NewzIntel.com

Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI: Bitcoin Depot Adds Additional $5 Million in Bitcoin to its Treasury Holdings

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ATLANTA, Feb. 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitcoin Depot (NASDAQ: BTM) (“Bitcoin Depot” or the “Company”), a U.S.-based Bitcoin ATM operator and leading fintech company, today announced it has purchased an additional $5 million in Bitcoin as part of its treasury strategy, first announced in June of last year.

    With yesterday’s purchase of 51 BTC, the Company now holds 71.5 Bitcoin in its treasury, substantially increasing its position in the leading cryptocurrency. 

    “Adopting Bitcoin as part of our treasury strategy underscores our long-standing belief in Bitcoin as a significant financial asset and a store of value,” said Brandon Mintz, CEO of Bitcoin Depot. “We have always believed in providing easy access to Bitcoin for everyone, and this move reaffirms our confidence in Bitcoin’s potential for growth. Given the recent accounting standards update, it also allows our shareholders to benefit from future BTC appreciation.”

    About Bitcoin Depot
    Bitcoin Depot Inc. (Nasdaq: BTM) was founded in 2016 with the mission to connect those who prefer to use cash to the broader, digital financial system. Bitcoin Depot provides its users with simple, efficient and intuitive means of converting cash into Bitcoin, which users can deploy in the payments, spending and investing space. Users can convert cash to bitcoin at Bitcoin Depot kiosks in 48 states and at thousands of name-brand retail locations in 29 states through its BDCheckout product. The Company has the largest market share in North America with approximately 8,400 kiosk locations as of December 31, 2024. Learn more at www.bitcoindepot.com. 

    Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
    This press release and any oral statements made in connection herewith include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are any statements other than statements of historical fact, and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the expectations of plans, business strategies, objectives and growth and anticipated financial and operational performance, including our growth strategy and ability to increase deployment of our products and services, our ability to strengthen our financial profile, and worldwide growth in the adoption and use of cryptocurrencies. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current beliefs, based on currently available information, as to the outcome and timing of future events. Forward-looking statements are often identified by words such as “anticipate,” “appears,” “approximately,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “designed,” “effect,” “estimate,” “evaluate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “goal,” “initiative,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “outlook,“ ”plan,“ ”potential,“ ”priorities,“ ”project,“ ”pursue,“ ”seek,“ ”should,“ ”target,“ ”when,“ ”will,“ ”would,” or the negative of any of those words or similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. In making these statements, we rely upon assumptions and analysis based on our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, and expected future developments, as well as other factors we consider appropriate under the circumstances. We believe these judgments are reasonable, but these statements are not guarantees of any future events or financial results. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by any investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond our control.

    These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the business combination; risks relating to the uncertainty of our projected financial information; future global, regional or local economic and market conditions; the development, effects and enforcement of laws and regulations; our ability to manage future growth; our ability to develop new products and services, bring them to market in a timely manner and make enhancements to our platform; the effects of competition on our future business; our ability to issue equity or equity-linked securities; the outcome of any potential litigation, government and regulatory proceedings, investigations and inquiries; and those factors described or referenced in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that we do not presently know or that we currently believe are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect our expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our assessments to change.

    We caution readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or other factors that affect the subject of these statements, except where we are expressly required to do so by law. All written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

    Contacts:

    Investors 
    Cody Slach
    Gateway Group, Inc. 
    949-574-3860 
    BTM@gateway-grp.com 

    Media 
    Brenlyn Motlagh, Ryan Deloney 
    Gateway Group, Inc.
    949-574-3860 
    BTM@gateway-grp.com 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Front-of-package food labels: A path to healthier choices

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Zahra Saghafi, PhD Candidate, Management, University of Guelph

    The way you see nutrition labels on food packaging is about to change. By 2025, new front-of-package labels will start appearing on grocery store shelves, and by January 2026, they’ll be mandatory.

    Over the past two decades, nutrition labelling has evolved into a cornerstone of public health strategies worldwide. Traditional back-of-package labels, which provide comprehensive nutritional details, are often overlooked due to their complexity and placement, making them less effective in guiding consumer choices.

    Front-of-package labels address this issue by simplifying key nutritional information and positioning it in a more prominent, visible space. This streamlined approach has proven successful in leading consumers toward healthier choices, as research indicates that simplified, visible labels can influence purchasing decisions.

    Globally, front-of-package systems vary, with some countries employing warning symbols to flag excessive nutrient levels, while others use colour-coded “traffic light” systems or endorsement icons to promote healthier options.

    Canadian policy

    The Canadian government’s new policy requiring front-of-package nutrition symbols aims to guide consumers toward healthier food choices by highlighting foods high in sodium, sugars or saturated fats. These nutrients are closely linked to chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and hypertension.

    Designed for simplicity and consistency, the labels feature a black-and-white magnifying glass icon. This design’s uniformity in size, placement and bilingual presentation is intended to make it easily recognizable and understandable.

    Fresh produce, plain dairy products and raw, single-ingredient meats are exempt from the regulations, acknowledging their inherent nutritional benefits.

    The policy is intended to promote transparency and improve public health by helping Canadians make more informed food choices. With full implementation set for January 2026, further research and targeted actions such as meetings and correspondence on healthy eating by Health Canada are required to ensure the effectiveness of the policy.

    Health Canada’s development of these front-of-package labels has been shaped by years of research and stakeholder consultations.

    Since 2016, extensive consumer testing, including focus groups, online surveys and in-store experiments, has informed decisions regarding the labels’ design, size and placement. As a result, the labels have been refined to better meet their goal of providing consumers with clearer, more actionable nutritional information.

    While the initiative holds promise, several gaps could undermine its overall effectiveness. Varying levels of health literacy may hinder consumers’ ability to fully comprehend and act on the front-of-package labels, with some potentially unaware of the health risks associated with flagged nutrients like sodium, sugars and saturated fats.

    Additionally, manufacturers face challenges in adhering to new labelling standards, reformulating products to meet healthier benchmarks and overcoming potential consumer resistance.

    Addressing these issues requires significant investment in consumer education, alongside targeted support for manufacturers from the Canadian government in form of consultation in adapting to the new requirements.

    The policy also presents an opportunity to engage consumers more deeply in their health choices. Education campaigns such as community workshops and public health initiatives, and point of sale posters that explain the purpose and interpretation of front-of-package labels, can empower consumers to make informed decisions.

    These campaigns should address disparities in health literacy, ensuring that all Canadians benefit from the initiative regardless of socioeconomic status. Collaborative efforts among government agencies, health-care providers and community organizations could amplify these educational initiatives, reaching a wider audience.

    Industry response

    For manufacturers, the introduction of front-of-package labels often triggers efforts to reformulate products, reducing sodium, sugars or saturated fats to avoid negative labelling.

    This process frequently involves ingredient substitution, recipe adjustments or portion size reductions. However, retaining the taste, texture and overall consumer satisfaction of a product while meeting nutritional targets requires significant innovation. If reformulated products fail to meet consumer expectations, brands risk losing loyalty and market share.

    The stakes are particularly high for manufacturers whose flagship products are most at risk of being flagged. To overcome these challenges, collaboration with food scientists, ingredient suppliers and regulatory bodies is essential. Research and development efforts must focus on finding innovative solutions that meet regulatory requirements without sacrificing consumer preferences.

    Beyond reformulation, compliance with front-of-package labelling requirements presents logistical and financial challenges. Packaging must be redesigned to incorporate the bilingual, standardized labels, often at significant cost. Smaller manufacturers with limited resources may find these changes particularly burdensome.

    Updating supply chains to include new packaging materials and ensuring consistent application across product lines add further complexity. In addition to these financial and operational pressures, reformulation may affect production processes and shelf life, necessitating further adjustments.

    Potential impact

    Despite these challenges, front-of-package labelling has the potential to drive significant change within the food industry. By prioritizing healthier formulations, companies can gain a competitive advantage, particularly as consumer demand for health-conscious products grows.

    Over time, this shift could lead to broader industry trends, pushing manufacturers toward greater transparency and accountability in their product offerings.

    However, these positive outcomes require supportive policies. Tax incentives, subsidies for reformulation and clear regulatory guidance can help ease the financial and operational burdens faced by manufacturers, particularly smaller businesses.

    While front-of-package labelling shows promise in promoting healthier choices and encouraging innovation, its long-term impact remains to be fully understood.

    Key areas for future research include examining how manufacturers prioritize reformulation, tracking changes in nutrient composition over time, and analyzing consumer behaviour in response to labelled products. Studies that link front-of-package labels to dietary intake and health outcomes could provide a comprehensive view of their effectiveness in achieving public health goals.

    This story was co-authored by Christopher Marinangeli. He is a nutrition scientist and regulatory expert with the Centre for Regulatory Research and Innovation at Protein Industries Canada, a not-for-profit organization and one of Canada’s five Global Innovation Clusters.

    Zahra Saghafi receives funding from Arrell Food Institute, Protein Industries Canada, and Mitacs for her PhD research. She is affiliated with the Lang School of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph.

    – ref. Front-of-package food labels: A path to healthier choices – https://theconversation.com/front-of-package-food-labels-a-path-to-healthier-choices-245115

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Chairman Mast discusses foreign aid review, DEI on “Face the Nation”

    Source: US House Committee on Foreign Affairs

    Media Contact 202-321-9747

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast joined Margaret Brennan on CBS’ “Face the Nation” to discuss the review of foreign assistance and the Biden State Department’s fixation on DEI.

     

    WATCH HERE

    -Transcript-

    MARGARET BRENNAN: And we’re joined now by Florida Republican Congressman Brian Mast, who is the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which has oversight over the State Department and its programs.

    He joins us from Fort Pierce, Florida.

    Good morning to you.

    CHAIRMAN BRIAN MAST (R-Florida): Good morning.

    BRENNAN: I want to start first on the tariffs that were announced overnight by President Trump. You know there’s a free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. President Trump negotiated it during his first term.

    The tariffs may violate that deal. If he’s invoking tariffs on a national security basis, can you explain the threat posed by Canada?

    CHAIRMAN MAST: Yes, and he was – President Trump, that is to say, was very specific in his executive order, outlined that it’s specifically related to fentanyl. It’s specifically related to human trafficking.

    And there’s a trust, but verify situation that has to go on here.

    BRENNAN: Through Canada?

    CHAIRMAN MAST: Through Canada as well, absolutely, fentanyl through Canada, human trafficking through Canada, also with China in that mix for fentanyl as well.

    That was specifically outlined in it. And until that comes to an end, this is what’s going to be on the table. And bear in mind as well that USMCA reauthorization is coming up in the coming-up months and years.

    BRENNAN: So you don’t believe that this violates the trade agreement, the treaty?

    CHAIRMAN MAST: The violation has been to the United States of America. It’s been to our sovereignty. It’s been to our people. We’ve been taken for granted.

    BRENNAN: Right, but Congress votes on these things. So…

    CHAIRMAN MAST: And I will make sure certainly, as the Foreign Affairs chairman, that we give every single authority as we go through State Department reauthorization, to make sure that this moves forward, as well as purging of people throughout the State Department, other agencies, where we’re freezing aid.

    These are all very important and necessary steps to make sure that we secure America. And we’re going to support that.

    BRENNAN: I’m sorry. Can I follow up on what you just said there?

    CHAIRMAN MAST: Please do.

    BRENNAN: You want to authorize purging of State Department personnel? What does that mean exactly?

    CHAIRMAN MAST: Well, if you want to take a look at the State Department, where DEI has been a priority over, let’s say, diplomacy on many accounts, I can give you hundreds of examples of where they were authorizing…

    BRENNAN: What proof do you have of that?

    CHAIRMAN MAST: Sure, let’s list them off, half-a-million dollars to expand atheism in Nepal, $50,000 to do, let’s see, a transgender opera in Colombia, $47,000 to do an LGBTQ trans comic book in Peru, $20,000 a pop to do drag shows in Ecuador.

    Shall I continue with more examples of where DEI was a priority?

    BRENNAN: Oh, it certainly seems like there could be a review of things. Foreign aid, as you know, is less than 1 percent of the entire federal budget. So we’re talking small amounts of money by comparison. But when…

    CHAIRMAN MAST: We’re still talking about tens and tens of billions of dollars.

    And if you want to go to somebody else, on the other side of the aisle, Samantha Power, she had a worthy goal, although it was a stupid goal. She said she was hoping to get the amount of foreign aid, U.S. aid dollars that go to actual aid up to 30 cents on the dollar from 10 cents on the dollar. That’s a major problem that we have this agency that that’s all that goes abroad…

    BRENNAN: I think you’re talking about…

    CHAIRMAN MAST: … when it should be the American worker’s dollar.

    BRENNAN: I think now you’re talking about the USAID, the aid agency…

    CHAIRMAN MAST: Yes.

    BRENNAN: … which is a – separate from the State Department currently and has about $40 billion worth…

    CHAIRMAN MAST: Which is likely going to be rolled more closely under Secretary Rubio.

    BRENNAN: Tell – yes, tell me about that, because that’s where I was going.

    Has the Trump administration informed you of plans to dismantle or significantly shrink this agency?

    CHAIRMAN MAST: This is something that I’m working on very specifically, in conjunction with Secretary Rubio, to make sure that there’s the appropriate command-and-control of these agencies, where, again, to make that same point, right now, maybe 10 to 30 cents…

    BRENNAN: They already report to the secretary of state.

    CHAIRMAN MAST: But 10 to 30 cents on the dollar is what actually goes to aid. So there’s not the right amount of command-and- control that’s going on with the way that it’s set up currently.

    And let’s make another point on this as well.

    BRENNAN: Congress – Congress authorizes and earmarks funding.

    CHAIRMAN MAST: Most of these dollars – most of these dollars that go out of USAID, 70-plus percent don’t come from U.S. growers, U.S. farmers, U.S. ranchers, or go through us ports. And that’s another big problem for America.

    BRENNAN: So – I’m sorry. If Congress already authorizes and earmarks the funding, just to be very clear, you’re not endorsing getting rid of USAID as a separate department, which already reports to the secretary of state, are you?

    CHAIRMAN MAST: I would be absolutely for, if that’s the path we go down, removing USAID as a separate department and having it fall under one of the other parts of United States Department of State, because of its failure.

    I just went over the numbers twice with you in the amount of aid that actually makes it into the hands. I mean, you could you could almost say – this is a little bit hyperbole – but there’s probably more dollars that go towards state dinners around the D.C. Beltway than what actually goes into rice and beans abroad.

    That’s the state of what’s going on with USAID. And Samantha Power said no less herself.

    BRENNAN: Well, I think every single administration authorizes reviews, could increase efficiencies. There are plenty of people who propose bringing it more under the authority of the State Department. Madeleine Albright tried to do that. That’s not a new MAGA idea.

    I think the question here, though, is about how you do it. Do you still believe that in the law signed in the 1960s that Congress has to sign off on any changes to USAID? Or do you think President Trump can just make all of this happen through executive order?

    CHAIRMAN MAST: So, all of those examples that you just gave of those historical figures, the difference is now the job is going to get done.

    It’s going to be 99.99 percent of cents on the dollar actually go towards what it’s intended, instead of people around the Beltway.

    BRENNAN: OK, so you’re talking about – you’re talking about…

    CHAIRMAN MAST: That’s what’s going to happen. That’s the change.

    BRENNAN: … efficiencies in aids versus restructuring.

    So let me ask you about that. Well, like I said…

    CHAIRMAN MAST: Well, that requires restructuring, 100 percent. You can’t create that efficiency just by wishing it into existence.

    BRENNAN: Sure.

    CHAIRMAN MAST: You have to restructure where the failures are and put the right things in place.

    BRENNAN: Of course.

    But what we’re hearing from many of these aid organizations and officials is that, can you restructure after you finish the review and not freeze funding now, immediately? I spoke to former USAID global health head Atul Gawande yesterday. He told me this isn’t a pause in foreign aid. It is a demolition of USAID.

    As he put it, you can’t pause a flight in midair. That’s what’s happening.

    CHAIRMAN MAST: Let’s…

    BRENNAN: This immediate freeze in funding is stopping agencies in the field from being able to do the work they do.

    CHAIRMAN MAST: Let’s say why that is so important. And let’s talk about the real facts on the ground.

    The Trump administration comes in or representatives like myself that do oversight. The agencies will literally not tell us what they are writing grants for, literally, or they will lie about it, or they will tell the new political appointees under the Trump administration, I’m just not going to tell you that. Those are real things that have happened.

    So the way that you make them come and answer for where they are actually sending dollars is to say, we’re freezing that. We’re putting it on hold. You need to come to us and explain what it is you’re doing, why you’re doing it and where it’s actually saving life. And guess what?

    BRENNAN: But…

    CHAIRMAN MAST: When they don’t come explain something, that also begs the question, why were they doing it in the first place?

    BRENNAN: But the way these things work is, the contractors have to front the cash, then go to the U.S. government for reimbursement.

    So when you put in an immediate freeze, that means drugs don’t get delivered. That means they don’t get distributed. That means bomb disposal units don’t get to go out there in places like Cambodia and remove ordnance or provide help to people who receive it.

    That’s the pushback from aid organizations, who are saying they’re going to have to carry out layoffs in the thousands in the coming week. Does that concern you at all?

    CHAIRMAN MAST: They will have an opportunity. It doesn’t concern me because of the grift that has been going on to the American taxpayer, the American worker.

    That’s what needs to be answered for. And so you look at this. Let’s use PEPFAR as an example. You were talking about drugs going to individuals. There was a release of that hold that was put – that was authorized. But it shouldn’t be the case that the American people fund HIV and AIDS drugs for 20 million people across Africa, where many of these countries are working very directly with our adversaries like China.

    That is an example of them taking us for granted. We need to be asking the question, should they be weaning off of this? Should we be paying it for these very expensive HIV and AIDS drugs?

    BRENNAN: Yes.

    CHAIRMAN MAST: Should the American worker be footing the bill for that? Those are real questions.

    BRENNAN: Yes, real questions, but, in the meantime, people need their drugs while you ask those questions. So that’s where the disagreement is with the aid organizations.

    But let me ask you about air traffic controllers and what’s happening here at home.

    CHAIRMAN MAST: Not with all the leaders of other countries, though. I believe I saw the leader of Kenya as one step up and say, hey, this is an example where we need to step up for ourselves and show how we can take care of ourselves. And I believe that was the president there.

    BRENNAN: I want to ask you, as I was saying, about another committee you sit on, Transportation Committee.

    The FAA hiring policy for air traffic controllers, including under the first Trump administration, offered equal opportunity to those with targeted disabilities, including, as the president read, hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, severe intellectual debility – disability. Excuse me.

    The president singled this out, this policy, as a contributor possibly to the crash. Do you agree with the diversity policy, or do you agree with the president? I know you lost two limbs serving this country in Afghanistan. Do you hear those words and take offense to them or…

    CHAIRMAN MAST: No, no offense. Let’s unpack it.

    Number one, I will use myself as an example, right? There are things that I am suited to do, no doubt. But flying an aircraft, to stick with the subject at hand, would not be one of them. I could fly a personal – a personal aircraft.

    BRENNAN: This is air traffic controllers.

    CHAIRMAN MAST: But to put me in charge of traffic or 150 lives, that would not be the right case for me personally, given my physical disabilities and foot pedals on an aircraft.

    To go to the diversity side of it and the actual crash, yes, there were very real errors that took place both in the air traffic control tower and with the helicopter pilots, it seems. But, more systemically, is there a big hiring problem across all federal agencies, to include the FAA, where they made the priority diversity and inclusion…

    BRENNAN: Yes.

    CHAIRMAN MAST: … instead of excellence and performance? Yes, that’s the case. They made the priority appearance and lifestyle and not the big deal.

    BRENNAN: Congressman, thank you for your time today.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: President Trump may think he is President Jackson reincarnated − but there are lessons in Old Hickory’s resistance to sycophants

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Maurizio Valsania, Professor of American History, Università di Torino

    A painting of President Andrew Jackson hangs in the Oval Office on the day Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time, Jan. 20, 2025. AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

    The portrait of President Andrew Jackson has recently made a comeback in the Oval Office. “Old Hickory” – Jackson’s nickname – has long been a favorite of President Donald Trump.

    Trump identifies with Jackson on many levels. As a man and a leader, he likes the brash, confrontational, hypermasculine, lionlike attitude that characterized the seventh president. Jackson pushed executive power to the limits, just like Trump tries to do.

    And there is a commonality of philosophical and political visions. The two tap into the same definition of freedom. They both believe the president has freedom from all restraint and from every form of legislative or judicial control.

    However, differences exist between the two that might prompt Trump to consider the potential danger of how he governs and whom he listens to.

    Personal loyalty and devotion

    As an expert on American presidents, I can state with confidence that Trump is not the first to insist on complete obedience from his subordinates. Nor is he the first to take disagreement personally.

    Trump’s attempt to create an army of sycophants, along with his effort to purge government staff he deems disloyal, is nothing new in America.

    Personal loyalty and devotion were important to Andrew Jackson, who didn’t trust human nature. But he was steadfast in his trust, once he decided to place it in a person.

    When Jackson had to choose his advisers and shape his first Cabinet, he relied on cronies from his beloved Tennessee – plus a handful of relatives.

    The most famous and infamous of those chums was John H. Eaton. Eaton had developed a brotherly relationship with Jackson. Jackson felt indebted to him because Eaton had run his presidential campaigns of 1824 and 1828. Eaton would become secretary of war, but he also ended up embarrassing the president.

    A political cartoon depicts President Andrew Jackson sitting stunned as his Cabinet, represented as rats, runs to escape his falling house during the political scandal surrounding the Eaton Affair.
    Bettman/Getty Images

    First off, he had an affair with a married woman, Margaret O’Neale Timberlake, whose husband was often at sea. When in 1828 Mr. Timberlake died abroad, rumor spread that he had slashed his own throat because of Margaret’s infidelity.

    In Washington, D.C., gossip soon became ugly about what was known as the Eaton Affair. It ultimately led to the resignation of some Cabinet officials.

    Jackson was irate. He had always realized he didn’t belong in the elite society of Washington, D.C. He was too self-conscious about his entire persona and too aware that he was perceived as an interloper. Consequently, he usually reacted defensively and often violently, thus betraying insecurity: “Our society wants purging here,” he wrote to one of his friends in 1829.

    Under the same roof

    Jackson’s clan lived with him in the White House. There was Andrew Jackson Jr., a nephew and his adopted son. Andrew Jr. would inherit a huge fortune, but he would die in debt. It’s no surprise that historians have described him as “irresponsible and ambitionless, a considerable disappointment to his father.”

    There was Andrew Jackson Donelson and his wife, Emily. Donelson was the nephew of the just-deceased wife of the president, Rachel Jackson, who tragically died just days after her husband won the 1828 election. Donelson had served with Jackson in the Florida War – known as the First Seminole War – and later became his private secretary. Emily Donelson would act as the president’s hostess in the White House.

    Another close friend from Tennessee, Maj. William B. Lewis, also moved into the White House. Also a presidential adviser, Lewis gained the official title of second auditor of the Treasury. But the Donelsons couldn’t stand the man. Emily Donelson would eventually label him a “sycophant” who had seized an opportunity to “save himself all expense.”

    As he shaped his first Cabinet, Jackson consistently ignored the suggestions coming from the two higher-profile characters of his administration, Martin Van Buren and John C. Calhoun. It wasn’t just an ideological difference; it was that neither of them had been early Jackson men.

    Surrounded by a few favorites

    Jackson, the president who made no secret that he was running a one-man show, had a presidential style derived from his military experience. As a general, Jackson rarely summoned councils of war. When he had to decide on a given course of action, he didn’t share responsibility.

    But critics saw things in a totally different way. In the spring of 1831, Sen. George Poindexter, a hesitant Jacksonian, complained that Jackson was “surrounded by a few favorites who controlled and directed all things.”

    To describe the informal group of friends, family members and advisers whom they believed maintained too great an influence over the president, the opposition coined the phrase “kitchen cabinet.”

    But the opposition’s image of the “kitchen cabinet” was not the reality. No matter his personal quirks, Jackson proved to be an excellent administrator. And contrary to Emily Donelson’s fears, he resisted sycophants and self-interested counselors.

    Elon Musk, right, is a top adviser and donor to Donald Trump and directs the administration’s effort to cut government spending.
    Brandon Bell/Getty Images

    A builder, not a destroyer

    Jackson escaped manipulation because he managed to keep his eyes on his higher goal, the expansionist idea of the American nation.

    He sought to create a blueprint for a government that would outlast him. He enacted impersonal rules that were sustained by elaborate systems of checks and balances. Whether you like him or not, Jackson was a builder, not a destroyer, of administrations.

    The circumstances of the Jackson and Trump presidencies might look similar, but the key is that they are two very different men. Both wanted to fully reform the federal government, faced scandal, felt like an outsider in Washington, D.C., and had all sorts of close loyalists around pushing their agendas.

    But Jackson didn’t get distracted. So he was not a useful puppet for those who sought to exploit him that way.

    By contrast, it will be difficult for Trump to morph into President Jackson. Since the 1970s, the power of unelected and unconfirmed presidential aides and counselors has become more intense.

    These individuals may easily end up negotiating deals or directing the course of events while escaping both congressional oversight and public scrutiny.

    In their unaccountable influence, they are joined by major donors to a president’s campaign or causes.

    There’s no doubt that they are a potential liability more dangerous than Jackson’s sycophants, more problematic than his cronies, more embarrassing than his wacky nephews.

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

    – ref. President Trump may think he is President Jackson reincarnated − but there are lessons in Old Hickory’s resistance to sycophants – https://theconversation.com/president-trump-may-think-he-is-president-jackson-reincarnated-but-there-are-lessons-in-old-hickorys-resistance-to-sycophants-248532

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: TUV MLA cut short by Sinn Fein speaker when he attempts to raise trust and accountability issues during debate on trust and accountability

    Source: Traditional Unionist Voice – Northern Ireland

    Today the Assembly debated an SDLP motion which read:

     Motion: Enhancing Accountability and Trust in Government

    That this Assembly acknowledges that the Executive has lasted for one year, but affirms that simply existing is not enough; notes with regret the findings of the Life in the UK Report 2024, that Northern Ireland experiences the lowest levels of democratic wellbeing across the UK; further notes that people’s low level of trust in our institutions is compounded by repeated institutional collapse, the failure of the Executive to deliver on its promised legislative programme or improve public services; calls on the First Minister and deputy First Minister to initiate a programme to rebuild trust and accountability in our politics by each making a clear and specific commitment not to resign their respective offices during this mandate under any circumstances; and further calls on the First Minister and deputy First Minister to write to the UK and Irish Governments to commence a programme of reform, including an amendment to the Pledge of Office, so no party can veto the operation of Government.

    TUV MLA Timothy Gaston used the motion to raise points directly related to trust and accountability in government citing the Sinn Fein expenses scandal and the farcical scenes which have been seen in the Executive Office Committee. Although the comments were directly related to the motion, he was cut off by the Sinn Fein principal deputy speaker, Carál Ní Chuilín.

    Having raised the matter with speaker Edwin Poots later in the day, we look forward to the Speaker responding to Mr Gaston’s points.

    The text of Mr Gaston’s comments which were interrupted in the Assembly are reproduced in full below. A recording of what happened in the Assembly is online here.

    Mr Gaston’s point of order and the Speaker’s response is online here.

    I couldn’t agree more with some aspects of the motion before us today. It is particularly welcome that it notes the lack of “trust and accountability in our politics”.

    Last week this House debated a motion which lambasted the report produced into the Michael McMonagle scandal. Without a vote it was passed. We all agreed that the conclusions drawn in what was supposedly a robust prob into the abuse of public money in this building simply was not credible. What now? Will there be a fresh report? Will the First Minister – whose party provided the only voice to say the report was sound – return to this House and correct the record? If Ms O’Neill believes we should accept the report she accepts that on 7th October she mislead the House – something which should be a resigning matter Will the other parties insist that, as called for in that motion, a robust audit system is put in place to ensure that Sinn Féin  creaming off public money to fund their press operation doesn’t continue? Or will they put the process before “trust and accountability”?

    Moving outside of this chamber, have we seen efforts to ensure “trust and accountability” were paramount in our committees? No. We saw a junior minister shielded by a committee chair, Ms Bradshaw, when asked if she had seen a paedophile enter this building. Ms Bradshaw ensured that to this day Junior Minister Reilly hasn’t answered that question. We saw MLAs submit questions in advance to the First Minister so that she had pre-prepared questions before appearing before what laughably passes for a scrutiny committee in this place. What sort of accountability is that? We had a private meeting between the chair of the Executive Office committee and the First Minister before the Minister gave evidence so that she could get  assurances that the chair  could be relied upon to rule difficult questions out of order. Is that how one goes about securing “trust and accountability”?

    Having made those points I do want to explain why I will be abstaining on this motion. It laments the lack of  accountability and yet calls for an assurance that neither Ms O’Neill nor Ms Pengelly resign. As far as I am concerned, the First Minister’s conduct in relation to the McMonagle scandal means she should be already gone.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Josh Stein Advocating for $1.07 Billion to Rebuild Western NC

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Governor Josh Stein Advocating for $1.07 Billion to Rebuild Western NC

    Governor Josh Stein Advocating for $1.07 Billion to Rebuild Western NC
    bwood

    Raleigh, NC

    Governor Josh Stein today requested $1.07 billion in immediate funding to support urgent rebuilding needs in western North Carolina. Governor Stein’s budget request includes funds to strengthen the economy, get people back into homes faster, repair infrastructure, support farmers, fix private roads and bridges, remove debris, and help school children stay at grade level. 

    “The people of western North Carolina have suffered tremendously since Helene swept through,” said Governor Josh Stein. “I appreciate what the General Assembly has done so far, but it’s time for us to step up and get them the money they need right now to rebuild. We can’t forget western North Carolina – and I will do everything in my power to ensure that the state shows up for them.” 

    Governor Stein made his budget request at MANNA Food Bank, which works with over 300 community-based nonprofit food assistance partner agencies in 16 western North Carolina counties. 

    “MANNA has been an essential resource for the people it serves, and its work has become even more critical since Hurricane Helene struck,” said Governor Stein. “As these organizations continue the daily work of supporting their community, we have a responsibility to support them.”  

    The Governor’s budget request includes funding in the following categories. An overview of some of the programs is below; full request details are available here.  

    Strengthening the Economy

    • $150 million across two grant programs for businesses that suffered physical damage or significant economic loss.

    • $30 million for grants to small towns and counties to rebuild downtowns and other business districts.

    • $15 million to the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina’s VisitNC division to support North Carolina’s tourism industry and to attract travelers and new businesses to the area.

    • $100 million for revenue replacement grants to support local governments whose resources were exhausted by immediate disaster response, as they work to keep water and sewer services going, pay law enforcement, and support school operations.

    Providing Safe and Warm Places to Live

    • $150 million for a Helene Home Construction and Repair Program to immediately start rebuilding the estimated 5,100 homes that will need to be rebuilt post-Helene. 

    • $25 million to support people struggling to afford rent, mortgage, or utility costs because their home or livelihood was affected.

    • $10 million for Back@Home, a program that supports people who are without homes and provides them with case management support.

    • $50 million in incentives for affordable housing construction. 

    • $25 million to fill in gaps for home repairs that are not covered by FEMA. 

    Repairing Infrastructure

    • $75 million to repair private roads and bridges. 

    • $25 million to clean up local parks and greenways in affected areas.

    • $12 million to expedite debris removal.

    • $10 million to provide backup power for emergency operations and other critical infrastructure. 

    • $4 million to repair septic systems.

    Supporting Farmers

    • $15 million for grants to farmers for verified uninsured losses to crops, livestock, aquaculture, and infrastructure.

    • $100 million to help farmers clear debris and repair their land and waterways so they can resume production and protect against future flooding.

    • $19.4 million to prepare for the wildfire season and mitigate future risk.

    Caring For Families and Children

    • $34.2 million for school districts that missed 15 or more days of school to provide summer instruction and other support services to ensure students continue to perform at grade level on End of Grade and End of Course assessments.

    • $20 million to fund food banks in affected areas.

    • $2 million to help college students who are struggling to pay tuition, fees, or emergency expenses that might force them to drop out of school at UNC Asheville, Appalachian State University, and Western Carolina University.  

    Feb 3, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Nominations Open for Lieutenant-Governor’s Award of Excellence for l’Acadie and Francophonie

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    The nomination period for the Lieutenant-Governor’s Award of Excellence for l’Acadie and Francophonie is now open.

    The award recognizes individuals whose social, economic or cultural contributions have made a significant impact on the francophone community and Nova Scotia as a whole.

    “I am proud to continue the tradition of honouring individuals who are making outstanding efforts to promote and preserve the French language and culture in our province,” said Lt.-Gov. Mike Savage. “I look forward to celebrating the vibrancy of Acadian and francophone communities through this year’s program.”

    Recipients will be recognized in three categories:

    • francophone – a resident who identifies as francophone
    • francophile – a resident who does not identify as francophone but actively supports and promotes the French language and culture
    • youth – a resident under 25.

    Nominations close March 21.

    The selection committee includes representatives from Université Sainte-Anne, La Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse, L’Alliance Française, the Office of Acadian Affairs and Francophonie, a Francophone recipient of the Order of Nova Scotia or Order of Canada, a youth member and a former award recipient.

    Quotes:

    “The Lieutenant-Governor’s Award of Excellence for l’Acadie and Francophonie celebrates some of Nova Scotia’s most amazing Acadian and francophone residents. This award recognizes their individual efforts, but it also honours the broader contributions played by all Acadian and francophone Nova Scotians in making our province a richer, more welcoming place to live. If you know somebody who has dedicated themselves to the heritage and success of our Acadian and francophone communities, I encourage you to nominate them for this award.”
    — Colton LeBlanc, Minister of Acadian Affairs and Francophonie

    Quick Facts:

    • the award was created in August 2020 by Arthur J. LeBlanc, the first Acadian lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia
    • the award is administered by the Office of Acadian Affairs and Francophonie

    Additional Resources:

    More information and nomination forms are available at: https://acadien.novascotia.ca/en/lieutenant-governor-nova-scotia-francophonie-award

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: West Bank violence undermining Gaza ceasefire: UNRWA

    Source: United Nations 4

    Peace and Security

    Escalating hostilities in the occupied West Bank are putting the fragile ceasefire in Gaza at risk, the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, warned in a statement on Monday. 

    It comes a day after Israeli Security Forces (ISF) carried out a series of controlled detonations at the Jenin refugee camp, located in the northern West Bank, destroying large areas there “in a split second”.

    UNRWA said it received no prior warning of the explosions “as contact between staff and Israeli authorities is no longer permitted – putting civilian lives at risk.”  

    ‘A ghost town’

    The agency said residents of the camp “have endured the impossible, facing nearly two months of unceasing and escalating violence,” adding that Jenin “has been rendered a ghost town” in the past months. 

    “The operations conducted both by Israeli and Palestinian security forces have led to the forced displacement of thousands of camp residents, many of whom will now have nowhere to return to,” it said. “The basics of life are gone.”

    UNRWA noted that “on a day that was supposed to mark the beginning of the new school semester for thousands of children, 13 schools in the northern West Bank remained closed due to ISF operations in the area.”

    Ceasefire undermined

    Furthermore, its services inside Jenin camp have been interrupted for months and stopped completely in early December.

    “Today’s shocking scenes in the West Bank undermine the fragile ceasefire reached in Gaza, and risk a new escalation,” the agency said.

    The first phase of the temporary truce and hostage release deal came into effect two weeks ago, following 15 months of war which killed some 46,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health authorities.

    The conflict was sparked by the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel. Some 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken as hostages.

    In October 2024, the Israeli parliament adopted two laws banning UNRWA’s operations in its territory and prohibiting Israeli authorities from having any contact with the agency, which went into force last Thursday. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Five AIMS – Lessons from Internet Governance for Artificial Intelligence Management Strategies

    Source: Universities – Science Po in English

    Days away from the Paris AI Action Summit, the elaboration of the emerging framework to govern the development and adoption of AI technologies is at the heart of heated, sometimes overwhelming debates and controversies. While new AI models are being released at an accelerating pace, with ever greater promises of game-changing applications, revolutionary disruptions, and prophecies of geopolitical shifts, AI governance remains partially undertheorised.

    To help scaffold coherent, coordinated, and enforceable rules and institutions, Dame Wendy Hall, DBE, FRS, FREng, Regius Professor of Computer Science, Associate Vice President (International Engagement) and Director of the Web Science Institute at the University of Southampton, Kieron O’Hara, emeritus fellow in Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, and Pierre Noro, advisor of the PSIA Tech & Global Affairs Innovation Hub, reinterpret the Four Internet models elaborated by Hall and O’Hara in their 2018 article and in their influential book Four Internets: Data, Geopolitics, and the Governance of Cyberspace (Oxford UP, 2021) in regard to AI technologies.

    This translation, grounded in an analysis of the historical, socio-economic, and ideological differences distinguishing the context that shaped Internet governance and the current one, yields many enlightening insights and is the foundation of five Artificial Intelligence Management Strategies (AIMS):

    • Open AIMS: Fostering openness and transparency, common ownership and collaboration, interoperability.
    • Bourgeois AIMS: Fostering rights and civility with procedural rules and codes
    • Paternal AIMS: Mandating outcomes and confining uses.
    • Commercial AIMS: Allowing market solutions to resource allocation problems.
    • Hacker AIMS: Libertarian, anti-authoritarian, decentralised approach valorising software skills, resisting censorship, and empowering individuals and communities to make and reshape the information space.
       

    As narratives, the AIMS do not aspire to crystal clarity, but rather are intended as sensemaking aids; the characterisations above […] may already help categorize and interpret discourses, stances, and proposals.

    With many illustrations to exemplify their core tenets, their limits and their intersections, this paper offers the Five AIMS as cardinal concepts to help AI governance stakeholders, especially public and private decisionmakers, navigate the upcoming AI Action Summit and future governance conversation.

    Concluding on a set of ongoing research questions reflecting open policy challenges, it is a foundational step towards cementing the Five AIMS as a suitable framework for understanding the governance of AI.

    Learn more by reading the full policy brief: Five AIMS: Lessons from Internet Governance for Artificial Intelligence Management Strategies (PDF, 368 Ko)

    (credits: Image generated with Microsoft Copilot. Edited by Pierre Noro.)

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Chinese Chemical Company Executives Convicted And Multiple Websites And Cryptocurrency Accounts Seized In Connection With Fentanyl Precursor Importation And Money Laundering Schemes

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Qingzhou Wang, the Company’s Principal Executive, and Yiyi Chen, the Company’s Marketing Manager, Conspired to Import Ton Quantities of Fentanyl Precursors from China to the United States in Exchange for Payment in Cryptocurrency

    Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Derek S. Maltz, the Acting Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced that a jury returned a guilty verdict against QINGZHOU WANG, a/k/a “Bruce” (“WANG”), and YIYI CHEN, a/k/a “Chiron” (“CHEN”), on fentanyl precursor importation and money laundering charges.  WANG was also convicted of importing a methamphetamine precursor.  WANG and CHEN, both nationals of China, were found guilty following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe.

    U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon and Acting Administrator Derek S. Maltz also announced today the seizure of domain names for seven websites and four cryptocurrency accounts, totaling approximately $900,000 worth of digital funds, tied to the illicit precursor chemical business of WANG and CHEN’s company, HUBEI AMARVEL BIOTECH CO., LTD., a/k/a “AmarvelBio,” (“AMARVEL BIOTECH”), its related entities, and its executives and employees.  Five additional websites tied to AMARVEL BIOTECH, including its principal website, were previously seized in June 2023.

    U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “Qingzhou Wang and Yiyi Chen conspired to import massive amounts of fentanyl precursors from China into the United States.  They did so with callous disregard for the effect that such deadly chemicals would ultimately have here in the United States.  Now, they stand convicted in an American courtroom and face a substantial term of imprisonment for their crimes.  And we are not done.  The seizures announced today continue the ongoing fight against the fentanyl supply chain.  The message should be clear:  we are watching, and we will continue to dismantle these fentanyl precursor operations, and bring the individuals responsible to justice.”

    Acting Administrator Derek S. Maltz said: “I have personally seen the devastation that illicit fentanyl has had on American families. I have looked into the eyes of hundreds of mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers, who would give anything to have one more moment with their loved one. The DEA’s top priority is protecting the safety of the American people. These convictions, and the seizures of these websites and accounts, show that no matter where you live in the world or where you operate in the fentanyl supply chain, the DEA will utilize all of our resources to bring you to justice. I’m incredibly proud of the men and women of DEA, alongside our law enforcement partners, who worked tirelessly on this investigation and the unrelenting fight against illicit fentanyl.”

    As reflected in the Indictment, public filings, and the evidence presented at trial:

    AMARVEL BIOTECH was a chemical manufacturer based in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei province, China, that exported vast quantities of the precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl and its analogues. A synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin, fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49.  Fentanyl analogues, similar in chemical makeup and effect to fentanyl, can be even more potent and lethal than fentanyl.  Fentanyl and its analogues have devastated communities across the U.S. and are fueling the ongoing opioid epidemic, which killed at least 105,263 Americans between February 2022 and January 2023 alone.

    During the course of an undercover investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), AMARVEL BIOTECH and its principal executive, WANG, its marketing manager, CHEN, and a sales representative, FNU LNU, a/k/a “Er Yang,” a/k/a “Anita” (“YANG”), shipped more than 200 kilograms from China to the United States of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl and its analogues.  AMARVEL BIOTECH, WANG, CHEN, and YANG shipped the precursors to the U.S. after being told that the chemicals would be used to produce fentanyl in New York, and they agreed to supply multi-ton shipments of fentanyl precursors despite being told that Americans had died after consuming fentanyl made from the chemicals that the defendants had sold.

    For example, on or about November 17, 2022, a DEA confidential source (“CS-1”) wrote to YANG using an encrypted messaging application, “You know I making fentanyl,” and “Is not safe.”  YANG replied, “i know.”  On or about December 1, 2022, YANG wrote to CS-1, promising that CS-1 would be “happy with our product” and noting that CS-1 would “be able to synthesize fentanyl.” In exchange for payment in cryptocurrency, AMARVEL BIOTECH thereafter shipped from China to New York approximately 999.7 grams of the fentanyl precursor 1-boc-4-AP, approximately 1,002.6 grams of the fentanyl precursor 1-boc-4-piperidone, and approximately 893.6 grams of the methamphetamine precursor methylamine.

    In or about March 2023, WANG and CHEN traveled from China to Bangkok, Thailand, to meet with an individual whom CS-1 represented was CS-1’s boss, but was in fact another DEA confidential source (“CS-2”).  During the meeting, WANG and CHEN discussed AMARVEL BIOTECH’s ability to supply ton-quantities of fentanyl precursors to New York for CS-1 and CS-2’s fentanyl manufacturing operation.  After CS-2 stated that CS-2 wanted a different formula for manufacturing fentanyl and that several of CS-2’s American customers had purportedly died, WANG and CHEN advised they had “a lot of customers in America and Mexico” who could provide technical assistance with fentanyl production.                        

    After the March 2023 meeting in Bangkok, AMARVEL BIOTECH, WANG, CHEN, and YANG agreed to sell CS-1 and CS-2 approximately 210 kilograms of fentanyl precursors in exchange for payment in cryptocurrency.  During an April 10, 2023 video call with WANG and CHEN, CS-2 stated that the approximately 210 kilograms of fentanyl precursors would be used to manufacture approximately 50 to 55 kilograms of fentanyl—an amount that could contain approximately 25 million deadly doses.   

    In or about May 2023, AMARVEL BIOTECH, WANG, CHEN, and YANG sent to the U.S. the shipment ordered by CS-1 and CS-2.  On or about May 5, 2023, the DEA retrieved the precursor shipment from a warehouse near Los Angeles, California.  Lab testing confirmed the presence of a precursor chemical for a fentanyl analogue. In an encrypted messaging group chat with CS-1, CS-2, WANG, and CHEN, YANG explained that “New York, the United States, has been strict in checking the precursors of the ‘final product’ some time ago, so for the sake of safety, this time it is sent to California.”

    In or about June 2023, WANG and CHEN traveled from China to meet again with CS-2.  During the meeting, WANG and CHEN discussed with CS-2 a multi-ton order of fentanyl precursor chemicals.  WANG and CHEN also discussed the need to take additional measures to protect themselves from detection and interdiction of their shipments “because recently American government . . . seized some Mexican group and they followed the routes to China,” where the U.S. Government found “our competitor in China”—an apparent reference to fentanyl-related charges filed in the Southern District of New York and announced in April 2023 against, among others, leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel and certain China-based precursor chemical company executives.

    AMARVEL BIOTECH openly advertised online its sale of precursor chemicals for use in manufacturing fentanyl.  Through its website and a host of other storefront sites, AMARVEL BIOTECH targeted precursor chemical customers in Mexico, where drug cartels operate clandestine laboratories and distribute finished fentanyl into and throughout the United States, including by advertising fentanyl precursors as a “Mexico hot sale,” guaranteeing “100% stealth shipping” abroad, and posting to its websites documentation of AMARVEL BIOTECH shipping chemicals to Culiacan, the home city of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the dominant drug trafficking organizations in the Western Hemisphere and which is largely responsible for the massive influx of fentanyl into the U.S. in recent years.  Below is a screenshot of one of AMARVEL BIOTECH’s store pages for a fentanyl precursor:

    AMARVEL BIOTECH also endeavored to thwart law enforcement interdiction of its precursor chemical shipments.  AMARVEL BIOTECH advertised online the business’s ability to use deceptive packaging—such as packaging indicating the contents are dog food, nuts, or motor oil—to ensure “safe” delivery of the illicit contents such shipments.  An example of one of AMARVEL BIOTECH’s online advertisements are shown below:

    *                *                *

    WANG, 36, of China, and CHEN, 32, of China, were each convicted of:  one count of conspiracy to import the fentanyl precursor chemical 1-boc-4-AP, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it will be used to manufacture fentanyl, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  WANG was also convicted of: one count of importation of the fentanyl precursor chemical 1-boc-4-AP, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it will be used to manufacture fentanyl, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of importation of the methamphetamine precursor chemical methylamine, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.  WANG and CHEN were each acquitted of one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and a fentanyl-related substance.

    The maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.

    A table listing the websites for which the domain names have been seized pursuant Title 21, U.S. Code, Sections 853 and 970 is set forth below:

    Internet users attempting to access the seized domains now see the following:

    Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit.  Ms. Sassoon also thanked the DEA Bangkok Country Office, DEA Wellington Country Office, DEA Beijing Country Office, DEA Honolulu District Office, DEA New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) Strike Force, DEA Riverside District Office, DEA Special Testing Laboratory, the DEA Southwest Laboratory, the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, the Royal Thai Police Narcotics Suppression Bureau, the Fiji Police Force Narcotic Bureau, the Fiji Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii for their assistance.

    This case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander Li and Kevin Sullivan are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Sabrina Jim Munoz.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Over £69 billion confirmed for council budgets

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Final Settlement confirms over £69 billion government funding for councils, a 6.8% cash-terms increase in Core Spending Power 

    More than £69 billion in funding for England’s councils has been confirmed today as the government delivers on its commitment to restore trust and stability in public services.   

    Following the provisional Settlement in December, today’s final Settlement provides a 6.8% in cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power compared to 2024-25. With increased demand and running costs rising, this money is a lifeline and will guarantee no council sees a decrease in their Core Spending Power.   

    Families across the country rely on crucial council services such as social care, which is why the government is providing up to £3.7 billion additional funding to social care authorities to deliver this. This includes an £880 million uplift to the Social Care Grant, compared to 2024-25.  

    A new £270 million Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant will support the national roll out of vital family help, keeping children safe and ensuring they get the best start in life as set out in the Plan for Change.  

    While fundamental change cannot happen overnight, the government is working at pace with the sector to deliver the ambitious reform needed to spread power, money and resources more fairly across the country.   

    Today, £60 million has also been confirmed to fund long-term improvements to the local government sector over the next year, including empowering mayoral areas leading the devolution revolution in delivering local priorities and supporting councils’ financial reporting with a fit and legal audit system to ensure transparency.  

    Rebuilding the sector from the ground up is a crucial step towards the national Plan for Change to bring better value for money, sustained economic growth and fix our country’s public services.  

    The government has maintained the 5% referendum principles on council tax increases – the same level set by the previous administration- to protect taxpayers from excessive increases. 

    Unlike previous years, this government has introduced a stricter approach to the inherited arrangements that allowed councils to request higher council tax increases if they need Exceptional Financial Support and see increases as critical to maintaining their financial sustainability. 

    This approach puts taxpayers at the forefront, for example by only agreeing increases where councils are amongst the lowest existing levels for tax. In fact, taxpayers in these areas are still expected to be paying less than the average council tax compared to similar councils. This approach has limited the number and scale of additional increases, with the government not agreeing where councils have asked to increase council tax by a very high amount or by high amounts in successive years. 

    Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner said:   

    Councils deliver vital services across the country – driving growth and local economies and providing a lifeline for those that need it most.  

    Through our Plan for Change we are determined to fix the foundations of local government; investing where it is needed, trusting local leaders and working together to deliver growth, better health and social care services and the affordable homes people need. 

    Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon OBE said:   

    We have been clear we will fix the foundations of local government. That means an end to short-term solutions and instead rebuilding the sector to put councils on a more stable and secure footing.    

     >Local leaders play a crucial role in delivering the day-to-day services communities across the country rely on, which is why we want to work with them towards a fairer funding model that tackles regional inequality and prioritises outcomes for local people.

    This final Settlement marks an important step towards a government focused on efficiency, value-for-money and a community first approach. For the first time, a new £600 million Recovery Grant will help support places most in need, which maximises public spending to ensure it delivers more meaningful outcomes.   

    The sector is already having its say via an open consultation on how to best streamline the outdated funding model and distribute taxpayer’s money more fairly, based on an updated assessment of need, enabling every council to deliver high quality services to their communities.   

    As part of handing local leaders more power and control of their funding, the government will end outdated processes and bureaucracy of bidding for different funding pots and bring forward the first multi-year settlement in a decade in 2026-27 to provide certainty and economic security to councils setting budgets.    

    The provisional settlement consultation was open for 4 weeks and closed on 15 January 2024.    

    Notes to Editors   

    Further details on all of the above, including allocations for individual councils can be found on the Final Local Government Finance Settlement page 2025-26 here.   

    See the Deputy Prime Minister’s full Written Ministerial Statement here: Written statements – Written questions, answers and statements – UK Parliament   

    The Final Settlement will be debated in the House of Commons on Wednesday 5th February.  

    The government’s consultation on funding reform from 2026-27 can be found here, and remains open until 12 February.     

    Two statutory reports have also been published:   

    A record number of councils asked the government for support this year to help them set their budgets, and a record number of these councils have asked for additional council tax increases to aid their financial recovery. 

    For councils that require Exceptional Financial Support, the government has considered requests from councils for bespoke council tax referendum principles on a case-by-case basis and has agreed bespoke referendum principles for six local authorities. All six of the councils have been clear they will not be able to set a balanced budget without government support. The government has not agreed to all requests and has not agreed to any request in its entirety, to reduce the impact on taxpayers. In the areas where we have made the difficult decision to allow limited council tax rises,  we expect that no taxpayer will see their bills reach higher than the average compared to similar authorities. 

    Core Spending Power is a measure of the resources available to local authorities to fund service delivery. It sets out the money that has been made available to councils through the local government finance settlement.   

    The government confirmed unringfenced allocations of the £515m of funding announced at the provisional local government finance settlement to support to local government meet the increased costs of directly employed staff arising from changes to employer National Insurance Contribution (NICs).   

    The previous government’s referendum threshold for council tax will be maintained at 3% with 2% for the adult social care precept to protect local taxpayers.    

    Several grants including the Rural Services Delivery Grant and the Services Grant will be repurposed. The government will ensure the impact of rurality on the cost of service delivery and demand is reflected in the public consultation next year. Places with a significant rural population will on average receive almost a 6% increase in their Core Spending Power. No council will see a reduction.  

    Councils will also receive over £1 billion in total through the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packing scheme (pEPR) which will cover the existing costs they incur for managing household packaging waste, provide additional funding for new legal duties, and support much needed investment in the waste and recycling industry.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Digital mental health technologies guidance launched to help manufacturers and safeguard users

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    New guidance helps manufacturers navigate medical device regulations and protect users of digital mental health technologies.

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has today issued new guidance to help manufacturers meet UK medical devices regulations and ensure digital mental health technologies are effective, reliable and acceptably safe.

    From mental health apps, AI-powered assessments, and virtual reality therapy, digital mental health technologies are increasingly used by individuals and the NHS to support mental health.

    Digital mental health technologies that diagnose, prevent, or treat conditions using complex software must meet medical device standards to ensure they are effective and acceptably safe, just like any other medical device. Manufacturers may be unsure how medical devices regulations apply to software, which products are regulated, how they are assessed, and what evidence is required.

    This new guidance explains:

    • How to define and communicate the intended purpose of a digital mental health technology
    • When a digital mental health technology is considered a medical device under UK law.
    • How risk classification is determined, ensuring proportionate regulation for different types of technologies.

    For people using mental health apps, this means greater confidence in the tools they rely on.

    Rob Reid, Deputy Director of Innovative Devices at the MHRA, said:

    Effective and acceptably safe digital tools have huge potential to improve mental health support, making help more accessible than ever. This new guidance aims to support safe access to these important tools by clarifying when a product needs regulatory approval and the steps developers must take. Maintaining clear and proportionate regulatory standards will ensure that the public can trust these technologies and benefit from the safe, effective mental health support they can provide.

    The guidance is one of the outputs from a three-year Wellcome-funded project, launched in 2023, to explore the regulation of digital mental health products. Developed by the MHRA, with input from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), NHS experts, researchers, healthcare professionals, and people with lived experience, it aims to meet both clinical and real-world needs, to address the growing mental health crisis in the UK.

    Mark Chapman, Director of HealthTech at NICE, said:

    Providing more detailed guidance to the developers of digital mental health technologies helps us to ensure that technologies being considered for NICE assessments have received an appropriate level of regulatory scrutiny to assure their safety. There are many types of technologies available, and it is important people can understand how regulations apply to different products. This guidance will help inform our evaluations and ensure that NICE is able to publish useful, usable, and timely guidance that allows people with mental health conditions to access safe and effective innovations faster.

    Professor Miranda Wolpert, Director of Mental Health at Wellcome, which funded the project, said:

    With millions of people around the world held back by mental health problems, digital mental health therapies have huge potential to be scalable and accessible.

    It is not easy to navigate between over and under regulation in this area. In a fast-moving and continuously evolving digital space, these thoughtful guidelines appear well positioned to strike a pragmatic balance between making digital mental health technologies accessible to those with a range of mental health needs whilst also ensuring they are safe, effective and as transparent as possible.

    Manufacturers of digital mental health technologies should review the guidance to ensure compliance before bringing their products to market.

    The full guidance is available on the MHRA website: Digital mental health technology: qualification and classification

    Notes to editors

    1. Digital mental health technologies (DMHT) are software and digital products that support mental health and wellbeing. They can be websites, internet-based platforms or applications (apps) to be used with non-medical technology, such as computers, mobile phones, fitness wearables, and virtual reality (VR) headsets, or medical technology, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) headsets. They can be available as direct-to-consumer products intended for patients and the public or used with a referral or supervision from healthcare or educational professionals, as part of the blended delivery of mental health care. Some DMHT qualify as medical devices and therefore need to be regulated as such to ensure effectiveness, reliability and acceptable safety. The new guidance provides clarity on three key areas. First, it explains how to define the intended purpose and functionality of a digital mental health technology (DMHT). Second, it sets out which types of DMHT qualify as Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) and therefore require regulation. Finally, it outlines how these technologies are classified based on risk, with Class I devices being low-risk and self-certified, while higher-risk devices (Class IIa, IIb, or III) require assessment by an Approved or Notified Body to obtain regulatory certification.

    2. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK by ensuring they work and are acceptably safe. All our work is underpinned by robust and fact-based judgements to ensure that the benefits justify any risks.

    3. The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.

    4. For media enquiries, please contact the newscentre@mhra.gov.uk, or call on 020 3080 7651. 

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Civil/crime news: privacy notices on legal aid application forms

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Our legal aid application forms are being updated after revisions to the privacy notices.

    Which forms are affected?

    Changes have been made to privacy notices on all legal aid forms across both criminal and civil legal aid.

    How has the privacy notice been changed?

    Changes have been made to the privacy notices on all legal aid forms that we make available on GOV.UK and via our systems such as CCMS and CCQ. The privacy notice now includes reference to Advantis Credit Ltd. who took over the contract for Crown Court means testing (CCMT) debt collection and enforcement services on behalf of the Legal Aid Agency from the previous supplier Marston Holdings Ltd. with effect from 3 February 2025.

    Will old forms still be accepted?

    Previous versions of the application forms will continue to be accepted until 5 May 2025 so providers have time to adjust and to allow software vendors time to update their case management systems.

    Show all clients updated privacy notices

    Your clients need to be aware of the updated privacy notices. This is especially important if you are submitting the older version of the form. It means directing your clients to the new privacy notices when you are collecting personal information. These privacy notices are on the new forms and you can use the links at the end of this article to help you.

    Updated forms

    Controlled work application forms

    Civil legal aid application forms

    Criminal legal aid application forms

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Initial findings of our e-discovery review

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Our Interim Director of Legal Services Matthew Wagstaff provides an update on our ongoing review of our use of e-discovery software.

    We use software to help identify evidence and other relevant material for use in our criminal investigations and prosecutions.

    This ensures we can process very large amounts of digital material across our cases and is line with the approach taken by most law enforcement agencies.   

    At present, the SFO is reviewing our current and past use of this software.  

    A sufficiently large amount of work has been undertaken as part of this review so that I can now provide a substantive update. Some of this work is ongoing. 

    Our current system  

    The SFO currently uses the software OpenText Axcelerate (“Axcelerate”). 

    As with many software programs, it is usual to find and patch software issues from time to time.  

    Recently, we finished applying a technical fix to Axcelerate after our staff identified an “encoding issue” affecting the way some words appeared in documents ingested into the system.    

    This work took some months but is now complete and the issue has been corrected.  

    We have already informed all relevant defendants about this fix across our cases in court and will continue to share information with future defendants in the normal way via pre-trial proceedings.   

    We remain confident in the efficacy and integrity of our system.  

    Our past system  

    With input from the Attorney General’s Office and His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (“HMCPSI”), the SFO has also commenced a review of our past use of software called Autonomy Introspect (“Autonomy”). 

    The issue we have identified with this software is different. The version of Autonomy used by the SFO in the past had some specific rules that governed the way search terms had to be constructed to identify variations of the word being searched.  

    The way Autonomy’s search function worked was explained in two cases at court, and we have also discussed it with the independent body that reviews our work, HMCPSI.    

    The SFO, like all prosecutors, has a legal obligation to disclose material to any convicted defendant which might cast doubt upon the safety of that person’s conviction and to undertake enquiries to ascertain whether such material exists.   

    We take this obligation very seriously and we recognise that, although we have not seen any evidence of this yet, this issue with search terms could have resulted in relevant and disclosable material being missed.  

    Therefore, we have decided to look back at our Autonomy cases to see how search terms were constructed and used by our case teams in the past. This work is well underway and we have now completed an initial review of every relevant case, prioritising cases where defendants are serving custodial sentences.  

    As a result, we have identified many cases which were clearly not affected by the issue. However, in some cases, further enquiries are needed and so we have not yet reached a decision as to whether those cases were affected or not. This work is ongoing and will likely involve some searches being re-run on some cases. 

    In all cases we have reviewed to date, we have not seen any material which undermines the safety of any conviction. 

    A dedicated senior working group at the SFO, led by Interim Director of Legal Services Matthew Wagstaff, is coordinating this review with independent input from the Attorney General’s Office and HMCPSI.  

    The work of the senior working group is also being overseen by an independent oversight group. 

    We are contacting defendants and their legal teams, where we have address details for them, to update them on this process, setting out in detail the action we have taken.   

    If you think this should include you – and you or your lawyer have not already been contacted by us – you can reach us at public.enquiries@sfo.gov.uk.  

    We are committed to continuing to publish relevant information and we expect to provide a further update in the coming months.   

    Q&A  (For reactive use with media/stakeholders and to support SFO leads internally)

    What software is involved in these reviews? 

    There are two types of software involved in these reviews. The first is Autonomy Introspect, which is no longer used by the SFO. The second is OpenText Axcelerate which remains our current e-discovery software.  

    What are the issues with the software?  

    A feature of the SFO’s version of Autonomy Introspect was that when search terms were run certain punctuation marks were treated as “tangible” characters as opposed to “non-tangible” characters. The characters in question were:  

    • % – Percentage symbol 

    • @ – At symbol 

    • / – Forward slash 

    • : – Colon  

    • . – Full stop 

    • £ – Pound sign 

    Tangible characters are ones which a search function looks for, whilst non-tangible are ones which are ignored. The result as far as Autonomy was concerned is that where one of the tangible characters appeared adjacent to a word which was being searched for it would be treated as two completely different words. For example, a search for “bribe” would not return an instance when it is directly followed by a full stop (e.g. “bribe.”).  

    Our guidance and training took this into account when setting out how to operate the software. But it emerged that search terms used on cases did not always account for this feature.  

    With Axcelerate, a case team identified that an “encoding” setting meant a limited number of searches were potentially ineffective. This was because additional characters were added when text was copied which subsequently affected searches.  

    What action have you taken?  

    We are reviewing how search terms were used historically on Autonomy Introspect by teams. Where necessary we will be re-running search terms and dip-sampling the results to check whether any material was missed which might now cast doubt on the safety of the conviction. 

    In the case of Axcelerate, teams have re-run searches, informed defence teams as appropriate and developed and tested a permanent fix for all searches. This has been successfully implemented.  

    When were these concerns identified?  

    We became aware in September 2022 on the G4S case that searches undertaken with Autonomy Introspect needed to be re-run with revised search terms.  

    HMCPSI, the independent inspectorate, was aware of the issue during its recent inspection of disclosure at the SFO.  

    In February 2024, the team investigating the London Mining case identified the “encoding” concern with Axcelerate  

    What happens next? 

    We will be contacting those parties affected and their legal teams to share details of the reviews which have been undertaken.  

    We will publish further updates on the progress of this work when appropriate.  

    Will you make public the number of cases the Autonomy issue affects?   

    We will publish only accurate information, that we have verified is correct. The number of cases we are looking at has changed as we have conducted our review and determined which cases are within scope, and it may change again. We may publish our final figures once this work is complete.   

    How many Axcelerate cases does this affect?  

    The Axcelerate issue has been resolved. We will not provide this figure, as this would reveal the SFO’s covert caseload.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: WFP and Ministry of Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief call for urgent investment into anticipatory action in Bangladesh

    Source: World Food Programme

    DHAKA – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Government of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR) released the “State of Anticipatory Action 2024” report, this week, highlighting the importance of anticipatory action in disaster risk management.

    The report outlines significant progress made in 2024 while emphasising the urgent need to address funding and coverage gaps to safeguard vulnerable communities in Bangladesh from escalating climate-related disasters.

    “By providing cash support before Cyclone Remal, we reduced the damage to coastal communities and protected livelihoods while ensuring people had essential resources”, said Razwanur Rahman, Director General of the Department of Disaster Management under MoDMR. “Similarly, Anticipatory Action support during the July floods helped prevent big economic losses.”  He added that the MoDMR plans to expand anticipatory action to cover more disasters, improve early warning tools and increase community-level involvement.

    Anticipatory action has proven to be critical in reducing the impact of extreme climate. In 2024, Bangladesh made significant strides in anticipatory action within its disaster management framework.  The government’s increasing integration of anticipatory action, notably its inclusion in the 2019 standing orders on disaster, was further strengthened by the activation of 15 anticipatory action initiatives. These activations covered 20 districts and reached nearly 430,000 people ahead of monsoon floods, flash floods, cyclones, and heatwaves.  A multi-stakeholder technical working group was established to better align activities with national priorities.

    The integration of tools like El Niño forecasts and other predictive models into anticipatory planning enabled more timely and targeted responses.  These efforts were supported by the mobilization of US$ 10.4 million for anticipatory action activities, with multilateral donors playing a crucial role in funding. 

    Despite these achievements, the report identifies critical gaps that must be urgently addressed. For 2025, a significant funding shortfall persists with more than half the needs underfunded (US$ 42 million). The largest funding needs are for monsoon floods (US$ 24 million), cyclones (US$ 10 million) and flash floods (US$ 8 million).

    Additionally, over 54 percent of households in need were left unsupported in 2024, with those affected by flash floods experiencing an 88.2 percent coverage gap. The need to expand coverage remains pressing.

    Looking ahead, the report identifies 23 districts for coverage, including those impacted by cold waves, landslides, droughts and heavy rainfall. Over 4.1 million households face potential exposure to major hazards, with 2.7 million households likely to experience significant impacts.

    To address these challenges, the report recommends exploring risk pooling, anticipatory action insurance and multi-year funding commitments to ensure long-term sustainability.

    “While the report underscores significant progress in institutionalising and operationalising anticipatory action in Bangladesh, challenges in the form of funding and coverage persist. By addressing these gaps through enhanced coordination, innovative financing and expanded coverage, Bangladesh can solidify its position as a global leader in anticipatory action”, said Riccardo Suppo, Head of Programme, WFP Bangladesh. He also thanked the European Union, Germany, Ireland, UN CERF, KOICA and other donors for supporting anticipatory action efforts in Bangladesh.

    #                          #                              # 

     

    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_bangladesh, Facebook @WFPinBangladesh, Instagram @wfp_bangladesh  

     ng AA efforts in Bangladesh.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Losses of Public Money for 2024-25 Third Quarter

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on February 3, 2025

    The report on losses of public money within Saskatchewan health organizations has been tabled with the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

    The Ministry of Health reports losses by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), Athabasca Health Authority (AHA), Saskatchewan Cancer Agency (SCA), Health Shared Services Saskatchewan (3sHealth), Health Quality Council (HQC) and Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) in keeping with similar reporting of losses within ministries and Crown agencies.

    One reportable loss was reported by the SHA to the Ministry of Health in the third quarter of the 2024-25 fiscal year (from October 1 to December 31, 2024):

    Various medical supplies were reported missing and presumed stolen from a SHA site, resulting in a loss of $3,000 over a period of six months in 2024. 

    See the attached report or visit: www.saskatchewan.ca/government/government-structure/ministries/health/other-reports/public-losses. 

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Loss Reports Tabled

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on February 3, 2025

    The most recent quarterly reports on losses of public money within government ministries and Crown corporations, for the period from October 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, have been tabled with their respective legislative committees.

    The Provincial Comptroller has tabled a nil report with the Public Accounts Committee for Executive Government’s third quarter of 2024-25.

    The Crown Investments Corporation tabled a nil report with the Crown and Central Agencies Committee for the Crown sector’s third quarter of 2024-25.

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The final stage of the VIII season of the Olympiad “I am a professional”: two weeks before the start

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

    For the eighth year, the intellectual competition has been inviting talents from all over the country to become part of the universe of opportunities to receive bonuses upon admission to the HSE Master’s program, a chance to do an internship at partner companies (Yandex, VTB, Sber, Russian Railways and others) and cash prizes of up to 300,000 rubles. The results of the selection round are already known, and the final round is just around the corner. We share statistics and talk about important dates in February.

    Of the 71 areas of this Olympiad season, six are implemented by the Higher School of Economics: Economics, Sociology, Urban Studies, Business Informatics, Journalism, and Design.

    The qualifying stage has been completed

    Based on the results of the selection round, 3,619 participants were admitted to participate in the following areas of the Higher School of Economics: Business Informatics – 558, Design – 429, Journalism – 348, Sociology – 983, Urban Studies – 419, and Economics – 882.

    Participants who have scored the required number of points and presented a document confirming their student status are admitted to the final stage of the Olympiad. Passing scores may vary depending on the territorial affiliation of the university. More details are available at page.

    Alexander Chepovsky, Director of Strategic Work with Applicants, shares statistics: “The Higher School of Economics has been the university organizing the Olympiad for the eighth year now.”I am a professional“Our areas traditionally enjoy great interest among students from all over Russia. For example, this year, almost 80% of students who passed to the next stage in our areas are studying at other universities in the country. Students of the Higher School of Economics showed decent results in the selection stage of the Olympiad “I am a professional” and were admitted to participate in the final stage in 70 areas. The range of interests is impressive and makes you wonder how versatile and talented the people at the HSE are.”

    The final stage

    The final stage in all areas will begin in February. It may be held in several rounds (semi-final and final) or in one (final) depending on each specific area.

    “Business Informatics”

    The final stage is held in two rounds in a remote format. The semi-final will take place on February 23 in two time slots: from 03:00 to 09:00 and from 10:00 to 16:00 Moscow time. Participants have the right to choose one most convenient slot. The completion time is fixed: participants who start completing tasks not from the beginning of the allocated interval will have less time.

    “Design”

    There is no semi-final in this area — only the final. Participants must upload completed projects to their personal account from 00:00 on February 17 to 23:59 on March 16 Moscow time. The defense of completed assignments will take place in April.

    “Journalism”

    Participants will have an online semi-final and final. In the first round, they must complete and upload their work from 00:00 on February 26 to 23:59 on March 3 Moscow time. The final will also be held in April.

    “Sociology”

    There is no semi-final in this category. Participants must complete the final round in person.

    The competition will take place on February 15. The participants will gather and undergo the identification procedure from 09:30 to 09:50 Moscow time. The final will begin at 10:00 (Moscow time). You will have 240 minutes to complete the tasks.

    The final will be held in the following cities: Barnaul, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, St. Petersburg, Stavropol, Tomsk, Tyumen and Yakutsk.

    “Urban Studies”

    The final stage will be held within one round (final) in person on February 16. The start is at 10:00 (Moscow time). You will have 240 minutes to complete the tasks.

    The final of the direction will take place at venues in Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, St. Petersburg and Tomsk.

    “Economy”

    The final stage of this direction is also held in person at sites in Barnaul, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, St. Petersburg, Stavropol, Tomsk, Tyumen and Yakutsk.

    The final will take place on February 15. The competition starts at 10:00 Moscow time. Participants will have 180 minutes to complete the tasks.

    You can find the materials of the final stage and a detailed schedule for each direction at website.

    Alexander Chepovsky gives advice to the participants of the final competition: “When going through the final stage, I advise you to be attentive and focused. Stay calm to easily cope with any tasks. Remember that the best will receive not only cash prizes, but also advantages when entering the HSE Master’s program, as well as valuable experience that will help in finding a job and building a career.”

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: GB Energy: Labour’s broken promises will hurt North East of Scotland

    Source: Scottish Greens

    03 Feb 2025 Climate

    Labour must not break its promise to workers in Aberdeen and beyond.

    More in Climate

    People in the North East of Scotland will not forget it if Labour’s GB Energy fails to deliver on promised jobs for Aberdeen, says Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman.

    The comments come as the boss of Keir Starmer’s energy company has revealed that it could take 20 years for the promised jobs to be created.

    At the general election, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar promised “lower bills, more jobs, greater energy security”, but today Scotland discovered that Labour had yet again over-promised in their desire for power. Now Scotland could have to wait decades to feel any benefit.

    This is just the latest failure by Labour to make good on its promise to working Scots to make household bills cheaper. In August 2024, The UK Government dumped a key election promise to cut energy bills by £300 a year, and when questioned by MPs at Westminster in October, the boss of GB Energy was unable to say when GB Energy would reduce household bills.

    Scottish Greens MSP for North East, Maggie Chapman said:

    “Labour promised that GB Energy would finally cut energy bills while creating hundreds of new jobs in Aberdeen, but it’s looking increasingly likely that neither of these things will happen.

    “GB Energy looks like yet another Westminster white elephant that is designed by businessmen for businessmen. If it is not lowering bills or creating jobs then what will it do?

    “Energy bills are too high and are stretching people to their limits. We must get away from a broken and destructive system that means sky high bills for households and families and chaos for our climate.

    “People were told that they were voting for change at the election, but it’s clear that Starmer and Sarwar have no intention of delivering it.

    “Time and again, this Labour government has shown that it cannot be trusted. It has already chosen to plunge pensioners into fuel poverty by cutting winter fuel payments, kept the cruel two-child cap and betrayed millions of working class WASPI women. Are workers in Aberdeen the next to be betrayed?

    “Scotland deserves so much better than this. We have masses of unlocked potential in our skilled workforce, and vast renewable resources. We need politicians to invest in our communities and our skills and put people and planet before profit.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Regulator investigates charities over conflicts of interest

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry to examine ongoing regulatory concerns regarding the trustees’ management and administration of Solev Co Limited.

    SOLEV CO LIMITED – 254623 was established in 1967 with general charitable purposes. The regulator’s primary concerns focus on related-party transactions recorded in the charity’s accounts and whether conflicts of interest have been managed appropriately, particularly given that the trustees were, until recently, all part of the same family. The previous trustees were all closely related.  Trustees are expected to act in the best interests of the charity and properly manage any conflicts of interest.

    The inquiry will also investigate why the charity has not submitted accounts and annual returns within the statutory timeframe for the past five years and is currently in default with their 2023 and 2024 accounts, which is a legal obligation for trustees.

    The Commission has also opened an inquiry into HATZLOCHO LIMITED – 1082076 to examine similar concerns. The charity’s purposes include advancing the Orthodox Jewish faith, and relieving poverty.

    Both inquiries will examine the administration, governance and management of the charity, in particular the extent to which:

    • the trustees have complied with their statutory reporting duties including the submission of the charity’s annual reports and accounts to the Commission
    • the trustees have acted in accordance with their legal duties, with particular regard to the composition of the trustee board, the management of the charity’s finances, related party transactions and conflicts of interest and/or loyalty
    • any failings or weaknesses identified in the administration of the charity are a result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees

    The Commission may extend the scope of either inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge.

    It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were.  

    ENDS

    Notes to editors

    1. The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its ambition is to be an expert regulator that is fair, balanced, and independent so that charity can thrive. This ambition will help to create and sustain an environment where charities further build public trust and ultimately fulfil their essential role in enhancing lives and strengthening society. Find out more: About us – The Charity Commission – GOV.UK
    2. The Charity Commission opened  statutory inquiries into the charities under section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 as a result of its regulatory concerns that there is or has been misconduct and/or mismanagement in their administration. The inquiry into Solev Co Limited (254623) opened on 13 December 2024. The separate inquiry into Hatzlocho Limited (1082076) opened on 19 December 2024.
    3. A statutory inquiry is a legal power enabling the Commission to formally investigate matters of regulatory concern within a charity and to use protective powers for the benefit of the charity and its beneficiaries, assets, or reputation. An inquiry will investigate and establish the facts of the case so that the Commission can determine the extent of any misconduct and/or mismanagement; the extent of the risk to the charity, its work, property, beneficiaries, employees or volunteers; and decide what action is needed to resolve the concerns.
    4. Please note that the Commission has not made any conclusions, and the opening of the inquiry is not a finding of wrongdoing.

    Press office

    Email pressenquiries@charitycommission.gov.uk

    Out of hours press office contact number: 07785 748787

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: National Waste Crime Survey 2024-25 launched

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    The third National Waste Crime Survey (NWCS) is now open for three weeks to understand the scale, impact, and deterrence of waste crime across England

    The Environment Agency is calling on industry and the public to take part in its third National Waste Crime Survey, launched today (Monday 3 February), to gain a greater understanding of waste crime across England.

    Taking the time to respond to our survey is crucial in making England’s approach to tackling waste crime and waste management safer and efficient, and helping us crack down on criminality. The public’s awareness and experience will help the Environment Agency in taking the most effective action against waste criminals.

    The Environment Agency uses the insight that industry and the public provides through the survey to: 

    • Measure the perceived scale and impact of waste crime in England 
    • Understand deterrents that could prevent people from committing waste crime 
    • Gauge public and industry willingness to report waste crimes 
    • Assess the effectiveness of action taken by us and our partners to reduce waste crime.  

    Insights from the survey are crucial in shaping the Environment Agency’s strategic priorities, and the actions taken have resulted in the total number of illegal waste sites in operation falling to 344 last year – the lowest total figure on record. It has never been more important to gather more information on waste crime to ensure this number continues to fall – not least since it is estimated to cost the economy in England a staggering £1 billion annually.   

    Steve Molyneux, Deputy Director of Waste and Resources Regulation at the Environment Agency, said:

    With an estimated 18% of waste illegally managed we know that activities like illegal waste burning and shipping, mis-describing waste, and operating illegal sites cost the economy £1 billion a year.

    Our National Waste Crime Survey is crucial for understanding the scale of these crimes and gathering insights from those directly affected. I encourage everyone impacted by waste crime to take part.

    Your insight will enable us to continue to target waste criminals, stopping them from impacting our environment, communities, the legitimate waste management industry, and the economy.

    Waste Minister Mary Creagh said:  

    Waste criminals are a scourge on society, affecting rural and urban communities equally.

    They make huge profits at the expense of the law-abiding majority, by not paying tax – not to mention the costs of cleaning up after them and making people feel unsafe in their neighbourhoods.

    I urge people to take part in the Environment Agency’s survey to help us crack down on waste criminals and protect the environment.

    The Environment Agency encourages all stakeholders to participate and help promote the survey to others who can help.

    The survey is open for three weeks from 3 February 2025 and can be accessed online.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: $6 million for new key health worker accommodation in Armidale

    Source: New South Wales Ministerial News

    Published: 3 February 2025

    Released by: Minister for Regional Health

    The Armidale community is set to benefit from new Key Worker Accommodation which will help attract, recruit and retain more healthcare workers to the region.

    The Minns Labor Government will invest $6 million in health worker housing in Armidale as part of the Key Health Worker Accommodation Program.

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

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

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

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

    Quotes attributable to Minister for Regional Health, Ryan Park:

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

    “Strengthening our regional health workforce is a key priority for our government and this $6 million investment in accommodation will support attraction of key healthcare workers to Armidale.

    “The Key Health Worker Accommodation Program will support Hunter New England Local Health District in continuing to provide high-quality health services to the community.”

    Quote attributable to Northern Tablelands, Peter Primrose MLC:

    “Our Government’s investment is set to significantly benefit the Armidale community.

    “The success of the initiative in other areas shows that provision of quality housing is effective in attracting and retaining essential healthcare professionals to regional and rural areas.

    “It not only addresses the housing shortage but will strengthen our local healthcare services, enhancing the well-being of residents in Armidale and surrounding communities.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI: Solum Global Inc. Announces Blockchain-Based Electronic Health Wallet (EHW) Solution for U.S. Healthcare Industry

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WEST PALM BEACH, FL, Feb. 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Solum Global Inc. (“Solum Global, Solum or the Company”) is a transparent digital network with a fully decentralized, permissionless blockchain protocol and stablecoin (sgUSD) for storing, trading, and transferring digital and real-world assets enabling immediate settlement between individuals, businesses, and governments, announced today its entrance into the U.S. healthcare industry with the anticipated second quarter 2025 release of its electronic health wallet, a blockchain-powered solution designed to streamline transactions, reduce fraud, and enhance data protection.  

    Solum Global is transforming U.S. healthcare by integrating artificial intelligence (AI), smart contracts, and its stablecoin (sgUSD) with a proprietary electronic health wallet (EHW). EHW is a blockchain-based web3 platform that streamlines revenue cycle management (RCM), replacing fragmented legacy web2 systems with a unified, secure, and automated solution. Leveraging blockchain’s key attributes—programmability, security, immutability, and smart contract billing—Solum enables instant payments through its EHW using sgUSD, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin. AI-driven analysis of historical medical records helps detect financial inefficiencies, including billing errors, waste, abuse, and fraud, while predicting and optimizing future medical expenditures for providers, hospitals, and insurers.

    “Healthcare professionals, hospitals, senior care providers, and insurance companies all recognize the inefficiencies in the U.S. healthcare system, but stakeholders underestimate their true scale. By exposing the full extent of these losses and providing a solution, Solum improves profitability for its clients and contributes to a more secure, efficient, and sustainable healthcare system, benefiting providers, patients, and payers,” stated Geary Stonesifer, CEO of Solum Global, Inc.

    The U.S. healthcare system is plagued by inefficiencies, rising costs, and security vulnerabilities, making innovation more critical than ever. In 2023, the amount spent within the U.S. healthcare industry was a staggering $4.9 trillion, which was $14,570 per person and 17.6% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), equivalent to one out of every six dollars spent on the U.S. economy. The Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy reports an estimated $262 billion in claims are denied annually by payers in the United States. The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association estimates the annual cost of healthcare accounts for an estimated 3% to 10% of all expenditures, or $147 – $490 billion annually. Data breaches among healthcare and medical insurance companies that expose sensitive personal information for millions of Americans occur routinely. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published that 725 breaches compromised over 133 million records across healthcare and insurance companies. The Solum Global electronic health wallet addresses these challenges by providing a secure, blockchain-powered solution that streamlines transactions, reduces fraud, and enhances data protection. By providing individuals with greater control over their health information, Solum Global is setting a new standard for security and efficiency in healthcare.

    About Solum Global Inc.
    Solum Global is a transparent digital network with a fully decentralized, permissionless blockchain protocol for storing, trading, and transferring digital and real-world assets, enabling immediate settlement between individuals, businesses, and governments. Utilizing cutting-edge blockchain technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), smart contracts, the Company’s stablecoin (sgUSD), and a proprietary electronic health wallet (EHW), Solum Global provides a seamless solution that addresses the significant challenges inherent in the U.S. healthcare industry. For more information, visit  www.solum.global.

    Forward-Looking Statements 
    Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws.  Words such as “may,” “might,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” “predict,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “intend” or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

    Contacts:

    Investor Relations
    Hanover International
    ka@hanoverintlinc.com

    Media Contact
    media@solum.global

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Westhaven Commences Winter Drill Program on the Shovelnose Gold Property

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Westhaven Gold Corp. (TSX-V:WHN) is pleased to announce that drilling has commenced on the 41,634 hectare Shovelnose gold property, situated within the prospective Spences Bridge Gold Belt (SBGB), 30 kilometres south of Merritt, British Columbia.

    The winter drill program will be testing three target areas: Certes 1, Certes 3 and Corral, with approximately 2,500 metres (m) of drilling in five holes. Certes 1 and 3 are located approximately 8-10 kilometres (kms) southeast of the high-grade South Zone deposit (see Preliminary Economic Assessment July 18, 2023). A corridor of mineralization and anomalous pathfinder geochemistry was expanded southeast by surface sampling and drilling in 2024. This corridor may represent single west-northwest striking structure 13.5 kms in length that remains open in all directions.

    Preliminary shallow drilling in 2024 at Certes has uncovered a well-preserved epithermal system, now confirmed in the pathfinder geochemistry and TerraSpec (SWIR) analytical work. Certes 3 will be the initial focus of the program, testing down-dip the arsenic and gold-bearing carbonate breccias and quartz veins intersected in hole SN24-425 (e.g. 125ppm arsenic over 9m, 0.69 g/t Au over 1.74m).

    Drilling at Certes 1 will test a subvertical resistivity feature, outlined by the fall 2024 IP survey, immediately north of hole SN24-420 which saw a transition from high level gold pathfinders, mercury and antimony in the first 350m (e.g. 0.44ppm Hg over 119m) to deeper pathfinders such as arsenic in the bottom 40m of the hole. Certes 1 is also proximal to mercury-bearing sinter cobbles and boulders found on surface, suggesting the epithermal system is entirely preserved here.

    A single hole is also planned at the Corral target, south of Certes. Corral is thought to represent a west-northwest striking structure subparallel to Certes in an area of anomalous arsenic in outcrop. This hole will target a resistivity feature detected in the same IP survey.

    Shovelnose Development

    An updated Mineral Resource Estimate and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the South Zone deposit is expected to be completed in Q1 2025 and will include the Forget Me Not (FMN) and Franz Zones, additional discoveries located within the main Vein Zone 1 trend.

    On behalf of the Board of Directors
    WESTHAVEN GOLD CORP.

    “Gareth Thomas”

    Gareth Thomas, President, CEO & Director is responsible for this announcement
    Telephone number: 604-681-5558 ext. 102

    Qualified Person Statement

    Peter Fischl, P.Geo., who is a Qualified Person within the context of National Instrument 43-101 has read and takes responsibility for this release.

    Sampling, Laboratory Analyses and Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC)

    Most core samples consist of halved drill core cut by manual sawing. In rare cases, and where required by physical core conditions, manual splitting may be used. Half of the core is retained in the original core box for reference samples and any required future work, including QA/QC. Core samples, controlled by a unique barcoded reference number, are delivered to ALS’s Kamloops facility and prepared using the PREP-31 package. Each core sample is crushed to better than 70% passing a 2mm (Tyler 9 mesh, US Std. No.10) screen. A split of 250g is taken and pulverized to better than 85% passing a 75-micron (Tyler 200 mesh, US Std. No. 200) screen. Further analytical and assay procedures are conducted in ALS’s North Vancouver facility. A 0.75g subsample of the pulverized split is subjected to four acid digestion and analyzed via ICP-MS (method code ME-MS61m (+Hg)) which reports a suite of 49 elements. All samples are also analyzed for gold by fire assay with an AES finish, method code Au-ICP21 (30g sample size). Samples returning gold values over 10ppm are subjected to ore grade check assays using fire assay and a gravimetric finish (method code Au-GRA21 and a 30g sample size). Other overlimit elements may also be subjected to ore grade analyses which vary depending on the element of interest. QA/QC includes the laboratory’s internal quality assurance controls as well as field controls, including the insertion of quarter core duplicates, certified reference materials and blanks, each at a rate of roughly one per 20-25 core samples. Additional blanks are inserted following samples with visible gold or significant concentrations of ginguro (fine grained bands of dark gray to black sulphides). QA/QC data are evaluated on receipt for failures, and appropriate action is taken if results for duplicates, standards and blanks fall outside allowed tolerances. Westhaven’s ongoing Quality Assurance and Quality Control programs are consistent with industry best practices and include auditing of all exploration data. Any significant changes will be reported when available.

    Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

    About Westhaven Gold Corp.

    Westhaven is a gold-focused exploration company advancing the high-grade discovery on the Shovelnose project in Canada’s newest gold district, the Spences Bridge Gold Belt. Westhaven controls 61,512 hectares (615 square kilometres) with four gold properties spread along this underexplored belt. The Shovelnose property is situated off a major highway, near power, rail, large producing mines, and within commuting distance from the city of Merritt, which translates into low-cost exploration. Westhaven trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol WHN. For further information, please call 604-681-5558 or visit Westhaven’s website at www.westhavengold.com

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and Westhaven does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Forward-looking statements in this news release may include, but are not limited to, the interpretation of preliminary results from exploration undertaken to date at Shovelnose using various exploration techniques and analysis; statements with respect to potential styles of epithermal mineralization at the Shovelnose Project;  the possibility that the Company’s Shovelnose project may host multiple gold bearing epithermal systems; and, the potential for an intermediate sulphidation epithermal signature at the Certes target.  In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. However, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Westhaven’s property interests are in the exploration stages only, are without known bodies of commercial mineralization and have no ongoing mining operations.  Mineral exploration involves a high degree of risk and few properties, which are explored, are ultimately developed into producing mines. Exploration of the Company’s mineral properties may not result in any discoveries of commercial bodies of mineralization. If the Company’s efforts do not result in any discovery of commercial mineralization, the Company will be forced to look for other exploration projects or cease operation. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the risk that the Company will encounter unanticipated geological factors, risks associated with the interpretation of exploration, drilling and assay results, the possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permits and other governmental clearances necessary to carry out the Company’s exploration plans, the risk that the Company will not be able to raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plans, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal changes that might interfere with the Company’s business and prospects. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

    Plan Map of Proposed Winter Drilling

    A map accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d48db140-e744-4e80-8630-5a6f650a222c

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray Calls on Trump to Rescind Executive Orders Still Blocking Billions for Communities Across America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    After rescinding disastrous OMB memo directing a blanket federal funding freeze, Murray demands Trump revoke orders blocking billions of dollars for critical infrastructure projects across America, key national security initiatives, and more

    Murray: “Yesterday, because the American people spoke up loud and clear, Donald Trump retreated from his devastating blanket funding freeze. But make no mistake: there is still far too much chaos on the ground and Trump is still blocking billions of dollars for communities across the country through his Executive Orders.”

    ***VIDEO HERE***

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, called on President Trump to swiftly rescind the directives included in a variety of executive orders he signed on his first day in office that are still in effect and still blocking billions of dollars in resources for communities across America—even after Trump rescinded his administration’s disastrous OMB memo in the face of public outcry, which created a blanket federal funding freeze.

    Speaking on the Senate floor, Senator Murray said:

    “Over the last few days, the American people have felt the painful consequences of Trump’s disastrous funding freeze.

    • Seniors who count on Meals on Wheels have wondered whether they’d have dinner this week.
    • Head Start teachers in red states and blue states panicked over whether they’d have the funds needed to keep their doors open and take care of kids.
    • Disaster relief for people who have endured the unimaginable and been knocked off their feet was thrown into jeopardy.
    • Grant programs to help firefighters do their jobs, combat the fentanyl crisis, get families health care, and so much more were, in an instant, at risk of evaporating into thin air.
    • I heard from a Tribe in my state concerned they’d have to lay off hundreds of staff providing essential services for the Tribe—that could mean putting everything from providing health care to housing in jeopardy—because of the President’s freeze.
    • A shelter for homeless youth in my state still can’t access its HUD funding and is staring down a $3 million deficit—forcing them to hold an emergency board meeting to figure out what, if anything, they can now do.
    • Hospitals in my state are worried that programs which are appropriately focused on someone’s gender or race are in jeopardy—like how pulse oximeters don’t work as well on dark skin, so they need other pathways to be found.

    “The chaos and confusion—the needless stress and distraction—are the result of having a president who is more focused on the billionaires who now fill his administration, than the plight of regular people all across the country.

    “Yesterday, because the American people spoke up loud and clear, Donald Trump retreated from his devastating blanket funding freeze.

    “But make no mistake: there is still far too much chaos on the ground and Trump is still blocking billions of dollars for communities across the country through his Executive Orders.

    • We’re talking about critical funding to rebuild roads and bridges, resources that are already creating thousands of good-paying new clean energy jobs in every state in the country, and critical global investments that help keep America safe.
    • That is completely unacceptable.

    “So, today, I am calling on President Trump to take four simple, commonsense steps:

    1. He needs to ensure every last dollar—down to the last penny—that was caught up by his disastrous blanket funding freeze gets out the door.
    2. He needs to rescind his executive orders that are still, at this very moment, ripping funding away from American families and communities.
    3. He needs to withdraw Russ Vought’s nomination to oversee our nation’s budget. It is clear the person who masterminded so much of this chaos doesn’t belong anywhere near the Office of Management and Budget.
    4. And finally, President Trump needs to abandon, once and for all, his illegal scheme to skirt around our laws and block funding that American workers and families are counting on.

    “I am not asking a lot here: ensure every dollar held up by the illegal freeze is restored, stop the ongoing effort to block funding, withdraw the mastermind of this chaos, and simply follow the law.

    “The American people deserve better than the catastrophe we have witnessed this week, and they deserve to know that the investments Trump is currently holding up—to rebuild the highway they drive to work on or lower their energy costs, and so much more—will make it out the door.

    “If the President is so intent on opposing funding for infrastructure projects and good-paying American jobs, he needs to sit down at the negotiating table and make his case to Congress. I will not let the President rip up the Constitution or rip money away from our communities.”

    ____________________________________________________

    LAST WEEK: within his first hours in office, President Trump signed a number of executive orders that illegally block funding that was signed into law to rebuild America’s infrastructure, lower families’ energy costs, create new, good-paying jobs, strengthen our national security, and more.

    ON MONDAY NIGHT: Trump expanded his funding freeze dramatically when the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a sweeping, illegal memo directing a near-blanket freeze on virtually all federal funding, with carveouts for Social Security, Medicare, and “assistance provided directly to individuals.” Senator Murray immediately wrote a letter to OMB alongside House Appropriations Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) raising alarms about the sweeping directive and calling the acting director to restore funding, as the law requires.

    ON TUESDAY: Senator Murray joined millions of Americans in decrying the chaos and pain President Trump’s freeze caused—as reports poured in from across the country about how it risked shuttering Head Start programs, cutting off disaster relief, jeopardizing cancer research, and much more. The White House, in trying to clarify the scope of the memo, instead created more chaos, confusion, and headaches for the American people.

    ON WEDNESDAY: Senator Murray again slammed Trump’s devastating freeze cutting off funding families count on—noting that even programs the administration said were back online were, in fact, still shuttered, and she called on Trump to stop withholding funding. Then, facing nationwide backlash, President Trump had his OMB revoke its memo. But President Trump vowed to keep his freeze of hundreds of billions of dollars in funding tied up by his executive orders in place—and his aides continued their vows to block more funding signed into law.

    RIGHT NOW: President Trump continues to hold up vast swaths of funding implicated by his illegal executive orders—and chaos and confusion pervade over whether funding implicated by his now-rescinded OMB memo has been fully restored.

    His executive orders direct agencies to, among other things, halt disbursement of funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, foreign development assistance, and virtually any funding his administration deems “woke.”

    President Trump’s ongoing freeze is holding up funding Congress delivered—often on a bipartisan basis—to:

    • Rebuild America’s roads and bridges.
    • Connect families to high-speed internet access.
    • Upgrade transit and transportation infrastructure.
    • Lower Americans’ energy costs.
    • Create new, good-paying clean energy jobs.
    • Strengthen America’s national security.
    • Much more.

    President Trump must rescind his executive orders—and stop blocking funding the American people are counting on. His failure to do so will:

    • Kill good-paying American jobs.
    • Delay—or altogether scrap—infrastructure projects all across the county.
    • Raise American families’ energy costs.
    • Create more chaos, confusion, and uncertainty that hurt families, businesses, small businesses, and local organizations and governments.
    • Gut efforts to tackle the climate crisis and ensure every American has clean air and water.
    • Halt work cleaning up Superfund sites contaminated with hazardous waste and substances.
    • Undermine our national security and credibility on the world stage.
    • Much more.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Imposing Duties to Address the Situation at Our Southern Border

    Source: The White House

              By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2483), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,

              I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that the sustained influx of illegal aliens and illicit opioids and other drugs has profound consequences on our Nation, endangering lives and putting a severe strain on our healthcare system, public services, communities, and schools.  Since the end of my first term, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) within the Department of Homeland Security has recorded more than three times as many inadmissible encounters nationwide as during my first term.

         These challenges threaten the fabric of our society.  Gang members, smugglers, human traffickers, and illicit drugs of all kinds have poured across our borders and into our communities.  Mexico has played a central role in these challenges, including by failing to devote sufficient attention and resources to meaningfully stem the tide of unlawful migration and illicit drugs.

         Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are the world’s leading traffickers of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and other illicit drugs, and they cultivate, process, and distribute massive quantities of narcotics that fuel addiction and violence in communities across the United States.  These DTOs collaborate and conspire with transnational cartels and other global partners to smuggle drugs into the United States, utilizing clandestine airstrips, maritime routes, tunnels, and overland corridors, and both willing and unwilling human couriers.  

         The Mexican DTOs have an intolerable alliance with the government of Mexico. This alliance endangers the national security of the United States, and we must eradicate the influence of these dangerous cartels from the bilateral environment. The government of Mexico has afforded safe havens for the cartels to engage in the manufacturing and transportation of illicit drugs, which collectively have led to the overdose deaths of hundreds of thousands of American victims.

         Mexican cartels are also implicated in human trafficking and smuggling operations, enabling the illegal migration of millions across our borders.  These operations are often tied to organized crime, and they create pathways for cartel activities to expand into the United States.  Furthermore, violent criminals originating from Central and South America easily transit into and through Mexico, and into the United States, where they cause irreparable harm to our citizens.  These dangerous criminals are involved in drug-related violence, gang activity, and other crimes that endanger the safety of American communities.
     
         Immediate action is required to address the national emergency I declared in Proclamation 10886 of January 20, 2025 (Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States), and to finally end the public health crisis caused by opioid use and addiction, which will not happen unless the compliance and cooperation of the government of Mexico is assured.

         I hereby determine and order:
         Section 1.  (a)  As President of the United States, my highest duty is the defense of the country and its citizens.  A Nation without borders is not a Nation at all.  I will not stand by and allow our sovereignty to be eroded, our laws to be trampled, our citizens to be endangered, or our borders to be disrespected anymore.

         I previously declared a national emergency with respect to the grave threat to the United States posed by the influx of illegal aliens and illicit drugs into the United States in Proclamation 10886.  Pursuant to the NEA, I hereby expand the scope of the national emergency declared in that proclamation to cover the failure of Mexico to arrest, seize, detain, or otherwise intercept DTOs, other drug and human traffickers, criminals at large, and illicit drugs.  In addition, this failure to act on the part of the government of Mexico constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.  I hereby declare and reiterate a national emergency under the NEA and IEEPA to deal with that threat.  This national emergency requires decisive and immediate action, and I have decided to impose, consistent with law, ad valorem tariffs on articles that are products of Mexico as set forth in this order.  In doing so, I invoke my authority under section 1702(a)(1)(B) of IEEPA, and specifically find that action under other authority to impose tariffs is inadequate to address this unusual and extraordinary threat.

         Sec. 2.  (a)  All articles that are products of Mexico, as defined by the Federal Register notice described in section 2(d) of this order (the Federal Register notice), shall be, consistent with law, subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty.  Such rate of duty shall apply with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 4, 2025, except that goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, after such time that were loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading or in transit on the final mode of transport prior to entry into the United States before 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 1, 2025, shall not be subject to such additional duty, only if the importer certifies to CBP as specified in the Federal Register notice. 
         (b)  The rates of duty established by this order are in addition to any other duties, fees, exactions, or charges applicable to such imported articles. 
         (c)  Should the government of Mexico retaliate against the United States in response to this action through import duties on United States exports to Mexico or similar measures, the President may increase or expand in scope the duties imposed under this Executive Order to ensure the efficacy of this action. 
         (d)  In order to establish the duty rate on imports of articles that are products of Mexico, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall determine the modifications necessary to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) in order to effectuate this order consistent with law and shall make such modifications to the HTSUS through notice in the Federal Register.  The modifications made to the HTSUS by this notice shall be effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 4, 2025, except as otherwise noted in subsection 2(a) of this section, and shall continue in effect until such actions are expressly reduced, modified, or terminated.
         (e)  Articles that are products of Mexico, except those that are eligible for admission under “domestic status” as defined in 19 CFR 146.43, which are subject to the duties imposed by this order and are admitted into a United States foreign trade zone on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 4, 2025, except as otherwise noted in subsection 2(a) of this section, must be admitted as “privileged foreign status” as defined in 19 CFR 146.41.  Such articles will be subject upon entry for consumption to the rates of duty related to the classification under the applicable HTSUS subheading in effect at the time of admittance into the United States foreign trade zone. 
         (f)  No drawback shall be available with respect to the duties imposed pursuant to this order.
         (g)  For avoidance of doubt, duty-free de minimis treatment under 19 U.S.C. 1321 shall not be available for the articles described in subsection (a) of this section.
         (h)  Any prior Presidential Proclamation, Executive Order, or other presidential directive or guidance related to trade with Mexico that is inconsistent with the direction in this order is hereby terminated, suspended, or modified to the extent necessary to give full effect to this order. 
         (i)  The articles described in subsection (a) of this section shall exclude those encompassed by 50 U.S.C. 1702(b).

         Sec. 3.  (a)  The Secretary of Homeland Security shall regularly consult with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security on the situation at our southern border.  The Secretary of Homeland Security shall inform the President of any circumstances that, in the opinion of the Secretary of Homeland Security, indicate that the government of Mexico has taken adequate steps to alleviate the illegal migration and illicit drug crisis through cooperative actions.  Upon the President’s determination of sufficient action to alleviate the crisis, the tariffs described in section 2 of this order will be removed.
         (b)  The Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security shall recommend additional action, if necessary, should the government of Mexico fail to take adequate steps to alleviate the illegal migration and illicit drug crises through cooperative enforcement actions.

         Sec. 4.  The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Commerce, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including adopting rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to me by IEEPA as may be necessary to implement this order.  The Secretary of Homeland Security may, consistent with applicable law, redelegate any of these functions within the Department of Homeland Security.  All agencies shall take all appropriate measures within their authority to implement this order.

           Sec. 5.  The Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Commerce, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs,  and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, is hereby authorized to submit recurring and final reports to the Congress on the national emergency under IEEPA declared in this order, consistent with section 401(c) of the NEA (50 U.S.C. 1641(c)) and section 204(c) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1703(c)).

         Sec. 6.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
         (i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or
         (ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
         (b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
         (c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

    THE WHITE HOUSE, 
        February 1, 2025.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Imposing Duties to Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China

    Source: The White House

         By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2483), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,

         I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that the sustained influx of synthetic opioids has profound consequences on our Nation, including by killing approximately two hundred Americans per day, putting a severe strain on our healthcare system, ravaging our communities, and destroying our families.  Synthetic opioid overdose is the leading cause of death for people aged 18 to 45 in the United States. 

         During my first term, I took steps to end the direct flow of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the United States.  Since then, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which exerts ultimate control over the government and enterprises of the PRC, has subsidized and otherwise incentivized PRC chemical companies to export fentanyl and related precursor chemicals that are used to produce synthetic opioids sold illicitly in the United States. 

         Furthermore, the PRC provides support to and safe haven for PRC-origin transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) that launder the revenues from the production, shipment, and sale of illicit synthetic opioids.  These PRC-origin TCOs coordinate and communicate using PRC social media software applications in the conduct of their business.

         Many PRC-based chemical companies also go to great lengths to evade law enforcement and hide illicit substances in the flow of legitimate commerce.  Some of the techniques employed by these PRC-based companies to conceal the true contents of the parcels and the identity of the distributors include the use of re-shippers in the United States, false invoices, fraudulent postage, and deceptive packaging.   While more than 500,000 pounds of drugs have been seized at the southern border each of the last 3 fiscal years, in addition, more than 42,000 pounds of drugs have been seized at the northern border each year on average over the last 3 years.  Illicit drugs kill tens of thousands of Americans each year, including 75,000 deaths per year attributed to fentanyl alone.

         The influx of these drugs to our Nation threatens the fabric of our society.  The PRC plays a central role in this challenge, not merely by failing to stem the ultimate source of many illicit drugs distributed in the United States, but by actively sustaining and expanding the business of poisoning our citizens.

         The flow of contraband drugs like fentanyl to the United States through illicit distribution networks has created a national emergency, including a public health crisis in the United States, as outlined in the Presidential Memorandum of January 20, 2025 (America First Trade Policy), Proclamation 10886 of January 20, 2025 (Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States), and Executive Order 14157 of January 20, 2025 (Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists). 

         Despite multiple attempts to resolve this crisis at its root source through bilateral dialogue, PRC officials have failed to follow through with the decisive actions needed to stem the flow of precursor chemicals to known criminal cartels and shut down the money laundering TCOs.  The PRC implements the most sophisticated domestic surveillance network coupled with the most comprehensive domestic law enforcement apparatus in the world.  The PRC also routinely exerts extraterritorial reach across the globe to threaten, harass, and suppress what it views as political dissent.  As such, the CCP does not lack the capacity to severely blunt the global illicit opioid epidemic; it simply is unwilling to do so.

         Immediate action is required to address the national emergency I declared and to finally end this emergency, including the public health crisis caused by opioid use and addiction, which will not happen until the full compliance and cooperation of the PRC government is assured.
    I hereby determine and order:
         Section 1.  (a)  As President of the United States, my highest duty is the defense of the country and its citizens.  I will not stand by and allow our citizens to be poisoned, our laws to be trampled, our communities to be ravaged, or our families to be destroyed.

         I previously declared a national emergency with respect to the grave threat to the United States posed by the influx of illegal aliens and drugs into the United States in Proclamation 10886.  Pursuant to the NEA, I hereby expand the scope of the national emergency declared in that proclamation to cover the failure of the PRC government to arrest, seize, detain, or otherwise intercept chemical precursor suppliers, money launderers, other TCOs, criminals at large, and drugs.  In addition, this failure to act constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.  I hereby declare and reiterate a national emergency under the NEA and IEEPA to deal with that threat.  This national emergency requires decisive and immediate action, and I have decided to impose, consistent with law, ad valorem tariffs on articles that are products of the PRC as set forth in this order.  In doing so, I invoke my authority under section 1702(a)(1)(B) of IEEPA, and specifically find that action under other authority to impose tariffs is inadequate to address this unusual and extraordinary threat.

         Sec. 2.  (a)  All articles that are products of the PRC, as defined by the Federal Register notice described in section 2(d) of this order (the Federal Register notice), shall be, consistent with law, subject to an additional 10 percent ad valorem rate of duty.  Such rate of duty shall apply with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 4, 2025, except that goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, after such time that were loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading or in transit on the final mode of transport prior to entry into the United States before 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 1, 2025, shall not be subject to such additional duty, only if the importer certifies to U.S. Customs and Border Protection within the Department of Homeland Security as specified in the Federal Register notice. 
         (b)  The rates of duty established by this order are in addition to any other duties, fees, exactions, or charges applicable to such imported articles. 
         (c)  Should the PRC retaliate against the United States in response to this action through import duties on United States exports to the PRC or similar measures, the President may increase or expand in scope the duties imposed under this Executive Order to ensure the efficacy of this action.
         (d)  In order to establish the duty rate on imports of articles that are products of the PRC, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall determine the modifications necessary to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) in order to effectuate the objectives of this order consistent with law and shall make such modifications to the HTSUS through notice in the Federal Register.  The modifications made to the HTSUS by this notice shall be effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 4, 2025, except as otherwise noted in subsection 2(a) of this section, and shall continue in effect until such actions are expressly reduced, modified, or terminated.
         (e)  Articles that are products of the PRC, except those that are eligible for admission under “domestic status” as defined in 19 CFR 146.43, which are subject to the duties imposed by this order and are admitted into a United States foreign trade zone on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 4, 2025, except as otherwise noted in subsection 2(a) of this section, must be admitted as “privileged foreign status” as defined in 19 CFR 146.41.  Such articles will be subject upon entry for consumption to the rates of duty related to the classification under the applicable HTSUS subheading in effect at the time of admittance into the United States foreign trade zone. 
         (f)  No drawback shall be available with respect to the duties imposed pursuant to this order. 
         (g)  For avoidance of doubt, duty-free de minimis treatment under 19 U.S.C. 1321 shall not be available for the articles described in subsection (a) of this section. 
         (h)  Any prior Presidential Proclamation, Executive Order, or other presidential directive or guidance related to trade with the PRC that is inconsistent with the direction in this order is hereby terminated, suspended, or modified to the extent necessary to give full effect to this order. 
         (i)  The articles described in subsection (a) of this section shall exclude those encompassed by 50 U.S.C. 1702(b).

         Sec. 3.  (a)  The Secretary of Homeland Security shall regularly consult with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Attorney General, and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security on the situation regarding the PRC.  The Secretary of Homeland Security shall inform the President of any circumstances that, in the opinion of the Secretary of Homeland Security, indicate that the PRC government has taken adequate steps to alleviate the opioid crisis through cooperative actions.  Upon the President’s determination of sufficient action to alleviate the crisis, the tariffs described in section 2 of this order will be removed.
         (b)  The Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, shall recommend additional action, if necessary, should the PRC fail to take adequate steps to alleviate the illicit drug crisis through cooperative enforcement actions.

         Sec. 4.  The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Commerce, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including adopting rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to implement this order.  The Secretary of Homeland Security may, consistent with applicable law, redelegate any of these functions within the Department of Homeland Security.  All executive departments and agencies shall take all appropriate measures within their authority to implement this order.

         Sec. 5.  The Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Attorney General, and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, is hereby authorized to submit recurring and final reports to the Congress on the national emergency under IEEPA declared in this order, consistent with section 401(c) of the NEA (50 U.S.C. 1641(c)) and section 204(c) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1703(c)).

         Sec. 6.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
         (i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or
         (ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
         (b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
         (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    THE WHITE HOUSE,
        February 1, 2025.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Apple Music kicks off Kendrick Lamar’s Road to Halftime ahead of Super Bowl LIX

    Source: Apple

    Headline: Apple Music kicks off Kendrick Lamar’s Road to Halftime ahead of Super Bowl LIX

    February 3, 2025

    PRESS RELEASE

    Apple Music kicks off Kendrick Lamar’s Road to Halftime ahead of Super Bowl LIX

    Tune in to the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show press conference for The Official Kendrick Lamar Interview on February 6 at 10 a.m. CT on Apple Music

    CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced Apple Music is celebrating Kendrick Lamar’s Road to Halftime with a spotlight on the era-defining artist who has made a seismic impact on hip-hop and culture.

    Coming off of a remarkable year, Kendrick was among the top 10 artists of 2024 globally, with his latest album, GNX, soaring to No. 1 in 129 countries upon release, while “Not Like Us” was the top-streamed song on Apple Music worldwide. Throughout his career, Kendrick has seen nine albums top Apple Music’s top albums chart in more than 160 countries.

    “Throughout his career, Kendrick Lamar hasn’t met the cultural moment so much as he’s defined it,” said Rachel Newman, Apple Music’s global head of content and editorial. “He is an artist’s artist — authentic to his core. We couldn’t be more thrilled to watch him headline the third Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show this year, in what’s sure to be another moment we’ll all be talking about for decades.”

    Fans can get ready for the big event with a wide selection of music and exclusive content, from the first-look trailer Kendrick shared last month; to exclusive playlists curated by New Orleans musicians, NFL players, and teams; to over 100 hours of dedicated Apple Music Radio programming. It all leads up to the highly anticipated Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show on Sunday, February 9, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

    To access it all, check out Kendrick’s Road to Halftime on Apple Music.

    The Halftime Show Press Conference

    On Thursday, February 6, at 10 a.m. CT, Apple Music Radio hosts Ebro Darden and Nadeska Alexis will sit down with Kendrick at the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show press conference for the headliner’s official interview. Viewers can tune in live or watch on demand on Apple Music at apple.co/applemusichalftime or Apple Podcasts; on YouTube, Facebook, and X; or on the NFL Network.

    Before the interview, fans can also tune in to the Apple Music Radio pre-show at 9:30 a.m. CT featuring Apple Music Radio hosts Zane Lowe and Eddie Francis, alongside Ebro and Nadeska. The live show will highlight Apple Music’s biggest moments of the past year and feature special guests during a look back at iconic halftime performances.

    100 Hours of Programming on Apple Music Radio

    The award-winning Apple Music Radio will be on the ground and in the stands for a full four-day takeover starting February 6 across New Orleans and Los Angeles. Exclusive programming will include daily “Live from Super Bowl LIX NOLA” broadcasts with Zane, Ebro, Nadeska, and Eddie as they shine a light on the city’s music culture while connecting with artists, athletes, and other notable voices. “Super Bowl LIX LA” broadcasts with Apple Music Radio hosts Hanuman, Brooke Reese, Estelle, Jayde Donovan, and newly added Evelyn Sicairos and Lechero will reflect on the New Orleans fanfare, as well as celebrate Kendrick’s music and hometown back in L.A.

    “Kendrick Lamar: Hip-Hop’s MVP” hosted by Ebro will celebrate Kendrick’s catalog and take listeners on a chronological journey through the milestones in Kendrick’s career and discography.

    And on Saturday before the game, Apple Music will bring the New Orleans club scene to listeners with mixes from NOLA DJs Legatron Prime, DJ Poppa, Mannie Fresh, and KLC the Drum Major. Mustard will spin a special Kendrick Lamar Megamix.

    Listeners can tune in at apple.co/_Radio.

    The Story of Kendrick Lamar in 20 Songs

    Available on Apple Music and Apple News, “The Story of Kendrick Lamar in 20 Songs” offers a captivating glimpse into Kendrick’s remarkable ability to continually redefine the tropes and forms of classic hip-hop.

    Bonus Content from Shazam

    Fans who use the Shazam app to identify Kendrick Lamar songs throughout the week leading up to the performance can access the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show event page, where they’ll find bonus content like a custom Apple Watch face and iPhone wallpaper. They can also save the concert to receive timely reminders for the Set List playlist and photos from the show.

    Apple Music’s Biggest Offer Ever

    Those who are not yet subscribed can check out Apple Music’s biggest offer ever. For a limited time, new and eligible subscribers can get six months of Apple Music for $2.99.

    More to Explore Across Apple Services

    Across Apple services, fans can explore with Apple Maps Guides to New Orleans, catch up on the latest with Apple News, and get moving with a new Artist Spotlight series on Apple Fitness+.

    New Ways to Navigate New Orleans with Apple Maps
     Last week, Apple Maps unveiled new ways visitors and locals alike can explore New Orleans, including a Detailed City Experience and 3D landmarks that bring to life some of the city’s most iconic locations — including Cafe Du Monde, the Steamboat NATCHEZ, and Caesars Superdome — in a visually stunning view. The Detailed City Experience delivers amazing details to help users navigate the city, including road markings, land cover, and public transit routes.

    Apple Maps has also added a new Guide to its Hyperlocal series, this time curated by Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. Lisa shares some of her favorite spots for food, music, and more in her hometown of New Orleans.

    All the Latest Updates on Apple News
    Starting today, Apple News will offer a dedicated hub that delivers special coverage of Super Bowl LIX. From media day to kickoff, fans will find the latest news on the game from local and national sports publishers like The Athletic, Sports Illustrated, The Kansas City Star, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

    NFL fans can also sign up for personalized news notifications to all of the week’s top football stories curated by the Apple News editors, and during the Super Bowl, the Apple News app will feature the latest highlights, as well as the buzziest commercials and halftime show.

    With the free Apple Sports app for iPhone,1 fans can follow the big game in real time right on their Lock Screen with Live Activities,2 and go deeper in-app with full play-by-play information, team stats, box scores, and live betting odds.

    A Special Fitness+ Artist Spotlight
    The Artist Spotlight series on Fitness+ dedicates entire workout playlists to a single artist, and the latest installment — available starting today — celebrates the music of Kendrick Lamar. This special series features Cycling, HIIT, Strength, Yoga, Pilates, and Kickboxing workouts, all set exclusively to his music.

    Supporting Education and Creativity in New Orleans

    Apple has long-standing community partnerships in New Orleans, with a focus on supporting education and creativity in the community. This includes working with the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music (EMCM) to expand access to youth music and technology education, helping Arts New Orleans provide opportunities for aspiring artists through their Young Artist Movement (YAM) program, and equipping students at Delgado Community College with the tools and resources to produce their own podcast about local culture and history. On Saturday, February 8, audiences around the world can tune in to the Super Bowl Host Committee Parade to see the Apple Music-sponsored float, designed on iPad by YAM artists and featuring the EMCM youth jazz ensemble.

    About Apple Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s six software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV+. Apple’s more than 150,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth and to leaving the world better than we found it.

    1. Available in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada.
    2. Live Activities require iOS 18 and watchOS 11 or later.

    Press Contacts

    Cat Franich

    Apple

    cfranich@apple.com

    Kimberly Mai

    Apple

    k_mai@apple.com

    Apple Media Helpline

    media.help@apple.com

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Freezing US foreign aid will result in humanitarian disaster News Feb 02, 2025

    Source: Doctors Without Borders –

    We are talking about countless refugees and other displaced persons, children threatened by malaria, and people who need HIV and tuberculosis treatment, whose care risks being stopped. Already we are hearing from local organizations who have closed their doors and are unsure when or if they will be able to reopen.

    The latest reports follow two weeks of partners trying to grapple with sweeping changes that imperil the delivery of humanitarian and health assistance to those who need it most around the world. The existing humanitarian waiver is insufficient and needs to be expanded to cover all necessary health and humanitarian programs. 

    We urge the US government to immediately resume funding of critical humanitarian and health aid, either through rescinding relevant orders freezing funding or expanding the current narrow humanitarian waiver to cover all necessary health and humanitarian programs.

    The broad halt in foreign assistance, coupled with limitations to and a lack of clarity around humanitarian waivers, has already resulted in the loss of lifesaving medical humanitarian aid and harmful impacts on patient communities. In the last week, MSF’s medical teams have witnessed confusion as clinics and other critical services previously supported by USAID were shut down without warning.

    MSF does not accept US government funding and our programs will not be directly affected. However, the massive role that the United States government plays in funding international aid cannot be rapidly filled by others.

    We urge the US government to halt the ad hoc waiver system and allow for all critical humanitarian and medical assistance to continue as the administration reviews its foreign assistance priorities.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Kinshasa’s traffic cops run an extortion scheme generating five times more revenue than fines

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Raúl Sanchez de la Sierra, Assistant Professor, University of Chicago

    Commuting in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, presents challenges for its 17 million residents. Massive traffic jams and unsafe driving cause chaos on the roads, leading to long delays.

    The chaos has become a pressing concern for residents. Reaching Gombe, Kinshasa’s central business district, for instance, can take up to five hours from surrounding neighbourhoods.

    When he came to power in January 2019, President Felix Tshisekedi promised to combat Kinshasa’s traffic chaos by targeting road infrastructure. This included constructing an interchange and flyover. One-way traffic was introduced on certain streets. These have had little effect. Kinshasa’s traffic issues persist.

    While congestion in the capital is usually blamed on poor infrastructure, there are some harder-to-see causes. As social science researchers, we set out to understand what institutional factors might be behind the city’s gridlock.

    In a recent paper, we analysed an illegal revenue-generating scheme inside Kinshasa’s traffic police agency involving a coalition of traffic police agents, their managers and judicial officers. We studied the role this scheme plays in the city’s traffic conditions.

    Under the scheme, known as the quota system, station managers (police commanders) assign street agents a daily quota of drivers to escort to the station, often based on fabricated allegations.

    Our findings and analysis provide insights into how the quota system causes traffic jams and accidents, undermining the police agency’s mandate of traffic regulation. We also detail how corruption operates as a coordinated system rather than as isolated acts of individual misconduct.

    The problem

    Like many traffic police agencies worldwide, Kinshasa’s traffic police are tasked with managing key intersections and enforcing traffic rules.

    Similar to many other civil servants in the Democratic Republic of Congo, police officers earn meagre salaries – around US$70 monthly. Anecdotal observation suggests that the police service lacks funds for basic necessities such as fuel or communication costs. Low resources have contributed to police officers extracting funds from drivers, partly for personal profit, partly to cover the costs for their police work.

    A major way in which this is done is through a specific scheme involving traffic police agents. We found that station managers assign different street agents a daily quota of drivers to bring to the station.

    To meet this quota, agents often use brute force and have the discretion to invent infractions that they report at the police station. The dilapidated state of most cars in Kinshasa helps police officers with this task.

    At the station, agents pass the allegations to judicial officers, who have the power to issue charges – or demand bribes so drivers avoid formal penalties. Many drivers try to avoid this extortion by developing relationships with influential protectors. These are people who can intervene on a driver’s behalf and are often high-placed security officers or politicians.

    Our research

    After three years of qualitative fieldwork, we built trust with a large number of individuals inside and around the traffic police agency. This enabled us to design data collection systems in 2015 to study the traffic police agency’s practices.

    We relied on the cooperation of 160 individuals and generated the following data:

    • direct observations of over 13,000 interactions between officers and drivers at intersections

    • station records of 1,255 escorted vehicles, including bribe negotiations and outcomes

    • traffic flow and accident data from 6,399 hourly observations.

    To quantify the cost of this scheme on public service, we added an experiment: we collaborated with police commanders to reduce the daily quotas for some teams and days.

    We encouraged commanders to temporarily cut their teams’ quotas in half. Reducing quotas could be expected to lower corruption demands on agents, reducing corruption overall. It would also enable agents to focus more of their time on managing traffic – an outcome later confirmed by our findings.

    To ensure this approach worked, we compensated commanders for the private income losses they would experience due to the quota reduction, which we carefully estimated before implementing the study. This compensation is not unlike traditional anti-corruption incentives routinely used across the world, except that rather than it being targeted at street-level agents, it targeted the node of this particular scheme: the police commanders.

    What we found

    1. The scheme generates large illicit revenue. The traffic police agency’s real revenue is five times larger than its official income from fines. We found that 68% of the illicit revenue generated through the quota scheme came from bribes paid by drivers after they’d been escorted to the station. The rest of the illicit revenue comes from street-level bribes outside of this quota scheme.

    2. The revenue raised relies on extortion at police stations. Judicial police officers had the power to threaten to issue arbitrary charges. We found that, first, 82% of the allegations were unverifiable by third parties. Second, the amount raised in station bribes was strongly linked to whether a driver was able to call a powerful “protector”.

    3. Extortion in police stations relies on the street agents’ power to arbitrarily escort drivers. These agents use their discretion to fabricate allegations and/or physical force to bring drivers to the station. When a driver was not seen making an infraction, force was more likely to be used.

    Overall, this means that the scheme hinged on a coalition of managers, agents and judicial officers.

    Through the reduction in the quota scheme levels, our scheme also revealed some social costs of this scheme. We found two important results.

    Worse traffic: the quota scheme was accountable for a significant share of traffic jams and accidents observed at street intersections from where the agents operate. Partly through their induced absence and partly through their behaviour, the police officers also create numerous traffic jams and accidents. While this is suggestive rather than conclusive, our estimates suggest that 40% of traffic jams at the main intersections of the city are due to the scheme.

    Diluted incentives to respect the law: the scheme made it less likely that drivers would respect the law. They could be escorted to a police station regardless of whether they complied with the traffic code.

    Why the findings matter

    Our study, which provides rare, detailed evidence of how corruption operates, has three policy implications.

    1. Target officials’ managers, rather than the officials themselves. Visible corruption is only the tip of the iceberg, and hinges on relationships of power and coalitions inside the state.

    2. Limit the discretion of judicial officers to charge the public, or that of agents to escort drivers to police stations arbitrarily.

    3. Incentivise “good” corruption. Encouraging station officials to take a significant share of fines for genuine infractions could give agents an incentive to escort drivers who actually break traffic rules. However, the trade-offs between traffic flow, safety and compliance must be carefully weighed, as quotas tied to fines could worsen congestion.

    Raúl Sanchez de la Sierra is a co-founder of Marakuja Kivu Research, a data collection organization specialized in data collection in war-torn zones especially eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    Kristof Titeca is an associate Senior Research Fellow at the Egmont Institute in Belgium.

    Albert Malukisa Nkuku and Haoyang (Stan) Xie do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Kinshasa’s traffic cops run an extortion scheme generating five times more revenue than fines – https://theconversation.com/kinshasas-traffic-cops-run-an-extortion-scheme-generating-five-times-more-revenue-than-fines-246786

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –