Category: Transport

MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General James and Coalition of 22 Attorneys General Celebrate Court Victory Stopping Federal Funding Freeze

Source: US State of New York

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 22 attorneys general today celebrated winning a court order halting the implementation of a Trump administration policy that would block many federal agency grants, loans, and other financial assistance programs. On Friday, Judge John J. McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the administration’s illegal funding freeze after Attorney General James and the coalition filed a lawsuit to stop the policy.

“The power of the purse belongs to Congress – not the President of the United States,” said Attorney General James. “Last week, I led a coalition of attorneys general in suing to stop this dangerous and chaotic policy, and we won a court order to stop it while our lawsuit proceeds. Now, New Yorkers can rest assured that federal funds for critical services – meals for our seniors, health care, community public safety, disaster relief, and so much more – are currently not at risk. I will continue to fight in court to defend the essential programs and services New Yorkers need.”

The TRO won by Attorney General James prohibits federal agencies from taking any action that would “pause, freeze, block, cancel or terminate” the provision of federal funding, unless otherwise permitted by existing statute or the terms of the grant. Because of Attorney General James’ immediate intervention, programs that provide critical health and childcare services to families in need, deliver support to public schools, combat violence and expand public safety, provide life-saving disaster relief to states, and more are no longer at immediate risk of losing their funding.

In a notice sent to federal agencies and filed with the court this morning, the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicated its intent to comply with the court order and affirmed that the TRO blocking the illegal freeze applied to all federal funding awards or obligations, including those made to recipients such as hospitals, non-profits, or other organizations. The TRO applied to both current and future grants of federal assistance.

This morning, Attorney General James also sent a letter to hundreds of recipients of federal funding informing them that federal financial assistance cannot be frozen as a result of the administration’s policy, which is now blocked. This included health care providers, who were informed that funding cannot be frozen or withdrawn on the basis of providing gender affirming care to minors. Attorney General James also reminded providers that regardless of funding, all providers in New York are obligated to comply with New York state laws, including those that prohibit discrimination against individuals based on their sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or membership in other protected classes. To comply with New York law, Attorney General James warns all providers that they must continue to provide health care services, including gender affirming care, to transgender or gender nonconforming individuals.

This lawsuit was led by Attorney General James and the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Reducing Gun Violence in New York Communities
Source: US State of New York

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced $20.7 million to support SNUG Street Outreach programs that work to reduce gun violence and save lives in 14 communities across New York State. These grants to community-based organizations and hospitals fund outreach workers, hospital responders, social workers and case managers who are credible messengers and work with individuals at risk of gun violence, connecting them with support and services to change behavior and increase opportunities. Last week, Governor Hochul announced that shooting incidents with injury reported in communities participating in the State’s Gun Involved Violence initiative reached record lows in 2024 with 588 incidents reported compared to 817 in 2023, a 28 percent reduction. The Governor’s FY26 Executive Budget continues unprecedented support for SNUG, Gun Involved Violence and other initiatives in communities that report 90 percent of violent crimes with firearms and 85 percent of violent crimes outside of New York City.

“Public safety is my number one priority — that’s why my Budget invests in proven initiatives like the SNUG program to drive down gun violence, save lives and keep New Yorkers safe,” Governor Hochul said. “Outreach teams across the State are working alongside law enforcement and local partners to target gun violence anywhere it occurs, and to engage stakeholders in a comprehensive approach that makes our communities safer for all.”

New York State’s SNUG program uses a public health approach to address gun violence by identifying the source, interrupting transmission and treating individuals, families and communities affected by the violence. Administered by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, SNUG, Gun Involved Violence (GIVE) initiative, the State’s nationally recognized Crime Analysis Centers Network and Project RISE (Respond, Invest, Sustain, Empower) are key components of Governor Hochul’s comprehensive plan to address the causes and consequences of gun violence and other crimes.

New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services Commissioner Rossana Rosado said, “Our SNUG Street Outreach teams are a critical component of Governor Hochul’s comprehensive crime reduction and public safety plan. These dedicated individuals work in communities disproportionately affected by gun violence. They mediate and defuse conflicts and provide access to programs and support, including counseling and case management, so youth and families can thrive, and communities can heal. We thank Governor Hochul for her continued support of this work and for her leadership on public safety.”

The $20.7 million will fund staff, programs, services, equipment and technology for the SNUG locations during the 2025 calendar year. Community-based organizations and hospitals receive the funding, which supports 181 full-time and 39 part-time employees who work in specific neighborhoods in Albany, the Bronx, Buffalo, Hempstead, Mt. Vernon, Newburgh, Niagara Falls, Poughkeepsie, Syracuse, Rochester, Troy, Utica, Wyandanch and Yonkers. DCJS tracks shooting data in these “SNUG zones” and last year, those zones collectively reported significant, double-digit decreases in shooting victims, individuals killed by gun violence and shooting incidents with injury when compared to 2023.

SNUG outreach workers, social workers, case managers and hospital responders work in neighborhoods disproportionately affected by gun violence, and the program also embeds social workers and hospital responders at Level One trauma centers in Albany, Buffalo, the Bronx, Rochester and Syracuse. These professionals work with individuals and families in the aftermath of a violent incident to offer support, services and connect them to the SNUG program in their communities for additional assistance.

SNUG staff are credible messengers who live in the communities in which they work, and some have been involved with the criminal justice system or lost loved ones to violence. They work with teens and young adults to detect and defuse disputes before they escalate; respond to shootings to prevent retaliation through mediation and assist family members of those who have been injured or killed; and mentor youth involved with the program to set goals and connect them with educational and job opportunities as well as other services. The programs also engage the community, religious organizations and clergy, and local businesses by sponsoring anti-violence marches, job fairs, block parties, sporting events and other community gatherings.

The following organizations and hospitals will receive funding and support from DCJS to administer SNUG:

New York City and Long Island
- Bronx – Jacobi Medical Center: $2,702,617
- Hempstead – Family and Children’s Association: $1,164,397
- Wyandanch – Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk: $746,522
Hudson Valley
- Mt. Vernon – Family Services of Westchester: $1,088,391
- Newburgh – Regional Economic Community Action Plan: $896,799
- Poughkeepsie – Family Services Inc.: $1,076,245
- Yonkers – Yonkers YMCA: $1,010,259
Capital Region
- Albany – Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region: $1,820,329 and Albany Medical Center: $262,310
- Troy – Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region: $860,134
Central New York
- Syracuse – Syracuse Model Neighborhood Facility: $1,820,189 and SUNY Upstate Medical Center: $464,374
Mohawk Valley
- Utica – Integrated Community Alternatives Network: $792,673
Finger Lakes
- Rochester – PathStone Corp.: $1,949,426 and Rochester General Hospital: $571,002
Western New York
- Buffalo – Erie County Medical Center: $2,800,915
- Niagara Falls – Community Missions of Niagara Frontier: $ 677,170
Comprehensive training, site visits and support from DCJS set SNUG apart from other community-based violence interruption programs across the state and country. New staff must complete 40 hours of training and new supervisors complete 32 hours of management training. All staff must also complete 40 hours of professional development training annually. This ongoing training and support help ensure that the program operates consistently across all SNUG sites despite being operated by different community-based organizations and hospitals.

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, “As a State Senator, I was proud to advocate for the first SNUG investments in Yonkers and New York State because I knew that real community-driven solutions were key to reducing gun violence and keeping our neighborhoods safe. We’ve seen firsthand how SNUG has changed lives—interrupting cycles of violence, providing critical support, and helping young people find a better path. I’m so proud that Yonkers is receiving more than $1 million in new funding to support this lifesaving program. As Majority Leader, I remain committed to continuing smart, effective investments like SNUG across Westchester and New York. I thank Governor Hochul, my Westchester Delegation and Majority Senators, as well as our partners in the Assembly for their continued leadership and partnership in the fight against gun violence. I look forward to building on this progress together to keep our communities safe.”

State Senator Jamaal Bailey said, “Investing $20.7 million in SNUG to enhance efforts such as preventing gun violence, supporting at-risk individuals, and strengthening communities across New York State is essential. SNUG has been a pivotal partner in preventing gun violence and an organization that has significantly impacted my district, and will continue to do so as Mt. Vernon – Family Services of Westchester is receiving $1,088,391. By funding outreach workers, social workers, and hospital responders, future conflicts can de-escalate and create safer neighborhoods and brighter futures for all of us. Thank you to Governor Hochul for your leadership and prioritizing the safety of our community.”

State Senator Nathalia Fernandez said, “This funding for SNUG, is about more than just intervention—it’s about changing the conditions that lead to violence in the first place. Jacobi Hospital’s Standing Up to Violence program has done just that in its years in service. By supporting credible messengers, outreach workers, and trauma responders, we’re making sure the right people are in place to mediate conflicts, connect at-risk individuals with opportunities, and prevent the next tragedy before it happens. I commend Governor Hochul for investing in real solutions, because every neighborhood, every family, every child in the Bronx deserves to grow up safe from gun violence.”

State Senator Samra G. Brouk said, “Every member of our community deserves to feel safe, wherever they may be. Over $20 million dollars in funding to reduce gun violence across New York State will build upon the tremendous impact that programs such as GIVE have already had on communities like Rochester. I applaud Governor Hochul for addressing the root causes of violence and supporting working solutions to protect our fellow New Yorkers.”

State Senator Sean Ryan said, “Promoting public safety in Buffalo and across our state is a top priority. It’s why we have passed the toughest gun safety laws in the nation and continue to fund initiatives that reduce crime and strengthen communities. I am thankful for Governor Hochul’s support for these outreach programs, which have a proven track record of reducing gun violence.”

State Senator Monica Martinez said, “Gun violence is taking the lives of New Yorkers and instilling fear within our communities. The SNUG Street Outreach program is a proven tool that preempts these devastating tragedies by engaging at-risk individuals and providing them with the support needed to choose a different path. Thank you, Governor Hochul, for enshrining our shared commitment to ending gun violence in New York State in this year’s executive budget.”

State Senator Patricia Fahy said, “Investing in evidence-based programming and on-the-ground resources is exactly how we combat the scourge of gun violence. Partnering with law enforcement, community-based interrupters in cycles of violence like the Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region and increasing the state’s commitment to funding these initiatives is why we’re seeing gun violence rates drop in communities across the state. Thank you to Governor Hochul and my legislative colleagues for continuing to work to ensure that New Yorkers everywhere feel safe on our streets, and to ending the epidemic of gun violence here in New York State.”

State Senator Siela Bynoe said, “The epidemic of gun violence that has taken the lives of too many people across Long Island, and the nation, must end. Addressing the root causes of gun violence through programs that offer outreach where it’s most needed, is both necessary and impactful. I am grateful for Governor Hochul’s support of community-based solutions in the district.”

State Senator Joseph Griffo said, “It is imperative that we continue to look for ways to address and reduce gun violence in the state. This funding will strengthen the SNUG program in Utica by supporting a variety of important services and resources that will enhance public safety in the city and region.”

State Senator Rachel May said, “The state has demonstrated real progress in reducing gun violence rates, and this is our opportunity to continue that success. By increasing funding for the Syracuse Model Neighborhood Facility and SUNY Upstate Medical Center, we can make a meaningful impact on our communities where the scourge of gun violence is widespread. Thank you to Governor Hochul for her leadership, as well as to my colleagues in the legislature for their commitment to curb gun violence in New York State.”

Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said, “We know that outreach works. When people in the community are supporting efforts to combat gun violence, lives get saved. I support the GIVE Initiative and other anti-violence initiatives as well as the work SNUG continues to do in our communities. The Response Teams at Erie County Medical Center continue to be top of the line.”

Assemblymember J. Gary Pretlow said, “As we continue to combat gun violence in our communities, investing in programs like SNUG is not just necessary—it’s life-saving. This funding from Governor Hochul ensures that we can provide resources, mentorship, and intervention to those most at risk, creating safer neighborhoods for everyone. I am proud to support SNUG and the dedicated individuals working tirelessly to break the cycle of violence in Mount Vernon and beyond.”

Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli said, “Reducing gun violence is a priority in protecting our communities. By working with organizations in the community, together we can reinforce safety measures and prevention methods to decrease gun violence.”

Assemblymember John T. McDonald III said, “As one of the original supporters of SNUG which started here in the Capital Region, I have worked closely with Trinity Alliance and those who are part of SNUG and have seen the positive impact of the program. That is why I am appreciative of the Governor’s support to continue to grow the program, including in the City of Troy where the program has taken roots and is welcomed by the public safety team. The data validates the critical need and impact of the program which is making our communities safer.”

Assemblymember Pamela J. Hunter said, “I am grateful for Governor Hochul’s leadership and commitment to reducing gun violence in our communities. The $20.7 million investment in SNUG Street Outreach programs, including critical funding for Syracuse Model Neighborhood Facility and SUNY Upstate Medical Center, will have a direct and positive impact on the lives of people in the 128th Assembly District. By supporting outreach workers, hospital responders, and case managers, this initiative provides life-changing resources to those most at risk, helping to break cycles of violence and create safer neighborhoods. I look forward to seeing the continued progress of these evidence-based efforts to protect and uplift our communities.”

Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson said, “Unfortunately, gun violence plagues the cities of Newburgh and Poughkeepsie as it does too many areas of the State and the Nation. Gun violence must be addressed in three ways: ending gun trafficking from outside of New York State; enforcing our gun laws including full application of our red flags laws; and engaging the community through community-based organizations to discourage and stop gun violence before it starts. I wish to applaud Governor Hochul for her commitment to stopping gun violence using all three avenues and for the investment in this year’s budget in anti-gun violence initiatives with community-based organizations.”

Assemblymember Marianne Buttenschon said, “We unfortunately continue to see our youth negatively impacted by gun violence and this program works to reduce the violence. I appreciate the Governor providing additional funding to SNUG Programs.”

Assemblymember Demond Meeks said, “Community-based programs like SNUG and GIVE are making a real difference in the fight against gun violence. By focusing on mediation, mentorship, and support, they’re helping to change behaviors and address the root causes of this complex issue. The data is clear: these programs are strengthening our neighborhoods and saving lives. I commend Governor Hochul for her ongoing commitment to investing in these vital resources that directly support communities disproportionately impacted by crime.”

Assemblymember Jen Lunsford said, “Tangible investments in grassroots organizations working to stop gun violence in our community have paid dividends over the past year. We can see crime trending down in nearly every gun-related category thanks to this kind of targeted delivery of resources. This announcement from the Governor of large scale funding for gun violence prevention will help us continue to reduce violence and bring peace and stability to our neighborhoods.”

Assemblymember John Zaccaro, Jr. said, “Far too many families in the Bronx and across our communities in New York have felt the devastating effects of gun violence. The SNUG program will strengthen intervention efforts and connect at-risk individuals with critical resources. By addressing the root causes of violence and providing meaningful intervention, we are not only preventing tragedies but also creating pathways to brighter futures for individuals and families. I thank Governor Hochul for her leadership and commitment to investing in proven violence prevention programs that make a tangible difference in the lives of New Yorkers.”

Assemblymember Kwani B. O’Pharrow said, “Investing in community outreach and support programs like SNUG is crucial for reducing gun violence and fostering safer environments. Thank you, Governor Hochul, for your commitment to transforming lives and creating lasting change in our communities.”

Assemblymember Gabriella Romero said, “With a partner like Governor Kathy Hochul investing in our communities that need it most, we are making real strides in reducing gun violence and saving lives. I want to thank the Governor for her continued commitment to evidence-based, community-driven solutions like SNUG. This $20.7 million investment—including over $2 million for Albany’s Trinity Alliance and Albany Medical Center—will ensure that outreach workers, hospital responders, and social service professionals can continue their critical work to proactively reduce gun violence. These initiatives are making a difference, and I remain committed to securing the resources Albany needs to keep our neighborhoods safe.”

Assemblymember Noah Burroughs said, “SNUG has been doing excellent work in the community within my district. Gun-related crimes are down and we would like to see those numbers decrease more. This is a great opportunity for the 14 communities in New York State that Snug services to continue doing good work throughout all of its communities. Thank you Governor Hochul for this investment in Hempstead.”

Assemblymember Harry Bronson said, “SNUG Street Outreach is impactful because it empowers community-based organizations to leverage their existing relationships and partnerships to reduce gun violence in the areas where they serve. Since implementing SNUG, Rochester has seen a significant and marked decrease in violence, at all levels. But we still have work to do. The funding the Governor is providing to Rochester General Hospital and Pathstone will enable them to bring on the staff, programming and services they need to expand this successful public safety initiative.”

Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz said, “Investing in SNUG programs helps to build safer communities and reduce gun violence. This grant award will help provide the ongoing training and support that is critical to SNUG and I thank Governor Hochul for her partnership in helping to keep our citizens safe.”

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said, “I want to thank and applaud Governor Kathy Hochul and DCJS for their continued investments for SNUG & GIVE initiatives. I have said it many times before, that this Governor isn’t just talk, but action. The investments in these programs allow cities like Albany to wisely make strategic choices to get resources on the ground, establish connections with our neighbors and allow alternative approaches to focusing on public safety. Just this week at my State of the City we highlighted a reduction of crime of 3% compared to the 5-year average & a reduction of 21% since I assumed office. Today’s announcement of an additional $2 million dollars to keep these programs going is something celebrated by every resident in the City of Albany. Thank you Governor!”

Buffalo Mayor Chris Scanlon said, “I want to thank Governor Hochul for her continued investment in violence prevention efforts here in Buffalo. The $2.8 million awarded to Erie County Medical Center for the SNUG Street Outreach program will provide critical resources to community organizations and trauma responders who work tirelessly to prevent gun violence and save lives. In recent years, we’ve seen firsthand how these initiatives make a real difference in our neighborhoods and this funding will allow us to continue that progress—connecting at-risk individuals with the support they need and ensuring a safer, healthier, stronger Buffalo for all.”

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said, “With New York State’s strong support, teamwork with community partners and effective intervention by Syracuse Police, gun violence is down significantly in the City of Syracuse. In 2024, gun violence dropped more than 26% across all of the major categories and the most serious violence – shooting victims injured or deceased dropped 39%. This funding for outreach programs shows Governor Hochul knows reducing gun violence requires the full community working together which is the focus of our Mayor’s Office to Reduce Gun Violence. I’m deeply grateful for the Governor’s help and for the caring and effective work the SNUG Street Outreach team does every day in Syracuse.”

Rochester Mayor Malik D. Evans said, “Governor Hochul’s leadership and continued investments in programs like GIVE and Project RISE have played a major role in helping us reduce gun violence in Rochester by more than 50 percent from the peak years of the pandemic. This investment in SNUG outreach workers is yet another example of her commitment and resolve on this critical issue and the city of Rochester is fortunate for the governor’s partnership.”

Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino said, “We appreciate the continued investment by Governor Hochul in programs that help keep our communities safe. We know that our community benefits from the various initiatives advanced by the Governor. These additional resources will help continue our efforts to keep our City safe.”

Poughkeepsie Mayor Yvonne D. Flowers said, “Governor Hochul continues to deliver for the City of Poughkeepsie, and we are grateful for her commitment to our community. Investing in vital outreach programs like SNUG strengthens our city by expanding our ability to engage and support our youth, guiding them toward positive opportunities. With the TRAC Program no longer in operation, I encourage Family Services Inc. and SNUG to use this funding to develop additional gun violence prevention initiatives and create safe spaces for our children after school. Congratulations to SNUG and I look forward to collaborating with them as we work together to unite our community in the fight against gun violence.”

Utica Mayor Michael Galime said, “To truly be proactive with the issues of Gun Violence we must make sure to approach it from every angle. Good policing will always be at the forefront but additional resources like SNUG are essential to providing additional boots on the ground to raise awareness and prevention. In Utica we are grateful for this funding and will continue to support SNUG however possible.”

Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey said, “A huge thank you goes out to Governor Hochul for allocating more funds for anti-violence initiatives in the city of Newburgh! This funding is a significant step toward fostering safer communities and reducing violence. Thank you again, Governor Hochul, for your commitment to making Newburgh a safer place!”

Hempstead Mayor Waylyn Hobbs, Jr. said, “Thank you Governor Hochul for supporting our village through programs such as SNUG that have successful results in our community.”

Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello said, “I commend Governor Hochul for her continued investment in SNUG and the critical work of violence prevention programs across New York State. In Troy, we have seen firsthand the positive impact of SNUG in engaging our communities, de-escalating conflicts, and providing essential support to those at risk. This funding will help strengthen these efforts and help make our neighborhoods safer.”

The Division of Criminal Justice Services provides critical support to all facets of the state’s criminal justice system, including, but not limited to: training law enforcement and other criminal justice professionals; overseeing a law enforcement accreditation program; ensuring Breathalyzer and speed enforcement equipment used by local law enforcement operate correctly; managing criminal justice grant funding; analyzing statewide crime and program data; providing research support; overseeing county probation departments and alternatives to incarceration programs; and coordinating youth justice policy. Follow DCJS on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).

MIL OSI USA News –
February 4, 2025

MIL-OSI: 2024 financial statements: significant reduction in net loss

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

PRESS RELEASE

2024 financial statements: significant reduction in net loss

Evry, 03 February 2025 – 5:45pm: Global Bioenergies’ Board of Directors today approved the 2024 annual financial statements, which have been audited by the Statutory Auditor and show a significantly reduced loss of €-5.9M.

Samuel Dubruque, Chief Financial Officer of Global Bioenergies, comments: “In two years, we have managed to halve our net loss (€-12.0M in 2022, €-8.7M in 2023 and €-5.9M in 2024). The Company has reorganized itself to match its new partnership development model, which enables us to reduce expenses by optimizing allocated resources. We anticipate that 2025 will result in a further reduced net loss.

We are also holding discussions with our banking partners to negotiate the payment schedule of our debts, aiming at postponing any repayments beyond 2025, which would extend our financial visibility with our current cash position until September 2025. If we were unable to reach an agreement with our banking partners in the coming months, new financing would be required to meet our debt repayments”.

Marc Delcourt, co-founder and CEO of Global Bioenergies, adds: “Our new technical approach, which will combine our technology with the one of a major international industrialist, will enable us to drastically reduce the CAPEX¹and OPEX²of isobutene production and its conversion into SAF. We can now set our sights very high in this field: to take over from HEFA, the only commercially exploited technology to date, but which will soon plateau because it relies on limited resources (used cooking oil and tallow oil). We are more convinced than ever of the need to provide decarbonizing solutions in a world that sometimes seems resigned to global warming and its many consequences”.

Group Profit & Loss Account

€ thousands	from 01/01/24 to 30/12/2024 12 months	from 01/01/23 to 31/12/2023 12 months	from 01/01/22 to 31/12/2022 12 months

Operating income	4,692	8,910	1,715
Operating expenses	-11,436	-18,621	-14,907
Operating profit (loss)	-6,744	-9,711	-13,192

EBITDA	-4,428	-6,878	-11,383

Financial profit	59	107	-95
Non-recurring items	-428	-239	-147
Income tax (CIR)	-1,251	-1,187	-1,447

Net income (loss)	-5,861	-8,656	-11,986

Details of operating income

Details of operating income (€ thousands)	2024	2023	2022
Sales	361	3,249	698
Operating subsidies	4,188	2,698	895
Change in inventories	-312	1,530	-118
Other	455	1,432	240
TOTAL	4,692	8,910	1,715

Operating income consists mainly of operating subsidies recognized under the Isoprod and Prénidem projects from ADEME.

Details of operating expenses

Details of operating expenses (€ thousands)	2024	2023	2022
Staff	4,174	4,553	4,287
Laboratory	390	346	343
Industrialization/Commercialization	1,506	8,778	6,713
Rentals and maintenance	1,060	1,034	850
Intellectual property	320	390	323
Amortization	2,386	1,590	703
Other	1,600	1,931	1,688
TOTAL	11,436	18,621	14,907

Operating expenses have decreased mainly on industrialization and production items, as the work carried out during the first half of the year on the demo plant at Pomacle Bazancourt was brought to completion. No such expenditure was necessary in the second half of the year.

Group Balance Sheet

Assets (€ thousands)	*31/12/24*	*31/12/23*	*31/12/22*	Liabilities (€ thousands)	*31/12/24*	*31/12/23*	*31/12/22*

Intangible assets	69	327	539	Capital	908	906	749
Tangible assets	486	2,471	3,612	Share premium	–	10,538	16,029
Assets under construction	–	77	401	Balance carried forward	-918	-2,769	-2,708
Financial assets	349	341	1,546	Profit (loss)	-5,861	-8,656	-11,986
				Equipment subsidies	129	2,758	463

NON-CURRENT ASSETS	904	3,217	6,097	EQUITY	-5,742	2,778	2,547

Inventories	402	219	2,592	PROVISIONS	198	53	110
Receivables	3,144	2,247	3,647	Conditional advances and loans	13,088	12,451	11,486
Cash	4,692	11,673	8,768	Trade payables	1,475	2,411	5,580
Marketable securities	171	171	173	Tax and social security liabilities	625	559	502
Prepaid expenses	338	378	300	Other debts and deferred income	7	3	1,352

CURRENT ASSETS	8,746	15,038	15,480	PAYABLES and DEFERRED INCOME	15,195	15,423	18,921

TOTAL ASSETS	9,651	18,254	21,577	TOTAL LIABILITIES	9,651	18,254	21,577

The Group’s balance sheet shows a gross cash position of €4.7M at 31 December 2024. The Company is currently holding discussions with its banking partners to negotiate the payment schedule of debts. Excluding bank repayments, monthly cash consumption is around €0.6M.

2024 highlights and recent events

2024 was marked by the efforts made and then the decision to stop the search for financing the project to build a 2,500-ton plant dedicated to cosmetics, in a general context that was highly unfavorable to financing first industrial projects. The Company then decided to redirect its efforts in SAF by forging partnerships with major manufacturers to strengthen the competitiveness of its process by 2030. In the meantime, the Company is maintaining its ambitions in the cosmetics sector, which serves as a steppingstone for the SAF market (same molecules, same process).

As a reminder, the Company’s process is one of only a dozen solutions to be ASTM certified. The Company has developed a process for producing SAF from plant-based resources, and has also demonstrated through a proof-of-concept that its process could be used to produce e-SAF, i.e. from a resource derived from the combination of CO₂ and hydrogen produced from renewable electricity, in this case e-acetic acid, which could be produced by industrial players in the future. Europe favors the use of e-SAFs going forward, as they have the advantage over bio-SAFs of not requiring plant products or agricultural or forestry land.

As part of its strategic repositioning, the Company announced today³ that it has signed a Term Sheet with a major international industrialist to co-develop a SAF production process combining its technology with the partner’s proprietary technology. This combination will significantly reduce capital expenditure and production costs, making it the most promising technology to take over after the HEFA⁴ process.

About GLOBAL BIOENERGIES

As a committed player in the fight against global warming, Global Bioenergies has developed a unique process to produce SAF and e-SAF from renewable resources, thereby meeting the challenges of decarbonising air transport. Its technology is one of the very few solutions already certified by ASTM. Its products also meet the high standards of the cosmetics industry, and L’Oréal is its largest shareholder with a 13.5% stake. Global Bioenergies is listed on Euronext Growth in Paris (FR0011052257 – ALGBE).

Contacts

1 CAPEX: Capital Expenditures
2 OPEX: Operational Expenses
3 Press Release: Signature of a term sheet to combine two technologies and bring SAF production to the next level, 03 February 2025
4 HEFA: Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids

Attachment

Global Bioenergies_2024 financial statements-significant reduction in net loss_030225_VEN

The MIL Network –

February 4, 2025

MIL-OSI: Signature of a term sheet to combine two technologies and bring SAF production to the next level
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

PRESS RELEASE

Signature of a term sheet to combine two technologies and bring SAF production to the next level

Evry, 03 February 2025 – 05:45 p.m.: Global Bioenergies has signed a term sheet with a large international industrialist (undisclosed) to co-develop a process leading to Sustainable Aviation Fuels (“SAF”) at a reduced cost and an improved CO₂reduction. This process will rely on the combination of Global Bioenergies’ bio-isobutene process and the industrialist’s proprietary technology. Such combination, which reached early proof-of-concept stage, would have a decisive competitive advantage among the existing SAF technologies, aiming at relaying the current SAF production based on used cooking oil.

Marc Delcourt, co-founder and CEO of Global Bioenergies, states: “Following our ASTM certification during the summer 2023, we have teamed up with a large industrialist who had identified a perfect match between their technology and Global Bioenergies’. The combination of both technologies would result in a process overcoming the two major barriers for SAF production: capex and opex costs.”

As of today, the only commercial technologies are the HEFA process and its co-processing variation, both based on used cooking oil and animal tallow oil. These resources are soon to plateau, and the SAF community is now focused on identifying the best suited technology to take the relay.

Frédéric Ollivier, CTO at Global Bioenergies, comments:” The combination of the two technologies will lead to a much simpler and straightforward process to produce SAF, designed for implementation in existing facilities. Such combination could lower feedstock, capex, and processing costs very substantially, and utilize existing biorefinery assets such as corn dry mills, after minor retrofitting, limiting main investment to the downstream stages of converting isobutene into SAF. CO₂savings would also be improved. We already obtained early proof of concept, and are now preparing for the next phase.”

If developments are successful, the technology will be ready to take up mandated and targeted SAF volumes from 2030 and beyond.

The SAF market just passed the 1 million tons per year mark (0.3% of global jet fuel production) in 2024¹ and is expected to reach 16 million tons annually in 2030 and up to 250 million tons per year by 2050², due to the European increasing SAF mandates and the American ‘Grand Challenge’. A growing number of countries, including the UK, Japan and Singapore, are also progressively putting mandates in place.

Martin Stephan, CBO at Global Bioenergies, concludes:” The accomplishment of this vision, where SAF production follows an exponential growth, will encounter a serious hurdle coming from the investment needs. IATA estimates that 3 840 billion dollars investment will be necessary in the next 30 years¹ to building the corresponding facilities and reach net zero. Our combination of technologies, aimed at reducing capex by 4 folds if compared to other SAF technologies, already finds interested ears in the industry. These new perspectives can also be transposed to the cosmetics sector, which remains our stepping stone market.”

About GLOBAL BIOENERGIES

As a committed player in the fight against global warming, Global Bioenergies has developed a unique process to produce SAF and e-SAF from renewable resources, thereby meeting the challenges of decarbonising air transport. Its technology is one of the very few solutions already certified by ASTM. Its products also meet the high standards of the cosmetics industry, and L’Oréal is its largest shareholder with a 13.5% stake. Global Bioenergies is listed on Euronext Growth in Paris (FR0011052257 – ALGBE).

Contacts

1 IATA (International Air Transport Association), December 2024 – IATA
2 SAF market outlook 2024, SkyNRG – SAF-Market-Outlook-2024-Summary.pdf

Attachment
- Global Bioenergies_Signature of a Term Sheet to combine two technologies and bring SAF production to the next level_030225_VEN
The MIL Network –
February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Durbin Statement On Trump Administration Forcing Out Multiple DOJ And FBI Officials

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

January 31, 2025

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the Trump Administration reportedly purged multiple Justice Department and FBI officials involved in Donald Trump’s prosecution and the prosecution of January 6 rioters:

“The Trump Administration’s purge of dozens of DOJ and FBI officials involved in investigating Donald Trump and the January 6 rioters is a major blow to the FBI and Justice Department’s integrity and effectiveness. This is a brazen assault on the rule of law that also severely undermines our national security and public safety. Unelected Trump lackeys are carrying out widespread political retribution against our nation’s career law enforcement officials. President Trump would rather have the FBI and DOJ full of blind admirers and loyalists than experienced law enforcement officers.”

-30-

MIL OSI USA News –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Non-executive directors of UK Statistics Authority appointed
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

The Government has announced the appointment of three non-executive directors to the Board of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Authority’s statutory objective is to promote and safeguard the production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good.

The three appointees are:

Peter Barron, who is a Northern-Irish communications expert with senior experience in consumer technology and public affairs. He spent more than 20 years working in television news and current affairs at the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, before working in external relations at Google from 2008 to 2018, and then at Stripe from 2021 to 2023. Peter holds a BSc in European Studies and Modern Languages from the University of Manchester (UMIST) and is a trustee of the Disasters Emergency Committee and the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration.

Professor Mairi Spowage, who is Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute, Scotland’s leading economic research institute at the University of Strathclyde. Mairi leads research on modelling economic impact, economic measurement, regional economic and trade performance and public sector finances. Mairi has previously held roles as the Deputy Chief Executive of the Scottish Fiscal Commission and Head of National Accounts at the Scottish Government, with almost 20 years of experience of working in statistics and analysis, including transport, household surveys and performance measurement.

Dr Sarah Walsh, a risk and governance specialist who is currently advising clients in different sectors. Sarah has 20 years’ generalist experience, including Risk Director roles at Telegraph Media Group, Guardian Media Group, Save the Children and Imperial College London. Presently, she serves as a non-executive director at the Royal College of Nursing Publishing, including membership of the Royal College of Nursing’s Audit Committee and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She also serves as independent non-executive member of the Audit and Risk Committees for Science Museum Group, St John’s Ambulance and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Sarah holds a Master’s degree in Astronautics and Space Engineering from Cranfield University, and a PhD in Aerodynamics from the University of Manchester.

Appointments to the Board of the UK Statistics Authority are regulated. These appointments were made by Rt Hon Nick Thomas–Symonds MP, Minister for Cabinet Office. The advisory assessment panel was: Sir Robert Chote, Chair, UKSA (Chair of the panel); Steffan Jones, Director, Joint Data and Analysis Centre, Cabinet Office and Zarin Patel, Non Executive Director, HM Treasury.

Appointees began their roles at the end of January 2025.

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Published 3 February 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Three Mexican Nationals Sentenced for $4.7 Million Methamphetamine, Heroin Conspiracy

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

Mexican Drug-Trafficking Organization Distributed Over 335 Kilos of Meth, 22 Kilos of Heroin

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Three Mexican nationals were sentenced in federal court this week for their roles in a $4.7 million conspiracy to distribute more than 335 kilograms of methamphetamine and 22 kilograms of heroin.

Jesus Morales-Garcia, also known as “Don Jesus,” 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips on Wednesday, Jan. 29, to 18 years in federal prison without parole. Co-defendant Santiago Raul Mendieta-Sanchez, 43, also was sentenced to seven years in federal prison without parole.

On Tuesday, Jan. 28, co-defendant Baltazar Flores-Norzagaray, 53, was sentenced to 16 years and three months in federal prison without parole.

On Aug. 28, 2024, Morales-Garcia pleaded guilty to one count of participating in a continuing criminal enterprise, one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, and one count of illegally reentering the United States after having been deported. Mendieta-Sanchez and Flores-Norzagaray also have pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug-trafficking conspiracy that continued from Feb. 28, 2020, to Sept. 20, 2022. Flores-Norzagaray also pleaded guilty to possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

Morales-Garcia admitted that he was a chief local operative of a drug-trafficking organization that distributed hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs sourced from Mexico into the Kansas City region.

Morales-Garcia also admitted that he was found in the United States after having been deported twice in 2016.

Flores-Norzagaray also admitted that he was in possession of a Hammerli .22-LRcaliber rifle, a Taurus 9mm handgun, and a Taurus .38-caliber revolver when he was arrested on Oct. 7, 2021. Flores-Norzagaray sold hundreds of grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant on at least four separate occasions.

The conspiracy involved the distribution of more than 335.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, with an average street price of $300 per ounce, and more than 22.1 kilograms of heroin, with an average street price of $1,500 per ounce.

On June 8, 2022, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led an operation that involved 140 officers and agents from 14 state, local and federal law enforcement agencies. On the day of the takedown, officers executed 16 search warrants and seized 84.4 kilograms of methamphetamine, 4.5 kilograms of heroin, 10.4 kilograms of fentanyl, 7.6 kilograms of cocaine, 10.5 kilograms of marijuana, 687 Xanax pills, 3.1 kilograms of unknown pills, a quantity of bulk cash, five firearms, a 3D printer with manufactured ghost gun parts, and a liquid methamphetamine conversion lab.

With these sentencings, 24 defendants have now been sentenced in this case in which 44 defendants were indicted.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan A. Baker. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Minnesota State Patrol, the Olmsted County, Minn., Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the FBI, the Clay County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

KC Metro Strike Force

This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

MIL Security OSI –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Marystown, Bonavista, and Deer Lake — Three motorists arrested for impaired operation by RCMP NL this past weekend

Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Three motorists, one in Marystown, one in Bonavista and one in Deer Lake, were arrested for impaired driving this past weekend by RCMP NL.

On Saturday, February 1, 2025, shortly before 2:00 a.m., Burin Peninsula RCMP received a report of a suspected impaired driver at a commercial property in Marystown. Police attended the area, located the described vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. The driver, a 25-year-old man, showed signs of alcohol impairment, resisted arrest and threatened a police officer. At the detachment, the man provided breath samples that were twice the legal limit.

Later in the day, shortly after 7:30 a.m., Bonavista RCMP responded to the report of a motor vehicle crash on Route 230 near Bonavista. Officers attended the scene and observed a vehicle resting on its roof on the roadway. The driver, a 37-year-old man, failed to remain at the scene of the collision and departed prior to police arrival. He was located a short time later at a residence, showed signs of alcohol impairment and was arrested. At the detachment, the man provided breath samples that were more than one and a half times the legal limit.

The next day, on Sunday, February 2, 2025, shortly before 1:00 p.m., RCMP Traffic Services West stopped a vehicle on Commerce Street in Deer Lake. The driver, a 59-year-old man, showed signs of alcohol impairment, failed a roadside breath test and was arrested. At the detachment, the man provided breath samples that were more than twice the legal limit.

All three drivers are set to appear in court at later dates to answer to charges of impaired operation. One driver faces additional charges of resisting arrest and uttering threats. Another motorist was ticketed for failing to remain at the scene of a crash. The three drivers also received licence suspensions and their vehicles were seized and impounded.

RCMP NL has zero tolerance for those who choose to drive while impaired. Please report suspected impaired drivers to your local police detachment or call 911.

MIL Security OSI –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Front-of-package food labels: A path to healthier choices

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Zahra Saghafi, PhD Candidate, Management, University of Guelph

The way you see nutrition labels on food packaging is about to change. By 2025, new front-of-package labels will start appearing on grocery store shelves, and by January 2026, they’ll be mandatory.

Over the past two decades, nutrition labelling has evolved into a cornerstone of public health strategies worldwide. Traditional back-of-package labels, which provide comprehensive nutritional details, are often overlooked due to their complexity and placement, making them less effective in guiding consumer choices.

Front-of-package labels address this issue by simplifying key nutritional information and positioning it in a more prominent, visible space. This streamlined approach has proven successful in leading consumers toward healthier choices, as research indicates that simplified, visible labels can influence purchasing decisions.

Globally, front-of-package systems vary, with some countries employing warning symbols to flag excessive nutrient levels, while others use colour-coded “traffic light” systems or endorsement icons to promote healthier options.

Canadian policy

The Canadian government’s new policy requiring front-of-package nutrition symbols aims to guide consumers toward healthier food choices by highlighting foods high in sodium, sugars or saturated fats. These nutrients are closely linked to chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and hypertension.

Designed for simplicity and consistency, the labels feature a black-and-white magnifying glass icon. This design’s uniformity in size, placement and bilingual presentation is intended to make it easily recognizable and understandable.

Fresh produce, plain dairy products and raw, single-ingredient meats are exempt from the regulations, acknowledging their inherent nutritional benefits.

The policy is intended to promote transparency and improve public health by helping Canadians make more informed food choices. With full implementation set for January 2026, further research and targeted actions such as meetings and correspondence on healthy eating by Health Canada are required to ensure the effectiveness of the policy.

Health Canada’s development of these front-of-package labels has been shaped by years of research and stakeholder consultations.

Since 2016, extensive consumer testing, including focus groups, online surveys and in-store experiments, has informed decisions regarding the labels’ design, size and placement. As a result, the labels have been refined to better meet their goal of providing consumers with clearer, more actionable nutritional information.

While the initiative holds promise, several gaps could undermine its overall effectiveness. Varying levels of health literacy may hinder consumers’ ability to fully comprehend and act on the front-of-package labels, with some potentially unaware of the health risks associated with flagged nutrients like sodium, sugars and saturated fats.

Additionally, manufacturers face challenges in adhering to new labelling standards, reformulating products to meet healthier benchmarks and overcoming potential consumer resistance.

Addressing these issues requires significant investment in consumer education, alongside targeted support for manufacturers from the Canadian government in form of consultation in adapting to the new requirements.

The policy also presents an opportunity to engage consumers more deeply in their health choices. Education campaigns such as community workshops and public health initiatives, and point of sale posters that explain the purpose and interpretation of front-of-package labels, can empower consumers to make informed decisions.

These campaigns should address disparities in health literacy, ensuring that all Canadians benefit from the initiative regardless of socioeconomic status. Collaborative efforts among government agencies, health-care providers and community organizations could amplify these educational initiatives, reaching a wider audience.

Industry response

For manufacturers, the introduction of front-of-package labels often triggers efforts to reformulate products, reducing sodium, sugars or saturated fats to avoid negative labelling.

This process frequently involves ingredient substitution, recipe adjustments or portion size reductions. However, retaining the taste, texture and overall consumer satisfaction of a product while meeting nutritional targets requires significant innovation. If reformulated products fail to meet consumer expectations, brands risk losing loyalty and market share.

The stakes are particularly high for manufacturers whose flagship products are most at risk of being flagged. To overcome these challenges, collaboration with food scientists, ingredient suppliers and regulatory bodies is essential. Research and development efforts must focus on finding innovative solutions that meet regulatory requirements without sacrificing consumer preferences.

Beyond reformulation, compliance with front-of-package labelling requirements presents logistical and financial challenges. Packaging must be redesigned to incorporate the bilingual, standardized labels, often at significant cost. Smaller manufacturers with limited resources may find these changes particularly burdensome.

Updating supply chains to include new packaging materials and ensuring consistent application across product lines add further complexity. In addition to these financial and operational pressures, reformulation may affect production processes and shelf life, necessitating further adjustments.

Potential impact

Despite these challenges, front-of-package labelling has the potential to drive significant change within the food industry. By prioritizing healthier formulations, companies can gain a competitive advantage, particularly as consumer demand for health-conscious products grows.

Over time, this shift could lead to broader industry trends, pushing manufacturers toward greater transparency and accountability in their product offerings.

However, these positive outcomes require supportive policies. Tax incentives, subsidies for reformulation and clear regulatory guidance can help ease the financial and operational burdens faced by manufacturers, particularly smaller businesses.

While front-of-package labelling shows promise in promoting healthier choices and encouraging innovation, its long-term impact remains to be fully understood.

Key areas for future research include examining how manufacturers prioritize reformulation, tracking changes in nutrient composition over time, and analyzing consumer behaviour in response to labelled products. Studies that link front-of-package labels to dietary intake and health outcomes could provide a comprehensive view of their effectiveness in achieving public health goals.

This story was co-authored by Christopher Marinangeli. He is a nutrition scientist and regulatory expert with the Centre for Regulatory Research and Innovation at Protein Industries Canada, a not-for-profit organization and one of Canada’s five Global Innovation Clusters.

Zahra Saghafi receives funding from Arrell Food Institute, Protein Industries Canada, and Mitacs for her PhD research. She is affiliated with the Lang School of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph.

– ref. Front-of-package food labels: A path to healthier choices – https://theconversation.com/front-of-package-food-labels-a-path-to-healthier-choices-245115

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Children’s beach shoes containing banned levels of plastic-softening chemicals removed from sale

Source: City of Plymouth

Trading Standards is recommending that children’s plastic beach shoes are tested nationally after some products on sale in Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay were found to contain banned levels of chemicals and had to be removed from sale. Clothing retailers and importers are being urged to consider and review how and where they source their stock.

It follows Heart of the South West Trading Standards conducting a market surveillance operation on a number of importers and retailers across the Service Area.

Officers purchased 15 pairs of beach shoes – all of which included ‘glossy’ plastic such as jelly shoes – with varying price points from a range of outlets and tested them for the presence of phthalates.
Phthalates are plastic-softening chemicals that are used to make plastic more durable but their use in many products is strictly controlled.

Six of the 15 samples were found to contain phthalates in excess of the permitted levels and these findings were shared with the Office of Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) alongside a recommendation that further market surveillance is carried out in this product sector nationally.

Ben Newell, Business and Commercial Team Manager at Heart of the South West Trading Standards said: “We urge businesses to think carefully about the supply chains they are using to source their products, and if buying from overseas sellers they should be checking for product safety testing information and ensure they have contact details that can be used to trace the products back to the manufacturer in the event of a problem.”

Councillor Sally Haydon, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Trading Standards, added: “The message from Trading Standards is to urge businesses to check the safety of the products they are purchasing and to make sure that they can contact the suppliers if there are any issues, we want to mitigate this happening as much as possible, there is information and guidance on the Trading Standards website to support businesses.”

If you are a retailer you can find guidance on the product safety section of the Heart of the South West Trading Standards website.

Contact details can also be found on the website.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: A new sensory room for children and adults with disabilities has opened at Elemore Country Park

Source: City of Sunderland

The sensory room, which is part of the country park’s ongoing transformation and commitment to accessibility, is free to use 7 days a week with no pre-booking required.

Inside the room is sensory equipment such as touch tag bean bags, tactile bubble mirrors, sensory puzzle play mats, interactive bubble fish tube, fibre optic lights and sensory mood lighting shapes and soothing music. There are also outdoor soft play shapes and a magic carpet to build on sunny days.

This complements a new Changing Places facility with toilets designed for people with disabilities and complex needs who require extra facilities that are not offered by standard accessible toilets. The toilets have room for one or two carers and include equipment and support that is needed by people who may have limited mobility, such as a hoist, privacy screens and an adult-sized changing bench.

Councillor Claire Rowntree, who Chairs the Elemore Park Steering Group said: “Opening the sensory room is about creating a safe and accessible space for members of the community as part of our ongoing commitment to making the country park accessible for all. I hope with its growing popularity that more people living with disabilities can use this facility to feel welcome and included.”

“The sensory room and the Changing Places facility, which we opened last year, are both great additions to the fantastic attractions already on offer at Elemore Country Park that bring families coming back time after time.”

Work transforming the former golf club into a country park started in 2022. This has included opening a café and garden centre which is run by Bishopwearmouth Co-operative Community Interest Company, which also runs the popular Bishopwearmouth Garden Centre and cafe in Chester Road in Sunderland city centre. Elemore’s team of employees also includes adults with disabilities as part of the country park’s commitment to accessibility.

A children’s play area opened near the café in March 2024, has also proved popular. Ongoing improvements to the natural habitats in the park are increasing the biodiversity and ecological value of the park, with more planned over the next year. There are further plans to the install more seating and signage explaining the heritage and wildlife within the park and further improve pathways across the site to enable residents to easily move around, as well as providing access from local housing estates.

Elemore Park’s sensory room and Changing Places facilities are open during the garden centre and cafe opening times (Monday to Saturday 9am to 4:30pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm).

Cafe open hours: Monday to Saturday 9am to 4:30pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm.

To find out more about the transformation of Elemore Country Park, visit: Elemore Park – MySunderland

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Chairman Mast discusses foreign aid review, DEI on “Face the Nation”

Source: US House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Media Contact 202-321-9747

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast joined Margaret Brennan on CBS’ “Face the Nation” to discuss the review of foreign assistance and the Biden State Department’s fixation on DEI.

WATCH HERE

-Transcript-

MARGARET BRENNAN: And we’re joined now by Florida Republican Congressman Brian Mast, who is the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which has oversight over the State Department and its programs.

He joins us from Fort Pierce, Florida.

Good morning to you.

CHAIRMAN BRIAN MAST (R-Florida): Good morning.

BRENNAN: I want to start first on the tariffs that were announced overnight by President Trump. You know there’s a free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. President Trump negotiated it during his first term.

The tariffs may violate that deal. If he’s invoking tariffs on a national security basis, can you explain the threat posed by Canada?

CHAIRMAN MAST: Yes, and he was – President Trump, that is to say, was very specific in his executive order, outlined that it’s specifically related to fentanyl. It’s specifically related to human trafficking.

And there’s a trust, but verify situation that has to go on here.

BRENNAN: Through Canada?

CHAIRMAN MAST: Through Canada as well, absolutely, fentanyl through Canada, human trafficking through Canada, also with China in that mix for fentanyl as well.

That was specifically outlined in it. And until that comes to an end, this is what’s going to be on the table. And bear in mind as well that USMCA reauthorization is coming up in the coming-up months and years.

BRENNAN: So you don’t believe that this violates the trade agreement, the treaty?

CHAIRMAN MAST: The violation has been to the United States of America. It’s been to our sovereignty. It’s been to our people. We’ve been taken for granted.

BRENNAN: Right, but Congress votes on these things. So…

CHAIRMAN MAST: And I will make sure certainly, as the Foreign Affairs chairman, that we give every single authority as we go through State Department reauthorization, to make sure that this moves forward, as well as purging of people throughout the State Department, other agencies, where we’re freezing aid.

These are all very important and necessary steps to make sure that we secure America. And we’re going to support that.

BRENNAN: I’m sorry. Can I follow up on what you just said there?

CHAIRMAN MAST: Please do.

BRENNAN: You want to authorize purging of State Department personnel? What does that mean exactly?

CHAIRMAN MAST: Well, if you want to take a look at the State Department, where DEI has been a priority over, let’s say, diplomacy on many accounts, I can give you hundreds of examples of where they were authorizing…

BRENNAN: What proof do you have of that?

CHAIRMAN MAST: Sure, let’s list them off, half-a-million dollars to expand atheism in Nepal, $50,000 to do, let’s see, a transgender opera in Colombia, $47,000 to do an LGBTQ trans comic book in Peru, $20,000 a pop to do drag shows in Ecuador.

Shall I continue with more examples of where DEI was a priority?

BRENNAN: Oh, it certainly seems like there could be a review of things. Foreign aid, as you know, is less than 1 percent of the entire federal budget. So we’re talking small amounts of money by comparison. But when…

CHAIRMAN MAST: We’re still talking about tens and tens of billions of dollars.

And if you want to go to somebody else, on the other side of the aisle, Samantha Power, she had a worthy goal, although it was a stupid goal. She said she was hoping to get the amount of foreign aid, U.S. aid dollars that go to actual aid up to 30 cents on the dollar from 10 cents on the dollar. That’s a major problem that we have this agency that that’s all that goes abroad…

BRENNAN: I think you’re talking about…

CHAIRMAN MAST: … when it should be the American worker’s dollar.

BRENNAN: I think now you’re talking about the USAID, the aid agency…

CHAIRMAN MAST: Yes.

BRENNAN: … which is a – separate from the State Department currently and has about $40 billion worth…

CHAIRMAN MAST: Which is likely going to be rolled more closely under Secretary Rubio.

BRENNAN: Tell – yes, tell me about that, because that’s where I was going.

Has the Trump administration informed you of plans to dismantle or significantly shrink this agency?

CHAIRMAN MAST: This is something that I’m working on very specifically, in conjunction with Secretary Rubio, to make sure that there’s the appropriate command-and-control of these agencies, where, again, to make that same point, right now, maybe 10 to 30 cents…

BRENNAN: They already report to the secretary of state.

CHAIRMAN MAST: But 10 to 30 cents on the dollar is what actually goes to aid. So there’s not the right amount of command-and- control that’s going on with the way that it’s set up currently.

And let’s make another point on this as well.

BRENNAN: Congress – Congress authorizes and earmarks funding.

CHAIRMAN MAST: Most of these dollars – most of these dollars that go out of USAID, 70-plus percent don’t come from U.S. growers, U.S. farmers, U.S. ranchers, or go through us ports. And that’s another big problem for America.

BRENNAN: So – I’m sorry. If Congress already authorizes and earmarks the funding, just to be very clear, you’re not endorsing getting rid of USAID as a separate department, which already reports to the secretary of state, are you?

CHAIRMAN MAST: I would be absolutely for, if that’s the path we go down, removing USAID as a separate department and having it fall under one of the other parts of United States Department of State, because of its failure.

I just went over the numbers twice with you in the amount of aid that actually makes it into the hands. I mean, you could you could almost say – this is a little bit hyperbole – but there’s probably more dollars that go towards state dinners around the D.C. Beltway than what actually goes into rice and beans abroad.

That’s the state of what’s going on with USAID. And Samantha Power said no less herself.

BRENNAN: Well, I think every single administration authorizes reviews, could increase efficiencies. There are plenty of people who propose bringing it more under the authority of the State Department. Madeleine Albright tried to do that. That’s not a new MAGA idea.

I think the question here, though, is about how you do it. Do you still believe that in the law signed in the 1960s that Congress has to sign off on any changes to USAID? Or do you think President Trump can just make all of this happen through executive order?

CHAIRMAN MAST: So, all of those examples that you just gave of those historical figures, the difference is now the job is going to get done.

It’s going to be 99.99 percent of cents on the dollar actually go towards what it’s intended, instead of people around the Beltway.

BRENNAN: OK, so you’re talking about – you’re talking about…

CHAIRMAN MAST: That’s what’s going to happen. That’s the change.

BRENNAN: … efficiencies in aids versus restructuring.

So let me ask you about that. Well, like I said…

CHAIRMAN MAST: Well, that requires restructuring, 100 percent. You can’t create that efficiency just by wishing it into existence.

BRENNAN: Sure.

CHAIRMAN MAST: You have to restructure where the failures are and put the right things in place.

BRENNAN: Of course.

But what we’re hearing from many of these aid organizations and officials is that, can you restructure after you finish the review and not freeze funding now, immediately? I spoke to former USAID global health head Atul Gawande yesterday. He told me this isn’t a pause in foreign aid. It is a demolition of USAID.

As he put it, you can’t pause a flight in midair. That’s what’s happening.

CHAIRMAN MAST: Let’s…

BRENNAN: This immediate freeze in funding is stopping agencies in the field from being able to do the work they do.

CHAIRMAN MAST: Let’s say why that is so important. And let’s talk about the real facts on the ground.

The Trump administration comes in or representatives like myself that do oversight. The agencies will literally not tell us what they are writing grants for, literally, or they will lie about it, or they will tell the new political appointees under the Trump administration, I’m just not going to tell you that. Those are real things that have happened.

So the way that you make them come and answer for where they are actually sending dollars is to say, we’re freezing that. We’re putting it on hold. You need to come to us and explain what it is you’re doing, why you’re doing it and where it’s actually saving life. And guess what?

BRENNAN: But…

CHAIRMAN MAST: When they don’t come explain something, that also begs the question, why were they doing it in the first place?

BRENNAN: But the way these things work is, the contractors have to front the cash, then go to the U.S. government for reimbursement.

So when you put in an immediate freeze, that means drugs don’t get delivered. That means they don’t get distributed. That means bomb disposal units don’t get to go out there in places like Cambodia and remove ordnance or provide help to people who receive it.

That’s the pushback from aid organizations, who are saying they’re going to have to carry out layoffs in the thousands in the coming week. Does that concern you at all?

CHAIRMAN MAST: They will have an opportunity. It doesn’t concern me because of the grift that has been going on to the American taxpayer, the American worker.

That’s what needs to be answered for. And so you look at this. Let’s use PEPFAR as an example. You were talking about drugs going to individuals. There was a release of that hold that was put – that was authorized. But it shouldn’t be the case that the American people fund HIV and AIDS drugs for 20 million people across Africa, where many of these countries are working very directly with our adversaries like China.

That is an example of them taking us for granted. We need to be asking the question, should they be weaning off of this? Should we be paying it for these very expensive HIV and AIDS drugs?

BRENNAN: Yes.

CHAIRMAN MAST: Should the American worker be footing the bill for that? Those are real questions.

BRENNAN: Yes, real questions, but, in the meantime, people need their drugs while you ask those questions. So that’s where the disagreement is with the aid organizations.

But let me ask you about air traffic controllers and what’s happening here at home.

CHAIRMAN MAST: Not with all the leaders of other countries, though. I believe I saw the leader of Kenya as one step up and say, hey, this is an example where we need to step up for ourselves and show how we can take care of ourselves. And I believe that was the president there.

BRENNAN: I want to ask you, as I was saying, about another committee you sit on, Transportation Committee.

The FAA hiring policy for air traffic controllers, including under the first Trump administration, offered equal opportunity to those with targeted disabilities, including, as the president read, hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, severe intellectual debility – disability. Excuse me.

The president singled this out, this policy, as a contributor possibly to the crash. Do you agree with the diversity policy, or do you agree with the president? I know you lost two limbs serving this country in Afghanistan. Do you hear those words and take offense to them or…

CHAIRMAN MAST: No, no offense. Let’s unpack it.

Number one, I will use myself as an example, right? There are things that I am suited to do, no doubt. But flying an aircraft, to stick with the subject at hand, would not be one of them. I could fly a personal – a personal aircraft.

BRENNAN: This is air traffic controllers.

CHAIRMAN MAST: But to put me in charge of traffic or 150 lives, that would not be the right case for me personally, given my physical disabilities and foot pedals on an aircraft.

To go to the diversity side of it and the actual crash, yes, there were very real errors that took place both in the air traffic control tower and with the helicopter pilots, it seems. But, more systemically, is there a big hiring problem across all federal agencies, to include the FAA, where they made the priority diversity and inclusion…

BRENNAN: Yes.

CHAIRMAN MAST: … instead of excellence and performance? Yes, that’s the case. They made the priority appearance and lifestyle and not the big deal.

BRENNAN: Congressman, thank you for your time today.

###

MIL OSI USA News –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Scranton Man Sentenced To 252 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Fentanyl Resulting in Death

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Christopher Richard Potter, age 29, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on January 30, 2025, by United States District Judge Robert D. Mariani to 252 months’ imprisonment to be followed by five years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute fentanyl resulting in death.

According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Potter was involved in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and other controlled substances throughout Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties beginning in January 2022 until the time of his arrest on February 28, 2023. The investigation revealed that the conspiracy’s source of supply for fentanyl was located in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Potter and at least one other co-conspirator would travel from Scranton to Hazleton multiple times each week during the conspiracy to reup with the Hazleton source and return to Scranton with upwards of 60 to 80 bricks (3,000 to 4,000 bags) of fentanyl for further distribution. On December 19, 2022, a 26-year-old Dunmore male purchased a quantity of fentanyl from a member of the conspiracy, ingested the fentanyl, overdosed, and died. Subsequent autopsy and toxicology confirmed a fentanyl overdose death. The male’s cell phone located next to his body led investigators to Potter, and two others involved in the distribution that resulted in death.

Potter was indicted by a grand jury in Scranton on April 4, 2023, along with Santino Bellucci, age 29, and Kaylee Ann Widmer, age 25. Potter appeared in federal court in Scranton on September 23, 2024, and plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl resulting in death.

Bellucci and Widmer have both entered guilty pleas for conspiring to distribute fentanyl resulting in death. Their sentences are scheduled for March 2025.

The charges stem from a joint investigation involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Scranton – Safe Streets Task Force, and the Dunmore Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin and fentanyl. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.

This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

###

MIL Security OSI –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Reading Man Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Trafficking Methamphetamine

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

WILLIAMSPORT – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Carlos Rodriguez, age 31, of Reading, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on January 14, 2025, to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Matthew W. Brann for trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine.

According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, on August 16, 2022, law enforcement utilized a confidential informant to arrange for Rodriguez to bring a re-supply of methamphetamine to him. Rodriguez was stopped in Northumberland by law enforcement and approximately 480 grams of methamphetamine was recovered from his vehicle.

This case was investigated by the Clinton County Drug Task Force, Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General, the Pine Creek Township Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan V. Martin prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case was also brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses

Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged by indictment are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

# # #

MIL Security OSI –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: President Trump may think he is President Jackson reincarnated − but there are lessons in Old Hickory’s resistance to sycophants

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Maurizio Valsania, Professor of American History, Università di Torino

A painting of President Andrew Jackson hangs in the Oval Office on the day Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time, Jan. 20, 2025. AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The portrait of President Andrew Jackson has recently made a comeback in the Oval Office. “Old Hickory” – Jackson’s nickname – has long been a favorite of President Donald Trump.

Trump identifies with Jackson on many levels. As a man and a leader, he likes the brash, confrontational, hypermasculine, lionlike attitude that characterized the seventh president. Jackson pushed executive power to the limits, just like Trump tries to do.

And there is a commonality of philosophical and political visions. The two tap into the same definition of freedom. They both believe the president has freedom from all restraint and from every form of legislative or judicial control.

However, differences exist between the two that might prompt Trump to consider the potential danger of how he governs and whom he listens to.

Personal loyalty and devotion

As an expert on American presidents, I can state with confidence that Trump is not the first to insist on complete obedience from his subordinates. Nor is he the first to take disagreement personally.

Trump’s attempt to create an army of sycophants, along with his effort to purge government staff he deems disloyal, is nothing new in America.

Personal loyalty and devotion were important to Andrew Jackson, who didn’t trust human nature. But he was steadfast in his trust, once he decided to place it in a person.

When Jackson had to choose his advisers and shape his first Cabinet, he relied on cronies from his beloved Tennessee – plus a handful of relatives.

The most famous and infamous of those chums was John H. Eaton. Eaton had developed a brotherly relationship with Jackson. Jackson felt indebted to him because Eaton had run his presidential campaigns of 1824 and 1828. Eaton would become secretary of war, but he also ended up embarrassing the president.

A political cartoon depicts President Andrew Jackson sitting stunned as his Cabinet, represented as rats, runs to escape his falling house during the political scandal surrounding the Eaton Affair.
Bettman/Getty Images

First off, he had an affair with a married woman, Margaret O’Neale Timberlake, whose husband was often at sea. When in 1828 Mr. Timberlake died abroad, rumor spread that he had slashed his own throat because of Margaret’s infidelity.

In Washington, D.C., gossip soon became ugly about what was known as the Eaton Affair. It ultimately led to the resignation of some Cabinet officials.

Jackson was irate. He had always realized he didn’t belong in the elite society of Washington, D.C. He was too self-conscious about his entire persona and too aware that he was perceived as an interloper. Consequently, he usually reacted defensively and often violently, thus betraying insecurity: “Our society wants purging here,” he wrote to one of his friends in 1829.

Under the same roof

Jackson’s clan lived with him in the White House. There was Andrew Jackson Jr., a nephew and his adopted son. Andrew Jr. would inherit a huge fortune, but he would die in debt. It’s no surprise that historians have described him as “irresponsible and ambitionless, a considerable disappointment to his father.”

There was Andrew Jackson Donelson and his wife, Emily. Donelson was the nephew of the just-deceased wife of the president, Rachel Jackson, who tragically died just days after her husband won the 1828 election. Donelson had served with Jackson in the Florida War – known as the First Seminole War – and later became his private secretary. Emily Donelson would act as the president’s hostess in the White House.

Another close friend from Tennessee, Maj. William B. Lewis, also moved into the White House. Also a presidential adviser, Lewis gained the official title of second auditor of the Treasury. But the Donelsons couldn’t stand the man. Emily Donelson would eventually label him a “sycophant” who had seized an opportunity to “save himself all expense.”

As he shaped his first Cabinet, Jackson consistently ignored the suggestions coming from the two higher-profile characters of his administration, Martin Van Buren and John C. Calhoun. It wasn’t just an ideological difference; it was that neither of them had been early Jackson men.

Surrounded by a few favorites

Jackson, the president who made no secret that he was running a one-man show, had a presidential style derived from his military experience. As a general, Jackson rarely summoned councils of war. When he had to decide on a given course of action, he didn’t share responsibility.

But critics saw things in a totally different way. In the spring of 1831, Sen. George Poindexter, a hesitant Jacksonian, complained that Jackson was “surrounded by a few favorites who controlled and directed all things.”

To describe the informal group of friends, family members and advisers whom they believed maintained too great an influence over the president, the opposition coined the phrase “kitchen cabinet.”

But the opposition’s image of the “kitchen cabinet” was not the reality. No matter his personal quirks, Jackson proved to be an excellent administrator. And contrary to Emily Donelson’s fears, he resisted sycophants and self-interested counselors.

Elon Musk, right, is a top adviser and donor to Donald Trump and directs the administration’s effort to cut government spending.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

A builder, not a destroyer

Jackson escaped manipulation because he managed to keep his eyes on his higher goal, the expansionist idea of the American nation.

He sought to create a blueprint for a government that would outlast him. He enacted impersonal rules that were sustained by elaborate systems of checks and balances. Whether you like him or not, Jackson was a builder, not a destroyer, of administrations.

The circumstances of the Jackson and Trump presidencies might look similar, but the key is that they are two very different men. Both wanted to fully reform the federal government, faced scandal, felt like an outsider in Washington, D.C., and had all sorts of close loyalists around pushing their agendas.

But Jackson didn’t get distracted. So he was not a useful puppet for those who sought to exploit him that way.

By contrast, it will be difficult for Trump to morph into President Jackson. Since the 1970s, the power of unelected and unconfirmed presidential aides and counselors has become more intense.

These individuals may easily end up negotiating deals or directing the course of events while escaping both congressional oversight and public scrutiny.

In their unaccountable influence, they are joined by major donors to a president’s campaign or causes.

There’s no doubt that they are a potential liability more dangerous than Jackson’s sycophants, more problematic than his cronies, more embarrassing than his wacky nephews.

Maurizio Valsania 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. President Trump may think he is President Jackson reincarnated − but there are lessons in Old Hickory’s resistance to sycophants – https://theconversation.com/president-trump-may-think-he-is-president-jackson-reincarnated-but-there-are-lessons-in-old-hickorys-resistance-to-sycophants-248532

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Security Council Press Statement on Sudan

Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Amar Bendjama (Algeria):

The members of the Security Council expressed deep concern over escalating violence, including in and around El Fasher, North Darfur.

Council members strongly condemned the ongoing and intensifying assaults on El Fasher in recent days by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as well as reports of an attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital in El Fasher on 24 January, which killed over 70 patients receiving critical care and their relatives, and wounded dozens. Recalling resolution 2736 (2024), Council members reiterated their demand that RSF halt the siege of El Fasher; and their call for an immediate halt to the fighting and for de-escalation in and around El Fasher.

Council members called on the parties to the conflict to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure in accordance with international humanitarian law and, as applicable, human rights law. They expressed their grave concern over the situation of civilians in El Fasher and the nearby Zamzam internally displaced persons camp who have been displaced multiple times and are already experiencing a humanitarian crisis.

Council members called on the parties to the conflict to seek an immediate cessation of hostilities and pursue a sustainable resolution to the conflict through dialogue.

They urged all Member States to refrain from external interference which seeks to foment conflict and instability and instead to support efforts for durable peace and reminded all parties to the conflict and Member States to adhere to their obligations to comply with the arms embargo measures as stipulated in paragraphs 7 and 8 of resolution 1556 (2004) and reiterated in resolution 2750 (2024).

MIL OSI United Nations News –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ICE arrests suspected Tren de Aragua member with history of sexual harassment

Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Luis Gualdron-Gualdron, a citizen and national of Venezuela who previously entered the United States without inspection, Jan. 31 without incident near the Northampton County Prison shortly after an immigration detainer was not honored. Gualdron is a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member and has a criminal record in Pennsylvania, including arrests for indecent assault of a person less than 16 years of age and harassment. He will be detained in ERO custody without bond.

“The arrest of Luis Gualdron-Gualdron, a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member with a serious criminal record, exemplifies our commitment to public safety and immigration law enforcement,” said Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia acting Field Office Director Brian McShane. “Working closely with our partners in Homeland Security Investigations, we will continue to ensure that those who pose a threat to our communities are apprehended and removed.”

The U.S. Border Patrol arrested Gualdron near Brownsville, Texas on Dec. 13, 2023, for entering the U.S. without inspection or parole by an immigration official. He was served the next day with a notice to appear before an immigration judge charging inadmissibility and, since he was traveling with his spouse and children, released on an order of recognizance.

The Bethlehem Police Department in Pennsylvania arrested Gualdron May 27, 2024, for indecent assault without consent, indecent assault on a person less than 16 years of age, and harassment.

ICE encountered Gualdron at the Northampton County Prison in Easton, Pennsylvania, and lodged an immigration detainer with the facility on May 28, 2024.

The Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County, Pennsylvania convicted Gualdron of harassment and sentenced him to incarceration for three to six months with credit for time served.

Members of the public with information can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

Learn more about ICE Philadelphia’s mission to increase public safety in our Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia communities on X: @EROPhiladelphia.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Gov. Kemp: PBS Aerospace Establishes North American HQ in Metro Atlanta

Source: US State of Georgia

ATLANTA – Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced that PBS Aerospace, a designer and manufacturer of world-class small turbojet engines, will invest up to $20 million to establish its North American headquarters, manufacturing, and R&D operations in Roswell. The new operations will create at least 95 new jobs in metro Atlanta, growing the company’s presence in the state.

“We are excited that PBS Aerospace has chosen to stay in Georgia to increase their footprint and establish their first R&D and headquarter facilities in the United States,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “Aerospace is one of the Georgia’s top industries thanks to innovative companies like PBS Aerospace that call Georgia home. By preparing strategic, new ready-for-development sites and supporting workforce development initiatives in high-demand careers, we will keep building on our success and creating opportunities for hardworking Georgians.”

PBS Aerospace is an international manufacturer of turbojet engines and auxiliary power units that has been present in the U.S. market for more than a decade.

“PBS Group’s owner, William Didden, made the decision to establish Georgia as the location for our U.S. headquarters because of the successful foundation we have built in Atlanta through PBS Aerospace,” said Tomas Koutsky, Managing Director of PBS Aerospace. “Atlanta has proven to be an exceptional base for our operations, offering access to an excellent education system, skilled workforce, robust infrastructure, and a thriving business environment. The positive experiences and success in Atlanta have undoubtedly influenced our choice as they reflect Georgia’s ability to support our continued growth.”

“We look forward to building our new Roswell factory, which will produce the world’s most advanced small turbojet engines designed to meet the needs of the U.S. Department of Defense,” said Erin Durham, CEO of PBS Aerospace. “This move aligns seamlessly with our larger growth strategy, which focuses on partnering with Georgia’s extensive manufacturing, aerospace, and defense sectors.”

PBS Aerospace’s footprint will include an existing, renovated building at 1350 North Meadow and a new facility that will be constructed at the Tech Village North Site in Roswell. Hiring is underway for open roles, with projections to meet full operations in April 2025. Interested individuals can learn more and apply at www.pbsaerospace.com/career.

“Roswell offers the perfect environment for innovative companies like PBS Aerospace to thrive, and their decision reflects the strength of our community and our commitment to fostering economic growth,” said Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson. “Our city is a sought-after destination, not only for businesses but also for families, thanks to our exceptional schools, safe neighborhoods, beautiful parks, and the strong sense of community our residents share. We are proud to welcome PBS Aerospace to Roswell and look forward to their success and contributions to our city’s future.”

“Fulton County is a hub for innovative business operations like PBS Aerospace,” said Robb Pitts, Chairman of Fulton County Board of Commissioners. “This significant development not only strengthens our position as a destination for advanced manufacturing and aerospace technology but also brings tangible benefits to residents in nearby cities through job creation and economic opportunity.”

“Metro Atlanta is where top talent meets opportunity. We are pleased to welcome PBS Aerospace as a vital part of our growing aerospace and defense ecosystem,” said Katie Kirkpatrick, President & CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “University graduates here have seamless access to thriving industries like aerospace – which is Georgia’s No. 1 export and a $57.5 billion powerhouse industry in the state. This new presence will help fuel our regional economy and strengthen our local and global relationships.”

Statewide Project Manager Haley Casola represented the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s (GDEcD) Global Commerce team on this competitive project in partnership with the City of Roswell, Select Fulton, Metro Atlanta Chamber, Georgia Quick Start, the Georgia Center of Innovation, and Georgia Power.

“PBS Aerospace first landed in the U.S. through Georgia, so it’s incredibly exciting that the company has chosen to expand on its presence here to establish not only its North American headquarters but also its first manufacturing and R&D operations in the U.S.,” said GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson. “Today’s news is the result of investing in our relationships at home and internationally, taking the time to ensure companies have a great experience working with the state at their existing locations and taking the initiative to meet with company leadership in-person to learn more about their plans for the future. Congratulations to PBS Aerospace for expanding in the U.S. market, and to all of the partners involved in bringing the opportunity for a job to Georgians through this investment!”

About PBS Aerospace

PBS Aerospace Inc. is a subsidiary of PBS GROUP, an engineering holding company and has been an established brand for over 200 years. PBS Group delivers cutting-edge engineering solutions across a portfolio of companies that focus on the aerospace, energy, and transportation industries. PBS Aerospace Inc. has had a presence in the U.S. market for more than 10 years and focuses on providing highly reliable turbojet engines and auxiliary power units (APUs) for the U.S. Department of Defense and commercial customers

MIL OSI USA News –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Governor Josh Stein Advocating for $1.07 Billion to Rebuild Western NC
Source: US State of North Carolina

Headline: Governor Josh Stein Advocating for $1.07 Billion to Rebuild Western NC

Governor Josh Stein Advocating for $1.07 Billion to Rebuild Western NC
bwood
Mon, 02/03/2025 – 10:42

Raleigh, NC
Governor Josh Stein today requested $1.07 billion in immediate funding to support urgent rebuilding needs in western North Carolina. Governor Stein’s budget request includes funds to strengthen the economy, get people back into homes faster, repair infrastructure, support farmers, fix private roads and bridges, remove debris, and help school children stay at grade level.

“The people of western North Carolina have suffered tremendously since Helene swept through,” said Governor Josh Stein. “I appreciate what the General Assembly has done so far, but it’s time for us to step up and get them the money they need right now to rebuild. We can’t forget western North Carolina – and I will do everything in my power to ensure that the state shows up for them.”

Governor Stein made his budget request at MANNA Food Bank, which works with over 300 community-based nonprofit food assistance partner agencies in 16 western North Carolina counties.

“MANNA has been an essential resource for the people it serves, and its work has become even more critical since Hurricane Helene struck,” said Governor Stein. “As these organizations continue the daily work of supporting their community, we have a responsibility to support them.”
The Governor’s budget request includes funding in the following categories. An overview of some of the programs is below; full request details are available here.

Strengthening the Economy

$150 million across two grant programs for businesses that suffered physical damage or significant economic loss.

$30 million for grants to small towns and counties to rebuild downtowns and other business districts.

$15 million to the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina’s VisitNC division to support North Carolina’s tourism industry and to attract travelers and new businesses to the area.

$100 million for revenue replacement grants to support local governments whose resources were exhausted by immediate disaster response, as they work to keep water and sewer services going, pay law enforcement, and support school operations.

Providing Safe and Warm Places to Live

$150 million for a Helene Home Construction and Repair Program to immediately start rebuilding the estimated 5,100 homes that will need to be rebuilt post-Helene.

$25 million to support people struggling to afford rent, mortgage, or utility costs because their home or livelihood was affected.

$10 million for Back@Home, a program that supports people who are without homes and provides them with case management support.

$50 million in incentives for affordable housing construction.

$25 million to fill in gaps for home repairs that are not covered by FEMA.

Repairing Infrastructure

$75 million to repair private roads and bridges.

$25 million to clean up local parks and greenways in affected areas.

$12 million to expedite debris removal.

$10 million to provide backup power for emergency operations and other critical infrastructure.

$4 million to repair septic systems.

Supporting Farmers

$15 million for grants to farmers for verified uninsured losses to crops, livestock, aquaculture, and infrastructure.

$100 million to help farmers clear debris and repair their land and waterways so they can resume production and protect against future flooding.

$19.4 million to prepare for the wildfire season and mitigate future risk.

Caring For Families and Children

$34.2 million for school districts that missed 15 or more days of school to provide summer instruction and other support services to ensure students continue to perform at grade level on End of Grade and End of Course assessments.

$20 million to fund food banks in affected areas.

$2 million to help college students who are struggling to pay tuition, fees, or emergency expenses that might force them to drop out of school at UNC Asheville, Appalachian State University, and Western Carolina University.
Feb 3, 2025

MIL OSI USA News –
February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI: Viventium Expands Scheduling Software with Open Shift Management, Enhancing Scheduling Flexibility and Streamlining Operations for Skilled Nursing Facilities and Senior Living Communities

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J., Feb. 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Viventium, the leading SaaS-based human capital management platform serving the healthcare industry, announces the addition of Open Shift Management to Viventium Scheduling, Viventium’s proprietary and innovative workforce management tool tailored to facilities and communities in the healthcare industry. Open Shift Management boosts staffing and compliance by enabling employees to apply for open shifts on their mobile devices while providing administrators with the data to quickly and confidently grant the shifts to the most suitable employees with the click of a button. The feature minimizes the risk of understaffing and reduces costs and reliance on staffing agencies.

Open Shift Management is custom-built to help facilities and communities achieve staffing quotas and ratios by reducing last-minute callouts. It helps keep staffing priorities clear by highlighting shifts requiring immediate attention and providing comprehensive employee insights at every request for data-driven decisions while complying with union and organizational rules.

“Open Shift Management is a robust feature of Viventium Scheduling that promotes a balanced approach as it improves scheduling efficiency, increases employee engagement, and reduces the stress of last-minute staffing gaps,” said Navin Gupta, CEO of Viventium. “We remain committed to addressing the complex staffing requirements impacting skilled nursing facilities and senior living communities by creating this collaborative environment for smooth, transparent staffing operations.”

“Our software suite is consistently optimized from the direct feedback of our clients,” said Zishe Glauber, CPO of Viventium. “Viventium’s Open Shift Management addition to our workforce management solution stands out because it is specifically tailored to the needs of facility- and community-based care.”

About Viventium

Viventium provides a SaaS-based human capital management solution that is focused on the healthcare industry. The company’s mission is to enrich the lives of caregivers through technology so they love going to work every day. By providing specialized software and expert guidance, Viventium helps its clients throughout the lifecycle of each caregiver. The company has clients in all 50 states and supports over 500,000 client employees each year.

For more information about Viventium, visit https://www.viventium.com or follow @viventium on LinkedIn and X.

Contact: press@viventium.com

The MIL Network –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI: Bio-Convert Develops QR-02, a Potential Breakthrough in the Treatment of Oral Leukoplakia

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

BEVERLY HILLS, California, Feb. 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bio-Convert ApS (“Bio-Convert”), a subsidiary of Nordicus Partners Corporation (OTCQB: NORD) (“Nordicus” or the “Company”), a financial consulting company specializing in supporting Nordic and U.S. life sciences companies in establishing themselves in the U.S. market, announces the groundbreaking development of QR-02, a unique and proprietary oral topical treatment designed to address oral leukoplakia with moderate to severe dysplasia, a potentially precancerous condition affecting millions worldwide.

Addressing a Critical Unmet Medical Need

Oral leukoplakia is characterized by white patches or plaques in the mouth, and when accompanied by dysplasia (abnormal cell growth), it becomes a marker of disease progression. Alarmingly, 10-30% of these patients may develop oral cancer, which has a five-year mortality rate exceeding 50%.

With 15.5 million oral leukoplakia patients in the U.S. and EU alone, there is an urgent need for an effective treatment to prevent disease progression. Given that 80% of leukoplakia lesions occur in the oral cavity, a therapy that remains in place for an extended period is critical for success.

QR-02: A Game-Changing Approach

Bio-Convert’s QR-02 introduces a novel mucoadhesive oral formulation designed to adhere to the oral cavity for an extended period of 12-24 hours—a major advancement over traditional treatments, which last only 15-20 minutes due to the washout effect of saliva. This extended retention period significantly enhances drug efficacy and improves patient outcomes.

QR-02’s active ingredient, imiquimod, is already FDA-approved for treating Actinic Keratosis, External Genital Warts, and Superficial Basal Cell Carcinoma (sBCC)—all superficial skin conditions. However, QR-02 is uniquely formulated for oral application, providing new hope for patients with oral leukoplakia and may also be beneficial in treating conditions that subsequently could occur in such patients.

Potential for a Transformative Impact

The goal of QR-02 is to treat and reduce dysplasia levels, potentially offering a curative solution for oral leukoplakia, an outcome that would mark a significant breakthrough in oral medicine. By treating oral leukoplakia at an early stage, QR-02 may potentially have a positive health impact in patients with collateral symptoms.

Advancing Toward Clinical Validation

Bio-Convert is actively progressing QR-02 through its development pipeline, with plans to validate its efficacy through pilot clinical trials and bring this life-changing treatment to market. As Bio-Convert continues to push the boundaries of oral medicine innovation, QR-02 is a major step forward in preventing oral leukoplakia from developing into more severe conditions.

“We are incredibly proud of this invention and the impact it will have on patients,” said Allan Wehnert, CEO & Founder of Bio-Convert. “Our hope is that patients may return to a normal life and, potentially, be cured of their illness.”

For further information, contact:

Mr. Henrik Rouf
Chief Executive Officer
Phone +1 310 666 0750
Email hr@nordicuspartners.com

Investor Relations
Jonathan Paterson
Harbor Access Investor Relations
Jonathan.Paterson@Harbor-Access.com
Tel +1 475 477 9401

About Nordicus Partners Corporation

Nordicus Partners Corporation is the only U.S. publicly traded business accelerator and holding company for Nordic life sciences companies. Leveraging decades of combined management experience in domestic and global corporate sectors, Nordicus excels in corporate finance activities including business and market development, growth strategies, talent acquisition, partnership building, capital raising, and facilitating company acquisitions and sales. In 2024, Nordicus acquired 100% of Orocidin A/S, a Danish preclinical-stage biotech company developing next-generation therapies for periodontitis and 100% of Bio-Convert ApS, a Danish preclinical-stage biotech company dedicated to revolutionizing the treatment of oral leukoplakia. For more information about Nordicus, please visit: www.nordicuspartners.com, and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Threads and BlueSky.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate,” “intend,” “continue” or “believe” or the negatives thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning our business, operating results, financial condition and other similar matters. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. There may be events in the future, however, that we are not able to predict accurately or control. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release speaks only as of the date on which we make it. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

The MIL Network –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to a study investigating the accumulation of microplastics in human organs

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

February 3, 2025

A study published in Nature Medicine looks at microplastic accumulation in human organs.

Prof Oliver Jones, Professor of Chemistry, RMIT University, said:

“I can see this paper getting a lot of attention due to its scary-sounding title, but I’d urge caution. Before we get headlines like “Our brains are now made of plastics,” we need to step back and look at how this study was conducted and what that might mean for the results.

“There are two main questions to consider with this study: 1) Are the results correct (exceptional claims need exceptional evidence)? 2) If so, what would that mean for human health?

“Let’s look at the data first. I have questions here.

“The press release says the authors tested 28 brain samples from 2016 and 24 from 2024, which is only 52 samples in total. There is not enough data to make firm conclusions on the occurrence of microplastics in New Mexico, let alone globally.

“Only data from two years – 2016 and 2024 are presented. It is not explained why only these two years were studied, but regardless, you simply can’t make a trend from data from just two years. Data from 2017-2023 would be needed to say if there was an actual trend or if it was just a random variation.

“The concentrations of microplastics in brain samples from 2024 have much less variation than any of the other data. This does not seem likely to me, but it is not explained. Similarly, in 2016, the kidney samples seemed to contain a more diverse range of plastics than liver samples, but in 2024, the liver had a more diverse range. The brain samples are consistent at both time points. This also seems odd but is not discussed.

“The main analytical method used in this study was pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This method can give false results when used to measure plastics because fats (which the brain is mainly made of) give the same pyrolysis products as polyethylene (the main plastic reported) [1]. The authors did try to address this concern but I am not certain they were able to account for everything.

“It is also challenging to properly account for potential contamination while handling or analysing samples in microplastic studies. This paper says that the findings are not likely to be lab contamination because samples were consistently handled and processed. I don’t think this is necessarily true. After all, consistent protocols could potentially result in consistent contamination. Even standard lab equipment, such as disposable lab gloves, can give false microplastic readings [2]. We also don’t know what happened to the samples during the original autopsy (bodybags are made of polyethylene, for example). There is also the issue of background contamination in any laboratory that needs to be controlled for [3]. Plastic contamination is almost everywhere, so how can we be confident that any particles found are evidence that plastic is crossing membranes in the human body or if it is just contamination from plastic in the clothes or lab equipment or background contamination in the air, etc?

“But let’s assume there are plastics in our brains. What would that mean?

“There is a suggestion that microplastics might be associated with brain disease based on testing the brains from 12 people with dementia. This is not enough data to base this conclusion on (the patients didn’t all have the same kind of dementia).

“To get to the brain, microplastics would need to cross the gut wall (which is relatively thick and well-regulated), be transported in the blood, and then cross the blood-brain barrier, which is also very well-regulated. Certainly, more work would be needed to see if this was even possible.

“If microplastics could get into the brain, then theoretically, so could other small particulates that we are exposed to every day, e.g. from air pollution. If so any actual effects might be down to those substances – but the authors only tested for microplastics.

“We don’t know if microplastics or any other particles would stay in the brain or if they would be removed by the body. Again more work would be needed to test this.

“Overall, the work is interesting, but the low sample numbers and potential analytical issues mean that care should be taken when interpreting the results. While it is not impossible that there are microplastics in the brains of some people, this study does not prove that this occurs, and, as the authors themselves note, there is as yet no strong evidence of any health effects.”

[1] Rauert C. et al. Extraction and pyrolysis-GC-MS analysis of polyethylene in samples with medium to high lipid content. Journal of Environmental Exposure Assessment 2022. 1(2): p. 13. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/jeea.2022.04

[2] Witzig C.S. et al. When good intentions go bad—false positive microplastic detection caused by disposable gloves. Environmental Science & Technology 2020. 54(19): p. 12164-12172. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c03742

[3] Rauert C. et al. Blueprint for the design construction and validation of a plastic and phthalate-minimised laboratory. Journal of Hazardous Materials 2024. 468: p. 133803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133803

Prof Tamara Galloway, Professor of Ecotoxicology, University of Exeter, said:

“Microplastics are a ubiquitous consequence of modern life, present in air, water and food and it should come as no surprise to find that most people have microplastics present in their bodies. What we don’t yet know is what the implications are for human health.

“To understand more about this, Nihart and colleagues took a detailed look at how microplastics were distributed in the human brain, using postmortem samples. Their study identified tiny shards and flakes of plastic in the brains they studied, most of which were made out of polyethylene, a plastic widely used in food and drinks packaging and the most common component of plastic litter.

“Two things stand out from this study. The first is that there was no relationship between the age of the subjects and the amount of microplastics present in the brain samples. This is important because it suggests that microplastics do not accumulate continuously in brain tissues as we age.

“The second thing to stand out is the increase in levels of contamination over time, with a 50% increase in levels of microplastics present in the brain samples collected over the last 8 years, reflecting the increased production and use of plastics over a similar timeframe. This is significant because it suggests that if we were to reduce environmental contamination with microplastics, the levels of human exposure would also decrease, offering a strong incentive to focus on innovations that reduce exposure.

“A final note of interest is in the nature of the contamination. Polyethylene (PE) is the most widely encountered polymer in environmental plastic litter, it is used for making disposable food and drinks packaging amongst other uses and its abundance in human brain tissues reflects its abundance in wildlife samples. Perhaps of more concern is the apparent presence of other polymers including polyvinylchloride (PVC) and styrene butadiene rubber (SBD), both of which were present in smaller amounts in the samples. PVC has many uses eg. in construction and packaging, and SBD rubber is used in car tyres and other items.

“Both substances have raised concerns over their potential environment and human health effects and whilst the current study offers no evidence that they are causing harm, it does highlight the importance of understanding more about the many materials we use in daily life.”

Prof Theodore B. Henry, Professor of Environmental Toxicology from the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society at Heriot-Watt University, said:

“The Nihart et al. (2025) article presents interesting initial results about contamination of human tissues by plastics, and, as with any such results, we must be careful not to speculate about the implications until independent confirmation can validate the findings.

“Without doubt the increasing presence of plastic particles in the environment and potential negative effects on humans are a concern.

“The difficulty in assessing the accumulation of plastic particles in internal organs because of a lack of analytical methods is addressed to some extent in this paper and this advancement is noteworthy.

“A disadvantage of the pyrolysis-GC-MS analytical method used in the study is that because any plastic polymers present are disintegrated into small fragments in the process it is then not possible to determine the size, characteristics, or number of particles present in the original sample. Another challenge of interpretation of these results is the difficulty in finding suitable control tissues, or tissues that have not been exposed to plastics, for which presence of polymers does not occur and the presence in the tissues can be compared (essentially all tissues had plastic polymers, which does suggest that there could be artifacts or analytical issues that are affecting the analyses that are not accounted for).

“The reported presence of plastic particles in histological sections of tissues by polarised wave microscopy should be verified independently and could readily be done within existing banks of preserved human tissue sections held at many institutions. Given the levels of particles that are reported in the present study it is surprising that similar particles have not been detected in other studies or examinations of the same tissues that have applied the same techniques. The authors of this article correctly note in their conclusion that their results of detection of plastic polymers in tissues are associative and not linked to any negative health outcome.”

Dr Antonis Myridakis, Lecturer in Environmental Sciences, Brunel University of London, said:

“The study by Nihart et al. provides compelling evidence that microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) (plastic particles from 500 µm down to 1 nm) can cross the blood-brain barrier (the security filter protecting the brain from harmful entities) and accumulate in human brain tissue, particularly polyethylene, with concentrations increasing over time. The authors employ state-of -the-art and complimentary methodologies to detect, identify and quantify these particles (Py-GC-MS, SEM-EDS, ATR-FTIR), strengthening the credibility of their findings.”

Does the press release accurately reflect the science?

“Yes, the study does support convincingly the claim that these particles are detectable in human brains. However, it is crucial to emphasise that the study does not establish causality between MPs/NPs and any negative health impacts.”

Is this good quality research? Are the conclusions backed up by solid data?

“The methodology is robust and multidisciplinary, using complementary analytical techniques to measure MPs and NPs. The data show a trend of increasing microplastic accumulation over time and higher concentrations in dementia cases. However, the sample size remains relatively small, and causation cannot be inferred at this stage.”

How does this work fit with existing evidence?

“This study aligns with recent findings that MPs/NPs are present in blood and major organs. The discovery of MPs in cerebrovascular walls and immune cells adds new insight into their potential role in neuroinflammation and warrants further investigation.”

Have the authors accounted for confounders? Are there important limitations?

“The study controls for key demographic factors (age, sex, cause of death) and finds no correlation between age and MP accumulation, suggesting environmental exposure may be increasing over time. However, it does not account for lifestyle-related factors (diet, occupation, regional pollution exposure), which could influence individual MP burdens. The inevitable use of post-mortem samples also limits the ability for functional assessments of MP toxicity in living brains.”

Real-world implications: Over-speculation or justified concern?

“The finding that MPs are accumulating in human brains is concerning, however, it is too early to draw conclusions about direct health risks. Further research is needed to determine whether MPs actively contribute to neurological disorders or if they are merely bystanders in an increasingly plastic-polluted environment.”

‘Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains’ by Nihart et al. was published in Nature Medicine at 16:00 UK time on Monday 3rd February.

DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-03453-1

Declared interests:

Prof Oliver Jones “I am a Professor of Chemistry at RMIT University in Melbourne. I have no conflicts of interest to declare, but I have previously published research on microplastics in the environment. I have in the past received funds from the Environment Protection Authority Victoria and various Australian Water utilities for research into environmental pollution.”

Prof Tamara Galloway “None”

Prof Theodore B. Henry “None”

Dr Antonis Myridakis “None”

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to study looking at omega-3 and biological ageing in humans

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

February 3, 2025

A study published in Nature Aging looks at the effects of of omega-3, vitamin D and exercise on biological ageing.

Prof Dame Linda Partridge FRS FMedSci, Weldon Professor of Biometry at the Institute of Healthy Ageing, UCL; Biological Secretary of the Royal Society; and Founding Director Emeritus of the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Ageing, said:

“The press release describes a study that is part of a clinical trial and is hence experimental rather than observational in nature, greatly reducing the likely involvement of confounders. The team previously found that intake of omega-3 alone reduced the rate of infections by 13% and the rate of falls by 10%, and that all three interventions (omega-3, vitamin D, exercise at home) combined had a significant additive benefit on reducing prefrailty by 39% and incident invasive cancer by 61% over a 3-year follow-up. The press release inadvertently gives the misleading impression that these findings came from the current study.

“The new study aimed to understand the molecular basis of the beneficial effects, and to develop biomarkers. Clinical trials that investigate the effects of interventions to improve health during ageing have two big challenges. First, there are multiple possible outcome measures because many aspects of health could be affected, and this can bring statistical problems. Second, it may take a long time for any benefits to become apparent. For both reasons, biomarkers are needed that report on the pathways to health improvements and that can predict clinical outcomes before they happen.

“The biomarkers investigated were derived from several well authenticated DNA methylation clocks. These clocks are trained to predict biological, as opposed to chronological age. Individuals differ in the speed of change in their DNA methylation clocks and can thus be characterised as slow or fast agers. These clock age deviations can be better predictors of time to death than chronological age.

“Omega-3 intake alone had slowed 3 of the 4 clocks used at the end of the 3-year trial period, and those individuals that started with lower omega-3 levels showed the largest response. All 3 treatments together slowed one of the 4 clocks. Omega-3 treatment thus had the greatest effect on the clocks. However, whether there is any direct link between the molecular events mediating the responses of the methylation clocks and the improvements in health awaits further study.

“The limitations of the work are well discussed. The study population was relatively healthy and homogeneous and longer term effects of the interventions are unknown. The study was well conducted, and consistent with other studies showing slowing of molecular biomarkers of ageing by interventions that improve health at later ages.”

Dr Julian Mutz, King’s Prize Research Fellow, King’s College London, said:

“Evaluating the effectiveness of preventative strategies and interventions in improving health span (i.e., how long individuals live in good health) is challenging due to the long human lifespan. Epigenetic aging clocks provide a proxy measure of biological aging and have the potential to play a crucial role in studies assessing such interventions. While most research on biological aging and health-promoting interventions has been cross-sectional (examining correlations between epigenetic age and factors such as diet at a single time point), this study provides important preliminary evidence that epigenetic aging may slow over three years in response to intervention.

“The authors identified a beneficial effect of daily omega-3 supplementation, particularly in individuals with lower baseline omega-3 levels. However, no such effect was observed for vitamin D or a three-day-per-week home exercise program. These findings contribute valuable new data but given the relatively small sample size (98 participants receiving omega-3 and 95 receiving a placebo) and the sample’s composition, which is healthier than the general population, the results should be considered preliminary. Future trials should aim to assess the generalisability of these findings, including in younger populations.”

Dr Mary Ni Lochlann, NIHR Research Fellow in Geriatric Medicine, Centre for Ageing Resilience in a Changing Environment, King’s College London, said:

“It’s exciting to see these results showing the benefits of omega-3, vitamin D and exercise on ageing. While the study was focused on healthy and active older adults, and led to a relatively small improvement in their ageing-biological-clocks, it adds to the growing evidence that these simple and fairly low-cost interventions are beneficial and, based on this and previous existing research, worth engaging in for adults as they get older.”

Prof Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics, Open University, said:

“This is an interesting study. It has some important limitations, as the researchers themselves make clear. I think these put important boundaries around the evidence it can provide on the effects on aging of the treatments used in the clinical trial. There’s just too much that we don’t know yet.

“The press release mentions a key limitation, that there is no agreed gold-standard measure of biological aging. Because of that, the researchers concentrated on four different biological clocks, but they also presented results on another two older biological clock measures in the main research paper, and indeed present a few findings on another two in the supplementary data tables.

“These biological aging clocks were all developed by taking measurements of certain types of biomarker in large samples of people, and comparing them with the people’s chronological ages and death rates. But the details of how the developers of the clocks analysed these data and produced their biological aging measures were different from one another, and there isn’t (yet) agreement on the best way to do that. So the researchers on this new study analysed their data using several clocks, and reported the results from all of them.

“I think it makes good sense to look at several clocks, but we have to take into account that they give different information about the effect of the treatments in the trial, and it’s not possible to say that the findings from one biological clock are better than those from another clock.

“There is a certain amount of consistency on the findings, in that trial participants who took the omega-3 supplement had biological aging clocks that aged (on average) less over the three years of the study than was the case in people who didn’t take that supplement, at least for the main ‘clocks’ that the researchers considered. But there was a lot of statistical variability between people in how big this change in biological aging actually was, and there were also quite substantial differences in the estimates of the changes based on different biological clocks.

“One of the biological clocks produced the very neat finding that the three interventions in the trial (vitamin D supplements, omega-3 supplements, and a home exercise programme) seemed to add up in their effects, so that participants who had two of three interventions had more slowing of their biological clocks than those who had only one, and the clocks of those who had all three interventions had yet more slowing of their biological clocks.

“But that doesn’t mean that this particular clock is getting at an underlying truth more reliably than the other clocks, that don’t show this additive pattern. We just can’t say yet – because the study hasn’t yet produced relevant results beyond its three-year duration. The authors write, “Whether the DO-HEALTH treatments resulted in a persistent slowing of biological aging, leading to the prevention or delay of frailty and chronic disease beyond the 3-year follow-up, is currently unknown.” (DO-HEALTH is the name of this clinical trial.)

“Likewise, they mention that they don’t have data on long-term survival rates of the people in the study. Maybe one of the other clocks will eventually turn out to relate more closely to survival rates and future health. Maybe the pattern of how the effects of the three interventions combine will be different. We just can’t say yet.

“Also we can’t say whether the effect on biological aging clocks will continue after three years, because that wasn’t studied. Maybe taking omega-3 supplements for longer will have a greater impact on biological aging, or maybe it won’t. And the study doesn’t indicate what the effect on these biological clocks would be if people, who had been taking a supplement, stop taking it.

“This study is an interesting start, but there’s so much that it can’t tell us.

Further information

“Other findings from the same clinical trial have already been published, and some is mentioned in the new paper near the beginning. (There’s more at https://do-health.eu/.) For example, taking the omega-3 supplement reduced the rate of infections, and of falls. People who took both supplements and also participated in the home exercise programme, all together, had a substantial reduction in cancer diagnoses (61% over three years) compared to people who had none of these interventions, and also did better on measure called pre-frailty, based on weakness, fatigue, weight loss, low walking speed and low activity level.

“Whether people were classed as ‘robust’, pre-frail or frail depended on how many of these five measures were below par. (None below par meant they were robust, just one or two meant they were classified as pre-frail, more than that would classify them as frail.) The trial looked at people who started out as robust (that is, satisfactory on all these measures) and saw how many moved to being pre-frail or frail, and having all three interventions (the two supplements and the exercise) reduced pre-frailty by 39%. It didn’t have a clear effect on frailty, measured in this way, but that was probably just because very few participants moved from being robust all the way to frail in the three-year period.

“The press release seems (to me) to imply that these findings were part of the new research. They aren’t, though they do come from the same clinical trial and involved some of the same researchers. (Also, to nit-pick, the press release refers to ‘frailty’ whereas the findings are actually about pre-frailty, a somewhat different concept.).”

‘Individual and additive effects of vitamin D, omega-3 and exercise on DNA methylation clocks of biological aging in older adults from the DO-HEALTH trial’ by Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari et al. was published in Nature Aging at 16:00 UK time on Monday 3 February 2025.

DOI: 10.1038/s43587-024-00793-y

Declared interests

Prof Dame Linda Partridge: “None.”

Dr Julian Mutz: “No COIs.”

Prof Kevin McConway: “Previously a Trustee of the SMC and a member of its Advisory Committee.”

For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General James Releases Statement in Response to Louisiana Indictment of New York Doctor

Source: US State of New York

January 31, 2025

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today released the following statement after a grand jury in Louisiana indicted a New York doctor for providing abortion care:

“Abortion care is health care. The criminalization of abortion care is a direct and brazen attack on Americans’ bodily autonomy and their right to reproductive freedom. This cowardly attempt out of Louisiana to weaponize the law against out-of-state providers is unjust and un-American. We will not allow bad actors to undermine our providers’ ability to deliver critical care. Medication abortion is safe, effective, and necessary, and New York will ensure that it remains available to all Americans who need it.”

MIL OSI USA News –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General James and Multistate Coalition Block Trump Administration from Freezing Essential Federal Funding

Source: US State of New York

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today released the following statement after a court granted a motion filed by her office and a coalition of 22 other attorneys general to halt the implementation of a new Trump administration policy that would block federal agency grants, loans, and other financial assistance programs:

“This administration’s reckless plan to block federal funding has already caused chaos, confusion, and conflict throughout our country. In the short time since this policy was announced, families have been cut off from childcare services, essential Medicaid funds were disrupted, and critical law enforcement efforts were put in jeopardy. I led a coalition of attorneys general in suing to stop this cruel policy, and today we won a court order to stop it. The President cannot unilaterally halt congressional spending commitments. I will continue to fight against these illegal cuts and protect essential services that New Yorkers and millions of Americans across the country depend on.”

Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted Attorney General James and the coalition’s request for a temporary restraining order, halting the implementation of the administration’s policy. This temporary restraining order extends beyond the January 28 administrative stay granted by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in response to a lawsuit brought by nonprofit groups that receive federal funds.

The proposed policy, as initially articulated by the President’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on January 27, would put an indefinite pause on the majority of federal assistance, jeopardizing funds for health care, education, law enforcement, disaster relief, infrastructure, and more. On January 28, Attorney General James and attorneys general from 22 other states sued to immediately stop the enforcement of this policy and preserve trillions of dollars in essential funding.

While the administration has rescinded the memo announcing the policy, states and organizations that receive federal funding continue to be at risk for major disruptions. Following the first announcement of the policy, Medicaid funds in New York and multiple other states were frozen. Head Start programs across the country were cut off from funds, leading some childcare centers to close. In Syracuse, a community health center serving low-income communities announced plans to borrow funding to meet payroll and warned it would close within weeks if the policy was implemented. The chaos continues.

The lawsuit was led by Attorney General James and the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. Joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Luján: Trump Tariffs Will Hit New Mexico Families, Increase Everyday Prices

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)

Reporting Shows Tariffs Could Lead to Cost Increase for Gas, Groceries

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, issued the following statement on President Trump’s announcement to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada and 10% tariffs on China:

“From the price at the pump to the cost of groceries, President Trump’s tariffs will leave New Mexico families footing the bill. The Trump Tariffs will drive up costs for groceries, gas, cars, and electronics that Americans depend on. At the same time President Trump is pushing a tax scam that benefits the wealthiest Americans, working families will be forced to pay the price.

“The Trump Tariffs will result in tariffs against American products, putting American jobs, businesses, and industries at risk. These tariffs will weaken the economy, raise prices for everyday families, and hurt the American people. Republicans and Democrats, and all Americans, should be concerned that the Trump administration is needlessly threatening the economy that we worked hard to rebuild and grow.

“My colleagues and I remain committed to combating the fentanyl crisis, and I have long called for increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl and save lives, but these tariffs will not accomplish that.”

MIL OSI USA News –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: West Bank violence undermining Gaza ceasefire: UNRWA

Source: United Nations 4

3 February 2025 Peace and Security

Escalating hostilities in the occupied West Bank are putting the fragile ceasefire in Gaza at risk, the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, warned in a statement on Monday.

It comes a day after Israeli Security Forces (ISF) carried out a series of controlled detonations at the Jenin refugee camp, located in the northern West Bank, destroying large areas there “in a split second”.

UNRWA said it received no prior warning of the explosions “as contact between staff and Israeli authorities is no longer permitted – putting civilian lives at risk.”

‘A ghost town’

The agency said residents of the camp “have endured the impossible, facing nearly two months of unceasing and escalating violence,” adding that Jenin “has been rendered a ghost town” in the past months.

“The operations conducted both by Israeli and Palestinian security forces have led to the forced displacement of thousands of camp residents, many of whom will now have nowhere to return to,” it said. “The basics of life are gone.”

UNRWA noted that “on a day that was supposed to mark the beginning of the new school semester for thousands of children, 13 schools in the northern West Bank remained closed due to ISF operations in the area.”

Ceasefire undermined

Furthermore, its services inside Jenin camp have been interrupted for months and stopped completely in early December.

“Today’s shocking scenes in the West Bank undermine the fragile ceasefire reached in Gaza, and risk a new escalation,” the agency said.

The first phase of the temporary truce and hostage release deal came into effect two weeks ago, following 15 months of war which killed some 46,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health authorities.

The conflict was sparked by the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel. Some 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken as hostages.

In October 2024, the Israeli parliament adopted two laws banning UNRWA’s operations in its territory and prohibiting Israeli authorities from having any contact with the agency, which went into force last Thursday.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Therapeutic Recreation Awareness Month Proclaimed in Saskatchewan

Source: Government of Canada regional news

Released on February 3, 2025

Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill has proclaimed February to be Therapeutic Recreation Awareness Month across Saskatchewan.

This month is an opportunity to recognize therapeutic recreation professionals who encourage, advance, and promote therapeutic recreation through health, wellness and sport.

“Therapeutic recreation professionals play a critical role in helping many regain strength, mobility and a higher quality of life,” Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said. “I want to thank these professionals for their dedication across various health care settings, including rehabilitation services, mental health programs, long-term care facilities, and hospitals, where they make a meaningful difference in the lives of Saskatchewan residents.”

Therapeutic recreation is known to be important in long-term care and rehabilitation centres, and other settings, as it provides improved mental and physical health, cognitive stimulation, social interaction, increased independence, pain management and relaxation, improved self-esteem and confidence as well as an improved overall quality of life.

“Therapeutic Recreation Awareness Month is a vital opportunity to celebrate the incredible impact therapeutic recreation professionals have on enhancing quality of life across Saskatchewan,” Saskatchewan Association of Recreation Professionals (SARP) Executive Director Jordan Wall said. “At SARP, we are proud to support and advocate for this essential field, which fosters connection, well being, and innovation in care.”

The Saskatchewan Association of Recreation Professionals represents approximately 150 therapeutic recreation professionals and others committed to working in sectors such as sport, recreation, and culture, while promoting a consistent standard of care.

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For more information, contact:

MIL OSI Canada News –

February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Hommage aux récipiendaires de la Médaille de la bravoure de 2024
Source: Government of Canada regional news

Huit personnes de la Nouvelle-Écosse, dont un homme ayant perdu la vie lors d’un acte héroïque, ont reçu la plus haute distinction de bravoure de la Province lors d’une cérémonie qui avait lieu aujourd’hui, 22 octobre, à Halifax.

Le premier ministre, Tim Houston, a remis la Médaille de la bravoure de la Nouvelle-Écosse aux personnes suivantes :
- Carl Comeau, Pointe-de-l’Église
- Carl Deveau, Saulnierville
- Terrence Leblanc, Saulnierville
- Kevin Corkum, Middle LaHave
- Conor Scott, Dartmouth
- Nicholas (Nick) Holland, Ellershouse (posthume)
- Bruce Lake, Hilden
- Alexander (Alex) Munroe, Windsor Junction
« Notre province a dû affronter plusieurs épreuves au cours des dernières années, y compris des feux de forêt dévastateurs et des inondations extrêmes. Les gens de la Nouvelle-Écosse ont l’habitude de joindre leurs forces et de s’entraider, a rappelé le premier ministre, Tim Houston. Ces récipiendaires incarnent parfaitement l’esprit de communauté. Au nom de tous les gens de la Nouvelle-Écosse, je tiens à leur rendre hommage et à les remercier d’avoir repoussé leurs limites en agissant de façon si altruiste. »

La Médaille est décernée aux gens de la Nouvelle-Écosse qui sont allés au-delà de leurs responsabilités en risquant leur propre vie pour sauver la vie ou les biens d’autrui.

Voici les récipiendaires et leurs actes de bravoure :
- Le 14 juin 2023, l’ambulancier Carl Comeau, qui n’était pas de service à ce moment-là, a téléphoné au 911 après avoir remarqué un incendie résidentiel à St-Bernard, dans le comté de Digby. Quand les ambulanciers Carl Deveau et Terrence Leblanc sont arrivés, les trois hommes ont rapidement pris la décision d’entrer dans la maison en flammes. Malheureusement, la femme qu’ils tentaient de sauver n’a pas survécu.
- Le 28 mai 2023, un important feu de forêt s’est rapidement propagé à Hammonds Plains et à Upper Tantallon. Alors que les résidents évacuaient les lieux, le chef du service d’incendie de la Municipalité régionale d’Halifax, Kevin Corkum, et un pompier, Conor Scott, sont retournés dans la zone évacuée, bravant l’intense brasier pour secourir un homme qui se trouvait encore dans sa maison.
- Le 22 juillet 2023, pendant des pluies torrentielles, Nicholas Holland se déplaçait en voiture sur la route 14, près de Brooklyn, dans le comté de Hants, en compagnie de trois autres personnes. Leur véhicule a été emporté par la crue et s’est rempli d’eau. M. Holland a libéré les personnes qui étaient coincées dans la voiture. Deux d’entre elles ont par la suite été secourues par les premiers intervenants. Malheureusement, M. Holland et la quatrième personne, une adolescente, n’ont pas survécu.
- Le 19 août 2023, Bruce Lake, un policier de Truro qui n’était pas en service, faisait une randonnée avec des amis dans le parc national Fundy, au Nouveau-Brunswick, quand le groupe a remarqué une jeune femme en difficulté dans une rivière. M. Lake a bravé le fort courant et a ramené la femme en lieu sûr, sur la rive.
- Le 6 mars 2023, les deux petits frères d’Alex Munroe jouaient dans la neige dans leur cour avant quand un chien a attaqué l’un des enfants. Quand Alex, qui avait alors 13 ans, s’est précipité dehors avec sa mère pour secourir les garçons, le chien s’en est pris à la mère. Alex a courageusement repoussé le chien, a aidé ses proches à se mettre à l’abri, et a téléphoné au 911, sauvant ainsi sa famille d’une attaque qui aurait pu être mortelle.
Citations

« Aujourd’hui, nous reconnaissons huit membres de nos collectivités néo-écossaises. Ces personnes, malgré des conditions difficiles et dangereuses, n’ont pas hésité à offrir leur aide à autrui. J’applaudis leurs gestes héroïques et inspirants. »
— Barbara Adams, procureure générale et ministre de la Justice

Faits en bref
- Il s’agit de la 14e cérémonie provinciale rendant hommage à des gens qui ont risqué leur vie pour aider quelqu’un. (La Médaille n’a pas été remise en 2020 en raison de la COVID-19.)
- Depuis 2008, 55 personnes de la Nouvelle-Écosse ayant posé un geste courageux, dont les récipiendaires d’aujourd’hui, ont reçu la Médaille.
Ressources supplémentaires

Pour en savoir plus sur les récipiendaires de la Médaille et pour proposer la candidature d’une personne ayant fait preuve de bravoure en Nouvelle-Écosse : https://novascotia.ca/bravery (en anglais seulement)

À l’exception du recadrage, les photos de Communications Nouvelle-Écosse ne doivent être modifiées en aucune façon.

MIL OSI Canada News –
February 4, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Five AIMS – Lessons from Internet Governance for Artificial Intelligence Management Strategies
Source: Universities – Science Po in English
Days away from the Paris AI Action Summit, the elaboration of the emerging framework to govern the development and adoption of AI technologies is at the heart of heated, sometimes overwhelming debates and controversies. While new AI models are being released at an accelerating pace, with ever greater promises of game-changing applications, revolutionary disruptions, and prophecies of geopolitical shifts, AI governance remains partially undertheorised.

To help scaffold coherent, coordinated, and enforceable rules and institutions, Dame Wendy Hall, DBE, FRS, FREng, Regius Professor of Computer Science, Associate Vice President (International Engagement) and Director of the Web Science Institute at the University of Southampton, Kieron O’Hara, emeritus fellow in Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, and Pierre Noro, advisor of the PSIA Tech & Global Affairs Innovation Hub, reinterpret the Four Internet models elaborated by Hall and O’Hara in their 2018 article and in their influential book Four Internets: Data, Geopolitics, and the Governance of Cyberspace (Oxford UP, 2021) in regard to AI technologies.

This translation, grounded in an analysis of the historical, socio-economic, and ideological differences distinguishing the context that shaped Internet governance and the current one, yields many enlightening insights and is the foundation of five Artificial Intelligence Management Strategies (AIMS):

Open AIMS: Fostering openness and transparency, common ownership and collaboration, interoperability.

Bourgeois AIMS: Fostering rights and civility with procedural rules and codes

Paternal AIMS: Mandating outcomes and confining uses.

Commercial AIMS: Allowing market solutions to resource allocation problems.

Hacker AIMS: Libertarian, anti-authoritarian, decentralised approach valorising software skills, resisting censorship, and empowering individuals and communities to make and reshape the information space.

As narratives, the AIMS do not aspire to crystal clarity, but rather are intended as sensemaking aids; the characterisations above […] may already help categorize and interpret discourses, stances, and proposals.

With many illustrations to exemplify their core tenets, their limits and their intersections, this paper offers the Five AIMS as cardinal concepts to help AI governance stakeholders, especially public and private decisionmakers, navigate the upcoming AI Action Summit and future governance conversation.

Concluding on a set of ongoing research questions reflecting open policy challenges, it is a foundational step towards cementing the Five AIMS as a suitable framework for understanding the governance of AI.

Learn more by reading the full policy brief: Five AIMS: Lessons from Internet Governance for Artificial Intelligence Management Strategies (PDF, 368 Ko)
(credits: Image generated with Microsoft Copilot. Edited by Pierre Noro.)
MIL OSI Europe News –
February 4, 2025

Category: Transport

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À l’exception du recadrage, les photos de Communications Nouvelle-Écosse ne doivent être modifiées en aucune façon.