NewzIntel.com

Category: DJF

  • MIL-OSI Security: New York Man Sentenced in Rhode Island for Bank Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PROVIDENCE   A Bronx, NY, man who participated in a conspiracy that intended to defraud banks in at least ten states of approximately $143,000 was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

    Paul Keenan, 54, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnel, Jr., to    24 months of incarceration to be followed by three years of supervised release. Keenan, charged and arrested in this matter in August 2024, pleaded guilty in February to a charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

    According to court documents, Keenan, working alongside other members of a conspiracy, to facilitate their scheme, recruited and organized individuals and obtained their photographs and personal identifying information (PII). Keenan and his co-conspirators used the information to create fraudulent IDs that contained their own photographs and the PII of some of the recruits.

    Keenan and others then obtained the PII of at least 28 victim individuals, including their names, dates of birth, addresses, Social Security numbers, and bank account information. They also obtained information of at least 20 business entities, including business names and banking information. The information collected was used to create fraudulent IDs and checks. Members of the conspiracy then traveled with recruits to banks in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and at least eight other states to cash bogus checks.

    Through the scheme, Keenan and others attempted to defraud banks of a total of approximately $143,000, successfully defrauding twenty-two banks of a total of approximately $93,200.

    The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christine Lowell with the assistance of Assistant United States Attorney Sandra Hebert.

    The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the East Providence Police Department, with the assistance of the Portsmouth Police Department.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Remote Patient Monitoring Company Settles False Claims Act Lawsuit for $1.29 Million

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ATLANTA – Health Wealth Safe, Inc. and Dr. Subodh Agrawal have paid $1.29 million to settle allegations that they knowingly caused false claims to be presented to Medicare.

    “Knowingly billing Medicare for services that do not meet Medicare’s requirements is a fraud against taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Our office will continue to enforce the False Claims Act to recover government payments that result from such misconduct.”

    “Healthcare professionals have a sworn duty to prioritize patient health and to ensure all services billed to the federal government are fully compliant with program requirements,” said Kelly Blackmon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to safeguard the integrity of the Medicare program.”

    The investigation began when former employees of Health Wealth Safe, Inc. (“Health Wealth”) filed a whistleblower lawsuit under the False Claims Act referred to as a qui tam suit. The False Claims Act is a federal law that imposes civil liability on any person who submits false claims to the federal government or its contractors. The law imposes treble damages and civil penalties on those who submit false claims. Under the law, whistleblowers (also called “relators”) who bring fraud to the government’s attention share in any recovery obtained by the government.

    The United States alleged that, at the direction of owner Dr. Subodh Agrawal, Health Wealth caused claims to be presented to Medicare for remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) services that were not reimbursable. RPM involves the use of non-face-to-face technology to monitor and analyze a patient’s physiological metrics, such as oxygen saturation, blood pressure, weight, and blood-sugar or blood-oxygen levels. For monitoring services to be covered by Medicare, the monitoring devices must automatically report readings to the monitoring company without further human intervention. The United States alleged that Health Wealth knowingly billed for RPM services even though it failed to provide patients with devices that met these requirements between September 2019 and January 2021.

    The settlement resolved the underlying lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, United States ex rel. Chavous v. Health Wealth Safe, Inc., No. 1:22-cv-02553. The relator will receive $238,650 from the settlement in this matter, plus attorney’s fees.

    This case was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

    The civil settlement was reached by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony DeCinque.

    The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

    For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6185. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Massachusetts Resident Living in California Pleads Guilty to PPP Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOSTON – A Los Angeles man who formerly resided in Randolph, Mass. has pleaded guilty to submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications on behalf of multiple companies he owns and controls.  

    Rindal Pierre-Canel, 30, pleaded guilty on June 24, 2025 to three counts of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Myong J. Joun scheduled sentencing for Oct. 1, 2025. The defendant was arrested and charged in January 2025.  

    Between March 2021 and May 2021, Pierre-Canel submitted three fraudulent applications seeking and receiving over $50,000 in PPP funds. Two of the applications were submitted in Pierre-Canel’s own name and the third application was submitted using the stolen personal identifying information of a victim. The submissions included false representations about the existence and income of businesses and included false tax documents in support of these false representations. Pierre-Canel used the funds he received from the fraudulent PPP loan applications on personal expenses, including flights to California and purchases of designer clothing.

    The charges of wire fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.  

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Cambridge and Hermosa Beach (Calif.) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Sullivan of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.

    The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at: Justice.gov/OPA/pr/justice-department-takes-action-against-covid-19-fraud.
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: North Stonington Woman Sentenced to 6 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Crystal Meth

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JILL MULLIGAN, 45, of North Stonington, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 72 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for trafficking crystal meth.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, in April and May 2023, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force made three controlled purchases of crystal meth from Mulligan.  Mulligan was arrested on May 4, 2023.  At the time of her arrest, searches of Mulligan’s North Stonington residence and her vehicle revealed approximately 390 grams of crystal meth, and quantities of crack cocaine, LSD, and prescription pills.

    On November 1, 2023, Mulligan pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  She has been detained since March 12, 2025, when her bond was revoked.

    This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Reed Durham.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Merck Foundation marks ‘World Art Day’ through their Film, Song, Media and Fashion Awards 2025 in partnership with Africa’s First Ladies to raise awareness about social & health issues

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

    Merck Foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com), the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, marks ‘World Art Day 2025’ through their Pan African ‘Art and Fashion with Purpose’ Community, established by Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation. Through this dynamic community, Dr. Kelej continues to raise awareness on critical health and social issues while empowering artists across Africa and beyond to use their creativity as a powerful tool for advocacy, education, and fostering a cultural shift within their communities.

    Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and One of 100 Most Influential Africans 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 emphasized, “I am delighted to mark ‘World Art Day 2025’ as I strongly believe that art, fashion, and media hold immense power in raising awareness and addressing critical social and health issues—ultimately creating a culture shift in the communities. Art and fashion, to me, go far beyond aesthetics or entertainment, they serve as meaningful tools for education and advocacy. With this vision, we have launched many initiatives including our first-ever pan-African TV program, Our Africa by Merck Foundation, which uniquely highlights pressing issues across the continent through the voices of our ‘Fashion and Art with Purpose’ community. Through this one-of-a-kind show and our other unique initiatives, we continue to raise awareness about critical social issues such as Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Ending Child Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation, Stopping Gender-Based Violence, Women’s Empowerment, and also about health issues like diabetes, hypertension, and much more.”

    ‘Our Africa by Merck Foundation’ is a pan African TV program that is conceptualized, produced, directed, and co-hosted by Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation to feature African Fashion Designers, Singers, and prominent experts from various domains with the aim to raise awareness and create a culture shift across Africa. The program has captured the attention and hearts of millions of viewers across Africa.

    The TV program has been broadcasted on prime TV stations of many countries like KTN HOME (Kenya), GH One & TV3 (Ghana), NTV (Uganda), BTV (Botswana) Mashariki TV (Burundi), QTV (The Gambia), KTN (Kenya), LNTV (Liberia), Mibawa TV (Malawi), Deffi Media (Mauritius), AYV (Sierra Leone), NTV (Uganda), ZNBC (Zambia), ZTN (Zimbabwe), NTV (Namibia) and more.

    “Our Africa” TV Program is currently on social media handles of Social Media handles of Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej [Facebook (https://apo-opa.co/4nrxZR4), Instagram (https://apo-opa.co/442bj1X), Twitter (https://apo-opa.co/44gZvb0) and YouTube (https://apo-opa.co/4nlbzkj)] and Merck Foundation [Facebook (https://apo-opa.co/4nqM01i), Instagram (https://apo-opa.co/4nmuA5Q), Twitter (https://apo-opa.co/4l1yUGc) and YouTube (https://apo-opa.co/3ZLK35q)].

    Watch the Promo of the Program here: https://apo-opa.co/4l0Kdy8

    Beyond Our Africa TV Program, Merck Foundation in partnership with The First Ladies of Africa announces annually 8 important Awards, under two themes, for Media, Fashion Designers, Filmmakers and Musicians/ Singers, and potential young African talents in these fields. The themes of the two categories of awards are: 1) Breaking Infertility Stigma, Support Girls’ Education, End Child Marriage, End FGM, Stopping GBV and/ or Women Empowerment at all levels and 2) promote a healthy lifestyle and raise awareness about prevention and early detection of Diabetes and Hypertension. The 2025 editions were announced during the 11th edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary held in Tanzania in October 2024.

    Dr. Kelej emphasized, “It is very well known that Africa’s creativity reflects its rich heritage, expressed in the form of art, fabrics, music, and storytelling and is carried forward through generations. Hence, we launch these awards annually, with my dear sisters, the African First Ladies who are also the Ambassadors of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother”. Through our Awards, we aim to inspire the continent’s youth to use their innate talents to address our important and critical social and health issues, by raising awareness through their creative work at all levels.”

    Entries for the Awards can be sent to: submit@merck-foundation.com

    Also, as a part of the Community Awareness Programs, Merck Foundation has created over 30 songs with many African Artists, in English, French, Portuguese and also local African languages to address critical issues like breaking infertility stigma, empowering women, supporting girl education, ending child marriage, diabetes awareness, promoting a healthy lifestyle, and more.

    Merck Foundation in partnership with The First Ladies of Africa has also launched 8 Children’s Storybooks in three languages: English, French and Portuguese. Additionally, Merck Foundation has adapted these storybooks to create interesting animation films with the purpose of reaching out to the communities to raise awareness on the important issues with an aim of instilling change at grassroot levels.

    To listen to the Merck Foundation songs, read Merck Foundation storybooks and watch Merck Foundation animation films, click on the below links:  

    https://apo-opa.co/4nmObCP

    https://apo-opa.co/4nlbGwf 

    – on behalf of Merck Foundation.

    Contact:
    Mehak Handa
    Community Awareness Program Manager 
    Phone: +91 9310087613/ +91 9319606669
    Email: mehak.handa@external.merckgroup.com

    Join the conversation on our social media platforms below and let your voice be heard:
    Facebook: https://apo-opa.co/4nqM01i
    X: https://apo-opa.co/4l1yUGc
    YouTube: https://apo-opa.co/3ZLK35q
    Instagram: https://apo-opa.co/4nmuA5Q
    Threads: https://apo-opa.co/4l3YFFR
    Flickr: https://apo-opa.co/3TbLkyP
    Website: www.Merck-Foundation.com
    Download Merck Foundation App: https://apo-opa.co/3GeJnPl

    About Merck Foundation:
    The Merck Foundation, established in 2017, is the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people and advance their lives through science and technology. Our efforts are primarily focused on improving access to quality & equitable healthcare solutions in underserved communities, building healthcare & scientific research capacity, empowering girls in education and empowering people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) with a special focus on women and youth. All Merck Foundation press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck Foundation Website. Please visit www.Merck-Foundation.com to read more. Follow the social media of Merck Foundation: Facebook (https://apo-opa.co/4nqM01i), X (https://apo-opa.co/4l1yUGc), Instagram (https://apo-opa.co/4nmuA5Q), YouTube (https://apo-opa.co/3ZLK35q), Threads (https://apo-opa.co/4l3YFFR) and Flickr (https://apo-opa.co/3TbLkyP).

    The Merck Foundation is dedicated to improving social and health outcomes for communities in need. While it collaborates with various partners, including governments to achieve its humanitarian goals, the foundation remains strictly neutral in political matters. It does not engage in or support any political activities, elections, or regimes, focusing solely on its mission to elevate humanity and enhance well-being while maintaining a strict non-political stance in all of its endeavors.

    Media files

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    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Africa Global Logistics Advances Landmark Port Expansion Projects

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

    Freight forwarding service Africa Global Logistics (AGL) recently secured €230 million in financing to expand the container terminal at the Port of Pointe Noire in the Republic of Congo, marking a major milestone in regional infrastructure development. The new 750-meter quay – scheduled for completion by 2027 – will double the terminal’s capacity to 2.3 million containers annually and support the country’s growing oil and LNG exports.  

    The Pointe Noire project is being executed by AGL’s subsidiary Congo Terminal in collaboration with engineering firm China Road and Bridge Corporation. Backed by both international and Congolese banks, the €400 million platform will include 26 hectares of quayside, a dredged 17-meter-deep basin, and the installation of 16 gantries. It forms a key part of Congo’s strategy to boost hydrocarbon production to 500,000 barrels of oil per day and LNG output to 3 million tons per annum within five years. AGL will participate as a Diamond Sponsor at this year’s African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energies conference – taking place September 29 to October 3 in Cape Town. 

    AEW: Invest in African Energies is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit http://www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event. 

    In Angola, AGL also launched operations at its Lobito Terminal in March last year. The terminal – Angola’s second-largest port hub – handles over one million tons of bulk cargo and more than 100,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers annually, with 730 employees operating deepwater berths and modern equipment. With €100 million in planned investment, the terminal connects to the 1,300-km Benguela railway and aims to become a vital gateway for copper, cobalt and agricultural exports from the Copperbelt region in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project comes at a pivotal time for Angola, which is preparing to bring several major energy developments online between 2025 and 2028. These include the Cabinda Oil Refinery in 2025, the Agogo Integrated West Hub development in late-2025, the Quiluma and Maboqueiro gas fields in 2026 and the Kaminho Deepwater Development in 2028. 

    Meanwhile, in Ivory Coast, AGL is playing a vital role in Phase 2 of the Baleine offshore development – West Africa’s first net-zero emissions project. In partnership with engineering firm Saipem, AGL began manufacturing critical subsea structures for the Baleine field in April 2024 at its Carena shipyard in Abidjan. The works include anchoring systems and underwater fixtures totaling over 200 tons, to be deployed in ultra-deep waters. AGL has mobilized 100 skilled local workers – including certified welders, painters and crane operators – reinforcing its commitment to local content, capacity building and sustainable energy infrastructure in Ivory Coast’s rapidly growing oil and gas sector.  

    AGL’s recent activities in Africa align with its broader vision to support the continent’s energy infrastructure. In addition to the Republic of Congo, Angola and Ivory Coast, the company is currently modernizing the Walvis Bay terminal in Namibia while playing a key role in major energy logistics across Mauritania, Senegal and Mozambique. AGL’s Diamond Sponsorship at AEW: Invest in African Energies 2025 underscores its commitment to building robust, multimodal logistics systems that enable energy development and economic transformation across Africa. 

    – on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

    Media files

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    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News in Brief: U.S. Coast Guard, USS Sampson Conduct Drug Interdiction In Eastern Pacific

    Source: United States Navy

    PACIFIC OCEAN – U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy interdicted three suspected drug smugglers and more than 7,850 pounds of cocaine, with an assessed wholesale value of approximately $58.1 million, in the Eastern Pacific on Sunday morning.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: PadChest-GR: A bilingual grounded radiology reporting benchmark for chest X-rays

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: PadChest-GR: A bilingual grounded radiology reporting benchmark for chest X-rays

    In our ever-evolving journey to enhance healthcare through technology, we’re announcing a unique new benchmark for grounded radiology report generation—PadChest-GR (opens in new tab). The world’s first multimodal, bilingual sentence-level radiology report dataset, developed by the University of Alicante with Microsoft Research, University Hospital Sant Joan d’Alacant and MedBravo, is set to redefine how AI and radiologists interpret radiological images. Our work demonstrates how collaboration between humans and AI can create powerful feedback loops—where new datasets drive better AI models, and those models, in turn, inspire richer datasets. We’re excited to share this progress in NEJM AI, highlighting both the clinical relevance and research excellence of this initiative. 

    A new frontier in radiology report generation 

    It is estimated that over half of people visiting hospitals have radiology scans that must be interpreted by a clinical professional. Traditional radiology reports often condense multiple findings into unstructured narratives. In contrast, grounded radiology reporting demands that each finding be described and localized individually.

    This can mitigate the risk of AI fabrications and enable new interactive capabilities that enhance clinical and patient interpretability. PadChest-GR is the first bilingual dataset to address this need with 4,555 chest X-ray studies complete with Spanish and English sentence-level descriptions and precise spatial (bounding box) annotations for both positive and negative findings. It is the first public benchmark that enables us to evaluate generation of fully grounded radiology reports in chest X-rays. 

    Figure 1. Example of a grounded report from PadChest-GR. The original free-text report in Spanish was ”Motivo de consulta: Preoperatorio. Rx PA tórax: Impresión diagnóstica: Ateromatosis aórtica calcificada. Engrosamiento pleural biapical. Atelectasia laminar basal izquierda. Elongación aórtica. Sin otros hallazgos radiológicos significativos.”

    Spotlight: Blog post

    Eureka: Evaluating and understanding progress in AI

    How can we rigorously evaluate and understand state-of-the-art progress in AI? Eureka is an open-source framework for standardizing evaluations of large foundation models, beyond single-score reporting and rankings. Learn more about the extended findings. 

    This benchmark isn’t standing alone—it plays a critical role in powering our state-of-the-art multimodal report generation model, MAIRA-2. Leveraging the detailed annotations of PadChest-GR, MAIRA-2 represents our commitment to building more interpretable and clinically useful AI systems. You can explore our work on MAIRA-2 on our project web page, including recent user research conducted with clinicians in healthcare settings.

    PadChest-GR is a testament to the power of collaboration. Aurelia Bustos at MedBravo and Antonio Pertusa at the University of Alicante published the original PadChest dataset (opens in new tab) in 2020, with the help of Jose María Salinas from Hospital San Juan de Alicante and María de la Iglesia Vayá from the Center of Excellence in Biomedical Imaging at the Ministry of Health in Valencia, Spain. We started to look at PadChest and were deeply impressed by the scale, depth, and diversity of the data.

    As we worked more closely with the dataset, we realized the opportunity to develop this for grounded radiology reporting research and worked with the team at the University of Alicante to determine how to approach this together. Our complementary expertise was a nice fit. At Microsoft Research, our mission is to push the boundaries of medical AI through innovative, data-driven solutions. The University of Alicante, with its deep clinical expertise, provided critical insights that greatly enriched the dataset’s relevance and utility. The result of this collaboration is the PadChest-GR dataset.

    A significant enabler of our annotation process was Centaur Labs. The team of senior and junior radiologists from the University Hospital Sant Joan d’Alacant, coordinated by Joaquin Galant, used this HIPAA-compliant labeling platform to perform rigorous study-level quality control and bounding box annotations. The annotation protocol implemented ensured that each annotation was accurate and consistent, forming the backbone of a dataset designed for the next generation of grounded radiology report generation models. 

    Accelerating PadChest-GR dataset annotation with AI 

    Our approach integrates advanced large language models with comprehensive manual annotation: 

    Data Selection & Processing: Leveraging Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service (opens in new tab) with GPT-4, we extracted sentences describing individual positive and negative findings from raw radiology reports, translated them from Spanish to English, and linked each sentence to the existing expert labels from PadChest. This was done for a selected subset of the full PadChest dataset, carefully curated to reflect a realistic distribution of clinically relevant findings. 

    Manual Quality Control & Annotation: The processed studies underwent meticulous quality checks on the Centaur Labs platform by radiologist from Hospital San Juan de Alicante. Each positive finding was then annotated with bounding boxes to capture critical spatial information. 

    Standardization & Integration: All annotations were harmonized into coherent grounded reports, preserving the structure and context of the original findings while enhancing interpretability. 

    Figure 2. Overview of the data curation pipeline.

    Impact and future directions 

    PadChest-GR not only sets a new benchmark for grounded radiology reporting, but also serves as the foundation for our MAIRA-2 model, which already showcases the potential of highly interpretable AI in clinical settings. While we developed PadChest-GR to help train and validate our own models, we believe the research community will greatly benefit from this dataset for many years to come. We look forward to seeing the broader research community build on this—improving grounded reporting AI models and using PadChest-GR as a standard for evaluation. We believe that by fostering open collaboration and sharing our resources, we can accelerate progress in medical imaging AI and ultimately improve patient care together with the community.

    The collaboration between Microsoft Research and the University of Alicante highlights the transformative power of working together across disciplines. With our publication in NEJM-AI and the integral role of PadChest-GR in the development of MAIRA-2 (opens in new tab) and RadFact (opens in new tab), we are excited about the future of AI-empowered radiology. We invite researchers and industry experts to explore PadChest-GR and MAIRA-2, contribute innovative ideas, and join us in advancing the field of grounded radiology reporting. 

    Papers already using PadChest-GR:

    For further details or to download PadChest-GR, please visit the BIMCV PadChest-GR Project (opens in new tab). 

    Models in the Azure Foundry that can do Grounded Reporting: 

    Acknowledgement

    • Authors: Daniel C. Castro (opens in new tab), Aurelia Bustos (opens in new tab), Shruthi Bannur (opens in new tab), Stephanie L. Hyland (opens in new tab), Kenza Bouzid (opens in new tab), Maria Teodora Wetscherek (opens in new tab), Maria Dolores Sánchez-Valverde (opens in new tab), Lara Jaques-Pérez (opens in new tab), Lourdes Pérez-Rodríguez (opens in new tab), Kenji Takeda (opens in new tab), José María Salinas (opens in new tab), Javier Alvarez-Valle (opens in new tab), Joaquín Galant Herrero (opens in new tab), Antonio Pertusa (opens in new tab) 

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: PadChest-GR: A bilingual grounded radiology reporting benchmark for chest X-rays

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: PadChest-GR: A bilingual grounded radiology reporting benchmark for chest X-rays

    In our ever-evolving journey to enhance healthcare through technology, we’re announcing a unique new benchmark for grounded radiology report generation—PadChest-GR (opens in new tab). The world’s first multimodal, bilingual sentence-level radiology report dataset, developed by the University of Alicante with Microsoft Research, University Hospital Sant Joan d’Alacant and MedBravo, is set to redefine how AI and radiologists interpret radiological images. Our work demonstrates how collaboration between humans and AI can create powerful feedback loops—where new datasets drive better AI models, and those models, in turn, inspire richer datasets. We’re excited to share this progress in NEJM AI, highlighting both the clinical relevance and research excellence of this initiative. 

    A new frontier in radiology report generation 

    It is estimated that over half of people visiting hospitals have radiology scans that must be interpreted by a clinical professional. Traditional radiology reports often condense multiple findings into unstructured narratives. In contrast, grounded radiology reporting demands that each finding be described and localized individually.

    This can mitigate the risk of AI fabrications and enable new interactive capabilities that enhance clinical and patient interpretability. PadChest-GR is the first bilingual dataset to address this need with 4,555 chest X-ray studies complete with Spanish and English sentence-level descriptions and precise spatial (bounding box) annotations for both positive and negative findings. It is the first public benchmark that enables us to evaluate generation of fully grounded radiology reports in chest X-rays. 

    Figure 1. Example of a grounded report from PadChest-GR. The original free-text report in Spanish was ”Motivo de consulta: Preoperatorio. Rx PA tórax: Impresión diagnóstica: Ateromatosis aórtica calcificada. Engrosamiento pleural biapical. Atelectasia laminar basal izquierda. Elongación aórtica. Sin otros hallazgos radiológicos significativos.”

    Spotlight: Blog post

    Eureka: Evaluating and understanding progress in AI

    How can we rigorously evaluate and understand state-of-the-art progress in AI? Eureka is an open-source framework for standardizing evaluations of large foundation models, beyond single-score reporting and rankings. Learn more about the extended findings. 

    This benchmark isn’t standing alone—it plays a critical role in powering our state-of-the-art multimodal report generation model, MAIRA-2. Leveraging the detailed annotations of PadChest-GR, MAIRA-2 represents our commitment to building more interpretable and clinically useful AI systems. You can explore our work on MAIRA-2 on our project web page, including recent user research conducted with clinicians in healthcare settings.

    PadChest-GR is a testament to the power of collaboration. Aurelia Bustos at MedBravo and Antonio Pertusa at the University of Alicante published the original PadChest dataset (opens in new tab) in 2020, with the help of Jose María Salinas from Hospital San Juan de Alicante and María de la Iglesia Vayá from the Center of Excellence in Biomedical Imaging at the Ministry of Health in Valencia, Spain. We started to look at PadChest and were deeply impressed by the scale, depth, and diversity of the data.

    As we worked more closely with the dataset, we realized the opportunity to develop this for grounded radiology reporting research and worked with the team at the University of Alicante to determine how to approach this together. Our complementary expertise was a nice fit. At Microsoft Research, our mission is to push the boundaries of medical AI through innovative, data-driven solutions. The University of Alicante, with its deep clinical expertise, provided critical insights that greatly enriched the dataset’s relevance and utility. The result of this collaboration is the PadChest-GR dataset.

    A significant enabler of our annotation process was Centaur Labs. The team of senior and junior radiologists from the University Hospital Sant Joan d’Alacant, coordinated by Joaquin Galant, used this HIPAA-compliant labeling platform to perform rigorous study-level quality control and bounding box annotations. The annotation protocol implemented ensured that each annotation was accurate and consistent, forming the backbone of a dataset designed for the next generation of grounded radiology report generation models. 

    Accelerating PadChest-GR dataset annotation with AI 

    Our approach integrates advanced large language models with comprehensive manual annotation: 

    Data Selection & Processing: Leveraging Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service (opens in new tab) with GPT-4, we extracted sentences describing individual positive and negative findings from raw radiology reports, translated them from Spanish to English, and linked each sentence to the existing expert labels from PadChest. This was done for a selected subset of the full PadChest dataset, carefully curated to reflect a realistic distribution of clinically relevant findings. 

    Manual Quality Control & Annotation: The processed studies underwent meticulous quality checks on the Centaur Labs platform by radiologist from Hospital San Juan de Alicante. Each positive finding was then annotated with bounding boxes to capture critical spatial information. 

    Standardization & Integration: All annotations were harmonized into coherent grounded reports, preserving the structure and context of the original findings while enhancing interpretability. 

    Figure 2. Overview of the data curation pipeline.

    Impact and future directions 

    PadChest-GR not only sets a new benchmark for grounded radiology reporting, but also serves as the foundation for our MAIRA-2 model, which already showcases the potential of highly interpretable AI in clinical settings. While we developed PadChest-GR to help train and validate our own models, we believe the research community will greatly benefit from this dataset for many years to come. We look forward to seeing the broader research community build on this—improving grounded reporting AI models and using PadChest-GR as a standard for evaluation. We believe that by fostering open collaboration and sharing our resources, we can accelerate progress in medical imaging AI and ultimately improve patient care together with the community.

    The collaboration between Microsoft Research and the University of Alicante highlights the transformative power of working together across disciplines. With our publication in NEJM-AI and the integral role of PadChest-GR in the development of MAIRA-2 (opens in new tab) and RadFact (opens in new tab), we are excited about the future of AI-empowered radiology. We invite researchers and industry experts to explore PadChest-GR and MAIRA-2, contribute innovative ideas, and join us in advancing the field of grounded radiology reporting. 

    Papers already using PadChest-GR:

    For further details or to download PadChest-GR, please visit the BIMCV PadChest-GR Project (opens in new tab). 

    Models in the Azure Foundry that can do Grounded Reporting: 

    Acknowledgement

    • Authors: Daniel C. Castro (opens in new tab), Aurelia Bustos (opens in new tab), Shruthi Bannur (opens in new tab), Stephanie L. Hyland (opens in new tab), Kenza Bouzid (opens in new tab), Maria Teodora Wetscherek (opens in new tab), Maria Dolores Sánchez-Valverde (opens in new tab), Lara Jaques-Pérez (opens in new tab), Lourdes Pérez-Rodríguez (opens in new tab), Kenji Takeda (opens in new tab), José María Salinas (opens in new tab), Javier Alvarez-Valle (opens in new tab), Joaquín Galant Herrero (opens in new tab), Antonio Pertusa (opens in new tab) 

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Microsoft is committed to the European Accessibility Act

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Microsoft is committed to the European Accessibility Act

    On June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) becomes enforceable—–an important step forward for accessibility in the EU and around the world. It sets a new bar for digital accessibility and disability rights, enabling disabled people to fully participate in society and the economy. Accelerating technology and innovation will make it easier for everyone, including 110+ million disabled people across the EU. Microsoft has supported the EAA since its introduction in December 2015. 

    The EAA is a catalyst for advancing the accessibility of digital products and services throughout the European Single Market. It harmonizes accessibility requirements across Member States and establishes a strong framework for future policies, including AI and accessibility. It requires digital products and services, from banking apps to e-readers, to be accessible and it brings clarity and consistency of experience across the EU market.

    Our approach to the EAA 

    Accessibility is a journey that we have been committed to for over 30 years. We view accessibility as a fundamental right, core to Microsoft’s mission to empower every person. It serves a crucially important function, making technology accessible, and easier to use for everyone. 

    We are committed to making sure that our products and services comply with the European Accessibility Act and are grateful to the hundreds of engineers across the company who have prioritized this work over the last three years. We invested in accessibility in some of our leading products, including Windows, Teams, and Outlook, collaborating with policymakers, accessibility professionals, and community members to deliver on EAA requirements. 

    The EAA is a new, complex regulatory framework that is still evolving. The ongoing transposition and harmonization of related standards will determine the steps we all need to take. We will constantly evaluate our products, services, and data uses as understanding and regulatory interpretation of the EAA evolve. 

    Regulation driving innovation

    Our work on the EAA has yielded new features, which we’re proud to announce today: 

    • Real-time text (RTT) in Teams provides a new way for people, including individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, to participate in meetings, directly addressing both EAA requirements and the needs of our customers.   
    • We made it easier to find, learn, and use accessibility features with broadened and standardized support documentation on www.microsoft.com/accessibility. 
    •  Unboxing products is easier, more welcoming for all, and better for the planet. Our approach is detailed in the ‘creating accessible packaging’ toolkit.   
    • We are excited to launch enhanced support for developers to upload closed captions and audio descriptions for app and game trailers, making content available to everyone.  

    The EAA has evolved and has also shaped implementation of AI–driven accessibility in many of our features, including Copilot and Immersive Reader. The EAA’s requirements will continue to be a guidepost for the accessibility of future AI innovation. 

    Helping customers prepare for the EAA  

    We are committed to helping organizations succeed by providing the technology and tools they need to thrive in the AI economy. We start with Microsoft as Customer Zero, then we share our learnings with others. We are launching this today on a new site: aka.ms/EAAOverview. It includes:

    1. Getting Started with the EAA
    If you’re wondering where to begin, start with our Overview of the EAA. It breaks down which products and services are in scope and how to prepare. Today, we’re launching industry guides for retail, transport, finance, media & telco, and government, packed with practical tips to help you turn accessibility into a business advantage. 

    2. Microsoft’s Approach
    We’ve learned a lot on our journey. Some of the tools and frameworks that helped us include: 

    • Inclusive Design: Start early. Our Inclusive Design Framework helps you reduce rework, improve usability, and build products that work for everyone. 
    • Horizon Model: Helps you plan for long-term growth by investing in people, accessible tech, and innovation. 
    • Accessibility Insights: Our free, open-source tool, Accessibility Insights, helps teams find and fix accessibility issues fast. It integrates with GitHub and Azure Boards and supports three flexible testing modes. 

    Ready to take the next step? You can build your own Copilot agent, designed inclusively from the start, and use Accessibility Insights to catch issues early. And if you or your customers need support, our Disability Answer Desk is here to help with accessibility questions, troubleshooting, and product guidance. 

    Looking forward

    June 28 is a starting line, not the finish line. This foundational legislation is an important step for compliance and a catalyst for the next generation of accessible technology innovation. We look forward to learning and partnering with you on the journey. We are proud to host an event with our partner, the European Disability Forum, in Brussels for the European Accessibility Summit 2025 14 October 2025 (in person and virtual). Join us and register now. 

    We are committed to continuing to drive conversations on accessibility and disability rights with policy makers, regulators, industry peers, and the disability community throughout the year, viewing the EAA as a vital step toward reimagining how technology can serve everyone, everywhere. 

     

    Tags: Accessibility

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: How Israeli and U.S. strikes against Iran were facilitated by the Russia-Ukraine war

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University

    The American intervention in Iran is being touted as an outstanding success by President Donald Trump. At the very least, Trump’s decision to attack Iran facilitated a ceasefire as it created angst in Gulf states about being caught in the crossfire after Iran symbolically attacked an American air base, Al Udeid, in Qatar.

    The long-term implications and viability of the ceasefire are open for debate.

    If Iran preserved its nuclear stockpile of fissile material, it has more incentive to develop a nuclear weapon, despite the damage Israel and the United States did to its production facilities. This is especially true if the damage to facilities like Fordow was less than Trump is proclaiming.

    Russian-Iranian relations

    While the future of Iran’s nuclear weapons capacity remains unknown, what is clear is that the U.S. and Israel were able to strike at Iran in large part due to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

    In the modern era, relations between Russia and Iran have frequently been tense. Russia and the Soviet Union’s interests in the region have provoked several conflicts, most notably during the 1940s when the Soviets encouraged the formation of the People’s Republic of Azerbaijan on Iranian soil.

    The shah of Iran’s close relationship with the U.S. further discouraged a strong relationship between Moscow and Tehran.

    The shah’s fall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, however, allowed for a working relationship to develop between Iran and Russia. They’re still rivals but nevertheless work together when it suits their best interests. Russian and Iranian co-operation on the Syrian civil war is an example.

    Furthermore, both Iran and Russia have provided diplomatic support for each other. Russia’s insertion into the Iran nuclear deal framework in 2015 benefited both parties. It provided economic benefits to Russia, and it also allowed Iran to develop its nuclear ambitions.

    When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Iran was one of the few countries that didn’t oppose the move. It abstained from voting on a United Nations resolution in March 2022 condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which amounted to tacit support.

    More importantly, Iran’s own success in evading oil sanctions helped Russia do the same, allowing the Russians to maintain their war effort in Ukraine.

    The connections between Russia and Iran, however, goes beyond the political and economic.

    Drones and other weapons

    Iran has played a pivotal role in Russia’s war in Ukraine. One of Ukraine’s initial advantages was in drone technology, including the drone expertise of its allies. The Russian military, which had not fully embraced the implications of drone technology, was at a severe disadvantage.

    Iran, however, had embraced the role of drones in warfare and both provided drones to Russia and helped the Russians develop their own domestic production.

    Iran, at an arms disadvantage against Israel and the U.S., sought to use drones to offset this weakness. The Iranians, in fact, pioneered the use of drones, most notably the Shahed 131 and 136.



    Read more:
    How Russian and Iranian drone strikes further dehumanize warfare

    Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, the flow of weapons between Russia and Iran was more one-sided. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Iran has been a vital market for Russian military technology. Russian leaders have viewed the sale of weapons to Iran as both a way of supporting the Russian economy and to counter American interests in the Middle East.

    So what’s all this have to do with Ukraine?

    Iran left open to bombardment

    The most crucial weapon provided by Russia to Iran is arguably the S-300, an advanced surface-to-air missile systems.

    Israel’s air dominance and its ability to overcome Iranian air defences in the past meant that the S-300 was a vital piece of technology for Iran. Israeli officials recognized the S-300’s importance to countering their operations when they, for several years, used political pressure to block S-300 sales to Iran.

    In October 2024, Israel likely breached the software that operates the S-300, disabling the system’s radar. This breach allowed Israel to eliminate Iran’s S-300s, and left Iran vulnerable to Israeli and American air attacks.

    Iran has been unable to acquire replacements for one simple reason: Russia needs the weapon systems in Ukraine. Ukraine has prioritized eliminating Russian air defences like the S-300.

    The enduring Ukraine-Russia conflict has served as a bleeding ulcer for the Russian armaments industry. Russian military hardware has been destroyed at such a rate that it’s delayed Russia’s sale of weapons to key markets, including Iran and India.

    The situation has caused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pivot away from Russian military technology — a key feature in Russian-Indian relations — for domestic arms backed by western technology.

    Iran, meantime, has been left open to aerial bombardment by Israel and the U.S.

    Although Iran reportedly possesses the even more advanced S-400, this hasn’t been confirmed and Iran has denied it.

    Ukraine advances U.S. interests

    Rightly or wrongly, the U.S. government identified bombing Iran alongside Israel as being in its national interest. But it’s unlikely American involvement would have been possible without Ukraine draining Russian resources.

    The problem is that the current U.S. administration views the world and its events in an isolated manner. But in a globalized world, few events remain in isolation.

    The U.S. government may argue that supporting Ukraine is not in American interests, but Ukraine’s ongoing fight against Russia is actually assisting Americans elsewhere — most notably, in Iran.

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

    – ref. How Israeli and U.S. strikes against Iran were facilitated by the Russia-Ukraine war – https://theconversation.com/how-israeli-and-u-s-strikes-against-iran-were-facilitated-by-the-russia-ukraine-war-259845

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council working with universities, students and landlords to manage summer changeover period in Leeds

    Source: City of Leeds

    Students leaving or changing accommodation from this weekend

    Students and their landlords in Leeds are being asked to be respectful of their neighbours and the local environment as the summer changeover period begins.

    With many student tenancies coming to an end this month, Leeds City Council is working closely with the University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Arts University, Leeds Trinity University and Unipol to support students, landlords and their agents to support students with the challenge of moving from one place to another on the same day, but also keeping noise and discarded waste to a minimum.

    Building on the positives of the last two years including 80 tonnes of reuseable items being collected and redistributed free or very affordably through local charities Revive and Slate,  the number of temporary reuse banks located in popular student accommodation areas has been increased. 

    Staff from the council’s cleaner neighbourhoods team have joined ambassadors from Leeds Beckett and University of Leeds knocking on thousands of doors in student areas this month, engaging in conversations about being considerate of local communities and delivering flyers detailing ways items no longer needed can be sold, donated or disposed of appropriately.

    Information has also been shared via leaflets, social media posts, direct communications to students by universities, as well as WhatsApp messaging from landlords to their tenants.

    Unipol again has its dedicated ‘moving out’ webpage offering detailed information on how to donate, recycle or dispose of unwanted items in a responsible and timely fashion, with maps of donation bank locations together with all key information at https://www.unipol.org.uk/advice/students/moving-out-2025/

    The council has contacted landlords and lettings agents reminding them of their responsibilities to ensure their tenants dispose of their waste legally, contained in bins or via recycling banks.

    Council street wardens will also be on hand to offer practical advice during the changeover period, and from mid-June, additional refuse collection and street cleansing vehicles will deal with any hotspots of waste.

    The household waste and recycling centres at Kirkstall and Meanwood are open every day from 8am-6pm. Leeds Rental Standard-accredited landlords can access discounted tipping on certain types of waste at Kirkstall recycling centre, where the public weighbridge is open 8am-4pm daily. Students can also access Kirkstall recycling centre on foot to donate to the reuse shop or deposit bulky items.

    Two additional caged vehicles will also once again be in operation sponsored by Leeds Property Association and Unipol.

    Council enforcement officers will be patrolling student areas to ensure waste is being disposed of appropriately, and have the powers to issue fines for non-compliance. The serious environmental crime team will also be actively monitoring areas to catch and deter unlicensed waste carriers or anyone caught sifting through bins attempting to find any valuables.

    Speaking ahead of the changeover weekend, Councillor Mary Harland, Leeds City Council’s executive member for communities, customer service and community safety, and Councillor Mohammed Rafique, executive member for climate, energy, environment and green space, said:

    “We are very pleased to be working again with all the Leeds universities, landlords and agents to help support students leaving or changing their accommodation this summer. Given we have approximately 80,000 students in the city this changeover period is a massive undertaking, so we are committed to doing everything we can to help them with the process and especially disposing of their waste appropriately.

    “We would appeal directly to the students to enjoy their final days in their current arrangements, but to remind them of their responsibilities to be respectful and mindful of their neighbours and local communities to ensure there is no anti-social behaviour, which will not be tolerated and will be dealt with quickly.

    “There is also no excuse for waste being dumped on the street or in public spaces, please make use of all of the extra range of facilities and options on offer to dispose of goods appropriately. Anyone not doing so risks facing prosecution and spot fines, but if people behave responsibly those won’t be needed which is very much what we hope.”

    A spokesperson from Leeds Beckett University’s Students’ Union said:

    ”For all of us at Leeds Beckett Students’ Union, building a positive relationship between our students, landlords and the wider community is a priority. We’re here to support students as they settle into new homes in July during the changeover period, a busy and sometimes challenging time for both students and local residents. We encourage everyone to be considerate of neighbours as well as being patient and respectful. By working together, we can ensure a smooth transition and continue building the strong sense of community that makes Leeds such a great place to live and study.”

    A spokesperson from Leeds Arts University’s Students’ Union said:

    “As the academic year ends, we encourage all Leeds students to act responsibly when leaving their accommodation for the final time. Removal of unwanted items to recycling facilities and appropriate disposal of excess rubbish is an essential part of the moving out process, whilst leaving behind waste places unnecessary strain on local services and is disrespectful to neighbours and the wider community. Leeds Arts Union is happy to be working collaboratively once again with the other Leeds universities and Leeds City Council to ensure our students move out responsibly and end the year sustainably.”

    To see the guidance around leaving or changing student accommodation, visit https://www.unipol.org.uk/advice/students/moving-out-2025/

    ENDS

    For media enquiries please contact:

    Leeds City Council communications and marketing,

    Email: communicationsteam@leeds.gov.uk

    Tel: 0113 378 6007

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Why bending over backwards to agree with Donald Trump is a perilous strategy

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Andrew Gawthorpe, Lecturer in History and International Studies, Leiden University

    Donald Trump is a difficult figure to deal with, both for foreign leaders and figures closer to home who find themselves in his crosshairs. The US president is unpredictable, sensitive and willing to break the rules to get his way.

    But in Trump’s second term, a variety of different leaders and institutions seem to have settled on a way to handle him. The key, they seem to think, is flattery. The most obvious example came at the recently concluded Nato summit in The Hague, Netherlands, where world leaders got together to discuss the future of the alliance.

    Previous summits with Trump have descended into recrimination and backbiting. The organisers were determined to avoid a repeat – and decided the best way to do it was to make Trump feel really, really good about himself.

    Even before the summit began, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte had texted Trump to thank him for his “decisive action” in bombing Iran. This, he said, was something “no one else dared to do”.

    Then, when discussing Trump’s role in ending the war between Israel and Iran, Rutte referred to Trump as “daddy” – a name the White House has already transformed into a meme.

    The summit itself was light on the sort of contentious and detailed policy discussions that have historically bored and angered Trump.

    Instead, it was reduced to a series of photo opportunities and speeches in which other leaders lavished praise on Trump. Lithuania’s president, Gitanas Nausėda, even suggested the alliance ought to copy Trump’s political movement by adopting the phrase “make Nato great again”.

    Nato leaders aren’t the only ones trying this trick. British prime minister Keir Starmer has had a go at it too. Starmer has made sure that Trump will be the first US president to make a second state visit to the UK. He described the honour in Trump-like terms: “This has never happened before. It’s so incredible. It will be historic.”

    After Trump announced global trade tariffs earlier in the year, Starmer was the first leader to give Trump a much-needed victory by reaching a framework trade agreement. But it worked both ways, with Starmer able to land a political victory too.

    In his first term, flattery was also seen as a tool to be used to get Trump onside. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky tried it in phone conversations with the US president, calling him a “great teacher” from whom he learned “skills and knowledge”.

    Flattery and compliance clearly have their uses. Trump is extremely sensitive to criticism and susceptible to praise, however hyperbolic and transparent it might be. Buttering him up may be an effective way to get him to back off.

    But it doesn’t achieve much else. At the Nato summit, an opportunity was missed to make progress on issues of real importance, such as how to better support Ukraine in its war against Russia or to better coordinate European defence spending.

    A summit dedicated to the sole aim of making Trump feel good is one with very limited aims indeed. All it does is push the difficult decisions forward for another day.

    A missed opportunity

    Individual decisions to bow down to Trump also mean missing the opportunity to mount collective resistance. One country might not be able to stand up to the president, but the odds of doing so would be greatly improved if leaders banded together.

    For example, Trump’s trade tariffs will damage the US economy as well as those of its trading partners. That is especially the case if those partners impose tariffs of their own on US goods.

    If each country instead follows Britain’s lead in the hope of getting the best deal for itself, they will have missed the opportunity to force the president to feel some discomfort of his own – and possibly change course.

    But perhaps the greatest danger of flattering Trump is that it teaches him that he can get away with doing pretty much whatever he likes. For a president who has threatened to annex the territory of Nato allies Denmark and Canada to nevertheless be feted at a Nato summit sends a message of impunity.

    That’s a dangerous lesson for Trump to learn. He has spent much of his second term undermining democratic and liberal norms at home and key tenets of US foreign policy abroad, such as hostility to Russia. He is attempting to undermine all traditional sources of authority and expertise and instead make the world dance to his own tune.

    Given the expansive scope of his aims, which many experts already think is leading to a constitutional crisis that threatens democracy, the willingness to suck up to Trump normalises him in a menacing way.

    When his targets roll over, it sends a message to others that Trump is unstoppable and resistance is futile. It encourages not just the next presidential abuse of power, but also the next surrender from those he chooses to attack.

    Perhaps the best that can be said for this strategy is that maybe it will appease Trump enough to prevent him from doing too much actual harm. But when dealing with such an unpredictable and vindictive president, that is a thin reed of hope.

    It is much more likely to encourage him to press on – until the harm becomes too severe to ignore.

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

    – ref. Why bending over backwards to agree with Donald Trump is a perilous strategy – https://theconversation.com/why-bending-over-backwards-to-agree-with-donald-trump-is-a-perilous-strategy-259936

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: How Macau’s second world war experience shaped the territory

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Helena F. S. Lopes, Lecturer in Modern Asian History, Cardiff University

    Macau’s giant casinos and malls have earned the territory its nickname: the ‘Las Vegas of the east’. Sanga Park / Shutterstock

    This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, a conflict that left few corners of the globe untouched. In east Asia, the small Portuguese-administrated territory of Macau in southern China stood out as a rare neutral territory. But, despite its neutrality, Macau could not escape the war’s far-reaching impact.

    In fact, Macau saw its population treble in the period between 1937 and the end of the second world war, reaching around half a million people. The newcomers, most of whom had fled the Japanese occupation of China, exceeded the existing residents and influenced all facets of life in Macau.

    Some went on to shape the territory well beyond the end of the second world war, helping Macau earn its later status as one of the leading gambling hubs in the world. These people included the late Stanley Ho, the “casino tycoon” in Macau and one of the key architects of its post-war economy.

    In his testimony for the 1999 book, Macao Remembers, Ho noted how Macau’s wartime atmosphere had inspired him. “Macao was tiny, and yet a bit like Casablanca – all the secret intelligence, the murders, the gambling – it was a very exciting place”, he said.

    Ho was referring to the fictional version of the French-controlled wartime city of Casablanca in the 1942 Hollywood film, also called Casablanca. As a neutral enclave, Macau was a site of multinational refuge, smuggling of goods and people, espionage, danger and opportunities.

    Macau is located on the south coast of China, across the Pearl River estuary from Hong Kong.
    Sémhur / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC-ND

    Site of refuge

    Japan’s invasion of China began in the 1930s. As Japanese forces took control of most of the eastern coast from 1937 onward, the Chinese nationalist government moved inland to resist from its relocated capitals, first Wuhan and then Chongqing. By the end of 1940, the most important political, economic, educational and cultural urban centres in China had been occupied.

    Surrounded by occupied areas, territories under foreign rule in China such as the Shanghai foreign concessions, Macau and Hong Kong became “lone islands”. Their neutral status attracted many thousands of refugees, resistance activists and relocated businesses. Lone islands became supply lifelines for the Chinese resistance and propaganda battlegrounds for opposing sides.

    They experienced periods of economic boom fuelled by the influx of refugees. And they were prime locations for the transfer of information and funds, as well as intelligence collection. Lone islands were also sites of humanitarian relief, connected to diaspora networks and organisations designed to support the Chinese war effort.

    By the end of 1941, these spaces of neutrality were disappearing. The Shanghai foreign concessions were taken over by Japan and later handed over to a Chinese collaborationist administration, and the British colony of Hong Kong was occupied and placed under Japanese military rule. French-ruled Guangzhouwan, also in south China, was under de facto Japanese control by 1943.

    Macau, which remained neutral throughout the war, stood as the last lone island – if always subject to Japanese influence. Macau’s neutrality drew many from opposing camps.

    In the late 1930s, most refugees to Macau had come from Shanghai and Guangdong province. The occupation of Hong Kong in late 1941 then brought another wave of displaced persons to Macau.

    Stanley Ho was among the refugees who arrived in Macau from the neighbouring British colony. He joined his uncle Robert Ho Tung, a renowned businessman who also relocated to Macau during the occupation of Hong Kong.

    According to Ho’s own accounts, his wartime activities were the foundation of a fortune. Several other figures who would become important economic players in Macau’s post-war economy, such as businessman Ho Yin, also cut their teeth during the second world war’s climate of contingency and opportunity.

    Working for the Macau Co-operative Company, established by the Japanese to manage trade between Japan and the government in Macau, Ho was involved in bartering materials in exchange for food supplies with Japanese interlocutors. He also had an English-Japanese language exchange with the Japanese intelligence chief in Macau, Colonel Sawa.

    Through these activities, Ho made important contacts among the different communities who found themselves in Macau during the war. This included powerful intermediaries such as Pedro José Lobo, the head of the economic services in Macau. These connections exposed Ho to the popularity of gambling in Macau and the potential to take it to a different level.

    Gambling had been legal in Macau since the mid-19th century. But it was during the war that we would see the origins of the casino-hotel model that is now prevalent in the territory.

    The leading hotels of 1940s Macau, such as Hotel Central and Grande Hotel Kuoc Chai, offered employment to refugee musicians and dancers and were sites of entertainment for those with funds to spend.

    Hotel Central, one of the leading hotels in 1940s Macau.
    stefangde / Shutterstock

    After the end of the second world war, Ho set up a company called Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM) with partners including Henry Fok, Teddy Yip and Yip Hon. These were businessmen with links to Hong Kong, mainland China and Indonesia.

    In 1962, the same year STDM was founded, it earned the exclusive licence to run casinos in Macau, replacing pre-existing magnates who were more prominent during the second world war.

    One of the key innovations brought by their company’s casinos was the popularisation of western-style games. They were also involved in philanthropic activities, much like the wartime gambling tycoons had been, with Macau again seeing the arrival of many destitute displaced persons during the cold war.

    Gambling has been liberalised in Macau since the early 2000s, and the territory has now surpassed Las Vegas to become the largest casino market in the world.

    Helena F. S. Lopes received doctoral and postdoctoral research funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Leverhulme Trust for projects relating to Macau during the Second World War and the post-war period.

    – ref. How Macau’s second world war experience shaped the territory – https://theconversation.com/how-macaus-second-world-war-experience-shaped-the-territory-246650

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Canada needs a national AI literacy strategy to help students navigate AI

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Mohammed Estaiteyeh, Assistant Professor of Digital Pedagogies and Technology Literacies, Faculty of Education, Brock University

    AI literacy equips learners to understand and navigate the pervasive influence of AI in their daily lives. (Shutterstock)

    With students’ use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools on the rise in Canada and globally, reports of cheating and unethical behaviors are making headlines.

    One recent study indicates that 78 per cent of Canadian students have used generative AI to help with assignments or study tasks. In China, authorities have even shut down AI apps during nationwide exams to prevent cheating.

    Students seem unprepared to navigate this new world and educators are unsure how to handle it. This is a problem Canada and other countries can’t afford to ignore.

    The support structures and policies to guide students’ and educators’ responsible use of AI are often insufficient in Canadian schools. In a recent study, Canada ranked 44th in AI training and literacy out of 47 countries, and 28th among 30 advanced economies. Despite growing reliance on these technologies at homes and in the classrooms, Canada lacks a unified AI literacy strategy in K-12 education.

    Without co-ordinated action, this gap threatens to widen existing inequalities and leave both learners and educators vulnerable. Canadian schools need a national AI literacy strategy that provides a framework for teaching students about AI tools and how to use them responsibly.

    What is AI literacy?

    AI literacy is defined as:

    “An individual’s ability to clearly explain how AI technologies work and impact society, as well as to use them in an ethical and responsible manner and to effectively communicate and collaborate with them in any setting.”

    Acknowledging its importance, scholars and international organizations have been developing AI literacy frameworks. UNESCO has developed AI competency frameworks for students and teachers, highlighting key capabilities they should acquire to navigate AI implications.

    More recently, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European Commission released their joint draft AI Literacy Framework for primary and secondary education. This framework defines AI literacy as the technical knowledge, durable skills and future-ready attitudes required to thrive in a world influenced by AI.

    The framework aims to empower learners to engage with, create with, manage and design AI, while critically evaluating its benefits, risks and ethical implications.

    AI-literate students are better able to develop an ethical and human-centred mindset as they learn to consider AI’s social and environmental impacts.
    (Shutterstock)

    Why does AI literacy matter?

    AI literacy equips learners to understand and navigate the pervasive influence of AI in their daily lives. It fosters critical thinking skills to assess AI outputs for misinformation and bias.

    AI literacy also enables students to make safe and informed decisions about when and how to use AI, preventing habits that compromise academic integrity. In addition, student knowledge of AI’s technical foundations demystifies AI, dispelling misconceptions that it is all-knowing, and highlights its capabilities and limitations.

    Furthermore, AI-literate students are better able to develop an ethical and human-centred mindset as they learn to consider AI’s social and environmental impacts, including issues of transparency, accountability, privacy and the environmental cost of AI systems.

    AI literacy prepares students to collaborate effectively and ethically with AI tools (for example, with writing) and helps them understand how to delegate only certain tasks to AI without cognitive offloading that may be detrimental at various developmental stages.

    Finally, AI literacy aims to ensure inclusive access to AI learning environments for all students, regardless of background, status or ability.

    Canadian and international landscape

    In Canada, some provinces and school boards are moving ahead with AI integration, while others offer very little teacher training and resources to do so.

    Some universities and community organizations are also taking the lead in building AI literacy by providing curricula, resources and training to teachers and students.

    These scattered efforts, while appreciated, lead to AI learning opportunities that are often ad-hoc or extracurricular. Without national or province-wide requirements, many students — especially in marginalized communities and under-resourced schools — may graduate high school with no exposure to AI concepts at all, worsening the digital divide.

    To put Canada’s situation in context, it is useful to compare with other countries that are implementing or proposing national AI education initiatives. As part of its National AI Strategy, Singapore launched a partnership to strengthen students’ AI literacy, building on earlier initiatives that focused on teacher training.

    A meaningful AI literacy strategy must begin in the classroom with age-appropriate content.
    (Shutterstock)

    In China, the Ministry of Education issued systematic guidelines to promote AI education in primary and secondary schools. Similarly, the United Arab Emirates introduced AI classes into its curricula starting in the primary years.

    More recently, the United States established an AI framework and a task force aimed at “building essential AI literacy from an early age to maintain a competitive edge in global technology development and prepare students for an AI-driven economy.”

    Canada, in comparison to these examples, has strengths in its bottom-up innovation but lacks a guiding vision. Canada needs a co-ordinated strategy that leverages federal-provincial collaboration through a unifying framework, shared resources and a common baseline of AI knowledge that every Canadian student should acquire.

    What should this strategy include?

    A meaningful AI literacy strategy must begin in the classroom with age-appropriate content. Students can start with the technical foundations and advance to think critically about AI’s limitations, ethical issues and social implications.

    It’s important that this content is woven across subjects and presented in ways that reflect the cultural and social contexts of learners.

    Equally essential is supporting educators. Teachers need practical, research-informed professional development and teaching toolkits that equip them to guide students through both the opportunities and risks of AI.

    To make these efforts sustainable and equitable, a national strategy must also include policy directions, regulations for the tech industry, community outreach programs and intentional opportunities for collaboration between various stakeholders (researchers, policymakers, school boards, teacher education programs and so on).

    Whether you think AI is a good or bad thing, the fact is it’s here. This is not a call to incorporate AI tools in schools. It is a call to make Canadian students aware of its abilities and implications. Our kids need to learn about this technology and how to use it responsibly.

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

    – ref. Canada needs a national AI literacy strategy to help students navigate AI – https://theconversation.com/canada-needs-a-national-ai-literacy-strategy-to-help-students-navigate-ai-257513

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Canada needs a national AI literacy strategy to help students navigate AI

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Mohammed Estaiteyeh, Assistant Professor of Digital Pedagogies and Technology Literacies, Faculty of Education, Brock University

    AI literacy equips learners to understand and navigate the pervasive influence of AI in their daily lives. (Shutterstock)

    With students’ use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools on the rise in Canada and globally, reports of cheating and unethical behaviors are making headlines.

    One recent study indicates that 78 per cent of Canadian students have used generative AI to help with assignments or study tasks. In China, authorities have even shut down AI apps during nationwide exams to prevent cheating.

    Students seem unprepared to navigate this new world and educators are unsure how to handle it. This is a problem Canada and other countries can’t afford to ignore.

    The support structures and policies to guide students’ and educators’ responsible use of AI are often insufficient in Canadian schools. In a recent study, Canada ranked 44th in AI training and literacy out of 47 countries, and 28th among 30 advanced economies. Despite growing reliance on these technologies at homes and in the classrooms, Canada lacks a unified AI literacy strategy in K-12 education.

    Without co-ordinated action, this gap threatens to widen existing inequalities and leave both learners and educators vulnerable. Canadian schools need a national AI literacy strategy that provides a framework for teaching students about AI tools and how to use them responsibly.

    What is AI literacy?

    AI literacy is defined as:

    “An individual’s ability to clearly explain how AI technologies work and impact society, as well as to use them in an ethical and responsible manner and to effectively communicate and collaborate with them in any setting.”

    Acknowledging its importance, scholars and international organizations have been developing AI literacy frameworks. UNESCO has developed AI competency frameworks for students and teachers, highlighting key capabilities they should acquire to navigate AI implications.

    More recently, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European Commission released their joint draft AI Literacy Framework for primary and secondary education. This framework defines AI literacy as the technical knowledge, durable skills and future-ready attitudes required to thrive in a world influenced by AI.

    The framework aims to empower learners to engage with, create with, manage and design AI, while critically evaluating its benefits, risks and ethical implications.

    AI-literate students are better able to develop an ethical and human-centred mindset as they learn to consider AI’s social and environmental impacts.
    (Shutterstock)

    Why does AI literacy matter?

    AI literacy equips learners to understand and navigate the pervasive influence of AI in their daily lives. It fosters critical thinking skills to assess AI outputs for misinformation and bias.

    AI literacy also enables students to make safe and informed decisions about when and how to use AI, preventing habits that compromise academic integrity. In addition, student knowledge of AI’s technical foundations demystifies AI, dispelling misconceptions that it is all-knowing, and highlights its capabilities and limitations.

    Furthermore, AI-literate students are better able to develop an ethical and human-centred mindset as they learn to consider AI’s social and environmental impacts, including issues of transparency, accountability, privacy and the environmental cost of AI systems.

    AI literacy prepares students to collaborate effectively and ethically with AI tools (for example, with writing) and helps them understand how to delegate only certain tasks to AI without cognitive offloading that may be detrimental at various developmental stages.

    Finally, AI literacy aims to ensure inclusive access to AI learning environments for all students, regardless of background, status or ability.

    Canadian and international landscape

    In Canada, some provinces and school boards are moving ahead with AI integration, while others offer very little teacher training and resources to do so.

    Some universities and community organizations are also taking the lead in building AI literacy by providing curricula, resources and training to teachers and students.

    These scattered efforts, while appreciated, lead to AI learning opportunities that are often ad-hoc or extracurricular. Without national or province-wide requirements, many students — especially in marginalized communities and under-resourced schools — may graduate high school with no exposure to AI concepts at all, worsening the digital divide.

    To put Canada’s situation in context, it is useful to compare with other countries that are implementing or proposing national AI education initiatives. As part of its National AI Strategy, Singapore launched a partnership to strengthen students’ AI literacy, building on earlier initiatives that focused on teacher training.

    A meaningful AI literacy strategy must begin in the classroom with age-appropriate content.
    (Shutterstock)

    In China, the Ministry of Education issued systematic guidelines to promote AI education in primary and secondary schools. Similarly, the United Arab Emirates introduced AI classes into its curricula starting in the primary years.

    More recently, the United States established an AI framework and a task force aimed at “building essential AI literacy from an early age to maintain a competitive edge in global technology development and prepare students for an AI-driven economy.”

    Canada, in comparison to these examples, has strengths in its bottom-up innovation but lacks a guiding vision. Canada needs a co-ordinated strategy that leverages federal-provincial collaboration through a unifying framework, shared resources and a common baseline of AI knowledge that every Canadian student should acquire.

    What should this strategy include?

    A meaningful AI literacy strategy must begin in the classroom with age-appropriate content. Students can start with the technical foundations and advance to think critically about AI’s limitations, ethical issues and social implications.

    It’s important that this content is woven across subjects and presented in ways that reflect the cultural and social contexts of learners.

    Equally essential is supporting educators. Teachers need practical, research-informed professional development and teaching toolkits that equip them to guide students through both the opportunities and risks of AI.

    To make these efforts sustainable and equitable, a national strategy must also include policy directions, regulations for the tech industry, community outreach programs and intentional opportunities for collaboration between various stakeholders (researchers, policymakers, school boards, teacher education programs and so on).

    Whether you think AI is a good or bad thing, the fact is it’s here. This is not a call to incorporate AI tools in schools. It is a call to make Canadian students aware of its abilities and implications. Our kids need to learn about this technology and how to use it responsibly.

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

    – ref. Canada needs a national AI literacy strategy to help students navigate AI – https://theconversation.com/canada-needs-a-national-ai-literacy-strategy-to-help-students-navigate-ai-257513

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Chinese State Councilor Stresses Need to Support Employment, Boost Consumption

    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

    CHANGSHA, June 26 (Xinhua) — Chinese State Councilor Shen Yiqin has called for efforts to stabilize employment of key groups such as college graduates and further boost consumption related to culture, tourism and sports.

    Shen Yiqin made the remarks during an inspection tour of Hunan Province in central China from June 23 to 26.

    She pointed to the need to pay more attention to employment and take support measures to expand employment opportunities for key groups, including university graduates, migrant workers and those who have escaped poverty.

    Enterprises should receive more support to create new jobs, Shen Yiqin stressed, calling for large-scale vocational training programs to be launched in key sectors to upgrade the skills of the workforce.

    The State Councilor also called for consistently increasing the supply of high-quality products and services, and accelerating the deep integration of culture, tourism and sports with science and technology to better meet the growing demand of the population. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Netflix TV drama ‘Secrets We Keep’ exposes the dangers of domestic migrant work

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Reena Kukreja, Associate Professor, Global Development Studies, Queen’s University, Ontario

    In Secrets We Keep, the hidden world of domestic work and abuse is exposed. Here Excel Busano who plays Angel, Cecilia’s au pair and Ruby’s best friend in Denmark speaks with her community on the phone. Tine Harden/Netflix

    Secrets We Keep (Reservatet), a Danish suspense series on Netflix created by Ingeborg Topsøe, delves into the disappearance of a Filipina au pair from an elite suburb of Copenhagen — and delivers a sharp social commentary on racial and class entitlements.

    Moving fluidly between English, Danish and Tagalog, the six-part drama is a nuanced indictment of the lack of moral accountability among the rich. On display are the prejudices and complicity of white women in enabling a culture of toxic masculinity that treats Filipina migrant women as sexualized and disposable commodities.

    The story starts with a tearful Ruby Tan — a Filipina au pair who works for the affluent Rasmus (Lars Ranthe) and Katarina (Danica Curcic) — asking for some help with her employers from her neighbour, Cecilie (played by Marie Bach Hansen).

    Cecilie is a successful non-profit manager and mother of two married to a high-profile lawyer. She employs Angel (Excel Busano), a Filipina au pair. Cecilie tells Ruby she cannot get involved.

    The next day, Ruby vanishes without a trace.

    The series is propelled by Cecilie’s guilt in refusing to help Ruby. She is shocked at her neighbours’ apparent lack of concern for Ruby’s disappearance.

    Cecilie begins to sleuth for clues regarding Ruby’s disappearance and she eventually decides to assist Aicha, a racialized policewoman assigned to find the missing au pair. Cecilie discovers a pregnancy kit by a trash bin where she had last seen Ruby. And she soon suspects Ruby’s employer, Rasmus, of raping her.

    While the series lacks true suspense due to its predictable story arc peppered with clues about Ruby’s disappearance, it is amply compensated by a sharp critique on the moral decay of modern society, systemic racism and the complicity of women in upholding white masculine privilege.

    Warped racist view of the world

    Secrets We Keep lays bare the warped world view of rich, white privilege, racism and the sexual fetishism of Asian women.

    At a dinner party one night, Rasmus and Katarina do not seem concerned about their missing au pair. Katarina labels Filipina au pairs as whores working in brothels. When discussing Ruby, Katarina says, “she probably ran off to do porn.”

    In one uncomfortable scene, Rasmus taunts Cecilia’s husband, Mike (Simon Sears), about his sexual preferences. Mike responds by saying: “I don’t have ‘yellow fever.’” Cecilia sits silently beside Mike.

    Katarina also calls Aicha (Sara Fanta Traore), the policewoman, “the little brown one.”

    At a formal dinner, Rasmus tells Cecilia: “We stick together. We are from the same world, and we are loyal to each other.”

    High rates of violence against women

    The reduction of Ruby into a sexual object in the show reflects the high rates of sexual violence against Filipina au pairs in Scandinavia.

    It led the Philippines to ban the participation of Scandinavian countries in its “informal labour” arrangement in 1998. Though the ban was lifted in 2010, Au Pair Network, an advocacy group, reveals that the program is still riddled with abuse.

    The Nordic Paradox is a term used to describe how Scandinavian countries, including Denmark, rank the highest in the Gender Equality Index yet suffer from very high rates of violence against women and intimate partner violence in Europe.

    At a recent gender studies conference in Stockholm, Ardis Ingvars, a sociologist at the University of Iceland who worked as an au pair for a year in the United States just after she turned 18, recalls her anxiety and apprehension as she moved to Boston.

    She said:

    “Au pairs hope to be lucky with the family turning out OK. What is difficult to take is the attitude of ‘ownership’ that the children and families display over the au pairs as an unquestioned entitlement.”

    Ingvars said asymmetrical power relations embedded within the au pair system reinforce racial and class hierarchies.

    This is reflected in Secrets We Keep. Midway during Aicha’s investigation, as she hits roadblock after roadblock, she cries out in frustration: “She’s a fucking nobody in their world.”

    Aicha Petersen (Sara Fanta Traore) is the police investigator charged with finding Ruby in ‘Secrets We Keep’.
    Netflix

    Feminized labour exploitation

    Economic globalization, neoliberal policies and an increased dependence on the remittance economy fuses with the care gap in the Global North to fuel the feminized care migration from the Global South, many of them Filipino women.

    Au pairs are placed with host families who provide free board and meals in return for up to 30 hours a week of housework and child care as they learn the host language and customs. The au pairs are paid “pocket money” of Danish Kroner 5,000 per month (approx $1,000 Canadian) out of which they also pay local taxes.

    One scene shows one of Cecilie’s work meetings. A junior staff member expresses surprise that Cecilie has an au pair, labelling it a relic of colonial era racial hierarchies.

    Cecilie defends herself, and says the system survives because of the failure of men to keep up their domestic bargain and thus the need for women like her “to outsource care.”

    She argues the Filipina au pairs “are dependable” and she is “a much better mother” because of Angel. But Cecilie doesn’t acknowledge her privilege — that to be with her children and have a career is predicated on the exploitative extraction of care from Global South women.

    The female au pairs in Denmark must be between 18-29 years of age, childless, never married and at the end of two years, return home. Almost 50 to 75 per cent of au pairs in Denmark are Filipino women

    Cecilie’s shock at finding out that Angel has a son whom she left behind in the Philippines is part of her denial. In the end, Cecilie is unable to confront her own complicity and decides to release Angel from their au pair arrangement.

    “You know nothing about my world…You are very lucky,” cries Angel in anguish as Cecilie hands her the return ticket and an extra three months’ pay to demonstrate her magnanimity.

    Secrets We Keep reveals the brutal reality for Global South au pairs as well as upper-class white women and their entitlements. It indicates that even though these white wealthy women may see mistreatment, they maintain their silence and participate in wilful gendered violence to hold onto that privilege, while maintaining a façade of compassion towards the disposable racial migrant other.

    Reena Kukreja receives funding from SSHRC.

    – ref. Netflix TV drama ‘Secrets We Keep’ exposes the dangers of domestic migrant work – https://theconversation.com/netflix-tv-drama-secrets-we-keep-exposes-the-dangers-of-domestic-migrant-work-258556

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China, Interpol to Strengthen Cooperation for Global Security

    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 26 (Xinhua) — Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong met with International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) President Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi in Beijing on Thursday, calling on both sides to make contributions to jointly building global security.

    Wang Xiaohong noted that the Chinese side highly values INTERPOL’s firm commitment to the one-China principle. He emphasized China’s intention to intensify communication and coordination on key issues, raise the level of strategic cooperation, deepen interaction in building the capacity of law enforcement agencies, and jointly ensure the successful holding of the 94th session of the INTERPOL General Assembly.

    A. N. al-Raisi, for his part, expressed gratitude to China for its active support and stated that Interpol expects to continue high-level cooperation with the PRC.

    During the meeting, A. N. ar-Raisi was awarded the gold commemorative medal of the Ministry of Public Security of the PRC “The Great Wall of China”. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Why brands are embracing fantasy: The psychology behind escapist marketing in anxious times

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Eugene Y. Chan, Associate Professor of Marketing, Toronto Metropolitan University

    Why did Aritzia open a café inside its flagship store in Toronto? Why did Burberry pivot from fashion photography to cinematic ads that transport viewers into dreamlike sequences? And why is Simons, Canada’s remaining department store, incorporating art and interactive technologies into its retail spaces?

    The answer lies in a trend known as escapist marketing. In an era marked by economic uncertainty, climate anxiety, geopolitical tensions and relentless digital fatigue, brands are turning to fantasy, storytelling and emotionally immersive design to sell products to consumers.

    Escapist marketing is a strategy that creates emotionally immersive experiences to help consumers temporarily escape from reality, often through fantasy, nostalgia or idealized lifestyles. It taps into the desire for relief from stress or monotony by offering imaginative or aspirational narratives.

    A video introducing ‘It’s Always Burberry Weather: London in Love,’ a series of seven films by Burberry inspired by British romantic comedies.

    Escapist marketing has been gaining traction in Canada as consumers are drawn to brands that spark imagination and emotional engagement. According to a 2024 Retail Council of Canada report, Gen Z shoppers prefer brands that offer emotional connection, purpose and creativity.

    The inaugural Great Canadian Brand Index, which one of us (Eugene Y. Chan) helped develop, found that brands perceived as adventurous, honest and imaginative scored highest in overall public favourability. These are precisely the qualities expressed through fantastical storytelling.

    As marketing professors and researchers, we’ve been studying how and why this approach works, and we’ve found it’s grounded in psychology.

    The rise of fantasy in branding

    While brands have long used aspiration in their marketing, today’s strategies feel noticeably different. The focus has shifted from luxury and exclusivity to escapism itself, and it’s becoming increasingly visible across industries.

    Consider Coca-Cola’s “Real Magic” campaign, for instance, which uses AI-generated imagery to create whimsical dreamscapes. Or Apple’s recent “Mother Nature” ad, which reframes a corporate report about the brand’s support of environmental and social issues as a high-concept film starring Octavia Spencer.

    Apple’s ‘Mother Nature’ ad.

    In London, Gucci’s “Gucci Cosmos” series invites visitors into a surreal world of time travel and design history.

    These marketing campaigns are all designed to be emotional experiences for consumers. This means that the emotional reactions consumers have during interactions with a brand, product or service influence their attitudes, memories and future decision-making. These emotions deepen engagement and strengthen brand loyalty.

    As consumers continue to feel burned out and overstimulated, fantasy in the form of escapism offers them mental relief. Research shows that immersive experiences — whether through entertainment, retail environments or brand storytelling — can distract from stressors and promote emotional recovery. By providing a temporary break from reality, fantasy-driven marketing taps into a deep psychological need for comfort and cognitive release.

    Why it works: The psychology of escapism

    To understand why escapist marketing is so effective, it helps to look at the psychology behind it.

    One explanation comes from construal level theory, a framework that examines how psychological distance shapes thinking. When something feels far away in time, space or familiarity, we tend to think about it more abstractly.

    Surreal or fantastical branding increases this distance, shifting consumers’ focus from immediate utility to emotional resonance, identity and imagination.

    While escapist marketing is a broader strategy that aims to help consumers mentally disengage from reality, surreal or fantastical branding is one specific tactic that uses dreamlike, imaginative visuals and narratives to achieve that goal.

    Not all escapist marketing is surreal, but surreal branding often serves as a powerful form of escapism by transporting consumers into an alternate world.

    A video about the Gucci Cosmos exhibition celebrating over 100 years of the brand’s history.

    Our research supports this. In one study, we explored how concave visual design — where ad elements curve inward — draws viewers into the imagery, increases feelings of immersion and enhances message recall and persuasion. This is likely why dreamlike campaigns often use fluid, expansive or distorted imagery.

    Another factor is anthropomorphism: the tendency to assign human traits to objects or environments. In our studies on destination branding, we found that people are more emotionally connected to places or products that seem to come alive. These findings help explain why fantastical branding resonates so strongly with consumers, particularly in times of stress.

    Escapism also pairs naturally with luxury branding, where emotional desire often outweighs functional need. In a recent study with our research colleagues, we found that luxury brands were evaluated more favourably when their positioning felt abstract or elevated. Fantasy enhances this effect, allowing consumers to feel both wealthier and transported.

    Escapism isn’t a free pass

    There’s a fine line between meaningful escapism and empty spectacle. If a brand’s fantasy narrative feels disconnected from its action, or appears to mask unethical practices, consumers are quick to notice.

    Greenwashing, AI overuse or tone-deaf advertising can easily backfire on businesses.

    When consumers perceive a brand as inauthentic — whether through misleading sustainability claims, excessive reliance on AI or insensitive messaging — it can erode trust, trigger public criticism and lead to brand avoidance.

    Studies show that such missteps often result in reputational damage and decreased customer loyalty, particularly among values-driven or socially aware consumers

    This is where the concept of radical honesty intersects with escapism. The most effective marketing campaigns today blend creativity with transparency. They tell imaginative stories while also acknowledging real-world issues like carbon emissions, labour practices and social justice issues.

    Brands like Patagonia — and Peace Collective in Canada that’s working in conjunction with McDonalds — have managed to strike this balance by combining emotionally impactful ad campaigns with commitments to ethical and sustainable practices.

    Consumers want experiences that resonate

    In times of economic stress and cultural fatigue, Canadians are seeking experiences that resonate with them. When done thoughtfully and grounded in psychology and authenticity, escapist marketing can respond to consumers’ desire to feel something deeper, even via something as brief as a 30-second ad.

    So next time you find yourself smiling at a surreal commercial or lingering in a carefully curated retail space, understand that small moment of wonder is a strategic choice, supported by research.

    But while immersive storytelling may captivate audiences, consumers are becoming more discerning about what feels authentic. The future of escapist marketing may lie in the blending of digital and physical realities. Tools like augmented and virtual reality can allow brands to create even more immersive fantasies.

    Imagine ordering coffee from an AI-generated character or in a branded metaverse cafe. While it may seem futuristic and fun, many consumers feel uneasy when brands rely too heavily on artificial interactions, fearing a loss of authenticity. This tension highlights the growing divide between technological novelty and the human connection consumers still crave.

    As technology evolves, so, too, will consumer expectations of emotional, imaginative engagement. The next chapter in fantasy branding may not just offer us an escape, but could redefine how we experience commerce itself.

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

    – ref. Why brands are embracing fantasy: The psychology behind escapist marketing in anxious times – https://theconversation.com/why-brands-are-embracing-fantasy-the-psychology-behind-escapist-marketing-in-anxious-times-259226

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: 8 people injured in gas explosion at plant in northern Kazakhstan

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    ALMATY, June 26 (Xinhua) — Eight people were injured in a gas explosion at a plant in the village of Ilyichevka, Taiynshinsky district, North Kazakhstan region of Kazakhstan, the Kazinform news agency reported on Thursday.

    According to preliminary information, during the filling of the gas tank, the filling hose broke, which led to the ignition of the gas tanker, followed by a flare-up of the shut-off valves of the underground tank.

    According to official data, eight people were injured. All of them were quickly taken to medical facilities. Two people were placed in intensive care, three were sent home after receiving medical assistance.

    The fire has been completely extinguished.

    The causes of the incident are being established. A pre-trial investigation is being conducted into the incident by the regional emergency department. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: NATO countries’ decision to increase defense spending will not affect Russia’s security – Russian Foreign Minister

    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

    Moscow, June 26 /Xinhua/ — The decision by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries to increase annual defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035 will not affect Russia’s security, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

    “As for the impact of this goal – five percent – on the state of our security, I don’t think it will be in any way significant,” TASS quotes him as saying.

    According to the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, such a decision could be fraught with danger for the Europeans themselves. “The threat is getting worse, and this is a threat to the taxpayers of the European Union countries, and even Britain, who have been simply robbed over the past three years,” S. Lavrov emphasized. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: In May, passenger car production in Russia fell by 18.5 percent.

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –

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

    Moscow, June 26 (Xinhua) — In May, passenger car production in Russia amounted to 35,000 units, which is 18.5 percent lower than the figure for May 2024, according to data published by the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation on Wednesday.

    At the same time, in the first five months of 2025, the production of passenger cars in Russia increased by 4% year-on-year and amounted to 281 thousand units. The number of new trucks produced in the country in January-May amounted to 58.5 thousand units, which is 20.1% less year-on-year.

    Overall, the industrial production index in Russia in January-May of this year grew by 1.3 percent year-on-year. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Uzbekistan’s Economy to Grow by 6.5% in 2025 — EDB Forecast

    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

    Tashkent, June 26 /Xinhua/ — Uzbekistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 6.5 percent by the end of 2025, local media reported on Thursday, citing the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB).

    It is indicated that the main drivers of economic growth will be an increase in the population’s income and active investment activities aimed at sustainable development.

    According to the EDB, the inflation rate in Uzbekistan in 2025 may decrease to 8.1 percent.

    As noted, the supporting factors for the national currency will be the growth in the volume of money transfers from abroad and the increase in export volumes. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: US Gains Nothing from War with Iran: Iran’s Supreme Leader

    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

    TEHRAN, June 26 (Xinhua) — The United States has gained nothing from its war against Iran and has received a “harsh slap in the face,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a video message broadcast by state-run IRIB TV.

    The Supreme Leader congratulated the Iranian people on their “victory” in the war with Israel and the United States.

    “Despite all its propaganda and statements, Israel was almost defeated and crushed by Iran’s attacks,” A. Khamenei noted.

    According to him, Iranian missiles and other weapons managed to penetrate Israel’s “forward multi-layered defense” and raze many urban and military areas of the Jewish state to the ground.

    As the Supreme Leader pointed out, Israel must know that any aggression against Iran will cost it dearly.

    A. Khamenei also drew attention to the fact that the United States entered the war to save Israel, “but did not gain anything from this war.”

    The US exaggerated its achievements in the war because it failed to achieve its goal and needed this to hide the truth, A. Khamenei said, stressing that “here too, the Islamic Republic of Iran achieved victory and responded to the United States with a harsh slap in the face.”

    The supreme leader said Iran had attacked and damaged the US Al Udeid air base in Qatar, “one of the important US bases in the West Asian region,” although some, he noted, had tried to downplay it and said nothing had happened. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Alfa-Bank and HSE Expand Partnership in Business Education

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

    The Higher School of Business of the National Research University Higher School of Economics and Alfa-Bank have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at developing educational programs in the field of business informatics.

    The document consolidates the strategic partnership of the parties and opens up new opportunities for integrating practical competencies into student training. Alfa-Bank will become a partner of two HSB bachelor’s programs at once — “Business Informatics” And“Digital Product Management”. The bank’s top managers and key experts will join the Academic Councils of both programs and, together with HSE GSB teachers, will work on developing curricula and strengthening the practical focus of training.

    A separate focus of the cooperation is support for talented students. As part of the agreement, Alfa-Bank is establishing ten grants for students of the Digital Product Management program. The grant will cover 50% of the cost of annual tuition, and applicants entering the program in 2025 will be able to apply for it. This is a significant contribution to supporting talented students and developing the human resources potential of the digital economy.

    Other equally important initiatives include joint lectures, master classes, scientific research and business events, as well as the creation of real cases based on the bank’s experience.

    Marat Ismagulov

    HR Director of Alfa-Bank

    “We are convinced that quality education should go hand in hand with practical experience and modern professional knowledge. Thanks to cooperation with the Higher School of Business HSE, we offer students unique conditions for professional growth, we prepare graduates who are in demand by the market. We are glad to see promising young specialists in our bank, who will be able to make a significant contribution to the development of fintech both in our bank and in the country as a whole.”

    Zaramenskikh Evgeny Petrovich

    Head of the Department of Business Informatics, Academic Director of the Business Informatics program at the Higher School of Business, National Research University Higher School of Economics

    “Cooperation with Alfa-Bank allows us to make educational programs even closer to practice. Students have the opportunity not only to learn from industry professionals, but also to work on real business tasks, receive expert support and professional guidance. This is especially important in such rapidly developing areas as business informatics and digital product management.”

    The partnership between the HSE Higher School of Business and Alfa-Bank has been developing for several years. Ivan Pyatkov, Director of Retail Business at Alfa-Bank, and Marat Ismagulov, HR Director at Alfa-Bank, have already spoken within the walls of the business school. The new stage of cooperation will allow such meetings to be held on a regular basis and attract even more leaders and experts to them.

    This summer, the cooperation will also reach an international level: VShB and Alfa-Bank will hold Summer school “Digital Product Management” for students from China. Participants will spend a week in Moscow, learning from leading industry experts, developing practical skills in managing digital products, and getting to know the culture and history of one of the largest megacities in the world.

    The concluded agreement is a step towards closer interaction between business and education, the focus of which is the training of specialists who are ready for the challenges of the digital economy and able to work in real market conditions.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: IOM Seeks USD 100M in Flexible Funding to Sustain Critical Services After Assisting 26M People in 186 Countries in 2024

    Source: International Organization for Migration (IOM)

    Geneva, 26 June 2025 – As the International Organization for Migration (IOM) presents its 2024 Annual Report to the Standing Committee on Programmes and Finance (SCPF), the Organization has simultaneously launched a global Resilience Campaign, calling on all its Member States for USD 100 million in flexible funding to protect its core humanitarian operations and maintain critical support for people on the move.

    “In a world where crises are escalating and resources are stretched thin, it’s critical that we protect the systems and solutions that are already saving lives,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope. “Our teams are on the frontlines, delivering results day in and day out. But to sustain this impact, we need more than just commitment – we need support.”

    The Annual Report launched today at the SCPF reveals that IOM assisted more than 26.4 million people in 2024, delivering life-saving aid, fostering solutions to displacement, facilitating safe migration, and supporting recovery and resilience efforts across 186 countries. These results were achieved in a year marked by compounding crises and financial uncertainty, making sustained investment more important than ever.

    The campaign, titled From Reform to Resilience: Securing What We Built Together, comes in response to potential shortfalls in Operational Support Income, the funding stream that enables IOM’s essential systems, such as global data tools that informed 91 percent of Humanitarian Needs Overviews and Response Plans in 2024. With only five percent of IOM’s total income coming from flexible sources, the Organization’s ability to maintain these services is at risk.

    “We are asking that donors and Member States provide just 5 to 10 per cent of existing contribution as flexible funding,” DG Pope added. “Flexible funding is what allows us to act fast in crises. It’s what allows us to support the most vulnerable, not just the most visible. It ensures the institutional stability you asked us to build.”

    In 2024, IOM undertook significant structural realignment measures to increase efficiency, shifting more resources to the field and reducing institutional costs. Efforts that generated USD 38 million in savings include automation, enhancing procurement processes, and staff relocations to lower-cost duty stations.

    Over 6.2 million people received emergency health assistance, nearly 3 million were supported with protection services, and 1.5 million migrants and displaced persons accessed mental health and psychosocial care.

    In fragile and conflict-affected contexts, IOM supported the safe relocation of tens of thousands of individuals and provided recovery assistance to 2.8 million people. As climate-related disasters intensified, almost 900,000 people received support to recover and adapt. Meanwhile, IOM enabled over 220,000 people to move safely and with dignity, and helped nearly 60,000 return voluntarily to their countries of origin.

    IOM’s 2024 Annual Report also highlights the Organization’s growing engagement with governments and the private sector to facilitate safe pathways for regular migration. In 2024, IOM worked with 145 governments to strengthen migration governance and expanded its corporate partnerships, reaching over one million people through joint initiatives with 33 new private sector partners.

    Presented to Member States at the SCPF, the Annual Report not only affirms the scale and scope of IOM’s global operations but also makes clear that the ability to sustain these efforts depends on continued, flexible funding. The Resilience Campaign is a call for solidarity and action. 

    “Behind every figure in the report is a person seeking safety, dignity, and a chance to rebuild. Whether it’s a family displaced by conflict or a community recovering from disaster, flexible support ensures IOM can remain present and responsive. With continued backing, these efforts can go further and reach those who need them most,” DG Pope said.
     

    Note to Editors:

    The full report will be published next week and made available on IOM’s website.

    For more information, please visit IOM Media Centre. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: VUK TALKS- Mr Aluwani Ramagadza Chief Operating Officer at Municipal Demarcation Board

    Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)

    VUK TALKS- Mr Aluwani Ramagadza Chief Operating Officer at Municipal Demarcation Board

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUocuxWNBl0

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Video: VUK TALKS- Mr Aluwani Ramagadza Chief Operating Officer at Municipal Demarcation Board

    Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)

    VUK TALKS- Mr Aluwani Ramagadza Chief Operating Officer at Municipal Demarcation Board

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUocuxWNBl0

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Video: VUK TALKS- Mr Aluwani Ramagadza Chief Operating Officer at Municipal Demarcation Board

    Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)

    VUK TALKS- Mr Aluwani Ramagadza Chief Operating Officer at Municipal Demarcation Board

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUocuxWNBl0

    MIL OSI Video –