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Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Culture Secretary speech at the Creative Industries Growth Summit

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy’s speech on government plans to grow the creative industries, at the Creative Industries Growth Summit in Gateshead.

    Welcome to the first Creative Industries Growth Summit. The first national and international gathering of the industries we have chosen to be the centre of our plan for economic growth. 

    Today I want to talk to you about how, together, we are going to take the brakes off our fastest growing industries and from design and TV to music, video games and fashion, we are going to unleash the power of our creative industries. 

    To grow our economy. To create good jobs, choices and chances for all our young people. To power the world through our dynamic creative industries. 

    It’s no accident that we chose to meet here in Gateshead. A town with a proud industrial history. Through iron, steel and coal the people of this town – and this region – powered us through the last century. And Gateshead is now at the forefront of Britain’s cultural renaissance. 

    Through great institutions like the Baltic and the Glasshouse, sculptures like the Angel of the North, and a growing film industry and video games industry across the region, Gateshead and the North East are a shining example – every bit as striking as the Millennium Bridge – of how you build a living, breathing bridge from our past to our future. 

    That potential exists in every nation and region of the United Kingdom. Where our world class creative industries have given us a uniquely British brilliance, from the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, Derry Girls in Northern Ireland, the Hay Festival in Wales, the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, and the British Museum in London which pulls in more visitors from around the world than any apart from in New York.

    But while governments of every stripe have appreciated the social value of our creative industries, they have consistently underpriced the huge economic potential of industries that are already among our most powerful engines of growth. That ends with us.

    I shouldn’t have to say it but I do. From theatre to fashion, advertising to publishing, the creative industries have grown one and a half times faster than the rest of the economy. You together in this room are responsible for creating one in seven jobs through the creative economy. You contribute £124 billion to our economy. Your industries generate nearly 6% of our GVA.

    Paul Simon once sang: “Every generation throws a hero up the pop charts.” There are only three countries that are net exporters of music. That is so uniquely true of Britain. We are the musicians, the creators, the storytellers, who tell our story, light up the world and power this economy. That is the talent and ambition that you have, that has built sectors that were worth more to the economy in 2022 than aerospace, life sciences and the automotive industries combined. 

    But too often you’ve done extraordinary things, not in partnership with your government, but despite it. You’ve been knocking on doors in Whitehall for far too long with a clear message. You want the stability that gives investors confidence to back you. You want a government willing to take a bulldozer to every barrier to growth.

    Well today we’re throwing those doors wide open. We share your passion. We match your ambition and we are going to back you to the hilt as one of only eight industries that we believe will power us through the next century.

    I’m delighted that Baroness Shriti Vadera has agreed to lead us through this new chapter as the next chair of our revamped Creative Industries Council. She and the titan that is Sir Peter Bazalgette have wasted no time in setting to work on the Sector Plan, which is our dedicated plan in the Industrial Strategy that will guide us forwards. 

    But as we put those plans in place to carry the torch forwards, you’ve been nothing but straight with us about what is holding you back. And we’ve heard it loud and clear. Investment, innovation, international competitiveness, and skills. So today in all of these areas we’re taking the brakes off our fastest growing industries and inviting you to motor ahead. 

    We’re starting by making sure you have the investment and backing you need. Like every part of the UK economy, the creative industries have amazing start-ups that struggle to scale up. The growth potential is huge, but the investments are often wrongly deemed too risky and this is particularly true outside London and the South East – forcing great British creative businesses to look overseas to scale.

    We are determined to keep that creative pound here in the UK. So as a first step to addressing that all-important finance barrier, the British Business Bank, which supports over £17 billion in finance for businesses already, is committing to increase the scale of its support for the creative industries. 

    Backing capital fund managers to invest in UK creatives, supporting those experts who understand the unique strengths of this sector in the UK. And we are asking the British Business Bank to report to us on its investment in the creative industries, so that we know the real world impact it is having.

    Secondly, we’re taking steps today to address some of the principal barriers to innovation, research and development investment. Time and again we’ve seen examples of creative businesses coming up with innovations that go on to benefit the wider economy. 

    3D modelling, pioneered for video games, is now employed by Rolls Royce in developing engines. 

    Visualisation technologies are helping bring down the backlog in the NHS, helping surgeons at hospitals like University College Hospital, to increase the number of prostate operations they do every year. That is lives changed because of the work you are doing.

    It’s why the Prime Minister’s Council of Science and Technology recommended that public investment in R&D in the creative industries reflect the size, economic contribution and future growth potential of the sector.

    So today we are announcing that we will strengthen the investment from our national research funding agency UKRI into creative R&D.

    This means building on the success of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and programmes like the Creative Clusters Programme. It means UKRI will develop a specific new strategy to support the creative industries.

    And it means a long-term investment plan for innovation and growth in the sector, allowing us to build world-leading infrastructure around the UK. And again, to underline this commitment, the Government will ask UKRI to report on its investment in the creative industries.

    Because underpinning this is our belief that public and private investment should better reflect the creative industries’ contribution to the economy and its enormous growth potential. 

    But as we embrace new innovation across the country, we will do it in a way that works for creatives, rather than just paying lip service to your concerns. Creators have always been at the cutting edge of new technologies. 

    But we hear creators’ concerns and we recognise the worry that AI is an existential threat to livelihoods. There is no value without content. I want to assure you in the clearest possible terms: creatives are at the core of our AI strategy.

    When it comes to copyright we’re unambiguous in our desire for a copyright regime that provides creators with real control, transparency and ensures they can license their content.

    Thirdly, we’re taking on the skills shortages holding your industries back. We are proud to be supporting major investment projects like the Crown Works film studio in Sunderland. But too often what I hear from young people is that they could no more dream of getting those jobs than going to the moon. 

    That is not just a tragic waste of human potential. It’s bad business. 

    It’s why people like Stephen Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders, who is working to bring in a film school in Birmingham, is recruiting and training 20% of his workforce from local postcodes. 

    It is essential for investors to know that they don’t have to incur the costs of shipping people in to work on a project, because that talent exists everywhere, but opportunity does not.

    [political content]

    So, the Education Secretary has announced a review of the curriculum. As part of that we are putting creativity, art, music, culture and sport back at the heart of the curriculum, supporting culture and creativity through the education system.

    We’re going to introduce shorter apprenticeships from August 2025. This is one of our first steps towards a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy, recognising the particular needs of this sector.

    A movie can take six months to film, while the inflexible apprenticeship model we inherited requires a commitment to 12. We’re knocking down these needless hurdles and this is just the start.

    Skills England, along with DfE and my department, are now committing to work with creative employers to identify where else the apprenticeship system can be more flexible to help them get the skills they need, when they need them.

    We want kids growing up in Gateshead and Wigan to know that they have a contribution to make, that is seen and is valued. And that contribution is not just for Britain – it’s for the world.

    Because our creative industries aren’t just at the heart of our Industrial Strategy and our economic plan, but right at the centre of our ambition to reconnect Britain to the world.

    This week the Foreign Secretary and I put the creative industries at the heart of our new Soft Power Council which we lead together and we launched on Wednesday.

    We both know that when it comes to international competitiveness, we cannot afford to stand still. So in Europe we are working together to unlock closer cooperation to support our touring artists and those across the EU.

    We’ve wasted no time in introducing tax credits for VFX and independent film. A shining example of how industry and government working together drives investment, creates jobs and allows the best storytellers in the world to tell those stories to the world.

    And to drive the sector’s international impact, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and I are extending the Music Export Growth Scheme, which will help great artists to take their talent to the next level. Because nobody has a monopoly on talent. 

    I spent three of the happiest years of my life just over the Tyne Bridge at Newcastle University. And apart from having to get used to being called a southerner, those years introduced me to the very rich culture and heritage here in the North East.

    And when I look around this region, it is obvious to me, as it is to so many of you, that this is a region that should be the Hollywood of the UK. With its innovation, its work ethic, its ability to reinvent and reimagine itself. 

    There is a reason why investors are clamouring to invest here. Not just the creativity of the people, and the strong local leadership, but the beauty of the backdrops and the sheer scale of the space to build film studios like Crown Works in Sunderland. 

    So it is extraordinary that for 19 of the last 20 years only two regions – London and the South East – have had the backing and investment to make a net contribution to the public purse. 

    Trying to grow the economy while ignoring the potential in most parts of Britain is like trying to fly a jet on only one engine. So as well as breaking down the barriers to investment, innovation and skills, we are going to build on what you’ve started through the Sector Plan – learning from the success of London as a global hub, to turbocharge the growth of the creative industries right across the UK. 

    There is huge untapped potential across our country, from the music industry in Liverpool to film and TV production here in the North East. And we know mayors and local businesses – like Kim McGuiness here in the North East and Tracy Brabin who has led trade delegations and created cultural collaborations all over the world – know better than anyone how to unlock this creativity, innovation, and growth. 

    That is why today we are announcing new funding for six Mayoral Strategic Authorities with high potential, which local leaders will be able to spend and invest on what they know local creative industry businesses need. They are: the North East, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, the West Midlands, and the West of England.

    This is just the first step in boosting growth in all parts of the country. The Sector Plan will include further support that will benefit all businesses wherever they are based. We will work with any part of the country that wants to prioritise the creative industries in their local growth plan.

    Alongside that, we are putting money where our mouth is. Today the Chancellor and I are committing £40 million of funding toward the creative industries in the next fiscal year. Including funding 127 businesses to take growth to the next level – including 11 here in the North East of England.

    That’s new funding for creators and creative businesses, major music labels, film studios and fashion houses. It is a serious sign of our belief in these industries and breaking down the barriers, so that many of you in this room can do the same.

    And this is just the first step. In the months ahead we will be taking more action, developing the Industrial Strategy across Whitehall and knocking down these barriers in the way of this sector’s growth.

    [political content]

    Updates to this page

    Published 24 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda Names Acting Senior Staff

    Source: Securities and Exchange Commission

    The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda’s selections for several senior roles in acting capacities across the Commission to fill vacancies created by recent departures.

     “These talented individuals are committed to protecting the investing public, building trust with American companies and market participants, and promoting capital formation,” Acting Chairman Uyeda said.

    The SEC senior staff selected by Acting Chairman Uyeda, with the concurrence of the Commission, include:

    • Jeffrey Finnell, Acting General Counsel
    • Robert Fisher, Acting Director of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis
    • Kathleen Hutchinson, Acting Director of the Office of International Affairs
    • Samuel Waldon, Acting Director of the Division of Enforcement
    • Ryan Wolfe, Acting Chief Accountant (effective Jan. 25, 2025)

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Hudson County Man Charged With Defrauding Elderly Victim Out Of More Than $880,000

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEWARK, NJ. – A New Jersey man was arrested today and charged with engaging in a scheme to defraud an elderly victim investor out of out of more than $880,000, after entrusting  him to invest her money on her behalf, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced today.

    Antonio Petrosino, a/k/a Anthony Petrosino, 59, of Union City, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. He is scheduled to have his initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court.

    According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

    Between March 2018 and March 2024, Petrosino fraudulently induced the victim investor to transfer approximately $916,000 to Petrosino based on his misrepresentations that he would invest those funds in brokerage accounts and other investment products for the benefit of the victim investor.  To perpetuate his fraud, Petrosino provided the victim investor with falsified investment statements that purported to show that she had hundreds of thousands of dollars deposited in various investment accounts in her name.  Petrosino also provided the victim investor with payments in the approximate range of $4000-$8000 that he claimed was the interest that the victim investor had earned on her investments.

    In reality, Petrosino failed to invest the victim investor’s funds for her benefit as promised.  Instead, he misappropriated the money to pay for his personal expenses, including gambling, credit card payments, and rent on his luxury apartment unit.  Petrosino also caused the transfer of the victim investor’s funds without her knowledge or consent, including transfers directly from the victim investor’s bank account to Petrosino’s landlord. Additionally, Petrosino told the victim investor he would assist her with preparing her tax returns and told her to send him approximately $40,000 that he claimed she owed in taxes, which he misappropriated for his personal benefit.  In total, Petrosino stole more than approximately $888,000 from the victim investor.

    The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.  The money laundering charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.  Both counts carry a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross amount of gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest.

    The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kozar of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

    The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

                                                                    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Sexism linked to social ills for men and women, finds largest cross-cultural study of its kind

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Magdalena Zawisza, Associate Professor in Gender and Consumer Psychology, Director of Groups and Societies Research Centre and Chair of Faculty Athena Swan Committee, Anglia Ruskin University

    Feminism is facing a backlash, with women’s rights being rolled back in many countries and a significant number of people saying feminism has gone far enough or even too far. Yet women still face basic obstacles to education in some countries and are generally paid less than men. They still suffer from male violence and, in some places, face increasing restrictions to reproductive rights. There are even some places where families force midwives to kill their newborn girls.

    Many women are also fed up with doing both a full-time job and the lion’s share of domestic duties and unpaid caring jobs. It’s easy to wonder whether gender equality is simply impossible, especially as many men inaccurately perceive that gains for women equate losses for men.

    But there is hope. Our 62-nation psychological study, which is largest of its kind, suggests that gender equality benefits us all and sexism is harmful to everybody – women, men and nations in many surprising ways. As such, we all have an interest in promoting egalitarianism.

    As our findings show, sexism is linked with several social ills affecting us all. For example, higher sexism predicted lower GDP – indicating lower economic productivity. It also predicted a lower “global peace index”, meaning nation’s higher domestic and international conflict, militarisation and lower safety and security.

    Further, sexism was linked to a greater level of antidemocratic practices in a given country. Lastly, it even predicted shorter healthy lifespans (ones without chronic disease or disability) in women and men as measured with WHO’s Healthy Life Expectancy in Women and Men. For example, our data reveals that one point increase in sexism (measured from 0-5) is linked with a 9.12 months shorter lifespan in men and 8.88 months in women.

    While the type of analysis we did cannot directly prove that sexism causes these issues, the pattern of our findings aligns with theoretically driven predictions and with experiments that directly test such links on a smaller scale. It makes more sense to expect that sexism leads to poor health than that poor health leads to sexism, for example.

    Specifically, other research reports that sexism reduces human capital by restricting women’s education and job opportunities, thus depleting economic productivity. A country where most women work is likely to have much higher productivity than a country where all the women stay at home.

    Research also shows that sexist masculine norms encourage male violence contributing to greater conflict. And we know that sexism is linked to medical discrimination for women, such as less medical research on women and treating women’s complaints as less credible. This may lead to poorer health.

    Sexism prevents men from getting help with their mental and physical health.
    YURII MASLAK/Shutterstock

    For men, sexism discourages seeking help for psychological or medical problems, seeing it as weakness. It also encourages risk-taking, such as aggression or not using seatbelts. This may well cause a reduction in health and wellbeing.

    Two faces of sexism

    Importantly, our study also reveals that affectionate but patronising attitudes to women are also harmful to all – you might not even recognise them as sexist. And you are not alone.

    After 30 years of its conception, our research supports the ambivalent sexism theory. The theory proposes that sexism has two faces: hostile and benevolent. While both are ugly, the latter hides under the veil of superficial positivity. Hostile sexism is an open and overt hostility to non-traditional women and a desire to punish those who break norms, such as female politicians.

    Benevolent sexism, on the other hand, is superficially positive but patronising. It includes attitudes that reward traditional women, such as stay-at-home mums, by idealising them, offering them male protection and provision. This sounds innocent, but such beliefs imply women’s weakness.

    In fact, research has shown that exposure to benevolent sexism increases women’s acceptance of hostile sexism, decreases their work performance, and reduces their support for gender equality action.

    Both ideologies work together to maintain men’s power over women: they form a system of rewards and punishments akin to the iron fist (hostility) in a velvet glove (benevolence). Thus, hostile and benevolent sexism are internalised also by women.

    Our study shows that people who hold benevolent sexist views are also more likely to hold hostile sexist views, as the two correlate positively in 62 countries across five continents. Compared with 2000, when the last such study was done in 19 countries, average national sexism scores dropped a meagre 0.47 points (on a 0-5 scale). See our world map of this and other concepts we measured.

    While men are more sexist than women around the world, women’s beliefs about themselves are also sexist to some extent. Interestingly, as men’s hostile sexism increased, women embraced benevolent sexism more (sometimes outscoring men) – probably attempting to secure the promised protection and provision.

    Unfortunately, this benevolent promise appears false. Across our 62 countries, the higher benevolent sexism, the lower was the gender equality, women’s labour participation and the more time women spend on unpaid domestic chores.

    Taken together, our research suggests that it may well be in the interests of women, men and nations alike to tackle sexism for a better future for us all. In other words, women’s gains mean men’s gains too.

    Dr Magdalena Zawisza received funding for activities related to this study from from National Science Centre, Poland. She volunteers her expertise to Women on Boards CIC Leadership Committee and Think Tank, UK.

    This research was funded by a grant from the National Science Centre in Poland (grant 18 number: 2017/26/M/HS6/00360) awarded to Natasza Kosakowska-Berezecka

    – ref. Sexism linked to social ills for men and women, finds largest cross-cultural study of its kind – https://theconversation.com/sexism-linked-to-social-ills-for-men-and-women-finds-largest-cross-cultural-study-of-its-kind-247183

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump labels drug cartels as terrorist groups – what it means for Mexico and beyond

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Amalendu Misra, Professor of International Politics, Lancaster University

    Donald Trump returned to the US presidency on January 20 with a flurry of executive orders. This included the designation of criminal gangs and drug cartels operating south of the Mexico border as “foreign terrorist organisations” – a first for a US president. The state department will now decide which groups are added to the list.

    Trump’s disdain for the criminal fraternity in Latin America is not new. When announcing his first run for the presidency in 2015, Trump claimed the Mexican government was deliberately sending drugs, rapists and criminals to the US.

    To keep them out, he floated and later implemented a rigorous border protection programme. This led not only to mass deportations, but also the building of a concrete and metal wall along the US-Mexico border that spans hundreds of miles.

    In his new order, Trump claimed the “cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the western hemisphere that has not only destabilised countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the US with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs”.

    How will this order, if it eventually becomes law, impact the people towards whom it is directed?

    Fears of military action

    A terrorist designation expands the government’s ability to collect military intelligence on the cartels and prosecute people deemed to be offering any “material support” to these groups. However, some fear the designation will also make it politically easier for the US government to order direct military intervention against the cartels without having to go through Congress.

    During Trump’s first term, for instance, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was designated as a foreign terrorist organisation. Its head, General Qasem Soleimani, was killed by a US drone strike less than a year later. The Trump Administration cited its foreign terrorist organisation order as justification for its actions.

    Trump has not yet ruled out similar military action in Mexico. On January 20, while signing executive orders in the Oval Office, Trump was asked whether he would send the special forces to confront Mexico’s cartels. “Could happen. Stranger things have happened”, he replied. In the past, Trump has also apparently suggested a missile attack on Mexican drug labs.

    The idea of unilateral US military action against the cartels has always faced stiff opposition from Mexico. And in December, as plans to designate the cartels as terrorist organisations gathered steam, Trump’s Mexican counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum said: “We collaborate, we coordinate, we work together, but we will never subordinate ourselves … Mexico is a free, sovereign, independent country and we do not accept interference.”

    However, US military operations in Mexico may not be so far-fetched. The US has previously staged armed interventions in Latin America when it has felt its national interests were under threat. The ousting of Panama’s leader, Manuel Noriega, in 1989 is a good example.

    That year, the then US president George H.W. Bush ordered 20,000 American troops to invade Panama in an operation to “protect the lives of American citizens”. Noriega, who was arrested after spending days hiding in Panama City’s Vatican embassy, was wanted by US authorities for racketeering and drug trafficking.

    The invasion resulted in the deaths of 514 Panamanian soldiers and civilians (though the unofficial count is closer to 1,000), and three American servicemen.

    Power of persuasion

    The terrorist designation could, on the other hand, simply be a tactic to pressure governments across Latin America into taking tougher action against the gangs. We have already seen the likes of El Salvador’s iron-fisted president, Nayib Bukele, do the heavy lifting for the US, so far as countering criminal gangs is concerned.

    With US assistance, El Salvador currently operates the infamous Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum security jail that holds high-ranking members of the country’s main criminal gangs. Its critics consider it a “black hole of human rights” and one of the harshest prisons in the world.

    Over the past few weeks, Trump has rebuked Sheinbaum for not doing enough to curtail the power of cartels operating in her country. He claimed earlier in January that Mexico was “essentially run by the cartels”.

    Trump’s proposed appointment of Colonel Ronald Johnson, a former Green Beret with extensive experience in US military intelligence, as ambassador to Mexico signals a potential shift in US strategy toward direct confrontation with the region’s governments to step in line.

    Trump can also buy compliance from governments in Latin America to do his bidding against the cartels, as was the case with Plan Colombia. Launched in 2000, the US-funded US$1 billion project (equivalent to roughly £1.5 billion today) provided foreign and military aid to Colombia in an attempt to fight the production and trafficking of illegal narcotics in the country.

    Plan Colombia was subject to considerable controversy. Its critics claim it led to gross human rights violations as well as the destruction of the environment and people’s livelihoods. But successive US administrations have maintained that Plan Colombia, which came to an end in 2015, was a success.

    The terrorist designation will usher in seismic changes in Latin America. Should Sheinbaum embrace Trump’s initiative, in part or in its entirety, then it is likely to lead to a civil war-like situation in Mexico, given the firepower and deep pockets the cartels have.

    In 2007, under the so-called Mérida Initative, the US donated at least US$1.5 billion to help the then Mexican president, Felipe Calderón, launch his “war on drugs”. The outcome of that war was disastrous, with tens of thousands of lives lost and its effects still being felt today.

    Amalendu Misra is a recipient of British Academy and Nuffield Foundation Grants.

    – ref. Trump labels drug cartels as terrorist groups – what it means for Mexico and beyond – https://theconversation.com/trump-labels-drug-cartels-as-terrorist-groups-what-it-means-for-mexico-and-beyond-248035

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: UK government’s AI plan gives a glimpse of how it plans to regulate the technology

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Khullar, Analyst, Science and Technology, RAND Europe

    Anggalih Prasetya / Shutterstock

    The UK government recently published its plan for using AI to boost growth and deliver services more efficiently. It also suggests a fundamental shift in how the UK aims to position itself as a global leader in AI innovation.

    The AI Opportunities Action Plan gives further evidence on how the government intends to regulate cutting-edge AI.

    The timing of this plan, ahead of the Paris AI Action Summit in February, positions the UK to play a significant role in shaping global discussions on AI governance. Its plans to give more powers to the AI Safety Institute (AISI), a directorate of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, could enhance the UK’s influence in international cooperation on AI safety and governance through leading the way on legislation and enforcement.

    The previous Conservative government’s approach, outlined in its Pro Innovation Approach to AI Regulation white paper, relied heavily on existing regulators and non-binding principles.

    But Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle has said there will be a significant shift in the UK’s regulatory approach, moving from voluntary cooperation to mandatory oversight of the most advanced AI systems. After looking at these systems, regulators could ask the tech companies to make changes.

    The government is proposing the Frontier AI Bill, which would make the AISI into a statutory body with the ability to have legal powers rather than just advise companies. The bill could also grant the AISI unprecedented powers to tell developers to share their models for testing before market release, and offer feedback.

    How the EU approaches AI

    This new regulatory shift differs from the European Union’s approach in two important ways. First, the EU has opted for a voluntary code of practice for general-purpose AI systems.

    The EU AI Act takes a comprehensive approach, regulating AI applications across various risk levels and sectors, from high-risk applications in healthcare and education to consumer-facing AI systems. In contrast, the UK’s proposed bill appears more narrowly focused on cutting-edge AI systems before they’re released. Beyond governance, the UK plan also addresses the use of AI in critical infrastructure such as the road networks.

    The government plans to go ahead with 48 out of 50 of the report’s recommendations to start with. This demonstrates a strong commitment to developing the necessary foundations for AI advancement. There are also “partial” agreements to consider visa plans for workers who are highly skilled in AI and the creation of a copyright cleared dataset for training, or improving, AI systems.

    These measures aim to address crucial gaps in the UK’s AI ecosystem. The focus on infrastructure and developing AI skills suggests maintaining competitiveness in AI requires more than just a favourable regulatory environment, it needs robust capital investments.

    Broader risks

    However, several challenges remain. The focus on advanced AI systems, while important, has drawn criticism for potentially overlooking broader AI-related risks. There are legitimate concerns about whether this approach adequately addresses the full spectrum of challenges posed by widespread AI adoption across different sectors and cases, such as developers using copyrighted material to improve their AI systems.

    The success of this new approach will largely depend on several factors. The ability to introduce effective pre-market testing procedures for cutting edge AI systems without creating excessive barriers to innovation. And also it depends on the capacity of regulators to balance oversight and innovation.

    Success will also hinge on the effectiveness of these initiatives in strengthening the UK’s competitive position. .

    The UK’s approach represents a bold experiment in AI governance – one that charts a distinct path from the EU.

    This plan marks a decisive moment in UK AI policy. The success or failure of this targeted approach could have significant implications for how other nations balance comprehensive AI oversight with focused regulation of the most capable systems.

    Paul Khullar has worked on projects funded by DSIT.

    Sana Zakaria has received funding from DSIT and UKRI for other areas of work in her portfolio.

    – ref. UK government’s AI plan gives a glimpse of how it plans to regulate the technology – https://theconversation.com/uk-governments-ai-plan-gives-a-glimpse-of-how-it-plans-to-regulate-the-technology-248140

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The Holocaust: how ‘rescue archaeology’ is tackling the impending loss of surviving witnesses

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tony Kushner, James Parkes Professor of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations, University of Southampton

    This year is the 80th anniversary of the Soviet army’s liberation of Auschwitz, the huge and complex concentration and death camp in which one million Jews were murdered.

    The theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is For a Better Future, a message of hope that is much needed in this extremely troubling world, where the far right is gaining power inside and outside of Europe.

    An issue which has troubled those, like myself, who are involved with Holocaust education and memorialisation for some time is what to do when the survivor generation passes on.

    This is no longer a theoretical concern. Every year, inevitably and at an accelerating rate, the numbers of Holocaust survivors diminishes. In the past few years in the UK alone, prominent survivors have been lost. Most recently Lily Ebert, aged 100, who late in life became famous through relating her harrowing story through the very modern media of TikTok.

    Speaking about her death, King Charles said: “Alongside other Holocaust survivors she became an integral part of the fabric of our nation; her extraordinary resilience and courage an example to us all, which will never be forgotten.”

    Indeed, many Holocaust survivors have been prominent in recent years, recounting their testimony to schools and the media. Holocaust Memorial Day, inaugurated at the start of the new millennium, has provided a special place for survivors at both a national and local level.

    This year at the University of Southampton, for example, we are privileged to have Janine Webber, a survivor of the Lvov ghetto in German-occupied Poland, speaking. She will relay to a diverse audience of all ages and backgrounds her life before, during and after the Holocaust.

    Through the Parkes Institute for the study of Jewish/non-Jewish relations, we have organised this city-wide event for over two decades. We know, however, that this may be one of the last times we will be privileged to have the survivors at the heart of our programme. In 2035 it will be the 90th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and by then few survivors, if any, will still be alive.



    Read more:
    Charlotte Delbo and the women of Convoy 31000: how researching their stories led me to a forgotten subcamp and Nazi lies in the Auschwitz archive

    There is a certain irony in the understandable angst about the devastating prospect of a world without Holocaust survivors (as well as their liberators, and those who helped Jewish people during their darkest hour).

    For many years after 1945, Holocaust survivors were not given the space to talk about their experiences – a silence that often extended to their children and wider families. It was only talking in their own small circles that these survivors felt that their experiences would be understood.

    Now the situation is very different. Survivors are honoured for their work in educating new generations born well after the second world war. King Charles’s heartfelt tribute to Ebert reflects a wider tendency. Many have been given honours, including a knighthood to the late survivor leader, Ben Helfgott, who died in 2023. Helfgott was one of over 700 child survivors who were flown to the UK in 1945 to recuperate and ended up making a huge contribution to the country.

    The Pride of Britain Awards honoured Sir Ben Helfgott in 2020.

    In the 1950s and 60s, when the first histories of the Holocaust were produced, the focus was on the perpetrators and the victims were voiceless and seen as “uneducated men” who had no place in accounts of the recent past. All of this changed in the late 20th century when the Holocaust grew in public awareness and interest.

    Belatedly, the survivors were rescued from obscurity and the human element of the tragedy came to the fore. Local and then international testimony projects emerged, the largest being the ongoing Visual History Archive which has interviewed close to 60,000 survivors, including of more recent genocides such as that in Rwanda.

    ‘Rescue archaeology’

    I have estimated that there may be up to 100,000 testimonies of Holocaust survivors in video, oral history and written format – perhaps the most related to any event in history. Most recently these interviews have been developed as interactive holograms where students and others can ask questions of the survivors such as the University of Southern California’s Dimensions project.

    These projects are a form of “rescue archaeology”, saving the testimony of survivors before it is too late. They are, especially in the hologram form, a way of directly confronting the dilemma of how to educate and commemorate without the survivors actually being present.

    The University of Southern California’s Dimensions in Testimony project.

    In 2000, the Imperial War Museum in London opened its first Holocaust galleries. Before then the Holocaust had rarely been confronted by this landmark museum. In 2019 a new permanent Holocaust exhibition was also opened. In both exhibitions, survivor testimony was a prominent and engaging feature. Video testimony especially can capture the attention of all age groups and backgrounds.

    But even with this remarkable resource of recorded Holocaust testimony, something huge and irreplaceable will be lost when we no longer have the survivors to tell their stories.

    Even when survivors are unfocused in their presentation, or they find it challenging to communicate what is ultimately indescribable, there has been a bond between them and their audience. In some ways their presence has made it too easy for those involved in education and commemoration to deal with the Holocaust.

    We must therefore find fresh ways of doing justice to their experiences, using their recorded experiences (including those who were killed but managed to write their testimony in the war itself through diaries) and finding creative ways of engaging a new generation to whom this is now distant history.

    It would be naive, however, to think that the post-survivor world will be an easy one to navigate. We have been lucky that the survivors have had the courage and energy to share their experiences and must regret that it took us so long to listen.

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

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

    – ref. The Holocaust: how ‘rescue archaeology’ is tackling the impending loss of surviving witnesses – https://theconversation.com/the-holocaust-how-rescue-archaeology-is-tackling-the-impending-loss-of-surviving-witnesses-248202

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The pope’s memoir, Oscar nominees and a mafia exhibition – what to read, see and do this week

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Anna Walker, Senior Arts + Culture Editor

    I finally got round to watching Conclave last week. Two hours of Ralph Fiennes and Isabella Rossellini in Oscar-nominated performances alongside Lucian Msamati and a stray papal turtle. The scandals. The tension. The outfits (also nominated). A sublime experience.

    On the way home from the cinema, I became lost in background reading. “How much do we know about real conclaves controversies?” I jabbed into Google. “How close was the film’s pope to the current pontiff, Francis?” As I soon realised, the real Vatican is frequently stranger than fiction. Take Wake Up!, for example, Pope Francis’s progressive rock album (no, really) which was released in 2015.

    More surprises are in store in his autobiography, Hope, which was published this week. It’s the first time a pope has written a memoir. As explained by our reviewer, the appropriately named historian of the Catholic church Professor Liam Temple, we’ve never known this much about the pontiff before. We learn that young Francis was an avid football and basketball fan, for example. But also, that he’s now a deeply remorseful man, often impatient and periodically anti-social.



    Read more:
    Pope Francis autobiography: we’ve never known so much about the pontiff before

    The book had us wondering. Would you rather learn about historic figures through their own words, or the art of others? Answer our poll to let us know and reply to this email with your favourite memoir of all time. My colleague Naomi’s is Just Kids by Patti Smith.

    A brutal backlash

    The Brutalist swept the Oscars shortlist yesterday with ten nominations including best picture, director and actor in a leading role. We asked a real architect to review the film.



    Read more:
    The Brutalist: an architect’s take on a film about one man’s journey to realise his visionary building

    The trailer for The Brutalist.

    Adrian Brody plays Hungarian-Jewish architect László Tóth. He’s arrived in Philadelphia after surviving the Holocaust and is taken under the patronage of wealthy industrialist, Harrison Van Buren (Guy Pearce). It’s a monumental work about the foundations, both literal and ideological, of post-war America. Three-and-a-half hours long (with a welcome intermission) it is staggering in its scale and ambition – a film that really must be seen in the cinema.

    For fans, the Academy’s support is a relief. For the past week, nominations were in doubt due to a growing backlash around the film’s use of AI to enhance the authenticity of the actors’ Hungarian accents. The language’s hard-to-imitate vowel sounds proved tricky even for Brody, whose mother was a Hungarian refugee. For Dr Dominic Lees, who has been researching the use of AI in filmmaking for six years, this creative decision is hardly shocking, especially in comparison to other recent uses of the technology – we’re looking at you, Here.



    Read more:
    AI voice technology used in The Brutalist is nothing new – the backlash is about transparency

    The trailer for Kyoto.

    With a climate-change denier back in the White House, the London opening of Kyoto at the West End’s Soho Place could hardly be timelier. The Royal Shakespeare Company production dramatises the intense negotiations of the world’s first climate change treaty. In doing so, it “turns diplomacy into a contact sport”, eliciting gales of laughter from the audience and raising plentiful questions to ponder on the way home.

    Kyoto is playing at London’s Soho Place theatre until May 3.

    Through the lens

    We caused some controversy last week with our rundown of six covers of Bob Dylan songs that were better than the originals. “What no Guns N’ Roses, Knocking on Heaven’s Door?” asked one reader. “I’ll give you Hendrix, but all the others are ersatz compared to Bob’s versions,” proclaimed another.

    The trailer for A Complete Unknown.

    Hopefully one thing Dylan fans can agree on is the strength of Timothee Chalamet’s Oscar-nominated performance in the new biopic, A Complete Unknown. To our reviewer’s mind, he brings charm, vulnerability and authenticity to what will surely become one of the stand-out roles of his career.



    Read more:
    A Complete Unknown: Chalamet’s brilliant performance captures the elusive essence of a young Dylan

    You might expect an exhibition of mafia photos to depict conflict, violence, men in suits and victims in pieces. But a new show of Sicilian photographer Letizia Battaglia at London’s Photographers’ Gallery instead presents images of lovers, flowers and children in the street.

    Born in 1935, Battaglia was one of the first women reporters in Italy. This is the first major UK exhibition of her work since her death in 2022. Through her lens, she frequently captured the ambiguous reality of the mafia in Sicily. The revolution of her work was the way it stripped the mafia of its glamour, by showing not only its violence, the murders, the desperation, but also the banality and the normalisation of their crimes.

    Letizia Battaglia: Life, Love and Death in Sicily is on at The Photographers’ Gallery, London, until February 23.

    – ref. The pope’s memoir, Oscar nominees and a mafia exhibition – what to read, see and do this week – https://theconversation.com/the-popes-memoir-oscar-nominees-and-a-mafia-exhibition-what-to-read-see-and-do-this-week-248184

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The Holocaust poets who can help us to understand genocides past and present

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jean Boase-Beier, Emeritus Professor, School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing, University of East Anglia

    On Holocaust Memorial Day we remember the victims of the Nazi Holocaust in 1940s Europe and all those affected by later genocides.

    I believe that reading poetry is an important way to commemorate these victims because it is such a personal form.

    The events of the Holocaust are familiar to many people as dates and numbers. The first concentration camp opened in Dachau in 1933. In 1942 the infamous meeting at the Wannsee took place in Berlin to decide upon the “final solution” to the perceived problem of Jewish people in Germany and beyond.

    Some 6 million Jewish people were murdered, some 200,000 disabled and ill people were killed in Germany alone and 400,000 people were forcibly sterilised because they possessed traits the Nazis deemed undesirable.

    Such statistics are well documented by Holocaust historians. But behind these numbers, overwhelming in their sheer vastness, are individuals, those whose voices we hear especially clearly in poems.

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

    People wrote poetry as realisation grew of their likely fate even before the murderous events that later came to be called the Holocaust. Many wrote poetry about the Holocaust later, because they survived and wanted the world to hear their stories, or because they lost family members and wanted to remember them.

    Among those who wrote after the Holocaust was German poet Volker von Törne, who was wracked with vicarious guilt for his father’s Nazi past.

    But it is the poems written as the events of the Holocaust were unfolding that strike a particular chord. These are poems by prisoners facing execution, by Jewish members of society forced to live in overcrowded ghettos, by those in camps and those about to be transported to camps. Often such poems were written on odd scraps of paper, carefully hidden or buried in the ground, or smuggled out of prison, ghetto or camp.

    These writers, desperate to tell their stories, chose poetry because of its immediacy, its conciseness, its emotional impact and its ability to say what cannot easily be said in prose.

    Almost none of them wrote in English, so English speakers read them via translators who can speak their words for them, fashioning new versions that aim to capture the style of the originals with all its resonances and as much of their immediacy and impact as possible.

    Poets of the Holocaust

    Some Holocaust poets became famous, and their work has been translated many times. One of the best known, Paul Celan, was a Romanian-German poet. His parents died in the Holocaust. He died by suicide in 1970, having written some of the most memorable poems about the Holocaust, including Death-Fugue (1948), which described the repetitive and deadly rhythm of camp life and death.

    German poet Nelly Sachs, who escaped at the last minute to Sweden, won the Nobel prize in 1966. Her work is readily available in a number of excellent recent translations.

    Other famous poets of the Holocaust include Yiddish poet Abraham Sutzkever, Italian essayist Primo Levi and Hungarian poet Miklós Radnóti.

    But the stories told by these famous poets, important though they are, can only give a partial picture. Often the fine details of everyday experience, the fears and hopes of individual women, men and children, have a particular resonance in the work of lesser-known poets.

    Romanian-German poet Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger was only 17 when she wrote her poetry of fearful anticipation. She was transported to a concentration camp where she died a year later.

    Lithuanian poet Matilda Olkinaitė was murdered at 19. How would their poetry have developed had they lived? We will never know. But what they have left us, recreated through their translators, is a highly sensitive view of life in the chaos of approaching catastrophe.

    Voices in anthologies

    For readers who want a fuller picture of Holocaust poetry, anthologies are invaluable. They usually have an introduction, or notes, providing the context that is so crucial to understanding the poems.

    Two older anthologies, Holocaust Poetry by Hilda Schiff (1995) and Beyond Lament by Marguerite Striar (1998) are still very useful.

    More recently, I co-edited the anthology Poetry of the Holocaust (2019), which arose from a research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Our aim was to collect less well-known Holocaust poetry, and, with the help of 35 translators from languages as varied as Yiddish, Norwegian, Japanese and Hungarian, to present the poems in original and translation, with a contextual note for each.

    We tried to include a broader range of poems than earlier anthologies have tended to do. The anonymous Song of the Roma, for example, laments the fate of the more than 200,000 Gypsy, Roma and Traveller victims of the Nazis.

    Many poems in the anthology document very specific events, such as French writer Andrė Sarcq’s To the Twice-Murdered Men, which depicts the dreadful detail of his lover’s death at the hands of the Nazis, who treated gay men with unfathomable barbarity.

    Polish Resistance member Irena Bobowska suffered the cruel removal of the wheelchair upon which she depended. She imagined the world she has lost in So I Learn Life’s Greatest Art.

    German poet Alfred Schmidt-Sas wrote with extreme difficulty, as his hands were bound. He reflected on his imminent beheading in Strange Lightness of Life. And in My God, French poet Catherine Roux told of the horrifying and mundane details of her arrival in a concentration camp: “I’ve no hair / I’ve no hanky.”

    It is only by listening to these individual voices that we can really begin to understand what the many millions of Holocaust victims went through, and what victims of genocides all over the world have suffered and are suffering at this moment. Poetry helps us to do this.

    Jean Boase-Beier acts as Translations Editor for Arc Publications. She has received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council for research relevant to this article.

    – ref. The Holocaust poets who can help us to understand genocides past and present – https://theconversation.com/the-holocaust-poets-who-can-help-us-to-understand-genocides-past-and-present-248205

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Yorkshire company fined for polluting river with bleach

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A Huddersfield company has been fined and ordered to pay costs totalling almost £9,000 after it polluted a river with bleach and killed hundreds of fish.

    Specialist packing company Liquipak Ltd, based at Queens Mill Business Centre at Queens Mill Road, appeared at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 9 January 2025, where it pleaded guilty to an illegal discharge of bleach.

    The court heard that in September 2021 the bleach – sodium hypochlorite – escaped after a wooden pallet collapsed. The spilt bleach was flushed into surface water drains which discharge into the River Holme where it meets the River Colne in Huddersfield.

    Over 800 dead fish were counted 3kms downstream in the River Colne, as well as dead aquatic invertebrates, such as insects that live in water.

    In mitigation the court heard the company was deeply remorseful and that it was an unfortunate accident. The court also heard the company had introduced new handling procedures for its containers and had obtained a drainage plan.

    The company was ordered to pay a fine of £2,666.67 after being given credit for an early guilty plea in addition to a victim’s surcharge and prosecution costs bringing the total amount to £8,973.67.

    Thorough investigation after reports of pollution

    Environment Agency Environment Officer Peter Kirton said:

    Companies have a responsibility to ensure their activities do not have serious environmental impacts.

    It’s important they understand their site drainage and the difference between surface and foul drains.

    We carried out a thorough investigation into this pollution incident and the company has since taken steps to ensure there is no recurrence in future.

    The court heard the liquid was stored in containers – those containing liquids are stored inside the warehouse and empty containers outside.

    In September 2021 the Environment Agency received a report of dead fish in the River Colne. Officers attended and their investigation traced the source to Liquipak.

    The company explained there had been a spillage of bleach inside the warehouse, which happened when a wooden pallet the containers were stacked on gave way, resulting in some of them toppling and spilling.

    The contents went down a manhole cover in the warehouse. It hadn’t been reported to the Environment Agency because the company thought the manhole led to the foul sewer.

    An Environment Agency officer used green dye to trace the discharge from the manhole, confirming it was a surface water drain that led to the river.

    While the court agreed the incident was negligent, it accepted there were mitigating circumstances including that the company co-operated fully with the investigation, carried out a clean-up and has since taken steps around storage and operation to prevent it happening again in the future. The court accepted the offence was not commercially motivated.

    Pollution incidents can be reported to the Environment Agency on its 24-hour incident hotline, 0800 807060.

    Background

    Full charge

    On 2 September 2021 Liquipak Ltd caused a water discharge activity, namely the discharge of Sodium Hypochlorite into inland freshwaters, namely the River Holme at its confluence with the River Colne, otherwise than in accordance with an environmental permit.

    Contrary to Regulations 12(1)(b) and 38(1)(a) Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2016.

    Updates to this page

    Published 24 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: The 2025 Call for nominations UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes is open

    Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre

    From Borneo to Tikal, from Longyearbyen to Puerto Toro, UNESCO is calling on communities around the world to celebrate and protect some of the planet’s most stunning cultural landscapes. Nominations are now open for the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes.

    This prestigious award honours the deep connections communities have forged with their environments and encourages further efforts in the knowledge, practice, and research necessary to protect these landscapes. The Prize includes a US$30,000 endowment and emphasizes the crucial role of cultural landscape preservation in safeguarding our shared heritage while inspiring future action.

    Established in 1995 in tribute to the iconic Greek actress and former Minister of Culture, Melina Mercouri, the Prize has recognised outstanding conservation efforts for over two decades, promoting the sustainable management of cultural landscapes in alignment with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

    Who Should Apply?

    Whether you represent a community, an institution, or NGO focused on the safeguarding and enhancement cultural landscapes, this is your opportunity to gain international recognition. Cultural landscapes are powerful symbols of the connection between people and nature, offering living narratives of human history and creativity.

    Key Details

    • Nominations must be submitted by governments, National Commissions for UNESCO, or professional organizations.
    • Nominated cultural landscapes do not need to be inscribed on the World Heritage List to be eligible.
    • Sites under review for possible inscription on the World Heritage List in 2025 are not eligible.

    How to Apply

    Submit your application online by 30 April 2025 (midnight CET, UTC+1). For full details and to apply, visit the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes website.

    Do not miss this opportunity to showcase the importance of cultural landscapes for sustainable development and ensure that your work receives the recognition it deserves.

    Apply

    The nomination process takes place online only on the UNESCO website. Online nominations must be submitted in English or French no later than 30 April 2025 (midnight CET, UTC+1).

    English French

    Introduction leaflet of the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes

    EnglishFrench

    For further information visit: UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes

    Questions can be directed to the Secretariat of the Prize at: melinamercouriprize@unesco.org

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Relief Still Available to Indiana Small Businesses and Nonprofits Hit by May Storms: Don’t Miss the Deadline to Apply for an SBA Disaster Loan!

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Indiana of the Feb. 24 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by the severe storms and tornadoes that occurred May 7, 2024. 

    The disaster declaration covers the counties of Dearborn, Decatur, Fayette, Franklin, Ripley, Rush, and Union in Indiana, as well as Butler and Hamilton counties in Ohio. 

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

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

    “When disasters strike, businesses and nonprofits face significant challenges,” said Randle Logan, acting associate administrator for the SBA’s Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience. “These SBA loans provide the financial support they need to manage costs and continue moving forward.”  

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

    SBA’s disaster loan program has been replenished through the American Relief Act of 2025, signed into law by President Biden on December 21, 2024.  

    For more information and to apply online visit SBA.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 6592955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.  

    The deadline to return economic injury applications is Feb. 24, 2025. 

    ### 

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration 

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville, Sheehy, Hagerty Introduce No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
    WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senators Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) in introducing the No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act to keep American taxpayer dollars out of the hands of the Taliban. The legislation clarifies that it is the United States’ policy to oppose financial or material support to the Taliban by foreign governments and non-government organizations (NGOs). It also requires the State Department to develop and implement astrategy to prevent foreign countries from providing support to the Taliban.
    “Under Joe Biden, terrorists around the globe have been given way too much breathing room, making our world a more dangerous place,” said Senator Tuberville. “I’m excited to see a return to the ‘Peace through Strength’ agenda under President Trump, and proud to join this commonsense legislation to ensure American taxpayer dollars never fund terrorism again.”   
    Since 2021, the United Nations has flown more than $2.9 billion in cash to Afghanistan to stabilize the economy. The State Department has insisted that no U.S. taxpayer funds have been received by the Taliban, but a report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) showed that United States taxpayer dollars have indeed been deposited in the Taliban-controlled Afghan central bank.
    After Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan returned the Taliban to power, his administration further insulted the countless men and women in uniform who fought in the region by funneling U.S. taxpayer dollars to these anti-American terrorists.
    Read the bill here.
    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville Urges Senate to Confirm Hegseth and Rollins, Secure American Farmland with the FARM Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
    WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) spoke on the Senate floor in support of Pete Hegseth, President Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Defense, who will bring much-needed change to the Department of Defense.
    Additionally, Sen. Tuberville addressed legislation he reintroduced on Wednesday, the Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act. The FARM Act will help secure America’s agricultural industry and food supply chains from foreign adversaries by creating a permanent seat for the Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Additionally, Sen. Tuberville encouraged the Senate to move quickly on confirming President Trump’s pick for Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, who will fight for America’s farming communities and defend against foreign influence in the U.S. agricultural sector.
    Read Sen. Tuberville’s remarks below or watch on YouTube or Rumble.

    ON CONFIRMING PETE HEGSETH
    “Thank you, Mr. President,
    I want to reiterate what my colleague from Tennessee just talked about, the importance of the vote that we just took. Just a few minutes ago our nominee for new Secretary Defense, Pete Hegseth. 
    Now the procedure is, as we just voted, to close the vote and now, we wait 30 hours from just a few minutes ago and have the final vote on his nomination, which it looks like that he has the votes of a majority to be appointed, or sent to the White House, to be confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense.
    I’m on the Armed Services Committee, and I’ve watched four years of the destruction of the best military in our world, United States of America. It is a shame what has happened, the DEI, the woke agenda that’s being pushed on the troops in our country, to me, is embarrassing.
    I’m a military brat. My dad died on active duty in the military. Awarded five bronze stars and a Purple Heart at age 17 driving a tank across Europe after landing the first day at Normandy. We have to change course in our military, and we can talk about inflation and pumping gas and the crime and all the things that we’re having a lot of problems with, but if you don’t have a strong military to protect our borders and protect the citizens in our country from adversaries all over the world, we got problems. And it’s got to start there.
    Pete Hegseth is the choice, the right choice. I like his age, I like his demeanor, I like the things he brings to our military. He’s exciting and he will energize this military into the next decade. And I’m excited about that. 
    So, hopefully in about 30 hours we’ll vote tomorrow night around 9:00 and we’ll vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as our new Secretary of Defense.
    ON THE FARM ACT
    Now, I’d like to turn to national security threats in our Nation’s agriculture sector and food supply chains.
    I’m on the Ag Committee. Over the past few years, the United States has experienced a rapid increase in foreign investment in agricultural sector, particularly from China. We have to open our eyes. Bad things are happening around us. Growing foreign investment in agriculture and other essential industries like health care and energy is a direct threat to our country’s national security.
    You know for years now I’ve been sounding the alarm about foreign ownership of American farmland and other elements of our food chain. According to USDA data from December 2023,  foreign investors own approximately 45 million acres of U.S. agriculture land. Now let me say that again: 45 million acres of our forest and agriculture land in this country has been sold to foreign entities. Does that not scare us? What [did] we just see during COVID about our drug supply? We looked around, we looked for health care and help after COVID hit our hit our borders and what happened? We found out that it was all being made in China.
    So, 45 million acres, this represents over 1.5 million acres in one calendar year. Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land in increased modestly from 2012 to [20]17 an average increase of 0.6 million acres per year, that’s 2012 to 2017. But since 2017, the number has skyrocketed to an average of 2.6 million acres a year that we’re selling, our farmland, to our adversaries. And it’s just not China. It’s Russia it’s other entities that don’t wish us well at the end of the day. So additionally, between 2010 and [20]21, entities or individuals from China increased their ownership of U.S. agriculture land more than twenty-fold from about 14,000 acres to 400,000 Acres. This is an unbelievable and unsustainable pace for the United States of America.
    Now, Alabama is experiencing, my state, this firsthand. We have the fourth largest amount of foreign owned agricultural land in the United States at 2.2 million acres, most of which is forest land. It’s not really agriculture in terms of growing row crops, it’s basically our forest. You know, I represent over 62,000 farmers in the state of Alabama. I hear from them time and time again about foreign activity in our agriculture community. Threats like these are something our states can’t handle all on their own.
    Which is why President Ford established, President Ford, established a Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, also known in short terms, CFIUS. This was in 1975. In other words, this committee is supposed to keep an eye on foreign investments in our country. This is the governmental body that oversees the vetting process of foreign investments and acquisitions of American companies in the interest of national security. CFIUS is composed of nine members of President’s cabinet including the Secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense, Homeland Security, Commerce, and Energy. The Attorney General, the US Trade Representative, and the Director of Office of Science and Technology Policy also sit on this vetting board of industry and land in our country.
    Nowhere on that list did you hear me say the Secretary of Agriculture. Now why is that? […] Considering the massive increase in foreign investment in our country, we need additional oversight for what’s going on in our country. We got our eyes closed. Which is why yesterday I introduced the Foreign Adversary Risk Management Act, called the FARM Act, here on the floor that will accomplish three major things.
    First, it would add the Secretary of Agriculture as a permanent member of CFIUS. In other words, that somebody that’s going to help our agriculture people vet land that’s being bought by foreign entities. Second, it would protect U.S. agriculture industry from foreign control through transactions, mergers, and acquisitions, and agreements, and it would also designate agriculture supply chains as critical infrastructure and critical technology. Third, it would require a report to Congress on current and potential foreign investments in the U.S. agriculture industry. This legislation, folks, is long overdue.
    These foreign investments now reach into every aspect of agriculture industry and supply chains from farming and processing, to packaging and shipping. We cannot, and I repeat, we cannot allow our adversaries to have a foot in the door to our critical supply chains. Food security is national security. We must prioritize increased oversight of foreign investment, and our food supply chains especially those coming from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. 
    This starts with giving the agriculture community a permanent seat at the table of CFIUS. The FARM Act does just that.
    ON CONFIRMING BROOKE ROLLINS
    And there’s no better person to fill this permanent seat on CFIUS than my good friend, who we had a hearing today, as a new nominee for Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins. I’ve known Brooke for 30 years. I met her while I was coaching at Texas A&M. She was the student body president in 1994. The students saw then what President Trump, what they see in her today, her strong leadership and her conviction of agriculture. It will be no different when she becomes the Secretary of Agriculture for the United States of America. 
    Brooke was brought up in a small agricultural community of Glen Rose, Texas. She comes from several generations of American farmers. She participated in levels of 4-H and FFA. She raised livestock throughout her life. Now she is [a] mother, she’s involved in the show steer industry with her four children. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural development from A&M and later earned a law degree at the University of Texas. 
    Later at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, she was engaged with rural and agriculture communities throughout Texas. She led litigation efforts that focused on the defense of Texas landowners and farmers against federal interference and regulations. Next, Brooke went on to serve in several roles in President Trump’s White House. She served as the Director of Domestic Policy Council, Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives, and Director of The Office of American Innovation. In these roles, she helped roll back terrible EPA rules like Waters of the U.S., or WOTUS, that targeted farmers and ranchers. 
    After the White House, she joined the American First Policy Institute, where she focused on protecting U.S. farmland and foreign entities seeking to gain control, especially from the Chinese. At AFPI, she strove to improve American food security, independence, as well as support measures that defend U.S. agriculture trade. Brooke understands these many challenges.
    In short, Brooke is a conservative warrior and will be an excellent Ag Secretary. I look forward to working with her to secure our farmland from foreign entities and working with her on passing a Farm Bill that puts American producers first again.
    As Alabama’s voiced on the Senate Ag Committee, I will continue fighting to secure our agriculture supply chain so our agriculture community can continue to put food on the table. And that starts with someone like Brooke Rollins as our Secretary of Agriculture. She is a terrific nominee, and I look forward to working with her on the Committee.
    I expect to move, her to move easily through the Committee vote, and here on this floor. So, once she’s out of Committee, the Senate must vote on her for confirmation. She’ll do great. She’s perfect for the job and I ask that the Senate take up both efforts quickly to defend our agriculture communities which feeds not only the American people but the entire world.
    I yield the floor.”
    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: The Global Economic Outlook | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    Nearly five years since the COVID-19 pandemic upended the global economy, growth is slow but stable, inflation has gradually declined in advanced economies and trade trends have turned positive. Despite this, there remain challenges such as high public debt burdens, ongoing geo-economic tensions and the potential impact of industrial policies on smaller countries.

    Given this landscape, what are the plausible scenarios for the global economy in 2025?

    Speakers: Faisal Alibrahim, Kristalina Georgieva, Laurence D. Fink, Sara Eisen, Christine Lagarde, Tharman Shanmugaratnam

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

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

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

    World Economic Forum Website ► http://www.weforum.org/
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    #Davos2025 #WorldEconomicForum #wef25

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7rBsMrx094

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Avian Influenza Prevention Zone

    Source: Scottish Government

    Zone declared in Scotland and England.

    Following an increase in the number of detections of avian influenza (bird flu) in wild birds and other captive birds, the Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer from Scotland and Chief Veterinary Officer from England have declared a national Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) to mitigate the risk of the disease spreading amongst poultry and other captive birds.

    This means that from 12:00 noon on Saturday 25 January, it will be a legal requirement for all bird keepers in Scotland and England to follow strict biosecurity measures to help protect their flocks from the threat of avian flu.

    Surveillance has indicated that the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus is currently circulating in wild birds in the UK and their risk to poultry and other captive birds is currently assessed as being very high. Maintaining strict biosecurity is the most effective method of protecting birds from the virus.

    Keepers with more than 500 birds will need to restrict access for non-essential people on their sites, workers will need to change clothing and footwear before entering bird enclosures and site vehicles will need to be cleansed and disinfected regularly to limit the risk of the disease spreading. Backyard owners with smaller numbers of poultry including chickens, ducks and geese must also take steps to limit the risk of the disease spreading to their animals.

    Public Health Scotland advises that the risk to public health from the virus is very low and Food Standards Scotland advises that avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for consumers. Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat.

    Scotland’s Deputy Chief Vet Officer Jesus Gallego said;

    “While the risk to public health is very low, we are currently experiencing a heightened risk of an incursion from this virus and so it is vital that appropriate precautions are taken to protect poultry and other captive birds from infection.  The introduction of this zone is a preventative measure, aimed at minimising the effect that this, often devastating virus, can have on Scottish kept birds”.

    Background

    Avian influenza (bird flu) outbreaks – gov.scot

    Avian influenza (bird flu): how to spot and report the disease – gov.scot

    Wild bird surveillance – Avian influenza (bird flu): how to spot and report the disease – gov.scot

    The AIPZ means bird keepers across Scotland and England must:

    • Keep free ranging birds within fenced areas, and ponds, watercourses and permanent standing water must be fenced off (except in specific circumstances, e.g. zoo birds)
    • Cleanse and disinfect footwear and keep areas where birds live clean and tidy;
    • Minimise movement in and out of bird enclosures;
    • Reduce any existing contamination by cleansing and disinfecting concrete areas, and fencing off wet or boggy areas
    • Keep domestic ducks and geese separate from other poultr
    • Ensure the areas where birds are kept are unattractive to wild birds, for example by netting ponds, and by removing wild bird food sources;
    • Feed and water your birds in enclosed areas to discourage wild birds;

    Keepers should familiarise themselves with our avian flu advice at http://www.gov.scot/avianinfluenza and report suspicion of disease to your local APHA Field Services Office.

    The Avian Influenza Prevention Zone will be in place until further notice and will be kept under regular review as part of the government’s work to monitor and manage the risks of bird flu.

    Do not touch or pick up any dead or visibly sick birds that you find. Wild birds can carry several diseases that are infectious to people. In Great Britain, if you find at the same time:

    • a single dead bird of prey, swan, goose, duck or gull or
    • five or more dead wild birds of any other species

    you should report them on gov.uk’s report dead wild birds page.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Cooperation in a Divided World | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    Global cooperation has declined in recent years, with the risk of international relations stalling at a “new, non-cooperative normal”. Yet, amid the competition and confrontation, there are positive trends, particularly on joint climate action and in areas of collaborative innovation.

    Join this session to explore the 2025 edition of the Global Cooperation Barometer, which identifies where global cooperation is working, where it isn’t and what leaders can do to build stronger cross-border collaboration.

    Speakers: Bob Sternfels, Samir Saran

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

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

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

    World Economic Forum Website ► http://www.weforum.org/
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    #Davos2025 #WorldEconomicForum #wef25

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZJxdSs01u4

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hawley, Luján Reintroduce RECA to Give Nuclear Radiation Victims Compensation

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo)

    Friday, January 24, 2025

    Today U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), along with Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) reintroduced the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act to compensate Americans exposed to radiation by government nuclear programs. 

    Senator Hawley’s reintroduction comes as new reporting indicates the radioactive waste in St. Louis is more widespread than previously thought.

     The House of Representatives failed to pass the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) reauthorization before its expiration deadline in the 118th Congress.  

    “The time to reauthorize RECA is now. The Senate has done this twice before and must do it again. For far too long, Missourians and others across America have suffered without compensation from their government. It is vital that we unite to pass this legislation now, and that the President sign it into law,” said Senator Hawley.  

     “In New Mexico and across the country, thousands sacrificed to contribute to our national security. Today, individuals affected by nuclear weapons testing, downwind radiation exposure, and uranium mining are still waiting to receive the justice they are owed,” said Senator Luján. “It is unacceptable that so many who have gotten sick from radiation exposure have been denied compensation by Congress. Despite having passed RECA legislation twice through the Senate with broad bipartisan support, and securing the support of the previous administration, I was disheartened that Speaker Johnson refused a vote on RECA to help victims. This Congress, I am proud to partner with Senator Hawley again to extend and expand RECA. RECA is a bipartisan priority and I am hopeful that we will once again get it through the Senate and hope the Speaker commits to getting victims the compensation they are owed.”

    Senator Hawley has been the leading voice in the fight to secure just compensation for radiation victims in Missouri—and across the nation.  

    The Senate has passed Senator Hawley’s legislation to reauthorize and expand RECA twice, with strong bipartisan measure. 

    Click here to dive deeper into Senator Hawley’s fight to reauthorize and expand RECA.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: High-speed internet available in Lax Kw’alaams

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    People living in Lax Kw’alaams off the northwestern coast of B.C. have access to reliable high-speed internet, enabling people to access online services and opportunities.

    “This announcement is an essential step in our commitment to connect all First Nations communities in B.C. to high-speed internet,” said George Chow, Minister of Citizens’ Services. “Reliable connectivity will ensure people in Lax Kw’alaams will have better access to education, health care and economic opportunities available online.”

    With the installation of new last-mile infrastructure, approximately 340 households in Lax Kw’alaams have access to high-speed internet. Built and operated by service provider CityWest, the project leverages capacity provided by the Connected Coast network.

    “Reliable high-speed internet in Lax Kw’alaams will enhance access to vital services, support our education and health-care systems, and open up new opportunities for our families and businesses,” said Garry Reece, mayor of Lax Kw’alaams. “We look forward to the positive impacts it will bring to our people now and for generations to come.” 

    The Government of British Columbia invested $196,630 through the Connecting British Columbia program, administered by the Northern Development Initiative Trust. The Government of Canada invested $523,016 through the federal Universal Broadband Fund and CityWest contributed $423,591.

    Since 2017, the Province has invested $584 million to expand connectivity in British Columbia. As of January 2025, approximately 74% of rural homes and more than 80% of homes on First Nations reserves have access to high-speed internet.

    In March 2022, the governments of British Columbia and Canada announced a partnership to invest as much as $830 million to expand high-speed internet services. The Province also made a specific commitment to connect every First Nations community to high-speed internet services in the government’s Declaration Act Action Plan.

    The Connecting British Columbia and Connecting Communities BC funding programs support projects to expand high-speed internet access to rural and remote areas of the province. The plan to provide access to high-speed internet to all households will level the playing field for the people in British Columbia, ensuring better access to services and economic opportunities for every community.

    Quotes:

    Gudie Hutchings, federal Minister of Rural Economic Development, and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency –

    “High-speed Internet is not a luxury; it is a necessity. That’s why the Government of Canada is working to bring high-speed Internet access to 98% of Canadian households by 2026 and 100% by 2030. In today’s digital world, communities big and small need reliable connectivity, whether for accessing health care or growing a business. The completion of this project marks a significant connectivity milestone for the people in Lax Kw’alaams.”

    Christine Boyle, B.C. Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation –

    “Access to high-speed internet is vital for supporting the growth and prosperity of Indigenous communities across British Columbia. The completion of this project not only connects Lax Kw’alaams to the digital world, but also strengthens cultural ties and supports education, health care and economic development that will unlock new opportunities for generations to come.”

    Tamara Davidson, MLA for North Coast-Haida Gwaii –

    “Access to high-speed internet transforms how people live, work and learn in remote and rural communities along the north coast of British Columbia. The completion of this project is a major step forward for the community of Lax Kw’alaams. I’m excited to see the opportunities this connectivity will create for local families and businesses.”

    Stefan Woloszyn, chief executive officer, CityWest –

    “CityWest is deeply rooted in northern B.C., and we are proud to provide improved services to another community in the North. We are honoured to deliver fibre-optic services in partnership with the Lax Kw’alaams Band. This project is not just about providing internet, it’s about enriching lives, fostering inclusion, creating opportunities and driving positive change.”

    Learn More:

    To learn more about connectivity in B.C., visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/connectivity-in-bc

    To learn more about Connecting Communities BC, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/connectivity-in-bc/20530/20601

    To learn more about Declaration Act Action Plan (action 4.36), visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/government/ministries-organizations/ministries/indigenous-relations-reconciliation/declaration_act_action_plan.pdf

    To learn more about StrongerBC: B.C.’s Economic Plan, visit: https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/economic-plan/ 

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to Defra denying emergency authorisation to Cruiser SB (a neonicotinoid pesticide)

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Scientists comment to the Government’s decision to not grant emergency authorisation to a neonicotinoid pesticide. 

    Dr Scott Hayward, Lecturer and Leverhulme Research Fellow, University of Birmingham, said:

    “Definitely an evidence based decision. Ongoing research clearly shows significant effects of neonicotinoids on several pollinators species.  Research interest, and thus data, has been dominated by pollinator projects to date, but important to recognise that this is a biodiversity concern beyond just pollinators. There will be impacts on other insects and invertebrates (especially in the soil).

    “Our own work shows sub-lethal doses, as low as 9 ppb (parts per billion) can negatively affect bumble bee (Bombus terrestris) performance.  Some other bee and fly species species we’ve assessed don’t seem quite as vulnerable as B. terrestris – but we’ve only looked at relatively short (24 h) durations of exposure and very few species.

    “Sugar beet is somewhat of a special case because it doesn’t produce flowers until year 2 of growth, so the concerns that neonics are transferred to the pollen and/or nectar of the plant via seed coating is less of an issue than for other crops – because it is harvested before it produces flowers. However, even seed coating leaves neonic residues in the environment. 

    “Several ongoing projects are trying to model how residues persist in the environment across different habitat types and assess to risk to pollinators and other insects more generally.

    “Less data on what impact alternative pesticides might have, but simple fact is that pesticides targeting fundamental biological functions in pest species will likely have the same (sometimes greater) effects in non-target species.”

     

    Prof Dave Goulson, Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex, said:

    “For the last 4 years, our government ignored the recommendations of the Health and Safety Executive and the Expert Committee on Pesticides, both of which were of the opinion that this derogation request should not be granted. It is pleasing to see that our new government have followed scientific advice and refused the request. There is overwhelming evidence that neonicotinoids harm bees and other wildlife, and contaminate soils, waterways and wildflowers. There is no safe way to use them.

    “Farmers across Europe have been growing sugar beet without use of neonicotinoids, so this should not be an insurmountable problem.”

     

    Prof Toby Bruce, Professor of Insect Chemical Ecology at Keele University, said:

    “What are farmers supposed to do to protect their crops? Without insecticides sugar beet growers face up to 50% crop losses. If the government plans to ban pesticides (neonicotinoids in this case), then it should also plan to fund research into development of alternative approaches. The situation was previously considered an emergency because farmers are left with no control measures and have no way of protecting their crops from insect pests and the serious crop diseases that they transmit”.

    Declared interests

    Toby Bruce: “I don’t have any interests to declare.”

    No others received.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Supporting growth through regulatory reform: response from Environment Agency CEO to the Prime Minister

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    A response from Philip Duffy, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency to the Prime Minister on a new approach to regulators and regulations to support economic growth.

    Applies to England

    Documents

    Supporting growth through regulatory reform: response from Environmental Agency CEO to the Prime Minster

    PDF, 201 KB, 5 pages

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

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

    Details

    A letter to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade from Philip Duffy, the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency.

    It outlines how the Environment Agency will support a new approach to regulators and regulations to support economic growth.

    This is a response to a letter from the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, dated 24 December 2024.

    Updates to this page

    Published 24 January 2025

    Sign up for emails or print this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump inherits the Guantánamo prison, complete with 4 ‘forever prisoners’

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lisa Hajjar, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara

    A control tower overlooks the Camp VI detention facility, at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

    President Joe Biden’s record of handling the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, is decidedly mixed. He succeeded in reducing the detainee population he inherited by more than half, but he compounded problems in the military commissions that the Bush administration had invented in the wake of the 9/11 attacks to try people captured in the “war on terror.” Now all the problems at Guantánamo are again President Donald Trump’s.

    When Biden took office in 2021, there were 40 prisoners. Today there are 15, the lowest number since the first 20 Muslim men and boys captured in Afghanistan were airlifted to the base on Jan. 11, 2002.

    Biden left Trump four people the U.S. will not release but also cannot put on trial – the so-called “forever prisoners.” He also left intact the troubled military commissions system, with three pending criminal cases against a total of six detainees.

    In December 2021, former chief military defense attorney Brig. Gen. John Baker testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee: “It is too late in the process for the current military commissions to do justice for anyone. The best that can be hoped for at this point … is to bring this sordid chapter of American history to an end.” Baker made clear that the only viable option is to resolve the cases with plea bargains for the defendants.

    Marine Brig. Gen. John Baker tells U.S. senators that there is no opportunity for justice to be done at Guantánamo.

    A chance to make progress

    There are three cases that have not yet gone to trial – the 9/11 case with four defendants facing charges for their connections with the attacks, the USS Cole bombing in October 2000 with one defendant and the Bali bombing in October 2002 with one defendant.

    The 9/11 and USS Cole cases have been stuck in the pretrial phase since Biden was Barack Obama’s vice president. In the summer of 2024, a breakthrough in the 9/11 case appeared imminent: Prosecutors and defense lawyers for three of the four defendants reportedly reached plea-bargain agreements. Khalid Sheikh Mohammad – the alleged “mastermind” of the attacks – Walid bin Attash and Mustafa Hawsawi agreed to plead guilty and accept life sentences in exchange for the government taking the death penalty off the table. There was no deal for the fourth 9/11 defendant, Ammar al-Baluchi.

    The deals were approved on July 31 by the top military officer overseeing the Guantánamo commissions, retired Brig. Gen. Susan Escallier. But two days later, Biden’s defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, stepped into the process and overrode Escallier – whom he had appointed. Austin announced that the plea deals were revoked.

    The judge, Air Force Col. Matthew McCall, decided to schedule plea hearings for early January. But after some legal back-and-forth that forced a stay, he had to cancel them. Biden left the case against three 9/11 defendants in limbo.

    The basement of this government building in Bucharest, Romania, held a secret CIA prison, one of many across the world.
    AP Photo

    Witness to the transition

    In mid-January 2025, I made my sixteenth reporting trip to Guantánamo. I came for closing arguments on a motion in the 9/11 case that seeks to suppress statements that Ammar al-Baluchi made to the FBI in January 2007. That was four months after he and 13 others were transferred to Guantánamo from CIA black sites where they were held for years. The litigation to suppress those statements started in 2019.

    In Chapter 10 of my book, “The War in Court: Inside the Long Fight against Torture,” I detail how the litigation on this suppression motion made public previously unknown details and under-acknowledged horrors of the CIA’s rendition, detention and interrogation program.

    These closing arguments were the culmination of six years of litigation on the key question in the 9/11 case: Does torture matter in the pursuit of justice in the military commissions?

    A drawing by Guantánamo detainee Abu Zubaydah depicts a person being waterboarded.
    Copyright Abu Zubaydah 2019. Licensed by Professor Mark Denbeaux, Seton Hall Law School

    Can Guantánamo be closed?

    Of the 780 people ever detained at Guantánamo, 540 were released during the presidency of George W. Bush, who established the detention facility. Obama, who signed an executive order on his second day in office pledging to close Guantánamo within a year, released 200.

    In his first term, Trump pledged to keep the facility open. The only man to leave Guantánamo during Trump’s first term was Ahmed al-Darbi, who was repatriated to Saudi Arabia in 2018 to serve out the remainder of his sentence from a 2014 plea bargain agreement.

    When Biden took office, he said that he supported shutting down the military prison at Guantánamo. In the early years of his presidency, there was a slow stream of transfers, mostly people who had been cleared for release long ago and were freed.

    In Biden’s last months, the pace of transfers quickened. In December 2024, a Kenyan detainee, two Malaysian members of al-Qaida who had pled guilty the previous January, and a Tunisian man who had been in Guantánamo since the day the facility was opened were all repatriated to their countries of origin and freed. In January 2024, 11 Yemenis were transported from the prison to Oman to be resettled.

    15 men left behind

    The Biden administration had also planned to repatriate a severely disabled Iraqi detainee, Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, to serve out his plea-bargained sentence in a Baghdad prison. But a federal judge blocked that transfer, ruling that al-Iraqi would not get necessary medical treatment in Iraq and might be subject to abuse there.

    Al-Iraqi is one of the 15 that Biden left behind. Three of them – a Libyan, a Somali and a stateless Rohingya – have long been cleared for release. Their continuing detention without charges highlights a key element of the Guantánamo problem: No one can be released unless the U.S. government finds another country willing to accept them.

    One of the remaining detainees, Ali Bahlul, is serving a life sentence for conspiracy to commit war crimes. Six others, including the four 9/11 defendants, are awaiting their trials.

    There are also four detainees whom the government refuses to transfer but cannot put on trial for lack of evidence.

    The U.S. goverment says it cannot release Abu Zubaydah from Guantánamo because he would disclose classified interrogation techniques critics have labeled torture.
    U.S. Central Command via AP

    These so-called “forever prisoners” include Abu Zubaydah, a Saudi-born man of Palestinian descent who was taken into CIA custody in 2002 and was used as the guinea pig for the CIA torture program. The government long ago conceded that Abu Zubaydah was not a top leader of al-Qaida – in fact he was not even a member. But he will not be released because he knows how he was treated by the CIA, and that treatment remains highly classified.

    The newest forever prisoner is one of the original 9/11 defendants, Ramzi bin al-Shibh; in September 2023, he was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial. Now he is uncharged, unreleased and untreated for his psychological maladies that were caused by the torture he endured in CIA black sites.

    The ‘War on Terror’ is not over

    When Biden pulled U.S. troops out of Afghanistan in August 2021, he claimed to have ended America’s longest war – and repeated this claim in a January 2025 speech. But the Guantánamo prison remains open, and as long as it is, the “war on terror,” which first put U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2001, is not over.

    How Trump will deal with Guantánamo is an open question. If he focuses on the death penalty, he will press ahead with military commission trials like his predecessors, hoping for unanimous guilty verdicts and death sentences. If he prioritizes cutting wasteful government spending, he will release additional detainees and allow the three plea bargain agreements to go into effect.

    No one I spoke to during my last trip was willing to predict what a second Trump term might bode for Guantánamo – except that it won’t be closed.

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

    – ref. Trump inherits the Guantánamo prison, complete with 4 ‘forever prisoners’ – https://theconversation.com/trump-inherits-the-guantanamo-prison-complete-with-4-forever-prisoners-247058

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Vitaly Savelyev monitored the progress of work to eliminate the consequences of the emergency caused by the wreck of tankers in the Kerch Strait

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

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

    Vitaly Savelyev got acquainted with the progress of work on pumping oil products from the tanker Volgoneft-239

    January 24, 2025

    Meeting of the government commission to coordinate work to eliminate the consequences of the emergency caused by the sinking of tankers in the Kerch Strait

    January 24, 2025

    Tanker “Volgoneft-239”

    January 24, 2025

    Cleaning up fuel oil

    January 24, 2025

    Tanker “Volgoneft-239”

    January 24, 2025

    Previous news Next news

    Vitaly Savelyev got acquainted with the progress of work on pumping oil products from the tanker Volgoneft-239

    Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Government Commission for Coordination of Work to Eliminate the Consequences of the Emergency Situation Caused by the Crash of Tankers in the Kerch Strait, Vitaly Savelyev familiarized himself with the progress of work to pump oil products from the Volgoneft-239 tanker in the area of Cape Panagia and held a meeting of the Government Commission at the operational headquarters in Anapa.

    “The pumping out of fuel oil from the vessel’s tanks is nearing completion. About 1.3 tons of fuel oil have been pumped out – there was about 1.4 tons of fuel oil in the four tanks in the stern. The pumping out work is on schedule and is scheduled to be completed by Monday morning,” said Vitaly Savelyev.

    After pumping out the fuel oil, specialists will begin dismantling the stern of the tanker on site and its subsequent transportation to the disposal site.

    A protective hydraulic structure has been created around the stern of the Volgoneft-239 tanker, which prevents leaks of oil products from the vessel into the Black Sea and protects the work site from adverse weather conditions.

    During the meeting of the government commission, the results of the work on the elimination of the consequences of the emergency over the past week were summed up; the current status was presented by the first deputy chairman of the government commission, Minister for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters Alexander Kurenkov, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Alexander Kozlov, head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova, head of Rosprirodnadzor Svetlana Radionova.

    “Work to eliminate the consequences of the emergency situation continues in accordance with the approved interdepartmental plan. At the meeting of the government commission, the results of the work for the past week were summed up, further plans were determined taking into account all the tasks and directions related to the elimination of the consequences of the emergency on land and at sea. The work is on schedule, positive dynamics are visible,” noted Vitaly Savelyev.

    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 Video: On Firmer Ground with Land Restoration | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    With 40% of land degraded globally, the consequences are starting to be felt in industry: a fall in agricultural productivity, polluted waterways and increased frequency of droughts.

    What measures can be taken now to reverse this trend and create resilient economies for the future?

    Speakers: Dorjkhand Togmid, Molly Montgomery, Ibrahim Thiaw, Ismahane Elouafi, John Steenhuisen, Sir Andrew Steer, Abdulatif Rashid

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

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

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

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

    #Davos2025 #WorldEconomicForum #wef25

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l3q1hIDZZc

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: High-speed internet available in central coast communities

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    People in Nuxalk Nation, Bella Coola and Hagensborg on the central coast now have access to high-speed internet, enabling faster, more reliable access to digital services and opportunities.

    “Building a strong, sustainable economy begins with rural and remote Indigenous communities getting better access to the digital world,” said George Chow, Minister of Citizens’ Services. “With high-speed internet now available in Nuxalk Nation, Bella Coola and Hagensborg, people can access the same services and opportunities as those in larger urban centres and unlock new opportunities for education, business and community growth.”

    Two connectivity projects, built and operated by service-provider CityWest, are complete, providing broadband internet services for approximately 440 households in Nuxalk Nation and Bella Coola, and approximately 420 households in Hagensborg.

    “Access to high-speed internet is a game-changer for our community,” said Samuel Schooner, Chief of Nuxalk Nation. “It opens new possibilities for education, health care and economic development, and we are excited to see the positive impact this will have on our community, allowing us to connect with the world like never before.”

    The Government of British Columbia invested more than $1.4 million in the Connecting Bella Coola project and nearly $1.5 million in the Hagensborg project. This was done through the Connecting British Columbia program, managed by the Northern Development Initiative Trust.

    CityWest contributed nearly $600,000 to the Connecting Bella Coola project and more than $330,000 to the Hagensborg project. Both were built on infrastructure installed as part of the Connected Coast Network. Local Bella Coola Valley service provider Central Coast Communications Society also contributed $250,000 to the Hagensborg project.

    These projects are part of the Province’s commitment to Coastal First Nations to ensure high-speed internet access for communities throughout the central and north coast regions, and Haida Gwaii. Access to high-speed internet supports stewardship programs, like the Coastal Guardian Watchmen, that protect and manage the water, land and air in the region. Connectivity ensures the delivery of digital training and online health care, and supports Indigenous-led language and cultural revitalization programs.

    “Coastal First Nations understand the importance of having reliable, high-speed internet available in all our communities across the coast and we congratulate the Nuxalk Nation on completing this crucial link for their community,” said Christine Smith-Martin, CEO, Coastal First Nations. “High-speed internet is a powerful socio-economic tool that supports the delivery of the services our people count on to succeed and we will continue to advocate for the technological advancement and investment our member Nations deserve.”

    Since 2017, the Province has invested $584 million to expand connectivity in British Columbia. As of January 2025, approximately 74% of rural homes and more than 80% of homes on First Nations reserves now have access to high-speed internet.

    In March 2022, the governments of British Columbia and Canada announced a partnership to invest as much as $830 million to expand high-speed internet services. B.C.͛s commitment is to connect all remaining underserved households in B.C.

    The Connecting British Columbia and Connecting Communities BC funding programs support projects to expand high-speed internet access to rural and remote areas of the province. The plan to connect all households will level the playing field for British Columbians, ensuring better access to services and economic opportunities for every community.

    Quotes:

    Christine Boyle, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation –

    “Access to high-speed internet is a transformative step for B.C.’s Indigenous communities. This connectivity milestone in Nuxalk Nation, creates a foundation for better access to health care, education and economic opportunities, while establishing stronger connections with the digital world.”

    Tamara Davidson, MLA for North Coast-Haida Gwaii –

    “Reliable internet access is critical to ensuring residents of B.C.’s coastal communities have the chance to participate fully in today’s economy. It’s exciting to see communities like Nuxalk Nation, Bella Coola and Hagensborg gain the tools needed to stay connected, while also maintaining their unique traditions and culture.”

    Stefan Woloszyn, chief executive officer, CityWest –

    “These fibre-optic projects have brought urban-class connectivity to the Bella Coola Valley, creating equal opportunities for more rural, remote and Indigenous people in British Columbia. We are proud to deliver fibre-optic services in partnership with the Nuxalk Nation, and with collaboration from Central Coast Communications.”

    James Hindley, executive director, Central Coast Communications Society (CCCS) –

    “For almost three decades, the CCCS has provided internet services to residents of the Bella Coola Valley. The culmination of fibre-to-the-home was the end goal envisioned by many dedicated volunteer boards of directors and contractors over the years, and we are pleased to see the infrastructure come to fruition.”

    Jayme Kennedy, chair, Central Coast Regional District –

    “Access to high-speed internet is a transformative step for our community, unlocking new possibilities in education, health care and economic development. This vital service enhances the quality of life for our residents, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to succeed in the digital age. As we embrace these advancements, it is crucial to ensure high-speed internet remains reliable and continuous, so our community can thrive today and well into the future.”

    Learn More:

    Connectivity in B.C.: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/connectivity-in-bc

    Connecting Communities BC: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/connectivity-in-bc/20530/20601

    StrongerBC: BC’s Economic Plan: https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/economic-plan/ 

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Marshall on Newsmax: President Trump Will Bring Manufacturing Jobs Back to the United States

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. joined Newsmax: The Record with Greta Van Susteren to discuss President Trump’s Executive Actions in the first days in office and his economic plans, including the Trump tax cuts, returning manufacturing to the United States, and decreasing the United States’ reliance on trade with China. 
    Additionally, Senator Marshall discussed President Trump’s Executive Orders to remove the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) and requiring NATO countries to pay 5% of their GDP on defense. 

    You may click HERE or on the image above to watch Senator Marshall’s full interview. 
    Highlights from Senator Marshall’s interview include:
    On President Trump’s tax cuts and plan for economic revival in the United States: 
    “Welcome to the world of Donald Trump. He did talk about decreasing the tax cuts to 15%, and I want Americans to remember what happened when we decreased it from 35% to 21%. I think number one is we saw record growth in federal government tax revenues, but we also saw 401k’s jump as well – so I think that this makes perfect sense to me. President Trump, the great negotiator out there – jobs, jobs, jobs. President Trump is trying to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States.”
    “This is part of President Trump’s America First agenda. If you think about manufacturing, it’s energy cost, and then people – the labor is what determines what we can manufacture, the raw material. So I think he’s kind of thinking about all these pieces of the puzzle…” 
    On manufacturers returning to the Americas from China:
    “A lot of this is dependent upon raw earth materials – so I think you’ve already seen a lot of the manufacturers are bringing that to South America, and then a lot of it’s moving to Vietnam as well. India is doing a lot of it as well. So we need to keep moving those out of the Chinese market. Just like I told my farmers, you cannot depend on China, and I think all these big group purchasing organizations got caught with their pants down during COVID, and have realized that, and are indeed starting to move them back to the Americas.” 
    On President Trump’s executive order removing the United States from the WHO: 
    “We should have gotten out of the WHO years ago. To your point, what you’re describing when the World Health Organization said there was no person-to-person transmission, that COVID was already in three different countries… but yet they were denying it.”
    “I couldn’t agree with you more, the World Health Organization has gotten way outside of what its mission set should be. They should be focusing on clean water, on clean sewage, vaccines as well. But instead, they’re way outside of their mission. And they are bought and paid for by China.”
    On President Trump’s executive order requiring NATO countries to pay 5% of their GDP on defense: 
    “I was over in Belgium recently. NATO has made a huge, huge, incredible office building… and I said to myself, well, how many troops would that have paid for?”
    “[Europe] has over 100,000 of our troops. My son was one of them – just getting back from Poland – in Europe, protecting them. Europe needs to take care of themselves. Italy alone has a GDP the size of Russia. So certainly, Europe should be able to defend themselves against Russia. I don’t understand why we need that much money for NATO either.” 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Dartmouth — New text message scam appears to be from the RCMP

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    The RCMP is warning the public about a new phishing scam that’s taking place via text message.

    Today, the Nova Scotia RCMP received information from the public about unsolicited text messages being received by potential victims. RCMP officers have learned that scammers are sending fictitious “RCMP Delivery Notice” messages; the texts state that the RCMP has been unable to deliver court documents and ask people to “please reschedule the delivery to avoid missing your court date by using the link below.”

    Investigators remind the public that the RCMP does not issue notices by text message.

    “Scammers have created what appears to be a legitimate notification that brings you to a convincing website,” says Cpl. Mitch Thompson, Commercial Crime Section. “Remember that the RCMP will never ask for your personal information via text or email.”

    Criminals create a sense of urgency and have the ability to spoof phone numbers and websites to make them appear very authentic. If you receive a suspicious text message, protect yourself:

    • Don’t respond to unknown phone numbers
    • Don’t provide any personal information, including your name, date of birth, phone number, email, address or banking details
    • Don’t click on links sent to you from an unverified source
    • Access government agency websites through official links; the RCMP’s website is https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/

    Anyone who believes they may be a victim, knows someone who is a victim, or has information about these scams, is encouraged to contact their local RCMP detachment or police of jurisdiction. To remain anonymous, call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-222-tips (8477) or submit a secure web tip at http://www.crimestoppers.ns.ca.

    For more tips and information on current scams, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.

    File #: 2025-106308

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Chancellor appoints David Soanes and Niamh Moloney as members of the Prudential Regulation Committee

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    David Soanes and Niamh Moloney have been appointed as the new external members of Prudential Regulation Committee.

    Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has today confirmed that David Soanes and Niamh Moloney will join the Prudential Regulation Committee (PRC). They will both serve three-year terms on the Committee, which takes the most important decisions of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), one of the UK’s financial regulators.

    They replace Jill May and Julia Black who completed their second terms in July 2024 and November 2024 respectively.

    David Soanes has been a career investment banker specialising in Financial Services, who has also sat on the board of UK Finance and the Leadership Council of The CityUK, and he is a former UK Country Head at UBS.

    Niamh Moloney is Professor of Financial Markets Law in the Law School at the London School of Economics and Political Science and is an Independent Non-Executive Director of the board of the Central Bank of Ireland. She specialises in financial regulation, institutional structures and supervision.

    Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer said:

    I am pleased to announce the appointments of David Soanes and Niamh Maloney to the Prudential Regulation Committee of the Bank of England.

    Both appointments will bring extensive experience of financial services to the role, and will support the regulators renewed focus on growth.

    Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England said:

    I am very pleased to welcome David Soanes and Niamh Moloney to the Prudential Regulation Committee. Between them they bring a great deal of experience and expertise to the role, and the committee’s work will benefit greatly from their insight.

    Updates to this page

    Published 24 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Province Appoints Two Judges to Provincial Court

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Lawyers Mark Scott, KC (King’s counsel), of Halifax and Brian Warcop of Lantz have been appointed judges of the Nova Scotia provincial court.

    “Mr. Scott and Mr. Warcop are both highly respected lawyers who bring significant experience to the provincial bench and to the cases that will come before them,” said Attorney General and Justice Minister Becky Druhan. “They will join our judiciary in service to Nova Scotians, reflecting our highest ideals of integrity, fairness and compassion.”

    Mr. Scott was called to the Nova Scotia bar in December 1996 and has done criminal defence, appeals and per diem work for both the federal and provincial Crown. In 1998, he was appointed as a Crown attorney in the Halifax office of the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service, where he prosecuted a wide range of criminal offences. Most recently, Mr. Scott served as chief Crown attorney of appeals and special prosecutions. He has conducted more than 150 criminal appeals in both the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada and is a past president of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society.

    After being called to the Ontario bar, Mr. Warcop was appointed as an assistant Crown attorney in 2006 by the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General. He was called to the Nova Scotia bar in 2015 and worked as a Crown attorney with the public prosecution service from 2015 to 2016. Mr. Warcop then became a partner with a private practice, where he represented clients in criminal matters and also acted as duty counsel for legal aid matters in Halifax. More recently, he returned to work with the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service as a Crown attorney.

    The appointments will fill two vacancies after two provincial court judges were appointed to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court last fall.

    Quick Facts:

    • judges are selected by the government from a list of candidates recommended by a seven-member independent Advisory Committee on Provincial Judicial Appointments
    • appointments to the bench are based on merit and professional excellence
    • gender, language/bilingualism, racial and cultural diversity, geographical representation and commitment to public service are among the criteria for the appointment of judges

    Additional Resources:

    The Provincial Judicial Appointments Guidelines and the application form to apply to become a provincial court judge are available at: https://novascotia.ca/just/Court_Services/

    Information on Nova Scotia courts: https://www.courts.ns.ca/

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Kehoe Orders Flags to Fly at Half-Staff in Honor of Howard County Firefighter Larry Roland Duncan

    Source: US State of Missouri

    JANUARY 24, 2025

    Jefferson City — Today, Governor Mike Kehoe ordered U.S. and Missouri flags be flown at half-staff at government buildings in Howard County, the Fire Fighters Memorial of Missouri in Kingdom City, and firehouses statewide on Sunday, January 26, 2025, from sunrise to sunset in honor of Howard County Firefighter Larry Roland Duncan.

    “Larry Roland Duncan dedicated 23 years of his life to the fire service and answering the call no matter the emergency, including responding to Ground Zero as a member of Missouri Task Force 1,” Governor Mike Kehoe said. “At the New York City site where the Twin Towers once stood, Firefighter Duncan and his Task Force 1 colleagues spent days exposed to toxic contaminants as they scoured the rubble looking for survivors of the terrorist attack. We honor his relentless commitment to serving others, regardless of the risk to himself.”

    Duncan was a Heavy Rigging Specialist with Task Force 1 from 1998 to 2003. Beginning in 1984, he also served as a member of the Cooper County Fire Protect District, Boone County Fire Protection District, and the Howard County Fire Protection District. He died on January 15, 2025, after a long and courageous battle against 9/11-related cancer.

    The flags will be held at half-staff on the day Duncan is laid to rest. To view the proclamation, click here.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –