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  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Applaud Congressional Reapproval of VA Medical Facility Leases

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner
    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement after the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs voted to approve updated authorizations for 18 Veterans Affairs (VA) major medical facility leases – the final congressional committee needed to greenlight the leases, including one for a proposed outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads:
    “We’re very pleased that all four congressional committees have now approved these much-needed VA leases, including the proposed new outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads. This is a major step forward in expanding access to high-quality, convenient care for the more than 60 percent of Hampton VA Medical Center patients who live on the south side of the region. For years, we’ve pushed to get these kinds of facilities authorized and built, because we refuse to accept a system where veterans are stuck with long wait times or forced to travel hours for basic appointments. With this final vote, we are one step closer to ensuring these long-overdue facilities become a reality.
    “Now that the leases have cleared every hurdle in Congress, we’ll be pushing the VA and GSA to award these leases, and make sure these projects get off the ground without delay. Our veterans have waited long enough.” 
    While these leases were originally authorized under the PACT Act, which both senators strongly supported, updated cost estimates and rent bids prompted the VA and the General Services Administration (GSA) to seek reauthorization from four congressional committees. With yesterday’s action by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the leases have now been reauthorized by all four needed committees: the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
    Sens. Warner and Kaine have long fought to expand health care and benefits for Virginia’s nearly 700,000 veterans. Sens. Warner and Kaine began raising the alarm about the significant backlog of unapproved VA leases in 2016. After putting significant pressure on officials across the federal government, Congress unanimously passed the Providing Veterans Overdue Care Act, legislation written by Sen. Warner and supported by Sen. Kaine, to cut the backlog and get over two dozen delayed VA medical facilities’ leases approved.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Applaud Congressional Reapproval of VA Medical Facility Leases

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement after the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs voted to approve updated authorizations for 18 Veterans Affairs (VA) major medical facility leases – the final congressional committee needed to greenlight the leases, including one for a proposed outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads:

    “We’re very pleased that all four congressional committees have now approved these much-needed VA leases, including the proposed new outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads. This is a major step forward in expanding access to high-quality, convenient care for the more than 60 percent of Hampton VA Medical Center patients who live on the south side of the region. For years, we’ve pushed to get these kinds of facilities authorized and built, because we refuse to accept a system where veterans are stuck with long wait times or forced to travel hours for basic appointments. With this final vote, we are one step closer to ensuring these long-overdue facilities become a reality.

    “Now that the leases have cleared every hurdle in Congress, we’ll be pushing the VA and GSA to award these leases, and make sure these projects get off the ground without delay. Our veterans have waited long enough.” 

    While these leases were originally authorized under the PACT Act, which both senators strongly supported, updated cost estimates and rent bids prompted the VA and the General Services Administration (GSA) to seek reauthorization from four congressional committees. With yesterday’s action by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the leases have now been reauthorized by all four needed committees: the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

    Sens. Warner and Kaine have long fought to expand health care and benefits for Virginia’s nearly 700,000 veterans. Sens. Warner and Kaine began raising the alarm about the significant backlog of unapproved VA leases in 2016. After putting significant pressure on officials across the federal government, Congress unanimously passed the Providing Veterans Overdue Care Act, legislation written by Sen. Warner and supported by Sen. Kaine, to cut the backlog and get over two dozen delayed VA medical facilities’ leases approved.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Applaud Congressional Reapproval of VA Medical Facility Leases

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement after the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs voted to approve updated authorizations for 18 Veterans Affairs (VA) major medical facility leases – the final congressional committee needed to greenlight the leases, including one for a proposed outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads:

    “We’re very pleased that all four congressional committees have now approved these much-needed VA leases, including the proposed new outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads. This is a major step forward in expanding access to high-quality, convenient care for the more than 60 percent of Hampton VA Medical Center patients who live on the south side of the region. For years, we’ve pushed to get these kinds of facilities authorized and built, because we refuse to accept a system where veterans are stuck with long wait times or forced to travel hours for basic appointments. With this final vote, we are one step closer to ensuring these long-overdue facilities become a reality.

    “Now that the leases have cleared every hurdle in Congress, we’ll be pushing the VA and GSA to award these leases, and make sure these projects get off the ground without delay. Our veterans have waited long enough.” 

    While these leases were originally authorized under the PACT Act, which both senators strongly supported, updated cost estimates and rent bids prompted the VA and the General Services Administration (GSA) to seek reauthorization from four congressional committees. With yesterday’s action by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the leases have now been reauthorized by all four needed committees: the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

    Sens. Warner and Kaine have long fought to expand health care and benefits for Virginia’s nearly 700,000 veterans. Sens. Warner and Kaine began raising the alarm about the significant backlog of unapproved VA leases in 2016. After putting significant pressure on officials across the federal government, Congress unanimously passed the Providing Veterans Overdue Care Act, legislation written by Sen. Warner and supported by Sen. Kaine, to cut the backlog and get over two dozen delayed VA medical facilities’ leases approved.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Applaud Congressional Reapproval of VA Medical Facility Leases

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement after the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs voted to approve updated authorizations for 18 Veterans Affairs (VA) major medical facility leases – the final congressional committee needed to greenlight the leases, including one for a proposed outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads:

    “We’re very pleased that all four congressional committees have now approved these much-needed VA leases, including the proposed new outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads. This is a major step forward in expanding access to high-quality, convenient care for the more than 60 percent of Hampton VA Medical Center patients who live on the south side of the region. For years, we’ve pushed to get these kinds of facilities authorized and built, because we refuse to accept a system where veterans are stuck with long wait times or forced to travel hours for basic appointments. With this final vote, we are one step closer to ensuring these long-overdue facilities become a reality.

    “Now that the leases have cleared every hurdle in Congress, we’ll be pushing the VA and GSA to award these leases, and make sure these projects get off the ground without delay. Our veterans have waited long enough.” 

    While these leases were originally authorized under the PACT Act, which both senators strongly supported, updated cost estimates and rent bids prompted the VA and the General Services Administration (GSA) to seek reauthorization from four congressional committees. With yesterday’s action by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the leases have now been reauthorized by all four needed committees: the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

    Sens. Warner and Kaine have long fought to expand health care and benefits for Virginia’s nearly 700,000 veterans. Sens. Warner and Kaine began raising the alarm about the significant backlog of unapproved VA leases in 2016. After putting significant pressure on officials across the federal government, Congress unanimously passed the Providing Veterans Overdue Care Act, legislation written by Sen. Warner and supported by Sen. Kaine, to cut the backlog and get over two dozen delayed VA medical facilities’ leases approved.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Applaud Congressional Reapproval of VA Medical Facility Leases

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement after the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs voted to approve updated authorizations for 18 Veterans Affairs (VA) major medical facility leases – the final congressional committee needed to greenlight the leases, including one for a proposed outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads:

    “We’re very pleased that all four congressional committees have now approved these much-needed VA leases, including the proposed new outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads. This is a major step forward in expanding access to high-quality, convenient care for the more than 60 percent of Hampton VA Medical Center patients who live on the south side of the region. For years, we’ve pushed to get these kinds of facilities authorized and built, because we refuse to accept a system where veterans are stuck with long wait times or forced to travel hours for basic appointments. With this final vote, we are one step closer to ensuring these long-overdue facilities become a reality.

    “Now that the leases have cleared every hurdle in Congress, we’ll be pushing the VA and GSA to award these leases, and make sure these projects get off the ground without delay. Our veterans have waited long enough.” 

    While these leases were originally authorized under the PACT Act, which both senators strongly supported, updated cost estimates and rent bids prompted the VA and the General Services Administration (GSA) to seek reauthorization from four congressional committees. With yesterday’s action by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the leases have now been reauthorized by all four needed committees: the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

    Sens. Warner and Kaine have long fought to expand health care and benefits for Virginia’s nearly 700,000 veterans. Sens. Warner and Kaine began raising the alarm about the significant backlog of unapproved VA leases in 2016. After putting significant pressure on officials across the federal government, Congress unanimously passed the Providing Veterans Overdue Care Act, legislation written by Sen. Warner and supported by Sen. Kaine, to cut the backlog and get over two dozen delayed VA medical facilities’ leases approved.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Applaud Congressional Reapproval of VA Medical Facility Leases

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement after the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs voted to approve updated authorizations for 18 Veterans Affairs (VA) major medical facility leases – the final congressional committee needed to greenlight the leases, including one for a proposed outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads:

    “We’re very pleased that all four congressional committees have now approved these much-needed VA leases, including the proposed new outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads. This is a major step forward in expanding access to high-quality, convenient care for the more than 60 percent of Hampton VA Medical Center patients who live on the south side of the region. For years, we’ve pushed to get these kinds of facilities authorized and built, because we refuse to accept a system where veterans are stuck with long wait times or forced to travel hours for basic appointments. With this final vote, we are one step closer to ensuring these long-overdue facilities become a reality.

    “Now that the leases have cleared every hurdle in Congress, we’ll be pushing the VA and GSA to award these leases, and make sure these projects get off the ground without delay. Our veterans have waited long enough.” 

    While these leases were originally authorized under the PACT Act, which both senators strongly supported, updated cost estimates and rent bids prompted the VA and the General Services Administration (GSA) to seek reauthorization from four congressional committees. With yesterday’s action by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the leases have now been reauthorized by all four needed committees: the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

    Sens. Warner and Kaine have long fought to expand health care and benefits for Virginia’s nearly 700,000 veterans. Sens. Warner and Kaine began raising the alarm about the significant backlog of unapproved VA leases in 2016. After putting significant pressure on officials across the federal government, Congress unanimously passed the Providing Veterans Overdue Care Act, legislation written by Sen. Warner and supported by Sen. Kaine, to cut the backlog and get over two dozen delayed VA medical facilities’ leases approved.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Applaud Congressional Reapproval of VA Medical Facility Leases

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement after the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs voted to approve updated authorizations for 18 Veterans Affairs (VA) major medical facility leases – the final congressional committee needed to greenlight the leases, including one for a proposed outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads:

    “We’re very pleased that all four congressional committees have now approved these much-needed VA leases, including the proposed new outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads. This is a major step forward in expanding access to high-quality, convenient care for the more than 60 percent of Hampton VA Medical Center patients who live on the south side of the region. For years, we’ve pushed to get these kinds of facilities authorized and built, because we refuse to accept a system where veterans are stuck with long wait times or forced to travel hours for basic appointments. With this final vote, we are one step closer to ensuring these long-overdue facilities become a reality.

    “Now that the leases have cleared every hurdle in Congress, we’ll be pushing the VA and GSA to award these leases, and make sure these projects get off the ground without delay. Our veterans have waited long enough.” 

    While these leases were originally authorized under the PACT Act, which both senators strongly supported, updated cost estimates and rent bids prompted the VA and the General Services Administration (GSA) to seek reauthorization from four congressional committees. With yesterday’s action by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the leases have now been reauthorized by all four needed committees: the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

    Sens. Warner and Kaine have long fought to expand health care and benefits for Virginia’s nearly 700,000 veterans. Sens. Warner and Kaine began raising the alarm about the significant backlog of unapproved VA leases in 2016. After putting significant pressure on officials across the federal government, Congress unanimously passed the Providing Veterans Overdue Care Act, legislation written by Sen. Warner and supported by Sen. Kaine, to cut the backlog and get over two dozen delayed VA medical facilities’ leases approved.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Applaud Congressional Reapproval of VA Medical Facility Leases

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued the following statement after the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs voted to approve updated authorizations for 18 Veterans Affairs (VA) major medical facility leases – the final congressional committee needed to greenlight the leases, including one for a proposed outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads:

    “We’re very pleased that all four congressional committees have now approved these much-needed VA leases, including the proposed new outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads. This is a major step forward in expanding access to high-quality, convenient care for the more than 60 percent of Hampton VA Medical Center patients who live on the south side of the region. For years, we’ve pushed to get these kinds of facilities authorized and built, because we refuse to accept a system where veterans are stuck with long wait times or forced to travel hours for basic appointments. With this final vote, we are one step closer to ensuring these long-overdue facilities become a reality.

    “Now that the leases have cleared every hurdle in Congress, we’ll be pushing the VA and GSA to award these leases, and make sure these projects get off the ground without delay. Our veterans have waited long enough.” 

    While these leases were originally authorized under the PACT Act, which both senators strongly supported, updated cost estimates and rent bids prompted the VA and the General Services Administration (GSA) to seek reauthorization from four congressional committees. With yesterday’s action by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the leases have now been reauthorized by all four needed committees: the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

    Sens. Warner and Kaine have long fought to expand health care and benefits for Virginia’s nearly 700,000 veterans. Sens. Warner and Kaine began raising the alarm about the significant backlog of unapproved VA leases in 2016. After putting significant pressure on officials across the federal government, Congress unanimously passed the Providing Veterans Overdue Care Act, legislation written by Sen. Warner and supported by Sen. Kaine, to cut the backlog and get over two dozen delayed VA medical facilities’ leases approved.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Consultation opens on Angus Fire permit application

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    Consultation opens on Angus Fire permit application

    Angus Fire Limited has applied to the Environment Agency to vary its environmental permit to reduce chemical contamination on its site at High Bentham.

    The operator has applied to vary the permit to introduce an effluent treatment plant.

    Previously, Angus Fire manufactured and tested firefighting foam. This foam is known to have contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These PFAS chemicals are transferred into rainwater when it falls on to key areas of the site.  

    Angus Fire has been collecting this rainwater so it can be treated to reduce the PFAS substances.

    The application is for an effluent treatment plant to reduce the PFAS in both the collected rainwater and the future rainwater that falls onto the site.

    The operator no longer manufacturers firefighting foam at its High Bentham site. The application is for treating rainwater to reduce PFAS chemicals from the site’s previous manufacturing processes.

    The Environment Agency is now seeking views from the local community and interested groups on the application.

    The consultation will run from Thursday 24 July until Thursday 21 August 2025.

    It is live on the Environment Agency’s Citizen Space website.

    The website explains what the Environment Agency can and can’t take into account when deciding on the application.

    Agency ‘welcomes comments from the public’

    John Neville, Area Environment Manager at the Environment Agency, said:

    Our regulatory controls are in place to protect people and the environment and we will carry out a detailed and robust assessment of Angus Fire’s permit variation application.

    We welcome comments from the public and interested groups on local environmental factors that people feel are important.

    Once treated at the effluent plant, the rainwater would be discharged to the River Wenning.

    The proposed level of PFAS remaining in the treated rainwater discharged into the river would be in line with levels currently accepted as best practice for PFAS treatment processes.

    The Environment Agency may only refuse a permit application if it does not meet one or more of the legal requirements under environmental legislation.

    If the application shows that the site can operate in a way that meets all current environmental regulations and will provide a high level of protection of the environment and human health, the Environment Agency is legally obliged to issue a permit.

    People can respond to the consultation directly on the website or alternatively by email to pscpublicresponse@environment-agency.gov.uk

    Background information

    Consultation

    • Responses to the consultation can be made electronically. To access the relevant documentation, visit our consultation website
    • Information on the website explains how you can view the consultation documents and how you can make your comments. We also explain what we can and can’t take into account when deciding on the application.
    • Anyone wishing to comment on the proposals is urged to read the documentation online before responding directly on the website or by email to pscpublicresponse@environment-agency.gov.uk
    • Those unable to make representation via the consultation website or by email should contact the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506.  

    Environmental permits

    • Environmental permits set out strict legal conditions by which an operator must comply in order to protect people and the environment. Should an environmental permit be issued, the Environment Agency has responsibility for enforcing its conditions.
    • Our powers include enforcement notices, suspension and revocation of permits, fines and ultimately criminal sanctions, including prosecution.
    • We may only refuse a permit if it does not meet one or more of the legal requirements under environmental legislation, including if it will have a significant impact on the environment or harm human health. If all the requirements are met, we are legally required to issue a permit.

    Updates to this page

    Published 24 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Deputy Secretary-General’s remarks on the occasion of Africa Day at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2025 [as prepared for delivery]

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    Excellencies,

    Distinguished delegates and colleagues,

    Ladies and gentlemen, 

    It is a great honour to join you here today. 

    As we celebrate Africa Day within this High-Level Political Forum, we gather not only to take stock, but to bear witness to something extraordinary: a continent that refuses to be defined by its starting point but instead chooses to measure itself by how far it has traveled.

    Make no mistake: Africa began its sustainable development journey on the back foot.

    Colonial legacies that took wealth and left behind fractured institutions.

    Climate catastrophes that wash away decades of progress in a single season.

    Conflicts that force entire populations to abandon everything they have built.

    These are daily realities that test the resolve of every African nation.

    Yet here we stand, with ten countries presenting their Voluntary National Reviews this year as testaments to resilience.

    Angola achieving its strongest economic growth in a decade while building over twelve thousand new schools.

    Ethiopia sustaining remarkable growth while powering its entire electrical grid from renewable sources.

    The Gambia driving robust development across agriculture, tourism, and services.

    These efforts are part of a broader continental push to realize the vision of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda in the VNRs we see that vision coming to life.

    More than 100 other VNRs have been prepared in the last decade since the SDGs were adopted and tell promising stories of progress across the Continent. 

    But let us be clear on the full scale of the challenges facing Africa.

    When a country like Sudan facing conflict sees the vast majority of its factories destroyed with unemployment soaring to crushing levels.

     We are reminded that progress is neither linear nor guaranteed.
    When young people across our continent still struggle to find decent work, we know that our most precious resource – our youth – still faces barriers that deny them their rightful place in building tomorrow’s Africa.

    When Africa gets the fundamentals right, like quality education for every child, the path to higher ground becomes clearer. 

    Digital transformation, climate resilience, economic justice: these are no longer distant summits, but peaks within reach, and Africa has always been a continent of climbers.

    Consider the women breaking barriers across our continent.

    In parliaments from Rwanda to Eswatini to Ghana, women are claiming seats of power once denied to them.

    Across Lesotho, widows now possess rights over family property that previous generations could never imagine.

    Each a seismic shift in how African societies recognize the power and potential of half their population.

    Our youth, too, are not passive recipients of change – they are its architects.

    From Nigeria’s digital revolution to technology driven governance in Seychelles to Morocco’s role in advancing AI research, young Africans are coding and designing the future every step of the way.

    That said, we should not romanticize the road ahead.

    At this moment, at this rate, the SDGs are beyond reach in Africa. 

    We have five years to 2030.

    Five years to transform systems that took decades to build.

    Five years to close gaps and the widest gap remains finance. 

    Finance is the engine of progress. 

    Without it, schools don’t get built, clinics stay empty, and peace remains out of reach. 

    The global financial system is not working for Africa. 

    Borrowing costs are too high, debt burdens are too heavy, and the money that could change lives is tied up in systems that are too slow, too narrow, and too risk averse. 

    The Sevilla Commitment is a step forward, a promise to get resources flowing faster, fairer, and at the scale we need.

    The next five years will test not only our ambition, but our ability to deliver on the most basic promises of dignity and justice – especially in the areas where progress remains most elusive.

    Many women still face gender-based violence that steals their safety, their dignity, and their dreams.

    We must dismantle the structural barriers that persist like shadows, following women from childhood through their adult lives.

    Our young people deserve more than we have given them. We must invest urgently in skills development, particularly in the digital and green sectors where Africa can lead the world. 

    The bigger picture also betrays an all-too-present imbalance: too often, African countries are absent from the tables where global decisions are made, yet they are first to feel the impact.

    The Pact for the Future is working to change that. 

    It calls for more inclusive, representative global governance that reflects today’s realities, not a snapshot of yesterday. 

    It recognizes that sustainable development cannot be built on a foundation of exclusion, and by adopting the Pact, countries committed to ensuring Africa is where it belongs: at the table, shaping the decisions that shape our world.

    And we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that countries have the UN support and capacity needed to do just that. 

    The Secretary-General’s UN80 Initiative also builds on the existing reforms and plots an ambitious path forward to ensure that those we serve have the optimal level and type of capacity in country. 

    Excellencies,

    Africa’s journey toward 2030, 2063 and beyond is not a sprint, it’s a relay race, where each nation, each community, each individual, carries the baton forward.

    The Africa Sustainable Development Report that we are launching today represents both the progress, and the challenges, from a continent still writing its greatest chapter.

    It is a declaration that future generations will inherit not the limitations we face, but the possibilities we create.

    Above all, they speak to a refusal to accept that history determines destiny.

    I want to thank the African Union, the Economic Commission of Africa, the African Development Bank and the UNDP for preparing this crucial piece of work. 

    Let it be our map for the road ahead. 

    Let us build on the foundation of commitment it represents.

    The relay baton is in our hands. 

    The finish line is in sight, and from what I have seen, African nations – resilient, determined, unstoppable – are ready to run.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Secures Major Settlement with Columbia University

    Source: US Whitehouse

    SECURING HISTORIC SETTLEMENT WITH COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Today, President Donald J. Trump secured a historic settlement with Columbia University to address violations of federal civil rights laws and to restore fairness, merit, and safety in higher education.

    • The agreement ensures Columbia will not engage in unlawful racial discrimination in hiring, admissions, or university programming. Columbia will provide access to all relevant data and information to rigorously assess compliance with its commitment to merit-based hiring and admissions. 
    • Columbia will pay the United States $200 million to settle claims related to discriminatory practices, marking a significant win for accountability in academia.
    • Columbia will also pay the largest employment-discrimination public settlement in almost 20 years. Over $20 million will be paid to resolve alleged civil rights violations against Jewish Columbia employees that occurred on its campus following the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks. This is also the largest ever settlement for victims of anti-Semitism and for workers of any religion.
    • The agreement secures privacy, dignity, and fairness in women’s sports, programing, facilities, and housing.
    • The agreement mandates a comprehensive review of Columbia’s portfolio of programs in regional areas, starting with those relating to the Middle East, and fosters new faculty appointments to promote intellectual diversity.
    • Columbia will strengthen oversight of international students by reviewing admission processes, including by assessing applicants’ reasons for wishing to study in the U.S., sharing relevant data with the Federal Government, and reducing financial dependence on overwhelming international student enrollment.
    • Columbia will enhance campus safety and ensure a safe learning environment by appropriately enforcing strict rules against disruptive protests, prohibiting masked protests, and maintaining trained security officers and ongoing cooperation with the New York Police Department.
    • The agreement establishes robust oversight, including with an independent Resolution Monitor and an Administrator, to ensure Columbia complies with the agreement and federal laws.
    • Consistent with Columbia’s announcement in March, student discipline and rules have been moved from an unaccountable faculty senate to the Office of the Provost, providing for stronger oversight, transparency, and accountability.
    • The agreement reinstates most terminated federal grants, restores Columbia’s eligibility for future grants and awards, and closes pending investigations into the university.

    ADDRESSING DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: The Trump Administration took action to address Columbia University’s violations of federal civil rights laws, protecting students and upholding fairness in higher education.

    • The settlement culminates after concerning public incidents and subsequent civil rights investigations and actions regarding Columbia’s alleged discrimination on the basis of race and national origin.
    • Columbia’s failure to ensure a safe, non-discriminatory campus environment, including issues with protest policies and disciplinary processes, raised urgent concerns about student safety and free inquiry.
    • By securing this settlement, the Trump Administration is ensuring that Columbia upholds merit-based standards, complies with federal law, and fosters an environment of academic excellence and safety for all students.

    ADVANCING REFORMS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: President Trump is holding elite universities accountable, ensuring they prioritize fairness, merit, and American values.  

    • The Administration has challenged elite universities like Harvard and Columbia for discriminating against student and staff, failing to protect students from violent anti-Semitism, and otherwise failing to be a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars.
    • President Trump signed a Proclamation to safeguard national security by suspending the entry of foreign nationals seeking to study or participate in exchange programs at Harvard University. 
    • The Administration successfully negotiated a resolution with the University of Pennsylvania to keep men out of women’s sports and restore the trophies and records of women.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NIST Makes First Detection of Cannabis in Breath From Edibles

    Source: US Government research organizations

    Credit: Victor Moussa/Shutterstock

    Cannabis has gained increased use in the United States, outpacing alcohol as Americans’  daily recreational drug of choice. Nearly 20 percent of cannabis users have admitted to driving after using the drug. However, unlike for alcohol, reliable roadside tests for cannabis don’t exist. Even blood tests can’t determine when a person used cannabis, leaving law enforcement without a way to determine a person’s recent use, much less how intoxicated they are.  

    To make things more complicated, there are multiple ways to consume cannabis, such as smoking, vaping, ingestion and dabbing (inhaling a concentrated form of cannabis extracts). Scientists know that the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) shows up in breath after smoking, but what about edibles? Would those show up in breath too?

    The answer is yes; they do. In a study published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues made the first cannabinoid measurements in breath after study participants ingested cannabis-infused edibles. 

    “This is an important step forward, that we can detect THC increases in breath after the ingestion of cannabis,” said Jennifer Berry, NIST research chemist and lead author on the paper. 

    Making a breathalyzer for cannabis is harder than making a breathalyzer for alcohol. Alcohol is a relatively simple and highly volatile molecule: It easily travels through the lungs and evaporates when it contacts air. But THC is a larger, more complicated molecule with very low volatility, and consumption is typically hundreds of times less than alcohol. It shows up in very small concentrations in breath, making THC detection much more challenging.  Regular users of cannabis can have THC in their breath for at least eight hours and in their blood for potentially weeks after stopping use,  meaning that a single measurement is insufficient to learn when a person last used it. 

    In the new study, NIST’s partners at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus observed 29 participants who each brought a cannabis-infused gummy to the lab with them. The edibles contained anywhere from 5 to 100 milligrams of THC. Researchers first took a breath sample from the participants before they ingested the product. Then they observed each participant for three hours, obtaining breath samples approximately every hour. 

    NIST researchers measured the concentration of THC and other cannabinoids in breath at those intervals. They detected THC in most of the participants before they took the edible, even though they had been asked to abstain for eight hours before the study. That wasn’t surprising. Our bodies process cannabinoids slowly, taking weeks to get them out of our systems compared with hours for alcohol.  

    The researchers found that 19 of the participants showed significant increases in THC in the three-hour period after ingesting the edible. Many of them exhibited a peak and then a decline in THC concentration during that time. Four of the participants did not show any change in THC, and six showed only a decrease from their first breath sample. However, it is possible that the measurements may have missed the time window in which a jump in THC could have occurred.

    The observed spikes and dips in THC levels clear up some questions about how cannabinoids distribute in our bodies and leave our systems after use. There is a common misconception that THC in breath is from leftover smoke in the lungs after smoking cannabis. This study shows that THC that is swallowed in edibles can make it through the digestive system and be exhaled back out through the lungs, Berry said. This matches something else that stood out to the NIST team, that edible cannabis takes time to show up in breath. “Edibles aren’t that different from smoked cannabis and alcohol in that way,” Berry said. “Whether you inhale it or ingest it, it will show up in breath, but it may take some time before doing so.”

    This study provides just the first steps of understanding how edible cannabis shows up in breath, said Kavita Jeerage, a NIST research chemical engineer leading the cannabis breath research. But this first detection of THC from edibles in breath provides encouraging signs that future instruments will be able to measure THC from ingested cannabis. 

    It will be up to toxicologists to determine what those measurements say about impairment, she said, work that NIST’s research partners are already pursuing.

    “Our partners at Anschutz conducted a variety of assessments to probe impairment after participants ingested their cannabis gummies, including observing participants’ driving abilities with a driving simulator. The breath samples were a bonus that allowed us to gather first-ever data to explore whether THC increases in breath after edible ingestion,” Jeerage said. “Looking forward, we can now tackle the question of when THC increases after edible ingestion, when it goes back to baseline, and how to analyze breathalyzer data to get the information needed.”  

    “This study supports the idea that multiple breath measurements over a period of time could be a way to use a breathalyzer to detect cannabis use, regardless of how it’s ingested,” said Tara Lovestead, a NIST chemical engineer on the cannabis breath research project. “However, devices will still need standards to ensure that they are accurate and used correctly, standards that don’t yet exist.” 

    NIST itself is not developing a cannabis breathalyzer, Lovestead added. Instead, NIST’s role is to help ensure that measurements of cannabis in breath can be accurate, reliable and have scientifically sound standards behind them. NIST will be hosting a workshop with device developers in September to discuss a path forward.  

    Paper:  Jennifer L. Berry, Ashley Brooks-Russell, Tara M. Lovestead and Kavita M. Jeerage. The detection of cannabinoids in breath after ingestion of cannabis-infused edibles. Journal of Analytical Toxicology. Published online July 10, 2025. DOI: 10.1093/jat/bkaf063

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Simpson Works to Ensure the Lava Ridge Wind Project is Blown Away

    Source: US State of Idaho

    WASHINGTON—This week, the House Committee on Appropriations voted to advance the Fiscal Year 2026 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson–Chairman of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee–authored language to prohibit any funds to approve construction activities related to the out-of-touch Lava Ridge Wind Project from being obligated unless and until the Secretary of the Interior has completed a review of the Department of the Interior’s Record of Decision.
    “After four years of an administration that ignored the voices of Idahoans and downplayed their concerns, President Biden’s BLM tried, and failed, to ram through the out-of-touch Lava Ridge Wind Project,” said Rep. Simpson. “Like many Idahoans, I am grateful that President Trump signed an executive order to kill this project on Day One. As Chairman of the House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, my goal is to ensure that no future renewable wind project gets as close to implementation as the Lava Ridge Wind Project did. Now that we have an administration that has our backs, I am confident that Secretary Burgum understands Idahoans expect more out of the use of our public lands. The language included in my bill goes hand-in-hand with President Trump’s executive order. I look forward to working with the administration toward common-sense solutions.”
    Text of Rep. Simpson’s provision: None one of the funds made available by this Act may be obligated or expended for the purpose of processing or approving any notice to proceed with any construction activities relating to the Lava Ridge Wind Project right-of-way authorization unless and until the Secretary of the Interior has completed a review of the Department of the Interior’s Record of Decision authorizing the use of public lands through the Lava Ridge Wind Project right-of-way and, as appropriate, conducted a new, comprehensive analysis in accordance with Section 2(b) of the Presidential Memorandum titled ‘‘Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects,’’ dated January 20, 2025.
    Rep. Simpson’s Previous Actions Against the Lava Ridge Wind Project 
    Rep. Simpson has been a strong vocal opponent of the Lava Ridge Wind Project and most recently authored language in the 118th Congress that blocked the final Environmental Impact Statement for the Lava Ridge Wind Project.
    Rep. Simpson also made an initial attempt to block the project by authoring language—passed by Congress and signed into law by the President—directing the Department of the Interior to reengage and incorporate feedback from the stakeholders on alternative plans before moving forward with Lava Ridge. The Department failed to meet the language requirements of that law.
    Additionally, Rep. Simpson questioned BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning on the proposed Lava Ridge Wind Project on public lands in Magic Valley, Idaho, and if the pressure to increase renewable energy trumps the impacts on species and cultural sites. 
    Rep. Simpson and the Idaho Delegation introduced legislation that would prevent the Secretary of the Interior from approving a wind or solar project on public lands if the Legislature in the respective state has passed a resolution of disapproval.
    Rep. Simpson, the Idaho Delegation, Idaho Governor Brad Little, and Lt. Governor Scott Bedke sent a letter to the Idaho State Director for the BLM. They expressed concerns about the proposed Lava Ridge wind farm in south-central Idaho. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Gov. Kemp: Pilgrim’s to Build New Prepared Foods Facility, Creating 630 New Jobs in Walker County

    Source: US State of Georgia

    ATLANTA – Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced that Pilgrim’s, one of the world’s leading food companies, will invest $400 million to expand its footprint in Georgia. The company will build a new, multi-phase prepared foods facility in LaFayette, Walker County, supporting more than 630 new jobs at full capacity.

    “Georgia’s No. 1 industry of agriculture continues to drive growth with companies like Pilgrim’s creating quality jobs in communities like LaFayette,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “As our state’s economy continues to advance, we are excited to see these continued innovations and the opportunities they will bring for hardworking Georgians.”

    Pilgrim’s is a leading global provider of high-quality food products. Across the State of Georgia, the company currently supports an estimated 7,500 jobs and operates seven food production facilities, in addition to supporting facilities like feed mills and hatcheries.

    “Expanding the Pilgrim’s footprint in Georgia highlights our ongoing commitment to the region and our company’s long-term growth strategy,” said Fabio Sandri, Pilgrim’s CEO. “This significant investment will allow further growth of our prepared foods business by expanding brands like Just Bare, Pilgrim’s, and Gold Kist, and supporting increasing demand in retail and foodservice channels. We are also proud of our role in creating jobs and being a strong community partner.”

    The new facility, located at the Walker County Business Park in LaFayette, will produce a variety of fully cooked chicken products to support the growth of its fast-growing prepared foods business. The project is expected to get underway in the fall of 2025, and hiring is expected to begin in 2027, aligning with the expected completion of the first phase of construction. To learn more about Pilgrim’s, including where interested individuals can apply for jobs, visit jobs.pilgrims.com.

    “We welcome Pilgrim’s to Walker County and LaFayette,” said LaFayette Mayor and Chairman of the Walker County Development Authority Andy Arnold. “Pilgrim’s has a wonderful history of positive community involvement, and the creation of up to 630 jobs for our area is a game changer for many families. We look forward to our partnership.”

    “This is a tremendous opportunity for Walker County to provide stable jobs and long-term security for residents who want to work where they live,” said Chairwoman and CEO Angie Teems, Walker County Government. “Not only is this a well-respected company with a strong track record, but it already has a presence in our community through its partnerships with local poultry growers. Expanding their operations here is a natural next step that will strengthen our local economy and reinforce our county’s commitment to supporting hardworking families.”

    Senior Regional Project Manager Lori Dowdy represented the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s (GDEcD) Global Commerce team on this competitive project in partnership with the Walker County Development Authority and Georgia Quick Start.

    “We are excited that Pilgrim’s continues to grow its footprint and drive economic opportunities here in Georgia,” said GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson. “Agriculture has long been the backbone of our economy, laying the groundwork for today’s thriving food and beverage sector. Critical industries like cold storage and logistics build on that legacy, generating jobs and opportunities across the state. Congratulations to Walker County for helping bring these new investments and possibilities to LaFayette.”

    About Pilgrim’s

    Pilgrim’s employs over 61,000 people and operates protein processing plants and prepared-foods facilities in 14 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the U.K, the Republic of Ireland, and continental Europe. The Company’s primary distribution is through retailers and foodservice distributors. For more information, please visit www.pilgrims.com.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Who Will Bury You? Short stories from Zimbabwe about women who refuse to be easily defined

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Gibson Ncube, Senior Lecturer, Stellenbosch University

    Zimbabwe-born, Canada-based Chido Muchemwa’s debut short story collection, Who Will Bury You?, was published late in 2024 and immediately attracted the right kind of attention.

    Here was an unexpected range of themes: queer identity, dislocation in the diaspora, the lingering complexities of family and cultural belonging. The 12 stories, set between Zimbabwe and Canada, trace moments of rupture and reconnection across time and geography. And they’re mostly about women. Women, selfhood, loss and love.

    Gibson Ncube, who researches queer African fiction, unpacks why it’s such a good read.

    What are some of the stories about?

    The recurring questions in Who Will Bury You? are: who will remain when we are gone – who will understand us, who will grieve for us, and who will honour the truths we live by? These questions are animated through emotionally layered stories that centre the lives of Zimbabwean women and queer characters.

    Written with subtlety and care, some of the stories draw on Zimbabwean folklore, allowing Muchemwa to bridge the mythical and the present-day. She demonstrates how ancestral narratives continue to shape how people experience love, loss and belonging.

    House of Anansi Press

    The title story introduces a Zimbabwean “church going woman” and her daughter, who is living in Canada and has embraced a lesbian identity. In Zimbabwe, same-sex relationships remain criminalised under laws inherited from colonial rule and reinforced by state-sponsored homophobia. Political leaders often frame queerness as un-African or morally deviant.

    The story is told through alternating perspectives and offers a portrait of intergenerational estrangement, cultural friction, and love strained by silence. What one of the characters calls “things that might never feel sayable”. The theme of queerness recurs in several other stories like This Will Break My Mother’s Heart and If It Wasn’t for the Nights.

    Muchemwa allows these stories to gather meaning through multiple vantage points. She seems to resist resolution in favour of complexity. The collection is a significant contribution to the small but growing body of Zimbabwean literature that openly addresses queerness.

    What’s Muchemwa saying about queer African life?

    One of Muchemwa’s most powerful acts in the book is to treat queer life not as peripheral, but as central to the cultural, emotional and political worlds her characters inhabit. Queer desire, intimacy and estrangement are not exceptional disruptions. They are ordinary realities that are woven into everyday life. In these stories, queerness is at once a site of tenderness, conflict and hope. The effects of religion and colonial morality continue to shape how love is expressed and denied.

    Read more: 7 queer African works of art: new directions in books, films and fashion

    The stories challenge the erasure of queer voices by positioning them at the heart of families and communities. Queer characters are neither idealised nor victimised. They are allowed to simply be joyful, ambivalent, flawed, and resilient.

    Aside from identity, what are some of the other themes?

    The book also grapples with questions of memory, history and myth. In Finding Mermaids, Muchemwa blends contemporary reportage with folklore. A journalist and her grieving mother investigate the disappearance of young girls in a rural Zimbabwean town who are suspected to have been captured by njuzu, water spirits.

    Other stories, like Kariba Heights and The Captive River, explore the legacies of colonialism and the spiritual power of the Zambezi River. In these stories, Muchemwa is attentive to how land, history and belief have an impact on personal experiences.

    Living away from home, in the diaspora, is also a theme. Zimbabwe’s collapsing economy and ongoing political instability have driven many to seek better lives abroad, looking for jobs or educational opportunities.

    Characters in Toronto grapple with cultural dislocation. They long for home as they tackle the challenges of forging new forms of kinship abroad. The Toronto that Muchemwa renders is richly textured. It’s far from a generic western backdrop. It is portrayed as a space of possibility and tension in which characters remake themselves in the face of displacement.

    Why is it a special book to you as a scholar?

    Muchemwa’s prose is precise, controlled, and emotionally resonant. She writes with confidence, trusting the power of implication and delicate shifts in tone. The plots of the stories are simple. They are not driven by dramatic revelations. Rather, by accumulative emotional insight. Her characters often seem to border on the edge of decision or reconciliation. In fact, their silences are as revealing as their speech.

    Throughout the collection, there’s a sense of hushed intensity. The question of who will be there – at the end, in crisis, in love – lingers and ties the stories together. Even as her characters move between countries, generations and identities, they remain tied by their desire for recognition and care.

    Read more: Books: folklore and fantasy combine in Langabi, a supernatural historical epic from Zimbabwe

    Muchemwa’s debut contributes to a growing body of contemporary African writing that focuses on intimacy, friendship and queerness as legitimate and urgent narrative concerns. Who Will Bury You? offers a fresh take that avoids the clichés and stereotypes often associated with African literature – what Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has famously called the single story.

    Rather than dwelling on recurrent tropes of suffering or political crisis, Muchemwa’s stories place a spotlight on private lives and emotional entanglements. They compel us to be attentive to the quiet yet consequential turmoil that takes place within families and intimate relationships.

    The collection does not avoid the cultural and religious violences that have an impact on everyday life. But Muchemwa faces them through the perspective of those who survive, and remake, these constraints on their own terms.

    Who Will Bury You? is a carefully crafted collection that demands close attention. It’s a book about women who refuse to be easily defined. With this collection, Muchemwa asserts herself as a compelling new voice in Zimbabwean and African literature. Her debut represents new African storytelling which continues to expand the narratives of African writers. It dares to centre the personal, the queer, and the emotionally complex.

    – Who Will Bury You? Short stories from Zimbabwe about women who refuse to be easily defined
    – https://theconversation.com/who-will-bury-you-short-stories-from-zimbabwe-about-women-who-refuse-to-be-easily-defined-261291

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: What makes a person cool? Global study has some answers

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Todd Pezzuti, Associate Professor, Business School, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez

    From Lagos to Cape Town, Santiago to Seoul, people want to be cool. “Cool” is a word we hear everywhere – in music, in fashion, on social media. We use it to describe certain types of people.

    But what exactly makes someone cool? Is it just about being popular or trendy? Or is there something deeper going on?

    In a recent study I conducted with other marketing professors, we set out to answer a simple but surprisingly unexplored question. What are the personality traits and values that make someone seem cool – and do they differ across cultures?

    We asked nearly 6,000 people from 12 countries to think of someone they personally knew who was “cool”, “not cool”, “good”, or “not good”. Then we asked them to describe that person’s traits and values using validated psychological measures. We used this data to examine how coolness differs from general likeability or morality.

    Read more: What makes a person seem wise? Global study finds that cultures do differ – but not as much as you’d think

    The countries ranged from Australia to Turkey, the US to Germany, India to China, Nigeria to South Africa.

    Our data showed that coolness is uniquely associated with the same six traits around the world: cool people tend to be extroverted, hedonistic, adventurous, open, powerful, and autonomous.

    These findings help settle a long debate about what it means to be cool today.

    A brief history of cool

    Early writing on coolness described it as emotional restraint: being calm, composed and unbothered. This view, rooted in the metaphor of temperature and emotion, saw coolness as a sign of self-control and mastery.

    Some of these scholars trace this form of cool to slavery and segregation, where emotional restraint was a survival strategy among enslaved Africans and their descendants, symbolising autonomy and dignity in the face of oppression. Others propose “cool” restraint existed long before slavery.

    Regardless, jazz musicians in the 1940s first helped popularise this cool persona – relaxed, emotionally contained, and stylish – an image later embraced by youth and various countercultures. Corporations like Nike, Apple and MTV commercialised cool, turning a countercultural attitude into a more commercially friendly global aesthetic.

    This is what makes someone cool

    Our findings suggest that the meaning of cool has changed. It’s a way to identify and label people with a specific psychological profile.

    Cool people are outgoing and social (extroverted). They seek pleasure and enjoyment (hedonistic). They take risks and try new things (adventurous). They are curious and open to new experiences (open). They have influence or charisma (powerful). And perhaps most of all, they do things their own way (autonomous).

    This finding held remarkably steady across countries. Whether you’re in the US, South Korea, Spain or South Africa, people tend to think that cool individuals have this same “cool profile”.

    We also found that even though coolness overlaps with being good or favourable, being cool and being good are not the same. Being kind, calm, traditional, secure and conscientious were more associated with being good than cool. Some “cool” traits were not necessarily good at all, like extroversion and hedonism.

    What about South Africa and Nigeria?

    One of the most fascinating aspects of our study was seeing how consistent the meaning of coolness was across cultures – even in countries with very different traditions and values.

    In South Africa, participants viewed cool people as extroverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous – just like participants from Europe to Asia. In South Africa, however, coolness is especially distinct from being good. South Africa is one of the countries in which being hedonistic, powerful, adventurous and autonomous was much more cool than good.

    Read more: Which African countries are flourishing? Scientists have a new way of measuring well-being

    Nigeria was the only country in which cool and uncool people were equally autonomous. So basically, individuality wasn’t seen as cool. That difference might reflect cultural values that place a greater emphasis on community, respect for elders, or collective identity. In places where tradition and hierarchy matter, doing your own thing might not be cool.

    Social sciences, like all science, however, are not perfect. So, it’s reasonable to speculate that autonomy might still be cool in Nigeria, with the discrepancy resulting from methodological issues such as how the Nigerian participants interpreted and responded to the survey.

    Nigeria was also unique because the distinction between cool and good wasn’t as notable as in other countries. So coolness was seen more as goodness than in the other countries.

    Why does this matter?

    The fact that so many cultures agree on what makes someone cool suggests that “coolness” may serve a shared social function. The traits that make people cool may make them more likely to try new things, innovate new styles and fashions, and influence others. These individuals often push boundaries and introduce new ideas – in fashion, art, politics, or technology. They inspire others and help shape what’s seen as modern, desirable, or forward-thinking.

    Coolness, in this sense, might function as a kind of cultural status marker – a reward for being bold, open-minded and innovative. It’s not just about surface style. It’s about signalling that you’re ahead of the curve, and that others should pay attention.

    So what can we learn from this?

    For one, young people in South Africa, Nigeria, and around the world may have more in common than we often think. Despite vast cultural differences, they tend to admire the same traits. That opens up interesting possibilities for cross-cultural communication, collaboration and influence.

    Second, if we want to connect with or inspire others – whether through education, branding, or leadership – it helps to understand what people see as cool. Coolness may not be a universal virtue, but it is a universal currency.

    And finally, there’s something reassuring in all this: coolness is not about being famous or rich. It’s about how you live. Are you curious? Courageous? True to yourself? If so, chances are someone out there thinks you’re cool – no matter where you’re from.

    – What makes a person cool? Global study has some answers
    – https://theconversation.com/what-makes-a-person-cool-global-study-has-some-answers-261266

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Gov. Hochul’s Op-Ed in the USA Today Network

    Source: US State of New York

    oday, the USA Today Network published an op-ed by Governor Kathy Hochul outlining her commitment to securing New York’s clean energy future, including her bold new directive to the New York Power Authority to take the next step towards building an advanced nuclear power plant in Upstate New York. From leading the nation in community solar to delivering major offshore wind projects, Governor Hochul lays out her vision for an energy strategy to power the next generation of jobs, technology, and economic growth and explains why advanced nuclear must be part of that future. Text of the op-ed can be viewed online and is available below:

    Affordability starts with energy.

    Whether it’s powering a home, a business, or a factory floor, reliable and reasonably priced electricity makes New York’s high quality of life possible. That’s why I’ve made it a cornerstone of our strategy to grow jobs, attract investment, and give families a reason to stay and build their lives here.

    It’s why I’ve worked to attract transformational economic development projects, like Micron’s $100 billion semiconductor campus outside of Syracuse and our nation-leading effort to create the country’s largest super computer dedicated to responsible AI in Buffalo. These investments bring jobs, opportunity, and long-overdue momentum to upstate communities.

    I grew up in Western New York. I remember when the region thrived — when energy from the Niagara River powered steel plants, car factories, and a middle class strong enough to support entire towns. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy stood at the opening of the Niagara hydropower plant and called it “an example to the world of North American efficiency and determination.”

    But when the economic tides shifted and innovation stalled, upstate cities were left behind. What followed was decades of disinvestment and job loss.

    Now, New York has a chance to reverse that trend — but we need to ensure we have the sufficient power to do it. I believe our state can lead the next energy revolution and, in doing so, bring a new era of prosperity to the regions that once powered America.

    NYPA must embrace advance nuclear power upstate

    That’s why I recently directed the New York Power Authority to take the next step in building an advanced nuclear power plant upstate. It’s a bold move, but one grounded in reality. If we want to power the economy of the future, we need a clean, reliable, around-the-clock source of electricity. Advanced nuclear power can deliver that.

    New York is already a national leader in renewable energy. We’ve topped the charts two years running as the number one community solar market in the country and beat our 2025 distributed solar goal a year ahead of schedule. We built South Fork Wind, the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm, and put two more major projects — Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind — back on track after I raised their importance directly with the White House.

    These aren’t just policy wins. They represent real jobs, clean power, and progress.

    But solar only works when the sun shines, and wind turbines only spin when the weather is right. The industries of tomorrow need a fully dependable electric grid. They need certainty, which means renewables and clean baseload.

    The next chapter of New York’s economy depends on our ability to power it. Without enough clean and affordable energy, we won’t be able to support the jobs, homes and innovations we’re fighting to bring here.

    Imagine this: Microchips manufactured outside Syracuse are shipped to the University at Buffalo, where they power AI research. Those breakthroughs spark new startups in Rochester, create supply chain opportunities in Binghamton, and support robotics labs in Schenectady. That’s the future we want for upstate New York — one where our communities are connected, our workforce is empowered and our economy is firing on all cylinders.

    But that vision doesn’t run on hope. It runs on electricity, and a lot of it.

    That’s why I’ve committed to an all-of-the-above energy strategy. In just the last five years, we’ve built more than two gigawatts of renewable energy, making New York’s electric grid the second cleanest per capita in the country. But we can’t stop there.

    Advanced nuclear power can fuel New York’s future

    Advanced nuclear power offers baseload electricity without burning fossil fuels. One gigawatt can power one million homes. It’s reliable, carbon-free, and scalable. And it’s not untested — New York already has three nuclear plants that have operated safely and efficiently for decades. These next-generation reactors will be even more advanced and secure.

    I understand concerns about cost. Some projects, like the plant in Georgia, came in late and over budget. We are learning from those experiences, applying best practices and ensuring tight oversight. We can show the country that New York still knows how to build with ambition, discipline and results.

    We’re not just imagining the future. We’re constructing it. When we pair New York’s world-class workforce with forward-looking energy investments, we unlock a new era of innovation and inclusive economic growth.

    Energy helped write the story of the Rust Belt’s rise and fall. Now, it can power the comeback. Let’s seize that opportunity — and build the future that every New Yorker deserves.

    Kathy Hochul is Governor of New York.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Capito Participates in EPW T&I Subcommittee Hearing on Surface Transportation Improvements

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

    [embedded content]

    To watch Chairman Capito’s questions, click here or the image above.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, participated in an EPW Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee hearing on proposals to improve America’s transportation infrastructure.

    During the subcommittee hearing, Chairman Capito opened with remarks outlining the need for the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill to provide states with needed flexibility, and how projects could be done more efficiently with permitting reform. Additionally, Chairman Capito asked for an update on efforts to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland.

    HIGHLIGHTS:

    FLEXIBILITY FOR STATES:

    “My history here on Capitol Hill has been that transportation and infrastructure is something that we all have. We have our different needs, but we all have need for. So, I think flexibility, Senator Lummis, I think, asked the first question I was going to ask of Mr. Orn on the flexibilities that you get by having the formula funding. We’re not going to build highways in West Virginia the same way that you build them in North Dakota, or Maryland, or other places. There’s just different needs.”

    PERMITTING REFORM:

    “I think one of the things that is important as well, is permitting reform. I think if we can get bipartisan permitting reform, all of these dollars will go a lot faster, and a lot more efficiently than they have in the past.”

    UPDATE ON FRANCIS SCOTT KEY BRIDGE:

    Chairman Capito:

    “Could you update me on the status of the reconstruction of the bridge and tell us the current cost estimate for that bridge?”

    Samantha Biddle, Deputy Secretary, Maryland Department of Transportation:

    “Of course, and thank you as well for your support and partnership as we navigated what was truly a catastrophic event that we are still working through. So, we’re so immensely grateful for the federal support. This is a critical national freight and supply chain asset, and we pledge to remain transparent with this committee and providing updates, as well as in our efforts to seek reimbursement to the responsible party for that bridge collision. To date, the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild has been environmentally cleared, and we have a progressive design-build contractor in place, and pre-construction and demolition activities are currently underway. We appreciate the strong continued partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, as well as our progressive design-build contractor, Kiewit, and we do remain on track to deliver a new bridge as quickly and cost effectively as possible. However, due to the progressive design-build process that we’re working through, we are currently still tracking the initial cost estimate from earlier on in the bridge rebuild process.”

    Click HERE to watch Chairman Capito’s questions.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Capito Participates in EPW T&I Subcommittee Hearing on Surface Transportation Improvements

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

    [embedded content]

    To watch Chairman Capito’s questions, click here or the image above.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, participated in an EPW Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee hearing on proposals to improve America’s transportation infrastructure.

    During the subcommittee hearing, Chairman Capito opened with remarks outlining the need for the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill to provide states with needed flexibility, and how projects could be done more efficiently with permitting reform. Additionally, Chairman Capito asked for an update on efforts to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland.

    HIGHLIGHTS:

    FLEXIBILITY FOR STATES:

    “My history here on Capitol Hill has been that transportation and infrastructure is something that we all have. We have our different needs, but we all have need for. So, I think flexibility, Senator Lummis, I think, asked the first question I was going to ask of Mr. Orn on the flexibilities that you get by having the formula funding. We’re not going to build highways in West Virginia the same way that you build them in North Dakota, or Maryland, or other places. There’s just different needs.”

    PERMITTING REFORM:

    “I think one of the things that is important as well, is permitting reform. I think if we can get bipartisan permitting reform, all of these dollars will go a lot faster, and a lot more efficiently than they have in the past.”

    UPDATE ON FRANCIS SCOTT KEY BRIDGE:

    Chairman Capito:

    “Could you update me on the status of the reconstruction of the bridge and tell us the current cost estimate for that bridge?”

    Samantha Biddle, Deputy Secretary, Maryland Department of Transportation:

    “Of course, and thank you as well for your support and partnership as we navigated what was truly a catastrophic event that we are still working through. So, we’re so immensely grateful for the federal support. This is a critical national freight and supply chain asset, and we pledge to remain transparent with this committee and providing updates, as well as in our efforts to seek reimbursement to the responsible party for that bridge collision. To date, the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild has been environmentally cleared, and we have a progressive design-build contractor in place, and pre-construction and demolition activities are currently underway. We appreciate the strong continued partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, as well as our progressive design-build contractor, Kiewit, and we do remain on track to deliver a new bridge as quickly and cost effectively as possible. However, due to the progressive design-build process that we’re working through, we are currently still tracking the initial cost estimate from earlier on in the bridge rebuild process.”

    Click HERE to watch Chairman Capito’s questions.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Capito Participates in EPW T&I Subcommittee Hearing on Surface Transportation Improvements

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito
    [embedded content]
    To watch Chairman Capito’s questions, click here or the image above.
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, participated in an EPW Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee hearing on proposals to improve America’s transportation infrastructure.
    During the subcommittee hearing, Chairman Capito opened with remarks outlining the need for the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill to provide states with needed flexibility, and how projects could be done more efficiently with permitting reform. Additionally, Chairman Capito asked for an update on efforts to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland.
    HIGHLIGHTS:
    FLEXIBILITY FOR STATES:
    “My history here on Capitol Hill has been that transportation and infrastructure is something that we all have. We have our different needs, but we all have need for. So, I think flexibility, Senator Lummis, I think, asked the first question I was going to ask of Mr. Orn on the flexibilities that you get by having the formula funding. We’re not going to build highways in West Virginia the same way that you build them in North Dakota, or Maryland, or other places. There’s just different needs.”
    PERMITTING REFORM:
    “I think one of the things that is important as well, is permitting reform. I think if we can get bipartisan permitting reform, all of these dollars will go a lot faster, and a lot more efficiently than they have in the past.”
    UPDATE ON FRANCIS SCOTT KEY BRIDGE:
    Chairman Capito:
    “Could you update me on the status of the reconstruction of the bridge and tell us the current cost estimate for that bridge?”
    Samantha Biddle, Deputy Secretary, Maryland Department of Transportation:
    “Of course, and thank you as well for your support and partnership as we navigated what was truly a catastrophic event that we are still working through. So, we’re so immensely grateful for the federal support. This is a critical national freight and supply chain asset, and we pledge to remain transparent with this committee and providing updates, as well as in our efforts to seek reimbursement to the responsible party for that bridge collision. To date, the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild has been environmentally cleared, and we have a progressive design-build contractor in place, and pre-construction and demolition activities are currently underway. We appreciate the strong continued partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, as well as our progressive design-build contractor, Kiewit, and we do remain on track to deliver a new bridge as quickly and cost effectively as possible. However, due to the progressive design-build process that we’re working through, we are currently still tracking the initial cost estimate from earlier on in the bridge rebuild process.”
    Click HERE to watch Chairman Capito’s questions.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Capito Participates in EPW T&I Subcommittee Hearing on Surface Transportation Improvements

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

    [embedded content]

    To watch Chairman Capito’s questions, click here or the image above.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, participated in an EPW Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee hearing on proposals to improve America’s transportation infrastructure.

    During the subcommittee hearing, Chairman Capito opened with remarks outlining the need for the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill to provide states with needed flexibility, and how projects could be done more efficiently with permitting reform. Additionally, Chairman Capito asked for an update on efforts to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland.

    HIGHLIGHTS:

    FLEXIBILITY FOR STATES:

    “My history here on Capitol Hill has been that transportation and infrastructure is something that we all have. We have our different needs, but we all have need for. So, I think flexibility, Senator Lummis, I think, asked the first question I was going to ask of Mr. Orn on the flexibilities that you get by having the formula funding. We’re not going to build highways in West Virginia the same way that you build them in North Dakota, or Maryland, or other places. There’s just different needs.”

    PERMITTING REFORM:

    “I think one of the things that is important as well, is permitting reform. I think if we can get bipartisan permitting reform, all of these dollars will go a lot faster, and a lot more efficiently than they have in the past.”

    UPDATE ON FRANCIS SCOTT KEY BRIDGE:

    Chairman Capito:

    “Could you update me on the status of the reconstruction of the bridge and tell us the current cost estimate for that bridge?”

    Samantha Biddle, Deputy Secretary, Maryland Department of Transportation:

    “Of course, and thank you as well for your support and partnership as we navigated what was truly a catastrophic event that we are still working through. So, we’re so immensely grateful for the federal support. This is a critical national freight and supply chain asset, and we pledge to remain transparent with this committee and providing updates, as well as in our efforts to seek reimbursement to the responsible party for that bridge collision. To date, the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild has been environmentally cleared, and we have a progressive design-build contractor in place, and pre-construction and demolition activities are currently underway. We appreciate the strong continued partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, as well as our progressive design-build contractor, Kiewit, and we do remain on track to deliver a new bridge as quickly and cost effectively as possible. However, due to the progressive design-build process that we’re working through, we are currently still tracking the initial cost estimate from earlier on in the bridge rebuild process.”

    Click HERE to watch Chairman Capito’s questions.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China’s local SOEs’ added value hits 3.7 trillion yuan in first half of 2025

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) — China’s locally-controlled state-owned enterprises have operated stably this year despite various difficulties, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission under the State Council.

    According to official data, the added value of local enterprises was 3.7 trillion yuan (about 518.32 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2025, with their total fixed asset investment reaching 2.7 trillion yuan.

    During the reporting period, local SOEs’ R&D expenditures grew steadily, reaching 265.55 billion yuan, amid efforts by enterprises to accelerate scientific and technological innovation.

    At a meeting earlier this year, the State Property Supervision and Administration Committee called on all local state-owned enterprises to strengthen scientific and technological innovation potential and improve effective mechanisms for stimulating innovation, identifying this as a key task for the current year.

    In 2024, the total added value of China’s local SOEs was 7.7 trillion yuan. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Xi Jinping sent a telegram of condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with the crash of the Russian passenger plane

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday sent a telegram to Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing condolences over the high number of casualties in the crash of a Russian passenger plane.

    Xi Jinping said in a telegram that he was shocked by the news of the passenger plane crash in Russia’s Amur Region, which resulted in numerous casualties. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, the Chinese President expressed deep sorrow for the victims and sincere sympathy to their families. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: All people on board the plane that crashed in the Amur Region died — Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    Moscow, July 24 (Xinhua) — All people on board the An-24 plane that crashed in Russia’s Amur Region on Thursday have died, Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said.

    “All people on board the aircraft died,” TASS quotes her as saying.

    The region’s governor, Vasily Orlov, declared a three-day mourning in the region. “I declare a three-day mourning in the region. On July 25, 26 and 27, flags will be lowered in all territories of the Amur Region. This terrible tragedy took the lives of 48 people,” he wrote on his Telegram channel. -0-

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: PM call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine: 24 July 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    PM call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine: 24 July 2025

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy today. 

    The Prime Minister spoke to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy today. 

    The President began by thanking the Prime Minister for the UK’s continued support for Ukraine, including the sanctions announced earlier this week targeting Russia’s energy revenues, which play a vital part in stopping Putin’s war machine. They agreed international partners must continue to ramp up the pressure on Russia.

    The Prime Minister underlined the UK’s unwavering support for Ukraine, and the leaders agreed on the importance of the role of independent anti-corruption institutions at the heart of Ukraine’s democracy. 

    Both leaders underscored that Putin must come to the negotiation table and agree an unconditional ceasefire to see a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.

    They agreed to keep in touch.

    Updates to this page

    Published 24 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Peak District Ravine Woodlands Restored with 84,000 Trees

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Peak District Ravine Woodlands Restored with 84,000 Trees

    Over 84,000 native trees have been planted across the Peak District Dales to combat ash dieback disease.

    Credit Mark Newton. LIFE in the Ravines tree planting site.

    Precious ravine woodlands across the Peak District are being brought back to life through the largest restoration project of its kind, with 84,000 native trees now planted to replace those lost to ash dieback disease.

    The 5 year LIFE in the Ravines project has successfully restored up to 25% of the region’s most severely damaged woodlands. It creates resilient habitats that will protect this rare ecosystem for future generations.

    Natural England’s partnership project has focused on the Peak District Dales Special Area of Conservation, where ash dieback has devastated ancient woodlands. Teams have replanted a diverse mix of species, including the foundation species large-leaved lime, small-leaved lime, and wych elm trees that historically thrived in these unique limestone ravines.

    Credit Nate Evans. LIFE in the Ravines restoration team on site.

    Martin Evans, Woodland Restoration Manager for Natural England said:

    “The success of the LIFE in the Ravines project shows what can be achieved when we work with nature rather than against it. By planting 84,000 trees, we’re not just replacing what was lost to ash dieback, we’re creating more diverse and resilient woodlands that will thrive for generations to come.

    “These restored ravine woodlands are truly unique habitats, and this project demonstrates Natural England’s commitment to protecting and enhancing our most precious natural environments whilst supporting the government’s environmental priorities.”

    The restoration work tackles a critical environmental challenge. Without intervention, entire woodlands would have been lost to the fungal disease that kills ash trees. The project has prevented this ecological disaster whilst creating more diverse, resilient habitats.

    Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has seen remarkable success across their managed sites with 16,000 trees planted in the Wye Valley including Cramside, Cheedale, and Millers Dale. The new plantings form the foundation for naturally expanding woodlands that will colonise surrounding areas over time.

    Kyle Winney, Living Landscape Officer for Derbyshire Wildlife Trust said:

    “Although it’s devasting to see the effects of ash dieback, it has provided us an opportunity to restore the ravine woodlands that would have been much more diverse before human impacts. The native trees we’ve planted form the foundation of a more diverse woodland that will be more resilient to future challenges such as weather extremes and disease.”

    Seeds collected directly from existing trees within the ravines are being grown by specialist nurseries and community groups. This local approach ensures planted trees can thrive in the challenging conditions of steep, rocky limestone terrain.

    The project represents 16% of the UK’s ravine woodland – a European Priority Habitat. As tree planting targets are met, teams are preparing for their final restoration season in autumn 2025, including work in the Via Gellia woodlands.

    Credit Mark Newton. LIFE in the Ravines woodland site.

    This restoration directly supports the government’s environmental mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower by strengthening natural ecosystems that store carbon and support biodiversity. The project demonstrates how targeted intervention can reverse environmental damage whilst building climate resilience.

    Notes to editors:

    • The £5 million LIFE in the Ravines project is led by Natural England with partners including Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, the National Trust, and Chatsworth Estate.
    • For more information visit www.lifeintheravines.co.uk or email LIFEintheRavines@NaturalEngland.org.uk

    Updates to this page

    Published 24 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Joint Statement on the Invocation of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    Joint Statement on the Invocation of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism

    UK and 40 other countries invoke the Moscow Mechanism to address ill treatment of prisoners of war by the Russian Federation

    Thank you, Chair.   I will deliver an abridged version of this statement this afternoon. The full statement will be circulated in writing and I request that it be attached to the Journal of the Day.  

    I am delivering this statement on behalf of the following participating States: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,  Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,  Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania,  San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.   

    Today, our delegations will send the following letter to ODIHR Director Maria Telalian, invoking the Moscow Mechanism, with the support of Ukraine, as we continue to have concerns regarding violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law following Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, including with regard to ill treatment of Ukrainian Prisoners of War (POW).   

    Director Telalian, 

    With Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in its fourth year and as Russia’s illegal occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine has entered its eleventh year, we continue to witness large scale human suffering and alarming reports of violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and of international human rights law (IHRL), many of which may amount to the most serious international crimes.  

    Against the backdrop of the full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, launched by the Russian Federation on February 24, 2022, a number of credible sources, including the Moscow Mechanism expert missions, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, as well as civil society organizations, have reported that the Russian Federation has consistently violated the rights of prisoners of war (POWs) throughout their detention and at multiple detention facilities within the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and the Russian Federation. There have been credible reports that the extensive and routine torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian POWs throughout their detention constitutes a continued systematic pattern of state policy and practice by the Russian Federation. Torture follows common patterns across different locations, indicating it is a coordinated, deliberate, and systematic practice.  

    In 2022, 2023 and 2024, 45 OSCE Delegations, following bilateral consultations with Ukraine under the Vienna (Human Dimension) Mechanism, invoked Paragraph 8 of the Moscow (Human Dimension) Mechanism. The reports of the independent missions of experts, received by OSCE participating States, confirmed our shared concerns about the impact of the Russian Federation’s invasion and acts of war, its violations and abuses of IHRL, and violations of IHL in Ukraine.  

    We remain particularly alarmed by the findings of the expert missions that some of the violations may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity as well as the identification of patterns of reported violations of IHL and IHRL regarding the treatment of prisoners of war.  

    The prohibition against torture in international law is absolute.  Parties to an armed conflict are obliged to ensure the rights of POWs as set out in the Third Geneva Convention of 1949 relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War and Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions. Prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity. No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted or exposed to unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kin Torture and inhuman treatment of POWs are grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, and likewise war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. 

    ODIHR’s Ukraine Monitoring Initiative has continued to identify patterns of reported IHL and IHRL violations related to the treatment of Ukrainian POWs including in their Sixth Interim Report of 13 December 2024 and their Seventh Interim Report of 15 July 2025. Interviews with survivors and witnesses attested to a continued practice of systematic torture and other IHL and IHRL violations perpetrated against Ukrainian POWs  prompting serious concerns about the Russian Federation’s failure to comply with the fundamental principles that govern the treatment of POWs.  

    In equal measure, the OHCHR and the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) have reported on the systematic and widespread use of torture of Ukrainian POWs by Russian authorities. In its March 2023 report, the HRMMU documented violations of IHRL and IHL in 32 of 48 detention facilities in Russia and Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, related to torture and other ill-treatment,  dire conditions of internment  including inadequate quarters, food, hygiene, and medical care, along with restricted communication, forced labor, and a lack of access of independent monitors. .  Many were held incommunicado deprived of the possibility to communicate with family or the outside world. Russian authorities subjected Ukrainian POWs to unlawful prosecutions for mere participation in hostilities; using torture to extract confessions; and denying fair trials.   

    According to witness testimonies, there were numerous incidents whereby POWs died in captivity due to execution, torture, ill-treatment and/or inadequate medical attention as well as inhumane conditions during their captivity.   

    The OHCHR’s October 2024 Report on the Treatment of Prisoners of War further documented detailed and consistent accounts of torture or ill treatment in Russian Federation custody.   

    Survivors have described the wide-ranging methods of torture or ill-treatment of Ukrainian POWs including: severe physical beatings; electrocution (including the targeting of genitalia); excessively intense physical exercise; stress positions; dog attacks; mock executions (including simulated hangings); threats of physical violence and death; sexual violence, including rape; threats of rape and castration; threats of coerced sexual acts; and other forms of humiliation.   

    Since the end of August 2024, OHCHR also has recorded a significant increase in credible allegations of executions of Ukrainian servicepersons captured by Russian armed forces, involving at least 97 individuals.   

    The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine (UN COI) stated on 23 September 2024 that it has evidence of widespread and systematic torture by Russian authorities against Ukrainian civilians and POWs in the temporarily occupied territories and in Russia. They concluded that torture follows common patterns across different locations, indicating it is a coordinated practice.  In their March 2025 report, the UN COI again called on the Russian Federation to immediately end the widespread and systematic use of torture and other forms of ill-treatment committed against civilian detainees and prisoners of war  

    The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is investigating the reported execution of 273 Ukrainian POWs, including 208 who were reportedly executed on the battlefield and 59 in the ‘‘Olenivka’’ colony. However, the real number of those executed is likely much higher. 

    We are deeply concerned about the severity and frequency of these violations and abuses. We are particularly appalled by reported executions of Ukrainian POWs and Ukrainian soldiers rendered hors de combat upon their surrender and by the desecration/mutilation of bodies.  We are also deeply concerned with the practice of filming and distributing images of these abhorrent incidents.  

    Following grave concerns over the ill-treatment of Ukrainian POWs, highlighted, inter alia, by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the OSCE, we call on all parties to the armed conflict ensure that POWs are treated in full compliance with IHL.  

    We recall that OSCE participating States have committed themselves to respect IHL, including the Third Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 1949, bearing in mind that the willful killing, torture, inhuman treatment, causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health of persons protected under the Geneva Conventions, including prisoners of war, constitutes a war crime. No prisoner of war may be subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are not justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the prisoner concerned and carried out in his interest. Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity. 

    We also recall that the prohibition of torture is a peremptory norm of international law without territorial limitation, which applies at all times and in all places.   Measures of reprisal against POWs are prohibited. 

    We call on the Russia Federation to end the torture and ill-treatment of all detainees and ensure adequate conditions of detention including the provision of basic needs such as food, water, clothing, and medical care. We further call for providing timely and accurate information on detainees’ whereabouts and legal status, and for granting international humanitarian organizations, like the International Committee of the Red Cross, unfettered access to such persons. 

    Gravely concerned by the continuing impacts of Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, and gravely concerned by credible allegations of the torture, ill-treatment and executions of Ukrainian POWs, and soldiers hors de combat, the delegations of Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,  Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,  Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania,  San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, following bilateral consultations with Ukraine under the Vienna Mechanism, invoke the Moscow (Human Dimension) Mechanism under Paragraph 8 of that document.  

    We request that ODIHR inquire of Ukraine whether it would invite a mission of experts to build upon previous findings, and:  

    To establish the facts and circumstances surrounding possible contraventions of relevant OSCE commitments; violations and abuses of human rights; and violations of IHL, including possible cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity, related to the treatment of Ukrainian POWs by the Russian Federation ; 

    To collect, consolidate, and analyse this information including to determine if there is a pattern of widespread and systematic torture, ill-treatment and execution of Ukrainian POWs and soldiers hors de combat and/or at detention facilities by the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories and in Russia and 

    To offer recommendations on relevant accountability mechanisms. 

    We also invite ODIHR to provide any relevant information or documentation derived from any new expert mission to other appropriate accountability mechanisms, including the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine or the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, as well as national, regional, or international courts or tribunals that have, or may in future have, jurisdiction.  

    Thank you for your attention.

    Updates to this page

    Published 24 July 2025

    Invasion of Ukraine

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Over £20,000 in fines handed out as council takes aim at pedicabs and illegal street traders | Westminster City Council

    Source: City of Westminster

    Pedicab riders and illegal street traders have been given fines, costs and victim surcharges totalling £20,202.50 following the latest round of prosecutions at City of Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday 9th July.

    Prosecutions for five unlicensed street traders operating on Westminster Bridge selling peanuts and balloons saw £11,127.50 in convictions handed down Another three cases adjourned.

    Given the bridge’s location, Westminster City Council regularly partner with Lambeth Council and the Met Police to provide evidence for prosecutions and conduct enforcement operations on the bridge. Thanks to the joint intelligence, one of the vendors was convicted for the second time in two months for previously selling hotdogs.

    A shop on Charing Cross Road was hit with the largest fine of £3,382 had previously received multiple warnings for selling a multitude of souvenir goods on the street, and while the company was dissolved in the lead up to court, the director was still held personally liable and convicted.

    Additionally, nine pedicabs operators- several repeat offenders- have been hit with some the biggest individual fines totalling £9075.00 following the latest round of pedicab prosecutions. 

    The riders were found guilty thanks to the work of City Inspectors from Westminster City Council with fines, costs, and victim surcharges ranging from £750 to £1460 under the Control of Pollution Act 1974. Ahead of TfL’s licensing regime which is set to come into effect in early 2026 teams from the central London local Authority continue to patrol hotspot areas educating visitors against the dangers of using pedicabs and work with the Metropolitan Police to prosecute those in breach of current legislation. Given the repeat prosecutions, the council is exploring options such as injunctions or banning orders for the more prolific riders. 

    Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Public Protection Cllr Aicha Less said:

    This is Westminster, not the Wild West. These fines send a clear message: if you break the rules in our city you will end up out of pocket and out of excuses.”

    “Whilst we work with TfL to finalise a structured the licensing scheme is being finalised, our City Inspectors continue to prosecute pedicab drivers and partner with our neighbours in Lambeth and in the Metropolitan Police to ensure unsuspecting tourists are not ripped off.” 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: The Tram Bridge Project is ‘on track’ as key design details are revealed

    Source: City of Preston

    24 July 2025

    While on-site activity paused over the winter break, the iconic Tram Bridge project has continued to move forward at pace behind the scenes.

    Off-site construction of the new bridge is well underway, and key design decisions have now been made, including the final colour palette for the bridge and its decking.

    The steelwork will feature a bold Black Grey, chosen for its sleek, contemporary look and ability to complement the natural surroundings. This will be paired with a Light Buff Brown Polydeck finish for the bridge decking, offering both durability and a warm, inviting appearance underfoot.

    These carefully selected colours reflect the bridge’s modern engineering while nodding to the heritage and landscape of Avenham Park, ensuring the new Tram Bridge will be as visually striking as it is functional.

    The replacement of the Bridge, announced in Spring 2024, is being delivered by Preston City Council using part of its £20 million grant awarded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), with an additional £1 million from Lancashire County Council.

    The bridge project is being delivered by contractor Eric Wright Civil Engineering and since construction resumed in spring, visible changes can already be seen along the River Ribble, including the completion of the land-based piers, modification of the abutments, and preparation for the second in-river pier. Meanwhile, off-site fabrication of the bridge is progressing in preparation for its scheduled installation and lift in Autumn 2025.

    Councillor Valerie Wise, Cabinet Member for Community Wealth Building at Preston City Council said:

    “I’m delighted at the progress of this historic project. The newly released imagery and designs are really bringing it to life and, I hope, will generate excitement across the city.

    “I want to thank everyone involved for their commitment and dedication to delivering a bridge that can be used and enjoyed for generations to come.

    “I encourage everyone to visit the Pavilion Café, take a look at the exhibition, and see the progress for themselves.”

    County Councillor Warren Goldsworthy, cabinet member for Highways and Transport, Lancashire County Council, said:

    “It’s fantastic to see the Preston Tram Bridge project making such strong progress.

    “This isn’t just about rebuilding a bridge – it’s about reconnecting communities, opening up greener travel, and giving people a healthier, more active way to move between South Ribble and Preston.

    “I’d like to thank residents for their patience while work continues, your support is helping deliver a lasting improvement for the whole area.”

    Antony Mulligan, Contracts Manager at Eric Wright Civil Engineering commented:

    “We are delighted to be moving forward with the replacement of the historic Tram Bridge for our clients, Preston City Council and Lancashire County Council.

    “The project continues to move at pace with us already completing the first in river pier and the two land abutments. We are currently constructing the second, and final, in river pier which will see us complete the substructure. The steel superstructure of the bridge is currently being fabricated off site ready to be installed later this year.”

    Public Exhibition and New CGIs

    With key design elements now confirmed, a refreshed public exhibition is currently on display at the Pavilion Café in Avenham Park. The exhibition features brand-new CGI visuals, developed by local architect John Bridge, showcasing the updated colour scheme and key structural features of the bridge.

    Visitors can also explore early proposals and design concepts for additional elements including seating, art sculptures, and the proposed ‘goalpost’ barrier, which offers a visual nod to the original bridge’s timber trestles.

    About Eric Wright Civil Engineering

    Eric Wright Civil Engineering have been delivering exceptional infrastructure for over 25 years. Bringing expertise, precisions and innovations to a wide range of projects from cutting-edge nuclear, chemical, and aerospace facilities to bridges, transport infrastructure, and environmental enhancements.

    Part of the Eric Wright Group a long-established property and construction business comprising eight specialist divisions (Construction, Civil Engineering, Water, Partnerships, Facilities Management, Maple Grove Developments and Investments, Applethwaite Homes, and Wrightcare). Working closely together across the divisions ensures a collaborative and seamless approach for public and private sector partners.

    Founded in 1923, as Brown and Jackson in Fleetwood, Lancashire, the company became Eric Wright Construction in 1979 after Mr. Wright purchased it and later became the Eric Wright Group.

    Owned by the Eric Wright Charitable Trust, all profits are reinvested in the Group’s growth or directed towards charitable activities, operating as a social enterprise that continuously gives back while striving for a more sustainable future.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ARU professor wins award for excellence in health

    Source: Anglia Ruskin University

    Professor Shahina Pardhan and Wes Streeting MP at the Muslim News Awards

    A vision-loss expert at Anglia Ruskin University has won a prestigious award for her contribution to healthcare in the UK and globally.

    Professor Shahina Pardhan, Director of the Vision and Eye Research Institute (VERI) at ARU, received the prestigious Ibn Sina award for Excellence in Health at the Muslim News Awards.

    The award was presented by Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, in recognition of Professor Pardhan’s groundbreaking work in eyecare and her dedication to reducing blindness in high-risk and underserved communities.

    Professor Pardhan is the UK’s first female professor of optometry and a globally respected researcher. She has authored 255 peer-reviewed papers and led numerous international projects focusing on improving eye health outcomes.

    Her initiatives, which promote eye care literacy and increasing the uptake of vision screening in different languages, are estimated to have helped more than 163,000 people at high risk of blindness.

    The Muslim News Awards for Excellence celebrate the achievements of individuals who have made significant contributions to British society.

    In her acceptance speech, Professor Pardhan said: “To be recognised in connection with Ibn Sina, the founder of early modern medicine, is both an honour and humbling. The award is a reminder of the novel purpose that binds us all in healthcare – to heal, to serve, and to reach those in greatest need.

    “I stand here today committing the rest of my professional life to advancing eye health for those most at risk of blindness, especially in vulnerable communities where simple interventions can change a life or save one.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –