NewzIntel.com

Category: Universities

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Aleš Michl: Remarks on euro adoption

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Delivering on our mandate of price stability

    The new Bank Board was appointed in mid-2022. At that time, inflation in the Czech Republic was 17.5 percent. Today, it is back under control, down to just 2.4 percent.

    The base repo rate is currently at 3.5%, and I expect it will remain at this level for some time.

    Our strategy is clear: to keep interest rates higher for longer compared to the period before COVID, to avoid any unconventional policies, and to follow the vision that in monetary policy, less is more (Michl, 2024b).

    This year, our currency – the koruna – appreciated by 11% against the US dollar and by 2% against the euro. This helps us in the fight against inflation.

    The Czech National Bank is the most trusted institution in the country (STEM, 2025)1. We take this trust seriously.

    The pros and cons of having an independent monetary policy

    Two main advantages:

    First, exchange rate flexibility. A stronger koruna makes imports cheaper, which helps fight inflation. On the other hand, a weaker koruna supports exports during a recession. We can call it an adjustment mechanism for the economy – or, to be exact, an adjustment mechanism for the balance of payments.

    And the second one:

    The current policy of the European Central Bank does not fit the Czech economy. Our key interest rate is 3.5%, while in the eurozone it is 2%. We still need high interest rates to keep inflation low. We also need positive real interest rates to maintain price stability.

    In Croatia and Slovakia, inflation is around 4%, which means they currently have negative real interest rates. That makes it harder for them to fight inflation.

    Our goal is price stability – not to support exporters. The key is to keep the growth of money in the economy under control.

    One key disadvantage:

    Everyone can make mistakes. In the history of the Czech National Bank, there were two major ones: keeping real interest rates negative for more than 10 years before COVID, and increasing the money supply (banking liquidity) by 100% in 2017 in order to weaken the koruna. This is one of the reasons why core inflation after COVID was higher in the Czech Republic than in the eurozone. We must not repeat these mistakes.

    That is why our strategy is to keep interest rates higher for longer, avoid any unconventional policies, and follow the vision that in monetary policy, less is more.

    The “perfect” timing of euro adoption

    Just to remind you, the government makes the final decision about euro adoption, not the central bank.

    My PhD thesis was about the perfect timing for euro adoption.  And the main conclusion was that one day, the exchange rate adjustment mechanism may stop working for the economy.

    Let me give two situations as examples:

    First, a weaker koruna might help exporters – but at the same time, it brings very high inflation into the country (Michl, 2016).

    Second, if there is already a large amount of loans in euros in the economy – like in Croatia (Croatia: 70%, vs 20% in the Czech Republic) – independent monetary policy effectively stops working. A weaker koruna in such a situation could lead to large-scale defaults.

    For now, the exchange rate adjustment mechanism still works. There is no need to rush to adopt the euro. We should remain a country with a strong koruna, an independent monetary policy, and robust FX reserves – not follow the example of Croatia.

    Our experience with fighting high inflation

    Inflation was 17.5% in July 2022 and still rising. The key interest rate was already at 7%. Then, a new Bank Board was appointed – and we changed the strategy.

    The gamechanger was the strong koruna strategy, which we introduced in late 2022 (Michl, 2022). We announced that we would keep interest rates stable for an extended period. At the same time, we clearly communicated that a strong koruna is crucial for the Czech economy.

    This strategy worked. In spring 2023, we saw the strongest koruna in our history. The strong koruna helped reduce inflation by making imported raw materials cheaper. It also created tougher conditions for exporters – a necessary trade-off.

    The market understood and trusted our strategy because we communicated it openly and transparently. And that was enough. Sometimes, less is more in monetary policy. It is better to maintain a steady and credible restrictive stance than to keep interest rates at zero for a decade – and then hope to control inflation with a sudden, sharp rate hike.

    On FX volatility and risk premia

    Yes, FX volatility brings hedging costs for companies. But the mission of monetary policy is price stability – not cheap financing.

    Let me measure the risk premium using the asset swap spread: the difference between the 5-year government bond yield and the interest rate swap rate, measured in percentage points. Currently, this spread stands at 0.2 percentage points in Croatia, 0.3 percentage points in Slovakia, and 0.2 percentage points in the Czech Republic.

    We aim to keep the risk premium low through credible and independent monetary policy – and by putting pressure on the government to balance public finances.

    Within the eurozone, governments often feel less pressure to save money or balance their budgets. The bailout system reduces the risk premium – but it also weakens the incentive for fiscal responsibility. In a country without market pressure, politicians become less motivated to reduce deficits, and a real estate bubble can form more easily.

    We also learned the wrong lesson from the eurozone fiscal rules – the idea that a deficit under 3% of GDP is always acceptable. It’s not. What really matters is maintaining balanced public finances over time.

    Cheap euro loans and the koruna’s higher borrowing costs

    Yes, corporate loans in euros are cheaper, but interest rates on savings are higher in our country. In the Czech Republic, we need higher interest rates to fight inflation.

    Those higher rates help slow down borrowing – for everyone: households, the government, and businesses (Michl, 2024a).

    Monetary policy’s mission is price stability – not cheap financing.

    Keeping money too cheap for too long was one of the mistakes in the past that led to high inflation.

    References

    Michl, A. (2016). Nová kritéria pro přijetí Eura [New Euro Convergence Criteria]. Politická ekonomie, 2016(6), 713–729.

    Michl, A. (2022). Policy for a Strong Koruna. CNB Discussion Forum. Faculty of Economics and Administration at Masaryk University, Brno, 23 November 2022.

    Michl, A. (2024). The Target. University of Pardubice, CNB Discussion Forum 2024, 23 April 2024.

    Michl, A. (2024b). CNB’s Aleš Michl on Tackling Inflation, Friedman’s Legacy and Ditching DSGE. Central Banking, 19 December 2024.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Province Awards Nova Scotia Lighthouse Project Funding

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Three organizations have been awarded funding under the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Project to address childhood obesity and chronic disease in the province.

    The successful applicants are Acadia University, Upward Mobility Kitchens East Inc., and Wasoqopa’q First Nation. The total amount of funding is $1.05 million.

    “Reducing childhood obesity and helping young people to establish healthy habits will help reduce the burden on our healthcare system and make a lasting impact on the overall health of our province,” said Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson. “These investments will provide more communities with the resources they need to raise healthy children.”

    The three projects, with funding amounts, are:

    • $320,643 to Acadia University in Wolfville to create a self-sustaining farm-to-school initiative that includes a greenhouse. It will address childhood obesity, food insecurity and declining physical activity by integrating nutrition education, sustainable agriculture and mental health support directly into the school curriculum at Northeast Kings Education Centre in Canning.

    • $334,384 to Upward Mobility Kitchens East Inc. to transform The Nook on Halifax’s Gottingen Street into a hub for youth-focused cooking classes and food literacy education. The Sharpen Up initiative will give youth the skills to take control of their nutrition, improve health outcomes and host community-centred meal events.

    The kitchen at the Nook (Province of Nova Scotia) Click or tap for larger image
    • $400,000 to Wasoqopa’q First Nation to create a space that fosters physical activity, mental resilience and community well-being through traditional Mi’kmaw teachings. The project includes an outdoor structure that supports traditional food sourcing, cleaning and preparation.

    Ninety-seven organizations applied for funding; nine were invited to submit a proposal and eight were received.

    The Nova Scotia Lighthouse Project is a partnership between the Province and Novo Nordisk Canada Inc. that brought together healthcare, academic and economic leaders to identify barriers and challenges that contribute to poor health outcomes. It invited businesses and academic and community organizations to submit proposals for funding to address them. The initiative is delivered in collaboration with the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub and Life Sciences Nova Scotia.

    Quotes:

    “At Novo Nordisk Canada, we are committed to engaging as a valuable and dedicated partner in improving the lives of Nova Scotians and fighting childhood obesity. We are proud to partner on this important issue and excited by this first round of funding announcements; these projects have the potential to drive change for a healthier Canada.”
    — Vince Lamanna, President, Novo Nordisk Canada Inc.

    “Over the past two years, we’ve delivered more than half a million meals to people in need in HRM, and we’re just getting started. After 15 years of building kitchens with purpose and running Sharpen Up in communities from New York to Vancouver, I’ve learned the most powerful thing we can give youth is belief, and the tools to back it up. Sharpen Up is not just a cooking class. It’s skill-building with real chefs, instilling confidence in yourself, and a chance to see all the pathways food can create through our non-profit and entrepreneur network. In a time when one in four kids in the Maritimes is food insecure, this kind of education and support is essential. I was raised in Dartmouth, and it’s an honour to come home and create this opportunity for my community.”
    — Mark Brand, founder, Upward Mobility Kitchens & A Better Life Foundation

    “When our Mi’kmaw youth are free to move, play and learn in culturally safe spaces, they build strength not only in body, but in spirit. When our Mi’kmaw families and community members have our own culturally safe spaces to learn through land-based knowledge and traditional food harvesting on our lands, we reclaim our health, our identity and our honour. We will build strong foundations for all our relations from our neighbouring communities and all Mi’kma’ki. That is true reconciliation.”
    — Melanie Robinson-Purdy, Director, Community Enhancement and Cultural Revitalization, Wasoqopa’q First Nation

    “The best way to build a healthier tomorrow is to begin upstream – where good food, joyful movement and self-worth take root early. Grow & Go is how we nurture that growth: from greenhouse to classroom, from kitchen to community. This is more than a project – it’s a path forward, and we invite others to walk and grow it with us.”
    — Tavis Bragg, project lead, Grow & Go; adjunct professor, Acadia University, and teacher, Northeast Kings Education Centre

    Quick Facts:

    • for profit, not-for-profit and public-sector organizations registered to do business in Canada were eligible to submit a proposal
    • the Province and Novo Nordisk Canada have each contributed $1.5 million toward the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Project, with another call for proposals to be announced later
    • the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Project is the result of a partnership with Denmark and is based on a concept from the Danish Business Promotion Agency; Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs; Novo Nordisk; research institutions; and technology companies

    Additional Resources:

    Nova Scotia Lighthouse Project: https://www.lighthousens.ca/

    News release – New Partnership Will Address Childhood Obesity, Chronic Disease: https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2024/03/05/new-partnership-will-address-childhood-obesity-chronic-disease

    News release – Nova Scotia Signs Health Agreement with Denmark: https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2023/05/24/nova-scotia-signs-health-agreement-denmark

    Other than cropping, Province of Nova Scotia photos are not to be altered in any way.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: A new book of Edward Gorey’s drawings shows what’s lost when the artist’s sexuality is glossed over

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Elizabeth Wolfson, Assistant Director of Campus Partnerships for the Office of Public Scholarship, Washington University in St. Louis

    Edward Gorey on the set he designed for the Broadway revival of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ in 1977. Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

    Artist, illustrator and writer Edward Gorey would have turned 100 this year, and the recently published “From Ted to Tom: The Illustrated Envelopes of Edward Gorey” is a fitting celebration of his wit and talent.

    The book reproduces, in stunning detail, a series of 50 elaborately illustrated envelopes Gorey created in the mid-1970s. But when I started reading “From Ted to Tom,” I felt confused – and a little let down.

    The book makes no mention of Gorey’s queerness. To me, this is a missed opportunity to shed light on how being gay may have fueled some of his most personal work.

    The master of macabre

    Today, Edward Gorey is widely known for his sprawling, macabre-yet-humorous body of work, which spans nearly every medium.

    There are dozens of his own books, notably “The Doubtful Guest” and “The Gashlycrumb Tinies,” as well as cover designs for many others; sets and costumes for the 1977 Tony Award-winning revival of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”; the opening credit sequence for the PBS television series “Mystery!”; “The Fantod Pack,” a deck of Tarot-like cards; and hand-sewn, surrealist dolls.

    His stories often feature adults and children alike who meet untimely ends through mostly hilarious, unlikely accidents – and, yes, the occasional straight-up murder. But they’re never gratuitous, nor do they glorify violence for violence’s sake.

    As for his personal life, Gorey may have been what today we’d call asexual; Gorey himself used the term “undersexed,” but he also acknowledged, when asked directly about his sexuality, that he “supposed” he was gay.

    Mark Dery’s 2018 Gorey biography, “Born to be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey,” documents the artist’s participation in postwar gay life. The book details a handful of crushes Gorey had on various men, at least one of which – a brief affair with a man named Victor – involved some physical intimacy.

    To whatever extent Gorey entertained sex or romance, it was with men. As Dery points out, however, this fact largely goes unaddressed in discussions of the artist’s work.

    A chance encounter

    “From Ted to Tom” reinforces this silence.

    The “Tom” is Tom Fitzharris, the author of the book’s introduction and some commentary at the book’s end.

    In the introduction, Fitzharris explains that before he met Gorey, he was already collecting the artist’s “small, exquisite books.”

    After attending a gallery exhibit of Gorey’s work in 1974, Fitzharris mailed him one of the books from his collection to request Gorey’s signature, along with a cryptic inquiry about two of the book’s characters. Gorey obliged and returned the book with a similarly cryptic reply.

    Soon after this exchange, Fitzharris spotted Gorey on the street and introduced himself. The two soon began meeting regularly “for dinner, the theater, coffee, and especially the ballet, his great passion,” one that Fitzharris shared. When Gorey left to summer on Cape Cod, he began sending Fitzharris the envelopes collected in “From Ted to Tom.”

    Fitzharris shares almost no information about himself in the book, and he has never commented publicly about his own sexuality. However, even his dry, minimalist narration cannot conceal the intensity of their connection.

    Describing his first visit to Gorey’s apartment, he writes: “I thought I’d be at Gorey’s for ten minutes, but I left two hours later.” Whether Fitzharris lost track of time as the two explored their “dozens of shared interests” or simply couldn’t tear himself away, when he finally made it back to work, he was surprised that he still had a job.

    The envelope as canvas

    Given this voracious drive to create, it is no surprise that Gorey saw an object as humble as a letter envelope as a creative opportunity. As Dery points out, Gorey was also making his illustrated envelopes as the mail art movement was becoming popular. Sparked by artist Ray Johnson in the 1960s – who, like Gorey, lived in New York City – it involved artists using the postal service to exchange works of art, using it as an alternative to the commercial galleries and museums that artists had largely depended on.

    The 50 envelopes reproduced in “From Ted to Tom” was not Gorey’s first dalliance with the envelope as canvas; he’d experimented with it six years earlier, while in the midst of a collaboration with author and editor Peter Neumeyer, with whom he produced three children’s books.

    In his drawings to Neumeyer, Gorey mostly seems to be having fun playing around with a new formal challenge: how to integrate drawings with the prerequisite address text in a satisfying way.

    Because I study how people use images to make sense of the world, I couldn’t help but notice key differences between the Neumeyer envelopes and those that Gorey sent to Fitzharris.

    The Fitzharris series is poised and polished from the jump. Gorey’s distinctive hand-lettering is crisp, precise and perfectly straight, each envelope a complete scene. Some scenes are more complex than others, but each is a complete thought.

    There’s another notable difference between the Neumeyer and Fitzharris envelopes. While the former features a revolving cast of real and imaginary creatures, the latter has two co-stars: two black-and-white dogs, sides emblazoned with matching, serifed T’s.

    In his introduction to the book, Fitzharris confirms that the animals represent Gorey and him. Fitzharris is also clearly more than the lucky witness to a burst of creative genius. He is its muse.

    ‘Pen pal’ or something more?

    Whatever Gorey’s artistic ambitions for the project, it is also a visual diary of sorts: an album of their shared experiences, their common interests and hobbies, and a document of Gorey’s goings-on while they were apart.

    Take, for example, an envelope that depicts the canine duo standing amid a vast assemblage of blue bottles, with Fitzharris’ address displayed as labels.

    “All the blue bottles are a recollection of a window full of them in one of the antique shops I stopped in after you left that Sunday,” Gorey wrote in the accompanying letter. “The sun coming through them is not reproducible, at least by me.”

    In the same letter, Gorey struggles to convey the depth of his feeling upon receiving a recent letter from Fitzharris.

    “I used to maintain that if it couldn’t be put into words it didn’t exist; if anything I believe rather the opposite now. All of which is rather a strangled attempt to say that I appreciated your letter of the 23rd very much, but that I don’t know how to say so directly. Yes.”

    What did Fitzharris’ letter say that moved Gorey so much? What is the meaning of his singular, elliptical “yes”? Is it simply stylistic? Or is it a response?

    We’ll likely never know. But evidently whatever Fitzharris said moved him deeply.

    There are other poignant scenes. In his notes to “From Ted to Tom,” Fitzharris takes credit for introducing Gorey to the French phrase “heure bleue,” which translates to “the blue hour” and refers to the time of day just after the sun sets. Gorey’s delight is reflected in a lovely scene of quiet companionship.

    Tom and Ted stand at a low fence or porch railing, sharing drinks and gazing up at a darkening sky as dusk settles over thick foliage. For once leaving nothing to the imagination, he inscribes “HEURE BLEUE” next to the image in thick, bold letters – a rare act of captioning.

    This unusual relative directness continues into the accompanying letter. Though he can hardly bear admitting it, Gorey describes their recent visit as “a happy day,” immediately qualifying the comment as a “revolting phrase.”

    One “cannot help but think how seldom in life one knows one is having one at the time,” he continues. The phrasing is somewhat innocuous. But I wonder how much pleasure Gorey must have felt – and how strong his need to convey it must have been – to overcome the force of his “revulsion.”

    This push and pull between attraction to one another and repulsion at one’s own spontaneous emotion supplies the dynamism that make the drawings in “From Ted to Tom” so compelling.

    Despite this powerful current, Fitzharris, who is credited as the book’s editor, leaves the topic of Gorey’s sexuality untouched in both his introduction to the book and its end notes, where he provides a guide to some of the personal and cultural references in Gorey’s drawings and letters. The book’s back cover refers to Fitzharris as the artist’s “pen pal.”

    Denied access to the underlying details driving this dynamism, the reader loses the chance to reflect on the source of this electrical current, its impact on his art, and how Gorey’s struggles with intimacy and desire, which are all too universal, were also undoubtedly shaped by the challenge of being gay in a deeply homophobic society.

    Rather than limiting the understanding of his work, accounting for Gorey’s queerness invites viewers of his art and readers of his work into deeper communion with the artist – and themselves.

    Elizabeth Wolfson 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. A new book of Edward Gorey’s drawings shows what’s lost when the artist’s sexuality is glossed over – https://theconversation.com/a-new-book-of-edward-goreys-drawings-shows-whats-lost-when-the-artists-sexuality-is-glossed-over-257938

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Conflicted, disillusioned, disengaged: The unsettled center of Jewish student opinion after Oct. 7

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jonathan Krasner, Associate Professor of Jewish Education Research, Brandeis University

    Pro-Palestinian students pass the flag of Israel while walking out of commencement in protest at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on May 30, 2024. AP Photo/Charles Krupa

    As commencement season comes to a close, many campuses remain riven by the Israel-Hamas war. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the undergraduate class president was banned from walking at her graduation after delivering a fiery – and unauthorized – speech accusing her school of complicity in Israel’s campaign to “wipe out Palestine off the face of the earth.” Anti-Israel protests broke out at graduation ceremonies across the United States, from Columbia to the University of California at Berkeley.

    Since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack and Israel’s retaliatory invasion of Gaza, many American campuses have been punctuated by vigils, demonstrations and disruptions. But the loudest voices aren’t necessarily the most representative. Activists’ pronouncements on either side fail to capture the range of student opinion about the war and its reverberations at home, including the documented rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia.

    This is certainly true for Jewish students – buffeted by the war, the hostage crisis, campus protests and federal politics. Since January 2025, the Trump administration has used campus antisemitism and anti-Zionism as a pretext to assault higher education and implement hard-line immigration policies.

    Indeed, one of the most striking findings of my study
    on Jewish undergraduate attitudes, published in May 2025, is how many students described themselves as conflicted, uncertain, disaffected and even detached. Interviews across the country convinced my research team that any attempt to gauge Jewish student opinion with either/or categories are reductive and misleading.

    Moving beyond numbers

    In the wake of Oct. 7, my office hours quickly became a refuge for distraught Jewish students as they processed their thoughts. Few were content with pat answers.

    Students at USC attend a vigil on Oct. 10, 2023, days after Hamas’ attack on Israel.
    Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

    I began wondering how representative they were. Tufts researchers Eitan Hersh and Dahlia Lyss found that since Oct. 7, more students were valuing and prioritizing their Jewish identities, even while an increased number were hiding their Jewishness on campus.

    My Brandeis colleagues Graham Wright, Leonard Saxe and their research team, meanwhile, found that a clear majority of Jewish students said they felt a connection to Israel but were sharply divided in their views of its government. While most considered statements calling for the country’s destruction to be antisemitic, they differed about where to draw the line between reasonable and illegitimate criticisms of Israel.

    These findings were instructive. But I was interested in learning more about the “how” and the “why” behind the numbers. Over the spring 2024 semester, my team and I interviewed 38 students on 24 campuses across 16 states and the District of Columbia. Participants reflected the broad religious, political, economic, geographical, sexual and racial diversity within the American Jewish population, particularly among Jews under 30. Some of the campuses were relatively placid; others were hotbeds of protest.

    The ‘missing middle’

    As my team analyzed transcripts, we identified six categories.

    About one-third of the Jewish students we spoke with were actively engaged on either side of the conflict, whether through demonstrations or online advocacy. “Affirmed” students’ connection to Israel deepened after Oct. 7. “Aggrieved” students, on the other hand, had joined anti-war protests and voiced anger at Jewish organizations for ignoring Israel’s culpability for Palestinian suffering.

    Many more of our participants, however, were ambivalent, despondent or even apathetic. As journalist Arno Rosenfeld put it in an article about my research, the majority of Jewish students inhabit a “great missing middle” in Israeli-Palestinian discourse.

    Two-thirds of the students we spoke with are in this “missing middle,” divided into four categories:

    • “Conflicted” students were inconclusively grappling with the moral and political complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
    • “Disillusioned” students struggled to reconcile their sentimental attachment to Israel with their disappointment – their sense that the country betrayed its own values in its treatment of Palestinians.
    • “Retrenched” students turned inward, fearful of being identified as Jewish on campuses they perceived as hostile to Jews.
    • The last category, “disengaged” students, were detached or actively steering clear of controversy.
    Students gather at the University of Maryland to celebrate Hanukkah with a menorah lighting ceremony in 2007.
    Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images

    Out of the fray

    The most straightforward of these categories is the “disengaged” students. Some, like Bella, on the West Coast – all of the names in this article are pseudonyms – knew little about the conflict before the war. What they learned since convinced them it was unsolvable and that they were powerless to promote change.

    The distance that some students felt from events in Israel and Gaza made it all the more baffling and odious to them when peers protested in ways that implied Jewish Americans were complicit.

    “I’m not personally doing anything,” complained Salem, a first-year student in the Midwest. “I don’t have anything to do with this.”

    Students whom we classified as “retrenched” reported anxiety, loss of sleep and a sense of isolation. Many of them were concerned that rejecting Zionism – that is, the movement supporting the creation and preservation of Israel as a national homeland for the Jewish people – had become a litmus test in their progressive circles. That was untenable for these students, because they viewed Zionism as a constituent part of being Jewish.

    Interviewees like Jack, a junior in the Pacific Northwest, spoke of removing their Star of David necklaces and censoring elements of their biography, because they perceived a social penalty for being Jewish.

    Since the start of the war, more students have said they try to hide their Jewish identity at times.
    Maor Winetrob/iStock via Getty Images

    Rejecting simple narratives

    By far, the largest group of Jewish students were struggling with mixed feelings about the war and its reverberations. What united these “conflicted” or “disillusioned” students was wariness of grand narratives and talking points that reduce the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a contest between good and evil, or the powerful and the powerless. They also eschewed labels such as “Zionist” or “anti-Zionist,” saying they lacked nuance.

    Consider Elana, a “conflicted” sophomore in the mid-Atlantic, who told us she was uncomfortable in most Jewish spaces on campus because they effectively demanded that she declare her Israel politics at the door. It seemed to her that activists on both sides were more comfortable retreating into echo chambers than engaging in dialogue across differences.

    Then there was Shira, a “disillusioned” first year in the Midwest who viewed Israeli-Palestinian coexistence, however implausible, as the only alternative to mutual destruction. She refused to participate in anti-war demonstrations on her campus because she couldn’t abide the organizers’ confrontational tactics – but also to avoid blowback from pro-Israel family and friends.

    Students from Bowdoin College light Shabbat candles during a visit to Shaarey Tphiloh Synagogue in Portland, Maine, in 2011.
    Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

    ‘Safe spaces’ and ‘groupthink’

    One unambiguous finding from our study was how often our interviewees used language prevalent in progressive discourse. They spoke repeatedly about the importance of “safe spaces,” and felt that listeners’ understandings mattered more than speakers’ intentions when evaluating “hate speech” and “microaggressions.”

    Leo, a “conflicted” junior in the Deep South who uses they/them pronouns, acknowledged that some protesters who chant slogans such as “Free Palestine” and “Globalize the Intifada” may not recognize how many Jewish students interpret them: as antisemitic calls for Israel’s destruction. But that was no excuse, they insisted. “What I’ve noticed is that the people who are at those demonstrations have created their own definition of antisemitism,” without input from the vast majority of Jews – something progressive protesters would not have stood for if another racial, religious or ethnic minority were being discussed.

    The use of provocative and arguably antisemitic language was responsible for keeping Jews like Leo and Shira, who evinced deep sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians, from joining the protests.

    Fundamentally, however, many of the Jewish students we spoke with said they’d welcome opportunities to discuss the war and the broader conflict. But the “groupthink” on campus was stifling, they complained, whether in Hillel centers that toe a reflexively pro-Israel line or student organizations that demand unquestioned buy-in to a set of progressive orthodoxies.

    Joe, a “disillusioned” student in New England who just received his diploma two weeks ago, reflected, “When my friends complain that the ‘Free Palestine’ stickers on my campus are antisemitic, I think they just don’t want to be uncomfortable.” Discomfort can be productive, he added – as long as it is expressed in an environment that values intellectual risk-taking, dialogue across difference, and empathy.

    Research discussed in this article was sponsored by the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University.

    – ref. Conflicted, disillusioned, disengaged: The unsettled center of Jewish student opinion after Oct. 7 – https://theconversation.com/conflicted-disillusioned-disengaged-the-unsettled-center-of-jewish-student-opinion-after-oct-7-257521

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Sleep loss rewires the brain for cravings and weight gain – a neurologist explains the science behind the cycle

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, Associate Professor of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh

    Getting enough sleep is one of the most effective ways to restore metabolic balance in the brain and body. SimpleImages/Moment via Getty Images

    You stayed up too late scrolling through your phone, answering emails or watching just one more episode. The next morning, you feel groggy and irritable. That sugary pastry or greasy breakfast sandwich suddenly looks more appealing than your usual yogurt and berries. By the afternoon, chips or candy from the break room call your name. This isn’t just about willpower. Your brain, short on rest, is nudging you toward quick, high-calorie fixes.

    There is a reason why this cycle repeats itself so predictably. Research shows that insufficient sleep disrupts hunger signals, weakens self-control, impairs glucose metabolism and increases your risk of weight gain. These changes can occur rapidly, even after a single night of poor sleep, and can become more harmful over time if left unaddressed.

    I am a neurologist specializing in sleep science and its impact on health.

    Sleep deprivation affects millions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of U.S. adults regularly get less than seven hours of sleep per night. Nearly three-quarters of adolescents fall short of the recommended 8-10 hours sleep during the school week.

    While anyone can suffer from sleep loss, essential workers and first responders, including nurses, firefighters and emergency personnel, are especially vulnerable due to night shifts and rotating schedules. These patterns disrupt the body’s internal clock and are linked to increased cravings, poor eating habits and elevated risks for obesity and metabolic disease. Fortunately, even a few nights of consistent, high-quality sleep can help rebalance key systems and start to reverse some of these effects.

    How sleep deficits disrupt hunger hormones

    Your body regulates hunger through a hormonal feedback loop involving two key hormones.

    Ghrelin, produced primarily in the stomach, signals that you are hungry, while leptin, which is produced in the fat cells, tells your brain that you are full. Even one night of restricted sleep increases the release of ghrelin and decreases leptin, which leads to greater hunger and reduced satisfaction after eating. This shift is driven by changes in how the body regulates hunger and stress. Your brain becomes less responsive to fullness signals, while at the same time ramping up stress hormones that can increase cravings and appetite.

    These changes are not subtle. In controlled lab studies, healthy adults reported increased hunger and stronger cravings for calorie-dense foods after sleeping only four to five hours. The effect worsens with ongoing sleep deficits, which can lead to a chronically elevated appetite.

    Sleep is as important as diet and exercise in maintaining a healthy weight.

    Why the brain shifts into reward mode

    Sleep loss changes how your brain evaluates food.

    Imaging studies show that after just one night of sleep deprivation, the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making and impulse control, has reduced activity. At the same time, reward-related areas such as the amygdala and the nucleus accumbens, a part of the brain that drives motivation and reward-seeking, become more reactive to tempting food cues.

    In simple terms, your brain becomes more tempted by junk food and less capable of resisting it. Participants in sleep deprivation studies not only rated high-calorie foods as more desirable but were also more likely to choose them, regardless of how hungry they actually felt.

    Your metabolism slows, leading to increased fat storage

    Sleep is also critical for blood sugar control.

    When you’re well rested, your body efficiently uses insulin to move sugar out of your bloodstream and into your cells for energy. But even one night of partial sleep can reduce insulin sensitivity by up to 25%, leaving more sugar circulating in your blood.

    If your body can’t process sugar effectively, it’s more likely to convert it into fat. This contributes to weight gain, especially around the abdomen. Over time, poor sleep is associated with higher risk for Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, a group of health issues such as high blood pressure, belly fat and high blood sugar that raise the risk for heart disease and diabetes.

    On top of this, sleep loss raises cortisol, your body’s main stress hormone. Elevated cortisol encourages fat storage, especially in the abdominal region, and can further disrupt appetite regulation.

    Sleep is your metabolic reset button

    In a culture that glorifies hustle and late nights, sleep is often treated as optional. But your body doesn’t see it that way. Sleep is not downtime. It is active, essential repair. It is when your brain recalibrates hunger and reward signals, your hormones reset and your metabolism stabilizes.

    Just one or two nights of quality sleep can begin to undo the damage from prior sleep loss and restore your body’s natural balance.

    So the next time you find yourself reaching for junk food after a short night, recognize that your biology is not failing you. It is reacting to stress and fatigue. The most effective way to restore balance isn’t a crash diet or caffeine. It’s sleep.

    Sleep is not a luxury. It is your most powerful tool for appetite control, energy regulation and long-term health.

    Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse 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. Sleep loss rewires the brain for cravings and weight gain – a neurologist explains the science behind the cycle – https://theconversation.com/sleep-loss-rewires-the-brain-for-cravings-and-weight-gain-a-neurologist-explains-the-science-behind-the-cycle-255726

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Most Americans believe misinformation is a problem — federal research cuts will only make the problem worse

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By H. Colleen Sinclair, Associate Research Professor of Social Psychology, Louisiana State University

    Americans say the government and social media companies need to do something about misinformation and disinformation. Boris Zhitkov/Getty Images

    Research on misinformation and disinformation has become the latest casualty of the Trump administration’s restructuring of federal research priorities.

    Following President Donald Trump’s executive order on “ending federal censorship,” the National Science Foundation canceled hundreds of grants that supported research on misinformation and disinformation.

    Misinformation refers to misleading narratives shared by people unaware that content is false. Disinformation is deliberately generated and shared misleading content, when the sharer knows the narrative is suspect.

    The overwhelming majority of Americans – 95% – believe misinformation’s misleading narratives are a problem.

    Americans also believe that consumers, the government and social media companies need to do something about it. Defunding research on misinformation and disinformation is, thus, the opposite of what Americans want. Without research, the ability to combat misleading narratives will be impaired.

    The attack on misleading narrative research

    Trump’s executive order claims that the Biden administration used research on misleading narratives to limit social media companies’ free speech.

    The Supreme Court had already rejected this claim in a 2024 case.

    Still, Trump and GOP politicians continue to demand disinformation researchers defend themselves, including in the March 2025 “censorship industrial complex” hearings, which explored alleged government censorship under the Biden administration.

    The U.S. State Department, additionally, is soliciting all communications between government offices and disinformation researchers for evidence of censorship.

    Trump’s executive order to “restore free speech,” the hearings and the State Department decision all imply that those conducting misleading narrative research are enemies of the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech.

    These actions have already led to significant problems – death threats and harassment included – for disinformation researchers, particularly women.

    So let’s tackle what research on misinformation and disinformation is and isn’t.

    Misleading content

    Misinformation and disinformation researchers examine the sources of misleading content. They also study the spread of that content. And they investigate ways to reduce its harmful impacts.

    For instance, as a social psychologist who studies disinformation and misinformation, I examine the nature of misleading content. I study and then share information about the manipulation tactics used by people who spread disinformation to influence others. My aim is to better inform the public about how to protect themselves from deception.

    Sharing this information is free speech, not barring free speech.

    Yet, some think this research leads to censorship when platforms choose to use the knowledge to label or remove suspect content or ban its primary spreaders. That’s what U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan argued in launching investigations in 2023 into disinformation research.

    It is important to note, however, that the constitutional definition of censorship establishes that only the government – not citizens or businesses – can be censors.

    So private companies have the right to make their own decisions about the content they put on their platforms.

    Trump’s own platform, Truth Social, bans certain material such as “sexual content and explicit language,” but also anything moderators deem as trying to “trick, defraud, or mislead us and other users.” Yet, 75% of the conspiracy theories shared on the platform come from Trump’s account.

    Further, both Trump and Elon Musk, self-proclaimed free speech advocates, have been accused of squelching content on their platforms that is critical of them.

    Musk claimed the suppression of accounts on X was a result of the site’s algorithm reducing “the reach of a user if they’re frequently blocked or muted by other, credible users.” Truth Social representatives claim accounts were banned due to “bot mitigation” procedures, and authentic accounts may be reinstated if their classification as inauthentic was invalid.

    Research shows that conservatives are more susceptible to misinformation than liberals.
    klevo/Getty Images

    Is it censorship?

    Republicans say social media companies have been biased against their content, censoring it or banning conservatives unfairly.

    The “censorship industrial complex” hearings held by the House Foreign Affairs South and Central Asia Subcommittee were based on the premise that not only was misleading narrative research part of the alleged “censorship industrial complex,” but that it was focused on conservative voices.

    But there isn’t evidence to support this assertion.

    Research from 2020 shows that conservative voices are amplified on social media networks.

    When research does show that conservative authors have posts labeled or removed, or that their accounts are suspended at higher rates than liberal content, it also reveals that it is because conservative posts are significantly more likely to share misinformation than liberal posts.

    This was found in a recent study of X users. Researchers tracked whose posts got tagged as false or misleading more in “community notes” – X’s alternative and Meta’s proposed alternative to fact checking – and it was conservative posts, because they were more likely to include false content than liberal posts.

    Furthermore, an April 2025 study shows conservatives are more susceptible to misleading content and more likely to be targeted by it than liberals.

    Misleading America

    Those accusing misleading narrative researchers of censorship misrepresent the nature and intent of the research and researchers. And they are using disinformation tactics to do so.

    Here’s how.

    The misleading information about censorship and bias has been repeated so much through the media and from political leaders, as evident in Trump’s executive order, that many Republicans believe it’s true. This repetition produces what psychologists call the illusory truth effect, where as few as three repetitions convince the human mind something is true.

    Researchers have also identified a tactic known as “accusation in a mirror.” That’s when someone falsely accuses one’s perceived opponents of conducting, plotting or desiring to commit the same transgressions that one plans to commit or is already committing.

    So censorship accusations from an administration that is removing books from libraries, erasing history from monuments and websites, and deleting data archives constitute “accusations in a mirror.”

    Other tactics include “accusation by anecdote.” When strong evidence is in short supply, people who spread disinformation point repeatedly to individual stories – sometimes completely fabricated – that are exceptions to, and not representative of, the larger reality.

    Facts on fact-checking

    Similar anecdotal attacks are used to try to dismiss fact-checkers, whose conclusions can identify and discredit disinformation, leading to its tagging or removal from social media. This is done by highlighting an incident where fact-checkers “got it wrong.”

    These attacks on fact-checking come despite the fact that many of those most controversial decisions were made by platforms, not fact-checkers.

    Indeed, fact-checking does work to reduce the transmission of misleading content.

    Research shows little bias in choice of who is fact-checked.
    Liudmila Chernetska/Getty Images

    In studies of the perceived effectiveness of professional fact-checkers versus algorithms and everyday users, fact-checkers are rated the most effective.

    When Republicans do report distrust of fact-checkers, it’s because they perceive the fact-checkers are biased. Yet research shows little bias in choice of who is fact-checked, just that prominent and prolific speakers get checked more.

    When shown fact-checking results of specific posts, even conservatives often agree the right decision was made.

    Seeking solutions

    Account bans or threats of account suspensions may be more effective than fact-checks at stopping the flow of misinformation, but they are also more controversial. They are considered more akin to censorship than fact-check labels.

    Misinformation research would benefit from identifying solutions that conservatives and liberals agree on.

    Examples include giving people the option, like on social media platform Bluesky, to turn misinformation moderation on or off.

    But Trump’s executive order seeks to ban that research. Thus, instead of providing protections, the order will likely weaken Americans’ defenses.

    H. Colleen Sinclair receives funding from a variety of government and foundation sources. The statements and opinions included in this The Conversation article are solely the author’s. Any statements and opinions included in these pages are not those of the Social Research and Evaluation Center, the College of Human Sciences & Education, the Louisiana State University, or the LSU Board of Supervisors.

    – ref. Most Americans believe misinformation is a problem — federal research cuts will only make the problem worse – https://theconversation.com/most-americans-believe-misinformation-is-a-problem-federal-research-cuts-will-only-make-the-problem-worse-255355

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is Mars really red? A physicist explains the planet’s reddish hue and why it looks different to some telescopes

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By David Joffe, Associate Professor of Physics, Kennesaw State University

    Siccar Point, photographed by the Curiosity rover, is near Mars’ Gale Crater. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS; Processing & License: Kevin M. Gill

    Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

    Is Mars really as red as people say it is? – Jasmine, age 14, Everson, Washington

    People from cultures across the world have been looking at Mars since ancient times. Because it appears reddish, it has often been called the red planet.

    The English name for the planet comes from the Romans, who named it after their god of war because its color reminded them of blood. In reality, the reddish color of Mars comes from iron oxide in the rocks and dust covering its surface.

    Your blood is also red because of a mixture of iron and oxygen in a molecule called hemoglobin. So in a way, the ancient connection between the planet Mars and blood wasn’t completely wrong. Rust, which is a common form of iron oxide found here on Earth, also often has a reddish color.

    Iron oxide, found in rust on old metal machinery, is the compound that colors rocks and dust on Mars’ surface reddish brown.
    Lars Hammar/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA

    In my current research on exoplanets, I observe different types of signals from planets beyond Earth. Lots of interesting physics goes into how researchers perceive the colors of planets and stars through different types of telescopes.

    Observing Mars with probes

    If you look closely at pictures of Mars taken by rovers on its surface, you can see that most of the planet isn’t purely red, but more of a rusty brown or tan color.

    You can see Mars’ rusty color in this photo taken by the Viking lander.
    NASA/JPL

    Probes sent from Earth have taken pictures showing rocks with a rusty color. A 1976 picture from the Viking lander, the very first spacecraft to land on Mars, shows the Martian ground covered with a layer of rusty orange dust.

    Not all of Mars’ surface has the same color. At the poles, its ice caps appear white. These ice caps contain frozen water, like the ice we usually find on Earth, but these ice caps are also covered by a layer of frozen carbon dioxide – dry ice.

    This layer of dry ice can evaporate very quickly when sunlight shines on it and grows back again when it becomes dark. This process causes the white ice caps to grow and shrink in size depending on the Martian seasons.

    This picture from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the planet with the same rusty color covering large parts of its surface.
    NASA, ESA, Zolt G. Levay (STScI)

    Beyond visible light

    Mars also gives off light in colors that you can’t see with your eyes but that scientists can measure with special cameras on telescopes.

    Light itself can be thought of not only as a wave but also as a stream of particles called photons. The amount of energy carried by each photon is related to its color. For example, blue and violet photons have more energy than orange and red photons.

    The rainbow of visible light that you can see is only a small slice of all the kinds of light. Some telescopes can detect light with a longer wavelength, such as infrared light, or light with a shorter wavelength, such as ultraviolet light. Others can detect X-rays or radio waves.
    Inductiveload, NASA/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    Ultraviolet photons have even more energy than the photons you can see with your eyes. These photons are found in direct sunlight, and because they have so much energy, they can damage the cells in your body. You can use sunscreen to protect yourself from them.

    Infrared photons have less energy than the photons you can see with your eyes, and you don’t need any special protection from them. This is how some types of night-vision goggles work: They can see light in the infrared spectrum as well as the visible color spectrum. Scientists can take pictures of Mars in the infrared spectrum using special cameras that work almost like night-vision goggles for telescopes.

    The Hubble Space Telescope could take pictures in both visible light and infrared light.
    NASA, James Bell (Cornell University), Justin Maki (NASA-JPL), Mike J. Wolff (SSI)

    The colors on the infrared picture aren’t really what the infrared light looks like, because you can’t see those colors with your eyes. They are called “false colors,” and researchers add them to look at the picture more easily.

    When you compare the visible color picture and the infrared picture, you can see some of the same features – and the ice caps are visible in both sets of colors.

    A UV view of Mars with the MAVEN spacecraft.
    NASA/LASP/CU Boulder

    NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft, launched in 2013, has even taken pictures with ultraviolet light, giving scientists a different view of both the surface of Mars and its atmosphere.

    Each new type of picture tells scientists more about the Martian landscape. They hope to use these details to answer questions about how Mars formed, how long it had active volcanoes, where its atmosphere came from and whether it had liquid water on its surface.

    Astronomers are always looking for new ways to take telescope pictures outside of the regular visible spectrum. They can even make images using radio waves, microwaves, X-rays and gamma rays. Each part of the spectrum they can use to look at an object in space represents new information they can learn from.

    Even though people have been looking at Mars since ancient times, we still have much to learn about this fascinating neighbor.

    Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.

    And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

    David Joffe receives funding from the NASA Office of STEM Engagement through a grant from the Georgia Space Grant Consortium

    – ref. Is Mars really red? A physicist explains the planet’s reddish hue and why it looks different to some telescopes – https://theconversation.com/is-mars-really-red-a-physicist-explains-the-planets-reddish-hue-and-why-it-looks-different-to-some-telescopes-256398

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Join us in Newcastle to discuss youth, masculinity and the political divide

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Grace Allen, Education and Young People Editor

    Mounir Taha/Shutterstock

    When the Netflix series Adolescence hit TV screens in March this year, its depiction of boyhood, violence and online misogyny sparked debates across the UK and beyond.

    As Young People editor at The Conversation, I knew that these were topics that academics who write for us had been building their expertise on for years. The many articles we’ve published include how parents can talk to their children about the “manosphere”, the world of hypermasculine influencers, how hustle culture plays into ideas of male self worth and what girls have to say about all this.

    At the charity Cumberland Lodge, with whom I’ve collaborated in the past, the young people who make up their Youth and Democracy network had thoughts, too. And the points they’ve raised have a huge overlap with some of the nuance brought up by our experts.

    How much is social media actually to blame for rising misogyny? Are influencers exploiting uncertainty left by a shift away from traditional gender roles? Do young people lack the knowledge and the opportunity to discuss these issues? How does class play a role? And is a culture of blame and a fear of doing harm stopping boys and young men from being part of the solution?

    It seemed obvious that we should get everyone together to talk about this – young people giving their perspective, and academic researchers offering theirs. And we’d like you to join the discussion, too. At Newcastle University on Thursday July 3, I’ll be talking to experts and contributors to The Conversation Sophie Lively and Michael Joseph Richardson, along with young people from Cumberland Lodge’s Youth and Democracy project.

    We’d love to see you there. You can get your ticket here.

    • Date: Thursday, July 3
    • Time: 6:00pm – 8:30pm
    • Location: Old Library Building, Newcastle University, NE1 7RG
    • Tickets: Tickets cost £10 (£5 concessions) including light refreshments, and can be booked here.

    – ref. Join us in Newcastle to discuss youth, masculinity and the political divide – https://theconversation.com/join-us-in-newcastle-to-discuss-youth-masculinity-and-the-political-divide-258932

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: SSK GUU: the gold standard of student sports

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    The verification of applications in the system of events for the development of student sports clubs “Certification”, organized by the Association of Student Sports Clubs of Russia (ASSC of Russia), has been completed.

    Based on the results of the assessment, the GUU Student Sports Club took the leading position, receiving the highest “gold” certification status and ahead of well-known Moscow universities, which received “silver”.

    It is worth noting that out of 191 sports clubs throughout Russia, only 21 clubs were awarded the “gold” status, which emphasizes the high level of achievements of the SSC GUU.

    And this victory would not have been possible without the active participation of students, activists and athletes. Let us continue to maintain this high level together.

    Subscribe to Vkontakte and Telegram of the SSK GUU to stay up to date with all the events and get to know the mascot of the GUU better.

    The full final table and certification criteria are available at the link: vk.cc/cMLZRv.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: Gebbia Media Launches New Sports Division, Expanding Support for Elite Athletes Beyond the Game

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK and MIAMI, June 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gebbia Media, a wholly owned subsidiary of Siebert Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: SIEB), has announced the launch of its Sports Division. The new group will focus on serving the unique needs of elite and professional athletes, offering a comprehensive platform that combines financial education, wealth management, tax planning, and strategic support for long-term success.

    At launch, the division has signed several standout NCAA athletes from top programs and universities, including TCU, Villanova, University of Washington, BYU, and Xavier, among others.

    The initiative will be led by Greg Murphy, a former collegiate basketball player and seasoned financial executive for Alliance Bernstein and Investco, newly appointed President of Sport Division. “I’ve spent years helping institutions scale and grow, but this is different,” said Murphy, “Athletes today are more than sports professionals. They are leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs. We’re here to help them navigate that journey with a full team behind them.”

    In line with Siebert’s Financial growth strategy, Gebbia Media’s Sports Division offering is designed to go beyond what traditional sports agencies offer. With in-house capabilities in marketing, PR, media production, and IP development, Gebbia Media will help athletes elevate their personal brands and unlock new ways to share and monetize their stories. These services are paired with the broader financial platform of Siebert Financial, helping athletes protect and grow their wealth well beyond their playing years, starting with a strong focus on financial literacy and education.

    Richard Gebbia, Co-CEO of Muriel Siebert & Co., LLC., as well as a former Ole Miss Football standout, comments: “We understand what athletes are going through. Our goal is to help them build real value that lasts beyond the game. By welcoming them to our offices and spending time with wealth management and finance professionals, we foster financial learning, protect their earnings, grow their potential, and support their ambitions inside and outside of sports.”

    “Gebbia Media is built to go where traditional finance hasn’t,” said David Gebbia, CEO of Gebbia Media “With the launch of our Sports Division, we’re helping a new generation of athletes learn about and take control of their finances, as well as telling their stories, and building their legacies.”

    The division is led by a team of financial and sports management experts with deep experience in athlete representation, contract negotiation, and NIL monetization. With offices in Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Nashville, and other key locations, the team operates nationwide. Beyond a current roster that includes multi-million dollar deals for several signed athletes, the pipeline is rapidly expanding across both collegiate and professional circuits.

    About Gebbia Media
    Gebbia Media is an artist-first entertainment company focused on the development and promotion of music and sports talent, catalog acquisition, and bold storytelling across film, television, podcasts, and digital media. As a subsidiary of Siebert Financial Corp., Gebbia Media also functions as the in-house production and marketing agency for Siebert and its subsidiaries, creating branded content, advertising strategies, and social media campaigns.

    Driven by the belief that creativity, raw talent, and commercial acumen can birth extraordinary storytelling, Gebbia Media is building a premier media company rooted in cultural impact and financial strategy. By fusing compelling content with financial infrastructure, the company is redefining how audiences are engaged, enhancing financial literacy, expanding market reach, and unlocking new monetization opportunities across platforms. Gebbia Media’s operations span music, sports, and entertainment, creating powerful synergies between culture and commerce within Siebert’s broader ecosystem. More information is available at www.gebbiamedia.com.

    About Siebert Financial Corp.
    Siebert is a diversified financial services company and has been a member of the NYSE since 1967, when Muriel Siebert became the first woman to own a seat on the NYSE and the first to head one of its member firms.

    Siebert operates through its subsidiaries Muriel Siebert & Co., LLC, Siebert AdvisorNXT, LLC, Park Wilshire Companies, Inc., RISE Financial Services, LLC, Siebert Technologies, LLC, and StockCross Digital Solutions, Ltd, and Gebbia Media LLC. Through these entities, Siebert provides a full range of brokerage and financial advisory services, including securities brokerage; investment banking and capital markets services; investment advisory and insurance offerings; securities lending; corporate stock plan administration solutions; in addition to entertainment and media productions. For over 55 years, Siebert has been a company that values its clients, shareholders, and employees. More information is available at www.siebert.com.

    Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
    The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements preceded by, followed by, or that include the words “may,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “estimate,” “target,” “project,” “intend” and similar words or expressions. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections, or other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements.

    These forward-looking statements, which reflect beliefs, objectives, and expectations as of the date hereof, are based on the best judgment of the management of Siebert. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such statements, including, without limitation, the following: economic, social and political conditions, global economic downturns resulting from extraordinary events; securities industry risks; interest rate risks; liquidity risks; credit risk with clients and counterparties; risk of liability for errors in clearing functions; systemic risk; systems failures, delays and capacity constraints; network security risks; competition; reliance on external service providers; new laws and regulations affecting Siebert’s business; net capital requirements; extensive regulation, regulatory uncertainties and legal matters; failure to maintain relationships with employees, customers, business partners or governmental entities; the inability to achieve synergies or to implement integration plans; and other consequences associated with risks and uncertainties detailed in Part I, Item 1A – Risk Factors of Siebert’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and Siebert’s filings with the SEC.

    Siebert cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive, and new factors may emerge, or changes to the foregoing factors may occur that could impact its business. Siebert undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except to the extent required by the federal securities laws.

    Media Contact:
    Deborah Kostroun, Zito Partners
    deborah@zitopartners.com
    +1 (201) 403-8185

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: NANO Nuclear Appoints Experienced Communications and Capital Markets Professional Matthew Barry as Director of Investor Relations

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    New York, N.Y., June 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) (“NANO Nuclear” or “the Company”), a leading advanced nuclear energy and technology company focused on developing clean energy solutions, today announced that Matthew Barry has joined the Company as its Director of Investor Relations.

    As Director of Investor Relations, Matt will spearhead NANO Nuclear’s efforts to connect with and inform its growing retail and institutional investor base and assist with all corporate communication initiatives.

    Matt has over 10 years of experience in accounting, equity research and investor relations at both public and private companies. He began his career at Deloitte, where he audited the financial statements and internal controls of various public and private clients across various industries. Matt served as an equity research analyst at investment banks H.C. Wainwright and Cowen and Company, where he covered an aggregate portfolio of approximately 40 companies across both firms, creating complex financial models and analyzing a wide range of macroeconomic and industry data and trends. He later served as Manager of Investor Relations at Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO), a Nasdaq-listed global capital equipment provider, where he led the investor relations function. At Veeco, he successfully developed an in-house investor targeting program and was instrumental in attracting investment from multiple ideal long-only long-term oriented investors who initiated substantial positions in the company.

    Matt joins NANO Nuclear following the recent addition of Intel technologist and former U.S. Department of Energy Deputy (DOE) Chief Data Officer, Seth Berl, Ph.D. as an independent member in NANO Nuclear’s Board of Directors, and the appointment of former U.S. Secretary of Energy and Texas Gov. Rick Perry as Chair of the NANO Nuclear’s Executive Advisory Board. These quality additions to the team highlight NANO Nuclear’s growing reputation for excellence in advanced nuclear technology and its commitment to strong leadership as it propels its ambitious business plans forward.

    “I feel privileged to join this exciting company, which is not only striving to lead the advanced nuclear technology sector, but has made remarkable achievements so far, including having been the top performing initial public offering in the U.S. in 2024,” said Matthew Barry, Director of Investor Relations of NANO Nuclear. “I firmly believe in NANO Nuclear’s mission, and as we continue our progress, keeping our shareholders fully informed and aligned with our long‑term vision is essential. I’m looking forward to bringing my communications experience and my knowledge of public companies and the equity capital markets to NANO Nuclear at this pivotal time and to work with our energetic leadership team committed to delivering lasting value.”

    Figure 1 – NANO Nuclear Appoints Matthew Barry as its Director of Investor Relations.

    Matt earned his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license in 2017 and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2024. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Master of Science in Taxation from Hofstra University where he received the FEI Top Accounting Student award.

    “I’m very excited to welcome Matt to NANO Nuclear,” said Jay Yu, Founder and Chairman of NANO Nuclear. “His background in accounting, equity research and investor relations gives him a solid understanding of how public companies work and what their investor communities desire in terms of information and outreach. I believe he will be instrumental in strengthening our dialogue with shareholders, whose support has been vital to our success as we pursue our strategic objectives.”

    “Matt aligns perfectly with our commitment to transparent, investor‑focused communication,” said James Walker, Chief Executive Officer of NANO Nuclear. “His capital‑markets expertise will be invaluable as we engage new investors and broaden market awareness. Matt’s appointment underscores our commitment to excellence, and I look forward to collaborating with him.”

    About NANO Nuclear Energy, Inc.

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

    Led by a world-class nuclear engineering team, NANO Nuclear’s reactor products in development include patented KRONOS MMR™Energy System, a stationary high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that is in construction permit pre-application engagement U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in collaboration with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U. of I.), “ZEUS”, a solid core battery reactor, and “ODIN”, a low-pressure coolant reactor, and the space focused, portable LOKI MMR™, each representing advanced developments in clean energy solutions that are portable, on-demand capable, advanced nuclear microreactors.

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

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

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

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

    For further NANO Nuclear information, please contact:

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

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    Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

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

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    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Students of SPbGASU took part in the IV Interuniversity Patriotic Forum “I Love My Homeland”

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    The team of students from St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering “Legal Support” (second year students of the Faculty of Forensic Expertise and Law in Construction and Transport) took part in the IV Inter-University Patriotic Forum “I Love My Homeland”.

    The forum, organized by the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, was held on June 9 at the M. Gorky House of Scientists.

    Our university was represented by Anastasia Abramova (team captain), Elena Samoilova, Alina Bashirova and Anastasia Kochukova under the guidance of Associate Professor of the Department of Legal Regulation of Urban Development and Transport Elena Markova.

    In addition, students from the All-Russian State University of Justice, the Military Institute (Railway Troops and Military Communications), the Russian Customs Academy, other universities, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation also took part in the forum.

    The forum was held in a quiz format. After the teams were introduced, the students answered questions about culture and history, painting, architecture and poetry, Russian cinema, music and composers of our country. The SPbGASU team took fourth place out of nine.

    “The value of such events is that students do not compete with each other when answering questions, but interpersonal communication takes place between cadets, students and their leaders from different educational organizations. The main topic of the event is the Motherland, something that every citizen should know, because patriotism is not only the willingness to defend, but also knowledge of the history of your country. Therefore, we recommend that everyone who has the opportunity participate in such events to remember some of the most important moments in the history of Russia and learn something new,” said Elena Samoylova. “The forum dedicated to the topic of patriotism and love for the Motherland left a vivid impression. The questions raised at the event were different: some seemed easy and obvious, others were deep and thought-provoking. Particularly interesting were the speeches of the forum participants, who touched on the topic of the modern understanding of patriotism and the role of youth in the development of the country. Such events unite people, inspire good deeds,” shared Anastasia Kochukova.

    “The forum became a source of new information and rethinking of already known facts for me. Particularly valuable was the acquaintance with the experience of various public organizations engaged in patriotic education of youth. Information about new projects aimed at preserving cultural heritage and developing civic activity turned out to be useful. It is important that the information presented was not only educational, but also inspiring, motivating to participate in positive changes,” Alina Bashirova is sure.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Eating Your Feelings? A New Study Offers Hope for Emotional Eaters

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Reaching for a pint of ice cream after a hard day can certainly be comforting. But when eating in response to bad feelings rather than physical hunger becomes a pattern, it also becomes a problem.

    Loneke Blackman Carr, assistant professor of nutritional sciences in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, recently published a study in Eating Behaviors demonstrating the feasibility of a novel approach to weight gain prevention that addresses emotional eating. Blackman Carr conducted this work in collaboration with Rachel Goode, an associate professor in the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

    “Emotional eating” can cause weight gain, which can lead to a host of health risks associated with being overweight or obese including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

    “Having that disconnect with physiological hunger can lead to weight gain over time,” Blackman Carr says.

    This work fills an important gap in existing research which has largely ignored the role of weight gain prevention in favor of strategies targeting weight loss.

    “Weight gain prevention is a really important but critically underutilized approach to addressing weight in this country which, we know, is an outstanding prevention challenge for public health,” Blackman Carr says. “Focusing on this intersection of weight gain plus addressing the emotional eating that so many of us deal with, I think could provide a really unique way to improve physical and mental health in the short and long term.”

    Over the course of 12 weeks, 31 participants in the “SATISFY” program engaged in online group sessions with a mental health expert with expertise addressing emotional eating, and clinicians experienced in providing obesity treatment.

    One element of the program focused on appetite awareness.

    “This particular training is really helpful because it is targeted for individuals who are experiencing disordered or emotional eating to help them reduce eating related to that mental state,” Blackman Carr says. “It can help prevent weight gain and really bring people into greater awareness of what their true hunger is [rather than] responding to more of an emotional or mental health need.”

    The other part of the program implemented a proven model focused on healthy lifestyle changes for obesity prevention.

    Participants received digital scales and fitness trackers to record their meals and physical activity.

    Combining appetite awareness training and obesity prevention was a novel advancement in this study.

    The goal of this study was to determine if the intervention was feasible and acceptable to participants and hence, if it could be expanded into a larger study.

    The answer was a clear yes.

    Participants indicated a moderate to high level of satisfaction with the program. Participants’ emotional eating decreased significantly two months after the intervention. More than half – 63% — of participants also achieved weight stabilization at the two-month follow up.

    The next step for this work is to conduct a larger pilot study with a randomized control group.

    “We’re looking to compare the intervention that we did with a control group so we can see what’s the magnitude of all the different changes that we can observe,” Blackman Carr says. “With a larger sample and using more of a randomized approach that’s really the gold standard for science, we can start asking the questions of not only can it work but how does it work?”

    This research was funded by the Office of Research Development at UNC Chappel Hill.

    This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused on Enhancing Health and Well-Being Locally, Nationally, and Globally.

    Follow UConn CAHNR on social media

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Stocking Up on Snacks: How Phytoplankton Prepare for the Future

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Single-cell plants called phytoplankton have a surprising way of remembering conditions in the past to help jump-start their growth in the future, but no one is sure exactly how they do this.

    Researchers, including UConn Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Assistant Professor Colin Kremer, David Anderson of the University of Hawaii, Samuel Fey and Hannah Meier of Reed College, and David Vasseur of Yale University, detail their mechanistic theory of how this phenomenon, known as phenotypic memory, works in phytoplankton in their paper published in PNAS and supported by the National Science Foundation.

    Though small, phytoplankton are hugely important because they make about as much oxygen globally as all of the oxygen-producers we usually think of like trees and grasses, says Kremer. Phytoplankton are abundant in lakes and oceans and besides acting as vital oxygen creators, they also play significant roles in global nutrient cycles and ecosystems, therefore understanding the conditions that impact their productivity is vital.

    “We’re particularly interested in how they are affected by abiotic conditions, like the amount of nutrients available in their environment and temperature, because that influences how quickly they can grow, and where different kinds of species can occur,” says Kremer.

    In recent years, researchers began to realize that predicting phytoplankton growth rates is not as straightforward as simply considering current growing conditions, says Kremer, and that past conditions also play a significant role in current growth through phenotypic memory.

    “We wanted to understand how it’s possible for them to do that,” says Kremer. “They don’t have brains, so how does this past information influence their performance?”

    A mix of green algae and diatoms, two of the major types of phytoplankton investigated in this study, as seen under a microscope. (Photo courtesy of D. Gibson)

    Kremer and his colleagues wanted to dig into this question and develop a mathematical model to help predict the growth of these important organisms. Knowing these details can help predict how quickly phytoplankton populations grow, how they convert solar energy to biomass for food webs or biofuels, and in the case of some species, predict the location and intensity of toxic algal blooms.

    Fey and Meier grew different species of phytoplankton under controlled temperature and light conditions. To manage this, Kremer says he, Vasseur, and Fey built thermal gradient blocks to use space more efficiently while also carefully altering the growing conditions for the many test tubes of phytoplankton they were working with.

    “We grew the phytoplankton in test tubes at different temperatures and then manipulated their past and present conditions by moving the test tubes to different places along that block,” Kremer explains. “Then we measure their growth by looking at how much biomass accumulated over time.”

    In the paper, lead author Anderson detailed the development of a mathematical theory to describe the mechanism of phenotypic memory. He also compared the experimental data to the theoretical model and Kremer says they were excited with how closely the relatively simple model captured the data they collected in the lab.

    “A lot of the work that I do involves trying to develop mathematical and statistical models of how things in ecology work, and very often it’s difficult to fit those mathematical models to experimental data. It’s often a real struggle, and in this case, the model just fit beautifully really early on,” says Kremer.

    “We were initially surprised by how well this model predicted the observed data because it’s relatively simple– but often in ecology, the key is to find the sweet spot between needing to measure and understand dozens of biochemical pathways to obtain an accurate predictions for a single species, versus understanding a few key processes to understand how major groups of organisms will respond to their environment,” says Fey.

    They found that the ability to store nutrients for future biomass production is integral and determines how quickly phytoplankton can grow.

    “The easiest analogy we’ve come up with for this is if you think about a phytoplankton growing in water that’s fairly cold, its ability to grow is fundamentally limited by temperature and its cellular machinery for growth,” says Kremer. “But, for a lot of these phytoplankton, while they’re not growing very quickly, they are still able to take up and store extra nutrients from their environment. It’s like stocking up on snacks and then if their environment warms up, temperature is no longer limiting how quickly they can grow, and they’ve got a ton of snacks, so it supercharges their growth for a period of time.”

    After faster growth in warmer conditions, the phytoplankton’s growth eventually slows down. Once temperatures drop again, their growth also slows since they have run out of snacks.

    “In some instances, we observe phytoplankton being able to perform Herculean feats for a few days. Even though brief, such instances may be matters of life or death for these organisms. For example, our results indicate phenotypic memory can mitigate the downsides of high temperature stress if heatwaves are initiated from cool starting conditions,” says Fey.

    “This nutrient storage or how many snacks they have on hand is a way of carrying over past information about their environmental exposure that then influences how they’re behaving at any given moment in time,” says Kremer.

    To further explore this mechanism, the next steps include measuring the quantities of different nutrients stored over time, says Kremer.

    “We’ve shown there are consistent patterns that are well explained by our new theory for different species of freshwater phytoplankton and one marine phytoplankton. We think it’s likely to be a general mechanism for different phytoplankton, but we’d like to expand how this data is collected. I also think the theory suggests many different things we can now look for in terms of what is happening physiologically within these cells to figure out if it’s the storage of nitrogen or phosphorus, or some other nutrient that drives these patterns,” says Kremer. “When we see differences between species, do they relate to differences in their ability to store nutrients?”

    Other kinds of organisms can store energy and nutrients, not just phytoplankton, and Kremer says they hope if they can begin to understand the dynamics and mechanisms of phenotypic memory in other organisms. These questions become increasingly pressing as the climate changes.

    “Abrupt temperature change has been, and will continue to be, a key experience of life of Earth. This work advances our understanding of how individuals may respond to the types of temperature perturbations that will define the 21st century,” says Fey.

    “Understanding this mechanism lets us make predictions about the consequences [of variability], and that is important,” says Kremer.  “We might be able to improve the predictive ability of ecology for different organisms in environments where temperature and resource levels are starting to become more and more variable.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Next Chapter in Transformative Surgical Care as Mercy Ships and Ministry of Health Prepare for August Return

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

    In partnership with the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Health, international charity Mercy Ships (www.MercyShips.org) is preparing for the next phase of its ongoing mission to deliver free, life-changing surgeries and training for healthcare professionals. This new phase is scheduled to begin in August.

    As part of the preparations, the Global Mercy™ is temporarily leaving Sierra Leone for a planned maintenance period in Cadiz, Spain. The ship will return in August to continue delivering specialised surgical care until the ship departs in June 2026.

    Even after the ship departs, a team on the ground will continue working alongside our partners to strengthen the country’s healthcare workforce and surgical care system through 2030. This aligns with the government’s national priorities to improve access to essential surgical care and strengthen medical capacity.

    Since its initial arrival in Freetown in August 2023, the world’s largest purpose-built civilian hospital ship has provided over 3,630 free surgeries and training for more than 290 healthcare professionals, on board the ship as well as on the ground. Each week, the ship has had between 4 and 8 Sierra Leonean participants receiving on-ship training.   

    Dr. Sandra Lako, Mercy Ships Country Director for Sierra Leone, said: “We look forward to the ship’s return in August as we continue to partner with the Ministry of Health and the University of Sierra Leone to strengthen surgical care. Even after the ship departs in 2026, our agreement with the government underscores a shared commitment to lasting impact through 2030. We’re already witnessing the ripple effect of this sustained partnership in action.”

    When the Global Mercy returns in August 2025, this will mark the charity’s third consecutive field service in Sierra Leone and its eighth visit to the country since 1992, reinforcing a long-standing partnership aimed at improving access to safe surgical care for those who need it most.

    The Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, said: “Our partnership with Mercy Ship has been truly life-transforming for the people of this country. As a government, we are very proud of the significant contributions they are making in improving access to free surgical services as well as improving capacity of the health workforce through training. We look forward to the next field service and we will provide all the support necessary to make more Sierra Leoneans benefit from their assistance.”

    Mercy Ships will continue working alongside the University of Sierra Leone to support the delivery of the nurse anaesthesia diploma course, helping to address the country’s current shortage of anaesthesia providers. The long-term aim is for this program to be fully led by Sierra Leonean faculty to ensure a sustainable increase in qualified professionals.

    In addition, Mercy Ships is continuing to partner with the Connaught Hospital in the Safer Surgery programme, which has an emphasis on strengthening surgical teams and working towards measurable improvements in patient care.

    Support for dental education will continue through the sponsorship of Sierra Leonean dental students studying at Gamal Abdel Nasser University in Guinea, in partnership with the University of Sierra Leone.

    – on behalf of Mercy Ships.

    For more information about Mercy Ships, contact:
    Sophie Barnett
    Mercy Ships Senior Manager of International PR
    international.media@mercyships.org

    About Mercy Ships:  
    Mercy Ships operates hospital ships that deliver free surgeries and other healthcare services to those with little access to safe medical care. An international faith-based organization, Mercy Ships has focused entirely on partnering with African nations for the past three decades. Working with in-country partners, Mercy Ships also provides training to local healthcare professionals and supports the construction of in-country medical infrastructure to leave a lasting impact. Each year, more than 2,500 volunteer professionals from over 60 countries serve on board the world’s two largest non-governmental hospital ships, the Africa Mercy and the Global Mercy. Professionals such as surgeons, dentists, nurses, health trainers, cooks, and engineers dedicate their time and skills to accelerate access to safe surgical and anesthetic care. Mercy Ships was founded in 1978 and has offices in 16 countries as well as an Africa Service Center in Dakar, Senegal. For more information, visit www.MercyShips.org and follow @ MercyShips on social media.  

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    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Trade in a mythical fish is threatening real species of rays that are rare and at risk

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By James Marcus Drymon, Associate Extension Professor in Marine Fisheries Ecology, Mississippi State University

    These ‘pez diablo,’ or devil fish, are actually guitarfishes that have been caught, killed, dried and carved into exotic shapes. Bryan Huerta-Beltrán, CC BY-ND

    From the Loch Ness monster to Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, to the jackalope of the U.S. West, mythical animals have long captured human imagination.

    Some people are so fascinated with mythical creatures that they create their own, either working from pure fantasy or by modifying real animals. In a newly published study, we show that in countries such as Mexico, people are catching, drying and shaping guitarfishes – members of the rhino ray family, one of the most threatened groups of marine fishes – to create mythical specimens called “pez diablo,” or devil fish.

    Depending on where these curios are sold, they might also be referred to as Jenny Hanivers, garadiávolos or rayas chupacabras. The origin and meaning of the term “Jenny Haniver” is unclear, but the most accepted explanation is “Jeune d’Anvers,” or “young girl from Antwerp” in French.

    We found that pez diablo are made for many reasons, including as curios for the tourist trade and as purported cures for cancer, arthritis and anemia. Some are simply used for hoaxes. Regardless, the pez diablo trade could threaten the survival of guitarfishes.

    Young guitarfishes on display at the New England Aquarium in Boston.

    Fishy talismans

    Skates and rays, including guitarfishes, are flat-bodied fishes related to sharks and are found worldwide. Together, they make up a group known as elasmobranchs, which are characterized by their unique skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone like most other fishes.

    Skates have long been used to craft mythical creatures. The earliest known examples date back to 1558 in Europe, where they were fashioned to resemble dragons. These objects were thought to offer pathways to the divine or medicinal cures.

    In the mid-20th century, dried guitarfishes emerged as a new generation of mythical creatures. This may be because their unique shape can be fashioned into more humanlike forms. Their long nostrils, which are positioned just above their mouths, can resemble eyes.

    The ‘eyes’ of these dried guitarfishes are actually nostrils on top of the fishes’ long, pointed snouts.
    Bryan Huerta-Beltrán, CC BY-ND

    The first known case of a modified guitarfish was described in 1933. Since then, specimens have made their way into museums, and dozens of North American newspapers have published stories featuring modified guitarfishes.

    A real and endangered fish

    Guitarfishes are one of the most threatened vertebrate groups on the planet: Without careful management, they are at risk of global extinction. As many as two-thirds of all guitarfishes are classified as threatened on the IUCN Red List, a global inventory that assesses extinction risks to wild species.

    Guitarfishes are found in warm temperate and tropical oceans around the world. Fishers target them as an inexpensive source of protein. Guitarfishes may also be caught accidentally or collected live for the aquarium trade.

    Ultimately, however, these species are worth more as pez diablo than for other uses. For example, an entire fresh guitarfish in Mexico is worth approximately US$2, whereas guitarfish that have been killed, dried and carved into pez diablo can be worth anywhere from $50–$500 on eBay and other e-commerce sites.

    Curbing the pez diablo trade

    Internationally, the guitarfish trade is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement between governments. This agreement requires member countries to manage guitarfish trade across international borders.

    Most countries where guitarfishes occur, however, do not have national regulations to protect these species. As a result, people who create or sell pez diablo are likely unaware that these fishes are threatened.

    There are as many as 37 species of guitarfish, some of which are at higher risk of extinction than others. Yet to the untrained eye, it can be hard to distinguish one guitarfish species from another. It’s especially hard to identify dried and mutilated guitarfishes that have been processed into pez diablo and look very different from their natural form.

    An intact guitarfish, left, and a carved, dried version.
    Bryan Huerta-Beltrán, CC BY-ND

    This is a common challenge for agencies that monitor trade in animal products. The global wildlife trade is an enormous market, involving billions of animals moving through both legal and illegal channels. Many wildlife products are heavily altered, which makes it hard to identify the species and determine where the product came from.

    Another source of confusion is that many people in Mexico also refer to an invasive freshwater fish that has overrun lakes and rivers across the nation as pez diablo. This “other” pez diablo is actually a suckermouth catfish and is not at all related to any of the threatened guitarfishes. Local education efforts need to distinguish clearly between these two species, since the desired outcome is to protect guitarfish while removing the invasive catfish.

    A dried and modified guitarfish, left, compared with an invasive suckermouth catfish.
    Bryan Huerta-Beltrán, CC BY-ND

    Guitarfish CSI

    Fortunately, advances in wildlife forensics offer a way to distinguish between species. Molecular techniques have been used to identify many illegally traded species, including guitarfishes. By taking a small skin sample, scientists can use DNA to identify the species of individual pez diablo. This method can help protect endangered species by helping to ensure that laws against wildlife trafficking are followed.

    Refining this kind of molecular tool is the most promising way to improve traceability in the trade of guitarfishes. By documenting where and how pez diablo are traded, scientists and conservationists can help clarify the threats to these species. The pez diablo is an imaginary creature, but it is doing real harm to threatened guitarfishes in the world’s warm oceans.

    Bryan Huerta-Beltran receives funding from Save Our Seas Foundation.

    Nicole Phillips is affiliated with the Sawfish Conservation Society and receives funding from the Save Our Seas Foundation.

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

    – ref. Trade in a mythical fish is threatening real species of rays that are rare and at risk – https://theconversation.com/trade-in-a-mythical-fish-is-threatening-real-species-of-rays-that-are-rare-and-at-risk-247433

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Chinese University and Russian Academy of Education to Jointly Study AI Applications in Education and Teacher Training

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) — Central China Normal University and the Russian Academy of Education (RAO) recently signed a cooperation agreement in Beijing to establish a joint laboratory called “Artificial Intelligence Plus Education” with a focus on transforming teachers’ competencies in the digital age and applying technologies in inclusive education.

    According to a report on the website of the Central China Normal University, on June 7, at the Russian Cultural Center in Beijing, the Vice Rector of the Central China Normal University Ren Youzhou held a working meeting with a delegation headed by the President of the Russian Academy of Education (RAE) Olga Vasilyeva.

    Ren Yuzhou noted that in May this year, three RAE academicians were invited to share their latest research achievements at a parallel forum within the framework of the World Conference on Digital Education. During the event, Russian experts visited the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence in Education of the Central China Normal University, where they held a discussion on the creation of a joint laboratory “AI plus education”.

    During the talks, the parties paid special attention to discussing scientific cooperation in the field of inclusive education, as well as issues of training teachers in China and Russia. The participants unanimously expressed their readiness to further expand the areas of interaction and make a joint contribution to educational cooperation and humanitarian exchanges between the two countries. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Patrick Barker, Edmund Neuberger and Naila Yousuf appointed to the Board of the Horniman Museum and Gardens.

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Patrick Barker, Edmund Neuberger and Naila Yousuf appointed to the Board of the Horniman Museum and Gardens.

    The Secretary of State has appointed Patrick Barker, Edmund Neuberger and Nalia Yousuf as Trustees of The Horniman Public Museum and Public Park Trust, known publicly as the Horniman Museum and Gardens, from 24 April 2025 until 23 April 2029.

    Patrick Barker

    Patrick is a qualified accountant with a passion for bringing his financial expertise to the charity and public sectors. He began his career in the corporate world giving him the opportunity to work internationally, and where he built a solid foundation in finance and strategic planning. Motivated by a desire to make a meaningful difference, he transitioned into the not-for-profit sector, where he has dedicated his career to support impactful causes.

    Patrick has held many senior leadership positions, including Finance Director and Chief Executive Officer, across a variety of charitable organisations. His work has spanned areas such as heritage, mental health, freedom of speech, international development, and cancer, playing a key role in strengthening financial resilience and guiding organisations through periods of growth and change.

    A local to the Horniman Museum and Gardens, he sees its great potential as a community hub and a place for the entire family to learn and enjoy.

    Edmund Neuberger

    Edmund is a London based barrister specialising in international and domestic construction, engineering, and infrastructure projects, including professional negligence and insurance disputes. He is a member of the Society of Construction Law (SCL), Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR), Technology and Construction Bar Association (TECBAR) and the London Common Law and Commercial Bar Association (LCLBA). 

    Edmund works regularly on a wide range of international and domestic infrastructure projects and has a technical background in engineering. Recognised in Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, and Who’s Who Legal, he is praised for his commercial approach and analytical skills. His experience spans work in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.

    Edmund lives in South London with his wife and two children. In his spare time, he enjoys running and cooking.

    Naila Yousuf

    Naila Yousuf is a Partner at Wright & Wright Architects and has led several high-profile cultural and higher education projects. A creative thinker in retrofit, architectural heritage, and contemporary interventions on historic sites, she led the major redevelopment of the award-winning Museum of the Home and the planning and consultation strategy for Lambeth Palace Library.

    Since moving to London in 2007, Naila has been a frequent visitor to the Horniman Museum and inspired by its transformation over the years, including its work with communities and leadership in addressing the climate emergency. She has joined the board to support the Horniman with its capital projects.

    Reimagining historic sites with a deep understanding of how they can adapt to the climate crisis is central to her professional work. Currently, Naila leads her team on a highly sustainable Passivhaus project for St Edmund Hall, one of Oxford’s oldest colleges. Constructed from Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), the project plays a key role in the College’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon.

    An advocate for architectural engagement in schools, Naila has served as an external examiner at the University of Nottingham, a mentor at the Royal College of Art, and leads Wright & Wright’s collaboration with the London School of Architecture’s Partnership Network—an institution that facilitates part-time study. She is also a member of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England and a passionate supporter of museums and exhibitions, regularly lecturing on the subject.

    Remuneration and Governance Code

    Trustees of the Horniman Public Museum and Public Park Trust are not remunerated. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments.

    The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Patrick, Edward and Naila have not declared any significant political activity.

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Nokia announces changes to Group Leadership Team

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Nokia Corporation
    Stock Exchange Release
    16 June 2025 at 14:00 EEST

    Nokia announces changes to Group Leadership Team

    • Federico Guillén to retire from Nokia on 31 December 2025. He will step down as President of the Network Infrastructure (NI) business group and as a member of the Group Leadership Team on 30 June 2025.
    • As part of a managed transition, David Heard, NI Chief Strategic Growth Officer, and former CEO of Infinera, is promoted to President of Network Infrastructure and joins the Group Leadership Team, effective 1 July 2025.
    • Victoria Hanrahan will join the Group Leadership Team as Chief of Staff to Nokia’s President and CEO, effective immediately.

    Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced changes to its Group Leadership Team. Federico Guillén will retire from Nokia on 31 December 2025. He will step down from his role as President of Nokia’s Network Infrastructure business group and from the Group Leadership Team on 30 June 2025.

    As part of a managed transition, David Heard, currently NI Chief Strategic Growth Officer, and former CEO of Infinera, has been promoted to President of Network Infrastructure and will join the Group Leadership Team, effective 1 July 2025. David will report to Nokia’s President and CEO, Justin Hotard, and be based in Dallas. Federico and David will work together to ensure a seamless transition.

    Heard joined Nokia with the acquisition of Infinera in February 2025. He was previously CEO of Infinera and, prior to that held the role of Infinera’s Chief Operating Officer, responsible for leading the innovation of new solutions and the overall operational excellence of the company. Before joining Infinera, Heard held senior positions across various technology companies in the U.S. including JDSU, BigBand Networks, Somera Communications, Lucent and AT&T gaining comprehensive experience of the telecoms industry and demonstrating a strong growth mindset and a commitment to innovation leadership.

    “I want to thank Federico for his exceptional leadership and contribution to Nokia. As the first President of Network Infrastructure, he has been instrumental in building a high-performing and profitable business with a strong customer focus, helping to position the business for long-term growth. His leadership during major portfolio changes, including the divestment of the Submarine Networks business and acquisition of Infinera, has laid a solid foundation for the future. We’re grateful for his service and wish him the very best on his next chapter,” said Justin Hotard, President and CEO of Nokia.

    “I’m excited to welcome David to the Group Leadership Team as the new head of our Network Infrastructure business. David has a proven track record of scaling businesses and driving innovation, and he brings a deep expertise of hyperscalers and AI-optimized solutions to the business. I’m confident he is the right leader to take Network Infrastructure forward,” Hotard continued.

    In addition, Victoria Hanrahan will join Nokia’s Group Leadership Team as Chief of Staff to the President and CEO, effective immediately. She will focus on driving strategic and operational initiatives, including operational excellence, improving cross-functional execution and ensuring organizational alignment across the Global Leadership Team. Victoria will report to Nokia’s President and CEO and be based in Espoo.

    Additional background information on all current members of the Group Leadership Team can be found at: www.nokia.com/en_int/investors/corporate-governance/group-leadership-team.

    David Heard, CV
    Born: 1968
    Nationality: US national
    Education:
    Masters, Management Science (Sloan), Stanford University Graduate School of Business
    Master of Business Administration (MBA), University of Dayton
    BA, Production & Operations Mgt, The Ohio State University
    Experience:
    2025 (February-June) Chief Growth Officer at Network Infrastructure, Nokia
    2020–2025 Chief Executive Officer, Infinera
    2017–2020 Chief Operations Officer and various senior positions, Infinera
    2015–2016 Cloud Service Provider (Executive Consultant – External), Dell
    2010–2015 President – Network & Service (Software) Enablement, JDSU
    2007–2010 Chief Operating Officer, BigBand Networks
    2004–2006 President & CEO, Somera Communications (Jabil)
    2003–2004 President – Switching Systems, Tekelec (Oracle)
    2000–2003 President & CEO Santera Systems Inc (now Oracle)
    1996–2000 GM & VP Wireless – Various Positions, Alcatel-Lucent
    1990–1996 VP of Access, AT&T (Lucent Technologies)
    Additional positions:
    2017–2022 Member of the Board of Directors, Motion Intelligence
    2012–2019 Chairman of the Board, Telecommunications Industry Association
    2015–2018 Board Director, Milestone Sports
    2006–2017 Member of the Board of Directors – Co-founder, Zyvex Performance Materials
    2002–2004 Member of the Board of Directors, Spatial Wireless (Alcatel Lucent)

    Victoria Hanharan, CV
    Born: 1988
    Nationality: US national
    Education:
    Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Marketing, Texas A&M University
    Master of Business Administration (MBA), University of Houston
    Experience:
    2015–2024 Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

    • Vice President, Global Marketing – High Performance Compute & Artificial Intelligence (2023–2024)
    • Director, Chief of Staff – HPC & AI Business Unit (2021–2023)
    • Manager, Marketing Strategy (2019–2021)
    • Sr. Product Marketing Manager (2015–2019)

    2010–2015 St. Jude Medical

    • Product Marketing Manager, Neuromodulation Division (2013–2015)
    • Marketing Communications Coordinator (2010–2013)

    About Nokia
    At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together. 

    As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, which is celebrating 100 years of innovation.

    With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future. 

    Media inquiries
    Nokia Communications
    Maria Vaismaa, Global Head of External Communications
    Phone: +358 10 448 4900
    Email: press.services@nokia.com

    Nokia Investor Relations
    Phone: +358 931 580 507
    Email: investor.relations@nokia.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Nokia announces changes to Group Leadership Team

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Nokia Corporation
    Stock Exchange Release
    16 June 2025 at 14:00 EEST

    Nokia announces changes to Group Leadership Team

    • Federico Guillén to retire from Nokia on 31 December 2025. He will step down as President of the Network Infrastructure (NI) business group and as a member of the Group Leadership Team on 30 June 2025.
    • As part of a managed transition, David Heard, NI Chief Strategic Growth Officer, and former CEO of Infinera, is promoted to President of Network Infrastructure and joins the Group Leadership Team, effective 1 July 2025.
    • Victoria Hanrahan will join the Group Leadership Team as Chief of Staff to Nokia’s President and CEO, effective immediately.

    Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced changes to its Group Leadership Team. Federico Guillén will retire from Nokia on 31 December 2025. He will step down from his role as President of Nokia’s Network Infrastructure business group and from the Group Leadership Team on 30 June 2025.

    As part of a managed transition, David Heard, currently NI Chief Strategic Growth Officer, and former CEO of Infinera, has been promoted to President of Network Infrastructure and will join the Group Leadership Team, effective 1 July 2025. David will report to Nokia’s President and CEO, Justin Hotard, and be based in Dallas. Federico and David will work together to ensure a seamless transition.

    Heard joined Nokia with the acquisition of Infinera in February 2025. He was previously CEO of Infinera and, prior to that held the role of Infinera’s Chief Operating Officer, responsible for leading the innovation of new solutions and the overall operational excellence of the company. Before joining Infinera, Heard held senior positions across various technology companies in the U.S. including JDSU, BigBand Networks, Somera Communications, Lucent and AT&T gaining comprehensive experience of the telecoms industry and demonstrating a strong growth mindset and a commitment to innovation leadership.

    “I want to thank Federico for his exceptional leadership and contribution to Nokia. As the first President of Network Infrastructure, he has been instrumental in building a high-performing and profitable business with a strong customer focus, helping to position the business for long-term growth. His leadership during major portfolio changes, including the divestment of the Submarine Networks business and acquisition of Infinera, has laid a solid foundation for the future. We’re grateful for his service and wish him the very best on his next chapter,” said Justin Hotard, President and CEO of Nokia.

    “I’m excited to welcome David to the Group Leadership Team as the new head of our Network Infrastructure business. David has a proven track record of scaling businesses and driving innovation, and he brings a deep expertise of hyperscalers and AI-optimized solutions to the business. I’m confident he is the right leader to take Network Infrastructure forward,” Hotard continued.

    In addition, Victoria Hanrahan will join Nokia’s Group Leadership Team as Chief of Staff to the President and CEO, effective immediately. She will focus on driving strategic and operational initiatives, including operational excellence, improving cross-functional execution and ensuring organizational alignment across the Global Leadership Team. Victoria will report to Nokia’s President and CEO and be based in Espoo.

    Additional background information on all current members of the Group Leadership Team can be found at: www.nokia.com/en_int/investors/corporate-governance/group-leadership-team.

    David Heard, CV
    Born: 1968
    Nationality: US national
    Education:
    Masters, Management Science (Sloan), Stanford University Graduate School of Business
    Master of Business Administration (MBA), University of Dayton
    BA, Production & Operations Mgt, The Ohio State University
    Experience:
    2025 (February-June) Chief Growth Officer at Network Infrastructure, Nokia
    2020–2025 Chief Executive Officer, Infinera
    2017–2020 Chief Operations Officer and various senior positions, Infinera
    2015–2016 Cloud Service Provider (Executive Consultant – External), Dell
    2010–2015 President – Network & Service (Software) Enablement, JDSU
    2007–2010 Chief Operating Officer, BigBand Networks
    2004–2006 President & CEO, Somera Communications (Jabil)
    2003–2004 President – Switching Systems, Tekelec (Oracle)
    2000–2003 President & CEO Santera Systems Inc (now Oracle)
    1996–2000 GM & VP Wireless – Various Positions, Alcatel-Lucent
    1990–1996 VP of Access, AT&T (Lucent Technologies)
    Additional positions:
    2017–2022 Member of the Board of Directors, Motion Intelligence
    2012–2019 Chairman of the Board, Telecommunications Industry Association
    2015–2018 Board Director, Milestone Sports
    2006–2017 Member of the Board of Directors – Co-founder, Zyvex Performance Materials
    2002–2004 Member of the Board of Directors, Spatial Wireless (Alcatel Lucent)

    Victoria Hanharan, CV
    Born: 1988
    Nationality: US national
    Education:
    Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Marketing, Texas A&M University
    Master of Business Administration (MBA), University of Houston
    Experience:
    2015–2024 Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

    • Vice President, Global Marketing – High Performance Compute & Artificial Intelligence (2023–2024)
    • Director, Chief of Staff – HPC & AI Business Unit (2021–2023)
    • Manager, Marketing Strategy (2019–2021)
    • Sr. Product Marketing Manager (2015–2019)

    2010–2015 St. Jude Medical

    • Product Marketing Manager, Neuromodulation Division (2013–2015)
    • Marketing Communications Coordinator (2010–2013)

    About Nokia
    At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together. 

    As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, which is celebrating 100 years of innovation.

    With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future. 

    Media inquiries
    Nokia Communications
    Maria Vaismaa, Global Head of External Communications
    Phone: +358 10 448 4900
    Email: press.services@nokia.com

    Nokia Investor Relations
    Phone: +358 931 580 507
    Email: investor.relations@nokia.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: RYVYL Appoints Industry Veteran Brett Moyer to Its Board of Directors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN DIEGO, CA, June 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — RYVYL Inc. (NASDAQ: RVYL) (“RYVYL” or the “Company”), a leading innovator of payment transaction solutions leveraging electronic payment technology, has appointed industry veteran Brett Moyer as an independent member of its board of directors, effective immediately.

    “I’m delighted to welcome Brett Moyer to our board,” said RYVYL Co-founder and Chairman Ben Errez. “Brett’s experience in building companies and proven expertise in scaling and licensing technology platforms will be instrumental as we focus on our next phase of growth opportunities. We look forward to his insights and leadership as we continue advancing our technology and expanding into new markets.”

    Moyer said, “I’m excited to join the RYVYL board during this transitional phase in the company’s history. I look forward to collaborating with my fellow directors and the management team to help shape strategy and support execution as the company pursues multiple growth opportunities in a dynamic industry, including pursuing a legacy vertical market in North America and expanding its blockchain applications and crypto capabilities.”

    Brett Moyer is currently chief financial officer of Datavault AI, a leader in AI-driven data experience, valuation and monetization. He was founding member of WiSA Technologies and served as president, CEO, and director from August 2010 until December 2024, when the company acquired Data Vault Holdings’ assets and expanded its operations as Datavault AI. Previously, he was president and CEO of Focus Enhancements and held leadership roles at Zenith Electronics earlier in his career. Mr. Moyer has served on the boards of Alliant International University since 2016 and previously for HotChalk, Inc. and NeoMagic Corporation. He holds a BA in Economics from Beloit College and an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management.

    On June 10, 2025, David Montoya resigned from his position on the board of directors. The total number of directors remains at five.

    About RYVYL

    RYVYL Inc. (NASDAQ: RVYL) was born from a passion for empowering a new way to conduct business-to-business, consumer-to-business, and peer-to-peer payment transactions around the globe. By leveraging electronic payment technology for diverse international markets, RYVYL is a leading innovator of payment transaction solutions reinventing the future of financial transactions. Since its founding as GreenBox POS in 2017 in San Diego, RYVYL has developed applications enabling an end-to-end suite of turnkey financial products with enhanced security and data privacy, world-class identity theft protection, and rapid speed to settlement. As a result, the platform can log immense volumes of immutable transactional records at the speed of the internet for first-tier partners, merchants, and consumers around the globe. www.ryvyl.com

    Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current beliefs, assumptions and expectations regarding future events, which in turn are based on information currently available to the Company. Such forward-looking statements include statements that are characterized by future or conditional words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate” and “continue” or similar words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss future expectations and plans, which contain projections of future results of operations or financial condition or state other forward-looking information.

    By their nature, forward-looking statements address matters that are subject to risks and uncertainties. A variety of factors could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those expressed in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Risk factors affecting the Company are discussed in detail in the Company’s filings with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable laws.

    IR Contact:
    David Barnard, Alliance Advisors Investor Relations, 415-433-3777, ryvylinvestor@allianceadvisors.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: RYVYL Appoints Industry Veteran Brett Moyer to Its Board of Directors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN DIEGO, CA, June 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — RYVYL Inc. (NASDAQ: RVYL) (“RYVYL” or the “Company”), a leading innovator of payment transaction solutions leveraging electronic payment technology, has appointed industry veteran Brett Moyer as an independent member of its board of directors, effective immediately.

    “I’m delighted to welcome Brett Moyer to our board,” said RYVYL Co-founder and Chairman Ben Errez. “Brett’s experience in building companies and proven expertise in scaling and licensing technology platforms will be instrumental as we focus on our next phase of growth opportunities. We look forward to his insights and leadership as we continue advancing our technology and expanding into new markets.”

    Moyer said, “I’m excited to join the RYVYL board during this transitional phase in the company’s history. I look forward to collaborating with my fellow directors and the management team to help shape strategy and support execution as the company pursues multiple growth opportunities in a dynamic industry, including pursuing a legacy vertical market in North America and expanding its blockchain applications and crypto capabilities.”

    Brett Moyer is currently chief financial officer of Datavault AI, a leader in AI-driven data experience, valuation and monetization. He was founding member of WiSA Technologies and served as president, CEO, and director from August 2010 until December 2024, when the company acquired Data Vault Holdings’ assets and expanded its operations as Datavault AI. Previously, he was president and CEO of Focus Enhancements and held leadership roles at Zenith Electronics earlier in his career. Mr. Moyer has served on the boards of Alliant International University since 2016 and previously for HotChalk, Inc. and NeoMagic Corporation. He holds a BA in Economics from Beloit College and an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management.

    On June 10, 2025, David Montoya resigned from his position on the board of directors. The total number of directors remains at five.

    About RYVYL

    RYVYL Inc. (NASDAQ: RVYL) was born from a passion for empowering a new way to conduct business-to-business, consumer-to-business, and peer-to-peer payment transactions around the globe. By leveraging electronic payment technology for diverse international markets, RYVYL is a leading innovator of payment transaction solutions reinventing the future of financial transactions. Since its founding as GreenBox POS in 2017 in San Diego, RYVYL has developed applications enabling an end-to-end suite of turnkey financial products with enhanced security and data privacy, world-class identity theft protection, and rapid speed to settlement. As a result, the platform can log immense volumes of immutable transactional records at the speed of the internet for first-tier partners, merchants, and consumers around the globe. www.ryvyl.com

    Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current beliefs, assumptions and expectations regarding future events, which in turn are based on information currently available to the Company. Such forward-looking statements include statements that are characterized by future or conditional words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate” and “continue” or similar words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss future expectations and plans, which contain projections of future results of operations or financial condition or state other forward-looking information.

    By their nature, forward-looking statements address matters that are subject to risks and uncertainties. A variety of factors could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those expressed in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Risk factors affecting the Company are discussed in detail in the Company’s filings with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable laws.

    IR Contact:
    David Barnard, Alliance Advisors Investor Relations, 415-433-3777, ryvylinvestor@allianceadvisors.com

    The MIL Network –

  • Prime Minister Modi holds bilateral talks with Cyprus President Christodoulides in Nicosia

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held comprehensive bilateral discussions with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, during his official visit to the Mediterranean nation. The talks were held at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, where Prime Minister Modi was received with ceremonial honours.

    During the talks, Prime Minister Modi conveyed his appreciation for Cyprus’s unequivocal condemnation of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in April 2025. “India deeply values Cyprus’s solidarity and its consistent support in our fight against terrorism,” the Prime Minister said, adding that “our shared commitment to combating terrorism binds us further.”

    The two leaders reaffirmed their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both nations. Prime Minister Modi reiterated India’s longstanding support for the unity of Cyprus and called for a peaceful resolution of the Cyprus issue in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions, international law, and the European Union Acquis.

    Both sides reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation, including trade and investment, scientific research, cultural engagement, and people-to-people ties. They explored new areas of collaboration in fintech, digitalization, defence, AI, innovation, start-ups, and mobility.

    The leaders agreed to chart a five-year roadmap to deepen engagement in strategic sectors and to establish new dialogues on maritime and cyber security. “We are committed to working together on real-time intelligence sharing to counter terrorism, arms trafficking, and narcotics trade,” Prime Minister Modi said following the discussions.

    Looking ahead to Cyprus’s upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union in early 2026, the two leaders expressed their readiness to further strengthen the India-EU partnership. They discussed the progress of the first India-EU Strategic Dialogue and the work under way through the India-EU Trade and Technology Council. Both sides reaffirmed their support for concluding the long-pending EU–India Free Trade Agreement by the end of 2025.

    Cyprus assured its commitment to prioritising the EU–India strategic partnership during its presidency, particularly in areas such as defence and security, green and clean energy, maritime cooperation, and space.

    The two sides welcomed the Bilateral Defence Cooperation Programme signed earlier in January this year, which is expected to further cement the defence partnership. The establishment of the India-Greece-Cyprus (IGC) Business and Investment Council was also noted as a key step in enhancing trilateral cooperation.

    The leaders discussed the importance of improving air connectivity to facilitate business, tourism, and knowledge exchange. Prime Minister Modi also underscored the strategic relevance of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), stating that the project would bring long-term peace and prosperity to the region.

    On multilateral cooperation, both countries reaffirmed their commitment to global governance reforms. Prime Minister Modi thanked President Christodoulides for reiterating Cyprus’s support for India’s permanent membership in a reformed United Nations Security Council. “India believes the global order must evolve to reflect the realities of the 21st century,” he said.

    The two leaders also exchanged views on pressing international issues, including conflicts in West Asia and Europe. As part of the cultural cooperation between the two countries, an MoU was signed to establish an India Studies Chair under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) at the University of Nicosia.

  • MIL-OSI USA: Johnson’s Jason Foster Recognized for New Technology Reporting Record

    Source: NASA

    Heading into a recent staff meeting for Johnson Space Center’s Business Development & Technology Integration Office, Jason Foster anticipated a typical agenda of team updates and discussion. He did not expect an announcement that he had been named a 2025 Rookie of the Year – Honorable Mention through the Federal Laboratory Consortium’s annual awards program.
    Foster was one of only three technology transfer professionals across the federal government to be recognized in the Rookie of the Year category, which is open to early-career individuals with less than three years of experience. “It was definitely a surprise,” he said. “It was quite an honor, because it’s not only representing Johnson Space Center but also NASA.”

    Foster is a licensing specialist and New Technology Report (NTR) specialist within Johnson’s Technology Transfer Office in Houston. That team works to ensure that innovations developed for aeronautics and space exploration are made broadly available to the public, maximizing their benefit to the nation. Foster’s role involves both capturing new technologies developed at Johnson and marketing and licensing those technologies to companies that would like to use and further develop them.
    He describes much of his work as “technology hunting” – reaching out to branches, offices, and teams across Johnson to teach them about the Technology Transfer Office, NTRs, and the value of technology reporting for NASA and the public. “NTRs are the foundation that allows our office to do our job,” he said. “We need to know about a technology in order to transfer it.”

    Foster’s efforts to streamline and strengthen the reporting and patenting of Johnson’s innovations led to his recognition by the consortium. His proactive outreach and relationship-building improved customer service and contributed to 158 NTRs in fiscal year 2024 – the highest number of NTRs disclosed by federal employees at any NASA center. Foster also proposed a three-month NTR sprint, during which he led a team of seven in an intensive exercise to identify and report new technologies. This initiative not only cleared a backlog of leads for the office, but also resulted in more than 120 previously undisclosed NTRs. “We are still using that process now as we continue processing NTRs,” Foster said. On top of those achievements, he helped secure the highest recorded number of license agreements with commercial entities in the center’s history, with 41 licenses executed in fiscal year 2024.
    “I am very proud of my accomplishments, none of it would be possible without the open-mindedness and continuous support of my incredible team,” Foster said. “They have always provided a space to grow, and actively welcome innovation in our processes and workflows.”

    A self-described “space nerd,” Foster said he always envisioned working at NASA, but not until much later in his career – ideally as an astronaut. He initially planned to pursue an astrophysics degree but discovered a passion for engineering and fused that with his love of space by studying aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering instead. In his last semester of college at California Polytechnic State University of San Luis Obispo, he landed a Universities Space Research Association internship at Johnson, supporting flight software development for crew exercise systems on the International Space Station and future exploration missions. “I got really involved in the Johnson Space Center team and the work, and I thought, what if I joined NASA now?”
    He was hired as a licensing specialist on the Technology Transfer team under the JETS II Contract as an Amentum employee shortly after graduating and continually seeks new opportunities to expand his role and skillsets. “The more I can learn about anything NASA’s doing is incredible,” he said. “I found myself in this perfect position where literally my job is to learn everything there is to learn.”

    Foster celebrates three years with NASA this July. In his time at the agency, he has learned the value of getting to know and understand your colleagues’ needs in order to help them. Before he meets with someone, he takes time to learn about the organization or team they are a part of, the work they are involved in, and what they might discuss. It is also important to determine how each person prefers to communicate and collaborate. “Doing your homework pays dividends,” Foster said. He has found that being as prepared as possible opens doors to more opportunities, and it helps to save valuable time for busy team members.

    When he is not technology hunting, you might find Foster practicing the art of fire spinning. He picked up the hobby in college, joining a club that met at local beaches to practice spinning and capturing different geometric patterns through long exposure photos. “It was kind of a strange thing to get into, but it was really fun,” he said. His love of learning drives his interest in other activities as well. Gardening is a relatively new hobby inspired by a realization that he had never grown anything before.   
    “It’s a genuine joy, I think, coming across something with curiosity and wanting to learn from it,” he said. “I think it especially helps in my job, where your curiosity switch has to be on at least 90% of the time.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ‘Barbara Freeman: A Retrospective’ opens at the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio

    Source: Northern Ireland City of Armagh

    A new engaging exhibition ‘Barbara Freeman: A Retrospective’ has opened at the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio, Banbridge and runs until Saturday 27 September 2025.

    This first large-scale survey of Freeman’s work introduces the public to this award-winning artist who has exhibited internationally and now in her late 80s, continues to experiment and push herself to create new innovative work.

    The retrospective features a broad range of Freeman’s work from an early drawing ‘Homage to Dürer’ dating from 1973 to her new series of digital images ‘Time Past Remembered’ made this year and her award-winning film ‘Itacha’ from 2023.

    Utilising a wide range of media including sculpture, painting, print, installation, sound and film, Freeman’s constantly evolving practice fluctuates between figuration and abstraction to explore themes including time, memory and history.

    Speaking about the new exhibition, Gallery Curator and Manager, Dr Riann Coulter, said:

    “This major survey exhibition showcases a striking collection of Barbara’s work and provides a fantastic opportunity to explore her artistic evolution over half a century of innovative art making.”

    Born in London in 1937, Freeman studied at Central St. Martins and Camberwell Colleges of Art, followed by postgraduate study at the University of Leeds before moving to Belfast where she has lived and worked for over 40 years.

    Collaboration is at the heart of Freeman’s art. She has often worked with composers and musicians to create installations that combine sound and image and respond to a particular place, both as a physical space and a sonic environment. In 2020, she joined Na Cailleacha, the collective of formidable older women artists based in Ireland, with whom she continues to work and exhibit.

    Freeman’s work has been exhibited widely, with solo shows in Ireland, Britain, the United States, Hungary, Germany, and former Yugoslavia.

    Her artworks have featured in collections displayed by the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Royal Courts of Justice, and The Royal Hospitals.

    This exhibition has been curated by Dr Fionna Barber, Reader in Art History at Manchester School of Art and Dr Riann Coulter.

    It will be accompanied by an illustrated catalogue featuring an essay by Fionna Barber and an interview between Freeman and art historian and Na Cailleacha colleague, Catherine Marshall.

    The F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm. Admission is free. For further information, go to visitarmagh.com/femcwilliam

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: GUU is among the leaders of the National Ranking of Graduates’ Employment in the Field of “Sciences about Society”

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    The State University of Management was among the leaders of the first National Ranking of Employment of Graduates of Higher Education Institutions, which was developed within the framework of the national project “Personnel” and published on the portal “Work in Russia”.

    The rating is calculated based on Rosobrnadzor data on full-time graduates, data on their employment rate in the second year after completing their studies, and the median salary for this period.

    Our university took 11th and 13th place in terms of employment of bachelor’s and master’s degree graduates, respectively, among universities with a number of graduates greater than the median value in the field of “Sciences of Society”, which includes, among other things, psychological sciences, economics and management (including business informatics), law, sociology and social work, political science and regional studies, mass media and information and library science, service and tourism.

    In addition, SUM ranked 46th in the employment rate of bachelor’s degree graduates among universities with a graduate population below the median in the Mathematical and Natural Sciences major, which includes mathematics and mechanics, computer and information sciences, physics and astronomy, chemistry, earth sciences, and biological sciences.

    A total of 34 rankings are presented for universities in 8 areas of education.

    The final rating calculation indicator is formed as the sum of the indices of the employment level and the salary level of graduates of an educational organization in a specific field and level of education, with each index having the same weight – 0.5.

    The final index shows how much the two indicators taken together differ from the average final indicator for a specific area and level of education.

    The ratings were developed in accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 15, 2025 No. 651 “On the formation and publication of national ratings of educational organizations of higher education and professional educational organizations” and the Order of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 28, 2025 No. 1346-r “On approval of the methodology for calculating the indicators of national ratings of educational organizations of higher education and professional educational organizations”.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: From Jaipur to Nagpur, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Ignites a Nation of Problem-Solvers

    Source: Samsung

    Your classroom could be the next stop in this journey of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow
     
    From the sunlit classrooms of Jaipur to the buzzing lecture halls of Nagpur, a powerful question echoed across campuses: “What problem will you solve for India?”
     
    That question lies at the heart of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, a national innovation challenge that is transforming students into changemakers—and campuses into launchpads for the future.
     
    After a powerful launch on April 29, the design thinking workshops and college Open Houses swept across India—reaching not just major metros but also the vibrant heartlands of the Northeast.
     
    Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2025 will provide INR 1 crore to the top four winning teams to support the incubation of their projects, along with hands-on prototyping, investor connects, and expert mentorship from Samsung leaders and IIT Delhi faculty.
     
    At Neerja Modi School in Jaipur, over 1,000 students filled the auditorium with their ideas, ambitions, and dreams. Among them, Naman Lakhani found himself thinking beyond textbooks:
     
    “I’ve always wanted to build something that could solve real-world issues. Samsung Solve for Tomorrow showed me that someone out there actually wants to listen to us—and help make those ideas real.”
     
    Anshika Gupta, another student, added: “It felt like a spark. This programme is not just about innovation—it’s about inclusion. It made me feel like I could be a part of building India’s future, even while I’m still in school.”
     
    The journey continued to Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh School, also in Jaipur, where Ishan Sharma, part of a 850-strong student turnout, found his perspective shift:
     
    “I realised that I don’t need to wait to graduate or become an adult to solve problems. If we have ideas now, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow wants to hear them. That’s empowering.”
     
    In Nagpur, the vibrant community of Ramdeobaba University welcomed the campaign with open minds and open notebooks. Among 640 participants, Manya shared her dream of building AI-driven solutions for public health:
     
    “For once, a platform came to us—to our campus, to our city—and said, ‘Let’s build something that matters.’ It’s not just a competition. It’s a launchpad.”
     
    Even virtually, the momentum didn’t stop. Shanti Business School in Ahmedabad hosted one of the largest online Samsung Solve for Tomorrow open houses yet, with over 1,700 students tuning in. Discussions ranged from clean energy to accessibility tech.
     
     “It felt like a national classroom of creators,” one student shared in the chat. “We were miles apart, but our ideas connected.”
     
    In Bhopal, Oriental Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) brought the conversation to ground zero—how students can use tech to tackle local problems. With 290 students in attendance, the event had a quiet, determined energy.
     
    “We don’t just want to dream. We want to build,” a student said. “Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is giving us the blueprint.”
     
    As Samsung Solve for Tomorrow rolls across India, it’s making one thing clear: Innovation doesn’t belong to labs or big cities. It belongs to every student with a question and the courage to find an answer.
     
    So, if you’re a student with an idea that could solve a real problem—this is your moment. Apply now to Samsung Solve for Tomorrow. Your classroom could be the next stop in this journey. And your idea? It could change everything.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK celebrates public service heroes in HM The King’s Birthday Honours List 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    UK celebrates public service heroes in HM The King’s Birthday Honours List 2025

    Over 1,200 recipients are recognised across the UK

    Community heroes up and down the country are celebrated in His Majesty The King’s Birthday Honours List 2025 today. 

    Over a thousand recipients have been awarded for their exceptional achievements, with a particular focus on those who have given their time to public service. 

    This year’s recipients include dedicated community champions, role models in sport, pioneers in the arts, passionate health workers, and supporters of young people.

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

    This year’s Birthday Honours List is a powerful reminder of the extraordinary dedication, compassion, and service that exists in every corner of our country.

    From community champions to cultural icons, each recipient reflects the very best of Britain. I extend my heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to them all.

    Among those being honoured today is former England captain David Beckham, who receives a Knighthood for services to Sport and Charity. Beyond the pitch, Beckham has been a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF since 2005, and he also established the 7 Fund aimed at helping vulnerable children around the world. He supports a number of charities including the Chelsea Pensioners, Help for Heroes, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Age UK and the London Air Ambulance service.

    The oldest recipient this year is William Irwin who, at 106 years old, receives a BEM for services to the community in Coleraine, County Londonderry. William is one of three honours recipients over the last ten years aged 106. 

    At 11 years old, the youngest recipient this year is Carmela Chillery-Watson, who lives with a rare life-limiting, muscle-wasting condition. She receives an MBE for charitable fundraising, in particular for Muscular Dystrophy UK.

    For the first time, three members of the same family, Duncan Speirs, Caroline Jane Speirs and Jenna Catherine Helen Speirs, are all receiving a BEM for services to Charitable Fundraising, after setting up Calum’s Cabin, which provides holiday homes for children facing cancer.  

    Arts

    Sculptor Sir Antony Gormley is made a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for his services to Art, and Emma Bridgewater is made a Dame for her for services to Ceramics. Oliver Sykes is awarded an MBE for services to Access to the Arts for Underprivileged Young People. 

    Sports

    Billy Boston becomes the first Rugby League Player to ever receive a Knighthood, and Sarah Virginia Wade receives a CBE for services to Tennis and Charity. Footballer Rachel Daly has been awarded an MBE for services to Association Football, and darts player Luke Littler has been awarded an MBE for services to Darts, currently the World no.2 at the age of 18.

    Philanthropy and Charity

    Roger Daltrey, a patron to the Teenage Cancer Trust has been awarded a Knighthood for his services to Charity. Sunita Arora, founder of the Arora Charitable Foundation receives an OBE for services to the Charitable Sector and to Philanthropy, and Albino Okello has been awarded an MBE for his services to the Red Cross for his work with the Family Tracing Service as a National Caseworker.

    Business

    Clare Barclay, the CEO of Microsoft UK, has been made a Dame for her services to Business, Technology and Leadership,alongside. Also receiving Damehoods are Professor Ursula Martin, an Emeritus Professor in the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford,  Deborah Crosbie, CEO of Nationwide Building Society and Anne Glover, CEO and co-founder of Amadeus Capital Partners for her work in Engineering and Science 

    Entertainment

    Gary Oldman receives a Knighthood for Services to Drama, while Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly both receive MBEs for services to Broadcasting.

    Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, said:

    I send my congratulations to all of the recipients of this year’s Birthday Honours List, and thank them for their contributions to their communities and the country.

    If you know someone who has done something incredible, nominate them for an honour so the nation can recognise their achievements.

    Anyone can nominate someone for an honour. If you know someone who has achieved fantastic things worthy of recognition, go to https://www.gov.uk/honours to find out more about how you can put them forward.

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Exclusive: “Lu Ban’s Workshop” is a major project to increase the potential of engineering education in Kyrgyzstan — Rector of KSTU

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    BISHKEK, June 16 /Xinhua/ — The Lu Ban Workshop project is not just infrastructure, but a large joint project of Kyrgyzstan and Chinese university partners to enhance the potential of engineering education in the country, Rector of the Kyrgyz State Technical University (KSTU) Mirlan Chynybaev said in an interview with Xinhua.

    In October 2024, Lu Ban Workshop was officially opened in KSTU. It was jointly established by Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Hydropower, KSTU and other institutions. This workshop has laboratories and classrooms covering an area of more than 1,000 square meters, which are equipped with more than 300 pieces of equipment, including testing instruments, teaching models, electrical equipment, mechanical equipment, road and bridge equipment, etc.

    “This infrastructure allows us to improve the quality of education at our university, and our students already have the opportunity to study modern technologies,” said M. Chynybaev.

    The project, as the rector added, also includes advanced training for teachers, development of new teaching materials, holding conferences, seminars, trainings, and overview lectures with the participation of the university’s partners.

    The Rector of KSTU noted that among the main tasks facing them were increasing the engineering and technical potential in the field of hydropower, hydraulic engineering, energy, and geoinformation technologies. “All these aspects dictate the choice of appropriate partners. And on the Chinese side, we have a very good partner – Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Hydropower, which has these competencies and the most modern technologies. And together with them, we are implementing this project,” said M. Chynybaev.

    He also emphasized that industry is currently actively developing in Kyrgyzstan, especially energy, and the country is receiving a lot of investment, mainly from Chinese companies. “Thanks to investments, strategic projects are being implemented, in particular, in the energy sector, in the field of railway construction. And, of course, these projects need engineers. And within the framework of the Lu Ban Workshop project, we are training engineers,” he noted.

    According to the rector of KSTU, the project “Lu Ban’s Workshop” is not only education, but also cultural exchange. “Our students are now additionally studying Chinese. We are planning to organize internships for our teachers in China, and we also have Chinese specialists who help us in implementing this project,” said the head of KSTU.

    He also announced future plans to launch joint dual degree educational programs. “That is, students will study here for two years in their specialty and then for two years at a Chinese partner university. After completing their studies, students will receive diplomas from two universities at once. This is a good step towards integrating education and mutual recognition of qualifications,” explained M. Chynybaev.

    Speaking about the upcoming China-Central Asia summit, which will be held in Astana, the rector of KSTU expressed hope that it will give impetus to the development of scientific and technical cooperation.

    “Cooperation should develop not only in economic terms, but also in the field of education, science and technology. And we count on further financial support for joint scientific projects. We can conduct a lot of joint research,” said M. Chynybaev.

    According to him, KSTU actively participates in almost all strategic projects. “We expect to train engineers for the successful implementation of all joint projects carried out by China and Central Asia, as well as China and our country. We expect that our cooperation will continue and become even more intensive and profound,” he concluded.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Making Migrants Count: Experts Convene in Malmö to Close Gaps in Migration Data

    Source: International Organization for Migration (IOM)

    Malmö, Sweden, 16 June 2025 – Migration experts, policymakers, statisticians, and data scientists from around the world are convening in Malmö, Sweden, for the Fourth International Forum on Migration Statistics (IFMS) from 16 to 18 June. 

    The Forum provides a platform to share knowledge, experience, and best practices in improving migration data collection and better assessing its impacts. This year’s focus includes the gender dimensions of migration and leveraging innovative tools such as Big Data and artificial intelligence to track population movement more accurately. 

    “Behind every data point is a human story. Since 2014, over 72,000 migrants have died or gone missing on their journeys – a sobering reminder of the stakes involved,” said IOM Deputy Director General, Ugochi Daniels. “The IFMS plays a crucial role in bringing together global experts to ensure migration policies are grounded in evidence and save lives. As we look ahead, IOM is proud to lead the next edition of the Forum, continuing our shared mission to turn data into action for safer, more humane migration.” 

    Another major focus this year is the implementation of the revised United Nations Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration and Temporary Mobility. For the first time, these recommendations formally recognize a distinction between international migration and temporary mobility within global statistical frameworks, marking a significant milestone in understanding and reporting international migration. Implementation is now critical to ensure they translate into meaningful, comparable, and actionable data across countries. 

    Throughout the three-day Forum, experts from around the world will explore six core themes, ranging from developments in migration forecasting to the integration of data into policy processes. Sessions will also highlight how robust data can support regular migration pathways and dispel myths through fact-based narratives. 

    “This Forum is our direct contribution to Objective 1 of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration: to strengthen the global evidence base on international migration by improving the collection, analysis and dissemination of high-quality, comparable migration data,” said Stefano Scarpetta, Director for Employment, Labour, and Social Affairs at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “These days, more than ever, evidence-based policymaking is indispensable.” 

    “The expertise gathered in this Forum has a crucial role to play in making sure that perceptions about migration are aligned with facts,” said Ms. Bjørg Sandkjær, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). “We must continue strengthening our evidence-based migration work to document the positive contributions of safe, orderly, and regular migration, while highlighting the risks associated with irregular and unsafe migration.” 

    Coinciding with the International Day of Family Remittances, this year’s Forum is organized by the OECD, in collaboration with IOM and UN DESA, with support from Malmö University and the Government of Sweden. The IFMS 2025 builds on the momentum of previous editions held in Paris (2018), Cairo (2020), and Santiago (2023), and marks a renewed commitment to evidence-based migration policy. 

    Plenary sessions of the Forum will be livestreamed via the event’s website. For the full agenda and registration details, visit: http://www.oecd-events.org/ifms2025 

    For more information, please contact: 

    Secretariat of the IFMS: ifms2025@oecd.org 
    United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA): 
    Helen Rosengren, rosengrenh@un.org 
    IOM Media Centre 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –