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Category: Transport

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Andrey Rudskoy spoke at a meeting of the Council of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    The Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg hosted a meeting of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly Council. The event was opened by the Chairperson of the CIS IPA Council, Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko. Valentina Ivanovna noted the representative composition of the meeting and thanked the heads of delegations for their personal participation in the session.

    “This is all the more important since the central place in it is given to events connected with a date sacred to all of us – the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory,” the speaker of the Federation Council emphasized.

    During the meeting, the Chairman of the Expert Council on Science and Education at the IPA CIS, Rector of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrei Rudskoy presented information on the work of the council he heads.

    Andrey Ivanovich noted that the Expert Council carries out expert and scientific-analytical activities, evaluates and develops draft model laws and recommendations, and discusses issues of international cooperation in science, education and technology, innovation and regulatory integration. Andrey Rudskoy emphasized that the members of the Expert Council are actively involved in organizing the International School Olympiad and the international conference “Russian Language – the Basis of Integration Dialogue in the Commonwealth of Independent States”, and are working on preparing the International Scientific and Educational Congress of the CIS Member States. The heads of the delegations familiarized themselves with the full report on the activities of the Expert Council, presented in the meeting materials, during the report.

    Chairperson of the CIS IPA Council Valentina Matvienko thanked Andrey Rudskoy for the work he had done, noting his personal contribution to resolving issues of model lawmaking and interaction with the Commonwealth countries in the field of science and education.

    Photo: https: //iakis.ru/

    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: Form 8.3 – AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS: ARGENTEX GROUP PLC

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    FORM 8.3

    PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY
    A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE
    Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the “Code”)

    1.        KEY INFORMATION

    (a)   Full name of discloser: AXA Investment Managers S.A.
    (b)   Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):
            The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named.    		  
    (c)   Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:
            Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree    		 Argentex Group plc
    (d)   If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree:  
    (e)   Date position held/dealing undertaken:
            For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure    		 23 April 2025
    (f)   In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?
            If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state “N/A”

    N/A

    2.        POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

    If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

    (a)      Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

    Class of relevant security: 0.01p ordinary
      Interests Short positions
      Number % Number %
    (1)   Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 1,800,000 1.49    
    (2)   Cash-settled derivatives:        
    (3)   Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:        
    TOTAL: 1,800,000 1.49    

    All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

    Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

    (b)      Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors’ and other employee options)

    Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists:  
    Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages:  

    3.        DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

    Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

    The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

    (a)        Purchases and sales

    Class of relevant security Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit
           

    (b)        Cash-settled derivative transactions

    Class of relevant security Product description
    e.g. CFD    		 Nature of dealing
    e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position    		 Number of reference securities Price per unit
             

    (c)        Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

    (i)        Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

    Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type
    e.g. American, European etc.    		 Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit
                   

    (ii)        Exercise

    Class of relevant security Product description
    e.g. call option    		 Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit
             

    (d)        Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

    Class of relevant security Nature of dealing
    e.g. subscription, conversion    		 Details Price per unit (if applicable)
           

    4.        OTHER INFORMATION

    (a)        Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

    Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:
    Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state “none”
    None

    (b)        Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

    Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:
    (i)   the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or
    (ii)   the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:
    If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state “none”
    None

    (c)        Attachments

    Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO
    Date of disclosure: 24 April 2025
    Contact name: Mireille KAHINDO
    Telephone number*: +33 1 44 45 97 45

    Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service.

    The Panel’s Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code’s disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

    *If the discloser is a natural person, a telephone number does not need to be included, provided contact information has been provided to the Panel’s Market Surveillance Unit.

    The Code can be viewed on the Panel’s website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: INTERPOL and Europol sign cooperation agreement

    Source: Interpol (news and events)

    ‘Today marks an important and historic step in strengthening the international combating of organised crime and terrorism’, INTERPOL’s chief executive Ronald K. Noble said on Monday as he and his Europol counterpart Jürgen Storbeck signed a cooperation agreement between the two international police agencies.

    The signing concludes the successful negotiations between the International Criminal Police Organisation and the European Union’s Police Bureau on how to effectively join forces in fighting crime. Present at the ceremony, which took place in Brussels under the aegis of the EU Presidency currently held by Belgium, were also Antoine Duquesne, Belgium’s Minister of the Interior and Antonio Vitorino, the EU’s Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner.

    ‘In the fight against international terrorists and other criminals there is no excuse for duplicating law enforcement efforts but all the reason for efficient collaboration. Europol’s and INTERPOL’s move to share critical criminal intelligence will strengthen the work of both organisations’, said Secretary General Noble.

    ‘The world is today faced with severe threats from terrorism, the drugs trade, the trafficking in human beings, cyber crime, the trade in stolen vehicles and other organised crime. These are areas where our adversaries build alliances and join forces. To protect our citizens all of us engaged in law enforcement must do the same’, Mr Noble continued.

    ‘One immediate challenge to both Europol and INTERPOL is the obvious crime risks that will inevitably follow the introduction on 1 January 2002 of the Euro, the new European currency. To fight back these threats INTERPOL will add the support of its 179 member countries which include the 15 Europol members’, Secretary General Noble continued.

    The text of the cooperation agreement between INTERPOL and Europol was approved by the Council of the European Union on 27 June 2001, and by the INTERPOL General Assembly at its 70th session, held in Budapest, on 26 September 2001.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Progress Congratulates Chairman Jack Egan on NACD New England Leadership in Corporate Governance Award

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Prestigious honor recognizes Egan’s outstanding contributions to corporate governance and board leadership

    BURLINGTON, Mass., April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Progress (Nasdaq: PRGS), the trusted provider of AI-powered digital experience and infrastructure software, today announced that its Board Chair, John R. “Jack” Egan, has been honored with the Leadership in Corporate Governance Award by the National Association of Corporate Directors New England Chapter (NACDNE). This distinguished recognition highlights Egan’s exceptional leadership, dedication to corporate governance excellence and commitment to fostering strong, responsible board practices.

    A highly respected leader in the business and investment community, Egan is the founding managing partner of Egan-Managed Capital, L.P., a Boston-based venture capital firm. Throughout his career, he has served on the boards of numerous prominent organizations. In addition to his role at Progress, he is the Lead Independent Director of NETSCOUT and has previously been a board member for EMC Corp., Verint Systems, Inc., VMware and Boston College’s Board of Trustees.

    “Jack’s strategic vision and steadfast leadership have been invaluable to Progress,” said Yogesh Gupta, CEO of Progress. “His recognition by NACDNE is a testament to his unwavering commitment to corporate governance excellence. We are privileged to benefit from his insight and experience.”

    The Leadership in Corporate Governance Award is part of NACDNE’s Annual Director of the Year Awards, which celebrate the achievements of board directors across New England. Now in its 17th year, the ceremony honors individuals and boards that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in enhancing stakeholder value, strengthening governance structures and driving long-term corporate success.

    Egan will be formally recognized at the NACDNE Director of the Year Awards Gala in Boston on April 28, 2025.

    About Progress
    Progress (Nasdaq: PRGS) empowers organizations to achieve transformational success in the face of disruptive change. Our software enables our customers to develop, deploy and manage responsible AI-powered applications and digital experiences with agility and ease. Customers get a trusted provider in Progress, with the products, expertise and vision they need to succeed. Over 4 million developers and technologists at hundreds of thousands of enterprises depend on Progress. Learn more at www.progress.com.

    Progress is a trademark or registered trademark of Progress Software Corporation and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Any other names contained herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.  

    Press Contact:
    Jeff Young
    Progress
    +1-800-477-6473
    pr@progress.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Amplifier Security and Jamf Partner to Automate Mac Compliance with AI-Powered User Security

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Atlanta, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Amplifier Security, the industry’s first Autonomous User Security platform today announced an alliance partnership with Jamf, ​​the leading management and security platform for Apple devices. The partnership will improve user security and employee experience by automating Jamf compliance through AI-powered user engagement. The resulting technology integration drives remediation and closes security gaps faster for Mac devices – advancing the industry’s evolution toward autonomous user security.

    Maintaining endpoint hygiene is a tough, manual task for IT, especially those with large Mac fleets. Jamf makes configuration and compliance easier, but getting users to take action has always been a challenge. Amplifier solves this by adding AI-powered user automation to Jamf Smart Groups, conversing with users to update, patch, remove unapproved software and fix endpoint issues without disrupting their work.

    “Jamf and Amplifier share a mutual vision in which security and productivity are not separate concerns for users, but are always achieved together,” said Matt Arsenault, VP Corporate Development at Jamf. “We are excited to bring Amplifier’s innovative human-in-the-loop automation to our customers. Amplifier boosts Jamf Smart Groups by giving users control over when and how security actions happen, through smart scheduling and collaborative engagements where users work.”

    Deeper Integration For Enhanced Admin and User Experiences
    The new technology integration delivers a frictionless setup experience for admins to select existing Jamf Smart groups and trigger Slack, Teams, or browser-based conversations with users for related policy actions. New API integrations connect Jamf Smart Groups and Policies directly to Amplifier’s User Security Graph and AI Automation Studio, enabling faster compliance without extra burden on IT.  Instead of forced updates or policy actions that disrupt workflows, Amplifier engages users through calendar based scheduling of actions and guided security decisions — keeping IT in control while empowering employees to take action.

    Free Product Tier: One Smart Group Automation – Free
    Amplifier is launching its first free product tier for Jamf customers: one Smart Group automation free – with no user or device limits, no commitments, no credit cards. Just secure workflows, ready to go – where admins can pick one Smart Group to drive any number of compliance actions using Jamf policies. Companies can start their free AI-powered automation with Amplifier by signing up here.

    “We’re thrilled to deepen our partnership with Jamf to make possible both user security automation and improved user experience.” said Shreyas Sadalgi, co-founder and CEO of Amplifier. “By automating user engagements for JAMF tasks that require interactions, the integration finally delivers what companies have wanted forever – everyday security workflows that employees love.”

    Amplifier x Jamf at RSAC.

    RSA Conference: Live Demos and Sessions
    Amplifier will be showcasing its innovations at Jamf’s booth at the RSA Conference next week (Booth S-1835) in San Francisco over several spotlight sessions:

    Spotlight Session: Amplify Secure Productivity for Users with Smarter Mac Compliance

    • Monday, April 28: 6:00 PM
    • Tuesday, April 29: 11:30 AM
    • Wednesday, April 30: 11:30 AM and 3:00 PM

    Fireside Chat: The Future of User Security : AI-Powered and Human-Activated

    • Tuesday, April 29: 3:00 PM

    Schedule time here to meet with the Amplifier team at RSA and see a live demonstration.

    About Amplifier
    Amplifier innovates Autonomous User Security that delivers an incredible employee experience without blocking user productivity. Instead of spending hours chasing employees to fix issues, Amplifier’s AI agents handle those toil-ridden tasks that extend your IT and Security operations to the last mile. Security and IT teams can amplify workforce security by collaborating with end users to enforce controls – leading to a faster response time that dramatically increases the security posture and culture of an organization. Amplifier is crafted with ♥ in Atlanta and San Francisco.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: E.F. Hutton Names Industry Veteran Aaron Gadouas as Senior Managing Director

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — E.F. Hutton & Co., the recently relaunched investment firm, has named Aaron Gadouas as the firm’s newest Senior Managing Director. Gadouas will be working alongside Chief Executive Officer Joseph T. Rallo and President Duncan B. Swanston as the firm continues its focus on delivering for clients across equity and debt markets.

    Gadouas brings over three decades of experience in investment banking and capital markets to the firm, including expertise across a wide range of industries and financing structures. Over the course of his career, he has provided capital solutions and strategic advice for clients in industries including renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure, controlled environment agriculture, residential and commercial real estate, equipment leasing and specialty finance and insurance.

    “I’m thrilled to join E.F. Hutton during this exciting period of growth,” said Senior Managing Director Aaron Z. Gadouas. “I’m eager to collaborate with this outstanding executive team to broaden our global reach in private credit and offer valuable solutions to clients across structured finance.”

    Aaron has a history of developing and identifying creative financing solutions. He pioneered the first securitization of church mortgage loans in the United States. He has also formulated ways to monetize and leverage insurance products and other credit enhancements.

    “We are thrilled to announce Aaron Gadouas is joining our firm as a Senior Managing Director. He brings a wealth of knowledge to the company, decades of experience in investment banking and a deep knowledge of debt markets. I am looking forward to working with him to expand our offerings to deliver the best solutions to our clients,” said E.F. Hutton Chief Executive Officer Joseph T. Rallo.

    Before joining E.F. Hutton, Gadouas was a Managing Director at B.C. Ziegler and Company and Co-head of the firm’s project and structured finance practice. He has also held positions at ABN AMRO Global Capital Markets, where he was responsible for the origination and execution of tax-advantaged structured products, and Drexel Burnham Lambert, where he focused on municipal finance.

    Gadouas graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor’s in Economics. He received an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and holds General Securities Registered Representative Series 7, 52 and 63 licenses.

    ABOUT E.F. HUTTON
    E.F. Hutton & Co. is a broker-dealer that provides advisory and financing solutions to a variety of clients including corporates, sponsors, and public-private partnerships. The Executive Team at E.F. Hutton & Co. has a proven track record of providing unwavering strategic advice to clients across the globe, including the US, Asia, Europe, UAE, and Latin America.

    For more information visit efhutton.com.

    Contact: efhutton@orchestraco.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Adeeb Y. Al Aama Appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation

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

    JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, April 24, 2025/APO Group/ —

    The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) (www.ITFC-IDB.org), the trade finance arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, is pleased to announce the appointment of Engineer Adeeb Y. Al Aama as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) ITFC, effective April 20, 2025.   

    The appointment was approved by the ITFC Board of Directors, following the recommendation of H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, Chairman of the ITFC Board and President of the IsDB Group. 

    Upon his appointment, Eng. Al Aama stated: “It is a great honor to assume leadership of ITFC as we embark on the next chapter of our growth journey. Building on the solid foundations laid over the years, I am committed to advancing ITFC’s mission of empowering our member countries through innovative trade financing and development solutions. Together with the dedication of our talented team and the steadfast support of our partners, I am confident that we will drive greater impact, foster strategic partnerships, and contribute to sustainable and inclusive economic growth across our member countries.” 

    Eng. Al Aama brings over three decades of leadership experience spanning international organizations, multinational corporations and government institutions. He has extensive experience in international trade, energy markets, strategic planning, and economics among others. His distinguished career includes serving as Saudi Arabia’s Governor for OPEC and Deputy Minister of Energy for Kingdom Affairs in OPEC and Global Oil Markets, where he played a pivotal role in shaping energy policies and strengthening economic cooperation. 

    Throughout his distinguished career, he has advised three Saudi Energy Ministers and held executive roles at Saudi Aramco and Saudi Petroleum Overseas Ltd., driving international trade partnerships and strategic initiatives. 

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: CBB Government Development Bond Issue No. 39 Oversubscribed

    Source: Central Bank of Bahrain

    CBB Government Development Bond Issue No. 39 Oversubscribed

    Published on 24 April 2025

    Manama, Bahrain – 24th April 2025 – The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announces that the issue of the 2-year Government Development Bond has been oversubscribed by 308%.

    Subscriptions worth BD 771.073 million were received for the BD 200 million issue, which carries a maturity of 2 years.

    The fixed annual coupon rate on the issue, which begins on 29th April 2025 and matures on 29th April 2027, is 5.75%.

    The Government Development Bonds are issued by the CBB on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

    This is Government Development Bond issue No.39 (ISIN BH0006L926V8).

    Share this

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The hidden history of Philadelphia’s window-box gardens and their role in urban reform

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Sonja Dümpelmann, Professor of Environmental Humanities, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

    Window-box gardening has been a Philly tradition since the 1800s. Sonja Dümpelmann, CC BY-SA

    It’s that time of year when Philadelphia row home owners with a green thumb fastidiously attend to their window boxes – selecting new plants to design an artful blend of colors, shapes and textures.

    Sonja Dümpelmann is a historian of landscapes and the built environment who lived in Philly from 2019 to 2023. During this time, she researched how female reformers and activists in Philadelphia in the 19th and 20th centuries tended to window-box gardens both for charity and to spur urban renewal in rundown neighborhoods.

    Dümpelmann recently published an article on this history in the architectural journal Buildings & Landscapes. She spoke with The Conversation U.S. about what she learned.

    Some homeowners change out their plants throughout the year.
    Sonja Dümpelmann, CC BY-SA

    How did you become interested in window boxes?

    When I first moved to Philadelphia from Cambridge, Massachusetts, in August 2019, I was immediately struck by the window boxes. The lushness and freshness of the plants in many of the boxes, and sometimes in sidewalk planters, made walking more pleasant and interesting. This was especially the case in the hot summer months when I would often see plants from subtropical and tropical climates in the Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square and Graduate Hospital neighborhoods.

    I noticed that there were three categories of window boxes. Many were visibly cared for, often freshly planted and decorated several times a year in accordance with the changing seasons. Some were derelict and had spontaneous growth of saplings and different grasses. And a third category were boxes outfitted with plastic plants, perhaps signaling absentee owners or landlords who seek to simulate care.

    What makes them landscape architecture?

    Window boxes – especially the planted boxes, but also painted boxes that are empty – change outdoor space and building exteriors. They make them more colorful and interesting, and they break up plain vertical walls by protruding from the facade.

    You could say that the window boxes “greet” passersby. They connect private indoor space with the public realm of the street. As one early window-box promoter observed in 1903, “The man in the street gets as much enjoyment out of them as its owner.”

    “Gardens in a box,” as they were also referred to by early promoters, can make homes and entire neighborhoods look and feel different. They forge distinct identities with their plant selection and the style and color of the boxes.

    Window gardens are a way to greet passersby on the street.
    Sonja Dümpelmann, CC BY-SA

    How did window gardening begin?

    Window gardening became popular in Victorian England and continental Europe in the 19th century. It began as an indoor activity and was practiced especially by women, but it soon also moved outdoors. There it became part of what American women in the late 19th century called “municipal housekeeping.” It extended their conventional female roles as housekeepers and mothers into the larger “household” of the community.

    Window gardening became a means of female social reform during the Progressive Era. During this period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when industries and cities were growing fast, women sought to improve education, public health and living conditions, especially for poor and immigrant communities. By offering plants, flowers and entire window boxes, the women supported homemakers of lesser means.

    However, these boxes were also a way to make sure that order in and outside of homes was maintained. Window gardens became cultural symbols of cleanliness and good housekeeping. Furthermore, reformers considered window gardening as a practice that could help immigrants assimilate into American society.

    When did they become political?

    In Philadelphia there were two big window-gardening movements. The first occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and I describe it as window-box charity. The second, which I call window-box activism, began in the 1950s.

    Window-box charity was carried out primarily by white philanthropists and social workers who would distribute plants and goods sent from outside the city to the urban poor and sick, especially immigrants and Black Americans. Sometimes the window boxes were ready to be installed outside the windows. Other times recipients built and planted boxes themselves.

    The Neighborhood Garden Association, the organization that pioneered window-box activism, at work near the now-closed Alexander Wilson School in West Philadelphia in 1955.
    Courtesy of the McLean Library and Archives, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    Several decades later, in the mid-20th-century, plants became a vehicle for white suburban garden club ladies and Black inner-city residents to counter urban decay resulting from racism and public disinvestment. On annual planting days, the garden club ladies brought plants into the city and joined residents in planting and installing window boxes to brighten up their neighborhood blocks.

    Plants were key in both window-box charity and window-box activism. People came together to care for plants, creating friendships among neighbors and ties between low-income and wealthy neighborhoods. The women used plants and window boxes to protect private space and increase the safety of public space. In the 1960s, the Philadelphia police reported less crime on streets with window boxes.

    Of course, window boxes and plants alone could not solve larger urban social problems such as poor housing conditions and racial discrimination. So while they could be catalysts of neighborhood change, they also helped to camouflage and quite literally naturalize larger social problems that required political responses.

    Are they still linked to urban renewal?

    Like a smaller version of public parks, community gardens and street trees, window gardens can contribute to green gentrification. This occurs when the construction of parks or the planting of trees contributes to an increase in property values that leads to the displacement of long-term residents in low-income neighborhoods.

    Window gardening did help save some of Philly’s old row house neighborhoods from demolition during urban renewal beginning in the 1950s. However, quite a few of these neighborhoods – such as Washington Square West and Graduate Hospital – have since been gentrified, and families who once window gardened to turn their neighborhoods into more beautiful and safer places could no longer afford to live there.

    The 20th century window-box activism drew the attention of sociologists and other national and international observers, especially because it brought white and Black residents together during the tensions of the Civil Rights Movement. It also raised public awareness about unequal access to urban green spaces.

    Window boxes on Delancey Street in Philadelphia.
    Photo by R. Kennedy for Visit Philadelphia, CC BY-SA

    Yet despite the movement’s good intentions and positive effects, racial segregation remains a persistent problem in Philadelphia.

    In gentrified parts of Center City today, new and restored row houses often include fixtures and built-in irrigation pipes for window boxes. Many owners outsource window-box planting and maintenance to paid service providers.

    But for lower-income residents, the costs in both time and money to install and maintain window gardens can be prohibitive.

    Sonja Dümpelmann 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. The hidden history of Philadelphia’s window-box gardens and their role in urban reform – https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-history-of-philadelphias-window-box-gardens-and-their-role-in-urban-reform-254361

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How do children learn to read? This literacy expert says ‘there are as many ways as there are students’

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By K. Dara Hill, Professor of Reading and Language Arts, University of Michigan-Dearborn

    Not all children learn to read in the same way, but schools tend to adopt a single approach to literacy. luckyvector/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    Five years after the pandemic forced children into remote instruction, two-thirds of U.S. fourth graders still cannot read at grade level. Reading scores lag 2 percentage points below 2022 levels and 4 percentage points below 2019 levels.

    This data from the 2024 report of National Assessment of Educational Progress, a state-based ranking sometimes called “America’s report card,” has concerned educators scrambling to boost reading skills.

    Many school districts have adopted an evidence-based literacy curriculum called the “science of reading” that features phonics as a critical component.

    Phonics strategies begin by teaching children to recognize letters and make their corresponding sounds. Then they advance to manipulating and blending first-letter sounds to read and write simple, consonant-vowel-consonant words – such as combining “b” or “c” with “-at” to make “bat” and “cat.” Eventually, students learn to merge more complex word families and to read them in short stories to improve fluency and comprehension.

    Proponents of the curriculum celebrate its grounding in brain science, and the science of reading has been credited with helping Louisiana students outperform their pre-pandemic reading scores last year.

    In practice, Louisiana used a variety of science of reading approaches beyond phonics. That’s because different students have different learning needs, for a variety of reasons.

    Yet as a scholar of reading and language who has studied literacy in diverse student populations, I see many schools across the U.S. placing a heavy emphasis on the phonics components of the science of reading.

    If schools want across-the-board gains in reading achievement, using one reading curriculum to teach every child isn’t the best way. Teachers need the flexibility and autonomy to use various, developmentally appropriate literacy strategies as needed.

    Phonics fails some students

    Phonics programs often require memorizing word families in word lists. This works well for some children: Research shows that “decoding” strategies such as phonics can support low-achieving readers and learners with dyslexia.

    However, some students may struggle with explicit phonics instruction, particularly the growing population of neurodivergent learners with autism spectrum disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. These students learn and interact differently than their mainstream peers in school and in society. And they tend to have different strengths and challenges when it comes to word recognition, reading fluency and comprehension.

    This was the case with my own child. He had been a proficient reader from an early age, but struggles emerged when his school adopted a phonics program to balance out its regular curriculum, a flexible literature-based curriculum called Daily 5 that prioritizes reading fluency and comprehension.

    I worked with his first grade teacher to mitigate these challenges. But I realized that his real reading proficiency would likely not have been detected if the school had taught almost exclusively phonics-based reading lessons.

    Another weakness of phonics, in my experience, is that it teaches reading in a way that is disconnected from authentic reading experiences. Phonics often directs children to identify short vowel sounds in word lists, rather than encounter them in colorful stories. Evidence shows that exposing children to fun, interesting literature promotes deep comprehension.

    Balanced literacy

    To support different learning styles, educators can teach reading in multiple ways. This is called balanced literacy, and for decades it was a mainstay in teacher preparation and in classrooms.

    Balanced literacy prompts children to learn words encountered in authentic literature during guided, teacher-led read-alouds – versus learning how to decode words in word lists. Teachers use multiple strategies to promote reading acquisition, such as blending the letter sounds in words to support “decoding” while reading.

    Another balanced literacy strategy that teachers can apply in phonics-based strategies while reading aloud is called “rhyming word recognition.” The rhyming word strategy is especially effective with stories whose rhymes contribute to the deeper meaning of the story, such as Marc Brown’s “Arthur in a Pickle.”

    The rhyming structure of ‘Arthur in a Pickle’ helps children learn to read entire words, versus word parts.

    After reading, teachers may have learners arrange letter cards to form words, then tap the letter cards while saying and blending each sound to form the word. Similar phonics strategies include tracing and writing letters to form words that were encountered during reading.

    There is no one right way to teach literacy in a developmentally appropriate, balanced literacy framework. There are as many ways as there are students.

    What a truly balanced curriculum looks like

    The push for the phonics-based component of the science of reading is a response to the discrediting of the Lucy Calkins Reading Project, a balanced literacy approach that uses what’s called “cueing” to teach young readers. Teachers “cue” students to recognize words with corresponding pictures and promote guessing unfamiliar words while reading based on context clues.

    A 2024 class action lawsuit filed by Massachusetts families claimed that this faulty curriculum and another cueing-based approach called Fountas & Pinnell had failed readers for four decades, in part because they neglect scientifically backed phonics instruction.

    But this allegation overlooks evidence that the Calkins curriculum worked for children who were taught basic reading skills at home. And a 2021 study in Georgia found modest student achievement gains of 2% in English Language Arts test scores among fourth graders taught with the Lucy Calkins method.

    Nor is the method unscientific. Using picture cues with corresponding words is supported by the predictable language theory of literacy.

    This approach is evident in Eric Carle’s popular children’s books. Stories such as the “Very Hungry Caterpillar” and “Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See?” have vibrant illustrations of animals and colors that correspond with the text. The pictures support children in learning whole words and repetitive phrases, suchg as, “But he was still hungry.”

    Teacher-led read-alouds have been a mainstay learn-to-read activity in U.S. classrooms for decades.
    H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images

    The intention here is for learners to acquire words in the context of engaging literature. But critics of Calkins contend that “cueing” during reading is a guessing game. They say readers are not learning the fundamentals necessary to identify sounds and word families on their way to decoding entire words and sentences.

    As a result, schools across the country are replacing traditional learn-to-read activities tied to balanced literacy approaches with the science of reading. Since its inception in 2013, the phonics-based curriculum has been adopted by 40 states and the Disctrict of Columbia.

    Recommendations for parents, educators and policymakers

    The most scientific way to teach reading, in my opinion, is by not applying the same rigid rules to every child. The best instruction meets students where they are, not where they should be.

    Here are five evidence-based tips to promote reading for all readers that combine phonics, balanced literacy and other methods.

    1. Maintain the home-school connection. When schools send kids home with developmentally appropriate books and strategies, it encourages parents to practice reading at home with their kids and develop their oral reading fluency. Ideally, reading materials include features that support a diversity of learning strategies, including text, pictures with corresponding words and predictable language.

    2. Embrace all reading. Academic texts aren’t the only kind of reading parents and teachers should encourage. Children who see menus, magazines and other print materials at home also acquire new literacy skills.

    3. Make phonics fun. Phonics instruction can teach kids to decode words, but the content is not particularly memorable. I encourage teachers to teach phonics on words that are embedded in stories and texts that children absolutely love.

    4. Pick a series. High-quality children’s literature promotes early literacy achievement. Texts that become increasingly more complex as readers advance, such as the “Arthur” step-into-reading series, are especially helpful in developing reading comprehension. As readers progress through more complex picture books, caregivers and teachers should read aloud the “Arthur” novels until children can read them independently. Additional popular series that grow with readers include “Otis,” “Olivia,” “Fancy Nancy” and “Berenstain Bears.”

    5. Tutoring works. Some readers will struggle despite teachers’ and parents’ best efforts. In these cases, intensive, high-impact tutoring can help. Sending students to one session a week of at least 30 minutes is well documented to help readers who’ve fallen behind catch up to their peers. Many nonprofit organizations, community centers and colleges offer high-impact tutoring.

    K. Dara Hill 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. How do children learn to read? This literacy expert says ‘there are as many ways as there are students’ – https://theconversation.com/how-do-children-learn-to-read-this-literacy-expert-says-there-are-as-many-ways-as-there-are-students-246468

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: US colleges and universities have billions stashed away in endowments − a higher ed finance expert explains what they are

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Todd L. Ely, Associate Professor of Public Administration; Director, Center for Local Government, University of Colorado Denver

    Prospective students tour Georgetown University’s campus in Washington in 2013. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

    With the Trump administration seeking to cut federal funding for colleges and universities, you might be wondering whether the endowments of these institutions of higher education might be able to fill those gaps. Todd L. Ely, a professor of public administration at the University of Colorado Denver, explains what endowments are and the constraints placed on them.

    What’s an endowment?

    Endowments are pools of financial investments that belong to a nonprofit. These assets produce a revenue stream, typically from dividends, interest and realized capital gains. The funds endowments hold usually originate as charitable donations made to support an institution’s mission.

    In most cases with higher education endowments, this wealth, which helps buoy a nonprofit’s budget, is supposed to last forever.

    Contributions to endowments are tax-deductible for donors who itemize their tax returns. Once these funds are invested, they grow generally tax-free. But beginning in 2018, the federal government imposed a 1.4% excise tax on dozens of higher education institutions with relatively large endowments.

    Few colleges or universities have a single endowment fund.

    That’s because the donors who provide gifts large and small to the school over the years direct their donations to different funds reserved for specific purposes.

    Harvard University’s endowment, worth $53.2 billion at the end of its 2024 fiscal year, for example, consists of roughly 14,600 distinct funds.

    All told, money distributed from endowments covered more than 15%, on average, of college and university operating expenses in 2024. Some of America’s institutions of higher education, however, lean much more heavily than that on their endowments to pay their bills.

    People pose for photos in front of the iconic Tommy Trojan statue on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles in 2019.
    AP Photo/Reed Saxon

    How do endowments influence higher education?

    Endowments can serve multiple purposes.

    In 2024, nearly half of all higher education spending paid for with endowment revenue funded scholarships and other kinds of aid for students, while almost 18% supported academic programs. Just under 11% paid for professors’ compensation, and almost 7% helped pay for running and maintaining campus facilities.

    More broadly, endowments can help shield schools from financial hardships and maintain their long-term reputations.

    When they’re set up to carry on in perpetuity, endowments must benefit both current and future generations. So when donors give to an endowment, they are arguably investing in the long-term viability of the institution.

    This long-term focus suggests that endowments aren’t just rainy-day funds or financial reserves.

    Why can’t endowment funds be spent freely?

    At the end of the 2023 fiscal year, U.S. higher education endowments held a total of more than $907 billion. That is a lot of money, but it’s still less than the combined wealth of America’s five richest people.

    Like individual wealth, endowment assets are heavily concentrated in the U.S.

    Many colleges and universities have small or no endowments. Nearly 60% of them total less than $50 million. The top 25, which includes several public universities in states such as Michigan and Texas, account for more than half of all endowment assets.

    And even when schools have large endowments, the individual funds that compose them are bound by a wide array of restrictions. Some of that money can be spent however the school would like. Other funds are dedicated to a clearly defined purpose.

    When endowment funds are restricted, the school gets little discretion in how to spend them.

    At Harvard, for example, there’s a Hollis Professorship of Divinity at Harvard University. It was established in 1721 through a gift from a London merchant. Based on the terms of that long-ago donation, the earnings and growth of the donated funds continue to honor the donor’s intent by supporting the position, regardless of what the university needs.

    Alternatively, endowments may receive donations that are temporarily restricted. Known as “term” endowments, the assets they hold can be used once donor-imposed conditions are fulfilled.

    Institutions frequently designate some of their unrestricted funds as “quasi” endowments, usually earmarked for specific strategic purposes. This board-designated quasi-endowment does not carry legal restrictions and can be spent more freely.

    About 40% of higher education endowment assets are subject to permanent restrictions, 30% are temporarily restricted, and 29% are reserved for quasi-endowment use.

    People walk past the Ray and Maria Stata Center on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2019.
    AP Photo/Steven Senne

    How are decisions over endowment funds made?

    The decision-making authority over endowments typically rests with a college or university’s governing board. Those boards establish endowment payout policies that guide how much of the endowment and its earnings can be spent each year, while attempting to preserve the purchasing power of the investments over the long term.

    The policies take expectations regarding investment earnings and inflation into account, while smoothing annual payouts by using a percentage of the value of the endowment over multiple years as opposed to a single point in time. This payout tends to amount to about 5% of all assets. That share averaged 4.8% in 2024.

    U.S. institutions of higher education spent nearly $35.5 billion derived from their endowments in the 2023 fiscal year.

    Colleges and universities that depend more heavily on their endowment funds to cover their current obligations may choose to invest more conservatively. In recent years, many higher education endowments have obtained more complex investments, such as private equity, real assets and stakes in hedge funds.

    Endowments of nonprofit colleges and universities are also governed in most states by a state law known as the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act. This law encourages cautious investments and restrained spending.

    These restrictions mean that annual payouts are generally modest. That leaves endowments ill-equipped to respond to abrupt and large shifts in their funding needs.

    The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School, is a member of The Conversation U.S.

    Todd Ely works for a university that has an endowment and receives federal research funding.

    – ref. US colleges and universities have billions stashed away in endowments − a higher ed finance expert explains what they are – https://theconversation.com/us-colleges-and-universities-have-billions-stashed-away-in-endowments-a-higher-ed-finance-expert-explains-what-they-are-254872

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Alaska, rich in petroleum, faces an energy shortage

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Brett Watson, Assistant Professor of Applied and Natural Resource Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage

    The Trans-Alaska Pipeline crosses underneath the Dalton Highway, carrying crude oil from the North Slope to a port in Valdez. Lance King/Getty Images

    In the state with the fourth-largest proven reserves of oil and gas in the U.S., there is a looming energy shortage.

    Above the Arctic Circle, oil producers on Alaska’s North Slope send an average of 465,000 barrels of crude oil south each day for shipping to refineries and users around the country and the world.

    But in south-central Alaska – Anchorage and the surrounding region, home to 63% of the state’s population – utility companies are warning they may not have enough natural gas from current sources to keep the power and heat on without interruption.

    As a professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage who studies the economics of natural resources, I can see this apparent contradiction has a straightforward cause but no simple solution.

    Oil facilities in Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope, photographed March 28, 2002.
    Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images

    Declining oil production

    The North Slope region once produced nearly 2 million barrels of oil per day at its peak in the 1980s. Every barrel is transported via the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline System to the port of Valdez, where it is loaded onto tanker ships.

    The state government collects significant taxes and royalties on oil production. For decades, oil revenue allowed the state to fund all government spending without imposing broad-based income, sales or property taxes. At the height of the oil boom, there was so much money that Alaska established a wealth fund, now valued at over US$80 billion, and began distributing dividends to every resident.

    But the Trans-Alaska Pipeline is designed to carry oil, not natural gas. A state law prevents producers from burning off excess gas, or flaring, as happens in many fields. With nowhere to send it, gas extracted from Alaska’s oil fields is reinjected into the ground to boost well pressure and push more oil out.

    Significant natural gas potential

    Alaska’s gas reserves are significant. State estimates suggest the North Slope has about 35 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves. That’s almost as much natural gas as the U.S. as a whole produced in 2023.

    But that is just the beginning: The North Slope also has the potential for another 200 trillion cubic feet that remains undiscovered. And improving technologies and techniques may be able to extract another 590 trillion cubic feet, according to the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., a company owned by the state of Alaska that is trying develop a project to extract and sell the state’s natural gas.

    As oil production declines and prices remain uncertain, selling gas could provide a different stream of revenue for the state, potentially providing billions of dollars.

    The 800-mile problem

    For decades, there have been numerous proposals to develop Alaska’s gas. State agencies and the petroleum industry have collectively spent hundreds of millions of dollars on this effort.

    The concept that’s closest to reality is Alaska Gasline Development Corp.’s proposal to build a plant on the North Slope to remove gas impurities, a liquefaction plant near Anchorage that could export 20 million tons of liquefied gas each year – around a trillion cubic feet – and an 807-mile pipeline to connect the two.

    The cost is expected to be significant: The corporation’s own estimate is that it would cost $44 billion. But that number was developed before the construction sector saw significant inflation in 2022. An engineering study due for release in late 2025 will provide a more updated figure. Alaskans remember that the Trans-Alaska Pipeline ended up costing 25% more than projected.

    Since his first day in office, President Donald Trump has touted this pipeline as part of efforts to expand the nation’s production of fossil fuels. He told a joint session of Congress it was a near-ready project, with Japan and South Korea ready to invest “trillions of dollars each.” In February 2025, he stood alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to announce a “joint venture” to develop the pipeline project, but no specific details have been announced.

    Winter in Alaska means deep cold and lots of snow.
    AP Photo/Mark Thiessen

    2 expensive options

    There is a growing need to address Alaska’s domestic energy shortfall.

    South-central Alaska relies on natural gas for more than 70% of its electric and heating needs. But the gas reserves closest to Anchorage, in the Cook Inlet, which have provided energy to the area since the 1960s, are dwindling, and prices are rising. In 2005, wholesale gas prices were $3.75 per 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas. By 2024, the price had more than doubled, to $8.75. By contrast, the rest of the U.S. has seen natural gas prices cut in half over that period, thanks in part to horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking.

    In 2022, Hilcorp, the company responsible for roughly 85% of the Cook Inlet gas production, reported that by 2027 it might not be able to supply enough gas for utilities that serve the region.

    Solutions other than the pipeline are also slow and expensive. Local utilities estimate that improving energy efficiency and developing renewable power could reduce gas demand by around 10% over the next several years and by as much as 15% after a decade. But retrofitting the area’s aging and energy-inefficient homes will not be fast or cheap.

    More than just economics

    What remains for Alaska are two main options: get gas from the North Slope to Anchorage, or import liquefied gas from the global market.

    Building the pipeline could both meet the needs of Alaska’s people and bring in money from global sales – though how much revenue depends on how global gas markets change over time and how competitive Alaska gas prices would be relative to other suppliers.

    Any delays from financial, legal, technical or environmental challenges would balloon costs. But if it succeeded, Anchorage-area customers could see prices drop as low as $2.23 per 1,000 cubic feet – a 75% drop from current prices and 40% lower than in 2005. The savings could significantly bolster the region’s economy.

    Importing is a costly option. A study commissioned by the Alaska Legislature found that imported gas would cost $13.72 per 1,000 cubic feet. That’s 60% more than current prices and especially burdensome for Alaska families and businesses, which already pay far higher energy bills than typical American customers.

    Beyond the economic questions, there’s something symbolic at stake: the state’s identity. Could a state synonymous with energy production become an energy importer? Many Alaskans see the prospect as an embarrassing paradox – akin to Hawaii importing pineapples or New Mexico importing green chiles.

    Independence and globalization

    Alaska is not alone in grappling with the tension between energy self-sufficiency and economic efficiency.

    Across the U.S., states rich in resources have wrestled with the question of whether to prioritize local production or integrate into global markets. Texas produces more oil than any other state, yet it continues to import crude oil due to mismatches between its production and refining capacity.

    Shaped by globalization, few regions can truly isolate themselves from market forces. Energy production and consumption are increasingly interconnected, meaning pursuit of local self-sufficiency comes at a steep economic cost. That’s the question facing Alaska: whether to invest in domestic infrastructure to maintain energy independence, or embrace the flexibility – and potentially lower cost – of global markets.

    Brett Watson receives funding from First National Bank Alaska to conduct research on the Alaska economy, including energy issues. He has previously received funding from Power the Future for work on Alaska mineral issues.

    – ref. Alaska, rich in petroleum, faces an energy shortage – https://theconversation.com/alaska-rich-in-petroleum-faces-an-energy-shortage-254903

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Pope Francis’ death right after Easter sounds miraculous – but patients and caregivers often work together to delay dying

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Michelle Riba, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Michigan

    Pope Francis died after celebrating Easter with his congregants. AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia

    On the morning of Easter Monday, after his final public address the day prior, Pope Francis died at age 88, closing 12 years of leading the Catholic Church. He joins the phenomena of people “holding on” until after an anticipated date or event, such as the holidays or a birthday, before dying.

    It sometimes seems like some patients are able to stay alive out of sheer willpower. But for many people, behind the scenes are a village of people and an ongoing series of conversations that help patients be able to celebrate their child’s graduation or travel to a place they’ve always wanted to go.

    We asked Dr. Michelle Riba, director of the psycho-oncology program at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, to explain how meaning matters just as much as medicine at the end of life.

    What factors come into play at the end of life?

    Psychosocial factors that affect a person’s mental health and well-being – such as stress, social support, depression and anxiety, and socioeconomic status – play an important part of all parts of life, but especially at the end of life. End of life refers to the days, weeks or months after somebody is told that they have a disease that can be fatal.

    Questions about meaning and what’s important to a patient and their family are important at all times. But when somebody is diagnosed with a grave illness, these questions become particularly important to acknowledge in medical conversations. As many doctors like to say, patients aren’t the disease, they have a disease.

    We want to give patients control about how they want to live their lives in the most meaningful way, especially at the end. And this includes how they want to use their time, energy and resources, who they want to spend their time with and where they want to be.

    How does the ‘will to live’ affect treatment and survival?

    There was a new movement starting in the 1960s to 1970s that believed a person’s attitude and outlook on life could affect their health and longevity. People like minister Norman Vincent Peale promoted the idea that a positive mindset could help improve outcomes. Psychologist Martin Seligman developed the field of positive psychology that focused on subjective well-being by promoting resilience and human flourishing. The idea that you could do better if you were optimistic resonated with many people, including physicians.

    Then surgeon Bernie Siegel proposed the specific idea that staying positive after a cancer diagnosis could extend your life, and that became a major focus of the movement. However, there was little to no data to support his claims. The studies researchers conducted to figure out whether it was true that people who were more positive lived longer or had a lower prevalence of cancer than those who did not were either flawed or did not consistently show this effect.

    Eventually Siegel’s ideas were disproved. But for a long time, they affected how patients felt about themselves and how their families addressed illness. My own patients would tell me, “How can I be positive? I can’t eat, I’m in pain and I’m sick.” They felt guilty that they couldn’t feel positive and optimistic, and that caused extra stress and reduced their quality of life.

    Learning about what matters most to a patient requires asking them.
    FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images

    Additionally, the social determinants of health – such as a patient’s environment, race, education and wealth – are also very important to their health and longevity. Having a good social life, money and not being discriminated against makes it easier to stay positive and do better in life. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people were less likely to do well if you didn’t have money, or if you were a certain race.

    Research shows that patients who have severe mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder often live about 20 years less than somebody who doesn’t. And it’s not just because of the disease. Having a severe mental illness means that you probably can’t work, you probably don’t have financial means, and you may not have family support.

    How can doctors help patients feel like they have more control?

    In studying how patients could feel more confident, physicians like me realized that having control over their destiny, if you will, didn’t necessarily mean patients had to stay positive. Rather, it meant understanding the things that gave them joy and meaning before their diagnosis, and how clinicians could help them continue to do these things.

    For example, a patient who could no longer work because of their cancer or their treatments might miss their sense of routine. Working with them to make a schedule of all their medical appointments and enjoyable activities might help them take control over their days. The structure may provide meaning and help them cope better.

    A marathon runner who loses their ability to balance due to a brain tumor is another example. If this patient found meaning and pleasure in running but could no longer run, what could we do to help them regain some of this joy? This might look like starting physical therapy and rehab, or finding alternative activities they can do.

    If going to their place of worship is important to a patient but they’re no longer able to, we could see if their rabbi, imam or minister could see them at their home.

    Additionally, helping patients continue doing what’s meaningful for them also gives them hope. It helps them know that their physicians feel they’re worth doing that for, and that there’s a life beyond cancer treatment.

    How do a patient’s goals factor into their treatment plan?

    When doctors give patients hope, patients tend to have better outcomes. That doesn’t mean we’re telling patients something false, or that they’re going to live a longer time. Rather, doctors can help patients improve or maintain their quality of life and achieve certain goals.

    For example, a patient may be thinking of attending their child’s graduation two months from now. Their care team can talk to them about how they might be able to do this, or think of other ways they can celebrate.

    Feeling supported during a serious illness can make a big difference.
    Joshua Hoehne/Unsplash, CC BY-SA

    My mother passed away from cancer a month after I graduated high school. I remember she couldn’t participate in a lot of senior prom activities, like helping me get a dress or do my hair. But my date and I and another couple were allowed to go to her hospital room just before the prom so she could see us all dressed up. And it was one of the most meaningful moments of my life. Though she couldn’t be there for graduation or all the other preparations and celebrations, it mattered to my mother and me that she was able to see my friends and me before prom. Also, very meaningfully, my friends were so kind and thoughtful to make that effort on our behalf.

    There have been observations that some patients with terminal illness manage to hold on until after a certain holiday or date. A 1988 study found that the number of Jewish people who died before Passover was lower than expected, and the number of deaths after Passover was higher than expected. While this study had flaws and limitations, other researchers have made similar observations for deaths for specific groups after holidays like Christmas, the Mid-Autumn Festival and birthdays.

    But these studies don’t address whether those specific holidays were actually what these patients really cared about. It may be that people made it through something else important to them. It may be that they were able to be with the people they loved at the end. It may be something else entirely. We don’t really know what’s important for someone unless we ask.

    Allowing patients and their families to think about what matters most to them and how we can help them achieve their goals is part of our job as physicians.

    How do you balance a patient’s medical care with their goals?

    Being diagnosed with a terminal illness can be a traumatic event. Patients often can remember where and when they heard the news about a certain illness or scan or problem. How to help people process, understand and live with this to the best of their ability is really the key to having the best quality of life. This means giving them choices and helping them see some ways to address it for themselves and their families.

    Sometimes that can be really hard. For patients who really want to travel somewhere, we might figure out a way to defer specific treatments or procedures, or set up appointments for them to be done at the local hospital or clinic. But there’s not much we can do for a patient who wants to attend their young child’s wedding when that won’t be for decades in the future. The medical team does everything it can within reason, and it tries to make sure the patients and their loved ones understand the risks and benefits.

    Receiving bad news can be a traumatic event.
    Maskot/DigitalVision via Getty Images

    Doctors and patients may also have different goals that can be difficult to meet at the same time. Figuring out how to juggle these agendas and listening to each other during these conversations can be challenging but important.

    Everybody is trying to do what they think is right and best for the patient. This means taking care of the whole person, not just the disease. Whether that means reaching a certain holiday or special event, or just gathering together with the people they love, taking the time and effort to understand what is important for the patient and their family is key to good care.

    Michelle Riba chairs the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Guidelines.

    – ref. Pope Francis’ death right after Easter sounds miraculous – but patients and caregivers often work together to delay dying – https://theconversation.com/pope-francis-death-right-after-easter-sounds-miraculous-but-patients-and-caregivers-often-work-together-to-delay-dying-254970

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Gratitude comes with benefits − a social psychologist explains how to practice it when times are stressful

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Monica Y. Bartlett, Professor of Psychology, Gonzaga University

    If the concept of journaling feels daunting, perhaps just call it a gratitude list. Karl Tapales/Moment via Getty Images

    A lot has been written about gratitude over the past two decades and how we ought to be feeling it. There is advice for journaling and a plethora of purchasing options for gratitude notebooks and diaries. And research has consistently pointed to the health and relationship benefits of the fairly simple and cost-effective practice of cultivating gratitude.

    Yet, Americans are living in a very stressful time, worried about their financial situation and the current political upheaval.

    How then do we practice gratitude during such times?

    I am a social psychologist who runs the Positive Emotion and Social Behavior Lab at Gonzaga University. I teach courses focused on resilience and human flourishing. I have researched and taught about gratitude for 18 years.

    At the best of times, awareness of the positive may require more effort than noticing the negative, let alone in times of heightened distress. There are, however, two simple ways to work on this.

    Expressions of gratitude can take many different forms.
    Lighthouse Films/DigitalVision via Getty Images

    Gratitude doesn’t always come easily

    Generally, negative information captures attention more readily than the positive. This disparity is so potent that it’s called the negativity bias. Researchers argue that this is an evolutionary adaptation: Being vigilant for life’s harms was essential for survival.

    Yet, this means that noticing the kindnesses of others or the beauty the world has to offer may go unnoticed or forgotten by the end of the day. That is to our detriment.

    Gratitude is experienced as a positive emotion. It results from noticing that others − including friends and family certainly, but also strangers, a higher power or the planet − have provided assistance or given something of value such as friendship or financial support. By definition, gratitude is focused on others’ care or on entities outside of oneself. It is not about one’s own accomplishments or luck.

    When we feel gratitude toward something or someone, it can increase well-being and happiness and relationship satisfaction, as well as lower depression.

    Thus, it may assist in counteracting the negativity bias by helping us find and remember the good that others are doing for us every day − the good that we may lose sight of in the best of times, let alone in times when Americans are deeply stressed.

    We feel gratitude more easily when we notice the good that others have brought into our lives.
    Catherine Falls Commercial/Moment via Getty Images

    How to practice gratitude

    Research has shown that some people are naturally more grateful than others.

    But it’s also clear that gratitude can be cultivated through practice. People can improve their ability to notice and feel this positive emotion.

    One way to do this is to try a gratitude journal. Or, if the idea of journaling is daunting or annoying, perhaps call it a daily list instead. If you have given this a try and dislike it, skip to the second method below.

    Gratitude lists are designed to create a habit in which you scan your day looking for the positive outcomes that others have brought into your life, no matter how small. Writing down several experiences each day that went well because of others may make these positive events more visible to you and more memorable by the end of the day − thus, boosting gratitude and its accompanying benefits.

    While the negative news − “The stock market is down again!” “How are tariffs going to affect my financial security?” − is clearly drawing attention, a gratitude list is meant to help highlight the positive so that it doesn’t go overlooked.

    The negative doesn’t need help gaining attention, but the positive might.

    A second method for practicing gratitude is expressing that gratitude to others. This can look like writing a letter of gratitude and delivering it to someone who has made a positive impact in your life.

    When my students do this exercise, it often results in touching interactions. For instance, my college students often write to high school mentors, and those adults are regularly moved to tears to learn of the positive impact they had. Expressing gratitude in work settings can boost employees’ sense of social worth.

    In a world that may currently feel bleak, a letter of gratitude may not only help the writer recognize the good of others but also let others know that they are making a beautiful difference in the world.

    Monica Y. Bartlett 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. Gratitude comes with benefits − a social psychologist explains how to practice it when times are stressful – https://theconversation.com/gratitude-comes-with-benefits-a-social-psychologist-explains-how-to-practice-it-when-times-are-stressful-250882

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 24 April 2025 News release WHO calls for revitalized efforts to end malaria

    Source: World Health Organisation

    On World Malaria Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for revitalized efforts at all levels, from global policy to community action, to accelerate progress towards malaria elimination.

    In the late 1990s, world leaders laid the foundation for remarkable progress in global malaria control, including preventing more than 2 billion cases of malaria and nearly 13 million deaths since 2000.

    To date, WHO has certified 45 countries and 1 territory as malaria-free, and many countries with a low burden of malaria continue to move steadily towards the goal of elimination. Of the remaining 83 malaria-endemic countries, 25 reported fewer than 10 cases of the disease in 2023.

    However, as history has shown, these gains are fragile.

    “The history of malaria teaches us a harsh lesson: when we divert our attention, the disease resurges, taking its greatest toll on the most vulnerable,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “But the same history also shows us what’s possible: with strong political commitment, sustained investment, multisectoral action and community engagement, malaria can be defeated.”

    Investments in new interventions drive progress

    Years of investment in the development and deployment of new malaria vaccines and next-generation tools to prevent and control malaria are paying off.

    On World Malaria Day, Mali will join 19 other African countries in introducing malaria vaccines—a vital step towards protecting young children from one of the continent’s most deadly diseases. The large-scale rollout of malaria vaccines in Africa is expected to save tens of thousands of young lives every year.

    Meanwhile, the expanded use of a new generation of insecticide-treated nets is poised to lower the disease burden. According to the latest World malaria report, these new nets—which have greater impact against malaria than the standard pyrethroid-only nets—accounted for nearly 80% of all nets delivered in sub-Saharan Africa in 2023, up from 59% the previous year.

    Progress against malaria under threat

    Despite significant gains, malaria remains a major public health challenge, with nearly 600 000 lives lost to the disease in 2023 alone. The African Region is hardest hit, shouldering an estimated 95% of the malaria burden each year.

    In many areas, progress has been hampered by fragile health systems and rising threats such as drug and insecticide resistance. Many at-risk groups continue to miss out on the services they need to prevent, detect and treat malaria. Climate change, conflict, poverty and population displacement are compounding these challenges.

    WHO recently warned that the 2025 funding cuts could further derail progress in many endemic countries, putting millions of additional lives at risk. Of the 64 WHO Country Offices in malaria-endemic countries that took part in a recent WHO stock take assessment, more than half reported moderate or severe disruptions to malaria services.

    Renewed call to protect hard-won gains

    World Malaria Day 2025 – under the theme, “Malaria ends with us: reinvest, reimagine, reignite” – is calling for stepped up political and financial commitment to protect the hard-won gains against malaria.

    To reinvest, WHO joins partners and civil society in calling on malaria-endemic countries to boost domestic spending, particularly in primary health care, so that all at-risk populations can access the services they need to prevent, detect and treat malaria. The successful replenishments of the Global Fund and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, are also critical to financing malaria programmes and interventions, and accelerating progress towards the targets set in the WHO Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030.

    Addressing current challenges in global malaria control will also require a reimagined response through innovative tools, strategies and partnerships. New and more effective antimalarial drugs are needed, as all well as advancements in service delivery, diagnostics, insecticides, vaccines and vector control methods.

    More countries are making malaria control and elimination a national priority, including through the Yaoundé Declaration, signed in March 2024 by African Ministers of Health from 11 high burden countries.

    “Ministers committed to strengthening their health systems, stepping up domestic resources, enhancing multisectoral action and ensuring a robust accountability mechanism,” notes Dr Daniel Ngamije, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme. “This is the kind of leadership the world must rally behind.”

    Reigniting commitment at all levels – from communities and frontline health workers to governments, researchers, the private sector innovators and donors – will be critical to curbing and, ultimately, ending malaria.

    Notes to the editor:

    For more information on the WHO World Malaria Day campaign, visit: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-malaria-day/2025

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Final Defendant Sentenced in Organized Retail Crime Scheme

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — Anthony Wilson, 42, of Florence, has been sentenced to 36 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to his role in defrauding a chain of home improvement stores.

    The investigation revealed that Wilson, and a known coconspirator, Caleb Hood, would steal items from a home improvement chain store located within the District of South Carolina, and elsewhere, and would then take the items to the counter, claim he wanted to return the item but did not have a receipt and would accept store credit on a merchandise card.  The investigation further revealed that Wilson and his known coconspirators would use fraudulent means of identification during the return process. Once Wilson and coconspirators had received the merchandise cards, he would either sell the cards to others or make in-store purchases with the fraudulently obtained cards.

    As for Wilson’s role in the conspiracy, the evidence revealed that he fraudulently obtained $122,828 in merchandise cards.

    The investigation into Wilson and Hood led to the discovery of three more co-conspirators who would purchase the merchandise cards from Wilson and Hood. Those three men have pleaded guilty and received the following sentences:

    James Hoffman, 48, of McBee, was sentenced to five years of probation and restitution in the amount of $80,000.

    Donovan Young, 60, of Hartsville, was sentenced to five years of probation. He was also ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $75,000, and restitution in the amount of $75,000.

    Aaron Young, 35, of Florence, was sentenced to four months in federal prison. He was also ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $75,000, and restitution in the amount of $75,000.

    “We’re grateful for the several law enforcement agencies that worked with this home improvement store to unravel this organized retail fraud scheme,” said Brook Andrews, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina. “The defendants clearly believed they had everyone fooled. Turns out it’s pretty hard to fool the Secret Service.”

    “This investigation highlights the value of cooperation between the U.S. Secret Service, local law enforcement, and the private sector. These sentencings serve as a sobering reminder of the consequences faced by those who defraud businesses and individuals in our state,” said Charles Leopard, Special Agent in Charge of the Secret Service Columbia Field Office. “I appreciate the commitment our South Carolina partners, especially the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Charleston Police Department, Florence County Sheriff’s Office, and the home improvement’s stores investigations team.”

    United States District Richard M. Gergel sentenced Wilson to 36 months imprisonment and ordered to pay the loss amount of $122,828 in restitution. There is no parole in the federal system.

    Hood received a 48-month sentence in May 2023 and was ordered to pay $202,659 in restitution.

    This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, Charleston Police Department, and the Florence County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Bower is prosecuting the case.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Global Drone Usage and Adoption Continues to Skyrocket While Largely Benefiting the Agriculture Industry

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PALM BEACH, Fla., April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FN Media Group News Commentary – Drones are being utilized in many markets and one of the ones that is expected to continue to rise is the agriculture drones market. The need to boost agricultural productivity and the labor shortage drive the agriculture drones market growth. Traditional farming faces labor shortages, increasing the demand for advanced agriculture technologies that enhance productivity and minimize manual labor. For instance, the USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture revealed a loss of 141,733 farms in the US from 2017 to 2022, highlighting the urgent need for solutions to improve efficiency and promote sustainable farming practices. According to a report from MarketsAndMarkets the global agriculture drones market which grew to from USD 2.01 billion in 2024 is expected to reach a CAGR of 32.0% during the forecast period (2029). The report said: “Partnerships and the introduction of new products will present profitable prospects for industry participants in the coming five years. Favorable government policies, subsidies, and regulations coupled with increasing investments by market players drive the usage of digital agriculture tools like drones. The US FAA’s exemptions for the use of agriculture drones are anticipated to hold several opportunities for the market. Favorable government policies, subsidies, and regulations coupled with increasing investments by market players to drive the usage of digital agriculture tools like drones are acting as drivers for the agriculture drone market. Public-private partnerships create innovation in developing tailored solutions to known problems, especially in agriculture, which receives research and development funding from government initiatives. Extension education and training are also brought about, which educates the farmer concerning the capabilities of the drones thus making the farmer able to utilize the tools appropriately.” Active Companies in the drone industry today include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), Corteva, Inc. (NYSE: CTVA), Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCAT), Safe Pro Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAI), AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE: UAVS).

    MarketsAndMarkets concluded: “Furthermore, governments’ propensity for sustainability in environmental matters helps the cause of drones meant to stretch resources applied in terms of water and fertilizers… Simplified regulatory frameworks facilitate easier adoption, enabling farmers to implement drone technology into their operations without extensive bureaucratic hurdles. Monetary benefits, such as subsidies and tax exemptions, greatly help reduce the input costs of drones, hence enabling more farmers to adopt the technology.”

    ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA) ZenaDrone Granted FAA Part 137 Approval for Agricultural Drone Operations Addressing a $6 Billion Global Agricultural Drone Market Growing to $24 Billion by 2032 – ZenaTech, Inc. (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) (“ZenaTech”), a technology company specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drones, Drone as a Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS and Quantum Computing solutions, announces its subsidiary ZenaDrone has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct commercial agricultural operations under the rules and regulations of 14 CFR Part 137 for crop spraying and precision agriculture. This approval allows ZenaDrone to commence final testing and deployment of the ZenaDrone 1000 drone for aerial spraying of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers, and seeds for agricultural, environmental and government customers. The company plans to sell these solutions through its Drone as a Service, or DaaS, business model as well as selling the drone hardware and solution directly to larger commercial farms, agribusinesses, and cooperatives.

    “FAA part 137 approval now enables our team to finish final testing and commence sales of our agriculture solutions. Drones offer a more precise, efficient, cost effective and safer alternative to traditional methods while reducing chemical use, crop damage, and manual work, as well as being able to reach hard-to-access areas. We plan, test, then deploy our solutions through our DaaS model in the US first, followed by Ireland where we have a history of pioneering development work in agricultural drones,” said CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D.

    According to Fortune Business Insights the global agriculture drone market is projected to grow from USD 6.10 billion in 2024 to USD 23.78 billion by 2032, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.5%. This growth reflects a growing demand for precision agriculture, advances in drone technology, cost-effectiveness, government support and incentive programs, and growing awareness and education.

    The ZenaDrone 1000 is an autonomous drone, in a VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) quadcopter design with a total of eight rotors on its two fixed wings; it is considered a medium-sized drone measuring 12X7 feet in size. It is designed for stable flight, maneuverability, heavy lift capabilities up to 40 kilos, incorporating innovative software technology, AI, sensors, and purpose-built attachments like crop spraying, along with rugged and compact hardware featuring foldable wings enabling the drone to fit into the back of a truck.

    ZenaTech’s DaaS business will incorporate the ZenaDrone 1000 and the IQ series of multifunction autonomous drones to provide a variety of service solutions from land surveys to power line inspections or power washing, made accessible and cost effective through an Uber-like business model on a regular subscription or pay-per-use basis. Customers can conveniently access drones for eliminating manual or time-consuming tasks achieving superior results, such as for surveying, inspections, security and law enforcement, or precision farming applications, without having to buy, operate, or maintain the drones themselves. Continued… Read this full release by visiting: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-zena/

    Other recent developments in the markets include:

    Puna Bio recently announced that it had closed a new round of founding led by Corteva, Inc., Corteva, Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) through its Corteva Catalyst platform. The investment from one of the world´s leading agricultural technology companies, and other investors, will support the further development of Puna Bio’s product portfolio based on extremophile organisms.

    Unlike traditional pesticides and fertilizers, Puna Bio’s innovative products are based on natural solutions that enhance nutrient uptake, tolerance to stress and crop quality. Their biological (non-GMO) seed treatments are based on the unique capabilities of extremophiles isolated from the highest and driest desert on Earth, La Puna of Argentina.

    “Our solution, based on ancient bacteria dating back 3.5 billion years, maximizes productivity by 10 to 15 percent in fertile soils and revitalizes degraded soils that would normally be too acidic or salinized to be productive,” explains Franco Martínez Levis, Puna Bio’s CEO and co-founder. “With so much of the world’s agricultural land on the path to degradation and weather patterns becoming more extreme worldwide, our discovery platform ensures that we can continue feeding the global population in a sustainable way.”

    Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCAT), a drone technology company integrating robotic hardware and software for military, government, and commercial operations, recently announced that the Company has entered into securities purchase agreements with certain institutional investors for the purchase and sale of 4,724,412 shares of common stock, pursuant to a registered direct offering, expected to result in gross proceeds of approximately $30 million, before deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses. The offering is expected to close on or about April 11, 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

    The Company intends to use net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital. Northland Capital Markets is acting as the exclusive placement agent for the transaction.

    The offering is being made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-283242), which was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on December 11, 2024. A final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the registered direct offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website located at http://www.sec.gov. Additionally, when available, electronic copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may be obtained, when available, from Northland Securities, Inc., 150 South Fifth Street, Suite 3300, Minneapolis, MN.

    Safe Pro Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAI) recently announced that its SpotlightAITM OnSite (OnSite) real-time, edge-based, small object threat detection technology, has successfully completed operations in active minefields in Ukraine. This successful deployment highlights the Company’s patented capability to rapidly identify and instantly map live explosive threats including small anti-personnel cluster munitions and landmines scattered over large areas. Building on over two years of real-world battlefield testing, this milestone in the Company’s development roadmap demonstrates the ability to deliver edge-based small object threat detection reducing a soldier’s cognitive load and representing the next generation of force protection. To view a video of SpotlightAITM Onsite please click here.

    “Evolving threats like remote mining where everyday drones are strategically delivering small mines is a new critical threat profile that our edge-based system is uniquely designed to address. Our recent operational success confirmed that our AI models can reduce the cognitive load on soldiers who are already heavily tasked and may not have the time to recognize explosive threats in their path. This a significant step forward on the Edge where drone-based small object threat detection for force protection is responding to the rapidly changing modern battlefield. Building upon our unmatched real-world experience in detecting, identifying and locating small explosive threats in Ukraine, we believe OnSite can deliver a new level of enhanced situational awareness that will allow military, government and humanitarian personnel to safely conduct their critical missions with greatly enhanced safety,” said Dan Erdberg, Chairman and CEO of Safe Pro Group Inc. “The increasing number of countries exiting the Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel landmines will likely lead to an increased proliferation of deadly anti-personnel mines and that is why we are committed to the further development and deployment of our patented technology so that we can help protect our soldiers and our allies.”

    AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE: UAVS) recently announced the launch of its eBee VISION next generation application software featuring a variety of critical updates. Of particular note, is the capability for manual position updates with map referencing to provide precise navigation even in GNSS-denied areas where satellite signals are unavailable or unreliable due to various factors.

    AgEagle CEO Bill Irby commented, “Of the many new features provided in our latest software update, overcoming GNSS-denied shortfalls marks a significant leap forward in drone operations especially for defense personnel, public safety agencies and industrial teams working in high-stakes, GNSS-denied environments. Whether operating in dense urban centers, near critical installations, or in contested zones with active signal interference, our global eBee VISION customers can now maintain full navigational command of their drone using only the camera and map-based interface. This feature directly addresses a core challenge faced by tactical and industrial drone operators in today’s complex mission environments. Our technical team will continue to work relentlessly on refinements and ongoing advancements to ensure AgEagle remains at the forefront of UAV innovation.”

    About FN Media Group:

    At FN Media Group, via our top-rated online news portal at www.financialnewsmedia.com, we are one of the very few select firms providing top tier one syndicated news distribution, targeted ticker tag press releases and stock market news coverage for today’s emerging companies. #tickertagpressreleases #pressreleases

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    DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels.  FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM’s market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material.  All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks.  All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM has been compensated fifty one hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by ZenaTech, Inc. by the Company. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

    This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. “Forward-looking statements” describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as “may”, “future”, “plan” or “planned”, “will” or “should”, “expected,” “anticipates”, “draft”, “eventually” or “projected”. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company’s annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

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    SOURCE: FN Media Group

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Check Point Software Technologies and Illumio Accelerate Zero Trust Adoption with Proactive Threat Prevention and Unified Intelligence

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), a global leader in cyber security solutions, and Illumio, the breach containment company, today announced a strategic partnership to help organizations strengthen security and advance their Zero Trust posture. The integration between the Check Point Infinity Platform and the Illumio Platform delivers rapid identification and mitigation of lateral movement risks across hybrid and multi-cloud environments using advanced microsegmentation enforcement. This collaboration empowers customers to combine Check Point Quantum Force Firewalls, Infinity Threat Cloud AI, and AI Powered Security Management with Illumio Segmentation and Illumio Insights to neutralize threats by halting lateral movements and strengthening overall cyber security.

    “Stopping lateral movement is critical to breach prevention,” says Itai Greenberg, Chief Revenue Officer at Check Point Software. “Our partnership with Illumio delivers unmatched visibility and adaptive policy enforcement, empowering organizations to contain threats fast. It also demonstrates the strength of our hybrid mesh architecture, which we envision as an open garden, and our commitment to driving Zero Trust strategies with industry leaders.”

    Check Point Quantum Force firewalls serve as critical enforcement points, efficiently blocking malicious traffic. When threats are detected, Check Point’s AI Security Management software uses a dynamic policy layer to notify Check Point Firewalls how to block the latest threat. The integration with Illumio provides additional AI-driven insights to identify risks and attack routes, enabling quick containment. This combination stops unauthorized lateral movement, protects essential assets, and ensures consistent Zero Trust security across hybrid environments.

    Key benefits of the integration include:

    • Collaborative approach to Zero Trust: Protect critical assets with effective microsegmentation across hybrid environments without deployment complexity, making Zero Trust adoption faster and simpler.
    • Proactive threat prevention to prevent lateral movement: Reduce breach risk and the associated costs by catching attacks earlier and preventing them from spreading laterally across networks, clouds, and resources to reach critical assets
    • Advanced Threat Intelligence: Utilize combined threat intelligence data from ThreatCloud AI and Illumio Insights to mitigate risk and minimize security incidents

    “This powerful collaboration between Illumio and Check Point marks a significant step forward in cybersecurity threat intelligence and breach containment,” says Andrew Rubin, CEO and Founder of Illumio. “The integration of Illumio and Check Point represents a shift towards smarter, more adaptive cybersecurity by enhancing visibility, enabling real-time threat detection and response, and providing adaptive security measures that align with Zero Trust principles. Our proactive approach helps security teams connect the dots and uncover hidden threats more efficiently to avoid cyber disasters.”

    Illumio Insights and Illumio Segmentation are integral components of the Illumio Platform, the first cybersecurity platform focused on breach containment. The world’s first CDR built on an AI security graph, Illumio Insights helps organizations quickly identify and detect threats. Illumio Segmentation contains breaches, protects critical assets, and enables instant response. Together, these solutions help identify and mitigate risks, contain attacks, and enhance overall cyber resilience.

    Check Point’s Quantum Force is a series of AI-powered, cloud-delivered security gateways that provide unified security and policy management across on-premises, cloud, and Firewall-as-a-Service environments, simplifying operations and enhancing security efficacy. The Quantum product line is part of Check Point’s Infinity Platform which is uniquely AI-powered, and cloud-delivered, to protect your enterprise against cyber-attacks, from the data center, cloud to the branch office through unified management.

    Check Point customers can discover further information and availability details by visiting this link or by reading the blog.

    For Illumio customers, visit here.

    To witness the integration of Check Point Quantum Force Firewall with Illumio Insights, visit the Illumio booth in the North Hall (#5670) at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, happening from April 28 to May 1st. While at RSA, stop by the Check Point North Hall booth #6072 or attend one of the following RSAC activities. For additional details about Illumio at RSAC, explore their other sponsored activities.

    About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. 
    Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (www.checkpoint.com) is a leading AI-powered, cloud-delivered cyber security platform provider protecting over 100,000 organizations worldwide. Check Point leverages the power of AI everywhere to enhance cyber security efficiency and accuracy through its Infinity Platform, with industry-leading catch rates enabling proactive threat anticipation and smarter, faster response times. The comprehensive platform includes cloud-delivered technologies consisting of Check Point Harmony to secure the workspace, Check Point CloudGuard to secure the cloud, Check Point Quantum to secure the network, and Check Point Infinity Platform Services for collaborative security operations and services.

    About Illumio
    Illumio is the leader in ransomware and breach containment, redefining how organizations contain cyberattacks and enable operational resilience. Powered by the Illumio AI Security Graph, our breach containment platform identifies and contains threats across hybrid multi-cloud environments – stopping the spread of attacks before they become disasters.

    Recognized as a Leader in the Forrester Wave™ for Microsegmentation, Illumio enables Zero Trust, strengthening cyber resilience for the infrastructure, systems, and organizations that keep the world running.

    Illumio Contact : comms-team@illumio.com
    Check Point contact : press@checkpoint.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: HUMAN Launches Ad Click Defense, Empowering Platforms with Advanced Click Validation

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HUMAN Security, Inc., a leading cybersecurity company committed to safeguarding every step of the customer’s online journey by defending against bots, fraud, and digital risk, announced today the launch of Ad Click Defense for ad tech platforms including DSPs, retail media networks and walled gardens. This new solution helps advertising platforms protect revenue and maintain advertiser trust by allowing them to detect and filter invalid clicks that would otherwise compromise campaign performance and measurement.

    LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, has expanded its integration with HUMAN to include Ad Click Defense, enhancing the advertiser experience across the LinkedIn Audience Network by helping verify performance metrics represent only valid clicks. This integration complements LinkedIn’s first-party protections against invalid clicks, underscoring their commitment to maintaining the highest-quality standards for advertiser campaigns on the LinkedIn Audience Network. With digital ad spend and advertiser expectations continuing to grow, platforms face mounting pressure to ensure every click represents genuine user engagement. HUMAN’s Ad Click Defense addresses this challenge by leveraging real-time behavioral analysis at the time of the click.

    “In today’s performance-driven advertising landscape, marketers need to know their budgets are driving genuine engagement,” said Jay Benach, GM Media Security at HUMAN. “Our Ad Click Defense solution analyzes then empowers platforms to filter click and touch events at the transaction level, rather than broadly clustering and merely labelling them as suspicious. This solution reinforces our commitment to supporting a fraud-free digital ecosystem, which now extends to many unique and additional platforms, especially those that exclusively offer high-performance click traffic.”

    Unlike alternative solutions that rely solely on device signals or landing page activity, HUMAN’s approach to identifying invalid clicks analyzes actual click behavior in real-time with proprietary detection technology. As users engage with advertisements, Ad Click Defense identifies subtle indicators of both sophisticated (SIVT) and general (GIVT) invalid click traffic. This precise differentiation is essential for platforms to filter out fraudulent traffic accurately while preserving genuine user engagement.

    “Embracing new solutions that help validate results is essential for advertisers to prove ROI,” said Abhishek Shrivastava, VP of Product at LinkedIn. “Our continued work with HUMAN reinforces our commitment to providing our customers with reliable metrics to help them reach and engage decision makers with confidence and drive meaningful business results.”

    The solution’s key capabilities include:

    • Advanced protection based on real-time behavioral analysis of the click or touch event, supported by 400+ detection algorithms across the HUMAN Defense Platform
    • Detection and classification of both sophisticated (SIVT) and general (GIVT) invalid clicks or touch events
    • Continuous monitoring and protection against emerging click fraud schemes through analysis of attack patterns across 3 billion internet-connected devices monthly

    By validating clicks with behavioral analysis, advertising platforms can now filter invalid or manipulated interactions, ensuring that performance metrics reflect valid clicks. Ad Click Defense adds to HUMAN’s comprehensive protection for ad tech platforms, providing advertisers with confidence that their campaigns are protected at every stage from sophisticated fraud.

    About HUMAN
    HUMAN is a leading cybersecurity company committed to protecting the integrity of the digital world. We verify that digital interactions, transactions, and connections are authentic, secure, and human. The Human Defense Platform safeguards the entire customer journey with high-fidelity decision-making that defends against bots, fraud, and digital threats. Each week, HUMAN verifies 20 trillion digital interactions, providing unparalleled telemetry data to enable rapid, effective responses to even the most sophisticated threats. Recognized by our customers as a G2 Leader, HUMAN continues to set the standard in cybersecurity. For more information please visit www.humansecurity.com

    Contact information:
    Masha Krylova, Director of Communications
    press@humansecurity.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8107cb16-b365-451d-b696-05638e6d2fdb.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Solo.io Launches Agent Gateway and Introduces Agent Mesh for Unified AI Connectivity

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Solo.io, the leading cloud native application networking company, today announced Agent Gateway, an open source data plane optimized for agentic AI connectivity in any environment. Agent Gateway provides drop-in security, observability, and governance for agent-to-agent and agent-to-tool communication and supports leading interoperable protocols, including Agent2Agent (A2A) and Model Context Protocol (MCP).

    When developing and deploying AI agents, organizations face the challenge of supporting multiple rapidly evolving protocols across fragmented teams, environments, and agent development frameworks. Agent Gateway provides a unified data plane for agent connectivity, supporting A2A and MCP, with the ability to automatically integrate an organization’s existing REST APIs as agent-native tools. A built-in developer portal provides tool providers and agent developers with a single pane of glass to discover, configure, and monitor agent-to-agent and agent-to-tool connectivity. The Agent Gateway data plane seamlessly integrates with popular agent frameworks, including LangGraph, AutoGen, Agents SDK, kagent, and Claude Desktop. It runs wherever agents run, including bare metal, virtual machines (VMs), containers, and Kubernetes.

    As agent development practices mature, the industry is finding that smaller, focused agents, aligned with specific goals or tasks, perform better than a single, monolithic agent. Just like microservices created the need for a service mesh to address cross-cutting concerns at the connectivity layer, agents require an Agent Mesh to solve common security, observability, tenancy, and guardrail concerns. The release of Agent Gateway builds on the robust open source foundation of kgateway and Ambient Mesh to create an Agent Mesh architecture for AI use cases spanning LLM consumption, inferencing, tool calling, and agent-to-agent communication. Agent Mesh enables seamless security, observability, discovery, and governance across all agent interactions, regardless of how the agents are built or where they are deployed.

    “Agentic AI is transforming how organizations build and deliver applications, but long-term success requires infrastructure that transcends today’s rapidly changing landscape,” said Idit Levine, founder and CEO of Solo.io. “Using industry standard protocols like A2A and MCP helps organizations future-proof their AI applications by ensuring interoperability with any LLM or agent framework. Agent Mesh brings these standards together with the leading open source gateway and mesh to form the only comprehensive AI connectivity stack for agentic applications.”

    Agent Mesh seamlessly integrates Agent Gateway into the AI connectivity plane to support any MCP tool server, agent framework, LLM, and runtime environment used in an organization’s agentic architecture, providing:

    • Comprehensive, secure-by-default architecture with agent identity and mTLS.
    • Multitenant access boundaries and controls for agents and tools across teams and environments.
    • Standard agent connectivity with A2A and MCP, with the ability to automatically integrate existing REST APIs as MCP-native tool servers.
    • Automated collection and centralized reporting of agent telemetry, including metrics, tracing, and logging.
    • A self-service agent developer portal supporting discovery, configuration, observability, and debugging tools for agents and tools.

    Resources

    About Solo.io
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  • MIL-OSI Global: Pope Francis’s death reveals a hidden truth about public grief

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tony Milligan, Research Fellow in the Philosophy of Ethics, King’s College London

    People pay tribute to Pope Francis in the Cathedral of Se, after his death was announced by the Vatican, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, April 21, 2025. Cris Faga/Shutterstock

    When a significant international public figure like Pope Francis dies, the world seems to pause. Tributes pour in, flags lower, candles flicker in city squares. The sadness is palpable. But is this real grief, or something else entirely?

    Widespread mourning can look and feel genuine. And in many ways, it is. Most people aren’t faking their sorrow. But public grief often lacks depth and duration – it fades almost as quickly as it appears.

    For those who knew Francis personally, the loss will be profound and lasting. For the rest of us, we are witnesses to the passing of a beloved figure, not mourners in the intimate sense.

    The world saw this after the deaths of Princess Diana and Pope John Paul II. Both were enormously popular and the global reaction was immense. Yet, weeks after their funerals, the emotional tide began to recede.

    This time, the public response to Pope Francis feels more restrained. Less swept away by the moment. Less inclined toward what some psychologists refer to as false emotion – emotions that appear sincere but don’t reflect deep personal experience.

    Partly, this is due to Pope Francis himself. He was not one for drama. Partly, it’s a quiet recognition: feeling sad about his death is not the same as being grief-stricken.

    Still, the absence of a one-to-one relationship doesn’t necessarily make our feelings inauthentic. Millions may grieve for Francis without having met him. For devout Catholics and others inspired by his leadership, he was a symbol of hope, a voice for justice, humility and reform within an often troubled institution.

    His life carried a transformative power, and for those who pinned their hopes on him – on what he represented – his passing may leave a genuine and lasting void. That looks a lot like real grief.

    Longing and hope

    Every Catholic I’ve ever known has had a “favourite pope.” The new one rarely feels the same. That attachment, though deeply symbolic, is emotionally real.

    My father used to tell a story – likely embellished – about growing up in a Catholic neighbourhood in Bridgeton in the east end of Glasgow. When a neighbour’s home caught fire, she pleaded with firemen: “Save him! Save my darlin’!” They rushed in, expecting a person. All they found was a picture of the pope.

    Even if exaggerated, the point holds: people feel a real longing for these figures. And that’s what grief is, in essence – a yearning for the impossible return of someone we’ve lost. It’s not just sadness. It’s the ache of a love that can no longer be reciprocated.

    Priests who experience crises of faith describe something similar – a desire to return to a state of belief that now feels unreachable. It’s not just about loss; it’s about longing without resolution.

    But when the new pope is announced, the atmosphere in St Peter’s Square is not one of despair. It’s a return to hope, not an immersion in grief. People may mourn Francis, but they’re also swept up in collective emotion – a desire to be part of history, part of the moment. That sense of unity can be powerful and real, even if it isn’t grief.

    Atheists can feel it as much as believers. We sense it at funerals of people we didn’t really know. We cry because everyone else is crying. Then, days later, we carry on as if nothing happened.

    Impossible desire

    So, what makes false grief false? It’s not deception or performance – it’s the absence of impossible desire. In true grief, we yearn for what can never return. Most of us, when mourning a figure like Pope Francis, may want something – meaning, comfort, community. This is at the heart of what makes a false emotion false, rather than the real thing.

    A false emotion lacks the desire that sits at the heart of its genuine counterpart. In the case of false grief, we may desire something. We usually do. The crowds who gather in St Peter’s Square and those of us who watch events unfold on TV clearly want something. But in most cases we do not have the right kind of impossible desire for our feelings to count as grief. Even if we do think of ourselves as grief stricken, we are mistaken.

    Saying this is not at odds with Francis’s own religious tradition. In his biographical Confessions, St Augustine notoriously claimed that we always want unity with God, and we are restless until we achieve it: “Our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

    But Augustine also claimed that this longing comes disguised as a desire for all sorts of other things: fame, alcohol, intoxication and the warm pleasures of the flesh. Augustine was a little on the puritanical side about these matters, but his idea of disguised longing may be close to the truth.

    The point is that an emotion which presents misleadingly as one thing, may be a real instance of something else. In the case of Pope Francis, this may be this may be closer to spiritual longing rather than actual grief.

    And whether or not we believe in a god, and however we want to describe it, longing of this sort is a deep and familiar experience. One that shifts our attention from object to object, or from one public figure to the next, without ever being satisfied.

    In a sense, this is also the point of having a pope, or rather a succession of popes. It is easier to attach our longings onto someone human than it is to come to grips with deeper and often unmanageable desires.

    Tony Milligan 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. Pope Francis’s death reveals a hidden truth about public grief – https://theconversation.com/pope-franciss-death-reveals-a-hidden-truth-about-public-grief-255157

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Pope Francis: ‘ethical helmsman’ whose feel for international relations steered church in turbulent times

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sara Silvestri, Senior Lecturer & UG Programme Director, Department of International Politics, City St George’s, University of London

    I met Pope Francis in 2016. It was part of a symposium of the former Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerant People (now recast by Francis as the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development). I presented some of my work on migration – as attention to migrants and refugees was a central theme of his pontificate, more prominently than for his predecessor, whom I had also met a few years earlier.

    After the conference proceedings, we had an official audience, next to the Sistine Chapel: Francis made a speech and we greeted him one by one. I had my 21 month-old daughter with me that day, thinking of the rare opportunity we would both enjoy.

    But I’d underestimated the length of the formalities involved. My daughter screamed “Open the doors, let me out!” through the whole of the pope’s speech. I was distraught, but Francis responded very gently to the disruption. He stopped in the middle of the speech and commented how sweet and lovely it was to hear the voice of a child. I could feel it was not just a platitude – he meant it.

    In the disarray that is current global politics, with the world wracked by conflict and injustice, the papacy of Francis I has been a beacon of hope.

    In a world that appears to be rearranging itself around the principle that might is right, where the whims and the prejudices of strongmen leaders are blindly followed by millions, he represented the most important ethical helm there is. He did this not by taking on ideological positions but by sticking in a steadfast manner to his message that mercy trumps bullies and that compassion will always prevail over hatred.

    The image of Francis delivering a sermon from a pulpit designed to look like a ship’s helm when he visited the island of Lampedusa in 2013 strikes me as very symbolic of his papacy. In his first official trip as pope, Francis drew attention to the marginalised, migrants and refugees inspired by the parable of the good Samaritan. But he did so not in a way that patronised migrants as victims or reduced the church to a humanitarian agency.

    He launched into a loud condemnation of the economic and political structures that forced those people on to boats. He railed against the people and conditions that effectively enabled those deaths in the huge cemetery that the Mediterranean has become. Expressing his “closeness” to migrants and determined to “challenge our consciences” and the “globalisation of indifference”, he warned we are all complicit in Cain’s killing of his brother.

    Critics may carp that he hasn’t really effected any significant change within or outside the church. That while moves were made towards reforms of church attitudes towards women priests and LGBTQ+ issues, real progress has still to be achieved.

    That despite his appeals, death keeps swallowing human lives in the Mediterranean and in conflict zones. Despite his championing of environmental causes, forests are still burning.

    But it was not his job to run global politics. While he was, technically, a head of state of Vatican City, he did not see himself as a politician. The instructions for his funeral reiterate this: simple, “as a disciple of Christ” and not like “the powerful of the world”.

    He saw his role as a spiritual shepherd trying to serve and protect his flock. His vision of Christianity was about mercy and freedom of conscience, with the church’s place close to the “existential peripheries” of the world, not to the centres of power.

    His final message, delivered on Easter Day 2025, is particularly telling. It states: “Evil has not disappeared from history; it will remain until the end, but it no longer has the upper hand; it no longer has power over those who accept the grace of this day.”

    This in my view sums up the enormous power that Francis unstintingly asserted among Catholics: the power of unconditional love and mercy – not in an idealised form, but well aware of the presence of evil in the world and respectful of individual freedom.

    Reaching across faiths

    Because of his courage and the political-but-non-political position that enabled him to speak of ethical issues at the heart of political decisions, Francis became widely respected by religious and political leaders. He was loved by ordinary people from all walks of life and, importantly, belief systems, although some were puzzled by his informal style.

    In 2019 he made a joint declaration with the imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, entitled Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together. This, and his 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti, which is subtitled “on fraternity and social friendship”, gave impetus to inter-faith dialogue. As he put it: “God has created all human beings equal in rights, duties and dignity, and has called them to live together as brothers and sisters.”

    The last push Francis gave to the Church between 2021 and 2024 was the Synod on Synodality. This was a major enterprise which aimed to revive the sense of global community of believers and witnesses. It stressed the importance of praying together and exercising discernment in important decisions by acknowledging diversity, listening to each other and to the Holy Spirit.

    Interpersonal communication and embracing mercy in order to achieve the common good were two key themes of Francis’ pontificate. He was concerned with the dangers of our individualistic “throwaway culture” and aware of the contradictions of a globalised world where loneliness prevails.

    Francis did not solve the problem of carbon emissions, he did not stop wars in Ukraine, Palestine or Yemen. He did not make women priests or deacons, and did not fully embrace the LGBTQ+ community, despite some initial inching towards this.

    But he made a space to reflect about all those issues, removing the church from a pedestal, centring it on the joyful message of the Gospel and “bringing it out” to all the people – Catholics and non Catholics alike.

    That, in itself, is an immense achievement in the long history and slow transformation of the church.

    Dr Sara Silvestri is Senior Lecturer in International Politics at City, St George’s University of London where she teaches religion and politics and runs the Europe research cluster. She is also a Bye Fellow of St Edmund’s College, Cambridge University, is affiliated with the Interfaith Research Programme in the Divinity Faculty, University of Cambridge, and is a Trustee of the Council on Christian Approaches to Defence and Disarmament. Sara Silvestri has received funding from ESRC, British Academy, Luce Foundation, the King Baudouin Foundation, the Plater Trust, Caritas Internationalis, the European Commission.

    – ref. Pope Francis: ‘ethical helmsman’ whose feel for international relations steered church in turbulent times – https://theconversation.com/pope-francis-ethical-helmsman-whose-feel-for-international-relations-steered-church-in-turbulent-times-255153

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Runner’s gut: why some marathon runners find themselves sprinting to the toilet instead of the finish line

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dan Baumgardt, Senior Lecturer, School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol

    Running a marathon is no small feat. Athletes can expect to cover between 50-60,000 steps, burn over 3,000 calories and expel multiple litres of sweat to keep cool.

    Marathons and other long distance events can be associated with several dangers – including dehydration, electrolyte imbalances and heatstroke. All important reasons as to why it’s crucial to train adequately for the big day, and come prepared.

    But there’s another condition that can affect long distance runners – one that can be more than a little embarrassing.

    It comes under many guises: runner’s trots, runner’s gut, runner’s stomach, runner’s runs. What we’re referring to is the overactive gastrointestinal tract brought on by the whole-body effects of running. This results in urgent, sometimes explosive diarrhoea.

    Runner’s diarrhoea is actually a triad of symptoms: diarrhoea, cramping abdominal discomfort plus a heightened urge to open your bowels. It’s actually more common than you think – with up to 96% of endurance runners reportedly experiencing some sort of gastrointestinal symptom during a race.

    In most cases, runner’s trots are not considered concerning, especially if the condition is adequately managed as you would any episode of acute diarrhoea – with fluid and electrolyte replenishment. But in some extreme cases, there have been signs of blood in the runner’s faeces. This suggests that in some people, the condition may be caused by mechanical damage to the bowel – perhaps as a result of this organ being sloshed around in the abdomen during a long run.

    Why it happens

    But what causes it in the first place? We aren’t entirely sure, but most experts have established several different causes which might play a role in generating these symptoms.

    The first clue may lie within the blood supply. When you start to exercise, your body shifts its attention away from resting and digesting, and diverts blood to tissues and organs that need it more – namely the heart, lungs and muscles. Prolonged reduced blood flow to the gut could irritate and inflame its lining. This might also affect the bacterial colonies that reside within the gut. This may explain why a recent study suggests probiotics may work as a treatment.

    Other studies have considered the effect of nutrition upon gut activity. Certain foods are associated with increased gut activity and fermentation, such as protein, fat and fibre. This is why most runners avoid foods high in these before a long run, often consuming a breakfast which is higher in simple, easily digestible carbohydrates.

    There are many reasons why you might develop an overactive gastrointestinal tract while running a marathon.
    Michael Mong/ Shutterstock

    In addition, some of the other nutrients and substances we commonly use as a welcome boost for heavy exercise might be culprits. Take caffeine, for instance. These stimulants might boost our energy, but they can also have a laxative effect in some people.

    And carbs are not entirely without blame. Evidence suggests that some carbs can not only increase the speed at which foods move through the gastrointestinal tract, they can also cause fluid retention and fermentation within the gut, making diarrhoea and gas more likely. These include the lactose in cow’s milk products and high fructose fruits, such as apples, pears and grapes.

    Finally, it’s possible that an attack of the nerves may be (in part) to blame for the runs. Not only do stress and mood have associations with irritable bowel syndrome, it has also been suggested that psychological factors, such as anxiety, may be associated with runner’s diarrhoea.

    What can you do?

    Is there anything you can do to avoid needing the loo somewhere on your marathon route?

    Nutrition does seem to be key. Eat an energy-rich and familiar breakfast (one you know won’t bother your stomach) with the minimum of fibre, fat and protein. It’s not good to choose the day of a big event to challenge your gut with unfamiliar foods. One example might be a toasted bagel (or indeed plain white toast), or a low-fibre breakfast cereal, that’s based on rice or corn rather than bran. Fruits lower in fructose include strawberries, raspberries and bananas.

    Ideally, give your chosen breakfast a test drive before a training session to see what the effect is. In addition, separating your meal and the starting line by 2-3 hours gives the gut some time to get going on digestion, and to mobilise fuel for action.

    Hydration is important. Make sure not only to drink water, but replenish electrolytes as well since both water and sodium are easily lost in sweat. Consuming water or sports drinks in small but regular bursts can help alleviate the problem of needing the toilet.

    Perhaps one of the best ways to recognise and prevent runner’s diarrhoea is to sit back, observe and listen to your own body. Yet another reason why preparation is so important. Training for a marathon should take place over months, not days or weeks. This gives ample time to recognise gut symptoms, but also what might be triggering them.

    Some athletes find it useful to keep a diary, detailing symptoms and activity for the day, in order to spot trends more easily. You can also trial simple tactics, such as specific nutrition, hydration and training plans to see what effect they have. Everyone is different, and will respond to exercise and diet in different ways.

    In any event, if you get caught foul (sometimes quite literally) of runner’s trots, try to take a break, slow down and rehydrate. Also remember that most marathons have toilets at frequent intervals, in case the moment should grab you.

    Dan Baumgardt 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. Runner’s gut: why some marathon runners find themselves sprinting to the toilet instead of the finish line – https://theconversation.com/runners-gut-why-some-marathon-runners-find-themselves-sprinting-to-the-toilet-instead-of-the-finish-line-254419

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Jeffing: how this run-walk method could help you train for a marathon

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By James Thie, Senior Lecturer Sport Coaching and Performance, Cardiff Metropolitan University

    Jeff Galloway originally developed his run training method in 1974. Valery Zotev/Shutterstock

    Even if you’re a runner, you may not have heard the term “Jeffing” before. It’s a method of alternating between running and walking and it’s become a popular way to train for long-distance races.

    It’s particularly timely, as we appear to be in the middle of a second running boom, the first having taken off in the 1970s and 80s. You can see it in the popularity of parkrun, the rise in mass participation events, and the seemingly endless market for running shoes, watches and other gear.

    But despite all this enthusiasm, the idea of running can still be off-putting for many people. Some believe that unless they can run continuously at a certain pace or distance, they aren’t a “real runner”, especially when they find themselves comparing their progress with others.

    That’s where Jeffing comes in. This walk-run technique allows people to keep moving forward at their own pace. It balances effort and recovery in a way that makes endurance running more accessible to a wider range of people and abilities.

    But where did Jeffing come from?

    Jeff Galloway pictured in 2015.
    Lance Cpl. Timothy Turner/Wikimedia

    The concept was invented by American Olympian and coach, Jeff Galloway in the 1970s. It’s a strategic way of combining walking and running, sometimes with jogging too.

    Galloway describes it as a revolutionary approach that reduces fatigue, prevents injuries and makes running more enjoyable. “By alternating between running and walking runners can go farther, recover faster, and feel stronger during and after their workouts,” he says.

    In this sense, Jeffing shares some similarities with “fartlek”, which is Swedish for “speed play”. Fartlek is a training method that was developed in 1930s Sweden by cross-country runners looking to improve their performance. It also involves alternating bursts of fast and slow running.

    Research shows that there were significant improvements in cardiovascular and speed endurance in just 12 weeks of fartlek training.

    The difference is that Jeffing operates at a lower intensity, and the walking breaks allow the body to recover more fully.

    What are the benefits of Jeffing?

    One of the biggest advantages of Jeffing is that it can help you go further. Because the body’s energy stores aren’t being depleted all at once, many runners find they can cover longer distances than they may have managed with continuous running. Studies show that this may have more benefits than shorter and more intense exercise.

    It also lowers the risk of injury because the reduced intensity puts less stress on joints and muscles. This makes Jeffing a popular option for people returning from injury or illness, or anyone keen to stay injury-free while training.

    Recovery tends to be quicker, too. Since the body is under less strain, runners often report feeling less fatigued afterwards. This may make it easier to stick to a training plan without burning out.

    Jeffing is especially welcoming for beginners. Galloway originally developed the method in 1974 while coaching a group of new runners. After ten weeks of following the walk-run approach, every one of them completed either a 5k or 10k race. The technique is still used by runners of all abilities, including those tackling full marathons.

    Jeffing also helps shift the focus away from pace and distance and onto how your own body feels. Galloway’s advice in the early years included the “huff and puff” rule: if you can hear yourself breathing hard, take more frequent walk breaks.

    On the other hand, for people who prefer structure, the method can be done with a stopwatch. A run can be chopped up into manageable segments, such as 30 seconds running and 30 seconds walking, as Galloway explains:

    By going to a 30 second run / 30 second walk … they run faster without any extra effort because they are only walking for 30 seconds. If that feels good, use it for a while then start creeping up the amount of running while keeping the walking at 30 seconds. After several weeks, you may settle in on something like 45 seconds run/30 seconds walk, or you may just run faster during your 30 seconds of running.

    Runners in the 2024 London Marathon.
    mikecphoto/Shutterstock

    Is Jeffing for you?

    Although popular, this approach to running won’t appeal to everyone. Some runners may feel that breaking up a continuous run with walk breaks interrupts their rhythm or makes them feel like they’re not really running. But from my perspective as a runner and athletics coach, anything that helps more people participate in exercise should be welcomed.

    Many marathon runners will be using Jeffing as a way to prepare for their next event. They may use the technique in a structured way or just instinctively walking when they need to, to help them reach the finish line.

    So whether you increase the running time or just stick with short bursts, Jeffing may let you run in a way that suits your body – and that’s what really counts.

    James Thie 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. Jeffing: how this run-walk method could help you train for a marathon – https://theconversation.com/jeffing-how-this-run-walk-method-could-help-you-train-for-a-marathon-254837

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: WH Smith once shaped the travel experience – and now it’s returning to its roots

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Marrisa Joseph, Associate Professor of Organisation Studies & Business History, University of Reading

    Not just a British icon – a WHSmith outlet in an airport in Doha, Qatar. TY Lim/Shutterstock

    After 124 years as a familiar fixture to generations of customers, there will no longer be a place for WH Smith on UK high streets.

    Modella Capital – a specialist retail investment company – is the new owner of the chain’s high street locations. For a purchase price of £76 million, it will take over 480 stores in retail parks, shopping centres and high streets. It is also expected to retain its 5,000 staff.

    Initially, ten stores will close with a further ten to be announced later. Importantly, the WH Smith brand is not being sold.

    The high street stores will be rebranded as TJ Jones, a nostalgic and not so subtle nod to its predecessor. There is clearly an understanding that a family brand still means something to consumers.

    WH Smith is recognised globally due to its rapidly growing presence in airports. Its travel divisions is set to remain in train stations, airports and hospitals.

    These 1,200 stores in 32 countries account for around 85% of group profits. The strategy is to focus on key travel markets, as air passenger numbers are forecast to more than double globally by 2050.

    Interestingly, by prioritising travel customers, WH Smith has gone full circle – returning to its Victorian roots as the main retailer of books and newspapers in railway stations. I have researched the history of the British publishing industry – passengers picking up a newspaper or the latest bestseller at travel hubs is a practice that was pioneered by the brand that would go on to become WH Smith.

    In 1792, newsagent Henry Walton Smith with his wife Anna started a small retailing business in Little Grosvenor Street in the west end of London. Their son William Henry took over the family firm in 1812. He expanded to include a “coach trade” of London daily papers to the regional provinces outside the capital.

    William took advantage of the revolution in the British publishing industry that came with the industrial age. From its introduction in 1814, the steam-powered printing press brought down the cost of printing newspapers and books, opening more opportunities for literature.

    In under 50 years, the sale of newspapers quadrupled, rising from 16 million a year in 1801 to more than 78 million by 1849. Increased literacy among adults and children created a market for new material, and as railways enabled new distribution networks there were even more opportunities to sell printed products.

    The development of railway stations provided a surge in travel that was a novelty for many Victorians, who needed entertainment to keep them occupied during long journeys.

    Broadening horizons

    In 1848, Smith and his son secured an exclusive agreement to sell books and newspapers at railway stations owned by the London and North Western Railway. The first bookstall opened in Euston station in November that year, and by the end of the 1860s they operated more than 500 bookstalls along Britain’s railways.

    This contract led to WH Smith dominating a large part of the book trade by the end of the 19th century. It continued to expand, and the first town shop opened in Gosport, Hampshire in 1901.

    The historic WH Smith brand will disappear from UK high streets after its sale.
    cktravels.com/Shutterstock

    In 1850, Smith and son also made a deal with publisher George Routledge to supply and stock their railway outlets with his cheap series of reprints. These were known as “yellowbacks” as the prints were bound in thin yellow card with eye-catching artwork.

    These were a precursor to the paperback, designed to be read on the train and then discarded. Selling at roughly half the price of a novel at the time, they were mass-market products that provided significant revenue for WH Smith – just as paperbacks do today.

    Building on the opportunity of the growing travel market, the company broadened its offering to the public by partnering with Charles Edward Mudie, who founded Britain’s largest circulating library in 1842. At one point Mudie’s flagship location in New Oxford Street in London held more than 960,000 titles.

    By 1859, Mudie had an agreement with WH Smith to supply the bookstall at Birmingham station – essentially creating a library department in the bookstall. Mudie supplied popular titles from London allowing “passengers to exchange books daily at the subscriber’s pleasure”.

    For more than 170 years, WH Smith has grown from its origins as a retailer at railway stations to becoming a familiar presence in town and city centres across the UK. More recently it has been the butt of jokes online for its disorganised and messy stores.

    But the decision to offload its high street premises underscores the fact that, just as in the Victorian era, travellers seeking entertainment for the journey will still turn to that old trusted brand.

    Marrisa Joseph works for the University of Reading.

    – ref. WH Smith once shaped the travel experience – and now it’s returning to its roots – https://theconversation.com/wh-smith-once-shaped-the-travel-experience-and-now-its-returning-to-its-roots-254858

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: “Themis of the 21st Century” united students from five universities

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Winners and Prize Winners

    On April 21, at the Faculty of Forensic Science and Law in Construction and Transport of the St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, another “crime” was solved as part of the “Themis of the 21st Century” Olympiad.

    This year, the Olympiad “Themis of the 21st Century” became inter-university for the first time and was held in the format of a quest. Five teams participated in the quest: “Conclusions Don’t Burn” (SPbGASU), “Gatchina Gendarmes” (Gatchina State University), “Sledkom” (St. Petersburg Academy of the Investigative Committee), “Expert Element” (St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia), “Veshdok” (second name – “Expert Five”, St. Petersburg University of the State Fire Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia).

    The “Gatchina Gendarmes” were accompanied by fans who actively supported the guys throughout the event.

    “Today we are holding a knowledge festival, where you will be able to demonstrate your creative potential, ability to make unconventional decisions, team spirit and all those positive qualities that are not always possible to demonstrate during the educational process. I hope we will see a fair and beautiful game. May the strongest win!” – Dmitry Ivanov, Dean of the FSEiPST, encouraged the participants of the quest.

    Having exchanged traditional greetings, the teams began investigating the murder of an antique dealer and the mysterious disappearance of a 13th-century Byzantine icon. The students examined the crime scene, conducted a trace examination, questioned witnesses and built their own version of events. The quest resulted in the announcement of a verdict for the criminal, who fully acknowledged his guilt and repented.

    The announcement of the verdict allowed the teams to understand the correctness of the version put forward and, accordingly, the correctness of the completion of the final task.

    For each task, the jury awarded points to the teams. The jury included Associate Professor of the Forensic Science Department, Academic Secretary of the Faculty of the Federal Service for Economics and Social Development of the Russian Federation (FSESiPST) of St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering Elena Kuzbagarova, Associate Professor of the Criminal Law Disciplines Department of Gatchina State University Albina Bachieva, Lecturer of the Forensic Science and Research Department of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia Nadezhda Gorbunova, Senior Lecturer of the Forensic Science and Engineering and Technical Expertise Department of the St. Petersburg University of the State Fire Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia Oleg Abramumov, Associate Professor of the Forensic Science Department of St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering Alexey Kopanev.

    Based on the results of completing the tasks, the gap between the teams was minimal: they were separated by two or three points, which indicates good preparation and the active role of the leaders.

    The places were distributed as follows:

    fifth place – “Material Evidence”; fourth place – “Gatchina Gendarmes”; third place – “Conclusions Don’t Burn”; second place – “Expert Element”; first place – “Investigative Committee”.

    The organizers awarded valuable gifts to the participants of the quest and those who were involved in it as actors – students of the Faculty of Social and Economic Development and Social Sciences of St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering Ekaterina Ryzhikova, Igor Stepanov, Maxim Semenov and Daria Kulabukhova.

    Students shared their opinions on what helped them solve the complex case and what the difficulties were.

    “Practical experience helped us. We had already been in practice, and felt more confident during interrogation. Theoretical knowledge, a good atmosphere at the event, and the team also helped – this is also important. We clearly understood who to assign what to, quickly distributed who does what,” said Sledkom team member Yuri Churintsev.

    “The main difficulty was that too little time was given to complete the tasks. But we will try to win next time,” promised the captain of the “Conclusions Don’t Burn” team, Ulyana Nasonova.

    The team leaders also expressed their gratitude for the invitation to participate in the Olympiad and the good organization. In particular, Albina Bachieva said: “Many thanks to the university for this wonderful day. We really liked the teams, each had its own highlight.”

    “We took an honorable fifth place. However, I think that next year we will participate in the Olympiad at the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the same composition and win a prize. Many thanks to the organizers of the quiz: everything went very well, at a high level of organization. You created a holiday for us and our cadets,” Oleg Abramumov noted.

    “Interesting format of the event, great teams, good preparation. I hope that in the future you will come to our events and invite us again,” said Nadezhda Gorbunova.

    Summing up the results, the jury chair Elena Kuzbagarova said that the Olympiad had become a kind of testing ground, allowing to identify the strengths of the participants and determine the directions for further development of science and practice: “Today’s Olympiad demonstrated the high level of preparedness of our students, demonstrated the best examples of a creative approach to solving complex professional problems. For students, participation in the Olympiad is an opportunity not only to test their knowledge in criminology, forensic examination, traceology, criminal procedure, but also to meet colleagues from other universities, expand their professional horizons, better prepare for future professional activity, increase self-esteem and self-confidence, and establish useful professional connections. I wish the participants success in their studies and future professional activity, new achievements and interesting discoveries. Let the knowledge gained become a solid foundation for your career and a guarantee of a successful future!”

    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 Russia: Competition for filling positions of faculty members

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering –

    In accordance with Article 332 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and in connection with the availability of vacant positions of professorial and teaching staff for the 2025/2026 academic year from September 1, 2025, the Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering announces a competitive selection to fill the following positions:

    assistant; senior lecturer; associate professor; professor.

    By department:

    architectural and urban planning heritage; architectural design; architectural and building structures; water use and ecology; geodesy, land management and cadastres; geotechnics; urban planning; design of the architectural environment; reinforced concrete and stone structures; computer science; information systems and technologies; history and theory of architecture; history and philosophy; landscape architecture; mathematics; intercultural communication; construction management; metal and wooden structures; ground transport and technological machines; descriptive geometry and engineering graphics; construction organization; jurisprudence; legal regulation of urban planning and transport; drawing; structural mechanics; structural physics, electric power engineering and electrical engineering; forensic examinations; heat and gas supply and ventilation; technical operation of vehicles; construction production technology; technology of building materials and metrology; technosphere safety; transport systems and road and bridge construction; economics of construction and housing and communal services; economic security.

    The term for which an employment contract will be concluded for each of the above-mentioned positions to be filled, corresponding to the term of election by competition, is three years (until August 31, 2028).

    The competition procedure is determined by the order of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation dated December 4, 2023 No. 1138 “On approval of the Regulation on the procedure for filling the positions of teaching staff related to the faculty” and “Regulations on the organization and procedure for election by competition to positions of teaching staff at SPbGASU” (approved by the decision of the Academic Council of SPbGASU dated June 27, 2024, protocol No. 6 (as amended on April 24, 2025)).

    The qualification requirements are defined:

    The Unified Qualification Handbook of Positions of Managers, Specialists, and Employees (approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated January 11, 2011, No. 1n); the requirements for passing the competitive selection of the teaching staff of SPbGASU (approved by the decision of the Academic Council of SPbGASU dated June 27, 2024, protocol No. 6).

    To participate in the competitive selection, it is necessary to submit an application electronically through the personal account portal between April 24 and May 26, 2025 (HTTPS: // Portal.SPBGASU.ru/ – for employees of SPbGASU, HTTPS: //Conquispps.SPBGASU.ru/ – for applicants who are not employees of SPbGASU) the following documents:

    an application addressed to the rector of the university; a copy of the higher education document; a copy of the candidate/doctor of science diploma (if any); a copy of the associate professor/professor certificate (if any); documents confirming the length of service in scientific and pedagogical work (a certificate of teaching experience or a copy of the work record book, certified at the place of work) – for applicants who are not full-time employees of SPbGASU; a list of scientific and educational-methodical works for the last three years; consent to the processing of personal data; documents confirming the absence of restrictions on employment in the field of education (certificate of no criminal record).

    The procedure and deadlines for making changes to the terms of the competition, as well as its cancellation:

    Amendments to the terms of the competition, as well as its cancellation, are formalized by order of the rector until May 26, 2025.

    In case of a positive decision of the commission, the originals of the competition documents and educational documents are provided by the competition participant upon conclusion of an employment contract to the Human Resources Department from June 27 to August 31, 2025 at the address: 190005, St. Petersburg, 2-ya Krasnoarmeyskaya St., Bldg. 4, office 125, 126. Tel. 316-42-13.

    The competition will be held in person.

    Place, date and time of the competition: June 25, 2025 at 10:00, St. Petersburg, 2-ya Krasnoarmeyskaya st., bldg. 4, room 216.

    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 Canada: Tick Safety Important Across Nova Scotia

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Tick populations are growing in every part of Nova Scotia, urban and rural. With the temperature above freezing, it is important for people to take the necessary steps to protect themselves, their family and pets.

    “Ticks are not just a nuisance, they carry serious diseases,” said Provincial Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Cram. “That’s why it’s important to take simple precautions like using insect repellants before you spend time outdoors and checking for ticks on your body daily.”

    Ticks like moist and humid environments and can often be found in areas of high vegetation such as tall grass, shrubs, urban parks, gardens and forests.

    There are several kinds of ticks in Nova Scotia, including the blacklegged tick, which is known to transmit diseases such as Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Powassan virus infection.

    People can reduce their risk by:

    • checking their clothing and body carefully for ticks after spending time outside
    • wearing long pants and long sleeves in areas likely to have ticks
    • wearing light-coloured clothing (light colours make it easier to see ticks)
    • wearing enclosed shoes and tucking their pants into their socks
    • walking on well-travelled paths, avoiding long grass and vegetation
    • applying insect repellents approved by Health Canada to exposed skin and clothes (following directions carefully).

    People with questions or concerns about tick safety or tick-borne diseases can call 811 or the Nova Scotia Health Tick Hotline at 902-266-7199 or toll-free at 1-866-266-7199.

    Local pharmacists can assess tick bites and determine if a preventive antibiotic is needed. More information is at: https://novascotia.ca/dhw/pharmacare/healthcare-services.asp

    Quick Facts:

    • ticks can be found throughout the province as the weather begins to warm, particularly if the temperature is above 4 degrees C

    Additional Resources:

    More information, including how to remove and dispose of ticks safely, is available at: https://novascotia.ca/ticksafety/

    Tick-check poster: https://novascotia.ca/ticksafety/poster.pdf

    More information about the Nova Scotia Health Tick Hotline is available at: https://www.nshealth.ca/clinics-programs-and-services/nova-scotia-health-tick-service

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: OLAF intelligence supports Lithuanian Customs in major sanctions evasion probe

    Source: European Anti-Fraud Offfice

    Press release no. 8/2025
    PDF version 

    On 10 April, investigators from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) joined officers from the Lithuanian Customs Criminal Service (MKT) in a successful raid on a company suspected of violating EU sanctions.

    The investigation targeted a business allegedly involved in the illegal export of sanctioned goods to Russia and Belarus. While the items in question were lawfully manufactured in various EU Member States, it is believed the company rerouted them through Central Asian countries to circumvent EU sanctions.

    During the inspection, significant quantities of potentially sanctioned commodities, large sums of money and weapons were seized. Prior to the raid, OLAF provided intelligence and analytical support that proved instrumental in uncovering a suspected scheme to evade EU export restrictions. Preliminary findings also suggest the company may have facilitated similar operations for other firms.

    The pre-trial investigation, led by the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office, estimates the value of the seized goods at approximately €1.5 million.

    OLAF provided investigative support, advanced analytical tools and relevant data throughout the investigation. As the investigation remains ongoing, OLAF is also liaising with authorities in both EU and non-EU countries to verify the export routes and trace the final destination of the goods. The intelligence gathered will support other EU Member States in discovering potential new illicit trade flows of sanctioned goods. 

    OLAF Director-General Ville Itälä said: “OLAF remains committed to supporting EU Member States in upholding sanctions and protecting the financial interests of the Union. In this case, OLAF provided investigative intelligence and analysis, while also acting as a bridge between the different national authorities involved. We are glad to have been able to support our Lithuanian colleagues in such a crucial effort as the enforcement of the EU’s export sanctions. Together we help strengthen the security of the EU.”

    OLAF mission, mandate and competences:
    OLAF’s mission is to detect, investigate and stop fraud with EU funds.    

    OLAF fulfils its mission by:
    •    carrying out independent investigations into fraud and corruption involving EU funds, so as to ensure that all EU taxpayers’ money reaches projects that can create jobs and growth in Europe;
    •    contributing to strengthening citizens’ trust in the EU Institutions by investigating serious misconduct by EU staff and members of the EU Institutions;
    •    developing a sound EU anti-fraud policy.

    In its independent investigative function, OLAF can investigate matters relating to fraud, corruption and other offences affecting the EU financial interests concerning:
    •    all EU expenditure: the main spending categories are Structural Funds, agricultural policy and rural development funds, direct expenditure and external aid;
    •    some areas of EU revenue, mainly customs duties;
    •    suspicions of serious misconduct by EU staff and members of the EU institutions.

    Once OLAF has completed its investigation, it is for the competent EU and national authorities to examine and decide on the follow-up of OLAF’s recommendations. All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a competent national or EU court of law.

    For further details:

    Pierluigi CATERINO
    Spokesperson
    European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
    Phone: +32(0)2 29-52335  
    Email: olaf-media ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (olaf-media[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
    https://anti-fraud.ec.europa.eu
    LinkedIn: European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
    Bluesky: euantifraud.bsky.social

    If you’re a journalist and you wish to receive our press releases in your inbox, pleaseleave us your contact data.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Department of State Press Briefing – April 24, 2025 – 2:00 PM

    Source: United States of America – Department of State (video statements)

    Spokesperson Tammy Bruce leads the Department Press Briefing, at the Department of State, on April 24, 2025.

    ———-
    Under the leadership of the President and Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity. On behalf of the American people we promote and demonstrate democratic values and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world.

    The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department, which includes the Foreign Service, Civil Service and U.S. Agency for International Development.

    Get updates from the U.S. Department of State at www.state.gov and on social media!
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/statedept
    X: https://x.com/StateDept
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/statedept
    Flickr: https://flickr.com/photos/statephotos/

    Subscribe to the State Department Blog: https://www.state.gov/blogs
    Watch on-demand State Department videos: https://video.state.gov/
    Subscribe to The Week at State e-newsletter: https://www.state.gov/department-email-updates/

    State Department website: https://www.state.gov/
    Careers website: https://careers.state.gov/
    White House website: https://www.whitehouse.gov/
    Terms of Use: https://state.gov/tou

    #StateDepartment #DepartmentofState #Diplomacy

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYk-DwiAkRs

    MIL OSI Video –