Category: Child Poverty

MIL-Evening Report: Labor has promised to tackle homelessness. Here’s what homeless people say they need
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn Martin, Associate Dean, Social Work and Human Services, RMIT University

Pressmaster/Shutterstock

The 2025 election is over and now it’s time for Labor to deliver on campaign promises to address homelessness.

Action on homelessness is long overdue. Affordable housing options remain scarce and public and community housing waitlists keep growing.

The crisis springs from decades of government policy failures in many areas. Homelessness is linked to poverty, stigma, violence and poor health.

Labor has promised to:
- build more affordable housing
- reduce social housing waitlists
- prioritise groups vulnerable to homelessness
- invest A$1.2 billion in homelessness accommodation.
This is welcome, but it’s crucial people who have experienced homelessness are involved in the design of policy and services. They are the experts.

Our recent research involved speaking with 47 people with current or past experiences of homelessness in Victoria and South Australia. The study was co-designed and co-led by people who had experienced homelessness.

See us, hear us

Participants told us their perspectives aren’t valued. One said:

Homeless people [are] looked down upon. The individual is not considered. They fall on hard times for many reasons. They will judge you and they’ll categorise you.

Another said:

Do we have a voice? No, we don’t, because they don’t care […] they don’t listen.

Many wanted to influence policy and service design. One said:

I think it’s really important that people like us […] have a say in the way we move forward, and it’s not coming from people in really nice suits […] that don’t really have any experience.

Respect our expertise

People who’ve experienced homelessness can “identify things that someone without that lived experience may simply not have thought of in the first place”, one person told us.

They should be involved as staff and leaders in service design and provision. One person said:

I think if there were people that were around with lived experience that could somehow get in contact with people like me at that time and say, “Look, mate, you don’t have to go down this path, you don’t have to live this kind of life, there’s another way”.

One participant who’d experienced domestic violence said navigating all the different non-government agencies was complicated. Decisions were made without her input.

A failure to find this woman housing eventually led to her children being removed.

Respect needs to be at the centre of service provision. One participant described overhearing workers complaining about the smell of homeless people. Another said they’d value practical advice from people who’d experienced homelessness:

Having someone who’s actually been through that and can actually then describe what navigating systems means to someone coming in could be a really useful way to employ someone in homelessness services.

Valuing and paying for the expertise of people who have experienced homelessness is vital. One participant said:

I was on a panel with CEOs of homelessness organisations [and] was asked one hour before: “Would you like to be the lived experience voice?” So, was I paid the same? No. Was I given the same respect as everyone else? No. Was I given enough time to prepare? No. But did I deliver? Yes, I delivered. I showed up and I still was able to deliver. So, I think my expertise […] is just as valid as anybody else’s.

Another said:

You need to get as wide a lived experience as possible, otherwise it’s a bit pointless if they’re all 30-year-old white guys.

From prison to homelessness

Around half of those leaving prison exit into homelessness.

Many women in these circumstances must choose between homelessness and returning to violent situations.

Community organisations work hard to keep women housed, but this requires adequate and ongoing funding.

One formerly incarcerated woman told us:

Incarceration creates homelessness […] they’re released into a void […] If that was me, I would definitely rather be in prison than be on the street.

Another said:

Most women who are in prison suffered from childhood sexual abuse, they’ve suffered domestic violence and suffered a lot of trauma […] but for some reason, that’s all forgotten for us when we’re released.

People with experience of homelessness are best placed to guide the design and delivery of services, and offer pragmatic solutions.

One participant told us:

When I came out [of hospital], one of the community service people said, “Oh, we can put you in a hotel for four nights.” And I said, “Actually, the best thing I need is four new tyres on my van.” And they said, “No, we can’t do that.” The tyres would be cheaper than the hotel. But they said, “No, we can’t.” I’ve always said solutions don’t have to be pretty, but they have to work.

People told us a one-size-fits-all, box-ticking approach won’t work because:

not everybody fits into those categories. Everybody [is] in different circumstances.

Another said:

You go to a service, they don’t care about your purpose. They don’t care about your goal. They care about: “Have I provided my service that I’m obligated to give?”

Many services aren’t working for homeless people. One participant said:

One of the reasons I stayed homeless is because I either had to kill my dog or give my dog up and I couldn’t do either because he was my saviour. So, I lived
in that car. At that time, I was freezing and gave whatever blankets I could to my dog. He got so sick […] I contacted another place [and] asked for a sleeping bag and a tent to be sent to me and it was sent to the service provider that never gave it to me.

Many people have no choice but to sleep in their car.
Alexander Knyazhinsky/Shutterstock

What now?

Our research participants called for policy addressing poverty and for the perspectives of people who’d experienced homelessness to be:
- embedded in housing and homelessness policy, service design and practice
- recognised, valued and properly remunerated
- involved in leading research.
The authors thank the people with experience with homelessness who led our research.

Robyn Martin’s research was funded by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, and was a collaboration between RMIT, UniSA, the Council for Homeless Persons and Seeds of Affinity.

Carole Zufferey’s research was funded by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, and was a collaboration between RMIT, UniSA, the Council for Homeless Persons and Seeds of Affinity.

Michele Jarldorn’s research was funded by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, and was a collaboration between RMIT, UniSA, the Council for Homeless Persons and Seeds of Affinity. Michele is a volunteer with Seeds of Affinity and is currently chair of their board. Seeds of Affinity does not receive any ongoing funding.

– ref. Labor has promised to tackle homelessness. Here’s what homeless people say they need – https://theconversation.com/labor-has-promised-to-tackle-homelessness-heres-what-homeless-people-say-they-need-255945
MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –
May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: From the moment he steps onto the balcony, each pope signals his style of leadership – here’s how Pope Leo XIV’s appearance compares with Pope Francis’ first

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Daniel Speed Thompson, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Dayton

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square shortly after his election on May 8, 2025. Vatican Media via AP

As crowds celebrated in St. Peter’s Square, a man in white and red stepped onto the balcony of the basilica, prompting cheers from the plaza.

It was American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost: Pope Leo XIV, as he will now be known. On May 8, 2025 – the second day of the conclave following Pope Francis’ death – the College of Cardinals selected him to lead the Catholic Church.

In the days to come, people may pore over videos of those first few minutes of Leo’s papacy, analyzing everything from his vestments and multilingual speech to his choice of papal name. Appearing on the balcony of St. Peter’s is a pope’s first appearance – a tradition full of symbolism.

I am a scholar who studies Roman Catholic theology and history. I am particularly interested in how popes exercise authority and leadership today, including their use of symbols.

When Francis first appeared on that balcony in 2013, he used four aspects of the ritual to convey a message about his intentions for his papacy. Leo, too, adapted symbols of the ritual – and time will tell how much of his own intentions he showed.

Pilgrims at the Vatican react after the announcement of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV.
AP Photo/Francisco Seco

What’s in a name?

Since the sixth century C.E., new bishops of Rome have often taken a new name. Jorge Mario Bergoglio opted for “Francis,” the first pope to do so.

It refers to Francis of Assisi, an Italian saint who lived at the turn of the 13th century who was renowned for his simplicity, poverty, concern for the Earth and desire to imitate Jesus. Over the next 12 years, these traits proved central to his papacy.

Prevost chose “Leo,” making him the 14th pope to bear that name.

Which Leo is the new pope referring to as his model? Probably more than one. One of the most significant Pope Leos, however, was the most recent. Leo XIII was pope from 1878-1903, and is particularly remembered for his writings on social justice, economics, politics and labor, which have grounded Catholic social teaching for more than 100 years.

Leo XIII is also credited for promoting Thomas Aquinas, the important medieval theologian and saint, as the model for Catholic theology and its response to the modern world.

Not a king

On the balcony, Francis wore simple white papal garments instead of the more elaborate adornments worn by some of his predecessors. He wore his old, simple cross across his chest, rather than a new, more luxurious one.

Francis waves during his first appearance as pope on March 13, 2013.
AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky

Popes have worn white garments as a symbol of their office for centuries. But many of them also used symbols of monarchy, such as the triple papal tiara or crown. Pope Paul VI, whose papacy was from 1963-1978, was the last to wear the tiara and to have a coronation ceremony. The following year, he sold the crown and donated the proceeds to emphasize the church’s commitment to the poor.

Later popes have followed Paul’s example of avoiding royal symbolism, such as by no longer using a “sedia gestatoria,” the portable throne that traditionally carried the pope in formal processions. Francis took this trend even further and made simplicity of dress and lifestyle a hallmark of his time in office.

When he appeared on the balcony, Leo returned to the tradition of popes before Francis by wearing the “mozzetta,” a short cape, and the gold cross offered to a pope when he accepts the office – showing somewhat more continuity with his predecessors.

Bishop of Rome

When Francis first addressed the crowd in St. Peter’s, he described himself as the new bishop of Rome.

In Catholicism, the pope holds many titles representing the scope and duties of his office. For starters, he is not only the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church but “sovereign of the State of Vatican City.”

In terms of religious titles, some accentuate the pope’s authority. “Vicar of Christ,” for example, means he is Jesus’ representative on Earth. Others, such as “servus servorum Dei” – “servant of the servants of God” – emphasize his role as a support to other bishops and ministers of the church.

Francis certainly did not deny the traditional authority of the pope’s office. However, he chose to identify himself first as the local bishop of the diocese of Rome, emphasizing how even the pope was first part of a local community. In the official Vatican yearbook for 2020, Francis listed his only title as “Bishop of Rome” and listed the rest as “historic.”

Catholics from the parish of St. Joan Antida in Rome arrive to attend Pope Francis’ inaugural Mass at the Vatican on March 19, 2013.
AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis

When the new Pope Leo addressed the crowd, he described himself as the “successor of Peter,” the first pope. Like Francis before him, he also referred to the pope’s role as “bishop of Rome,” quoting the early church theologian St. Augustine: “For you I am a bishop, with you I am a Christian.” This identifies him first as a fellow Christian – and in that sense, not just a leader above his flock.

‘Pray for me’

Francis asked the assembled crowd to pray for him before he offered his first papal blessing.

Traditionally, popes making their first appearance would offer a blessing to the people gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Francis took this ritual and reversed it. In harmony with his views on simplicity and his role as the bishop of Rome, he emphasized the mutual connection between him and the people. He downplayed the view of the pope as a hierarchical ruler above the people.

Leo concluded his address to the crowd with the traditional blessing in Latin, addressed “to the city and to the world.” He did not ask, as Francis did, that the crowd bless him first.

In some ways, it seems like Leo’s symbolic message was “I am not Francis,” emphasizing his continuity with previous popes. Yet in his address, he clearly praised and thanked Francis, and invoked his predecessor’s emphasis on “synodality”: a church where all Catholics walk together. He repeated Francis’s message that the Christian message should call to and include everyone.

Perhaps it is better to say that Leo’s first appearance on the balcony meant: “I am not Francis, but Francis’ vision will continue.”

This is an updated version of an article originally published on May 6, 2025. It was updated on May 8, 2025 to reflect Pope Leo XIV’s election.

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

– ref. From the moment he steps onto the balcony, each pope signals his style of leadership – here’s how Pope Leo XIV’s appearance compares with Pope Francis’ first – https://theconversation.com/from-the-moment-he-steps-onto-the-balcony-each-pope-signals-his-style-of-leadership-heres-how-pope-leo-xivs-appearance-compares-with-pope-francis-first-255585

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

May 9, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: ‘Peace be with all of you’: how Pope Leo XIV embodies a living dialogue between tradition and modernity

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University

When Robert Francis Prevost appeared on the loggia of St Peter’s Basilica as Pope Leo XIV, he set three precedents.

He is the first pope from North America, the first Augustinian to occupy the throne of Peter, and the first native English-speaker to do so since Adrian IV in the 12th century.

Pope Leo XIV greeted Rome and the world with a simple benediction: “peace be with all of you”.

In choosing a blessing that stressed concord – and in issuing it in Italian and Spanish – he signalled both pastoral directness and cultural breadth.

A Chicago childhood and academic rigour

Prevost was born in Chicago in 1955.

Raised in the working-class suburb of Dolton, he served as an altar boy and attended St Augustine Seminary High School. He studied a bachelor of science at Villanova University, and earned a doctoral degree in canon law at the Angelicum in Rome.

Prevost entered the Augustinian order in 1977, professed solemn vows in 1981 and was ordained in 1982.

For Augustinians, virtue lies not in poverty for its own sake, but in the radical sharing of goods: community precedes individual achievement.

There are three pillars: interiority, the practical love of neighbour, and a relentless search for truth. This framework would guide Prevost’s missionary work, and his call for unity and peace.

Chiclayo Cathedral, officially the Cathedral of Saint Mary in Chiclayo, Peru is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chiclayo.
BETO SANTILLAN/Shutterstock

Prevost has administered communities in more than 50 countries, but he first arrived as a missionary in northern Peru in 1985. Over the next decade he taught canon law, ran a seminary in Trujillo, judged marriage cases and led a fledgling parish on Lima’s urban fringe.

The experience sharpened his awareness of informal employment, extractive industries and migration – concerns that echo the Rerum novarum , an open letter issued by his namesake Leo XIII in 1891. They remain visible in Prevost’s social priorities today.

In 2015, he was appointed Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, and, in 2023, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, effectively placing him in charge of vetting episcopal appointments world-wide.

What’s in a name?

Created cardinal in September 2023 and elevated to the rank of cardinal-bishop of Albano in February 2025, Prevost entered the conclave with a reputation for quiet competence, linguistic dexterity (he speaks five languages fluently) and unspectacular holiness.

The electors turned to him on the fourth ballot. An hour later he greeted the city and the world as Pope Leo XIV, first in Italian then in Spanish: a bilingual gesture honouring his Italian American Chicago roots and his Peruvian citizenship.

Leo XIV’s choice of name is a programmatic signal. By invoking examples of Rome’s protector Leo the Great (pope from 440–61) and the great social teacher Leo XIII (1878–1903), the new Pontiff intimates he will draw upon their precedent.

Raphael’s The Meeting between Leo the Great and Attila, painted in 1514, depicts Leo, escorted by Saint Peter and Saint Paul, meeting with the Hun king outside Rome.
Wikimedia Commons

His substantive focus will remain squarely on the challenges of 2025: translating Augustinian communal spirituality into governance, extending the social teaching inaugurated by Leo XIII, and mediating polarised factions.

The memory of his Leo predecessors functions as a compass rather than a map, orienting a pontificate whose horizon is the digital, migratory and climatic upheavals of the 21st century.

Pope Leo XIV will draw inspiration from his namesake, Leo XIII.
Library of Congress

We can expect where Leo the Great entered dialogue, Leo XIV will offer diplomacy. Where Leo XIII defended trade-union rights and attacked exploitative capitalism, Leo XIV must address labour, climate disruption and forced displacement.

If Leo XIII gave Catholicism its first systematic response to industrial modernity, Leo XIV may be tasked with articulating an Augustinian vision for the digital Anthropocene: a view of humanity as a pilgrim community, bound by shared love rather than algorithmic preference-profiling.

Of one heart

The opening sentence of the Rule of Saint Augustine is “be of one mind and heart on the way to God”.

The order’s stress on interior prayer rather than external activism complements Leo XIV’s preference for silent Eucharistic adoration over elaborate ceremony. The Augustinian tradition of learning aligns with his own scholarly instinct.

Consistent with Francis, Leo XIV has condemned abortion and euthanasia. He has criticised hard-line immigration policies in the United States. He holds the line only men can be deacons. In a 2012 address, he pointed to media normalisation of “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners”.

The combination marks him as a centrist prepared to defend doctrinal boundaries while pressing assertively on social justice, climate action and the governance transparency that Francis began but did not finish.

Challenges ahead

Leo XIV inherits a fragmented Church. Traditionalists fear doctrinal drift, while progressives want accelerated reform of governance, liturgy and the role of women.

His Augustinian commitment to shared discernment could provide a mediating structure. Meanwhile geopolitical crises demand renewed Holy See diplomacy and Vatican finances still run unsustainable deficits.

Ultimately, Leo XIV embodies a living dialogue between tradition and modernity.

Whether he succeeds will depend on his capacity to translate the Augustinian Order’s ancient ideal of one heart, one mind into structures that protect the vulnerable worker, the displaced migrant and the wounded planet.

Yet his formation, intellect and record of bridge-building suggest he understands the Church’s credibility now rests where it did in 1891 under Leo XIII: in that social charity and theological clarity are not rivals, but partners on the road to God.

Like Leo XIII, Leo XIV approaches the world not as an enemy to be refuted but as a moral terrain to be cultivated. His pontificate must confront the ecological, technological and migratory questions of our age.

His inaugural plea for peace hints at an integral vision in which social justice, ecological stewardship and human fraternity intersect.

Whether he can translate that vision into institutional reform and global moral leadership remains to be seen.

By invoking the heritage of Leo XIII, Leo XIV has set the compass of his papacy. It points toward a Church intellectually serious, socially committed and pastorally close: one speaking anew to workers in Amazon warehouses, migrants in detention camps, students in schools, refugees in the Sahel and young people navigating the gig economy.

If he succeeds, the name he chose will read as prophetic promise, linking 1891’s clarion call for justice with the uncharted demands of 2025 and beyond.

Darius von Guttner Sporzynski 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. ‘Peace be with all of you’: how Pope Leo XIV embodies a living dialogue between tradition and modernity – https://theconversation.com/peace-be-with-all-of-you-how-pope-leo-xiv-embodies-a-living-dialogue-between-tradition-and-modernity-256084

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Bill Gates to give away ‘virtually all’ his money by 2045

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

World-renowned philanthropist Bill Gates announced Thursday that he will give away virtually all of his wealth to the Gates Foundation.

“There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people. That is why I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had originally planned,” Gates said. “I will give away virtually all my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world.”

The foundation announced it would spend 200 billion U.S. dollars by 2045 to improve people’s lives using its current endowment, with the balance coming over time from Gates’ personal fortune. In celebration of its 25th anniversary, it published the new commitment, which marks a major acceleration in the foundation’s work and sets 2045 as the year to sunset its operations.

According to the announcement, the foundation’s board of directors affirmed the accelerated timeline with a change to the foundation’s charter, which had said the organization would sunset 20 years after Gates’ death.

“A few years ago, I began to rethink that. More recently, with the input from our board, I now believe we can achieve the foundation’s goals on a shorter timeline, especially if we double down on key investments and provide more certainty to our partners,” said Gates.

According to the foundation’s announcement, it will collaborate with its partners on three main objectives over the next two decades: eliminating preventable deaths of moms and babies, ensuring the next generation grows up free of deadly infectious diseases, and lifting millions of people out of poverty.

Gates said that during the first 25 years of the Gates Foundation, he and Warren Buffett together gave away more than 100 billion dollars.

“Over the next two decades, we will double our giving. The exact amount will depend on the markets and inflation, but I expect the foundation will spend more than 200 billion dollars between now and 2045. This figure includes the balance of the endowment and my future contributions,” Gates said.

MIL OSI China News –

May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – The EU directive that in practice undermines the signing of collective agreements – E-001731/2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001731/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Lefteris Nikolaou-Alavanos (NI), Kostas Papadakis (NI)

The Nea Dimokratia Government in Greece appears to acknowledge ‘the need to meet the target of 80% coverage of workers by collective agreements’ and invokes Directive (EU) 2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union.

The directive, which is falsely represented as a means of ‘strengthening collective bargaining’, does not lay down any obligation to draw up collective agreements. Its only ‘obligation’ is for governments to draw up ‘action plans’. Moreover, it states that nothing in the directive may be construed as imposing an obligation on any Member State to declare any collective agreement universally applicable.

In light of the above, can the Commission answer the following:

1.What view does it take of the fact that Law 5163/2024 of the Greek Government, which fully transposes Directive (EU) 2022/2041, has led to poverty-level minimum wages and at the same time increased employer arbitrariness and organised planning by large employers to refuse to sign collective agreements or to avoid being bound by existing collective agreements through various arrangements (e.g. a refusal to set up employers’ organisations or to integrate them into employers’ organisations, etc.)?

2.What view does it take of the fact that the target of ‘80% coverage of workers by collective agreements’, supposedly pursued by the directive, is not a binding objective, since the directive does not require that collective agreements are universally applicable, nor does it oblige employers to sign and implement them, and nor does it provide any monitoring or sanction mechanism for countries or companies that infringe workers’ rights, including the right to collective bargaining with employers?

Submitted: 30.4.2025
Last updated: 8 May 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Chairs appointed to Poverty and Equality Commission for Highland

Source: Scotland – Highland Council

Maggie Cunningham and Dr. Jim McCormick have been appointed as co-chairs of a new multi-partnership Poverty and Equality Commission Board.

These two key appointments will be instrumental in supporting The Highland Council and Community Planning Partners in gaining a better understanding of how poverty affects families in the Highlands and how service delivery needs to change to better address poverty-related issues.

Maggie Cunningham worked at a senior level in the BBC for over twenty years including roles of Head of Radio, Scotland and Joint Head of Programmes and Services, Scotland. She is currently Chair of An Comunn Gàidhealach, which runs the Royal National Mòd and supports 20 local Mòds.

Since 2009, she has worked as a leadership and executive coach. She served six years as a Content Board member of Ofcom until October 2024 and chaired the Board of MG Alba for six years from 2012. She chairs Kyle and Lochalsh Community Development Trust and was an independent member of the Edinburgh Festivals Forum for eight years. She was a founding Board member of Sistema Scotland until 2019 and is a Director of Highland Tourism Community Interest Company (CIC).

Jim McCormick is Chief Executive of The Robertson Trust, an independent grant-making charity which funds, supports and influences solutions to poverty and trauma across Scotland. He joined the Trust in 2020.

Previously he was Associate Director Scotland with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2017-20), ran an independent research consultancy and was Director of the Scottish Council Foundation think-tank.

He is a member of the Living Wage Commission. He was previously Chair of the independent Disability and Carers Benefits Advisory Group reporting to the Scottish Social Security Minister (until 2023), Chair of the Edinburgh Poverty Commission (2018-20) and a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) until 2020, which scrutinises the Department for Work and Pensions’ GB regulations.

In 2018 he was a travelling Churchill Fellow looking at the impact of mentoring programmes for children and young people facing disadvantage in the USA, Canada and New Zealand.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Raymond Bremner said: “I congratulate Maggie Cunningham and Jim McCormick on their appointments as Chairs of the Poverty and Equality Commission. Highland Councillors have given cross-party support to the creation of the Commission, and I look forward to the progressive and positive work of the Commission that will make a difference to people’s lives.”

Convener of the Councillor, Cllr Bill Lobban added: “As non-elected independent experts the co-chair appointments will ensure that there is impartial expertise at the centre of the Commission’s Board and its activities. I welcome the Chairs’ appointments who, along with Members of the Commission Board will work to identify strategies, actions and approaches to ease and prevent poverty in Highland.”

Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Alasdair Christie said: “I am fully supportive of the appointment of the two new chairs who will bring a breadth of knowledge and understanding to the work of the Poverty and Equality Commission. Their specialist awareness will help to support the Commission’s work which will seek to improve the lives of many individuals and children and their families across Highland communities.”

The Poverty and Equality Commission will report directly to The Highland Council, providing recommendations for action, change and transformation. Updates from the Commission will

In addition to the two co-chairs appointed the Commission Board will be made up of elected Highland councillors and members from public sector partner organisations, third sector or community representatives.

The first meeting of the Poverty and Equality Commission was held on 1 May 2025 following which an update on progress to establish the Poverty and Equality Commission will be presented to The Highland Council meeting in June.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Speech to India New Zealand Business Council

Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

Kia ora and good morning, everyone.

This is a great time to hold a Summit focused on the India-New Zealand relationship. It comes seven weeks after I returned from India following one of New Zealand’s largest ever Prime Ministerial missions.

I was joined by 40 business representatives, 15 community leaders, three Cabinet Ministers, four MPs, a Kapa Haka group, and a range of senior government officials all laser-focused on our relationship with India.

We visited New Delhi and Mumbai for a packed programme that covered every facet of our broad-based relationship with India – political connections, trade and economics, defence and security, people, culture and, of course, cricket.

As was the case on my previous visits to India when I was in the private sector with Unilever, I was struck by the remarkable energy, dynamism, and innovation that I encountered.

I concluded the mission more convinced than ever that India is a country of enormous consequence for New Zealand and for the world.

So, I want to spend some time reflecting on the mission and talking about some of the outcomes in three key areas. First, economic opportunities; second, defence and security; and third, in terms of people and culture.

I then want to set out what I see as the next steps in the relationship.

Economic opportunities

First, I want to talk about the economic opportunities we saw in India, and what we are doing to capitalise on them.

I’m sure everyone here is familiar with India’s amazing growth story. The fastest GDP growth rate in the G20, with India on track to become the world’s third-largest economy in the next few years, and the Indian middle class now numbers 445 million.

When I met with Prime Minister Modi, I had a chance to discuss with him India’s extraordinary transformation. Over the past decade, 250 million Indians have been lifted out of poverty; the number of airports in India has more than doubled to 157, with many more planned in the coming years; and India’s government estimates that it has built 95,000 kilometres of highway. To put this last one in perspective, that would be enough highway to drive between New Zealand and India eight times.

Globally, India is a consequential and influential voice, successfully hosting the G20 in 2023, and a space power, becoming the first country to land a spacecraft on the moon’s South Pole two years ago.

While in India, I had discussions with business leaders who are running companies doing incredible things. Innovators like Nadir Godrej, responsible for one of India’s biggest, oldest and best-known industrial groups, and Natarajan Chandrasekaran who chairs Tata, a conglomerate with a presence in dozens of countries around the world. It was inspiring to hear of their plans and, importantly, to pitch to them on the value of closer connections with New Zealand.

For New Zealand, the economic opportunities in India are immense. Despite India’s growth and scale, it still only accounts for 1.5 per cent of our exports. We are working hard to change that. That was why I took so many business leaders with me to India. That’s why we worked so hard while in New Delhi and Mumbai to ensure New Zealand’s primary products, our technology, our education exports and our tourism offering were front and centre.

It is Kiwi and Indian businesses, including all of those in this room today, that are the engines of growth, creating new opportunities, lifting trade, and helping transform the relationship between our countries. And for all your ongoing effort and leadership in this regard, I thank you.

Part of my Government’s job is to improve the environment in which our great Kiwi businesses operate in their dealings with India. On that front, I am pleased to report that, during the mission to India, the Government made real progress.

First and foremost, I was delighted that Todd McClay and his Indian counterpart, Piyush Goyal, announced the launch of negotiations towards a Free Trade Agreement. The launch of negotiations is a breakthrough in the economic relationship between India and New Zealand.

Prime Minister Modi and I have instructed our negotiators to work quickly to reach a comprehensive and mutually beneficial agreement, one that promises to play a major role in doubling New Zealand’s exports by value over the next ten years.

My Government is focused on growing our economy and lifting incomes, and the launch of negotiations presents an opportunity to do exactly that.

On top of that, 33 MoUs and other commercial outcomes were progressed on the mission, reflecting the growing partnerships between New Zealand and Indian businesses.

Among those was an MoU between Air New Zealand and Air India to establish a new codeshare partnership on 16 routes between India, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. The MoU will also see these two great airlines explore the introduction of a direct service between India and New Zealand by the end of 2028.

This is a fantastic opportunity that promises to make it easier to fly between our countries and further boost our tourism and education sectors.

Defence and security

But there is so much more to our relationship with India than our economic ties. Which brings me to the second major theme of my visit, defence and security.

New Zealand is invested in supporting stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

In an increasingly multipolar world, India is a major geopolitical power and a significant global and regional security actor.

Prime Minister Modi and I agreed that our defence forces should build greater strategic trust with one another, including undertaking more exchanges and training together.

I was pleased to witness the signing of a new Defence Cooperation Arrangement with India. This arrangement enhances defence dialogue and connections and adds an important new dimension to our strategic engagement.

One of the reasons why we want to build greater trust is so that we can have candid conversations at challenging times. On 22 April, India suffered a devastating terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir. New Zealand condemns terrorism, and we sent our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of the attack.

Since then, we have seen an escalation in tension and military activity. We encourage both India and Pakistan to show restraint at this difficult moment and try to de-escalate the situation.

The situation in Jammu and Kashmir reminds us that we face an increasingly difficult and uncertain strategic outlook, including in the Indo‑Pacific region that India and New Zealand share.

While I was in India, I had the great opportunity to share New Zealand’s perspective on the region as the Chief Guest at the Raisina Dialogue, which, as this audience will know, is India’s – and one of the world’s – premier defence and security events.

My message at Raisina was simple: There can be no prosperity without security.

That is why it’s vitally important that New Zealand works closely with India and other partners in support of a region where countries are free to choose their own path free from interference, and where all countries respect foundational rules.

People-to-people links

The third major theme of my mission centred on the links between our people.

New Zealand’s Indian community was a key feature of many of my discussions in India, including with Prime Minister Modi.

Prime Minister Modi praised New Zealand’s Indian diaspora, referring to it as a “living bridge” between our countries. Prime Minister Modi and I formally recognised the contribution of the diaspora in the joint statement released during my visit.

As this audience will be well aware, the 300,000-strong Indian community is the third largest ethnic group in New Zealand. India is our largest source of skilled migrants and our second-largest source of international students.

A point I made to Prime Minister Modi was that Kiwi-Indians are on average younger, better educated, and have greater earnings than the general New Zealand population.

In short, Indian-Kiwis are making a massive contribution to New Zealand. This is why I chose to take with me to India a senior delegation of community leaders.

I made sure that my programme in India reflected and respected the deep cultural links between our countries. I paid my respects at a place sacred to many Kiwi-Hindus – the BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple. And I visited Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, a place of profound faith and history to Kiwi-Sikhs.

Of course, another indispensable element of our partnership with India is cricket. It was very special to visit Wankhede Stadium with Mumbai-born Ajaz Patel, who took the third-best bowling figures in Test history on that ground.

But our sporting links go beyond cricket. Prime Minister Modi and I also discussed his plans to diversify and enhance India’s prowess across multiple sports. India is particularly interested in Olympic sports as it looks to bolster Ahmedabad’s bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games. Given our high-performance sports ecosystem and our outstanding record at the Olympics, this is an area where New Zealand is well positioned to work with India.

I was particularly pleased to witness the signing of a Sports Memorandum of Cooperation between New Zealand and India. This arrangement allows us to develop new ways to collaborate across high-performance sports, and exchange programmes, skills, technology and innovation, research, and people.

It should boost sports performance in each country and facilitate exchanges in areas such as community sports and health.

Cooperation in sports is particularly significant at a time when, next year, New Zealand and India will celebrate 100 years of sporting ties. We look forward to celebrating this milestone, including with a visit by the Indian men’s cricket team in late 2026.

Next steps for government, business and community

So, across people, culture, sport, defence and security, trade and economics – my mission to India left the relationship in a stronger position. But there is still a lot of work to do.

I now want to take a few minutes to reflect on the next steps for this important relationship, and the respective roles of government, business and community.

I want to be clear that the mission to India was not the end goal. Rather, it was a springboard to help take our relationship to new heights. We now have an extensive work programme across every facet of the relationship. I will touch on just a couple of examples.

First, we have moved quickly to begin negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement, with the first round of talks already having taken place.

Second, our Government will be continuing a steady tempo of political-level engagements with our Indian counterparts. There is no substitute for face-to-face relationships with the key decision-makers, which is why I’m so pleased Minister Margherita has joined us today. During my meeting with Prime Minister Modi, I offered to reciprocate his warm and generous hospitality by inviting him to visit New Zealand when his schedule allows.

Third, to give effect to the various areas of new co-operation, our Government has confirmed that we will need more people on the ground in India. New Zealand will increase our diplomatic footprint in India by more than 60 per cent, underscoring our commitment to the relationship and our ambition to see it grow further.

The Government will be working hard to maintain the momentum, and continue building a broad, deep, and enduring strategic relationship with India.

But our relationship with India is far too important to be left to Government alone. There is a crucial role for two other actors in our society, business and community.

Our relationship with India is so significant that I want to see an ‘all of New Zealand’ effort with government, business and community all moving in the same direction.

The opportunities presented by India are immense. Many of you are already active in the market and have been for some years. But I want to see more New Zealand exporters building relationships in the market and putting together your own strategies for tapping into India’s enormous potential.

The wider Kiwi-Indian community also has a very important role as – in Prime Minister Modi’s words – the “living bridge” between New Zealand and India.

We will stay in touch with the senior delegation of community leaders that accompanied me to India. I encourage the Indian community in New Zealand to continue to share with the Government your insights into our relationship with India and ideas for how we can continue moving forward.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you about the vital partnership between New Zealand and India.

The INZBC have put together an excellent programme for today, featuring a range of speakers who are all committed to bringing New Zealand and India much closer together.

The bottom line is we are two countries that can and should be doing much more together, and we will.

Thank you.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Text of the Vice-President’s interaction with Kautilya Fellows from Indian Foundation, New Delhi (Excerpts)

Source: Government of India

Posted On: 08 MAY 2025 6:27PM by PIB Delhi

Good afternoon,

Shri Ram Madhav, Director, India Foundation. His public life has been dotted with contributions all throughout for larger public welfare but he can legitimately be counted as authentic part of Indian intelligentsia.

Distinguished guests from abroad, and Distinguished members of this group.

Greetings to our foreign guests to Bharat, home to one-sixth of humanity, Global epicenter of culture. We legitimately take pride in being a civilization of thousands of years old and we are unique in several ways, you would have already got some inkling of it. My very distinguished predecessor Venkaiah Naidu ji, a tall figure in Indian politics set very high benchmark as Chairman, Rajya Sabha. He started a bond as he has the good fortune to host two cohorts. Anything done by him carries sublimity and worth. I am delighted to continue this bond which will be enduring, and it is the fifth one. I am particularly fascinated by the name Kautilya fellowship program and more fascinated by the demographic upper sealing it has for 35 years. 35 years would mean all of you can qualify in the right age to be member of Lok Sabha, 25 years is the age.

At 30 you can be a member of the upper house. Unfortunately, you can’t contest the election to be the President. There you have to be more than 35 years of age. You are in a land which basically believes in universal brotherhood–Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. When India hosted and set very high benchmark for G20, the G20 motto was One Earth, One family, One future. This has been exemplified by us over thousands of years, and also in contemporaneous times. At the moment we have global turbulence, Global disturbance. There are global conflagrations, nations are getting ambitious, they are getting in expansion mode and therefore Kautilya’s words of wisdom have great relevance.

Wisdom of Kautilya stands out not as ancient relic but as living guidance. I am sure you must have all studied on Kautilya and his thought process. His philosophy, his Arthashastra remains unmatched in its precision on governance, revealing a mind that understood powers essential in nature and while never forgetting its purpose. Power is defined by limitations. Democracy is nurtured ever mindful of the limitations of power. If you will go deep into Kautilya’s philosophy you will find all this converges only to one essence- nectar of governance, welfare of the people. Kautilya declared, “The happiness of the King lies in the happiness of his people”

If you look at Constitutions of any country that are democratic, you will find this philosophy is the underlying spirit and essence of Democratic governance and democratic values. This people centric foundation reminds us that legitimacy flows not on account of being elected to governance, not on account of being in seat of power but it flows when you get involved passionately in mission mode with deep commitment to execution and public welfare activities.

Democracy is nurtured best when expression and dialogue complement each other, this distinguishes democracy from any other form of governance and in India democracy did not start with our constitution coming into force or we getting Independence from foreign rule. We have been a democratic nation in spirit for thousands of years and this expression and dialogue, complementary mechanism, अभिव्यक्ति, वाद-विवाद has been known in Vedic culture as Anantvad. I am therefore extremely optimistic, brimming with confidence that a world that I described is so torn. If young minds can get together from several countries, get to know each other and that too in Land of Civilization, cradle of Civilization, crucible of innovation where the only thought process resonating over the years is welfare of all.

You would have felt by now, Atithi Devo Bhava. Guest for us is God. You would have felt it on any part of the country. The format will be different, mechanism will be different but the spirit will be the same. I therefore beseech you to look at Bharat, what it was, lost way somewhere in between. There was a time when India contributed to the extent of one third of the global economy, there was a time when India was global destination for knowledge & wisdom. Our educational institutions – Nalanda, Takshashila to name only two, were glorified but about 1300 years ago Nalanda was put in flames. Precious library was lost, Marauders came, they made an effort to revenge our culture, tyrannical, barbaric in their approach but the land survived.

You see recent decades, we were a fragile economy counted or stigmatized as being part of fragile five. Now we are the fourth largest global economy on way to becoming the third. You have to understand Bharat at the moment. No nation in the world has grown so exponentially in last decade as Bharat. Among the larger economies, our pace of growth, our economic upsurge has been at the front. This has converted Bharat into the most aspirational nation in the world at the moment. And primarily because of the segment you represent. Bharat’s demographic dividend is envy of the world. You all are stakeholders in governance in future of the world more than us. You have to drive the growth engine for larger prosperity of the world. Today you see a Bharat at the moment where developmental impact is being felt in the villages.

Imagine all village households having access to minimum 4G internet technology. Imagine a nation which contributes more than 50% of global technological transactions. Imagine a country of 1.4 billion which just a decade ago did not have all households connected to electricity, to pipe water, had no toilet facility, no gas connection. Now they have.

This transformation has brought about equality. This transformation has cut into inequities. Bharat is a growth story accoladed by the world. To be emulated by many nations and they have expressed desire. Global institutions, the World Bank, the IMF, they have recognised this spinal strength of human genius of Bharat. Strength and resilience of its economy. And that is why IMF declared India that is the Bharat as a global shining centre of investment and opportunity.

Boys and girls you are in this land. Our Prime Minister, a great visionary believes in big scale. He believes in massive transformation. He believes in the transformation of the world and after a decade of governance the results are writing on the wall. It is after a long gap of several decades, that we have a Prime Minister continually in the third term and that is making all the difference. And this is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Democracy is in our DNA”

Why in our DNA? Because from ancient Vedic Sabhas and Samitis to our contemporary electoral system. Boys and girls examine. This is the only country in the world that has constitutionally prescribed democratic system at the village level, at the district level, at the state level, at the national level.

This was brought in effect in our country about three and a half decades ago. We started initially with electoral system, democratic process for Parliament and state legislatures but now it has permeated and all this is Constitutionally prescribed. A stable, robust constitutional mechanism has to ensure governance at the village level, at taluk level, at district level. Let me indicate some statistics that will buttress my point. Our electoral process stands as a marvel of scale and inclusion.

The number of registered voters is 990 million. We will be touching a billion. And in the last election in 2024, 642 million people cast votes. This is twice the size of the population of United States. Globally in democratic process there is a declining trend of participation but Bharat defeats this trend. Participatory democracy is blossoming in Bharat and the turnout is rising. It is currently close to 65 percent. Our commitment to gender equity is now constitutionally codified. Women reservation in legislature and Parliament is to the extent of one third now. This is a facet of empowerment of women.

Humanity cannot grow equitably without a fair share of participation by women. But what you need to learn more particularly is reservation to the extent of one third in Lok Sabha and State legislatures is not the upper limit. In the other two third category women can participate. So their number will be more than two third, more than one third, but a striking feature of this reservation is it is horizontal and vertical. Marginalised sections, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, they will have reservation in themselves but there will be reservation for women in that category also.

So boys and girls, this is epochal development. This will be game changing and this will impact this country in a manner that we will regain our past glory as Vishwaguru. Bharat is not a nation with potential. It is a nation on the rise. The rise is unstoppable. The rise is incremental. Making India a developed nation at 2047 when we complete centenary of our independence is not a dream.

It is our destination. Everyone in the country is confident we will achieve it in 2047 if not earlier. In doing all this, our Prime Minister has exemplified in action Kautilyan philosophy. Kautilya’s thought process is a treatise in governance virtually encyclopedic for every facet of governance, state craft, security, role of the king, now those elected. In our multipolar world, we are shifting alliances; you know more than I do. We had a concept, fly by night concept. Same can be seen with alliances. But Kautilya imagined then that this will be our shifting.

Let me quote Kautilya, “Neighbouring state is an enemy and the enemy’s enemy is a friend”, which country knows better than Bharat. We always believe in global peace, global fraternity, global welfare and that is why I said our motto for G20 reflected that 100%. We must go by results. How many people have been hand held to lead a life of dignity, to come out of poverty and that is decided by certain indicators. The number is 248 million. This has been done by a multi pronged strategy. They have been hand held and they have come out. The number will keep on growing. I do not wish to take more time but indicate to you that perhaps what is your median age? 28, around. I say so because this is median age of our demographic dividend. This will take us to our destination.

I will conclude by giving you one illustration, How Prime Minister Modi followed Chanakya Kautilya. When the world faced a non-discriminatory challenge in the shape of COVID, the challenge was much bigger for a nation of 1.4 billion people, and this is what Narendra Modi did. His first step was people’s curfew. People were amazed. Why India’s Prime Minister is thinking of people’s curfew? It was not state sponsored, not administration enforced. He appealed to the people.
Not a soul was on the street. There was near 100% compliance. This motivated the people. This gave strength to a leadership that had vision. Determined to fight COVID at a time when there was no vaccine. No immediate solution in sight.

I know it because then I was boys and girls, Governor of the State of West Bengal. I was looking at the problem that was staring us. I had the good fortune to see in city of joy, Kolkata, curfew being 100% by the people but the underlying spirit of the Prime Minister was it is for the people. It is for the benefit of the people. Can there be greater awareness of the problem than this? This one step by visionary Prime Minister enlightened everyone about the gigantic scale of the problem. Secondly, lighting of candles. I as governor did it. And that was symbolising hope that there may be darkness of COVID, but there will be light. We have Indian tradition when there is some happiness lie when a child is born, how do you light a candle? How would the villagers know? So the house that is honoured by arrival of a newborn, they will take a thali, a metal plate and do it, we did that. At that time, some people did not see the underlying rationale of the Prime Minister. In retrospect they know the man was present Kautilya. He was present, Chanakya. Same about economy. Economy of this country has risen like a plateau. He realised, as Kautilya instructed in Arthashastra, if the last mile people do not rise, economy cannot get quantum jump.

Just imagine, and I will urge all of you to study, the impact of Mudra Loan. How it has converted 50% beneficiaries who are women into entrepreneurs. How it has led women and others to self-economic independence. I am extremely delighted to be amongst you because you constitute the intellectual capital of the world. This convergence is motivated by not welfare of one nation, one race, one caste, one creed, one religion. It is meant in the true spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, the world is one family. We aspire for welfare of the entire world.

Kautilya had one great emphasis. Democracy has to be participatory. Development equally has to be participatory. He laid great emphasis on individuals contributing for national welfare. A nation is defined by decorum, discipline that is individualistic in nature. Similarly, I quote Kautilya, “Just as one wheel alone does not move a cart,” those were the days only of cart, not of automobiles.

Administration cannot be accomplished single-handedly. This nation has an administration which is innovative. In the country we had some districts that were lagging behind. Bureaucrats did not venture into those areas. Prime Minister Modi created a nomenclature for those districts. ‘Aspirational Districts’ and now those ‘Aspirational Districts’ have turned out to be leader districts in development.

Prime Minister Modi certainly thought that people are going to metros. Tier 2, Tier 3 cities must also be hub of economic activity. He devised a mechanism of smart cities. Smart cities were not in the context of infrastructure or beauty. It was in the context of facilities being available for entrepreneurs, for students, so that they do not have to go to metros.

There was a time when in this country for security purposes we used to call our villages on the border as the last village. He changed it. He changed it into first village, a vibrant village. So boys and girls, make most of your time while you are here and I am sure you will carry fond memories. Nurture the bonds you create here. These bonds will help you all your lives, trust me. Do you have an alumni culture of your cohorts? Develop that. I am extremely privileged to be part of this discourse. I will say three things and conclude. One — it is for the first time in G20, India took the initiative to make African Union a member of G20. It is for the first time that Prime Minister Modi took the initiative to put the consensus of the Global South on international radar. And last, while you were battling COVID, this country helped 100 other countries with COVID vaccine.

Thank you so much

****

JKRC/SM

(Release ID: 2127759) Visitor Counter : 2

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Durbin, Smith, Schneider, Stevens Introduce Bill To Address Teaching Shortages In High-Need Schools

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
May 08, 2025
The Retaining Educators Takes Added Investment Now (RETAIN) Act would create a fully refundable tax credit for educators
WASHINGTON – During Teacher Appreciation Week, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), along with U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and U.S. Representative Haley Stevens (D-MI-11), today introduced bicameral legislation, the RETAIN Act, that would address the severe nationwide shortage of early childhood and K-12 teachers that disproportionately impacts students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, and students from rural communities. Exacerbated by low pay, school leadership instability, and poor teaching conditions, schools in low-income communities struggle to retain experienced, qualified education professionals. On average, teachers are paid 23.5 percent less than other college graduates working in nonteaching fields, and teachers in low-income schools are paid less than teachers in more affluent schools.
The RETAIN Act creates a fully refundable tax credit for teachers, paraprofessionals, school-based mental health providers, and school leaders in Title I schools, as well as for educators, program providers, and program directors in early childhood education programs funded by Head Start, Early Head Start, and Child Care and Development Block Grants. The tax credit increases at key points in a teacher’s career to incentivize retention.
“Each day, teachers are shaping the minds of the next generation, but they are not paid enough for the valuable work they’re doing. Hoping to make ends meet for their families, high-quality and experienced teachers are incentivized to move to more affluent, higher paying districts. The impact on Black and Brown students and low-income and rural communities is particularly drastic, with many students in the greatest need having the least resources available to them,” Durbin said. “This Teacher Appreciation Week, I’m introducing the RETAIN Act to help address teaching disparities by incentivizing teachers and other educational professionals to make careers in areas with the most need.”
“Schools across the nation are facing teacher shortages that need to be met with decisive action. We must invest in those who teach our kids and attract the talent that will provide high quality education for future generations. I’m proud to join Sen. Durbin and Rep. Stevens in uplifting educators, enriching classrooms, and fostering a thriving school system that empowers teachers and students alike,” said Schneider.
“Every student should have access to a quality K-12 public education and part of that is paying teachers more,” said Smith. “Teachers rise to the challenge, working hard to meet the academic and emotional needs of their students, but they remain largely underpaid. This contributes to teacher shortages, which disproportionately affect students from low-income backgrounds. That is just wrong. The RETAIN Act will help raise teacher pay, help schools overcome these shortages and ultimately help ensure students get the best education possible.”
“Across my home state of Michigan, we have felt the devastating effects of teacher shortages,” said Stevens. “Low-income schools in particular struggle to retain and recruit the teaching talent that their students so desperately need. I am proud to be a part of this bicameral effort to support and retain teachers and other professional in our Title I schools.”
Educators increasingly are unwilling to teach in difficult working conditions at current compensation levels. Across the nation, the average teacher salary in 2023-2024 was $72,030—though this average masks variation in pay across regions and the income level of the school district. In 2023-2024, the average salary for a first-year teacher was $46,526, and in 2024, early childhood educators made $37,120—barely above the federal poverty line for a family of four. While federal data shows inflation-adjusted teacher pay has been stagnant since 1990, the inflation-adjusted cost of college has nearly doubled, leaving teachers with large amounts of student loan debt and low pay.
To receive modest increases, teachers must obtain expensive graduate degrees—adding student loan debt that dwarfs the accompanying pay raise. Further, schools consistently struggle to attract and retain effective teachers who reflect the diversity of students, particularly with respect to teachers of color.
A one-pager on the bill is available here.
The RETAIN Act has earned the endorsement of Advance CTE; Association for Career and Technical Education; All4Ed; American Federation of Teachers; American Association of School Personnel Administrators; American School Counselor Association; Association of Educational Service Agencies; Council of Administrators of Special Education; Council of the Great City Schools; Deans for Impact; Education Leaders of Color; Educators for Excellence; First Five Years Fund; Illinois Associate for the Education of Young Children; Illinois Education Association; Illinois Federation of Teachers; Illinois Head Start; Illinois Principals Association; Learning Forward; National Association of Elementary School Principals; National Association of School Psychologists; National Council for Languages and International Studies; Joint National Committee for Languages; National Education Association; National Parent Teacher Association; Save the Children; AASA, The School Superintendents Association; Teach For America; and Teach Plus.
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MIL OSI USA News –

May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Red tape slashed to get more teachers into classrooms
Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

Press release

Red tape slashed to get more teachers into classrooms

Government announces cut to the duration of apprenticeships, opening up more training opportunities to get thousands of more teachers into the classroom.
More people will soon have the opportunity to train to teach, as the government cuts apprenticeship red tape as part of steps to get thousands more teachers into the classroom.

As the government steps up work to recruit an additional 6,500 teachers, postgraduate teaching apprenticeship (PGTA) courses will be slashed from twelve months to nine, aligning to the school year and getting newly trained teachers into the classroom sooner.

Courses currently run from September to September, meaning trainees typically have to wait months before kicking off their careers, and making it challenging for schools to support apprentices while training.

The change will be made from August this year and is expected to open up more opportunities to train to teach, as well as accelerating trainees’ journeys to the front of the classroom.

The PGTA has seen a 58 per cent growth over the past few years, showing how popular the offer is, giving participants the chance to earn while they learn and gain hands-on experience in the classroom.

More than 1,400 people trained to teach via this route this year, but demand for places currently far outstrips supply, with around 2,800 eligible applicants last year unable to secure a place on a coveted course.

The change supports the government’s drive through its Plan for Change to recruit an additional 6,500 expert teachers, and follows early progress on teacher recruitment, with over two thousand more people training to become secondary school teachers this year, alongside a 25% boost in the proportion set to begin training in shortage STEM subjects.

Schools Minister, Catherine McKinnell said:

Recruiting and keeping high-quality teachers in our classrooms is the single biggest driver of high standards in schools, which is why our Plan for Change has a clear commitment to recruit an additional 6,500 expert teachers by the end of this Parliament.

Our schools are crying out for more expert teachers, and this government will continue to pull every lever it can to plug the gaps and build on the green shoots we are already seeing.

Bringing teaching apprenticeships in line with the school year is not only logical, it will open the doors for more and more people to become brilliant teachers, shaping the lives of the next generation.”

Apprenticeships are a brilliant way for schools to recruit and train the high-quality teachers they need, while supporting more people to gain the skills and experience they need to become expert teachers and build a successful career in teaching.

The government is offering schools up to £28,000 to cover the cost of training apprentices in mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, computing, and modern foreign languages – the subjects which have the highest teacher shortages. This means apprentices pay nothing for their training and will earn a salary while they are training before moving on to full time teacher pay salary.

The apprenticeship changes build on wider steps the government is already taking to support teacher recruitment and retention, including last summer’s 5.5% pay award and a targeted retention incentive, worth up to £6,000 after tax for early career teachers working in shortage subjects.

Action is also being taken to tackle the systemic challenges that the sector faces which drive high workload and poor wellbeing. This includes improvements to the accountability framework, prioritising SEND reform, reviewing the curriculum through the curriculum and assessment review, supporting schools to use technology effectively and addressing child poverty.

PGTA apprentice teacher in biology at Outwood Academy Acklam, Dan Harrison, shared his experience so far:

The National Institute of Teaching’s postgraduate teaching apprenticeship has enabled me to take the leap from my role as a learning manager to being a teacher. It’s been a great way to quickly get to grips with the day-to-day practicalities of the role, while also understanding the underpinning theory of what makes great teaching and applying this to my immediate context.

I’ve really enjoyed being fully embedded in the teaching community at my school and would recommend this as an ideal route for those who are interested in the profession but looking for a way to learn on the job.

National Institute of Teaching Executive Director of Programmes, Reuben Moore said:

The potential of teacher apprenticeships is significant, strengthening routes into the profession and helping to reach a range of candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds in hard-to-recruit areas where teachers are needed most.

The hands-on learning offered alongside critical reflection through the apprenticeship route means that trainees can become fully qualified teachers in less time, without compromising on the quality of teaching or educational outcomes.

We welcome the government’s efforts on removing barriers to this important training route, not only focusing on its impact but the opportunity to grow it further and help ensure that all children have access to an excellent education.

Courses will still offer the same high-quality content but at a reduced length with trainees gaining Qualified Teacher Status after they have completed the programme, going on to build successful careers in teaching.

As part of the work to drive high and rising standards in schools the government’s landmark Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill is also introducing measures to ensure new teachers have or are working towards Qualified Teacher Status, so that children can benefit from high-quality teaching. Parents want to be confident that there is a professionally qualified teacher leading their children’s learning, and we expect the same.

As well as the PGTA, there are a range of apprenticeships available to individuals who are considering entering the teaching profession including a new degree level teacher apprenticeship as well as teaching assistant apprenticeships.

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Published 9 May 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Speech to the India New Zealand Business Council
Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

Good morning. Namaskar.
- The Chair and General Manager of the India New Zealand Business Council
- Prime Minister Luxon and Minister of State Margherita
- Indian High Commissioner Bhushan
- Distinguished Guests
- Ladies and Gentlemen
It’s a privilege to be with you today to offer some very brief reflections on the India-New Zealand relationship.

These reflections follow detailed speeches by Prime Minister Luxon and Minister of State Margherita. So, we won’t seek to repeat what you have already heard. Rather, we will make just three fundamental and summarising observations.

Observation one: New Zealand wants closer, stronger relations with India.

New Zealand’s Coalition Government has made clear over the past 18 months, through our actions and policies, that we intend to seriously lift our relations with India.

As Foreign Minister, we have spent much of this Parliamentary term travelling around the world advancing New Zealand’s interests. But our very first visit outside Australia and the Pacific since returning as Foreign Minister was to India.

This selection of Gujarat and New Delhi as early visit destinations was very deliberate. Our government wanted to send an unambiguous signal to the people and Government of India that New Zealand wishes for our countries to draw ever closer – united by shared interests and a mutual desire to build deeper, mutually beneficial cooperation.

India’s Foreign Minister, S. Jaishankar, is one of the world’s most impressive and astute statesmen. We have been pleased to work closely with him on this project of drawing our countries closer together.

And we are looking forward to meeting this afternoon with Minister of State Margherita, to discuss our building bilateral relationship.

This meeting will also provide an opportunity for us to exchange views on the heinous terrorist attack in Kashmir last month, developments between India and Pakistan in the last few days, and New Zealand’s wish to help support a seriously rapid de-escalation of the situation.

Observation two: India’s rise over the past generation has been seriously impressive.

There are few countries in the world that have been so dramatically transformed over the past 35 years as has India.

We have seen hundreds of millions of Indians lifted out of poverty; huge improvements in education, health and life expectancy; and a breathtaking economic expansion.

And all of this has been achieved while maintaining India’s proud democratic tradition of settling the inevitable differences that emerge in a country of such immense scale and diversity at the ballot box.

When in Delhi last year, we visited the new Indian Parliament – whose carpets feature New Zealand wool – and got a first-hand sense of the scale and magnificence of Indian democracy.

India’s rise has been a force for good in our region and for our world.

Observation three: New Zealand wants a broad-based relationship with India, as the Prime Minister said.

We want to draw closer with India not in one domain, but in many domains.

New Zealand and India are two of the world’s great, long-standing democracies – and we have a shared objective of an open, free, democratic and peaceful Indo-Pacific region. To achieve that, we need to be cooperating in as many areas as possible.

We need to be working across the Indo-Pacific, including with Pacific Island countries.

We need to be helping to manage our increasingly contested and disordered strategic environment via more regular, intensive high-level dialogue.

We need to be addressing shared security and defence challenges, by embedding deeper engagement in these areas.

And the Prime Minister is right. We will be seriously boosting our diplomatic presence in India. We should have done so 40 years ago.

We need to be pursuing shared trade and economic opportunities, including in tourism and education.

And we need to be making the most of our intensifying people, sporting and cultural connections.

This audience will know well that, through the painstaking work of the governments, peoples and indeed businesses of India and New Zealand, a great foundation has been laid over the past 18 months.

There is so much potential in the relationship between New Zealand and India. Given the serious progress our two countries have made in the last 18 months, now is the time to work to realise that potential.

Thank you, and best of luck for the remaining conversations at this event today.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –
May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: May 08, 2025 Rep. Mullin Cosponsors Legislation to Increase Affordable Housing through Expansion of Federal Tax Credit Washington, D.C. – Rep. Kevin Mullin (CA-15) joined a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in introducing the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 (AHCIA), which would help millions of Americans by financing nearly 1.6 million affordable homes nationwide over 10… Read More
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Kevin Mullin California (15th District)

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Kevin Mullin (CA-15) joined a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in introducing the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 (AHCIA), which would help millions of Americans by financing nearly 1.6 million affordable homes nationwide over 10 years.

Rep. Mullin is an original cosponsor of this critical legislation that would strengthen and expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), the nation’s primary tool to finance the development and preservation of affordable rental housing over the last 40 years.

“As housing and construction costs continue to rise, more federal support is urgently needed to build homes for low-income families across the nation,” said Rep. Mullin. “One of the toughest challenges for nonprofit housing builders is piecing together a mix of federal, state and local funding sources. Expanding the Housing Credit is desperately needed and will help stabilize families who are struggling to make ends meet.”

Specifically, this bill would:
- Increase Housing Credit allocations and resources
- Provide states with additional flexibilities and streamline program rules
- Enable the Housing Credit to better serve hard-to-reach communities including rural, Native American, high-poverty, and high-cost communities, as well as extremely low-income and formerly homeless tenants.
- Make the Housing Credit a more effective tool for preserving existing affordable housing units.
- Support over 2.4 million jobs, almost $94 billion in additional tax revenue, and over $271 billion in wages and business income.
Established in 1986, the Housing Credit has financed more than 4 million affordable homes and served over 9.28 million low-income households, including veterans, seniors, people with disabilities, and working families with children.

The AHCIA of 2025 builds on prior versions of the AHCIA that have earned widespread bipartisan support since first introduced in 2016. Since then, key provisions from the bill have been included in tax legislation, including the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, which passed the House of Representatives with overwhelming support. Congress will also be considering tax legislation as part of its budget reconciliation efforts.

Besides receiving bipartisan support, the AHCIA has been lauded by affordable housing advocates for modernizing the support of rental housing for low-income families.

“Enacting the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act is the single most important thing Congress can do to increase the production of affordable homes in California,” said Matt Schwartz, President & CEO of the California Housing Partnership. “Passing AHCIA will result in the construction of an additional 15,000 affordable homes per year for California families, seniors and disabled struggling to afford high rents, roughly double today’s production. The California Housing Partnership lauds Congressman Mullin’s leadership in co-sponsoring this critical legislation to address California’s affordability crisis.”

“The Housing Credit is one of the most effective tools we have to solve our nation’s housing crisis,” said Matthew O. Franklin, President and CEO of MidPen Housing, a leading nonprofit that has developed more than 130 affordable communities serving 22,000 families and seniors. “We applaud the bipartisan cosponsors for teaming up on this critical effort, which will leverage private-sector capital to create homes and jobs across the U.S.”

“Passing this legislation is the single most important thing Congress can do to support affordable housing in California right now,” said J.T. Harechmak, Policy Director of Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California. “The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act will help California build and preserve hundreds of thousands of affordable homes over the next year – a critically important outcome at a critically important time.”

“We are thrilled by the overwhelming support for legislation that will increase the development of affordable housing,” said Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition (AHTCC) Chief Executive Officer Emily Cadik. “Now more than ever, it is vital for Congress to enact these long overdue measures, which leverage private sector investment to bolster affordable housing resources. We thank the growing number of bipartisan cosponsors for supporting this commonsense solution to expand and strengthen the Housing Credit.”

“With our nation’s housing crisis reaching record levels, there is a strong imperative for Congress to act. The affordable housing crisis affects every state and all types of communities,” said Dudley Benoit, President of the AHTCC Board of Directors and Executive Vice President of Walker & Dunlop. “The Housing Credit has proven to be an effective tool in urban and rural areas alike. Without action, this crisis will continue to spiral, leaving more families unable to find affordable housing in their communities and making it more difficult for those communities to support a workforce.”

###

MIL OSI USA News –
May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Wasserman Schultz, Soto, Salazar Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Designate Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23)

“It is simply wrong to subject law-abiding Venezuelan families to a criminal, murderous regime that openly and flagrantly violates human rights,” said Wasserman Schultz. “TPS recipients are not criminals—they are here legally and nobody with a criminal record is eligible for protection. I’m proud to join this bipartisan effort to prevent Venezuelan families in my district from being unjustly torn apart while we continue to fight for a free and prosperous Venezuela under democratic leadership.”

Washington, DC – Today, Florida Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-25), Darren Soto (D-FL-09), María Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27) introduced the bipartisan Venezuela TPS Act of 2025, legislation designating Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status. This comes after U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the termination of Venezuela’s TPS extension by the Biden Administration, affecting more than half a million Venezuelans who currently hold protected status.

“It is simply wrong to subject law-abiding Venezuelan families to a criminal, murderous regime that openly and flagrantly violates human rights,” said Wasserman Schultz. “TPS recipients are not criminals—they are here legally and nobody with a criminal record is eligible for protection. I’m proud to join this bipartisan effort to prevent Venezuelan families in my district from being unjustly torn apart while we continue to fight for a free and prosperous Venezuela under democratic leadership.”

“We are concerned by the Trump Administration’s actions to strip Venezuelans of Temporary Protected Status, parole, and other critical protections during a time of major instability in their country. In Central Florida, thousands of Venezuelans have fled political violence and joined family members already living in the United States, contributing to our economy, and working hard to help our community grow,” said Soto. “It is insulting to turn our backs on this group. Now more than ever, we need to come together to protect our community from unjust treatment and unconstitutional deportations.”

“The oppression of the Maduro regime and the total failure of socialism of the 21st century has created dangerous conditions in Venezuela and a constant threat of political persecution,” said Salazar. “That’s why I am proud to co-lead the Venezuela TPS Act of 2025— to ensure law-abiding Venezuelans currently in the United States can stay here until conditions improve and they are not forcibly returned to a brutal dictatorship. I will continue fighting for a free and prosperous Venezuela, led by its legitimate President Edmundo Gonzalez and the Iron Lady Maria Corina Machado.”

The Venezuela TPS Act of 2025 automatically designates Venezuela for TPS for an initial period of 18 months, with the option of renewal. Under TPS, Venezuelans would be shielded from deportation and granted work authorization, allowing individuals to pay taxes and contribute to their communities. The Act also provides for individuals to travel abroad for emergencies and extenuating circumstances.

Political instability, endemic corruption, and repression under Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime has led to massive food and medicine shortages, with millions living in poverty and suffering from food insecurity. Venezuela’s economy has contracted by more than 80% since 2014, which is more than twice the magnitude of the Great Depression in the United States. Due to the ongoing crisis in Venezuela, Venezuelans have consistently been the leading nationality requesting asylum in the United States since 2016. As of June 2023, United Nations agencies believe that over 7.3 million Venezuelans have fled the country, many of whom have resettled in neighboring countries like Colombia and Brazil.

Venezuelan nationals will be eligible for TPS if they:

·    Have been continuously physically present in the United States since the date of the bill’s enactment;

·    Are admissible to the United States; and

·    Register for TPS in a manner established by the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security.

For the full text of the bill, click here.

####

Wasserman Schultz, Soto, Salazar Presentan Proyecto de Ley Bipartidista Para Designar a Venezuela al Estatus de Protección Temporal

La Ley de TPS para Venezuela del 2025 protegería a más de medio millón de ciudadanos venezolanos que actualmente tienen estatus protegido

Washington, DC – Hoy, representantes de la Florida Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-25) Darren Soto (D-FL-09), y María Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27) presentaron la Ley de TPS para Venezuela del 2025, un proyecto de ley bipartidista que designaría a Venezuela al Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS, por sus). Este proyecto de ley se produjo después de que la secretaria de Seguridad Nacional de los Estados Unidos, Kristi Noem, anuncio la terminación de la extensión del TPS para Venezuela por parte de la Administración Biden, que afecta a más de medio millón de ciudadanos que actualmente tienen estatus protegido.

“Es simplemente un error someter a las familias venezolanas respetuosas de la ley a un régimen criminal y asesino que viola abierta y flagrantemente los derechos humanos,” dijo la congresista Wasserman Schultz. “Los beneficiarios del TPS no son criminales, están aquí legalmente y nadie con antecedentes penales es elegible para la protección. Estoy orgullosa de unirme a este esfuerzo bipartidista para evitar que las familias venezolanas en mi distrito sean injustamente separadas mientras continuamos luchando por una Venezuela libre y próspera bajo un liderazgo democrático.”

“Estamos preocupados por las acciones de la Administración Trump para sacarle a los venezolanos los beneficios del Estatus de Protección Temporal, la libertad condicional y otras protecciones críticas durante un momento de gran inestabilidad en su país. En Florida Central, miles de venezolanos han huido de la violencia política y se han unido a sus familiares que actualmente viven en los Estados Unidos—contribuyendo a la economía y trabajando arduamente para ayudar a que nuestra comunidad crezca,” dijo el congresista Darren Soto. “Darle la espalda a este grupo es un gran insulto. Ahora más que nunca, necesitamos unirnos para proteger a nuestra comunidad contra trato injusto y las deportaciones inconstitucionales.”

“La opresión del régimen de Maduro y el fracaso total del socialismo del siglo XXI ha creado condiciones peligrosas en Venezuela y una amenaza constante de persecución política,” dijo la congresista Salazar. “Es por eso que me enorgullece coliderar la Ley de TPS para Venezuela del 2025, para garantizar que los venezolanos respetuosos de la ley que actualmente se encuentran en los Estados Unidos puedan permanecer aquí hasta que las condiciones mejoren y no sean devueltos a la fuerza a una dictadura brutal. Seguiré luchando por una Venezuela libre y próspera, liderada por su legítimo presidente Edmundo González y la Dama de Hierro María Corina Machado.”

La Ley de TPS para Venezuela del 2025 automáticamente designaría a Venezuela para TPS por un período inicial de 18 meses, con opción de renovación. Bajo el TPS, los venezolanos estarían protegidos contra la deportación y se les otorgaría autorización de trabajo, permitiéndoles a los beneficiarios pagar impuestos y contribuir a sus comunidades. El proyecto de ley también prevé que los beneficiarios viajen al extranjero por situaciones de emergencia y circunstancias atenuantes.

La inestabilidad política, la corrupción endémica y la represión bajo el régimen autoritario de NicolásMaduro han provocado una escasez masiva de alimentos y medicamentos, con millones de personasviviendo en la pobreza y sufriendo inseguridad alimentaria.

La economía de Venezuela se ha contraídoen más del 80% desde el 2014, más del doble de la magnitud de la Gran Depresión en los EstadosUnidos. Debido a la crisis en Venezuela, los venezolanos han sido consistentemente la principalnacionalidad que solicita

asilo en los Estados Unidos desde el 2016. Hasta junio del 2023, las agenciasde las Naciones Unidas creen que más de 7,3 millones de venezolanos han huido del país, muchos delos cuales se han reasentado en países vecinos como Colombia y Brasil.

Los ciudadanos venezolanos serán elegibles para el TPS bajo estas condiciones:

·    Haber estado físicamente presente continuamente en los Estados Unidos desde la fecha de promulgación del proyecto de ley;

·    Ser admisibles a los Estados Unidos; y

·    Registrarse para el TPS de la manera establecida por el/la secretario/a de Seguridad Nacional de los Estados Unidos.

Para ver el texto completo del proyecto de ley, haga clic aquí.

####

MIL OSI USA News –

May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Operation Vulindlela phase 2: Focusing on key reforms

Source: South Africa News Agency

The second phase of Operation Vulindlela, will focus on three key reforms: tackling the legacy of spatial inequality, enhancing local government performance, and accelerating digital transformation.

Launching the next phase of this important initiative at the Union Buildings, on Wednesday, 7 May 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasised that this new phase is aimed at driving rapid and inclusive economic growth for the benefit of all South Africans.

“We need growth that is both rapid and inclusive. We need growth that serves the millions of people in our country who remain unemployed, and the young people who cannot see a way into the labour market.

“And we need growth that improves people’s daily lives by fixing the infrastructure that is broken. That is why, in the next phase of Operation Vulindlela that we are launching today, we will implement reforms in three new areas,” the President said.

He stressed that if these reforms are implemented swiftly and boldly, they will put South Africa firmly on the path of economic recovery and renewal.

He acknowledged that the process of reform is never easy, and it is often contested, especially by those with vested interests.

“Yet we have a simple choice to make. If we do not reform our economy, it will not grow and we will not create jobs. Unemployment will rise and poverty will increase. On the other hand, if we implement these reforms – if we do so swiftly and boldly – we will place our economy on a path of growth and renewal.

“There is a generation of South Africans that does not know what it is to live in a country that is growing. They have never experienced rising incomes, increasing jobs, thriving businesses and expanding opportunities.

“It is our intention to ensure that every South African feels the benefits of rapid, sustained and inclusive economic growth,” he said.

The first focus area: Tackling Spatial Inequality

The second phase will start by addressing the apartheid legacy of spatial inequality, which has forced millions of South Africans to live far from economic opportunity.

The President noted that the country’s urban structure must be reshaped to enable citizens to live closer to where jobs and services are located.

“The poorest South Africans spend as much as 40 percent of their income on transport to get to work, more than almost any other country in the world. Imagine you earn R10 000 and R4000 of it is spent on transport,” he said.

He emphasised that the structure of the country’s cities has to change to enable people to access work.

To address this, government will change housing policies to introduce demand-side subsidies for home ownership and affordable rental options, empowering people to choose where they want to live.

“While the millions of homes that we have built since 1994 have given families shelter and dignity at an unprecedented scale, we cannot continue to build houses on the periphery of our cities and towns.”

Publicly-owned land and buildings, particularly in inner cities, will be released for affordable housing, and the backlog of title deeds for affordable housing will be cleared.

Reforms will also simplify the titling system, making it more accessible and affordable.

The President added that this will turn houses into an asset for poor households. It will enable these households to access credit and use this asset to advance themselves.

Finally, a comprehensive regulatory review will be undertaken to remove barriers to low-cost housing development and encourage investment in urban centres rather than peripheral areas.

“These reforms will help turn our cities and towns into thriving centres of economic activity,” he said.

The second focus area: Strengthening Local Government

The second area of reform during this phase of Operation Vulindlela is improving the performance of local government.

The President highlighted that many of the country’s municipalities are unable to deliver basic services to households and businesses.

“Operation Vulindlela has set out a clear agenda for local government reform, which starts with improving the delivery of water and electricity services through professional utilities.

“Utilities should have the right technical skills, strong regulation and oversight, and full control of their billing and revenue functions to allow them to invest in infrastructure and maintenance,” he said.

Another key step is strengthening local government administration.

“We will work to ensure that capable, qualified people are appointed to senior positions in municipalities, such as municipal managers and CFOs,” he said.

This will be done by extending the mandate of the Public Service Commission to local government and taking action against municipalities that fail to comply with minimum competency standards.

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has initiated the process to update the White Paper on Local Government, which includes a review of the institutional structure of local government.

Finally, the National Treasury will review the local government fiscal framework, including the design of conditional grants, to ensure that the revenue of municipalities matches their responsibilities.

The third focus area: Accelerating Digital Transformation

The third new area of focus is digital transformation.

Last month, Cabinet approved a Digital Transformation Roadmap to drive the adoption of digital technologies in government and to build digital public infrastructure that can be used by all South Africans.

This will include a digital identity system, rapid payments to expand financial inclusion, and enabling people to access services like applying for an ID or passport online.

“We have established significant momentum. We have seen the green shoots of recovery. It is our responsibility to grow a flourishing crop and to ensure that all South Africans reap the benefits of its harvest,” he said.

Successes of the first phase of Operation Vulindlela

Operation Vulindlela was established in October 2020 as a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms.

It was initiated in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating economic impact on the country and around the world.

In its first phase, Operation Vulindlela focused on reforms in five key areas namely energy, logistics, telecommunications, water, and the visa system.

“The pandemic arrived just as the country was emerging from more than a decade of stagnant economic growth and rising unemployment and from the era of state capture.

“When I addressed a joint sitting of Parliament in October 2020, I said in the aftermath of a fire, green shoots begin to emerge. The ashes enrich the soil, and new life takes root to replace what was lost. Over the past four years, we have seen the green shoots of economic reform,” the President said.

Through far-reaching reforms in the electricity sector, government has substantially reduced the severity and frequency of load shedding, relieving a constraint on growth which had strangled the economy for years.

These reforms have enabled private investment in energy generation, unlocking billions of Rands in new investment in renewable energy in every part of the country.

The country has also embarked on a major reform of its ports and rail system through the Freight Logistics Roadmap.

Major successes include the opening of the rail network to competition and the invitation of private sector participation in port terminals, while ensuring that the network infrastructure remains state owned.

The completion of the spectrum auction enabled significant investment in telecommunications infrastructure while improving network quality and reducing data costs for every South African.

The water use license system, which once served as a barrier to investment, now works efficiently and has allowed projects in forestry, mining and other sectors to proceed.

As of last year, the country has implemented an entirely new framework for skilled visas to attract investment and encourage businesses to establish themselves in our country and create jobs.

“All of this progress has been made possible thanks to the cooperation and commitment of the relevant government departments, state owned enterprises, public entities and social partners.

“I commend in particular, the Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Directors-General and CEOs that have provided leadership to these efforts. Over the last four years, Operation Vulindlela has become a government-wide initiative. This is meaningful progress and it will enable higher growth in the years to come,” the President said. – SAnews.gov.za

MIL OSI Africa –

May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: We set out to improve literacy among struggling readers in Kenya – what we learnt
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Fridah Gatwiri Kiambati, Post Doctoral research scientist, African Population and Health Research Center

Literacy – being able to read, write and understand written or spoken language – is a cornerstone of educational achievement. Yet, for millions of children worldwide, acquiring basic literacy skills is a significant challenge.

This is a result of systemic inequalities, poverty, conflict, displacement and gender disparities. A Unicef report on global literacy levels in 2023 found that 89% of 10-year-olds in sub-Saharan Africa were unable to read or comprehend a basic story.

In Kenya, the gap in foundational literacy is stark. A nationwide evaluation of over 44,000 children across 1,973 primary schools in 2023 found that three in 10 grade 6 learners aged 11 struggled to read grade 3-level (age 8) texts.

These numbers highlight the critical need to address reading difficulties in early grades to ensure that learners do not fall behind irretrievably.

When learners aren’t able to read, they are likely to fall behind in literacy and other learning areas. This is because foundational learning skills – which include literacy (reading) and numeracy (basic maths) – are the building blocks for learning in later years of schooling and for lifelong learning.

I am an inclusive education researcher. I was involved in the Developing Readers Study. It set out to design and pilot an intervention to improve literacy skills among grade 2 and 3 learners who are furthest behind in reading.

The study, implemented by the African Population and Health Research Center, was aimed at providing policy-relevant evidence on how support for struggling readers can be formally and systematically incorporated into school timetables and education systems.

In 13 weeks, more than a third of the learners had become fluent readers.

The study

The Developing Readers Study was implemented in 15 schools in Kiambu County, which neighbours the Kenyan capital Nairobi. This was strategic to design, test and refine the intervention before scaling up.

The intervention started with the preparation of instruction materials. These included a teachers’ guide and assessment booklet, as well as homework packets for the learners. Teachers were trained on how to deliver the structured intervention while accommodating individual learner needs.

Learners were assessed to identify those with reading difficulties. Out of 2,805 learners from 15 schools screened, 920 (33%) learners had reading difficulties.

They were then categorised into three groups as per their reading levels at baseline:
- module 1 for non-readers, who numbered 410 (45%)
- module 2 for beginning readers, who could read 1-9 correct words per minute (212 learners, or 23%)
- module 3 for intermediate readers who could read 10-16 correct words per minute (298 learners, or 32%).
The learners were then taken through remedial lessons for English and Kiswahili for 13 weeks. Each lesson lasted 30 minutes. During the intervention period, teachers received support from curriculum support officers, and quality assurance and standards officers in Kiambu County.

In addition, these officers observed the lessons to identify the support needed. Cluster meetings were held to gather teacher feedback on the implementation process.

Parents were also engaged through homework packets. This encouraged a supportive home environment for learning.

The results

The study led to significant improvements in literacy outcomes among participating learners over the 13 weeks.
1. The proportion of non-readers who couldn’t read any correct word per minute reduced from 43.3% (following a few dropouts) to 18.9% at endline. This improvement highlights the power of targeted instruction to transform learning outcomes for struggling readers.
2. Both boys and girls benefited from the programme. However, girls consistently outperformed boys in tasks like syllable and oral passage reading. These insights highlight the importance of designing interventions that address gender-specific learning needs.
3. The programme equipped teachers with practical tools and strategies to give learners individual attention according to their needs. By the endline assessment, 92% of teachers were closely following the structured lesson guides, demonstrating increased confidence and competence.
4. Parents played a pivotal role in the programme’s success. Weekly homework packets provided opportunities for learners to practise reading at home.
5. Over a third of the learners (37%) advanced to emergent and fluent reading levels, meaning they no longer required remedial support. This progression was particularly notable among younger learners in grade 2, underscoring the value of early intervention.
The developing readers intervention stands out because it goes beyond addressing literacy challenges at the classroom level. It also brought in education officials, rigorous teacher training and contextualised learning materials.

Its findings demonstrate that structured, targeted interventions can effectively address foundational literacy gaps. This same model can be used elsewhere.

What next

The study provides a roadmap for addressing Kenya’s literacy crisis. Its positive outcomes demonstrate that early, targeted interventions can put struggling readers on the path to success.

Scaling up this programme offers an opportunity to ensure no child is left behind in acquiring foundational literacy skills.

To achieve this, policymakers must make sure remedial interventions take place at schools. They must also provide resources for teacher training and promote home-school collaboration.

With sustained investment and a commitment to evidence-based strategies, Kenya can bridge its literacy gap and pave the way for a brighter future for its learners.

– We set out to improve literacy among struggling readers in Kenya – what we learnt
– https://theconversation.com/we-set-out-to-improve-literacy-among-struggling-readers-in-kenya-what-we-learnt-253252

MIL OSI Africa –
May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: We set out to improve literacy among struggling readers in Kenya – what we learnt
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Fridah Gatwiri Kiambati, Post Doctoral research scientist, African Population and Health Research Center

Literacy – being able to read, write and understand written or spoken language – is a cornerstone of educational achievement. Yet, for millions of children worldwide, acquiring basic literacy skills is a significant challenge.

This is a result of systemic inequalities, poverty, conflict, displacement and gender disparities. A Unicef report on global literacy levels in 2023 found that 89% of 10-year-olds in sub-Saharan Africa were unable to read or comprehend a basic story.

In Kenya, the gap in foundational literacy is stark. A nationwide evaluation of over 44,000 children across 1,973 primary schools in 2023 found that three in 10 grade 6 learners aged 11 struggled to read grade 3-level (age 8) texts.

These numbers highlight the critical need to address reading difficulties in early grades to ensure that learners do not fall behind irretrievably.

When learners aren’t able to read, they are likely to fall behind in literacy and other learning areas. This is because foundational learning skills – which include literacy (reading) and numeracy (basic maths) – are the building blocks for learning in later years of schooling and for lifelong learning.

I am an inclusive education researcher. I was involved in the Developing Readers Study. It set out to design and pilot an intervention to improve literacy skills among grade 2 and 3 learners who are furthest behind in reading.

The study, implemented by the African Population and Health Research Center, was aimed at providing policy-relevant evidence on how support for struggling readers can be formally and systematically incorporated into school timetables and education systems.

In 13 weeks, more than a third of the learners had become fluent readers.

The study

The Developing Readers Study was implemented in 15 schools in Kiambu County, which neighbours the Kenyan capital Nairobi. This was strategic to design, test and refine the intervention before scaling up.

The intervention started with the preparation of instruction materials. These included a teachers’ guide and assessment booklet, as well as homework packets for the learners. Teachers were trained on how to deliver the structured intervention while accommodating individual learner needs.

Learners were assessed to identify those with reading difficulties. Out of 2,805 learners from 15 schools screened, 920 (33%) learners had reading difficulties.

They were then categorised into three groups as per their reading levels at baseline:
- module 1 for non-readers, who numbered 410 (45%)
- module 2 for beginning readers, who could read 1-9 correct words per minute (212 learners, or 23%)
- module 3 for intermediate readers who could read 10-16 correct words per minute (298 learners, or 32%).
The learners were then taken through remedial lessons for English and Kiswahili for 13 weeks. Each lesson lasted 30 minutes. During the intervention period, teachers received support from curriculum support officers, and quality assurance and standards officers in Kiambu County.

In addition, these officers observed the lessons to identify the support needed. Cluster meetings were held to gather teacher feedback on the implementation process.

Parents were also engaged through homework packets. This encouraged a supportive home environment for learning.

The results

The study led to significant improvements in literacy outcomes among participating learners over the 13 weeks.
1. The proportion of non-readers who couldn’t read any correct word per minute reduced from 43.3% (following a few dropouts) to 18.9% at endline. This improvement highlights the power of targeted instruction to transform learning outcomes for struggling readers.
2. Both boys and girls benefited from the programme. However, girls consistently outperformed boys in tasks like syllable and oral passage reading. These insights highlight the importance of designing interventions that address gender-specific learning needs.
3. The programme equipped teachers with practical tools and strategies to give learners individual attention according to their needs. By the endline assessment, 92% of teachers were closely following the structured lesson guides, demonstrating increased confidence and competence.
4. Parents played a pivotal role in the programme’s success. Weekly homework packets provided opportunities for learners to practise reading at home.
5. Over a third of the learners (37%) advanced to emergent and fluent reading levels, meaning they no longer required remedial support. This progression was particularly notable among younger learners in grade 2, underscoring the value of early intervention.
The developing readers intervention stands out because it goes beyond addressing literacy challenges at the classroom level. It also brought in education officials, rigorous teacher training and contextualised learning materials.

Its findings demonstrate that structured, targeted interventions can effectively address foundational literacy gaps. This same model can be used elsewhere.

What next

The study provides a roadmap for addressing Kenya’s literacy crisis. Its positive outcomes demonstrate that early, targeted interventions can put struggling readers on the path to success.

Scaling up this programme offers an opportunity to ensure no child is left behind in acquiring foundational literacy skills.

To achieve this, policymakers must make sure remedial interventions take place at schools. They must also provide resources for teacher training and promote home-school collaboration.

With sustained investment and a commitment to evidence-based strategies, Kenya can bridge its literacy gap and pave the way for a brighter future for its learners.

Fridah Gatwiri Kiambati works for the African Population and Health Research Center. The Developing Readers Study, which this article is based was funded by the Gates foundation.

– ref. We set out to improve literacy among struggling readers in Kenya – what we learnt – https://theconversation.com/we-set-out-to-improve-literacy-among-struggling-readers-in-kenya-what-we-learnt-253252
MIL OSI – Global Reports –
May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI: SECU Foundation Awards Grace Clinic of Yadkin Valley with $600,000 Grant for New Medical Facility

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

ELKIN, N.C., May 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SECU Foundation has announced a $600,000 challenge grant for Grace Clinic of Yadkin Valley (GCYV) to assist with the construction of a new medical facility in Elkin, North Carolina. The 7,125 square-foot clinic will allow the non-profit to greatly expand services in its four-county region and increase capacity to serve over 600 patients annually.

GCYV is a Free and Charitable Clinic (FCC) that provides quality integrated primary healthcare for marginalized individuals, including those with chronic conditions and behavioral health needs. One of eight FCCs in North Carolina serving Medicare and Medicaid patients, GCYV provides access to a region where 18.5% of adults are uninsured and 22.5% of adults are living under the poverty level according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

“We are so pleased to support the important work of Grace Clinic of Yadkin Valley,” said SECU Foundation Board member Michael Clements. “GCYV is such a valuable part of the community, providing critical services for the people of this area for almost 20 years. SECU Foundation is thrilled to help fund the construction of a new facility that will expand much-needed services and allow for hundreds more patients to be served each year.”

“Grace Clinic of Yadkin Valley is extremely grateful to the SECU Foundation for their generous support of the construction of a new Health Center,” said GCYV Executive Director Betty W. Taylor. “The Center will offer a wide range of primary care, behavioral health, medication assistance, and dental services. The new facility will not only expand our services, but also will provide better utilization of space and improved access and parking for handicapped patients.”

About SECU and SECU Foundation
A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, and federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), SECU has been providing employees of the state of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for 87 years. SECU is the second largest credit union in the United States with $53 billion in assets. It serves more than 2.8 million members through 275 branch offices, 1,100 ATMs, Member Services Support via phone, www.ncsecu.org, and the SECU Mobile App. The SECU Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization funded by the contributions of SECU members, promotes local community development in North Carolina primarily through high-impact projects in the areas of housing, education, healthcare, and human services. Since 2004, SECU Foundation has made a collective financial commitment of over $300 million for initiatives to benefit North Carolinians statewide.

Contact: Jama Campbell, Executive Director, secufoundation@ncsecu.org

Receiving the check are GCYV Board members and Executive Director Betty W. Taylor (third from the left) surrounded by GCYV and SECU Foundation representatives.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3386f1c8-bca5-4c86-a42f-b26d83dad106

The MIL Network –

May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: FDR united Democrats under the banner of ‘liberalism’ − but today’s Democratic Party has nothing to put on its hat

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Kevin M. Schultz, Professor of History, University of Illinois Chicago

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, left, popularized the term ‘liberal’; President Lyndon Johnson may have caused its demise. FDR: AFP/Getty; LBJ: Bettmann/Getty

If Donald Trump has taught Americans anything, it’s that political parties can shift positions on any number of issues and retain strong support. Republicans had once been aggressive Cold Warriors, standing shoulder to shoulder with allies against Russia, but now they are isolationists. They once favored so-called “free markets,” but now they support tariffs. And they once supported cutting budget deficits, but now they balloon those deficits with tax cuts.

Same party, different policies.

This accords with recent scholarship showing that American political parties don’t have much ideological coherence around concepts such as “freedom” or “equality” but instead are more like social groups with strong communal bonds such as common sympathies and common enemies.

It turns out that political parties are mostly just people rooting for their side, the way you might support a sports team. It doesn’t matter whether your team changes tactics. You still root for them.

People do switch allegiances, but it often takes a traumatic event to stop seeing fellow partisans as good, reasonable people.

Republicans right now have strong tribal belonging that begins and ends with a single question: Do you support President Trump? They have a banner to march under: MAGA. And a song: “God Bless the U.S.A.” They live, laugh and love to own the libs. Their signs and symbols are simple and amusing. And they are effective.

The Democrats have nothing. No leader, no banner to march under, no signs and no symbols.

They used to.

In 1960, scholar Charles Frankel dived into the meaning of the politically important word ‘liberal’ in a commentary for The New York Times.
New York Times archive

The liberal past

In the past, Democrats had a word to describe their sensibility: “liberal.” But now: RIP, liberal. No one, it seems, wants to be a liberal anymore.

In my research on uses and abuses of the word liberal, I discovered that liberalism is a relatively new word in American politics, really starting only in 1932.

That year, presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt was searching for a way to fend off Republican accusations that his New Deal was “socialism,” a word with radical connotations.

Liberalism as a word predates FDR’s usage, but he redefined it to signify the government regulation of capitalism and the use of the state to provide citizens with basic economic security.

When in 1932 FDR accepted the nomination for president, he declared the Democratic Party “the bearer of liberalism,” by which he meant undertaking “planned action” while fighting for “the greatest good to the greatest number of our citizens.”

FDR pitted his liberalism against his opponents, whom he labeled “conservatives.” The U.S. has had the liberal-conservative divide ever since.

FDR’s successor, Democrat Harry Truman, recognized the power of the term, extravagantly claiming, “The liberal faith is the political faith of the great majority of Americans.”

President John F. Kennedy gloried in the word, too, defining a liberal as “someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people.”

In 1960, philosopher Charles Frankel argued that liberalism as defined by FDR was a banner under which every Democrat marched, concluding that “anyone who today identifies himself as an unmitigated opponent of liberalism … cannot aspire to influence on the national political scene.”

Shifting meanings

Not for long.

For one thing, in the 1950s the word shifted meaning to better accord with the times, as it had done several times in the past. During the post-World War II economic expansion, “a large part of the New Deal public,” historian Richard Hofstadter wrote in 1954, “have become home-owners, suburbanites and solid citizens.”

Liberals therefore shifted liberalism. No longer were liberals solely about providing jobs and Social Security. They also demanded increased access to higher education, medical care and civil rights, and the elevation of popular culture.

In 1956, future presidential adviser Arthur Schlesinger Jr. called this shift one from “quantitative” to “qualitative liberalism.”

President Lyndon Johnson put this into effect in the mid-1960s. Johnson developed anti-poverty programs such as Head Start, but he also created cultural programs such as PBS, expanded civil rights and passed Medicare and Medicaid.

“We are a great and liberal and progressive democracy,” Johnson declared in 1966.

But Johnson’s qualitative liberalism came with costs. The programs expanded the federal bureaucracy, which by the late 1960s became noted for being ineffective and overly regulatory.

Civil rights laws were perceived as threatening to the white working class. And Johnson’s liberalism became wedded to the war in Vietnam, where by 1969 more than 500,000 Americans were fighting to protect liberalism from the supposedly creeping arms of communism.

Soon, the knives were out for liberals.

3 lines of attack

First, right-wing thinkers had already begun to portray liberals as little more than quasi-communists pushing for civil rights beyond most Americans’ desires.

In 1955, conservative impresario William F. Buckley Jr. founded the magazine National Review to create “a responsible dissent from the Liberal orthodoxy.” He titled his 1959 book “Up from Liberalism” and spent 217 of the book’s 229 pages attacking liberals.

Then leftist thinkers took their shot, imagining liberals as little more than beards for capitalism and foreign policy hawks.

Left-wing novelist Norman Mailer summed up this sentiment in 1962, writing, “I don’t care if people call me a radical, a rebel, a red, a revolutionary, an outsider, an outlaw, a Bolshevik, an anarchist, a nihilist or even a left conservative, but please don’t ever call me a liberal.”

Left-wing author Norman Mailer said in 1962 that people could call him a Bolshevik, an anarchist, a nihilist, ‘but please don’t ever call me a liberal.’
Fred Stein Archive/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Civil rights advocates took their turn, seeing liberals as halfway friends, unwilling to fully embrace equality. Historian Lerone Bennett Jr. wished liberals “a fond farewell” in 1964. In that same year, writer James Baldwin called white liberals an “affliction.”

With attacks coming from multiple sides, by the 1970s Democrats ran from the label. And without defenders, enemies redefined liberals, first as out-of-touch elitists, then as allies of corporations ignoring the demands of working people, and eventually, today, as woke snowflakes.

In 2009, political scientists examining a hundred years of polling data found that, starting in the mid-1960s, decreasing numbers of Americans referred to themselves as liberal. And because partisanship is a social dynamic, when the club began to shrink, the researchers wrote, it turned into “a spiral in which ‘liberal’ not only is unpopular, but becomes ever more so.”

The researchers also found that most Americans still supported “‘liberal’ public policies” such as “redistribution, intervention in the economy, and aggressive governmental action to solve social problems.” Americans, apparently, just hated the label.

“Owning the libs” has been the glue keeping together the Republican Party ever since.

From ‘abundance’ to ‘Waymo’

Democrats are now searching for a new label. What can replace liberalism?

New York Times columnist Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, who writes for The Atlantic, have proposed “abundance liberalism.” Other New York Times writers have also been busy envisioning this future. Reporter and editor David Leonhardt suggested “democratic capitalism.” Columnist Thomas Friedman improbably went with “Waymo Democrat,” referring to self-driving Waymo cars as a placeholder for an embrace of technological innovation.

More realistically, political analyst E.J. Dionne and historian James Kloppenberg are writing a history of “social democracy” as a potential rallying cry for Democrats, pointing to its use by the most popular politician in America, Bernie Sanders.

Whatever emerges, it’s helpful to remember that before 1932, hardly anyone in the U.S. used the word “liberal” to describe any kind of politics. Now, without finding a new emblem to rally behind, Democrats may be doing little more than battling that other neologism: MAGA.

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

– ref. FDR united Democrats under the banner of ‘liberalism’ − but today’s Democratic Party has nothing to put on its hat – https://theconversation.com/fdr-united-democrats-under-the-banner-of-liberalism-but-todays-democratic-party-has-nothing-to-put-on-its-hat-255362

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Opening Remarks at the SEC Town Hall

Source: Securities and Exchange Commission

Thank you very much for coming to our first “town hall” meeting together. To those of you here with me at our headquarters in Washington, it is so great to see you. And, let me add an especial welcome to you who are joining from our regional offices around the country.

I am pleased that we can meet today to discuss the SEC; our important mission on behalf of our fellow citizens, investors, and taxpayers; as well as some of my priorities as your new Chairman.

First and foremost, I take great pride in saying that it is a new day here at the SEC. We are returning to our core mission that Congress set for us. All of us can recite the familiar three-part mission enunciated by Congress in the Exchange Act: protecting investors; furthering capital formation; and safeguarding fair, orderly, and efficient markets. We see these phrases on our website, on the walls of this building, in our public pronouncements. They are at the core of what brings us to work every day.

Investor protection is the cornerstone of our mission—to hold accountable those who lie, cheat, and steal. Capital formation is at the root of what we do. Otherwise, why have the financial markets? Capital formation—building a direct, economical route for investors’ capital to find its way to entrepreneurs and industry that put capital to work to create products and services that people value and willingly pay for, because these products and services make their lives some combination of better, healthier, safer, longer, more fun. This engine of growth employs people, helping them to work and save to achieve their dreams. It is responsible for lifting them out of the poverty that unfortunately has been the traditional state of humanity for millennia.

We should not overlook the part about fair, orderly, and efficient markets. Congress calls on us to ensure that our regulations balance costs and benefits, that they do not become too burdensome that they add needless friction to the marketplace, undermining the capital formation that yields so much benefit.

But, what if the SEC’s leadership has directed the agency, which oversees and is responsible for the markets, to lose its own fairness, orderliness, and efficiency? Does that undermine the markets’ own approach if their policeman comports itself with inconsistent values? Predictability, due process, rule of law, integrity are all part of what create respect and project a sense that one can get a fair shake without vindictiveness or ulterior motives.

Unfortunately, in the last four years until January, the SEC’s long-held reputation has suffered in that vein.

Two weeks ago today, I was sworn in by Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in the Oval Office with President Trump; my family was by my side. It was an optimistic moment in the Oval.

I am honored by the trust and confidence that the President and the Senate placed in me to lead the SEC.

There are so many people to whom I am thankful for helping make my appointment by President Trump even possible.

As you know by now, I was a Commissioner from 2002 to 2008, after serving on the staff of two chairmen – Richard Breeden and Arthur Levitt. My time in public service and the private sector, both earlier in my career and more recently, have allowed me to see firsthand how regulations affect markets and investors. They can stoke innovation, facilitate investment goals, and create opportunities—or burdens—on businesses’ ability to compete and serve their customers.

So, how we implement regulations at the SEC is crucial; it is one thing to write a regulation, quite another for it to achieve its intended goal. Regulation ideally should be smart, effective, and appropriately tailored within the confines of our statutory authority.

It takes market experience and focused application to ensure that customers and investors of financial services firms benefit from efficient, effective, and well-designed regulation. Our goal at the SEC should be to facilitate those efforts, analyze their effectiveness, and use our enforcement power to cure and rectify wayward actions.

In short, clear rules of the road benefit all market participants.

Returning to this agency has been a pleasure. I have very much enjoyed seeing all the friendly faces, meeting with staff, and reconnecting with many colleagues I remember from years ago.

I know from my own experience that the SEC’s longstanding reputation for its dedicated and highly skilled professionals is justly deserved. Your knowledge and expertise continue to impress me. I want you to know that I value and appreciate you.

It is a high calling to work every day to protect investors, facilitate capital formation, and maintain, fair, orderly, and efficient markets. Thank you for your commitment to our mission.

I am grateful to Commissioner Uyeda—who once upon a time was my counsel—for his stewardship of the agency from January to April, a very productive three months. Thank you, Commissioner Uyeda.

As we look ahead, I am confident in the direction of our work. My experience over the decades will naturally inform my approach as Chairman. I told the press—who were peppering me with questions during the last crypto roundtable—that I have a list of priorities as long as my arm that I would like to achieve.

It should be no surprise that high on that list is a sensible approach toward crypto. From 2017 until my nomination, I worked to help develop best practices for the digital assets industry and saw firsthand how ambiguous or nonexistent regulations in this space created uncertainty and inhibited innovation. That lack of regulatory framework also invites fraud.

A top priority for me will be to tackle regulatory treatment of digital assets and distributed ledger technologies, providing a firm regulatory foundation through a rational, coherent, principled approach.

I thank Commissioner Peirce, our own “Crypto Mom,” who is working hard on this issue. I am proud to say that she also was once upon a time my counsel when I was Commissioner. She is known for her principled and tireless advocacy for common-sense policy. I am confident that she is the right person to lead this effort to come up with a rational regulatory framework for crypto asset markets.

I am pleased with the efforts of the Crypto Task Force and the three roundtables it has held so far on defining security status, tailoring regulation for crypto trading, and custody considerations. I look forward to the input from industry and additional public feedback we will get during the next two roundtables on the topics of tokenization and decentralized finance.

This is important work. Entrepreneurs across the United States and around the world are harnessing blockchain technology to modernize aspects of our financial system. I expect huge benefits from this market innovation for efficiency, cost reduction, transparency, and risk mitigation.

This is a pivotal moment for our economy. Entrepreneurs, businesses, and individuals here at home and across the globe are eager to invest in America.

We will work together to protect investors from fraud, keep politics out of how our securities laws and regulations are applied, and advance clear rules of the road that encourage investment in our economy to the benefit of all Americans.

We will work together to ensure that regulations promote capital formation rather than stifle it. We will work together to ensure American investors get disclosures that actually help them understand the true risks of an investment.

Together, we will make every effort to ensure that the U.S. is the best and most secure place in the world to invest and do business. Americans should always feel utmost confidence when investing their hard-earned dollars to save and provide for their future and the future of their families.

I cannot say that the current times are not without uncertainty. Many of you have expressed your uncertainty to me. What will the course of the agency be? Will there be further cuts in headcount? Will we maintain regional offices?

I am in my third week at the SEC—my 10th working day is today. I thank Commissioner Uyeda for his work during the transition time to straighten out some urgent policy issues that we faced in the courts and some organizational issues as the new Administration came into office.

As we look forward, I am counting on Commissioner Peirce’s continued leadership of the Crypto Task Force. I would like Commissioner Uyeda to be an ambassador to IOSCO since I have enough to focus on at home. I also am happy to say that Commissioner Crenshaw has agreed to take on the SEC’s administrative law framework and procedure in light of the two Supreme Court rulings that in effect oblige us to rethink and reform this area. It is high time that we take that task to heart.

We have had departures—many of our former colleagues accepted retirement or separation offers. I count many of them as old friends, and I salute their service over many years. The Offices and Divisions have decreased headcount by 15% since the beginning of the current fiscal year. These departures leave vacancies that in many cases need to be filled. When I left the agency in 2008, we had approximately 3,600 employees. At our height a year ago, we had approximately 5,000 employees plus 2,000 contractors. Today we are at approximately 4,200 employees and 1,700 contractors.

Tomorrow we will begin a process to review our technology infrastructure and our contractual obligations. This review is long overdue—call it a spring cleaning and reassessment of contracts, especially regarding information technology. We need to see what we have, where our vulnerabilities are, and how we can shore up and improve our systems.

We will work on optimizing our efficiency. There will be targeted, common-sense reorganization to come. We also have leasing issues to be resolved—notably in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. I am working on those issues and share your concerns. Unfortunately, about 11 years ago, the agency precipitously surrendered to the General Services Administration its control over leasing, which Congress specifically granted the SEC in the Exchange Act. That action puts me in a weaker position today.

Let me say unequivocally that I firmly believe in our regional office concept. We cannot and should not have everyone in Washington and New York. Risk management, human resource development, and practicality for our examination teams (to focus on one example) provide ample reinforcement for that position.

I also want to salute our regional teams for their expertise and collaboration across offices to find the best resources to assign to matters. At least one direct experience that I had in the past year in which my firm was an independent compliance consultant indicates that the SEC has advanced quite a bit in this coordination over the past couple of decades. Two of our SEC colleagues from the Miami office with necessary, specific expertise played a key role in uncovering problematic activity of a Philadelphia asset manager by meticulously analyzing trades—going back to the trade blotters—to build a case.

As I said at the outset of my remarks today, it is a new and brighter day for the SEC.

I am here to work, with each of you, on behalf of American markets and investors. We will work with our colleagues in the Administration, especially other financial services regulators, notably the CFTC and banking regulators, and, of course, with Congress to bolster the economy and build on U.S. leadership of the global markets.

Thank you for all that you do each and every day to advance our mission.

If you are joining us remotely today, thank you for participating. I look forward to interacting with you in person in the near future. For those of you here at headquarters, please join me for some refreshments right outside.

Thank you.

MIL OSI USA News –

May 9, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Global Leaders Unite at UN Vesak 2025 to Champion Buddhist Values for Peace and Sustainability

Source: Government of India

Global Leaders Unite at UN Vesak 2025 to Champion Buddhist Values for Peace and Sustainability

Buddhism is the Ethical Foundation for a Just and Non-Discriminatory Society- Shri Ramdas Athawale – Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment

Global Buddhist Voices Call for Compassion, Education, and Environmental Action

Vajrayana Buddhist monks from India performed a prayer chanting ceremony with profound spiritual meaning

Posted On: 07 MAY 2025 9:30PM by PIB Delhi

The Vietnam Buddhist Academy in Ho Chi Minh City marked the second day of the United Nations Vesak 2025 celebrations with a profound display of spiritual unity and global cooperation. Leaders from 85 countries gathered to reflect on this year’s theme: “Solidarity and Tolerance for Human Dignity: Buddhist Wisdom for World Peace and Sustainable Development.”

Shri Ramdas Athawale, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment of India, emphasized the transformative potential of Buddhist principles in promoting justice, equality, and compassion in modern societies.

Speakers from across continents underscored the relevance of Buddhist wisdom in addressing pressing global challenges. Messages ranged from the role of Buddhist education in modern times, to environmental advocacy, mental health, and the importance of nurturing the younger generation to carry forward the light of the Dharma.

The program continued with messages and speeches from leaders of international Buddhist organizations, focusing on clarifying the main theme of this year’s Great Festival.

In the beginning of the program, Vajrayana Buddhist monks from India performed a prayer chanting ceremony with profound spiritual meaning. The ceremony symbolizes the spirit of harmony, respect, solidarity among Buddhist traditions in the international community. After the prayer service, the plenary session continued with speeches from leaders and government representatives from many countries. The leaders appreciated the role of Buddhist thought in building harmonious and compassionate societies and responding to global challenges such as war, poverty and climate change.

Most Venerable Thich Thien Nhon – Deputy Supreme Patriarch, Chairman of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Chairman of the National Committee for Vesak 2025 attended with leaders of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, representatives of Buddhist organizations and scholars from 85 countries and territories.

Venerable Jeong Beom – Acting Chairman of Overseas Affairs Headquarters, Korea, delivered a message “Affirming the importance of global cooperation and solidarity among Buddhist traditions.” Associate Prof. Karsai Gábor Zsolt – Rector of Dharma Gate Buddhist College, Hungary, delivered the message “Promoting the role of Buddhist education in modern times.” Guerrero Diañez – President of the Spanish Buddhist Association, delivered the message “Sharing hope in the young generation that will continue the light of Buddhism in the West.”

Gerhard Weissgrab – President of the Austrian Buddhist Union, delivered the message “Call for practical action for the environment and world peace.” Ricardo Vieira Sasaki – Director of the Nālandā Buddhist Studies Center, Brazil, delivered the message “Emphasizing the healing power of Buddhism for community mental health.” Associate Prof. Edi Ramawijaya Putra – President of the Indonesian Association of Higher Buddhist Education, delivered the message “Proposal to enhance exchange and cooperation in regional Buddhist education.” Mr. Egil Lothe – Former President of the Norwegian Buddhist Federation, Member of the ICDV International Executive Committee, delivered the message “Emphasizing Vesak as a symbol of global Buddhist connection.

****

Sunil Kumar Tiwari

pibculture[at]gmail[dot]com

(Release ID: 2127641) Visitor Counter : 38

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

May 8, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Government’s attack on Pay Equity a major setback for Māori and Pacific wāhine – PSA

Source: PSA

The PSA strongly condemns the Government’s sudden decision to rewrite Aotearoa’s pay equity laws, a move that threatens decades of progress for women, especially Māori and Pacific wāhine.

Announced without consultation and passed into law last night, the rollback creates new barriers to pay equity claims and undermines hard-won gains in fairness and justice, says PSA Te Kaihautū Māori Janice Panoho.

“The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is particularly concerned about the impact on Māori and Pacific wāhine, who are disproportionately represented in underpaid sectors and already suffer the combined effects of racial and gender-based inequities.

“This decision will only entrench intergenerational poverty in our communities. The PSA calls on the Government to honour its commitment to equity and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and to reverse this cruel and short-sighted move,” says Panoho.

“The changes will worsen pay gaps, particularly for those in already underpaid sectors. The PSA highlights the contradiction in dismantling protections while claiming commitment to equity under the Kia Toipoto (the Public Service Pay Gaps Action Plan 2021-24).

Progress achieved through efforts like Te Whakapiri (the joint working group of union and Government agency representatives), which in 2024 saw Māori pay gaps drop to 4.8% and senior leadership representation increase to 17.1%, is now under threat, Panoho says.

“The PSA stands with affected workers and calls on the public and allies to unite against this discriminatory legislation and uphold the right for women to be paid fairly through Pay Equity,” Panoho says.

The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, the health sector and community groups.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

May 8, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Press release – Parliament’s priorities for the EU’s post-2027 long-term budget

Source: European Parliament

Parliament’s vision and demands for the EU’s 2028-2034 budget are set out in a resolution adopted by MEPs on Wednesday.

In the text, adopted by 317 votes in favour, 206 against and with 123 abstentions, MEPs call for a significantly more ambitious multiannual financial framework (MFF) that can deliver on EU citizens’ rising expectations amid global instability. The current spending ceiling of 1% of the EU-27’s gross national income is not enough to address the growing number of crises and challenges, MEPs say. With the US retreating from its global role, spending will have to address Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine, a highly challenging economic and social backdrop, a competitiveness gap and the worsening climate and biodiversity crisis, they add.

No to single national plans

Parliament rejects the Commission’s idea of replicating the Recovery and Resilience Facility’s “one national plan per Member State” model. Instead, MEPs call for a structure that ensures transparency and parliamentary accountability, and involves regional and local authorities and all relevant actors. The resolution also reaffirms cohesion policy’s role in deepening the single market, reducing inequality, and combating poverty.

Competitiveness and defence

MEPs consider the proposed “competitiveness fund” – which would merge several existing programmes – to be inadequate. Instead, they call for a new, targeted fund designed to leverage private and public investments through EU-backed de-risking mechanisms. Increased defence spending is necessary, they say, but this must not undermine social and environmental spending or long-standing policies.

Simplification, flexibility and the rule of law

The next long-term budget must cut unnecessary red tape for beneficiaries, but must not give the Commission more leeway without Parliament’s democratic scrutiny. A simpler budget must be a more transparent budget, MEPs say.

Flexibility in spending is also key – crisis-response capacities must be built into the budget for each policy area, with humanitarian aid ring-fenced. The next budget should include two special instruments: one for disaster relief and another for other unforeseen challenges. MEPs insist that access to funds must be tied to respect for EU values and the rule of law, and advocate a smart conditionality mechanism to avoid penalising beneficiaries for their governments’ actions.

Debt repayment and joint borrowing

MEPs insist that the repayment of NextGenerationEU borrowing costs must not endanger funding for key EU priorities. They call for clear separation between debt repayment and programme spending, and urge the Council to adopt new, genuine revenue sources. Joint borrowing is seen as a viable tool for addressing EU‑wide crises, such security and defence.

Quotes

“We want the next long-term EU budget to be better equipped to respond to today’s challenges –helping Europe act swiftly in crises, better protect its citizens, and build a stronger, more competitive Union. We also want adequate support for our long-standing priorities, such as agriculture and cohesion. We propose a responsible and justified increase in the next MFF – moving beyond the outdated 1% GNI cap. If we ask the EU to do more, we must equip it accordingly. The European Parliament will only approve a future-proof MFF that is flexible, effective, and ready for implementation by 1 January 2028. This is why we urge the Council and Commission to begin negotiations immediately after the Commission’s proposal in July,” Siegfried Mureşan (EPP, RO), co-rapporteur, said.

“People and regions must be at the centre of the next MFF and we must ensure that the EU is equipped to respond to its citizens’ needs. We need strong investments to boost strategic autonomy, economic resilience and green goals while leaving no one behind. In addition, an ambitious budget must promote social and territorial cohesion, include new and modernised sources of revenue, and guarantee sufficient funding for security, defence and preparedness to ensure just and thriving societies, while upholding the rule of law and the EU’s core values,” said Carla Tavares (S&D, PT), co-rapporteur.

Next steps

Parliament’s priorities are designed to feed into the Commission’s proposal on the EU’s next long‑term budget, due to be published in July 2025.

Background

The multiannual financial framework (MFF) is established for a period of seven years and lays down the maximum spending ceilings for different policy areas. After having secured Parliament’s consent, granted by a majority of its component members, EU governments adopt the MFF regulation by unanimity. The EU’s current long-term budget runs out on 31 December 2027.

MIL OSI Europe News –

May 8, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Espaillat, Bresnahan, Adams, and Miller Introduce Bill to Remove Unjust Barriers

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13)

Legislation Would Ensure Job Seekers in Federal Workforce Training Programs Can Maintain Food Security and Employment Training Without Undue Barriers to Career Success

WASHINGTON, DC – Representatives Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Rob Bresnahan (PA-08), Max Miller (OH-07), and Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12) announced today the reintroduction of the Training and Nutrition Stability Act, which would allow jobseekers in high-quality evidence-based employment and training programs to maintain their nutrition benefits, leading to permanent employment and self-sufficiency.

“Currently, individuals in high-quality, evidence-based employment and training programs risk losing their nutrition security because of temporary earnings they receive through their participation,” said Congressman Adriano Espaillat. “Rules on whether these earnings count against SNAP participants’ eligibility are applied inconsistently across federal programs and funding streams, and this misalignment in policy has created confusion and benefit cliffs for affected individuals who are working to invest in their economic future. It is critical that we work to strengthen workforce opportunities and training opportunities so that individuals are not forced to choose between employment opportunity and skills development or food security.”

“Work is not a dirty word,” said Rep. Bresnahan. “In Northeastern Pennsylvania and across the country, we are facing a skilled-workforce shortage, and businesses are in desperate need of those ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. This is exactly why we should not punish taking advantage of learn-as-you-earn programs and forcing workers to choose between participation in proven SNAP E&T programs and being able to receive their nutrition benefits.”

“Qualified SNAP recipients should have the opportunity to work or seek the education they need to support themselves. This legislation ensures that their nutritional needs are met without forcing them to abandon their goals of breaking out of the cycle of poverty,” said Congressman Max Miller. “This bill was included in the 2024 House Agriculture Committee Farm Bill, and I look forward to seeing it move forward.”

“You should never have to choose between building a better life for yourself and losing your food security,” said Congresswoman Adams. “I’m proud to support the Training and Nutrition Stability Act to ensure that earnings from employment and training programs do not decrease SNAP benefits. You are not going to be successful if you’re hungry. It’s time we close the training gap so we can support those working hard to support themselves.

Last year, after release, more than 8,000 motivated people chose to walk through CEO’s front door. It is a time of hope and renewal. SNAP is a key part of reentry, but many people’s benefits are reduced once they begin a paid job training program.” said Sam Schaeffer, CEO of the Center for Employment Opportunities. “The Training and Nutrition Stability Act will help bridge the gap between workforce development and food security allowing people to provide for their families and build a foundation for lasting independence. CEO is grateful to Representative Espaillat for championing this bipartisan bill, primed to change so many lives.

The Training and Nutrition Stability Act would ensure jobseekers in programs authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Employment and Training (SNAP E&T), vocational rehabilitation programs, and refugee employment programs to leverage federal job-driven training programs dollars and maintain their nutrition benefits, leading to permanent employment and self-sufficiency.

###

Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his fifth term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities and serves as Ranking Member of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee of the committee during the 119th Congress. He is Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), and serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.

Media inquiries: Candace Person at Candace.Person@mail.house.gov

MIL OSI USA News –

May 8, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: World must meet 1.5°C goal or risk “unprecedented” exposure

Source: Save The Children

Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, research released by Save the Children and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) found that under current climate commitments – which will likely see a global temperature rise of 2.7°C above pre-industrial levels – about 100 million of the estimated 120 million children born in 2020, or 83%, will face “unprecedented” lifetime exposure to extreme heat.
However, if the world limits warming to the 1.5°C Paris Agreement target, this would reduce the number of five-year-olds impacted to 62 million – a difference of 38 million – highlighting the urgency to protect children through rapidly phasing out the use and subsidy of fossil fuels. Dangerous heat is deadly for children, taking an immense toll on their physical and mental health, disrupting access to food and clean water and forcing schools to close .
Researchers defined an “unprecedented” life as an exposure to climate extremes that someone would have less than a 1 in 10,000 chance of experiencing during their life in a world without human-induced climate change. The research, published in the report Born into the Climate Crisis 2. An Unprecedented Life: Protecting Children’s Rights in a Changing Climate also found that meeting the 1.5°C target would protect millions of children born in 2020 from the severest impacts of other climate related disasters such as crop failures, floods, tropical cyclones, droughts and wildfires.
The report found that, for children born in 2020, if global temperature rise is limited to 1.5°C rather than reaching 2.7°C above pre-industrial levels:

About 38 million would be spared from facing unprecedented lifetime exposure to heatwaves;
About 8 million would avoid unprecedented lifetime exposure to crop failures;
About 5 million would be spared from unprecedented lifetime exposure to river floods;
About 5 million would avoid unprecedented lifetime exposure to tropical cyclones;
About 2 million would avoid unprecedented lifetime exposure to droughts;
About 1.5 million children would be spared unprecedented lifetime exposure to wildfires.

Climate extremes – which are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change – are increasingly harming children, forcing them from their homes, putting food out of reach, damaging schools and increasing risks like child marriage as they are forced out of education and into poverty and food shortages.

Denise-, 16, and her family were forced from their home in Brazil when the country’s worst floods in 80 years devastated their community last year. Their home, including Denise’s bedroom, was severely damaged, and she was out of school for nearly two months.
She said: “It really affected me mentally, and academically too. Catching up on all my grades to pass secondary school was really tough, especially at a state school. It massively impacted my schoolwork. My grades dropped significantly after the floods.”
Children impacted by inequality and discrimination and those in lower-and middle-income countries, are often worst affected . Meanwhile they have fewer resources to cope with climate shocks and are already at far greater risk from vector and waterborne diseases, hunger, and malnutrition, and their homes are often more vulnerable to increased risks from floods, cyclones and other extreme weather events.
Haruka, 16, whose poem is featured in the report, is from Vanuatu, which recently experienced three of the most severe types of cyclone in just a year.
She said: “Cyclones are scary. For me, they continue to destroy my home, every year – we don’t even bother trying to fix the ceiling anymore. “The past few years, I’ve seen ceaseless destruction and constant rebuilding. This seemingly never-ending cycle has become our reality, and most people aren’t even aware that it’s not just nature doing its thing, but it’s us bearing the brunt of a crisis that we did not cause.”
As well as comparing conditions under 1.5°C and 2.7°C scenarios, the report also examines a scenario in which global temperatures rise to 3.5°C by 2100, which will lead to about 92% of children born in 2020 – about 111 million children [5] – living with unprecedented heatwave exposure over their lifetime. While we need a rapid phase-out of the use and subsidy of fossil fuels to stick to the 1.5°C target, we must not lose sight of solutions, Save the Children said.
The report highlights initiatives like increased climate finance, child-centred and locally led adaptation and increasing the participation of children in shaping climate action.
Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International, said: “Across the world, children are forced to bear the brunt of a crisis they are not responsible for. Dangerous heat that puts their health and learning at risk; cyclones that batter their homes and schools; creeping droughts that shrivel up crops and shrink what’s on their plates. “Amid this daily drumbeat of disasters, children plead with us not to switch off. This new research shows there is still hope, but only if we act urgently and ambitiously to rapidly limit warming temperatures to 1.5°C , and truly put children front and centre of our response to climate change at every level.”
As the world’s leading independent child rights organisation, Save the Children works in about 110 countries, tackling climate across everything we do.
Save the Children supports children and their communities globally in preventing, preparing for, adapting to, and recovering from climate disasters and gradual climate change. We have set up floating schools, rebuilt destroyed homes and provided cash grants to families hit by disasters. We also work to influence governments and other key stakeholders on climate policies, including at the UNFCCC COP summits, giving children a platform for their voices to be heard.
READ FULL REPORT HERE.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

May 8, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Salinas, Lofgren, Padilla, Bennet Reintroduce Legislation to Provide Disaster Relief for Farmworkers
Source: US Representative Andrea Salinas (OR-06)

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Andrea Salinas (OR-06), the daughter of a former farmworker and a leader in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), along with U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), reintroduced the Disaster Relief for Farm Workers Act. This legislation would provide compensation for farmworkers who lose out on wages due to extreme weather, public health emergencies, and other disasters beyond their control. The bill was first introduced in the 118th Congress.

“Extreme weather and natural disasters are only getting worse with climate change. Unfortunately, many of the hardworking individuals who grow and harvest our food do not receive direct financial support when they are forced to miss work and lose wages as a result of these disasters,” said Rep. Salinas. “My legislation would finally correct this injustice by providing federal disaster relief for farmworkers. This change is well-deserved and long-overdue, and I will continue to advocate for the brave men and women who help feed America.”

“When extreme weather occurs, farmworkers across our country continue to feed the nation. And yet, these essential workers and their families face great uncertainty when unexpected disasters harm their communities and livelihood. For example, hundreds of farmworkers in my congressional district faced displacement and lost wages after severe flooding devastated the Pajaro community in early 2023. We owe them – and all farmworkers – more. The Disaster Relief for Farm Workers Act ensures America’s indispensable farmworkers can receive disaster relief funding they need and have earned,” said Rep. Lofgren.

“California’s farm workers often work under extreme conditions to help put food on the table for hundreds of millions of Americans,” said Sen. Padilla. “But increasingly frequent natural disasters, including historic flooding in Pajaro, have devastated California’s agricultural communities. We must protect the heart of our nation’s food supply by providing critical emergency assistance to these essential workers.”

“Agriculture is the backbone of Colorado’s economy and central to our Western way of life, but as climate-fueled disasters become increasingly common, our state’s farm workers are paying the price,” said Sen. Bennet. “Our bill will help ensure the people that grow America’s fruits, vegetables, and other crops get the assistance they need in the wake of emergencies like drought, wildfires, and other natural disasters.”

Oregon is home to over 100,000 farmworkers, many of whom live and work in the Willamette Valley and power the state’s $42 billion agriculture economy. Yet despite their importance to our food systems, the average farmworker family in Oregon earns less than $25,000 per year. Ninety-six percent reported living in overcrowded housing and about thirty percent are living below the poverty line. When farmworkers cannot work due to extreme weather or other unexpected disasters, they can lose wages and even their jobs—pushing them deeper into housing and food insecurity.

The Disaster Relief for Farm Workers Act would address this problem by providing direct relief funding for farmworkers. Specifically, this bill would:
- Make grants available to eligible farmworker organizations to provide emergency relief to farm workers affected by a disaster.
- Ensure USDA develops and executes a promotional plan prior to and throughout the distribution of the relief grants to increase awareness of the assistance available.
- Require USDA to work with eligible farmworker organizations.
- Provide definitions for a covered disaster, eligible farmworker organization, and migrant or seasonal farmworker.
- Amend Section 2281 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to allow for emergency assistance for farmworkers.
In addition to Reps. Salinas and Lofgren, the Disaster Relief for Farm Workers Act is cosponsored by Reps. Nanette Barragán (CA-44), André Carson (IN-07), Judy Chu (CA-28), Jim Costa (CA-21), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Paul Tonko (NY-20), and Juan Vargas (CA-52).

The legislation is endorsed by the following organizations, in alphabetical order: A Better Balance, Alianza Americas, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP), Borderlands Resource Initiative, California Human Development, Campesinos Sin Fronteras, Care in Action, CASA of Oregon, Center for Employment Training, Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), Central Valley Opportunity Center, Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc (CDM), Child Labor Coalition, CHILDREN AT RISK, CIERTO, Civic Empowerment Coalition, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Columbia Legal Services, CRLA Foundation, Davidson County Local Food Network, El Futuro es Nuestro, Farm Worker Ministry Northwest, Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project-FLAP, Farmworker Housing Development Corporation (FHDC), Farmworker Justice, Food Empowerment Project, GALEO Impact Fund, Hand in Hand/Mano en Mano, Hispanic Affairs Project, Hispanic Federation, Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), Latino Outdoors, League of Conservation Voters, Make the Road CT, Make the Road NJ, Make the Road NV, Make the Road NY, Make the Road PA, Make the Road States, Michiganders for a Just Farming System, National Association of Social Workers, National Association of Social Workers – Florida and Virgin Islands Chapter, National Consumers League, National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Employment Law Project, National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association, NC FIELD, Inc., NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, North Carolina Council of Churches, North Carolina Farmworker Advocacy Network, North Carolina Justice Center, Nourish Up, Opportunity Arizona, Oregon Human Development Corporation, Organización en California de Lideres Campesinas, Inc, PCUN, Oregon’s Farmworker Union, Pesticide Action and Agroecology Network (PAN), Popular Democracy, Presente.org, Progress Michigan, Proteus Inc., Puente de la Costa Sur, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), Slow Food USA, Student Action with Farmworkers, Sur Legal Collaborative, TODEC Legal Center, Toxic Free North Carolina, UFW Foundation, Unidos Yamhill County, United Farm Workers, Voces Unidas de las Montañas.

“Farm workers are always on the front lines of fires, floods, and storms — yet are too often excluded from federal disaster relief programs,” said Teresa Romero, President of United Farm Workers (UFW). “If the federal government can provide emergency support to farm owners who lose crops in natural disaster, then the federal government can emergency provide support to farm workers who lose work in that same disaster. The Disaster Relief for Farm Workers Act will ensure that farm workers who put food on all our tables can continue to put food on their family’s table when disaster strikes.”

“Every year we see an alarming number of natural disasters that drastically and disproportionately impact the farm worker community. As climate change gets worse, these types of disasters will only worsen and farm workers are the ones who are affected the most by these calamities. Just last year, we saw heavy California rains flooding Ventura County farm areas and Hurricane Helen devastating Georgia’s farm worker communities, leading to organizations like ours stepping up to do what we can. But that is not enough. We must have a federal response to these kinds of disasters. From wildfires to tornadoes to hurricanes, farm workers have little to no safety net to help them recover from unexpected disasters,” said Erica Lomeli Corcoran, Chief Executive Officer at UFW Foundation. “This is exactly why the UFW Foundation is supporting the Disaster Relief for Farm Workers Act. It would provide resources and aid to those who truly need it and would ensure that those responsible for our nation’s food supplies are not overlooked, as they have been in the past. Farm workers have been largely ignored and neglected by the law, shut out from basic protections provided to all workers. It is time that Congress acts and ensures that our nation’s farm workers are given the support they need to overcome times of emergencies and to provide equity to all workers.”

“Farmworkers are frontline workers, which means they are the hardest hit by the impacts of extreme weather conditions across the country. Many farmworkers feel that they are risking their health with extreme heat and colder days, but losing even one day of work is not an option for their families’ economic situation. Outdoor protections are important, yet there are days that are becoming too extreme to even be outside. Our vision is to be a resilient workforce for the agricultural industry. Disaster relief means we can start investing in addressing the issues that workers are facing today by building resilience for climate change in the future, without sacrificing the economic well-being of farmworkers,” said Reyna Lopez, Executive Director of Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noreste (PCUN).

To read the full text of the legislation, click here.

###

MIL OSI USA News –
May 8, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Climate change: A third of 5-year-olds will be spared unprecedented lifetime exposure to dangerous heat if world meets 1.5°C temperature goal – Save the Children
Source: Save the Children

BRUSSELS, 7 May 2025 – Almost a third of today’s five-year-olds – about 38 million children – will be spared a lifetime’s “unprecedented” exposure to extreme heat if the world meets the 1.5°C warming target by 2100, Save the Children said.

Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, research released by Save the Children and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) found that under current climate commitments – which will likely see a global temperature rise of 2.7°C above pre-industrial levels – about 100 million of the estimated 120 million children born in 2020, or 83%, will face “unprecedented” lifetime exposure to extreme heat.

However, if the world limits warming to the 1.5°C Paris Agreement target, this would reduce the number of five-year-olds impacted to 62 million – a difference of 38 million – highlighting the urgency to protect children through rapidly phasing out the use and subsidy of fossil fuels. Dangerous heat is deadly for children, taking an immense toll on their physical and mental health, disrupting access to food and clean water and forcing schools to close .

Researchers defined an “unprecedented” life as an exposure to climate extremes that someone would have less than a 1 in 10,000 chance of experiencing during their life in a world without human-induced climate change. The research, published in the report Born into the Climate Crisis 2. An Unprecedented Life: Protecting Children’s Rights in a Changing Climate also found that meeting the 1.5°C target would protect millions of children born in 2020 from the severest impacts of other climate related disasters such as crop failures, floods, tropical cyclones, droughts and wildfires.

The report found that, for children born in 2020, if global temperature rise is limited to 1.5°C rather than reaching 2.7°C above pre-industrial levels:

About 38 million would be spared from facing unprecedented lifetime exposure to heatwaves;

About 8 million would avoid unprecedented lifetime exposure to crop failures;

About 5 million would be spared from unprecedented lifetime exposure to river floods;

About 5 million would avoid unprecedented lifetime exposure to tropical cyclones;

About 2 million would avoid unprecedented lifetime exposure to droughts;

About 1.5 million children would be spared unprecedented lifetime exposure to wildfires.

Climate extremes – which are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change – are increasingly harming children, forcing them from their homes, putting food out of reach, damaging schools and increasing risks like child marriage as they are forced out of education and into poverty and food shortages.

Denise-, 16, and her family were forced from their home in Brazil when the country’s worst floods in 80 years devastated their community last year. Their home, including Denise’s bedroom, was severely damaged, and she was out of school for nearly two months.

She said: “It really affected me mentally, and academically too. Catching up on all my grades to pass secondary school was really tough, especially at a state school. It massively impacted my schoolwork. My grades dropped significantly after the floods.”

Children impacted by inequality and discrimination and those in lower-and middle-income countries, are often worst affected . Meanwhile they have fewer resources to cope with climate shocks and are already at far greater risk from vector and waterborne diseases, hunger, and malnutrition, and their homes are often more vulnerable to increased risks from floods, cyclones and other extreme weather events.

Haruka, 16, whose poem is featured in the report, is from Vanuatu, which recently experienced three of the most severe types of cyclone in just a year.

She said: “Cyclones are scary. For me, they continue to destroy my home, every year – we don’t even bother trying to fix the ceiling anymore. “The past few years, I’ve seen ceaseless destruction and constant rebuilding. This seemingly never-ending cycle has become our reality, and most people aren’t even aware that it’s not just nature doing its thing, but it’s us bearing the brunt of a crisis that we did not cause.”

As well as comparing conditions under 1.5°C and 2.7°C scenarios, the report also examines a scenario in which global temperatures rise to 3.5°C by 2100, which will lead to about 92% of children born in 2020 – about 111 million children [5] – living with unprecedented heatwave exposure over their lifetime. While we need a rapid phase-out of the use and subsidy of fossil fuels to stick to the 1.5°C target, we must not lose sight of solutions, Save the Children said.

The report highlights initiatives like increased climate finance, child-centred and locally led adaptation and increasing the participation of children in shaping climate action.

Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International, said: “Across the world, children are forced to bear the brunt of a crisis they are not responsible for. Dangerous heat that puts their health and learning at risk; cyclones that batter their homes and schools; creeping droughts that shrivel up crops and shrink what’s on their plates. “Amid this daily drumbeat of disasters, children plead with us not to switch off. This new research shows there is still hope, but only if we act urgently and ambitiously to rapidly limit warming temperatures to 1.5°C , and truly put children front and centre of our response to climate change at every level.”

As the world’s leading independent child rights organisation, Save the Children works in about 110 countries, tackling climate across everything we do.

Save the Children supports children and their communities globally in preventing, preparing for, adapting to, and recovering from climate disasters and gradual climate change. We have set up floating schools, rebuilt destroyed homes and provided cash grants to families hit by disasters. We also work to influence governments and other key stakeholders on climate policies, including at the UNFCCC COP summits, giving children a platform for their voices to be heard.
MIL OSI New Zealand News –
May 8, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Why south-east Asia must lead the fight against neglected tropical diseases

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tuck Seng Wong, Professor of Biomanufacturing, School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield

Village health Volunteers in Thailand survey mosquito breeding sites as part of dengue prevention campaign Deere Kumphaitoon/Shutterstock

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a persistent public health threat, and tackling them is not just a moral obligation, but a smart investment.

NTDs are a group of infectious diseases that mainly affect poor people in tropical and subtropical regions. These diseases are called “neglected” because they have received less attention and fewer resources than other major health issues, despite affecting over a billion people worldwide.

NTDs disproportionately affect the poorest communities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where they lock people in cycles of poverty by hindering physical and cognitive development, reducing school attendance and limiting economic productivity.

Wealthier nations experience far lower rates of these diseases. Yet it’s in LMICs that cost-effective interventions like improved water, sanitation, hygiene and vector control – methods used to limit or eliminate insects that spread diseases to humans – can deliver the greatest return. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every dollar invested in controlling and eliminating NTDs can yield up to US$25 (£19) in economic and health benefits, through lower healthcare costs, increased productivity and improved education outcomes.

While vaccines are one of the most powerful tools for disease prevention, there are still no vaccines for most NTD. Progress has been slow, largely due to fragmented funding and limited investment in research. This gap continues to leave millions vulnerable.

To address this, we helped establish the UK–South East Asia Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub (UK-SEA Vax Hub) in 2023 to reduce the burden of infectious diseases in LMICs, with a special focus on south-east Asia. Its mission is to strengthen regional capacity in vaccine research, development and manufacturing. Dengue and rabies – both persistent NTDs – are among its priorities.

The urgency of this work is underscored by the growing threat of dengue. Between 2015 and 2019, dengue cases rose by 46% in south-east Asia. Countries like Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand are among the most affected globally. This region accounts for more than half of the world’s dengue cases.

Dengue is hard to diagnose. Its symptoms – fever, rash and joint pain – overlap with other illnesses like chikungunya, Zika, malaria and typhoid. Misdiagnoses are common and no specific antiviral treatment exists.

While vaccines are available, their use is limited by strict eligibility criteria based on age, infection history and local disease patterns. This leaves many people without protection.

What’s urgently needed are more effective, affordable and widely accessible vaccines. But vaccines alone won’t solve the problem. Combatting dengue and other NTDs requires an integrated strategy, particularly in poor countries with limited health infrastructure.

To stop the spread of diseases like dengue, it’s not enough to just treat people or use vaccines. You also need to control the insects that carry and spread the disease – in this case, mosquitoes.

That includes actions like removing standing water where mosquitoes breed, using insecticides, or installing window screens and bed nets. These steps are essential to reducing infection rates and protecting communities. These interventions, driven by local action, are just as essential as biomedical advances. Together, they build a more sustainable and resilient defence against mosquito-borne diseases.

For decades, public health initiatives in low-income countries were largely funded by wealthy countries – through development aid, international donors and philanthropic foundations. But with shifting global priorities and tightening budgets, it’s increasingly clear that this model is no longer sustainable.

Long-term health security must be led from within. That means a shift in mindset. Low-income countries must see themselves not just as aid recipients, but as innovators, implementers and investors in their own health futures.

This transition is already underway. The UK-SEA Vax Hub has evolved beyond its original research remit. By embedding its work within the broader regional health agenda, the hub is promoting government ownership and regional collaboration: critical steps in building stronger, more self-reliant health systems.

While progress is promising, major challenges remain. One of the most pressing is the need to develop a new generation of public health leaders across south-east Asia – people who can lead research and development, champion vaccine production and help shape policy based on local needs. These leaders will be essential for ensuring that south-east Asia becomes not just a regional health player, but a global one.

Another key challenge is regulatory. In a diverse region like south-east Asia, varying national policies can slow innovation and emergency responses. Streamlining and harmonising these systems is essential for responding quickly and effectively during future outbreaks or pandemics.

South-east Asia has the potential to become a global hub for vaccine manufacturing. The region benefits from growing scientific and industrial capacity, relative political stability and a shared interest in tackling shared health threats. It also has a strong case to lead the fight against NTDs, which continue to disproportionately affect its populations.

South-east Asia stands at a critical juncture. With strategic investment, regional leadership and cross-border collaboration, the region can protect its people, drive innovation and shape the future of global health.

The fight against NTDs is more than a public health challenge – it’s a chance for south-east Asia to lead by example and redefine its role on the world stage.

Tuck Seng Wong receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for the UK-SEA Vax Hub.

Kang Lan Tee receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for the UK-SEA Vax Hub.

– ref. Why south-east Asia must lead the fight against neglected tropical diseases – https://theconversation.com/why-south-east-asia-must-lead-the-fight-against-neglected-tropical-diseases-255640

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

May 8, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Addiction isn’t just about brain chemistry – but nor is it just bad choices

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Matt Field, Professor of Psychology, University of Sheffield

monticello/Shutterstock

Consider someone addicted to alcohol, drugs, or a behaviour like gambling. Why do they continue, even when they say they want to stop? It’s a question that highlights a fundamental disconnect: the gap between intention and action.

This apparent contradiction aligns with clinical definitions of addiction and with brain disease models, which suggest that repeated substance use changes brain function, making drug use compulsive and automatic, bypassing conscious decision-making. These brain adaptations help explain why addiction is so hard to overcome.

But there’s another important piece to the puzzle. People often use substances for reasons that make sense to them – to feel good, to relieve stress, or to connect socially. These motivations don’t disappear just because a substance becomes harmful.

Yet, over the past few decades, this insight has been sidelined in addiction science. Some critics have jumped on this gap to argue, reductively, that addiction is simply about people choosing pleasure: nothing more than “people take drugs because they enjoy it.”

Both the brain disease model and the “just say no” view contain partial truths. But both, on their own, are fundamentally flawed.

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

The brain disease model gained popularity in part because it seemed to offer two things: a foundation for developing new medical treatments and a way to reduce stigma. But it’s largely failed on both fronts. Despite billions invested in neuroscience, few new medications have emerged.

Meanwhile, the most effective treatments remain psychosocial: talking therapies and harm-reduction strategies that have been around for decades. Worse, describing addiction as a chronic brain disease may increase stigma and pessimism, making recovery seem unlikely or out of reach.

Additionally, research shows that addiction is not entirely beyond voluntary control. People with addiction can and do reduce or stop their drug use in response to its consequences. This can be related to meaningful life changes — such as getting married, having children, or starting a new job — which may increase the costs or reduce the perceived benefits of continued use.

These findings challenge the view that addiction is purely compulsive, highlighting that people retain a degree of agency, even under difficult circumstances.

At the same time, these observations don’t justify the cynical view that addiction is just hedonism or bad choices. A more accurate, and more helpful, framework considers how people make decisions and how their environment shapes the value of different choice options.

Neuroeconomics

This is where insights from neuroeconomics – the study of how the brain makes value-based decisions – become useful. For example, one study found that when people are hungry, they pay more attention to how food tastes and less to how healthy it is, making unhealthy choices more likely.

Similarly, alcohol users who were craving alcohol and in a negative mood were shown to value alcohol more than food, shifting their choices accordingly. Other research has found that the set of available alternatives strongly influences how appealing (or not) a choice options becomes. As applied to addiction, when healthier or more rewarding options are limited, the relative value of drugs increases.

This suggests that addiction is less about losing the ability to choose and more about how context shapes choice. When someone is in treatment, they may genuinely want to stop using because the environment emphasises recovery, support and future goals. But once they return to a setting where drugs are easy to access and attractive alternatives are few, the relative value of drug use increases – and relapse becomes more likely.

This perspective also helps reconcile the role of brain changes in addiction. Neuroadaptations still matter: they can heighten cravings or make rewards harder to experience – but they don’t eliminate the ability to choose. Instead, these brain changes interact with a person’s environment to make certain choices more likely than others.

Crucially, this view also highlights why poverty is such a powerful driver of addiction. In deprived settings, alcohol, drugs and gambling outlets are often more accessible, while opportunities for meaningful alternatives – employment, education, stable housing – are scarce. These are deep-rooted structural issues, and they’re not easily fixed. But they matter.

On a more hopeful note, this model points to new pathways out of addiction. Rather than blaming individuals or pathologising them as brain-damaged, we can focus on reshaping environments to make non-drug alternatives more visible, available and valuable. This approach carries less stigma and more optimism: it views people not as broken, but as people who can make decisions and respond rationally to difficult situations.

Yes, the psychology of decision-making makes addiction tough to overcome. But by understanding how people weigh their options, and by improving the appeal and accessibility of alternatives to substance use, we can support real, lasting change.

Matt Field receives research funding from the Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, Alcohol Change UK, and the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling. He is a trustee of the Society for the Study of Addiction.

– ref. Addiction isn’t just about brain chemistry – but nor is it just bad choices – https://theconversation.com/addiction-isnt-just-about-brain-chemistry-but-nor-is-it-just-bad-choices-255181

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

May 8, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Scott Statement on President Trump’s FY 2026 Proposed Budget

Source: {United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bobby Scott (3rd District of Virginia)

Headline: Scott Statement on President Trump’s FY 2026 Proposed Budget

“Once again, Trump is weakening our economy and taking money out of working families’ pockets under the guise of ‘efficiency.’ But we know the truth.”

As originally released by the Committee on Education and Workforce, Democrats

WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education andWorkforce, issued the following statement after President Trump released his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026.

“In the first 100 days since Donald Trump has returned to the White House, he has made one thing abundantly clear: he has no plan to improve the lives of students, workers, and families. Instead, he has decimated federal agencies that provide key services, stripped away workers’ rights, and imposed reckless tariffs that threaten to skyrocket prices.

“President Trump’s budget proposal is yet another attack on working families. The budget calls for slashing funding for the Department of Health and Human Services, eliminating Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funds that support efforts to reduce poverty, and terminating programs such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) that help families heat and cool their homes. This budget pulls the rug out from families and proposes devastating cuts that would cause immense harm.

“Additionally, the budget continues the illegal dismantling of the Department of Education, with no suggestion on how this downsized Department will be able to fulfill its statutory duties. By cutting funding for K-12 schools, eliminating a program that provides child care on campus, eliminating programs that provide direct support services for disadvantaged students that promotes college access, President Trump’s budget proposal does nothing to deliver for students. Moreover, students deserve safe learning environments. Trump’s further slashing the Office for Civil Rights is alarming and leaves students who have been victims of discrimination without recourse.

“Despite the recent economic volatility, President Trump’s budget proposes to double down on its agenda which could harm both workers and small businesses by cutting $3.6 billion from crucial workforce development programs at the Department of Labor. These programs help displaced workers, veterans, and people with disabilities get trained and connected to employers who need skilled workers to compete in a global economy. Worse still, the budget fails to explain how it will cut a further $1 billion from the Department of Labor’s budget. If this remaining $1 billion is slated to come from slashing the capacity of agencies to protect workers from wage theft and deadly workplace hazards, the Administration should be up front about it. The same is true for the Administration’s failure to come clean on whether it will actually reverse the destruction of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the Department of Health and Human Services. Working families depend on these programs for their lives and livelihoods.

“Once again, President Trump is weakening our economy and taking money out of working families’ pockets under the guise of ‘efficiency.’ But we know the truth— working Americans health and well-being are being sacrificed to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and the well-connected.”

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MIL OSI USA News –

May 8, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: TikTok in Egypt: where rich and poor meet – and the state watches everything

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Gabriele Cosentino, Assistant Professor, American University in Cairo

After being released from detention in 2011, Egyptian engineer and activist Wael Ghonim told the media:

If you want to liberate a society, all you need is the internet.

He’d been taken into custody for his role in the revolution that toppled the regime of Hosni Mubarak. Part of the success of this unprecedented popular uprising was due to the role of social media in mobilising citizens around a common political cause.

In 2025, after a decade under the repressive government of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, it’s fair to say that little has remained of Ghonim’s vision. Social media use in Egypt is closely guarded by the authorities to detect signs of opposition. Citizens are routinely detained, even for the slightest criticism of the government.

In 2018 Egypt introduced a new law, apparently to curb the problem of online misinformation and disinformation. This law is, in reality, often used to stifle dissent. Egyptians today operate within unclear boundaries of what is permissible to say online. The result is widespread self-censorship for fear of arrest.

As a scholar of political communication and new media I’ve written books on global social media. I teach students about the social and political impact of digital and social media in Egypt. The video sharing platform TikTok is a frequent subject in my classes because it reveals both the liberating and the repressive effects of social media use in Egypt.

TikTok stands out for its ability to create viral videos and sudden micro-celebrities. This has made it a lightning rod for government crackdowns. But it has also connected people across socio-economic divides and bred a lively new cultural and political debate – one that’s not as easy for the government to police.

TikTok in Egypt

Since 2020, TikTok has become immensely popular in Egypt, with an estimated 33 million users over 18 years old.

While TikTok hasn’t taken on the explicit political dimension that Facebook or Twitter did over a decade ago, it has already become the theatre of a series of incidents that have landed its users in the crosshairs of the authorities. This has exposed political rifts and tensions.

Facebook was the prominent social media during the revolution. Sherif9282/Wikimedia Commons

Most of the incidents are related to the ability of TikTok to work as a “virality engine” – even users with few followers can gain a sudden and sometimes problematic celebrity.

But while Egyptian authorities have evidently been cracking down on TikTok users, there have been no concrete plans to ban the platform. In fact, some government branches have used it to advance their own initiatives. The Ministry of Youth and Sports, for example, signed an agreement with TikTok to launch the Egyptian TikTok Creator Hub, designed to educate youth on using social media responsibly.

Women targeted

Since 2020, Egyptian authorities have arrested TikTok users under charges ranging from the violation of family values to the spread of false information and allegations of belonging to terrorist organisations. Most of these TikTokers didn’t post explicit sexual or political content, making the charges against them appear exaggerated. These cases suggest the authorities are closely monitoring the platform, following strict moral and political considerations.

The most high profile cases have involved young women, most notably Haneen Hossam and Mawada Eladham, who were arrested in 2020 for violating family values. Article 25 of Egypt’s anti-cybercrime law states that content “violating the family principles and values upheld by Egyptian society may be punished by a minimum of six months’ imprisonment and/or a fine”. It leaves the definition of family values purposefully vague.

Observers have noted that this vagueness has allowed the law to be applied in a range of different cases. More than a dozen women have faced similar charges, endured pretrial detention and been handed lengthy prison sentences.

The arbitrary nature of many of the charges suggests a possible deeper motive: policing the presence of young women in digital spaces where they can gain influence and financial independence outside traditional family or work structures.

TikTok has given ordinary users in Egypt unprecedented visibility, in some cases allowing them to challenge social norms, often through humour. This appears to have unsettled authorities, who appear to have sought to send a message to the broader population.

Arrests

TikTok-related arrests have not been limited to family values. In 2022, three users were arrested for criticising rising food prices. They were charged with spreading fake news, despite the fact that inflation in Egypt was rising sharply.

In 2023, a parody skit of a fake jail visit by a TikToker went viral. The creators were arrested and charged with belonging to a terror organisation, spreading fake news and misusing social media.

Read more: Why some governments fear even teens on TikTok

Such arrests indicate that TikTok content that touches on politically sensitive matters, even in jest, is posing a new type of challenge for the Egyptian government. The state is particularly concerned with viral content that might bring attention to its poor human rights record. This includes notoriously bad conditions in jails.

‘Egypt’ and ‘Masr’

At the same time, the platform is proving able to connect people from very different social and economic backgrounds, as it is seen to do globally.

Egypt is very hierarchical. Small, affluent elite groups live in a separate and secluded socio-economic reality from the majority of the population. Thirty percent of Egyptians live under the poverty line.

On TikTok, the more privileged, cosmopolitan section of society is referred to as “Egypt”. The poor and disenfranchised are “Masr” (مصر), the Arabic word for Egypt.

TikTok is aimed at generating viral content more than it is a networking site, like Facebook, that’s based on pre-existing social connections. The result is a virtual common space where the two sides can interact in new ways. This engenders unique social and cultural dynamics also observed in other countries.

Read more: TikTok in Kenya: the government wants to restrict it, but my study shows it can be useful and empowering

“Egypt” watches “Masr” create all kinds of content – from singing and dancing routines to live begging. “Masr” gets to peek into the otherwise inaccessible world of the wealthy.

In the current climate of an economic crisis, this divide can be glaring. While most Egyptians are struggling with inflation, the cost of living and unemployment, the wealthy flaunt their lifestyles on TikTok.

When wealthy TikTokers post content complaining about relatively petty issues like a long wait for valet parking at a luxury restaurant or boast about their weekly allowance, it reveals their disconnect from the everyday hardships faced by the less privileged.

Users are able to comment freely on each other’s videos, sharing their unvarnished opinions. A student boasting about their weekly allowance of 3,000 EGP (US$60) might be told, “This is some people’s monthly salary.”

Political consequences

Since it first appeared in 2020, TikTok in Egypt has evolved from a platform mainly geared towards silly and entertaining content by teenagers. It’s become an outlet for people of all ages interested in gathering information, keeping abreast of current trends and events, and also a space for political engagement, especially on the issue of Palestine.

Read more: Young Nigerians are flocking to TikTok – why it’s a double-edged sword

There hasn’t been an obvious politicisation of TikTok in Egypt yet and there might never be, given the strict policing by authorities. But TikTok’s ability to expose divisions in Egyptian society and connect citizens across demographic cleavages could potentially have unexpected political consequences in the near future.

Shahd Atef contributed to the research for this article

– TikTok in Egypt: where rich and poor meet – and the state watches everything
– https://theconversation.com/tiktok-in-egypt-where-rich-and-poor-meet-and-the-state-watches-everything-253278

MIL OSI Africa –

May 8, 2025