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  • MIL-Evening Report: Trump heads to the Gulf aiming to bolster trade ties – but side talks on Tehran, Gaza could drive a wedge between US and Israel

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Asher Kaufman, Professor of History and Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

    President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman attend the G20 Summit in Japan in 2019. Eliot Blondet/AFP via Getty Images

    President Donald Trump will sit down with the Saudi crown prince and Emirati and Qatari leaders on May 14, 2025, in what is being heavily touted as a high-stakes summit. Not invited, and watching warily, will be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

    Like many other members of his right-wing coalition, Netanyahu appeared delighted at the election of Trump as U.S. president in November, believing that the Republican’s Middle East policies would undoubtedly favor Israeli interests and be coordinated closely with Netanyahu himself.

    But it hasn’t quite played out that way. Of course, Washington remains – certainly in official communications – Israel’s strongest global ally and chief supplier of arms. But Trump is promoting a Middle East policy that is, at times, distinctly at odds with the interests of Netanyahu and his government.

    In fact, in pushing for an Iran nuclear deal – a surprise reversal from Trump’s first administration – Trump is undermining long-held Netanyahu positions. Such is the level of alarm in Israeli right-wing circles that rumors have been circulating of Trump announcing unilateral U.S. support for a Palestinian state ahead of the Riyadh visit – something that would represent a clear departure for Washington.

    As a historian of Israel and the broader Middle East, I recognize that in key ways Trump’s agenda in Riyadh represents a continuation of the U.S. policies, notably in pursuing security relationships with Arab Gulf monarchies – something Israel has long accepted if not openly supported. But in the process, the trip could also put significant daylight between Trump and Netanyahu.

    Trump’s official agenda

    The four-day trip to the Gulf, Trump’s first policy-driven foreign visit since being elected president, is on the surface more about developing economic and security ties between the U.S. and traditional allies in the Persian Gulf.

    Trump is expected to cement trade deals worth tens of billions of dollars between the U.S. and Arab Gulf States, including unprecedented arms purchases, Gulf investments in the U.S. and even the floated Qatari gift of a palatial 747 intended for use as Air Force One.

    There is also the possibility of a security alliance between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

    So far, so good for Israel’s government. Prior to the Oct. 7 attacks, Israel was already in the process of forging closer ties to the Gulf states, with deals and diplomatic relations established with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain through the Abraham Accords that the Trump administration itself facilitated in September 2020. A potential normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia was also in the offing.

    Dealing with Tehran

    But central to the agenda this week in Riyadh will be issues where Trump and Netanyahu are increasingly not on the same page. And that starts with Iran.

    While the country won’t be represented, Iran will feature heavily at Trump’s summit, as it coincides with the U.S. administration’s ongoing diplomatic talks with Tehran over its nuclear program. Those negotiations have now concluded four rounds. And despite clear challenges, American and Iranian delegations continue to project optimism about the possibility of reaching a deal.

    The approach marks a change of course for Trump, who in 2018 abandoned a similar deal to the one he is now largely looking to forge. It also suggests the U.S. is currently opposed to the idea of direct armed confrontation with Iran, against Netanayhu’s clear preference.

    Diplomacy with Tehran is also favored by Gulf states as a way of containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Even Saudi Arabia – Tehran’s long-term regional rival that, like Israel, opposed the Obama-era Iran nuclear diplomacy – is increasingly looking for a more cautious engagement with Iran. In April, the Saudi defense minister visited Tehran ahead of the recent U.S.-Iranian negotiations.

    Netanyahu has built his political career on the looming threat from a nuclearized Iran and the necessity to nip this threat in the bud. He unsuccessfully tried to undermine President Barack Obama’s initial efforts to reach an agreement with Iran – resulting in 2015’s Iran nuclear deal. But Netanyahu had more luck with Obama’s successor, helping convince Trump to withdraw from the agreement in 2018.

    So Trump’s about-turn on Iran talks has irked Netanyahu – not only because it happened, but because it happened so publicly. In April, the U.S. president called Netanyahu to the White House and openly embarrassed him by stating that Washington is pursuing diplomatic negotiations with Tehran.

    Split over Yemen

    A clear indication of the potential tension between the Trump administration and the Israeli government can be seen in the ongoing skirmishes involving the U.S., Israel and the Houthis in Yemen.

    After the Houthis fired a missile at the Tel Aviv airport on May 4 – leading to its closure and the cancellation of multiple international flights – Israel struck back, devastating an airport and other facilities in Yemen’s capital.

    But just a few hours after the Israeli attack, Trump announced that the U.S. would not strike the Houthis anymore, as they had “surrendered” to his demands and agreed not to block passage of U.S. ships in the Red Sea.

    It became clear that Israel was not involved in this new understanding between the U.S. and the Houthis. Trump’s statement was also notable in its timing, and could be taken as an effort to calm the region in preparation of his trip to Saudi Arabia. The fact that it might help smooth talks with Iran too – Tehran being the Houthis’ main sponsor – was likely a factor as well.

    Timing is also relevant in Israel’s latest attack on Yemeni ports. They took place on May 11 – the eve of Trump setting off for his visit to Saudi Arabia. In so doing, Netanyahu may be sending a signal not only to the Houthis but also to the U.S. and Iran. Continuing to attack the Houthis might make nuclear talks more difficult.

    Bibi’s political survival-first approach

    Critical observers of Netanyahu have long argued that he prioritizes continued war in Gaza over regional calm for the sake of holding together his far-right coalition, members of which desire full control of the Gaza Strip and de-facto annexation of the West Bank.

    Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns of the Iran nuclear threat at the United Nations in 2012.
    Mario Tama/Getty Images

    This, many political commentators have argued, is the main reason why Netanyahu backed off from the last stage of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas in March – something which would have required the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip.

    Since the collapse of the ceasefire, Israel’s army has mobilized in preparation for a renewed Gaza assault, scheduled to start after the end of Trump’s trip to the Gulf.

    With members of the Netanayhu government openly supporting the permanent occupation of the strip and declaring that bringing back the remaining Israeli hostages is no longer a top priority, it seems clear to me that deescalation is not on Netanyahu’s agenda.

    Trump himself has noted recently both the alarming state of the hostages and the grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Now, in addition to the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, the U.S. is also engaged in negotiations with Hamas over ceasefire and aid – ignoring Netanyahu in the process.

    The bottom dollar

    Current U.S. policy in the region may all be serving a greater aim for Trump: to secure billions of dollars of Gulf money for the American economy and, some have said, himself. But to achieve that requires a stable Middle East, and continued war in Gaza and Iran inching closer to nuclear capabilities might disrupt that goal.

    Of course, a diplomatic agreement over Tehran’s nuclear plans is still some way off. And Trump’s foreign policy is notably prone to abrupt turns. But whether guided by a dealmaker’s instincts to pursue trade and economic deals with wealthy Gulf states, or by a genuine – and related – desire to stabilize the region, his administration is increasingly pursuing policies that go against the interests of the current Israeli government.

    Asher Kaufman 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. Trump heads to the Gulf aiming to bolster trade ties – but side talks on Tehran, Gaza could drive a wedge between US and Israel – https://theconversation.com/trump-heads-to-the-gulf-aiming-to-bolster-trade-ties-but-side-talks-on-tehran-gaza-could-drive-a-wedge-between-us-and-israel-256371

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: From Zoo Quest to Ocean: The evolution of David Attenborough’s voice for the planet

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Neil J. Gostling, Associate Professor in Evolution and Palaeobiology, University of Southampton

    Over the course of seven decades, Sir David Attenborough’s documentaries have reshaped how we see the natural world, shifting from colonial-era collecting trips to urgent calls for environmental action.

    His storytelling has inspired generations, but has only recently begun to confront the scale of the ecological crisis. To understand how far nature broadcasting has come, it helps to return to where it started.

    When Attenborough’s broadcasting career began in the 1950s, Austrian filmmakers Hans and Lotte Hass were already pushing the boundaries of what was possible by taking cameras below the sea and touring the world aboard their schooner, the Xafira.

    In one of their 1953 Galapagos films, a crewman handled a sealion pup, having crawled across the volcanic rock of Fernandina honking at sealions to attract them. A penguin and giant tortoise were brought on board Xafira. And as Lotte Hass took photographs, she’d beseech some poor creature to “not be frightened” and “look pleasant”.

    This is a world away from today’s expectations, where both research scientists and amateur naturalists are taught to observe without touching or disturbing wildlife. When the Hasses visited the Galápagos, it was still five years before the creation of the national park and the founding of the island’s conservation organisation Charles Darwin Foundation. Now, visitors must stay at least two metres from all animals – and never approach them.

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    At the same time, television was beginning to shape public perceptions of the natural world. In 1954, Attenborough was working as a young producer on Zoo Quest. By chance, he became its presenter when zoologist Jack Lester became ill.

    The programme followed zoologists collecting animals from around the world for London Zoo. Zoo Quest was filmed in exotic locations around the world and then in the studio where the animals found on the expedition were shown “up close”.

    Attenborough has since acknowledged that Zoo Quest reflected attitudes that would not be acceptable today. The series showed animals being captured from the wild and transported to London Zoo – practices which mirrored extractive, colonial-era approaches to science.

    David Attenborough’s Zoo Quest for a Dragon aired in 1956.

    Yet, Zoo Quest was also groundbreaking. The series brought viewers face-to-face with animals they might never have seen before and pioneered a visual style that made natural history television both entertaining and educational. It helped establish Attenborough’s reputation as a compelling communicator and laid the foundations for a new genre of science broadcasting – one that has evolved, like its presenter, over time.

    After a decade in production, Attenborough returned to presenting with Life on Earth (1979), a landmark series that traced the evolution of life from single-celled organisms to birds and apes. Drawing on his long-standing interest in fossils, the series combined zoology, palaeobiology and natural history to create an ambitious new template for science broadcasting.

    Life on Earth helped cement Attenborough’s reputation as a trusted communicator and became the foundation of the BBC’s “blue-chip” natural history format – big-budget, internationally produced films that put high-quality cinematic wildlife footage at the forefront of the story. The series did not simply document the natural world. It reframed it, using presenter-led storytelling and global spectacle to shape how audiences understood evolutionary processes.

    For much of his career, Attenborough has been celebrated for showcasing the beauty of the natural world. Yet, he has also faced criticism for sidestepping the environmental crises threatening it. Commentators such as the environmental journalist George Monbiot argued that his earlier documentaries, while visually stunning, often avoided addressing the human role in climate change, presenting nature as untouched and avoiding difficult truths about ecological decline.

    Building on the legacy of Life on Earth, Attenborough’s later series began to respond to these critiques. Blue Planet (2001) expanded the scope of nature storytelling, revealing the mysteries of the ocean’s most remote and uncharted ecosystems. Its 2017 sequel, Blue Planet II, introduced a more urgent tone, highlighting the scale of plastic pollution and the need for marine conservation.

    Although Blue Planet II significantly increased viewers’ environmental knowledge, it did not lead to measurable changes in plastic consumption behaviour – a reminder that awareness alone does not guarantee action. The subsequent Wild Isles (2023) continued the shift towards conservation messaging. While the main series aired in five parts, a sixth episode – Saving Our Wild Isles – was released separately and drew controversy amid claims the BBC had sidelined it for being too political. In reality, the episode delivered a clear call to action.

    Attenborough’s latest film, Ocean, continues in this more urgent register, pairing breathtaking imagery with an unflinching assessment of ocean health. After decades of gentle narration, he now speaks with sharpened clarity about the scale of the crisis and the need to act.

    A voice for action

    In recent years, Attenborough has taken on a new role – not just as a broadcaster, but as a powerful voice in environmental diplomacy. He has addressed world leaders at major summits such as the UN climate conference Cop24 and the World Economic Forum, calling for urgent action on climate change. He was also appointed ambassador for the UK government’s review on the economics of biodiversity.

    On the subject of environmemtal diplomacy, Monbiot recently wrote: “A few years ago, I was sharply critical of Sir David for downplaying the environmental crisis on his TV programmes. Most people would have reacted badly but remarkably, at 92, he took this and similar critiques on board and radically changed his approach.”

    Attenborough not only speaks. He listens. This is part of his charm and popularity. He is learning and evolving as much as his audience.

    What makes Attenborough stand out is the way he speaks. While official climate treaties often rely on technical or legal language, he communicates in emotional, accessible terms – speaking plainly about responsibility, urgency and the moral imperative to protect life on Earth. His calm authority and familiar voice make complex issues easier to grasp and harder to dismiss.

    Frequently named Britain’s most trusted public figure, Attenborough has become something of an unofficial diplomat for the planet – apolitical, measured, and often seen as a voice of reason amid populist noise. Despite his criticisms, Attenborough’s documentaries walk a careful line between fragility and resilience, using emotionally ambivalent imagery to prompt reflection. He shares his wonder with the natural world and brings people along with him

    Ocean shows our blue planet in more spectacular fashion than Lotte and Hans Hass could ever have imagined. But it is also Attenborough’s most direct reckoning with environmental collapse. With clarity and urgency, it confronts the damage wrought by industrial trawling and habitat destruction.

    After 70 years of gently guiding viewers through the natural world, Attenborough’s voice has sharpened. If he once opened our eyes to nature’s wonders, he now challenges us not to look away. As he puts it: “If we save the sea, we save our world. After a lifetime filming our planet, I’m sure that nothing is more important.”

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

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

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

    – ref. From Zoo Quest to Ocean: The evolution of David Attenborough’s voice for the planet – https://theconversation.com/from-zoo-quest-to-ocean-the-evolution-of-david-attenboroughs-voice-for-the-planet-251727

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: A looming workforce crisis in NZ tourism and hospitality threatens industry growth plans

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Brien, Associate Professor, Department of Global Value Chains and Trade, Lincoln University, New Zealand

    Getty Images

    Last week’s big tourism conference in Rotorua saw plenty of optimism about the industry’s potential, but also warnings that airline capacity is hampering post-COVID growth.

    The focus on bringing more foreign tourists to New Zealand is understandable, given the sector accounts for 7.5% of GDP and is our second highest export earner. But there is deeper problem, too. We already struggle to serve current visitor numbers – how will we handle more?

    International tourism injected NZ$16.9 billion into the economy in the year to March 2024. Total tourism expenditure (domestic and international) hit a record $44.4 billion, up nearly 15% from the previous year.

    The government has responded with a $13.5 million global marketing boost, and business leaders are celebrating. The big question is whether we will have the workforce to match the ambition.

    Because right now, the pipeline of skilled, engaged people willing to work, grow and lead in tourism and hospitality isn’t flowing.

    Without an industry-led, well-funded campaign to rebuild the perception of tourism and hospitality as credible, rewarding and sustainable career options, New Zealand has a crisis in the making.

    Who wants to work in tourism and hospo?

    Fewer New Zealanders are choosing tourism and hospitality as a career. With the number of locals studying tourism and hospitality collapsing, both sectors are increasingly dependent on foreign workers.

    Tourism education numbers for the past decade show:

    • 1,355 equivalent full-time students were enrolled in tourism-related courses in 2024, down from 3,750 in 2015 – a 63% drop

    • enrolments in bachelor’s degrees in tourism management fell from 45 in 2015 to 25 in 2024 – a 44% drop

    • postgraduate enrolments in tourism management are down 75%, with only 20 in 2024.

    The figures for hospitality education paint an even grimmer picture:

    • enrolments in hospitality courses fell from from 915 in 2015 to just 250 in 2024 – a 73% drop

    • cookery course enrolments fell from 4,125 to 1,140 – a 72% drop

    • food and beverage service training fell from 1,445 in 2015 to just 340 in 2024 – a 76% drop

    • hospitality management degree enrolments fell from 380 in 2015 to 210 in 2024 – a 45% drop.

    These figures do not include actual workplace training, but they still illustrate a clear trend.

    The looming workforce shortage

    Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Louise Upston recently said, “We need to grow tourism businesses. We need to grow the value from the tourism visitors we have.” She’s right. But without a viable workforce, none of this is possible.

    As to why more New Zealanders aren’t keen to work in the sector, Upston said, “I just don’t think the sector’s promoted it well enough.” This is despite many years of industry exhortations to “grow the domestic workforce”, “attract more young people” and “build career pathways”.

    COVID-19 certainly hurt the industry’s image as a place to work. But the challenges around neglected workforce development, career promotion and long-term planning predate the pandemic.

    Other industries and professions – including construction, agriculture and accounting – have invested heavily in scholarships, internships, mentoring and reputation building. Tourism and hospitality haven’t matched this and now risk losing young people to global demand.

    If the pattern continues, there will be a national shortage of qualified staff and competent managers, and greater reliance on short-term and migrant labour. That leads in turn to overworked staff, poorer service, and businesses forced to reduce hours or close altogether.

    Investment in the future

    In the 1970s and 80s, New Zealand had to import tourism and hospitality talent to grow the industries. Without real change, those days may return.

    Apart from what is offered by two major hotel chains, few formal internships exist. Such programmes are not simply part-time jobs, they’re investments in future talent, involving professional guidance and meaningful experience. They take effort, but they work.

    Meanwhile, degree-level programmes are already being dropped. If lower-level course enrolments continue to fall, these programmes may close too. The burden then falls on businesses to train and educate staff. But those same businesses say they can’t find enough staff today.

    This is more than a workforce problem, it’s a national economic risk. Spending millions on attracting visitors only to deliver a substandard experience is not a good use of taxpayer money.

    Without people, there is no hospitality. Without hospitality, there is no tourism. And without a sustainable tourism industry, New Zealand’s economy will suffer.

    Anthony Brien is a member of Tourism Industry Aotearoa.

    – ref. A looming workforce crisis in NZ tourism and hospitality threatens industry growth plans – https://theconversation.com/a-looming-workforce-crisis-in-nz-tourism-and-hospitality-threatens-industry-growth-plans-256212

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Huizenga Announces Portage Central Student as Winner of 2025 Congressional Art Competition

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02)

    Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) announced Lorin Gerstheimer, a student at Portage Central High School, as the winner of the 2025 Congressional Art Competition for Michigan’s 4th Congressional District. Lorin’s oil painting, “Life on the Edge (of my bed)”, will be put on display at the U.S. Capitol alongside winning artwork from students across the country. The runner up for the 2025 Congressional Art Competition was The Crossroads by Madelyn Bottorff a student at Zeeland East High School, and third place was awarded to Polluted Carnage by Sophia Solberg, a student at Portage Central.

    “I want to commend Lorin for her remarkable creativity and skill displayed in her piece,” said Congressman Bill Huizenga. “The judges were thoroughly impressed by the level of detail and passion her work encompasses. I look forward to having Lorin visit our nation’s capital later this summer to participate in a reception with student artists from across the country. Given Lorin’s skill and passion for art, I cannot wait to see what she creates in the future.”

    This year’s Congressional Art Competition announcement took place on Saturday May 3rd, at the Richmond Center for Visual Arts at Western Michigan University’s Frostic School of Art in Kalamazoo. The student artwork was judged by a panel of local art and design professionals.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Padilla, Merkley, Schakowsky Introduce Bicameral Bill to Strengthen Nursing Staff Standards, Improve Patient Care

    US Senate News:

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

    Padilla, Merkley, Schakowsky Introduce Bicameral Bill to Strengthen Nursing Staff Standards, Improve Patient Care

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, on International Nurses Day, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced the Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act to improve hospital patient care and nurse retention by setting mandatory minimum registered nurse-to-patient staffing ratios. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.-09) is leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

    There are no federal mandates regulating the number of patients a registered nurse (RN) can care for at one time in U.S. hospitals. As a result, RNs are consistently required to care for more patients than is safe, negatively impacting patient outcomes. Studies show that when RNs are forced to care for too many patients at one time, patients are at higher risk of preventable medical errors, avoidable complications, falls and injuries, pressure sores, increased length of hospital stay, higher numbers of hospital readmissions, and death. For each additional surgical patient in a registered nurse’s workload above the baseline nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:4, the likelihood of patient death within 30 days increases by seven percent.

    California is currently the only state with an enforceable nurse-to-patient safe staffing law, which the California Nurses Association successfully pushed to pass in 1999. The law has significantly expanded nurse staffing at California’s acute-care hospitals and saved thousands of lives since it was fully implemented in 2004. For instance, a widely cited 2010 University of Pennsylvania study showed that if New Jersey and Pennsylvania matched California’s 1:5 RN-to-patient ratio, their surgical units would have 14 percent fewer deaths and 11 percent fewer deaths, respectively.

    “Every patient deserves access to quality care, but the registered nursing staffing crisis across the country is putting patients at risk and leading to preventable health complications, especially in communities of color,” said Senator Padilla. “The numbers are clear: California’s mandatory minimum nurse-to-patient ratio is saving lives. Extending safe staffing at hospitals across the country is long overdue and is essential to retaining our nursing workforce and improving health outcomes.”

    “As the husband of a nurse, I’ve seen how our health care heroes give so much to keep communities in Oregon healthy every day,” said Senator Merkley, Co-Chair of the Senate Nursing Caucus. “As we celebrate National Nurses Week, I am committed to fighting for safe staffing levels for both nurses and patients, to enhance the quality of patient care, reduce medical errors, and increase nurse retention. Nurses make the world so much better, one bedside at a time, and Congress must do all it can to tackle the challenges these life-saving professionals face.”

    “I am proud to reintroduce the Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act with Senators Padilla and Merkley that will establish registered nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals, provide whistleblower protection for nurses who advocate on behalf of their patients, and invest in training and career development to retain hardworking nurses in the workforce,” said Congresswoman Schakowsky. “For years, I’ve talked to exhausted nurses who have said they go home at night, wondering if they forgot to turn a patient because they were stretched far too thin. Study after study shows that safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios result in higher quality care for patients, lower health care costs, and a better workplace for nurses. It is past time that we act on the evidence, give nurses the support they deserve, and put patients over profits. Let’s get it done!”

    “Nurses are constantly forced by our employers to care for too many patients than is safe. Yet, during National Nurses Week, those same employers hang banners or give out a free cookie to show their appreciation of us. It’s a slap in the face,” said Nancy Hagans, RN and NNU president. “Our patients deserve high-quality care, and nurses have always stood up to protect our patients. It’s time hospital managers are mandated to staff our units safely for our patients’ sake and to actually give nurses the resources and respect we deserve.”

    “Nurses know from caring for patients at the bedside, that safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios save lives. CNA fought for and won legislation in California ensuring safe staffing ratios, and unfortunately two decades later, we are still the only state in the country with a law of its kind,” said Sandy Reding, RN and CNA/NNOC President. “Nurses come to California from all over because of our ratios, and we are proud to continue the fight on the national level until every nurse is guaranteed safe staffing ratios, and our patients and our profession are protected.”

    “The understaffing crisis at hospitals and health care facilities puts 60 million older Americans at risk every year,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “This legislation will improve patient safety and health outcomes by requiring all healthcare facilities to maintain adequate nurse staffing ratios. Nurses, patients, and family members deserve nothing less.”

    “As some in Congress try to cut healthcare to hand tax breaks to billionaires, others are trying to invest in the safe staffing levels needed for high-quality patient care. All too often, patients face interminable delays, overcrowded waiting rooms, and understaffing that puts them in danger. It does not have to be this way. In many cases, we have enough qualified nurses, but they’ve been driven from the bedside by a healthcare system that puts profits over patients. With this bill, Rep. Schakowsky and Sens. Padilla and Merkley give us a path forward that holds hospitals accountable for staffing levels. These standards will improve outcomes for patients, make healthcare careers more sustainable and, in a medical emergency, reassure families that their local hospital is a safe place to get the care they need,” said Randi Weingarten, President, AFT: Education, Healthcare, Public Services.

    “Hospitals across the U.S. are faced with an intensifying staffing crisis, leaving dedicated nurses with no choice but to turn to jobs with better working conditions, regrettably leaving the patients they love and care for,” said Martha Baker, RN, Chairperson of the Nurse Alliance of SEIU Healthcare. “Congress needs to pass safe staffing ratios to allow all nurses—regardless of where we live or where we work—to provide the high-quality care that our patients need and deserve.

    “One nurse can be responsible for the care of an entire hospital floor — keeping multiple patients alive and on the path to recovery,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “They are truly the front-line heroes of our health care system, but they’re also human. Too often, they’re stretched thin, working exhausting hours that put patient care and their own health at risk. The Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act gives nurses the backup they need to keep themselves and their patients safe and healthy. On behalf of the over 60,000 nurses in our AFSCME family, we thank Senator Padilla and Representative Schakowsky for championing real solutions for care and safety.”

    Studies have also found that registered nurse staffing levels in hospitals that serve communities of color are often lower, exacerbating health care disparities. Setting a single standard of nursing care across hospitals would improve outcomes for patients, including patients of color, through reduced readmission rates, increased satisfaction, and better obstetrical outcomes.

    Specifically, the Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act would:

    • Require hospitals to annually develop safe staffing plans that meet the bill’s mandated minimum RN staffing ratios and provide for additional staffing based on individual patient care needs;
    • Mandate that hospitals post notices on minimum ratios and maintain records on RN and other staffing;
    • Provide whistleblower protections, including administrative complaint process and cause of action, for nurses who speak out against assignments that are unsafe for the patient or nurse;
    • Authorize the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to enforce the minimum RN staffing ratios through administrative complaints and civil penalties.

    The bill is endorsed by organizations including National Nurses United, California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, Alliance for Retired Americans, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), SEIU Healthcare, and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

    Senator Padilla has long been a leader in the fight to make health care more equitable and affordable in the United States. Last year, Padilla, Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced the Health Equity and Accountability Act (HEAA) of 2024 to address health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities as well as women, the LGBTQ+ community, rural populations, and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities across the United States. Additionally, Padilla and Booker introduced the Equal Health Care for All Act, bicameral legislation that would make equal access to medical care a protected civil right to help address the racial inequities and structural failures in America’s health care system. He also recently joined Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and over 100 lawmakers in reintroducing the Medicare for All Act, historic legislation that would guarantee health care as a fundamental human right to all people in the United States regardless of income or background.

    A one-pager on the bill is available here.

    Full text of the bill is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA’s Webb Reveals New Details, Mysteries in Jupiter’s Aurora

    Source: NASA

    NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured new details of the auroras on our solar system’s largest planet. The dancing lights observed on Jupiter are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth. With Webb’s advanced sensitivity, astronomers have studied the phenomena to better understand Jupiter’s magnetosphere.
    Auroras are created when high-energy particles enter a planet’s atmosphere near its magnetic poles and collide with atoms or molecules of gas. On Earth these are known as the Northern and Southern Lights. Not only are the auroras on Jupiter huge in size, they are also hundreds of times more energetic than those in Earth’s atmosphere. Earth’s auroras are caused by solar storms — when charged particles from the Sun rain down on the upper atmosphere, energize gases, and cause them to glow in shades of red, green and purple.

    Jupiter has an additional source for its auroras: The strong magnetic field of the gas giant grabs charged particles from its surroundings. This includes not only the charged particles within the solar wind but also the particles thrown into space by its orbiting moon Io, known for its numerous and large volcanoes. Io’s volcanoes spew particles that escape the moon’s gravity and orbit Jupiter. A barrage of charged particles unleashed by the Sun also reaches the planet. Jupiter’s large and powerful magnetic field captures all of the charged particles and accelerates them to tremendous speeds. These speedy particles slam into the planet’s atmosphere at high energies, which excites the gas and causes it to glow.

    Now, Webb’s unique capabilities are providing new insights into the auroras on Jupiter. The telescope’s sensitivity allows astronomers to capture fast-varying auroral features. New data was captured with Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) Dec. 25, 2023, by a team of scientists led by Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom.
    “What a Christmas present it was – it just blew me away!” shared Nichols. “We wanted to see how quickly the auroras change, expecting them to fade in and out ponderously, perhaps over a quarter of an hour or so. Instead, we observed the whole auroral region fizzing and popping with light, sometimes varying by the second.”
    In particular, the team studied emission from the trihydrogen cation (H3+), which can be created in auroras. They found that this emission is far more variable than previously believed. The observations will help develop scientists’ understanding of how Jupiter’s upper atmosphere is heated and cooled.
    The team also uncovered some unexplained observations in their data.
    “What made these observations even more special is that we also took pictures simultaneously in the ultraviolet with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope,” added Nichols. “Bizarrely, the brightest light observed by Webb had no real counterpart in Hubble’s pictures. This has left us scratching our heads. In order to cause the combination of brightness seen by both Webb and Hubble, we need to have a combination of high quantities of very low-energy particles hitting the atmosphere, which was previously thought to be impossible. We still don’t understand how this happens.”

    [embedded content]
    NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a spectacular light show on Jupiter — an enormous display of auroras unlike anything seen on Earth. These infrared observations reveal unexpected activity in Jupiter’s atmosphere, challenging what scientists thought they knew about the planet’s magnetic field and particle interactions. Combined with ultraviolet data from Hubble, the results have raised surprising new questions about Jupiter’s extreme environment.Producer: Paul Morris. Writer: Thaddeus Cesari. Narrator: Professor Jonathan Nichols. Images: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Music Credit: “Zero Gravity” by Brice Davoli [SACEM] via Koka Media [SACEM], Universal Production Music France [SACEM], and Universal Production Music.

    The team now plans to study this discrepancy between the Hubble and Webb data and to explore the wider implications for Jupiter’s atmosphere and space environment. They also intend to follow up this research with more Webb observations, which they can compare with data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft to better explore the cause of the enigmatic bright emission.
    These results were published today in the journal Nature Communications.
    The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
    To learn more about Webb, visit:
    https://science.nasa.gov/webb
    Downloads
    Click any image to open a larger version.
    View/Download all image products at all resolutions for this article from the Space Telescope Science Institute.
    View/Download the research results from the journal Nature Communications.

    Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.govNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
    Bethany Downer – Bethany.Downer@esawebb.orgESA/Webb, Baltimore, Md.
    Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.eduSpace Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.

    Read more: NASA’s Webb Captures Neptune’s Auroras for the First Time
    More Webb News
    More Webb Images
    Webb Science Themes
    Webb Mission Page

    What is the Webb Telescope?
    SpacePlace for Kids
    En Español
    Ciencia de la NASA
    NASA en español 
    Space Place para niños

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Lantronix Appoints Sailesh Chittipeddi to Its Board of Directors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    IRVINE, Calif., May 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lantronix Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRX), a global leader of compute and connectivity for IoT solutions enabling Edge AI Intelligence, today announced that Sailesh Chittipeddi, Ph.D., has joined the Lantronix Board of Directors as an independent director, effective May 6, 2025. Following the appointment of Chittipeddi, the Lantronix Board of Directors will be comprised of five directors, four of whom are independent under applicable listing standards of the Nasdaq Stock Market.

    “We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Chittipeddi to the Lantronix Board of Directors,” said Hoshi Printer, chairman of the Board at Lantronix. “Dr. Chittipeddi is a respected subject expert in Industrial, IoT and Infrastructure businesses. He also has an extensive background in leading operations, procurement and supply chains globally.”

    Dr. Chittipeddi is currently a Venture Partner at Novo Tellus Capital Partners, a Singapore-based private equity firm, and a Board Member at Tessolve, which is headquartered in India. Most recently, he was executive vice president of Global Operations at Renesas Electronics, where he oversaw internal and external manufacturing and associated functions, including supply chain, procurement and related development.

    “Lantronix will benefit greatly from Dr. Chittipeddi’s extensive technology and broad industry expertise, including his service on boards of several global companies where he helped drive successful results,” added Saleel Awsare, CEO and president of Lantronix. “With his expertise in manufacturing, procurement, logistics and global supply chain strategy, Dr. Chittipeddi adds a valuable perspective as we navigate complex geopolitical and associated supply chain environment challenges.”

    At Renesas, Dr. Chittipeddi also served as executive vice president of its Industrial, IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit. In this capacity, he nearly doubled the revenue to more than $7 billion USD. This business unit included the microcontroller, power and analog-mixed signal businesses of former IDT, ISL and DLG acquisition companies. He joined Renesas in 2019 following its acquisition of IDT. In this capacity, he also served as the president of Renesas Electronics America as well as the CEO of its acquired IDT Division.

    Before his tenures at Renesas and IDT, Dr. Chittipeddi held numerous senior positions at other leading technology companies, including Conexant Systems, where he served as the CEO and president, as well as AT&T Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies and Agere Systems. He has also served on global public and private boards, including Sequans Communications, Tessolve (India), Avalanche Technologies (India), Steradian (India), Blu Wireless Technology (U.K.) and Peraso (Canada).

    Dr. Chittipeddi holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in Physics from The Ohio State University. He holds 83 U.S. semiconductor process, package and design patents and has published more than 40 technical articles.

    About Lantronix

    Lantronix Inc. is a global leader of compute and connectivity IoT solutions that target high-growth markets, including Smart Cities, Enterprise and Transportation. Lantronix’s products and services empower companies to succeed in the growing IoT markets by delivering customizable solutions that enable AI Edge Intelligence. Lantronix’s advanced solutions include Intelligent Substations infrastructure, Infotainment systems and Video Surveillance, supplemented with advanced Out-of-Band Management (OOB) for Cloud and Edge Computing.

    For more information, visit the Lantronix website.

    ©2025 Lantronix, Inc. All rights reserved. Lantronix is a registered trademark. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.

    Lantronix Media Contact:
    Gail Kathryn Miller
    Corporate Marketing &
    Communications Manager
    media@lantronix.com

    Lantronix Analyst and Investor Contact:
    investors@lantronix.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d04b3fa2-b8d8-4656-adad-c8d4eb6267c4

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Rigetti Computing Reports First Quarter 2025 Financial Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BERKELEY, Calif., May 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rigetti Computing, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGTI) (“Rigetti” or the “Company”), a pioneer in full-stack quantum-classical computing, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.

    First Quarter 2025 and Recent Financial Highlights

    • Total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2025 were $1.5 million
    • Total operating expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2025 were $22.1 million
    • Operating loss for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was $21.6 million
    • Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was $42.6 million
    • Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2025 includes $62.1 million of non-cash gains from the change in fair value of derivative warrant and earn-out liabilities
    • As of March 31, 2025 cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale investments totaled $209.1 million
    • As of April 30, 2025, following the previously announced closing of the share purchase by Quanta Computer, Inc., cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale investments totaled $237.7 million

    “Rigetti is proud to be awarded important government-funded projects in the U.S. and U.K. to advance our technology, which demonstrates our continued leadership in superconducting quantum computing,” says Rigetti CEO Dr. Subodh Kulkarni. “We also are making great strides in developing innovative approaches to scaling to higher qubit count systems, which is possible due to our open and modular system architecture, in-house full-stack expertise, and world-class partners.”

    Recent Business Developments

    Rigetti Selected to Participate in DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative
    Rigetti will advance to Stage A, a 6-month performance period focused on the Company’s utility-scale quantum computer concept worth up to $1 million upon completion of program milestones. Rigetti’s proposed concept to design and build a Utility-Scale Quantum Computer (USQC) combines the Company’s proprietary multi-chip architecture with scalable quantum error correction (QEC) codes. Rigetti’s long-time partner and leader in QEC technology, Riverlane, will be collaborating on this project and bringing their expertise to help refine the proposed USQC concept and validate the underlying technology.

    Rigetti Granted AFOSR Award to Further Develop Breakthrough Chip Fabrication Technology
    Rigetti will lead a $5.48 million consortium to further develop its breakthrough chip fabrication technology, Alternating-Bias Assisted Annealing (ABAA). Rigetti will collaborate with Iowa State University, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, the University of Connecticut, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory* to develop a detailed understanding of how ABAA impacts the chip on a microscopic level — which aims to shed light on defects in superconducting qubits and open new avenues for understanding and mitigating them.

    *Funded separately though Laboratory for Physical Sciences, University of Maryland

    Rigetti Awarded Three Innovate UK Quantum Mission Pilot Awards to Advance Superconducting Quantum Computing
    Rigetti will lead a £3.5 million consortium to advance quantum error correction capabilities on superconducting quantum computers. In collaboration with Riverlane and the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) Superconducting Circuits Team, the consortium will conduct ambitious QEC tests that advance state-of-the-art metrics and demonstrate real-time QEC capabilities — a requirement for universal, fault-tolerant quantum computing.

    As part of the project, Rigetti will also upgrade its existing NQCC quantum computer. The upgrades will include:

    • Deploying a larger 36-qubit quantum processing unit (QPU), updating from the current 24-qubit QPU
    • Integrating Rigetti’s latest generation control system, enabling improved qubit control and a fully programmable, low-latency interface with Riverlane’s QEC Stack

    Rigetti was also awarded two additional Quantum Missions pilot competition projects:

    • Collaboration with SEEQC to integrate its digital chip-based technology with Rigetti’s 9-qubit Novera™ QPU hosted at the NQCC with the goal of identifying and understanding the key system components needed for scalable QEC.
    • Collaboration with TreQ, Qruise, Q-CTRL, and Oxford Ionics aims to create an open-architecture quantum computing testbed and deliver an open specification for quantum workflows, creating a common interface between quantum software and hardware.

    Rigetti Closes Investment by Quanta Computer
    On April 29, 2025, Rigetti closed its previously announced investment by Quanta Computer Inc. related to our strategic collaboration agreement. In connection with the closing, Quanta purchased approximately $35 million of shares of Rigetti common stock at approximately $11.59 per share.

    Recent Technical Updates

    Controlling a Superconducting Qubit Using Optical Signals
    Rigetti’s joint paper with Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Chicago, “Coherent control of a superconducting qubit using light,” has been published in Nature Physics.

    Fault-tolerant quantum computing will likely require 10,000 to a million physical qubits. Scaling these systems is challenging because they require bulky microwave components with high thermal loads that can quickly overwhelm the cooling power of a dilution refrigerator. Optical signals have a considerably smaller footprint and negligible thermal conductivity.

    The team successfully demonstrated the integration of a hybrid microwave-optical quantum transducer with a Rigetti-fabricated superconducting qubit. This hybrid set-up enables optical control of the qubit, removing the need for coax lines and provides a promising approach to scaling to higher qubit count systems.

    New Quantum Algorithm Boosts Classical Optimizers
    Rigetti leveraged its new quantum optimization algorithm, quantum preconditioning, to address a power energy grid problem. Using a public dataset representing South Carolina’s energy grid, the problem was to compute the maximum power exchange section, a metric that informs on the health and the power delivery capability of the energy network. Using Rigetti’s 84-qubit Ankaa-3 system, quantum preconditioning was used to boost best-in-class classical optimizers. A relative advantage against the classical baseline was achieved along with a high solution accuracy, highlighting the potential for quantum preconditioning to achieve quantum utility for solving practical optimization problems.

    Conference Call and Webcast
    Rigetti will host a conference call later today, May 12, 2025, at 5:00 pm ET, or 2:00 pm PT, to discuss its first quarter 2025 financial results.

    You can listen to a live audio webcast of the conference call at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/5w8qggnn/ or the “Events & Presentations” section of the Company’s Investor Relations website at https://investors.rigetti.com/. A replay of the conference call will be available at the same locations following the conclusion of the call for one year.

    To participate in the live call, you must register using the following link: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BIa01e2c81dc8f4031b25c1ce89653b15e. Once registered, you will receive dial-in numbers and a unique PIN number. When you dial in, you will input your PIN and be routed into the call. If you register and forget your PIN, or lose the registration confirmation email, simply re-register to receive a new PIN.

    About Rigetti
    Rigetti is a pioneer in full-stack quantum computing. The Company has operated quantum computers over the cloud since 2017 and serves global enterprise, government, and research clients through its Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform. In 2021, Rigetti began selling on-premises quantum computing systems with qubit counts between 24 and 84 qubits, supporting national laboratories and quantum computing centers. Rigetti’s 9-qubit Novera QPU was introduced in 2023 supporting a broader R&D community with a high-performance, on-premises QPU designed to plug into a customer’s existing cryogenic and control systems. The Company’s proprietary quantum-classical infrastructure provides high-performance integration with public and private clouds for practical quantum computing. Rigetti has developed the industry’s first multi-chip quantum processor for scalable quantum computing systems. The Company designs and manufactures its chips in-house at Fab-1, the industry’s first dedicated and integrated quantum device manufacturing facility. Learn more at https://www.rigetti.com/.

    Contacts
    Rigetti Computing Investor Contact:
    IR@Rigetti.com

    Rigetti Computing Media Contact:
    press@rigetti.com

    Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
    Certain statements in this communication may be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements with respect to the Company’s future success and performance, including expectations with respect to timing of the development and commercialization of superconducting quantum computing; expectations regarding the advantages and impact of the government-funded projects on the Company’s operations, technology roadmap, milestones, and the Company’s position in the industry; statements to the development of innovative approaches to scaling to higher qubit count systems and the impact of our open and modular system architecture, in-house full-stack expertise, and world-class partners; expectations for work under the AFOSR Award to shed light on defects in superconducting qubits and open new avenues for understanding and mitigating them; and expectations for the Quantum Missions pilot competition projects to: (a) lead to identifying and understanding key system components needed for scalable QEC, and (b) create an open-architecture quantum computing testbed and deliver an open specification for quantum workflows, creating a common interface between quantum software and hardware. These forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company and its management, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: the Company’s ability to achieve milestones, technological advancements, including with respect to its technology roadmap; the ability of the Company to obtain government contracts successfully and in a timely manner and the availability of government funding; the potential of quantum computing; the success of the Company’s partnerships and collaborations, including the strategic collaboration with Quanta; the Company’s ability to accelerate its development of multiple generations of quantum processors; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company or others; the ability to maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and attract and retain management and key employees; costs related to operating as a public company; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the possibility that the Company may be adversely affected by other economic, business, or competitive factors; the Company’s estimates of expenses and profitability; the evolution of the markets in which the Company competes; the ability of the Company to implement its strategic initiatives and expansion plans; the expected use of proceeds from the Company’s past and future financings or other capital; the sufficiency of the Company’s cash resources; unfavorable conditions in the Company’s industry, the global economy or global supply chain, including rising inflation and interest rates, deteriorating international trade relations, political turmoil, natural catastrophes, warfare and terrorist attacks; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 and other documents filed by the Company from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements other than as required by applicable law. The Company does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.

     
    RIGETTI COMPUTING, INC.
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
    (in thousands, except number of shares and par value)
    (unaudited)
                 
        March 31,   December 31,
        2025   2024
    Assets            
    Current assets:            
    Cash and cash equivalents   $ 37,162     $ 67,674  
    Available-for-sale investments – short-term     171,966       124,420  
    Accounts receivable     1,068       2,427  
    Prepaid expenses     2,124       3,156  
    Other current assets     2,041       9,081  
    Total current assets     214,361       206,758  
    Available-for-sale investments – long-term     —       25,068  
    Property and equipment, net     46,100       44,643  
    Operating lease right-of-use assets     7,609       7,993  
    Other assets     1,068       325  
    Total assets   $ 269,138     $ 284,787  
                 
    Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity            
    Current liabilities:            
    Accounts payable   $ 3,401     $ 1,590  
    Accrued expenses and other current liabilities     5,665       8,005  
    Current portion of deferred revenue     147       113  
    Current portion of operating lease liabilities     2,179       2,159  
    Total current liabilities     11,392       11,867  
    Deferred revenue, less current portion     698       698  
    Operating lease liabilities, less current portion     6,230       6,641  
    Derivative warrant liabilities     39,576       93,095  
    Earn-out liabilities     4,114       45,897  
    Total liabilities     62,010       158,198  
    Commitments and contingencies            
    Stockholders’ equity:            
    Preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 shares authorized, none outstanding     —       —  
    Common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 1,000,000,000 shares authorized, 286,974,947 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2025 and 283,546,871 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2024     29       29  
    Additional paid-in capital     719,315       681,202  
    Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income     (88 )     105  
    Accumulated deficit     (512,128 )     (554,747 )
    Total stockholders’ equity     207,128       126,589  
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity   $ 269,138     $ 284,787  
                     
     
    RIGETTI COMPUTING, INC.
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
    (in thousands, except per share data)
    (unaudited)
         
        Three months ended March 31,
        2025 2024
    Revenue   $ 1,472     $ 3,052  
    Cost of revenue     1,030       1,552  
    Total gross profit     442       1,500  
    Operating expenses:            
    Research and development     15,455       11,471  
    Selling, general and administrative     6,619       6,614  
    Total operating expenses     22,074       18,085  
    Loss from operations     (21,632 )     (16,585 )
    Other income (expense), net            
    Interest expense     —       (1,107 )
    Interest income     2,152       1,123  
    Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities     53,262       (2,583 )
    Change in fair value of earn-out liabilities     8,837       (1,621 )
    Total other income (expense), net     64,251       (4,188 )
    Net income (loss) before provision for income taxes     42,619       (20,773 )
    Provision for income taxes     —       —  
    Net income (loss)   $ 42,619     $ (20,773 )
    Net income (loss) available to common stockholders used in diluted earnings per share   $ 38,256     $ (20,773 )
    Net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders – basic   $ 0.15     $ (0.14 )
    Net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders – diluted   $ 0.13     $ (0.14 )
    Weighted average shares used to compute net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders – basic     284,698       151,855  
    Weighted average shares used to compute net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders – diluted     301,595       151,855  
                     
     
    RIGETTI COMPUTING INC.
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
    (in thousands)
    (unaudited)
         
        Three months ended March 31,
        2025   2024
    Cash flows from operating activities:            
    Net income (loss)   $ 42,619     $ (20,773 )
    Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities:            
    Depreciation and amortization     1,829       1,787  
    Stock-based compensation     4,174       2,991  
    Change in fair value of earn-out liabilities     (8,837 )     1,621  
    Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities     (53,262 )     2,583  
    Accretion of available-for-sale securities     (1,423 )     (855 )
    Amortization of debt issuance costs, commitment fees and accretion of final payment fees     —       298  
    Non-cash lease expense     384       391  
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities:            
    Accounts receivable     1,359       323  
    Prepaid expenses, other current assets and other assets     1,379       435  
    Deferred revenue     34       (214 )
    Accounts payable     747       334  
    Accrued expenses and operating lease liabilities     (2,654 )     (2,060 )
    Net cash used in operating activities     (13,651 )     (13,139 )
    Cash flows from investing activities:            
    Purchases of property and equipment     (2,547 )     (5,493 )
    Purchases of available-for-sale securities     (44,062 )     (27,287 )
    Maturities of available-for-sale securities     23,000       39,000  
    Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities     (23,609 )     6,220  
    Cash flows from financing activities:            
    Payments of principal of notes payable     —       (3,045 )
    Proceeds from sale of common stock through Common Stock Purchase Agreement     —       12,838  
    Proceeds from sale of common stock through At-The-Market (ATM) Offering     —       11,031  
    Payments of offering costs     (73 )     (174 )
    Net proceeds from tax withholdings on sell-to-cover equity award transactions     6,272       —  
    Proceeds from issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options     327       60  
    Proceeds from issuance of common stock upon exercise of warrants     409       —  
    Net cash provided by financing activities     6,935       20,710  
    Effects of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents     (187 )     (85 )
    Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents     (30,512 )     13,706  
    Cash and cash equivalents – beginning of period     67,674       21,392  
    Cash and cash equivalents – end of period   $ 37,162     $ 35,098  
    Supplemental disclosures of other cash flow information:            
    Cash paid for interest   $ —     $ 811  
    Non-cash investing and financing activities:            
    Capitalization of deferred costs to equity upon share issuance     —       52  
    Purchases of property and equipment recorded in accounts payable     1,408       1,115  
    Purchases of property and equipment recorded in accrued expenses     74       —  
    Reclassification of earn-out liabilities to additional paid-in capital for vesting of Promote Sponsor Vesting Shares     32,946       —  
    Reclassification of derivative liabilities to additional paid-in capital due to exercise of Public Warrants     257       —  
    Purchases of deferred offering costs in accounts payable     122       273  
    Unrealized losses on short term investments     (8 )     (18 )
                     

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship heads to the Supreme Court

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jean Lantz Reisz, Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Co-Director, USC Immigration Clinic, University of Southern California

    President Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship resurrects a dissenting argument in an 1898 case that went before the Supreme Court. iStock/Getty Images Plus

    For more than 150 years, people who were born within U.S. territory automatically received citizenship – regardless of their parents’ immigration status.

    President Donald Trump’s January 2025 executive order on birthright citizenship – stating that children born in the U.S. to parents who are not in the country legally, or who are not permanent residents, cannot receive citizenship – threatens to upend this precedent.

    The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on the case on May 14, 2025.

    This comes after federal judges in three cases that took place in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington banned Trump’s order from going into effect, determining that the president cannot change or limit the Constitution by executive order.

    The Trump administration has argued that courts previously did not interpret the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause correctly. But the administration’s argument in its emergency appeal to the Supreme Court is different. The administration is asking the Supreme Court to narrow the federal judges’ bans on implementing the order so their rulings apply only to the noncitizen plaintiffs named in those specific cases. If the Supreme Court justices agree, that could mean Trump’s executive order could apply to all of the other noncitizens not named in the cases at hand.

    The president has broad powers when enforcing immigration laws and has the most discretion to use this authority when immigration is a national security issue.

    At the same time, as an immigration law scholar, I understand that the president’s immigration power is limited by federal laws and the Constitution. American citizenship is a right that is spelled out in the Constitution – and the Constitution does not give the president the power to change how someone gets citizenship in the country.

    Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown speaks to the media after a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship on Feb. 6, 2025.
    Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

    What the Constitution says about birthright citizenship

    Ratified in 1868, the 14th Amendment citizenship clause states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States. …”

    There are currently two exceptions to who can receive birthright citizenship: children of war enemies who are occupying the U.S. and children of noncitizens working as foreign diplomats in the U.S.

    Trump’s executive order states there is now a third exception – the child of a mother who is living in the country without legal authorization, or has a temporary visa, if the father is also not a lawful permanent resident or U.S. citizen.

    Since Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order, multiple states, cities, immigration rights organizations and private individuals, including pregnant mothers, have sued Trump. They have also sued the government agencies he instructed to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to noncitizens.

    If the president’s executive order were to fully take effect, hundreds of thousands of babies born in the U.S. would be living in the country illegally. They could be deported by the U.S. government and would potentially be stateless, meaning without citizenship in any country.

    If these babies stayed in the U.S., they would also be denied basic rights and privileges given to U.S. citizens, such as government-provided health care insurance and legal identification documents.

    Once these children became adolescents and then adults, they could not receive federal financial aid for education, may not be eligible to legally work and could not vote.

    This would create a vast and indefinitely growing population of noncitizens who are born and raised in the U.S. but do not have the legal right to stay there.

    What led to the 14th Amendment

    In 1868, the required 28 of the then 37 U.S. states ratified the 14th Amendment. This ensured that certain states did not deny citizenship to freed former slaves, who were of African descent and forcibly sent to the U.S., as well as their children.

    About 30 years later, a U.S.-born man of Chinese descent named Wong Kim Ark was returning home to San Francisco after visiting his parents in China. U.S. authorities would not let him leave a steamship docked in the San Francisco harbor and enter the U.S.

    Government officials prevented his entry under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, a discriminatory law that barred Chinese nationals from entering the U.S. and becoming naturalized citizens, among other restrictions.

    Wong argued that he was a U.S. citizen at birth and not barred by the exclusion laws.

    The Supreme Court, albeit not unanimously, decided in 1898 that Wong was a citizen, since he was born in a U.S. territory.

    The Supreme Court noted that the framers of the 14th Amendment relied on the British legal principle of “jus soli,” a Latin term meaning right of soil, to give automatic citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil. Under jus soli, any person born within the kingdom of the British king was a citizen of that kingdom.

    U.S. courts and lawmakers have similarly interpreted the 14th Amendment to automatically give citizenship to all children born in the U.S., even if their parents are immigrants.

    In 1952, Congress passed the Immigration and Nationality Act, which incorporated language from the 14th Amendment into immigration law. This included the phrase that “any person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” is a “citizen of the United States at birth.”

    The 1952 statute did not exclude children born to immigrants living in the U.S. without legal authorization or immigrants with a temporary visa.

    In 1995, the Office of Legal Counsel for the Department of Justice evaluated proposed federal legislation that would deny birthright citizenship to certain children, based on their parents’ immigration status. The Department of Justice determined the legislation would be “unquestionably unconstitutional” and it did not become law.

    Less than 10 years later, the Supreme Court recognized in 2004 that accused Taliban fighter Yasser Hamdi had certain rights as a U.S. citizen. Hamdi was born in Louisiana to Saudi Arabian parents who had temporary visas.

    Wong Kim Ark was born in the U.S. but denied reentry in 1895 in a case that went to the Supreme Court.
    National Archives/Interim Archives/Getty Images

    Trump’s 14th Amendment claims

    Whether Trump’s executive order ultimately survives depends on how the Supreme Court interprets the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in the 14th Amendment.

    The Trump administration argues that this phrase was never meant to include the children of immigrants who were living in the U.S. without legal authorization or with temporary visas. The administration also says the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” means more than just being born in U.S. territory. It means having undivided sovereign allegiance to the U.S. government.

    The Trump administration argues that U.S.-born children of noncitizens owe allegiance to a different country.

    This is an old argument, based on the dissenting opinion in the Wong Kim Ark case in 1898. The Supreme Court already rejected this argument in that case.

    The courts are following historical precedent

    Three federal judges in the cases before the Supreme Court all determined in 2025 that Trump’s executive order is likely unconstitutional.

    The Washington judge, for example, said in February that the administration was rehashing a century-old losing argument.

    The appellate courts have also denied the government’s requests to change the preliminary injunctions.

    For over a century, the federal government has recognized that nearly every child born in the U.S., regardless of who their parents are, automatically becomes a U.S. citizen.

    Now, the Supreme Court will decide whether there is merit to the Trump administration’s technical argument that the federal judges’ block on its executive order should apply to plaintiffs in the three cases – an option that could permit the executive order to apply to all other noncitizens, even if it is unconstitutional.

    Whether the executive order itself is constitutional would be a question left for a later date. However, that date may come after the executive order causes irreversible damage to U.S. citizens.

    Jean Lantz Reisz 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. Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship heads to the Supreme Court – https://theconversation.com/trumps-bid-to-end-birthright-citizenship-heads-to-the-supreme-court-248819

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Alumni Honored at Inaugural CLAS Awards Ceremony

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences recently celebrated the achievements of six outstanding alumni during its inaugural CLAS Alumni Awards Ceremony.  

    The event brought together faculty, staff, alumni, and family members to honor graduates whose careers reflect the excellence and impact of a liberal arts and sciences education. 

    “Our alumni are among UConn’s greatest ambassadors, and we take immense pride in their accomplishments,” said UConn President Radenka Maric. “These awards in CLAS and across the University reflect the transformative power of a UConn education and the positive impact Huskies make in Connecticut and around the world.” 

    “The launch of our alumni awards program reflects our enduring commitment to celebrating the lifelong impact of a liberal arts education,” said CLAS dean Ofer Harel. 

    With more than 130,000 alumni, CLAS is UConn’s largest and most academically diverse college. The new awards program was created to recognize alumni who exemplify the College’s core values of community, creativity, dedication, diversity, empowerment, and integrity. 

    “These individuals reflect the depth, diversity, and impact of a CLAS education in their work and their lives,” Harel said in his opening remarks. “The awards were established to celebrate individual achievement, but also the power of a liberal arts and sciences education to open doors, fuel ambition, and inspire change.”  

    The winners were honored on April 30 at the Alumni House in Storrs. Their work spans science, policy, media, and the environment. 

    Distinguished Alumni Awards – Social Sciences and Humanities  

    Bryan Pollard ’85 (CLAS) graduated magna cum laude in political science as a UConn Honors Scholar and Phi Beta Kappa member. He earned his JD from Yale and led a 35-year legal career, including roles at Crowell & Moring in Washington, D.C., Day, Berry & Howard in Hartford, CT, and United Technologies Corporation (now RTX Corporation). He has served on multiple nonprofit boards and two terms on Middletown’s Ethics Commission. A Past President of the UConn Alumni Association, he is now serving a second term as Alumni Trustee. In 2021, he and his wife established a UConn CLAS scholarship fund and support the annual Alumni and Student of Color Networking Night.

    Bryan Pollard ’85 (CLAS) received a CLAS Distinguished Alumni Award in the Social Sciences and Humanities. (Photo courtesy of UConn Foundation)

    Mike Soltys ’81 (CLAS) began his career as an intern at ESPN in 1980 and went on to serve in corporate communications for 43 years, including 20 as vice president. He led strategic publicity and issue management for ESPN’s networks and platforms, helped launch ESPN’s corporate blog and media site, and managed major campaigns such as ESPN’s 25th anniversary. He served as a registered lobbyist for Connecticut issues and was ESPN’s longest-serving Editorial Board member. Mike holds a master’s from the University of Hartford and now serves as ESPN Historian. He was recognized in 2024 with a Lifetime Achievement Award from UConn’s Department of Communication. In memory of their parents, Mike and his sisters have established an annual scholarship at UConn for students pursuing careers in athletic communications. 

    Mike Soltys ’81 (CLAS) received a CLAS Distinguished Alumni Award in the Social Sciences and Humanities. (Photo courtesy UConn Foundation)

    Distinguished Alumni Awards – Life and Physical Sciences  

    Kevin Bohacs ’76 (CLAS) is a sedimentary geologist who earned his Ph.D. from MIT and spent over 40 years in industry research, primarily at ExxonMobil. His work has focused on mudstone systems, basin analysis, and Earth systems modeling, with applications on Earth and Mars. He has conducted research in over 40 countries, published more than 100 scientific works, co-authored and edited several books, and is listed as co-inventor on three patents. He has held roles in scientific lecturing and field training, and supports student education through the Earth Sciences Nugget Fund at UConn. 

    Kevin Bohacs ’76 (CLAS) received a CLAS Distinguished Alumni Award in the Life and Physical Sciences. (Photo courtesy UConn Foundation)

    Richard Piacentini MS ’84 (CLAS) is President and CEO of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, where he has led initiatives in sustainability and regenerative design since 1994. Under his leadership, Phipps Conservatory built the Center for Sustainable Landscapes, which is one of the greenest buildings in the world and produces as much energy and water as it uses. Among other accomplishments, he oversaw the creation of the first LEED certified greenhouse, a zero-energy modular classroom called the Nature Lab, and the highly sustainable Exhibit Staging Center, which meets the highest green building standards. Piacentini holds an MS in Botany from UConn, an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a BS in Pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island.

    Richard Piacentini MS ’84 (CLAS) received a CLAS Distinguished Alumni Award in the Life and Physical Sciences. (Photo courtesy of UConn Foundation)

    Emerging Leader Award – Humanities and Social Sciences  

    Prabhas KC ’22 (CLAS) At UConn, economics major Prabhas KC served as a Board Member and Student Representative on the Mansfield Downtown Partnership, received the Department of Economics’ Dr. Joseph W. McAnneny, Jr. Award, and delivered the commencement address at his graduation in 2022.  He joined tech firm ServiceNow after graduation and earned the company’s “Hungry and Humble” Award. KC is the self-published author of “Nani, Let’s Count to 10!,” a bestselling bilingual children’s book, and founded Babu’s Books to promote cultural identity among second-generation immigrants through partnerships with schools and nonprofits. 

    Prabhas KC ’22 (CLAS) won the CLAS Emerging Leader Award in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Photo courtesy UConn Foundation.

    Emerging Leader Awards – Life and Physical Sciences 

    Tanisha Williams ’19 Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Plant Biology at the University of Georgia and Director of the UGA Herbarium. She studies plant conservation, climate change adaptation, and the role of Indigenous knowledge in ecosystem resilience, and her work spans the U.S., South Africa, and Australia. Williams previously held a postdoctoral fellowship at Bucknell University, where she described two new plant species and mentored more than 40 students. A Fulbright Fellow and Alumni Ambassador, she also founded Black Botanists Week and has received honors including the ASPT Peter Raven Award and the Linnaean Society’s Bicentenary Medal. 

    Tanisha Williams ’19 Ph.D. won the CLAS Emerging Leader Award in the Life and Physical Sciences. (Photo courtesy of UConn Foundation)

    Learn more about the CLAS Alumni Awards.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Text adopted – 2023 and 2024 reports on Serbia – P10_TA(2025)0093 – Wednesday, 7 May 2025 – Strasbourg

    Source: European Parliament

    The European Parliament,

    –  having regard to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States of the one part, and the Republic of Serbia, of the other part(1), which entered into force on 1 September 2013,

    –  having regard to Serbia’s application for membership of the EU of 19 December 2009,

    –  having regard to the Commission opinion of 12 October 2011 on Serbia’s application for membership of the European Union (COM(2011)0668), the European Council’s decision of 1 March 2012 to grant Serbia candidate status and the European Council’s decision of 28 June 2013 to open EU accession negotiations with Serbia,

    –  having regard to the Brussels Agreement of 27 February 2023 and the Ohrid Agreement of 18 March 2023 and the Implementation Annex thereto,

    –  having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1529 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 September 2021 establishing the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III)(2),

    –  having regard to Regulation (EU) 2024/1449 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans(3),

    –  having regard to the presidency conclusions of the Thessaloniki European Council meeting of 19 and 20 June 2003,

    –   having regard to the declarations of the EU-Western Balkans summits of 17 May 2018 in Sofia and of 6 May 2020 in Zagreb,

    –   having regard to its resolutions on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation,

    –  having regard to the Berlin Process, launched on 28 August 2014,

    –  having regard to the first agreement on principles governing the normalisation of relations between the governments of Serbia and Kosovo of 19 April 2013, to the agreements of 25 August 2015, and to the ongoing EU-facilitated dialogue for the normalisation of relations,

    –  having regard to the agreement on free movement between the governments of Serbia and Kosovo of 27 August 2022, to the agreement on licence plates of 23 November 2022, and to the Energy Agreements’ Implementation Roadmap in the EU-facilitated Dialogue of 21 June 2022,

    –  having regard to the Commission communication of 5 February 2020 entitled ‘Enhancing the accession process – A credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans’ (COM(2020)0057),

    –  having regard to the Commission communication of 6 October 2020 entitled ‘An Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans’ (COM(2020)0641),

    –  having regard to the Commission communication of 8 November 2023 entitled ‘2023 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy’ (COM(2023)0690), accompanied by the Commission staff working document entitled ‘Serbia 2023 Report’ (SWD(2023)0695),

    –  having regard to the Commission communication of 8 November 2023 entitled ‘New growth plan for the Western Balkans’ (COM(2023)0691),

    –  having regard to the Commission communication of 20 March 2024 on pre-enlargement reforms and policy reviews (COM(2024)0146),

    –  having regard to the Commission communication of 30 October 2024 entitled ‘2024 Communication on EU enlargement policy’ (COM(2024)0690), accompanied by the Commission staff working document entitled ‘Serbia 2024 Report’ (SWD(2024)0695),

    –  having regard to the European Council conclusions of 9 February 2023 on the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina,

    –  having regard to Article 14 of the Serbian Constitution on the protection of national minorities,

    –  having regard to the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, ratified by Serbia in 2001 and the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, ratified by Serbia in 2006,

    –  having regard to the European Council conclusions of 26 and 27 October 2023 on Kosovo and Serbia,

    –  having regard to the Council conclusions of 17 December 2024 on enlargement,

    –  having regard to the European Court of Human Rights order to Serbia of 29 April 2025 to refrain from using sonic devices for crowd control,

    –  having regard to the final report of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) election observation mission on the early parliamentary and presidential elections of 3 April 2022 in Serbia, published on 19 August 2022,

    –  having regard to the European Council conclusions of December 2006, to the Council conclusions of March 2020 and to the Conclusions of the Presidency of the European Council in Copenhagen of 21-22 June 1993, also known as the Copenhagen criteria,

    –  having regard to the final report of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission on the early parliamentary elections of 17 December 2023 in Serbia, published on 28 February 2024,

    –  having regard to the memorandum of understanding between the European Union and the Republic of Serbia on a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric vehicles, signed on 19 July 2024,

    –  having regard to its resolution of 29 February 2024 on deepening EU integration in view of future enlargement(4),

    –  having regard to its previous resolutions on Serbia, in particular that of 19 October 2023 on the recent developments in the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue, including the situation in the northern municipalities in Kosovo(5), and that of 8 February 2024 on the situation in Serbia following the elections(6),

    –  having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

    –  having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A10-0072/2025),

    A.  whereas enlargement is one of the most successful EU foreign policy instruments and a strategic geopolitical investment in long-term peace, stability and security throughout the continent;

    B.  whereas according to the Copenhagen criteria, candidate countries must adhere to the values of the Union in order to be able to join it;

    C.  whereas democracy and the rule of law are the fundamental values on which the EU is founded;

    D.  whereas in recent years, political rights and civil liberties have been steadily eroded, putting pressure on independent media, the political opposition and civil society organisations;

    E.  whereas the Fourth Opinion on Serbia of the Council of Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention on National Minorities, adopted on 26 June 2019, criticised Serbia’s delays in fully implementing education rights for minorities;

    F.  whereas freedom of religion is a core European value and a fundamental human right and Serbia is therefore obliged to respect and guarantee this freedom for all individuals residing within its territory, in accordance with its international commitments and human rights obligations;

    G.  whereas in line with Chapter 23 of the acquis, Serbia must demonstrate real improvements in the effective exercise of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities;

    H.  whereas each candidate country for enlargement is judged on its own merits, including their respect for and unwavering commitment to shared European rights and values and alignment with the EU’s foreign and security policy;

    I.  whereas Serbia has not imposed sanctions against Russia following the Russian aggression in Ukraine; whereas Serbia’s rate of alignment with the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) has been steadily declining since 2021; whereas Serbia supports the territorial integrity and political independence of Ukraine, and has clearly condemned the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine and voted alongside the EU in the UN, even though it has not imposed sanctions against Russia; whereas Serbia’s rate of alignment with the CFSP dropped from 54 % in 2023 to 51 % in 2024 while other candidate countries in the region – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia – achieved 100 % alignment;

    J.  whereas Serbia remains a critical battleground for foreign disinformation campaigns, notably by Russia and China, which seek to create an anti-Western rhetoric; whereas the final report of the OSCE/ODHIR on the early parliamentary elections held on 17 December 2023 pointed out several procedural deficiencies, as well as the use of harsh rhetoric and the presence of consistent bias in the media that gave an unbalanced advantage to the ruling party; whereas the issues identified in that report need to be assessed thoroughly and promptly; whereas as part of the accession negotiations, Serbia adopted the Strategy for Combating Cybercrime 2019-2023 and the relevant action plans in September 2018; whereas the strategy and the relevant action plans were not renewed after December 2023; whereas Serbia did not align with the EU’s restrictive measures in reaction to cyberattacks in 2023 and 2024;

    K.  whereas the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is a precondition for the progression of both countries towards EU membership;

    L.  whereas accession to the EU inevitably requires full alignment with the foreign policy objectives of the Union;

    M.  whereas Serbia recognises the territorial integrity of Ukraine, including the Crimean peninsula and the Donbas region;

    N.  whereas the EU is Serbia’s main trading partner, accounting for 59,7 % of Serbia’s total trade;

    O.  whereas Russia is using its influence in Serbia to try to destabilise, interfere in and threaten neighbouring sovereign states and undermine Serbia’s European future; whereas Russian propaganda outlets such as RT (formerly Russia Today) and Sputnik operate freely in Serbia and exert significant influence in shaping anti-EU and anti-democratic narratives; whereas disinformation often originates from a false or misleading statement by a political figure, which is then reported by state-owned media and subsequently amplified on social media, often with an intention to undermine political opponents and democratic principles;

    P.  whereas on 8 June 2024, an ‘All-Serb Assembly’ took place in Belgrade with the participation of political leaders from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo under the slogan ‘One people, one assembly’;

    Commitment to EU accession

    1.  Notes Serbia’s stated commitment to EU membership as its strategic goal and its ambition to align fully with the EU acquis by the end of 2026; urges Serbia to deliver quickly and decisively on essential reforms, especially in cluster 1, for this very ambitious commitment to be perceived as realistic, genuine and meaningful; stresses the need for Serbia to seriously and categorically demonstrate that it is strategically oriented towards the EU, by showing strong political will and consistency in the implementation of EU-related reforms and by communicating objectively and unambiguously with its citizens about the EU, Serbia’s European path and the required reforms;

    2.  Reiterates the strategic importance of the Western Balkans in the current geopolitical context and for the security and stability of the EU as a whole; outlines that, owing to its geopolitical position, the country has a direct impact on the overall stability of the region; condemns, therefore, Serbia’s attempts to establish a sphere of influence undermining the sovereignty of neighbouring countries;

    3.  Acknowledges Serbia’s good level of preparation with regard to macroeconomic stability and fiscal discipline and the Commission’s assessment that cluster 3 is technically ready for opening but notes with concern that there has been limited or no overall progress in meeting the benchmarks for EU membership across negotiating chapters, with particular shortcomings in critical areas such as the rule of law, media freedom, public administration reform, and alignment with EU policies, particularly the EU’s foreign policy;

    4.  Regrets the fact that no substantial progress has been made on Chapter 31, as Serbia’s pattern of alignment with EU foreign policy positions has remained largely unchanged, mainly due to Serbia’s close relations with Russia; recalls that Serbia remains a notable exception in the Western Balkans regarding CFSP alignment; calls on Serbia to reverse this trend and to demonstrate positive steps towards full alignment; notes that Serbia’s rate of compliance with EU statements and declarations is increasing but remains at only 61 %; welcomes Serbia’s continued active participation in and positive contribution to EU military crisis management missions and operations;

    5.  Welcomes Serbia’s humanitarian support for Ukraine and takes note of the sale of ammunition to the value of EUR 800 million for use by Ukraine in a mutually beneficial agreement; notes that Serbia has aligned with some of the EU’s positions regarding Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; regrets, however, that Serbia still does not align with the EU’s restrictive measures against Russia; calls on the EU to reconsider the extent of the financial assistance provided by the EU to Serbia in the event of continued support for anti-democratic ideologies and non-alignment with the EU’s restrictive measures and the CFSP; calls on Serbia to swiftly align with the EU’s restrictive measures and general policy towards Russia and Belarus, systematically and without delay;

    6.  Stresses the importance of implementing sanctions against Russia for the security of Europe as a whole; deplores Serbia’s continued close relations with Russia, raising concerns about its strategic orientation; reiterates its calls on the Serbian authorities to enhance transparency regarding the role and activities of the so-called Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center in Nis and to immediately terminate all military cooperation with Russia; notes Serbia’s decision to support the UN resolution condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine three years after the full-scale invasion; regrets President Vučić’s immediate verbal retraction of Serbia’s UN vote, calling it a ‘mistake’; considers that maintaining privileged relations with the Kremlin regime undermines not only Serbia’s credibility as a candidate country but also the trust of its European partners and the future of EU-Serbia relations;

    7.  Regrets the continued decline in public support for EU membership in Serbia and the growing support for the Putin regime, which is the result of a long-standing anti-EU and pro-Russian rhetoric from the government-controlled media as well as some government officials; calls on the Serbian authorities to foster a fact-based and open discussion on accession to the EU;

    8.  Deplores the continued spread of disinformation, including about Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; condemns the spillover effects of these actions in other countries in the region; calls on the Serbian authorities to combat disinformation and calls for the EU to enhance cooperation with Serbia to strengthen democratic resilience and counter hybrid threats;

    9.  Notes Serbia’s progress on aligning with EU visa policy and calls for full alignment, in particular with regard to those non-EU countries presenting a security threat to the EU, including the threat of cyberattacks; welcomes the agreement signed on 25 June 2024 between the EU and Serbia on operational cooperation on border management with Frontex, highlighting the need to act in line with fundamental rights and international standards;

    10.  Reiterates that the overall pace of the accession negotiations should depend on tangible progress on the fundamentals, the rule of law and a commitment to the shared European rights and values as well as to the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, which is to be conducted in good faith so that it results in a legally binding agreement based on mutual recognition, as well as alignment with the EU’s CFSP; reiterates its position that accession negotiations with Serbia should only advance if the country aligns with EU sanctions against Russia and makes significant progress on its EU-related reforms, in particular in the area of the fundamentals;

    11.  Repeats its concern regarding the appeasing approach of the Commission towards Serbia against the backdrop of the country’s year-long rollback on the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights, as well as its destabilising influence on the whole region; urges the Commission to use clearer language, including on the highest level, towards Serbia, consistently addressing significant shortcomings, lack of progress and even backsliding, thus upholding the EU’s fundamental values;

    12.  Calls on the Serbian Government to promote the role and benefits of EU accession and EU-funded projects and reforms among the Serbian population;

    Democracy and the rule of law

    13.  Notes the ongoing challenges in ensuring judicial independence, including undue influence and political pressure on the judiciary; expresses concern about the failure to implement safeguards preventing political interference in judicial appointments and disciplinary actions against judges and prosecutors; calls on Serbia to ensure that the High Judicial Council, the High Prosecutorial Council and the Government and Parliament of Serbia effectively and proactively defend judicial independence and prosecutorial autonomy;

    14.  Stresses the importance of adopting the Law on the Judicial Academy and the Venice Commission opinion and making necessary judicial appointments to reduce existing vacancies and improve the overall effectiveness of the judicial system; notes that the delay in adopting this law has stalled key judicial reforms necessary for alignment with EU standards; calls for the draft law to be amended following transparent consultation with all relevant stakeholders, with a view to ensuring the independence and control mechanisms of the institution in order to contribute to overall judicial independence;

    15.  Notes that limited progress has been made in the fight against corruption despite the adoption of a new anti-corruption strategy for 2024-2028; calls on Serbia to adopt and begin implementing the accompanying anti-corruption action plan and to establish an effective monitoring and coordination mechanism to track progress, in line with international standards; expresses concern that corruption is still prevalent in many areas, particularly related to ‘projects of interests for the Republic of Serbia’, and that strong political will is required to effectively address corruption as well as to mount a robust criminal justice response to high-level corruption; notes that Serbia ranks 105th in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2024, well below the EU average; considers that the level of corruption in Serbia is a significant obstacle to its EU accession process; notes with concern that results have still not been delivered in cases of high public interest, after several years, such as in the long-standing cases of Krušik, Jovanjica, Savamala and Belivuk; calls on Serbia to strengthen the independence of its anti-corruption institutions by ensuring that they are adequately resourced and protected from political interference; calls on the Government of Serbia to sign the Anti-Bribery Convention of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and to fully align its legal framework on police cooperation and organised crime with that of the EU;

    16.  Welcomes the more pluralistic composition of the new parliament, with a broader representation of political parties, including parties of national minorities; notes that the early election and the corresponding break in the functioning of the government and parliament have impeded progress on reforms; notes the frequent pattern of early elections, a permanent campaign mode and long delays in forming governments, as well as the disrupted work of the national parliament, including the absence of government question-time sessions, the lack of discussion on the reports of independent institutions, and the more frequent use of urgent procedures, which lead to a lack of parliamentary legislative oversight and legitimacy and do not contribute to the effective democratic governance of the country;

    17.  Takes note of the resignation of Prime Minister Miloš Vučević on 28 January 2025, which was confirmed by the National Assembly on 19 March 2025, and of the subsequent election of the new government led by Đuro Macut, appointed on 16 April 2025; takes note of the resumption of the work of the National Assembly on 4 March 2025, after a pause of three months, and condemns all the acts of violence that occurred on this occasion;

    18.  Reiterates its readiness to support the National Assembly and the members thereof in the democratic processes related to Serbia’s European path, including the proper functioning of the parliament in accordance with its rules of procedure, by using the European Parliament’s existing democracy support tools and initiatives and by supporting increased parliamentary oversight of the EU accession process and reforms;

    19.  Takes note, with deep concern, of the final report of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission on the December 2023 elections; notes that in April 2024, the National Assembly formed a working group for the improvement of the election process but that, by the end of the year, it had not agreed on any legal measures to improve the election process; notes that two out of three representatives of civil society left the working group in February 2025; notes that steps were taken in the first months of 2025 on amending the Law on Unified Voter Registry but that there is no consensus among political and civil society actors on the content; calls on all parliamentary groups in the National Assembly to decide on the implementation of ODIHR recommendations, with the agreement of all groups; calls for equal treatment of all members of parliament in the work of the National Assembly, consistent and effective implementation of the parliamentary Code of Conduct and the impartial sanctioning of breaches of parliamentary integrity;

    20.  Is concerned about the increasing role of foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) and foreign cyber operations and interference in Serbia’s democratic election processes;

    21.  Stresses the critical importance of ensuring the independence of key institutions, including media regulators such as the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM); regrets the delay in the election of the new members; regrets the irregularities in the nomination process; notes the withdrawal of several candidates from the selection in February 2025, who justified their decision on the basis of these irregularities; deeply regrets the fact that the REM neglected its legal obligations to scrutinise the conduct of the 2023 election campaign in the media in a timely manner, to report on its findings and to sanction media outlets that breached the law, spread hate speech or violated journalistic standards; notes, with concern, the absence of pluralistic political views in the nationwide media; notes that the REM should actively promote media pluralism and transparency regarding the ownership structures of media outlets and independence from foreign actors;

    22.  Notes that the REM awarded four national frequencies to channels that have a history of violating journalistic standards, including using hate speech and misleading the public, not complying with warnings issued by the REM, spreading disinformation and supporting the Kremlin’s narrative on Russia’s war in Ukraine; deeply regrets the fact that REM has not issued the fifth national licence and calls for it to be awarded through a transparent and impartial process without unnecessary delay and in compliance with international media freedom standards as soon as a new REM council is elected; calls for the Serbian Government to scrap and re-start the process of electing new members, in line with Serbian law and international media freedom standards;

    Fundamental freedoms and human rights

    23.  Expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the 16 victims who lost their lives and to those who were injured following the collapse of the canopy of Novi Sad train station on 1 November 2024; calls for full and transparent legal proceedings following the investigation by the authorities, to bring those responsible to justice; underlines the need to examine more broadly to what extent corruption led to the lowering of safety standards and contributed to this tragedy;

    24.  Regrets the delayed response and accountability of the Serbian authorities, the slow investigation process and the lack of transparency in the aftermath of the tragedy, which were partially addressed in the face of escalating public pressure;

    25.  Expresses deep concern about the systemic issues highlighted by the student protests and various other protests in Serbia, such as issues relating to civil liberties, separation of powers, corruption, environmental protection, institutional and financial transparency, especially in relation to infrastructure projects, and accountability; regrets the fact that the government missed the opportunity to meet the demands of the students and of the citizens who support the students in good faith; affirms that the students’ demands align with reforms that Serbia is expected to implement on its European path;

    26.  Underlines the importance of freedom of speech and assembly; calls on the authorities of Serbia to ensure the protection of those participating in the peaceful protests; takes note of the mass protests on 15 March 2025, the largest in the modern history of Serbia; calls for an impartial investigation of the claims that unlawful technology of crowd control was used against the protesters, causing injuries to a number of them;

    27.  Deplores the continuing violence against students, including the recent incident at the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education building in Novi Sad, in which at least five people were injured as a result of the police storming the building accompanied by the Dean, Patrik Drid;

    28.  Condemns, in the strongest terms, the misuse of personal data from public registries to retaliate against peaceful protesters; calls on the prosecution office in Serbia to file charges against all persons who physically attacked and incited violence against the participants of the demonstrations; is deeply concerned about any act of violence; is carefully following developments as regards arrests of protesters and legal proceedings that have been opened against them; is concerned about the reports that the security services were involved in intimidation and surveillance of the protesters; condemns the language used by the Serbian authorities inciting violence against students and other protesters; notes that student activists have faced legal harassment, intimidation and excessive use of force by the authorities; calls for a thorough, impartial and speedy investigation into allegations of violence used against demonstrators and police misconduct during protests; urges the diplomatic missions of the EU and the Member States to continue to monitor closely the ongoing legal cases relating to the protests;

    29.  Is deeply concerned about the increasing political and financial pressure on primary and secondary school teachers, as well as university professors, who were deprived of their salaries for taking part in the collective action to support students’ demands; deplores in this context the unacceptable legal proceedings and media smear campaign against the Rector of the University of Belgrade;

    30.  Is deeply alarmed that the Serbian authorities have engaged in widespread illegal surveillance practices using spyware against activists, journalists and members of civil society, as indicated in the recent reports by Amnesty International and the SHARE Foundation; urges the Government of Serbia to immediately cease the use of advanced surveillance technology against activists, journalists and human rights defenders, and calls on the competent state authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into all existing cases of unlawful surveillance and use of spyware and to initiate appropriate proceedings against those responsible; calls on the European Commission, in the light of this, to follow up on these incidents, address these issues with the Serbian authorities and insist on a thorough investigation into these matters;

    31.  Deplores the alleged illegal wiretapping and detention of five activists from the opposition Movement of Free Citizens (PSG) and a student from the STAV organisation in March 2025, and the arrest warrants issued for other STAV activists; condemns the use of the case by the propaganda media and the unfounded extension of the detention; calls on the Serbian authorities to release Marija Vasić, Lazar Dinić, Mladen Cvijetić, Lado Jovović, Srđan Đurić and Davor Stefanović from detention;

    32.  Rejects allegations that the EU and some of its Member States were involved in organising the student protests with a view to triggering a ‘colour revolution’; strongly condemns, in that context, the unlawful arrests and expulsions of EU citizens and the public disclosure, by convicted war criminals, of the personal data of EU citizens, as well as hate speech against national minorities; expresses concern about the rising number of detention cases involving EU citizens at Serbia’s border; notes that anti-EU narratives are being manifested in decreasing support for EU integration in Serbian society and in a strengthening of the presence of foreign autocratic actors in the country;

    33.  Calls on the Serbian authorities to restore citizens’ confidence in state institutions by granting transparency and accountability; encourages all political and social actors to engage in an inclusive, substantive dialogue aimed at fulfilling EU-related reforms;

    34.  Notes that media freedom in Serbia has deteriorated further, as evidenced by Serbia’s drop to 98th place in the 2024 Reporter Without Borders World Press Freedom Index; urges Serbia to improve and protect media professionalism, diversity and media pluralism, and to promote quality investigative journalism, the highest ethical journalistic standards, through respecting journalistic codes of conduct, and media literacy; recalls the importance of the plurality and transparency of the media, including on aspects related to ownership and state financing, most notably through better involvement of the REM; recalls that the concentration of media ownership can have adverse effects on the freedom of the media and the professionalism of reporting; reaffirms that, as part of the accession negotiations, Serbia needs to align with the EU in matters of strategic importance, such as countering FIMI; calls on Serbia to align with EU policies in countering foreign interference and disinformation campaigns by implementing concrete regulatory measures in line with EU standards, such as the provisions included in the Digital Services Act(7) and Regulation (EU) 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising(8); encourages cooperation between Serbia, the European External Action Service and the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in tackling disinformation; expects the authorities to investigate and prosecute all instances of hate speech, smear campaigns and strategic lawsuits against journalists;

    35.  Expresses its deep concerns about reported cases of abusive attacks, digital surveillance and harassment against journalists, human rights activists and civil society organisations, most recently a police raid on 25 February 2025 on four leading civil society organisations, ostensibly regarding their misuse of US Agency for International Development funds; strongly condemns persistent smear campaigns and intimidation against civil society in Serbia, including false allegations about plots to overthrow the government with foreign support;

    36.  Expresses concern that civil society organisations in Serbia face increasing challenges, including restrictive conditions, funding constraints, police raids and other forms of intimidation from state authorities; underlines the importance of a framework that enables local, vibrant civil society organisations to operate freely and participate in policymaking, including EU integration processes, in inclusive and meaningful ways; regrets that Serbia currently does not provide a framework that enables its lively and pluralistic civil society organisations, particularly those engaged in democracy support and electoral observation, to operate freely and participate in policymaking in inclusive and meaningful ways; expresses concern about recent raids of the offices of civil society organisations; calls for investigations into all attacks and smear campaigns against civil society organisations and for the improved transparency of public funding;

    37.  Condemns the political pressure exerted on universities and other research institutions through a hasty government decree that interferes with the academic freedom of researchers and cuts their salaries; condemns the vilification of professors, researchers and other academic staff in pro-government media; deplores the increasing use of temporary contracts for teachers and other civil servants as a political tool to exert pressure and control;

    38.  Urges the Serbian authorities to expand the availability of public broadcasting services in all minority languages across the country, ensuring equal access to media for all communities, while drawing on the best practice of the region of Vojvodina;

    39.  Expresses its deep concern about the draft law submitted to the Serbian Parliament on 29 November 2024, which proposes the establishment of a Russian-style foreign agents law; reminds Serbian legislators that civil society organisations and journalists play a key role in a healthy democratic society; reiterates that such legislation is incompatible with the values of the EU; notes that multiple civil society organisations suspended their cooperation with the legislative and executive branches of the government in February 2025;

    40.  Expresses grave concern about the increasing political interference in heritage protection in Serbia, including the removal of protected status from cultural monuments and the disregard for legal procedures governing their preservation, as in the case of the Generalštab Modernist Complex;

    41.  Calls on Serbia to fight disinformation, including manipulative anti-EU narratives and, in particular, to end its own state-sponsored disinformation campaigns; condemns the opening of an RT office in Belgrade, the launch of RT’s online news service in Serbian and the continued operation of the Russian online news service Sputnik Srbija, which is used to propagate pro-Russian narratives and misinformation across the Western Balkans region; urges the Serbian authorities to counter hybrid threats and fully align with the Council’s decision on the suspension of the broadcasting activities of Sputnik and RT; is deeply concerned about the spread of disinformation about the Russian aggression against Ukraine; calls on Serbia and the Commission to bolster infrastructure to fight disinformation and other hybrid threats; condemns the increasing influence of Russian and Chinese state-sponsored disinformation in Serbia, including the dissemination of anti-EU and anti-democratic narratives;

    42.  Takes note of the adoption of the national strategy for equality and the strategy for prevention of and protection against discrimination, and calls for their full implementation and for further alignment with European standards; urges the Serbian authorities to address the recommendations of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), with a view to improving compliance with the Istanbul Convention ratified by Serbia; notes with concern the temporary suspension of the implementation of the Law on Gender Equality by the Constitutional Court; expresses concern about the persistent lack of adequate support for organisations promoting women’s rights and gender equality;

    43.  Deeply deplores the demographic decline in Serbia, which is being exacerbated by negative net migration due to economic hardship and political persecution; stresses that it is mainly young, educated and productive people who are being forced to leave the country, as well as those pressured and threatened on account of their political views, including Dijana Hrka, the mother of one of the victims of the Novi Sad railway station tragedy, who fears for her safety after being put under pressure by SNS supporters;

    44.  Stresses that the Serbian authorities must take concrete measures to uphold and strengthen the respect for the rights of the child in the country, including by ratifying the third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopting a national action plan for the rights of the child, adopting a new strategy on violence against children, given the expiry of the previous framework, and establishing a national framework to protect children from abuse and neglect;

    45.  Welcomes the fact that Belgrade Pride 2024 parade, the biggest in Serbia so far, passed off peacefully, though being protected by a high-profile police presence;

    46.  Highlights the need for strong commitment to safeguarding the rights of national minorities, ensuring their full representation at all levels of government, preserving their cultural identity through the use of their respective languages and by meeting their educational needs, freedom of expression and access to information, and to actively pursuing investigations into hate-motivated crimes as an irreplaceable part of common European values; regrets the fact that almost all national minorities are protected only formally; expresses concerns about the practice of pro forma representation of national minorities who are under government control; calls on Serbia to protect and promote the cultural heritage and traditions of its national minorities, in particular to create a positive atmosphere for education in minority languages, including by providing sufficient numbers of teachers, textbooks and additional materials, and deplores the violation of minority rights in this area; calls on Serbia to refrain from exploiting the national identities of national minorities that create division within these communities, and strongly condemns recorded cases of hate speech against some of them; notes the considerable delay in drafting a new action plan for the realisation of national minority rights and stresses the urgent need for Serbia to finalise and implement it promptly; highlights the need for the new action plan to fully incorporate the findings and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities;

    47.  Expresses concerns about the significant decline in the population of certain minority groups, including the Bulgarian minority; calls on Serbia to ensure the right to use names and language specific to minority groups, including women within the Bulgarian community; notes with concern that not all school textbooks have been translated into Bulgarian; calls on the Serbian Government to ensure reciprocal equal rights for the Croatian minority in Serbia as the Serbian minority enjoys in Croatia, in particular with regard to ensuring their reciprocal representation at all levels of government, including regional and local levels; reiterates its concern regarding the restrictive and arbitrary enforcement of the Law on Permanent and Temporary Residence related to the passivation of address of thousands of Albanians in the south of Serbia; emphasises the situation of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Serbia, which is not officially recognised by the state as a traditional church;

    48.  Regrets the attempts by the Serbian authorities to undermine the national identity of communities within the country; expresses concern, in this context, about the promotion of narratives such as that of the ‘Shopi nation’, which seek to erase the existence of the Bulgarian community and deny its historical roots and cultural heritage; regrets the searches carried out by the Serbian authorities at the Bosilegrad Cultural Centre and the initiation of pre-trial proceedings for ‘ethnic hatred’ against activists from non-governmental organisations;

    49.  Calls on Serbia to refrain from distorting historical events, such as the narrative surrounding the so-called Surdulica massacre, which only serve to spread division and hatred against minorities and neighbouring countries, which is incompatible with EU membership;

    Reconciliation and good neighbourly relations

    50.  Reiterates that good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation remain essential elements of the enlargement process; calls on Serbia to stop restrictions on entry for regional civil society activists and artists as such practices undermine regional dialogue and cooperation; reaffirms, furthermore, the importance of the stability of south-eastern European countries and their resilience against foreign interference in internal democratic processes; stresses the importance of Serbia developing good neighbourly relations, implementing bilateral agreements and resolving outstanding bilateral issues with its neighbours; notes Serbia’s participation in regional initiatives and its active involvement in the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans and the Common Regional Market; underlines the fact that respect for national minority rights is an essential condition of Serbia’s advancement along its European path;

    51.  Calls for historical reconciliation and the overcoming of discrimination and prejudices from the past; deplores the recent inflammatory rhetoric by the government, targeting neighbouring states that did not support the opening of cluster 3 for Serbia;

    52.  Reiterates that Serbia must refrain from influencing the domestic politics of its neighbouring Western Balkan countries, including regarding the unconstitutional celebration of Republika Srpska Day in Bosnia and Herzegovina and questioning Bosnia and Herzegovina’s court decisions;

    53.  Urges Serbia to step up its reconciliation efforts and seek solutions to past disputes, in particular when it comes to missing persons, who account for 1 782 people in Croatia, 7 608 people in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 1 595 people in Kosovo; calls on the Serbian authorities to achieve justice for victims by recognising and respecting court verdicts on war crimes, fighting against impunity for wartime crimes, investigating cases of missing persons, investigating grave sites, and supporting domestic prosecutors in bringing perpetrators to justice, which requires the cooperation of other parties too; strongly condemns the widespread public denials of international verdicts for war crimes, including the denial of the Srebrenica genocide;

    54.  Calls on the judicial authorities in Serbia to ensure compliance with the standards of fair trial and satisfaction of justice for victims in all war crime cases; calls for the denial of war crimes and the glorification of war criminals to be included in the Criminal Code, with a view to prosecuting any form of denial of war crimes determined by the verdicts of the International Criminal Tribunal of the former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice;

    55.  Reiterates its support for the initiative to establish a regional commission for the establishment of facts about war crimes and other gross human rights violations on the territory of the former Yugoslavia (RECOM);

    56.  Reiterates its position on the importance of opening and publishing wartime archives, and reiterates its call for the former Yugoslav archives to be opened and, in particular, for access to be granted to the files of the former Yugoslav secret service (UDBA) and the Yugoslav People’s Army Counterintelligence Service (KOS), and for the files to be returned to the respective governments if they so request;

    57.  Reiterates its full support for the EU-facilitated dialogue and welcomes the appointment of Peter Sørensen as the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue;

    58.  Reiterates the importance of constructive engagement on the part of the authorities of both Serbia and Kosovo in order to achieve a comprehensive, legally binding normalisation agreement, based on mutual recognition and in accordance with international law; calls on both Kosovo and Serbia to implement the Brussels and Ohrid Agreements, including the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities, and the lifting of Serbia’s opposition of Kosovo’s membership in regional and international organisations, and to avoid unilateral actions that could undermine the dialogue process;

    59.  Expects Kosovo and Serbia to fully cooperate and take all the necessary measures to apprehend and swiftly bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2023 terrorist attack in Banjska; deplores the fact that Serbia still has not prosecuted the culprits, most notably Milan Radoičić, the Vice-President of Srpska Lista; reiterates that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Zubin Potok must also be held accountable and must face justice without delay;

    60.  Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and on the Commission to take a more proactive role in leading the dialogue process; calls for an enhanced role for the European Parliament in facilitating the dialogue through regular joint parliamentary assembly meetings;

    Socio-economic reforms

    61.  Welcomes Serbia’s steady progress towards developing a functioning market economy with positive GDP growth and increased foreign investment in some sectors; takes note of that fact that Serbia received its first-ever investment-grade credit rating; underlines the fact that the EU is Serbia’s main trading partner, the largest source of foreign direct investment and by far the largest donor; reiterates that the financial assistance, which is of great benefit to Serbia, is conditional on the strengthening of democratic principles and alignment with the CFSP and other EU policies; reiterates the need for more substantial reforms in the labour market, education and public administration, including to address social inequalities; expresses concern about the scale and scope of intergovernmental contracts awarded that are exempt from the current legislative framework on public procurement; regrets, however, the fact that public debt as a percentage of GDP remains well above the eastern European average;

    62.  Is concerned about the investment in Serbia by Russia and China and their growing influence on the political and economic processes in the region;

    63.  Calls on Serbia to intensify efforts and increase investment in the socio-economic development of its border regions to address depopulation and ensure that the residents have access to essential services, including professional opportunities, healthcare and education; underlines the potential of the IPA III cross-border cooperation programmes as a key tool to promote long-term sustainable regional growth;

    64.  Welcomes Serbia’s active engagement in the implementation of the new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans; takes note of the fact that Serbia adopted its Reform Agenda on 3 October 2024; believes that embracing the opportunities of the growth plan would further enhance the Serbian economy, which over the past three years benefited from more than EUR 586 million in financial and technical assistance under IPA III; believes that the EU funding should better support the democratic reforms of the country; calls, in that context, for the relevant EU funding, including from the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, to be reprogrammed to redirect more funds towards supporting judiciary reforms and anti-corruption measures, as well as towards independent media and civil society organisations, in order to support their critical work, in particular in the vacuum created by the withdrawal of US donors; calls, furthermore, for the EU and the Western Balkan countries to establish a framework for fruitful cooperation between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and its Western Balkan counterparts in order to ensure that the EPPO can effectively exercise its power on IPA III and Western Balkan Facility funds in the recipient countries; urges the Serbian authorities to step up efforts to communicate clearly to citizens the benefits of the EU funds and to improve their visibility;

    65.  Regrets the lack of public consultation during the adoption of the Serbian Reform Agenda; calls for more effective oversight of the EU funding programmes and projects;

    66.  Advocates increased regional cooperation among Western Balkan countries to share best practice and develop joint strategies in combating disinformation and foreign interference; emphasises the role of the EU in facilitating such collaborative efforts; calls for the continuation and further reinforcement of the IPA regional cybersecurity programme;

    67.  Recognises the important role of Serbia’s business community in advancing economic convergence with the EU, including through the opportunities offered by and in the implementation of the growth plan as a sustainable alternative to Russian and Chinese investment in the country; welcomes the business community’s contribution to advancing socio-economic relations in the Western Balkans;

    68.  Takes note of Serbia’s business community’s efforts in advocating for the accession of the Western Balkans to the EU’s single market as a concrete step towards full EU membership; calls for clear, measurable actions and well-defined roles and responsibilities for the implementation of the Common Regional Market action plan, as a key driver for the region’s successful accession to the EU’s single market;

    Energy, the environment, sustainable development and connectivity

    69.  Calls on Serbia to increase its efforts towards the transposition of relevant environmental and climate acquis and to ensure the proper application of environmental protection standards, including by significantly enhancing its administrative and technical capacities at all levels of government, notably on waste management legislation and the adoption of the Climate Change Adaptation Programme and the National Energy and Climate Plan; urges the Serbian authorities to improve the transparency and environmental impact assessment of all investment, including from China and Russia;

    70.  Reiterates its regret regarding the lack of action on the pollution of the Dragovishtitsa river by mines operating in the region and the detrimental effect on the health of the local people and the environment;

    71.  Calls on Serbia to increase its efforts towards the decarbonisation of its energy system and to enable effective enforcement of pollution reduction regulations related to thermal power plants;

    72.  Emphasises the need for further progress in transboundary cooperation with neighbouring countries, especially with regard to transboundary road infrastructure; urges Serbia to begin implementing the activities outlined in the memorandum of understanding on environmental protection cooperation with Bulgaria;

    73.  Takes note of the EU-Serbia memorandum of understanding launching a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric vehicles, in view of the European energy transition and in line with the highest environmental standards; recalls that dialogue with the affected populations, the scientific community and civil society should be at the centre of any such strategic partnership;

    74.  Welcomes the agreement reached at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Tirana on reduced roaming costs; calls, in this respect, on the authorities, private actors and all stakeholders to facilitate reaching the agreed targets to achieve a substantial reduction of roaming charges for data and further reductions leading to prices close to the domestic prices between the Western Balkans and the EU by 2027; welcomes the entering into force of the first phase of implementation of the roadmap for roaming between the Western Balkans and the EU;

    75.  Reiterates that it is important for Serbia to continue diversifying its energy supply, to be able to break away from its dependency on Russia; takes note of the sanctions announced by the United States against Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), a subsidiary of the Russian Gazprom; welcomes the completion of the gas interconnector between Serbia and Bulgaria (IBS) in December 2023; regrets the postponement of the launching of the IBS’s commercial operation; calls for the swift finalisation of the permitting process to ensure its full operability in compliance with the energy community acquis; notes that Serbia is taking steps to introduce a carbon tax by 2027 as a step towards aligning with the EU emissions trading system;

    76.  Notes that all chapters in cluster 4 on the green agenda and sustainable connectivity have been opened; notes the adoption of the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment as a positive step towards environmental protection in Serbia, while expressing its regret that the new law fails to align fully with the relevant EU Directive 2014/52/EU(9), since it still leaves the opportunity for significant projects to advance without comprehensive environmental scrutiny; reiterates the need to designate and rigorously manage protected areas, particularly those identified as Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs); calls for special attention to be given to critical sites where enforcement against poaching needs to be improved;

    o
    o   o

    77.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President of the European Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the President, Government and National Assembly of Serbia.

    (1) OJ L 278, 18.10.2013, p. 16, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/agree_internation/2013/490/oj.
    (2) OJ L 330, 20.9.2021, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1529/oj.
    (3) OJ L, 2024/1449, 24.5.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1449/oj.
    (4) OJ C, C/2024/6746, 26.11.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/6746/oj.
    (5) OJ C, C/2024/2654, 29.4.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/2654/oj.
    (6) OJ C, C/2024/6339, 7.11.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/6339/oj.
    (7) Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act) (OJ L 277, 27.10.2022, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2065/oj).
    (8) Regulation (EU) 2024/900 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 March 2024 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising (OJ L, 2024/900, 20.3.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/900/oj).
    (9) Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (OJ L 124, 25.4.2014, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/52/oj).

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to study identifying nanoparticles in human breast milk

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A study published in PNAS looks at the identification of nanoparticles in human breast milk. 

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

    “There were two parts to this study. The first was an attempt to separate nanoparticles from human breast milk. Here, they found some material that may have been nanoparticles, but I don’t think the results were conclusive. The human samples also all came from China, so don’t tell us anything about the rest of the world. 

    “The other thing to remember is that detection by itself does not mean much. Today’s analytical equipment is so sensitive that we can detect almost anything anywhere. However, just because something may be present in tiny amounts does not mean it is causing harm.

    “The second part of the study aimed to create a specific type of nanoparticle (silicon dioxide or silica) and administer it to mice to investigate its passage into milk. While this sort of experiment has its use, the keywords are “in mice”. Mice are not mini-humans, and lab-made nanoparticles, as well as the amounts they used, may not accurately reflect what is found in the environment. The results, while interesting, are thus not directly comparable.

    “We have actually known that nanoparticles can enter the body through the lungs for over 20 years [1]. Many types of nanoparticles, including carbon, gold, silver, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, and manganese oxide, have been shown to do this [2], so in that sense, the findings aren’t new.

    “Another thing to keep in mind is that the authors did not assess any potential effects of the particles; they just looked at how they might get into milk. Breathing particles in is different from ingesting them. The tissue in the lung is thin to facilitate gas exchange. This makes it relatively easy for small particles to enter the body this way. In contrast, the tissue in the intestinal tract is relatively thick and well-controlled. It is quite possible that ingested nanoparticles pass through and so don’t cause any effect. 

    “In short, while particulate pollution is a real problem that should be studied, I don’t think we need to panic over nanoparticles in milk just yet.”

    References

    1. Oberdörster G.  Sharp Z.  Atudorei V.  Elder A.  Gelein R.  Lunts A.  Kreyling W. Cox C. Extrapulmonary translocation of ultrafine carbon particles following whole-body inhalation exposure of rats. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Part A 2002 65 (20) 1531-1543.

    2. Oberdörster G.  Oberdörster E. Oberdörster J. Nanotoxicology: an emerging discipline evolving from studies of ultrafine particles. Environmental Health Perspectives, 2005, 113 (7), 823-839″.

     

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

    “This interesting paper combined human biomonitoring with animal studies to understand more about the circulation of nanoparticles in the human body and their uptake into breast milk. The paper is well presented and supports previous findings with additional data. It does not offer anything new to report on potential harm to humans or babies, but aids understanding of routes of nanoparticle uptake into the body and how changing the nanoparticles themselves (e/g/ altering their surface charge) could alter how they are taken up.

    “It’s been known for some time that nanoparticles of various types can enter the human body and circulate to different tissues and locations, including to breast milk. For example, micro and nanoplastics, carbon black (an air pollutant linked to traffic fumes) and other metals have been found both in human tissues and breast milk. Mostly, the concentrations of nanoparticles found in the body are very small and there is no indication that they lead to adverse health effects at these concentrations.

    “The real world implications of this paper are in offering a more in-depth characterisation of the particles themselves, including their shapes, sizes and surface charge. The combined approach of human and animal studies, allowed the authors to firstly identify the most abundant nanoparticles in breast milk (silicon) and then to explore how they got there, a good illustration of the ‘One Health’ approach.

    “They found:

    “• Nanoparticles were present in 42/53 breast milk samples

    “• Nanoparticles could be getting into breast milk by a pathway of uptake into and through cells (including immune cells). via airways/intestine/blood to breast milk

    “• Eating flour-containing food might put you more at risk (this was more tentative but not altogether surprising, a lot of flours and powdered foods have anticaking agents and whiteners in them, it’s not particularly new or conclusive)

    “• Changing the surface charge on the nanoparticles could modify their uptake – this is good news at it offers a future way of designing drug delivery or of reducing unwanted exposures”

     

     

     

    ‘Identification of nanoparticle infiltration in human breast milk: Chemical profiles and trajectory pathways’ by Qing Yang et al. was published in PNAS at 20:00 UK time on Monday 12 May 2025.

     

    DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2500552122 

     

     

    Declared interests

    Prof Tamara Galloway: No conflicts to declare.

    Prof Oliver Jones:I have no conflicts of interest to declare. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Funded Ventures Launches Terrace Wealth in Partnership with Industry Veteran Ryan Bowman to Offer Tailored Wealth Management Solutions

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Clayton, Missouri, May 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Funded Ventures, in partnership with industry veteran Ryan Bowman, is proud to announce the launch of Terrace Wealth, a new wealth management firm focused on delivering personalized, fee-only financial solutions. Led by Ryan, Terrace Wealth will provide individuals, families, and institutions with customized strategies for investment management and wealth building.

    Ryan is a seasoned CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ with over a decade of experience as a wealth advisor. Ryan was previously a partner at a Denver-based wealth management firm, where he spearheaded the successful transition from Raymond James to an independent, fee-only Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). Ryan has an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and previously served four years in the United States Army as a combat Infantryman, earning the rank of Sergeant and was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge. Ryan joined Funded Ventures in 2024 as an Operating Partner to launch Terrace Wealth, bringing his passion for transparent, client-focused financial strategies to the Midwest.

    Brian Wolfe founded Funded Ventures in 2017 to buy and build small businesses. Funded Ventures previously co-led the acquisition of three businesses in the SEO SaaS vertical with sale to private equity. Brian is a retired partner at Kirkland & Ellis, where he practiced for 17 years, and teaches courses on entrepreneurship through acquisition and private equity at Washington University in St. Louis, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Brian also serves on the board of many civic organizations including the Skandalaris Center at Washington University in St. Louis and is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization.

    “We are excited to launch Terrace Wealth,” said Ryan. “Our goal is to provide a client-focused, holistic approach to wealth management free of conflicts of interest, combining years of experience with a deep understanding of each client’s financial needs.”

    Brian added, “Trust and transparency are essential in building long-term financial relationships. We’re committed to working closely with our clients to create tailored strategies that align with their personal and institutional goals. We’re excited to bring cutting-edge wealth management solutions to the Midwest.”

    Terrace Wealth will offer a range of services, including retirement and goal planning, cash and money management, tax optimization, estate planning, and risk management. The firm is dedicated to serving individuals, families, and institutional clients across the Midwest, providing personalized, forward-thinking financial strategies that align with their long-term objectives.

    The firm plans to grow organically and via strategic acquisition partnerships, positioning itself for long-term success in the wealth management industry. The ideal acquisition partners are fee-only planning-focused firms offering investment management. Terrace also welcomes partnerships with single-owner practices where the advisor wants (or needs) to pull back from the practice to some degree or to realize a gradual exit that retains value, income, and a more ideal day-to-day.

    For more information about Terrace Wealth and services offered, please visit www.terracewealth.com or contact Ryan Bowman at ryan@terracewealth.com or (314) 810-4012.

    About Terrace Wealth

    Terrace Wealth is a fee-only wealth management firm based in Clayton, Missouri, that provides personalized financial strategies, offering services such as retirement and goal planning, cash and money management and estate planning. Terrace Wealth aims to help clients build and manage wealth by tailoring solutions to meet their unique financial goals. 

    About Funded Ventures

    Funded Ventures was founded in 2017 to acquire and grow small businesses. The firm previously co-led the acquisition of three companies in the SEO SaaS sector, culminating in a successful sale to private equity. Funded Ventures is currently building in the home services, legal services, and home health industries. Visit www.fundedventures.com to learn more.


    Press inquiries

    Terrace Wealth
    https://www.terracewealth.com
    Brian Wolfe
    wolfebd@gmail.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Feeling anxious before surgery? Anxiety can harm healing but innovative mental health support could help

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Renée El-Gabalawy, Associate Professor and Clinical Psychologist, University of Manitoba

    Poor mental health before surgery is linked to worse outcomes. (Unsplash), CC BY

    Feeling anxious before surgery is normal — but for many patients, it goes far beyond nerves. There is a growing body of research showing that poor mental health before surgery can derail recovery in ways that extend far beyond the operating room.

    For example, in recent research, my colleagues and I found that anxiety and depressive symptoms before surgery are linked to poorer surgical outcomes. This includes higher complication rates within 30 days and even increased risk of death within a year.

    On top of this, many patients rank anxiety as one of the worst parts of their surgical experience, worse than pain or other aspects of surgical recovery.

    Both patients and clinicians identify a need for mental health support, yet this need is often overlooked. As an expert in perioperative mental health, I have some solutions to offer.

    Demand for surgery is accelerating

    The growing number of surgical patients — driven by an aging population, rising rates of chronic diseases and advancements in medicine — has intensified pressure on the health-care system.

    Rising demand has led to longer wait times and increases in surgery delays and cancellations. This situation has been made even worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients can be left suffering in limbo for weeks, months or even years.

    My colleagues and I have found these surgery delays and cancellations to be linked with even further negative impacts on mental and physical health. Patients are getting worse while they wait.

    While this growing backlog represents a significant challenge, it also presents an opportunity.

    The opportunity

    The surgical waiting period, which is too often prolonged, offers a critical window to identify patients at highest risk for poor mental health. Identifying those in need is critical to deliver targeted and scientifically supported psychological treatments. It’s a time when patients are already engaged with the health-care system, motivated to do well and receptive to guidance.

    Evidence-based psychological treatments like cognitive behavioural therapy before surgery have been shown to improve outcomes like pain and function.

    International organizations, such as the World Health Organization, highlight the importance of including mental health support into hospital settings including surgical care.

    In the United States, the Center for Perioperative Mental Health, originating from Washington University, is one of the first large-scale initiatives of its kind aiming to integrate personalized pathways to support mental health for older adults.

    As the external advisory chair for this centre, I have seen how initiatives like these can significantly enhance perioperative care and patient outcomes.

    Globally, efforts such as pre-habilitation programs — which aim to enhance surgical readiness through exercise, nutrition and mental health support — are emerging. While these represent progress, they are not routinely implemented, often lack integration of evidence-based mental-health care, and show mixed results due to variability in design and delivery.

    There is strong evidence linking poor pre-operative mental health to worse outcomes, along with clear patient demand and promising results from existing programs. Yet, perioperative mental health support in Canada remains underfunded and far from standard clinical care.

    Mental health continues to be unaddressed in surgical settings.

    Leverage technological advancements

    Given the significant shortcomings of accessible mental-health care in Canada, creative solutions are critical. One way forward is to make the most of fast-growing technology.

    For example, our team has developed an innovative virtual reality (VR) program using patient input and strategies backed by science to support mental health before surgery.

    Patients found this both acceptable and helpful. These platforms assist patients to mentally prepare for surgery, familiarize themselves with the environment and feel more in control.

    Other large-scale digital initiatives such as the Power Over Pain Portal offer free evidence-based online psychological treatments for pain management from the comfort of your home. And pain management is especially important for those waiting extended periods for many types of surgeries.

    Our multidisciplinary team at the University of Manitoba believes these types of digital approaches can be delivered at scale, relatively low cost, and with high patient acceptability and satisfaction. This is not meant to replace human care, but to extend it.

    These are not just flashy gadgets but clinical tools with real potential to integrate evidence-based mental health treatments.

    Prepare physically and mentally

    Health-care systems are often under-resourced, and Canada is no exception. To address this, surgical care should prioritize greater investment in mental health support, including integration of technology. These efforts can better prepare patients physically and mentally for surgery and aid in their surgical recovery.

    Encouraging sign made for children with cancer at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
    (National Cancer Institute/Unsplash), CC BY

    Mental health is central to surgical outcomes — not secondary. We need a national strategy to fund the research and ultimately routinely apply accessible mental health treatments for surgical patients. This is especially important for those at highest risk.

    Patients have told us what they need. The evidence is undeniable. And the opportunity for change has never been greater. We need to build a system that truly cares for the whole patient.

    Renée El-Gabalawy received research funding for virtual reality projects from the New Frontiers in Research Fund – Exploration, National Research Council New Beginning Initiative, and the Winnipeg Foundation Innovation Fund. She is also the external advisory chair of the Center of Perioperative Mental Health and receives an honorarium for her involvement.

    – ref. Feeling anxious before surgery? Anxiety can harm healing but innovative mental health support could help – https://theconversation.com/feeling-anxious-before-surgery-anxiety-can-harm-healing-but-innovative-mental-health-support-could-help-255354

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: CLAS Commencement Honors 3,000 Graduates

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    UConn’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) held its commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 11 in Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, honoring 3,000 graduates in three separate ceremonies.

    Across the weekend, UConn held 17 graduation ceremonies representing the 146th annual commencement exercises at the University. Students earned degrees from one or more of the College’s 55 majors across the life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities.  

    UConn President Radenka Maric congratulated the graduates, recognizing their hard work and honoring the support of families, especially mothers, who received a special shout-out and applause in celebration of Mother’s Day. 

    “The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has a unique place at UConn,” said Maric. “All UConn students receive a broad, foundational education from the College, which shapes their critical thinking, pursuit of truth, and lifelong dedication to learning.” 

    UConn awarded a total of 5,672 undergraduate and 2,136 graduates over the weekend.

    The graduating class included 1,862 first-generation college graduates and 4,361 Connecticut residents.   

    Student speaker Aish Benzy ’25 (CLAS), a member of the CLAS Student Leadership Board who earned a dual degree in physiology and neurobiology and human rights, reflected that despite UConn’s large size, she found herself at home.  

    Growth doesn’t happen in straight lines. It’s about learning from setbacks and persevering.

    “At UConn, I never felt alone,” Benzy said. “There was always someone there to help, whether it was a professor staying late to answer my questions or a friend offering a listening ear. It made all the difference.” 

    “I had moments of doubt, moments when I thought I couldn’t keep going,” she added. “But I realized that growth doesn’t happen in straight lines. It’s about learning from setbacks and persevering.” 

    Commencement speaker Joe La Puma ’05 (CLAS), host of the award-winning YouTube series Sneaker Shopping, recounted how he navigated an uncertain path to discovering his passion for journalism.  

    “Pay attention to the moments that spark something in you, those flashes of passion,” he advised the graduates. “They’re the secret ingredients that can change everything.”

    “You don’t need to have your entire career path mapped out from the start,” he emphasized, encouraging graduates to embrace uncertainty and trust their ability to adapt.

    At the close of the ceremony, CLAS dean Ofer Harel led students in the traditional turning of tassels on their hats’ mortarboards from the right to the left side.  

    “If you ever forget what side your tassel goes on, remember that you wear it on the left side, over your heart, to remind you of your alma mater,” Harel said.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: For children with a rare form of dementia, music could be a powerful therapy tool

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rebecca Atkinson, Researcher in Music Therapy, Anglia Ruskin University

    Music therapy may be helpful for children with a rare form of dementia. adriaticfoto/ Shutterstock

    When we hear the word “dementia”, we usually think of memory loss in older adults. But there’s another, much rarer form of the disease that strikes far earlier in life – childhood dementia, also known as Batten disease.

    Batten disease is a rare but serious genetic disorder that affects the brain and nervous system. It is unknown how many children in the UK are living with this heartbreaking condition, but recent estimates show between 150-200 are affected.

    It often appears in early in life – usually between the ages of 12 months to 12 years. The condition can lead to problems with vision, movement and thinking. And, because the condition is genetic, it often means that more than one child in a family can be affected.

    Right now, there’s no cure for Batten disease. Sadly, many children with the condition don’t survive into adulthood. Scientists and doctors are working hard to change that, but there’s still a long way to go.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. Join The Conversation for free today.

    While a promising drug has been shown to slow progression of one type of Batten disease, access to it is now under review in the UK. This leaves many children and families at risk of losing this lifesaving treatment.

    Without a viable cure, treatment for Batten disease mainly focuses on easing symptoms. Children often need physiotherapy, prescription drugs and educational support. But this care has been shown to be fragmented, with services spread across different providers. This lack of coordination makes it challenging for families to access consistent support.

    Families are open to looking for alternative forms of therapy – such as music therapy. Emerging research suggests that music and music therapy can be beneficial for children with Batten disease.

    Music therapy

    Researchers have begun exploring music therapy as a way of managing symptoms and possibly enhancing quality of life for children with Batten disease. Research in this area is still in its early stages. But if proven to be effective, music therapy could offer new opportunities and comfort to patients and their families.

    Music therapy uses music to help with emotional expression, psychological health and functional improvements. A typical music therapy session involves playing instruments, singing, listening to music or song writing to help patients improve psychological wellbeing, and cope with emotional or communication difficulties.

    For children with Batten disease, clinical researchers consider music therapy – when used alongside other standard therapies (such as physiotherapy and speech therapy) – to alleviate pain and anxiety in patients and improve their social interaction and enjoyment.

    In one case study, it was found that weekly music therapy sessions helped one ten-year-old child with Batten disease better express her feelings and memories through writing and singing songs. Not only this, these songs became a lasting legacy, helping loved ones stay connected to her after she passed away.

    An international survey of 182 parents and professionals who support children with Batten disease also found music therapy was beneficial. Around 80% of the people in the study said music helped their children communicate. In some cases, children who could no longer speak were still able to sing. Music also helped the children access memories, and generally improved their quality of life.

    Music therapy may help children with Batten disease to communicate and access memories.
    Da Antipina/ Shutterstock

    One specific strand of music therapy is neurologic music therapy. This approach can help people with neurological conditions manage their symptoms and function better in their everyday life through practical musical exercises. This is done through specific singing or rhythm exercises to help with speech, or targeted movement activities to help with mobility.

    Currently, no research has been conducted on the use of neurologic music therapy for children with Batten disease. But, research on other neurological conditions shows it can be very beneficial.

    For instance, research shows neurologic music therapy can improve speech, language, cognition and movement for some Parkinson’s sufferers and quality of life and well being for adults with dementia.



    Read more:
    Why researchers are turning to music as a possible treatment for stroke, brain injuries and even Parkinson’s

    Studies have also shown the practice can help children with neurological conditions similar to Batten disease, such as cerebral palsy and Rett’s syndrome. When added to standard rehabilitation programmes that target motor, language, movement and psychological goals, neurologic music therapy increased brain plasticity (meaning it strengthened connections in the brain).

    The children who received the therapy became more engaged and focused. These findings indicate that adding music therapy could speed up progress toward rehabilitation goals.

    For children with epilepsy, listening to music has even been shown to reduce the number of seizures over a six month period. Many children with Batten disease experience epileptic seizures which can become more unmanageable as the disease progresses. This suggests that music therapy could potentially be useful for managing seizures in children with Batten disease.

    The uniquely powerful effect of music could be explained by the fact that it activates multiple regions of the brain at once – including those linked to movement, memory, emotion and language.

    This global activation can be especially helpful for children with Batten disease, as it may stimulate areas of the brain that are still functioning. Music may also help with emotional expression and social connection, offering comfort and a sense of identity even as the disease progresses.

    While early findings from this field are promising, larger and more targeted studies are needed to confirm the benefits of music therapy for children with Batten disease and explore how it might be integrated into standard care.

    As Batten disease progresses, families face the heartbreaking reality of their child’s diminishing future. Many turn to supportive therapies and palliative care in their child’s final stages of life.

    Early findings on music therapy suggest that it may help children with Batten disease express themselves, stay connected and hold on to moments of independence for a little longer.

    Rebecca Atkinson is a board member of Chiltern Music Therapy, and has received funding from The Musicians Company to carry out research activities for children with Batten disease.

    – ref. For children with a rare form of dementia, music could be a powerful therapy tool – https://theconversation.com/for-children-with-a-rare-form-of-dementia-music-could-be-a-powerful-therapy-tool-171688

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Syria faces renewed sectarian violence as government fails to deliver inclusivity

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Katya Alkhateeb, Senior Researcher in International Human Rights Law & Humanitarian Law at Essex Law School and Human Rights Centre, University of Essex

    A recent surge in violence against Syria’s Druze religious community has reportedly seen over 100 people killed since the start of May. This is a grim extension of sectarian targeting that began with the massacre of Alawite civilians in March.

    Both crises are grounded in the same religious justifications, revealing problems in Syria’s transition following the end of the Assad family’s 53-year rule.

    Specifically these atrocities are linked by the misuse of nafir aam – a general call to arms or mass mobilisation. It is an Arabic term rooted in classical Islamic jurisprudence, especially in discussions about jihad and collective defence.

    It is declared only when the Muslim community faces an existential threat, such as an invasion or overwhelming danger from an enemy.

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    Recently though, it has been used by extremist groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda to summon Muslims to fight supposed enemies of the faith. These enemies have, in most cases, been innocent civilians.

    In March, when gunmen loyal to Syria’s former leader Bashar al-Assad (who is an Alawite) clashed with security forces, the transitional government issued a nafir aam. Loudspeakers in mosques across northern Syria broadcast mobilisation calls, tribal groups pledged support, and recruitment links flooded social media.

    The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that close to 1,400 Alawite civilians were subsequently murdered, with the final death toll likely to be much higher.

    A post on the Telegram channel of Syria’s ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organisation reading: ‘General mobilisation now being announced via loudspeakers in Idlib and Aleppo toward the coast. Listen to the important and urgent announcement directly.’
    Telegram

    The same sectarian machinery has now been turned against the Druze. This latest wave of violence was triggered by the unproven allegation that a Druze cleric was responsible for an audio recording containing anti-Islamic remarks. Despite the cleric’s immediate denial, armed groups launched assaults on Druze areas near Syria’s capital, Damascus.

    Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed to protect the Druze and the Israeli military subsequently carried out a series of airstrikes across Syria. These included strikes near the presidential palace. While Netanyahu has positioned these actions as protecting a vulnerable minority, they risk further destabilising Syria’s fragile transition.

    Deeply entrenched sectarianism

    Syria’s transitional government is led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Following its campaign against Assad, HTS has been implementing a new policy of tolerance towards minority groups. The Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has vowed to protect minorities and pursue more inclusive policies.

    But HTS is arguably failing to deliver the inclusive governance it promised when seizing control of the country in December 2024. The seven-member committee for the national dialogue conference, which began in February to discuss a new path for the nation, lacked Alawite, Kurdish and Druze representation.

    The resulting constitutional declaration offered no explicit protections for Syria’s religious diversity. It also centralises power in ways that undermine pluralism.

    Article 3 of the constitutional declaration states that the “religion of the president of the republic is Islam” and “Islamic jurisprudence is the principal source of legislation”. Officials have clarified that any future parliament would remain subordinate to Islamic law.

    The ideological basis and policy for sectarian violence in Syria remains deeply entrenched. A 14th-century fatwa (a religious edict) by Sunni Muslim scholar Ibn Taymiyyah branded Alawites as “infidels”. This fatwa continues to circulate in areas under government control.

    At the Brussels donors’ conference on Syria in March, Syrian foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani blamed “54 years of minority rule” for mass displacement and deaths – raising concerns about sectarian narratives. And the integrity of the investigation into the recent massacres have been questioned, notably by the Syrians for Truth and Justice human rights group.

    Criticisms have also been made over the inclusion of controversial figures to the newly formed Civil Peace Committee, which is tasked with healing the sectarian wounds left by Assad family rule. One of these figures, Sheikh Anas Ayrout, was reported 12 years ago to have made inciting comments against Alawites.

    Civil society organisations, including the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, have called on the government to issue protective religious rulings for minority communities. But their appeals have gone unanswered. And violence, particularly against Alawites in Homs and Aleppo, has surged dramatically.

    Five months after Assad’s fall, it seems that Syria is not witnessing the long hoped for fruition of its 2011 revolution, where pro-democracy protests swept through the country, but rather its continuing unravelling.

    The groups now in power had little to do with the revolution’s early democratic hopes. They have emerged from transnational jihadist networks with a radically different vision for Syria’s future.

    In the view of prominent Syrian intellectual Yassin al-Haj Saleh, Syria urgently needs a period of de-escalation and genuine political concessions. He argues for “taking two or three steps back … to move more firmly forward”. Political solutions must precede the creation of public institutions, not the other way around.

    If the cycle of sectarian violence is not broken, Syria risks sliding deeper into communal bloodshed that could permanently fracture the nation’s social fabric.

    The international community must act decisively. It has to apply concrete political pressure that makes the protection of all Syrians – regardless of sect – a non-negotiable foundation for Syria’s path forward.

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

    – ref. Syria faces renewed sectarian violence as government fails to deliver inclusivity – https://theconversation.com/syria-faces-renewed-sectarian-violence-as-government-fails-to-deliver-inclusivity-255974

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How the weather got ‘stuck’ over the UK – and produced an unusually dry and warm spring

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Simon H. Lee, Lecturer in Atmospheric Science, University of St Andrews

    Wildfires have ignited in forests and on moorland across the UK in recent months. LSP EM/Shutterstock

    A “blocking” weather system lingering high above the UK has produced one of the driest, warmest and brightest starts to spring on record.

    April 2025 was the sunniest since records began in 1910. This followed the third-sunniest March, and both months saw temperatures well above average nationwide. On May 1, the temperature reached 29.3°C in Kew Gardens in London – a new record for the date.

    Meteorologists are warning of the potential for a summer drought, as the UK has seen roughly half its usual amount of rainfall for March and April. While farmers fret about this year’s harvest, some water companies are urging customers to help reservoir levels recover by limiting water use.

    Meanwhile, wildfires have engulfed forest and moorland in areas of Scotland, Wales and England.

    Most of the UK has experienced a record-dry spring so far.
    Met Office

    For several weeks, a stubborn area of high pressure over the UK has diverted the usual flow of mild, moist air from the North Atlantic like a boulder in a river. This is known as a blocking weather system.

    Within it, air descends, warms and dries, which is why this weather pattern tends to be linked to heatwaves and drought. Blocking is usually persistent, making it seem like the weather is stuck.

    Here’s how climate change may have played a role in setting up this unusual spring.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. Join The Conversation for free today.

    The human fingerprint

    The warming climate means that unusually warm weather is occurring more often and becoming more intense. At the same time, we can expect more periods of both severe drought and extreme rainfall. Sudden changes from drought to deluge, termed “weather whiplash”, are due to the intensification of the water cycle in a warmer atmosphere that can hold more water vapour.

    However, certain weather patterns are necessary to produce extreme weather. More blocking events in future could increase the chance of heatwaves or drought. But are blocking weather patterns becoming more common?

    It’s difficult to determine how weather patterns will change as a result of the rising concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which is predominantly caused by the burning of fossil fuels.

    Part of the difficulty arises from the fact that weather patterns vary year to year. Several years in a row with more blocking events than usual could make it seem like blocking is increasing due to climate change, but it could simply be down to chance.

    As a result, it is difficult to detect the fingerprint of human activity from weather observations alone. For example, blocking weather patterns over Greenland during summer have happened more often in recent decades, which can enhance the melting of the ice sheet. But it isn’t clear that this trend is the result of human-induced climate change.

    Climate models do suggest future changes in the occurrence of blocking, however. These computer simulations, consisting of equations that describe the fundamental physics of the atmosphere, are the main tool scientists use to perform experiments that parse how the climate will behave in future.

    The blocking system is visible in the area of high pressure over Britain and Ireland.
    National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research/NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory, CC BY

    When scientists run climate model simulations with increased greenhouse gas concentrations the results consistently show a decrease in blocking events. But blocking generally happens more often in real life than model simulations, which reduces the confidence scientists have in future projections.

    Keeping track of the jet stream

    The movement of weather systems in Earth’s mid-latitudes – including over the UK – is linked to the jet stream, which is a fast-flowing river of air driven by the contrast in temperature between the poles and mid-latitudes.

    Some researchers have suggested that, because the Arctic is warming faster than the tropics, the jet stream may weaken and become more “wavy”, increasing the occurrence of blocking events, contrary to what most climate models show.

    Outside of the scientific community, this idea has become popular. However, the hypothesis remains controversial among scientists, and observational evidence has weakened in recent years.

    In fact, tens of kilometres above the Earth’s surface, near commercial aircraft cruising altitudes, the opposite trends are occurring: the temperature difference between the Arctic and mid-latitudes is increasing, acting to increase the strength of the jet stream.

    There are considerable challenges with understanding how climate change is affecting the large-scale atmospheric patterns which drive the weather we experience. These include large natural variability and imperfect climate models. Models mostly suggest a decline in blocking events with climate change, though this remains relatively uncertain compared with other aspects of the science.

    Overall, we can be confident that climate change is bringing warmer conditions in all seasons. Scientists also have strong evidence to suggest that drought conditions will become more common. These changes are already affecting food production, energy generation and water availability and these impacts will continue to worsen with climate change.

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

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Simon H. Lee has received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council and the National Science Foundation.

    Matthew Patterson receives funding from the Natural Environment Research Council in the UK via the the National Centre for Atmospheric Science.

    – ref. How the weather got ‘stuck’ over the UK – and produced an unusually dry and warm spring – https://theconversation.com/how-the-weather-got-stuck-over-the-uk-and-produced-an-unusually-dry-and-warm-spring-255987

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is matcha a healthier alternative to coffee? Here’s what you need to know

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Anthony Booker, Reader in Ethnopharmacology, University of Westminster

    Ekateryna Zubal/Shutterstock

    Matcha, with its vibrant green hue and centuries-old tradition, is often celebrated as a health boosting superfood. But what exactly sets it apart from regular green tea, or even your morning coffee?

    Like green and black tea, matcha comes from
    the camellia sinensis plant. The difference lies in how it’s grown and processed. While black tea is fermented and regular green tea is simply dried, matcha is shade-grown for several weeks before harvest.

    This unique method alters the plant’s chemistry, boosting certain compounds like chlorophyll and amino acids and giving matcha its distinct flavour and rich green colour. The leaves are then dried and finely ground into a powder – hence its name, which literally translates to “powdered tea” in Japanese.

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    Although widely associated with Japanese culture and Zen tea ceremonies, matcha actually originated in China. It was brought to Japan in the 12th century by Buddhist monks, who used it to support meditation. Over time, it became a staple in Japanese tea culture, especially in formal tea ceremonies.

    From a health perspective, matcha offers many of the same benefits as green tea – thanks to its high content of polyphenols, including flavonoids, which are known antioxidants. However, because the leaves are consumed whole in powdered form, matcha may provide a more concentrated dose of these beneficial compounds.

    Lots of potential, relatively little research

    Matcha is touted for its wide range of potential health benefits: antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity and even anti-cancer effects, as well as potential improvements in brain function, stress relief, heart health and blood sugar regulation.

    But there’s a catch: most of the evidence supporting these claims comes from lab studies (on cells or animals), not robust clinical trials in humans. So while the early research is promising, it’s far from conclusive.

    One thing we do know: matcha contains caffeine – more than regular green tea, though typically less than coffee. Caffeine itself has well documented health benefits when consumed in moderation, including improved focus, mood, metabolism and even reduced risk of certain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

    But high doses can cause side effects like insomnia, anxiety and elevated blood pressure. The “more is better” approach doesn’t apply here, and the optimal dose of caffeine remains unclear.

    When comparing matcha to coffee, both offer similar antioxidant properties and cardiovascular benefits. However, coffee has been studied more extensively, with clearer guidelines: three to four cups a day appears to be a safe upper limit for most people.

    For matcha, the guidance is slightly more conservative, with sources suggesting one to three cups a day, probably due to the higher levels of polyphenols.



    Read more:
    All the reasons a cup of coffee really can be good for you

    Tannins and polyphenols in both tea and coffee can interfere with iron absorption, especially from plant-based foods. Drinking large amounts regularly, particularly around mealtimes, may increase the risk of iron-deficiency anaemia.

    That’s why it’s recommended to enjoy these beverages at least two hours before or after meals, especially for people who follow a predominantly plant-based diet or are already prone to low iron levels.

    Jitter-free

    Another consideration: both coffee and matcha are mildly acidic and can cause digestive discomfort or reflux in people with sensitive stomachs. That said, matcha may be a better choice for some. Unlike coffee, it contains L-theanine, an amino acid that promotes relaxation and may counteract the jittery effects of caffeine, making it a gentler alternative for people prone to anxiety.

    Both matcha and coffee have potential health benefits and the right choice depends on your personal needs and preferences. Coffee is better studied and may be ideal for those who tolerate caffeine well and enjoy several cups a day. Matcha, on the other hand, is a great option for those looking to consume less caffeine while still benefiting from antioxidants – and without the crash or jitters.

    Just remember to enjoy either in moderation, especially if you’re managing iron levels or digestive issues.

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

    – ref. Is matcha a healthier alternative to coffee? Here’s what you need to know – https://theconversation.com/is-matcha-a-healthier-alternative-to-coffee-heres-what-you-need-to-know-255729

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The Climate Fiction Prize 2025: the five shortlisted books reviewed by our experts

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Louisa Egbunike, Associate Professor in African Literature, Durham University

    Five novels have been shortlisted for the 2025 Climate Fiction Prize. Our academics review the finalists ahead of the announcement of the winner on May 14.

    And So I Roar by Abi Daré

    Abi Daré’s poignant second novel, And So I Roar, charts the parallel stories of Tia, an environmental advocate, and Adunni, a Nigerian teenager first introduced in The Girl with the Louding Voice (2020).

    Now under Tia’s care in Lagos, Adunni has escaped child marriage and domestic abuse.

    When she returns to her village, Ikati, where she and other girls are blamed for the drought and face the threat of violence, the novel unravels long-held secrets. Daré masterfully explores how environmental crises intersect with gendered violence, showing how impoverished women disproportionately bear the burden of climate change.

    And So I Roar highlights intergenerational, inter-ethnic and cross-class solidarity, celebrating the courage of women and girls who defy society’s expectations. It is a powerful testament to resilience, as women and girls confront injustice and find the strength to lift their voices and, finally, roar.

    By Louisa Uchum Egbunike, associate professor in African literature

    The Morningside by Téa Obreht

    Obreht’s The Morningside is a quietly dazzling piece of climate fiction – more adjacent to our world than removed from it, and all the more unsettling for it.

    Set in Island City, a place marked by an unnamed tragedy, the novel centres on Sil, an 11-year-old girl who moves into the Morningside apartment complex with her mother.

    Both are climate refugees, though the novel wears this reality lightly – what matters more are the small acts of home-making, the search for belonging and the ghosts that travel with them. Magical realism is deftly handled here, interlaced with hints of folklore that feel entirely plausible within the book’s fragile ecology.

    The Morningside is deeply readable – generous, tender and brimming with quiet unease. It never tips into bleakness, but its warnings are clear enough. “The things you had, the things you saw,” Sil’s mother tells us, “will probably be gone by the time [your children are] born.”

    By Sam Illingworth, professor of creative pedagogies

    Briefly Very Beautiful by Roz Dineen

    Roz Dineen’s Briefly Very Beautiful immerses readers in a world that both is and is not a familiar fiction. Crisply written, in direct, unfussy prose, it is, at one level, a story of a woman, Cass, trying to protect her children as her relationship unravels.

    At the same time, a parallel social collapse triggered by climate change puts the ordinary in an extraordinary frame.

    Much of the effect of this novel comes from Cass’s utterly believable responses to what is taking place around her, her almost peripheral awareness of other people fleeing the city, her own craving for fresh air “like she’d craved things in pregnancy, with a scary gorging hunger”.

    Briefly Very Beautiful is a novel brave enough to recognise that there is no simple, heroic response to some situations. That sometimes, the determination to live an ordinary life is the truly heroic course of action.

    By Christopher Morash, professor of Irish writing

    Orbital by Samantha Harvey

    Samantha Harvey’s Orbital skilfully exposes the human cost of space flight, set against the urgency of the climate crisis. While a typhoon of life-threatening proportions gathers across south-east Asia, six cosmonauts hurtle around Earth on the International Space Station.

    Their everyday routine of tasteless food and laboratory work is in stark contrast to the awesome spectacle of the blue planet, oscillating between night and day, dark and light, where international borders are meaningless.

    While they teach laboratory mice to orient themselves in micro-gravity, they rigorously document their own bodily functions to satisfy some “grand abstract dream of interplanetary life” away from “the planet held hostage by humans, a gun to its vitals”. These are humans, Harvey tells us, “with a godly view that’s the blessing and also the curse”. Harvey has written a novel for the end of the world as we know it. The hope it offers is that we might learn to know it differently.

    By Debra Benita Shaw, reader in cultural theory

    The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

    The best novels defy easy categorisation, and The Ministry of Time covers many genres: climate fiction, sci-fi, speculative fiction, romance, action.

    It tells the story of a female civil servant who is a handler for one of five people plucked from history before their death. It was fun to imagine how today’s world would be perceived from various perspectives, including a zesty young lesbian woman from the 17th century, a shy young lieutenant from the first world war and a 19th-century naval officer.

    The story adopts the usual dystopian tropes of a world that has destroyed itself through greed, power-seeking and over-indulgence. In the final plea to the reader not to let this terrible future unfold, the assumption is that if we’re scared enough, we’ll all give up red meat, stop flying and campaign for climate policies.

    My research, and psychological studies of fear caution us that the response is just as likely to be voting for far-right leaders, marginalisation of innocent victims, and buying up all the toilet rolls. I loved this book, but to inspire greener behaviour, showing visions of what a sustainable society might look like if we did things right would be a welcome change.

    By Denise Baden, professor of sustainable business

    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

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

    – ref. The Climate Fiction Prize 2025: the five shortlisted books reviewed by our experts – https://theconversation.com/the-climate-fiction-prize-2025-the-five-shortlisted-books-reviewed-by-our-experts-253056

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Medetomidine: what you need to know about the animal sedative turning up in opioid deaths

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Chazot, Professor of Pharmacology, Durham University

    Michael O’Keene/Shutterstock.com

    The opioid crisis, increasingly driven by synthetic opioids, continues to claim tens of thousands of lives annually in the US alone. Similar crises have arisen all over the western world.

    The crisis has become more complex as powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl, nitazenes and oxycodone are now being “cut” (mixed) with other drugs that slow brain activity, including animal tranquillisers.

    The emergence of medetomidine as a new contaminant in the US illicit drug market signals a worrying development in this escalating crisis. When public health officials in Philadelphia first began testing for the drug in May last year, medetomidine was found in 29% of fentanyl samples analysed. Six months later, the drug was found in 87% of fentanyl samples.

    Medetomidine, a drug approved only for veterinary use as a sedative and painkiller, has increasingly been implicated in illicit fentanyl-related overdoses.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. Join The Conversation for free today.

    Like xylazine – another veterinary tranquilliser recently detected in street drugs – it is believed that medetomidine is added to fentanyl to boost its euphoric effects and hence make it more appealing to users. However, medetomidine is even more potent and longer-lasting than xylazine.

    An overdose of medetomidine can cause extreme sleepiness, very low blood pressure, slow heart rate, trouble breathing (respiratory failure), and even coma or death. This is because medetomidine rapidly depresses the central nervous system and slows the heart rate significantly.

    When medetomidine is used with opioids, the risk is even greater because both drugs can slow breathing, and together they can make it much worse.

    Overdose-reversing drugs

    Police and paramedics use naloxone to reverse fentanyl overdoses. But if the drug is mixed with medetomidine, naloxone won’t work because medetomidine affects the body in a different way.

    Naloxone won’t reverse the effects of animal tranquillisers.
    oasisamuel / Shutterstock.com

    Atipamezole can reverse the effects of medetomidine – such as sedation, slowed breathing and slowed heart rate – but it’s only been tested in dogs. The US Food and Drug Administration has not approved the drug for human use.

    Overdoses from fentanyl and high-potency nitazenes are also common in the UK and across Europe. The spread of medetomidine in street drugs in other parts of the world needs urgent attention.

    The first death in the UK involving xylazine was reported by the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths in December 2022. Between April 2023 and January 2024, 17 cases were reported in the UK, in a range of opioid tablets and powders, including codeine, tramadol and heroin.

    So far, no confirmed cases involving medetomidine have been reported in the UK. If trends in the US are reliable indicators, the UK may face similar challenges soon.

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

    – ref. Medetomidine: what you need to know about the animal sedative turning up in opioid deaths – https://theconversation.com/medetomidine-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-animal-sedative-turning-up-in-opioid-deaths-256015

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Deadly blood clots, risky treatments: The high-stakes battle against deep vein thrombosis in sports and beyond

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Peter Anthony Andrisani, PhD Candidate, Medical Sciences, McMaster University

    Seven-time NBA all-star Damian Lillard, 34, recently joined a growing list of NBA athletes to be sidelined by a diagnosis of deep-vein thrombosis, or DVT.

    The Milwaukee Bucks player joins Victor Wembanyama, 21, a rising star in the NBA who was diagnosed with the life-threatening condition earlier this season, along with Chris Bosh and Brandon Ingram, who were also sidelined with DVT during their careers.

    DVT in athletes

    DVT is caused by blood clots in the veins of the arms or legs. The condition is commonly associated with age, decreased mobility, obesity, some estrogen-containing medications and smoking, among other factors. Repetitive arm action above the head, like throwing a basketball, can also increase the risk of DVT.

    Typically, DVT causes swelling, pain and bruising in the affected limb. DVT on its own is not lethal, but left untreated, it can have serious consequences.

    Without treatment, pieces of blood clots that cause DVT can break off and travel to the lungs in a condition called pulmonary embolism (PE), which can result in severe damage to the lungs. Both DVT and PE are venous thromboembolic diseases, which are the third most common cause of deaths associated with the vascular system after heart attack and stroke.

    Tennis superstar Serena Williams developed PE twice. Like many people who develop it, she had trouble breathing, shortness of breath and chest pain.

    Although it might be scary to be diagnosed with DVT or PE, there are effective medicines to treat the conditions.

    My lab’s research focuses on identifying new blood-thinning drugs to treat blood-clotting conditions like DVT and stroke. Surgery and blood thinners are often combined to combat DVT and PE by removing the original blood clot and reducing the chances of a new clot forming.

    Despite their name, blood thinners do not literally make blood thinner. Instead, they make it harder for blood clots to form. Three general classes of blood thinners can be prescribed for DVT and PE: vitamin K antagonists such as warfarin, heparin and direct oral anticoagulants.

    Despite the help blood thinners provide, they create risks of their own, as they can increase the risk of bleeding, because blood clotting is a normal and necessary physiological process.

    Clot risks vs. bleeding risks

    Taking blood thinners is like walking a tightrope. The person taking the blood thinner is in a constant state of balance between preventing abnormal blood clots and excessive bleeding, which depends on the strength of the blood thinner. If you lean too far in either direction, you might fall off the tightrope, with serious consequences.

    The challenges of managing bleeding risk while preventing DVT was amplified in the case of Williams. Immediately after delivering her second child, Williams underwent a PE event and was placed on intravenous heparin. While heparin did prevent blood clots, Williams did have significant bleeding at the site of her C-section.

    The risk of bleeding often extends past the hospital. Typically, blood thinners are given to people with DVT for months, even years, to prevent ongoing risk of clot formation. The risk of bleeding persists as long as the person is taking the drug.

    Athletes on blood thinners playing contact sports are more vulnerable to injuries compared to others. Players commonly fall, which is more likely to cause potentially life-threatening internal bleeding.

    Due to this risk, athletes often must take to the sidelines to avoid injury after a DVT diagnosis.

    Balanced blood thinners

    The challenge of creating balanced blood-thinning drugs is of great interest to my lab at McMaster University’s Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute. A promising candidate for treating clotting disorders is ADAMTS13. It’s a protein that plays a role in the typical maintenance of blood clots but shows great potential as a blood-thinning medication.

    Previous research with this protein has found that in acute blood-clotting conditions such as ischemic stroke, ADAMTS13 is effective at breaking apart blood clots but does not result in the same risk of bleeding. Further testing on the protein in chronic conditions like DVT still needs to be performed, but there is potential for it to act as a long-term blood thinner.

    The use of safer blood thinners will not only allow athletes like Lillard and Wembanyama to continue playing their respective sports, but will also help the general population.

    Approximately seven million new blood-thinner prescriptions for DVT and other conditions are written each year in Canada, highlighting the need for better therapeutics across the board.

    Peter Anthony Andrisani receives funding from CanVECTOR.

    Colin Kretz receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (R01HL172780).

    – ref. Deadly blood clots, risky treatments: The high-stakes battle against deep vein thrombosis in sports and beyond – https://theconversation.com/deadly-blood-clots-risky-treatments-the-high-stakes-battle-against-deep-vein-thrombosis-in-sports-and-beyond-253985

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The Moomins drift through time like a myth – that’s why they resist meaning and endure

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Steve Nash, Lecturer in Literature, Media, and Creative Writing, Leeds Beckett University

    The Moomins may look like hippos in aprons and top hats, but they’re more than just adorable characters from children’s books. Over the decades, these gentle creatures have become part of a living mythology – one that drifts across time, borders and generations.

    Created by Finnish-Swedish author Tove Jansson in the 1940s, the Moomins live in stories that blur the lines between fairy tale, folk wisdom and quiet philosophy. And perhaps that’s the secret to their enduring appeal: they resist being pinned down.

    Unlike traditional children’s characters tied to a tidy moral or neat storyline, the Moomins meander literally and metaphorically. Their world is one of seasonal migrations, long silences, floods, comets and unexpected departures.

    This is part of a series of articles celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Moomins. Want to celebrate their birthday with us? Join The Conversation and a group of experts on May 23 in Bradford for a screening of Moomins on the Riviera and a discussion of the refugee experience in Tove Jansson’s work. Click here for more information and tickets.

    Moominvalley isn’t a safe haven – it’s a landscape shaped by change. In that sense, Jansson’s stories echo something far older than modern literature: the mythic rhythms of Nordic storytelling, where time loops, endings blur and characters return in altered forms.

    A myth that moves

    The Viking sagas, for instance, were not written down at first but passed from voice to voice, reshaped with each telling. They weren’t concerned with tidy endings or moral clarity. Characters disappeared and reappeared. Time looped and fragmented.

    Similarly, Jansson’s stories don’t build to a climax. They wander. One book might end with a mystery, a quiet mood or a long silence. It’s a narrative style that feels strangely modern – and yet deeply ancient.

    Jansson herself resisted giving her stories a single message. In letters and interviews, she said she disliked moralising and preferred ambiguity. “A good story,” she wrote, “has no need to be explained; its truth lies in its telling, not in its conclusion.” That idea – of a truth that doesn’t depend on being pinned down – is at the heart of what makes the Moomins mythic.

    Of course, myths evolve. And the Moomins have evolved spectacularly. After the books found international success, the characters were adapted into Japanese anime, Nordic theatre, British radio and global branding campaigns.

    Each version tells a slightly different story. In Japan, the Moomins became symbols of warmth and nostalgia – gentle mascots of a simpler life. In the UK and US, early translations softened the melancholy and existential tones. More recently, new editions and critical reappraisals have returned to Jansson’s deeper themes of loss, solitude and transformation.

    The many lives of the Moomins

    This global journey has parallels with the evolution of Viking mythology. Once oral stories shared around fires, Norse myths have been repackaged for everything from national pride to Hollywood action. Like the Moomins, they’ve become flexible cultural symbols – used and re-used in ways that often have little to do with their original context.

    But unlike the fierce warriors of Norse myth, the Moomins are gentle, uncertain creatures. They worry. They drift. They don’t fight monsters – they reflect, explore, adapt. In Moominland Midwinter, Moomintroll wakes from hibernation to find the world cold and unfamiliar.

    His journey isn’t about conquering the landscape, it’s about learning how to live in it. That emotional honesty resonates with readers of all ages. It also reflects something uniquely Nordic: an existential awareness of solitude, change and survival.

    Folklore, loneliness and the Groke

    One character, the Groke, captures this beautifully. She’s a shadowy figure who creates frost wherever she walks. She’s not a villain, she’s just lonely. Children often fear her, but readers grow to understand her.

    She recalls Nordic spirits like the huldra or tomte – ghostly beings that live in the forests, blurring the line between human and otherworldly. In Jansson’s hands, this folklore becomes a way to explore anxiety, estrangement and the human need for warmth.

    The Moomins’ refusal to settle – geographically or philosophically – also speaks to today’s world of cultural fluidity. Jansson was from Finland’s Swedish-speaking minority and grew up between languages, cultures and post-war upheaval.

    Her books reflect that liminal identity, and they’ve found a home among readers who don’t always fit neatly into one place. That might be why the Moomins are particularly popular in countries dealing with identity shifts or cultural nostalgia.

    A myth for a shifting world

    As with all mythologies, there’s also a commercial side. The Moomins are now a global brand, with theme parks, merchandise, museums and a thriving fanbase. Some of this has softened their original complexity.

    But even through plush toys and animation, something essential remains: the feeling that these characters, like the stories they inhabit, can’t be reduced to one message. They are always slightly mysterious, slightly out of reach.

    In a world that often demands quick answers and strong opinions, the Moomins offer something gentler: ambiguity, openness and quiet reflection. They remind us that not all stories are meant to be solved with a neat conclusion. Some are meant to be returned to – revisited like familiar places in the mind, reshaped each time we arrive.

    That’s what makes the Moomins mythic. Not just their age or popularity, but their ability to change – and to change us – with every retelling. They invite us to wander, like Snufkin, and to sit still, like Moominmamma.

    They show us that myth isn’t just about gods and monsters – it’s about living with uncertainty, embracing return, and finding meaning in the stories that help us feel at home in the world.

    Steve Nash works for Leeds Beckett University.

    – ref. The Moomins drift through time like a myth – that’s why they resist meaning and endure – https://theconversation.com/the-moomins-drift-through-time-like-a-myth-thats-why-they-resist-meaning-and-endure-254742

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Nineteen Eighty-Four and Brave New World should be read in tandem to understand today’s troubled times

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Emrah Atasoy, Associate Fellow of English and Comparative Literary Studies & Honorary Research Fellow of IAS, University of Warwick

    Is there any past work of fiction that can help us make sense of today’s troubling trends? Taking into account the proliferation of references to obfuscating “Newspeak”, Big Brother-style leaders and impossible-to-circumvent surveillance systems in newspaper articles, this question cries out for a simple answer: “Yes – and that work is George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.”

    People on both the political left and right see Orwell’s 1949 novel as the book from the last century that speaks to the present most powerfully. But there are others who regard consumer culture and social media obsession as the primary concerns of today. They have a different answer: “Yes – and that work is Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.”

    We, however, think the answer is “both”.

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    In the long-running debate over who was the most prophetic writer of their era, Orwell, who was a pupil of Huxley’s at Eton, is generally the favourite.

    One reason for this is that international alliances that long seemed stable are now in flux. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, his final novel, Orwell envisioned a future tri-polar world divided into competing blocks with shifting allegiances.

    In the short time since the US president, Donald Trump, began his second term, his policies and statements have triggered surprising realignments. The US and Canada, close partners for more than a century, have faced off against each other. And in April, an official from Beijing joined with his counterparts from South Korea and Japan to push back as an unlikely trio against Trump’s new tariffs.

    That is perhaps why there is a booming field of “Orwell studies”, with its own academic journal, but not “Huxley studies”. It also probably explains why Nineteen Eighty-Four, but not Brave New World, keeps making its way on to bestseller lists – sometimes in tandem with Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985). “Orwellian” (unlike the rarely heard “Huxleyan”) has few competitors other than “Kafkaesque” as an immediately recognisable adjective linked to a 20th-century author.

    Trailer for the film 1984, an adaptation of Orwell’s novel.

    As wonderful as Atwood and Kafka are, we are convinced that combining Orwell’s vision with Huxley’s offers scope for deeper analysis. This is true in part because of, not despite, how common it has been to contrast the modes of autocracy Orwell and Huxley describe.

    Orwellian and Huxleyan visions as one world

    We live in an era when all sorts of systems of control limit our freedoms of expression, identity and religion. Many do not quite fit the template that either Orwell or Huxley imagined, but instead combine elements.

    There are certainly places, such as Myanmar, where those in power rely on techniques that immediately bring Orwell to mind, with his focus on fear and surveillance. There are others, such as Dubai, that more readily evoke Huxley, with his focus on pleasure and distraction. In many cases, though, we find a mixture.

    This is especially clear if you take a global view. That’s something we specialise in as international and interdisciplinary researchers – a literary scholar from Turkey based in the UK, and a Californian cultural historian of China who has also published on southeast Asia.

    Like Orwell, Huxley wrote many books that were not dystopian fiction, but his foray into that genre became his most influential. Brave New World was well known throughout the cold war. In courses and commentaries, it was commonly paired with Nineteen Eighty-Four as a narrative illustrating a shallow society based on indulgence and consumerism, as opposed to the bleaker Orwellian world of suppression of desire and strict control.

    While it is common to approach the two books via their contrasts, they can be treated as interconnected and entangled works as well.

    Trailer for an adaptation of Brave New World, released in 2020.

    During the cold war, some commentators felt that Brave New World showed where capitalist consumerism in the age of television could lead. The west, according to this interpretation, could become a world in which autocrats like those in the novel stayed on top. They would do this by keeping people busy and divided among themselves, happily distracted by entertainment and the drug “soma”.

    Orwell, by contrast, seemed to provide a key to unlock the harder mode of control in non-capitalist, Communist Party-run lands, especially those of the Soviet bloc.

    Huxley himself in Brave New World Revisited, a non-fiction book he published in the 1950s, thought it was important to think about ways the techniques of power and societal engineering in the two novels could be combined, approached and analysed. And there is even more value in combining the approaches now, when capitalism has gone so global and the autocratic wave keeps reaching new shores in the so-called post-truth era.

    Orwellian hard-edged and Huxleyan soft-edged approaches to control and social engineering can be and often are combined. We see this within countries such as China, where the crude repressive methods of a Big Brother state are used against the Uyghur population, while cities such as Shenzhen evoke Brave New World.

    We see this mixing of dystopian elements in many countries – variations on the way that science fiction writer William Gibson, author of novels such as Neuromancer (1984), wrote about Singapore with a phrase that had a soft-edged first half and a hard-edged second: “Disneyland with the death penalty.”

    This can be a useful first step toward better understanding, and perhaps beginning to try to find a way of improving the troubling world of the mid-2020s. A world in which the smartphone in your pocket both keeps track of your actions and provides an endless set of enticing distractions.

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

    – ref. Nineteen Eighty-Four and Brave New World should be read in tandem to understand today’s troubled times – https://theconversation.com/nineteen-eighty-four-and-brave-new-world-should-be-read-in-tandem-to-understand-todays-troubled-times-253872

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: UK’s India trade deal offers wider access to a surging economy – and could make food imports cheaper

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sangeeta Khorana, Professor of International Trade Policy, Aston University

    India’s economy is growing rapidly. Radiokafka/Shutterstock

    After more than three years and 14 rounds of negotiations, the UK and India have finally announced a free trade agreement (FTA). UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will formally sign the deal on a visit to India later this year. This is the biggest and most economically significant bilateral trade deal the UK has struck since leaving the EU. It will have implications for both businesses and workers.

    In 2024, the UK’s trade with India was worth £43 billion – £17.1 billion of exports and £25.5 billion of imports. Government modelling estimates that trade between the nations will increase by as much as 39% and the UK’s GDP will expand by £4.8 billion or 0.1 percentage points per year as a result.

    India’s economy is growing fast. It is expected to expand by 6% annually, becoming the world’s third largest economy by 2028 after the US and China. This certainly makes the deal with the UK very timely.

    With a population of more than 1.4 billion and a growing middle class, the country offers huge market potential. Its import demand is predicted to grow by 144% between 2021 and 2035. This combination of strong economic growth and increasing numbers of citizens with disposable cash makes a compelling case for the deal.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. Join The Conversation for free today.

    Both the UK and India have agreed to reduce tariffs under the deal. India will immediately lower its 150% tariffs on Scotch whisky and gin to 75%, and then to 40% within ten years. Tariffs on foodstuffs such as lamb, salmon and cheeses will fall from around 30% to zero.

    Simplified trade rules, including faster customs processing, reduced barriers such as complex labelling requirements, and enhanced support for small businesses should bring gains for companies. Timely customs clearance will support exports of perishable items like Scottish salmon, where delays reduce the product’s shelf life. Similarly, exporters of things like biscuits and cheese will benefit from streamlined paperwork and be able to compete in India’s growing market.

    There will no longer be limits on the number of UK businesses allowed to provide telecommunications, environmental and construction services. And UK businesses will not need to set up a company in India or be a resident in India to supply their services in these sectors.

    Once the FTA comes into force, which could take up to a year, the UK will allow 99% of Indian imports duty-free access into the UK. The sectors set to benefit most are footwear, textiles and clothing, as well as processed prawns, basmati rice and ready meals. These reductions will mean lower prices for UK consumers, given tariffs on clothing and footwear are 12% and 16% respectively.

    Clothing and textile imports to the UK will have tariff-free access.
    Yevhen Prozhyrko/Shutterstock

    Tariffs on luxury cars will also be reduced from more than 100% to 10% under quotas on both sides. The FTA locks in zero tariffs on industrial machinery, advanced materials for use in hi-tech industries, and components for electric vehicles. This will position British suppliers inside a manufacturing market ranked the world’s second-most attractive after China.

    In terms of workers, there were well publicised fears that the agreement might lead to UK workers being undercut by Indian counterparts. Plans for a so-called “double contribution convention” grants a three-year exemption from national insurance contributions for Indian employees temporarily working in the UK. But this is a reciprocal deal and is likely to apply only to workers who are seconded from one country to the other, so should not result in UK workers being more expensive to hire.

    And although no changes to immigration policy are planned, the FTA will offer easier movement for skilled workers. UK providers of services like construction and telecoms will have access to India’s growing market.

    Both countries have committed to encouraging the recognition of professional qualifications. A professional services working group for UK and Indian government officials will provide a forum to monitor and support this initiative.

    Timing is everything

    Against a backdrop of rising protectionism and geopolitical tensions, the UK-India FTA stands out as a strategic deal. It is also a significant milestone in Britain’s Indo-Pacific “tilt”. This approach gives UK firms a hedge against over-reliance on any single region or country-centric supply chains, to keep trade flowing in the event of more US tariff shocks, for example.

    With the US fixation on tariffs, and global supply chains facing continued disruption, securing preferential access to the world’s fastest-growing major economy is a strategic win for the UK. From India’s perspective, the trade deal is aligned with its rise as a “China-plus-one” manufacturing hub (where businesses diversify to ensure they do not invest only in China).

    The UK and India share historical ties that are underpinned by cultural, educational and people-to-people links. The UK-India FTA marks a new phase in this relationship, where shared economic interests define a forward-looking partnership between the two countries.

    And in terms of its ongoing talks with the EU, India could use the agreement to showcase its willingness to negotiate ambitious trade deals. For the UK, given its own upcoming trade and cooperation talks with the EU, the FTA with India demonstrates that new partnerships can be built while maintaining vital European ties.

    Sangeeta Khorana has received funding from UK-ESRC, EU and other international organisations. She is affiliated with Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade as a Trustee Director.

    – ref. UK’s India trade deal offers wider access to a surging economy – and could make food imports cheaper – https://theconversation.com/uks-india-trade-deal-offers-wider-access-to-a-surging-economy-and-could-make-food-imports-cheaper-256387

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: From Zoo Quest to Ocean: The evolution of David Attenborough’s voice for the planet

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Neil J. Gostling, Associate Professor in Evolution and Palaeobiology, University of Southampton

    Over the course of seven decades, Sir David Attenborough’s documentaries have reshaped how we see the natural world, shifting from colonial-era collecting trips to urgent calls for environmental action.

    His storytelling has inspired generations, but has only recently begun to confront the scale of the ecological crisis. To understand how far nature broadcasting has come, it helps to return to where it started.

    When Attenborough’s broadcasting career began in the 1950s, Austrian filmmakers Hans and Lotte Hass were already pushing the boundaries of what was possible by taking cameras below the sea and touring the world aboard their schooner, the Xafira.

    In one of their 1953 Galapagos films, a crewman handled a sealion pup, having crawled across the volcanic rock of Fernandina honking at sealions to attract them. A penguin and giant tortoise were brought on board Xafira. And as Lotte Hass took photographs, she’d beseech some poor creature to “not be frightened” and “look pleasant”.

    This is a world away from today’s expectations, where both research scientists and amateur naturalists are taught to observe without touching or disturbing wildlife. When the Hasses visited the Galápagos, it was still five years before the creation of the national park and the founding of the island’s conservation organisation Charles Darwin Foundation. Now, visitors must stay at least two metres from all animals – and never approach them.

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    At the same time, television was beginning to shape public perceptions of the natural world. In 1954, Attenborough was working as a young producer on Zoo Quest. By chance, he became its presenter when zoologist Jack Lester became ill.

    The programme followed zoologists collecting animals from around the world for London Zoo. Zoo Quest was filmed in exotic locations around the world and then in the studio where the animals found on the expedition were shown “up close”.

    Attenborough has since acknowledged that Zoo Quest reflected attitudes that would not be acceptable today. The series showed animals being captured from the wild and transported to London Zoo – practices which mirrored extractive, colonial-era approaches to science.

    David Attenborough’s Zoo Quest for a Dragon aired in 1956.

    Yet, Zoo Quest was also groundbreaking. The series brought viewers face-to-face with animals they might never have seen before and pioneered a visual style that made natural history television both entertaining and educational. It helped establish Attenborough’s reputation as a compelling communicator and laid the foundations for a new genre of science broadcasting – one that has evolved, like its presenter, over time.

    After a decade in production, Attenborough returned to presenting with Life on Earth (1979), a landmark series that traced the evolution of life from single-celled organisms to birds and apes. Drawing on his long-standing interest in fossils, the series combined zoology, palaeobiology and natural history to create an ambitious new template for science broadcasting.

    Life on Earth helped cement Attenborough’s reputation as a trusted communicator and became the foundation of the BBC’s “blue-chip” natural history format – big-budget, internationally produced films that put high-quality cinematic wildlife footage at the forefront of the story. The series did not simply document the natural world. It reframed it, using presenter-led storytelling and global spectacle to shape how audiences understood evolutionary processes.

    For much of his career, Attenborough has been celebrated for showcasing the beauty of the natural world. Yet, he has also faced criticism for sidestepping the environmental crises threatening it. Commentators such as the environmental journalist George Monbiot argued that his earlier documentaries, while visually stunning, often avoided addressing the human role in climate change, presenting nature as untouched and avoiding difficult truths about ecological decline.

    Building on the legacy of Life on Earth, Attenborough’s later series began to respond to these critiques. Blue Planet (2001) expanded the scope of nature storytelling, revealing the mysteries of the ocean’s most remote and uncharted ecosystems. Its 2017 sequel, Blue Planet II, introduced a more urgent tone, highlighting the scale of plastic pollution and the need for marine conservation.

    Although Blue Planet II significantly increased viewers’ environmental knowledge, it did not lead to measurable changes in plastic consumption behaviour – a reminder that awareness alone does not guarantee action. The subsequent Wild Isles (2023) continued the shift towards conservation messaging. While the main series aired in five parts, a sixth episode – Saving Our Wild Isles – was released separately and drew controversy amid claims the BBC had sidelined it for being too political. In reality, the episode delivered a clear call to action.

    Attenborough’s latest film, Ocean, continues in this more urgent register, pairing breathtaking imagery with an unflinching assessment of ocean health. After decades of gentle narration, he now speaks with sharpened clarity about the scale of the crisis and the need to act.

    A voice for action

    In recent years, Attenborough has taken on a new role – not just as a broadcaster, but as a powerful voice in environmental diplomacy. He has addressed world leaders at major summits such as the UN climate conference Cop24 and the World Economic Forum, calling for urgent action on climate change. He was also appointed ambassador for the UK government’s review on the economics of biodiversity.

    On the subject of environmemtal diplomacy, Monbiot recently wrote: “A few years ago, I was sharply critical of Sir David for downplaying the environmental crisis on his TV programmes. Most people would have reacted badly but remarkably, at 92, he took this and similar critiques on board and radically changed his approach.”

    Attenborough not only speaks. He listens. This is part of his charm and popularity. He is learning and evolving as much as his audience.

    What makes Attenborough stand out is the way he speaks. While official climate treaties often rely on technical or legal language, he communicates in emotional, accessible terms – speaking plainly about responsibility, urgency and the moral imperative to protect life on Earth. His calm authority and familiar voice make complex issues easier to grasp and harder to dismiss.

    Frequently named Britain’s most trusted public figure, Attenborough has become something of an unofficial diplomat for the planet – apolitical, measured, and often seen as a voice of reason amid populist noise. Despite his criticisms, Attenborough’s documentaries walk a careful line between fragility and resilience, using emotionally ambivalent imagery to prompt reflection. He shares his wonder with the natural world and brings people along with him

    Ocean shows our blue planet in more spectacular fashion than Lotte and Hans Hass could ever have imagined. But it is also Attenborough’s most direct reckoning with environmental collapse. With clarity and urgency, it confronts the damage wrought by industrial trawling and habitat destruction.

    After 70 years of gently guiding viewers through the natural world, Attenborough’s voice has sharpened. If he once opened our eyes to nature’s wonders, he now challenges us not to look away. As he puts it: “If we save the sea, we save our world. After a lifetime filming our planet, I’m sure that nothing is more important.”

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

    – ref. From Zoo Quest to Ocean: The evolution of David Attenborough’s voice for the planet – https://theconversation.com/from-zoo-quest-to-ocean-the-evolution-of-david-attenboroughs-voice-for-the-planet-251727

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Keir Starmer’s immigration plans: research shows you don’t beat the far right by becoming them

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Katy Brown, Research Fellow in Language and Social Justice, Manchester Metropolitan University

    Keir Starmer gives press conference on migration Flickr/Number 10, CC BY-NC-ND

    As British prime minister Keir Starmer vowed to “finally take back control of our borders” in a landmark speech on immigration on May 12, it felt a little like déjà vu.

    Some nine years earlier, we had heard those exact words repeated over and over in the build-up to the Brexit referendum from former prime minister Boris Johnson and the Leave campaign. It was a refrain also used by Nigel Farage and UKIP.

    Of course, this direct reference was the point. Starmer used it to claim that the Labour government’s white paper on immigration was finally going to deliver on what had been promised and desired for many years.

    In these opening lines, the tone was set. And as the speech went on, there were echoes of far-right language and ideas reverberating throughout. Starmer lamented the “squalid” state of contemporary politics, the “forces” pulling the country apart, and the previous government’s so-called “experiment in open borders”.

    This speech and the white paper that it unveiled are but the latest indication of the rightward direction of travel within UK politics, led by mainstream and far-right parties alike – as exemplified in recent months by the footage released of immigration raids and deportations.

    Some will argue this is Labour’s response to the rising threat of Reform UK, with results in the recent local elections seen as evidence of the far right’s growing popularity. So the story goes, Labour is proving that they can be tough on immigration, showing would-be Reform defectors that they can be trusted after all.

    This familiar narrative seems to follow a prevailing wisdom which is parroted in political, media and public debates – that appeasing the far right is the way to defeat it. Rather than beating the far right at their own game, however, research shows that these techniques simply legitimise their key talking points and further normalise exclusionary politics.

    Starmer’s speech is a case in point. In using “take back control” from the outset, there was no hiding the intended audience or message. Starmer claimed that this project would “close the book on a squalid chapter for our politics, our economy, and our country”, implying that excessive immigration has directly caused these problems and that stopping it solves them. This chimes with classic far-right narratives where migration is framed as the root of all societal ills.

    When these kinds of ideas are pushed by those in government, with great authority and influence, they are given greater credence and weight. A strikingly clear example of this came in the summer of 2024 when participants in racist riots waved posters containing the slogan “stop the boats” (a phrase popularised by the previous Tory government).

    Another component of the speech that was reminiscent of far-right tropes was the idea that increased immigration was a deliberate tactic by the previous government. Starmer suggested that the Conservatives were actively pursuing a “one-nation experiment in open borders” while deceiving the British public of their intentions.

    Far-right conspiracies are often premised on the idea that elites are deliberately encouraging mass immigration. It’s not hard to see how Starmer’s words could act as a dog whistle in this scenario.

    These claims are especially damaging when we think about the draconian measures introduced under former Conservative governments, such as the Rwanda policy. Labour is now indicating that these proposals didn’t go far enough.

    To justify bringing far stricter immigration rules, Starmer stated that “for the vast majority of people in this country, that is what they have long wanted to see”. As far-right parties so often do, Labour suggests that they are delivering on “people’s priorities”. Yet are they really a priority for people, or are we told that they are a priority which then makes them more of a priority?

    Research by Aurelien Mondon, senior lecturer in politics at the University of Bath, illustrates how people’s personal and national priorities differ dramatically. When people in the UK were asked to name the two most important issues facing them personally, immigration didn’t even make it into the top ten.

    However, when asked the same question about the issues facing their country, immigration topped the list. How can something that doesn’t affect you in your day-to-day life suddenly become a top priority for your country? We need to challenge the narrative that the government is simply acting on people’s wishes and acknowledge its own capacity to set the agenda.

    Other priorities

    Some will say that harsher anti-immigration policies are a necessary evil to defeat the far right. However, if people’s personal priorities are really the cost of living, housing and education, why is the government not focusing more of its energy on these things rather than scapegoating migrants?

    What’s more, research shows that even based on these terms, these strategies are ineffective and can actually boost the success of the far right electorally. After all, its ideas are being repeatedly normalised.

    In all this tactical talk, we lose sight of the fact that people are living the consequences of this rhetoric and policies right now. Rather than focus on Reform’s potential performance in a general election that is probably years away, we should recognise the immediate consequences of the rhetoric that has accompanied this white paper. Even if this did put a dent in Reform’s prospects, what is the meaning of defeating them if the policies they promote become part of the mainstream in the process?

    The bottom line is that you do not beat the far right by becoming them. It doesn’t work electorally or ideologically, and even if it did, minoritised communities suffer the consequences regardless. The far right is not some threat lying waiting in the future – its normalisation is happening now.

    Katy Brown has received funding from UK Research and Innovation and the Irish Research Council. She is affiliated with the Reactionary Politics Research Network and Manchester Centre for Research in Linguistics.

    – ref. Keir Starmer’s immigration plans: research shows you don’t beat the far right by becoming them – https://theconversation.com/keir-starmers-immigration-plans-research-shows-you-dont-beat-the-far-right-by-becoming-them-256499

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cassidy Visits Louisiana Tech Design and Research Conference, Meets with University Officials

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy
    MONROE – On Monday, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) visited the 2025 Design and Research Conference at Louisiana Tech University, which featured senior presentations from students in their College of Engineering and Science. During the conference, students made presentations featuring innovations that could help in the fields of computing, energy, medicine and transportation, among others.
    “There is so much innovation taking place on Louisiana Tech’s campus,” said Dr. Cassidy. “The students, and also Tech graduates who have stayed near the campus, are using their education to create products marketed around the world. This is impressive.”
    Cassidy is a strong supporter of Louisiana Tech University. In January, Cassidy announced that the National Science Foundation would award the Louisiana Board of Regents $8 million to expand STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) research and development, generate more scholarships and fellowships, and enhance collaboration for Louisiana’s students. Louisiana Tech is a partner in this initiative, and Cassidy wrote a letter of support for the grant.
    Additionally, Cassidy secured $7 million across Fiscal Years 2024 and 2023 specifically for Louisiana Tech to empower North Louisiana research support for domestic semiconductor technology and workforce development. He also took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Monroe Street Corridor Project last October, which will improve roads and create more space for runners and cyclists in Ruston, including at Louisiana Tech.
    While at Louisiana Tech, Cassidy also met with members of the University’s executive team, to discuss the University’s robust research portfolio and private partnerships that are benefiting the region, state and nation. In a statement, he was thanked for coming to Louisiana Tech by Mr. Jim Henderson, president of the University.
    “We appreciate Senator Cassidy taking time to visit Louisiana Tech to hear about our vision and interact with students and faculty,” said Mr. Jim Henderson. “The Senator has been a consistent supporter of Louisiana Tech and the entire higher ed enterprise. This opportunity to share our research vision, including our work in advancing the timber industry through our new Forest Products Innovation Center and our leading-edge research in traumatic brain injury, is important to showcase our faculty’s commitment to addressing enduring and emerging challenges.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘Elbows up’ in Canada means sustainable resource development

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Steven J Cooke, Canada Research Professor, Conservation Physiology, Carleton University

    “Elbows up” means many things today in Canada, including using the country’s rich natural resources more effectively to support a strong, independent economy that benefits people and society.

    We agree with the need to ensure economic stability and independence in Canada — but as scientists, we know this is only possible if resource development and exploitation are done responsibly and sustainably. Otherwise, Canada will be burdening itself and future generations with immeasurable costs to the economy, health and quality of life.

    Politicians and decision-makers from across Canada have called for radical changes to how development proposals are evaluated. The recent federal election saw the leaders of the major parties all signalling that they intend to get resource development projects done faster.

    Several provinces have already brought forward legislation in recent days, including British Columbia’s Infrastructure Projects Act, while an Ontario act aimed ostensibly at “unleashing the economy” is under consideration by the provincial government.

    Cutting red tape can certainly speed up new development, but environmental regulations are not just red tape. They are designed to ensure the short- and long-term potential consequences of development decisions are fully considered, and are then minimized or avoided.

    Without strong environmental impact assessments, development can have devastating impacts on human health, resource sustainability and the rich natural resources Canadians rely upon. We are fearful of a future where obsolete infrastructure and exhausted resources are abandoned by the proponents of development, burdening the public with the cleanup or long-term consequences.

    Resources aren’t infinite

    Canada has a large land mass bordering three oceans and bountiful freshwater resources, including the Great Lakes. But its resources are not infinite.

    Impacts of resource development also extend to people. Effective impact assessment must recognize Indigenous rights and sovereignty, in keeping with the right to self-determination reinforced by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

    Effective land stewardship by Indigenous nations is the foundation of Canada’s rich natural heritage. When Canadian politicians talk about fast-tracking developments and resource exploitation, they inherently ignore the moral and legal rights of Indigenous Peoples and governments that are enshrined in Canada’s Constitution and in international law.



    Read more:
    Mark Carney wants to make Canada an energy superpower — but what will be sacrificed for that goal?

    Circular economy

    Outdated business models that threaten health and the future of resources won’t propel Canada into a new era of prosperity.

    Canada lags behind in innovation and labour productivity growth (GDP per person hour worked), which are predictors of standard of living. This lag is known as Canada’s “innovation problem.”

    Simply harvesting and selling raw logs or minerals as fast as possible will not solve it. However, Canada can escape its innovation problem by using resources more efficiently in a value-added, circular economy.



    Read more:
    Recycling more than pop cans: A circular economy for our energy landscapes

    The boreal forests and wetlands found in Canada represent the lungs and kidneys of the planet. Canada’s boreal forest is the largest intact forest in the world.

    Canada also contains 20 per cent of the Earth’s surface freshwater — more than any other nation — and 10 per cent of the world’s glacial waters.

    Canada’s wildlife is iconic and careful management of our wildlife benefits both Canada and the world. Canada’s current environmental policies and regulations represent the collective effort of opposing political parties that have recognized the shared need for clean air and water are non-partisan issues.

    Environmental requirements

    As Canada aggressively explores markets other than the United States for its resources, including the European Union, it will gain a competitive advantage by ensuring exports are sustainable and extracted without harming the environment and local people.

    That’s because markets like the European Union now require that all importers of many agricultural and household products prove that their production did not contribute to deforestation. As other jurisdictions see the fallacy of short-term gains at the expense of the environment, Canada can be ahead of the curve in providing sustainable products.

    The long-term health of Canada’s economy relies on sustainable resource management, and polling repeatedly shows that Canadians want a healthy environment. Sustainable resource extraction can deliver long-term benefits for nature and future generations, rather than short-term, financial benefits to only a select few.

    Boom-and-bust policies have failed before — think about the collapse of the Atlantic cod fishery, the acid rain crisis associated with unchecked emissions or the Klondike gold rush.

    We implore politicians to ensure that development decisions are informed by rigorous and diverse forms of evidence, and robust and equitable policies that consider environmental justice. They should refrain from focusing solely on the short-term economic windfall. Instead, they must plan for resource use that is sustainable and equitable over the long term.

    Four ways to ensure sustainability

    We recognize that resource development is integral to maintaining Canadian prosperity and sovereignty — and the good news is that it can be done sustainably.

    The details may be complex, but the big picture is simple:

    1. Ensure that Indigenous rights-holders are not simply consulted but actively involved in planning, managing and leading development activities.
    2. Maintain strong environmental protection while cutting truly unnecessary red tape.
    3. Ensure that development does not cause harm to individuals, species or landscapes.
    4. Embrace evidence-informed decision-making processes that are robust, transparent and inclusive.

    Some of Canada’s international neighbours are enacting short-term actions, including cutting environmental regulations and spurring unfettered resource development.

    These actions are simultaneously a threat to Canada and an opportunity for Canadians to reject that approach and do better. If Canada chooses that path, it can gain a distinct competitive advantage today and long into the future and become less vulnerable to the political whims of other countries.

    Elbows up, Canada — let’s be proud of protecting what we have.

    Steven J Cooke receives funding from various government, NGO and industry partners. He is affiliated with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence, KeepFishWet, and the Canadian Centre for Evidence-Informed Conservation.

    Christina Davy receives funding from various Canadian government, NGO and industry partners. She is affiliated with the Canadian Herpetological Society.

    Dalal Hanna receives funding from various Canadian Government and NGO partners. She is affiliated with Ripara.

    Joseph Bennett receives funding from various government and NGO sources. He is affiliated with the Canadian Institute for Ecology and Evolution and the Canadian Centre for Evidence-Informed Conservation.

    – ref. ‘Elbows up’ in Canada means sustainable resource development – https://theconversation.com/elbows-up-in-canada-means-sustainable-resource-development-255669

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Kehoe Announces Appointments to Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force

    Source: US State of Missouri

    MAY 12, 2025

    Jefferson City — Building on the education priorities outlined in his inaugural State of the State Address in January, Governor Mike Kehoe announced today the full slate of members appointed to the Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force. The Task Force, established by Executive Order 25-14, is charged with reviewing and recommending changes to Missouri’s K-12 school funding model and providing a final report to the Governor by December 1, 2026.

    “To secure a better future for Missouri students and schools, we must rethink how we fund Missouri’s foundation formula,” said Governor Kehoe. “We need a modernized funding model that rewards outcomes, encourages innovation, and ensures fairness for all Missouri students. These Task Force members bring the experience, perspective, and commitment needed to make responsible changes at business-speed. We look forward to reviewing their recommendations.”

    The 16-member body represents a broad range of voices—urban and rural, traditional and nontraditional, academia and industry—who will help build a model that delivers results for every Missouri student. The Task Force will operate under core guiding principles that promote equal access for students, local flexibility, performance accountability, and long-term funding sustainability.

    Governor Kehoe’s appointments include the following individuals:

    • Matt Davis, of Eldon, is a dedicated educational leader with more than 25 years of experience in the Missouri school system, including 17 years as superintendent of Eldon School District. Prior to serving as superintendent, he led career and technical education programs and prioritized securing grants and funding to enhance program offerings and facilities at Eldon Career Center. Davis will serve as the representative for superintendents from small rural school districts in Missouri.
    • Noah Devine, of Kansas City, is the executive director of the Missouri Charter Public School Association. He previously served as the deputy director of the Kansas City Action Fund and led the implementation of the sixth iteration of the Missouri School Improvement Plan (MSIP) standards for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as the MSIP 6 support facilitator. Devine will serve as the representative for charter schools in Missouri.
    • Emily LeRoy, of Hermann, is a senior advisor at Missouri Farm Bureau, serving on a leadership team that advocates for the diverse interests of farmers. She began her career at the Missouri Department of Agriculture as a legislative assistant and youth program coordinator before rising to the position of legislative and budget director. LeRoy will serve as an additional member as appointed by the Governor.
    • James “Jim” Meats, of Springfield, is the vice president of sales and marketing at Loren Cook Company and a licensed professional engineer. He previously worked as a technical consultant to manufacturers and municipalities in southwest Missouri, where he supported the development of formal plan reviews, permitting procedures, and construction inspection processes. Meats will serve as the representative for the business community.
    • Mike Podgursky, of Columbia, is a school finance expert with more than 40 years of experience, currently serving as the Chancelor’s Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri–Columbia and an affiliated scholar at Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research. He is also the author of several peer-reviewed articles and the book, Teacher Pay and Teacher Quality. Podgursky will serve as an additional member as appointed by the Governor.
    • Donald “Don” Thalhuber, of Columbia, is the policy director for the Senate Minority Caucus. Prior to serving in his current position, Thalhuber worked as a senior research analyst crafting education, pension, financial, tax, and veterans’ affairs legislation. He also drafted Missouri’s most recent public school funding formula in 2005. Thalhuber will serve as an additional member as appointed by the Governor.
    • Michael “Jeremy” Tucker, of Liberty, is the superintendent for Liberty Public Schools, managing the district’s $279 million budget and providing oversight and strategic guidance to executive leadership and their respective departments. Prior to serving as superintendent, he worked as an adjunct professor for Evangel University and Southwest Baptist University as well as a social studies teacher at Logan-Rogersville High School. Tucker will serve as the representative for superintendents from large urban school districts in Missouri.
    • Chris Vas, of Kansas City, is a senior director for the Herzog Foundation, working to implement school choice initiatives and trainings across the nation while overseeing an $8 million annual budget. He previously served as the executive director of Liberty Alliance USA, a regional, conservative grassroots network and watchdog organization. Vas will serve as the representative for non-profit organizations that work on expanding school choice in Missouri.
    • Casey Wasser, of California, is the deputy executive director and chief operating officer for the Missouri Soybean Association, a grassroots organization dedicated to advocating on behalf of soybean producers and crafting state and federal policy initiatives that support farmers’ freedom to operate and improved profitability. He has an extensive background in public policy, previously serving as the legislative director for the Missouri Department of Revenue. Wasser will serve as the representative for the agriculture industry.
    • David Wood, of Versailles, most recently served as a policy analyst and liaison for the Missouri State Tax Commission before retiring in June 2023. He previously served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 2013 to 2020 and worked as an upper-level math and computer science teacher for Morgan County R-II Schools. Wood will serve as the representative for teachers from schools in Missouri.

    These ten appointments will be joined on the Task Force by two members of the State Board of Education.

    • Kerry Casey, of Chesterfield, recently retired from her position as vice president of Exegy, a global leader in financial market data, trading platforms, and predictive signals, where she was responsible for Global Sales Operations and Enablement. Casey was a founding board member of the KIPP Charter School in St. Louis and served on the board of directors until her appointment to the State Board in 2023.
    • Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge, of Pasadena Hills, is a former vice president of the Normandy Schools Collaborative Joint Executive Governing Board and recently retired general partner from Edward Jones, where she co-led the Internal Audit Division. She previously worked for Express Scripts, Anheuser-Busch and Bank of America in senior governance, risk and compliance roles and held certifications in financial, operational, and information systems auditing.

    Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin and Missouri House Speaker Jonathan Patterson have also appointed Senators Rusty Black and Travis Fitzwater as well as Representatives Ed Lewis and Marlene Terry to serve on the Task Force.

    Senator Black, a former educator, will chair the task force.

    “As a former educator, I know firsthand the challenges our teachers face and the importance of ensuring that every dollar we invest in education has a meaningful impact,” said Senator Black. “I’m honored to help lead this important work as we build a funding model that supports student success in every corner of Missouri.”

    For more information on the Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force, click here.