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Category: Science

  • MIL-OSI Global: TikTok’s cookie challenge: Why some children share and others don’t

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Rebecca Merkley, Assistant Professor, Department of Cognitive Science, Carleton University

    Children need to use several of their developing social and cognitive reasoning skills to share during the cookie challenge. (Shutterstock)

    The cookie challenge is one of the latest trends to go viral on TikTok. In the challenge, parents test how willing their child is to share a cookie. Typically, two adults and one young child each have a covered plate in front of them.

    When the covers are removed, the child has two cookies on their plate, while one parent has one cookie and the other has none. Most children subsequently either keep both cookies or give one to the parent who had none.

    The big question these parents are asking is: will my child share their cookies with me?

    Would your child share with you?

    Sharing is all about giving up personal resources to benefit others. It is a prosocial behaviour that requires thinking about the thoughts, desires and needs of others, which can sometimes be challenging for young children.

    Children need to use several of their developing social and cognitive reasoning skills to share during the cookie challenge. They must:

    a) recognize they have more cookies than their parents do;

    b) inhibit their desire to immediately eat their cookies themselves; and

    c) understand their parents also want a cookie.

    Cognitive development research has shown that children develop all these skills over their first few years of life. Even if your young child thinks sharing is the right thing to do, they may not be able to connect all of their developing cognitive skills to support their sharing behaviour when faced with a cookie challenge. So, if a child doesn’t share, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are selfish.

    How do children decide what is fair?

    Children view fairness as everyone having the same amount. So, when cookies aren’t split equally, what do kids think is fair? When one parent is left out, most children in the TikTok videos share their extra cookie so everyone now has one; children believe the resources (in this case, the cookies) should always be evenly distributed. But what about the kids who don’t share?

    Sharing a precious resource like a delicious cookie seems harder than sharing broccoli. However, that doesn’t mean children think it’s fair to keep the extra one. This could be why we see some videos where the child takes the cookie from one parent and gives it to another. The parent missing a cookie wants one, but the value of a cookie makes it harder for kids to resist their own impulses to keep the cookies they want for themselves.

    While children think fair means having the same, or having an equal number, young kids don’t always know what equal numbers are. Kids who haven’t yet mastered how to count are less likely to share equally. Sharing equally requires understanding how many objects each person has. Most kids in the TikTok challenge videos seem to immediately recognize that they have two cookies, and that they have more than their parents do.

    Children do not have to count in the cookie challenge because are able to subitize, which is the process of rapidly recognizing the exact number of objects in a set without counting them. Only small sets of objects up to four can be subitized. If we were to try a cookie challenge with more than four cookies, young children may be less likely to share equally. Teaching children to count can promote sharing behaviour.

    Do parents influence sharing?

    No, you haven’t failed as parents if your child doesn’t share.

    Children are sensitive to their parents’ emotions. Hearing their parent express sadness at not having any cookies evokes an emotional response in the child. The parent’s disappointment prompts the child to notice there is a problem.

    In many of the TikTok videos, parents also point out that the child has an extra cookie. Noticing the additional cookie prompts the child to look for a solution. The combination of the two leads many children to give one of their cookies away.

    However, young children may not realize the parent wants a cookie without being prompted. Preschoolers often struggle to think about what others are thinking — a concept known as theory of mind. The child must place themselves in their parent’s shoes to understand that they want a cookie as well. Drawing attention to another person’s wants can encourage the child to share.

    Outside of the challenge, parents can encourage their child to build sharing behaviours. Researchers have found that children are more likely to share following a structured interaction with a parent, which suggests that parents encourage and remind children to share. Reminding children to share with one another (sharing toys, taking turns, etc.) can help promote prosocial behaviours over the long term.

    Are only children less likely to share?

    Some TikTok commenters joke that children who do not share must be only children. Researchers from China found that three- to four-year-old only children shared fewer stickers than children with siblings did. However, when the researchers followed up with the same children a year later, there were no differences in how much only children shared compared to kids with siblings.

    Children with siblings may have more opportunities to practise sharing from an earlier age. However, only children can have other experiences that promote prosocial sharing behaviour, such as playing with friends or cousins.

    Having siblings is just one factor out of many that shape children’s early environments and influence their sharing behaviour. When one of this article’s authors, Rebecca Merkley, tried the challenge with her only child, she shared without hesitation.

    If you’re curious about whether your child would share with you, try the cookie challenge and see what they do.

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

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

    – ref. TikTok’s cookie challenge: Why some children share and others don’t – https://theconversation.com/tiktoks-cookie-challenge-why-some-children-share-and-others-dont-254053

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Committee on Rights of Migrant Workers Launches General Comment on the Convergence of the Migrant Workers’ Convention and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration

    Source: United Nations – Geneva

    The Committee on Migrant Workers today held an event to launch its general comment six on the convergent protection of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families through the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and the Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration.

    Fatimata Diallo, Committee Chair, in opening remarks, said migrants, especially those in an irregular situation, were disproportionately exposed to abuses and human rights violations, and often did not have access to due process or remedies.  More than 8,900 people died on migration routes in 2024.  Yet, the human rights dimensions of migration remained largely neglected, and inflammatory and xenophobic rhetoric against migrants helped politicians win votes.

    Ms. Diallo said the Convention and the Global Compact were unique, complementary and mutually reinforcing to advance migration governance and promote and protect the rights of all migrants. General comment six offered avenues for the coordination of the convergent measures for protection of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families in the Convention and the Global Compact.

    Peggy Hicks, Director, Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in opening remarks that general comment six was a milestone in international efforts to ensure that States aligned migration governance with international human rights obligations. Ms. Hicks called on all States, including those that had endorsed the Global Compact but had not yet ratified the Convention, to engage in dialogue on ratifying this important human rights instrument.

    Introducing the general comment, Mohammed Charef, Committee Expert and Chair of the Committee’s Working Group on the Convention and the Global Compact, said the Convention and the Global Compact both called for the protection of migrants from human rights violations, measures to promote decent work and access to social security, and efforts to help migrants reach their potential.  The general comment sought to help States parties to implement their commitments under these instruments and promote effective, tangible respect for the rights of migrants.

    The Committee heard statements marking the launch of the general comment by panellists from Permanent Missions and United Nations agencies, before holding a general discussion on how the Convention and the Global Compact could be implemented in synergy.

    In the discussion, speakers welcomed the adoption of general comment six, which they said assisted States in implementing their commitments under the Convention and the Global Compact and in managing migration with a human rights lens.

    Speakers welcomed that the general comment promoted non-criminalisation of migration.  States needed to adopt measures to combat the intolerance of migrants, particularly vulnerable persons, and to further facilitate regular migration, they said.

    Speaking as panellists were Carlos D. Sorreta, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva; Fernando Espinosa Olivera, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva; Abdellah Boutadghart, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva; Catalina Devandas, Senior Director, Office of Partnerships, Advocacy and Communications, International Organization for Migration; Gladys Cisneros, Chief of Branch, Labour Migration Unit, International Labour Organization; Patrick Eba, Deputy Director, Department of International Protection, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; Tasha Gill, Global Lead on Migration and Displacement, United Nations Children’s Fund Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia; Jonathan Prentice, Head of the Secretariat, United Nations Network on Migration; Patrick Taran, President, Global Migration Policy Associates; Alan Desmond, Editor, Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, University of Leicester, United Kingdom; and Ariel Cejas Meliare, Procurador Penitenciario de la Nación [Procurator’s Office of the Nation of Argentina].

    Bangladesh, Honduras and Burkina Faso took the floor in the discussion.

    The Committee on Migrant Worker’s fortieth session is being held from 7 to 17 April.  All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage.  Meeting summary releases can be found here.  The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage.

    The Committee will next meet in public at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, 17 April, to close its fortieth session.

    Opening Remarks

    FATIMATA DIALLO, Committee Chair, said currently, some 281 million people lived and worked in countries that were not their own. Migration was the symptom and effect of profound social, economic, and environmental pressures and changes around the world.  Migrants, especially those in an irregular situation, were disproportionately exposed to abuses and human rights violations, and often did not have access to due process or remedies.  As border controls had become stricter and regular pathways of entry and stay had narrowed, migrants’ journeys had become longer, more fragmented and more dangerous. More than 40,000 women, men and children between 2014 and 2021 had been declared dead or missing en route, and countless other disappearances had never been reported.  More than 8,900 people died on migration routes in 2024.

    Yet, the human rights dimensions of migration remained largely neglected.  The issue of migration was usually approached from the perspective of economic development or border security and control.  Inflammatory and xenophobic rhetoric against migrants helped politicians win votes, and in times of crisis, the migrant was a convenient scapegoat to blame for social and economic hardship.

    The Convention – a global legally binding instrument on migration – and the Global Compact – a non-binding instrument – were important international mechanisms in the context of migration.  They were unique, complementary and mutually reinforcing to advance migration governance and promote and protect the rights of all migrants, regardless of their migration status. 

    The Global Compact was first and foremost a strategic policy instrument for guidance, which was nevertheless anchored in the norms and standards of international law.  It was the most comprehensive migration governance instrument in the history of international migration, contributing to the protection of the various human rights of migrants and helping to operationalise the provisions of the Convention.  It laid the groundwork for Member States to create a strategy that protected all migrants in vulnerable situations through a range of mechanisms, including the provision of regular access pathways.

    The Convention, conversely, provided a comprehensive international legal framework for the promotion of the human rights of migrant workers and their family members, and remained the best strategy to prevent abuses and address the vulnerabilities that many migrants faced. It established minimum human rights standards, which were legally binding on States parties and applied to migrant workers and members of their families. 

    General comment six offered avenues for complementary coordination for the convergent protection of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families through the Convention and the Global Compact.

    The ratification of treaties could have a transformative effect.  Governments had used treaty provisions and treaty body recommendations to advance complex societal changes that faced resistance at the national level, such as adopting comprehensive non-discrimination legislation. Regrettably, none of the 27 European Union Member States had signed or ratified the Convention.  Convincing these States to ratify was important, not only because the European Union was an important migrant destination, but also because they had robust democratic institutions and vibrant civil society activity, and could meaningfully implement and comply with the Convention. Ratification by European Union Member States would send a strong message of support for this core human rights instrument.  It was time for the European Union and the Committee to engage in dialogue on the ratification of the Convention.

    The Convention did not create new rights, besides a few exceptions, but incorporated the fundamental human rights set out in the main international human rights instruments, applying them to a vast and specific category of the world’s population, namely migrant workers and members of their families.  Ms. Diallo called on States to support the Committee’s ratification campaign.

    PEGGY HICKS, Director, Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said migration was the history of humanity. The worrying trend of dehumanising anti-migrant narratives, and securitised and punitive migration policies, limited access to safe migration pathways, while the criminalisation of solidarity was placing migrants and communities at heightened human rights risks. It was time to re-centre migration governance on human rights protection and strengthen international cooperation grounded in the dignity and rights of all people, regardless of migration status.

    General comment six was a milestone in international efforts to ensure that States aligned migration governance with international human rights obligations.  It illustrated the complementarity between the Convention and the Global Compact – each reinforcing and completing the other and constituting a bridge between soft law and treaty law, providing interpretative guidance for States to implement the Global Compact commitments consistently with international human rights standards.

    The Global Compact was the first inter-governmentally negotiated agreement which covered all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner.  It respected States’ sovereign right to determine who entered and stayed in their territory and demonstrated commitment to international cooperation on migration.  It presented a significant opportunity to improve governance of migration, to address the challenges associated with today’s migration, and to strengthen the contribution of migrants and migration to sustainable development.  It also explicitly reinforced the importance of human rights and international law through its guiding principle on human rights and its commitment to the principles of non-regression and non-discrimination.

    The Convention offered detailed and binding provisions that complemented and strengthened the Compact’s more aspirational commitments.  On regularisation, for example, it provided concrete and binding guidance, requiring States parties to “take appropriate measures to ensure that [an irregular] situation did not persist” when migrant workers and members of their families were in an irregular situation within their territory, and stressed that States parties should consider adopting policies to prevent migrant workers and members of their families from falling into irregularity.

    The Convention was currently the least ratified of the core international human rights treaties, with only 60 States parties. Increasing the number of ratifications of the Convention remained a top priority for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.  At the same time, many countries had accepted many of the standards enshrined in the Convention via the ratification of other human rights treaties, the provisions of which mirrored the core rights codified in the Convention.

    Some of the recent work of the Committee highlighted the relevance of the Convention and the Committee’s work even to non-States parties, such as the joint general comments with the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which provided authoritative guidance that was equally applicable to all 196 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ms. Hicks also applauded the Committee for elaborating two joint general comments with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on principles and guidelines for eradicating xenophobia towards migrants.  The two draft general comments were already at an advanced stage and would be discussed at the current session.

    As the international community worked towards the implementation of the Global Compact, there was now also momentum for States parties, with the support of the Committee and its partners, to increase the number of States parties to the Convention.  The Convention had a unique role as the only binding global treaty focused on the rights of migrant workers and their families, with its principles echoed throughout the Global Compact. 

    Ms. Hicks encouraged the recognition that soft law and treaty law were not at odds, but rather mutually reinforcing.  This general comment helped bridge the two and offered useful guidance to all States, regardless of the ratification status. She invited States to consider Convention obligations in future implementation and review processes, such as the International Migration Reviews, and called on all States, including those that had endorsed the Global Compact but had not yet ratified the Convention, to engage in a dialogue with the Committee and the Office of the High Commissioner to discuss the benefits of ratifying this important human rights instrument.

    Statements Introducing the General Comment

    MOHAMMED CHAREF, Committee Expert and Chair of the Committee’s Working Group on the Convention and the Global Compact, called on all parties to carefully read the general comment, disseminate it and support its implementation.  In many countries, there were reports of serious and repeated violations of the rights of migrant workers, which had direct consequences on the most vulnerable among them.  Despite the alarmist discourse that was often used regarding migrant workers, there were many success stories associated with migration in the business, sport, music and science fields.  Human rights needed to be put at the heart of discussions concerning migrant workers.

    States needed to commit to their international obligations.  The Convention and the Global Compact had convergent goals, though only the former was binding.  Both instruments were rooted in values such as State sovereignty and respect for human rights.  They called for the protection of migrants from human rights violations such as trafficking and measures to promote decent work and access to social security.  Both instruments called for efforts to help migrants reach their potential.

    The general comment was based on broad-ranging consultations with civil society and stakeholders in Geneva and around the world. It sought to help States parties to implement their commitments under the Global Compact and to strengthen migration governance.  The general comment sought to promote effective and tangible respect for the rights of migrants.  Mr. Charef praised the efforts of champion countries of the Convention and called on States that had not yet ratified it to do so.  Ratification issues were more of a political nature than a legal one. The Committee would continue to encourage actors to promote the ratification of the Convention.

    The Global Compact and the Convention were two essential instruments for promoting the rights of migrant workers.  The Committee would promote their implementation and help build a brighter future for migrants around the world.

    EDGAR CORZO SOSA, Committee Expert and Member of the Committee’s Working Group on the Convention and the Global Compact, said the general comment juxtaposed two different instruments that needed to complement each other, rather than be put against each other.  One of its main goals was to provide authoritative guidance on how States could meet their obligations under these two instruments.  The general comment did not water down the human rights standards developed by the Committee, but rather built on them.  Safe, orderly and regular migration was a goal that could not be reached if human rights were left behind.  In the general comment, the Committee identified 14 common points between the two instruments, relating to topics such as decent work, returns, remittances, childhood, family, gender, protection, defence and trafficking in persons.

    The general comment provided a vision of migration governance that fully respected human rights.  The Committee would do its part in periodic reviews to promote its implementation.  It would hold a meeting with States in future to assess the impact that the general comment was having on human rights, and was calling on civil society to help disseminate it.

    Panel Statements

    CARLOS D. SORRETA, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, thanked the Committee for its work on general comment six.  There were over 10 million Filipinos working in almost all regions of the world.  The Philippines promoted effective and fair governance of migration.  The State party aimed to safeguard the rights of all migrant workers and establish legal pathways to migration.  It had instituted a stringent anti-human trafficking law and had established gender-responsive mechanisms for migrants in distress in host countries.

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines facilitated the return of over a million Filipinos.  It had passed laws allowing for dual citizenship and absentee voting, and developed a programme for enticing entrepreneurs and professionals to return to the State.  Most countries with which the Philippines negotiated with to protect its migrants were not parties to the Convention or the Global Compact. However, there were normative baselines that these States needed to uphold.  Over the years, protections for migrants had increased, influenced by these two instruments.

    FERNANDO ESPINOSA OLIVERA, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, said there was back-peddling on human rights and discriminatory discourse against migrants worldwide.  In this context, international agreements concerning migrants were very important. Mexico had led the creation of international frameworks, including the Global Compact, that guaranteed the respect of migrants and promoted secure, orderly, regular and humane migration. Mexico welcomed general comment six, which was the product of broad consultations.  It would help to bring greater consistency in efforts to protect migrants. 

    There were several commonalities between the Convention and the Global Compact.  Mexico had developed State agencies and policies for caring for migrants abroad and supporting their reintegration, as well as tools for collecting data on migrants.  The governance of migration was only possible when it respected human rights.  All States needed to adopt constructive approaches and respect their obligations in the field of human rights and international law.

    ABDELLAH BOUTADGHART, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, said the general comment was the product of a long and transparent process. Morocco hailed the Committee’s efforts to seek inputs from States on the general comment.  Currently, migrants around the work were facing xenophobia and violations of their rights.  The general comment would support efforts to protect their rights. 

    Morocco had developed a strategy to promote the rights of migrants on its territory.  It had regularised the status of many irregular migrants and supported their access to State services.  The Government sought to ensure that migrants could enjoy their rights. It had helped over 8,000 citizens of African countries seeking to return to their home countries to do so. Morocco shouldered its responsibilities in terms of border management and combatting trafficking in persons. States were obliged to ensure that the general comment was a success, and to develop policies on migration that were based on facts rather than disinformation.

    CATALINA DEVANDAS, Senior Director, Office of Partnerships, Advocacy and Communications, International Organization for Migration, said around 60 per cent of migrants were migrant workers.  Migrant workers constituted 4.7 per cent of the global workforce.  Over 650 billion United States dollars were sent in remittances to low and middle-income countries in 2024.  Remittances were key to development and reducing poverty. 

    The general comment promoted the benefits of safe and orderly migration and equal treatment in employment for migrant workers.  It called for key actors, including migrants themselves, to be included in conversations on migration policies and for migrants to be direct beneficiaries of these policies.  Despite the ongoing challenges, the past few decades had seen immense progress in the protection of the rights of migrants and the promotion of the benefits of migration for all.  The Convention and the Global Compact were two examples of this progress, and the general comment was an important tool for breathing new life into these instruments.

    GLADYS CISNEROS, Chief of Branch, Labour Migration Unit, International Labour Organization, said migrant workers were three times more likely to be in situations of forced labour.  Exploitation of migrant workers generated some 30 billion dollars in profits each year. In many countries, migrant workers faced legal and practical barriers to freedom of association.  These examples highlighted the urgent need for the protection of migrant workers’ rights. 

    Many International Labour Organization Conventions supplemented the rights guaranteed by the Global Compact and the Convention.  The International Labour Organization hoped to continue its collaboration with the Committee, and the Global Compact provided a crucial framework for this collaboration.  It guided States parties in the implementation of the Global Compact and the Convention.  States and civil society needed to closely study the general comment and make use of it to ensure the implementation of the Global Compact and the Convention.

    TASHA GILL, Global Lead on Migration and Displacement, United Nations Children’s Fund Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, said the general comment emphasised protecting children from statelessness by ensuring that all births were registered.  It promoted family reunification for migrant workers and their families and the protection of children’s rights at borders.  Further, the general comment called for the establishment of safeguards to ensure that migrant children could attend school, highlighting the risks of child labour.  Many children were left behind when their parents left their countries to work. The general comment called for policies to support these children.

    JONATHAN PRENTICE, Head of the Secretariat, United Nations Network on Migration, said the Global Compact outlined the ways in which safe and orderly migration could be achieved and recognised the need to review progress in its implementation on a periodic basis.  The Committee needed to exert further efforts to promote the implementation of the Global Compact and the general comment.  The Global Compact had a long way to go before it was fully realised, but its existence and potential were not to be underestimated.

    PATRICK TARAN, President, Global Migration Policy Associates, saluted the sixtieth ratification of the Convention by Zimbabwe.  This was a milestone achievement.  In addition to the 60 States parties, there were also 11 States that had signed the Convention but had yet to ratify it.  Demand for skilled labour was growing worldwide.  Migrants and migration were worth nine trillion dollars to the global economy.  However, pushbacks against the rights of migrants continued.  The Convention and the Global Compact were complementary only when States had ratified both.  No country could be a champion of migrant workers’ rights until they had ratified the Convention. 

    The death rate for migrant workers at work was at least three times the rate for migrants in transit.  Foreign workers were at least twice as likely as nationals to die at work in European Union Member States.  These deaths were a result of the lack of implementation of the standards of the Convention.  There needed to be a joint general comment on the complementarity of the Convention and the two International Labour Organization Conventions that addressed migrant workers.  The global campaign for ratification of the Convention needed to be rejuvenated. With more resources, the Committee could achieve at least 100 ratifications by 2030.

    United Nations Women said the general comment provided clarity on States’ obligations under the Global Compact and the Convention. At every stage of migration, women’s rights were non-negotiable.  Harmful narratives needed to be combatted, and migration pathways needed to be made safe for women.  Migrant women regularly faced human rights violations and threats en route. States needed to promote the participation of migrant women in policy development, strengthen protections for migrant women, and promote their access to work.  United Nations Women would help States to convert their commitments into transformative action for migrants.

    ALAN DESMOND, Editor, Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, University of Leicester, United Kingdom, said the general comment would be of great use in ensuring that States that had ratified the Global Compact and the Convention implemented their obligations, and in raising awareness of the Convention. The two instruments were not identical, and it was important for States to fully implement both.  Remittances were a vital source of income for migrant families and they helped to promote economic development.  Migrants often had to pay disproportionate transaction fees, sometimes as much as 10 per cent.  International commitments had been developed to reduce remittance costs. The Convention and the Global Compact conferred on migrant workers the right to send remittances and on States the obligation to facilitate such remittances.  The holistic implementation of the two instruments would help to support migrants’ ability to send remittances, among other rights.

    Poor sound quality prevented interpretation of the statement made by ARIEL CEJAS MELIARE, Procurador Penitenciario de la Nación [Procurator’s Office of the Nation of Argentina].

    Discussion

    In the ensuing discussion, speakers welcomed the adoption of general comment six, which assisted States in implementing their commitments under the Convention and the Global Compact and would help States to manage migration with a human rights lens.  Migration governance called for a coherent vision.  Speakers welcomed that the general comment promoted non-criminalisation of migration.  States needed to adopt measures to combat the intolerance of migrants, particularly vulnerable persons, and to further facilitate regular migration, they said.

    Speakers presented policies to promote orderly migration, naturalise irregular migrants, and combat trafficking in persons and statelessness.  They also congratulated the Committee on its efforts to promote the rights of migrant workers.

    Concluding Remarks

    CARLOS D. SORRETA, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, said the Philippines was developing an initiative to strengthen social stability and access to medical services for migrants.  This would help improve the situation of migrants abroad and when they returned home.  The State was calling on receiving countries to join the Convention.  Migrants had a transformative effect on the countries in which they worked.  Countries that had in the past criminalised Filipino migrant workers whose rights were violated by employers were now holding such employers to account.  This trend needed to continue.

    ABDELLAH BOUTADGHART, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, said that there was a need to ground migration policy in evidence, away from xenophobic discourse.  It was welcome to hear the strong support for this approach from all speakers.

    MOHAMMED CHAREF, Committee Expert and Chair of the Committee’s Working Group on the Convention and the Global Compact, said he was moved by the support expressed for the general comment by participants.  During these challenging times, there needed to be collaboration between all parties to address migrant workers’ complex situation and support them.

    EDGAR CORZO SOSA, Committee Expert and Member of the Committee’s Working Group on the Convention and the Global Compact, said the Committee would spare no effort to promote the implementation of the general comment, and ensure that the good standards and practices established in the Convention and the Global Compact were implemented around the world.

    FATIMATA DIALLO, Committee Chair, said the Committee hoped that the general comment would be a roadmap for States parties to improve protections for migrants and migrant workers.  It would take into consideration all comments made by participants and work to disseminate the general comment through its outreach activities.  It hoped that the general comment would contribute to promoting the protection of migrant workers across the world.

    ___________

    Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the media; 
    not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

     

    CMW25.005E

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud

    Source: United States Attorneys General 13

    Minh Phoung Ngoc Vong Participated in a Multi-Year Fraudulent Scheme to Obtain Remote Information Technology Work With U.S. Companies and Government Agencies for Persons Based in China

    Minh Phuong Ngoc Vong, 40, of Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme whereby he conspired with unknown individuals, including John Doe, also known as William James, a foreign national living in Shenyang, China, to defraud U.S. companies into hiring Vong as a remote software developer. After securing these jobs through materially false statements about his education, training, and experience, Vong allowed Doe and others to use his computer access credentials to perform the remote software development work and receive payment for that work.

    According to the plea agreement, on Jan. 30, 2023, Doe submitted a fraudulent resume in Vong’s name to a Virginia-based technology company for the position of web application developer, which required U.S. citizenship as a condition of employment. The resume falsely represented that Vong had a Bachelor of Science degree and 16 years of experience as a software developer. In fact, Vong had no college degree or experience in software development.

    On March 28, 2023, Vong participated in an online job interview with the CEO of the Virginia-based company and verified his identity and citizenship by showing his Maryland driver’s license and U.S. passport. Following the interview, the Virginia-based company hired Vong and assigned him to work on a contract for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) involving a particular software application used by various U.S. government agencies to manage sensitive information regarding national defense matters. The Virginia-based company provided Vong with a laptop to use in connection with his employment, and the FAA authorized Vong to receive a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card to access government facilities and systems. Vong installed remote access software on the laptop to facilitate Doe’s access to it and conceal his location in China.

    Between March 2023 and July 2023, Doe used Vong’s credentials to perform the software development work from his location in China. The Virginia-based company paid Vong more than $28,000 in wages for work performed by Doe, portions of which Vong then sent overseas to Doe and other conspirators.

    As part of his guilty plea, Vong admitted that the Virginia-based company was not the only company he and his co-conspirators defrauded. Between 2021 and 2024, Vong used fraudulent misrepresentations to obtain employment with at least 13 different U.S. companies, who collectively paid Vong a total of more than $970,000 in salary for software development services that were, unbeknownst to them, performed by Doe and/or other overseas conspirators. Several of these defrauded companies contracted out Vong’s services to U.S. government agencies in addition to the FAA. As a result of Vong’s fraudulent misrepresentations, these government agencies unknowingly granted Vong’s co-conspirators access to sensitive U.S. government systems, which they accessed from China.

    Vong faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman for the District of Maryland scheduled sentencing for Aug. 28. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The FBI Baltimore Field Office is investigating the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina A. Hoffman for the District of Maryland is prosecuting the case with valuable assistance provided by Trial Attorney Alexandra Cooper-Ponte of the National Security Division’s National Security Cyber Section.

    Under the Department-wide DPRK RevGen: Domestic Enabler Initiative,  launched in March 2024 by the National Security Division and the FBI’s Cyber and Counterintelligence Divisions, Department prosecutors and agents are prioritizing the identification and shuttering of U.S.-based “laptop farms” – locations hosting laptops provided by victim U.S. companies to individuals they believed were legitimate U.S.-based freelance IT workers – and the investigation and prosecution of individuals hosting them. Today’s announcement follows successful actions taken by the Department in October 2023, May 2024, August 2024, December 2024, and January 2025, which targeted similar and related conduct.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: What Is Aerodynamics? (Grades 5-8)

    Source: NASA

    This article is for students grades 5-8.
    Aerodynamics is the way objects move through air. The rules of aerodynamics explain how an airplane is able to fly. Anything that moves through air is affected by aerodynamics, from a rocket blasting off, to a kite flying. Since they are surrounded by air, even cars are affected by aerodynamics.

    The four forces of flight are lift, weight, thrust and drag. These forces make an object move up and down, and faster or slower. The amount of each force compared to its opposing force determines how an object moves through the air.

    Gravity is a force that pulls everything down to Earth. Weight is the amount of gravity multiplied by the mass of an object. Weight is also the downward force that an aircraft must overcome to fly. A kite has less mass and therefore less weight to overcome than a jumbo jet, but they both need the same thing in order to fly — lift.

    Lift is the push that lets something move up. It is the force that is the opposite of weight. Everything that flies must have lift. For an aircraft to move upward, it must have more lift than weight. A hot air balloon has lift because the hot air inside is lighter than the air around it. Hot air rises and carries the balloon with it. A helicopter’s lift comes from the rotor blades. Their motion through the air moves the helicopter upward. Lift for an airplane comes from its wings.

    The shape of an airplane’s wings is what makes it possible for the airplane to fly. Airplanes’ wings are curved on top and flatter on the bottom. That shape makes air flow over the top faster than under the bottom. As a result, less air pressure is on top of the wing. This lower pressure makes the wing, and the airplane it’s attached to, move up. Using curves to affect air pressure is a trick used on many aircraft. Helicopter rotor blades use this curved shape. Lift for kites also comes from a curved shape. Even sailboats use this curved shape. A boat’s sail is like a wing. That’s what makes the sailboat move.

    Drag is a force that pulls back on something trying to move. Drag provides resistance, making it hard to move. For example, it is more difficult to walk or run through water than through air. Water causes more drag than air. The shape of an object also affects the amount of drag. Round surfaces usually have less drag than flat ones. Narrow surfaces usually have less drag than wide ones. The more air that hits a surface, the more the drag the air produces.

    Thrust is the force that is the opposite of drag. It is the push that moves something forward. For an aircraft to keep moving forward, it must have more thrust than drag. A small airplane might get its thrust from a propeller. A larger airplane might get its thrust from jet engines. A glider does not have thrust. It can only fly until the drag causes it to slow down and land.

    Aerodynamics is an important part of NASA’s work. The first A in NASA stands for aeronautics, which is the science of flight. NASA works to make airplanes and other aircraft better. Studying aerodynamics is an important part of that work. Aerodynamics is important to other NASA missions. Probes landing on Mars have to travel through the Red Planet’s thin atmosphere. Having to travel through an atmosphere means aerodynamics is important on other planets too.

    Dynamics of Flight
    Read What Is Aerodynamics (Grades K-4)

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Experience the Launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Mission

    Source: NASA

    Digital content creators are invited to register to attend the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to carry astronauts to the International Space Station for a science expedition as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. This will be the 15th time a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launched by a Falcon 9 rocket takes crews to the orbital laboratory. 
    Launch of the Crew-11 mission is targeted for no earlier than July 2025 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. The launch will carry NASA astronauts Commander Zena Cardman and Pilot Mike Fincke, and mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. 
    If your passion is to communicate and engage the world online, then this is the event for you! Seize the opportunity to see and share the #Crew11 mission launch. 
    A maximum of 50 social media users will be selected to attend this two-day event and will be given exclusive access to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 
    NASA Social participants will have the opportunity to: 

    View a crewed launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft 

    Tour NASA facilities at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida 

    Meet and interact with Crew-11 subject-matter experts 

    Meet fellow space enthusiasts who are active on social media 

    NASA Social registration for the Crew-11 launch opens on Tuesday, April 15, and the deadline to apply is at 10 a.m. EDT on Monday, April 28. All social applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. 
    APPLY NOW 
    Do I need to have a social media account to register? 
     Yes. This event is designed for people who: 

    Actively use multiple social networking platforms and tools to disseminate information to a unique audience. 

    Regularly produce new content that features multimedia elements. 

    Have the potential to reach a large number of people using digital platforms, or reach a unique audience, separate and distinctive from traditional news media and/or NASA audiences. 

    Must have an established history of posting content on social media platforms. 

    Have previous postings that are highly visible, respected and widely recognized. 

    Users on all social networks are encouraged to use the hashtag #NASASocial and #Crew11. Updates and information about the event will be shared on X via @NASASocial and @NASAKennedy, and via posts to Facebook and Instagram. 
    How do I register? 
    Registration for this event opens on Tuesday, April 15, and the deadline to apply is at 10 a.m. EDT on Monday, April 28. Registration is for one person only (you) and is non-transferable. Each individual wishing to attend must register separately. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis. 
    Can I register if I am not a U.S. citizen? 
    Yes, this event is open for all to apply, ages 18 years and older. 
    When will I know if I am selected? 
    After registrations have been received and processed, an email with confirmation information and additional instructions will be sent to those selected. We expect to send the acceptance notifications by May 30. 
    What are NASA Social credentials? 
    All social applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Those chosen must prove through the registration process they meet specific engagement criteria. 
    If you do not make the registration list for this NASA Social, you still can attend the launch offsite and participate in the conversation online. Find out about ways to experience a launch here. 
    What are the registration requirements? 
    Registration indicates your intent to travel to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and attend the two-day event in person. You are responsible for your own expenses for travel, accommodations, food, and other amenities. You must be able to attend all days of NASA Social activities in order to view the launch
    Some events and participants scheduled to appear at the event are subject to change without notice. NASA is not responsible for loss or damage incurred as a result of attending. NASA, moreover, is not responsible for loss or damage incurred if the event is cancelled with limited or no notice. Please plan accordingly. 
    NASA Kennedy is a government facility. Those who are selected will need to complete an additional registration step to receive clearance to enter the secure areas. 
    IMPORTANT: To be admitted, you will need to provide two forms of unexpired government-issued identification; one must be a photo ID and match the name provided on the registration. Those without proper identification cannot be admitted. 
    For a complete list of acceptable forms of ID, please visit: NASA Credentialing Identification Requirements. 
    All registrants must be at least 18 years old. 
    What if the launch date changes? 
    Many different factors can cause a scheduled launch date to change multiple times. If the launch date changes, NASA may adjust the date of the NASA Social accordingly to coincide with the new target launch date. NASA will notify registrants of any changes by email. 
    If the launch is postponed, attendees may be invited to attend a later launch date but that is not guaranteed. 
    NASA Social attendees are responsible for any additional costs they incur related to any launch delay. We strongly encourage participants to make travel arrangements that are refundable and/or flexible. 
    What if I cannot come to the Kennedy Space Center? 
    If you cannot come to the Kennedy Space Center and attend all days in person, you should not register for the NASA Social. You can follow the conversation online using #NASASocial.  
    You can also become a virtual guest for NASA launches and milestone events. This free program gives access to curated resources, schedule changes, and mission specific information delivered straight to your inbox. Join us today! 
    You can watch the launch on NASA+. NASA will provide regular launch and mission updates on X at @NASA, @NASAKennedy, and @Commercial_Crew, as well as on NASA’s Commercial Crew Program blog. 
    If you cannot make this NASA Social, don’t worry; NASA is planning many other Socials in the near future at various locations! 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA’s Hubble Tracks a Roaming Magnetar of Unknown Origin

    Source: NASA

    Researchers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have discovered the magnetar called SGR 0501+4516 is traversing our galaxy from an unknown place of origin. Researchers say that this runaway magnetar is the likeliest candidate in our Milky Way galaxy for a magnetar that was not born in a supernova explosion as initially predicted. It is so strange it might even offer clues to the mechanism behind events known as fast radio bursts.
    “Magnetars are neutron stars — the dead remnants of stars — composed entirely of neutrons. What makes magnetars unique is their extreme magnetic fields,” said Ashley Chrimes, lead author of the discovery paper published in the April 15 journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. Chrimes is a European Space Agency Research Fellow at the European Space Research and Technology Center in the Netherlands.
    Magnetars have comic-book-hero superpowers. A magnetar has a magnetic field about a trillion times more powerful than Earth’s magnetosphere. If a magnetar flew by Earth at half the Moon’s distance, its intense field would wipe out every credit card on our planet. If a human got within 600 miles, the magnetar would become a proverbial sci-fi death-ray, ripping apart every atom inside the body.
    The magnetar’s strangeness was identified with the help of Hubble’s sensitive instruments as well as precise benchmarks from ESA’s (European Space Agency) Gaia spacecraft.
    Initially, the mysterious magnetar was discovered in 2008 when NASA’s Swift Observatory spotted brief, intense flashes of gamma rays from the outskirts of the Milky Way. The source, which turned out to be one of only about 30 known magnetars in the Milky Way, was dubbed SGR 0501+4516.

    This is an artist’s impression of a magnetar, which is a special type of neutron star with an incredibly strong magnetic field. Neutron stars are some of the most compact and extreme objects in the universe. These stars typically pack more than the mass of the Sun into a sphere of neutrons about 12 miles across. The neutron star is depicted as a white-blueish sphere. The magnetic field is shown as filaments streaming out from its polar regions.
    Illustration: ESA

    Because magnetars are neutron stars, the natural explanation for their formation is that they are born in supernovae, when a star explodes and can collapse down to an ultra-dense neutron star. This appeared to be the case for SGR 0501+4516, which is located close to a supernova remnant called HB9. The separation between the magnetar and the center of the supernova remnant on the sky is just 80 arcminutes, or slightly wider than your pinky finger when viewed at the end of your outstretched arm.
    But a decade-long study with Hubble cast doubt on the magnetar’s birthplace. After initial observations with ground-based telescopes shortly after SGR 0501+4516’s discovery, researchers used Hubble’s exquisite sensitivity and steady pointing to spot the magnetar’s faint infrared glow in 2010, 2012, and 2020. Each of these images was aligned to a reference frame defined by observations from the Gaia spacecraft, which has crafted an extraordinarily precise three-dimensional map of nearly two billion stars in the Milky Way. This method revealed the subtle motion of the magnetar as it traversed the sky.
    “All of this movement we measure is smaller than a single pixel of a Hubble image,” said co-investigator Joe Lyman of the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. “Being able to robustly perform such measurements really is a testament to the long-term stability of Hubble.”
    By tracking the magnetar’s position, the team was able to measure the object’s apparent motion across the sky. Both the speed and direction of SGR 0501+4516’s movement showed that the magnetar could not be associated with the nearby supernova remnant. Tracing the magnetar’s trajectory thousands of years into the past showed that there were no other supernova remnants or massive star clusters with which it could be associated.
    If SGR 0501+4516 was not born in a supernova, the magnetar must either be older than its estimated 20,000-year age, or it may have formed in another way. Magnetars may also be able to form through the merger of two lower-mass neutron stars or through a process called accretion-induced collapse. Accretion-induced collapse requires a binary star system containing a white dwarf: the core of a dead Sun-like star. If the white dwarf pulls in gas from its companion, it can grow too massive to support itself, leading to an explosion — or possibly the creation of a magnetar.
    “Normally, this scenario leads to the ignition of nuclear reactions, and the white dwarf exploding, leaving nothing behind. But it has been theorized that under certain conditions, the white dwarf can instead collapse into a neutron star. We think this might be how SGR 0501 was born,” added Andrew Levan of Radboud University in the Netherlands and the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.
    Understanding Fast Radio Bursts
    SGR 0501+4516 is currently the best candidate for a magnetar in our galaxy that may have formed through a merger or accretion-induced collapse. Magnetars that form through accretion-induced collapse could provide an explanation for some of the mysterious fast radio bursts, which are brief but powerful flashes of radio waves. In particular, this scenario may explain the origin of fast radio bursts that emerge from stellar populations too ancient to have recently birthed stars massive enough to explode as supernovae.
    “Magnetar birth rates and formation scenarios are among the most pressing questions in high-energy astrophysics, with implications for many of the universe’s most powerful transient events, such as gamma-ray bursts, super-luminous supernovae, and fast radio bursts,” said Nanda Rea of the Institute of Space Sciences in Barcelona, Spain.
    The research team has further Hubble observations planned to study the origins of other magnetars in the Milky Way, helping to understand how these extreme magnetic objects form.
    The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: The Value of Ecosystems’ Land Change Science Program – Ensuring Public Safety and Preparing for Hazards

    Source: US Geological Survey

    In the west, avalanches cause more fatalities on an annual basis than earthquakes and landslides combined. Avalanche frequency has increased due to increasing temperatures and mid-winter rain events. Ecosystems Land Change Science Program science is used by land and transportation infrastructure managers to inform avalanche forecasting, hazard mitigation, and land-use planning in avalanche terrain, which saves human lives, avoids property loss, and minimizes economic losses due to transportation corridor closures.

    For example, in Glacier National Park, park managers rely on USGS Land Change Science expertise to provide on-site avalanche forecasting for the Going-to-the-Sun Road – a major thoroughfare and tourist destination in the park. Since the USGS Glacier National Park Avalanche Program began forecasting efforts in 2003, there have been no avalanche related injuries or fatalities, despite there being 1168 avalanche days with 607 avalanches that impacted the road over the 22-year period. Further, in 2021, due to increased park visitation by tourists and access to higher stretches of road, USGS began providing weekend avalanche forecasts to the Visitor Protection Division at Glacier National Park, which uses those forecasts as the definitive measure of whether to close specific areas for public safety, saving lives and property.

    USGS Land Change Science also partners with Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado Avalanche Information Center to inform planning and disaster mitigation into the future. Critical transportation corridors run through the state of Colorado, including transcontinental Interstate 70 and many other highways that are at risk from snow avalanche hazards each winter. According to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, the value of freight shipments to and from businesses in Colorado was $232 billion in 2022 of which 77% was shipped by truck. Thus, road closures and damages by avalanches are extremely costly (millions can be lost for each day of closure), making accurate forecasting and mitigation activities essential for keeping the road open, avoiding both losses of life and property. Long term USGS avalanche frequency data has helped the Colorado Department of Transportation, Burlington National Santa Fe Railway, National Park Service, and Colorado Avalanche Information Center. USGS provided a 200-year avalanche chronology of destructive, large magnitude avalanches that helped them reassess their forecasts to improve public safety, saving lives and property.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Youth Forum – Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) 2025 | United Nations

    Source: United Nations (Video News)

    Opening
    Moderated conversation: Youth-Led Solutions for a Resilient Future (discussions with young leaders from around the world)
    Session 1: Working with and for young People: Shaping inclusive and sustainable solutions for the 2030 Agenda.

    This session will invite young people to share their ideas and expertise to help accelerate the implementation of the SDGs reflecting on challenges, solutions, 
    and best practices. The discussion will aim to highlight youth voices in promoting 
    their active role in shaping integrated policies on issues related to poverty, decent 
    work, economic security, social inclusion, gender equality, climate action, 
    resilience, conflicts and peacebuilding

    ———————————

    The Youth Forum provides a platform for young people to engage in a dialogue with Member States and other stakeholders to share their views and concerns as well as galvanize actions and recommendations to transform the world into a fairer, greener and more sustainable place led by the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    The ECOSOC Youth Forum will be guided by the 2025 theme of ECOSOC and the High-level Political Forum (HLPF): “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind”. It will also provide opportunities to discuss concrete actions and commitments to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for in-depth review at the 2025 HLPF, namely SDG 3 (Good health and well-being), SDG 5 (Gender equality), SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth), SDG 14 (Life below water) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

    More information: https://ecosoc.un.org/en/what-we-do/ecosoc-youth-forum/about-youth-forum/ecosoc-youth-forum-2025

    For the other sessions and all UN official language interpretations, please visit: https://webtv.un.org/

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7flH3WjOc8k

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Video: NASA’s SpaceX 32nd Commercial Resupply Services Launch

    Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)

    The 32nd SpaceX commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station is set to lift off on a Falcon 9 rocket from our Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:15 a.m. EDT (0815 UTC), Monday, April 21, delivering science investigations and supplies to the orbiting lab.

    SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is carrying several new research projects to the station, including experiments focused on vision-based navigation, spacecraft air quality, materials for drug and product manufacturing, and advancing plant growth with less reliance on photosynthesis.

    More about the research aboard Dragon: https://go.nasa.gov/4j4g53V

    Credit: NASA

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-_UpmNP844

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Secretary Kennedy Visits the FDA

    Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)

    “I visited the FDA with Commissioner Makary to see the groundbreaking work driving innovation in science and medicine. I encouraged FDA employees to reimagine their roles — to lead with courage, think boldly, and take initiative to Make America Healthy Again.” – Secretary Kennedy

    —

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) | http://www.hhs.gov

    http://www.Twitter.com/HHSGov | http://www.Facebook.com/HHS http://www.Instagram.com/HHSGov
    http://www.LinkedIn.com/company/us-department-of-health-and-human-services

    HHS Privacy Policy: http://www.hhs.gov/Privacy.html

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93AumPH49b8

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Startup selected under NQM launches one of India’s most powerful quantum computers

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 15 APR 2025 3:49PM by PIB Delhi

    Bangaluru based QpiAI, one of the 8 startups selected under the National Quantum Mission, coordinated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) announced the launch of one of India’s most powerful quantum computers featuring 25 superconducting qubits, on the occasion of World Quantum Day yesterday.

    QpiAI-Indus, the quantum computer launched, is the first full-stack quantum computing system in the country and combines advanced quantum hardware, scalable control, and optimized software for transformative hybrid computing. It integrates advanced quantum processors, next-generation Quantum-HPC software platforms, and AI-enhanced quantum solutions.

    With this milestone, QpiAI is driving deep-science and deep-tech innovation across life sciences, drug discovery, materials sciences, mobility, logistics, sustainability, and climate action.

    As a part of India’s National Quantum Mission, QpiAI is at the forefront of building the country’s quantum computing technology ecosystem, national quantum adoption programs, and creating one of the world’s largest quantum talent ecosystems. QpiAI is committed to accelerating India’s quantum journey, making quantum computing technologies practical, accessible, and globally impactful. The technologies from the company, bootstrapped in 2019, have led to 11 patent applications and generated a revenue of around Rs 1 million per annum. They have also generated substantial capital from the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

    With this announcement on World Quantum Day which marks a shared vision for a quantum-enabled future that transforms industries, accelerates scientific discovery, and empowers the next generation of innovators, QpiAI joins the global community of scientists, engineers, policy makers, and enthusiasts in celebrating the remarkable progress and possibilities unlocked by quantum science and technology.

    ***

    NKR/PSM

    (Release ID: 2121845) Visitor Counter : 102

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Denis Manturov held the 13th meeting of the Russian-Indonesian Joint Commission on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Denis Manturov and Minister Coordinating for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Airlangga Hartarto held the 13th meeting of the Russian-Indonesian Joint Commission on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation. Its participants considered a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, industry, investment, transport and energy, as well as science, education and culture.

    Despite global challenges, bilateral trade between Russia and Indonesia is showing positive dynamics. Over the past five years, mutual trade turnover has grown by more than 80% (to $4.3 billion by the end of 2024), and last year Indonesia was among Russia’s three leading foreign trade partners in ASEAN. “At the same time, the potential for economic cooperation is much broader. This was confirmed, among other things, by the Russian-Indonesian business forum held yesterday in Jakarta. Business circles are demonstrating practical interest in developing mutually beneficial cooperation. Given the success of the format, I propose to continue the practice of combining such business events with commission meetings. I also consider it necessary to encourage the participation of Russian and Indonesian companies in major congress and exhibition events held in our countries,” Denis Manturov noted.

    The business dialogue between Russia and Indonesia contributes to the diversification of the trade structure. Thus, along with fuel and energy products, the export of food and mineral fertilizers is growing. In 2023, deliveries of Russian wheat resumed. “We expect to begin shipping meat products that will meet halal standards in the near future. We see opportunities for developing the export of forestry and metallurgy products,” the First Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

    The conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement between the EAEU and Indonesia, as well as the intergovernmental agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters will allow further increase in trade turnover and simplify procedures for mutual access of goods to markets. Denis Manturov also emphasized the importance of ensuring uninterrupted mutual settlements.

    Special attention at the meeting was paid to the development of cooperation in the field of digital technologies. Domestic companies are ready to implement their own developments in the field of information security, artificial intelligence and smart city technologies in Indonesia. The First Deputy Prime Minister also confirmed readiness for dialogue on projects in the space industry, including technologies for remote sensing of the Earth, satellite navigation, manned spaceflight and personnel training.

    Cooperation in the spheres of culture, education, tourism and sports is developing successfully. Speaking about strengthening partnership relations in the media, Denis Manturov welcomed the plans of the Russia Today TV channel to jointly produce news content in Indonesian for local channels, which will allow objective coverage of both the Russian-Indonesian agenda and global events in the interests of the audience of our countries.

    Following the event, a final protocol was signed, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding between Rosakcreditatsiya and the Indonesian Halal Product Quality Assurance Agency, which is aimed at improving the conditions for access of halal products to the Indonesian market. In addition, an Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Improving Quality and Business Excellence was signed between Roskachestvo and the Indonesian Association for Quality and Productivity Management, as well as an Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Sports between the Russian National Badminton Federation and the Indonesian Badminton Association.

    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 Africa: Ministry of Health and KAOUN International launch GITEX FUTURE HEALTH AFRICA in Morocco, the foremost healthcare tech event to accelerate digitisation of the region’s healthcare industry

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    MARRAKECH, Morocco, April 15, 2025/APO Group/ —

    During the third annual edition of GITEX AFRICA Morocco (www.GITEXAfrica.com), the continent’s largest tech and startup show, His Excellency Mr. Amine Tehraoui, Morocco’s Minister of Health and Social Protection announced the launch of GITEX FUTURE HEALTH AFRICA/Morocco – in partnership with KAOUN International, organiser of GITEX in Africa and globally.

    The much anticipated and pivotal event for the healthcare economy was officially launched with the signing of the partnership agreement, and will be held under the authority of Morocco’s Minister of Health and Social Protection, hosted in partnership with Mohammed VI Foundation for Sciences and Health (FM6SS), and organised by KOAUN International, the organiser of GITEX in Africa and globally.

    To be hosted in Casablanca from 21-23 April 2026, GITEX FUTURE HEALTH AFRICA/Morocco, featuring GITEX DIGI_HEALTH, is set to lead the transformation impetus of Morocco and Africa to combat challenges in healthcare information, delivery, access and efficiency, capitalising on the emergence of AI and digital technologies.

    H.E. Mr. Amine Tehraoui, Minister of Health and Social Protection, stated: “GITEX FUTURE HEALTH AFRICA/Morocco embodies the Kingdom’s unwavering commitment to health as a fundamental and universal human right, enshrined in our national vision for health system reform. As digital innovation, data intelligence, and health tech increasingly shape the future of care delivery across Africa, this platform reinforces Morocco’s position as a regional hub for collaboration, talent, and investment. Through international partnerships, strategic innovation, and shared expertise, we have a unique opportunity to co-build inclusive, resilient, and people-centered healthcare systems for the continent and beyond.”

    For its part, the Mohammed VI Foundation for Sciences and Health emphasized its strategic vision: “As a major player in the fields of health, training, and scientific research, the Mohammed VI Foundation for Sciences and Health is committed, alongside the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and KAOUN International, to making Morocco a continental hub for healthtech. By contributing its medical and academic expertise through the development of digital health and medical technologies in Morocco and Africa, we aim to help shape the healthcare ecosystem of tomorrow.”

    Morocco has emerged as a pioneer in digital health initiatives and advancing expeditiously towards an integrated health information system, fostering the adoption of innovative medical technologies to build a resilient healthcare infrastructure and system. The African healthcare market is estimated to be worth US$259 billion and expected to become the second biggest market after the US by 2030.

    Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of KAOUN International, organiser of GITEX globally, commented: “There is urgency from governments and healthcare institutions worldwide – and especially in Africa – to modernise and digitise their healthcare services to increase reach, reduce healthcare costs and deliver better patient outcomes. GITEX FUTURE HEALTH AFRICA/Morocco will highlight the role and growing influence of AI and new digital solutions to improve data-driven decision making and reduce health inequities. The event will prioritise public-private partnerships which are particularly instrumental in this digital mission to advance the industry productively and efficiently.”

    The three-day event will open with an agenda shaping leadership summit tackling powerful themes – accelerating cutting-edge solutions set to transform access, outcomes and health equity. Targeting decision-making executives from hospitals and healthcare institutions, health ministers and government leaders, CIOs, CTOs, innovators and disruptors, and public health policymakers – topics during the summit will explore health infrastructure, expanded access to healthcare, investment and research, data security and national records integration, health and data analytics, and AI-powered diagnostics.

    An exhibition will bring together top researchers, practitioners, innovators, and experts from the global healthcare industry – representing Africa’s most important gathering of medical & lab equipment, imaging & diagnostics, IT systems & solutions, healthcare infrastructure, healthcare transformation, smart hospitals, healthcare management, and digital health management systems in Africa.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Cambodia’s haunted present: 50 years after Khmer Rouge’s rise, murderous legacy looms large

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Sophal Ear, Associate Professor in the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University

    Khmer Rouge forces collect weapons left behind by retreating soldiers as they enter Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975. Roland Neveu/LightRocket via Getty Images

    On April 17, 1975, tanks rolled into the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, to cheering crowds who believed that the country’s long civil war might finally be over.

    But what followed was one of the worst genocides of the 20th century. During a brutal four-year rule, the communist-nationalist ideologues of the Khmer Rouge killed between 1.6 million and 3 million people through executions, forced labor and starvation. It represented a quarter of the country’s population at the time.

    Fifty years on, the Khmer Rouge’s legacy continues to shape Cambodia – politically, socially, economically and emotionally. It’s etched into every Cambodian’s bones – including mine.

    Photo of author’s parents in Cambodia, taken in late 1960s.
    Sophal Ear, CC BY

    I write this not just as an academic or observer but as a survivor. My father died under the Khmer Rouge, succumbing to dysentery and malnutrition after being forced to work in a labor camp. My mother pretended to be Vietnamese to save our family. She escaped Cambodia with five children in 1976, crossing through Vietnam before reaching France in 1978 and finally the United States in 1985. We were among the lucky ones.

    Today, Cambodia is physically unrecognizable from the bombed-out fields and empty cities of the 1970s. Phnom Penh gleams with high-rises and luxury malls. And yet beneath the glitter, the past endures – often in silence, sometimes in cynical exploitation.

    Legacy of fear and control

    The Khmer Rouge came to power on a wave of disillusionment, corruption, civil war and rural resentment. Years of American bombing, the 1970 U.S.-backed coup that ousted Prince Norodom Sihanouk, and the subsequent deeply unpopular U.S.-aligned military regime set the stage for the Khmer Rouge’s rise.

    A convoy of vehicles commandeered by the victorious Khmer Rouge drives through Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975.
    Roland Neveu/LightRocket via Getty Images

    Many Cambodians, particularly in the countryside, welcomed the Khmer Rouge, with its mix of hard-line communist ideology and extreme Cambodian nationalism, as liberators who promised to restore order and dignity. But for the next four years, the Khmer Rouge, under feared leader Pol Pot, brought terror to the nation through ideological purges, forced labor, racial genocide of minority groups and policies that brought widespread famine.

    People digging a water canal under the guard of an armed Khmer Rouge soldier in 1976.
    AFP via Getty Images

    The regime fell in 1979, when Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia and toppled the Khmer Rouge leadership, installing a new, pro-Hanoi government. But its shadows remain.

    The now ruling Cambodian People’s Party, in power for over four decades, has justified its grip on the country through the trauma of the genocide.

    “Peace and stability” have become mantras used to squash dissent.

    Every sham election becomes a referendum not just on policy but on avoiding a return to war. Critics of Cambodia’s rulers are framed as threats to peace and unity. Opposition parties have been dissolved, activists jailed, media muzzled.

    This political culture of fear draws directly from the Khmer Rouge playbook – minus the overt violence. The trauma inflicted by that regime taught people to distrust one another, to keep quiet, to survive by keeping their heads down. That impulse still shapes public life.

    Justice delayed, and still incomplete

    The Khmer Rouge tribunal – officially the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia – was supposed to bring closure. It has brought some.

    But it took decades to begin, cost over US$300 million and convicted only three senior Khmer Rouge leaders over the 1975–79 genocide. Many mid- and lower-level perpetrators walk free, some are still in government positions, some neighbors to survivors.

    For a nation where the majority of the population was born after 1979, there remains a glaring gap in education and public reckoning over the Khmer Rouge’s atrocities.

    Cambodia’s school curriculum still struggles to teach this period adequately. For many young people, it’s something their parents don’t talk about and the state prefers to frame selectively.

    Economic growth − uneven and fragile

    In raw numbers, Cambodia’s economic progress over the past two decades has been impressive.

    GDP growth averaged around 7% annually before the COVID-19 pandemic. Cities have expanded, and investment – especially from China – has flooded in.

    One of Phnom Penh’s high-end malls.
    Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP via Getty Images.

    But much of this growth is precarious. Cambodia’s economy remains dependent on garment exports, tourism and construction. This leaves it vulnerable to external shocks, such as the Trump administration’s imposition of 49% tariffs on Cambodian goods, now temporarily paused.

    Instead of building a resilient, diversified economy, Cambodia has relied on relationships – with China for investment, with the U.S. for markets – without investing enough in its own human capital. That, too, I believe, is a legacy of the Khmer Rouge, which destroyed the country’s intellectual and professional classes.

    Trauma passed down

    The psychological toll of genocide doesn’t disappear with time. Survivors carry the scars in their bodies and minds.

    But so do their children and grandchildren. Studies in postgenocide Cambodia have shown elevated rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression among survivors and their descendants, resulting in intergenerational trauma.

    There are not nearly enough mental health services in the country. Trauma is often dealt with privately, through silence or resilience rather than therapy. Buddhism, the country’s dominant religion, offers rituals for healing, reincarnation and forgiveness. But this isn’t a substitute for systemic mental health infrastructure.

    Worse, in recent years, even the memory of the genocide has been politicized.

    Some leaders use it as a tool to silence dissent. Others co-opt it for nationalist narratives. There’s little room for honest, critical reflection. Some independent initiatives, such as intergenerational dialogue programs and digital archives, have tried to fill the gap but face limited support.

    This is, I believe, a second tragedy. A country cannot truly move forward if it cannot speak freely about its past.

    A tourist looks at portraits of victims of the Khmer Rouge at the Tuol Sleng genocide museum in Phnom Penh, formerly a Khmer Rouge torture center known as S-21.
    Tang Chhin Southy/AFP via Getty Images)

    The danger of forgetting

    April 17 is not a national holiday in Cambodia. There are no official commemorations. The government doesn’t encourage remembrance of the day Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge. But to my mind, it should. Not to reopen wounds, but to remind Cambodians why justice, democracy and dignity matter.

    The danger isn’t that Cambodia will return to the days of the Khmer Rouge. The danger is that it becomes a place where history is manipulated, where authoritarianism is justified as stability and where development is allowed to paper over injustice.

    As the world marks the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge’s rise, Cambodia must, I believe, reckon with this uncomfortable truth: The regime may be long gone, but its legacy lives on in the institutions, behaviors and fears that continue to shape Cambodia today.

    A personal reckoning

    When I look back, I think of my father – whom I never knew. I think of my mother, who risked everything to save us. And I think of the millions of Cambodians who live with memories they cannot forget, and the young Cambodians who deserve to know the full truth.

    My life has been shaped by what happened on April 17, 1975. But that story isn’t mine alone. It belongs to Cambodia – and it’s still being written.

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

    – ref. Cambodia’s haunted present: 50 years after Khmer Rouge’s rise, murderous legacy looms large – https://theconversation.com/cambodias-haunted-present-50-years-after-khmer-rouges-rise-murderous-legacy-looms-large-254125

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: UConn Championing More Women Surgeons

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Nineteen female fourth-year UConn medical students in the Class of 2025 have met their career match in surgery. They are choosing to enter the surgery fields at residency training programs at UConn and across the country. Their surgery-heavy training fields include general surgery, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, ENT, and OB/GYN.

    “We have a really amazing group of women – possibly the largest group ever – who matched to a robust set of competitive surgical residency programs,” said Dr. Marilyn Katz, assistant dean for Medical Student Affairs at UConn School of Medicine.

    UConn Bound
     One of the graduating UConn medical students is Kyanna Alleyne, 26, of West Hartford who is staying at UConn for residency training to become a future orthopaedic surgeon.

    “I’m so excited to stay at UConn and in Connecticut. My whole family is here. I knew I wanted to be at UConn,” says Alleyne who is so proud to see so many of her fellow female classmates choosing to enter the surgery fields too.

    “It’s amazing,” says Alleyne. “I love to see it. We do a lot of work at UConn to get more girls and women interested in surgery careers.”

    Future surgeons Kyanna Alleyne and Desiree Dear are both staying in their home state of Connecticut for a UConn surgical residency training program (Tina Encarnacion/UConn Health photo).

    She was inspired to become an ortho expert after being a student athlete playing soccer at American University: “I’ve been around a ton of injuries,” she says. “Daily function of your body, even your hands, is so important.”

    Alleyne was also inspired to become an ortho surgeon thanks to her mentor Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. Katherine Coyner at UConn Health who is also director of the new Women’s Center for Motion and Performance and an Orthopedic Team Physician for the UConn Huskies college athletes.

    “Dr. Coyner has helped me every step of the way during medical school. She takes mentorship of women very seriously and it shows from middle and high school girls to medical students to college athletes at UConn,” she says.

    Alleyne has volunteered in Coyner’s numerous workshops for female youth and medical students introducing them to the primarily male-dominated fields like orthopaedic surgery to recognize their potential to succeed in these fields.

    Desiree Dear, 28, of Bethel is also thrilled to be staying at UConn for residency too but in ENT. She also attended UConn as an undergrad.

    “UConn is such a family. We are very diverse, and UConn trains and show us the diverse fields of medicine too,” says Dear.

    Her mentor is Dr. Kourosh Parham, professor of ENT at UConn School of Medicine and UConn Health.

     (Tina Encarnacion/UConn Health photo).

    “Dr. Parham is extremely supportive. I really liked learning about ENT, its surgical field and its outpatient care. Plus, I love the longitudinal relationships you can make with your ENT patients ranging from managing hearing loss to head and neck cancer surgery care,” says Dear.

    “UConn always has a focus to increase female representation. Seeing all these women entering diverse fields of surgery specialties is definitely inspiring. I hope it inspires other medical school classes in the future,” says Dear. “I am looking forward to graduation and experiencing the culmination of our medical education and celebrating with my classmates.”

    Parham, her mentor, is celebrating the record five UConn medical students who matched into ENT residency this year, and four of the five are women.

    “There was an outstanding group of UConn medical students, including Desiree, in the match applying to otolaryngology this year.  We could not be more delighted with the result of the match that allowed us to retain a talent like Desiree at UConn. We are excited about the next five years,” shared Parham.


    UConn Made Doctors Becoming Future Women Surgeons

    It’s a match! Some of the many female graduating UConn medical students choosing a future career in the surgery fields include (top row) Margaret Boudreau, Caitlin Foster, Vedika Karandikar, Carly Malesky, Desiree Dear, Kyanna Alleyne, Emily Orosco, (bottom row) Grace Nichols, Sarishka Desai, Summer Xu, Khaoula Ben Haj Frej, Julia Silverman, and Cailyn Regan. (Tina Encarnacion/UConn Health photo)

    Other Class of 2025 students entering surgery residencies include Khaoula Ben Haj Frej, 27, of Waterbury who matched to General Surgery at Johns Hopkins.

    “I’m very excited,” she says. “I have always been interested in oncology, and I want to be a surgical oncologist.”

    “Both my grandfathers died of cancer, so becoming a cancer doctor has been a personal mission,” she says after having worked in clinical trials at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute prior to attending medical school at UConn where she loved her learning experiences.

    “I chose the surgery field because of the impact you can have. I love the immediacy of the surgical oncology field to be able to remove a patient’s cancer the same day. I saw a colon cancer patient here at UConn Health who got to go home without it! Also, oncology patients are an amazing patient population, and have such resilience,” she says.

    Cailyn Regan, 26, of West Hartford matched to General Surgery at Rutgers.

    “My Mom is actually a urologist,” Regan shared. “At the time she was the only woman in her urology residency training program. It’s so great to see so many UConn-trained women doctors following in my Mom’s footsteps representing women in all these diverse surgical fields.”

    Vedika Karandikar, 26, of Wilton matched to General Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University and is thrilled.

    “I feel incredibly grateful to be entering a field that allows me to connect deeply with people, make a direct impact in their lives, and combine science with precision in such a meaningful way,” says Karandikar.

    Catherine Qiu is Queens, NY bound. She matched to General Surgery residency training at NY-Presbyterian-Queens.

    Catherine Qiu, 25, of Trumbull, is an Urban Service Track/AHEC Scholar at UConn. She matched to General Surgery at NY-Presbyterian-Queens.

    “I’m so excited to start my surgical journey in Queens, a community I spent most weekends in growing up. It’s incredibly meaningful to work in a place that helped shape me,” Qiu said.

    She says UConn School of Medicine has prepared her well to become a well-rounded surgeon.

    “I’ve gained strong clinical skills and learned the value of patient-centered care through hands-on experiences and supportive mentorship. I’m especially proud to join the growing number of women surgeons from UConn—empowered by my inspiring female peers and mentors, and ready to lead in the field!” says Qiu.

    Pascale Carrel, 27, of Cos Cob matched into OB/GYN at NYP-Brooklyn Methodist Hospital is also thrilled to embark on the next step of her career.

    “OBGYN, like most other surgical fields, is incredibly competitive nowadays,” she shared and she’s proud of her female classmates entering surgery fields.

    “This just goes to prove that women can, and should, pursue their passions in competitive, historically male-dominated, fields. I’m so proud to be one amongst my peers,” says Carrel.

    Elizabeth Suschana, 29, of Somers also matched to OB/GYN at SUNY HSC Brooklyn.

    “Being a woman in medicine is challenging, but the future is female. It’s part of our duty as future female surgeons to empower others to pursue their specialty of choice despite society telling us what is and isn’t a surgeon,” Suschana shared.

    Zoe Paige Garvey, 28, of Windsor also matched to OB/GYN at Mount Sinai Morningside-West. She chose to enter medicine after experiencing surgery as a child.

    “I am driven to address healthcare disparities and improve the health outcomes of not only the patients and communities I directly serve but also through my advocacy for women on a state and national level,” said Garvey.

    Amanda Hernández Rodríguez, 27, of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico matched to OB/GYN at Nuvance Health Consortium, as she admires the important role OB/GYN physicians play in empowering women through education.

    Felicia Woron, of East Hartford, matched to OB/GYN at Maimonides Medical Center.

    “Although I was always interested in obstetrics and gynecology, I was actually fairly intimidated by the prospect of entering a surgical field until I had the opportunity to be in the OR during rotations. I quickly realized how gratifying and rewarding it could be to work as part of a surgical team and make an immediate impact on patients’ lives.”

    Woron concludes, “I am so excited to become a surgeon and proud of all of the other women from UConn entering surgical fields!”

    Other UConn women entering the surgical fields also includes:

    Margaret Boudreau, 27, of Wilton matched to Ophthalmology at UVA.

    Sarishka Desai, 26, of Darien matched to Ophthalmology at Tufts.

    Caitlin Foster, 26, of Glastonbury matched to Plastic Surgery at the University of Colorado.

    Carly Malesky, 25, of Milford matched to ENT at Montefiore/Einstein.

    Grace Nichols, 27, of Wethersfield matched to ENT at Georgetown.

    Emily Orosco, 27, of Camarillo, Calif. matched to General Surgery at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

    Julia Silverman, 25, of West Hartford matched to General Surgery at UNC.

    Summer Xu, 26, of Glastonbury matched to ENT at Beth Israel Deaconess.

    Some of the many women future surgeons in the UConn School of Medicine’s Class of 2025 donning their white coats including (front row):  Summer Xu, Grace Nichols, Margaret Boudreau, (middle row) Emily Orosco Cailyn Regan, Caitlin Foster, Khaoula Ben Haj Frej, Sarishka Desai, Kyanna Alleyne, (back row) Desiree Dear, Vedika Karandikar, Julia Silverman, and Carly Malesky (Tina Encarnacion/UConn Health photo).

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Ninepoint Partners Welcomes Portfolio Manager Sam Mitter to Its Investment Team

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ninepoint Partners LP (Ninepoint Partners) is pleased to announce the appointment of Samarjit (Sam) Mitter to its investment team as Senior Portfolio Manager, beginning May 2025.

    Mr. Mitter joins Ninepoint with over 25 years of experience in the investment industry and a well-established career managing equity portfolios across U.S. and global markets. In his new role, he will focus on expanding Ninepoint’s equity investment platform and launching new mandates that reflect evolving client needs and market opportunities.

    Most recently, Mr. Mitter was a Portfolio Manager at AGF Management Ltd., where he managed the AGF US Small & Mid Cap Fund, which was the top-performing fund in its category in 2024. He was an integral part of AGF’s Growth Team, serving as Associate Portfolio Manager and Co-Manager for AGF Global Select and AGF US Large-Cap Funds, under lead manager, Tony Genua, from 2014 to 2025. AGF’s Growth Team managed over $16 Billion in assets at the end of 2024.

    Mr. Mitter brings broad experience across equity research, portfolio construction, and strategy development gained over the course of his career at several leading Canadian asset managers.

    “We’re excited to welcome Sam to Ninepoint as we continue to grow our investment team and broaden our platform,” said John Wilson, Co-CEO and Managing Partner at Ninepoint Partners. “His depth of experience and proven history of stock selection in both Global and US Equities will help us improve our Firm’s product offerings as we strive to deliver alpha generating, actively managed solutions to our clients.”

    Mr. Mitter holds an MBA from Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California and a Bachelor of Science from Culver-Stockton College, Canton, Missouri. He will be based in Toronto.

    His appointment underscores Ninepoint’s commitment to delivering high-quality, innovative investment strategies led by experienced professionals.

    About Ninepoint Partners LP

    Based in Toronto, Ninepoint Partners LP is one of Canada’s leading alternative investment management firms overseeing approximately $7 billion in assets under management and institutional contracts. Committed to helping investors explore innovative investment solutions that have the potential to enhance returns and manage portfolio risk, Ninepoint offers a diverse set of alternative strategies spanning Equities, Fixed Income, Alternative Income, Real Assets, F/X and Digital Assets.

    For more information on Ninepoint Partners LP, please visit ninepoint.com or please contact us at (416) 943-6707 or (866) 299-9906 or invest@ninepoint.com.

    Media Inquiries:
    Longacre Square Partners
    Kate Sylvester / Liz Shoemaker
    ninepoint@longacresquare.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: InspireSemi Announces Appointment of Jack Cartwright as Permanent CFO

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VANCOUVER, British Columbia and AUSTIN, Texas, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Inspire Semiconductor Holdings Inc.  (“InspireSemi” or the “Company”), a chip design company that provides revolutionary high-performance, energy-efficient accelerated computing solutions for High Performance Computing (HPC), AI, graph analytics, and other compute-intensive workloads is pleased to announce that it has promoted its interim Chief Financial Officer, Jack Cartwright, to the permanent Chief Financial Officer role with the Company.

    Ron Van Dell, InspireSemi CEO, commented, “Jack has been working with the InspireSemi team since June 2024 and has shown tremendous dedication and skill while acting as interim CFO. We are delighted to now make the position with the Company permanent and look forward to Jack leading the finance side of the business at this critical juncture for the Company, as we seek to commercialize our product.”

    Jack Cartwright is a successful financial and operational leader with over 20 years of corporate finance experience ranging from high growth early-stage tech firms to highly technical complex global businesses. Jack’s depth of experience includes SaaS, B2C marketplaces, AdTech, telecommunications, carbon and clean energy, and logistics.

    Based in Austin, Texas, Jack was previously CFO at two other technology firms and has held a variety of leadership positions in finance, including leading several M&A transactions on both the sell side and buy side, and also several fundraising efforts with large, institutional investors.

    Jack has also led many post-closing integration projects involving advanced reporting optimization, including the financial integration of two public software companies and the acquisition and concurrent integration of 4 Fintech companies with audit and IPO filings.

    Jack holds an MBA (The University of Texas at Austin) with a concentration in finance, accounting & strategy, and a Master of Science degree in Accounting (University of Miami) and was formerly an officer in the United States Army.

    The Company also announces its board of directors approved the grant of stock options dated April 15, 2025 (the “Options“) to an officer to acquire a total of 1,000,000 subordinate voting shares in the capital of the Company at an exercise price of $0.16.

    All of the Options are exercisable for a ten-year term expiring April 15, 2035, and were granted pursuant to the Company’s omnibus equity incentive plan (the “Plan“). All of the Options are subject to the terms of the Plan and applicable option agreements.

    166,667 stock options will vest immediately. A further 83,333 will vest on August 1, 2025, and the remainder will vest in equal monthly amounts over 3 years from August 1, 2025.

    About InspireSemi

    InspireSemi provides revolutionary high-performance, energy-efficient accelerated computing solutions for High-Performance Computing (HPC), AI, graph analytics, and other compute-intensive workloads. The Thunderbird I ‘supercomputer-cluster-on-a-chip’ is a disruptive, next-generation datacenter accelerator designed to address multiple underserved and diversified industries, including financial services, computer-aided engineering, energy, climate modeling, cybersecurity, and life sciences & drug discovery. Based on the open standard RISC-V instruction set architecture, InspireSemi’s solutions set new standards of performance, energy efficiency, and ease of programming. InspireSemi is headquartered in Austin, TX.

    For more information visit https://inspiresemi.com  
    Follow InspireSemi on LinkedIn

    Company Contact
    Ron Van Dell, CEO
    (737) 471-3230
    invest@inspiresemi.com

    Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

    This press release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (“forward-looking statements”). Statements concerning InspireSemi’s objectives, goals, strategies, priorities, intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations and estimates, and the business, operations, financial performance and condition of InspireSemi are forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “believes” or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements formed in the future tense or indicating that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” (or other variations of the forgoing) be taken, occur, be achieved, or come to pass.

    Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information regarding the Delisting and any future listing. Forward-looking information is based on currently available competitive, financial and economic data and operating plans, strategies or beliefs as of the date of this presentation, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of InspireSemi, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors may be based on information currently available to the Company including information obtained from third-party industry analysts and other third-party sources and are based on management’s current expectations or beliefs. Any and all forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

    Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflect management’s expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Forward-looking information reflects management’s current beliefs and is based on information currently available to them and on assumptions they believe to be not unreasonable in light of all of the circumstances. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

    Should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: 6 ways to create memorable Earth Day experiences for students

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: 6 ways to create memorable Earth Day experiences for students

    Discover interactive classroom-ready activities for Earth Day 2025 to help spark curiosity, creativity, and a commitment to protecting our planet.

    With Earth Day approaching on April 22, 2025, many classrooms around the world will highlight sustainability, environmental awareness, and the importance of caring for our planet. Each year, Earth Day is a chance to engage students in meaningful discussions and hands-on activities that inspire real-world action. Incorporate interactive Earth Day activities from Microsoft Education into your plans to help spark curiosity, creativity, and a commitment to protecting our planet.

    From coding challenges to immersive Minecraft Education experiences, there are many ways to bring Earth Day themes to life while helping students develop essential skills. Discover six classroom-ready resources to help you celebrate Earth Day 2025 and make a lasting impact on your students.

    1. Dive into data to protect the Earth with Data Explorers

    Data Explorers is an action-packed Minecraft Education world that aims to build data science and sustainability skills, created by ReWrite Edu in collaboration with NetApp and World’s Largest Lesson. This choose-your-next-path style game takes students across five different ecosystems in search of scientists who help them use data to solve specific environmental problems. Along the way, students can hone their data collection and analysis skills, as well as see how scientists apply data to real-world problems.

    At-a-glance:

    • Designed for students ages 11-14
    • Focused on data collection and analysis skills
    • Includes an educator guide for easy implementation
    Discover Data Explorers

    2. Engage in animal adventures with Planet Earth III Worlds

    This beautiful lesson collection is the third installment in Minecraft Education and BBC Earth’s series of worlds inspired by the groundbreaking series from BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit. Students will step into wondrous realms of the natural world to experience the struggles and triumphs of survival while playing as a series of incredible creatures, including the great white shark, the Arctic wolf, the musk ox, and more. They’ll explore the way these animals’ lives are intertwined by playing as both predator and prey, parent and offspring, friend and ally, and discover the precarious balance of survival.

    At-a-glance:

    • Designed for students aged 8-13
    • Explores the challenges and victories of survival
    • Experience beautiful visuals inspired by BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit
    Explore Planet Earth III Worlds

    3. Build eco-themed games with MakeCode Arcade

    Microsoft MakeCode is a free, online learn-to-code platform where students can build games, code devices, and mod Minecraft. Support your students’ programming skills with MakeCode Arcade by quickly creating and modding retro arcade games with Blocks and JavaScript in the MakeCode editor.

    This Earth Day, check out these eco-themed MakeCode Arcade experiences:

    • Save the Forest – Engage students in an interactive coding challenge where they help control wildfires. Using block-based coding, students program an air tanker and set up technology to support a ground team working to protect the forest.
    • Happy Flower – Teach students about the relationship between flowers and pollinators by coding a digital flower that sends bees back to the hive. This activity introduces basic programming concepts while reinforcing key science connections.
    • Shark Splash – Take students on an underwater adventure where they code a shark navigating the deep sea in search of food. This skillmap blends game design and computer science with marine ecology.
    Start coding with MakeCode Arcade

    4. Foster a sustainable future with FarmBeats for Students

    Empower students to explore how technology can drive sustainability with FarmBeats for Students. This hands-on program brings precision agriculture to classrooms, engaging learners in real-world applications of digital sensors, data analysis, and AI. Through interactive activities, students collect and analyze environmental data, build machine learning models, and discover how AI can help optimize farming practices—supporting a future where we can feed a growing population while preserving our planet’s resources.

    At-a-glance:

    • Combines an affordable micro:bit-based hardware kit with free, curated curriculum
    • Features interactive activities that engage students in real-world applications of AI
    • Focuses on sustainability in agriculture and environmental stewardship
    Get started with FarmBeats for Students

    5. Enhance literacy skills with Earth Day reading assignments

    Use Reading Progress to seamlessly blend Earth Day topics into your reading lessons while supporting each student’s literacy growth. With AI-powered passage generation, you can create customized reading passages on environmental themes in just a few clicks. Simply choose the topic, age level, length, and language—and adjust the complexity as needed to meet your students where they are and deepen their engagement with Earth Day.

    You can also use AI-generated comprehension questions based on the passage. Specify how many questions you want, review the questions before assigning them, and easily tailor them to fit your students’ learning goals.

    At-a-glance:

    • Quickly generate Earth Day-themed reading passages with AI-powered passage generation
    • Personalize reading passages based on phonics patterns or words students find challenging
    • Use AI-generated comprehension questions to check for understanding
    Learn more about Reading Progress

    6. Design, update, and personalize Earth Day lesson plans

    Spark creativity and save time with Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. Whether you’re planning an Earth Day lesson, generating engaging content, or creating visuals to bring your teaching to life, Copilot Chat can help—for free.

    Try Copilot Chat today

    Need fresh activity ideas or ready-to-use classroom materials? Just ask Copilot Chat! Try these prompts to enhance your Earth Day lessons:

    • Create a detailed lesson plan on sustainable farming practices for [grade level]. The lesson should highlight concepts like crop rotation, organic farming, soil conservation, and water management, with real-world examples and student-friendly explanations.
    • Generate a list of thought-provoking, open-ended discussion questions for a [grade level] Earth Day lesson. Ensure the questions encourage critical thinking, personal responsibility, and diverse perspectives. They should be designed to spark meaningful conversations about [topic] and connect students’ thinking to their role in protecting the planet.
    • List a variety of engaging, hands-on eco-centric activities for a [grade level] class to do for Earth Day. Include indoor and outdoor options with a brief description, required materials, estimated time, and how it connects to [a specific topic like environmental awareness, sustainability, or climate action].

    Explore the Copilot Chat learning module on Microsoft Learn to discover practical ways to use it in your daily workflow.

    Start the learning module

    Celebrate Earth Day 2025 by bringing sustainability to life in your classroom. These ready-to-use resources are designed to help you engage students and spark meaningful conversations about our planet’s future. Empower your students to take action for a greener future—one engaging, interactive lesson at a time.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Bold journeys, bright futures: Impact Awards

    Source: Government of Canada regional news (2)

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What caused the crisis at British Steel?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Hossein Zarei, Assistant Professor of Operations Management, Aston University

    The two blast furnaces at British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant are the last of their kind in the UK. Baxter Media/Shutterstock

    The two blast furnaces at British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant in England are the last of their kind in the UK. The UK steel industry was once a world leader, powering the industrial revolution. But these days it is in crisis.

    The Chinese owner of the plant, Jingye Group, stopped ordering the raw materials needed for steel production and recently announced the furnaces would close down for good. Around 2,700 jobs are at risk at the plant – which is reportedly losing £700,000 a day.

    In response, the UK government introduced emergency powers to take control of production in a scramble to stop the furnaces from going cold. But its future remains uncertain.

    So why couldn’t the government just buy the raw materials needed to keep the furnaces burning? With steel, there are peculiarities around the production and supply chain.

    Virgin steel is the strongest form of the material and is used in key industries like railways, construction and manufacturing. It will be vital for the government’s ambitions to invest in UK infrastructure, from housing to green energy. Virgin steel is made using the extreme heat from a blast furnace, which must run 24 hours a day all year round.

    Manufacturing in other industries can be paused when demand goes down and then resumed once products are needed again. But for blast furnaces, if paused, the molten iron inside solidifies. And once reheated, it expands and cracks the furnace.

    To keep the blast furnaces running, it needs steady supplies (and “steady” is a key word here) of coking coal and iron ore. These are the two main raw materials needed for virgin steel.

    Planning for a steady supply requires inventory management, a science that aims to avoid either over-supply or shortages in the production process.

    Within inventory management, there are various models. For the steel industry, the “economic order quantity” model minimises the costs of ordering and holding raw materials to work out the best order size.

    When ordering costs go up, for example, due to increased shipping costs, the model adjusts the order size by buying larger batches. This should eventually keep the total inventory cost to a minimum.

    Ordering steel supplies builds on models like this, accompanied by other inventory management techniques. This ensures that costs are minimised while keeping enough iron ore and coking coal on hand to keep the furnaces burning.

    This is opposite to the “just-in-time” model, which recommends smaller quantities are ordered only when and where needed. Models like just-in-time are a better fit further downstream in supply chains, closer to the end customers. Here there is more variability in demand as customers’ tastes change.



    Read more:
    The past, present and uncertain future of the UK’s steel industry

    Virgin steel, on the other hand, follows a much more stable demand pattern. It prioritises cost-efficiency over agility.

    But problems arise when supply chains are distorted by external factors. The UK government has questioned whether Jingye was guilty of neglecting the plant. There is no doubt that if the furnaces in Scunthorpe went cold, the UK would become the only country in the G7 without the ability to produce its own virgin steel.

    It would then have to turn to China, the single largest global producer of steel (subsidised by the Chinese state), for imports.

    Where did it go wrong?

    Research on geopolitical tensions in supply chains shows that larger firms often adopt a “wait and see” strategy, rather than a proactive one in the face of these tensions. And geopolitical risks are less damaging to firms that have planned their supply chain resilience better, and that have greater cash holdings.

    Both of these were overlooked at British Steel, which has been struggling with financial problems and inefficient planning in recent years.

    Research on supply chains also shows that in the face of disruptions, firms can reconfigure their supplier networks. They can adopt a more diversified base of suppliers, create parallel supply chains, and consider reshoring (moving operations back from overseas).

    Again, the opposite is true for British Steel. It transitioned from domestic coking coal suppliers to international ones due to stricter UK environmental regulations and cheaper prices overseas.

    Another factor is lead times – the time from when an order is placed until it reaches the plant’s gate. Unlike the downstream of the supply chain, which is based on agile response to changing customer demands (the “pull” concept), the upstream of supply chains, where commodities like steel are manufactured, works in anticipation of demand (“push”) for the weeks and even months to come.

    Here, the lead times are long and cost-efficiency, not responsiveness, is the main objective. For steel production supplies, the lead time is around 45 days in normal times. The government has been able to secure emergency shipments from US, Australia and Sweden to tackle the supply shortage for now.

    But there are other factors that exacerbate British Steel’s problems. The 25% tariffs imposed by the US on steel imports and fears of a global trade war may drive down the already declining global demand for steel.

    The energy demands of blast furnaces are immense.
    ABCDstock/Shutterstock

    Second, producing virgin steel in blast furnaces is extremely energy-intensive compared to other methods of production like electric arc furnaces (although these cannot produce virgin steel). And the UK already has higher energy costs than rival steel-producing nations.

    Third, after years of apparent neglect, the Scunthorpe furnaces are now near the end of their lives. They should retire soon, even without Jingye’s decision to shut them down. All these elements have accelerated British Steel’s loss of competitive edge, leading to it filing those huge daily losses.

    Supply chain issues compounded by global tensions and an uncertain market create a perfect storm for the demise of British Steel. Government efforts to secure supplies are half measures that will merely keep the old furnaces operational for another few years. Whether it is eventually nationalised or acquired by a new parent company, the long-term sustainability of British Steel lies in investment in newer, greener virgin steel production methods – and getting a hold of the supply chain.

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

    – ref. What caused the crisis at British Steel? – https://theconversation.com/what-caused-the-crisis-at-british-steel-254557

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: If we must bring back extinct species, let’s focus on the giant herbivores

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Timothy Neal Coulson, Professor of Zoology and Joint Head of Department of Biology, University of Oxford

    The American genetic engineering firm Colossal Biosciences recently announced to much fanfare it had “de-extincted” the dire wolf, a canine species that was wiped out around 10,000 years ago. However, the three animals it presented are actually modern grey wolves with some genetic modifications.

    Regardless of whether you consider them dire wolves or not, Colossal Bioscience made the interesting claim that it had genetically engineered lost ecological function. This made me ponder what ecological functions are missing from today’s ecosystems as a result of extinctions we have caused.

    By ecological function, I am referring to the way all animals have some sort of influence on the ecosystems they inhabit. Honeybees and many other insects pollinate flowering plants, beavers build dams that create ponds and alter the flow rate of streams, elephants knock over trees helping to keep savannas open, and ants and termites shift vast amounts of soil and help decompose plant litter.

    It is not clear to me what functions Colossal’s genetically engineered wolves might have that is different from grey wolves, but it is hypothetically possible they would hunt different animals in different ways or places. With only three wolves, they are unlikely to have the statistical power to compellingly demonstrate any new ecological effects. But nonetheless, the idea that these wolves may play different ecological roles from grey wolves is more compelling than the claim they have brought back the dire wolf.

    One group of animals that have ecological functions that are oversized as they, are those that weigh more than half a tonne. These animals have also been hit hard by humans, and many species went extinct in the past few tens of thousands of years.

    Each time our ancestors colonised new continents as they spread around the world from Africa, large animals were driven to extinction at a higher rate than smaller ones. Giant ground sloths, mammoths and elephants, giant bison and tapirs, even species of massive armadillos and camels all died out in the millennia after humans arrived in the Americas.

    The rhino-sized giant armadillo Doedicurus survived in South America until 7,000 or so years ago.
    Daniel Eskridge / shutterstock

    Australia lost all its large animals, including a giant wombat-relative called diprotodon, giant short-faced kangaroos, and a marsupial that resembled a huge tapir. Along with these massive herbivores, marsupial lions that evolved from a lineage of herbivores, terrestrial crocodiles, giant constrictor snakes and huge monitor lizards were also lost. Europe and Asia similarly lost many large species when our ancestors settled these lands.

    The whole world was once like Africa

    Africa is the only continent to maintain lots of large herbivores, including rhinos, elephants, hippos, giraffes and buffalo. However, even on the continent where we evolved, losses occurred. Gone is a giant gnu-like beast and at least one elephant species, extinctions both attributed by some scientists to our ancestors.

    In Africa, the remaining giant herbivores play important ecological roles that have been lost elsewhere in the world. Elephants knock down trees keeping savannas open, while hippos create grazing lawns on land and add nutrients to the water through their dung, fuelling aquatic food chains.

    Until relatively recently, much of the world had huge animals like Africa.
    Rita Willaert / flickr, CC BY-NC-SA

    All giant herbivores trample vegetation and riverbanks and are key players in nutrient cycling thanks to the vast quantities of faeces they produce. They can also help disperse seeds and generate a mix of different habitats. These processes can determine how often an area is burned by wildfire, the type of ecosystem in an area, and can indirectly affect weather patterns and climate.

    The loss of these large animals, particularly in Australia, led to very significant changes in ecosystems ranging from tropical forests to deserts. Cycles of fires and nutrients changed with the extinction of giant herbivores, and the loss of all the apex predators led to an increase in grazing and browsing pressure from smaller herbivores including kangaroos, wallabies and koalas. This made it harder to avoid woodlands turning into savannas and semi-arid lands.

    The absence of large native predators meant the remaining marsupials lost their fear. When cats, dogs and foxes were introduced by humans, they decimated populations of many marsupials, driving some extinct. Lesser bilbies, desert bandicoots and broad-faced potoroos are gone for good, having been easy prey for introduced carnivores.

    Rhino-sized diprotodon was the largest ever marsupial. It coexisted with humans in Australia for thousands of years.
    Ryan B / flickr, CC BY-NC

    An impressive feat for Colossal Biosciences would be re-engineering large animals to provide lost ecological functions. De-extincting large herbivores like diprotodons and short-faced kangaroos, or even predators like marsupial lions, would be a seriously impressive achievement, but I suspect will be forever beyond the reach of science.

    Jurassic Park is fiction, as is recreating the fauna of Australia 60,000 years ago. Even if we could do this, it is not clear the de-extincted animals would thrive given how much the ecology of Australia has changed since their extinction.

    Instead of trying recreate lost ecological function through the genetic tinkering of living animals that are unlikely to be allowed back into the wild any time soon, we should take a different approach. The focus should be on maintaining and restoring ecological function using existing species within the areas in which they live or once lived. The science of doing this may not be as exciting as the genetic engineering of Colossal Biosciences, but it will be easier to deliver and will be more ecologically useful.

    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.

    Timothy Neal Coulson is affiliated with the University of Oxford

    – ref. If we must bring back extinct species, let’s focus on the giant herbivores – https://theconversation.com/if-we-must-bring-back-extinct-species-lets-focus-on-the-giant-herbivores-254517

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Birmingham bin strikes: a threat to public health

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Hunter, Professor of Medicine, University of East Anglia

    The bin workers’ strike in Birmingham – which began on March 11 – is set to continue after the latest pay offer was “overwhelmingly” rejected.

    Not only are the growing mountains of refuse unsightly and creating foul odours, they could pose significant threats to local residents’ health. Birmingham city council has declared the situation a “major incident”. This enables council leaders to request extra support from central government.

    This is not the first time bins have gone uncollected in the UK, though. Glasgow experienced a major refuse strike in 2021, while Birmingham previously saw significant disruption to refuse collection in 2017.

    Internationally, one of the most infamous garbage crises occurred in Naples, Italy, where mismanagement and mafia involvement led to a waste buildup that lasted over a decade. It finally ended in 2008.

    Surprisingly, studies on the health effects of the build up of domestic refuse in towns and cities are scarce. The few studies that do exist tend to be in developing countries or in people living close to waste treatment centres.

    Several studies have suggested increased deaths, cancer rates and birth defects associated with the Naples garbage crisis. However, these were associated with exposure over several years.

    The most comprehensive review that I can find dates back to 1967 before several of the major infectious concerns were even discovered.

    Rats

    Probably the most apparent danger from the Birmingham crisis is the reported appearance of rats – which some locals have described as being “bigger than cats”.

    Rats can transmit several diseases to humans. The infection of most concern is Weil’s disease, which can severely damage the liver and kidneys and can cause neurological problems. It can even be fatal.

    This infection is transmitted in rats’ urine and gains entry to the human body through cuts and grazes on the skin. Infections are mostly acquired during immersion in water contaminated by rats’ urine. There have been outbreaks associated with swimming in contaminated water or during flooding.

    Another infection is rat bite fever, a bacterial infection acquired following rodent bites. Both these infections are rare but can be fatal if not promptly treated.

    Then there is Seoul hantavirus, a viral infection that is mainly caught from breathing in aerosols (fine sprays) of rat urine and faeces. All of these rat-associated infections are quite rare. But even excluding these infections, rat bites can be severe and, like all animal bites, can become infected.

    Bacteria

    Another worry is stomach bugs such as Salmonella, Campylobacter and E coli, as well as bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Wild animals, such as birds and foxes, might tear open bin bags, pick up these germs and then spread them to people through food or water. Even contact with pet dogs or cats can be a risk, since they can carry some of these bacteria.

    Seagulls can pick up Salmonella and Campylobacter from waste dumps and then pass that infection onto humans. At least one outbreak of Campylobacter was caused by birds pecking through milk bottle tops.

    Flies breed in rubbish and can also spread Campylobacter infections.

    Needles

    Finally, there is the issue of clinical waste such as needles being inappropriately disposed of in domestic refuse. Such clinical waste could include needles that could cause injury and spread blood-borne viruses, especially HIV and hepatitis B.

    Figuring out the likelihood of these harms is not that easy, though. But top of my list of concerns would be sharps injuries from contact with inappropriately discarded clinical waste. I would be particularly concerned about children playing around collections of waste. Bites from rats and other vermin attracted to waste would also be high on my list.

    Until the piles of refuse can be removed, children and pets must be kept away from them. If you need to move refuse sacks, make sure you wear a mask, strong gloves and as much protective clothing as possible.

    Paul Hunter consults for the World Health Organization and sits on a science advisory committee for Suez. He receives funding from National Institute for Health Research and has received funding from the World Health Organization and the European Regional Development Fund.

    – ref. Birmingham bin strikes: a threat to public health – https://theconversation.com/birmingham-bin-strikes-a-threat-to-public-health-254400

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Enhertu: drug approved for advanced cancers – here’s what you need to know

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Justin Stebbing, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University

    Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock

    A new cancer drug called trastuzumab deruxtecan, also known as Enhertu, has just been approved in the UK. This drug is designed to help adults with certain types of advanced cancer that cannot be removed by surgery, or which has spread to other parts of the body.

    It targets cancers linked to a protein called HER2. This approval is an exciting development because it could save lives and offer hope to patients who may have run out of treatment options.

    The drug has been authorised for use in the UK on the back of positive data, where patients were randomly assigned to this drug or the previous existing best treatment, which I have led studies on with large teams of researchers.

    Using this new precision medicine or targeted therapy, those who received the drug, had longer lives (as measured by these clinical trials). Other research I have been involved with has shown, that this is what matters most for the patients themselves, though, of course, quality of life is a priority too.

    Cancer is one of the biggest health challenges we face today. While there are many treatments available, not all cancers respond well to them. Some cancers grow and spread very quickly, making them harder to control. Others stop responding to treatments that initially worked, leaving patients with few options. For people with these types of cancers, new drugs can make a huge difference. They can help patients live longer, improve their quality of life, and provide hope when other treatments fail.

    Targeted treatment

    One reason new drugs are so important is that they often offer better ways to treat cancer. Older treatments like chemotherapy can be effective but often harm healthy cells along with cancer cells, causing unpleasant side effects. Newer drugs are more targeted, meaning they focus on killing cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone as much as possible. This makes treatment less harsh and more effective. Drugs like Enhertu represent this new generation of targeted therapies, though it can have very serious side effects.

    To understand how it works, it’s helpful to know about HER2. HER2 is a protein found on the surface of some cells in the body. It helps cells grow and divide normally, but in certain cancers, there’s too much HER2. This overproduction causes the cancer to grow faster and become much more aggressive. These types of cancers are called HER2-positive cancers, and they can occur in places like the breast, stomach and lungs.

    Enhertu is part of a newer type of cancer treatment called antibody-drug conjugates (ADC). It works like a delivery system for medicine, even a “biologic missile”. Imagine you’re trying to deliver a package (a powerful cancer-killing drug) directly to a specific house (the cancer cell). You don’t want the package to end up at the wrong house (healthy cells), because it could cause damage there. An ADC uses an antibody, a special protein that acts like a guide, to make sure the package is delivered to the correct address.

    Trojan horse

    First, the antibody part of the drug finds and attaches itself to HER2 on the surface of cancer cells. Once attached, the drug gets pulled inside the cancer cell like a Trojan horse. Inside the cell, it releases its chemotherapy agent, a strong medicine that kills cells and destroys the cancer from within.

    The drug can also kill nearby cancer cells that might not have as much HER2 but are still part of the tumour. This precise targeting means fewer healthy cells are harmed during treatment.

    The approval of Enhertu in the UK is great news for patients with advanced HER2-positive cancers that have spread or cannot be removed by surgery. Up to 20% of breast cancers are HER2 positive and many of these are cured before they spread. What’s even more exciting is that this drug also works for people with lower levels of HER2 (called HER2-low cancers), which means it could help even more patients in the future.

    For patients with advanced or hard-to-treat cancers, this approval offers new hope. Many people with HER2-positive cancers have already tried treatments like chemotherapy or surgery. Most of those will have had other anti-HER2 drugs but will still need help because their cancer has come back or spread further. This drug has shown in clinical trials that it can shrink tumours and help patients live longer than standard treatments. It gives doctors another option when other treatments aren’t working anymore.

    This approval also highlights how international collaboration can speed up access to life-saving drugs. The investigators here worked collaboratively across numerous countries in the world to undertake these studies.

    But while Enhertu brings hope to many patients, it’s important to remember that no drug is perfect. Like all medicines, it comes with some risks and side effects. Common side effects include nausea, fatigue and low blood counts. A rare but serious side effect is interstitial lung disease, which affects the lungs and can be dangerous if not treated quickly. Doctors will carefully monitor patients taking this drug to catch any problems early and stop the drug if necessary.

    Despite these risks, in most situations doctors and patients feel that the potential benefits outweigh them. It offers a chance for better outcomes, in those for whom it is suitable.

    This approval also represents progress in how we treat cancer using personalised medicine (an approach where treatments are tailored specifically for each patient based on their unique biology or the genetic makeup of the cancer) to treat the right person at the right time with the right drug.

    Every breakthrough like this brings us closer to a world where fewer people die from cancer, and where those who do face it have better chances of living longer and healthier lives.

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

    – ref. Enhertu: drug approved for advanced cancers – here’s what you need to know – https://theconversation.com/enhertu-drug-approved-for-advanced-cancers-heres-what-you-need-to-know-254254

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How architecture shapes video game play

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Gabriele Aroni, Senior Lecturer in Games Art at the School of Digital Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University

    When players enter the virtual worlds of video games, they are greeted by complex architectural environments. These virtual spaces do more than serve as mere backdrops for gameplay. The design of buildings, streets and entire cities guides player emotions, behaviours and even advances the narrative.

    As an architect specialising in digital media, I am interested in how video games use architecture to convey meaning. Virtual worlds in video games are often rooted in real-world architectural principles.

    Game rules are technically completely disjointed from our physical world: we could easily traverse a concrete wall as if made of air. However, how players understand how to play is the opposite. For instance, if I see a door in a game, I can assume that it can opened, or that it leads somewhere. Players need a frame of reference to understand games, and this is why most game environments resemble, at least in some way, real-world architecture.

    Video game architecture varies wildly. There are realistic historical cities like the ones in Assassin’s Creed or the contemporary Japan of Like a Dragon. Fantastic interpretations of architecture range from the ancient Chinese scenery of Black Myth: Wukong to the science fiction metropolis of Cyberpunk 2077.

    Visionary architectural sceneries are less common, as they are harder to relate to. Their design displays architectural forms that are so transformed in their size, shape or materials that they look distant from normal architectural conventions and the laws of physics. Examples of this can be seen in experimental independent games such as Manifold Gardenor NaissanceE.

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    Much like real-world architecture, game architecture must work. There is a budget, even though it is based on how many polygons and textures buildings can be made of, rather than their construction costs. There is no building code to comply with, but distances and paths must follow the coded rules of the game.

    Take Assassin’s Creed II, where the protagonist runs and climbs buildings in 15th-century Florence. The reconstruction is relatively accurate, so much so that people who played the game can reasonably orientate themselves in the real Florence. But there are several adjustments which were necessary on technical and gameplay terms.

    The whole city and all of the buildings are noticeably scaled down to offer shorter distances to traverse and jump across. While not a large city, taking half an hour to traverse it on foot is an eternity in video game time.

    Environmental storytelling

    In addition to guiding gameplay, architecture in video games plays a critical role in telling stories. This is known as environmental storytelling. Unlike traditional forms of narrative, where story is told through dialogue or cutscenes, environmental storytelling allows the world itself to communicate plot and themes.

    In games, the design of spaces can hint at a game’s backstory, themes or the emotions players should feel at a given moment. For instance, in the cyberpunk game Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, shady corporations dominate the world. To establish this narrative, their buildings are designed to manifest their power through impenetrable monolithic structures which loom over the skyline of future Prague.

    Some games exclusively use their environments to tell their stories. This is the case in Manifold Garden, a puzzle game created by artist William Chyr. Players are catapulted in a world where space repeats in every direction and objects that fall down reappear from the top, including the player. Chyr was inspired by the visionary art of M.C Escher – you might know his artwork Relativity where staircases go off in all directions and appear upside down. Chrys was also inspired by real architects, such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Tadao Ando. As such, he used architectural elements to guide players in this strange world, such as placing windows strategically in order not to lose their orientation.

    All these elements are implemented most successfully when they are seamlessly blended into the game space and setting, while not being too conspicuous. In Mirror’s Edge, a game set in a sterile modern metropolis dominated by white skyscrapers, primary colours on common structural elements are used to indicate directions and interactable items, such as red pipes or doors. This way, players are easily and rapidly directed by objects that are not out of place, but distinct enough to be noticeable.

    When clues indicating what to do are too evident, they are usually not looked upon too well by players. For instance, in the recent games Resident Evil 4 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, splotches of yellow paint have been placed on the objects necessary to progress. This was met with ridicule from many players.

    So game architecture must always walk a fine line between presenting engaging environments and helping gameplay without being too obtrusive. As games continue to evolve, the role of architecture will remain central to the ways in which digital environments are designed to engage, challenge and inspire players.

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

    – ref. How architecture shapes video game play – https://theconversation.com/how-architecture-shapes-video-game-play-254632

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Genomics research will advance treatment for B.C. patients

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    The Province is accelerating the future of patient care and advancing testing for cancer, heart disease, transplants and infections with eight new genomics research projects, in partnership with Genome BC and Genome Alberta.

    Genomics is the study of an organism’s genetic material and how genes work together. In medicine, genomics is used to develop personalized treatments based on a person’s genetic makeup. Researchers from B.C.’s health authorities and the University of British Columbia are involved in all eight genomic research projects.

    “Genomics is transforming health care, offering new ways to diagnose, treat and prevent diseases,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Health. “By supporting Genome BC, we are helping to advance research to improve patient outcomes and make precision medicine more accessible to people across British Columbia. These efforts will contribute to faster diagnoses, more precise treatments and improved health-care outcomes for patients.”

    The eight research projects are part of Genome BC’s and Genome Alberta’s Healthy Outcomes through Genomic Innovations program, which aims to help new innovations in genetic testing and precision medicine reach hospitals and clinics faster.

    “This initiative is designed to drive the adoption of genomics-based technologies into clinical practice, focusing on projects that deliver tangible patient benefits in the near future,” said Suzanne Gill, president and CEO, Genome BC. “Whether it’s detecting cancer earlier, improving transplant success or tailoring medications to an individual’s genetic makeup, these projects are about making health care work better for everyone.”

    These projects, valued at almost $6 million, of which $1.7 million came from the Province via Genome BC, will allow care providers to get new tools to enhance diagnosis, treatment and patient care sooner. The projects focus on:

    • safer chemotherapy for children;
    • improving kidney transplant monitoring;
    • more precise cancer testing;
    • heart-failure detection;
    • at-home lung cancer screening;
    • faster diagnosis of blood-stream infections;
    • combating drug-resistant infections in hospitals; and
    • standardizing formats for genetic drug sensitivity test results.

    “Genomic research is advancing our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of disease, driving precision medicine and transforming health care,” said Dr. Paul Keown, lead researcher on one of the projects and professor in the faculty of medicine at the University of British Columbia, speaking on behalf of fellow researchers Dr. James Lan and Karen Sherwood. “We are working on innovations that are close to adoption by the health-care system. These projects will deliver meaningful results that directly improve patient care.”

    The research projects are part of B.C.’s Life Sciences and Biomanufacturing Strategy and the broader StrongerBC Economic Plan, which seeks to foster innovation, create high-paying jobs and enhance health and pandemic preparedness domestically and internationally.

    Genome BC is a not-for-profit organization that has advanced genomics research and innovation since 2000, growing a world-class life-sciences sector in B.C. The organization strives to enhance health care and address environmental and natural-resource challenges, improving the lives of British Columbians. Genome BC supports responsible research and innovation, fostering an understanding and appreciation of the life sciences among educators, students and the public.

    Learn More:

    For details about the eight genomic research projects, visit: https://www.genomebc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BACKGROUNDER-Healthy-Outcomes-Through-Genomic-Innovations-Announcement.pdf

    For information about Genome BC, visit: https://www.genomebc.ca/

    To read the Life Sciences and Biomanufacturing Strategy, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/initiatives-plans-strategies/technology-industry/life-sciences-biomanufacturing/bc_life_sciences_biomanufacturing_strategy_final_april_2023.pdf

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: I was a child soldier – here’s what it’ll take to protect young lives in conflict zones

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Charles Wratto, Associate Professor of Peace, Politics, and Conflict Studies, Babes Bolyai University

    The use of child soldiers is a profound human tragedy that continues to scar generations across the world.

    According to the United Nations, over the years, thousands of children, some as young as six years old, have been manipulated, indoctrinated and coerced into joining armed groups.

    Many of these children have fought against peacekeeping troops in Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and US-led coalition soldiers in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.

    The devastating effect of this grave, yet persistent, tragedy extends beyond the individual child. It tears communities and families apart and leaves generations scarred with the trauma of war long after the guns fall silent.

    International agreements like the Optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, the Paris principles and commitments, the Rome statute and the Cape Town principles have condemned the practice. They provided legal and practical pathways to stop the use of child soldiers.

    Intervention campaigns like Child Soldiers International, the Children, Not Soldiers campaign, and the Kony 2012 campaign were launched to combat unlawful recruitment. They also raise awareness to protect child combatants in conflict regions.



    Read more:
    Why some rebel groups force kids to fight: it depends on how they are funded

    The International Criminal Court has held trials and convicted warlords responsible for the abduction and arming of children.

    The United Nations has published a list to “shame” governments and non-state actors that enlist minors in their armies.

    Despite these efforts, the problem persists as governments and insurgent groups recruit minors in various regions of the world.

    One of the reasons may be that children’s presence on the battlefield throws the training and ethics of professional soldiers off balance. Children are widely considered innocent, harmless, and deserving of care and protection. Harming them can cause severe emotional and psychological distress that conventional soldiers are ill-equipped to handle. Armed groups who use children can get a strategic advantage if they make adult soldiers feel guilt, terror, shame and cowardism.

    As a researcher in peace, politics and conflict studies and a former child soldier in the Liberian civil war, I have centred my studies on children in armed conflict and how states respond to crises and conflict.

    I am passionate about protecting children in conflict zones because I know what it means to experience violence at a very young age.

    I also understand, from my own experience, what it means to return to a society that saw me as a dangerous and irredeemable person and to find purpose in a world that labelled people like me as a “lost generation”.

    Based on my personal experiences and interaction with child soldiers, I identify six ways society can help protect children in conflict zones. They are: cutting off arms sales to conflict regions; providing continuous education during conflict; providing life-saving essentials; working with local communities; listening to children’s voices; and involving child soldiers in the implementation of disarmament and reintegration programmes.



    Read more:
    The old ways of reintegrating young veterans need to be abandoned

    Six ways to protect children in conflict zones

    Cut arm sales to conflict regions

    Armed groups often rely on the constant flow of small arms and light weapons to maintain their operations.

    The availability of these weapons enables groups to enlarge their forces, often using vulnerable children. Stopping weapons sales would undermine the effectiveness of these groups.

    If there are fewer arms, warlords will find it harder to lure children with false promises of protection and power. Warlords might have to create pathways for peace talks, and children could be demobilised.

    Under Charles Taylor, Liberia was a regional hub for illicit weapons trade and child soldier recruitment. The UN arms embargo in 2001 limited Taylor’s ability to resupply his troops, leading to his eventual exile and an end to the war in 2003. While an effective arms embargo may not end a war or child recruitment immediately, it can erode armed groups’ combat ability, pressuring them to negotiate, collapse, or lose their grip over vulnerable children.

    Provide life-saving essentials

    In war-torn places, poverty and starvation sometimes push families to hand over their children to armed groups in exchange for food.

    Given life-saving essentials such as food, shelter and medical care, families can be shielded from poverty. This will reduce voluntary enlistment.

    Microfinance initiatives that support small businesses, and provision of vocational training programmes, can also lift families from poverty.

    Continuous education during conflict

    Governments and multilateral institutions must provide emergency education
    and train teachers and caregivers in camps for internally displaced people.

    Being able to carry on with schooling in a safe environment can curb child recruitment and empower young people for the post-war reconstruction of their nations. Such sanctuaries should also include mobile counselling and trauma therapy centres where children can process their grief and experiences to rebuild trust.



    Read more:
    Adolescent girls in five African conflict zones share stories about their lives

    Work with local communities and leaders

    Governments, NGOs and policymakers must address existing grievances and empower local communities to assist in reintegrating former child soldiers. Reintegration involves not only children returning home but also ensuring communities are better prepared and equipped to welcome them.

    Partnering with local communities can also strengthen awareness about the dangers of child (re) recruitment.

    Ex-child soldiers as part of disarmament and reintegration

    Governments and humanitarian agencies must include former child soldiers in the design and implementation of disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration programmes.

    Their firsthand knowledge of the conscription process, combat realities, fears, nightmares and reintegration struggle offers unique insights. They can help create programmes that meet real needs.

    Although the current disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration guidelines emphasise children’s rights to disarm, they do not mention children’s inclusion in the development of effective life changing programmes.

    Listen to children’s voices

    Educational institutions, governments and peacebuilding agencies must take children’s contributions to peacebuilding seriously.

    Children bear the wounds of war. They have seen the destruction firsthand and have experienced various forms of loss and pain. This makes them not only observers of violence but also powerful advocates for peace.



    Read more:
    War affects girls and boys differently: what we found in our study of children in the DRC

    Why the world must act

    My experiences have taught me that no child is beyond redemption, particularly when given the right support and care they need.

    Child soldiers, though shaped by unfortunate circumstances, are not inherently violent. They should not be feared or stigmatised. They are victims who deserve healing, love and education.

    I was not given a gun because I was strong. I was handed one because I was weak, because children, stripped of alternatives, can be manipulated and turned into weapons of war.

    I survived not because I was better than others, I survived because someone, a Nigerian, refused to reduce me to the war I was forced into. This is why I believe everyone can play a role to protect children in conflict zones. Those who can, but refuse to, are no different from the warlords who enlisted the children.

    Charles Wratto is affiliated with the Center for Peace and Violence Prevention.

    – ref. I was a child soldier – here’s what it’ll take to protect young lives in conflict zones – https://theconversation.com/i-was-a-child-soldier-heres-what-itll-take-to-protect-young-lives-in-conflict-zones-245517

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: I was a child soldier – here’s what it’ll take to protect young lives in conflict zones

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Charles Wratto, Associate Professor of Peace, Politics, and Conflict Studies, Babes Bolyai University

    The use of child soldiers is a profound human tragedy that continues to scar generations across the world.

    According to the United Nations, over the years, thousands of children, some as young as six years old, have been manipulated, indoctrinated and coerced into joining armed groups.

    Many of these children have fought against peacekeeping troops in Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and US-led coalition soldiers in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.

    The devastating effect of this grave, yet persistent, tragedy extends beyond the individual child. It tears communities and families apart and leaves generations scarred with the trauma of war long after the guns fall silent.

    International agreements like the Optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, the Paris principles and commitments, the Rome statute and the Cape Town principles have condemned the practice. They provided legal and practical pathways to stop the use of child soldiers.

    Intervention campaigns like Child Soldiers International, the Children, Not Soldiers campaign, and the Kony 2012 campaign were launched to combat unlawful recruitment. They also raise awareness to protect child combatants in conflict regions.

    Read more: Why some rebel groups force kids to fight: it depends on how they are funded

    The International Criminal Court has held trials and convicted warlords responsible for the abduction and arming of children.

    The United Nations has published a list to “shame” governments and non-state actors that enlist minors in their armies.

    Despite these efforts, the problem persists as governments and insurgent groups recruit minors in various regions of the world.

    One of the reasons may be that children’s presence on the battlefield throws the training and ethics of professional soldiers off balance. Children are widely considered innocent, harmless, and deserving of care and protection. Harming them can cause severe emotional and psychological distress that conventional soldiers are ill-equipped to handle. Armed groups who use children can get a strategic advantage if they make adult soldiers feel guilt, terror, shame and cowardism.

    As a researcher in peace, politics and conflict studies and a former child soldier in the Liberian civil war, I have centred my studies on children in armed conflict and how states respond to crises and conflict.

    I am passionate about protecting children in conflict zones because I know what it means to experience violence at a very young age.

    I also understand, from my own experience, what it means to return to a society that saw me as a dangerous and irredeemable person and to find purpose in a world that labelled people like me as a “lost generation”.

    Based on my personal experiences and interaction with child soldiers, I identify six ways society can help protect children in conflict zones. They are: cutting off arms sales to conflict regions; providing continuous education during conflict; providing life-saving essentials; working with local communities; listening to children’s voices; and involving child soldiers in the implementation of disarmament and reintegration programmes.

    Read more: The old ways of reintegrating young veterans need to be abandoned

    Six ways to protect children in conflict zones

    Cut arm sales to conflict regions

    Armed groups often rely on the constant flow of small arms and light weapons to maintain their operations.

    The availability of these weapons enables groups to enlarge their forces, often using vulnerable children. Stopping weapons sales would undermine the effectiveness of these groups.

    If there are fewer arms, warlords will find it harder to lure children with false promises of protection and power. Warlords might have to create pathways for peace talks, and children could be demobilised.

    Under Charles Taylor, Liberia was a regional hub for illicit weapons trade and child soldier recruitment. The UN arms embargo in 2001 limited Taylor’s ability to resupply his troops, leading to his eventual exile and an end to the war in 2003. While an effective arms embargo may not end a war or child recruitment immediately, it can erode armed groups’ combat ability, pressuring them to negotiate, collapse, or lose their grip over vulnerable children.

    Provide life-saving essentials

    In war-torn places, poverty and starvation sometimes push families to hand over their children to armed groups in exchange for food.

    Given life-saving essentials such as food, shelter and medical care, families can be shielded from poverty. This will reduce voluntary enlistment.

    Microfinance initiatives that support small businesses, and provision of vocational training programmes, can also lift families from poverty.

    Continuous education during conflict

    Governments and multilateral institutions must provide emergency education and train teachers and caregivers in camps for internally displaced people.

    Being able to carry on with schooling in a safe environment can curb child recruitment and empower young people for the post-war reconstruction of their nations. Such sanctuaries should also include mobile counselling and trauma therapy centres where children can process their grief and experiences to rebuild trust.

    Read more: Adolescent girls in five African conflict zones share stories about their lives

    Work with local communities and leaders

    Governments, NGOs and policymakers must address existing grievances and empower local communities to assist in reintegrating former child soldiers. Reintegration involves not only children returning home but also ensuring communities are better prepared and equipped to welcome them.

    Partnering with local communities can also strengthen awareness about the dangers of child (re) recruitment.

    Ex-child soldiers as part of disarmament and reintegration

    Governments and humanitarian agencies must include former child soldiers in the design and implementation of disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration programmes.

    Their firsthand knowledge of the conscription process, combat realities, fears, nightmares and reintegration struggle offers unique insights. They can help create programmes that meet real needs.

    Although the current disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration guidelines emphasise children’s rights to disarm, they do not mention children’s inclusion in the development of effective life changing programmes.

    Listen to children’s voices

    Educational institutions, governments and peacebuilding agencies must take children’s contributions to peacebuilding seriously.

    Children bear the wounds of war. They have seen the destruction firsthand and have experienced various forms of loss and pain. This makes them not only observers of violence but also powerful advocates for peace.

    Read more: War affects girls and boys differently: what we found in our study of children in the DRC

    Why the world must act

    My experiences have taught me that no child is beyond redemption, particularly when given the right support and care they need.

    Child soldiers, though shaped by unfortunate circumstances, are not inherently violent. They should not be feared or stigmatised. They are victims who deserve healing, love and education.

    I was not given a gun because I was strong. I was handed one because I was weak, because children, stripped of alternatives, can be manipulated and turned into weapons of war.

    I survived not because I was better than others, I survived because someone, a Nigerian, refused to reduce me to the war I was forced into. This is why I believe everyone can play a role to protect children in conflict zones. Those who can, but refuse to, are no different from the warlords who enlisted the children.

    – I was a child soldier – here’s what it’ll take to protect young lives in conflict zones
    – https://theconversation.com/i-was-a-child-soldier-heres-what-itll-take-to-protect-young-lives-in-conflict-zones-245517

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Gov. Pillen Announces New Nebraska Rural Veterinarian Grant Program

    Source: US State of Nebraska

    . Pillen Announces New Nebraska Rural Veterinarian Grant Program

     

    LINCOLN, NE – LINCOLN, NE – Today, Governor Jim Pillen announced a new program through the Nebraska Department of Labor (DOL) aimed at attracting and retaining production animal veterinarians in rural Nebraska. The Rural Veterinarian Grant Program is the second initiative the Governor has launched focused on growing the next generation of production animal veterinarians in the state. The first one, announced last year, is the Elite 11 Veterinary Program through the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL).  

    “As I say, we feed the world and save the planet. We need to provide maximum efficiency and resources to help our producers be successful,” said Gov. Pillen. “Additionally, if a foreign animal disease were to come, we need veterinarians who are ready to respond, and enough of them, to implement the programs that would help mitigate the spread of any disease.” 

    Through DOL, recent graduates of veterinary schools will be eligible for a $150,000 grant. The same offer is available to newly practicing veterinarians who wish to move to the state and launch their own practice or join an established one in rural Nebraska. Under the program, up to 13 recipients will be selected. To be eligible, applicants must:

    • Have a doctorate in veterinary medicine and be licensed to practice in Nebraska
    • Commit to residing and practicing in Nebraska for eight years
    • Work in a veterinary clinic where at least 80% of its hours are devoted to production animals in a county with a population of less than 40,000 people

    Upon conclusion of the agreement, the grant amount will be paid in full to the veterinarian.

    “Nebraska has a talented and educated workforce, and this program is well designed to continue growing that workforce to boost the state’s animal production industry,” said DOL Commissioner Katie Thurber.

    Speaking for the Nebraska State Dairy Association, Kris Bousquet noted that the grant program, as well as UNL’s Elite 11, represented a “take the bull by the horns” approach to addressing the existing gap in large animal veterinary medicine. 

    “Every animal welfare practice that a dairy producer utilizes has been reviewed and approved by their local veterinarian. Veterinarians are not only essential for animal welfare, but also for milk quality and earning and maintaining consumer trust. This program will begin to build our bench of experts to support dairy and all other aspects of livestock production as well.”

    DOL’S program is funded through the Department of Labor’s workforce development fund. The grant selection process will focus on the candidate’s passion for production animal health, relevant experience, academic success and commitment to rural Nebraska.

    As DOL launches its program, UNL is moving into the next phase of the Elite 11 Veterinary Program, which provides scholarships to students who are interested in becoming large animal veterinarians in rural Nebraska. Students in the first cohort selected last fall are about to conclude their first year of study and will be deployed across the state to engage in apprenticeships and other opportunities for expanding their skills. 

    “At the University of Nebraska, we are proud to work alongside Governor Pillen and state leaders to grow and sustain a robust production animal veterinarian workforce,” said Dr. Tiffany Heng-Moss, dean of UNL’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. “Through collaborative initiatives like the Elite 11 Veterinary Program and the Department of Labor’s new effort, we are expanding opportunities for students while strengthening the future of rural communities across Nebraska.” 

    Students enrolled in the Elite 11 Veterinary Program are not eligible for the DOL grant program. 

    More information about the Nebraska Production Animal Rural Veterinarian Grant Program, can be found at: https://dol.nebraska.gov/ruralvetgrant.

    Governor Jim Pillen

    Nebraska State Dairy Association Executive Director Kris Bousquet

    Dean of UNL’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Tiffany Heng-Moss

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Ethiopia’s 2026 elections: without reforms, the vote may not be free or fair

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Bizuneh Yimenu, Lecturer in Comparative Politics, Queen’s University Belfast

    Ethiopia is due to hold elections in 2026. But will they be free and fair?

    Since 1995, Ethiopia has held elections every five years, except for the 2021 election, delayed by COVID-19. The incumbent party has consistently secured over 95% of national parliament seats, except for 2005, when the opposition won about 32%. In 2021, the ruling Prosperity Party won 96.8% of the seats.

    I specialise in Ethiopian politics and federalism, and recently published a paper on the country’s electoral landscape. In my study, I examined elections under the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, which ruled from 1991 to 2019, and its successor, the Prosperity Party.

    My aim was to see whether Ethiopia was moving towards political pluralism, where diverse voices are represented in government decision-making, or if it remained authoritarian.

    I conclude that the government still tends to suppress, detain and eliminate the opposition. I identified three main reasons for this.

    • Despite changes in leadership and ruling parties, state repression, vote-rigging and political exclusion have been common features in the country’s elections since 1995.

    • Ethiopia suffers from an uneven electoral playing field. Some regions experience contests while the ruling party tightly controls others.

    • Ethiopia’s first-past-the-post electoral system has excluded significant opposition voices from parliament. This allows the ruling party to dominate both federal and regional legislative seats.

    The way the electoral system works means that Ethiopia’s parliament is a one-party house, where other voices are drowned out.

    My research highlights the fact that elections can be both “free” and “unfair”. Citizens technically have the right to vote. But an unbalanced electoral system and an uneven playing field ensure that ruling parties retain power.

    The 2026 elections provide an opportunity for reforms that ensure greater political inclusion.

    How elections are run

    Ethiopia has held six rounds of elections since 1995. Despite some variations, the same patterns of electoral control persist. The ruling Prosperity Party has sustained and adapted authoritarian strategies to maintain dominance.

    The party still uses many of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front’s tactics, including harassing, detaining and eliminating political adversaries.

    It also has some new ways of looking for support, like selectively addressing regional grievances.

    Regional differences

    Opposition parties in different regions have faced varying degrees of repression. Electoral control has been strategic, rather than uniform.

    Unlike previous studies that broadly assess Ethiopia’s authoritarian past, my research zooms in on regional variations in electoral competition. I show that repression is not uniform but strategically applied based on political calculations. This adds a new dimension to discussions on African elections. It shows that ruling parties can finetune control tactics to target specific threats.

    In an ethnically diverse federal state like Ethiopia, an electoral system that promotes broad representation is essential for stability and inclusive governance.

    First-past-the-post system

    The current winner-takes-all system fosters a political monopoly. It sidelines critical perspectives and erodes trust in democratic processes.

    In the 2021 election, opposition parties performed better in ethnically diverse regions, such as the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples. However, these parties were heavily suppressed in political strongholds like Oromia and Somali regions. The first-past-the-post system has consistently led to one-party dominance, even when opposition parties gained significant public support.

    For example, in 2005, opposition parties secured around 38% of the vote but ended up with far fewer parliamentary seats than their vote share justified.

    In 2021, the Prosperity Party won 96.8% of federal parliament seats, despite getting 90% of the total vote. In Addis Ababa, opposition groups such as Balderas and Ezema received 32% of the vote but won no seats in parliament. This is because the system gives all the seats to the party with the highest votes in each constituency. It doesn’t even matter if opposition parties collectively get a substantial vote.

    In Oromia and Somali regions, major opposition parties like the Oromo Liberation Front and the Ogaden National Liberation Front withdrew from fielding candidates due to repression. As a result, the ruling party was the sole option for two-thirds of federal seats and three-fourths of regional seats.

    A way forward

    So, what can be done? My research suggests three steps.

    First, moving towards a proportional representation system would help balance the political competition. Proportional representation means that if a party gets 20% of the vote, it receives 20% of the seats.

    About 130 countries, including South Africa, Namibia and Sierra Leone, use this system. Multi-party representation has led to more stable and inclusive governance. Fewer than 55 countries use first-past-the-post.

    Second, the government must guarantee that opposition parties can operate freely in all regions, not just in areas where they pose little threat. All parties should have an equal chance to compete.

    Third, independent electoral bodies and international observers need greater access to ensure fair play. Strengthening Ethiopia’s electoral board and making sure it’s impartial will foster public trust in elections.

    Read more: Ethiopia’s civil war: what’s behind the Amhara rebellion?

    Ethiopia’s democracy is at a tipping point. If the country continues with its current system, it risks further political alienation and instability. By embracing electoral reform, Ethiopia could move towards a more peaceful, inclusive, democratic and representative future.

    – Ethiopia’s 2026 elections: without reforms, the vote may not be free or fair
    – https://theconversation.com/ethiopias-2026-elections-without-reforms-the-vote-may-not-be-free-or-fair-253161

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: South Africans don’t donate enough blood – technology can help drive the numbers

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Relebohiseng Matubatuba, Lecturer in Marketing, University of the Witwatersrand

    The shortage of blood for medical use is a global challenge. South Africa is not exempt. Blood collection organisations such as the South African National Blood Service struggle to meet the demand for blood products, because of insufficient blood donations and the scarcity of loyal blood donors.

    Blood collection organisations rely on the goodwill of a few individuals who voluntarily donate blood. To maintain a sustainable supply of blood, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that at least 1% of a country’s population donate blood. In South Africa the donation rate is below this.

    There are two blood collection organisations in South Africa – the Western Cape Blood Service operates exclusively in the Western Cape province while the South African National Blood Service, operates in the other eight provinces of the country.

    To increase the numbers, the country’s blood donation organisations have focused on the recruitment of new donors and awareness initiatives, using research findings that look at what motivates, and what deters, people from donating blood. But little focus has been put on the behaviour of those who already donate.

    Read more: Blood donation saves lives but few South Africans are regular donors

    I have conducted research in a bid to fill this gap. In a recent paper I examined factors influencing consumers’ intention to donate blood. In addition, in my recently completed PhD, I looked at the retention of existing blood donors and what drives their donation behaviour.

    The research suggests that blood collection organisations need to shift focus from acquiring new blood donors to building relationships with existing blood donors. Existing donors are an important cohort because they are reliable, and have higher donation eligibility and lower recruitment costs.

    The aim should be to drive loyalty.

    I considered the use of technology to encourage people to donate blood regularly. I concluded from my findings that blood collection organisations should customise appeals to various types of donors. They need to appeal to people in a personalised way if they want to drive loyalty.

    The drivers

    To understand what drives donor loyalty, it was important to understand why people donate blood.

    As part of my research, 658 blood donors completed the survey and I conducted interviews with 18 blood donors. The interviews revealed various reasons for donating blood. These included:

    • Awareness of the importance of donating blood

    As one participant in my research put it:

    I’ve been in and out of hospital for my kids and for my wife when she was pregnant. If I don’t donate, where are they going to get that blood from?

    • Contribution to society – saving or changing someone’s life

    This was articulated by one person:

    I’m past the point of only going for a reward, but I actually want to go, because I want to save someone’s life and do good in the community.

    • Moral responsibility

    As one participant put it:

    When I don’t donate blood, I feel bad because, as a universal donor, I could potentially be saving lives as my blood is not limited, as opposed to other groups.

    • Health-related benefits, like free health checks and the requirement to live a healthy lifestyle

    • Incentives

    The gifts make me feel appreciated. It makes me want to donate more and more.

    Beyond just donating blood, some donors also expressed that they shared their blood donation experiences with their friends, family, co-workers and on their social media platforms to encourage others to donate.

    The use of technology

    Findings from my PhD show that donors would like personalised communication from the blood collection organisations. This should include:

    • sharing information about blood donation achievements specific to them (the donor)

    • checking up on the donors who are not donating as they used to or may have stopped donating

    • following up on deferred donors to encourage them to return for a checkup and subsequent donation. Deferred donors are those who were unable to donate during a donation drive because they didn’t meet the donation requirements (for example they had low iron levels).

    • reminding donors of their upcoming donations.

    Others shared that they would like more interactive communication beyond being told that they have saved three lives after donating blood. This could include sharing specific information about the impact of the donors donation – “your donation helped a cancer patient recover” – and stories to make their contribution more tangible.

    What needs to be done

    Research has shown that digital technologies have been used successfully to foster customer engagement, enhance customer experiences and satisfaction, facilitate communication and information-sharing, and offer opportunities to shape and influence behaviour. To achieve this, donor organisations have large amounts of donor data and other data (big data) which they can use to gain insights that can be used in the following ways.

    Firstly, they should analyse donor data to identify patterns and segment donors based on factors such as how long an individual has been donating, donation frequency, blood type, location, and preferred communication channels.

    This information can be used to tailor communication and engagement strategies to specific donor groups. Donors follow different donor paths over time and cannot be viewed as a single segment.

    Secondly, organisations should monitor donation trends over time. This will help to understand seasonal fluctuations, identify peak donation periods, and anticipate potential donor needs. These insights can be used to plan targeted recruitment campaigns and allocate resources.

    Read more: Explainer: what are blood groups and why do they matter?

    Thirdly, organisations should consider personalised communication. This could include:

    • Targeted nudging: timely and relevant communication, like reminders for upcoming donation appointments, personalised thank-you messages, information about the donation they have made or invitations to special donor events.

    • Multi-channel engagement: reaching donors through their preferred communication channels, such as email, SMS, or social media.

    • Loyalty programmes: rewarding frequent donors with exclusive merchandise, discounts or special recognition, based on individual donor preferences and donation history.

    • Gamification: using game-like elements to make communication and the donation process more engaging and fun, using challenges, leaderboards and badges to motivate donors and foster a sense of community.

    • Predictive analytics: using data history and past events to establish donor patterns and predicts future outcomes. This data can be used to identify donors who might lapse and reach out to them with personalised communication.

    – South Africans don’t donate enough blood – technology can help drive the numbers
    – https://theconversation.com/south-africans-dont-donate-enough-blood-technology-can-help-drive-the-numbers-251827

    MIL OSI Africa –