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Category: Education

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Johannesburg’s problems can be solved – but it’s a long journey to fix South Africa’s economic powerhouse

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Philip Harrison, Professor School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand

    South African president Cyril Ramaphosa met senior leaders of Johannesburg and Gauteng, the province it’s located in, in March 2025 to discuss ways to arrest the steep decline in South Africa’s largest city.

    Ramaphosa announced a two-year-long presidential intervention to tackle some of the city’s most pressing issues. It is to be led by the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group with eight cross-governmental and multi-stakeholder workstreams.

    Johannesburg was established 130 years ago, where the world’s largest-ever gold deposits were discovered. It grew rapidly in the early 20th century and became the country’s economic heartland and largest population centre. Like all South African cities, it was deeply scarred by apartheid policies. People were divided by racially defined groups. Good services and a strong economy benefited a minority, and a black majority were pushed into impoverished ghettos.

    But, for about the first two decades of post-apartheid rule from 1994, Johannesburg led the country with innovation and progressive change. It pioneered the new local government system, institutional reforms, new practice on city strategy and planning, pro-poor service delivery, and modern transport infrastructure.

    Today, however, the city is in a dire state. Over the past decade, roughly coinciding with the arrival of messy coalition governance in 2016, sound political leadership, administrative stability and financial management have crumbled. Underinvestment in infrastructure maintenance has led to collapsing services. Public trust is deteriorating among increasingly frustrated communities. This was evident in local election results. It also shows up in recent data released by the Gauteng City-Region Observatory on public trust in local government.

    The local economy has stagnated. The city’s official unemployment rate of 34.3% is higher than the national average of 32.9%. Mounting joblessness and dwindling incomes have intertwined with depleted trust to knock levels of payment for property rates and service charges. In turn this has deepened the financial and service maintenance crisis.

    Corruption in many parts of the city is an endemic complicating factor.

    The presidential intervention is designed to address this complex interplay between embedded legacies and failings post-apartheid. The workstreams involving city officials and concerned stakeholders are generating ideas for priority actions. There is also a new energy in the city government, with the executive mayor and members of his mayoral committee making turnaround promises.

    This long overdue attention is heartening. But some caution is called for. While some “quick wins” are needed, there will be no easy turnaround. The best prospect is likely to be a process of recovery that will require patience and methodical attention over the long term. A city cannot be repaired in the way an automobile can. A city has a trillion moving parts and is in a constant state of makeover, as dynamics of economy, technology, demography, environment, society, politics, and more, interact and produce change.

    The question is not whether a city is fixed – it can never finally be – but rather what trajectory it is on. For Johannesburg, the question is how to exit the downward spiral and begin the process of reconstruction.

    We are a group who previously worked in the City of Johannesburg as officials, who are now academics with decades of experience observing local governance trends and dynamics, or scholars engaged in civil society coalitions or communities mobilising around the crisis. Some of us have been involved in the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group over the last few months.

    Our view is that there are four areas needing urgent but sustained attention.

    Focus areas

    The first is the need for a joint effort across national, provincial and municipal government to resolve the crisis. We are pleased that this has begun. The political leadership in the city (and of the province) failed to grasp the opportunity provided by the post-2024 election national compromises to put together a broad-based government of local unity to lead reconstruction. There is no option now but to pursue an inter-governmental initiative led by national government with the committed involvement of the other spheres.

    Only genuine collaboration will succeed.

    In this respect, the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group holds promise. But what will be needed is careful, concerted work focused first on short-term priorities. Then, over years, on key structural challenges facing the city.

    Second, the city needs civil society in all its forms to hold a careful balance between keeping up the pressure on municipal government, constantly holding it accountable to its residents, and working with government to help it solve problems. The Joburg Crisis Alliance, Jozi-my-Jozi, WaterCAN and similar initiatives are claiming well-recognised and respected voice in the affairs of the municipality.

    Johannesburg needs a city government that is open to this scrutiny, accepting the need for transparency, and open to the help that civil society can offer.

    To raise the level of accountability and collaboration, a clear programme of restoration has to be communicated openly to the public. Milestones and expenditure requirements need to be set that allow for constant monitoring. There must be open council meetings, and regular online and in-person briefings.

    Also required are new mechanisms for citizen-based monitoring. These may include trained citizen monitors reporting on service delivery. Alternatively, the establishment of a sort of “Citizen’s Council” which meets regularly to receive reports from these monitors and the city administration.

    International examples include the Bürgerrat model. This is now fully institutionalised in parts of Germany and Austria to strengthen local democracy and accountability. In this model, citizens are randomly selected to sit on a council which monitors performance of local government and provides new ideas.

    Another approach could be for civil society organisations to be invited to a Citizen’s Council that would act in support of the oversight processes of the elected Municipal Council.

    Third, there has to be a solution to unstable coalition governments. These seem to be structured to facilitate separate political fiefdoms where spoils can be divided in the allocation of portfolios. At minimum, the presidential intervention must provide for a check and balance on processes where bureaucratic appointments and budgetary allocations may serve the interests of cronyism. For example, there should be transparency and rigour in appointments to the boards of Johannesburg’s municipally owned companies.

    Regulatory reforms are required in the political arena. This should include rules for the distribution of seats on the municipal executive and the election of mayors. Between January 2023 and August 2024 a tiny minority party held the mayoralty because the larger parties could not agree on a mayoral selection or, more cynically, to ensure that the executive mayor could not call large parties to account.

    More importantly, though, there has to be a change in political culture. This is a longer-term process.

    Fourth, the problems run far deeper than what bureaucratic reorganisation can achieve.

    The longer-term project is to build a capable administration with clear political direction and oversight but insulated from personal agendas and factional battles. The administration became confused and demoralised because of the political instability over an extended period. There are, however, still many capable and committed public servants in the city bureaucracy. The focus should be on working with them to rebuild the administration, making it a place where talent and initiative are recognised and rewarded.

    Restored political leadership and a rejuvenated administration is needed for a long term process, extending far beyond the quick wins. This process will involve refurbishing the decaying network infrastructure, restoring financial stability, reestablishing social trust and returning confidence to the city’s economy.

    2025 marks 30 years since the first democratic local elections. National government is looking seriously at sweeping municipal reforms. And the next municipal election – likely to be held at the end of 2026 – is an opportunity to make a deep transformation effort. Citizens can ensure that parties contesting the election place Johannesburg’s recovery at the heart of their agenda.

    – Johannesburg’s problems can be solved – but it’s a long journey to fix South Africa’s economic powerhouse
    – https://theconversation.com/johannesburgs-problems-can-be-solved-but-its-a-long-journey-to-fix-south-africas-economic-powerhouse-256013

    MIL OSI Africa –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Africa: A quarter of the world’s population are adolescents: major report sets out health and wellbeing trends

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Alex Ezeh, Dornsife Endowed Professor of Global Health, Drexel University

    The Lancet has released its second global commission report on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. Adolescents are defined as 10- to 24-year-olds. The report builds on the first one, done in 2016. The latest report presents substantial original research that supports actions it recommends to be taken across sectors as well as at global, regional, country and local level. The co-chairs of the commission, Sarah Baird, Alex Ezeh and Russell Viner, together with the youth commissioners lead, Shakira Choonara, give a guide to the report’s findings.

    What were the key findings?

    The report noted significant improvements in some aspects of adolescent health and wellbeing since the 2016 report. These include reductions in:

    • communicable, maternal and nutritional diseases, particularly among female adolescents

    • the burden of disease from injuries

    • substance use, specifically tobacco and alcohol

    • teenage pregnancy.

    It also found that there had been an increase in age at first marriage and in education, especially for young women.

    Despite this progress, adolescent health and wellbeing is said to be at a tipping point. Continued progress is being undermined by rapidly escalating rates of non-communicable diseases and mental disorders, accompanied by threats from compounding and intersecting megatrends. These include climate change and environmental degradation, the growing power of commercial influences on health, rising conflict and displacement, rapid urbanisation, and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    These megatrends are outpacing responses from national governments and the international community.

    What’s unique about today’s cohort of adolescents?

    Born between 2000 and 2014, this is the first cohort of humans who will live their entire life in a time when the average annual global temperature has consistently been 0.5°C or higher above pre-industrial levels.

    At roughly 2 billion adolescents, they are the largest cohort of adolescents in the history of humanity. And this number will not be surpassed as populations age and fertility rates fall in even the poorest countries.

    They are the first generation of global digital natives. They live in a world of immense resources and opportunities, with unprecedented connectedness made possible by the rapid expansion of digital technologies. This is true even in the hardest-to-reach places.

    Growing participation in secondary and tertiary education is equipping adolescents of all genders with new economic opportunities and providing pathways out of poverty.

    These opportunities, however, are not being realised for most adolescents. Increasing numbers continue to grow up in settings with limited opportunities. In addition, investments in adolescent health and wellbeing continue to lag relative to their population share or their share of the global burden of disease.

    Investments in adolescents accounted for only 2.4% of the total development assistance for health in 2016-2021. This was despite the fact that adolescents accounted for 25.2% of the global population in that period and 9.1% of the total burden of disease. We use development assistance as a measure because, while governments also invest in adolescents, it’s difficult to account for how much this is. For example, when a government supports a health facility, it serves the entire population.

    Yet, the report provides evidence to show that the return on investments in adolescent health and wellbeing is highly cost-effective and at par with investments in children.

    What’s the news for adolescents in Africa?

    The report recognises the special place of Africa in the global future of adolescents. It notes that, by the end of this century, nearly half of all adolescents will live in Africa.

    Currently, adolescents in Africa experience higher burdens of communicable, maternal and nutritional diseases, at more than double the global average for both male and female adolescents. They also have a higher prevalence of anaemia, adolescent childbearing, early marriage and HIV infection. They are much less likely to complete 12 years of schooling and more likely to not be in education, employment, or training.

    Female adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa have the highest adolescent fertility rate at 99.4 births per 1,000 female adolescents aged 15-19 (the global average is 41.8). They have also experienced the slowest decline between 2016 and 2022.

    Globally, there was progress in reducing child marriage between 2016 and 2022. But in eight countries in 2022, at least one in three female adolescents aged 15–19 years was married. All but one of these eight countries were in sub-Saharan Africa. Niger (50.2%) and Mali (40.6%) had the highest proportion of married female adolescents.

    The practice of child marriage is declining in south Asia and becoming more concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. As the report notes:

    it continues because of cultural norms, fuelled by economic hardships, insurgency, conflict, ambiguous legal provisions, and lack of political will to enforce legal provisions.

    What should be Africa’s focus areas?

    Beyond adolescent sexual and reproductive health concerns in sub-Saharan Africa, obesity is increasing fastest in the region. This illustrates the vulnerability of adolescents to the power of commercial interests.

    Since 1990, obesity and overweight has increased by 89% in prevalence among adolescents aged 15–19 years in sub-Saharan Africa. This is the largest regional increase.

    The absence of data on adolescents is a problem. Adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa are absent in many data systems. For example, data on adolescent mental health in sub-Saharan Africa is virtually absent.

    Stronger data systems are needed to understand and track progress on the complex set of determinants of adolescent health and wellbeing.

    Another area of concern is the massive inequities within countries, often gendered or by geography. While female adolescents in Kenya are experiencing substantial declines in the burden of HIV and sexually transmitted infections, adolescent males are experiencing increasing burdens. In South Africa, years of healthy life lost to maternal disorders show more than 10-fold differences between the Western Cape and North West provinces.

    Where there’s been strong political leadership, remarkable changes have been seen. Take the case of Benin Republic. The adolescent fertility rate in the country declined from 26% in 1996 to 20% in 2018 and child marriage from 39% to 31% over the same period. Strong political leadership has also led to substantial reductions in female genital mutilation or cutting. This fell from 12% of girls in Benin in 2001 to 2% in 2011–12 among 15–19-year-old girls in Benin Republic. Political leadership also facilitated the expansion, by the national parliament in 2021, of the grounds under which women, girls, and their families could access safe and legal abortion.

    But for every country that takes positive steps to protect the health and wellbeing of adolescents, several others regress.

    The last decade has witnessed regression in several countries. In 2024, The Gambia attempted to repeal a 2015 law criminalising all acts of female genital mutilation or cutting. In 2022, Nigeria’s federal government ordered the removal of sex education from the basic education curriculum.

    What are the recommended courses of action?

    The report calls for a multisectoral approach across multiple national ministries and agencies, including the office of the head of state, and within the UN system.

    Coordination and accountability mechanisms for adolescent health and wellbeing also need to be strengthened.

    Laws and policies are needed to protect the health and rights of adolescents, reduce the impact of the commercial determinants of health, and promote healthy use of digital and social media spaces and platforms.

    Strong political leadership at local, national, and global levels is essential.

    The report also calls for prioritised investments, the creation of enabling environments to transform adolescent health and wellbeing, and the development of innovative approaches to address complex and emerging health threats.

    It calls for meaningful engagement of adolescents in policy, research, interventions and accountability mechanisms that affect them.

    Without these concerted actions, we risk failing our young people and losing out on the investments being made in childhood at this second critical period in their development.

    The current adverse international aid climate is particularly affecting adolescents as much development assistance relates to gender and sexual and reproductive health. Concerted action in addressing adolescent health and wellbeing is an urgent imperative for sub-Saharan Africa.

    – A quarter of the world’s population are adolescents: major report sets out health and wellbeing trends
    – https://theconversation.com/a-quarter-of-the-worlds-population-are-adolescents-major-report-sets-out-health-and-wellbeing-trends-257282

    MIL OSI Africa –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Amata Holds Issues Roundtable Meeting with S.O.F.I.A.S. Leadership

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)

    Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata held a roundtable meeting with leadership members of the Society of Fa’afafine in American Samoa (S.O.F.I.A.S.) to answer questions and discuss the issues that were brought up. 

    Group photo at SOFIAS roundtable

    The meeting included Ertta Laumoli, President, SOFIAS; Isabella Ah Mu Mageo, Miss SOFIAS 2025; Naea Tasha Rikki LeAtio’o, SOFIAS Senior Advisor; Shiki Leaupepe, SOFIAS Advisor; Shanee Masoli, SOFIAS Advisor; Athena Mauga, SOFIAS Advisor; Keniseli Fanolua, SOFIAS Secretary; Jaiyeh Saelua, American Samoa Faafafine Rural Program; and Zee Romero, SOFIAS Advisor. 

    The most discussed issues were the status of the recent Executive Order on the Seabed Mining; education issues, such as the status of the U.S. Department of Education and federal funding for schools; and the Executive Order on Fisheries on April 17th, which is separate from the critical minerals order. 

    Roundtable discussions

    Other topics and related discussions included Cook Islands Seabed Mining agreement with China; China’s presence throughout the Indo-Pacific; old and new technology for Critical Minerals Mining; Coral Reef issues; Passport issues; and topics specific to the Fa’afafine community. 

    “I enjoyed our conversation, and we covered many of the important and current issues,” said Congresswoman Amata. “I want to thank everyone in attendance. We had thoughtful questions and comments from everyone taking part. I hold opportunities to talk with our people as often as I can when I’m in American Samoa, so I can best represent our people in Washington, and I’ve had several Town Hall meetings during this graduation season while I’m able to be home in American Samoa.”

    These meetings are listening sessions, with updates about events, legislation or discussions in Washington. Throughout the year if you have questions or a need for constituent services, please reach out to Congresswoman Amata’s office in Fagatogo.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Moving the Boundaries of Financial Inclusion- A Regulatory Perspective – Address delivered by Shri M Rajeshwar Rao, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India – June 05, 2025 – at HSBC’s event for Financial Inclusion in Mumbai

    Source: Reserve Bank of India

    Distinguished guests, participants, ladies and gentlemen, Good evening.

    At the outset, let me thank the organisers for inviting me to share some of my thoughts on the theme of financial inclusion. Before that, let me take a moment to acknowledge that today i.e., June 05, 2025, is the World Environment Day, an UN-recognized day that brings together people across the globe in a shared mission to safeguard and restore our planet. This year’s theme of ending plastic pollution is a call to all of us to make a behavioural shift in our daily life choices. In the spirit of preserving the purity of our environment and safeguarding our well-being, let us commit toward making more sustainable choices.

    2. Coming back to our theme for the day, let me begin by stating the obvious that financial inclusion is not just a policy objective but a collective obligation and responsibility for all stakeholders in the financial ecosystem. The importance of the theme can be underscored by the fact that at least seven out of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of 2030 view financial inclusion as a key enabler for achieving sustainable development worldwide by improving the quality of lives of poor and marginalized sections of the society. It is seen as a way to bridge the gap between the privileged and the under-privileged and a way to bring people out of poverty. An inclusive financial system has the potential to reduce income inequality and poverty, promote social cohesion and enable shared economic development. It also can dissuade the disadvantaged and low-income segments of society from seeking out informal options that renders them vulnerable to financial distress, debt, and poverty.

    History of Financial Inclusion in India

    3. Given the theme for today’s discourse, it would be worthwhile to set the historical context regarding financial inclusion in India. While the financial inclusion initiatives in our country can in many ways be traced back to the 1950s, with significant developments ensuing in the subsequent decade, it was the National Credit Council meeting of July 1968 that paved the way for framing of Priority Sector Lending (PSL) guidelines, nationalisation of select private banks in July 1969 and launch of the Lead Bank Scheme in December 1969 that were the precursors of this journey. The branch expansion policy adopted by RBI during the 1970s, which required a specific number of branches to be opened in rural areas for every branch opened in urban areas, became the foundation for expanding the reach of banking services that we see today. Besides, the experiments with group-based lending towards the turn of the last century and proliferation of microfinance institutions have also helped link the unserved section of the population with the formal banking system.

    4. Interestingly, the above initiatives were taken during a period when the term ‘financial inclusion’ was not prevalent in the country. The first reference to the term was made in RBI’s Annual Policy Statement for the Year 2005-06 by Dr Y.V. Reddy2, the then Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, who highlighted ‘financial exclusion’ that resulted due to certain banking practices. Banks were then urged to review their existing practices to align them with the objective of financial inclusion, leading to the genesis of ‘no frills’ account, which are now known as Basic Savings Bank Deposit Accounts.

    Financial Inclusion in Indian Context

    5. The first step in promoting financial inclusion is understanding its nuances, which are as dynamic and diverse as the Indian economy itself, and thereafter outline its ambit in the Indian context. Given its multi-faceted nature, various organisations and jurisdictions have defined financial inclusion in different ways. In India, the formal definition of financial inclusion3 was given in January 2008 by the Committee on Financial Inclusion chaired by Dr C Rangarajan as “the process of ensuring access to financial services and timely and adequate credit where needed by vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low-income groups at an affordable cost”. Reflecting the priorities of that time, the definition focused largely on the access to financial services. Currently we have a scenario, where more than 95% households have access to a bank account4, which reflects remarkable progress on one out of three parameters of Financial Inclusion Index developed by the Reserve Bank to measure the extent of financial inclusion in the country.

    6. While there has been a significant progress in expanding the banking reach, it is also important to ensure that inherent barriers to a gamut of financial products and services are eliminated and usage of these services expands to various segments of yet underserved and un-served population in the country. Efforts towards making financial services accessible become futile if they are not used by the intended population or are used without appropriate awareness of its risks and benefits. Thus, the other two parameters of RBI’s financial inclusion index, viz., usage and quality of the financial services cannot be overlooked while defining or measuring financial inclusion. Over the last few years this index has shown reasonable improvement, but there is a scope for improvement in some aspects.

    Current Scenario

    7. To get a perspective on the current scenario, it would be worthwhile to dwell a bit on some of the recent developments in the journey of financial inclusion in the country. Several policy measures towards furthering financial inclusion have been undertaken from time to time, but it was the launch of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) that became the watershed moment in this journey. The Jan Dhan Yojana – Aadhar – Mobile i.e., JAM trinity provided a quantum leap in our endeavour to ensure access to banking services for all adults, making it the world’s largest financial inclusion program. As of May 21, 20255, 55.44 crore Jan Dhan accounts, 56% of which belong to women, have over ₹2.5 lakh crore worth of deposits, which speaks volumes about the impact of the scheme. The provision of universal access to bank accounts has not only increased the potential reach of other financial services but has also enabled frictionless delivery of welfare programs to the targeted segment through adoption of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

    Digital Payments

    8. Access to a bank account is a prerequisite for availing other financial services, and a robust payments and settlements system is an indispensable enabler for proliferation of formal financial services. Over the past decade, the fundamentals of banking have changed with the advent of digital modes of banking like net banking and mobile banking as well as digital payments systems like Unified Payment Interface (UPI). In FY 2024-25, digital payments surged 35% Y-o-Y by volume to 60.81 crore transactions per day, with UPI accounting for 83.73% of such transactions6. The extraordinary uptake of UPI stands as a testament to the power of collaborative and use-case-driven innovation in driving financial inclusion. A particularly compelling example of this transformation can be seen in the informal sector—where today a street vendor or pop-up store owner nonchalantly places a QR code at the fore and receives payment for services without any hassle for cash and quietly integrating himself into the formal financial system with dignity and ease.

    9. For further expanding and deepening the digital payments ecosystem in the country, a Payments Infrastructure and Development Fund has been constituted to encourage deployment of payment acceptance infrastructure. Further, all State and Union Territory Level Bankers’ Committees have been advised to identify districts and assign them to designated banks, with an endeavour to make these districts 100 per cent digitally enabled. The objective is to provide every eligible individual in the identified district at least one mode of digital payments viz., cards, net banking, UPI, AEPS7, etc. It is understood that as on March 31, 2025, 514 districts across 15 states and 6 UTs are 100 percent digitally enabled. This marks a significant milestone in our journey towards a digitally inclusive economy.

    RBI’s financial inclusion index.

    10. RBI’s financial inclusion index, which captures the extent of financial inclusion across the country, with four iterations published till date, has increased from 60.1 in March 2023 to 64.2 in March 2024, showing a Y-o-Y increase of 6.82 per cent. While the progress is appreciable, credit gaps still exist in the system which may be attributed amongst others to a lack of documentation available with the individuals/ entities in the informal system and of awareness regarding the various government schemes. There is as such a need to make concerted efforts to fill them.

    Recent regulatory initiatives

    11. The RBI has been sensitive to need to bring about improvement in the financial inclusion in the country. Some of the measures taken recently in this regard include raising the limit for collateral-free agriculture loans to ₹2 lakh per borrower, enhancing various loan limits under PSL, expansion of the list of eligible borrowers under the category of ‘Weaker Sections’ alongwith removal of existing cap on loans by UCBs to women beneficiaries. The scope of co-lending is proposed to be broadened by expanding the list of permitted regulated entities (REs) that can enter a co-lending arrangement and extending the same beyond PSL loans. A comprehensive review of the Lead Bank Scheme is also underway with an objective to enhance the effectiveness and impact of the scheme.

    12. With respect to digital payments, permissible transaction limit on UPI Lite has been revised in FY 2025 from ₹500 to ₹1000 and on UPI 123PAY from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 to encourage their wider adoption. Further, with a view to promote digital payments among individuals without bank accounts, UPI Circle has been introduced which allows a secondary user to make UPI transactions up to a limit from the primary user’s bank account in a secure manner. Besides, in an effort to enhance ease of access to digital infrastructure for persons with disabilities, payment system participants (PSPs) have been advised to review their payment systems and devices and carry out necessary modifications so that all such systems and devices can be easily accessed and used by persons with disabilities.

    Financial Literacy

    13. Meaningful financial inclusion also requires access and awareness in right proportions for ensuring responsible and equitable service delivery of financial services. Therefore, financial literacy and financial inclusion need to be considered as two sides of the same coin – promoting financial inclusion without adequate financial literacy would lead to underutilization of financial services and increased chances of errors and frauds. Conversely, educating the consumers without facilitating their access to the formal financial system would result into unmet demand for financial services. The efforts towards augmenting financing literacy have been institutionalised by setting up of the National Centre of Financial Education (NCFE) jointly by the financial sector regulators. RBI as a regulator has been at the forefront of financial literacy with the launch of annual Financial Literacy Week campaigns targeted at specified sections of the population. Financial awareness empowers borrowers to assess and understand financial products, thereby supporting informed decision-making. To facilitate informed decision making by the customers and enhance transparency by the lenders, the RBI has mandated that all REs provide a standardised disclosure of key terms and conditions in the form of Key Fact Statement (KFS) to all retail and MSME borrowers.

    Challenges

    14. Even as all the stakeholders in the financial system, including the regulator and the REs, play their part in advancing financial inclusion, certain issues that act as impediments to the efforts made in this regard have come to the fore and will need to be addressed. Let me briefly highlight a few such issues.

    Grievance Redressal

    15. Having an effective grievance redressal mechanism is non-negotiable for financial sector enterprises as non-resolution of consumer’s concerns not only leads to erosion of customer base but also results in loss of trust in the broader financial system and deters new consumers from entering the system. It is concerning that the complaints received at the Offices of RBI Ombudsmen as well as Centralized Receipt and Processing Centres (CRPCs) marked a sharp 33% year-on-year increase8 in FY2023-24. This raises questions on the products, practices, and handling of grievances at the level of the RE. REs, therefore, need to analyse the gaps and strengthen their processes to reverse the trend of increasing grievances.

    Mis-selling

    16. While financial inclusion entails a bouquet of financial services, pushing the same indiscriminately to unaware consumers may be detrimental to their well-being and undermine its stated intent. There are reports of mis-selling of financial services such as insurance products. The concern is that such mis-selling without regard to suitability and appropriateness would beget distrust in schemes aimed at providing a safety net to the low-income households by creating artificial boundaries. We are examining whether it necessitates framing of guidelines to address mis-selling of financial products and services by REs.

    Cyber Safety and Digital Literacy

    17. As digitalization becomes more pervasive, the need for increasing digital literacy becomes even more pronounced. Empowering individuals to use digital devices and platforms with confidence and security is essential to ensuring inclusive participation in the digital economy. Often, apprehensions related to uncertainty, the possibility of errors, or financial loss create psychological barriers that hinder the adoption of technological solutions such as ATMs, mobile banking, and other digital services. The rising incidents of frauds through novel techniques makes it imperative that REs collaborate with other stakeholders like SROs, NGOs, etc. to generate awareness and promote safe digital practices among customers.

    18. At the same time, it is critical for REs to implement effective measures to combat digital frauds. One such area warranting attention is the use of One-Time Passwords (OTPs) as a means of Additional Factor Authentication (AFA). While this method has served well in the past, the evolving threat landscape in the arena of cybersecurity now calls for the development and adoption of more secure and resilient alternatives. Further, REs must diligently adopt the designated 160 number series9 for all service and transactional voice calls as prescribed by the Government. This initiative is critical to maintaining the integrity of communication channels and protecting customers from phishing and other forms of cyber-attacks.

    19. RBI has been running extensive multimedia awareness campaigns using audio-visual messages under the name ‘RBI Kehta Hai’ and text messages as ‘RBI Says’. Further, RBI has introduced the bank.in and fin.in domains exclusively for banks and non-bank entities to curb cyber security threats and malicious activities. Also, to aid the customers in verifying Digital Lending Apps’ (DLAs) association with RE, the RBI has created a public repository of DLAs deployed by the REs which will soon be available on RBI’s website.

    Developments in Microfinance

    20. Let me now focus on a few developments in Microfinance sector. Microfinance has placed itself as a promising avenue for providing formal financial services to the excluded sections of population. While microfinance has played an important role in financial inclusion, there are some issues which need attention. The sector continues to suffer from vicious cycle of over-indebtedness, high interest rates and harsh recovery practices. While some moderation in interest rates charged on microfinance loans has been observed in recent quarters, pockets of high interest rates and elevated margins continue to persist. Even lenders having access to low-cost funds have been found to be charging margins significantly higher than the rest of the industry and which in several instances appear to be excessive. The lenders should look beyond the conventional “high-yielding business” tag for the sector and approach it with an empathic and developmental perspective, recognising the socio-economic role that microfinance plays in empowering vulnerable communities.

    21. The frequency of disruptions in the microfinance sector has increased of late. Incidents of high borrower indebtedness, coupled with coercive recovery practices, sometimes lead to tragic consequences. It is in the collective interest of all stakeholders that such disruptions are pre-emptively addressed and avoided. In this regard, REs must also enhance their credit appraisal frameworks to prevent over-leveraging of borrowers. Additionally, they must eschew any coercive or unethical recovery practices, ensuring that financial services are delivered in a manner that is both responsible and sustainable. While the business model may be sound, the organisational structure and the incentive schemes framed to deliver the services may be flawed resulting in perverse outcomes for customers. This calls for an introspection around the models.

    Way Forward

    22. Even as we reflect on some of these challenges, we need to be clear about the path that we must take to ensure greater financial inclusion. As we look to the future, the way forward for financial inclusion lies in the strategic deployment of emerging technologies to build a more accessible, equitable, and efficient financial ecosystem. Innovations such as AI, blockchain, and digital public infrastructure are revolutionizing how financial services are delivered, especially to the underserved and remote communities. One such innovation in this space is the Account Aggregator (AA) framework. By empowering individuals to securely share their financial data with consent, the AA system enables more accurate credit assessments and potentially facilitates the delivery of customized financial products. Building on this foundation, the Unified Lending Interface (ULI) standardizes and streamlines the digital lending process by providing lenders with a host of alternate data including digitised state land records, milk pouring data and satellite data. It’s RBI’s belief that the JAM trinity will be followed by the new trinity of JAM-UPI-ULI in revolutionizing digital infrastructure and credit delivery and provide necessary fillip to financial inclusion efforts, pushing it to new highs.

    23. The development and implementation of India Stack has revolutionised the banking landscape in India and has been instrumental in furthering financial inclusion by reducing infrastructural, geographical, and linguistic frictions and plugging leakages. REs have been encouraged to innovate in product design, offering solutions that reflect the unique needs of their customer base; for instance, offering flexibility in repayment schedules, variable savings contributions, and locally tailored financial products shaped by seasonal income cycles, occupational patterns, or behavioural tendencies. Such customisation can go a long way in further improving access, usage, and quality of financial services. REs can bring some of these innovations under the theme neutral ‘On Tap’ Regulatory Sandbox framework, which provides a structured environment for testing state-of-the-art solutions in the interest of consumers and financial stability. As connectivity can pose challenges in remote and rural areas, REs can explore the development of lightweight mobile applications and web interfaces optimised for low-bandwidth environments. These measures will go a long way in extending the reach of digital financial services to the last mile, thereby ensuring inclusive and accessible banking for all.

    24. A lot has been achieved in the journey for achieving financial inclusion thus far, yet a lot more needs to be done. It cannot be merely achieved by standalone policy initiatives but by implementation of such initiatives both in letter and spirit by all stakeholders in the financial ecosystem. Also, those who remain outside the ambit of formal finance today represent untapped potential that can meaningfully contribute to economic growth in the future. The dividends of such inclusion will not only accrue to the institutions involved but will also strengthen the foundation of a more resilient, equitable, and prosperous society. Financial inclusion should not be viewed as an act of philanthropy, but rather as a strategic investment in the nation’s economic and social development. With the right mix of well thought of and carefully crafted regulation, technological advancement, and institutional empathy, our collective efforts can dismantle longstanding barriers and usher in a new era of inclusive and sustainable financial growth – one that leaves no citizen behind and resonates far beyond set boundaries.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI Economics –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Rosneft holds the first open academic competition for schoolchildren in Bashkiria

    Source: Rosneft

    Headline: Rosneft holds the first open academic competition for schoolchildren in Bashkiria

    Bashneft (Rosneft subsidiary) held the first open academic competition for schoolchildren at the Ufa State Petroleum Technical University (USPTU). The winners will receive additional points to the Unified State Examination when entering USPTU.

    More than 100 schoolchildren from Ufa and other cities and districts of Bashkortostan took part in the academic competition. Students of 10-11 grades could test their knowledge in mathematical chemistry and mathematical physics.

    The winners of the competition will be awarded at the All-Russian Employment Fair to be held in Ufa on 18 April 2025. Bashneft will also offer the winners an opportunity to go on an “oil quest” at the fair, which is dedicated to the profession of an oil worker. The Rosneft academic competition in USPTU is planned to be held on an annual basis with an increase in the number of participants.

    As a part of the corporate program of continuous education “school – college/university – enterprise”, Rosneft implements projects to attract talented young people and form an external talent pool. The program has been implemented in the Republic of Bashkortostan for several years already. 49 schoolchildren were enrolled in the 10th grade “Rosneft Classes” in 2024. In addition, 25 9th grade students were enrolled in the Rosneft Class in Ufa on a pilot basis. The Ufa Fuel and Energy College (UFEC) became a partner.

    USPTU and UFEC have six corporate groups of Bashneft in various training areas, including: solid fuel, oil and gas processing technology, design and operation of oil and gas processing equipment, oil and gas geology and geophysics, etc. In profile groups, students combine work at the production site with individualized training. Training in specialized subjects is conducted with the involvement of expert teachers among Bashneft’s employees.

    In partnership with Bashneft’s enterprises, USPTU has established basic departments: Petrochemical Process Technology, Welding of Oil and Gas Structures, Bashneft Refining and Bashneft Environmental Engineering.

    For reference:

    Basheft is one of the oldest oil and gas enterprises in the country engaged in oil extraction and processing. The key assets of Bashneft, including the refinery and petrochemical complex, are located in the Republic of Bashkortostan.Oil and gas exploration and production are also carried out in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area–Yugra, Nenets Autonomous Area, Orenburg Region and the Republic of Bashkortostan.

    USPTU is Bashneft’s key partner in personnel training. More than 50% of Bashneft’s employees are graduates of this university.

    Department of Information and Advertising
    Rosneft
    April 11, 2025

    MIL OSI Economics –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: 9 myths about electric vehicles have taken hold. A new study shows how many people fall for them

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Bretter, Senior Research Fellow in Environmental Psychology, The University of Queensland

    More people believe misinformation about electric vehicles than disagree with it and even EV owners tend to believe the myths, our new research shows.

    We investigated the prevalence of misinformation about EVs in four countries – Australia, the United States, Germany and Austria. Unfortunately, we found substantial agreement with misinformation across all countries.

    People who endorsed false claims about EVs were, not surprisingly, significantly less likely to consider buying one.

    Electric vehicles are vital in the fight against climate change. But pervasive misinformation is a significant challenge to the technology’s uptake and has serious implications for the shift away from fossil fuels.

    Widespread agreement with false EV claims

    We conducted a survey of 4,200 people across the four countries who did not own an electric vehicle. We measured the extent to which they agreed with these nine misleading claims about electric vehicles:

    What we found

    The most widely believed myth was that electric vehicles are more likely to catch fire than petrol cars. Some 43–56% of people agreed with the statement, depending on the country.

    To tally the results, we looked at participants’ responses for all nine misinformation statements – more than 36,000 responses in all. We then calculated how many of these responses indicated agreement or disagreement.

    Of the 36,000 responses, 36% were in agreement with a statement and 23% were in disagreement. A further 24% were undecided and 17% did not know.

    Misinformation agreement was highest in Germany and lowest in the US, but the differences between nations were small.

    Agreement with misinformation was strongly correlated with a lack of support for electric vehicle policies and a lack of intention to buy an EV in future.

    A separate part of the research involved 2,100 people in the US, about half of whom owned an electric vehicle. Surprisingly, EV owners did not significantly differ in their agreement with misinformation compared to non-owners. This underscores how embedded the problem has become.

    Agreement with misinformation was strongly correlated with a lack of buying intention.
    Photo by Sebastian Ng/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    It’s not about education

    We also examined the factors that make individuals more susceptible to EV misinformation.

    The strongest predictor was people who scored highly on a “conspiracy mentality” – in other words, they believed conspiracies were common in society, they saw the world through a lens of corruption and secret agendas, and distrusted institutions.

    People with progressive political and environmental views were less likely to endorse misinformation about EVs.

    A person’s scientific knowledge or level of education was not a predictor. This finding aligns with previous research, and suggests the pervasive endorsement of misinformation stems from distrust in institutions and expertise rather than from a lack of education.

    People with progressive political views were less likely to endorse EV misinformation.
    Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    Grounds for optimism

    We tested whether misinformation could be reduced with two interventions among a different sample of US participants. One group was asked to converse with ChatGPT about their views on EV misinformation. The second was asked to read a traditional EV fact sheet from the US Department of Energy. On a third “control” group, no intervention was tested.

    Participants who engaged with either ChatGPT or the fact sheet before we surveyed them showed significantly lower endorsement of EV misinformation compared to the control group. This persisted at a follow-up session ten days after the survey.

    Notably, ChatGPT did not produce any misinformation about EVs. These results build upon existing research demonstrating ChatGPT’s potential to reduce endorsement of conspiracy theories.

    Misinformation about EVs poses significant challenges to uptake of the technology.
    Florian Wiegand/Getty Images

    How to tackle EV misinformation

    Our findings show misinformation about electric vehicles has a substantial foothold in Western nations. Susceptibility is not a matter of education or knowledge, but rather stems from distrust of established institutions and expertise.

    We also found people who engage with facts about electric vehicles are less likely to endorse misinformation.

    This suggests a dual strategy is needed to reduce misinformation about EVs. First, those who deliberately spread misinformation should be held accountable. And second, evidence-based information, including accessible AI tools, can be used to build public resilience against false claims.

    Matthew Hornsey receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

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

    – ref. 9 myths about electric vehicles have taken hold. A new study shows how many people fall for them – https://theconversation.com/9-myths-about-electric-vehicles-have-taken-hold-a-new-study-shows-how-many-people-fall-for-them-257557

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Starlink is transforming Pacific internet access – but in some countries it’s still illegal

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda H.A. Watson, Fellow, Department of Pacific Affairs, Australian National University

    Solomon aligning the Starlink dish on the roof of his friend’s home in Vanuatu. Paul Basant

    In the past few years, Starlink’s satellite internet service has become available across much of the Pacific. This has created new challenges for regulators in Pacific Island countries: some have promoted Starlink while others have banned it.

    What is Starlink?

    Elon Musk founded the space technology company SpaceX in 2002, and owns about 44% of it.

    Among other projects, SpaceX has launched thousands of satellites into low-Earth orbit, where they circle the globe and enable internet connectivity at ground level. This service is offered through Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX.

    The first satellites were launched in 2019. Later the same year, Musk demonstrated the use of Starlink internet.

    It took a few years for access to be available in the Pacific region. The first known use was in Tonga in 2022, after a volcanic eruption and tsunami.

    Satellite internet in the Pacific

    Starlink is not the only company offering internet access via satellite technology. However, it is well known and has generated much interest in the Pacific.

    Other companies use satellites in low-Earth orbit, such as OneWeb. Another consumer offering comes from Kacific, which provides internet access via a geostationary satellite high above the Pacific. This type of satellite moves at the same speed as Earth spins, so it appears to stay in the same place from ground level.

    Starlink access is available in many of the 18 member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum, such as Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu. In several of those, there are both resellers and retailers.

    Authorised resellers can sell Starlink products and services, meaning customers can buy Starlink kits and pay their monthly Starlink charges through these companies. Authorised retailers can only sell Starlink equipment.

    Gateways and barriers

    Nauru and Kosrae (a state in the Federated States of Micronesia) have recently launched more powerful Starlink connections called community gateways to improve internet access for their communities.

    Nauru’s gateway, reportedly the first in the Pacific, went live in December 2024. Kosrae’s followed in February 2025.

    In Niue, the government has banned the use of Starlink, warning users of fines or imprisonment for unauthorised use. Satellite provider Kacific continues to operate legally on the island.

    In Papua New Guinea, Starlink licensing is before the courts.

    Education and disasters

    Remote schools across Fiji and Solomon Islands are using Starlink services to improve connectivity in the hope it will enable access to online learning and digital resources. In Fiji, six rural schools now have internet access.

    In Malaita, in the Solomon Islands, Starlink is being used in classrooms, funded and supported by an initiative to make education more accessible. Kacific’s satellite internet service has also been used to connect schools in the Pacific.

    Starlink has been used for disaster communications. It is proving to be a crucial backup for undersea cables, which are vulnerable to natural disasters and service disruptions.

    Immediately after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck Vanuatu on December 17 2024, causing an outage of the country’s sole submarine cable, Starlink was used to maintain communication. As traditional internet services failed, more than 300 Starlink units were quickly deployed, restoring connectivity for residents, businesses and emergency services.

    Fast-moving change

    Governance responses to Starlink have differed across the Pacific, impacting access for consumers.

    Where Starlink has been approved, people can buy equipment and pay monthly usage fees in local currency.

    In some countries, Starlink has been approved but no local resellers or retailers have been established yet. In these cases, people can access the service by ordering a kit directly from the official Starlink website, which offers international shipping to approved locations.

    Internet access options across the Pacific are changing rapidly. In several countries, Starlink has not yet officially launched.

    Further change is likely. For now, governance of Starlink among Pacific countries remains a mixed bag.

    Amanda H.A. Watson receives research funding from the Australian government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Pacific Research Program.

    Atishnal Elvin Chand 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. Starlink is transforming Pacific internet access – but in some countries it’s still illegal – https://theconversation.com/starlink-is-transforming-pacific-internet-access-but-in-some-countries-its-still-illegal-257905

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: MSF hands over Lassa fever care in Ebonyi state Nigeria

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    After seven years of critical support from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), local health authorities in Ebonyi state are now well equipped to take on care for Lassa fever with improved infrastructure and training — saving lives and restoring confidence in the healthcare system.

    Outside the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching hospital in Abakaliki, Nigeria, March 2023.
    Abba Adamu Musa/MSF

    In early 2018, Ebonyi state in southeastern Nigeria faced a serious public health concern. Lassa fever – a potentially deadly viral haemorrhagic neglected tropical disease – recorded a particularly high seasonal outbreak, overwhelming hospitals and claiming numerous lives, notably among healthcare workers who are particularly exposed to infection.

    “We lost doctors, nurses, and cleaners,” recalls Dr Nnennaya Anthony Ajayi, then head of clinical services at the virology unit of the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching hospital in Abakaliki (AE-FUTHA), the state’s main referral centre. “There was panic. In the hospital, 16 healthcare workers passed away. People were afraid to go near the emergency room.”

    Though the federal and state governments had already made strides—building an isolation ward and setting up a virology lab—AE-FUTHA was not prepared for the outbreak’s scale. Personal protective equipment was scarce. Infection control procedures were unclear. Samples had to be sent to distant labs for confirmation. Suspected patients were sometimes kept in open spaces, and the risks for staff were devastating.

    It’s in that context that MSF arrived in Abakaliki to support the response. What began as an emergency intervention soon evolved into a seven-year partnership with the Ebonyi state Ministry of Health, laying the groundwork for sustainable, locally led Lassa fever care.

    An MSF doctor raises his hands sideways as he is sprayed with water diluted chlorine after a ward round at the virology unit of the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching hospital in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state. Nigeria, March 2023.
    MSF/Abba Adamu Musa

    Protect health workers, improve care for patients

    From the outset, MSF’s top priority was clear: stop the loss of healthcare workers.

    “We had to put an end to this series of avoidable deaths,” says Alain-Godefroid Ndikundavyi, MSF’s most recent project coordinator in Ebonyi. “Our main objective was to reverse that trend and to reinforce the hospital’s capacity to better receive and treat patients with the disease.”

    MSF’s intervention was wide-ranging. We built triage and observation areas, distributed personal protective equipment, implemented robust infection prevention and control systems, and trained local staff to manage Lassa cases safely and effectively.

    “They helped us structure patient flow, infection prevention and control, and biosafety measures, and provided what we needed to work safely,” says Dr Ajayi. “They brought structure, training, and most importantly, hope.”

    In total, over 230 training sessions for healthcare workers were delivered, and laboratory capacity was strengthened, enabling faster diagnosis. Eventually, a new model of care was put in place to protect staff and better support patients.

    Between 2018 and 2024, MSF supported the treatment of 1,701 suspected and 427 confirmed Lassa fever cases. MSF also paid the full cost of patient care—including dialysis, medications, and meals—which significantly reduced fatalities.

    Crucially, deaths among healthcare workers fell dramatically, with years passing without a single death being recorded.

    Reaching beyond the hospital

    But MSF understood that stopping Lassa fever required action far beyond hospital walls. The disease thrives in communities where public health awareness is low and early detection is lacking.

    “To bridge that gap, we mobilized health promotion teams that conducted over 4,500 education sessions and nearly 1,300 community visits across Ebonyi state,” says Ndikundvyi. “These efforts demystified the disease, corrected misconceptions, and encouraged early care-seeking behaviour.”

    MSF health promotion officer, Chidinma Ugonna, educating the public about Lassa fever in Iboko market, Izzi local government area, Ebonyi state, Nigeria, July 2023.
    Nathalie San Gil/MSF

    MSF also supported two clinics in rural areas—Izzi Unuhu and Onuebonyi—providing training, lab equipment, medical supplies, and even building water towers to ensure safe sanitation. The goal was to catch Lassa fever early and ease the burden on AE-FUTHA.

    “We realised that to truly fight Lassa, the response had to start at the community level,” says Ndikundavyi.

    A new chapter

    In 2025, MSF formally handed over operations to the Ebonyi state Ministry of Health and AE-FUTHA. This transition was carefully planned and included donations of medical equipment, ambulances, and waste management tools. Enough supplies were provided to last through the next Lassa fever peak season.

    “We officially handed over management responsibilities at the end of 2024 but kept an observational team on until March of this year, in case the Ministry needed additional resources,” Ndikundavyi said.

    MSF also supported the creation of internal committees within AE-FUTHA to maintain standards in infection control, patient care, and outbreak response—ensuring that progress would continue after our departure. More broadly, MSF experts partnered with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and state and federal authorities, to improve detection, prevention, and medical care guidelines.

    A Lassa fever survivor has a mental health session with MSF’s counsellor, Ada, at his home in Abakaliki’s neighbourhood, Ebonyi state, Nigeria, March 2023.
    Abba Adamu Musa/MSF

    Today, AE-FUTHA is a different place. Gone are the days of improvised gear and terrified staff. Healthcare workers now operate with confidence, knowledge, and proper equipment. Patients are treated with dignity, and survivors return home with hope. Not as outcasts, but as symbols of resilience.

    The fight against Lassa fever is not over. In 2024 alone, 24 confirmed cases were recorded in AE-FUTHA, with one death among the hospital staff—still tragic, but a far cry from what happened in 2018, when 16 healthcare workers alone were lost.

    “We are no longer afraid,” says Dr Ajayi. “MSF helped us believe that we could fight Lassa fever—and win.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville Introduces Legislation to Protect Women’s Sports at Military Service Academies 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced legislation to prohibit men from participating in women’s athletic programs or activities at U.S. military service academies. This is the next step in Senator Tuberville’s years-long fight to protect women’s sports and preserve Title IX, which came under attack during the Biden administration. Earlier this year, Senator Tuberville’s Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act came to the Senate floor for a vote and every single Democrat voted against it. 

    As Alabama’s representative on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and the Chairman of the SASC Personnel Subcommittee, Senator Tuberville has been a fierce advocate for getting woke politics out of the military. 

    “Our service academies should be focused on preparing the next generation of leaders, not woke indoctrination,” said Senator Tuberville. “Unfortunately, under Joe Biden and radical Democrats, the woke mind virus made its way into our great military. Thankfully, President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have refocused the Pentagon on lethality. Allowing men to compete against women in sports at any level is wrong—and it’s especially wrong to use taxpayer dollars to pay for it at our service academies. As a proud grandfather to Rosie Grace, this is personal for me. I won’t stop fighting until the rights of females in this country to enjoy safe, fair competition are protected.” 

    Read the bill text here.

    BACKGROUND:
    As a former educator, mentor, and coach for more than 40 years, Senator Tuberville is concerned about the future of girls’ and women’s sports. Senator Tuberville has been leading the fight to protect Title IX in the Senate since he was first sworn in, over four years ago. Earlier this year, President Trump signed an Executive Order protecting women’s sports. But unfortunately, Executive Orders can be reversed in future administrations. 

    In January 2025, Senator Tuberville re-introduced the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, to preserve Title IX protections for female athletes. It was brought to the Senate floor for a vote, but every single Democrat voted against it. 

    In February 2025, Senator Tuberville re-introduced the Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act to prohibit any governing body recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee from allowing men to participate in any athletic event intended for females. This bill comes ahead of the U.S. hosting the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. 

    MORE:

    ICYMI: Tuberville in OutKick: Defending and Protecting Women and Girls’ Sports

    Tuberville Thanks President Trump for Signing Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports, Urges Senate to Bring Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to the Floor for a Vote

    Tuberville Discusses Importance of Protecting Women’s Sports, Boosting School Choice

    Tuberville, Risch Send Letter Urging Governors to Comply with President Trump’s Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports

    Tuberville Sends Letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom Urging Him to Protect Women’s Sports in California Ahead of 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles

    Tuberville: “Every Republican Voted to Protect Women, Every Democrat Voted Against It”

    Tuberville Continues Fight to Protect Women’s Sports and Female Athletics, Applauds House Passage of his Hallmark Title IX Legislation

    Tuberville Introduces Hallmark Legislation to Preserve Title IX, Protect Women’s Sports

    Tuberville Sponsors Resolution to Overturn Biden’s Attack on Title IX, Save Women’s Sports

    Tuberville Demands Answers on Biden Administration’s Radical Rewrite of Title IX

    Tuberville Demands Answers From NCAA, Dept of Ed on Title IX

    Tuberville Leads Roundtable on Protecting Title IX and Saving Women’s Sports

    ICYMI: Tuberville Recognizes 51st Anniversary of Title IX with Op-Ed in 1819 News

    Tuberville Op-ed in 1819 News: Title IX must be Protected to Keep Female Athletes on the Winning Side

    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: UNFPA and Partners Drive Strategic Shift in Women’s Health with Launch of Global WomenX Hub in Nairobi

    Source: United Nations Population Fund

    Nairobi, 9 June 2025 – UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, is proud to launch its WomenX Collective (WomenX) Nairobi Hub on 9 June 2025 at the Aga Khan University Auditorium. 

    WomenX supports locally led initiatives that develop and scale practical solutions – such as new technologies, service delivery models, and financing tools – to close gaps in care for women and girls. They are creating a network across Africa and beyond to improve women’s health by bringing together governments, health experts, innovators, and funders. Building on the October 2024 launch of its Berlin Hub, the new Nairobi Hub marks a major step in extending WomenX’s impact across the continent and globally.

    The Nairobi Hub is being launched in partnership with the Government of Kenya, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and Aga Khan University. Together, these partners aim to build a global innovation hub based in Africa – advancing women’s health innovation and accelerating progress toward gender equity in health systems worldwide.

    A Strategic Investment in Women’s Health

    “Every minute, at least two women die globally from breast or cervical cancer, or from pregnancy-related complications due to inequitable access to healthcare,” said Dr. Natalia Kanem, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNFPA. “Through the WomenX Collective Nairobi Hub, UNFPA and our partners aim to invest in and scale transformative solutions to close critical health gaps and ensure that women and girls everywhere can access the care they deserve — and that is their right.”

    With initial funding commitments from international donors – including the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), Organon & Co., among others – the WomenX Collective aims to mobilize $100 million in catalytic investment by 2030 and leverage financing to scale innovative solutions. This programme has the potential to avert at least 10.4 million unintended pregnancies, 3.2 million unsafe abortions, and 21,000 maternal deaths. Through its hubs and partnerships, the programme is uniquely positioned to bring together experience and technical expertise from across countries and regions, as well as modern technologies and sustainable financing.

    Africa as an Innovation Powerhouse
    The Nairobi Hub will serve as a platform to unite research, scalable technologies, and innovative financing strategies across Africa. With its proximity to a thriving ecosystem of health and tech innovators, Nairobi plays a central role in delivering sustainable impact for women and girls across the continent and beyond

    A Call to Action
    The inauguration of the WomenX Nairobi Hub will gather funders, regional stakeholders, health leaders, and innovators to ignite bold commitments, amplify evidence-based investment strategies, and catalyze new collaborations. It will issue a clarion call for governments, philanthropies, and the private sector to prioritize women’s health – not just as a moral imperative, but as a cornerstone of social and economic progress.

    “The Nairobi Hub is more than a location,” said Dr. Nigina Muntean, Chief of Innovation and Transformation Branch at UNFPA. “In close collaboration with the WomenX Berlin Hub, it’s a commitment to drive lasting change through the power of women-centered innovation. Every dollar invested today unlocks exponential returns for future generations.”

    Find out more about the WomenX Collective here:
    https://www.unfpa.org/womenx-collective

    Contact UNFPA: media@unfpa.org

                                                                                                        ——-

    Quotes of our partners:

    “The National Council for Population and Development, a Kenyan government agency, is proud to support the launch of the WomenX Hub in Nairobi with our partners. This programme supports our mission to improve lives and underscores the importance of empowering women and girls as a foundation for sustainable development,” said Dr. Mohamed Sheikh , Director General NCPD &  Inaugural Member of the WomenX Collective Steering Group.

    “At Africa CDC, we recognise that the health of women and girls is the backbone of strong public health systems and resilient communities. The WomenX Nairobi Hub is a timely and transformative platform that places African leadership and innovation at the centre of advancing women’s health. This initiative is a call to action for all of us to invest boldly, collaborate deeply, and ensure that women and girls are not only beneficiaries but drivers of Africa’s health security and progress.” said Dr. Mazyanga Lucy Mazaba, Regional Director, Africa CDC Eastern Africa RCC.

    “At Aga Khan University (AKU), we believe that the true value of knowledge lies not only in its creation but in its ability to transform lives. Our partnership with UNFPA, the Ministry of Health Kenya, and Africa CDC, in launching the WomenX Collective Africa Hub reflects our unwavering commitment to women’s and girls’ health. By contributing our research expertise and local insights, we aim to co-create and scale evidence-based, sustainable solutions that deliver real impact to the communities we serve. It is a privilege for AKU to host this launch and to stand alongside global and regional leaders in driving meaningful change in maternal and reproductive health across East Africa and beyond.”

    About UNFPA:

    UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. UNFPA’s mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA calls for the realization of reproductive rights for all and supports access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning, quality maternal health care and comprehensive sexuality Education.

    About the Government of Kenya:
    The Government of Kenya is committed to improving the health and well-being of its population through inclusive, equitable, and sustainable policies. With a strong emphasis on universal health coverage and gender equality, Kenya continues to invest in healthcare infrastructure, innovation, and strategic partnerships to ensure accessible and quality care for women and girls across the country.

    About Africa CDC:
    The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is a continental autonomous public health agency of the African Union that supports member states in efforts to strengthen health systems and improve surveillance, emergency response, and prevention and control of diseases. 

    About Aga Khan University (AKU):
    Aga Khan University (AKU) is an international institution of higher learning and research with campuses and programs in South and Central Asia, East Africa, and the United Kingdom. Committed to the highest standards in medical education, research, and patient care, AKU aims to improve quality of life in the developing world by investing in human capital, generating knowledge, and fostering innovation that addresses the most pressing health challenges.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Gonzalez Announces Over $170 Million in Preliminary Title I Funding for South Texas Schools

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (15th District of Texas)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34) announced that school districts in the 34th Congressional District of Texas are expected to receive an increase of Title I formula funds from previous years, with a total of $171,243,659 in Fiscal Year (FY25). The final allocation totals will be released by the U.S. Department of Education in the summer of 2025.

    Due to the uncertainty regarding the Trump Administration’s actions to abolish the U.S. Department of Education, the status and dissemination of Title I funds remain unclear. 

    “Title I funds are crucial for underserved communities across the country and in South Texas,” said Congressman Gonzalez. “These federal funds are used by public school systems in TX-34 to ensure all children, regardless of their family’s wealth or background, can have the education necessary to succeed in life. We must continue to fight for Title I funds and ensure these get properly distributed to our schools, our teachers, and our students.” 

    The following preliminary allocations have been provided to school districts in the 34th Congressional District of Texas:

    ·         Brownsville ISD: $30,837,515

    ·         Donna ISD: $19,667,489

    ·         Edcouch-Elsa ISD: $5,138,957

    ·         Edinburg Consolidated ISD: $26,923,139

    ·         Harlingen Consolidated ISD: $9,351,357

    ·         Kenedy County-Wide Common School District: $1,254

    ·         Kingsville ISD: $2,383,920

    ·         La Feria ISD: $1,112,640

    ·         La Villa ISD: $577,928

    ·         Lasara ISD: $166,454

    ·         Los Fresnos Consolidated ISD: $4,101,663

    ·         Lyford Consolidated ISD: $735,717

    ·         McAllen ISD: $15,945,539

    ·         Mercedes ISD: $3,871,520

    ·         Monte Alto ISD: $1,234,922

    ·         Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD: $24,607,153

    ·         Point Isabel ISD: $1,183,081

    ·         Progreso ISD: $1,708,280

    ·         Raymondville ISD: $1,368,696

    ·         Ricardo ISD: $187,860

    ·         Rio Hondo ISD: $708,555

    ·         Riviera ISD: $117,824

    ·         San Benito Consolidated ISD: $7,577,875

    ·         San Perlita ISD: $112,260

    ·         Santa Maria ISD: $347,026

    ·         Santa Rosa ISD: $495,992

    ·         Weslaco ISD: $10,779,045 

    Total $171,243,661

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Universities – Economists urge action to prevent ‘AI poverty traps’ – UoA

    Source: University of Auckland (UoA)

    Artificial intelligence could deepen inequality and create ‘AI-poverty traps’ in developing nations, write economists Dr Asha Sundaram and Dr Dennis Wesselbaum in their paper ‘Economic development reloaded: the AI revolution in developing nations’.

    Sundaram, an associate professor at the University of Auckland Business School, and Wesselbaum, an associate professor at the University of Otago, say developing countries lack the necessary infrastructure and skilled labour force to capitalise on AI’s potential.
    “The downside is that there isn’t a lot of capacity in some countries in terms of digital infrastructure, internet, mobile phone penetration,” says Sundaram.
    “Much of the technology is controlled by firms like Google and OpenAI, raising the risk of over-reliance on foreign tech, potentially stifling local innovation.”
    Without strategic interventions, Wesselbaum says AI may create an ‘AI-poverty trap’: locking developing nations into technological dependence and widening the gap between global economies.
    “For developing countries, AI could be a game-changer; boosting productivity, expanding access to essential services, and fostering local innovation – if the right infrastructure and skills are in place.”
    Financial support from developed countries and international bodies like the UN could help cover upfront costs through grants, loans and investment incentives, according to the research.
    “We also need robust legal and regulatory frameworks to support responsible AI by addressing data privacy, ethics, and transparency concerns,” says Sundaram.
    The economists argue that in developing AI policies, the international community must learn from the successes and failures of foreign aid.
    “Aid has often failed to spur lasting growth in developing countries,” says Sundaram, “partly because it can create dependency, reducing self-reliance and domestic initiatives.”
    She highlights a need for policies to mitigate the downsides of AI, both in developed and developing countries.
    Such policies could include an international tax regime that would allow countries to capture tax revenue from economic activities driven by AI inside their borders.
    Sundaram’s involved in one such project in Ethiopia where artificial intelligence is being harnessed by the government and the country’s largest telecom provider to support small businesses excluded from formal banking due to lack of collateral.
    By analysing mobile money transactions and how much these businesses pay and receive, algorithms estimate how much credit can safely be offered, enabling small loans and helping integrate marginalised enterprises into the formal economy.
    Artificial intelligence holds the power to transform development trajectories, but without targeted investments and inclusive policies, says Wesselbaum, it risks deepening the digital divide and entrenching global inequality.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEWS: Sanders Statement on RFK Jr. Firing Vaccine Experts at CDC

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders

    WASHINGTON, June 9 – After Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced he would remove every member of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today released the following statement:

    Let’s be clear: Firing independent vaccine experts is a dangerous, unprecedented move that will make it harder for the American people to access vaccines that are safe, effective, and essential to saving lives. For decades, Secretary Kennedy has spread lies and conspiracy theories about vaccines. Now, with Trump’s backing, he’s doubling down on misinformation that will lead to preventable illness and death. At a time when we should be strengthening trust in science and expanding access to health care, this administration is doing the exact opposite. This is a continuation of Trump and Kennedy’s dangerous war on science. It cannot stand.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Strengthening Gaelic and Scots education

    Source: Scottish Government

    Legislation to strengthen language support.

    Parents across Scotland will be able to ask for a Gaelic school to be established in their area as part of legislation being taken forward by the Scottish Government.

    Under the plans, local authorities would be required to assess if the request was practical and affordable. After taking advice, ministers may direct local authorities to proceed with the establishment a new Gaelic school if the authority’s assessment considers it to be viable. 

    Other provisions of the Scottish Languages Bill include:

    • introducing educational standards for Gaelic and Scots
    • establishing Gaelic and Scots as official languages
    • supporting the creation of areas of linguistic significance in Gaelic communities so that ministers can better target policies to support the language’s growth
    • enabling parents in every part of Scotland to apply for Gaelic nursery and early years places for their children

    Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic Kate Forbes set out the measures on a visit to Bun-Sgoil Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis (Inverness Gaelic Primary School). She was joined by Scotland’s first Gaelic speaking national poet, Dr Peter Mackay, who is also known as the Makar. The visit coincides with the 40th anniversary year of Gaelic medium education in Scotland.

    Ms Forbes said:

    “This Bill aims to build a strong foundation to support Gaelic’s continued growth following an encouraging increase in Gaelic speakers and learners across Scotland. It would boost Gaelic education provision throughout Scotland and better establish Gaelic and Scots as national languages.

    “Gaelic medium education enriches communities and offers good value for money. Gaelic medium schools frequently demonstrate above average performance with some local authorities showing better grades across all qualification levels despite costs being no greater than English medium schools.

    “To support the growth of Scotland’s indigenous languages, we are also providing an additional £5.7 million to promote Scots and Gaelic this year.”

    Dr Mackay said:

    “It’s fantastic to have seen the growth of Gaelic medium education over the last 40 years: it’s something we should be very proud of.

    “It’s vital that there’s ongoing support to maintain and develop Gaelic as a community language in the Highlands and Islands and to give people all over the country every chance to learn and speak it – and also to encourage Scots speakers and communities across Scotland.” 

    Background

    Stage 3 of the Scottish Languages Bill is expected to be considered by MSPs on Tuesday 17 June.

    Census statistics show that 130,161 people in Scotland had some Gaelic skills in 2022, an increase of 43,105 people from 2011. The census shows that 2,444,659 people in Scotland had some Scots skills in 2022, an increase of 515,215 from 2011.

    The latest version of the Scottish Languages Bill is available online.

    A’ neartachadh foghlam Gàidhlig agus Albais

    Reachdas gus taic-chànain a neartachadh.

    Faodaidh pàrantan air feadh Alba iarraidh gun tèid sgoil Ghàidhlig a stèidheachadh anns na sgìrean aca, mar phàirt de reachdas a tha ga thoirt air adhart le Riaghaltas na h-Alba.

    Fo na planaichean, dh’fheumadh ùghdarrasan ionadail measadh a dhèanamh air so-dhèantachd agus reusantachd cosgaisean an iarrtais. Às dèidh dhaibh comhairle a ghabhail, faodaidh ministearan iarraidh air ùghdarrasan ionadail a dhol air adhart le stèidheachadh sgoil Ghàidhlig ùr, ma cho-dhùineas measadh an ùghdarrais gun gabh a dhèanamh.

    Am measg chumhachan eile ann am Bile nan Cànan Albannach:

    • thèid bun-tomhasan foghlaim a thoirt a-steach do Ghàidhlig agus do dh’Albais
    • thèid Gàidhlig agus Albais a stèidheachadh mar chànain oifigeil
    • thèid taic a chumail ri cruthachadh sgìrean cànain sònraichte ann an coimhearsnachdan Gàidhlig, airson ’s gum faod ministearan poileasaidhean a thaghadh nas fheàrr leis an gabh an cànan a leasachadh
    • faodaidh pàrantan ann an gach ceàrn de dh’Alba tagradh a chur airson àitichean sgoil àraich agus tràth-ìre Gàidhlig fhaighinn dhan cuid chloinne

    Chaidh na ceumannan a mhìneachadh leis an Leas-Phrìomh Mhinistear agus Rùnaire a’ Chaibineit airson na h-Eaconamaidh agus na Gàidhlig, Ceit Fhoirbeis, ’s i a’ tadhal air Bun-Sgoil Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis. Còmhla rithe bha a’ chiad bhàrd nàiseanta Gàidhlig ann an Alba, an Dotair Pàdraig MacAoidh, ris an canar cuideachd am Makar. Bha iad a’ tadhal aig an aon àm ris a’ 40mh ceann-bliadhna de dh’fhoghlam tro mheadhan na Gàidhlig ann an Alba.

    Thuirt a’ Bh-uas. Fhoirbeis:

    “Tha a’ Bhile seo ag amas air bun-stèidh dhaingeann a thogail gus taic a chumail ri fàs leantainneach na Gàidhlig, às dèidh àrdachadh brosnachail ann an luchd-labhairt agus luchd-ionnsachaidh na Gàidhlig air feadh Alba. Chuireadh i gu mòr ri solar foghlam tro mheadhan na Gàidhlig air feadh Alba, ’s i a’ daingneachadh na Gàidhlig agus na h-Albais mar chànain nàiseanta.

    “Tha foghlam tro mheadhan na Gàidhlig a’ cur beairteas ri coimhearsnachdan agus tha deagh luach an airgid na lùib. Is tric a bhios coileanadh sgoiltean Gàidhlig nas fheàrr na chìthear sa chumantas, ’s cuid a dh’ùghdarrasan ionadail a’ sealltainn chomharran nas fheàrr thar gach ìre teisteanais ged nach eil cosgaisean nas àirde na cosgaisean sgoiltean tro mheadhan na Beurla.

    “Gus taic a chumail ri fàs nan cànan a tha dùthchasach do dh’Alba, tha sinn cuideachd a’ toirt seachad £5.7 millean a bharrachd gus Albais agus Gàidhlig a bhrosnachadh am-bliadhna.”

    Thuirt an Dotair MacAoidh:

    “Tha e air leth math gum facas mar a dh’fhàs foghlam tro mheadhan na Gàidhlig thairis air na 40 bliadhna a dh’fhalbh: bu chòir dhuinn a bhith gu math moiteil à rud mar seo. Tha e riatanach gum bi taic leantainneach ann airson a’ Ghàidhlig a chumail suas agus a leasachadh mar chànan coimhearsnachd air a’ Ghàidhealtachd agus anns na h-Eileanan, agus airson gach cothrom a thoirt do dhaoine air feadh na dùthcha an cànan ionnsachadh agus a bhruidhinn – agus cuideachd airson luchd-labhairt agus coimhearsnachdan na h-Albais a bhrosnachadh thar Alba.”

    Cùl-fhiosrachadh

    Thathar an dùil gum beachdaich BPA air Ìre 3 Bile nan Cànan Albannach Dimàirt, an 17mh latha dhen Ògmhios.

    Tha àireamhan a’ chunntais-shluaigh a’ sealltainn gun robh beagan sgilean Gàidhlig aig 130,161 neach ann an Alba ann an 2022, àrdachadh de 43,105 neach bho 2011. Tha an cunntas-sluaigh a’ sealltainn gun robh beagan sgilean Albais aig 2,444,659 neach ann an Alba ann an 2022, àrdachadh de 515,215 neach bho 2011.

    Tha an dreachd as ùire de Bhile nan Cànan Albannach ri fhaotainn air loidhne.

    Forderin Gaelic and Scots education

    Legislation tae uphaud the leids

    Parents aw ower Scotland will be able tae speir for a Gaelic schuil tae be set up whaur they bide as pairt o legislation bein taen forrit by the Scots Government.

    Unner the plans, it wad be necessar for local authorities tae luik intae gin the speirin wis practical and affordable. Efter takkin advice, ministers micht caw upon local authorities tae gang forrit wi the settin up o a new Gaelic schuil if the authority’s ettles shaw it tae be daeable. 

    Ither provisions o the Scottish Languages Bill include:

    • settin oot educational staunards for Gaelic and Scots
    • settin forrit Gaelic and Scots as official leids
    • uphaudin the settin oot o areas o muckle linguistic mense in Gaelic communities sae that ministers can better ettle at policies tae uphaud the growin o the leid
    • allouin parents in ilka pairt o Scotland tae speir efter Gaelic nursery and early years places for their bairns

    Depute First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic Kate Forbes set oot the meisures on a visit tae Bun-Sgoil Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis (Inverness Gaelic Primary School). She wis jyned by Scotland’s first Gaelic spikkin national poet, Dr Peter Mackay, wha is kent forby as the Makar. The visit gangs alang wi the 40th anniversary year o Gaelic medium education in Scotland.

    Ms Forbes said:

    “This Bill ettles tae big strang foonds tae uphaud Gaelic’s ongawin growth follaein a hertenin increase in Gaelic spikkers and lairners aw ower Scotland. It wad forder Gaelic education provision throughoot Scotland and set forrit mair siccarly Gaelic and Scots as national leids.

    “Gaelic medium education maks communities mair strang and gies guid value for siller. Gaelic medium schuils aft kythe better-than-average ootcomes, wi some local authorities reportin better grades athort aw qualification levels, for aw that costs are nae mair muckle than English medium schuils.

    “Tae forder the growin o Scotland’s hamelt leids, we’re forby pittin forrit an extra £5.7 million tae uphaud Scots and Gaelic this year.”

    Dr Mackay said:

    “It’s braw tae hae seen the growin o Gaelic medium education ower the last 40 years: thon’s a thing we should be gey prood o. It’s vital that there’s ongawin uphaudin tae heeze up and forder forrit Gaelic as a community leid in the Hielans and Islands and tae gie fowk aw ower the country ilka chance tae lairn and spik it – and forby tae herten Scots spikkers and communities aw ower Scotland.” 

    Backgrund

    Stage 3 o the Scottish Languages Bill is expectit tae be taen tent o by MSPs on Tuesday 17 June.

    Census statistics report that 130,161 fowk in Scotland had some Gaelic skills in 2022, an increase o 43,105 fowk syne 2011. The census reports that 2,444,659 fowk in Scotland had some Scots skills in 2022, an increase o 515,215 syne 2011.

    The latest version o the Scottish Languages Bill is set furth online.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: A 10-fold increase in rocket launches would start harming the ozone layer – new research

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Revell, Associate Professor in Atmospheric Chemistry, University of Canterbury

    Han Jiajun/VCG via Getty Images

    The international space industry is on a growth trajectory, but new research shows a rapid increase in rocket launches would damage the ozone layer.

    Several hundred rockets are launched globally each year by a mix of commercial companies and nation-state space programmes. These take place at around 20 sites, almost all in the northern hemisphere, with the most prolific launch rates currently from the United States, China, New Zealand and Russia.

    Our latest research explores the tipping point when launching more rockets will begin to cause problems. Our findings show that once rates reach 2,000 launches a year – about a ten-fold increase on last year – the current healing of the ozone layer slows down.

    We argue that with care, we can avoid this future. The economic benefits of industry growth can be realised, but it will take a collaborative effort.

    Rocket launches thin the ozone layer

    The ozone layer protects life on Earth from harmful solar ultraviolet (UV) rays. It is slowly healing from the effects of chlorofluorocarbons and other damaging chemicals emitted last century, thanks to global cooperative agreements under the Montreal Protocol.

    Gases and particulates emitted by rockets as they punch through the atmosphere are known to thin the ozone layer. So far, they don’t cause appreciable ozone depletion, as relatively few launches take place each year.

    However, launches are steadily increasing. In 2019, there were 102 launches. By 2024, that increased to 258 worldwide. There are expected to be even more in 2025. At multiple sites worldwide, the launch industry projects impressive levels of future growth.

    For US-based launches, a three-fold increase in the number of rockets launched in 2023 is expected as soon as 2028.

    One driver of this growth is the effort to build out satellite constellations to tens of thousands of units, positioned low in Earth’s orbit. These require many launches to create and are happening in several nations, run by a number of companies.

    Once in place, these constellations require ongoing launches to keep them supplied with active satellites.

    Potential delay in ozone recovery

    To figure out how future launches could affect the ozone layer, we first built a database of ozone-depleting chemicals emitted by rockets currently in use. We then fed this database into a model of Earth’s atmosphere and climate, and simulated atmospheric composition under several scenarios of higher rates of rocket launches.

    We found that with around 2,000 launches worldwide each year, the ozone layer thins by up to 3%. Due to atmospheric transport of rocket-emitted chemicals, we saw the largest ozone losses over Antarctica, even though most launches are taking place in the northern hemisphere.

    Fortunately, the ozone losses are small. We wouldn’t expect to see catastrophic damage to humans or ecosystems. However, the losses are significant given global efforts underway to heal the ozone layer. The global abundance of ozone is still around 2% lower than before the onset of losses caused by chlorofluorocarbons.

    Future ozone losses are not locked in

    Encouragingly, we found no significant ozone loss in a scenario of more modest rates of around 900 launches per year. However, this is for the types of rockets that are in use right now around the world.

    We focus on current launch vehicles because it is uncertain when the new and massive rockets currently in development will enter use. But these larger rockets often require far more fuel, which creates more emissions at each launch.

    Rocket propellant choices make a big difference to the atmosphere. We found fuels emitting chlorine-containing chemicals or black carbon particulates have the largest effects on the ozone layer. Reducing use of these fuels as launch rates increase is key to supporting an ongoing recovery of the ozone layer.

    Re-entering spacecraft and satellite debris can also cause damage. However, the global scientific community doesn’t yet fully understand the chemistry around re-entry. Our work provides a realistic “floor” for the lowest level of damage that will occur.

    But it is important to remember that these effects are not locked in. It is entirely possible to create a launch industry where we avoid harmful effects, but that would require reducing use of chlorine-containing fuels, minimising black carbon emissions by new rockets and monitoring emissions.

    It will take keen effort and enthusiasm from industry and regulators, working together with scientists. But this needs to start now, not after the damage is done.

    Laura Revell is a member of the International Ozone Commission and the UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, which assesses the effects of ozone depletion on life on Earth. She is a Rutherford Discovery Fellow, funded by the Royal Society of NZ Te Apārangi.

    Michele Bannister is the NZ delegate for the International Astronomical Union, serves on the COSPAR-NZ national committee, is a voting member of Aerospace New Zealand, and has research collaborations with the IAU Centre for Protection of the Dark & Quiet Sky. She is a Rutherford Discovery Fellow, funded by the Royal Society of NZ Te Apārangi.

    – ref. A 10-fold increase in rocket launches would start harming the ozone layer – new research – https://theconversation.com/a-10-fold-increase-in-rocket-launches-would-start-harming-the-ozone-layer-new-research-257480

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Five years of Keep It Real Online

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is celebrating the fifth anniversary of Keep It Real Online, a website that helps New Zealand families navigate the digital world safely. 

    “I know many parents are worried about the type of content their children might come across online and are looking for practical ways to protect them. The Keep It Real Online website offers helpful guidance on how to start those important conversations with your kids, along with information on practical tools like parental controls and safety filters available through search engines and social media platforms,” says Ms van Velden.

    The website launched in 2020, with a campaign that went viral and attracted international attention for a campaign episode that featured fake porn stars visiting a suburban mother to inform her that her teenage son was watching porn online, and encouraging her to talk to him about how consent and relationships work in the real world. 

    Since the launch five years ago, the website has been viewed over 1.1 million times. The most visited pages for youth focus on misinformation, pornography, and sending and receiving nude images, which highlights the real issues that young people are facing in today’s digital environment.  It has sections for parents, young people, and teachers, and has information available Chinese, Hindi, and Samoan as well as English and Māori.

    “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to manage any potential online harms. As much of the internet sits outside of New Zealand’s jurisdiction, it’s important that we equip New Zealanders with the skills and knowledge to navigate the digital world and take steps to protect their own wellbeing.”

    “I’m really proud of the digital safety work that the Department has delivered in recent years and just as proud that we’re continuing to update the content to stay fresh, relevant, and in tune with the challenges people are facing online today.”

    The Keep It Real Online website is managed by the Department of Internal Affairs and can be accessed at https://www.keepitrealonline.govt.nz/.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Files Pre-Enforcement Lawsuit Amid U.S. DOJ Demands that California Schools Violate State Law and U.S. Constitution

    Source: US State of California

    Lawsuit responds to threats by U.S. DOJ if California school districts do not certify to banning transgender students from playing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity 

    OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today filed a pre-enforcement lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ) in anticipation of imminent legal retaliation against California’s school systems. Last week, U.S. DOJ issued a letter requesting certification from California school districts that they will not comply with longstanding state anti-discrimination law that provides for the participation in sports for K-12 students consistent with gender identity. Today, the California Department of Education notified U.S. DOJ that the state will not certify to its demands, which would require school districts to violate not only existing state law, but also the U.S. Constitution. In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta asks the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to uphold California’s anti-discrimination law and prevent the Trump Administration from taking retaliatory action, such as withholding or conditioning federal funding, over the state’s refusal to comply with U.S. DOJ’s unlawful demands. 

    “The President and his Administration are demanding that California school districts break the law and violate the Constitution – or face legal retaliation. They’re demanding that our schools discriminate against the students in their care and deny their constitutionally protected rights,” said Attorney General Bonta. “As we’ve proven time and again in court, just because the President disagrees with a law, that doesn’t make it any less of one. As California’s chief legal officer, I’ll always fight to uphold and defend the laws of our state, especially those that protect and ensure the civil rights of the most vulnerable among us.”

    Since 2012, it has been the law and policy of California that all persons, regardless of their gender, gender identity, or gender expression, should enjoy equal rights and opportunities, and freedom from discrimination of any kind, in their education. In 2013, the Legislature made clear that these protections specifically encompass school athletics. Similarly, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the statewide governing body for school sports, allows all students to participate in athletics in accordance with their gender identity pursuant to its Bylaw 300.D. 

    With its recent certification letter, U.S. DOJ seeks to unlawfully upend, through executive decree, California’s longstanding policy of inclusion and anti-discrimination. On June 2, 2025, local educational agencies in California received a letter from U.S. DOJ wrongly asserting that Bylaw 300.D “requires California public high schools to allow male participation in girls’ interscholastic athletics,” and as such, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The letter demanded that these agencies “certify” that they would not implement Bylaw 300.D by June 9, 2025, “[t]o ensure compliance and to avoid legal liability.”

    In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta argues that U.S. DOJ has no right to make such a demand. Prevailing Ninth Circuit precedent holds that categorically prohibiting transgender students from participating in athletic programs in accordance with their gender identity violates the Equal Protection Clause. Furthermore, allowing athletic participation consistent with students’ gender identity is squarely within the State’s authority to ensure all students are afforded the benefits of an inclusive school environment, including participation in school sports, and to prevent the serious harms that transgender students would suffer from a discriminatory, exclusionary policy. Acceding to U.S. DOJ’s demands would force California school districts to violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and California’s antidiscrimination laws. While the certification demand letter purports that compliance with the Equal Protection Clause requires the categorical exclusion of transgender girls from girls’ sports, as courts have previously upheld, just the opposite is true: the Equal Protection Clause forbids such policies of total exclusion, as does California law.

    A copy of the lawsuit is available here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murray, DeLauro, Baldwin Blast Director Bhattacharya for Terminating Thousands of Active NIH Grants, Upending Research, Threatening Patient Treatment

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    Top Democratic appropriators call out NIH for cancelling at least 2,370 active grants, cutting off funding to over 210 institutions, and demand a comprehensive list of terminated grants and the impact on patients in clinical trials

    Lawmakers: “Grinding wide swaths of clinical trials to a screeching halt is completely illegal, reckless, unethical, and endangers patient health and safety. In addition to threatening our nation’s future in biomedical innovation and global leadership, this administration’s siege on science is putting millions of American lives at risk.”

    Washington, D.C. — Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, sent a letter to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya calling out the Trump administration’s reckless decision to terminate at least 2,370 active NIH grants, an illegal move that has upended biomedical research and threatened patients’ access to treatment, and demanding that NIH provide the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations the legal authority being used to terminate grants, a comprehensive list of grant cancellations, details on the impact to clinical trials, and the criteria used for termination decisions.

    “We write in strong opposition to the termination of at least 2,370 active grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and to the agency’s decision to refuse to consider certain categories of pending grant applications,” write the lawmakers. “The cancellations of these grants have abruptly cut off funding to more than 210 recipient institutions, amounting to more than $4.9 billion in taxpayer funding. The reckless termination of ongoing grants, particularly in the context of other actions at NIH, have upended biomedical research across the country, cancelled clinical trials and cut off patients’ access to treatment, and put our national security, global competitiveness, and an entire generation of early career scientists at risk.”

    The lawmakers emphasize NIH was established by Congress and investment in the agency has made the United States a leader in biomedical research, “NIH is the largest funder of biomedical research in the world, responsible for the discovery of new ways to diagnose, prevent, and treat devastating diseases and conditions including cancer, rare diseases, ALS, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease, among many others. NIH funding represents about one-fifth of total U.S. federal research and development (R&D) funding and represents close to half of all federal R&D spending outside of the Department of Defense. That investment has paid off; NIH-funded research has led to more than 100 Nobel Prizes and supported more than 99 percent of the drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration from 2010 to 2019.”

    “Approximately 83 percent of NIH’s $48 billion budget is allocated for researchers at universities and research institutions, which are spread across all 50 states. This amounts to about 60,000 annual competitive grants to more than 300,000 researchers at more than 2,500 institutions across the country. In determining which research to fund, NIH has been guided by congressional mandate, regulatory requirements, and scientific expertise,” write the lawmakers.NIH funding decisions follow a highly competitive and rigorous process, and its peer review system is widely regarded as the gold standard, which is why grant terminations have been extremely rare.

    The lawmakers continue, “Shortly after the Trump Administration took office, NIH issued a series of directives to arbitrarily terminate large numbers of grants and to refuse to consider certain categories of pending grant applications. Rather than citing any scientific concerns with the rigor of the projects, any underlying data, or other project-specific concerns, termination notifications sent to impacted researchers simply state that the cancelled projects ‘no longer effectuate agency priorities.’ As a result, thousands of research projects, many of which had been underway for years and represent millions of hours of work and billions of taxpayer dollars, were abruptly cancelled, grant application reviews abandoned, and funding opportunities removed from NIH’s websites.”

    The lawmakers note many of the terminated institutional and training grants that were cancelled supported early-career researchers and scientists from underrepresented communities, and “the nationwide termination of biomedical training programs in every stage of the training pipeline from undergraduate students to tenure-track positions will irreparably weaken the scientific workforce, decimating the next generation of American scientists in academia and industry.”

    “As research institutions, scientists, and trainees struggle with the loss of staff, jobs, and income, patients enrolled in NIH-funded clinical trials face abrupt cancellations or delays in lifesaving treatment,” the lawmakers write. The letter further details the hundreds of active clinical trials that abruptly stopped, trials that were investigating treatments for HIV, cancer, COVID-19, and mental health.

    The lawmakers conclude, “Grinding wide swaths of clinical trials to a screeching halt is completely illegal, reckless, unethical, and endangers patient health and safety. In addition to threatening our nation’s future in biomedical innovation and global leadership, this administration’s siege on science is putting millions of American lives at risk. We demand that NIH provide to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations a comprehensive list of grant terminations that have been made since January 20, 2025, to be updated on a weekly basis.”

    The full letter is available HERE and below:

    Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya

    Director

    National Institutes of Health

    9000 Rockville Pike

    Bethesda, Maryland 20892

    Dr. Bhattacharya,

    We write in strong opposition to the termination of at least 2,370 active grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and to the agency’s decision to refuse to consider certain categories of pending grant applications. The cancellations of these grants have abruptly cut off funding to more than 210 recipient institutions, amounting to more than $4.9 billion in taxpayer funding. The reckless termination of ongoing grants, particularly in the context of other actions at NIH, have upended biomedical research across the country, cancelled clinical trials and cut off patients’ access to treatment, and put our national security, global competitiveness, and an entire generation of early career scientists at risk.    

    Congress established NIH in 1930 through the Ransdell Act to ascertain “the cause, prevention, and cure of disease affecting human beings.” Today, NIH is the largest funder of biomedical research in the world, responsible for the discovery of new ways to diagnose, prevent, and treat devastating diseases and conditions including cancer, rare diseases, ALS, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease, among many others. NIH funding represents about one-fifth of total U.S. federal research and development (R&D) funding and represents close to half of all federal R&D spending outside of the Department of Defense. That investment has paid off; NIH-funded research has led to more than 100 Nobel Prizes and supported more than 99 percent of the drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration from 2010 to 2019.

    Approximately 83 percent of NIH’s $48 billion budget is allocated for researchers at universities and research institutions, which are spread across all 50 states. This amounts to about 60,000 annual competitive grants to more than 300,000 researchers at more than 2,500 institutions across the country. In determining which research to fund, NIH has been guided by congressional mandate, regulatory requirements, and scientific expertise. These funding decisions follow a highly competitive and rigorous process that involves layers of expert scientific review over many months. The NIH peer review system is widely regarded as the gold standard in research funding and is praised for its transparency, fairness, and ability to identify and fund the most promising research, contributing significantly to scientific advancements and the public’s understanding of health. Given this standardized, merit-based system, terminations of active NIH grants have been extremely rare—fewer than 20 terminations per year, on average, over the past decade.

    However, in the beginning of February 2025, shortly after the Trump Administration took office, NIH issued a series of directives to arbitrarily terminate large numbers of grants and to refuse to consider certain categories of pending grant applications. Rather than citing any scientific concerns with the rigor of the projects, any underlying data, or other project-specific concerns, termination notifications sent to impacted researchers simply state that the cancelled projects “no longer effectuate agency priorities.” As a result, thousands of research projects, many of which had been underway for years and represent millions of hours of work and billions of taxpayer dollars, were abruptly cancelled, grant application reviews abandoned, and funding opportunities removed from NIH’s websites.

    In addition to an ideological purge of thousands of research projects that benefit LGBTQ+ and non-white populations, the Administration is also targeting and terminating research related to vaccine hesitancy, COVID-19, HIV, women’s health, Alzheimer’s disease, suicide prevention, any studies involving entities in South Africa and China, and institutions of higher education that are not ideologically aligned with the President’s political agenda. These grant terminations are in direct defiance of Congress’ annual Appropriations Act, which mandates that NIH fund research to address health equity and health disparities, include diverse populations in its studies, and enhance diversity in the biomedical research enterprise.

    NIH cancelled a slew of institutional and individual training grants awarded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) among other NIH Institutes and Centers. Many of the terminated grants supported scientists from underrepresented communities. On March 27, 2025, with no prior notice, NIH issued stop work orders for all 63 Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE) programs and all 34 Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) programs, which have supported undergraduate researchers for nearly 50 years. Other terminated training programs include the Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP); the Bridges to the Doctorate Program, which trained masters students; the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD), which supported graduate students; the Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA), which aided postdoctoral researchers; and the Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) program, which funded individual scientists as they transitioned from postdoctoral to faculty positions. The nationwide termination of biomedical training programs in every stage of the training pipeline from undergraduate students to tenure-track positions will irreparably weaken the scientific workforce, decimating the next generation of American scientists in academia and industry.

    As research institutions, scientists, and trainees struggle with the loss of staff, jobs, and income, patients enrolled in NIH-funded clinical trials face abrupt cancellations or delays in lifesaving treatment. In early May, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimated that 91 cancelled grants, amounting to $643 million and supporting 113 active clinical trials that investigated topics such as HIV, cancer, mental health, and COVID-19, were abruptly terminated by NIH. On March 10, the Living Healthy for Moms (LHMoms) clinical trial was terminated, undermining vital support for 600 new mothers managing postpartum depression or cardiovascular events following the birth of their babies. Most preventable maternal deaths and complications from mental health and cardiovascular conditions occur in the immediate postpartum period, and this study would have provided support for postpartum mothers for six months, covering a critical window to prevent long-term health consequences and address the maternal health crisis. On March 21, NIH terminated the research network supporting the Adolescent Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Intervention (ATN). In its 24-year history, the ATN enrolled more than 30,000 adolescents and young adults in 150 studies, and that research helped pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications get FDA approval. Terminating this grant disrupts seven clinical trials aimed at boosting HIV testing and PrEP adherence; depriving adolescents and young adults from access to diagnostic testing, prevention and treatment puts their health and lives at risk. A cervical-cancer-prevention clinical trial offering point of care screening and treatment for women with human papillomavirus (HPV) was also abruptly cancelled. Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women, and is almost entirely preventable.

    Grinding wide swaths of clinical trials to a screeching halt is completely illegal, reckless, unethical, and endangers patient health and safety. In addition to threatening our nation’s future in biomedical innovation and global leadership, this administration’s siege on science is putting millions of American lives at risk. We demand that NIH provide to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations a comprehensive list of grant terminations that have been made since January 20, 2025, to be updated on a weekly basis. To better understand the scope of NIH grant terminations and NIH’s statutory compliance, we request responses to the following questions by June 13, 2025.

    1. Given that NIH appears to be relying on a regulatory change in 2 CFR Part 200.340 that does not take effect until October 1, 2025, what is NIH’s legal authority to terminate grants based on alleged “changes” in agency priorities?
    2. How many NIH grants, awarded to how many research institutions, have been terminated since January 20, 2025?
      1. How many of these grants were clinical trials?
      2. How many patients were enrolled in clinical trials that were cancelled?
      3. How many clinical trials were initially terminated and then later reinstated?
    3. What guidance has NIH provided to grantees of terminated clinical trials regarding the preservation of patient safety and navigation of orderly closeout procedures? Please provide a definition of both “patient safety” and “orderly closeout”.
      1. What is NIH’s policy on exceptions, and have any exceptions been made? If so, provide a list of grants that were provided exceptions.
      2. What is the process for grantees or NIH staff to petition for exceptions if there are concerns about patient safety?
      3. What guidance has NIH provided to grantees that may need to request funds to support patient safety and orderly closeout of the project? What is the process for grantees to request those funds, and what actions qualify?
    4. What is the total amount of NIH funding that has been terminated? For each terminated grant provide the:
      1. budget year of the grant when it was terminated;
      2. amount of unexpended funds on the current grant when it was terminated; and
      3. total award of the grant, including expected future non-competing continuation awards.
    5. Who at NIH made the decision to terminate these grants? Who inside and outside of NIH were involved in the decisions to terminate these grants?
      1. Was the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) involved in the identification of grants to be terminated? If so, what was their role?
    6. How were grants identified for termination and what criteria was used in determining which grants to terminate?
    7. How many institutional and individual training grants have been terminated by NIH?
      1. What percentage of all institutional and individual training grants awarded by NIH in FY24 does this represent?
      2. What is the justification for each training grant that NIH has terminated?

    Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Students benefitting from record number of new teachers

    Source: New Zealand Government

    The Government’s ensuring more children learn from quality teachers by delivering the largest annual increase in the teaching workforce in two decades.
    “We want to grow, promote and support the education workforce who every day deliver real change in the classroom. We are providing a world-leading education system with all the support teachers need to deliver it. It’s really encouraging this is resulting in more people choosing to become teachers,” Education Minister Erica Stanford says.
    The schooling teacher workforce grew by 2.5% in 2024, delivering 1,864 new teachers, the largest year-on-year increase since records began in 2009 and slightly outpaced student roll growth. 1,128 new teachers were in primary, while secondary teachers grew by 736. 
    “We’re seeing growth across the board. Every region has more teachers than it did a year ago, with particularly strong increases in South and West Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Wellington and Canterbury. That’s a clear sign our reform of the education system is giving people the confidence to choose teaching as a career.”
    In 2024:

    First-time domestic enrolments in Initial Teacher Education rose by 6.3%, from 3,400 to 3,615. This includes increases across early childhood, primary, and secondary sectors, marking the highest entry rate into teaching since 2009.
    the average total pay for primary teachers was over $94,000 and around $101,000 for secondary teachers.
    on average, secondary principals were paid over $200,000 while primary principals were paid over $150,000.

    “From scholarships and onsite training pathways to removing financial barriers like registration fees, we’ve made it easier for people to take that first step into the classroom, and it’s working.”
    “We know there’s still more to do to ensure every student has a quality teacher in front of them. That’s why Budget 2025 includes even more investment to grow and strengthen the profession” says Minister Stanford
    Budget 2025 includes $53 million to cover teacher registration fees through to 2028, alongside expanded training pathways for aspiring principals and support for returning and overseas-trained teachers.
    “Great teachers are the single most important factor in a child’s education. We’re backing our education workforce — from training to registration to the classroom — because when we support teachers, we support better outcomes for every learner,” Ms Stanford says.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Unexpected path to study at EIT helps T&G employee

    Source: Eastern Institute of Technology

    1 minute ago

    An offer to support a friend’s studies unexpectedly set T&G’s Malandi Fourie on her own path of horticulture education through EIT.

    The South African-born assistant manager at T&G Global in Hawke’s Bay has completed levels 3 and 4 of the New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture Production (Fruit Production) and is now working towards the NZ Diploma in Horticulture Production (Level 5).

    Although she had experience working with plants through her family’s nursery in South Africa, Malandi never imagined she would formally study horticulture, until a friend, feeling nervous about classroom learning, needed support.

    Malandi Fourie is studying the NZ Diploma in Horticulture Production (Fruit Production) at EIT while working full-time at T&G.

    “I started the level 3 qualification two years ago just to help a friend who didn’t feel comfortable being in class alone. I ended up loving it and decided to carry on for myself.”

    She has now been in the industry for eight years and has worked her way up through various roles at T&G over the last six-and-a-half years from orchard hand to senior leading hand, then block lead, and now assistant manager.

    “It’s a very humble feeling, working outside in orchards. Being a Christian, I believe we were told to work the soil. But more than that, I’m here for the people, because I believe people grow the trees.”

    That people-first mindset has shaped her leadership style. Malandi says supporting others, especially women in the industry, is one of the most fulfilling parts of her job. From mental health struggles to financial hardship, she’s seen how practical skills, and a sense of purpose can help people reclaim confidence and direction.

    “They learn new skills, gain confidence, and feel proud of what they’re doing. It’s like they can breathe again.”

    As a mother of two children aged 17 and 20, Malandi admits balancing work, study and family life has been challenging. But completing her qualifications means a great deal.

    “I never finished my studies in South Africa, so this feels like closing a loop. It’s also about inspiring others. If I can do it, they can too.”

    She describes her experience at EIT as supportive and hands-on. “The tutors are passionate. They treat you like adults. It’s not just sitting in a classroom, they get you up, get you outside, and keep it practical.”

    Lisa Turnbull, Assistant Head of School Primary Industries, said Malandi’s journey is a wonderful example of personal and professional growth.

    “Her dedication to learning, leadership in the workplace, and commitment to supporting others embody values we strive to nurture at EIT.

    The team is proud to have been part of her journey thus far and looks forward to seeing her continue to make a meaningful impact in the industry.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Can Israel still claim self-defence to justify its Gaza war?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Donald Rothwell, Professor of International Law, Australian National University

    On October 7 2023, more than 1,000 Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel and went on a killing spree, murdering 1,200 men, women and children and abducting another 250 people to take back to Gaza. It was the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

    That day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the country, “Israel is at war”. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) immediately began a military campaign to secure the release of the hostages and defeat Hamas. Since that day, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children.

    Israel has maintained its response is justified under international law, as every nation has “an inherent right to defend itself”, as Netanyahu stated in early 2024.

    This is based on the right to self-defence in international law, which is outlined in Article 51 of the 1945 United Nations Charter as follows:

    Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations[…]

    At the start of the war, many nations agreed Israel had a right to defend itself, but how it did so mattered. This would ensure its actions were consistent with international humanitarian law.

    However, 20 months after the October 7 attacks, fundamental legal issues have arisen around whether this self-defence justification still holds.

    Can Israel exercise self-defence ad infinitum? Or is it now waging a war of aggression against Palestine?

    Self-defence in the law

    Self-defence has a long history in international law.

    The modern principles of self-defence were outlined in diplomatic exchanges over an 1837 incident involving an American ship, The Caroline, after it was destroyed by British forces in Canada. Both sides agreed that an exercise of self-defence would have required the British to demonstrate their conduct was not “unreasonable or excessive”.

    The concept of self-defence was also extensively relied on by the Allies in the second world war in response to German and Japanese aggression.

    Self-defence was originally framed in the law as a right to respond to a state-based attack. However, this scope has broadened in recent decades to encompass attacks from non-state actors, such as al-Qaeda following the September 11 2001 terror attacks.

    Israel is a legitimate, recognised state in the global community and a member of the United Nations. Its right to self-defence will always remain intact when it faces attacks from its neighbours or non-state actors, such as Hamas, Hezbollah or the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

    However, the right of self-defence is not unlimited. It is constrained by the principles of necessity and proportionality.

    The necessity test was met in the current war due to the extreme violence of the Hamas attack on October 7 and the taking of hostages. These were actions that could not be ignored and demanded a response, due to the threat Israel continued to face.

    The proportionality test was also met, initially. Israel’s military operation after the attack was strategic in nature, focused on the return of the hostages and the destruction of Hamas to eliminate the immediate threat the group posed.

    The legal question now is whether Israel is still legitimately exercising self-defence in response to the October 7 attacks.

    This is a live issue, especially given comments by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on May 30 that Hamas would be “annihilated” unless a proposed ceasefire deal was accepted.

    These comments and Israel’s ongoing conduct throughout the war raise the question of whether proportionality is still being met.

    A test of proportionality

    The importance of proportionality in self-defence has been endorsed in recent years by the International Court of Justice.

    Under international law, proportionality remains relevant throughout a conflict, not just in the initial response to an attack.

    While the law allows a war to continue until an aggressor surrenders, it does not legitimise the complete destruction of the territory where an aggressor is fighting.

    The principle of proportionality also provides protections for civilians. Military actions are to be directed at the foreign forces who launched the attack, not civilians.

    While Israel has targeted Hamas fighters in its attacks, including those who orchestrated the October 7 attacks, these actions have caused significant collateral deaths of Palestinian civilians.

    Therefore, taken overall, the ongoing, 20-month military assault against Hamas, with its high numbers of civilian casualties, credible reports of famine and devastation of Gazan towns and cities, suggests Israel’s exercise of self-defence has become disproportionate.

    The principle of proportionality is also part of international humanitarian law. However, Israel’s actions on this front are a separate legal issue that has been the subject of investigation by the International Criminal Court.

    My aim here is to solely assess the legal question of proportionality in self-defence and international law.

    Is rescuing hostages in self-defence?

    Israel could separately argue it is exercising legitimate self-defence to rescue the remaining hostages held by Hamas.

    However, rescuing nationals as an exercise of self-defence is legally controversial. Israel set a precedent in 1976 when the military rescued 103 Jewish hostages from Entebbe, Uganda, after their aircraft had been hijacked.

    In current international law, there are very few other examples in which this interpretation of self-defence has been adopted – and no international consensus on its use.

    In Gaza, the size, scale and duration of Israel’s war goes far beyond a hostage rescue operation. Its aim is also to eliminate Hamas.

    Given this, rescuing hostages as an act of self-defence is arguably not a suitable justification for Israel’s ongoing military operations.

    An act of aggression?

    If Israel can no longer rely on self-defence to justify its Gaza military campaign, how would its actions be characterised under international law?

    Israel could claim it is undertaking a security operation as an occupying power.

    While the International Court of Justice said in an advisory opinion last year that Israel was engaged in an illegal occupation of Gaza, the court expressly made clear it was not addressing the circumstances that had evolved since October 7.

    Israel is indeed continuing to act as an occupying power, even though it has not physically reoccupied all of Gaza. This is irrelevant given the effective control it exercises over the territory.

    However, the scale of the IDF’s operations constitute an armed conflict and well exceed the limited military operations to restore security as an occupying power.

    Absent any other legitimate basis for Israel’s current conduct in Gaza, there is a strong argument that what is occurring is an act of aggression. The UN Charter and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court prohibit acts of aggression not otherwise justified under international law.

    These include invasions or attacks by the armed forces of a state, military occupations, bombardments and blockades. All of this has occurred – and continues to occur – in Gaza.

    The international community has rightly condemned Russia’s invasion as an act of aggression in Ukraine. Will it now do the same with Israel’s conduct in Gaza?

    Donald Rothwell receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

    – ref. Can Israel still claim self-defence to justify its Gaza war? – https://theconversation.com/can-israel-still-claim-self-defence-to-justify-its-gaza-war-257822

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Police release images in Papakura wounding incident

    Source: New Zealand Police

    Police need your help in investigating a cowardly attack on a Papakura man last month.

    Still images are being released of a person that Police is still working to identify, and we need to hear from you today.

    The wounding occurred on Friday 16 May at about 11.40am on Settlement Road in Papakura.

    “A man in his 70s was walking alone in a westerly direction at the time, outside Papakura Intermediate School,” Detective Senior Sergeant Simon Taylor, of Counties Manukau South CIB says.

    “Around the same time a person was walking on the opposite side of the road heading in the other direction.”

    For reasons unknown, this person crossed the road towards the victim.

    “They have approached the victim and lunged towards him, making contact,” Detective Senior Sergeant Taylor says.

    “Immediately after the offender fled the scene, and the victim realised he had suffered a stab wound.

    “The victim required hospital treatment and is recovering from this cowardly and unprovoked attack.”

    Police need to hear from anyone who recognises the person in images being released.

    “People in the community will know who this person is and they need to do the right thing and speak up.”

    Anyone with information can update Police online now or call 105 using the reference number 250516/1021.

    Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

    ENDS.

    Jarred Williamson/NZ Police

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Grassroots solutions key to boosting health support for Aussie bush kids

    Source:

    10 June 2025

    Children in rural Australia are missing out on critical early health supports, with limited access to allied health services putting them at greater risk of lifelong developmental challenges.

    Now, new research from the University of South Australia shows that local communities hold the key to improving health outcomes for Aussie bush kids.

    In the first study to bring together global literature, researchers assessed what helps or hinders health care in rural areas, finding that place-based strategies – those designed around the unique needs and strengths of each community – are better positioned to support rural children and their families.

    Place-based health strategies are developed in partnership with community stakeholders and delivered outside traditional clinical settings – often in schools or homes – with teachers and parents playing an active role.

    In Australia, about 7 million people – or  28% of the Australian population – live in rural and remote areas.

    UniSA researcher and PhD candidate, Georgia Gosse, says governments must work with rural communities, including children, to ensure that country kids get the heath care they need.

    “All children have the right to quality healthcare. But those who live outside of metropolitan centres are distinctly and unfairly disadvantaged,” Gosse says.

    “Children in rural or remote areas are four times more likely to be developmentally vulnerable than metropolitan children and less likely to access the health services they need.

    “Without access to timely and appropriate allied health services – like physio, occupational therapy or speech therapy – children with developmental delays can struggle to meet full potential.

    “Allied health services are vital to putting children on the road to healthy development; but accessing one of these professionals in the bush is like herding cats. Our research is trying to change this.”

    Gosse says that new rural health services are often driven by a lack of access to existing services – whether due to long waiting lists, geographical isolation, or a shortage of allied health professionals in rural areas.

    “Our study found that strategies co-designed and delivered with local communities are especially effective for rural families. They take place in familiar settings – such as homes or schools – and work closely with communities to respect local needs and cultural sensitivities,” Gosse says.

    “But these strategies also face challenges: parents or carers may not have the time or knowledge to support therapy at home, and teachers are often stretched with limited resources at school.

    “It’s a complex issue, and while there’s no quick fix, the evidence strongly supports working alongside local communities – including children as the end users – to shape and deliver effective solutions.”

    Amid renewed calls for a National Rural Health Strategy, the findings provide valuable insights to guide much needed dollars into community-led, rural health initiatives.

    Senior researcher, UniSA’s Professor Saravana Kumar says, children’s needs must be at the heart of any new initiatives.

    “To improve health outcomes for rural communities, we must deliver child-centred, place-based care that’s co-designed with local communities,” Prof Kumar says.

    “We need to leverage the strengths of the local community, respect lived realities, and ensure that health services are built for the people who use them.

    “Importantly, children’s voices must underpin the design and implementation of any models of care.

    “This is about designing care that works with communities, not just for them. Because when we get it right for our bush kids, we’re getting it right for the future.”

    The research has also been synthesised into an interactive evidence-informed decision-making tool to help clinicians quickly identify and understand the key drivers, enablers, and barriers to different models of care in rural areas.

    To access this free tool, click here: https://unplex.com.au/evidence-informed-decision-making-tool/

    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

    Contact for interview:  George Gosse E: Georgia.Gosse@unisa.edu.au
    Media contact: Annabel Mansfield M: +61 479 182 489 E: Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au

    Other articles you may be interested in

    MIL OSI News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper, Schmitt Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Create Defense Tech Hubs, Boost National Security

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Hickenlooper – Colorado

    Colorado would be a prime location for a Defense Tech Hub

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Eric Schmitt introduced the bipartisan Defense Technology Hubs Act, which would spur defense innovation and investment across 10 regions, including states like Colorado, to modernize our defense industrial base and create good-paying jobs.

    “You don’t have to look further than Colorado to see how a strong, interconnected defense tech ecosystem spurs even greater cutting-edge breakthroughs,” said Hickenlooper. “America needs to double down on our innovation advantage to compete with China’s accelerating investments.”

    “We cannot deter great power conflict, we cannot protect the American way of life, and we cannot guarantee peace through strength if we cannot build the tools of defense at scale and speed. The United States faces an ever-growing challenge of maintaining our advantage amid rapid advancements and innovations from our foreign adversaries like China, and we must rise to the challenge. With Missouri serving as a key model for this program, I look forward to these tech hubs spreading across the nation to ensure our military is prepared for the next century of technological threats,” said Schmitt.

    Specifically, the Defense Technology Hubs Act will:

    • Require the Department of Defense (DoD) to establish a program to designate and support regional DoD Tech Hubs focused on advancing defense technologies critical to national security.
    • Establish the criteria for eligible consortia to receive a DoD Tech Hub, including:
      • Capability in defense-relevant technology areas.
      • Evidence of regional collaboration and stakeholder commitment.
      • Presence of anchor Federal defense institutions or mission-critical military installations that support or utilize emerging defense technologies, particularly in geospatial intelligence, data fusion, and AI.
    • Require the Secretary of Defense to coordinate with existing efforts such as DIU, EDA Tech Hubs, DARPA, Manufacturing USA Institutes, and NSF’s Regional Innovation Engines to reinforce the capacity of all programs.
    • Bar foreign entities of concern, as identified by DoD in coordination with the intelligence community and consistent with existing federal designations, like Commerce Department’s Entity List.
    • Authorize $375 million for fiscal years 2026 – 2030 and include a 1:1 cost sharing requirement with non-federal private and state sources.

    “A Defense Technology Hubs program would bolster the nation’s and region’s aerospace leadership through workforce development and economic growth, not to mention building out critical defense systems to protect all Americans,” said Iain Boyd, Director of the Center for National Security Initiatives at the University of Colorado Boulder. “The Hub concept recognizes that regional alliances of universities with complementary capabilities can best meet the needs of today’s defense technology challenges.”

    Full text of the legislation available HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Mirastar Federal Credit Union Celebrates 75th Birthday, Honors Legacy of Service and Community Impact

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN JOSE, Calif. and MORGAN HILL, Calif. and GILROY, Calif., June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mirastar Federal Credit Union commemorates its 75th birthday on June 14, 2025, celebrating a rich history of service, innovation, and community partnership. Originally founded in 1950 as Santa Clara County Employees Credit Union, seven Santa Clara County employees pooled together $103 to start a not-for-profit financial cooperative. That small credit union has grown to serve nearly 50,000 members, evolving to meet the needs of a diverse and expanding community. The credit union is now known as Mirastar Federal Credit Union.

    From its first branch in Gilroy in 1970 to the recent opening of the West Tasman Campus branch in 2025, Mirastar’s journey is marked by a steadfast commitment to accessibility, inclusion, and the financial well-being of its members. The credit union’s transformation from Santa Clara County Employees Credit Union to Mirastar reflects its enduring mission to create strong, vibrant communities where prosperity is within reach for everyone.

    “With our new name, Mirastar, we honor our legacy as Santa Clara County Employees Credit Union and embrace a future where prosperity is within reach for everyone,” stated Rebecca Reynolds Lytle, President and CEO of Mirastar Federal Credit Union. “’Mira’ means ‘to look’ in Spanish, and combined with ‘star,’ our name invites us all to look upward, to aspire, to dream, and to rise together. Our rebrand is more than a new logo or colors; it’s a renewed commitment to building strong, vibrant communities and providing equitable access to financial opportunities for all.”

    A cornerstone of Mirastar’s impact is the Mirastar Community Impact Fund, which in 2024 provided over $205,000 in support to nonprofit organizations across Santa Clara and San Benito counties. The fund focuses on four key areas: Children & Education, Community Health & Well-Being, Financial Wellness & Inclusion, and Community Partnership. Initiatives have included scholarships for local students, support for food distribution programs, and partnerships with organizations like Downtown Streets Team, Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen, and Bill Wilson Center.

    Mirastar’s team members and their families exemplify the credit union’s volunteer spirit, contributing more than 3,300 hours of service in 2024 alone. Volunteer efforts range from packing lunches for farm workers and assembling bicycles for underserved children to supporting classroom teachers and participating in community events like the annual Back-to-School Drive and Teddy Bears on Patrol.

    “For 75 years, Mirastar has been guided by the principle that we rise by lifting each other up. Our legacy is built on trust, service, and a deep commitment to our members and communities. As we look to the future with a new name and expanded charter, we invite our members to share the gift of membership with friends and family. Together, we’re building a brighter, more inclusive tomorrow,” stated Reynolds Lytle.

    With its expanded federal charter, Mirastar now welcomes nearly one million underserved and lower-income individuals across the region, encouraging current members to invite others to join and benefit from people-first financial services. For more information, visit www.mirastarfcu.org.

    Mirastar Federal Credit Union

    Mirastar Federal Credit Union (formally Santa Clara County Federal Credit Union) is a federally insured, member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative. Since 1950, Mirastar Federal Credit Union has dedicated itself to serving its members and communities with affordable, high-quality financial services that empower them to achieve their goals. A pinnacle of the credit union’s efforts is a community outreach program provides free financial education, volunteer support, and resources to local nonprofit organizations. Mirastar Federal Credit Union believes that when our communities thrive, we all succeed. For more information about Mirastar Federal Credit Union and their commitment to exceptional member service, please visit Mirastarfcu.org or call 408.282.0700.

    Amy Ivey
    SVP Marketing
    Mirastar Federal Credit Union
    aivey@mirastarfcu.org
    www.mirastarfcu.org

    Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: 

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4dd4f1c1-1c6f-46dd-b210-44d552931835

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d5ca6893-12c8-48d0-b69e-97faaf71fd0a

    The MIL Network –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: State Director & Chair Positions Confirmed

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today announced the confirmation of director and chair positions in New York State government. Joshua Norkin today was confirmed by the New York State Senate to serve as Director of the Authorities Budget Office. Additionally, Jessica García was confirmed by the New York State Senate today to serve as Chair of the Cannabis Control Board.

    “New Yorkers deserve the best and the brightest individuals serving them, working to make New York safer, more affordable and more liveable — these two individuals will do just that,” Governor Hochul said. “My administration remains laser focused on ensuring experienced individuals are serving at every level of government, delivering for families statewide.”

    About Director Joshua Norkin

    Joshua Norkin was confirmed by the New York State Senate on June 9 to serve as Director of the Authorities Budget Office. Joshua Norkin previously served as Assistant Counsel to the Governor before being promoted to Deputy Counsel to the Governor in 2022, and Senior Advisor to the Governor in 2024. As Deputy Counsel to the Governor, Joshua oversaw the introduction, negotiation, and disposition of all legislation on behalf of the Executive Chamber.

    Mr. Norkin has practiced law in both the nonprofit and private sectors since 2008. Joshua Norkin earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

    About Chair Jessica García

    Jessica García was confirmed by the New York State Senate on June 9 to serve as Chair of the Cannabis Control Board. Jessica García has served as a board member on the Cannabis Control Board since 2021.

    Jessica García is Assistant to the President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), a national labor union representing workers along the food supply chain, as well as workers in non-food retail and healthcare. She previously served as Deputy Political Director for the RWDSU, where she worked to advance the union’s legislative and political agendas. Additionally, Jessica García currently serves as President of the Board of Directors of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health and a member of the Safe Passage Project. In 2021, she was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Labor to serve on the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH). Jessica García earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from Harvard University and Master of Social Work from the Hunter College School of Social Work.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK to become world leader in drug discovery as Technology Secretary heads for London Tech Week

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    UK to become world leader in drug discovery as Technology Secretary heads for London Tech Week

    New project to make the UK a leader in AI-drug discovery, as Imperial College also partners with the World Economic Forum on AI-Driven Innovation Centre.

    • New OpenBind consortium to make the UK a leader in AI-driven drug discovery – slashing the cost of drug discovery and development by as much as £100 billion. 
    • Imperial College London to partner with World Economic Forum to deliver new AI-Driven Innovation Centre – boosting AI adoption and innovation to grow the economy
    • Peter Kyle to set out plans at London Tech Week for technology to go further and faster in unlocking the growth driving the government’s Plan for Change

    People around the world are set to benefit from new breakthroughs in AI-driven drug discovery to tackle previously untreatable diseases and transforming patient outcomes using British AI and research expertise.  

    Announced today, the UK’s ‘OpenBind’ consortium will use breakthrough experimental technology to generate the world’s largest collection of data on how drugs interact with proteins, the building blocks of the body. This will be twenty times greater than anything collected over the last fifty years – cementing the UK’s position as a global hub for AI-driven drug discovery. 

    This will support the training of new AI models that can identify promising new drugs, giving researchers an unparalleled ability to open up new fronts in the fight against disease- slashing development costs by up to £100 billion and sparking the innovation and economic growth which underpins the government’s Plan for Change. 

    Based at Diamond Light Source – the UK’s national synchrotron facility at the Harwell Science Campus in Oxfordshire – the consortium will close critical data gaps, driving breakthroughs in healthcare which will unlock new avenues for drugs that can treat and beat diseases, as well as helping scientists harness the transformative potential of engineering biology to face down a range of other issues, such as designing new enzymes to tackle plastic waste. 

    The consortium, backed with up to £8 million of investment from DSIT’s newly established Sovereign AI Unit, will be led by some of the world’s leading scientific minds including Professor Charlotte Deane at the University of Oxford, Professor Frank von Delft at Diamond Light Source and the University of Oxford, and David Baker, Chemistry Nobel Prize winner and head of the Institute for Protein Design at Washington University. 

    The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Peter Kyle said: 

    London Tech Week is where we lay down a marker – not just as a government with technology at the heart of our agenda, but as a country that will harness its opportunities for the global good.

    OpenBind is a prime example of how we’re doing exactly that. Through home-grown AI expertise, we will be the driving force that doesn’t just treat, but beats disease – benefitting every person in the world.

    This week, we’ll have plenty more to say on how we’re using technology to drive growth, improve public services, and transform communities all over the country – delivering a Plan for Change grounded in action, not words.

    This investment will also help to unlock unique strategic capabilities for UK AI and biosciences, securing the nation’s critical influence over a sector fundamental to growth, health, and wellbeing. 

    Investors from industry and philanthropy will be convened shortly to have the opportunity to co-invest and take the project to a point of maximum ambition. These discussion will include a roundtable at 10 Downing Street including Isomorphic Labs, Astex Pharmaceuticals, Apheris, Chai Discovery, Genentech, Genesis Therapeutics, Odyssey Therapeutix, Pfizer Inc, and Renaissance Philanthropy.

    Professor Gianluigi Botton, CEO, Diamond Light Source, said:

    At Diamond Light Source, a Joint Venture between the UK government through STFC and the Wellcome Trust, we are proud to be at the forefront of the UK’s ambition to lead the world in AI-driven drug discovery.

    OpenBind represents an exciting step forward in harnessing our unique capabilities to generate the high-quality data that AI needs to revolutionise healthcare, helping to cement the UK’s position as a global hub for bioscience innovation.

    Sir Demis Hassabis, CEO, Isomorphic Labs, said:

    High-quality biochemical data supports superior AI models, which in turn helps us design new drug candidates faster.

    We’re delighted to partner with the OpenBind Consortium and the UK government to cultivate this vital resource. This is a brilliant initiative for UK science, and we’re proud to support it from its inception.

    Artificial Intelligence has become one of the key drivers of the government’s Plan for Change, with its adoption across the economy sparking economic growth and creating jobs. Earlier this year the Prime Minister launched the AI Opportunities Action Plan – taking forward 50 recommendations which will mainline the technology into all sectors of the economy.   

    To accelerate AI’s rollout even further, Imperial College London has today announced it will partner with the World Economic Forum to deliver a Centre for AI Driven Innovation based in the UK. This dedicated centre will cement the UK’s global position as a leader in the technology, driving innovation by unlocking AI’s potential to transform economies across various sectors. The Centre will join the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) Network – a global network of 21 independent centres which bring together public and private sectors to maximise technological benefits while minimising risks. 

    The UK government will work with both organisations to co-design the Centre’s activities in alignment with the government’s ambitions to harness AI to deliver a new era of growth and opportunity. 

    Hugh Brady, President, Imperial College London said:  

    This is a pivotal moment for UK innovation where the power and creativity of our science and technology can drive economic growth. This new Centre for AI Driven Innovation will unlock AI’s potential to transform existing industries.

    Anchored in the World Economic Forum global network of Centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the new Centre hosted by Imperial creates a powerful multi-stakeholder platform from research through to scalable real-world innovation and adoption.

    Børge Brende, President and CEO of World Economic Forum said: 

    We are excited to collaborate with Imperial College London and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to launch the Centre for AI Driven Innovation, the first UK-based centre in the World Economic Forum’s global Network of Centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

    This milestone comes at a pivotal moment, as AI emerges as a powerful catalyst for prosperity and accelerated transformation across all sectors of the economy. The Centre will play a key role in helping the UK shape the global AI innovation agenda, providing a unique platform for collaboration with one of the world’s largest multistakeholder communities of AI experts.

    The announcements come as the Technology Secretary prepares to deliver his keynote address to London Tech Week later today, where his speech will set out the range of actions the government is taking to harness technology to boost growth, improve public services, and unlock new opportunities for communities across the UK.

    Further commentary welcoming today’s announcements:

    Professor Charlotte Deane of the University of Oxford said:

    OpenBind realises a major gear-shift for AI in drug discovery by investing in the data that powers it. 

    This funding will mean we can begin generating a catalogue that not only dwarfs in quantity everything messily accumulated over half a century, but transcends it in quality and is geared towards powering the AI algorithms.

    Professor Frank von Delft of Diamond Light Source and the University of Oxford said:

    OpenBind is unique double opportunity:  whereas to date we experimental scientists have generated data as a byproduct of answering our scientific questions, now we combine forces with AI scientists and produce the data their AIs actually need.  And to do so, we will align several very different types of experiments, harnessing recent dramatic advances, including those we’ve achieved at Diamond. 

    As this accelerates drug design, we will gain currently unthinkable ways to dissect how diseases work and what to do about them.

    Robin Roehm, CEO and co-founder of Apheris said:

    The utility of AI models in predicting protein-small molecule structure and affinity pairs hinges on the quality and scale of training data.

    The life sciences sector urgently needs more comprehensive data, and collaborative networks like the AI Structural Biology Consortium where multiple Pharmas jointly collaborate are an example of this. OpenBind has the potential to transform small molecule drug discovery by developing datasets that are orders of magnitude larger than what is currently available.

    Karmen Čondić-Jurkić, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Open Molecular Software Foundation (OMSF) said:

    OMSF is excited to participate in OpenBind and contribute to building open datasets and infrastructure that will power the next generation of ML/AI models for drug discovery. Expanding high-quality public datasets is essential for advancing molecular science, both for training and validating new computational approaches.

    We believe this collaboration is an opportunity to bring experimental and computational researchers closer together, accelerating innovation across the field.

    Mohammed AlQuraishi, Founder, OpenFold; Professor, Departments of Systems Biology and Computer Science, Columbia University, said:

    The task of predicting structures of molecules bound to proteins is challenged by a severe paucity of data, crucial for training data-hungry machine learning models such as OpenFold3.

    The OpenBind project is poised to transform this dynamic, first by providing significant amounts of new and diverse structural data to fuel machine learning, and second by working synergistically with OpenFold to focus data acquisition on molecules and proteins with the greatest potential for improving the accuracy of predictive models.

    David Rees PhD FMedSci, FRSC, Chief Scientific Officer, Astex Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, UK.

    As a pioneer in fragment-based drug discovery, Astex is excited to be involved in this new initiative to build a unique database that will help the UK to remain at the forefront of developments in this field.

    Training AI models with experimentally determined protein-ligand crystal structure data can significantly accelerate the drug discovery process and deliver new medicines more efficiently.

    Dr Ed Griffen, Technical Director at MedChemica said:

    At MedChemica we apply chemistry machine learning at scale and speed to design and analyse large data sets to give exploitable knowledge.  

    One of the critical areas of weakness in drug discovery is relating how protein-drug structures are related to how strongly a possible drug binds to that protein structure. The goal of OpenBind is to gather and analyse enough of the right data so that machine learning can make useful predictions. With better predictions we can run drug hunting projects faster and cheaper, bringing new therapies to the clinic more quickly.

    OpenBind is a keystone in the bridge from basic science to new ways of treating the diseases and conditions that afflict patients world wide. OpenBind’s scale is globally strategic and leading beyond what is being done anywhere else. MedChemica is delighted and proud to be able to contribute to this endeavour.

    Joshua Meier, Co-founder and CEO, Chai Discovery, said:

    The UK’s OpenBind initiative provides the rich, open data frontier our AI models need to design better medicines faster, and we’re excited to contribute our open state-of-the-art structure prediction technology to this national effort.

    Notes to editors

    OpenBind will create the largest open dataset of experimentally validated drug–protein interactions in history. By addressing a long-standing gap in pharmaceutical R&D: the lack of high-quality, large-scale datasets linking small molecules to the proteins they bind. These datasets are essential for training high quality AI models for early-stage drug design.  

    OpenBind will deploy automated chemistry and high-throughput X-ray crystallography to eventually generate more than 500,000 protein – ligand complex structures and affinity measurements over 5 years. This would represent a 20-fold increase over all public data produced in the last half-century – filling a critical gap in the data ecosystem that has slowed the development and evaluation of modern generative models.  

    OpenBind provides a foundational dataset that will underpin progress across multiple areas of technology – including structure prediction, generative molecular design, docking, and active learning workflows. It is designed to work in synergy with other emerging approaches to help reduce trial-and-error experimentation, inform candidate selection, and support more systematic exploration of chemical space.  

    OpenBind’s senior consortium principal investigators are: 

    • Professor Frank von Delft (Diamond Light Source and University of Oxford) 
    • Professor Charlotte Deane (University of Oxford) 
    • Dr John Chodera (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre) 
    • Dr Mark Murcko (MIT and Disruptive Biomedical LLC)
    • Professor Mohammed AlQuraishi (Columbia University)  
    • Professor David Baker (University of Washington) 
    • Dr Ed Griffen (MedChemica Limited) 
    • Professor Paul Brennan (University of Oxford) 
    • Professor Sir David Stuart (Diamond Light Source)
    • Dr Martin Walsh (Diamond Light Source)

    About Diamond Light Source

    Diamond Light Source provides industrial and academic user communities with access to state-of-the-art analytical tools to enable world-changing science. Shaped like a huge ring, it accelerates electrons to near light speeds, producing a light 10 billion times brighter than the sun, which is then directed off into 35 laboratories known as beamlines. In addition to these, Diamond offers access to several integrated laboratories including the world-class Electron Bio-imaging Centre (eBIC) and the Electron Physical Science Imaging Centre (ePSIC).     

    Diamond serves as an agent of change, addressing 21st century challenges such as disease, clean energy, food security and more. Since operations started, more than 16,000 researchers from both academia and industry have used Diamond to conduct experiments, with the support of approximately 800 world-class staff. More than 14,000 scientific articles have been published by our users and scientists.     

    Funded by the UK government through the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), and by the Wellcome Trust, Diamond is one of the most advanced scientific facilities in the world, and its pioneering capabilities are helping to keep the UK at the forefront of scientific research.     

    Diamond was set-up as an independent not for profit company through a joint venture, between the UKRI’s Science and Technology Facilities Council and one of the world’s largest biomedical charities, the Wellcome Trust – each respectively owning 86% and 14% of the shareholding.     

    DSIT media enquiries

    Email press@dsit.gov.uk

    Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm 020 7215 3000

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    Updates to this page

    Published 9 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: iDox.ai Launches Redaction Engine That Learns You: Personalized AI Now Available

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Fremont, California, June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — iDox.ai has launched a significant enhancement to its document redaction tool platform, iDox.ai Redact, with the introduction of Personalized AI, a suite of features that allows redaction tools to intelligently adjust based on document type, redaction history, and user behavior.

    iDox.ai Logo

    The Personalized AI update addresses the growing demand for smarter and more adaptable document processing in industries handling sensitive information, including legal, healthcare, finance, and law enforcement. Rather than relying on static rules, iDox.ai Redact now learns over time, providing users with redaction tools that become increasingly accurate and tailored to their workflows.

    Key components of the release include:

    • Document Type Recognition: The AI automatically identifies document categories—such as contracts, medical records, or police reports—and adjusts its logic to match relevant redaction standards. This includes context-aware entity detection, like patient identifiers in medical files or license numbers in law enforcement records.
    • Adaptive Entity Recognition: The system identifies and redacts sensitive content based on prior user actions, learning from ongoing redaction behavior to improve future performance.
    • Regulation-Aware Data Profiles: Now supports a broad range of sensitive information types—including PII, PHI, racial covenants, and key business and financial data—with built-in awareness of compliance standards like HIPAA, GDPR, and FOIA.
    • Manual Edits and Overrides: Users retain full control with the ability to fine-tune or override AI suggestions through a real-time editing interface.
    • Whitelisting Functionality: Organizations can preserve specific terms or phrases from redaction, such as job titles or internal codes, improving accuracy and consistency.
    • User and Team Learning: The system evolves with each user and team’s redaction patterns, allowing it to provide more precise, context-appropriate suggestions as it accumulates insights.

    “Our mission with Personalized AI is to deliver smarter, more human-aware redaction,” said Jeremy Wei, Founder of iDox.ai. “It’s about context, control, and continuously improving performance tailored to each organization’s needs.”

    The Personalized AI capabilities are now available to all current users of iDox.ai Redact. This release strengthens iDox.ai’s position at the forefront of AI-driven redaction by uniting adaptive personalization with deep regulatory awareness, enabling organizations to safeguard sensitive data while keeping pace with changing compliance requirements.

    About iDox.ai

    Designed for compliance-intensive environments, iDox.ai leverages artificial intelligence to automate and optimize document workflows across industries, with a primary focus on protecting sensitive data through features like PDF redaction, data security, and extraction.

    The MIL Network –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: HDFC ERGO General Insurance Wins Duck Creek Standard of Excellence Customer Award at Formation ’25

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BOSTON, June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Duck Creek Technologies, the global intelligent solutions provider defining the future of property and casualty (P&C) and general insurance, today announced HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited (HDFC ERGO), India’s leading private sector general insurer, as a 2025 Standard of Excellence Customer Award winner at Formation ’25, its flagship customer conference held in Orlando, Florida. A digital-first company, transforming into an AI-first company, HDFC ERGO is a leading general insurer of India, which is known for introducing pioneering and futuristic tech solutions in the Indian insurance landscape to offer its customers the best-in-class service experience.

    The Duck Creek Standard of Excellence Customer Awards recognize customers who have achieved the highest level of excellence through their implementation of Duck Creek solutions and who have a vision to advance their business, while reimagining the future of insurance. HDFC ERGO earned recognition for accelerating product launches, streamlining system integration, and increasing market agility using Duck Creek’s solutions, including Policy, Billing, Rating, and Insights.

    The Indian insurance market is undergoing a major transformation with a growing customer demand and the need for hyper-personalized services. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has also been encouraging the insurers to develop agile and customer-centric products so as to fuel insurance inclusion among diverse demographics and across the diverse geographies in the country. HDFC ERGO’s adoption of Duck Creek’s low-code, highly configurable platform to design a pioneering AI-enabled, real-time policy issuance system marks a significant milestone, where now the insurer has transformed the end-to-end process for its Health and Fire lines of business.

    “At HDFC ERGO, our endeavour has been to offer best-in-class solutions and experience to our customers. The behaviour and requirements of today’s customers have evolved to a great extent, where they expect dynamic, hyper-personalized, and innovative solutions, and the insurance industry is not an exception in this changed ecosystem. Hence as a customer-focused organization, we were looking for a technology partner, who would enable us to offer innovative products, efficient services, and better analytical insights in an integrated manner to provide a seamless experience to our customers. The tech enablement from Duck Creek matched perfectly to this requirement,” said Sriram Naganathan, President & CTO at HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited. “We are happy and honored to receive the Duck Creek Standard of Excellence Award. We believe with these new tech enhancements we will set a new benchmark in the insurance industry and propel the cause of insurance inclusion in India — thus also supporting the vision of ‘Insurance for All by 2047’ of IRDAI— the Indian insurance regulator.”

    The scale of the project was massive, involving over 45 business users, 150+ IT developers working in parallel across seven systems integrator partners, designing 300+ product covers, 300+ business rules, and executing 10,000+ test scenarios. The solutions were delivered in only nine months, with their commercial fire product first to go live, followed by their health product soon thereafter. Key results include:

    • Product launch time reduced from 4-5 months to just four weeks, allowing rapid response to market demands and regulatory changes.
    • Dramatic productivity gains for agents with quotes generated almost instantly and agents able to offer 4-5 alternative product options rather than just a single choice.
    • Operational efficiency and risk reduction by drastically reducing manual data entry, minimizing compliance risks, and improving accuracy. Straight-through processing completed tasks in just 3-4 minutes, instead of hours or days.
    • Elevated customer experience driven by policies now being processed in near real time, instead of in hours and days. Customers are now also offered data-driven product recommendations and better-suited options, leading to improved engagements.

    “We are proud to honor HDFC ERGO General Insurance with the 2025 Standard of Excellence Customer Award,” said Christian Erickson, Vice President and General Manager, APAC at Duck Creek Technologies. “HDFC ERGO’s digital transformation stands as a benchmark for innovation and execution in the insurance industry. As our first customer in the in India market, we are thrilled to be HDFC ERGO’s strategic partner, with our suite of products helping drive meaningful business outcomes and value for the business, their customers, and shareholders. HDFC ERGO exemplifies the forward-thinking, customer-focused approach that defines the future of insurance. We congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition.”

    About Duck Creek Technologies   
    Duck Creek Technologies is the global intelligent solutions provider defining the future of the property and casualty (P&C) and general insurance industry. We are the platform upon which modern insurance systems are built, enabling the industry to capitalize on the power of the cloud to run agile, intelligent, and evergreen operations. Authenticity, purpose, and transparency are core to Duck Creek, and we believe insurance should be there for individuals and businesses when, where, and how they need it most. Our market-leading solutions are available on a standalone basis or as a full suite, and all are available via Duck Creek OnDemand. Visit www.duckcreek.com to learn more. Follow Duck Creek on our social channels for the latest information – LinkedIn and X.

    Media Contacts:   
    Marianne Dempsey/Tara Stred   
    duckcreek@threeringsinc.com 

    About HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited:

    HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited, one of the leading private sector general insurance companies of India, whose promoters are HDFC Bank Limited, one of India’s leading private sector banks, and ERGO International AG, the primary insurance entity of Munich Re Group.

    A digital-first company, transforming into an AI-first company, HDFC ERGO is a leader in implementing technology to offer customers the best-in-class service experience.

    HDFC ERGO offers a complete range of General Insurance products including Health, Motor, Home, Agriculture, Travel, Credit, Cyber and Personal Accident in the retail space along with Property, Marine, Engineering, Marine Cargo, Group Health and Liability Insurance in the corporate space.

    The Company has created a stream of innovative & new products as well as services using technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Natural Processing Language (NLP), and Robotics. HDFC ERGO offers a range of general insurance products and has a completely digital sales process with 299 branches and 600+ digital offices across India. HDFC ERGO’s technology platform has empowered the customers to avail services digitally on a 24×7 basis, with 70%+ claims for retail products intimated digitally and over 80% of service interactions are catered digitally of which 10% are AI led. The Company issued ~3.4 crore policies in FY25 and has one of the best claims payout ratios in the General Insurance industry.

    Be it unique insurance products, integrated customer service models, top-in-class claim processes or a host of technologically innovative solutions, HDFC ERGO has been able to delight its customers at every touch-point and milestone to ensure consumers are serviced in real-time.

    Social Media:

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hdfcergo

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/hdfcergogic

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hdfcergo

    YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/hdfcergo

    Media Contacts:
       
    Shilpi Bose
    Shilpi.bose@hdfcergo.com

    The MIL Network –

    June 10, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: VIDEO: Rep. Pressley Condemns Trump’s Authoritarian Assault on Harvard, Nonprofits

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

    Trump Admin. Weaponizing Tax Laws to Silence Dissent, Attack Nonprofits Providing Essential Services to Vulnerable People

    “This is about Trump and Republicans punishing people who disagree with them. It is about attacking nonprofits of all sizes that serve the vulnerable and marginalized and stand in the gap for our communities. It’s about trying to intimidate every charity and nonprofit in this country and spark a fear that if you speak up – if you do something the Republicans don’t like – you could be next.”

    Video (YouTube)

    WASHINGTON – Today, in a House Oversight Subcommittee hearing, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) condemned Donald Trump’s targeted, authoritarian assault on nonprofit organizations it disagrees with. Congresswoman Pressley discussed the Trump Administration’s efforts to revoke the tax-exempt status of Harvard University as part of Republicans’ broader campaign to punish dissent and attack organizations that serve vulnerable communities.

    A full transcript of the Congresswoman’s remarks is below and the video is available here.

    Transcript: Pressley Condemns Trump’s Authoritarian Assault on Harvard, Nonprofits

    House Oversight DOGE Subcommittee

    June 4, 2025

    REP. PRESSLEY: Thank you to our witnesses for being here today. 

    What we are witnessing from Occupant Trump, his Administration, and Republicans writ-large is not governance – it is a targeted, dangerous assault on the independence of our nonprofit organizations. 

    We’ve seen these attacks take many forms, perhaps most visibly in my own district – the Massachusetts 7th – as the administration continues its unlawful campaign against Harvard University. Trump has threatened to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status, freeze billions in federal funding for scientific research to save lives, might I add, and publicly vilify students and faculty – all part and parcel of his attacks on education. 

    But let me make it plain: this isn’t just about Harvard and it’s definitely not about government efficiency – the name of this subcommittee. 

    This is about Trump and Republicans punishing people who disagree with them. 

    It is about attacking nonprofits of all sizes that serve the vulnerable and marginalized and stand in the gap for our communities. 

    It’s about trying to intimidate every charity and nonprofit in this country and spark a fear that if you speak up – if you do something the Republicans don’t like – you could be next.

    A hospital that provides abortion care. A local food pantry that feeds immigrants. Or an advocacy group that fights for civil rights.

    Donald Trump is weaponizing our tax laws to attack nonprofits at the same time he is pushing for tax cuts for Elon Musk and billionaires.

    Ms. Yentel, can the President or Executive Branch legally revoke a nonprofit’s tax-exempt status simply because it disagrees with that organization’s lawful speech or mission?

    DIANE YENTEL: They can’t. The statute is very clear that that is illegal.

    REP. PRESSLEY: Thank you. Republicans think the answer is yes, but that would mean every nonprofit in America is just one tweet away from being targeted by the federal government.

    I am proud that in the Massachusetts 7th, community-based organizations are speaking up and fighting back against Republican attacks. And I know they are doing it at risk of serious threat.

    Ms. Yentel, can you make plain what are the consequences to charities and nonprofits losing tax-exempt status?

    MS. YENTEL: Well, tax exempt status is given to nonprofit organizations that do essential work to meet needs in their local communities, in exchange for significant transparency and accountability. And if nonprofit organizations lose their tax exempt status, it could create significant challenges for them to be able to do their work related to how and where they get their funding, and it could cause them to have to shut down their work altogether.

    REP. PRESSLEY: Their work which is to the betterment of us all, which is to the collective, our shared constituents. 

    MS. YENTEL: Yes.

    REP. PRESSLEY: Very good. Let’s put this in perspective:

    Trump is firing government workers that administer programs like Head Start and Social Security while also attacking non-profits that provide resources and supports to vulnerable populations.

    Trump and his Republican cult do not care about helping people who are struggling. Instead, they want to make them suffer more.  

    Now, before I yield back, let me ask the Republican witnesses: if you all think Trump is right for revoking tax-exempt status for nonprofits for their political views, raise your hand then if you think the Heritage Foundation – who wrote Project 2025 – should also lose their tax-exempt status? 

    Show of hands, by the logic that is being applied. 

    MR. WALTER: I’m not aware of any nonprofit that’s had its status revoked. 

    REP. PRESSLEY: Again, the question that I’m posing is, would you please raise your hand if you think the Heritage Foundation who wrote Project 2025 should also lose their tax exempt status? 

    Show of hands.

    MR. WALTER: It’s a perfectly a reasonable speech by a nonprofit. 

    REP. PRESSLEY: So none of you, so none of you, none of you.

    The shame and the sham of it all.

    Before I yield back, Ms. Yentel, I know that you have been harangued intensely throughout today’s proceedings. Is there anything that you would like to set the record straight on or respond to in my remaining time? 

    MS. YENTEL: Thank you, Congresswoman. I would like to use the remaining time to remind us all and every member of this committee of the vital, essential work that nonprofit organizations do in each of your communities, for your constituents, and the work that we do to support them in that work. Nonprofit organizations are local. They are transparent and accountable. They are non-partisan, by law and in practice, and they do essential work to meet the needs of all of your communities and all Americans. Thank you.

    REP. PRESSLEY: Thank you. I yield back.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 10, 2025
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