NewzIntel.com

Category: Weather

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hawley Chairs Hearing That Exposes Insurance Fraud by Major Corporations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo)
    During a disaster management subcommittee hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) highlighted victims of recent natural disasters and the insurance companies that defrauded them.  
    “This isn’t charity that we’re talking about. [Americans] turn to their insurance companies because they pay premiums to those insurance companies. It’s a contract,” said Senator Hawley. “And unfortunately, time after time they find when disaster strikes–in their moment of utmost need–the insurance companies come back to them and they delay, and they deny, and they offer excuses, and they send out two adjusters and three adjusters and 15 adjusters and 25 adjusters, and they constantly change the estimates. And at the end of the day, they just won’t pay what is due. What is required. What is just.”
    The hearing featured homeowners whose property was severely damaged by recent storms, insurance adjuster whistleblowers who were pressured by companies to doctor reports to cut payouts, and the executive director of the American Policyholder Association, a consumer advocacy group that investigates fraud by insurance companies. 
    “When we needed Allstate the most, they failed us,” one disaster victim noted.
    “This is no longer about just a roof,” said another. “It’s about the failure of a system that leaves families vulnerable after catastrophic events.”
    Senator Hawley concurred.
    “It’s not like it’s happened to just one family,” he said. “It is a deliberate strategy to maximize profits.” 
    Senator Hawley also called out Allstate and State Farm for defrauding their policyholders and intimidating whistleblowers.
    “We’ve just heard testimony here–sworn testimony from multiple adjusters–that your company ordered them to delete or alter damage estimates to reduce payouts and to make you profits,” Senator Hawley said. “It sounds to me like you’re running a system of institutionalized fraud.”
    Senator Hawley has been drawing attention to insurance company victims since President Trump shed light on the issue during his January visit to North Carolina where he met with those impacted by Hurricane Helene. 
    Watch the full subcommittee hearing here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – NECCA’s mismanagement of environmental resources to the benefit of Nea Dimokratia’s propaganda team revealed – E-001806/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001806/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Nikolas Farantouris (The Left)

    Greece’s Natural Environmental and Climate Change Agency (NECCA), which is supervised by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy, was established in 2020 following the transposition into Greek law of Directive (EU) 2018/844 and Directive (EU) 2019/692 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The agency is responsible for coordinating national environmental and biodiversity protection policy.

    Recent reports from Greek and European media outlets have denounced that NECCA awarded contracts for communication services[1] worth more than EUR 1 million to companies owned by persons with ties to the ruling Nea Dimokratia party – namely Thomas Varvitsiotis and Yiannis Olympios[2]. The reports reveal that one of these companies, Blue Skies, employs staff that in fact work for the Nea Dimokratia party propaganda team, ‘Team Truth’, raising serious questions about the possible diversion of national and European environmental funds for party purposes[3].

    At the same time, civil society organisations complain[4] that NECCA is failing to manage protected areas, secure funding and fulfil the country’s obligations under EU law.

    In light of the above, can the Commission say:

    • 1.Is the Commission aware of these complaints, which may call into question Greece’s compliance with environmental protection obligations?
    • 2.Does the Commission intend to investigate whether funds earmarked for environmental protection are being misused to fund the ruling group’s political propaganda machine?

    Submitted: 5.5.2025

    • [1] https://www.in.gr/2025/04/26/politics/politiki-grammateia/symvaseis-xiliadon-eyro-metaksy-dimosiou-kai-etaireion-pou-idrysan-galazia-paidia-misthodotoumena-apo-tin-blue-skies-kai-ergazomena-se-nd-maksimou/
    • [2] https://www.politico.eu/article/financing-scandal-rocks-greece-ruling-party-new-democracy/
    • [3] https://insidestory.gr/article/poia-einai-i-etaireia-poy-stegazei-kentrika-prosopa-toy-mihanismoy-propagandas-tis-nd
    • [4] https://www.topontiki.gr/2025/04/23/ofipeka-afthono-chrima-stin-omada-alithias-pliris-adiaforia-gia-tin-parnitha-ti-katangelloun-ethelontes/
    Last updated: 14 May 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Direct EU compensation for those affected by floods on Greek islands – P-001393/2025(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    The EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF)[1] can only be activated at the request of Greece which has a deadline of 12 weeks as from when the first damage occurred, demonstrating that the total direct damage exceeds the thresholds specified in Article 2 Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002. The EUSF may cover a part of the costs for emergency and recovery operations incurred by public authorities[2]. Private damage is not eligible.

    Member States hit by natural disasters may also benefit from the flexibilities provided by the Regional Emergency Support to Reconstruction (RESTORE) Regulation which entered into force on 24 December 2024[3]. RESTORE primarily focuses on reconstruction, but it can also support disaster resilience. In the 2021-27 programming period, all EU-funded infrastructure with a lifespan of more than 5 years must undergo a climate proofing assessment.

    Although defence was identified as one of the priorities of the mid-term review, climate adaptation and disaster risk management continue to be key priorities for Cohesion Policy. For instance, interventions addressing flood, drought or desertification risks are part of the actions envisaged under the water priority[4]. Moreover, dedicating funding to defence remains voluntary.

    Directive 2007/60/EC[5] establishes a framework for the assessment and management of flood risks, aiming at the reduction of adverse consequences associated with floods. It stipulates that the Flood Risk Management Plans, drawn up by Member States, shall take into account inter alia costs and benefits, and shall in particular address all aspects of flood risk management focusing on prevention, protection, and preparedness. The design and implementation of concrete measures lies with the competent authorities.

    • [1] Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund (OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 3) as amended by Regulation (EU) No 661/2014 of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 May 2014 (OJ L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 143) and by Regulation (EU) 2020/461 of the European Parliament and the Council of 30 March 2020 (OJ L 99, 31.3.2020, p. 9). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32002R2012.
    • [2] This means, for example, the recovery of essential infrastructure, provision of temporary accommodation to the population, cleaning-up operations, and protection of the cultural heritage.
    • [3] Regulation (EU) 2024/3236 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 amending Regulations (EU) 2021/1057 and (EU) 2021/1058 as regards Regional Emergency Support to Reconstruction (RESTORE) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/3236.
    • [4] https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/communication/mid-term-review-2025/communication-mid-term-review-2025_en.pdf .
    • [5] Directive 2007/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the assessment and management of flood, OJ L 288, 6.11.2007, p. 27-34. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2007/60/oj/eng.
    Last updated: 14 May 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The 7th Central Asian Conference on Climate Change was held in Ashgabat

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    ALMATY, May 14 (Xinhua) — The 7th Central Asian Conference on Climate Change was held in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, from Tuesday to Wednesday. The main theme of the event was stated as “Achieving the global goal of climate finance through regional and national actions in Central Asia,” the International Information Center of Turkmenistan reported on Wednesday.

    The conference was organized by the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia and the Government of Turkmenistan, and was held with the support of the World Bank and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ).

    Over the course of two days, representatives of countries in the region and international organizations discussed common approaches to combating climate challenges.

    The opening ceremony featured welcoming speeches from the Minister of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, as well as high-ranking representatives of the World Bank, GIZ, the EU and the UN Development Programme. During a special session, representatives of the World Bank, the UK, the EU and Italy outlined their approaches and spoke about climate finance opportunities for Central Asian countries. Particular attention was paid to mechanisms for the effective use of funds raised.

    The key topics of the second day of the event were transboundary landscape restoration and combating land degradation.

    Conference participants confirmed their understanding of common climate challenges and the readiness of Central Asian countries to work together, naming the transition from discussions to practical actions as a priority goal and promising to continue work on forming a regional climate agenda and preparing for future summits. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Historic air display to honour VE Day and local heroes 14 May 2025 Historic air display to honour VE Day and local heroes

    Source: Aisle of Wight

    As the Island marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day, this year’s Isle of Wight Armed Forces Day on Sunday 29 June promises a truly stirring spectacle.

    The organiser has confirmed a very special addition to the commemorations — a breath-taking air display by the renowned Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF).

    In a moving tribute, two iconic aircraft — a Spitfire and a Hurricane — will take to the skies above Ryde in a full display, evoking the courage and sacrifice of those who defended our skies during the Second World War.

    Ian Dore, event organiser, shared the significance of the moment: “Following the tragic loss of Squadron Leader Mark Long, the BBMF were grounded last season. Now, a year on, they are flying once more — and we are honoured to welcome them with not one, but two aircraft.

    “The Spitfire and Hurricane will perform a dynamic display, one chasing the other in a rare and thrilling aerial ballet. It’s a real privilege for the Island.”

    This poignant display is made possible thanks to the generous support of Fishbourne Parish Council.

    Their sponsorship reflects the deep ties between the local community and the Armed Forces. Within the ward stands a war memorial bearing the names of several RAF personnel, including Sgt Edmund Eric Shepperd.

    Sgt Shepperd joined the RAF in 1935 and served with distinction during the Battle of Britain as a Sergeant Pilot with 152 Squadron. He is credited with downing multiple enemy aircraft, including a Messerschmitt 109, three Junkers, and a Stuka.

    Ian added: “We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Fishbourne Parish Council. They understand the importance of this display — not just as a tribute to the past, but as an inspiration for future generations. For heroes like Sgt Shepperd, and all who served, we remember them with pride.

    “We will also be honouring the memory of Squadron Leader Mark Long, a gifted pilot who brought joy to so many. The Spitfire expected to fly — TE311 — was the one he flew the most and now bears his name along its starboard side. To see it soar, especially in his memory, will be one of the most emotional and uplifting moments of this year’s event.”

    The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is scheduled to appear shortly after the Remembrance segment of the day’s proceedings.

    Islanders are encouraged to gather and witness what promises to be a highlight of Armed Forces Day — a soaring salute to courage, sacrifice, and enduring legacy.

    Photo: Darren Harbar.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Happy Valley-Goose Bay — Family of five stranded on Route 510 during recent blizzard safely rescued by RCMP and partners

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    A family of five who were stranded on Route 510 outside of Happy Valley-Goose Bay during a severe winter storm were safely rescued on May 10, 2025. Happy Valley-Goose Bay RCMP, Happy Valley-Goose Bay Ground Search and Rescue (GSAR), and Grey Rock Mining worked together to respond to this challenging situation.

    On Saturday, Happy Valley-Goose Bay RCMP responded to a report of a stranded motorist on Route 510, approximately 55 kilometers outside of Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The vehicle, carrying five occupants, was stuck in the snow. Weather conditions were extremely poor with high winds, heavy snowfall and frigid temperatures. One of the occupants, a woman, departed the vehicle to seek help.

    RCMP officers responded in two separate police vehicles, and encountered dangerous road conditions and low visibility. Police activated GSAR for assistance, who in turn engaged Grey Rock Mining to request the deployment of snowplows to support the rescue effort.

    Approximately 45 kilometers outside of town, the two officers exited their vehicle and walked the highway in an effort to locate the woman. The officers located the woman a short distance away, covered in snow and extremely cold and covered her in their clothing to help shield her from the weather. She was escorted to a police vehicle, and officers contacted the emergency department at Labrador Health Centre for direction while waiting for paramedics to arrive.

    A short time later GSAR and paramedics — led by snowplow — arrived at the location. The woman was treated on scene by paramedics for suspected hypothermia.

    Grey Rock Mining dispatched a second snowplow to help reach the remaining four occupants of the stranded vehicle. The vehicle was freed, and all occupants were safely accounted for. The snowplows then led the convoy of all parties back to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, ensuring their safe return.

    RCMP NL thanks the responding police officers, Happy Valley-Goose Bay Ground Search and Rescue (GSAR) and Grey Rock Mining for their collaboration and effort in safely rescuing this family.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Southern Africa’s rangelands do many jobs, from feeding cattle to storing carbon: a review of 60 years of research

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kevin Kirkman, Professor of Grassland Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal

    South Africa’s rangelands have always had great value for the country. These areas offer more than just grazing for livestock. They provide services like purifying water, storing carbon and conserving biodiversity.

    The grassland biome (28%), along with the savanna (32.5%) and the Nama-Karoo (19.5%), are collectively referred to as rangelands. They make up almost 80% of the land area of South Africa.

    Their ecological services haven’t always been fully appreciated. Research into rangelands has evolved in response to environmental changes, human needs and scientific discoveries.

    Commercial livestock production was the main concern when academics, researchers and practitioners met for the first congress of the Grassland Society of Southern Africa in 1966. Less than 15% of South Africa’s land surface area is arable. The only agricultural production possible on the balance of the land is livestock production from natural rangeland. Livestock production is thus a cornerstone of agriculture and food production in South Africa.

    Six decades on, the Grassland Society has reflected – through a special issue of its journal, the African Journal of Range and Forage Science – on how it has tackled research challenges and adapted to shifting perceptions of rangelands.

    Research has explored aspects of global change, bush encroachment and other changes in rangeland composition and function. Land transformation is another research area. Peri-urban sprawl, open-cast mining, timber plantations and other developments reduce and fragment rangeland. The result is increased pressure on the remaining, intact rangelands.

    Widening scope

    A review of research over the 60 years shows that early efforts focused mainly on forage production to support livestock industries. Research topics included rotational grazing and burning, as well as reinforcing rangelands by adding nutrients, forage grasses and legumes.

    By the 1980s, it became clear that rangelands offered more than just grazing – they were vital ecosystems.

    Rangelands in southern Africa span diverse climates and landscapes, from arid deserts to moist mountains. Kevin Kirkman, Author provided (no reuse)

    In the early 1990s, around the onset of democracy in South Africa, local researchers became part of global conversations around rangeland ecology. In doing so, they started to use the international terminology, instead of the old Dutch-derived word “veld”.

    This shift was not just about geography, but about scope. Rangelands were increasingly seen as multifaceted ecosystems critical in the fight against climate change. Increasing temperatures, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and changing rainfall patterns pose a threat to all ecosystems. Understanding the response of rangelands is increasingly important in devising management strategies to adapt to these changes.

    Scientists expanded their attention to preserving soil health, restoring degraded landscapes, and maintaining biodiversity. Issues like overgrazing, soil erosion and invasive species gained recognition in southern Africa. Degradation of rangelands in South Africa was first highlighted in the mid 1700s, and became a “mainstream” issue in the 1930s. Replacing a diverse group of wild animals with a single species of grazer, such as cattle, is the reason generally given for degradation. Fire has also been linked to it (often unfairly).

    The Grassland Society responded by promoting ideas like adaptive grazing management (making decisions in response to conditions, rather than following a recipe approach). It also encouraged integrating indigenous knowledge with scientific research to create more sustainable and resilient land-use systems. This has helped shape land management practices across the region.

    Rangelands are dynamic, especially in the Karoo, where vegetation cover can shift dramatically in response to rainfall and grazing. Justin du Toit, Author provided (no reuse)

    Many southern African rangelands face the challenge of balancing grazing with biodiversity conservation. Research on conservation agriculture and integrating livestock and wildlife systems is helping farmers and conservationists to find common ground. Wildlife, both in the conservation and the game production contexts, plays a critical role in South Africa’s economy. Tourism is one of the major contributors.

    Land management is particularly important in the Mediterranean-climate regions of South Africa, where poor crop farming practices have damaged soil health. The research is guiding the development of more sustainable farming systems focused on soil regeneration and biodiversity.

    A key indicator of ecosystem degradation is a decline in grassland forbs (herbaceous plants that are not grasses). They are highly sensitive to grazing pressure. So the role of wildflowers in ecosystem health and animal wellbeing has also become an important research area.

    Climate change, fire suppression and overgrazing drive woody plant encroachment, where grasslands are turning into shrublands. This calls for integrated management approaches that consider fire, grazing and even controlled rewilding.

    Fire is a natural element in many grassland ecosystems, and research has helped advance understanding of how it can be monitored and controlled to reduce risks while promoting healthy rangelands.

    People and grasslands

    Grazing contrast. Justin du Toit

    Rangeland management has important social dimensions. Research is addressing issues such as land tenure, governance, community management systems on communal rangelands and indigenous knowledge in management decisions. These topics are essential for creating sustainable solutions that account for people’s livelihoods and needs.

    In addition to these ecological, social and management advances, the Grassland Society of Southern Africa has worked to develop the next generation of rangeland scientists and practitioners. Through its congresses, workshops and journal publications, the society continues to foster dialogue across disciplines and communities. Its 60th congress will be held in July 2025.

    – Southern Africa’s rangelands do many jobs, from feeding cattle to storing carbon: a review of 60 years of research
    – https://theconversation.com/southern-africas-rangelands-do-many-jobs-from-feeding-cattle-to-storing-carbon-a-review-of-60-years-of-research-254736

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Southern Africa’s rangelands do many jobs, from feeding cattle to storing carbon: a review of 60 years of research

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kevin Kirkman, Professor of Grassland Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal

    South Africa’s rangelands have always had great value for the country. These areas offer more than just grazing for livestock. They provide services like purifying water, storing carbon and conserving biodiversity.

    The grassland biome (28%), along with the savanna (32.5%) and the Nama-Karoo (19.5%), are collectively referred to as rangelands. They make up almost 80% of the land area of South Africa.

    Their ecological services haven’t always been fully appreciated. Research into rangelands has evolved in response to environmental changes, human needs and scientific discoveries.

    Commercial livestock production was the main concern when academics, researchers and practitioners met for the first congress of the Grassland Society of Southern Africa in 1966. Less than 15% of South Africa’s land surface area is arable. The only agricultural production possible on the balance of the land is livestock production from natural rangeland. Livestock production is thus a cornerstone of agriculture and food production in South Africa.

    Six decades on, the Grassland Society has reflected – through a special issue of its journal, the African Journal of Range and Forage Science – on how it has tackled research challenges and adapted to shifting perceptions of rangelands.

    Research has explored aspects of global change, bush encroachment and other changes in rangeland composition and function. Land transformation is another research area. Peri-urban sprawl, open-cast mining, timber plantations and other developments reduce and fragment rangeland. The result is increased pressure on the remaining, intact rangelands.

    Widening scope

    A review of research over the 60 years shows that early efforts focused mainly on forage production to support livestock industries. Research topics included rotational grazing and burning, as well as reinforcing rangelands by adding nutrients, forage grasses and legumes.

    By the 1980s, it became clear that rangelands offered more than just grazing – they were vital ecosystems.

    In the early 1990s, around the onset of democracy in South Africa, local researchers became part of global conversations around rangeland ecology. In doing so, they started to use the international terminology, instead of the old Dutch-derived word “veld”.

    This shift was not just about geography, but about scope. Rangelands were increasingly seen as multifaceted ecosystems critical in the fight against climate change. Increasing temperatures, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and changing rainfall patterns pose a threat to all ecosystems. Understanding the response of rangelands is increasingly important in devising management strategies to adapt to these changes.

    Scientists expanded their attention to preserving soil health, restoring degraded landscapes, and maintaining biodiversity. Issues like overgrazing, soil erosion and invasive species gained recognition in southern Africa. Degradation of rangelands in South Africa was first highlighted in the mid 1700s, and became a “mainstream” issue in the 1930s. Replacing a diverse group of wild animals with a single species of grazer, such as cattle, is the reason generally given for degradation. Fire has also been linked to it (often unfairly).

    The Grassland Society responded by promoting ideas like adaptive grazing management (making decisions in response to conditions, rather than following a recipe approach). It also encouraged integrating indigenous knowledge with scientific research to create more sustainable and resilient land-use systems. This has helped shape land management practices across the region.

    Many southern African rangelands face the challenge of balancing grazing with biodiversity conservation. Research on conservation agriculture and integrating livestock and wildlife systems is helping farmers and conservationists to find common ground. Wildlife, both in the conservation and the game production contexts, plays a critical role in South Africa’s economy. Tourism is one of the major contributors.

    Land management is particularly important in the Mediterranean-climate regions of South Africa, where poor crop farming practices have damaged soil health. The research is guiding the development of more sustainable farming systems focused on soil regeneration and biodiversity.

    A key indicator of ecosystem degradation is a decline in grassland forbs (herbaceous plants that are not grasses). They are highly sensitive to grazing pressure. So the role of wildflowers in ecosystem health and animal wellbeing has also become an important research area.

    Climate change, fire suppression and overgrazing drive woody plant encroachment, where grasslands are turning into shrublands. This calls for integrated management approaches that consider fire, grazing and even controlled rewilding.

    Fire is a natural element in many grassland ecosystems, and research has helped advance understanding of how it can be monitored and controlled to reduce risks while promoting healthy rangelands.

    People and grasslands

    Rangeland management has important social dimensions. Research is addressing issues such as land tenure, governance, community management systems on communal rangelands and indigenous knowledge in management decisions. These topics are essential for creating sustainable solutions that account for people’s livelihoods and needs.

    In addition to these ecological, social and management advances, the Grassland Society of Southern Africa has worked to develop the next generation of rangeland scientists and practitioners. Through its congresses, workshops and journal publications, the society continues to foster dialogue across disciplines and communities. Its 60th congress will be held in July 2025.

    Kevin Kirkman receives funding from the National Research Foundation.

    Helga van der Merwe receives funding from the National Research Foundation.

    Craig Morris 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. Southern Africa’s rangelands do many jobs, from feeding cattle to storing carbon: a review of 60 years of research – https://theconversation.com/southern-africas-rangelands-do-many-jobs-from-feeding-cattle-to-storing-carbon-a-review-of-60-years-of-research-254736

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: African Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank Forge Strategic Partnership to Address Fragility and Build Resilience in Africa

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

    ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, May 14, 2025/APO Group/ —

    The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) have reinforced their strategic partnership to enhance collective efforts in addressing fragility and building resilience across Africa. This commitment follows a high-level technical exchange held from 22-23 April at the Bank headquarters in Abidjan.

    The two-day mission brought together senior officials from both institutions to align approaches, share best practices, and strengthen collaboration to address complex challenges– particularly in transition states or experiencing fragility. This meeting builds on previous engagements between the two development institutions, including a 2019 Civil Society deep dive facilitated by the African Development Bank’s Civil Society Division, where key areas for joint action were initially identified.

    “This strategic alliance with IsDB reinforces our shared vision of addressing complex challenges in transition states through tailored, context-specific approaches,” said Yero Baldeh, Director of the Transition States Coordination Office at the African Development Bank. “By aligning our methodologies and leveraging our complementary strengths, we can deliver more sustainable solutions in places where development needs are most acute.”

    The IsDB delegation was led by Ahmed Berthe, Lead NGO and Civil Society Specialist, and included Esra Sayhi and Abass Kassim, both Senior Fragility and Resilience Specialists.

    “Our institutions serve many of the same member countries facing similar challenges,” noted Berthe. “What has impressed us most is the African Development Bank’s shift toward anticipatory action and prevention rather than simply responding to crises. This partnership creates a framework for maximizing our collective impact through coordinated investments, shared knowledge, and aligned strategic priorities.”

    The exchange spotlighted the African Development Bank’s Transition Support Facility (TSF), which committed more than $610 million to projects in fragile contexts in 2024. Discussions explored how the TSF’s approach could complement IsDB’s financing tools and create stronger synergies in countries where both institutions operate.

    Climate security emerged as a key theme, with both partners recognizing the role of environmental challenges exacerbating fragility, particularly in vulnerable regions such as the Sahel and the Horn of Africa. The partnership will help develop integrated approaches that address immediate needs and build long-term resilience for both institutions.  

    The exchange also explored ways to harmonize assessment methodologies, coordinate financial instruments, and implement integrated approaches to climate security, with both institutions agreeing to establish a joint technical working group to operationalize the partnership.

    “In line with our 2022-2026 Strategy for Addressing Fragility and Building Resilience in Africa, this partnership reflects the Bank’s strategic emphasis on building alliances that amplify our development impact,” said Ozong Agborsangaya-Fiteu, Chief Operations Officer at RDTS. “By combining our institutional strengths with IsDB, we’re creating a more powerful platform for advancing resilience where it’s needed most.”

    The partnership includes a structured implementation framework scheduled for 2025-2026, in line with the duration of both institutions’ strategies for fragility and resilience. A joint technical working group will operationalize the partnership, ensuring that concrete actions follow this strategic alignment.

    This strategic collaboration advances the African Development Bank’s approach to staying engaged in fragile contexts, focusing on prevention rather than crisis response, and building strategic partnerships across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus—all key principles of its fragility and resilience strategy.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Rising heat, rising risk: managing forest fires in a warming world

    Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

    Wildfires are becoming more intense, more frequent, and more destructive, stretching across continents, ecosystems, and communities.

    In the 2023-2024 season, 3.9 million km² of land burned globally, with carbon emissions 16% above average. Major wildfire events included Canada’s worst season, with 150,000 km² burned and 232 thousand people evacuated, Greece’s largest wildfire on record (900 km²), and deadly fires in Hawaii and Chile, claiming over 200 lives, according to the State of Wildfires 2023-24: CAMS data support assessment – Copernicus. As we approach the 2025 fire season in the Northern Hemisphere, which typically runs from June to October, California has already faced devastating fires in January, outside the usual fire season.

    This growing trend of longer and more intense fire seasons highlights that wildfires are no longer confined to a specific time of year, but are now a year-round global threat.

    Wildfires are escalating into a global crisis, with far-reaching consequences for ecosystems, public health, and the climate. They worsen air pollution, increase carbon emissions, disrupt water supplies, and increase the risk of floods and landslides, compounding vulnerabilities in both rural and urban areas.

    Recognizing this urgency, the UNECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Statistics, Economics and Management, a UN expert body that facilitates technical cooperation on forest data, management, and policy, and oversees expert teams working on these topics, brought together country delegates and experts to explore what is driving this crisis, what it is doing to our forests, and what can be done to manage it.

    Fire is not always an enemy. It has long played a vital role in many forest ecosystems, clearing dead vegetation, recycling nutrients, and fostering diversity. Some forest types even depend on periodic burns to regenerate. When strategically managed, including through practices like controlling and prescribed burning, fire becomes a powerful tool to maintain healthy forests and reduce the risk of larger, more destructive wildfires.

    The balance, however, is shifting. Driven primarily by climate change, wildfires are now pushing ecosystems to their limits. Longer dry seasons, hotter temperatures, and erratic weather are turning manageable fires into landscape-scale disasters.

    As countries prepare for the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP30) in Belém, Brazil, the session emphasized that wildfire risk must be integrated into climate strategies. Forests are a key line of defense against global warming, but only if they are protected and managed sustainably.

    The session concluded with a clear message: a proactive, data-driven, and climate-smart approach is essential.

    Stronger forest resilience measures are needed, including sustainable management, landscape restoration, and fuel load reduction through prescribed burns. Increased investment in firefighting capacity and improved land-use planning are also crucial to protect communities in fire-prone areas.

    Experts highlighted the importance of cross-border collaboration, citing initiatives like the Global Fire Management Hub and tools such as EFFIS and INForest to support data collection and evidence-based policies.

    The path forward must recognize fire’s dual role: as both a threat and a tool in building resilient forest landscapes.

    Resources and further reading

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Pacific voyagers’ remarkable environmental knowledge allowed for long-distance navigation without Western technology

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Richard (Rick) Feinberg, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Kent State University

    An outrigger canoe would typically have several paddlers and one navigator. AP Photo/David Goldman

    Wet and shivering, I rose from the outrigger of a Polynesian voyaging canoe. We’d been at sea all afternoon and most of the night. I’d hoped to get a little rest, but rain, wind and an absence of flat space made sleep impossible. My companions didn’t even try.

    It was May 1972, and I was three months into doctoral research on one of the world’s most remote islands. Anuta is the easternmost populated outpost in the Solomon Islands. It is a half-mile in diameter, 75 miles (120 kilometers) from its nearest inhabited neighbor, and remains one of the few communities where inter-island travel in outrigger canoes is regularly practiced.

    A documentary team made a recent visit to Anuta.

    My hosts organized a bird-hunting expedition to Patutaka, an uninhabited monolith 30 miles away, and invited me to join the team.

    We spent 20 hours en route to our destination, followed by two days there, and sailed back with a 20-knot tail wind. That adventure led to decades of anthropological research on how Pacific Islanders traverse the open sea aboard small craft, without “modern” instruments, and safely arrive at their intended destinations.

    Wayfinding techniques vary, depending upon geographic and environmental conditions. Many, however, are widespread. They include mental mapping of the islands in the sailors’ navigational universe and the location of potential destinations in relation to the movement of stars, ocean currents, winds and waves.

    Western interest in Pacific voyaging

    Disney’s two “Moana” movies have shined a recent spotlight on Polynesian voyaging. European admiration for Pacific mariners, however, dates back centuries.

    In 1768, the French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville named Sāmoa the “Navigators’ Islands.” The famed British sea captain James Cook reported that Indigenous canoes were as fast and agile as his ships. He welcomed Tupaia, a navigational expert from Ra‘iātea, onto his ship and documented Tupaia’s immense geographic knowledge.

    European explorers were impressed by the navigational skills of the people they encountered in the Pacific islands.
    Science & Society Picture Library via Getty Images

    In 1938, Māori scholar Te Rangi Hīroa (aka Sir Peter Buck) authored “Vikings of the Sunrise,” outlining Pacific exploration as portrayed in Polynesian legend.

    In 1947, Thor Heyerdahl, a Norwegian explorer and amateur archaeologist, crossed from Peru to the Tuamotu Islands aboard a balsa wood raft that he named Kon-Tiki, sparking further interest and inspiring a sequence of experimental voyages.

    Ten years later Andrew Sharp, a New Zealand-based historian and prominent naysayer, argued that accurate navigation over thousands of miles without instruments is impossible. Others responded with ethnographic studies showing that such voyages were both historic fact and current practice. In 1970, Thomas Gladwin published his findings on the Micronesian island of Polowat in “East Is a Big Bird.” Two years later, David Lewis’ “We, the Navigators” documented wayfinding techniques across much of Oceania.

    Many anthropologists, along with Indigenous mariners, have built on Gladwin’s and Lewis’ work.

    A final strand has been experimental voyaging. Most celebrated is the work of the Polynesian Voyaging Society. They constructed a double-hull voyaging canoe named Hōkūle‘a, built from modern materials but following a traditional design. In 1976, led by Micronesian navigator Mau Piailug, they sailed Hōkūle‘a over 2,500 miles, from Hawai‘i to Tahiti, without instruments. In 2017, Hōkūle‘a completed a circumnavigation of the planet.

    In traversing Earth’s largest ocean, one can travel thousands of miles and see nothing but sky and water in any direction. Absent a magnetic compass, much less GPS, how is it possible to navigate accurately to the intended destination?

    Looking to the stars

    Most Pacific voyagers rely on celestial navigation. Stars rise in the east, set in the west, and, near the equator, follow a set line of latitude. If a known star either rises or sets directly over the target island, the helmsman can align the vessel with that star.

    However, there are complications.

    Which stars are visible, as well as their rising and setting points, changes throughout the year. Therefore, navigation requires detailed astronomical understanding.

    Also, stars are constantly in motion. One that is positioned directly over the target island will soon either rise too high to be useful or sink below the horizon. Thus, a navigator must seek other stars that follow a similar trajectory and track them as long as they are visible and low on the horizon. Such a sequence of guide stars is often called a “star path.”

    Of course, stars may not align precisely with the desired target. In that case, instead of aiming directly toward the guide star, the navigator keeps it at an appropriate angle.

    A navigator must modify the vessel’s alignment with the stars to compensate for currents and wind that may push the canoe sideways. This movement is called leeway. Therefore, celestial navigation requires knowledge of the currents’ presence, speed, strength and direction, as well as being able to judge winds’ strength, direction and effect on the canoe.

    During daylight, when stars are invisible, the Sun may serve a similar purpose. In early morning and late afternoon, when the Sun is low in the sky, sailors use it to calculate their heading. Clouds, however, sometimes obscure both Sun and stars, in which case voyagers rely on other cues.

    Navigating requires deep understanding of waves, in the form of both swells and seas.
    AP Photo/Esteban Felix

    Waves, wind and other indicators

    A critical indicator is swells. These are waves produced by winds that blow steadily across thousands of miles of open sea. They maintain their direction regardless of temporary or local winds, which produce differently shaped waves called “seas.”

    The helmsman, feeling swells beneath the vessel, gleans the proper heading, even in the dark. In some locations, as many as three or four distinct swell patterns may exist; voyagers distinguish them by size, shape, strength and direction in relation to prevailing winds.

    Once sailors near their target island, but before it is visible, they must determine its precise location. A common indicator is reflected waves: swells that hit the island and bounce back to sea. The navigator feels reflected waves and sails toward them. Pacific navigators who have spent their lives at sea appear quite confident in their reliance on reflected waves. I, by contrast, find them difficult to differentiate from waves produced directly by the wind.

    Birds headed for home at the end of the day provide a clue about where land lies.
    Ecaterina Leonte/Photodisc via Getty Images

    Certain birds that nest on land and fish at sea are also helpful. In early morning, one assumes they’re flying from the island; in late afternoon, they’re likely returning to their nesting spots.

    Navigators sometimes recognize a greenish tint to the sky above a not-yet-visible island. Clouds may gather over a volcanic peak.

    And sailors in the Solomon Islands’ Vaeakau-Taumako region report underwater streaks of light known as te lapa, which they say point toward distant islands. One well-known researcher has expressed confidence in te lapa’s existence and utility. Some scholars have suggested that it could be a bioluminescent or electromagnetic phenomenon. On the other hand, despite a year of concerted effort, I was unable to confirm its presence.

    Estimating one’s position at sea is another challenge. Stars move along a given parallel and indicate one’s latitude. To gauge longitude, by contrast, requires dead reckoning. Navigators calculate their position by keeping track of their starting point, direction, speed and time at sea.

    Some Micronesian navigators estimate their progress through a system known as etak. They visualize the angle between their canoe, pictured as stationary, and a reference island that is off to one side and represented as moving. Western researchers have speculated on how etak works, but there is no consensus yet.

    For millennia, Pacific voyagers have relied on techniques such as these to reach thousands of islands, strewn throughout our planet’s largest ocean. They did so without Western instruments. Instead, they held sophisticated knowledge and shared understandings, passed by word of mouth, through countless generations.

    Richard (Rick) Feinberg has, in the past, received research funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute for Mental Health, and Kent State University. He is a member of the American Anthropological Association, the Association of Senior Anthropologists, and the Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania. He has maintained connections with people of the islands on which he has conducted research.

    – ref. Pacific voyagers’ remarkable environmental knowledge allowed for long-distance navigation without Western technology – https://theconversation.com/pacific-voyagers-remarkable-environmental-knowledge-allowed-for-long-distance-navigation-without-western-technology-247547

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reps. Lawler, Flood Introduce Bipartisan Equal Opportunity For All Investors Act

    Source: US Congressman Mike Lawler (R, NY-17)

    Washington, D.C. – 5/14/25… This week, Reps. Mike Lawler (NY-17), Mike Flood (NE-01), Cleo Fields (LA-06), Sarah McBride (DE-At large), and Shri Thanedar (MI-13) introduced the Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act. 

    The Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act provides additional pathways for Americans to become an accredited investor by allowing individuals seeking the status to take an examination, which will be established by the Securities and Exchange Commission and administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

    “The Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act is about opening up high-growth investment opportunities to more Americans. By expanding the definition of ‘accredited investor’ to include those who pass an SEC and FINRA certification, we’re modernizing outdated rules and ensuring that qualified individuals, not just the wealthiest, can participate in these valuable markets,” said Congressman Lawler. 

    “It is my firm belief that greater access to our capital markets should be accessible due to merit and knowledge, not just wealth. The Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act creates a new pathway for investors to gain accredited investor status by passing a thorough investment exam administered by FINRA. Thank you to my colleagues for joining this effort, and I look forward to bringing this before the full committee,” said Congressman Flood.

    “Louisiana families understand that wealth-building shouldn’t be restricted by arbitrary income thresholds. I’ve met countless constituents with the skills to evaluate sophisticated investments who simply don’t meet outdated wealth requirements. This common-sense reform creates credential-based entry points to private markets, maintaining essential safeguards while expanding access based on merit rather than means. By enabling qualified investors of all backgrounds to participate, we strengthen both public and private capital formation, building a more inclusive economy that reflects our values of opportunity and fairness,” said Congressman Fields.

    “Everyone deserves a fair shot at opportunity. The Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act is a commonsense, bipartisan step toward financial inclusion. By expanding the pool of accredited investors, we’re cutting through unnecessary red tape and opening the doors of our capital markets to a broader, more diverse group of Americans. That means greater access to capital for women, veterans, and communities of color — and more innovation, small business growth, and a stronger economy for everyone. I’m grateful to my colleague, Representative Flood, for his partnership,” said Congresswoman McBride.

    “As someone who came from deep poverty, I know firsthand that the financial system isn’t set up for those without means to succeed. One of my top priorities in Congress is facilitating economic development in communities across Michigan’s 13th Congressional District. By allowing more Americans to become accredited investors, we can allow each American to have a better shot at chasing their American Dream of a better life for themselves and their family. I am pleased to support Congressman Flood’s bipartisan bill again this Congress, and I look forward to seeing this critical legislation passed into law,” said Congressman Thanedar.

    Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties. He was rated the most effective freshman lawmaker in the 118th Congress, 8th overall, surpassing dozens of committee chairs.

    ###

    Full bill text can be found HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Sustain SoCal to Host Agriculture, Food Systems and Waste Stream Innovations event on May 15

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via InvestorWire — Sustain Southern California (“Sustain SoCal”) is excited to announce the upcoming Agriculture, Food Systems and Waste Stream Innovations event, scheduled for Thursday, May. 15, 2025 from 1pm to 7pm. The event will take place in person at UCI Beall Applied Innovation, 5270 California Ave # 100, Irvine, CA 92617.

    With the extensive overlap between the themes of Agriculture and Food Systems, as well as Waste and Circularity, these two series are being strategically combined into a single event which will take place on the above mentioned date. The synergistic agenda shall drive comprehensive discussions along the entire spectrum of the supply chain right from agtech, farm to table, packaging innovations, and waste management policy.

    Bringing together renowned experts with decades of combined agriculture, waste management and sustainable circularity experience, this event promises to be a can’t-miss gathering for those interested in ensuring abundant food security, maintaining enviro-human health securing the farming future of the Southern California region, and waste management innovations.

    Recognized pioneers and policy experts from Southern California and surrounding regions will converge to share their invaluable perspectives, practical insights, and vision with attendees across a broad spectrum of areas.

    Speaker sessions and panel discussions shall be primarily explore the following thematic areas:

    1. Urban Agriculture

    Key experts shall discuss fundamental issues such as encouraging locally-sourced food ecosystems including farm-to-table initiatives; developing incentive structures to enable businesses to switch to affordable, eco-packaging; and exploration of ‘beyond the green bin’ end-of-life strategies in the secondary markets.

    Speakers shall delve into Case Study A on AgTech and Soil Health, weaving together issues related to regenerative practices, soil health and agtech advancements.

    2. Combating the “Ick” Factor Associated with SB1383

    One of the key challenges in sustainable waste management is the separation of green waste at the household and business levels. Some of the foremost minds at the intersection of behaviour change and sustainability shall enlighten attendees on designing educational and infrastructure systems that encourage a high-level of compliance to strenghten SB1383 (“California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy”).

    Moreover, innovations on managing kitchen and bin odors that present a challenge to our cities shall be discussed.

    In a special session, experts from Sustain SoCal and OC Waste and Recycling shall review their findings in the Multifamily Roundtable series.

    Case Study B on SB54 and Regulatory Burdens (“Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act”) shall also be presented, including issues of extended producer responsibility (EPR) and encouraging the streamlining of waste management efforts.

    3. Hazardous Waste Management

    In the third section of the event, invited speakers shall unpack efforts to improve the waste management of dangerous items such as paint and batteries; and share their perspectives on business opportunities in secondary life systems.

    The event also offers attendees a unique opportunity to directly engage with thought leaders and leverage their expertise to better understand cutting-edge concepts, technologies, future market opportunities, products, services, and the regulatory landscape.

    C. Scott Kitcher, President, and CEO of Sustain SoCal, emphasized the importance of the event, stating,

    “We are pleased to offer a new initiative – Agriculture, Food Systems and Waste Stream Innovations which shall provide a new-age forum for industry experts, businesspersons and agricultural enterprises, policymakers and academics. To drive progress on sustainability, it is more important than ever to take a multi-pronged strategy integrating our knowledge of farmers’ challenges, restaurant business practices, technology-enabled sustainability practices, end-of-life strategies, wider educational initiatives and public innovations, and sharpen the design, adoption and implementation of supportive regulatory regimes and outreach activities. At the May event, invited experts will also share their perspectives and practical opportunities on agricultural science, business, behavorial and policy innovation, and sustainable circularity in the farm-to-restaurant supply chain and other secondary waste markets. We would like to extend special thanks to UCI Beall Applied Innovation that have remained incredibly steadfast in their support for our mission for over a decade. Their profound expertise would be a great asset to anyone in the industry making this a must-attend event for farmers, local food service workers and waste management professionals, both in Southern California and beyond.”

    For more information and registration details, visit: https://sustainsocal.org/event/ag-food-waste/.

    About Sustain SoCal

    Sustain SoCal, a non-profit organization, accelerates sustainability and economic growth through innovation, collaboration and education in Southern California. The organization has a ten-year history of exploring and implementing pragmatic, real-world solutions to the challenges created by growth, change and inefficiency. It conducts conferences, workshops and networking events that lead to initiatives that positively impact our region’s economic progress and sustainability. For more information, please visit www.sustainsocal.org.

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    Through our Dynamic Brand Portfolio (DBP), IBN provides: (1) access to a network of wire solutions via InvestorWire to reach all target markets, industries and demographics in the most effective manner possible; (2) article and editorial syndication to 5,000+ news outlets; (3) Press Release Enhancement to ensure maximum impact; (4) full-scale distribution to a growing social media audience; (5) a full array of corporate communications solutions; and (6) total news coverage solutions.

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    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Troy Man Pleads Guilty to Marijuana Trafficking and Money Laundering Conspiracies

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ALBANY, NEW YORK – Isiah Ti-Quan Clements, aka “Zay,” age 38, of Troy, New York, pled guilty today to marijuana trafficking and money laundering.

    United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III; Bryan Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division; Troy Police Chief Daniel DeWolf; and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement.

    United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated: “This prosecution of a sophisticated marijuana trafficking and money laundering organization was made possible by the close collaboration of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies on both coasts. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law and we continue to investigate and prosecute the criminal organizations profiting mightily from its illicit distribution.”

    Clements admitted to being a member of a marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) trafficking organization that cultivated marijuana on a commercial scale in Fresno, California, and shipped thousands of kilograms of marijuana and THC from Fresno to locations throughout the United States, including the Capital Region of New York.  Clements also admitted to laundering marijuana and THC proceeds for the organization. 

    Clements admitted to receiving packages of marijuana shipped by Dwight A. Singletary, II, aka “Nutt” and “Mike Jones,” and McKenzie Merrialice Coles, aka “Kenzie,” from a shipping store in Fresno, Fast Pack & Ship, at his home and a restaurant in Troy.  Clements also arranged shipments of marijuana to his sister, LaFay Pearson, aka “Lala,” at her apartment in Troy, and coordinated the receipt of shipments of marijuana by his aunt, Consanga Harris, aka “Sondy,” at her home in Troy.  After the packages of marijuana were delivered to the defendant, Harris, and Pearson, they were picked up by or dropped off to David Singletary, aka “DB.” 

    Clements was notified of the shipments of marijuana by Coles and Dwight Singletary and was paid between $300 and $400 for each package of marijuana received.  Between June 2018 and May 2022, the defendant received and coordinated the receipt of approximately 1,102 kilograms (2,429 pounds) of marijuana. 

    Clements also laundered marijuana and THC proceeds for the organization, including by exchanging $110,200 in cash drug proceeds consisting of small bills for large bills at a bank and credit union in the Capital Region; purchasing over $127,000 in cashier’s checks with cash drug proceeds; flying from the Capital Region to Fresno with suitcases full of cash drug proceeds; depositing cash drug proceeds into business and other accounts held by Coles and Dwight Singletary; sending over $20,000 in money transfers purchased with cash drug proceeds from the Capital Region to Fresno and Modesto, California; and paying contractors working on properties in the Capital Region owned by Dwight Singletary and his company, DAS Empire, Inc., with cash drug proceeds. 

    Clements faces at least 10 years and up to life in prison on the two counts to which he pled guilty, conspiring to distribute marijuana and conspiring to commit money laundering; fines of up to $10.25 million; and a term of supervised release of between 5 years and life.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

    Clements was charged in an indictment with Dwight Singletary, David Singletary, Coles, Pearson, Harris, and 18 other people charging marijuana distribution and money laundering conspiracies, firearms offenses, and other crimes.  Dwight Singletary, David Singletary, and Coles have pled not guilty and are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  The charges in the indictment are merely accusations as to them. 

    In addition to Clements, Person, and Harris, 15 other defendants – Rosemary Coles, Latrice Mumphrey, Lawrence Mumphrey, aka “L,” Sammy Olague, Victor Turner, Kristle Walker, Niara Banks, aka “Nie,” Ruby Ledesma, Lateek White, Onisha Smith, Jazell Shuler, Earnest Flood, aka “Pop,” James Tyrell Daniels, aka “Red” and “Ghost,” Alyssa June White, and Toquanda Ketchmore, aka “Quannie” – previously pled guilty. 

    The ATF, DEA, Troy Police Department and HSI are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cyrus P.W. Rieck and Dustin C. Segovia are prosecuting the case.

    This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Cycle Saturday event at Les Quennevais14 May 2025 Islanders are invited to come along to a free cycling event this Saturday at Les Quennevais Cycle Track, 11am to 4pm. A range of activities will be on offer for all ages and abilities, whether a regular… Read more

    Source: Channel Islands – Jersey

    14 May 2025

    Islanders are invited to come along to a free cycling event this Saturday at Les Quennevais Cycle Track, 11am to 4pm. 

    A range of activities will be on offer for all ages and abilities, whether a regular cycle commuter or learning to ride for the first time: 

    • Try-a-bike: test ride cycles including adapted cycles, cargo cycles, e-bikes and pedal bikes with Powerhouse, Bicycle Workshop and Cycle Without Limits 
    • Learn to ride: join a session with Jersey Sport, open to all ages 
    • Guided cycle rides: to Corbière or St Peter’s Village and return 
    • Cycle clinic: get your cycle safety checked for free by a qualified mechanic 
    • Talk to representatives: from Better Journeys Week and States of Jersey Police 
    • Get a free heart health check: with the cardiology nursing team.

    The event is being hosted by I&E’s Climate Change Engagement team with Jersey Sport and local cycle shops also taking part. 

    More information about the event, including timings of activities can be found on gov.je: Cycle Saturday.​

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Joint Summary of the Working Visit by H

    Source: ASEAN

    At the invitation of the Government of New Zealand, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, paid a working visit to Wellington and Auckland, from 11 to 14 May 2025.
     
    During the visit, the Secretary-General engaged with a broad range of New Zealand Government representatives across the four themes of the ASEAN–New Zealand relationship, namely Peace, Prosperity, People and Planet, including the Right Honourable Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, the Right Honourable Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters, the Hon Minister of Defence Judith Collins KC, the Hon Erica Stanford Minister of Education, the Hon Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr. Shane Reti, and the Hon Minister of Climate Change Simon Watts.
     
    The Secretary-General also engaged with other Government Officials, the business community, including the ASEAN-New Zealand Business Council, student representatives, academia, think tanks and the media.
     
    Across these engagements, both sides discussed the significance of the enduring partnership between ASEAN and New Zealand over the past five decades. Both sides emphasised the importance of upholding and strengthening ASEAN Centrality in the Indo-Pacific and the rules-based regional architecture, of strengthening the East Asia Summit as the premier Leaders-led strategic forum in the region, and the importance of practical cooperation on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
     
    The working visit underscored the significance of 2025 as an important milestone in the ASEAN–New Zealand relationship, marking 50 years of dialogue relations. Both sides look forward to the ASEAN–New Zealand Commemorative Leaders’ Summit in Kuala Lumpur, in October 2025, and welcome progress towards establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership this year, that is substantive, meaningful, and mutually beneficial.
     
    Finally, both sides welcomed the complete implementation of the current ASEAN–New Zealand Plan of Action and looked forward to developing a new 2026–2030 Plan of Action that contributes to the peace, stability and prosperity of our region

    The post Joint Summary of the Working Visit by H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, to New Zealand appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Joint Summary of the Working Visit by H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, to New Zealand

    Source: ASEAN – Association of SouthEast Asian Nations

    At the invitation of the Government of New Zealand, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, paid a working visit to Wellington and Auckland, from 11 to 14 May 2025.
     
    During the visit, the Secretary-General engaged with a broad range of New Zealand Government representatives across the four themes of the ASEAN–New Zealand relationship, namely Peace, Prosperity, People and Planet, including the Right Honourable Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, the Right Honourable Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters, the Hon Minister of Defence Judith Collins KC, the Hon Erica Stanford Minister of Education, the Hon Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr. Shane Reti, and the Hon Minister of Climate Change Simon Watts.
     
    The Secretary-General also engaged with other Government Officials, the business community, including the ASEAN-New Zealand Business Council, student representatives, academia, think tanks and the media.
     
    Across these engagements, both sides discussed the significance of the enduring partnership between ASEAN and New Zealand over the past five decades. Both sides emphasised the importance of upholding and strengthening ASEAN Centrality in the Indo-Pacific and the rules-based regional architecture, of strengthening the East Asia Summit as the premier Leaders-led strategic forum in the region, and the importance of practical cooperation on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
     
    The working visit underscored the significance of 2025 as an important milestone in the ASEAN–New Zealand relationship, marking 50 years of dialogue relations. Both sides look forward to the ASEAN–New Zealand Commemorative Leaders’ Summit in Kuala Lumpur, in October 2025, and welcome progress towards establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership this year, that is substantive, meaningful, and mutually beneficial.
     
    Finally, both sides welcomed the complete implementation of the current ASEAN–New Zealand Plan of Action and looked forward to developing a new 2026–2030 Plan of Action that contributes to the peace, stability and prosperity of our region

    The post Joint Summary of the Working Visit by H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, to New Zealand appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA: California’s groundbreaking water initiative in Tombstone helps residents access safer and cleaner drinking water

    Source: US State of California 2

    May 13, 2025

    What you need to know: The consolidation of the Tombstone water system location in California’s Central Valley will benefit residents who rely on domestic wells. Since Governor Newsom took office, the number of Californians who don’t have access to clean drinking water has been cut by nearly half.

    SANGER – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the groundbreaking of a fully state-funded $5 million consolidation project in the City of Sanger that will secure safe drinking water for residents who currently rely on private wells. The groundbreaking was attended by the State Water Resources Control Board, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the City of Sanger, drinking water advocates, and residents of the Tombstone Territory.  

    “All Californians deserve access to clean drinking water – a priority since day one of my administration. Today’s event in Tombstone brings us full circle, because it was in this community I signed legislation to get safe drinking water into the home of every Californian. Thanks to major state investments, infrastructure projects like this are connecting communities, delivering safe drinking water, and creating a brighter future in rural towns and cities.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    Tombstone, an unincorporated and severely disadvantaged community about two miles south of Sanger in Fresno County, is where Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 200 in 2019, establishing the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. The fund provides $130 million annually, through 2030, to address drinking water needs, especially in underserved communities. Since Governor Newsom took office, the number of Californians who don’t have access to clean drinking water has been cut by more than half. 

    The State Water Board launched the Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) drinking water program in 2019 to advance California’s Human Right to Water. Since 2019, over 250 failing water systems across the state have returned to compliance with drinking water standards, reducing the number of people without access to safe drinking water by nearly half. 

    “Ninety-eight percent of Californians have reliable access to safe drinking water in their homes, but for too many communities across the state, especially in rural areas, this is not the reality,” said California Secretary for Environmental Protection Yana Garcia. “Helping communities like Tombstone bring about enduring, sustainable drinking water solutions is a top priority for the state. But we can’t do these projects alone or with the snap of our fingers. It’s a long game that takes collective commitment from every player involved, including water systems, community members, property owners and technical assistance providers.”

    When the project is completed later this year, Tombstone residents will receive their water through an extension of services from the City of Sanger to their homes.

    The project was coordinated through the SAFER program and received $4 million from Proposition 68 and $1 million from the state’s General Fund. 

    “Although over 140 consolidations benefiting 300,000 people have been completed since the SAFER program began, we still learn a lot from each one we do. The Tombstone project taught us important lessons about right-of-way and the need to continually adapt to the unique needs of each community,” said State Water Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel. “Consolidations with domestic well communities are among the most difficult drinking water projects we finance and support, but time and again, what we find is that it is the goodwill of water systems and community members themselves that resolves problems and brings projects over the finish line.” 

    The City of Sanger played a critical role throughout the consolidation planning and design process, embracing the opportunity to extend its services to Tombstone from the beginning. The city applied for and received grant funding, waived surcharges typically levied on customers outside their service area, and helped adapt the project design to avoid right-of-way problems posed by private property lines. 

     “The Tombstone Project was a collaborative effort of multiple agencies, and I am proud of the work my team contributed,” said Sanger City Manager Nathan Olson. “It was easy to recognize the need, so we felt ensuring our neighbors had reliable access to safe drinking water was the only choice. I am so pleased to see all the planning and hard work come to fruition, making the project a success and improving the lives of our communities for generations to come.”

     “We are thrilled to have reached this tremendous milestone in Tombstone,” said Nataly Escobedo Garcia, Ph.D., policy manager for Water and Climate Programs at Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability. “Thanks to advocacy from residents, the support of the City of Sanger, and the SAFER program, Tombstone and dozens of other communities are now closer to having access to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water.” 

    Strengthening communities for a safer and brighter California

    Building water infrastructure is a key part of the Governor’s build more, faster agenda delivering infrastructure upgrades and thousands of jobs across the state.

    Press releases, Recent news

    Recent news

    May 13, 2025

    News What you need to know: Governor Newsom will take action tomorrow to lower drug prices, increase transparency for PBMs, and expand authority for the state to acquire medication abortion. Sacramento, California – As part of the 2025-26 May Revision, Governor Gavin…

    May 13, 2025

    News What you need to know: California today filed a request for a preliminary injunction to immediately stop President Trump’s unlawful tariffs while the state’s lawsuit proceeds. Tariffs are not only expected to impact trade, but the upcoming state revenues and…

    May 13, 2025

    News What you need to know: Sacramento’s Monarch housing project is the latest affordable housing site brought to fruition under Governor Newsom’s executive order to develop excess and underutilized state lands into affordable new homes. SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Climate stress test for the German banking sector: Impact of the green transition on corporate loan portfolios | Discussion paper 11/2025: Christian Gross, Laura-Chloé Kuntz, Simon Niederauer, Lena Strobel, Joachim Zwanzger

    Source: Bundesbank

    Non-technical summary

    Research question

    Climate risks are a priority issue for many central banks and supervisory authorities due to the potentially detrimental effects of climate risks on banks’ stability. However, measuring climate risks is fraught with challenges, because nature and magnitude of the shock transmission are plagued with uncertainty. Moreover, data limitations are widespread, further complicating measurement. This paper proposes a novel stress testing framework to quantify climate-related transition risks for the German banking sector. Our stress test allows the identification of vulnerabilities stemming from transition risks for both individual banks and the banking system as a whole.

    Contribution

    This paper contributes to the literature by proposing a novel climate risk stress test framework, which allows to quantify climate transition risks for a large sample of German banks. We capture model uncertainty in a unique way by applying two standalone models (a micro and a macro model) for translating stress scenarios into credit risk parameters. Reporting ranges of estimates provides a quantitative indication of uncertainty in relation to the green transition. Another key strength of our framework is the granular modelling of default probabilities (PDs). While traditional stress testing models typically produce country- and/or portfolio-level estimates of scenario-dependent PDs, we can flexibly estimate them at firm- or sector-level. Through our targeted, multi-layered analytical framework, we thus address the heterogeneity of climate risks across economic sectors and firms.

    Results

    For a scenario that envisages an orderly transition to net zero emissions by 2050, our results show an average increase of up to 40 % in PDs for non-financial corporations after three years. In an alternative scenario assuming an abrupt increase in the carbon price to Euro 200, PDs rise to a similar extent. Our results indicate a great deal of heterogeneity between firms from different economic sectors: PDs increase more strongly in the agriculture, utilities and transport sectors, for example, and the impact on credit risk also differs between firms in the same economic sector. Whilst significantly stronger increases in PDs emerge for emissions-intensive firms, credit risk is not as high for firms with low emissions. Furthermore, we uncover heterogeneity in credit risk effects across banks as a result of bank-specific differences in the composition of loan portfolios.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Leader announces new Cabinet for 2025/26

    Source: City of Oxford

    Wednesday, 14 May 2025

    Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of Oxford City Council, has announced her Cabinet for 2025/26.

    Councillor Louise Upton is not on the Cabinet in 2025/26 because she will be serving as the Lord Mayor of Oxford.

    The Cabinet has subsequently been reduced from nine members to eight.

    The Cabinet Members are:

    • Councillor Susan Brown, Leader, and Cabinet Member for Partnership Working and Inclusive Economic Growth
    • Councillor Ed Turner, Deputy Leader (Statutory), and Cabinet Member for Finance and Asset Management
    • Councillor Anna Railton, Deputy Leader, and Cabinet Member for a Zero Carbon Oxford
    • Councillor Lubna Arshad, Cabinet Member for a Safer Oxford
    • Councillor Nigel Chapman, Cabinet Member for Citizen Focused Services and Council Companies
    • Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet member for Planning and Culture
    • Councillor Chewe Munkonge, Cabinet Member for a Healthy, Fairer Oxford and Small Business Champion
    • Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities

    The responsibilities of each Cabinet Member are:

    • Councillor Susan Brown
      • Council strategy and policy delivery
      • Democratic Services and Member Support
      • Partnerships and outside bodies including
      • District Councils Network (Labour Vice Chair)
      • Fast Growth Cities (Chair)
      • Local Government General Assembly member
      • Oxford Growth Commission
      • Oxford Strategic Partnership
    • Councillor Ed Turner
      • Deputise for Leader as required
      • Financial and treasury strategy
      • Financial support for local residents and businesses
      • Links with our twin cities
      • Property and asset management and maintenance
    • Councillor Anna Railton
      • Deputise for Leader as required
      • Air Quality
      • Biodiversity delivery including verge and tree planting
      • Carbon reduction, heat decarbonisation and retrofitting
      • Delivery of Zero Carbon Oxford City Council by 2030
      • Delivery of the outcomes of the Oxford Citizens Assembly on Climate Change
      • Parks, Allotments, Cemeteries and Open Spaces
      • Renewable energy and energy planning
      • Sustainability
      • Taxi Licensing
      • Transport liaison with Oxfordshire County Council and Highways England and other providers
    • Councillor Lubna Arshad
      • Community safety and tackling antisocial behaviour
      • Safeguarding Adults and Children
      • Working with Thames Valley Police to tackle anti-social behaviour, child sexual exploitation, county lines, drug dealing, domestic abuse, knife crime, modern slavery, violence against women and girls and crime generally
    • Councillor Nigel Chapman
      • Business Improvement
      • Customer Service
      • Oxford Direct Services as contractor
      • OX Place as a company
      • Service delivery
      • Street scene, public conveniences
      • Tree management
      • Waste and recycling
    • Councillor Alex Hollingsworth
      • Car Parking Policy
      • City Centre Action Plan delivery
      • Culture, cultural partnerships and events (including St Giles Fair, Cowley Road Carnival etc.)
      • Development and Building Control
      • Infrastructure planning
      • Licensing Policy
      • Local Plan and planning policies including biodiversity
      • Spatial Planning and conservation
      • Major projects delivery
      • Museum of Oxford
      • Promotion of a thriving music and night-time economy
      • Tourism
    • Councillor Chewe Munkonge
      • Addressing health inequalities and public health promotion
      • Children and young people policies and school liaison
      • Leisure partnership and contract management
      • Local market promotions
      • Promotion of Oxford Living Wage
      • Small Business Champion
      • Sport and physical activity
    • Councillor Linda Smith
      • Affordable housing delivery
      • Community centres, pavilions and grants
      • Estate regeneration projects
      • Homelessness services including prevention
      • Housing allocations and strategy
      • Regulation of the Private Rented Sector
      • Tenancy management and sustainment
      • Tenant and Resident involvement

    The new Cabinet will be announced at the Annual Council Meeting tomorrow (15 May).

    “The Cabinet will continue our work focused on our key priorities: tackling inequality and the high cost of living in Oxford, delivering more affordable homes, making Oxford a great place to live and preparing our city for climate change. In order to achieve this, we will continue to provide stable and prudent council finances and good quality services.

    “We want to make sure that Oxford’s strong and growing economy is delivering for all of Oxford’s citizens. As a cabinet we are committed to continuing to work with Oxford’s diverse communities and businesses to support their needs. Oxford is a great place to live, work and do business and we want everyone to feel proud of their neighbourhood. That is what we are striving to achieve.”

    Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of Oxford City Council

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ5: Developing marine economy

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    LCQ5: Developing marine economy 
    Question:
     
    It has been reported that a number of coastal provinces in the Mainland have set up inter-departmental co-ordination groups led by provincial governors to co-ordinate policies on marine economy. However, there are views pointing out that the development of marine economy in Hong Kong is taken forward in a piecemeal fashion without top-level planning. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
     
    (1) as there are views that development of marine economy involves various portfolios and it is difficult for a single-policy bureau to co-ordinate inter-departmental resources, whether the Government will make reference to the experience of the Mainland and set up a dedicated team led by officials at the decision-making level to co-ordinate the development of marine economy; if so, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
     
    (2) as there are views that the existing policy focusing on regulation may hinder the development of marine economy, how the Government will promote the development of maritime industries, e.g. of the breakthroughs in terms of the introduction of the relevant legislative amendments and innovative policies, as well as the enhancement of cross-boundary co-operation and co-ordination; and
     
    (3) apart from the three tourism projects currently being taken forward by the Development Bureau under the large-scale land-disposal approach, whether the Government will consider selecting more islands and coastal areas with potential for tourism development to implement the large-scale land-disposal approach on a trial basis, so as to bring in social capital for participation in infrastructure development and operation, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of marine tourism in Hong Kong?
     
    Reply:
     
    President,

    International organisations and individual economies have different definitions for “marine economy”, and there is no unified global standard on which industries fall under the scope of marine economy. For Hong Kong, having made reference to the breakdown of the industry classification of the Mainland’s marine economy and roughly compared the industries covered therein with those in the Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification Version 2.0 compiled by the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department and other known industry classifications, the Government Economist considered that the marine economy-related activities in Hong Kong can be broadly categorised into the following six categories:
     One of the six categories, “maritime transportation and port industry” includes ports, shipping, and maritime commercial services. In 2022, this sector contributed 4.2 per cent to Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounted for 2.1 per cent of total employment. Besides, “marine utilisation, extraction, production, and related manufacturing”, along with “wholesale and retail of marine products”, are partially related to capture fisheries and mariculture. According to data from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the local capture fisheries and mariculture production in 2023 was approximately 87 000 tonnes, with a total value of about $2.4 billion, estimated to contribute less than 0.1 per cent to GDP. As for the remaining three categories, their value-added contributions could not be estimated due to limited data.
     
    Having consulted the Deputy Financial Secretary, the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB), Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB), the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau (ITIB), and the Development Bureau (DEVB), my consolidated reply to the question of the Hon Steven Ho is as follows:

    (1) Given the extensive scope of the marine economy, which encompasses a diverse range of industries and development models, multiple policy bureaux and departments within the Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government are responsible for related areas. Relevant bureaux and departments attach importance on these developments and have formulated and implemented strategies, action plans, or blueprints accordingly. Each policy bureau and department, in accordance with their professional functions, introduces targeted measures to advance the development of marine economy-related areas under its purview, which are in line with the overarching policy direction, strategies, and pace of development. This approach fosters synergies between marine economy development strategies and other initiatives within the respective bureaux and departments, thereby more effectively achieving their policy objectives. The Government believes that the current approach suits Hong Kong’s circumstances. Bureaux and departments will continue to review the development direction and progress of their respective areas, working collectively to drive the growth of marine economy. The SAR Government will also monitor progress across all fronts and, if necessary, explore ways to optimise the development approach. 
    On maritime services, apart from enforcing the relevant legislation to ensure marine safety, the Marine Department (MD) also endeavours to make maritime services more convenient. For instance, allowing the use of electronic certificates instead of paper-based certificates for ship-related matters. The MD also maintains close liaison and collaboration with Mainland maritime authorities at all levels.
     
    On marine tourism, the CSTB put forward in the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0 to make more and better use of Hong Kong’s rich island and coastline tourism resources. As such, the CSTB encourages the development of more diverse tourism products with characteristics, and is ready to study and foster areas where removal of statutory and regulatory barriers are required. At the same time, the CSTB actively promotes development of island tourism and large-scale integrated resort projects focusing on eco-tourism, as well as continues to consolidate Hong Kong’s position as Asia’s hub for international cruise thereby promoting development of cruise tourism.
     
    The ITIB has all along been dedicated to enhancing Hong Kong’s innovation and technology ecosystem with a view to supporting the development of different technology industries (including marine technology) in various areas including capital, research and development, supporting tech start-ups and talent. At present, Hong Kong has one State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, contributing to the protection and management of the marine environment.
     
    On the fisheries front, the Environment and Ecology Bureau and the AFCD are actively taking forward the various initiatives under the Blueprint for the Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Fisheries, including designation of four new fish culture zones as well as introduction of modernised facilities to support development of mariculture, explore the streamlining of relevant legislations to promote development of leisure fisheries, and at the same time strengthen co-operation with the Mainland. To further enhance the competitiveness of local agricultural and fisheries products, the AFCD plans to establish a unified new brand for safe, low-carbon and premium local agricultural and fisheries products, and to establish production standards, farming methods as well as a certification and traceability system for these products, etc. The AFCD will continue to actively participated in the promotional activities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to promote quality local products. In addition, the AFCD has designated three new marine parks in the past five years, and has also formulated new fishery management strategies in marine parks and implemented marine ecological enhancement measures. 
    Besides, the DEVB recently has also proposed to provide marina and land supporting facilities at two waterside areas, namely the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter expansion area and the harbourfront site in the vicinity of the Hung Hom Station.
     
    As to whether there are other suitable sites for large-scale land disposal in the future, the DEVB is willing to listen to different views, and will consider the experiences gained from taking forward the above three projects.Issued at HKT 15:25

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: As US ramps up fossil fuels, communities will have to adapt to the consequences − yet climate adaptation funding is on the chopping block

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Bethany Bradley, Professor of Biogeography and Spatial Ecology, UMass Amherst

    Salt marshes protect shorelines, but they’re already struggling to survive sea-level rise. John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images

    It’s no secret that warming temperatures, wildfires and flash floods are increasingly affecting lives across the United States. With the U.S. government now planning to ramp up fossil fuel use, the risks of these events are likely to become even more pronounced.

    That leaves a big question: Is the nation prepared to adapt to the consequences?

    For many years, federally funded scientists have been developing solutions to help reduce the harm climate change is causing in people’s lives and livelihoods. Yet, as with many other science programs, the White House is proposing to eliminate funding for climate adaptation science in the next federal budget, and reports suggest that the firing of federal climate adaptation scientists may be imminent.

    As researchers and directors of regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers, funded by the U.S. Geological Survey since 2011, we have seen firsthand the work these programs do to protect the nation’s natural resources and their successes in helping states and tribes build resilience to climate risks.

    Here are a few examples of the ways federally funded climate adaptation science conducted by university and federal researchers helps the nation weather the effects of climate change.

    Protecting communities against wildfire risk

    Wildfires have increasingly threatened communities and ecosystems across the U.S., exacerbated by worsening heat waves and drought.

    In the Southwest, researchers with the Climate Adaptation Science Centers are developing forecasting models to identify locations at greatest risk of wildfire at different times of year.

    Knowing where and when fire risks are highest allows communities to take steps to protect themselves, whether by carrying out controlled burns to remove dry vegetation, creating fire breaks to protect homes, managing invasive species that can leave forests more prone to devastating fires, or other measures.

    The solutions are created with forest and wildland managers to ensure projects are viable, effective and tailored to each area. The research is then integrated into best practices for managing wildfires. The researchers also help city planners find the most effective methods to reduce fire risks in wildlands near homes.

    Wildland firefighters and communities have limited resources. They need to know where the greatest risks exist to take preventive measures.
    Ethan Swope/Getty Images

    In Hawaii and the other Pacific islands, adaptation researchers have similarly worked to identify how drought, invasive species and land-use changes contribute to fire risk there. They use these results to create maps of high-risk fire zones to help communities take steps to reduce dry and dead undergrowth that could fuel fires and also plan for recovery after fires.

    Protecting shorelines and fisheries

    In the Northeast, salt marshes line large parts of the coast, providing natural buffers against storms by damping powerful ocean waves that would otherwise erode the shoreline. Their shallow, grassy waters also serve as important breeding grounds for valuable fish.

    However, these marshes are at risk of drowning as sea level rises faster than the sediment can build up.

    As greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels and from other human activities accumulate in the atmosphere, they trap extra heat near Earth’s surface and in the oceans, raising temperatures. The rising temperatures melt glaciers and also cause thermal expansion of the oceans. Together, those processes are raising global sea level by about 1.3 inches per decade.

    Adaptation researchers with the Climate Adaptation Science Centers have been developing local flood projections for the regions’ unique oceanographic and geophysical conditions to help protect them. Those projections are essential to help natural resource managers and municipalities plan effectively for the future.

    Researchers are also collaborating with local and regional organizations on salt marsh restoration, including assessing how sediment builds up each marsh and creating procedures for restoring and monitoring the marshes.

    Saving salmon in Alaska and the Northwest

    In the Northwest and Alaska, salmon are struggling as temperatures rise in the streams they return to for spawning each year. Warm water can make them sluggish, putting them at greater risk from predators. When temperatures get too high, they can’t survive. Even in large rivers such as the Columbia, salmon are becoming heat stressed more often.

    Adaptation researchers in both regions have been evaluating the effectiveness of fish rescues – temporarily moving salmon into captivity as seasonal streams overheat or dry up due to drought.

    In Alaska, adaptation scientists have built broad partnerships with tribes, nonprofit organizations and government agencies to improve temperature measurements of remote streams, creating an early warning system for fisheries so managers can take steps to help salmon survive.

    Managing invasive species

    Rising temperatures can also expand the range of invasive species, which cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars each year in crop and forest losses and threaten native plants and animals.

    Researchers in the Northeast and Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Centers have been working to identify and prioritize the risks from invasive species that are expanding their ranges. That helps state managers eradicate these emerging threats before they become a problem. These regional invasive species networks have become the go-to source of climate-related scientific information for thousands of invasive species managers.

    The rise in the number of invasive species projected by 2050 is substantial in the Northeast and upper Midwest. Federally funded scientists develop these risk maps and work with local communities to head off invasive species damage.
    Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change Network

    The Northeast is a hot spot for invasive species, particularly for plants that can outcompete native wetland and grassland species and host pathogens that can harm native species.

    Without proactive assessments, invasive species management becomes more difficult. Once the damage has begun, managing invasive species becomes more expensive and less effective.

    Losing the nation’s ability to adapt wisely

    A key part of these projects is the strong working relationships built between scientists and the natural resource managers in state, community, tribal and government agencies who can put this knowledge into practice.

    With climate extremes likely to increase in the coming years, losing adaptation science will leave the United States even more vulnerable to future climate hazards.

    Bethany Bradley receives funding from the US Geological Survey as the University Director of the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center.

    Jia Hu has receives funding from the US Geological Survey as the University Director of the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center.

    Meade Krosby receives funding from the US Geological Survey as the University Director of the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center.

    – ref. As US ramps up fossil fuels, communities will have to adapt to the consequences − yet climate adaptation funding is on the chopping block – https://theconversation.com/as-us-ramps-up-fossil-fuels-communities-will-have-to-adapt-to-the-consequences-yet-climate-adaptation-funding-is-on-the-chopping-block-256307

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Carbon Streaming Announces Financial Results for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, May 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Carbon Streaming Corporation (Cboe CA: NETZ) (OTCQB: OFSTF) (FSE: M2Q) (“Carbon Streaming” or the “Company”) today reported its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2025. All figures are expressed in United States dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

    Carbon Streaming Chief Executive Officer Marin Katusa stated: “In the first quarter of 2025, Carbon Streaming made significant progress in reducing costs and improving financial sustainability, while continuing to evaluate strategic alternatives. Ongoing operating expenses have decreased substantially compared to prior years, and by May 2025, the number of individuals at the Company receiving a full-time salary was reduced to three. While we continue to pursue cost reductions, our priority in 2025 is to maximize value from our existing portfolio while exploring all strategic options to enhance shareholder value. More specifically, we will evaluate potential acquisitions, divestments, corporate transactions, and strategic partnerships. Although the voluntary carbon market continues to face challenging conditions and broader economic uncertainties persist, we remain committed to adapting to market realities and identifying the best path forward for our shareholders. In line with this commitment to shareholders, we have recently filed a statement of claim against certain former executives, board members, consultants, and associated entities in order to hold the defendants to account for actions that have caused financial harm to the Company, as outlined in the lawsuit. And with respect to the Rimba Raya, Magdalena Bay, and Sustainable Community Streams, the Company remains focused on protecting our investments and preserving our rights — as we will with all our investments.”

    Quarterly Highlights

    • Ended the year with $36.4 million in cash and no corporate debt. During the quarter, the Company converted $18.0 million in cash from US$ to C$ at an exchange rate of 1.42 C$ for every 1.00 US$. The Company continues to earn interest income on its cash.
    • Reduced the number of individuals receiving full-time salaries at the Company – including employees, consultants, and directors – from 24 at the start of 2024 to 3 full-time employees by May 2025, resulting in significant savings in ongoing operating expenses. The Chief Executive Officer is not collecting a salary, the Chief Financial Officer is receiving a part-time salary, and the Company has eliminated cash-settled director’s fees to its board of directors (“Board”).
    • Recognized a net gain on revaluation of carbon credit streaming and royalty agreements of $49 thousand (net loss on revaluation of $33.1 million for Q1 2024). The net gain on revaluation for the current period was primarily related to changes to the risk-adjusted discount rate and accretion due to the passage of time.
    • Building on the success of the previously-announced ongoing corporate restructuring plan, the Company has significantly reduced ongoing operating expenses and is continuing to review its existing streams and royalties.
    • Generated $2 thousand in settlements from carbon credit streaming and royalty agreements (settlements of $406 thousand during Q1 2024).
    • Operating loss of $1.4 million (operating loss of $36.6 million in Q1 2024).
    • Recognized net loss of $0.8 million (net loss of $35.8 million in Q1 2024).
    • Adjusted net loss was $0.5 million (adjusted net loss of $1.6 million in Q1 2024) (see the “Non-IFRS Accounting Standards Measures” section of this news release).
    • Paid $164 thousand in upfront deposits for carbon credit streaming and royalty agreements (paid $400 thousand in upfront deposits in Q1 2024).
    • In April 2025, the Company announced that it had filed a lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against several former executives, directors, consultants, and associated entities. Please refer to the Company’s news release titled “Carbon Streaming Announces Filing of Claim Against Former Executives and Consultants” for further information.

    Financial Highlights Summary

      Three months ended
    March 31, 2025    		 Three months ended
    March 31, 2024
    Carbon credit streaming and royalty agreements    
    Revaluation of carbon credit streaming and royalty agreements $ 49   $ (33,136 )
    Settlements from carbon credit streaming and royalty agreements1   2     406  
    Other financial highlights    
    Other operating expenses   1,401     3,709  
    Operating loss   (1,351 )   (36,756 )
    Net loss   (822 )   (35,771 )
    Loss per share (Basis and Diluted) ($/share)   (0.02 )   (0.75 )
    Adjusted net loss2   (508 )   (1,596 )
    Adjusted net loss per share (Basic and Diluted) ($/share)2   (0.01 )   (0.03 )
    Statement of financial position    
    Cash3   36,444     49,008  
    Carbon credit streaming and royalty agreements3   9,292     26,980  
    Total assets3   47,098     81,596  
    Non-current liabilities3   47     1,059  
     
    1. Relates to the net cash proceeds generated from the Company’s carbon credit streaming and royalty agreements.
    2. “Adjusted net loss”, including per share amounts, is a non-IFRS® Accounting Standards (the “IFRS Accounting Standards”) financial performance measure that is used in this news release. This measure does not have any standardized meaning under the IFRS Accounting Standards and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. For more information about this measure, why it is used by the Company, and a reconciliation to the most directly comparable measure under the IFRS Accounting Standards, see the “Non-IFRS Accounting Standards Measures” section of this news release.
    3. Cash, carbon credit streaming and royalty agreements, total assets and non-current liabilities are presented as at the relevant tabular reporting date.
     

    Portfolio Updates

    Nalgonda Rice Farming Stream: The project was registered with Verra on February 10, 2025, using the UNFCCC Clean Development Mechanism Methodology AMS-III.AU: Methane emission reduction by adjusted water management practice in rice cultivation in the VCS program (“AMS-III.AU”). Registration and first validation of the project was delayed when Verra temporarily inactivated AMS-III.AU as part of a broader review of validation and verification quality and began developing a revised rice-specific methodology to replace AMS-III.AU. During this review, Verra determined that certain projects identified as having quality issues with validations and/or verifications would remain on hold, but Core CarbonX’s projects, including the Nalgonda Rice Farming project, were approved for registration under AMS-III.AU.

    Verra released the new VCS Methodology VM0051 (Improved Management in Rice Production Systems v1.0) on February 27, 2025, which the project plans to transition to for the second monitoring period. However, the project has already applied the guidelines required under the VCS Methodology VM0051. At this time, it is not known how the transition to the new methodology will impact the project, if at all.

    Sheep Creek Reforestation Stream: In January 2025, the Company received a Notice of Adverse Impact from Mast Reforestation SPV I, LLC (“Mast”) and the parent company of Mast, Droneseed Co. d/b/a Mast Reforestation under the Sheep Creek Reforestation Stream pursuant to which, among other things, Mast advised the Company that the Sheep Creek project has experienced significantly higher than expected mortality rates and that the surviving seedlings had exhibited slower than expected growth rates. As a result, Mast indicated to the Company that it no longer expects to deliver the Company the agreed-upon 286,229 carbon removal credits, referred to as forecast mitigation units (“FMUs”) under the Climate Action Reserve’s Climate Forward program under the Sheep Creek Reforestation Stream, as Mast no longer considers the existing Sheep Creek project plan and budget to be viable. The Company has formally responded to the Notice of Adverse Impact and requested that Mast respond to the Company’s significant concerns regarding, among other things, the timing of the delivery of the Notice of Adverse Impact, and the characterization of the cause of the adverse impact. The Company is continuing to evaluate all legal avenues available under the Sheep Creek Reforestation Stream. As a result, the Company no longer anticipates generating cash flow from the Sheep Creek Reforestation Stream, and its fair value is $nil as of March 31, 2025.

    Baccala Ranch Reforestation Stream: In March 2025, Mast delivered the Company a notice of termination of the Baccala Ranch Reforestation Stream and the Baccala Ranch project, thereby confirming it will forego any plantings. The Company had not advanced any funds for the Baccala project and the closing of the Baccala Ranch Reforestation Stream remained subject to customary closing conditions.

    Enfield Biochar Stream: In April 2025, Standard Biocarbon Corporation (“Standard Biocarbon”) successfully completed an equity financing resulting in a change of control. In connection with the financing, a new CEO has been appointed to lead Standard Biocarbon through project commissioning.

    Strategy

    Carbon Streaming is currently focused on maximizing value from the existing portfolio of investments and pursuing all options to achieve that goal. During 2024, the Company underwent changes to the Board and management, including the termination of certain consulting contracts, which reduced ongoing cash expenditure and streamlined decision-making. The Company continues to focus on its previously announced evaluation of strategic alternatives with a focus on maximizing value for all shareholders. These alternatives could include acquisitions, divestments, corporate transactions, financings, other strategic partnership opportunities or continuing to operate as a public company.

    The Company’s carbon credit streaming agreements are structured to retain a portion of the cash flows from carbon credit sales, with stream-specific retention varying. Project partners typically receive the balance through ongoing delivery payments under the terms of each agreement. Cash flows are subject to fluctuations based on realized carbon credit prices and agreement terms. As the Company continues to evaluate its strategic direction, it remains focused on optimizing portfolio economics and managing exposure to market volatility.

    Outlook

    Carbon Streaming continues to reposition itself for success and for maximizing shareholder value amid ongoing challenges. In May 2024, as part of its ongoing corporate restructuring first initiated in 2023, the Company announced changes to its senior management and Board after constructive discussions with certain shareholders. The Company continues to evaluate strategic alternatives for the business and remains focused on cash flow optimization through the reduction of operating expenses and a reassessment of its existing streams and royalties. Building on the previous measures implemented by the Company to reduce ongoing operating expenses, further steps have been taken in recent months, including significantly reducing employee headcount, renegotiating and amending vendor agreements to lower costs, eliminating cash-settled director’s fees to the Board and terminating certain consulting contracts. As the Company’s broader strategy continues to evolve, these recent steps are expected to result in significant reductions to annualized ongoing operating expenses when compared to 2024.

    While the Company aims to increase cash flow generation through the sale of carbon credits from several streaming agreements over the next year, there remains ongoing uncertainty regarding the evolving nature of carbon markets, including potential registry delays, project-specific issues, and methodology-related risks, in addition to impacts the industry may face as a result of general economic, political and regulatory conditions. In 2024, the Company recognized a decrease in the fair values of the Rimba Raya Stream, the Magdalena Bay Blue Carbon Stream, the Sustainable Community Stream, and the Sheep Creek Reforestation Stream to $nil as a result of the failure of the respective projects to meet their obligations under the stream agreements and ongoing legal disputes. The Company is actively pursuing all available legal remedies to protect its investments and enforce its contractual rights. Given the multiple ongoing litigation matters, the outcomes remain uncertain and could materially impact the Company’s financial position and strategic direction. Please refer to the “Legal Proceedings” section of the Company’s most recently filed MD&A for further information.

    Given the evolving nature of carbon markets and ongoing legal considerations, Carbon Streaming is focussed on maximizing value from the existing portfolio of investments and pursuing all options to achieve that goal.

    For a comprehensive discussion of the risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could impact the Company’s strategy and outlook, including without limitation, changes in demand for carbon credits and Indonesian developments described herein, investors are urged to review the section of the Company’s most recently filed AIF entitled “Risk Factors” a copy of which is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

    About Carbon Streaming

    Carbon Streaming’s focus is on projects that generate high-quality carbon credits and have a positive impact on the environment, local communities, and biodiversity, in addition to their carbon reduction or removal potential.

    ON BEHALF OF THE COMPANY:
    Marin Katusa, Chief Executive Officer
    Tel: 365.607.6095
    info@carbonstreaming.com
    www.carbonstreaming.com

    Investor Relations
    investors@carbonstreaming.com

    Media
    media@carbonstreaming.com

    Non-IFRS Accounting Standards Measures

    Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted Loss Per Share

    The term “adjusted net loss” in this news release is not a standardized financial measure under the IFRS Accounting Standards and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies where similar terminology is used. These non-IFRS Accounting Standards measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance, cash flows and financial position as prepared in accordance with the IFRS Accounting Standards. Management believes that these non-IFRS Accounting Standards measures, together with performance measures and measures prepared in accordance with the IFRS Accounting Standards, provide useful information to investors and shareholders in assessing the Company’s liquidity and overall performance.

    Adjusted net loss is calculated as net and comprehensive loss and adjusted for the revaluation of carbon credit streaming and royalty agreements, the revaluation of warrant liabilities, the impairment loss on early deposit interest receivable, the revaluation of derivative liabilities, the revaluation of the convertible note, the impairment loss on investment in associate, the gain on dissolution of associate, and the corporate restructuring which the Company views as having a significant non-cash or non-continuing impact on the Company’s net and comprehensive loss calculation and per share amounts. Adjusted net loss is used by the Company to monitor its results from operations for the period.

    The following table reconciles net and comprehensive loss to adjusted net loss:

      Three months ended
    March 31, 2025    		 Three months ended
    March 31, 2024
    Net loss and comprehensive loss $ (822 ) $ (35,771 )
    Adjustment for non-continuing or non-cash settled items:    
    Revaluation of carbon credit streaming and royalty agreements   (49 )   33,136  
    Revaluation of warrant liabilities   (114 )   (334 )
    Litigation and corporate restructuring   477     1,373  
    Adjusted net loss   (508 )   (1,596 )
    Loss per share (Basic and Diluted) ($/share)   (0.02 )   (0.75 )
    Adjusted net loss per share (Basic and Diluted) ($/share)   (0.01 )   (0.03 )
                 

    Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

    This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, “forward-looking information”) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, are forward-looking information, including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated impact of changes to the Company’s Board and management; the impact of the Company’s restructuring strategies, including evaluation of strategic alternatives; the ability of the Company to execute on expense reductions and savings from operating cost reduction measures; statements with respect to cash flow optimization and generation; its sales strategy; supporting the Company’s carbon streaming and royalty partners; timing and the amount of future carbon credit generation and emission reductions and removals from the Company’s existing streaming and royalty agreements; statements with respect to the projects in which the Company has streaming and royalty agreements in place; statements with respect to the Company’s growth objectives and potential and its position in the voluntary carbon markets; statements with respect to execution of the Company’s portfolio and partnership strategy; statements regarding the Company holding certain former executives, directors, consultants, and associated entities to account. statements with respect to the ongoing legal process to protect the Company’s investment in the Rimba Raya project and to enforce its legal and contractual rights; and statements regarding the Company’s intention to strictly enforce its legal and contractual rights under the Sustainable Community Stream and the Magdalena Bay Blue Carbon Stream and the Sheep Creek Reforestation Stream.

    When used in this news release, words such as “estimates”, “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “will”, “believes”, “intends” “should”, “could”, “may” and other similar terminology are intended to identify such forward-looking information. This forward-looking information is based on the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. They should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be an accurate indication of whether or not such results will be achieved. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: general economic, market and business conditions and global financial conditions, including fluctuations in interest rates, foreign exchange rates and stock market volatility; volatility in prices of carbon credits and demand for carbon credits; change in social or political views towards climate change, carbon credits and environmental, social and governance initiatives and subsequent changes in corporate or government policies or regulations and associated changes in demand for carbon credits; the Company’s expectations and plans with respect to current litigation, arbitration and regulatory proceedings; limited operating history for the Company’s current strategy; concentration risk; inaccurate estimates of project value, which may impact the ability of the Company to execute on its growth and diversification strategy; dependence upon key management; impact of corporate restructurings; the inability of the Company to optimize cash flows or sufficiently reduce operating expenses; reputational risk; risks arising from competition and future acquisition activities failure or timing delays for projects to be registered, validated and ultimately developed and for emission reductions or removals to be verified and carbon credits issued (and other risks associated with carbon credits standards and registries); foreign operations and political risks including actions by governmental authorities, including changes in or to government regulation, taxation and carbon pricing initiatives; uncertainties and ongoing market developments surrounding the validation and verification requirements of the voluntary and/or compliance markets; due diligence risks, including failure of third parties’ reviews, reports and projections to be accurate; dependence on project partners, operators and owners, including failure by such counterparties to make payments or perform their operational or other obligations to the Company in compliance with the terms of contractual arrangements between the Company and such counterparties; failure of projects to generate carbon credits, or natural disasters such as flood or fire which could have a material adverse effect on the ability of any project to generate carbon credits; volatility in the market price of the Company’s common shares or warrants; the effect that the issuance of additional securities by the Company could have on the market price of the Company’s common shares or warrants; global health crises, such as pandemics and epidemics; and the other risks disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in the Company’s Annual Information Form dated as of March 31, 2025 filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

    Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date of this news release. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. Except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Africa – Largest number ever of around 200 Japanese companies to participate in the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Business Expo & Conference

    SOURCE: Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)

    Seeking opportunities in African markets with diverse business contents

    TOKYO, Japan, May 13, 2025 – Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO; Chairman and CEO: ISHIGURO Norihiko; Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo) (www.JETRO.go.jp) is pleased to announce that it will host the TICAD Business Expo & Conference from 20 to 22 August 2025, as one of the Thematic Events of the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9).

    This event will comprise four zones – Japan Fair, Africa Lounge, Event Stage, and Thematic Exhibitions – bringing together diverse content in one venue in a new style of event organisation. A total of 196 Japanese companies and organisations (including 107 small and medium enterprises (SMEs)) will be participating in Japan Fair, the largest number ever, making the TICAD business Expo & Conference the largest-ever Africa-related event to be organised by JETRO.

    Download Exhibitor List: https://apo-opa.co/3F6KiAM

    TICAD9 will be held in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture from 20 to 22 August 2025, led by the Government of Japan and co-hosted by United Nations, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), African Union Commission (AUC) and World Bank. In conjunction with TICAD9, JETRO has planned the TICAD Business Expo & Conference as a new style of business events that brings together diverse exhibits and opportunities for interaction. In order to support the proactive initiatives of Japanese companies to grasp expanding business opportunities in the African market, JETRO has updated its event model from a conventional exhibition to provide a more practical venue for business exchanges.

    Japan Fair aims to create new business opportunities in the African market by introducing excellent products, technologies, and the services of Japanese companies to government officials and business leaders visiting Japan from African countries. The exhibition is comprised of eight thematic zones, based on the African Union’s Agenda 2063, including “Infrastructure,” “Health and Sanitation Improvement,” and “Food Value Chain.” A totally new addition for TICAD9 will be a “Pop Culture” zone.

    Africa Lounge will feature the presentation of investment and business information from African governments for Japanese businesspeople interested in doing business in Africa.

    The Event Stage will feature seminars based on business themes and thematic panel discussions by Japanese companies. JETRO is also planning panel discussions that bring together key persons from the African business community, as well as other pop culture and innovation-themed events.

    At the Thematic Exhibitions JETRO will be showcasing the two themes of “Pop Culture” and “Innovation.” The Pop Culture exhibition will highlight the potential for business development utilising content originating from Japan, and the Innovation exhibition will introduce groundbreaking ideas and technology that promise to open up a new future for Africa and Japan.

    In addition to the record number of exhibiting companies and organisations at Japan Fair, the TICAD Business Expo & Conference will incorporate new approaches to exhibitions and planning, including pop culture and innovation, seeking to invigorate business exchanges with Africa in new and unprecedented ways. The event will bring together diverse stakeholders from Japan and Africa and is expected to create new partnerships and business matching opportunities.

    JETRO will use this event as an opportunity to continue to support Japanese companies in raising their visibility and expanding their businesses in the African market.

    Overview

    TICAD9

    Name: Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9)
    Date: Wednesday 20 – Friday 22 August 2025
    Organiser: Led by the Government of Japan, and co-hosted by the United Nations, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), African Union Commission, and the World Bank
    Location: Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture
    Official website: (English) https://apo-opa.co/4meBrh8
    (Japanese) https://apo-opa.co/4jSsIzF

    TICAD Business Expo & Conference

    Date: Wednesday 20 – Friday 22 August 2025
    Organiser/Co-Organiser: JETRO, Japan Business Council for Africa (JBCA)
    Supported by: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
    Venue: Pacific Yokohama, Hall B & C (Minato-Mirai 1-1-1, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 220-0012)
    Total area: 10,000 m2  
    Zones: Japan Fair, Africa Lounge, Event Stage, Thematic Exhibitions

    About Japan Fair

    Expected exhibitors: 196 companies and organisations (as of May 13) (excluding duplicates) (including in-booth exhibits)

    *Of the above number, 107 participants are SMEs

    *Participants from 30 Japanese prefectures.
    Yamagata (1), Fukushima (1), Ibaraki (1), Gunma (1), Saitama (2), Chiba (2), Tokyo (111), Kanagawa (18), Niigata (1), Ishikawa (2), Yamanashi (1), Nagano (6), Gifu (1), Shizuoka (2), Aichi (6), Shiga (1), Kyoto (7), Osaka (15), Hyogo (13), Nara (1), Okayama (1), Hiroshima (2), Tokushima (1), Kagawa (2), Ehime (2), Fukuoka (1), Saga (1), Kumamoto (2), Miyazaki (1), Okinawa (2). (Figures in parenthesis indicate number of companies/organisations. Includes companies/organisations with more than one location.)

    *Number of participants by zone:
    Japanese Companies Driving Growth in Africa: 63
    Transforming Infrastructure: 55
    Advancing Healthcare and Sanitation Standards: 24
    Food Value Chain: 23
    Skills for the Future: 14
    Climate Solutions: 14
    Sustainable Urban Development Solutions: 3
    Pop Culture: 2

    Overview and outcomes of Japan-Africa Business Expo held at TICAD7 in 2019

    Date: 28-30 August 2019
    Total area: 6,700 m2
    No. of visitors: Approx. 21,000
    No. of Japan Fair exhibitors: 156 companies/organisations (including 81 SMEs)
    No. of exhibiting countries in Africa Lounge: 45

    Attachment

    List of expected participating companies/organisations  

    About JETRO:
    JETRO is a policy implementation organisation that aims to contribute to the further development of Japan’s economy and society through trade and investment promotion and research on developing countries. With an international and domestic network comprising over 70 overseas offices and approximately 50 domestic operating hubs, including Tokyo Headquarters, JETRO Osaka, the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE) and regional offices, JETRO contributes to Japan’s corporate activities and trade policy through surveys and studies, working agilely and efficiently to support the creation of innovation, exports of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products and foodstuffs, and the overseas expansion of Japanese enterprises.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: STATEMENT: CanREA eager to work with new federal Cabinet to advance wind energy, solar energy and energy storage 

    Source: – Press Release/Statement:

    Headline: STATEMENT: CanREA eager to work with new federal Cabinet to advance wind energy, solar energy and energy storage 

    CanREA ready to help Canada’s newly appointed Ministers deliver on key election promises that will advance clean-energy initiatives nationwide. 

    Ottawa, Ontario, May 13, 2025—The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) congratulates Canada’s new federal Cabinet Ministers and Secretaries of State on their appointment to Cabinet. The Ministers were sworn in today by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M, C.D., Governor General of Canada.  

    CanREA looks forward to supporting their delivery of an ambitious agenda for the clean-energy industry, helping Canada meet its economic and environmental goals.    

    Specifically, CanREA would like to congratulate: 

    The Hon. François-Philippe Champagne P.C. M.P., Minister of Finance and National Revenue 
    The Hon. Dominic LeBlanc P.C., M.P., President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister Responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy  
    The Hon. Shafqat Ali P.C. M.P., President of the Treasury Board  
    The Hon. Tim Hodgson P.C. M.P., Minister of Energy and Natural Resources 
    The Hon. Julie Dabrusin P.C. M.P., Minister of Environment and Climate Change 
    The Hon. Mélanie Joly, P.C., M.P., Minister of Industry 
    The Hon. Rebecca Ally P.C., M.P. Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations  
    The Hon. Mandy Gull-Masty P.C., M.P., Minister of Indigenous Services 

    “Over the past number of years, the CanREA team has developed a strong working relationship with the federal government,” said Vittoria Bellissimo, CanREA’s President and CEO. “My team and I are committed to advancing wind, solar and energy storage and we will work closely with Canada’s newly appointed ministers to shape and support federal policies that will be essential to our industry as we plan, finance and build clean-energy projects that benefit Canadians.”  

    During the recent election campaign, the Liberal Party committed to a suite of proposals that support the rapid deployment of clean energy, as described in this recent CanREA statement. These policies include:  

    Finalizing the Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits (ITCs), policies that have already galvanized private sector investment in Canada’s renewable energy and energy storage industry. Getting the remaining ITCs passed into law, particularly the Clean Electricity ITC, will secure Canada’s position as a competitive and safe place for the private sector to invest. These will also help lower the cost of electricity to Canadian ratepayers. 
    Reducing the barriers to accessing capital faced by Indigenous companies and communities, by expanding the kinds of projects the Canada Infrastructure Bank can support to be more in line with First Nation, Inuit and Métis priorities. The Liberals also committed to exploring options for an Indigenous Infrastructure Bank to further address this gap. 
    Offering support for Canadians entering the trades, while also helping to reduce barriers that these skilled workers face when working in another province. 
    Creating a new First and Last Mile Fund that will move more electricity and goods from where they are produced to where they are needed, creating a more integrated and accessible Canadian economy. 
    Signing new Cooperation and Substitution Agreements with all willing provinces, territories and Indigenous Governing Bodies within six months, ensuring that projects go through only one review that upholds environmental standards and Indigenous consultation. 
    Cementing the signal for electrification by maintaining the industrial carbon price. During his leadership campaign, Mr. Carney even promised to set a pricing schedule out to 2035—this would be a strong signal upon which Canada’s renewable energy and energy storage industry could rely. 

    Across the country, more than 18,000 MW of clean-energy procurements, representing more than $34 B, are being planned or currently taking place, all of which will benefit from these federal policies.   

    “The federal ITCs, along with increased Indigenous access to capital and new interprovincial interconnections, will allow Canada to maintain its competitive edge in the global race for renewable energy and energy storage investment,” said Fernando Melo, CanREA’s Federal Director of Policy and Government Affairs.  

    “Putting these in place will be no small feat, but CanREA is committed to collaborating with the federal government to get these groundbreaking policies across the finish line.” 

    Quotes

    “Over the past number of years, the CanREA team has developed a strong working relationship with the federal government. My team and I are committed to advancing wind, solar and energy storage and we will work closely with Canada’s newly appointed ministers to shape and support federal policies that will be essential to our industry as we plan, finance and build clean-energy projects that benefit Canadians.” 
    —Vittoria Bellissimo, President and CEO, Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) 

    “The federal ITCs, along with increased Indigenous access to capital and new interprovincial interconnections, will allow Canada to maintain its competitive edge in the global race for renewable energy and energy storage investment. Putting these in place will be no small feat, but CanREA is committed to collaborating with the federal government to get these groundbreaking policies across the finish line.”  
    —Fernando Melo, Federal Director, Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) 

    For interview opportunities, please contact: 

    Bridget Wayland, Senior Director of Communications  Canadian Renewable Energy Association communications@renewablesassociation.ca 

    About CanREA 

    The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) is the voice for wind energy, solar energy and energy storage solutions that will power Canada’s energy future. We work to create the conditions for a modern energy system through stakeholder advocacy and public engagement. Our diverse members are uniquely positioned to deliver clean, low-cost, reliable, flexible and scalable solutions for Canada’s energy needs. For more information on how Canada can use wind energy, solar energy and energy storage to help achieve its net-zero commitments, consult “Powering Canada’s Journey to Net-Zero: CanREA’s 2050 Vision.” Follow us on Bluesky and LinkedIn. Subscribe to our newsletter here. Learn more at renewablesassociation.ca.    

    The post STATEMENT: CanREA eager to work with new federal Cabinet to advance wind energy, solar energy and energy storage  appeared first on Canadian Renewable Energy Association.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: IMF Reaches Staff-Level Agreement with Cabo Verde on the Sixth Review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Third Review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) Arrangement

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    May 13, 2025

    • IMF staff and Cabo Verdean authorities reached a staff-level agreement on the sixth ECF review and third RSF review, and a fifteen-month extension of both arrangements with an augmentation equivalent to thirty percent of quota under the extended ECF.
    • The ECF-supported program aims to strengthen public finances, ensure debt sustainability, minimize fiscal risks from public enterprises, modernize monetary policy, and raise potential growth. The RSF supports government climate reforms and catalyzes private climate finance. Extension to December 2026 supports the continued success of the authorities’ economic policy and reform agenda.
    • All end-December 2024 ECF structural benchmarks (SB) and quantitative performance criteria (PCs) were met. The implementation of reform measures (RMs) under the RSF has been progressing, but some reforms will take more time than expected.

    Praia, Cabo Verde: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Mr. Martin Schindler held meetings with the Cabo Verdean authorities during May 5 – 13, 2025, to discuss the sixth review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement, the third review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) arrangement, and economic policies and reforms to be supported under an extension of both arrangements. Access under the existing ECF is 190 percent of quota (SDR 45.03 million, approximately US$ 63.3 million) and access under the RSF is 100 percent of quota (SDR 23.69 million, approximately US$ 31.69 million). The augmentation of 30 percent of quota (SDR 7.11 million) will bring the total ECF arrangement to SDR 52.14 million.

    At the conclusion of the mission, Mr. Schindler issued the following statement:

    “I am pleased to announce that the IMF team and the Cabo Verdean authorities reached staff-level agreements on the policies needed to complete the sixth review under the ECF-supported program and the third review of the RSF arrangement as well as on economic policies and reforms that could be supported by an extension. Upon approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, completion of the sixth ECF review will allow disbursement of SDR 4.51 million (approximately US$ 6.09 million), while the completion of the third RSF review will allow disbursement of up to SDR 7.896 million (approximately US$ 10.66 million), depending on reform progress under the RSF.

    “Cabo Verde’s economy continues to perform well, underpinned by tourism, robust export performance and private consumption growth. Increasing the execution of the government’s capital budget would enhance potential growth. Economic growth in 2024 was strong at 7.3 percent, with 1.0 percent inflation and a current account surplus. The 2024 fiscal balance exceeded program targets, driven by lower primary expenditures and strong tax revenue growth. The public debt-to-GDP ratio continues to decline.

    “All end-December 2024 structural benchmarks (SB) and quantitative performance criteria (PCs) were met. The implementation of reform measures (RMs) under the RSF has been progressing, but some reforms will take more time than expected.

    “Cabo Verde’s economic outlook remains solid. GDP growth in 2025 is projected at 5.2 percent, while inflation is expected to converge to about 2 percent in 2025 and over the medium-term, broadly in line with euro area inflation. The current account balance is projected to gradually return to a deficit of 1.3 percent of GDP in 2025, and then stabilize at around -3.5 percent over the medium term.

    “Fiscal performance is forecast to be strong in 2025. Cabo Verde aims to maintain a fiscal path aligned with debt reduction goals, targeting a higher primary balance than foreseen under the previous review. Tax revenue is expected to increase reflecting ongoing tax reforms.

    “The mission welcomed the BCV’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision to raise the deposit rate by 30 basis points to 2.25 percent to fully close the gap with the ECB. Continued data-driven adjustments in monetary policy may be needed to protect the exchange rate peg and appropriate reserves buffers. Data for end-March 2025 suggests that the financial system is liquid, profitable, and well capitalized.

    “The macroeconomic outlook remains favorable but is subject to substantial downside risks. Cabo Verde is vulnerable to external shocks, including in energy, food prices, and tourism, especially in the context of heightened uncertainties in global trade frameworks. A global growth slowdown and supply chain disruptions would have a negative impact on tourism, inflation, and growth. Climate-related risks, such as rising sea levels and extreme weather events, pose long-term threats to infrastructure and economic stability. Delays in SOE reforms and increasing public debt could undermine fiscal sustainability. On the upside, continued strength in tourist arrivals could lift growth. Legislative and Presidential elections will take place in 2026.

    “The IMF team is grateful to the Cabo Verdean authorities and other stakeholders for the productive discussions, hospitality, and candid discussions.”

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Kwabena Akuamoah-Boateng

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/05/13/pr25144-cabo-verde-imf-reaches-sla-on-the-6th-rev-under-the-ecf-and-3rd-rev-under-the-rsf-arr

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – The need to improve public transport in the areas and towns of the Madonie mountains – E-000988/2025(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    1. Mobility issues in rural areas are fully recognised at EU level[1]. Under the current programming period of the European Regional Development and Cohesion Funds, investments should contribute to addressing rural mobility issues and promoting sustainable solutions[2]. T o assist rural municipalities , the Commission designed and funded the SMARTA-NET project[3], which delivered a catalogue of innovative rural mobility solutions, training programmes for local authorities and practitioners, and established the European Rural Mobility Network, connecting 70 rural municipalities from 14 Member States.

    2. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) can support projects of accessibility to mountain areas, incl. innovative and soft mobility transport solutions, under the Specific Objective (c) (ii)[4] of Regulation 2021/1058[5].

    The Regional Programme Sicily ERDF 2021-2027 has in fact planned such actions of support to improve accessibility to inner areas, smart public transport systems and soft local mobility[6].

    These actions are based on local strategies and with local authorities responsible for the planning and selection of projects. The responsible local authority for Madonie, an inner area with a dedicated territorial development strategy, is currently selecting projects.

    The Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan includes around EUR 4.6 billion of investments that could, as part of their scope, promote sustainable mobility in mountain areas.

    3. Any internal reallocation of the resources within the Regional Programme Sicily ERDF 2021-2027 can be requested by its Managing Authority to the Commission, following the approval by the Monitoring Committee, if adequately justified and in line with applicable Regulations[7].

    • [1] The New Urban Mobility Framework (2021) promotes sustainable connections between rural, peri-urban, and urban areas. The Commission’s Long-Term Vision for Europe’s Rural Areas (2021) calls on Member States and regions to develop sustainable rural mobility strategies. In the 2023 Barcelona Declaration, EU transport ministers agreed on the importance of recognising sustainable rural mobility needs in regional and national transport planning systems and called for investments, leveraging the Social Climate Fund and Fit for 55 policies. The Logroño Declaration (2023) advocates allocating EU funds to rural mobility projects.
    • [2] Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on the European Regional Development Fund and on the Cohesion Fund (OJ L 231, 30.6.2021, p. 60-93) includes references to rural and mountainous areas in Recitals (1), (45), (47) and Article 10 (Support for disadvantaged areas).
    • [3] https://www.smarta-net.eu/.
    • [4] Specific Objective (c) (ii) ‘developing and enhancing sustainable, climate resilient, intelligent and intermodal national, regional and local mobility, including improved access to TEN-T and cross-border mobility’.
    • [5] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1058/oj/eng.
    • [6] Actions 3.2.3, 3.2.4 and 3.2.7 of the Regional Programme, respectively.
    • [7] Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 ( https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1058/oj/eng ), Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 ( https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1060/oj/eng ).
    Last updated: 13 May 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Socio-economic consequences of the new ‘EU ETS 2’ emissions-trading system – E-000578/2025(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    The Commission and the Member States are working towards the timely implementation of the new Emissions Trading System for buildings, road transport and additional sectors (ETS2), which was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in 2023. This includes regular technical level discussions and exchanges at the political level with all Member States, including Poland.

    The Commission’s impact assessment[1] for the review of the ETS Directive provided a detailed analysis of the socioeconomic impact of ETS2. The impact assessment shows that the ETS2 effects on fuel prices are limited. Furthermore, ETS2 contains strong safeguard mechanisms to avoid prices rising very fast, including a safeguard to delay the start of the system to 2028 in case gas or oil prices are exceptionally high in 2026.

    Europe’s reliance on imported fossil fuels causes energy price volatility and higher supply costs, significantly impacting consumers’ energy bills. To reduce energy costs for consumers in the EU, we need to reduce energy consumption and accelerate the roll-out of renewable energy, which is an effective way to achieve decarbonisation. The Social Climate Fund (SCF), financed by ETS2, aims to ensure that vulnerable households and micro-enterprises will be supported in this transition. The purpose of the SCF is to turn ETS2 into a clearly progressive measure, and to spur green investments that will address the root causes of energy and transport poverty.

    • [1] SWD(2021)0601 final.
    Last updated: 13 May 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI: Weatherford Announces a Strategic Agreement with Amazon Web Services to Accelerate Digital Transformation and Enhance Operational Efficiency

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    HOUSTON, May 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ: WFRD) (“Weatherford” or the “Company”) today announced it has signed an agreement with Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) that will transform Weatherford’s digital capabilities and help drive innovation in the energy sector.

    As part of this collaboration, Weatherford selected AWS as its preferred cloud provider and will migrate and modernize its cutting-edge software and hardware suite to AWS. This includes the Company’s Modern Edge Platform, which integrates advanced software-enabled hardware with Weatherford’s world-class control system, CygNet. The solution is modular and seamlessly integrates with existing infrastructure, allowing customers to modernize their operations with minimal disruption.

    With this agreement, AWS will also support the development of next-generation technologies, further enhancing Weatherford’s Unified Data Model. This solution allows customers to integrate, harmonize, and analyze multi-asset data within a scalable, API-compatible model, driving operational efficiency and enabling data-driven decision-making.

    Additionally, the collaboration will enhance the WFRD Software Launchpad, a platform that provides customers with access to Weatherford-built and Weatherford-partnered applications. The Launchpad ensures that customers retain control over their data while seamlessly managing multiple software solutions without being locked into a single application.

    Girish Saligram, President and Chief Executive Officer of Weatherford, commented, “We are excited to work with AWS to deliver a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that enable our customers to drive efficiency and innovation. This collaboration allows us to leverage AWS’s world-class cloud infrastructure to help our customers modernize their operations, reduce complexity, and achieve greater autonomy in their decision-making.”

    “AWS capabilities are accelerating Weatherford’s digital transformation and helping the company drive innovation in their digital solutions to meet customers’ needs,” said Howard Gefen, GM for Energy and Utilities at AWS. “This collaboration will enhance Weatherford’s ability to deliver its operational and petrotechnical solutions by leveraging scalable, hardware and software solutions that empower energy companies to optimize their operations and achieve sustainable growth in an increasingly complex landscape.”

    About Weatherford
    Weatherford delivers innovative energy services that integrate proven technologies with advanced digitalization to create sustainable offerings for maximized value and return on investment. Our world-class experts partner with customers to optimize their resources and realize the full potential of their assets. Operators choose us for strategic solutions that add efficiency, flexibility, and responsibility to any energy operation. The Company conducts business in approximately 75 countries and has approximately 18,000 team members representing more than 110 nationalities and 320 operating locations. Visit weatherford.com for more information and connect with us on social media.

    Contacts
    For Investors:
    Luke Lemoine
    Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Investor Relations
    +1 713-836-7777
    investor.relations@weatherford.com

    For Media:
    Kelley Hughes
    Senior Director, Communications & Employee Engagement
    media@weatherford.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: “Just Follow the Science,” King Gains Agreement from Army Corps of Engineers Nominee in Discussion of Climate Resiliency

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), U.S. Senator Angus King questioned an administration nominee on his willingness to follow the science in the face of increasingly occurring and violent weather events. In his questioning of Mr. Adam Telle to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, King asked about the importance of Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) in responding to natural disasters and how, if confirmed, he would lead the Army Corps of Engineers to work with FEMA.
    Senator King began, “Does FEMA play an important role in disaster response in this country, particularly for major disasters that affect more than one state?
    “Senator King, thank you for the question. And FEMA certainly has played a role in disaster response,” Telle responded. “The US Army Corps of Engineers under the National Response Framework, is of course, charged with leading on debris removal, and that relationship between our emergency managers and the Corps of Engineers is important as we respond to disasters like those that occurred recently, recently in North Carolina and Tennessee and surrounding areas with Hurricane Helene.”
    Senator King said, “I just don’t see how we’re going to be able to turn disaster response entirely over to the States, given the fact that disasters don’t respect state borders. Resiliency planning. That has to be part of the responsibility when the Corps is doing projects wherever they are. Do you agree?”
    “Yes, Senator, resiliency is critically important,” Telle affirmed.
    Senator King continued, “And do you agree that we are facing more and greater and more devastating storms than we have in the in the past?”
    “Senator King, we’ve certainly faced devastating natural disasters throughout our nation’s history,” Telle said. “It’s been a long-standing issue that we’ve dealt with. I don’t have the specific data about the intensity of those disasters, but they’re still happening. They’ve been happening throughout our nation’s history, and we have to stay vigilant to make sure we’re up to date with the latest data.”
    Senator King continued asking Mr. Telle, if confirmed, he would follow the science in his role leading the Army Division of Civil Works.
    “Well, I hope that regardless of the position of the administration on climate change, that the corps will take advantage of the science, which I think you’ve committed to, and particularly in resiliency planning. The worst thing we could do would be to build to 100-year-old standards instead of 100 years from now standards. Do you agree?” Senator King asked.
    Telle responded, “Senator, I do agree, and the Corps of Engineers currently, and it’s my understanding, we’ll continue to use the latest hydrological trend data that we can measure to make decisions about investments and the design of flood control infrastructure.”
    Senator King followed up, “Just follow the science, correct?”
    “Senator, we should follow the science,” Telle concluded.
    Because Maine faces increasingly extreme weather and storms, modernizing energy infrastructure through clean solar energy and new storage technologies can help ensure public buildings are able to maintain access to energy during destructive weather events. Last year, Senator King secured $2.5 million through the bipartisan Fiscal Year 2024 Congressionally-Directed Spending appropriations package for the Maine Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future to support an energy resiliency pilot program. The pilot program is helping to fund climate resiliency initiatives in Caribou, Carthage, Dover-Foxcroft, Fairfield, Jonesport, Limestone, Lubec, Machias, Millinocket, and Rockland.
    Senator King is also a longtime supporter of working waterfronts and small businesses. He previously introduced the bipartisan Providing Resources for Emergency Preparedness and Resilient Enterprises (PREPARE) Act to reauthorize the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation Pilot Program, which would give small businesses the opportunity to take out low-interest loans for the purpose of proactively implementing mitigation measures that protect their property from future disaster-related damage. He also led a bipartisan bill to provide working waterfronts with a 30 percent tax credit on up to $1 million in mitigation expenses, adjusted for inflation annually.

    MIL OSI USA News –