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  • MIL-OSI Europe: REPORT on the 2023 and 2024 Commission Reports on Kosovo – A10-0075/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

    on the 2023 and 2024 Commission Reports on Kosovo

    (2025/2019(INI))

    The European Parliament,

    – having regard to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and Kosovo, of the other part[1], which entered into force on 1 April 2016,

    – having regard to Kosovo’s application for membership of the European Union of 15 December 2022,

    – having regard to Kosovo’s application for membership of the Council of Europe of 12 May 2022,

    – having regard to the framework agreement between the European Union and Kosovo on the general principles for the participation of Kosovo in Union programmes[2], in force since 1 August 2017,

    – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1529 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 September 2021 establishing the Instrument for Pre-Accession assistance (IPA III)[3],

    – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2024/1449 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans[4],

    – having regard to the Presidency conclusions of the Thessaloniki European Council meeting of 19 and 20 June 2003,

    – having regard to the declarations of the EU-Western Balkans Summits of 17 May 2018 in Sofia, of 6 May 2020 in Zagreb, of 6 October 2021 in Brdo pri Kranju, of 6 December 2022 in Tirana, of 13 December 2023 in Brussels, and of 18 December 2024 in Brussels,

    – having regard to the Berlin Process launched on 28 August 2014,

    – having regard to the Commission communication of 5 February 2020 entitled ‘Enhancing the accession process – A credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans’ (COM(2020)0057),

    – having regard to the Commission communication of 6 October2020 entitled ‘An Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans’ (COM(2020)0641),

    – having regard to the Commission communication of 8 November 2023 entitled ‘2023 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy’ (COM(2023)0690), accompanied by the Commission staff working document entitled ‘Kosovo 2023 Report’ (SWD(2023)0692),

    – having regard to the Commission communication of 8 November 2023 entitled ‘New growth plan for the Western Balkans’ (COM(2023)0691),

    – having regard to the Commission communication of 20 March 2024 on pre-enlargement reforms and policy reviews (COM(2024)0146),

    – having regard to the Commission communication of 30 October 2024 entitled ‘2024 Communication on EU enlargement policy’ (COM(2024)0690), accompanied by the Commission staff working document entitled ‘Kosovo 2024 Report’ (SWD(2024)0692),

    – having regard to the general summary and the country assessments by the Commission, dated 31 May 2023 and 13 June 2024, on Kosovo’s economic reform programme,

    – having regard to the joint conclusions of the Economic and Financial Dialogue between the EU and the Western Balkans and Türkiye, adopted by the Council on 16 May 2023 and to the joint conclusions of the Economic and Financial Dialogue between the EU and the Western Balkans Partners, Türkiye, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, adopted by the Council on 14 May 2024,

    – having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999, to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion of 22 July 2010 on the accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo, and to UN General Assembly Resolution 64/298 of 9 September 2010, which acknowledged the content of the ICJ opinion and welcomed the EU’s readiness to facilitate dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo,

    – having regard to the first agreement on principles governing the normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo of 19 April 2013, to the agreements of 25 August 2015, and to the ongoing EU-facilitated dialogue for the normalisation of relations,

    – having regard to the Brussels Agreement of 27 February 2023 and the Ohrid Agreement of 18 March 2023 and to the implementation annex thereto,

    – having regard to Council Decision (CFSP) 2023/1095 of 5 June 2023 amending Joint Action 2008/124/CFSP on the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX Kosovo)[5], which extended the mission’s mandate until 14 June 2025,

    – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2023/850 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 April 2023 amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (Kosovo)[6],

    – having regard to the final report of the European Union Election Observation Mission on the 2021 municipal elections in Kosovo,

    – having regard to the preliminary report of the European Union Election Observation Mission on the 2025 parliamentary elections in Kosovo,

    – having regard to the fourth meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Council between the European Union and Kosovo held in Brussels on 7 December 2021,

    – having regard to its previous resolutions on Kosovo,

    – having regard to the joint recommendations adopted at the 12th meeting of the EU-Kosovo Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee, held on 9 December 2024,

    – having regard to the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International,

    – having regard to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders,

    – having regard to the Democracy Report 2024 of March 2024 by the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute,

    – having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

    – having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A10-0075/2025),

    A. whereas enlargement policy is one of the most effective EU foreign policy instruments and one of the most successful policies to incentivise and encourage fundamental reforms, and is a strategic geopolitical investment in long-term peace, stability and security throughout the continent;

    B. whereas democracy, human rights and the rule of law are the fundamental values on which the EU is founded;

    C. whereas the EU enlargement process is a strategic tool for strengthening stability, democracy and economic development in Europe, and each enlargement country is judged on its own merits and whereas it is the implementation of the necessary reforms and compliance with the set of criteria and common European values that determines the timetable and progress of accession; whereas Kosovo’s path towards EU membership also depends on the normalisation of relations with Serbia;

    D. whereas the EU is the largest provider of financial support to Kosovo;

    E. whereas Kosovo has been subjected to foreign interference and disinformation campaigns, particularly from Russia, especially through Serbian nationalist outlets, and China, through soft power, aiming to destabilise its democratic institutions, jeopardise societal cohesion, and incite ethnic violence; whereas the Banjska/Banjskë attack in September 2023 was followed by a massive spread of disinformation that further exacerbated tensions; whereas Kosovo authorities adopted the Law on the Independent Media Commission (IMC) in July 2024; whereas, in May 2024, the Council of Europe published a legal opinion on the draft law on the IMC expressing concerns related to certain aspects of the at-that-time draft law, and providing recommendations on how to address these concerns; whereas the final text of the Law on the IMC did not reflect most of the recommendations made;

    F. whereas the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, also known as EULEX, is the largest civilian mission ever launched under the common security and defence policy of the European Union;

    G. whereas in 2018 and 2023, petitions were signed by over 500 people who historically self-identify as Bulgarian;

    Commitment to EU accession

    1. Commends Kosovo’s commitment to EU accession, which reflects a clear strategic geopolitical choice, and the continued strong support of its citizens for Kosovo’s European path; reiterates that Kosovo has been consistent in its efforts to integrate into the European Union;

    2. Reiterates its firm belief that Kosovo’s future lies in the EU and that all efforts to bring Kosovo out of the ‘grey zone’ are in the interest of the people of both Kosovo and the EU, especially in the context of the current geopolitical dynamics in the region, rapid major shifts in world politics and growing competition with authoritarian regimes;

    3. Supports Kosovo’s application for EU membership, which reflects the overwhelming cross-party consensus on EU integration and a clear geopolitical strategic choice; reiterates its call on the Member States in the Council to mandate the Commission to present its questionnaire and to submit its opinion on the merits of the country’s application; calls on the five non-recognising Member States that have not yet recognised Kosovo’s independence to do so without delay and thus allow Kosovo to progress on its EU path on an equal footing with the other candidate countries;  recalls the advisory opinion of the ICJ dated 22 July 2010, which states that Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence does not violate general international law;

    4. Recalls that membership of the European Union is based on a merit-based process, conditional on the rigorous implementation of reforms aligned with the highest European standards, in particular compliance with the Copenhagen criteria and the rule of law, and ensures the effective application of laws in practice; encourages Kosovo to continue its efforts in this regard, by further strengthening its commitment to the values ​​and standards of the Union; stresses that enlargement also implies thorough preparation of potential new members, while respecting the economic stability of the internal market, social and environmental standards and the proper functioning of the European institutions;

    5. Welcomes the visa liberalisation, adopted in April 2023 and in place since 1 January 2024, as a tangible result of Kosovo’s ever-closer relations with the EU and as evidence of Kosovo’s efforts on the path of European integration; welcomes Kosovo’s decision to unilaterally abolish visa requirements for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina; welcomes the decision of Spain to recognise ordinary passports issued by Kosovo as valid travel documents as of January 2024;

    6. Notes the tangible progress in the areas of justice, freedom and security, the fight against organised crime and a functioning market economy; regrets the limited progress and calls for an acceleration of reforms in the area of rule of law; welcomes Kosovo’s ambition to advance the implementation of reforms, which remains the country’s priority; regrets the lack of a decision-making quorum in the Kosovo National Assembly, caused by the boycott of the Assembly work by political parties ahead of parliamentary elections;

    7. Regrets the politicisation of institutions such as the Central Election Commission and the IMC;

    8. Commends Kosovo’s ongoing alignment with the EU’s foreign and security policy, in particular its firm condemnation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and its implementation of the EU’s restrictive measures against Russia and Belarus, aligning with the Union’s foreign policy, and its support through humanitarian aid and military assistance packages to Ukraine, which confirm that Kosovo is a reliable and valuable partner committed to EU integration and confirms its clear geopolitical orientation, firmly anchored in the European and transatlantic alliance;

    9. Calls for the immediate lifting of the EU measures against Kosovo, which are no longer justified as Kosovo has fulfilled the EU requirements and as the measures also stand in gross contradiction to Kosovo’s demonstrated commitment to European values and alignment with EU policies, limiting the impact of the EU’s partnership with Kosovo and hindering the resumption of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue in good faith;

    10. Reiterates its full support for Kosovo’s application for membership of the Council of Europe and for the country’s strategic orientation plan to join the NATO Partnership for Peace programme and its bids to join other international organisations; calls on the relevant organisations and the Member States to proactively support Kosovo’s respective bids; calls on the Commission and the EU Office in Kosovo to step up their efforts in enhancing visibility and promoting the role, efforts and benefits of the closer partnership between the EU and Kosovo;

    11. Welcomes the fact that Kosovo reduced administrative burden by simplifying procedures through the implementation of the related program for 2022-2027; notes that the strategic framework for public administration is in place, but not efficiently implemented; regrets the fact that delays in public administration reform have left EU funding management weak and that accountability in the public sector is insufficient; calls on Kosovo to improve public administration and the merit-based civil service system by amending and adopting the Law on public officials and the Law on the independent oversight board of civil service;

    12. Regrets that the Kosovo Constitutional Court ruling on the Law on salaries, which unifies the current system of remuneration for public officials, is not yet functional; calls on the Kosovo Government to revise its legislation on public financial management to meet international standards and to incorporate the public investment methodology into the revised legislation;

    Democracy and the rule of law

    13. Welcomes the important and positive progress on addressing many of the EU Election Observation Mission’s (EU EOM) long-standing recommendations and on presenting a consensual law on general elections; notes that this provides an adequate basis for the conduct of democratic elections, in line with international and regional standards; notes that in response to an invitation by the president of Kosovo, the European Union deployed an EU EOM, including an observer delegation of Members of the European Parliament, to observe the parliamentary elections in Kosovo on 9 February 2025; welcomes the conclusions of the EU EOM confirming the conduct of peaceful, free and fair elections on 9 February 2025 with the participation of all communities in Kosovo; regrets the harsh rhetoric of the political parties during the campaign; takes note of the technical problems encountered during the counting process and encourages the Kosovo authorities to increase their efforts to improve the organisation of the next elections; notes the lack of genuine political pluralism within the Kosovo Serb community at the parliamentary elections, despite multiple Kosovo Serb electoral lists; is concerned by reports of continuous pressure on voters from the Serbian community exercised by Belgrade; condemns the repeated interference in the electoral campaign by US Special Envoy Richard Grenell;

    14. Notes with concern that the Law on Local Elections and the Law on General Elections are still not implemented and harmonised with the Law on Gender Equality, which mandates 50 % equal representation of women and men; regrets that women continue to be underrepresented;

    15. Welcomes the adoption of the law on the Special Prosecution Office and the progress in adjudicating corruption cases; commends the active work of the Special Prosecution Office for solving seven war crime cases; calls for further clarification of the division of jurisdiction between the Special Prosecution Office and the Basic Prosecution in handling investigations and prosecutions; calls on Kosovo to continue strengthening the Special Prosecution Office by enhancing its capacity to investigate and prosecute high-profile organised crime cases; calls on the police and Special Prosecution Office to work closely together to develop strategies for conducting investigations more effectively, with a clear division of responsibility;

    16. Takes note of the progress in Kosovo’s ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index, as it has moved upward 10 places since last year, considering it to be a positive development while acknowledging that this is attributable both to decreases in other countries’ scores and, more significantly, to the adoption of qualitative legislation, but that it still remains largely unsatisfactory; emphasises that gaining people’s trust requires not only legislative reforms but also visible results in investigating, prosecuting and convicting cases of corruption at all levels; regrets that Kosovo has lacked an anti-corruption strategy since 2019 and urges for more efforts to finalise it as a matter of priority; reiterates that strong political commitment is necessary to establish a solid track record in fighting high-level corruption; reiterates that strong political commitment is necessary to establish a solid track record in fighting high-level corruption;

    17. Expresses serious concern about systemic vulnerabilities in Kosovo’s judiciary, particularly regarding the independence of the justice system and respect for separation of powers; reiterates its concern about delays to trials and continued criticism by government officials of judicial decisions in individual cases; notes with concern that despite EU advice, the government failed to consult the Venice Commission on judicial reforms, negatively affecting their quality and alignment with European standards; calls on Kosovo to ensure that legislation governing the integrity and accountability of the judiciary is consistent with European standards and Venice Commission recommendations; calls on the Government of Kosovo to allocate adequate budget for the judicial system; welcomes the establishment of the Commercial Court, progress in the recruitment of new judges and prosecutors in a merit-based and transparent process, and an overall increase of transparency;

    18. Welcomes the participation of Kosovo Serbs in the parliamentary elections and encourages their elected representatives to play an active role within the Kosovo legislative framework, in support of Kosovo’s European future; regrets, however, the boycott of parties representing Kosovo Serbs during the local elections in April 2023 and the withdrawal of Kosovo Serbs from Kosovo institutions; expresses concern over Serbia’s interference in the parliamentary elections through Srpska Lista (SL);

    19. Welcomes the implementation of the 2016 judgement of the Constitutional Court on the Visoki Dečani/Deçani Monastery land ownership by registering the monastery as the owner, in March 2024;

    20. Welcomes the steady increase in organised crime sentences and the fact that the legal framework on the fight against organised crime is aligned with the EU acquis; emphasises the need for prosecution services and police to strengthen their joint action against criminal groups and networks; expresses concern about the security challenges in the north of Kosovo, particularly following the Banjska/Banjskë attack in September 2023, which demanded significant police resources; emphasises the need to deepen cooperation in the field of combating drug trafficking; calls for further alignment regarding the fight against terrorism;

    21. Welcomes the adoption of the strategy and action plan on control of small arms light weapons and explosives, as well as the high level of compliance with the rules of the UN Firearms Protocol;

    22. Remains concerned over the slow implementation of the rule of law strategy and action plan;

    23. Reaffirms its commitment to maintaining and strengthening its cooperation with the Kosovo Assembly and its members in support of democratic processes related to Kosovo’s European path by using Parliament’s existing democracy support tools and initiatives; believes that this partnership can be revitalised and further reinforced following the democratic elections held on 9 February 2025; encourages the active involvement and collaboration of all elected members of the newly formed Kosovo Assembly;

    24. Condemns the serious security incidents in the north of Kosovo in late November 2024, the gravest act occurring near the village of Vragë in Zubin Potok, where explosive devices damaged critical infrastructure by targeting the main channel of the Ibër Lepenc system; expresses its support for Kosovo’s institutions in conducting a full investigation of these criminal actions so that the perpetrators will be brought to justice;

    25. Commends the work of EULEX, which has been assisting Kosovo authorities in establishing sustainable and independent rule of law institutions;

    Fundamental freedoms and human rights

    26. Notes that Kosovo has the necessary institutional set-up for the promotion and protection of human rights; welcomes the adoption of the strategy for the protection and promotion of the rights of communities; emphasises, however, that human rights protection remains weak owing to the lack of legislative implementation, political will and limited human and financial resources and calls for strengthened enforcement and accountability mechanisms;

    27. Acknowledges that Kosovo’s constitution is very progressive in terms of protection of minority rights; notes with regret that the petition signed by nearly 500 people who have historically self-identified as Bulgarian, which was registered at the Assembly of Kosovo in January 2023, has still not been considered and recommends that those rights be enshrined in law and ensured in practice; calls on Kosovo to ensure that all minorities recognised under the Law on protection of minority rights and members of their communities, are fully incorporated into the country’s constitution; calls on the Kosovo authorities to step up efforts to protect the rights of all minorities, including national communities, in particular vulnerable national communities, and to provide them equal opportunities and adequate representation in political and cultural life, public media, the administration and the judiciary, as well as prevent their assimilation and promote their integration into Kosovo’s society and strengthen activities to eliminate social and economic challenges of these national minorities;

    28. Welcomes the increase in funding to shelters for victims of domestic violence and trafficking; notes that domestic violence remains the most common form of gender-based violence; expresses concerns that the system continues to fail in ensuring the effective prevention of domestic violence;

    29. Regrets that the adoption of the draft Civil Code of Kosovo remains pending; highlights that the draft Civil Code addresses several important issues related to gender equality as a fundamental EU value, including enabling an equal share of joint marital property among women and men spouses; stresses the importance of ensuring rights for all people in Kosovo in the Civil Code to safeguard respect for constitutional rights and opportunities for the LGBTIQ community; expresses concern that women remain under-represented in senior political positions, specifically related to security and the dialogue, and emphasises the urgent need for their involvement in peacemaking and reconciliation processes, in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security; calls for more efforts to be made to improve the place of women in society;

    30. Notes that the prison system broadly follows UN Standard Minimum Rules and calls for the better protection of the rights of prisoners, particularly female, minority and mentally ill prisoners; remains concerned that discriminatory language against women and LGBTIQ people persists, and calls on the authorities to create and implement a national gender strategy for research fields, such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; commends the participation of women in high-quality business and management training programmes, as well as in ICT related domains, facilitated by the instrument for pre-accession assistance funds; regrets that women from minority groups, particularly the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, face numerous forms of discrimination, particularly in education, employment and access to healthcare; expresses concerns that the central administration does not adequately represent minority communities, and the number of women in senior positions is low;

    31. Regrets that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has not yet been adopted; expresses concerns that there is insufficient alignment between Kosovo’s legislation and the EU acquis on the rights of people with disabilities, who face discrimination and barriers to accessing social services;

    32. Welcomes Kosovo’s consistent improvement in its position in the 2024 Liberal Democracy Index and Electoral Democracy Index, as prepared by the Varieties of Democracy Institute, which measures the rule of law, checks and balances, civil liberties, and free and fair elections;

    33. Takes note of Kosovo’s pluralistic media environment while awaiting the decision of the Constitutional Court on the main media law and underlines the role of the IMC, whose independence in decision-making needs to be strictly ensured and full functioning restored; regrets, however, the decline in Kosovo’s media freedom, as evidenced by its drop from the 56th to the 75th place in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index; reaffirms that media pluralism and transparency are prerequisites for EU accession; calls for greater transparency on media ownership and financing with a view to enhancing media independence and pluralism; emphasises the need for robust measures to protect journalists from harassment and intimidation, and to ensure the independence of media regulatory bodies; notes the concerns raised by civil society about the allegedly politically motivated election of the Chair of the IMC; urges the Kosovo authorities to further revise the Law on the IMC in order to include the recommendations made by the Council of Europe, thus aligning the national law with EU standards and practices; recommends increased support for independent media outlets and fact-checking organisations in Kosovo, recognising their crucial role in countering disinformation and providing accurate information to the public; encourages the EU to provide technical and financial assistance to these entities; encourages the Kosovo authorities to request tailor-made Technical Assistance and Information Exchange expert missions bodies; calls for the adoption of the law on Radio Television of Kosovo and the law on the protection of journalists’ sources;

    34. Expresses concern over the recent cyberattack targeting Kosovo’s digital infrastructure; urges the Kosovo Government to reinforce its capacities to combat foreign interference and disinformation, particularly those originating from Serbian nationalist outlets and Russia, aimed at destabilising the region and undermining the European integration of the Western Balkans, by developing comprehensive strategies that include public awareness campaigns also combating disinformation undermining women’s participation in public life, strengthening cybersecurity and related infrastructure, fostering collaboration with international partners, most notably the European Union, to protect its digital economy, public services and national security, and addressing disinformation campaigns and hybrid threats that aim to destabilise the country and undermine its European perspective; encourages the integration of media literacy programs into Kosovo’s educational curriculum to equip citizens with the skills necessary to identify and counteract disinformation;

    35. Commends the fact that Kosovo provided shelter and asylum to journalists from Ukraine and Afghanistan;

    36. Expresses serious concern about the significant increase in attacks against journalists and strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP cases), including by government officials; calls on the authorities to advance their work on anti-SLAPP legislation in line with the new EU Directive 2024/1069[7]; calls on Kosovo to work actively to secure the ability of journalists to carry out their work and to ensure full freedom for the media to operate independently; underlines the need to stop all forms of violence;

    37. Welcomes Kosovo’s vibrant and constructive civil society, which plays a very crucial and positive role in the reform process; encourages the Kosovo Government to enhance its cooperation with civil society, in particular with women’s rights organisations, on decision-making and to make more use of the Government Council for Cooperation with Civil Society for building collaborative relationships and genuinely implicating civil society in a transparent legislative process from an early stage onwards; stresses the importance of increasing accountability and transparency in relation to public funding for civil society organisations; underlines that civil society is vital in fostering democracy and pluralism and promoting good governance and social progress;

    38. Regrets the lack of a clear plan for engaging Kosovo Serbs in the north and that initiatives to involve the Serb community in Kosovo’s political, social and economic structures remain very limited; reiterates its call to improve the internal dialogue and genuinely and directly engage with the independent civil society organisations of Kosovo Serbs, in particular in the north, with the aim of building trust, facilitating the daily life of Kosovo Serbs and successfully integrating them;

    Reconciliation and good neighbourly relations

    39. Commends Kosovo’s engagement in a number of regional cooperation initiatives and encourages it to enhance its reconciliation efforts and seek solutions to past disputes; commends Kosovo on its constructive approach and active engagement in regional cooperation and trade facilitation that led to the unblocking of the Central European Free Trade Agreement;

    40. Calls on Serbia to open all wartime archives and grant access to the former Yugoslav Secret Service (UDBA) and Yugoslav People’s Army Secret Service (KOS) files, ensuring their return to respective governments upon request; emphasises the need to open these archives region-wide to investigate communist-era crimes and strengthen democracy, accountability and institutions in the Western Balkans;

    41. Reiterates its full support for the EU-facilitated dialogue and welcomes the appointment of Peter Sørensen as the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue;

    42. Reiterates the importance of constructive engagement on the part of the authorities of both Kosovo and Serbia in order to achieve a comprehensive legally binding normalisation agreement, based on mutual recognition and in accordance with international law; calls on both Kosovo and Serbia to implement the Brussels and Ohrid Agreements, including the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities, and the lifting of Serbia’s opposition of Kosovo’s membership in regional and international organisations, and to avoid unilateral actions that could undermine the dialogue process;

    43. Expects Kosovo and Serbia to fully cooperate and take all the necessary measures to apprehend and swiftly bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2023 terrorist attack in Banjska; deplores the fact that Serbia still has not prosecuted the culprits, most notably Milan Radoičić, the Vice-President of Srpska Lista; reiterates that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Zubin Potok must also be held accountable and must face justice without delay;

    44. Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and on the Commission to take a more proactive role in leading the dialogue process; calls for an enhanced role for the European Parliament in facilitating the dialogue through regular joint parliamentary assembly meetings;

    45. Condemns all actions that endanger stability and jeopardise the reconciliation process, including the tensions in the north of Kosovo and provocations by Serbian state-sponsored groups and illegal armed formations, and urges the European Union to take a stronger stance against external interference in Kosovo’s internal affairs; emphasises that both sides must fully implement all agreements reached and avoid unilateral actions that could escalate tensions; calls on the Kosovo police to ensure that they fully abide by all rule of law and human rights requirements, and to guarantee that a multi-ethnic and inclusive police force, fully in line with legal requirements, is deployed in the north of Kosovo; recalls the shared responsibility of all political representatives and all communities in Kosovo for upholding peace, security and the rule of law;

    46. Welcomes the establishment of the Joint Commission on Missing Persons in December 2024 and calls for swift progress in implementing the May 2023 Political Declaration on Missing Persons; calls on both Kosovo and Serbia to refrain from politicising this humanitarian issue and to step up their efforts in implementing the declaration as part of the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and to establish cooperation between Kosovo and Serbia;

    47. Welcomes the recent agreements in the framework of the Berlin Process;

    48. Welcomes Kosovo’s decision to remove restrictions on the entry of Serbian finished products at the Merdare border crossing;

    49. Welcomes the presence of the Kosovo Force and its role in building and maintaining a safe and secure environment and in developing a stable and peaceful Kosovo on the path towards Euro-Atlantic integration; recalls the importance of the mission for the ongoing development of the Kosovo Security Force through the provision of advice, training and capacity building;

    Socio-economic reforms

    50. Welcomes Kosovo’s active engagement in the implementation of the new growth plan for the Western Balkans, which aims to deepen EU-related reforms and reduce the socio-economic gap between EU Member States and the Western Balkan countries; welcomes the adoption of Kosovo’s Reform Agenda and recalls that Kosovo (as well as Serbia) needs to show improved commitment to the EU-facilitated Dialogue in order to access the resources;

    51. Welcomes the progress achieved by Kosovo in developing a functioning market economy and encourages Kosovo to implement the necessary structural reforms to address fiscal challenges, while ensuring adequate labour protection, fair wages, and improved working conditions in line with EU legislation;

    52. Reiterates its calls on the Commission to develop a regional strategy to address the persistent youth unemployment and brain drain by tackling the skills mismatch between the education system and the labour market, improving the quality of teaching, and ensuring adequate funding for active labour market measures and vocational training schemes, along with adequate childcare and pre-school education facilities;

    53. Welcomes the fact that Kosovo’s cybercrime legislation is broadly aligned with the EU acquis; notes Kosovo’s limited progress in the digital transformation of public services; emphasises the need for it to align with EU digital legislation as well as with the needs of its people, specifically with the European Electronic Communications Code, the EU Network and Information Security Directive (NIS2)[8], the EU toolbox for 5G security, and the Digital Services Act[9] and the Digital Markets Act[10]; notes that Kosovo’s economy remains highly dependent on imports and stresses the need for economic diversification to enhance competitiveness and sustainability, particularly in the context of deeper integration into EU markets;

    54. Regrets that the draft law on textbooks, presented in 2022, is still pending final adoption in the Kosovo Assembly; calls on Kosovo to finalise the implementation of the new curricular framework for basic education, complete the revision of current textbooks, provide sustainable training to teachers, and systematically apply quality assurance mechanisms at all education levels;

    55. Urges Kosovo to ensure better access to quality healthcare services; notes that healthcare expenditure remains the second lowest in the region, and calls for a comprehensive healthcare reform to address the needs of all citizens, especially in rural and underserved areas;

    56. Notes with concern that access to social services, particularly for vulnerable groups, worsened with the government’s closure of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, which was done without transparent consultation with civil society and other stakeholders and contributed to significant confusion; calls for better, evidence-based budgeting to improve social services, particularly for survivors of gender-based violence in accordance with the new legal framework;

    57. Calls on Kosovo to provide equal and non-discriminatory state education in minority languages;

    58. Reiterates the need to reach out to young people from the Serb majority municipalities and to integrate them in the socio-economic structures of the country;

    Energy, environment, sustainable development and connectivity

    59. Notes that Kosovo has made some progress on the security of energy supply but remains heavily reliant on outdated, highly polluting power plants, posing serious health and environmental risks; notes that Kosovo needs to ensure the time-efficient implementation of its energy programme for 2022-2025 to meet its ambitious targets and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels; calls for the EU to step up and prioritise its efforts to help Kosovo overcome its air pollution problems; notes that Kosovo’s new energy strategy does not promote the construction of hydropower plants due to their harmful environmental impact, in particular because of the water scarcity in the country;

    60. Highlights the need for comprehensive infrastructure development in Kosovo to facilitate the reduction of emissions from public transport and the expansion of electrified transport; stresses that improving accessibility and ensuring compatibility with the EU transport network must remain a priority;

    61. Welcomes the agreement at the Tirana Summit on reduced roaming costs; calls, in this respect, on the authorities, private actors and all stakeholders to facilitate reaching the agreed targets to achieve a substantial reduction of data roaming charges and further reductions leading to prices close to domestic prices between the Western Balkans and the EU by 2027; welcomes the entrance into force of the first phase of implementation of the roadmap for roaming between the Western Balkans and the EU;

    62. Urges Kosovo to enhance compliance with emission ceilings, improve the integration of environmental considerations into sectoral policies and adopt necessary measures for pollution, soil and water contamination control and waste management, in line with EU and international standards and commitments; urges Kosovo to improve comprehensive environmental impact assessments and to integrate sustainability measures into infrastructure planning; calls on Kosovo to increase the protected areas in the country and to improve instruments and measures for their protection with a view to safeguarding biodiversity, including key habitats of the critically endangered Balkan lynx; encourages Kosovo to intensify and speed up collaborative efforts with its neighbouring countries to designate transboundary protected areas and establish coherent transboundary management plans;

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    63. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President of the European Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the President, Government and National Assembly of Kosovo.

     

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sols 4518-4519: Thumbs up from Mars

    Source: NASA

    Written by Susanne Schwenzer, Planetary Geologist at The Open University
    Earth planning date: Monday, 21st April 2025
    It is Easter Monday, a bank holiday here in the United Kingdom. I am Science Operations Working Group Chair today, a role that is mainly focused on coordinating all the different planning activities on a given day, and ensuring all the numbers are communicated to everyone. And with that I mean making sure that everyone knows how much power we have and other housekeeping details. It’s a fun role, but on the more technical side of the mission, which means I don’t get to look at the rocks in the workspace as closely as my colleagues who are planning the activities of the instruments directly investigating the rocks. It’s a lot of fun to see how planning day after planning day things come together. But why am I doing this on a bank holiday, when I could well be on my sofa? I just was reminded in the hours before planning how much fun it actually is to spend a little more time looking at all the images  – and not the usual hectic rush coming out of an almost complete work day (we start at 8 am PDT, which is 4 pm here in the UK!). So, I enjoyed the views of Mars, and I think Mars gave me a thumbs up for it, or better to say a little pointy ‘rock up’ in the middle of a sandy area, as you can see in the image above!
    I am sure you noticed that our team has a lot to celebrate! Less than a month after the publication about alkanes made headlines in many news outlets, we have another big discovery from our rover, now 4518 sols on Mars: in three drill holes, the rover instruments detected the mineral siderite, a carbonate. That allowed a group of scientists from our team to piece together the carbon cycle of Mars. If you want to know more, the full story is here. I am looking forward to our next big discovery. Who knows that that is? Well, it would not be exploration, if we knew!
    But today’s workspace looks intriguing with all its little laminae (the very fine layers) and its weathering patterns that look like a layered cake that little fingers have picked the icing off! (Maybe I had too many treats of the season this weekend? That’s for you to decide!) But then Mars did what it did so many times lately: we did not pass our slip risk assessment and therefore had to keep the arm stowed. I think there is a direct link between geologists getting exciting about all the many rocks, and a wheel ending up on one of them, making it unsafe to unstow the arm. There was a collective sigh of disappointment – and then we moved on to what we actually can do.
    And that is a lot of imaging. As exciting as getting an APXS measurement and MAHLI images would be, Mastcam images, ChemCam chemistry and RMI images are exciting, too. The plan starts with three Mastcam activities to document the small troughs that form around some of the rocks. Those amount to 15 frames already, then we have a ten-frame mosaic on a target called “West Fork,” which is looking at rocks in the middle ground of the scenery and display interesting layering. Finally, a 84 frame mosaic will image Texoli, one of the large buttes in our neighbourhood, in all its beauty. It shows a series of interesting layers and structures, including some that might be akin to what we expect the boxwork structures to look like. Now, did you keep count? Yes, that’s 109 frames from Mastcam – and add the one for the documentation of the LIBS target, too, and Mastcam takes exactly 110 frames!
    ChemCam is busy with a target called “Lake Poway,” which represents the bedrock around us. Also in the ChemCam activities is a long distance RMI upwards Mt Sharp to the Yardang unit. After the drive – more of that later – ChemCam as an automated observation, we call it AEGIS, where ChemCam uses a clever algorithm to pick its own target.
    The drive will be very special today. As you may have seen, we are imaging our wheels in regular intervals to make sure that we are keeping track of the wear and tear that over 34 km of offroad driving on Mars have caused. For that, we need a very flat area and our rover drivers did locate one due West of the current rover positions. So, that’s where we will drive first, do the full MAHLI wheel imaging and then return to the originally planned path. That’s where we’ll do a MARDI image, post drive imaging to prepare the planning for the next sols, and the above mentioned AEGIS.
    In addition to all the geologic investigations, there is continuous environmental monitoring ongoing. Curiosity will look at opacity and dust devils, and REMS will switch on regularly to measure wind speeds, humidity, temperature, ultraviolet radiation and pressure throughout the plan. Let’s not forget DAN, which monitors water and chlorine in the subsurface as we are driving along. It’s so easy to forget the ones that sit quietly in the back – but in this case, they have important data to contribute!

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA Airborne Sensor’s Wildfire Data Helps Firefighters Take Action

    Source: NASA

    Data from the AVIRIS-3 sensor was recently used to create detailed fire maps in minutes, enabling firefighters in Alabama to limit the spread of wildfires and save buildings.
    A NASA sensor recently brought a new approach to battling wildfire, providing real-time data that helped firefighters in the field contain a blaze in Alabama. Called AVIRIS-3, which is short for Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer 3, the instrument detected a 120-acre fire on March 19 that had not yet been reported to officials.
    As AVIRIS-3 flew aboard a King Air B200 research plane over the fire about 3 miles (5 kilometers) east of Castleberry, Alabama, a scientist on the plane analyzed the data in real time and identified where the blaze was burning most intensely. The information was then sent via satellite internet to fire officials and researchers on the ground, who distributed images showing the fire’s perimeter to firefighters’ phones in the field.
    All told, the process from detection during the flyover to alert on handheld devices took a few minutes. In addition to pinpointing the location and extent of the fire, the data showed firefighters its perimeter, helping them gauge whether it was likely to spread and decide where to add personnel and equipment.

    “This is very agile science,” said Robert Green, the AVIRIS program’s principal investigator and a senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, noting AVIRIS-3 mapped the burn scar left near JPL by the Eaton Fire in January.
    Observing the ground from about 9,000 feet (3,000 meters) in altitude, AVIRIS-3 flew aboard several test flights over Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Texas for a NASA 2025 FireSense Airborne Campaign. Researchers flew in the second half of March to prepare for prescribed burn experiments that took place in the Geneva State Forest in Alabama on March 28 and at Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia from April 14 to 20. During the March span, the AVIRIS-3 team mapped at least 13 wildfires and prescribed burns, as well as dozens of small hot spots (places where heat is especially intense) — all in real time.

    Data from imaging spectrometers like AVIRIS-3 typically takes days or weeks to be processed into highly detailed, multilayer image products used for research. By simplifying the calibration algorithms, researchers were able to process data on a computer aboard the plane in a fraction of the time it otherwise would have taken. Airborne satellite internet connectivity enabled the images to be distributed almost immediately, while the plane was still in flight, rather than after it landed.
    The AVIRIS team generated its first real-time products during a February campaign covering parts of Panama and Costa Rica, and they have continued to improve the process, automating the mapping steps aboard the plane.
    ‘Fan Favorite’
    The AVIRIS-3 sensor belongs to a line of imaging spectrometers built at JPL since 1986. The instruments have been used to study a wide range of phenomena — including fire — by measuring sunlight reflecting from the planet’s surface.
    During the March flights, researchers created three types of maps. One, called the Fire Quicklook, combines brightness measurements at three wavelengths of infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye, to identify the relative intensity of burning. Orange and red areas on the Fire Quicklook map show cooler-burning areas, while yellow indicates the most intense flames. Previously burned areas show up as dark red or brown.
    Another map type, the Fire 2400 nm Quicklook, looks solely at infrared light at a wavelength of 2,400 nanometers. The images are particularly useful for seeing hot spots and the perimeters of fires, which show brightly against a red background.
    A third type of map, called just Quicklook, shows burned areas and smoke.
    The Fire 2400 nm Quicklook was the “fan favorite” among the fire crews, said Ethan Barrett, fire analyst for the Forest Protection Division of the Alabama Forestry Commission. Seeing the outline of a wildfire from above helped Alabama Forestry Commission firefighters determine where to send bulldozers to stop the spread. 
    Additionally, FireSense personnel analyzed the AVIRIS-3 imagery to create digitized perimeters of the fires. This provided firefighters fast, comprehensive intelligence of the situation on the ground.
    That’s what happened with the Castleberry Fire. Having a clear picture of where it was burning most intensely enabled firefighters to focus on where they could make a difference — on the northeastern edge. 
    Then, two days after identifying Castleberry Fire hot spots, the sensor spotted a fire about 4 miles (2.5 kilometers) southwest of Perdido, Alabama. As forestry officials worked to prevent flames from reaching six nearby buildings, they noticed that the fire’s main hot spot was inside the perimeter and contained. With that intelligence, they decided to shift some resources to fires 25 miles (40 kilometers) away near Mount Vernon, Alabama.
    To combat one of the Mount Vernon fires, crews used AVIRIS-3 maps to determine where to establish fire breaks beyond the northwestern end of the fire. They ultimately cut the blaze off within about 100 feet (30 meters) of four buildings. 
    “Fire moves a lot faster than a bulldozer, so we have to try to get around it before it overtakes us. These maps show us the hot spots,” Barrett said. “When I get out of the truck, I can say, ‘OK, here’s the perimeter.’ That puts me light-years ahead.”
    AVIRIS and the Firesense Airborne Campaign are part of NASA’s work to leverage its expertise to combat wildfires using solutions including airborne technologies. The agency also recently demonstrated a prototype from its Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations project that will provide reliable airspace management for drones and other aircraft operating in the air above wildfires.

    News Media Contacts
    Andrew Wang / Jane J. LeeJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.626-379-6874 / 818-354-0307andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov / jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov
    2025-058

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: CISA, DHS S&T, INL, LSU Help Energy Industry Partners Strengthen Incident Response and OT Cybersecurity

    News In Brief – Source: US Computer Emergency Readiness Team

    WASHINGTON – The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) hosted Louisiana State University (LSU) and several energy industry and critical infrastructure partners to train against simulated, high-impact cyberattacks on operational technology (OT) and traditional information technology (IT) at CISA’s Control Environment Laboratory Resource (CELR) in Idaho Falls, Idaho, last week. LSU is the first university in the U.S. invited to participate in the CELR exercise, as part of CISA and INL’s efforts to strengthen cyber talent development and research partnerships.

    Cybersecurity threats exploit the increased complexity and connectivity of critical infrastructure systems. The potential incapacitation or destruction of assets, systems and networks, whether physical or virtual, could have a debilitating effect on national security, economic security and on public health and safety. As the nation’s cyber defense agency, CISA is committed to growing operational and strategic partnerships to increase collaboration across the OT and industrial control systems (ICS) community.

    On April 15-17, energy industry partners and the CISA-INL-LSU team used the CELR chemical processing platform, located at and operated by INL on behalf of CISA. CELR platforms are benchtop models of critical infrastructure with integrated industrial processes to represent how real-world components and facilities might be compromised through cyber-physical attacks. The participants were positioned in a live environment with IT and OT traffic and attacked by a technical team posing as a sophisticated adversary. The training participants’ mission was to detect and respond to kinetic cyberattacks through ICS elements, including supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, human-machine interfaces (HMIs), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), OT and IT systems and other key components widely used in industrial facilities.

    “Collaborating with LSU and industry partners is extremely beneficial in strengthening the nation’s cybersecurity knowledge and ability to respond to threats. This training is another step in our shared vision to expand the opportunity for critical infrastructure entities to strengthen their cybersecurity using CELR,” said Matt Hartman, CISA Deputy Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity. “Malicious cyber actors and nation-state adversaries are a persistent, highly capable threat to critical infrastructure operations, functionality and safety. CELR is a valuable resource for critical infrastructure owners and operators seeking to improve the security of their ICS/OT networks.”

    “INL’s Controls Laboratory hosts five CISA-sponsored ICS testbeds, offering immersive environments for partners to experience realistic cyberattack scenarios against critical infrastructure,” said Tim Huddleston, INL’s Cybersecurity Program Manager. “We were proud to host industry partners and academia in this exercise, helping them improve their skills in cyber hunting and incident response, which reduces the risk from malicious cyber actors.”

    INL leverages scientific expertise and unique controls environments to support the departments of Energy, Defense and Homeland Security in national security challenges, including critical infrastructure protection. Last week’s training is part of an ongoing collaborative effort by CISA, DHS S&T, INL and LSU to equip energy industry cyber defenders to protect ICS environments and develop deeply technical cyber talent for critical infrastructure. Under CISA and S&T oversight, INL is currently developing the first university-based CELR platform. DHS S&T and CISA plan to deliver an Oil and Natural Gas CELR platform to LSU by fall of this year.

    Through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, LSU will operate and maintain the Oil and Natural Gas platform and host similar trainings for energy sector partners, state cyber defenders, and LSU faculty, staff and students. This agreement will provide government and industry security professionals in the Louisiana gulf region an extremely valuable, local opportunity to hone their OT/ICS cybersecurity skills.

    “This partnership is a wonderful example of DHS S&T’s role in enabling effective, efficient, and secure operations by applying scientific, engineering, analytic, and innovative approaches to deliver timely solutions. The CELR platforms help ensure critical infrastructure is better positioned to detect, mitigate, or prevent cyber-attacks in the real world. By positioning a platform in close proximity to critical infrastructure owners and operators, as well as making it accessible to the next generation of oil refinery workforce through the university, DHS S&T and CISA are ensuring our nation’s oil supply remains secure and available to consumers,” said Jonathan McEntee,Acting Executive Director for S&T Office of Mission and Capability Support.

    “As a leading energy and chemical manufacturing state, Louisiana’s cybersecurity posture around its critical infrastructure has national implications,” said Greg Trahan, director of economic development at LSU and special advisor to LSU President William F. Tate IV on cyber initiatives. “The invitation by CISA and INL to participate in this exercise underscores what we know: LSU has emerged as one of the most important and consequential cybersecurity schools in the country. The opportunity to be joined by our close industry partners means we can bring these skills and agency relationships home to support and protect Louisiana—that is the LSU Scholarship First Agenda and flagship mission in action.”

    Another outcome from this collaborative effort, LSU and Battelle Energy Alliance, the company that manages INL, recently signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize their partnership in areas of mutual interest, including cybersecurity and advanced nuclear technology. Over the past year, INL has hosted six LSU cybersecurity interns and successfully hired two LSU graduates. This collaboration exemplifies INL’s commitment to expanding partnerships with other industry and academic entities, fostering an environment to develop cyber resilience skills.

    For more information on ICS security, visit the CISA Industrial Control Systems webpage.

    Control Environment Laboratory Exercise (CELR) Exersice

    Government, industry and academia partners gather to view Control Environment Laboratory Resource (CELR) exercise

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA Collaborates to Enable Spectrum-Dependent Science, Exploration, and Innovation   

    Source: NASA

    In our modern wireless world, almost all radio frequency (RF) spectrum bands are shared among multiple users. In some domains, similar users technically coordinate to avoid interference. The spectrum management team, part of NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program, represents the collaborative efforts across U.S. agencies and the international community to protect and enable NASA’s current and future spectrum-dependent science, exploration, and innovation.     

    NASA works to promote the collaborative use of the RF spectrum around Earth, and beyond. For example, NASA coordinates closely with other U.S. government agencies, international civil space agencies, and the private sector to ensure missions that overlap in time, location, and frequency do not cause or receive interference that could jeopardize their success. The spectrum management team protects NASA’s various uses of the spectrum by collaborating with U.S. and international spectrum users on technical matters that inform regulatory discussions.  
    As a founding member of the Space Frequency Coordination Group, NASA works with members of governmental space- and science-focused agencies from more than 35 countries. The Space Frequency Coordination Group annual meetings provide a forum for multilateral discussion and consideration of international spectrum regulatory issues related to Earth, lunar, and deep space research and exploration. The Space Frequency Coordination Group also provides a forum for the exchange of technical information to facilitate coordination for specific missions and enable efficient use of limited spectrum resources in space. 

    Creating and maintaining the global spectrum regulations that govern spectrum sharing requires collaboration and negotiation among all its diverse users. The International Telecommunication Union manages the global spectrum regulatory framework to optimize the increasing, diverse uses of the RF spectrum and reduce the likelihood of RF systems experiencing interference. U.S. regulators at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Federal Communications Commission are responsible for developing and administering domestic spectrum regulations.  Organizations across the world cooperatively plan and regulate spectrum use.  The spectrum management team participates on behalf of NASA at both national and international levels to ensure that the U.S. domestic and international spectrum regulatory framework supports and enables NASA’s current and future missions.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Management and Regulation Ensure Effective Spectrum Sharing 

    Source: NASA

    Spectrum is a shared resource. Since the discovery of radio waves and the invention of the telegraph, humanity has exponentially increased its use of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum.  Consider how many wireless devices are around you right now.  You’re probably reading this on a smartphone or laptop connected to the internet through Wi-Fi or 5G. You might be listening to music on Bluetooth headphones. If you are in a car or bus, the driver may be using signals from GPS satellites. To meet this increasing need, RF engineers and regulators continue to develop ways to enable users to share the same frequencies at the same time in the same place — think of modern cell phone technology. Avoiding or lessening interference between users requires regulators and users alike to maintain and enforce the ‘rules of the road’ that describe who can use which frequencies where, when, and how. NASA, like all other users, must comply with these regulations and collaborate with other users to ensure our use of the RF spectrum can continue and evolve. 

    NASA’s spectrum professionals work with users early in the project planning phase to understand the type, location, and duration of their data, and in turn determine what kind of antennas, transmitters, and receivers will be required. With that information, a spectrum manager helps to define the spectrum requirements, such as bandwidths, modulation, and other technical characteristics of the radio signals to be used.  Understanding a project’s objectives helps define the appropriate service allocation and  potential frequency ranges.   
    Once these spectrum requirements are determined, NASA’s spectrum professionals work with other relevant spectrum users within and beyond NASA to coordinate the use of the spectrum.   In the unfortunate event of harmful RF interference, working to identify, resolve, and report the interference is another critical function of NASA’s spectrum professionals. For example as Jeff Hayes — NASA’s current SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program liaison to the Science Mission Directorate and the former program executive for operating missions in the Heliophysics and Astrophysics Divisions — recounts, “The NICER (Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer) observatory did actually experience bouts of RF interference over certain parts of the world. As NICER uses GPS to understand where it is pointing to in the sky, interference can make the location information of the source imprecise, and that impacts the quality of the data collected. That data could potentially be attributed to the wrong star.” 
    When NASA identifies interference to a mission like NICER or to a device at an agency center or facility, NASA center and facility spectrum managers work to identify, resolve, and report the interference.  
    Identifying and reporting sources of interference helps to raise awareness of the impacts and causes of interference. When the sources of interference are international, which is especially common for space systems like NICER, SCaN’s spectrum management team works with U.S. regulators to report the incident to international regulators. These interference reports can be used to advocate for regulatory protections that help ensure the integrity of valuable science data and the safety of human spaceflight activities.  

    NASA’s spectrum analysts and engineers perform analyses and simulations to support spectrum planning and management activities. For example, passive remote sensing instruments like the radiometer on the Soil Moisture Active Passive mission detect natural energy (radiation) emitted or reflected by an object or scene being observed. This energy is much fainter than human-generated radio signals and require highly sensitive radiometers that are susceptible to interference from more powerful signals. The spectrum management team works to ensure regulatory protections are in place and followed to ensure the integrity of NASA’s scientific missions. 
    Sometimes NASA’s future missions envision new ways and places to use radio waves. For example, when NASA’s Artemis campaign began taking steps to return humans to the Moon, SCaN’s spectrum professionals began working with other stakeholders to develop a RF architecture that enables the use of radio waves for science data, communications, positioning, navigation, and timing while also limiting the risk of interference with systems on or orbiting Earth. NASA’s spectrum professionals further the agency’s spectrum management goals and objectives by analyzing potential changes in international or domestic regulations and proposing technical solutions that promote collaborative spectrum use with both foreign and domestic partners.   
    NASA’s technical expertise is critical to ensuring domestic and international regulators are well informed as they develop new or revised regulations that effectively enable the exciting innovation and exploration central to NASA’s mission.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA’s Use of the Radio Frequency Spectrum

    Source: NASA

    As associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate Ken Bowersox puts it, “nothing happens without communications.”  
    And effective communications require the use of radio waves.  
    None of NASA’s exciting science and engineering endeavors would be possible without the use of radio waves to send data, communications, and commands between researchers or flight controllers and their flight platforms or instruments.  
    Reflecting on his time as a pilot, commander, and mission specialist during the Space Shuttle Program, Bowersox says, “If you’re not there physically, you can’t be a part of the team. But if you’re getting the data, whether it’s video, telemetry data with states of switches, or individual parameters on temperatures or pressures, then you can act on it and provide information to the spacecraft team so they can do the right thing in their operation.”  
    These vital data and communications functions, as well as the gathering of valuable scientific data through remote sensing applications, all use radio frequencies (RF) within the electromagnetic spectrum. NASA centers and facilities also use the RF spectrum to support their everyday operations, including the walkie-talkies used by security guards, air traffic control systems around airfields, and even office Wi-Fi routers and wireless keyboards.  

    Ken Bowersox
    NASA Astronaut & Associate Administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate

    All of NASA’s uses of the RF spectrum are shared, with different radio services supporting other kinds of uses. Service allocation is a fundamental concept in spectrum regulation and defines how the spectrum is shared between different types of applications. A service allocation defines ranges, or bands, of radio frequencies that can be used by a particular type of radio service. For example, a television broadcasting satellite operates in frequency bands allocated to the broadcasting satellite service, terrestrial cellular services operate in bands allocated for the mobile service, and the communications antennas on the International Space Station (ISS) operate in bands allocated to space operations service.   
    However, an allocation is not a license to operate — it does not authorize a specific system or operator to use particular frequencies. Such authority is granted through domestic and international regulatory processes.  
    Most frequency bands of the RF spectrum are shared, and each frequency band typically has two or more radio services allocated to it. Careful spectrum regulation, planning, and management aim to identify mutually compatible services to share frequency bands while limiting its negative impacts. 

    Many of NASA’s most notable uses of spectrum rely on the following service allocations: 

    Earth exploration-satellite service   

    Space research service     

    Space operations service 

    Inter-satellite service 

    Note that allocations in the Earth exploration-satellite service and the space research service are designated either for communications links in the Earth-to-space, space-to-Earth, or space-to-space directions or designated for active or passive sensing of Earth or celestial objects (respectively) to differentiate the types of uses within the service and afford the requisite protections.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Nine Finalists Advance in NASA’s Power to Explore Challenge

    Source: NASA

    NASA has named nine finalists out of the 45 semifinalist student essays in the Power to Explore Challenge, a national writing competition for K-12 students featuring the enabling power of radioisotopes. Contestants were challenged to explore how NASA has powered some of its most famous science missions, and to dream up how their personal “superpowers” would energize their success on their own radioisotope-powered science mission.

    I am always so impressed by quality of the essays and the creativity of the ideas that the students submit to NASA’s Power to Explore Challenge.

    Carl Sandifer II
    Program Manager, NASA Radioisotope Power Systems Program

    The competition asked students to learn about NASA’s radioisotope power systems (RPS), likened to a “nuclear battery” that the agency uses to explore some of the most extreme destinations in our solar system and beyond. Long before the early days of Apollo, our Moon has inspired explorers of all ages to push beyond known limits to realize impossible dreams. These systems have enabled NASA to discover “moonquakes” on Earth’s Moon and study some of the most extreme moons of the solar system, which have active volcanoes, methane lakes, and ice glaciers. As of March 25, NASA has discovered over 891 moons, each with secrets ready to be unlocked.
    Students were challenged to pick any moon in our solar system’s exploration could be enabled by this space power systems. In 275 words or less, they dreamed up a unique exploration mission of this moon and described their own power to achieve their mission goals.
    The Power to Explore Challenge offered students the opportunity to learn more about these reliable power systems, celebrate their own strengths, and interact with NASA’s diverse workforce. This year’s contest received 2,051 submitted entries from all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity overseas.
    “I am always so impressed by quality of the essays and the creativity of the ideas that the students submit to NASA’s Power to Explore Challenge.” said Carl Sandifer, program manager of the Radioisotope Power Systems Program at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. “I’m looking forward to welcoming the winners to NASA’s Glenn this summer.”
    Entries were split into three categories: grades K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. Every student who submitted an entry received a digital certificate and an invitation to the Power Up virtual event held on March 21 that announced the semifinalists. Students learned about what powers the NASA workforce to dream big and work together to explore.
    Three national finalists in each grade category (nine finalists total) have been selected. In addition to receiving a NASA RPS prize pack, these participants will be invited to an exclusive virtual meeting with a NASA engineer or scientist to talk about their missions and have their space exploration questions answered. Winners will be announced on May 7.
    Grades K-4

    Mini M, Ann Arbor, Michigan

    Zachary Tolchin, Guilford, Connecticut

    Terry Xu, Arcadia, California

    Grades 5-8

    Lilah Coyan, Spokane, Washington

    Maggie Hou, Snohomish, Washington

    Sarabhesh Saravanakumar, Bothell, Washington

    Grades 9-12

    Faiz Karim, Jericho, New York

    Kairat Otorov, Trumbull, Connecticut
    Saanvi Shah, Bothell, Washington

    About the Challenge
    The challenge is funded by the Radioisotope Power Systems Program Office in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and administered by Future Engineers under a Small Business Innovation Research phase III contract. This task is managed by the NASA Tournament Lab, a part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.

    Kristin JansenNASA’s Glenn Research Center

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: CoE Group Shares Fuel Cell Aviation Research, Networks at DOE Energy Summit

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    College of Engineering (CoE) graduate student Megan Cunningham ’24 (CLAS, ENG) recently helped represent UConn at an energy summit, immersing herself in hundreds of innovative technologies in fields such as nuclear energy, biology, electronics, thermodynamics, and more.

    “The summit was more like the engineering nerd’s version of Disney World,” she says. “It was incredibly exciting to see how future new energy technologies are being invented by the brightest engineers in the U.S.”

    Cunningham is among five CoE researchers and several UConn alumni who attended the 2025 U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E Innovation Summit in March. The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) holds the annual event to bring together top energy scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, engineers, and industry leaders who are interested in catalyzing the future of energy innovation.

    The summit exposed participants to more than 400 innovative projects, technologies, and prototypes. The UConn team showcased their own capabilities in developing high power, lightweight, multi-fueled solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), which are especially appealing for mobility, including the aviation industry. When used in “stacks,” these SOFCs can generate electricity directly from natural gas, propane, or jet fuels through an electrochemical process, rather than combustion.

    On April 14, Professor Xiao-Dong Zhou spoke with UConn President and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Radenka Maric about his group’s fuel cell research.

    UConn’s high-efficiency chemical-to-electricity conversion technology has the potential to eliminate the range limitations of current battery-powered aviation and unlock a new era of long-range, high-performance electric propulsion.

    When directly fueled by natural gas, these fuel cells outperform industry benchmarks in power density, efficiency, thermal cycling durability, mechanical strength, and safety, surpassing both current hydrogen-fueled low-temperature fuel cells and state-of-the-art SOFCs.

    Xiao-Dong Zhou, the Nicholas E. Madonna Chair in Sustainability, Connecticut Clean Energy Fund Professor of Sustainable Energy, and director of UConn’s Center for Clean Energy Engineering (C2E2) is principal investigator of the project. He secured funding for the work through a total $5M cooperative agreement from ARPA-E under its Range Extenders for Electric Aviation with Low Carbon and High Efficiency (REEACH) program in 2023.

    “Since the project began, we have filed over 10 invention disclosures and patent applications. These innovations lay the foundation for advancing UConn’s metal-supported SOFC technology toward lightweight, high-performance systems suited for electric propulsion,” says Zhou, who’s also professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, materials science and engineering, and mechanical engineering.

    Zhou and Cunningham attended the ARPA-E Summit with group members David L. Daggett, a C2E2 professor of practice and retired Boeing technical fellow; Nengneng Xu, assistant research professor for C2E2; and Yudong Wang, assistant research professor of mechanical engineering.

    “Beyond learning about the latest academic advances, what stood out most was how closely these innovations are aligned with real-world commercial applications,” explains Xu. “It was incredibly inspiring to see how research can contribute directly to solving urgent energy challenges—and how it can help researchers realize their own value through meaningful, real-world impacts.”

    Although the UConn team is specifically studying how SOFC stacks could power an airplane, their process is envisioned to first be used in applications outside of aviation for ground-based power generation.

    UConn team members spoke with scientists from the University of California, Berkeley about a collaboration with their high-performing, lightweight DC-DC converters. They engaged with aerospace and defense companies RTX and Boeing personnel regarding the use of biomimicry-inspired, additively-manufactured, high-temperature compact heat exchangers. A marine-based sustainability company showed interest in using UConn’s SOFC-powered small-scale airplanes for data collection over the ocean. And Rolls-Royce engineers, who develop airplane and motor vehicle engines, were interested in collaborating on similar small-scale hybrid fuel cell-gas turbine engine systems.

    “The summit allowed for discussions with groups from across the United States that would have otherwise been very difficult to facilitate,” Zhou says.

    Xu personally engaged with industry leaders from Nissan and Johnson Matthey. “These conversations sparked exciting discussions about future collaborations and significantly boosted our confidence in the commercial potential of our technology,” he says.

    “Conversations sparked exciting discussions about future collaborations and significantly boosted our confidence in the commercial potential of our technology.” — Nengneng Xu, assistant research professor for C2E2

    Additionally, Cunningham spoke with UConn alumni, past collaborators, and current partners to gain insight about the direction of energy innovation from the perspective of those currently working in the industry.

    “It was an incredible opportunity both to learn about the overall energy industry as well as make connections with researchers and professionals from across the country,” Cunningham says. “Networking with industries is absolutely critical, as it allows us to make connections with groups we otherwise would not be exposed to.”

    Summit participants also attended panel discussions hosted by Department of Energy and ARPA-E leaders, industry experts, and university researchers. Discussions centered on the increasing need for electricity and using innovative nuclear fission and fusion, electrochemistry, AI datacenters, and natural resources to generate electricity.

    “Technology that wasn’t feasible in the recent past is now within our reach,” Cunningham says. “These areas will be key to allow the U.S. to take the lead in producing the next generation of energy systems in the near future.”

    Read More: https://today.uconn.edu/2023/12/research-team-develops-hybrid-propulsion-commercial-electric-aircraft/

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senior Design Team Develops Personalized Breast Self-Exam Virtual Reality Training Simulator

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Breast cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the U.S., but a UConn Senior Design team’s breakthrough in virtual reality technology could improve access to early detection and, ultimately, save lives.

    “Timely detection is critical in successful treatment of the disease, but common diagnostic tests such as mammograms and MRIs can be expensive and difficult for many populations to access,” explains UConn student Carrie Nguyen ’25. “Medical professionals recommend that women perform breast self-exams to check for common breast cancer symptoms such as lumps or skin changes, but some women may lack the knowledge regarding proper technique and symptoms to look for.”

    Shame, embarrassment, and discomfort related to the topic also contribute to these challenges, she says.

    Motivated to address these barriers, Nguyen and her teammates—Erin Blaszak ’25, Grace Bonacci ’25, Gabriella Bosh ’25, and Abhishree Kaushik ’25, are developing a cutting-edge VR simulator designed to empower women with the skills and confidence needed to conduct effective self-exams. The team will present their prototype at UConn’s 2025 Senior Design Demonstration Day, held May 2 at Gampel Pavilion.

    Krystyna Gielo-Perczak, associate professor in residence of biomedical engineering, serves as the team’s faculty advisor.

    “The future of biomedical engineering depends on engineers’ ability to contend with challenging biomedical problems and health care needs,” Gielo-Perczak explains. “The challenges ahead are more than any single branch of science can address. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach is needed to help prepare undergraduate students. Since industrial partners typically do not have time to perform their own first prototype, senior design projects offer a potential solution.”

    At left, Senior Design advisor and Associate Professor in Residence of Biomedical Engineering Krystyna Gielo-Perczak gathers with her Senior Design team, Grace Bonacci ’25, Gabriella Bosh ’25, Erin Blaszak ’25, Carrie Nguyen ’25, and Abhishree Kaushik ’25. (Chris LaRosa/UConn photo)

    A Hands-On Training Experience

    The team’s self-exam simulator integrates three core components: a virtual reality headset featuring a customized interface, a mechanical glove with haptic feedback, and a microprocessor that detects and calibrates force in a 3D space.

    When donning the headset and glove, users enter a virtual environment where they can visualize their hand movements in real-time. A digital breast model appears in the VR interface, allowing users to simulate the process of palpating breast tissue.

    “Depending on where you are palpating on the virtual breast, the glove will exert a different level of force onto your fingertips, simulating the feeling of a breast exam with different levels of tissue density,” Nguyen says. “Using this simulator should give you a better idea of what motions to use when performing a breast exam, how much force to apply, and what to look out for.”

    To enhance accessibility, the team also developed a step-by-step guide within the simulation, complete with visuals and examples of common breast cancer symptoms. “Contributing to a Senior Design project centered on women’s health has been a meaningful and rewarding experience,” Blaszak says. “I am excited to be making a positive impact in a space that empowers and supports women.”

    I attached the smallest EMG sensing head of Trigno Mini EMG sensor to hand. In the back, there is visible a Trigno base station with wireless charging sensors . Yes, it is instrumented/placed on a user before the glove.

    Concept to Creation

    The team will debut their working prototype at Senior Design Demo Day on May 2. (Photo by Chris LaRosa/UConn photo)

    In 2025, a projected 316,950 women in the U.S. could be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, and of those, more than 42,000 could die from the disease. Early detection significantly raises the

    Krystyna Gielo-Perczak attaches a mini electromyography sensing device to measure the electrical activity of hand muscles. The instrument is placed under the mechanical glove. (Photo by Chris LaRosa, UConn photo)

    While all five students are biomedical engineering majors, each brings unique skills to the table.

    “We all have different experiences with electrical, mechanical, and materials engineering, which complement each other well,” says Nguyen, who’s focusing on imaging and bioinstrumentation.

    Bonacci, who’s concentrating on biomechanics and mechanobiology, admittedly has “taken a lot of mechanical engineering classes,” however she only had introductory-level knowledge of coding with C+ and image processing. Creating the virtual reality interface, in particular, helped broaden her background in new areas of engineering.

    “This [Senior Design] project is exciting because it allows a chance to contribute to improving access to breast health education, an area that is often underrepresented in the broader medical community.” — Grace Bonacci ’25

    “The Senior Design experience will help me become a more well-rounded engineer,” she says. “This project is exciting because it allows a chance to contribute to improving access to breast health education, an area that is often underrepresented in the broader medical community.”

    Similarly, Blaszak, who also is concentrating in biomechanics and mechanobiology, discovered that designing the circuit board and troubleshooting the programmable board integration provided an extra challenge.

    “Through this project, I’ve learned to manage my time effectively in a team setting and adapt quickly when things do not go according to the plan,” Blaszak says. “This experience has not only given me valuable hands-on skills but has also prepared me for my future career in engineering with greater confidence, organization, and teamwork skills.”

    Looking Ahead

    As the team nears the end of the academic year, they’re working with the UConn Engineering Electronics Shop to finalize their working prototype in anticipation of Senior Design Demo Day.

    “Future iterations of this design will improve upon the initial working prototype to increase the accuracy and sensitivity of the device,” Nguyen explains.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum+ 2025 concludes on high note (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum+ 2025 concludes on high note  
         At the panel yesterday (April 22), the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, and the Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mr Gao Zheng, shared their vision, policies and strategic directions with the participants on topics including the ways to promote development of arts, culture and creative industries, nurture talent for the industries, drive innovative collaborations as well as advocate cultural integrations.

         During the forum, Miss Law; the Permanent Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ms Vivian Sum; and the Under Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Raistlin Lau, held bilateral meetings to exchange views on cultural co-operations with representatives from participating countries respectively. The participating countries also proactively connect with one another through the forum. Over 20 bilateral meetings have been conducted in this forum. 
    The delegations went to the Hong Kong Palace Museum at the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) this afternoon to gain first-hand knowledge of the latest development of the WKCD and visit the special exhibition “The Forbidden City and The Palace of Versailles: China-France Cultural Encounters in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries”. The exhibition presents nearly 150 spectacular treasures from the Palace Museum and the Palace of Versailles, illuminating the fascinating encounters and exchanges between China and France in science, artisanship, arts, culture, and philosophy during the 17th and 18th centuries. It is the best demonstration of a blend of Eastern and Western cultures.
    Issued at HKT 22:20

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LegCo Subcommittee on Promoting the Development of Hong Kong into an International Education Hub visits Hong Kong Metropolitan University (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

         The Legislative Council (LegCo) Subcommittee on Promoting the Development of Hong Kong into an International Education Hub visited the Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) today (April 23) to learn about the important role played by vocational and professional education and training (VPET) in developing Hong Kong into an international post-secondary education hub. Being Hong Kong’s first university of applied sciences (UAS), the HKMU offers a range of VPET programmes that blend theory and practice.

         Accompanied by the Under Secretary for Education, Dr Jeff Sze, Members first visited the Chemical and Microbiological Testing and Certification Laboratory and the Physical and Mechanical Testing and Certification Laboratory at the Jockey Club Campus of the HKMU. They received a briefing by the HKMU representatives on how the laboratories’ equipment and technology help equip students with the necessary skills for future employment.

         Members then visited the Digital Virtual Dissection System and the Clinical Simulation Education Units at the Jockey Club Institute of Healthcare of the HKMU. They gained a better understanding of how the HKMU employs cutting-edge technologies to provide advanced and interactive nursing skills training for students.

         During the visit, Members exchanged views with the HKMU Vice President (Strategic Initiatives), Professor Alan Au, and non-local student representatives on issues such as the development of UAS and VPET, learning experience of non-local students at the HKMU and promotion of the “Study in Hong Kong” brand to Mainland and overseas institutions.

         Members who participated in the visit were the Chairman of the Subcommittee Mr Tang Fei, Subcommittee members Professor Priscilla Leung and Mr Lam Chun-sing; as well as non-Subcommittee member Mr Edmund Wong.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Secretary for Health meets Director of Development and Reform Commission of Shenzhen Municipality (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, met with the Director of the Development and Reform Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, Dr Guo Ziping, today (April 23) to have an in-depth exchange on areas such as the development of Chinese and Western medicine and medical devices in the two places.  

         Professor Lo said at the meeting, “The Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC Central Committee) on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization adopted by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee pointed out the need of further reforming the medical and healthcare systems, and improving the mechanisms for supporting the development of innovative drugs and medical equipment. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government strenuously works in line with the national objective of further reforming the medical and healthcare systems, and will promote Hong Kong’s development into an international health and medical innovation hub by complementing technological innovation with institutional innovation. We will fully utilise the institutional advantages of ‘one country, two systems’ and our professional strengths in the healthcare sector, thereby enabling the innovative medical technologies to go global and attract foreign investment, and develop new quality productive forces in biomedicine.

         “To achieve this goal, the HKSAR Government will expedite the reform of the approval mechanism for drugs and medical devices and enhance the translation of innovative biomedical research results into clinical applications, such as jointly establishing the Greater Bay Area (GBA) Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform in concerted efforts by the GBA International Clinical Trial Institute in the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone and the GBA International Clinical Trials Center in the Shenzhen Park; establishing the Real-World Study and Application Centre; preparing for the establishment of the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation to progress towards the ‘primary evaluation’ approach; and taking forward at full steam the preparatory work for legislating for the statutory regulation of medical devices.

         “At the same time, the HKSAR Government is also committed to developing Hong Kong into a national bridgehead for the internationalisation of Chinese medicine, including fostering international research collaboration on herb-drug interactions, promoting the development of standards, testing and scientific research of Chinese medicines through the the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute, as well as encouraging more large-scale international and regional conferences, exhibitions and mega events on Chinese medicine to be held in Hong Kong. The HKSAR Government will also encourage the Chinese medicine sector to make good use of policies benefitting Hong Kong, such as the arrangement of streamlining approval procedures for Hong Kong-registered traditional proprietary Chinese medicines for external use or oral use to be registered and sold on the Mainland to expedite the development of the Chinese medicine industry and open up new markets.”

         Professor Lo emphasised that the HKSAR Government will continue to push forward co-operation with Guangdong Province and the Shenzhen Municipality in areas such as cross-boundary healthcare services, training of healthcare staff, medical technology exchanges and Chinese medicine development under the principles of complementarity and mutual benefits in a bid to build a “Healthy Bay Area” and further contribute to the overall development of the nation through joint endeavours.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE continues visit to Zhejiang (with photos/videos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    CE continues visit to Zhejiang (with photos/videos) 
    In the morning, Mr Lee and the delegation visited the headquarters of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine to learn about its operations and the latest developments in applying healthcare technology. This included the hospital’s achievements in developing a new therapy for malignant haematological diseases, the application of robotic technology in drug preparation and reform of medical logistics models, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for precise clinical diagnosis.
     
    Later, Mr Lee visited the Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City Urban Exhibition Center to gain insights into Hangzhou’s advancements in areas including smart city development and AI, as well as achievements in developing the Chengxi Sci-tech Innovation Corridor. He also met with representatives of Hangzhou’s “Six Little Dragons” I&T enterprises, namely Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co Ltd, Hangzhou Yushu Technology Co Ltd (Unitree Robotics), Hangzhou Youke Interactive Technology Co Ltd (Game Science), Manycore Tech Inc, Hangzhou Yunshenchu Technology Co Ltd, and BrainCo. Touring the special exhibition arranged for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government delegation, Mr Lee engaged with the representatives to understand the developments and features of the six iconic and influential I&T companies in areas such as large language models, robotics, AI, game development, and Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technologies. They also discussed issues including the development of a new technology ecosystem and the relationship and collaboration between enterprises and governments.
     
    At noon, Mr Lee attended a luncheon hosted by the Secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, Mr Wang Hao. Mr Lee expressed his gratitude to the Zhejiang and Hangzhou authorities for their meticulous arrangements for the visit. He noted that Zhejiang, as a vital province in the Yangtze River Delta, boasts a strong foundation in technological development, private economy, and digital economy, while Hong Kong is a core city of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and an international financial, shipping, and trade centre. The two places play significant roles in driving the country’s high-quality development and have a broad room of collaboration. He expressed confidence that with the successful establishment and active promotion of the Hong Kong/Zhejiang Co-operation Conference Mechanism, there will be broader, deeper, and higher-level co-operation between the two places, achieving mutual benefits.
     
    Mr Lee also took the opportunity to visit two of the “Six Little Dragons”, BrainCo and Unitree Robotics. Mr Lee gained a deeper understanding of BrainCo’s achievements in developing non-invasive BCI technology and its applications in fields such as medical rehabilitation and education, as well as Unitree Robotics’ achievements and advancements in developing civilian robots for use in agriculture, industry, power inspection, survey and exploration, and public rescue, etc.
     
    Mr Lee then toured the “Black Myth: Wukong Art Exhibition”. Based on a game developed by Game Science, one of the “Six Little Dragons”, the exhibition showcased the behind-the-scenes details of the game development through recreations of scenes, characters and items from the game.
     
    Noting the rapid development of I&T enterprises represented by the “Six Little Dragons”, Mr Lee said that Hangzhou has been promoting the I&T industry over the years, creating a vibrant industrial ecosystem and a favourable investment environment. He said that Hong Kong is dedicated to developing into an international I&T centre, and that he will strive to promote collaboration and exchanges between I&T enterprises in Hong Kong and Hangzhou, with a view to leveraging their comparative advantages. He also noted that Hong Kong, as an international city fully open to the world, will reinforce its connectivity with both the Mainland and the world to serve Mainland enterprises in expanding into global markets. He also welcomed I&T enterprises in Hangzhou to set up in Hong Kong to pursue development together.
     
    In the evening, Mr Lee attended a dinner hosted by the Governor of Zhejiang Province, Mr Liu Jie, to exchange views on deepening co-operation and exchanges between Hong Kong and Zhejiang. He also gained insights into the development experiences and directions of local cultural performances.
     
    Mr Lee will continue his visit tomorrow (April 24). He will attend the High-Level Meeting cum the First Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Zhejiang Co-operation Conference before departing for Ningbo in the afternoon.
     
    Issued at HKT 19:56

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh convenes a joint meeting of Department of Biotechnology, AIIMS New Delhi, BIRAC, ICMR and Industry partners to review the indigenously developed HPV test kits for Cervical Cancer screening in India Calls Scientific Review of Indigenously Developed HPV Test Kits for Cervical Cancer Screening,

    Source: Government of India

    Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh convenes a joint meeting of Department of Biotechnology, AIIMS New Delhi, BIRAC, ICMR and Industry partners to review the indigenously developed HPV test kits for Cervical Cancer screening in India Calls Scientific Review of Indigenously Developed HPV Test Kits for Cervical Cancer Screening,

    Describes it as a Milestone in Preventive Healthcare:

    With 1 in every 5 women globally suffering from cervical cancer is from India. With 25% of global cervical cancer deaths occurring in India— often due to late diagnosis— Dr. Jitendra Singh stresses the critical need for preventive screening strategies

    Lauds involvement of the private sector is integral to these success stories, highlighting a “whole-of-science and whole-of-government approach.”

    Ultimate objective is to enable affordable, accessible, and ideally mass screening for cervical cancer highlights Dr. Jitendra Singh

    Dr. Jitendra Singh calls it national responsibility to safeguard our youth and offer them timely prevention of metabolic disorders

    Posted On: 23 APR 2025 5:13PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, MoS Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh today convened a joint meeting of Department of Biotechnology, AIIMS New Delhi, BIRAC, ICMR and Industry partners here to review the indigenously developed HPV test kits for Cervical Cancer screening in India and described it as another milestone in preventive healthcare achieved by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under the Ministry of Science & Technology.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh emphasized that the ultimate goal is to position India as a global leader in preventive healthcare. He said it is now the right time to acknowledge a series of significant milestones accomplished by the team at DBT and BIRAC, including the development of the first-ever DNA vaccine, which brought India international recognition and restored esteem to Indian science in the field of healthcare.

    “The DNA vaccine has projected India as a country capable of leading in preventive healthcare—a stark contrast to the outdated perception that India neither prioritized preventive, nor even curative healthcare,” said Dr. Jitendra Singh.

    He also referred to Nafithromycin, India’s first indigenous antibiotic, which has received encouraging feedback. Dr. Jitendra Singh reiterated that the involvement of the private sector is integral to these success stories, highlighting a “whole-of-science and whole-of-government approach.”

    Another breakthrough cited was the successful gene therapy trial in hemophilia, which earned a spot in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Notably, both the British Medical Journal and NEJM, among the world’s oldest medical journals, have acknowledged India’s pioneering healthcare research.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh outlined four pillars of focus namely 1. Preventive Healthcare – As the future of healthcare lies in prevention, this will be the government’s primary focus moving forward.2. Youth-Centric Preventive Measures – Recognizing the prevalence of cervical cancer among adolescents and young women, emphasis will be on early-age interventions.3. Women’s Health –Strengthening government initiatives across ministries, including Health and Women & Child Development. 4. Private Sector Involvement – Building an ecosystem where government and private players collaborate domestically and globally.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh coined the term “PPP plus PPP”, referring to Public-Private Partnerships both within and beyond national borders, a model successfully adopted by several European nations, particularly in life sciences and healthcare.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh drew attention to India ranking fourth globally in cervical cancer-related morbidity, underscoring the urgent need for action. He cautioned, however, that HPV is not the sole cause of cervical cancer, but studies have shown a 90% correlation, supporting the case for targeted prevention.

    The Minister said that the ultimate objective is to enable affordable, accessible, and ideally mass screening for cervical cancer. He cited his own example from 1996 of providing free insulin treatment for Type 1 diabetes through charitable collaboration with Novo Nordisk, illustrating how private companies can contribute meaningfully.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh also remarked that discussions around vaccines have surged post-COVID, but emphasized the need for holistic prevention, including social, cultural, and hygienic habits—the traditional pillars of public health education.

    The GCI-BIRAC-DBT program titled “Validating Indigenous Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Tests for Cervical Cancer Screening in India” successfully validated rapid, point-of-care, RT-PCR-based HPV diagnostic test kits. These kits were tested at premier R&D laboratories across the country.

    According to WHO data, 1 in every 5 women globally suffering from cervical cancer is from India. With 25% of global cervical cancer deaths occurring in India—often due to late diagnosis—Dr. Jitendra Singh stressed the critical need for preventive screening strategies.

    The Minister pointed out that current screening methods, including VIA/VILI, Pap smears, and HPV DNA testing, are costly, resource-intensive, and moderately sensitive. The new indigenous kits are expected to significantly reduce the cost and improve accessibility for widespread use.

    Tying the initiative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, Dr. Jitendra Singh said India is now addressing multiple challenges simultaneously. With over 70% of India’s population below the age of 40, Dr. Singh raised concerns about rising non-communicable diseases, including early-onset Type 2 diabetes, once considered a disease of the middle-aged.

    “It becomes a national responsibility to safeguard our youth and offer them timely prevention if we truly aim to harness their energy for building the India of 2047,” Dr. Jitendra Singh asserted.

    The Minister concluded by urging continued cross-sector collaboration to ensure that the benefits of science reach the common public, making healthcare not just accessible, but affordable and proactive.

    The review meeting was attended by several key dignitaries and domain experts. Dr. V.K. Paul, Member, NITI Aayog; Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT); Jitendra Kumar, Managing Director, BIRAC; and Padma Shri Dr. Neerja Bhatla, a renowned expert in gynecologic oncology, were present and contributed valuable insights to the review proceedings.

    Prior to the commencement of the scientific review, a two-minute silence was observed to pay solemn tribute to the lives lost in yesterday’s terror attack in Pahalgam. The gathering expressed deep condolences and solidarity with the families of the victims.

    ***

    NKR/PSM

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCSD sets up reading locations for Hong Kong Reading for All Day (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         This year’s April 23 marks the second Hong Kong Reading for All Day. The Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) today (April 23) collaborated with stakeholders to set up reading locations for “Read Together for Half an Hour” activities to promote reading among the public.
     
         The Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Ms Manda Chan, attended the “Read Together for Half an Hour” activity at the Hong Kong Central Library to share her reading experience with the participating students, remarking that reading while broadening one’s horizons is also life-enriching. She encouraged students to keep reading.
     
         The HKPL also invited renowned online content creator SaiDorSi to explore the relationship between reading and creativity with the participating students.
     
         “Read Together for Half an Hour” is one of the highlight activities of the Hong Kong Reading Week 2025 (HKRW). The LCSD provided a variety of books at different reading locations today, including the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Hong Kong Science Museum, the Oil Street Art Space, the Hong Kong Railway Museum, Choi Hung Road Sports Centre, Tsuen Wan Sports Centre, Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park and individual public libraries, for public participation in reading together.
     
         In addition, “Read Together for Half an Hour” activities were held today at 2025 Hong Kong Reading+ at New Town Plaza in Sha Tin, as well as at individual community libraries and community centres. The HKPL, in collaboration with the Hans Andersen Club, also carried out the “Read together for Half an Hour” event and carnival at Lok Fu Place, featuring storytelling sessions, game booths and handicraft workshops. A reading area with selected books was set up to promote reading.
     
         The HKRW is being held from April 19 to 27. Under the theme “Zoom/LIBRARY”, the HKRW offers about 450 online and on-site events to encourage members of the public to develop the reading habit. Activities include fun days, sharing sessions, videos and audio clips in which celebrities share their reading experiences and more. QR codes for selected e-books are available at different government venues for easy public access.
    　　
         All HKRW activities are free of charge, with seat reservations required for individual events. For details, please visit the website: www.hkpl.gov.hk/hkrw.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Building Champions: On the field, Off the field

    Source: Government of India

    Building Champions: On the field, Off the field

    Welfare and Support Schemes for Sportspersons in India

    Posted On: 23 APR 2025 4:24PM by PIB Delhi

    Summary:

    • Government schemes support athletes at every stage of their careers.
    • The past decade has been a golden era for Indian sports, highlighted by historic achievements and global recognition. .
    • ₹3,794 crore allocated to the Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry for FY 2025-26 — a 17% rise from the revised FY 2024-25 allocation.
    • Key allocations include ₹1,000 crore for Khelo India, ₹400 crore for NSFs, and ₹830 crore for SAI.
    • Initiatives like Khelo India and Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA) focus on mass participation from atheletes from rural areas, building infrastructure, and nurturing talent in rural and grassroots settings.
    • Schemes like Sports And Games for the Disabled promotes inclusive and participative sports among persons with disabilities at the grassroots level.
    • Schemes like the Pandit Deendayal Fund, Pension Scheme, and RESET Programme offer financial aid, medical support, and career transition help to current and retired athletes.
    • National Sports Awards honor outstanding achievements and sportsmanship in various categories.

    Introduction

    It is rightly said that champions are not born overnight, but they are built with years of dedication, discipline, and, most importantly, support. Support from families, support from coaches and support from the government play a crucial role in bringing the talent from every corner of the country to the forefront. The Government of India is working tirelessly to bring the best of the world to Indian athletes through its schemes and initiatives. These schemes aim to identify and encourage talent at the grassroots, support sportspersons during and after their active careers, and create a sustainable ecosystem for sporting excellence.

    A Decade of Achievements

    The last decade has been a golden chapter in Indian sports history, marked by record-breaking achievements and rising global recognition. From historic Olympic and Paralympic medal hauls to standout performances in world championships across athletics, badminton, wrestling, and boxing, Indian athletes have consistently pushed boundaries.

    Government Spending on Sports

    In a bold move to fuel India’s sporting future, the government has made a record allocation of Rs. 3794 crores to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for FY 2025–26. This is a big jump from last year’s revised budget of ₹3,232.85 crore.

    A major portion, that is ₹2,191.01 crore, has been allocated to Central Sector Schemes, with the flagship Khelo India Programme receiving ₹1,000 crore (up from ₹800 crore allocated in FY 2024-25). Funding for National Sports Federations has also been raised to ₹400 crore, while the Sports Authority of India (SAI) gets ₹830 crore to enhance athlete training and facilities.

    Schemes and Programmes to Support Sports in India

    India’s support for its athletes is now more structured and focused than ever. The approach is holistic—covering every stage of an athlete’s journey. From spotting raw talent in villages to backing Olympic medallists, the government has stepped up in a big way. A wide range of schemes now exist to meet the real needs of sportspersons—training, funding, facilities, and life after sport. Each step is designed to help athletes rise and stay at the top.

    Khelo India

    ​The Khelo India – National Programme for Development of Sports is a flagship initiative by the Government of India aimed at revitalizing the sports culture at the grassroots level and transforming India into a global sporting powerhouse. Launched in 2016-17 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Khelo India programme aims to revive the sports culture in India at the grassroot level by building a strong framework for all sports played in our country and establish India as a great sporting nation.

    Retired Sportsperson Empowerment Training (RESET) Programme

    The Retired Sportsperson Empowerment Training (RESET) Programme, launched in 2024, empowers retired athletes to reinvent themselves. This initiative provides tailor-made education, internships, and skill-building opportunities to retired sportspersons. Its goal is to address both the employment needs of retired athletes and the human resource gaps in India’s sports sector—offering careers in coaching, administration, mentoring, and beyond.

    Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons (PDUNWFS)

    The Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons offers one-time ex-gratia aid of up to ₹5 lakh, a monthly pension of ₹5,000, medical assistance up to ₹10 lakh, and support up to ₹10 lakh for injuries sustained during training or competitions. Families of deceased sportspersons and support personnel like coaches, referees, and physiotherapists may also receive financial aid, with a maximum of ₹5 lakh and ₹2 lakh respectively.

    Scheme of Human Resources Development in Sports

    The Human Resources Development in Sports (HRDS) Scheme focuses on upgrading skills, encouraging research, and promoting knowledge in key areas like sports science, medicine, and coaching. The scheme offers financial aid for fellowships, training, and global exposure in sports, along with support for research, expert visits, and developing quality sports literature and e-resources.

    Sports And Games for the Disabled

    To ensure that no talent is left behind, the Government of India launched the Scheme of Sports & Games for the Disabled. This Central Sector Scheme aims to promote inclusive and participative sports among persons with disabilities at the grassroots level. While high-performing para-athletes receive separate support through the Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations, this initiative focuses on broad-basing sports participation across schools, communities, and districts.

    Panchayat Yuva Krida aur Khel Abhiyan

    Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA), a flagship Indian government initiative designed to bolster grassroots sports. This programme provides financial assistance for developing sports infrastructure and procuring equipment at village and block levels. PYKKA also supports annual sports competitions across block, district, and state levels, alongside operational funding for activities and volunteer honorariums.

    Assistance To National Sports Federations

    Under the scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations (ANSF) financial assistance is given to National Sports Federations (NSFs) for the training of athletes, which includes all requisite support for training, participation in international events, conduct of National Championships, conduct of international tournaments in India, engagement of Foreign Coaches/support staff, scientific & medical support etc.  

    National Sports Development Fund

    The National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) is a key initiative by the Government of India to support excellence in sports. Created in response to India’s sub-par performance in international events, NSDF aims to mobilize resources from both government and private sectors to bridge critical gaps in infrastructure, training, and athlete support. It offers financial assistance to outstanding athletes and institutions for training under expert coaches, access to international competitions, and development of sports infrastructure.

    Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons

    Athletes devote the prime years of their lives to the pursuit of excellence, often sacrificing education, career stability, and family life. The Sports Fund for Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons offers a life-long safety net to those who brought glory to the nation.

    Pension Structure:

    • ₹20,000/month for Olympic/Para-Olympic/Deaflympic medallists
    • ₹16,000/month for Gold medallists in World Cup/Championships
    • ₹14,000/month for Silver/Bronze in World events & Gold in Asian/Commonwealth
    • ₹12,000/month for Silver/Bronze in Asian/Commonwealth Games

    Awards and Recognition

    The National Sports Awards stand as the highest sporting honours in India, celebrating the exceptional achievements of athletes who have put India on the global sporting map. Presented annually, these prestigious awards recognize extraordinary performances at national and international events, while also fostering a spirit of sportsmanship that transcends borders. There is total six categories of awards that are given to sportspersons in India.

    Conclusion

    The Government of India has demonstrated a strong commitment to elevating sports across the nation by creating a comprehensive framework of support for athletes at every stage of their journey. The last decade has been a golden era for Indian sports, with record-breaking performances on international platforms like the Olympics, Paralympics, and Asian Games. Through initiatives like Khelo India, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare Fund, and various welfare schemes, the government is not only identifying and nurturing talent from the grassroots but also ensuring that athletes are supported throughout their careers and beyond. With substantial investments in infrastructure, training, and athlete well-being, India is on a promising path to becoming a global sports leader, offering its athletes the resources and opportunities to excel on the world stage.

    References:

    Click here to see PDF.

    *****

    Santosh Kumar/ Ritu Kataria/ Priya Nagar

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Textbooks – E-001465/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001465/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Moritz Körner (Renew)

    The Commission commissioned a study by the Georg Eckert Institute on Palestinian textbooks in 2021, which showed that:

    – A religious studies textbook asked students to discuss the ‘repeated attempts by the Jews to kill the prophet Muhammad’ and inquired about ‘other enemies of Islam’;

    – A maths textbook illustrated Newton’s second law of motion using a picture of Palestinians hitting Israeli soldiers with slingshots;

    – In science and maths books, terrorists were praised, and those killed were referred to as martyrs;

    – A female terrorist who killed several Jews was cited as an example of female empowerment;

    – Most maps replaced Israel with ‘Palestine’.

    Can the Commission say, which of the above five issues no longer persists? If the Commission does not know, why does it not know?

    Submitted: 9.4.2025

    Last updated: 23 April 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Horizon Europe funds allocated to Israeli activities – E-000180/2025(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    Any research and innovation activities in projects carried out under Horizon Europe[1] must have an exclusive focus on civil applications. During the execution of the Horizon Europe projects, all beneficiaries must ensure that the activities under the action comply with that rule.

    In addition, Horizon Europe beneficiaries must also comply with ethical principles and applicable EU and international law, and all Horizon Europe proposals go through an ethics screening during the evaluation process.

    The projects, in which Israel Aerospace Industries participates, are of a purely civil nature as per Article 7 (1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/695[2].

    These include among other things projects to develop hybrid electric regional aircrafts, to revolutionise liquid hydrogen aircraft refuelling at airport scale, and to advance material science applications to reduce the generation of waste and enhance the safety of workers[3].

    Furthermore, also within the scope of the implementation of Horizon Europe, the Commission applies specific measures with regard to the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 in line with the Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05[4].

    All projects funded by Horizon Europe are being closely monitored by the Commission to verify compliance with the applicable legal framework[5]. Any non-compliance by a beneficiary may trigger contractual measures as provided for in the Horizon Europe model grant agreement[6].

    • [1] https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe_en
    • [2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/695/oj/eng
    • [3] For information on the projects please consult the CORDIS website https://cordis.europa.eu/search?q=frameworkProgramme%3D%27HORIZON%27%20AND%20(%27israel%20aerospace%20industries%27)&p=1&num=10&srt=Relevance:decreasing or the HE Dashboard https://dashboard.tech.ec.europa.eu/qs_digit_dashboard_mt/public/sense/app/dc5f6f40-c9de-4c40-8648-015d6ff21342/sheet/3bcd6df0-d32a-4593-b4fa-0f9529c8ffb0/state/analysis/select/Organisation%20PIC/999969315
    • [4] OJ C 205, 19/07/2013.
    • [5] Including with the ethical principles and the relevant EU, national and international law . See Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, OJ L170, 12/05/2021.
    • [6] E.g. the recovery of EU funding or even termination of the participation.
    Last updated: 23 April 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Baldwin, Colleagues Condemn Trump Admin’s Trans Military Ban, Demand Answers

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin
    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) joined her colleagues in condemning the Trump Administration’s unconstitutional ban for transgender Americans to serve in the military, which violates servicemembers’ civil rights and weakens our national security. The lawmakers demanded answers from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on whether the Administration is complying with the nationwide injunctions that halted the ban, and that the Administration disclose whether any trans servicemembers have been wrongfully dismissed as a result of Trump’s executive order despite the courts’ injunctions.
    “This policy insults the service of brave Americans who believe that all people, regardless of differences, are equal and have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” wrote the lawmakers in a letter to Secretary Hegseth. “As the Joint Force faces a recruiting crisis amid a staggering attrition rate for new troops (nearly a quarter of Army recruits have failed to complete their initial contracts since 2022), our Nation cannot afford to expel several thousand troops serving honorably on a baseless, hateful whim.”
    The lawmakers derided Trump’s trans military service ban for not only being discriminatory and based on false pretenses, but also for hurting our military readiness and exacerbating the ongoing military recruiting crisis in service of continuing hateful attacks against transgender Americans.
    “The United States military became the greatest fighting force in the world by pioneering the integration of diverse groups,” the lawmakers continued. “We have triumphed over our enemies because military effectiveness and lethality are strengthened by a broad range of skills, experiences and backgrounds. Naysayers who have derided the U.S. military as lacking the discipline, intelligence and ability to achieve unit cohesion among Americans of different classes, races, ethnicities, religions and yes, genders, have been proven wrong again and again.”
    The letter is led by Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and also co-signed by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ron Wyden (D-WA).
    The full letter is available here and below. 
    Dear Secretary Hegseth:
    We write to express our expectation that the Department of Defense (Department) adhere to recent U.S. District Court injunctions halting terminations of transgender servicemembers and provide all servicemembers with equal protection under the law by protecting the constitutional and legal rights of our Nation’s transgender troops. Our extreme concern over the demonstrably false and propaganda-laden claims in President Donald Trump’s January 27, 2025 Executive Order “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” (EO) is rooted in our commitment to military recruiting and readiness.
    Fewer than one percent of the American people—approximately 0.4 percent—choose to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.  Given the unwillingness or inability of 99.6 percent of the U.S. population to serve in our military, the last thing our Nation should be doing is rejecting patriotic Americans who are ready and willing to serve our country in uniform and bravely accept the risk of making the ultimate sacrifice.
    The United States military became the greatest fighting force in the world by pioneering the integration of diverse groups.  In fields where performance is the top priority, effective leaders recruit from the widest pool of applicants, understanding that arbitrarily restricting eligibility on a discriminatory basis betrays the very concept of meritocracy. We have triumphed over our enemies because military effectiveness and lethality are strengthened by a broad range of skills, experiences and backgrounds.  Naysayers who have derided the U.S. military as lacking the discipline, intelligence and ability to achieve unit cohesion among Americans of different classes, races, ethnicities, religions and yes, genders, have been proven wrong again and again.
    This should not be a controversial issue: most Americans support transgender individuals serving in the military, and a 2020 study found that transgender servicemembers reported above-average physical health and few risk behaviors.  As the Joint Force faces a recruiting crisis amid a staggering attrition rate for new troops (nearly a quarter of Army recruits have failed to complete their initial contracts since 2022), our Nation cannot afford to expel several thousand troops serving honorably on a baseless, hateful whim.
    The Trump administration’s repeated attacks on the transgender community reveal an ideological obsession rooted in a poor understanding of science. Transgender identities are valid, and respecting someone’s gender identity while minding your own business harms no one.  All servicemembers—cisgender and transgender—benefit from investing in unit cohesion, contrary to the false claims in the EO.  This policy insults the service of brave Americans who believe that all people, regardless of differences, are equal and have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Contrary to the low opinion you and the President seem to have of our servicemembers’ professionalism and commitment to mission accomplishment, we believe that our troops can serve together cohesively in pursuit of military effectiveness and excellence, regardless of their differences in identity. Fox News television personalities—not military units—are the ones bothered by transgender people faithfully serving their country.
    This EO establishes a dangerous precedent, allowing the President to arbitrarily decide that an entire group of people is harmful to an undefined ideal of “unit cohesion” and purge them from the Joint Force—without producing any meaningful evidence. You have already personally questioned women’s fitness to serve and erased public records of accomplishments by American military heroes from minority backgrounds.  Who will be targeted next?
    Nearly 20 percent of the transgender community are current servicemembers or Veterans, a significantly higher rate than the approximately seven percent of all U.S. adults fitting these categories.  In return for this patriotism, the administration denies transgender servicemembers not only the ability to serve, but also the resulting benefits they have earned.  The EO and ensuing Department policy proposals specifically target transgender individuals who have accessed gender-affirming care, even though such care continues to be accepted as evidence-based, medically necessary and highly effective by all major medical and behavioral health professional organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association.
    On March 18, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes issued a nationwide preliminary injunction in Talbott v. Trump (1:25-cv-00240, (D.D.C.)), blocking implementation of the EO. Judge Reyes stated that the ban undermines national security, is likely unconstitutional and is “soaked with animus and dripping with pretext.”  10 days later, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Hale Settle, a former JAG officer appointed by President George W. Bush, issued a second nationwide injunction against the transgender military ban in Shilling v. Trump (2:25-cv-00241 (W.D. Wash.)).  These injunctions were timely, as the Department was scheduled to begin implementing the ban on March 28, 2025, despite several military experts and former leaders characterizing this rapid timeframe as “rushed,” “alarming” and “brutal.”  We could not agree more.
    As the Secretary of Defense, you are ultimately responsible for ensuring the United States maintains a strong and capable fighting force that will keep Americans safe. This harmful EO negatively impacts national security and undermines your oath of office. Given the recent legal developments concerning the order, we request that you respond to the following questions in writing by April 25, 2025:
    Do you commit to following the nationwide injunctions from Talbott v. Trump and Shilling v Trump regarding implementation of President Trump’s transgender servicemember ban? Please explain the steps taken to comply with these injunctions.
    How many taxpayer dollars will be spent to implement this policy?
    As of the date of this letter, how much has been spent on the government’s defense in the aforementioned lawsuits and any other legal challenges related to this EO?
    Approximately how many taxpayer dollars have been spent on training, continuing education, fitness testing, boarding and other related expenses on the transgender troops you are seeking to expel from the Joint Force?
    What is the estimated cost for administrative time spent scouring records to identify transgender servicemembers, pursuing the administrative separation process, providing transition services and implementing associated lifetime benefit payouts to forcibly remove honorably serving, fit transgender troops from service?
    Were any servicemembers prematurely dismissed due to the EO and planned policy implementations? What assistance was provided to help these individuals transition back to civilian life?
    Please provide a detailed reintegration plan for any servicemembers prematurely separated or who began the separation process, outlining how the Department is working to undo the harm already done.
    Do you commit to consulting with professional organizations, such as the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association, to ensure that our Nation’s transgender servicemembers receive the medically necessary, evidence-based healthcare they earned in service to our country?
    How will you ensure that transgender servicemembers can continue to serve without facing stigma or backlash resulting from the Trump administration’s targeted attacks against them?
    The ban on transgender service members will have long-term consequences on military morale and recruitment. Addressing these issues promptly is crucial to prevent negative impacts on the Armed Forces. As the Secretary, you have the opportunity to help reverse the Trump administration’s anti-science, ideologically driven agenda. Swift corrective action will help preserve the military’s integrity and ensure it continues to attract and retain the best talent. Denying any servicemember who has met the qualifications to serve our Nation the right to serve based on ideological grounds is inherently un-American and jeopardizes our national security. This administration’s animus towards transgender heroes prioritizes a manufactured culture war over military excellence and readiness and is a purge of brave servicemembers who protect our freedoms.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Sex Offender Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Child Exploitation Offense, Threats

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that GREGORY BUTTS, 54, formerly of Sprague, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 240 months of imprisonment, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for a child exploitation offense and related threats.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, in April 2016, Butts was convicted in Connecticut state court of illegal sexual contact with a child.

    In November 2020, family and friends of two missing juveniles in Colorado posted information about the missing juveniles on social media pages and included a phone number asking the public to call with information.  Butts, with his own phone number blocked, called the number and spoke to a female friend of the missing juveniles, who recorded the conversation.  Butts stated that he was with the missing juveniles and had had sexual contact with them.  He threatened to harm the missing juveniles if the conversation were recorded or if law enforcement were contacted, and threatened the female friend who answered the phone.  He then said that he would return the missing juveniles if the female friend would have sexual intercourse with him.  Shortly after the juveniles had been reported missing, they returned home.  They were not harmed and had not been kidnapped.

    Investigators determined that the call emanated from a lightly-populated area in Sprague, Connecticut, and that Butts was a registered sex offender living in the area who was on probation following a state conviction for illegal sexual contact with a minor.  After a Connecticut probation officer identified Butts’ voice on the recording, probation officers searched Butts’ residence and another residence where he also had been staying and seized a computer, storage devices, multiple cell phones, and other items.

    Forensic analysis of the seized items revealed more than 10,000 images and videos of child pornography, and downloaded conversations Butts had with minors on Snapchat and other social media applications.  In the chats, Butts engaged in sexually explicit conversations, made numerous threats, and demanded, and sometimes received, sexually explicit photos.

    Butts has been detained since March 4, 2022.  On January 17, 2025, he pleaded guilty to possession of a child pornography.

    This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New Haven, Connecticut and Loveland, Colorado, with the assistance of the Connecticut Office of Adult Probation, Connecticut State Police, and the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nancy V. Gifford and Daniel E. Cummings.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman thanked the State’s Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of New London for its close cooperation in investigating and prosecuting this matter.

    This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

    To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Paying fishers to release sharks accidentally caught in their nets can incentivise conservation action – but there’s a catch

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Hollie Booth, Research Associate, Conservation Science, University of Oxford

    An Indonesian fisher safely releases a critically endangered wedgefish. Francesca Page. Francesca Page, CC BY-NC-ND

    Sharks and rays are among the world’s most threatened species, mainly due to overfishing. They are sometimes targeted for their fins and meat, but more often caught as bycatch in nets aiming to catch other fish. Declines in these ocean predators can disrupt food webs, harm tourism income and worsen climate change by undermining the resilience of ocean ecosystems.

    However, halting overfishing of sharks and rays is difficult because the social dynamics around it are complex. Many threatened species are caught in small-scale, mixed-species fisheries in tropical coastal areas, where households depend on the fish they catch – including endangered sharks and rays – for food and income.

    For the past five years, I have been investigating how to support both marine life and the people who rely on catching fish. I’m part of a global team of interdisciplinary researchers focusing on shark and ray conservation in small-scale fisheries in Indonesia.

    Our new study, just published in Science Advances, suggests that paying fishers to release endangered species can incentivise conservation behaviours and promote fisher welfare. However, such payments can also have unintended consequences, which may undermine conservation goals, so it’s really important to design incentives carefully and rigorously evaluate initiatives as they progress.

    Though sharks and rays are not necessarily targeted by small-scale fishers, threatened species such as wedgefish and hammerhead sharks are frequently captured. In our 2020 study, fishers often told us that wedgefish and hammerheads are “just bycatch”. However, further investigation revealed that fishers remain reluctant to reduce catches of these species because they would lose food and income.

    “It brings more money even though it’s not the target” one fisher told us. “It is rezeki” (a gift from God). “If I return it to the ocean, it is mubazir” (wasteful and God will be displeased).

    Knowing this, we explored the different positive and negative incentives that might motivate fishers to change their behaviour. We found that conditional cash payments, which compensate fishers for safely releasing wedgefish and hammerheads back into the sea, could be a cost-effective way to conserve these species without damaging fisher livelihoods.

    Inspired by our results, I worked with students and collaborators to establish a small local charitable organisation to put our findings into practice – Kebersamaan Untuk Lautan (an Indonesian phrase meaning “togetherness for the ocean”). We agreed to compensates fishers with cash payments – typically US$2-7 (£1.50-5) per fish – if they submit videos of wedgefish and hammerhead being safely released.

    Testing the incentive

    However, incentives can change fishing behaviour in unforeseen ways. For example, fishers may increase their catches to receive more payments at the expense of conservation goals. Payments may also end up going to people who would reduce catches anyway, or could release budget constraints allowing fishers to purchase more nets.

    To see if and how the conservation payments worked in practice, we carried out a controlled experiment, randomly splitting 87 vessels from Aceh and West Nusa Tenggara into two groups. One group was offered compensation for live releases while the other was not. We collected data on reported live releases and retained catches of wedgefish and hammerheads, and on fishers’ levels of satisfaction with the programme and life in general. Then we compared the two groups.

    Since we launched the pay-to-release programme in May 2022, more than 1,200 wedgefish and hammerheads have been safely released. All participating fishers and their families felt satisfied.

    “We use the compensation money to cover our daily needs. We hope that the programme continues in the future,” said the wife of one participating fisher.

    Hollie Booth has been collaborating with fishers in Indonesia to reduce bycatch of sharks. Film by Liam Webb.

    However, our experimental data from the first 16 months of the programme (May 2022 – July 2023) revealed a plot twist. Even though the compensation incentivised live releases, results suggested that some fishers had purposefully increased their catches to gain more payments.

    My team and I were initially distressed by the result. However, without the rigorous controlled experiment we would never have detected these unintended consequences. Based on our results, we revised the compensation pricing and limited how many compensated releases each vessel can claim per week. We are also piloting a new gear swap scheme, where fishers trade their nets for fish traps, which have much lower bycatch rates. Preliminary data suggest these changes have boosted the programme’s effectiveness.

    Our team at Oxford works closely with other local researchers and conservation organisations to help them design and assess their own locally appropriate incentive programmes. Another recent study from conservation charity Thresher Shark Indonesia shows that their alternative livelihood programme reduced catches of endangered thresher sharks by over 90%.

    Positive incentives are an important instrument for solving the biodiversity crisis in an equitable way. It is unfair and unjust to expect small-scale resources users in developing countries to bear most of the costs of conservation. Especially when wealthier and more powerful ocean users – such as commercial seafood companies – cause major negative impacts through overfishing while extracting huge profits. However, conservation incentives must be well designed and robustly evaluated to ensure they incentivise the right actions and deliver intended results.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Hollie Booth is the founder and Chair of Kebersamaan Untuk Lautan. The program and this research was funded by Save Our Seas Foundation and the UK Darwin Initiative.

    – ref. Paying fishers to release sharks accidentally caught in their nets can incentivise conservation action – but there’s a catch – https://theconversation.com/paying-fishers-to-release-sharks-accidentally-caught-in-their-nets-can-incentivise-conservation-action-but-theres-a-catch-253797

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: What They’re Saying: Support Grows for Hickenlooper’s Bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper

    Hickenlooper’s Fix Our Forests Act will help reduce wildfire risk for Colorado communities and speed up mitigation projects while maintaining environmental safeguards and encouraging local involvement

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, John Curtis, Alex Padilla, and Tim Sheehy announced growing support from state officials, community leaders, and environmental organizations for the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act. The bill works to strengthen wildfire resilience by improving forest management, supporting fire-safe communities, and streamlining approvals for projects that protect communities and ecosystems from extreme wildfires.

    The comprehensive bill reflects months of bipartisan negotiations to find consensus on how to accelerate forest management projects, promote safe and responsible prescribed fire treatments, expand public input in assessments of wildfire resilience needs, and enhance collaboration between federal agencies, states, tribes, and stakeholders.

    The Fix Our Forests Act is supported by Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Colorado State Forest Service, ColoradoDivision of Fire Prevention and Control, The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, International Association of Fire Chiefs, Alliance for Wildfire Resilience, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Federation of American Scientists, American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), Association of Firetech Innovation (AFI), Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO), Wildfire Alliance, Tall Timbers, Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition, The Stewardship Project, Megafire Action, Property and Environment Research Center (PERC), National Association of State Foresters (NASF), Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Arnold Ventures, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, American Forests, National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), Utah Department of Natural Resources, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), Utah Farm Bureau Federation, California Natural Resources Agency, and Climate & Wildfire Institute.

    WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:

    “I applaud the bipartisan work and leadership of the Senate sponsors of this bill, including Colorado’s Senator Hickenlooper, in crafting a bill that will make Colorado communities safer amidst the urgent and growing wildfire crisis in the West. From supporting responsible and expedited on-the-ground fuel reductions, to bolstering the use and development of the latest wildfire satellite monitoring technology which compliments Colorado’s national leadership in the aerospace sector, and to investing in stewardship practices for local communities to be better prepared for wildfires and reforestation efforts with the state nursery to improve our ability to recover – this bill makes major strides in addressing the country’s wildfire risk and will support Colorado’s continued leadership in wildfire preparedness, response and recovery,” said Colorado Governor Jared Polis.

    “Extreme risk of catastrophic wildfires across the West demands urgent action,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom. “In California, we’re fast-tracking projects by streamlining state requirements and using more fuel breaks and prescribed fire. The Fix Our Forests Act is a step forward that will build on this progress — enabling good projects to happen faster on federal lands. I’m appreciative of Senator Padilla and the bipartisan team of Senators who crafted a balanced solution that will both protect communities and improve the health of our forests.”

    “A century of fire suppression and decades of reduced forest management have left us with overgrown, unhealthy forests that are more vulnerable to disease and catastrophic wildfire,” said Utah Governor Spencer Cox. “The Fix Our Forest Act, along with the tools provided by President Trump’s executive order, will help us actively manage our forests—protecting our watersheds, improving wildlife habitat, reducing wildfire risk, and providing the timber we need to build strong homes and neighborhoods.”

    “We applaud the efforts made by Senator Hickenlooper in the Fix Our Forests Act to provide federal, state, and local partners with the tools needed to address wildfire mitigation in the most vulnerable areas in Colorado. Wildfires do not abide by our political boundaries. But here in Colorado we have built strong coordination among federal, state, local land managers and stakeholders to help reduce the impact of wildfires on our critical infrastructure and landscapes,” said Dan Gibbs, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Natural Resources. “We appreciate that this legislation builds upon this important collaboration and draws on existing agreements, such as Shared Stewardship, which will help strengthen our intergovernmental partnerships as we prepare for the next Colorado mega-fire.”

    “Forests are central to our way of life in Colorado. They support world-class outdoor recreation and a vital water supply that more than 40 million Americans rely upon. I am grateful to Senator John Hickenlooper for his work on the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act,” said Matt McCombs, Colorado State Forester and Director of the Colorado State Forest Service. “This critical legislation will bolster our shared stewardship ethic in Colorado and enhance our ability as a state to improve forest health, protect lives, communities and water supplies from wildfire, and ensure that the forests that define Colorado endure for generations to come.”

    “First of all, thanks to Senators Hickenlooper, Curtis, Sheehy, and Padilla for their leadership in moving all this forward! Having spent so many hours working on the Wildfire Mitigation and Management Commission, it is refreshing to see so many of the recommendations moving forward!” said Mike Morgan, Director of the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.“Colorado has taken a very aggressive approach in addressing the wildfire challenges we face and we are pleased to see these efforts at the federal level taking a more holistic look at the challenges we all face and in support of the Commission’s recommendations. This bipartisan effort will serve Colorado and America well! I fully support this effort and I am happy to help in any way that would be helpful.”

    “TNC appreciates the serious undertaking of Senators Curtis, Hickenlooper, Sheehy, and Padilla to build on legislation targeted at preventing more catastrophic wildfires through improved forest and fuels management and expanded use of prescribed fire. TNC has been working to restore beneficial fire and improve the resilience of forest systems on the ground for more than 60 years. Every year, wildfires continue to grow deadlier and more devastating to communities and the environment, and we remain concerned that the significant cuts to the Forest Service workforce will impede work to protect people and nature from these wildfire risks.  We support this legislative effort aimed at improving the forest management process to better address catastrophic wildfires,” said Kameran Onley, managing director of North America policy and government relations, The Nature Conservancy.

    “For many Americans, catastrophic wildfires are a very real and growing threat to their homes and lives,” said Environmental Defense Fund Executive Director Amanda Leland. “The U.S. Forest Service needs new tools and more resources now to prevent and control these wildfires, and with the right funding, this bipartisan proposal will help. Protecting people and nature from catastrophic wildfire requires both a robust, science-based plan of forest management and the resources to implement it.”

    “As the megafire crisis grows larger and more severe with each fire season, we need policy solutions that reflect the urgency and scale of the problem. Senators Curtis, Hickenlooper, Padilla and Sheehy have negotiated a Senate companion to the Fix Our Forests Act that will move the federal government towards a science-based, strategic approach to addressing megafires. We look forward to working with the sponsors to advance this bill and enact the most transformative wildfire and land management law in a generation—since the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003, if not the National Forest Management Act of 1976,” said Matt Weiner, CEO of Megafire Action.

    “We are thrilled to see the Fix Our Forests Act introduced in the Senate through a bipartisan cooperation between Senators Curtis, Hickenlooper, Padilla, and Sheehy. The bill greatly expands upon the version that passed the House, adding critical details to support wildfire risk reduction in the built environment and provisions for mitigating the health impacts of smoke to communities while promoting expanded use of prescribed fire,”said Annie Schmidt and Tyson Bertone-Riggs, Managing Directors, Alliance for Wildfire Resilience. “Covering a third of the recommendations of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, this bill is a significant step forward in wildfire policy and, coupled with sufficient funding and staffing to realize the proposed tools and programs, will make a real difference in our nation’s experience with wildfire.”

    “I thank Senators Hickenlooper, Padilla, Curtis, and Sheehy for introducing this bipartisan legislation,” said Fire Chief Josh Waldo, President and Board Chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. “As we saw in January’s fires in Los Angeles, the nation faces a serious and growing risk from fires in the wildland urban interface (WUI). This legislation will enact many of the recommendations of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission. It also will improve coordination of federal wildland fire preparedness efforts; promote the use of prescribed fires and other preventative measures to prevent WUI fires; and promote the development of new technologies to help local fire departments. We look forward to working with the bill’s sponsors to pass this legislation.”

    “Our national forests provide essential wildlife habitat, store carbon, and supply communities across the nation with clean air and water. These vital landscapes are under threat and must be proactively stewarded if they are to survive the changing climate, rapidly intensifying wildfires, and past management missteps. The bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act will help increase the pace and scale of evidence-backed forest management, including the use of beneficial prescribed fire and the restoration of white oak forests. But we must have a robust and talented federal workforce in place for it to succeed,” said Abby Tinsley, vice president for conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation. “We will work with Senators Hickenlooper, Padilla, Sheehy, Curtis, and Chairman Westerman in the House to strengthen and advance this important conversation.”

    “The health of our nation’s forests is dependent on the rivers, streams, and wetlands that sustain them. Actively conserving and restoring these critical aquatic resources is an important tool that can be used to mitigate the impacts of wildfire and drought, among other threats,” said Alicia Marrs, director of western water for the National Wildlife Federation. “We’re encouraged to see language in the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act that recognizes the wildfire benefits of aquatic restoration. We look forward to continuing to work with leaders from both sides of the aisle to elevate these common sense and cost-effective approaches to forest and water management for all Americans.”

    “Wildfires grow more intense and destructive each year, leaving behind immense devastation for our forests, wildlife, and communities,” said Marshall Johnson, chief conservation officer at the National Audubon Society.“The bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act represents an important step in reducing wildfire risks across forested landscapes. Audubon thanks Senators Hickenlooper, Curtis, Padilla, and Sheehy for working together to craft a bill that sets the stage for improved forest management, and we urge Congress to dedicate the resources necessary to ensure federal agencies are well-equipped to reduce wildfire risks, steward our forestlands, and protect wildlife habitat.”

    “The growing frequency and severity of wildfires pose a tremendous threat to the health of our forests and the safety of countless communities. The Fix Our Forests Act takes important steps to mitigate wildfires, improve forest health, and protect local communities. We appreciate this thoughtful, bipartisan effort led by Senators Curtis, Hickenlooper, Sheehy, and Padilla to advance this important legislation,” said Jennifer Tyler, VP of Government Affairs at Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

    “The declining health of our National Forests and the fish and wildlife habitat that they provide is a concern for America’s hunters and anglers,”said Joel Pedersen, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “TRCP applauds the leadership of Senators Curtis, Sheehy, Hickenlooper, and Padilla for introducing the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act in the Senate and urges Congress to advance these important forest management provisions and to accompany them with adequate resources and capacity to carry out on-the-ground work.”   

    “HECHO enthusiastically applauds the impressive bipartisan leadership behind the Senate’s Fix Our Forests Act. At a time when cooperation is more important than ever, these Senators are putting forward real, thoughtful solutions to reduce wildfire risk while engaging local and rural communities. This legislation is a critical step toward actively managing our forests to protect public lands, watersheds, and the communities that depend on them. By expediting emergency authorities in high-risk firesheds —and through the creation of the Wildfire Intelligence Center—this effort has the potential to significantly reduce catastrophic wildfires and strengthen prediction and response, particularly in fire-prone states like Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. It’s a shining example of the kind of balanced, forward-looking leadership we need to protect our natural landscapes and communities,” said Camilla Simon, Executive Director of Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO).

    “BPC Action applauds the bipartisan leadership of Sens. Curtis (R-UT), Hickenlooper (D-CO), Sheehy (R-MT), and Padilla (D-CA) on the introduction of the Fix Our Forests Act. By streamlining and improving forest and hazardous fuels management activities on public and Tribal lands, this legislation will help reduce wildfire risks, improve forest health, and protect communities in fire-prone areas. The Fix Our Forests Act also delivers substantial economic and environmental benefits by addressing critical needs to enhance the domestic supply chain of seeds and advance biochar commercialization,” said Michele Stockwell, President of Bipartisan Policy Center Action (BPC Action).

    “The Senate’s bipartisan Fix Our Forest Act is a critical step toward restoring forest health and reducing catastrophic wildfire risk. This bipartisan legislation tackles the root causes of catastrophic wildfires by fixing the Cottonwood decision, reforming litigation standards, expanding categorical exclusions up to 10,000 acres, and boosting restoration capacity through long-term stewardship contracts and extended Good Neighbor Authority. Healthy forests require active stewardship—not bureaucratic delay. We thank Senators Hickenlooper, Sheehy, Padilla, and Curtis for bringing forward this bill, and we urge swift passage of this much-needed legislation,” said Brian Yabolnski, CEO of The Property and Environment Research Center (PERC).

    “Wildfires continue to ravage communities igniting homes, businesses, and infrastructure. APCIA commends Senators Curtis, Hickenlooper, Sheehy, and Padilla for their bipartisan leadership of the Fix Our Forests Act. The bill would improve fire assessment and prediction for wildland areas and communities to improve response, reduce hazardous fuels, enable greater vegetation management by utilities in federal rights-of-way to prevent fires, and create a community wildfire risk reduction program to support fire-resistant building methods, codes, and standards, promote ignition-resistant materials, defensible space, and other measures to reduce risk,” said David A. Sampson, President & CEO of APCIA

    “The Fix Our Forests Act streamlines collaboration between the National Wild Turkey Federation, the USDA Forest Service, and other partners, cutting red tape to accelerate urgent forest restoration and management on federal lands,” said Matt Lindler, NWTF Director of Government Affairs. “This bill ensures we can better manage and conserve vital natural resources for wildlife, hunters and anglers. We are grateful to see the Senate introduce this critical piece of legislation and await the signature from the president.”   

    “There is no time to waste in restoring and reforesting the forests that work every day to be the lungs of our nation,” said Brian Kittler, Chief Program Officer-Resilient Forests. “More than ever before successful and timely forest restoration will require strengthened coordination across federal, state, and tribal governments together with non-profit organizations. This bill prioritizes a complementary series of actions that will accelerate wildfire resilience and community resilience including ensuring post-fire reforestation is implemented quickly and with the best available science.”

    “The science is clear: tackling the wildfire crisis requires better forest management, increasing the use of prescribed fire, and investing in and deploying the next generation of wildfire technologies. The Fix Our Forests Act will get this urgently needed work done. Now is the time for the Senate to build on the bipartisan leadership demonstrated by the sponsors and pass this bill,” said James Campbell, Wildfire Policy Specialist at the Federation of American Scientists.

    “CWI commends Senator Curtis, Senator Hickenlooper, Senator Sheehy, and Senator Padilla for their bipartisan efforts to meaningfully address the wildfire crisis. The Fix Our Forests Act is an important step towards accelerating proven solutions to reduce catastrophic fire risk, improve forest and ecosystem health, and safeguard our local communities,” said Marissa Christiansen, Executive Director at the Climate and Wildfire Institute.“We are pleased to see many recommendations from the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission Report included in the updated legislation, including a directive to establish the Wildfire Intelligence Center to serve as the national hub for wildfire data, prediction, and response. We look forward to working with the bill’s sponsors to help accelerate solutions to the wildfire crisis by incorporating the best available science, data, and management principles into commonsense policy reform and decision-making.”

    “AFI supports the Fix Our Forests Act and calls on the United States Senate to pass it with the urgency the $100 billion a year wildfire crisis warrants from our elected officials,” said Bill Clerico, Founding Chair of AFI and Managing Partner of Convective Capital. “AFI is particularly supportive of the legislation’s inclusion of a Wildfire Intelligence Center, a long-overdue step to better integrate and coordinate wildfire response efforts and invest in cutting-edge technology. Our country’s wildfire response efforts are antiquated and are leaving us ill-prepared for this growing crisis. FOFA is a critical step to refining our wildfire response efforts and protecting our communities.”

    “State forestry agencies play a lead role not only in managing and protecting over 550 million acres of state and private forests, but also working to improve the health and resiliency of federal lands through cross-boundary partnerships nationwide. State Foresters are also responsible for wildfire protection on more than 1.5 billion acres and, in collaboration with local fire departments, responding to 80 percent of the nation’s wildland fires,” said Jay Farrell, Executive Director of the NASF. “NASF applauds the bipartisan work of Senators Sheehy, Curtis, Hickenlooper, and Padilla to chart a path forward to greatly enhance wildfire management and recovery efforts and stem the tide of disastrous wildfires that threaten our nation’s forests and the livelihood of communities that depend on them. We recognize that many of the improvements made in the Fix Our Forests Act are nuanced and look forward to continuing our work with Congress to ensure its landmark reforms become law.”

    “The poor health of our federal forests exacerbates the wildfires that negatively impact wildlife habitat, sportsmen’s access, and communities across the country, and comprehensive reforms are needed to actively treat hazardous fuels efficiently and at scale to increase forest resiliency to severe wildfires, insects, and disease,” said John Culclasure, Senior Director of Forest Policy at the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. “We are grateful for the bipartisan leadership of Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Members Senators Curtis, Hickenlooper, Padilla, and Sheehy for introducing the Fix Our Forests Act to improve forest management through strengthened authorities, collaborative tools, and improved processes. We look forward to working with the bill sponsors to advance the legislation quickly as we approach wildfire season.”

    “Arnold Ventures praises the bipartisan introduction of the Fix Our Forests Act, an evidence-based, constructive proposal to cut red tape and prevent catastrophic forest fires. We applaud Senators John Curtis (R‑UT), John Hickenlooper (D‑CO), Tim Sheehy (R‑MT), and Alex Padilla (D‑CA) for their work to craft and introduce this important and necessary legislation. We encourage all Senators to support and ultimately pass the Fix Our Forests Act,” said Charlie Anderson, Executive Vice President for infrastructure at Arnold Ventures. “AV also thanks Reps. Bruce Westerman (R‑AR) and Scott Peters (D‑CA) for championing this vital work in the House of Representatives. We are heartened by the collaborative work across party lines in both chambers to support thoughtful, bipartisan policy that will save lives and property.”

    “Berkshire Hathaway Energy applauds the Senate introduction of the Fix Our Forests Act and thanks the bipartisan group of Senators who worked together to move it forward. The bill’s provisions would improve forest management activities on federal and tribal lands in common-sense ways, improving their resilience to wildfire,” said Scott Thon, President and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. “Passage and enactment of these provisions would be a step to help prevent catastrophic wildfires and lessen their environmental damage. Berkshire Hathaway Energy recognizes the growing threat of wildfires affects everyone and requires holistic solutions with businesses, governments and key stakeholders working together to design and implement constructive, enduring solutions.”

    “Our forests face serious threats, and this bipartisan bill is a vital step forward in addressing complex forest health challenges,” said Joel Ferry, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. “It gives land managers the tools to proactively reduce wildfire risk, protect critical watersheds, and restore forest ecosystems through stronger collaboration.”

    “The bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act provides much-needed tools that will move the needle and improve our work to mitigate wildfires,” said CAL FIRE Director and Fire Chief Joe Tyler. “This bill will bring California’s use of cutting-edge technology to the rest of the country. The proposed Wildfire Intelligence Center will advance the kind of predictive services, monitoring, and early detection work already happening at California’s Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center.”

    “Utah’s farmers and ranchers applaud Senator Curtis’ sponsorship of the ‘Fix Our Forests Act’, which will enhance forest health, reduce wildfire risks, and protect vital watersheds. We are particularly encouraged by provisions promoting locally-led restoration efforts, targeted grazing as a wildfire mitigation tool, and watershed protection strategies,” said ValJay Rigby, Utah Farm Bureau Federation President. “The Utah Farm Bureau appreciates the bill’s emphasis on active forest management and increasing the pace and scale of treatment projects to address catastrophic wildfire risks. The ‘Fix Our Forests Act’ represents a significant step toward healthier forests and safer communities.”

    BACKGROUND:

    The West has long been prone to wildfires, but climate change, prolonged drought, and the buildup of dry fuels have increasingly intensified these fires and extended fire seasons. Wildfires today are more catastrophic – growing larger, spreading faster, and burning more land than ever before.

    Colorado has seen four of the five largest fires in our state’s history since 2018. The 2021 Marshall fire was Colorado’s most destructive on record, burning over 1,000 homes. The Cameron Peak and East Troublesome fires in 2020 together burned more than 400,000 acres, the two largest fires in the state’s history. Nationwide, total acres burned rose from 2.7 million in 2023 to nearly 9 million in 2024, a 231% increase.

    Forest health challenges are also increasing in frequency and severity due to climate stressors like drought and fire, and biological threats like invasive species – all of which the West is particularly vulnerable to. From 2001 to 2019, total U.S. forest area declined by 2.3%, with the Intermountain West experiencing the largest losses by area.

    To address these challenges, the Fix Our Forests Act would:

    • Establish new and updated programs to reduce wildfire risks across large, high-priority “firesheds,” with an emphasis on cross-boundary collaboration.
    • Streamline and expand tools for forest health projects (e.g., stewardship contracting, Good Neighbor Agreements) and provide faster processes for certain hazardous fuels treatments.
    • Create a single interagency program to help communities in the wildland-urban interface build and retrofit with wildfire-resistant measures, while simplifying and consolidating grant applications.
    • Boost reforestation with the inclusion of Hickenlooper’s Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources (RNGR) Support Act to support reforestation capacity of state, tribal, and private nurseries.
    • Strengthen coordination efforts across agencies through a new Wildfire Intelligence Center with the inclusion of Hickenlooper’s bipartisan Wildfire Intelligence Collaboration and Coordination Act of 2025, which would streamline federal response and create a whole-of-government approach to combating wildfires.
    • Support prescribed fire activities on both federal and non-federal lands – prioritizing large, cross-boundary projects, strengthening the prescribed fire workforce, and facilitating coordination on air quality protections.
    • Expand research and demonstration initiatives – including biochar projects and the Community Wildfire Defense Research Program – to test and deploy cutting-edge wildfire prevention, detection, and mitigation technologies.
    • Enable watershed protection and restoration projects to include adjacent non-federal lands; establish new programs for white oak restoration; and clarify policies to reduce wildfire-related litigation and expedite forest health treatments.

    A one-pager can be found here, and a section-by-section can be found here.

    The Fix Our Forests Act was originally introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Bruce Westerman and Scott Peters.

    Hickenlooper has been an active supporter of wildfire resilience, including sponsorship of legislation to restore land management agency staffing and pushback on the firings of the federal employees that support wildfire resilience on our public lands. The Fix Our Forests Act provides the tools necessary to accelerate wildfire resilience, which will work alongside Hickenlooper’s sustained efforts for the funding and staffing necessary for land management efforts.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Smart Electrical Panel Startup SPANs NREL’s Accelerator Programs

    Source: US National Renewable Energy Laboratory

    SPAN created a smart electrical panel that goes beyond traditional capabilities. Photo from SPAN

    Imagine a severe storm knocks out a neighborhood powerline; while most homes go dark, one homeowner seamlessly manages their backup energy, prioritizing critical appliances. This is not the future—it is happening now with SPAN’s smart electrical panel.

    SPAN is the only startup company to go through two of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) startup assistance programs: the Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL (GCxN) and the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2). SPAN created a smart electrical panel that goes beyond traditional capabilities, allowing users to control individual circuits for individual devices. SPAN also has an app that provides users with a dashboard to keep track of the connected appliances and electric loads. The panel provides real-time visibility into a homeowner’s energy consumption, broken out by individual breakers, so homeowners can prioritize different loads during a power outage, while utilities can gain insight into grid flexibility strategies.

    When NREL Senior Engineer Bethany Sparn had SPAN’s smart panel installed in a lab, all the laboratory electricians were excited about it.

    “The electrician that installed the panel asked me how it worked, and I explained that every circuit had a dedicated power meter and relay, all hidden in the backplate of the panel,” Sparn said. “They thought it was really cool. The SPAN panel shook up the world of breaker panels in a way that feels like the early days of smart thermostats. They created a product that would be beneficial to utilities and consumers.”

    SPAN Vice President of Business Development Alex Pratt said the company reimagined a power panel from the ground up.

    “Each of the circuits in our panels are granularly metered and controllable through a relay,” Pratt said. “This combined with significant onboard processing and multichannel communications creates a powerful platform to provide novel home energy management capabilities.”

    The first project that brought SPAN’s technology to NREL was through the GCxN program in 2019. NREL scientists, including Senior Research Engineer Shibani Ghosh, focused on simulations to test the possible impacts of high adoption of SPAN panels at the neighborhood scale under a utility’s distribution feeder. The simulations demonstrated how grid operations could improve and help utility consumers when individual consumptions are managed by SPAN smart panels.

    “If a smart panel like SPAN’s can communicate and track when the electricity price goes down,” Ghosh said, “you can schedule the operation of your devices and save money within your time preferences.”

    SPAN is the only startup to participate in both the IN2 and GCxN programs. Photo from SPAN

    The results of the simulations supported that SPAN’s panel could deliver grid benefits as expected, so as the GCxN project wrapped up, SPAN joined IN2 in 2020, initiating Sparn’s work with the smart panel in the lab.

    “SPAN was unique in that they had already gone through GCxN, but that had been an entirely simulation-based project,” Sparn said. “For IN2, we wanted to get their hardware in the lab. We wanted to look at a number of features that could help people add electrical equipment or provide resilience. For instance, if you install their panel with a backup battery, you can change what circuits are powered during a grid outage and even prioritize them.”

    Pratt points to a concrete example of how the panel operates and provides value when a homeowner goes to install a new electrical load in the home, such as an electric vehicle (EV) charger or heat pump. These additions could exceed the amount of electricity the home was originally designed to draw.

    “The panel eliminates the need for the consumer to upgrade their service level with a utility and instead will intelligently balance the loads in their home automatically,” Pratt said.

    The laboratory testing of the panel confirmed that its advanced features, such as turning off circuits to avoid overloading the electrical service and configurable backup power, were working as expected. The IN2 laboratory experiments laid the groundwork for further collaboration between SPAN and NREL.

    In addition to the GCxN and IN2 programs, another collaboration opportunity was led by Xin Jin, NREL group manager for Grid Edge and Advanced Controls at the Building Technologies and Science Center. Jin and his team developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven home energy management system, called foresee™, which won an R&D 100 award in 2018. Through a cooperative research agreement after the IN2 project, Jin explored how integrating SPAN’s panel with foresee could generate additional benefits.

    “This maximized the work NREL did with SPAN through the GCxN and IN2 projects,” Jin said. “With their panel and our software, we can modulate the thermostat, manage EV charging, and control the water heater. We can talk to every major load in the home. By combining their panel and circuit-level power metering with foresee, there is more control, and that translates to utility bill savings.”

    NREL’s foresee software uses advanced algorithms that learn the dynamics of each home along with its occupants’ patterns to predict future energy consumption. Automated control of connected appliances and systems will save energy, reduce strain on the grid, and could save homeowners up to $9 billion on energy bills—without asking people to become energy experts. Introduced in 2018, it was a significant breakthrough in the home energy management market, attracting interest from startups and large HVAC manufacturers.

    SPAN continues to scale up in the way it works with NREL. The company started in California and Hawaii, and its panels are now widely deployed in all 50 states, supported by a network of hundreds of electrical installers. While homeowners and contractors have traditionally been SPAN’s target audience, it is also exploring applications for utility grid services.

    “As we’re trying to introduce a new category and new approach to home energy management technology, having the credibility from a partnership with an entity like NREL is invaluable,” Pratt said. “We’ve proven the viability and value of our product. We are now focused on accelerating adoption, and electric utilities represent a step-function change in the scale we can achieve and impact we can have.”

    The SPAN panel made a lasting impact on the NREL researchers, and they remain excited about its potential.

    “Their panel is really sleek,” Jin said. “It’s like an art piece—it’s very beautiful and well built. In terms of function, it’s very advanced.”

    Learn more about the GCxN program and IN2.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: History in numbers: how statistics help us understand the stability of Soviet society

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    On April 16, as part of XXV April International Scientific Conference of the National Research University Higher School of Economics a round table discussion entitled “Historical Statistics for Studying Mechanisms of Social Stability in the USSR” was held. The event was supported by Interdisciplinary group on historical statistics of the National Center for Humanities and Social Sciences “Center for Interdisciplinary Research of Human Potential”.

    The opening speech was given by the Vice-Rector of the National Research University Higher School of Economics Liliya Ovcharova. She emphasized the importance of studying the socio-economic legacy of the USSR not only for understanding the past, but also for analyzing modern trends: “The Soviet past contains the reasons for those long-term trends that are still in effect today. We see them in science and scientific schools, in education, in demography, as well as in the development features of Russian regions. Without attention from the Russian research community, important components may be missed in this history, which I include the connecting, civilizational role of the Soviet Union and Russia, as an institution for the development of union republics – future independent states in the post-Soviet space, as well as adjacent territories.”

    Round table chaired by the director Expert Institute And Center for Productivity Research The HSE Ilya Voskoboinikov conference brought together not only HSE experts, but also representatives of the Presidential Academy (RANEPA), Rosstat, Moscow State University, and the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The discussion focused on rethinking Soviet official statistics and the availability of archival data, as well as the need for an interdisciplinary approach to studying the socio-economic development of the USSR and Russia using modern quantitative methods. Participants discussed the complexity of interpreting Soviet data, the comparability of sources, and the institutional barriers facing researchers.

    Vladimir Sokolin, Chairman of the Federal State Statistics Service (1999-2008) and the Interstate Statistical Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States (2009-2022), devoted his speech to the importance of revising and refining official Soviet statistics based on modern scientific principles. He emphasized the uneven quality of Soviet data — high in terms of physical indicators of industrial production and transport, but questionable in agriculture. He also pointed out the almost complete lack of data in terms of price statistics and mentioned the influence of ideology on decisions to publish data and even statistical developments in certain areas — for example, in cross-country comparisons of living standards. The expert paid special attention to the importance of restoring long dynamic series of statistical indicators and preserving expert knowledge in the field of Soviet statistics as long as its bearers are alive.

    A presentation of the results of a project to analyze wage inequality in the USSR was given by Professor Leonid Borodkin of Lomonosov Moscow State University and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. His research showed how the degree of differentiation of wages between workers and engineering and technical workers changed in different periods, from the NEP to the late Soviet era. The professor emphasized that data on actual accruals in the archives of enterprises often contradict official statistics. For example, under the conditions of equalization in the post-war period, responsible engineering and technical workers (ITW) were supposed to receive salaries comparable to or even lower than those of workers. This did not correspond to the role of IWW in production and could lead to a shortage of specialists. The solution was incentive funds, which made it possible to create material incentives for responsible and qualified engineers.

    Roman Konchakov, Dean of the Faculty of History and Philology at the Institute of Social Sciences of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, spoke about institutional and methodological obstacles to the use of Soviet statistics. He presented statistics not only as a source of data, but also as an element of state building. Konchakov emphasized the importance of the 1920s as a key period for the formation of the Soviet statistical school and pointed out the need to create an infrastructure for combining various historical datasets.

    Speech by Ekaterina Boltunova, Director Institute of Regional Historical Research HSE, was devoted to the study of financial and time budgets of households in the context of late Soviet domestic tourism (late 1950s – 1960s). She paid special attention to how the prism of tourism can be used to study the availability of infrastructure, the perception of territories and the everyday economy of Soviet citizens.

    Mikhail Denisenko, director Institute of Demography HSE named after A.G. Vishnevsky, in his report examined the dynamics of the age structure of the population of Russia in the 20th century. In his speech, the expert emphasized the importance of demographic data for the analysis of social sustainability, and also spoke about the challenges that researchers face when reconstructing this data, especially in the absence of continuous data for a number of years.

    The discussion was summed up by the moderator of the round table, Ilya Voskoboinikov: “When a modern statistician submits a report, the document goes into the archive – but this is not the end of the work. In ten, twenty, fifty years, a historian will come to this archive. Statistics are not only numbers, but also a long-term contribution to our understanding of the past and the present. Soviet historical statistics are very important for modern research, since the Soviet experience touches on a big issue of the modern economy – finding a balance between economic efficiency and social sustainability.”

    The second part of the round table included a discussion with representatives of the scientific community, including Maria Drobysheva, Deputy Head of the Department of Living Standards Statistics and Household Surveys of Rosstat, Vyacheslav Stepanov, Leading Researcher at the Center for Ethnopolitical Studies at the Institute of Economics and Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Researcher Laboratories for institutional analysis of economic reforms HSE University Alexey Popov. The latter noted that many statistical funds still remain classified and this greatly complicates working with data.

    The discussion confirmed the high interest in the topic and emphasized the need for further development of the historical data infrastructure. Deputy Vice-Rector of the National Research University Higher School of Economics Maria Nagernyak noted the often fragmented and unsystematic nature of a large part of the statistical data collected over a long period of time: “These data on various areas of the socio-economic development of our country are of interest not only to the scientific community, but also to the general public. The activities of the Interdisciplinary Group on Historical Statistics are aimed at uniting the efforts of scientists from various fields of science for the joint study of historical statistical data on the development of human potential both in our country and in the post-Soviet space, as well as in friendly foreign countries.”

    The group plans to create working groups to discuss statistics in various areas and to formulate an official position of Rosstat on unofficial data, as well as to organize regular conferences to discuss issues of access to archival data and cooperation between historians, economists and statisticians with the involvement of specialists from the faculties of social and economic sciences, as well as schools of historical research National Research University Higher School of Economics.

    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 Security: CISA, DHS S&T, INL, LSU Help Energy Industry Partners Strengthen Incident Response and OT Cybersecurity

    Source: US Department of Homeland Security

    WASHINGTON – The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) hosted Louisiana State University (LSU) and several energy industry and critical infrastructure partners to train against simulated, high-impact cyberattacks on operational technology (OT) and traditional information technology (IT) at CISA’s Control Environment Laboratory Resource (CELR) in Idaho Falls, Idaho, last week. LSU is the first university in the U.S. invited to participate in the CELR exercise, as part of CISA and INL’s efforts to strengthen cyber talent development and research partnerships.

    Cybersecurity threats exploit the increased complexity and connectivity of critical infrastructure systems. The potential incapacitation or destruction of assets, systems and networks, whether physical or virtual, could have a debilitating effect on national security, economic security and on public health and safety. As the nation’s cyber defense agency, CISA is committed to growing operational and strategic partnerships to increase collaboration across the OT and industrial control systems (ICS) community.

    On April 15-17, energy industry partners and the CISA-INL-LSU team used the CELR chemical processing platform, located at and operated by INL on behalf of CISA. CELR platforms are benchtop models of critical infrastructure with integrated industrial processes to represent how real-world components and facilities might be compromised through cyber-physical attacks. The participants were positioned in a live environment with IT and OT traffic and attacked by a technical team posing as a sophisticated adversary. The training participants’ mission was to detect and respond to kinetic cyberattacks through ICS elements, including supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, human-machine interfaces (HMIs), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), OT and IT systems and other key components widely used in industrial facilities.

    “Collaborating with LSU and industry partners is extremely beneficial in strengthening the nation’s cybersecurity knowledge and ability to respond to threats. This training is another step in our shared vision to expand the opportunity for critical infrastructure entities to strengthen their cybersecurity using CELR,” said Matt Hartman, CISA Deputy Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity. “Malicious cyber actors and nation-state adversaries are a persistent, highly capable threat to critical infrastructure operations, functionality and safety. CELR is a valuable resource for critical infrastructure owners and operators seeking to improve the security of their ICS/OT networks.”

    “INL’s Controls Laboratory hosts five CISA-sponsored ICS testbeds, offering immersive environments for partners to experience realistic cyberattack scenarios against critical infrastructure,” said Tim Huddleston, INL’s Cybersecurity Program Manager. “We were proud to host industry partners and academia in this exercise, helping them improve their skills in cyber hunting and incident response, which reduces the risk from malicious cyber actors.”

    INL leverages scientific expertise and unique controls environments to support the departments of Energy, Defense and Homeland Security in national security challenges, including critical infrastructure protection. Last week’s training is part of an ongoing collaborative effort by CISA, DHS S&T, INL and LSU to equip energy industry cyber defenders to protect ICS environments and develop deeply technical cyber talent for critical infrastructure. Under CISA and S&T oversight, INL is currently developing the first university-based CELR platform. DHS S&T and CISA plan to deliver an Oil and Natural Gas CELR platform to LSU by fall of this year.

    Through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, LSU will operate and maintain the Oil and Natural Gas platform and host similar trainings for energy sector partners, state cyber defenders, and LSU faculty, staff and students. This agreement will provide government and industry security professionals in the Louisiana gulf region an extremely valuable, local opportunity to hone their OT/ICS cybersecurity skills.

    “This partnership is a wonderful example of DHS S&T’s role in enabling effective, efficient, and secure operations by applying scientific, engineering, analytic, and innovative approaches to deliver timely solutions. The CELR platforms help ensure critical infrastructure is better positioned to detect, mitigate, or prevent cyber-attacks in the real world. By positioning a platform in close proximity to critical infrastructure owners and operators, as well as making it accessible to the next generation of oil refinery workforce through the university, DHS S&T and CISA are ensuring our nation’s oil supply remains secure and available to consumers,” said Jonathan McEntee,Acting Executive Director for S&T Office of Mission and Capability Support.

    “As a leading energy and chemical manufacturing state, Louisiana’s cybersecurity posture around its critical infrastructure has national implications,” said Greg Trahan, director of economic development at LSU and special advisor to LSU President William F. Tate IV on cyber initiatives. “The invitation by CISA and INL to participate in this exercise underscores what we know: LSU has emerged as one of the most important and consequential cybersecurity schools in the country. The opportunity to be joined by our close industry partners means we can bring these skills and agency relationships home to support and protect Louisiana—that is the LSU Scholarship First Agenda and flagship mission in action.”

    Another outcome from this collaborative effort, LSU and Battelle Energy Alliance, the company that manages INL, recently signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize their partnership in areas of mutual interest, including cybersecurity and advanced nuclear technology. Over the past year, INL has hosted six LSU cybersecurity interns and successfully hired two LSU graduates. This collaboration exemplifies INL’s commitment to expanding partnerships with other industry and academic entities, fostering an environment to develop cyber resilience skills.

    For more information on ICS security, visit the CISA Industrial Control Systems webpage.

    Control Environment Laboratory Exercise (CELR) Exersice

    Government, industry and academia partners gather to view Control Environment Laboratory Resource (CELR) exercise

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘Dreams delayed’ no longer: Report identifies key changes needed around Black students’ education

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Tanitiã Munroe, PhD candidate (ABD) and researcher, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

    As Langston Hughes, the influential Harlem Renaissance poet, playwright and social activist, once wrote: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?”

    This poignant question is echoed in the title of the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s recently released Dreams Delayed report, which shines a spotlight on how systemic racism has continued to derail the educational aspirations of Black students across Ontario.

    Laying out a clear and urgent roadmap, Dreams Delayed: Addressing Systemic Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Ontario’s Public Education System captures both institutional responsibilities — for example, what the provincial government, school boards, faculties of education and educators must do — and the long-standing demands of Black families, students and communities who have been calling for meaningful change for decades.

    Call for important benchmarks

    The report’s title reflects a painful truth: the dreams of Black students have too often been deferred by persistent barriers in classrooms, hallways and boardrooms.

    For generations, Black families, students and community advocates have chronicled these injustices. By weaving their testimonies with data and legal analysis (including 83 reports), Dreams Delayed brings their struggle into sharp focus and translates it into a concrete policy blueprint.

    Its benchmarks are for measurable improvement in graduation rates, fewer suspensions, an elimination of biased academic streaming and an increase in Black teacher representation within four years.

    I am a doctoral researcher specializing in the kindergarten to Grade 12 experiences of Black students and their families. I also serve as senior research co-ordinator at the the Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement (CEBSA) with the Toronto District School Board.

    I’ve seen the very principles this report highlights in action at CEBSA. By grounding our work in evidence and partnering closely with students, families and communities, sustained effort can transform long‑deferred dreams into meaningful, lasting change. In this process, students’ voices and agency must be at the heart of every decision.

    Turning commitments into action

    Over multiple generations, parents and activists have pushed schools to treat Black students fairly.

    In 1992, provincial adviser and former politician Stephen Lewis reported that Black students felt unwelcome and overlooked in their schools. Unfortunately, many of the same issues kept appearing in study after study over the next 30 years.

    Researchers found that Black students were often treated differently by teachers and administrators, leading to feelings of not belonging at school. They noted a lack of Black teachers and lessons that did not include Black history or contributions, which made it hard for Black youth to see themselves reflected in their education.



    Read more:
    Black History: How racism in Ontario schools today is connected to a history of segregation

    Black students and their families have consistently described varied unfair treatment. Discipline is one major example. For a long time, Black children have been punished more harshly at school. One Toronto study found that between 2006 and 2011, 42 per cent of Black high school students were suspended at least once, compared to 18 per cent of white students. This huge disparity showed that Black youth were far more likely to be removed from class for what educators judged as misbehaviour.

    Anti-Black racism, alienation in schools

    In daily school life, many Black students across Ontario have faced anti-Black racism and bias.

    They’ve endured racial slurs like the “n-word” from peers (and occasionally staff), and too often these incidents were not taken seriously by schools. Being one of the few Black students in a classroom, or studying a curriculum focused almost entirely on European or white perspectives, can make school feel alienating.



    Read more:
    Anti-Black racism is not a ‘consensual schoolyard fight’

    These conditions — disproportionate suspensions, low expectations, not enough Black representation among staff and repeated racist incidents — have undermined Black students’ well‑being and achievement for years. Awareness of these systemic problems is growing.

    Despite the slow pace of change, community advocacy has led to important victories. In 2017, the Toronto District School Board ended the School Resource Officer (SRO) program.

    This decision came after Black students, families and advocacy groups like Black Lives Matter, Education Not Incarceration and Policing-Free Schools voiced concerns about the program’s harmful and criminalizing impact on Black and racialized youth.

    This decision underscored the power of organized resistance and the importance of listening to students’ lived experiences.

    However, to address anti-Black racism in schools meaningfully, we need sustained action, transparent accountability and continued school, family and community involvement. Every day, Black students should learn in an environment where they are safe, respected and empowered to succeed.

    Recommendations for systemic change

    Dreams Delayed outlines specific recommendations across three main areas: accountability, data monitoring and student well-being.

    Accountability and transparency: Under accountability, the report emphasizes openly recognizing anti-Black racism. It recommends creating human rights offices in school boards to handle discrimination complaints effectively. Schools and teachers’ unions must hire more Black educators and address workplace racism to create representative and supportive environments. The Ministry of Education must establish clear anti-racism frameworks and hold schools accountable for human rights standards.

    Monitoring and evaluation: Monitoring data is crucial because we can’t fix what isn’t measured. The OHRC recommends standardized data collection across all school boards, tracking suspensions, academic outcomes and incidents of discrimination. Publicly available data allows communities to hold schools accountable and track progress transparently. An innovative recommendation is implementing early intervention systems to identify and address patterns of racial harassment proactively.

    Student well-being is central. Ultimately, the goal is for Black students to feel fully supported and able to succeed. The Dreams Delayed plan calls for expanding initiatives that directly support Black youth, including the graduation coach for Black Students. This program places dedicated coaches (often Black mentors) in schools to help Black students with academics and career planning, and has shown promise in improving graduation rates.

    Another recommendation is to grow student and family advocate programs so that more Black families have access to advocacy when dealing with schools, and creating affirming education spaces for Black students. Such spaces and important resources are offered through CEBSA, such as programs to connect Black students with STEM opportunties and post-secondary pathway planning.

    Turning advocacy into action

    By acting on the report’s key recommendations — building accountability, collecting race‑based data, transforming curriculum and expanding student supports — those long‑deferred dreams can finally begin to materialize.

    Meaningful progress, however, will demand collective resolve and sustained action. Educators, policymakers and communities must move beyond acknowledging the problem and dedicate themselves to reshaping the system so every Black student is seen, heard, valued and afforded an equal chance to succeed.

    The next few years will be critical. The measure of success will be simple: when Black students across Ontario no longer have to fight for the basics — dignity, safety, respect — but can focus fully on learning, growing and pursuing their futures with confidence.

    Dreams Delayed offers a pivotal opportunity to transform Ontario’s schools into spaces of belonging and possibility.

    Embracing its recommendations with urgency and sincerity would honour generations of advocacy and finally create an education system where every student, especially every Black student, is empowered to thrive.

    Tanitiã Munroe is a Senior Research Coordinator at the Toronto District School Board.

    – ref. ‘Dreams delayed’ no longer: Report identifies key changes needed around Black students’ education – https://theconversation.com/dreams-delayed-no-longer-report-identifies-key-changes-needed-around-black-students-education-254439

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Recruitment starts for Independent Climate Council members23 April 2025 Recruitment has started for the appointment of members of​ Jersey’s newly established Independent Climate Council, which will be funded through the Climate Emergency Fund. The Independent Climate Council… Read more

    Source: Channel Islands – Jersey

    23 April 2025

    Recruitment has started for the appointment of members of​ Jersey’s newly established Independent Climate Council, which will be funded through the Climate Emergency Fund. 

    The Independent Climate Council will play a vital role in ensuring oversight and accountability of the Government of Jersey’s climate actions, as outlined in the Carbon Neutral Roadmap, CNR. The Council will report on progress every four years, aligned with the electoral cycle, and provide independent, science-based analysis on greenhouse gas, GHG, emission reductions and the delivery of climate policy initiatives. 

    Final appointments to the Council will be confirmed jointly by the Minister for the Environment and the Chair of the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure, EHI, Scrutiny Panel, in line with the proposal approved by the States Assembly.

    The recruitment process will be overseen by Jersey Appointments Commission. 

    Minister for the Environment, Deputy Steve Luce, said: “Recruitment for the Independent Climate Council comes at a crucial time, when global climate action is under scrutiny. The Council will provide robust scientific analysis and essential transparency. It will review how effectively the Government of Jersey is delivering the measures set out in the Carbon Neutral Roadmap and progress made towards the Island’s emission reduction targets under the Paris Agreement. In holding the Government to account, the Council will play a vital role in supporting a renewed focus on delivering Jersey’s net zero commitment.

    “Appointment to Jersey’s first Climate Council offers an exceptional opportunity to review our actions and achievements since the Carbon Neutral Roadmap was approved in 2022. The Council’s report and recommendations will be published early next year before final agreement of the priorities for the Roadmap’s second delivery plan running from 2027 to 2030. We welcome applications from suitably qualified and experienced Islanders as well as candidates from further afield. I look forward to supporting the Council’s work when it convenes later this year.” 

    Deputy Hilary Jeune, Chair of the EHI Scrutiny Panel, said: “This initiative stems from an amendment by the EHI Scrutiny Panel to the Carbon Neutral Roadmap, following the recognition that independent oversight was missing. The establishment of this Council is fundamental to maintaining good governance and ensuring Jersey remains on track to meet its climate goals. The four-yearly reports will offer transparent, evidence-based insight to the public, who are central to our collective progress towards becoming a net-zero Island. I’m proud that Scrutiny will continue its role as a constructive and critical friend to Government throughout this process.” 

    The States Assembly declared a climate emergency in May 2019, acknowledging its likely profound effects on Jersey. In response, the Carbon Neutral Roadmap was approved on 29 April 2022, setting out the initial policies to reduce GHG emissions during the 2022–2025 Delivery Plan period.

    The Council’s primary responsibility will be to produce a comprehensive report at the end of each governmental term, assessing Jersey’s progress on GHG emissions reductions and evaluating how effectively the CNR is being delivered. The first report is due to be presented to the States Assembly by the end of Q1 2026. 

    The Independent Climate Council will comprise up to five members, including a Chair elected from within the membership. At least one member must be a full-time Jersey resident. Appointed members will serve a single fixed term and will primarily conduct their work during the final quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. 

    Council members will bring independent expertise and strategic insight to help guide Jersey’s transition to net zero, evaluating implementation of current policies and advising on how best to apply resources to meet climate objectives. 

    Further details on the recruitment process can be found here: Leading our Island and the candidate brief.​

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: At the XV Eurasian Economic Youth Forum in Yekaterinburg, Vladimir Stroyev shared his experience in implementing DPO programs

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    On April 23, 2025, the rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroyev took part in the XV Eurasian Economic Youth Forum “Eurasian Synergy: Multipolarity – Integration – Dialogue of Civilizations”.

    The Eurasian Economic Youth Forum (EEYF) is being held from April 21 to 25 in Yekaterinburg at the Ural State University of Economics. More than 20,000 people from 116 countries, representing 209 universities, are taking part in the Forum.

    Rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroyev gave a report on the topic “Experience of the Eurasian Network University in implementing programs of additional professional education in the EAEU space.”

    Vladimir Vitalyevich told the audience that in 2022, the State University of Management was one of the initiators of the creation of the scientific and educational consortium “Eurasian Network University” – a project that united more than 30 universities from 7 states of the Eurasian space: Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, as well as universities of Uzbekistan and Transnistria as observers. More distant countries, such as Iran or Cuba, are also showing interest in joining the ENU. The ENU Secretariat is based at the State University of Management and carries out the necessary operational activities of the consortium.

    The rector of the State University of Management reported that in 2024 alone, with the support of Rossotrudnichestvo, 18 additional professional education programs were implemented, for the implementation of which 324 quotas were allocated. Among the program areas: management, marketing, management in the field of science and education, logistics and others. The programs turned out to be especially in demand in Belarus, 260 citizens of the union state studied under them. In-person strategic sessions on additional professional education programs were also held in Belarus, at the Russian House in Minsk.

    The basis of the DPO programs is a modular-block structure developed on the basis of the experience accumulated at the State University of Management. The program can be assembled from modules of different levels of complexity, duration of training and technologies for conducting educational events.

    “One example of a successfully implemented educational initiative of the State University of Management is the program “Strategic Planning and Macroeconomic Forecasting: Theoretical Foundations and Practice of the EAEU”. It is interesting because it was developed not only by specialists of the State University of Management, but also by teachers of the Belarusian State University of Economics, as well as leading experts of the Eurasian Economic Commission. Last year, 27 specialists from the EAEU countries successfully completed training within the framework of this program,” said Vladimir Stroyev.

    In conclusion of the report, the rector of the State University of Management noted that participation in such advanced training programs is becoming a driver for the development of trade and economic relations between Eurasian states, providing their participants with the opportunity to get acquainted with the experience and best business practices in the EAEU countries, and establish business contacts. Feedback received from participants in the additional professional education programs shows a high interest in such educational projects in the EAEU countries, which is largely due to the absence of a language barrier, and this makes the learning process more effective.

    Photo from the official website of the EEFM.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 23.04.2025

    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 Asia-Pac: CE views Hangzhou’s I&T sector

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Chief Executive John Lee today met leaders of Zhejiang Province, visited local medical facilities, and engaged in in-depth discussions with representatives of innovation and technology (I&T) companies in Hangzhou.

    In the morning, Mr Lee and the delegation visited the headquarters of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine to learn about its operations and the latest developments in applying healthcare technology.

    These included the hospital’s achievements in developing a new therapy for malignant haematological diseases, the application of robotic technology in drug preparation and reform of medical logistics models, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for precise clinical diagnosis.

    Later, Mr Lee viewed the Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City Urban Exhibition Center to gain insights into Hangzhou’s advancements in areas including smart city development and AI, as well as achievements in developing the Chengxi Sci-tech Innovation Corridor.

    He also met representatives of Hangzhou’s “Six Little Dragons” I&T enterprises, namely Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co, Hangzhou Yushu Technology Co (Unitree Robotics), Hangzhou Youke Interactive Technology Co (Game Science), Manycore Tech Inc, Hangzhou Yunshenchu Technology Co, and BrainCo.

    Mr Lee toured the special exhibition arranged for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government delegation, and engaged with the representatives to understand the developments and features of the six iconic and influential I&T companies in areas such as large language models, robotics, AI, game development, and Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technologies.

    They also discussed the development of a new technology ecosystem, and the relationship and collaboration between enterprises and governments.

    Mr Lee also attended a luncheon hosted by CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee Secretary Wang Hao.

    The Chief Executive noted that Zhejiang, as a vital province in the Yangtze River Delta, boasts a strong foundation in technological development, private economy, and digital economy, while Hong Kong is a core city of the Greater Bay Area and an international financial, shipping, and trade centre.

    The two places play significant roles in driving the country’s high-quality development and have a broad room of collaboration, Mr Lee added.     

    He also took the opportunity to visit two of the “Six Little Dragons”, BrainCo and Unitree Robotics.

    Mr Lee gained a deeper understanding of BrainCo’s achievements in developing non-invasive BCI technology and its applications in fields such as medical rehabilitation and education, as well as Unitree Robotics’ achievements and advancements in developing civilian robots for use in agriculture, industry, power inspection, survey and exploration, and public rescue.

    Mr Lee then toured the Black Myth: Wukong Art Exhibition. Based on a game developed by Game Science, one of the “Six Little Dragons”, the exhibition showcased the behind-the-scenes details of game development through recreations of scenes, characters and items from the game.

    Noting the rapid development of I&T enterprises represented by the “Six Little Dragons”, Mr Lee said that Hangzhou has been promoting the I&T industry over the years, creating a vibrant industrial ecosystem and a favourable investment environment.

    He said Hong Kong is dedicated to developing into an international I&T centre, and that he will strive to promote collaboration and exchanges between I&T enterprises in Hong Kong and Hangzhou, with a view to leveraging their comparative advantages. He also welcomed I&T enterprises in Hangzhou to set up in Hong Kong to pursue development together.

    Mr Lee later attended a dinner hosted by Zhejiang Governor Liu Jie, to exchange views on deepening co-operation and exchanges between Hong Kong and Zhejiang, in addition to gaining insights into the development experiences and directions of local cultural performances.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –