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Category: Universities

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: National Centre for Good Governance held 2nd Webinar on Public Policy and Good Governance in Collaboration with IIT Kanpur

    Source: Government of India (2)

    National Centre for Good Governance held 2nd Webinar on Public Policy and Good Governance in Collaboration with IIT Kanpur

    Professors from IIT Kanpur delivered insights on Challenges in Public Policy & Scope of Digitization in Networking

    Posted On: 25 OCT 2024 7:06PM by PIB Delhi

    NCGG concluded its 2nd Webinar of webinar series on Public Policy and Good Governance in collaboration with IIT Kanpur on 24th October 2024. The webinar was chaired by Shri V. Srinivas, Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) & Director General, National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG).

    There were two esteemed speakers for the webinars. The first speaker for the webinar was Dr. Ajay Kumar, former Defence Secretary, Government of India & Distinguished Visiting Professor at IIT Kanpur and the second speaker for the webinar was Prof. Vimal Kumar, Head, Dept of Economic Sciences, IIT Kanpur.

    Dr. Ajay Kumar delivered lecture on Challenges in Public Policy highlighting the role of govt of India in Policy making and how over the time it has changed its approach in policy making. His lecture further highlighted that changes in public policies should be calibrated in phases, the impact of digitization in mitigating the challenges faced while making new policies by highlighting the digitization of land records. He also highlighted on using data in decision making. He emphasized that difference in approach to policy as per the bureaucrats and politicians. For instance, the politicians are election foreseeing and bureaucrats as the risk averse. The process of policy making should involve diverse stakeholders. While discussing the challenges in public policy he also suggested the solutions such as incentivizing the progressive policies.

    The second speaker for the webinar was Prof. Vimal Kumar, Head of Economic Sciences, IIT Kanpur delivered his lecture on Platform Business Model & their regulation in Digital Economy. He started his lecture by discussing a quick history of Business in India from artisans producing single product to mass production.  His lecture also suggested the importance of network and platform creation for any successful business model. He emphasized on diverse usage of various business platforms including payment networks, social media, traditional media such as newspaper, e-commerce platforms like Amazon & Flipkart, Apple’s App store and others. He also highlighted network on a platform within the group and cross-group wherein he explained attraction loop and attraction spill over. He concluded his lecture with the importance of digital platform using the comparison between BMW and Uber as case studies.

    The webinar was concluded by the vote of thanks given by Dr. Himanshi Rastogi, Associate Professor, NCGG. Dr. Rastogi, expressed her heartfelt thanks to all participants, from Institutes of National Importance and Central Universities. She also thanked Shri V. Srinivas, Secretary, DARPG & Director General, NCGG for chairing the webinar.

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    NKR/AG/KS

    (Release ID: 2068201) Visitor Counter : 83

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: India and Germany Sign Joint Declaration to Boost R&D in Advanced Materials

    Source: Government of India (2)

    India and Germany Sign Joint Declaration to Boost R&D in Advanced Materials

    Exchange MoUs in presence of PM Shri Narendra Modi and Chancellor Sholz: Intent of research in advance materials:

    Dr. Jitendra Singh Leads Bilateral Talks with German counterpart Bettina Stark-Watzinger: Commitment to seek mutual dividends

    Posted On: 25 OCT 2024 6:59PM by PIB Delhi

    In a significant step to advance Indo-German cooperation in science and technology, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh and German Federal Minister Ms. Bettina Stark-Watzinger exchanged a Joint Declaration of Intent for cooperation in research and development on advanced materials with commitment to seek mutual dividends.

    The exchange, held in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, underscores both nations’ commitment to fostering cutting-edge research that will drive innovation and address global challenges.

     

     

    The bilateral talks between Dr. Jitendra Singh and Ms. Stark-Watzinger, which took place prior to the Plenary between two Heads of State, were a pivotal part of the Golden Jubilee celebration of Indo-German science and technology collaboration.

    During the meeting, Dr. Jitendra Singh expressed gratitude to Ms. Stark-Watzinger for her consistent support in strengthening the Indo-German partnership. He highlighted recent collaborative successes, such as the launch of 2+2 joint projects in areas like “Waste to Wealth” and sustainable packaging, as well as a new call for proposals in AI for Sustainability.

    These initiatives, along with the Joint Declaration of Intent, will be presented as key outcomes at the upcoming Indo-German Inter-Governmental Consultations led by the Prime Minister of India and the German Chancellor, said the Minister.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh also lauded the Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC) for its instrumental role in promoting joint research, having supported over 50 projects and connected young researchers from both nations. Discussions included the recent establishment of the International Research Training Group (IRTG) between IISER Trivandrum and Würzburg University, focusing on photoluminescence in supramolecular matrices, a testament to the advanced, collaborative research being fostered between the two countries.

    Additionally, Dr. Jitendra Singh reaffirmed India’s commitment to long-term international projects such as the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) in Darmstadt, where Indian scientists play a key role in advanced materials and particle physics research.

    The bilateral discussions also highlighted national initiatives such as India’s Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) and the National Quantum Mission, both aimed at scaling up R&D across priority areas including electric mobility, sustainable agriculture, and advanced materials.

     

     

    The two Ministers also discussed potential collaboration in hydrogen energy, with Dr. Jitendra Singh noting that India’s National Hydrogen Mission could offer promising joint opportunities in R&D, production, and sustainable energy storage.

    As the meeting concluded, Dr. Jitendra Singh and Ms. Stark-Watzinger affirmed their commitment to aligning innovation and research efforts across areas such as biotechnology, environmental technology, and healthcare. Both leaders emphasized the importance of fostering academic exchange and talent development, ensuring that the Indo-German partnership continues to drive innovative solutions for a sustainable and resilient global future.

     

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    NKR/AG/KS

    (Release ID: 2068197) Visitor Counter : 36

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Structured Use of Charity to Influence Faith of the Beneficiary Has Serious Consequences in a Democracy, says Vice-President

    Source: Government of India (2)

    The Vice-President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, today said that structured use of charity to influence faith of the beneficiary has serious consequences in a democracy. He remarked that assistance to the needy, marginalized, and vulnerable should be without any strings attached.

    Reflecting on India’s civilizational ethos, he stated, Charity, assistance, or such handholding needs to be with no strings attached. Our civilizational ethos tells us, never speak of charity. Charity is never to be claimed. You do it, and you forget about it.

    Addressing students at Adichunchanagiri University in B.G. Nagara, Mandya, Karnataka, today he emphasized that Charity putting freedom of faith in captivity is a cause of concern, he remarked. When you influence the faith of the needy, the marginalized, the vulnerable, things become really very critical, he added, warning that such actions could have serious consequences on the spirit of nationalism and constitutional values.

    The Vice-President emphasized that Bharat as a nation can give guidance to everyone and anyone on the planet on what is inclusivity. Surely, we don’t need lessons in something we have lived through for more than 5,000 years, he remarked. This philosophy alone is sustainable and makes for global peace and harmony, but some people have a different concept of inclusivity that is destructive of a sense of inclusivity. We have to be extremely cautious and careful.

    Shri Dhankhar said that with 26 Shakha Maths across the world and over 500 educational institutions under the Sri Adichunchanagiri Shikshana Trust—including schools for the Blind, Deaf, and Dumb—this institution’s service to the marginalized is exemplary. Indeed, a befitting response to critics of Sanatan Dharma.

    The Vice-President highlighted the role of religious institutions during crisis saying, in the societal sector, the footprint of religious institutions in times of natural calamities and other similar challenges complements governmental efforts. I need not make any other reference. It was demonstrated in full exemplification during COVID. And both the government and such organizations acted hand in hand for the betterment of the people.

    Shri Dhankhar said, One thing I need to tell you is your opportunity basket is increasing day by day. I expect you to get out of the silos. Some of you think the only way out is a government service. No. Look around, and you’ll find opportunities as India rises on sea, land, in the sky, and in space.

    The Vice-president cautioned the youth saying there are elements in the country who engage extensively in the dissemination of misinformation, disinformation. This dissemination is very injurious to national health. You as young people have to neutralize these tendencies that do not augur well for our nationalism.

    Praising the leadership of the Adichunchanagiri Math, the Vice-President said, it was indeed a far-sighted visionary step to have an institution nestled in the verdant landscapes of foothills, an ideal Aranyak for modern-day learners, philosophers, and seekers, a perfect setting for optimal exploitation of human resource, talent, energy, and for chosen pursuits.

    Shri H.D. Devegowda, Former Prime Minister of India; His Holiness Jagadguru Sri Sri Sri Dr. Nirmalanandanatha Mahaswamiji; HH Jagadguru Swami Parmatmananda Saraswati Ji, Dr. M.A. Shekhar, Vice Chancellor of Adichunchanagiri University, and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

    Read full text here : https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2068185

     

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CHANAKYA DEFENCE DIALOGUE 2024 CULMINATES AT NEW DELHI

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 25 OCT 2024 6:38PM by PIB Delhi

    The second edition of the Indian Army’s flagship international seminar, the Chanakya Defence Dialogue, culminated on 25th October at the Manekshaw Centre in Delhi. This two-day event brought together policymakers, strategic thinkers, academia, defence personnel, veterans, scientists, and subject matter experts from India and abroad to examine India’s strategic directions and developmental priorities.

    The Chanakya Defence Dialogue 2024, themed “Drivers in Nation Building: Fueling Growth Through Comprehensive Security,” sparked essential discussions on the integration of security dynamics within the broader context of national and international policymaking. Prominent speakers from India, the United States, Russia, Israel, and Sri Lanka, offered a global perspective on how security influences our nation’s developmental trajectory toward Viksit Bharat @2047. The dialogue aimed not only to analyse the current landscape but also to formulate visionary strategies for sustainable and inclusive growth.

    On the second day, the dialogue featured two special addresses. Dr S Somanath, Chairman of ISRO, emphasised on the pivotal role India’s space sector plays in strengthening national security. The ISRO Chief discussed the significance of space in modern times, especially given the growing congestion and competition within the realm of satellite communication, navigation, space science, and earth observation. He noted that space has become a crowded and contested field, with natural, accidental, and intentional hazards like jamming, anti-satellite (ASAT) threats, manoeuvering vehicles, and directed energy weapons creating complex operational risks. Addressing these issues, ISRO is focusing on Space Situational Awareness (SSA), a comprehensive approach involving observation, analysis, and mitigation, to ensure the safety of its assets and national interests in space.

    He highlighted advancements in satellite technology, space-based surveillance, and communication systems critical for enhancing the country’s defence capabilities and growth in the sector.

    Furthermore, the ISRO Chief discussed the importance of enhancing observation capabilities, underscoring the need for satellites with low revisit times and high refresh rates for military use. Privatisation and the launch of additional satellites were also identified as crucial to strengthening India’s strategic posture in space. He also emphasised the growing use of indigenous components in India’s space sector, with rockets now comprising 95% and satellites 60% domestically sourced materials. This shift is supported by stringent mechanisms for thoroughly inspecting any foreign-imported components, ensuring quality and security in all equipment. These advancements mark a substantial step toward achieving ‘Atmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) in the space domain. As ISRO advances its SSA initiatives and satellite deployment, it is committed to bolstering both national and global space security through innovation and collaboration, ensuring preparedness against emerging space challenges.

    The second special address by Ms Ruchira Kamboj, Former Permanent Representative of India to the UN, was on India’s evolving and influential role in shaping today’s multilateral world. The lecture covered six important themes: India’s historical role as a UN founding member; its tenure on the UN Security Council under the 5S framework articulated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi; a strong anti-terrorism stance; significant contributions to UN peacekeeping; the call for essential reforms in the UNSC; and India’s soft power stance , which supports the Global South through initiatives like yoga, climate-resilient crops, and a commitment to peace and multilateralism. She highlighted nation’s consistent advocacy for reforming global governance structures to make them more representative and equitable. She also underlined India’s leadership in addressing pressing global challenges such as climate change, sustainable development, and global health crises, while also championing the rights of developing nations. She stressed upon the importance of safeguarding India’s strategic interests by leveraging its diplomatic clout, actively participating in peacekeeping operations, and fostering global partnerships. Additionally, she pointed to India’s push for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, showcasing its growing stature as a responsible and constructive global actor, committed to promoting a rules-based international order and ensuring the voices of the Global South are heard in shaping future multilateral frameworks.

     The second day of Chanakya Defence Dialogue 2024 was structured into three sessions, covering key aspects of comprehensive security, with prominent speakers sharing their insights: –

    Session 1: Social Cohesion and Inclusive Growth: Pillars of a Secure Nation. 

    The session was chaired by Shri RR Swain (IPS), Former DGP, Jammu & Kashmir Police, in his Address, he emphasised the vital link between a secure environment and economic growth, investment and social progress. He shed light on separatist politics, noting that false narratives spread by terrorist factions are part of a “well-oiled machine” aimed at destabilising India through a “battle of narratives.”

    Swain highlighted the significant improvements in governance over the past decade, emphasising efforts toward equality and fairness across communities without discrimination. Yet, he acknowledged ongoing challenges, particularly in promoting social growth, countering substance abuse, and dispelling terrorist propaganda that suggests nothing positive can come from the region. These remain critical areas of focus to ensure sustained peace and progress in Jammu and Kashmir.

     This session delved into internal security, legal frameworks, and the importance of societal unity. Panelists Dr. Sudhanshu Trivedi (MP), Ms. Meenakshi Lekhi (Former MP and lawyer), and Gen. V K Singh (Retd) discussed how India can strengthen its security structures through enhanced social unity, equitable economic development, and fostering institutional trust. Dr. Trivedi highlighted the role of a cohesive society, emphasising that India’s nationalistic spirit bolsters resilience in its armed forces and strengthens individual resolve. He cited the Kargil War as an example of India’s unified approach, in contrast to other nations, and underscored the Agnipath scheme’s role in fostering cohesion. Ms. Lekhi spoke to the role of law enforcement and justice as pillars of stability, noting challenges like political interference, resource limitations, and the need for technology enhancements. Advocating for accountability, equality, and community engagement, she reinforced India’s zero-tolerance approach to terrorism, describing state-sponsored activities like the Khalistan movement as serious threats. Gen. V K Singh emphasised the need for synergy across security agencies to prevent fragmented efforts, proposing a framework for convergence that includes timely intelligence integration, resource coordination, and capability building. He highlighted the need for control over false narratives on social media and deliberated upon the internal security as every citizen’s responsibility.

    The panel collectively underscored that India’s security requires a robust integration across social, legal, and defense domains, each reinforcing the other to strengthen India against internal and external threats. The panel also proposed evidence-based policies for equitable resource distribution and inclusive economic growth, addressing disparities and reinforcing national unity. Best practices for reforming law enforcement and judicial systems were discussed, including community-engaged policing, judicial impartiality, and anti-corruption measures to boost public trust. Strategies for cultivating a shared national identity, enhancing social cohesion through inclusive education, and balancing security with social development were also explored. Finally, the session addressed ways to tackle insurgency and terrorism through socio-economic and political reforms, improve intelligence sharing, and enhance coordination between security agencies.

    Session 2: Blurring Frontiers: The Convergence of Technology & Security. 

    Chaired by Lt Gen Raj Shukla (Retd), this session explored the intersection of technology and security. Panelists Dr. Chintan Vaishnav (NITI Aayog), Brig Gen Eran Ortal (SIGNAL Group, Israel), and Mr. Dmitry Stefanovich (IMEMO, Russia) discussed emerging technologies—such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, IoT, and blockchain—and their role in enhancing security through better threat detection, operational efficiency, and data integrity, while also addressing the new vulnerabilities and ethical challenges they bring. The panel provided evidence-based policy recommendations to strengthen cyber resilience, protect critical infrastructure, and tackle emerging technological threats. They also examined how to balance technological innovation with strong security measures, and proposed ethical guidelines for AI in security applications, ensuring alignment with societal values and privacy concerns.

    Session 3: Groundbreakers: Shaping Land Warfare, Reflections for the Indian Army.

    The final session, Chaired by Vice Admiral A B Singh (Retd), examined the Indian Army’s integration of advanced technologies to enhance battlefield readiness. Panelists Dr. Konstantin Bogdanov (IMEMO, Russia), Prof. Amit Gupta (University of Illinois, US), and Dr. Patrick Bratton (US Army War College) discussed how emerging technologies – such as artificial intelligence, unmanned systems, cyber warfare tools, and autonomous weapons – can strengthen the Indian Army’s capabilities by improving surveillance, precision strikes, and multi-domain operations, while also addressing new vulnerabilities and ethical concerns. The discussion highlighted the dual challenges of rapid technological advancements and evolving security threats, emphasizing the need to balance innovation with strong defense strategies.

    The panel explored ways to integrate these technologies into the Army’s infrastructure, enhance the resilience of critical military assets, and ensure protection against sophisticated threats. The session also stressed the importance of fostering indigenous defense technologies in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, reducing reliance on foreign technologies, and encouraging strategic partnerships between the military, technology experts, and industry leaders to drive innovation and develop responsible solutions for current and future challenges.

    In his closing address, Lt Gen N S Raja Subramani, Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS), highlighted the Indian Army’s dedication to a secure and prosperous Bharat, emphasising on critical themes spanning geopolitics, economics, environmental concerns, space, multilateral issues, technology and the shifting dynamics of land warfare. He emphasised the intrinsic link between economic growth and national security, underscoring the military’s central role in a “Whole of Nation” approach to defence. Strategic partnerships with other nations were noted as essential for deterring larger adversaries, with a balanced blend of hard and soft power deemed crucial – acknowledging that soft power alone cannot secure victory in conflicts. He highlighted the India’s leadership as a voice for the Global South, calling for reliable and resilient supply chains as vital for stability. He also stressed the importance of including local communities in border area development, which not only benefits the armed forces but also promotes regional economic and community growth. With the nature of warfare evolving, he concluded by underscoring the importance of training and technological proficiency as essential tools for addressing modern security challenges.

    The CDD 2024 served as a landmark platform for strategic thinkers, policymakers, and security specialists to forge resilient frameworks for India’s future. Through its diverse discussions, the dialogue fostered collaborative problem-solving and explored solutions that can influence India’s strategic direction on National Security and endeavours towards Viksit Bharat @2047.

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    (Release ID: 2068184) Visitor Counter : 50

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Shri Dharmendra Pradhan visited Macquarie Park Innovation District at Macquarie University, Sydney

    Source: Government of India

    Shri Dharmendra Pradhan visited Macquarie Park Innovation District at Macquarie University, Sydney

    Shri Dharmendra Pradhan interacts with Indian students studying across Australia

    Shri Dharmendra Pradhan visits UTS Moore Park at University of Technology, Sydney

    Research collaboration is the bedrock of collaboration between Australia and India – Shri Dharmendra Pradhan

    Posted On: 25 OCT 2024 5:22PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister for Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, visited the Macquarie Park Innovation District at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. He was received by the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University Prof. S. Bruce Dowton and other officials.

    Shri Pradhan explored how the University supports researchers and entrepreneurs in developing and scaling their ideas. He appreciated the University’s unique approach to collaborating with industry experts and communities to create a holistic learning experience. The Minister also noted that the University has been partnering with Indian educational institutions and industries. He emphasized that strong industry-academia links like these are crucial for driving innovation and preparing students for success.

    Later in the day, Shri Pradhan interacted with Indian students studying across Australia in an event held by the Group of Eight. He noted that they are working on cutting-edge research in robotics, chemicals, astrophysics, superconductivity, AI in manufacturing, healthcare, med-tech, climate change, water management and urban planning. He highlighted that research collaboration is the bedrock of collaboration between Australia and India and said that the insightful interaction has given him several points to ponder and has also convinced him that broader and deeper research collaboration is required between both countries. He appreciated and encouraged all the Indian students in Australia to contribute passionately to the future of Australia and India.

     

    Shri Pradhan visited the campus of University of New South Wales (UNSW). He congratulated UNSW on completing 75 years and noted that Indian students have been in UNSW since its third year of inception. Shri Pradhan also interacted with start-ups incubated by various schools of the UNSW. He explored their products and services and appreciated their spirit and passion for innovation and change. He encouraged the start-ups to tailor their solutions to Indian society and the market. He also interacted with Indian students in UNSW.

    The Minister visited UTS Moore Park, a sporting precinct housed at the University of Technology, Sydney. He noted that this is first-of-its-kind in Australia where university programs in sports are integrated within elite sporting facilities, providing a fertile base for a holistic learning experience in sports management, sports research, and allied health. He also discussed potential partnerships between UTS and Indian higher education institutions to deliver cutting-edge sports management and research programs.

    In a significant move to enhance bilateral cooperation in the education sector, Shri Pradhan is visiting Australia from 22nd to 26th October 2024. The visit is expected to foster collaboration, participation, and synergy in critical areas of mutual interest in education. Earlier this week from 20-21 October, Shri Pradhan visited Singapore and met the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Education Minister and other dignitaries to expand bilateral cooperation in skill-based education and research.

     

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    (Release ID: 2068150) Visitor Counter : 70

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: English Translation of Press Statement by Prime Minister at the Joint Press Conference with Chancellor of Germany

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 25 OCT 2024 4:33PM by PIB Delhi

    Your Excellency, Chancellor Scholz,
    Delegates of both countries,
    Friends from the media,

    Namaskar!

    Guten Tag!

    First of all, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Chancellor Scholz and his delegation to India. I am happy that we have had the opportunity to welcome you to India for the third time in the last two years.

    You can gauge the extent of the strategic partnership between India and Germany from the activities over the last two-three days. This morning, we had the opportunity to address the Asia Pacific Conference for German Business.

    The first IGC of my third term concluded a short while ago. Right now, we have just come from the CEO Forum meeting. At the same time, German naval ships are making port calls in Goa. And the sports world is not far behind—friendly matches are also being played between our hockey teams.

    Friends,

    Our partnership under the leadership of Chancellor Scholz has gained new momentum and direction. I congratulate Chancellor Scholz for Germany’s “Focus on India” strategy, which provides a blueprint to modernize and elevate the partnership between two large democracies in the world in a comprehensive manner.

    Today, our innovation and technology roadmap has been launched. A whole-of-government approach to Critical and Emerging Technologies, Skill Development, and Innovation has also been agreed upon. This will strengthen cooperation in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Semiconductors, and Clean Energy. It will also help in building secure, trusted, and resilient global supply value chains.

    Friends,

    Growing cooperation in the defense and security sectors reflects our deep mutual trust. The agreement on the exchange of classified information is a new step in this direction. The Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty signed today will further bolster our joint efforts to combat terrorism and separatist elements.

    Both countries are constantly working on their shared commitment to green and sustainable growth. Today, taking our Green and Sustainable Development Partnership forward, we have agreed on the second phase of the Green Urban Mobility Partnership. Additionally, the Green Hydrogen Roadmap has also been launched.

    Friends,

    The ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia are a matter of concern for both countries. India has always maintained that war cannot solve any problem at all, and stands ready to make every possible contribution towards the restoration of peace.

    We both agree on ensuring freedom of navigation and adherence to the rule of law in accordance with international laws in the Indo-Pacific region.

    We also agree that the Global Forums created in the twentieth century are not capable of addressing challenges of the twenty-first century. There is a need for reforms in various multilateral institutions, including the UN Security Council.

    India and Germany will continue to actively cooperate in this direction.

    Friends,

    People-to-people connections are an important pillar of our relationship. Today, we have decided to work together in skills development and vocational education. An agreement has also been signed between IIT Chennai and Dresden University, which will allow our students to take advantage of a Dual Degree program.

    India’s young talent is contributing to the progress and prosperity of Germany. We welcome the “Skilled Labour Strategy” released by Germany for India. I am confident that our young talent pool will get better opportunities to contribute to Germany’s development. I congratulate Chancellor Scholz for his faith in the capacity and capability of Indian talent.

    Excellency,

    Your visit to India has given new momentum, energy, and enthusiasm to our partnership. I can confidently say that our partnership has clarity, and the future is bright.

    In German, Alles klar, Alles gut!

    Thank you very much.
    Danke schön.

    DISCLAIMER -This is the approximate translation of Prime Minister’s remarks. Original remarks were delivered

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: VA Secretary Denis McDonough Celebrates the Positive Impact of VA Chaplain Care

    Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)

    Close to 1,000 VA spiritual care providers, called chaplains, serve our nation’s Veterans, their families, caregivers, and VA employees. In this video, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Denis McDonough, pays tribute to VA chaplains—selfless servants who serve all Veterans—those who hold religious or spiritual beliefs and those who do not.

    Secretary McDonough recounts, during one of his first site visits of his tenure, running into one of those VA chaplains at the St. Cloud, Minnesota VA. He didn’t recognize the chaplain at first, but this VA chaplain knew Secretary McDonough from his time as an undergraduate at St. John’s University. The chaplain recounted to the Secretary, “VA’s respect for all Veterans fit his Benedictine heritage and values perfectly. Every Veteran is seen as a person, he said, worthy of the highest level of respect and care because of having said yes to serving our country.

    Whether you are a person of faith or not, this tribute will help you appreciate that VA chaplains uphold the dignity of every person they encounter;
    they care for all
    Veterans with compassion, love, and grace.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iTFk1S_sWs

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Tribal Colleges and Universities Planning for Clean Energy Transition FOA Webinar

    Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)

    The DOE Office of Indian Energy held an informational webinar on October 17, 2024 (3-5:00 p.m. ET) to provide information on the Tribal Colleges and Universities Planning for Clean Energy Transition – 2025 (DE-FOA-0003403) funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to potential applicants.

    In addition to describing the FOA, information was provided on who is eligible to apply, what an application needs to include, cost share and other requirements, how to ask questions, and how applications will be selected for funding.

    Learn more at: https://www.energy.gov/indianenergy/articles/us-department-energy-announces-over-9-million-funding-and-prizes-tribal

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pylhLl-2vc0

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SCHUMER ANNOUNCES $400,000 IN FED FUNDING FOR BINGHAMTON’S KLAW INDUSTRIES

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New York Charles E Schumer
    New EPA $$ Will Help KLAW Develop Tech To Reduce Waste Sent To Landfill With Automated Recycling System To Bolster Operations In The Southern Tier
    Schumer: KLAW Is The Success Story I Had In Mind When Establishing A High-Tech Incubator In Binghamton!
    U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced $400,000 in federal funding for the Binghamton-based KLAW Industries to produce a robotic sorting system to improve recycling facilities in disadvantaged communities. The federal funding comes from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR).
    “KLAW Industries is exactly the kind of innovative company I had in mind when I joined with Binghamton University, New York State and Broome County to establish a high-tech incubator in the City of Binghamton. Today’s announcement of $400,000 in federal funding builds on the success of this innovative, homegrown business,” said Senator Schumer. “From incubator to their growing operation today, KLAW is paving the way to grow the region’s economy and make significant contributions in the material used in the concrete industry.”
    Schumer added, “With these funds, KLAW will be able to advance its glass sorting capabilities by creating a state-of-the-art robotic sorting system to improve both the processes at glass recycling facilities, and the number of facilities they can service. That means more glass material kept out of landfills, more material flowing to their Binghamton facility to help them grow! Once again, the Southern Tier is proving to be a leader, and I am thrilled that these funds are flowing to the Southern Tier.”
    “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the EPA in identifying impactful end uses for our recycled materials. This achievement would not have been possible without the invaluable support of the City of Binghamton and Broome County, who have played a key role in bringing national recognition to the important work happening here,” said Jacob Kumpon, Co-Founder and COO of KLAW Industries. “The EPA SBIR Phase II award will significantly enhance KLAW’s capacity to process recycled materials, marking a critical step in our efforts to divert local waste from landfills. The Koffman Southern Tier Incubator has been instrumental in securing federal support for Binghamton, and we are especially grateful for Senator Schumer’s foresight in making the Koffman a reality”. 
    KLAW Industries is a Binghamton-based company that re-purposes contaminated glass, not suitable for recycling, that would otherwise be sent to a landfill, into a replacement for cement called Pantheon. The inclusion of this patent-pending material into concrete, reduces carbon emissions and the amount of waste sent to landfills. KLAW received an initial Phase I award of $100,000 earlier this year for “proof of concept” for their technology and was invited to apply for Phase II funding of $400,000 to further develop and commercialize the technology. The second phase of federal funding that Schumer announced today will help KLAW expand their operations on Griswold Street to develop technology that will create an autonomous robotic sorting system for recycling facilities. This will help KLAW find contaminated glass to make Pantheon and create more efficient recycling sorting methods in disadvantaged communities in Binghamton and beyond.
    After bringing federal officials to Binghamton to discuss plans with project leaders in 2013, Schumer helped secured $2 million in federal funding for the Koffman Southern Tier incubator in downtown Binghamton, which KLAW Industries is part of. With Schumer’s help, the incubator has grown to support hundreds of jobs and become a magnet for entrepreneurs from around the region, state, and country.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom urges accelerated action on new gas blend to lower prices

    Source: US State of California 2

    Oct 25, 2024

    What you need to know: Governor Newsom urged CARB to more quickly study the implementation of increased ethanol blending in gasoline, which could help to lower prices by up to $0.20 per gallon and save Californians as much as $2.7 billion every year — with little to no impact on the environment. 

    SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a directive to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to expedite measures that could lead to lower gas prices without compromising environmental protections.

    Building on legislation passed in 2023 and 2024 to prevent price spikes and increase transparency in the oil industry, the Governor’s order directs CARB to accelerate studying how California could increase ethanol blending in gasoline (E15), which studies have shown could reduce prices while maintaining environmental protections.

    “There’s massive potential for this to be a win-win for Californians: lowering gas prices by up to twenty cents per gallon while keeping our air clean. It builds on our efforts to keep gas prices low by holding Big Oil accountable and helping prevent price spikes at the pump.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    How it works

    According to a study conducted by the University of California, Berkeley and the United States Naval Academy, this could lower gas prices by up to $0.20 per gallon and save Californians as much as $2.7 billion annually, but also would require strategic considerations regarding market structure and infrastructure modifications.

    E15 fuel, which contains 15% ethanol, has been widely adopted in other states and could significantly reduce prices without adding environmental harm. As of 2023, E15 was sold at more than 3,000 stations in 31 states.

    Another study from the University of California, Riverside found that increasing ethanol blending in gasoline would not affect NOx emissions and would reduce particulate emissions.

    Keeping gas prices low & holding Big Oil accountable

    Last week, Governor Newsom signed legislation that allows the state to require oil refiners to maintain a minimum inventory of fuel to avoid supply shortages that create higher gasoline prices for consumers and higher profits for the industry. It also authorizes the California Energy Commission to require refiners to plan for resupply during refiner maintenance outages. It will help prevent price spikes that cost Californians upwards of $2 billion last year.

    Following gasoline price spikes in 2022, Governor Newsom called for a special session and worked in partnership with the Legislature to sign into law a package of reforms holding Big Oil accountable. 

    California’s new watchdog found that higher gasoline prices were caused by a suspicious market transaction, refinery maintenance without properly preparing for it, and more. 

    In January of this year, the watchdog sent Governor Newsom and the legislature a letter outlining specific proposals to reform California’s gasoline spot market, which included a minimum inventory requirement to prevent price spikes due to lack of stable supply.

    The state’s gasoline price watchdog also found that, in 2023, gasoline prices spiked largely due to refineries going offline without adequately planning to backfill supplies, which caused refining margins to spike as spot and retail prices jumped — indicating that refinery margins made up the largest proportion of the price spikes between July and September 2023.

    Recent news

    Oct 25, 2024

    News What you need to know: Over the course of just the last week, California has invested more than $5 billion in local and state infrastructure projects – improving the daily lives of millions of Californians. SACRAMENTO – Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announced more…

    Oct 24, 2024

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Sarah Soto-Taylor, of Sacramento, has been appointed Undersecretary of the Government Operations Agency, where she has been Deputy Secretary for Business Transformation and Strategic…

    Oct 23, 2024

    News What you need to know: State and federal partners today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to boost cooperation on multi-benefit water projects in the Sacramento River Basin.  SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today highlighted a new agreement between…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: South Korea bone graft and substitutes market to grow at 4% CAGR through 2033, forecasts GlobalData

    Source: GlobalData

    South Korea bone graft and substitutes market to grow at 4% CAGR through 2033, forecasts GlobalData

    Posted in Medical Devices

    The increasing prevalence of orthopaedic conditions such as osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and trauma-related injuries is driving the need for innovative and efficient bone regeneration solutions. Against this backdrop, South Korea’s bone graft and substitutes market is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 4% through 2033, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

    GlobalData’s report, “Bone Grafts and Substitutes Market Size by Segments, Share, Regulatory, Reimbursement, Procedures and Forecast to 2033,” reveals that South Korea held around 5% of the Asia-Pacific bone graft and substitutes market share in 2024.

    Jyoti Sharma, Medical Devices Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Conventional bone graft products often face challenges such as insufficient adhesive strength and difficulties in maintaining their shape in complex cases. Novel products, such as injectable hydrogels, are expected to offer promising advancements by addressing these gaps and enhancing outcomes in bone defect management.”

    Researchers from South Korea-based Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) have recently developed an innovative injectable adhesive hydrogel for bone regeneration. This hydrogel utilizes visible light to simultaneously achieve cross-linking and mineralization. Its unique formulation, which includes alginate, mussel adhesive protein, calcium ions, and a photo initiator, ensured robust adhesion and structural stability in animal models with femoral bone defects.

    Sharma concludes: “Due to the growing nature of this market, the ongoing research is making significant efforts to address the challenges in bone defect management. While these solutions are still under development, once clinically validated, they have the potential to transform treatment approaches, improving patient outcomes and enhancing the quality of life for individuals affected by these conditions.”

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI China: Chinese researchers advance understanding of mechanisms behind allergic diseases

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    Chinese researchers have found that morphological changes of an immune receptor play a key role in allergic reactions, a discovery that could provide new insights useful for the development of allergy medications.
    Allergic diseases, including allergic rhinitis, asthma and allergies to food and medications, affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide and have emerged as major public health issues.
    Previous studies have shown that when allergens trigger a specific antibody to bind with a particular immune receptor, mast cells and basophils become activated.
    This activation leads to the release of allergic mediators, including histamine, resulting in allergic reactions. In severe cases, this can lead to systemic anaphylactic shock.
    However, the mechanism through which the binding of the antibody to the immune receptor activates allergic signaling pathways and induces allergic responses had long been unclear.
    This resulted in limited approaches to developing clinical treatments for allergies — which mainly focus on strategies to block the interaction between the antibody and the immune receptor.
    Researchers from the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (SMART) and Westlake University have revealed the mechanisms behind allergic reactions by analyzing protein structures.
    They found that when the antibody binds to the immune receptor, the shape of the receptor changes. This transformation exposes specific protein sites in the associated signaling pathways, which in turn activates these pathways and triggers allergic responses.
    The study was published online on Wednesday in the journal Nature.
    “This discovery suggests that if we can stabilize the shape of the immune receptor and prevent it from changing, the relevant protein sites in the signaling pathways will remain hidden. Even if allergens trigger the binding of the antibody to the receptor, the allergic signaling pathways cannot be activated, and allergic reactions will not occur,” said Su Qiang, a researcher at the SMART and corresponding author of the study.
    Su explained that this new finding could provide a fundamentally new approach to drug development for allergies.
    “In the future, we might develop a type of ‘molecular glue’ to stabilize the inactive state of the immune receptor, effectively preventing allergic reactions,” Su added.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Government appoints members to Hospital Authority

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         The Government announced today (October 25) the appointment of two new members to the Hospital Authority (HA) and the reappointment of six serving members.

         The two new members, Ms Tennessy Hui Mei-sheung and Professor Janet Wong Yuen-ha, will be appointed for a period of two years from December 1, 2024, to November 30, 2026.  

         Ms Hui is a practising solicitor in Hong Kong. She is the Chairperson of the Liquor Licensing Board, a member of the Council of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a member of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority Council.

         Professor Wong is the Dean and Professor of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences of the Hong Kong Metropolitan University. She is also a member of the Hospital Governing Committee of North Lantau Hospital and a member of the Education Committee of the Nursing Council of Hong Kong.

         Among the serving members reappointed, Professor David Shum Ho-keung continues to serve as an HA member in his capacity of the Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for a period of two years from November 1, 2024, to October 31, 2026. The other five serving members, namely Ms Anita Fung Yuen-mei, Mrs Sylvia Lam Yu ka-wai, Mr Henry Tong Sau-chai, Mr Anthony Tsang Hin-fun and Dr Thomas Tsang Ho-fai, will be reappointed for a period of two years from December 1, 2024, to November 30, 2026.

         The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, welcomed the two new members to the HA. He also expressed gratitude to the six serving members reappointed and extended heartfelt thanks to the outgoing members, Mr Ambrose Ho and Professor Agnes Tiwari Fung-yee, for their invaluable contribution to the HA.  

         The HA comprises a Chairman, 23 non-official members, three public officers and one principal officer from the HA. The membership list to be effective from December 1, 2024, is as follows:

    Chairman:
    Mr Henry Fan Hung-ling

    Non-official Members:
    Mr Lawrence Chan Man-yiu
    Professor Chan Wai-yee
    Mr Chan Wing-kai
    Ms Margaret Cheng Wai-ching 
    Mr Duncan Chiu
    Professor Philip Chiu Wai-yan
    Ms Anita Fung Yuen-mei 
    Ms Maisy Ho Chiu-ha
    Ms Mary Huen Wai-yi
    Mr Jat Sew-tong
    Mr Matthew Kwok Pui-ho
    Mrs Sylvia Lam Yu ka-wai
    Professor Lau Chak-sing
    Ms Tennessy Hui Mei-sheung
    Professor David Shum Ho-keung 
    Mr Henry Tong Sau-chai
    Mr Philip Tsai Wing-chung
    Mr Anthony Tsang Hin-fun
    Dr Thomas Tsang Ho-fai
    Mr Wan Man-yee
    Mr Billy Wong Wing-hoo
    Professor Janet Wong Yuen-ha
    Professor Zhang Zhang-jin

    Public Officers:
    Permanent Secretary for Health, Mr Thomas Chan
    Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam
    Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury) Ms Ann Chan

    HA Principal Officer:
    Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Tony Ko

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Sydney’s beloved Footbridge Theatre launched some of our biggest stars. After nearly 20 years, it’s making a grand return

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Ginters, Associate Professor, Department of Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Sydney

    The Footbridge Theatre in the 1960s, when it was known as the Union Theatre. University of Sydney Archives

    After nearly 20 years as a lecture theatre, the University of Sydney’s Footbridge Theatre is reopening as a live performance venue in the university’s arts precinct.

    The Footbridge is home to a long history of student theatre on campus. When it opened in 1961 as the 655-seat Union Theatre (replacing the old Union Hall) it was the first theatre to have been built in Sydney in more than 20 years.

    Hopes were high for the new venture to be shared by student theatre groups and Sydney’s first professional repertory company, the Union Repertory Theatre Company (not to be confused with the Melbourne Theatre Company’s original name, the Union Theatre Repertory Company).

    For decades, the Footbridge Theatre was host to both industry heavyweights and budding talent from across the arts sectors, before being converted to a lecture hall in 2006. Now, it’s back.

    Hitting the ground running

    The theatre opened with productions from the Sydney University Musical Society, including Claudio Monteverdi’s ballet Il Ballo Delle Ingrate and Henry Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas.

    Also on show was the Sydney University Theatre Council’s Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance, starring John Bell in the title role. Ken Horler, with whom Bell founded the famous Nimrod Theatre a decade later, co-directed the play with May Hollinworth, who ran the university’s Dramatic Society in the 1920s and ’30s. The production also featured John Gaden, Bob Ellis, Bruce Beresford, Richard Brennan and Mungo MacCallum.

    The following year, Horler directed Coriolanus, with Bell in the title role and Gaden and Arthur Dignam in the cast.

    John Bell and Arthur Dignam in Coriolanus.
    University of Sydney

    Horler would go on to direct the first Australian production of Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage in 1963. The cast included Germaine Greer as Mother Courage, Peter Carroll and Ron Blair.

    Bell also acted in and directed a number of shows in the following years. He returned again in the early 1990s to stage a series of productions with his fledgling Bell Shakespeare company.

    Peter Carroll, Germaine Greer, Maree D’Arcy, Ron Blair and Paul Thom in Mother Courage.
    University of Sydney

    A smidge of controversy

    The university students of the 1960s had been delighted to have their “own” venue after years of makeshift spaces. They produced some adventurous – as well as some scandalous – works.

    When the Dramatic Society staged its Revue of the Absurd in 1963, it included a controversial film by the then-nascent filmmakers Bruce Beresford and Albie Thoms. It Droppeth as the Gentle Rain depicted a cocktail party coming to a sticky end as shit rained down from the sky.

    The film was promptly banned. This ban was reinstated the following year when Beresford and Thoms sought to show it at a gala commemorating the Dramatic Society’s 75th birthday.

    Bruce Beresford and Albie Thoms’ film, It Droppeth as the Gentle Rain, was banned in 1963 – and again the following year.
    University of Sydney

    Student revues were a popular feature of the theatre in its early years. One of these was the 1964 revue called Jump, which starred Colin Anderson, Germaine Greer, John Gaden and Paul Thom.

    The revue Jump featured Paul Thom and John Gaden (left), as well as Colin Anderson and Germaine Greer (right).
    University of Sydney

    The Union Repertory Theatre Company was short-lived, collapsing within 12 months of its launch in 1961.

    Also, ironically, the Footbridge was too expensive for students to hire often. Nonetheless, it was still a launching pad for those involved in student theatre, including Henry Szeps (who later acted in the 1984–94 series Mother and Son), Jack Thompson, who played Claudius in a production of Hamlet (1969), and Neil Armfield in Much Ado About Nothing (1974).

    Fellow student actor and director David Marr would later acknowledge Armfield’s genius as a director, while diplomatically adding “acting was not his strength”.

    A poster designed by Martin Sharp for the 1965 revue First, No Pinky.
    University of Sydney

    What’s in a name?

    The Union Theatre was a venue for hire throughout the 1970s, with student theatre, concerts, music theatre, French language theatre and other genres sporadically staged. In 1981, it was renamed the Footbridge Theatre (after a footbridge that was constructed over Parramatta Road in 1972).

    For two decades from the mid-1980s, the Gordon Frost Organisation leased the theatre to present a number of popular commercial productions.

    It also rented the theatre to other companies, including Bell Shakespeare, the Sydney Theatre Company, Ensemble Theatre and Sydney Festival, which programmed outstanding international works such as the Irish Druid Theatre’s 1998 production of The Leenane Trilogy.

    The 1990s also saw students back onstage in annual faculty revues.

    The next act begins

    A squeeze on space at the university led to Footbridge’s conversion to a lecture theatre in 2006. Following extensive renovations, the now 300-seat theatre is opening once again, with Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods.

    The university’s Dramatic Society first produced Into the Woods in the early 2000s (starring Virginia Gay). The Sydney University Musical Theatre Ensemble (MUSE) staged it again in 2011.

    This time around the production is showcasing the talents of the inaugural cohort of music theatre students from the university’s Conservatorium of Music.

    Just as it was for the “Johns” (Bell and Gaden) who, in the early 1960s, took their first steps as student actors into their future careers – and are still going strong six decades later – campus theatres remain vitally important for students finding their feet as the artists of the future.

    Now, in a new decade and with a new generation of students, it’s time to go into the woods again.

    Laura Ginters and Robyn Dalton co-authored a history of drama activities at the University of Sydney, The Ripples Before The New Wave 1957-1963 (2018). The authors interviewed many of the student actors mentioned here for that book.

    – ref. Sydney’s beloved Footbridge Theatre launched some of our biggest stars. After nearly 20 years, it’s making a grand return – https://theconversation.com/sydneys-beloved-footbridge-theatre-launched-some-of-our-biggest-stars-after-nearly-20-years-its-making-a-grand-return-241561

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: Business giants moving to Xiong’an New Area

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 7, 2024 shows the Xiong’an Science and Technology Innovation Center in Xiong’an New Area, north China’s Hebei Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

    More and more business giants are settling in Xiong’an New Area, North China’s Hebei province, as part of a plan to relieve the national capital Beijing from non-capital functions.

    China Satellite Network Group Co, an enterprise engaged in the design, construction and operation of satellite internet services, has opened its new headquarters in the area’s internet industrial park.

    Making up of a group of low-rise buildings and shaping like a flower when viewed from above, the office complex was completed last month and involved the moving of its headquarters and four subordinate companies on Oct 14.

    The company was the first centrally administered State-owned enterprise to settle down in the area. The SOE will facilitate the gathering of resources in fields such as industry-related companies, technology and talent in Xiong’an and thus promote the development of satellite internet applications and the aerospace information industry.

    As Xiong’an has charted ambitious development plans for the satellite internet sector, many upstream and downstream enterprises and innovation platforms have rushed to the area.

    A national laboratory of aerospace flight technology has been established in the area, according to local media Hebei Daily. Other companies in the sector, including a spatiotemporal information group, have also registered and settled there.

    Sinochem Holdings, a chemical conglomerate, and China Huaneng Group Co, a major power company, have completed their main headquarters buildings in Xiong’an.

    Projects of other companies and institutes, including Sinomine Resource Group Co and Beijing Jiaotong University, also report progress on the construction of their buildings.

    SOEs have set up nearly 300 various types of institutions in Xiong’an, according to the local government.

    Located about 100 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing, Xiong’an was set up in 2017 as part of a strategy to promote the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

    One of its main roles is to serve as the receiver of non-capital functions previously shouldered by Beijing but not essential to Beijing’s role as the capital city, such as universities, company headquarters and research institutions.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Plant elicitors – a vaccine for plants? (BDIS)

    Source: Plant and Food New Zealand – Press Release/Statement:

    Headline: Plant elicitors – a vaccine for plants? (BDIS)

    Plant elicitors have huge potential to help protect New Zealand crops from disease. Acting much like a vaccine, these elicitors allow plants to defend themselves better against disease. Coming from a biological source like seaweed, they offer a more ecologically friendly crop protection option, too.
    This week James Sainsbury from our Ruakura site speaks to Dr Joel Vanneste about his research on the recently Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment-funded, 5-year project on plant elicitors led by Dr Marie Magnuson and Chris Glasson from Waikato University. Listen along to learn more about plant elicitors and how they could help manage plant diseases, whether in crops or our native trees. To view our catalogue of podcasts, including extra links on some podcasts, please go to our Scigest page: www.plantandfood.com/scigest

    – –

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: NSU scientists have received the first pilot batch of synthetic fuel from non-recyclable plastic

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    A catalytic unit for processing liquid products of polymer waste pyrolysis into synthetic fuel has been installed in the laboratory of the Department of Physical Chemistry of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Novosibirsk State University. During the first three weeks of its operation, scientists obtained the first three liters of kerosene. At present, optimal operating modes of the capillary reactor are being determined, important catalyst regeneration cycles are being worked out, optimal parameters of the catalytic process are being selected, a catalyst is being selected, the most important performance indicators of the unit are being monitored, and the resulting product is being analyzed.

    The equipment was provided to NSU scientists by specialists from Onium Plus LLC (Yaroslavl). They were also involved in the installation of the equipment. Publication about the joint work of scientists from the Department of Physical Chemistry Faculty of Natural Sciences of NSU, the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and representatives of this company to create a technology for converting non-recyclable plastic into synthetic fuel was published on the NSU website in December 2023. You can read it by link.

    The jointly developed technology consists of several stages. First, non-recyclable plastic undergoes pyrolysis – thermal destruction without oxygen at temperatures from 400 to 600 ° C. The output is pyrolysis oil – a heterogeneous liquid mixture of hydrocarbons containing a large number of undesirable impurities, dark yellow in color with a strong unpleasant odor. Then the multicomponent mixture is divided into fractions based on boiling point. Pyrolysis oil and its fractions are not yet suitable for use as fuel – due to the high content of unsaturated hydrocarbons, this substance can damage internal combustion engines. It can be converted into usable fuel through the use of catalytic technology. Representatives of Onium Plus LLC asked NSU researchers to develop it, who conducted preliminary experiments with nickel-molybdenum catalysts on an aluminum oxide support. The first positive results were obtained using them in tubular reactors – a transparent, colorless liquid with a faint odor of kerosene was synthesized. However, before using it for internal combustion engines, it is necessary not only to develop a new composition and method of catalyst synthesis, but also to modify the hydrogenation plant, select the optimal parameters of the catalytic process, and work out all cycles of automatic catalyst regeneration. For this purpose, the company’s specialists created two more catalytic installations – a pilot and a laboratory. The pilot one is working at the enterprise, and the laboratory one was made available to NSU researchers at the end of May. Parallel trials of the catalytic process are currently underway. NSU scientists select catalyst compositions, process conditions, temperature conditions, pressure, flow rates, and company specialists conduct life tests on an enlarged scale. An important condition of the experiment is that both installations must operate around the clock in a continuous mode.

    — The liquid product of plastic waste pyrolysis, which mainly consists of medium and heavy fractions with a large amount of unsaturated hydrocarbons, is fed from the feedstock tank using a high-pressure liquid pump to the mixer, where it is mixed with hydrogen under a pressure of 40 atmospheres. Then the mixture is fed in portions to the reactor, inside which a catalytic reaction occurs under conditions of high pressure and high temperature. Depending on the composition of the catalyst, hydrogenation, hydrocracking or hydroisomerization occurs. At the moment, this is hydrocracking at a pressure of 40 atmospheres and a temperature of 360 – 400 degrees Celsius, which is considered the norm for this process. These parameters are selected depending on what product needs to be obtained. In this case, the task is to obtain kerosene, — said Anton Lysikov, a researcher at the Department of Physical Chemistry of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Novosibirsk State University, about the device of the installation.

    From the reactor, the product mixture enters the separator via a coil, where it cools down and separates into gas and liquid. The gas goes up, and the liquid gradually condenses in the accumulator. When the liquid weight reaches a specified value, it is discharged using the lock method: the first valve of the discharge line is turned on, and the liquid product is poured into the buffer tank. After the weight decrease is recorded, this valve closes and the second one opens, the liquid enters the receiver, and the product yield is assessed in accordance with the scale readings. Then the second valve is also closed until the next sampling. This design with automatic overflow allows to avoid a significant pressure drop when removing products from the process and to accumulate them stably during long-term experiments.

    — Our first attempts to process the liquid product of polymer waste pyrolysis resulted in obtaining a substance similar to what we are synthesizing now, only its freezing temperature was about zero degrees Celsius. This figure is much higher than what we intended to achieve. Therefore, we had to select a catalyst composition that would initiate a cracking and isomerization reaction, leading to a strong decrease in the freezing temperature. And now it is already -20 degrees. In three weeks of continuous round-the-clock work, we extracted about 3 liters of high-quality non-freezing kerosene from the pyrolysis product, which can be used as a fuel additive. The production rate is 6 ml per hour, — said Ekaterina Parkhomchuk, Associate Professor of the Department of Physical Chemistry of the NSU Natural Sciences Department.

    The finished product undergoes a thorough analysis: researchers study its fractional, group, component and elemental composition. They measure the sulfur and chlorine indicators at the outlet, flash point and turbidity. These parameters are very important for the further use of the final product, they determine its practical purpose.

    The first experiments were suggested by NSU scientists to start with widespread and well-known systems: nickel-molybdenum catalysts on an aluminum oxide carrier. They managed to obtain the first positive results.

    — We have gained the first experience — we have determined the activity of this catalyst, observed the process, acquired the skill of working with unusual raw materials, and identified the main problem. It is that pyrolysis oil is very different from traditional oil. Most often, such raw materials contain long-chain hydrocarbons and are characterized by a high content of C17 hydrocarbons, which have high freezing and boiling points. They accumulate in the cold zones of the reactor, forming “wax” plugs, due to which pressure drops can occur. Having encountered this problem, we began to select hydrocracking and hydroisomerization catalysts to break long-chain hydrocarbons into smaller molecules, making them branched. This allowed us to solve the problem of reactor waxing, as well as reduce the freezing and turbidity temperatures of the product, and at the output we received higher quality and flammable hydrocarbons, — explained Ekaterina Vorobyova, a postgraduate student of the Department of Physical Chemistry of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of NSU.

    First, a hydrogenation catalyst was obtained, then a hydroisomerization and hydrocracking catalyst, on which the first positive results were obtained: the cloud point began to decrease significantly, hydrocarbons began to burn differently. Now scientists are working on a catalyst with increased activity in hydrocracking and hydroisomerization, while obtaining a product with a cloud point below -20. It is important to note that this is its stable operation for several hundred hours. But the most important thing is that products were obtained that flash and burn as needed, hydrogenation and hydrocracking processes are underway, the products contain a large number of isomers, which is required to obtain synthetic motor fuels and oils.

    The installation with the new catalyst has been operating continuously for almost four weeks, and the catalyst activity has not been lost, no pressure drops have been observed, and no coking has occurred.

    — The main thing is that while developing this technology, we continue to improve our skills in working with this special raw material, which is so different from oil. For us, this is a very interesting task, since plastic waste is really growing. And not all of it is recyclable. Burying it in landfills is not a solution to the problem. For me, from a scientific point of view, it is interesting to identify the features of processing this raw material, as well as the requirements for the properties of the catalyst, which will allow us to stably and for a long time obtain high-quality motor fuels and oils from non-recyclable waste into valuable fuel, — said Ekaterina Vorobyova.

    Scientists assess the results of their work as encouraging, and the production of fuel from pyrolysis products as profitable, because only 5% of the original substance turns into gas, the rest of the mass turns into high-quality synthetic fuel. At the moment, this technology can be considered almost ready for implementation, which will be determined only by the speed of construction of catalytic units. The main difference between production samples and a laboratory unit is the number of reactors. In a laboratory unit, there is one reactor, and in industrial ones, it is theoretically possible to install hundreds and even thousands. Then the productivity will increase many times over.

    — Each type of catalyst or new parameters, before being implemented, requires thousands of running hours. The more parallel tests, the faster the process optimization and confirmation of the success of certain solutions. By the end of the year, we will put into operation two additional laboratory units for hydrogenation, increasing the number of simultaneously running processes. But the most interesting task, in our area of responsibility, which we are currently implementing, is the creation of a pilot unit with dozens of micro reactors simultaneously. This module will allow the process to be carried out with a capacity of liters per hour. All systems will be integrated in it, as in a “large” plant. It is equipped with its own hydrogen source, its own hydrogen purification and recompression unit and an automatic regeneration system. In addition to confirming the readiness of the catalytic system for industrial use, this device will also confirm the economic aspects of fuel production. The cost of the process will be very accurately determined, which is necessary for further industrial implementation, — explained Alexander Klimov, a representative of the company OOO Onium Plus.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Adelaide family the key to new disease breakthrough

    Source: University of South Australia

    25 October 2024

    L-R: Jiarna Zerella (PhD student, SA Pathology), Kristijan Ramsea (family member whose samples were used to make to make this discovery), Prof. Hamish Scott and Assoc. Prof. Chris Hahn.

    An Adelaide family has played a crucial role in the discovery of a new bone marrow disease called ERG Deficiency Syndrome, leading to the introduction of a new clinical diagnostic test.

    Centre for Cancer Biology (CCB) researchers at SA Pathology and the University of South Australia made the breakthrough after investigating the family’s battle with a complex set of blood disorders.

    The mother who suffered from several blood disorders in early adulthood, was subsequently diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. A pattern of similar blood disorders was also recognised in her children, prompting genetic researchers to investigate.

    Extensive genetic testing by genome sequencing was performed on each affected family member ruling out all known genes associated with bone marrow failure and blood cancer.

    The family was then recruited into the Australian Familial Haematological Conditions Study (AFHCS) based in Adelaide, and their genome was re-examined by the researchers to detail their genetic information.

    It was here that researchers made a surprising discovery, identifying a highly suspicious mutation in the ERG gene, not previously known to cause symptoms linked to familial bone marrow failures and blood cancers.

    Adding to the complexity, the mutation was discovered by looking at hair samples as it was hidden by a mechanism called somatic gene rescue, masking the variant in each of the family members’ blood samples.

    After calling national and international colleagues and entering the mutation into an international matchmaking database (used for rare diseases to bring together researchers, who have identified patients with similar clinical symptoms and mutations in the same gene), the genetic researchers identified a cohort of patients from around the world with ERG mutations linked to bone marrow failure and blood cancer.

    The team then designed state-of-the-art bespoke tests to demonstrate that the mutations severely disrupt the role of ERG in the normal development of blood cells in a way that may predispose them to bone marrow failure and blood cancer.

    As a result, ERG has now been added to routine testing as a clinical screening test for bone marrow failure and blood cancer at SA Pathology and is being implemented worldwide.

    The discovery also opens the door for predictive testing, offering reproductive choices to families at risk, and screening of unaffected family members carrying the mutation for early detection of the disease.

    For those diagnosed with the disease, bone marrow transplantation offers a potential cure so the breakthrough also means that clinicians can identify unaffected family members as potential bone marrow donors.

    Quotes attributable to Lead Researcher and SA Pathology Head of Genetics and Molecular Pathology, Professor Hamish Scott

    This Adelaide family has helped us pave the way for the identification of ERG Deficiency Syndrome, marking an exciting new chapter in our understanding of blood conditions.

    By being able to identify this mutated gene, we can diagnose patients and predict the likelihood of bone marrow failure and blood cancer occurring in the future, which will undoubtedly help countless families across the world.

    Quotes attributable to Researcher and Section Head of the Molecular Pathology Research Laboratory, Associate Professor Chris Hahn

    Thanks to this one Adelaide family, we have uncovered a new pathway in understanding blood conditions, enabling doctors to better monitor and counsel individuals at risk, which will help to improve blood cancer outcomes by early detection and optimal therapy.

    Hereditary cases of bone marrow failure and blood cancers are devastating for families, so identifying genetic mutations in those affected by these diseases has immediate implications for family members.

     ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

     

     

    Other articles you may be interested in

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: University direct admissions open

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    The Education Bureau today announced that applications will open for the fourth cohort of the School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme to provide an additional pathway to university for students with exceptional talent.

    The bureau noted that the scheme recognises the outstanding talent of students in specific disciplines that may not be fully assessed by the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination.

    The scheme is open for application by local Secondary 6 students who will be taking the 2025 HKDSE and commencing their undergraduate studies in September 2025.

    Its nomination period will run from October 25 to December 4.

    Each local secondary school can nominate two students with exceptional talent and interests in specific disciplines or areas and each nominee can apply for admission to one of the around 300 designated University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded undergraduate programme participating in the scheme.

    The eight UGC-funded universities have set admission criteria that are not based on HKDSE Examination results for individual programmes.

    Participating universities will arrange interviews for all students nominated and make firm offers to successful students prior to the release of the 2025 HKDSE Examination results.

    Starting from the 2025-26 academic year, the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau will introduce a new scholarship scheme for successful admittees with remarkable achievements in arts, sports or community service.

    Each awardee, who will not be subject to means testing, will be granted a scholarship of $10,000 per year throughout their four-year tuition period.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Quality Assurance Council publishes report on quality audit of City University of Hong Kong

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Quality Assurance Council publishes report on quality audit of City University of Hong Kong
    Quality Assurance Council publishes report on quality audit of City University of Hong Kong
    ******************************************************************************************

    The following is issued on behalf of the University Grants Committee:      The Quality Assurance Council (QAC) under the University Grants Committee (UGC) today (October 25) published the report on the quality audit of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) in the third audit cycle.      CityU was the fifth university audited in the third audit cycle, which places an emphasis on how individual universities review and enhance their framework on academic standards and academic quality, academic programme development, teaching and learning, student learning assessment and support for students, as well as the collection, analysis and usage of data to inform such quality assurance processes.      The audit report presents the findings of the audit panel appointed by the QAC based on the self-evaluation report prepared by CityU and a series of audit meetings with staff, students and external stakeholders (such as employers) of the university held between February and March 2024. The audit report was endorsed by the UGC after being considered by the QAC.      The report identified a number of features of good practice and recommended actions with a view to encouraging CityU and the higher education sector as a whole to strive for continuous enhancement to their quality assurance regimes. The full audit report with the formal response from CityU is available on the QAC website (www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/qac/about/term/publications/report.html) for public access.      The QAC quality audits ascertain whether the arrangements for quality assurance adopted by universities are fit for purpose and comparable with international best practices. The QAC third audit cycle covers all programmes at the levels of sub-degree, first degree and above, however funded, leading to a qualification wholly or partly awarded by the UGC-funded universities.      The QAC expressed gratitude to CityU and all stakeholders for their support for the quality audit.

     
    Ends/Friday, October 25, 2024Issued at HKT 14:00

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The II Forum of the Eurasian Network University was held in Minsk

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

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

    On October 22-23, 2024, the II Forum of the scientific and educational consortium “Eurasian Network University” was held in Minsk. The goal of the Forum is to deepen the interaction of science, education and business, develop network forms of implementing higher education programs, as well as programs of additional professional education and retraining of personnel for the labor market of the EAEU member states.

    The Forum was organized by the State University of Management with the support of the Belarusian State University of Economics, the Belarusian State University and the Belarusian-Russian University. The event was attended by heads and representatives of more than 20 leading universities in the Eurasian space, representatives of ministries, authorized government bodies and the business community.

    The Forum’s formal ceremony was opened by moderators: Rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroyev and Rector of the Belarusian State University of Economics Alexey Egorov. Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education Konstantin Mogilevsky addressed the Forum participants with a welcoming speech. The Deputy Minister noted the results of the fruitful and effective work of the Eurasian Network University over a two-year period, including the successfully launched project “Eurasian International Olympiad”, new joint educational programs launched, implemented programs for advanced training for the business community and civil servants in the field of business and management, and teachers of universities in the EAEU countries.

    Next, a welcoming address was presented to the Forum participants by Senator of the Russian Federation Lyudmila Skakovskaya. The Senator emphasized the special importance of the event in the context of modern challenges that require an active exchange of knowledge and technology in the field of education, science and culture, as well as promoting intercultural dialogue and the implementation of innovative projects. Head of the Representative Office of Rossotrudnichestvo of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Belarus Yuri Makushin delivered a welcoming speech, emphasizing that the Forum is a unique platform not only for the exchange of experience, developments and ideas for the future development of science and the education system in the territory of the EAEU member states, but also for establishing partnerships, developing effective mechanisms for the development of interaction, which is especially relevant today, in the context of modern geopolitical turbulence.

    The leading speakers of the plenary session of the Forum were: First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education Vladimir Sipyagin, Chairman of the Committee on Education and Science of the CIS Business Center for Economic Development Dmitry Repnikov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Economics, Professor Sergei Glazyev, Director of the branch of the National Accreditation Agency in Education Mikhail Petropavlovsky, Rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroyev, Rector of the National Research University “MPEI” Nikolay Rogalev, Rector of the Mari State University Mikhail Shvetsov, Rector of the University under the Interparliamentary Assembly of the EurAsEC Irlan Iskakov, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of the Belarusian-Russian University Natalia Vologina, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of the Almaty Technological University Lyazzat Baibolova.

    In their reports, the speakers presented models of inter-university cooperation, the advantages of network forms of education, areas of coordination of scientific and educational cooperation, the implementation of foreign internships as a driver for the development of trade and economic relations, and ways of integrating universities in the EAEU space.

    The International Scientific and Practical Conference of the Eurasian Network University “Priority Directions for the Development of Eurasian Integration” was held within the framework of the forum. The key topics of the sectional sessions were “Education in the Context of Eurasian Integration” and “Moral and Patriotic Education of Young People in the EAEU: Main Directions and Features of Organization”. The conference participants discussed issues of integration of government agencies, academic and business communities, prospects for the formation of a common educational space of the EAEU, tools for spiritual and moral-patriotic education of young people in EAEU universities.

    The exhibition of the Eurasian Network University, which was held at the Forum venue, also aroused great interest among students of Belarusian universities. Students got acquainted with the materials of the universities participating in the ENU, received information about the opportunities for participation in academic exchange programs at the universities participating in the ENU, Olympiads that provide opportunities to study within the quotas of the Government of the Russian Federation, and about additional professional education programs.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 10/25/2024

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: World update: Ukraine faces prospect of defeat – but the west must ensure a just peace

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor

    There’s a degree of irony that countries attending the 2024 Brics summit this week voted to adopt the Kazan declaration (named for the capital city of the autonomous republic of Tatarstan in Russia, where the summit is being held). The declaration’s first clause emphasises that “all states should act consistently with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter in their entirety”. There’s also a certain amount of chutzpah on the part of conference chair, Vladmir Putin, whose ongoing invasion of Ukraine is so egregiously in breach of that charter.

    Article one stresses that the primary purpose of the UN is to “maintain international peace and security”. Article two rules that: “All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means”. If that’s not clear enough, it goes on to further insist that: “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.”

    Still, its a funny old world in which the UN secretary general, António Guterres, pitches up at a summit whose host is wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on charges relating to the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. In a country whose troops are currently fighting in Ukraine in direct contravention of the UN’s charter.

    To add a further layer of irony, October 24 is the 79th anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Charter in 1945.

    Guterres called on Putin to agree a peace deal “in line with the UN Charter, international law and UN General Assembly resolutions”. The Russian leader is perhaps more likely to listen to a deal proposed by the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. He said: “We must uphold the three key principles: no expansion of the battlefields, no escalation of hostilities, and no fanning flames and strive for swift de-escalation of the situation.”

    Now, more than ever, it’s vital to be informed about the important issues affecting global stability. Sign up to receive our weekly World Update newsletter. Every Thursday we’ll you expert analysis of the big stories making international headlines.

    The UN chief’s idea of a just peace would call for Russia to give up its illegal occupation of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Xi’s proposal appears to call for a deal based on the status quo – virtually the opposite, in other words.

    This is pretty much all Ukraine can hope for, as far as the University of Portsmouth’s Frank Ledwidge is concerned. Ledwidge, who has written regularly for The Conversation since Putin launched his invasion in February 2024 and is well plugged into defence and intelligence networks in Nato as well as in Ukraine itself, believes that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia – at least as things stand.

    Ledwidge says Ukraine’s western allies are partly to blame for the maximalist aims of the country’s president Volodymyr Zelensky. Western rhetoric has not properly been matched by sufficient weapons or the permission to use them as effectively as the situation warrants. Now is the time for realism, he writes:

    A starting point could be accepting that Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk are lost … Then we need to start planning seriously for a post-war Ukraine that will need the west’s suppport more than ever.



    Read more:
    Ukraine cannot defeat Russia – the best the west can do is help Kyiv plan for a secure post-war future

    One of the key factors that Ledwidge stresses is that just one of Russia’s allies, North Korea, has supplied twice as many artillery shells this year as the whole of Europe. Now North Korean troops are apparently also about to join their Russian comrades on the battlefield. This, writes Ra Mason – a Korea specialist at the University of East Anglia – will help ease the pressure on Putin to bring forward his mobilisation plans.

    Losing battle? The state of the conflict in Ukraine, October 23.
    Institute for the Study of War

    It’s a diplomatic coup for Putin, Mason believes – it’s a “clear show of opposition towards the Washington-led global order”, which “deals a further blow to the myth that the Russian Federation is isolated, as an international pariah, in a world led by western powers.”

    But a military coup de grace against Ukraine? Probably not. The jury is out on how effective North Korea’s “poorly equipped, unmotivated and undernourished” troops will be against Ukraine’s highly motivated defenders. It will also be interesting to see where and how they are deployed. If sent to the frontlines in Kursk, they’ll be helping an ally in its struggle against an incursion by Ukrainian forces. If deployed inside Ukraine, they’ll join Russia in breach of international law. Mason concludes:

    If sent into new theatres of war against state-of-the-art Nato-supplied weaponry, it could effectively mean waves of ill-prepared cannon fodder being thrown into the meat grinder of Donbas’ trenches.



    Read more:
    Kim Jong-un sends North Korean troops to fight in Ukraine – here’s what this means for the war

    Incidentally, the term “meat grinder” has been much bandied about of late. It follows reports from US intellegence recently that, while Russian forces have been making rapid advances and gaining a significant amount of ground in recent weeks, they are doing so at considerable cost in terms of dead and wounded. September was a particularly bloody month, with reports of Russian losses of more than 1,000 men a day, killed or wounded.

    But Russian military strategists are well versed in such pyrrhic victories, writes historian Becky Alexis-Martin, who points to equally savage losses in Russia’s defence against Napoleon and in the first and second world wars. Stalin, in particular, was able to defeat the Nazi war machine by, inter alia, throwing millions of troops at their enemies (and incurring terrible casualties). But it’s not a strategy that guarantees success. And terrible psychological effects are beginning to manifest themselves in veterans returning from Ukraine with severe and often violent post-traumatic stress disorder.



    Read more:
    Russia’s ‘meat grinder’ tactics in Ukraine have proved effective in past wars – but at terrible cost

    The diplomatic front

    As if things weren’t bad enough for Zelensky on the battlefield, the Ukrainian president was dealt a serious blow earlier this month when the US president, Joe Biden, was forced by extreme weather events, including a hurricane hitting the state of Florida, to cancel the planned meeting of the heads of government of up to 50 of Ukraine’s western allies in Germany. The “Ramstein Group”, so-called after the German air base at which they meet, was scheduled to meet in the second week of October to consider Zelensky’s “victory plan”. Stefan Wolff, an international security expert at the University of Birmingham writes that the Ukrainian president was hoping to get some degree of commitment for a path to Nato membership for Ukraine as well as permission to use western-supplied long-range missiles against targets deep inside Russia.

    Neither of these seem likely to happen in the short term, says Wolff. Like Ledwidge, Wolff thinks Ukraine is doomed to defeat unless its allies double down on their aid – and fast. And like Ledwidge, Wolff sees little indication of that happening any time soon.



    Read more:
    Ukraine faces worsening odds on the battlefield and a struggle on the diplomatic front after Biden postpones summit

    When it comes to continuing US support for Ukraine’s war effort, all eyes are now firmly fixed on November 5. The outcome of the presidential election will be seriously consequential for Ukraine’s future. Both candidates have made their positions clear and there is considerable difference between the two positions.

    Donald Trump has said any number of times that had he not lost that “rigged and stolen” election to Biden in 2020, Putin would never have invaded Ukraine in the first place. Still, he says, if he wins this one, he’ll bring the war to a very rapid conclusion. But it remains to be seen, given Trump’s oft-stated admiration for Putin, whether the conclusion will be palatable to Kyiv – or to Nato in general.

    Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris, said the former president’s proposals are not “proposals for peace, they’re proposals for surrender”. As vice-president during the Biden administration, she flew to Europe not long after the invasion in February 2022 to help shore up support for Kyiv. Harris has also regularly restated her intention to continue to back Ukraine against Russia. In the only debate of the campaign she said that Ukraine was not Putin’s final stop and that he has “his eyes on the rest of Europe, starting with Poland”.



    Read more:
    On Ukraine, candidate Trump touts his role as dealmaker while Harris sticks with unwavering support

    Poland, incidentally, is an interesting case in point. While it is Ukraine’s firmest ally and it leadership is four-square behind Kyiv, the people are curiously divided on the country’s support for Ukraine. You can read more about that here.



    Read more:
    Why many Poles are not as supportive of Ukraine’s war effort as their leaders in Warsaw

    One imagines that Zelensky is as transfixed as anyone else on the 2024 US presidential election campaign as it heads into its final ten days. All we can tell you is that the polls are still very, very close. Well within most pollsters’ margin for error, in fact. A poll of polls, which combines polls from different agencies, published on the website FiveThirtyEight on October 22 shows that Harris leads Trump by 48.1% to 46.3% in the national popular vote. But the accepted popular wisdom is that the complex electoral college system used in the US may well favour Trump’s candidacy.

    We’ll be providing daily updates on the US presidential race and full coverage of election day on November 5 and its aftermath.



    Read more:
    Harris nudges ahead of Trump in the polls – but could the economy prove her downfall?

    World Update is available as a weekly email newsletter. Click here to get our updates directly in your inbox.

    – ref. World update: Ukraine faces prospect of defeat – but the west must ensure a just peace – https://theconversation.com/world-update-ukraine-faces-prospect-of-defeat-but-the-west-must-ensure-a-just-peace-242146

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Happy Marketer’s Day!

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

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

    Specialists who are better than others at promoting goods and services on the market, and, of course, the entire Marketing Institute of the State University of Management! We are glad to congratulate you on your professional holiday! We wish that your work is always in good shape, and that your clients are pleasantly surprised by your creative ideas. And those who are just learning the basics of their future profession, strive for the best results and always achieve success in everything.

    It should be noted that the appearance of this date in the holiday calendar is associated with an event that took place on October 25, 1975. On this day, the Marketing and Advertising Department was created in the Ministry of Foreign Trade of the Soviet Union. Incidentally, specialists in market and consumer preference studies began to be trained in our country even earlier – in 1931, when the All-Union Academy of Foreign Trade opened in the USSR.

    But at the State University of Management, the Marketing Department was created in 1994, under the leadership of the rector of those years, an outstanding economist, Professor Anatoly Porshnev. Another 10 years later, by his order, the Institute of Marketing was created. Today, IM is about 1,500 students studying in three departments in ten educational programs. The Institute is developing dynamically and opening new modern audiences with the participation of its graduates.

    Once again, we congratulate our marketers on their professional holiday and wish them to be inventive and sought-after specialists, to study well not only at the university, but also to develop themselves after graduation, to imbue their whole lives with creativity and to feel happy in any workplace.

    We also congratulate the Marketing and IM departments on their 30th and 20th anniversaries, respectively. We wish you further growth and development, bright scientific projects, and an endless number of grateful graduates!

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 10/25/2024

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: BRICS Congress. The Role of Education in Solving Global Economic Problems

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

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

    On October 20 and 21, the BRICS Scientific and Educational Congress on Ecology and Climate Change was held at the Sirius Federal Territory. It brought together more than 500 representatives of science, education, the business community and governments of BRICS member countries, including India, Brazil, Iran and Ethiopia.

    The event was attended by the Director of the Institute of Civil Engineering of SPbPU Marina Petrochenko, Professor of the Higher School of Hydrotechnical and Power Engineering (HSHPE) Natalia Politaeva and Associate Professor of the HSHPE Alexander Chusov.

    Over the course of two days, business representatives and scientists discussed the following issues:

    The role of education in addressing global climate change issues; Water management in the context of climate change; New technologies for clean energy; Talent economy: New professions and skills in the context of “green” energy; Permafrost and climate change; Water purification technologies.

    In the expert session “New technologies for environmentally safe waste management and their role in the closed-loop economy” Natalia Politaeva presented a report “Innovative waste processing technologies”. In the poster session, the Civil Engineering Institute presented a team report “Utilization of organic waste with the production of biomethane”.

    On the second day of the event, with the assistance of SPbPU partner, the investment and technology company EFIR (RUSNANO Ecology and Nature Management cluster), representatives of the ISI held talks with Sirius University and the Russian-Singapore Business Council on the development of cooperation in the field of scientific and educational activities.

    The congress participants went on excursions to the Sirius educational center and the laboratory complex of the local university, where the latest infrastructure for training and supporting scientific research of talented young people is presented.

    At the congress, Polytech presented its unique technologies and developments in the field of waste management, which are of interest to businesses and the federal environmental operator that organizes and controls the collection, transportation, processing, recycling, neutralization and placement of waste of the first and second hazard classes. It was also important for us to exchange opinions with our foreign colleagues from Brazil, India and other countries. Everyone has common problems. It is obvious that we need to combine efforts and use the resource base, as well as the potential of foreign partners to solve the main problems of the environmental agenda, – commented on the results of the work, Director of the Civil Engineering Institute Marina Petrochenko.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Days of the Polytechnic Competence Center at KRSU

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

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

    From October 14 to 19, representatives of the Polytechnic University Competence Assessment and Development Center visited the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University.

    The days of the Polytechnic University Competence Center at KRSU became one of the first major projects in a series of planned events aimed at improving the quality of training of engineering personnel at the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, said Lyudmila Pankova, Vice-Rector for Educational Activities at SPbPU.

    The program of events opened with an information session, at which the ambassadors of the Polytechnic University Competence Center told KRSU students about the opportunities of the Competence Centers project of the presidential platform Russia — the Country of Opportunities for career growth, as well as how the project will help to reveal their potential, and, of course, about the role of ambassadors.

    The Deputy Director General of the ANO “Russia – Country of Opportunities” Dmitry Guzhelya addressed the students with a welcoming speech. He wished the guys not to stop there and to more actively join the projects of the presidential platform.

    Fascinating surveys on supra-professional competencies made the children think about their strengths and opportunities for self-development. A humorous quiz, in which more than 350 people took part, became a bright conclusion to the information session.

    The days of the Polytechnic Competence Center at KRSU became an important stage in the development of the first and so far the only competence center outside the Russian Federation. We see and feel the positive and interested attitude of Russia, whose ambassadors were representatives of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, — shared the head of the KRSU Competence Center Almaz Asankulov.

    The week in Bishkek was eventful and productive. Both sides organized many joint events to bring together university youth and develop soft skills – from a trip to the snowy mountains of the Ala-Archa National Park to a two-day Soft Skills board game tournament. There, KRSU students analyzed information and learned to make decisions, mastered innovation, emotional intelligence, following rules and focus on results.

    Our team prepared for such an important trip for a long time and carefully. We are very happy that KRSU students responded enthusiastically and actively participated in all the events of our program, the most memorable of which was, perhaps, the final of the Soft Skills tournament. The teams developed and defended very interesting and, at times, incredible ideas for startup projects, – said Elena Zima, Director of the SPbPU Competency Assessment and Development Center.

    The trip gave the ambassadors of the Polytechnic University Competence Center a lot of new and interesting things.

    We have become even more united, have significantly developed stress resistance and planning skills, have broadened our horizons, and have gained new knowledge about the culture and traditions of Kyrgyzstan. Most importantly, we have found new friends in lively and sincere communication, – shared Victoria Anikieva, a student of SPbPU and the head of the community of ambassadors of the Polytechnic University Competence Center.

    During the visit, the partners launched a professional development program called “Modern Approaches to Managing the Educational Process.” Elena Zima gave two lectures to KRSU teachers on the specifics of Russian Federation legislation in the field of higher education.

    On behalf of the KRSU management, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Polytechnic staff for fruitful cooperation and support in the development of our university as one of the best universities in Kyrgyzstan, said Elena Devyatova, Vice-Rector for Educational Activities at KRSU.

    A return visit of the KRSU Competence Center ambassadors to the Polytechnic University is ahead.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The long culinary history of pumpkins – from ancient Mexican soups to modern spiced lattes

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Serin Quinn, PhD Candidate, Department of History, University of Warwick

    Carving the Pumpkin by Franck Antoine Bail (1910). Bonhams

    October heralds the beginning of pumpkin season. Over the course of the month, they will be used for a variety of non-culinary purposes. In Belgium, they are hollowed out for boat races, and in Ludwigsburg, Germany, thousands of multi-coloured pumpkins are used to make seasonal sculpture parks. At the end of the month, they will be carved up with a ghoulish grin to celebrate Halloween, a tradition that is becoming increasingly popular across the globe.

    Despite being harvested until December, for many, Halloween will mark the end of pumpkin season with the decorations unceremoniously binned. Studies show that just over half of the pumpkins bought in the UK each year (18,000 tonnes of them) go to waste uneaten. Many people don’t even realise that pumpkins are edible.

    But it hasn’t always been this way: pumpkin carving is actually a fairly recent tradition, practiced in the US since around the 1890s. Before becoming the symbol of Halloween, pumpkins had a very long history as a foodstuff.

    Like tomatoes, maize and potatoes, the pumpkin is indigenous to the Americas, with the earliest evidence of pumpkin consumption dating as far back as 8,000BC in Oaxaca, Mexico.

    Pumpkins have come a long way since then, as Indigenous American communities carefully adapted the wild pumpkin into successively bigger and better-tasting varieties. These weren’t all the bright orange we’re familiar with: white, green and yellow varieties were also common, mixed in with squashes (a genetically identical relation).

    Still Life with Pumpkins by Jan Anton van der Baren (1657).
    Kunsthistorisches Museum

    In pre-colonial America, there were a host of different ways to prepare the vegetable, as pumpkin historian Cindy Ott explains. She wrote that Indigenous communities ate pumpkins in soups, roasted them on embers, made them into sauces and baked them into a “bread”.

    Pumpkins and squash were commonly grown and eaten with maize and beans; a combination sometimes called the “three sisters”.

    The rise of the ‘pompion’

    The pumpkin only came to Europe in the 1500s, following the invasion of the Americas. This new vegetable wasn’t as much of a surprise to Europeans as we might expect: gourds, cucumbers and melons are from the same family as pumpkins, Curcubitaceae, and the plants all look very similar, with trailing vines and large golden flowers.

    Farmer with pumpkins by Ilya Ivanovich Mashkov (1930).
    WikiArt

    In European languages, the new plant was given the name of these more familiar foods, so that in English and French it became the pompion (another name for melons), in Italian the zucca and in German the kürbis (both names for gourds).

    All these overlapping names caused some confusion. In 1640, botanist John Parkinson wrote of “gourds or millions, or pompions, or whatsoever else you please to call them”.

    The recipes that pumpkins are best known for in today’s Anglo-American cuisine come from this era of food history. “Pumpion” pies started to appear in English recipe books in the 1660s, but they weren’t much like today’s versions.

    An early printed recipe was written by Hannah Woolley, an English writer who published books on household management, in 1672. It instructs the reader to fry egg-coated slices, mix these with raisins, sugar and fortified wine then place the mixture in a pie dish on top of apples. A little different maybe, but it doesn’t sound too bad.

    The apple association stayed strong in England. Another method, recorded in 1735, was to scoop out the pulp, mix it with chopped apples and sugar, bake this in the hollowed pumpkin, then eat it spread on bread. The author was careful to note that this meal was “too strong for persons of weak stomachs, and only proper for country people who use much exercise” – so be careful if you try this at home.



    Read more:
    A delicious history of the apple – from the Tian Sian mountains to supermarket shelves

    The pie recipes followed a longer tradition of sweet-and-savoury pies which were popular in England at the time. This is also where we get the typical “pumpkin spice” from. These pies were made with artichokes, sweet and ordinary potatoes, and even earlier with parsnips, skirrets and eryngoes (once popular root vegetables). They were mixed with the go-to expensive spices of the day: cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves, ginger and sugar. Maybe we should be calling it the “skirret spice latte”.

    As Europeans steadily colonised America over the 17th century, they brought with them their familiar recipes, including spiced pies. Here, in the home of pumpkins, they had an abundance to make them from.

    The steady rise of Halloween in the globalised age suggests our current waste issue will get worse before it gets better. Reviving the egg-apple-pumpkin pie might not be the solution, but there are plenty of other ways we can use these versatile vegetables. Remembering that pumpkins had millennia of history as a food before they were a decoration is one step on the way.


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

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

    – ref. The long culinary history of pumpkins – from ancient Mexican soups to modern spiced lattes – https://theconversation.com/the-long-culinary-history-of-pumpkins-from-ancient-mexican-soups-to-modern-spiced-lattes-240492

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Israel’s ‘generals’ plan’ to clear Palestinians from north of Gaza could pave the way for settlers to return

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Leonie Fleischmann, Senior Lecturer in International Politics, City St George’s, University of London

    Western political leaders were quick to argue that the killing of Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, on October 17 presented a window of opportunity. Perhaps the decapitation of the militant group’s senior command would be a chance for renewed ceasefire talks and the release of the Israeli hostages.

    The US president, Joe Biden, urged the Israeli government the following day to “make this moment an opportunity” to end the war in Gaza. But Israel had already launched a major operation in northern Gaza. On October 12, the IDF posted a message in Arabic on social media sites warning civilians living in an area designated as D5 on Israel’s grid map of Gaza to evacuate. It said the area would soon be a “dangerous combat zone” and ordered people to move to safe areas in the south of Gaza.

    This process has continued as the IDF has renewed its offensive in the north of the enclave, with an estimated 400,000 people affected, about 20% of the population of Gaza. The UN reported on October 21 that only a “trickle” of food aid has been allowed into north Gaza over the previous week. The Israeli military has denied this. But it has also been reported that the emergency polio vaccination campaign in north Gaza has had to be suspended, due to Israeli bombardment and a lack of access to UN personnel.

    The forcible transfer of a population during war is illegal under international law, as is denying access to humanitarian aid for civilians. But there are fears that there is a plan to move Palestinians out of north Gaza in a plan which could pave the way for settlers to move in.

    The liberal Haaretz newspaper, a consistent critic of the Netanyahu government, published an editorial on October 22 saying that there was mounting evidence that Israel is now pursuing a policy of siege and starvation to force the complete evacuation of the civilian population of northern Gaza. In doing this, the newspaper said, Israel is implementing the now notorious “generals’ plan”. It asserted:

    Make no mistake, [the generals’ plan] is a war crime, and it runs contrary to UN Security Council decision 2334, which states that land may not be taken through force, referring to acts of war.

    Military plan or land grab?

    The “generals’ plan” is attributed to retired Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland, a former head of national security in Israel. As a strategy to defeat Hamas (something which has proved elusive in 12 months of bitter fighting in Gaza) it proposes the wholesale transfer of north Gaza’s population south beyond the Netzarim corridor. A siege would be imposed on those who remain.

    The Netzarim Corridor runs across the Gaza Strip below Gaza CIty. Israel is moving Palestinians south of the corridor.
    ChrisO/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    In late September Eiland argued in an interview with Haaretz that “it’s permissible and even recommended to starve an enemy to death, provided you’ve allowed the civilians corridors of exits beforehand. And that is exactly what I am proposing”.

    Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, recently told US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, that Israel is not planning to lay siege to northern Gaza. But the evidence of the military’s actions on the ground suggests otherwise. Since October 6 the IDF has been conducting what it calls a “clearing operation” in Jabalia, north of Gaza City, channelling civilians south while launching airstrikes against the Jabalia refugee camp, where it says units of Hamas are embedded.

    Changing the reality

    There is widespread concern that the end game in north Gaza will include the return of settlers. A conference on October 22 attended by members of the ruling Likud Party, including several ministers in the Netanyahu government, heard the national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, assert that “encouraging emigration” of Palestinian residents of Gaza would be the “most ethical” solution to the conflict. The finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, told journalists on his way to the conference that the Gaza Strip was “part of the Land of Israel” and that “without settlements, there is no security”.

    Settlers were moved out of the the Gaza Strip in 2005, under the then prime minister Ariel Sharon’s Disengagement Plan. The plan dismantled 21 settlements in the Strip, relocating an estimated 8,000 settlers. Many vowed at the time that they would return one day.

    CIA map of the Gaza Strip in May 2005, a few months prior to the Israeli withdrawal. The major settlement blocs are shaded in blue.
    CIA/Wikimedia Commons

    There was a Jewish presence on the Gaza Strip from biblical times until 1929, when they were driven out during the Arab revolts, in which 133 Gazan Jews were killed. After the six-day war in 1967, Israel occupied the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. In the aftermath of the war, the main focus of settlement was national security, rather than religious ideology. Here the driving force was Israel’s deputy prime minister, Yigal Allon, who believed that national security could be guaranteed by building settlements.

    As a consequence, in the 1970s, the Labour government established the initial modern settlements in the Gaza Strip. The settlements divided the enclave such that the Palestinian inhabitants in each area were isolated from each other, thus enabling Israeli control.

    UK-based historian Ahron Bregman, a former Israeli army officer (who has written for The Conversation on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians), warned in a post on X about how national security could once again be used as a pretext for settlements to be established in north Gaza.

    Warning: Ahron Bregman’s post on X on October 22.
    Twitter

    The current operation in northern Gaza feels like a particularly ominous moment, not only in the Hamas-Israel war, but in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Rather than use the opportunity of a weakened Hamas to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal and allow the people of Gaza to attempt to rebuild their shattered lives, Israel appears to be illegally, immorally and irreversibly changing the realities on the ground.

    Leonie Fleischmann 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. Israel’s ‘generals’ plan’ to clear Palestinians from north of Gaza could pave the way for settlers to return – https://theconversation.com/israels-generals-plan-to-clear-palestinians-from-north-of-gaza-could-pave-the-way-for-settlers-to-return-241987

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Mary Queen of Scots and the clandestine tricks of the women who kept her secrets

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jade Scott, Affiliate in History , University of Glasgow

    Mary, Queen of Scots spent almost 20 years in captivity. She was held in various locations across Britain from 1568 until her execution on February 8 1587. As I explain in my new book, Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots, during this period she relied upon letters to maintain her support back in Scotland, encourage international allies to join her cause and foster allegiances in England.

    Mary was aware that her letters were routinely read by her jailers and passed on to be scrutinised by Elizabeth I’s closest advisers, notably William Cecil. At times, she was forced to rely on clandestine techniques, including writing in invisible ink. She wrote that “although such artifices be very hazardous and vulgar, they will serve me in extreme necessity”.

    Less technical means of conveying correspondence covertly also proved useful. Letters were regularly passed surreptitiously in clothing. They could be slipped under the sleeves of ladies’ gowns, sewn into doublets, or even packed into the heel of a shoe.

    In 1572, Mary’s longest-serving custodian, the earl of Shrewsbury, George Talbot, reported that he had discovered that Mary was having letters left hidden under stones in the gardens. These would be collected later by servants and carried out of the property, to avoid unwanted attention.

    Mary also used complex ciphers to disguise the contents of her correspondence, especially when she wished to discuss plots designed to set her free. Hundreds of her coded letters survive in different forms (as copies, translations, and originals), many of them from supporters who were directly involved in schemes including the Babington plot of 1586, which aimed to assassinate Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary.

    Mary, Queen of Scots at Fotheringhay by John Duncan (1929).
    University of St Andrews, CC BY-SA

    The women who carried Mary’s secrets

    The role of women in Mary’s coded correspondence is often overlooked. Yet she relied upon her female supporters to ensure that covert networks were maintained during her captivity.

    The countess of Northumberland, Lady Anne Percy, was one of the noblewomen at the heart of a transcontinental network of Catholic exiles who went to great efforts to preserve clandestine channels of communication between themselves and Mary.

    In August 1571, William Maitland of Lethington, Mary’s principal secretary in Scotland, wrote to her. He explained that he had shared a new cipher so that Lady Percy could write to Mary secretly. Several years later, Mary confirmed that she was still writing in code to Lady Percy and receiving such letters in return.

    Mary Queen of Scots Bidding Farewell to France by William Powell Frith (1851).
    National Trust, Newton House, Dinefwr Park and Castle

    Similarly, Mary communicated with Scottish noblewomen using ciphers. Lady Livingston, Agnes Fleming, journeyed with Mary into England in late 1568 and remained by her side in captivity until 1572, when she returned to Scotland. We know that she communicated with Mary using coded letters because in 1573 Lethington warned her that she must stop using their usual cipher.

    He explained that the letter bearer had been arrested and so their cipher was likely “known to their adversaries”. Lady Livingston remained a loyal supporter of Mary after she returned to Scotland. She was even briefly imprisoned in Dalkeith by the regent of Scotland, James Morton, for sharing news and intelligence via secret messages.



    Read more:
    Letters and embroidery allowed medieval women to express their ‘forbidden’ emotions

    Lady Ferniehirst, Jean Scott, also composed coded correspondence to navigate the surveillance and scrutiny that the Scottish queen was subject to in England. Her husband, Sir Thomas Kerr of Ferniehirst, was exiled in 1573 following his attempts to hold Edinburgh Castle on Mary’s behalf. This meant that during the 1580s, Lady Ferniehirst was crucial to the survival of a network of Scottish nobles who continued to agitate for Mary’s restoration.

    She regularly acted as an intermediary between Mary and James VI, allowing at least some of their communication to avoid English detection. Several of Lady Ferniehirst’s own coded letters to Mary survive, and many were intercepted and decoded by contemporary agents seeking evidence of Mary’s plotting.

    In 1578, Mary requested that Lady Ferniehirst’s 13-year-old daughter be allowed to join her household in England. Aware of the clandestine correspondence between the two women, this request was denied by Elizabeth I. She suspected that Lady Ferniehirst’s daughter would ensure even more coded letters managed to make their way from Mary to her supporters.

    The correspondence of Mary’s female supporters reveals early modern women’s skilful navigation of political crisis. Illuminating the examples of women like Lady Percy, Lady Livingston and Lady Ferniehirst challenges gendered assumptions that have led to women being underestimated or dismissed throughout history.


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    Jade Scott previously received funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council UK (AHRC).

    – ref. Mary Queen of Scots and the clandestine tricks of the women who kept her secrets – https://theconversation.com/mary-queen-of-scots-and-the-clandestine-tricks-of-the-women-who-kept-her-secrets-241444

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How asbestos exposure continues to be a dire health risk – 25 years after it was banned

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Justin Stebbing, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University

    Jjay69/Shutterstock

    Asbestos may have been banned from use in the UK since 1999 but the hazardous material continues to pose a serious danger to the population.

    Low levels of asbestos are naturally present in the air, water and soil, which usually doesn’t cause people to become ill. However, regular exposure to asbestos – in the workplace, for example – is a real health risk.

    Asbestos exposure can have an insidious effect on health. It can take decades for symptoms to become noticeable but, once diagnosed, most patients die within two years.

    According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety, more than 5,000 people die from asbestos-related diseases each year, making asbestos the leading cause of work-related deaths in the UK.

    Perilous but popular

    Asbestos is a group of dangerous but naturally occurring fibrous minerals widely used for decades for their heat-resistant and insulating properties. The primary types of asbestos include the most commonly used chrysotile (white asbestos), amosite (brown asbestos) and crocidolite (blue asbestos).

    These fibres are highly durable and resistant to heat, electricity, and chemical damage, which made asbestos a popular material in various industries, particularly in construction and manufacturing throughout the 20th century.

    Worryingly, despite the known dangers of asbestos, it remains a common material in many UK school buildings. According to a 2019 Department for Education survey, more than 80% of state schools in England and around 60% of schools in Scotland and Wales still have asbestos “present on their estate”.

    Asbestos is considered to be safe as long as it is undisturbed. However, if there are damaged or shedding fibres then the material becomes highly dangerous to those exposed to it.

    An (un)healthy education

    When asbestos fibres become airborne and are inhaled, they can cause significant damage to lung cells and other organs.

    The main health issues linked to asbestos exposure include lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis, a chronic lung disease that leads to lung tissue scarring and severe breathing difficulties.

    Mesothelioma is a rare but aggressive cancer affecting the lining of the lungs – and sometimes the abdomen or heart. Sadly, as my research has shown, it’s extremely difficult to treat patients with this condition.

    HSE statistics show that 111 teachers died from mesothelioma between the years of 2011-20. In 2021, 23 teachers died from the cancer. A 2021 report by the Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC), a group that was set up to protect workers and students from the risk of asbestos, states estimates that “1,000 teachers and support staff and 9,000 former pupils died from mesothelioma between 1980 and 2017 due to asbestos exposure in schools”.

    Deadly decay

    State school buildings constructed between the 1950s and 1999 in the UK are likely to have been built using asbestos containing materials. Despite the guidance that asbestos is safe if not disturbed, there are concerns that the dilapidated state of many of the UK’s state school buildings is causing teachers and children to be at risk of asbestos exposure.

    In October 2024, the CEO of the Mesothelioma UK charity, Liz Darlison told the MailOnline that:

    The ongoing presence of asbestos in our deteriorating school buildings is like a bomb that is slowly exploding. It’s an unbelievable tragedy and a national disgrace that we are not doing more to protect people, especially children.

    Crumbling school buildings could disturb asbestos fibres, causing them to be released and then inhaled by teachers and students. Asbestos fibres are invisible – they can’t be seen, smelled or felt in the air or on clothes so it’s impossible to know if you’ve been exposed to it – until it’s too late.

    It seems, then, that only way to finally eradicate the health risks of asbestos is to remove it from public buildings. Strict enforcement of regulations, public education, safe removal programs and support for those who’ve been exposed to asbestos will be essential in ensuring that asbestos related health risks are finally eradicated.

    Justin Stebbing 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 asbestos exposure continues to be a dire health risk – 25 years after it was banned – https://theconversation.com/how-asbestos-exposure-continues-to-be-a-dire-health-risk-25-years-after-it-was-banned-232426

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Moo Deng: the celebrated hippo’s real home has disappeared – will the world restore it?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Huanyuan Zhang-Zheng, College Lecturer at Worcester College, and Postdoctoral Researcher at School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford

    Moo Deng lives with her mother and siblings in Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chon Buri, Thailand. I Viewfinder/Shutterstock

    The playful and pudgy mammal that went viral from its Thai zoo enclosure has a sad story to tell about her fellows hippos.

    Moo Deng is the two-month-old pygmy hippo who flicks her ears in joy and likes splashing in water. She lives the life of a superstar at Khao Kheow Open Zoo, where huge crowds have massed – but the chances of spotting her relatives in the wild are slim.

    Pygmy hippos (Choeropsis liberiensis) are endangered and estimated to number fewer than 2,500. Their decline has been drastic: a long-term survey in a national park in Ivory Coast found 12,000 pygmy hippos in 1982; 5,000 in 1997 and 2,000 in 2011. Today, these hippos are scarce across their native west Africa.

    Perhaps it’s not surprising that pygmy hippos feel most comfortable deep in the forest. Early European explorers to Liberia wrote in their diaries that this hippo chooses to forage at night and conceal itself in the water or in dense vegetation during the day.

    So secretive is this species that 19th-century explorers observed:

    if someone walks across one of their paths or tunnels (used to navigate through thick vegetation), they will abandon that route for a while.

    Sensitive souls

    Widespread deforestation and constant disturbance have made it difficult for pygmy hippos to survive, requiring as they do a combination of dense forests and swamps which already restricted them to a small area. West African forests have lost over 80% of their original area, which confines wild pygmy hippos to small spots in Gola National Forest (Sierra Leone) and Sapo National Park (Liberia).

    The world once had several pygmy hippo species. Only one remains, in West Africa.
    IUCN, CC BY-SA

    With their forests rapidly disappearing, there simply isn’t enough space for pygmy hippos to find food, thrive and reproduce. A survey in the Gola rainforest and its surroundings revealed that many were hiding on former cropland outside the protected area. Re – Yes the survey includes area outside protected forests area

    Cocoa production is probably the biggest cause of forest loss, then gold mining and unsustainable logging. These activities now encroach on forest reserves and other supposedly protected areas.

    Previous forest conservation efforts have failed. Conservationists argue for a system to financially reward farmers and authorise local forestry communities to safeguard the forests and sustainably manage what remains, as opposed to a top-down model of state management and enforcement.

    A world treasure

    West Africa’s forest loss is particularly heartbreaking as research shows that a remaining patch may be the most productive on Earth, surpassing even the Amazon rainforest.

    Particularly productive forests harness more of the sun’s energy and turn it into lots of palatable herbs and juicy fruits – more food to support animals like pygmy hippos, and so foster rich biodiversity.

    Before extensive fieldwork beginning in 2016, researchers had underestimated the value of west African forests, particularly their capacity to store carbon and thereby offset global warming. This oversight was partly the result of these forests being hidden by clouds, which makes satellite observation difficult, and their relative neglect by western researchers compared with other ecosystems elsewhere.

    It’s not just Moo Deng’s wider family that is at risk. West African forests are home to more than 900 bird species and nearly 400 mammals – more than a quarter of all mammal species in Africa. Their future is highly threatened by extensive deforestation.

    Underestimating the value of west African forests has kept them off the priority list for global forest restoration. It’s sadly not surprising that deforestation continues. In 2022 alone Ghana lost 44,500 acres of forest (twice the size of Manchester), close to a 70% increase from 2021.

    Each tropical forest contributes irreplaceable biodiversity. From the elusive mammals of west Africa to the vibrant birds of south-east Asia, these ecosystems are equally important. Comprehensive plans are needed to restore them which involve empowering local communities to manage their long-term health.

    A global initiative to designate 30% of Earth’s land and ocean as protected by 2030 (known as 30×30) should not conserve a vast area in one or two places, ignoring Earth’s other biodiversity hotspots. The lesson of Moo Deng’s disappearing home should be to value ecosystems equally – and plan their preservation with equal care.


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    Huanyuan Zhang-Zheng receives funding from the US Department of Energy.

    Sulemana Bawa 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. Moo Deng: the celebrated hippo’s real home has disappeared – will the world restore it? – https://theconversation.com/moo-deng-the-celebrated-hippos-real-home-has-disappeared-will-the-world-restore-it-241815

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –