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Category: DJF

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Pfluger Highlights Need to Stop Illegal Robocalls and Robotexts

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11)

    Rep. Pfluger Highlights Need to Stop Illegal Robocalls and Robotexts

    Washington, June 5, 2025

    WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11), a member of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, participated in an Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing titled “Stopping Illegal Robocalls and Robotexts: Progress, Challenges, and Next Steps.”

    During the hearing, Rep. Pfluger emphasized that while this is certainly an issue for everyone who receives robocalls and robotexts, it is especially alarming for physicians who are being interrupted by these illegal calls and texts while caring for their patients. To highlight this, Rep. Plfuger showed screenshots from physicians in TX-11, receiving back-to-back illegal robocalls.

    Rep. Pfluger then questioned the witnesses on how Congress can effectively assist in stopping illegal robocalls and robotexts, especially when it comes to physicians in hospitals receiving these calls that disrupt patient care.

    Watch the full interaction HERE or read highlights below.

    Rep. Pfluger: What do you think we can do? And anybody is open to answering this. What do you think we can do for hospitals in general? You know, for those that are providing emergency services? Because nobody’s using a pager anymore, it’s all cell phones, and maybe they need to go back to that. But what can we do to think creatively to really stop that? Every constituent of mine wants it stopped, but are there specific ideas?

    Sarah Leggin: That’s a good question. You know, it’s a really challenging issue, especially when we want to make sure that critical public safety and public health services need to get their calls through. The same tools that we apply to protect consumers can protect the personal lines of physicians and other things: call blocking, call labeling, call filtering services, and then combining that with enforcement so that we’re stopping those at the source.

    Rep. Pfluger: This particular physician goes through, deletes, reports junk, and does all of that, so it sounds like it’s been a continued issue. I’ll go to Mr. Bercu. When we look at the gaps, and just kind of building on this same theme, are there specific things that you would have us do to address those gaps? And if so, maybe describe how they affect, let’s just go with the physician sector, the health industry?

    Joshua Bercu: Yeah, absolutely. I think we have the right framework. Mr. Winters was talking about the robocall mitigation database, and I couldn’t agree more. We need to find ways to quickly find the bad actors in that database and get them out. The FCC does require that providers have to do due diligence about who they take traffic from, so we’re developing the data to see who keeps taking traffic from these shell companies. So I’m optimistic we’ll continue to make progress. There are, as Ms. Leggin mentioned, blocking labeling in specific use cases. I know we work sometimes with some companies that sit on the inbound call side for a hospital, and they have sophisticated tools to see which is the consumer, which is not. So those are some of the things I’d recommend that the doctor look into.

     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: EU changes protection status of wolves in Europe

    Source: European Union 2

    The EU has changed the level of protection of the wolf from “strictly protected” to “protected” to give EU countries more flexibility in managing wolf populations. The estimated population of wolves on the European continent almost doubled between 2012 and 2023 to more than 20 000.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • Indian maritime firms secure major shipbuilding deals and green tech partnerships at Nor-Shipping 2025 in Oslo

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Indian maritime companies have made significant strides at Nor-Shipping 2025 in Oslo, signing key agreements with global players to boost shipbuilding, green technology, and knowledge partnerships, reinforcing India’s maritime prowess and the “Make in India” initiative. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, attended the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Memorandum of Intent (MoI) signing ceremonies, highlighting the deepening collaboration between India and global maritime leaders.

    A notable MoI was signed between Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata, and Germany’s Carsten Rehder Schiffsmakler und Rehder GmbH & Co. KG for the construction of four additional 7,500 DWT multi-purpose vessels with hybrid propulsion and advanced cybersecurity features. This deal supplements an existing order of eight such vessels currently under construction at GRSE’s Kolkata yard. GRSE also inked MoUs with UAE-based Aries Marine LLC for collaboration on offshore platforms and vessels, and with a global engine manufacturer to further technological advancements.

    Additionally, India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) signed an MoU with Norway’s DNV, covering cooperation in shipbuilding, offshore and maritime infrastructure, port development, energy systems, industrial solutions, smart infrastructure, sustainability, ESG, risk services, cybersecurity, and digital solutions.

    Speaking at the Norwegian Pavilion, Union Minister Sonowal emphasized the strong maritime ties between India and Norway, rooted in shared values and a commitment to sustainable development. “Norway has long been a valued partner of India. As two proud maritime nations, we understand that the future of the blue economy hinges on sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth,” he said. “These MoUs, including those with Norwegian companies, deepen our commitment to collaborate in the maritime sector.”

    Sonowal highlighted India’s transformative maritime initiatives under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, including the Sagarmala program, which focuses on modernizing port infrastructure, enhancing multimodal logistics, and promoting port-led industrial growth. He underscored the push for green ports and low-emission shipping, noting opportunities for collaboration in offshore wind energy, maritime digitalization, and sustainable port development. “Together, we can contribute to a sustainable and secure Indo-Pacific maritime ecosystem,” he added.

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China’s EV Battery Recycling Boom Drives Green Transformation, Global Markets

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    TIANJIN, June 5 (Xinhua) — In the industrial city of Tianjin, north China, employees of startup Tianjin Battery Technology are refurbishing failed electric vehicle batteries with a combination of skilled technicians and automated systems.

    The development illustrates the huge business opportunity opening up in China as authorities in the world’s largest electric vehicle market aim to turn waste batteries from a pollution problem into a key asset in its “green revolution.”

    A startup at the forefront of the country’s sustainable development economy is targeting this rapidly growing sector.

    This market segment is poised for significant growth as China continues to lead the world in the production and sale of new energy vehicles. In addition, the growing number of end-of-life batteries is increasing demand for green solutions.

    By the end of 2024, there were 31.4 million new electric vehicles in the country, or about 9 percent of the country’s total car fleet. Following the government-initiated trade-in campaign, consumer interest in upgrading their cars has increased dramatically, which in turn has further expanded the recycling market.

    China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has required passenger car manufacturers to provide an eight-year or 120,000-km warranty on key components such as batteries since 2016.

    Market forecasts indicate that the volume of discarded batteries in China will reach 1.04 million tons in 2025, and this figure could rise to 3.5 million tons by 2030.

    UNLOCKING POTENTIAL

    Ma Yuwei, 40, works as a production materials control manager in the engineering equipment department at Tianjin Battery Technology. He supervises the dismantling of battery packs and modules. In his opinion, these seemingly “disused” batteries are a treasure trove.

    The firm reuses some of the dismantled components to repair used cars. Crushing the batteries produces copper and aluminum, and the black powder is processed into lithium carbonate suitable for use in batteries.

    “In our words, we need to squeeze every last drop of juice out of failed batteries,” he notes.

    With nearly 20 years of experience and the significant growth potential in the digital electronics and battery manufacturing industries, he accepted the offer to take on this position three years ago.

    Tianjin Battery Technology’s battery processing capacity has reached 10,000 tons per year, achieving a lithium recovery rate of over 90 percent.

    “China relies heavily on imported lithium, cobalt and nickel,” said Ke Yanchun of newly established state-owned China Resources Recycling Group Co., Ltd.

    “The recycling of used batteries effectively reduces the country’s high dependence on imported resources in the production of vehicles using new energy sources,” he emphasized.

    TECHNOLOGICAL ORIENTATION

    China’s battery recycling sector suffers from small, unregulated workshops. Industry leaders are using technological innovation to improve efficiency and restructure the production chain.

    China’s major EV battery maker GEM, which is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, uses a flexible, intelligent dismantling system for precise detection and sorting. Its recycling innovations include high- and low-temperature catalytic activation and ultra-precise lithium extraction, achieving lithium recovery rates of over 90 percent.

    The company has also developed a digital lifecycle management system for batteries to track them from recycling to disposal, supporting its dual-track business model.

    The company has built a circular economy industrial park in the Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone, which is just 1 km from the production lines of BYD, the country’s leading electric vehicle maker.

    GEM currently operates more than 140 battery recycling stations across the country and cooperates with more than 750 vehicle and battery manufacturers and operators worldwide. In the first quarter of this year, the company recycled 10,800 tons of batteries, up 37 percent year-on-year.

    At Tianjin Battery Technology, Ma Yuwei and his colleagues have improved battery dismantling efficiency by 75 percent using modified tools. Using techniques such as cutting and welding, they have transformed standard tools to meet the complex requirements of battery dismantling.

    “This simple innovation had a significant impact,” the manager noted.

    EXPANSION ABROAD

    As China’s share of the global EV market continues to grow, battery recycling companies are also expanding their international presence to comply with local environmental regulations.

    CATL, the world’s largest battery maker, plans to establish a battery recycling facility in Europe, with the renovation of its Hungarian plant scheduled for completion in 2026. The initiative is part of the company’s efforts to address environmental issues in battery production and recycling.

    GEM has established 7 battery recycling centers, including in the Republic of Korea and Indonesia.

    Gotion High-tech in Hefei, capital of Anhui Province, east China, and Envision Greenwise in Hong Kong have signed a strategic cooperation agreement and plan to jointly build 100 battery recycling and after-sales service centers around the world.

    In addition, Jiaxing-based Huayou Recycling, located in east China’s Zhejiang Province, has entered into a strategic partnership with SUEZ Group, one of Europe’s largest environmental services corporations, to explore the French battery recycling market. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: 23 Xinjiang Stores Offer Tax Refunds to Foreign Tourists

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) — Uzbek tourist Mirakbar Usmanov was recently given a tax refund of over 500 yuan on his purchase of a mobile phone and other goods at a shopping mall in Urumqi, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. This is the first time that Xinjiang has implemented a tax refund model for foreign tourists upon purchase rather than upon exiting the country, the Urumqi Evening newspaper reported.

    As of the end of May 2025, 23 retail outlets in Xinjiang have been approved to provide value-added tax (VAT) refund services to foreign visitors upon purchase, according to local tax authorities.

    In April of this year, the Chinese authorities announced a set of measures to further optimize the relevant policy. Thanks to the innovation, money can now be returned instantly after making a purchase, whereas previously it was only possible upon leaving the country.

    After presenting his passport, filling out a foreign buyers refund application form and pre-authorizing his credit card at the aforementioned shopping center, Mirakbar Usmanov paid for his purchases with his card and received his refund immediately.

    Under the new measures, the minimum purchase amount for tax refund has been lowered. Now, overseas travelers can apply for tax refunds by spending at least 200 yuan (about $27.83) at the same store in one day, provided they meet other requirements, according to a notice jointly released by the Ministry of Commerce and five other departments.

    The circular also outlines measures to increase the number of tax refund points, expand the supply of goods and improve the quality of services provided. Thus, the opening of such points in large shopping areas, pedestrian streets, tourist sites, resort areas, cultural centers, airports, passenger transportation points and hotels is encouraged.

    In addition, the range of products offered is expected to expand, especially branded products, consumer goods popular in the country, smart devices, intangible cultural heritage products, handicrafts and other products.

    According to observations by Xinjiang shopping mall operators, smartphones, smart home appliances, drones, branded watches, shoes, clothes and space vehicles are the most popular purchase choices among foreign tourists visiting Xinjiang.

    According to industry experts, Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, may well become the first choice for Central Asians looking to visit China for shopping, due to its geographical proximity and the ongoing implementation of the exit tax refund policy.

    Let us recall that Xinjiang borders eight countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

    According to statistics, from May 1 to May 21, the inbound foreign passenger flow at Urumqi Tianshan Airport increased by 75.7 percent year-on-year and exceeded 8,900 person-times, accounting for about 14.47 percent of the country’s total. Broken down by country, the largest share was from citizens of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Tajikistan and other countries. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s press encounter on fallen UN personnel

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    This morning, the United Nations family will come together to pay tribute to 168 of our colleagues who lost their lives in 2024.

    It is always an intimate ceremony, shared with families of the fallen.

    But I believe this occasion also calls for a more public reflection.

    The women and men we honour today were not just names on a list.

    They were extraordinary individuals — each one a story of courage, compassion, and service.

    They were driven by the pursuit of peace.

    By the urgency to ease human suffering.

    And by the conviction that every person, everywhere, deserves dignity and protection.

    This past year has been especially devastating in Gaza.

    Today’s ceremony includes recognition of 126 of our colleagues killed there — 125 of them serving with UNRWA.

    More than one in every 50 UNRWA staff in Gaza has been killed in this atrocious conflict.

    This is the highest staff death toll in United Nations history.

    Some were killed delivering life-saving aid; others alongside their families; others while
    shielding the vulnerable.

    The sacrifice of all 168 of our fallen colleagues everywhere — humanitarians, peacekeepers, peacemakers — is a tragedy.

    It is also a reminder of the responsibility carried by every UN staff member, every single day.

    And that’s important for all the world to see.

    Because as we mourn those lost, we must also recognize the living — the thousands of UN personnel who serve around the world today carrying out the missions entrusted to them by the countries that make up these United Nations.

    They do not seek recognition.

    They seek to make a difference.

    When conflict erupts, they work for peace.

    When violence and disaster strike, they deliver life-saving aid.

    When rights are violated, they speak out.

    To our staff still serving in crisis zones across the globe, I say:

    Your courage humbles us.

    Your resilience inspires us.

    And to the world, I say:

    We will not grow numb to suffering.

    We will not accept the killing of UN personnel. 

    We will not accept the killing of humanitarians, journalists, medical workers, or civilians as the new normal anywhere and under any circumstances.

    There must be no room for impunity.

    Today, I salute every member of the UN family.

    It is the honour of a lifetime to serve alongside them. 

    I know these are challenging times for international cooperation.

    It may be fashionable in some quarters to dismiss multilateralism.

    Financial contributions may be in doubt – the dedication of our staff is not.

    And in a world where cooperation is under strain – and our challenges are more inter-connected than ever — we must remember the example set by our fallen colleagues — and the work being done every day by those who carry their legacy forward.

    And that’s why I re-affirm:

    We will not waver in our principles.

    We will not abandon our values.

    And we will never, ever give up.

    Thank you. 
     

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: RIDOH Funds Short-Term Projects Promoting Physical Activity and Active Transportation

    Source: US State of Rhode Island

    The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) Program and the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Program (ADRD) recently awarded funds to seven organizations through the program’s Rhode Island Streets Transformation Project (RISTP). These grants support projects showcasing the benefits of community design that promotes physical activity and active transportation for Rhode Islanders of all ages.

    “Being physically active is one of the most important ways to improve your health now and into the future,” said Director of Health Jerry Larkin, MD. “Supporting strategies to improve community design is an important way that we are helping people of all ages and abilities be physically active in communities throughout Rhode Island.”

    Grant recipients included:

    – Lefty Loosey Bike Collective, which received $4,500 to host and operate 10 free bicycle repair clinics. During these clinics, experienced mechanics help people fix their own bicycles and teach them basic maintenance skills. Lefty Loosey Bike Collective will also refurbish and redistribute 20 bikes to the community. (https://leftylooseybikecollective.org/)

    – Partnership for Providence Parks, which received $4,806 to hold a summer walk series for older adults living at Fox Point Manor. These guided walks will take residents to a local neighborhood park. Partnership for Providence Parks will coordinate with other summer programs, such as Senior Splash. (https://www.providenceparks.org/)

    – Providence Streets Coalition, which received $3,566 to hold family-friendly bike rides traversing multiple routes throughout Providence as part of their 2025 “Fam Jam” Ride series. (https://pvdstreets.org/)

    – Town of Bristol, which received $1,650 to install a bike repair station and bike pump near the East Bay Bike Path in Bristol. (https://www.bristolri.gov/)

    – Tri-County HEZ, in partnership with the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, which received $4,950 to host two bike workshops to teach people how to ride safely, rules of the road, and basic bike maintenance. This funding also includes two supervised rides along the Greenway. (https://www.tricountyri.org/services/health-equity-zone/)

    – Trinity Square Together, which received $4,950 to install signage directing pedestrians, motorists, and cyclists to key resources such as health services, transportation options, and community centers to improve the safety and accessibility of Trinity Square. (https://www.trinitysquaretogether.org/)

    – Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, which received $4,950 to hold a summer fitness series along the Woonasquatucket River and Greenway. Classes will include yoga, dance, and martial arts classes, as well as weekly walk/run clubs. (https://wrwc.org/about/who-we-are/)

    The HEAL Program works to increase access to physical activity and active transportation by collaborating with partners across the state to advance policy, systems, and environmental change.

    The program is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and braids funding from the State Physical Activity and Nutrition Grant (SPAN) and the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant (PBG) to implement innovative activities to make Rhode Island a safer and healthier place to live.?

    The ADRD Program uses CDC Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) funding to implement statewide efforts that promote brain health and address dementia risk reduction, such as increasing access to physical activity, a recognized risk factor for cognitive decline.

    The Rhode Island Streets Transformation Project (RISTP) has previously awarded 19 demonstration projects statewide. Selected projects have included public education and community engagement efforts, cycling safety classes, open streets events, and the creation of Rhode Island’s first traffic garden. All projects share a common goal of building excitement, momentum, and grassroots support for safer and healthier streets in local communities.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Government Seizes Approximately 145 Criminal Marketplace Domains

    Source: US FBI

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today the seizure of approximately 145 darknet and traditional internet domains, and cryptocurrency funds associated with the BidenCash marketplace. The operators of the BidenCash marketplace use the platform to simplify the process of buying and selling stolen credit cards and associated personal information.

    BidenCash commenced operations in March 2022. BidenCash administrators charged a fee for every transaction conducted on the website. The BidenCash marketplace had grown to support over 117,000 customers, facilitated the trafficking of over 15 million payment card numbers and personally identifiable information, and generated over $17 million in revenue during its operations.

    The BidenCash marketplace domains will no longer be operational and will be redirected to a U.S. law enforcement-controlled server, preventing future criminal activity on these sites. The marketplace also sold compromised credentials that could be used to access computers without proper authorization.

    Between October 2022 and February 2023, the BidenCash marketplace published 3.3 million individual stolen credit cards for free to promote the use of their services. The stolen data included credit card numbers, expiration dates, Card Verification Value (CVV) numbers, account holder names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers.

    According to court records, the United States obtained court authorization to seize cryptocurrency funds that BidenCash marketplace used to receive illicit proceeds from its illegal sales.

    Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John Szydlik, Resident Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Frankfurt Resident Office; and Philip Russell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement.

    This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service’s Frankfurt Resident Office, the U.S. Secret Service’s Cyber Investigative Section, and the FBI Albuquerque Field Office.

    The Department of Justice thanks the Dutch National High Tech Crime Unit, The Shadowserver Foundation and Searchlight Cyber for their assistance with the investigation.

    The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Bedell in these matters.

    A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Newcomb Man Pleads Guilty to Knife Assault Outside Shiprock Grocery Store

    Source: US FBI

    ALBUQUERQUE – A Newcomb man pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious injury following a violent knife assault outside a local grocery store.

    According to court records, on November 12, 2024, Josiah Bodie, 23, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, assaulted John Doe with a knife outside Basha’s Grocery Store in Shiprock, New Mexico. As a result of the assault, John Doe suffered serious bodily injury. 

    At sentencing, Bodie faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. Upon his release from prison, Bodie will be subject to up to five years of supervised release.

    U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Philip Russell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

    The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with the assistance of the Navajo Nation Police Department and the Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin L. Dillon is prosecuting the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Global App Store helps developers reach new heights

    Source: Apple

    Headline: Global App Store helps developers reach new heights

    June 5, 2025

    UPDATE

    Global App Store helps developers reach new heights, supporting $1.3 trillion in billings and sales in 2024

    For more than 90 percent of the billings and sales facilitated by the App Store ecosystem, developers did not pay any commission to Apple

    Apple today announced the global App Store ecosystem facilitated $1.3 trillion in developer billings and sales in 2024, according to a new study by economists Professor Andrey Fradkin from Boston University Questrom School of Business and Dr. Jessica Burley from Analysis Group. For more than 90 percent of the billings and sales facilitated by the App Store ecosystem, developers did not pay any commission to Apple.

    “It’s incredible to see so many developers design great apps, build successful businesses, and reach Apple users around the world,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “This report is a testament to the many ways developers are enriching people’s lives with app and game experiences, while creating opportunity and driving new innovations. We’re proud to support their success.”

    Developers Experience Global Growth Across the App Store

    The new study by Professor Fradkin and Dr. Burley highlights how developers on the App Store have more ways than ever to monetize their apps. The study found that in 2024, developer billings and sales for digital goods and services totaled $131 billion, driven by games, photo and video editing apps, and enterprise tools. Sales of physical goods and services exceeded $1 trillion, fueled by rising demand for online food delivery and pickup, as well as grocery orders. In-app advertising revenue from ads placed by developers in their apps was $150 billion.

    Since 2019, spending across all three categories — digital goods and services, physical goods and services, and in-app advertising — has more than doubled. Physical goods and services experienced the strongest growth (+2.6x), driven in particular by rapid increases in food delivery and pickup, and grocery spending. Growth in digital goods and services reflects continued demand for games and increased spending on apps that support content creation, such as photo and video editing apps. Meanwhile, in-app advertising has helped keep many apps free or low-cost for users. And the App Store continues to be a global launchpad for innovation, with AI-powered apps increasingly shaping users’ daily lives.

    Regional Growth Trends Around the World

    The App Store’s engine of commerce provides developers with a global distribution platform that allows them to reach users around the world, attracting over 813 million average weekly visitors worldwide. The study found that over the last five years in particular, billings and sales facilitated by the App Store ecosystem more than doubled in the U.S., China, and Europe. Spending on digital goods and services, physical goods and services, and in-app advertising grew across all regions during that period.

    Digital payment spending grew over seven-fold in the U.S. since 2019 as mobile payments have become commonplace. In China, e-commerce marketplaces expanded substantially and online grocery spending grew over five-fold since 2019. Food delivery and pickup spending more than tripled in Europe, outpacing the growth in already popular categories like general retail and travel. In Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and India, travel apps were major spending categories.

    In the last five years, user spending on apps that support digital content creation have seen a steady increase. As a result, photo and video editing apps like Adobe creative tools have found tremendous success and have increasingly introduced new features to empower creative professionals, creators, and hobbyists. Earlier this year, Adobe introduced a new Photoshop app on iPhone designed for image and design enthusiasts with an easy-to-use mobile interface. Adobe Lightroom was also recognized as Apple’s 2024 Mac App of the Year as part of the App Store Awards for its high-quality photo editing and powerful AI-powered editing advancements on Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

    Apple’s Investment in Developers

    Apple invests in tools and capabilities that make it easier for developers to distribute their apps and games, be discovered by users around the globe, and grow successful businesses. For example, the App Store’s commerce system supports developers with more than 40 local currencies and provides seamless tax handling in nearly 200 regions, while enabling developers to set prices, manage subscriptions, and more.

    Developers also benefit from a suite of tools and technologies — including services to develop and test their apps through Xcode and TestFlight, monitor app performance and benchmarks through App Analytics, and improve performance with tools like Product Page Optimization — along with opportunities and resources to promote their app. At the same time, Apple’s integrated payment system helps protect users from fraud and abuse; in the last five years, the App Store has protected users by preventing over $9 billion in fraudulent transactions.

    Apple also offers developers a variety of online and in-person programs to empower them to elevate their apps, including Meet with Apple sessions, appointments, and labs, and 24/7 access to Apple Support via phone and email in nine languages. Apple Developer Centers in the U.S., China, India, and Singapore have hosted tens of thousands of developers in the last year. The centers serve as home to year-round activities, offering supportive environments for teams to improve their apps through more than 250,000 APIs, including as part of frameworks such as HealthKit, Metal, Core ML, MapKit, and SwiftUI.

    Through a full, free curriculum for future professional developers, Apple Developer Academies in Brazil, Indonesia, Italy, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and the U.S. help students build foundational skills in coding, AI, design, and marketing. Separately, more than 20 Apple Foundation Programs provide students of all levels with the fundamentals of app development through four-week intensive courses that are available across Apple’s 18 developer academies around the world.

    Resources like Pathways and Apple Developer Forums are available to better connect developers within the community and help them easily access tools, documentation, and videos to create their best products on Apple’s platforms. Developers can share feedback, request enhancements, or report bugs at any time with the Feedback Assistant app or on the web.

    Next week during Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, developers from every part of the globe will have free access to more than 100 technical sessions, diving deep into the latest technologies and frameworks with Apple experts. Developers will also be able to access guides and documentation that can help walk them through the conference’s biggest announcements and stay up to date with the conference across the Apple Developer website, app, YouTube channel and Apple Developer WeChat. Apple Developer Program members and Apple Developer Enterprise Program members will also have a chance to connect directly with Apple experts through online group labs and one-on-one lab appointments.

    Press Contacts

    Apple Media Helpline

    media.help@apple.com

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: A neuroscientist explains why it’s impossible for AI to ‘understand’ language

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Veena D. Dwivedi, Director – Centre for Neuroscience; Professor – Psychology | Neuroscience, Brock University

    Language that refers to neural networks in AI is misleading. (Shutterstock)

    As meaning-makers, we use spoken or signed language to understand our experiences in the world around us. The emergence of generative artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT (using large language models) call into question the very notion of how to define “meaning.”

    One popular characterization of AI tools is that they “understand” what they are doing. Nobel laureate and AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton said: “What’s really surprised me is how good neural networks are at understanding natural language — that happened much faster than I thought…. And I’m still amazed that they really do understand what they’re saying.”

    Hinton repeated this claim in an interview with Adam Smith, chief scientific officer for Nobel Prize Outreach. In it, Hinton stated that “neural nets are much better at processing language than anything ever produced by the Chomskyan school of linguistics.”

    Chomskyan linguistics refers to American linguist Noam Chomsky’s theories about the nature of human language and its development. Chomsky proposes that there is a universal grammar innate in humans, which allows for the acquisition of any language from birth.

    I’ve been researching how humans understand language since the 1990s, including more than 20 years of studies on the neuroscience of language. This has included measuring brainwave activity as people read or listen to sentences. Given my experience, I have to respectfully disagree with the idea that AI can “understand” — despite the growing popularity of this belief.

    Geoffrey Hinton’s response to receiving the Nobel prize in physics for his work in AI.

    Generating text

    First, it’s unfortunate that most people conflate text on a screen with natural language. Written text is related to — but not the same thing as — language.

    For example, the same language can be represented by vastly different visual symbols. Look at Hindi and Urdu, for instance. At conversational levels, these are mutually intelligible and therefore considered the same language by linguists. However, they use entirely different writing scripts. The same is true for Serbian and Croatian. Written text is not the same thing as “language.”

    Next let’s take a look at the claim that machine learning algorithms “understand” natural language. Linguistic communication mostly happens face-to-face, in a particular environmental context shared between the speaker and listener, alongside cues such as spoken tone and pitch, eye contact and facial and emotional expressions.

    The importance of context

    There is a lot more to understanding what a person is saying than merely being able to comprehend their words. Even babies, who are not experts in language yet, can comprehend context cues.

    Take, for example, the simple sentence: “I’m pregnant,” and its interpretations in different contexts. If uttered by me, at my age, it’s likely my husband would drop dead with disbelief. Compare that level of understanding and response to a teenager telling her boyfriend about an unplanned pregnancy, or a wife telling her husband the news after years of fertility treatments.

    In each case, the message recipient ascribes a different sort of meaning — and understanding — to the very same sentence.

    In my own recent research, I have shown that even an individual’s emotional state can alter brainwave patterns when processing the meaning of a sentence. Our brains (and thus our thoughts and mental processes) are never without emotional context, as other neuroscientists have also pointed out.

    So, while some computer code can respond to human language in the form of text, it does not come close to capturing what humans — and their brains — accomplish in their understanding.

    It’s worth remembering that when workers in AI talk about neural networks, they mean computer algorithms, not the actual, biological brain networks that characterize brain structure and function. Imagine constantly confusing the word “flight” (as in birds migrating) versus “flight” (as in airline routes) — this could lead to some serious misunderstandings!

    Finally, let’s examine the claim about neural networks processing language better than theories produced by Chomskyan linguistics. This field assumes that all human languages can be understood via grammatical systems (in addition to context), and that these systems are related to some universal grammar.

    Chomsky conducted research on syntactic theory as a paper-and-pencil theoretician. He did not conduct experiments on the psychological or neural bases of language comprehension. His ideas in linguistics are absolutely silent on the mechanisms underlying sentence processing and understanding.

    What the Chomskyan school of linguistics does do, however, is ask questions about how human infants and toddlers can learn language with such ease, barring any neurobiological deficits or physical trauma.

    There are at least 7,000 languages on the planet, and no one gets to pick where they are born. That means the human brain must be ready to comprehend and learn the language of their community at birth.

    Regardless of where a child is born, the human brain is capable of acquiring any language.
    (Unsplash/tommao wang), CC BY

    From this fact about language development, Chomsky posited an (abstract) innate module for language learning — not processing. From a neurobiological standpoint, the brain has to be ready to understand language from birth.

    While there are plenty of examples of language specialization in infants, the precise neural mechanisms are still unknown, but not unknowable. But objects of study become unknowable when scientific terms are misused or misapplied. And this is precisely the danger: conflating AI with human understanding can lead to dangerous consequences.

    Veena D. Dwivedi receives funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and Brock University.

    – ref. A neuroscientist explains why it’s impossible for AI to ‘understand’ language – https://theconversation.com/a-neuroscientist-explains-why-its-impossible-for-ai-to-understand-language-246540

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Stop the ‘good’ vs ‘bad’ snap judgments and watch your world become more interesting

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lorraine Besser, Professor of Philosophy, Middlebury

    Sticking to just thumbs-up or thumbs-down limits how you engage with the world. PM Images/Photodisc via Getty Images

    How many times have you used the words “good” or “bad” today?

    From checking your weather app to monitoring the progress you’ve made on your to-do list, to scrolling through social media, opportunities to make snap evaluations abound. And the more you sort things into these categories, the more instinctive making these judgments becomes. You may find yourself filtering everything that comes your way in terms of “good” or “bad.”

    A dark cloud triggers “bad,” a social media post of baby animals triggers “good,” a news story about a political scuffle triggers “bad.” Whether you think something is good or bad, or worthy of a like or not, is an important piece of information. But if that categorization is the only thing that’s on your mind, the only lens through which you interpret the world, you’ll miss out on a lot.

    I’m a philosopher who specializes in happiness, well-being and the good life. I study how one’s state of mind influences one’s experiences of the world.

    In my recent book “The Art of the Interesting,” I explore the ways the evaluative perspective squashes your ability to experience psychological richness and other positive dimensions of life. The more you instinctively react with a “good” or a “bad,” the less of the world you take in. You’ll be less likely to engage your mind, exercise curiosity and have interesting experiences.

    Evaluation narrows your mind

    When you instinctively label something as good or bad, you focus only on the features that make that thing good or bad.

    A storm cloud has so much more to it than a simple ‘good’ or ‘bad’ label allows for.
    Pobytov/E+ via Getty Images

    You look outside, and all you see is the darkness of the clouds, threatening your plans for the day. You don’t notice the cooling shade those clouds create, nor the dramatic ways the wind makes them morph. You don’t notice the flowers unfurling, nor the child walking by who is also looking up at the clouds, but with a wide-eyed look of wonder.

    When snap evaluations reign, you effectively shut yourself off from a wide range of possible experiences. When everything around you is just good or bad, nothing can be perplexing, mysterious or intriguing. Nothing can be simply new, or simply challenging, or simply stimulating. Nothing is interesting, for your mind has filtered out these possible sources of cognitive engagement. It sees what it expects, and nothing else.

    Open your mind for more psychological richness

    Snap evaluations narrow your perspective and limit your mind’s potential to connect and engage with other aspects of your experiences. But you can unlock this potential simply by resisting any instinct to judge and instead viewing the world without trying to evaluate what you see.

    Right away, you’ll start to notice more, and you’ll activate your mind’s internal drives for curiosity and exploration.

    Freed from the dead-end judgments of good/bad, you can explore what is novel, allow yourself to be challenged, and tackle the complexities inherent to human experiences. Traffic jams can become sources of intrigue, rather than just a bad way to start your day. Delicious meals won’t just taste good − they spark your curiosity and stimulate your creativity. You’ll go from seeing a co-worker as difficult and irritating to recognizing them as an individual with human imperfections who’s deserving of your compassion.

    You’ll also feel the pains, struggles and rewards that arise through these mental engagements. You’ll experience rich, intense moments and a greater range of emotions. You’ll find your life chock-full of unusual and unique experiences with very few instances of boredom and monotony.

    Over time, your mind will become more adept at finding connections, exercising creativity and operating from a place of cognitive complexity. You’ll start to view the world more holistically, as full of connections waiting to be discovered.

    All of these are signs that your life has become more psychologically rich.

    Your same old world opens up around you when you stop judging it.
    LeoPatrizi/E+ via Getty Images

    Expand your mind, expand your sense of self

    Psychological richness and, more generally, experiences of novelty and interestingness are valuable on their own. But there’s evidence that they’re also important due to their effects on your sense of self. When you engage in new, interesting activities, you not only broaden your horizons and develop fresh perspectives, but you also become more confident in your ability to do whatever comes next. In these ways, you expand your very sense of self.

    The connection between psychological richness and self-expansion is intuitive. Novel, interesting activities stimulate the mind, challenging it to engage and explore. This process can expand your confidence in your abilities and provide you with a greater sense of control over your environment. As one’s sense of self expands, one’s very presence within the world shifts.

    One recent study explored the influence of psychological richness on pro-environmental behavior. While it’s common to feel sad, anxious, angry, powerless and helpless in the face of climate change, developing psychological richness can transform these negative attitudes.

    Researchers found that people who experience psychological richness were more willing to engage in sustainable activities. They believe this correlation is mediated by self-expansion, which helps subjects feel more confident that their actions would have an impact on the daunting problem of climate change.

    Cut out good and bad, go for interesting instead

    Everyone has the capacity to develop a sense of presence and agency in the world that enhances the very experience of life. A habit of snap evaluations inhibits this capacity, but you can train your mind to be more apt to engage and explore.

    The easiest way to do this?

    Stop saying, or thinking, “good” and “bad.” When you find yourself inclined to do so, force yourself to say something else. Start right now and begin your journey to engage with the world in a more rewarding way.

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

    – ref. Stop the ‘good’ vs ‘bad’ snap judgments and watch your world become more interesting – https://theconversation.com/stop-the-good-vs-bad-snap-judgments-and-watch-your-world-become-more-interesting-252690

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How illicit markets fueled by data breaches sell your personal information to criminals

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Thomas Holt, Professor of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University

    Criminals often buy illicit information with cryptocurrencies. Boris Zhitkov via Getty Images

    Every year, massive data breaches harm the public. The targets are email service providers, retailers and government agencies that store information about people. Each breach includes sensitive personal information such as credit and debit card numbers, home addresses and account usernames and passwords from hundreds of thousands – and sometimes millions – of people.

    When National Public Data, a company that does online background checks, was breached in 2024, criminals gained the names, addresses, dates of birth and national identification numbers such as Social Security numbers of 170 million people in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. The same year, hackers who targeted Ticketmaster stole the financial information and personal data of more than 560 million customers.

    As a criminologist who researches cybercrime, I study the ways that hackers and cybercriminals steal and use people’s personal information. Understanding the people involved helps us to better recognize the ways that hacking and data breaches are intertwined. In so-called stolen data markets, hackers sell personal information they illegally obtain to others, who then use the data to engage in fraud and theft for profit.

    The quantity problem

    Every piece of personal data captured in a data breach – a passport number, Social Security number or login for a shopping service – has inherent value. Offenders can use the information in different ways. They can assume someone else’s identity, make a fraudulent purchase or steal services such as streaming media or music.

    The quantity of information, whether Social Security numbers or credit card details, that can be stolen through data breaches is more than any one group of criminals can efficiently process, validate or use in a reasonable amount of time. The same is true for the millions of email account usernames and passwords, or access to streaming services that data breaches can expose.

    This quantity problem has enabled the sale of information, including personal financial data, as part of the larger cybercrime online economy.

    eg: In headline of the following chart, U.S. doesn’t need periods.

    The sale of data, also known as carding, references the misuse of stolen credit card numbers or identity details. These illicit data markets began in the mid-1990s through the use of credit card number generators used by hackers. They shared programs that randomly generated credit card numbers and details and then checked to see whether the fake account details matched active cards that could then be used for fraudulent transactions.

    As more financial services were created and banks allowed customers to access their accounts through the internet, it became easier for hackers and cybercriminals to steal personal information through data breaches and phishing. Phishing involves sending convincing emails or SMS text messages to people to trick them into giving up sensitive information such as logins and passwords, often by clicking a false link that seems legitimate.

    One of the first phishing schemes targeted America Online users to get their account information to use their internet service at no charge.

    Selling stolen data online

    The large amount of information criminals were able to steal from such schemes led to more vendors offering stolen data to others through different online platforms.

    In the late 1990s and early 2000s, offenders used Internet Relay Chat, or IRC channels, to sell data. IRC was effectively like modern instant messaging systems, letting people communicate in real time through specialized software. Criminals used these channels to sell data and hacking services in an efficient place.

    In the early 2000s, vendors transitioned to web forums where individuals advertised their services to other users. Forums quickly gained popularity and became successful businesses with vendors selling stolen credit cards, malware and related goods and services to misuse personal information and enable fraud.

    One of the more prominent forums from this time was ShadowCrew, which formed in 2002 and operated until being taken down by a joint law enforcement operation in 2004. Their members trafficked over 1.7 million credit cards in less than three years.

    Forums continue to be popular, though vendors transitioned to running their own web-based shops on the open internet and dark web, which is an encrypted portion of the web that can be accessed only through specialized browsers like TOR, starting in the early 2010s. These shops have their own web addresses and distinct branding to attract customers, and they work in the same way as other e-commerce stores. More recently, vendors of stolen data have also begun to operate on messaging platforms such as Telegram and Signal to quickly connect with customers.

    Cybercriminals and customers

    Many of the people who supply and operate the markets appear to be cybercriminals from Eastern Europe and Russia who steal data and then sell it to others. Markets have also been observed in Vietnam and other parts of the world, though they do not get the same visibility in the global cybersecurity landscape.

    The customers of stolen data markets may reside anywhere in the world, and their demands for specific data or services may drive data breaches and cybercrime to provide the supply.

    The goods

    Stolen data is usually available in individual lots, such as a person’s credit or debit card and all the information associated with the account. These pieces are individually priced, with costs differing depending on the type of card, the victim’s location and the amount of data available related to the affected account.

    Vendors frequently offer discounts and promotions to buyers to attract customers and keep them loyal. This is often done with credit or debit cards that are about to expire.

    Some vendors also offer distinct products such as credit reports, Social Security numbers and login details for different paid services. The price for pieces of information varies. A recent analysis found credit card data sold for US$50 on average, while Walmart logins sold for $9. However, the pricing can vary widely across vendors and markets.

    Illicit payments

    Vendors typically accept payment through cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin that are difficult for law enforcement to trace.

    Bitcoin is often used as payment for elicit information because it’s difficult to trace.
    AP Photo/Charles Krupa

    Once payment is received, the vendor releases the data to the customer. Customers take on a great deal of the risk in this market because they cannot go to the police or a market regulator to complain about a fraudulent sale.

    Vendors may send customers dead accounts that are unable to be used or give no data at all. Such scams are common in a market where buyers can depend only on signals of vendor trust to increase the odds that the data they purchase will be delivered, and if it is, that it pays off. If the data they buy is functional, they can use it to make fraudulent purchases or financial transactions for profit.

    The rate of return can be exceptional. An offender who buys 100 cards for $500 can recoup costs if only 20 of those cards are active and can be used to make an average purchase of $30. The result is that data breaches are likely to continue as long as there is demand for illicit, profitable data.

    This article is part of a series on data privacy that explores who collects your data, what and how they collect, who sells and buys your data, what they all do with it, and what you can do about it.

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

    – ref. How illicit markets fueled by data breaches sell your personal information to criminals – https://theconversation.com/how-illicit-markets-fueled-by-data-breaches-sell-your-personal-information-to-criminals-251586

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Deluzio, Other Next-Generation Lawmakers Unveil Legislative Plan to Fight Corruption in the Executive Branch

    Source: US Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday afternoon, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) joined with Assistant Leader Joe Neguse (CO-02) and a wider group of next-generation reformers in the House of Representatives to introduce the ‘End Corruption Now’ legislative agenda. Their effort to confront political corruption and clean up government includes six bills designed to put power back in the hands of the American people by preventing the President, Executive Branch officials, and Members of Congress from personally benefiting from their offices. Along with Congressmen Deluzio and Neguse, the group of representatives includes Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Pat Ryan (NY-18), Emilia Sykes (OH-13), Hillary Scholten (MI-03), and Angie Craig (MN-02). Congressman Deluzio introduced the No Corporate Crooks Act which prohibits CEOs convicted of financial crimes from serving in the executive branch. 

    “Corporate power has long rigged the system against the American people,” said Rep. Deluzio. “We must root out this corruption to restore the American Dream. Stopping corporate criminals from taking power from inside our government is a great place to start. I’m introducing the No Corporate Crooks Act as a part of the ‘End Corruption Now’ legislative agenda because someone convicted of crimes like bribery, embezzlement, fraud, insider trading, and more shouldn’t be let anywhere near the levers of power in the executive branch.” 

    “Donald Trump’s first 100 days back in office were marked by chaos, corruption, and self-dealing. He spent the time stacking his administration with billionaire donors and promoting shameless cryptocurrency scams, all while his Republican supporters in Congress trade stocks to benefit their own portfolios. The time for this corruption to end is now. We must clean up government for future generations and ensure our government is serving the American people, not special interests,” said Rep. Neguse.  

    “Elected officials are elected to serve their constituents, not their own self-interests,” said Rep. Craig. “It’s past time we pass legislation to clean up Washington and ensure our tax dollars are being spent as they should – on improving the lives of everyday Americans. That’s why I’m proud to be partnering with my colleagues on this anti-corruption campaign to make common-sense reforms that will restore integrity, transparency and efficiency to our government.”   

    “Members of Congress are elected to serve the American people, not to enrich themselves,” said Rep. Magaziner. “We must ban Member of Congress from trading stocks, because there should be no opportunity for elected officials to profit off of their positions. I am proud to join Representative Neguse and other colleagues in our effort to bring real ethics reform to Washington.” 

    “For too long, politicians in both parties have put their own gain ahead of what’s best for the American people. The brazen corruption of the last few months has only highlighted the need for urgent action. It is time for comprehensive reform to ensure politicians serve the people, not themselves,” said Rep. Ryan. “No more getting rich off trading stocks. An end to Members of Congress becoming lobbyists. Getting rid of kickbacks for billionaire friends. I’m proud to be working alongside a group of next-generation lawmakers who refuse to accept the status quo – we’re here to clean things up.” 

    “At a time when public trust in our institutions is at a breaking point, the Integrity in Government Act is about restoring accountability at the highest levels of power. This bill protects the nonpartisan watchdogs who work on behalf of the American people and ensures that the White House–regardless of who is in office–is subject to real oversight to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure efficiency. Our democracy depends on transparency, and the American people deserve nothing less,” said Rep. Scholten.  

    “When public officials use their power for personal gain and are shielded from accountability, we undermine democracy itself,” said Rep. Sykes. “This bill – and the broader End Corruption Now agenda – is about restoring public trust and ensuring that no one is above the law. The American people deserve a government that works for them, not for the biggest wallets or the best connections.” 

    The End Corruption Now legislative agenda targets conflicts of interest and would put a stop to the selling of access and influence, including banning Members of Congress from trading stocks or becoming lobbyists, and strengthening anti-corruption laws. It includes the following bills:  

    • The No Corporate Crooks Act, introduced by Rep. Chris Deluzio, prohibits any chief executive officers, in either the public or private sector, convicted of covered financial crimes from serving in the executive branch. Read the bill text here.
    • The Close the Revolving Door Act, introduced by Rep. Joe Neguse, places a lifetime ban on Members of Congress from serving as lobbyists. Read the bill text here.
    • The Transparent Representation Upholding Service and Trust (TRUST) in Congress Act, introduced by Rep. Seth Magaziner, effectively bans Members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from trading individual stocks by requiring them to either divest from individual stock holdings or move their investments into a qualified blind trust during their entire tenure in Congress. Read the bill text here. 
    • The Millionaires Using Service for Kickbacks (MUSK) Act, introduced by Rep. Pat Ryan, requires government employees defined as Executive Schedule (I-IV) employees, Special Government Employees, and people in the Executive Office of the President to recuse themselves from any matters affecting the financial interests of their previous employers for the four-year period. Learn more about this bill here.
    • The Integrity in Government (IG) Act, introduced by Rep. Hillary Scholten, strengthens checks and balances by installing new oversight measures for the White House and its top offices and protecting independent watchdogs from political retaliation. Learn more about this bill here.
    • The Closing the Bribery Loopholes Act, introduced by Rep. Emilia Sykes, closes loopholes in the federal bribery statute by clarifying the definition of an “official act” by a public official. The bill expands the definition to prohibit public officials from improperly using their position for private gain. Read the bill text here. 
    • The Restoring Integrity in Democracy Resolution, introduced by Rep. Angie Craig, would prohibit Members of Congress from serving on corporate boards. Read the bill text here. 

    The End Corruption Now agenda is endorsed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Public Citizen, and Project On Government Oversight (POGO). 

    “When people who have been convicted of bribery, corruption or fraud are allowed to serve in the Executive Branch, it erodes public trust,” said Debra Perlin, Vice President for Policy for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). “The American people need to know that government officials are working to advance the public’s interest, not their personal profit. CREW applauds Rep. Deluzio’s efforts to prevent corrupt CEOs from serving as government appointees, and urges Congress to pass the No Corporate Crooks Act expeditiously.” 

    “Rep. Deluzio’s No Corporate Crooks Act is heartly endorsed by Public Citizen. Serving key roles in the presidential administration should be off limits to those convicted of corporate crimes. It is in the same vein as the current lobbying laws that require lobbyists to declare any criminal convictions involving bribery or fraud. Americans deserve a clean and honest governmental process. A good place to start is to steer clear of corporate criminals.” — Craig Holman, Ph.D., Public Citizen 

    “At a time when the federal government does not have the trust and confidence of the American people, it is more important than ever for leaders to lead and respond accordingly,” said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Acting Vice-President of Policy and Government Affairs at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO). “Not since the post-Watergate era has there been such a need for a comprehensive anti-corruption, good governance reform agenda. This is why Rep. Neguse and his colleagues should be applauded for this bold reform initiative, aimed at cracking down on corruption and bringing about the government that the American people deserve. Whether it’s reining in the corruption of the revolving door or banning the unethical practice of congressional stock trading or strengthening oversight tools like inspectors general, these reforms are long overdue and now is the time to get them done.” 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congresswoman Harshbarger Introduces Legislation to Support Reproductive Healthcare

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger, alongside co-lead Congressman Riley Moore (R-WV), introduced H.R. 3589, the Reproductive Empowerment and Support through Optimal Restoration (RESTORE) Act. The Senate companion bill is being introduced by Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) and James Lankford (R-OK).

    With 15 to 16 percent of couples in the U.S. facing infertility struggles, this bill aims to support genuine solutions and empower couples with autonomy over how they build their families. The RESTORE Act seeks to address fertility concerns among individuals of childbearing age through a cost-effective, holistic approach to healing infertility. Originally introduced in the last Congress, the bill has been updated to provide more substantive solutions, focusing on expanding access to holistic fertility treatments and restorative reproductive medicine for both women and men.

    Congresswoman Harshbarger issued the following statement.

    “Having children is one of God’s greatest gifts, and we should be empowering modern medicine and investing in solutions that address the root causes of infertility to bring hope to prospective parents.

    “The RESTORE Act will provide essential tools not only for women and men trying to conceive but also for medical professionals, equipping them to better treat reproductive health conditions. I’m honored to join Senators Hyde-Smith and Lankford in introducing the House companion to this legislation.”

    Congressman Moore noted.

    “America is facing a fertility crisis. Far too often, couples struggling with infertility are told that their only options are expensive procedures that fail to restore natural fertility and overall health

    “I’m proud to co-lead this legislation aimed at making Americans healthy again by promoting root cause treatments for infertility and reproductive health conditions.”

    Senator Hyde-Smith said the following.

    “So many couples of today’s childbearing-aged generations face an uphill battle with fertility struggles that are complex and unique to every woman and man. The holistic fertility policy promoted through the RESTORE Act aims to treat the root causes of infertility, many of which stem from chronic conditions and environmental factors that are the focus of President Trump’s MAHA movement.

    “If we are going to truly support women and men who are ready to embrace parenthood, then we should promote substantive fertility solutions that ensure access to restorative reproductive medicine—fully healing couples and empowering them with autonomy over how they start and build their families.” 

    Senator Lankford added:

    “Infertility is one of the most difficult challenges couples can face, and most Americans have either faced or know someone who is facing the difficult journey to have a baby. IVF is an incredible scientific advancement that allows families to bring life into the world, but IVF is very expensive and shouldn’t be the only option available to families. The RESTORE Act prioritizes addressing underlying causes of infertility to help families to bring the miracle of life into the world.”

    Learn more about the legislation by clicking HERE.

    View the bill text HERE.

    Groups Supporting: American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) Action, Americans United for Life, Ethics & Public Policy Center, Family Policy Alliance, Heritage Action for America, March for Life Action, Students for Life Action, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Xi signs order to promulgate rules on developing military facilities 2025-06-05 21:26:21 Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, has signed an order to promulgate regulations on developing military facilities.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – Ministry of National Defense

      BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) — Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, has signed an order to promulgate regulations on developing military facilities.

      The regulations, which will take effect on Aug. 1, focus on enhancing combat readiness and aim to adapt to the new command system and support mechanisms.

      The regulations also standardize the fundamental principles, management frameworks, operational procedures, and institutional requirements for military facility development.

      The regulations comprise 11 chapters and 63 articles. 

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    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: China to promote healthy development of automotive industry: commerce ministry

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

    BEIJING, June 5 — China will work to remove bottlenecks and obstacles restricting the circulation and consumption of automobiles, and promote the healthy development of the automotive sector, He Yongqian, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

    The automotive industry is a strategic and pillar industry of China’s national economy and plays a key role in maintaining stable growth and expanding consumption, He told a regular press conference.

    In recent years, the ministry has implemented a car trade-in program and piloted reforms in automobile circulation and consumption to unlock market potential and foster new growth points, the spokesperson added.

    The ministry recently organized a symposium with industry associations, research institutions, and related enterprises to gather opinions and explore further measures to improve automobile circulation and consumption, He said.

    Moving forward, the ministry will collaborate with relevant departments to strengthen market research and policy guidance, ensuring better alignment with diverse and personalized consumer demands.

    To address rat-race competition in the sector, the ministry will also enhance compliance oversight and market rectification efforts to maintain a fair and competitive market order, He emphasized.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Xi signs order to promulgate rules on developing military facilities

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

    BEIJING, June 5 — Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, has signed an order to promulgate regulations on developing military facilities.

    The regulations, which will take effect on Aug. 1, focus on enhancing combat readiness and aim to adapt to the new command system and support mechanisms.

    The regulations also standardize the fundamental principles, management frameworks, operational procedures, and institutional requirements for military facility development.

    The regulations comprise 11 chapters and 63 articles.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: China intensifies legal protection for environment

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

    Chinese courts concluded 219,000 first-instance environmental cases in 2024, including 4,168 environmental public interest lawsuits and 246 ecological damage compensation cases, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) announced Thursday.

    Courts ordered violators to pay 9.6 billion yuan (about 1.34 billion U.S. dollars) in reparations, the SPC said in an annual report.

    The figures showcased the country’s intensified legal efforts to combat pollution and ecological degradation, and rigorous enforcement of laws on environmental protection and pollution control.

    Chinese courts closed 1.03 million first-instance environmental cases from 2019 to 2023, up 18.9 percent increase from the previous five years.

    Meanwhile, China has bolstered judicial specialization, establishing 2,424 environmental tribunals and staffing them with over 16,000 judges and assistants by 2024.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Spokesperson: China to firmly defend legitimate rights of Chinese students, scholars overseas

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

    China will resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students and scholars overseas, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

    Spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks at a daily press briefing when responding to a relevant media query on U.S. announcement to restrict international student visas at Harvard University.

    Lin said that education cooperation between China and the United States is mutually beneficial, adding that China has always been opposed to politicizing education cooperation.

    What the United States did will only damage its own image and international credibility, Lin said.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Joins Colleagues in Pressing Administration to Stand by America’s Promises of Safety for Afghan Allies, Who Protected and Fought Alongside U.S. Troops

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Congressman Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) in pressing for answers from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State on the decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghan nationals living in the United States. The lawmakers’ letter, sent to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, notes the devastating impact of this decision, including on the many Afghans who supported the U.S. military during the war in Afghanistan and who face significant danger upon their return. The letter was signed by more than 100 lawmakers. 
      “We write with deep concern about the Department of Homeland Security’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghanistan, which is scheduled to take effect on July 14, 2025. This decision is devastating for resettled Afghan nationals in the United States who have fled widespread violence, economic instability, challenging humanitarian conditions, and human rights abuses in their home country. Many of these Afghans fearlessly served as strong allies to the United States military during the war in Afghanistan, and we cannot blatantly disregard their service. We respectfully ask that you redesignate Afghanistan for TPS to ensure Afghan nationals in the U.S. are not forced to return to devastating humanitarian, civic, and economic conditions,” the lawmakers began.  
     They go on to note, “The Secretary of Homeland Security ‘may designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately.’  This is why, following the withdrawal of American troops and the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, in May 2022 the U.S. designated Afghanistan for TPS.”  
      “The grave conditions that forced Afghan nationals to flee and seek refuge in the U.S. following the return of the Taliban to power remain. Because of this harsh reality, forcing Afghan nationals in the U.S. to return to Afghanistan would be reckless and inhumane, and would threaten the safety and well-being of thousands of individuals and families, especially women and girls,” they stress.  
     The lawmakers close the letter urging the Administration to reverse course and seeking the following information:  
      Please provide any reports that credibly determine that conditions have improved in Afghanistan since 2023.   
     The TPS termination announcement stated that “there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security.” Please provide additional details on how the Administration made this determination and how widespread these allegations of fraud and threats are. 
     Describe the collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State to reach the determination that Afghanistan no longer meets the conditions for designation for TPS.  
     Please provide any reports that indicate the Taliban is no longer a threat to Afghan nationals that assisted the United States military during the war in Afghanistan.  
      What steps are you taking to ensure that Afghan nationals who previously had TPS will not be sent back to persecution or torture in Afghanistan? 
    The letter was signed by Senator Welch, and led by Senator Van Hollen, Congressman Ivey, and Senator Klobuchar. The letter was also signed by Senators Alsobrooks, Baldwin, Blumenthal, Booker, Coons, Cortez Masto, Duckworth, Durbin, Fetterman, Gillibrand, Heinrich, Hirono, Kaine, Kelly, Kim, King, Markey, Padilla, Reed, Rosen, Sanders, Schiff, Smith, Warner, Warnock, and Wyden and Representatives Amo, Ansari, Balint, Bell, Beyer, Budzinski, Carbajal, Carter, Casten, Castro, Chu, Clarke, Cleaver, Courtney, Dean, DeGette, DelBene, Elfreth, Evans (Pa.), Fields, Garcia (Calif.), García (Ill.), Garcia (Texas), Goldman, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gottheimer, Hayes, Jackson (Ill.), Jayapal, Johnson (Ga.), Johnson (Texas), Kaptur, Keating, Kelly (Ill.), Kennedy (N.Y.), Krishnamoorthi, Landsman, Larson, Latimer, Levin, Lieu, Lofgren, Lynch, McClain Delaney, McClellan, McCollum, McGovern, Meeks, Mfume, Moulton, Norton, Olszewski, Pallone, Panetta, Peters (Calif.), Raskin, Sánchez, Scanlon, Schakowsky, Sherman, Sorensen, Subramanyam, Swalwell, Titus, Tlaib, Tokuda, Tonko, Vargas, Veasey, and Watson Coleman. 
      The full text of the letter is available here and below.  
      Dear Secretary Noem and Secretary Rubio: 
     We write with deep concern about the Department of Homeland Security’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghanistan, which is scheduled to take effect on July 14, 2025. This decision is devastating for resettled Afghan nationals in the United States who have fled widespread violence, economic instability, challenging humanitarian conditions, and human rights abuses in their home country. Many of these Afghans fearlessly served as strong allies to the United States military during the war in Afghanistan, and we cannot blatantly disregard their service. We respectfully ask that you redesignate Afghanistan for TPS to ensure Afghan nationals in the U.S. are not forced to return to devastating humanitarian, civic, and economic conditions.  
     The Secretary of Homeland Security “may designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately.”  This is why, following the withdrawal of American troops and the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, in May 2022 the U.S. designated Afghanistan for TPS.  In September 2023, the U.S. extended and redesignated TPS for Afghanistan. The Administration’s decision to terminate TPS for Afghanistan negatively impacts approximately 9,000 Afghan nationals.  
     In your announcement, you state that “there are notable improvements in the security and economic situation such that requiring the return of Afghan nationals to Afghanistan does not pose a threat to their personal safety due to armed conflict or extraordinary and temporary conditions.”  But you also concede that threats of violence and terrorism, as well as humanitarian concerns, remain.  The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS), continues to launch attacks against ethnic and religious minorities and against the Taliban, leading to innocent civilian casualties. If Afghan nationals are forced to return to Afghanistan, they will be caught in the crossfire between the Taliban and ISKP.  According to Human Rights Watch, in 2024, Taliban authorities intensified their crackdown on human rights, especially against women and girls. Women and girls are banned from attending secondary school or university and are unable to move freely. The Taliban also continues to detain and torture journalists, curtailing free speech and media. The 2023 U.S. State Department Human Rights Report covering Afghanistan found that women’s rights rapidly declined and restrictions on freedom of expression increased. The horrific human rights conditions in Afghanistan are unsafe for Afghan nationals to return to and returning would put their personal safety at immediate risk.  
     We are also deeply concerned about the State Department Human Rights Report finding that widespread arbitrary and unlawful killings against officials associated with the pre-August 2021 government have occurred.  Afghan nationals who assisted the U.S. military should not be put in harm’s way because they supported the U.S. in its fight against the Taliban. This would be a betrayal of those who bravely served alongside our servicemembers for nearly two decades.  
     Afghan civilians still face devastating humanitarian and economic conditions. Over half of the population in Afghanistan needs urgent humanitarian assistance. Human Rights Watch reports that in 2024, 12.4 million people were facing food insecurity and 2.9 million were at emergency levels of hunger.  The World Bank also found that in Afghanistan, as of May 2025, “per capita income has stagnated, while poverty and food insecurity remain pressing challenges, exacerbated by high unemployment and restrictions on women’s economic participation.”   
     The grave conditions that forced Afghan nationals to flee and seek refuge in the U.S. following the return of the Taliban to power remain. Because of this harsh reality, forcing Afghan nationals in the U.S. to return to Afghanistan would be reckless and inhumane, and would threaten the safety and well-being of thousands of individuals and families, especially women and girls.  
     In August 2021, Americans welcomed Afghan nationals at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia with open arms, and we refuse to turn our backs on them now.  We strongly urge you to reconsider your decision to terminate TPS for Afghanistan and ask that you respond to the following requests no later than two weeks of receipt of this letter: 
     Please provide any reports that credibly determine that conditions have improved in Afghanistan since 2023.   
     The TPS termination announcement stated that “there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security.” Please provide additional details on how the Administration made this determination and how widespread these allegations of fraud and threats are.  
    Describe the collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State to reach the determination that Afghanistan no longer meets the conditions for designation for TPS.   
    Please provide any reports that indicate the Taliban is no longer a threat to Afghan nationals that assisted the United States military during the war in Afghanistan.  
     What steps are you taking to ensure that Afghan nationals who previously had TPS will not be sent back to persecution or torture in Afghanistan? 
     Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter and we hope to receive your responses soon. 
     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Anesthesia Breathing Circuit Kit Correction: Draeger, Inc. Updates Use Instructions for VentStar Flex and Anesthesia Circuit Kits Due to Cracks in Hose That May Cause Inadequate Ventilation

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

    This recall involves removing certain devices from where they are used or sold. The FDA has identified this recall as the most serious type. This device may cause serious injury or death if you continue to use it.
    Affected Product

    Part No. 

    Product Name 

    UDI-DI 

    Potential Affected Lots 

    MP00355 

    VentStar Flex 220 

    04048675248996 

    All Lot Numbers 

    MP02737 

    Anesthesia Circuit Kit Flex 1 

    04048675389620 

    All Lot Numbers 

    MP02738 

    Anesthesia Circuit Kit Flex 2 

    04048675389637 

    All Lot Numbers 

    MP02744 

    Anesthesia Circuit Kit Flex 6 

    04048675389675 

    All Lot Numbers 

    MP02752 

    Anesthesia Circuit Kit Flex (P)2 

    04048675389729 

    All Lot Numbers 

    MP17103 

    Anesthesia Circuit Kit Flex HEPA 

    04048675695660 

    All Lot Numbers  

    What to Do

    Follow updated Instructions for Use.
    Perform a leak test before every use of these breathing circuits, after stretching the hose to the required length, to check for cracks or leaks.
    Use hose holders with a larger contact surface to avoid creating cracks in the hose.
    Do not use any breathing circuit that shows signs of damage or fails the leak test.

    On March 3, 2025, Draeger, Inc. sent all affected customers an Urgent Medical Device Notification recommending the following actions when using these breathing circuits:

    Use holders with a larger contact surface.
    Perform leak testing after stretching the flexible hose to the required length for the application. Please observe the products Instructions for Use.
    Inspect all inventory for affected products and ensure all device users in your facility are aware of the updated use instructions.
    If you have distributed affected products to other locations, forward this correction notice to those users.
    Report any device malfunctions or adverse events to FDA MedWatch and Draeger Customer Service.

    Reason for Updates to Use Instructions
    Draeger, Inc. is updating the use instructions on breathing circuits after receiving reports that cracks may form in the hose during use. These cracks may cause leaks, potentially resulting in the ventilator or anesthesia device providing inadequate ventilation.
    The use of affected products may cause serious adverse health consequences, including low oxygen levels (hypoxia), high carbon dioxide levels (hypercarbia), and death.
    Draeger has not reported any serious injuries or deaths related to this issue.
    Device Use  
    The affected breathing circuits are used in hospitals and clinical settings to deliver breathing gases to patients under anesthesia or during mechanical ventilation.
    Contact Information  
    Customers in the U.S. with questions about this recall should contact Draeger, Inc. Customer Service at (267) 664-1131.
    Additional FDA Resources:  

    FDA’s Enforcement Report  

    Medical Device Recall Database:

    Unique Device Identifier (UDI)  
    The unique device identifier (UDI) helps identify individual medical devices sold in the United States from manufacturing through distribution to patient use. The UDI allows for more accurate reporting, reviewing, and analyzing of adverse event reports so that devices can be identified, and problems potentially corrected more quickly.  

    How do I report a problem?  
    Health care professionals and consumers may report adverse reactions or quality problems they experienced using these devices to MedWatch: The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program.

    Content current as of:
    06/05/2025

    Regulated Product(s)

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Flexible Tracheostomy Tube Recall: Medtronic Removes Shiley Adult Flexible Tracheostomy Tube with TaperGuard Cuff Reusable Inner Cannula Due to Risk for Disconnection of the Flange from the Device Cannula

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

    This recall involves removing certain devices from where they are used or sold. The FDA has identified this recall as the most serious type. This device may cause serious injury or death if you continue to use it.
    Affected Product 

    Product Names: Shiley Adult Flexible Tracheostomy Tube with TaperGuard Cuff Reusable Inner Cannula
    Unique Device Identifier (UDI): A8845212054401, 20884521205441, 10884521205444
    Lot/Serial Numbers: Lot: 202405258X, SKU/CFN: 7CN80R

    What to Do  

    Assess the overall patient risk when considering the timing of replacement.
    Continue to follow current product Instructions for Use (IFU) along with facility specific policies and procedures.

    On Feb. 26, 2025, Medtronic sent all affected customers an Urgent Medical Device Recall notice recommending the following actions:  

    Quarantine all unused product from the affected lot of Shiley Adult Flexible Tracheostomy Tube with TaperGuard Cuff Reusable Inner Cannula.
    Return all unused product from the affected lot in your inventory to Medtronic as described on the Customer Confirmation Form.
    Share this notice with all those who need to be aware within your organization and to any organization where potentially affected product from the specified lot has been transferred or distributed.
    Complete and return the Customer Confirmation Form attached to the letter even if you do not have unused inventory.

    Reason for Recall    
    Medtronic and its subsidiary Covidien are recalling Shiley Adult Flexible Tracheostomy Tube with TaperGuard Cuff Reusable Inner Cannula because the tube may become dislodged or move out of place if the securement flange becomes disconnected. This could prevent the patient from breathing and/or block the airway, which may lead to a serious or life-threatening emergency.
    The use of a device that has disconnected the flange from the device cannula may result in respiratory failure, airway tissue injury, choking (aspiration), respiratory tract infection, tightening of the airways (bronchospasm), treatment delay and/or death.
    Medtronic has not reported any serious injuries or deaths related to this issue.
    Device Use  
    The Shiley Adult Flexible Tracheostomy Tube with TaperGuard Cuff and reusable inner cannula is used to help patients breathe by providing access to the windpipe (trachea). It can also be used during a procedure called Percutaneous Dilatational Tracheotomy (PDT), which is a method to create an opening in the neck to place the tube.
    Contact Information  
    Customers in the U.S. with questions about this recall should contact their Medtronic Representative or Customer Service at (800) 962-9888 and select “Option 2” when prompted.
    Additional FDA Resources:  

    Unique Device Identifier (UDI)  
    The unique device identifier (UDI) helps identify individual medical devices sold in the United States from manufacturing through distribution to patient use. The UDI allows for more accurate reporting, reviewing, and analyzing of adverse event reports so that devices can be identified, and problems potentially corrected more quickly.  

    How do I report a problem?  
    Health care professionals and consumers may report adverse reactions or quality problems they experienced using these devices to MedWatch: The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program.

    Content current as of:
    06/05/2025

    Regulated Product(s)

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Infusion Pump Correction: Baxter Issues Correction for Novum IQ Large Volume Pump due to Potential for Underinfusion

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

    This recall involves removing certain devices from where they are used or sold. The FDA has identified this recall as the most serious type. This device may cause serious injury or death if you continue to use it.
    Affected Product

    The FDA is aware that Baxter has issued a letter to affected customers recommending that Novum IQ Large Volume Pumps be corrected prior to continued use.
    Affected Product:

    Product Code
    Product Description
    Serial Numbers
    UDI-DI Number

    40700BAXUS
    Novum IQ LVP
    All
    05413765851797

    What to Do
    On April 24, Baxter sent all affected customers a letter recommending the following actions:

    For flow rates greater than 50 mL/hour, do not exceed a programmed standby time of 2 hours and 30 minutes. Monitor patients frequently to ensure that the appropriate infusion is being delivered.
    Please remove the set upon powering off the device.
    Post the enclosed informational poster with Novum IQ LVPs in your facility.
    Please forward a copy of this communication to the Chief Medical Officer, Medical Director, Director of Nursing, Director of Pharmacy, Facility Risk Manager, Director of Purchasing/Central Supply, and any other departments within your institution who use the affected product.

    Reason for Correction
    Baxter has become aware of the potential for underinfusion with the Novum IQ large volume pump following use of the “standby mode” feature, or if the device is powered off with the set loaded. Keeping the administration set loaded in the pump for an extended period of time may result in an underinfusion on the subsequent infusion due to compression of the set. The risk increases when infusing at higher flow rates after longer duration in standby mode or powered off.
    Testing has identified that at flow rates above 50 mL/hour, certain infusions may experience flow rate variability of more than 10% after 2 hours and 30 minutes. In the worst-case scenario, 50% underinfusion can be observed at the maximum flow rate of 1200 mL/hour and the maximum standby time of 12 hours. This may lead to underinfusion of infusates, including drugs, IV nutrition, blood, and blood products.
    Note that even at 10% variability, pediatric patients (infants > 29 days to 2 years) may be at risk of dehydration, inadequate drug therapy and nutrition, as well as insufficient blood infusion, leading to increased risk of morbidity and mortality.
    Baxter has reported one serious injury, and no deaths associated with this issue.
    Device Use
    The Baxter Novum IQ Syringe Pump is intended to provide intravenous infusion of parenteral fluids, blood, and blood products to a patient under the direction or supervision of a physician or other certified health care professional.
    Contact Information
    Customers in the U.S. with adverse reactions, quality problems, or questions about this recall should contact Baxter at 847-948-4770.
    Unique Device Identifier (UDI)  
    The unique device identifier (UDI) helps identify individual medical devices sold in the United States from manufacturing through distribution to patient use. The UDI allows for more accurate reporting, reviewing, and analyzing of adverse event reports so that devices can be identified, and problems potentially corrected more quickly.  

    How do I report a problem?  
    Health care professionals and consumers may report adverse reactions or quality problems they experienced using these devices to MedWatch: The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program.

    Content current as of:
    06/05/2025

    Regulated Product(s)

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sanders Announces Trade Mission to France, Switzerland

    Source: US State of Arkansas

    LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders released the following statement today announcing her overseas trade mission to the Paris Air Show and Switzerland from June 14 to 19:

    “After the success of my first visit to the Paris Air Show in 2023 and Farnborough Airshow in 2024, during which we secured investments from aerospace and defense giants like Dassault Falcon Jet and RTX, I am excited that I will be representing Arkansas again this year. I will begin in Normandy, paying tribute to our fallen soldiers shortly after the 81st anniversary of D-Day, before continuing onto the Paris Air Show to meet with major aerospace and defense companies, and then concluding the trip in Switzerland to discuss investing in Arkansas with several large corporations. International trade missions are a great way to pitch Arkansas to companies that might not otherwise have our state on their radar and have a proven track record of bringing in jobs and investment.”

    The Governor’s trip will include appearances on a panel at the Air Show hosted by the Aerospace Industries Association and a fireside chat hosted by the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce. She will also pay tribute to Arkansans including U.S. Army Private Rodger D. Andrews, who is memorialized at the Normandy American Cemetery’s Wall of the Missing and whose remains were only recently identified and who will be laid to rest in Arkansas on June 9.

    During the Governor’s previous trip to the Paris Air Show, her discussions helped facilitate Dassault Falcon Jet’s $100 million, 800 job expansion in Little Rock and RTX’s new, $33 million manufacturing facility in East Camden, which was later expanded to a $63 million investment. The Governor’s trip to the Farnborough Airshow last summer helped secure Taber Extrusions’ $60 million, 70 job expansion in Russellville.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Cuts to school lunch and food bank funding mean less fresh produce for children and families

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Marlene B. Schwartz, Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut

    For many American children, school lunches are their most nutritious meal of the day. SDI Productions/iStock via Getty Images Plus

    The U.S. government recently cut more than US$1 billion in funding to two long-running programs that helped schools and food banks feed children and families in need. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the reductions are a “return to long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives.” But advocacy groups say the cuts will hurt millions of Americans.

    The reductions came just days before the release of the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again report, an analysis of the factors causing chronic disease in children. One of those factors, the report says, is poor diet.

    Dr. Marlene Schwartz, a professor of human development and family sciences and director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health at the University of Connecticut, discusses why cutting the Local Food for Schools and the Local Food Purchase Assistance programs means less fresh food will be available to children and families – and could hurt local farmers and ranchers too.

    Dr. Marlene Schwartz discusses why these programs were cut.

    The Conversation has collaborated with SciLine to bring you highlights from the discussion, edited here for brevity and clarity.

    Could you explain the two programs that were cut?

    Marlene Schwartz: Most schools were eligible for Local Food for Schools, a $660 million program, which has now been cut. The funds for Local Food for Schools were on top of the reimbursement that schools get for meals and would have allowed them to buy more local, fresh food.

    The Local Food Purchase Assistance program was designed primarily for food banks. Again, the idea was to provide federal money, about $500 million, so food banks could buy from local farmers and support local agriculture. But that too was cut.

    How will these cuts affect families and schoolchildren?

    Schwartz: Many children eat two of their meals, five days a week, at school. During the 2022-2023 school year, about 28 million kids ate lunch at school. More than 14 million had breakfast there.

    Having fresh, local produce in the school cafeteria provides the opportunity to introduce children to more fruits and vegetables and teach them about the food grown in their own communities. Think about how powerful a lesson about nutrition and local agriculture can be when you not only hear and read about it but can taste it too.

    How will these cuts affect farmers and ranchers?

    Schwartz: When the funding was there, the farmers and ranchers knew they had guaranteed buyers for their products. So the loss of these funds, especially so quickly, will have a very negative effect on them. Suddenly, the buyers they counted on don’t have the money to buy from them.

    Food banks provide fresh foods as well as canned.
    RyanJLane/E+ via Getty Images

    How does nutritious food in schools impact kids?

    Schwartz: Both the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program are required to comply with the dietary guidelines for Americans, so they’ve always had nutrition standards. These guidelines are updated every five years to reflect the most recent science and public health needs.

    The regulations on school meal nutrition were strengthened significantly with the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. We’ve done a number of studies showing that because of these changes, healthier meals are available at schools, and children eat better. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also did a large national study that reported much the same.

    Another study looked at the nutritional quality of the food at school, from home and at restaurants. It found that school food was the healthiest of all. Many people were surprised by this, but when you think about it, schools are the only setting required to follow federal and state nutrition regulations – restaurants and grocery stores don’t have to do that.

    But getting kids to eat nutritious food can be a challenge.

    Schwartz: We’ve known for decades that American children are not eating enough fruits and vegetables. We know they’re eating too much added sugar, saturated fat and sodium.

    This is due in part to the millions of dollars food companies spend to entice children to eat more sugary cereals, sweetened beverages and fast food.

    I think the best nutrition education happens on your plate. By maximizing the quality of food served in schools, policymakers can influence the diets of millions of children every single day.

    How nutritious are the foods at food banks?

    Schwartz: Food banks often measure their success in terms of the pounds of food they distribute into a community. But families relying on the charitable food system often have a higher risk of diet-related illness – like high blood pressure or Type 2 diabetes – and many want healthier foods.

    In response, food banks, which nationwide serve about 50 million Americans, have made a concerted effort to improve the nutritional quality of their food. There’s now a system to help food banks consistently track the nutritional quality of what they provide.

    Watch the full interview to hear more.

    SciLine is a free service based at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a nonprofit that helps journalists include scientific evidence and experts in their news stories.

    Marlene B. Schwartz receives funding from the USDA, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Partnership for a Healthier America, and the CT State Department of Education.

    – ref. Cuts to school lunch and food bank funding mean less fresh produce for children and families – https://theconversation.com/cuts-to-school-lunch-and-food-bank-funding-mean-less-fresh-produce-for-children-and-families-256772

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Game theory explains why reasonable parents make vaccine choices that fuel outbreaks

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Y. Tony Yang, Endowed Professor of Health Policy and Associate Dean, George Washington University

    Vaccination is an example of how people make decisions in an interconnected system. MichelleLWilson via iStock/Getty Images Plus

    When outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles occur despite highly effective vaccines being available, it’s easy to conclude that parents who don’t vaccinate their children are misguided, selfish or have fallen prey to misinformation.

    As professors with expertise in vaccine policy and health economics, we argue that the decision not to vaccinate isn’t simply about misinformation or hesitancy. In our view, it involves game theory, a mathematical framework that helps explain how reasonable people can make choices that collectively lead to outcomes that endanger them.

    Game theory reveals that vaccine hesitancy is not a moral failure, but simply the predictable outcome of a system in which individual and collective incentives aren’t properly aligned.

    Game theory meets vaccines

    Game theory examines how people make decisions when their outcomes depend on what others choose. In his research on the topic, Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash, portrayed in the movie “A Beautiful Mind, showed that in many situations, individually rational choices don’t automatically create the best outcome for everyone.

    Vaccination decisions perfectly illustrate this principle. When a parent decides whether to vaccinate their child against measles, for instance, they weigh the small risk of vaccine side effects against the risks posed by the disease. But here’s the crucial insight: The risk of disease depends on what other parents decide. If nearly everyone vaccinates, herd immunity – essentially, vaccinating enough people – will stop the disease’s spread. But once herd immunity is achieved, individual parents may decide that not vaccinating is the less risky option for their kid.

    In other words, because of a fundamental tension between individual choice and collective welfare, relying solely on individual choice may not achieve public health goals.

    A 1963 poster featuring Wellbee, the CDC’s national symbol of public health, encouraged people to get the polio vaccine.
    CDC via Wikimedia Commons

    This makes vaccine decisions fundamentally different from most other health decisions. When you decide whether to take medication for high blood pressure, your outcome depends only on your choice. But with vaccines, everyone is connected.

    This interconnectedness has played out dramatically in Texas, where the largest U.S. measles outbreak in a decade originated. As vaccination rates dropped in certain communities, the disease – once declared eliminated in the U.S. – returned. One county’s vaccination rate fell from 96% to 81% over just five years. Considering that about 95% of people in a community must be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, the decline created perfect conditions for the current outbreak.

    This isn’t coincidence; it’s game theory playing out in real time. When vaccination rates are high, not vaccinating seems rational for each individual family, but when enough families make this choice, collective protection collapses.

    The free rider problem

    This dynamic creates what economists call a free rider problem. When vaccination rates are high, an individual might benefit from herd immunity without accepting even the minimal vaccine risks. Game theory predicts something surprising: Even with a hypothetically perfect vaccine – faultless efficacy, zero side effects – voluntary vaccination programs will never achieve 100% coverage. Once coverage is high enough, some rational individuals will always choose to be free riders, benefiting from the herd immunity provided by others.

    And when rates drop – as they have, dramatically, over the past five years – disease models predict exactly what we’re seeing: the return of outbreaks.

    Game theory reveals another pattern: For highly contagious diseases, vaccination rates tend to decline rapidly following safety concerns, while recovery occurs much more slowly. This, too, is a mathematical property of the system because decline and recovery have different incentive structures. When safety concerns arise, many parents get worried at the same time and stop vaccinating, causing vaccination rates to drop quickly.

    But recovery is slower because it requires both rebuilding trust and overcoming the free rider problem – each parent waits for others to vaccinate first. Small changes in perception can cause large shifts in behavior. Media coverage, social networks and health messaging all influence these perceptions, potentially moving communities toward or away from these critical thresholds.

    Mathematics also predicts how people’s decisions about vaccination can cluster. As parents observe others’ choices, local norms develop – so the more parents skip the vaccine in a community, the more others are likely to follow suit.

    Game theorists refer to the resulting pockets of low vaccine uptake as susceptibility clusters. These clusters allow diseases to persist even when overall vaccination rates appear adequate. A 95% statewide or national average could mean uniform vaccine coverage, which would prevent outbreaks. Alternatively, it could mean some areas with near-100% coverage and others with dangerously low rates that enable local outbreaks.

    Not a moral failure

    All this means that the dramatic fall in vaccination rates was predicted by game theory – and therefore more a reflection of system vulnerability than of a moral failure of individuals.
    What’s more, blaming parents for making selfish choices can also backfire by making them more defensive and less likely to reconsider their views.

    Much more helpful would be approaches that acknowledge the tensions between individual and collective interests and that work with, rather than against, the mental calculations informing how people make decisions in interconnected systems.

    People make decisions by balancing individual and collective interests – a calculation that’s crucial for how infectious diseases spread.

    Research shows that communities experiencing outbreaks respond differently to messaging that frames vaccination as a community problem versus messaging that implies moral failure. In a 2021 study of a community with falling vaccination rates, approaches that acknowledged parents’ genuine concerns while emphasizing the need for community protection made parents 24% more likely to consider vaccinating, while approaches that emphasized personal responsibility or implied selfishness actually decreased their willingness to consider it.

    This confirms what game theory predicts: When people feel their decision-making is under moral attack, they often become more entrenched in their positions rather than more open to change.

    Better communication strategies

    Understanding how people weigh vaccine risks and benefits points to better approaches to communication. For example, clearly conveying risks can help: The 1-in-500 death rate from measles far outweighs the extraordinarily rare serious vaccine side effects. That may sound obvious, but it’s often missing from public discussion. Also, different communities need different approaches – high-vaccination areas need help staying on track, while low-vaccination areas need trust rebuilt.

    Consistency matters tremendously. Research shows that when health experts give conflicting information or change their message, people become more suspicious and decide to hold off on vaccines. And dramatic scare tactics about disease can backfire by pushing people toward extreme positions.

    Making vaccination decisions visible within communities – through community discussions and school-level reporting, where possible – can help establish positive social norms. When parents understand that vaccination protects vulnerable community members, like infants too young for vaccines or people with medical conditions, it helps bridge the gap between individual and collective interests.

    Health care providers remain the most trusted source of vaccine information. When providers understand game theory dynamics, they can address parents’ concerns more effectively, recognizing that for most people, hesitancy comes from weighing risks rather than opposing vaccines outright.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Game theory explains why reasonable parents make vaccine choices that fuel outbreaks – https://theconversation.com/game-theory-explains-why-reasonable-parents-make-vaccine-choices-that-fuel-outbreaks-256975

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Detroit voters have an opportunity to pick a mayor who will ease zoning, improve transit and protect long-term residents

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Brian J. Connolly, Assistant Professor of Business Law, University of Michigan

    Five of Detroit’s mayoral candidates discuss their ideas for the future of the city. Detroit PBS

    Five of the nine candidates in Detroit’s mayoral contest debated on May 29, 2025, during the annual Mackinac Policy Conference.

    When asked about outgoing Mayor Mike Duggan’s 11-year tenure, many of the candidates praised him for skillfully steering Detroit through bankruptcy and attracting new business investment.

    But the candidates also saw an opportunity to do more.

    “Without a doubt, we have to ensure that more investment comes back into our neighborhoods and that we’re activating our commercial corridors,” the race’s front-runner, Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, said.

    Helping Detroit residents improve their neighborhoods will be an important task for the city’s next mayor. I do not live in Detroit, but my family lived there for generations before my grandparents joined the white flight from the city in the 1970s. And my research on housing, infrastructure and land use law offers some ideas for how the next mayor could encourage investment while at the same time improving social equity.

    Duggan’s legacy

    By most accounts, the Motor City under Duggan has been an urban revitalization success story.

    Once the nation’s murder capital, its crime rate has fallen dramatically.

    And after experiencing the largest-ever municipal bankruptcy, the city boasts an investment-grade credit rating. For the past two years, the city has gained population after decades of losses. But many of the city’s neighborhoods, from Brightmoor to Jefferson-Chalmers, have not experienced the same economic surge as its booming downtown.

    Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood has an artsy vibe – and a high crime rate.
    Patrick Gorski/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    In the city center, offices are being converted to apartments, Michigan’s second-tallest building is rising along with other new developments, and the city has hosted major national events such as the NFL draft. Yet some of Detroit’s outlying areas still suffer from disinvestment and abandonment, poor infrastructure, underperforming schools and crime.

    Many Detroiters are concerned the city’s boom might displace longtime residents if it causes housing prices to increase dramatically or removes affordable homes from the market.

    Detroit’s voters will narrow the field to two candidates on Aug. 5. To help voters evaluate the candidates’ positions between now and then, here are some research-backed ideas for improving life in the city.

    Make it easy to build

    Detroit’s next mayor can make it easier to build new homes and businesses in the city’s neighborhoods.

    Repopulating neighborhoods reduces visual blight, brings life to vacant areas and improves the city’s fiscal health by bringing in new tax revenue. Population growth also supports neighborhood businesses that create jobs and serve the community. And it will mitigate the city’s recent, steep growth in housing prices by adding new supply to the market.

    Easing zoning and building rules is a good place to start. U.S. cities such as Minneapolis and Portland have recently reformed zoning laws to simplify housing construction. They’ve also modified single-family zoning citywide to allow multiplexes and accessory dwelling units. Those interventions have resulted in a small increase in new housing. Even more construction has taken place in cities such as Denver that have allowed higher-density development along major corridors – projects that can be more easily scaled and financed due to their larger size and attractiveness to investors.

    To date, Detroit has not adopted any of these reforms.

    Another way to spur building is to offer developers a predictable approval process. Even if cities maintain building height restrictions, setbacks and design requirements – things Detroit has maintained – predictable procedures reduce development costs and assure investors that projects can be completed on time. For example, cities can shorten the time it takes to review a project. They can also avoid city council or planning commission public hearings with subjective review criteria, which Detroit currently allows under its zoning laws.

    Detroit’s initial efforts to update its zoning in 2018 stalled. Yet the city has an opportunity to become the nation’s easiest place to build, and doing so will ensure that it remains affordable while attracting investment.

    Improve transit service

    Detroit’s next mayor can aid its neighborhoods by improving transit service.

    Without a regional transit system, southeast Michigan remains heavily car-dependent. Yet a 2017 study showed less than half of low-income Detroiters own cars. And of those who don’t own a car, 43% missed work, an appointment or something else due to a lack of transportation. Although this study is several years old, these statistics likely haven’t changed much due to rising costs of housing and car ownership.

    Today, nearly one-third of Detroiters live in poverty – meaning, for a family of four, they earn less than US$32,000 per year – yet the national average annual cost of car ownership exceeds $12,000. Giving lower-income Detroiters a low-cost, reliable means to get to work would benefit the city’s neighborhoods, residents and businesses.

    Expanding transit service has other benefits, too. Transit reduces traffic, encourages the healthy habit of walking to and from stops and improves air quality. Transit investments also increase land values around stations and brings new businesses to these neighborhoods. In addition to serving the needs of working Detroiters, more frequent and reliable bus service would increase neighborhood property values, according to research.

    Make property taxes fairer

    Since the city’s emergence from bankruptcy 11 years ago, housing wealth in Detroit has grown by $4.6 billion.

    Although a rise in land values signals investor confidence in the city and benefits its homeowners, high prices limit Detroiters’ ability to afford housing, the wealth is not shared with everyone, and there is heightened risk of displacing low-income residents.

    And, as candidates frequently mentioned during the debate, after more than 40 years of tax increases to make up for sliding property values, the city has one of the highest effective property tax rates in Michigan, over 2.8%, making housing even less affordable. Nevertheless, Detroit routinely abates taxes for major commercial developments such as Hudson’s Detroit and several downtown hotels, which some residents view as unfair.

    Detroit’s next mayor has an opportunity to reduce the property tax burden for residents and businesses, improve the system’s fairness, and use increasing land prices and new development for public benefit.

    Duggan proposed a land-value tax to replace the city’s property tax in 2023. Unlike property taxes, land-value taxes place a levy on the value of land, not structures on the land. These taxes create an incentive for owners to develop their properties for productive use rather than speculate on underutilized land.

    In a city like Detroit, with thousands of vacant properties, a land-value tax would encourage development by limiting the benefits of long-term land speculation. For lower-income homeowners and renters, the city could avoid displacement through exemptions and other mechanisms.

    Duggan’s proposal failed in the Michigan Legislature, which needs to approve changes to the property tax. But Detroit’s next mayor could revive this push.

    The next mayor could also press the Legislature for other tools, such as the authority to levy development impact fees to build parks and schools or provide social services in neighborhoods affected by new development.

    Michigan law allows the formation of special assessment districts, business improvement zones and other special taxing entities to provide public infrastructure. Expanding these tools may allow Detroit to leverage rising property values to provide public benefits such as streets or parks.

    Importantly, the city can gain better public services and infrastructure while encouraging development. Tools such as the city’s community benefits ordinance, which requires developers of large projects to negotiate with neighbors for services and amenities, look good on paper but can delay projects or mistake individuals’ interests for community needs. Similarly, affordable housing mandates often lead to counterproductive results such as discouraging new development or raising costs on market-rate housing.

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

    – ref. Detroit voters have an opportunity to pick a mayor who will ease zoning, improve transit and protect long-term residents – https://theconversation.com/detroit-voters-have-an-opportunity-to-pick-a-mayor-who-will-ease-zoning-improve-transit-and-protect-long-term-residents-254540

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Mining in Motion Highlights Role of Artisanal Small-Scale Miners (ASM)-Large-Scale Miners (LSM) Synergies in Africa

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

    ACCRA, Ghana, June 5, 2025/APO Group/ —

    Ghana is making strides towards fostering greater collaboration between Artisanal Small-Scale Miners (ASM) and Large-Scale Miners (LSM), seeking to unlock greater value from the mining industry while creating newfound opportunities for local communities. A discussion at the Mining in Motion 2025 summit highlighted the value of strengthen ASM-LSM synergies, with speakers underscoring the need to promote cooperation among industry stakeholders.

    The session – titled Fostering Synergies Between ASM and LSM: Maximizing Gold Value through Collaboration – shed light on the role ASMs play, not only in Ghana but across the broader African continent. ASMs make up a large part of Ghana’s mining industry, contributing over 35% to the country’s total gold output.

    According to Okyere Yaw Ntrama, General Manager, Ahafo Mine at Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, “The ASM industry is labor-intensive but they are also the best producers in terms of driving value for the economy. Formalization and synergies are not only about co-existence but about co-creation of knowledge, equal access and prosperity. When we talk about shared value, we also talk about resources that should be optimally mined. If there are areas that cannot be mined by larger companies, they should be given to small-scale miners.” 

    Ntrama further explained that through synergies between the ASM and LSM industry, Ghana can optimize mining operations. Specifically, the country can determine areas which are not commercially viable for LSM players, handing them over to ASMs to develop.

    Otu Solomon Kwame from the Association of Small-Scale Miners of Ghana, emphasized that, “Sometimes small-scale miners feel neglected by the larger companies. We need to devise policies to make sure these companies are fixed into lasting cooperation. We need to work with mining companies to determine areas that have been determined as [unfeasible]. Those areas can be given to small-scale miners.” 

    Meanwhile, Edward Bickham, Senior Adviser, World Gold Council, believes that there needs to be greater trust developed between ASM and LSM companies. He stated: “ASMs need to be treated as other stakeholders are: understood and worked with because they are significant. As an LSM, you need to think of the sustainable development of the communities around you. ASM is an important part of livelihoods. There is also the issue of security and collaboration. You need to think about the dynamics and relationships between the two types of miners. There is a huge trust-building initiative that needs to be taken.”

    Echoing these remarks, Eduard Cornew, Co-founder & President of Mwamba Mining, emphasized that trust is an imperative part of improving cooperation and accelerating productivity across Ghana’s mining sector. Cornew drew attention to the need to create trust between different mining corporations – from small-scale miners to larger corporations.

    Beyond Ghana, major mining producers in Africa are turning to regulation to facilitate collaboration across industry players. Jean-Paul Kapongo, Director General, SAEMAPE at the Ministry of Mining of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), explained that, “It all started in our country with the advent of the mining code and the mining regulations. These two documents provide the possibility and the accessibility to access the DRC’s mines.”

    The DRC is one of Africa’s biggest mineral producers. By promoting synergies between ASM and LSM players, the country seeks to reaffirm its position as global supplier.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) Champions Shift of $4 Trillion in Domestic Savings into Africa’s Infrastructure Transformation

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

    LAGOS, Nigeria, June 5, 2025/APO Group/ —

    • Clarion call for scaling electricity generation and transmission to drive structural economic transformation  
    • Installed power capacity per capita stagnated in Africa vs. doubling in India since 2008 
    • Africa’s railway expansion is gaining speed with 7,000 km of new track investments poised to double growth in the next decade 
    • Africa’s rising supply of strategic resources such as iron ore requires a unified continental approach to integrate production, processing and demand centres for steel 

    Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) (www.AfricaFC.org ), the continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, today publishes the most comprehensive and up-to-date picture of Africa’s investable capital landscape—revealing over $4 trillion of domestic savings in banking assets, institutional funds and reserves.  

    Download report: https://apo-opa.co/4kWVdwh

    The research in the 2025 edition of the State of Africa’s Infrastructure (SAI) Report underscores AFC’s conviction in the capacity for African-led investment as the foundation for scaling provision of power, transportation and industrialisation across the continent. 

    Specifically, the SAI Report provides a conservative estimate of over $1.1 trillion in long-term institutional capital from pensions, insurance, sovereign wealth funds, and public development banks, along with $2.5 trillion in commercial banking assets and over $470 billion in central bank reserves. 

    Despite the scale of these resources, most investments are allocated to low-risk and short-term instruments rather than being channelled into the real economy. AFC’s report calls for targeted policy reforms, financial innovation, increased use of risk-mitigation tools, and the creation of financial structures—such as pooled funds or investment platforms—to reposition African institutions at the heart of the continent’s infrastructure transformation.  

    Thinking Bigger 

    As part of the process of identifying investment opportunities, the SAI Report seeks to shift Africa’s energy narrative—from small-scale access to large-scale, interconnected power systems capable of driving industrialisation, digital sovereignty, and climate resilience.  

    Under-investment in African energy is stark. In 2024, Africa added just 6.5 GW of grid-connected capacity from all sources—compared to over 18 GW from renewables alone in India. Installed power generation per person has stagnated in Africa while more than doubling in India since 2008, highlighting the widening gap in energy access and industrial potential.   

    The report further advocates for regional grid integration and private sector participation in electricity transmission, noting that Africa—in contrast to other developing regions—has yet to see a single independent transmission project. AFC identifies Angola, DRC, Tanzania, and Mauritania as key interconnector markets that could enable countries with excess generation capacity to supply power to those facing deficits—linking multiple power pools and balancing electricity flows across borders.  

    Rail Renaissance 

    In contrast to the under-investment in energy, the SAI Report spotlights the emergence of a new rail infrastructure cycle, signaling renewed momentum across Africa’s transport landscape. From east to west and southern Africa, a growing pipeline of railway projects—public and private—is reversing decades of neglect and disrepair. 

    Under-construction and planned lines total over 7,000 km, potentially doubling the pace of rail expansion in the decade ahead.  

    To showcase this renaissance, AFC has launched the first-ever Digital Map of African Railways (https://apo-opa.co/3ZhLHLT)—a dynamic, interactive platform that provides real-time insights into the continent’s rail corridors. The tool aims to enhance project visibility, foster investor interest, and support coordination along key transport and trade corridors. 

    Industrial Value Chains 

    The report further identifies steel, fertilizers and oil refining as Africa’s three most important strategic industrial inputs—currently dominated by some $300bn of annual imports but ripe for domestic value addition.  

    As a result of local production shortfalls, Africa currently consumes just 24 kg of steel per capita, compared to a global average of 219 kg, and 23 kg of fertilizer per hectare, versus 140 globally. Notably, the ore-to-steel supply chain represents a major untapped industrial opportunity—but realising its potential will require connecting expanding iron ore supply centres in West Africa with processing hubs and growing consumption markets across the continent. 

    AFC calls for coordinated investment in energy, transport, and logistics to unlock competitiveness in these sectors and anchor regional production hubs. 

    Commenting on the findings, Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of Africa Finance Corporation, said: “This report provides a practical roadmap for how Africa can channel its significant financial strength into the infrastructure needed to drive industrial transformation—from scaling electricity supply to revitalising rail and building up strategic industries like steel and fertilisers. The tools exist. The capital is available. What’s needed now is coordinated action to unlock it.” 

    MIL OSI Africa –