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Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI USA: Barr, Artificial Intelligence: Hypothetical Scenarios for the Future

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have accelerated rapidly over the past few years.1 It is now commonplace to see autonomous vehicles navigating city streets, and generative AI tools are available on phones and other devices wherever we go. AI innovations make headlines and play a big role in financial markets, and generative AI has the potential to change how we think about productivity, labor markets and the macroeconomy.2 Today, I will address that question by outlining two hypothetical scenarios for AI’s impact and the implications for businesses, regulators, and society. I will focus my comments on Generative AI, or GenAI, a subset of AI that has seen significant growth and integration into economic activity in just a few short years.
    GenAI and Its AdoptionCompared to earlier iterations of AI, GenAI is able to generate content, which allows it to significantly enhance productivity across a range of knowledge-based activities and be used by people without coding skills. GenAI will likely become a “general purpose technology,” with widespread adoption, continuous improvement, and productivity enhancements to a wide range of sectors across the economy. We are already seeing GenAI improve the productivity of its own R&D.3 There is widespread enthusiasm for GenAI, and survey evidence shows much faster rates of consumer adoption of GenAI already than were seen for the personal computer or the internet.4 While actual deployment of GenAI is limited to some business functions, and there have been pitfalls along the way, businesses in almost every sector are experimenting with or considering how to make use of the technology.5
    Firms are also exploring Agentic AI—Gen AI systems that not only produce new content, but are also able to proactively pursue goals by generating innovative solutions and acting upon them at speed and scale.6 Imagining Agentic AI’s ultimate application, some speculate that we could experience a “country of geniuses in a data center”—a collective intelligence that surpasses human capabilities in problem-solving and collaboration.7 Some believe Agentic AI has the potential to connect ideas in disparate domains, potentially transforming research and development and society more broadly.8
    Hypothetical Scenarios Considering How GenAI Could EvolveToday, I will outline two hypothetical scenarios for considering how GenAI could evolve.9 In one, we see only incremental adoption that primarily augments what humans do today, but still leads to widespread productivity gains. In the other, we see transformative change where we extend human capabilities with far-reaching consequences. For each scenario, I consider the potential implications for the economy and financial sector.
    Thinking through hypothetical scenarios can help widen our lens to a range of possible outcomes and provide a framework for assessing the balance between benefits and risks. Scenarios are not predictions of the future, but provide a framework for analyzing the factors that could lead to different outcomes. Reality is complex. GenAI adoption rates will vary across industries, leading to diverse impacts on market structures. Elements of both scenarios will likely come to pass, and play out at different rates, which will influence the effects on the economy and society. In the short term, GenAI may be overhyped, while in the long run, it may be underappreciated. And, of course, things might turn out differently from these hypotheticals.
    Hypothetical 1: Incremental Progress with Widespread Productivity GainsFirst, let me begin with the incremental scenario, where GenAI primarily augments work in existing processes and leads to steady and widespread productivity gains, but does not fundamentally unlock new capabilities or transform the economy.
    In this state of the world, GenAI tools enhance efficiency and enable more personalized solutions across industries, in ways that have incremental—but still meaningful—effects on people’s lives. For instance, in customer service, professional writing—but not this speech—and software engineering, GenAI-powered tools are already supporting workers, improving accuracy and speed, and these effects could spread to other sectors.10 In this world, health care sees significant improvements as GenAI reduces administrative burdens, assists with diagnostics, and personalizes treatment plans based on real-time patient data. Medicines and other treatments are developed at a faster pace.11 Education is similarly affected, as GenAI alleviates administrative tasks for teachers, allows lessons to be tailored to individual students, and permits students to learn by doing.12 In manufacturing, GenAI-optimized supply chains anticipate and adjust more quickly to disruptions, and current manufacturing processes are refined through virtual iteration.13 In materials science, GenAI-driven experimentation accelerates the discovery of new materials, leading to advances in everything from construction to electronics.14 Turning to the financial sector, we could see similar productivity gains. Community banks leverage GenAI-powered chatbots to provide customized financial advice rooted in local knowledge, while institutions of all sizes continue to advance use of GenAI for compliance monitoring, fraud detection, risk management, and document analysis.15
    The impact to society would be incrementally positive in this state of the world. Humans would use GenAI as a tool to deliver goods and services that we currently produce in a more efficient way. Productivity would go up. The economy would grow at a faster pace.16
    What does this mean for the labor force? The impact will depend on the industry and the nature of the job. GenAI experiments suggest the technology holds the promise of levelling up skills and bringing productivity of lower-performing workers into line with higher performing workers.17 In other cases, it could augment the highest performers, leaving them more time for creativity or strategic aspects of their roles. Increasing automation for certain tasks may displace some workers, where certain skills can be replicated by GenAI. Historically, as technology has replaced some jobs, it has augmented existing roles or created new ones.18 However, this is not to downplay the individual cost for workers who need to retrain, find other employment, or change careers in response to major changes in labor demand. Society will need to account for these possible effects of AI.
    What does this mean for the economy? As I noted before, the economy should grow, if the incremental productivity gains are widespread. However, in this scenario, it is possible that the expected value creation from GenAI was overhyped, anticipating transformative breakthroughs rather than incremental productivity gains. This could trigger market corrections for the firms that have heavily invested in this technology if reality doesn’t measure up to expectations. While the U.S. economy experienced a surge of productivity growth during the dot.com boom in the late 1990s, it was followed by a wave of bankruptcies, capital overhang, and a cautious business investment climate.19 The effects of the ensuing recession were widespread.
    What does this mean for financial stability and other financial risks? In this incremental scenario, GenAI may magnify both the vulnerabilities and sources of resilience that already exist in the system. Attractive trades become more crowded, but risk managers gain new insights.20 Malicious actors gain new tools, but cyber defenders become better armed. So long as financial regulators, enterprise risk managers, and others charged with managing downside risks prioritize efforts to keep pace with the evolving financial ecosystem, there’s nothing to suggest a wholesale transformation of the balance of risks. Of course, keeping pace will pose challenges, and it’s important that we all focus on the need to meet these risks.
    Hypothetical Scenario 2: Transformative ChangeNow, let’s consider a more dramatic hypothetical scenario, in which GenAI adoption extends beyond improving on what we currently do, and provides new expertise and capabilities that have transformative effects on the economy and society. In this scenario, humans deploy their imagination and creativity—combined with robust investment in research and development—to deploy intelligent GenAI systems to make rapid breakthroughs in, for example, biotechnology, robotics, and energy, fundamentally reshaping existing industries and creating new ones. In this instance, to focus the mind, we can think of GenAI as no longer only a tool for scientists to analyze data—in a sense, it becomes the scientist, directing the research.21
    For instance, let’s say that GenAI applications in health care do not simply improve how we currently deliver care, but also enable therapies that target genetic mutations and cure diseases previously considered incurable.22 Similarly, manufacturing evolves to create GenAI-driven robotic factories, with goods produced with new materials and atomic precision.23 Materials science is transformed through the discovery of programmable materials and self-healing substances, all of which reshape construction, technology, and consumer goods.24 Meanwhile, GenAI optimizes fusion energy research, expediting the shift to sustainable energy sources.25 And GenAI helps to create the next generation of quantum computing.26 In that way, GenAI improves its own energy sources and computing capabilities, enabling it to become a more powerful creative tool.27
    Finance also looks radically different than it does today. Individuals with access to hyper-personalized financial planning and businesses with innovative products and services seamlessly connect with one another through near-frictionless or novel forms of financial intermediation.28 Trading strategies and risk-management practices are boosted by greater GenAI-based analytic tools that have dynamic real-time access to an enormous knowledge base in both the public and private domains.29
    Although this transformative scenario is more speculative and is accompanied by a far greater degree of uncertainty than the first, it is important to consider given the extraordinary opportunities for human advancement and welfare that could arise, even if just one of its transformative components were to come to fruition. We would need to fundamentally reimagine how the economy is structured.
    What are the impacts on the labor force, in a world where GenAI’s capabilities extend beyond what humans can accomplish today? Humans may have a role to manage multi-agent GenAI frameworks, or fill gaps where GenAI solutions remain expensive or inefficient for some applications. But this is a world where some workers may see their current jobs disappearing. It is also a world in which they may see their own work transformed and have many more choices about the work they do. The nature of labor would radically change, and this will require us to have broader conversations about how to organize the economy. These conversations should wrestle with how to navigate major economic shifts in a way that recognizes the impact on the human condition, and the extent to which people derive their communities, friendships, personal sense of meaning and dignity from their work.
    What about the competitive landscape? There is probably a greater likelihood that rewards for businesses would be distributed more unevenly at first, as significant breakthroughs with far-reaching ramifications may benefit a subset of firms and industries and concentrate economic power in firms that control GenAI breakthroughs. If only a handful of firms have the ability to accomplish the incredible things I’ve mentioned above, they may dominate markets and crowd out competitors. To the extent that GenAI becomes broadly effective, widely available, and cheap, these market advantages could lessen over time if the right regulatory environment supports competitive market dynamics.30 But history suggests caution in this regard; a handful of players may dominate.31
    And finally, for finance, we should anticipate fundamental changes in this scenario. When it’s working well, the financial system helps move money and risk through time and space.32 To the extent there are fundamental changes to how the economy is organized, we could need a new set of institutions, markets, and products to facilitate transactions among households, businesses, and GenAI agents.
    What Should We Do?Among the many ways in which we can help to harness the potential benefits of GenAI and minimize its risks, I will highlight only a couple today.
    Financial institutions, and the Federal Reserve System, should consider investing sufficient resources in understanding GenAI technology, incorporating it into their workflows where appropriate, and training staff on how to use the technology responsibly and effectively.33 Meanwhile, the financial regulatory community should approach the changing landscape with agility and flexibility. And beyond the financial sector, collaboration between governments, private industry, and research institutions will be critical to ensure that GenAI systems are not weaponized in catastrophic ways. We should continue to focus on responsible AI research and development and implement safeguards against misuse, including monitoring systems, standards for secure AI system development, and agreement on red lines for acceptable use cases.34 We should be attuned to the impact of GenAI on our economic and political institutions. There’s a risk that it concentrates economic and political power in the hands of the very few and could lead to the gains being realized only by a small group, while the rest are left behind.
    Another thing I want to emphasize is AI governance. I think most would agree that the goal of the technology is to improve the human condition, and to do that, we need to be intentional in advancing that goal. We should make sure that we think about GenAI as enhancing, not replacing, humans, and set up best practices and cultural norms to that end. Every financial institution should recognize the limitations of the technology, explore where and when GenAI belongs in any process, and identify how humans can be best positioned to be in the loop. We should also focus on data quality, and make sure that uses of GenAI do not perpetuate or amplify biases inherent in the data used to train the system or make incorrect inferences to the extent the data is incomplete or nonrepresentative.35 In the realm of regulation, frameworks for understanding model risk may need to be updated to address the complexity and challenges of explaining AI methods and the difficulty of assessing data quality.
    We need to be attuned to the risk in finance. The very attributes that make GenAI attractive—the speed, automaticity, and ability to optimize financial strategies—also present risk.36 When the technology becomes ubiquitous, use of GenAI could lead to herding behavior and the concentration of risk, potentially amplifying market volatility. As GenAI agents will be directed to maximize profit, they may converge on strategies to maximize returns through coordinated market manipulation, potentially fueling asset bubbles and crashes. Speed, automaticity, and ubiquity could generate new risks at wide scale.37
    We also should monitor how introduction of this technology changes the banking landscape. Nonbanks may be more nimble and risk-forward in incorporating GenAI into their operations, which may push intermediation to less-regulated, less transparent corners of the financial sector. In addition, this competitive pressure may push all institutions, including regulated institutions, to take a more aggressive approach to GenAI adoption, heightening the governance, alignment, and financial risks I mentioned before.
    In conclusion, while AI’s impact will vary across industries and the reality is evolving, the scenarios I have outlined today provide a framework to begin thinking about how we should respond to developments in GenAI. However, as I mentioned above, elements of both scenarios will likely be present in the future, and play out at different rates, which will influence the effects on the economy and society. Rapid advances in this technology, such as Agentic AI and advancements in open-source models, underscore just how new this technology is and the importance of understanding what it means for individuals, businesses, and markets. Thank you.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board. Return to text
    2. See, for instance, Lisa D. Cook, “Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and the Path Ahead for Productivity,” (speech at Technology-Enabled Disruption: Implications of AI, Big Data, and Remote Work Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, October 1, 2024). Return to text
    3. See Gaurav Sett, “How AI Can Automate AI Research and Development,” RAND Commentary, October 24, 2024. Return to text
    4. See Cory Breaux and Emin Dinlersoz, “How Many U.S. Businesses Use Artificial Intelligence?” (Washington: U.S. Census Bureau, November 28, 2023); Alexander Bick, Adam Blandin, and David J. Deming, “The Rapid Adoption of Generative AI,” NBER Working Paper No. 32966 (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, September 2024, revised February 2025); and Leland Crane, Michael Green, and Paul Soto, “Measuring AI Uptake in the Workplace,” FEDS Notes (Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, February 5, 2025). Return to text
    5. There’s evidence of firms experimenting with these tools and then abandoning them—due to a multitude of reasons. See Kathryn Bonney, Cory Breaux, Cathy Buffington, Emin Dinlersoz, Lucia S. Foster, Nathan Goldschlag, John C. Haltiwanger, Zachary Kroff, and Keith Savage, “Tracking Firm Use of AI in Real Time: A Snapshot from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey,” NBER Working Paper No. 32319 (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, April 2024). Return to text
    6. For more on Agentic AI’s uses, advantages, and risks, see Mark Purdy, “What Is Agentic AI, and How Will It Change Work?” Harvard Business Review (December 12, 2024). Return to text
    7. See Dario Amodei, “Machines of Loving Grace,” October 2024, https://darioamodei.com/machines-of-loving-grace. Return to text
    8. For biology and drug discovery, see Jean-Philippe Vert, “Unlocking the Mysteries of Complex Biological Systems with Agentic AI,” MIT Technology Review (November 13, 2024), https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/11/13/1106750/unlocking-the-mysteries-of-complex-biological-systems-with-agentic-ai; and “Owkin Announces First Patient Dosed in Phase I AI-Optimized Clinical Trial of OKN4395, a First-in-Class EP2/EP4/DP1 Triple Inhibitor for Patients with Solid Tumors,” Business Wire, January 30, 2025, https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250130436779/en/Owkin-Announces-First-Patient-Dosed-in-Phase-I-AI-optimized-Clinical-Trial-of-OKN4395-a-First-in-Class-EP2EP4DP1-Triple-Inhibitor-for-Patients-with-Solid-Tumors. Return to text
    9. Others have used other types of scenarios. See Anton Korinek, “The Economics of Transformative AI,” The Reporter (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, December 31, 2024); Iñaki Aldasoro, Leonardo Gambacorta, Anton Korinek, Vatsala Shreeti, and Merlin Stein, “Intelligent Financial System: How AI Is Transforming Finance (PDF),” BIS Working Papers No. 1194 (Basel, Switzerland: Bank for International Settlements, June 2024); and Ethan Mollick, Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI (New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2024). Return to text
    10. For worker productivity gains in customer service, see Erik Brynjolfsson, Danielle Li, and Lindsey R. Raymond, “Generative AI at Work,” NBER Working Paper No. 31161 (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, April 2023, revised November 2023). For GenAI assisted writing gains, see Shakked Noy and Whitney Zhang, “Experimental Evidence on the Productivity Effects of Generative Artificial Intelligence,” Science, vol. 381, no. 6654 (July 2023): 187–92; Jordan Usdan, Allison Connell Pensky, and Harley Chang, “Generative AI’s Impact on Graduate Student Writing Productivity and Quality,” SSRN (August 29, 2024), https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4941022. For software engineering, see Sida Peng, Eirini Kalliamvakou, Peter Cihon, and Mert Demirer, “The Impact of AI on Developer Productivity: Evidence from GitHub Copilot,” arXiv:2302.06590, February 13, 2023; Leonardo Gambacorta, Han Qiu, Shuo Shan, and Daniel M. Rees, “Generative AI and Labour Productivity: A Field Experiment on Coding (PDF),” BIS Working Papers No. 1208 (Basel, Switzerland: Bank for International Settlements, September 2024); Zheyuan (Kevin) Cui, Mert Demirer, Sonia Jaffe, Leon Musolff, Sida Peng, and Tobias Salz, “The Effects of Generative AI on High-Skilled Work: Evidence from Three Field Experiments with Software Developers,” SSRN (September 5, 2024, revised February 10, 2025), https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4945566. For worker gains in the consulting industry, see Fabrizio Dell’Acqua, Edward McFowland III, Ethan Mollick, Hila Lifshitz-Assaf, Katherine C. Kellogg, Saran Rajendran, Lisa Krayer, François Candelon, and Karim R. Lakhani, “Navigating the Jagged Technological Frontier: Field Experimental Evidence of the Effects of AI on Knowledge Worker Productivity and Quality (PDF),” Harvard Business School Working Paper No. 24-013 (September 2023). Return to text
    11. See Ethan Goh, Robert Gallo, Jason Hom, et al., “Large Language Model Influence on Diagnostic Reasoning: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” JAMA Network Open (October 28, 2024), https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2825395; Nikhil Agarwal, Alex Moehring, Pranav Rajpurkar, and Tobias Salz, “Combining Human Expertise with Artificial Intelligence: Experimental Evidence from Radiology,” NBER Working Paper No. 31422 (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, July 2023, revised March 2024); Ashley Capoot, “Reid Hoffman Enters ‘Wondrous and Terrifying’ World of Health Care with Latest AI Startup,” CNBC, February 2, 2025, https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/02/reid-hoffman-launches-manas-ai-a-new-drug-discovery-startup.html; Kang Zhang, Xin Yang, Yifei Wang, Yunfang Yu, Niu Huang, Gen Li, Xiaokun Li, Joseph C. Wu, and Shengyong Yang, “Artificial Intelligence in Drug Development,” Nature Medicine, vol. 31 (January 2025): 45–59, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03434-4; Qian Liao, Yu Zhang, Ying Chu, Yi Ding, Zhen Liu, Xianyi Zhao, Yizheng Wang, Jie Wan, Yijie Ding, Prayag Tiwari, Quan Zou, and Ke Han, “Application of Artificial Intelligence in Drug-Target Interactions Prediction: A Review,” NPJ Biomedical Innovations, vol. 2, no. 1 (January 2025), https://doi.org/10.1038/s44385-024-00003-9. Return to text
    12. For more on education, see Justin Wolfers, “An Econ Educators Guide to our AI-Powered Future,” Macmillan Learning, EconEd (presentation), September 26, 2024, https://www.macmillanlearning.com/college/us/events/econed; and Anne J. Manning, “Professor Tailored AI Tutor to Physics Course. Engagement Doubled,” Harvard Gazette, September 5, 2024. Return to text
    13. See Maxime C. Cohen and Christopher S. Tang, “The Role of AI in Developing Resilient Supply Chains,” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (February 5, 2024); and Remko Van Hoek and Mary Lacity, “How Global Companies Use AI to Prevent Supply Chain Disruptions,” Harvard Business Review, November 21, 2023. Return to text
    14. See Sheldon Fernandez, “How Generative AI Can Be Used in Electronics,” Forbes, April 26, 2023, https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2023/04/26/how-generative-ai-can-be-used-in-electronics-manufacturing. Return to text
    15. For U.S. financial institutions, see Elizabeth Judd, “How to Balance Human and Machine While Using Chatbots,” Independent Banker, January 1, 2025; and U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Artificial Intelligence in Financial Services (PDF)” (Washington: U.S. Department of the Treasury, December 2024). For foreign financial institutions, see Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority, “Artificial Intelligence in UK Financial Services—2024” (London: Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority, November 21, 2024); and Bank of Japan, “Use and Risk Management of Generative AI by Japanese Financial Institutions,” Financial System Report Annex (Tokyo: Bank of Japan, October 29, 2024). For global financial institutions, see OECD, “FSB Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Finance (PDF),” Financial Stability Board, September 30, 2024. Return to text
    16. Lida R. Weinstock and Paul Tierno, “The Macroeconomic Effects of Artificial Intelligence (PDF),” Congressional Research Service, January 28, 2025. Return to text
    17. See Shakked Noy and Whitney Zhang, “Experimental Evidence on the Productivity Effects of Generative Artificial Intelligence,” Science, vol. 381, no. 6654 (July 13, 2023): 187–92; Brynjolfsson et al., “Generative AI at Work” (see footnote 9); and “for software engineering” from footnote 9; Korinek (2024) from footnote 7. Return to text
    18. See David H. Autor, “Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 29, no. 3 (Summer 2015): 3–30.See Simona Abis and Laura Veldkamp. Return to text
    19. See Ben S. Bernanke, “Will Business Investment Bounce Back?” (speech at the Forecasters Club, New York, NY, April 24, 2003). Return to text
    20. See Financial Stability Board, The Financial Stability Implications of Artificial Intelligence (Basel, Switzerland: Financial Stability Board, November 14, 2024); and Jon Danielsson and Andreas Uthemann, “How AI Can Undermine Financial Stability,” VoxEU: CEPR, January 22, 2024. Return to text
    21. For some very early examples, see Davide Castelvecchi, “Researchers Built an ‘AI Scientist’—What Can It Do?” Nature, August 30, 2024, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02842-3; Daniil A. Boiko, Robert MacKnight, Ben Kline, and Gabe Gomes, “Autonomous Chemical Research with Large Language Models,” Nature, December 20, 2023, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06792-0; and Helena Kudiabor, “Virtual Lab Powered by ‘AI Scientists’ Super-Charges Biomedical Research,” Nature, December 4, 2024, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01684-3. Return to text
    22. For more on drug discovery and gene therapy, see Betty Zou, “Team Uses AI and Quantum Computing to Target ‘Undruggable’ Cancer Protein,” Phys Org, January 27, 2025; and Mohammad Ghazi Vakili et al., “Quantum-Computing-Enhanced Algorithm Unveils Potential KRAS Inhibitors,” Nature Biotechnology, January 22, 2025, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-024-02526-3. Return to text
    23. See NASA Technology Transfer Program, “Robonaut 2: Hazardous Environments (MSC-TOPS-44)”. Return to text
    24. For more on material sciences innovation, see Andy Extance, “First GPT-4-Powered AI Lab Assistant Independently Directs Key Organic Reactions,” Chemistry World, January 8, 2024, https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/first-gpt-4-powered-ai-lab-assistant-independently-directs-key-organic-reactions/4018723.article; Chenyang Liu, Xi Zhang, Jiahui Chang, You Lyu, Jianan Zhao, and Song Qiu, “Programmable Mechanical Metamaterials: Basic Concepts, Types, Construction Strategies—A Review,” Frontiers, vol. 11 (March 19, 2024); Aidan Toner-Rodgers, “Artificial Intelligence, Scientific Discovery, and Product Innovation,” MIT, November 27, 2024, https://aidantr.github.io/files/AI_innovation.pdf; and Thomas Hayes et al., “Simulating 500 Million Years of Evolution with a Language Model,” Science, January 16, 2025. Return to text
    25. See Tan Sui, “AI Could Help Overcome the Hurdles to Making Nuclear Fusion a Practical Energy Source,” The Conversation, January 29, 2025, https://theconversation.com/ai-could-help-overcome-the-hurdles-to-making-nuclear-fusion-a-practical-energy-source-247608; Jaemin Seo, SangKyeun Kim, Azarakhsh Jalalvand, Rory Conlin, Andrew Rothstein, Joseph Abbate, Keith Erickson, Josiah Wai, Ricardo Shousha, and Egemen Kolemen, “Avoiding Fusion Plasma Tearing Instability with Deep Reinforcement Learning,” Nature, vol. 626, February 21, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07024-9; and Massimiliano Lupo Pasini, German Samolyuk, Markus Eisenbach, Jong Youl Choi, Junqi Yin, and Ying Yang, “First-Principles Data for Solid Solution Niobium-Tantalum-Vanadium Alloys with Body-Centered-Cubic Structures,” Nature: Scientific Data, vol. 11, no. 907 (August 22, 2024), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03720-3. Return to text
    26. Nakia Melecio, “Exploring the Synergy: Quantum Computing and Generative AI at the Intersection of Innovation,” ScaleUp Lab Program, Enterprise Innovation Institute, Georgia Tech. Return to text
    27. For an example on GenAI and quantum computers, see Rahul Rao, “Quantum Computers Can Now Run Powerful AI That Works like the Brain,” Scientific American, April 22, 2024, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/quantum-computers-can-run-powerful-ai-that-works-like-the-brain. For an example about AI and clean energy, see Office of Policy, “How AI Can Help Clean Energy Meet Growing Electricity Demand” (Washington: U.S. Department of Energy, August 16, 2024). For examples of how GenAI is augmenting creativity, see Tojin T. Eapen, Daniel J. Finkenstadt, Josh Folk, and Lokesh Venkataswamy, “How Generative AI Can Augment Human Creativity,” Harvard Business Review (July–August 2023); and Anil R. Doshi and Oliver P. Hauser, “Generative AI Enhances Individual Creativity but Reduces the Collective Diversity of Novel Content,” Science Advances, vol. 10, no. 28 (July 12, 2024). Return to text
    28. See Iñaki Aldasoro, Leonardo Gambacorta, Anton Korinek, Vatsala Shreeti, and Merlin Stein, “Intelligent Financial System: How AI Is Transforming Finance (PDF),” BIS Working Papers No. 1194 (Basel, Switzerland: Bank for International Settlements, June 2024); and Sarah Hammer, “From Turing to Trading: How AI Is Revolutionizing Finance,” Finance Centers at the Wharton School, July 10, 2024. Return to text
    29. Large language models may even allow for the creation of synthetic data that allows for enhancing macroeconomic nowcasting and forecasting through economic AI agents that can also help with analyzing macroeconomic trends and contribute to more informed financial decisionmaking. See Anne Lundgaard Hansen, John J. Horton, Sophia Kazinnik, Daniela Puzzello, and Ali Zarifhonarvar, “Simulating the Survey of Professional Forecasters,” SSRN (December 1, 2024), https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5066286. Return to text
    30. Kelly Ng, Brandon Drenon, Tom Gerken, and Marc Cieslak, “DeepSeek: The Chinese AI App That Has the World Talking,” BBC News, February 4, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yv5976z9po. Return to text
    31. For example, see IBM Newsroom, “Data Suggests Growth in Enterprise Adoption of AI Is Due to Widespread Deployment by Early Adopters, But Barriers Keep 40% in the Exploration and Experimentation Phases,” IBM, January 10, 2024, https://newsroom.ibm.com/2024-01-10-Data-Suggests-Growth-in-Enterprise-Adoption-of-AI-is-Due-to-Widespread-Deployment-by-Early-Adopters; and Jefferies Editorial Team, “Can Startups Outsmart Big Tech in the AI Race?” Jefferies, September 17, 2024, https://www.jefferies.com/insights/boardroom-intelligence/can-startups-outsmart-big-tech-in-the-ai-race. Return to text
    32. If AI agents proliferate in financial transactions, we will also need to be careful about the potential for unintended consequences such as collusion among AI agents. See Winston Wei Dou, Itay Goldstein, and Yan Ji, “AI-Powered Trading, Algorithmic Collusion, and Price Efficiency,” Jacobs Levy Equity Management Center for Quantitative Financial Research Paper, The Wharton School Research Paper, May 30, 2024, https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4452704. Return to text
    33. See Request for Information on the Development of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan, 90 Fed. Reg. 9,088 (PDF) (February 6, 2025). Return to text
    34. See Heather Domin, “AI Governance Trends: How Regulation, Collaboration, and Skills Demand Are Shaping the Industry,” World Economic Forum, September 5, 2024. Return to text
    35. For more on bias introduced in models, see Moshe Glickman and Tali Sharot, “How Human–AI Feedback Loops Alter Human Perceptual, Emotional, and Social Judgements,” Nature Human Behavior, December 18, 2024, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-02077-2; Saul Asiel Flores, “‘Bias in, Bias out’: Tackling Bias in Medical Artificial Intelligence,” Yale School of Medicine, November 18, 2024; and Adam Zewe, “Researchers Reduce Bias in AI Models While Preserving or Improving Accuracy,” MIT News, December 11, 2024. For governance in central banks, see Claudia Alvarez Toca and Alexandre Tombini, Governance of AI Adoption in Central Banks (PDF) (Basel, Switzerland: Bank for International Settlements, January 2025). Return to text
    36. See, e.g., Michael P. Wellman, “Artificial Intelligence in Financial Services (PDF)” (written testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, September 20, 2023). Return to text
    37. See Jon Danielsson and Andreas Uthemann, “AI Financial Crises,” VoxEU: CEPR, July 26, 2024. For more on algorithm collusion, see Wei Dou et al., “AI-Powered Trading, Algorithmic Collusion, and Price Efficiency” (see footnote 33). Return to text

    MIL OSI USA News –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Video: Banks: Change on All Fronts? | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    Macroeconomic headwinds, geopolitical tensions and technological changes are converging to test the resilience of the banking sector and increase the pressure on financial institutions to quickly adapt their business models. In this context, it is clear that the banks of the future must look and operate differently from the past.

    How can the banking sector build in resilience as it navigates a time of transformational change?

    This session was developed in collaboration with Bloomberg News.

    Speakers: Bandar Bin Mohammed Bin Saoud Al-Thani, Joumanna Bercetche, Mary Callahan Erdoes, C.S. “Venkat” Venkatakrishnan, Robin Vince, Bill Winters

    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/
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    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=lrMPWLMgL3E

    MIL OSI Video –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Securing a future for Grangemouth

    Source: Scottish Government

    Additional £25 million to establish a Grangemouth Just Transition Fund.

    First Minister John Swinney has announced an additional £25 million to establish a fund to help secure the future of Grangemouth.

    During a statement to Parliament he also called on the UK Government to address the immediacy and urgency of the situation facing Grangemouth by at least matching the Scottish Government’s investment.

    The First Minister said:

    “The aim of this fund is to expedite any of the potential solutions that will be set out in the Project Willow report, as well as other proposals that will give Grangemouth a secure and sustainable future.

    “We have made the strategic decision to support this key activity through an additional draw down of ScotWind revenue totalling £25 million, to add to the £7.8 million in our budget for 2025-26. Altogether, the Scottish Government – with a finite budget – has committed or already invested £87 million in Grangemouth.

    “We need the UK Government to do at least the same and deliver a fair amount to avoid significant economic disruption in central Scotland, and to protect and promote Scotland’s – and Grangemouth’s – future interests.”

    The First Minister confirmed to Parliament that an amendment will be lodged to the Scottish Government’s 2025-26 Budget Bill to allocate an additional £25 million to establish a Grangemouth Just Transition Fund.

    Funds will be available immediately in the new financial year to support businesses and stakeholders to bring forward investible propositions over the next 12 months, and if necessary, beyond.

    He added:

    “We believe that refining at Grangemouth should continue, that this closure is premature and that it is detrimental to Scotland’s transition to net zero.

    “We recognise the significance of the fact that we are now facing a programme of redundancies at Grangemouth and the impact this will have on the lives of those employed at the site. Every person, every family and every business impacted by the closing of the Grangemouth refinery, matters. Our immediate focus, rightly, is on providing those who are losing their jobs with targeted skills support.

    “Everyone working at Grangemouth’s refinery is a valued employee with skills that are key to Scotland’s net zero future. We want them to stay in Scotland and continue to make their lives here. We will do all we can to ensure they have a future in the Scottish economy as we make the transition to net zero.

    “That is why we are also working to secure Grangemouth’s role in that future and create an investible industrial strategy for the site.”

    The First Minister also called on the UK Government to continue to work together with the Scottish Government to drive forward the next phase of Project Willow; to expedite a decision on Acorn and the Scottish Cluster of carbon capture projects; and to make urgent progress on allocating funding for the second round of hydrogen production projects. 

    Background

    Securing a future for Grangemouth – First Minister’s statement – 18 February 2025

    In September 2024 the Scottish and UK Governments published a joint plan to secure the industrial future of Grangemouth. 

    In November the Scottish Government also sought views on a draft Just Transition Plan for the wider Grangemouth industrial cluster.

    Project Willow is assessing credible options to begin building a new long-term industry at the refinery site. A range of proposals have been shortlisted by the UK and Scottish governments, as part of a joint-funded £1.5 million feasibility study. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: The German election explained through seven essential questions

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Gabriele Abels, Jean Monnet Professor for Comparative Politics & European Integration, University of Tübingen

    Germany is holding a federal election on February 23 – a snap vote called by chancellor Olaf Scholz when his coalition government fell apart at the end of last year. Parties are running to win seats in the national parliament, or Bundestag. And with an unusual level of interest from onlookers outside the country, including the world’s richest man, The Conversation asked Gabriele Abels, the Jean Monnet professor for comparative politics and European integration at the University of Tübingen, to prime us on the basics, via seven essential questions.

    1. Who are the main parties running in this election?

    The parties standing in the federal election are, from left to right on the political spectrum: Linke (the Left), SPD (social democrats), Greens, FPD (liberals), CDU/CSU (conservatives), AfD (right-wing extremist/populist).

    There is also the Buednis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), but this party is not so easy to fit into the left-right spectrum. The BSW holds leftist positions on social policy issues but is also anti-migration and opposed to sanctions against Russia and against military support for Ukraine.

    2. When will we know the results?

    It will take several days after February 23 to confirm the final results of the election.

    Based on the exit polls we will have fairly reliable results that evening but there may still be some uncertainty. It depends on how many people vote by post (a trend which is on the rise) and on how the smaller parties fare.

    There are three such parties – Linke, FDP and BSW – hovering around a 5% vote-share in pre-election polls. This is the threshold for qualifying for any seats in parliament at all, so whether or not the three make it past 5% will have quite an effect on the overall composition of the Bundestag and the distribution of seats among the parties in parliament.

    There is an additional rule: parties winning at least three districts (basic mandate clause) qualify for the Bundestag and will get seats according to their share of party votes. The Linke is investing its hopes in this option.

    3. Who is most likely to become chancellor?

    According to all opinion polls, the conservatives (CDU/CSU) will win the election and become the biggest party in government. This means that their lead candidate Friedrich Merz will become the next chancellor.

    4. Will one party run the government?

    No party will have enough seats to form a government alone, given that the German system makes it extremely difficult to do so, by design. A coalition needs to be formed comprising parties that together hold more than 50% of the seats in the Bundestag.



    Read more:
    AfD: how Germany’s constitution was designed with the threat of extremism in mind

    Even when we have the full results, forming a new government will, most likely, take some time. Talks between parties will start immediately after the election, but it might take several months to put a government together. It depends on the numbers at play and the political arithmetic – essentially the extent to which different combinations of parties agree or disagree on various policy positions.

    During a period in the 1950s, when Konrad Adenauer was chancellor, there was an option to have a single-party government. But even he preferred a coalition. Other than that, there has always been the need to form a coalition after an election.

    Unlike the Nordic countries, we in Germany do not have a tradition of minority governments since they are considered to be too weak and unstable. Germans prefer governments which are backed by a clear majority in the Bundestag.

    5. Why does Germany have a system that makes coalitions the norm?

    It is partly political culture to prefer stable majorities and emphasise compromise. But the proportional voting system and increased political fracturing also play a part in delivering many different parties into the Bundestag.

    Until the early 1980s there were usually three parties (conservative, social democrats and liberals). Today, we have seven parties in the Bundestag. Proportional voting gives new parties more possibilities to win seats, while the 5% threshold is a barrier against excessive fragmentation.

    6. We hear a lot about the AfD – but will it be in government?

    No – at least, not this time. There is what we call a brandmauer (firewall), meaning that, so far, none of the other parties is willing to form a government with the AfD. The most likely partner would be the conservatives. Yet, their lead candidate Merz is very outspoken that cooperation with the AfD would mean selling out the conservative soul. Given that the AfD is becoming more and more radical, this is not likely to change in the near future.

    However, there is already a level of cooperation between the AfD and other parties at the local level and even in some state parliaments, especially in East German Länder (states). Often, new patterns of coalition formation are tried out in Länder parliaments and later serve as models for the federal level. The AfD is hoping this will be the case for them.

    7. How important is this election in historical context?

    I would not call this election historic on the scale of the one that just took place in the US. But this election is nevertheless important – and is perceived as important by voters in terms of the future of Germany and its economy.

    Migration and the economy are the top issues and there is a strong sense of frustration as well as a growing distrust in politics. The majority of voters are happy about the snap election given that the coalition led by Olaf Scholz was no longer efficient and there was constant in-fighting.

    However, given that this election has been called at short notice, it’s not clear that turnout will match the current strength of feeling. There has not been much time to register for a postal vote and parties have had only a brief campaign window to win over voters. Which of them will be able to mobilise their voters and also non-voters (recently between 25% and 30% of the electorate will be a crucial deciding factor. Lately the AfD has been successful in terms of mobilising non-voters and also at mobilising young voters. That said, older voters make up the majority, so a lot hangs in the balance.

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

    – ref. The German election explained through seven essential questions – https://theconversation.com/the-german-election-explained-through-seven-essential-questions-247945

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Minimum alcohol pricing: what we found in Wales after five years

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Katy Holloway, Professor of Criminology, University of South Wales

    Almost five years ago, a new law came into force in Wales making it illegal to sell alcohol for less than 50p per unit.

    Since its introduction, we have been evaluating the effects of minimum alcohol pricing and our findings have recently been published. These will help Welsh Government ministers decide on the future of the policy beyond its six-year trial period.

    The price of many alcoholic drinks in Welsh shops increased in March 2020. Most noticeably, large three litre bottles of strong white cider (containing 22 units of alcohol) rose from less than £5 to £11.

    The price of some beers, wines and spirits also increased, though to a lesser extent. In pubs, clubs and restaurants, the introduction of minimum pricing for alcohol made little difference, as prices were already well above the 50p per unit threshold.

    The main goal of the Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Wales) Act 2018 is to reduce alcohol-related harm and protect the health of those regularly drinking more than the recommended 14 units per week.

    Contrary to popular belief, minimum pricing for alcohol is not a tax. This means that any extra money from higher prices goes to the retailers and producers, not to the Welsh government.

    While many people enjoy drinking alcohol without any problem, some patterns of alcohol use are associated with significant physical, mental and social harms. It costs UK society more than £27 billion a year through a combination of health, crime, workplace and social welfare costs.

    Research has shown that making alcohol less affordable can reduce consumption and hence related harms. The World Health Organization considers minimum pricing one of its “best buys” for tackling harmful alcohol use.

    While minimum alcohol pricing is in place in several countries, policies differ. In 2018, Scotland became the first country to introduce a national minimum price for all types of alcohol. Two years later, Wales followed suit.

    The Republic of Ireland introduced minimum pricing in January 2022, while Northern Ireland has been engaged in consultation on the policy for several years. There are no plans for the introduction of minimum pricing for alcohol in England.

    The policy was introduced in Wales primarily to protect hazardous and harmful drinkers, who tend to consume more low-cost, high-strength alcohol. But evaluating its effect has been complex, especially due to the COVID pandemic, which disrupted drinking habits and the availability of alcohol. Other economic factors, including the cost of living crisis, have also influenced affordability.

    What we found

    Many of the findings within the 11 reports from our Welsh evaluation have strong resonance with those elsewhere, particularly those of the final Scottish evaluation.

    Drawing from our research, we have five important findings. First, implementation in Wales has been smooth. Retailers have largely complied with the law, and enforcement has been effective.

    Second, certain cheap alcohol products have disappeared. Large bottles of strong cider, for example, are now rare. There have also been shifts in promotions and product availability.

    Third, there are indications that overall alcohol consumption in Wales has declined. While it is difficult to measure directly, purchasing data suggests a reduction.

    Fourth, concerns about unintended consequences have not materialised significantly. Predictions of a rise in home brewing, substance switching, shoplifting and cross-border purchasing have not been widely observed. While some people living near the border have bought alcohol in England, this appears to be opportunistic rather than nationwide.

    Finally, some drinkers have changed their purchasing habits. A minority have switched from cider to wine or spirits as price differences narrowed. Others, particularly those on low incomes, experienced further struggles in financially maintaining their drinking habits.

    Our recommendations

    Minimum pricing for alcohol is well supported by evidence. It is not without its critics, especially those citing continued trends in actual numbers of alcohol-related deaths. Its implementation in Wales has noticeable effects, most of which are positive.

    Based on our findings, we recommend that the Welsh Government retains minimum alcohol pricing. But we also recognise the need for some adjustments.



    Read more:
    Alcohol prescribing for severe withdrawal – what the research shows

    The 50p per unit price, set over a decade ago, should be reviewed. Our evidence suggests an increase in price is needed to maintain the policy’s effectiveness. We believe the policy needs to be accompanied by well-funded treatment and support services for people experiencing alcohol-related difficulties.

    Policymakers must also acknowledge the disproportionate effect of minimum alcohol pricing on those with the lowest incomes. But this should not be a reason to abandon it. We do not advocate for making unhealthy foods cheaper to tackle food poverty. The same principle applies to alcohol policy.

    Minimum alcohol pricing targets affordability rather than addressing all aspects of alcohol harm. It is not a silver bullet, and so should only be one component of comprehensive strategy delivery. If combined with other policy measures and social support, it has the potential to significantly contribute to reductions in alcohol-related harm in Wales.

    Katy Holloway currently receives funding from Health Care Research Wales and Welsh Government. She has previously received funding from a wide range of organisations including NIHR, Home Office, and Ministry of Justice.

    Wulf Livingston receives funding from Welsh and Scottish Governments, World Health Organisation, National Institute for Health Research, Health Boards, alcohol and drug commissioning partnerships and third sector charities. He has previously recieved funding from many of the aforementioned, and in addition ERSC, Local Authorities, Pocklington Trust, Alcohol research UK and Welsh Universities WIN Fund.

    – ref. Minimum alcohol pricing: what we found in Wales after five years – https://theconversation.com/minimum-alcohol-pricing-what-we-found-in-wales-after-five-years-248189

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Cottontail review: how a man’s journey through grief mirrors our search for peace – by an expert in death and grieving

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Chao Fang, Lecturer in Sociology, Deputy Director of the Centre for Ageing and the Life Course, University of Liverpool

    Cottontail (コットンテール), a newly released Japanese film, tells the touching and relatable story of Kenzaburo (Ken), a man in his late middle age grieving the loss of his wife, Akiko, after a long illness. To honour her dying wish, he embarks on a journey to take her ashes to the Lake District in northern England – a place deeply meaningful to her.

    It was not just the beauty of the landscape that drew her, but also its connection to Peter Rabbit, a character she had loved since childhood and where she had made cherished memories with her parents.

    What begins as a cross-continental trip with his son and family soon unfolds into a deeply personal and solitary quest for Ken. As a husband and father, he struggles to connect with his son, confronting the unspoken emotional walls that make expressing grief so profoundly challenging. Through this journey, Ken seeks not just peace for his loss but also a way to reconcile the past with the present.

    I found Cottontail a beautifully delicate film with a thought-provoking narrative. As an expert in ageing, death and dying, particularly in Japan, I also found its depiction of grief realistic.

    Like Ken, many of us may feel disbelief or denial when facing loss. Memories of our loved ones can wash over us in overwhelming waves, catching us off guard in the most unexpected moments. Whether it’s a familiar scene that evokes a flood of emotions, a conversation with a friend, or even a fleeting dream, the smallest reminders – both joyful and painful – can surface at any time.

    The root of these challenges lies in navigating a world that no longer includes our loved one. Psychiatrist Colin Parkes described bereavement as a psychosocial transition, a profound shift requiring adaptation to a new reality.

    Grief, he suggested, emerges from the breakdown of the world we take for granted, the beliefs and expectations we hold about the future and our plans. When loss occurs, this framework collapses, forcing us to relearn how to live in a world forever changed.

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

    Yet, grief is not simply about building a new life without the person we’ve lost.

    Over a century ago, the founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud emphasised the importance of gradually detaching from the pain of loss and redirecting our emotional energy toward new relationships and pursuits. Today, in a society that often prioritises efficiency and productivity, there’s an unspoken expectation to “complete” the process of grief and quickly return to “normal”.

    But grief resists such timelines. As I’ve argued elsewhere, healing is not about moving on but learning to carry loss forward.

    This is poignantly illustrated in Cottontail: for Ken, scattering Akiko’s ashes in England is not about leaving her or the life they shared behind, but about learning to live with loss, weaving memories of her into his ongoing life.

    Cottontail trailer.

    Rewriting the book of life

    To grieve is like rewriting the book of our lives – a painstaking process of revisiting, revising, and reimagining a narrative that once felt complete. The concept of “narrative identity” captures this: not erasing the past but weaving it into a new story that continues to unfold, where love and loss coexist, shaping who we are now and who we will become.

    Rewriting life after loss is never a solitary journey – it’s shared with others. Ken’s grief is intertwined with his strained bond with his son, Toshi.

    Preoccupied with work, Ken had neglected their relationship, leaving Toshi yearning for deeper connection. Now, drowning in grief, Ken faces the challenge of reconciling his own pain while rebuilding their bond – a dilemma familiar to many experiencing loss.

    A key theme in Ken’s grief journey is the “stiff upper lip” mentality – an emotional restraint that stops him from expressing feelings or accepting support from his son. This stoic attitude, common among older men but seen across genders, ages and cultures, often comes at the cost of hidden stress.

    My research with bereaved older adults shows that suppressing emotions isolates individuals and blocks external support, making healing and connection harder.

    On his journey, Ken meets a grieving father and daughter who openly acknowledge their emotions and support each other. Their willingness to express their feelings shows the power of emotional literacy – the ability to recognise and communicate emotions.

    This highlights the importance of grief literacy not just for individuals, but for wider social networks. When people can understand and support one another’s grief, finding peace with loss becomes more attainable, and the process of rewriting life after loss becomes a collective endeavour.

    The film concludes with Ken chasing a rabbit by Lake Windermere for his granddaughter, joined by Toshi’s family. For Ken, the rabbit is not just Cottontail or a memory of Akiko – it’s a symbol of hope, a reminder that moving forward is possible, with renewed bonds and an enduring love.

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

    – ref. Cottontail review: how a man’s journey through grief mirrors our search for peace – by an expert in death and grieving – https://theconversation.com/cottontail-review-how-a-mans-journey-through-grief-mirrors-our-search-for-peace-by-an-expert-in-death-and-grieving-250198

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Shein could be a shot in the arm for the London Stock Exchange – but the fashion giant might not like the added scrutiny

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Isaac T. Tabner, Senior Lecturer in Finance, Director of the MSc Finance, University of Stirling

    T. Schneider/Shutterstock

    Fast fashion giant Shein’s mooted flotation on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) could be larger than any stock exchange listing seen in Europe in the last year. Coming at a time when the LSE is struggling to attract new listings, with some firms migrating to other exchanges, this could be a welcome boost. So it is perhaps unsurprising that the Chinese-founded company has been courted by the UK government, the LSE and those whose role it is to champion the City of London.

    Yet there are ongoing concerns about the controversial business model and practices of Shein, whose founder Chris Xu relocated himself and the company’s headquarters to Singapore in 2022. These were exacerbated when Shein’s lawyer struggled to tell the UK’s business and trade parliamentary committee whether the company uses cotton from China.

    Campaign group Stop Uyghur Genocide recently said it will seek a judicial review if the UK regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), approves the LSE listing. And a “Say No to Shein” campaign has nearly 50,000 signatures on the activist website 38 Degrees. (Shein says it strictly prohibits forced labour in its supply chain globally.)

    More idealistic observers might question whether it is really a good idea for the UK to be courting such a controversial listing. The UK, after all, is a second-choice destination after Shein’s ambition to list on the US market failed – amid concerns about forced labour, among other things.

    So what are the claims against Shein? On environmental, social and governance (ESG) grounds the firm is controversial. Although Shein says it is working hard to reduce its environmental impact, its business model – supplying items cheap enough to be discarded after a single use – is at odds with a more sustainable society and thus problematic for the “E” in ESG.

    Some people add an additional “E” (for ethics) to the acronym. Concerns raised about the human and employee rights of workers in Shein’s supply chain and Shein’s reluctance to talk about them, even to a parliamentary committee, highlight both the “social” and the “ethical”. For its part, the company said last year it was actively working to improve its suppliers’ practices.

    If less than 10% of Shein’s equity is floated, which is the what company is proposing, it will still be controlled by its founders and majority shareholders as if it had remained a fully private company. An LSE listing would normally compel Shein to either comply with the UK corporate governance code, or explain why it did not. But dispersed minority investors with a combined ownership of less than 10% would have little or no say in the governance of a business that remained more than 90% owned and controlled by a few founding investors.

    Therefore, a listing of 10% or less would also raise concerns among minority investors about the “G” for governance. This is particularly true if their holding is involuntary, for example as part of an employee pension scheme. Shein said in a social impact report, however, that it has set up a sustainability committee to provide an extra layer of corporate governance.

    Shein’s lawyer struggled to answer questions on the source of its cotton.

    Given these issues, who gains and who loses from the proposed flotation? Shein itself could of course be among the winners. Common motives for a stock exchange listing are raising capital to finance new investment or giving founding shareholders an opportunity to cash out. Listing can also make mergers and acquisitions more straightforward and incentivise employees to stay with the company by offering preferential terms for buying shares.

    There is also no doubt that a listing would be presented as a positive sign that the UK is open and attractive for business. It would generate an initial windfall, and ongoing revenue for the LSE, plus substantial fees for financial and legal service providers based in the City of London.

    Downsides

    As a private company, Shein has kept details of its financial situation out of the public domain. If the LSE listing does go ahead (which is by no means certain), the company will be required to give detail on its legal and reputational risks, as well as its financial accounts.

    This will let prospective investors and others involved in the listing estimate a pricing range for the flotation. Recent headlines suggest a total equity valuation between US$50 billion and US$66 billion (£40 billion and £52 billion), yet if the listing does not go ahead it is impossible to estimate its market value with any reliability using information that is currently in the public domain.

    Shein’s apparent desire for secrecy, and its reluctance to publish detailed financial data, suggests that its founders and controlling investors may not be comfortable with the increased scrutiny that a listing will require. A 2023 report from the company, however, claimed Shein was committed to “continued progress and transparency” in terms of sustainability and its social impact.

    If credible revelations about controversial business practices such as forced labour or illegal working conditions emerge, this is likely to damage the stock price. No doubt outside investors would have plenty of incentive to scrutinise Shein’s activities – at least, more than the consumer buying a £10 dress for a night out.

    Perhaps a cautionary example can be drawn from the UK’s much smaller home-grown fast-fashion contender, Boohoo.com (now worth around £400 million after peaking at more than £5 billion in 2020). After an initial stellar performance, the firm’s stock price never recovered from reports in 2020 about workers in its UK supply chain being paid £3.50 an hour.

    An independent review published the same year found many failings in the company’s UK supply chain – Boohoo Group responded by pledging to implement the recommendations of the review in full. However, a BBC Panorama investigation indicated that it had not fulfilled its pledges. And at under 30 pence per share, its stock price is down more than 90% since the scandal first broke. (After the programme, Boohoo insisted that it had implemented “every one” of the independent review’s recommendations.)

    Shein’s listing – if it goes ahead – will open its inner workings to public scrutiny in a way that it has never experienced before. Already, people who have never engaged with fast fashion are discussing the business practices of the company.

    If awareness is the first stage of progress, such increased scrutiny can only be a good thing for those concerned about the darker side of the fast fashion industry.

    Isaac T. Tabner is a member of the following professional bodies:

    CFA Institute,
    CFA Society of the UK,
    Personal Finance Society and Chartered Insurance Institute.

    – ref. Shein could be a shot in the arm for the London Stock Exchange – but the fashion giant might not like the added scrutiny – https://theconversation.com/shein-could-be-a-shot-in-the-arm-for-the-london-stock-exchange-but-the-fashion-giant-might-not-like-the-added-scrutiny-249541

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: How banks, lawyers and lobbyists in the west help post-Communist kleptocrats stay rich

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By John Heathershaw, Professor in International Relations, University of Exeter

    ‘Londongrad’ is a nickname for London that encapsulates the British capital’s popularity as a haven for wealthy Russians in the post-Soviet era. Drone Motion Stock / Shutterstock

    Kleptocracy, a term derived from the Greek for “rule by thieves”, describes a system where business success and political power are inextricably entwined. Political elites exploit their position to siphon off public wealth, entrenching their power through corruption, patronage and repression.

    However, kleptocracy is not just a system of domestic corruption. It typically involves a transnational network of political elites and so-called professional enablers who work together to extract wealth and project power.

    The ability of kleptocrats to loot state resources and evade accountability depends on an ecosystem of banks, lawyers, lobbyists, intelligence agencies and PR firms that provide the financial, legal and reputational tools to legitimise stolen wealth.

    Our new book, Indulging Kleptocracy, analyses many cases of such professional enabling in the UK for elites whose wealth originates in post-Soviet countries such as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia. We uncovered examples of this activity using in-depth case studies that drew on court documents and correspondence with the enablers themselves.

    We found that, on countless occasions, British professionals have found loopholes in the rules, defeated new measures against money laundering, exploited the lack of transparency in universities and political parties and challenged the efficiency and effectiveness of the rule of law.

    UK properties worth tens of millions of pounds have been purchased for oligarchs and kleptocrats. And London corporate intelligence firms and lawyers have acted against journalists and researchers on behalf of their post-Soviet elite clients.

    Political parties, parliamentary groups and some of Britain’s top universities have even accepted donations from individuals associated with kleptocracy. In doing so, they have indulged kleptocrats much like the Catholic church once sold indulgences – offering absolution for a price.

    These services extend the wealth, status and influence of these elites into the UK and further afield. The phenomenon of “Londongrad” – a moniker to denote the British capital’s hosting of Russian and Eurasian oligarchs – is not merely about the amount of post-Soviet money laundered there. It incorporates a much wider offering of social and reputational goods, and political and security services.

    Indulging Kleptocracy was published on February 4 by Oxford University Press.
    John Heathershaw, Tena Prelec & Tom Mayne, CC BY-NC-ND

    Sustaining kleptocracy

    Professional enablers do not simply move money, and they don’t merely supply their services. They create the structures that sustain kleptocracy, embedding it into the political and economic fabric.

    The overall picture from the nine indulgences we study in our book, from “hiding money” (banking) to “silencing critics” (defamation law), is of regulators outgunned by the private sector. The professions are driven by market incentives, but their adherence to professional ethical standards is inconsistent.

    Enablers aren’t usually accessories to crimes. They may be acting downstream from grand corruption and are typically compliant with the law. But, in most cases, they appear to be either aware of who they are acting for or wilfully unwitting. They either justify their work by convoluted arguments or simply do not carry out effective due diligence on their clients.

    With Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the British government introduced a large number of sanctions against Russian entities. It also passed two acts of parliament in 2022 and 2023 to counter illicit financial activity from Russia. But most enabling is not currently considered criminal and cannot easily be legislated out of existence.

    The issue of indulging in kleptocracy is indicative of a general problem of self-regulation in global financial centres, tax havens and other secrecy jurisdictions that arose with the end of empires in the second half of the 20th century.

    At that time, former British colonies like the British Virgin Islands and Cyprus were looking to broaden their economies into the services sector. This coincided with the end of the Soviet empire, when the wealthy and their capital were flying out of Russia and Eurasia.

    How to indulge no more

    Stopping the indulgence of kleptocracy requires moving beyond piecemeal reforms and treating it as the organised criminal enterprise it is. We suggest designating “kleptocratic enterprises” as organised crime and thereby implicating enablers as part of criminal networks. Across the world, there needs to be transparency from charities, universities and political parties.

    There should be more protection for investigators and whistleblowers. And governments could do more to stimulate the market in for-profit asset recovery.

    In 2020, US$740 million (£598 million) of real estate was seized in Spain from Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad. This case involved private sector expertise and followed civil society investigations.

    Without such action, the transformation to a world where kleptocratic wealth and influence sit easily within democracies will continue apace. Even the perception of a connection should be subjected to proper scrutiny: Tulip Siddiq, the UK’s Treasury minister responsible for anti-corruption, recently resigned after her family and alleged financial links to the deposed kleptocratic regime in Bangladesh were highlighted.

    These connections, which the government’s ethics watchdog found not to be in breach of the ministerial code, had been known for years before they became a story. But effective PR campaigns, clever legal arguments and complex financial structures mean that many cases of kleptocratic wealth are never exposed. It’s time to uncover what professional enablers do for kleptocrats.

    John Heathershaw receives funding from the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office’s Anti-Corruption Evidence programme. He is affiliated with the Illicit Finance Working Group of the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition.

    Tena Prelec receives funding from the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office’s Anti-Corruption Evidence programme. She is affiliated with the Illicit Finance Working Group of the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition

    Tom Mayne receives funding from the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office’s Anti-Corruption Evidence programme. He is affiliated with the Illicit Finance Working Group of the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition

    – ref. How banks, lawyers and lobbyists in the west help post-Communist kleptocrats stay rich – https://theconversation.com/how-banks-lawyers-and-lobbyists-in-the-west-help-post-communist-kleptocrats-stay-rich-248973

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: AMA Insurance Takes Action on Reducing Claims Emissions with EcoClaim™

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    EDMONTON, Alberta, Feb. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Together, the Alberta Motor Association Insurance Company and EcoClaim are leading a new chapter in Alberta’s insurance sector, one that prioritizes measurable environmental impact, a core value for many Albertans.

    AMA Insurance’s relationship with EcoClaim highlights AMA’s mission to support Albertans through forward-thinking practices while prioritizing the environment. This collaboration equips AMA’s teams and contractor network with the tools to track and minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions tied to property claims. EcoClaim’s training and certification programs provide vendors with a comprehensive toolkit to implement sustainable practices in their operations. By using EcoClaim’s TRAX software, they gain access to accurate claim-level data on avoided emissions.

    “At AMA, we have always believed in championing initiatives that protect what matters most: our members, our communities, and our environment,” said Jordan Andrew, Claims Manager. “By working with EcoClaim, we’re taking practical steps to reduce the environmental impact of each claim while supporting our members and contractor network with the tools they need to succeed.”

    As part of this collaboration, AMA is adopting EcoClaim’s innovative TRAX software to support its supply chain partners while implementing EcoClaim sustainability training and certification.

    “At EcoClaim, we help insurance companies build sustainable practices directly into the core of their claims process,” said Jodi Scarlett, CEO of EcoClaim. “This approach transforms supply chain behaviors, delivering measurable reductions in emissions related to claims. For example, in 2024, EcoClaim vendors across Canada reported nearly 1 million kilograms of avoided emissions directly related to changes in recycling practices on property claims. AMA’s participation in the program is sure to amplify this result significantly!”

    AMA Insurance’s commitment to sustainability reflects growing momentum across the insurance sector to reduce GHG emissions. Together with EcoClaim, they are implementing practical solutions that achieve measurable environmental impact and transforming claims into climate action.

    About EcoClaim™

    EcoClaim™ transforms insurance claims into climate action with its innovative platform, offering industry-leading training, GHG management software, and a Carbon Exchange marketplace. Tailored for P&C insurers, EcoClaim replaces generic emissions benchmarks with precise claim-level data, empowering insurers to measure, manage, and reduce Scope 3 emissions effectively. The platform not only strengthens sustainability disclosures but also lowers claims costs, proving that the low-carbon way can also be the cost-efficient way.

    About AMA Insurance

    AMA Insurance Agency and the Alberta Motor Association Insurance Company operate as part of the Alberta Motor Association, which is the largest membership-based organization in Alberta.

    AMA Insurance was incorporated as an insurance company in 1962. Today AMA Insurance underwrites, sells and services a wide range of products to AMA members, including auto, home, accident and business insurance. AMA Insurance also sells the products of carefully selected external partners and is supported by internal claims and legal departments.

    About AMA

    The Alberta Motor Association (AMA) is one of the largest membership organizations in Alberta, representing a million members provincewide. As a leading advocate for traffic safety, travel, consumer protection, and crime prevention, AMA helps protect the things that matter most, cares for and participates in the communities we serve, and represents our members’ needs to industry and government.

    Media Contact:

    Meaghan Ralston, EcoClaim CMO, 1.403.926.8112, mralston@ecoclaim.ca  

    The MIL Network –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: IMF Staff Completes 2025 Article IV Mission to the Maldives

    Source: International Monetary Fund

    February 18, 2025

    End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF’s Executive Board for discussion and decision.

    • The Maldives’ economy is expected to grow by 5 percent in 2025, driven by robust tourism activity. Nevertheless, macroeconomic imbalances have continued to widen and risks are tilted to the downside.
    • The immediate policy priority is to restore sustainable public finance and debt. Broad-based fiscal reforms and a comprehensive debt strategy, alongside well-calibrated monetary and macro-financial policies, are urgently needed.
    • Reforms to strengthen climate resilience, improve the business climate and governance, and enhance skill developments will support stronger external competitiveness and strong, sustainable, and inclusive growth.

    Washington, DC: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Ms. Piyaporn Sodsriwiboon, visited Malé during February 3 – 16, 2025, to discuss recent economic developments, the outlook, and the country’s policy priorities in the context of the 2025 Article IV consultation.

    At the end of the mission, Ms. Sodsriwiboon issued the following statement:

    “Thanks to the Maldives’ strong tourism base, growth has held up well. Real GDP growth is projected at 5 percent in 2025, and the opening of airport terminal expansion would ease supply-side bottleneck for tourism and help sustain growth momentum over the medium term. Inflation is expected to rise to 2.3 percent in 2025, partially due to higher import duties. There is large uncertainty around the forecasts and risks are tilted to the downside.

    “External vulnerabilities remain, amid a persistently large current account deficit and pressures on foreign exchange reserves. The overall fiscal deficits and public debt are projected to stay elevated, calling for urgent policy adjustment. Over the medium term, the Maldives is highly vulnerable to climate change risks, due to sea level risk, floods and the degradation of its natural capital.

    “The Maldives is navigating a pivotal moment to urgently restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability. The Government of Maldives has assumed its homegrown fiscal reform agenda, importantly with the discontinuation of exceptional use of Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) advances and the passage of Fiscal Responsibility Act and Public Debt Management Act. Swift implementation of expenditure reform measures as outlined in the 2025 Budget would be key to reduce imbalances in an orderly manner and restore economic stability.

    “In addition to the revenue mobilization measures enacted by the government, there is the need for more urgent and stronger fiscal consolidation. Holistic expenditure rationalization is necessary to restrain excessive spending, while improving spending efficiency and protecting priority social spending. Subsidy reforms, which phase out untargeted subsidies and roll out well-targeted direct income transfers to vulnerable households, should be introduced as envisaged in the 2025 Budget. The reprioritization and rationalization of public sector investment program (PSIP) is critically necessary to address immediate fiscal challenges. Building on recent progress, the reforms of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and Aasandha-healthcare reforms should be continued. Strengthening the public financial framework is critical to enhance fiscal policy credibility and effectiveness. A comprehensive debt strategy would also help restore debt sustainability and improve debt management.

    “A coordinated tightening of the policy mix would effectively help address macroeconomic vulnerabilities. The MMA’s commitment to resume active monetary operations is a welcome step in this regard. Should inflationary or external pressures intensify, the MMA should stand ready to further tighten monetary policy. Heightened systemic risks from bank-sovereign nexus call for tighter macroprudential policies and vigilant financial sector oversight. Prudent foreign exchange reserve management, alongside the necessary macroeconomic adjustments that include substantial and immediate fiscal adjustments as well as stricter monetary and macroprudential policies to address economic imbalances effectively, would help safeguard the exchange rate peg.

    “Given the Maldives’ threats to climate change, integrating climate sensitivity into public financial and investment management processes is essential for tackling climate-related challenges and mobilizing additional climate finance. Structural reforms aimed at improving the business environment and governance, expanding trade and investment, and enhancing skill development remain crucial for sustaining robust and inclusive growth.

    “The IMF team would like to thank the Maldivian authorities for their hospitality and constructive discussions. Meetings were held with Finance Minister M. Zameer, Governor A. Munawar, and other senior officials, as well as representatives from the private sector and development partners.”

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Randa Elnagar

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

    @IMFSpokesperson

    MIL OSI Economics –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Microsoft announces latest investment in Europe, $700M for computing capacity in Poland

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Microsoft announces latest investment in Europe, $700M for computing capacity in Poland

    This morning, I stood in Warsaw with Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, and announced Microsoft’s latest cloud and AI infrastructure investment in Europe. Building on our initial billion-dollar investment to launch a Polish cloud region in 2023, I announced that Microsoft will spend another $700 million by the middle of next year to expand our computing capacity in the country. And we will deepen our work with Polish National Defense to strengthen Poland’s cybersecurity, including by working together on the development of AI competencies and emerging digital technologies, including new AI and quantum breakthroughs. 

    This marks the latest critical step for Microsoft’s business, economic, and political relationships in Poland – and in Europe as a whole.  

    During the past 16 months, we have announced more than $20 billion in AI and cloud infrastructure investments that represent an important part of our datacenter expansion across 15 European countries. Today’s investment in Poland builds on the integrated supply chain we are building with manufacturers across the EU. It calls on suppliers that are manufacturing critical components not only in Poland but in Italy, France, Germany, Finland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It also includes components manufactured and exported from Indiana in the United States. It’s the type of investment that creates jobs and fosters economic growth throughout Europe and across the Atlantic. 

    Promoting Trans-Atlantic Investment, Trade, and Economic Growth 

    The American technology sector is creating world-leading AI technology and is focused on being a trusted “partner of choice” around the world. And European policy leaders are focused on mobilizing more capital and increasing productivity by “closing the innovation gap.” Even in a time of fragmenting geopolitics, today’s announcement illustrates that these two technology ambitions are more aligned than divergent.  

    In multiple ways, our investment in Poland puts both these goals into practice. It demonstrates how vastly the technology sector has changed since I first joined Microsoft as an employee in Paris more than 31 years ago. While we develop and provide world-leading technology products and services globally, we now support these with enormous national investments in infrastructure and large numbers of local employees. More than ever, technology requires coordinated investments that connect countries and span oceans. 

    Sustained Technology Support During a Decade of Crises 

    Equally important, technology has become a lynchpin for national needs in times of crisis. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has aptly put recent history in perspective. As she highlighted, Europe faces a competitiveness challenge that comes as the third crisis of the 2020s, after the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.  

    It’s worth reflecting on the critical role of technology in helping to support the responses needed for each of these crises. 

    Five years ago this month, the first pandemic in a century literally started to shut doors around the world. At Microsoft, our employees and partners used new video and productivity technology like Teams to keep the economy moving forward in every corner of Europe. In just days, businesses, schools, universities, hospitals, and governments sustain their operations by moving online.  

    Two years later, the Russian military invaded Ukraine. At Microsoft, we helped move Ukraine’s critical data and technology services to our datacenters across Europe, ensuring their continued operation outside the range of cruise missile and air attacks. And like several other technology companies, we immediately helped Ukraine’s officials and citizens defend their nation from Russian cyberattacks. As a company, we provided more than $250 million of free technology and financial assistance. And we have sustained this substantial support to this day. 

    As Europe now launches a new “competitiveness compass,” technology will again play an indispensable role. Especially as working-age populations shrink and aging populations expand, economic growth and prosperity will depend more than ever on new technology. Productivity growth will require it. And the competitiveness of Europe’s many great industries and companies, large and small, will depend on their ability to hone their ongoing leadership in critical scientific domains and put their data to work. Across the continent, European institutions will need to harness the power of AI and the cloud. 

    A Strong Foundation for Europe’s AI Transition 

    AI is rapidly becoming what economists call a General Purpose Technology, or GPT. In contrast to single-purpose technologies, GPTs boost innovation and productivity across the entire economy. Throughout history, transformative GPTs like ironworking, electricity, machine tooling, computer chips, and software have not only driven economic growth but sparked new discoveries and inventions, changing the way we live and work.  

    The good news is that the foundation for Europe’s AI transition is already being laid. Industry leaders are investing tens of billions to construct state-of-the-art infrastructure to help Europe access, adopt, and innovate on the world’s most advanced cloud and AI technology. And companies like Microsoft are developing and offering innovative AI tools and vital services that are ready for use by every sector of every European economy.  

    As a company, we are developing and operating our AI infrastructure and platform services with a constant focus on Europe’s needs. This is one reason we announced our AI Access Principles in Barcelona a year ago. These eleven principles govern our operations and are designed to ensure that Microsoft’s AI infrastructure is accessible, open, and available on fair terms to the entire European economy.  

    As we’ve put these principles into practice, we’ve recognized the vital role of open-source software and AI models for European researchers, start-ups, businesses, and governments. We’ve launched the Azure AI Foundry, a platform designed to help developers build, run, and optimize AI-driven applications. The Foundry supports flexible choices and now supports more than 1,800 AI models, from OpenAI’s o3-mini to open-source models like Llama, Mistral, and others, all giving Europe the tools it needs to stay competitive in the fast-moving AI landscape. European developers can then use our Models as a Service offering to distribute their products instantly to our datacenters around the world, so customers can call on them for AI-powered applications. 

    We also recognize that technology innovation requires investments in people. That’s why we’re investing in our AI Skilling Initiative across Europe. We’re partnering with government, education, industry, and civil society to help bring AI skills to users, developers, and organizational leaders. Through our strategic partnerships, we have already helped to skill 2.9 million Europeans and are on track to engage 8 million people by the end of the year. 

    Technology Collaboration Built on Interdependence 

    We readily recognize that European leaders sometimes worry about becoming overly dependent on American technology. We appreciate that such questions are both natural and legitimate. We take them seriously and work hard to address them, including by understanding European values, supporting European needs, and adapting to European rules.  

    Along the way, we often point to a second technology dimension that too easily is overlooked. The reality is that this dependence runs both ways.  

    As a company, we’re pouring tens of billions of dollars of investment into acquiring land, constructing massive buildings, bringing additional electricity to the grid, and installing the world’s most advanced computing, networking, liquid cooling, and other technology.  

    These datacenters are not built on wheels.  

    Once constructed, these billions of dollars in infrastructure are permanent and subject to local laws, regulations, and governments. Time inevitably brings changes. It’s imperative as a company that we constantly remain focused on earning and sustaining our “license to operate” within each country. With datacenters, this starts with each local community and runs up to officials with EU-wide responsibilities. Our economic dependence on Europe runs deep. 

    As Microsoft celebrates its 50th birthday less than two months from now, we look back at more than four decades of European presence and support. As a company, we’ve seen many things change. And we ourselves have changed. We’ve put down deep roots, with employees and families in communities and countries across the continent.  

    But even amid constant change, one thing has been constant. Our support for Europe has been not only steady but steadfast.  

    MIL OSI Economics –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Microsoft shares its agenda for the 2025 Washington state legislative session

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Microsoft shares its agenda for the 2025 Washington state legislative session

    This year is historic for Washington state as we welcome Governor Bob Ferguson, the first new governor in twelve years. In the few weeks since his inauguration, Bob Ferguson has signaled a pragmatic approach to governance, launching a new era in Washington State. Alongside Washingtonians across the state, Microsoft welcomes the Ferguson administration.  

    Today, in line with our commitment to transparency, we are sharing our annual legislative agenda. 

    This year is also notable as the 2025 session is a biennial budget year where over the course of 105 days, the legislature will negotiate, write, and ultimately pass three distinct yet interdependent operating, capital, and transportation budgets, outlining the critical spending and revenue plans for the next twenty-four months. With a new federal administration, new governments around the world, and our new government here in Washington, this biennial budget process has a certain gravitas. 

    Indeed, this is a critical moment for our state. The complexity of our state’s economic fabric—aerospace, technology, life sciences, agriculture, and space—has resulted in both a growing population and now, more than ever, a moment of unprecedented technological progress, presenting opportunities for Washington State and Washingtonians. Given the pace of progress all around us and the unique role we play in the innovation economy, Governor Ferguson and our legislators must be equally agile with deft and delicate policies over these next weeks of the 2025 legislative session. 

    As in years past, Microsoft’s 2025 legislative agenda aligns closely with the priorities of Washingtonians. As a homegrown global company, we have an eye on these global shifts of change and opportunity. And in these global shifts of change and opportunity, the priority of policymakers in Olympia must be on maintaining and expanding economic vitality, addressing the crisis of affordable housing, supporting high-quality education, and improving public safety and quality of life for all of Washington.  

    People-centered outcomes with policies that genuinely increase housing supply 

    Washington and Oregon have the tightest housing markets in the United States and in Washington we need housing of every kind. There is wide agreement that Washington needs to add one million new housing units over the next 20 years to meet the needs of state residents, thereby making housing more affordable.  

    In 2019, Microsoft announced a historic investment of $750 million to support the creation and  

    preservation of affordable housing. This initiative aimed to help low- and middle-income workers, such as nurses, teachers, and police officers, who are increasingly unable to afford housing near their workplaces. Our investment contributed and preserved 12,000 units of housing for our neighbors in the Puget Sound region. What we learned through our financial investment, however, is that funding is not enough. We must increase the supply of land and do more to incentivize housing development.  

    As we have for the past decade, Microsoft supports policies that make it easier, faster, and less expensive to increase housing production. We need to unlock more land for housing, increase financing, and enable efficient and effective government permitting, including the use of new technology to speed up permit review. This includes reforms and incentives that enable more housing in areas with abundant employment and transportation modes, leveraging public investments in transit to provide affordable living options for people across various income levels, enabling them to build their lives closer to their jobs, schools, parks, and other neighborhood amenities.  

    Among the novel and promising ideas being advanced this session is to promote and unlock residential uses in commercial zones, especially in close proximity to frequent and reliable transit. The rise of online shopping has led to an increase in empty big box stores and underutilized strip malls surrounded by empty parking lots. Policymakers should prioritize rezoning underutilized commercial spaces along existing transit hubs to create vibrant new communities. Freeing up larger tracts of underutilized land will help housing developers overcome the first hurdle to building multi-family apartments, townhomes, and condos.  

    For the 2025 legislative session, the legislature must continue to take big swings at policy so that Washington State has housing for all. 

    Access to all types of education for all Washingtonians 

    In April, Microsoft will celebrate 50 years in business. In the decades after Microsoft was founded, Washington state shifted to a knowledge and innovation economy. Now, we are participating in the shift to an AI economy. And to meet the needs of this moment, we need an interactive jungle gym of skilling and credentialing opportunities for all Washingtonians so we can move both upward and across career paths to follow the job opportunities that hold the most promise now and as job opportunities evolve.  

    Washington businesses are creating great jobs, but many people lack the necessary skills or credentials to attain them. We need our state to prioritize policies that address the skills gap limiting employment options for too many people. As a leader in global technology, Washington is also a leader in future technologies like AI, clean energy, and quantum computing, which will create a new wave of meaningful family-wage jobs. Washingtonians must be prepared with the right skills to participate in the economy now and in the economy of the future. 

    Microsoft also supports policies that enhance K-12 student achievement, foster career awareness in middle school, and encourage more students to pursue post-secondary credentials. Offering all Washington kids these opportunities has long been a priority for Microsoft. This year, lawmakers are advancing policies that create seamless pathways into higher education through guaranteed enrollment and generous eligibility for the Washington College Grant program. We are excited about the work being done in these areas.  

    We also encourage the state to establish more apprenticeships in high-demand fields and expand higher education programs to produce enough qualified applicants to match available jobs.  

    These are the policies that create a jungle gym of opportunity. 

    Committing to our statewide transportation plan 

    Our transportation system is the lifeblood of our state, and our state legislature has done extraordinary work in recent years. We have many important projects underway across the state. People rely on our roads, highways, rail, and ferries to travel to work, school, obtain healthcare, and find recreation. Employers also depend on reliable transportation to move parts and products around the state and beyond. We applaud the work that has been done to keep Washington moving. 

    This biennium, the priority is to ensure that projects currently underway are completed on time, provide sufficient maintenance funding for existing facilities, and continue to make necessary investments in transformative regional projects, including ultra high-speed rail in the Cascadia corridor. 

    Cascadia at the forefront of the digital economy and looking to the future 

    Washington state serves as one of the world’s leading centers for the development of artificial intelligence technology. Advances in artificial intelligence are enhancing customer service interactions, transaction processing, and workflow efficiency across various sectors. Microsoft sees extraordinary opportunities for our state government to leverage local AI expertise to maximize public resources. We look forward to participating in these crucial conversations, which are more important than ever this year.  

    As we look to the future, we are optimistic. Microsoft’s long-standing partnership with the state of Washington has been part of the success of our state. As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, we are as committed as we have ever been to collaborating with lawmakers to secure our state’s vibrant future. We look forward to working together to meet the challenges and opportunities of the next 50 years. 

    We see this as a unique opportunity to partner with Governor Ferguson and the legislature to advance Washington State using technology and innovation, increasing individual productivity capacity, and expanding access to government services for Washingtonians. 

    State budgets that are sustainable and prioritized 

    The most important policy bills the legislature will pass, however, will be the budget bills. More than anything, this bill will reflect the state’s priorities now and for the next two years. Budgets are where Washington’s tax dollars are put to work. Over the years, Microsoft has supported targeted tax increases for important programs and services. We have supported and defended nearly every transportation package in recent history. We supported the creation of the Workforce Education Investment Act to expand higher education opportunities for all Washingtonians. We have also provided millions in matching funds to help accelerate affordable housing. And just last year we helped lead the business community in defending the Climate Commitment Act. 

    This year, legislators are facing grim budget news—a budget deficit ranging from $10 to16 billion, depending on who you ask and how you do the math. Importantly, Washington State is not in a recession. This deficit is not due to an economic downturn that caused a decline in revenues. In fact, most revenues are still marginally increasing or flat. Very simply, our policymakers in Olympia have passed budgets that went beyond our means. 

    We believe this challenge affords an opportunity to reexamine recent spending and Washington State’s priorities of government. 

    We join others in Washington in asking straightforward questions about the outcomes Washingtonians are gaining from past and current state investments. Ultimately, the state budget is the state’s most important investment opportunity for improving economic competitiveness and encouraging private sector job growth.  

    We stand ready 

    This year, we stand ready to work with Governor Ferguson and the Legislature to find solutions to all these challenges. 

    The 2025 legislative session is a pivotal moment for our state. With the can-do spirit Washington has always been known for, we are optimistic our legislature and Governor Ferguson will collaborate and find creative solutions to our most pressing challenges. Like so many others across the state, we at Microsoft are eager to be partners.  

    Together, we can create a brighter, more equitable future for Washington State. 

    Tags: affordable housing, Education and Jobs, transportation, Washington state

    MIL OSI Economics –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wyden, Merkley Demand Trump Administration Make No Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)

    February 18, 2025

    Oregon senators: “Hands off Medicare and Medicaid.”

    Washington, D.C. — Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they have sent a letter with their Senate colleagues urging Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Donald Trump’s administration not to make cuts to Medicare and Medicaid to pay for billionaires’ tax cuts.

    “Every cut risks Americans paying more, waiting longer, and wading through more insurance red tape for care. Every cut risks hospitals and community health centers struggling harder to keep their doors open and forcing health providers and workers out of their jobs,” the lawmakers wrote.

    The letter follows reports of Elon Musk and DOGE officials gaining access to key payment and contracting systems at the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services, which administers Medicare and Medicaid for millions of Americans. In 2024, 68 million seniors and people with disabilities relied on Medicare for basic care, including hospital visits, cancer screenings, diabetes, and prescription drugs. Medicaid is the largest public health insurance program in the United States, serving nearly 80 million Americans, including more than 1.1 million Oregonians.

    “It is dangerously unacceptable that an unelected Musk and his unqualified acolytes have access to sensitive CMS systems and are ready to bypass Congress to make life and death decisions affecting millions of Americans. No one asked for this lawless approach to our critical government health care systems. We urge you to stop this threat to Americans’ health care, now,” the lawmakers continued.

    Along with Wyden and Merkley, the letter was led by Senators Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Elizabeth Warren D-Mass., and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The letter was also signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Chris Coons, D-Del., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai’i, Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Andy Kim, D-N.J., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Tina Smith, D-Minn., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

    The letter text is here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: IMF Staff Completes 2025 Article IV Mission to the Maldives

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    February 18, 2025

    End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF’s Executive Board for discussion and decision.

    • The Maldives’ economy is expected to grow by 5 percent in 2025, driven by robust tourism activity. Nevertheless, macroeconomic imbalances have continued to widen and risks are tilted to the downside.
    • The immediate policy priority is to restore sustainable public finance and debt. Broad-based fiscal reforms and a comprehensive debt strategy, alongside well-calibrated monetary and macro-financial policies, are urgently needed.
    • Reforms to strengthen climate resilience, improve the business climate and governance, and enhance skill developments will support stronger external competitiveness and strong, sustainable, and inclusive growth.

    Washington, DC: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Ms. Piyaporn Sodsriwiboon, visited Malé during February 3 – 16, 2025, to discuss recent economic developments, the outlook, and the country’s policy priorities in the context of the 2025 Article IV consultation.

    At the end of the mission, Ms. Sodsriwiboon issued the following statement:

    “Thanks to the Maldives’ strong tourism base, growth has held up well. Real GDP growth is projected at 5 percent in 2025, and the opening of airport terminal expansion would ease supply-side bottleneck for tourism and help sustain growth momentum over the medium term. Inflation is expected to rise to 2.3 percent in 2025, partially due to higher import duties. There is large uncertainty around the forecasts and risks are tilted to the downside.

    “External vulnerabilities remain, amid a persistently large current account deficit and pressures on foreign exchange reserves. The overall fiscal deficits and public debt are projected to stay elevated, calling for urgent policy adjustment. Over the medium term, the Maldives is highly vulnerable to climate change risks, due to sea level risk, floods and the degradation of its natural capital.

    “The Maldives is navigating a pivotal moment to urgently restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability. The Government of Maldives has assumed its homegrown fiscal reform agenda, importantly with the discontinuation of exceptional use of Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) advances and the passage of Fiscal Responsibility Act and Public Debt Management Act. Swift implementation of expenditure reform measures as outlined in the 2025 Budget would be key to reduce imbalances in an orderly manner and restore economic stability.

    “In addition to the revenue mobilization measures enacted by the government, there is the need for more urgent and stronger fiscal consolidation. Holistic expenditure rationalization is necessary to restrain excessive spending, while improving spending efficiency and protecting priority social spending. Subsidy reforms, which phase out untargeted subsidies and roll out well-targeted direct income transfers to vulnerable households, should be introduced as envisaged in the 2025 Budget. The reprioritization and rationalization of public sector investment program (PSIP) is critically necessary to address immediate fiscal challenges. Building on recent progress, the reforms of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and Aasandha-healthcare reforms should be continued. Strengthening the public financial framework is critical to enhance fiscal policy credibility and effectiveness. A comprehensive debt strategy would also help restore debt sustainability and improve debt management.

    “A coordinated tightening of the policy mix would effectively help address macroeconomic vulnerabilities. The MMA’s commitment to resume active monetary operations is a welcome step in this regard. Should inflationary or external pressures intensify, the MMA should stand ready to further tighten monetary policy. Heightened systemic risks from bank-sovereign nexus call for tighter macroprudential policies and vigilant financial sector oversight. Prudent foreign exchange reserve management, alongside the necessary macroeconomic adjustments that include substantial and immediate fiscal adjustments as well as stricter monetary and macroprudential policies to address economic imbalances effectively, would help safeguard the exchange rate peg.

    “Given the Maldives’ threats to climate change, integrating climate sensitivity into public financial and investment management processes is essential for tackling climate-related challenges and mobilizing additional climate finance. Structural reforms aimed at improving the business environment and governance, expanding trade and investment, and enhancing skill development remain crucial for sustaining robust and inclusive growth.

    “The IMF team would like to thank the Maldivian authorities for their hospitality and constructive discussions. Meetings were held with Finance Minister M. Zameer, Governor A. Munawar, and other senior officials, as well as representatives from the private sector and development partners.”

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Randa Elnagar

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

    @IMFSpokesperson

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/02/18/pr25037-maldives-imf-staff-completes-2025-article-iv-mission-to-the-maldives

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Video: Getting EV Supply Chains Right | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    Despite slowing electric vehicle sales growth in the US and Europe, over 30 million new EVs are expected on the road in 2027. To scale production, manufacturers are racing to secure reliable and sustainable supply chains for critical components and materials.

    From batteries to critical minerals to skills, what strategies are manufacturers and policy-makers adopting to meet the increasing demand?

    This session is linked to the ongoing work of the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains, Centre for Energy and Materials, and Automotive Industry of the World Economic Forum.

    This session was developed in collaboration with Business Insider.

    Speakers: Pan Jian, Anindya Novyan Bakrie, Jamie Heller, Bonginkosi Emmanuel “Blade” Nzimande, Elizabeth Shuler, Jakob Stausholm

    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=S4tgXhJlUrI

    MIL OSI Video –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: U.S. Navy EOD Conducts Arctic Warfare Exercise ‘Arctic Specialist’ with NATO Allies in Norway

    Source: United States Navy

    Arctic Specialist is an annual Norway-hosted multinational joint EOD and expeditionary mine countermeasures (ExMCM) exercise providing training at the platoon and squad level and the development of land and maritime EOD tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) in a cold-weather environment. Allied forces from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden trained alongside U.S. forces at this year’s event.

    “Arctic Specialist represents one of the premier exercises where Thunderstealers hone our cold weather survival, EOD, and diving skills,” said Cmdr. John Kennedy, Commander, Task Group (CTG) 68.1 (EODMU 8). “The opportunity to train alongside such capable Allies builds confidence in our ability to deploy to the Arctic region and sustain combat operations.”

    According to the Department of Defense’s 2024 Arctic Strategy, “Major geopolitical changes are driving the need for this new strategic approach to the Arctic, including Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the accession of Finland and Sweden to the NATO Alliance, increasing collaboration between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia, and the accelerating impacts of climate change. This increasingly accessible region is becoming a venue for strategic competition, and the United States must stand ready to meet the challenge alongside Allies and partners.”

    While arctic strategy and presence is a growing priority for the U.S. military, training for arctic warfare with our Allies in the high north is not a new initiative for U.S. Navy EOD. In 1986, Norway began hosting an annual “EOD Ex”, which in 2012 became Arctic Specialist.

    “This is my 14th year participating at this exercise. The value of it, beyond working together on realistic scenarios and exchanging knowledge and TTPs, is getting to know other nations. Learning cultural respect and traditions, their working methods, the ‘do’s and don’ts’. Whatever the operation is going to be, it is important to get to know your Allies on a deep level,” said a Lieutenant Commander Operations Officer of Norwegian Naval EOD Command.

    The exercise has continued to provide an excellent training ground for EOD operators to hone their skills and operate in a uniquely challenging environment alongside NATO Allies and partners. Unique to this year’s exercise was the participation of Sweden, NATO’s newest member, for the first time.

    Participation in such exercises will enable our EOD and diving forces to increase warfighting skills in arctic conditions, use lessons learned from past engagements, and provide opportunities to learn from our Allies’ extensive cold weather operating experience.

    During the 11-day exercise, EOD and MCM forces exchanged knowledge for countering regional and global security threats. A multinational Tactical Operations Center (TOC) was established to provide command and control, intelligence, and advanced communications for all participating units.

    Beyond in-depth training on cold weather survival techniques, the exercise included live demolition for mine countermeasure diving, conventional munition disposal, limpet mine response, historical ordnance disposal operations (HODOPS), and chemical and homemade explosive (HME) response. All training was designed with an emphasis on integrated multinational operations at the tactical level in preparation for major combat operations.

    EODMU 8’s MCM Company Commander, Lt. Andrew Lewis, said, “Forward deploying our team to Norway has been critical to our development of warfighting skills in arctic conditions. Through working with our peers from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway—subject matter experts who live and operate in this environment year-round—we have gained a new understanding of and respect for the difficult conditions we could face while operating in the Arctic. Exercises like Arctic Specialist allow us to continue improving our knowledge, skills, and tactics by conducting increasingly complex and high-end missions, and to build lasting bonds with our Allies.”

    As the arctic security environment evolves, training, exercising, and operating in the Arctic will improve U.S. Navy EOD’s operational effectiveness by familiarizing the expeditionary Force with the unique and demanding operating environments of the European Arctic region. By exercising alongside Arctic Allies, the Force continues to improve interoperability and gains regional expertise.

    “This exercise is designed for the operators. The focus is ground level training, developing the skills of the EOD technicians, and everyone getting stronger,” said a Lieutenant from Norwegian Naval EOD Command.

    Before AS kicked off, a platoon of U.S. Navy EOD operators from EODMU 8 and Norwegian Navy EOD clearance divers from Minedykker Kommandoen (Norwegian Naval EOD Command) completed a 2-week winter warfare training in Hovden, Norway, focused on arctic mobility and survivability.

    The winter warfare course consisted of academic training, gear preparation, cross country, back country, and downhill skiing instruction, ski training with heavy rucksack, cold weather injury treatment and prevention, improvised shelter building, camp set up, proper clothing loadout, avalanche safety training, cold weather demolition, small arms shooting on skis, and freezing water response.

    “The value to the guys was immeasurable. Most of them started off the training without ever having skied and some never having seen snow in their lives. We went from that, to being able to self-sustain for 96 hours in the brutal, non-forgiving Norwegian wilderness in 6 feet of snow, transiting roughly 20 kilometers through the mountains, on back country skis, while wearing 70 lb. rucks,” said Explosive Ordnance Disposal Senior Chief Karl Sowinski, EODMU 8 ExMCM Company senior enlisted leader and lead exercise planner. “The cost of ending up out there alone, without the proper gear and training, is death. Out of all the environments we operate in, the Arctic is the only one that is actively trying to kill you 24/7.”

    The team did a cold-water plunge in a freezing river, where they had to function under extreme stress and cold shock. Surrounded by snow and ice, they fully submerged in the icy water, then worked through their cold response by controlling their breathing and responding to a series of questions to demonstrate mental acuity before exiting the water, donning dry clothing, and rewarming.

    “The critical takeaway of this exercise was the integration and interoperability. During the winter warfare portion, prior to Arctic Specialist, the U.S. EOD operators looked to us for our expertise in Arctic survival techniques. During Arctic Specialist, we [Norwegian EOD] looked to the U.S., Sweden, and Denmark teams for new technology or methods that we may not currently use,” said a platoon commander from Norwegian Naval EOD Command. “When we work with our Allied peers, the most valuable part is the group dynamic and becoming a team. We bond on both a personal level and as a military team, making us stronger for future engagements.”

    Continuing to exercise presence in the high north through training and operations will enhance deterrence by demonstrating combat-credible capabilities and the ability to respond rapidly to threats in the Arctic and elsewhere around the globe.

    U.S. Navy EOD stands ready to protect U.S. interests from explosive threats in the face of new challenges and an evolving security environment.

    CTF-68 commands all naval expeditionary combat forces in the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command areas of responsibility in direct support of U.S. Naval Forces Europe -Africa, and U.S. 6th Fleet.

    U.S. 6th Fleet conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and inter-agency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

    For additional news about U.S. Navy EOD, visit https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/EODG-2.

    MIL Security OSI –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Chernyshenko, Sergey Kravtsov, Valery Falkov and the head of Rosmolodezh Grigory Gurov commented on the results of the strategic session on the development of education

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    Dmitry Chernyshenko took part in a strategic session on the development of education

    Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, Minister of Education Sergei Kravtsov, Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov, Head of Rosmolodezh Grigory Gurov and Head of Rosobrnadzor Anzor Muzaev took part in the strategic session chaired by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

    The event summed up a series of strategy sessions under his leadership – on personnel, engineering education and the quality of education in general. It discussed issues of developing the Strategy for the Development of Education until 2036 with a perspective until 2040.

    Dmitry Chernyshenko noted that the strategy is being prepared on the instructions of President Vladimir Putin. This is work of unprecedented scale in the modern history of Russia. It involves the widest range of participants – teachers, scientists, public figures, representatives of various ministries and departments, students and their parents. All entities are also involved – a meeting with regional education ministers has already been held, and regional and district sessions have taken place.

    “Here, in the Coordination Center, we receive feedback from various sources. We have already collected more than 338 thousand opinions from citizens, including more than 45 thousand proposals through the public services portal. Thus, the strategy is being prepared by the entire country. 14 working groups are developing proposals and analyzing materials – this is more than a thousand experts,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

    The process is coordinated by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs and the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science. An active discussion of the strategy took place during the government hour at the State Duma. Dmitry Chernyshenko thanked the Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin and the deputies for the productive dialogue and the decisions that are being followed up by legislation.

    Answering the question of why the strategy is needed, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that a huge number of different participants are involved in the education system. The strategy will consolidate uniform principles and approaches to the educational process and will become its main guideline.

    In addition, it is necessary to create a sovereign education system that will unite society, reveal the potential of each person and ensure Russia’s leadership in technological, cultural and social development.

    “The key mission is to train and educate professionals, patriots of Russia, who preserve traditions and shape the future. This meets the national goals set by the President. It is important that we do not propose revolutionary changes in the education system, but only an evolutionary approach, when we take the best that we have accumulated since Soviet times. The strategy will be based on the best traditions and practices of the scientific and pedagogical national school, as well as the main achievements of the past decades,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko.

    Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov noted that at the strategy session, the Chairman of the Government was presented with the first approaches to the Strategy for the Development of Education for the period up to 2036 with a perspective up to 2040.

    “This event is important for the entire country. We have received approval, and instructions have already been given for its further implementation. At the meeting, all issues facing the education system were considered in detail. This includes increasing teachers’ salaries, reducing the bureaucratic burden, unified educational programs, and improving the quality of natural science education. We also discussed the results that have already been achieved. Based on them, we must move forward, taking into account the challenges facing the education system and the country. I would like to emphasize that it is important to act evolutionarily, to be guided by the principle of “do no harm,” “the Minister of Education said.

    He drew attention to the fact that the student and teacher are at the center of the strategy. The Minister of Education added that it is very important not to lower the quality of education and to rely on effective solutions in the field of education. The head of the department recalled that all indicators of the national project “Education” have been achieved. More than 1,600 schools, 1,688 kindergartens have been built, almost 5 thousand schools have been overhauled. By 2030, the task is to bring all schools in the country to a standard condition.

    Speaking about how higher education will change within the framework of the Education Development Strategy, the head of the Ministry of Education and Science Valery Falkov noted that the changes will be comprehensive and will affect all areas of activity of Russian universities. At the center of this major work is the transition to a new model of higher education, which is based on three key principles: fundamentality, practice-orientedness and flexibility. They will be reflected in new educational standards and the mechanism for their rapid update, and a new list of relevant specialties will also be formed.

    The head of the Ministry of Education and Science emphasized that the task of the entire higher education system is to prepare professionals with a broad outlook, creative, critical thinkers, who love the Motherland and are ready to work for its benefit.

    “Working on the Education Development Strategy together with colleagues, we propose a set of measures that will strengthen intergenerational dialogue between children and adults, make opportunities more accessible for every young person in our country, and create high-quality content based on our traditional spiritual and moral values. All these measures are aimed at creating a single educational space at all stages of growing up and becoming a young person,” said Grigory Gurov, head of Rosmolodezh.

    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 –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Statement from Northern Premiers following their Mission to Washington, D.C.

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Premier Pillai has issued the following statement on behalf of the Northern Premiers:

    “Northern Premiers have a unique shared responsibility in shaping Canada’s future. While each territory has its own distinct needs, we are united by common values, shared challenges and a collective vision for a strong and thriving Arctic and North.

    “Northern Premiers were pleased to participate in the Council of the Federation Mission to Washington, D.C., to share that vision with our neighbours in the United States.

    “During meetings with key members of Congress and the Senate, Northern Premiers delivered a clear and unified message: a strong Canada-U.S. partnership is essential to addressing shared priorities. From economic growth to energy security, critical mineral supply chains, border security and immigration, our collaboration is key to navigating these complex challenges. This commitment was further reinforced during a presentation at the Wilson Center, where Premiers highlighted the importance of Arctic Security and the opportunities for alignment and cooperation between Canada and the United States in the Arctic region.

    “Northern Premiers met with officials from Denmark and Greenland to enhance cooperation on key Arctic issues, including security, climate change and potential economic partnership. The high-level discussions aimed to foster stronger diplomatic and economic ties between sub-national governments across the North American Arctic while addressing shared challenges in the region.

    “Premiers highlighted the critical minerals and energy potential in the territories, emphasizing the importance of sustainable development in partnership with Indigenous peoples and in collaboration with their governments.

    “Northern Premiers are committed to Canada’s sovereignty and will continue to prioritize security of the North, which includes Arctic energy and economic security. Northern Premiers will stand together with other Canadian First Ministers to protect and strengthen our economy and our communities – together, as Canadians.”

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: A Message to UConn Faculty and Staff

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Dear Colleagues,

    As you know, along with other senior leaders, we regularly engage with the University Senate, USG, union representatives, the Deans Council, associate deans, department heads, directors of centers and institutes, and students to talk about challenges and opportunities for our university. But we can always do more to enhance our communication efforts and ensure that everyone feels heard and valued.

    We believe that effective communication and transparency are crucial for supporting trust and sustaining positive relationships and growth at UConn and UConn Health. To that end, we would like to offer the broader UConn community more opportunities to have access to senior administrators so that faculty, students, and staff can ask questions and share their ideas on challenges and aspirational goals.

    That is especially true now. Between new and sometimes rapidly changing policies and directives from the federal government to looming potential budget difficulties here at the university to the legislative session and appropriations process that is beginning at the state capitol, we are in the midst of a fraught and complicated moment on multiple levels.

    First: Together, we are going to get through all of it. We are certainly no strangers to facing challenges. As events unfold, we will deal with them — meeting the moment, coming together as a community, and being responsive while always staying true to our values.

    We will remain optimistic about the future despite the challenges of the present because we will persevere and adhere to our mission to educate the next generation of leaders across multiple fields; create educational access and opportunity for all; conduct innovative and impactful research; and engage Connecticut’s communities in the service of improving the world around us.

    As we continue to work to navigate the issues we face, we want to make sure we share relevant information with our community but also connect with and hear from you in multiple venues, both formal and informal.

    We have used the stakeholder discussions noted above as opportunities to assess our current circumstances and focus on solutions-based paths forward. Similar discussions are happening at the school, college, and department levels through the regular cadence of unit meetings as well as through smaller in-person gatherings.

    Like many leaders, we’re not only talking to one another, but are in constant contact with colleagues at institutions around the nation, our contacts at funding agencies, state leaders, and members of our Congressional delegation.

    The mood and tone of these discussions, beyond information sharing, is steady determination. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and we are in it for the long haul. Our collective goal is to support and protect higher education across the United States – making sure that we maintain the considerable strengths of this precious national resource while innovating into the future.

    With respect to internal communication, in addition to written messages and web content, we will resume a practice that we first began during the Covid pandemic: Beginning soon, we and other senior leaders at UConn and UConn Health will hold bi-weekly check-ins over Teams with the campus community, where we will share information and answer questions that can be submitted in advance or during the meeting itself.

    We will share the date and time of the first meeting once it has been scheduled. In the meantime, please e-mail questions to which you would like answers (to the extent there are answers) to Communications@UConn.edu with the subject line: “Questions for leadership.”

    In addition, we also want to make ourselves available at the local level through smaller group discussions during academic departmental meetings. If you would like to invite us to attend a regularly scheduled meeting of your department, please e-mail President@UConn.edu with the subject line: “Invite to department meeting.”

    We also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge what is so abundantly clear: that many members of our community, including particularly vulnerable populations, are feeling everything from deep concern to outright worry. Please know that we and your university are here for you and support you. As we have said many times, we know what our values are and they are not going to change.

    We plan to send a message similar to this to our students.

    We don’t pretend to have all the answers or the perfect prescription to address each of the challenges we face, but we are going to do all we can in partnership with you to move forward.

    All the best,

    President Radenka Maric

    Provost Anne D’Alleva

    MIL OSI USA News –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: NNIT A/S: NNIT RELEASES ITS ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2024

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Annual Report 2024

    2024 was the first full year as the new NNIT – an industry focused specialized IT consultancy focusing on Life Sciences internationally and the public and private sectors in Denmark. The Group continued to grow revenue organically and deliver a profit margin in line with the updated outlook for the year.

    2024 key highlights

    • Revenue grew by 7.1% (organic growth of 6.0%) to DKK 1,851 million. Despite facing challenges in various regions, especially in the third quarter, we ultimately achieved growth that surpassed the market overall. A strong fourth quarter, and significant wins in US and Denmark towards the end of the year hold promise of good momentum carried into 2025.
    • NNIT delivered operating result before special items of DKK 117 million in line with the DKK 116 million in 2023 and resulting in a slightly lower operating profit margin before special items of 6.3% for the year which is 0.4% down as a result of lower utilization.
    • Special items amounted to DKK 69 million against DKK 69 million in 2023 and is mainly related to earn-out payments and restructuring cost.

    2025 outlook

    • During 2025, NNIT expects organic growth to gradually improve alongside profitability.
    • The Group expects to generate organic revenue growth of 7-10% through expansion of existing engagements, and partly from the onboarding of new customers.
    • The operating profit margin before special items is expected to increase to 7-9% driven by several factors such as optimization of utilization and billability, recovery of the data migration business, full-year impact of the initiatives carried out during 2024 and continuously exploring further cost optimization opportunities.
    • The outlook is based on assumptions where the macroeconomic environment and geopolitical uncertainty is expected to remain at the same level as in 2024. Exchange rates are expected to remain stable.
    • In 2025, special items are expected to consist of earn-out payments of around DKK 20m with 2025 being the last year of such payments. Restructuring costs will also be a part of special items in 2025, however, the amount is expected to be significantly below the level of 2024.

    Pär Fors, CEO of NNIT, comments:
    “2024 was an eventful year where we reached several strategic milestones in becoming a pure-play IT consultancy company. Despite macroeconomic uncertainty and a moderate market slowdown in Life Sciences towards the second half of the year, we continued to grow our business organically through existing and new customers. Furthermore, we continued to strengthen our position in the Public sector in Denmark, where we won important strategic contracts. As a result, we delivered according to our latest financial outlook.”

    Conference call
    February 19, 2025, at 9:30 AM CET:

    Webcast link

    Dial in information:

    DK: +45 7876 8490
    SE: +46 31-311 5003
    UK: +44 203 769 6819
    US: +1 646-787-0157

    Participant Access code: 472855

    For more information, please contact:

    Investor Relations
    Carsten Ringius
    EVP & CFO
    Tel: +45 3077 8888
    carr@nnit.com

    Media Relations
    Sofie Mand Steffens
    Senior Communications Consultant
    Tel: +45 3077 8337
    smst@nnit.com

    ABOUT NNIT

    NNIT is a leading provider of IT solutions to life sciences internationally, and to the public and private sectors in Denmark.

    We focus on high complexity industries and thrive in environments where regulatory demands and complexity are high.

    We advise on and build sustainable digital solutions that work for the patients, citizens, employees, end users or customers.

    We strive to build unmatched excellence in the industries we serve, and we use our domain expertise to represent a business first approach – strongly supported by a selection of partner technologies, but always driven by business needs rather than technology.

    NNIT consists of group company NNIT A/S and the subsidiary SCALES. Together, these companies employ more than 1,700 people in Europe, Asia and USA.

    Attachments

    The MIL Network –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Video: Demographics, What Next? | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    We cannot understand the world without understanding demographic change. The dramatic reduction in fertility rates has led demographers to revise their projections, now expecting population to peak well within this century.

    Speakers: Masood Ahmed, Niall Ferguson

    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=dmaRe9tmjwU

    MIL OSI Video –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council grants to city’s adventure playgrounds to be extended

    Source: City of Leicester

    NINE adventure playgrounds in Leicester are to receive another year’s funding, as the council extends its grant arrangements to give them even more time to become self-sustaining.   

    The council had previously told the play associations who operate the playgrounds that their funding would end in April 2025. The city mayor has now agreed to make the grant payments for another year.   

    The extension of payments will come on top of the granting of a licence awarded to all of the play associations, which enables them to operate from the council-owned sites free of charge for five years, and will also help them to attract alternative funding.  

    The council had previously offered all of the play associations the support of workers who could help with their business plans. The council is also now offering for officers to work with the play associations to explore options for longer term arrangements for the sites where needed.

    All nine associations told the council in September 2024 that they had plans for sustainable funding for the future, with some dependent upon grant applications from other sources or on charitable fund raising.

    Others have developed income from commercial sources or other commissioned activity, such as providing alternative school places or short breaks for disabled children.

    Cllr Mustafa Malik, assistant city mayor for communities, adult learning, jobs and skills said: “We fully recognise the importance of the adventure playgrounds and the difference they make to their communities.

    “That is why we have listened carefully to their needs regarding self-sustainability and will be extending our funding to give them more time to achieve this. We will also be helping them to explore longer term arrangements for the sites which will help their future planning and fund raising.

    “The success of some play associations in making significant progress towards sustainability and improving their governance demonstrates the potential for all of them to have a bright and vibrant future, independent of annual grants from the local authority.”

    The ending of the grant this year would have led to savings of £1m which are required from the children’s social care division. This saving still needs to be made, so the council will be looking to delay the start of some projects and halting recruitment to some posts in the early help and prevention area, in order to balance its books.

    The council is required by law to fund children’s social care and most of its annual budget is spent on social care for children and adults, leaving little flexibility for making savings. It is not required to fund adventure playgrounds.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Grangemouth: UK government must work with Holyrood to protect community

    Source: Scottish Greens

    18 Feb 2025 Economy

    We must retain workers and skills in Grangemouth.

    More in Economy

    Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay has welcomed the Scottish Government’s announcement of an investment package for Grangemouth, and has called on the UK government to urgently work with Holyrood and unions to protect jobs and skills.

    Ms Mackay said:

    “This is a welcome announcement from the Scottish Government, but it needs to be backed up by resources and a plan from the UK government.

    “I hope that Ministers will work with the trade unions to retain jobs and skills in the community and to ensure that it is workers and local people who are leading the process.

    “The reality is that the biggest decisions have to be made in Westminster. Labour promised that they would protect jobs but since taking office they have done nothing of the sort. They simply got people’s hopes up and walked away.

    “Grangemouth is my home, and it has been infuriating to watch promises being made and then dropped. People in the town have been let down so many times already and a lot of them are feeling abandoned.

    “Local workers have been cast aside by INEOS and misled and discarded by a Labour Party that was happy to make big promises to secure their votes and has ignored them ever since.

    “Even at this late stage I urge the UK government to apply every lever available to ensure that the community is protected and that we can keep people and skills in Grangemouth.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Japan steps up funding to WFP to strengthen food security and expand agricultural exports in Malawi –

    Source: World Food Programme

    LILONGWE – Today the United Nations World Food Programme welcomed the generous contribution of US$ 1.75 million from the Government of Japan to address food insecurity, help vulnerable communities recover from natural disasters and enhance the local agricultural export capacity.

    Japan’s Ambassador to Malawi, Yoichi Oya announced the funding at an event in Lilongwe today, alongside representatives from the Government of Malawi.

    “Japan remains committed to supporting Malawi’s efforts to overcome food insecurity and foster sustainable development,” said Ambassador Oya. “By addressing immediate needs and investing in agricultural export capacity, we aim to contribute to a brighter future for Malawians.”

    The funding will support national efforts to provide food assistance during the lean season, which is expected to be particularly challenging due to recent back-to-back emergencies. With this support, WFP will procure, transport, and distribute 786 metric tonnes of maize, reaching 71,000 vulnerable people. These efforts support vulnerable communities who face severe food insecurity due to consecutive climate shocks, including Tropical Cyclone Freddy (2023), and the El Niño-induced drought (2024).

    “This support reflects the strong partnership between Japan and Malawi. It will provide life-saving food assistance while also helping the country build long-term food security and economic opportunities,” said Simon Denhere, WFP Malawi Country Director ad interim.

    Beyond emergency relief, Japan is investing US$ 1 million to scale-up Malawi’s sesame export capacity. In partnership with WFP, the Malawi Bureau of Standards will improve certification, testing, and quarantine capabilities to meet international standards. The initiative includes training, facility upgrades, and technical collaboration to boost export opportunities for smallholder farmers.

    “The Government of Malawi deeply appreciates Japan’s support in strengthening our national response to food insecurity. This timely gesture complements government’s efforts in providing much-needed relief to vulnerable communities affected by climate shocks while boosting our national food stocks,” said Reverend Charles Kalemba, Malawi’s Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs.

    #                    #                       #

    About WFP

    The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability, and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impact of climate change.

    Follow us on X @wfp_media | @wfp_malawi

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Amid ‘clear’ threat of nuclear war, Guterres tells Security Council multilateral off ramp is essential

    Source: United Nations 2

    18 February 2025 Peace and Security

    Strengthening international cooperation and delivering on a UN pact that calls for reforming global governance, among other measures, was the focus of debate in the UN Security Council on Tuesday. 

    The ministerial-level meeting was convened by China, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, as the UN prepares to mark its 80th anniversary later this year.

    UN Secretary-General António Guterres opened the debate emphasizing that “global solidarity and solutions are needed more than ever” as the climate crisis rages and inequalities and poverty increase.

    Peace remains illusive

    “As this Council knows well, peace is getting pushed further out of reach — from the Occupied Palestinian Territory to Ukraine to Sudan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and beyond,” he said.  

    “Terrorism and violent extremism remain persistent scourges. We see a dark spirit of impunity spreading.  The prospect of nuclear war remains – outrageously – a clear and present danger.”

    Emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) are also a challenge as their “limitless promise…is matched by limitless peril to undermine and even replace human thought, human identity and human control.” 

    Pact for the Future

    Mr. Guterres said “these global challenges cry out for multilateral solutions,” and pointed to the Pact for the Future, adopted by Member States last September.

    The agreement “is aimed at strengthening global governance for the 21st century and rebuilding trust” in multilateralism, the UN, and the Security Council.

    Provisions include advancing coordination with regional organizations and ensuring the full participation of women, youth and marginalized groups in peace processes.

    The Pact outlines support for a stimulus plan to help developing countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and revitalized commitment to reform the post-war global financial architecture to better serve the modern world.

    It also contains a Global Digital Compact that calls for an AI governance body that allows developing countries to participate in decision-making, marking a first.

    Security Council reform

    “The Pact also recognizes that the Security Council must reflect the world of today, not the world of 80 years ago, and sets out important principles to guide this long-awaited reform,” said Mr. Guterres.

    The Council should be enlarged and made more representative of today’s geopolitical realities, while countries also must continue to improve its working methods to make the body more inclusive, transparent, efficient, democratic and accountable. 

    He recalled that these issues have been under consideration by the UN General Assembly for more than a decade. 

    Build on momentum 

    “Now is the time to build on the momentum provided by the Pact for the Future, and work towards a greater consensus among regional groups and Member States – including the permanent members of this Council – to move the intergovernmental negotiations forward,” he said. 

    “Throughout, I call on Members of this Council to overcome the divisions that are blocking effective action for peace.”

    He noted that Council members have shown reaching common ground is possible, for example through deploying peacekeeping operations and forging resolutions on humanitarian aid.

    Spirited compromise

    “Even in the darkest days of the Cold War, the collective decision-making and vigorous dialogue in this Council maintained a functioning, if imperfect, system of collective security,” he said.

    “I urge you to summon this same spirit, continue working to overcome differences and focus on building the consensus required to deliver the peace all people need and deserve.”

    The Secretary-General said multilateral cooperation is the beating heart of the United Nations, and guided by the solutions in the Pact for the Future, it can become an even more powerful instrument of peace,

    “As we look to the challenges around us, I urge all Member States to continue strengthening and updating our global problem-solving mechanisms,” he said. “Let’s make them fit for purpose – fit for people – and fit for peace.”

    More to follow

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Sellafield supported family hub hits the road

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A mobile support service for Cumberland’s families and young people has been launched.

    Hub2U launch event, Whitehaven Harbour

    Hub2U takes Cumberland Council’s resources to people who need them in neighbourhoods across the area.

    Our Social Impact Multiplied programme and organisations in our Decommissioning Delivery Partnership are among partners who helped make the initiative a reality.

    Euan Hutton, Sellafield Ltd’s chief executive officer, was among the VIPs who helped launch the service at a family fun day at Whitehaven Harbour.

    Tracey West, Sellafield Ltd’s senior social impact manager, said:

    Working with the council to contribute funding and resource has been key to the successful delivery of this project.

    Our social impact programme ensures our supply chain is aligned to local priorities enabling them to focus on an impactful project that is based on local need.

    Barry Pilkington, framework manager in the Decommissioning Delivery Partnership, added:

    The partnership is committed to making a positive impact in our local community.

    We worked with Cumberland to develop this project so all the partners can contribute to leaving a legacy after our current contract at Sellafield comes to an end.

    We look forward to supporting the rollout of the programme going forward.

    Hub2U also received support from Stagecoach, who donated the bus and carried out a refit, and Copeland Community Fund.

    Councillor Emma Williamson, executive member for children’s and family wellbeing and housing at Cumberland Council, said:

    Supporting Cumberland’s families and improving the lives of children and young people is at the heart of everything we do.

    It’s incredibly exciting to see the bus unveiled. By bringing services directly into communities, we’re making it easier than ever for families to access the right support, exactly when and where they need it.

    Hub2U will provide:

    • Support for families, including early years guidance and resources for teenagers and young adults
    • Themed sessions and targeted programmes in schools and community locations covering topics such as emotional well-being, healthy relationships, and staying safe
    • A partnership approach bringing together multiple local agencies to provide holistic support for families.

    The launch event allowed people to explore the bus, find out more about the services on offer, and meet the team behind the project.

    Activities include inflatable football penalty shootout, face painting, and advice stalls from local service providers.

    Hub2U will now begin visiting schools, community spaces, events, and rural areas.

    For information on its schedule and locations, visit: Hub2U | Cumberland Family Hubs.

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    Published 18 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: UNECE guide highlights the potential benefits of food trees in urban areas

    Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

    UNECE has launched a new guide “The Edible City: Why Food Trees Matter,” which explores the multifaceted benefits of incorporating food-producing trees into urban landscapes. This guide emphasizes the role of urban forests in enhancing food security, improving community well-being, and mitigating the impacts of climate change. 

    Food trees not only provide nutritious food for urban residents but can also contribute to a healthier environment, stronger communities, and a more sustainable urban future. 

    The guide highlights the key potential benefits of incorporating food trees into urban areas which include:  

    • Enhanced Food Security: Urban food trees can provide a valuable source of fresh, nutritious food for residents, improving access to healthy diets and reducing reliance on long-distance food transport. 

    • Improved Community Well-being: Community orchards and food forests in parks or even along urban roads and green patches can foster social interaction, strengthen community bonds, and provide opportunities for education and skill-building. 

    • Climate Change Mitigation: Trees absorb carbon dioxide, helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change. They also provide shade, reducing urban heat islands and improving air quality. 

    The guide provides valuable insights for urban planners, policymakers, and community leaders on how to integrate food trees into urban landscapes effectively. It includes practical guidance on tree selection, planting and care, and strategies for community engagement and participation. 

    The publication is available for download at https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2025-02/2422244_E_PDF_WEB_0.pdf 

    UNECE works on forests and the bioeconomy to support the development of evidence-based policies for sustainable forest management and communicate the many products and ecosystem services forests provide. It also assists countries in monitoring and managing their forests, with a growing focus on integrating nature-based solutions into city planning. To find out more about our key urban action initiatives, please visit: https://unece.org/Forests/UrbanAction  

    Join UNECE on 20 March 2025 for International Day of Forests on “Forest and Food” to learn more:  https://unece.org/info/Forests/events/399516 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: UN environment agency calls for urgent action on ‘triple planetary crisis’

    Source: United Nations 2

    By Vibhu Mishra

    18 February 2025 Climate and Environment

    The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) called on Tuesday for urgent action to combat climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, warning that progress on all fronts remains slow and uneven.

    “Last year brought both successes and disappointments in global efforts to tackle the triple planetary crisis,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen, introducing the agency’s latest Annual Report.

    She also pointed to ongoing geopolitical tensions that are hindering environmental cooperation.

    “Environmental multilateralism is sometimes messy and arduous. But even in complex geopolitical times, collaboration across borders and across our differences is the only option to protect the foundation of humanity’s existence – Planet Earth.”

    Ambitious climate targets vital

    UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report 2024 warned that countries must cut emissions by 42 per cent by 2030 to keep global warming within the 1.5°C target agreed in the landmark Paris Agreement.

    Without drastic action, temperatures could rise between 2.6°C and 3.1°C this century, climate models warn, with catastrophic consequences.

    UNEP is actively working with over 60 low and middle-income countries to accelerate their transition to electric vehicles, part of a larger push to cut emissions from the transport sector.

    UN scientists highlight the kind of national projects making a difference, including Antigua and Barbuda procuring fleets of electric buses, and Kenya introducing legislation for major investments in electric motorcycles and public transit.

    Ending plastic pollution

    Plastic pollution, one of the most pressing global environmental threats, is another major focus, as international efforts continue to negotiate a legally binding ban.

    In Busan last year, 29 out of 32 articles of a new global plastic treaty were agreed. However, negotiations are continuing on a final text.

    UNEP is calling on countries to bridge their differences before the next round of negotiations.

    “Nations must work towards agreeing on a strong instrument to end plastic pollution before the seventh UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) in December,” Ms. Andersen said.

    A call for greater action

    The UNEP head called for bolder commitments, particularly as countries prepare to submit their next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to limit global warming later in February.

    “Humanity is not out of the woods,” Ms. Andersen warned.

    “Temperatures are rising, ecosystems are disappearing, and pollution remains a deadly threat. These are global problems that require global solutions. The world must pull together to build a fairer, more sustainable planet.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Lamont Proposes Additional Tax Relief: Increase the Property Tax Credit and Expand Eligibility

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    (HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that the fiscal year 2026/2027 biennial budget proposal he presented to the Connecticut General Assembly earlier this month includes a recommendation that the state’s property tax credit, which provides a credit to income tax filers for property tax payments made on eligible property, be increased to $350. Additionally, the governor is proposing to expand eligibility for the credit to include more income tax filers.

    In total, this change would benefit approximately 800,000 filers and result in $85 million in tax relief. Approximately $60.8 million of that amount (or 71.6%) will benefit filers with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $100,000 per year, and all the relief will benefit filers with an AGI of $160,000 or less.

    Since taking office in 2019, Governor Lamont has enacted more than $840 million in permanent tax cuts. This includes $500 million in income tax cuts for middle-class filers that was enacted in 2023 and became the largest income tax cut made in Connecticut history; increases in the Earned Income Tax Credit that have essentially eliminated income taxes for low-income filers; the elimination of taxes on pensions and Social Security for most seniors; and the creation of a cap on motor vehicle property taxes.

    “During the last five years, our administration has consistently worked in bipartisan cooperation with the legislature to enact a series of permanent tax cuts to benefit taxpayers in Connecticut, and this year I am asking them to again work with us on additional tax relief measures,” Governor Lamont said. “Before I became governor, the property tax credit was limited only to seniors and those with dependents, and we changed that law a couple of years ago to remove those restrictions and expand the credit to all adults. This year I am asking the legislature to revisit the property tax credit another time so that we can expand its eligibility again and increase the available credits even further.”

    Under the governor’s proposal, single filers earning up to $70,000 and joint filers earning up to $100,000 would qualify for the full $350 credit, with a phase out-schedule for higher incomes.

    The following chart lists the current property tax credit and phase-out schedules compared to Governor Lamont’s proposed enhancements:


    Proposed Changes to Property Tax Phase-Out Schedule


    Married Filing Jointly

    Current AGI Up To

    Current Maximum Credit

    Proposed AGI Up To

    Proposed Maximum Credit

    $70,500

    $300

    $100,000

    $350

    $80,500

    $255

    $110,000

    $298

    $90,500

    $210

    $120,000

    $245

    $100,500

    $165

    $130,000

    $193

    $110,500

    $120

    $140,000

    $140

    $120,500

    $75

    $150,000

    $88

    $130,500

    $30

    $160,000

    $35


    Singles

    Current AGI Up To

    Current Maximum Credit

    Proposed AGI Up To

    Proposed Maximum Credit

    $49,500

    $300

    $70,000

    $350

    $59,500

    $255

    $80,000

    $298

    $69,500

    $210

    $90,000

    $245

    $79,500

    $165

    $100,000

    $193

    $89,500

    $120

    $110,000

    $140

    $99,500

    $75

    $120,000

    $88

    $109,500

    $30

    $130,000

    $35

     

    The fiscal year 2023 biennial budget that Governor Lamont signed in 2022 (Public Act 22-118) increased the property tax credit from its then amount of $200 to the current amount of $300. Additionally, it removed the restriction that limited availability of the tax credit only to individuals over the age of 65 or who claim dependents on their federal tax returns.

    Governor Lamont’s fiscal year 2026/2027 biennial budget proposal is currently under consideration by the legislature’s Appropriations Committee and Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee.,

    **Download: Town-by-town breakdown of total personal income tax savings under Governor Lamont’s proposal

     

    MIL OSI USA News –

    February 19, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s quiet change to US position on Taiwan is all about the economy

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Chee Meng Tan, Assistant Professor of Business Economics, University of Nottingham

    The US state department has removed a highly symbolic phrase from its routine update on Taiwan. Its previous briefings said: “We do not support Taiwan independence.” This disappeared on February 13 2025.

    That’s not all. Donald Trump’s new government also stated on the same day that it advocated a peaceful and coercion free resolution to the Sino-Taiwan issue and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. These may seem like small tweaks to previous US positions, but they are sending a big signal to China.

    Beijing is concerned that the changes in the state department’s factsheet suggest that Trump’s government may be taking a stronger tack than was expected in being prepared to defend, or throw support behind, the island of Taiwan.

    The issue for China is that it sees Taiwan as a breakaway province, which it believes should return to Beijing’s orbit. Many Taiwanese see it as a separate state.

    China hasn’t ruled out the use of force to make Taiwan part of the republic and has even sent warplanes to defend the Taiwan Strait in the past week. China claims the waterway between the island and the mainland as its own, though this is disputed under the United Nations convention on the law of the sea.

    Beijing will be concerned that Washington’s updated wording on Taiwan might mean that the US is less likely to stand idly by if China invades the island than it might have expected. But what’s also interesting is why the US is warming up to Taiwan despite how aggrieved Trump has been by how Taiwan has “stolen” the semiconductor industry from the US.

    Trump’s eye on business

    Given Trump’s transactional, or business-first approach, towards politics, it is hardly surprising that Washington’s updated statement of support on Taiwan’s independence may be aimed towards enhancing US rather than Taiwanese interests.

    Many in Trump’s second cabinet such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz are China hawks who view Beijing as a national security threat and advocate a more aggressive stance towards China. One major US concern is China’s growing influence in Asia, which challenges US influence within the region.

    Trump announces more tariffs on China in his first weeks in office.

    While Washington still appears to tip its hat towards a one-China policy, its updated statement on Taiwanese independence suggests that the US might adopt an aggressive approach to any move by Beijing. The US’s watching brief on the China-Taiwan conflict will mean Beijing will have to think hard before taking any measures towards reclaiming the island right now.

    A weakened Beijing?

    China’s president, Xi Jinping, had hoped to win international hearts and minds through the Belt and Road Initiative, its global trade plan to build an international network of countries receiving Chinese investment. But as China’s own economy is weakened by a real estate crisis that started in 2021, the aim of showing Xi’s success through economic means is not working out as hoped.

    The other avenue for Xi to enhance his reputation as leader is to bring Taiwan back into the Chinese fold. Since the Chinese Communist party came to power in 1949, various Chinese leaders have made reunification with Taiwan a long-term goal. So, if Xi could return Taiwan to China, he could be hailed domestically as one of the greatest leaders the country has ever seen.

    If China’s plan to reunify with Taiwan was already a major challenge, Washington’s altered stance on Taiwan independence and overt opposition towards coercion or the use of force makes this task even more difficult for Beijing. This could weaken Xi’s image and undermine his rule further (and may of course be part of Trump’s agenda).

    Prepped for the negotiation table

    The US and China had spent years in trade negotiations before US tariffs were imposed on China during Trump’s first term, culminating in the phase one deal in January 2020. Trump has already announced an extra 10% of tariffs on Chinese goods in his first month in office.

    It is plausible that these statements on Taiwan are aimed at enhancing Washington’s bargaining power in the burgeoning China-US trade war.

    In 2016, Trump accused China of “raping” the US with unfair trade policies, and imposed tariffs of up to 25% on Chinese goods coming into the US. During his 2024 presidential campaign trail, Trump went as far as to suggests that tariffs on Chinese goods could go as high as 60%.

    Higher tariffs are bad news for China since the country relies heavily on exports for economic growth, especially on high tech “new three” products – electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar panels – to recover its ailing economy.

    However, if Beijing is forced to retreat from Taiwan, Xi might have to fall back heavily on the economy to maintain political legitimacy. When that happens, Beijing could be forced to offer concessions to the Americans, such as buying more US products, and to address how subsidies are used to aid Chinese firms to the detriment of US businesses in China.

    Overall, it’s likely that someone on Trump’s team has thought about all the implications of tweaking its Taiwan stance, and sees it as working out well for the US economy and, potentially, the Trump government overall. Taiwan is just a pawn in the game.

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

    – ref. Trump’s quiet change to US position on Taiwan is all about the economy – https://theconversation.com/trumps-quiet-change-to-us-position-on-taiwan-is-all-about-the-economy-250106

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    February 19, 2025
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