16.8

    5.2

    -44.1

    -4.6

    -20.4

     Overall balance (“+” signifies balance of payments surplus)

    87.3

    47.5

    -9.1

    63.7

    2.8

    25.0

    External indicators

       Gross reserves (in billions of U.S. dollars, end-period)

    577.0

    607.3

    578.4

    646.4

    649.2

    674.2

        (In months of next year’s imports (goods and services))

    9.0

    8.1

    8.0

    8.3

    7.9

    7.8

      External debt (in billions of U.S. dollars, end-period)

    573.7

    619.1

    624.1

    668.9

    726.5

    787.3

      External debt (percent of GDP, end-period)

    21.4

    19.5

    18.6

    18.7

    18.9

    18.6

       Of which: Short-term debt

    9.5

    8.5

    8.2

    8.1

    8.3

    8.1

      Ratio of gross reserves to short-term debt (end-period)

    2.3

    2.3

    2.1

    2.2

    2.0

    1.9

      Real effective exchange rate (annual avg. percent change)

    -0.8

    0.3

    -0.3

    0.3

    …

    …

    Memorandum item (in percent of GDP)

      Fiscal balance under authorities’ definition

    -9.2

    -6.7

    -6.5

    -5.6

    -4.8

    -4.4

    Sources: Data provided by the Indian authorities; Haver Analytics; CEIC Data Company Ltd; Bloomberg L.P.; World Bank, World Development Indicators; and IMF staff estimates and projections.                                                                                                 

    1/ Data are for April–March fiscal years.                                                                                                                         

    2/ Differs from official data, calculated with gross investment and current account. Gross investment includes errors and omissions.        

    3/ Divestment and license auction proceeds treated as below-the-line financing.                                                                                                  

    4/ Includes combined domestic liabilities of the center and the states, and external debt at year-end exchange rates.                                                                                                                                    

    [1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.

    [2] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chair of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation of any qualifiers used in summings up can be found here: http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Randa Elnagar

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

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump administration sets out to create an America its people have never experienced − one without a meaningful government

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Sidney Shapiro, Professor of Law, Wake Forest University

    A worker removes letters from the U.S. Agency for International Development building. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

    The U.S. government is attempting to dismantle itself.

    President Donald Trump has directed the executive branch to “significantly reduce the size of government.” That includes deep cuts in federal funding of scientific and medical research and freezing federal grants and loans for businesses. He has ordered the reversal or removal of regulations on medical insurance companies and other businesses and sought to fire thousands of federal employees. Those are just a few of dozens of executive orders that seek to deconstruct the government.

    More than 70 lawsuits have challenged those orders as illegal or unconstitutional. In the meantime, the resulting chaos is preventing the government from carrying out its everyday functions.

    The administration accidentally fired civil servants who were responsible for safeguarding the country’s nuclear weapons, preventing a bird flu epidemic and overseeing the nation’s electricity supply. A Veterans Administration official told NBC, “It’s leading to paralysis, and nothing is getting done.” A spokesperson at a nationwide program that provides meals to seniors, Meals on Wheels, which the government helps fund, said, “The uncertainty right now is creating chaos for local Meals on Wheels providers not knowing whether they should be serving meals today.”

    Our recent book, “How Government Built America,” shows why the administration’s aim to eliminate government could result in an America that the country’s people have never experienced – one in which free-market economic forces operate without any accountability to the public.

    Federal dollars built the federal interstate highway system and maintain it.
    Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

    A combination of regulation and freedom

    The U.S. economy began in the Colonial era as a mix of government regulation and market forces, and it has remained so ever since. History shows that without government regulation, markets left to their own devices have made the country poorer, killed and injured thousands, increased economic inequality, and left millions of Americans mired in desperate poverty, among other economic and social ills.

    For example, approximately 23,000 people died from workplace injuries in 1913. In 2023, that figure was just 5,283, largely because the Occupational Safety and Health Administration began regulating workplace safety in 1971. Similarly, the rate of deaths in vehicle crashes per mile driven has decreased 93% since 1923, which can be mainly attributed to the ways government has made vehicles and highways safer.

    Government funding and regulation have yielded countless economic benefits for the public, including the launch of many efforts later capitalized on by the private sector. Government funding delivered a COVID-19 vaccine in record time, many of the technologies – GPS, touchscreens and the internet – that are key to the functioning of the cellphone in your pocket, and the highway system that enables travel throughout the country.

    Government management of the economy has prevented economic downturns and enabled quicker recoveries when they have occurred. Government regulations keep private businesses from engaging in reckless economic behavior that harms everyone, as happened in 2008 when loopholes in rules and enforcement allowed the banking industry to invest billions of dollars in worthless securities. The government then spent trillions to prevent major banks from collapsing and to stimulate the nation’s economic recovery.

    More recently, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government spent $3.1 trillion to keep the economy healthy.

    Food and water are safe because the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency act to protect people from becoming ill.

    Because of government oversight, Americans can safely take the medications physicians prescribe to make them better. They can safely put money in checking and savings accounts knowing that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Administration reduce the likelihood of the bank or credit union failing – and ensure they don’t lose everything if trouble arises.

    The Federal Trade Commission works to ensure the advertising Americans see is not deceptive, and the Securities and Exchange Commission makes sure that the companies people invest in are not making false claims about their financial prospects.

    Americans know that their children can get a free public education and student loans for college or trade schools to advance themselves economically. And government has helped millions of Americans pay for housing, food, medical care and the other necessities of life even if they work full-time or cannot because of age, illness or disability.

    A person gets drinking water from a tap in Jackson, Miss.
    AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

    Not a perfect record

    Admittedly, there is wasteful spending – as much as $150 billion a year in erroneous payments. That is a lot of money, but it’s a tiny sliver – just 2.2% – of the $6.75 trillion the federal government spent in the 2024 fiscal year. And government has not always been a positive force in society, either.

    As we describe in our book, for a very long time the federal government aided and abetted slavery and then racial segregation. It also codified the treatment of women as second-class citizens, and discriminated against members of the LGBTQ community.

    Yet government has addressed these failings as Americans’ understanding of equality has evolved. Over the past century, rights for women, racial and ethnic minority groups and people with a range of sexualities and gender identities have been recognized in constitutional amendments, federal laws, state laws and Supreme Court decisions.

    As our book shows, the responses haven’t always been immediate, but the president and Congress have addressed policy mistakes and incompetent administration by making appropriate adjustments to the mix of government and free markets, sometimes at the behest of court cases and more often through congressional action.

    Until now, however, it has never been government policy to shut down government wholesale by defunding agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development or threatening to do so with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Education.

    Many Trump voters cited economic factors as motivating their support. And our book documents how policies supported by both political parties – particularly globalization, which led to the flood of manufacturing jobs that went overseas – contributed to the economic struggles with which many Americans are burdened.

    But based on the history of how government built America, we believe the most effective way to improve the economic prospects of those and other Americans is not to eliminate portions of the government entirely. Rather, it’s to adopt government programs that create economic opportunity in deindustrialized areas of the country.

    These problems – economic inequality and loss of opportunity – were caused by the free market’s response to the lack of government action, or insufficient or misdirected action. The market cannot be expected to fix what it has created. And markets don’t answer to the American people. Government does, and it can take action.

    Sidney Shapiro is affiliated with the Center for Progressive Reform.

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

    – ref. Trump administration sets out to create an America its people have never experienced − one without a meaningful government – https://theconversation.com/trump-administration-sets-out-to-create-an-america-its-people-have-never-experienced-one-without-a-meaningful-government-250727

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is a united European voice possible in the age of Trump, Putin and far-right politics? Germany’s new leader intends to find out

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager, Associate Professor of Critical Cultural & International Studies, Colorado State University

    Could Friedrich Merz be the man to speak for Europe? Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    “Who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?”

    The question was famously attributed to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and refers to the historical inability of the political entity of Europe to coordinate on a united front in the global arena.

    And despite decades of integration under the European Union, who speaks for Europe – or what the bloc desires to be – is perhaps less clear now than at any point in recent years. Internal cleavages over immigration, right-wing nationalism, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Donald Trump’s return to the White House all challenge the notion of what Europe is and should stand for.

    Friedrich Merz, the expected next chancellor of Germany, offered one continental vision shortly after his conservative party triumphed in the country’s national elections. “My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA,” he said.

    Merz’s apparent desire for a stronger German role could portend a balance shift back to Germany’s preeminent place in the EU, a position it has pulled back from in recent years. But it remains an open question as to what extent Europe can be unified given the continent’s political landmines – or even what kind of Europe it would be.

    Filling Merkel’s shoes

    A German leader has, in living memory, succeeded in providing something approaching a singular European voice that the White House could deal with. Europe was long synonymous with Angela Merkel, Germany’s long-lasting – and only female – chancellor, who was known by affectionate nicknames like “Mutti Merkel,” or “Mommy Merkel,” and, during Trump’s first time in office, was even referred to by some as the de facto leader of the free world.

    Her legacy – Merkel served from 2005 to 2021 – was defined in part by strong commitments to clean energy, welcoming hundreds of thousands of refugees during the 2015 European migrant crisis and championing German leadership of the European Union. In the process, she became something of “Europe’s engine.”

    Merkel collaborated especially well with France’s Emmanuel Macron, a passionate fellow Europeanist, communicating a vision of a united Europe and its core values to the rest of the world. Dubbed “Merkron” by commentators, the pair were seen as the EU’s power couple.

    President Emmanuel Macron of France and German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented a formidable European double act.
    Emmanuele Contini/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    Meanwhile, former U.S. President Barack Obama often described Merkel as his closest ally, praising her humanitarian vision of refugee politics and even decorating her with the Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that the U.S. can award to a foreign national.

    Merkel was visionary, too, especially regarding the former superpowers of the Cold War and their controversial leaders. A child of East Germany, she never trusted Russia’s Vladimir Putin. She also experienced great difficulties collaborating with Trump during his first presidency. Somewhat anticipating Merz’s recent comments, Merkel in 2017 warned that neither Germany nor the EU could rely on the U.S. the way they used to, urging her fellow Europeans to take their fate and their interests in their own hands.

    A déjà vu of ‘the German question’

    But in some ways Merkel was more popular abroad than at home.

    The so-called “German question” – or the inability of the Germans to unify as a nation in its leadership and “Leitkultur,” or “guiding culture” – has been tormenting the country since the 19th century and gained renewed relevance during the years of German reunification following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

    Years on from the so-called “Miracle of Merkel,” Germany’s increasing internal political divisions – especially pronounced between the country’s West and East – mirror the broader divisions facing the EU at large, including over who should claim the mantle of political leadership and around what vision.

    To regain the gravitas within Europe it had under Merkel, Germany now would need a similar kind of strong and visionary program that resonates with the continent. The country’s political, economic and social challenges in 2025 demand clear national leadership, something that in my opinion neither the unemotional and uncharismatic outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz nor the opposition right-wing leader and soon-to-be successor Merz has demonstrated in public over the past couple of years.

    Although Merkel and Merz represent the same political party, the CDU, their visions for Germany and the EU are strikingly different. A wealthy former business lawyer, Merz’s signature book, “Dare More Capitalism,” is a blueprint for a policy agenda that prioritizes reduction of government intervention, less bureaucracy, lower taxes and pro-market reforms. Merz also wants to strengthen German borders with restrictionist immigration politics, a reflection of how the country has moved far to the right on the issue amid the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), with whom Merz has at times flirted.

    Yet in Merz’s relatively different agenda, he similarly advocates for both Europe and NATO, and wishes to refashion Germany into the powerhouse it was in the Merkel years and make it again the envy of Europe.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel confers with President Donald Trump in 2018.
    Ian Langsdon/AFP via Getty Images

    A changing conception of Europe?

    Given the current “America First” attitude of the Trump administration and the rise of far-right populism across the EU and the world, it is thought-provoking – some would say alarming – that Trump declared the results of an election that saw strong gains for the far right – propelling it into second place – as a “great day for Germany.”

    Whether it is great for Europe depends on what vision of the continent one has in mind. Merz, although more right wing than Merkel, nonetheless has advocated for a strong Europe, led by Germany, that could promote a Europe independent of U.S. influence, appearing to follow in the steps of former French President Charles de Gaulle, who sought to cleave Europe from American dominance.

    During his recent speech at the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Vice President JD Vance warned of a European “threat from within,” disparaging continental governments for their retreat from “fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America,” while defending far-right populism and policies on the continent. Elon Musk subsequently posted on his social platform X: “Make Europe Great Again! MEGA, MEGA, MEGA!”

    Despite the bewilderment and dismay expressed by the European leaders at such statements, today’s tormented and divided Europe can hardly claim it is a problem-free environment, nor that many of the continent’s leaders don’t likewise support such politics.

    The rise of populism and nationalism across Europe poses a huge problem for what could unceremoniously be described as “Old Europe,” especially now, when it is seemingly drifting apart from its former ally and protector, the United States.

    With Russian influence and authoritarian politics growing in Central Europe – especially in Hungary and Slovakia – and ultra-nationalist and far-right ideas likewise strong in Austria, Germany, France and elsewhere, today’s Europe is hardly a unified political, economic and cultural totality.

    In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing political chameleonism, combined with her defense and praise of both Musk and Trump, is also a problem for those searching for a Europe unified more toward the political center.

    Don’t keep me hanging, s’ils vous plaît!

    Less than a year ago, France’s Macron, the still-passionate Europeanist, marked a somber note in suggesting: “We must be clear on the fact that our Europe, today, is mortal. … It can die, and that depends entirely on our choices.”

    ‘Would Henry Kissinger bother to even pick up the phone today?’
    Jack Robinson/Condé Nast via Getty Images

    Among other things, what Macron’s warning points to is the unresolved question of what the European bloc desires to be. So long as the answer to that question remains unclear, Kissinger’s question could be rephrased to, “Is there even a Europe to call?”

    And, given the Trump administration’s emerging hostility to a host of EU policies, including on the war in Ukraine, foreign aid, regulation and trade, there is a further worrying interpretation for EU leaders, even if there were “a Europe to call”: Would Washington bother picking up the phone?

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

    – ref. Is a united European voice possible in the age of Trump, Putin and far-right politics? Germany’s new leader intends to find out – https://theconversation.com/is-a-united-european-voice-possible-in-the-age-of-trump-putin-and-far-right-politics-germanys-new-leader-intends-to-find-out-249241

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Thriving in Orbit | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    By 2035, the space economy is set to reach $1.8 trillion up from $630 billion in 2023 and averaging a growth rate of 9% a year. Decreasing launch costs and continuous commercial innovation have transformed space from a frontier of science fiction into a landscape for real-world applications like space tourism.

    What forces will shape the trajectory of the space economy and how can stakeholders capitalize on this shift?

    Speakers: Rachel Morison, Zachary Bogue, Dava Newman, Hiroshi Yamakawa, Andrius Kubilius

    The 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will provide a crucial space to focus on the fundamental principles driving trust, including transparency, consistency and accountability.

    This Annual Meeting will welcome over 100 governments, all major international organizations, 1000 Forum’s Partners, as well as civil society leaders, experts, youth representatives, social entrepreneurs, and news outlets.

    The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

    World Economic Forum Website ► http://www.weforum.org/
    Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/worldeconomicforum/
    YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/wef
    Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/worldeconomicforum/
    X ► https://twitter.com/wef
    LinkedIn ► https://www.linkedin.com/company/world-economic-forum
    TikTok ► https://www.tiktok.com/@worldeconomicforum
    Flipboard ► https://flipboard.com/@WEF

    #Davos2025 #WorldEconomicForum #wef25

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLNFP54BA-k

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: IMF Executive Board Concludes 2024 Article IV Consultation with India

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    February 27, 2025

    Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation[1] with India.

    Despite recent moderation, India’s economic growth has remained robust, with GDP growth of 6 percent y/y in the first half of 2024/25. Inflation has broadly declined within the tolerance band, though food price fluctuations have created some volatility. The financial sector has remained resilient, with non-performing loans at multi-year lows. Fiscal consolidation has continued, and the current account deficit has remained well contained, supported by strong growth in service exports.

    Real GDP is expected to grow at 6.5 percent in 2024/25 and 2025/26, supported by robust growth in private consumption on the back of sustained macroeconomic and financial stability. Headline inflation is expected to converge to target as food price shocks wane. The current account is expected to widen somewhat but remain moderate at -1.3 percent of GDP in 2025/26. Looking ahead, India’s financial sector health, strengthened corporate balance sheets, and strong foundation in digital public infrastructure underscore India’s potential for sustained medium-term growth and continued social welfare gains.

    Risks to the economic outlook are tilted to the downside. Deepening geoeconomic fragmentation could affect external demand, while deepening regional conflicts could result in oil price volatility, weighing on India’s fiscal position. Domestically, the recovery in private consumption and investment may be weaker than expected if real incomes do not recover sufficiently. Weather shocks could adversely impact agricultural output, lifting food prices and weighing on the recovery in rural consumption. On the upside, deeper implementation of structural reforms could boost private investment and employment, raising potential growth.

    Executive Board Assessment[2]

    Executive Directors commended the authorities’ prudent macroeconomic policies and reforms, which have contributed to making India’s economy resilient and once again the fastest growing major economy. Directors stressed that in the face of headwinds from geoeconomic fragmentation and slower domestic demand, continued appropriate policies remain essential to maintain macroeconomic stability. India’s strong economic performance provides an opportunity to advance critical and challenging structural reforms to realize India’s ambition of becoming an advanced economy by 2047.

    Directors commended the authorities’ commitment to fiscal prudence and welcomed the adoption of a debt target as the medium-term fiscal anchor, which has enhanced transparency and accountability. Given significant development and social needs, Directors recommended continued, well-calibrated fiscal consolidation over the medium term to rebuild buffers, ease debt service, and reduce debt. They suggested a greater focus on domestic revenue mobilization, which together with current expenditure rationalization, such as better targeting of subsidies, can create space for growth-enhancing expenditure on infrastructure and health. Notwithstanding fiscal disparities across states, Directors also broadly agreed that a more holistic fiscal framework that includes state and central government, as well as a more detailed fiscal deficit path with sufficient flexibility, could be used as an operational guide.

    Directors welcomed the Reserve Bank of India’s well-calibrated monetary policy with inflation remaining within the target band. They noted that opportunities could arise to gradually lower the policy rate further, and stressed that monetary policy should remain data-dependent and well communicated. Directors recommended greater exchange rate flexibility as the first line of defense in absorbing external shocks, with foreign exchange interventions limited to addressing disorderly market conditions. A few Directors also saw the need for foreign exchange interventions in other cases noting limitations in the current global financial safety net.

    Directors welcomed the 2024 Financial System Stability Assessment, which points to the overall resilience of India’s financial system, and encouraged the authorities to use the current favorable environment to further strengthen financial resilience. Noting pockets of vulnerability from the interconnectedness among nonbank financial institutions, banks, and markets, as well as from concentrated exposures to the power and infrastructure sectors, Directors recommended further aligning India’s framework of financial sector regulation, supervision, resolution, and safety net with international standards. A number of Directors also suggested greater flexibility in priority sector lending. Directors encouraged the authorities to further improve the AML/CFT framework.

    Directors emphasized that comprehensive structural reforms are crucial to create high-quality jobs, invigorate investment, and unleash higher potential growth. Efforts should focus on implementing labor market reforms, strengthening human capital, and supporting greater participation of women in the labor force. Boosting private investment and FDI is also vital and will require stable policy frameworks, greater ease of doing business, governance reforms, and increased trade integration which should include both tariff and nontariff reduction measures with all parties involved. In this context, Directors welcomed India’s recent tariff reductions, noting that these can enhance competitiveness and foster India’s role in global value chains. Directors commended India’s significant progress in emission intensity reduction and renewable energy deployment and agreed that a balanced climate policy framework, alongside greater access to concessional financing and technology, would be key to achieving net zero emissions by 2070. Directors also welcomed the ongoing capacity development provided to further upgrade the quality, availability, and timeliness of India’s macroeconomic and financial statistics.

    Table 1. India: Selected Social and Economic Indicators, 2020/21-2025/26 1/

    2020/21

    2021/22

    2022/23

    2023/24

    2024/25

    2025/26

    Est.

    Projections

    Growth (in percent)

       Real GDP (at market prices)

    -5.8

    9.7

    7.0

    8.2

    6.5

    6.5

    Prices (percent change, period average)

       Consumer prices – Combined

    6.2

    5.5

    6.7

    5.4

    4.8

    4.3

    Saving and investment (percent of GDP)

       Gross saving 2/

    29.8

    30.9

    31.0

    32.6

    32.7

    32.2

       Gross investment 2/

    28.9

    32.1

    33.0

    33.3

    33.6

    33.5

    Fiscal position (percent of GDP) 3/

      Central government overall balance

    -8.5

    -6.7

    -6.6

    -5.6

    -4.8

    -4.5

      General government overall balance

    -12.9

    -9.4

    -9.0

    -8.1

    -7.4

    -7.0

      General government debt 4/

    88.4

    83.5

    82.0

    82.7

    82.7

    81.4

      Cyclically adjusted balance (% of potential GDP)

    -7.6

    -7.7

    -8.4

    -8.2

    -7.4

    -7.1

      Cyclically adjusted primary balance (% of potential GDP)

    -2.5

    -2.6

    -3.3

    -2.8

    -2.0

    -1.6

    Money and credit (y/y percent change, end-period)

       Broad money

    12.2

    8.8

    9.0

    11.1

    10.0

    10.9

       Domestic Credit

    9.5

    9.0

    13.1

    12.0

    11.2

    11.9

    Financial indicators (percent, end-period)

      91-day treasury bill yield (end-period)

    3.3

    3.8

    6.7

    7.0

    …

    …

      10-year government bond yield (end-period)

    6.3

    6.9

    7.3

    7.1

    …

    …

      Stock market (y/y percent change, end-period)

    68.0

    18.3

    0.7

    24.9

    …

    …

    External trade (on balance of payments basis)

       Merchandise exports (in billions of U.S. dollars)

    296.3

    429.2

    456.1

    441.4

    443.3

    458.7

        (Annual percent change)

    -7.5

    44.8

    6.3

    -3.2

    0.4

    3.5

       Merchandise imports (in billions of U.S. dollars)

    398.5

    618.6

    721.4

    686.3

    728.8

    768.6

        (Annual percent change)

    -16.6

    55.3

    16.6

    -4.9

    6.2

    5.5

      Terms of trade (G&S, annual percent change)

    2.0

    -8.7

    -2.7

    3.2

    -1.3

    0.2

    Balance of payments (in billions of U.S. dollars)

      Current account balance

    24.0

    -38.7

    -67.0

    -26.0

    -34.7

    -53.8

       (In percent of GDP)

    0.9

    -1.2

    -2.0

    -0.7

    -0.9

    -1.3

     Foreign direct investment, net (“-” signifies inflow)

    -44.0

    -38.6

    -28.0

    -10.1

    1.9

    -6.4

     Portfolio investment, net (equity and debt, “-” = inflow)

    -36.1

    16.8

    5.2

    -44.1

    -4.6

    -20.4

     Overall balance (“+” signifies balance of payments surplus)

    87.3

    47.5

    -9.1

    63.7

    2.8

    25.0

    External indicators

       Gross reserves (in billions of U.S. dollars, end-period)

    577.0

    607.3

    578.4

    646.4

    649.2

    674.2

        (In months of next year’s imports (goods and services))

    9.0

    8.1

    8.0

    8.3

    7.9

    7.8

      External debt (in billions of U.S. dollars, end-period)

    573.7

    619.1

    624.1

    668.9

    726.5

    787.3

      External debt (percent of GDP, end-period)

    21.4

    19.5

    18.6

    18.7

    18.9

    18.6

       Of which: Short-term debt

    9.5

    8.5

    8.2

    8.1

    8.3

    8.1

      Ratio of gross reserves to short-term debt (end-period)

    2.3

    2.3

    2.1

    2.2

    2.0

    1.9

      Real effective exchange rate (annual avg. percent change)

    -0.8

    0.3

    -0.3

    0.3

    …

    …

    Memorandum item (in percent of GDP)

      Fiscal balance under authorities’ definition

    -9.2

    -6.7

    -6.5

    -5.6

    -4.8

    -4.4

    Sources: Data provided by the Indian authorities; Haver Analytics; CEIC Data Company Ltd; Bloomberg L.P.; World Bank, World Development Indicators; and IMF staff estimates and projections.                                                                                                 

    1/ Data are for April–March fiscal years.                                                                                                                         

    2/ Differs from official data, calculated with gross investment and current account. Gross investment includes errors and omissions.        

    3/ Divestment and license auction proceeds treated as below-the-line financing.                                                                                                  

    4/ Includes combined domestic liabilities of the center and the states, and external debt at year-end exchange rates.                                                                                                                                    

    [1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.

    [2] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chair of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation of any qualifiers used in summings up can be found here: http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Randa Elnagar

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

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/02/26/pr25045-india-imf-executive-board-concludes-2024-article-iv-consultation-with-india

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: MUSIC LICENSING, INC. (OTC: SONG) REPORTS FISCAL YEAR 2024 FINANCIAL RESULTS AND FILES FORM 1-K WITH THE SEC

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Naples, FL, Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC: SONG), also known as Pro Music Rights, a diversified holding company and the fifth public performance rights organization (PRO) established in the United States, today announced its financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. The Company has also filed its annual report on Form 1-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which includes the audited financial statements and a comparative analysis of its 2024 and 2023 financial performance.

    Key Financial Highlights for Fiscal Year 2024:

    • Revenue: $128.9 million, compared to $1.05 billion in 2023.
    • Net Loss: $(54.4) million, compared to a net income of $46.0 million in 2023.
    • Total Assets: $19.9 million as of December 31, 2024, compared to $62.3 million in 2023.
    • Total Liabilities: $23.7 million as of December 31, 2024, compared to $12.7 million in 2023.
    • Shareholders’ Equity: $(3.8) million as of December 31, 2024, compared to $49.6 million in 2023.

    The decline in revenue was primarily due to a shift in the Company’s strategic focus, which involved the reassessment and reduction of certain accounts receivable and changes in its business model to focus on acquiring and trading royalty-generating intellectual property (IP) stakes rather than relying on traditional public performance rights operations.

    Strategic Initiatives and 2025 Outlook

    As previously announced, Music Licensing, Inc. is undergoing a significant transformation, focusing on the acquisition and monetization of royalty-generating intellectual property. This pivot is expected to provide more predictable, recurring revenue streams and enhance shareholder value over the long term. The Company has identified acquisition targets valued between $36 million and $250 million in royalty-generating IP assets for 2025, a strategic move designed to mitigate revenue volatility and ensure sustainable profitability.

    In line with this transformation, Music Licensing, Inc. has made key investments in revenue-generating assets, including:

    • Acquiring a portion of the royalty interest in Listerine “Mouthwash” Antiseptic
    • Securing publishing royalty interests in high-value music catalogs

    Management Commentary

    “Our 2024 results reflect a transitional year as we reposition Music Licensing, Inc. for long-term success,” said Jake P. Noch, CEO of Music Licensing, Inc. “While the financials show a reduction in reported revenue and earnings, these changes align with our strategic shift to focus on acquiring high-quality, royalty-generating intellectual property. We are confident that these moves will drive sustainable growth and enhance shareholder value in the coming years.”

    Regulatory Filings

    The Company’s full audited financial results, along with the comparative analysis between 2024 and 2023, are available in the Form 1-K filed with the SEC. Investors and stakeholders can access the filing on the SEC’s website or the Company’s official website.

    About Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC:SONG)  (ProMusicRights.com)

    Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC: SONG), also known as Pro Music Rights, is a diversified holding company and the fifth public performance rights organization (PRO) established in the United States. It is recognized under the federal registry of the United States government. The company licenses music to some of the most prominent platforms and businesses, including TikTok, iHeartMedia, Triller, Napster, 7Digital, Vevo, and many others.

    Pro Music Rights holds an estimated 7.4% market share in the United States, representing a catalog of more than 2.5 million works by notable artists such as A$AP Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell, Young Jeezy, Juelz Santana, Lil Yachty, MoneyBagg Yo, Larry June, Trae Pound, Sauce Walka, Trae Tha Truth, Sosamann, Soulja Boy, Lex Luger, Trauma Tone, Lud Foe, SlowBucks, Gunplay, OG Maco, Rich The Kid, Fat Trel, Young Scooter, Nipsey Hussle, Famous Dex, Boosie Badazz, Shy Glizzy, 2 Chainz, Migos, Gucci Mane, Young Dolph, Trinidad James, Chingy, Lil Gnar, 3OhBlack, Curren$y, Fall Out Boy, Money Man, Dej Loaf, Lil Uzi Vert, and many others, including works generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

    Additionally, Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC: SONG) holds royalty interests in Listerine “Mouthwash” Antiseptic and a vast portfolio of musical works by globally renowned artists, including The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Elton John, Mike Posner, blackbear, Lil Nas X, Lil Yachty, DaBaby, Stunna 4 Vegas, Miley Cyrus, Lil Wayne, XXXTentacion, BlueFace, The Game, Jeremih, Ty Dolla $ign, Eric Bellinger, Ne-Yo, MoneyBagg Yo, Halsey, Desiigner, DaniLeigh, Rihanna, and many others.

    Forward-Looking Statements:

    This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the ability of Music Licensing, Inc. & Pro Music Rights, Inc. to accomplish its stated plan of business. Music Licensing, Inc. & Pro Music Rights, Inc. believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by Pro Music Rights, Inc., Music Licensing, Inc., or any other person.

    Non-Legal Advice Disclosure:

    This press release does not constitute legal advice, and readers are advised to seek legal counsel for any legal matters or questions related to the content herein.

    Non-Investment Advice Disclosure:

    This communication is intended solely for informational purposes and does not in any way imply or constitute a recommendation or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities, commodities, bonds, options, derivatives, or any other investment products. Any decisions related to investments should be made after thorough research and consultation with a qualified financial advisor or professional. We assume no liability for any actions taken or not taken based on the information provided in this communication

    Contact: investors@ProMusicRights.com

    SOURCE: Music Licensing, Inc.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Empower Students with Free Resources to Thrive in Today’s Digital World from the New Digital Citizenship Initiative by Discovery Education with Verizon and Fortinet

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Discovery Education, the creator of essential K-12 solutions used in classrooms around the world, today announced the launch of a new Digital Citizenship Initiative. The Digital Citizenship Initiative is a dynamic partnership that provides educators and students with free tools, resources, and the skills needed to thrive in today’s digital world.

    The Digital Citizenship Initiative grew out of needs summarized in a dedicated white paper entitled Risks and Resilience: Why Digital Citizenship Matters in K12 Education. This study illuminated many of the issues facing today’s students, including cyberbullying, online privacy, and digital footprints. Furthermore, research shows that students remain largely unaware of the impacts of digital technologies on all aspects of life. Discovery Education defines digital citizenship as a set of strategies and behaviors designed to promote a safer online experience for everyone.

    The Digital Citizenship Initiative partners include Impact Leader Verizon and Fortinet. Each partner has helped contribute expert insights to develop standards-aligned digital resources. Resources include ready-to-use materials, digital lessons, DEMystified series videos, and instructional materials spanning disciplines such as science, health, social studies, and English language arts. Educators can expect quarterly content releases covering a range of topics that address digital citizenship.

    “At Verizon, we are driven by purpose and guided by values in all that we do. Being part of the Digital Citizenship Initiative is the latest building block in Verizon’s work to empower people to live, work, and play. Students are our future, and we are proud to support them as they learn to use digital technologies responsibly,” said Alex Servello, Associate Vice President of Responsible Business at Verizon.

    “As a cybersecurity leader, we believe that staying ahead of sophisticated threats and cyber risks requires building a more cyber-aware society,” said Rob Rashotte, Vice President, Fortinet Training Institute. “To help achieve this, Fortinet partnered with educators to develop and make accessible a tailor-made security awareness curriculum to help prepare both educators and students to apply cybersecurity skills at school, at home, and everywhere they need it. We are proud that this curriculum will now be leveraged in the Digital Citizenship Initiative to further develop fundamental security skill sets across our global community.”

    To access the Digital Citizenship Initiative resources, please visit digitalcitizenship.discoveryeducation.com. Educators with access to Discovery Education Experience can find these resources on the Digital Citizenship channel.

    “Digital technology has revolutionized the way students learn, connect, and express themselves. Supporting digital citizenship is critical for preparing students to navigate an increasingly connected and complex online environment,” said Amy Nakamoto, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Alliances. “Thanks to our partners – Verizon and Fortinet – for your leadership in preparing students to navigate our tech-driven world responsibly.”

    For more information about Discovery Education’s award-winning digital resources and professional learning solutions, visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through X, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

    About Verizon
    Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) powers and empowers how its millions of customers live, work and play, delivering on their demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity and security. Headquartered in New York City, serving countries worldwide and nearly all of the Fortune 500, Verizon generated revenues of $134.8 billion in 2024. Verizon’s world-class team never stops innovating to meet customers where they are today and equip them for the needs of tomorrow. For more, visit verizon.com or find a retail location at verizon.com/stores.

    About Fortinet
    Fortinet (Nasdaq: FTNT) is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people, devices, and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity everywhere our customers need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million customers trust Fortinet’s solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Collaboration with esteemed organizations from both the public and private sectors, including Computer Emergency Response Teams (“CERTS”), government entities, and academia, is a fundamental aspect of Fortinet’s commitment to enhance cyber resilience globally. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog, and FortiGuard Labs.

    About Discovery Education
    Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art, K-12, digital solutions support learning wherever it takes place. Through award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, innovative classroom tools, and strategic alliances, Discovery Education helps educators deliver powerful learning experiences that engage all students and support higher academic achievement on a global scale. Discovery Education serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 100 countries and territories. Through partnerships with districts, states, and trusted organizations, Discovery Education empowers teachers with essential edtech solutions that inspire curiosity, build confidence, and accelerate learning. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

    Contacts
    Grace Maliska
    Discovery Education
    Email: gmaliska@dicoveryed.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Zoom and Mitel announce rollout of AI-first hybrid communications and collaboration solution

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, Zoom Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) and Mitel, a global leader in business communications, announced the global launch of a unique hybrid cloud solution that integrates Zoom Workplace and Zoom AI Companion with Mitel’s flagship communications platforms, including its leading telephony solutions. This marks a significant milestone in the strategic partnership between the companies announced in September 2024.

    Today, organizations are navigating the adoption of emerging technologies like AI while maintaining security, business continuity, and flexibility when modernizing business communications. This new solution is designed to meet the growing enterprise demand for hybrid unified communications (UC) deployments by offering a “best-of-both-worlds” approach that empowers organizations to deliver mission-critical communications capabilities alongside exceptional collaboration functions to enhance business productivity.

    The multi-phased rollout will see Zoom’s AI-first solution integrate seamlessly with existing Mitel software and devices, starting now with global availability for Mitel’s OpenScape Voice and OpenScape 4000 platforms. This will be expanded to include MiVoice Business solutions in the coming weeks, as well as MiVoice 5000 and MX-ONE solutions before the end of 2025. Device portfolios like the OpenScape CP and the Mitel 6900 Series are now Zoom Phone certified, with the full list of certified models available here. Certification of Mitel’s OpenScape SBC is also complete, enabling compatibility with Zoom’s Bring-Your-Own-PBX (BYOP) and Bring-Your-Own-Carrier (BYOC) direct routing capabilities. Mitel Border Gateway (MBG) certification will follow in the weeks ahead.

    “As businesses navigate the connectivity requirements to support hybrid work, they need solutions that unite the benefits of on-prem or single-instance cloud communications infrastructure with Zoom’s industry-leading collaboration experiences, giving them the best of both while future-proofing their organizations,” said Graeme Geddes, chief sales and growth officer at Zoom. “The AI-first solution provided by Zoom and Mitel makes connecting and collaborating seamless and efficient while giving customers the flexibility to migrate to the cloud on their own terms and with their existing Mitel devices.”

    “Recent research shows 92% of mid-to-large enterprises are considering hybrid deployments, and for good reason,” said David Petts, chief sales officer at Mitel*. “In today’s rapidly changing workplace, staying connected through video, chat, or voice is more important than ever and a vital part of business continuity planning. Mitel’s strategic partnership with Zoom has produced an offering that provides seamless access to these solutions while enabling compliance and security control in the most demanding use cases, industries, and geographies. With the integration of Zoom’s AI Companion, it’s a winning combination for organizations looking for an elevated collaboration experience that truly fits their overall communication needs.”

    Deliver AI-first collaboration tools built for modern work
    With the Zoom Workplace app fully integrated with secure Mitel telephony and devices, users can call, meet, and chat from a single solution, including the ability to escalate from a Mitel-powered call directly into a Zoom meeting. Additionally, users can brainstorm ideas, develop content, and kickstart project plans with Zoom Docs, Zoom Whiteboard, Zoom Clips, and more. AI Companion is woven throughout to help users jumpstart content creation, stay focused, prioritize what’s important, and get answers fast.

    Maintain control and maximize current investments
    With the joint hybrid solution, users can maintain unmatched control over mission-critical activities like release schedules, configurations, updates, system changes, and telephony while leveraging existing investments without isolation. For organizations in specialized industries like healthcare, hospitality, government, and financial services, this means having the ability to continue to leverage existing Mitel-certified vertical integrations along with specialized devices and workflows for frontline workers.

    Blend on-prem and cloud capabilities to suit an organization’s unique requirements
    The hybrid architecture from Zoom and Mitel provides users with a simple approach to blending on-prem with the right mix of private and public cloud on their terms to meet their unique needs. It gives organizations the flexibility, tools, and resilience they need to future-proof their current systems while maintaining reliability throughout the process. Additionally, using the Zoom Workplace app, users will have access to a consistent modern user experience every step of the way. If UCaaS is ultimately their preferred deployment model, they can easily bring their certified Mitel devices with them.

    Jim Lundy, Founder & CEO of Aragon Research, confirms that “The Mitel-Zoom partnership is a game changer, offering businesses a path to hybrid communications with AI collaboration and communications capabilities.”

    The joint solution is now available to customers worldwide. Further advanced capabilities are underway as part of the multi-phase partnership plan. For more information about the joint solution, please visit https://www.mitel.com/products/zoom-workplace.

    * According to a June 2024 global survey of 1,954 organizations conducted by Mitel and Techaisle.

    About Zoom
    Zoom’s mission is to provide one platform that delivers limitless human connection. Reimagine teamwork with Zoom Workplace — Zoom’s open collaboration platform with AI Companion that empowers teams to be more productive. Together with Zoom Workplace, Zoom’s Business Services for sales, marketing, and customer care teams, including Zoom Contact Center, strengthen customer relationships throughout the customer lifecycle. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ: ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California. Get more information at zoom.com.

    About Mitel
    Mitel is a global leader in business communications, providing businesses with advanced communication, collaboration, and contact center solutions. With more than 70 million users across over 100 countries, Mitel empowers organizations to connect, communicate, and collaborate seamlessly, with the flexibility and choice they need to thrive, both now and for the future. Through proven experience and innovative solutions, Mitel delivers communications without compromise. For more information, go to www.mitel.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

    Mitel is the registered trademark of Mitel Networks Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

    Zoom Public Relations
    Karen Modlin
    press@zoom.us

    Mitel Public Relations
    Trever Kerr, Americas
    Sandrine Quinton, Europe and Asia
    pr@mitel.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Triller Group Unveils 2025 Roadmap and Creator-Centric Initiatives in Investor Update

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Los Angeles, CA, Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Triller Group Inc. (“Triller”, “Triller Group” or “the Company”) is thrilled to release its latest investor presentation showcasing once-in-a-lifetime opportunities within the rapidly expanding Creator Economy. Transformative changes in technology and unmet needs of consumers and creators are reshaping the Creator Economy landscape. Triller is uniquely positioned to capitalize on these developments by creating innovative solutions that empower creators and redefine how content is created, distributed, owned and monetized. Through this latest investor presentation, Triller is providing its stakeholders with in-depth insights into its commitment to driving growth in this lucrative marketplace.

    The Creator Economy is on its way to becoming a marketplace exceeding $500 billion. Powerful drivers are converging to create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Technology continues to disrupt traditional platform and content distribution models. Existing platforms are unable to meet the needs of consumers and creators. Market uncertainties are giving rise to previously unimagined possibilities. Taken together, these developments are creating a unique moment in time to open doors for Triller’s dynamic solutions. The Creator Economy is ripe for Triller’s disruption and innovation.

    Triller Group Inc. stands at the forefront of transformation by offering three proven pathways to capitalize on the burgeoning Creator Economy.

    The Triller App is emerging as one of the most creator-focused platform, equipped with a distinctive vision, comprehensive quarter-by-quarter ready-to-implement plan. With initiatives such as “savemytiktoks” and weekly updates to its new and improved app, Triller is actively bringing its innovative, creator-friendly vision to fruition. Early successes (including the rise to the top tier position in app stores around the globe) have given Triller App significant momentum and the right to win in this space.

    BKFC and TrillerTV are thriving businesses dedicated to producing and delivering authentic and unique content. By integrating these entities more closely, Triller Group can unlock tremendous value, following a proven industry playbook.

    AGBA provides a sophisticated distribution platform for financial services, showcasing an technologically innovative and efficient approach to the distribution of financial services. Through AGBA FinTech investments, Triller Group has a clear pathway to introducing financial services into the Creator Economy, creating new revenue streams and enhancing the overall ecosystem.

    As the Creator Economy continues to flourish, Triller Group Inc. is poised to lead the way, harnessing powerful trends to create lasting impact and drive significant growth.

    “We are at a pivotal moment in the Creator Economy, and Triller Group is committed to leveraging our innovative platforms to empower creators and unlock new opportunities.” Said Wing Fai Ng, CEO of Triller Group. “Our latest investor presentation outlines our vision and strategy, illustrating how we plan to capitalize on the immense potential that lies ahead. Together, we are not just participating in this growth; we are leading it.”

    Investors, analysts, and stakeholders are encouraged to visit https://trillercorp.com/ir/ to download the investor presentation.

    About Triller Group Inc.        

    Triller Group Inc. is a technology powerhouse with a portfolio of high-growth businesses poised to break through in the Creator Economy. Triller App is the most creator focused social platform offering discovery, monetization, and ownership. Supported by Triller Platform, it serves as a cutting-edge social media platform designed for creators, offering innovative tools for content creation, marketing, and brand partnerships. It enables creators to connect with fans, monetize their work, and build meaningful relationships with brands.

    Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) stages live and streaming combat sports events that are rapidly gaining popularity with fans globally. With a focus on exciting matchups and high-energy performances, BKFC has established itself as the fastest-growing combat league in the industry. TrillerTV is Triller Group’s premier live streaming platform, showcasing a diverse array of in-house and third-party sports and entertainment content. With its robust infrastructure, TrillerTV is committed to delivering high-quality live events that captivate audiences and drive subscriber growth.

    Additionally, AGBA serves as a one-stop financial supermarket, providing independent distribution of a wide range of financial products and services. By connecting consumers with essential financial solutions, AGBA enhances Triller Group’s ecosystem, making it easier for users to access the tools they need for financial success.

    Together, these diverse businesses form a unique and integrated ecosystem that positions Triller Group at the forefront of innovation in social media, live entertainment, combat sports, and financial services. For more information about our businesses, visit www.trillercorp.com and www.agba.com.

    Investor & Media Relations:

    Bethany Lai
    ir@triller.co

    Breanne Fritcher
    triller@wachsman.com

    Details:
    Company: www.trillercorp.com
    Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/triller
    X: @Triller_IR

    # # #

    Safe Harbor Statement

    This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. When the Company uses words such as “may,” “will,” “intend,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate” or similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters, it is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, the following: the Company’s goals and strategies; the Company’s future business development; product and service demand and acceptance; changes in technology; economic conditions; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against us following the consummation of the business combination; expectations regarding our strategies and future financial performance, including its future business plans or objectives, prospective performance and opportunities and competitors, revenues, products, pricing, operating expenses, market trends, liquidity, cash flows and uses of cash, capital expenditures, and our ability to invest in growth initiatives and pursue acquisition opportunities; reputation and brand; the impact of competition and pricing; government regulations; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in Hong Kong and the international markets the Company plans to serve and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing and other risks contained in reports filed by the Company with the SEC, the length and severity of the recent coronavirus outbreak, including its impacts across our business and operations. For these reasons, among others, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements in this press release. Additional factors are discussed in the Company’s filings with the SEC, which are available for review at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward–looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Drones Becoming Smaller, Lighter, More Reliable Allowing Them to Perform Broader Range of Tasks

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PALM BEACH, Fla., Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FN Media Group News Commentary – Due to the advancements in software and artificial intelligence, the increasing use of drones is making it easier to control and automate them. They play a crucial role in improving farming techniques. Improving productivity, and are used for environmental monitoring, disaster relief, and search & rescue operations. Drones are becoming smaller, lighter, and more reliable, which allows them to perform a broader range of tasks. Their growing popularity stems from benefits such as improved efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and safety. The increase in precision farming needs, aiming to boost crop productivity, drives market growth. Drone OEMs are investing in R&D for thermal cameras, multispectral sensors, and LiDAR, improving drone efficacy in monitoring fields, creating vegetation maps, and detecting issues such as disease and irrigation irregularities. Thus, it drives the market growth during the forecast period. Agricultural drones, flying at a specific altitude with sensors, provide crucial analytical data for controls crop health, treatment, exploration, field soil analysis, and yield assessments, aiding farmers in making informed decisions and reducing time and costs. According to a report from MarketsAndMarkets “Commercial drones can be provided wireless coverage during emergency cases where each drone serves as an aerial wireless base station when the cellular network goes down. They can also be used to supplement the ground base station to provide better coverage and higher data rates for users. Drones can also assist various terrestrial networks, such as device-to-device and vehicular networks. For instance, due to their mobility and LOS Communications, drones can facilitate rapid formation dissemination among ground device. Furthermore, drones can potentially improve the reliability of wireless links in D2D and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications while exploiting transmit diversity.” Active Companies in the drone industry today include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO), EHang Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: EH), Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCAT), AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE: UAVS).

    MarketsAndMarkets continued: “Flying drones can help broadcast common information to ground devices, thereby reducing interferences in ground networks by decreasing the number of transmissions between devices. Based on operational mode, the commercial drone market has been classified into remotely piloted, optionally piloted, and fully autonomous. The remotely piloted segment is projected to grow at a significant rate during the forecast period, driven by the cost-effective usage of remotely piloted UAVs in several applications ranging from defense operations to surveys. Fully autonomous drones significantly enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs across various end use such as agriculture, transport, logistics & warehousing, and Oil & Gas. Based on function, the Commercial Drone market has been segmented into passenger drones, inspection & monitoring drones, surveying & mapping drones, spraying & seeding drones, cargo air vehicles, and others. Passenger Drone segment is projected to record the highest growth during the forecast period with emergence of drone taxis as convenient means of aerial transportation of passenger at high speed.”

    ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA) ZenaDrone Advances IQ Square Drone to Manufacturing Stage for Outdoor Applications Including Inspections, Surveys, and the Fast-Growth Power Washing Sector – ZenaTech, Inc. (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) (“ZenaTech”), a technology company specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drones, Drone as a Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS and Quantum Computing solutions, announces that its subsidiary ZenaDrone has moved its first batch of IQ Square multifunction drones from prototype to manufacturing stage. This drone was designed for outdoor applications for operator line-of-site inspections such as for building and construction inspections, short-range land surveys, power washing and other business and government applications. The IQ Square is also expected to be a key part of ZenaDrone’s multifunction drone inventory for its Drone as a Service or DaaS business, which enables business and government users to hire a turnkey drone service and drone pilot through a local store for easy subscription-based or pay-as-you-go access to drones for various uses.

    “The IQ Square’s rapid progression from the prototype stage, initiated in 2022, to the manufacturing and assembly stage is a testament to our hardware and engineering team’s dedication and hard work. We see many commercial and government applications for the IQ Square, which we also envision will be central to powering our future DaaS operations as a versatile multifunction drone for multiple outdoor uses requiring line-of-site including fast growth uses like power washing,” said CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D.

    The IQ Square will be equipped with a power wash system for use in larger-scale cleaning jobs such as stadium seating, building exteriors, and public spaces; drones eliminate the need for scaffolding, lifts, or manual labor by providing a more efficient, safe, and cost-effective solution. Tethered to a ground-based water and a power source, it is designed to maintain a continuous supply of high-pressure water needed to clean large areas without the weight limitations of onboard tanks.

    The mold and drone body frames of the first batch of IQ Square drones are currently being completed, after which they will be assembled, integrated, and tested at the company’s Sharjah, UAE production facility. The Company will oversee the integration and quality inspection of electronics, battery and propulsion systems, software, and sensor installation and calibration, concluding with final flight testing.

    According to QYResearch, the global market for drone cleaning services, including applications such as water hose-tethered power washing for stadium seats and public areas, is projected to reach approximately $53.89 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 19.3%.

    ZenaTech’s Drone as a Service or DaaS business model enables government agencies, building developers, entertainment facilities, farmers, environmental firms, etc. to conveniently access a turnkey drone solution via a local store on a pay-as-you-go or subscription basis rather than having to buy the entire drone hardware and software solution. Like Amazon Web Services, where Amazon owns computer equipment platforms and hires the personnel, with the DaaS model, ZenaDrone owns the drones, hires the pilots and ensures regulatory compliance to enable the cost savings, precision and efficiency of drones over existing legacy methods. Continued… Read this full release by visiting: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-zena/

    Other recent developments in the drone industry include:

    Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO) recently confirms through recent sales activities its positioning and preparedness to support the enhancement of border security amid evolving global trade and security uncertainties and shifting geopolitical dynamics. Highlighting recent sales activities with policing agencies, Draganfly continues to strengthen its position to support border security with advanced drone technology solutions.

    “Recent global trade challenges, tariff uncertainties, and security concerns underscore the critical importance of secure borders and resilient supply chains,” said Cameron Chell, CEO of Draganfly Inc. “Our recent sales activities with policing agencies is a testament to our ability and readiness to provide drone technology and services in support of border security solutions.”

    EHang Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: EH) recently announced a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (“JAC Motors”) and Hefei Guoxian Holdings Co., Ltd. (“Guoxian Holdings”). Under this agreement, cooperation will focus on establishing a joint venture in Hefei to invest in the construction of a state-of-the-art manufacturing base for low-altitude aircraft. The facility will integrate advanced technology, standardization, and automation to produce intelligent and pilotless electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (“eVTOL”).

    The strategic cooperation signing ceremony was attended by key officials including Fei Yuan, Standing Committee Member of Hefei Municipal Committee and Vice Mayor of Hefei; Xingchu Xiang, Chairman, and General Manager of JAC Motors; Xingke Yin, Vice General Manager of JAC Motors; Huazhi Hu, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of EHang; and Zhao Wang, Chief Operating Officer of EHang. They were joined by other distinguished guests in witnessing the signing of the strategic cooperation agreement, marking a new milestone in the high-quality development of China’s low-altitude economy ecosystem.

    Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCAT) recently announced that its Black Widow drone and FlightWave Edge 130 were included on the list of 23 platforms and 14 unique components and capabilities selected as winners of the Blue UAS Refresh. The platforms will undergo National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) verification and cyber security review with the ultimate goal of joining the Blue UAS List.

    Over the coming months, the Blue UAS List and Blue UAS Framework will expand with new additions. The inclusion of the Black Widow and Edge 130 as winners of the Refresh further validates Red Cat’s commitment to delivering NDAA-compliant unmanned systems for defense and government applications.

    AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE: UAVS) recently announced its participation in the inaugural XPONENTIAL Europe trade show in Dusseldorf Germany held February 18-20, 2025. AgEagle CEO Bill Irby commented, “Invaluable visibility was achieved at XPONENTIAL Europe as AgEagle further strengthened its leadership role in the worldwide UAS marketplace. Our entire product line was presented to a prominent and influential audience both directly by AgEagle and through our industry-leading partners. Notably, major European defense contractor Rheinmetall, presented AgEagle’s eBee VISION as an integral part of their offering as did Dronivo and MKS Servo. The diverse needs of European nations both commercially and defense-wise were reviewed with high-value insight provided by the congregation which included representatives from NATO. AgEagle remains committed to consistently expanding the capabilities and global footprint of our best-in-class UAS products as we continue to build long-term value for all our stakeholders.”

    XPONENTIAL Europe offered a unique combination of trade fair, live demonstrations and a top-class conference program. Daily keynotes by internationally renowned speakers before the start of the trade fair brought exhibitors and visitors together and provided important impetus for the future of autonomy. The tradeshow is the very first event put on by Messe Dusseldorf in partnership with AUVSI. Various members of the drone customer community were present, such as the German Bundeswehr and the U.S. Army, along with members of the press and industrial community.

    About FN Media Group:

    At FN Media Group, via our top-rated online news portal at www.financialnewsmedia.com, we are one of the very few select firms providing top tier one syndicated news distribution, targeted ticker tag press releases and stock market news coverage for today’s emerging companies. #tickertagpressreleases #pressreleases

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    DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM’s market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM has been compensated fifty four hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by ZenaTech, Inc. by the Company. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

    This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. “Forward-looking statements” describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as “may”, “future”, “plan” or “planned”, “will” or “should”, “expected,” “anticipates”, “draft”, “eventually” or “projected”. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company’s annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

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    SOURCE: FN Media Group

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: So-called Presidential elections in Georgia’s Abkhazia region on 15 February: joint statement to the OSCE

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    So-called Presidential elections in Georgia’s Abkhazia region on 15 February: joint statement to the OSCE

    The UK, Canada, Iceland and Norway underline non-recognition of the illegal so-called Presidential elections in Georgia’s Abkhazia region on 15 February 2025.

    2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government“>

    This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

    Thank you, Mr Chair. I am delivering this statement on behalf of Canada, Iceland, Norway, and my own country the United Kingdom.

    We were concerned to hear of the illegal so-called Presidential elections in Georgia’s Abkhazia region on 15 February 2025.  We do not recognise the legitimacy of these elections.

    We reaffirm our full support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. We continue to call on the Russian Federation to reverse its recognition of the so-called independence of Georgia’s Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions.

    We call upon the Russian Federation to immediately fulfil its obligation under the EU-mediated ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008 to withdraw its forces to pre-conflict positions, fulfil its commitments to allow unfettered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and cease all borderisation tactics.

    Updates to this page

    Published 27 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: High Wire’s Overwatch Expands Portfolio to Include Critically Needed Professional Services

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BATAVIA, Ill., Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — High Wire Networks, Inc. (OTCQB: HWNI), a leading managed security services provider (MSSP), announces its first professional services client for Cyber Advisory consulting. This marks a significant milestone as the company expands its offerings to provide expert cyber services that complement its robust managed security services portfolio.

    The client, a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate with a diverse range of privately held businesses, is headquartered in the U.S. and has global operations in the transportation, mining, construction, and shipbuilding industries. The client engaged High Wire – Overwatch due to the quality, caliber, and strength of experience the company’s cyber advisors bring to the table.

    The cyber advisory engagement includes a dynamic set of outcomes, including board-level advisory services, risk assessments, strategic planning and execution, compliance consulting, support for mergers and acquisitions, and incident response management.

    As part of the scope of work, the client will receive tailored cybersecurity expertise, ensuring their security posture aligns with industry best practices and regulatory requirements. Additionally, the services will include developing board-level Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), creating a comprehensive risk register, and establishing a robust communication program.

    Ed Vasko, CEO of High Wire – Overwatch, commented: “We are thrilled to announce our first Cyber Advisory consulting engagement with such a distinguished and diverse organization. This collaboration highlights the growing demand for specialized cybersecurity expertise, and we’re excited to provide the high-level advisory support that enables our clients to meet their cybersecurity objectives. Our cyber subject matter experts bring deep experience across various industries, and we’re proud to help this global leader strengthen its security strategy.”

    About High Wire Networks
    High Wire Networks, Inc. (OTCQB: HWNI) is a fast-growing, award-winning global provider of managed cybersecurity. Through over 200 channel partners, it delivers trusted managed services for more than 1,100 managed security customers worldwide. End customers include Fortune 500 companies and many of the nation’s largest government agencies. The company’s 24/7 Security Operations Center is based in Chicago, Illinois.

    High Wire was ranked by Frost & Sullivan as a Top 15 Managed Security Service Provider in the Americas for 2024. It was also named to CRN’s MSP 500 and Elite 150 lists of the nation’s top IT-managed service providers for 2023 and 2024.

    Learn more at HighWireNetworks.com. Follow the company on X, view its extensive video series on YouTube, or connect on LinkedIn.

    Forward-Looking Statements
    The above news release contains forward-looking statements. The statements contained in this document that are not statements of historical fact, including but not limited to, statements identified by the use of terms such as “anticipate,” “appear,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “hope,” “indicate,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” “would,” and other variations or negative expressions of these terms, including statements related to expected market trends and the Company’s performance, are all “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on assumptions that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information, and include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and its management. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performances and are subject to a wide range of external factors, uncertainties, business risks, and other risks identified in filings made by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in the company’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any statement is based except as required by applicable law and regulations.

    Media Contact
    Lori Aleman
    Director of Marketing
    Tel (602) 920-0902
    Email Contact

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Prairie Provident Announces Spud of Basal Quartz Horizontal Well

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Prairie Provident Resources Inc. (“Prairie Provident” or the “Company”) (TSX:PPR) is pleased to announce the spud of the Basal Quartz horizontal well 100/14-32-29-18W4. Drilling operations are expected to take eight days to complete, after which the well will be fracture stimulated and brought on-stream. This is the Company’s third Basal Quartz well following the successful drilling and completion of 102/03-19-030-18W4 and 100/15-32-029-18W4 in the fourth quarter of 2024.

    ABOUT PRAIRIE PROVIDENT

    Prairie Provident is a Calgary-based company engaged in the exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties in Alberta, including a position in the emerging Basal Quartz trend in the Michichi area of Central Alberta.

    For further information, please contact:

    Dale Miller, Executive Chairman
    Phone: (403) 292-8150
    Email:  info@ppr.ca

    Forward-Looking Information

    This news release contains certain statements (“forward-looking statements”) that constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future performance, events or circumstances, are based upon internal assumptions, plans, intentions, expectations and beliefs, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated or suggested therein. All statements other than statements of current or historical fact constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically, but not always, identified by words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “budget”, “forecast”, “target”, “estimate”, “propose”, “potential”, “project”, “seek”, “continue”, “may”, “will”, “should” or similar words suggesting future outcomes or events or statements regarding an outlook.

    Without limiting the foregoing, this news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to: the anticipated drilling time of the Company’s Basal Quartz well and the well being successfully fractured and brought on-stream.

    Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors, expectations or assumptions of Prairie Provident which have been used to develop such statements, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which are inherently uncertain and depend upon the accuracy of such expectations and assumptions. Prairie Provident can give no assurance that the forward-looking statements contained herein will prove to be correct or that the expectations and assumptions upon which they are based will occur or be realized. Actual results or events will differ, and the differences may be material and adverse to the Company. In addition to other factors and assumptions which may be identified herein, assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: results from drilling and development activities; consistency with past operations; the quality of the reservoirs in which Prairie Provident operates and continued performance from existing wells (including with respect to production profile, decline rate and product type mix); the continued and timely development of infrastructure in areas of new production; the accuracy of the estimates of Prairie Provident’s reserves volumes; future commodity prices; future operating and other costs; future USD/CAD exchange rates; future interest rates; continued availability of external financing and internally generated cash flow to fund Prairie Provident’s current and future plans and expenditures, with external financing on acceptable terms; the impact of competition; the general stability of the economic and political environment in which Prairie Provident operates; the general continuance of current industry conditions; the timely receipt of any required regulatory approvals; the ability of Prairie Provident to obtain qualified staff, equipment and services in a timely and cost efficient manner; drilling results; the ability of the operator of the projects in which Prairie Provident has an interest in to operate the field in a safe, efficient and effective manner; field production rates and decline rates; the ability to replace and expand oil and natural gas reserves through acquisition, development and exploration; the timing and cost of pipeline, storage and facility construction and expansion and the ability of Prairie Provident to secure adequate product transportation; the regulatory framework regarding royalties, taxes and environmental matters in the jurisdictions in which Prairie Provident operates; and the ability of Prairie Provident to successfully market its oil and natural gas production.

    The forward-looking statements included in this news release are not guarantees of future performance or promises of future outcomes and should not be relied upon. Such statements, including the assumptions made in respect thereof, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward- looking statements including, without limitation: reduced access to external debt financing; higher interest costs or other restrictive terms of debt financing; changes in realized commodity prices; changes in the demand for or supply of Prairie Provident’s products; the early stage of development of some of the evaluated areas and zones; the potential for variation in the quality of the geologic formations targeted by Prairie Provident’s operations; unanticipated operating results or production declines; changes in tax or environmental laws, royalty rates or other regulatory matters; the imposition of any tariffs or other restrictive trade measures or countermeasures affecting trade between Canada and the United States; changes in development plans of Prairie Provident or by third party operators; increased debt levels or debt service requirements; inaccurate estimation of Prairie Provident’s oil and reserves volumes; limited, unfavourable or a lack of access to capital markets; increased costs; a lack of adequate insurance coverage; the impact of competitors; and such other risks as may be detailed from time-to-time in Prairie Provident’s public disclosure documents (including, without limitation, those risks identified in this news release and Prairie Provident’s current Annual Information Form dated April 1, 2024 as filed with Canadian securities regulators and available from the SEDAR+ website (www.sedarplus.ca) under Prairie Provident’s issuer profile).

    The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release, and Prairie Provident assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, or otherwise, except as may be required pursuant to applicable laws. All forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Brutalism – the architectural style that dared to summon a new world from the ashes of World War II

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Michael Allen, Visiting Assistant Professor of History, West Virginia University

    Boston City Hall, which was completed in 1968, is considered a classic example of Brutalist architecture. Yunghi Kim/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

    Some viewers of “The Brutalist” are probably getting their first taste of Brutalism, the architectural style that gives the film its name.

    The film, which has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards, centers on the efforts of fictional protagonist László Tóth to realize a mammoth, bunkerlike, concrete structure that will house a community center in Pennsylvania.

    A survivor of the Holocaust, Tóth insists on the building’s overwhelming scale, starkly unadorned concrete surfaces and labyrinthine interior in order to create an architectural version of the designer’s own shattered, traumatized inner world. The near-maniacal drive to finish the work becomes an intensely personal project of overcoming his trauma.

    Yet “The Brutalist” doesn’t relay much about Brutalist architecture beyond its reflexive relationship to Tóth. Drawings and photographs of real-life Brutalist buildings appear in several scenes as glimpses into Tóth’s originality and style. But the structures come across as the progeny of one architect’s ego, while the philosophy behind Brutalism remains unexplained.

    The actual story of Brutalism is so much more.

    What you see is what you get

    In my research, I’ve explored how architecture can embody values such as the common good and the human struggle for well-being. Specifically, my work explores how architecture after World War II presented a vision of a new world, one that could overcome decades of violence, exploitation and oppression.

    Brutalism, which flourished from the 1950s until around 1980, is one style that has taught me a lot.

    Brutalist buildings emphasize form using assemblies of monumental geometric shapes. While some critics find Brutalism’s heavy look and utilitarian use of materials like concrete, brick and glass harsh – even ugly – there is a beautiful intent behind them.

    Historian and critic Reyner Banham articulated Brutalism’s core ideas in a 1955 review of Peter and Alison Smith’s Hunstanton School, which was completed in 1954 in Norfolk, United Kingdom.

    Banham latched onto the French term “beton brut” – “bare concrete” – to christen the emergent style. The architects at the forefront of what Banham termed “New Brutalism” were actually thwarting the overly theorized, self-referential modernism of the times. Their buildings, he explained, exhibited three simple traits: an easily visible interior plan, direct expression of structure, and building materials that were valued for their own traits.

    In “The Brutalist,” Tóth’s insistence on plain concrete, as well as Cararra marble for the community center’s altar, captures the core of the philosophy. The materials used for Brutalist structures are not chosen as mere cladding, but as components that are essential to the building’s design. Their presence is an endorsement of their utility and beauty.

    Some Brutalist buildings, such as the Hunstanton School, are made of brick instead of concrete. Others use stone. The goal is honest expression, not in-your-face experimentation.

    Monuments to the masses

    Beyond the devotion to the materials, plan and form of buildings, Brutalism often signified a devotion to social change.

    Brutalism sought to upend preexisting social hierarchies and divisions. Its staggering forms made monuments out of ordinary places frequented by ordinary people: homes, schools, libraries.

    In the U.S., public colleges and universities erected Brutalist structures to celebrate the expansion of higher education to the masses, thanks to the GI Bill. In a project led by Walter Netsch, the University of Illinois-Chicago wove together its buildings with concrete walkways leading to a central, outdoor amphitheater. Harry Weese’s Forest Park Community College in St. Louis consisted of long, monumental brick blocks that made the junior college appear as a temple.

    Chicago-born architect Walter Netsch made an outdoor amphitheater the beating heart of the University of Illinois-Chicago’s campus.
    ArchEyes

    Well-known, if not always well-loved, public buildings such as Boston City Hall, which was built in 1968, expressed faith in modern democracy, giving the majestic government buildings of the past a new look to signify a modern egalitarianism.

    Other projects emphasized the triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement. The Neigh Dormitory at Mary Holmes College in West Point, Mississippi, was completed in 1970 by the firm of Black architect J. Max Bond Jr. Architectural historian Brian Goldstein described it as “modernism as liberation.”

    Despite Brutalism’s social optimism, it is not without detractors. In 2014, Northwestern University demolished Bertrand Goldberg’s Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago despite pleas from preservationists. According to the university, the concrete construction made the building impossible to adapt for new laboratory space.

    In Goshen, New York, county officials long viewed Paul Rudolph’s Orange County Government Center as an ugly and unpleasant seat of government, and almost succeeded in having it demolished. The building has since been remodeled to cloak the Brutalist design.

    New buildings for a new world

    In the U.K., cities faced damages from Nazi bombing during World War II as well as long-deferred upgrades to public housing. Brutalism was a key part of postwar housing recovery and expansion efforts.

    Perhaps the most iconic Brutalist structure in the U.K. is Erno Goldfinger’s 31-story Trellick Tower, a frequent setting for film and music videos.

    That same year, Alison and Peter Smithson unveiled their massive apartment complex, Robin Hood Gardens, in London. With its hulking concrete forms and “streets in the sky” – wide, outdoor decks on each story that were meant to mimic street life and facilitate contact with neighbors – the project demonstrated that working-class people could not only have modern apartments, but also live in new ways. London’s massive, middle-class Barbican Estate, completed in 1982, created a small city within the city, replete with plazas, a waterway and iconic concrete and brick buildings.

    London’s Robin Hood Gardens was famously built with ‘streets in the sky.’
    Matthew Lloyd/PA Images via Getty Images

    Other European Brutalist works directly confront the horrors of World War II.

    The Swiss-French architect and artist known as Le Corbusier built the Convent at Sainte Marie de La Tourette in France in the 1950s with concrete shapes resembling cannons and machine-gun barrels in its walls.

    In Paris, Georges-Henri Pingusson’s Memorial to the Martyrs of Deportation, built in 1962, commemorates the lives of 200,000 victims of the Holocaust through an assemblage of stark, monolithic concrete forms.

    While the Soviet Union’s 1950s and 1960s prefabricated concrete panel housing estates built under Premier Nikita Khruschev embody the Brutalist devotion to cost efficiency and social problem-solving, projects in the former Yugoslavia show how Brutalism could symbolize the rebirth of a people. Housing projects and commercial blocks in New Belgrade forged a new architecture for a new nation – and, in a sense, a new nationality.

    And on the site of the Jasenovac concentration camp in Croatia, run by a Nazi puppet regime, architect Bogdan Bogdanović crafted perhaps the most optimistic acknowledgment of the will to overcome the 20th century’s darkest hours.

    Where slave labor once made bricks, and thousands lost their lives, the designer crafted a massive concrete monument, completed in 1969. The stark form suggests a flower emerging from tortured soil but set upon thriving anyway.

    To me, monuments like Bogdanović’s show how Brutalism is the perfect style to convey the earnest hope that a new world is possible.

    Bogdan Bogdanović’s memorial honors the people killed at the Jasenovac concentration camp in Croatia.
    Stringer/AFP via Getty Images

    Michael Allen is an Advisor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

    – ref. Brutalism – the architectural style that dared to summon a new world from the ashes of World War II – https://theconversation.com/brutalism-the-architectural-style-that-dared-to-summon-a-new-world-from-the-ashes-of-world-war-ii-248957

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Identifying brands as Black-owned can pay off for businesses

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Oren Reshef, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Washington University in St. Louis

    Labeling businesses as Black-owned can significantly boost their sales, we found in a recent study.

    In June 2020, the business-review website Yelp introduced a feature allowing consumers to search for Black-owned restaurants. As professors who study digitization, inequality and the economics of technology, we were interested in understanding its effect. So we analyzed more than two years of data from Yelp.

    We found that restaurants labeled as Black-owned saw a 65% increase in online traffic, more searches and calls, and higher sales through food orders and in-person visits. These results suggest that for many Black-owned businesses, a simple change in their visibility can create new opportunities for growth.

    However, the impact varied by location. The gains were strongest in politically liberal areas and places with lower levels of implicit racial bias, as measured by regional variation in implicit-association test scores. This suggests that platforms are in part channeling, as opposed to creating, customer demand. Interestingly, white customers drove most of the increase, suggesting the label helped raise awareness of businesses they might not have considered before.

    This wasn’t just a 2020 trend – in follow-up analyses, we found similar results among businesses that opted into the feature later. We also collaborated with the online furniture company Wayfair, which launched a “Black Maker” label on its site in 2023, and found that it led to a 57% increase in web traffic. Finally, Yelp rolled out a Latino-owned label on the platform late that year, which led to a similar increase in consumer engagement.

    Why it matters

    This research has implications for business owners, digital platforms and policymakers. Growing awareness of racial inequality – partially driven by the Black Lives Matter movement, especially after the murder of George Floyd in 2020 — has led to increased corporate and customer interest in supporting minority-owned businesses. It also led many companies to make commitments to promote racial equity.

    However, more recently, many companies have dismantled these efforts. For instance, Target recently announced that it was eliminating its program to spotlight Black-owned businesses. Our findings suggest that increasing the visibility of minority ownership – a relatively low-cost change – can substantially improve economic outcomes for Black-owned businesses.

    Our results also show that diversity initiatives aren’t just about warm and fuzzy feelings. Businesses should measure and evaluate their impact to ensure their programs are effective. A well-designed program can benefit the bottom line, while a poorly designed one risks being ineffective or even counterproductive.

    So it’s important to acknowledge the potential risks. Past research, including some of our own, indicates that revealing racial identity sometimes can lead to discrimination or backlash. While our findings suggest that labeling can have positive effects, a poorly implemented policy can backfire. Yelp’s initiative design empowered users looking to support Black-owned businesses while allowing other users to continue searching in alternative ways.

    That means policy design is crucial. What matters isn’t just what information is revealed, but also how it’s communicated. Our analysis shows that customer demand and preferences vary considerably across locations and demographics, meaning that context also matters.

    What still isn’t known

    While our research suggests that businesses experienced economic benefits from adopting the label, it’s crucial to understand which policy designs work best in the long run. For instance, Yelp’s program used an opt-in feature, which may have contributed to its success.

    However, open questions remain. How are platforms affected by labeling businesses? What other types of labels might be impactful, and for which types of businesses? Could some interventions backfire?

    Another key question is, which customers respond to racial identity disclosures? Recent advances in data analytics can help companies refine their strategies, making it easier to target the right consumer groups for more effective initiatives.

    Ultimately, our study is a step toward understanding how transparency and visibility can shape economic outcomes. It highlights a diversity initiative that has benefited both customers and businesses, and provides a road map for companies that want to design initiatives that matter. And, more broadly, it speaks to a question facing all companies: How can companies better understand and shape their societal footprint?

    In the past, Oren Reshef has worked as an Economics Research Intern at Yelp. The company did not intervene in the analysis or the publication process of this article.

    Michael Luca has done consulting for tech companies including Yelp.

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

    – ref. Identifying brands as Black-owned can pay off for businesses – https://theconversation.com/identifying-brands-as-black-owned-can-pay-off-for-businesses-250129

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: More Americans of all political stripes support government benefits for low-income people − and Black Lives Matter could be a big reason why

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Karyn Vilbig, PhD Student in Sociology, New York University

    A protester leads a Black Lives Matter rally in San Francisco on June 3, 2020. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

    For all the apparent division over Black Lives Matter, the movement may have had a widespread and positive impact on Americans’ support for policies that help the poor.

    Since the Black Lives Matter movement launched in 2013, several studies using a range of datasets have all found that Americans’ views of Black people have become significantly more positive. As a sociologist who researches the safety net, I wondered how this might translate to support for policies that support low-income Americans.

    That’s because perceptions of Black people have long been one of the best predictors of whether someone favors government aid for low-income people.

    If this has held true, more positive views of Black Americans should translate into more support for social welfare programs. Indeed, since 2012, the share of Americans who support higher spending on these programs has grown by 12%.

    It still wasn’t clear, though, whether that boost in support was due to some other factor – say, the dramatic economic fallout associated with the COVID-19 pandemic or the success of the government stimulus programs that followed – as opposed to shifts in racial attitudes.

    So I decided to explore the extent to which these changes in attitudes about government benefits can be attributed to recent shifts in racial attitudes. I found that nearly all of the increase in support for these safety net programs since 2012 can be explained by changes related to Americans’ racial attitudes.

    Who receives these benefits?

    When Americans think about welfare beneficiaries, they usually picture Black people.

    It’s true that Black Americans are overrepresented among those who receive government assistance. For example, Black people make up just 14% of the U.S. population but 30% of those enrolled in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

    That being said, the majority of recipients of government aid are white.

    For decades, however, TV shows, movies and the news media have portrayed Black people as impoverished recipients of government benefits. This has caused many Americans to incorrectly presume that these programs support mostly Black people.

    Because so many Americans have traditionally held negative views toward Black people, the mental association between Black people and poverty has undermined support for government programs – and has perhaps even prevented the United States from developing the kind of robust social safety net that is found in many other affluent countries.

    The ‘welfare queen’ myth advanced by President Ronald Reagan has been hard to dislodge in the American imagination.

    Feelings toward Black people have shifted

    Since 2012, however, Americans’ racial attitudes have dramatically changed.

    In 2012, for example, 49% of Americans responding to the General Social Survey, a long-standing national survey that measures societal change, said Black-white differences in income, housing and jobs were due to a lack of willpower on the part of Black people. By 2022, the most recent year available, this number had fallen to 29%.

    There’s been a debate about the exact cause of these dramatic changes. But many researchers credit the Black Lives Matter movement.

    Black Lives Matter began in 2013 in response to the acquittal of the man who murdered Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager. It gained further momentum in 2014 with the police killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. In 2020, following the police murder of George Floyd, it became the largest movement in U.S. history by number of protesters.

    Past research has linked specific waves of Black Lives Matter protests to increased attention on racial inequality and decreases in racial prejudice.

    Breaking down the data

    Meanwhile, support for government benefits for low-income people has also grown in recent years.

    To figure out whether increased support for Black people was tied into more support for government aid for the poor, I analyzed two national datasets by running a type of statistical analysis called “decomposition.”

    A decomposition analysis takes the difference between two groups and breaks it into different parts to explain what’s behind that difference. For example, decomposition analysis has been used to explain the pay gap between men and women. These analyses often find that part of the gender pay gap can be explained by differences in the average number of hours men and women work and by differences in the payoff to a college degree experienced by men and women, among other things. Instead of comparing men and women, I compare Americans in 2012 versus Americans in 2020.

    In my analysis, I found that improved attitudes toward Black people between 2012 and 2020, more than any other measure, explained increased support for welfare programs during that same period.

    A second factor also helps to explain the increased support for the safety net: Americans are exhibiting greater alignment between their racial and social policy attitudes.

    In the past, many Americans expressed support for racial equality in principle but opposed the policies that might actually achieve it. I found something new. In 2020, most Americans didn’t just say that they want racial equality in the abstract. They also expressed support for the programs they believed will bring it about.

    Supporters of the Civil Rights Movement demonstrate against racial segregation outside a Woolworth’s store in New York City in 1960.
    Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

    GOP voters have changed, too

    These progressive attitude shifts can even be found among Republican – albeit to a lesser extent. Republican politicians once appealed to voters by disparaging welfare recipients and Black people. In light of these attitude shifts, that approach no longer appears to be a recipe for political success in America.

    Instead, Republicans have made opposition to immigration central to their campaigns. Immigration is an issue where Republicans perform well with voters, and this strategy has paid off at the voting booth.

    But governing requires attention to more than just the issues that poll well.

    Particularly when it comes to decisions about the safety net, Republicans find themselves in an awkward position. As recent budget debates in the House have made clear, the goal of dramatically cutting government spending conflicts with promises to protect the social programs Republican voters increasingly support.

    The safety net may very well become a major liability for the Republican Party. To the extent that the GOP continues to back spending cuts for programs that help millions of low-income people, it will be out of step with many of its voters. But if it follows the lead of right-wing parties in Europe and supports the safety net, it will be at odds with many of its donors.

    Karyn Vilbig received funding for this work from the American Sociological Association’s Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (ASA DDRIG).

    – ref. More Americans of all political stripes support government benefits for low-income people − and Black Lives Matter could be a big reason why – https://theconversation.com/more-americans-of-all-political-stripes-support-government-benefits-for-low-income-people-and-black-lives-matter-could-be-a-big-reason-why-247764

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Israel’s bombing of Gaza caused untold environmental damage − recovery will take effort and time

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lesley Joseph, Research Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of South Carolina

    Vast areas in Gaza have been reduced to rubble. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    The war in Gaza has come with an awful cost. Tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed, and thousands more are missing. And while a temporary ceasefire has allowed for increased aid delivery, easing the plight of those facing disease and hunger, experts predict malnutrition and health issues to persist for months or even years.

    Much of the territory’s infrastructure – its schools, hospitals and homes – has been damaged or destroyed. And yet, the tremendous human and societal loss has been augmented by a lesser reported but potentially catastrophic, consequence: environmental devastation.

    In June 2024, the United Nations Environment Programme conducted an environmental impact assessment to evaluate the damage resulting from Israeli military actions in Gaza. It found “unprecedented levels of destruction” from the intensive bombing campaign, along with the complete collapse of water and solid waste systems, and widespread contamination of the soil, water and air. And that was before another six months of bombing caused further damage to Gaza.

    As a scholar of environmental justice, I have thought carefully about the impact that a lack of clean water, access to sanitation facilities, and the absence of basic infrastructure can have on a community, particularly vulnerable and marginalized populations. The current pause in fighting is providing respite for the 2.2 million people in Gaza who have endured more than a year of war. It also provides an opportunity to evaluate the environmental damage to the densely populated enclave in three crucial areas: the water, sanitation and hygiene sector, or WASH; air quality; and waste management.

    Here is what we know so far:

    WASH sector

    According to an interim damage assessment released by the World Bank, U.N. and E.U. in March 2024, an estimated US$502.7 million of damage was inflicted on the WASH sector in Gaza in the initial months of bombing, including damage to approximately 57% of the water infrastructure.

    The United Nations reported that water desalination plants in Gaza, 162 water wells and two of the three water connections with Israel’s national water provider had been severely damaged.

    As a result, the amount of available water in Gaza was at that point reduced to roughly 2-8 liters per person per day – below the World Health Organization emergency daily minimum of 15 liters and far below its standard recommendation of 50-100 liters per day.

    In November 2024, meanwhile, the charity Oxfam reported that all five wastewater treatment plants in Gaza had been forced to shut down, along with the majority of its 65 wastewater pumping stations. This resulted in ongoing discharges of raw, untreated sewage into the environment. As of June 2024, an estimated 15.8 million gallons of wastewater has been discharged into the environment in and around Gaza, according to the U.N. environmental report.

    Meanwhile, sanitation facilities for Palestinians in Gaza are practically nonexistent. Reporting from U.N. Women states that people in Gaza routinely walk long distances and then wait for hours just to use a toilet, and due to the lack of water, these toilets cannot be flushed or cleaned.

    Air quality

    The air quality in Gaza has been drastically impacted by this war. NASA satellite imagery from the first few months of the war found that approximately 165 fires were recorded in Gaza from October 2023 to January 2024.

    With a shortage of electricity, residents have been forced to burn various materials, including plastics and household waste, for cooking and heating. And this has contributed to a dangerous decline in air quality.

    Meanwhile, large amounts of dust, debris and chemical releases have been produced from explosions and the destruction of infrastructure, leading to significant air pollution. In February 2024, the U.N. Mine Action Service estimated that, in the first few months of the war alone, more than 25,000 tons of explosives had been used, equivalent to “two nuclear bombs.”

    Waste management

    In the first six months of bombardment, more than 39 million tons of debris were generated, much of it likely to contain harmful contaminants, including asbestos, residue from explosives and toxic medical waste.

    Human remains are also mixed in with this debris, with estimates that over 10,000 bodies remain under the rubble. Moreover, the three main landfills in the Gaza Strip have been closed and are unable to receive waste or conflict-related debris.

    Substantial damage has been done to five out of six solid waste management facilities, and solid waste continues to accumulate at camps and shelters, with an estimate of 1,100 to 1,200 tons being generated daily.

    The charge of ‘ecocide’

    With such environmental destruction, claims of “ecocide” have been made against the Israeli government by international rights groups.

    Although not presently incorporated into the framework of international law, there have been recent efforts for ecocide to be added as a crime under the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court. Indeed, a panel of experts in 2021 proposed a working definition of ecocide as “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment caused by those acts.”

    To date, 15 countries have criminalized ecocide, and Ukraine is investigating Russia for ecocide for its destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in 2023.

    Various organizations, including the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, the University of California Global Health Institute and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, have stated that the level of environmental devastation in Gaza reaches the proposed legal definition of “ecocide.”

    Although the Israeli government has not responded to these accusations, it has consistently stated that it has a right to defend itself and that it seeks to protect civilians as it conducts its military operations.

    Health impacts of environmental harm

    Regardless of whether the charge of ecocide applies to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, the environmental impact, the spread of disease, and other harmful health impairments will be felt for years to come.

    The United Nations Relief and Works Agency reported an increase in hepatitis A in the enclave, from 85 cases before the current war to 107,000 cases in October 2024. The WHO has reported 500,000 cases of diarrhea and 100,000 cases of lice and scabies, along with the reemergence of polio.

    Polio virus has been found in wastewater, threatening the lives of Palestinian children in Gaza.
    Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images

    The lack of adequate WASH facilities has also disproportionately affected women and girls by interfering with basic menstrual hygiene, harming their mental and physical health.

    Meanwhile, the increased presence of dangerous air pollutants has led to increases in respiratory issues, including nearly 1 million acute respiratory illnesses. Presently, the most common respiratory ailments in Gaza are asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis, pneumonia and lung cancer.

    Next steps

    As a licensed environmental engineer, I have never seen the scale of environmental destruction that has occurred in Gaza.

    While the situation is unprecedented, there are concrete steps that the international community can take to help Gaza’s environment recover. The three-stage ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which went into effect on Jan. 19, 2025, is a promising first step. This agreement has allowed some Israeli hostages to be released and Palestinian detainees to return to their homes. It also allows for more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza to deal with the current food crisis and health emergency.

    Nevertheless, there are significant challenges ahead for the people of Gaza. First, the ceasefire agreement will need to hold – and already there are signs of difficulty in implementing the agreement in full. Should fighting resume, that will close or delay the opportunity for engineers and surveyors to perform detailed, comprehensive field assessments.

    Meanwhile, the need for a post-conflict plan for Gaza has never been starker.

    Recovering from Gaza’s environmental devastation will require Israel and neighboring countries, as well as influential world powers such as the United States and the European Union, to work together to rebuild critical infrastructure, such as water and wastewater treatment plants and solid waste infrastructure. Moreover, to succeed, any long-term plan for the reconstruction of Gaza will need to prioritize the needs and perspectives of Palestinians themselves.

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

    – ref. Israel’s bombing of Gaza caused untold environmental damage − recovery will take effort and time – https://theconversation.com/israels-bombing-of-gaza-caused-untold-environmental-damage-recovery-will-take-effort-and-time-245311

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What is a charter school, really? Supreme Court ruling on whether Catholic charter is constitutional will hinge on whether they’re public or private

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Preston Green III, John and Maria Neag Professor of Urban Education, University of Connecticut

    The court’s ruling could affect more than religion in schools. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

    In April 2025, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether the nation’s first religious charter school can open in Oklahoma. The St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would be funded by taxpayer money but run by a local archdiocese and diocese.

    The case is often discussed in terms of religion, and a decision in the school’s favor could allow government dollars to directly fund faith-based charter schools nationwide. In part, the justices must decide whether the First Amendment’s prohibition on government establishing religion applies to charter schools. But the answer to that question is part of an even bigger issue: Are charters really public in the first place?

    As two professors who study education law, we believe the Supreme Court’s decision will impact issues of religion and state, but could also ripple beyond – determining what basic rights students and teachers do or don’t have at charter schools.

    Dueling arguments

    In June 2023, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved St. Isidore’s application to open as an online K-12 school. The following year, however, the Oklahoma high court ruled that the proposal was unconstitutional. The justices concluded that charter schools are public under state law, and that the First Amendment’s establishment clause forbids public schools from being religious. The court also found that a religious charter school would violate Oklahoma’s constitution, which specifically forbids public money from benefiting religious organizations.

    The Oklahoma Supreme Court in the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City, May 19, 2014.
    AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File

    On appeal, the charter school is claiming that charter schools are private, and so the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause does not apply.

    Moreover, St. Isidore argues that if charter schools are private, the state’s prohibition on religious charters violates the First Amendment’s free exercise clause, which bars the government from limiting “the free exercise” of religion. Previous Supreme Court cases have found that states cannot prevent private religious entities from participating in generally available government programs solely because they are religious.

    In other words, while St. Isidore’s critics argue that opening a religious charter school would violate the First Amendment, its supporters claim the exact opposite: that forbidding religious charter schools would violate the First Amendment.

    Are charters public?

    The question of whether an institution is public or private turns on a legal concept known as the “state action doctrine.” This principle provides that the government must follow the Constitution, while private entities do not have to. For example, unlike students in public schools, students in private schools do not have the constitutional right to due process for suspensions and expulsions – procedures to ensure fairness before taking disciplinary action.

    Charter schools have some characteristics of both public and private institutions. Like traditional public schools, they are government-funded, free and open to all students. However, like private schools, they are free from many laws that apply to public schools, and they are independently run.

    Because of charters’ hybrid nature, courts have had a hard time determining whether they should be considered public for legal purposes. Many charter schools are overseen by private corporations with privately appointed boards, and it is unclear whether these private entities are state actors. Two federal circuit courts have reached different conclusions.

    In Caviness v. Horizon Learning Center, a case from 2010, the 9th Circuit held that an Arizona charter school corporation was not a state actor for employment purposes. Therefore, the board did not have to provide a teacher due process before firing him. The court reasoned that the corporation was a private actor that contracted with the state to provide educational services.

    In contrast, the 4th Circuit ruled in 2022 that a North Carolina charter school board was a state actor under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In this case, Peltier v. Charter Day School, students challenged the dress code requirement that female students wear skirts because they were considered “fragile vessels.”

    The court first reasoned that the board was a state actor because North Carolina had delegated its constitutional duty to provide education. The court observed that the charter school’s dress code was an inappropriate sex-based classification, and that school officials engaged in harmful gender stereotyping, violating the equal protection clause.

    If the Supreme Court sides with St. Isidore – as many analysts think is likely – then all private charter corporations might be considered nonstate actors for the purposes of religion.

    But the stakes are even greater than that. State action involves more than just religion. Indeed, teachers and students in private schools do not have the constitutional rights related to free speech, search and seizure, due process and equal protection. In other words, if charter schools are not considered “state actors,” charter students and teachers may eventually shed constitutional rights “at the schoolhouse gate.”

    Amtrak: An alternate route?

    People ride an Amtrak Acela train through Pennsylvania, en route from New York City to Washington, in 2022.
    AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey

    When courts have held that charter schools are not public in state law, some legislatures have made changes to categorize them as public. For example, California passed a law to clarify that charter school students have the same due process rights as traditional public school students after a court ruled otherwise.

    Likewise, we believe states looking to clear up charter schools’ ambiguous state actor status under the Constitution can amend their laws. As we explain in a recent legal article, a 1995 Supreme Court case involving Amtrak illustrates how this can be done.

    Lebron v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation arose when Amtrak rejected a billboard ad for being political. The advertiser sued, arguing that the corporation had violated his First Amendment right to free speech. Since private organizations are not required to protect free speech rights, the case hinged on whether Amtrak qualified as a government agency.

    The court ruled in the plaintiff’s favor, reasoning that Amtrak was a government actor because it was created by special law, served important governmental objectives, and its board members were appointed by the government.

    Courts have applied this ruling in other instances. For example, the 10th Circuit Court ruled in 2016 that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was a governmental agency and therefore was required to abide by the Fourth Amendment’s protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

    Currently, we believe charter schools fail the test set out in the Amtrak decision. Charter schools do serve the governmental purpose of providing educational choice for students. However, charter school corporations are not created by special law. They also fall short because most have independent boards instead of members who are appointed and removed by government officials.

    However, we would argue that states can amend their laws to comply with Lebron’s standard, ensuring that charter schools are public or state actors for constitutional purposes.

    Preston Green III is affiliated with the National Education Policy Center.

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

    – ref. What is a charter school, really? Supreme Court ruling on whether Catholic charter is constitutional will hinge on whether they’re public or private – https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-charter-school-really-supreme-court-ruling-on-whether-catholic-charter-is-constitutional-will-hinge-on-whether-theyre-public-or-private-249428

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Gatwick expansion unwanted, say Greens

    Source: Green Party of England and Wales

    by Green Party

    Responding to the Transport Secretary’s decision to pursue a positive decision for Gatwick Airport to bring its northern terminal into constant use, (1) Siân Berry Green MP for Brighton Pavilion said:

    “The Labour government is trashing its climate credentials one absurd decision at a time. Only one day after receiving critical advice from its own climate advisors on the need to lower flying demand, ministers continue to support yet more unnecessary expansion for the benefit of wealthy investors.

    “Pushing through these damaging plans shows such poor economic judgement. Over 100,000 extra flights a year won’t deliver for our communities. Labour should listen to the public who think airport expansion is the wrong priority. Most of us fly once a year if at all and would rather see cheaper train tickets and more bus routes instead to help with our daily journeys and create jobs where we live, in contrast with frequent flyers leaching money out of the economy.

    “The green economy grew by ten per cent last year, and this is where Labour should be investing to deliver high-wage, long-term jobs across the entire country.”

    (1) Transport planning: Gatwick Airport – GOV.UK

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Environment Agency grants permit for Portland incinerator

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Environment Agency grants permit for Portland incinerator

    Conditions are being put on site operations and granting an environmental permit will not impact outcome of judicial review into site’s planning permission.

    Conditions have been set in the permit on emissions and their monitoring, plant operation, waste type and quantity

    The Environment Agency has today granted an application for a permit to operate a new non-hazardous waste incinerator in Portland port. 

    Following a number of consultations, the agency agreed that Powerfuel Portland Ltd had met all of the necessary criteria needed for the environmental permit to be given for the proposed incinerator. Where an application meets the requirements of the Environmental Permitting Regulations (2016) the agency must issue a permit.

    Conditions have been set in the permit on emissions and their monitoring, operation of the plant and the amount and type of waste to be accepted. The permit limits the waste that can be incinerated to refuse derived fuel – that is produced from domestic municipal solid waste (MSW) and commercial & industrial (C&I) waste unsuitable for recycling.

    A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said:

    We have carefully considered all of the submissions we received during the various consultations and we thank everyone who took the time to contact us with their views.

    Background

    The Environment Agency does not look at issues around vehicle movements to and from the site, working hours and whether or not the site is suitable for this kind of work. All of those are matters dealt with through the local authority planning process and is entirely separate from the environmental permitting process. 

    Although the planning permission granted by the Secretary of State is currently subject to a judicial review, we do not consider the outcome of that process would impact our conclusions on the environmental permit. Nor will granting the permit affect the outcome of the court proceedings, which will be determined on their own merits.

    Updates to this page

    Published 27 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Increase of domestic timber to boost UK economy and housebuilding

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Increase of domestic timber to boost UK economy and housebuilding

    New vision by government to deliver on its Plan for Change by increasing timber use in construction and boosting economic growth.

    Credit: BSW Timber

    A new roadmap to get Britain building with the use of sustainable and low carbon building materials, will help solve the housing crisis and achieve 2050 net zero targets.

    New, ambitious plans to increase the use of timber in construction to boost the domestic timber industry, economic growth, rural jobs and housebuilding targets, have been announced by Environment Minister Mary Creagh today (Thursday 27th February) at the Timber in Construction (TiC) Summit in London.

    The government has outlined new methods to deliver on its Plan for Change that will help to build 1.5million sustainable and affordable homes, create a low-waste circular construction sector and drive further investment into domestic timber and wood-processing supply chains.

    Speaking at the TiC Summit, Minister Creagh confirmed the government will recommit to the Timber in Construction Roadmap, which outlines measures to increase the use of timber in the construction sector. 

    David Hopkins (CEO of Timber Development UK), Defra Environment Minister Creagh, Andrew Carpenter (CEO of Structural Timber Association) , Andy Leitch (Deputy Chief Executive of Confor) at the Timber in Construction Summit, London, February 2025 Credit: Timber Development UK

    Using timber in construction is one of the best ways to reduce emissions from buildings. Around 25% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions are from the built environment, and larger buildings can store up to 400% more carbon when built out of engineered timber products compared to when built with concrete. Currently only 80% of the timber the UK uses is imported.

    The new Timber in Construction Roadmap outlines more ambitious Government priorities and key actions including:

    • Encouraging the use of sustainable, low carbon building materials, and ensuring carbon emissions are considering during the design, construction and use of buildings.
    • Fulfilling the Government’s commitment to delivering 1.5m homes this Parliament by using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) including the use of timber, to boost productivity in housebuilding and deliver high quality, energy efficient new homes.
    • Creating a circular economy by championing timber’s potential for a clean growth future – supporting the construction sector to use the most sustainable, low carbon materials and construction techniques.
    • Accelerating economic growth by creating new and diverse green jobs in the productive forestry and timber sectors, as well as stimulating further investment into domestic timber and wood processing supply chains.

    These actions will go alongside recommitting to existing plans such as promoting timber as a construction material, boosting skills and capacity across the supply chain and increasing the supply of sustainable timber products.

    Environment Minister Mary Creagh said:

    “This Government is getting Britain building.

     “Our Plan for Change will build 1.5 million homes this Parliament. Timber will play a vital role benefitting development and nature.”

    Forestry Commission Chief Executive, Richard Stanford said: 

     ”To reach net zero, we must increase timber production from homegrown trees and use that timber in our buildings to sequester carbon. The Timber in Construction Roadmap will propel forestry production in England to ensure timber security, reduce our dependence on imports, and address the nature crisis by boosting biodiversity, improving water quality, and providing more green spaces for people.

    “The Forestry Commission will continue to collaborate closely with partners from the timber, forestry, and construction sectors in this critical area of work for many years ahead”.

    Alex Goodfellow, Chair of the Confederation of Timber Industries, and CEO of Donaldson Offsite said:

    “The Minister’s support for the Timber in Construction Roadmap shows the Government’s firm commitment to a growth agenda: growth for forestry, for housing, for low-carbon skills and for the economy. The timber supply chain is a major economic player in the UK, connecting rural and urban environments. 

    “Timber frame construction is a well-proven technology and business model for delivering houses rapidly and sustainably while improving quality.  By accelerating this growth we can build more low-carbon housing today while providing a market pull for expanding forests. As a supply chain we will support the Government to deliver on all of the goals in the Roadmap and help build a more sustainable future.”

    The amended Roadmap goes further than previous Government commitments, setting out more ambitious targets and actions to increase the use of homegrown timber in construction in a move to reduce carbon emissions, provide green jobs of the future, create affordable and sustainable housing, and drive-up economic growth.

    Increasing the domestic production of timber will create new green jobs in the forestry and wood processing sectors, which contribute over £3bn to the UK economy.

    Updates to this page

    Published 27 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –