Category: Universities

MIL-OSI Russia: SPbPU is introducing the “Service Learning” program

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

Polytechnic University has begun implementing the Service Learning program, aimed at solving real social problems with the help of students and teachers. The Higher School of Linguistics and Pedagogy of the Humanitarian Institute has been particularly active in its implementation. The program has developed initiatives to support children and families in difficult life circumstances, including those whose loved ones are on duty. One of the key partners of the project is the Family and Children Assistance Center of the Kalininsky District of St. Petersburg.

The first event within the program was held at the Kalininsky District Family and Children Assistance Center. Students and teachers of the Psychological and Pedagogical Education program held a series of psychological games designed to develop communication skills and unite the participants.

The children completed trust exercises, learned to interact in a team and overcome game challenges. The atmosphere was friendly and open. The students not only passed on useful skills to the children, but also gained valuable experience working with a mixed-age group of children.

It is very pleasant to interact with children who are ready to work. The children worked hard, doing various exercises, quickly joined in and helped each other. Seeing the bright emotions of children after the exercises and feeling their friendly atmosphere is something that deserves special attention, – shared her impressions 1st year student Ekaterina Katashuk.

The children were very active, worked well in a team and learned a lot. The atmosphere was friendly and positive for everyone throughout the event! – said first-year student Veronika Lipkina.

The Service Learning program at SPbPU is actively developing, uniting students, teachers and social partners to solve important social problems. A special role in the implementation of the initiative is played by the Higher School of Linguistics and Pedagogy of the Humanitarian Institute, which has become one of the key platforms for the implementation of the program.

In the near future, it is planned to attract more participants, as well as introduce new methods aimed at increasing the effectiveness of working with children. Particular attention is paid to the use of modern technologies in the educational process. One of such innovations will be an interactive sandbox – innovative equipment that helps to simulate various situations, develop children’s imagination, fine motor skills and spatial thinking.

The implementation of the program not only helps children who find themselves in difficult life circumstances, but also contributes to the professional and personal growth of students. Such experience allows future specialists to apply theoretical knowledge in practice, develop social responsibility and strengthen important teamwork skills.

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

April 1, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic students reach the final of the All-Russian competition “INTEGRAPH”

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

The finalists of the All-Russian Youth Competition of Strategic Communications “INTEGRAPH”, founded on the basis of the School of Communications of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, have been determined. The Polytechnic team was shortlisted. In the final, it will present its solution to leading experts in the field of communications. The jury includes representatives of leading companies: VK, Avito, Unilever Rus and Health

A total of 714 students from 64 universities and 24 cities of Russia took part in the competition. Five teams in each direction from St. Petersburg, Kirov, Saratov, Volgograd, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Voronezh, Krasnoyarsk and Moscow made it to the finals.

The Polytechnic team consists of fourth-year students of the Higher School of Industrial Management of IPMEiT: Yulia Mikhailova, Nikita Nikolaev, Ksenia Sergeeva and Fyodor Cherukhin.

“INTEGRAPH” is held in two stages – at the first, correspondence stage, student teams developed a communication campaign strategy for a partner brand and sent it to experts for evaluation. The teams were presented with four business tasks from the largest Russian brands to solve. Ahead of the students is the second stage of the competition – open defenses, which will be held on April 22 in Moscow.

Participation in the competition was a great opportunity for us to test our strengths and immerse ourselves in real cases. The final is not only a joyful event, but also confirmation that our efforts were not in vain. We are looking forward to an interesting exchange of experience, new acquaintances and, of course, vivid impressions from the final, – shared Yulia Mikhailova.

The finalist teams will present their solutions to industry experts and also complete additional tasks prepared by the competition organizers.

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

April 1, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: With the support of Rosneft, the accreditation center was modernized at the Yugra Medical Academy

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

Source: Rosneft – Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

Samotlorneftegaz, one of Rosneft’s largest production assets, provided financial support for the modernization of one of the key divisions of the Khanty-Mansiysk State Medical Academy – the Simulation and Accreditation Center. The project was implemented within the framework of an agreement between Rosneft and the Government of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra.

The modernization of the Center allowed to increase the number of specialties for training and accreditation from 19 to 24. For conducting an objective clinical examination, the center is equipped with six transforming stations. Every year, up to 500 doctors can undergo accreditation and confirm their qualifications.

The project included a comprehensive equipping of the Medical Academy with modern training equipment. For example, a simulator with a real-time feedback system allows practicing resuscitation skills.

The Academy also has a virtual operating unit that is as close to real conditions as possible. In this space, students and residents can practice the sequence of actions during endoscopic surgical interventions and automatically receive an objective assessment of their operational activities.

Future doctors have access to a modern laparoscopic simulator, which includes 17 training modules and more than 70 practical tasks. The simulator program includes didactic materials with anatomical 3-D models, video recordings of real operations and interactive instructions with the ability to assess the correctness of the manipulations performed.

The center’s offices are equipped with additional medical equipment, specialized furniture, computers, and an audio and video surveillance system, which allows for effective use in the learning process. More than 400 students and residents are trained annually in the center of the medical academy within the framework of the main educational program.

Rosneft, following the principles of social responsibility, traditionally pays special attention to the creation of a favorable social environment in the regions of presence. Thanks to the Company’s support, projects to strengthen the material and technical base of healthcare institutions are regularly implemented.

Reference:

JSC Samotlorneftegaz is one of the key production enterprises of Rosneft. It conducts production activities in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra. It develops the largest Samotlor field in Russia, discovered in 1965.

As part of the cooperation between Rosneft and the Government of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, the company provides support in equipping educational institutions in the region with modern equipment. For example, the Multidisciplinary College of the Yugra State University has equipped educational laboratories for “Assessment of the Chemical and Physical Quality of Oil and Gas” and “Oil and Gas Processing”; the Nizhnevartovsk branch of the Tyumen Industrial University has opened a computer room with an interactive simulator of well development and operation and equipped laboratories for the physical and chemical study of oil and gas, as well as electrical engineering and electronics. A simulation trainer for a primary oil refining unit has also been purchased for the Yugra State University Oil Institute, and a project to introduce a geospatial technology laboratory has been implemented at the Nizhnevartovsk Construction College.

Department of Information and Advertising of PJSC NK Rosneft March 31, 2025

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

April 1, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: The best space telescope you never heard of just shut down

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Laura Nicole Driessen, Postdoctoral Researcher in Radio Astronomy, University of Sydney

ESA / Gaia / DPAC, CC BY-SA

On Thursday 27 March, the European Space Agency (ESA) sent its last messages to the Gaia Spacecraft. They told Gaia to shut down its communication systems and central computer and said goodbye to this amazing space telescope.

Gaia has been the most successful ESA space mission ever, so why did they turn Gaia off? What did Gaia achieve? And perhaps most importantly, why was it my favourite space telescope?

Running on empty

Gaia was retired for a simple reason: after more than 11 years in space, it ran out of the cold gas propellant it needed to keep scanning the sky.

The telescope did its last observation on 15 January 2025. The ESA team then performed testing for a few weeks, before telling Gaia to leave its home at a point in space called L2 and start orbiting the Sun away from Earth.

L2 is one of five “Lagrangian points” around Earth and the Sun where gravitational conditions make for a nice, stable orbit. L2 is located 1.5 million kilometres from Earth on the “dark side”, opposite the Sun.

L2 is a highly prized location because it’s a stable spot to orbit, it’s close enough to Earth for easy communication, and spacecraft can use the Sun behind them for solar power while looking away from the Sun out into space.

It’s also too far away from Earth to send anyone on a repair mission, so once your spacecraft gets there it’s on its own.

Keeping L2 clear

L2 currently hosts the James Webb Space Telescope (operated by the USA, Europe and Canada), the European Euclid mission, the Chinese Chang’e 6 orbiter and the joint Russian-German Spektr-RG observatory. Since L2 is such a key location for space missions, it’s essential to keep it clear of debris and retired spacecraft.

A final status update from Gaia.
ESA, CC BY-SA

Gaia used its thrusters for the last time to push itself away from L2, and is now drifting around the Sun in a “retirement orbit” where it won’t get in anybody’s way.

As part of the retirement process, the Gaia team wrote farewell messages into the craft’s software and sent it the names of around 1,500 people who worked on Gaia over the years.

What is Gaia?

Gaia looks a bit like a spinning top hat in space. Its main mission was to produce a detailed, three-dimensional map of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

To do this, it measured the precise positions and motions of 1.46 billion objects in space. Gaia also measured brightnesses and variability and those data were used to provide temperatures, gravitational parameters, stellar types and more for millions of stars. One of the key pieces of information Gaia provided was the distance to millions of stars.

A cosmic measuring tape

I’m a radio astronomer, which means I use radio telescopes here on Earth to explore the Universe. Radio light is the longest wavelength of light, invisible to human eyes, and I use it to investigate magnetic stars.

But even though I’m a radio astronomer and Gaia was an optical telescope, looking at the same wavelengths of light our eyes can see, I use Gaia data almost every single day.

I used it today to find out how far away, how bright, and how fast a star was. Before Gaia, I would probably never have known how far away that star was.

This is essential for figuring out how bright the stars I study really are, which helps me understand the physics of what’s happening in and around them.

A huge success

Gaia has contributed to thousands of articles in astronomy journals. Papers released by the Gaia collaboration have been cited well over 20,000 times in total.

Gaia has produced too many science results to share here. To take just one example, Gaia improved our understanding of the structure of our own galaxy by showing that it has multiple spiral arms that are less sharply defined than we previously thought.

Not really the end for Gaia

It’s difficult to express how revolutionary Gaia has been for astronomy, but we can let the numbers speak for themselves. Around five astronomy journal articles are published every day that use Gaia data, making Gaia the most successful ESA mission ever. And that won’t come to a complete stop when Gaia retires.

The Gaia collaboration has published three data releases so far. This is where the collaboration performs the processing and checks on the data, adds some important analysis and releases all of that in one big hit.

And luckily, there are two more big data releases with even more information to come. The fourth data release is expected in mid to late 2026. The fifth and final data release, containing all of the Gaia data from the whole mission, will come out sometime in the 2030s.

This article is my own small tribute to a telescope that changed astronomy as we know it. So I will end by saying a huge thank you to everyone who has ever worked on this amazing space mission, whether it was engineering and operations, turning the data into the amazing resource it is, or any of the other many jobs that make a mission successful. And thank you to those who continue to work on the data as we speak.

Finally, thank you to my favourite space telescope. Goodbye, Gaia, I’ll miss you.

Laura Nicole Driessen is an ambassador for the Orbit Centre of Imagination at the Rise and Shine Kindergarten, in Sydney’s Inner West.

– ref. The best space telescope you never heard of just shut down – https://theconversation.com/the-best-space-telescope-you-never-heard-of-just-shut-down-253343

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Discovery of a 4,000-year-old Bronze Age settlement in Morocco rewrites history

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Hamza Benattia, Prehistory, Universitat de Barcelona

A new archaeological discovery at Kach Kouch in Morocco challenges the long-held belief that the Maghreb (north-west Africa) was an empty land before the arrival of the Phoenicians from the Middle East in around 800 BCE. It reveals a much richer and more complex history than previously thought.

Everything found at the site indicates that during the Bronze Age, more than 3,000 years ago, stable agricultural settlements already existed on the African coast of the Mediterranean.

This was at the same time as societies such as the Mycenaean flourished in the eastern Mediterranean.

Our discovery, led by a team of young researchers from Morocco’s National Institute of Archaeology, expands our knowledge of the recent prehistory of north Africa. It also redefines our understanding of the connections between the Maghreb and the rest of the Mediterranean in ancient times.

How the discovery was made

Kach Kouch was first identified in 1988 and first excavated in 1992. At the time, researchers believed the site had been inhabited between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE. This was based on the Phoenician pottery that was found.

Nearly 30 years later, our team carried out two new excavation seasons in 2021 and 2022. Our investigations included cutting-edge technology such as drones, differential GPS (global positioning systems) and 3D models.

A rigorous protocol was followed for collecting samples. This allowed us to detect fossilised remains of seeds and charcoal.

Subsequently, a series of analyses allowed us to reconstruct the settlement’s economy and its natural environment in prehistoric times.

What the remains revealed

The excavations, along with radiocarbon dating, revealed that the settlement underwent three phases of occupation between 2200 and 600 BCE.

The earliest documented remains (2200–2000 BCE) are scarce. They consist of three undecorated pottery sherds, a flint flake and a cow bone.

The scarcity of materials and contexts could be due to erosion or a temporary occupation of the hill during this phase.

In its second phase, after a period of abandonment, the Kach Kouch hill was permanently occupied from 1300 BCE. Its inhabitants, who probably numbered no more than a hundred, dedicated themselves to agriculture and animal husbandry.

They lived in circular dwellings built from wattle and daub, a technique that combines wooden poles, reeds and mud. They dug silos into the rock to store agricultural products.

Analysis shows that they cultivated wheat, barley and legumes, and raised cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.

They also used grinding stones for cereal processing, flint tools, and decorated pottery. In addition, the oldest known bronze object in north Africa (excluding Egypt) has been documented. It is probably a scrap metal fragment removed after casting in a mould.

Interactions with the Phoenicians

Between the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, during the so-called Mauretanian period, the inhabitants of Kach Kouch maintained the same material culture, architecture and economy as in the previous phase. However, interactions with Phoenician communities that were starting to settle in nearby sites, such as Lixus, brought new cultural practices.

For example, circular dwellings coexisted with square ones made of stone and wattle and daub, combining Phoenician and local construction techniques.

Furthermore, new crops began to be cultivated, like grapes and olives. Among the new materials, wheel-made Phoenician ceramics, such as amphorae (storage jugs) and plates, and the use of iron objects stand out.

Around 600 BCE, Kach Kouch was peacefully abandoned, perhaps due to social and economic changes. Its inhabitants likely moved to other nearby settlements.

So who were the Bronze Age inhabitants?

It’s unclear whether the Maghreb populations in the Bronze Age lived in tribes, as would later occur during the Mauretanian period. They were probably organised as families. Burials suggest there were no clear signs of hierarchy.

They may have spoken a language similar to the Amazigh, the indigenous north African language, which did not become written until the introduction of the Phoenician alphabet. The cultural continuity documented at Kach Kouch suggests that these populations are the direct ancestors of the Mauretanian peoples of north-west Africa.

Why this matters

Kach Kouch is not only the first and oldest known Bronze Age settlement in the Maghreb but also reshapes our understanding of prehistory in this region.

The new findings, along with other recent discoveries, demonstrate that north-west Africa has been connected to other regions of the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the Sahara since prehistoric times.

Read more:
Discovery of 5,000-year-old farming society in Morocco fills a major gap in history – north-west Africa was a central player in trade and culture

Our findings challenge traditional narratives, many of which were influenced by colonial views that portrayed the Maghreb as an empty and isolated land until it was “civilized” by foreign peoples.

As a result, the Maghreb has long been absent from debates on the later prehistory of the Mediterranean. These new discoveries not only represent a breakthrough for archaeology, but also a call to reconsider dominant historical narratives. Kach Kouch offers the opportunity to rewrite north Africa’s history and give it the visibility it has always deserved.

Read more:
Ancient DNA reveals Maghreb communities preserved their culture and genes, even in a time of human migration

We believe this is a decisive moment for research that could forever change the way we understand not only the history of north Africa, but also its relationship with other areas of the Mediterranean.

Hamza Benattia, director of the Kach Kouch Archaeological Project, received funding from the National Institute of Archaeology and Heritage of Morocco (INSAP), the Prehistoric Society Research Fund, the Stevan B. Dana Grant of the American Society of Overseas Research, the Mediterranean Archaeological Trust Grant, the Barakat Trust Early Career Award, the Centre Jacques Berque Research Grant, the Institute of Ceutan Studies Research Fund and the University of Castilla La Mancha.

– ref. Discovery of a 4,000-year-old Bronze Age settlement in Morocco rewrites history – https://theconversation.com/discovery-of-a-4-000-year-old-bronze-age-settlement-in-morocco-rewrites-history-253172

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Canada should recognize celebrations like Eid, Diwali and Lunar New Year as public holidays

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Rahat Zaidi, Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary

“For Eid we have to call in sick and I don’t like that. You should have the day off school. And everybody gets a holiday….Not everybody celebrates it, people just want to have a day off. Having Eid, I fasted 30 days, like a month and I had to call in school and say, I’m not showing up because it’s Eid.’ They should know and I shouldn’t have to call in.” — Abdoul, research participant.

“When it’s Christmas, we have two weeks off, right? Even though we don’t celebrate, we still take two weeks. But in Eid time…we have to come to school. So if we can get [a day] off, that will be a big encouragement to our religion.” — Fatma, research participant.

These were some of the sentiments racially diverse students in Brooks Composite High School in southern Alberta expressed when my research assistants and I interviewed them for our inquiry into the challenges they experienced as they integrated into the Canadian school system.

I am a research professor in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. In 2021, my team and I at the university’s Transliteracies Lab (which studies the experiences of refugees, immigrants, newcomers and settlers in Alberta’s schools and communities) began working with Brooks Composite High School, located in a rural town in Alberta.

Every December, students across Canada enjoy a two-week break to celebrate Christmas. In spring, Good Friday and Easter Monday bring further celebrations and a long weekend.

In contrast, for millions of Canadians who mark celebrations such as Diwali, Eid or Lunar New Year — some of the world’s most widely observed religious and cultural festivals — there is no formal acknowledgement, and for those students wishing to recognize these traditional celebrations, it often means being marked absent from school.

This gives us pause to reflect: What would it mean to make space in our school calendars to include different religious and cultural celebrations?

A moment of change in Alberta

Since the 1990s, the establishment of a meat-packing plant in Brooks has driven significant demographic changes, attracting a large immigrant and refugee population and increasing the racialized population from around three per cent in 1996 to over 45 per cent in 2021. Today, more than 75 per cent of students at the school are newcomers or children of immigrants, and approximately one-third are Muslim.

Our research emerged from senior school administrators expressing the challenges racially and culturally minoritized learners experience as they navigate the school system.

We engaged 13 English language learner (ELL) students in Grades 10 to 12 in a series of dynamic structured educational workshops we call Critically Engaged Language and Literacy Workshops (CELLWs). The students were mostly Muslim and of Arab and Somali descent, and were identified as facing more pressing issues that needed to be addressed.

CELLWs provide a space for self-reflection that promotes fair, inclusive and diverse education. They recognize the unique experiences of racially diverse students and help teachers create educational practices that connect past and present experiences across different environments.

Student voices encapsulated through arts-based initiatives at Brooks Composite High School, Brooks, Alta.
(Rahat Zaidi)

Students reflected on their lived experiences, religious identities and feelings of exclusion. The workshop conversations resulted in efforts to raise community awareness (including social media posts on Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube) around a variety of social justice issues pertaining to the participants’ lived reality.

In May 2022, the students at Brooks made national headlines when the southeast Alberta school district agreed to acknowledge the religious celebration of Eid al-Fitr on the school calendar. This decision was a direct result of Muslim students and their families expressing frustration about being marked absent while celebrating one of the most sacred days in the Islamic calendar.

The school district’s decision wasn’t just symbolic. It demonstrated what meaningful inclusion can look like when education systems listen to their communities and reflect the lives and cultures of their students.

A call to action

As part of our research, our team also produced the documentary Bridging the Gap and its accompanying resource guide. The film showcases how using students’ voices and arts-based methods can break down systemic barriers related to race, language and religion in schools.

In a poignant moment, one student recalls feeling like an outsider and putting in extra effort to “fit in.” A parent in the documentary later states: “We have to keep our traditions for our children.”

As the first of its kind in western Canada, the film serves as a resource to support racially diverse families’ integration into education, highlighting their stories and building positive partnerships with schools and universities.

A trailer for the documentary ‘Bridging the Gap.’

Canada’s public holidays and school calendars tell a story about power, the stories that get told and, right now, the ones left out. Through open dialogue and building relationships of trust using platforms that encourage meaningful interaction, we worked together with the school, community and parents, to help racially diverse students bring about change.

Being recognized matters, and acknowledging diverse cultural practices in school policy is one tangible way to combat the marginalization many racialized people experience. This scholarship provides a model for future reference and reveals a forward-thinking perspective on how education systems ought to understand the deeper issues and challenges faced by racially diverse students and communities.

We were able to give these students an opportunity to tell their stories; stories of power, resistance and victory as they made their voices heard. When schools make space for cultural and religious traditions, they affirm students’ identities and help foster a stronger sense of belonging critical for their well-being, academic success and civic engagement.

Rahat Zaidi received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

– ref. Canada should recognize celebrations like Eid, Diwali and Lunar New Year as public holidays – https://theconversation.com/canada-should-recognize-celebrations-like-eid-diwali-and-lunar-new-year-as-public-holidays-252871

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: ‘Adolescence’ pulls in audiences with its dramatic critique of teenage masculinity

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Michael Kehler, Research Professor, Masculinities Studies, School of Education, University of Calgary

Owen Cooper plays Jamie Miller in Adolescence which looks at the experiences of youth at a British school, showcasing their messy and disturbing experiences. (Netflix/Adolescence)

This story contains spoilers about ‘Adolescence.’

Adolescence is a turbulent time. And the transition to adulthood from youth is complicated.

The recently released British series Adolescence on Netflix has struck a chord for many viewers. The show delves into the messy and often disturbing experiences of youth at a British school including bullying, misogyny, gender-based violence and the manosphere.

Adolescence explores the impact of masculinity on gender-based violence and youth identities. Viewers step into the life of Jamie (Owen Cooper), a 13-year-old boy who is accused of killing a 13-year-old girl, Katie (Emilia Holliday). Exploring Katie’s violent stabbing death reveals the troubling ways masculinity and gender are manifested in the lives of students.

An equally compelling part of the narrative is the familiar struggle of parents trying to communicate with, make sense of and support the young people in their lives.

The routine interactions among the students and the exchanges between parents makes this a disturbing yet compelling part of the series.

Throughout Adolescence, it’s made clear that too often, parents do not see or hear what is playing out before their very eyes.

Silences between youth and parents

We know too well the struggles of adolescence: trying to fit in, experiences with bullying, the impact of Instagram and other social media platforms, incels, the popularity of athletic boys, avoiding phys-ed classes when fearing they’re not athletic, homophobia and the silence between parents and their children.

Adolescence viewers are unsettled by what we see, but desperate to hear and see more.

The school depicted in the show portrays almost all students struggling to be heard. It also reveals a rebelliousness and a resistance among teachers required to enforce rules of cellphone bans and uniform regulations amid a chaotic school environment.

The challenging communication between father and sons is highlighted in this show. Here, Jamie’s father (played by Stephen Graham) speaks with Jamie (played by Owen Cooper).
(Netflix)

At the centre of the story is Jamie, the 13-year-old accused boy. He is a child, fearing needles while a teddy bear is nestled on his bed. Ostensibly, he is any boy. And Katie is any girl.

But Katie is murdered, leaving the viewer to sort though a tangled web of adolescent relationships in which Jamie shows what he believes about being a man, about being masculine. He is both innocent and deeply troubling.

Gender-based violence

Police detective Luke Branscombe (Ashley Walters) cannot fathom the anger expressed by Katie’s best friend, Jade (Fatima Bojang), about the murder. He thinks her furious reaction is out of kilter with the murder. He questions why she is over-reacting.

In his reaction, he shows just how normalized, how routine, gender-based violence has become.

Katie’s best friend, portrayed by Fatima Bojang, expresses her grief.
(Netflix)

A violent outburst by Jamie, who verbally attacks the counsellor who is struggling to understand what being a man feels like for Jamie, is chilling.

He belittles the counsellor (played by Erin Doherty), suggesting she should be ashamed to be afraid of a 13-year-old boy. The counsellor is subjected to extreme anger and violence pent up in an adolescent boy who has been harbouring feelings of inadequacy but struggling to express them.

It becomes clear that Jamie had no venue nor language to speak about his feelings about masculinity, his relationships or his deeply held belief that he is “ugly.”

Like many young people, the youth in Adolescence — Jamie, Jade, Katie, Ryan and Tommy — navigate online sexual harrassment alone. They do so, in part, because they lack support and education in critical media literacy, digital consent and online harassment.

Teaching them to be boys

Watching adults struggling to talk with teenagers is not shocking. Notions that boys don’t talk or aren’t emotional are familiar stereotypes of masculinity.

But what might be shocking to viewers in Adolescence is the raw and unfiltered ways some boys talk violently, aggressively, dismissively and defensively.

“You do not control what I fucking [do]. Look at me now!” Jamie screams at his counsellor, struggling to express his emotions and his pent-up feelings.

Boys are not supposed to be vulnerable or emotionally honest, and as Jamie points out, parents are supposed to ignore how boys are feeling or whether they have feelings at all. Like many boys, Jamie has been taught to be a particular kind of boy, which includes years of surveillance, bullying and being ostracized by other, more popular boys.

Boys learn to hide feelings, repress vulnerabilities and present stoicism and strength above all else.

Read more:
Why are school-aged boys so attracted to hateful ideologies?

Struggling to fit in, desperate to be heard

Adolescence is a story about adolescent youth with a sharp focus on how they negotiate and embody power. It is a complex story about the ways youth communicate through bullying, surveillance and social media harrassment that is evident both in school lives as well as behind closed doors.

The viewer is invited to look more closely at the subtle and not so subtle ways gender, power and violence manifest themselves. The show questions how complicit we might be in what young people are learning and how we might respond to both the rebellion as well as the silences, particularly among boys.

The lure of the manosphere, the attraction of incel groups and the banning of cell phones in schools reflect a deep failure to understand how to communicate with youth. The character Adam, (played by Amari Bacchus), son of the detective investigating the case, is understated and overlooked as he reveals just how little parents understand emojis as yet another language among youth.

Read more:
Social media misogyny: The new way Andrew Tate brought us the same old hate

The circulation of intimate images and picture collecting further speaks to relationships, power and adolescence that is punctuated by a lesson from Adam to his dad about emojis that go far beyond red hearts.

Adam extends a hand to educate his dad, to open up communication even in the face of assumptions that “boys don’t talk.” He demonstrates a counter-narrative to rigid rules and stereotypes about boys.

‘Boys will be boys’

After all, we are in an era when boys and men are aware of the narratives of masculinity — as muscled, dominant and controlling. But the rules for being a man are being questioned. At the same time, far-right conservatives and online manfluencers have asserted that boys/men are victims in a system that won’t let “boys just be boys.”

In all of this, we — the viewers, the critics and myself, the masculinity scholar — tread dangerously close to forgetting to say “Katie,” the victim’s name. We focus on boys as pawns with no agency or accountability for what they do in their daily efforts to be accepted as real men.

We are left then with an invitation to see and hear boys differently, not through stereotypes of masculinity. The loss of membership in the boys club is often too much for many boys to withstand. This includes alienation, bullying, and verbal and physical attacks. And so too many remain silent and complicit, as just “one of the boys.”

Michael Kehler 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. ‘Adolescence’ pulls in audiences with its dramatic critique of teenage masculinity – https://theconversation.com/adolescence-pulls-in-audiences-with-its-dramatic-critique-of-teenage-masculinity-253093

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s tariffs could push grocery prices even higher, but there are steps Canada could take to protect consumers

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Mathew Iantorno, Doctoral Candidate, Faculty of Information,, University of Toronto

The first months of Donald Trump’s presidency have been defined by a single word: tariffs. He has framed tariffs as a panacea to the woes of the American economy, promising they will restore the country’s manufacturing sector and reduce the national deficit.

As the United States’ largest trading partner, Canada’s smaller economy is poised to suffer the most from a prolonged trade war. Although the price of all consumer goods will be affected, the grocery aisle has become a particular battleground.

Canadians have remained defiant, with vows to “buy Canadian” already spurring rapid drops in the sale of American products.

But with calls for the country to strengthen its economic backbone and reduce dependence on the U.S., perhaps it’s also time to consider rebooting Canada’s grocery sector to better serve Canadians as well.

Read more:
Canada is now in a trade war with the U.S. — here’s what you need to know to prepare for it

Canada’s supermarket problem

Rising grocery bills have been an ongoing concern for Canadians long before Trump’s inauguration. Today, an estimated 18 per cent of Canadians are struggling with food insecurity owing to persistent inflation and the rising cost of living. Food banks saw a record number of monthly visits in 2024 as a result.

Yet, even as consumers feel the squeeze, Canada’s grocery giants have been posting record profits. Loblaw Companies Limited, whose supermarkets hold a dominant 28 per cent share of the sector, has become the poster child for this trend.

In the final quarter of 2022, as Canadians were grappling with rapid inflation on their grocery bills, Loblaw posted $529 million in profits — up 30 per cent from the previous year.

This has led customers to accuse Loblaw and other large grocery chains of profiteering, provoking both a 100,000 signature petition against “greedflation” and a month-long boycott of Loblaw chains. All this while Loblaw was still reeling from a bread price-fixing scandal yielding a $500 million antitrust settlement.

Read more:
Food giants reap enormous profits during times of crisis

In response to the mounting concerns, the federal government met with the heads of Loblaw, Sobeys, Metro, Costco and Walmart in 2023 to discuss stabilizing grocery prices in Canada. Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would threaten and later implement amendments to the Competition Act through Bill C-56, although these reforms were focused less on immediately lowering grocery bills and more on giving new tools to Canada’s competition watchdog.

Investing in the future

Another area of concern is the initiatives supermarket chains such as Loblaw and Metro have been investing their profits in.

Since 2020, supermarkets in Canada have invested heavily in self-checkout aisles. While initially a concession to the social distancing measures of the COVID-19 pandemic, these kiosks have become a ubiquitous — and often unwelcome — part of the retail experience for both workers and consumers.

Beyond the concern that self-checkouts pressure customers to perform more work, they have also increased the precarity of supermarket employees. These technologies generally reduce total worker hours and eliminate well-paying full-time positions, all with an eye towards boosting profit margins.

Read more:
The rise of robo-retail: Who gets left behind when retail is automated?

Loblaw has also invested in automating their fleet of delivery vehicles, jeopardizing jobs in the logistics sector at a time when Canada’s unemployment rate, already struggling to recover, is expected to rise due to Trump’s tariffs.

There is also the looming concern of dynamic pricing. Following the lead of American grocery stores such as Kroger, chains run by Loblaw, Metro and Sobeys have begun to implement electronic price tags. These tags enable retailers to instantaneously update prices based on supply and demand, similar to surge pricing on ride-sharing apps like Uber.

Electronic price labels seen at a Walmart in Los Angeles in 2024.
(Shutterstock)

While online commentators were quick to mock fast food chain Wendy’s for potentially using dynamic pricing to charge more for a Frosty on a hot day, this practice becomes more problematic as the availability of family staples like baby formula, which already experiences perennial scarcity, are affected by the trade war.

The sector won’t reform itself

There is little reason to believe Canada’s grocery industry will reform itself. Many of the pro-consumer and pro-worker initiatives put forth by these chains have amounted to little more than public relations moves.

The much-lauded COVID hero pay for front-line grocery workers disappeared only months into the pandemic, despite pressure from unions and MPs during the Omicron wave.

Loblaw’s widely publicized price freeze on No Name products was similarly criticised for its short duration and for merely repackaging seasonal price freezes as a pro-consumer initiative.

When Loblaw froze prices on No Name products in 2022, its competitor Metro quickly pointed out that seasonal price freezes are in fact a standard industry practice. (CBC News)

The company’s promise to create a discounted version of its already discounted grocery chain No Frills drew further scepticism, with the stock being entirely sourced from Loblaw brands that generate higher revenue for the company.

The question remains: what concrete measures can be implemented to safeguard Canadian grocery bills as our country navigates this next crisis?

Lowering grocery bills for Canadians

A report from the Broadbent Institute suggests the idea of a windfall profit tax, which would incentivize grocery companies to invest excess profits into price reductions or higher wages.

A more durable reform would involve creating a central bank-style regulatory entity to oversee the grocery industry, instead of relying on industry-born measures such as Canada’s recently introduced grocery code of conduct.

Read more:
The new Grocery Code of Conduct should benefit both Canadians and the food industry

Federal or provincial legislation could be also passed that places guardrails on dynamic pricing in the grocery aisle, if not banning the controversial practice altogether. Government grants and tax incentive programs could be withheld from companies that invest heavily into automating workforces so the government isn’t inadvertently subsidizing job losses.

The Competition Bureau’s 2023 report highlights another key issue: there is a need for all levels of government to shift from subsidizing large chains and encourage the growth of independent grocers in the Canadian market, driving down prices for consumers through meaningful, local competition.

Trump’s trade war has filled Canadians with a newfound pride and motivation to buy local to support the economy. Perhaps it’s time our grocery chains showed the same commitment to the people they serve.

Mathew Iantorno 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. Trump’s tariffs could push grocery prices even higher, but there are steps Canada could take to protect consumers – https://theconversation.com/trumps-tariffs-could-push-grocery-prices-even-higher-but-there-are-steps-canada-could-take-to-protect-consumers-252879

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: AI is for the birds: How machine learning can help predict and manage avian flu outbreaks

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Rozita Dara, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, University of Guelph

The active and ongoing global spread of avian influenza virus has impacted more than 14 million birds in Canada and 160 million in the USA.

This recent outbreak has resulted in major economic losses, and a rise in egg prices in the past few years. This trend can cause disruptions in poultry supply chain and significant increases in the price of other poultry products.

A virus like avian influenza is carried by birds, but it can “jump” species and infect livestock such as dairy or sheep or even pets like dogs and cats.

Read more:
Bird flu detected in Colorado dairy cattle − a vet explains the risks of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus

And most, if not all, human pandemic influenza viruses have had an avian origin in the past few decades. Experts warn it is only a matter of time before we face another pandemic threat.

The good news is, we are better prepared than ever to meet that challenge. Not just because we have vaccines or treatments, although those are critical. But because we have something that can change the game entirely: artificial intelligence (AI).

CBC News covers an outbreak of avian flu among Canadian geese in Prince Edward Island.

Vast amounts of information

AI can offer much in the way of advance pandemic information and planning. Remember the early days of COVID-19? What if we had more time to prepare? What if health officials had known weeks earlier where the virus was spreading, which neighbourhoods were most at risk, and what we needed to do to stop it?

AI can analyze vast amounts of information, from wildlife health reports, geographical data, satellite images to social media trends, online content, farm data and even weather patterns to answer some questions about how, when and why pandemics happen. It spots patterns, anomalies and relationships humans cannot see in real-time.

AI can alert monitors to where an avian influenza outbreak might occur before a region is impacted, how severe an outbreak might be and what type of intervention may be most effective. AI can help responders and governments act quickly, precisely and efficiently.

Predicting outbreaks

At the University of Guelph, my research team and I are working on AI solutions to help track and predict the avian influenza outbreaks. Our research — which is currently under review — has used AI to filter out misinformation about avian influenza from social media platforms and Reddit, as well as Google search data, and other online sources.

This helps us understand public discussion about avian influenza. We have also combined these online activities with other data sources to monitor avian influenza online mentions and trends — we’ve found that AI can use this information to predict if an outbreak might occur in a specific area.

With the availability of online and social media data, an outbreak surge can be predicted up to four weeks in advance in specific regions.

Our research team has also created and tested decision support tools that use different types of information from wild bird reports, satellite images, climate change data and farm information. These tools help predict avian influenza outbreaks and how serious they might be in a certain area; through testing, we achieved an accuracy of 85 per cent.

We’re currently in the process of building a Canadian tool to predict where bird flu might emerge, helping farmers and public health officials get ahead of outbreaks — this could mean the difference between a contained outbreak and a global crisis.

More than a public health issue

A sign warning hikers about an avian flu outbreak along the Skerwink Hiking Trail in Newfoundland.
(Shutterstock)

Avian influenza spreads through the food chain, wildlife and global trade. An outbreak in poultry can devastate agriculture and threaten our food security. Worse, it can jump to human populations with little warning.

This issue is not just a public health issue. It is also an economic and social concern. But if we harness AI properly, we can give ourselves a better chance at combating these threats. We can predict where the next outbreak might come from and take action before it spreads.

Read more:
Soaring U.S. egg prices and millions of dead chickens signal the deep problems and risks in modern poultry production

Using AI to predict avian flu outbreaks and spread can be applied to other situations, including other illnesses and the weather and environmental conditions that could contribute to disease spread.

AI-based decision tools can also include augmented reality that enables the testing of thousands of hypothetical scenarios related to avian influenza. These include how outbreaks might spread, what the impacts of different intervention strategies could be, how changes in the economy and environment might occur, and how the supply chain could be impacted.

We have the technology in our labs. But to make it work, we need strong partnerships between government, universities, farmers, industry and communities. We need to make sure that we generate high quality data, use the data ethically in a privacy-preserving manner, develop the AI tool responsibly and apply it fairly to ensure that no one is left behind.

Rozita Dara receives funding from Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness Alliance Tier I, funding and the University of Guelph’s Food from Thought.

– ref. AI is for the birds: How machine learning can help predict and manage avian flu outbreaks – https://theconversation.com/ai-is-for-the-birds-how-machine-learning-can-help-predict-and-manage-avian-flu-outbreaks-252550

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: UNDRR 2024 Annual Report

Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

02

Strategies, governance and capacity-building

Target E of the Sendai Framework calls for a substantial increase in the number of countries with national and local DRR strategies by 2020.

Though a strategy is not the end goal, UNDRR has found that countries with national DRR strategies tend to have more robust DRR governance and a higher prevalence of EWS, demonstrating the value of investment in this fundamental DRR pillar.

The Government of Jordan has developed its National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy (2023–2030) in a participatory manner involving different governmental entities, ministries and municipalities, and the Public Security Directorate (Civil Defense), with support from UNDRR and the United Nations Development Programme country office. The strategy also integrates biological hazard risk reduction with the aim of building back better after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Within the framework of Jordan’s efforts to deal with increasing threats and risks, the National Centre for Security and Crises Management has played a major role in developing two integrated risk registers; the national risk register and the local register for governorates. Both registers aim to improve the kingdom’s capacity to respond to disasters through accurate identification of risks, and enhanced coordination between the local and national levels for improved risk governance.

Through this effective coordination between the national and local risk registers, Jordan has made great strides in reducing risks and enhancing community resilience, making the kingdom a role model for disaster management and risk reduction at the regional level.

Morocco, too, has taken concrete steps to strengthen its risk governance. It established the Directorate of Natural Risk Management under the Ministry of Interior as its national DRR coordination mechanism. Morocco also established the National Risk Observatory to collect, analyse and share data on natural hazard risk. Furthermore, Morocco established a National Risk Forecasting Centre for monitoring and alerting, and an Operational Risk Anticipation Centre for forecasting, alerting and risk management assistance systems. Another successful project comprised the generalization of coverage of the entire national territory using multiscale and multi-hazard risk maps (for natural hazards).

Albania’s National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy demonstrates widespread integration of concerns related to climate change and triggers the engagement of new sectors, particularly tourism.

The vision statement explicitly brings together DRR, climate change and sustainable development using the language of resilience, while the document includes a detailed plan of action for DRR implementation that integrates institutions such as the Ministry of Tourism and Environment and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy.

In particular, it articulates the implementation of the ALBAdapt project Climate Services for a Resilient Albania. The Ministry of Tourism and Environment is identified as the lead institution for implementation of a set of activities that offer compounding co-benefits for both DRR and climate change adaptation, including the development of a people-centred MHEWS, the creation of a fully functional and well-resourced National Meteorological and Hydrological Service.

This integration is supported by articulations elsewhere in the country’s strategic profile, with the National Adaptation Plan 2019 including a priority area entitled “upgrading civil defence preparedness and DRR”. Elsewhere, the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Albania (2023–2028) addresses risks ranging from national security threats to climate change impacts, emphasizing resilience to disasters, while the National Strategy for Development and European Integration (NSDEI) 2022–2030 includes the integration of DRR and climate change adaptation planning among its priorities.

National DRR strategies are the bedrock for multi-hazard risk governance and the achievement of Sendai Framework targets. These strategies help transform risk knowledge into actions and programmes that save lives and livelihoods. In addition, they serve as guides for mobilizing resources, delegating roles and responsibilities within government, and identifying entry points for non-governmental stakeholder engagement, all leading to more inclusive, sustainable development.

With 131 countries now reporting having national DRR strategies, and 30 receiving technical support from UNDRR to develop them, this is just a snapshot of the progress being made globally in this important area.

Under Brazil’s presidency, the Group of 20 (G20) recognized DRR as a critical component of economic resilience. Collaborating closely with UNDRR, Brazil facilitated the adoption of the first-ever G20 Ministerial Declaration on DRR. This landmark declaration emphasized the necessity of accelerating the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction’s implementation, aiming to reduce disaster losses by 2030, and called for the development of high-level principles for DRR financing. The work of the G20 DRR Working Group, with UNDRR as the lead knowledge partner, further reflected a comprehensive approach to integrating DRR into economic and social policies.

UNDRR’s capacity-building continues to go from strength to strength, with nearly 10,000 DRR practitioners being trained in 2024, 77 per cent of whom reported having a better understanding of DRR as a result. At one such workshop in the Global Education and Training Institute in Incheon, Republic of Korea, a remarkable collaboration unfolded – a pioneering workshop uniting experts from UNDRR and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to empower government stakeholders from Mongolia and Bhutan to mobilize relevant partners and stakeholders and obtain funding for their DRR measures. This joint training begins a process of transforming the daunting challenges of climate change into opportunities for proactive DRR.

Delegates were empowered by not only technical insights, but also the forging of lasting partnerships. The workshop’s training modules, co-designed by UNDRR and GCF specialists, delved deep into practical tools such as the EW4All Checklist for Gap Analysis, equipping participants to critically assess their national capacities and pinpoint vulnerabilities. “Early warning systems are important components for our national climate change adaptation strategy,” noted Ms. Tserendulam Shagdarsuren, Director General of the Climate Change Department, Ministry of Environment and Tourism in Mongolia, emphasizing how the training illuminated the next steps for their evolving EWS.

This pilot UNDRR–GCF initiative is part of a broader strategy to replicate capacity-building endeavours in developing countries. Future workshops are planned for countries that are in very different geographic contexts yet face similar challenges (particularly those resulting from climate change), such as Somalia, Togo and the SIDS. These workshops aim to accelerate access to climate finance and enhance DRR measures worldwide.

In a continuation of the Media Saving Lives programme, UNDRR and partners trained 520 journalists and media practitioners in DRR and risk communications, bringing the total to over 2,500 from 80 countries. Media are an integral part of the EWS delivery chain, and engaging them to build trust between government and communities can be the difference between life and death when disaster hits.

The rise in global temperatures and the increasing frequency and severity of extreme heat events are rapidly becoming central challenges for nations worldwide. Yet many Member States, cities and societies remain ill-prepared to address this escalating threat. The imperative for enhanced extreme heat risk reduction, governance and management is clear. Without urgent and coordinated action, extreme heat will continue to endanger billions of lives, amplify health risks and threaten the ecosystems upon which we depend.

In response, the UNDRR/World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Centre of Excellence for Climate and Disaster Resilience – together with the Global Heat Health Information Network, Duke University and WMO Centre of Excellence for Climate and Disaster Resilience partners – has developed an extreme heat decision-support package for countries tackling this global threat. The package includes: international organization resource and ecosystem mapping, readiness reviews and profiles; national best practice analytics; evaluations of heat action plans; and materials for development of an extreme heat maturity index for self-assessment. These materials can enhance collaboration, integrated heat risk governance and policy responses to extreme heat.

UNDRR’s work and that of United Nations system partners, coupled with increasing demands for assistance from Member States, prompted and informed the United Nations Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat, issued in July 2024, in which he emphasized the need for urgent action if a future characterized by even more devastating heat impacts on lives, economies and ecosystems is to be avoided.

This work is in turn informing the development of a Common Framework for Heat Risk Governance, led by UNDRR with the Global Heat Health Information Network, and Member States, international organizations and stakeholders. The Framework will receive inputs from (and is designed to bring together) multiple sectors, domains and scales – from agriculture and food systems, to energy systems, transportation, construction materials and design, and urban cooling. It is expected to assist national and subnational decision makers in designing and resourcing integrated actions to reduce extreme heat risk to people, urban and rural ecosystems, and the environment, preventing the loss of lives and livelihoods.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: UNDRR Annual Report 2024

Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

02

Strategies, governance and capacity-building

Target E of the Sendai Framework calls for a substantial increase in the number of countries with national and local DRR strategies by 2020.

Though a strategy is not the end goal, UNDRR has found that countries with national DRR strategies tend to have more robust DRR governance and a higher prevalence of EWS, demonstrating the value of investment in this fundamental DRR pillar.

The Government of Jordan has developed its National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy (2023–2030) in a participatory manner involving different governmental entities, ministries and municipalities, and the Public Security Directorate (Civil Defense), with support from UNDRR and the United Nations Development Programme country office. The strategy also integrates biological hazard risk reduction with the aim of building back better after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Within the framework of Jordan’s efforts to deal with increasing threats and risks, the National Centre for Security and Crises Management has played a major role in developing two integrated risk registers; the national risk register and the local register for governorates. Both registers aim to improve the kingdom’s capacity to respond to disasters through accurate identification of risks, and enhanced coordination between the local and national levels for improved risk governance.

Through this effective coordination between the national and local risk registers, Jordan has made great strides in reducing risks and enhancing community resilience, making the kingdom a role model for disaster management and risk reduction at the regional level.

Morocco, too, has taken concrete steps to strengthen its risk governance. It established the Directorate of Natural Risk Management under the Ministry of Interior as its national DRR coordination mechanism. Morocco also established the National Risk Observatory to collect, analyse and share data on natural hazard risk. Furthermore, Morocco established a National Risk Forecasting Centre for monitoring and alerting, and an Operational Risk Anticipation Centre for forecasting, alerting and risk management assistance systems. Another successful project comprised the generalization of coverage of the entire national territory using multiscale and multi-hazard risk maps (for natural hazards).

Albania’s National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy demonstrates widespread integration of concerns related to climate change and triggers the engagement of new sectors, particularly tourism.

The vision statement explicitly brings together DRR, climate change and sustainable development using the language of resilience, while the document includes a detailed plan of action for DRR implementation that integrates institutions such as the Ministry of Tourism and Environment and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy.

In particular, it articulates the implementation of the ALBAdapt project Climate Services for a Resilient Albania. The Ministry of Tourism and Environment is identified as the lead institution for implementation of a set of activities that offer compounding co-benefits for both DRR and climate change adaptation, including the development of a people-centred MHEWS, the creation of a fully functional and well-resourced National Meteorological and Hydrological Service.

This integration is supported by articulations elsewhere in the country’s strategic profile, with the National Adaptation Plan 2019 including a priority area entitled “upgrading civil defence preparedness and DRR”. Elsewhere, the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Albania (2023–2028) addresses risks ranging from national security threats to climate change impacts, emphasizing resilience to disasters, while the National Strategy for Development and European Integration (NSDEI) 2022–2030 includes the integration of DRR and climate change adaptation planning among its priorities.

National DRR strategies are the bedrock for multi-hazard risk governance and the achievement of Sendai Framework targets. These strategies help transform risk knowledge into actions and programmes that save lives and livelihoods. In addition, they serve as guides for mobilizing resources, delegating roles and responsibilities within government, and identifying entry points for non-governmental stakeholder engagement, all leading to more inclusive, sustainable development.

With 131 countries now reporting having national DRR strategies, and 30 receiving technical support from UNDRR to develop them, this is just a snapshot of the progress being made globally in this important area.

Under Brazil’s presidency, the Group of 20 (G20) recognized DRR as a critical component of economic resilience. Collaborating closely with UNDRR, Brazil facilitated the adoption of the first-ever G20 Ministerial Declaration on DRR. This landmark declaration emphasized the necessity of accelerating the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction’s implementation, aiming to reduce disaster losses by 2030, and called for the development of high-level principles for DRR financing. The work of the G20 DRR Working Group, with UNDRR as the lead knowledge partner, further reflected a comprehensive approach to integrating DRR into economic and social policies.

UNDRR’s capacity-building continues to go from strength to strength, with nearly 10,000 DRR practitioners being trained in 2024, 77 per cent of whom reported having a better understanding of DRR as a result. At one such workshop in the Global Education and Training Institute in Incheon, Republic of Korea, a remarkable collaboration unfolded – a pioneering workshop uniting experts from UNDRR and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to empower government stakeholders from Mongolia and Bhutan to mobilize relevant partners and stakeholders and obtain funding for their DRR measures. This joint training begins a process of transforming the daunting challenges of climate change into opportunities for proactive DRR.

Delegates were empowered by not only technical insights, but also the forging of lasting partnerships. The workshop’s training modules, co-designed by UNDRR and GCF specialists, delved deep into practical tools such as the EW4All Checklist for Gap Analysis, equipping participants to critically assess their national capacities and pinpoint vulnerabilities. “Early warning systems are important components for our national climate change adaptation strategy,” noted Ms. Tserendulam Shagdarsuren, Director General of the Climate Change Department, Ministry of Environment and Tourism in Mongolia, emphasizing how the training illuminated the next steps for their evolving EWS.

This pilot UNDRR–GCF initiative is part of a broader strategy to replicate capacity-building endeavours in developing countries. Future workshops are planned for countries that are in very different geographic contexts yet face similar challenges (particularly those resulting from climate change), such as Somalia, Togo and the SIDS. These workshops aim to accelerate access to climate finance and enhance DRR measures worldwide.

In a continuation of the Media Saving Lives programme, UNDRR and partners trained 520 journalists and media practitioners in DRR and risk communications, bringing the total to over 2,500 from 80 countries. Media are an integral part of the EWS delivery chain, and engaging them to build trust between government and communities can be the difference between life and death when disaster hits.

The rise in global temperatures and the increasing frequency and severity of extreme heat events are rapidly becoming central challenges for nations worldwide. Yet many Member States, cities and societies remain ill-prepared to address this escalating threat. The imperative for enhanced extreme heat risk reduction, governance and management is clear. Without urgent and coordinated action, extreme heat will continue to endanger billions of lives, amplify health risks and threaten the ecosystems upon which we depend.

In response, the UNDRR/World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Centre of Excellence for Climate and Disaster Resilience – together with the Global Heat Health Information Network, Duke University and WMO Centre of Excellence for Climate and Disaster Resilience partners – has developed an extreme heat decision-support package for countries tackling this global threat. The package includes: international organization resource and ecosystem mapping, readiness reviews and profiles; national best practice analytics; evaluations of heat action plans; and materials for development of an extreme heat maturity index for self-assessment. These materials can enhance collaboration, integrated heat risk governance and policy responses to extreme heat.

UNDRR’s work and that of United Nations system partners, coupled with increasing demands for assistance from Member States, prompted and informed the United Nations Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat, issued in July 2024, in which he emphasized the need for urgent action if a future characterized by even more devastating heat impacts on lives, economies and ecosystems is to be avoided.

This work is in turn informing the development of a Common Framework for Heat Risk Governance, led by UNDRR with the Global Heat Health Information Network, and Member States, international organizations and stakeholders. The Framework will receive inputs from (and is designed to bring together) multiple sectors, domains and scales – from agriculture and food systems, to energy systems, transportation, construction materials and design, and urban cooling. It is expected to assist national and subnational decision makers in designing and resourcing integrated actions to reduce extreme heat risk to people, urban and rural ecosystems, and the environment, preventing the loss of lives and livelihoods.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Studland Bay Marine Partnership
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Case study

Studland Bay Marine Partnership

Delivering innovative conservation projects to protect Studland Bay’s vital seagrass habitat while working closely with the local community and water users.
Vessel using ecomooring at Studland in Dorset courtesy of Boatfolk.

Key facts

Applicant name: Studland Bay Marine Partnership and Dorset Council.

Location: Studland Bay, Dorset.

Type of project: Marine conservation, community engagement and sustainable mooring solutions.

Project value: £262,000

Grant value: £196,000

Date awarded: November 2023

Project details

Studland Bay is home to Dorset’s most extensive seagrass beds which serve as an important habitat for rare or endangered species of seahorse, pipefish and rays, as well as nursery grounds for commercially important fish species. It was formally designated a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) in the 2019 and in 2021 MMO introduced a voluntary no anchor zone (VNAZ) to help protect the seagrass habitats.

During 2021 The Studland Bay Marine Partnership (SBMP) was established, bringing together the local community, to protect the area’s seagrass habitat while balancing the needs of recreational boaters, visitors and businesses. This included awareness raising campaigns and the installation of eco-moorings, an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional moorings.

To further these efforts, £186,000 was awarded through the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme to support the installation of an additional 57 new eco-moorings, bringing the total number available in the bay to 87 during the main boating season. Funding also supported ongoing research and monitoring, and an expanded community engagement programme.

David Brown, Chair of the Studland Bay Marine Partnership (SBMP), said:

“The funding from FaSS has enabled us to implement practical solutions that have made a positive impact towards the conservation of Studland Bays’s special marine ecosystem. It is also enabling us to continue the important work of conserving and preserving the seagrass habitats for future generations to enjoy. ‘’

Cllr Jon Andrews, Dorset Council’s Cabinet Member for Place Services, said:

“We are delighted that we successfully secured funding to aid conservation initiatives in Studland Bay, as safeguarding our remarkable coastline and the habitats it nurtures is of huge importance. Studland Bay holds immense value — not only for the diverse wildlife of our county but also for the local community, businesses, and water enthusiasts who treasure it. This funding will play a pivotal role in supporting the Studland Bay Marine Partnership’s collaborative and sustainable approach to managing the area effectively.”

Project outcomes

Installation of 57 new eco-moorings, expanding the environmentally friendly anchoring options for recreational boaters in Studland Bay.

Ongoing research and monitoring to track seagrass recovery.

Delivery of community engagement activities to raise awareness of Studland’s seagrass habitat and the importance of the voluntary no anchor zone.

Provision of new information, signage and resources for boat users at local marinas and harbours to promote responsible anchoring and conservation-friendly practices.

Formalisation of the Studland Bay Marine Partnership, ensuring its long-term role as a collaborative, community-led group balancing environmental protection with recreational use.

Supported outcomes

Enhanced visibility for eco-moorings and their benefits through public engagement events, resulting in the eco-moorings featured on BBC Springwatch and Crown Estate project showcase.

Annual MMO led VNAZ reviews indicating number of recreational boaters anchoring in areas of seagrass is continuing to decrease over time.

A 2024 University of Southampton research and monitoring dive which has observed seagrass regrowth in the bay.

Learn more

Find out more about the Studland Bay Marine Partnership.)

View more case studies here: Fisheries and Seafood Scheme: Selected case studies

Updates to this page

Published 31 March 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Cultural adaptation of foreigners: students of the State University of Management visited the Museum of Time and Clocks

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

Students of the State University of Management, who came to study in Russia from Vietnam, India, China, Nepal and Ethiopia, visited the Museum of Time and Clocks on an excursion.

The museum opened in November 2022 in Moscow with the support of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives and the National Association of Watchmakers. The museum includes a retrospective exhibition dedicated to the development of watchmaking in Russia, temporary exhibitions, an event space for public lectures, conferences, master classes, discussions and round tables.

Most of the students of the State University of Management who visited the museum are currently studying at the preparatory department and are actively studying Russian, getting acquainted with our culture and history. One of the most interesting methods of immersion in the Russian environment for them was visiting museums.

This time, foreign students, accompanied by teacher Natalia Krylova, not only enthusiastically practiced their Russian language skills, but also learned about the history of Russian and Soviet watchmaking.

Time flew by. We are sure that the children have good memories of the excursion.

Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 03/31/2025

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI: Aegon announces changes to its Board of Directors
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

The Hague, March 31, 2025 – Aegon today announces the nomination of David Herzog, Lori Fouché and Jay Ralph as new members of its Board of Directors at the company’s Annual General Meeting of shareholders (AGM) which will be held on June 12, 2025.

The Board intends to appoint David Herzog as Chair in the second half of 2025. Mr. Herzog will succeed William Connelly. To ensure a smooth transition, the Board will propose the reappointment of Mr. Connelly as a member for an additional year. Subsequently, Mr. Connelly will retire as Chair and member of the Board in the second half of 2025.

Mark Ellman, who joined Aegon’s Board in 2017 and whose second term will end in 2025, along with Jack McGarry, who joined the Board in 2021 and whose first term will end in 2025, will be nominated for reappointment at the AGM. Meanwhile, Dona Young, who joined Aegon’s Board in 2013 and whose third term concludes in 2025, will retire.

William Connelly commented: “We are delighted to propose David Herzog, Lori Fouché and Jay Ralph as new members of Aegon’s Board. We believe their expertise in insurance and asset management will strengthen the Board’s composition and support the company as we continue to execute our strategy and deliver value to our stakeholders. I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Dona Young for her many contributions to Aegon. With her commitment, valuable insights and pragmatic approach, Dona has played an important role in Aegon’s transformation.”

David Herzog brings over forty years of life insurance and financial services experience to the Board. Currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors at MetLife, and as Chairman of the Board at DXC Technology, David’s extensive career includes key roles such as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at American International Group (AIG) from 2008 to 2016. Prior to this, Mr. Herzog was the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at American General Life, following its acquisition by AIG. He also held various executive positions at GenAmerica Corporation and Family Guardian Life, a Citicorp company, adding to his profound insight into the financial services industry.

Lori Fouché brings over two decades of experience in the financial services industry and has extensive expertise in driving transformation and innovation. Most recently, Ms. Fouché served as Senior Executive Vice President and Advisor to the CEO of TIAA, a US-based provider of retirement and investment solutions, and as CEO of TIAA Financial Solutions. Prior to joining TIAA in 2018, she held several senior positions at Prudential Financial, including Group Head of Individual Solutions, President of Individual Annuities, and CEO of Group Insurance businesses. In addition to her executive roles, Ms. Fouché currently serves on the Board of The Kraft Heinz Company, a global food and beverage company, and Hippo Holdings, a property insurance provider and she is member of the Princeton University Board of Trustees.

Jay Ralph has had a distinguished career in insurance and asset management including almost 20 years in leadership roles at Allianz SE, a global insurance and asset management company. Mr. Ralph was most recently a member of the Board of Management of Allianz SE and Chairman of both Allianz Asset Management and Allianz Life Insurance Company North America. He has also served on various boards of Allianz SE’s global subsidiaries across Europe and the Americas. Prior to this, he held several senior roles in the financial industry. Mr. Ralph currently sits on the Board of Swiss Re Group and the Siemens Pension Advisory Board.

The appointments are subject to shareholder approval and will be included in the agenda of the 2025 AGM, which will be published in May. Once elected by Aegon’s AGM, the appointments will be effective as of the end of that meeting.

Contacts

About Aegon

Aegon is an international financial services holding company. Aegon’s ambition is to build leading businesses that offer their customers investment, protection, and retirement solutions. Aegon’s portfolio of businesses includes fully owned businesses in the United States and United Kingdom, and a global asset manager. Aegon also creates value by combining its international expertise with strong local partners via insurance joint-ventures in Spain & Portugal, China, and Brazil, and via asset management partnerships in France and China. In addition, Aegon owns a Bermuda-based life insurer and generates value via a strategic shareholding in a market leading Dutch insurance and pensions company.

Aegon’s purpose of helping people live their best lives runs through all its activities. As a leading global investor and employer, Aegon seeks to have a positive impact by addressing critical environmental and societal issues, with a focus on climate change and inclusion & diversity. Aegon is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands, domiciled in Bermuda, and listed on Euronext Amsterdam and the New York Stock Exchange. More information can be found at aegon.com .

Forward-looking statements
The statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following are words that identify such forward-looking statements: aim, believe, estimate, target, intend, may, expect, anticipate, predict, project, counting on, plan, continue, want, forecast, goal, should, would, could, is confident, will, and similar expressions as they relate to Aegon. These statements may contain information about financial prospects, economic conditions and trends and involve risks and uncertainties. In addition, any statements that refer to sustainability, environmental and social targets, commitments, goals, efforts and expectations and other events or circumstances that are partially dependent on future events are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Aegon undertakes no obligation, and expressly disclaims any duty, to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which merely reflect company expectations at the time of writing. Actual results may differ materially and adversely from expectations conveyed in forward-looking statements due to changes caused by various risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the following:
- Unexpected delays, difficulties, and expenses in executing against Aegon’s environmental, climate, diversity and inclusion or other “ESG” targets, goals and commitments, and changes in laws or regulations affecting us, such as changes in data privacy, environmental, health and safety laws;
- Changes in general economic and/or governmental conditions, particularly in Bermuda, the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom;
- Civil unrest, (geo-) political tensions, military action or other instability in a country or geographic region;
- Changes in the performance of financial markets, including emerging markets, such as with regard to:
  - The frequency and severity of defaults by issuers in Aegon’s fixed income investment portfolios;
  - The effects of corporate bankruptcies and/or accounting restatements on the financial markets and the resulting decline in the value of equity and debt securities Aegon holds;
  - The effects of declining creditworthiness of certain public sector securities and the resulting decline in the value of government exposure that Aegon holds;
  - The impact from volatility in credit, equity, and interest rates;
- Changes in the performance of Aegon’s investment portfolio and decline in ratings of Aegon’s counterparties;
- Lowering of one or more of Aegon’s debt ratings issued by recognized rating organizations and the adverse impact such action may have on Aegon’s ability to raise capital and on its liquidity and financial condition;
- Lowering of one or more of insurer financial strength ratings of Aegon’s insurance subsidiaries and the adverse impact such action may have on the written premium, policy retention, profitability and liquidity of its insurance subsidiaries;
- The effect of applicable Bermuda solvency requirements, the European Union’s Solvency II requirements, and applicable equivalent solvency requirements and other regulations in other jurisdictions affecting the capital Aegon is required to maintain;
- Changes in the European Commissions’ or European regulator’s position on the equivalence of the supervisory regime for insurance and reinsurance undertakings in force in Bermuda;
- Changes affecting interest rate levels and low or rapidly changing interest rate levels;
- Changes affecting currency exchange rates, in particular the EUR/USD and EUR/GBP exchange rates;
- Changes affecting inflation levels, particularly in the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom;
- Changes in the availability of, and costs associated with, liquidity sources such as bank and capital markets funding, as well as conditions in the credit markets in general such as changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness;
- Increasing levels of competition, particularly in the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and emerging markets;
- Catastrophic events, either manmade or by nature, including by way of example acts of God, acts of terrorism, acts of war and pandemics, could result in material losses and significantly interrupt Aegon’s business;
- The frequency and severity of insured loss events;
- Changes affecting longevity, mortality, morbidity, persistence and other factors that may impact the profitability of Aegon’s insurance products and management of derivatives;
- Aegon’s projected results are highly sensitive to complex mathematical models of financial markets, mortality, longevity, and other dynamic systems subject to shocks and unpredictable volatility. Should assumptions to these models later prove incorrect, or should errors in those models escape the controls in place to detect them, future performance will vary from projected results;
- Reinsurers to whom Aegon has ceded significant underwriting risks may fail to meet their obligations;
- Changes in customer behavior and public opinion in general related to, among other things, the type of products Aegon sells, including legal, regulatory or commercial necessity to meet changing customer expectations;
- Customer responsiveness to both new products and distribution channels;
- Third-party information used by us may prove to be inaccurate and change over time as methodologies and data availability and quality continue to evolve impacting our results and disclosures;
- As Aegon’s operations support complex transactions and are highly dependent on the proper functioning of information technology, operational risks such as system disruptions or failures, security or data privacy breaches, cyberattacks, human error, failure to safeguard personally identifiable information, changes in operational practices or inadequate controls including with respect to third parties with which Aegon does business, may disrupt Aegon’s business, damage its reputation and adversely affect its results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, and Aegon may be unable to adopt to and apply new technologies;
- The impact of acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings, product withdrawals and other unusual items, including Aegon’s ability to complete, or obtain regulatory approval for, acquisitions and divestitures, integrate acquisitions, and realize anticipated results, and its ability to separate businesses as part of divestitures;
- Aegon’s failure to achieve anticipated levels of earnings or operational efficiencies, as well as other management initiatives related to cost savings, Cash Capital at Holding, gross financial leverage and free cash flow;
- Changes in the policies of central banks and/or governments;
- Litigation or regulatory action that could require Aegon to pay significant damages or change the way Aegon does business;
- Competitive, legal, regulatory, or tax changes that affect profitability, the distribution cost of or demand for Aegon’s products;
- Consequences of an actual or potential break-up of the European Monetary Union in whole or in part, or further consequences of the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union and potential consequences if other European Union countries leave the European Union;
- Changes in laws and regulations, or the interpretation thereof by regulators and courts, including as a result of comprehensive reform or shifts away from multilateral approaches to regulation of global or national operations, particularly regarding those laws and regulations related to ESG matters, those affecting Aegon’s operations’ ability to hire and retain key personnel, taxation of Aegon companies, the products Aegon sells, the attractiveness of certain products to its consumers and Aegon’s intellectual property;
- Regulatory changes relating to the pensions, investment, insurance industries and enforcing adjustments in the jurisdictions in which Aegon operates;
- Standard setting initiatives of supranational standard setting bodies such as the Financial Stability Board and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors or changes to such standards that may have an impact on regional (such as EU), national or US federal or state level financial regulation or the application thereof to Aegon, including the designation of Aegon by the Financial Stability Board as a Global Systemically Important Insurer (G-SII);
- Changes in accounting regulations and policies or a change by Aegon in applying such regulations and policies, voluntarily or otherwise, which may affect Aegon’s reported results, shareholders’ equity or regulatory capital adequacy levels;
- Changes in ESG standards and requirements, including assumptions, methodology and materiality, or a change by Aegon in applying such standards and requirements, voluntarily or otherwise, may affect Aegon’s ability to meet evolving standards and requirements, or Aegon’s ability to meet its sustainability and ESG-related goals, or related public expectations, which may also negatively affect Aegon’s reputation or the reputation of its board of directors or its management; and
- Other risks and uncertainties identified in the Form 20-F and in other documents filed or to be filed by Aegon with the SEC.
- Reliance on third-party information in certain of Aegon’s disclosures, which may change over time as methodologies and data availability and quality continue to evolve. These factors, as well as any inaccuracies in third-party information used by Aegon, including in estimates or assumptions, may cause results to differ materially and adversely from statements, estimates, and beliefs made by Aegon or third-parties. Moreover, Aegon’s disclosures based on any standards may change due to revisions in framework requirements, availability of information, changes in its business or applicable governmental policies, or other factors, some of which may be beyond Aegon’s control. Additionally, Aegon’s discussion of various ESG and other sustainability issues in this document or in other locations, including on our corporate website, may be informed by the interests of various stakeholders, as well as various ESG standards, frameworks, and regulations (including for the measurement and assessment of underlying data). As such, our disclosures on such issues, including climate-related disclosures, may include information that is not necessarily “material” under US securities laws for SEC reporting purposes, even if we use words such as “material” or “materiality” in relation to those statements. ESG expectations continue to evolve, often quickly, including for matters outside of our control; our disclosures are inherently dependent on the methodology (including any related assumptions or estimates) and data used, and there can be no guarantee that such disclosures will necessarily reflect or be consistent with the preferred practices or interpretations of particular stakeholders, either currently or in future.
This document contains information that qualifies, or may qualify, as inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014). Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting Aegon are described in its filings with the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including the 2023 Integrated Annual Report. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this document. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, Aegon expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Aegon’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Attachment
- 31032025_PR_Aegon announces changes to its Board of Directors
The MIL Network –
March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic University Presents New Projects with Artificial Intelligence

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

Opening the eighth seminar on artificial intelligence, Vice-Rector for Research Yuri Fomin noted that the discussions demonstrated the diversity and scale of the use of AI technologies by Polytechnic University scientists. This time, two reports were devoted to the use of AI methods in digital engineering of molecular and biomolecular systems and in the management of processes in a high-tech medical organization.

The first topic was covered by Mikhail Ryazantsev, professor at the Higher School of Biomedical Systems and Technologies, director of the Scientific Research Institute “Digital Technologies in Medical and Biological Systems”. The speaker talked about the methods of machine learning and molecular systems engineering used, aimed at automating the development and optimization of the properties of molecular systems and processes, as well as synthesis and adaptation for industrial production.

Effective automation requires an iterative process where the results of high-performance computing and/or experiments are used to train ML models, which in turn guide further development and optimization steps. It is also important to have a platform for integrating all the tools into a single workflow.

Mikhail Nikolaevich spoke about the methods of directed evolution, combined design and the results achieved in optimizing protein properties. The professor emphasized that today chemistry is increasingly becoming an engineering science, including through the use of artificial intelligence, and the development of the industry requires appropriate software.

Igor Ilyin, Director of the Higher School of Business Engineering and Head of the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Research and Education on Technological and Economic Problems of Energy Transition (CIRETEC GT), reported on solutions to pressing problems of medical institutions that need to optimize medical, management, and support processes.

The professor spoke about the characteristics and key aspects of the formation of the “smart clinic” architecture, as well as about digital technologies used in healthcare and projects being implemented. In particular, Igor Vasilyevich’s team is developing a system for supporting medical decision-making based on deep learning algorithms at the request of one of the largest medical centers in the country. Daniel Alliti, a postgraduate student at the Higher School of Business and Management of the Institute of Medical and Economics and Technology, spoke in more detail about the system. The system, being developed based on deep learning algorithms, should increase the efficiency of diagnostics and forecasting by 10%, reduce the number of medical errors leading to the death of the patient, reduce the routine tasks of doctors, freeing up time for receiving patients.

The seminar participants, who included undergraduate and graduate students, asked many questions regarding the methods and speed of computations, the operating systems used, responsibility for diagnoses made using AI, the use of terminology, etc.

It is gratifying that we have such a wide range of questions – from narrow technical to philosophical. This suggests that the topic of using artificial intelligence is truly interdisciplinary and inexhaustible, – commented on the results of the seminar Yuri Fomin.

The Vice-Rector for Research also supported the proposal to create a glossary on the topic of artificial intelligence so that there would be a common understanding of terms among participants in interdisciplinary research groups.

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Appointments to eighth term of New Energy Transport Fund Steering Committee

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The Environment and Ecology Bureau (EEB) today (March 31) announced the appointments to the New Energy Transport Fund (NET Fund) Steering Committee for a new two-year term starting from April 1.

The new term of the Steering Committee will continue to be chaired by the Chairman of the Council of Hong Kong Metropolitan University and Committee Member of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong, Dr Conrad Wong Tin-cheung, with members comprising experts and academics in green innovative transport technologies, representatives nominated from the transport trades, and representatives of relevant government departments.

The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, thanked the outgoing members, Mr Kent Lam Wing-keung, Mr Ling chi-keung, Professor Lo Hong-kam, Mr Ng Kwan-sing, Mr Wilson Or Chong-shing, Mr Matthew Wong Leung-pak, and Mr Yu Kwok-Tai, for their enormous contributions to the Steering Committee and expressed his deep appreciation for the invaluable advice from all members of the last term rendered to the Government on the enhancement measures under Applications for Trial, including adopting the merit-based assessment criteria and introducing subsidy schemes for electric franchised buses and electric taxis under Applications for Use.

The membership of the Steering Committee in the new term is as follows:

Chairman
Dr Conrad Wong Tin-cheung

Members
Mr Chan Chi-fai*
Professor Chau Kwok-tong*
Miss Lai Hei-yan
Mr Lau Kim-wan*
Mr Jhonny Leung Huang
Mr Davy Lui Kin-wing*
Ms Venus Ma Chui-ki*
Mr Mo Shing-fung*
Mr James Wong Cheuk-on*
Mr Rex Wong Siu-han
Dr Daniel Yan Ting-kwan
Representative of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department
Representative of the Environment and Ecology Bureau
Representative of the Innovation and Technology Commission
Representative of the Transport Department

Secretary
Principal Environmental Protection Officer (Air Policy), EEB

* New members

Transportation accounts for about 20 per cent of Hong Kong’s total carbon emissions. The development of green transportation is crucial to achieving the goal of carbon neutrality. The Government has put in place the Fund (previously named the Pilot Green Transport Fund) since March 2011 to subsidise and encourage the testing and wider use of green innovative transport technologies for a variety of commercial transport tools. Since its establishment, the Fund has approved a total of 298 trials, including different types of green innovative transportation technologies, such as electric commercial vehicles, electric waste collection vessels and an electric vehicle as a medical clinic, with a total funding amount of about $243 million. The NET Fund will continue to subsidise the transport trade to encourage trials of other types of new energy transport technologies apart from electric commercial vehicles, and promote the wider local application of mature new transport technology. Key projects include trial applications for hydrogen fuel cell heavy vehicles and the two subsidy schemes for electric taxis and electric franchised buses.

The Steering Committee advises the Government on the operation of the Fund and the approval of funding for applications. For more information on the Fund, please visit: www.eeb.gov.hk/en/new-energy-transport-fund.html.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: To mark the 80th anniversary of the Victory, the Polytechnic launched a student video blog

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

In the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland and on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the Victory, the Polytechnic will publish a student video blog, “The Memory of Glory Lives.”

Today it is difficult to imagine that the Main Building of the Polytechnic University once housed a military hospital, the windows of the Chemical Building were crosswise sealed with paper tape, and in place of a cozy park alley there was a gaping two-meter shell crater. Hurrying about our business, we pass by monuments, memorial plaques and rarely think about what they symbolize, what they can tell us.

Our university has many places associated with the Great Patriotic War. What events took place here in those distant years? The video blog “Memory of Glory is Alive” and its host, IMMiT SPbPU student Yegor Bredikhin, answer these questions.

In the vlog episodes, he will talk about the university’s memorable locations and the unforgettable stories they have kept for decades.

“This project has become another page in the educational work of the university, which includes our own initiatives, such as “Stories of Polytechnic Families”, and participation in all-Russian events, such as “Scientific Regiment”, – said the head of the Public Relations Department Marianna Dyakova. – In the year of the 80th anniversary of the Victory, we decided to make a video project together with students about the places inside the Polytechnic associated with the Great Patriotic War. Students, especially those who are just starting to study, know almost nothing about them. And if they hear from other students the history of the monument, the memorial plaque, it will be perceived with trust and understanding, and will cause reciprocal emotions. We don’t want the project to be didactic, we want to touch the souls and hearts of the Polytechnicians, so that every student who watches the video, passing by such a significant place, stops for a second, thinks about the Great Patriotic War, about the cost of how many lives the victory was achieved.”

The premiere of the first issue dedicated to the Monument to the Fallen Polytechnicians has already taken place. The most famous monument on the Polytechnic campus was opened on September 23, 1967. It was built with funds from teachers, employees, students and graduates of the M. I. Kalinin LPI. Two military helmets lying on the pedestal were found at the battle sites.

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: SUM shares experience: the second webinar on the exchange of best practices of project-based learning for university representatives was held

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

On March 28, the second online seminar in 2025 was held for teachers and staff of higher education institutions, dedicated to the issues of introducing project-based learning into the educational process.

The webinar was organized by the State University of Management as an interregional educational and methodological center for project-based learning and the Association of Project-Oriented Organizations of Science and Higher Education.

The webinar featured three diverse reports. Each speaker shared the unique experience of their educational institution, telling about cases of successful implementation of project activities among students.

Head of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations of the State University of Management Vasily Starostin covered the issues of organizing project work of marketing students from the point of view of the experience of the Institute of Marketing of the State University of Management. The audience was especially interested in the methodology of setting the task for the implementation of project work by students of the 1st to 3rd years of the bachelor’s degree.

Elena Stukalova, head of the startup studio at the Financial University, shared her experience in developing student startup projects. Participants learned what tools and resources are used to support young entrepreneurs as part of the educational process.

Director of the Institute of Creative Industries of VVSU Inna Klochko spoke about the organization of project activities at Vladivostok State University. Examples of successful projects implemented at the university became clear evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.

The State University of Management expresses gratitude to all participants and speakers for productive cooperation and hopes for further development of mutually beneficial dialogue within the framework of the exchange of best practices of project-based learning.

Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 03/31/2025

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: AI-generated child abuse images are a growing threat

Source: Anglia Ruskin University

By Simon Bailey and Samantha Lundrigan, Anglia Ruskin University

The UK aims to be the first country in the world to create new offences related to AI-generated sexual abuse. New laws will make it illegal to possess, create or distribute AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM), punishable by up to five years in prison. The laws will also make it illegal for anyone to possess so-called “paedophile manuals” which teach people how to use AI to sexually abuse children.

In the last few decades, the threat against children from online abuse has multiplied at a concerning rate. According to the Internet Watch Foundation, which tracks down and removes abuse from the internet, there has been an 830% rise in online child sexual abuse imagery since 2014. The prevalence of AI image generation tools is fuelling this further.

Last year, we at the International Policing and Protection Research Institute at Anglia Ruskin University published a report on the growing demand for AI-generated child sexual abuse material online.

Researchers analysed chats that took place in dark web forums over the previous 12 months. We found evidence of growing interest in this technology, and of online offenders’ desire for others to learn more and create abuse images.

Horrifyingly, forum members referred to those creating the AI-imagery as “artists”. This technology is creating a new world of opportunity for offenders to create and share the most depraved forms of child abuse content.

Our analysis showed that members of these forums are using non-AI-generated images and videos already at their disposal to facilitate their learning and train the software they use to create the images. Many expressed their hopes and expectations that the technology would evolve, making it even easier for them to create this material.

Dark web spaces are hidden and only accessible through specialised software. They provide offenders with anonymity and privacy, making it difficult for law enforcement to identify and prosecute them.

The Internet Watch Foundation has documented concerning statistics about the rapid increase in the number of AI-generated images they encounter as part of their work. The volume remains relatively low in comparison to the scale of non-AI images that are being found, but the numbers are growing at an alarming rate.

The charity reported in October 2023 that a total of 20,254 AI generated imaged were uploaded in a month to one dark web forum. Before this report was published, little was known about the threat.

The harms of AI abuse

The perception among offenders is that AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery is a victimless crime, because the images are not “real”. But it is far from harmless, firstly because it can be created from real photos of children, including images that are completely innocent.

While there is a lot we don’t yet know about the impact of AI-generated abuse specifically, there is a wealth of research on the harms of online child sexual abuse, as well as how technology is used to perpetuate or worsen the impact of offline abuse. For example, victims may have continuing trauma due to the permanence of photos or videos, just knowing the images are out there. Offenders may also use images (real or fake) to intimidate or blackmail victims.

These considerations are also part of ongoing discussions about deepfake pornography, the creation of which the government also plans to criminalise.

All of these issues can be exacerbated with AI technology. Additionally, there is also likely to be a traumatic impact on moderators and investigators having to view abuse images in the finest details to identify if they are “real” or “generated” images.

What can the law do?

UK law currently outlaws the taking, making, distribution and possession of an indecent image or a pseudo-photograph (a digitally-created photorealistic image) of a child.

But there are currently no laws that make it an offence to possess the technology to create AI child sexual abuse images. The new laws should ensure that police officers will be able to target abusers who are using or considering using AI to generate this content, even if they are not currently in possession of images when investigated.

We will always be behind offenders when it comes to technology, and law enforcement agencies around the world will soon be overwhelmed. They need laws designed to help them identify and prosecute those seeking to exploit children and young people online.

It is welcome news that the government is committed to taking action, but it has to be fast. The longer the legislation takes to enact, the more children are at risk of being abused.

Tackling the global threat will also take more than laws in one country. We need a whole-system response that starts when new technology is being designed. Many AI products and tools have been developed for entirely genuine, honest and non-harmful reasons, but they can easily be adapted and used by offenders looking to create harmful or illegal material.

The law needs to understand and respond to this, so that technology cannot be used to facilitate abuse, and so that we can differentiate between those using tech to harm, and those using it for good.

Simon Bailey, Chair, International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute, Anglia Ruskin University and Samantha Lundrigan, Professor of Investigative Psychology and Public Protection, Anglia Ruskin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The opinions expressed in VIEWPOINT articles are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARU.

If you wish to republish this article, please follow these guidelines: https://theconversation.com/uk/republishing-guidelines

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: List of support measures for SVO participants and their children

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

The State University of Management reminds you of the list of support measures for SVO participants and their children that are available to them at our university.

Federal Law No. 273-FZ of December 29, 2012 “On Education in the Russian Federation” provides special rights (benefits) for admission to bachelor’s and specialist’s degree programs for SVO participants and their children, including the right to admission at the expense of budgetary allocations within a separate quota.

Benefits for admission of children of SVO participants also apply to adopted children. Classification as a category of persons entitled to admission within a separate quota is confirmed by a corresponding certificate provided in the established manner.

Also, participants of the SVO and their children are granted the right to be admitted to preparatory departments of educational organizations for training at the expense of budget funds. The list of educational organizations in whose preparatory departments training is carried out at the expense of budgetary allocations of the federal budget for the 2025/26 academic year was approved by order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia dated November 15, 2024 No. 765.

In accordance with the order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia dated August 28, 2023 No. 822 “On approval of the procedure and cases of transition of persons studying in educational programs of secondary vocational and higher education from paid education to education at the expense of budgetary allocations of the federal budget, budgets of constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local budgets or at the expense of the organization’s own funds carrying out educational activities, including funds received from income-generating activities, voluntary donations and targeted contributions of individuals and (or) legal entities” children of persons taking or who took part in SVO, studying in an educational organization on the basis of an agreement on the provision of paid educational services, who do not have academic debt, disciplinary sanctions, or arrears in tuition fees at the time of filing the application, are classified as persons having a priority right to transition from paid education to free education.

Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 03/31/2025

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic University hosted a case championship on polymer and composite materials

Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

From March 24 to 27, the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University hosted a case championship on polymer and composite materials. The event aimed to develop practical skills in working with modern materials, as well as interdisciplinary thinking at the intersection of materials science, mechanics and digital modeling.

The championship was opened by Dmitry Bogdanov, Director of the Gazpromneft-Polytech Scientific and Educational Center.

Polymers and composite materials are becoming key for a number of industries today, from aircraft manufacturing to medicine. We strive to give students not just knowledge, but engineering thinking that allows them to adequately assess the properties of materials and factor them into the calculations at the design stage, he noted.

Two teams of four people took part in the competition — 3rd and 4th year students. The theme of the championship was the development of a concept for a serial product: a light, durable and ergonomic chair designed for use in cafes and restaurants. The main condition was the use of polymer or composite materials, taking into account their physical characteristics, production limitations and aesthetic requirements.

Before starting work, the students attended a series of lectures on the physical and chemical foundations of polymers and their engineering applications. The classes were conducted by Viktor Nazarichev, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Macromolecular Compounds of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Ignatiy Abrosimov, an engineer at the Gazpromneft-Polytech Scientific and Educational Center. Particular attention was paid to numerical modeling methods in ANSYS and the principles of selecting reinforcing fillers in composite systems.

Over the course of three days, the participants worked intensively — from idea generation to strength calculations and geometry modeling. Students learned to set material parameters, analyze their behavior under load, take into account the fiber structure and the features of the binder. The focus was not only on strength characteristics, but also on the manufacturability of the structure.

The victory was won by a team of 4th-year students from the Higher School of Theoretical Mechanics and Mathematical Physics in the field of “Biomechanics and Medical Engineering”. It included Alexander Plotnikov, Stanislav Bakhmetyev, Ivan Afanasyev and Ivan Strebkov.

Working with composites requires a different engineering approach. Here you can’t rely on intuition, as when designing with traditional materials – precise parameter adjustment, anisotropy calculation, and reinforcement direction control are important. This is an interesting challenge that forces you to reconsider the very logic of design, Stanislav Bakhmetyev shared his impressions.

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

March 31, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Election diary: Energy is in the foreground – but climate change is ‘in the shadows’

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

This election is already shaping up as very much about energy. But notably, ambitions for and debate about combatting climate change have receded in recent times.

Peter Dutton has his proposal for an east coast gas reservation scheme at the centre of his campaign. Then of course there is that much-contested nuclear policy. But the government has declined to produce a 2035 emissions reduction target before polling day and, apart from its commitment to net zero by 2050, the Coalition won’t talk targets in opposition.

John Connor, CEO of the Carbon Marketing Institute, says “probably not since 2004 has climate been so much in the shadows, at least at this stage”. It’s a matter of the “energy wars” rather than the “climate wars” so far, he says.

The climate change issue was potent in 2022, especially in helping the “teal” candidates get elected. It probably is still cutting through in their sort of seats. And climate change demonstrators are targeting election events.

But more generally, things have changed.

The Freshwater poll in the Australian Financial Review on Monday asked people to list three issues of top concern for them.

Unsurprisingly, cost of living was a mile ahead of anything else, at 74%. Then came housing (37%), healthcare (27%), economy (26%), crime (25%) and tax (19%). Climate change followed seventh, with 18%, ahead of immigration (15%) and defence (13%).

When asked who would be best to respond to concern about climate change, Labor held a solid lead, 35% to the 22% who nominated the Coalition, but 43% said neither or were unsure.

The Morgan poll early this year compared issues of most importance to people in the September quarter of 2024 and the June quarter of 2022. Just under a third nominated global warming and climate change in 2022 (32%); by 2024 this was down to less than a quarter (23%).

The cost-of-living crisis is the most obvious reason why climate change has faded in many voters’ minds. That has pushed almost everything else aside, as families struggle with financial practicalities.

(The Carbon Market Institute says, however, that polling it commissioned, to be released later this week does show the public understand the link between climate change and the cost of living, even if the politicians are reluctant to go there just now. 62% of respondents agreed impacts of climate change – such as more frequent and severe bushfires and flooding – worsen the cost of living through insurance cost increases and grocery prices, with just 13% disagreeing.)

Now we are deeply into the transition to a clean economy the inevitable downsides are more to the fore. However necessary, they are painful, including high power bills (that have had to be subsidised by the government) and local arguments about transmission lines and wind farms blighting parts of the landscape.

After it was elected Labor highlighted the importance of climate change by legislating its 2030 43% emissions reduction target. But it has become reticent when asked to talk about the 2035 target for Australia.

That was initially due to be submitted under the Paris agreement by February, but now it won’t be announced until closer to the September deadline. Nor will the Climate Change Authority, headed by former NSW Liberal treasurer Matt Kean, produce its recommendation to the government before the election. The government’s explanation for its delay is that it can’t act before the the authority’s recommendation.

Dutton remains committed to the Paris agreement and the zero emissions by 2050 target. But he flagged at the weekend that he would not proceed with Australia’s bid to host COP31 in 2026.

The opposition says it would keep the safeguards mechanism that regulates emissions from large emitters, but we don’t know what changes it would make to it.

Nor do we know what would happen under a Dutton government to the various framework institutions around climate change policy. But Kean and his authority are certainly in the gun sights. Opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume has said, “I don’t think that we could possibly maintain a Climate Change Authority that has been so badly politicised”.

Peter Dutton wouldn’t live in The Lodge (though it was good enough for Robert Menzies)

What is it about some modern conservative leaders and The Lodge?

Peter Dutton on Monday declared that, if he became PM, he would live at Kirribilli House, not The Lodge.

“We love Sydney, we love the harbour, it’s a great city, and so yes. You’ve got the choice between Kirribilli or living in Canberra. I think I’ll take Sydney any day over living in Canberra,” he said.

The opposition leader’s disdain for Canberra was obvious. Then again, perhaps when you’re planning to get rid of tens of thousands of Canberra-based public servants, Kirilly Dutton might find a browse around the Manuka shops potentially awkward.

From the way he extolled the virtues of Sydney, it doesn’t seem that Dutton wishes he could stay in his home city of Brisbane, prevented from doing so only by the lack of an official residence there.

As prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull didn’t just stay living in Sydney – he chose to remain in his own house. It was certainly more glam than The Lodge.

Yet The Lodge was good enough for the leader to whom the Liberals all pay homage. Robert Menzies and his family lived there quite happily for a very long time. Menzies’ daughter Heather Henderson, in her book A Smile for My Parents, tells of life in the bush capital, when her mother kept a shanghai in the wisteria to take potshots at the currawongs.

They were simpler days. The security-conscious Dutton would be appalled at the anecdote about the intruder who appeared one night in the Lodge kitchen. Pattie Menzies, who happened to be carving the roast for dinner at the time, walked into the kitchen, armed with the knife. The intruder fled. There was no official inquiry – just a reprimand for the maid for not snibbing the door.

Michelle Grattan 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. Election diary: Energy is in the foreground – but climate change is ‘in the shadows’ – https://theconversation.com/election-diary-energy-is-in-the-foreground-but-climate-change-is-in-the-shadows-253115

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Regional University Industry Collaboration masterclasses

Source: Tasmania Police

Issued: 31 Mar 2025

Dozens of university researchers and business stakeholders have been honing their partnership building expertise at masterclass events in Rockhampton, to support more regional Queensland research projects to get off the ground.

Over the past six weeks, 35 researchers from across the state have been taking part in the Regional University Industry Collaboration (RUIC) program masterclass series held at CQUniversity (CQU) and James Cook University (JCU).

The $7 million Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) initiative delivered by CSIRO, aims to transform project ideas in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, into impactful real-world solutions.

Research leaders have been given the skills and tools to effectively identify, approach, engage and collaborate with small to medium enterprises (SMEs) across regional Queensland – assisting them during the research and development stages of a concept – from ideation to commercialisation.

Queensland Chief Scientist Professor Kerrie Wilison said these masterclasses are expected to equip researchers and business-minded individuals with the knowledge and strategies to effectively transform scientific ideas into viable commercial ventures.

“This program increases opportunities for business and industry investment in science and recognises and supports entrepreneurship,” she said.

“The RUIC program promotes economic growth in Queensland’s regional areas, ensuring that local SMEs remain competitive and continue to thrive.

“We want to boost regional collaboration between businesses and researchers, to grow industry engagement across the state and get more projects launched.”

CQUniversity Regional Futures Executive Director Paul Hodgson said the RUIC program is an excellent platform to develop relationships between regional universities and SMEs.

“As a regional university, CQUniversity is proudly focused on delivering ‘research with impact’, which is only possible through strong partnerships with industry, particularly SMEs,” he said.

“The RUIC masterclass series was a timely and critical process in upskilling the engagement capability and confidence of our researchers to deliver sustained impact into the future”.

View further details on the Regional University Industry Collaboration program.

MIL OSI News –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Kung fu master from Cameroon wants Chinese culture to ‘light up’ lives

Source: China State Council Information Office 3

Fabrice Mba’s passion for Chinese culture and martial arts budded in the southern Cameroon town of Sangmelima, where he grew up watching kung fu movies.

Mba (right, front) instructs a young man in martial arts movements in Yaounde, capital of Cameroon. [Photo provided to China Daily]

His elder brother was a projectionist and as a youngster, Mba often helped him sweep the theater.

For the first time, he saw Shaolin monks on the screen. “I discovered kung fu and Chinese culture. It spoke a lot to me.”

He and his friends would imitate characters from the movies, but there was no kung fu club to train them.

When he was 8, he left home with his elder sister to settle in the capital, Yaounde.

Life was difficult, his father was absent and his mother could not take care of all her children.

“I grew up on the street,” he says.

Mba’s life changed with the arrival of a group of Chinese engineers in the 1980s. They built the Yaounde Conference Center, a China-aid project that remains one of the landmarks in Cameroon to this day.

He and his sister lived not far from the center. One of the Chinese engineers at the construction site was skilled in martial arts and trained regularly, to the amazement of Mba and his friends.

“I often went with my friends, and we stood and watched (him training) from afar,” he says.

One day, the man called to them and asked them to take a posture, with knees slightly bent as if holding a tree in their arms. “We stood facing the wall. It hurt,” says Mba.

After that, he came every morning to learn kung fu. He trained hard, learning the fundamental elements.

Mba returned briefly to Sangmelima to help his brother, but life was difficult there, and he returned to the capital, where he did odd jobs to survive.

Fabrice Mba gives a lecture on traditional Chinese medicine to his students at the Confucius Institute at the University of Yaounde II in Soa, Cameroon, in February. [Photo provided to China Daily]

His life took another turn in 2011, when he encountered a codirector of the Confucius Institute at the University of Yaounde II, during one of his training sessions.

Mba enrolled in the institute. “That marked a turning point in my kung fu journey.”

Thanks to a scholarship, he got the opportunity to train in martial arts and traditional Chinese medicine at the Shaolin Temple in Henan province. Between 2015 and 2019, he visited the temple three times.

Today, Mba is a household name in Cameroon when it comes to kung fu and traditional Chinese medicine.

“I am president of the Cameroon Kung-Fu Federation. I am a specialist in Chinese traditional medicine. I have been the president of the Association for the Promotion of Chinese Martial Arts since 2010, and I am also a Shaolin cultural ambassador of the time,” says the 46-year-old disciple.

He runs a program that offers free short-term training in physiotherapy and other subjects to disadvantaged young people to help them find work. He also teaches kung fu in several schools.

“Be your own boss” is the slogan of his Lotus and Water Lily program.

“I train them to be morally upright and useful to society,” Mba says. “I went through difficulties as a child, and I do not want them to face the same hardships.”

Martin Mangwandjo was one of Mba’s students. About seven years ago, Mangwandjo started learning kung fu, which changed his life. Now 29, he also teaches martial arts and runs a kung fu club of his own.

“Kung fu has enabled me to fit into the social milieu more easily,” says Mangwandjo, who has a congenital disability in his left leg and walks on crutches. “It has given me a winning mentality, because I’ve understood that a man’s strength lies not in his physique, but in his mind.”

Now, he wants to emulate his mentor and help promote Chinese culture. “I’d like to encourage other people, who have full mobility but still hesitate to take the plunge, telling themselves that these things are not feasible or not attainable, to really encourage them to embrace Chinese culture as I have,” he says.

Mba’s knowledge and love of Chinese culture is also visible in the literary world. He has published several books of poetry and prose focused on kung fu, Chinese culture and nonviolence.

“Martial arts is about moral values, peace, respect and life,” he says. “Cameroonians and Africans who read the books always come back to me, and say they now have a better understanding of Chinese people and their culture.”

Mba says that as more people take up kung fu in Cameroon, he hopes to continue to offer valuable training.

“Promoting Chinese culture in Cameroon does not mean turning Cameroonians into Chinese,” he says. “It’s like putting Cameroonians in front of a mirror, enabling them to understand that through hard work, they can reshape their mentality, shed poverty, and achieve the results they want, just like the Chinese.”

MIL OSI China News –

March 31, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Why have supermarkets around Australia recalled bagged salad products? A gastroenterologist explains

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Associate Professor and Clinical Academic Gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University

Kristi Blokhin/Shutterstock

People are being asked to check the use-by dates of bagged salad products they’ve purchased recently after a number of Australian supermarkets issued recalls due to potential bacterial contamination.

Recalls issued over the past week have affected bagged and pre-packaged salad products sold at supermarkets around the country including Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA.

The potential contaminant is shiga-toxin-producing E. coli or STEC. But so far, no cases of illness have been reported.

So what is this bacterium and how could it affect the salad leaves in your dinner or lunch?

E.Coli and STEC

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a bacterium that normally lives in the intestines of healthy people and animals. Fortunately most strains of E. coli are harmless and don’t cause symptoms.

But there are certain strains that can lead to symptoms such as abdominal cramping, diarrhoea, fever and vomiting. In some cases a severe infection can even result in kidney failure.

STEC is one strain that can cause gastrointestinal symptoms. It’s called “shiga toxin-producing” because the toxin from this strain of E. coli is very similar to that produced by the Shigella bacterium.

Shigella causes shigellosis, a gastrointestinal infection which can involve similar symptoms to STEC. Both can cause abdominal cramping, bloody diarrhoea, fever and vomiting.

Most people recover within ten days of the onset of symptoms. People suffering from STEC infection should stay hydrated and seek medical care if symptoms are serious or don’t resolve.

E. coli normally lives in our bodies without causing harm. But some strains can make us sick.
Ezume Images/Shutterstock

How common is it?

One estimate suggests at least 2.8 million STEC infections occur globally every year.

In general STEC infections in Australia are very rare with less than four people per million affected annually.

The diagnosis of STEC infection is made by testing a sample of a person’s stool for the presence of the bacterium.

Children under five, adults aged over 65 and people with weakened immune systems are at an increased risk of STEC infection and of getting very sick with it.

Why are bagged salads often a culprit?

The current recalls are not the first time bagged salads have been subject to food safety issues in Australia or elsewhere. These products can be vulnerable to bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella.

Contamination in bagged salads can occur at various stages, from farm to table. It can begin early during growing when leafy greens can be exposed to bacteria from contaminated water, soil or manure.

During harvesting, handling and processing, cross-contamination can happen if the equipment or surfaces are not properly disinfected. Finally, packaging can contribute to contamination if it comes into contact with contaminated surfaces or hands.

The current outbreak

Health authorities sometimes test for the presence of food-borne bacteria by culturing bacteria from packaged foods in the lab as part of a proactive public health surveillance program.

If they identify the presence of concerning food-borne bacteria they will work with retailers to undertake recalls of that food product as a precaution to protect public health.

To date there have been no cases of illness linked to the current recalls. The presence of STEC doesn’t necessarily mean people will get sick from eating the salad product, but this is an early detection aimed to prevent food-borne illness.

Members of the public have been urged not to consume any of the recalled products, and to throw them away or return them to where they bought them for a refund. Anyone who has consumed the products and has health concerns should seek medical advice.

E. coli infection can cause a range of gastrointestinal symptoms.
PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock

Washed and ready to eat?

Many bagged salad products come with a selling point along the lines of “washed and ready to eat”. Given the current recalls, you might ask whether it really is safe to eat pre-packaged salads without giving the leaves a wash yourself.

Unfortunately, research shows using tap water to wash bagged leafy salads isn’t effective in removing bacteria. But washing your raw vegetables is still helpful in getting rid of any clinging dirt that may contain clumps of bacteria.

Fortunately the risk of getting sick from eating bagged lettuce is generally very low. It’s also important to wash your hands before handling food, check the expiry dates of bagged salads and pay attention to health alerts.

Vincent Ho 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. Why have supermarkets around Australia recalled bagged salad products? A gastroenterologist explains – https://theconversation.com/why-have-supermarkets-around-australia-recalled-bagged-salad-products-a-gastroenterologist-explains-253427

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

March 31, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: How should police officers use force? The Kristian White case is an insight into what the community thinks

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Ryan, Lecturer in Criminology, Deakin University

When a jury in the New South Wales Supreme Court found Kristian White guilty of manslaughter, it was the first verdict of its kind in recent Australian history.

The verdict is significant because it offered a rare opportunity for the community to have a prominent say in what should and shouldn’t be regarded as reasonable use of force by police.

The sentence of a two-year community-based order means White won’t spend any time behind bars – a judgement that surprised some legal scholars.

Clare Nowland, aged 95, died after she was tasered by White, a police officer, in a nursing home in 2023. Nowland had approached White in distress while holding a steak knife. She fell after being tasered and died a week later in hospital.

In finding White guilty, the jury drew an important line in the sand around the appropriate use of tasers, and use of force more generally, by police in Australia.

It follows an emerging international trend, suggesting community expectations around police use of force are shifting. Recent convictions of Derek Chauvin in the United States and Benjamin Monk in the United Kingdom demonstrate this.

We don’t know much about what the public thinks about this issue. While this case is highly specific, it’s the first major window into what everyday people think police should and shouldn’t be able to do in the line of duty.

Excessive force: what are the rules?

Excessive use of force by police is notoriously difficult to define.

“Situational use of force” models, such as that used in the NSW Police, offer little insight, for officers or juries, about what level of force is appropriate for what level of resistance.

Officers in NSW are reminded that “the decision to apply force, including use of a Taser, is an individual one for which every officer will be held accountable”.

In this model, any officer who carries an array of weapons (as White did on that fateful evening) must be an expert in how to use those weapons proportionately to the threat they face.

But what tangible guidance do they have about what constitutes excessive force? Given persistent concerns among police scholars about deficiencies in training and other policy documents, it can be hard to discern what is reasonable or excessive force legally.

Every critical incident carries specific and different dynamics, and officers cannot realistically be trained for every possible scenario. Much depends on their individual decision-making.

So can we reach a definition?

How then can we find a universal way to recognise “excessive force”?

One of the better definitions of such force comes from North American police ethics scholar Carl Klockars, who suggested in 1996 excessive force was “any force that a police officer of the highest skill might find a way to avoid”.

This definition encourages us to think (and talk) more about what a police officer of the highest skill looks like. This is important in an era when ideas about what police can and should do are strongly shaped by Hollywood fantasies.

In the tragic set of circumstances that unfolded in the Cooma aged care home, we can ask ourselves: what might an officer of the highest skill have done?

Notably, a recently retired senior officer answered this question in the media the day after the events unfolded. He said “they could have thrown a blanket over her”.

Evidently, the jury agreed there were other options available that didn’t involve the use of a taser.

Modern policing must reckon with what a highly skilled officer looks like, especially as the profession adopts so-called “less lethal” force technologies such as tasers. What characteristics do we really want in a police officer’s “skills armoury”? Do we want a good aim, a strong physical presence, high levels of empathy or perhaps ethical decision-making? What should be prioritised?

The Nowland case has asked these questions. The jury’s verdict set the stage for a sentence that established a higher standard for policing vulnerable people, which made it surprising that a non-custodial sentence was ultimately imposed.

What does the public think?

The sentencing outcome will spur more debate and has disappointed Nowland’s family.

Justice Ian Harrison found there were mitigating factors, such as White’s claim he felt “justified” in his actions. As a police officer, this likely carried significant weight to reduce moral culpability and the need for “punishment”.

Justice Harrison also found White’s actions fell at the lower end of objective seriousness for manslaughter.

But what about ensuring the sentence reflects community ideals about policing standards, as reflected in the guilty verdict?

Many may now wonder whether there is any kind of police misuse of a taser that could be deemed worthy of the ultimate penalty of imprisonment.

But the case nevertheless remains a watershed moment. It provides an insight into what the public expects of police, and how strongly courts choose to reinforce those expectations.

Emma Ryan 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. How should police officers use force? The Kristian White case is an insight into what the community thinks – https://theconversation.com/how-should-police-officers-use-force-the-kristian-white-case-is-an-insight-into-what-the-community-thinks-245151

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Mini robot to explore world’s deepest sea trench

Source: China State Council Information Office 2

A team of Chinese scientists has developed a miniature 2.7-kilogram deep-sea robot to explore the deepest natural frontier on Earth — the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, according to a study published in the journal Science Robotics in March.
The researchers from Beihang University, formerly known as the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, have further consolidated China’s position as one of the few nations able to explore the deepest depths of the oceans.
Headed by Professor Wen Li, researchers from the university’s School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation started working on the robot’s design in 2019 and completed its construction in 2021. So far, the team has collaborated with peers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering and Zhejiang University to use the 50-centimeter-long machine for deep-sea exploration.
Zuo Zonghao, a doctoral student at the school and a member of Wen’s team, said that the overall goal of the project was to build a robot to demonstrate new actuator technologies and to verify a new configuration of deep-sea probes.
“The core part of our robot is a centimeter-scale deep-sea soft actuator that weighs 16 grams. It incorporates bistable chiral metamaterials and tube-sealed shape-memory alloys,” he said.
These actuators and materials mean that the robot is able to move its fins, flex and swim, as well as glide and crawl on the surface of the seafloor.
The robot has already been used by two of China’s most advanced crewed submersibles — Shenhai Yongshi, or Deep-sea Warrior, and Fendouzhe, or Striver, and has carried out 14 seabed trips to assess its capabilities and performance.
“Under the sea, it is powered by a special lithium battery and is released and retrieved by the submersibles’ robotic arms. During each operation, it worked for more than 20 minutes,” Zuo said.
“During one of the operations that took place in 2021, it was released by Fendouzhe onto the seafloor of the Mariana Trench, reaching a depth of 10,666 meters.”
During the next phase, researchers will mount buoyancy and scientific devices such as special cameras and sensors on the robot, and they plan to build a larger prototype, he said.
Such robots can be used in marine resource development, archaeological excavation and environmental monitoring in the future, Zuo added.

MIL OSI China News –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: NITI Aayog organises National Workshop on “Internationalisation of Higher Education in India: Challenges, Best Practices, and Policy Interventions” at IIT Madras, Chennai on March 29, 2025

Source: Government of India

Posted On: 30 MAR 2025 7:16PM by PIB Delhi

A one-day National Workshop on ‘Internationalisation of Higher Education in India’, was organised by the Education Division of NITI Aayog, as a part of the NITI–State workshop series, an initiative under the State Support Mission, and in collaboration with its knowledge partners, IIT Madras, Association of Indian Universities (AIU), and Acumen at the IIT Madras campus in Chennai on Saturday, 29^th March 2025.

The workshop brought together officers from the Centre, State and UT Governments, Institutions of National Importance, Central Universities, State Public Universities, Private Universities, Deemed Universities, International Universities, and representatives from several countries to deliberate on challenges, best practices and policy interventions for implementing internationalisation initiatives in Indian higher education at the systemic and institutional levels as envisioned in the National Education Policy 2020.

Dr. Vinod Kumar Paul, Hon’ble Member (Education), NITI Aayog delivered the Keynote Address and the Concluding Address and chaired the entire workshop’s proceedings. Prof. Kamakoti Veezhinathan, Director, IIT Madras, delivered the Inaugural Address. Dr. Sonia Pant, Programme Director (Education), NITI Aayog welcomed the 140-strong audience. Prof. Raghunathan Rengaswamy, Dean – Global Engagement, IIT Madras, Dr. (Mrs.) Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General, Association of Indian Universities, and Shri Adrian Mutton, Executive Chairman, Acumen addressed the gathering on behalf of the knowledge partners’ consortium.

The workshop featured 40 speakers across 4 technical sessions on: (i) Internationalisation of Higher Education in India (in retrospect and future prospects), (ii) Academic Mobility for Learning and Research, (iii) Internationalisation of Curricula & Programmes, and (iv) Expanding Global Presence of Indian universities through Offshore Campuses and beyond. Special case studies on successes of Indian and international universities were presented including Indian universities setting up overseas campuses and international universities establishing campuses in India including at the GIFT City. Several country case studies including those of Australia, France, New Zealand, UK, USA, among others were also presented at the workshop.

As discussions proceeded, participants emphasized actionable strategies such as enhancing infrastructure, streamlining regulations, and promoting India as a destination for academic collaboration, research, and learning on a global scale.

This workshop marked a significant milestone in India’s journey towards internationalisation of higher education. The insights generated will feed into the ongoing NITI policy research study that aims to position Indian higher education institutions at the forefront of global academic excellence, ensuring India-centric internationalisation, and creating world class and world ready talent to enable India to play an influential role as a knowledge economy and achieve its vision of becoming a Viksit Bharat by 2047.

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

March 31, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: NFRA and IIT Kanpur jointly organize a Hackathon on Large Language Models (LLM) and Generative AI

Source: Government of India

NFRA and IIT Kanpur jointly organize a Hackathon on Large Language Models (LLM) and Generative AI

Generative AI’s potential to revolutionize financial statement analysis showcased

Posted On: 30 MAR 2025 4:54PM by PIB Delhi

NFRA and IIT Kanpur jointly organized a Hackathon to encourage students to build cutting-edge solutions using Large Language Models (LLM) and Generative AI. The objective was to demonstrate democratizing complex financial statements so that financial information is more readable and understandable. The challenge given was to transform financial data into clear, engaging stories to enable well informed decisions. The hackathon tried to address the challenge, leveraging GenAI. Teams attempted transformative solutions to simplify financial statements and unlock deeper insights.

Students from various engineering colleges in India participated in hackathon held at IIT Kanpur from 28th and 29th March 2025.

The hackathon enabled the interaction of academia, students and the regulator joining hands to address common challenges. The solutions were discussed and students were guided how to carry their innovative ideas further forward.

The presentations made by the teams at the hackathon showed that GenAI has the potential to revolutionize financial statement analysis by simplifying complex financial concepts, automating data extraction, and generating insightful narratives. As technology continues to evolve, stakeholders can expect to see increased adoption in financial reporting leading to more efficient, accurate, and informed financial decision-making.

Teams from VIT Vellore, MNNIT Allahabad, IIT Lucknow and Rajiv Gandhi University Of Knowledge Technologies, Nuzvid emerged winners in the competitions. The Hackathon was judged by a combined team of experts from IIT Kanpur and NFRA.

It is also noteworthy that many of the winning teams choose to offer their innovations to the open-source community so that more improvements and value additions can happen and these solutions can be further developed and used by anyone interested. NFRA looks forward to further such opportunities to engage with the student community.

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

March 31, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: In Ancient Greece and Rome, who were the harpies, and why did they stink so much?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kitty Smith, PhD Candidate in Classical Greek and Roman History, University of Sydney

Krikkiat / Shutterstock.com

Once yelled at women seen to be pestering or annoying – or at feminists questioning and threatening the status quo – “harpy” has long been used as a derogatory term targeting women.

But have you ever wondered what a harpy was in the first place?

Much like similar derogatory titles “siren” and “fury”, the term “harpy” is derived from a group of monstrous female figures from ancient Greek and Roman mythology.

This picture depicts the harpies being driven from the table of King Phineus, a story told in the Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes, in which Jason and the Argonauts search for the golden fleece.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Rogers Fund, 1967

Who were the harpies?

In Greek and Roman myth, the harpies were a group of animal-human hybrid monsters on par with other such mythological creatures like the sirens, the sphinx, and the centaurs.

Harpies were commonly imagined as an amalgam of a bird’s body, such as wings and claws, with a woman’s head.

The ancient story of the Aeneid, by Latin poet Virgil, describes the story’s hero Aeneas encountering harpies on his quest to found Rome, saying:

Maiden faces have these birds, foulest filth they drop, clawed hands are theirs, and faces ever gaunt with hunger.

This description matches a common design from Greek and Roman art of birds with women’s heads.

In Greco-Roman myth, the harpies were typically tasked with meting out justice on behalf of Zeus and other gods by using their great speed from their wings and sharp talons.

The importance of their claws was likely a result of their name, which was derived from the Ancient Greek word for “snatching” (ἁρπάζω or harpazdo).

As was common of many mythological figures with hybrid features, the way their animal features were portrayed tended to vary across different media (art or literature), different narrative purposes, and over time.

Sometimes the claws were emphasised; other times it was their supernaturally swift wings and voracious hunger.

Harpies were also a common motif in many parts of the Muslim world. This roughly 12th Century statue is from modern-day Iran.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Cora Timken Burnett Collection of Persian Miniatures and Other Persian Art Objects, Bequest of Cora Timken Burnett, 1956

Enforcers of swift justice

The harpies were not nice people. They existed in myth to dish out punishments from the gods.

Their primary target? Phineus, a seer and king of Salmydessus in Thrace, a city believed to have been located on the Western coast of the Black Sea near the modern day Turkish town of Kıyıköy.

His story is told in the Argonautica by ancient Greek author Apollonius of Rhodes. This tale centres on the journey of Jason and the Argonauts in search of the golden fleece.

In the story, Phineus is said to have abused his powers as a seer by sharing too many of the gods’ secrets with mortals.

This was among the most egregious of crimes in the eyes of the gods, so an especially awful punishment was decided upon.

Phineus was blinded and given the dubious gift of immortality while still allowed to age endlessly. And worst of all, he was set upon by the harpies.

Every time Phineus picked up and tried to eat food, the harpies would burst out from the clouds, moving as fast as lightning, and

with their crooked beaks incessantly snatched the food away from his mouth and hands.

The harpies brought a further gift for Phineus: their smell. This supernaturally “intolerable stench” could putrefy food, so any scraps the harpies didn’t grab were left rotting on the table. You couldn’t even stand near it, “so foully reeked the remnants of the meal”.

And while the harpies swooped in and out in seconds, their smell stuck to the rotting food (and probably poor Phineus).

Some ancient poets add a little extra zest and disgust by also suggesting the harpies may have been defecating on the food, and presumably Phineus.

Most notable is Virgil in his text the Aeneid who wrote about “foedissima ventris proluvies”, meaning:

the foulest discharges from their bellies.

This was likely an exaggeration of their bird-like qualities, used to emphasise how disgusting and monstrous they were.

Phineus was eventually given a reprieve from the harpies, by order of Zeus, so he could help the hero Jason on his quest for the golden fleece.

Having completed their job, the harpies then flew to Crete to live in a cave far away from annoying mortals – only being disturbed once by Aeneas on his meandering path to Rome.

The story of Phineus helped harpies become a metaphor for greed.

Those compared to harpies could include greedy house-guests overstaying their welcome, people living extravagantly or frivolously, or even family members taking advantage of wealthy relatives.

Although the harpies were female monsters, the term was not exclusively applied to women, but used to describe groups of greedy people.

Harpies were often associated with greed. In this Renaissance painting, part of a series depicting the Seven Deadly Sins, a harpy-drawn chariot is being used by Gluttony (who has wings, carries a jug and and wears wine leaves in her hair).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Frederic R. Coudert Jr., in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh A. Murray, 1957.

Harpies today

Happily, today the title of “harpy” is falling out of favour as a derogatory term. But the hordes of monstrous, snatching, winged women live on in modern books, games, comics, movies and TV shows.

From video games with swathes of harpy-like creatures snatching and clawing at the protagonist, like the 2020 video game Hades, to characters in stories inspired by Greek and Roman myth, the harpies are sticking around – like a bad smell.

Kitty Smith is a member of the Australian Society for Classical Studies.

– ref. In Ancient Greece and Rome, who were the harpies, and why did they stink so much? – https://theconversation.com/in-ancient-greece-and-rome-who-were-the-harpies-and-why-did-they-stink-so-much-249722

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

March 31, 2025