PMF

• CHARLES TOWN, W.Va., Feb. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Five American Public University System students and alumni have been selected for the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Finalists, as part of a highly competitive government fellowship program that helps prepare tomorrow's leaders in public service.
• Over 80 American Public University (APU) and American Military University (AMU) students and alumni have been selected as finalists to the program since 2011.
• "I'm thrilled that I've been chosen as a 2024 finalist for the Presidential Management Fellows program," said Keenan Hughes, an AMU student.
• Our university's 2024 finalists are:
  "Presidential Management Fellows are the next generation of federal government leaders," said Kiran Ahuja, Director of OPM.

• But when it did, it hit at least 85 targets across Iraq and Syria.
• The Pentagon was careful not to directly attack Iran itself, but it targeted Iranian-backed groups which have been conducting raids on US military assets in the region since before Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7.
• But who are these groups that Iran can rely on to act in its interests and how much of a threat do they pose to regional security?

• It wants to remove the US from the Middle East and to replace it as the guarantor of regional security.
• And it refuses to recognise the state of Israel, instead working with Palestinian groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah to pressure the Jewish state.

Quds Force

• The Quds Force is part of the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and is the IRGC’s primary vehicle for foreign affairs.
• According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Quds is largely responsible for providing training, weapons, money and military advice to a range of groups in the so-called “Axis of Resistance”.

Syria

• Quds activities in Syria are reportedly overseen by Khalil Zahedi, nicknamed Abu Mahdi al-Zahdi.
• Iran’s principal aims in Syria are to keep the Assad regime in power, maximise Iranian influence, protect Shia minorities and reduce and – if possible – eliminate the US presence in Syria.

Iraq

• In Iraq, since the US invasion, Iran-backed armed groups come under an umbrella organisation called the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) or Quwwāt al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī.
• The PMF claims to have as many as 230,000 fighters, mainly Shia.
• The same year PMF’s political wing contested elections in Iraq, coming second in the poll.

Lebanon

• Hezbollah (Party of God) was formed in 1982 to fight against the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
• While heavily involved both politically and economically in Lebanon, Hezbollah is also active throughout the region, doing Iran’s business rather than looking after Lebanese interests.

Major headache for the west

• Many of these groups now wield significant political influence in the countries in which they are embedded, so confronting them is not simply a military exercise.
• And, as the dramatic rise in tensions in the region following the assault by Hamas on Israel (also planned with Iranian help) suggests, Iran is capable of fomenting trouble for the west almost at will across the region.

Christoph Bluth 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.

• WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bloccelerate has completed a survey of 100+ Web3 founders, concluding that finding product-market fit (PMF) and managing product-market timing are the biggest existential challenges.
• The survey covered 13 questions which elicited both open-ended responses and structured rankings of common challenges faced by web3 founders.
• Responses to the survey reveal factual information (e.g., years in the industry), opinions (e.g., what is THE single most existential problem facing the space?
• Last Friday, Bloccelerate hosted 140+ Web3 founders, investors, and experts at the Harvard Club of New York City to discuss the challenges and priorities captured in the survey results.

• PTY has accepted for payment 5,085 ARPS, which represents approximately 59.78% of its outstanding ARPS, and 3,421 ARPS remain outstanding.
• PCN has accepted for payment 422 ARPS, which represents approximately 44.85% of its outstanding ARPS, and 519 ARPS remain outstanding.
• PHK has accepted for payment 581 ARPS, which represents approximately 25.02% of its outstanding ARPS, and 1,741 ARPS remain outstanding.
• PFL has accepted for payment 1,404 ARPS, which represents approximately 77.65% of its outstanding ARPS, and 404 ARPS remain outstanding.