NewzIntel.com

Category: Economy

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China’s express delivery sector maintains growth momentum in H1 2025

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) — China’s express delivery market showed stable growth in the first half of 2025, and the market scale remained high, the State Post Administration of China said Monday.

    China’s express delivery sector revenue is expected to exceed 700 billion yuan (about 97.9 billion U.S. dollars) in January-June, up 8.5 percent year on year.

    As Zhu Li, a representative of the Development Research Center of the State Postal Administration of the People’s Republic of China, said at a press conference, the volume of processed items for the specified period is estimated to exceed 95 billion, which is 19 percent more year-on-year.

    In June, the express delivery development index was 454.3, an increase of 4.7 percent year-on-year.

    Zhu Li noted that China’s express delivery sector has seen steady growth in the first half of this year, fully meeting the delivery needs of streaming sales, the holiday economy and trade-in of consumer goods.

    The sector also deeply identified the potential demand for delivery services in the fields of cultural tourism and sports competitions, and promoted the continuous unleashing of the potential of online consumption, Zhu Li pointed out.

    According to her, in the second half of the year, the sector is expected to continue to unleash its growth momentum, deepen industry coordination, and expand the range of services provided. –0–

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

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Opening Remarks of Commissioner Kristin Johnson: Regulators Roundtable on Financial Markets Innovation and Supervision of Emergent Technology

    Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

    It is truly my pleasure to welcome you all today to the Regulators Roundtable on Financial Markets Innovation and Supervision of Emergent Technology. My sincere and tremendous gratitude to everyone who has gathered here in London today. This year marks the third year that I have had the privilege of convening an exceptional group of senior prudential and market regulators representing diverse jurisdictions around the world.
    Our discussion this afternoon will focus on forces that are rapidly transforming the financial services sector of the global economy with particular emphasis on two elements of the increasingly digitized financial services sector—the integration of artificial intelligence and the threat of cyber risks.
    For each of us—whether we’re shaping monetary policy, evaluating compliance with current regulatory guidelines, enforcing transparency and accountability in banking, capital markets, derivatives markets or digital asset markets, or supervising the next generation of digital finance platforms—the topics on today’s agenda are top of mind.
    Today we are continuing the conversations launched during the previous roundtables. Each of these topics have only become more important in the year since we last gathered.
    Let’s begin with artificial intelligence (AI).[1]
    AI in Financial Markets and Financial Markets Regulation 
    AI holds significant promise for making financial services more inclusive, efficient, and accessible. But its deployment must be underpinned by robust governance, ethical design, and global regulatory collaboration. For global regulatory leadership—including this august group convened today—the challenge is to balance innovation with stability, openness with security, and automation with human oversight.
    Improving Accuracy, Efficiency, and Operational Resilience
    Evidence suggests that AI improves accuracy, efficiency, and operational resilience and that AI-driven systems may outperform traditional approaches. Some potential applications include:
    Fraud Detection and Risk Management

    Anomaly Detection: AI systems can detect unusual transaction patterns in real-time, flagging potential fraud or cyber threats more effectively than traditional rule-based systems.
    Behavioral Biometrics: Advanced models track behavioral traits (typing speed, swipe patterns) to authenticate users and reduce identity theft.

    Process Automation

    Intelligent Document Processing (IDP): AI extracts, classifies, and processes information from unstructured documents (e.g., loan applications, KYC documents), reducing processing time and human error.
    Trade Surveillance & Market Monitoring: AI can sift through vast quantities of data to detect signs of market manipulation, insider trading, or compliance breaches with greater precision.

    Enhancing Compliance with Regulation and Reducing the Costs of Compliance 
    AI promises to reduce transaction and compliance costs by dynamically routing orders to the best venues, reducing slippage and lowering transaction costs. Evidence suggests that AI improves accuracy, efficiency, and operational resilience. AI-driven systems may outperform traditional approaches for detecting fraud, managing risks, executing back-office services, verifying identity, surveilling markets for evidence of market manipulation, insider trading, and compliance breaches.
    AI also promises to enhance supervisory technology for regulators—automating data collection, analysis, and reporting, reducing frictions with regulatory compliance, and enabling more dynamic regulation at reduced costs. AI may facilitate efficient, faster-paced updating and modernization of regulation. AI may also offer continuous monitoring and enhanced real-time confirmation of compliance, reducing reliance on less frequent, periodic audits, and facilitating market participants and regulators’ ability to identify regulatory breaches earlier and potentially reducing the number and size of regulatory breaches.
    Reducing Transaction and Compliance Costs
    Transaction Costs

    Smart Routing and Algorithmic Trading: AI optimizes trade execution by dynamically routing orders to the best venues, reducing slippage and transaction costs.

    Compliance and Regulatory Reporting

    RegTech Solutions: AI-powered regulatory technology automates data collection, analysis, and reporting, easing the burden of compliance with dynamic regulations.
    Continuous Monitoring: AI systems can provide real-time compliance checks rather than periodic audits, leading to faster resolution and fewer regulatory breaches.

    Industry Use Cases
    While the financial services industry has integrated predictive technologies in risk assessment and predictive analytics for decades, over the last several years, we have witnessed a transformational shift in the diversity of use cases. In 2017, JPMorgan Chase launched a contract intelligence platform that automates review of commercial credit agreements, reducing by hundreds of thousands of hours the human resources annually required to complete credit agreement reviews.[2] HSBC, and a number of other financial institutions, have integrated AI in their transaction monitoring and anti-money laundering (AML) platforms to detect anomalies across millions of transactions in real-time, increasing accuracy in their assessment of suspicious activity reports.[3] Similar to other financial services firms, Mastercard has launched cyber risk and fraud detection software that relies on AI to analyze 75 billion transactions per year to block fraud in milliseconds.[4]
    Risks and Considerations for Policymakers
    In testimony before Congress, published academic literature, and a series of speeches during my tenure as a Commissioner at the CFTC, I have outlined and encouraged regulators to explore a number of risks and considerations. 
    For example, we face real concerns around bias in AI models, especially when it comes to lending and underwriting. There is a need for greater transparency and explainability, so that AI driven decisions are subject to the rigorous accountability standards that we typically apply in our supervisory oversight. And as AI becomes more embedded in core infrastructure, cyber resilience becomes a systemic concern, not just an operational one.
    There is also the matter of concentration risk. As more institutions rely on a handful of foundational AI models or platforms, we must ask: what happens when those systems fail or are compromised? I outline a few additional risks below:
    Bias and Fairness

    Model Transparency: AI decisions, especially in lending or insurance, must be explainable to ensure non-discriminatory practices.
    Data Integrity: Models are only as good as the data they are trained on—bad data can perpetuate historical inequalities.

    Cybersecurity and Resilience

    Adversarial AI: As AI becomes embedded in core infrastructure, it’s also a target for manipulation—highlighting the need for robust, secure design.
    Systemic Concentration: Overreliance on a few AI platforms or vendors could increase systemic vulnerabilities.

    Governance and Accountability

    Model Risk Management: Institutions must manage the full lifecycle of AI models—development, validation, deployment, and monitoring—with strong oversight.
    Cross-Border Coordination: Global consistency in AI governance frameworks will be crucial to avoid regulatory arbitrage and ensure responsible innovation.

    Next Steps in Governing AI
    Governance—at the firm level and the system level—matters more than ever. Fintechs must invest in model risk management, ethical design, and responsible data practices. Supervisory approaches must evolve to keep pace with the changes occurring in the markets subject to our supervision.
    Regulatory agencies in the US are increasingly deploying AI to review large volumes of data and detect emerging risks by identifying outliers. Using AI in this capacity, often referred to as “suptech,” may offer regulators more effective tools to combat fraud, market manipulation, illicit finance, money-laundering and other long-standing threats to the integrity of our markets.
    Cyber Risks
    I have encouraged diverse stakeholders to be mindful of potential cyber risks that may impact individual firms or the broader financial markets ecosystem.[5]
    We continue to discuss these risks. As we consider them, let’s think about the potential implications of interdependence and the possibility of contagion—the threat that a domino effect of risks may occur at an accelerated speed.
    Operational Resilience
    Over the past few years, we have made progress in preparing ourselves to take on these challenges. The Commission issued a proposed rule, unanimously supported, to create an operational resilience framework for futures commission merchants, swap dealers, and major swap participants to “identify, monitor, manage, and assess risks relating to information and technology security, third-party relationships, and emergencies or other significant disruptions to normal business operations” in December 2023.[6]
    Cyber resilience is a critical gateway issue for protecting market integrity, and an area where we need to be “all hands on deck” on both sides of the pond. Cyber resilience is only as strong as its weakest link. As most cyber threats may be launched against financial institutions in many nations, it is important to stay vigilant and collaborate closely on best practices and lessons learned.
    Third-Party Risk Management
    As I discussed in recent remarks, the Market Risk Advisory Committee that I sponsor at the CFTC has been actively focused on cyber resilience and third-party risk management issues.[7] When the Commission released its proposed operational resilience framework, a subcommittee workstream of the MRAC recognized that there may have been some important gaps in operational resilience with respect to other market participants, such as central counterparties regulated by the CFTC, and took up the mantle to continue to examine areas not fully addressed by the Commission. The CCP Risk & Governance Committee organized recommendations that were presented to the commission that “would improve upon the existing framework and require that derivatives clearing organizations establish, implement, and maintain a third-party relationship management program.”[8]
    Many aspects of the recommendations were informed by internationally recognized best practices and international standard setting bodies, such as the Bank for International Settlements Principles for Financial Market Infrastructure. Once again, this highlights the importance of international collaboration, in setting the standard for best practices, and for developing policies that are familiar to global market participants.
    I look forward to discussing today the latest developments in third party risk management, such as new principles on third-party risk supervision issued by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) just last month.[9]
    International Coordination and Cooperation 
    As we move across the landscape of emerging technologies and the attendant risks, it is increasingly clear that international cooperation is not optional—it is essential. Innovative technologies and the risks that may arise as a result of digitization are not bound by jurisdictional, territorial, or national boundaries. The threats or risks born in one nation may quickly ripple across continents.
    A vulnerability in a third-party service provider can contemporaneously compromise multiple financial institutions. A sophisticated actor can launch a cyber-attack from anywhere in the world, orchestrating the consequences such that they impact any one nation or group of nations simultaneously.
    Let me highlight a few ways we are already working together on these issues, and where we must go further.
    First, harmonizing regulatory expectations.
    We need to align our supervisory approaches across jurisdictions to ensure that cyber risk is being addressed consistently. The Financial Stability Board, CPMI-IOSCO, and other international standard setting bodies have already announced important principles—but implementation must be global, not fragmented.
    Standards like NIST, ISO 27001, and the FSB’s cyber incident response guidance should form the backbone of our shared expectations. It is worth exploring mutual recognition of cyber audits and certifications for third-party providers, especially cloud platforms.
    Second, information sharing.
    Timely, secure, and actionable intelligence must flow across borders—not just between regulators, but also with the private sector. There are institutions that are helping to build these bridges, but we need to enhance real-time alert systems and threat-sharing protocols. Silence, in the cyber domain, is a vulnerability.
    Third, we must strengthen crisis response and recovery.
    Too often, we focus on prevention. But in today’s threat landscape, we must assume that breaches will occur—and focus on how we respond.
    That means building interoperable incident response plans. Conducting joint cyber drills and tabletop exercises simulations and establishing trusted communications channels that can activate instantly in the event of a cross-border incident.
    Fourth, we must tackle concentration risk and supply chain vulnerabilities.
    Many of our institutions rely on the same cloud providers, fintech APIs, and software stacks. We need a coordinated approach to supervising these critical third parties—through shared resilience testing, pooled audits, and transparent incident reporting.
    And finally, we must invest in cyber capacity building, especially in emerging and developing economies. Because in a globally interconnected system, our resilience is only as strong as the weakest link. Let us support these markets with the tools, training, and frameworks they need—not just to defend themselves, but to contribute to the global cyber defense ecosystem.
    In Conclusion — Looking Ahead
    The cyber threat landscape is evolving quickly—AI-powered attacks, deepfakes, quantum computing threats, and vulnerabilities in decentralized finance are no longer theoretical.
    To meet these challenges, we must act together—with speed, with coordination, and with trust. This is no small ask, and we can’t do it alone.
    Let us make cybersecurity a shared responsibility. Let us foster the partnerships—public and private, domestic and international—that are essential to securing our financial future.
    Because in today’s world, cyber resilience is not just a technology issue—it is a financial stability imperative.
    Finally, our convenings and conversations must continue. Trust can be a competitive advantage if we let it—a most potent tool in our toolbox to help us unlock the potential of new technology while also maintaining effective governance structures that give us the confidence and stability to keep moving forward.
    I am hopeful as we continue to convene, as regulators, and with the broader communities we serve, that we can develop standards and best practices that can be relied on around the globe.
    I look forward to hearing the different thoughts and approaches that will be shared today on these issues that are top of mind for our markets globally.

    [1] The thoughts and perspectives that I share with you today are my own; they are not the views and perspectives of my fellow Commissioners, the Commission, or the staff of the CFTC.

    [6] CFTC, Operational Resilience Framework for Futures Commission Merchants, Swap Dealers, and Major Swap Participants, 89 Fed. Reg. 4706 (proposed Jan. 24, 2024). 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Maryland IT Company Agrees to Pay $14.75M to Resolve Alleged False Claims

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Hill ASC Inc., doing business as Hill Associates, of Rockville, Maryland, agreed to pay at least $14.75 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with a General Services Administration (GSA) contract for information technology services.

    This settlement relates to a contract under which Hill provided information technology services to federal agencies from 2018 to 2023 through GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program. The MAS program provides the government with a streamlined process to buy commonly used commercial goods and services.  GSA negotiates contract terms and other agencies can then buy goods and services from the contractor under that GSA MAS contract. The settlement resolves allegations that Hill billed federal agencies for labor of information technology personnel who did not have the experience or education required under the contract. In addition, it resolves allegations that, although GSA required technical evaluations for contractors who sought to offer highly adaptive cybersecurity services to government customers, and Hill had not passed such an evaluation, Hill submitted claims for such cybersecurity services and other services that were not within the scope of the MAS contract. Finally, it resolves allegations that Hill charged the government for unapproved fees, failed to provide government customers with required information about discounts for prompt payment, and included unallowable incentive compensation in a cost submission in connection with a new contract proposal.

    Under the settlement with the United States, Hill has agreed to pay $14.75 million, plus additional amounts if certain financial contingencies occur. The settlement amount was based on the company’s ability to pay.

    “Information technology contractors are expected to charge the government appropriately for their services,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to pursue cyber fraud and hold accountable those companies that knowingly fail to meet contractual obligations to the American taxpayers.”

    “Federal agencies should get what they have paid for from GSA contractors, nothing less,” said GSA Deputy Inspector General Robert C. Erickson. “I appreciate the hard work of all the attorneys, auditors, and special agents involved in this investigation.”

    “False claims and similar unfair advantage by contractors undermine the integrity of the contracting process and can result in significant adverse effects to vital security concerns,” said Treasury Deputy Inspector General Loren Sciurba. “Treasury OIG is committed to conducting and assisting other agencies to the utmost in investigations, audits, and other work to detect and prevent these violations of the public trust.”

    “As the nation’s tax watchdog, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) is dedicated to safeguarding the integrity of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)’s contracting and procurement processes,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jessica Cipolla of TIGTA’s Gulf States Field Division. “We remain steadfast in our mission to expose and hold accountable those who attempt to defraud the IRS. Anyone doing business with the IRS or the Department of the Treasury is expected to operate with the highest levels of honesty and integrity. We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners for their continued collaboration and critical support in this investigation.”

    The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the GSA’s Office of the Inspector General, the Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General, and TIGTA. The matter was handled by Senior Trial Counsel Christopher Terranova of the Fraud Section.

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Maryland IT Company Agrees to Pay $14.75M to Resolve Alleged False Claims

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Hill ASC Inc., doing business as Hill Associates, of Rockville, Maryland, agreed to pay at least $14.75 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with a General Services Administration (GSA) contract for information technology services.

    This settlement relates to a contract under which Hill provided information technology services to federal agencies from 2018 to 2023 through GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program. The MAS program provides the government with a streamlined process to buy commonly used commercial goods and services.  GSA negotiates contract terms and other agencies can then buy goods and services from the contractor under that GSA MAS contract. The settlement resolves allegations that Hill billed federal agencies for labor of information technology personnel who did not have the experience or education required under the contract. In addition, it resolves allegations that, although GSA required technical evaluations for contractors who sought to offer highly adaptive cybersecurity services to government customers, and Hill had not passed such an evaluation, Hill submitted claims for such cybersecurity services and other services that were not within the scope of the MAS contract. Finally, it resolves allegations that Hill charged the government for unapproved fees, failed to provide government customers with required information about discounts for prompt payment, and included unallowable incentive compensation in a cost submission in connection with a new contract proposal.

    Under the settlement with the United States, Hill has agreed to pay $14.75 million, plus additional amounts if certain financial contingencies occur. The settlement amount was based on the company’s ability to pay.

    “Information technology contractors are expected to charge the government appropriately for their services,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to pursue cyber fraud and hold accountable those companies that knowingly fail to meet contractual obligations to the American taxpayers.”

    “Federal agencies should get what they have paid for from GSA contractors, nothing less,” said GSA Deputy Inspector General Robert C. Erickson. “I appreciate the hard work of all the attorneys, auditors, and special agents involved in this investigation.”

    “False claims and similar unfair advantage by contractors undermine the integrity of the contracting process and can result in significant adverse effects to vital security concerns,” said Treasury Deputy Inspector General Loren Sciurba. “Treasury OIG is committed to conducting and assisting other agencies to the utmost in investigations, audits, and other work to detect and prevent these violations of the public trust.”

    “As the nation’s tax watchdog, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) is dedicated to safeguarding the integrity of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)’s contracting and procurement processes,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jessica Cipolla of TIGTA’s Gulf States Field Division. “We remain steadfast in our mission to expose and hold accountable those who attempt to defraud the IRS. Anyone doing business with the IRS or the Department of the Treasury is expected to operate with the highest levels of honesty and integrity. We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners for their continued collaboration and critical support in this investigation.”

    The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the GSA’s Office of the Inspector General, the Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General, and TIGTA. The matter was handled by Senior Trial Counsel Christopher Terranova of the Fraud Section.

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s press conference on the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025 [as delivered]

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    Dear members of the media.

    Today, we launch the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025. 

    Under-Secretary-General Li will go through the details. 

    But allow me to kick things off.

    We are now ten years into our collective journey toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

    The report is a snapshot of where we stand today.

    Since 2015, millions more people have gained access to electricity, clean cooking, and the internet.

    Social protection now reaches over half the world’s population — a significant increase from just a decade ago.

    Access to education has continued to increase and more girls are staying in school.

    Child marriage is declining.

    Renewable energy capacity is growing, with developing countries leading the way.

    And women’s representation is rising — across governments, businesses and societies.

    These gains show that investments in development and inclusion yield results.
    But let’s be clear: we are not where we need to be.

    Only 35 percent of SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress.

    Nearly half are moving too slowly.

    And 18 percent are going in reverse.

    We are in a global development emergency.

    An emergency measured in the over 800 million people still living in extreme poverty.

    In intensifying climate impacts.

    And in relentless debt service, draining the resources that countries need to invest in their people.

    We must also recognize the deep linkages between under-development and conflicts.

    That’s why we must keep working for peace in the Middle East.

    We need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of all hostages, and unimpeded humanitarian access as a first step to achieve the two-State solution.

    We need the ceasefire between Iran and Israel to hold.

    We need a just and lasting peace in Ukraine based on the UN Charter, international law and UN resolutions. 

    We need an end to the horror and bloodshed in Sudan.

    From the DRC to Somalia, from the Sahel to Myanmar, we know that sustainable peace requires sustainable development.

    In the face of these challenges, the report we are launching today points the way to progress.
    Transformational pathways — in food, energy, digital access, education, jobs, and climate — are our roadmap.

    Progress in one area can multiply progress across all of them.

    But we must move faster, and we must move together.

    That means advancing affordable, quality healthcare for all.

    Investing in women and girls as a central driver of progress.

    Focusing on quality education and creating decent jobs and economic opportunities that leave no one behind.

    Closing the digital divide and ensuring that technologies like artificial intelligence are used responsibly and inclusively.

    And it means recognizing a fundamental fact.

    Progress is impossible without unlocking financing at scale.

    The recent Sevilla Commitment reflected a commitment to get the engine of development revving again.

    Through reform of the international financial architecture, real action on debt relief, and tripling the lending capacity of multilateral development banks so countries can better access capital at scale and at a reasonable cost.

    We have more opportunities to drive these priorities forward — from the High-Level Political Forum, to the Second Food Systems Stocktake Summit, to the World Social Summit, and more.

    We must maximize these moments for real commitments — and real delivery.

    Today’s report shows that the Sustainable Development Goals are still within reach.

    But only if we act — with urgency, unity, and unwavering resolve.

    It’s a pleasure to be with you again and I will give the floor to my dear colleague Li.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Maryland IT Company Agrees to Pay $14.75M to Resolve Alleged False Claims

    Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

    Hill ASC Inc., doing business as Hill Associates, of Rockville, Maryland, agreed to pay at least $14.75 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with a General Services Administration (GSA) contract for information technology services.

    This settlement relates to a contract under which Hill provided information technology services to federal agencies from 2018 to 2023 through GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program. The MAS program provides the government with a streamlined process to buy commonly used commercial goods and services.  GSA negotiates contract terms and other agencies can then buy goods and services from the contractor under that GSA MAS contract. The settlement resolves allegations that Hill billed federal agencies for labor of information technology personnel who did not have the experience or education required under the contract. In addition, it resolves allegations that, although GSA required technical evaluations for contractors who sought to offer highly adaptive cybersecurity services to government customers, and Hill had not passed such an evaluation, Hill submitted claims for such cybersecurity services and other services that were not within the scope of the MAS contract. Finally, it resolves allegations that Hill charged the government for unapproved fees, failed to provide government customers with required information about discounts for prompt payment, and included unallowable incentive compensation in a cost submission in connection with a new contract proposal.

    Under the settlement with the United States, Hill has agreed to pay $14.75 million, plus additional amounts if certain financial contingencies occur. The settlement amount was based on the company’s ability to pay.

    “Information technology contractors are expected to charge the government appropriately for their services,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to pursue cyber fraud and hold accountable those companies that knowingly fail to meet contractual obligations to the American taxpayers.”

    “Federal agencies should get what they have paid for from GSA contractors, nothing less,” said GSA Deputy Inspector General Robert C. Erickson. “I appreciate the hard work of all the attorneys, auditors, and special agents involved in this investigation.”

    “False claims and similar unfair advantage by contractors undermine the integrity of the contracting process and can result in significant adverse effects to vital security concerns,” said Treasury Deputy Inspector General Loren Sciurba. “Treasury OIG is committed to conducting and assisting other agencies to the utmost in investigations, audits, and other work to detect and prevent these violations of the public trust.”

    “As the nation’s tax watchdog, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) is dedicated to safeguarding the integrity of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)’s contracting and procurement processes,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jessica Cipolla of TIGTA’s Gulf States Field Division. “We remain steadfast in our mission to expose and hold accountable those who attempt to defraud the IRS. Anyone doing business with the IRS or the Department of the Treasury is expected to operate with the highest levels of honesty and integrity. We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners for their continued collaboration and critical support in this investigation.”

    The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the GSA’s Office of the Inspector General, the Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General, and TIGTA. The matter was handled by Senior Trial Counsel Christopher Terranova of the Fraud Section.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: U.S. Department of Transportation Awards $4 Million to Minot Corridor Project

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

    BISMARCK, N.D. – The U.S. Department of Transportation announced an award of $4,050,000 to Ward County. These funds were made available through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program.

    Specifically, this BUILD grant funding will allow Ward County to conduct planning, environmental documentation, and preliminary design for three corridors and their connected intersections, including the Outer Connector from US Highway 2/52 to US Highway 83 along County Roads 14 and 16, and the Inner Connector from US Highway 2/52 to County Road 14 along 30th Street SW.

    “Minot’s growth is a testament to the region’s strong economy and welcoming community, and this BUILD grant will enhance residential and commercial transportation options in the area,” said U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee. “This grant will help ensure the Magic City’s growth goes hand-in-hand with safer and more efficient travel.” 

    Cramer and the North Dakota delegation wrote a letter supporting the application submitted by the City of Minot and Ward County, highlighting the need for the project.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As School Year Nears, Merkley, Wyden, & Colleagues Demand Trump Admin End Blockade on Funding for Afterschool Programs, K-12 Schools Across America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
    July 14, 2025
    Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced they joined 30 colleagues in demanding President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon immediately release nearly $7 billion in funding for K-12 schools and adult literacy programs across America that the Trump Administration abruptly let states and school districts know it would indefinitely block.
    Oregon faces the potential loss of approximately $73 million in federal education as a result of the abrupt cutoff of education funds by the Trump Administration and may be forced to end afterschool programs, specialized literacy programs, educator training, and support for English language learners as a result of this misguided executive maneuver.
    “We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities,” wrote the 32 U.S. Senators in their letter. “These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque ‘programmatic review’ of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states.”
    The Trump Administration’s decision to withhold the funding has sent school districts nationwide scrambling to determine how they could fill the, in many cases, massive budget hole and whether they’ll have to lay off teachers or end after school programs in the coming weeks. School districts have made clear they will have to end afterschool programs, already told parents to prepare backup options, and adult literacy programs have already been forced to lay off staff.
    The lawmakers blasted the administration for its abrupt notice and illegal freeze of the funds, which has sent school districts and programs scrambling: “We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration.”
    They noted that blocking funding for before and after school programs, as well as summer learning programs, is already hurting families nationwide: “By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning.  These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.”
    Warning of how denying these funds will cause schools to lay off teachers and cut back on teacher training, they wrote: “This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.”
    The lawmakers also detailed how the move affects adult learners nationwide: “This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.”
    The Trump Administration has confirmed it is blocking funding for the following programs—all of which are programs President Trump has requested to eliminate in his budget request, raising serious concerns about this administration’s intentions to simply impound the funding:
    Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A), which support professional development and other activities to improve the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders, including reducing class size.
    21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), which support high-quality before and after-school programs focused on providing academic enrichment opportunities for students.
    Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A), which provide flexible funding for school districts for a wide range of activities including supporting STEM education, accelerated learning courses, college and career counseling, school-based mental health services, and improving school technology, among many others.
    English Language Acquisition (Title III-A), which supports language instruction to help English language learners become proficient in English.
    Migrant Education (Title I-C), which supports the educational needs of migratory children, including children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
    Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants (including Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants), which support adult education and literacy programs to provide the basic skills to help prepare adults and out-of-school youth for success in the workforce.
    The letter was led by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.
    In addition to Merkley and Wyden, the letter was also signed by Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-MD), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).
    Full text of the letter follows:
    Dear Director Vought and Secretary McMahon:
    We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities. These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque “programmatic review” of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states. This delay not only undermines effective state and local planning for using these funds to address student needs consistent with federal education law, which often takes place months before these funds become available, but also flies in the face of the nation’s education laws which confers state and local educational agency discretion on permissible uses of federal formula grant funds.
    We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration. Late on June 30, 2025, the Department of Education (“Department”) informed states that it would not release fiscal year 2025 funds expected on July 1 before completing a “review” of six programs. The Department even noted ironically that it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.” Apparently, the Department needs a refresher course on its statutory responsibilities.
    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law requires funds to be allocated under the terms and conditions of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations law. This includes a requirement that “$1,329,673,000 shall be for part B of title IV”, which is the authority for the Nita M. Lowey 21stCentury Community Learning Centers program. This authority requires the Secretary to allot funds to each state for subgrants for before, after, and summer school programming. The law further describes the allotment formula, authorized state and local activities, and other program requirements. By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning. These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.
    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law also requires the Department to use $890 million to carry out part A of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The purpose of the program is to ensure English learners (ELs) and immigrant students have access to the resources they need to attain English language proficiency and reach the same challenging academic standards as their English-proficient peers, which will prepare them to fully participate in society and the workforce as they grow older. Part A of title III specifies the allotment formula, permissible uses of funds and other program requirements for this program serving more than 5 million EL students enrolled in the nation’s public schools. Yet, the administration’s review will disrupt school hiring decisions and cause real and immediate harm to EL students.
    The Department issued preliminary allocations to states on May 29, 2025, stating that “The Full Year Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 provides $629,600,400 for formula grants to States to carry out adult education and literacy activities.” Just more than a month later, the Department issued its curt memo indicating that the funds would not go out on July 1, 2025, as just promised in the May preliminary allocations. This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.
    The withholding also extends to more than $2 billion for Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants. According to the Department’s latest report, more than half of these funds are used for professional development for teachers and other educators, and nearly one-third of school districts used the funds to recruit, hire, and retain effective educators.12 Nearly $1.4 billion is being withheld for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants and $375 million for Migrant Education programs. All these programs were funded in fiscal year 2024 and continued by the Full-Year Appropriations Act. This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.
    It is unacceptable that the administration is picking and choosing what parts of the appropriations law to follow, and you must immediately implement the entire law as Congress intended and as the oaths you swore require you to do. While the administration continues to deny federal funds to our states and local communities that they are expecting as the law requires, it has found time to move expeditiously to award funding to the Kennedy Center and acknowledged it is required to do so by the appropriations law. In its action here, the Department stated in a recent waiver proposal, “The waiver will allow the Department to issue a continuation award in FY 2025, as directed by Congress to the currently funded 84.351A AENP [Arts in Education National Program] project at an amount consistent with the amount awarded in FY 2024.” While it’s true the appropriations law requires such an action, it does so as well for billions in funding for state grants the Department recently informed states it will not release.
    The administration’s “programmatic review”—with no public information about what the review entails, what data the administration is examining, or a timeline for such review—appears to be an intentional delay that will result in school budget cuts in every State. In multiple statutes, Congress has prohibited the Federal government from directing or controlling state and local education decisions with these dollars. This programmatic review may be in violation of these longstanding and bipartisan prohibitions.
    We might be more inclined to believe the administration’s stated interest in ensuring federal funds were properly used if its actions to date didn’t tell a different story. The Department has impeded a review by the Office of Inspector General, which is charged with promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations. Earlier this year, the administration terminated contracts for regional educational laboratories and grants required for comprehensive centers, which help states and districts use research and evidence in addressing local challenges of policy and practice. It has also halted evaluations of federal literacy programs, adult learning strategies, and strategies to help teens with disabilities transition from high school to college or work.
    We insist you immediately reverse your decision to illegally withhold federal education funding appropriated by Congress and provide the funds as the law requires. Such an action would represent a faithful execution of the law as required by the Constitution and a benefit to the tens of millions of students and adult learners that are intended to benefit from these federal education investments.
    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As School Year Nears, Merkley, Wyden, & Colleagues Demand Trump Admin End Blockade on Funding for Afterschool Programs, K-12 Schools Across America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
    July 14, 2025
    Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced they joined 30 colleagues in demanding President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon immediately release nearly $7 billion in funding for K-12 schools and adult literacy programs across America that the Trump Administration abruptly let states and school districts know it would indefinitely block.
    Oregon faces the potential loss of approximately $73 million in federal education as a result of the abrupt cutoff of education funds by the Trump Administration and may be forced to end afterschool programs, specialized literacy programs, educator training, and support for English language learners as a result of this misguided executive maneuver.
    “We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities,” wrote the 32 U.S. Senators in their letter. “These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque ‘programmatic review’ of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states.”
    The Trump Administration’s decision to withhold the funding has sent school districts nationwide scrambling to determine how they could fill the, in many cases, massive budget hole and whether they’ll have to lay off teachers or end after school programs in the coming weeks. School districts have made clear they will have to end afterschool programs, already told parents to prepare backup options, and adult literacy programs have already been forced to lay off staff.
    The lawmakers blasted the administration for its abrupt notice and illegal freeze of the funds, which has sent school districts and programs scrambling: “We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration.”
    They noted that blocking funding for before and after school programs, as well as summer learning programs, is already hurting families nationwide: “By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning.  These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.”
    Warning of how denying these funds will cause schools to lay off teachers and cut back on teacher training, they wrote: “This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.”
    The lawmakers also detailed how the move affects adult learners nationwide: “This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.”
    The Trump Administration has confirmed it is blocking funding for the following programs—all of which are programs President Trump has requested to eliminate in his budget request, raising serious concerns about this administration’s intentions to simply impound the funding:
    Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A), which support professional development and other activities to improve the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders, including reducing class size.
    21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), which support high-quality before and after-school programs focused on providing academic enrichment opportunities for students.
    Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A), which provide flexible funding for school districts for a wide range of activities including supporting STEM education, accelerated learning courses, college and career counseling, school-based mental health services, and improving school technology, among many others.
    English Language Acquisition (Title III-A), which supports language instruction to help English language learners become proficient in English.
    Migrant Education (Title I-C), which supports the educational needs of migratory children, including children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
    Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants (including Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants), which support adult education and literacy programs to provide the basic skills to help prepare adults and out-of-school youth for success in the workforce.
    The letter was led by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.
    In addition to Merkley and Wyden, the letter was also signed by Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-MD), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).
    Full text of the letter follows:
    Dear Director Vought and Secretary McMahon:
    We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities. These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque “programmatic review” of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states. This delay not only undermines effective state and local planning for using these funds to address student needs consistent with federal education law, which often takes place months before these funds become available, but also flies in the face of the nation’s education laws which confers state and local educational agency discretion on permissible uses of federal formula grant funds.
    We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration. Late on June 30, 2025, the Department of Education (“Department”) informed states that it would not release fiscal year 2025 funds expected on July 1 before completing a “review” of six programs. The Department even noted ironically that it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.” Apparently, the Department needs a refresher course on its statutory responsibilities.
    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law requires funds to be allocated under the terms and conditions of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations law. This includes a requirement that “$1,329,673,000 shall be for part B of title IV”, which is the authority for the Nita M. Lowey 21stCentury Community Learning Centers program. This authority requires the Secretary to allot funds to each state for subgrants for before, after, and summer school programming. The law further describes the allotment formula, authorized state and local activities, and other program requirements. By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning. These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.
    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law also requires the Department to use $890 million to carry out part A of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The purpose of the program is to ensure English learners (ELs) and immigrant students have access to the resources they need to attain English language proficiency and reach the same challenging academic standards as their English-proficient peers, which will prepare them to fully participate in society and the workforce as they grow older. Part A of title III specifies the allotment formula, permissible uses of funds and other program requirements for this program serving more than 5 million EL students enrolled in the nation’s public schools. Yet, the administration’s review will disrupt school hiring decisions and cause real and immediate harm to EL students.
    The Department issued preliminary allocations to states on May 29, 2025, stating that “The Full Year Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 provides $629,600,400 for formula grants to States to carry out adult education and literacy activities.” Just more than a month later, the Department issued its curt memo indicating that the funds would not go out on July 1, 2025, as just promised in the May preliminary allocations. This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.
    The withholding also extends to more than $2 billion for Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants. According to the Department’s latest report, more than half of these funds are used for professional development for teachers and other educators, and nearly one-third of school districts used the funds to recruit, hire, and retain effective educators.12 Nearly $1.4 billion is being withheld for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants and $375 million for Migrant Education programs. All these programs were funded in fiscal year 2024 and continued by the Full-Year Appropriations Act. This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.
    It is unacceptable that the administration is picking and choosing what parts of the appropriations law to follow, and you must immediately implement the entire law as Congress intended and as the oaths you swore require you to do. While the administration continues to deny federal funds to our states and local communities that they are expecting as the law requires, it has found time to move expeditiously to award funding to the Kennedy Center and acknowledged it is required to do so by the appropriations law. In its action here, the Department stated in a recent waiver proposal, “The waiver will allow the Department to issue a continuation award in FY 2025, as directed by Congress to the currently funded 84.351A AENP [Arts in Education National Program] project at an amount consistent with the amount awarded in FY 2024.” While it’s true the appropriations law requires such an action, it does so as well for billions in funding for state grants the Department recently informed states it will not release.
    The administration’s “programmatic review”—with no public information about what the review entails, what data the administration is examining, or a timeline for such review—appears to be an intentional delay that will result in school budget cuts in every State. In multiple statutes, Congress has prohibited the Federal government from directing or controlling state and local education decisions with these dollars. This programmatic review may be in violation of these longstanding and bipartisan prohibitions.
    We might be more inclined to believe the administration’s stated interest in ensuring federal funds were properly used if its actions to date didn’t tell a different story. The Department has impeded a review by the Office of Inspector General, which is charged with promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations. Earlier this year, the administration terminated contracts for regional educational laboratories and grants required for comprehensive centers, which help states and districts use research and evidence in addressing local challenges of policy and practice. It has also halted evaluations of federal literacy programs, adult learning strategies, and strategies to help teens with disabilities transition from high school to college or work.
    We insist you immediately reverse your decision to illegally withhold federal education funding appropriated by Congress and provide the funds as the law requires. Such an action would represent a faithful execution of the law as required by the Constitution and a benefit to the tens of millions of students and adult learners that are intended to benefit from these federal education investments.
    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As School Year Nears, Merkley, Wyden, & Colleagues Demand Trump Admin End Blockade on Funding for Afterschool Programs, K-12 Schools Across America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
    July 14, 2025
    Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced they joined 30 colleagues in demanding President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon immediately release nearly $7 billion in funding for K-12 schools and adult literacy programs across America that the Trump Administration abruptly let states and school districts know it would indefinitely block.
    Oregon faces the potential loss of approximately $73 million in federal education as a result of the abrupt cutoff of education funds by the Trump Administration and may be forced to end afterschool programs, specialized literacy programs, educator training, and support for English language learners as a result of this misguided executive maneuver.
    “We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities,” wrote the 32 U.S. Senators in their letter. “These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque ‘programmatic review’ of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states.”
    The Trump Administration’s decision to withhold the funding has sent school districts nationwide scrambling to determine how they could fill the, in many cases, massive budget hole and whether they’ll have to lay off teachers or end after school programs in the coming weeks. School districts have made clear they will have to end afterschool programs, already told parents to prepare backup options, and adult literacy programs have already been forced to lay off staff.
    The lawmakers blasted the administration for its abrupt notice and illegal freeze of the funds, which has sent school districts and programs scrambling: “We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration.”
    They noted that blocking funding for before and after school programs, as well as summer learning programs, is already hurting families nationwide: “By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning.  These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.”
    Warning of how denying these funds will cause schools to lay off teachers and cut back on teacher training, they wrote: “This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.”
    The lawmakers also detailed how the move affects adult learners nationwide: “This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.”
    The Trump Administration has confirmed it is blocking funding for the following programs—all of which are programs President Trump has requested to eliminate in his budget request, raising serious concerns about this administration’s intentions to simply impound the funding:
    Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A), which support professional development and other activities to improve the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders, including reducing class size.
    21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), which support high-quality before and after-school programs focused on providing academic enrichment opportunities for students.
    Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A), which provide flexible funding for school districts for a wide range of activities including supporting STEM education, accelerated learning courses, college and career counseling, school-based mental health services, and improving school technology, among many others.
    English Language Acquisition (Title III-A), which supports language instruction to help English language learners become proficient in English.
    Migrant Education (Title I-C), which supports the educational needs of migratory children, including children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
    Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants (including Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants), which support adult education and literacy programs to provide the basic skills to help prepare adults and out-of-school youth for success in the workforce.
    The letter was led by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.
    In addition to Merkley and Wyden, the letter was also signed by Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-MD), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).
    Full text of the letter follows:
    Dear Director Vought and Secretary McMahon:
    We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities. These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque “programmatic review” of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states. This delay not only undermines effective state and local planning for using these funds to address student needs consistent with federal education law, which often takes place months before these funds become available, but also flies in the face of the nation’s education laws which confers state and local educational agency discretion on permissible uses of federal formula grant funds.
    We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration. Late on June 30, 2025, the Department of Education (“Department”) informed states that it would not release fiscal year 2025 funds expected on July 1 before completing a “review” of six programs. The Department even noted ironically that it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.” Apparently, the Department needs a refresher course on its statutory responsibilities.
    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law requires funds to be allocated under the terms and conditions of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations law. This includes a requirement that “$1,329,673,000 shall be for part B of title IV”, which is the authority for the Nita M. Lowey 21stCentury Community Learning Centers program. This authority requires the Secretary to allot funds to each state for subgrants for before, after, and summer school programming. The law further describes the allotment formula, authorized state and local activities, and other program requirements. By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning. These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.
    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law also requires the Department to use $890 million to carry out part A of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The purpose of the program is to ensure English learners (ELs) and immigrant students have access to the resources they need to attain English language proficiency and reach the same challenging academic standards as their English-proficient peers, which will prepare them to fully participate in society and the workforce as they grow older. Part A of title III specifies the allotment formula, permissible uses of funds and other program requirements for this program serving more than 5 million EL students enrolled in the nation’s public schools. Yet, the administration’s review will disrupt school hiring decisions and cause real and immediate harm to EL students.
    The Department issued preliminary allocations to states on May 29, 2025, stating that “The Full Year Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 provides $629,600,400 for formula grants to States to carry out adult education and literacy activities.” Just more than a month later, the Department issued its curt memo indicating that the funds would not go out on July 1, 2025, as just promised in the May preliminary allocations. This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.
    The withholding also extends to more than $2 billion for Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants. According to the Department’s latest report, more than half of these funds are used for professional development for teachers and other educators, and nearly one-third of school districts used the funds to recruit, hire, and retain effective educators.12 Nearly $1.4 billion is being withheld for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants and $375 million for Migrant Education programs. All these programs were funded in fiscal year 2024 and continued by the Full-Year Appropriations Act. This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.
    It is unacceptable that the administration is picking and choosing what parts of the appropriations law to follow, and you must immediately implement the entire law as Congress intended and as the oaths you swore require you to do. While the administration continues to deny federal funds to our states and local communities that they are expecting as the law requires, it has found time to move expeditiously to award funding to the Kennedy Center and acknowledged it is required to do so by the appropriations law. In its action here, the Department stated in a recent waiver proposal, “The waiver will allow the Department to issue a continuation award in FY 2025, as directed by Congress to the currently funded 84.351A AENP [Arts in Education National Program] project at an amount consistent with the amount awarded in FY 2024.” While it’s true the appropriations law requires such an action, it does so as well for billions in funding for state grants the Department recently informed states it will not release.
    The administration’s “programmatic review”—with no public information about what the review entails, what data the administration is examining, or a timeline for such review—appears to be an intentional delay that will result in school budget cuts in every State. In multiple statutes, Congress has prohibited the Federal government from directing or controlling state and local education decisions with these dollars. This programmatic review may be in violation of these longstanding and bipartisan prohibitions.
    We might be more inclined to believe the administration’s stated interest in ensuring federal funds were properly used if its actions to date didn’t tell a different story. The Department has impeded a review by the Office of Inspector General, which is charged with promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations. Earlier this year, the administration terminated contracts for regional educational laboratories and grants required for comprehensive centers, which help states and districts use research and evidence in addressing local challenges of policy and practice. It has also halted evaluations of federal literacy programs, adult learning strategies, and strategies to help teens with disabilities transition from high school to college or work.
    We insist you immediately reverse your decision to illegally withhold federal education funding appropriated by Congress and provide the funds as the law requires. Such an action would represent a faithful execution of the law as required by the Constitution and a benefit to the tens of millions of students and adult learners that are intended to benefit from these federal education investments.
    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As School Year Nears, Merkley, Wyden, & Colleagues Demand Trump Admin End Blockade on Funding for Afterschool Programs, K-12 Schools Across America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)

    July 14, 2025

    Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced they joined 30 colleagues in demanding President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon immediately release nearly $7 billion in funding for K-12 schools and adult literacy programs across America that the Trump Administration abruptly let states and school districts know it would indefinitely block.

    Oregon faces the potential loss of approximately $73 million in federal education as a result of the abrupt cutoff of education funds by the Trump Administration and may be forced to end afterschool programs, specialized literacy programs, educator training, and support for English language learners as a result of this misguided executive maneuver.

    “We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities,” wrote the 32 U.S. Senators in their letter. “These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque ‘programmatic review’ of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states.”

    The Trump Administration’s decision to withhold the funding has sent school districts nationwide scrambling to determine how they could fill the, in many cases, massive budget hole and whether they’ll have to lay off teachers or end after school programs in the coming weeks. School districts have made clear they will have to end afterschool programs, already told parents to prepare backup options, and adult literacy programs have already been forced to lay off staff.

    The lawmakers blasted the administration for its abrupt notice and illegal freeze of the funds, which has sent school districts and programs scrambling: “We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration.”

    They noted that blocking funding for before and after school programs, as well as summer learning programs, is already hurting families nationwide: “By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning.  These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.”

    Warning of how denying these funds will cause schools to lay off teachers and cut back on teacher training, they wrote: “This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.”

    The lawmakers also detailed how the move affects adult learners nationwide: “This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.”

    The Trump Administration has confirmed it is blocking funding for the following programs—all of which are programs President Trump has requested to eliminate in his budget request, raising serious concerns about this administration’s intentions to simply impound the funding:

    1. Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A), which support professional development and other activities to improve the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders, including reducing class size.
    2. 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), which support high-quality before and after-school programs focused on providing academic enrichment opportunities for students.
    3. Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A), which provide flexible funding for school districts for a wide range of activities including supporting STEM education, accelerated learning courses, college and career counseling, school-based mental health services, and improving school technology, among many others.
    4. English Language Acquisition (Title III-A), which supports language instruction to help English language learners become proficient in English.
    5. Migrant Education (Title I-C), which supports the educational needs of migratory children, including children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
    6. Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants (including Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants), which support adult education and literacy programs to provide the basic skills to help prepare adults and out-of-school youth for success in the workforce.

    The letter was led by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.

    In addition to Merkley and Wyden, the letter was also signed by Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-MD), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).

    Full text of the letter follows:

    Dear Director Vought and Secretary McMahon:

    We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities. These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque “programmatic review” of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states. This delay not only undermines effective state and local planning for using these funds to address student needs consistent with federal education law, which often takes place months before these funds become available, but also flies in the face of the nation’s education laws which confers state and local educational agency discretion on permissible uses of federal formula grant funds.

    We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration. Late on June 30, 2025, the Department of Education (“Department”) informed states that it would not release fiscal year 2025 funds expected on July 1 before completing a “review” of six programs. The Department even noted ironically that it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.” Apparently, the Department needs a refresher course on its statutory responsibilities.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law requires funds to be allocated under the terms and conditions of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations law. This includes a requirement that “$1,329,673,000 shall be for part B of title IV”, which is the authority for the Nita M. Lowey 21stCentury Community Learning Centers program. This authority requires the Secretary to allot funds to each state for subgrants for before, after, and summer school programming. The law further describes the allotment formula, authorized state and local activities, and other program requirements. By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning. These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law also requires the Department to use $890 million to carry out part A of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The purpose of the program is to ensure English learners (ELs) and immigrant students have access to the resources they need to attain English language proficiency and reach the same challenging academic standards as their English-proficient peers, which will prepare them to fully participate in society and the workforce as they grow older. Part A of title III specifies the allotment formula, permissible uses of funds and other program requirements for this program serving more than 5 million EL students enrolled in the nation’s public schools. Yet, the administration’s review will disrupt school hiring decisions and cause real and immediate harm to EL students.

    The Department issued preliminary allocations to states on May 29, 2025, stating that “The Full Year Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 provides $629,600,400 for formula grants to States to carry out adult education and literacy activities.” Just more than a month later, the Department issued its curt memo indicating that the funds would not go out on July 1, 2025, as just promised in the May preliminary allocations. This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.

    The withholding also extends to more than $2 billion for Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants. According to the Department’s latest report, more than half of these funds are used for professional development for teachers and other educators, and nearly one-third of school districts used the funds to recruit, hire, and retain effective educators.12 Nearly $1.4 billion is being withheld for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants and $375 million for Migrant Education programs. All these programs were funded in fiscal year 2024 and continued by the Full-Year Appropriations Act. This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.

    It is unacceptable that the administration is picking and choosing what parts of the appropriations law to follow, and you must immediately implement the entire law as Congress intended and as the oaths you swore require you to do. While the administration continues to deny federal funds to our states and local communities that they are expecting as the law requires, it has found time to move expeditiously to award funding to the Kennedy Center and acknowledged it is required to do so by the appropriations law. In its action here, the Department stated in a recent waiver proposal, “The waiver will allow the Department to issue a continuation award in FY 2025, as directed by Congress to the currently funded 84.351A AENP [Arts in Education National Program] project at an amount consistent with the amount awarded in FY 2024.” While it’s true the appropriations law requires such an action, it does so as well for billions in funding for state grants the Department recently informed states it will not release.

    The administration’s “programmatic review”—with no public information about what the review entails, what data the administration is examining, or a timeline for such review—appears to be an intentional delay that will result in school budget cuts in every State. In multiple statutes, Congress has prohibited the Federal government from directing or controlling state and local education decisions with these dollars. This programmatic review may be in violation of these longstanding and bipartisan prohibitions.

    We might be more inclined to believe the administration’s stated interest in ensuring federal funds were properly used if its actions to date didn’t tell a different story. The Department has impeded a review by the Office of Inspector General, which is charged with promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations. Earlier this year, the administration terminated contracts for regional educational laboratories and grants required for comprehensive centers, which help states and districts use research and evidence in addressing local challenges of policy and practice. It has also halted evaluations of federal literacy programs, adult learning strategies, and strategies to help teens with disabilities transition from high school to college or work.

    We insist you immediately reverse your decision to illegally withhold federal education funding appropriated by Congress and provide the funds as the law requires. Such an action would represent a faithful execution of the law as required by the Constitution and a benefit to the tens of millions of students and adult learners that are intended to benefit from these federal education investments.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • Centre to issue new guidelines to promote first-time exporters: Piyush Goyal

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The government will soon issue new guidelines on how to promote new markets, new products, and new exporters, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday. He added that the Ministry and districts can work together to promote One District One Product (ODOP) items in newer markets and support first-time exporters.

    He said the Commerce Ministry will collaborate with districts to help first-time exporters reach new markets.

    Goyal highlighted that 773 districts across various states have contributed to India’s success story.

    “India is like an oasis in a desert in a tumultuous world and is the fastest-growing large economy in the world today,” said the minister, adding that India is set to become the third-largest economy in 2027.

    He noted that India’s diverse products have the potential to reach global markets.

    Goyal cited examples such as Wayanad’s coffee, Ratnagiri mangoes, and saffron from Pulwama, saying these illustrate the wide range of products that can take India’s name worldwide.

    He emphasised that One District One Product is a unique initiative, unmatched by any other country. “Each district brings a different kind of legacy,” he said.

    Goyal also mentioned that sometimes two products must be recognised under ODOP and stressed that local products are now going global.

    The minister said that 64 out of 87 products are covered under the Industrial Investment Promotion Policy. He informed that all 38 districts of Bihar have achieved 100 per cent coverage of products under ODOP, and the state has prioritised the initiative.

    Goyal stated that all these products are integrated into the state’s economic system and included in the industrial policy. Bihar has been categorised as Category A in this regard. He urged everyone to take a pledge to make ODOP a driving force for prosperity in their districts through their unique products.

    –IANS

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Pathways to end gender-based violence

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Canada’s new government implements Interim Reciprocal Procurement to protect Canadian businesses from unfair trade practices

    Source: Government of Canada News

    July 14, 2025 – Gatineau (Quebec)                                        

    As Canada’s new government negotiates a new economic and security partnership with the United States, it is also taking action to protect Canadian workers and businesses from unfair trade practices.  

    Today, the Honourable Joël Lightbound, Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement announced that the government has implemented a new Interim Policy on Reciprocal Procurement. Under this new policy, suppliers from countries that limit Canadian access to their own government contracts can be restricted from bidding on Canadian federal contracts. This measure will prioritize suppliers from Canada and from our reliable trading partners that provide reciprocal access to suppliers from Canada through trade agreements.

    The policy applies to all federal departments and agencies and will be implemented in two phases:

    • Phase 1, the interim policy, will focus on applying the policy based on the location of suppliers, started with the roll-out of training and tools on June 30, 2025, to support implementation. The interim policy is effective as of July 14, 2025.
    • Phase 2, the complete policy, will determine supplier eligibility based on the origin of goods and services being offered, and will be introduced at a later date.

    As shared earlier this year, the government is also exploring additional ways to maximize the use of Canadian steel and aluminum in government-funded projects, including in coordination with Canadian provinces and territories.

    By enforcing fair and reciprocal procurement access, the government will protect Canadian innovation, jobs, and economic growth, and ensure that Canadian suppliers remain competitive in the global marketplace.  We will defend the interests of Canadians, safeguard Canada’s workers and businesses, and build one Canadian economy – the strongest economy in the G7.  

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Canada’s new government implements Interim Reciprocal Procurement to protect Canadian businesses from unfair trade practices

    Source: Government of Canada News

    July 14, 2025 – Gatineau (Quebec)                                        

    As Canada’s new government negotiates a new economic and security partnership with the United States, it is also taking action to protect Canadian workers and businesses from unfair trade practices.  

    Today, the Honourable Joël Lightbound, Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement announced that the government has implemented a new Interim Policy on Reciprocal Procurement. Under this new policy, suppliers from countries that limit Canadian access to their own government contracts can be restricted from bidding on Canadian federal contracts. This measure will prioritize suppliers from Canada and from our reliable trading partners that provide reciprocal access to suppliers from Canada through trade agreements.

    The policy applies to all federal departments and agencies and will be implemented in two phases:

    • Phase 1, the interim policy, will focus on applying the policy based on the location of suppliers, started with the roll-out of training and tools on June 30, 2025, to support implementation. The interim policy is effective as of July 14, 2025.
    • Phase 2, the complete policy, will determine supplier eligibility based on the origin of goods and services being offered, and will be introduced at a later date.

    As shared earlier this year, the government is also exploring additional ways to maximize the use of Canadian steel and aluminum in government-funded projects, including in coordination with Canadian provinces and territories.

    By enforcing fair and reciprocal procurement access, the government will protect Canadian innovation, jobs, and economic growth, and ensure that Canadian suppliers remain competitive in the global marketplace.  We will defend the interests of Canadians, safeguard Canada’s workers and businesses, and build one Canadian economy – the strongest economy in the G7.  

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Speaker Johnson: America First is No Longer Just an Agenda, It is the Law of the Land

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

    WASHINGTON — This morning, Speaker Johnson appeared on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the historic One Big Beautiful Bill and how House Republicans are keeping their foot on the gas after President Trump signed it into law. 

    Watch the full interview here

    On the One Big Beautiful Bill adding jet fuel to the US economy:

    The big beautiful bill, people call it a spending bill. It wasn’t. The only increases in spending were for those two priorities, border and national defense. Everything else was carving back and saving money from the budget, which is why you call it a reconciliation bill. So we would have actually achieved, and we will, in excess of $1.6 trillion in savings. That is an historic number. No congress, no legislative body in the history of planet Earth has ever saved so much in a bill. Now, it’s just the first step though, Maria, as we point out, we have a $37 trillion federal debt. You and I talk about this all the time. We all do. And we have to have a combination of reduced spending and greater economic growth. 

    We put jet fuel into the economy with the one big beautiful bill. It will be that. Extraordinary growth, we’re projecting 3% going forward and $4 trillion in new revenue, just out of the legislation. But more is ahead. And the tariff policy and the other policies of the Trump administration have been wildly successful. In fact, we had a budget surplus, as you know, in the month of June, the first time since 2017 when President Trump was last in the White House. So more of that is ahead. Every American will feel it. And the big beautiful bill was geared and written for lower- and middle-class earners in the country. They’re going to be feeling really good as we go into that midterm election in 2026.

    On House Republicans legislative agenda going forward:

    We’re implementing a playbook that we designed well over a year ago, about 15 months ago. We began this process understanding and believing that we would win unified government, that we’d have the White House, the Senate, and the House in Republican hands, and that we would not want to waste this historic opportunity with President Trump coming back to the White House and us having the responsibility of fixing every metric of public policy that Biden and Harris and the Democrats destroyed over the previous four years. So, the big beautiful bill was the first big step in that. But we have multiple steps ahead of us. We have long planned for at least two, possibly three reconciliation bills, one in the fall and one next spring that would continue to allow us to do this on a partisan basis, where we only need Republican votes and we don’t have to drag Democrats along. They are in no appetite to fix any of the mess. We have to do it ourselves. So yes, that’s next. 

    In addition to that, we will continue to get the country back on a path to fiscal responsibility by rescissions packages that will come from the White House that we’ll enact, and claw back spending and eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse in the multiple reconciliation packages, and in appropriating at lower levels of funding. All these things will be done while we’re codifying more of President Trump’s executive orders. He’s been very busy. We will be as well. We have a lot more work ahead of us.

    On codifying President Trump’s executive orders:

    Almost 30 of them were included in the big beautiful Bill. So that was a lawmaking exercise; the president has now signed them into law and they’re codified. So it’s not a temporary thing, they’ll be permanent in the law. And we’ve done a number, about 15 or 20 additional executive orders that we’ve already codified in the House. We’ll continue that process. We wanted to get as many of them as we could into the reconciliation package because we knew that we were certain that that would actually be signed into law and it wouldn’t just be a feelgood exercise. So more of that will continue going forward. The president’s been one of the most prolific, I think arguably the most successful president in the first six months of this term than any previous president. Look how many things have been accomplished? A lot of it has been done through executive order, so Congress has its role to play now as well.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Speaker Johnson: America First is No Longer Just an Agenda, It is the Law of the Land

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

    WASHINGTON — This morning, Speaker Johnson appeared on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the historic One Big Beautiful Bill and how House Republicans are keeping their foot on the gas after President Trump signed it into law. 

    Watch the full interview here

    On the One Big Beautiful Bill adding jet fuel to the US economy:

    The big beautiful bill, people call it a spending bill. It wasn’t. The only increases in spending were for those two priorities, border and national defense. Everything else was carving back and saving money from the budget, which is why you call it a reconciliation bill. So we would have actually achieved, and we will, in excess of $1.6 trillion in savings. That is an historic number. No congress, no legislative body in the history of planet Earth has ever saved so much in a bill. Now, it’s just the first step though, Maria, as we point out, we have a $37 trillion federal debt. You and I talk about this all the time. We all do. And we have to have a combination of reduced spending and greater economic growth. 

    We put jet fuel into the economy with the one big beautiful bill. It will be that. Extraordinary growth, we’re projecting 3% going forward and $4 trillion in new revenue, just out of the legislation. But more is ahead. And the tariff policy and the other policies of the Trump administration have been wildly successful. In fact, we had a budget surplus, as you know, in the month of June, the first time since 2017 when President Trump was last in the White House. So more of that is ahead. Every American will feel it. And the big beautiful bill was geared and written for lower- and middle-class earners in the country. They’re going to be feeling really good as we go into that midterm election in 2026.

    On House Republicans legislative agenda going forward:

    We’re implementing a playbook that we designed well over a year ago, about 15 months ago. We began this process understanding and believing that we would win unified government, that we’d have the White House, the Senate, and the House in Republican hands, and that we would not want to waste this historic opportunity with President Trump coming back to the White House and us having the responsibility of fixing every metric of public policy that Biden and Harris and the Democrats destroyed over the previous four years. So, the big beautiful bill was the first big step in that. But we have multiple steps ahead of us. We have long planned for at least two, possibly three reconciliation bills, one in the fall and one next spring that would continue to allow us to do this on a partisan basis, where we only need Republican votes and we don’t have to drag Democrats along. They are in no appetite to fix any of the mess. We have to do it ourselves. So yes, that’s next. 

    In addition to that, we will continue to get the country back on a path to fiscal responsibility by rescissions packages that will come from the White House that we’ll enact, and claw back spending and eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse in the multiple reconciliation packages, and in appropriating at lower levels of funding. All these things will be done while we’re codifying more of President Trump’s executive orders. He’s been very busy. We will be as well. We have a lot more work ahead of us.

    On codifying President Trump’s executive orders:

    Almost 30 of them were included in the big beautiful Bill. So that was a lawmaking exercise; the president has now signed them into law and they’re codified. So it’s not a temporary thing, they’ll be permanent in the law. And we’ve done a number, about 15 or 20 additional executive orders that we’ve already codified in the House. We’ll continue that process. We wanted to get as many of them as we could into the reconciliation package because we knew that we were certain that that would actually be signed into law and it wouldn’t just be a feelgood exercise. So more of that will continue going forward. The president’s been one of the most prolific, I think arguably the most successful president in the first six months of this term than any previous president. Look how many things have been accomplished? A lot of it has been done through executive order, so Congress has its role to play now as well.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Speaker Johnson: America First is No Longer Just an Agenda, It is the Law of the Land

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

    WASHINGTON — This morning, Speaker Johnson appeared on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the historic One Big Beautiful Bill and how House Republicans are keeping their foot on the gas after President Trump signed it into law. 

    Watch the full interview here

    On the One Big Beautiful Bill adding jet fuel to the US economy:

    The big beautiful bill, people call it a spending bill. It wasn’t. The only increases in spending were for those two priorities, border and national defense. Everything else was carving back and saving money from the budget, which is why you call it a reconciliation bill. So we would have actually achieved, and we will, in excess of $1.6 trillion in savings. That is an historic number. No congress, no legislative body in the history of planet Earth has ever saved so much in a bill. Now, it’s just the first step though, Maria, as we point out, we have a $37 trillion federal debt. You and I talk about this all the time. We all do. And we have to have a combination of reduced spending and greater economic growth. 

    We put jet fuel into the economy with the one big beautiful bill. It will be that. Extraordinary growth, we’re projecting 3% going forward and $4 trillion in new revenue, just out of the legislation. But more is ahead. And the tariff policy and the other policies of the Trump administration have been wildly successful. In fact, we had a budget surplus, as you know, in the month of June, the first time since 2017 when President Trump was last in the White House. So more of that is ahead. Every American will feel it. And the big beautiful bill was geared and written for lower- and middle-class earners in the country. They’re going to be feeling really good as we go into that midterm election in 2026.

    On House Republicans legislative agenda going forward:

    We’re implementing a playbook that we designed well over a year ago, about 15 months ago. We began this process understanding and believing that we would win unified government, that we’d have the White House, the Senate, and the House in Republican hands, and that we would not want to waste this historic opportunity with President Trump coming back to the White House and us having the responsibility of fixing every metric of public policy that Biden and Harris and the Democrats destroyed over the previous four years. So, the big beautiful bill was the first big step in that. But we have multiple steps ahead of us. We have long planned for at least two, possibly three reconciliation bills, one in the fall and one next spring that would continue to allow us to do this on a partisan basis, where we only need Republican votes and we don’t have to drag Democrats along. They are in no appetite to fix any of the mess. We have to do it ourselves. So yes, that’s next. 

    In addition to that, we will continue to get the country back on a path to fiscal responsibility by rescissions packages that will come from the White House that we’ll enact, and claw back spending and eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse in the multiple reconciliation packages, and in appropriating at lower levels of funding. All these things will be done while we’re codifying more of President Trump’s executive orders. He’s been very busy. We will be as well. We have a lot more work ahead of us.

    On codifying President Trump’s executive orders:

    Almost 30 of them were included in the big beautiful Bill. So that was a lawmaking exercise; the president has now signed them into law and they’re codified. So it’s not a temporary thing, they’ll be permanent in the law. And we’ve done a number, about 15 or 20 additional executive orders that we’ve already codified in the House. We’ll continue that process. We wanted to get as many of them as we could into the reconciliation package because we knew that we were certain that that would actually be signed into law and it wouldn’t just be a feelgood exercise. So more of that will continue going forward. The president’s been one of the most prolific, I think arguably the most successful president in the first six months of this term than any previous president. Look how many things have been accomplished? A lot of it has been done through executive order, so Congress has its role to play now as well.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Federated “Midas” U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund Launched, writes Global Policy Advisors’ Salar Ghahramani

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, July 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Global Policy Advisors® LLC (GPA), a strategic advisory firm focused on sovereign wealth funds, has released a new SWF 2050™ briefing authored by Salar Ghahramani, titled Federated “Midas” U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund Launched, with a focus on how recent developments are transforming the United States’ approach to sovereign wealth investing, with significant implications for markets and strategic sectors like rare earths.

    The briefing builds upon Ghahramani’s April 2025 SWF 2050™ report, Strategic Expansion in Critical Resources: New Directions for U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund Investments, which anticipated the growing role of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund in securing critical minerals, reshaping market dynamics, and mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities. In the latest analysis, Ghahramani details how these forecasts are beginning to materialize through concrete transactions and policy frameworks.

    Ghahramani, who describes this emerging model as “Midas” to signify the use of sovereign capital to create transformative value across financial markets, supply chains, and strategic industries, writes that transactions like the Department of Defense’s equity stake in MP Materials exemplify this shift. “This is sovereign capital being deployed not merely for financial return, but to actively influence market structure, manage supply chain risks, and catalyze private investment—particularly in strategic industries such as rare earths,” Ghahramani said. “It’s an outside-the-box and highly creative approach, representing a significant departure from traditional sovereign wealth fund models and introducing new considerations for market participants.”

    Unlike conventional sovereign wealth funds that operate as single, centralized entities, Ghahramani explains that the U.S. appears to be developing a federated architecture in which multiple Executive Branch agencies act as conduits and pillars of sovereign wealth investing. The Department of Defense, leveraging authorities under the Defense Production Act (DPA), can engage in direct equity stakes and strategic market interventions. The Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is positioned to deploy capital into critical sectors tied to economic and national security objectives. The Department of the Treasury may emerge as a coordinating force, managing financial instruments and structuring sovereign investment strategies. Other agencies, including the Departments of Energy and Commerce, contribute through grants, loan guarantees, and sector-specific initiatives.

    In the report, Ghahramani analyzes how this decentralized approach operates within existing statutory frameworks, offering regulatory pathways for sovereign-style investments through instruments such as equity stakes, loans, price floors, and revenue-sharing agreements.

    Read the summary of the report here:

    https://www.globalpolicyadvisors.com/swf-2050trade/federated-midas-us-sovereign-wealth-fund-launched

    About Global Policy Advisors

    Global Policy Advisors® LLC is a boutique sovereign wealth fund advisory to corporations, boards of directors, and institutional investors—including hedge funds, private equity firms, pension funds, and SWFs. GPA’s ​expertise is delivering actionable insights, strategy sessions, and executive briefings on the governance, operations, and investment strategies of sovereign wealth funds. The company is recognized for devising the first governance and policy roadmap for a U.S. sovereign wealth fund.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: ‘Pig butchering’ scams have stolen billions from people around the world. Here’s what you need to know

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Bing Han, Lecturer in Economic Crime, University of Portsmouth

    thanun vongsuravanich / Shutterstock

    At the beginning of 2025, panic about fraud and human trafficking erupted on Chinese social media. It started when a Chinese actor called Wang Xing was tricked into travelling to Thailand for an audition, where he was abducted by criminals and taken to a scam centre in Myanmar.

    Wang was reported missing and, within three days, the Thai police had located and returned him to Thailand. Details of the operation were not revealed, leading to speculation that withholding more information was part of a deal that led to Wang’s release.

    Inside the compound, Wang’s head was shaved and he told the police he was forced to undergo the first phase of training on how to carry out scams.



    Read more:
    Scam Factories: the inside story of Southeast Asia’s brutal fraud compounds

    One such scam is known as “pig butchering”. This type of scam began attracting attention in China around 2019, and is typically carried out by Chinese organised crime groups. Scammers establish fake romantic and trusting relationships with victims before luring them into fraudulent investments or other financial traps.

    Pig-butchering scammers have stolen billions of dollars from victims worldwide. In one notable example from 2023, a banker from Kansas in the US called Shan Hanes embezzled US$47 million (£34.6 million) from his bank to cover his losses after falling victim to a pig butchering scam. Hanes was subsequently sentenced to more than 24 years in prison. So, what do we know about how pig butchering scams work?

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

    A pig butchering scam consists of three stages: hunting, raising and killing. These stages correspond to scammers finding victims online, talking with them to build trust and then getting them to invest large amounts of money in fraudulent schemes.

    There are some similarities between a pig butchering scam and a traditional romance scam. Scammers may, as in a traditional scam, approach their victims by posing as a possible romantic partner on a dating app or a friend on social media.

    But the key difference lies in how the scam is executed. In a traditional romance scam, trust is based on the victim’s desire to maintain a romantic relationship with the scammer. Because of this, traditional romance scams can sometimes last for years.

    Pig butchering scams, in comparison, generally take place over a shorter time frame. Rather than focusing on extracting money solely through emotional manipulation, they lean heavily on the victim’s desire to make money together with the scammer. They often involve just a few months of talking with the victim.

    The scammers present themselves as financially successful and confident people with broad networks and attractive investment opportunities. Once a victim makes a small initial investment, scammers rapidly escalate the process and push them into making much larger financial commitments.

    In one example from 2024, a woman in the US state of Connecticut called Jacqueline Crenshaw met a man on an online dating site. He was posing as a widower with two children and frequently spoke with Crenshaw over the phone. Within two months, they began discussing investing in cryptocurrency.

    Crenshaw sent him US$40,000 (£29,500) initially and received screenshots from him showing supposedly huge profits from the cryptocurrency investment. The scammer soon encouraged Crenshaw to invest much more, which ultimately led to her losing nearly US$1 million (£738,000).

    Organised crime groups

    Pig butchering scams are typically run by highly organised criminal groups. These groups have management teams, provide training to new recruits and often hire people as models who occasionally interact with victims.

    The Chinese government has taken several steps to combat fraud in recent years. It enacted the Anti-Telecom Fraud Law in 2022, which was designed specifically to prevent and punish the use of telecommunications and internet technologies to defraud individuals and organisations. It was introduced in response to the growing prevalence of pig butchering scams in China.

    The Chinese Ministry of Public Security has also developed a mobile application called the National Anti-Fraud Center App. The app allows the public to report scams and access real-time risk alerts related to fraud. Alongside the work of other government departments, it has helped intercept 4.7 billion scam calls and 3.4 billion fraudulent text messages since the beginning of 2024.

    The crackdown on fraud within China has made it more difficult for criminal groups to operate domestically, prompting many to relocate their bases abroad. South-east Asian countries – particularly Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar – have become a preferred destination for such groups.

    Regions of northern Myanmar, such as Kokang and Wa State, have become breeding grounds for organised fraud over the past few years. Chinese is widely spoken in both of these areas and local customs closely resemble those in China.

    This has been exacerbated by persistent corruption in border areas, poor governance and instability. The collapse of the illegal online gambling industry in south-east Asia following the pandemic has also led crime groups to search for new sources of revenue. These conditions have together facilitated the proliferation of large-scale fraudulent operations.

    Organised fraud has evolved into a key pillar of the local economy in certain parts of south-east Asia. The profits generated from online scams are estimated to amount to 40% of the combined GDP of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

    Criminal leaders have established tightly controlled compounds that serve as hubs for online scams, with their primary activities centred on pig butchering. These compounds are frequently presented as “technology parks”, which helps recruit workers. However, many people are forced to work in the scam centres.

    Pig butchering scams can inflict severe financial harm on victims. But are also closely tied to violent crime, human trafficking and other forms of organised criminal activity. They pose a growing threat to regional and global security.

    Bing Han 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. ‘Pig butchering’ scams have stolen billions from people around the world. Here’s what you need to know – https://theconversation.com/pig-butchering-scams-have-stolen-billions-from-people-around-the-world-heres-what-you-need-to-know-252774

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NIST Shares Preliminary Findings From Hurricane Maria Investigation

    Source: US Government research organizations

    NIST Hurricane Maria Program | Technical Update (July 2025)

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a video update and press release on its study of Hurricane Maria’s impacts on Puerto Rico. 

    Hurricane Maria, which struck Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, 2017, was one of the most devastating and costly hurricanes in U.S. history. The storm caused nearly 3,000 deaths and more than $90 billion in damages. While nature cannot be controlled, communities can reduce the impacts of natural hazards by making their buildings and infrastructure more resilient, upgrading emergency preparedness plans for critical facilities, and strengthening evacuation and communication protocols.

    In 2018, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) launched an investigation into Hurricane Maria’s impacts to learn what went wrong and to take steps to make Americans safer from future hurricanes.

    “Our goal is to learn from that event to recommend improvements to building codes, standards and practices that will make communities more resilient to hurricanes and other hazards, not just in Puerto Rico but across the United States,” said NIST’s lead Hurricane Maria investigator Joseph Main.

    The investigation has been an enormous undertaking. NIST experts have conducted hundreds of surveys and interviews, analyzed dozens of buildings, conducted laboratory experiments, and more. As NIST’s National Construction Safety Team nears the end of its investigation, it has released a video update that highlights significant milestones and preliminary findings.

    What Made Hurricane Maria So Dangerous?

    Hurricane Maria set off a cascade of building and infrastructure failures across Puerto Rico that had lasting impacts on society, including health care, business and education. The storm itself was a Category 4 hurricane, with peak gusts as high as 140 mph over flat terrain, strong enough to topple trees and lift roofs off houses. The wind was even stronger along the ridges of hills and mountains, where power lines and cellphone towers were located. Those lines and towers were damaged or destroyed, knocking out electric, phone and internet service for almost the entire island.

    The steep mountains of Puerto Rico also intensified the rainfall, resulting in extensive flooding and more than 40,000 landslides. This destroyed roads and bridges, blocking routes to hospitals and shelters for those who badly needed them. The hospitals and shelters themselves were heavily damaged by the storm, lifesaving medical equipment was destroyed, and parts of the buildings became uninhabitable. Each of these impacts intensified others. For example, the loss of electricity made it more difficult to move patients and supplies within some hospitals because elevators stopped working.

    Why NIST?

    NIST has a long history of studying disasters and building failures. Under the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act, NIST is authorized to establish teams “to assess building performance and emergency response and evacuation procedures in the wake of any building failure that has resulted in substantial loss of life or that posed significant potential of substantial loss of life.”

    Additionally, the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act gives NIST responsibility for “carrying out research and development to improve model building codes, voluntary standards, and best practices for the design, construction, and retrofit of buildings, structures, and lifelines” with the purpose of achieving “measurable reductions in the losses of life and property from windstorms.”

    Previous NIST investigations have led to building code improvements for tornadoes and fires that can save lives in communities across the country.

    Responding to Hurricane Maria, NIST created a team of experts in structural and civil engineering, public health, epidemiology, medicine, anthropology, communications, sociology and economics. These experts came from NIST, other federal agencies and universities, including outside experts based in Puerto Rico.

    “Having a local presence has been critical in carrying out this work, especially during the pandemic,” said Maria Dillard, investigation associate lead.

    The Investigation So Far

    The investigation is wide-ranging and has included reconnaissance of the island, creation of a detailed map of wind speeds during the hurricane, long-term measurements of wind speeds at cell towers, and wind tunnel tests. The NIST team conducted hundreds of interviews with emergency communicators; family members of the deceased; hospital, school and shelter staff members; shipping and transportation sector representatives; infrastructure officials; and others impacted by the storm. They also surveyed more than 1,500 households, 450 businesses, 300 schools and 16 hospitals for the project.

    Understanding the impact on hospitals and emergency shelters was a high priority for the investigators, who conducted detailed evaluations of five hospitals and five shelter facilities.

    This information went into computer models to understand how the hurricane and the long recovery process unfolded.

    During the course of the investigation, Puerto Rico was buffeted by more disasters, including a series of earthquakes that started in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Hurricane Fiona in 2022, and Tropical Storm Ernesto in 2024. These events made the recovery from Hurricane Maria more difficult and presented additional challenges for the investigation.

    Importance of NIST’s Hurricane María Investigation

    Preliminary Findings

    The complete report will not be released until 2026, so these findings may change before the report is finalized. However, in the video Main and Dillard share the following major preliminary findings, which they anticipate will be included in the final version.

    While peak wind speeds over flat terrain reached as high as 140 mph (225 kmh), those winds were accelerated to over 200 mph (322 kmh) in some areas by the shape of steep hills and mountains. The mountains also intensified the rainfall. The most extreme rainfall reached 30 inches (76 centimeters) in some areas.

    A major challenge for the investigation was that many weather-measuring devices were damaged during the storm. Only three out of 22 weather stations were fully functional throughout the hurricane. A Doppler weather radar site was destroyed by high winds, and the majority of rain gauges failed during the storm.

    Surveys with family members of those who died in the two weeks following the hurricane showed that only about one-tenth of the deaths occurred on the day of landfall and that only a small fraction of the deaths were caused by storm-related injuries. Reduced access to health care was found to be a significant factor in the deaths that occurred. The most common causes of death were noncommunicable medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and kidney disease, as those who suffered from these conditions had difficulty obtaining the medical care they needed.

    Landslides, collapsed bridges and fallen trees blocking roads kept people from getting help. Such road disruptions were estimated to have cut off hospital access for just over half of the population immediately following the hurricane. Many patients sought medical care at multiple places before receiving treatment. After arriving at hospitals, patients encountered additional disruptions in care from hospital buildings that were damaged, flooded and without electrical power.

    The investigation also found that 95.3% of schools lost power, for an average of over 100 days. Lack of potable water was also an issue for school recovery. One school emphasized that students needed to bring their own water because the school’s water was not safe to drink.

    Success Stories

    One important preliminary finding from the study is that emergency preparations work. Businesses, schools and hospitals that prepared before Hurricane Maria were able to resume operations more quickly afterward. Preparations included preestablished emergency plans, designated risk mitigation funds, and backup power sources.

    Preliminary findings also showed that financial assistance was effective. Statistically, businesses, schools and hospitals that received financial assistance were able to recover more quickly than those that did not.

    Anticipated Recommendations

    Through the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act, NIST has a responsibility to use investigation findings to create recommendations and help implement them.

    Recommendations from the Hurricane Maria Program are anticipated to result in:

    • New building standards to account for faster winds caused by mountains and hills.
    • New standards for storm shelters and refuge areas.
    • Measures that will help hospitals and other critical facilities maintain services during and after hurricanes, such as requiring standby generators for elevators and air-conditioning.
    • Guidance on recording damage to communications systems in a way that will prioritize recovery.
    • More robust tools for measuring wind, rainfall and flooding.
    • New standards for creating death certificates during an emergency.

    These changes will be important for hurricane-prone regions throughout the U.S., not just Puerto Rico. Hurricane Helene, which carved a destructive path from Florida through North Carolina in 2024, shared many similarities with Hurricane Maria, such as significant rainfall in mountainous areas that led to flooding and landslides; neighborhoods and communities being cut off from road access; massive infrastructure failure; and at least one hospital requiring evacuation.

    By applying the lessons of Hurricane Maria, this investigation can help the increasing number of communities that are experiencing intense hurricanes prepare for, respond to, and recover from them.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Over €10 billion has now been pledged for Ukraine’s recovery. It’s nowhere near enough

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham

    Clearly angered by the intensification of Russia’s air campaign against Ukraine, Donald Trump has pivoted from the suspension of US military assistance to Ukraine to promising its resumption. Russia’s strikes on major cities killed more civilians in June than have died in any single previous month, according to UN figures.

    Over the past two weeks, the US president has made several disparaging comments about his relationship with Vladimir Putin, including on July 13 that the Russian president “talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening”.

    Not only will the US resume delivery of long-promised Patriot air defence missiles, Trump is now also reported to be considering a whole new plan to arm Ukraine, including with offensive capabilities. And he has talked about imposing new sanctions on Putin’s regime.

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

    This is the background against which the eighth Ukraine Recovery Conference took place in Rome on July 10 and 11. The event, attended by many western leaders and senior business executives, was an important reminder that while the war against Ukraine will be decided on the battlefield, peace will only be won as the result of rebuilding Ukraine’s economy and society.

    Ending the war anytime soon and on terms favourable to Kyiv will require an enormous effort by Ukrainians and their European allies. But the country’s recovery afterwards will be no less challenging.

    According to the World Bank’s latest assessment, at the end of 2024 Ukraine’s recovery needs over the next decade stood at US$524 billion (£388 billion). And with every month the war continues, these needs are increasing. Ukraine’s three hardest-hit sectors are housing, transport and energy infrastructure, which between them account for around 60% of all damage.

    At the same time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided a relatively positive assessment of Ukraine’s overall economic situation at the end of June, forecasting growth of between 2% and 3% for 2025 – likely to grow to over 4% in 2026 and 2027. But the IMF also cautioned that this trajectory – and the country’s macroeconomic stability more generally – will remain heavily dependent on external support.

    Taking into account a new €2.3 billion package from the EU, consisting of €1.8 billion of loan guarantees and €580 million of grants, the cumulative pledge of over €10 billion (£8.7 billion) made by countries attending the Ukraine recovery conference is both encouraging and sobering.

    It is encouraging in the sense that Ukraine’s international partners remain committed to the country’s social and economic needs, not merely its ability to resist Russia on the battlefield.

    But it is also sobering that even these eye-watering sums of public money are still only a fraction of Ukraine’s needs. Even if the EU manages to mobilise its overall target of €40 billion for Ukraine’s recovery, by attracting additional contributions from other donors and the private sector, this would be less than 8% of Ukraine’s projected recovery needs as of the end of 2024.

    As the war continues and more of the (diminishing) public funding is directed towards defence expenditure by Kyiv’s western partners, this gap is likely to grow.

    Overcoming the trauma of war

    Money is not the only challenge for Ukraine recovery efforts. Rebuilding the country is not simply about undoing the physical damage.

    The social impact of Russia’s aggression is hard to overstate. Ukraine has been deeply traumatised as a society since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

    Generally reliable Ukrainian casualty counts – some 12,000 civilians and 43,000 troops killed since February 2022 – are still likely to underestimate the true number of people who have died as a direct consequence of the Russian aggression. And each of these will have left behind family members struggling to cope with their loss. In addition, there are hundreds of thousands of war veterans.

    Even before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there were nearly half a million veterans from the “frozen” conflict that followed Russia’s annexation of Crimea and incursion into eastern Ukraine. By the end of 2024, this number had more than doubled to around 1 million. Most of them have complex social, economic, medical and psychological needs that will have to be considered as part of a society-wide recovery effort.

    Returning refugees

    According to data from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), there are also some 7 million refugees from Ukraine and 3.7 million internally displaced people (IDPs). This is equivalent to one quarter of the country’s population. The financial needs of UNHCR’s operations in Ukraine are estimated at $800 million in 2025, of which only 27% was funded as of the end of April.

    Once the fighting in Ukraine ends, refugees are likely to return in greater numbers. Their return will provide a boost to the country’s economic growth by strengthening its labour force and bringing with them skills and, potentially, investment. But like many IDPs and veterans, they may not be able to return to their places of origin, either because these are not inhabitable or remain under Russian occupation.

    Some returnees are likely to be viewed with suspicion or resentment by those Ukrainians who stayed behind and fought. Tensions with Ukrainians who survived the Russian occupation in areas that Kyiv may recover in a peace deal are also likely, given Ukraine’s harsh anti-collaboration laws.

    As a consequence, reintegration – in the sense of rebuilding and sustaining the country’s social cohesion – will be a massive challenge, requiring as much, if not more, of Ukraine’s partners’ attention and financial support as physical reconstruction and the transition from a war to a peace-time economy.

    Given the mismatch between what is needed and what has been provided for Ukraine’s recovery, one may well be sceptical about the value of the annual Ukraine recovery conferences. But, to the credit of their organisers and attendees, they recognise that the foundations for post-war recovery need to be built before the war ends. The non-military challenges of war and peace must not fall by the wayside amid an exclusive focus on battlefield dynamics.

    Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.

    – ref. Over €10 billion has now been pledged for Ukraine’s recovery. It’s nowhere near enough – https://theconversation.com/over-10-billion-has-now-been-pledged-for-ukraines-recovery-its-nowhere-near-enough-260936

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: We can learn a lot from Troy’s trash

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stephan Blum, Research associate, Institute for Prehistory and Early History and Medieval Archaeology, University of Tübingen

    Beneath the epic tales of heroes and gods, Troy’s true story is written in something far less glamorous – its rubbish.

    When we think of Troy, we imagine epic battles, valiant deeds, cunning tricks and the wrath of gods. Thanks to Homer’s Iliad, the city is remembered as a stage for romance and heroism.

    But long before Paris stole Helen and Achilles raged on the battlefield, the people of bronze age Troy lived ordinary lives – with extraordinary consequences. They built, cooked, stored, traded and, crucially, threw things away. And they did it right where they lived.

    Today, waste is whisked away quickly – out of sight, out of mind. But in bronze age Troy (3000–1000BC), trash stayed close, often accumulating in domestic dumping grounds for generations.

    Having spent more than 16 summers excavating and analysing the bronze age layers of Troy, I’ve learned to read the city’s history this waste.

    Hundreds of thousands of animal bones from cattle, sheep, fish – even turtles – were found alongside vast quantities of pottery shards, ash, food scraps, and human waste. Sometimes, these layers were reused to level floors or build walls, showing how closely intertwined daily life and refuse management were.

    Archaeology’s dirty secret

    This wasn’t laziness or neglect, it was pure pragmatism. In a world without rubbish trucks or sanitation systems, managing refuse was neither chaotic nor careless, but a collective, spatially negotiated – and surprisingly strategic – effort.

    The excavations I have worked on as part of the University of Tübingen’s Troy Project, which has been going on since 1988, have revealed just how deliberate these routines were. Where people chose to dump, or not to dump, speaks volumes about status, social roles, and community boundaries. Waste is the diary no one meant to write, yet it records the intimate rhythms of daily life with unfiltered clarity.

    Far from a nuisance, Troy’s waste is an archaeologist’s treasure trove.

    Over nearly 2,000 years, Troy ended up with 15 meters of built-up debris. Archaeologists can see nine major building phases in it, each made up of hundreds of thin layers, which formed as people lived their everyday lives. These layers act like snapshots, quietly recording how the city changed over time. Some capture hearth cleanings, others record the rebuilding of entire city quarters.

    By analysing the layers and their ratios of bones to pottery, ash concentration, presence of storage jars, grinding stones, or production debris, specific spaces of activity become visible: kitchens, workshops, storage areas, rubbish pits. What appears chaotic turns out to be a carefully structured map of everyday routines – showing where meals were prepared, tools made, and discarded objects left behind.

    A schematic cross-section through the settlement mound of Troy, revealing centuries of construction, destruction, and renewal.
    University of Tübingen/Frank Schweizer, CC BY-NC-SA

    The story these remains tell is one of profound transformation. Troy began as a modest agrarian settlement, shaped by the steady rhythms of farming, herding, and small-scale craft. Over time, it grew into a thriving regional centre.

    The archaeological record, rich in refuse, traces this long arc of change. Exotic imports fashioned from stones such as carnelian and lapis lazuli begin to appear, revealing distant trade connections. Specialised metalworking tools emerge alongside monumental architecture. some buildings stretched nearly 30 metres, signalling growing ambitions and expanding capabilities.

    This rise unfolded gradually, reflected not just in grander buildings, but in shifting tools, trade, and how people dealt with what they left behind. Waste management became more organised, with designated areas for different types of waste. This reflects broader shifts in how the community structured space and managed its economy.

    Yet this ascent was interrupted. By the mid-third millennium BC, signs that things were becoming smaller appear. Architecture simplifies, household inventories shrink, production debris declines suggesting economic slowdown or political instability.

    Still, Troy endured. By the mid-second millennium BC, the city revived. Refined ceramics, luxury imports and evidence of social complexity marked a new chapter of recovery and reinvention. This splendid settlement later became the stage for Homer’s Trojan War where Greek warriors faced the daunting task of climbing towering mounds of debris built up over centuries just to reach the palaces.

    A heap worth climbing

    These insights allow us to see Troy not just as a city of walls and towers, but as a living organism shaped by daily routines, unspoken norms and social negotiation. The waste left behind is a remarkably honest archive of bronze age society – beneath myths, stones, and poetry.

    Troy’s trash heaps are the bronze age’s search history. To know what mattered 4,500 years ago, don’t ask poets – ask the garbage. From broken tools to shared meals, from imported luxuries to scraps, this waste reveals the pulse of everyday life and society’s evolving structure.

    Ironically, these mundane refuse layers preserved the bronze age world for us. Without them, we’d know far less about early Troy’s people. Their depth and composition trace changes in economy, technology, and social structure. From scraps to towers of pottery shards, waste archaeology is key to understanding early urban complexity.

    So next time you picture Achilles storming Troy’s gates, remember: the heroes might have been divine, but their city smelled very human.

    Stephan Blum 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. We can learn a lot from Troy’s trash – https://theconversation.com/we-can-learn-a-lot-from-troys-trash-260613

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: We can learn a lot from Troy’s trash

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stephan Blum, Research associate, Institute for Prehistory and Early History and Medieval Archaeology, University of Tübingen

    Beneath the epic tales of heroes and gods, Troy’s true story is written in something far less glamorous – its rubbish.

    When we think of Troy, we imagine epic battles, valiant deeds, cunning tricks and the wrath of gods. Thanks to Homer’s Iliad, the city is remembered as a stage for romance and heroism.

    But long before Paris stole Helen and Achilles raged on the battlefield, the people of bronze age Troy lived ordinary lives – with extraordinary consequences. They built, cooked, stored, traded and, crucially, threw things away. And they did it right where they lived.

    Today, waste is whisked away quickly – out of sight, out of mind. But in bronze age Troy (3000–1000BC), trash stayed close, often accumulating in domestic dumping grounds for generations.

    Having spent more than 16 summers excavating and analysing the bronze age layers of Troy, I’ve learned to read the city’s history this waste.

    Hundreds of thousands of animal bones from cattle, sheep, fish – even turtles – were found alongside vast quantities of pottery shards, ash, food scraps, and human waste. Sometimes, these layers were reused to level floors or build walls, showing how closely intertwined daily life and refuse management were.

    Archaeology’s dirty secret

    This wasn’t laziness or neglect, it was pure pragmatism. In a world without rubbish trucks or sanitation systems, managing refuse was neither chaotic nor careless, but a collective, spatially negotiated – and surprisingly strategic – effort.

    The excavations I have worked on as part of the University of Tübingen’s Troy Project, which has been going on since 1988, have revealed just how deliberate these routines were. Where people chose to dump, or not to dump, speaks volumes about status, social roles, and community boundaries. Waste is the diary no one meant to write, yet it records the intimate rhythms of daily life with unfiltered clarity.

    Far from a nuisance, Troy’s waste is an archaeologist’s treasure trove.

    Over nearly 2,000 years, Troy ended up with 15 meters of built-up debris. Archaeologists can see nine major building phases in it, each made up of hundreds of thin layers, which formed as people lived their everyday lives. These layers act like snapshots, quietly recording how the city changed over time. Some capture hearth cleanings, others record the rebuilding of entire city quarters.

    By analysing the layers and their ratios of bones to pottery, ash concentration, presence of storage jars, grinding stones, or production debris, specific spaces of activity become visible: kitchens, workshops, storage areas, rubbish pits. What appears chaotic turns out to be a carefully structured map of everyday routines – showing where meals were prepared, tools made, and discarded objects left behind.

    A schematic cross-section through the settlement mound of Troy, revealing centuries of construction, destruction, and renewal.
    University of Tübingen/Frank Schweizer, CC BY-NC-SA

    The story these remains tell is one of profound transformation. Troy began as a modest agrarian settlement, shaped by the steady rhythms of farming, herding, and small-scale craft. Over time, it grew into a thriving regional centre.

    The archaeological record, rich in refuse, traces this long arc of change. Exotic imports fashioned from stones such as carnelian and lapis lazuli begin to appear, revealing distant trade connections. Specialised metalworking tools emerge alongside monumental architecture. some buildings stretched nearly 30 metres, signalling growing ambitions and expanding capabilities.

    This rise unfolded gradually, reflected not just in grander buildings, but in shifting tools, trade, and how people dealt with what they left behind. Waste management became more organised, with designated areas for different types of waste. This reflects broader shifts in how the community structured space and managed its economy.

    Yet this ascent was interrupted. By the mid-third millennium BC, signs that things were becoming smaller appear. Architecture simplifies, household inventories shrink, production debris declines suggesting economic slowdown or political instability.

    Still, Troy endured. By the mid-second millennium BC, the city revived. Refined ceramics, luxury imports and evidence of social complexity marked a new chapter of recovery and reinvention. This splendid settlement later became the stage for Homer’s Trojan War where Greek warriors faced the daunting task of climbing towering mounds of debris built up over centuries just to reach the palaces.

    A heap worth climbing

    These insights allow us to see Troy not just as a city of walls and towers, but as a living organism shaped by daily routines, unspoken norms and social negotiation. The waste left behind is a remarkably honest archive of bronze age society – beneath myths, stones, and poetry.

    Troy’s trash heaps are the bronze age’s search history. To know what mattered 4,500 years ago, don’t ask poets – ask the garbage. From broken tools to shared meals, from imported luxuries to scraps, this waste reveals the pulse of everyday life and society’s evolving structure.

    Ironically, these mundane refuse layers preserved the bronze age world for us. Without them, we’d know far less about early Troy’s people. Their depth and composition trace changes in economy, technology, and social structure. From scraps to towers of pottery shards, waste archaeology is key to understanding early urban complexity.

    So next time you picture Achilles storming Troy’s gates, remember: the heroes might have been divine, but their city smelled very human.

    Stephan Blum 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. We can learn a lot from Troy’s trash – https://theconversation.com/we-can-learn-a-lot-from-troys-trash-260613

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Over €10 billion has now been pledged for Ukraine’s recovery. It’s nowhere near enough

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham

    Clearly angered by the intensification of Russia’s air campaign against Ukraine, Donald Trump has pivoted from the suspension of US military assistance to Ukraine to promising its resumption. Russia’s strikes on major cities killed more civilians in June than have died in any single previous month, according to UN figures.

    Over the past two weeks, the US president has made several disparaging comments about his relationship with Vladimir Putin, including on July 13 that the Russian president “talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening”.

    Not only will the US resume delivery of long-promised Patriot air defence missiles, Trump is now also reported to be considering a whole new plan to arm Ukraine, including with offensive capabilities. And he has talked about imposing new sanctions on Putin’s regime.

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

    This is the background against which the eighth Ukraine Recovery Conference took place in Rome on July 10 and 11. The event, attended by many western leaders and senior business executives, was an important reminder that while the war against Ukraine will be decided on the battlefield, peace will only be won as the result of rebuilding Ukraine’s economy and society.

    Ending the war anytime soon and on terms favourable to Kyiv will require an enormous effort by Ukrainians and their European allies. But the country’s recovery afterwards will be no less challenging.

    According to the World Bank’s latest assessment, at the end of 2024 Ukraine’s recovery needs over the next decade stood at US$524 billion (£388 billion). And with every month the war continues, these needs are increasing. Ukraine’s three hardest-hit sectors are housing, transport and energy infrastructure, which between them account for around 60% of all damage.

    At the same time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided a relatively positive assessment of Ukraine’s overall economic situation at the end of June, forecasting growth of between 2% and 3% for 2025 – likely to grow to over 4% in 2026 and 2027. But the IMF also cautioned that this trajectory – and the country’s macroeconomic stability more generally – will remain heavily dependent on external support.

    Taking into account a new €2.3 billion package from the EU, consisting of €1.8 billion of loan guarantees and €580 million of grants, the cumulative pledge of over €10 billion (£8.7 billion) made by countries attending the Ukraine recovery conference is both encouraging and sobering.

    It is encouraging in the sense that Ukraine’s international partners remain committed to the country’s social and economic needs, not merely its ability to resist Russia on the battlefield.

    But it is also sobering that even these eye-watering sums of public money are still only a fraction of Ukraine’s needs. Even if the EU manages to mobilise its overall target of €40 billion for Ukraine’s recovery, by attracting additional contributions from other donors and the private sector, this would be less than 8% of Ukraine’s projected recovery needs as of the end of 2024.

    As the war continues and more of the (diminishing) public funding is directed towards defence expenditure by Kyiv’s western partners, this gap is likely to grow.

    Overcoming the trauma of war

    Money is not the only challenge for Ukraine recovery efforts. Rebuilding the country is not simply about undoing the physical damage.

    The social impact of Russia’s aggression is hard to overstate. Ukraine has been deeply traumatised as a society since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

    Generally reliable Ukrainian casualty counts – some 12,000 civilians and 43,000 troops killed since February 2022 – are still likely to underestimate the true number of people who have died as a direct consequence of the Russian aggression. And each of these will have left behind family members struggling to cope with their loss. In addition, there are hundreds of thousands of war veterans.

    Even before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there were nearly half a million veterans from the “frozen” conflict that followed Russia’s annexation of Crimea and incursion into eastern Ukraine. By the end of 2024, this number had more than doubled to around 1 million. Most of them have complex social, economic, medical and psychological needs that will have to be considered as part of a society-wide recovery effort.

    Returning refugees

    According to data from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), there are also some 7 million refugees from Ukraine and 3.7 million internally displaced people (IDPs). This is equivalent to one quarter of the country’s population. The financial needs of UNHCR’s operations in Ukraine are estimated at $800 million in 2025, of which only 27% was funded as of the end of April.

    Once the fighting in Ukraine ends, refugees are likely to return in greater numbers. Their return will provide a boost to the country’s economic growth by strengthening its labour force and bringing with them skills and, potentially, investment. But like many IDPs and veterans, they may not be able to return to their places of origin, either because these are not inhabitable or remain under Russian occupation.

    Some returnees are likely to be viewed with suspicion or resentment by those Ukrainians who stayed behind and fought. Tensions with Ukrainians who survived the Russian occupation in areas that Kyiv may recover in a peace deal are also likely, given Ukraine’s harsh anti-collaboration laws.

    As a consequence, reintegration – in the sense of rebuilding and sustaining the country’s social cohesion – will be a massive challenge, requiring as much, if not more, of Ukraine’s partners’ attention and financial support as physical reconstruction and the transition from a war to a peace-time economy.

    Given the mismatch between what is needed and what has been provided for Ukraine’s recovery, one may well be sceptical about the value of the annual Ukraine recovery conferences. But, to the credit of their organisers and attendees, they recognise that the foundations for post-war recovery need to be built before the war ends. The non-military challenges of war and peace must not fall by the wayside amid an exclusive focus on battlefield dynamics.

    Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.

    – ref. Over €10 billion has now been pledged for Ukraine’s recovery. It’s nowhere near enough – https://theconversation.com/over-10-billion-has-now-been-pledged-for-ukraines-recovery-its-nowhere-near-enough-260936

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China-Russia cooperation refutes Western-imposed misconceptions about Chinese industrial policy – Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    Moscow, July 14 /Xinhua/ — Cooperation between China and Russia refutes the Western-imposed claims that “China’s industrial policy distorts the global market” and “China’s excess production capacity creates unfair competition.” Such claims are absurd and unfounded. This was stated by Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui in an article titled “The Era of True Friendship between China and Russia: Cooperation Refutes Misconceptions, Mutual Benefit Determines the Future,” published recently in the Russian newspaper Trud.

    “Politicians and media in the United States and Western countries have long been actively spreading groundless claims such as ‘China’s industrial policy is distorting the world market’ and ‘China’s excess production capacity is creating unfair competition’. They are trying their best to denigrate the industrial policy of developing countries and suppress their right to development based on the desire to maintain their economic hegemony,” the publication says.

    The essence of these false claims, according to the Chinese diplomat, is “politicizing the economy and using economic and trade levers to achieve political goals.” “This line of behavior only creates obstacles to international trade, disrupts the stability of global supply chains, and ultimately leads to losses for all involved,” he warned.

    Zhang Hanhui stressed that all countries have the right to stimulate economic development through the implementation of reasonable industrial policies. “In the context of the acceleration of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, industrial subsidies have become an important tool for enhancing innovation potential and stimulating economic growth. Industrial subsidies are practiced in both developed countries and countries with developing economies,” the ambassador stated.

    The article points out that China’s industrial subsidy policy is based on the principles of openness, fairness and compliance with established standards. “It is not selective and applies equally to all market participants. China’s state-owned enterprises, as independent market participants, do not enjoy any advantages under the subsidy policy due to their status and do not provide subsidies to other enterprises,” the author noted, adding that the flexible subsidy model not only meets China’s needs for industrial modernization, but is also fully consistent with the commitments China made when joining the World Trade Organization.

    Zhang Hanhui called the US and Western countries’ accusations against China regarding “overcapacity” “a cover for their protectionist policies.” “Under the pretext of “overcapacity,” some countries impose restrictions on Chinese exports and investment cooperation. All this is pure protectionism, artificial interference and division of the world market,” he said.

    The Chinese diplomat is convinced that only free trade and fair competition can form an optimal structure of global production capacities. He cited China and Russia as an example of such interaction. “Both countries have complementary economic advantages, great potential for cooperation and huge opportunities for development,” Zhang Hanhui believes. He drew attention to the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly publicly refuted statements by the United States and Western countries about “China’s excess production capacity.”

    “China and Russia, as stabilizing, positive and progressive forces in the international community, must continue to maintain unity, expand cooperation, strengthen trade, economic and energy ties, improve mechanisms that ensure a high level of trade and economic interaction, and effectively counter unilateral actions and protectionism,” concluded the Chinese Ambassador to the Russian Federation. –0–

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

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China does not seek competitive advantage through currency devaluation – deputy head of the Central Bank

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) — China does not seek to gain an international competitive advantage through currency devaluation, Zou Lan, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC, central bank), said at a press conference on Monday.

    As he noted, the US dollar index and US Treasury yields have recently experienced increased volatility, which has led to side effects on global financial markets.

    On the contrary, China’s financial market has shown strong resilience and is functioning stably overall, Zou Lan noted. Since the publication of a joint statement on the results of the Sino-American trade and economic talks held in Geneva in May, the yuan to dollar exchange rate has shown two-way fluctuations, steadily remaining below 7.2 yuan per dollar.

    “The dynamics of the US dollar currently remain uncertain, while China’s domestic fundamentals continue to improve. The yuan exchange rate continues to fluctuate in both directions, with a solid foundation for maintaining basic stability,” Zou Lan said.

    Major developed economies have entered a cycle of interest rate cuts and market expectations for renewed monetary easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve are growing, with the interest rate differential between China and the United States expected to show a narrowing trend, the vice governor added.

    According to him, China’s balance of payments is generally balanced, the financial market is functioning stably, and significant progress has been made in building the foreign exchange market.

    Zou Lan assured that the PBOC will remain committed to the decisive role of the market in determining the exchange rate, maintain exchange rate flexibility, strengthen expectations management, prevent the risk of excessive fluctuations, and maintain the overall stability of the yuan at a reasonable and balanced level. –0–

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

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: BJMINING ignites XRP cloud mining craze, user revenue reaches new high

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    New York City, NY, July 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As the XRP chain ecosystem accelerates the integration of traditional financial resources, XRP users around the world are looking for ways to efficiently use their assets. Recent data shows that BJMINING, the world’s leading cloud mining platform, has become the focus of the market, and the number of XRP payment users on the platform has soared by 260% in the first two weeks of this month. By converting XRP in their hands into mining computing power, users not only avoid currency price fluctuations, but also open up a new model with a stable daily income of up to $7,000, truly realizing the “dual-track value-added of on-chain assets.”

    Cloud mining becomes a new channel for releasing value, and XRP holders are rushing into the market

    XRP has made key progress in recent years in terms of technology updates and cross-border payment protocol expansion, attracting a large number of institutions to increase their holdings. However, simply holding coins is difficult to resist the drastic market fluctuations. The XRP conversion power mechanism launched by BJMINING provides investors with another path: without selling XRP, they can obtain daily mining income from mainstream currencies such as Bitcoin and Dogecoin, and achieve income superposition.

    Easy participation: BJMINING releases the maximum potential of coin holders

    • Sign up and receive a $15 trial bonus, and experience daily income with zero risk.
    • You can get started with as little as $100, without having to purchase mining machines or bear electricity maintenance costs.
    • XRP recharges are credited to your account within seconds, and the system converts the mining computing power into US dollars in real time.
    • Profits can be withdrawn at any time, supporting currencies such as XRP, USDT, BTC, DOGE, etc.

    This mechanism breaks the threshold for mining, allowing small XRP holders to efficiently participate in the computing power economy.

    Green energy support + intelligent scheduling: BJMINING ensures stable global output

    • The platform has deployed more than 60 global green data centers, using wind, hydro, and photovoltaic systems, with low operation and maintenance costs and strong stability.
    • The AI computing power allocation system dynamically adjusts the currency mining combination according to market fluctuations to maintain a stable profit curve.
    • Security is jointly ensured by McAfee® and Cloudflare®, and user assets are globally insured by AIG.

    These technologies and infrastructure provide XRP users with a highly secure and efficient channel for earning profits.

    Popular XRP contract recommendations: Flexibly choose the revenue cycle and amount

    Contract Type Investment Amount Cycle Total revenue
    WhatsMiner M50S+ $100 2 days $106
    WhatsMiner M60S++ $600 7 days $652.50
    Avalon Miner A1566 $1,200 15 days $1,434
    WhatsMiner M66S+ $5,800 30 days $8,410
    Antminer L7 $12,000 40 days $20,160
    ANTSPACE HD5 $96,000 54 days $215,232

    For example, using $96,000 to purchase the ANTSPACE HD5 cloud contract, the user will receive a net profit of up to $119,232 in 54 days, which is an ideal configuration solution for medium- and long-term XRP asset holders.

    Why is now a strategic time for XRP holders to start cloud mining?

    • On-chain demand surges:As XRP moves toward the final stage of financial services license approval, institutional-level liquidity demand is pushing up demand for mining income.
    • Long-term scarcity expectations：XRP’s fee destruction mechanism continues to compress supply, and BJMINING’s “mining + storage” dual logic amplifies its asset value.
    • Payment network expansion：Ripple’s cooperation with hundreds of banks and payment institutions is progressing steadily, and the application of the XRP chain is expanding rapidly.

    These trends are pushing XRP holders toward mainstream platforms that generate more computing power.

    Industry experts’ opinions: Asset appreciation leverage in the compliance era is emerging

    “The development of XRP is not only a market phenomenon, it has become an important bridge for the blockchain world to enter traditional finance. The emergence of BJMINING allows XRP assets to obtain sustainable and stable mining income. This model will become mainstream in the next few years.”

    —— Grace Wang, Web3 strategic consultant and asset management expert

    Start your XRP cloud mining journey now

    Official website: https://bjmining.com
    APP download address: https://bjmining.com/xml/index.html#/app
    Email support: info@bjmining.com

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: In historic first, California powered by two-thirds clean energy – becoming largest economy in the world to achieve milestone

    Source: US State of California Governor

    Jul 14, 2025

    What you need to know: Clean energy reliably powered California to levels never seen before – 67% in 2023 – as renewable energy and clean resources continue to advance the state’s world-leading energy transition while fueling the nation’s largest clean energy workforce, more than a half-million strong.

    SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced California achieved an historic milestone – the state was powered by two-thirds clean energy in 2023, the latest year for which data is available. California is the largest economy in the world to achieve this level of clean energy. 

    The state released new data showing California’s continued progress toward a clean energy future with 67% of the state’s retail electricity sales in 2023 coming from renewable and zero-carbon electricity generation — compared to just 61% the previous year and around 41% a decade ago. Sources of clean energy include generation from solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, geothermal and biomass. 

    In 2024, the state added a record-breaking 7,000 megawatts (MW) of clean capacity to the grid, representing the largest single-year increase in clean energy capacity added to the grid in state history. This new figure broke the previous records set in both 2022 and 2023, marking a third consecutive year of unprecedented clean energy growth.

    As the federal government turns its back on innovation and commonsense, California is making our clean energy future a reality. The world’s fourth largest economy is running on two-thirds clean power – the largest economy on the planet to achieve this milestone.

    And for the first time ever, clean energy provided 100% of the state’s power nearly every day this year for some part of the day. Not since the Industrial Revolution have we seen this kind of rapid transformation. 

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    Historic investments over the past 15 years have led to an extraordinary pace of development in new clean energy generation. And as the grid is increasingly powered by clean energy, pollution is down and the economy is up. Greenhouse gas emissions in California are down 20% since 2000 – even as the state’s GDP increased 78% in that same time period. The power sector is a major driver of the decline in greenhouse gases – emissions from electric power have been cut in half since 2009, helping the state achieve its emissions reductions goals years ahead of schedule.

    California is home to the most clean energy jobs in the U.S. and the state’s renewable energy and clean vehicle industries lead the nation in growth. California boasts more than a half-million green jobs and has 7 times more clean jobs than fossil fuel jobs. Solar and wind jobs account for a majority of green jobs, and battery storage and grid modernization is the second-fastest growing sector within California’s clean energy workforce.  

    California continues to move at a rapid pace on bringing clean energy online. Since 2019, a record 25,000 MW of new energy resources statewide have been added to the grid, with most of that being solar and battery storage. This aligns with the Governor’s roadmap to the state’s clean energy future released in 2023, which called for 148,000 megawatts (MW) of new clean power by 2045.

    “California has achieved yet another major milestone on our journey to a clean energy future. The latest numbers show how our state is demonstrating that clean energy is mainstream and is here to stay,” said California Energy Commission (CEC) Chair David Hochschild. 

    Sources eligible under the state’ Renewables Portfolio Standard – such as solar and wind – made up 43% of the power mix in 2023, up from 39% in 2022. Other zero carbon resources continue to power the grid with large hydro accounting for 12% and nuclear power at 12% in 2023.

    “California has set ambitious clean energy goals, and utilities and community choice aggregators have stepped up to deliver clean resources at competitive prices to communities up and down the state,” said California Public Utilities Commission President Alice Reynolds. “We are bringing renewable energy online at an unprecedented scale and pace never seen before.”

    Solar represents the technology with the largest amount of installed renewable energy capacity in the state – over 21,000 MW of solar capacity operates the electric grid and another 19,000 MW of behind-the-meter generation. The California grid regularly breaks solar generation peak record levels  – the latest solar peak recorded in late May was over 21,500 MW of solar generation.

    The state is also doubling down on its goals by swiftly increasing its battery energy storage capacity. The state’s battery fleet now stands at over 15,000 MW – 1,944% higher than when the Governor took office in 2019. The state’s storage fleet is regularly storing any available extra solar energy generated during the day, and supporting the grid by dispatching during the evening.  

    Clean energy days

    More than 9 out of 10 days so far this year have been powered by 100% clean energy for at least some part of the day in California. In 2025, California’s grid has run on 100% clean electricity for an average of 7 hours a day.

    Data compiled by the California Energy Commission shows clean energy has powered the equivalent of 51.9 days in the state – nearly 30% of the year to date running on 100% clean electricity. That already surpasses the amount of “clean energy days” last year – and represents a 750% increase in clean energy days since 2022.

    Press releases, Recent news

    Recent news

    Jul 11, 2025

    News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom issued the following statement today on the court’s decision in Vasquez Perdomo, et al. v. Noem to temporarily stop federal immigration agents from unlawful suspicionless stops in California:  Justice prevailed today…

    Jul 11, 2025

    News What you need to know: Californians are strongly encouraged to use state and local resources to protect themselves from heat illness as triple digit temperatures move across the state. SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom is encouraging Californians to prepare for…

    Jul 11, 2025

    News What you need to know: Governor Newsom is announcing that the California Employment Development Department is awarding $11 million to help six California organizations connect underserved adults — including veterans, people with disabilities, and at-risk young…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Adam Sherriff-Scott Joins Nicola Real Estate to Lead Leasing and Portfolio Strategy in Toronto

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Toronto, ON, July 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nicola Real Estate (NRE), the in-house real estate team of Canadian investment firm Nicola Wealth, welcomes industry veteran Adam Sherriff-Scott as Vice President, Leasing and Portfolio Strategy. Based in Toronto, Sherriff-Scott brings more than 25 years of experience in commercial real estate to NRE at a pivotal moment of strategic growth for the firm. Adam’s addition reinforces NRE’s long-term commitment to serving clients, tenants, and partners across Central and Eastern Canada and the U.S.

    Adam joins Nicola Real Estate at a time of ongoing expansion, with the firm growing its portfolio in Canada and the U.S. In his new role, he will contribute to strengthening NRE’s leasing platform and portfolio strategy in the East, helping deepen relationships with tenants, brokers, and development partners while supporting value creation for our funds and institutional clients.

    “Adam is very well regarded in the industry. His extensive network in the brokerage community and his deal-making acumen bring immediate firepower to our strategic growth plans,” said Ron Bastin, Managing Director, Real Estate. “The NRE team is excited for Adam to bring his energy and leadership to our Toronto team. Adam’s experience and insights are expected to contribute positively to our clients and partners.”

    Prior to joining Nicola Real Estate, Adam worked as a senior broker representing local, regional, and national tenants as well as owners in both leasing and sales. His collaborative approach, deep network in the brokerage community, and knowledge of market dynamics will help position NRE’s presence for leasing and acquisition opportunities across the region.

    “I’ve had the privilege of working with Nicola Real Estate for over a decade and have consistently been impressed by their disciplined approach and long-term perspective,” said Sherriff-Scott. “What has always stood out is the quality of the people and the professionalism of every interaction. Nicola Real Estate’s client-focused mindset and commitment to creating long-term value for clients align closely with my own values. I’m excited to join a team I’ve long respected and contribute to the continued growth of the platform.”

    Adam’s client-first mindset, dedication to integrity, and willingness to listen and collaborate make him a natural fit with NRE’s culture. His addition reflects NRE’s commitment to delivering investor value through long-term, tenant-first partnerships.

    About Nicola Real Estate

    Nicola Real Estate (NRE) is the in-house real estate team of Nicola Wealth, a premier Canadian financial planning and investment firm with over $17 billion in assets under management as of May 2025. NRE has an experienced and innovative team that sources and asset manages a growing portfolio of properties in major markets across North America. The diversified portfolio includes industrial, self-storage, multi-family rental apartments, retail, seniors housing, and office assets, exceeding $10 billion in gross asset value. For more information, please visit nicolawealth.com/real-estate.

    The MIL Network –