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Category: Transport

  • MIL-OSI USA: FACT SHEET: Trump, Musk, & RFK Jr. Hollow Out HHS, Threatening Americans’ Health and Wellbeing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
    Trump carries out mass firings across HHS and subagencies today
    ICYMI: Murray, Former Health Department Leaders, Sound Alarm on Trump and RFK Jr. Gutting HHS
    ICYMI: Murray, DeLauro, Baldwin Demand Answers on RFK Jr.’s Plans to Gut HHS
    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), responded to the Trump administration’s mass firings across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its many subagencies, which are responsible for protecting Americans’ health and delivering essential health and social services. 
    “Today, two billionaires are making good on their vow to take a wrecking ball to the Department of Health and Human Services and put Americans’ health and wellbeing at serious risk–and Republicans are letting them,” said Senator Murray. “These firings make a lot of sense if you believe measles spreading like wildfire is good–or think we should be slashing cancer research. While Republicans work to pass more tax breaks for billionaires, Trump, Musk, and RFK Jr. are ripping essential health services away from the American people and decimating our country’s ability to prevent outbreaks and keep families safe. There’s no two ways about it: this is the type of carelessness that gets people killed.”
    Late last week, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to unilaterally push out 20,000 HHS employees (a ~25% reduction) and to dramatically reorganize and hollow out the Department–in clear violation of annual spending laws, including the one that Congress passed and was signed into law just weeks ago. 
    On Monday, Senator Murray led a letter to Secretary Kennedy demanding more information about the sweeping, devastating plans–noting that if this administration is truly committed to transparency, as it claims to be, and is confident its drastic plans will protect Americans’ health, it should be eager to share basic information about them. Thus far, however, the administration has provided no additional details to Congress or the public about its mass firings and reorganization.
    This morning, thousands of health officials woke up to emails notifying them that they were being fired. In addition to the mass firings, HHS says it will eliminate 5 of 10 regional offices, trim 28 divisions into 15, and consolidate and move essential functions to other agencies.
    Since taking office, Trump, Musk, and RFK Jr. have taken a sweeping array of actions to halt HHS’ essential, lifesaving work and diminish its capacity to keep families healthy. It has systematically choked off lifesaving medical research, and just last week, Trump ripped away resources communities nationwide are using to address bird flu, measles, the fentanyl epidemic, the mental health crisis, and more. 
    FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA)
    The FDA protects Americans’ health by ensuring the safety and effectiveness of medicines, biologics, and medical devices–and regulating food, cosmetics, and tobacco products. 
    The Trump administration announced last week it will cut 3,500 employees at the FDA. It has now pushed out senior leaders across the agency focused on food, drug, and medical device policy, as well as the head of the Center for Tobacco Products and the head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Among the thousands of FDA staff fired by the Trump administration are experts who manage the review of new applications for drugs, vaccines, and medical devices–which will delay approval of new, potentially life-changing products that patients are counting on. Others reportedly pushed out include veterinary medicine experts working on bird flu preparedness and response, the top Type 1 Diabetes expert, and regulatory staff focused on negotiations on User Fee Agreements that fund some of FDA’s work–among many others. 
    “Americans depend on the FDA every time they sit down for a meal or pick up a prescription–but that’s no matter: Trump and Musk are hollowing out the agency and putting their health at risk. Let’s be crystal clear: there’s nothing strategic about firing thousands of people who inspect our food and ensure our prescriptions and babies’ formula are safe. While they work overtime to pass more tax breaks for themselves, Trump, Musk, and RFK Jr. are insisting on senseless cuts to all but destroy FDA, jeopardizing Americans’ safety and leaving patients waiting longer for lifesaving drugs to get to market,” said Senator Murray.
    CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)
    CDC is charged with protecting the American people from health threats, including infectious diseases like measles and bird flu.
    The Trump administration announced plans to force out 2,400 employees at CDC. 
    Today, scores of CDC staff woke up to emails notifying them they are being fired. This includes mass reductions in force across most CDC centers, which will prevent the critical work CDC is responsible for from being carried out. Staff were fired en mass across CDC offices for domestic violence prevention, Smoking and Health, HIV prevention, Tuberculosis elimination, disability and health, childhood lead poisoning, asthma control, among many others. Trump has even reportedly fired the entire team focused on assistive reproductive technology like IVF–despite his wild claims to be the “fertilization president.”
    The Trump administration has also reportedly fired nearly two-thirds of the CDC National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) staff, or nearly 900 people. The Trump administration is now, for example, apparently working to shutter the CDC NIOSH Spokane Research Laboratory in Washington state, firing dozens of workers today who study how to protect workers’ health and safety on the job, particularly those in fields like mining, the maritime industry, and firefighting, where workers face elevated risks.
    “Decimating the CDC is a great way to make our communities less safe and less prepared to respond quickly and effectively when diseases–like measles and bird flu–put lives and livelihoods in danger. When the next pandemic hits and America is unprepared, it will be thanks to Donald Trump and Republicans destroying our public health infrastructure. Decimating the agency that helps prevent workplace injuries and illnesses is a slap in the face to workers across America–and will threaten the safety of firefighters, miners, construction and agricultural workers, and so many others while on the job,” said Senator Murray.
    NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH)
    NIH is the nation’s premier biomedical research agency. Each year, NIH supports biomedical research that produces life-changing and, in many cases, lifesaving treatments and cures.
    The Trump administration has already pushed out top experts, scientists, and senior leadership, well over 1,100 NIH employees, and systematically choked off billions of dollars in NIH funding for new treatments and cures for devastating diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer.
    Now, it is firing even more NIH scientists and staff–including veterans and more than 1,300 additional employees as of this afternoon–decimating the agency. President Trump and RFK Jr. are pushing out senior NIH leadership, including Institute and Center Directors at the Fogarty International Center (FIC), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).  
    “Since taking office, Trump has systematically worked to break the NIH–he’s taking patients’ hopes for new treatments and cures and throwing them right in the shredder. These sweeping firings at NIH will set back our efforts to discover medical breakthroughs that save lives by decades. And they won’t just delay research, they will halt clinical trials in their tracks and cut patients off from care,” said Senator Murray.
    CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES (CMS)
    CMS helps ensure over 100 million Americans have access to affordable, high-quality health insurance by overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Affordable Care Act marketplaces. 
    The agency has long been understaffed and under-resourced, including for essential functions like nursing home safety inspections and protecting Americans from surprise medical bills. Nonetheless, Trump and Musk are pushing even more people out–and jeopardizing Americans’ health care in doing so. Trump announced that 300 employees at CMS will be cut. 
    “The American people are looking to their leaders to make sure they can get quality, affordable health care–instead, two billionaires are gutting the very agency that helps over 100 million Americans get health care. Undercutting CMS is an attack on Americans’ health care–full stop. Firing the people who keep our systems running, who ensure long-term care facilities are safe, and prevent health care companies from ripping people off makes no sense and will hurt patients nationwide,” said Senator Murray.
    INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE (IHS)
    IHS is responsible for providing direct medical and public health services to members of federally recognized Tribes, and it is the principal federal health care provider and health advocate for Tribal communities across the country. 
    IHS is already struggling to provide quality health care to 2.8 million Americans who rely on its services, and the actions being taken by the Trump administration to freeze federal hiring, reduce office space, and reduce the HHS workforce that IHS relies on are making matters worse. Chronic understaffing continues to plague the IHS, and despite some hiring exemptions for doctors and nurses, quality health care can’t be delivered without sufficient administrative personnel at HHS and at IHS hospitals and health clinics. 
    Adding to the IHS’ staffing struggles, the Trump administration is arbitrarily canceling leases that house IHS administrative offices across all service areas and its medical supply warehouse, which stockpiles and distributes critical medical supplies to all IHS hospitals and health clinics. IHS needs more resources and staffing to fulfill its mission, not less. 
    “Trump and Musk are leaving the Indian Health Service and our Tribes in the dust–freezing hiring at an already-strapped agency, canceling leases it counts on, and now, gutting essential HHS functions that enable IHS to serve patients. They are breaking government with no idea of what they are doing and no regard for who gets hurt–all while they enrich themselves,” said Senator Murray.
    SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (SAMHSA)
    SAMHSA is charged with improving services and support available to people across the country for substance use disorder and mental health. The agency plays a leading role in tackling the fentanyl and opioid crisis, and it oversees the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. 
    The Trump administration has announced plans to eliminate SAMHSA and collapse it into a new “Administration for a Healthy America.” But it has not provided any additional details on its illegal reorganization or how it will ensure SAMHSA’s statutorily-mandated, lifesaving functions would be carried out. Today, the Trump administration made more deep cuts to SAMHSA’s staff, which will result in the agency’s staffing levels being reduced by fifty percent since January–weakening the ability of communities to respond to the mental health and substance use crises. 
    “Just as we are finally starting to make progress getting opioid overdose deaths to trend down nationally, Trump and Musk have decided to scrap the agency responsible for our national response to the epidemic. These billionaires believe our country can afford to pay for more tax breaks for them but cannot afford to keep up the fight against the opioid epidemic. These chaotic, senseless moves will undermine federal support for all the work our communities on the frontlines are doing to tackle the opioid and mental health crises–and save lives,” said Senator Murray.
    ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (ACF)
    ACF is responsible for administering a variety of programs to help children and families thrive–including the primary federal child care grant program, Head Start, family violence prevention programs, and Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), among many others. 
    Today, the Trump administration made deep cuts to the staff responsible for carrying out these programs, threatening the services and essential oversight families count on. The administration also shuttered half of the regional offices for the Office of Head Start, which are charged with ensuring Head Start services delivered to families are high-quality, without any explanation of how it will fulfill its mission and continue serving children and families without these offices or staff. Trump also gutted the Office of Community Services, which administers the LIHEAP program to help low-income individuals and families afford to heat and cool their homes and administers the Community Services Block Grant program, which helps communities nationwide fight poverty.
    “While the child care crisis crunches families’ budgets, Trump and Musk are focused on firing the very people who help make sure there are safe, affordable child care options available to families in every part of the country,” said Senator Murray. “Decimating this agency may well mean child care and Head Start centers don’t get the funding they need to keep their doors open, and shuttering regional offices will threaten families’ access to quality and reliable Head Start services. These firings will certainly risk kids’ safety–because that’s what happens when you get rid of the people who monitor centers’ care. These billionaires are ripping the rug out from under families just as they seek to give themselves more tax breaks.”
    ADMINISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING (ACL)
    ACL provides unique and critical support to help ensure seniors and Americans with disabilities can live independently and with the same opportunities as others in their communities. ACL programs improve access to health care and long-term care supports, fund essential services like congregate and home-delivered meals and respite care, and invest in essential research and innovation to better support seniors and Americans with disabilities.
    The Trump administration announced plans to eliminate ACL in clear violation of annual appropriations law that explicitly funds ACL–and has provided no additional details on how its essential, statutorily-mandated functions will continue without interruptions that seriously hurt seniors and people with disabilities.
    Today, Trump gutted ACL, firing scores of staff and leaving the administration of these critical programs in jeopardy.
    “Trump and Musk are ripping the rug out from underneath seniors and Americans with disabilities by gutting the agency that helps them get the support they need to not only live independently, but also thrive in their communities,” said Senator Murray.
    ADMINISTRATION FOR STRATEGIC PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE (ASPR)
    ASPR leads our country’s medical and public health preparedness for, response to, and recovery from disasters and public health emergencies–coordinating planning and response for when fires erupt, pathogens like COVID or bird flu emerge, and so much more.
    The Trump administration has announced that ASPR will be consolidated into CDC, and today laid off a number of staff, including staff for the Strategic National Stockpile.
    “As bird flu rages and measles spreads across the country in an outbreak with little recent precedent, apparently Donald Trump thinks it’s a good idea to destroy the very agency tasked with leading our public health preparedness efforts. Firing this staff puts our economy and our families in serious danger,” said Senator Murray.
    HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (HRSA)
    HRSA is charged with improving access to care for vulnerable and underserved populations. The agency runs critical programs to bolster the nation’s health workforce, improve maternal and child health, support high-quality care in community health centers and Ryan White HIV/AIDS clinics, address rural health needs, modernize the nation’s organ transplant system, and more.
    The Trump administration has announced it plans to eliminate HRSA and collapse it into a new “Administration for a Healthy America” but has not provided any additional details on how this reorganization might work and how it will ensure HRSA’s statutorily-mandated functions will be carried out.
    Today, the Trump administration reportedly fired hundreds of staff who provide support to the nation’s 1,400 community health centers, which operate more than 15,000 sites serving millions of patients across the U.S. regardless of their ability to pay. Others fired include those working on HRSA’s maternal and child health programs, who oversee states’ block grants and operate the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program to support mothers, children, and families. Staff were also fired from HRSA’s health workforce programs, where they work to engage with communities nationwide to address shortages of doctors and nurses, and provide scholarships and loan repayment for those working in high-need communities.
    “It defies logic to get rid of the people who help strengthen our nation’s health workforce, support our nation’s health centers, and work to ensure children grow up healthy. These reckless firings and thoughtless reorganization will set back efforts to improve maternal care, help Americans in rural areas get basic health services, and so much more,” said Senator Murray.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray Statement on Evisceration of Seattle HHS Office and Spokane NIOSH Office Amidst Mass Layoffs at HHS

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
    ICYMI: Murray, Former Health Department Leaders Sound Alarm on Trump and RFK Jr. Gutting HHS
    Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement on the evisceration of the HHS Region 10 Office in Seattle and the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Spokane Research Laboratory.
    Today, the Trump administration began suddenly firingmost—if not all—workers at the HHS Region 10 office in Seattle—around 2oo people—as well as at the NIOSH Spokane Research Laboratory—an estimated 90 employees. The future of both offices remains deeply unclear. The HHS Region 10 office is based in Seattle but covers all of Washington, Alaska, Idaho and Oregon; Region 10 also has the greatest number of federally recognized Tribes—272—of all HHS regions.
    “It is infuriating and downright reckless for the Trump administration to have fired nearly everyone at the HHS Regional office in Seattle and the CDC’s NIOSH Spokane Research Laboratory—all but decimating these offices, though they are still outright refusing to answer basic questions about their evisceration of HHS and the future of these critical offices.
    “Closing the Seattle Region 10 office will mean a drastically diminished HHS presence on the ground in our communities, no one to help seniors, families, and providers with Medicare and Medicaid issues or conduct site visits in the community, little-to-no collaboration with local and regional health leaders on emerging public health issues—and so much else.
    “And the Trump administration’s mass firings of people researching how to better protect American workers’ safety on the job is a disaster waiting to happen. Those firings included nearly all of the researchers at the Spokane NIOSH Research Laboratory, who are doing critical and time-sensitive work studying how to protect workers’ health and safety on the job in dangerous fields like mining, firefighting, and the maritime industry.
    “These dangerous, thoughtless, and callous cuts will jeopardize Americans’ health and safety today, tomorrow, and years down the line—and I will not stop sounding the alarm and doing everything I possibly can to hold this lawless administration to account.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Contract awarded for final construction phase of government hub

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Contract awarded for final construction phase of government hub

    Construction of a new government office in Manchester City Centre is entering its final phase with the appointment of Wates to conduct the Category B fit-out

    Credit: Ask Real Estate

    Construction of a new government office in Manchester City Centre is entering its final phase with the appointment of a new contractor.

    The Government Property Agency (GPA) has appointed Wates to conduct the Category B (Cat B) fit-out of its First Street Hub following a competitive tender process. 

    The company will be responsible for the hub’s fit-out works, ensuring the nine-storey building is functional for office use. It marks another key development in the programme following the recent practical completion of the Category A (Cat A) fit-out and lease commencement. 

    Launched as part of the GPA’s Government Hubs Programme, the Manchester First Street Hub will accommodate around 2,600 civil servants from departments including Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED), and the Department for Education (DfE). It is earmarked for completion in Autumn 2026.

    Georgina Dunn, the GPA’s Interim Director of Capital Projects, said: 

    Appointing the Cat B contractor was the final major hurdle to overcome before the home straight of delivering this exceptional building. The hub will provide a state-of-the-art office space for thousands of civil servants and will be one of the largest cross-departmental hubs outside London. It also has enviable sustainability credentials with the building achieving  a NABERS 5.5* rating – ranking it among the most sustainable buildings in the UK.

    We are proud of the progress we continue to make as we look to provide high quality and sustainable workplaces for civil servants throughout the UK.

    The £105M development, which was forward-funded by the Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), supports the Government Hubs Programme’s aim of securing growth across the country. The programme is rationalising the government’s estate in towns and cities across the UK, playing a pivotal role in delivering modern, customer-focused and varied workspaces where civil servants can thrive. 

    Just a few minutes’ walk from Oxford Road and Deansgate rail stations, First Street Hub has been designed to be class-leading, meeting inclusive and accessible design standards. The design for the 12,000sq m building will support a variety of different working styles including spaces to enable collaboration, creativity and community.

    Scott Camp, Managing Director of Wates’ fit-out and refurbishment business, Smartspace, said:

    We are delighted to continue our successful partnership with the Government Property Agency following our work at Darlington Economic Campus and 2 Ruskin Square in Croydon.

    Securing the contract for the Cat-B fit-out at Manchester First Street is a testament to our expertise in delivering high-quality, modern office environments. This project will provide thousands of civil servants with a state-of-the-art workspace, enabling them to foster collaboration and efficiency. It also reinforces our commitment to our purpose – ‘Reimagining places for people to thrive’ – by creating another exceptional workspace that supports productivity and well-being.

    For media enquiries, email: pressoffice@gpa.gov.uk

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    Updates to this page

    Published 2 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Nykredit extends the offer period concerning the recommended, voluntary public tender offer for Spar Nord Bank A/S until 24 April 2025 – Nykredit Realkredit A/S

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 9(3)-(5) AND SECTION 21(3) OF EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 636 OF 15 MAY 2020

    NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR TO ANY JURISDICTION WHERE DOING SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION

    Publication of supplement concerning extension of offer period for Nykredit’s recommended, voluntary public tender offer for Spar Nord Bank A/S until 24 April 2025

    2 April 2025

    Nykredit extends the offer period concerning the recommended, voluntary public tender offer for Spar Nord Bank A/S until 24 April 2025

    In accordance with section 4(1) of the Danish Takeover Order1, Nykredit Realkredit A/S (“Nykredit”) announced on 10 December 2024 that Nykredit intended to submit a voluntary public tender offer (the “Offer”) to acquire all shares in Spar Nord Bank A/S (“Spar Nord Bank”), with the exception of Spar Nord Bank’s treasury shares, for a cash price of DKK 210 per share, valuing the aggregated issued share capital of Spar Nord Bank at DKK 24.7 billion.

    On 8 January 2025, Nykredit published the offer document regarding the Offer (the “Offer Document”), as approved by the Danish FSA in accordance with section 11 of the Danish Takeover Order. In the Offer Document, the offer period was set to expire on 19 February 2025 at 23:59 (CET) (the “Initial Offer Period”). The Initial Offer Period was subsequently extended to 20 March 2025, and on 19 March 2025, Nykredit published a supplement to the Offer Document, which extended the offer period to 3 April 2025 at 23:59 (CEST).

    Today, Nykredit published a supplement (the “Supplement”) to the Offer Document, which further extends the offer period for the Offer. The Supplement has been approved by the Danish FSA on 2 April 2025 in accordance with section 9(3)-(5) of the Danish Takeover Order. The Supplement should be read in conjunction with the Offer Document and the previous supplements as published on 18 February and 19 March 2025.

    With this Supplement, Nykredit further extends the offer period, such that the Offer will expire on 24 April 2025 at 23:59 (CEST). Subsequently, any reference to the “Offer Period” in the Offer Document or other documents relating to the Offer will refer to the period commencing on the day of publication of the Offer Document on 8 January 2025 and ending on 24 April 2025 at 23:59 (CEST) (the “Extended Offer Period”).

    The purpose of the extension is to provide Nykredit with time to obtain the approval from the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority required to complete the Offer. If the approval from the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority has not been granted by the expiry of the Extended Offer Period, Nykredit expects to extend the offer period further.

    The extension of the offer period entails that the expected completion of the Offer and settlement of the offer price to the Spar Nord Bank shareholders who have accepted the Offer will be extended correspondingly. Completion is subsequently expected to take place on 2 May 2025 (provided that the offer period is not extended further).

    This will result in an adjustment of the offer price in accordance with section 6.2 of the Offer Document, such that the offer price is increased by DKK 0.50 per share to DKK 210.50.

    The increase of the offer price affects all Spar Nord Bank shareholders who have already given their accept of the Offer and all Spar Nord Bank shareholders who accept the Offer following publication of the Supplement. Spar Nord Bank shareholders who have already accepted the Offer thus do not have to take further action.

    At the time of this announcement, Nykredit holds 32.79 per cent of the shares in Spar Nord Bank.

    In the supplement dated 19 March 2025 to the Offer Document, Nykredit announced that a preliminary compilation of the acceptances that Nykredit had information about showed that, including the irrevocable undertakings, acceptances corresponding to more than 46 per cent of the share capital of Spar Nord Bank had been submitted, and that Nykredit’s ownership interest in Spar Nord Bank, together with the irrevocable undertakings and the binding acceptances submitted that Nykredit had information about, totalled more than 80 per cent of the total share capital (excluding treasury shares) of Spar Nord Bank, indicating that the 67 per cent acceptance limit stated in the Offer has been reached.

    The final result of the Offer will be determined on expiry of the offer period and published in accordance with section 21(3) of the Danish Takeover Order.

    Nykredit intends to delist Spar Nord Bank from trading on Nasdaq Copenhagen and complete a compulsory acquisition of the remaining Spar Nord Bank shareholders, provided that Nykredit has obtained the necessary ownership interest, and the Offer has been completed. Spar Nord Bank shareholders who have opted not to accept the Offer, should expect that Nykredit, provided that the Offer is completed, will take steps to combine Nykredit Bank A/S and Spar Nord Bank, which will result in a further increase in Nykredit’s ownership interest in Spar Nord Bank. Not later than in continuation of the combination, Nykredit thus expects to hold a sufficient ownership interest to be able to delist Spar Nord Bank from trading on Nasdaq Copenhagen and complete a compulsory acquisition of the remaining Spar Nord Bank shareholders.

    The full terms and conditions of the Offer are contained in the Offer Document as amended by the Supplement. The Offer Document and the Supplement are published in the Danish FSA’s OAM database: https://oam.finanstilsynet.dk/ and can also, with certain restrictions, be accessed at https://www.nykredit.com/kobstilbud-spar-nord/ and https://www.sparnord.dk/investor-relations/overtagelsestilbud.

    About Spar Nord Bank

    Spar Nord Bank was founded in 1824 and is now a nationwide bank with 58 branches. Spar Nord Bank offers all types of financial services, consultancy and products, focusing its business on retail customers and primarily small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the local areas in which the bank is represented. The bank is also focused on leasing operations and large corporate customers, which are both business areas handled by the head offices.

    Spar Nord Bank has historically been rooted in northern Jutland and continues to be a market leader in this region. However, in the period from 2002 to 2024, Spar Nord Bank has established and acquired branches outside northern Jutland. Over the course of the years, the bank has adjusted its branch network in an ongoing process and now has a nationwide distribution network comprising 58 branches. These 58 branches are distributed on 32 banking areas, each of which is headed by a manager reporting directly to the bank’s executive board.

    The Spar Nord Bank Group consists of two earnings entities: Spar Nord Bank’s branches and the Trading Division. As an entity, the Trading Division serves customers from Spar Nord Bank’s branches as well as large retail customers and institutional clients in the field of equities, bonds, fixed income and forex products, asset management and international transactions. Finally, under the concept Sparxpres, the bank offers consumer loans to personal customers through Sparxpres’ platform as well as debt consolidation loans and consumer financing via retail stores and gift voucher solutions via shopping centres and city associations.

    About Nykredit

    Nykredit Realkredit A/S (“Nykredit”) is a public limited company incorporated under the laws of Denmark, company reg. (CVR) no. 12 71 92 80, having its registered office at Sundkrogsgade 25, 2150 Nordhavn, Denmark. Nykredit is a mortgage credit institution and, together with its wholly-owned subsidiary Totalkredit A/S, is a market leader of the Danish mortgage credit market with a market share of some 45.2 per cent. Nykredit offers mortgage financing for private individuals and businesses.

    Nykredit is part of the Nykredit Group, which historically dates back to 1851. In addition to carrying on mortgage credit business, the Group carries on banking business through Nykredit Bank – including banking and wealth management operations – and has a total of around 4,000 employees in Denmark.

    Nykredit is owned by an association of the Nykredit Group’s customers, Forenet Kredit. Forenet Kredit owns close to 80 per cent of Nykredit’s shares. Other major shareholders are five Danish pension funds: Akademikernes Pension AP Pension, PensionDanmark, PFA and PKA.

    Nykredit is known for the advantages offered through the association. Forenet Kredit makes capital contributions to the Nykredit Group when times are good, and Nykredit has decided to pass these on to its customers.

    Since, 2017, Forenet Kredit has paid over DKK 8 billion in capital contributions to the Nykredit Group, and in the period to 2027, Forenet Kredit has provided a further DKK 7 billion.

    Questions and further information

    Any questions concerning the Offer may be directed to:

    Nykredit Bank A/S

    Company reg. (CVR) no.: 10 51 96 08

    Sundkrogsgade 25

    2150 Nordhavn
    Denmark

    Telephone: +45 7010 9000

    and

    Carnegie Investment Bank

    Filial af Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ), Sverige

    Company reg. (CVR) no. 35 52 12 67

    Overgaden Neden Vandet 9B

    1414 Copenhagen K
    Denmark

    E-mail: annette.hansen@carnegie.dk

    For further information about the Offer, please see: https://www.nykredit.com/kobstilbud-spar-nord/.

    This announcement and the Offer Document (with supplements) are not directed at shareholders of Spar Nord Bank A/S whose participation in the Offer would require the issuance of an offer document, registration or activities other than what is required under Danish law (and, in the case of shareholders in the United States of America, Section 14(e) of, and applicable provisions of Regulation 14E promulgated under, the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). The Offer is not made and will not be made, directly or indirectly, to shareholders resident in any jurisdiction in which the submission of the Offer or acceptance thereof would be in contravention of the laws of such jurisdiction. Any person coming into possession of this announcement, the Offer Document or any other document containing a reference to the Offer is expected and assumed to independently obtain all necessary information about any applicable restrictions and to observe these.

    This announcement does not constitute an offer or an invitation to purchase securities or a solicitation of an offer to purchase securities in accordance with the Offer or otherwise. The Offer will be submitted only in the form of the Offer Document (with supplements) approved by the FSA, which sets out the full terms and conditions of the Offer, including information on how to accept the Offer. The shareholders of Spar Nord Bank are advised to read the Offer Document and any related documents as they contain important information.

    Restricted jurisdictions

    The Offer is not made, and acceptance of the Offer to tender Spar Nord Bank shares is not accepted, neither directly nor indirectly, in or from any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance of the Offer would not be in compliance with the laws of such jurisdiction or would require any registration, approval or any other measures with any regulatory authority not expressly contemplated by the Offer Document (the “Restricted Jurisdictions”). Neither the United States nor the United Kingdom is a Restricted Jurisdiction.

    Restricted Jurisdictions include, but are not limited to: Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.

    Persons obtaining documents or information relating to the Offer (including custodians, account holding institutions, nominees, trustees, representatives, fiduciaries or other intermediaries) should not distribute, communicate, transfer or send these in or into a Restricted Jurisdiction or use mail or any other means of communication in or into a Restricted Jurisdiction in connection with the Offer. Persons (including, but not limited to, custodians, custodian banks, nominees, trustees, representatives, fiduciaries or other intermediaries) intending to communicate this announcement, the Supplement, the Offer Document or any related document to any jurisdiction outside Denmark or the United States should inform themselves about these restrictions before taking any action. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the laws of such jurisdiction, including securities laws. It is the responsibility of all Persons obtaining this announcement, the Supplement, the Offer Document, earlier supplements, an acceptance form and/or other documents relating to the Offer, or into whose possession such documents otherwise come, to inform themselves about and observe all such restrictions.

    Nykredit is not responsible for ensuring that the distribution, dissemination or communication of this announcement, the Supplement or the Offer Document to shareholders outside Denmark, the United States and the United Kingdom is consistent with applicable law in any jurisdiction other than Denmark, the United States and the United Kingdom.

    Important Information for Shareholders in the United States

    The Offer concerns the shares in Spar Nord Bank, a public limited liability company incorporated and admitted to trading on a regulated market in Denmark, and is subject to the disclosure and procedural requirements of Danish law, including the Danish capital markets act and the Danish takeover order.

    The Offer is being made to shareholders in Spar Nord Bank in the United States in compliance with the applicable US tender offer rules under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the “U.S. Exchange Act”), including Regulation 14E promulgated thereunder, subject to the relief available for a “Tier II” tender offer, and otherwise in accordance with the requirements of Danish law and practice

    Accordingly, US Spar Nord Bank shareholders should be aware that this announcement and any other documents regarding the Offer have been prepared in accordance with, and will be subject to, the disclosure and other procedural requirements, including with respect to withdrawal rights, the Offer timetable, settlement procedures and timing of payments of Danish law and practice, which may differ materially from those applicable under US domestic tender offer law and practice. In addition, the financial information contained in this announcement or the Offer Document has not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or derived therefrom, and may therefore differ from, or not be comparable with, financial information of US companies.

    In accordance with the laws of, and practice in, Denmark and to the extent permitted by applicable law, including Rule 14e-5 under the U.S. Exchange Act, Nykredit, Nykredit’s affiliates or any nominees or brokers of the foregoing (acting as agents, or in a similar capacity, for Nykredit or any of its affiliates, as applicable) may from time to time, and other than pursuant to the Offer, directly or indirectly, purchase, or arrange to purchase, outside of the United States, shares in Spar Nord Bank or any securities that are convertible into, exchangeable for or exercisable for such shares in Spar Nord Bank before or during the period in which the Offer remains open for acceptance. These purchases may occur either in the open market at prevailing prices or in private transactions at negotiated prices. Any information about such purchases will be announced via Nasdaq Copenhagen and relevant electronic media if, and to the extent, such announcement is required under applicable law. To the extent information about such purchases or arrangements to purchase is made public in Denmark, such information will be disclosed by means of a press release or other means reasonably calculated to inform US shareholders of Spar Nord Bank of such information.

    In addition, subject to the applicable laws of Denmark and US securities laws, including Rule 14e-5 under the U.S. Exchange Act, the financial advisers to Nykredit or their respective affiliates may also engage in ordinary course trading activities in securities of Spar Nord Bank, which may include purchases or arrangements to purchase such securities.

    It may not be possible for US shareholders to effect service of process within the United States upon Spar Nord Bank, Nykredit or any of their respective affiliates, or their respective officers or directors, some or all of which may reside outside the United States, or to enforce against any of them judgments of the United States courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or other US law. It may not be possible to bring an action against Nykredit, Spar Nord Bank and/or their respective officers or directors (as applicable) in a non-US court for violations of US laws. Further, it may not be possible to compel Nykredit and Spar Nord Bank or their respective affiliates, as applicable, to subject themselves to the judgment of a US court. In addition, it may be difficult to enforce in Denmark original actions, or actions for the enforcement of judgments of US courts, based on the civil liability provisions of the US federal securities laws.

    The Offer, if completed, may have consequences under US federal income tax and under applicable US state and local, as well as non-US, tax laws. Each shareholder of Spar Nord Bank is urged to consult its independent professional adviser immediately regarding the tax consequences of the Offer.

    NEITHER THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR ANY SECURITIES COMMISSION OR OTHER REGULATORY AUTHORITY IN ANY STATE OF THE U.S. HAS APPROVED OR DECLINED TO APPROVE THE OFFER OR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, PASSED UPON THE FAIRNESS OR MERITS OF THE OFFER OR PROVIDED AN OPINION AS TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT OR ANY OFFER DOCUMENT. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE IN THE UNITED STATES.

    1 Executive Order no. 636 of 15 May 2020

    Attachments

    • Announcement of extension of the Offer Period 2 April 2025
    • Supplement to the Offer Document 2 April 2025

    The MIL Network –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Scientists from Novosibirsk State University presented new type of training devices for forensic experts

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    The II International Scientific and Analytical Forum “Digital Law” was held at the “Boiling Point – Novosibirsk” of Academpark. The event was organized by Novosibirsk State University (Institute of Philosophy and Law), Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Law School of Heilongjiang University (PRC).

    — We hold many joint events with the Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, but today, thanks to cooperation with Heilongjiang University, we are already reaching the international level of discussing the problems of legal regulation in the field of information technology. The Forum program includes many reports on various aspects of digital law. And all this suggests that its topic is becoming more and more relevant every year, the emergence of new technologies entails the emergence of new tasks and conflicts that need to be resolved with the help of legal mechanisms, — noted Vladimir Diev, Director of the Institute of Philosophy and Law of NSU, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, in his speech.

    The forum program opened with a report by Doctor of Law, Professor of the Department of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Forensic Science at NSU Roman Borovskikh, dedicated to the university’s developments in the field of new technologies for training future forensic scientists.

    — Forensic science is an applied science, it requires honing certain skills, which is best done at a testing ground. But it is not always possible to create a full-scale, physical testing ground, and here its virtual version comes to the rescue. Simulators are used in many areas of training specialists — in cosmonautics, medicine, and others. We have applied this approach in jurisprudence, — he said.

    Modeling of training scenarios on simulators is carried out in several directions. First of all, lines of models are built on the investigation of different types of crimes: violent against the person (murder, rape, etc.), property (various thefts), economic, official, etc. Within each such line there is a gradation depending on a specific situation in which the investigation takes place – place, time, situation, etc.

    — Our simulators are based on the idea of a computer game, a quest, but at the same time they incorporate the entire arsenal of forensic tools for investigation, evidence collection, verification of versions, and so on. That is, they allow you to simulate the situation of investigating certain types of crimes in a game form. And the first lessons on them have already aroused great interest not only among students, but also among our fellow practitioners and scientists, — emphasized Roman Borovskikh.

    In addition to NSU students, participants of the first international student festival of cybercriminology were able to work on cyber simulators CRIMELABE Fest-2024, organized by the university last fall. The event was a success, and Roman Borovskikh invited all the forum participants to take part in the next festival, which will take place approximately in September 2025.

    It can be expected that by that time the list of situations simulated on virtual training grounds will expand even more – simulator developers are constantly improving their product.

    — Not long ago, we formed a working group, which included university employees as theorists and employees of the Investigative Committee as practitioners. The goal is to improve this educational technology. In particular, we added to the range of simulated situations the investigation of an airliner crash, sabotage at infrastructure facilities. And we continue this work. I think we will be able to show a lot of interesting things at the next festival, — Roman Borovskikh summed up.

    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 –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Update in investigation into deaths in Roseneath

    Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

    Police can confirm that the deaths of two people at a residential property on Palliser Road, Roseneath are being treated as a murder-suicide.

    Police are providing support to the family at the centre of this tragic event. The family have requested privacy as they grieve their loss.

    We continue to appeal to anyone who may have information that can help our enquiries, and anyone with residential CCTV that captures traffic movements in the Roseneath area, particularly on Palliser Road and surrounding streets, to contact Police.

    Please update us online now or call 105, and reference the file number 250401/2474 or “Operation Palliser”.

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Haffner Energy successfully achieves €7M Capital Increase through ABSA issuance with preferential subscription rights (PSR)

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Haffner Energy successfully achieves €7M Capital Increase through ABSA issuance with preferential subscription rights (PSR)

    Vitry-le-François, France – April 2, 2025, 08:00 am (CET) – Haffner Energy (ISIN: FR0014007ND6 – Ticker: ALHAF) (the “Company“) announces the success of its €6,995,496M cash Capital Increase with preferential subscription rights (the “PSR“) through the issuance of 17,488,744 New Shares with share subscription warrants (the “ABSA” or “Warrants”) (the “Capital Increase“). The free float share is extended to 24.75% of the capital. 

    Philippe Haffner, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Haffner Energy, said:

    “Thanks to the renewed support of many of our long-standing shareholders, whom we thank, and the arrival of new investors, this Operation reached our 7-million-euro target. This reflects the confirmed confidence in our value proposition and in the evolution in our positioning: well beyond hydrogen, our presence in four markets enables us not only to significantly broaden our addressable market and better diversify risks, but also to position ourselves on more immediate opportunities.

    This Capital Increase gives us a financing horizon of 12 months, sufficient to cover the ramp-up phase, irrespective of revenues from expected orders. This gives us the resources we need to roll out our roadmap and accelerate our development in our strategic markets, in particular by activating the full potential of our Marolles site.

    The transaction will also enable us to double the proportion of free float in the capital, while limiting the dilutive impact for shareholders who have not subscribed (28% to date).

    The Warrants (BSA) allocated on the occasion of the Capital Increase, exercisable from April 3, 2026, for a period of six months, are likely to generate up to 7 million euros in additional resources for Haffner Energy from April 2026. We are confident that the Company’s momentum will make the exercise of these warrants very attractive.

    We are convinced that the major differentiating factors we bring to the table, combined with our technological maturity, place us on a path of sustainable growth. With a sales pipeline of 1.55 billion euros, which translates into a weighted sale pipeline of 388 million euros, our objectives are to reach breakeven EBITDA by March 31, 2026. We also aim to position Haffner Energy as a leader in the global energy transition in its market segments, thanks to our unique expertise in creating value from biomass.”

    Results of the Capital Increase with PSR

    At the end of the subscription period ending March 28, 2025, the irreducible demand amounted to 10,253,133 shares, i.e. 58.63% of the ABSA to be issued; the reducible demand, served entirely, represented 4,657,094 ABSA, i.e. 26.63% of the ABSA to be issued. Finally, subscriptions on an unrestricted basis, served in full, amounted to 353,463 ABSA, i.e. 2.02% of the ABSA to be issued.

    As a result, and as specified in the press release announcing the launch of the Capital Increase, the institutional investors who had given a guarantee were partially called for a total number of shares corresponding to 2,225,054 ABSA, i.e. 12.72% of the ABSA to be issued, representing a total subscription amount of €890,020. Investors who had given a guarantee commitment were served up to 83.18%.

    The gross amount of the Capital Increase thus recorded by the Board of Directors at its April 1,  2025 meeting amounts to €6,995,496, including €699,549.60 in nominal value and €6,295,946.40 in issue premium, and results in the issuance of 17,488,744 ABSA, at a subscription price of €0.40 per share, including €0.10 in nominal value and €0.30 in issue premium.

    In addition, a total number of 17,488,744 Warrants (BSA) were issued, allowing the Company to raise, in the event of the exercise of all the Warrants, an additional amount of €6,995,498 between 04/04/2026 and 10/04/2026. The characteristics of the BSA are recalled below.

    The ABSA were issued in the context of the 7th resolution adopted at the Combined Shareholders’ Meeting of September 12, 2024, in accordance with the delegation of authority granted by the Company’s shareholders to proceed with a Capital Increase.

    Use of the funds

    This fundraising will allow the Company to finance its activities until the end of March 2026, excluding the effect of potential contract signatures expected during this period. This cash horizon also takes into account the cost reductions undertaken by the Company, which significantly cap the average monthly cash burn, excluding revenues and non-recurring expenses, under €600k to date (compared to €1M as indicated in the half-year results press release published on December 17, 2024).

    The cash runway also includes the receipt of innovation aid in the form of a loan (Innovation – Research and Development Loan) in the amount of €500k granted by Bpifrance (and received at the beginning of March 2025), relating to the project for a hydrogen production, testing and training center in Marolles, bringing the total public funding obtained for this project to €1.5M (cf. press release and November 22, 2024 media kit).

    Retention and Withholding Commitments

    In the context of the Capital Increase, HAFFNER PARTICIPATION and EUREFI, long-standing shareholders of the Company, holding directly and jointly 52.73% of the share capital and 59.69% of the voting rights before the Capital Increase, have entered into a 180-day lock-up commitment covering all the shares they hold prior to the Capital Increase, subject to the usual exceptions.

    Haffner Energy has committed not to issue new shares after the Capital Increase for 180 days, except for customary exceptions.

    BSA (« Warrants ») characteristics

    • Number of Warrants issued: 17,488,744 (i.e. one (1) Warrant per ABSA)
    • Exercise parity: 3 Warrants will allow the subscription to one (1) New Share, subject to legal adjustments
    • Subscription price of the New Shares upon exercise of the Warrants: €1.20
    • Listing of the Warrants: Yes (ISIN code FR001400Y4X9)
    • Maturity: 18 months from the date of issuance of the ABSA
    • Exercise period: from 04/04/2026 to 04/10/2026 inclusive

    Exercising all 17,488,744 warrants would ultimately represent a potential capital increase of €6,995,498 gross.

    Impact of the issue on shareholders’ position and voting rights

    Following the issuance of the ABSA, the Company’s share capital will consist of 62,182,201 shares with a nominal value of €0.1 each. It will be distributed as follows:

      Before Capital Increase After Capital Increase
      Number of Shares Capital % Voting Rights Exercisable Voting Rights % Number of Shares Capital % Voting Rights Exercisable Voting Rights %
    Haffner Participation 17 824 000 39,88% 35 648 000 45,15% 20 199 000 32,48% 38 023 000 39,42%
    Eurefi 5 741 600 12,85% 11 483 200 14,54% 8 311 600 13,37% 14 053 200 14,57%
    Concert sub-total 23 565 600 52,73% 47 131 200 59,69% 28 510 600 45,85% 52 076 200 53,99%
    Vicat 1 175 000 2,63% 1 175 000 1,49% 3 675 000 5,91% 3 675 000 3,81%
    Eren Industries 1 000 000 2,24% 2 000 000 2,53% 1 391 302 2,24% 2 391 302 2,48%
    Kouros 11 826 112 26,46% 21 920 542 27,76% 11 826 112 19,02% 21 920 542 22,73%
    HRS 1 000 000 2,24% 1 000 000 1,27% 1 000 000 1,61% 1 000 000 1,04%
    Free float 5 736 238 12,83% 5 736 238 7,26% 15 388 680 24,75% 15 388 680 15,95%
    Self-holding 390 507 0,87% – 0,00% 390 507 0,63% – 0,00%
    Total 44 693 457 100% 78 962 980 100% 62 182 201 100% 96 451 724 100%
      After Capital Increase After Warrants exercise
      Number of Shares Capital % Voting Rights Exercisable Voting Rights % Number of Shares Capital % Voting Rights Exercisable Voting Rights %
    Haffner Participation 20 199 000 32,48% 38 023 000 39,42% 20 990 666 30,86% 38 814 666 37,95%
    Eurefi 8 311 600 13,37% 14 053 200 14,57% 9 168 266 13,48% 14 909 866 14,58%
    Concert sub-total 28 510 600 45,85% 52 076 200 53,99% 30 158 932 44,34% 53 724 532 52,53%
    Vicat 3 675 000 5,91% 3 675 000 3,81% 4 508 333 6,63% 4 508 333 4,41%
    Eren Industries 1 391 302 2,24% 2 391 302 2,48% 1 521 736 2,24% 2 521 736 2,47%
    Kouros 11 826 112 19,02% 21 920 542 22,73% 11 826 112 17,39% 21 920 542 21,43%
    HRS 1 000 000 1,61% 1 000 000 1,04% 1 000 000 1,47% 1 000 000 0,98%
    Free float 15 388 680 24,75% 15 388 680 15,95% 18 606 160 27,36% 18 606 160 18,19%
    Self-holding 390 507 0,63% – 0,00% 390 507 0,57% – 0,00%
    Total 62 182 201 100% 96 451 724 100% 68 011 780 100% 102 281 303 100%

    The dilutive impact of the Capital Increase, as indicated in the press release, is shown below: 

    Shareholder’s Participation (%)
    Before ABSA issuance 1%
    After issuance of 17,488,744 ABSA through the Capital Increase 0.72%
    After issue of 17,488,744 ABSA through the Capital Increase and exercise of the 17,488,744 Warrants (5,829,581 Shares created) 0.66%

    Global Coordinator and Bookrunner

    Gilbert Dupont, Groupe Societé Générale, is acting as sole Global Coordinator and Bookrunner in connection with the Capital Increase (the ” Sole Global Coordinator and Bookrunner “).

    About Haffner Energy

    Haffner Energy is a French company providing solutions for the production of competitive clean fuels. With 32 years of experience converting biomass into renewable energies, it has developed innovative proprietary biomass thermolysis and gasification technologies to produce renewable gas, hydrogen and methanol, as well as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The company also contributes to regenerating the planet, through the co-production of biogenic CO2 and biocarbon (or char/biochar). Haffner Energy is listed on Euronext Growth. (ISIN code: FR0014007ND6 – Ticker: ALHAF).

    Investor relations

    investisseurs@haffner-energy.com

    Media relations

    Attachment

    • 2025 04 02_PR Haffner Energy_Capital Increase Results

    The MIL Network –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: WATCH: Padilla Joins Booker’s Marathon Floor Block to Condemn Trump Administration’s Attacks on the Environment, California’s Climate Action

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)

    WATCH: Padilla Joins Booker’s Marathon Floor Block to Condemn Trump Administration’s Attacks on the Environment, California’s Climate Action

    WATCH: Padilla slams Trump Administration for gutting climate progressWASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) in holding the Senate floor to stand up to President Trump’s relentless attacks on the environment and attempts to roll back decades of California’s climate action. Booker broke the record for time holding the Senate floor to give voice to the millions of Americans being harmed and ignored by the Trump Administration. Padilla praised Booker for his passion and empathy while speaking on the floor to highlight the consequences of the President’s reckless actions for public health, disaster aid, and the climate crisis.
    “Senator Booker has every right to be angry because of what’s going on. I know I’m angry with so much of what’s going on, and the American people have every right to be angry with what’s going on because none of what we’re seeing come out of the Trump White House is normal. But every day, this approach of ‘flooding the zone’ with more and more extreme actions runs the risk of making people grow numb to these attacks. And we certainly can’t surrender to the feeling of just being overwhelmed by their tactics.”
    Padilla underscored the devastating impacts of climate inaction and pollution on California, emphasizing the catastrophic toll of the Los Angeles County fires and his own personal experience with toxic school bus emissions. Last month, Padilla and Booker joined federal officials for a tour and briefing on cleanup and recovery efforts in the aftermath of the devastating Eaton Fire in Altadena.
    “Growing up, I can tell you not just about the smell of diesel exhaust, which I’ll never forget, sitting on a school bus going to and from school. Or the regular days where school would be shut down early, we’d all be sent home because of the smog, toxic smog, in the air in the Greater Southern California area. These were concrete reminders of the real threat that emissions pose to our health.”
    “California also knows the dangers posed by extreme weather. We know the droughts, we know the floods, and yes, all too often, we’ve come to know wildfires — devastating wildfires, like the ones we experienced in Los Angeles County at the beginning of this year.”
    As Senator Padilla highlighted, California has long been at the forefront of fighting against pollution and climate impacts, from creating the first tailpipe emissions standards for passenger vehicles in 1966, to setting ambitious conservation goals, to establishing the first Earth Day. He criticized the Trump Administration’s attacks on California and the nation’s environmental progress, including the reversal of the endangerment finding, funding freezes of Congressionally appropriated project funds, and the roll backs of 31 critical environmental rules. He also slammed the Trump Administration for politicizing disaster aid, proposing to eliminate FEMA, implementing federal freezes on hazardous fuel removal and the hiring of seasonal firefighters, and illogically and irresponsibly opening up dams and flooding the Central Valley, claiming to “turn on the water” to fight the Los Angeles fires after they had already been contained.
    “Earlier this month, the EPA, Trump’s EPA, announced that they would be rolling back more than 30 environmental rules. By doing so, they’re not just going to make Americans less healthy; they’re also going to hurt our economy, and it’s going to clear the way for China to become the world leader in green technology. So much for America First if they continue down that road.”
    “They’re not just refusing to act or to help — they’re making matters worse for states like California and many others.”
    Padilla concluded by stressing the importance of fighting against Trump’s anti-environment agenda, asking Senator Booker how young Americans can make their voices heard.
    “So that’s what this fight is about. Our fight for the environment is about America’s health and safety. It’s about American jobs and it’s about America’s future.”
    “For the next generation of Americans, for the young people who are tuning in and wondering, well what is it that I can do? Do I have a voice? Do I have any power? What would you say to them? How can they take action?”
    Video of Senator Padilla’s remarks is available here.
    Footage of his speech can be downloaded here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council looks to buy land for new food waste service

    Source: City of Derby

    Space for a new weekly food waste collection service will be created if plans to buy land are approved at Council Cabinet on Wednesday 9 April. 

    The current depot at Stores Road is already operating at capacity so more space is needed for the new service. A 7.5-acre brownfield site (the same size as 5 football pitches) has been identified on Stores Road. The new site will be home to a Highways Hub, creating space in the Council’s existing depot for the new food waste service. Funding for the purchase of the site will come from the Stores Road Depot Scheme, part of the current Capital Programme. 

    Under ’Simpler Recycling’ regulations, the Council has to implement separate, weekly food waste collections to residents in April 2026. As the Council currently provides fortnightly food waste collections mixed with garden waste, £1.6m of capital funding has been provided by Defra to enable the purchase of 14 new collection vehicles, food waste caddies and hiring new colleagues to collect the waste. 

    Defra announced an additional £0.5m in revenue funding for Derby in March 2025 to support delivery of the service including communicating to residents about the new service and delivery of caddies.

    Weekly food waste collections mean residents won’t have to use their black or brown bins for their food waste and will only need to present a small collection caddy. Households will receive a kitchen caddy and a collection caddy. Residents using their brown bins to recycle food waste need to ensure they don’t place food waste in the brown bin from April 2026. 

    Ahead of the service launching, the Council will be sharing messages with residents about their food waste collection day, how to present their caddies and what can be placed in them as well as how to reduce food waste. Any food waste collected in caddies will be sent for recycling, contributing positively to Derby’s recycling rate and reducing the cost of disposal of general waste. 

    Councillor Ndukwe Onuoha, Cabinet Member for Streetpride, Public Safety and Leisure commented: 

    “We know that food waste makes up a big chunk of the waste in some black bins in the city and costs a significant amount to dispose of. Introducing weekly food waste collections brings a lot of benefits to residents including helping them reduce food waste which saves money but ensuring food waste in the city is recycled is also far better for the environment. 

    “We’re undertaking the groundwork now to help make Derby a cleaner, greener city in the future.” 

    The next Cabinet meeting takes place on Wednesday 9 April and can be watched on the Derby City Council YouTube channel. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Moskino Cinema Park to Host Student Filming Days

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    On the weekend of April 5 and 6, the Moskino cinema park will become a creative territory for young filmmakers and anyone who wants to get to know the world of cinema better.

    Make your own film and meet experienced filmmakers

    Camera operators, directors and producers will be able to film their course and diploma theses for free on location at the Moscow Cathedral Square cinema park, Prince Andrey’s Chambers, the area near the Tu-154 aircraft and the natural chromakey, as well as in the Moscow of the 1940s set. For filming you need register.

    On April 5, from 15:00 to 16:00, the educational center will host a lecture by Irina Glebova, Dean of the Production Department of the Institute of Cinema and Television (GITR). The winner of numerous awards will talk to the audience about detective films and the principles of creating such films. On April 6, from 15:00 to 16:00, producer Pavel Kirillov will talk to the audience about the creative aspects of producing films and television, and will also answer questions.

    From 17:00 to 18:00, the Gonzaga Theatre will host a creative evening with theatre and film actor and stage fencing teacher Sergei Chudakov, who will talk about the acting profession, participation in projects, and show fencing tricks.

    On the second floor of the educational center on April 5 and 6 at 13:00 and 15:30, two master classes are planned: on makeup (it will be conducted by Svetlana Shevtsova) and on creating hairstyles (Irina Konovalova will teach). During the classes, you can learn how makeup is applied to professional actresses and how original images of heroines are created through styling. Participation is included in the cost of an entrance ticket to the cinema park. You can buy it by link.

    Remember your childhood or feel like a student

    This weekend, the baroque Gonzaga Theatre will host the play When I’m Little Again, performed by the Little Family Theatre. On April 5, viewers will be able to see the production at 1:30 PM and 3:30 PM, and on April 6, at 2:30 PM and 4:30 PM. Visitors will be treated to a story about childhood memories, filled with joy, carefree pranks, and bright dreams.

    Fans of tasks on logic, speed and attention will be able to take part in the quest “Time for a retake”. They will have to remember the school curriculum and answer a number of questions, imagining themselves as a student at an exam. This quest will appeal not only to schoolchildren and students, but also to those who have long since graduated. In addition, children and teenagers will be interested in the games “Record Book”, “Retake” and others. In the relay race “Record Book” participants will need to balance on one leg and juggle balls, and in the game “Retake” you will need to unite into a team to confuse the teacher and prevent him from taking the cheat sheet. Guests of the cinema park will also find many other similar games.

    On both days at 12:00 and 15:35, master classes on creating postcards from colored soap will be held in the central square, at 13:10 and 16:45 — paintings on cardboard using texture paste, and at 14:20 and 17:55, participants will mold magical characters from airy plasticine. Attendance at the events is included in the price of the entrance ticket to the cinema park.

    Join the production and see the long-awaited premieres

    On the locations of “Berlin Streets” and “Moscow in the 1940s”, staged filming based on the Soviet films “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson” and “Operation Y and Shurik’s Other Adventures” will once again take place, and everyone is invited to join in. You can play in one of the scenes from the film in a movie costume and with props, as well as receive photos and a video as a souvenir, throughout the weekend. Participation is included in the price of the entrance ticket to the cinema park.

    On April 5 and 6, the Moskino Kinopark cinema invites you to screen the most anticipated Russian films of this spring. The program includes the comedy Batya 2. Ded, a continuation of the beloved story about family, growing up and nostalgia for childhood. In the film Palma-2, viewers will experience exciting adventures. This is a story about a boy, his faithful shepherd and a bear cub who have to go through the dangers of the forest. Young dreamers will be delighted with The Frog Princess, a kind and funny fairy tale about how miracles happen if you believe in them. Fans of historical films will enjoy the drama The Prophet. The History of Alexander Pushkin, a new look at the life of the great poet. Tickets are already on sale on the website.

    You can get to the Moskino cinema park not only by your own car, but also by free transport. Buses run every 25 minutes on routes M1 and M2 from the Salaryevo and Teply Stan metro stations. You can find out more about the route and see the schedule on the cinema park’s website in the section “How to get there”.

    The Moskino cinema park is part of Sergei Sobyanin’s “Moscow – City of Cinema” project and an object of the Moscow cinema cluster, which is being developed by the capital Department of Culture. The first stage has already been completed here: 24 natural sites, four pavilions and six infrastructure facilities have been equipped, including the sets “Center of Moscow”, “Moscow in the 1940s”, “Vitebsk Station”, “Yurovo Airport”, “Cathedral Square of Moscow”, “Deaf Village”, “Partisan Village”, “County Town”, “Cowboy Town”, “St. Petersburg Bar” and others.

    The Moscow Film Cluster is an infrastructure facility, services and facilities for filmmakers, which are being developed by the Moscow Government within the framework of the Moscow — City of Cinema project. Its structure includes the Moskino film park, the Gorky Film Studio (sites on Sergei Eisenstein Street and Valdaisky Proyezd), the Moskino film factory, the Moskino cinema chain, the film commission and the Moskino film platform.

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    https: //vv.mos.ru/nevs/ite/152080073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: A landscaped space will appear in the north-east of the capital under the KRT program

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    In the Lianozovo district, two sites will be reorganized under the integrated development of territories (IDT) program. The corresponding draft resolution posted on the Moscow Government website. This was reported by the Minister of the Moscow Government, Head of the Department of City Property Maxim Gaman.

    “Two plots of 0.05 hectares in the north-east of the capital at the address: Cherepovetskaya Street, Buildings 12a and 14a are part of one KRT project. Currently, there are outdated retail facilities here that are of no use to the city and its residents. As a result of the redevelopment, the territory will be transformed into a comfortable, well-appointed public space with green spaces and small architectural forms. The site is located near residential development, not far from the Altufyevo metro station,” commented Maxim Gaman.

    This is already the 10th redevelopment project in the North-Eastern District of the capital, prepared under the program of integrated development of territories. In total, more than 113 hectares are planned to be reorganized under these projects.

    As part of the integrated territorial development program, multifunctional urban quarters are being created, where roads, comfortable housing and all the necessary infrastructure are being designed on the site of former industrial zones and inefficiently used areas. Currently, 302 KRT projects with a total area of about 4.2 thousand hectares are at various stages of implementation in Moscow. This work is being carried out on behalf of Sergei Sobyanin.

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    https: //vv.mos.ru/nevs/ite/152077073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Heroes’ Stories: Capital Youth Prepares Photo Exhibition for 80th Anniversary of Victory

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    The photo exhibition “Great-grandchildren of Victory” opened in the Krasnaya Presnya Park, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. The heads of patriotic clubs of Moscow universities, organizations whose activities are aimed at perpetuating memory, as well as cadets, activists of youth communities and participants of the special military operation (SVO) shared stories about the exploits of their ancestors. Everyone can see the exhibition until April 30 inclusive on the main alley near the ponds.

    “The photo exhibition “Great-grandchildren of Victory” reminds us not only of the heroism of those who fought for freedom and peace, but also of the importance of preserving their memory for future generations. The youth of Moscow carefully preserves the memory of their heroes, passing on their stories so that courage, fortitude and love for the Motherland remain our common heritage,” said

    Ekaterina Dragunova, Chairman of the City Committee for Public Relations and Youth Policy.

    Each image on the stands reminds us that the history of Russia is not just facts and dates, but personal stories that are of great importance. The idea of creating a photo exhibition was suggested by activists of the project “City of Heroes Moscow”. The pictures show the exploits of those who took part in the Great Patriotic War and worked in the rear. They courageously and bravely defended Moscow, saved wounded soldiers, helped dig trenches to protect the approaches to the capital. Representatives of the younger generation, who provided photo materials for the exhibition, share such stories of their relatives.

    Participants of the SVO also joined in organizing the exhibition. For example, one of the fighters told about his grandmother, who was an outstanding sniper during the Great Patriotic War. Her grandson decided to follow in her footsteps – he is also a sniper and serves in the SVO zone.

    “This exhibition is another opportunity to say thank you to our ancestors for the peaceful sky above our heads. It shows how important it is to preserve the memory of your family, because the history of our state consists of the stories of many individuals who stood up to defend the country. It is in families, in the stories of our grandparents, great-grandparents – veterans of the Great Patriotic War – that the chronicle of Victory is kept,” said Yegor Stativka, head of the patriotic project “City of Heroes Moscow”.

    Photo exhibition organizer – project “Youth of Moscow” urban Committee on Public Relations and Youth Policy. More information about opportunities for young city dwellers can be found on the portal “Youth of Moscow” and on the project pages in social networks.

    Events in honor of the 80th anniversary of Victory will be held throughout Moscow — Sergei SobyaninSchoolchildren and college students began studying documents of pilots and aeronauts in the Main Archives of Moscow

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    https: //vv.mos.ru/nevs/ite/152079073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Sobyanin: Hospital No. 31 has become one of the flagships of the capital’s medicine in 55 years

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    City Clinical Hospital (CCH) No. 31 named after Academician G. M. Savelyeva celebrates its 55th anniversary. Over more than half a century of work, the institution has become one of the flagships of the capital’s medicine. Sergei Sobyanin spoke about this in his telegram channel.

    “The largest traumatology complex operates here, as well as departments of cardiovascular surgery, urology, and gynecology,

    modern perinatal center and a women’s health center and other departments. Emergency and planned care is provided according to the most modern standards,” the Mayor of Moscow wrote.

    Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @Mos_Sobyanin

    Every year, about 70 thousand patients undergo treatment at City Clinical Hospital No. 31. More than 40 thousand operations are performed here, including those using robotic technologies, and over six thousand births are performed. In addition, the hospital serves as a clinical base for departments of leading medical universities in Russia.

    In 2023, City Clinical Hospital No. 31 was named after Galina Mikhailovna Savelyeva, an outstanding physician, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation. This year, the staff of City Clinical Hospital No. 31 was awarded the Pirogov Order — for the first time among Moscow hospitals.

    “I congratulate the employees on their anniversary and well-deserved award. Thank you for your work and care for the health of Muscovites!” added Sergei Sobyanin.

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    HTTPS: //vv.mos.ru/mayor/tkhemes/12566050/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Artist Louise Skačej to honour Canberra’s ‘Soup Kitchen Lady’ with a public artwork

    Source: Australian National Party

    As part of ACT Government’s ‘One Government, One Voice’ program, we are transitioning this website across to our . You can access everything you need through this website while it’s happening.

    Released 02/04/2025

    The ACT Government has commissioned artist Louise Skačej to create a public artwork honouring Stasia Dabrowski OAM, Canberra’s ‘Soup Kitchen Lady,’ in recognition of her decades of selfless service to the community’s most vulnerable. This commission is part of an ongoing initiative to celebrate the legacy of significant Canberra women through the public art collection.

    Louise Skačej will collaborate with a strong team including partner and studio manager and technician Dean Colls, mentor Peter Corlett OAM, who has several works across Canberra, as well as two young and talented creatives, studio assistants, Isabeau Colls and Mads Hillam.

    Louise’s work may be familiar to Canberrans. A thought-provoking artwork displayed at the Australian War Memorial, the Battle of Kapyong Diorama, was created in collaboration with Dean Colls.

    Through the lens of her immigrant background, Louise’s art often explores themes of culture, heritage, and memory.

    The sculpture of Stasia Dabrowski will be installed in Garema Place in early 2026, close to the location of the original soup kitchen, creating a permanent tribute to her extraordinary life and work.

    Stasia Dabrowski (1926-2020), a Polish immigrant, became an iconic figure in the Canberra community through her dedication to helping those in need. From 1982, she ran a mobile soup kitchen from a corner of Garema Place, providing hot meals, bread, drinks, and most importantly compassion to the those in need every Friday night.

    Stasia funded the initiative by babysitting at night and cleaning houses during the day, using her earnings to purchase the ingredients. By 2005, she was feeding up to 500 people each week, with the help of her grandson Josh Kenworthy. Josh remembers Stasia as a humble and private person who never sought out the spotlight. She simply wanted to lend a hand.

    Despite receiving numerous awards in acknowledgement of her work and kindness, Stasia remained modest. “I never keep photos because I am not proud… the soup kitchen is a simple thing, just people cooking veggies, nothing special,” she once said. Stasia continued her work till the age of 92 and passing away two years later in 2020.

    Minister for Business the Arts and Creative Industries, Michael Pettersson is committed to continuing the ACT Government’s public art program that puts the focus on significant Canberra women.

    “Congratulations to the talented Louise Skačej, who has been selected to create a sculpture honouring this iconic Canberran,” said Minister Pettersson.

    “For decades Stasia Dabrowksi made an enormous contribution caring for thousands of Canberra’s most vulnerable. Her kindness and compassion left a lasting mark on our community. This tribute will ensure her legacy lives on.

    “I look forward to the unveiling of Louise’s artwork in Garema Place next year. It will offer Canberrans the chance to stop, reflect and admire the life of a woman who made a profound difference in the lives of so many.”

    More information on the public art commissioning process is available from artsACT on 02 6207 2384 or on the website at www.arts.act.gov.au/public-art.

    Quote attributable to artist Louise Skačej:

    “I’m honoured and grateful for the opportunity to create a sculpture of Stasia Dabrowski. Her simple but profound act of sharing love and compassion, shows us that love isn’t just a word – it’s something we do.

    “I hope this sculpture will inspire others to take action and bring light to those in need, just like Stasia did for so many.”

    – Statement ends –

    Michael Pettersson, MLA | Media Releases

    «ACT Government Media Releases | «Minister Media Releases

    MIL OSI News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: BW Energy: granted extension to the Golfinho licence production phase to 2042 by ANP  

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BW Energy granted extension to the Golfinho licence production phase to 2042 by ANP  

    BW Energy is pleased to announce the extension of the Golfinho licence by Brazilian oil and gas regulator ANP. The production phase under the Golfinho concession contract has been extended to 2042 from previously 2031, following ANP’s approval of the Company’s field development plan in November 2024.   

    “The extension supports our long-term plans for developing the Golfinho field, initially through improved operational performance of existing infrastructure and later targeting several proven low risk in-field development opportunities. We see a significant potential for long-term value creation at Golfinho” said Carl K. Arnet, the CEO of BW Energy. 

    BW Energy is the operator with 100% working interest in the Golfinho licence following the August 2023 acquisition of the Golfinho and Camarupim Clusters. It is located in the Espírito Santo Basin with water depths between 1,300 and 2,200 metres. Hydrocarbons are produced to the FPSO Cidade de Vitória, which BW Energy acquired and has operated since November 2023. The field has been producing since 2007.  

    For further information, please contact:

    Brice Morlot, CFO BW Energy, +33.7.81.11.41.16 

    ir@bwenergy.com  

    About BW Energy:  

    BW Energy is a growth E&P company with a differentiated strategy targeting proven offshore oil and gas reservoirs through low risk phased developments. The Company has access to existing production facilities to reduce time to first oil and cashflow with lower investments than traditional offshore developments. The Company’s assets are 73.5% of the producing Dussafu Marine licence offshore Gabon, 100% interest in the Golfinho and Camarupim fields, a 76.5% interest in the BM-ES-23 block, a 95% interest in the Maromba field in Brazil, a 95% interest in the Kudu field in Namibia, all operated by BW Energy. In addition, BW Energy holds approximately 6.6% of the common shares in Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. and a 20% non-operating interest in the onshore Petroleum Exploration License 73 (“PEL 73”) in Namibia. Total net 2P+2C reserves and resources were 599 million barrels of oil equivalent at the start of 2025. 

    This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

    The MIL Network –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: From projects to expeditions: what children do in environmental clubs

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    Distinguishing animals by their tracks, determining the quality of water in reservoirs and finding their way around the area are all things that students of environmental clubs open in the capital’s schools and institutions of additional education can do. Children participate in campaigns, go on hikes and expeditions, conduct research and implement projects. We tell you about the activities that help schoolchildren become real defenders of nature.

    Moscow Palace of Pioneers: from expeditions to Kamchatka to space exploration

    You can study the laws of nature and get acquainted with natural sciences at the environmental education center inMoscow Palace of Pioneers on Sparrow Hills (Kosygina Street, Building 17, Buildings 4, 5). There are classes for children from five to 18 years old.

    “We introduce children to natural sciences. The center has more than 100 clubs in a variety of areas – from botany and zoology to medicine and organic chemistry. Among them, there is a unique one – a biogeography club, which helps children understand the relationship between biology and geography. Schoolchildren are told about the features of the climate, types of soil and plants. Our goal is to instill in children a love for nature and teach them to protect it. We show how important it is to take care of the environment, because it is a source of inspiration and knowledge,” says the head of the environmental education center, Alexey Bobrov.

    To make studying sciences more exciting, a botanical garden has been opened in the Palace of Pioneers. Classes are held there for young biologists of the environmental education center. The botanical garden has a rich collection – more than five thousand species of plants from all over the world. Future zoologists can also get in touch with nature. A zoological museum has been created for them in the Palace of Pioneers, which contains four thousand exhibits. There is also a special living corner. It is home to basilisk lizards that look like small dragons, giant New Guinea grasshoppers, macaws, guinea pigs, chinchillas, meerkats and other animals.

    From a young age, children in the environmental education center’s clubs develop projects and even participate in research by the state corporation Roscosmos. Children plan biological experiments that cosmonauts then conduct in flight. For example, for one of the studies, a container with duckweed leaves was sent into orbit. Together with the cosmonauts, the children tracked how the plant develops in zero gravity.

    In the spring, students from different clubs at the center form teams and go to the Moscow region, where they have practical classes and conduct field research. The kids work in forests, meadows, rivers and swamps. Like real scientists, they take soil and water samples and then analyze them in a mobile laboratory. In addition, schoolchildren learn to identify species of animals, plants and mushrooms. Anyone can go on such an adventure starting in the third grade.

    “From the age of 14, young ecologists, together with teachers from our center, go on expeditions to regions of Russia or other countries. Such trips last up to six weeks. During them, the children take samples on assignment from Russian research institutes or study flora and fauna, collect minerals. Schoolchildren have already visited Karelia, Baikal, Chukotka, the North and South Caucasus, and even China. Last summer, the children were in Kamchatka, where they studied plants and marine life from the Red Book, watched birds, and even saw a brown bear,” says Alexey Bobrov.

    According to him, the knowledge and skills acquired in eco-clubs often help schoolchildren choose their future profession. Many of them enter the natural science departments of the country’s leading universities and build a career in science.

    Northern rivers, smoking volcanoes and mountain peaks: what hikes Moscow schoolchildren and students have been onWinter Garden, Ship Laboratory and Robot Workshop: How the Palace of Pioneers on Vorobyovy Gory Is Organized

    Palace of Children and Youth Creativity “Na Stopani”: from preschoolers to future scientists

    The environmental center also offers great opportunities for young biologists. Palace of Children and Youth Creativity “Na Stopani” (Ogorodnaya Sloboda lane, building 6, building 1). Popular areas include the sections “Young connoisseurs of nature”, “Zoological research” and “Our pets”, where children study animals and the conditions in which they are kept, if they are domestic, or ways to preserve them as a species, if they live, for example, in forests, steppes or swamps.

    “Each program is designed for two to three years. If the child wants to develop further, he can choose any other section. We have sections for children of different ages – from preschoolers to graduates. We strive to teach children to take care of nature,” says Andrey Rodionov, a teacher of additional education, head of the environmental center of the Palace of Children’s and Youth Creativity “Na Stopani”.

    Classes for the youngest children (from age five) are held in a playful manner. Together with teachers, they go to parks, where they close their eyes and listen to the singing of birds or the rustling of leaves. Older children conduct laboratory research with microscopes, study the habits of animals and learn to care for them.

    In addition, the center’s students traditionally participate in the All-Russian environmental social and educational project “Ekolyata”. They plant trees and hold clean-up days, defend their work at competitions and forums. Recently, the children performed in the library of the Moscow Zoo with the program “Ekostinye Ekolyata: “Amazing is Nearby””, dedicated to the Red Book of Russia. Young ecologists presented projects to preserve rare animals of the country and endangered species of the planet. The ideas interested scientists – now they await further development.

    Thanks to the classes at the center, the children created a project of an invisible ecological shield — a system of ionizing nets, developed jointly with the participants of the physics club section “Robotics in Space”. Initially, the schoolchildren went to Lefortovo Park and examined local ponds, took water samples and analyzed its composition. The nets retain ions of heavy metals and other harmful impurities, preventing them from settling on water and plants.

    And the guys from the robotics section will work on creating automated systems for cleaning networks from pollution and maintaining their magnetization. This approach will help effectively protect the capital’s water bodies from pollution.

    Herbariums, microscopes and wild animals: what schoolchildren study in the Moscow Zoo’s young biologists’ clubAmur tiger, anteaters and potto: how the scientific department of the Moscow Zoo helps to preserve rare animals

    Palace of Children and Youth Creativity “Undiscovered Islands”: the world under the microscope

    Schoolchildren are invited to get to know nature betterPalace of Children and Youth Creativity “Undiscovered Islands”. Each branch holds classes for children aged five to 15. For example, in the “Island of Freedom” palace division (65 Svobody Street, Building 1), children conduct research, study plants and animals, and participate in environmental campaigns.

    “One of the most interesting areas is “The World Under the Microscope”, where children conduct natural science research. During lessons, they use microscopes with digital screens, binoculars, laboratory sets for experiments and interactive boards. In addition, the “Amazing Nearby” club is popular. At different times of the year, children go to natural areas, where they learn to identify the tracks of hares and squirrels or distinguish beaver teeth marks – gnawings – from broken branches. They also observe how nature changes with the onset of new seasons,” says Anna Lukyanchikova, an additional education teacher at the Palace of Children’s and Youth Creativity “Undiscovered Islands”.

    This year, the Undiscovered Islands Children and Youth Creativity Palace opened a club called “Birds: Amazing Ornithology.” Its participants try to observe birds and learn how their living conditions are affected by proximity to humans. There are groups for every age. Registration is open from September to May.

    “In addition, for interested children, we hold master classes where they can make crafts related to the topics of the classes. For example, if we study fauna, we make animal figurines. We also organize eco-quests. During them, children solve riddles, look for animal tracks and study nature in a playful way. In addition, we participate in clean-up days and feed birds. It is important to take care of what surrounds us and try to preserve it,” adds Anna Lukyanchikova.

    Moscow Children’s and Youth Center for Ecology, Local History and Tourism: Go on a Hiking Trip

    Environmental education helps not only to learn more about nature, but also to develop personal qualities, the director is sure Moscow Children and Youth Center for Ecology, Local History and Tourism (Odesskaya street, house 12a) Dmitry Morgun.

    “Nature is a book that a child needs to be taught to read. To do this, we develop thematic programs and invite zoologists, botanists, ecologists, geographers and other experts to classes. More than 7.5 thousand people study at our center. Clubs are open to children from 10 to 16 years old. Younger schoolchildren study nature, and older students offer solutions to environmental problems, go on hikes and expeditions across the regions of Russia. During trips, under the guidance of teachers, children learn to pitch tents, cook over a fire and navigate the terrain. This not only develops practical skills, but also helps them develop leadership qualities and learn to work in a team,” says Dmitry Morgun.

    Schoolchildren bring back rock samples, fossils and animal photographs from expeditions, which they then display at exhibitions in the center. Today, the exhibitions “Plant Diversity,” “Mammals of Russia,” and “Paleontological Finds in the Central Federal District” are open there.

    The center’s students can study the nature of Russia not only on long expeditions, but also in the natural areas of Moscow. This spring, the center opened a club called “Young Naturalist Path.” Classes are held in the Losiny Ostrov National Park. The children learn to assess the environmental situation, find solutions to improve the environment, study plants and observe animals. Employees of the Losiny Ostrov Ecocenter the capital’s Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection talk about the importance of preserving biodiversity.

    Closer to the summer holidays, a “Field Eco-School” will open for schoolchildren. Children will walk routes in parks every day, observe seasonal changes, and study flora and fauna.

    “Nature will always be the center of attention. Therefore, if a parent sees that a child is interested in ecology, it is necessary to support such interest. And the capital has all the opportunities for this,” says Dmitry Morgun.

    Enroll a child You can join an environmental club on the mos.ru portal in the “Education” section. The window that opens will show filters for selecting an institution and direction. You can also specify the most convenient area or the nearest metro station. It is recommended to enroll in clubs at the beginning of the school year, as the number of places is limited.

    From Art to Science. The Best Educational Programs for Children in MoscowRobots, biochemistry and composites for the Arctic: what innovative developments are being created by Moscow schoolchildrenFrom artistic fencing to eSports. What unusual sections do young Muscovites attend?

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    https: //vv.mos.ru/nevs/ite/152067073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: A participant in the Basmanny District fair regularly sends food to the front lines

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    Svetlana, a new participant of the interregional fair in the Basmanny district from Ryazan, collects parcels for participants of the special military operation (SVO) almost every week. The woman supports the fighters with everything she can – with her own goods and warm clothes, which are never superfluous on the front line. Together with her husband, she communicates with the servicemen, helps them with meaningful words.

    At the fair, Svetlana offers residents a variety of farm products. You can buy milk and dairy products from Ryazan: cheeses, yoghurts, butter, cream and sour cream, as well as baked goods. The woman says that high-quality farm products are in great demand among residents of the area. In the short time she has been working, she has already acquired regular customers.

    Participants of Moscow fairs actively help the soldiers on the front lines and residents of border territories. Thus, from the interregional fair in Otradnoye, northern products are regularly sent to the participants of the SVO: deer and wild boar meat, as well as Yakut fish. City residents can buy such farm products here. Before the New Year, the soldiers were sent a parcel with sweets and tangerines. And a participant of the fair from the Voronezh Region presented residents of the new regions with nuts and dried fruits.

    Moscow fairs and fish markets “Moscow – on the wave” provide a 10 percent discount to participants in the special military operation and their family members.

    At the capital’s fairs you can buy farm products from more than 40 regions of Russia. Each supplier guarantees the quality and freshness of the goods, and specialists Veterinary Committee Moscow check it immediately before sending it to the counter. All fairs are very conveniently located – near public transport stops, metro stations and other crowded places.

    More information about the activities of the capital’s Department of Trade and Services can be obtained from the official telegram channel.

    Participant of capital fairs helps fighters of SVO and residents of Belgorod region

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    https: //vv.mos.ru/nevs/ite/152003073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Subsidiary of EfTEN Real Estate Fund AS acquired a registered immovable for construction of the Nõmme Südamekodu elderly care home

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    On 31.03.2025, EfTEN Hiiu OÜ finalized the transaction by which the subsidiary of the fund acquired the property located at Hiiu 42, Tallinn from the Südamekodu AS.
    Previously (20.02.2025), the fund has notified the stock exchange of the conclusion of a contract of sale under the law of obligations. All the agreed preconditions for the transfer of ownership and the conclusion of a real right contract have as of now been met.
    The North Estonia Medical Centre will continue to use the part of the property under a valid lease agreement. For the remaining part, a long-term (10 + 10 years) lease agreement was signed with Hiiu Südamekodu OÜ, a subsidiary of Südamekodud AS. In cooperation with the lessee and Südamekodud AS, the building will be partially rebuilt into an elderly care home “Nõmme Südamekodu”, which will accommodate up to 170 Südamekodu clients in the future.

    Viljar Arakas
    Member of the Management Board
    Tel. 655 9515
    Email: viljar.arakas@eften.ee

    The MIL Network –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: New research lays bare the harsh realities facing artists and arts workers

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grace McQuilten, Associate professor, RMIT University

    Australia’s visual arts and craft workers are facing increasingly deteriorating conditions, according to research published today.

    Our four-year study reveals workers are abandoning the visual art sector, largely because of unstable employment, below-average salaries and a lack of support.

    We present findings from the largest academic surveys of artists and arts workers to-date – the first conducted in 2022 (more than 700 respondents) and the second in 2024 (almost 900 respondents) – with income and employment data from four financial years between 2018 and 2024.

    Alongside the surveys, we conducted interviews with 20 artists and arts workers to better understand hybrid career patterns – and consulted widely with industry.

    Comparable to the gig economy

    Artists and arts workers represent a financially vulnerable group in Australia’s workforce. Our research identified concerning patterns of work, including:

    • high levels of education that don’t match salaries, which are well below the average for professional workers

    • high levels of unpaid work, volunteer work and self-employment

    • a highly gendered (majority women) workforce, with a significant gender pay gap

    • barriers to opportunity and career progression for people with disability and from diverse cultural backgrounds.

    We also found artists and arts workers often don’t know which awards and agreements they’re covered by, if any.

    A gendered workforce

    According to our 2024 survey responses, more than 74% of the visual arts workforce identify as women.

    Despite this, there was a significant gender pay gap. On average, woman artists earned 47% less than men artists, while women arts workers earned 23% less than men arts workers.

    This is much higher than the broader gender pay gap of 11.5% in 2024 (based on base pay for full-time workers).

    The average income from visual art or craft practice in 2023–24 was A$13,937, with men artists reporting an average of $23,130, women artists $12,330, and non-binary artists $14,074.

    This is matched with slow progression through career stages from emerging to “established”, particularly for women artists.

    Lack of security, long hours, little return

    Artists are surviving by taking multiple jobs. Only 25% of respondents spent 100% of their working time as an artist – with 82% receiving at least some income from other jobs.

    Half of artists also participated in unpaid work. This equated to an average of 28 hours per month.

    The cost-of-living crisis added further financial pressure, with 63% of respondents saying they were very or moderately financially stressed when it came to paying for essential goods and services.

    This had a flow-on effect on wellbeing. Half the artists surveyed rated their mental health as poor or fair, while 59% rated their work-life balance as poor or fair. These issues were amplified for artists with disability and from diverse cultural backgrounds, who experience significant barriers to participation.

    Arts workers, meanwhile, reported working an average of 45 hours per week in 2024. Despite this, 60% said they wanted to work even more hours – pointing to low pay and the challenges of making an arts career viable.

    On average, arts workers earned an annual income of $63,031. This was much lower than professionals in other industries, who earned an average income of $100,017.

    Levelling the playing field

    Our report contains a suite of policy recommendations and priority actions for the arts industry to address these issues.

    To address gender-related disparities, we suggest:

    • requiring gender pay gap reporting from organisations receiving public funding, along with action plans to address disparities

    • greater transparency in recruitment and promotion processes

    • commitments to gender equity targets in leadership positions.

    We also recommend greater transparency and reporting of disability and cultural diversity representation in staffing, including leadership and board roles, to promote accountability and drive cultural change.

    Funding incentives should be introduced to support diverse leadership – including higher pay to compensate for the additional workload carried by workers from First Nations, disability and culturally diverse backgrounds.

    Boosting incomes

    To address the intractable issue of low incomes, we suggest all funding contracts from state and federal arts bodies mandate adherence to industry best practice (such as NAVA’s Code of Practice). This will help agencies better support artists and arts workers, and uphold employment standards across the sector.

    Further, operational funding agreements should consistently prioritise secure work for artists and arts workers, by laying down permanent contracts or minimum fixed terms.

    Finally, there must be greater, more transparent recognition of the amount of unpaid labour in the arts, and a commitment to moving away from this. We therefore recommend sector-wide reportable targets aimed at reducing unpaid labour.

    Grace McQuilten received funding from the Australian Research Council. The Linkage Project Ambitious and Fair: strategies for a sustainable arts sector (LP200100054)

    Chloë Powell received funding from the Australian Research Council. The Linkage Project Ambitious and Fair: strategies for a sustainable arts sector (LP200100054).

    Jenny Lye received funding from the Australian Research Council. The Linkage Project Ambitious and Fair: strategies for a sustainable arts sector (LP200100054)

    Kate MacNeill received funding from the Australian Research Council. The Linkage Project Ambitious and Fair: strategies for a sustainable arts sector (LP200100054)

    Marnie Badham received funding from the Australian Research Council: Linkage Project Ambitious and Fair: strategies for a sustainable arts sector (LP200100054).

    – ref. New research lays bare the harsh realities facing artists and arts workers – https://theconversation.com/new-research-lays-bare-the-harsh-realities-facing-artists-and-arts-workers-253547

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Banking: ADB’s Work in Water: Overview of Water Operations

    Source: Asia Development Bank

    Transcript

    Water is life. It quenches our thirst, powers our progress, and feeds nature.

    With countless rivers, vast oceans, and thundering storms, water can seem infinite.

    But for over 2 billion people in Asia and the Pacific, their daily relationship with water is one of struggle and hardship.

    NORIO SAITO

    Despite many achievements in Asia and the Pacific, 1.5 billion people in rural areas and 600 million more in urban areas still lack basic water supply and safely managed sanitation services. ADB is working to improve water security and resilience in the region by supporting sustainable service delivery. From 2014 to 2023, ADB committed a total of 23.5 billion U.S. dollars to the water sector across the region to benefit the lives of 654 million people.

    QINGFENG ZHANG

    The water-food-energy nexus is emerging as a critical issue in Asia and the Pacific. Agriculture is the biggest consumer of water in Asia. As of 2021, ADB has allocated 2 billion U.S. dollars to irrigation, 1 billion U.S. dollars to water-based natural resources management, and 477 million U.S. dollars to rural flood protection.

    SATOSHI ISHII

    ADB has been a long-standing partner in finding solutions for our developing member countries in Asia and the Pacific. Attaining the SDGs also means collaborating with other institutions and organizations, opening new channels for financing and encouraging public and private partnerships.

    VIVEK RAMAN

    80 percent of the wastewater generated in Asian cities is disposed of, untreated into our water bodies, making our sanitation services ineffective and more importantly our water bodies unsafe. In line with SDGs 6 and 11, ADB’s work prioritizes the provision of basic sanitation services, wastewater management, urban drainage and flood management, and solid waste management in Asia’s cities.

    YASMIN SIDDIQI

    In already arid countries like those in the Central West Asia region, water scarcity exacerbated by climate change is not only a food and water security issue but a transboundary challenge. ADB’s Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program, CAREC, aims to develop a climate resilient framework for member countries in Central Asia region. This will enhance knowledge and technology transfer to support improved water resources and energy management.

    NEETA POKHREL

    Every year thousands of people are displaced in fragile and conflict-affected situations and small island developing states due to water-related climate and disaster events. How can we make informed investment decisions in this challenging environment? Therefore, ADB applies flexible business processes, we encourage field presence, and we implement in-depth analytics to better understand fragility and help our clients implement these.

    FATIMA MABOR BAUTISTA

    In 2022, ADB announced the Asia and the Pacific Water Resilience Initiative, an ambition to mobilize more than 200 million financing from internal sources and external partners to leverage 10 billion climate adaptation financing for ADB water sector operations from 2021 to 2030.

    TANYA HUIZER

    The Water Financing Partnership Facility, or WFPF, supports the Asia and the Pacific Resilience Initiative in accelerating implementation of sustainable development goals. With contributions from financing partners such as the Government of Austria, Spain, and the Netherlands, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, WFPF has helped ADB to do business as unusual.

    NORIO SAITO

    To achieve ADB’s vision of prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, providing sound water management and reliable services to the vulnerable is of vital importance. We at ADB are committed to seeing this vision to fruition.

    END CREDITS
     

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s message on World Autism Awareness Day [scroll down for French version]

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    Around the globe, people with autism are making enormous contributions to societies, human endeavours, and individual lives.  Today we reflect on those achievements, but we also recognise the significant challenges that remain.

    People with autism often experience isolation, stigma and inequality. They have been denied healthcare and education – especially during crises – and their legal capacity has been unrecognized and over-ridden. Such discrimination contravenes the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Sustainable Development Goals’ commitment to leave no one behind. It must change.

    Governments must adopt legislation and policies that guarantee equality and promote the full participation of people with autism in society. We need inclusive health and education systems, work environments, and urban design – to ensure people with autism have equal opportunities to thrive. 

    On World Autism Awareness Day, let us recommit to create a world where no person with autism is left behind.
     
    ***
    Partout dans le monde, les personnes autistes contribuent énormément à la société, aux activités humaines et à la vie des personnes qui les entourent. Aujourd’hui, nous saluons ces accomplissements, mais nous sommes également conscients des défis majeurs qui restent à relever.

    Bien souvent, les personnes autistes se heurtent à l’isolement, à la stigmatisation et aux inégalités. Elles se voient parfois refuser l’accès aux soins de santé et à l’éducation, en particulier en période de crise, et il arrive que leur capacité juridique ne soit pas reconnue ou qu’elle soit bafouée. Une telle discrimination est contraire à la Convention relative aux droits des personnes handicapées et à l’engagement pris de ne laisser personne de côté, énoncé dans les objectifs de développement durable. Cette situation doit changer.

    Les États doivent adopter des lois et des politiques qui garantissent l’égalité et favorisent la pleine participation des personnes autistes à la société. Il nous faut des systèmes de santé et d’éducation, des environnements de travail et des aménagements urbains inclusifs pour que les personnes autistes puissent avoir les mêmes chances de s’épanouir que n’importe qui.

    En cette Journée mondiale de sensibilisation à l’autisme, réaffirmons notre engagement à bâtir un monde où aucune personne autiste n’est laissée de côté.
     
    ***

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Stolen car drives onto O-Bahn track

    Source: New South Wales – News

    Two teenagers have been arrested after driving a stolen car on the O-Bahn bus track.

    Just after 6am on Wednesday 2 April, a red 2016 Ford Mustang was reported stolen from the driveway of a Rosslyn Park home.

    Police spotted the Mustang travelling south out of Bute about 11.15am before heading east on the Copper Coast Highway through to Port Wakefield.

    Patrols set up cordons around the area and awaited PolAir to commence tracking the vehicle from the air.

    The Mustang was tracked through Two Wells and Virginia and into the northern suburbs.

    About 12.45pm the Mustang drove onto the O-Bahn track at Tea Tree Plaza and travelled south for about 2km’s before becoming stuck near Welloch Street, Modbury.

    Two people ran from the car and over fences of nearby houses but were quickly arrested by patrols.

    Two Port Augusta teens aged 14 and 19 have been arrested and are currently being interviewed by police.

    The O-Bahn track remains closed until a crane can remove the vehicle.

    MIL OSI News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Night closure ahead for Hawke’s Bay Expressway this Sunday 6 April

    Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

    A stretch of State Highway 2 Hawke’s Bay Expressway will be closing overnight this Sunday for wire rope barrier repairs.

    SH2 Hawke’s Bay Expressway will be closing from 8pm this Sunday 6 April to 4am Monday, between Meeanee Road and Links Road/Pākōwhai Road roundabout, says NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).

    During the closure crews will be carrying out repairs to flexible median barrier, damaged in a crash last weekend.

    Detour details light vehicles up to 44 tonnes

    A signposted detour will be place for all vehicles up to 44 tonnes.  Southbound vehicles will be detoured onto Meeanee Road, Awatoto Road, and right onto State Highway 51, through Clive to Te Ara Kahikatea, right onto Pākōwhai Road before rejoining the expressway. The reverse will apply for northbound vehicles.

    Emergency services will be assisted through the site if required.

    HPMV no suitable detour

    As there’s currently no suitable detour for HPMV (over 44 tonne), as Waitangi Bridge on SH51 has a 44 tonne MAX weight restriction, HPMV drivers will be required to wait at the closure points and crews will let them through the worksite as often as possible during the closure. 

    NZTA thanks all drivers for planning their journeys around this overnight closure for essential repairs.

    Hawkes Bay roadworks updates(external link)

    View larger map [PNG, 415 KB]

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: US Senator Cory Booker just spoke for 25 hours in Congress. What was he trying to achieve?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Bruce Wolpe, Non-resident Senior Fellow, United States Study Centre, University of Sydney

    The Democrats have been under intense pressure to find an effective way to challenge US President Donald Trump without control of either chamber of Congress or a de facto opposition leader.

    They may have just found one. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker took the Senate floor on Monday evening in Washington to give a speech lambasting Trump’s actions. He didn’t stop talking – aside for the occasional question from a fellow Democrat – until Tuesday night, 25 hours later.

    So, how common are these types of speeches in the US Congress, and what’s the point?

    Cory Booker reportedly did not leave the chamber to use the toilet and sipped from two glasses of water.

    Filibusters throughout history

    Booker’s speech set a new record for the longest continuous speech in the Senate, surpassing Senator Strom Thurmond’s 24-hour speech in 1957 to try to prevent the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

    This was during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during the second world war. The army was the great desegregation force in the 1940s, and Eisenhower, as president in the 1950s, was strongly in favour of civil rights.

    Strom Thurmond.
    Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division/Wikimedia Commons

    In 1957, Congress was going to pass a civil rights bill that would make it harder for officials in southern states, in particular, to prevent Black people from voting. So Thurmond, the South Carolina senator and fierce proponent of segregation, launched what was (until today) the longest speech in Senate history to oppose it.

    Thurmond’s speech was a filibuster, an extended speech in the Senate to attempt to delay or block a vote on a bill or confirmation. Thurmond, however, was unable to stop enactment of the bill.

    Senators engage in filibusters when they know they’re going to lose, especially when it’s a piece of legislation they really dislike or disagree with. Because they can’t stop the passage of the bill, they use the filibuster to call attention to their opposition to it. The intention is to rally the troops and say, “I’m standing with you, even if this vote goes the other way”.

    In 2016, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who represents the state of Connecticut where the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School took place, launched a nearly 15-hour filibuster to force the Republican Senate leadership to allow votes on two gun control measures.

    Republican Senator Ted Cruz also spoke all night – 21 hours in total – against Obamacare in 2013. It wasn’t all focused on health policy; he filled the time by reading the children’s book, Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss.

    Highlights from Ted Cruz’s filibuster.

    What Booker was trying to achieve

    Booker’s speech was not technically a filibuster – he wasn’t holding the floor to talk against a specific bill, as Thurmond was. He was giving time to his Democratic colleagues to just control the shape of the general debate about Trump.

    Senators use speeches like this when they’re losing on a issue, and Booker feels the Democrats are currently losing to Trump. They have been unable to stop any of his executive actions, so they feel they need to cut through in some way to reach the American people.

    Trump has been “flooding the zone” from the moment he took office in January with hundreds of policies and executive actions – and he has been extremely successful at it. These actions cut across so many areas, it’s been very hard for the Democrats, on any given day, to pick out the top things to fight against.

    Because they don’t have control of the House or Senate, and there is no opposition leader, there is no single, principal Democrat who can stand up day by day and say, “This is what happened, this was what the threat to the country is, this why we’re opposing it and this is the way we’re going to attack it”.

    Trump is controlling the narrative and the media environment. And the Democratic leadership has been unable to counter it, even though, at the grassroots level, Democrats and many others who voted for Trump are really angry.

    As Booker put it during his speech:

    Moments like this require us to be more creative or more imaginative, or just more persistent and dogged and determined.

    There comes a certain point in a human drama that transcends partisanship when you’re looking at someone speaking from the heart, speaking their convictions and you can come to respect them.

    Booker ran for the presidency in 2020 and ultimately yielded to Joe Biden, and I expect we’ll hear much more from him in 2028 when the next presidential election occurs. He is most likely going to run again.

    Bruce Wolpe receives funding, as a non resident senior Fellow, from the United Statses Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. He served for ten years on the Democratic staff in the US House of Representatives.

    – ref. US Senator Cory Booker just spoke for 25 hours in Congress. What was he trying to achieve? – https://theconversation.com/us-senator-cory-booker-just-spoke-for-25-hours-in-congress-what-was-he-trying-to-achieve-253616

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Backing builders by cracking down on cowboys

    Source: New Zealand Government

    The Government is backing builders by making changes so Kiwis will more easily be able to identify high-quality, trusted professionals to carry out work on their homes, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says.
    “Most tradies are highly skilled and trustworthy, but the industry tells me high-profile examples of poor workmanship are tarring the good with the bad. I have also heard that Kiwis want assurances that the Government’s work to unblock the building consent system won’t lead to corners being cut. 
    “There is an urgent need to strip back the layers of regulation choking productivity in the building system. Builders are waiting too long for the necessary paperwork to get on with the job adds costs for homeowners. That’s why we are hammering away at an ambitious programme of reforms, including a proposal that will enable trusted tradespeople to sign-off their own work. 
    “This will make it easier and more affordable to deliver new homes, but it’s important that there are checks in the system to protect against shoddy work. 
    “New rules announced today will help increase accountability and give consumers a clear path forward if things go wrong.“Master Builders welcome these changes, which will be significant in helping to bolster the reputation of the building and construction profession, and include:

    Strengthening the disciplinary process and introducing greater transparency by giving the Licensed Building Practitioners Registrar, who oversee the registration of Licensed Building Practitioners (LBP), more tools and publishing details of builders who have been suspended.
    Establishing a new waterproofing licence class for LBPs so consumers can be confident those completing wet area bathrooms and level-entry showers are suitably qualified and accountable for their work.
    Improving the complaints processes for licensed electrical workers, and licensed plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers by enabling the Registrars to initiate investigations more easily and enabling the creation of Codes of Ethics to promote professional standards of behaviour. 

    “We want builders to take pride in their work, and homeowners to have peace of mind about the quality of workmanship carried out. New rules will give the small minority of bad operators the chance to shape up or ship out.“This is just the beginning. More reforms are on the way to crack down on cowboy builders – including increasing penalties for careless work.”Notes to editors: 

    The changes will apply to work completed by licensed electrical workers, licensed building practitioners and plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers, and are expected to come into force in 2026.
    More information can be found on the MBIE Building Performance website: https://www.building.govt.nz/about-building-performance/all-news-and-updates/licensing-changes-for-licensed-building-professionals

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: US Senator Cory Booker just spoke for 25 hours in Congress. What was he trying to achieve?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bruce Wolpe, Non-resident Senior Fellow, United States Study Centre, University of Sydney

    The Democrats have been under intense pressure to find an effective way to challenge US President Donald Trump without control of either chamber of Congress or a de facto opposition leader.

    They may have just found one. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker took the Senate floor on Monday evening in Washington to give a speech lambasting Trump’s actions. He didn’t stop talking – aside for the occasional question from a fellow Democrat – until Tuesday night, 25 hours later.

    So, how common are these types of speeches in the US Congress, and what’s the point?

    Cory Booker reportedly did not leave the chamber to use the toilet and sipped from two glasses of water.

    Filibusters throughout history

    Booker’s speech set a new record for the longest continuous speech in the Senate, surpassing Senator Strom Thurmond’s 24-hour speech in 1957 to try to prevent the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

    This was during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during the second world war. The army was the great desegregation force in the 1940s, and Eisenhower, as president in the 1950s, was strongly in favour of civil rights.

    Strom Thurmond.
    Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division/Wikimedia Commons

    In 1957, Congress was going to pass a civil rights bill that would make it harder for officials in southern states, in particular, to prevent Black people from voting. So Thurmond, the South Carolina senator and fierce proponent of segregation, launched what was (until today) the longest speech in Senate history to oppose it.

    Thurmond’s speech was a filibuster, an extended speech in the Senate to attempt to delay or block a vote on a bill or confirmation. Thurmond, however, was unable to stop enactment of the bill.

    Senators engage in filibusters when they know they’re going to lose, especially when it’s a piece of legislation they really dislike or disagree with. Because they can’t stop the passage of the bill, they use the filibuster to call attention to their opposition to it. The intention is to rally the troops and say, “I’m standing with you, even if this vote goes the other way”.

    In 2016, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who represents the state of Connecticut where the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School took place, launched a nearly 15-hour filibuster to force the Republican Senate leadership to allow votes on two gun control measures.

    Republican Senator Ted Cruz also spoke all night – 21 hours in total – against Obamacare in 2013. It wasn’t all focused on health policy; he filled the time by reading the children’s book, Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss.

    Highlights from Ted Cruz’s filibuster.

    What Booker was trying to achieve

    Booker’s speech was not technically a filibuster – he wasn’t holding the floor to talk against a specific bill, as Thurmond was. He was giving time to his Democratic colleagues to just control the shape of the general debate about Trump.

    Senators use speeches like this when they’re losing on a issue, and Booker feels the Democrats are currently losing to Trump. They have been unable to stop any of his executive actions, so they feel they need to cut through in some way to reach the American people.

    Trump has been “flooding the zone” from the moment he took office in January with hundreds of policies and executive actions – and he has been extremely successful at it. These actions cut across so many areas, it’s been very hard for the Democrats, on any given day, to pick out the top things to fight against.

    Because they don’t have control of the House or Senate, and there is no opposition leader, there is no single, principal Democrat who can stand up day by day and say, “This is what happened, this was what the threat to the country is, this why we’re opposing it and this is the way we’re going to attack it”.

    Trump is controlling the narrative and the media environment. And the Democratic leadership has been unable to counter it, even though, at the grassroots level, Democrats and many others who voted for Trump are really angry.

    As Booker put it during his speech:

    Moments like this require us to be more creative or more imaginative, or just more persistent and dogged and determined.

    There comes a certain point in a human drama that transcends partisanship when you’re looking at someone speaking from the heart, speaking their convictions and you can come to respect them.

    Booker ran for the presidency in 2020 and ultimately yielded to Joe Biden, and I expect we’ll hear much more from him in 2028 when the next presidential election occurs. He is most likely going to run again.

    Bruce Wolpe receives funding, as a non resident senior Fellow, from the United Statses Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. He served for ten years on the Democratic staff in the US House of Representatives.

    – ref. US Senator Cory Booker just spoke for 25 hours in Congress. What was he trying to achieve? – https://theconversation.com/us-senator-cory-booker-just-spoke-for-25-hours-in-congress-what-was-he-trying-to-achieve-253616

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: United States Attorney’s Office and Task Force Honored for Dismantling Violent Criminal Enterprise

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Washington-Baltimore HIDTA has recognized two Assistant United States Attorneys from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia and members of the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force for an investigation that dismantled a tri-state drug trafficking operation.

    Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced that Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lara Omps-Botteicher and Kyle Kane received the Outstanding Community Impact Investigation award at the HIDTA ceremony in Baltimore, Maryland today for their work on a case which dismantled a violent criminal enterprise that was distributing large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. The investigation led to the indictment of 82 co-conspirators and the seizure of nine kilograms of fentanyl/heroin, large amounts of crystal methamphetamine, cocaine, $250,000 in cash and other assets.

    “I express my heartfelt thanks to HIDTA for honoring these Assistant United States Attorneys and members of the task force who work tirelessly to remove fentanyl and these other agents of death from our community,” stated Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard.  “The AUSAs and the task force members are on the front lines, days, nights, and weekends using their skills and the most advanced technology to serve the mission of eliminating these poisons and the organizations who distribute them from our country.”

    The Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force is a HIDTA-funded initiative and consists of members from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the West Virginia State Police-Bureau of Criminal Investigations; the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office; the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office; the Martinsburg Police Department; the Ranson Police Department; and the Charles Town Police Department.

    Washington-Baltimore HIDTA (High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) provides support and guidance to reduce drug trafficking and misuse by improving interagency collaboration, promoting accurate and timely information and intelligence sharing, and specialized training and other resources to law enforcement, intelligence, treatment, and prevention initiatives. To learn more, go to https://www.hidta.org.

    This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. 

    MIL Security OSI –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Joint Law Enforcement Operation leads to the Indictment of Nine Mississippi Men for Drug and Firearm Trafficking

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    Gulfport, Miss. – A federal grand jury in Gulfport, Mississippi returned indictments charging nine men—Alvonta Demarcus McCray, Melvin McCray, Cameron Fairley, Christopher Chase Brown, Cleon Johnson, Roderick Victor Minter, Tracy Antoine McCall, Nathaniel Jackson, and Jeremy Young—for their involvement in narcotics and firearm trafficking.

    These indictments are the result of a joint investigation among the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”); Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”); Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics (“MBN”); U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and the Stone County Sheriff’s Department. During the investigation, law enforcement conducted more than 30 operations that resulted in the seizure of 3.98 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 4,000 fentanyl pills, 18 grams of powder fentanyl, and over 20 firearms.

    According to the indictments, Alvonta Demarcus McCray was charged in a six-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute-methamphetamine and fentanyl, and five counts of possession with intent to distribute; he is facing up to life in prison. Melvin McCray was charged in a five-count indictment charging him with trafficking firearms, and four counts of possession of a firearm by convicted felon; he is facing up 15 years in prison. Cameron Fairley and Christopher Chase Brown were charged in a joint indictment charging them with trafficking firearms. Fairley is also charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Fairley is facing up to life in prison and Brown is facing up to 15 years in prison. Nathaniel Jackson is charged in a six-count indictment charging him with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and fentanyl analogue, he is facing up to 20 years in prison. Cleon Johnson is charged with possession of a short-barreled shotgun and is facing up to 10 years in prison. Roderick Victor Minter, and Tracy Antoine McCall are charged in a joint indictment charging them with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Minter and McCall are facing up to life in prison. Jeremy Young is charged in a two-count indictment charging him with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and is facing up to 20 years in prison.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi; Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson of ATF; Special Agent in Charge Eric P. DeLaune of HSI, Sean Tindell, Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety; and Todd Stewart, Sheriff of the Stone County Sheriff’s Department made the announcement.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Hunter McCreight is prosecuting the case.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Get your FBT obligations right

    Source:

    Have you provided certain benefits to your staff in addition to their salary and wages? It’s important to know your FBT obligations. If you lodge your own FBT return, or use a tax professional who lodges by paper, you must lodge and pay the amount owed by 21 May, 2025.

    If you use a tax professional who lodges electronically on your behalf, you may have until 25 June, 2025.

    If it’s your first time lodging through a tax professional, make sure you’re on your agent’s FBT client list by 21 May to be eligible for a concessional due date.

    Some perks you offer to your employees may attract FBT. These include employees using a work car (including dual cab utes) for private purposes, gym memberships, and even tickets to an event or show. If you provided benefits over the 2025 FBT year, make sure you know how to lodge and pay.

    To help you get it right, don’t skip these steps:

    • Identify the type of benefits you provide.
    • Determine the taxable value of each fringe benefit.
    • Lodge an FBT return and pay by 21 May (for self-preparers). If your tax professional lodges electronically on your behalf, you have until 25 June to lodge and pay.
    • Keep good records that support your calculations and your FBT position when you lodge or pay by 21 May.

    Remember to include your current financial institution details (FID) when you lodge to ensure any refund is deposited electronically into your account. Your refund may be held up if you do not provide FID.

    Are you lodging a nil FBT return?

    If you’re lodging a nil FBT return, assess whether you provided fringe benefits and work out the taxable value to make sure you’re reporting and calculating FBT correctly. If you don’t have an FBT liability and you’re registered for FBT, you should send us a completed FBT notice of non-lodgment.

    To ensure any refunds are deposited directly into the correct nominated accounts, include current bank account details in each lodgment.

    For more information, see ato.gov.au/fbt.

    MIL OSI News –

    April 2, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Transport – Truck dashcams capture some hair-raising impatient driving

    Source: Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand
    National road freight association Transporting New Zealand has shared dashcam footage from members showing some hair-raising near-misses, and says that impatient driving is endangering lives.
    Transporting New Zealand has been calling for members to submit footage of dangerous driving, highlighting the need for all road users to observe safe speeds, pass and merge safely, and observe appropriate following distances.
    Transporting New Zealand Chief Executive Dom Kalasih says the footage shows just how dangerous impatient and reckless driving can be.
    “Truck drivers spend more time on the roads than almost anyone else. Transporting New Zealand is consistently hearing concerns from our road freight members about incidents of impatient and unsafe driving they’re seeing while going about their work.
    “The roads are the workplace for truck drivers, and that’s a workplace where a moment’s impatience or inattention can shatter lives forever.”
    He says the maximum speed limit for heavy vehicles is 90 km/h, even on sections of road with 110 km/h speed limits, requiring patience from all road users when overtaking and merging.
    “Please be patient and wait until there’s a passing lane or a clear section of road before overtaking.
    “Think about how far you have to go to get clear of a truck and possibly a trailer. The combined length of both can be up to 23 metres – that’s a significant distance to cover and you need a safety gap at the other side.”
    Transporting New Zealand has shared three videos where disaster was narrowly avoided.
    Kalasih says that impatient or reckless driving is never worth the risk.
    “It’s not worth risking your life or anybody else’s for the sake of saving a few minutes. That’s how horrible wrecks happen.”
    Videos
    In Not the Foggiest there’s a van, a plan, and no visibility. You can almost hear the paint squeak as the over-taking vehicle ducks in. Submitted by a freight operator in Taupo.
    https://youtu.be/5SYKXCkBvrY
    The next video was recorded near Waipawa in the Hawke’s Bay. A stock truck is carrying a load of bulls and has to swing wide to get into a driveway. Just as one of the team mentions what a tricky spot it is with some people trying to pass on the outside, a vehicle decides it will try a different approach. Some dialogue has been redacted.
    https://youtu.be/9cDEQZWq98I
    This next merging incident took place about 10 minutes outside of Rotorua.
    https://youtu.be/T_JPm4WMFBU
    Reporting dangerous driving
    – If you believe someone’s driving is dangerous enough to be life-threatening, call the Police on 111.
    – You can call -555 from a mobile phone to report road incidents which are urgent but not life-threatening.
    About Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand
    Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is the peak national membership association representing the road freight transport industry. Our members operate urban, rural and inter- regional commercial freight transport services throughout the country.
    Road is the dominant freight mode in New Zealand, transporting 92.8% of the freight task on a tonnage basis, and 75.1% on a tonne-km basis. The road freight transport industry employs over 34,000 people across more than 4700 businesses, with an annual turnover of $6 billion.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    April 2, 2025
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