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Category: Transport

  • MIL-OSI Global: The king has a tricky diplomatic role to play in inviting Trump for a state visit

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Francesca Jackson, PhD candidate, Lancaster Law School, Lancaster University

    As monarch, King Charles III is bound by constitutional convention to remain politically neutral. But that hasn’t stopped the UK government from deploying the king to advance its foreign policy agenda.

    During their inaugural meeting, Keir Starmer presented Donald Trump with a letter from the king, inviting the president for a “truly historic” and “unprecedented” second state visit to the UK and a visit to the monarch’s private Balmoral residence.

    Later that week, the government arranged for the king to meet Volodymyr Zelensky at the royal countryside retreat of Sandringham, to show support for the Ukrainian leader following his disastrous meeting with Trump.

    The government is walking a tightrope: it wants to avoid tariffs from Trump, while continuing to support Zelensky and Ukraine. And it is using the king to help it do so.

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    It is not unusual for governments to use monarchs to boost international relations, particularly through state visits. The monarch has a huge amount of soft power and the pomp and ceremony of a state visit can help governments achieve their foreign affairs aims.

    State visits differ from regular diplomatic visits: they are the most formal way in which a foreign head of state can come to the UK, and happen just once or twice a year.

    Visitors are greeted by the king and other members of the royal family with a ceremonial welcome accompanied by gun salutes on the Horse Guards Parade ground in London. They then travel back to Buckingham Palace in a carriage procession, where they enjoy a formal state banquet at which the monarch toasts the visiting head of state.

    State visits are not cheap: Trump’s first visit cost £3.5 million in policing alone. But they can play a key role in diplomacy.

    A state visit to France by Queen Elizabeth II in 1972 helped seal the deal on the UK’s third attempt at joining the the European Economic Community. And in 2024, the UK’s defence partnership with Qatar was “strengthened” following the state visit of the Qatari emir.

    There is a danger that the monarch’s reputation is affected by hosting controversial heads of state. No doubt the palace PR team is less than enthused about the prospect of Charles being seen wining and dining Trump. The optics of hosting Trump during his first state visit reportedly put the late Queen Elizabeth in a “very difficult position”.

    But monarchs have little (if any) influence over who they host for a state visit. Charles will have been advised by the government to invite Trump in accordance with the cardinal convention. This fundamental constitutional principle requires the monarch to act on the advice of the government.

    Constitutional conventions are not legally binding. But in the UK’s constitutional monarchy, the monarch reigns but does not rule and power is exercised by democratically-elected ministers rather than the sovereign. Failure by the monarch to follow convention could spark a constitutional crisis, as fictional plays and dramas have long imagined.

    A royal invitation.
    Number 10 Flickr, CC BY-ND

    This is why the late queen had to host some controversial and less-than-democratic figures. It even once led her to hide in a bush to avoid encountering Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu in the Buckingham Palace gardens.

    And it is why Charles, on the government’s advice, will host Trump.

    Laying on the royal charm

    Usually, the public doesn’t see invitations for state visits, but we did see this particular letter. Signed “Yours most sincerely, Charles”, it feels particularly personal and designed to charm Trump, whose love of the British royal family is well known. The offer of an additional visit to Balmoral is a nod to the president’s mother, who was born in Scotland.

    The king’s invitation seems to have done the diplomatic trick. Trump ended his meeting with Starmer by stating: “I think we could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary”.

    But the visit won’t be without controversy. In the days since, a petition asking for Trump’s invitation to be withdrawn has reached nearly 200,000 signatures. But Starmer has publicly dismissed calls to withdraw the invitation.

    No doubt Charles himself is less than thrilled to invite the president, both after his recent behaviour towards Zelensky and his decision to pull the US from the Paris agreement, given the king’s advocacy on environmental issues.

    Could the king raise such issues with Trump? Charles is bound by the doctrine of political neutrality: he must refrain from acting on political opinions. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be room for other senior royals not bound by the convention, like William, from doing so.

    Indeed, as prince of wales, Charles himself showed opposition to controversial leaders, effectively boycotting Chinese state visits in 1999 and 2015 allegedly in support for the exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama.

    The monarch plays an important diplomatic role, especially during state visits. While the leaders they host may be controversial, the monarch must respect constitutional boundaries. Nevertheless, with an outspoken king and heir, this visit could prove to be even more unprecedented than it already is.

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

    – ref. The king has a tricky diplomatic role to play in inviting Trump for a state visit – https://theconversation.com/the-king-has-a-tricky-diplomatic-role-to-play-in-inviting-trump-for-a-state-visit-251308

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Russia launching ‘suicide missions’ across strategic Dnipro river as pause in US aid hampers defence

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Veronika Poniscjakova, Deputy Director, Porstmouth Military Education Team, University of Portsmouth

    After publicly belittling Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in a White House meeting, Donald Trump has suspended US military aid to Ukraine and paused intelligence sharing. It is now clear that Ukraine is in trouble in both its political and military situations, and the latter will only worsen as the effects of the US aid suspension hit.

    Trump’s outburst has, to some extent, reinvigorated European support for the war-torn country. But Zelensky’s recent statement that “Ukraine is ready to negotiate about an end to the conflict” suggests that he recognises how precarious the situation has become.

    In Trump’s address to the US Congress on February 4, the US president welcomed this shift, and claimed that Russia was also ready for a truce.

    What would a negotiated peace look like? The side that holds the upper hand, both politically and militarily, will have a stronger position at the negotiating table.

    At the moment, the advantage is overwhelmingly with Russia, which is striving to press home its battlefield advantage and occupy as much territory as it can before a potential ceasefire. This is likely to mean a freezing of the conflict on its current lines of contact.

    The war has now lasted more than three years, and since Ukraine’s failed summer 2023 counteroffensive, there have been no major changes on the battlefield, except for Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August 2024. Kyiv had hoped that seizing this territory could serve as a bargaining chip in future peace negotiations.

    But even this has not gone according to plan, as Russia has been steadily reclaiming the area, aided by North Korean troops.

    Recent battlefield developments reaffirm the ongoing stalemate. According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) (as of March 4), Russian forces continued offensives along various key strategic points in the east and south. While Russian advances continue to be slow, it’s a situation that could change quickly, particularly with the dramatic shutdown of US assistance.

    One of the key areas where Russia is now putting intense pressure on Ukrainian troops is in the Kherson oblast in the south of the country. Russian forces are reportedly attempting to cross the Dnipro river, aiming to establish footholds on the west (right) bank at four locations to allow them a clear run at the strategically important port city of Kherson.

    Russia has successfully negotiated river crossings during the three-year war, but this time, the situation seems more challenging. Recent reporting from the frontlines has described Russian assaults on Dnipro crossings as “suicide missions”, causing heavy Russian casualties.

    A high Russian body count is nothing new in this conflict. But why is Russia willing to sacrifice so many of its soldiers, particularly when the political prospects favour Putin and the Russians?

    Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of Kherson, suggests that Russia is desperate to establish a foothold as crossing the Dnipro would open up Kherson oblast for further advances and could be used in negotiations to strengthen Russia’s claim over the entire region. The occupation of Kherson was listed by Russian defence minister, Andrei Belousov, as a key strategic goal for 2025.

    Strategic barrier

    Crossing the Dnipro will not be easy. Ukraine has tried and failed in the opposite direction on several occasions for example, in April and August 2023.

    At that stage, as part of the (ultimately unsuccessful) spring-summer offensive, Kyiv hoped crossing the river would be a major breakthrough that would lead to easier access to Crimea. This now looks like a lost cause – at least militarily.

    State of the conflict in Ukraine, March 5 2024.
    Institute for the Study of War

    The Dnipro is not only a natural barrier dividing the country into two parts. It’s also vital as a transport artery through the country and its dams provide energy.

    Russia realises this, and it has seen the river as one of Ukraine’s “centres of gravity”. On day one of the invasion, Russian forces made a beeline for the Dnipro, crossing and taking up positions that they were later forced to abandon as Ukraine fought back.

    Now, as Prokudin observed, Russia is once again throwing its troops at the river. A series of assaults in December 2024 were successfully repelled, but things have changed even in the few months since. Ukraine is in an increasingly difficult position.

    Ukraine’s military is facing increasingly critical troop shortages and has a far smaller population to draw on than Russia – something which is beginning to tell.

    And each day seems to bring further bad news. The US decision to pause intelligence sharing will mean its forces in the field will be virtually deaf and blind and at the mercy of Russian attacks on their positions (although there is reason to believe the pause may be reasonably shortlived).

    But, with the decision to halt military aid, it’s an indication of the Trump administration’s determination to force Kyiv into a peace deal – whether or not it’s acceptable to Ukraine.

    At this stage it looks almost inevitable that Ukraine will be unable to reclaim all the territory it has lost to Russia since 2014. Its best chance may be to secure what it still does control and go all-out to prevent further Russian advances. One of the ways it needs to do that right now is to ensure Russia does not establish a foothold across the Dnipro river.

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

    – ref. Russia launching ‘suicide missions’ across strategic Dnipro river as pause in US aid hampers defence – https://theconversation.com/russia-launching-suicide-missions-across-strategic-dnipro-river-as-pause-in-us-aid-hampers-defence-251439

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: What climate vulnerability actually looks like

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Charlotte Kate Weatherill, Lecturer in Politics and International Studies, The Open University

    Floods affected main roads in Norfolk, UK, in February 2024. mick wass photography/Shutterstock

    The imagery of climate change matters. How we perceive the world affects how we perceive climate change, and how it will affect us – or whether it will affect us at all.

    Imagery has long been understood as an important part of climate communication. Climate change is complex, and requires some simplification to be communicated widely. Yet, this process of simplification can rely too heavily on existing stereotypes, which can affect risk perception across different populations.

    Think of climate vulnerability. This term describes who is likely to be negatively affected by climate change. Perceptions of vulnerability are affected by the images that are chosen to represent climate change. However, the images that are chosen also reflect our perceptions of who is vulnerable.

    For example, sea level rise is often represented through aerial images of Pacific atolls and ice melt is made emotional through the use of polar bears. But which images are most often used to represent human vulnerability to climate change?

    Search online for an image of climate victims and you are likely to see a photograph showing a stereotypical image of “brown women and children” standing in rising flood waters. Images like this show women and children, usually in Asia or Africa, looking distressed in a way that frames them as victims.

    However, when searching by region, images of climate victims can look different. For example, compare the search for “climate victim Asia” and “climate victim UK”.

    Fuli Khatun, a flood victim whose home was submerged in the 2019 floods in Bangladesh.
    UN Women Asia and the Pacific, CC BY-NC-ND

    The image above of of Fuli Khatan, a Bangladeshi flood victim, shows a woman experiencing a disaster. But the image below is very different. It shows Mary Long-Dhonau, a climate victim from the UK whose home has been flooded several times. She is looking directly at the camera, smiling slightly. She is not portrayed as a victim, but as a campaigner.

    The difference in how these women are portrayed is effective in showing how climate vulnerability is understood. For the most part, the climate vulnerable are imagined to be women and children in the global south (developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America), due to their marginalised position within society.

    In other words, the climate vulnerable are portrayed as the same people who are already considered vulnerable.

    This framing makes climate change an issue that follows an established pattern of risk. It doesn’t seem like a new issue, but rather chalk on the white wall of other political issues such as development.

    This overlap is partly the result of long-running and deeply embedded power inequalities that have made some people vulnerable in order to make other people wealthy.

    However, this pattern is overstated and climate vulnerability extends beyond those we already understand as vulnerable. Last month, the European Copernicus climate service declared that 2024 was the first calendar year to pass the symbolic threshold of 1.5°C heating, as well as the world’s hottest on record. Every degree of heating means more people will suffer the effects of climate change.

    These images also reflect the dominant understanding in the UK of climate change vulnerability as something that only happens elsewhere – in countries that are already vulnerable.

    Climate is an ‘us’ problem

    I’ve often encountered this issue in my research on the politics of climate vulnerability. My work questions the assumptions of climate change and vulnerability, tracing them back to understand the logics on which they rely. For example, the Pacific was described as vulnerable and doomed to not being habitable long before climate change became an issue.

    At the same time, assumptions of safety are rooted in history. In developed societies, there is a popular narrative that affluence provides a shield, which assumes wealthier people will be better protected by default.

    And yet, the UK is already experiencing climate change.

    The UK’s rainfall intensity has increased markedly over the past 60 years, leading to an increase of extreme flooding events. The east coast is being eroded, and battling sea level rise. And the UK government’s climate change committee has argued that the UK has no credible adaptation plan.

    Also, in an interconnected world, we have already experienced how shocks elsewhere can affect our food supply and gas prices. Even if the UK could escape the direct effects of climate change, it would still feel the consequences.

    Our perceptions of vulnerability are so entrenched that even climate-related incidences in wealthy countries, like the recent floods in Valencia or wildfires in LA don’t lead to a change in narrative. In fact, climate activists continue to be criminalised.

    Being aware of how images are used to influence our perceptions of vulnerability is an important step in changing the narrative. Climate change is already at levels at which we are all affected. We need to make this clearer.

    The UK has an historical responsibility to mitigate but it also needs to take more steps towards adaptation to the climate change that is already locked in.

    Speaking in February 2025, professor of energy and climate change Kevin Anderson described the future of humanity as a range of possibilities that goes from “dire consequences” to “catastrophic outcomes”. The higher temperatures are pushed past 1.5°C warming, the truer it is that nobody is safe.

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

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

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

    – ref. What climate vulnerability actually looks like – https://theconversation.com/what-climate-vulnerability-actually-looks-like-249422

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: IAM Union Urges End to All U.S. Tariffs on Canada, Cooperation Amongst Both Countries to Grow Worker Prosperity

    Source: US GOIAM Union

    Brian Bryant, International President of the 600,000-member IAM Union, and David Chartrand, IAM Canadian General Vice President, issued the following statement calling for an end to all Canadian tariffs:

    “The IAM Union strongly urges President Trump to end all tariff actions against Canada, one of our closest allies, without delay. Instead of escalating tensions, the President should embrace trade policies that strengthen the economic bond between the U.S. and Canada. This is a critical moment in history that can bring together workers and unions from both nations to craft solutions for the future. “The IAM Union represents 600,000 workers, including tens of thousands in aerospace, defense, and manufacturing—industries that depend on strong U.S.-Canada cooperation. These tariffs destabilize those sectors, putting livelihoods and our nations’ economies at risk.

    “Now is the time for all stakeholders – government, business, and labor – to unite in developing a comprehensive strategy that strengthens and grows critical manufacturing in both the U.S. and Canada. Workers on both sides of the border deserve a seat at the table in shaping policies that affect their jobs, our shared economic prosperity, and national security.” 

    The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is one of North America’s largest and most diverse industrial trade unions, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries across the United States and Canada. 

    goIAM.org | @MachinistsUnion

    Share and Follow:

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: China Mobile Qinghai and Huawei’s RuralStar Plus Wins GSMA GLOMO “Best Mobile Innovation for Emerging Markets”

    Source: Huawei

    Headline: China Mobile Qinghai and Huawei’s RuralStar Plus Wins GSMA GLOMO “Best Mobile Innovation for Emerging Markets”

    [Barcelona, Spain, March 6, 2025] During the MWC Barcelona 2025, China Mobile Qinghai and Huawei won the GSMA Global Mobile Award (GLOMO) “Best Mobile Innovation for Emerging Markets” for their RuralStar Plus solution.
    China Mobile Qinghai and Huawei’s RuralStar Plus Wins GSMA GLOMO “Best Mobile Innovation for Emerging Markets”

    Golog is located east of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau — the world’s highest-altitude area —where mobile network construction is extremely challenging. Heavy machinery is needed to erect the towers, but bad weather and rough roads often impede construction efforts. Fiber for data transmission is also not an option as permafrost makes laying the necessary cables entirely impractical, and this kind of construction would harm the local ecological environment. To make matters worse, powering base stations is a challenge, since local mains supply is often unstable or insufficient.
    RuralStar Plus is a joint pole-site innovation of China Mobile Qinghai and Huawei, purpose-built for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region. This solution encompasses an integrated base station, an intelligent microwave unit, a lithium battery cabinet, and solar panels. These devices are all installed on a pole, which simplifies site deployment by eliminating the need to build a tower. By making full use of local solar power, RuralStar Plus does not need to work with an external mains supply to provide green 4G and 5G connections. With a microwave unit equipped, the solution does not require extra fiber. In addition, remote intelligent O&M is supported, which minimizes the number of labor-consuming site visits.
    RuralStar Plus helps narrow the digital divide for a large number of users and makes their lives more convenient. By expanding access to high-speed connectivity, it assists local authorities in disaster monitoring, ecological conservation, and disaster prevention and relief efforts.
    Fang Xiang, Vice President of Huawei Wireless Solution said, “Thank you to GSMA, analysts, and others for recognizing the RuralStar Plus project. This project fully demonstrates that digital inclusion can deliver both economic value and profound social impact. In the future, Huawei will continue to empower operators with innovative technologies to advance digital inclusion, pushing to connect the unconnected, and contribute to building a more equitable, efficient, and inclusive digital society.”
    MWC Barcelona 2025 is held from March 3 to March 6 in Barcelona, Spain. During the event, Huawei will showcase its latest products and solutions at stand 1H50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1.
    In 2025, commercial 5G-Advanced deployment will accelerate, and AI will help carriers reshape business, infrastructure, and O&M. Huawei is actively working with carriers and partners around the world to accelerate the transition towards an intelligent world.
    For more information, please visit: https://carrier.huawei.com/en/events/mwc2025

    MIL OSI Economics –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Huawei GigaGear Wins GSMA GLOMO Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough Award

    Source: Huawei

    Headline: Huawei GigaGear Wins GSMA GLOMO Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough Award

    [Barcelona, Spain, March 6, 2025] During the 2025 Mobile World Congress (MWC 2025), Huawei’s GigaGear solution was awarded the GSMA Global Mobile (GLOMO) Award for ‘Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough’. GigaGear employs an innovative GigaHz Instantaneous Bandwidth (IBW) hardware architecture and combines advanced Optsolver, an operations research and optimization solver, technologies to dynamically manage air interface resources (AIR), including time slots, spectrum blocks, beam layers, and transmit power manage time slot, spectrum block, beam layers, and transmit power. By implementing adaptive resource allocation based on operational intent and the real-time usage of AIR, it delivers an optimal user experience with minimizing resource consumption. As a result, the spectrum efficiency is enhanced by 30%, and user experience improvements reach approximately 48%.
    First technical breakthrough: ultra-wideband radio hardware architecture
    Huawei now provides the solution to the industry challenge where ultra-wideband, high power, and power amplifier efficiency of base station RF units are mutually constrictive. At the hardware layer, GigaGear features an integrated architecture of GigaHz power amplifiers and filters. At the software layer, by introducing AIR pooling resource management, GigaGear implements unified management of AIR for 4G/5G technologies within a single virtual cell. The joint orchestration of global resources ensures that only the minimum amount of resources is allocated to meet service experience requirements, thus boosting spectrum efficiency by 30%.
    Second technical breakthrough: operations optimization algorithm
    Huawei has introduced Optsolver, an operations optimization solver, into its mobile base station products to implement a traceable white-box algorithm based on a mathematical optimization engine, which ensures muti-dimension optimal allocation of deterministic resources. GigaGear leverages OptSolver in both hardware and software to optimize operators’ key performance indicators, OptSolver extends traditional AIR optimization by incorporating multi-dimensional factors such as frequency-differentiated coverage elasticity, Massive MIMO gain coefficient, interference suppression ratio, and operation energy efficiency. This global decision model upgraded the process from the hour level to the millisecond level, thereby enabling real-time decision-making of optimal resources. At its maximum capacity, GigaGear improves user experience by approximately 48%.
    Huawei GigaGear Solution Wins GSMA GLOMO “Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough Award”

    Sun Rui, President of Huawei’s Wireless solution R&D, said, “Many thanks to GSMA, analysts, and everyone for recognizing GigaGear technology. And many thanks to the customers who support huawei to verify and deploy GigaGear. GigaGear is a key technology that embodies Huawei’s commitment to enhancing spectrum efficiency, user experience, and connection stability, It can support operators build experience-centric networks. Looking ahead, Huawei will continue to drive technological innovation continuously to create greater value for customer.”
    MWC Barcelona 2025 will be held from March 3 to March 6 in Barcelona, Spain. During the event, Huawei will showcase its latest products and solutions at stand 1H50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1.
    In 2025, commercial 5G-Advanced deployment will accelerate, and AI will help carriers reshape business, infrastructure, and O&M. Huawei is actively working with carriers and partners around the world to accelerate the transition towards an intelligent world.
    For more information, please visit: https://carrier.huawei.com/en/events/mwc2025

    MIL OSI Economics –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: MTN and Huawei signed an MoU to collaborate on the digital future for Africa

    Source: Huawei

    Headline: MTN and Huawei signed an MoU to collaborate on the digital future for Africa

    [Barcelona, Spain, March 6, 2025] During the MWC Barcelona 2025, MTN Group and Huawei reaffirmed their long-term collaboration through a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The agreement outlines a framework to explore opportunities in advanced connectivity solutions, cloud based technologies and digital infrastructure to drive sustainable digital development across Africa.
    MTN Group and Huawei Strategic Partnership MoU Signing Ceremony

    Mazen Mroué, Group Chief Technology and Information Officer of MTN, said: “At MTN, our focus is on delivering seamless, intelligent, and inclusive digital experiences for our customers across Africa. Through this collaboration with Huawei, we are exploring innovative solutions to enhance network reliability, improve service quality, and expand digital access for underserved communities. By leveraging advanced connectivity and cloud technologies, we aim to empower businesses, enrich customer experiences, and accelerate Africa’s digital future.”
    Huawei’s Member of Huawei’s Supervisory Board and President of ICT Sales & Service, ICT Sales President Li Peng emphasised the collaboration’s transformative potential, “Our joint initiatives in 5G-Advanced networks and AI-powered cloud platforms will create a robust foundation for Africa’s digital economy. This partnership exemplifies our commitment to developing localised solutions that bridge both technological and skills gaps across the continent.”
    This MoU marks a new phase in MTN and Huawei’s strategic collaboration going forward. Both companies will explore innovative solutions to accelerate Africa’s digital transformation and drive long-term digital economic growth.
    MWC Barcelona 2025 is held from March 3 to March 6 in Barcelona, Spain. During the event, Huawei will showcase its latest products and solutions at stand 1H50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1.
    In 2025, commercial 5G-Advanced deployment will accelerate, and AI will help carriers reshape business, infrastructure, and O&M. Huawei is actively working with carriers and partners around the world to accelerate the transition towards an intelligent world.
    For more information, please visit: https://carrier.huawei.com/en/events/mwc2025

    MIL OSI Economics –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Video: U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Flag Raising Ceremony

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

    U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Flag Raising Ceremony, at the Department of State, on March 6, 2025.
    ———-
    Under the leadership of the President and Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity. On behalf of the American people we promote and demonstrate democratic values and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world.

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

    Get updates from the U.S. Department of State at www.state.gov and on social media!
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    #StateDepartment #DepartmentofState #Diplomacy

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN6ketci8OI

    MIL OSI Video –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: FMQs: Greens call for government action to tackle broken energy market

    Source: Scottish Greens

    06 Mar 2025 Housing

    We need to fix the broken energy market and cuts bills.

    More in Housing

    The Scottish Government must take action to deliver the overdue Heat in Buildings Bill to tackle the climate crisis and reduce bills, says Scottish Green Co-leader Patrick Harvie.

    In his first question to the First Minister, Mr Harvie said:

    “In April, energy bills are set to rise for the third time in less than a year.

    “People across Scotland are worrying about those bills, and at the same time energy companies are raking in vast profits at the expense of people and the planet.

    “Our energy markets are broken. No doubt we could both say what we think the UK government should do to fix those markets, but the Scottish Government has also promised action which hasn’t happened.

    “My last question to the FM was nearly three months ago. I asked him about his promise of a new law to end our reliance on gas for home heating – which is vital to tackling the climate emergency, and cutting people’s bills too.

    “It was already overdue, without explanation, back in December. Now here we are in March; there’s still no legislation, and no explanation. Where is it?”

    In his response the First Minister agreed with the principles of the Bill but did not confirm a timeline for its publication.

    Asking his second question, Mr Harvie said:

    “The government was already considering the consultation a year ago. The real concern is that they have been spending that time watering it down. That’s the fear that I have and that the industry has.

    “The reality is that Scotland is already behind many other European countries on this. France and Germany have been accelerating their action dramatically in recent years. Scandinavian countries are decades ahead of us.

    “The only way to catch up, and to give Scottish households the benefit of affordable, reliable heat and cutting the pollution that is destroying our environment, is for the government to act decisively and show clear leadership.

    “But just as the Scottish Government has slowed down on other green measures, by hiking rail fares and watering down rent controls, progress on clean heat has stalled.

    “Will the FM commit now to get this overdue legislation published this month, to give the clarity and leadership that has been lacking?”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: GAO Named Best Place to Work for 5th Straight Year

    Source: US Government Accountability Office

    WASHINGTON (March 6, 2025) For the fifth consecutive year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) ranked number one on the Partnership for Public Service’s Best Place to Work rankings, released today. GAO placed first overall among mid-size federal agencies.

    “It’s an honor to have GAO named the Best Place to Work for the fifth year in a row. And it’s a direct reflection of the strong commitment to collaboration, accountability, and community among our people,” said Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States and head of the GAO.

    “The contributions from each member of our professional, multi-disciplinary, and dedicated workforce drives us to continue to provide independent, non-partisan work to help Congress fulfill its constitutional duties and improve the performance of the federal government for the American people. It is also gratifying to me that, in the last year of my 15-year appointment, GAO is again ranked among the top four agencies, as it has been each year of my entire tenure.”

    The Partnership’s rankings, issued annually, are based on responses from employees across the federal government.

    To find out more about GAO’s workforce and GAO career opportunities, visit Careers | U.S. GAO.

    For more information on the award, go to www.bestplacestowork.org. For questions about GAO, please contact Sarah Kaczmarek, Managing Director of Public Affairs, at media@gao.gov or (202) 512-4800.

    #####

    The Government Accountability Office, known as the investigative arm of Congress, is an independent, nonpartisan agency that exists to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities. GAO also works to improve the performance of the federal government and ensure its accountability to the American people. The agency examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and policies; and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. GAO provides Congress with timely information that is objective, fact-based, nonideological, fair, and balanced. GAO’s commitment to good government is reflected in its core values of accountability, integrity, and reliability.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Healthcare Providers and Laboratory Marketers Agree to Pay Over $1.9M to Settle Kickback Allegations

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    COLUMBIA, S.C. — Gerald Congdon, M.D., of Pawleys Island, South Carolina, Gbenga Aluko, M.D., of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Anup Banerjee, M.D., of Gastonia, North Carolina, and their medical practices, as well as Curis Healthcare Inc., of Chicago, Illinois, Omar Hussain, of South Miami, Florida, and Saeed Medical Group Ltd. d/b/a Alliance Immediate and Primary Care, of Chicago, Illinois, agreed to pay a total of $1,913,808 to resolve alleged False Claims Act violations arising from their involvement in laboratory kickback schemes. The parties have agreed to cooperate with the Department of Justice’s investigations of other participants in the alleged schemes.

    The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, TRICARE, and other federally funded healthcare programs. The Anti-Kickback Statute is intended to ensure that medical providers’ judgments are not compromised by improper financial incentives and are instead based on the best interests of their patients.

    The settlements announced today resolve allegations that healthcare providers received kickbacks in return for their referrals to a laboratory in Anderson, South Carolina, and that a marketer and his marketing company received kickbacks from that South Carolina laboratory to arrange for laboratory testing referrals, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. The kickbacks allegedly resulted in the submission of false or fraudulent laboratory testing claims to Medicare and TRICARE in violation of the False Claims Act.

    • Dr. Gerald Congdon, Coastal Urgent Care, LLC, and Coastal Wellness Center, LLC. Dr. Congdon and his medical practices in Pawleys Island and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina agreed to pay $400,000 to resolve allegations that from May 2016 to November 2021, they received thousands of dollars in remuneration disguised as purported office space rental and phlebotomy payments from the South Carolina laboratory in return for ordering testing.
    • Dr. Gbenga Aluko and Eagle Medical Center, PC. Dr. Aluko and his medical practice in Charlotte, North Carolina agreed to pay $250,000 to resolve allegations that from May 2016 to November 2021, they received thousands of dollars in remuneration disguised as purported office space rental, phlebotomy, and toxicology payments from the South Carolina laboratory in return for ordering testing.
    • Dr. Anup Banerjee and Gastonia Medical Specialty Clinic P.A. Dr. Banerjee and his medical practice in Gastonia, North Carolina agreed to pay $206,000 to resolve allegations that from April 2017 to November 2021, they received thousands of dollars in remuneration disguised as purported office space rental and phlebotomy payments from the South Carolina laboratory in return for ordering testing.
    • Omar Hussain and Curis Healthcare Inc. Hussain and his marketing company agreed to pay $817,808 to resolve allegations that from April 2020 to August 2021, Hussain and his company received commissions from the South Carolina laboratory as independent contractors based on the volume and/or value of the Medicare and TRICARE referrals for laboratory testing that they arranged for and/or recommended.
    • Saeed Medical Group Ltd., Omar Hussain, and Curis Healthcare Inc. Saeed Medical Group and Hussain and his marketing company agreed to pay $240,000 to resolve allegations that from April 2020 to August 2021, Saeed Medical Group received thousands of dollars in remuneration in the form of cash payments from Hussain and his company in return for ordering testing from the South Carolina laboratory.

    “Integrity must be the standard in our health care system,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Brook B. Andrews for the District of South Carolina. “Kickback schemes divert funds and focus away from patients and their medical needs.”

    “The public puts immense trust in medical professionals, and disdain for the rule of law damages that trust and erodes their credibility,” said Steve Jensen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Columbia field office. “These settlements should serve as a reminder that the FBI and its partners are committed to holding medical practitioners accountable for kickbacks.”

    “Kickback schemes undermine medical decision-making and jeopardize the integrity of federally funded health care programs,” said Kelly Blackmon, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Our commitment is to safeguard taxpayer-funded health care and the patients who rely on it, and we will rigorously pursue any allegations of False Claims Act violations.”

    “The trust of the American taxpayer and the wellbeing of our Service members are undermined when laboratories and physicians engage in collusive financial relationships,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Mid-Atlantic Field Office. “DCIS will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice medical providers who illegally enrich themselves by prioritizing kickbacks over patient care.”

    The settlements were the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina, with assistance from HHS-OIG, DCIS, and the FBI. The settlements announced today were handled by Senior Trial Counsel Christopher Terranova in the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Beth C. Warren in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina. The United States previously resolved allegations that physicians in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Texas received kickbacks from the same South Carolina laboratory.

    The government’s pursuit of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 1-800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

    The claims resolved by the settlements are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Solum Global Inc. and The Big Mig Media Co. Sponsor “The Crypto Power Hour” Show

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WEST PALM BEACH, FL, March 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Solum Global, Inc. (“Solum Global, Solum or the Company”) is a transparent digital network with a fully decentralized, permissionless blockchain protocol that provides a seamless solution for the U.S. healthcare industry integrating artificial intelligence (AI), smart contracts, and Solum Global’s stablecoin (sgUSD) with a proprietary electronic health wallet (EHW), announced today the Company’s sponsorship of the Crypto Power Hour Show in conjunction with the Big Mig Media Co. production group.

    The podcast will feature top cryptocurrency industry leaders, influencers, developers, educators, and regulators, offering unparalleled insights into the blockchain, decentralized finance, and digital assets. Broadcasting from their new state-of-the-art studio in West Palm Beach, Florida, this groundbreaking show is set to become the premier destination for current information on the state of the cryptocurrency industry. Discussion topics will feature global regulatory activities, digital currency investment strategies, emerging technologies, and blockchain developments.

    “Crypto Power Hour” airs live every Wednesday and Friday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. They will be co-hosted by Kirk St. Johns, a visionary founder of Solum Global, Antonia Moss, Chief Growth Officer, and Lance Migliaccio and George Balloutine, creators of “The Big Mig Show” podcast and known for their deep knowledge and no-nonsense approach to crypto and finance.

    “We are incredibly excited to launch The Crypto Power Hour and bring this game-changing show to a global audience. Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are reshaping the financial world, and this show will provide critical insights, strategies, and discussions for industry participants. Partnering with The Big Mig Media Co. and leveraging Rumble’s growing crypto vertical gives us the perfect platform to deliver unfiltered, high-impact content. We’re just getting started, and I can’t wait to share this journey with our viewers,” stated Kirk St. Johns, Co-founder of Solum Global.

    About Solum Global Inc.
    Solum Global is a transparent digital network with a fully decentralized, permissionless blockchain protocol for storing, trading, and transferring digital and real-world assets enabling immediate settlement between individuals, businesses, and governments. Utilizing cutting edge blockchain technology, artificial intelligence (AI), smart contracts, the company’s stablecoin (sgUSD) and a proprietary Electronic Health Wallet (EHW), Solum Global provides a seamless solution that addresses the significant challenges inherent in the U.S. healthcare industry. For more information, visit www.solum.global.

    Forward-Looking Statements 
    Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as “may,” “might,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” “predict,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “intend” or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

    Investor Relations
    Hanover International
    ka@hanoverintlinc.com

    Media Contact
    media@solum.global

    The MIL Network –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Vaping hits alarming levels among South African teens – new study of fee-paying schools

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Sam Filby, Research Officer, Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products, University of Cape Town

    It’s become common to see kids, some in their school uniforms, puffing on a vape.

    The World Health Organization points to the enticing flavours and targeted marketing to young people as the key reasons behind this trend.

    In the US, e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among middle and high school students aged 12 and older, with 5.9% of students reporting use.

    Surveys from the UK indicate that 20.5% of children (aged 11–17) have tried vaping, and that 7.6% of children currently vape. Similar usage rates ranging from 3.3% to 11.8% have been found in south-east Asia. Evidence on vape use among adolescents living in Africa is more scarce.

    We are public health researchers who have studied the phenomenon in South Africa. Our latest study, published in The Lancet’s eClinical Medicine, found that vaping among South African pupils is sky high. We surveyed over 25,000 South African high school students across 52 schools in eight of South Africa’s nine provinces.

    An estimated 16.8% of the sampled learners currently use e-cigarettes.

    Research has shown conclusively that children should not use these products because of the health risks.

    Our findings in South Africa show that high rates of adolescent vaping are not restricted to high income countries.

    Harmful impact on young minds and bodies

    In a 2016 report, the US surgeon general called vaping among young people an “urgent public health problem”.

    One reason for this is that these products commonly deliver nicotine. Nicotine use during adolescence harms the developing brain, with potential long-term effects on learning, memory and attention.

    Nicotine is also an addictive substance. Addictive behaviour in general is associated with the development of mental illness, further fuelling the mental health problems experienced by some adolescents.
    Substance abuse can lower their inhibitions, leading to increased high-risk behaviours.

    Non-nicotine vapes are also bad for health. The chemical composition of specific flavours such as cherry, cinnamon and vanilla have also been shown to cause damage to the lung lining and blood vessels.

    The rising popularity of e-cigarette use among adolescents globally should make helping young people with quitting vapes a priority.

    Surveying South African schools

    We approached schools predominantly in major centres like Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban. All were “fee-paying” schools. We were not able to include less well resourced schools without easy internet access or non-fee-paying schools.

    We categorised the schools into three brackets:

    • lower-fee schools: annual fees between R20,000 and R40,000 (US$1,100-2,100)

    • medium-fee schools: annual fees between R40,000 and R90,000 (US$2,100-4,800)

    • high-fee schools: annual fees more than R90,000 (over US$4,800).

    Around 17% of pupils in our sample attended lower-fee schools, 64% attended mid-fee schools, and 19% attended high-fee schools. Around 31% of learners attended co-ed schools, 41% attended all-boys’ schools, and 29% attended all-girls’ schools.

    Students were asked about their use of four products in the 30 days preceding the survey: e-cigarettes, tobacco cigarettes, cannabis and hookah pipes.

    Students who indicated that they currently vaped were asked additional questions
    about their vaping history and habits. We also asked students about their
    reasons for starting and continuing to vape.

    Using this data, we studied e-cigarette use, nicotine dependence, and the mental
    health and social stressors associated with vaping among a large sample of South
    African high school learners.

    Alarming rates

    Our study found that 16.8% of high school learners we surveyed were currently using e-cigarettes. There were far lower rates of tobacco cigarette use (2%), cannabis use (5%) and hookah pipe use (3%).

    The proportion of learners reporting e-cigarette use increased by grade: around 9% of grade 8 students reported using vapes, but this rose sharply to an average of 29.5% among grade 12 pupils (who will turn 18 in their final school year). Some schools had usage rates as high as 46% among grade 12 pupils.

    Among the learners who indicated that they vaped, 38% vaped daily, and more than half of the learners in our sample reported that they vaped four or more days per week.

    Around 88% of pupils reported using vapes that contained nicotine. About 47% reported that they vaped within the first hour of waking up – this is highly suggestive of nicotine addiction. We estimate that up to 61% of high school learners who vape could be seriously addicted to nicotine.

    Why adolescents start and continue vaping

    We found that the primary reasons for starting vaping differed from the main reasons for continuing to vape.

    • Just over half (50.6%) of the students who vaped cited social influences
      (family, friends, peer pressure, the need to fit in) as reasons for starting. Around 20% of learners indicated that they’d started vaping to cope with stress and anxiety, while 16.2% said they had started out of general curiosity.

    • Common reasons cited for continuing their vape use were to cope with
      anxiety, depression or stress (28.4%), or because they were addicted (14.9%).

    Some learners explicitly stated addiction in their reasoning:

    It’s an addiction, no matter what I try I can’t stop. (female, 17)

    Others described it more as a habit:

    It has become a habit. I have to consume something constantly. (female, 18)

    Less than 10% of students identified social influences as the reason they continued to vape.

    Around 46% of students did not list addiction as a reason for continuing to vape, although their reported vaping habits aligned with patterns typically seen in individuals who are highly addicted. This suggests that many learners in our sample may lack awareness of what constitutes addiction.



    Read more:
    South Africa’s new vaping tax won’t deter young smokers

    What needs to be done

    Our research underscores the urgent need for a coordinated public health response
    to address the vaping crisis among high school learners.

    The South African government must pass the Tobacco Products and Electronic
    Delivery Systems Control Bill. This legislation will ensure that vapes cannot be sold near schools or online.

    The restrictions on the advertising of vaping products provided for in the bill may aid with this as well as the deglamorisation of vaping among young people – reducing the general curiosity that leads many young people to begin in the first place.

    The dangerous myth that “vaping is safe” also needs to be debunked.

    Finally, we need to help addicted teenagers to stop vaping.

    Punishing students for vaping is unlikely to be an effective strategy. Parents must be more aware of the signs of vaping and the underlying issues driving it.

    Healthcare professionals should ask young people about their vape use during routine checkups.

    And school counsellors should teach coping strategies to help teens navigate life’s challenges.

    Sam Filby receives funding from the African Capacity Building Foundation and Cancer Research UK and has previously received funding from the CDC Foundation and the US Department of State.

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

    – ref. Vaping hits alarming levels among South African teens – new study of fee-paying schools – https://theconversation.com/vaping-hits-alarming-levels-among-south-african-teens-new-study-of-fee-paying-schools-244843

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Vaping hits alarming levels among South African teens – new study of fee-paying schools

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Sam Filby, Research Officer, Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products, University of Cape Town

    It’s become common to see kids, some in their school uniforms, puffing on a vape.

    The World Health Organization points to the enticing flavours and targeted marketing to young people as the key reasons behind this trend.

    In the US, e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among middle and high school students aged 12 and older, with 5.9% of students reporting use.

    Surveys from the UK indicate that 20.5% of children (aged 11–17) have tried vaping, and that 7.6% of children currently vape. Similar usage rates ranging from 3.3% to 11.8% have been found in south-east Asia. Evidence on vape use among adolescents living in Africa is more scarce.

    We are public health researchers who have studied the phenomenon in South Africa. Our latest study, published in The Lancet’s eClinical Medicine, found that vaping among South African pupils is sky high. We surveyed over 25,000 South African high school students across 52 schools in eight of South Africa’s nine provinces.

    An estimated 16.8% of the sampled learners currently use e-cigarettes.

    Research has shown conclusively that children should not use these products because of the health risks.

    Our findings in South Africa show that high rates of adolescent vaping are not restricted to high income countries.

    Harmful impact on young minds and bodies

    In a 2016 report, the US surgeon general called vaping among young people an “urgent public health problem”.

    One reason for this is that these products commonly deliver nicotine. Nicotine use during adolescence harms the developing brain, with potential long-term effects on learning, memory and attention.

    Nicotine is also an addictive substance. Addictive behaviour in general is associated with the development of mental illness, further fuelling the mental health problems experienced by some adolescents. Substance abuse can lower their inhibitions, leading to increased high-risk behaviours.

    Non-nicotine vapes are also bad for health. The chemical composition of specific flavours such as cherry, cinnamon and vanilla have also been shown to cause damage to the lung lining and blood vessels.

    The rising popularity of e-cigarette use among adolescents globally should make helping young people with quitting vapes a priority.

    Surveying South African schools

    We approached schools predominantly in major centres like Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban. All were “fee-paying” schools. We were not able to include less well resourced schools without easy internet access or non-fee-paying schools.

    We categorised the schools into three brackets:

    • lower-fee schools: annual fees between R20,000 and R40,000 (US$1,100-2,100)

    • medium-fee schools: annual fees between R40,000 and R90,000 (US$2,100-4,800)

    • high-fee schools: annual fees more than R90,000 (over US$4,800).

    Around 17% of pupils in our sample attended lower-fee schools, 64% attended mid-fee schools, and 19% attended high-fee schools. Around 31% of learners attended co-ed schools, 41% attended all-boys’ schools, and 29% attended all-girls’ schools.

    Students were asked about their use of four products in the 30 days preceding the survey: e-cigarettes, tobacco cigarettes, cannabis and hookah pipes.

    Students who indicated that they currently vaped were asked additional questions about their vaping history and habits. We also asked students about their reasons for starting and continuing to vape.

    Using this data, we studied e-cigarette use, nicotine dependence, and the mental health and social stressors associated with vaping among a large sample of South African high school learners.

    Alarming rates

    Our study found that 16.8% of high school learners we surveyed were currently using e-cigarettes. There were far lower rates of tobacco cigarette use (2%), cannabis use (5%) and hookah pipe use (3%).

    The proportion of learners reporting e-cigarette use increased by grade: around 9% of grade 8 students reported using vapes, but this rose sharply to an average of 29.5% among grade 12 pupils (who will turn 18 in their final school year). Some schools had usage rates as high as 46% among grade 12 pupils.

    Among the learners who indicated that they vaped, 38% vaped daily, and more than half of the learners in our sample reported that they vaped four or more days per week.

    Around 88% of pupils reported using vapes that contained nicotine. About 47% reported that they vaped within the first hour of waking up – this is highly suggestive of nicotine addiction. We estimate that up to 61% of high school learners who vape could be seriously addicted to nicotine.

    Why adolescents start and continue vaping

    We found that the primary reasons for starting vaping differed from the main reasons for continuing to vape.

    • Just over half (50.6%) of the students who vaped cited social influences (family, friends, peer pressure, the need to fit in) as reasons for starting. Around 20% of learners indicated that they’d started vaping to cope with stress and anxiety, while 16.2% said they had started out of general curiosity.

    • Common reasons cited for continuing their vape use were to cope with anxiety, depression or stress (28.4%), or because they were addicted (14.9%).

    Some learners explicitly stated addiction in their reasoning:

    It’s an addiction, no matter what I try I can’t stop. (female, 17)

    Others described it more as a habit:

    It has become a habit. I have to consume something constantly. (female, 18)

    Less than 10% of students identified social influences as the reason they continued to vape.

    Around 46% of students did not list addiction as a reason for continuing to vape, although their reported vaping habits aligned with patterns typically seen in individuals who are highly addicted. This suggests that many learners in our sample may lack awareness of what constitutes addiction.

    Read more: South Africa’s new vaping tax won’t deter young smokers

    What needs to be done

    Our research underscores the urgent need for a coordinated public health response to address the vaping crisis among high school learners.

    The South African government must pass the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill. This legislation will ensure that vapes cannot be sold near schools or online.

    The restrictions on the advertising of vaping products provided for in the bill may aid with this as well as the deglamorisation of vaping among young people – reducing the general curiosity that leads many young people to begin in the first place.

    The dangerous myth that “vaping is safe” also needs to be debunked.

    Finally, we need to help addicted teenagers to stop vaping.

    Punishing students for vaping is unlikely to be an effective strategy. Parents must be more aware of the signs of vaping and the underlying issues driving it.

    Healthcare professionals should ask young people about their vape use during routine checkups.

    And school counsellors should teach coping strategies to help teens navigate life’s challenges.

    – Vaping hits alarming levels among South African teens – new study of fee-paying schools
    – https://theconversation.com/vaping-hits-alarming-levels-among-south-african-teens-new-study-of-fee-paying-schools-244843

    MIL OSI Africa –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Death by firing squad set to resume in the US – but no matter the method, all means of execution come with a troubling history

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College

    The firing squad chair in which Brad Sigmon will be strapped before three volunteers shoot him dead. South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP

    Barring any late developments, the U.S. is set to see its first execution by firing squad in 15 years on March 7, 2025.

    Photos released by the South Carolina Department of Corrections suggest that the prisoner, Brad Sigmon, will be strapped to a metal seat in the same small death chamber that has been the location of the state’s other executions by means of the electric chair and lethal injection. Sigmon, who was sentenced to death in 2002 for the brutal killing of his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat, chose death by firing squad over other forms of execution under a 2021 law that allows inmates that option.

    According to the state’s firing squad protocol, the condemned man will have a hood put over his head and a target placed on his heart. Three volunteers will then shoot him from a distance of 15 feet. They will stand behind a wall with a small opening.

    But this method of execution has raised concern over the safety of observers of the execution. Meanwhile, others object to the use of a firing squad as a relic of a brutal past not fitting for modern times.

    As someone who has studied execution methods in the U.S., I see the resumption of death by firing squad as part of a morbid search for “better” execution methods. It comes amid concern over botched lethal injection attempts and a scarcity of the drugs needed to carry out such executions.

    In 2020, the first Trump administration expanded how federal execution can be carried out to include ghoulish methods such as hanging, the electric chair, gas chamber and, indeed, the firing squad.

    But revisiting all methods reveals a checkered history. Each has, at one time or other, been touted as humane only to be sidelined because its use was found to be gruesome and offensive. Given that history, there are questions over whether the resumption of death by firing squad can serve any purpose other than continuing a death penalty system deemed to be a cruel outlier among modern societies.

    The noose and the chair

    Let’s start with hanging.

    Hanging was the execution method of choice throughout most of American history, and it was used in America’s last public execution in 1936, when Rainey Bethea was put to death in Owensboro, Kentucky. When done correctly, the noose killed by severing the spinal column, causing near instantaneous death.

    A large crowd watches as attendants adjust a black hood over Rainey Bethea in 1936.
    AP File Photo

    But, all too often, hanging resulted in a slow death by strangulation and sometimes even a beheading. Given this gruesome record and hanging’s association with the lynching of mainly Black men, by the end of the 19th century the search for other execution methods began in earnest.

    The first of those alternatives was the electric chair. At the time it was adopted, it was regarded as a truly modern instrument of death, a technological marvel in the business of state killing. Hailed by penal reformers as a humane alternative to hanging, the electric chair was first authorized in 1888 by New York state following the report of a commission that concluded: “The most potent agent known for the destruction of human life is electricity. … The velocity of the electric current is so great that the brain is paralyzed; it is indeed dead before the nerves can communicate a sense of shock.”

    Yet, right from the start, electrocution’s potency was a problem. Its first use in the 1890 execution of convicted murderer William Kemmler was horribly botched. Reports of the execution say that “after 2 minutes the execution chamber filled with the smell of burning flesh.” Newspapers called the execution a “historic bungle” and “disgusting, sickening and inhuman.”

    In spite of the Kemmler debacle, the electric chair quickly became popular, being seen as more efficient and less brutal than hanging. From the start of the 20th century until the 1980s, the number of death sentences carried out by this method far outstripped those of any other method.

    But electrocutions continued to go wrong, and eventually several dramatic botched executions in Florida helped turn the tide. Included were two executions – one in 1990, the other in 1997 – in which the condemned inmates caught fire.

    The gas chamber

    By the start of the 21st century, states all over the country were abandoning the electric chair. As Justice Carol W. Hunstein of the Supreme Court of Georgia explained, “Death by electrocution, with its specter of excruciating pain and its certainty of cooked brains and blistered bodies,” was no longer compatible with contemporary standards of decency.

    A gas chamber at San Quentin prison from 1959.
    AP Photo/Clarence Hamm

    One alternative to electrocution was the gas chamber, but it too has its own history of problems. First adopted in Nevada in 1922, executions using lethal gas were to take place while the condemned slept. Death row inmates were supposed to be housed in airtight, leak-proof prison cells, separate from other prisoners. On the day of the execution, valves would be opened that would fill the chamber with gas, killing the prisoner painlessly.

    This plan was soon abandoned because officials decided it would be impractical to implement it, and states constructed special gas chambers fitted with pipes, exhaust fans and glass windows on the front and back walls for witness viewing. But deaths by lethal gas were never pretty or easy to watch.

    Inmates regularly fought against breathing the gas as it entered the chamber. They convulsed, jerked, coughed, twisted and turned blue for several minutes before they died.

    Far from solving the problems associated with hangings or electrocutions, lethal gas introduced its own set of horrors to the institution of capital punishment. In fact, by the end of the 20th century, 5% of executions by lethal gas had been botched.

    As a result, states used gas as the sole method of execution only from 1924 to 1977, and it was last used in 1999. By then, the gas chamber had become a relic of the past because of its inability to deliver on its promise to be “swift and painless” and its association with the Nazi use of gas to kill millions during the Holocaust.

    Lethal injection

    Lethal injection was first considered by the state of New York in the late 1880s when it convened a blue ribbon commission to study alternatives to hanging. During deliberations, Dr. Julius Mount Bleyer invited the commission to envision a future in which a person condemned to death “could be executed on his bed in his cell with a 6-gram injection of sulfate of morphine.”

    But it wasn’t until 1977 that Oklahoma became the first state to introduce the method.

    Right from the start, administering lethal injections proved to be a complex procedure that was difficult to get right. In fact, during the first use of lethal injection by Texas in 1982, the team responsible repeatedly failed to insert an IV into a vein in the condemned man’s arm, splattering blood onto the sheet covering his body.

    Part of the problem is that medical ethics do not allow doctors to take part in choosing the drugs or administering them. In the place of doctors, prison officials are responsible for the lethal injection procedure. In addition, dosages of the drugs used are standardized rather than tailored to the needs of particular inmates as they would be in a medical procedure.

    Despite the effort to medicalize executions, the history of lethal injection has been anything but smooth, sterile and predictable. In fact, my research reveals that of the 1,054 executions carried out from 1982 to 2010 using the standard three-drug lethal injection protocol, more than 7% were botched.

    And as states, faced with a scarcity of the drugs needed, have experimented in finding new ingredients, my research shows that botched executions have occurred as much as 20% of the time.

    The firing squad

    Finally, the firing squad. Of all of America’s methods of execution, it has been least often used. From 1900 to 2010, only 35 of America’s 8,776 executions were carried out using this method, and since 1976 just three people have faced a firing squad, with the last one carried out in Utah in 2010.

    The execution chamber at Utah State Prison used in the United States’ last firing squad execution.
    AP Photo/Trent Nelson

    Critics point out that because death by guns evokes images of raw, frontier justice in a society awash in gun violence, this method mimicked something that the law wished to discourage. Nonetheless, Utah revived the firing squad in 2015 due to challenges to the state’s lethal injection protocol.

    While it has some contemporary proponents who claim it is the least cruel of all execution methods, the history of the firing squad is marked by gruesome mistakes when marksmen missed their target. In the 1951 execution of Eliseo Mares, for example, four executioners all shot into the wrong side of his chest, and he died slowly from blood loss.

    A cruel history, revived

    While authorities in South Carolina allow for death by firing squad, it cannot erase the cruelty that marks the method’s history – nor that of other means of execution.

    That history stands as a reminder of America’s failed quest to find a method of execution that is safe, reliable and humane.

    This article contains sections previous published in The Conversation articles from Dec. 4, 2020 and Nov. 30, 2022.

    Austin Sarat 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. Death by firing squad set to resume in the US – but no matter the method, all means of execution come with a troubling history – https://theconversation.com/death-by-firing-squad-set-to-resume-in-the-us-but-no-matter-the-method-all-means-of-execution-come-with-a-troubling-history-251579

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Africa, Meet 7 Black Astronauts!

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

    JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, March 6, 2025/APO Group/ –Date: March 18, 2025 
    Time: 3:00 PM  (SAST, UTC +2) 
    Registration: https://apo-opa.co/41I8GkB

    Follow the conversation on WhatsApp – https://apo-opa.co/4kvIWj4

    Africa.com invites students, educators, curious minds, and technology trailblazers to participate in this historic event. Whether you dream of becoming an astronaut, an engineer, or a scientist, Africa, Meet 7 Black Astronauts! will inspire and empower you to reach for the stars. 

    MIL OSI Africa –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Staffordshire woman prosecuted for not removing illegal waste

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Staffordshire woman prosecuted for not removing illegal waste

    The Environment Agency has successfully prosecuted a 43-year-old Staffordshire woman for failing to remove illegal waste from land in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

    A pile of waste at the site.

    • Calls from members of public prompts Environment Agency investigation
    • Hundreds of tonnes of waste stored on rented land in Lichfield
    • Case heard at Cannock Magistrates Court on Tuesday 4 March 2025

    At Cannock Magistrates Court on 4 March 2025, Lissa Appleby, of Nankirks Lane, Anslow, near Burton-upon-Trent, pleaded guilty to a single offence and was fined £550. She was also ordered to pay a victim’s surcharge of £220.

    The court was told that officers from the Environment Agency visited the address she was renting at Mill Farm, Cappers Lane, Whittington, Lichfield on October 13, 2023. The visit came following calls from members of the public regarding waste issues. The address consisted of a domestic property, large grounds and a barn.

    Inside the barn several hundred tonnes of dry shredded waste was discovered, containing plastic sheeting, plastic textiles, metals, wood and cardboard.

    Following a period of rainfall, the defendant was initially requested to move the waste from outside to inside the barn area as a temporary measure. This was to stop further leachate contamination.

    She was also given guidance that an environmental permit would be required for the activities carried out or for the waste to be removed by a person who held the correct waste carriers’ licence.

    The Environment Agency issued a letter to immediately cease activities at the property, believing she was operating an illegal waste site.

    Officers visited the site again on 26 October 2023 and found that the waste remained. Some had been put inside the barn, although there was still a large pile outside.

    The defendant said she could not afford to clear the site.

    Officers served a notice on the defendant, instructing her to remove all the waste on site by 3 January 2024.

    However, a further site visit on 10 January 2024 found the waste remained.

    On 31 January 2024, the defendant vacated the property, informing the letting agents she would clear all the waste within a two-week period.

    But on 29 February 2024, another visit by the Environment Agency confirmed that all the original waste remained on site. Plus additional waste had been deposited within the barn.

    A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said:

    This site posed a significant environmental threat due to the high risk of fire and potential impact to local communities and amenities. 

    As a regulator, the Environment Agency will not hesitate to pursue people that fail to meet their obligations. 

    Failure to comply with these legal requirements is a serious offence that can damage the environment, harm human health and undermine local legitimate waste companies.  

    If anyone is suspicious of waste activities they should call our 24/7 hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers anonymously and in confidence on 0800 555 111.

    Background

    Lissa Appleby, on 4 January 2024, being the occupier of land, namely Mill Farm, Cappers Lane, Whittington, Lichfield, WS14 9JW, failed without reasonable excuse to comply with a notice dated 13th November 2023 to remove controlled waste from the land contrary to section 59ZB(2) and 59ZB(6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

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    Published 6 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Japan and WFP join forces to support refugees in Iran

    Source: World Food Programme

    TEHRAN– The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a generous contribution of US$360,000 from the Government of Japan to support its assistance programme for refugees in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

    This contribution will be utilized to purchase essential wheat flour to support the most vulnerable refugees living in settlements in Iran. Wheat flour is a staple food and a vital source of energy, making it an essential part of the diet for many refugees. By providing wheat flour, WFP ensures that refugees have access to a versatile and nutritious ingredient that can be used to prepare bread. This support not only helps to meet their immediate food needs but also promotes food security and stability within refugee settlements. 

    “We deeply appreciate the unwavering generosity and solidarity of the Government and people of Japan in supporting our operations in Iran,” said Maysaa Alghribawy, WFP Representative and Country Director in the Islamic Republic of Iran. “This vital contribution reflects Japan’s steadfast commitment to improving the lives of the most vulnerable refugees, and we are truly grateful for their partnership and trust in our work.”

    WFP currently supports 33,000 Afghan and Iraqi refugees living in 20 settlements across the country with food, education, and livelihood assistance.

    “Japan has been supporting Afghan refugees living in Iran for over 40 years and commends the Iranian government for its longstanding commitment to providing Afghan refugees the same level of healthcare and education as Iranian citizens,” said Tamaki Tsukada, the Japanese Ambassador to Iran. 

    “At the same time, we recognise that the increasing number of Afghan refugees in Iran presents a significant challenge for the Iranian government. We hope this contribution will help alleviate the nutritional needs of Afghan refugees,” added Tsukada.

    The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the world’s largest hosts of refugees, having provided essential support to 3.8 million refugees and refugee-like individuals over the past four decades. The country has offered displaced communities – primarily from Afghanistan and Iraq- access to health care, education, and livelihood opportunities, demonstrating a strong commitment to refugee welfare. 

    #                    #                       #

    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, formerly Twitter, via @wfp_media, @wfpiran

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: I am Navy Medicine: Mr. Edward Sorzano, Cherry Point Clinic Plank Owner Retires

    Source: United States Navy (Medical)

    A civilian staff member who “owns” a plank of Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point will soon retire after more than two decades of service aboard the facility.

    Mr. Edward Sorzano retired in late February 2025, ending his civilian career as Department Head for the clinic’s Radiology team. He served at the clinic during its first year of operation in 2007 and was given the honor of “Plank Owner” that year.

    A “plank owner,” according to Naval History and Heritage Command, is “an individual who was a member of the crew of a ship [or a facility, in this case] when that ship was placed into commission.”

    Sorzano retired in February 2005 from active duty military service in the U.S. Navy while serving aboard the clinic and transitioned into a General Schedule civilian role.

    During his time at the clinic, he helped train more than 100 Radiology students from Carteret Community College while increasing the department’s radiology capabilities to include Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Computed Tomography.

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: University of California – Davis Student Shares Educational and Career Updates After Receiving SBB Research Group Foundation STEM Scholarship

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, March 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The SBB Research Group Foundation is proud to announce the continued success of Meher Khan after receiving the STEM Scholarship in 2023. The $2,500 award empowers students to create value for society by pursuing higher learning through interdisciplinary combinations of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

    Meher Khan received the SBB Research Group Foundation STEM Scholarship during her sophomore year at the University of California – Davis to pursue a degree in neurobiology and physiology.

    Since receiving the scholarship, Khan has worked in the UC Davis Comparative Ophthalmology and Vision Science Laboratory and spent a summer at the Casey Eye Institute in Portland.

    “Meher is a promising future ophthalmologist, and I’m glad we can support her as she prepares for that career,” said Matt Aven, co-founder and board member of the SBB Research Group Foundation.

    The SBB Research Group Foundation is honored to have played a role in Khan’s success. We look forward to continuing to support outstanding students in STEM and helping them achieve their full potential.

    For eligibility criteria and more information on the Foundation’s STEM scholarship, please visit http://www.sbbscholarship.org.

    About the SBB Research Group Foundation

    The SBB Research Group Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that furthers the philanthropic mission of SBB Research Group LLC (SBBRG), a Chicago-based investment management firm led by Sam Barnett, Ph.D., and Matt Aven. The Foundation sponsors the SBB Research Group Foundation STEM Scholarship, supporting students pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degrees. In addition to its scholarship program, the Foundation provides grants to support ambitious organizations solving unmet needs with thoughtful, long-term strategies

    Contact: Erin Noonan
    Organization: SBB Research Group Foundation
    Email: scholarship@sbbrg.org
    Address: 450 Skokie Blvd, Building 600, Northbrook, IL 60062 United States
    Phone: 1-847-656-1111
    Website: https://www.sbbscholarship.com/

    The MIL Network –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: SSRG Completes Majority Acquisition of OHM Security Ltd

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Scarlet Security & Risk Group (SSRG) further advances its vision of adding value in more ways in more places, by its majority acquisition of award-winning Ontario-based systems integrator provider, OHM.

    SSRG has seen significant growth, both organically and through acquisition, over the last five years. This includes its recent purchases of Fusion Security in British Columbia and now OHM Security Ltd in Ontario. The expansion into the Ontario market is the first step of many more to be taken in the coming years.

    All OHM staff and management will join the SSRG team, working alongside SSRG’s executives and subject matter experts. OHM’s founder Maurice Daoust and partner Dan Daoust will continue as shareholders and in leadership roles heading up our Ontario systems integration business.

    Patrick Doyle, SSRG CEO commented, “This mutually beneficial deal creates a formidable partnership; building on and further expanding our integrator capabilities achieved during our Fusion acquisition in April of 2023”. Mr. Doyle went on to say, “Our approach of adding value and focusing on quality first, fits seamlessly with OHM as does our core values and culture”.

    Maurice Daoust of OHM commented “OHM’s longstanding commitment has been to deliver prompt, personalized, and satisfying service above all else, regardless of the circumstances. Our decision to maintain partial ownership and partner with SSRG will only strengthen our continued growth. SSRG’s management expertise and financial backing will empower OHM’s technical department to expand and take on larger projects while maintaining the high quality and service levels we’ve upheld for the past 32 years.”

    SSRG aims to be a major consolidator of the quality firms who bring an intimate understanding of their operating environments but may lack the scale to compete on much larger enterprises and national contracts. SSRG seeks to become the Canadian firm of choice for discerning owners seeking scale, succession, growth and the support and capacity of joining a larger team with a local approach.

    Final Image Inc. were exclusive advisors to the transaction. 

    About Scarlet Security & Risk Group:

    SSRG is one of Canada’s leading security solutions companies. We provide a variety of client-centric security, technology and risk management solutions to our partners and clients. Our diverse, highly qualified team members and relentless commitment to excellence provide superior results for our clients.

    OHM Security Ltd:

    OHM is an established Security Systems Integrator located within the GTA and has been servicing the greater Ontario since 1992. OHM employs a solid team of professionals with an average of 30 years’ experience.

    With a diversified portfolio of products and services, the company has successfully positioned itself as a stable and reliable systems integrator with an impressive list of long-term clients—an impeccable reputation for product quality, solutions, installation, and preventative maintenance programs within the industry.

    For additional information:

    The MIL Network –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Cloud Computing Expert Kelsey Hightower to Speak at HAProxyConf 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEWTON, Mass. and SAN FRANCISCO, March 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HAProxy Technologies, the company behind HAProxy One, the world’s fastest application delivery and security platform, announced today that Kelsey Hightower will deliver a keynote address at HAProxyConf 2025. Attendees can register now to book tickets at the limited early bird price of $350, and secure their place at the global HAProxy community event. This marks the first time in the conference’s history that the event will be held in the United States, having previously been in The Netherlands and France.

    “HAProxy showcases community at its best,” said Kelsey Hightower. “They’ve been dedicated to open source for more than two decades – longer than some of us have been in this field! I’ve watched them grow and adapt over the years as an active member of the broader ecosystem and this project is the very definition of sustainability.”

    Kelsey Hightower, a well-known technologist and contributor to cloud computing, open source software, and Kubernetes, will deliver the opening keynote to kick off two days of expert speakers from across the open source and enterprise landscape.

    “HAProxy users are creative, dedicated, and possess incredible community spirit, which shines through every time at HAProxyConf,” said Dujko Radovnikovic, CEO, HAProxy Technologies. “The conference attracts world leaders in application delivery and security, and Kelsey is a perfect example – his unique voice has helped shape the cloud-native systems that have transformed the way we build and deploy applications over the last decade. You won’t want to miss it.”

    Kelsey Hightower’s cloud-native expertise aligns with the interests, challenges, and goals of the HAProxy user community. Over half of HAProxy users reported using Kubernetes in a 2022 user survey, demonstrating its rapid growth as a deployment method for modern containerized applications. HAProxy plays a key role in this environment by ensuring performance, reliability, and security at the edge. In the last 12 months, the company achieved several notable milestones in the Kubernetes market segment:

    • HAProxy became a G2 category leader in Container Networking
    • HAProxy Fusion 1.3 added near-instant configuration generation from service discovery registries, with minimal overhead
    • HAProxy Technologies became a Gold Member of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and is a Diamond Sponsor of KubeCon London 2025
    • HAProxy Technologies became a Docker Verified Publisher, providing an authoritative source for HAProxy’s Docker images.

    “Kelsey’s presence at HAProxyConf underscores the company’s explosive growth over the last few years,” said Tim Bertrand, President of HAProxy Technologies. “As organizations of all types and sizes navigate the evolving challenges of security, AI, Kubernetes, and more, HAProxy Technologies is delivering the technology leadership and world-class experience needed to stay ahead. If you want to see it for yourself, make sure you’re at HAProxyConf this June.”

    About HAProxyConf

    HAProxyConf celebrates the thriving user community that’s made HAProxy the world’s fastest and most widely used software load balancer. Over two-plus days, expert speakers will share best practices and real-world use cases that highlight HAProxy’s next-gen approach to high-performance application delivery and security. Attendees will explore how to master their application traffic with next-gen solutions to the challenges of multi-layered security, observability, performance, and the complexities of Kubernetes and multi-cloud deployments.

    Registration and the Call for Papers are open for HAProxyConf 2025. Early bird tickets are $350, regular tickets are $450, and workshop add-ons are $100.

    For more information, visit www.haproxyconf.com or review the best HAProxyConf presentations from prior years in the HAProxy User Spotlight Series.

    About HAProxy Technologies

    HAProxy Technologies is the company behind HAProxy One, the world’s fastest application delivery and security platform, and HAProxy, the most widely used software load balancer. Leading companies and cloud providers trust HAProxy to simplify, scale, and secure modern applications, APIs, and AI services in any environment. HAProxy Technologies is headquartered in Newton, MA, with multiple offices across the US and Europe. Learn more at HAProxy.com.

    For questions or comments, please contact press@haproxy.com.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d384ec8c-c41f-4942-8554-e4d4f5410d3a

    The MIL Network –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: CrowdStreet Celebrates Two C-Suite Executives Named to The Top 50 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2024 Ranking

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, March 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CrowdStreet, a leading platform for direct-access private market investing, today announced that two of its executive leaders have been honored with placement in The Financial Technology Report’s Top 50 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2024. This recognition celebrates the exceptional achievements of women driving innovation and progress in the fintech industry.

    Chief Financial Officer Genni Combes and General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer Kristen Howell have both been honored for their leadership, industry insights, and contributions to the company, and their impact across the fintech industry. They join a list of industry-leading women from other top companies including Consero, Finastra, and NMI.

    As CFO at CrowdStreet, Combes has been a driving force in shaping the company’s financial strategy and operations. Her strategic insights have helped establish the company’s financial foundation, enabling it to scale and navigate a competitive and fast-paced market. As General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Howell has played a key role in evolving CrowdStreet’s business model and product offerings, working to ensure compliance with complex regulatory laws. Her knowledge in legal and regulatory matters has allowed CrowdStreet to consistently scale its operations. Combined, the two have over three decades of experience that will enable CrowdStreet to grow, evolve, and thrive in the alternatives market that is expected to reach $29T by 2029.

    “We are incredibly proud of Genni and Kristen for receiving this well-deserved recognition,” said John Imbriglia, CEO of CrowdStreet. “Their leadership has been instrumental in helping CrowdStreet thrive as a category leader for direct-access alt investing. This honor underscores their relentless dedication to excellence and their commitment to serving as shining lights for the next generation of female leaders.”

    The Top 50 Women Leaders in Financial Technology list is curated annually by The Financial Technology Report and recognizes women who have significantly shaped the fintech industry. Winners were selected through a comprehensive vetting process that examined candidates’ professional milestones achieved, demonstrated domain prowess, and longevity in the fintech field. The award leaders have demonstrated outstanding vision, innovation, and impact in the fintech sector.

    The private market investing landscape is growing, yet institutions still primarily control access to these opportunities and the vast majority of products created by investment firms are only available to financial advisors. CrowdStreet’s seasoned team of professionals provides these opportunities through the platform so its members can access the same kinds of investments that have been historically reserved for institutions and ultra-wealthy individuals. As of February 2025, the company’s thousands of members have invested billions of dollars through CrowdStreet’s platform, where they have accessed a wide range of investment opportunities.

    About CrowdStreet 

    CrowdStreet is a leading platform for direct-access private market investing. The company offers a carefully selected marketplace of alternative investment opportunities that have historically only been available to a small group of people. In addition to providing advanced tools, research, and insights to help investors confidently explore these exclusive opportunities, CrowdStreet is also building a member experience rooted in trust and experience – working to further bridge the gap between investment opportunities and true financial wealth. Learn more at https://www.crowdstreet.com/.

    Media Contact
    LaunchSquad
    crowdstreet@launchsquad.com

    CrowdStreet, Inc. (“CrowdStreet”) offers investment opportunities and financial services on its website. Broker dealer services provided in connection with an investment are offered through CrowdStreet Capital LLC (“CrowdStreet Capital”), a registered broker dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services are offered through CrowdStreet Advisors, LLC (“CrowdStreet Advisors”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CrowdStreet and a federally registered investment adviser. Investment opportunities available through CrowdStreet are speculative and involve substantial risk. You should not invest unless you can sustain the risk of loss of capital, including the risk of total loss of capital. All investors should consider their individual factors in consultation with a professional advisor of their choosing when deciding if an investment is appropriate.

    The MIL Network –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: John Snow Labs Announces Keynote Speaker Lineup and Program for the Fifth Annual Healthcare NLP Summit

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LEWES, Del., March 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — John Snow Labs, the AI for healthcare company, today announced the keynote speaker lineup and program for the Healthcare NLP Summit, taking place April 2-3 online. Now in its fifth year, the event remains the world’s largest gathering for the applied artificial intelligence (AI), Generative AI, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) community in healthcare and life science. This year will focus on learnings from real-world use cases of generative AI in healthcare, as well as tools and best practices for AI governance.

    With more than 30 expert sessions, the program will highlight large language models (LLMs) and NLP best practices, opportunities, challenges, and the latest open-source libraries, models, and tools in healthcare and life sciences. Day one topics include healthcare-specific frontier LLMs, reasoning LLMs, and visual LLMs with applications ranging from patient engagement and adverse event detection, to clinical coding and data abstraction. Day two is centered on building safe and trustworthy AI solutions, with case studies and tools covering agentic AI, automated bias testing, audio deepfake detection, and more.

    This year’s keynote speakers include:

    • David Talby, Veysel Kocaman, and Dia Trambitas, John Snow Labs
    • Krishnaram Kenthapadi, Oracle Health AI
    • Yishay Carmiel, Meaning
    • Andreas Steiner, Google DeepMind
    • Michael Ash, FunctionalMind
    • Vickie Reyes, Guideline Central
    • Shreya Rajpal, Guardrails AI
    • Sahar Kazemzadeh, Google Research
    • Chris Markson, Cigna Evernorth

    “With another year of generative AI under our belts, we’re seeing more exciting use cases and advances in the field, delivering real value and ROI,” said David Talby, CEO, John Snow Labs. “We’re also seeing higher complexity of systems, moving away from simple prompt engineering and RAG implementations to using healthcare-specific LLMs, agentic AI, and built-in AI governance to tackle the complexities of healthcare. This summit will continue to serve the community by being a forum for practitioners to share what they’ve learned.”

    Click here to learn more about the free, virtual Healthcare NLP Summit.

    Additional Resources

    About John Snow Labs
    John Snow Labs, the AI for healthcare company, provides state-of-the-art software, models, and data to help healthcare and life science organizations put AI to good use. Developer of Medical LLMs, Healthcare NLP, Spark NLP, the Generative AI Lab No-Code Platform, and the Medical Chatbot, John Snow Labs’ award-winning medical AI software powers the world’s leading pharmaceuticals, academic medical centers, and health technology companies. Creator and host of The NLP Summit, the company is committed to further educating and advancing the global AI community.

    Contact
    Gina Devine
    Head of Communications
    John Snow Labs
    gina@johnsnowlabs.com

    The MIL Network –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: CareCloud Announces Conversion of Series A Preferred Stock

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SOMERSET, N.J., March 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CareCloud, Inc. (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: CCLD, CCLDO, CCLDP), a leader in healthcare information technology and generative AI solutions for medical practices and health systems nationwide, announced today (the “Mandatory Exchange Date”) that it effected the mandatory conversion (the “Conversion”) of shares of its 8.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (the “Preferred Stock”), into the Company’s Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”).

    “We are excited to announce this conversion, which will eliminate approximately $7 million or more in annual dividend obligations, freeing us to reinvest this capital in our growth,” said Norman Roth, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Controller of CareCloud. “Further, this conversion will provide us with a cleaner capital structure and good flexibility from which to continue creating value for our shareholders.”

    The Company’s Board of Directors elected to exercise its conversion rights, which provide for the conversion of each share of Preferred Stock into 7.3358 shares of Common Stock, inclusive of all accumulated and unpaid dividends. Any fractional shares of Common Stock which would otherwise be issuable will be rounded up to the next whole share of Common Stock. Dividends on converted shares will cease to accrue on the Mandatory Exchange Date.

    The Conversion will be effective at 4:01 p.m. Eastern Time on March 6, 2025. Individual shareholders who, as of the Mandatory Exchange Date, owned at least 100,000 shares of Preferred Stock will not have their shares of Series A Preferred Stock automatically converted to Common Stock so long as they were held by the Company’s transfer agent, and presently retain the limited right to object to the Conversion.

    Additional information regarding the Conversion can be found in the Amended and Restated Certificate of Designations, Preferences, and Rights of the 8.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock, which is available on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    About CareCloud

    CareCloud brings disciplined innovation to the business of healthcare. Our suite of technology-enabled solutions helps clients increase financial and operational performance, streamline clinical workflows and improve the patient experience. More than 40,000 providers count on CareCloud to help them improve patient care, while reducing administrative burdens and operating costs. Learn more about our products and services, including revenue cycle management (RCM), practice management (PM), electronic health records (EHR), business intelligence, patient experience management (PXM) and digital health at www.carecloud.com.

    Follow CareCloud on LinkedIn, X and Facebook.

    Disclaimer

    This press release is for information purposes only, and does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains various forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to anticipated future events, future results of operations or future financial performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “shall,” “should,” “could,” “intends,” “expects,” “plans,” “goals,” “projects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” “predicts,” “possible,” “potential,” “target,” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology.

    Our operations involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our control, and any one of which, or a combination of which, could materially affect our results of operations and whether the forward-looking statements ultimately prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements reflecting management’s expectations for future financial performance and operating expenditures, expected growth, profitability and business outlook, the impact of pandemics on our financial performance and business activities, and the expected results from the integration of our acquisitions.

    These forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are only predictions, are uncertain and involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our (or our industry’s) actual results, levels of activity or performance to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity or performance expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of the risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements, including without limitation, risks and uncertainties relating to the Company’s ability to manage growth, migrate newly acquired customers and retain new and existing customers, maintain cost-effective global operations, increase operational efficiency and reduce operating costs, predict and properly adjust to changes in reimbursement and other industry regulations and trends, retain the services of key personnel, develop new technologies, upgrade and adapt legacy and acquired technologies to work with evolving industry standards, compete with other companies’ products and services competitive with ours, and other important risks and uncertainties referenced and discussed under the heading titled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, even if subsequently made available by the Company on its website or otherwise. The Company does not assume any obligations to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

    SOURCE CareCloud

    Company Contact:
    Norman Roth
    Interim Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Controller
    CareCloud, Inc.
    nroth@carecloud.com

    Investor Contact:

    Stephen Snyder
    Co-Chief Executive Officer
    CareCloud, Inc.
    ir@carecloud.com 

    The MIL Network –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: ZOOZ Power Reports H2 and Full Year 2024 Financial Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Tel-Aviv, Israel, March 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ZOOZ Power (Nasdaq and TASE: ZOOZ), a leading provider of flywheel-based power boosters and energy management systems for enabling ultra-fast EV charging solutions, announced today its second half and full year 2024 financial results and provided a corporate update.

    ZOOZ Power’s revenue increased in 2024, doubling the number of systems sold in 2023. Revenue increased by 36% from $0.76 million in 2023 to $1.04 million in 2024. While revenue in 2023 included related installations services provided only in 2023 as part of early penetration, in 2024 revenue relates to systems only.

    “As the EV market continues to evolve, ZOOZ Power remains dedicated to delivering innovative power-boosting and energy management solutions that enhance the accessibility and efficiency of ultra-fast charging stations worldwide. I am excited to lead ZOOZ Power and focus on global expansion”, said Erez Zimerman, ZOOZ Power’s CEO.

    “With our unique flywheel-based power boosting technology and recent deployments in key global markets, we are uniquely positioned to grow our presence globally. We are currently scaling operations in Germany and France and advancing partnerships with leading charge point operators. These steps underscore our commitment to enhance infrastructure efficiency and empower the EV ecosystem. I look forward to our success in 2025 as we shape the future of sustainable, high-performance charging solutions”, concluded Erez Zimerman.

    Operational Highlights for the Six Months Ended December 31, 2024

      ● In July 2024, ZOOZ Power expanded its presence in Germany, with its power boosters now operational at four sites, leading charge point operators. A fifth purchase order and deployment, currently underway, is a strong testament to the customer’s trust in ZOOZ’s technology. These successful deployments demonstrate ZOOZ Power’s role as a key enabler of sustainable, high-performance EV charging solutions and a trusted operating partner.
      ● Following a successful pilot of the ZOOZTER™-100 system at the Dor-Alon gas station along Highway 6 (one of Israel’s main transportation corridors), which led to a significant increase in charging sessions per day and demonstrated a relatively short ROI. Dor-Alon decided to adopt the ZOOZ solution and purchased the system.
      ● In August, ZOOZ Power appointed Erez Zimerman as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective September 17th. Zimerman brings extensive experience across hardware and software, with a proven track record in company turnarounds, IPOs, acquisitions, and scaling global sales.
      ● To further accelerate growth, ZOOZ Power expanded its sales team in Germany and France, two of Europe’s most dynamic and fast-growing electric vehicle markets. This strategic move enhances the company’s capacity to meet the increasing demand for efficient and sustainable EV charging infrastructure throughout the region.
      ● In October 2024, ZOOZ deployed it’s ZOOZTER™-100 system at NYPA (New York Power Authority). New York Power Authority President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll said, “Innovation is a priority for the Power Authority, and partnerships like the one with ZOOZ are integral to our work to decarbonize our economy and support transportation electrification in New York State.”
      ● In November 2024, ZOOZ Power entered into a Standby Equity Purchase Agreement (SEPA) securing access to up to $12 million in flexible financing over a two-year period. This financing option provides the company with greater flexibility to raise capital strategically, ensuring support for its growth initiatives while maintaining control over the timing and volume of equity sales.

    Financial Highlights:

    Six Months Ended December 31, 2024

      ● Revenue: ZOOZ reported approximately $498 thousand in revenue for the six months ended December 31, 2024, compared to no revenue for the six months ended December 31, 2023. The revenue reported reflects sale of ZOOZTER™-100 systems,
      ● Cost of revenues: Cost of revenues for the six months ended December 31, 2024, were approximately $776 thousand, compared with approximately $888 thousand for the six months ended December 31, 2023. Cost of revenues for the six months ended December 2023 is mainly attributed to fair value adjustments and raw material write-offs.
      ● Research and Development Expenses, Net: Research and development expenses, net for the six months ended December 31, 2024, were approximately $2,633 thousand, compared with approximately $2,563 thousand for the six months ended December 31, 2023.
      ● Sales and Marketing Expenses: Sales and marketing expenses for the six months ended December 31, 2024, were approximately $494 thousand, compared with approximately $1,710 thousand for the six months ended December 31, 2023. The decrease is mainly attributed to the recognition of grants received as part of the NYPA (New York Power Authority) Cooperation Agreement, following the successful installation of ZOOZTER™-100 system, which effectively offset Sales and Marketing expenses in 2024.
      ● General and Administrative Expenses: General and administrative expenses for the six months ended December 31, 2024, were approximately $1,872 thousand, compared with approximately $1,322 thousand for the six months ended December 31, 2023. The increase is mainly attributed to D&O insurance costs and other expenses related to the Company’s listing for trading on the Nasdaq following the consummation of the Business Combination, effective as of April 4, 2024.
      ● Net loss: Net loss for the six months ended December 31, 2024, was approximately $5,753 thousand, or $0.50 per basic and diluted share, compared with a net loss of approximately $6,353 thousand, or $1.07 per basic and diluted share, for the six months ended December 31, 2023.

    Full Year Ended December 31, 2024

      ● Cash: As of December 31, 2024, ZOOZ had approximately $7,532 thousand in cash, cash equivalents and short-term deposit, compared with approximately $6,672 thousand as of December 31, 2023. Since ZOOZ has just started commercial sales of its products and considering ZOOZ’s expected cash usage, early this year ZOOZ initiated certain measures designed to reduce its operation cost, such as workforce reduction where it deemed appropriate and has continued its sales and marketing efforts. In addition, ZOOZ expects that it will need to obtain additional funding in 2025 in connection with its continuing operations.
      ● Revenue: ZOOZ reported approximately $1,041 thousand in revenue for the full year ended December 31, 2024, compared with approximately $764 thousand for the full year ended December 31, 2023. The revenue reported reflects sales of ZOOZTER™-100 systems.
      ● Cost of revenues: Cost of revenues for the full year ended December 31, 2024, were approximately $1,527 thousand, compared with approximately $1,869 thousand for the full year ended December 31, 2023. Please refer to “Six Months Ended December 31, 2024” for the description of this decrease.
      ● Research and Development Expenses, Net: Research and development expenses, net for the full year ended December 31, 2024, were approximately $5,062 thousand, compared with approximately $5,215 thousand for the full year ended December 31, 2023.
      ● Sales and Marketing Expenses: Sales and marketing expenses for the full year ended December 31, 2024, were approximately $1,324 thousand, compared with approximately $3,041 thousand for the full year ended December 31, 2023. Please refer to “Six Months Ended December 31, 2024” for the description of this decrease.
      ● General and Administrative Expenses: General and administrative expenses for the full year ended December 31, 2024, were approximately $3,664 thousand, compared with approximately $2,850 thousand for the full year ended December 31, 2023. Please refer to “Six Months Ended December 31, 2024” for the description of this increase.
      ● Net loss: Net loss for the full year ended December 31, 2024, was approximately $10,990 thousand, or $1.09 per basic and diluted share, compared with a net loss of approximately $11,755 thousand, or $1.99 per basic and diluted share, for the full year ended December 31, 2023.

    Results (K)

        H2 2024
    Unaudited    		     H2 2023
    Unaudited    		     FY 2024
    Audited    		     FY 2023
    Audited    		  
    Revenues   $ 498       –     $ 1,041     $ 764  
    Net Loss   $ 5,753     $ 6,353     $ 10,990     $ 11,755  
    Loss per diluted share   $ 0.50     $ 1.07     $ 1.09     $ 1.99  

    Full financial tables are included below

    About ZOOZ Power

    ZOOZ is the leading provider of flywheel-based power boosting and energy management solutions, enabling the widespread deployment of ultra-fast charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs) while overcoming existing grid limitations.

    ZOOZ pioneers its unique flywheel-based power-boosting technology, enabling efficient utilization and power management of a power-limited grid at an EV charging site. Its Flywheel technology allows high-performance, reliable, and cost-effective ultra-fast charging infrastructure.

    ZOOZ Power’s sustainable, power-boosting solutions are built with longevity and the environment in mind, helping its customers and partners accelerate the deployment of fast-charging infrastructure, thus facilitating improved utilization rates, better efficiency, greater flexibility, and faster revenues and profitability growth. ZOOZ is publicly traded on NASDAQ and TASE under the ticker ZOOZ

    For more information, please visit: www.zoozpower.com/

    Investor Contact:

    Miri Segal – CEO
    MS-IR LLC
    msegal@ms-ir.com

    Media enquiries:
    Media@zoozpower.com

      
    Forward-Looking Statement

    This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions of ZOOZ Power. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding ZOOZ Power, and any of ZOOZ Power’s strategy, future operations and statements related to the collaboration between ZOOZ Power and “ON” charging network (including any plans to implement ZOOZ Power’s solution and upgrade an additional site of “ON” on Route 6) are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause ZOOZ Power’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and other risks and uncertainties are more fully discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of ZOOZ’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as well as other documents that may be subsequently filed by the Company from time to time with the SEC. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the limited operating history and evolving business model that make it difficult for investors to evaluate ZOOZ Power’s business and future prospects, material weaknesses identified in ZOOZ Power’s internal control over financial reporting and the potential results of ZOOZ Power being unable to remediate these material weaknesses, or identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise failure to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, ZOOZ Power’s management’s determination that substantial doubt exists about the continued existence of ZOOZ Power as a “going concern”, changes to fuel economy standards or changes to governments’ regulations and policies in relation to environment or the success of alternative fuels which may negatively impact the EVs market and thus the demand for ZOOZ Power’s products, delays in deployment of public ultra-fast charging infrastructure which may limit the need and urgency for ZOOZ Power’s products, the potential outcome of ZOOZ Power’s collaborations with third parties for installation of its flywheel-based power boosting solution, and conditions in Israel and in the Middle East, including the effect of the evolving nature of the ongoing “Swords of Iron” war, may adversely affect ZOOZ Power’s operations. These forward-looking statements are only estimations, and ZOOZ Power may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in any forward-looking statements, so you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements made in this Press Release. Management of ZOOZ Power has based these forward-looking statements largely on current expectations and projections about future events and trends that such persons believe may affect ZOOZ Power’s business, financial condition and operating results. Forward-looking statements contained in this Press Release are made as of the date hereof, and none of ZOOZ Power or any of its representatives or any other person undertakes any duty to update such information except as may be expressly required under applicable law.

      
    ZOOZ POWER LTD
    CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
    (U.S. dollars in thousands) – (Unaudited)

        December 31  
        2024     2023  
    ASSETS                
    CURRENT ASSETS:                
    Cash     7,532       6,672  
    Restricted bank deposits     34       –  
    Prepaid expenses     370       203  
    Other current assets     397       549  
    Inventory     2,320       2,848  
    TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS     10,653       10,272  
    NON-CURRENT ASSETS:                
    Restricted bank deposits     192       224  
    Prepaid expenses     91       79  
    Operating lease right of use assets     974       1,309  
    Property and equipment, net     927       1,593  
    TOTAL NON-CURRENT ASSETS     2,184       3,205  
    TOTAL ASSETS     12,837       13,477  
    LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY                
    CURRENT LIABILITIES:                
    Accounts payable     297       536  
    Other payables and accrued expenses     870       1,387  
    Short term employee benefits     668       788  
    Share based payment liabilities     –       232  
    Promissory note     890       –  
    Promissory note – Related party     2,151       –  
    Current maturities of operating lease liabilities     314       309  
    TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES     5,190       3,252  
                     
    NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES:                
    Warrants liability     331       –  
    Operating lease liabilities     598       1,035  
    TOTAL NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES     929       1,035  
                     
    TOTAL LIABILITIES     6,119       4,287  
                     
    TOTAL EQUITY     6,718       9,190  
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY     12,837       13,477  

    ZOOZ POWER LTD
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
    (U.S. dollars in thousands, except share and per share data) – (Unaudited)

        Year ended December 31  
        2024     2023     2022  
                       
    Revenue     1,041       764       –  
    Cost of revenue     1,527       1,869       178  
    Gross loss     (486 )     (1,105 )     (178 )
                             
    Research and development, net     5,062       5,215       4,163  
    Sales and marketing     1,324       3,041       1,672  
    General and administrative     3,664       2,850       2,189  
                             
    Operating loss     (10,536 )     (12,211 )     (8,202 )
                             
    Interest expenses     171       –       –  
    Other finance expenses (income), net     283       (456 )     (377 )
    Net loss     (10,990 )     (11,755 )     (7,825 )
                             
    Net loss per ordinary share attributable to shareholders – basic and diluted     (1.09 )     (1.99 )     (1.51 )
    Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding – basic and diluted     10,070       5,912       5,166  

    ZOOZ POWER LTD
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
    (U.S. dollars in thousands) – (Unaudited)

        June 30     December 31  
        2024     2023  
    ASSETS                
    CURRENT ASSETS:                
    Cash and cash equivalents     7,721       6,672  
    Short term deposits     3,507       –  
    Prepaid expenses     838       203  
    Other current assets     611       549  
    Inventory     2,470       2,848  
    TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS     15,147       10,272  
                     
    NON-CURRENT ASSETS:                
    Restricted bank deposits     219       224  
    Prepaid expenses     104       79  
    Operating lease right of use assets     1,133       1,309  
    Property and equipment, net     1,411       1,593  
    TOTAL NON-CURRENT ASSETS     2,867       3,205  
    TOTAL ASSETS     18, 014       13,477  
                     
    LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY                
    CURRENT LIABILITIES:                
    Accounts payable     303       536  
    Other payables and accrued expenses     912       1,387  
    Short term employee benefits     662       788  
    Share based payment liabilities     –       232  
    Promissory note     856       –  
    Promissory note – Related party     2,069       –  
    Current maturities of operating lease liabilities     313       309  
    TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES     5,115       3,252  
                     
    NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES:                
    Warrants liability     181       –  
    Operating lease liabilities     824       1,035  
    TOTAL NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES     1,005       1,035  
                     
    TOTAL LIABILITIES     6,120       4,287  
                     
    TOTAL EQUITY     11,894       9,190  
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY     18,014       13,477  

    ZOOZ POWER LTD
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
    (U.S. dollars in thousands, except share and per share data) – (Unaudited)

        Six months ended June 30,  
        2024     2023  
                 
    Revenues     543       784  
    Cost of revenue     751       981  
                     
    Gross loss     (208 )     (197 )
                     
    Research and development, net     2,429       2,652  
    Sales and marketing, net     830       1,331  
    General and administrative     1,792       1,528  
                     
    Operating loss     (5,259 )     (5,708 )
                     
    Finance income, net     22       306  
    Net loss     (5,237 )     (5,402 )
                     
    Net loss per ordinary share attributable to shareholders – basic and diluted     (0.59 )     (0.91 )
    Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding – basic and diluted     8,854       5,912  

    The MIL Network –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Global Shift in Governmental Policies Incentivizing U.S. Manufacturing for Drone Manufacturers

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PALM BEACH, Fla., March 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FN Media Group News Commentary – From the perspective of U.S. competitiveness and security, incentivizing U.S. leadership in the drone industry ― the focal point of a new era of aviation ― represents a strategic imperative in a market long characterized by state-subsidized companies based in China. AUVSI, an industry insider reported: “that it believes it is essential to advance security and competitiveness in a thoughtful way that respects existing investments while building toward a more secure, sustainable future that puts U.S. interests ― including security, the economy, and overarching values ― first. U.S. drone manufacturers and their component supply chain have struggled to compete against foreign subsidized competition, which hinders the availability of American-made UAS on the market and impedes workforce growth and investment. Accordingly, the U.S. government must foster a more competitive and fair playing field for U.S.-based drone manufacturers. AUVSI is advocating for specific proposals that would generate demand for U.S.-made drones and supply-side measures that level the playing field for U.S. drone and component manufacturers against subsidized competition and dumping practices.” Active Companies in the drone industry today include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), EHang Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: EH), AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS), ParaZero Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: PRZO).

    AUVSI continued: “Bolstering new drone manufacturing capabilities and the associated workforce will require infrastructure and capital expenditures. Providing tax incentives and other mechanisms to spur that spending would accelerate growth and development that would have otherwise been delayed or denied. Manufacturer tax credits for the production and sale of certain UAS equipment and components produced and sold in the U.S. would benefit the industry and its competitiveness and would decrease reliance on subsidized, foreign drones. This has worked in other industries. According to the Financial Times, U.S. manufacturing commitments doubled ― to more than $200 billion, creating 82,000 jobs ― based on the success of tax incentive programs for other industries, including solar panels, semiconductors, electric vehicles, and other clean technologies. In taking action to level the playing field and promote competition, the U.S. government should coordinate activities with allied and partner nations to create a stronger, more secure supply chain.”

    ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA) ZenaDrone Benefits from New Chinese Tariffs Also Helping its Commercial and Defense Customer Markets – ZenaTech, Inc. (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) (“ZenaTech”), a technology company specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drones, Drone as a Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS and Quantum Computing solutions, today announces an update on its US-based ZenaDrone subsidiary’s Arizona and Taiwan manufacturing supply chain strategy in light of the current economic changes and tariffs announced by the current US Administration. ZenaDrone will continue to source and manufacture drone cameras, sensors and other related components at its Taiwan-based Spider Vision Sensors company to reduce its supply chain risk and ensure NDAA-compliant parts for its US Defense-destined drone products, which will be manufactured in Arizona. The company also benefits from recent announcements doubling tariffs on Chinese imports including drones and parts from 10% to 20% which will negatively impact many US drone companies and customers given the drone industry dominance of China.

    “The current administration’s focus on strengthening US manufacturing and reducing reliance on Chinese drone imports is a game-changer for American companies like ours. With increased tariffs on Chinese drones and components, and new incentives for domestic production, we are well-positioned to expand our operations to manufacture in Arizona, also creating more high-quality American jobs. Since we’ve already initiated sourcing of our component parts from Taiwan instead of China, we can avoid supply chain disruptions while benefiting from potential US manufacturing tax breaks. We believe this makes our drones more competitive for both government and commercial markets,” said CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D.

    “This also puts us ahead of domestic competitors who may be facing challenges with supply chain instability and less access to cutting-edge technologies. By leveraging Taiwan’s capabilities and our focus on security and compliance, we’re poised to meet increasing defense demand while minimizing operational risks,” added Dr. Passley.

    The Spider Vision Sensors Taiwan office opened in November 2024 to manufacture drone cameras, sensors, electronics, and components, including LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), thermal, infrared, and multi-spectral sensors, and circuit boards to incorporate into ZenaDrone’s finished products. Having in-house manufactured sensors and components will enable ZenaDrone to maintain a steady supply to fulfill customer drone order needs at its Sharjah, UAE manufacturing facilities as well as its future Arizona-based drone manufacturing facilities for US military-destined “Made in America” drones.

    Taiwan was selected due to its size and skills as an electronics hub, and the availability of low-cost alternative components versus those from China. Spider Vision Sensors will ensure ZenaDrone’s products and supply chain are compliant with the US NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) requirements necessary to do business with the US Military. This along with the Green UAS (Uncrewed Arial System) and the Blue UAS are important certifications ensuring cybersecurity and country of origin compliance for drone companies which the company has stated it plans to achieve. Continued… Read this full release by visiting: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-zena/

    Other recent developments in the drone industry include:

    EHang Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: EH), the world’s leading Urban Air Mobility (“UAM”) technology platform company, recently announced a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (“JAC Motors”) and Hefei Guoxian Holdings Co., Ltd. (“Guoxian Holdings”). Under this agreement, cooperation will focus on establishing a joint venture in Hefei to invest in the construction of a state-of-the-art manufacturing base for low-altitude aircraft. The facility will integrate advanced technology, standardization, and automation to produce intelligent and pilotless electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (“eVTOL”).

    The strategic cooperation signing ceremony was attended by key officials including Fei Yuan, Standing Committee Member of Hefei Municipal Committee and Vice Mayor of Hefei; Xingchu Xiang, Chairman, and General Manager of JAC Motors; Xingke Yin, Vice General Manager of JAC Motors; Huazhi Hu, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of EHang; and Zhao Wang, Chief Operating Officer of EHang. They were joined by other distinguished guests in witnessing the signing of the strategic cooperation agreement, marking a new milestone in the high-quality development of China’s low-altitude economy ecosystem.

    AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) recently reported financial results for the fiscal third quarter ended January 25, 2025. Third Quarter Highlights Were:

    Record funded backlog of $763.5 million as of January 25, 2025

    Third quarter revenue of $167.6 million down 10% year-over-year

    Third quarter net loss of $(1.8) million and non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of $21.8 million

    “We faced a number of short-term challenges in the third quarter, including the unprecedented high winds and fires in Southern California, which impacted our ability to meet our goals,” said Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Nevertheless, we made significant progress towards executing our long-term growth strategy and building resiliency for the future.”

    Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS) and RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., recently announced an approximate 50/50 partnership for the establishment of a U.S.-based merchant supplier of solid rocket motors (SRMs) and other energetics. The new joint venture, named Prometheus Energetics (“Prometheus”), is set to be headquartered on an approximate 500-acre site near the United States Navy and Army facility in Crane, Indiana.

    Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos Defense, said, “We believe Prometheus, once up and running at full rate production, will be a step function catalyst in value creation for Kratos’ stakeholders and the U.S. defense industrial base, similar to Kratos’ recent MACH-TB contract award—the largest single-award contract in Kratos history. Like other major Kratos investments such as Oriole, Zeus, and Erinyes, Prometheus responds to a critical need to strengthen the U.S. Industrial Base and will also provide tens of thousands of SRMs and casted warheads supporting both America’s most reliable partner in the Middle East and United States national security related demand from a true SRM and energetics merchant supplier.”

    ParaZero Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: PRZO) recently announced that it has successfully achieved regulatory compliance with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for its SafeAir systems. This milestone marks a step forward for the company, solidifying its position as a trusted provider of safety solutions in the rapidly expanding drone market.

    ParaZero secured EASA compliance for its SafeAir systems. The Company announced last week that its system is integrated with the DJI Matrice 350, DJI Mavic 3T, and DJI Mavic 3E, and has successfully achieved CE Class C5 compliance. This achievement marks a significant advancement in drone safety and regulatory readiness, particularly within the European market.

    The CE Class C5 certification is crucial for compliance with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulations, especially for operators navigating the complex Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) process. By meeting these stringent requirements, ParaZero’s SafeAir systems simplify the regulatory pathway for drone operators, enabling them to conduct missions in an urban environment, with greater confidence, efficiency, and safety.

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    The MIL Network –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Municipality Finance Plc Amends the Terms and Conditions of Medium Term Notes

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Municipality Finance Plc
    Stock exchange release
    6 March 2025 at 4:00 pm (EET)

    Municipality Finance Plc Amends the Terms and Conditions of Medium Term Notes

    Municipality Finance Plc amends the terms and conditions pertaining to EUR 10 million medium term notes issued on 11 February 2025 (ISIN: XS2999632172). With the amendments, the notes are in new global note form and accordingly are intended to be held in a manner which would allow Eurosystem eligibility in other respects, the terms and conditions of the notes remain unchanged. The amended and restated final terms are available in English on the company’s website at https://www.kuntarahoitus.fi/en/for-investors.

    Holders of the notes have approved the amendments. The notes have been admitted to trading on the Helsinki Stock Exchange maintained by Nasdaq Helsinki.

    MUNICIPALITY FINANCE PLC

    Further information:

    Joakim Holmström
    Executive Vice President, Capital Markets and Sustainability
    tel. +358 50 444 3638

    MuniFin (Municipality Finance Plc) is one of Finland’s largest credit institutions. The owners of the company include Finnish municipalities, the public sector pension fund Keva and the State of Finland. The Group’s balance sheet is over EUR 53 billion.

    MuniFin builds a better and more sustainable future with its customers. Our customers include municipalities, joint municipal authorities, wellbeing services counties, joint county authorities, corporate entities under the control of the above-mentioned organisations, and affordable social housing. Lending is used for environmentally and socially responsible investment targets such as public transportation, sustainable buildings, hospitals and healthcare centres, schools and day care centres, and homes for people with special needs.

    MuniFin’s customers are domestic but the company operates in a completely global business environment. The company is an active Finnish bond issuer in international capital markets and the first Finnish green and social bond issuer. The funding is exclusively guaranteed by the Municipal Guarantee Board.

    Read more: www.munifin.fi

    Important Information

    The information contained herein is not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into any such country or jurisdiction or otherwise in such circumstances in which the release, publication or distribution would be unlawful. The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, any securities or other financial instruments in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration, exemption from registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

    This communication does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The notes have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or under the applicable securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

    The MIL Network –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Anger is a flow of emotion like water through a hose − at work, it helps to know when to turn it up or down and how to direct it

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Laura Rees, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior, Oregon State University

    Is the anger targeted or blasting everyone in the area? Witthaya Prasongsin/Moment via Getty Images

    Pretty much everyone will sometimes struggle with anger at work. People fear the wrath of abusive supervisors, suppress anger to maintain a façade of professionalism, or vent anger toward co-workers who are, fairly or not, targets. Reactions to anger in the workplace can be strong, but they’re not always effective.

    As scholars who also fall prey to the pitfalls of anger ourselves, we are fascinated by anger. We have studied the causes, underlying processes and consequences of anger from the perspectives of management, psychology, marketing and negotiations.

    We recently reviewed more than 400 research articles across psychology, business and related fields on topics ranging from brain activity to negotiation to race relations. Yet despite the ubiquity of anger in the workplace and the decades of anger research that exists across a number of fields, we found no straightforward way to understand the complexity of the life cycle of anger and how to manage it most effectively.

    As we dived more deeply into the research literature, though, we realized that simply reframing how we think about anger could provide a novel, flexible framework for how to deal with this emotion in daily life. Our suggestion: Think of anger as a flow of emotion, like water through a garden hose.

    By thinking of the flow of anger, you can unpack its key dimensions: its path and strength. Understanding whether the hose is pointed effectively and whether the strength of the stream is appropriate are critical for knowing when, how and why to focus or redirect the anger and amplify or weaken its intensity.

    When tempers flare, sometimes innocent bystanders take the heat.
    RapidEye/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    The direction of anger

    Imagine a co-worker charges into your office, yelling, breathing heavily, face reddened, veins bulging. Even if you are simply an unsuspecting colleague who happened to have your door open, your attention is undoubtedly now fixed on your co-worker.

    Are you the target of their anger for something you did, or merely an observer of their anger at someone else?

    If you are an undeserving target, do you try to reframe the issue so that the angry person will realize the anger is better directed elsewhere?

    If you are the observer, you also have a choice about whether to ignore your co-worker’s anger or help them redirect it to a more effective outlet. You might simply listen empathetically while they let off steam, perhaps pointing out the relative risks and benefits of their taking their complaints to the supervisor.

    You are deciding, in effect, what suggestions to make about the direction of this person’s anger.

    The key to effectively managing the direction of anger is to manage the attention of those in the room. Reshaping how angry people attribute blame, for example, can help people take another person’s perspective or understand the situation in a new way, directing the flow more productively.

    The intensity of anger

    When an angry co-worker approaches you as the target, do you ignore the signal or offer to work with the person so a similar situation doesn’t happen in the future? Both are ways to tamp down the intensity of the emotion coming at you.

    When you are angry, do you try to distract yourself from the anger, let it simmer, or embrace it? You are essentially deciding how you want to manage the intensity of your own angry feelings.

    It is important to recognize that managing the intensity of anger can go in both directions. Sometimes high-intensity anger should be turned down and sometimes subtle anger should be amplified.

    For example, consider an instance in which you feel anger at what you perceive to be an unfair change to a company policy. In this case, simply going for a walk outside to avoid expressing your frustration may result in the leadership not realizing that you and others on the team feel this way, leaving little opportunity to discuss and update the policy to more reasonable standards.

    Learning to self-regulate your thoughts and behaviors can help you manage the intensity of any anger you find yourself feeling. Rather than impulsively reacting, you can practice handling your emotions so you control whether you crank up your expressed anger or dial it down. Part of this process is thinking carefully about the cost-benefit trade-offs of expressing your anger. In these ways, you more effectively manage the strength of the flow without unnecessarily just turning it off.

    The decision whether or how to intervene depends on the specifics of the situation.
    FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images

    Controlling anger

    Knowing when, how and why to shape the direction and intensity of anger is no small feat. Some of this decision is rightly based on the situation. For example, is it safe to step in? Do you feel personally skilled at intervening?

    But it is within everyone’s power to learn how to manage their own and others’ anger more effectively.

    To do so, you need to understand your role and whether the flow is a one-time situation or a persistent problem. Understanding whether you’re holding the hose, standing in its path or observing from a distance is the first step to effectively managing the direction and intensity of the flow.

    Second is deciding whether and how to intervene: Can you reframe the initial trigger so that the faucet is never turned on, or turned on more or less powerfully? If anger is already too strong and you cannot or do not want to avoid it, can you help the angry person regulate the direction and intensity of their anger to overcome the issue in some way?

    You can get better at controlling the flow of anger in ways that can improve rather than harm relationships and outcomes. Research supports working on your emotional intelligence and building belief in your own capability to handle anger. Manage factors that tend to wrest control of the hose away from you, including becoming defensive, feeling shame or even suffering from a lack of sleep.

    Taking these steps and practicing controlling the hose’s path and intensity can help address problems in the short term and prevent anger from becoming a destructive pattern in the long term.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Anger is a flow of emotion like water through a hose − at work, it helps to know when to turn it up or down and how to direct it – https://theconversation.com/anger-is-a-flow-of-emotion-like-water-through-a-hose-at-work-it-helps-to-know-when-to-turn-it-up-or-down-and-how-to-direct-it-243670

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 7, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Muslim American nonprofits are taking steps to build trust with donors during Ramadan

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Shariq Siddiqui, Assistant Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University

    Nearly 70% of American Muslims report giving Zakat, the obligatory charity, during Ramadan. NickyLloyd/E+ via Getty Images

    As Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadan, an important aspect of their faith is their role as stewards of God on Earth. One way Muslims do this is through the practice of Zakat, an obligatory kind of charity that’s one of the five pillars of Islam.

    Zakat requires Muslims to give 2.5% of their wealth to eight prescribed categories: the poor; the needy; Zakat administrators; those whose hearts can be reconciled; to free the enslaved; to help those in debt; for travelers; and for the sake of God.

    Muslims, however, worry that they are responsible to God to ensure that their Zakat is used by institutions in ways that would do good, while adhering to the theological requirements of this religious practice. Yet, my research shows that Muslim American nonprofits are taking steps to build trust with donors.

    Zakat as a communal practice

    Muslims see themselves as custodians of whatever they possess as gifts from God.

    During their lifetime, they must use wealth responsibly and for good; upon their death, the Quran prescribes who can inherit their wealth.

    One important aspect of how Muslims are supposed to use their wealth is through charity. Zakat is an obligatory charitable practice in which donations are traditionally channeled through institutions.

    According to research my team conducted, nearly 70% of Muslims in the United States report giving Zakat during Ramadan. Ramadan is thus a critical time for nonprofits to solicit Zakat funds.

    Historically, Zakat was given through central Zakat collection agencies, or “bait-ul-maals.” For example, at the time of the Prophet Muhammad and early Islamic rulers, Zakat collection and distribution was carried out by the government.

    Today, Zakat collection and distribution varies from place to place. In six of the 47 Muslim-majority countries – Libya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen – Zakat is obligatory and collected by the state. In Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon and Bangladesh, Zakat is regulated by the state, but contributions are voluntary.

    Most countries do not have a formal Zakat collection agency and rely upon local nonprofits or individuals for the collection and distribution of Zakat.

    Over time, due to distrust in Zakat collecting institutions and perceived corruption, the practice of Zakat has become more individual and less communal. The vast majority of Zakat across the globe is collected and distributed individually rather than through institutions. Scholars have argued that many fear that Zakat collecting institutions may not be using the funds ethically, impactfully and in accordance with Islamic requirements.

    For example, according to the Hanafi school of thought, a Zakat collection agency can spend up to 12.5% of donation money on administrative costs; other schools of thought argue that Zakat should be administered at no cost.

    Building trust through transparency

    It is important for many Muslims that their contributions are used in compliance with Islamic religious requirements.
    Photo by Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images

    Nonprofits are taking steps to build trust. For example, Muslim American charities were among the first to embrace Charity Navigator as a way to evaluate their impact.

    Charity Navigator is a U.S.-based nonprofit that rates nonprofits. Many Muslim-led charities in the United States proudly display their “Four Star” Charity Navigator status.

    My team has found that Muslim Americans are more likely to donate to nonprofits that the Internal Revenue Service has granted 501(c)(3) status. This is true even if they don’t claim the charitable deduction on their taxes and therefore cannot get tax breaks for their donations.

    More recently, in my conversations with leading Muslim-led nonprofits, I learned that they are seeking to respond to Muslim concerns about how these nonprofits use Zakat funds. It is important for them that funds are used in compliance with Islamic religious requirements.

    For example, they are looking at how nonprofits interpret what it means to be “needy,” “the poor,” “the enslaved” or “for the sake of God” in the contemporary context.

    Many nonprofits are adopting Zakat policies that explain how they define these terms and how much of their budget covers their administrative costs. These include international organizations that are not led by Muslims, like the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, Save the Children, and the anti-poverty group Oxfam.

    A case study

    The Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at Indiana University, which I lead, convened a group of scholars in November 2024 to discuss challenges of collecting and distributing Zakat in the U.S. This discussion resulted in a report that sums up these conversations and examines the Zakat policy of the largest U.S. Muslim-led nonprofit: Islamic Relief USA.

    Islamic Relief USA’s Zakat policy limits its administrative costs to 12%; it permits funding for both immediate and long-term projects and allows Zakat to be distributed not just as cash payments but also as goods and services. It does not discriminate on the basis of religion.

    While not all scholars at the convening agreed with every aspect of the Islamic Relief USA Zakat policy, they accepted that diversity in Islamic thought permitted various approaches to Zakat. They also concurred that Islamic Relief USA’s process was likely the best framework for how nonprofits should approach the development of Zakat policies.

    Ultimately, there was consensus that nonprofits seeking Zakat should have Zakat policies; should make them available on their websites; should state the process through which it was developed; and name the scholars and other experts who took part in the process.

    Since a majority of American Muslims prefer to donate their Zakat during Ramadan, perhaps this might be the time when nonprofits can build trust through adopting more transparent Zakat policies.

    This article discusses a meeting funded by the the Islamic.. However, Islamic Relief USA is not consulted on any of our scholarly or public facing publications resulting from that convening.

    – ref. Why Muslim American nonprofits are taking steps to build trust with donors during Ramadan – https://theconversation.com/why-muslim-american-nonprofits-are-taking-steps-to-build-trust-with-donors-during-ramadan-251319

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 7, 2025
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