NewzIntel.com

Category: Transport

  • MIL-OSI: Gevo Provides Business Update

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ENGLEWOOD, Colo., March 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) (“Gevo”, the “Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”), a leading developer of cost-effective, renewable hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals with reduced greenhouse gas emissions, today reiterated the substantial potential Adjusted EBITDA1 growth we are targeting in 2025, and provided a business update. Gevo also announced that it ended the fourth quarter with cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $259.0 million2.

    Business Update – Path to Positive Run-Rate Adjusted EBITDA1

    • Gevo North Dakota: Carbon Capture and Sequestration (“CCS”) and Low-Carbon Ethanol Assets generated $150 million in revenue in its last fiscal year3and we expect it to immediately contribute $30 million to $60 million of Adjusted EBITDA1annually to Gevo’s carbon business. This facility in North Dakota, which was recently acquired from Red Trail Energy, LLC, is one of two low-carbon ethanol plants with operational CCS that exist today. The site has an operating, fully permitted Class VI CCS well, which captures over 160,000 tons of biogenic carbon dioxide annually; generates multiple times that amount in total carbon abatement; produces approximately 67 million gallons of low-carbon ethanol, including 2 million gallons of corn fiber ethanol with an ultra-low carbon intensity; and more than 230,000 tons of low-carbon animal feed and vegetable oil. As a result, this facility has one of the lowest carbon intensity scores in the industry, at 19 gCO2e/MJ (from British Columbia) or an estimated 21 gCO2e/MJ (under the Argonne-R&D-GREET model). We note that the ethanol 45Z tax credit, which takes effect in 2025 and expires in 2027 (unless renewed by legislation), provides a statutory $0.02 per gallon per carbon intensity point below approximately 50 gCO2e/MJ. In addition, we are developing an additional alcohol-to-jet (“ATJ”) project at this location for further future growth, leveraging our existing ATJ designs associated with the ATJ-60 project in South Dakota. The high quality carbon abatement credits generated at this plant are expected to further catalyze the development of the emerging market for carbon abatement products.
    • Renewable Natural Gas (“RNG”): We have achieved excellent operational results that are expected to improve further in 2025 and generate meaningful Adjusted EBITDA1. RNG produced in 2024 was 367,000 MMBtu, which was a 17% increase over the prior year, because of a successful gas upgrade capacity expansion. 2025 production is expected to further increase to over 400,000 MMBtu as a result of compressor and reliability upgrades. Our RNG facility has been approved by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) to generate biogas 45Z tax credits. Based on the expected carbon intensity (“CI”) score for California LCFS of (339) gCO2e/MJ, a negative number, and depending on LCFS prices, monetization of the biogas 45Z tax credit, D3 RIN prices, and price of fossil based natural gas, we expect Adjusted EBITDA1 of $9 – 18 million in 2025.
    • Alcohol-to-Jet 603(“ATJ-60”) Project: The ATJ-60 project in Lake Preston, South Dakota continues to proceed towards financial close in 2025. In 2024, we received a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee with disbursements totaling $1.462 billion (excluding capitalized interest during construction) from the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) Loan Programs Office (“LPO”) for our ATJ-60 project. With capitalized interest during construction, the DOE loan facility has a borrowing capacity of $1.63 billion. We are actively engaged with the DOE on the closing process for the conditional commitment. Our ATJ-60 project is expected to leverage American agriculture to produce both cost-effective fuels and food, which are integral for energy and food security of the United States. We believe our ATJ-60 project integrates seamlessly with existing energy infrastructure and catalyzes the development of the rural economy. The project is expected to generate 100 jobs at the facility, as well as 700 indirect positions in support, plus 1,000 high-paying trades jobs for the three years of construction5. This project is expected to have regional economic impact greater than $110 million per year. We are currently engaged with the DOE LPO on due diligence, definitive documentation, completing the environmental review process, and satisfaction of all conditions precedent that are required for financial close. We expect to incur $40 million of additional spend on ATJ-60 from January 1, 2025, until financial close. Our cumulative ATJ-60 development spending is expected to be partially reimbursed at project financial close. We may invest some or all of the reimbursed funds back into ATJ-60 as equity.
    • Verity: We are continuing to grow our Verity business, delivering our tracking and tracing solution to the market, expanding the customer base, and achieving revenue. Verity is a software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) business that achieved its goal of first customer revenue in 2024 and our grower program has grown to more than 200,000 acres, which is more than double the acreage in the program since the second quarter of 2024, with 100% farmer retention. Verity is a digital measure, report and verify (“MRV”) software platform for end-to-end traceability of the regenerative attributes of agricultural and low-carbon fuel products. This enables producers and customers to measure and track those attributes and create value in the marketplace, where demand for regenerative agriculture and fuels is increasing but visibility is lacking. Verity currently has agreements with seven agriculture processing plant customers, including five ethanol plants and two soybean processing facilities, to assist in tracking environmental attributes of corn, ethanol, animal feed, corn oil, soybean oil and renewable diesel. We believe Verity can provide substantial value to growers and processors of a wide variety of agricultural products globally, in markets valued at billions of dollars.
    • Ethanol to Olefins (“ETO”): We continue to advance our breakthrough, patented ETO technology. Our patented ETO process is designed to lower capital and operating costs of drop-in, bio-based hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals from ethanol, and adds to Gevo’s global portfolio of more than 300 patents, as well as proprietary processes and know-how concerning processes to convert carbohydrates to hydrocarbons. In October 2024, we signed a development agreement and licensed our ETO technology to Axens with the goal of accelerating the commercialization of our ETO technology for fuels. The alliance between Axens and Gevo was further broadened for ATJ commercialization in December 2024 under a new collaboration agreement. The goal of the alliance is to leverage the most advantaged technologies, which includes Axens Jetanol™ technology combined with Gevo’s plant designs, engineering, know-how, carbon tracking and complete business system. The alliance brings each partner’s complementary value propositions, real-world experience, substantially de-risked technologies, plant integrations, and pre-engineered systems to the ATJ space. We also extended a joint development agreement with LG Chem to accelerate the commercialization of bio-based chemicals using ETO. The global market for drop-in, low-carbon chemicals and materials is estimated to be $400 – 500 billion per year.

    Management Comment

    “Our strategic acquisition of Gevo North Dakota is transformative for our company,” commented Dr. Patrick Gruber, Gevo’s Chief Executive Officer. “The CCS and low-carbon ethanol provides us with an immediate pathway to monetize carbon abatement through the ethanol 45Z tax credit and by selling carbon abatement in the growing market and the available pore space provides additional opportunities for CCS expansion.”

    “In addition, our RNG business is poised for significant growth as we secure a permanent CARB LCFS carbon intensity score and monetize the biogas 45Z tax credit. Taken together, we see a path to achieving a potential run-rate positive Adjusted EBITDA in 2025, even before considering our ATJ-60 project. This is based on the hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon abatement per year that we are currently generating from this diversified, low-carbon asset base,” Dr. Gruber continued.

    Dr. Gruber added: “We are pleased that our DOE conditional commitment is progressing towards financial close. We are pleased to see that biofuels, ethanol, and aviation fuels are listed in President Trump’s Executive order “Declaring a National Energy Emergency”. Our ATJ-60 project, targeted for Lake Preston, South Dakota, is expected to create 100 direct jobs, and more than an estimated 700 indirect jobs. The project is expected to employ more than 1,000 construction workers for the three years needed to build the plant. It would draw corn from more than 230 farmers, and we would expect to pay farmers a premium for their regenerative agricultural practices.”

    “We never lose sight that we expect that Gevo’s proprietary, integrated ATJ process can deliver sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”) with production cost similar to jet fuel made from crude oil,” Dr. Gruber said. “But our process can do this while also eliminating the carbon emission footprint across the whole life cycle of the fuel. It’s about addressing a growing market need, where customers will pay for carbon abatement, in addition to the jet fuel.”

    For more information on our business and plans, please refer to our updated corporate presentation, in the investor section of our website: www.gevo.com

    About Gevo

    Gevo is a next-generation diversified energy company committed to fueling America’s future with cost-effective, drop-in fuels that contribute to energy security, abate carbon, and strengthen rural communities to drive economic growth. Gevo’s innovative technology can be used to make a variety of renewable products, including synthetic aviation fuel (“SAF”), motor fuels, chemicals, and other materials that provide U.S.-made solutions. By investing in the backbone of rural America, Gevo’s business model includes developing, financing, and operating production facilities that create jobs and revitalize communities. Gevo owns and operates one of the largest dairy-based renewable natural gas (“RNG”) facilities in the United States, turning by-products into clean, reliable energy. We also operate an ethanol plant with an adjacent carbon capture and sequestration (“CCS”) facility, further solidifying America’s leadership in energy innovation. Additionally, Gevo owns the world’s first production facility for specialty alcohol-to-jet (“ATJ”) fuels and chemicals. Gevo’s market-driven “pay for performance” approach regarding carbon and other sustainability attributes, helps ensure value is delivered to our local economy. Through its Verity subsidiary, Gevo provides transparency, accountability, and efficiency in tracking, measuring and verifying various attributes throughout the supply chain. By strengthening rural economies, Gevo is working to secure a self-sufficient future and to make sure value is brought to the market.

    For more information, see www.gevo.com.

    Forward Looking Statements

    This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including statements related to the expected operation of Gevo North Dakota, the expected effect of the acquisition on Adjusted EBITDA, the expected annual Adjusted EBITDA from Gevo North Dakota, and the future prospects as a combined company, the expected CI score for our RNG project, the expected annual Adjusted EBITDA from the RNG project, the financing of the ATJ-60 Project, including the DOE conditional commitment, the expected economic impact of the ATJ-60 Project, the expected further spend on ATJ-60, the expected growth and economics of Verity, the technical advances of the ETO technology, the capabilities of Axens technologies, and the market for ETO technologies. These statements relate to analyses and other information, which are based on forecasts of future results or events and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. We claim the protection of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for all forward-looking statements in this release.

    These forward-looking statements are identified by the use of terms and phrases such as “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “target” and similar terms and phrases or future or conditional verbs such as “could,” “may,” “should,” “will,” and “would.” However, these words are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and other expectations reflected in or suggested by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that we will achieve those plans, intentions or expectations. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those that we expected.

    Important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from our expectations, or cautionary statements, include among others, the risk that anticipated benefits, including synergies, from the acquisition of Gevo North Dakota may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; changes in legislation or government regulations affecting the future operations of the acquired assets and Gevo’s other project; and other risk factors or uncertainties identified from time to time in Gevo’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). All written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements identified above and in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 as well as other cautionary statements that are made from time to time in our other SEC filings and public communications. You should evaluate all forward-looking statements made in this release in the context of these risks and uncertainties.

    We caution you that the important factors referenced above may not reflect all of the factors that could cause actual results or events to differ from our expectations. In addition, we cannot assure you that we will realize the results or developments we expect or anticipate or, even if substantially realized, that they will result in the consequences or affect us or our operations in the way we expect. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

    Media Contact
    Heather Manuel
    VP of Stakeholder Engagement & Partnerships
    PR@gevo.com

    Investor Contact
    Eric Frey, PhD
    Vice President of Corporate Development
    IR@Gevo.com

    1   Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure calculated by adding back depreciation and amortization, allocated intercompany expenses for shared service functions, and non-cash stock-based compensation to GAAP loss from operations, plus monetizable tax credits (if any) such as 45Q and 45Z.

    2   Includes $69.6 million of restricted cash.

    3   As reported in the SEC filings of the previous owner, Red Trail Energy, LLC, prior to Gevo’s acquisition of substantially all of its ethanol and CCS assets. Based on Fiscal Year ending September 30 under the previous owner.

    4   Formerly known as our NZ-1 Project.

    5   Based on a report by Charles River Associates, available on Gevo’s website.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Things to Know: How to Make the Most of Daylight Savings with Your Samsung Devices

    Source: Samsung

    With Daylight Savings Time approaching on March 9, we’re not just springing our clocks forward – it’s also the perfect opportunity to give our home electronics some much-needed attention.
    While checking smoke detector batteries is a time-honored tradition, why not extend that care to all your essential devices?
    We’ve designed Samsung’s appliances and devices to be as user-friendly — and in need of as little routine care as possible — but a little TLC now and then is a good idea to keep home appliances, personal devices, and more performing at their best and running smoothly. As part of our Things To Know series, we partnered with the Samsung Customer Care team to explore a few easy ways to give our Samsung tech a fresh new start as we reset our clocks for spring, too.
    Give Your Samsung Oven a Deep-Clean (the Easy Way)
    Gone are the days of harsh chemicals and endless scrubbing – Samsung’s ovens have been engineered not just with sleek design and chef-worthy performance, but with cleaning solutions that do the heavy lifting for you.
    All Samsung ovens come with a self-clean function that handles the brunt of the labor — some models even come with additional Steam Cleaning and Descaling functions for more hands-free effort. While the high-heat self-clean function essentially incinerates burnt-on food (making your job one of wiping up, versus scrubbing), the Steam Clean (or, on some models, Hybrid Clean) mode is great for more routine deep cleaning that’s still relatively hands-off.
    P.S. While your oven’s working hard, it’s a great time to give those oven racks a wash, too — ensuring you have an all-around fresh start for spring.

    Digital Declutter for Peak Performance
    Samsung’s phones and tablets come with large amounts of space available to hold videos, selfies, emails, downloads, and other digital ephemera — but who among us hasn’t lived in fear of a low-memory notification popping up someday?
    Take advantage of this seasonal transition to clean up your digital closet with a clear-out of your device’s memory. Delete those apps you never use, get rid of those e-books and podcasts you’ve been finished with for months now, and send those duplicate photos to the trash. Not only will you free up storage space, but your phone will function more productively too.

    Fresh Filters for Crisp, Clean Hydration
    Resetting the clocks is also a great time to check in on your Samsung refrigerator’s water filter and see if it needs a refresh, too. We’ve designed our top-of-the-line filters to deliver fresh, clean water at the touch of a button (or sensor), but even they need a little upkeep sometimes.
    Every six months is a great benchmark for replacing your filter, but if you’re not sure of the last time you swapped them out, keep an eye out for the built-in indicator light on the inside of your refrigerator. When it’s time for a change, simply match your model number to ensure a perfect fit, and don’t forget to hit reset so it can begin tracking usage again.
    Pro tip: Only use Samsung Genuine Water Filters to avoid complications with your water supply or appliance.

    Make Your Dishwasher Sparkle Like New
    Even your trusty dishwasher needs occasional pampering. As we reset the clocks after a busy holiday season of entertaining friends and family, it’s a great time to make sure that your dishwasher itself is as clean as it can be — which makes it all the better to clean your dishes with.
    Start with the outside: Use a soft, damp cloth to remove any stains or gunk. For the interior, harness the power of your dishwasher’s Sanitize cycle: place a cup of white vinegar in the lower rack and let the machine work its magic. Self Clean cycles are also integrated into a lot of Samsung dishwashers, which makes cleaning the inside of your dishwasher a one-touch job.
    These two programs will help keep your Samsung dishwasher doing its best all year long — but to help it out in the meantime, we always suggest rinsing dishes before you load them in the machine, too.

    Keep Your Washing Machine Running Like New
    Like dishwashers, Samsung washing machines do a great job of cleaning — but sometimes need their own refresh. Regular maintenance prevents odors and mold from building up, and spring is the perfect time to give your washer some attention – especially before tackling heavy-duty spring cleaning tasks.
    Queue up your washer’s Self-Clean, Self-Clean+, or Pure Cycle to give the interior a hygienic refresh and clean parts of the tub where moisture and detergent residue tend to accumulate. You don’t need to add any special cleaner for this, but if there’s a little mold smell going on already, some bleach might not be a bad idea. Don’t have these cycles? A standard washing machine cleaner works just as well.
    It’s also a good time to clean other critical parts of the washer: Remove and wipe out the detergent drawers (and, ideally, wipe them clean between washes), and use an old toothbrush or other soft brush to clean the recess for the drawer, too.
    And while it might sound scary, cleaning out the pump filter on your front-load washer is easier than it sounds — just have a receptacle handy to catch the water under the panel. Then, open the panel at the bottom of the washer, remove the hose from where it’s hanging, and twist the cap until water begins to come out of the hose. Once it’s all drained, remove the washer pump filter itself and give it a gentle cleaning.

    Perfecting Your TV’s Picture
    Our advanced displays deliver stunning visuals, but a dusty screen can diminish even the most sophisticated tech. Give your TV’s screen a close inspection for dust, spots and more with a simple routine.
    Turn off and unplug the TV, then wipe the screen as gently as possible with a microfiber cloth. For stubborn marks, spray a little distilled water on your cloth. Remember to clean the frame too, and allow everything to dry completely before powering up again– then you’re good to start streaming again!
    Looking for more tips or need additional support from the Samsung Care Team? Visit the Samsung Care YouTube Channel, check out the Samsung Members App and Samsung Communities or text us any time by messaging 1-800-SAMSUNG to start a conversation with a Samsung Care Pro.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Lassa fever contact tracing underway

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    News story

    Lassa fever contact tracing underway

    UKHSA is tracing contacts of a person who travelled to England with Lassa fever and has since returned to Nigeria, with overall public risk remaining very low.

    The UK Health Security Agency has been informed under the International Health Regulations that an individual travelled to England from Nigeria while they were unwell with Lassa fever at the end of February. The individual returned to Nigeria where they were diagnosed.

    We are now working to identify people who were in contact with the affected individual while they were in the country.

    Lassa fever does not spread easily between people and the overall risk to the public is very low. If you have not been contacted by UKHSA then you are very unlikely to have had any exposure to Lassa fever and do not need to take action.

    Lassa fever causes acute infections which can range from very mild symptoms through to a severe viral haemorrhagic fever. People usually become infected with Lassa virus through exposure to food or household items contaminated with urine or faeces of infected rats – present in some West African countries where the disease is endemic. The virus can also be spread between people through contact with infectious bodily fluids.

    Dr Meera Chand, Deputy Director at the UK Health Security Agency, said:

    Our Health Protection Teams are working at pace to get in touch with people who were in contact with this individual while they were in England, to ensure they seek appropriate medical care and testing should they develop any symptoms. The infection does not spread easily between people, and the overall risk to the UK population is very low.

    Updates to this page

    Published 7 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Online ‘manosphere’ is moving misogyny to the mainstream

    Source: United Nations 2

    By Conor Lennon

    Women

    A decline in democracy and harmful content spread on social media platforms are helping to drive a backlash against feminism, and the growth of misogynistic and retrograde ideas about the roles of men and women and society.

    The pushback against gender equality is one of the findings in a major report from UN Women, the UN agency for gender equality, on the progress made so far in advancing women’s rights worldwide.

    This latest version of the study, which is updated every five years, comes at a time of great uncertainty, as several donors announce major funding cuts, leading to the disruption of essential services for women worldwide.

    The report measures the extent to which the aims of a groundbreaking women’s rights accord adopted in Beijing in 1995. Around a quarter of countries surveyed note a backlash against feminism and gender equality.

    However, it is not all bad news: there have been many encouraging signs of progress over the last thirty years, from legal protections for women, to services and support for survivors of domestic abuse and bans on gender-based discrimination in the workplace.

    Ahead of the launch of the report, Laura Turquet, the deputy head of the research and data team at UN Women, and Lydia Alpizar, a Costa Rican feminist activist based in Mexico City, spoke to UN News about the reasons for this renewed attack against feminism and what it means for the state of gender relations.

    UN News/Conor Lennon

    Laura Turquet: What we’re talking about is organised resistance to gains that have been made on gender equality, whether that’s preventing the implementation of existing commitments, rolling them back or stopping new laws and policies.

    Examples include the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States [a US Supreme Court decision that protected the right to abortion] and the decision by several European countries to pull out of the Istanbul Convention [a treaty on gender-based violence]. And elsewhere, from Argentina to Zimbabwe, we’ve seen a defunding of women’s ministries, or their mandates are changed from focusing on gender equality to a broader focus on families and children, which waters down their ability to drive policies forward.

    Another element is the targeting of women’s rights defenders and activists, women in politics, journalists and trade unionists who dare put their heads above the parapet and speak out on gender equality.

    Lydia Alpizar: There most common form of attack is harassment and defamation, including criminalization, building fabricated charges against women’s human rights defenders, or even arbitrarily detaining them, turning them into political prisoners.

    It can also lead to more lethal forms of violence, such as disappearances and killings. In Mexico and Central America, we have documented 35,000 attacks on and 200 killings of women human rights defenders since 2012,

    Soundcloud

    UN News: Is the situation in your region getting worse?

    Lydia Alpizar: Yes. When we started, we didn’t have as many killings. Right now, we have an open dictatorship in Nicaragua where there are political prisoners including women, and there are other countries with women’s rights defenders in prison, including Mexico. There are other defenders that are in prison, such as Kenia Hernandez in Mexico, or others who are protecting nature in El Salvador.

    We are definitely seeing an increase in attacks on feminists working on gender-based violence, political participation an access to sexual and reproductive health and rights: the highest levels of abuse take place during March, which is women’s month, when most marches and public demonstrations in support of women take place.

    UN News: What are the reasons for the increased threats and violence?

    Lydia Alpizar: One has to do with the way in which agendas for gender equality and women’s rights have been transforming the world.

    We have definitely made progress across important areas that are included in the Beijing Declaration, in terms of legislation, policies and cultural transformation, really changing the way in which women are recognized in their public and private lives.

    More women are leading movements that are challenging the interest of very powerful actors, so there is a backlash.

    © UNHCR/Antoine Tardy

    Young DAFI scholars from the DAFI Women Power Club, a mentoring initiative in Burundi. All four are originally from DR Congo.

    UN News: So, the pushback is a response to the progress that is being made?

    Laura Turquet: I think that is true to a large extent, but it also goes hand in hand with a decline in the strength of democracies in general. Many countries are experiencing the erosion of key democratic institutions such as freedom of the press, free and fair elections, and the rights of women to speak in public.

    They become a target of those who want to return to an imagined past where men and women had much more traditional roles.

    It’s also linked to rising inequality. A few people at the top are doing extremely well whilst millions are being left behind. When people feel that they can’t access a decent job or a basic standard of living, they look for scapegoats, whether it’s migrants, LGBTQ people, or women who are speaking up.

    UN News: Social media also seems to be connected, bringing formerly fringe ideas into the mainstream.

    Lydia Alpizar: We have seen an increase of these kinds of narratives. Social media is a big platform for the dissemination of misogynistic and sexist ideas and women’s rights defenders are called bad mothers to stigmatize the work that they do and there is a trend of legitimizing violence against them.

    Laura Turquet: There has a been a development of a “manosphere,” an online ecosystem where extreme and outdated ideas, particularly about violence against women, but also related to a very narrow kind of idea of masculinity.

    But I also want to say that online spaces and social media have been a place where feminists can organize and link up with other kids of social movement. I think we just have to make sure that those spaces are safe and that we root out misogynist and violent online environments so that women are not targeted in that way.

    UN News: On balance, is the world in a better place, when it comes to gender relations?

    Lydia Alpizar: Yes, absolutely. In the countries where I work, gender relations have been transformed and the world is a different place for women and gender non-conforming people.

    Ther is hope, but we’re concerned about the challenges we face right now.

    Laura Turquet: There has been significant progress since 1995. The proportion of women in parliaments has doubled, violence against women is on the political agenda in a way that it wasn’t thirty years ago, and maternal mortality has declined by a third.

    But there’s still so much to do. We need to make sure that 2025 is the year that we don’t back down, that we continue to fight for justice, and we continue to march forward for the rights of women and girls.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Lancaster County Man and Long-Distance Trucking Company Sentenced for Violations of Clean Air Act

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Leon Martin, age 42, of Lititz, PA, and Frock Brothers Trucking, Inc. (Frock Brothers), of New Oxford, PA, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Julia K. Munley for conspiracy and violations of the Clean Air Act. 

    Martin was sentenced to a two-year term of probation, with three months of a home curfew, and a $500,000 fine. Frock Brothers Trucking, Inc. was sentenced to a two-year term of probation and an $80,000 fine.

    According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Martin was a mechanic who worked at a diesel repair shop, in Ephrata, PA.  Between 2018 through October 2023, Martin provided “tuning” or “reprogramming” services in which he tuned the engine control modules (ECMs) on diesel trucks. The ECM is a computerized system that manages and controls the engine’s performance.  During that time, Martin began tampering with the emissions diagnostic systems on the vehicles of many companies to prevent the diagnostic system software from monitoring the emission control system hardware, thereby defeating the systems’ ability to reduce pollutant gases and particulate matter being emitted to the atmosphere by the trucks. 

    In November and December 2018, Martin did work for Frock Brothers Trucking, Inc., a long-distance trucking company that delivers general freight and other products.  At that time, Martin, Frock Brothers, and others, conspired to tamper with the emission control hardware on approximately eight diesel vehicles of Frock Brothers, in violation of the Clean Air Act.  The illegal actions were for the purpose of obtaining economic benefits, including, among other things, reduced or avoidance of repair costs, fuel savings from improved fuel economy on modified vehicles, and reduced expenditures on diesel exhaust fluids required to operate emissions systems components.  As part of the scheme, Frock Brothers removed the vehicles’ ECMs from their engines and shipped them to Leon Martin for reprogramming. Once the devices were “tuned,” Martin shipped them back to Frock Brothers, where they were reinstalled on the trucks. As a result of the emissions systems tampering, Frock Brothers vehicles emitted excess emissions, including nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, into the atmosphere. 

    “Tampering with required emissions monitoring devices in heavy duty vehicles results in a significant increase in air pollution,” said Allison Landsman, EPA-CID Special Agent in Charge. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates that we will hold violators accountable for breaking our environmental laws.” 

    The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Behe prosecuted the case.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: AMERICA/ARGENTINA – The Diocese of La Rioja and the Lenten Season: “authentic conversion for the renewal of our lives and that of our communities”

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Friday, 7 March 2025

    SS

    La Rioja (Agenzia Fides) – “We begin the season of Lent in the midst of a Jubilee Year and seeking to implement the conclusions of the Synod on Synodality in the Church” is what Dante Braida, Bishop of La Rioja, has declared, inviting the entire population to live this time as “an authentic conversion for the renewal of our lives and that of our communities. With Lent we begin the pastoral year in the context of deepening the synodal dimension of the Church in an atmosphere permeated by the Jubilee year”.“In this Lent – the prelate continues in the message sent to the diocese – God asks us to check whether in our lives, in our families, in the places where we work, in parish or religious communities, we are capable of walking with others, of listening, of overcoming the temptation to close ourselves in our self-referentiality, taking care only of our needs. Let us ask ourselves before the Lord if we are capable of working together as bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay people, at the service of the Kingdom of God; if we have an attitude of welcome, with concrete gestures, towards the people who come to us and to those who are far away; if we make people feel part of the community or if we marginalize them.”“Let us walk this path together,” the bishop insists, in line with Pope Francis’ message for this liturgical time. “Christians are called to walk the path together, never as solitary travelers. The Holy Spirit impels us to go out of ourselves to go toward God and toward our brothers and sisters.”“To receive the grace and joy that the Risen One wants to give us in abundance, we need to live this time guided by the Holy Spirit toward a profound conversion. Enlightened by the Gospel texts of each day and by the teachings of Pope Francis in his message ‘Let us walk together in Hope,’ let us live the Lenten season with hope. At the same time, let us walk together in the mission that the Lord entrusts to each of us and may the present be a fruitful pastoral year.”Bishop Braida also recalls that this year the diocese is preparing for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the martyrdom at the hands of the military dictatorship, after the coup of March 24, 1976, of the bishop of La Rioja Enrique Angelelli, the Conventual Franciscan Carlos de Dios Murias, who was later ordained a priest by Angelelli himself, the French missionary priest Gabriel Longueville in La Rioja and the catechist Wenceslao Pedernera. “It will be an opportunity to delve deeper into the testimony of their lives and the teachings of Bishop Enrique, in particular those that speak to us of the different aspects of the synodal Church.”“The Jubilee year, whose motto is ‘Pilgrims of Hope’, invites us to fix our gaze on Jesus, the cause of a hope that does not disappoint, and to live a process of personal and community conversion that leads us to be messengers of hope at all times and places,” concludes the prelate. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 7/3/2025)
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  • MIL-OSI Europe: ASIA/CHINA – Chinese Catholics pray for the recovery of Pope Francis

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Shanghai (Agenzia Fides) – Chinese Catholics are living the Lenten period of the Jubilee Year with spiritual meditations that also consider the frailties linked to old age and illness in the light of Christian hope, finding consolation also in the testimony that Pope Francis is giving in these days. According to reports on the Church information website “xinde.org” and the websites of several Chinese dioceses, the prayer for the sick Pope is linked to the Jubilee Lenten formation courses focused on hope.In the spiritual meditations led by the priests of the Diocese of Suzhou, one of the themes of community reflection referred to the condition of Pope Francis and how praying for his health is a way of caring for and praying for the sick elderly. All the priests of the diocese participated in the Lenten retreat led by Fr. John Baptist Zhang, founder of xinde.org, which revolved around the central theme of “Taking refuge in the desert to meet the Lord.” At the end of February, the priests, together with Bishop Joseph Xu Honggeng, experienced a four-day period of Eucharistic adoration, reflecting on the experience of suffering in the light of the Eucharistic sacrifice.For the elderly of the Hongkou Parish (Shanghai Diocese), dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Lenten retreat was about accompanying the elderly in old age. Fr. Niu Suqing noted, “Old age is not a sunset, but longevity is a blessing from God. Deep faith helps us to embrace old age, suffering and even illness, and to carry this cross with a Christian attitude, considering its value.” The priest specifically referred to the way St. John Paul II experienced suffering and how Pope Francis experiences it now. At the same time, the parish recognized the preciousness of the elderly parishioners as witnesses of faith and hope and expressed the desire to promote initiatives to support and comfort the elderly. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides, 7/3/2025)
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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Driving licence bill published

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    The Government today published the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2025, which covers the implementation of an electronic driving licence (eDL), in the Gazette.

     

    The bill proposes to amend the Road Traffic Ordinance and related legislation to give holders of driving licences and driving instructors’ licences an alternative option to producing a driving licence for examination or inspection when requested. It would allow holders to displaying their electronic licences on their smart phones, via a specified electronic platform.

     

    The eDL will not be a substitute for a physical driving licence, as driving licence holders will still be issued with a physical driving licence, but they may offer an eDL when requested to show their licence.

     

    The Government believes implementation of an eDL will bring greater convenience to some 2.5 million driving licence holders – especially commercial vehicle drivers, whose physical driving licences are more susceptible to damage due to frequent use.

     

    Those who choose to use an eDL will be able to display it by logging on to a specified eDL mobile application on their smart phones via iAM Smart or the Transport Department’s e-Licensing Portal.

     

    To prevent eDL forgeries, the relevant application will be equipped with security features, including identity authentication and disablement of the screen capture function.

     

    The bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council for a first reading on March 19.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Foreign National Extradited From Spain To Face Charges For Alleged International “Tech Support Fraud Scheme”

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Acting U.S. Attorney Lawrence J. Cameron announced today that Bikramjit Ahluwalia, 39, a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates living in Dubai, was extradited from Spain and will appear in federal court in Charlotte later today. Ahluwalia, also known as “Biku,” “Internetteam5000,” “Don Bonsa,” and “Bobby,” is charged in a federal indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to damage a protected computer, and wire fraud for his alleged role in an extensive “tech support fraud scheme.”

    Generally, a tech support fraud scheme causes malicious pop-ups to appear on unsuspecting users’ computers, warning their devices have been infiltrated by a virus or another serious computer issue, convincing users to purchase unnecessary repair services or technical support using a telephone number or a link on the victims’ computer screens.

    According to allegations in the indictment, Ahluwalia and his co-defendant, Andrew Brolese, owned Digital Marketing Support Services (DMSS), a Seychelles-based company that published and sold malicious pop-ups as a means of generating customer traffic for overseas call centers from victims of their tech support scheme. From April 2016 to March 2021, Ahluwalia and Brolese and their conspirators targeted victims throughout the United States, some of whom were 55 and older. It is alleged that the victims targeted in the scheme experienced computer pop-ups that mimicked fatal system-error screens, also known as “blue screens of death,” malicious pop-ups suggesting malware had been installed on their computers, or urgent warnings for technical issues related to the victims’ services, software, or devices. The indictment alleges that victims targeted by the malicious pop-ups were then instructed to call a number to receive technical services to help resolve their issues. As alleged in the indictment, the various overseas call centers, upon receipt of the victim call traffic, would use the misrepresentations in the pop-ups, false diagnoses of computer issues, and other deceptive sales techniques to trick the victims into paying hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars to the call centers to receive unnecessary technical support for the non-existent computer issues.

    The indictment alleges that Ahluwalia and Brolese conspired with others to sell incoming calls from targeted victims seeking purported tech support to companies around the world, including to an individual who owned companies in the Western District of North Carolina. It is further alleged that Ahluwalia and Brolese received over $31.2 million in illicit payments from the tech support scheme, through wire transfers made to DMSS’s bank accounts located overseas.

    Ahluwalia is expected to appear for his initial hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler in Charlotte at 10:15 a.m.

    Ahluwalia’s charges for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. The maximum sentence for money laundering is 20 years in prison, and for the charge of conspiracy to damage a protected computer is five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    The investigation was led by the Nashville Cyber Task Force which comprises the Knoxville Office of the FBI and the Knoxville Police Department. We thank the government of Spain for their substantial assistance arresting and extraditing Ahluwalia. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing the extradition of Ahluwalia from Spain.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Warren with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.

     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Eastern NC Man Sentenced to Over Four Years for Role in $1 Million Covid Fraud Scheme

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEW BERN, N.C. – A Snow Hill man was sentenced to 50 months in prison for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud related to Covid-19 loans.  In March of 2024, TYREEK RASHEED EXUM, 26, was charged in a multi-count indictment alleging various offenses related to a Covid fraud scheme.  On September 24, 2024, Exum pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud.  Co-defendant Anthony Wandland, Jr., of Chicago, Illinois, pled guilty to the same charge on November 13, 2024.

    Exum and Wandland conspired to use over 20 stolen identities and the identities of co-conspirators to apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits. The indictment charged that Wandland provided Exum with the stolen identities, and, in exchange, Exum gave Wandland a percentage of the proceeds. Each loan application submitted by Exum contained false statements, misrepresentations, and omissions related to income, employment, and claimed business entities. Exum signed various financial documents, including loan and security agreements, in the names of those stolen identities and then had the loan proceeds deposited into his personal bank account, nominee bank accounts, bank accounts of family and friends, and into accounts in the names of stolen identities. Exum exercised control over these accounts by obtaining bank debit cards and by causing nominees to transfer the fraud proceeds to other accounts controlled by him via various digital mediums such as PayPal and CashApp. Exum also withdrew the cash at multiple ATMs. In total, the indictment alleged Exum received nearly $1 million in fraudulent loan proceeds.  The Court ordered Exuma to pay more than $620,000 in restitution.

    Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Labresh prosecuted the case.

    Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 5:21CR178-M and 5:23CR388-M.

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    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: NANO Nuclear Energy Appoints Leading Advanced Nuclear Reactor Engineer Florent Heidet, Ph.D. as its Chief Technology Officer and Head of Reactor Development

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Former Head of Engineering at Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. brings firsthand knowledge of recently acquired advanced reactor technologies and extensive reactor building experience

    New York, N.Y., March 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) (“NANO Nuclear” or “the Company”), a leading advanced nuclear energy and technology company focused on developing clean energy solutions, today announced that Florent Heidet, Ph.D. has joined NANO Nuclear as its Chief Technology Officer and Head of Reactor Development.

    Dr. Heidet is a world-renowned expert on advanced nuclear reactor technologies, leveraging two decades of nuclear engineering and project management expertise. Dr. Heidet was previously the Head of Engineering at Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. (USNC), where he led a multidisciplinary team of over 100 experts working around the globe to advance the development of the KRONOS MMRTMEnergy System and LOKI MMRTM technologies prior to their acquisition by NANO Nuclear earlier this year.

    Prior to his leadership role with USNC, Dr. Heidet spent 12 years at Argonne National Laboratory, where he played a central role in most of the laboratory’s reactor design projects. He led the design of the Versatile Test Reactor, a $2 billion program under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy, served as the Argonne manager for the Transformational Challenge Reactor program, coordinated the Nuclear Thermal Propulsion efforts in support of NASA, and provided expertise and leadership to numerous federal, commercial, and international projects.

    Dr. Heidet will be primarily responsible for advancing all of NANO Nuclear’s reactor projects and will have general oversight of all the Company’s various other technologies in development. His decades of experience and status as an innovator in the nuclear energy industry will be invaluable to NANO Nuclear as it seeks to position itself as a global leader in advanced nuclear energy solutions. He will report to both James Walker, NANO Nuclear’s Chief Executive Officer, and Jay Yu, NANO Nuclear’s Chairman and President. Mr. Walker is relinquishing the position of NANO Nuclear’s Head of Reactor Development to accommodate the hiring of Dr. Heidet.

    “I am very proud to join the NANO Nuclear team, and I plan to hit the ground running and play a leading role in the development of our innovative suite of nuclear reactor and related technologies,” said Dr. Florent Heidet, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Reactor Development of NANO Nuclear Energy. “The management and technical teams at NANO Nuclear have proven themselves to be innovators with the development of proprietary microreactor systems like ODIN and ZEUS, and it is a pleasure to continue my work on the KRONOS MMRTM and LOKI MMRTM systems alongside them. I’ve had the opportunity to examine the several microreactor technologies being developed in the marketplace, and I believe NANO Nuclear is the ideal home for the KRONOS MMRTM and LOKI MMRTM. I am dedicated to seeing the development of all of NANO Nuclear reactor designs, as well as its other innovative technologies, from testing, to regulatory approvals and through to commercialization.”

    Figure 1 – NANO Nuclear Energy Appoints Leading Advanced Nuclear Reactor Engineer Florent Heidet, Ph.D., as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Head of Reactor Development

    Dr. Heidet has a proven track-record of assembling highly effective teams and consistently delivering impactful outcomes. His organizational skills are widely acknowledged through several institutional awards. Dr. Heidet holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, a M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the ENSAM (Paris, France), and business program certificates from both Berkeley Haas School of Business and Chicago Booth School of Business. He has published numerous peer-reviewed technical papers and authored several chapters of the Encyclopedia of Nuclear Energy.

    “There are very few experts in the nuclear energy sector who can drive and build advanced reactor developments as effectively as Dr. Heidet,” said Jay Yu, Founder and Chairman of NANO Nuclear Energy. “His career has been dedicated to pursuing innovative reactor solutions that address growing energy demands here in the U.S. and around the world. His comprehensive industry knowledge and the technical expertise required to oversee the design and construction of these sophisticated reactors, as well as our other innovative technologies, will be crucial to NANO Nuclear and will help to solidify our position as a leader in the field.”

    “Dr. Heidet’s appointment at NANO Nuclear marks another milestone in our efforts to commercialize advanced, portable microreactor and related technologies,” said James Walker, Chief Executive Officer of NANO Nuclear Energy. “He has contributed to numerous innovative breakthroughs in the field and has overseen major development projects worth billions of dollars, including those with government funding. His exceptional experience and expertise in the nuclear industry will be instrumental in advancing our technology through development, licensing, and eventual commercialization.”

    About NANO Nuclear Energy, Inc.

    NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) is an advanced technology-driven nuclear energy company seeking to become a commercially focused, diversified, and vertically integrated company across five business lines: (i) cutting edge portable and other microreactor technologies, (ii) nuclear fuel fabrication, (iii) nuclear fuel transportation, (iv) nuclear applications for space and (v) nuclear industry consulting services. NANO Nuclear believes it is the first portable nuclear microreactor company to be listed publicly in the U.S.

    Led by a world-class nuclear engineering team, NANO Nuclear’s reactor products in development include “ZEUS”, a solid core battery reactor, and “ODIN”, a low-pressure coolant reactor, each representing advanced developments in clean energy solutions that are portable, on-demand capable, advanced nuclear microreactors. NANO Nuclear is also developing patented stationary KRONOS MMR™ Energy System and space focused, portable LOKI MMR™.

    Advanced Fuel Transportation Inc. (AFT), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is led by former executives from the largest transportation company in the world aiming to build a North American transportation company that will provide commercial quantities of HALEU fuel to small modular reactors, microreactor companies, national laboratories, military, and DOE programs. Through NANO Nuclear, AFT is the exclusive licensee of a patented high-capacity HALEU fuel transportation basket developed by three major U.S. national nuclear laboratories and funded by the Department of Energy. Assuming development and commercialization, AFT is expected to form part of the only vertically integrated nuclear fuel business of its kind in North America.

    HALEU Energy Fuel Inc. (HEF), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is focusing on the future development of a domestic source for a High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) fuel fabrication pipeline for NANO Nuclear’s own microreactors as well as the broader advanced nuclear reactor industry.

    NANO Nuclear Space Inc. (NNS), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is exploring the potential commercial applications of NANO Nuclear’s developing micronuclear reactor technology in space. NNS is focusing on applications such as the LOKI MMR™ system and other power systems for extraterrestrial projects and human sustaining environments, and potentially propulsion technology for long haul space missions. NNS’ initial focus will be on cis-lunar applications, referring to uses in the space region extending from Earth to the area surrounding the Moon’s surface.

    For more corporate information please visit: https://NanoNuclearEnergy.com/

    For further NANO Nuclear information, please contact:

    Email: IR@NANONuclearEnergy.com
    Business Tel: (212) 634-9206

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    Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

    This news release and statements of NANO Nuclear’s management in connection with this news release contain or may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this context, forward-looking statements mean statements related to future events, which may impact our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes”, “potential”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “would” or “may” and other words of similar meaning. In this press release, forward-looking statements include those relating to the anticipated benefits to the Company of Heidet’s appointment as described herein. These and other forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this news release and represent management’s current views and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, events or results and involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control. For NANO Nuclear, particular risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the following: (i) risks related to our U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) or related state or non-U.S. nuclear fuel licensing submissions, (ii) risks related the development of new or advanced technology and the acquisition of complimentary technology or businesses, including difficulties with design and testing, cost overruns, regulatory delays, integration issues and the development of competitive technology, (iii) our ability to obtain contracts and funding to be able to continue operations or fund research (including SBIR applications and other government funding, which might not receive DOE approval), (iv) risks related to uncertainty regarding our ability to technologically develop and commercially deploy a competitive advanced nuclear reactor or other technology in the timelines we anticipate, if ever, (v) risks related to the impact of U.S. and non-U.S. government regulation, policies and licensing requirements, including by the DOE and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, including those associated with the recently enacted ADVANCE Act, and (vi) similar risks and uncertainties associated with the operating an early stage business a highly regulated and rapidly evolving industry. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release. These factors may not constitute all factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in any forward-looking statement, and NANO Nuclear therefore encourages investors to review other factors that may affect future results in its filings with the SEC, which are available for review at www.sec.gov and at https://ir.nanonuclearenergy.com/financial-information/sec-filings. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a predictor of actual results. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this news release, except as required by law.

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  • MIL-OSI Africa: The G20: how it works, why it matters and what would be lost if it failed

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Danny Bradlow, Professor/Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria

    South Africa took over the presidency of the G20 at the end of 2024. Since then the world has become a more complex, unpredictable and dangerous place. The most powerful state in the world, the US, seems intent on undermining the existing order that it created and on demonstrating its power over weaker nations. Other influential countries are turning inward.

    These developments raise concerns about how well mechanisms for global cooperation, such as the G20, can continue to operate, particularly those that work on the basis of consensual decision making. Danny Bradlow sets out how the G20 works, and what’s at stake.

    What’s the G20’s purpose?

    The G20 is a forum in which the largest economies in the world meet regularly to discuss, and attempt to address, the most urgent international economic and political challenges. The group, which includes both rich and developing countries, accounts for about 67% of the world’s population, 85% of global GDP, and 75% of global trade.

    The G20, in fact, is a misnomer. The actual number of G20 participants in any given year far exceeds the 19 states and 2 international entities (the European Union and the African Union) that are its permanent members. Each year they are joined by a number of invited “guests”. While there are some countries, for example Spain and the Netherlands, that are considered “permanent” G20 guests, the full list of guests is determined by the chair of the G20 for that year. This year, South Africa has invited 13 countries, including Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. They are joined by 24 invited international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the United Nations and eight African regional organisations, among others.

    The G20 should be understood as a process rather than a set of discrete events. Its apex is the annual leaders’ summit at which the participating heads of state and government seek to agree on a communiqué setting out their agreements on key issues. These agreements are non-binding and each of the participating states usually will implement most but not all the agreed points.

    The communiqué is the outcome of a two track process: a finance track, consisting of representatives of the finance ministries and central banks in the participating counties, and a “sherpa” track that deals with more political issues. In total these two tracks will involve over 100 meetings of technical level officials and policymakers.

    Most of the work in each track is done by working groups. The finance track has seven working groups dealing with issues ranging from the global economy and international financial governance to financial inclusion and the financing of infrastructure. The sherpa track has 15 working groups dealing with issues ranging from development and agriculture to health, the digital economy, and education.

    The agenda for the working group meetings is based on issues notes prepared by the G20 presidency. The issues notes will discuss both unfinished business from prior years and any new issues that the president adds to the G20 agenda.

    The working group chairs report on the outcomes of these meetings to the ministerial meetings in their track. These reports will first be discussed in meetings of the deputies to the ministers. The deputies will seek to narrow areas of disagreement and sharpen the issues for discussion so that when they are presented at the ministerial meeting the chances of reaching agreement are maximised.

    The agreements reached at each of these ministerial meetings, assuming all participants agree, will be expressed in a carefully negotiated and drafted communiqué. If the participants cannot agree, the minister chairing the meeting will provide a chair’s summary of the meeting. These documents will then inform the communiqué that will be released at the end of the G20 summit. This final communiqué represents the formal joint decision of the participating heads of state and government.

    The G20 process is supplemented by the work of 13 engagement groups representing, for example, business, labour, youth, think tanks, women and civil society in the G20 countries. These groups look for ways to influence the outcomes of the G20 process.

    What is the G20 troika and how does it operate?

    The G20 does not have a permanent secretariat. Instead, the G20 president is responsible for organising and chairing the more than 100 meetings that take place during the year. The G20 has decided that this burden should be supported by a “troika”, consisting of the past, present and future presidents of the G20. This year the troika consists of Brazil, the past chair; South Africa, the current chair; and the US, the future chair.

    The role of the troika varies depending on the identity of the current chair and how assertive it wishes to be in driving the G20 process. It will also be influenced by how active the other two members of the troika wish to be.

    The troika helps ensure some continuity from one G20 year to another. This is important because there is a significant carryover of issues on the G20 agenda from one year to the next. The troika therefore creates the potential for the G20 president to focus on the issues of most interest to it over a three year period rather than just for one year.

    How successful has the G20 process been?

    The G20 is essentially a self-appointed group which has designated itself as the “premier forum for international economic cooperation”.

    The G20 was first brought together during the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s. At that time, it was limited to a forum in which ministers of finance and central bank governors could meet to discuss the most important international economic and financial issues, such as the Asian financial crisis.

    The G20 was elevated to the level of heads of state and government at the time of the 2008 global financial crisis.

    The G20 tends to work well as a cooperative forum when the world is confronting an economic crisis. Thus, the G20 was a critical forum in which countries could discuss and agree on coordinating actions to deal with the global financial crisis in 2008-9.

    It has performed less well when confronted with other types of crises. For example, it was found wanting in dealing with the COVID pandemic.

    It has also proven to be less effective, although not necessarily totally ineffective, when there is no crisis. So, for example, the G20 has been useful in helping address relatively technical issues such as developing international standards on particular financial regulatory issues or improving the functioning of multilateral development banks. On other more political issues, for example climate, food security, and funding the UN’s sustainable development goals, it has been less effective.

    There’s one less obvious, but nevertheless important, benefit. The G20 offers officials from participating countries the chance to interact with their counterparts from other G20 countries. As a result, they come to know and understand each other better, which helps foster cooperation between states on issues of common interest. It also ensures that when appropriate, these officials know whom to contact in other countries and this may help mitigate the risk of misunderstanding and conflict.

    These crisis management and other benefits would be lost if the G20 were to stop functioning. And there is currently no alternative to the G20 in the sense of a forum where the leading states in the world, which may differ on many important issues, can meet on a relatively informal basis to discuss issues of mutual interest. Importantly, the withdrawal of one G20 state, even the most powerful, should not prevent the remaining participants from using the G20 to promote international cooperation on key global challenges.

    In this way it can help manage the risk of conflict in a complex global environment.

    – The G20: how it works, why it matters and what would be lost if it failed
    – https://theconversation.com/the-g20-how-it-works-why-it-matters-and-what-would-be-lost-if-it-failed-251500

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI: Jones Healthcare and Technology Innovation Conference Announces Dr. Charity Dean as Keynote Speaker

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK, March 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The highly anticipated Jones Healthcare and Technology Innovation Conference is pleased to announce Dr. Charity Dean, CEO, Founder, and Chairman of PHC Global, as a keynote speaker for the event. Dr. Dean will join Eric F. Trump, Executive Vice President of The Trump Organization, to headline the conference, which will take place April 8-9, 2025, at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. This premier event will bring together leading healthcare and technology companies, institutional investors, and opinion leaders to explore the latest trends and innovations shaping both industries.

    Throughout the two-day conference, participants will engage in expert-led panels, corporate presentations, fireside chats, and one-on-one meetings covering advancements in healthcare and technology. Attendees will gain insights into how these rapidly evolving sectors are driving innovation and creating new opportunities.

    “Dr. Charity Dean’s expertise in biosecurity and public health aligns perfectly with the mission of this conference—to showcase innovative solutions that are transforming healthcare and technology,” said Alan Hill, CEO of Jones. “Combined with Eric Trump’s insights from the world of business, the conference will provide attendees with a well-rounded perspective on innovation, leadership, and the future of both industries.”

    Moe Cohen, Head of Investment Banking at Jones, added, “We are proud to host a conference that highlights the latest advancements in healthcare and technology and facilitates connections that drive progress. With keynote speakers of this caliber, attendees can expect thought-provoking discussions that inspire forward-thinking solutions.”

    In addition, Biotech TV and FINTECH.TV will be onsite conducting interviews with participating companies throughout the conference, providing exclusive media coverage and capturing insights from industry leaders.

    If you are interested in attending, please contact your Jones representative to inquire about an invitation.

    For more information about the conference, sponsorship opportunities, or to register, please email mdoyle@jonestrading.com.

    About Jones:

    JonesTrading Institutional Services, LLC (“Jones”) is a leading full-service investment banking firm providing a comprehensive suite of services, including capital markets, M&A, and strategic advisory to corporate clients. The firm is dedicated to building lasting partnerships by delivering innovative solutions, deep industry expertise, and tailored strategies that drive value and success. Founded in 1975, Jones has established itself as the global leader in block trading and a premier liquidity provider to institutional investors. The firm’s offerings also include derivatives trading, outsourced trading, electronic trading, prime services, private markets trading, and research/market intelligence. Member FINRA and SIPC.

    For more information, please visit www.jonestrading.com

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  • MIL-OSI: Netcapital to Host Planned Reg A Offering by Algernon NeuroScience

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BOSTON, MA, March 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Netcapital Inc. (NASDAQ: NCPL, NCPLW), a digital private capital markets ecosystem, today announced that its subsidiary, Netcapital Securities Inc. (“Netcapital Securities”), a FINRA-registered broker-dealer, has been engaged by Algernon NeuroScience Inc. (“Algernon NeuroScience”) for its planned Regulation A (Reg A) offering. Netcapital Securities plans to provide broker-dealer and administrative services, excluding underwriting and placement agent services, in connection with this offering.

    Algernon NeuroScience has filed a Form 1-A with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), though the offering has not yet been qualified or declared effective by the SEC. Algernon intends to use proceeds from the offering to advance its R&D initiatives.

    “We are pleased that Algernon NeuroScience has selected Netcapital Securities as its broker-dealer to provide critical compliance and operational support for this offering,” said Martin Kay, CEO at Netcapital Inc.

    “We look forward to working with the team at Netcapital Securities as we advance through the SEC qualification process for our planned Reg A offering,” said Christopher J. Moreau, CEO of Algernon NeuroScience.

    The securities referenced in the planned Reg A offering may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, before the offering statement filed with the SEC is qualified. This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Any offers, solicitations, or sales of securities will be made only by means of an offering circular that meets the requirements of Regulation A.

    No money or other consideration is being solicited at this time, and if sent in response, it will not be accepted. There is no assurance that the SEC will qualify the offering or that Algernon NeuroScience will successfully raise capital. Investing in early-stage companies involves significant risks, and prospective investors should carefully review all offering materials and risk disclosures before making an investment decision. An investment in this private placement offering is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the potential loss of your entire investment.

    About Netcapital Inc.

    Netcapital Inc. is a fintech company with a scalable technology platform that allows private companies to raise capital online and provides private equity investment opportunities to investors. The Company’s consulting group, Netcapital Advisors, provides marketing and strategic advice and takes equity positions in select companies. The Company’s funding portal, Netcapital Funding Portal, Inc., is registered with the SEC and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), a registered national securities association. The Company’s broker-dealer, Netcapital Securities Inc., is also registered with the SEC and is a member of FINRA.

    About Algernon NeuroScience Inc.

    Algernon NeuroScience is a wholly-owned private subsidiary of Algernon Pharmaceuticals and has been established to advance its psychedelic DMT program for stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

    For more information, visit https://algernonneuroscience.com/.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    The information contained herein includes forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events, including, but not limited to, statements relating to closing of the offering and satisfaction of closing conditions of the offering, the expected gross proceeds from the offering and statements regarding the anticipated use of proceeds from the offering, or to our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond our control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects our current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

    Investor Contact
    800-460-0815
    ir@netcapital.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Samsung UK Promotes Annika Bizon to Mobile Experience (MX) VP of Product and Marketing, UK&I

    Source: Samsung

     
    LONDON, UK – March 07, 2025 – Samsung Electronics UK has announced the promotion of Annika Bizon to Mobile Experience (MX) VP of Product and Marketing, UK&I.
     
    In this role, Annika will build on successes launching the Galaxy S25 series and growing the Galaxy AI userbase. Her responsibilities have included leading its Marketing & Omnichannel strategy, as well as the MX division in Ireland.
     
    Her passion for putting the customer first has driven both consumer engagement and commercial success, strengthening Samsung UK & Ireland’s market share and brand perceptions across its Galaxy ecosystem.
     
    Annika brings more than 20 years of experience to this new position. Prior to Samsung, she held senior roles at 20th Century Fox and Three UK. Throughout her career, she has focussed on successfully transitioning brands to a digital-first approach, driving commercial success.
     
    In her new role, Annika will spearhead Galaxy AI adoption, as well as innovation and development, alongside growing Samsung’s ecosystem proposition.
     
    Annika said: “I am looking forward to taking on this new role and remain committed to providing our customers with the best experience, no matter who they are or what Samsung products they use. In partnership with my team, I will be focused on putting the consumer first, ensuring every touchpoint with our products and services is seamless and makes them proud to own Samsung.
     
    Corporate Vice President – Mobile Division, Samsung UK & Ireland, Richard Chang, added: “As Marketing & Omnichannel Director, Annika has been dedicated to best-in-class customer experience and the leadership of our Irish business. Recently, she has also led the product team, developing category management as a key focus area. I look forward to working closely with her, delivering growth and mobile leadership.”
     

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Samsung UK hosts live virtual classroom event to mark National Careers Week

    Source: Samsung

     
    LONDON, UK – 07 March, 2025 – Samsung Electronics UK, in celebration of National Careers Week, welcomed secondary schools nationwide to join a free live virtual classroom event to spark curiosity about diverse future-focused careers in tech.
     
    Streamed live from Samsung KX, the careers lesson showcased cutting-edge technology and gave secondary school students the chance to hear from Samsung employees about their career journeys. Hosted by Samsung’s young emerging talent, schools were taken on a whistle-stop tour of Samsung KX, and were able to interact through live polls and a Q&A session with Samsung experts.
     

     
    Jessie Soohyun Park, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Samsung UK, said: “It was great to welcome hundreds of young people to our live virtual classroom event. Schools from across the UK heard first-hand from our employees about their career journeys in tech, and we hope they left the session feeling inspired. Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Next Gen is all about inspiring the next generation of innovators, and the 2025 programme is only just beginning. We welcome secondary schools across the UK  to sign up for the free resources and join the challenge – our theme for this year is Living Well: Tech for a Happier, Healthier World, and we can’t wait to see the tech for good ideas from young people.”
     

     
    Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Next Gen programme is designed for 11-15 year olds to inspire the next generation of innovators. Reaching over a third of secondary schools across the UK and Ireland, the programme offers interactive video lessons, design thinking, online safety and careers resources for teachers to use with their students, and a fun challenge where students and their schools can win fantastic tech prizes. Schools can register for the free programme here.
     
    For more information on Samsung KX visit: Discover New Samsung King’s Cross Space | Samsung UK

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Three sentenced over illegal waste activity in Northamptonshire

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Three sentenced over illegal waste activity in Northamptonshire

    Three defendants have been fined for their involvement in illegal waste activity in Northamptonshire, following an investigation by the Environment Agency.

    Waste piled high at the Green Infrastructure site

    The defendants were sentenced on 27th February at Northampton Magistrates’ Court for waste offences at Mill Farm near Kettering. They were ordered to pay fines, victim surcharges and prosecution costs of more than £75,000.

    From 2019 to 2021, Environment Agency officers investigated the site in Great Cransley which David Goodjohn, 64 of Grange Road, Geddington, and his company, Green Infrastructure Ltd, operated without an environmental permit. They have been ordered to pay almost £32,000.

    34,000 tonnes of waste was stored at the site with large quantities of mixed waste piled over 10 metres high, becoming an eyesore for the local community. Despite repeated visits, the Environment Agency’s guidance was ignored for over two years.

    The third defendant, Storefield Aggregates, failed to comply with the waste duty of care by sending more than 24,000 tonnes of waste to the site between 2019 and 2021. It was ordered to pay more than £43,000.

    The Environment Agency sent warning letters to two further companies which also deposited waste at the site.

    Yvonne Daly, Environment Agency Manager, said:

    We work to stop illegal waste activities and support legitimate business whilst protecting communities and nature from harm. We take illegal waste activity very seriously and will not hesitate to disrupt activity and prosecute those responsible.

    Anyone who suspects illegal waste activity should report it to the Environment Agency’s 24-hour incident hotline on 0800 807060, or anonymously through CrimeStoppers on 0800 555111.

    Updates to this page

    Published 7 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: WFP appeals for urgent funding to prevent rations cuts to over one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

    Source: World Food Programme

    DHAKA, Bangladesh– The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warns of a critical funding shortfall for its emergency response operations in Bangladesh, jeopardizing food assistance for over one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

    Without urgent new funding, monthly rations must be halved to US$6 per person, down from US$12.50 per person – just as refugees prepare to observe Eid, marking the end of Ramadan. All Rohingya receive vouchers that are redeemed for their choice of food at designated retailers in the camps. To sustain full rations, WFP urgently requires US$15 million for April, and US$81 million until the end of 2025.

    “The Rohingya refugee crisis remains one of the world’s largest and most protracted,” said Dom Scalpelli, WFP Country Director in Bangladesh. “Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh remain entirely dependent on humanitarian assistance for their survival. Any reduction in food assistance will push them deeper into hunger and force them to resort to desperate measures just to survive.”

    In recent months, new waves of Rohingya refugees, potentially exceeding 100,000 people, have crossed into Bangladesh, fleeing conflict in neighbouring Myanmar. The continued influx of Rohingya seeking safety places an even greater strain on already overstretched resources.

    WFP has already begun communicating with the Rohingya community about the potential ration cuts. This coincides with the holy month of Ramadan – a sacred period for Muslims worldwide, including for the majority of the Rohingya – observed as a time for solidarity and support.

    “Now more than ever, the Rohingya need us to stand with them. These families have nowhere else to go, and WFP’s food aid is the difference between survival and despair. Immediate support is urgently needed to prevent this crisis from escalating further,” added Scalpelli.

    In 2023, severe funding constraints forced WFP to reduce rations from US$12 to US$8 per person per month, leading to a sharp decline in food consumption and the worst levels of malnutrition among children since 2017 – reaching over 15 percent – above the emergency threshold. Rations were later increased when funding was received.

    For a population with no legal status, no freedom of movement outside the camps, and no sustainable livelihood opportunities, further cuts will exacerbate protection and security risks. As in 2023, women and girls, in particular, may face heightened risks of exploitation, trafficking, prostitution, and domestic violence. Children may be pulled out of school and forced into child labour, while girls may be married off at a young age as families resort to desperate measures to survive.

    Refugee populations across the globe are often the first to face cuts to aid, despite being among the most vulnerable. As funding shortfalls grow and needs continue to rise, the Rohingya and many other communities are left with fewer resources to survive.

    #                    #                      #

     

    The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. 

    Follow us on X @wfp_bangladesh, Facebook @WFPinBangladesh, Instagram @wfp_bangladesh  

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 7 March 2025 UHC-Partnership: Nigerians in Imo State are protected from financial hardship when accessing health services

    Source: World Health Organisation

    Favour Owuamanam, from Umuechetanmehe Amiri in Imo State, was 9 months pregnant and had been referred for a planned caesarean section due to the prospects of a high-risk delivery. When her labor started before her due date, she was rushed to Vaden Specialist Hospital for an emergency caesarean section and gave birth successfully. However, her baby had complications with neonatal asphyxia and jaundice and required additional care.

    The Imo State Health Insurance Agency facilitated the immediate transfer of the baby to the special care unit in Imo State Specialist Hospital. Both mother and baby were covered under health insurance and did not need to pay for any services.

    “Medical treatments are usually so high. I don’t know where I would have found the money to pay for my hospital bills. I am very grateful to the Imo State Health Insurance Agency Team,” said Favour.

    Marcus Moses and family, beneficiaries of the Imo State Health Insurance Agency. Photo by: WHO/Nigeria

    This is one of many health interventions by the Imo State Health Insurance Agency. The Agency has instituted one of the best and most responsive referral systems in Nigeria. In less than 10 months of implementation, over 516 cases have been referred through the health insurance programme, saving many lives through emergency surgery at no cost to the patient.

    Some of Nigeria’s poorest and most vulnerable populations are now able to access health care services without suffering financial hardship as a result. This is due to the passing of health insurance laws and the implementation of a health insurance programme that removes the burden of financial cost to the patient. Simultaneously, the quality of primary health care services is being strengthened, which has increased trust in and use of the services.

    This is a strong effort by the Government of Nigeria to ensure that its population is protected from financial hardship and is able to access timely and quality health services in line with the principles of universal health coverage (UHC).

    Engaging parliamentarians and the Executive to enable laws

    The enactment of mandatory health insurance laws and implementation of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund in 2023 has changed the lives of many poor and vulnerable Nigerians in Imo State.

    To advocate and make a strong case for the establishment of the Imo State Health Insurance Program, WHO, through the UHC Partnership, helped to establish the State Health Financing Unit and Technical Working Group in the State Ministry of Health. WHO technical staff then worked to build capacity and generate evidence.

    “The Imo State Government is putting mechanisms in place to ensure the protection of all citizens against financial risks associated with health care in the state. Unfortunately, the demand for health services is relentless and people end up becoming poorer to stay alive whenever they are sick. These actions will mitigate the use of the regressive out-of-pocket payments in health that pushes people into the vicious cycle of poverty, disease, and death,” said Dr Uchenna Ewelike, Executive Secretary, Imo State Health Insurance Agency.

    Sustained high-level advocacy by WHO resulted in better understanding and synergy between the Executive led by the State Governor and the parliamentarians, and this led to the speedy passage and ascent of the Imo State Health Insurance Bill into Law.

    “More investment in health, and health insurance specifically, has huge returns for the economy. This is demonstrated by an investment case for health in Imo State, developed by WHO, that shows up to 200% increase in real GDP and 200% increase in the number of jobs created over 5 years. As health is a human right and duty of the state, WHO will work with Imo State to develop a plan that will guide a progressive increase in coverage to achieve the UHC benchmark of at least 80% of the state population,” said Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, WHO Representative to Nigeria.

    Nigeria is one of more than 125 countries and areas to which the UHC Partnership helps deliver WHO support and technical expertise in advancing UHC through a PHC approach. The UHC Partnership represents over 3 billion people. It is supported and funded by Belgium, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Japan, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and WHO.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI: Novacap Announces Successful Exit from Smyth Companies, LLC

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MONTREAL, March 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Novacap, a leading North American private equity firm, is pleased to announce the successful exit of its investment in Smyth Companies, LLC (“Smyth”), a premier provider of innovative and sustainable labeling solutions for consumer products. Smyth has been acquired by Crestview, a private equity firm focused on the middle market, further positioning the company for continued success and growth. This marks a significant milestone for Novacap and reinforces its commitment to fostering growth and operational excellence within its portfolio companies.

    Since Novacap’s initial investment, Smyth has expanded its market position as a trusted partner to leading global consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. Under Novacap’s ownership, the company has implemented key strategic initiatives, invested in state-of-the-art equipment, and successfully implemented its “One Smyth” operational philosophy. These efforts have positioned Smyth as a national leader in prime label solutions, with a well-invested manufacturing footprint and a diversified customer base.

    “Our partnership with Smyth exemplifies Novacap’s ability to drive long-term value creation through operational improvements and strategic initiatives,” said Domenic Mancini, Senior Partner at Novacap. “We are incredibly proud of the progress achieved by the Smyth team and confident that the company is well-positioned for continued success in the evolving labeling and packaging industry.”

    “Novacap’s strategic guidance and investment have been instrumental in accelerating our growth and enhancing our ability to serve our customers with cutting-edge labeling solutions,” said Scott Fisher, President of Smyth Companies. “We are grateful for their support and look forward to continuing our journey as an industry leader.”

    The successful exit of Smyth underscores Novacap’s expertise in identifying and nurturing companies within the industrial and packaging sectors, leveraging sector knowledge to drive sustainable and scalable growth.

    Baird served as financial advisor while Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and Fox Rothschild LLP provided legal counsel to Novacap. Evercore served as financial advisor while Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP provided legal counsel to Crestview Partners.

    About Novacap

    Novacap is a leading North American private equity investor and one of Canada’s most experienced private equity firms. Founded in 1981 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs, Novacap focuses on middle market companies in four core sectors: Technologies, Industries, Financial Services, and Digital Infrastructure. Novacap combines deep sector-specific expertise with strategic and operational excellence to support entrepreneurs and management teams. Since its inception, the firm has made primary and add-on investments in more than 250 companies. With over C$11 billion in assets under management and a presence across offices in Montreal, Toronto, and New York, Novacap continues to drive innovation and growth. For more information, please visit: https://novacap.ca.

    About Smyth Companies, LLC

    Established in 1877, Smyth Companies, LLC (Smyth) is a leading provider of high-impact label decoration for consumer goods products. From neighborhood businesses to Fortune 500 companies, Smyth’s trusted Labels Without Limits®, Dow Beauty, and PurePack® brands provide quality, innovative packaging solutions to brand owners in the beauty, health, personal care, household, food, automotive, private label, and beverage markets. Using a broad range of print technologies from traditional roll- and sheet-fed to digital and expanded gamut printing, Smyth’s products include pressure sensitive, cut and stack, and in-mold labels; shrink sleeves; flexible packaging, including pouches and rollstock; and promotional; as well as fulfillment services, and equipment application and support. Headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, Smyth has eight production facilities in North America, employing more than 550 associates. For more information on Smyth please visit www.smythco.com.

    Media inquiries:
    Renata Kappaun
    Senior advisor, communications
    rkappaun@novacap.ca
    +1 514-234-4152

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: NordStellar launches AI-driven cybersquatting detection to protect brands from fraud and impersonation

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, March 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cybercriminals use domain squatting techniques for abusive activities like phishing, malware distribution, or hosting fraudulent content, which can result in significant reputational damage for the brand and monetary losses for its customers. NordStellar, a next-generation threat exposure management platform, introduces its new AI-driven cybersquatting detection feature to safeguard enterprises by identifying and notifying businesses about cybersquatting incidents, providing actionable insights to help stop cybercriminals in their tracks.

    “NordStellar’s cybersquatting feature automatically detects old and newly registered domains that closely resemble other brands. We take it a step further with an AI-powered solution that analyzes intent, assesses risk levels, and recommends next steps — reducing response time and helping prevent attacks before they escalate,” says Vakaris Noreika, head of product at NordStellar.

    Domain squatting, also known as cybersquatting, involves registering, trafficking, or using a domain name to profit from a trademark belonging to someone else. Over the past year, companies like DeepSeek and Temu were heavily targeted by cybersquatting. However, they’re not alone — the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) named 2024 the second busiest year since 1999 regarding domain name disputes, registering 6,168 cases. According to WIPO, cybersquatting is one of the leading reasons for the growing number of cases.

    Cybercriminals use various domain manipulation techniques to register domain names similar to the original ones. Some of the most popular methods include typosquatting, which exploits common misspellings (such as nordstelar.com instead of nordstellar.com), addition, which adds characters to a legitimate domain name (like nordstellarr.com), and replacement, which replaces characters (like nordsterall.com). Besides the 16 different domain name manipulation techniques that NordStellars’ cybersquatting detection feature tracks, hackers also exploit expired domains, hijacking and repurposing them for malicious activities.

    NordStellar’s cybersquatting protection feature stands out by providing its clients with comprehensive monitoring that checks newly registered domains and tracks the expiration dates and changes to existing domains. The feature is equipped with advanced algorithms for accurate identification beyond basic string comparison.

    “Enabling proactive monitoring and mitigating domain-based threats improves businesses’ security posture as well as reduces the risk of their customers falling victim to phishing attacks or malware infections,” says Noreika. “Additionally, the new cybersquatting feature seamlessly integrates with other existing security information and event management (SIEM) and security workflows, enhancing the efficiency of analysis and response.”

    How it works:

    • Continuously monitors for domain registrations and changes.
    • Analyzes detected risks and assesses their severity using similarity algorithms, threat intelligence feeds, and information from the internet record listing WHOIS to determine risk.
    • Implements AI-powered analysis to examine detected threats further, providing detailed information, including specific threat types, confidence and severity levels, supporting evidence, and recommended remediation actions — investigating the domain further, initiating a takedown request with the registrar, or blocking the domain at the network level.
    • Provides real-time alerts and notifications via email, Slack, and in-platform notifications based on configurable criteria, such as event type and risk level.
    • Offers detailed investigation of each suspicious domain, including screenshots, redirect chains, WHOIS information, and similarity metrics.
    • Allows security teams to resolve and track the status of the identified threats.

    The cybersquatting feature is now available to all NordStellar users. More information here.

    ABOUT NORDSTELLAR

    NordStellar is a next-generation threat exposure management platform that enables companies to detect and respond to cyber threats before they escalate. NordStellar offers visibility into how threat actors work and what they do with compromised data. NordStellar was created by Nord Security, a globally recognized company behind one of the world’s most popular digital privacy tools, NordVPN. For more information, visit nordstellar.com.

    Contact
    inga@nordsec.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Ambassador For a Day 2025: British Embassy Budapest

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    World news story

    Ambassador For a Day 2025: British Embassy Budapest

    The British Embassy in Budapest invites young women aged between 18 and 24 from across Hungary to enter a competition to be an Ambassador for a Day.

    What is Ambassador for A Day? 

    Have you ever wondered how one become an ambassador, or what diplomats do all day? This competition will give the winners the unique opportunity to meet with the British Ambassador to Hungary at his Residence in Budapest, and to spend a day with Embassy colleagues learning and practicing valuable skills that form the core of a diplomatic mission’s work. 

    Why you should enter this competition 

    Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and therefore also half of its potential. Today there are too few women in international diplomacy, including women from under-represented backgrounds, whether ethnic, religious, economic, cultural, or personal identity. Women are not represented at parity in political and business sectors.  

    To end this underrepresentation, we must ensure equality of opportunity and equitable outcomes for everyone.  

    This is why we are encouraging women to make their voices heard on topics that affect us all.  

    We encourage young Hungarian women to become leaders and advocates for change by offering them the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes of the British Embassy in Budapest. 

    Who can enter  

    You can enter this competition if you:

    • are a young woman between the ages of 18-24 at the time of submitting your application
    • are a Hungarian citizen who is currently residing in Hungary
    • have a confident level of spoken and written English
    • are available to spend a full day of activities with us at the British Embassy on 21 May 2025

    How to submit entry  

    To enter, you must fill in this application form in English, which includes the following questions: 

    a) Personal data and preferences 

    • your full name, age, date of birth, hometown, and the name of the secondary school/university you are currently attending (if applicable)
    • contact information (phone, email, and preference to be contacted) 
    • severe allergies and dietary requirements, assistance required (if any) travel/accommodation preferences, workshop and training preferences 

    b) Essay: Who is your greatest female role model from modern history and why? 

    • tell us about your greatest female role model from modern history – the one you feel personally connected to. Why do you find her inspiring? Why is her message or work (still) relevant today? 
    • limit: your essay should not exceed 4000 characters
    • deadline: please submit your application by 11:59pm CET on 5 April 2025

    Please read the  Terms and Conditions for entering the Ambassador for a Day 2025 Competition (PDF, 139 KB, 3 pages) carefully before entering the competition. 

    If you are shortlisted based on your essay, we will contact you for a short online interview with the organisers – and you will have an opportunity to ask questions. Multiple time slots will be offered. 

    Important tips 

    1. Please bear in mind that the topic for the 2025 competition is “Inspiring women in modern history” – this includes the Late Modern Period (from 1800 to 1945) and Contemporary History (from 1945) to the present day. 
    2. Creativity will be an important aspect of the judging criteria. The essay should focus on your personal thoughts, interpretation and evidence-based arguments about why you feel connected to and inspired by the individual, rather than a factual historical narrative about their life. 
    3. The competition’s jury will be comprised of a diverse panel representing different backgrounds to ensure a fair and inclusive evaluation process. For more information on the selection process, please see the Terms and Conditions. 
    4. If you are shortlisted, we will invite you to a short online interview to get to know you and assess your English skills. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions during this conversation. 

    Should you have any questions, please email  competition.be.budapest@fcdo.gov.uk. 

    Deadlines  

    Make sure you enter the competition on time:  

    • competition opens: 8 March 2025 
    • deadline for applications: 11:59pm CET, 5 April 2025 
    • shortlisted candidates contacted for online interviews: 14-15 April 2025 
    • online interviews taking place: 6, 7 or 8 May (multiple time slots will be offered – to be agreed) 
    • final competition winners contacted: 9 May 2025 
    • programme taking place: 21 May 2025

    Updates to this page

    Published 7 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Scottish Secretary speech on driving economic growth in Scotland

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    Scottish Secretary speech on driving economic growth in Scotland

    Speech at the University of Edinburgh setting out how Scotland has the potential to be the engine room of UK growth [political content removed]

    WELCOME

    Thank you for having me today

    And can I begin by thanking Chris Deerin and Reform Scotland

    for helping us bring such a great audience together for the event.

    I look forward to speaking with Chris later and taking some questions.

    And thanks to both Chris Murray, MP and Christina Boswell, Vice Principal here at University of Edinburgh, for their kind introductions.

    And for welcoming us to the Informatics Forum at Edinburgh University,

    home to AI excellence since 1963!

    1963 – the same year that Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, delivered his “white heat of technology” speech.

    And that speech could be delivered today given the pace of technological change and the huge opportunities with AI. Of course, this university, with the passion and expertise of Christina and her colleagues are driving this agenda.

    This university will be at the heart of the government’s AI strategy.

    The implications for industry, our economy, government, services and society are unlimited and we must grab this with both hands.

    I’ve just visited the robotics lab downstairs and it’s mindblowing.

    Harold Wilson, of course, warned his audience that if the country was to prosper a “new Britain” would need to be forged in the “white heat” of this “scientific revolution”.

    History is indeed repeating itself. 

    The AI revolution is happening as we enter a golden age of opportunity.

    And Scotland should and will be at the heart of it. Thank you for all you do Christina.

    I came to this university as a fresh faced 16 year old,

    straight from 5th year at Wester Hailes Education Centre

    as the first in my family to go to university.

    The Lothians Equal Access Program for Schools was my entry point to this university,

    and the gateway to a different life.

    The support of dedicated, inspiring and role model teachers at WHEC,

    alongside the chance to study here are the reasons I’m able to make this speech today.

    The power of education to tear down societal barriers should never be underestimated.

    We hear a lot about attainment gaps and Scotland’s failure to close them. 

    And I promise that is no statistical abstraction or political point to score.

    It is about the life chances of every child in Scotland,

    and until it is seriously addressed then, make no mistake,

    it translates directly into the waste of human talent and denial of opportunity that currently holds Scotland back.

    Whether it is an apprenticeship, re-skilling, a degree, a postgraduate qualification,

    or simply giving a wee boy from Wester Hailes a chance,

    education and training are the biggest and best investments we can make in our economy and our society. 

    At a conference a few weeks ago I outlined my own journey from growing up in a council estate,

    to sitting down at the Cabinet table in Keir Starmer’s government.

    That’s a journey that took many twists and turns, from the Codfather Chippy to the Edinburgh Festival.

    I had a long career in business and as an entrepreneur before getting into politics.

    I actually almost didn’t get into university because I was so bad at the drums.

    I was set to fail Higher Music with aplomb!

    My music teacher pulled me aside and persuaded me that if I wanted any chance of getting into uni, 

    I had to sing instead! 

    And no… it wasn’t the Hearts song

    So after all of that, when I finally sat at that Cabinet table

    and looked around at the faces that made up the most working class Cabinet in history,

    I thought of my parents.

    I haven’t often talked about this, but my father passed away when I was nine.

    My mother raised two boys on her own, working multiple jobs to get by:

    Woolworths as a cleaner; the Busy Bee Bar as a cook; a bookies as a cashier.

    She worked these jobs because she wanted to give her boys the best possible opportunities in life.

    Sitting down at that Cabinet table for the first time I made a promise that every decision I make in government will be in service to working people.

    A government of service.

    I learned a lesson from those years to take into my job now.

    My mum wasn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves to get things done.

    Neither am I – and neither is this government.

    And we have had no choice.

    But I am proud of how our Plan for Change has already started to work:

    The biggest upgrade in workers rights in a generation

    an industrial strategy to make sure we can take advantage of the jobs of the future:

    GB Energy, publicly owned, headquartered here in Scotland

    Glasgow City Region chosen as one of the priority investment areas for the National Wealth Fund

    £1.4 billion in local growth spending across Scotland

    Harland and Wolff saved thanks to a deal brokered by the UK Government, with sites in Arnish and Methill in Scotland protected 

    And of course, the announcement from our Prime Minister that we will allocate £200 million from the National Wealth Fund,

    to drive investment in a viable industrial future for Grangemouth.

    Delivered after the Prime Minister asked me and the Scotland Office to lead a cross-government taskforce to make it happen.

    Grangemouth was the first issue on which I was briefed on as Secretary of State.

    In just eight months, we have put together a plan for the future.

    That £200 million is a signal that this government does not see Grangemouth as a political problem to be solved,

    but a huge opportunity for industrial renewal.

    And on top of all that, we have delivered the largest budget settlement for the Scottish Government in the history of devolution.

    An end to austerity – we promised it in the manifesto and the budget delivered it.

    That’s how we fix the foundations, deliver our Plan for Change and begin to turn things around for Scotland.

    Turning things around will take time, but I know a thing or two about the hard graft it takes to do that.

    My journey from Wester Hailes to Westminster included time working as a small business owner and entrepreneur.

    I was broadcasting on the internet years before YouTube.

    I was doing live televised karaoke before Pop Idol was even a glint in Simon Cowell’s eye.

    I was doing festival events and concerts,

    I refurbished and re-opened a derelict hotel in West Linton,

    opened a bar in Newington,

    and sports bistro in Edinburgh city centre.

    It’s amazing what you learn in a tough industry like hospitality.

    Being a small business owner means you have to turn your hand to everything,

    from pulling pints, to cleaning toilets.

    Though thankfully not always at the same time!

    I know the ups and downs of running my own business.

    More than once, I had to put the staff wages on a personal credit card,

    because no matter how hard it got, the team came first,

    they needed to pay their bills.

    That’s why, by the way, I am so proud of this government’s make work pay agenda.

    Boosting the minimum wage, 

    banning exploitative zero hour contracts, 

    ending fire and rehire, 

    day one rights for workers.  

    As a former business owner let me be clear:

    page one, line one of your business plan should be how you will pay your staff properly.

    More security and better pay for working people will help drive growth.

    It’s good for workers and it’s good for business.

    It drove growth in that West Linton Hotel.

    By working together we turned things around.

    That once derelict hotel is still thriving.

    There are derelict hotel stories in every community and every sector right across Scotland.

    I think of that when I consider how this government has reset the relationship with the Scottish Government.

    And we are starting to see fruits of that productive relationship  – such as bringing the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow.

    And in the range of areas where the Scottish Government has accepted the UK government  legislating in devolved areas,

    to deliver change, faster.

    On tobacco, renters rights, public railways, children’s protection and more.

    Too many people are keen to suggest this reset is “over” at the first sign of political disagreement. 

    It doesn’t work like that. 

    These are different governments,

    Led by different political parties with different priorities and policies.

    But just because we don’t agree on everything,

    doesn’t mean we can’t agree on anything.

    I am certain that the single most important outcome which Scotland’s two governments should seek,

    is economic growth.

    Growth with a purpose.

    to raise living standards, improve public services,

    and tackle the unacceptable levels of poverty that continue to scar our communities.

    Scotland can be the engine room of UK growth.

    We have so much potential.

    Potential that for too long has gone untapped,

    World class universities,

    advanced manufacturing,

    food and drink,

    life sciences,

    Financial and professional services. 

    And the government will leave no stone unturned to unleash that potential.

    Tearing up red tape,

    harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence to boost productivity,

    and delivering a proper industrial strategy, developed in partnership with businesses and trade unions.

    But delivering economic growth for Scotland is not something either of Scotland’s governments can do alone.

    It requires partnership and co-operation.

    Because the alternative costs us dearly.

    If Scottish growth had simply matched the sluggish UK growth in the last decade our economy would be nearly £10 billion larger.

    That is why we need a decade of national renewal.

    I know the will is there across Scotland’s cities, towns and villages.

    I know the will is there in Scotland’s businesses and trade unions.

    I know the will is there in Scotland’s third sector and charities.

    People up and down the country are full of enthusiasm and ideas for how to make their communities flourish.

    I was intrigued to read last week the leader of Glasgow City Council call for a ‘devolution deal’ for the city region.

    Not just money but powers too.

    This was echoed in a recent meeting with the Edinburgh region growth deal partners,

    who are calling for more powers over skills and transport.

    Devolution of powers to local communities.

    Just look at the impact an empowered Mayor has made to Greater Manchester.

    From 2014 to 2022 the Greater Manchester economy grew by almost 50%.

    If the Glasgow City Region had achieved that same level of growth,

    it would be £7.7 billion larger today.

    That’s an awful lot of jobs and opportunities lost.

    And we can see the real world impact on the high streets of Scotland’s towns and cities.

    As an entrepreneur, it’s painful to see boarded up shops and shuttered restaurants which once represented someone’s dreams and a community’s promise.

    That’s something both governments should be coming together to sort out, by empowering local communities with place based growth. 

    That place based growth is central to our Plan for change. 

    Money and power needs to be pushed out to communities,

    To give them all a fair kick of the ball,

    and create their own jobs and investment.

    And the single biggest opportunity to create good jobs is ensuring that Scotland wins the race to clean energy.

    With GB energy located in Aberdeen, and billions of pounds of investment on the table we need to grasp those opportunities.

    Re-skilling and retraining our workforce will be key to delivering a just transition,

    ensuring the job opportunities of the future are accessible to all.

    And when I think about the future, I think of my daughters.

    Zola, aged four years, and Lois just five weeks old. 

    The jobs and careers they will enjoy have likely yet to even be invented.

    (although Zola does want to be a police officer)

    Businesses and unions constantly tell me they worry about the skills landscape in Scotland.

    The Fraser of Allander Institute found a quarter of employers report vacancies,

    with 31% of these being classified as skill-shortage vacancies, up 10 per cent from 2020.

    We won’t grab these clean energy jobs for Scotland unless we equip our young people,

    and our existing workforce with the skills to do them.

    Now we gather today, at the end of Scottish Apprenticeship Week.

    Apprenticeships and further education should be at the heart of how we take advantage of the race to clean power.

    There are 8,000 fewer college places today than there were just last year.

    Those places are at their lowest level in nine years.

    Just last week we saw that the attainment gap in Scottish schools between the richest and the poorest kids has widened again.

    Everyone deserves the opportunity and dignity that comes with good work. 

    Yet Scotland’s rate of economic inactivity is above the rest of the UK. 

    That’s people out of work, and not looking for work for various reasons. 

    If we simply matched the UK average, we would get over 40,000 people back to work and generate millions more for our economy and communities.

    The UK Government’s £240 million Get Britain Working Plan will overhaul Jobcentres so they focus on skills and careers.

    We need to see the Scottish Government engage with that plan and help us make it work.

    One of the reasons why Scotland’s inactivity rate is higher,

    is because more people in Scotland are out of work due to ill health.

    Many of those people want to work, but can’t.

    And far, far too many of them are stuck on an NHS Scotland waiting list.

    As it stands, NHS waiting times are one of the biggest blocks to growing our economy.

    Almost 300,000 Scots are out of work and not looking for work because they are either temporary or  long term sick..

    Over 700,000 Scots are on an NHS waiting list for treatment.

    Cut NHS waiting lists and you will grow our economy.

    A record settlement from the UK Government for public services in Scotland should deliver that. 

    I know that some of the decisions the UK Government took to fund that record settlement have been difficult and won’t please everyone…

    but we live in a world where 100,000 Scots have been stuck on an NHS waiting list for more than a year,

    28,000 Scots in the past 18 months have been forced to go private for health care.

    That is an unacceptable situation and we make no apology delivering the funding our NHS needs.

    Scotland has a proud industrial past,

    and we can have a bright industrial future, which delivers jobs and wealth for families for generations to come,

    but only if we get the race to clean power right.

    For too long Scottish workers missed out on the work.

    Now I worry a new generation will miss out on the skills.

    As my wonderful Scotland Office ministerial colleague and friend, Kirsty McNeill, often says:

    “We feel it in our bones.”

    It is why we believe in delivering the kind of economic growth that delivers jobs and opportunities for working class people and communities. 

    And one area where those jobs and opportunities could be created, is nuclear power.

    The Scottish Government has a long-standing opposition to nuclear power.

    That is their prerogative, but doing so means investment, jobs and opportunities for Scottish communities will continue to head south.

    Both Hunterston in North Ayrshire and Torness in East Lothian are prime spots for development.

    They have made fantastic contributions to the Scottish economy in the past and they can do so again in the future.

    For Hunterston, that could be 800 new jobs with £50-60 million in direct local wages. 

    For Torness, up to 1,000 jobs with £100m in direct wages.

    Together it would mean tens of millions of pounds being paid in business rates. 

    My message to the Scottish Government today is simple:

    stop blocking this investment, allow those jobs to be created, and let that revenue flow into Scotland.

    And crucially – please work in partnership with the UK Government to deliver it.

    Nuclear power stations aren’t built overnight.

    But they are an investment in our future.

    And another long term investment, for which our country is crying out, is aviation infrastructure.

    Or to put it simply – runways.

    I’ll be clear – I support a third runway at Heathrow. 

    It is a huge opportunity for Scotland’s economy and a massive opportunity for our Brand Scotland agenda,

    to sell Scotland to the world.

    Most passengers leave Scotland on a plane, not knowing that beneath their seat are crates of Scottish salmon and whisky. 

    Connectivity to get our world leading goods overseas is critical as an enabler to growth.

    But incredibly, Scottish exports as a percentage of GDP lag behind the rest of the UK. 

    The Scottish Government’s export target is to increase the value of Scotland’s international exports to 25% of GDP by 2029. 

    But that would still leave us behind the rest of the UK,

    and missed opportunities to improve connectivity to our own airports is partly why.

    It was the current First Minister himself who cancelled the Glasgow Airport Rail Link, over 16 years ago in 2009. 

    That was a missed opportunity for growth,

    given Glasgow Airport already adds over £1.4 billion to the Scottish economy and supports 30,000 jobs.

    It is incredible that in 2025 you can get a direct train from Glasgow Central to Manchester Airport, over 200 miles away.

    but not to Glasgow Airport, just a few miles from the centre of Scotland’s largest city.

    We need UK and Scottish government cooperation, to ensure that all Scotland’s airports, 

    including the publicly owned Prestwick Airport,

    makes the most of Heathrow expansion, and have a proper strategy to drive economic growth.

    The UK industrial strategy identifies eight growth driving sectors, and Scotland can benefit from all of them:

    advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries

    creative industries, digital and technologies

    financial services, life sciences

    professional and business services

    and most relevant this week – defence.

    The decision to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP is an act of generational leadership from our Prime Minister.

    as we chart a new course in an uncertain world and do what is necessary to defend our country and our continent.

    National security is the first duty of any government,

    but that increase in spending also represents a massive industrial opportunity for Scotland.

    More than £2 billion was spent by the Ministry of Defence in Scotland last year,

    the industry in Scotland employs more than 30,000 people, including 1,500 apprentices.

    The role must be to defend our nation,

    to stand in solidarity with our European partners,

    and to help Scottish industry lead the way in defence technology and manufacturing.

    On this issue, at this crucial time, we need cooperation between Scotland’s two governments,

    and I am determined that it should happen,

    in our national interest.

    So on these issues: skills, nuclear, aviation,

    infrastructure, defence, and employability,

    I will reconvene the Scottish Business Growth group

    co-chaired by me and the Deputy First Minister. 

    We will bring together voices from across Scottish business, industry,

    trades unions and civic society,

    to find a way through these challenges.

    It will be Scotland’s Growth Commission.

    Last year heralded a new era for the Scotland Office.

    An era of delivery.

    An era that will grasp the new golden age of opportunities for Scotland.

    The vast majority of Scots want their two governments to work together to increase living standards and improve public services. 

    Under my leadership, that is what this Scotland Office is determined to do.

    Since the election last July, I have completely reformed and restructured the department,

    so it can deliver the government’s missions for Scots.

    This new direction for the Scotland Office will have four strategic priorities:

    economic growth

    green energy

    Brand Scotland

    and tackling poverty.

    This new Scotland Office is the UK Government’s delivery arm for Scotland

    and Scotland’s window to Whitehall.

    We will deliver economic growth. 

    But growth with a purpose: 

    to reduce and one day eradicate the poverty which scars our communities. 

    Taking advantage of our enormous green energy potential and our world class brand to get there.

    So as we enter a third era of the Scotland Office post devolution, 

    I am reminded of the words of a Scottish Secretary from long before the devolution era, the great Tom Johnston, who wrote:

    “…if only we could lift great social crusades like better housing and health from the arena of partisan strife,

    what magnificent achievements might yet be ours.

    “In unity lies strength: in concurrence, the possibility of great achievement in better housing, 

    better health,

    better education, better use of leisure,

    greater security in income, and employment.”

    That is a lesson that the Scottish public have been demanding both their governments learn. 

    And that lesson is the path to deliver better living standards and ensure that

    plenty more boys and girls

    from communities like Wester Hailes,

    and from all over Scotland, 

    have the opportunities in life that can lead them to the Cabinet table.

    That is my motivation.

    That is my ambition for Scotland. 

    Thank you for your time this morning.

    Updates to this page

    Published 7 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What Amazon MGM’s creative control over the James Bond film franchise means for the future of 007

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Colin Burnett, Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies, Washington University in St. Louis

    Daniel Craig played James Bond in five films from 2006 to 2021. Greg Williams/Eon Productions via Getty Images

    James Bond was front and center at the 2025 Academy Awards – and in a somewhat curious way.

    In a musical number, Lisa of Blackpink, Doja Cat and Raye sang the Bond theme songs “Live and Let Die,” “Diamonds Are Forever” and “Skyfall,” respectively. No Bond films had been nominated for an award, and none of these singers has a connection to the Bond franchise, though they did all recently collaborate on the single “Born Again.”

    The strange exercise felt less like a celebration and more like a big flashing question mark for a screen icon whose future has never felt more uncertain.

    Since the shocking news dropped on Feb. 20, 2025, that Jeff Bezos’ Amazon MGM Studios would assume creative control over the James Bond film franchise, commentators and fans have wondered why.

    Why would the Broccoli family, which has long held the rights to Bond movies through their company, EON, cede control of the film series to a tech partner they’ve been at odds with?

    Two possibilities have emerged.

    First, EON’s Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, the stepson and daughter of legendary EON producer Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli, may have reached a point of creative exhaustion. There could be something to this theory. According to Puck’s Matthew Belloni, the 83-year-old Wilson and 64-year-old Broccoli were having difficulty figuring out their next step after 2021’s “No Time to Die.”

    A second reason could be Amazon’s impatience with EON. In December 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that Barbara Broccoli balked when Amazon Studios executive Jennifer Salke proposed several Bond spinoff projects, including a Bond series with a female lead, for Prime Video. Perhaps frustrated with the stalemate, Amazon may have made Wilson and Broccoli an offer they couldn’t refuse to get them out of the way and get production of Bond content rolling.

    The speculation is certainly intriguing. But a more central question shouldn’t be overlooked: the “what.”

    What, precisely, has Amazon MGM acquired? And what can it actually do with the Bond story?

    Breaking down the Bond rights

    In my research on the 007 franchise, I’ve discovered that this property has never been a traditional film series.

    Long before “Star Wars” launched in 1976 and the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched in 2008, Bond relied on a range of mediums to tell its story.

    The Bond franchise began in 1953, not with a film but with a novel, Ian Fleming’s “Casino Royale.” One year later, “Casino Royale” was adapted for American TV as a live anthology show. Four years after that, in 1958, a popular Bond comic strip made its debut.

    It was only in 1962, with “Dr. No,” starring Sean Connery, that the now-iconic film series began.

    Since then, James Bond has been spun off into a children’s animated show, choose-your-own-adventure books, a “Young Bond” novel series, video games, a reality show, radio dramas and more.

    Here’s what’s crucial: With its new deal, Amazon MGM has a controlling stake only in the rights that EON holds. EON has licensed the right to produce future films and TV shows from Fleming since 1961. EON secured worldwide merchandising rights in 1964 and production rights to video games in the early 1990s.

    Other 007 media – the literary, comic and audio series – are managed by the Fleming Estate and Ian Fleming Publications.

    EON produced most of the James Bond films, such as 1969’s ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.’
    EON/United Artists

    The James Bond media franchise is what I call a shared rights and licensing network.

    No one company controls all of the Bond rights, and no one company produces all of Bond media. Though this arrangement is a complicated one, the sharing and licensing of rights has allowed Bond to emerge as a lucrative and fecund product line. According to my calculations, it now boasts over 330 original stories in 72 years of media production.

    In other words, Bond is much more than the 25 films released by EON.

    James Bond’s many lives

    Until now, rights sharing and licensing have ensured that the Bond franchise remains creatively distinct from “Star Wars” and Marvel.

    The companies that produce these series – LucasFilm and Marvel Studios – are owned by The Walt Disney Company. With their rights pooled under one corporate entity that also oversees all production, “Star Wars” and Marvel have been able to drive toward high levels of creative consistency and unity among their stories. Across films, TV, comics and video games, “Star Wars” and Marvel aspire to what media specialists call “transmedia storytelling.”

    By sharing rights, the Bond franchise has arrived at a very different type of storytelling, one that fragments the story and multiplies the James Bonds to be experienced across distinct media. The effect isn’t transmedia storytelling, or even a Marvel-style multiverse. In Bond, characters can’t cross over to alternate realities and meet other versions of themselves.

    James Bond exists in many different worlds and leads many different lives.

    The James Bond in Ian Fleming’s novels has a biography that differs from the version of Bond who appears in other media.
    Jim/flickr, CC BY-NC-SA

    To name a few: There’s the Bond of Fleming’s 1950s and 1960s novels, who loses his first love, Vesper Lynd, and hunts down her killers, who are members of SMERSH, the assassination arm of Soviet intelligence agencies. Fleming’s Bond also lives on in the novels of Kingsley Amis and John Gardner, which were published in the 1970s and 1980s.

    There’s EON’s silver screen Bond, who, from 1962 to 2002, never falls in love with Vesper, but loses his wife, Tracy di Vicenzo, to the crime syndicate SPECTRE and remains scarred by the loss. And in the modern era, there’s the Bond who appears in author Samantha Weinberg’s “Moneypenny Diaries.” Published from 2005 to 2008, the series depicts a version of Bond who has retired to a small Scottish isle with his lover, MI6’s Miss Moneypenny.

    The effect of Bond’s shared structure is what I dub “threaded storytelling.” The novels present various versions of Bond’s life, at different points in history. The film series creates two of its own. The comic series offers yet more lives of 007.

    Each version of Bond runs alongside the others in the market, focusing on a Bond character who exists only within his unique story world. This gives fans an unpredictable, ever-expanding canon of stories to follow and even compare, like one grand spot-the-difference game in time.

    Where next for Bond?

    The deal between Amazon MGM and EON awaits regulatory approval in the U.S. and U.K.

    If it goes through, Amazon MGM will have a strong property on its hands. Over the decades, EON has reinforced certain elements to the character and the story: James Bond is a debonair hitman. MI6 chief M gives him high-stakes missions. MI6 armorer Q fits him with the latest gadgets. And Bond lives large, enjoying beautiful women, fine dining, Savile Row fashions and Omega timepieces.

    Amazon MGM is unlikely to tinker with these Bondian elements. They’re also likely to preserve the movies’ “Bond formula” – the gun barrel visual that kicks off each film, elaborately designed credit sequences, film-specific theme songs, and the closing title card that reads, “James Bond Will Return.”

    Yet some fans fear that Amazon MGM will develop “woke” storylines. Others foresee the product being diluted with countless streaming spinoff series.

    To me, the more intriguing possibility is whether Amazon will try to create a more unified Bond universe, akin to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yes, the Fleming Estate will continue to manage the novels, comics and radio. But with creative control over EON’s rights, Amazon MGM could, in theory, develop an elaborate transmedia strategy never before explored in this franchise.

    A relaunched film series, perhaps serving as Amazon MGM’s “mothership,” would feed into satellite series in video games and streaming shows. These games and shows, in turn, would tie into and expand the universe of the films.

    Were that to happen, the Bond franchise would truly enter a new phase and risk losing much of the creative flexibility it’s possessed in the past.

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

    – ref. What Amazon MGM’s creative control over the James Bond film franchise means for the future of 007 – https://theconversation.com/what-amazon-mgms-creative-control-over-the-james-bond-film-franchise-means-for-the-future-of-007-251011

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: NIH funding cuts will hit red states, rural areas and underserved communities the hardest

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Prakash Nagarkatti, Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Carolina

    Protesters on the University of Illinois Chicago campus raise concerns over funding cuts for medical research on Feb. 19, 2025. Scott Olson via Getty Images

    The National Institutes of Health is the largest federal funder of medical research in the U.S. NIH funds drive research and innovation, leading to better understanding and treatment of diseases and improved health outcomes.

    The NIH provided more than US$35 billion in grants to over 2,500 universities and other institutions in 2023 to support biomedical research. Thus, it came as a shock to these institutions when the NIH, based on a new Trump administration policy, announced on Feb. 7, 2025, that it intends to cut the funding used to support the grantee institutions by $5.5 billion annually.

    On March 5, a U.S. district judge in Boston issued a nationwide injunction blocking the administration from implementing the proposed cuts to NIH funding, arguing that the planned cuts were unlawful. However, the White House will almost certainly appeal.

    We are a husband-and-wife team of immunologists who have been funded by the NIH for several decades. We believe our research has led to a better understanding of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. In addition, one of us (Prakash Nagarkatti) served as vice president for research at the University of South Carolina for over a decade, managing all NIH grants awarded to the university.

    While we believe such cuts will be detrimental to the entire country, they will disproportionately hurt states that traditionally have received very low levels of NIH funding, the majority of which are red states that supported Trump’s election to a second term. This is because such states lack resources to develop advanced research infrastructure necessary to compete nationally for NIH funding.

    Several Republican senators have vocally opposed the funding cuts, including Susan Collins of Maine, who said they “would be devastating, stopping vital biomedical research and leading to the loss of jobs.”

    Support for cancer, Alzheimer’s research

    NIH funding is crucial for advancing biomedical research, improving public health and fostering innovation. It has a broad impact on different facets of society.

    The agency funds biomedical research leading to the development of vaccines or new drugs to prevent and treat infectious diseases and clinical disorders. The NIH played a crucial role in funding research on pandemics and global health crises caused by HIV/AIDS and COVID-19.

    In addition, the NIH supports advanced research in focused areas such as cancer, through the establishment of designated centers that offer cancer prevention, diagnosis, clinical trials and advanced treatment. Each year, approximately 400,000 patients receive cancer diagnoses and treatment at such centers.

    Similarly, the NIH supports research in other focused areas, such as Alzheimer’s disease, through the establishment of specialized research centers.

    The NIH also supports Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer opportunities. These programs stimulate technological innovation by funding small businesses to commercialize new research ideas.

    Moreover, the agency provides funding to train the next generation of biomedical scientists, clinicians and public health professionals. Thus, the NIH awards create jobs at universities, biotechnology companies and related industries. Together, such NIH programs promote local and national economies.

    In 2024, NIH funding generated an estimated US$92 billion in economic activity. Every $100 million in NIH funding generates 76 patents, which creates $598 million in further research and development, as reported by NIH.

    Therefore, any cuts to the agency’s budget will have far-reaching and significant consequences on health outcomes and the economy.

    How the NIH funding process works – and how the cuts will affect research.

    Caps on indirect costs

    When the NIH awards grants, it is divided into two separate categories: the direct costs, which include expenses that are necessary to pursue the proposed work and that are provided to the scientists, and the indirect costs. These cover expenses such as maintenance of lab space, utilities, grant management, federal regulatory compliance, security and other miscellaneous needs. These funds are provided directly to the institution.

    Indirect costs are negotiated between the institution and the federal agency and expressed as a percentage of the direct costs. Because each institution has unique operational expenses, the indirect cost rates vary from 30% to 70%.

    The new policy rolled out by the NIH capped the indirect costs for all institutions at a fixed rate of 15%. In 2023, NIH spent $35 billion to support research at various institutions, of which $9 billion was used to cover indirect costs. Thus, NIH estimates it could save $4 billion by capping indirect costs at 15%.

    Inside an NIH lab in Bethesda, Md., where researchers work on treatments and cures for disease, including cancer.
    Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

    How red states get hurt the most

    There is a significant geographic disparity in NIH funding that most people are unaware of. There are 27 states in the U.S. that receive 94% of NIH funding, while the other 23 states receive only 6%. Moreover, the NIH funding received by the 23 states has remained relatively unchanged for the past 20  years.

    There are many reasons why the latter states are less competitive. These include: lack of large medical centers, hospitals and research-intensive universities; thin and more rural populations; less robust economies; and lack of cutting-edge research infrastructure driven by less investment by the states in research and development.

    It is for these reasons that Congress in 1993 authorized the NIH to start a new program called the Institutional Development Award, or IDeA, to support the 23 states plus Puerto Rico that have traditionally received low levels of NIH funding. Such states are commonly called IDeA states and contain predominantly rural and medically underserved communities.

    These awards, which constitute less than 1% of the total NIH budget, are expected to help these states grow their research infrastructure and make them more competitive nationally.

    The IDeA states are: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming, plus Puerto Rico. All the states but Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont voted for Trump in the 2024 election.

    Indirect costs pay for cutting-edge technologies

    Indirect costs, in addition to supporting the management of specific grants, are also helpful in promoting the institutions’ research infrastructure.

    The indirect costs help purchase and upgrade state-of-the-art research equipment and technologies. They help institutions develop high-performance computing facilities that are critical for research missions and provide access to journals and books through the library facilities. These costs also renovate old labs and help create new cutting-edge facilities such as germ-free facilities for microbiome research.

    Thus, the indirect costs are critical for IDeA states that have limited resources such as state support for pursuing research.

    According to the Higher Education Research and Development Survey, in 2023, non-IDeA states like California invested $548 million and New York over $303 million in R&D. In contrast, IDeA states Kentucky and West Virginia invested $49 million and $15 million, respectively, in R&D.

    Such data clearly demonstrates how challenging it would be for IDeA states to face cuts in NIH funding and advance research infrastructure.

    In our view, it is critical that all states have access to NIH research funding to enable the states to solve the unique challenges they face, such as environmental issues and population health disparities.

    For example, biomedical scientists and clinicians trained by NIH grants are addressing locally relevant issues such as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, commonly known as black lung disease, which occurs when coal dust is inhaled. This is an occupational hazard linked to the coal industry in West Virginia and Kentucky.

    Similarly, Hawaii, with its tropical climate, has mosquitoes that can carry dengue virus, so dengue infection can pose a unique health and economic problem for this state when compared with the others in the U.S.

    Training the biomedical workforce and physicians in IDeA states also helps with retaining health providers in the state to further address these local challenges and prevents brain-drain to other non-IDeA states.

    IDeA states heavily rely on NIH funds to pursue and advance their research capabilities and address local and general health challenges. For such states, already struggling to receive NIH funding, reducing indirect costs would further exacerbate their disadvantages, increasing the risk of falling behind in medical research, patient care and regional economic growth.

    Prakash Nagarkatti receives funding from NIH.

    Mitzi Nagarkatti receives funding from NIH.

    – ref. NIH funding cuts will hit red states, rural areas and underserved communities the hardest – https://theconversation.com/nih-funding-cuts-will-hit-red-states-rural-areas-and-underserved-communities-the-hardest-250592

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Join the Great Stoke Spring Walk

    Source: City of Stoke-on-Trent

    Published: Friday, 7th March 2025

    The Trent Rivers Trust is inviting walkers to discover the latest stretch of the Trent Valley Way in Stoke-on-Trent.

    It’s part of a £190,000 UK Shared Prosperity Fund grant-funded project that was distributed by Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

    The charity has organised a free guided waterside walk through Stoke-on-Trent on Saturday 22 March.

    Walkers can choose the challenge of a 25km walk or pick and choose stretches between 1.5 to 8km in length. The walk starts in Norton Green and finishes in Barlaston at the World of Wedgwood visitor car park. 

     It is also an opportunity to get to know Stoke-on-Trent’s latest wildlife murals, completed by local artist, Tom Edward.

    The walk is part of a wider ambition to create better access to the Trent as part of a signposted source-to-sea footpath from Biddulph Moor to the Humber Estuary.

    Councillor Amjid Wazir OBE, cabinet member for city pride, enforcement and sustainability for Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “The brilliant staff and volunteers at Trent Rivers Trust have created an accessible walking route through the city. It makes it easier for people to get close to nature and benefit from increased fitness and better mental health.  

    “If you haven’t had a chance to visit it, this is a perfect opportunity for a few hours in the fresh air exploring our city.”  

    Tom Aplin, Partnership and Engagement Manager at Trent Rivers Trust said: “This walk is designed as a friendly, welcoming event. While 25km is certainly a challenge, the idea for people to get to know the Trent – with their own eyes and through our expertise – and to leave the footpath in a better state.

    “This aligns with the wider ethos of the Trent Valley Way – it is an invitation for anyone and everyone living near the Trent to connect with their river and to invest in their wellbeing and that of the river. Improving the footpath in Stoke-on-Trent from Biddulph Moor marks a new chapter for the Trent Valley Way – one we’d like to celebrate on Saturday 22nd March.” 

    The event also welcomes people who simply want to improve green spaces within Stoke. People can also register and help with a litter pick taking place in Hanley Park and near Milton Football Club.  

    The initiative is part of the £190,000 UKSPF which Stoke-on-Trent City Council secured in 2023. The project supported community projects, local artwork, river recovery and improves access to the city’s namesake river.

    Free tickets can be booked online at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-great-stoke-spring-walk-tickets-1226334632899

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Exhausted by the news? Here are 6 strategies to stay informed without getting overwhelmed − or misled by misinformation

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Seth Ashley, Professor of Communication and Media, Boise State University

    Not all news sources are created equal. Noah Berger/AP Images

    Political spin is nothing new, and identifying reliable news and information can be hard to do during any presidency. But the return of Donald Trump to the White House has reignited debates over truth, accountability and the role of media in a deeply divided America.

    Misinformation is an umbrella term that covers all kinds of false and misleading content, and there is lots of it out there.

    During Trump’s chaotic first presidency, the president himself promoted false claims about COVID-19, climate change and the 2020 election.

    Now, in his second term, Trump is again using the bully pulpit of the presidency to spread false claims – for example, on Ukraine and Canada as well as immigration, inflation and, still, the 2020 election.

    Meanwhile, social media platforms such as Meta have ended fact-checking programs created after Trump’s first election win, and presidential adviser Elon Musk continues to use social media platform X to amplify Trump’s false claims and his own conspiracy theories.

    To stay informed while also arming yourself against misinformation, it’s crucial to practice what I call good “news hygiene” by developing strong news literacy skills.

    News literacy, as I argue in my open-access 2020 book “News Literacy and Democracy” and in recent research with colleagues, is about more than fact-checking and detecting AI-generated fakes. It’s about understanding how modern media works and how content is influenced, from TikTok “newsfluencers” to FOX News to The New York Times.

    Here are six ways to become a smarter, saner news consumer.

    1. Recognize the influence of algorithms

    Algorithms are the hidden computer formulas that mediate everything news consumers read, watch, click on and react to online. Despite the illusion of neutrality, algorithms shape people’s perceptions of reality and are designed to maximize engagement.

    Algorithmic recommendation engines that power everything from X to YouTube can even contribute to a slow-burn destabilization of American society by shoving consumers into partisan echo chambers that increase polarization and erode social trust.

    Sometimes, algorithms can feed falsehoods that warp people’s perceptions or tell them to engage in dangerous behavior. Facebook groups spreading “Stop the Steal” messages contributed to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. TikTok algorithms had people drinking laundry detergent in the “borax challenge.” Dylann Roof killed nine Black people based on falsehoods from hate groups he found in search results.

    Rather than passively consuming whatever appears in your feeds – allowing brain rot to set in – actively seek out a variety of sources to inform you about current events. The news shouldn’t just tell you what you want to hear.

    And spread the word. People who simply understand that algorithms filter information are more likely to take steps to combat misinformation.

    2. Understand the economics of corporate news

    Media outlets operate within economic systems that shape their priorities.

    For-profit newsrooms, which produce the bulk of news consumed in the U.S., rely heavily on advertising revenue, which can reduce the quality of news and create a commercial bias. Places such as ABC, CNN and FOX, as well as local network TV affiliates, can still do good work, but their business model helps to explain sensational horse-race election coverage and false-balance reporting that leaves room for doubt on established facts about climate change and vaccines.

    At the same time, the economic outlook for news is not good. Declining revenues and staff cuts also reduce the quality of news.

    Nonprofit newsrooms and public media provide alternatives that generally prioritize public interest over profit. And if you have the budget, paying for quality journalism with a subscription can help credible outlets survive.

    Traditional journalism has never been perfect, but the collapse of the news business is unquestionably bad for democracy. Countries with better funding for public media tend to have stronger democracies, and compared with other rich nations, the U.S. spends almost nothing on public service broadcasting.

    3. Focus on source evaluation and verification

    Particularly with AI-generated content on the rise, source evaluation and verification are essential skills. Here are some ways to identify trustworthy journalism:

    • Quality of evidence: Are claims verified with support from a variety of informed individuals and perspectives?

    • Transparency about sources: Is the reporter clear about where their information came from and who shared it?

    • Adherence to ethical guidelines: Does the outlet follow the basic journalistic principles of accuracy and independence?

    • Corrections: Does the outlet correct its errors and follow up on incomplete reporting?

    Be cautious with content that lacks the author’s name, relies heavily on anonymous sources – or uses no sources at all – or is published by outlets with a clear ideological agenda. These aren’t immediate disqualifiers – some credible news magazines such as The Economist have no bylines, for example, and some sources legitimately need anonymity for protection – but watch out for news operations that routinely engage in these practices and obscure their motive for doing so.

    A good online verification practice is called “lateral reading.” That’s when you open new browser tabs to verify claims you see on news sites and social media. Ask: Is anyone else covering this, and have they reached similar conclusions?

    4. Examine your emotional reactions

    One of the hallmarks of misinformation is its ability to provoke strong emotional responses, whether outrage, fear or validation.

    These reactions, research shows, can cloud judgment and make people more susceptible to false or misleading information. The primitive brains of humans are wired to reject information that challenges our beliefs and to accept information we like, a phenomenon known as confirmation bias.

    When encountering content that sparks an emotional reaction, ask yourself: Who benefits from this narrative? What evidence supports it? Is this information informative or manipulative?

    If the answers make you suspicious, investigate further before acting or sharing.

    5. Guard against propaganda

    Everyone in politics works to shape narratives in order to gain support for their agenda. It’s called spin.

    But Trump goes further, spreading documented lies to pump up his followers and undermine the legitimacy of basic democratic institutions.

    He also targets media he doesn’t like. From discrediting critical outlets as “fake news” or calling journalists the “enemy of the people,” these tactics silence dissent, undermine public trust in journalism and alter perceptions around acceptable public discourse and behavior.

    Meanwhile, he amplifies information and people who support his political causes. This is called propaganda.

    Understanding the mechanics of propaganda – its use of repetition, emotional appeal, scapegoating, scare tactics and unrealistic promises – can help inoculate people against its influence.

    6. Stay engaged

    Democracy relies on an informed and active citizenry to hold accountable their government and the officials who work in it as well as other powerful players in society. Yet the sheer volume of misinformation and bad news these days can feel overwhelming.

    Rather than tuning out – what scholars call “news avoidance” – you can practice critical consumption of news.

    Read deeply, look beyond headlines and short video clips, question the framing of stories, and encourage discussions about the role of media in society. Share reliable information with your friends and colleagues, and model good news hygiene for others.

    Correcting misinformation is notoriously hard, so if someone you know shares it, start a dialogue by asking – privately and gently – where they heard it and whether they think it’s really true.

    Finally, set goals for your consumption. What are your information needs at any given moment, and where can you meet that need? Some experts say 30 minutes a day is enough. Don’t waste your time on garbage.

    Touch grass

    While it’s important to stay engaged, so is getting outside and connecting with nature to calm and soothe your busy brain. Logging off and connecting with people in real life will keep your support system strong for when things are tough. Protect your mental health by turning off notifications and taking breaks from your phone.

    Practicing good news hygiene isn’t just about protecting ourselves – it’s about fostering a media environment that supports democracy and informed participation.

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

    – ref. Exhausted by the news? Here are 6 strategies to stay informed without getting overwhelmed − or misled by misinformation – https://theconversation.com/exhausted-by-the-news-here-are-6-strategies-to-stay-informed-without-getting-overwhelmed-or-misled-by-misinformation-248807

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: The Council commissions the Activation of Active Travel Programme

    Source: City of Preston

    Preston City Council has successfully commissioned the Activation of Active Travel Programme to four local providers who will support residents to become happier and healthier as they get more active through cycling, wheeling and walking.

    The funding was secured from Lancashire County Council to improve walking, cycling and wheeling facilities with the aim of boosting these forms of active travel.

    The Active Travel programme aims to put in place measures to support and encourage residents to change their behaviour and use existing active travel infrastructure. It will support Preston in achieving its priorities by helping residents, particularly underrepresented groups, to do more cycling, wheeling and walking for everyday journeys.

    The scheme also advances the Council’s Community Wealth Building strategy by enabling collaborative work with local partners to encourage residents to use local assets for community and environmental benefit.

    County Councillor Michael Green, Cabinet member for Health and Wellbeing at Lancashire County Council, said:

    Lancashire County Council allocated £30,000 to support this project, which aims to enhance targeted infrastructure such as cycle lanes, junction improvements, and pavements.

    These improvements align with Lancashire’s Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans and Highway Masterplan. The project aims to improve access to walking, cycling and wheeling modes of travel, such as wheelchairs and mobility scooters, particularly for hard-to-reach groups who are less likely to engage in physical activity. This initiative is fantastic for the overall health and wellbeing of the community.

    Preston has a large amount of public green spaces ideal for cycling and walking such as Avenham Park, Moor Park and The Guild Wheel.

    Further developments and public realm improvements such as the new tram bridge and Queen’s Street cycle route are also ongoing, funded by central government.

    Councillor Zafar Coupland, Preston City Council Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing said:

    This is a wonderful initiative encouraging Preston residents to make the most of the incredible spaces we have on our doorstep. Not only, will this programme encourage people to become more active, but it will also give residents the opportunity to discover places they may not have been to before.

    Together, these projects will build the confidence and skills of residents in the city supporting them to take part in cycling, wheeling and walking. They will particularly target underrepresented and vulnerable groups such as ethnic minority communities, those living in socio-economically deprived communities, and those with a disability or long-term health condition.

    The Activation programme comprises of three projects and four delivery partners:

    Supporting cycle commuting

    This project will be delivered by Preston Pedals, a community organisation that promotes a culture of everyday cycling in Preston for proven benefits for health and wellbeing, as well as tackling climate change.

    Dr. Julie Ridley, Co-director of Preston Pedals Ltd. said:

    Preston Pedals are excited to be awarded the grant for cycle commuting. We’re looking forward to working with volunteer Ride Buddies who will be trained as ride leaders, and we’ll support them to buddy others to cycle more. 

    Together we’ll create commuting routes for everyday cycling on quieter and off road in different parts of Preston, test them out, then turn these user-friendly routes into digital and paper maps for more people to use.

    Accessible cycling events

    This project will be delivered by Wheels for All, who currently have a Hub at UCLan Sports Arena and provide inclusive cycling sessions that embrace all children and adults with disabilities and differing needs to engage with quality cycling activity, using adapted cycles such as handcycles, trikes and wheelchair transporters to assist in building confidence and independence in cycling.

    Ian Tierney, CEO of Wheels for All said:

    Wheels for All is really excited to be part of the Preston Active Travel scheme. Our programme will consist of a series of outreach accessible cycling activities across the city of Preston giving people all abilities the chance to enjoy accessible cycling in their local communities.

    Widening Participation in Walking

    This project will be delivered by Preston Muslim Forum and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

    Preston Muslim Forum seeks to improve the lives and wellbeing of black, Asian and ethnic minority communities in the inner wards of Preston by fostering understanding and co-operation and providing training and skills.

    Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will support staff, patients and carers to get out for regular walks around Preston and Chorley and South Ribble Hospitals by providing training to walking leaders.

    Neil Pease, Chief People Officer at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, said:

    We are delighted to have been successful in our bid for funding from Lancashire County Council’s Active Travel Scheme. Our colleagues told us that they would like to increase the amount of physical activity they do at work – and our new walking scheme will be the perfect way to do this.

    As part of the new walking scheme, we will develop a network of trained walk leaders who will help our colleagues to participate in a planned programme of regular walking activities. Our walk leaders will be organising and leading short, pre-planned lunchtime walks around local routes, which will help our colleagues to build their confidence and enjoy the many benefits of exercise as part of their daily lives.

    Thank you to the County Council for enabling us to offer this fantastic opportunity, which we believe has the potential to make a big difference to the health and wellbeing of many colleagues.

    The Active Travel programme promises to be a positive addition to the existing schemes that are already on offer in Preston such as free tennis lessons and football sessions, which have been a proven success in various parks across Preston.

    Additional Information

    Preston City Council actively applies and prioritises the principles of Community Wealth Building wherever applicable and appropriate. Community Wealth Building is an approach which aims to ensure the economic system builds wealth and prosperity for everyone.   

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The US has pardoned insurrectionists twice before – and both times, years of violent racism followed

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Joseph Patrick Kelly, Professor of Literature and Director of Irish and Irish American Studies, College of Charleston

    A man convicted for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection shows off his pardon from President Donald Trump. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

    Donald Trump is the third U.S. president to pardon a large group of insurrectionists. His clemency toward those convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection – including seditious conspiracy and assaults on police officers – was different in key ways from the two previous efforts, by Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Ulysses S. Grant in 1873.

    But they share the apparent hope that their pardons would herald periods of national harmony. As historians of the period after the Civil War, we know that for Johnson and Grant, that’s not what happened.

    A reversion to discrimination

    When Johnson became president in 1865 after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, he faced a combative Congress. Though Johnson had opposed the secession of the Southern states before the Civil War began, he agreed with former Confederate leaders that formerly enslaved people did not deserve equality with white people.

    Further, as a Southerner, he wanted to maintain the social conventions and economic structure of the South by replacing enslavement with economic bondage. This economic bondage, called sharecropping, was a system by which tenant farmers rented land from large landowners. Tenants rarely cleared enough to pay their costs and fell into debt. In effect, Johnson sought to restore the nation to how it was before the Civil War, though without legalized slavery – and sought every avenue available to thwart the plans of the Radical Republicans who controlled both houses of Congress to create full racial equality.

    Johnson signed an amnesty that gave a blanket pardon to all former Confederate soldiers. However, he required formerly high-ranking Confederate officials to individually seek pardons for their involvement in the rebellion. These officials faced permanent disfranchisement and could not hold federal office if they did not seek a pardon.

    President Andrew Johnson pardons rebels at the White House.
    Stanley Fox, Harper’s Weekly, 1865.

    When Congress was in recess, Johnson vetoed two bills that had been passed: one to help find homes for formerly enslaved people who could no longer live on the property of their enslavers, and the other to define U.S. citizenship and ensure equal protection of the laws for Black people as well as white people.

    Johnson also told Southern states not to ratify the 14th Amendment, whose purpose was to enshrine both citizenship and equal protection in the Constitution.

    When Congress came back in session, it continued its effort of Reconstruction of the former Confederate states – reforming their racist laws and policies to comport with the liberty and equality the Union was committed to – by overriding Johnson’s vetoes and requiring former Confederate states to ratify the 14th Amendment as a condition of readmission to the Union. But Congress could not override the pardons the president had granted.

    This continued political warfare resulted in Johnson being impeached – but not convicted or removed from office. But the back-and-forth also stalled Reconstruction and efforts toward racial equality, ultimately dooming the effort.

    In 1986, the Ku Klux Klan marched through the streets of Pulaski, Tenn., to protest the national celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
    AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

    The rise of the KKK

    Nathan Bedford Forrest was not covered by Johnson’s general amnesty. As a former Confederate general, he had to apply for a personal presidential pardon, which Johnson granted on July 17, 1868. Two months later, Forrest represented Tennessee at the Democratic Party’s national convention in New York City.

    He also took command of the Ku Klux Klan, the unofficial militant wing of the Democratic Party. Forrest initiated the title “Grand Wizard,” a bizarre title derived from his Civil War nickname, “Wizard of the Saddle.” He became a leader of former Confederates who resisted Reconstruction through violence and terror.

    After his pardon, Forrest perfected a rhetorical technique for his extremism. His biographer Court Carney described it as a multistep process, starting with, “Say something exaggerated and inflammatory that plays well with supporters.” Then, deny saying it “to maintain a semblance of professional decorum.” Then, blur the threats with “crowd pleasing humor.” It proved an effective way of threatening violence while being able to deny responsibility for any violence that occurred.

    Nathan Bedford Forrest, center, in a Confederate uniform, joins a caricature of an Irish immigrant, left, and Democratic Party chairman August Belmont in trampling the rights of a Black Union veteran, depicted lying on the ground.
    Thomas Nast, Harper’s Weekly, 1868.

    Under Forrest’s leadership, membership in the violent, racist Ku Klux Klan spread almost everywhere in the South. Records are sketchy, so it’s impossible to say how many people were lynched, but the Equal Justice Initiative has documented 2,000 lynchings of Black Americans during Reconstruction. Black women and girls were often raped by klansmen or members of its successor militias.

    It’s also not possible to say how many pardoned ex-Confederates participated in the lynchings. But the violence was so widespread that just about everyone, North and South, thought the political violence was a resumption of the Civil War.

    In the Piedmont of the Carolinas, klan violence amounted to a shadow government of white nationalists. Grant ordered the U.S. Army to apprehend the klansmen, and a newly minted Department of Justice prosecuted the insurrectionists for violating civil rights guaranteed by the 14th and 15th amendments. After several trials that proved to be what the federal judiciary’s official history calls “dramatic spectacles,” federal judges handed down conviction after conviction.

    The federal government’s decisive action allowed for a relatively free presidential election in 1872. Black voters helped Grant win in eight Southern states, contributing to his landslide victory.

    But after his reelection, Grant appointed a new attorney general, who dropped the pending klan cases. Grant also pardoned klansmen who had already been convicted of crimes.

    Grant hoped his gesture would encourage Southerners to accept the nation’s new birth of freedom.

    It didn’t. The pardons told former Confederates that they were winning.

    John Christopher Winsmith, an ex-Confederate who embraced racial equality and whose father had been killed by the KKK, wrote to Grant in 1873, “A few trials and convictions in the U.S. Courts, and then the pardoning of the criminals” had emboldened what he called “the hideous monster – Ku Kluxism.”

    A group of Red Shirts pose at a polling place in North Carolina on Election Day, Nov. 8, 1898.
    State Archives of North Carolina via Wikimedia Commons

    And a new gang arose, too: the Red Shirts, who began to murder Black people openly, not even in secret as the klan did. Two of the Red Shirts were later elected to the U.S. Senate.

    Paramilitary groups established anti-democratic one-party rule in every former Confederate state, imposing discriminatory laws known as Jim Crow, which were enforced by lynchings and other forms of racial violence.

    The federal government took no substantive action against this for a century, until the 20th century’s Civil Rights Movement sparked change. And it wasn’t until 2022 that Congress passed an anti-lynching bill.

    I was for several years a volunteer with the Charleston County (SC) Democratic Party.

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

    – ref. The US has pardoned insurrectionists twice before – and both times, years of violent racism followed – https://theconversation.com/the-us-has-pardoned-insurrectionists-twice-before-and-both-times-years-of-violent-racism-followed-249412

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Beyond AI regulation: How government and industry can team up to make the technology safer without hindering innovation

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Paulo Carvão, Senior Fellow, Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Harvard Kennedy School

    One of President Donald Trump’s first executive orders in his second term called for developing an AI action plan. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    Imagine a not-too-distant future where you let an intelligent robot manage your finances. It knows everything about you. It follows your moves, analyzes markets, adapts to your goals and invests faster and smarter than you can. Your investments soar. But then one day, you wake up to a nightmare: Your savings have been transferred to a rogue state, and they’re gone.

    You seek remedies and justice but find none. Who’s to blame? The robot’s developer? The artificial intelligence company behind the robot’s “brain”? The bank that approved the transactions? Lawsuits fly, fingers point, and your lawyer searches for precedents, but finds none. Meanwhile, you’ve lost everything.

    This is not the doomsday scenario of human extinction that some people in the AI field have warned could arise from the technology. It is a more realistic one and, in some cases, already present. AI systems are already making life-altering decisions for many people, in areas ranging from education to hiring and law enforcement. Health insurance companies have used AI tools to determine whether to cover patients’ medical procedures. People have been arrested based on faulty matches by facial recognition algorithms.

    By bringing government and industry together to develop policy solutions, it is possible to reduce these risks and future ones. I am a former IBM executive with decades of experience in digital transformation and AI. I now focus on tech policy as a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. I also advise tech startups and invest in venture capital.

    Drawing from this experience, my team spent a year researching a way forward for AI governance. We conducted interviews with 49 tech industry leaders and members of Congress, and analyzed 150 AI-related bills introduced in the last session of Congress. We used this data to develop a model for AI governance that fosters innovation while also offering protections against harms, like a rogue AI draining your life savings.

    Striking a balance

    The increasing use of AI in all aspects of people’s lives raises a new set of questions to which history has few answers. At the same time, the urgency to address how it should be governed is growing. Policymakers appear to be paralyzed, debating whether to let innovation flourish without controls or risk slowing progress. However, I believe that the binary choice between regulation and innovation is a false one.

    Instead, it’s possible to chart a different approach that can help guide innovation in a direction that adheres to existing laws and societal norms without stifling creativity, competition and entrepreneurship.

    Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tamlin Bason explains the regulatory landscape and the need for a balanced approach to AI governance.

    The U.S. has consistently demonstrated its ability to drive economic growth. The American tech innovation system is rooted in entrepreneurial spirit, public and private investment, an open market and legal protections for intellectual property and trade secrets. From the early days of the Industrial Revolution to the rise of the internet and modern digital technologies, the U.S. has maintained its leadership by balancing economic incentives with strategic policy interventions.

    In January 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the development of an AI action plan for America. My team and I have developed an AI governance model that can underpin an action plan.

    A new governance model

    Previous presidential administrations have waded into AI governance, including the Biden administration’s since-recinded executive order. There has also been an increasing number of regulations concerning AI passed at the state level. But the U.S. has mostly avoided imposing regulations on AI. This hands-off approach stems in part from a disconnect between Congress and industry, with each doubting the other’s understanding of the technologies requiring governance.

    The industry is divided into distinct camps, with smaller companies allowing tech giants to lead governance discussions. Other contributing factors include ideological resistance to regulation, geopolitical concerns and insufficient coalition-building that have marked past technology policymaking efforts. Yet, our study showed that both parties in Congress favor a uniquely American approach to governance.

    Congress agrees on extending American leadership, addressing AI’s infrastructure needs and focusing on specific uses of the technology – instead of trying to regulate the technology itself. How to do it? My team’s findings led us to develop the Dynamic Governance Model, a policy-agnostic and nonregulatory method that can be applied to different industries and uses of the technology. It starts with a legislative or executive body setting a policy goal and consists of three subsequent steps:

    1. Establish a public-private partnership in which public and private sector experts work together to identify standards for evaluating the policy goal. This approach combines industry leaders’ technical expertise and innovation focus with policymakers’ agenda of protecting the public interest through oversight and accountability. By integrating these complementary roles, governance can evolve together with technological developments.

    2. Create an ecosystem for audit and compliance mechanisms. This market-based approach builds on the standards from the previous step and executes technical audits and compliance reviews. Setting voluntary standards and measuring against them is good, but it can fall short without real oversight. Private sector auditing firms can provide oversight so long as those auditors meet fixed ethical and professional standards.

    3. Set up accountability and liability for AI systems. This step outlines the responsibilities that a company must bear if its products harm people or fail to meet standards. Effective enforcement requires coordinated efforts across institutions. Congress can establish legislative foundations, including liability criteria and sector-specific regulations. It can also create mechanisms for ongoing oversight or rely on existing government agencies for enforcement. Courts will interpret statutes and resolve conflicts, setting precedents. Judicial rulings will clarify ambiguous areas and contribute to a sturdier framework.

    Benefits of balance

    I believe that this approach offers a balanced path forward, fostering public trust while allowing innovation to thrive. In contrast to conventional regulatory methods that impose blanket restrictions on industry, like the one adopted by the European Union, our model:

    • is incremental, integrating learning at each step.
    • draws on the existing approaches used in the U.S. for driving public policy, such as competition law, existing regulations and civil litigation.
    • can contribute to the development of new laws without imposing excessive burdens on companies.
    • draws on past voluntary commitments and industry standards, and encourages trust between the public and private sectors.

    The U.S. has long led the world in technological growth and innovation. Pursuing a public-private partnership approach to AI governance should enable policymakers and industry leaders to advance their goals while balancing innovation with transparency and responsibility. We believe that our governance model is aligned with the Trump administration’s goal of removing barriers for industry but also supports the public’s desire for guardrails.

    Carvão advises tech startups and invests in venture capital.

    – ref. Beyond AI regulation: How government and industry can team up to make the technology safer without hindering innovation – https://theconversation.com/beyond-ai-regulation-how-government-and-industry-can-team-up-to-make-the-technology-safer-without-hindering-innovation-251010

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –